#ravn fluff

You frown, blinking your eyes open slowly. Youngjo is kneeling next to where you’ve curled up on the couch, gently pressing a swath of paper towels into the rug right in front of you.

“Shit,” you say, sitting further upright.

“It’s okay, I’ve already gotten most of it,” he says, smiling up at you for a moment before returning to the rug. “May need to wash the rug tomorrow.”

You slump back again. “Good thing I got the washable one.”

Youngjo nods, and you lift a hand to his head, fingers combing gently through his hair, fingertips scratching softly at his scalp. You smile when he relaxes against the contact.

“Was waiting up for you,” you say, swallowing to try and make your voice sound less drunk.

“I told you you don’t have to do that,” he says, frowning.

You shake your head. “Wanted to. Lonely back there without you.”

Youngjo’s lips twitch, a fond smile crinkling in the corners of his eyes. You watch him fight this smile as you continue to stroke his hair, as he continues to press methodically at the tea in the rug.

“Time is it?” You ask finally.

“Half past two,” he says, gathering the damp paper towels up and rising to his feet.

You suddenly remember. “Hey, I made you a—”

Youngjo lifts a mug you’d left on the coffee table and nods, smiling. “Thanks, drank it. It was still warm when I got here.”

“It’s that heating coaster,” you say, standing and getting your bearings. “Sorry about the tea, I could’ve gotten it.”

“It’s okay, just watch your step so your socks don’t get damp,” he says from the kitchen.

You take care to step around the damp spot and shuffle towards the back hallway, legs not used to being awake and useful.

Youngjo catches up with you and guides you gently by the shoulders, keeping you from stumbling against the wall.

“‘S late,” you mumble as you make it to the room. “Everything go okay?”

“Yeah, not bad,” Youngjo says, squeezing your shoulders and breaking away to dig through the dresser for comfy clothes.

You trudge to the bed and sit down hard, rubbing sleep out of your right eye.

“You can lie down, it’s okay,” Youngjo laughs when you stay sitting up, watching him change.

You shake your head. “Waiting for you.”

“I’m right here,” he says, grinning, and you can tell he knows he won’t change your mind. You shake your head resolutely, and he finishes changing and tossing his clothes in the hamper.

“Hi,” you murmur, smiling big when Youngjo comes over and scoops you into a hug.

He just laughs, muffled against your shoulder, and shuffles you both around to lie down.

“Will you finally go to sleep now, love?” He asks, his fingertips drawing soothing, sleepy circles against your back.

Your eyes are already drooping shut, and you smile sleepily. “Mhm. Comfy. Have you.”

You feel the brief warm, soft pressure of his lips on your forehead. “Good.”

“Love you,” you mumble, needing to say it before you completely drift off.

You feel his lips curl softly against your forehead, feel him relax his arm securely over you.

“Love you, too,” you hear him whisper before sleep claims you once again.

"yes.. i'll see you there.. thank you for giving me this opportunity to work on your song.. yes.. bye." your call with the artist that you agreed to have a collaboration with ended, telling you to meet at a certain date and place for a meeting along with another songwriter that he invited as well. you then went to list this down into your schedule before you continue to prepare for your lunch.

this is already a part of your career as a songwriter, an artist (or their management) contacts you, asking for you to write songs and once agreed by both parties, a collaboration exists. you already wrote a lot of songs for different artists and aside from writing for them, you write for yourself as well— performing them under the name of c.lover which is the screen name that you use as a songwriter then uploading them to various music platforms. you started writing songs ever since you were in highschool. most of their lyrics are about your feelings that you have for your crush at that time and there are some of them that is about how hard and boring school life is but still you have to get through it. at an early age of being invested in songwriting, you started to showcase your ability until you gained the career that you want at an early age as well. you've never expected to collaborate with big artists and heck even a collaboration with an artist is something that you don't even expect of. speaking of collaboration, the artist that you're going to meet next week is a big artist as well and even though you already collaborated with a lot of big artists, you're still anxious plus the fact that you're working with another songwriter.

the day of the meeting came. you arrived a bit early at the venue of the meeting which is at one of the meeting rooms of the entertainment company the artist is in. the artist and his manager welcomed you and gestured you to settle down when you arrived, telling you that the meeting will start a little later since the other songwriter that you're going to be working with texted that he'll be a little late because his car stopped on his way here and is now at an auto repair shop. while waiting for the other person in this project, you and the artist shared some stories with each other- talking about how both your career started, how and when you two discovered the talent that you have and such.

"so what was the first song you wrote about?" the artist came to ask. you don't usually tend to overshare your stories to anyone but since this is a part of your job and serves as a means of conversation with your client, you shared the story behind the first song you wrote- telling the artist that it's basically about your highschool crush. in the midst of your storytelling about it, the door of the meeting room cracked open which is then followed by a figure stepping inside- a figure that is rather familiar to you.

"hello i'm sorry i just arrived. i just took a bus on my way here since my car's under repair." speaking of the devil, it's your highschool crush, the one who just stepped inside.

"it's totally fine ravn good thing you told me beforehand. ah- by the way this is c.lover and the two of you are going to work with me on this project." the artist said, introducing you to him as if you and this guy who just got in haven't met yet. you immediately get it that he's the other songwriter that you're working with. ravn is not a terrible choice of a name, you thought. you were about to reach out a hand for a handshake not until he says your real name, a hint of surprise stitched at his voice.

"you guys already know each other?" the artist asked, looking at each of you and was surprised as well.

"y-yeah we do. actually-" and before youngjo- or ravn- speak any further, you butted in.

"we were best buds in highschool- well technically every history class since we're seatmates who don't even bother listening to the class- but yeah we're friends. right youngjo?" that was actually true by the way except for the part that you guys are still friends since you completely forgot the relationship that you both used to have.

"yeah you're right y/n. we were. great seeing you after such a long time." he said, flashing a smile. that damned smile.

"same goes for me."

"oh wow so this must be your little reunion then?" you almost forgot about the artist's existence for a brief moment. "what a small world! never would've thought that ravn here is a friend of yours!" no mister, he's NOT just a friend. he's the highschool crush that you two have been talking about minutes ago.

then the meeting started and it actually went smoothly. you talked about what the artist wanted the song would be, what's its lyrics, the message it conveys and such, things regarding the timeframe when the project will start and will end and how long would it last, and etc. once the meeting ended, the artist and his manager left instantly, saying that he has some urgent matters which makes you and youngjo left in the meeting room. 

as soon as the presence of you two are left in the room, a hint of awkwardness seeps in the atmosphere of the room. you, who wants to escape from it and wanna go home immediately (and probably scream a ton in your home upon seeing that goddamned face of the guy you once liked), bid your goodbye to him.

"it's-uh.. it's great seeing you again youngjo- after erm a long time." you cleared your throat mid-sentence

"it's great seeing you too y/n." he said with a smile curving on his lips. CAN HE PLEASE STOP FLASHING THAT GODDAMN SMILE OF HIS??!

"yeah.. i gotta go home now youngjo. s-see you around? i guess?"

"uhm-actually my car is still in the repair shop so.." he sucks a breath. "mind if you give me a drive? let's take this as a mini hangout after the reunion that we had today."

"sure no problem like- who am i to say no?" a person who used to have damn feelings for him and is writing songs about him genius.

and with that, both of you left the building then head to where your car is parked before you start to drive off. throughout the ride, and with him by the shotgun, you guys started to talk about how your lives have been. how the two of you started at the career of being a songwriter, how you came up with your screen names, and such.

"ravn huh? not a terrible choice of a name you got there." your eyes are glued on the road as you steer the wheel.

"i actually came up with it because of my favorite character in x-men."

"mystique? no way!" you gasped lightly.

"yeah i just removed the letter e to make it seem cool." he said with a chuckle. "how about you? how did you come up with that name?"

"you know the four leaf clover, right? my name's pronounced just like that. it's not 'see-lover' but it's just simply pronounced as 'clover'. just added a dot between c and l for it to seem cool as well. and also i like clover among all the cards in the deck so-" you laughed lightly which he did as well.

it went silent for a brief moment not until he starts to speak again.

"do you still remember that time when we were love chained during our last years in highschool?” ah yes. when both of you were love chained one time during your last year in highschool. love chain is one of the shenanigans that the school’s student council pulls off annually during valentine’s day. students fill up the form with their names and whom they want to be love chained with, or they simply put a random student’s name just for fun and that’s actually how you and youngjo ended up love chained during that time. 

a student knocks on the door of your classroom then calls out both of your names and the next thing you knew is both of your wrists were tied together with a cable tie (instead of chains or handcuffs) by that student which turns out to be one of the officers of the student council. the whole class cheered and teased as you sat next to each other and the rest is history.

you remember it well. in fact, you even made a song that its title is none other than love chained and it is about none other than youngjo and your feelings with him, the typical subject.

“yeah i do remember that.” you smiled faintly. “still got no idea who listed our names there.” both of you laughed it off before the atmosphere in the car turns awkward for the rest of the ride to his house.

everything you told earlier about you and youngjo when he arrived before the meeting starts are all true. you two used to be friends and seatmates in your history class back in highschool. one thing that you didn’t say earlier about him is that he was your highschool crush. you actually confessed to him before and youngjo, a good friend he is, understands your feelings and also your intention to not make things awkward between you two so he maintained your friendship until the rest of your years in highschool.

were you glad upon seeing him again? yes. but you can't help it but to feel awkward especially for the fact that he’s the main subject of some of your songs that you wrote. unbeknownst to you, youngjo felt the same. he wants to tell you something that he probably must’ve said years ago before you took your own paths.

“there- just park it right there..” youngjo points at a vacant area where to park your car to drop him off. he unbuckled the seatbelt after a sigh then bids his goodbye to you.

“it is so great upon seeing you again y/n.. it’s been ages.” he said with a faint smile.

“me too.. see you at work then?”

“yeah see you!” you hummed as he opened the car door, stepping out from it then closed it. he was hesitating over something at first but he then just waved goodbye to you which you reciprocated before you steered the wheel as you drive away from his place.

you arrived home safely, slumping on your bed immediately as you stepped into your room. 

you’re definitely going to write about that. definitely going to write a song about that. so you rise up from your bed and head to your desk, dragging your little notebook where you keep your drafts of song lyrics onto your desk and open it to a blank page before you start scribbling your pen against it while writing phrases such as “it’s been a while..”, “how are you..?”, or “you still have that same look when you give me that damned smile”.

your mind’s running wild during that night. in fact, you finished writing that entire song about him again since your brain became productive just because of your little reunion with him.

a week or two later, you two met again but for work purposes. it was the start of the project. you and youngjo shared the lyrics that each of you wrote to the artist to which he really liked and gave you compliments. after that, the two of you merged the lyrics that you wrote with the help of the artist himself. since both of the lyrics that you wrote share the same idea, there are only a few lines diminished and removed from the original lyrics. days later you met with them again but this time, to bring the lyrics into life. deciding on how the song goes, its tune, melody, and beat to which followed by production. the process lasted for months or so including the recording. 

the whole process in creating the track finally ended in accordance to the time table. the song fades as it ended, anything but silence then comes out from the speakers of the studio. you and youngjo seated on the couch while the artist was on the swivel chair with his manager next to him. a brief silence echoes the room as you both wait for the artist's reaction about how was the outcome of the song.

"i.. this is amazing- i didn't regret upon picking you two for this song." he said which had you and youngjo cheered silently and at the same time letting a sigh of relief. you both thanked the artist who also thanked you two as well. after calling everything a day, the artist offered to have a dinner along with the two of you which you both didn't reject.

after a plate of your puttanesca and a glass of grape juice, you bid your goodbyes to each other to which youngjo did as well. as per usual thing that you and youngjo do ever since this project started, you both decided to go home together. however, instead of parting ways once you drive him to his home, he decided to invite you over to his apartment which is surprisingly wider than it seems to be.

he gave you a tour around his place until you both reached his studio. blue to pink gradient lights dimmed the room due to the LED lights he installed. your eyes scan through his collection of vinyl displayed in the room, a few are familiar to you especially those chet baker ones. his studio feels cozy like you could just sleep in it.

aside from showing him his collection of vinyls and albums, he also showed to you some song drafts he made in his computer and also some of his already released songs. as you nod your head while listening to the third song that he's playing, your eyes land on a notebook on top of a stack of papers. curious to what that is, you ask him while your hand reaches out to grab it.

"ah that's where i write my lyrics" he answered. he explained that some are from the songs he played earlier as you scan through the pages. while reading through the lyrics he wrote, you can't help but to think that he was pertaining these lyrics to a certain person which isn't you. 

"oh- that one, i haven't worked on this yet." he said as soon as he saw that you turn to the page where he wrote the lyrics that he haven't start to work it into a song.

"ooh~ i'll go read this and give you my feedback." he nods as he lets you do so, watching how your brows are furrowed as you read it. you on the other hand have your expressions changed as you read further, having really familiar details seen from his lyrics.

"..days when i was dumb to know what i felt each time we're next to each other.." hmm okay, you two used to sit next to each other during history class. but he might be referring to a different person.

"..straps of both our bags are tied just for fun, didn't realize that my heartstrings does as well.." and you both did tie the straps of your school bags before just for fun.

".. didn't know that i got love chained as well.." love chain.. that goddamn love chain.

"o-oh.. this would be intriguing- like the people would be curious if whom you're referring to in this song." 

"how about you? do you have a slight idea if who i am pertaining to?" he chuckled.

"is it about me?" you finished your question with an almost awkward laugh to somewhat turn it as a joke.

"you're so clever c.lover. what if i tell you that you're right?"

"there is no way." you chuckled. "like duh~ you told me before that you can't promise a return." youngjo shook his head lightly while approaching you who were seated on his swivel chair, bracing his hands to its armrest as he lowered himself to your eye level.

"y/n.. it's all about you all this time." you roll your eyes while you divert your gaze from him as you thought that this is some kind of prank he was just pulling off.

you scoffed. "oh come on youngjo- you've got to be kidding me right now." he brings both of his hands to cup your face and make you look at him.

"y/n listen- you're in every lyric that i write. i thought this would be the best way to tell you that i came to a realization that i have these feelings for you as well." you gulp. still don't know how to process this because as far as you could remember, you were the one who had feelings for him in the first place and you do believe that whoever has feelings first, they are the ones who are losing.

you let out a chuckle, voice starting to get shaky as you try to speak. "so you just realized that you liked me too? youngjo, you just can't- not when i was the one who confessed to you first!"

"y/n i'm so sorry! i blame myself for being dumb to not realize that i was falling for you as well. i wish i could've just told you sooner."

"but youngjo, i waited. i waited for almost five years and spent it pining over you, wishing and praying that you'll fall for me as well." you don't know what to feel. you want to be mad at him and at the same time shed into tears and both are because of him confessing this late while you thought about those years wishing for him to reciprocate your feelings.

youngjo stutters before he speaks. "but we could give it a try right? am i still there y/n?" 

you shook your head repeatedly. "youngjo, i already did my waiting and i became sick of it. now move. i still have to go home.." you said without batting an eye at him.

he now crouches down, bringing both of his hands to your shoulders and all he said is all sorts of sorry. "y/n i really am sorry. i truly blame myself for finding it out too late."

"you know what? you're right. you were really dumb to realize it.. that you didn't might even thought that what if you told me this late when i already ended everything about what i felt about you. you haven't thought about it right?" he remained silent, finding himself guilty since he never really spared a thought on what if you already stopped your feelings for him and he became complacent that you two would finally have mutual feelings.

his hands drop down to yours, holding them and rubbing his thumbs over your knuckles as he looks up at you while you never spared a glance at him. silence lingers across the room for a moment not until some sniffling could be heard. you were sobbing quietly and youngjo hesitantly reached a hand to wipe off your tears but you swat his hand away before you stood up and grabbed your bag.

"i'm leaving." that was your last words before you left him, his studio and his residence. youngjo remained in his spot and kneels with his head down, breath shaking and after a while a tear drops down to the material of his jeans. 

he truly blames himself for everything- for him realizing what he feels but it's already late, for making you cry before you walked out, and most importantly, for making you wait for nothing. 

he stood up to his feet and occupied the chair that you sat earlier before staring up at the ceiling while he just let his tears run and dry up on his cheeks, contemplating everything. he wished he could go back to the time where you confessed to him or maybe days or weeks after you did. maybe everything would go well if he just told you much earlier before you fell out from him. 

you on the other hand stared at the ceiling of your room as well while you lay flat on your bed, tears are already dried on your cheeks. this scenario isn't new to you because you tend to cry over him through the years that you spent pining over him. speaking of years, you begun to think that maybe you didn't wait much longer, that those five years of waiting for him aren't enough. a part of you thought that you're at fault as well, for giving him hope that you two might end up together because of your confession to him years ago and for not waiting much longer.

after a month or so, the artist that you two collaborated with released a new album in which the song that you and youngjo worked on is included and in those months, you and youngjo never talked a single bit. no calls, no messages or whatever. back to the collaboration and the song, you were proud that your name was on the credits especially when the song went up in various charts. that's another achievement that you have. the artist actually sent a text message to you which says "the song goes off the roof! that was a great job c.lover! you guys rock! can't wait to work with you again next time :D" and you found it cute.

the artist wasn't really kidding when he said he wanted to work with you again. what you didn't even spare a thought with is what he actually meant is to work with you and youngjo again. so you found yourself in that same meeting room with him and the artist after a period of almost half a year. the artist thanked the both of you from the previous project before he went to discuss about his upcoming album. he said that he wants this song to have a certain subject so that it would go well according to the season in which he's going to release the album.

"so.." he clasped his hands together. "for the song, i want it to be a bit angsty so that.. you know- it would fit well in autumn. i was thinking that the song would be about.." he tapped his chin with a finger as he gathered the right words. "about something that you regret." you gently nod, a silent 'ah' left your lips.

this would be easy for both you and youngjo. if the song is going to be about something that a person regrets, it would be about being dumb to realize and not telling you what he felt sooner for youngjo while in your case, it would be about not waiting for him longer enough. and for once again, you two are in every lyric that you both write.

- by tinyverse-writes

“Need a hand?”

Your head whips around instantly to see your boyfriend Ravn standing in the kitchen doorway, leaning against the frame with his arms crossed casually. You huff, blowing some hair out of your face, and go back to the task at hand: getting your favorite coffee mug off of the top shelf.

One problem with that though- you can’t reach it. At all, actually. Your arm is stretched up as far as it can go, but even on your tallest tiptoes you still aren’t tall enough to reach the beloved mug.

You sigh frustratedly, not wanting to admit you need help. “How long have you been watching me struggle, exactly?” You deflect as you continue to try to get it like the stubborn girl you are. Being a height like yours means asking tall people for help on a regular basis, but you’ve always liked to do things yourself; you pride yourself on how high you’ve learned to jump.

But jumping still isn’t doing the trick. Your knuckles almost brush the handle of the mug at one point, making Ravn snicker as he says, “Long enough to take pity. Don’t hurt yourself baby, I’ll grab your mug for you.” His morning voice is just the right amount of gritty and groggy, and you have to work to keep your focus instead of getting lost in his glazed-over eyes.

Mornings with Ravn were always an adventure. You never knew what the early hours would entail with him- would you wake up at the crack of dawn to go chase the sunrise? Would you sleep in until noon and have ramen for breakfast? Or would you don your matching bunny slippers to the nearest downtown diner to share a waffle large enough for giants?

That’s why mornings had become your favorite time to spend with him since you’d started dating Ravn; it kept you on your toes, never letting you have a dull start to your days together.

But one little issue with your adventures? They couldn’t start until you’d had your caffeine fix. And to drink coffee, you needed to have your mug- the one you’re practically breaking your back to swipe from the top shelf.

How did it get there in the first place? You never usually put things away so high.

Your boyfriend starts to walk in your direction to assist you, but you shake your head. “No, I can do it,” You reassure yourself more than him, “I’ve almost got it anyways!” You emphasize your progress with a particularly high jump, but all you manage to do is score a nasty bruise to your hip beneath Ravn’s oversized tee shirt.

You can sense the way he raises an eyebrow behind your back. “You do, huh?” He asks sarcastically. Ignoring your request, he closes the distance and stands directly behind you at the counter, stretching up to grab your favorite mug with ease. You pretend to be offended; but all it takes is one soft hug for a sleepy smile to spread on your face, cherishing the way his arms wrap around you from behind.

“Thank you love,” You mumble gratefully, “although I could’ve done it myself.”

You feel Ravn laughing at you from above, where his chin rests on your head. “No you couldn’t have.”

You pout. “Could too,” You say like a child.

“It’s always cute to see you try, baby.” Ravn admits. And while the sentence seems harmlessly simple, you can’t help but feel like it’s a clue. A clue to something you’ve been trying to solve lately…

You gasp out loud, whirling around to poke your boyfriend in the chest.

“It’s you!” You accuse, “You’re the one putting everything on the top shelf lately, aren’t you? I wondered why my things kept disappearing after you slept over!” You cry indignantly.

Ravn doesn’t even bother defending himself, merely shrugging off your discovery. “What can I say? I already told you you’re cute when you’re trying to reach it.”

You whine and scan the kitchen for something to smack him with while your coffee brews, your eyes landing on a dish towel laying next to the sink. Without warning him of what you’re planning to do- which is to wind the cloth up and snap it like a little whip- you dart your hand out and grab the towel, the only sign that you’re about to kick Ravn’s butt being the mischievous curve of your smirk.

It takes all of three seconds for your big, tall boyfriend to run like the wind.

“You better run, you long-legged doofus!” You call with a playful smile as you chase him with the towel. “This is payback for all the things you hid up there!”

So you guessed that maybe this morning’s adventure wouldn’t have to wait until your coffee finished brewing, after all.

—

Mornings like these were your favorites, ones where you could just easily relax in the comfort of your own, rundown apartment. The living room that was always freezing, no matter what you did to the thermostat, didn’t seem all that bad while you were sitting with Youngjo on the small couch. The two of you were directly across from the tv, but neither of you made an attempt to turn it on. Youngjo had his back against the arm rest, his legs spread lazily along the length of the couch with you sitting right between them. His arms wrapped around your torso in order to hold a small comic in front of the two of you. Together you all flipped through each page, reading the words carefully and studying the colorful illustrations that went along with them.

“Are you done,” he asked quietly. You hummed in response, watching as Youngjo turned the page carefully, not taking any chance in ripping the page. He laughed quietly as the two of you read the page all about Tony Stark and his usual rich guy bullshit. You glanced up at your boyfriend, questioning his sudden reaction. Noticing your eyes on him and not the comic book, he laughed even harder.

You sigh, “What’s so funny?”

“I’m just thinking about how Batman is basically Iron Man,” he answered with a shrug. “They’re both rich superheroes who lost their parents and used their money to build suits that help them fight crime.”

“You know, technically Iron Man would basically be Batman.”

Youngjo rolled his eyes as he set the comic book down on your lap. “It doesn’t matter because Tony Stark's better than Batman.”

You gasped, turning to face your boyfriend. “Don’t you dare insult Bruce Wayne,” you yelled.

“What do you mean,” he questioned. “Literally everything in Marvel is better than DC.”

“No, no, no,” you started, standing up from your sitting position. “DC is and always has been superior.”

Youngjo scoffed, “Just considering the movies, Marvel is superior.”

There was no argument there, Marvel has been showing up DC's movies. That much you could admit. “I’ll agree that marvel has better movies,” you sighed. “DC has been fucked over when it comes to movies, but DC stories are so much better and darker.”

“They’re definitely darker,” he agreed. “But that doesn’t mean they are better.”

“DC’s characters all have interesting backgrounds and they're supposed to be these mystic beings that work for the good of humanity,” you started. You took a deep breath in order to prepare for your rant. “They include a perfect balance between action, tragedy, and comedy. DC started right after the Great Depression, so their entire purpose was to show that when humans work together they can get through hard times. DC’s comics provided a great sense of hope in a dark time.”

Youngjo rolled his eyes as you finished your monologue. Apparently, you felt very strongly about the whole DC vs. Marvel topic. “All of that may be true,” he sighed. “But Marvel focuses on everyday people becoming superheroes, and they cover more of the human aspects of being a hero. That’s why most of their characters don’t have superpowers at first.”

“True,” you accepted, trying to think of a new argument to support your opinion.

“Both are good,” Youngjo stressed, standing up. He moved over to you and wrapped his arms around your waist.

“Also true,” you replied, relaxing in his arms.

“Marvel and DC are good in different ways.”

“Yes, and I prefer DC while you prefer Marvel,” you explained. “That’s nothing to argue over,” you stated, walking back to the couch with Youngjo.

“Exactly, nothing to argue over,” he agreed. He pulled you down back onto the couch, returning to the position he was sitting in previously.

the glow of the early morning sun starts to shine through the sheer curtains hung from your bedroom window. the breeze coming in through the open door to the balcony, allowing a certain coolness to envelop you and the sleeping man still beside you. you watch how peaceful he is, his chest rising and falling with each slow breath he takes. your fingers find purpose pushing his hair away from his frame, then making their way down his soft skin. he opens his eyes and you freeze. 

"good morning, love." the air catches in your throat when you hear the raspy words leave youngjo's mouth. his hands come up to hold your face and you finally let go of the breath you've been holding. 

"good morning..."

"let's just stay like this. the bed's comfy and you're warm. i could wake up to this everyday." 

you giggle at the sentiment. “we have errands to run, though. you know that. you’re telling me that you’d rather stay in bed all day, instead of going to get groceries?”

“fine… we can get groceries. but right after that, we go back to cuddling.”

“deal.”

that's exactly how the two of you spend the rest of your sunday morning: wrapped up in each others' arms.

“It’s been months! When will they return the book?” You asked, ears turning red from anger.

“I don’t know. That isn’t something I can surely tell you,” the librarian behind the counter told you.

“Can you at least tell me the name of the person that has the book? Maybe I can find them and convince them to return the book,” you said with a fake smile.

The librarian shook her head. “Sorry, that is not information we can share with our customers.”

You huffed and rolled your eyes. You weren’t upset with the librarian. She has told you the same information for the past few months about the book you desperately wanted to check out. You were the first on the waitlist but that did no good when the current owner didn’t want to return the book. It was the last book in the crime series you had been reading. It was from an author that wasn’t well known so there was only one copy of that book. You had been reading other books in the meantime, but you grew tired of waiting.

You weren’t sure how much longer you would have to wait, and you even considered buying the $60 book. It was a crazy price for an indie author, but it was such a good story, you were almost willing to spend the money. But you weren’t that desperate.

You walked through the aisles of books, looking for your next story to indulge in. You weren’t a huge fan of crime, but you had exceptions. You were a huge hopeless romantic, living vicariously through stories, but it was just that one crime series that really had you by the neck.

As you scanned the shelves, you saw a book on the top shelf that caught your eye. Being so short, you huffed in annoyance as you looked nearby for the nearest step stool. You placed it on the ground and reached up for the book. As you were about the grab the spine of the book, a large hand came from nowhere and grabbed it before you.

“Hey! I was going to get that!” You looked at the man that grabbed the book. He was slightly taller than you as you stood standing on the step stool.

The man smirked and then whispered. “We’re in a library.”

Your jaw dropped in awe. You couldn’t believe he was trying to play this off as if you weren’t mere centimeters away from grabbing the book. You got off the step stool and crossed your arms over your chest.

“I was getting that book. Why did you grab it when you clearly saw me reaching for it?” you asked, blatantly annoyed.

“Isn’t there a saying that if you touch something first then it’s yours?” The man said with one eyebrow up.

“Yeah, it’s called Finders Keepers!” you said in a rushed tone as you grabbed the book from the man’s hands and ran across the library. You could hear loud footsteps right behind you as you ran and tried to make it seem not so obvious that you were running in the library.

You ran down a dark aisle of books, completely secluded from the rest of the library. You squatted down and tried to be as small as possible to hide from the man that wanted your book.

“I’m going to find you,” the man whispered in a sing song. “I came here specifically for that book!”

You held your breath as you seen the man walk back and forth between the aisles that you were hiding in. After a few minutes, you no longer saw him. You stood up slowly, and stuck your head out, looking both ways to make sure the coast was clear. As you saw no one, you walked right out and bumped into the one man you were hiding from.

“And I’ll take that!” he said as he ripped the book straight from your arms.

“Give it back to me!” you shouted in a whisper. “Go get another book.”

You tried to grab the book back, but he raised it above your head, making it impossible to reach. You gave up, your shoulders dropping in defeat.

“Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a book to check out,” he said with a large smile. As he turned around, you stuck your tongue out at him and mimicked his tone.

You followed him towards the exit of the library as he went towards the check-out desk, and you went towards the door to leave. You noticed the librarian smiled at him, making it known that she knew who he was. You stood back but close enough and tried to listen to their conversation like the nosy person that you were.

“Youngjo, it is so nice to see you again,” the librarian said to him. You rehearsed his name in your head, the name sounding incredibly unique to you.

“It’s nice to see you too Kathy. How’re the kids?” he asked her.

“Oh, same as always,” she started. “Do you have Psycho Crimes to turn in yet?” she asked him. Your eyes widened at the book title. That was the book that you had been waiting months for!

Youngjo laughed. “No, not yet. I will return it when I am ready.”

“I have someone that has been waitlisted for a very long time and they have been asking me about it every week.”

He shrugged his shoulders. “Then they should have checked it out before me.”

And that was the end of their conversation. He’s a complete self-centered jerk!

The man turned around after checking out his book and when his eyes met yours, they widened at the fact that you were standing there watching him. He continued to make his way towards the exit, and you followed behind him, burning holes into his head as you glared at him. He approached his car and before he opened his door, he turned around to face you.

“You need to get over it. I’m returning this book next week. You can check it out then,” he told you.

“I cannot believe you’ve had Psycho Crimes all these months! You are the most self-centered selfish jerk I have ever had the unfortunate chance of meeting!”

“Like I told Kathy…” he began to say and then pause. “Wait a minute, you’re the one that is waitlisted? You’re the reason why Kathy has been nagging me every single day to return the book!”

“Sucks to suck, doesn’t it? And I’m going to keep nagging until that book is in my hands!” you yelled. At this point, it was barely 10am and it had been such a terrible day that yelling is making you feel better.

“If you want it so bad, why don’t you just come over to my house?” he asked you. You furrowed your brows and slightly pouted. You waited a few seconds for him to say, “just kidding”, but he never did.

“What is it that you want? Who invites strangers to their house?” you asked.

He laughed and smirked. “Well, we did play tag in the library so were practically friends.”

“Somethings up. I refuse to go with you,” you told him.

“That’s fine. The offer is still open until I drive away,” he said getting into his car and closing the door. He started up his car and you really contemplated on getting in this man’s car and going to his house, for some book. Was it worth it?

Without thinking any further, you walked over to the passenger side and got into the car. You buckled your seatbelt and looked at the man as he looked at you.

With a smile, he said, “I’m Youngjo, and you?”

“Y/n,” you said simply.

“How do you know I’m not a serial killer?” he asked you.

You replied, “Well the chances of there being two serial killers in this car are a little astronomical.”

He laughed, a little harder than you expected, and put his car in drive and drove off and out of the library’s parking lot. Mere minutes passed by, and you approached a neighborhood filled with homes that you never thought you would see in real life. Some homes were tall, and some were long. Some came with large yards and others came with large farms. Youngjo took a turn down a cul-de-sac and approached one of the largest homes on the street. Not only was it large, but it was long with a huge yard.

“There’s no way you actually live here. This is a joke, right?” you said admiring the house.

Youngjo laughed. “No, it’s not. But I’m flattered. I do work hard for the things I own.”

“That being everything except Psycho Crimes, right?” you snarked.

Again, he laughed. “You know, you’re funnier than I thought you would be.”

The two of you got out of his car and walked inside the large home. It’s architecture very geometrical. He removed his jacket and you followed suit, afterwards walking into the main room.

“Take a seat. I’ll be right out with the book,” he said as he walked down a hallway. You sat on his grey couch, and it felt softer than your bed at home. He came out from his hallway with the book in his hand. You got excited, knowing that Psycho Crimes was officially going to be in your hands. He handed the book to you, and you opened it and examined it. But then you realized something was off.

“Why is this book hard back? There was only one ever made and the author has it. Is this the library’s book?”

Youngjo didn’t answer any of your questions as he watched you examine the book in confusion.

“I don’t understand,” you said under your breath. And then it dawned on you. You gasped loudly and looked up at Youngjo. “Please don’t tell me you’re the author of this book.”

Youngjo laughed. “Okay, I won’t.”

Your eyes widened at his half confession. “No way. I am so sorry for how I’ve treated you because of this book. Are you sure you’re really the author?”

Honestly, you couldn’t believe what was happening. You felt like you were in some other dimension where things didn’t make sense in the world.

“If you’re the author, why do you have the library’s version?” You asked as you looked at him. He took a seat next to you on the couch.

“I was actually trying to get another copy of the book because the one at the library is all worn out and tattered. I wanted there to be clean versions of my book series at the library.”

You continued to examine the beautiful hard cover book as you spoke to Youngjo. “Why are you handing me this when it’s the only one available?”

He shrugged his shoulders. “If you were willing to get physical with me over the book, I think you might deserve it a little more than me.”

You looked up at him. “I was never going to get physical. I would’ve just nagged Kathy,” you laughed. He laughed along with you and leaned back on his couch.

“Did you know, you are the first person I’ve ever met that actually liked my crime series? I’ve tried so many genres in the past and have been successful in all of them except crime. So, what was it that made you like this one?”

You thought a moment about it. “I honestly don’t know. This series is the first I’ve read in a long time outside of the romance genre. It was misplaced at the library in the romance section and when I read the summary from the first book, it sounded interesting. I just decided to try reading it and I came to like it.”