a week later, you’re crying in his arms about your date who ‘stood you up’ while he comforts you with sweet little nothings—completely unaware of the grin spread on his face as he rocks you gently in his hold.

“he isn’t worth your tears,” he says as his hands cup your face like you’re as fragile as a dandelion, and his thumbs stroke your wet cheeks. “he doesn’t deserve you. no one does.”

except me.

you melt into his touch as eyes well with tears thicker than before. you’re ever so grateful for jay. he’s always there for you.

you know you’d be lost. so utterly lost without him and you can’t help but feel pathetic at the thought. if only you knew it was mutual—though, his was exceptionally more dire.

he’d perish without you.

he brushes his knuckles against your now drying cheek when your sobs cease before pressing a warm kiss onto your forehead. when he pulls away, he has that same lovesick look on his face—an expression of love so clear to others yet, so desensitized to you from having seeing it since childhood. “you don’t need those other people, do you? not when you already have me.”

a pregnant pause follows before your lips pull to form the first smile of the hour, a silent agreement. his heart practically leaps as pupils dilate—near swallowing the brown of his eyes.

deep, low groans sound from the back of his throat as he resists the urge to just crush you within his embrace. his breaths are shaky as his hands around your face tremble with restraint.

gosh, you’re too…too sweet. intoxicatingly so that he finds himself adopting a sweet tooth just to calm his crave.

from then on, he doesn’t leave your side. he found that the more space he put, the more pests will come squeezing through to try and steal you away. he can’t have that. he’s sworn to keep you out of harm’s way and the world’s filled with the most vile things.

in your head, he’s a knight in shining armour, to others, he’s a doberman on a leash that you so unknowingly hold and to him, he’s making a clear statement. with his constant glares to others, arm around your shoulders and unnecessary touches here and there, everybody’s assumed he’s your boyfriend.

as they should, according to jay.

he grins to himself after hearing more and more hushed rumours about you and him being a campus couple and it only fuels his wheels to make it come true.

but him hearing about them only means you do too and it has you worried.

wouldn’t jay be bothered with the rumours? not at all.

what if this gets in the way of him finding someone for himself? like he even sees anyone else.

but you don’t know this. how can you? so when you brought them up, he has to shut you down—gently, of course.

“people don’t know us. they’re too quick to judge.”

“we’ve always been this way. nothing’s wrong, is there?”

“they don’t know you like i do, nor me like you do. they don’t understand us.”

jay cups your jaw with one hand, lifting your face slightly while the other draws shapes on your collarbone as it rests on your shoulder. he smiles warmly as his eyes flicker across your features, taking in every detail for the millionth time and wishing he can just burn your face into his corneas.

“unless…it bothers you. if it does then, i’ll do what you want. are you uncomfortable with it?”

you relax under his tender touch and you instinctually lean into his hold. despite his offer, you can’t ignore the way his brows point upwards or the way his hopeful gaze searches yours in a silent plea or how his small lips purse with breaths held in anxiousness.

he doesn’t want this. you can see it. and he’s done so much for you. how can you ever deny him?

that’s the thing, you can’t. and jay knows it.

so when you shake your head and say you’re fine with the rumours, he practically combusts with glee inside, overjoyed. you don’t care being called his girlfriend? you don’t mind spending everyday with him?

that practically means you like him too, right? maybe not in the way he likes you (yet), but it’s something.

“that’s settled, then,” he says—planting a lingering kiss at the corner of your mouth and inhaling sharply through his nose as he wills himself to pull away. gosh, he can never get enough of you.

and when he stands back up straight to see you smiling sweetly with eyes pouring with pure endearment and relief at his happiness, he has to bite his tongue from losing his mind right then and there.

the metallic taste of blood pulls him back to reality and his trembling fingers rake through your locks. if only you knew how feral he’d absolutely be if anyone else dared to touch a single strand of your hair.

if only you knew how much restraint he has to practice every single day just for you. if only you knew your very existence has him falling onto his knees with hands clasped together in reverence every single day—

…you’d still accept him with arms wide open and a genuine smile plastered on your pretty face. because that’s just how you are: an angel.

and no one is worthy enough to receive your grace so he has to be the one to protect you from this cruel world.

you yelp when he abruptly cages you in his arms, tight against his chest and he buries his face into your hair with a deep sigh.

“so good for me…” he mumbles as his coiling grip grows taut around you, biceps flexing and lifting you off your feet. you dangle with a giggle and his knees nearly buckle at the melody that rings in his ears like a siren’s song. a soft purr vibrates through his chest and up his throat as he revels in your warmth. “my angel.”

oh, what would he do without you?

ᡣ𐭩ྀི₊ ⊹ masterlist ᝰ.ᐟ✮⋆˙

jongseong is the human embodiment of good. he’s discipline. he’s a gentleman. he’s everything nice. and he took pride in that, he enjoys being the warm, friendly guy who everyone sees as a welcoming haven. sure, it gets tiring sometimes and people can be a bit unappreciative—but at the end of the day, it’s just in him to be kind.

so when he saw a girl all bruised and battered sitting against the wall of their uni’s entrance one rainy evening, he expected himself to lend a hand—offering to bring her to his home for a little emergency first aid since she was adamant against the hospital.

but what he didn’t expect is to fall for her so quickly, so intensely, over the course of a few days of her staying at his house. in fact, his house feels more homey and lovable with (y/n) around—even with the occasional clothes strewn around or the scent of strawberries and cigarettes that linger around her.

so when she disappears unannounced one day, leaving only a note saying that she’ll ‘make sure to pay him back for his help,’ he finds himself losing his mind. a multitude of emotions in a constant turbulence as his senses are numbed for everything but the ache to feel the remnants of her.

it was tolerable at first—her sweet and smoky scent still lingering in his home, her clutter in the guest room still carrying her presence and the snacks that he bought for her being in the fridge and pantry deserving as a constant reminder of how she truly enjoyed her stay with him.

he could still see her, her smiles and twinkling eyes, and he could still hear her, her laughter and snores—for a moment, it seemed like she’s still with him.

but overtime, his memories of her molded into one another, creating blurry images and indistinguishable hues, her scent now gone and the objects that used to remind him of her— that remain untouched by him to retain that familiarity—just seem like…stuff.

and suddenly, everything is insufferable.

jay sobs into her pillow as he curls into himself, eyes red and jaw clenched tightly to quieten his woeful whimpers as he cries. it’s suffocating. his house is so big and spacious yet each and every room feels constricting. the walls and floors keep moving—all except the ones in her room.

“(y/n)…” he chokes out as he clutches the envelope of cash tighter against his chest. (y/n) kept her promise though—never missing her weekly payback to him but she never comes. just a fixed amount of cash stuffed into a plain white envelope sent to him and just torturing him with her absence.

still, the fact that she still holds him in her mind offer him comfort.

‘she hasn’t forgotten me,’ he thinks as he weakly flutters his heavy, puffy eyelids open. he sits up slowly, feeling cold all of a sudden as air blows onto the wet patch on his cheek from his own salty tears and he stares at the white sheet in his hand.

‘i’ll find you, (y/n). and this time, i won’t let you go.’

—

(y/n) stares up at the dark, plain canvas above, saddened by the fact that no stars are there to light it up. but she quickly digresses as her attention falls on her lit cigarette to inhale a puff.

she smoothly blows it out and watches as the fog dissipates before her eyes and taking in another. it feels…odd, to be just casually smoking without a care of her surroundings despite it being such a normal routine.

her experience staying in jay’s house seems to be internalized far deeper into her than she realizes considering how her habits there feel more normal than what she always does since long ago.

back in his house, she would always smoke out at his balcony and at the slightest sound that signals his approach, she’d kill the cig on its ashtray and wave her hand frantically to rid off any remaining puffs—not wanting him to inhale any.

so to be carefree now just feels iffy, as weird as it is. a heavy sigh escapes past (y/n)’s lips along with a long trail of smoke and she ends the cigarette before even finishing it. she has no appetite for it now.

hands in her leather jacket’s pockets, she then turns back into the club to return to her job of luring filthy rich men to spend more money and turning them into regulars. it’s a fun gig mostly, seeing that they’re usually narcissistic snobs thus, feeding their egos do the trick nicely but it’s risky too. once they realise that they’re in fact, not ‘special’ to her, they’ll fall into a tantrum. that’s what got her bruised up when jay found her.

“so, got any targets for me?” she asks the bartender who’s usually the one to keep an eye out for her next victim.

the worker points his chin to a man sitting in a bar booth alone, head facing away from them as he drinks from his wine glass. he’s apart from the dance floor, isolated from the lively section of the club where people usually sink themselves in when coming to a place like this.

(y/n)’s brows raise at his luxurious clothing—expensive fabric and suit that’s clearly tailored to him with every cut and edge accentuating his figure, colours and ornate accessories that are neither ostentatious nor humble and sparkly dress shoes that seem awfully brand new or just freshly polished.

the man exudes money. he probably smells just like it too.

“do you enjoy being a lone wolf? or would you not mind a little bit of company?” (y/n) starts slowly once she reaches the table. her voice sultry and yet relaxed, expressing interest but not coming off too desperate. a professional in her line of work.

the man stays silent for a moment before finally turning his head and the foxy smile the girl wears falls instantly.

“jay?” she shakily sounds, shock dripping from her tone. “what are you doing here?”

“i want to be. i’m a grown man capable of making his own decisions,” he casually says, a half-smile on his face as he lowers down his wine glass onto the table with precision, not making a single noise. “just like you, a grown woman capable of making her own choices—packing up and leaving me without so much of a proper goodbye.”

the girl flinches at his sharp tone. it’s acrimonious, accusatory but there’s not a single hint of malicious intent. instead, it’s more of deep-rooted hurt. a pained comment.

“i’m sorry. but it’s for the better,” she simply says, not wanting to drag the topic more than it should with the way her throat’s tightening—tears threatening to fall. “you should leave. it’s a weekday, go to your lecture or something.”

she turns on her heels, hasty, because she knows that every second spent with him will just weaken her resolve of rejecting him.

but she’s forced to a stop at his next words.

“i’m not studying anymore. thought it was useless considering i’m going to take over the family business anyways,” he casually says and bites back a triumphant grin when she swivels back to him with disbelief painted across her face.

“what?? but jay, your dream! you told me all about it—how you want to finish your studies and graduate, how you want to reach as high as you can before you’ll have to settle for the business. what about all that??” (y/n) rambles as the bewilderment grows.

he was so happy talking about it. she remembers it all so vividly, how he pictures himself in the future, how he has a list of things he wishes to achieve, how this mindset was created from the moment he gained consciousness over himself—to prove that he’s capable of more than what anyone has ever expected.

but now? he tells her that he’s stopped his degree? that he thinks it’s futile. who even is he?

“well, dreams change,” he begins and makes his way to stand in front of the girl. with a playful, almost sly grin stretched on his defined face, his hand reaches to hold her chin before lifting it up towards him. “mine did the moment i fell for you. although, it did take me a while to notice—needing you to leave me before it finally struck.”

the other says nothing—no, she can’t say anything. she doesn’t know what to say. her brain’s all muddled and figure turned to putty in his hand and the devious smirk he wears shows that he seems to be aware of it. and he takes pride in it, reveling at fact as he uses his other hand to brush her stray strands away from her face before kissing her forehead.

and they travel—down to her eyes, to her cheekbones, cheeks, nose and finally, her lips. he hovers slightly as he stares at them, mesmerized by the glossy pink and breathing deepening at the anticipation of the feeling.

he’s only ever dreamt of this moment, to be this close to her, even when she was still living with him. back then, she never let him come within her space. not in a way where she blatantly pushes him away or rejects every form of skinship.

after all, they still cuddled during nights she felt lonely and he played with her hair every so often. but ishe simply retreated whenever she saw him approach her with a slightly different intent—when his eyes gazed at her with affection heavier than usual or when his gestures seemed more intimate despite having no significant difference than the ones before.

she sensed it whenever he tried to take a step forward, so she took a step back.

but now, here she is, with a proximity so dangerous, her almost pressed up against him, and their faces just mere inches away. a small nudge and they’ll crash into one another.

his chest heaves at the thought and scalp tingles. he’s getting impatient. inching himself closer, his gaze flickers to hers for a reaction and at the absence of rejection, he instantly closes the gap between them. a guttural sound rumbles through him as his arm snakes around her waist before pulling her taut against him—her arms reciprocating the gesture.

she gasps at the hardness of his bod, never before realising how built he is and he smirks, instantly darting his tongue between her teeth and groaning at her taste. the sweet sour taste of wine mixed with her smokey cigar, dominates their taste buds and jay moans with pure gratification. he’s never tasted such a delicacy before. he craves for more.

he pulls away to give her the breaths she very much needs but doesn’t loosen his grip, simply letting her collect herself as she clings close. his gaze never leaves her face, tracing her every feature and etching them into his mind as his hand caresses soothingly on her cheek. his touch is searing, warmth seeping into her flesh and bones, melting her even further.

the familiar scent of strawberries and cigarettes fills his nose and his eyes roll to the back of his head before they shut. he shudders as her presence subjugates his senses and he presses a small kiss on her crown to assuage his urge to consume her right where she stands.

he digs his face into her hair, drowning himself in her scent as he whimpers words of gratitude like a mantra, tears lining the rims of his shut eyes. the realisation of finally having her back in his arms is real. not just another one of his fantasies or a desperate plea but reality. her warmth, her touch, her voice, they’re all here. she’s here with him. and he’d rather perish than to ever let her slip through his fingers again.

who knew that spending barely a month without her could drive him insane? not him, not until now, at least. but (y/n) has always been the element of surprise for him.

"now, let's go back to our home, yeah?" jay says with a cadence so saccharine that (y/n) feels an instant sense of longing and her arms subconsciously tighten around him, making his heart skip miles per second. "but before that, how about we get those pretty nails of yours done? i booked you an appointment at your favourite salon. you can get that set you've been telling me all about last time, hm?"

the girl pulls away as she casts her scrutinizing stare onto his face, searching for any sort of falsity or falter in his facade but all she sees is pure, unrestrained affection oozing from his tender countenance—a man truly enamoured and it's seen by every single soul in the room.

jay's underlying anxiousness settles once he sees her finally, relax her shoulders and cave to his allures and he once again, pulls her against his chest—hand running up and down her back as he quietly revels in his victory while his lips peppers loving kisses onto her knuckles, spending longer on her ring finger as he envisions a shiny band wrapped beautifully around it.

sure, his decisions go against everything he's set for himself, everything his parents had expected of him. it requires him to rewrite himself in ways he never even thought of, to reconstruct the foundation of his beliefs and understanding of perfection as he knows it—but it's all worth it.

for (y/n), anything and everything is worth it.

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ bambi (heeseung ver.), puppy boy (jaeyun ver.), skater boy (sunghoon ver.), foxy... baby (sunoo ver.), pretty kitty (jungwon ver.), teeth (ni-ki ver.)

𝜗𝜚 disclaimer: i do not condone any reckless behaviour portrayed in this work. this is entirely fiction and does not depict the member's real personality. if you enjoyed it, don’t forget to leave a heart and reblog—they give me some motivation, ya know? but please do not spam like!! X♡X♡, romi ⋆.ೃ࿔*:･