#veriveryxreader

There were times he'd often stare out the window and picture a grand ball. He'd stand idly by until his eyes caught a figure by themselves. As he mustered the courage to talk to them, the crowd between them would part, allowing him a direct passage to this dream person.

Divulging in this fantasy with others mainly resulted in eyes rolling or laughter. People told him to be realistic and use a dating app like everyone else. However, when his family proposed doing a grand celebration for his birthday, he jumped on the opportunity and blurted out that he wants it to be a modern ball. Of course, he won some odd looks, but the idea was accepted and promptly executed.

Although, now that he's standing here, scanning the crowd, reality started to kick in. How in the hell is he supposed to approach someone when he's... him? A handsome face, yes, but past date attempts have been all too truthful about his awkward personality. He was letting out a deep sigh, when he was interrupted by his friend's voice, "Staring's rude, you know." Minchan smiled teasingly at him.

"You scared me..." Dongheon muttered.

Minchan's smile dropped. "Ohh, no pouting or whining? Something's gotta be wrong." He nudged the other's shoulder. "What? Haven't had your Disney moment?"

"Hush." Dongheon frowned as he attempted to swallow down the embarrassment from rising. Then, he sighed again. "I don't know, I thought things would be different–"

"Well," Minchan patted his back, "you can't expect to find your dream person just standing here. I saw some potential people staring up at you..." He sighed and suddenly squished his friend's cheeks together with a hand, "Such a pretty face and it's wasting away up here!" He laughed as Dongheon swatted his hand away.

"Easy for you to say!" Dongheon huffed as he fixed himself back up. "You can just walk up to anyone and have them melt. With your dumb deep voice and stupid curly hair–" He began to grumble. Minchan hummed in agreement, but his gaze was directed elsewhere. "Hold that thought. Why don't you watch me at work? See how it's done." He hurried down the steps without hearing a response from the other. The birthday prince scoffed in disbelief, electing to ignore him instead.

He was getting tired of standing idly though...

Another sigh was about to leave him when his eyes caught something. Someone. They were by themselves, leaning against a pillar. Even from this distance, he noted the slight sparkle in their eyes, a secret eagerness to join the dancing. Before he knew it, his feet began to move. He weaved through the crowd, muttering quiet excuses. He was afraid of breaking his gaze. As if they'll disappear in a blink.

He barely heard his name being called.

Someone suddenly grabbed his arm. He turned his head to see it was a young woman. One he was actually trying to avoid throughout the night. Still, he smiled politely and asked, "Need something? I have somewhere to b–"

"You haven't touched the floor at all!" she pouted. "Come on, just one dance? I've been practicing this for weeks..."

He furrowed his brow, "How can you practice this–?" But was yanked back to the center of the floor. His head snapped back to the stranger; they were still there, now checking their phone. Oh no, they're getting bored. Dongheon bit back an irritated sigh as he returned to the woman dragging him. He forced a smile at her, even as she tried to pull them closer together as they danced.

Fortunately, he towered over her, and whenever he could, he would raise his head to check in on the stranger. Oh, this wasn't how he imagined it at all! He couldn't let this opportunity slip away so easily. That's when he noticed the other dancers. They were switching partners!

As soon as another duo came close, he passed the woman along. He... almost fell forward, though, considering her death grip on him, but he managed to break free from her. Okay, all he has to do is keep doing this and somehow... somehow get to them.

If this is who fate wants him to be with, then he'll fight tooth and nail!

The music began to swell in his ears, his moves energized by determination. It was a bit tricky at first, finding the timing, but nothing he couldn't handle. Within moments, he was weaving through the crowd and, bit by bit, was inching closer to his goal. As he was reaching them, though, he noticed how fast his heart was beating. He could see their features more clearly. His stomach twisted. No, there's no way he can talk to someone so–!

Their eyes met.

And the stranger smiled. It's a miracle Dongheon was holding onto someone, otherwise he would've fallen forward right then and there. He whipped his head back, eyes darting nervously. Reality was finally catching up to him. But he's so close! He can't be his own demise. Finally, he took in a deep breath and relaxed. Just a few more steps–

"Aw, just one dance, please?"

His head jerked up at the familiar voice. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted his other friend pulling the stranger to a dance. "Kangmin!" he hissed at him. Kangmin looked up and merely gave him that stupid, plotting smile. Oh, he's going to kill that boy one day.

But he kept his eyes on the pair as he danced and continued to switch partners. Compared to Kangmin's outgoing nature, the stranger appeared to be a bit shy and avoided eye contact. His heart melted pathetically at their blush and awkward smile.

But his feet were beginning to ache. How long have they been dancing? Is this really what fate has in store for him? To be this close and yet–?

"Oh! I'm... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bump into you like that..."

Being in his own head, he barely recognized that he's switched partners. He stared wide-eyed at the stranger. They're so much more lovely up close. His voice caught in his throat, but he quickly cleared it. "It's okay!" he winced at his own voice cracking. "It's fine. I, um..." Oh, come on, Dongheon! Get it together–

"It's my first time doing something like this," they muttered, avoiding his gaze. "I don't go out very often... but my friends insisted." He noticed they began to ramble quietly. But it gave him a chance to relax. A smile slowly appeared and he gently readjusted their hands. His head tilted to the side. He wanted to see their eyes so badly– to see that sparkle.

"... Your hands are sweaty." they softly add. It snapped him out of his thoughts and an embarrassed blush swiftly rose up. "Sorry, I–" he stumbled through an apology, but when he tried to pull his hands away, their grip tightened. It's when he noticed their subtle trembling. "And yours are shaking," he retorted.

Their head shot up, and his breath hitched in his throat. Such a beautiful color...

"W... Well, of course I'm shaking a little," they grumbled, "got me dancing with a pretty man–"

He raised an amused brow. "Pretty man?" He subtly pulled them closer. "What about the other guy you danced with?"

"What? Him?" They shrug their shoulders. "He's cute, but not really my type."

"So... what is your type?" Dongheon innocently asked. His thumb began to gently rub over their knuckle. He could see the red appearing on their face. They were avoiding eye contact again.

"M...My type?" they repeat. "Um, I... I don't know. Tall, dark hair, pretty face... I like someone awkward, though. I think it's cute," They look up at them as they speak. Now, it was his turn to feel the heat. "Haha," he swallowed a lump as a stupid, cheesy joke was thought up, "well, I think... I think I know someone who checks all the boxes."

"Do you?" They laugh softly. "Tell me, what's their name?"

"Dongheon..." He answered sheepishly and held a smile to match, "You know, it's his birthday today."

"Hm? Oh, I didn't know that. Think you can introduce me to the birthday boy?" Their smile grew wider. Ohh, they're toying with him badly. But he mustered up his own smile, "Y... Yeah, I think I can."

They hum in appreciation then look off to the side. "Dongheon..." they quietly repeat. He thought it was them calling him, so he responded, "Hm?"

"It's a pretty name. I like it." He squeezed their hand in response. He can't tell if he's getting better or worse as time goes on.

"I bet yours is prettier," he tilted his head. It earned him another laugh, which caused his heart to flutter. "It's (y/n)." they reply.

"(y/n)... Ha, I was right." He smiled warmly. "Well, (y/n), do you... want to talk somewhere quieter?"

"I thought you'd never ask," they sighed, "My feet are starting to kill me."

He burst out laughing and all too eagerly grasped their hand to pull them out of the dancing circle. As he tugged them along, he spotted people staring. Kangmin gave him a thumbs-up, Minchan did a little salute, and that one annoying girl stared daggers at (y/n). But he didn't care what anyone had to do or say.

It wasn't a picture perfect fairytale, but it was pretty damn close. 

The man even hired a limo service to escort you to the restaurant! As nice as the treatment was, you couldn't help but worry about the money he spent... You looked down as the phone buzzed in your hand. It was your anxious boyfriend.

🍯 did you get picked up??

🐝yep ! right on time !

🍯 ahh good! i'll be waiting outside :)

A smile lingered upon your face as you exited the messages. Your phone lit up again, showing the lockscreen - a picture of him completing a hand heart with you. You began to feel a light flutter in your chest. The past few months have went by so fast, yet it felt as if you had known Dongheon for forever. He was a bit awkward at first, but you learned it was a part of his charm. He did whatever he could to ensure you were comfortable first. Not to mention the endless affection was a wonderful plus.

You turned your phone over and let your head lean against the leather headrest. It didn't take long for you to arrive to your destination, though. As the restaurant rolled into view, you definitely took notice of its expensive appearance. You would've stared in continued amazement, but then you spotted Dongheon's giddy self smiling and waving to you.

He hurried over to open the door for you -

Except it was locked.

A few awkward seconds later, and it unlocked, allowing him to finally help you out the limo. "Hi!" he eagerly greeted you then stole a quick glance at your outfit. "Oh, wow, you... hah," he swallowed heavily. His reaction swiftly brought warmth to your cheeks.

"Oh, please-" you turned away awkwardly, "it's the most formal clothes I had, nothing that special-"

"Anything you wear is special."

His rebuttal caught you off guard. You whipped your head back around and stared at him with wide eyes. He held a warm smile and an even warmer blush of his own. You couldn't keep eye contact for long, so you instead focused on his attire - big mistake.

"Even when going out somewhere nice, you just can't cover up-!" You scorned playfully and poked at his slightly exposed chest. Him and low cut shirts can never break up, unfortunately. You felt his body heat up as his arms crossed over his chest. "Aw, you're so mean to me!" he whined. "But you can't help but to stare, right?" You didn't even need to look up to know he was giving a stupid grin.

"Okay, y'know what, let's get inside before I-"

"Before you what?" He chuckled then held out his arm for you to take. You glared up at him before sighing in defeat. "Let's just get inside, dummy..." He could only giggle quietly as he led you in.

When you entered, you gazed in awe as you took in the new scene - dazzling chandeliers, hearty laughter, crystal clear glasses clinking, and soft jazz accompanying to top it all off. It was everything to be expected of a higher-end restaurant. You felt your arm fall as Dongheon moved away to pull out your chair. 

However, it made a horrendously loud scraping noise. The two of you stiffened as eyes were suddenly directed towards you. Dongheon tried to offer some of the grumbling patrons an awkward smile. You quickly took your seat and shuffled forward the best you could to avoid bringing any more attention. One hand on your face told you everything; you were burning hot with embarrassment, but you glanced up to notice your boyfriend's ears were practically steaming. 

"You're like some kind of awkwardness magnet," you tried to joke. He winced at himself before replying, "I thought the guys were joking, but they might've been onto something."

"Hey," you softly call his attention, "our dinner's barely started. No one's gonna remember us anyway."

He shuffled in his seat as the words mulled over inside his head. "... Yeah. Yeah, you're right," he regained his smile. Only for his gaze to soften as he quietly added, "You're always good at that - calming me down."

The heat rushed back. "It's... It's nothing!" You quickly retorted. "I just... learned over time that you shouldn't make a big deal outta little things. There's enough on our plates as it is." You fiddled with the ring on your finger. "Anyway-!" You tried to pull the attention away from you, "how do we even order here?" 

"Oh, it's preordered." He answered. "I picked out our dishes before we came here. Appetizers should be coming soon..." There was a pause as a distant rumble emanated from your stomach. You wrapped your arms around it. Dongheon could only laugh. You couldn't even be mad; it brought out that dopey smile you fell in love with. 

And maybe he caught you staring too hard, for that sweet smile shifted into a dangerous smirk in the blink of an eye. "It's too soon to be giving me those kinds of looks, (y/n)."

"Huh?" You snapped out of it. "What kind of looks? All I was doing was appreciating that cute smile of yours," You huffed. 

"Yeah?" He rested his cheek against his fist. Oh no, he was gearing up to say something awful. He's gained a mischievous twinkle in his eye. "Well, I was appreciating you too - you look so cute when you're admiring me."

"Admiring you??" You sputtered out. Good thing you weren't drinking water, otherwise you would've choked on it a little. "You're talking like I'm obsessed with you!"

"Are you not?"

There it is; he rendered you speechless once again. You dared not rebuttal, for you knew you'd only make a fool out of yourself by stuttering and stumbling. Instead, you turned away in defeat - your silence spoke volumes and he knew it. He merely chuckled and removed his arm as the waiter brought the first course. 

You couldn't even lie - this was also a part of his charm. Somehow, he can switch from awkward loser to a flirty prince in a second. It kept things interesting; you never knew when he would strike. You also were aware that he does it to get a reaction out of you, and it never failed.

Not that you were complaining...

"Oh, I didn't know what wine to get, so I just asked for whatever goes well with the food," Dongheon explained casually, as if he hadn't set your heart aflame two seconds ago. You stole a quick glance at the poured glass. With how this night was going, you may need it, so you took a few sips. 

Slowly, you two steered away from the previous conversation and began to make small talk. Catching up on how you've been, how's the family, that sort of thing. 

"Ah, Kangmin took his partner to the aquarium last week," He bore a proud smile, "I gave him the idea." 

You rose a brow of disbelief at him. He crumbled immediately. "Okay, maybe not directly, but I was explaining how you should go on dates that involve your partner's interests! Like us with the movies."

"Oh! Speaking of," you pointed your fork at him, "that movie I was yapping about finally made it on streaming. We should plan out an at-home movie night to watch it!" You tilted your head as you blabbed on, "Actually, maybe we should do a little marathon. I've been on a kick of the franchise lately-" Your attention returned to him, "Oh, only if you're fine with that--"

"(y/n)," he shook his head with a smile, "of course I'm fine with it." He set his finished plate to the side before resting his arms on the table and leaning in slightly. "You look so happy every time you brought it up, so why wouldn't I want to share in that?" You spotted his cheeks turning red. "And... you practically light up when talking about the things you love anyway. I want to see that expression every-day, if I can..."

He stunned you for the third time. The earnest look in his eyes, the sweet and honest words, it was too much for you - your throat suddenly felt clogged, and tears blurred your vision. You barely saw how quickly his expression changed to one of concern. "Ah! H... Hey, why're you--?" You saw him jump up out of his seat before you quickly grabbed a napkin to carefully wipe the tears away. Except then, you felt a cold sensation on your leg. You immediately pushed yourself away from the table to spot the wine spilling.

Dongheon swore under his breath as he rushed to your aid. As he attempted to clean up the mess on the floor, his eyes caught the stain on your clothes. "Gah-" And he started back his angry muttering. 

"Dongheon," you placed a hand on his fuming head, "it's fine. Really. I can just take it to a dry cleaners or something,"

"I'll cover the cost-"

"Dongheon..." He doesn't turn his head to you, so your fingers gently run through his hair. He paused in his fretting and sighed deeply with drooping shoulders. "Sorry..." he mumbled then slowly got up to return to his seat. 

You gazed at him in slight concern, but he avoided eye contact as the waiter returned with the entrees and some help to clean up the mess. Although readjusted, he picked at his food. You knew speaking gently to him wouldn't work, so you sighed and called out to him. "Hey." He briefly glanced to you, "What's the matter, Heoni? Something is clearly bothering you..."

He crumpled almost immediately at the nickname. You knew it wouldn't fail - it never does. He slowly exhaled through his nose and peeked up at you. "It's just... I wanted this date to go perfect. You've been so good to me and plan out such wonderful dates, so I wanted to return the favor." He glared at his untouched food. "But it's like you said, I'm just an awkward magnet..."

"No!" You startled him with your response. He jerked his head up, staring with wide eyes. "Sorry," you shake your head, "I mean, don't take that seriously." You reach over to grab his hand. "You don't have to beat yourself up so much over this. Even though this is really nice, I would've appreciated anything," You run your thumb across his knuckles. "I don't care what kind of date we do, as long as I'm spending time with you."

You watched as his eyes widened slightly. You continued, "No date goes perfect. Hell, don't you remember me burning the popcorn for our first movie marathon?" A small smile began to appear on his face. "But that didn't stop us from enjoying the date, right?" He slowly nodded. "And as for the awkward magnet, well..." You felt your face warm up, "I really really like that about you. I think it's cute." You shook your head. "But please, don't feel like you owe me anything..."

"... And I love you just the way you are."

The words spilled out before you could even process the thought. Your hand tried to jerk away, but he refused to let it leave his grip. The madman even snatched up your other hand. He gently squeezed both of them before whispering, just loud enough for only you to hear, "I really want to kiss you right now."

Heat erupted onto your face. Once again, you could feel eyes boring into you, but at this point? You couldn't care less. You swallowed the fear down to retaliate, "And what's stopping you?"

His mouth opened to form a reply, and you knew it would've been something wild, but he seemed to remember that they were out in public. Like a balloon, he deflated. "Well, this table... and dessert... and the bill..."

You stared at him in amazement. How can one man have such duality? You released a breathless laugh then brought one of his hands to your face. You gently uncurled his fingers and used your hand to hold his against your cheek. "You're so cute," you murmured, sighing in content. His dopey smile returned--

"Of course I am, and you love me for it."

You couldn't help but roll your eyes. Back to our regularly scheduled Dongheon. "Okay, okay, your ego's big enough as it is. Settle down."

He giggled quietly then lowered his voice, "Should we just take dessert to go? These chairs are kinda uncomfortable..." You quickly nodded in agreement. You wanted nothing more than to leave this stuffy place. While nice, the patrons were... not so nice. 

Within minutes, you had dessert packed up and the bill paid. It had gotten a bit chilly, so he wrapped his blazer around your shoulders. Another bad idea, for you noticed the wardrobe underneath. You practically ran to his car. "Where are your clothes??" You shouted in the parking lot. He burst into laughter. "I am wearing clothes!" he argued. 

"A tank top barely covers anything! Got your... flippin' arms out n' shit..." You angrily muttered under your breath. You tugged on the door handle of the passenger side door, only to feel your greatest weakness wrap around you from behind. "What? Is it a bad look?" he quietly laughed into your ear. 

"Ooh, that wine's getting to you," you felt like you could pass out from being flustered. 

"Really? I didn't even take a single sip. I am driving us home, after all. I have to be the responsible adult sometimes." You shuddered from the brief kiss to your ear. "Like I said, you do a lot of the planning... so let me take care of you tonight."

If he wasn't the one holding you up, you probably would've collapsed. Well, you did feel your legs wobble slightly in response. He hummed in content and finally let you go to open the door for you. You didn't mean to stumble inside - who could even function properly after enduring all that?

Even worse, he decided to take it upon himself to wrap the seatbelt around you. He paused, and you caught his eyes glancing down at your lips. He barely gave you a chance to breathe before stealing a kiss from you. Or two.. or three...

"Dongheon..." You pressed a hand against his chest, gently pushing him back after the fourth kiss. "We're never gonna make it home at this rate."

And he had the audacity to smile shyly. "You're right. We should be in the privacy of our own home." Yet, he still managed to swipe one more kiss before closing the door and hurrying to the driver's seat.