#sunoo au

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eleven months of dating 𝜗𝜚

2.4k | jungwon x fem!reader | established relationship! au, dating! au | fluff

playlist. valentine by laufey baby i’m yours by arctic monkeys fairy of shampoo by dosii harvey by her’s what a feeling by one direction

seven years in love 𝜗𝜚

2.6k | sunghoon x fem!reader | exes! au | fluff, angst

playlist. never not by lauv    cheating on you by charlie puth    robbers by the 1975    bags by clairo    city of stars by ryan gosling & emma stone

strangers of the same star 𝜗𝜚

3.3k | sunoo x fem!reader | strangers! au | fluff

playlist. single by tnbd    this night by groovyroom, blue.d & jhnovr    everyone adores you (atleast i do) by matt maltese darl+ing by seventeen    peach eyes by wave to earth

tied by some invisible string 𝜗𝜚

1.6k | jake x fem!reader | established relationship! au, engaged! au | fluff

playlist. someone to spend time with by los retros    a frame by jeremy zucker and chelsea cutler    i like that by bazzi    love, love, love (acoustic ver) by exo    loving you by micheal jackson

sixteen years of will they, won't they 𝜗𝜚

2.3k | riki x fem!reader | best friends! au | fluff

playlist. touch tank by quinnie    puppy dog by dreamer boy    beside you by keshi    all we know by phoebe ryan & the chainsmokers    broken record by gsoul

i'm sure we're taller in other dimensions 𝜗𝜚

2.9k | heeseung x fem!reader | friends with benefits! au | fluff, suggestive

playlist. white ferrari by frank ocean pretty lips by winehouse    love me anyway by chappell roan    truth or dare by tyla    angels by chase atlantic

my first my middle my last my forever 𝜗𝜚

2.3k | jay x fem!reader | established relationship! au, married! au | fluff, suggestive

playlist. (they long to be) close to you by carpenters    stare at each other and fall in love by daniela andrade    false god by taylor swift    wo noor by ap dhillon    lay your head on me by crush

link to the playlist <3 | copyright © ikeu05, 2025

uni student!sunoo still isn't entirely sure what branch of law he wants to pursue. every semester he convinces himself he's found the one before another class changes his mind. criminal law sounds exciting, human rights law feels meaningful, corporate law seems practical... uni student!sunoo'll figure it out eventually...

the communications minor happened almost by accident. during sophomore year, uni student!sunoo took a media studies elective to fill a requirement and accidentally fell completely in love with it. he loved studying how people communicate, how stories are told, how media shapes public opinion. for about two weeks he seriously considered turning it into a double major.

...then he looked at the workload. so the communications major dreams have been placed gently on the shelf for now.

outside the classroom, uni student!sunoo is somehow everywhere. he's one of those people whose name keeps popping up whenever you attend an event.

"oh, sunoo organized this." "sunoo wrote that article." "sunoo's hosting today's program." "didn't Sunoo emcee orientation?" honestly at this point, the question everybody should be asking is what did uni student!sunoo not do?

he somehow manages to juggle being an officer in multiple organizations without ever looking completely overwhelmed. marketing club? check. broadcasting club? absolutely. school paper? of course. if there's a microphone, a camera, or an audience involved, chances are uni student!sunoo somehow found his way there.

i think uni student!sunoo writes for the school paper. he's always been a storyteller at heart. whether it's through articles, speeches, interviews, or casual conversations, he's always had a way of making people listen. writing became another outlet for that. his professors adore his feature articles because somehow he manages to make even the most ordinary campus stories feel like they're worth reading.

one of the more spontaneous decisions uni student!sunoo has ever made was auditioning to become a student dj for a local radio station. he saw a flyer pinned on a department bulletin board while walking to class one afternoon. "radio station auditions open." he took one look at the poster and went, why not? and unsurprisingly, he got in.

uni student!sunoo quickly becomes one of the station's favorite personalities because he's just so easy to listen to. he's naturally warm, funny without trying too hard, and somehow knows exactly what to say whenever someone calls into the station.

as if that wasn't enough, uni student!sunoo is also a bit of a micro influencer. it starts innocently enough. little campus vlogs, late-night study sessions, trying snacks from convenience stores, reviewing random stuff he impulsively bought. before long, people actually start looking forward to his uploads.

uni student!sunoo's most popular videos, though, are always when he lists his hot takes. the comment sections are always a battlefield and he secretly loves it. despite having a decent online following, uni student!sunoo still gets embarrassingly shy whenever freshmen recognize him around campus.

he'll be walking to class before hearing—"is that sunoo?"—and immediately freeze. uni student!sunoo's always happy to stop for a picture or chat for a few minutes, but afterwards he'll spend the next ten minutes hiding behind his phone because getting recognized still feels surreal to him.

uni student!sunoo is incredibly well-known around campus, but never in an intimidating way. people know him because he's kind. because he remembers names, he's the type of person to wave first. because he'll compliment your presentation even if you've only spoken twice before and somehow he makes everyone feel included.

he's also one of those rare people everyone wants as a group mate. not because uni student!sunoo'll do all the work (he absolutely will not and he will hate you forever if you're a freeloader,) but because he's reliable. he communicates, he actually answers the group chat, and uni student!sunoo finishes his parts early.

the only downside? getting him to say yes, not because he doesn't want to help. trust me, he does. he just genuinely has so much on his plate that uni student!sunoo has become very protective of his schedule. he'd honestly rather work independently whenever possible.

but if you ask uni student!sunoo nicely... and promise to actually contribute... he'll probably cave. maybe.

meeting uni student!sunoo is honestly one of those things that almost happened dozens of times before it finally did. you both work part-time as student djs at the same local radio station. your shift always ends right before his begins.

every evening you'd take your headphones off just as uni student!sunoo walked into the studio, coffee in one hand and today's playlist in the other.

As the final song fades into its outro, you lean toward the microphone one last time. "And that's all from me tonight. Thanks for spending your evening with us—don't go anywhere though, because coming up next is someone I'm sure most of you already know." You pull off your headphones just as the studio door swings open. Right on cue. Sunoo steps inside with a coffee in one hand and his headphones hanging loosely around his neck. "You're up," you say with a small smile, sliding out of the chair. He returns it just as easily, "Thanks." You gather your things while he settles into the seat you'd just vacated, quickly skimming through the rundown for his show. Just before the ON AIR light flashes red again, he glances over. "Have a good night." "You too." And just like that, another shift change passes. It had been that way for months. Short greetings. Small smiles. The occasional conversation if one of you happened to arrive early or if the commercials ran long enough. Enough to know he seemed nice. Not enough to really know him though.

sometimes you'd exchange a few extra words with uni student!sunoo during commercial breaks. sometimes you'd accidentally run into each other while making coffee in the tiny staff kitchen. sometimes one of you would arrive early enough for a conversation to last longer than two minutes.

but never long enough to actually get to know each other, which always felt like a shame. because uni student!sunoo always seemed genuinely nice.

so when an email from station management landed in your inbox asking if you'd be interested in co-hosting a valentine's day special and saw uni student!sunoo's name listed beside yours... saying yes was probably the easiest decision you'd made all semester.

The two-hour broadcast flew by. Between love song dedications, anonymous confessions from listeners, and debating whether first dates should always involve flowers, the two of you somehow spent more time talking during commercial breaks than you ever had over the past few months combined. You learned he was studying law. He learned you somehow always managed to mispronounce at least one artist's name every shift. You laughed. A lot. By the time the segment ended, handing your headphones over to the next pair of hosts almost felt... disappointing. The February wind greets you the moment you step outside. You instinctively tug your jacket tighter around yourself. Beside you, Sunoo notices almost immediately. "...You're cold," he points out softly, his kind eyes watching you. "I'm okay," you insist. He hums unconvinced before unwinding the scarf around his own neck. Before you can protest, he's already draping it gently around yours. "It's warmer this way." The scarf still carries a bit of his warmth. "...Thanks," you mumble, cheeks heating despite the weather. The two of you begin walking toward the station in comfortable silence. After a minute, Sunoo clears his throat. "So..." You glance over. "Do you... have any plans after this?" You shake your head with a small smile. He looks down at the sidewalk for a second before looking back at you. "...Would you maybe want to grab coffee?" There's a beat. "As friends," he blurts out almost immediately, "...Obviously." You stare at him for a second before a laugh escapes you. His ears are unmistakably pink, and somehow... You're pretty sure it isn't because of the cold.

⠀⠀ ͏⠀⠀ ͏ ⠀ ͏⠀⠀ ͏⠀⠀ ͏⠀ ͏ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁 .ᐟ

please do not repost, reupload, or translate my work anywhere else on the internet. i also do not approve uploading my work on any ai site. salamuch <33

feeling a desire to wake him up with a small kiss, you lean in, stopping just three inches from his face. contemplating for a moment, you debate whether to proceed, considering his sleepiness from yesterday's dance practice. hesitation lingers, and you prepare to pull away, but suddenly, jake's eyes shoot wide open, catching you in the midst of your intention.

"if you're not going to do it, I'll do it," jake mumbles, his voice groggy but still managing to pull a grin on his face.

pretending to be clueless, you respond, embarrassed at being caught by your boyfriend. "do what?"

"I saw you were going to kiss me," jake teases, causing a brief blush to color your cheeks. without missing a beat, he leaves a quick, passionate, soft kiss on your lips. It's a tender moment, filled with warmth and a hint of lingering desire, the sweetness of the connection in the air. the kiss, a silent exchange of emotions, creates a bridge between you two. as you reciprocate with the same tension, smiles exchange between you, foreheads resting against each other.

sunoo was squeezing through the crowded college hallways, lost in thought about the upcoming exam period, and mentally organizing how to spread out all the study materials over the next two weeks, when a bright, unfamiliar laugh pierced through the haze of his thoughts.

almost instantly, his eyes found the source of the sound – and he swore he could feel his heart sink. for a moment, he stood frozen, completely taken aback as he took in the image a few feet away from him. the way he could see your eyes light up even from the distance and how you seemed to outshine everyone else without even trying. how the smile you wore made his heart pound heavily against his chest, its warmth embracing him and leaving him unable to look away.

it wasn’t until a dull ache in his shoulder brought him back to reality that he finally gathered his thoughts.

"how about not standing in the middle of the hallway," sunoo heard an irritated student mutter as they walked around his frozen figure. mumbling a half-hearted apology, the boy quickly stepped aside.

when he looked back at you, you were gone, the spot that where you were standing just moments ago now empty – yet somehow, the warmth of your laugh seemed to stay. sunoo quickly shook his head as if that could change the fact that it suddenly seemed to only have space for you. out of sight, out of mind? hell no.

as he continued his way to the cafeteria, he tried hard to not allow you to consume his thoughts, but it was no use. it was almost ridiculous, he thought, how just about twenty seconds of seeing you could completely take over his mind. he didn't even know your name, and until two minutes ago, he hadn’t known you existed at all.

determined to not let his mind’s chaos show on his face, sunoo tightened his grip around the straps of his backpack and took a deep breath before stepping into the cafeteria and scanning the room for his best friend.

"sunoo! everything good?" jay greeted him once the younger found him sitting at a table.

"yes," he replied, almost a little too quickly. "why wouldn't everything be good?"

jay furrowed his brows, leaning back in his chair a bit, and scanned his best friend's face carefully. "you know," he started, "i usually ask. but honestly, today you're being weird about it." jay crossed his arms in front of his chest. "so, what's up?"

sunoo quickly looked down, knowing damn well he couldn’t lie to his friend face-to-face, and silently cursed himself for trying too hard to hide how he really felt. he'd always been awkward when trying to play it cool, and jay was too much of an attentive friend to not notice.

"nothing," he mumbled after a while, "i'm just stressing over exams, i guess."

jay sighed slightly. "you know you'll ace it, you always do. why do you have to panic first?"

sunoo simply shrugged as he picked up his cutlery, attempting to focus on his lunch and jay’s familiar ramble about finding healthy ways to relieve stress that he had heard so often he could recite it by now – attempting to not let his thoughts drift back to you.

𐙚 ⋆˚｡. ᵎᵎ

yet, even days later, sunoo couldn’t erase the short moment from his mind, the sound of your laugh replaying in his head like a broken record. he found himself scanning the hallways more often, hoping to catch even a small glimpse of you. he told himself he’d approach you next time, but whenever he did spot you, his body felt frozen and his feet rooted in place.

jay was quick to catch on. the two were sitting on the lawn near campus after some hours of studying together in the library. sure, both were exhausted, but sunoo seemed a little quieter than usual.

"you’ve been acting weird lately," jay said after some moments of silence, a hint of concern coating his words, "what's going on? is it really just exams?"

sunoo tried to brush it off with a shrug. "it's nothing, just a lot on my mind."

jay raised an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced. just as he was about to respond, he noticed the younger’s eyes slightly widen at something. while sunoo wondered how you always somehow managed to be exactly where he was, watching you a moment longer than he intended, jay followed his friends gaze and understood immediately.

"a lot on your mind? or someone on your mind? so, who is she?"

feeling his cheeks heat up just from being caught red-handed, sunoo immediately averted his gaze and looked down. "just–”, after a longer pause, he sighed, “actually, i don't know." 

the corners of jay’s lips jumped up into a grin at sunoo’s blushed cheeks. "you don't know? so you’ve never talked to her? sunoo, come on, you’re the most sociable person i know!”

sunoo frowned, pursing his lower lip into a slight pout. "it’s not that easy. i don’t even know where to start. 'hi, i've been secretly watching you for a while now cause you're the prettiest girl i've ever seen?' will surely go well," he said sarcastically.

"it’s not rocket science," jay said with a laugh. "you don’t have to confess that you’re hopelessly in love with someone you barely know, sunoo. you just go up and say hi. you do know how to say hi, right?"

sunoo groaned, rolling his eyes at his friend’ remark. “i don’t know how to just... approach her like that. look, i never struggled to talk to anyone, but with her i just– i don’t know. i get nervous.”

“okay”, jay said, nodding understandingly, “then we’re gonna fix that.”

over the next few days, jay kept pushing him. whenever they passed you in the hallway, he would nudge sunoo’s shoulder and whisper, “now’s your chance,” but every time, sunoo’s nerves would get the best of him. his heart would race, his hands would get all sweaty, and the words he wanted to say would evaporate before he could open his mouth.

but jay, persistent as ever, wouldn’t give up. “look, sunoo,” he said one afternoon, pulling him aside after class, “if you don’t do something soon, someone else will. you don’t want to regret not shooting your shot, do you?” 

sunoo sighed, knowing jay was right – but no matter how much he wanted to approach you, the thought of saying something and making a fool of himself kept holding him back.

one afternoon, in the final week of lectures before exam season officially started, sunoo was sitting in the cafeteria, eating his lunch with jay while grumbling about the little time they had between lectures and exams. he was mid-sentence when jay interrupted him.

“sunoo,” jay said, tilting his head to a table not too far away. turning his head, sunoo spotted you right there. usually, you'd sit with your friends, but this time, you were all by yourself.  

“she's alone, that's your chance,” jay encouraged him yet another time to approach you. the younger opened his mouth to object, but nothing came out – you weren't surrounded by your friends, you weren't rushing to your next class; he didn't have any excuses this time.

"come on. what's the worst that can happen?"

sunoo let his friend’s words sink in. he could think of a few scenarios, each a little more terrifying than the other, yet despite all the doubts, he pushed his chair back, stood up on slightly wobbly knees, and walked over to your table. he didn't understand where his confidence came from, but just as quickly as it did, it disappeared again, when someone else approached you first.

he stopped dead in his tracks, watching as heeseung, whom he only knew as the captain of the college's basketball team, sat down next to you, greeted you with a gentle kiss on your cheek, and wrapped his arm around your waist to pull you closer.

sunoo’s heart dropped, his body freezing yet again. none of his overthinking had included the fact that you might not even be single, and suddenly, he felt stupid. so, so stupid. of course you had a boyfriend. why would someone like you not have a boyfriend?

he turned around, hoping that the way he’d stood there had, as usual, just gone unnoticed by everyone. then, he slowly shuffled back to the table he shared with jay where he sank down in his chair, shoulders slumped and eyes stuck to his still half-full tray of food.

a hint of worry washed over jay’s face as he saw his friends’ expression. he intentionally hadn’t observed the approach, wanting to spare sunoo from feeling watched, but now he couldn’t help but feel a hint of guilt for not knowing if he could have jumped in to help. “what happened?” he asked softly, not sure if he'd even get a reply.

sunoo just shook his head, not lifting his gaze. “nothing. she's with heeseung,” he replied silently. “shit,” jay sighed, running a hand through his hair, “i'm sorry, i had no idea.” again, sunoo shook his head slightly. “whatever. it was stupid to think she’d be single anyway.”

𐙚 ⋆˚｡. ᵎᵎ

for the first time since he'd started college, sunoo felt genuinely thankful for the stress that came with exam season. he'd get to spend his time studying, sometimes until late at night, and whenever he finally closed his books, he was too exhausted to think about how he felt.although jay tried his best to convince sunoo to take more breaks, the younger thrived on the distraction that studying brought about.

knowing that exams would be the perfect distraction and that he'd head back to his home town to spend the summer break with his family, sunoo felt a little more at ease. he was sure that by the time he'd return to college, he'd be fully unbothered by you. it was a little ridiculous anyway, he tried to convince himself. he couldn’t seriously be upset that his hallway crush had a boyfriend. after all, he still didn’t even know your name, and now he was sure it would stay that way.

during the summer break, sunoo found comfort in returning home, where life around his family and childhood friends felt a little easier and a lot calmer. each day, the thought of you fell further back in his mind and by the time summer break came to an end, sunoo felt lighter. the idea of going back to campus was no longer stressful.

he’d be fine, that's what he told himself – and if he saw you again, so be it.

his resolve lasted exactly one day.

he had almost made it throughout the first day of classes without seeing you even a single time. one last class and he'd finally head to meet up with jay to catch up about the summer.

after settling for a spot near the middle of the room, sunoo pulled out his notebook and glanced around casually as the other students trickled in. just as he was about to grab his phone, a familiar laugh echoed through the room, making sunoo's hand freeze halfway to his pocket.

he didn’t even have to look to know it was you, instead recognizing the sound of your laugh as quickly as his favorite songs. and against his better judgment, he glanced up. there you were, walking in with a friend, that pretty smile on your face that still took sunoo’s breath away so easily. you hadn’t noticed him, but he sure as hell noticed you – and all the progress he thought he’d made over the summer crumbled in an instant.

but before he had time to mentally scold himself for how easily he let himself fall for you all over again, the professor began speaking, announcing the outline for the semester and the project that would take up the majority of the time, continuing with a speech on the importance of teamwork, but sunoo barely listened. 

“i don't want any discussions on who’s working with who, so i'll be deciding the pairs. i expect you to work together respectfully and efficiently,” the professor continued. “alright, raise your hand when your name is called so your partner can find you.”

sunoo zoned out, still trying to push you from his mind, repeating a mantra to himself that he was just caught by surprise and that his heart would stop beating so damn fast once he got used to seeing you again.

"kim sunoo and–" the professor called out, snapping him back to attention, "– y/l/n y/n."

sunoo scanned the room while hesitantly raising his hand. for a second, you seemed to look around too, processing the pairing before your gaze settled on him.

slowly, as if in a daze, he looked up, meeting your eyes for the first time. then, his heart dropped. he could almost feel the air leave the room. it felt like time had slowed down, like every sound in the lecture hall faded except for the heavy drumming of his own heartbeat in his ears. he could feel heat rushing to his face, a lump forming in his throat and his head starting to spin, but he couldn’t look away.

and then, you smiled – just a soft, polite smile. it wasn't much, but sunoo swore the world stopped for a second.

when you turned back toward the front, he didn't even know if he'd returned the smile, if he'd nodded in acknowledgement, or if he'd done absolutely nothing.

throughout the entirety of the class, it became increasingly obvious for sunoo that the weeks of distance had done nothing to change the way he felt about you – that his heart would, in fact, not stop running a marathon each time he saw you. no matter how often, at that. he kept on zoning out, replaying the tiny interaction between you again and again, or looking back to your seat for just a second before he forced himself to look away again.

as the professor ended class, he started packing up his things, and took a deep breath, somehow bracing himself to talk to you. although he had prepared for that moment so long during the last semester – well, at least technically – he found himself hesitating yet again. his palms felt sweaty, and his heart raced faster with every step that brought him closer to where you were gathering your things. his mind raced with a thousand ways to approach the conversation, yet none of them really felt right.

just as he opened his mouth to greet you, you glanced up from your bag, your eyes meeting his for the second time that day. your soft smile appeared again – and sunoo completely forgot what he had planned to say.

"hi, sunoo, right?" you asked instead, not noticing the way you’d completely caught him off guard. your voice was gentle, and somehow it felt like a small bit of relief to hear his name spoken so softly.

sunoo swallowed hard, blinking as if snapping out of a daze. "uh, yeah. that’s me,” he said, managing an awkward laugh. "looks like we’re project partners."

you nodded, still smiling as you stood up. "should we maybe set up a time to meet and figure out a plan?" – such a simple question, and yet sunoo’s heart felt like it was running a marathon. he quickly nodded, "yeah, sure. uh... maybe at the library?"

"perfect," you said, slinging your bag over your shoulder. "how about tomorrow afternoon?"

"tomorrow sounds good," sunoo replied, his mind desperately searching for something else to say. his fingers fidgeted with the straps of his backpack as he added, "we… should we exchange numbers too?"

you smiled again, and sunoo could almost feel the tension melting away, although his pulse was still buzzing in his ears. when you wordlessly handed him your phone, almost brushing his fingers in the process, he just prayed you didn't hear how his breath hitched, quickly typed his number in and handed it back to you. "there you go."

"great! i’ll text you so we can talk about the details. see you tomorrow, sunoo."

with one last smile, you turned and headed out the door, leaving sunoo standing there, still trying to process the fact that not only had you smiled at him – several times – but now you had his number, even if just for coursework purposes.

"what took you so long?" jay frowned at his best friend as he finally approached their usual spot at the lawn.

sunoo plopped himself down next to him, hoping that the blush on his cheeks had faded by now, but jay was already eyeing him suspiciously.

“nothing,” sunoo said as he reached up to scratch the back of his neck. but the smile that kept creeping onto his face made jay narrowed his eyes. “yeah, i’m not buying it. that’s not a ‘nothing’ face. so, what happened?”

sunoo let out a long sigh, leaning back on his hands. “you remember that girl… the one from last semester?” he started, feeling his face flush slightly as he spoke.

"yeah, the one you swore you were over?" jay asked, an amused tone lacing his voice as he raised an eyebrow.

sunoo sighed, “i never swore anything.”

“right. so, what happened? did you see her?”

sunoo took a deep breath, feeling almost embarrassed at how easily he’d been caught. “well, she’s in my class."

jay’s eyes lit up. “she’s in your class?”

the younger nodded, “actually... we’re partnered up for the semester project,” he added, his voice a little quieter now. 

jay’s jaw dropped in exaggerated surprise, “no way. the girl you were practically obsessed with is now your project partner? that’s so cliché!”

“obsessed is a strong word,” sunoo protested, even though he’d lie if he said that was too far from the truth.

"you do realize that this is the chance you've been waiting for, right?"

sunoo groaned, "it's not a chance, jay. she's taken, remember? i'm not going to try anything."

jay raised an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced. "you cannot know. maybe they broke up," he said, to which sunoo just shot him a pointed look that told him this was the end of their conversation.

𐙚 ⋆˚｡. ᵎᵎ

in the following weeks, you and sunoo met regularly to work on the project. though the workload was tiring, the way your minds seemed to complement each other perfectly made the process easier than expected. it seemed like you could finish all of his thoughts when he struggled, and he had all the answers to your questions.

it should have been a relief for sunoo to know that the project wasn’t going to be impossible and you might even finish everything without working overtime (read: without him needing to spend extra hours trying his best to not act way too awkward around you). instead, the fact that beyond the pretty face that still left him breathless you were also incredibly smart made things only harder for him.

during the time you spent together, he couldn't help but notice little things about you that he hadn't seen from afar – just like the way you furrowed your brows and parted your lips slightly when you were focusing, or how you tapped your pen on your chin or your lips when you were thinking. all of these things, no matter how seemingly meaningless, somehow only carved the place he had reserved for you in his heart a little deeper. as if every single one of them made him want to find another adorable detail about you.

he'd catch himself smiling whenever he'd watch you a little too long while you were busy typing on your laptop, and he got used to quickly looking away or pretending to search something in his backpack every time you almost caught him. it was a miracle, really, how you hadn’t realized yet. at least if jay’s words were anything to go by, according to whom everyone could clearly see the way sunoo was so obviously, helplessly in love.

"you’re so down bad," he had remarked one time he met sunoo after your scheduled study session at the library – all smiley, obviously. but the younger had just quickly shrugged it off with a shy "oh, shut up."

but of course, working with you didn't only bring warmth and nervousness that had by now grown to feel almost comfortable. it also brought hard, almost cruel, reminders of how one-sided his feelings were.

there was that pretty necklace you wore, one with a small gem, that he was certain heeseung had gifted to you. it hung around your neck as if it wanted him to remember that you already belonged to someone else. and then, needless to say, there was heeseung himself, who'd come to pick you up from the library when you finished whatever you had planned for that day. sure, sunoo was glad to know there was someone who made sure you got home safely, but, hell, he would be that someone too.

every time he saw you smiling at your boyfriend, the brightness in your eyes sent a flutter through sunoo’s chest, only to quickly be replaced by the unpleasant reminder of how happy you were with him. he felt almost foolish for still liking you when he knew damn well that you were taken – especially when the confidence heeseung radiated made sunoo feel almost small, for heeseung seemed to be everything he was not, and even the mere thought of ever standing a chance felt ridiculous.

one afternoon when sunoo arrived to the library, he found you at your usual spot, already absorbed in the book in front of you and taking notes here and there.

"hey," he greeted gently after approaching the table, careful to not startle you. you looked up from the book and your eyes met his for a second – and although you’d held eye-contact with him for an uncountable amount of times by now, it still made his knees wobble like it was the first.

"hey," you greeted back with a soft smile. god, he swore his heart skipped a beat or two.

"i'm not late, am i?" sunoo asked after sitting down across from you, taking out his supplies, but never leaving your gaze.

"you’re not, " you shook your head, "just had nothing to do, so i figured i could start already. here look," you said, turning around your laptop so he could see the screen with the notes you had already taken.  then, you continued working together until you reached the goal you had set for the day.

 when sunoo packed up his things, he mentally prepared himself to see heeseung, his stomach filling with nervous anticipation. but even after a few minutes, he didn't catch any sight of him.

watching as you finished packing your bag, he swore your eyes scanned the library too – just for a second, before you quickly glanced down to your phone and bit your bottom lip just subtly enough for him to notice.

"isn't uh... isn't heeseung coming?" sunoo asked, tone careful, as if he wasn’t sure if that question was too personal and better left unasked. but you responded by shaking your head, words quickly following, “i'm going alone today.” you offered a slight smile, like you always did whenever answering one of his questions, but this time, it just didn’t make sunoo feel as fuzzy as usual.

"i can walk you home," he blurted out before his brain could even finish processing the thought, so he rowed back on it almost immediately, “sorry, that was a bad idea.”

"it wasn't, but you don’t have to. i appreciate it... thanks, sunoo." the volume of your voice decreased until all that was left was another, almost shy, but this time more genuine smile from you.

sunoo waited for a moment as if expecting you to say something else – take his offer, maybe. but as you looked back down at your phone, he gave a small nod, mumbling a low goodbye and left the library.

the following week, you canceled the study session last minute. it was the first time you had done so, and sunoo, already waiting at your usual spot in the library, couldn’t help the hint of concern while reading your message. yet, he didn’t dig deeper, knowing he was in no position to ask more personal questions, even if for the sake of looking out for you.

when you rescheduled for the week after, a rather blank expression had replaced your usual smiles and the silence between you felt more awkward than ever before. during the session, your eyes occasionally drifted away from the book, your notes, and from him, even when he was talking.

it wasn’t until sunoo noticed the absence of your necklace that he felt like there was more to your unusual behavior. you had absentmindedly reached for it, your fingers grazing your collarbone, but when they found nothing, you quickly pulled your hand away.

“hey,” he asked softly, “is everything okay?”

your eyes met his, surprised by his question, but you gave a small nod. "yeah, it's fine."

the way you immediately looked away after replying was all it took for sunoo to know better than that. he hesitated for a moment before softly offering, “you know... if you ever want to talk, i’ll listen.”

you gave him a longer look this time, and then, after a brief pause, you exhaled. “i broke up with heeseung.”

sunoo’s breath caught in his throat. sure, all he wanted was to be a safe space for you to talk and feel comfortable, understood, not alone, perhaps – but he hadn't expected you to actually tell him. not so quickly, and not that. for a moment, he just stared at you as if waiting for you to laugh it all off as a joke.

"i... i'm sorry. that must be hard" was all he managed to say, not sure how to choose his words and mentally cursing himself for making them sound awkward on top of that.

you nodded slightly, looking down at your hands, your voice quiet. "it’s been coming for a while, i guess. he’s been distant, and i should’ve known, but... yeah." sunoo could feel his heart crack at the hint of sadness in your voice.

he felt the urge to reach across the table, maybe take your hand or offer some kind of physical comfort, but he stopped himself. instead, he gave you a warm smile, hoping that it would somehow be enough.

“thanks for telling me,” he said gently. he wanted to say more, to be a better source of comfort, but something told him that you didn't want to talk about it now. “if you need anything, i’m here.”

you didn’t say anything for a moment, but then you gave a small, genuine smile – one that felt more like you. "thank you, sunoo."

𐙚 ⋆˚｡. ᵎᵎ

in the following weeks, the two of you returned to your project work routine.sunoo began bringing you your usual coffee, just setting it down next to your books with a small remark like, "i thought that might help to cheer you up a little."

and while you just casually thanked him each time – at least you tried to be casual – these gestures began to tug at your heart. at some point, you found yourself looking forward to seeing him, not because of the free coffee but because of him. the way he understood you wordlessly, somehow always sensed when you needed a break or when the time was right for a joke and when it wasn’t. just the way his mere presence had something oh so comforting to it.

one time when you looked up to thank him, your eyes met his, and you held his gaze just long enough to notice how his brown hair fell slightly over his eyes – how his smile was so evident in them that it made your stomach feel all warm and fuzzy. and although you tried to shove the warmth away each time you felt it, you started seeing things you'd never noticed before; how his eyes sparkled when he was talking about something he seemed passionate about, or the way his smile grew just a little wider when he seemed nervous or embarrassed.

maybe it was too early to fall for him, but before you could waste a thought on that, you realized you already had. and sunoo had made it so easy.

𐙚 ⋆˚｡. ᵎᵎ

"please, sunoo," you begged, pouting your lips slightly as if that was the ultimate way to persuade him to join a party a fellow student hosted to celebrate the end of the semester.

he opened his mouth to object, but in reality, he felt like he'd combust if you didn't stop pouting anytime soon, so he gave in. "fine, but only for two hours." you smiled brightly, still catching sunoo off guard like the very first time, and oh how he wished he could tell you just how much that smile meant to him. sure, throughout the second half of the semester, things between you two had started to feel a little less awkward. but despite jay’s (unsuccessful) attempts to encourage sunoo to finally tell you about his feelings, the latter didn't want to ruin the comfort you had just found in each other. if being somewhat between a classmate and a friend was the closest he could get to you, then he'd settle for that.

when you arrived to the party hours later that day, people were already gathering in the small place, drinking, chatting, or – unfortunately, if you were to ask sunoo – singing along to the music. and honestly, the place was a little too packed for your liking, yet feeling embraced by sunoo’s warmth next to you, it felt comfortable, somewhat safe.

you grabbed some drinks from the kitchen before pushing through the growing crowd of people, sunoo’s hand softly staying on the small of your back to not lose you. your skin buzzed in the spot where his hand rested, but you tried to shrug the feeling off – unsuccessfully so, for you still felt his touch when it was no longer there and you were just standing across each other, reminiscing about the past semester.

the more people came in, the louder the noise around you grew, forcing you to lean in a bit more whenever the other person said something. when you couldn't hear each other anymore, not even after standing unnervingly close, you exchanged a knowing look, and, without a word, moved to the balcony. there, you both leaned against the railing, enjoying the sudden silence as the city lights softly illuminated the dark sky. although the night air felt cool around you, the warmth of sunoo standing close enough that his arm almost brushed yours seemed enough to keep both of you comfortable.

after a few more beats of silence, sunoo let out a shaky breath, fingers curling around the railing before he turned to you. his eyes found yours, and he didn't know if that was what pushed him, or if it was the alcohol that made his head buzz softly.

“you know,” he started, “i’ve been meaning to tell you something.”

you blinked, the soft buzz in your own head letting his words sink in slower “yeah?” you asked, feeling your heart pick up pace, "me too."

now, it was sunoo’s time to blink a bit taken aback, and the confidence he had brought up from god knows where suddenly vanished. he swallowed, tightening his grip about the railing. "what is it?" he asked quietly, too scared to say what had been on his mind now that he didn't know what was on yours.

"no, you go first."

he hesitated, the previously comfortable silence slowly reaching a point where it began to feel almost unbearable. thinking he wouldn’t speak first, you opened your mouth to beat him to it. but just when you uttered those three words, he did the same.

"i like you," you both said in unison.

for a second, you both froze, wide-eyed.

"what?"

again, the word echoed in both of your voices. you could feel your cheeks warming, and before you could stop it, a small, nervous laugh escaped you.

sunoo blinked, as if too stunned to react, before the tension broke and he chuckled too. the sound of it sent a wave of warmth through you, only intensifying the fluttering in your chest.

"i–" he started, still smiling but a little more serious now. he took a breath before his eyes found yours again. "i've been wanting to say that for a while. longer than i probably should have." though his confession was soft, the sincerity behind it was heavy. his eyes searched yours for a reaction, and you felt your heart flutter yet again.

smiling, you took a step closer. “i just realized recently,” you admitted quietly, “but being with you, it’s just… it feels good.” like coming home after a long day, you wanted to add, but the words got stuck in your throat when sunoo took a small step forward, gently cupping your cheeks with his hands as if it were the most natural thing in the world. his touch was light and careful, like he was waiting for permission. so, with a small nod, you allowed him to close the distance that had always been between you – to finally kiss the lips that, with that laugh long ago, had captured him completely. <3

© dazzlingjaeyun, 2025. please don't copy, translate, or post on any other platforms. find my other works here

“it feels like we’re in a movie,” you said, the snow crunching under your boots as you danced.

heeseung looked at you with lovesick eyes before leaning down to kiss you on the forehead, a soft smile playing on his lips as he murmured against your skin.

“everything is like a movie when i’m with you.”

he hummed a little song under his breath as you two swayed, dancing on the snow as pristine white piled up on the ground, turning your surroundings to a winter wonderland.

park jongseong

“jay, can you help me with the frosting?”

jay came up behind you, wrapping his hands around yours to help you decorate the christmas cookies. you watched him draw a little nose for the snowman imtently before whipping behind and smearing a dollop of green frosting on his face before giggling.

jay stared at you for a few seconds before attacking you with the frosting. the kitchen was filled with laughter before he finally managed to leave a line of red frosting on your lip and cheek.

you were about to protest, but he quickly shut you up with a kiss on your lips.

“tastes sweet,” he remarked, giving you a smirk before continuing with the cookies as if hadn't just taken a taste of the frosting from your lips.

sim jaeyun

jake wrapped a scarf around the snowman, finishing its look: twigs for its arms, button eyes and a carrot as its nose. it was perfect really - the scarf went well with its orange nose.

“aw, he’s so cute.” you said, giving him a little pat on the head. it had a little lopsided grin on its face, staring blankly at you with its plastic eyes.

jake pouted, hugging you from the back. his breath was warm against your cold skin, and you looked up at him to see his face.

“cuter than me?” he asked, eyeing the snowman with something that resembled jealousy.

you laughed, swatting him on the arm. "of course not! you’re the cutest.”

you turned around to give him a kiss on the cheek, and watched him mirror the snowman’s grin.

park sunghoon 

sunghoon’s hands were surprisingly warm in the icy weather, warming you up pleasantly. he held you steady as you two glided on the ice to the sound of nostalgic christmas jazz playing out of the crackling speakers. snow was falling from the sky, leaving a dust of white on your hair, clothes and face.

“hoon, you’re pulling me along too fast,” you laughed as you tripped over your feet, stumbling clumsily on the ice before giving up and letting your knees give out.

sunghoon immediately helped you up, before pulling you into his warm embrace and giving you a soft peck on your nose. he dusted off the snow from your face, gloved hands warm and gentle against your cold skin.

“you’re just terrible at skating, princess.”

kim sunoo

“sunoo, how many more are you going to buy?” 

you watched sunoo choose yet another item from the store, observing it carefully before placing it on the counter with the mountain of things piling up.

“i have a lot of gifts to give,” he said, beaming. his eyes were sparkling, and you found yourself staring at him as he walked around. 

god, he was so pretty.

"what, are you santa?" you asked, staring as sunoo strolled around the store. the shopkeepers were probably celebrating at the back - sunoo was sweeping the store clean.

“a lot of those gifts are for you, y/n.”

he passed by you, giving you a quick peck on the cheek before picking up a chunky scarf from the rack.  

“this is very christmas-y. you want it?”

yang jungwon

“wonnie, can you help me put the star on the tree?”

you and jungwon had been decorating the christmas tree for a while now, placing pretty ornaments and ribbons on the tree in the warm comfort of your home by the fireplace whilst a snowstorm blew around outside.

“of course,” jungwon smiled, strong yet gentle arms wrapping around your waist before lifting you up.

you placed the golden star on the top of the tree, finishing the look before jungwon set you back down on the ground carefully, his touch on your waist lingering.

“merry christmas, angel."he said, before giving you a kiss on the lips, soft and gentle.

“merry christmas to you too, won.”

nishimura riki

“riki, don’t pull the sled so fast, it’s going to-“

you had barely finished your sentence before you tumbled down the snow covered hill, screaming and yelling.

you finally came to a stop at the bottom, snow covering your face, hair and everywhere possible. you huffed, adjusting the hat that had nearly fallen off.

“y/n, you good?” riki asked, lending you a hand.

you didn’t make any move to get up but instead rolled your eyes at him.

“i told you you were going too fast.” you said, before pulling him down to the ground by his sleeve.

riki landed on the pristine snow with a soft thud, before tackling you and giving you a kiss on the lips.

“sorry y/n, didn’t mean to make you fall like that.”