#neoclock

Friday night lights are blinding. 

You walk into the stadium with your heart beating wildly against your chest, hearing it pounding loudly against your ears over the cheering crowd. It’s a warm night — the first of the summer, and the stars shine brightly in the night sky. There’s a soft breeze, so light you can barely feel it crashing against your skin, carrying both scents and sounds as you let yourself become immersed in your surroundings. The air smells like pretzels and candy, scents reaching your nose as you walk deeper into the forming crowd. There’s loud rock and roll playing the background, probably coming from one of the many speakers, setting the atmosphere ablaze, tying everything together into one cohesive scene. 

The timing isn’t perfect, but it doesn’t have to be. Your feet walk like they have a mind of their own, moving like following an invisible compass, pulling from an imaginary thread that leads you directly to him. And it’s almost as if they do, and as if he too had been a participant in the strange game of push and pull, because his eyes find yours in the midst of a sea of people. 

You refrain from gasping, because as you rest your eyes on him, you’re sure Jung Jaehyun has been pulled out from some romantic comedy, somehow way too good to be true. Standing in the middle of the playing field, under the bright lights illuminating the entire stadium, with his football uniform made a mess of dirt and grass and his hair disheveled from taking off his helmet, he’s a dream in and out of himself. It brings a slight tingling to the tips of your fingers, goosebumps running down your back when he smiles, eyes shining brighter than any fire in the starry sky. 

Smiling at him, you let your feet resume their way as you forget about everything else that isn’t him and the way he’s looking at you, blocking everything out but the way his smile grows wider with every step you take in his direction. He looks happy, happier than you’ve ever seen him, looking at you as if it was you who put the stars in the night sky or who composed the force of the sun. As much as for you there’s only him, standing front and center in a still frame, for him there’s you, and he’s sure everything else in the picture is only but a background image. 

“Hey,” he says as you finally reach him, surprise laced into his tone. He’s smiling wide, one hand holding his helmet on the side while the other has a tight grip on a plastic water bottle. “I thought you wouldn’t come.” 

“Yeah, me too,” you respond. You stick your hands in the front pockets of your jeans, trying to conceal the shaking of your fingers. “For a second, I really wasn’t going to.” 

Jaehyun takes a step closer. There’s cheering in the background, laughter and hollering. He can hear his friends singing loudly, celebrating a victory in the same way he would if he hadn’t seen you. Having you there, in front of him, is victory enough. 

“What convinced you?” He asks, nerves almost completely masked by his excitement. “Was it the thought of me in a uniform? Johnny has been saying I look like a Vogue model with my hair all disheveled like this, so I really wouldn’t blame you.” 

You laugh, nudging his shoulder with your hand. 

“No, you idiot,” you say, voice breaking in between the laughter. “But I really couldn’t miss this, not when me being here meant that much to you. You don’t look bad with your hair looking like that, though.” 

His smile seems to soften at your words, though you’re not sure if you’re seeing it correctly or if it’s merely a trick of the light. Your heart swells, beating rapidly at the thought of having such an effect on him, and a part of you really wants it to be a mix of both. As much as you’re trying, there’s no way you’re feeling about him now. 

“Not bad?” He laughs, and you see him blush under the reflectors. “I think it looks really sexy.” 

“Okay, now you’re just letting it get to you,” you joke. “At least you have your trophy now, right? That’s what’s sexy.”

He takes another step closer, and you’re close enough to touch. People walk past all around you, forcing you to get even closer, hands flying to his chest on instinct alone. Jaehyun doesn’t seem to notice, or ignores it if he does. Out of the corner of his eye he can see Yuta smiling at him, but it all becomes background noise as he sets his attention back on you. 

“It’s because of you, you know,” he says, voice soft. You hear a small thud, and when his hand comes to rest on top of yours, you can tell it’s his helmet finally falling to the ground. “The plays, the trophy - it’s all for you. Every single thing I do, I do thinking of you. I simply can’t get you out of my head.” 

You smile. “I thought we were just friends.”

“We’ve never been just friends,” he smiles. He pauses for a second, looking up to the sky and pursing his lips, as if deep in thought. “We were also roommates. And we were teammates that one time in Ethics class.” 

“You’re an idiot,” you laugh, rolling your eyes and feeling his fingers lacing with yours. He tightens his grip, softly squeezing your hand. His hair falls against his forehead, pressing against the damp skin. “That’s not what I meant!”

“Yeah, I know,” he says, a blush rising to his cheeks as he looks at you. “Okay, and, to be fair, I was also in love with you, and I think you might have also liked me back this entire time, with you occasionally eating the food I made for you and all.” 

“That’s the only possible explanation when I kept doing it despite getting food poisoning that one time you made spaghetti and meatballs.” 

“You’re just exaggerating,” he laughs. Neither of you have noticed you’re leaning closer to each other with every passing minute. “You loved my special spaghetti and meatballs.”

“I did not!” You smile. And you’re sure your world stops still in its tracks when your nose touches his, everything around you disappearing and your entire surroundings becoming the warmth of his touch and the tenderness in his smile.  “But I did love you… I guess.”

“I hope you still do,” he whispers, and you hear him, loud and clear, despite all the chaos unfolding all around you. “Because I’m crazy in love with you, and I just can’t hold it in anymore. Do you know how hard it was for me to see you looking so fucking beautiful in the morning and not being able to kiss you as soon as I saw you? I’m about to take matters into my own hands, this can’t just stay as it is!” 

“Probably as much as it was for me to see you with your hair like this, looking like a goddamned Vogue model and not being able to kiss you as I walked into the stadium.” 

“Fuck, you really are way too good to be true.” 

And he’s kissing you, softly and gently, a small and quick kiss under the blinding lights, holding you to his chest and pressing you against his form. Your eyelids flutter closed as you kiss back, a thousand lights going off on your head, just as part of your imagination as of reality, a perfect mirror of the ones shining bright all around you. You can feel him smile against your lips, giggling so softly you don’t get to hear it; you feel it, vibrations traveling down your body as you smile right back, feeling your heart beat so loudly you’re sure it’s about to go out of your chest. 

“Hey, could you possibly repeat the Vogue thing around Johnny before we leave.”

“Anything for you, stud.” 

“God, I love you.”

“Are you even qualified to teach people how to skate?” he asks, with narrow eyes, “Can you even go backwards?”

You know he’s just teasing, just trying to get a rise out of you, and you fall so easily into his trap every time.

“Of course I can go backwards Jaemin! That’s not what I’m teaching right now though!” you reply. 

“Well then, I can do a demonstration!” 

“Jaemin, no.”

“Jaemin, yes.”

You let out a sigh as you watch him show off in front of the kids. They were a nice little bunch, but they were easily distracted, especially when the distraction was putting on such a show. 

Once again, you knew, it would be a long night.

Not even a week later, you encounter the nuisance again. Tonight, someone that usually works the food counter called off, meaning you’re stuck making hot dogs and grabbing bottles of cola for a bunch of little kids and teenagers. It wasn’t the worst job, but it certainly wasn’t your favorite. 

Especially since you can’t just skate away when Jaemin comes around to annoy you.

You spot him skating around the rink with a few of his buddies, doing laps around the younger kids. You can’t help but roll your eyes. 

The last you recalled, Jaemin never ordered much from the food counter when he was at the rink, so you assume he won’t bother you tonight. You couldn’t be more wrong.

You were back behind the pretzel machine when someone came up to the counter, ringing the bell to get your attention.

“I’ll be right there!” you call out, “What can I get for you?”

“A second of your time perhaps?”

You whip your head around to see Jaemin standing at the counter, a cheesy smile across his face. His hair is ruffled and wild, and he seems to be breathing a bit heavy from the exercise he was just doing.

You huff as you walk over to him, “Jaem, if you’re just going to annoy me, go away. Do you actually want any food?” 

He doesn’t miss the small nickname that crosses your lips, but he doesn’t have time to think too hard about it. As always, he is on a mission. 

“I wanted to show you my new skates!” he says, moving backwards a bit to show you the new boots, “Nice wheels, right?”

You can’t help the snort of amusement that comes out. The skates are bright yellow, with orange wheels and laces. They certainly will stand out under the glow of the neon lights and the disco ball over the wooden rink.

He starts moonwalking around in front of you, and you can’t help but marvel with a smile of your own at the skates and the silly boy in front of you. He must catch you staring, because he breaks you out of your trance by coming closer.

He says , “I wonder how fast I’ll be able to go in them.”

He bounds off towards the rink, zipping around the people on his new wheels. He looks back over to see if you are watching, causing a triumphant grin to grace his face when he realizes he still has your attention. 

The only problem is, with his eyes on you instead of where he’s going, he nearly runs into an older lady, and quickly diverts his course to keep from crashing into her. His new skates take him directly towards the wall, sending him on a collision course with concrete. 

His fall is anything but graceful, as his friends laugh at him. You also let out a chuckle of your own at the silly boy who will do anything for even an ounce of attention.

It is once again the end of a long day, and the quiet of the rink surrounds you. The music is turned off, and you’re the last one here, finishing up some cleaning before you finally go home. 

You always loved being the last one at the rink. The roller rink was constantly alive with lots of people, lots of sounds, lots of activity. It was calming to be the only one, skating around the rink with a broom to wipe down the surface. 

As you are making your way around the outside of the rink one last time, you hear a loud noise near the entrance to the building. You can’t help but grip the broom a little tighter, before you see Jaemin come through the door.

He glides over to the opening of the rink, his boombox in his hand. You do nothing but stare as he sets it up on the ground, pressing play before starting to skate. Finally he acknowledges your presence with a casual wave, like he isn’t here after hours or anything.

“What do you think you are doing?” you ask. “The rink closed ten minutes ago, and aren’t you tired? You were here all night.”

You couldn’t ignore the slip up you made, realizing you let it slip that you were aware of his presence all night. You didn’t need him thinking you were looking at him a lot, because you weren’t. Ever. 

“I like skating to my own tunes.” he says, as nonchalant as ever. 

He apparently doesn’t see a problem with the way things are unfolding, and you let out a huff. 

“Oh my god, I’m trying to clean the floor! Can’t you just come back tomorrow?”

“Aw, so eager to see me again?” he smiles as he makes his way to you, “Anyways, I can help!”

He takes your broom, skating around while casually sweeping. You might not have brand new skates like him, but you easily catch up to him, snatching it back.

Why was he even here? Just like you had pointed out, he had been here all night. What was keeping him from going home like the rest of the crowd?

“Go, Jaemin!” you exclaim out of annoyance, “And take your annoying boombox with you!”

His face morphs into a pout at this, “You turned off the music, what was I supposed to do?” 

“Go home?”

You glide over to the portable machine producing the loud disco music, turning off the switch. You manage to pick it up, shoving the boombox towards Jaemin.

“Jaemin, I’m begging you, go home! I can’t clean if you are still here, and I want to go home, too.”

He must see the exhausted look in your eye behind all of your annoyance, because he rolls over to you.

Jaemin grabs his boombox again, “Am I too much of a distraction if I sit on the bench?”

He gestures to the bench just outside of the rink, where little kids often tied their laces. For some reason, he just doesn’t want to leave, so you nod your head. 

He sits down, and turns on his boombox again while doing so. He turns the volume down lower, and looks out at you, jokingly saluting you in a promise to not be bothersome. 

You roll your eyes, finally resuming your cleaning. 

As you clean, Jaemin talks aimlessly. He talks about his classes at the local university next fall, and about how he just can’t figure out how to land a specific jump on his skates. 

While you were reluctant to let him stay, his presence ends up being really nice. His voice is soft as it fills the empty building, and as you both walk out to your cars after locking up, you are grateful to have someone by your side. 

It feels a little weird that you are having nice thoughts about the boy who is constantly a pain in your side, but you ignore the slight upbeat in your heart rate when he bids you goodnight.

You throw him a smile as you get into your car, “Goodnight, Jaem.”

It is once again a slow Tuesday night, and you are almost about ready to fall asleep at the admissions counter. Every so often you are assigned a shift in the ticket lobby, which you don’t mind typically. On a weekend day, you would be busy taking care of admissions for people as they came and went.

The rink is not busy today. 

And you’re about to doze off. 

You sigh. The one day you don’t have a book or a newspaper or any homework to do. 

You find yourself brushing off invisible dust from your new vest and turtleneck outfit when you hear the door chime, signaling a new customer. You look up from your seat.

Of course, it is Na Jaemin.

“Hey, are you stuck out here today?” he asks, his skate laces tied together to rest over his left shoulder.

“Yeah, it's so boring tonight, kinda empty too, but at least that means you won’t plow into a sixth grader again.” you smile.

“That was one time!” he says, also grinning at the memory.

He pulls out some money for admission and you hand him the paper wristband to show he paid and brought his own skates. Just as he is about to walk through the door to get to the rink, he pauses.

“Hey, uh, what’s your favorite song to skate to?” 

“Huh?”

“Yeah,” he scratches the back of his neck. He tries to explain his reasoning, “Maybe if I play it on my boombox, you won’t make me turn it off.”

You let out a chuckle, “I’ll still probably make you turn it off.”

“Y/N, can you please just answer the question?” Jaemin seems serious now.

And while you are taken aback by the change from his normally aloof demeanor, you clear your throat, “Okay, umm, I really love that new movie Grease, right now. Have you seen it? There’s this one song that’s kinda slow, ‘Hopelessly Devoted to You,’ and it’s really pretty and fun to just skate around the rink to.”

You flush out of embarrassment for the cheesy song choice, but Jaemin nods with a smile. You ignore your traitorous heart reminding you that you had definitely played your Grease soundtrack cassette tape a few too many times since meeting Jaemin. There was definitely no correlation. 

“That song is nice.” he says, before turning away and heading into the rink, leaving you alone at the ticket counter once again. 

A few days later you once again are stuck at the ticket counter. And finally, your shift is over. The ticket counter was nice every once in a while, but you feel tired of standing there, especially more than once in a week. You much preferred the satisfying exhaustion that came from being on wheels for your entire shift. 

The staff has mostly gone home, even your boss who just needed to lock up the cash office. You had offered to lock up the building after he left, since you felt like skating for a bit before going home. 

There is something about skating on the wooden floor when no one else is around. It is entirely quiet, with the music turned off, just the sound of your wheels spinning., And peaceful, with the air clear of cigarette smoke and loud screams of children playing. It was calming.

Your calm is interrupted by soft music coming from near the entrance. It’s only when you see Jaemin’s face and his stupidly large boombox that you realize what song it is. 

Your favorite song.

You can’t help the goofy smile that spreads across your face as he skates over, leaving the boombox on the ledge of the rink wall, coming over to you as ‘Hopelessly Devoted to You,’ echoes throughout the building.

He’s mouthing the lyrics as he skates to you, his eyes bright with mischief and something else that you can’t quite place. 

“Hey,” he says once he’s finally in front of you, “Can I join? It seemed a little quiet in here.”

For some reason, this flusters you, as you look at his ruffled hair and jean jacket. “Uh, yeah sure.”

With your approval, he begins skating, beckoning you to follow him. The song ends, but starts up again, and you give Jaemin a questioning look.

“I made a mixtape of this song on loop a couple of times,” he says, running a hand through his hair leisurely, like that’s the most normal thing in the world for someone to do. “It’s nice right?”

It makes you smile regardless. The two of you skate around for a bit, simply going around the rink as you would if lots of people were there. It’s comfortable, you realize, with just the two of you all alone. 

Finally on the third loop of the song, Jaemin comes a little closer, and grabs your hand quickly, as if unsure that he is able to do that. You squeeze his hand in reassurance.

It’s strange, wherever this night is going, but you can’t remember a time that you seemed happier to be at the rink. 

“I recall you mentioning you can skate backwards, yes?” Jaemin asks, after a few moments.

“Yes, of course—” you begin, but stop talking when he spins you to skate backwards in front of him, causing you to let out a slight squeal at the change.

It’s almost like dancing in a way, as he pushes the two of you forward around the rink and you impulsively grip his shoulders to make sure you can keep your balance. 

Eventually, the two of you slow down, and he leads a few spins, which sends laughter through the air and chills down your spine. It's hard to believe just a few weeks ago this boy was the most annoying pain in your side. 

The boombox finally goes quiet after its few repeats of the song, and the building is plunged into silence again, as you stand in front of Jaemin with a small smile and a sweaty complexion. 

The neon lights glow around you and Jaemin’s face turns serious. He readjusts his grip on your waist, sliding ever so slightly closer to you. 

“I’m sorry I was an asshole at the beginning.” he says, just above a whisper to be heard by only you, “I didn’t know how else to get your attention. Finally I changed the plan to this, and I think it’s working out better.”

“The plan?” you ask, your brain cloudy from his proximity.

He has the nerve to look bashful, making his face even more cuter, “I’ve, uh, kinda liked you for a while, and I needed a plan to tell you and see if you felt the same.” 

You smile, moving your left hand from his shoulder to his jawline, stroking his cheeky tenderly. Every piece of him that you touch leaves a burning feeling within your heart, and you finally are thinking you know how to fix it.

With a bold move like when he picked up your hand, you touch your lips to his, letting them sit there for a moment. It’s a chaste kiss, leaving Jaemin to decide what to do next.

He deepens the kiss, smiling as he fully wraps his arms around you and keeps you from sliding away by using his toe stops. 

The disco ball overhead isn’t turning anymore, and the music that typically fills the roller rink isn’t playing, but you’ve never found the rink more spectacular in your life. It’s not the atmosphere of the rink that you love, but the people within.

Before you reach the doors to go back inside, a honking noise behind you stops you in your tracks. You turn toward the car pulling up in an empty spot and prepare to take their order. Hurriedly, you pat down your uniform trying to find your notepad tucked away somewhere in one of the pockets. Although distracted, you decide to waste no time and get right into your introduction while still searching for the notepad. “Hi there and thank you for stopping at Neo’s Drive-In Diner, the finest carhop service in-“

“Well if it isn't Y/N L/N.” You’re interrupted by the voice of one of the most popular boys at your high school.

Looking up, you meet the eyes of Lee Jeno, sitting in the passenger’s seat, and give him a polite smile. “That’s me. It’s good to see you, Jeno.”

“Hey.” Behind the wheel, and closest to you, sat Zhong Chenle, the boy you’ve been crushing on since you’ve met him. With his elbow propped up on the car door, he greets you with his charming smile.

“Hey,” you respond, smiling a little too hard. You turn towards the back of the car and wave at his other two friends, Jisung and Jaemin. The four of them, as well as a few other friends that complete their clique, are the most talked about kids in your high school. Although you don’t consider yourself popular at all, you have grown a bit of a friendship with Chenle, who you’ve just recently started growing comfortable speaking to on a regular basis. With your budding friendship with Chenle, you’ve also grown closer with his popular group of friends.

“Nice wheels,” Chenle complimented, pointing at your skates.

Flattered, you giggle and thank him. “And you too! What is that, a ‘57 Chevrolet Corvette?”

He raises his eyebrows. “Ah, so you know your cars, huh? Impressive.”

“I do see a whole lot of ‘em these days, ” you say, gesturing towards the several automobiles around you.

Flashing his incredibly attractive smile, Chenle beams at you, making you shyly look down at your skates while adjusting the collar of your uniform.

“Uh, yeah... enough of the flirting. This is my ride by the way. He’s just driving it ‘cause he begged me to let him,” Jeno laughs, ignoring Chenle’s hard glare. “He thinks he’s hip now since he got his license the other day.”

“Well, you look like you were made for the driver’s seat,” you wink at him, somehow hiding the shock you felt at the unexpected boost of confidence you just displayed. Raising the notepad you finally found in the waistband of your skirt, you ask, “What can I get you, boys?”

“What’re you doing talking to those dreamboats over there?” your friend and coworker Molly says, nudging your side with her elbow as you both stood in the kitchen waiting for your next deliveries.

“Just... talking,” you say, eyeing her.

“Isn’t that Chenle and his crew?”

You turn to look out the window and see Chenle running his hand through his hair, checking himself out in the side view mirror of the car. He and his friends were singing along to the radio while waiting for their food. Something about Chenle in his varsity cardigan and slacks, sitting in the front seat of a shiny, red convertible was so attractive to you.

“Yup, that’s them.”

“When’re you gonna ask Chenle out?” she says with a smirk.

You turn towards her, wide-eyed. “What?! What makes you think I wanna ask him out?”

She shrugs and raises her hands in defense. “I dunno. It couldn’t possibly be because of the countless times you’ve been caught staring at him in geography class.” You glare at the evident sarcasm in her tone. “I mean, who wouldn’t want to ask out someone as dreamy as him.”

“Exactly. I’m sure someone already has and he’s not available for me to ask out anyways. Hell, he may even have a date later tonight.”

Molly rolls her eyes. “Whatever, y/n. I find that real hard to believe. He seems into you.”

You gape at her, unconvinced, and look back out the window where you met Chenle’s gaze. You quickly hide your face, wondering if he was really staring at you or looking for someone with their orders to speed up.

“Order up! Red Chevrolet Corvette. Four burger and fries combos. Four Coca-Colas.”

Molly pats your back and you take that as a cue to pick up their orders and deliver them. At the counter, you grab all four meals and shuttle them out to the car with ease. As you approach the car, the boys cheer, hoot, and holler at the arrival of their food, turning the heads of the customers in the surrounding vehicles.

“Alright, alright,” you laugh, as you begin to quiet them down, passing out the trays. As soon as they receive their meals, they begin digging in like animals, except for Chenle who was taking out his wallet to pay you.

“Here. Keep the change,” he says, placing the money in your hand as you feel a much heavier amount than expected. Before you can object to the extra pay, he says, “Oh, and I have something to ask you”, leaning closer to you from his seat, separating himself from the noise his friends were making.

“What’s up?”

“So, we’re planning on watching A Night To Remember at the drive-in cinema later tonight. If you want, we can pick you up after your shift and drive over there together. We might even go bowling after the movie. I mean, you don’t have to, of course. I know these guys can be a bit wild but Jeno’s bringing a date anyways and you wouldn’t even have to talk to the others if you don’t wanna-” He stops himself, noting the shocked expression on your face. “I’m sorry…”

“No! No, no need to be sorry for anything, I just- I- You want me to come with you?” you question.

“If it’s alright with you,” he says, with a hopeful look on his face. “I know taking a girl out on a date typically doesn’t involve rowdy friends, but uh-”

“A date? Chenle, I’d be glad to be your date under any circumstances,” you say, smiling widely at the offer.

“Really? Sweet! I’ll pick you up in a couple of hours.”

“Sounds good!”

You could hardly hide your excitement. You skate twice as fast back to the kitchen and almost forget you’re still on the job. As soon as you find Molly, you share the news of your date with Chenle and the both of you nearly squeal with delight before Molly is called to take another order. Turning around, watching her skate out the door, you make eye contact with Chenle who must have seen you freak out with Molly just seconds earlier.

You stand there staring at him, frozen and slightly embarrassed, and he stares back with his burger up to his mouth. After a few seconds of unbroken eye contact, he starts laughing. His laughter immediately brings a smile to your face and soon enough, you’re laughing with him through the window. His friends begin to wonder what he’s laughing at and why, and you see the expression on Chenle’s face shift once the boys start teasing him and laughing. Now that it’s his turn to be embarrassed, you find the exchange quite hilarious. Watching him made the grin on our face stretch from ear to ear.

“You better not be flirting with customers on the job, young lady.” The head waitress said from behind you, reeling you back into the present.

“Order up!”

It is a show where ten participants are sent onto a spaceship and eight of them are labeled as crewmates who must complete tasks on the spaceship, the other two are labeled as impostors whose only task is to kill the rest of the crewmates. With the difference between life or death becoming so slim, shows like this quickly became popular since the once normal troubles of life seemed dull when portrayed in the media.

Among Us was only recorded and promoted once a year so for the two months it was being filmed and aired, it took over nearly all the news channels. It was impossible to not know the name of the latest star of the show because of how much attention nearly everyone paid to it.

You paused for a bit, admiring how fearless and strong the three survivors looked. The show itself was based on some phone game that became popular during the earlier parts of the century though it wasn’t until after the virus broke out that it became adapted into a televised show. You found it quite entertaining to watch because of the relationships formed during each season whether it be as friends, enemies, or even lovers. The deaths of the participants weren’t exactly jarring, but more so they were viewed as something merely part of the show.

Most of the people who go onto the show are those who are accepting of death and are ready to let it happen. It was quite common to see younger people who had lost their families to the Infected and could no longer support themselves. Sometimes, only two people would end up returning from the spaceship because the impostors were that good.

That was the exact story of how Taeyong got his claim to fame. He had lost his parents to the Infected then later joined the show after failing to become independent. On Among Us, he was a three-time veteran of the show and on his very first season, he was the only remaining crewmate to return after wrongly voting out his other crewmate and allowing the single impostor to take the win. This incident stirred up so much news since it was the first time only two participants returned.

Continuing on your trudge home, you stepped into a pile of unidentifiable gunk, got splashed by a car driving through a puddle, and to top it all off, you were met by an eviction notice on your doorstep. At that moment, something in you sparked and you pulled out your phone, searching for the contact information for the Among Us recruitment team.

After eating what you thought was your fifth MRE of the week, even though it was only Wednesday, you filled out the application and sent it in. You knew they didn’t take just anyone so you may or may not have spruced up your answers a bit to increase your chances of getting picked. You included the fact that you had lost your parents to the Infected along with how you were currently working in a pharmacy and were comfortable when faced with injuries or other similar medical issues.

You went to sleep that night anxious yet excited since you hoped so badly to get picked but at the same time, you knew you were practically signing your life away to the media if you survived and to death if you did not.

Over the next few weeks, you received your acceptance letter and passed the interview, solidifying your position as a participant in the 44th season of Among Us. Exactly a month after that single eventful night, you’re being dropped off on the spaceship and you watch as the pod you came in departs from the airlock, heading back to Earth.

Though you’ve watched the show before and studied up a bit on how to play it safe, the fact that you were actually on board the ship was overwhelming. You had no idea where you were or where the other participants were. Your best guess would be that they’re in the cafeteria but you had no idea how to get there.

The area you were currently in was the middle of a long hallway and you figured that you might as well go along through it because it’s a spaceship, everything must be connected somehow. A few minutes pass and it seems like you’re getting nowhere, all the grey of the walls and the clanging of your boot-clad feet on the metal floor was getting annoying. Eventually, you gave up and sat down, letting the low hum of the engines resonate through you.

You don’t remember dozing off but when you came to, you were met with the face of the show, Taeyong himself, squatting in front of you, eyeing you questioningly. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“I- uh,” the reality of having Lee Taeyong in front of you, one of the only people to have survived three seasons of Among us, made you speechless.

He let out a slight chuckle, “come on, let’s get you situated before the round starts.” Extending a hand out to you, he helped you onto your feet and guided you through the cafeteria, which was surprisingly just one sector away, and into an area you’ve never seen before. There were ten beds, five on each side of the room, all with suitcases next to them though some were already opened or put away under the bed.

You recognized yours and broke away from Taeyong, happy to finally have something of familiarity. As you unpacked your suitcase, placing things into the small bedside drawers, you turned around to talk to Taeyong who’s already sitting on what you guess is his bed. “So when does the round start?”

“Whenever you’re ready,” he stated simply, “you were the last one to arrive and all the others are in the cafeteria. Take your time though, there’s no rush.”

Taeyong had a sweet, calming type of presence which was different from the intimidating frontman he was marketed as. “Aren’t you scared to die and lose what you built up for yourself?” You asked him as you deemed your little area organized enough.

He let out a little hum before he pushed himself off the bed. “Not really. I don’t have anyone back home to take care of and I made sure to update my will to give money to all the survivors I’ve participated with.”

“Wow,” you breathed out, “that’s so kind of you.”

“It’s the least I can do to thank the others for taking care of me and not killing me,” he joked, a slight smile on his face while holding open the cafeteria door for you. “Most of them are my closest friends anyways, like Doyoung and Indrani, for example.”

The conversation that was previously going on had quickly died down as the rest of the participants noticed that Taeyong had not returned alone. “Ah, you must be y/n,” one of the other participants commented, you recognized him to be Jungwoo from one of the previous seasons.

You nodded to confirm his statement. “That’s me, nice to meet you all.”

After all the rules were explained, the participants introduced, and the task watches handed out, you were all seated around the main cafeteria table as Taeyong’s finger hovered over the electronic screen in the center of the table. “Once I hit start, be sure to check your watch to see your label. From then on, we will be operating by the rules of the show, stopping only when we are in the sleeping chamber after dinner. Does everyone understand?”

There were various responses of yes, some energetic, some solemn, some scared. One guy just nodded as he looked around nervously. You guessed that he must be Sungchan after hearing his name mentioned earlier.

You made one last note of their names as you all stood around the table. Taeyong, Doyoung, Krystal, Jeno, Haechan, Indrani, Jungwoo, Sungchan, Osho, and y/n. The only new recruits were you, Osho, Jeno, and Sungchan. You recognized Jungwoo, Krystal, and Haechan as survivors from the previous season. Indrani and Doyoung both had two seasons each and Taeyong was the most senior with three. He hit the ‘start’ button and all of your watches went off with a notification alerting you of your role assignment.

Crewmate. There are 2 Impostors among us.

As everyone departed from the cafeteria, you were still struggling to exit from the notification screen to view your tasks. “You have to press the button on the side of the interface,” Taeyong advised as you peered over your shoulder.

“Oh, thanks,” you remarked, letting out a gasp when you realized that you just disclosed your identity to him.

“Don’t worry, I’m a crewmate too,” he reassured, showing you the task menu on his watch screen. “Let’s go to the med bay, I’ll show you how to do the samples since I want to get my scan out of the way.”

“So what are all of these?” You question, scrolling through the list of tasks.

“On the left is the location, for example, your next one is in electrical, and after the colon is the task, which is wires. Then after that, you have to download the data as well.” He explained while going through the list of his tasks. “The vials are over there,” he points out while getting onto the scanning machine, “just press the square button on the bottom of the container and it’ll fill the test tubes for you.”

Following his directions, you hit the button and watched curiously as the tubes popped up and the samples were injected. “Do you know what it is that the samples are made of?”

“Uh, as far as I know-” he was cut off as the scanning machine passed over his face, “it’s from the water tanks on the ship. I think it’s to see which one has the most contaminants so it can be disinfected before use.” You nodded to let him know that you heard him while being distracted at how one of the samples was turning the slightest shade of pink. “Watch the timer, once it goes to zero you can hit the button under that pink one to submit the result. Should be almost done by now.”

He was right. You only had to wait another few seconds before sending in the result at the same time Taeyong stepped off the scanner. He took a look at his information displayed on the screen in front of the machine. “Ah, 59 kilos? I could’ve sworn I was 60 the last time I checked. Anyways, electrical next?”

“Sure, let’s go to the electrical room,” you agreed.

As the two of you made your way past the upper engine, your watches went off with the notification that a body was reported. You looked over at Taeyong with wide eyes, “oh my god what do we do now?”

“Cafeteria,” he nodded back to the direction you came from and began walking down the hallway. “We’ll discuss the body, where it was, and all that and see if we should vote someone off. I’ll vouch for you, don’t worry.”

When you entered the cafeteria, some of the other participants had already started the conversation. “Haechan and I were in navigation,” Doyoung stated, “Jeno went with us there but left to go do something in oxygen.”

“I saw Jeno in there when I was about to do a task there too-” Jungwoo added.

“And why didn’t you do your task?” One of the girls, Krystal you remembered vaguely, asked.

“I don’t know if he’s an impostor or not so I didn’t want to be left in a room alone with him,” Jungwoo reasoned.

“But yet you were fine walking around the ship all alone, huh?” Krystal commented slyly.

“Okay, that’s different-”

“We’re wasting time,” Taeyong interrupted, “who, where, and when?”

“I reported it,” Osho stated, “it was Sungchan’s body and I found him down in shields. I passed through the hallway and heard everyone talking while I was on my way to shields and when I got there, Sungchan was already slumped against the wall.”

“Alright, that was an unfair kill, he was new and didn’t even get a chance to play,” Jeno interjected before motioning to Indrani across the table to speak.

“Doyoung, Haechan, and Jeno are accounted for, Jungwoo slightly as well, so I’ll go next,” Indrani spoke up, “I was with Krystal and we went down through storage and then were in electrical.”

“Yeah, she doesn’t know how to calibrate the distributor at all,” Krystal laughed, earning herself a smack on the shoulder from Indrani.

“Y/n and I were in the med bay and were about to head down to electrical and that was when the body was called,” Taeyong shared, “so as far as suspicions go, I think the only person we should watch out for is Jungwoo since he was alone and had no one to confirm his pathing.”

Jungwoo made a face of shock as everyone input their votes through their watches. “Everyone better skip,” he warned. Almost everyone skipped, only one single anonymous vote was placed next to Jungwoo’s picture. “Hey! I thought we were skipping!” He exclaimed.

No one was ejected.

As the next round started, you and Taeyong headed down into the electrical room along with Indrani and Krystal. Taeyong showed Krystal how to do the calibration while Indrani helped you with the wires. “Hand me the red one please,” she asked while holding onto the red wire from the other end of the panel, “and so you just stitch them together like this and use a bit of the tape to secure it.”

You thanked her before moving on to do your data download while she did another panel of wires to clear her task. Taeyong came to stand next to you as you held your watch up to the download pad. He flipped a switch on the command board next to the download pad and you saw the light above it turn on. “What did that do?”

“Diverts the power from the electrical room to the communication room,” he explained, “sometimes the communication room needs a little more power, especially since we’re out here in space, you know.”

“Ah, that makes sense.” Your watch beeped to signal that the download finished and you scrolled down to see what your next task was. “Fuel engines in storage?”

“I have that one too, we can do it together,” Taeyong announced gleefully, “those gas canisters can be kind of heavy.”

The two of you headed out from the electrical room, saying bye to Indrani and Krystal, the latter of which now struggling on wires. As you followed Taeyong and rounded the corner to head down to storage, Osho and Jungwoo passed the two of you, both of them chatting about their favorite foods animatedly, smiling to acknowledge you guys.

“Indrani, Krystal, Jungwoo, and Osho in electrical,” Taeyong mumbled to himself. He caught you glancing over at him as he recalled their names, “I’m just trying to keep track of people in case they end up dead.”

“Oh?” You questioned quietly while kneeling in front of the large gas container, picking up a smaller one to fill up.

“You never know who is going to be the next to die,” Taeyong noted, “here, tilt the container like this and make sure you position the spout inside of the can so it doesn’t splash as much.” His hand covered yours holding the canister as he reached around you to help push the large container.

It felt surprisingly intimate, the way his body was pressed lightly against you with his hand doing the same with yours holding the small canister. The peace of the moment was quickly ruined when all the lights went out. “Should we go get that?”

“No, there should be at least two of them in there, they can get it,” Taeyong answered, his voice suddenly more on edge. Illuminated only by the light of your watches, he switched your canister out with his and continued filling it up with gas. There was the thumping of feet nearby as someone passed through the storage room. “That person is headed towards the electrical room.”

Right when Taeyong’s canister became full, the lights came back on. “Just in time to head over to the engines.” Not even a second later and screams were coming from the direction of the electrical room. Taeyong made eye contact with you, dropping the gas canister, “we’re going to the electrical room instead.”

You both made your way over, dread filling your heart. It felt like a weight was dropped on you when you saw Jungwoo’s body limp on the floor in front of the light switches. “Report it,” Taeyong commanded as he went around to the back of the room. “Ah! There’s another one back here too, it’s Osho.” His watch went off as you hit the report button. You squatted down in front of Jungwoo, clearing his hair out of his face as you bid the boy you may or may not have had a secret crush on from the previous season, a silent farewell.

Gloomily returning to the cafeteria, you were glad that you had Taeyong with you to report instead because you weren’t sure you could handle it. He wasted no time and dove straight in once all the remaining crewmates came together. “Jungwoo and Osho were dead in the electrical room. Jungwoo in front of the light switches and Osho in the back by the vent.”

“It was obviously an easy double kill and vent out situation then,” Indrani accused.

“I was with Taeyong,” you made known, “we were in the electrical room at the beginning of the round with Indrani and Krystal. When we left, Osho and Jungwoo came in so it could have been you and Krystal that did the double kill.”

You saw Jeno’s eyebrow raise in shock as the pieces seem to fall together. “Hold on, no,” Krystal refuted, “after you guys left, we left shortly after. Indrani and I were in the reactor room when the lights went out.”

“If what you’re saying is true then that leaves Doyoung, Jeno, and Haechan,” Taeyong deducted. “I heard someone run through storage while y/n and I were in there so it must have been one of you and that person is probably an impostor.”

“Well I was up in weapons, though I didn’t see anyone else during the round,” Jeno explained.

Taeyong nodded over to Doyoung, cueing him to speak, “I was in med bay doing my scan and the samples. I didn’t see anyone either.”

“And I was in the security room,” Haechan concluded.

Indrani leaned forward onto the table, “what were you doing in security, hmm?”

“Well, I was doing the wiring outside of the security room and then I went inside to watch the cameras for a bit,” he replied.

“Well,” Indrani began, mocking the way Haechan spoke, “the vent in the electrical room only goes to med bay and security. So if Doyoung said that he saw no one else then the only other person it could have been was you. The only other person we were suspicious of was Jungwoo but now that he’s dead…” her voice trailed off as she pointed at Haechan, “I think it’s you.”

Taeyong sat up straight, “does anyone have any final words before we vote?”

Only Haechan raised his hand, “if you guys vote me out, it’ll be an easy win for the impostors, you know. Just one double kill and they win the game.”

“If that’s it, then everyone please place your votes now,” Taeyong instructed.

As the votes were totaled up, there were four votes for Haechan, one for Taeyong, and two to skip. Taeyong let out a grunt when he saw the vote for him before a robot machine came to take Haechan to the airlock. Haechan grumbled to himself as he followed the robot out of the cafeteria. “Fuck all of you!” He yelled, slamming the door shut behind him.

Haechan was ejected.

Krystal let out a heavy sigh once the tension started to settle down. “Should we take a break here and get some food?” Everyone else quietly agreed, Doyoung standing up first and leading the group to the food preparation area.

The next few hours had an odd sort of energy, everyone feeling uneasy not knowing if Haechan was the right person to vote out. Even as all of you got ready to head to bed, not many words were exchanged, especially once everyone noticed the areas void of the deceased participants’ belongings. “Is this how it normally is when someone gets ejected?” You asked Taeyong as he organized his suitcase on the floor next to your bed.

“Yeah, pretty much. No one wants to be ejected so it’s always kind of hard,” he shared. “It’ll be better when we wake up once everyone is recharged, you know?”

You nodded in understanding, adjusting yourself under the covers while Taeyong stood up to turn off the lights. “Is everyone okay for light out?”

A sad chorus of ‘yes’ and ‘yeah’s came from the rest of the group and the room went dark. You heard Taeyong’s footsteps coming back near you along with the faint glow of his watch. “Things will get better, I promise.” He whispered, lightly caressing your head. His hand trailed over your shoulder and down your arm before his touch disappeared and you heard the rustling of his sheets.

Once again, you were awoken by Taeyong though this time he was gently rubbing at your side to bring you back to consciousness. “Y/n, wake up,” he cooed, “let’s get ready for the second half. The faster we get it over with, the faster we get to go home.” You groaned before slowly rolling out of bed, grabbing your toiletries, and heading over to the bathrooms with Taeyong in a similar half-awake state.

After eating what may be your last meal with the rest of the participants, everyone was once again gathered around the main table in the cafeteria as Taeyong signaled for everyone to start the next round. Before you and Taeyong could even pick up the gas canisters you left on the floor from the last round, a siren started going off and the lights in the hallways began flashing red.

“Oxygen was sabotaged, let’s go,” Taeyong commanded after quickly glancing at his watch. You followed him to the administration room, peering in to see Krystal and Jeno at the panel. Jeno’s arm was slung around Krystal’s shoulders as he entered the passcode in. When he saw you and Taeyong at the entrance of the room, he quickly removed it and gave an awkward wave. “We got this one, Indrani went around to the panel in the oxygen room.”

“Alright,” Taeyong acknowledged, setting off quickly into the cafeteria. “If Indrani hasn’t turned it off by now then either she’s an impostor or she’s dead.”

You prayed that it wasn’t the latter but it seemed that luck just was not on your side as you saw Indrani’s body on the floor, leaning against the wall with the panel. “Enter the code first, it’s on the post-it. I’ll report her body,” Taeyong directed.

After securing the oxygen, you and Taeyong headed back to the cafeteria, Taeyong shaking his head and talking to himself the entire time. “No, it can’t be, it can’t be him, no.”

Once the six of you were seated around the table, Taeyong slammed his fists on the surface of the blue plastic. “Doyoung, it’s you, isn’t it?”

Doyoung quickly shook his head and opened his mouth to speak but Taeyong beat him to it. “Y/n and I saw Krystal and Jeno in the administration room and found Indrani’s body in the oxygen room. The only person left out is you.”

“Where were Krystal and Jeno at the beginning of the round, huh? Why aren’t you accusing them?” Doyoung blurted out.

“We barely had time to even pick up our gas canisters in storage before the oxygen was sabotaged,” Taeyong began with pain in his voice, “there’s no way either one of them could have killed Indrani and made it all the way around to the admin room in time for us to see them on the oxygen panel.”

“I heard them following behind us when the round first started,” you add in support of Taeyong. “The only person who split off from the rest of us was you and later Indrani when she went to the oxygen room.”

“It’s not me, I swear-”

“Doyoung, if it’s you, let’s settle this peacefully. I don’t want you to go out like this,” Taeyong interrupted. You glanced over at him and saw the tears starting to well in his eyes. Reaching over, you cover his clenched fist with one of your hands and you were pleasantly surprised when it relaxed and his fingers intertwined themselves with yours.

Doyoung let out a sigh, “fine, it was me. I’m an impostor and Haechan was my partner,” he admitted, “there is no way that I could ever let myself kill you, Taeyong. And Jeno has so much potential that I would hate to see it end here.”

Taeyong looked over to Jeno, “what do you mean?”

“He used to be a graduate student helping to research a cure for the Infected but then he lost his parents to them and had to drop out,” Doyoung answered for the younger, “I’m nothing compared to him. He has the potential and plans to do good for society, I can’t kill him. The rest of us are just here for what? Because we don’t see the purpose in living?”

“That’s true for me,” Krystal revealed, “might as well die to something cool instead of letting myself turn into a cannibal.”

Jeno pinched her arm lightly, “don’t say things like that, you’re not going to die.”

“I lost my parents to the Infected as well,” you confess, “I just couldn’t support myself and got an eviction notice one night and decided that my life couldn’t get much worse if I did this.”

“See, that just about proves my point. I’d rather lose the game and let the rest of you survive, I’m not worthy of living-”

“Doyoung, what are you even saying?” Taeyong was growing increasingly concerned as his best friend seemed to be progressing into madness.

“My brother and I, we work for The Eon Labs-”

“Wait, like THE Eon Labs? The ones with all the rumors and stuff?” Krystal inquired.

Doyoung nodded, “yes, that one. Our parents are head scientists so I was forced into it. I hated everything about it but I had no other way out than to do this.”

“Doyoung...I’m so sorry, we could have figured something out, you know,” Taeyong nearly whispered.

The sole impostor clasped his hands tightly, “it’s too late now. Just let me go, I wouldn’t have joined again if I wasn’t okay with dying.”

Taeyong’s hand separated from yours as he stood up and made his way over to Doyoung. Both survivors hugged each other tightly and you saw Taeyong’s body shudder as he silently sobbed into his best friend’s chest. Your attention was pulled away from them by Krystal’s hand on yours. “Hey, let’s focus on us for now.”

You took one last glance at the older two before turning away toward Jeno and Krystal. “So you were a science kid, huh?” You asked Jeno.

“Mhmm, when I was little, I was playing too close to the border and the Infected broke through the fence and got the kids I was with,” Krystal let out a gasp of horror, “some of them started to turn right then and there, others tried to go home, but I knew it would only make things worse so I went and found the nearest Firefly and from there, well…”

“The Fireflies killed the Infected and those that were set to turn,” you finished solemnly. “Well, I’m nowhere near your caliber, we’re only similar because I lost my parents to the Infected as well. I also was a university student but after the incident, I’ve been working at one of the underground pharmacies.”

“At least you won’t have to go back there when you return though,” Krystal interjected, “the money from surviving is enough to secure you for at least another ten years. Plus you have Taeyong now, right? He’ll take care of you.”

Looking over your shoulder at him, you see him slowly pulling away from Doyoung and you quickly turn back to the conversation, “we only just met this season so I don’t know what’ll happen from here.”

“He seems pretty attached to you,” Krystal noted.

You waved your hands in denial, “that’s only because I accidentally showed him that I was a crewmate at the beginning of the first round so we stuck together since we’re both crewmates.”

Krystal rolled her eyes and faced Jeno, “tell her that she should just accept it.”

“I don’t know, you shouldn’t trust just anyone, especially if you meet them on a survival show,” he jokes.

“What’s this then?” Krystal accuses, raising her hand clasped with Jeno’s. All three of you laugh among yourselves.

At that moment, Taeyong returned, leaving Doyoung standing a little ways off from the table. “I guess it’s time for the vote.” All five icons appeared next to Doyoung’s picture and the familiar robot machine came to escort him to the airlock.

“Thank you, Doyoung,” Jeno addressed, paying his respects.

“Yeah, thank you. I’ll be sure Jeno goes back to school,” Krystal added.

You felt Taeyong’s hand and your thigh as you said your farewell to Doyoung. “Thank you for taking care of Taeyong all this time. You’ll live on in our hearts and memories.”

“Make me proud, guys. And Taeyong, let’s do better at taking care of our loved ones in our next life.” Taeyong nodded in understanding as he let another quiet sob escape from his lips. Doyoung turned his back to the table, following the robot out of the cafeteria, shutting the door gently, unlike his previous partner.

Doyoung was ejected.

“Well, let’s get to packing our things. There should be a pod coming to pick us up soon,” Krystal started.

The four of you repacked your suitcases in silence. You might have even mistaken Taeyong as a robot himself from the way he was acting if you hadn’t already known he was human. It wasn’t until you were all waiting by the airlock, watching the transportation pod slowly dock itself, that Taeyong seemed to start recovering.

He put an arm around your waist, pulling you into his frame and resting his head against yours. The warmth of him standing so close to you was comforting in the cold confines of the spaceship. “So what happens when we go back?”

“For starters, you’ll move in with the rest of us survivors but from there it’s up to you what you want to do with your life,” Taeyong began, “all of us live together in an odd type of townhouse situation but it gets pretty lonely sometimes.”

The airlock door opened and Jeno stepped in, putting his suitcase down before helping Krystal in. Taeyong did the same for you, he even helped you with your seatbelts, making sure to tighten them as if he was scared that he’d lose you if you weren’t almost suffocating in your seat. “Taeyong, I’m not going anywhere, don’t worry.”

“Really?” He looked up with you with wide eyes. “Even when we go back?”

You waited to respond once the engine of the pod quieted down after pulling away from the spaceship. “Well, that depends. Are you asking me to be in a relationship with you?”

“Maybe that’s exactly what I’m asking. Y/n will you be mine?”

“Only if you promise not to go on this show again,” you propose.

Taeyong’s face bursts into a smile. “I promise, and I can say the same for you.”

“Consider it done,” you confirm.

The giggling from across the pod pulled you out of your little moment with Taeyong. “That took you guys long enough,” Krystal commented as she and Jeno continued laughing about it.

Victory: Taeyong, Krystal, Jeno, y/n.