This Was DIVINE. Oml This Was So Good, It Deserves An Epilogue 😞🙏

eee okay:3 idk if this really counts as a reaction but like 😭 slow dancing with enha hyung line :3

SLOW DANCING WITH HYUNGLINE OMFG ARE YOU OUT TO GET MY HEART?! AVERY I AM CRYING -

Heeseung would dance with you in the living spaces of your house tbh i can see him being the silly type to do that with you. you're cooking in the kitchen, probably having a karaoke session in the living room, or maybe cleaning the house??? once a slow song plays, heeseung would come to you and just take your hand and spins you around before wrapping an around your waist and holding you close. the sound of laughter coming from you both resonates your home and it's what makes life together better <3

we already know mister Jay mfk PARK will dance with you anywhere and everywhere! dont matter if it's in public or not, he wouldn't hesitate to grab you by the hand and spin you! but i think jay would love to show you off in public at those fancy restaurants. when people are finished eating and they're asked to bring their partner to the dance floor, i'm pretty jay would ask you to dance with him. he'd hold you close, whispering sweet nothings into your ear and kissing your shoulder. he's just such a romanticist that slow dancing with him is just the same as when he makes love to you, reminding you that he loves you and only you <3

Jake oh jake!!!! I can see him being the type to dance in the rain with you because he listens to your inner thoughts a lot. Just a simple you commenting about the weather and Jake would check to see if it'll rain or not. And when it does, he'd tell you to grab put your shoes on and go outside with him. Confused, you follow him anyway, and then thats when Jake grabs, and carries you outside as the rain falls on you both. You may yell at him now, but starts to melt when Jake sings under that rain and makes you slow dance with him. And the next day you'll both lay in bed sick and all, and that's okay because it's all worth it. <3

aaaaaaahhhhhhhh just trip him LOL JK with Sunghoon, we already know his dorky ass would use his dance practice as an excuse to slow dance with you. he'd say something like he needs a partner to help him with something quick, but then he'd scoop you right away and make you slow dance with him. he makes this his time to be close to you, teases you as he tries looking into your eyes but he's blushing himself, and then places his forehead onto yours. you would tell him to get back to practicing, but sunghoon can't let go of you yet! he's the king of holding hands and if you let go immediately, dude will sulk! so you continue holding his hands and dancing with him until he's happy because hes a little shit but you love him <3

Bakugo, but his sex drive sky rocketed when you both got together and he doesn’t realize it.

“Here. Drink.”

“Mm.” Was all you were able to mumble out from your face being smooshed into the pillow.

Your body was already growing in soreness and your little blonde firecracker could tell, he rolls his eyes playfully at your starfish figure, littered in pre developed hickies and your decorative blanket covering only what’s between your legs

He takes a sip of the cold water bottle he took from your mini fridge to sit beside you back on the bed, “Y’ still with us or what. I wasn’t even that rough this time.”

“I know, but you have to count this morning too when you had me damn near do the splits on the wall.”

“You said you wanted to try that move next time I ate your pussy?!”

“Yeah well.” You groan rolling over, his hand touches your side while guiding you to sit up and take his water bottle, “Didn’t realize I’d be in that position for 4 minutes.”

“Yeah…you usually cum within like 2 and a half when I eat—“

You cover his dirty mouth and sip the drink, it felt like your body was already getting cooled down from the inside you gulped it for a few more seconds, “Shut up.”

It was a comfortable silence, you threw your head back on the headboard to focus your thoughts again. You knew Bakugo had stamina like a mad man but the way how he’s able to get so viscously pussy drunk and the moment he cums he’s able to just get up and walk around like it’s nobody’s business concerns you.

He just had you face down a few minutes ago, crying out and hollering his name and now he’s just staring at you with a soft look of love

….and possibly lust because his eyes wandered back down to your breast and back to your neck. You couldn’t see him do it, but you definitely could feel it.

He leans in to suckle your throat, peppering quiet kisses to pull you closer. You eventually felt his warm hand slide between the wet mess between your thighs, gliding against your clit to make you shriek and clench your legs as a reflex.

“Hey!” You giggle at his ministrations, but firmly grasp his hand, “Again?”

“Only if you want to. Figured you wasn’t sleep right after so….”

It was really a surprise to you Bakugo was more than willing to have sex back to back and so much with you once you both started doing it, it’s almost all you two do when you have free time together if you aren’t training or studying. You’re not complaining at all, but it definitely was something you giggle thinking about.

“What?”

Your thoughts resurfaced and he quirked his eyebrow up in confusion almost breaking into a laugh without you, but still curious, “What? Spit it out.”

“I don’t know…I just never pegged you for a guy that liked to have sex this much.”

Almost immediately his cheeks burned a tinge of red, eyes widening he sit back and crosses his arms in a pout, slightly embarrassed at the realization, “Just because I never fucked anybody, but you doesn’t mean I’m a fucking prude or something.”

“Of course you’re not. I just…assumed after we had sex the first time you’d only wanna do it like…once every two weeks or something.”

The look on his face was pure confusion and offense.

“Every t—- so you think I’m a fucking prude???!!”

“I don’t!”

“You do, —-TWICE EVERY MONTH ARE YOU INSANE?!”

His tone was annoyed and offended you couldn’t help but to laugh even more, but he seriously was confused as to why’d you think that. I mean have you seen yourself ? He can’t get enough??!!

“Well excuse me for wanting you. God forbid a man loves his girl.”

Hearing his voice gravel and wear down you stop your laughter to look at him, he tries looking the opposite way, but you knew from how he side eye’d you he was just being dramatic.

Using the bit of strength you had left you climb on top of him. For a moment you admire his scars and flushed body, the way his chest practically turns into a deep cleavage when he crosses his arms, his sharp jawline, the veins.

Hell, you was happy as fuck he loved to fuck you. Look at him.

“That’s not what I meant. Growing up you always were so focused on being a hero, that seeing you doing anything but is….fun to see. And im happy I’m the one to bring that fun side out of you.”

Still looking away you cup his chubby cheeks, thumb rubbing against them and you kiss his forehead, he looks up at you, “If you think I’m only with you for the sex you’re wrong, dumbass.”

“I know. Sex is just a plus. You remind me that everyday we are together.

Though he was still a little pissy about your twice a month comment he pulled you closer, chest to chest, “yeah? I feel the same way, and the whole reason why I started having consistent sex with you is to catch up.”

“Catch up?”

“Yeah….we dated for 2 years and never done it…gatta make up for it.”

“Baby we been having sex for 3 weeks straight, 5 days a week.”

“So.”

“We started having sex almost 4 months ago.”

“SO?! Jeez if you don’t like fucking then tell me.”

“Oh no…pfft I love when we do this. You make pretty faces when I ride you.”

“Fuck you!”

“Nah…but can I fuck you?”

You didn’t let him respond back, you just kissed him again, before adjusting your body to grind against his already growing erection again.

“Damn nympho.” Bakugo wanted to retort again, but it was broken up into a strained groan when you started stroking his dick.

“Takes one to know one.”

---

beloved - Tsukishima and being soft for you and only you

prompt list reqs are: temporarily closed

beloved

tsukishima; 1,787 words; fluff, established relationship, no "y/n", soft!tsukki, kissing and banter, tsukki being... tsukki

summary: 5 times tsukki is soft just for you and 1 time when he doesn't care that everyone else can see

a/n: this is an ancient req but... welp, here we are! u__u

01.

in the middle of the night, his eyes still marred by sleep and the lack of glasses, when the world is a watercolor haze of shapes and softness — he feels you tug away from where you’d been curled up against his chest, shifting under the blankets. he groans and tries to pull you back.

“kei… what’re you doing?”

“don’t go… i was warm.”

there’s a whine in his voice you’re certain he’s never let anyone else hear before, no one other than you and the silent, watchful moon, swinging low in the mid-autumn night.

“i’ll be right back — i need to pee!”

“well pee quick,” he says, voice gravely from sleep as he shoves his face back into his pillows and tries not to mourn the you-shaped emptiness in the bed next to him. he wonders briefly how he’d lived so many years, slept so many nights just by himself in this bed, his body and no one else’s to keep him warm.

he counts backwards from twenty, knowing that by the time he gets to about seven or six, you’ll be crawling back under the blankets, nuzzling into his side. he gets to eight, seven, six —

“there, see?” you shimmy back into his arms and he sighs a sigh that could be misconstrued as exasperated. but you know him well enough (and he knows you do) to know it’s nothing short of absolute contentment.

“mm. sleep,” is his only mumbled reply as he once again buries his face into the soft bend of your neck and breathes.

02.

out shopping, even though he’d made such a fuss about not wanting to go, about how it’s nothing more than a pointless endeavor and only contributing to the economic monster that is capitalism — but the way you press a sundress to your front in front of a full length mirror, the light in your eyes, the bright smile on your lips — it stirs something inside him. it inspires quiet; it inspires… admiration.

you spin around, laughing, clearly delighted to have caught him staring.

“what do you think? does it look good?”

tsukishima purses his lips, schooling his expression back into a frown as he scoffs and casts his eyes up towards the ceiling.

“’s all the same to me.”

“aw… c’mon, you don’t mean that,” you say, twisting back around to tug at the dress, contemplating if it’s worth trying on.

“sure it is. i mean — i’d like you in whatever, so.”

and silently, he thinks that the way you blush at his words is worth the trip… and all the bags he has to carry along the way.

03.

over strawberry shortcake, with two steaming caramel lattes — you humming happily to yourself as you snap one picture after another of the delicious-looking assortment.

“camera eats first!” you declare, snapping your phone shut and reaching out to pick up a fork. you pause over the petal-pink of the shortcake, decorated with three glistening strawberries, the soft white cream light as clouds.

you bite your lips, “ah… it looks almost too good to eat!”

at this, tsukishima sighs, reaching out to stab straight through a strawberry, despite your squeak of indignation and alarm. he wordlessly presses the strawberry to your lips, smirking to himself as he watches the buttercream smear across your mouth before you have the sense to open it and take a bite.

“mm! it’s good!”

“hn. i’d hope so — it was 2,000 yen.”

tsukishima scopes another bite for himself before pausing, his eyes caught on the languid sweep of your tongue across your lips as you try to catch the remaining cream. and, thoughtlessly, almost as if driven by nothing more than instinct and that strange, animal magnetism, he leans forward to swipe a thumb across your lips, pressing the excess into your mouth.

slowly, you close your mouth around his thumb, and he feels the slight pressure of your tongue against his skin. he swallows; you suck, letting his thumb go with a slip pop that leaves tension swelling in his chest like an overfilled balloon.

later, caught just outside the cafe, with his fingers curling into your hair, tilting your head up to meet his — tsukishima thinks that there are some things, perhaps like the strawberry shortcake, too lovely to devour. and then — there are some things, perhaps like your lips, entirely too lovely not to.

04.

after practice, when the moon hangs heavy in the mid-summer sky and the cicadas are singing loud enough to shake loose the stars — tsukishima leans back against your legs, his head falling into your lap as you reach down to slip off his glasses.

“so… how was the training camp?” you ask, tracing your index finger along the high bridge of his nose.

“tiring. the little orange dolt thought it’d be a good idea to break in —”

“break… in?”

“yeah, he just showed up and — i dunno — prayed that no one would notice that he wasn’t invited. idiot.”

your laughter is summer-sweet and full-bellied, and it has you tipping back on your couch with your fingers still tangled in tsukishima’s slightly shower-damp hair.

“it’s — it’s not funny!” tsukishima twists around, frowning hard enough for you to burst into another fit of giggles, reaching forward to run your thumbs along the ridges between his furrowed eyebrows.

“i mean… i think it’s pretty hilarious. that takes balls, doesn’t it?”

tsukishima huffs, swiveling back around, shoulders hunched as he grabs for the remote and clicks on the tv, switching through channels at light-speed. his glasses lay forgotten on the sofa next to you.

“or he’s just too stupid to think about the consequences.”

you reach forward with an indulgent smile, looping your arms around his wide shoulders.

“oh, c’mon… cut him some slack. not everyone can be as tall, handsome, and talented as you are, right?” you say, nuzzling into his cheek even as he swats half-heartedly at you.

“quit it.”

you giggle, hugging him all the tighter until he spins around, pinning your wrists above your head with a speed not usually associated with someone of his height. he hovers over you, his head cocked to one side.

“oh yeah? and what’re you gonna do for your tall, handsome, talented boyfriend to make him feel better after such a stressful day at camp, hm?”

you hiccup, lashes fluttering as he bears down over you.

“i — ts-tsukki —!”

“hn. wrong answer — two more chances.”

you press your lips and glare at him with what you hope is a reproachful air. tsukishima only smirks, shaking his head even as he bends down to press into your space, your chests pressed, his body covering yours and then some. his lips brush the lobe of your ear and he revels in the way you shiver.

“fine line between stupidity and courage, i’d say… don’t you agree?”

05.

before the game with shiratorizawa, with his brand new glasses, and his head bowed low.

“don’t be scared,” you say, reaching down to link his fingers with yours. they’re so long, so strong. the palms peppered with calluses.

tsukishima scoffs, “i’m not scared.”

you smile, rocking up onto your very tip toes to press a chaste kiss to his lips. luckily, tucked behind a large column, around the corner to a deserted corridor, no one is there to see.

“you’re not a very good liar,” you say, falling back onto your heels, peering up at him as he stares down at you with slightly narrowed eyes. then, he bends forward to trap you against the column, his breath hot along your lips.

“and you’re gonna make me late for warmups.”

he pulls back at the last second, leaving you breathless. but the smile that dangles from his lips is less sanctimonious than usual. he reaches up and flicks at your forehead when you make no move to follow him.

“i’m not scared, i’m nervous. but… i guess seeing you in the stands would make that a bit better.”

you bite down on your bottom lip, linking your hands behind your back.

“well then, what are we waiting for?”

06.

after the shiratorizawa match, when everyone is still running high on adrenaline, puffy-eyed with happiness, you bound down to meet him, skidding to a halt just outside the giant gymnasium doors. there are bandages on his fingers and sweat dripping down the tip of his nose.

his cheeks are pink with exhaustion, but his eyes are clear and bright and wanting.

“guess you didn’t have any reason to be nervous after all,” you say, trotting up to meet him as the rest of the team parts around the pair of you like water around a river rock. yamaguchi glances over his shoulder even as he herds hinata and kageyama away, the pair bickering over this or that.

tsukishima crinkles his nose, but his eyes narrow at the sight of the redness beneath your eyes. he reaches up his uninjured hand to trace along the dried tear-tracks along your cheeks.

“what’re you crying for?”

you sniffle, shooting him a glare.

“just because you weren’t scared doesn’t mean i wasn’t either — but you won — so that’s all that —”

he quiets you down with a kiss, standing there, in the open gymnasium hallways, the chattering of hundreds of students ebbing around you both. distantly, you can swear you hear tanaka whoop, only to be cut short by what sounds like sugawara smacking him painfully upside the head.

tsukishima frowns as he pulls back, “y’know… i’d prefer if your mind wasn’t on other things when i kissed you.”

“wh-what — i wasn’t —”

his lips thin into his trademark smirk as he tugs your chin towards him with two fingers, his hold more gentle than it looks.

“hm… seems like you’re not a very good liar either but… guess i don’t really mind that much.”

your retort dies on your lips as he leans down again, and this time, you don’t think about how the pair of you are still standing in the middle of a very visible hallway, how people are probably starting to stop and stare.

this time, you kiss him back like nothing else matters in the world except for his lips and how perfectly soft they are on yours.

---

3am and touch deprived. this imagine is just my touch deprivation in a fancy font because, damn, this is so well-written.

HOLD ME LIKE YOU ALWAYS DO — s.jaeyun

PAIRING: jake x fem!reader GENRES: angst, fluff WC: 8.3k+

WARNINGS: mention of cheating and toxic relationship (not between jake and yn). fights, bruises, swearing, mention of alcohol consumption, kissing.

NOTES: i love reading angst and i thought about this one for a while. of course it's all just fiction, jake would never subject himself to that kind of thing. and another, if you live/lived/know someone who goes through a relationship like that… be supportive, or seek support. you deserve much more and no one has the right to be toxic with another person. for absolutely nothing!

masterlist

"Hey, Jake?" your voice came out as a whisper, afraid to wake the rest of the house as you tiptoed to the kitchen. Your route had been interrupted as soon as you passed the living room, noticing the boy sprawled on the couch.

With a quick movement, Jake stood up and sniffled softly as he wiped the tears that were pouring down his face.

"Hi y/n, I didn't know you were here" the shaky voice indicated that, once again, that scenario was repeating itself. He didn't even have to look at you to know that Jake was crying again.

With the sound of your tongue clicking inside your mouth, displeased to see him like that, you approached in quick steps until you were standing next to him in the center of the room.

"Lori again? What did she—"

"Let's not talk about it, okay? Just…" Jake felt his lower lip tremble as he began to cry copiously again "Hold me like you always do, please?"

Never that you would refuse that request, so your arms quickly wrapped around the body bigger than yours for sure. Jake wrapped his arms around your waist and buried his face in your neck to keep crying until he had no more strength.

As he said himself, you've always done this. Ever since you started going to the house he shared with his best friends a few months ago. You met Jake through Heeseung, your university classmate and your best friend's boyfriend. Thanks to you Heeseung and Kimi were dating. And thanks to Kimi you started to meet at Heeseung's house and his friends more often in addition to the campus parties that were always going on.

These encounters resulted many funny stories, many moments when you would have movie sessions and hear Jay's scream echoing throughout the room – and him denying at the end that that sound had come out of his mouth – even though everyone knew who had done it. And besides the fun stories, you also got to know the little painful moments.

It didn't happen because you wanted it to, but Kimi and Heeseung liked to vent to you and that led you to be a good listener. Always trying to understand what was going on and even listening about how Sunghoon felt like a bad student or how Jay was frustrated because he didn't know how to propose to the girl he loved. Everyone was there to talk to you. Except Jake.

Jake was the one you had the least contact with since you arrived there, and the stories about it reached your ears before you even introduced Kimi to Heeseung. Because the boy was venting about how sad his friend was. The reason? Dating. Or as you heard his friends call it, hell on earth itself.

You spotted Jake at a few parties you attended on campus, he was always a nice guy, and from the cool stories Heeseung told, he was great. But his shine dimmed when he was betrayed by one of his teammates on the soccer team. Jake Sim was the epitome of beauty and kindness, taking away any and all stereotypes of the varsity player being a real son of a bitch. Jake was not like that, on the contrary. And with that said, many girls would fall at his feet and he would have an equally beautiful girlfriend. Who has been turning ugly in his eyes since Heeseung told the whole story.

Lori and Jake studied together for a few classes in the semester, which brought them closer and they started dating. Jake gave all of himself, thinking his growing love was reciprocated until he saw his sweet girlfriend clinging to the team's quarterback inside the locker room.

That's dumb and very disgusting, you almost threw up your lunch when Heeseung was telling you all that, almost punching your salad with so much anger that the tomato flew off your plate.

It wasn't a long courtship, by the way. Jake wouldn't consider five months something he could suffer through like he did at the moment, but what hurt him was all the deception he went through. To feel that while he was trying to give of himself, he was being stabbed in the back by the person he thought he loved next to one of the guys he thought was his friend.

"Bro code and lack of character, he has to leave the team" Sunghoon wanted to punch the face of the man who made Jake be in that state, but he asked Jay, the team captain, not to do that. He didn't want to be in a situation that wasn't his fault.

Or at least he wanted to feel like it wasn't. Even with the constant encounters with Lori and her newest boyfriend, she seemed to make it a point to humiliate Jake until the boy simply wouldn't answer her and walked out of there. For her, that was a victory. For Jake, it was getting out of there in time to not cuss out every last generation of her and not offend her. Because he was too good for this world. Jake, unfortunately, cared about treating well those who didn't even think about how he would look in that whole situation.

Because he still frequented a few common places, the boy kept running into who he least wanted to be on that whole huge campus. He wanted to avoid, sidestep or just not look at Lori in his entire life, but she sniffed. She sensed Jake was around and always had a way of wiping out what shred of sanity he had and making him feel bad for nothing.

"You never get tired of seeing me, do you Jakey" her voice had become unbearable to him, causing his stomach to churn at the mere fact that his nickname had left her lips "Miss me?"

"Never" he managed to speak a little more firmly, making her raise her eyebrows in disbelief. Lori couldn't believe this was happening, in her mind, Jake was suffering for something she had caused.

"Oh, how rude" she laughed, and he rolled his eyes. With a little more closeness inside that library, Lori raised her hands to touch Jake's face, sliding along his jawline "That's why I did what I did to you, I was so bored I needed some fun in our boring courtship."

And those were just a few things he listened to relentlessly until he went home late at night and cried all he could. That's how Jake finally met you.

Having movie nights at the boys' house that Jake didn't attend, you'd hang around to sleep in Heeseung's room because he was taking Kimi home and everyone knew he wasn't leaving. So between hearing any noise coming from your friend's room with your friend, it was better to sleep in his room and dawn with unkempt boys who still made a great breakfast together.

But your nocturnal thirst prevented you from lying in your friend's bed all the time, so as if your biological clock sensed it, as soon as Jake was in the room quietly crying, you went downstairs.

Your first date with him wasn't that long, Jake just apologized for scaring you and went upstairs to his room. The next few nights followed equally until you decided to dare. Before he could pass you and go to the staircase leading to the bedrooms, you gently grabbed Jake's arm.

He shuddered at the touch but stopped walking instantly while keeping his back to you. Your next movement stiffened the boy's muscles, but he felt strangely welcomed as your hands passed around his waist, landing on his abdomen as you buried your face in Jake's back.

"You can cry, it's okay to do that…" your words felt like magic to him, because after that day, Jake would unconsciously wait for you to come down to get water so he could feel your embrace again.

You never said much and he said even less, being aware that Heeseung had already told him the whole story he had been going through lately. So words could be spared and Jake wouldn't feel his tears getting stronger and stronger if he had to relive the worst moment of his life so far. He wanted to focus on just being held by you and maybe feel your breath against the back of his neck as you held each other tighter. It calmed him down in a way, and the boy had no problem admitting it.

And you would also admit if they asked you that lately, you asked Heeseung to sleep at your house more with Kimi so you could silently help Jake. Because you were the only one who could get something from him, at least. None of your friends had gotten a single word from Jake Sim. They would have called you a good luck charm if they saw you hugging him in that living room.

It had been two months since you and Jake's nightly encounters. By this time, Heeseung only knew how to sneak glances at you during class and sometimes write in the corner of his notebook some teasing with it.

Have you kissed yet? He wrote this time. You rolled your eyes, huffing at the stupid question your friend had asked.

No, idiot. Your answer below is from a different colored pen to indicate your sentence.

He seemed to take a moment, looking straight ahead when the teacher gestured near where you were sitting. The focus was on two students sitting right in front of you, so Heeseung sighed and went back to writing.

I think you two match. You widened your eyes and quickly turned to Heeseung, letting your jaw drop at that.

"What's your problem?" you whispered as low as you could, pulling him by the sleeve of his sweatshirt as you spoke.

"What? You're the only one he listens to" Heeseung whispered back, afraid the teacher would scold you both.

"Does that mean we have to kiss?"

"Look, from the number of hugs you've given each other these past few months, I wouldn't be surprised if you two have already kissed" he smiled showing all those perfectly aligned teeth you always told your best friend, one day you'd break them.

But it wasn't the moment, because Heeseung's line was now echoed in your mind. He could be right, even if only in the slightest. Because you and Jake were meeting more often at the boys' house, you made Heeseung's room almost like your own. Now, apart from crying a little less, he kept a gentle caress on your waist until he dozed off on the sofa hugging your body.

It wasn't something to complain about, but to think about because his friend sitting next to him could be an idiot with good reason. It would be a lie to say that you didn't think about kissing Jake. But not while he was crying, only after the whole weight off his back moment that he released you from his embrace. Smiling in your direction and kissing your forehead before walking you to Heeseung's room.

"You're thinking too much" your friend nudged you "Is it Jake's kiss?"

"God, I hate you" you huffed "I regret introducing you to my best friend."

"Hey, you introduced me to the best thing in life, don't say that" Heeseung pouted, you rolled your eyes, but laughed it off.

Taking the conversation that way could take the focus off your friend's fixation on you kissing Jake. It wasn't something to deny, but you saw yourself as his source of escape, someone Jake trusted enough to see him vulnerable. You also didn't know how much he'd healed from everything he'd been through before you could try something, so just hugging him might be enough for you. That would content you, at least.

And with that thought you let the class go on without any more problems, Heeseung also didn't write in your notebook anymore until the end of the period, when you both put your things in your backpacks and he held his shoulders to divert you from the crowd of your classroom.

"I'm starving" he grumbled as soon as you left, abandoning your shoulders so he could walk beside you across campus.

"Do you want something to eat? I'm meeting Kimi and Sarang in five minutes."

"Tempting, but I can't" he groaned sadly, throwing his head back dramatically when you both stopped walking "I have practice now and Sunghoon already got us something to eat before we play. Will you tell Kimi I miss her?"

"You two saw each other yesterday" you grimaced "You slept together, Heeseung."

"I can't miss my girlfriend? You're annoying, y/n" he came closer and hugged you, messing up your hair "Wait until this happens with you and Jake, I'll laugh at your face."

Before he could get a slap from you, Heeseung rushed away only hearing your grumbles behind him. The cursed and mumbling of other words that he couldn't understand because he was too rushed to meet his friends at practice. He wanted to run enough so he could get home in time to shower and finish something from the university before meeting Kimi.

"He's here, finally" Sunghoon celebrated when Heeseung appeared on the lawn. Panting but smiling, the boy greeted all his friends until he let his backpack fall off his shoulders onto the bleacher bench.

"Were you expecting me? How sweet" he feigned commotion as he took a piece of sandwich Jay had offered him. Gratefully, he bit into a large piece listening to the captain and one of his best friends say a few things.

"Where were you?" Jake stopped beside him, nudging him with his shoulder. Heeseung swallowed the food before smiling without showing his teeth, but Jake knew that smile well. His friend's response would be less than malicious or pleasant to him.

"With your secret passion" he said once he made sure there was nothing on his teeth. Jake kept looking at him trying not to bite his lips in anticipation, then Heeseung sighed and said low "I was in the last class with y/n."

Jake choked on his own saliva rather loudly, his teammates looking directly at Heeseung since he was the one eating. The boy denied it, turning his gaze back to Jay who was instructing how today's game would go.

"Where the hell did you get that from? For God's sake, Heeseung," Jake said in a low tone, not wanting to hit his friend because he was eating and might drop his snack.

"Come on, you two walk too close. It's not time to—"

"You know it's not like that" Jake interrupted him.

"So you've thought about the possibility?" Heeseung's eyes flashed in anticipation and Jake couldn't help himself, slapping his friend's arm and yelping in fake pain. It hadn't even been that hard, after all.

"Am I getting in the way of you two lovebirds?" Jay raised one eyebrow at the two, who just looked at him with an apologetic nod afterward "Okay, let's start practice."

Running across the huge field after getting ready with their uniforms and helmets, they split into subgroups to start their training. Nothing too different from what they were used to. Excited shouts when someone caught the ball and scored a point, or when they managed to knock their opponent to the ground. Sunghoon was the one who celebrated the most, even more, if he had knocked Jay or Jungwon down.

Jake preferred to stay in his seat, waiting for someone to pass him the ball or call him over to assist on a point. Quickly his eyes ran over his teammates and soon stopped on Heeseung. The boy had a twinkle in his eye that Jake couldn't see, but he smiled broadly every time he looked at Sim. In a mixing motion, Heeseung formed two beaks with his hands, linking them together as if to make his fingers kiss. Jake froze.

He'd be a big hypocrite if he said he'd never thought about kissing you because it had already crossed his mind. But see this, Jake was still trying to heal from something that had been haunting him for a long time. He knew it would be completely difficult to try something with someone else if his ex-girlfriend was still a burden in his life. Not because he wanted to, but because he just didn't know how to get rid of it.

Jake felt that need, and he knew Heeseung was right in some ways. Because it was impossible not to feel like kissing you every time your lips touched his forehead gently after he sighed when he was done crying. Your lips curved into a small smile as you spoke words of endearment close to his face. Jake held back so much internally not to pull her face close to his.

Even more so when you nestled into his body pulling him into a hug. Your body was much smaller than his, it was obvious, but the way you held him was incredible. Every time your face was buried in Jake's neck and the shivers he felt could be put down to the intensity of the moment. He wanted to think it was because he was crying and venting all his frustration at that moment, not because his breath was beating against his skin involuntarily.

Jake wanted so badly to curse himself for thinking about your reddened, ajar lips, while you watched him ramble through what had happened and looked at him carefully on every subject. He would get lost sometimes and try to pick up again because he was glazed over by your lips. Maybe kissing them was something he wanted as much as you did, even if he had no idea about it.

"Jake, look out!" Jay's shout snapped him out of his thoughts as Jake looked forward, realizing he'd spent too long thinking about what it would be like if he'd kissed you. The ball hit his helmet so hard that he fell to the ground in seconds.

"Fuck" he groaned in pain, eyes closed and squeezed together as shadows loomed around him. His friends were already close enough to cover all the sun that shone on the soccer field that late afternoon.

"What the fuck, man. Didn't you hear me call you?" Jungwon scolded him with a concerned tone of voice. Jake felt his body being lifted and he knew Jay had taken off his helmet, opening his eyes slowly to see all his teammates standing there.

"Sorry, I… I guess I got distracted."

"We get it" Sunghoon joked "What were you thinking?"

Jake opened his mouth to answer, then closed it when he heard a short laugh from Heeseung.

"Son of a bitch" he didn't have the strength to get out of Jungwon's arms, otherwise he would have run to the other to hit him on the head too.

"Okay, we'll take a break from practice" the coach announced afterward, hearing from Jay that everything was fine and it was just a scare.

As the boys dispersed across the field, Jake decided to sit on the bench for a while and breathe deeply as his head ached. Maybe from the hit or, at worst, from thinking too much about you.

Jake doubted himself when he accepted that invitation after soccer practice. It had been months since he had known what it was like to attend a party properly without having his ex-girlfriend pestering him. He knew he was missing his friends since he always partied – as much as possible – with the almost weekly parties of the fraternities of that college. The boy sighed, letting those thoughts be pushed from his mind as he filled his glass for the second time, having Sunghoon's gaze and Jay's smile accompany him as the beer keg hose finished pouring its contents.

"Are you sure you're feeling okay being here?" Jay asked when it was his turn to fill the glass. Jake drank some of the contents, smiling with the plastic between his teeth as he did so.

He truly appreciated all his friends' concerns. And he also felt a little guilty because this situation involved everyone he cared about, and not in a good way. Because everyone ended up, in a way, feeling bad about the state Jake found himself in… Since he met you. That last part was new to him ever since Heeseung started pushing his buttons, even more so after he brought up the subject of kissing. It was just making him nervous.

"I'm sure" Jake snapped out of his thoughts when he felt Jay's arm go around his shoulder. He looked at Sunghoon, his glass full and a wide smile on his lips "Where are we going now?"

"To look for Heeseung, he's arrived" Sunghoon announced and was led the whole way into the busy house.

"And she came, you know, right?" Jay's whisper couldn't have stirred Jake as much as he would have liked. Shit, the boy thought, was he really looking forward to her arrival that much? Why did Jake feel his legs getting shaky as he walked with his friend by his side? Even though he knew it wasn't, in fact, to meet just you. But knowing that you were there waiting for the boys was one thing that made Jake a little more nervous.

With that, the boy decided to drink the entire contents of his glass to try, in a useless way, to clear his throat which was already starting to dry out due to his state.

"You've all finally arrived" with Jay's announcement, Jake froze as he looked straight ahead.

There you were, completely perfect. He always saw you in casual clothes because the settings were his house or college. The times Jake had bumped into you at a few parties, they were quick things and he was always accompanied by Lori, so it wasn't like the guy really remembered what you were wearing. When needless to say, he barely had any fun at parties being with the other girl.

"How nice to see you here, Jake" Kimi approached him, quickly hugging the boy who returned the act of affection with the same intensity.

"I missed that, actually" he said sincerely, smiling when she pulled away to give him space. The space he knew he couldn't fill because he was shaking too much to move.

When your eyes locked onto Jake's, he swore everything stopped for a few minutes. No music was heard but the sound of your heartbeat speeding up just because you had smiled at him. That smile that he used to see during the last few months as you consoled him for crying like an idiot. But even more so, it was the smile he looked for almost every night, even through the tears, just to feel good and be able to sleep peacefully.

"Hi" Jake blinked rapidly at your proximity, noticing you were standing right in front of him.

Now all your friends had scattered and he hardly knew where they were, leaving you two alone – not to mention the world of people surrounding you – but that didn't matter. It was just you and Jake, through both of your eyes.

"Hi" the boy smiled finally "Would you like a drink?"

"I'd love one" you smiled a little more because Jake was smiling broadly in your direction now.

Without much thought, as if it were a natural thing, he took your hand and entwined his fingers in yours. In response, you squeezed his hand and let him guide you to where the drinks might be. And all the way Jake followed like that, holding hands with you as if it was meant to be. As if the two of you had to stay like that until you reached the kitchen.

"What do you want?" he asked.

"Hm… Beer?" you didn't know what you had, and you weren't going to start with something unknown either. Maybe beer could help you get used to the alcohol in your system until you interspersed it with other concoctions Heeseung would probably bring in the middle of the night.

Jake agreed with your request and went to the fridge to get a beer, and even that didn't make him let go of your hand, so you had to follow him walking beside him. With his free hand, Jake grabbed two bottles of beer and handed one to you, smiling in thanks as he closed the fridge to walk over to the counter.

"Want me to open it?"

"Please" you asked, and just at that moment, Jake released your hand to take the bottle and twist the cap with the edge of his t-shirt. It was a simple act, you had seen Heeseung and Jay do it when you went to the boys' house at night.

A normal thing between them. But why with Jake had it made you sigh? A silly sigh that had certainly not gone unnoticed by him. Because the boy had smiled so shyly that your cheeks were red now.

"Thanks, Jake" you said before picking up your drink and taking a long sip. It was hot, your throat was dry and you were nervous. Putting it all together and adding the fact that Jake's eyes never left your face, you needed to finish that bottle as soon as possible. And that's what happened.

By the time Jake opened his bottle and took a small sip, you had already finished yours and felt the bitterness of the drink in your mouth, grimacing.

"What? Is it that bad?" he laughed, pouring his bottle and taking a long sip since the two drinks were the same. Then another sip until he finished all the beer "You didn't like it?"

"I found it a bit bitter, I don't know" you shrugged, feeling the taste still against your lips.

"I think I can make it better" Jake didn't know with what courage he had pulled it out of his chest to make it come out of his mouth. And he also didn't know what courage he was having to be slowly pushed against your face.

His face inches away from yours, his nose brushing so slowly against hers that it was tickling lightly against your skin.

"With your mouth? But you drank the same thing I did" you were supposed to shut your mouth when you were nervous, or you'd spoil the fact that Jake Sim was leaning towards you, his breath hitching against your lips.

"I had a few other things to drink before you arrived too, I think that might help" he shrugged, laughing nonchalantly at your nervousness. Perhaps he was a little braver than you now.

"It's okay, you can try."

It was all he needed to hear to touch the icy fingers to your skin and pull your body to him. Touching his forehead against yours, Jake slid his head to the side to get his lips to fit slowly, torturously long before his lips brushed against yours. He started slow, just feeling the pressure of his mouth against yours before he asked for permission to intensify. You gave in you wouldn't be silly to deny something you wanted and that was instigating you as much as he was.

Jake's kiss, although tasting different from the beer you two had been drinking, tasted good. It was slow and intense, his hands squeezing you so carefully as if you were going to break at any moment. Your hands, on the other hand, rested against his cheek to feel the movements of his jaw as he kissed you even more. No speeding up so he could feel every inch of your mouth and no rush to tangle his tongue in yours.

"Jake, we— Holy shit" Heeseung cried out. Jake parted your lips from him in a quick pop but came back to seal them properly as he turned his head towards his friend who had just entered the kitchen.

"What is it, Heeseung?" he laughed at the older man's astonished expression, he swallowed an outraged cry as he bit his lips.

"You… You two…"

"What did you come to say?" Jake still had his hands on your waist, keeping you in place as your hands slid from his face to his arms, holding yourself against him.

"I said… I wanted to talk… About, you know… You know…"

"I think we broke him" you whispered, hearing Jake's laughter once more.

"Come on, Heeseung! Talk soon" the boy hurried.

Heeseung seemed to come to his senses and sighed loudly, unable to contain the huge smile that adorned his lips.

"Game outside in two minutes, the boys want you to go" he finally said.

Jake agreed with a small nod, looking at you this time.

"Want to meet Kimi while I go with the boys?" the concern in his voice and the intensity of his gaze made your knees wobble. You could only smile as you quickly agreed with a nod.

Jake kissed your lips once more, still slowly and holding your face between his hands.

"Holy shit, I love you both so much" Heeseung shouted again, jumping up and down from the kitchen door. Jake laughed against your lips and pulled away, pushing Heeseung out of the kitchen and letting you breathe a little.

It was your turn to look for your best friend and tell her what had happened. Your eyes scanned the huge room when you came out of the other room, not to mention the pair of eyes that stared at you all night.

"I don't believe it!" Kimi shouted as excitedly as her boyfriend did a while ago.

You laughed at her excitement together with Sarang, who hugged you non-stop almost knocking you down on the lawn.

"I'm so happy for you two, I swear" she squeezed you a little tighter, waiting for Kimi to join the pair to hug them too.

"Jake deserves this so much" Kimi whispered after she hugged you both "And so do you, after all, you've been with him all this time."

"We just kissed, come on" you laughed a little nervously at the statement of one of your best friends.

"But I'm being honest" she walked away with Sarang "It's impossible for you two not to have developed a crush on each other in this time of closeness…"

"Sure, it's months of helping him with all this shit" Sarang sat back down on the lawn, enjoying the night from the front of the house. She had these moments when she thought everything was too crowded inside, so she would call you and Kimi to join her for some fresh air "And you two are beautiful together."

"Visually and emotionally too."

"Idiots" you rolled your eyes, laughing and unfazed by it. There was no way they could have left you speechless any longer, why were your friends describing you so well? Was it too apparent how you and Jake were with each other?

"Okay, let's go inside. Y/n is turning red and we don't have any drinks for her to blame her embarrassment on" Sarang held her arms out for someone to help her up. You and Kimi joined in, pulling her off the ground and waiting for her to clear herself off the grass before you went inside.

Before your steps became solid back to the party, your eyes traveled to the person at the entrance. Your stomach almost churned at the sight of Lori staring at you.

You tried to look away and even felt Kimi's hand hold yours for a moment, maybe they could divert the path and go in the back, but something in you didn't want to go another way but to pass her. But the girl was quick to get down from the driveway and walk towards you.

"Y/n, right?" she asked as soon as she approached your trio of friends along with a friend of hers. The girl looked at the three of you with a disgusted expression, surely mirrored by Kimi.

"Do you know my name?"

"I had to go find out who the bitch who kissed my Jake was" at her audacity, the only thing you could do was laugh. Laugh with all your heart as you took a step forward, almost knocking the girl over by the way you leaned towards her.

"Yours?" your voice came out between your teeth "Claiming something you lost months ago? Please, honey, get better."

"Oh, y/n, where does all this courage come from to talk to me like that?" she pressed her forefinger against your shoulder, pushing your body slightly.

"Don't touch me" you slapped against her hand on impulse, seeing Lori's countenance stiffen. She ignored the fact of that and went back to pressing her index finger against your shoulder.

"I suggest you stay away from Jake, you know" her nail dug into your skin, and this made a sigh come out of your lips "It's only a matter of time before he comes back to me…"

"He'll never do that, I'll make sure it doesn't happen" you tried to smile and ignore the sting of her nail against your skin "And I told you not to touch me, bitch."

You felt your body being pulled back entirely, widening your eyes and wondering how Kimi had gotten so strong to pull you like that. But it wasn't her there. Immediately you found Jake's eyes riveted on you while looking forward, you could notice your other friends assisting the girl who was trying to get out of her own friend's arms.

Your tongue itched at the roof of your mouth to ask how he had gotten that far without you noticing, or your attention and anger were so well directed that you weren't even able to hear him yell from the front door when the game was over. Jake knew he had to run as fast as he could, thanking God for his position on the soccer team. He was fast enough to sneak up on you all and take Kimi's place to hold you back.

"I'll finish her off" Lori's voice brought you back to reality, finally facing the girl who was trying to get out of Hyunjin's grip and her friend's as well.

"I hope you make sure you do this well, because if I catch you—"

"That's enough!" Jake said sternly, but low enough that only you could hear him. Without waiting long – and knowing that you wouldn't leave without first trying a fight – he spun you around between his arms and used all the strength he had to pick you up and put your body over his shoulders.

"Jake, put me down" you struggled, knowing it was useless because the boy was much stronger than you and his grip on your body wouldn't be gentle enough for you to get out.

Your eyes were still agile enough to see Lori's even angrier face as Jake carried you over his shoulder into the house again, setting you down on the floor after he closed the door.

Without saying a word, he took your hand just like earlier in the evening, but it wasn't as subtle. The grip between your fingers would have hurt if it wasn't for the adrenaline still coursing through your bloodstream. He ran up the stairs with you, so quickly that your feet almost wobbled and tripped on some steps. Entering the room Jake had designated, unaware that it was a dimly lit room that served as a study area in the fraternity house.

"You have to let me down, Jake" you finally said, sighing heavily as he stood in front of the door after locking it.

"Only in your dreams" he smiled without showing his teeth, turning serious again when you took slow steps towards him.

"I need to" your teeth quickly clamped down on your bottom lip, taking a deep breath when he denied your request again "Jake, I'm not done talking to Lori."

"And you won't, y/n" he leaned in close enough that his face was level with you. Swallowing dryly with Jake's breath so close to yours, you closed your eyes "You need to do like me and ignore any shit she says."

His calm voice contrasted with his serious countenance. You let out a snort with your eyes still closed, feeling your whole body shiver.

"Of course, to see you look bad like that… Jake!" your eyes opened to meet his, so expectant that the boy would let you out of that room "She needs to hear me. I've kept this for a long time and—"

"And you don't have to do that, y/n. It's not up to you…" he didn't mean to sound rude and you knew he hadn't been, after all, Jake was right. It wasn't about you and his willingness to say anything to Lori was only to protect you.

"Just let me…"

"Stay away from her, please?"

Stop asking me like that, you idiot, you mentally screamed, knowing you'd already broken down the instant Jake's hands roamed your waist, pulling you closer to his body.

"But—"

"For me, can you do that?" a whisper so sweet against your lips as Jake slid his bottom lip between yours. You sighed loudly, letting your hands sprawl against his chest as you felt him hug your body even closer.

When you nodded slowly in agreement, Jake smiled weakly before taking your lips and kissing them gingerly. He wanted to take his time kissing you once more, feeling every little part of your mouth as he tried to calm you down from the little incident minutes ago. You could feel his heart beating against the palm of your hand and Jake could feel your rapid breathing gradually calming down against his lips.

The same way you had calmed him all those nights, he wanted to do it right then. Jake wanted you to feel all the care he could offer you.

The kisses, even as they intensified, never stopped being careful until you both needed to catch your breath and pull away from each other this time. No interruptions, no one watching. Just you and him.

"Now we can go home if you want" Jake said after a while, forehead still against hers and a smile adorning the plump lips reddened from the fresh kiss.

"Why? It's early…"

"I'm not going to risk leaving you down there right now" you didn't know Jake's level of concern, but seeing his gaze take over your entire face as he waited for an answer, it was clear he wasn't going to let you stay there unattended.

"Alright, we can go home" you sighed, receiving a grateful smile from him.

But deep down, something in your mind screamed that it wouldn't be easy to stay away from Lori. Because if she stalked Jake even after the breakup, what wouldn't she do to you after tonight?

You didn't know what was hurting more: the pressure of the ice pack on your face or Jake's glare in your direction.

Yes, you practically promised in a roundabout way that you would stay away from Lori. For him. But what about when she comes in with all the rage in your being throwing you to the floor of the university hallway? Should you stay quiet and just take it, or stand up for yourself and manage to twist her nose in the process? Of course, you did the second option without even thinking about the consequences.

It didn't matter that your best friends took you to the university infirmary, just to take care of the little bruises on your face while Kimi called Heeseung. That was the cause of the information and that was why Jake was in the infirmary room with you now.

He paced back and forth, his hands running through his hair frantically and occasionally squeezing his lips as he ran his hands over his face.

Now and then Jake would glance in your direction, catching your eyes on him or – often – seeing you with your eyes closed enjoying the fact that that ice was working on your sharp pain in your cheek.

"Jake" you decided to call him, annoyed by the sudden silence since he had walked in, only exchanging words with your friends before they decided to leave and leave you two alone.

He turned around, staring at you and waiting for you to continue. But nothing came out of his mouth. Just a sigh that he tried to ignore and went back to pacing around.

The silent treatment was making you nervous, even more, painful because it made your whole face contort from the expressions, while Jake barely said anything or mumbled anything. So you thought about getting up and abandoning the ice pack you were holding. Without making any noise, your steps slowly approached the boy who was now standing in the middle of the room with a loud sigh escaping his lips.

"Jake, hey" you called him once again, he turned around so fast by the fright of your voice so close to him. Seeing that your figure was only a step away, he sighed again. Their eyes dropped to the reddening on his cheek.

"What?" Jake finally said, the voice hoarse from lack of use making you – this time – sigh.

"Why are you acting like that?"

"I asked you, y/n. I told you…" his voice raising a little in pitch, he cringed and eased when he saw you shrug "I told you to stay away from her, but you didn't listen."

"Hey, it wasn't my fault!" a groan of pain left your lips as you felt your cheek hurt. Jake approached you so quickly that you barely realized his hand was touching your face now. "It was your fault" you whispered, making him widen his eyes and stop touching your face.

Jake stared at you for a while, hearing your breathing so close to him that the boy swore you could hear anything too. Even more so his heart racing even faster.

"My fault? But I… Why?" he cupped his hands and put them in the pocket of the pants he was wearing. It was your turn to move closer, your hands brushing against his shoulders to slide up to his neck, where you found support to intertwine your fingers in the back of Jake's neck.

"Well, I'll be honest, okay?" you asked, Jake nodding in agreement as his hands went to your waist. The contact made you sigh, smiling with a bit of pain at seeing him so reluctant in his words, but his actions showed otherwise.

You also felt your heart racing from remembering Lori's words, from every little syllable hammering in your mind while – ironically – a smile filled your lips. Jake frowned before he felt yours lean there. Faces close together as you continued to smile.

"She came in furious, screaming down the halls that I was a slut… Again" you shrugged, feeling a slow caress of Jake's fingertips on your waist. That wasn't going to make you lose focus, so to pull yourself together, you took a deep breath "I knew it would happen after that night, but what she said to me made me think about a lot of things."

"What did she tell you?" your eyes quickly traveled over Jake's face, the Adam's apple slowly swaying as he swallowed dryly. The boy's eyes in front of him were closed, dreading his words because, in a way, he could assume what was coming.

"After swearing at me so much, she said you two fought in the library…" Jake opened his eyes, already wide at you.

"Y/n, I—" you kissed his lips quickly to make him stop talking, without deepening the act because you needed to finish. When he understood your actions, the words died in your mouth and Jake remained still, already feeling his whole face burn.

"You finally stood up to her after months of this hell, Jake" your voice sounded cheerful, and with a hint of pride at seeing him finally get over it. Jake smiled just from being completely flustered and embarrassed, but your next words almost left him breathless "She kept wondering how you were able to fall in love with someone else" your face turned away just enough for your gaze to meet that of a static Jake "So you fell in love with me?"

Another dry gulp from your throat and you were able to turn Jake's lips ajar and quivering. He stared into your eyes, but his words wouldn't come out. Nothing was able to roll off his tongue and form something coherent to say to you.

Jake's fingers pulled away from your waist, his hands falling to the side of your body. He wasn't able to hold you while you were shaking.

It was true, he had fallen in love. And even more true, standing up to Loir was – a large part of it – because he'd gotten tired. Tired of all that humiliation she thought he should have to go through. The other part was because Jake, slowly, fell in love with you. Without effort, it flowed so naturally that when he realized it had been enough.

As he listened to his ex-girlfriend swear at him, offend him, and try to offend you as well, Jake stood up. He had never raised his voice with anyone off the soccer field. But this time the boy never felt so free.

"Enough of this shit, Lori. I don't care about you anymore" the look on the librarian's face would have been priceless if it weren't for the anger Jake felt at the moment. He saw the girl in front of him cringe, but pull herself together immediately to try and get out of the situation. He didn't, of course, raise an eyebrow when he remembered all the things she had said "You're going to leave me alone from now on. Because nothing you say to me will have any effect."

"Why?" she tried to laugh, failing when he lifted his lips in a smile "I know it messes with you, Jakey…"

"It did. Past" Jake's smile widened as he sighed to finish his sentence "I'm in love with someone else and she's taking very good care of me. Not letting me be affected by all that shit that comes out of your mouth."

He wouldn't stay in that place listening to whatever it was. Jake felt victorious after you left, even though he knew now that Lori had gone after you because she wasn't satisfied. It was true that you had taught her a lesson after what Jake heard from his friends, how you managed to defend yourself enough to put that crazy woman in her place.

But he also didn't know that Lori would count every word he said.

"Jake" your voice called him back to the present, blinking frantically when he saw you smile. As if catching his breath, Jake nodded his head. Enough for you to reach out again and pull him by the t-shirt he was wearing. Jake tilted his neck to level his face to yours, welcoming your soft lips that pressed against his.

The shared kiss was so full of feeling that he could only sigh against your lips as he fought for dominance inside your mouth. Jake's hands pulled you closer around your waist, pressing your body against his and being careful with the force exerted because he knew it could hurt if he tried any harder.

"I'm in love with you too, Jake Sim" your voice still being muffled by Jake's lips, who smiled between the kiss before finishing and sealing your lips with his.

That was music to Jake's ears. To feel good about someone again, even though he thought it would be impossible because of everything he had experienced. But when you arrived, without even asking permission, you had already completely changed the course of his feelings. He knew he was meant to have you in his life as soon as your arms went around Jake's waist that night, holding him without knowing him. Just to hear him cry and vent. There he knew.

"Come on, let's go home" he whispered before kissing you again, slowly and leaning his forehead against yours in the process.

"But I need to find the girls—"

"I'll call Heeseung and let them know we're going home, they'll find you there" Jake pulled away, taking your hand and entwining your fingers together with his.

"What's the rush, Jake Sim?" your hand slowly squeezed his, causing Jake to laugh as the boy grabbed his belongings from the infirmary room to leave.

Stepping through the front door, leading the way while still holding your hand, Jake felt your face lean against his shoulder. Gently as he still felt a little pain. Jake leaned down to kiss the top of your head quickly.

"Because I want you to hug me like you did the first time" you stopped walking as soon as you heard his words, your heart racing even more after seeing him smile at you. That smile so beautiful and bright right next to your face, you could only kiss him again, hearing him whisper against your lips "Only now I can earn some kisses too, right?"

Laughing, you nibbled lightly on Jake's lip before pulling away. Hugging him like the first time, on the couch at his place while kissing him now… It was everything you imagined before, but it felt a thousand times better now that it was happening.

© ikeuverse, 2023. do not copy, translate or steal my stories.

me when

this is home

description: jungwon x reader (very soft physical affection, jungwon's relationship with reader is up for interpretation)

i wrote this for the people who have had a troubled past and the idea of jungwon being your safe haven makes you want to *sob*

his presence was like a fresh load of laundry on a warm spring day. his smile, his laugh, jungwon coming into your life saved you from yourself. 

with his hoodie over his head and his favorite plaid pajama pants on, there really wasn’t a sight comparable to this one.

it was strange to be so engulfed by a spirit so light and bright but it was more comfortable than it is foreign.

he places his hand softly on yours and tugs you gently towards himself, “come here” he touches you in the way you need it and pours his love into each in every movement. you feel his affection through the pads of his finger tips and the soft grip of his hand. jungwon is your safe place, being someone so frightened by physicality, he makes it feel natural.

his hands roam all over your arms and shoulders, looking you up and down to make sure you’re okay like he always does. he pulls you into a hug and you feel yourself melt into him all over again. he’s warm and his body is firm but his aura is so soft and gentle it feels healing in a way. he lowers himself against the couch so that you can lay on his chest just like that, with his arms still wrapped around your lower back. 

you can hear his heart beating, and feel his chest moving up and down with every breath, and you are reminded all over again that you are in the right place. he traces circles through your clothes and it sends shivers up your spine. it feels so good to be here, it feels so good to be on jungwon. 

you take a peek up at him, with the tv screen flashing colors on his face in the dark room, he’s beautiful as ever. he’s handsome with his hair undone and a lazy outfit on, he’s jungwon and jungwon to the core. 

closing your eyes, you lower your head on his chest again, rubbing against it a bit with the side of your face. 

he notices you getting comfortable and takes it as a sign that you’re ready to fall asleep. he smiles softly, gazing at your presence and holding you just a bit tighter than he was before. 

after a few minutes of soaking in all your facial features with his eyes, he brings his head down to kiss your forehead gently, before going back to watch the tv. 

you’ve never slept better. 

jay and the glove compartment is so accurate I am sobbing

ENHYPEN HYUNG LINE: Passenger Princess! ♡

help, the tiktok on what type of boyfriend they'd be once in the car PLSSS im gonna kill myselfffff.

en- hyung line x (implied) afab! reader , lowercase intended.

☆ ∘⁠˚⁠˳⁠° *⁠. ｡ ∘⁠˚⁠˳⁠° *⁠. ｡ ∘⁠˚⁠˳⁠° *⁠. ｡ ∘⁠˚⁠˳⁠° *⁠. ｡

lee heeseung

he'd so+#(#!# he'd so help you put on your seatbelt, when he sees the sun shining a bit too hard, he'd put down the visor for you (lit-ass took that from the tiktok), he'd place your hand on the shift, only for his hand to cover yours. driving with one hand, i also think he'd sometimes teach you how to drive like every once a month, simply because he doesn't want you driving :(, he wants to be the person that takes you anywhere and everywhere<3

park jongseong

HELP, he's so mwamwa, like, the glove compartment?? it would have all the shit you like, would have your snacks in there and would restock it like, everyday since he wouldn't want ants n stuff in there. he DOESN'T let anyone touch the glove compartment. nuh-uh, and once the visor is put down, there'd be some bling bling with your initial on it above the small mirror + a polaroid of the two of you <3.

sim jaeyun

don't even, literally takes glances at you whenever he can, like plsss!!!!!!!! focus on the road! he'd either be holding your hand, or his hands on your thigh. literally so touchy, like it's one of his love languages, he can't help it, he'd find a way to make sure y'all r touching, he'd do the same gear shift thing as hee would, his thumb rubbing against your hand oh pls.

park sunghoon

you're always in charge of the music, and no one is allowed to sit in the passenger seat unless it's his mom, but he doesn't let anyone adjust the seat either, he knows you adjust your seat to your liking, and ever since then, he's only allowed you in the passenger seat. his car is also decorated with little things you bought him, like his girl needs to be appreciated like amen!!! a picture of you would be hanging on the rear view mirror and he'd always be taking you anywhere you want.

sunsun's dynamic is still so funny even in smaus plsss 😭😭😭😭😭🫶🫶🫶🫶

enhypen followed you !

4) from state farm?

synopsis - jake, being the clumsy guy he is, accidentally follows you from the official enhypen account on twitter. this leads to your life taking a full 180 and having to deal with being in the public eye.

⇦ prev | masterlist | next ⇨

taglist: @moon0fthenight @phtogravi @strayy-kidz @reallyspaghetti @owotalks @puppy-minnie @143ikeu @jaeyunology @kwiwin @woninluv @defnotfertilizedtoesw @luvswonyoung @sincerelyrki @jiaant11 @ariadores @seunnimg @mandoscyare @ladilliane @heeseungsbabyy @theunlikelyking @myjaeyunn @run2min @ahnneyong @moon4moony @leaderwon @cloudyseokjinx @mwahvvis @simjyunnie @who-tf-soddhi @skepvids @ilovejungwonandhaechan @thesunoosshining @jakeyverse @eneiyri @soulsbbg @sunghoonsarmpit @heestrawberries @enhypeniara @vernonburger @haechansbbg @allisonleannn @yelshin @iheartjayke @aespaslut @ilyjxdz @en-dream @icepshrince @dear-hoon @rizzanna-soda (send an ask or comment to be added)

please don’t spam like posts, repost, translate, or use my work without my permission. all work is fictional and only used for entertainment purposes. © st4rwon 2024

enhypen reaction: their s/o wearing their clothes

genre: fluff a/n: making a comeback from my 4 month long hiatus >:) oh how i missed this blog :( i haven’t written anything in a while so i apologize if this is a little mediocre (ᴗ_ ᴗ。) reminder: if you have any requests, i encourage you to leave them in my inbox bc am currently brain dead atm (but no pressure ofc ৻( •̀ ᗜ •́ ৻) )

heeseung ´ˎ˗

↳ poor hee had the misfortune of waking up to you not being there, so he went off to find you. you were in the bathroom getting ready for the day, when heeseung came in and lazily clung onto you. you smiled to yourself and continued on with your routine as you normally would. once you were finished, you turned around to a very sleepy heeseung, who had a tiny smile on his face. "hi hee~" you brushed the hairs out of his eyes. "hi honey," he hummed, "you look really cute wearing my hoodie." you looked down then back up, "really?" "mhm, you look so tiny." he giggled as he placed a soft peck to your forehead, nuzzling his head into the crook of your neck right after. for the rest of the day, he'll just randomly bring up the fact that you were wearing his hoodie and tease you for it, but then he'll compliment you because he is whipped <3 btw, i love you hee :(

✄┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈«

jay ´ˎ˗

↳ jay had given you his jacket one night after you came over, and it had been vibing in your wardrobe ever since. you had a shopping date with him today, and so you went into your closet and pulled out jay's your jacket. when you met up with him at the mall, he too wouldn't notice the jacket, but he'd still compliment you on how gorgeous you looked. it wasn't until you both were in the food court for a short break when he would finally realize it. "y/n is that my jacket?" you furrowed your eyebrows and looked down, "i think so." you softly chuckled. "i was looking for that everywhere! you look beautiful wearing my clothes." you got shy and covered your face, but your boyfriend wasn't done embarrassing you yet, "you know, you should wear my clothes more often. in fact, keep that jacket, i'll just buy another one so we can match." ever since then, jay would "accidentally" leave his clothes at your place whenever he'd come over, you know, just in case he forgets his clothes the next time he comes over <3 which is impossible since his entire closet was basically at your house now and if that wasn't enough, he'd give you some to take whenever you'd came over. and yes, you do have matching clothes.

jake ´ˎ˗

↳ staying the weekend over at jake's, you decided to get ready for bed after a long night of playing video games. however, you forgot your pjs at home, which you mentally slapped yourself for. you decided to borrow some of your boyfriend's clothes-- you went into jake's closet and grabbed a shirt and sweats, before heading back into the bathroom to change. returning to bedroom, jake was already cozy in bed on his phone, that changed once you got in with him. he tossed his phone aside and immediately cuddled you close to him. that's when he noticed how your clothes looked just like his. "y/n, either we have the same shirt, or that's mine?" "it is yours, silly. i'm just borrowing it for the night. your sweatpants too." he would just shrug it off and cuddle closer to you, and tighter. like trust me, he's not gonna let you go for the rest of the night, REGARDLESS OF ANYTHING. too hot? he probably is too, but he's still gonna hold you close. need to use the restroom? simply, no <3 (you get the point) he just goes full-on clingy mode-- tbh he's always clingy like i've stated before, but you in his clothes just triggers something in him OkAy?

sunghoon ´ˎ˗

↳ what started off as just a movie date between you two, was now a group rendezvous since the others decided to crash. you guys had finished the movie a while ago, but the others still wanted to keep the night going. and so, here you guys were singing karaoke. everyone else had gotten up and began singing and dancing along to some song, while you and sunghoon watched amusingly at the chaotic scene, before you got up discreetly to sunghoon's room. your boyfriend didn't notice that you had left, too reveled in the silliness of his members. you came back and made yourself comfy in your old spot in his arms. he turned to look at you, immediately noticing the new piece of clothing you had put on. "well well well," he softly tugged on the hoodie, "y/n's a thief. how dare you steal my clothes." "i was cold, hoon." "really? or are you just that in love with me? ah~~ such a simp for me." yeah expect to get teased in all sorts of ways for the rest of the night. but also brace yourself for how clingy he's gonna be after the others were gone, and yes, you do use that to tease him cause two can play at that game >:)

sunoo ´ˎ˗

↳ it was a windy day when you and sunoo decided to go to the park. he informed you that it was going to be cold, and reminded you to wear a jacket. and of course, you didn't. before leaving, sunoo asked you one last time, and you again said you didn’t need it. yeah, in hindsight, you should’ve listened to him, because you were indeed cold. but being the stubborn one you are, you refused to show that you were freezing, and would deny it whenever he would ask too. you two were sitting on a bench, when you were suddenly hit with an extremely cold breeze that caused you to slightly shiver. you had done a good job at pretending so far, but you could no longer fake it. sunoo let out a sigh, "i told you it was gonna be cold, now didn’t i?" "i didn't know it was gonna be that cold." you asserted. there was a brief silence between you both, until you heard the sound of sunoo rustling besides you-- he took off his coat and wrapped it around your shoulders. "wait- sunoo- what about-" "don't worry about me, i'll be fine." "but, won't you get cold?" sunoo smiled at your concern for his well being, he patted your head assuringly. "it's ok, you need it more. but next time, please bring a jacket when i ask you to." the two of you sat there on the bench for while, talking about whatever topic got dragged into the conversation. the entire time, sunoo would visibly blush at the sight of you in his coat, the way it hung loosely around your figure, how small it made you look, and just how cute you looked in general. he would even giggle out of no where which confused you. "you're so adorable, y/n, i don’t know what to do."

jungwon ´ˎ˗

↳ not being able to fall asleep, the two of you had a spontaneous idea to go on a late night walk. you both scrambled out of bed and quickly slipped on some warmer clothes. jungwon had finished before you and not wanting to keep him waiting, you grabbed the nearest coat (his coat) and hurriedly rushed to the front door. won probably wouldn't notice right away since it just seemed like a plain black coat. but after analyzing you for bit and seeing how unusually large the jacket was on you, he'd realize it was his but would choose not to say anything. throughout your walk, he would steal so many glances at you, muttering compliments under his breath, and would caress your hand or shoulder (depends if he was holding your hand or had his arm around you.) he might even randomly pull the hood over your eyes in the middle of your sentence and giggle at your expression when he pulls it back a bit to see your face. when you two get back home, he'll offer to take the jacket back while also emphasizing that it was his. "here, i'll put my jacket away." "that was yours?" "yeah, did you not know?" again chuckles at your confused expression as you nod your head. "hm, you're so cute, y/n." he poked at your cheek.

riki (ni-ki) ´ˎ˗

↳ you had randomly woken up in the middle of the night feeling cold. i mean, you were only wearing shorts and short sleeve after all. you carefully escaped from riki's grasp and reached over for the hoodie that rested on the chair. he could feel your movement as you made yourself comfy again, causing him to stir in his sleep. his eyes softly fluttered open, as he cluelessly called for you, "y/n?" "hm?" "did something happen?" "just cold, that's all. sorry, riki." he'll just brush it off and hold you close to him, instantly falling back asleep. the following morning, he woke up to the sight of you already awake, scrolling through your phone. you smiled at him as he scanned your figure, letting out a chuckle through his nose as he tugged on his hoodie. "now where did this come from?" "i got cold so i put it on last night." "hm. ok." he shrugged it off. usually, he would tease you for something like this, but he didn't have the energy for that right now. he snuggled close to you, resting his head on top of yours. and between you and i, it was mostly so you wouldn't see the smile that he was trying his best to suppress. riki just refuses to show how shy you make him feel, and the fact you were wearing his clothes made him feel so flustered. he'll try easing his shyness by letting out deep breaths, but overall, he's just basking in the giddiness he felt. but beware, you WILL be teased.

© enblvsh. PLEASE DO-NOT REWRITE, COPY, TRANSLATE, MODIFY, OR REPOST ON OTHER PLATFORMS.

ꪆৎ kiss me ﹫ lhs

; pair bf!heeseung x fem!reader ; sum heeseung just wants a kiss, well that and maybe to tease you too ; genre fluff , established relatioinship , not proofread

you stare at your phone, watching the video of some girl make slime. it brought back so many memories of when you were younger. you always tried to master the art of making slime, and you did master it. but suddenly the whole smile era ended and now, nobody really talks about it.

this video was reccomended to you and with nothing to do or watch you decided why not. you snack on some gummies heeseung had bought you a few days ago while watching the girl play with the pink slime. she says its so fluffy and soft and it brings you back to your childhood again, but suddenly those memories fly away when heeseung sits next to you.

"what are you doing?" he asks while wrapping his arms around your waist. he places his head on your shoulder and looks at your phone screen. you hear a small laugh escape his lips before he looks at you.

"why are you watching that?" you shrug and shift a bit. "oh you know, reminiscing my childhood memories." you lean against heeseung, letting him see your screen better. "oh and im eating the gummies you bought me, want some?"

heeseung shakes his head. his eyes land on the trace of your lips. you were just so perfect, so delicate. he loved pressing kisses against your lips. your lips were the definition of home to him. it might sound cheesy but it is what it is.

heeseung sometimes finds himself wanting to kiss you when he's stressed. just a small peck will do. he finds himself wanting to kiss you when he's happy. in his mind a longer kiss is better but if you pull away before he wants to he'll be content with the kiss he got.

so now, you reminiscing your old memories makes heeseung feel like he wants to kiss you. you have such a soft look right now. you hair is a bit messy, you're wearing his sweatshirt, and your wearing some sweats. you look really cuddly and heeseung just really wants to kiss you.

he leans closer to your face, not kissing you yet but close enough to press his lips against the tips of your mouth. you can feel his breath running against your cheek to your lips. you feel your cheeks flush, knowing exactly what heeseung is gonna do.

you take it upon yourself and turn around so your faces are right in front of each other. heeseung's faces flushes in surprise. you were never one to initiate a kiss. yeah, maybe you'd give him a peck on the cheek (on the lips if he's lucky) before you leave for work but that was different.

you slowly tilt your head and press your lips on his softly. you only like the soft kisses, nothing to crazy. and for your first time initiating a kiss, you wanted it to be the best kiss heeseung has ever had.

you slowly move your lips against his, moving your body so you can sit more comfortably. you feel heeseung smile against your lips before he takes control of your lips. he wraps an arm around your waist, the other on your neck, tilting you up so he can kiss you more.

one thing you noticed when kissing heeseung was the way he kisses. he let's himself go when he kisses you. he shows how much he loves you and even though no words are exchanged you know everything he's trying to tell you.

he holds you close as if you're gonna fly away. he knows you wont but the closer he is to you the better. when he pulls away he rests his forehead to yours. you often this he's trying to tell you he loves you again because his eyes always find yours and a smile always draws itself on his lips.

it's an image you wont ever forget. he's so beautiful, like an angel. he glows when he's with you. he glows with love.

"you kissed me first." he whispers, his lips barely touching yours. he pulls his forehead away from yours and looks at you with a shy expression, only you know he's anything but shy.

he pretends to put his hair behind his ear as he blinks quickly. "you kiss me first." he repeats in a shy voice. his eyes meet yours and he let's a smirk fall on his lips. you shoved him with your foot and scoot away from him.

"shut up." you turn your phone on again to watch your slime video but heeseung quickly takes it away. "did you really want to kiss me that bad?" you feel your cheeks flush at his words but you dont want to give into his teasing.

"not really, you were just there. it seemed as if you wanted to kiss me that bad." you notice heeseungs face falter for only a second. he puts his teasing expression back on his face and scoots closer to you.

he makes a kissy face while leaning in. "kiss me again." he says with his lips in a pout. you put your finger on his forehead and push him back. "let me watch my slime video, go away."

heeseung shakes his head. "not until you kiss me again, i know you really want to." he leans in again, his lips ghosting yours. "please? just one more." you roll your eyes and peck his lips.

"there, now go." heeseung smiles and gets up. "im writing this on the calendar, we're celebrating it every year." you chuckle at your boyfriend. maybe kissing him wasn't so bad, especially if he acts this happy.

🎬 노트 && . im not completely back, again writers block is killing me and so is school. so much stuff has happened these past few weeks. on the bright side i had a dream about hee last night, it was about him kissing me :D it wasnt quite like this but my dream inspired me so here we are!

🧷 perm tl && . send ask or comment to be added

OH MY GOD THIS WAS SO CUTEEE 😭🫶

WE NEED PART 2 🗣🗣🗣🗣🗣

THE WEDDING DUTIES — P.JS

SYNOPSIS: Reuniting with your sworn enemy after years of no contact was an interesting experience to say the least. Despite having not seen each other for ages, the undeniable tension between you and him was the same, palpable. It didn’t help that you and him were now forced to spend time together thanks to a wedding and completing wedding duties with each other. As people would say, forced proximity and a single bed was the solution to it, and boy it was. Two weeks in Greece and a whole lot of pre wedding activities was about to turn an old rivalry into something else, love.

PAIRINGS: best man!jay x maid of honour!afab!reader

GENRE: frenemies to lovers, he fell first but she fell harder, forced proximity, romance, fluff, angst, secret pining, slow burn

WARNING(S): drinking, parties, profanities, slight violence, mentions/hints of cheating, miscommunication, a pinch of suggestiveness

WC: 21k

AUTHOR'S NOTE: hope you all enjoy this one! i personally loved writing it and it might've taken a while but i'm glad it's here! please leave a feedback and reblogs are greatly appreciated! muah xx

masterlist | © jaylver 2024 all rights reserved

‘Hate’ might be a strong word, one that was cruel and brutal that your mother taught you to not use. But, how could you not when you had a constant reminder plastered in front of your face. There were no other feelings for him except hatred that measured the exact way you felt for the man who constantly haunted you. Worst of all, you’re letting a man with a typical frat name do that to you.

Growing up, you always had a man devoted to you. Cute, wasn’t it? It was particularly fun when he was specifically committed to praying for your downfall at any given chance.

Park Jong Seong.

That name and the person who carried it was the literal devil reincarnate. Well, at least to you. To most, Jay was a sweetheart, the golden boy of the area who charmed the hearts of women of all ages. Thanks to his pretty face and sweet smile, he easily swooned people and that included your family. Not you though, it could never be you. That facade would never, ever fool you.

He has been your neighbour ever since you were a kid. The boy who moved in next door that was forced to play with you from time to time. Play dates with him weren't your favourite, and neither was it for him. To say you two got off on the wrong foot was an understatement. 

What could possibly make you hate him for all these years? Where to start? 

He was mildly tolerable as a kid, but once he grew into a teen, God, you swore you hated teen boys and you stood by it. When Jay knew that he was a hot, smart and attractive boy, he managed to utilise it, and what better way to do so than torturing you with it. 

Out of the many things he could pull, he decided to date your then best friend, believe it or not. The worst part of all, he ruined the friendship between you and your ex best friend because of it. What happened to bros before hoes? Anyway, you were determined to not be stepped over by the idiotic Park Jong Seong, so you went and dated his best friend too. Sweet, sweet revenge. Best of yet, there was nothing he could do but silently curse you behind your back.

Or that other time he crashed your beach date and he cockblocked your chance with his handsome best friend, Sunghoon. Asshole. Oh yeah! Let's not forget the fact that he would tease and laugh at you for coming in second every semester. Golden boy Jay and his first place was the death of you. 

All in all, you didn’t have a great time with him and you surely weren’t anywhere close to being friends with him. Absolutely not. 

The only good part was that once you finished high school and moved out of your town, you didn’t see him anymore, only hearing brief mentions from your mutual friends who you still kept in contact with. There was one time where you saw a picture of him posted on Instagram and you’ve never gone back since, because no matter how you hate to admit it, he was a guilty pleasure. 

You thought your supposedly everlasting peace wouldn’t be affected, yet, you were wrong. 

The news of your cousin, Chaewon, getting engaged had taken you by complete surprise. It was no secret that she was in a long term relationship with one of your good friends, Heeseung, but the whole engagement came out of the blue and it had taken everyone aback, including her. It might’ve been unexpected but you knew it would come soon.  

Of course Chaewon was overjoyed. She was already pulling you with her to plan the wedding and even picking out little things. 

“You’re going to be my maid of honour,” she said so nonchalantly that she didn’t even notice you freezing in shock next to her.

“Really?”

She turned to face you, a smile wide enough to split her jaw open. Was this an effect of getting married? “Yes, Y/N, I’m sure. You’re like a sister to me all my life, there’s no one else I’d like to be my maid of honour other than you,”

The conversation definitely ended with tears streaming down each of your face, sobbing sappily as you spoke about your childhood memories together. But before any wedding plans ensued, it absolutely wouldn’t be them to not throw an engagement party first, so of course, they did exactly that.

The evening at their place started off well. They had a catering service and the house was decorated for the occasion. There was already a small crowd of friends and family, some of which you recognized. It didn’t take you long to realise that you had to buckle in for the night after you saw Heeseung’s friends walk through the door, ones that you knew and particularly the guy you’ve dreaded.

“You good?” Yujin, your long time best friend who was practically family, walked up to you, snapping her fingers to get you out of your trance. 

“Oh—I’m alright, I think?”

“You think?” she sighed, following your sight that was trained on a group of guys. “Is it because of Jay?”

You snapped your head to look at her, baffled at the mention of his name. “No,”

“I’m taking that as a ‘yes’,” she hummed, joining you in leaning her back against the wall in the corner of the room. “You haven’t seen him in years,”

“And neither has he,” you noted thoughtfully, unaware how he looked like currently. The pictures online weren't enough, you needed to see him physically. Well, he was there, but you weren’t exactly thrilled to see him either. 

“You reckon there’s still something going between you guys after all these years?”

You tilted your head to the side, puzzled. “What ‘something’ is there even between us?”

“The whole ‘I hate you, you hate me’ thing! Like, come on, just admit you want to fuck each other—”

“Shut up, oh my God!” You exclaimed, though laughing out of disbelief. You? Fucking Jay? You just bursted out laughing. “There's no way that's happening,”

She eyed you doubtfully, shrugging. “Who knows?”

“What I know is that's so not happening,”

“I'm not saying anything,”

“Hey!”

“Ladies,”

That voice. 

You slowly turned your gaze away from Yujin, clearly panicked and dreadful. The one person you wished to meet last for the night happened to be there in flesh, in front of you. The epitome of your nightmare, the devil in disguise, he was actually there. Plus, since when was he ever so initiative in finding you?

“Jay,” Yujin acknowledged the moment you stood face to face with him. All you could think of in your head of how shamelessly you're checking him out.

Over the years of not seeing him, he has really changed. Toned and buffed, the button up he was wearing hugged him at the right places. His long legs complimented his tall frame, face seemingly more matured and handsome. Did law school do this to him?

“Yujin,” he replied before his gaze flickered over to yours, suddenly plastered on a cheshire grin. “Y/N,”

Rather begrudgingly and stoically, you replied. “Jay,”

Yujin glanced between you and him, taking the cue to escape the tension before it heightened. “I'll go catch up with the rest of the guys. Talk to you later!”

Great. Now you're stuck with him. Yuck.

“So, how’s life?” 

You raised a questioning brow, face scrunched up in disdain. Him, on the other hand, was nonchalant and carried himself coolly. “It’s a little out of your character to be this friendly to me,” 

“I’m trying to be civil here,” he slipped his hands into the pockets of his jeans, dark hair falling over his face casually.

“Well, the last time I checked, I don’t think we’re exactly friends, aren’t we?”

“Touche,” he considered, keeping a strong eye contact with you, his smirk never faltering once. “But now that they’re both getting married, I think we have no choice but to tolerate one another to have this go successfully, eh?” 

“Whatever you say,” you mumbled half-heartedly, thinking about Chaewon and for her sake, you’d have to put up with this bastard. 

“I mean, you’re the maid of honour and I’m the best man, crazy isn’t it?”

“You’re Heeseung’s best man?”

“The one and only,” he smiled triumphantly, and you mentally knocked yourself on the head. How did you not expect this earlier? 

“Guess I really am stuck with you,” you mumbled under your breath, seeing the smirk still not wiped off Jay’s face.

“Can’t wait, angel,”

Before the conversation could go any further, the shouts of his friends from across the room snatched the attention of you two. They were calling Jay over to join them in on some drinks, signalling obviously with the bottles and cups in their hands. “I think they’re calling me over—” he turned his head away from them and back to you, eyebrows raised. “It was nice catching up. I’ll see you around,” He winked right after he finished his sentence and left, reminding you of his regular behaviour. Flirty and always an asshole. 

The exchange you had with him definitely gave you a whiplash. No way was that the same Jay who you called insufferable and annoying. Was he actually being normal for once? You believed everyone has their own character development, but to think Jay had one too was a little shocking. 

Maybe it was for the better, which meant you could finally admit he’s hot now—wait what. Forget whatever you’ve just said. What you really meant was you could talk to him like a decent being now … right?

“That was a short talk,” Yujin sidled up next to you almost on cue. 

“I don’t think there’s much to really talk about anyway,” you accepted the cup of drink from her.

“Oh, don’t be too harsh! He’s trying, so maybe you should too,” 

You gave it a thought, sipping wordlessly. “Hm, maybe I should,”

“Definitely,” she nodded in heavy agreement, eyes straying to the door and her face contorted in horror. You noticed it at once, wanting to see what she had seen too but before you could do so, she spun you around and away from facing the door.

“What?” you demanded, unnerved by the sudden twist in the air. “Hey, you’re scaring me—”

“Just don’t turn around…please,”

“Why?” you pressed on, impatience and curiosity creeping up on you. “Is there something wrong?”

She made a face. “Well—kinda—wait—”

You spun around and ignored Yujin’s flailing arms. At first, you didn’t understand what the problem was and why Yujin was making such a big deal, but once you saw what she was trying so hard to stop you from seeing, you finally understood.

Choi Yeonjun. 

He was standing there in all his glory, having the guts to even show up. You couldn’t even blame Heeseung for making him a part of the guest list though, they’ve been friends before you and Yeonjun dated. Key word, ‘dated’, past tense. 

Horrible breakup that ended in tears and hatred was the only thing that reminded you of him. Five years down the drain, you wished you were kidding. Everyone had thought he would be your forever, but you suppose that jinxed it and made him leave you with no explanation. 

Overnight, he had packed his bags without leaving a trace behind and next thing you knew, he was off boarding a plane to somewhere far away from you. The most ridiculous part of everything was the fact that you only found his whereabouts days after through a friend. That definitely has you crying out of pity for yourself. 

Did he cheat? Did he hate you? Was he hiding something? Questions and questions piled upon another but no answer was given.

It took years after for you to fully move on, though having zero closure, but what could you do anyway? That didn’t excuse your spite and grudge that was still present. 

“Oh,” 

The air had still, everyone that knew the history behind you two was shifting around awkwardly, eyeing between you and your ex. Kill you now.

“Want more whiskey?”

“No, if I get any more drunk, I’ll start a fight,” you shook your head, pursing your lips, turning away from the sight of Yeonjun. “I need some fresh air,”

You didn’t give any more time for Yujin to respond, mainly because you genuinely felt yourself almost doubling over and crying, but you didn’t, obviously. 

Storming out into the backyard, you hoped nobody saw you on the edge of panic. You weren’t as prepared as you thought you would be to see your ex again. Yes, you figured he was coming, but to see him in front of your eyes, that was a whole different baggage of emotions and thoughts.

You heard the glass door sliding, quiet footsteps approaching, it got you out of your trance and turning to see who it was.

“Y/N?”

By now, you had a feeling you’ve turned as pale as a blank sheet of paper. The horror you were experiencing at the moment was indescribable. What and why was your ex doing there?

Seeing him up close, looking very real and not a ghost, completely frightened you. He was glowing, in a way that one has after being gone for a long while, like a glow up that many had away from home. Right, he was different, someone you’ve deemed unfamiliar. All of that only made you want to throw up in anxiety. 

You were silent, mostly in shock and not knowing what to say, which only made Yeonjun widen his eyes in alarm.

“C–can you say something?”

No, you couldn’t. In fact, if you were to speak right now, curses and horrible things and probably overdue screaming with some crying would pour out. So, nope, you’re going to be silent.

“I’m sorry,”

He’s sorry? Wow.

You could only shake your head, opening your mouth to breathe deep so that you wouldn’t combust at any second. Holding up your hand, you wished he took this as a sign to stop and leave, but you guessed that he couldn’t take social cues in the end.

“Just say something, please—”

“Hey dude! Heeseung’s searching for you,”

Here comes another one of your nightmares, but surprisingly, you were actually glad to see him now. 

Jay had stepped out from the inside, hand still holding the sliding glass door, a nonchalant expression on his face as he scanned the scene before him. You, looking sick as ever; Yeonjun equally looking not good. 

“Really? Alright then,” Yeonjun croaked out, wiping his hands on the sides of his pants. Sparing you one last look, he walked towards Jay, nodding at him before disappearing past the threshold of the sliding glass doors.

You let out a breath of relief once your ex was out of sight, and hopefully, out of mind. 

“You good?”

You looked at Jay, forgetting his existence for a minute. “Not really,”

“He’s a douche, isn’t he?”

“You’ve probably heard what happened already, didn’t you?”

“I did—”

“Well, I’m embarrassed,” you rubbed the sides of your forehead, chewing at the insides of your mouth. Can you be swallowed up now?

“As much as I want to say something stupid right now, I can’t bring myself to, because it’s true that you didn’t deserve it,” he sighed, taking a seat on one of the lounging couches.  

Okay … maybe he was an actual changed man. Shocking.

You approached him slowly, taking a seat opposite him. From that angle, you could clearly see him and how he has changed. He got taller, leaner and definitely bulkier, it was a subtle but noticeable change. Other than that, his fashion sense improved, face maturing into a more sharper look, but he still carried a certain gentleness.

“Thanks,” you muttered, kicking your feet to distract yourself from his burning gaze. “I thought you’ll laugh at me or something,”

“Okay, I’m not that cruel,” 

“Really? Coming from the same guy that dated my best friend, who became my ex best friend,”

“You dated my best friend too! And you tried getting with Sunghoon,” he grumbled, murmuring the last part, knowing damn well Sunghoon was inside laughing over a fresh glass of wine.

“I would still get with him,”

“No you won’t,”

What was his problem?

“Why not? He’s hot,”

“I’m hot,” he blurted out, puffing his chest out in confidence. This was the same Jay that you’ve remembered. “And I don’t see you lusting over me,”

“First, not ‘lusting’,” you scrunch your face in distaste of the word, “second, you’re … you? Third, what’s so wrong with Sunghoon?”

“Well—he—he’s Sunghoon, and he’s a known player,” Jay pursed his lips, crossing his arms. “I don’t think you two will get along,”

“We’re friends,”

“As a couple,”

“How about as fuck buddies?”

“Nope,” 

“You’re weird,”

“Whatever,”

You broke out into a smile, shaking your head at his antics. If you told the younger you that you were conversing with Jay without ripping each others’ throats, you would’ve laughed. You didn’t expect yourself to laugh because of him, most of the time you were laughing at him. 

“Should we head in? They’re announcing it soon and doing their speech,” you suggested, looking over his shoulders.

“You’re right,”

“You’re agreeing with me? Aw,” 

“Shut up,” he stood up, but he didn’t leave, instead he waited for you to stand up as well before walking in together. “I guess the next time we’ll see each other is during the fitting,”

“I guess it is,” you nodded slowly, trying to remember the date of the fitting that your cousin had once mentioned. “Unless you’re intending that we’ll meet elsewhere?”

“You wish,” he said snarkily. “You’ll miss me, won’t you?”

“You wish,” you repeated his exact words in mockery, smiling sarcastically at him.

He shrugged, a lazy smirk forming on his lips. “Maybe I do.” 

The words didn’t fully process in your mind, but he was already off to join his friends before you realised. Did he just—what? You were going insane. 

Maybe the hatred from over the years was slowly but surely dissipating because how and why in hell was Park Jong Seong tolerable? How did you find yourself not exploding in his presence? Character growth was what you two needed after all.

Probably also a secret hook up.

Just as you’ve thought, the next time you saw Jay was exactly as he had said: the fitting. 

Except, you were screaming internally. Why? You were literally stuck with Jay and the two lovebirds. You didn’t expect receiving the news of doing the fitting with them and Jay alone, thinking it was a group thing with the other bridesmaids. No, in fact, they wanted it to be a maid of honour and best man special. Just great.

The boutique was fancy, like very. Serving champagne and having two floors with marble tiles, the inside already smelt more expensive than it let alone looked. Heeseung must’ve been doing well after taking over his father’s place in the company.

“Alright, first, I’ve already narrowed down some looks, but I have a specific dress that I chose which I think it’ll look really good on you,” Chaewon practically squealed, grabbing your shoulders with pure excitement in her eyes. You were about to be her barbie doll for hours. “I think it’ll match Jay’s suit too,”

She’s making you and Jay match?

“Nice, haha …” you gulped, masking your negative approach, not wanting to irk Chaewon when this meant a lot to her. But matching with Jay? Him? You knew you were being overdramatic but how could you not when it was him. However, you understood Chaewon’s need for matching aesthetics.

“I’m sure it’s going to look amazing on you!” she said excitedly. “The changing rooms are upstairs, you can go with Jay first since Heeseung and I need to settle something, so wait for us, okay?”

“Sure,” you nodded rather stiffly, leaving Chaewon to join the staff and Jay’s side. 

“It’s you again,” he greeted you, eyeing you with an odd look on his face. How friendly. 

“Yes, it’s me again, and I should be the one saying the same to you. Unfortunately, you’ll also be seeing me for months,” you hissed, following the staff up the fancy marble steps, letting Jay walk closely next to you. “Even in Greece,” you grumbled under your breath.

Mykonos, Greece. The destination you’ll be in half a year’s time, enjoying the wedding and basking in the prettiness of the island. It wasn’t entirely surprising for Chaewon to choose Greece as her wedding destination, it has been in her mood board for almost years. Although it might’ve been expensive, you were just glad it wasn’t in some shady area downtown. 

“Isn’t it amazing to be in the same space as I am?” 

“Please, you’re hugely insufferable,” you put your hand out, pulling a disgusted expression as a reaction.

“I just have personality! You won’t get it,” he slyly took a dig at you, letting you digest it and realised what he meant but by the time you wanted to reply, the staff stopped and turned around.

“The changing rooms there—” she pointed over to a large area with cushioned chairs and mirrors, two separate curtains for each changing place, a cover bag hung on the walls of each changing area, “already have your outfits which the couple hand picked. So please, help yourself out. There’ll be staffs waiting outside if you need any help,”

You and Jay casted a brief glance at each other before nodding, awkwardly shuffling towards the changing area. The last sight before drawing your curtains closed was Jay’s back, broad and exposed since he momentarily forgot to close his. Shutting out the image of that was hard as you got the dress on, not even able to pay attention until you saw your reflection in the mirror. It was a simple silky pink dress, one that was in Chaewon’s favourite shade and the specific cut that hugged your body tightly. 

The voices of Heeseung and Chaewon were heard from the other side of the curtains, which meant they were finally here to make their judgements. You revealed yourself, stepping out with an awkward laugh. “What do you think?”

“It’s so pretty,” Chaewon gushed, spinning you around, scanning your body. “You’re so pretty, Y/ N.”

“I’ll blush,”

Chaewon rolled her eyes at your sarcasm. “Hey, where’s Jay? We need to see the matching outfit!”

“Here,” he pulled the curtains open a little too dramatically at the mention of his name, smoothing the fronts of his suit. He was dressed in a dark coloured suit, a silk pink tie paired to match you.

“You guys are just too cute together,” Chaewon pushed you gently closer to Jay, staring between you and him in awe. Unbeknownst to her, you and Jay were groaning internally, glaring daggers at each other. 

Your cousin who didn’t go to the same high school as you did with Jay was absolutely oblivious to the history you two have, and you were sure Heeseung didn’t tell her either. That sick bastard probably enjoyed you and Jay suffering together, didn’t he?

“It’s so perfect,” Chaewon sighed dreamily, suddenly emotional as she leaned on her fiance. “I love you guys,”

“Babe, it’s too early to be this emotional,” Heeseung gave her shoulder a soft squeeze. 

“You’re right, oh my God,” she laughed, followed by you and the others’ chuckles. “Now that I know you two look absolutely perfect, Heeseung and I are going to confirm it with the staffs and settle some little things, so just take your time and change, then we’ll go for lunch,”

“Sounds good,” you took a step away from Jay, rubbing your cousin’s back in assurance. 

“Don’t do anything weird,” Chaewon whispered into your ear, eyeing Jay as she spoke, hoping you got the hint she was trying to convey. 

No way.

“We’re not fucking, okay?”

“Are you sure? I’m sensing something there,”

“There’s nothing to sense because we’re not into each other. At all,”

“Sure, whatever you say,” she winked at you, patting your butt with a sneaky smirk, then left with Heeseung, which meant you’re with Jay again.

“This tie is pretty cute, isn’t it?” he suddenly spoke out of nowhere, toying his tie with a slight pout. 

“That’s really random, but yes,”

He glanced up from his tie, meeting your gaze with an unreadable expression. His eyes were narrowed, travelling up and down your body, jaws clenched. It seemed that thoughts were conquering his mind, and you, on the other hand, read him like a book. He’s a man after all. They’re all alike. 

A small conniving smirk on your face as you approached him, never breaking eye contact once. Hands behind your back, chest pushed out, revealing your cleavage a little more, all while you bat your eyelashes innocently at him, only a few inches in between.  

“How do I look?”

There was an audible gulp from him. It was a blessing that there weren't any staff around, or else you would have suffered from embarrassment that nothing could get you back from. 

“Nice,” Jay practically gritted out, heaving a big breath in.

“Just … nice?”

His eyes flitted between you and your chest, gaze flickering and composure weakening. “Fantastic, pretty, gorgeous,”

He was so easy to read and play with. 

You stepped away from him, laughing under your breath, a gleeful grin that irked Jay, who knew it was just one of your schemes. But it was too late to come back from, how could he when you looked like that? As much as he hated it, you were stunning, and he was aware of every part of it.

“Thank you,” you smiled evilly, only getting a look of annoyance and an irritated eye roll from Jay. 

Turning around, you walked towards the changing area, hearing footsteps behind you, which also meant Jay was following you. Before you disappeared behind the curtains, you wanted to set his buttons off just one more time. 

“Are my nipples showing?” 

Jay did not expect that. However, this time he was smarter and sharper, so no, he wasn’t about to fall for one of your tricks. Keeping his stare straight ahead at you, he shrugged.

“Are you somehow forgetting that I happen to be—I don’t know—a man?”

“What’s wrong with nipples?”

“Nothing,” he shrugged, an irritated look on his face. “I'm just not falling into the grave you've dug. Nice try, L/N,” he said with a finality before drawing his own curtains shut. 

The sassy men apocalypse was never ending.

The rest of the day was practically spent with the couple, from lunch to dinner, your legs were dying from walking too much. Adding on the fact that you and Jay were stuck as fourth wheelers too. At the end, Heeseung and Chaewon entrusted Jay to drop you off at your apartment, which he surprisingly didn't complain about and you also got the chance to sit in his Mercedes  for the first time.

“You didn't talk about what you're doing now, so what are you doing?” It was most likely the awkward tension that forced you to speak up, but you didn't regret it either, wanting to know more about him. Now, that was development.

Jay glanced at you for a brief second, as if in disbelief that you were the one initiating a peaceful conversation. “I opened a law firm quite recently, that's why I'm back in town. I partnered with Sunghoon,”

“Sunghoon?”

“Yeah, Sunghoon,” he repeated his best friend's name again, a hint of annoyance laced in his voice. “You'll get to see me more often now,”

“And you'll equally see me just as often too,” you bit back. “Maybe I'll even turn up at your office and give Sunghoon a visit,”

“You wound me,” Jay pouted, feigning cries that sounded like choked laughter instead. “I'm here in front of you and you're talking about another man? Wow,”

“You're not just another man like him,” you said, unaware of the meaning behind your words and confusedly seeing the small smirk forming on Jay's lips. 

“Then what about you? What have you been up to?” He strayed back to the subject, waiting for your response.

“Nothing much, I guess? Still the same ol' office work. My boss recently proposed sending me off on a trip to Paris as a way to reward me for being his PA for years,”

“Did you accept it?”

“Does it look like I did?”

“Touche,” he hummed, turning a corner and the familiar roads leading to your apartment came into view. “What made you reject it?”

“Well, everything that's happening right now, I guess? I want to be present. Plus, he told me the offer is still up anytime,”

“Your boss is amazing,” he said in awe. “Maybe I'll go work for him instead,”

“And cause me to deal with you? No thanks,”

“Oh, you love me, admit it,”

“Yeah, sure, I want you and love you—gross—no way,” you laughed, pushing away Jay's body that was leaning towards your side, his eyebrows raised and gaze flickering between you and the road.

Soon, the car ride came to an end once Jay stopped at the front of your apartment complex. It was already dark outside and Jay somehow felt your uneasiness as you unbuckle your seatbelt.

“Do you need me to walk you up?”

“Oh—it's fine, I don't want to bother you further,” you genuinely didn't, internally surprised at his straightforwardness. “Or, do you want to come up?”

“No, no, it's okay,” Jay's eyes widened for a fraction, just as surprised as you were. “You should rest, it's been a long day,”

“Right,” you said slowly, not knowing what else to say or do. “Thanks for the ride, I really appreciate it,”

“It's nothing, don't worry,” Suddenly, it felt like high school all over again. The awkwardness and stiffness, you didn't miss those. However, this time around, tolerance was present and you found yourself gradually enjoying his presence. Shocking.

“Night, Jay,”

He smiled, gentleness that you only see from time to time was in his gaze. “Night, Y/N. I'll see you again soon.”

“Look, you need this time off! It's a Saturday night, Y/N,”

“I should be in bed,”

“You should be getting laid,” 

Taking up your friends' invite to the club was probably not the smartest move you've made. Having not been out with them in a long time, you forgot the fact that they were crazy party people. The last time you were out with them was after your break up, and it only ended with you drunk out of your mind, almost turning up at Yeonjun’s house in spite. Now, you were in for a long night.

“Last thing I need is getting laid,”

Your girlfriends, Yujin, Wonyoung and Karina stared at you with doubt in their faces. 

“You need to get that pent up stress fucked out of your system,” Karina teased, nudging your side. 

The other two nodded in shared agreement, obviously entertained. 

“Maybe, maybe not,” you said half-heartedly, swirling your drink with a distracted mind.

Your time in the club wasn't the most eventful. Men trying to flirt with you that you ended up shutting down, some of which took it like a champ while there were ones that acted as if you’ve ended their entire bloodline. Then there were your friends. Karina was busy cosying up to the bartender, the other two wandered off into the crowded dance floor already, so you were alone at the side watching Karina use her usual flirting tricks.

“Didn’t expect seeing you here,”

Turning around on your barstool, you were met with a face that changed a lot since high school.

“Sunghoon?”

The times you’ve spent joking about him to tease Jay somehow manifested him to show up in front of you. You didn’t get the chance to speak to him at the engagement party, unaware that he had changed in some ways physically. He was just as pretty as he was, except more mature and hair dyed in a different shade. Not to mention the way he carried himself with confidence and grace, it definitely had you feeling things you shouldn’t be having, especially when he was standing ever so close to you.

“You’re here alone?”

“Oh, no, I’m here with my friends,” you nodded over at Karina, who was still obviously making a move on the bartender from her touches on his shoulder. “You?”

“I’m here with mine too, you know, the usual bunch,”

“So, Jay, Heeseung and Jake are all here?”

“Heeseung’s staying at home, I suppose getting engaged changed that man in some ways,” Sunghoon snickered, but you only smiled, understanding Chaewon’s reasons for being protective of Heeseung at times. “Do you want to join us?”

“It’s fine, thank you. I don’t want to trouble you guys, I still am on duty to look out for my girls,” you sighed a little, hoping the other two weren't off with some men they just met. “I can buy you a drink though,”

“Nah, it’s no need,” he politely declined, hands slipped into his pants pocket. “I feel like I should be the one offering that,”

You just chuckled, eyes flickering over his shoulder, not expecting them to land on him. Park Jong Seong. He was looking back at you, gaze sharp and eyes narrowed, a frown etched on that pretty face. 

What you hadn’t failed to notice was the girl next to him. She was talking feverishly, trying to grab his slipping attention as he trained his stare on you. Just like Sunghoon, both him and the girl’s voices only faded into the background for you and Jay individually, unable to turn your attention away from each other. 

“You okay?” Sunghoon leaned in closer, waving a hand in front of your face, snapping you back to reality. 

“Huh—I’m fine,” you chuckled nervously, occasionally flickering to Jay’s direction, realising he was no longer staring unabashedly at you, which also made you realise: you were actually craving for his attention? What? 

“Probably a little woozy, is all,” you added, smiling slightly. 

Sunghoon reciprocated your smile, nodding a little. “Take care, then, Y/N. Don’t drink too much and call a cab. Gotta go first, I’ll see you around,” 

“See you,”

Once Sunghoon was gone from your side, you finally had the chance to have some space to breathe and take in whatever that was earlier on. You couldn’t ignore it, how could you? Not when he was staring daggers at the back of his best friend’s head and sending you signals through his eyes, all with a girl next to him, unbelievable. 

His constant appearance was unhealthy for you, and after what he pulled, he was the only thing you could think of, slick bastard. You made sure Chaewon was safe and well before making a bee-line towards the restrooms, having to squeeze through crowds and pass by couples making out, you were about to turn a corner when you felt a hand tugging your wrist. 

One pull was enough for you to stumble over your feet and stumble into someone’s chest, specifically the person who had their hand on you. It was predictable, way too predictable that it was cliche at this point.

“Jay?”

“Oh—Y/N,” 

Why was he acting dumb?

Your eyebrows were raised in question, face pulled into an expression that was screaming ‘what the fuck’, but internally, being this close to him, wasn’t too bad of an idea. You were a hypocrite, and maybe a whore too.

“I saw you just now and I thought I wanted to say hi, you know?” 

“Really?” you stepped back a little, because the closer you were to him, the more insane you were becoming.

“Yeah,” he breathed out, alcohol evident in his breath. “Also saw you with Sunghoon,”

You rolled your eyes, a smirk itching on the way to the corner of your lips. “He was nice,”

“‘Nice’,” he echoed thoughtfully, tongue sweeping over his lips, grabbing your attention almost at once. 

“Are you drunk?”

He shrugged. “Maybe,”

“I’m taking that as a ‘yes’,” you sighed, glancing down at his relentless hold, but not complaining either. If he was drunk, surely he was truthful too, right? “Were you jealous?”

He was silent for a second, as if trying to digest your question thoroughly. Without any ounce of hesitation, he answered with his full chest. “Yeah,”

Jay was jealous? Was he just playing with you?

“Don’t like seeing you with Hoon,” he mumbled, leaning more of his weight onto you and you had to press your back against the wall for more support. This position had you dying on the inside. He was close, breath fanning onto your face, his expensive cologne entering your senses. “Want you all to myself,”

“Thought you hated me,” you swallowed down a gasp, whispering out quietly.

“‘Hate’? Maybe mildly intolerable but you’re … you. How could I hate you?”

That was something new. 

You could only blink. He didn’t hate you as much as you had expected? Was there something more to this? Was Jay hiding untold truths that he kept secret? Before you could uncover more, Jake came tumbling around and ripped Jay off you, seemingly much sober than Jay was, a little pissed off as well.

“Motherfucker, you’re here—” he turned, expecting to see some random chick he was huddling up onto, but realisation dawned on his face when it turned out to be you, “—Y/N? Wait—Jay—you—I—” he was lost for words, catching a pair of sworn enemies together almost too scandalously. Oh, for sure he was going to blabber this out. 

“You’re taking him away, right?” you ignored his shock, hoisting Jay into Jake’s arms, prying his hold away, losing the overall warmth emitted from him. 

“Yeah,” he said, uneasy and still mildly surprised. 

“He’s all yours, buddy. He’s a little out of it but still functioning. So, I’ll get going first!”

“How did this—oh—bye!” he couldn’t even finish asking his question when you dashed away into the crowd, leaving a dazed Jay hanging on the side of Jake, where Jake wished Sunghoon hadn’t gone off with some girl now that he needed help.

Now, you need to be drunk and crash into the abyss before you wake up in the morning to overthink about what Jay said. 

Overthinking was definitely what you did the next day. 

Hangover headache and being haunted by Jay's words was not a great combination for your head and you. Maybe you were semi-drunk when you heard it, but what he said did affect you, and in that moment, you wanted to bring him home.

As much as you wanted to avoid him, his presence was simply inevitable. 

Chaewon had sent out an invite to lunch with the bridesmaids, groomsmen and some selected close friends, you and him were involved obviously. You were grateful that Chaewon was making an effort to plan activities together for the months leading up to her wedding, but God, being with Jay was intoxicating.

You were supposed to dislike him. What happened to all the years of hatred and rivalry? Yet, you couldn't bring yourself to feel that way anymore. He had invoked something else in you that you were afraid to admit. A feeling that you were scared to have after your last relationship.

"Hey," you heard someone calling out to you while you were already seated at the long table. You glanced up from your phone to see Jay sliding in from your right onto the seat next to you. 

"Hi," you greeted back, noticing how much more sober and awake he was this time. "Doing okay? Surprised that you didn't fall into a ditch or something,"

"Haha," He let out sarcastically, straightening out his jacket, eyebrows scrunched. "A little tired, that's all,"

The way Jay didn't bring up whatever happened between you and him was weird. Did he remember what he said? Was he pretending to not know?

"You got home late yesterday? Do you remember seeing me at the club?"

He was taking some time to process and rethink back to his night out, then he shrugged. "I think I did? It was kinda hazy. I remembered Jake slapping me awake in my apartment though," he laughed, and you did too, more forcefully, trying to hide the miniscule disappointment that was bubbling internally. "You got home safe, right?" 

"I did," you could still somehow remember Yujin's body falling on top of yours in the taxi, being the only one who's not fully drunk, you cursed your high tolerance.

You were about to reach for your glass when you felt your phone buzz, the screen lighting up just in time to see Yujin's message.

yujin: head's up, asshole's coming

Of course he was. You were glad Heeseung didn't include him in his groomsmen roster considering they were close, but to have his presence around was simply suffocating.

"I'm so fucked,"

"Why?" 

You looked around, noticing familiar faces joining the table. Your friends had arrived too, but they placed their belongings on the seat beside you and left once they saw you with Jay. Whether it was on purpose or not, you didn't know.

"Yeonjun,"

Jay's mouth formed an 'O', nodding slowly. "Why did Heeseung invite him anyway? Me and the guys don't really know him,"

"But Heeseung does. That's how Chaewon and him met. It was through me and Yeonjun," you sighed, shrugging. "What can I do? There's nothing much for me to say or do,"

"You can show him,"

"Show him what?"

"That you're happier,"

"Well, I am," you threw your hands up. "I think?"

"You think?" He chuckled, shaking his head a little. "Just ignore him. You're over him now anyway, don't give him the attention that he wants,"

"You're right, thank you,"

"It's nothing," he smiled, one that was gentle and understanding, a new kind that you've just discovered.

Soon, everyone had arrived, Yeonjun included, who made sure to sit further away from you, and before the lunch started, there was the obligatory speech from the bride and groom to be. 

In the meantime, the table was much smaller than anticipated, everyone was shuffling around, trying to get closer, moving their chair to be closer. So, there you were, sitting closer to Jay with barely some space in between.

You were ignoring him at all cost, especially when he accidentally brushed against you, leaned in too close trying to grab a plate, or when he even poured your drink for you. Nope, you were not falling for him or his tricks.

"Can you get me that bowl over there?" Suddenly, he was whispering by your ear, shooting you his best attempt of pleading eyes as you rolled yours.

"What if I said no?" You teased, hand already reaching for the bowl unknowingly.

"You won't," 

"I hate you," you hated the effect he had on you, or the fact that he was so smug and confident. Gosh, you hate him to the point where it somehow made him tolerable.

"That's kinda hot—thanks," he winked at you as he took the bowl from your hold, unaware of your flushed cheeks. Why were you letting him cause such a reaction from you?

You coughed a little, shaking off his words and pressing your lips into a thin line. "I heard Yunjin's coming to the wedding too," you brought up a mutual friend in order to change the subject away from the current situation, though it was just you that suffered whereas Jay was oblivious.

"Yunjin? That girl from high school?" Jay's eyebrows were furrowed thoughtfully at the mention of the girl. 

"I hope you have the right one in mind, but yes. She's a good friend of Chaewon and I. I thought you knew her?"

"I do, I think? I do remember having a teeny crush on her though," Jay shrugged, stabbing his fork into the salad and bringing it to his mouth. 

You pursed your lips, not knowing what to do with that information. "I kinda get it, she's an all american beauty. Are you going to hit her up at the wedding?"

"I don't know. Haven't seen her in years either. Why? You're trying to set me up? Get me out of your hair?" Jay leaned his body close, his lips curled into a sly smirk that you wished to wipe off his face.

"Just asking! I mean, she's a total catch,"

Jay shook his head softly, returning his attention back to his food with a small smile. "Why would I care about her when I already have a total catch by my side?"

Your head snapped to look at him, but was only met with a completely nonchalant Jay who continued with his meal. Did he seriously say that? And you did hear him correctly enough to know that you weren't mistaken. Wow, the man that you swore was your rival somehow became a mildly tolerable man that flirts with you? Someone wake you up, now!

"I wouldn't mind if you do set me up though," he whispered, earning a loud eye roll from you in return.

The lunch eventually ended with a heartful dessert and a tearful speech from the soon bride and groom. Throughout the meal, you were actively dodging Yeonjun's wishful gazes, moreover praying he would actually disappear instead. You could tell he wanted to approach you after, but for the first time, you were thankful for Jay's annoying presence popping up. 

"Your ex keeps glaring at me like I did something wrong," Jay raised his eyebrows, cocking his head at Yeonjun's direction.

"Don't blame me. I don't know what's his problem either considering he's the one who disappeared," you clicked your tongue, heaving a sigh of exasperation. "I can't believe I not only have to deal with him but also you at the wedding,"

Jay shot you a look, seemingly offended. "Okay, but at least I'm the nicer one between him and I,"

"Define 'nicer'," you started walking and he joined your side, hands shoved into his pants pockets.

"At least I didn't ghost you physically,"

"Alright, low blow. Plus, you're too much of an annoying entity to disappear anyway,"

"Ouch," he placed a hand on his face, feigning a hurt look despite cracking a laugh. "You won't be getting rid of me anytime soon,"

"How fun," you deadpanned, eliciting a small smirk from the latter. 

"Just like old times, eh?" He leaned in close to you, the scent of his cologne wafted into your senses. For a moment there, you thought you were hypnotised, until you came back to reality and gently shoved his face away.

"Hope not, don't want you cock blocking my chances with your friend again,"

It was Jay's turn to groan. "Seriously? Hoon again? Let him go,"

"I'm kidding, partially," you made a face, shrugging playfully. "You're acting like you hate the guy,"

"Whatever," he waved it off, a grumpy frown on his face that made you giggle quietly. "Your friends are waiting—" he nodded at where your friends stood, all of which were waving at you to join them, "—so I guess I'll see you around then, L/N,"

"Until then, Park."

It was unexplainable, but your goodbyes with him were always sincere despite the amount of banter and unseriousness. A part of you wished there was something more that brought you two together other than the wedding itself, but what if the wedding was your chance to create something beyond this push and pull?

You ignored your friends' watchful stares when you approached. They all knew, you knew too, that maybe there was something changing in the dynamics that you built in the past. Maybe it wasn't hate that you feel anymore. 

Who told Chaewon to let Heeseung take charge of the next activity?

Honestly, you were aware of the fact that you were simply unfit. But to combine that and having to be under the hot sun was a killer combo for you and your friends. Were you going to complain to your cousin, however? No. A happy bride-to-be was all you needed to make sure everything went well.

A very classic Heeseung thing to do was to arrange a football match that only he and his friends probably enjoyed. You tried being optimistic by treating it as a new experience only to be humbled by the scorching sun. Well, that totally burnt your expectations away. The only reassurance you had for the day was knowing your ex wasn't there. 

It was automatically split into two teams. Bridesmaids against groomsmen. You didn't know how that was fair but you didn't question it either for the sake of the spirits of a pre wedding game. 

You have never once touched a football in your life, neither did most of your friends, but the moment you met Jay's challenging gaze, you knew you had to turn into prime Messi to attempt at a win. This match was about to be a renaissance of the Ronaldo and Messi rivalry, except a more complicated and dumbed down version.

"Okay girls," you and the rest of the bridesmaids huddled together before the match started, a plan in mind that you knew could be put to play. "Here's what we can do. We might not know how to play football, but we know how to play with men's minds, right?" A hum of agreement passed through the group.

"Pretend you're injured, do whatever you can, get to their minds and distract them, then we can get past their defence easily. Look, I know what you guys can pull, so I trust you. Let's get this win!" 

Manipulation was the key to your success. 

Chaewon casted a small smirk at you, and you smiled innocently back at her before she went to where the referee stood, preparing for kick off. It was between her and Heeseung that would be the first to get possession of the ball. 

It was barely noticeable, but you caught it. Chaewon was slyly flirting with Heeseung, and by the time the whistle blew, Heeseung was a second too late and Chaewon got possession of the ball.

You started running, not knowing where your feet were bringing you, but all you did was train your focus on the ball. It was hard not to panic when the ball landed beneath your feet, and you suddenly grew respect for footballers. 

It didn't last long when the ball was kicked out of your possession by the one and only, Park Jong Seong. Since when was he a pro at defending?

You huffed in indignation as you watched him sprint away with the ball. Oh you were so going to get it back.

You dashed towards him until you reached his side. What was football without playing a little dirty? So, you used your shoulder to bump into him, causing him to lose his footing and giving you an opportunity to win it back and passing it to Yujin. 

"Wow, L/N," Jay exclaimed, giving you a look of either admiration or annoyance. "Who knew you could be this … rough?"

"Shut it, Park," 

He let out a humorous laugh before running off to join the rest of the action. You were clearly dumbfounded but you regained your composure not long after. 

The bridesmaids were getting closer to the groomsmen's goalpost and in a blink of an eye, Yujin made a swift kick to the ball and it hit the back of the net, scoring the bridesmaid team their first goal. Maybe you do get footballers a little more now that you were screaming and joining the girls for a huddle, jumping around like you've already won the entirety of the match.

"Alright, we just need to last another 50 minutes," Yujin quickly chimed in once every one of you calmed down from the high.

Her reminder did eventually bring you back to reality. 

The fifteen minute half time break wasn't much of a help either. By the time you were done catching your breath, the whistle blew and the second half commenced. There wasn't much action at the start considering everyone was getting tired, but when you noticed the groomsmen were picking up and attacking your side of the defence, you knew you had to step up your game.

You realised Jay was the one with the ball, making his way towards the goalpost, and crazily, your first instinct was to attempt a tackle on him. Right, a man who stood at five foot ten was going to be easily tackled by you. Seeing as he didn't budge, you did the second most crazy thing you thought of. You yanked onto him. 

Boy, did that work, maybe a little too well. 

He lost his footing, football rolling to God knows where, falling back in slow motion as he grabbed your arm like it was an opportunity for you to go down with him too. Everything happened at almost the slowest speed possible, your eyes widened, never leaving his panicked gaze as you fell face first onto him. 

Thankfully, you landed on his chest, not anywhere else. The accident itself went unnoticed by everyone else as the groomsmen scored their first goal, too busy basking in the glory to figure out one of them was on the ground, the maid of honour on top of him.

You didn't think it was humanly possible at all. To be on top of him, your chest pressing against his firm, hard—shut up—you meant his much firmer chest, hands grabbing onto his wide shoulders. There was only a minimal distance between your face and his. You could almost count the freckles on his cheeks or feel his breath on your face. Neither of you moved.

"I see you really like it rough, don't you?" Jay was the first to speak up, a smirk creeping up on his sweat stained face.

You blinked, and soon registered everything happening around you. The momentary brain fog wore off and you pushed yourself off of him, breathing deeply and heart beating quickly. Why was your heart beating this fast for him? Was it his eyes that caused your heart to skip a beat? Or was it his smile lines that render you speechless?

You didn't dare to look at him, sitting there rather quietly as you heard him grunt, hoisting himself up into a sitting position. You felt him glancing at you, but you remained passive.

"Is this your first time being on top of a man?"

That was enough to get you to look at him. "What?"

"Nevermind," he mumbled, dusting grass off his front. "Are you okay?"

"Shouldn't I ask you that instead?"

"Oh yeah, considering how you pulled onto me then proceeded to use me as a landing cushion," Jay grumbled, mostly lightheartedly, but you couldn't help feeling guilty.

"Sorry," you winced.

"It's fine. I'm not seriously injured either. You're lucky you're cute,"

"What—"

"Woah, you guys didn't get into a brawl, did you?" Heeseung rushed over just in time to cut your reaction off. You were in a state of mild shock, questioning if your ears had heard that right.

The rest of the game progressed with nothing much and ended in a draw. You ignored the quiet teasings from the other bridesmaids, trying your best to seem casual but it failed the moment Jay approached you.

"Good game," he handed you a bottle of cold water, to which you accepted gladly, secretly surprised at his assertiveness.

"Even after I throttled you?"

He let out a laugh, clearly amused and shaking his head. "Seems like old habits between us never died, huh? Always so competitive,"

"Same goes to you, Park, almost lost an ankle out there,"

"But at least you got to fall onto me, right?"

You scoffed, feeling heat creeping up the back of your neck. "Don't flatter yourself, it was an accident,"

"Mhm," he hummed, the playful smile still present and irking you, but a part of you was thinking how cute he looked. It didn't help that his shirt was stuck against his skin because of the sweat and you could see a faint outline of his abs and muscles. You were just a girl after all. "Didn't hear you complaining when it happened,"

"Okay—"

"Are we the lovebirds here or is it actually you two?" Chaewon swooped in with a big knowing grin, purposely wiggling her eyebrows at you.

"We're not lovebirds," you and Jay answered in unison, then heads snapping to look at each other incredulously.

"You need to stop copying me, it's getting old," you said, causing him to drop his jaw.

"I'm so not copying—"

"Right, right," Chaewon interjected, sparing you from another banter with Jay. "Let's go wash up and grab some food after, shall we?"

"Sounds good," you wrapped your arm around your cousin, staring pointedly at Jay.

"Yeah, it'd be great,"

"Good!" Chaewon exclaimed before either of you could utter another word. "Let's go then."

The food was good, but most importantly, you were fresh and clean. The only problem was the fact you were struggling to eat from the constant eye contact with Jay. He might've been sitting a couple seats away from you, but his eyes would stray to you. 

It was already hard to swallow the day's interaction with him, but to top it off with this was simply overwhelming. What was he doing to you? 

Whatever he was doing, you didn't want him to stop.

Time was passing by too fast. Way too fast. 

Chaewon surely knew how to keep you busy. From planning to activities, you were roped into all of them till the point where you've lost your concept of time. Pottery, painting and baking classes were the most memorable activities you had with the bridesmaids, and there were regular brunches or dinners with the groomsmen. Either way, all of those were soon memories as you currently prepared for your flight to Greece. Two weeks in Greece. Who gave Chaewon the idea of having her bachelorette party there too?

You know what, at least you got the chance to sit in business class. Chaewon, being the person she was, insisted on upgrading every groomsmen and bridesmaids to business class. There were countless arguments and conflict due to the fact that she was shouldering it, but she shut it down immediately. So, what else could you and the others do but listen and accept it gracefully.

It really was a different atmosphere being in business class. You were praying you got the single seat by the window, but with a glance at your ticket, you realised your seat was in the middle where a two seats sat side by side, seperated by a divider. May you get a rich business man that would take you around Greece for free.

"You again?"

Maybe you have to scratch that idea out.

You looked up from your seat, already all settled in, just to meet Jay's unamused gaze. Him again. Chaewon and Heeseung definitely had a thing to do with this whole setup.  

"You?" You eyed him from head to toe, taking in his hoodie clad body and grey sweatpants covered lower half. "What are you doing in my presence?"

"Why, I'm sorry, my majesty. It seems like I am sitting beside you," he hoisted his backpack up to the overhead compartment, flashing a little of his tummy and that happy trail of his. What the fuck. Before he could catch you staring, you averted your attention just as he plopped down onto the seat next to you, a contented sigh leaving his lips. "Man, business class truly is different,"

"I don't know how Chaewon is affording all these," you took a look around, spotting a few familiar faces. 

"Heeseung's loaded, remember? His family, his job," Jay let out a low whistle.

"Good for Chaewon, then,"

"Good for us too."

Take off was fairly peaceful knowing Jay was too engrossed into whatever movie he had on. You, on the other hand, was trying to get some sleep before any crying babies started wrecking havoc, or worse, Jay speaking. It didn't last long when food was served and Jay decided it was time to take a break from his movie.

"What are you eating?" Jay took a peek over the divider to see which menu you selected.

"Shrimp fried rice. Since when did you become so nosy?" Ironically, you secretly took a look at his food too, some wonton noodles with side dishes. 

"Trying to be nice to my neighbour that I'm stuck with for over ten hours. I'm being the bigger person here," 

"Bigger person, yeah," you mumbled under your breath, stabbing into your shrimp fried rice. 

"You know, I would really like to recreate Mamma Mia in Greece," it seemed that sometimes a filter didn't exist for Jay.

"Which part? The musical? The baby daddy disaster? Wedding off your own daughter? Having a love life crisis at your daughter's wedding?" At least you were mildly entertained.

Jay snorted, pointing at his paused screen, and that was when you realised he was actually watching Mamma Mia. "Probably the musical part. You know, 'Dancing Queen', classic,"

"Didn't know you roll with ABBA like that," why was his attractiveness level increasing? You were seeing him in a different light day by day and you didn't know if that was a good or bad thing for you.

"What can I say? I'm an attractive man with good music taste,"

"Then why are you still single?"

"We don't talk about that."

Fair to say the rest of the journey has been peaceful. Jay might've chimed in from time to time but he actually mostly made you laugh, unaware that he was staring at your smile and the way your eyes crinkled in happiness. Sleep was definitely the star of the show. It was what you did for most of the flight until it was time for landing, groggily waking up to an already freshly awake Jay. How did he do it? You didn't know. 

"I shook you awake for 20 times and you couldn't wake up," Jay leaned over and whispered, receiving a tired eye roll from you.

"I can't believe travelling is this tiring," you sighed, straightening your back against the seat.

"The wedding week is about to be more tiring,"

"Don't remind me about it," 

You were holding onto your last piece of peace before the wedding, truly. 

From exiting the plane to going through the usual airport measures, Jay has never strayed far from you. Surprisingly, you didn't mind it either. The two of you navigated through the airport, not sparing the occasional bicker as Jay was insisting on turning right while you insisted on turning left. Turns out, it was to head straight for the exit. 

You shared a cab together to the hotel Chaewon specifically booked so that you could meet with the others. It was awkward having to explain to the driver that you and Jay were not a couple after he called you two a beautiful pair, the language barrier didn't help anything at all, leaving the rest of the journey to your destination a little silent.

The hotel was genuinely a sight for sore eyes. Upon arriving, you had to check if it was the right place, and it really was. The hotel overlooked the sea, there even was an infinity pool by the edge of the cliff. You wondered how you managed to get here, to this beautiful getaway.

It didn't take long before the others arrived, including Chaewon and Heeseung themselves. You and Jay were busy chatting with Chaewon while the others already checked into the hotel rooms, unaware about the existing problems until Heeseung came sounding them. Supposedly everyone was meant to get their own rooms, but there seemed to be a mix up in the amount of single rooms and there were one room short. Everyone basically already had their own rooms … except for you and Jay.

Of course it's going to be you and Jay.

"So, it's fully booked out? That's the only room left?" You, Jay, and the actual couple surrounded the counter, mildly distressed—well, mostly you and Jay were—the other two had other thoughts in mind.

"Yes, Miss. We're so sorry about the mistake. We can offer complimentary services as a way to repay you,"

Screw those complimentary services, you were on the edge of a meltdown. 

"What about an extra single bed for the room? For free?" Chaewon chimed in, flashing her sparkly eyes in addition to the very reasonable repayment.

"We can do that," the receptionist was quick to answer, putting on a pretty forced friendly smile.

"Wait, so we're sharing rooms?" Jay interrupted, sounding a little confused.

"Glad to see you're only catching on now," you seethed through your teeth, glaring rather unhappily at him.

None of you complained despite the constant bombardment of questions from Chaewon asking if you were okay with the arrangements. You came to terms with it, and you expected more sound from Jay, but to your surprise, he silently accepted it. 

"You're not mad or anything?" It was now just the both of you, alone in a corridor trying to find your room. 

"Why would I be?" From the tone of his voice, he genuinely seemed fine with it.

"I thought you'd rather die than be with me,"

"That's what you think," his eyes were on the doors and the numbers, but his focus on your every word never faltered. "I've learnt to tolerate you. I think you should do the same,"

"I do! I'm not exploding anymore whenever I see you," 

"Oh wow, is that the effect I have on you—here's our room," you stopped right behind him, standing in front of a door, waiting for him to unlock it.

The room was exactly what you imagined but also not. It was a small room, mostly decorated and painted with the overall theme of Mykonos in mind. There was a single bed there and it certainly haunted you. Please deliver that extra bed quickly, you thought.

"Home sweet home for two weeks, I guess," Jay muttered as he came out of the bathroom after walking around the room, though there was nothing much to see anyway.

"At least you get to live your Mamma Mia dream,"

"Touche."

Being heavily jet lagged and tired out of your mind, you wondered how Chaewon still had ample amount of energy left in her to be so enthusiastic and cheerful. She had invited the bridesmaids, groomsmen and close friends out for dinner at an outdoor restaurant, where the pretty view made up for the hefty price.

The chilly evening weather was perfect for you to pull out one of your dinner dresses, a black long sleeved midi dress that complimented you. Maybe pulling the dress out was a good idea hidden in disguise, because it definitely did a number on Jay. 

From the moment you stepped out of the bathroom in the dress to the point where you're waiting for your dinner, Jay has been enamoured by you. Even if he said nothing, his eyes couldn't lie, they couldn't escape. 

"I don't like the way he's always staring at you," Jay whispered quietly so that only you could hear. You knew who he was talking about, unfortunately, and you detested the fact that you were getting the unwanted attention too.

"I don't like the way he's staring at me either," you mumbled, avoiding your ex's watchful gaze. "He's going to be such a pain in the ass for me,"

"Out of sight, out of mind,"

"You don't say," you sighed into your glass of wine, hoping to down another in an attempt to cloud Yeonjun's existence away. 

Dinner was taking its own sweet time to get prepared, so everyone was scattered around, either by the bar or at the table. Jay had wandered off with Sunghoon and Jake, leaving you with Yujin and Wonyoung.

"Okay, guess who's here," Chaewon had snuck up on you and the girls, flinging her arm carelessly around your's and Yujin's shoulders.

"It's me," you heard a familiar voice announcing her presence in a sing-song tone, causing you and your friends to turn around, seeing one of your best friends, Yunjin, approaching with open arms. 

"Yunjin?" You gasped, rushing over to throw yourself on her. "Oh my God, it's been ages since we met," 

"I know! I've been busy, it's insane," after all the hugs from you and the girls, you sat down to catch up, listening to every drama Yunjin had to offer. 

Time wasn't enough for the amount of things Yunjin needed to say as dinner was starting to be served and everyone was gradually returning. To your utmost surprise, Sunghoon took the seat next to you that Jay had originally sat in. It seemed Jay was a step too late as his face had obvious question marks on it. 

You met his eyes and shrugged, but proceeded to mouth 'Yunjin' and pointed at the empty seat next to her. Well, you were trying to be a good sport and set him up. But his furrowed eyebrows told you otherwise. However, he didn't have much choice either but to oblige.

"I'm so glad you're here. I really need my support since he is literally right here," you shook your head, taking a big bite out of your pasta.

"Who?"

"Yeonjun," you muttered, basically coughed to cover the mention of his name. 

Yunjin tensed for a second when you said his name. It didn't go unnoticed by you either, weird. But you decided to shrug it off at the moment, not thinking much of it.

"He better stay out of your way for the entire wedding," Yunjin said after a beat.

"I'm making it known, but he's kinda … difficult,"

"Just stick with Chaewon, I don't think he'd mess with you when she's around. Remember that time she pulled his hair just because you two got into an argument?"

"Right. Typical Chaewon," you laughed at the memory, mostly at Chaewon's actions than the entirety of it. Thinking about Yeonjun and your past was simply heart wrenching. To be reminded that you wasted years on a man that left without any explanations was a different kind of hurt. 

"Anyway," you started, shaking away the random surge of trauma inducing thoughts, averting your attention back on Yunjin. "Do you remember Jay?" You nodded over at said man whose attention you caught.

"Oh yeah, I do! Same high school as us, right?"

"That's me," he said, looking a mix of awkwardness and confusion. "I'm Jay,"

"Hi, Yunjin," 

"Well, cheers America, I suppose. You guys can bond a little over that then," you wiggled your eyebrows at Jay, who only stared back at you with an odd look. Whatever that was.

The rest of the dinner consisted of small talks with Sunghoon and laughing about shared experiences with Heeseung. You didn't notice the burning stare from Jay until dinner was over and everyone was just lazing around under the clear night sky. The bar was still open and everyone was slowly hovering over there bit by bit, swaying along with the music playing in the background.

"You're not going to get some drinks?" Sunghoon was already up from his seat, ready to join the others by the bar. 

You shook your head. "I'm fine, I think I'll survive on the wine,"

"Alright, then I guess I'll be off with Yunjin," 

You looked over to see Yunjin already standing, smiling happily at the mention of some drinks and was gladly whisked away by Sunghoon, which meant you and Jay were there together alone. 

"I see what you're trying to do," Jay scooted onto Yunjin's seat, now sitting beside you with a slight frown. "You're trying to set me up with her,"

"You said you were down,"

"Maybe I lied,"

"Well, don't lie then," you hissed, grabbing onto your wine glass and taking a large sip from it. 

Jay choked out a laugh at your reaction, a familiar teasing grin sitting on his lips. "I'm joking. I don't care about her, I barely know her,"

"She's really nice," 

"I don't care,"

"Then who do you even care about?"

"You,"

Given the fact that he was sitting close to you and he never once broke eye contact, his words had a bigger effect on you more than you could imagine. What did he mean by what he said? Adding on that he didn't care about Yunjin had unknowingly given you a sense of relief, though you didn't realise it. 

Jay cracked a smile, laughing under his breath at your confusion stricken face and took it as an opportunity to leave you hanging. "I'm going to get some drinks, want some?"

"I—uh—no thanks, I–I'll stick to my wine," you were a stuttering mess, and you were letting him do that to you. 

You couldn't believe it, you couldn't believe yourself. Park Jong Seong, really? You were not fully admitting it but you had to be honest, you were feeling the slight sparks when it came to Jay. Shoot you, right now please!

As if he knew he had a lasting effect on you, that man had the audacity to look over his shoulder as he left and meet your eyes, laughing a little before turning away. Motherfucker. 

A few sips of your wine eventually turned into downing the whole glass. Talk about liquid luck, you need the confidence to uphold your composure no matter what. And it was definitely fitting when Yeonjun appeared next to you out of the blue. Maybe downing the wine was a smart choice after all.

"You're with Jay now?" 

"Why would it be your business whether or not I'm with him?" You snapped, not needing his presence at the moment.

"I just—nevermind,"

"What do you want, Yeonjun? Last time I checked, we're not on speaking terms,"

"I just wanted to talk,"

"Talk? You left me with no explanation and you want to talk now? I rather we stay no contact forever," 

"Look, I–I did something … unforgivable and I couldn't face you, so I left and—"

"What was it? What did you even do till the point where you had to leave and disappear from my life?"

"I don't know if this is the right place to say or even the right time, but I just wanted to say I'm sorry,"

"Save it, if you're not even going to tell me. I don't forgive you, Yeonjun, and I don't think I ever will," you forced out even though you were crumbling internally, wishing the ground would just swallow you up and never see his face ever again.

"Y/N—"

"Y/N," It was Jay. He was back from the bar, standing with a glass in hand paired with a very confused look on his face as he stared at a distressed you then at your guilty looking ex. "And … Yeonjun,"

"Jay," Yeonjun greeted, or more so, acknowledged.

There was a recognisable tension that hung in the air. Not only did you feel uncomfortable, but also awkward and angry, and it somehow prompted you to get up from your seat. You didn't know what you were going to do, all you wished for was to be far away from Yeonjun. 

"I—you know what, let's go get some drinks," you caught onto Jay's wrist, pulling him with you to the bar without looking back or acknowledging Yeonjun's existence. 

"What was all that? I felt like dying there," Jay said in a hushed tone once your ex was out of earshot. 

"I don't know either, it almost felt like a fever dream. He basically said everything but also nothing," it was evident from your voice that Yeonjun had affected you more than it seemed. How dare he seek you out after all those times of being away? For a minute you thought you were in one of those scripted dramas. "Tell me, Jay, how am I supposed to avoid him when he's literally here with us for the entire wedding?"

"Forget about the rest of the wedding, let's just focus on tonight first. You know what we're going to do tonight? Drink and dance," Jay laced his hand into yours, and it took you by complete surprise. The warmth of his skin calmed you, the reassurance in the glow of his eyes made you think maybe everything was alright. 

You eventually ditched the wine and went for something stronger, reaching the point where you were playing drinking games with some of your friends while Jay watched. It was until Jay had to pull you away from the drinks and try leading you back to the table, but you stopped in your tracks and it made things difficult for him. 

"Why are you stopping?" He held onto your arms tighter, though you weren't fully drunk, you were still stumbling over your own two feet. 

"Do you hear that?" 

Jay squinted his eyes at you, almost like he's saying 'are you crazy' without verbally doing so. "Hear what?"

"ABBA,"

"ABBA?" Jay questioned, but when you shushed him and he actually listened, he could hear the start of 'Dancing Queen' playing from the bar speakers. 

"Your Mamma Mia dream!" You threw your head back laughing and grabbed onto his shoulder. 

Jay had always been a man who knew how to keep his composure, constantly pretending that you were nothing more to him, but now that it came to you, he seemed to be losing every bit of it. The moment he watched you throw your head back laughing, he was a gone man. His  knees were weak and his heart was racing quicker than usual. He didn't even realise you had pulled him into the middle of a mini dancefloor by the bar. Why did they even have a dance floor? He thought. Whatever, Chaewon and Heeseung were dancing, some of the others were too, so Jay, for once, decided to let go.

"It's your song! Dancing Queen!" You patted his shoulder with the widest smile on your face as if things hadn't gone sour in the first place. Alcohol worked wonders for you. But it didn't cloud your mind when Jay wrapped his hand around your wrist and proceeded to pull you in, knocking your liquid confidence out of you. 

"Dance with me then," 

Oh.

Oh.

"I'd love to," 

Fuck it.

Jay bit his lips, smiling wide and pulling you with him. You stumbled a little, but you didn't care, letting out a carefree laugh and moving your body to the music, not even realising that Jay was standing there watching you, completely starstruck by you.

"What are you doing? Dance with me," you pulled onto his arm and he laughed in response, letting you boss him around in your half drunken stage. 

Jay was a great dancing partner, better than you expected. He twisted and turned you around, and at one point, he spun you around. It was fun living this way, not caring about a single thing in the world and getting to dance till your heart's content. It was written all over your's and Jay's face, how much you were enjoying each other's company despite not saying it.

It took Dancing Queen and a few other ABBA songs to wear you and Jay out, eventually having to retire back to the table a little sweaty and very sluggish. Being a little tipsy and tired, you were ignorant to the obvious stares from your friends and Yeonjun himself. Were you going to explain yourself in the morning? Absolutely not.

Heading back to the hotel was easy when everyone of you walked back together, filling the quiet night air with loud laughs and juicy chatters. Jay's jacket was wrapped around your shoulders, and he himself was straying not far behind with Jake. 

You said your goodbyes for the night to Yujin, Chaewon, Yunjin and the others before following Jay to the room. He made sure to have you by his side, occasionally sneaking glances at you as you both silently walked back. 

You've never been more glad to take your heels off and be back in your own room. As you stumbled around trying to get your shoes off, you caught sight of a change in the room. There were two beds. That's good. But they're side by side. Not good. The hotel was making a fool of you at this point. 

"What are you staring at—oh," Jay had entered the room, looking taken aback at the two single beds joined together. 

"They're together, they shouldn't be together," your words came out in a rush, almost in a panic. 

"Well, no shit," Jay mumbled, walking forward to the bed. "Do you want to move this? Oh, it's going to be a lot of work, the bedside tables—"

"You know what, leave it," you were too tired to complain, it was already past midnight and Jay was probably equally tired, it just wasn't a good time to be the one complaining here. "Let's just share the bed,"

"You're fine with that?"

"I am,"

"Really?"

"Yes, Jay, now stop asking before I downgrade you to the floor," that was enough to get the man to zip his mouth.

The process of getting in bed with Jay was bewildering to you. You were sleeping in the same bed as him. That was something you had to wrap your mind around. 

"You okay?" In the dark came Jay's voice. The lights were off and you were already tucked under the covers. There was a small space in between you and Jay, something the two of you made sure remained. However, you could hear Jay's faint breathing and feel the warmth emitting from his body. You were that close to him. 

"I'm fine, just … tired,"

"I didn't think you'd want to share the bed with me,"

"Why?"

"Thought you hated to be in my presence or something,"

"That's what you think," you said, quoting him from earlier on. Jay immediately caught onto that, letting out a snort in response.

"Are you finally charmed by me, L/N?"

It was your turn to let out a snort, but the smile creeping onto your face was telling you otherwise. "Go to sleep, Park,"

Jay laughed a little, and it was hard not to admit that it caused a swarm of butterflies to stir in your abdomen. "Night, sweetheart,"

Those swarms of butterflies were about to be a whole damn zoo. 

"Night, Jay."

That night, despite the space in between, you felt much closer to Jay than you've ever been before, both personally and physically.

Waking up to a feeling of heaviness over your stomach was alarming. Finding out it was Jay's arm was ten times more alarming.

Your eyes basically widened in light speed, snapping your head over to see Jay still dozed off beside you, but the space you both created was practically nonexistent. He was cuddling you. Cuddling you. No matter how many times you repeated it, you continued to be in disbelief.

The Park Jong Seong was cuddling you and you were in bed with him. If only fifteen years old you could hear that and not have a complete heart attack. 

You glanced over at him again, this time pausing at the sight of his face. The freckles littered under his eyes resembled constellations in the sky. It was impossible to deny that he had a face that was to die for, paired with features that were too delicate and detailed, he was a dream. 

Let's not start on his arm and the biceps, shall we? You carefully pushed his arm away, feeling the warmth from his touch slowly leaving your skin. Then, you made the run for it and headed to the bathroom without looking back. What a start to your morning.

It took approximately another thirty minutes before Jay woke up. By then, you were already done with your morning routine and were in the midst of choosing your outfit of the day. 

"Morning. You're up early,"

"No, Jay, you're up late. We need to meet them for brunch by twelve," you pointed at the clock that was conveniently hanging on the wall. It was half past eleven.

"Oh," he breathed out, hair sticking out in different directions, t-shirt all crumpled. "Give me ten minutes."

He truly stuck to his words. Ten minutes and he was out of the shower, fresh and fully awake. "Impressive," you noted.

"Thank you," he delivered a wink at you, bowing slightly. It was never too early in the morning for him to do that, was it?

Brunch came and went, eventually it was time for bridesmaid duties. You, Yujin, Chaewon, Yunjin and the rest of the bridesmaids were at the venue doing some final preparations and going through what's needed. But the tap on your shoulder didn't prepare you for the thing she was about to say.

"Is Jay single?"

You were in the middle of checking the flowers and decorations, but was left too stunned to really continue on. "Huh?"

"That American guy, the one you introduced," she repeated, as though he wasn't the guy you're literally sharing a bed with. 

"Him, yeah, why?" Playing oblivious to digest the question was such a strategy to pull.

"Is he—I don't know—single?"

"Uh—yeah … kind of? Why?" Now, why did you add 'kind of'?

"He's cute, I wanted to talk to him more but he's a little quiet," 

Oh.

"Oh," you were chewing on your bottom lip, a habit that you found yourself doing when you're nervous. Why were you nervous? "He's a little weird, I don't think you'd like him,"

"But I like weird!" Yunjin laughed, and you forced out one too, which eventually faltered into a frown that rested on your lips.

"I'll … let him know," 

"Thanks!"

It was indescribable, specifically that feeling you had when Yunjin showed interest in Jay. The boiling, distasteful, stomach dropping feeling you had throughout that conversation. What was it? Plus, why would she even like Jay? He's not special, he's just … Jay. Well, the Jay you knew for ages and grew close to, that Jay. 

He was the same person that you swore you hated, the first boy you got to know. He just so happened to be standing in front of you, after all that push and pull you did in your head, you were faced with the man himself, alone in the room together.

"You look distracted," his voice broke the silence in the room, startling you slightly.

"What?"

"You look distracted," he repeated, joining you to sit on the bed as well. "Doesn't seem like it's a you thing to be distracted. What's going on in that head of yours?"

You, Jay. It's you.

"I—uh—wedding things. They got the flowers wrong," it was a plain lie, but you managed to dodge his question, just like how you were dodging his burning eyes.

"Chaewon's not overworking you, right?"

You chuckled at his question, shaking your head. "If anything, she's overworking herself out," 

"You should stop her, don't want the bride to be burnt out by the time of the wedding," Jay said, and you nodded as a response. It was silent for a little while, the sound of Jay's foot tapping the ground was all you heard, mixed with the steady breathing of his. 

"Y/N," 

One utterance of your name from him was enough for you to turn and meet his eyes. He was already staring at you. There was the softest glow in his gaze that he reserved just for you. It was quiet, but whatever it was that lingered in the air between you and him, it was loud and sparkling. 

You hummed, unable to verbally reply under his stare. He was close, you weren't even conscious of the nonexistent space you two had, only becoming gradually aware that his shoulder was pressed against yours. 

"I—" he started, but nothing really came out, and it somehow disappointed you a lot. "Nevermind," he laughed it off, but you could only manage a small smile, a part of you which was expecting something more had eventually shattered.

"What?" You nudged his shoulder in a lighthearted manner.

"It's nothing,"

You arched your eyebrow at him. "Nothing?"

He shook his head. You let out a hum in response even though you didn't believe him, but you moved on from it for the moment, switching to another topic that crowded your mind. 

"Yunjin asked me about you,"

It was his turn to be curious. "She did?"

You nodded in affirmation. "Asked if you're single. I think she's interested,"

"What do you think of it?"

"What? Why would I matter in this?"

"I care about what you think about this. Aren't you the one pushing the whole agenda?"

"Well—"

"You can always just tell me to fuck off and I will, you know?"

"I can't just do that. You're a person with free will, why would I want to get in the way of your love life?" 

"I could sense the disapproval in you, Y/N," he leaned in slightly, not knowing how much of an effect it has on you.

You gulped, trying to regain your composure a little bit more. "Do whatever you want, Jay, really,"

"Really?"

"Really,"

"Alright, I'll trust you and your judgement. Now go shower, stinky,"

You punched his shoulder and stood up. "What a gentleman you are, Jay,"

"I'm joking! But you do need to shower after a long day,"

"Maybe I do,"

"So you think you smell too?"

"Now you're putting words in my mouth," you picked up your towel and pajamas, casting him one last look. "You better think back on what you were about to say! I don't like being left hanging."

You heard a humoured laugh coming from Jay, but you continued your way to the bathroom. In the end, you knew you were lying about being fine and secondly, you could tell he was hiding the actual things he wanted to say earlier on. It was clear that he was lying, you had a sure feeling about it. But you weren't exactly innocent either. 

Jay was easy to read sometimes. It was hard to hide from you especially when his eyes were speaking to you first. They were already telling you things that couldn't be described with words, something much more intimate, yet, he couldn't say it to you for some reason.

Just like how you couldn't voice out the truth about you despising the idea of Jay and Yunjin together. It was confusing you, whatever this feeling you had harboured in your guts, or the fact that Jay was overtaking your mind, and you were willingly letting it happen.

You hate him. You hate the way he laughed. You hate his charming eyes that turn into crescent moons whenever his lips stretch into one of his sweet smiles. You hate his flirtatious remarks, or that look he had in his eyes whenever he's with you. In the end, you hate how he wasn't yours.

Oh god. You're supposed to hate him, but why were you feeling this way for him?

Oh. 

You like him. You like Park Jong Seong.

From that night onwards, you've never been the same. 

Being aware of your ongoing feelings for Jay was both a blessing and a curse. It's great that you got to be in tune with your feelings, but also having troubles acting like yourself around him was totally uncalled for, which explained why you've been actively dodging him for quite some time now.

"Are you okay? You're acting differently," Yujin, being your closest friend, seemed to see through your behaviour like glass. 

You shrugged, trying to play it off as nothing. If you find yourself admitting that secret, you'd be fleeing Greece the next day. 

"We're going out to the club and you're so … toned down. It's so unlike you,"

"I'm just a little tired, the packed schedules are killing me, but trust me, I'm more than glad to be able to let loose tonight," it was part truth, part lie. 

"So no getting drunk for you?" 

"Nope. I'll get the worst hangover the next day so I think I'll pass," 

"I can't tell if you'll stick to your words," Yujin narrowed her eyes at you in doubt, and truth be told, you couldn't fully trust yourself either.

"Well, we'll find out tomorrow."

Almost everyone was there by the time you and Yujin arrived. Most of them were sitting in the booth but some had already wandered off on their own. Your eyes strayed to a certain someone sitting in the booth, realising he had his gaze on you first. 

Jay was dressed in a simple long sleeve denim button up, but there was a certain twist to it. First two buttons were unbuttoned, sleeves rolled up to showcase his forearms, a single chain hung around his neck and an expensive watch wrapped around his wrist. Now … you couldn't believe his simplicity and minimalism has managed to swoon you over.

He smiled upon meeting your eyes. This action alone had you melting and it wasn't even something big. You couldn't help yourself from smiling either, letting that man charm you over. 

That was until your gaze flickered over to his side. Yunjin. 

That same feeling in the pits of your stomach seemed to have made its presence known. You shouldn't be feeling this way. Yunjin's your friend. But why were you feeling absolutely sour the moment you saw her by his side?

"Wanna grab some drinks or you're still sticking to your words?" Yujin nudged your side and nodded her head at the bar. She always knew how to tempt you, but at the same time, you were looking for a moment's worth of getaway from Jay and Yunjin.

"Fine. I'll get something light," you grumbled, finally giving in. Yujin cheered and she absolutely didn't waste another second before pulling you away towards the bar. You felt it, however, a lingering gaze as you left that you knew who it belonged to. It took every piece of you to not look back and that was what you did.

As you waited for the bartender to be done with your drinks, you pulled your best friend closer. "I need to ask you something,"

"Ask away, old friend,"

"No questions until I'm done, okay?" You didn't know what had gotten into you, maybe it was the night time adrenaline or the fact that it's been eating you up since forever, but all you knew was you needed to confide in your best friend. Yujin nodded, clear confusion written in her expressions.

"Hear me out. Let's just say, hypothetically, I have a crush on someone and I see him with another girl. I feel some sort of confusing feelings, is that normal?" 

Yujin's confusion morphed into realisation, then a wide knowing smirk took over her lips. "So, you've got a crush, eh?"

"Hypothetically! Now, answer my question,"

"Alright, whatever you say," Yujin's smirk never faltered, but she gave it a thought. "I know what it is,"

"What?"

"You're jealous," she might've put it plainly, but it surely did come crashing down on you like a big wave. You? Jealous? That's new. "Well, hypothetically speaking," she added, unconvinced.

"Why would I be jealous? Hypothetically," 

"It's natural, Y/N. Seeing someone you like with a girl who happens to not be you can be gut wrenching. It's also a part of girlhood," Yujin said thoughtfully.

"Then what do I do? Drown myself?"

"Not exactly, no, it depends. Either you admit your feelings or continue living your life in denial," Yujin hummed, resting her head on her hand as she stared at you. "Do you like him?"

"Yes—well—hypothetical situation wise. I think I'm no longer in denial, but I just don't know what to do,"

"Tell him. What if he already likes you from the beginning?"

"Bullshit,"

Yujin raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure this is all hypothetical?"

"Y–Yeah, I suppose,"

Another satisfied smile spread across her face, looking as if she'd cracked the code to the safe. "I don't think you'd have to worry,"

"What do you mean?"

"You already have him wrapped around your fingers since day one,"

Did she actually crack the code? Was it that obvious? 

You let out a cough and straightened your spine. "It's all hypothetical, though. Don't worry,"

"Hypothetical, huh? We'll see."

How ominous that sounded. The ring of her words definitely burned in your mind even as the night progressed. Great to know you were burning with jealousy, but dreaded to realise you actually needed to voice out your feelings to be known. Why was romance this hard? 

What you know wasn't hard was drinking and dancing. You tried getting Jay out of your mind by dancing with your friends, even accepting drinks from a random guy whose name you learned was Intak. Apparently he was on a trip with his friends too. 

"Can I take you home tonight?"

"What?" You screamed over the music, but in reality, you were just trying to plot your escape.

"Wanna get out of here?" 

"I—uh—came with my friends so I think I'll stay," you were not liking how this was going.

"Come on, I know a good place nearby," he was reaching out to grab your hand but you quickly retracted it, slowly getting up from the tall bar stool. 

"I think I'll stay," you backed away gradually, eyes frantically blinking in anxiety as you watched him get up from his seat too.

"Hey, come on—" 

"What's going on?" Jay's voice travelled to your ears just as your back bumped into his chest, but you managed to recognise his voice before turning to meet his slightly agitated face. 

"Jay," you breathed out in relief, not even acknowledging the fact that he had caught hold of your wrist. 

He casted a glance at Intak, who thankfully backed down after seeing Jay approaching you. You thought your main concern was finally settled, but one peek at Jay's face, you knew he was mad without needing to ask. "Let's go,"

It was all fun and games until you realised he was genuinely pissed. His hold on you didn't loosen and you didn't know where you were being dragged to either. "Where are we going?" Silence from him. "Jay! Let go of me," 

The continued radio silence from him as he pulled you through the crowd and towards the exit only further your annoyance. You were angry and very much confused, an explanation was what you deserved too. 

Once you had exited the club, Jay finally stopped his tracks. The quiet night air that was accompanied by the sounds of waves crashing against the shore filled the momentary silence, just before you eventually cracked. 

"What are we doing here?"

"We're going back,"

"Back where?"

"The hotel,"

"What?" You took a step back, face contorting into confusion then anger. "I'm not going back yet,"

"You are. You're not staying especially when that creep is still there,"

"You're being unreasonable,"

Jay shook his head, jaw clenched. "What were you even doing back there? Can't you see you're getting yourself in danger?"

"I was just trying to enjoy my night, Jay,"

"And by that you meant getting yourself involved with a man you don't know?"

"God, Jay. Since when do you care?"

"Since always!" He burst out yelling, surprising you the most. He was breathing hard, eyes flickering around and his hands clenched tightly onto his jeans. "Since fucking always, Y/N, and it hurts me to see another man trying to get his way with you knowing how he doesn't deserve any part of you at all,"

Was this actually happening? Were you dreaming every word that was coming out of his mouth? 

"W–what? But I thought … I thought you and Yunjin—"

"For fuck's sake, Y/N, can't you see? I give a fuck about you, not your best friend, but you," he ran a hand through his hair, heaving a sigh of distress. "I want you. Ever since the day I met you, no matter how much you said you hated me, I just knew I couldn't feel the same, because … you're you, you're special like no other,"

The anger in his eyes melted into adoration, and most importantly, love. Desperation, longing and pining hung in his words, no matter how you tried absorbing them, your state of shock continued to render you speechless. You wanted to tell him how much you liked him, or the way he has been clouding your mind for far too long, but you just couldn't bring yourself to.

"Jay …" your voice was light and gentle, the alcohol in your system was buzzing and you swore you were about to lose your footing anytime soon. The additional silence from Jay only made the tension in the air thicker.

He opened his mouth, then closed it, forming a thin line. Eyebrows furrowed, thoughts clearly running through that mind of his. "I—forget it,"

That was the last thing you had expected. "What?"

"You're tired, a–and you probably don't know what to say, I can see it in your face. Let's just talk about this another day, okay?"

You hate to admit it, but he was partially true. All those times you prepared yourself by admitting that you did, in fact, like him surely hadn't gotten you ready for this moment. Maybe a heads up would've been great, but you couldn't help feeling sad that you had unintentionally left him hanging.

"Let's go back," Jay started to walk, but your feet were still stuck to the ground. He soon noticed and turned around, head tilted to one side in confusion. 

"I'm not rejecting you, Jay, I–I just need a clear head and a better time to gather my emotions. Trust me, I'm not pushing you away," your words might've come out slightly slurred, but it was all genuine. You held your breath until you saw a small smile forming on his face, waiting as he walked closer and finally stood before you.

"Alright, I trust you. Shall we go?"

"Let's go."

His arms were wrapped around you as you both walked under the night sky. You feared for the awkwardness, but it just seemed to be nonexistent. Your head was in a mess, but one thing's for sure, which was telling him how you felt once his heavy emotions diluted away. For now, you rested your head on his shoulder, basking in his presence before facing what was yet to come.

You didn't talk to Jay for the next few days.

Look, it's not that you didn't want to, you just couldn't. The bachelorette was the day after that night at the bar and it practically took up to two days since Chaewon insisted on a sleepover too, which also meant you haven't seen Jay for those days and given the situation you had with him, you're not sure if going no contact was the best idea. 

Then came the pre wedding dinner and its preparations. The whole morning leading up to the evening was just you and your fellow bridesmaids running around getting everything finalised. The dinner dress you had on definitely added to the dramatics. 

There was still an hour left until the open aired dinner. By then, you and your friends were able to catch your breath and enjoy some evening tea around the long table. The groomsmen were at one end while you and the bridesmaids were at the other, only furthering your distance from him.

"Hey, Y/N, can you grab me some sugar please?" Chaewon pointed at her cup of coffee, then batted her eyelashes sweetly at you.

The others laughed as you rolled your eyes. Maid of honour duties were truly on another level. "Alright, alright, anything else? You guys?"

"A cup of water for me please," Yunjin piped up, and a string of requests followed. It was almost as if you'd become their personal waiter.

You made your way towards the inside of the restaurant, passing by the groomsmen's end and getting some greetings from them. Your eyes, however, were on a particular one. The best man. He didn't meet your eyes, but you could tell he was resisting the urge to do so. He could have spared you a message or two, yet he chose not to, and that disappointed you more than imagined. 

You're not pushing him away, but why did it seem like he was the one pushing you away?

Just to make matters worse, the first person you saw upon entering the inside of the restaurant was your ex, Yeonjun. Of course he was here. Before you could escape from him, he had already caught sight of you and was calling for you. Just your luck.

"Y/N!" He took big strides towards you, and you cursed under your breath. 

"Yes?" You said slowly, taking a cautious step back. 

"I wanted to talk to you,"

Not again. You sighed. "Look, I'm not starting this conversation again. I'm tired, it's almost the wedding day and I just want some peace,"

"I–I just wanted to tell you the truth,"

"The truth?"

"The truth behind what happened. I owe you the closure that I deprived you of,"

Get you out of here ASAP. You stared at him blankly, your fight or flight instinct blaring loudly in your ears. Your foot took one step back, the other was waiting to do the same. 

"I slept with your best friend. I slept with Yunjin,"

Oh wow.

Nothing could've possibly prepared you for that. The reason why he broke off your five years long relationship was because he fucked your friend? That was almost a joke, except that joke was your reality. 

"I … I realised I was in love with her and I broke things off with you. Then I left and moved in with her overseas, before we eventually broke up too," his continuous confession only hit you like bullets. Maybe the closure and truth you were hoping for years was something you didn't need after all. "Say something, please, Y/N," 

You couldn't. Tongue tied and overwhelmed, your feet started backing up before you even knew it. Your state of shock had failed to notice a body brushing past you and advancing towards Yeonjun. Almost in a blink of an eye, Yeonjun was punched in the jaw and had fallen to the ground. The person turned around, and it was the one you were wishing on a star for. Jay.

Your eyes flickered between him and your ex, heart practically threatening to jump out of your chest at any moment. You didn't say anything and grabbed Jay's hands, pulling him out of the restaurant and most definitely away from the dinner tables. The beachside restaurant served its purpose as you dragged him to the beach, a storm of emotions clouding your senses. 

You reached the middle of the beach, and that's when you let go of his hand, facing him with a frown. "What are you doing? You ignored me for days and now you're out here punching my ex?"

"What? He deserved it!" Jay matched the level of your voice. "Y/N, he cheated on you with your friend,"

"I know, Jay, thanks for reminding me!" You snapped, but the anger and rage soon dissolved into a vulnerable hurt that you hid until now. Tears of grief betrayed your stone cold demeanour, gradually cracking under Jay's eyes. "Fuck," you hissed out before his arms pulled you into his embrace, sending you a mix of shock but also comfort.

He held you close, arms wrapped around you tightly. If anything, he has felt like home more than you had expected. He was silent, letting you pour your tears out even if it meant wetting his freshly ironed button up. To him, all it matters was you. 

"I don't know what to do now," you slowly pulled away, wiping the tears away and disregarding the fact that your makeup was most likely ruined. 

"We don't have to do anything first, we can just stay here and you can cool down for a bit," Jay said calmly, smoothing his hand on your back.

You nodded a little, holding onto his forearm and pulling him down to sit with you on the beach. The sand was rough against your skin, but that was the last thing on your mind. The two of you sat there, watching the waves and the clear blue sky, waiting for either one of you to speak first.

"I deserve an explanation too, you know?" Instead of mulling over your heartbreak, you decided to address the elephant in the room. If you couldn't fix one thing, at least you could fix this. 

"I thought of giving you space,"

"Look how that turned out, we're both hurting in our own ways. You said you wanted to talk about it, so let's do that," you turned your body to face him.

"Are you sure—"

"Very. I'm very sure, Jay. Just because I got fucked over doesn't mean I want to fuck us over," the wound might've been fresh, but it was to be addressed later on, you're putting the one before that first. "I have a clear head this time, timing is quite odd and my emotions might be a little over the place, but I've never been so sure about one thing. Jay, I like you,"

Jay blinked once, then twice. You didn't let him have the opportunity to respond, choosing to continue on a rant or else you'd combust. "I like you. Like, a lot. You have no idea how stupid I felt that night for not telling you straightforwardly, and I was so scared of losing you,"

"You could never lose me, Y/N, never," he reached over and rested his palm against your cheek, thumb swiping ever so gently over the mascara streak. You were a mess, eyes puffy from crying and makeup semi smudged, but in his eyes, you were beautiful. 

"I want you, Jay, you're everything to me, and I—" 

It was a whiplash. How Jay had finally closed the gap between you and him, addressing the heavy tension once and for all. Before you could utter another word, his lips crashed onto yours. It took you a second to fully realise, but when you did so, everything felt like heaven. 

The years of tension melted into the kiss, heavy and desperate, but also a hint of tender love was present. His hand on your cheek wandered off to the back of your neck, guiding you deeper into the kiss. His touch, his lips, they were an addiction. 

You felt him smiling into the kiss right before he pulled away, the smile still present. It was quiet except for your heavy breathing, but you couldn't stop yourself from giggling. The overwhelming joy of getting the man you deserve was something you couldn't contain, and it seemed he felt the same too.

Jay pressed his forehead against yours, palms resting on the side of your face. "Actually, that night in the hotel, you know, where I left you hanging?"

You scoffed, resisting a smile. "I know,"

"That night, what I really wanted to say was … I'm in love with you," he was cheesy, so cheesy, but it was genuine, and lucky for you, his cheesiness worked. "So super in love, since forever,"

You couldn't hold back your amused laugh this time, and your burning cheeks were betraying you. "I can't believe you're so cheesy! Who knew Park Jong Seong was such a hopeless romantic?"

"I'm professing my love for you and you're laughing at me?" He pinched your cheek, eliciting a louder bark of a laugh from you. 

"I'm kidding. I'm just as much of a hopeless romantic as you are," you pressed a kiss on his lips, rendering him speechless for a second, until you saw a grin spreading across his face.

"As much as I want to bask in this amazing moment right now, I think we should also face reality, because what are we going to do now?" 

You let out a groan. "I hate that you're right. I think we should head back,"

"You're not afraid of seeing him again?"

"Afraid? I might be heartbroken and still in shock but I'm healing thanks to all this—" you gestured between you and Jay, earning an expressive eye roll from him, "---plus, you can throw another punch for me,"

"You amuse me," he helped you get up and dusted the sand off your dress. "Are you okay, though? Genuinely?"

"Even if I'm not, I got to suck it up, don't I? I hate that I'm letting it get to me," your voice wavered, remembering the feelings you had when your ex dropped the news on you. "Years down the drain just because he fell in love with someone I considered a friend, it almost sounds like a movie night special,"

"Hey, hey," both of his hands were on your shoulders, warm irises gazing into yours, providing a pinch of comfort. "Fuck them, okay? You deserve much more than that. Yeonjun didn't cherish the amazing person you are and that's his fucking lost. You're doing better than him right now, you're shining, you're bejewelled,"

Gosh, you just wanted to grab his face and plant a big fat kiss on his lips. But instead, you opted for a smile. "Didn't know you were such a good hype man,"

"I'll be your hype man for as long as you want," he reached over to tuck a strand of hair behind your ear so naturally that you didn't even notice at first.  "Come on, let's head back, the dinner has probably already started. Let me treat you to a nice spa session at the hotel when we get back,"

"Okay, but can we stop by the restroom first? I have urgent matters to attend to: my makeup."

The dinner had indeed started by the time you arrived, but with your presence announced, chaos ensued. At least your makeup was fixed.

"Y/N!" Chaewon practically stumbled out of her chair, dashing towards you with Heeseung behind her. The moment she reached you, you swore your breath was knocked out of you when she tackled you into a hug. "I know what happened,"

"You do?" You were surprised, curious as to what had happened while you were gone.

"Fuck—yeah, I do. Some of them saw Jay punching Yeonjun from the outside. The glass panels, you know? Then you guys disappeared and it was only Yeonjun so we kinda pressured him into spilling and that's when we knew …" Chaewon's voice faltered, her eyes wandering around your face for signs. "I'm so sorry, Y/N. I should've never let him attend in the first place, and God! Yunjin too. I feel so bad and incredibly stupid—"

"Chaewon," you stopped her from rambling, trying to put on a reassuring smile. "You're fine, it's okay, you didn't know—hell—I didn't know either,"

"Are you okay? We can ditch this dinner if you want,"

"Are you okay? Chaewon, our family's here, Heeseung's family too. Don't let me be the reason for a terrible night. Trust me, I'm much better than you think. Maybe even better after a couple of drinks," 

"You're unbelievable," she wrapped an arm around your waist and led you towards the table. "But seriously, just because it's my wedding doesn't mean you have to force yourself to be happy and think you can't rant to me. I care about you, and I don't want you to be hurting alone,"

"I won't be alone," you unknowingly casted a glance at Jay who was standing by the groomsmen's end of the table, a drink already in hand. "I'll be fine, really. I guess anticipating the truth for years helped me to hurt less in some ways, but also not really when it's unexpected. What happened to them anyway?"

"They left, or actually, got kicked out. Yunjin really surprised me though. I didn't think she'd be someone like that. I guess this part hurts the both of us," Chaewon heaved a deep sigh. Losing a friend because of betrayal was a form of mental torture that you couldn't bear to imagine. 

She removed her arm around your waist and threw it over your shoulder, pulling you closer to her side. "Yes, it hurts, but life goes on, right? For now, let's celebrate and forget it all," she patted your shoulders, then added in a whisper. "Then we can have a good cry session after," 

You choked out a laugh, nodding in agreement. "Writing that down in my plans for tonight."

For the rest of the dinner, you sat with the bridesmaids. They were quick to offer you comfort, but were also relentless when it came to talking shit. Yujin had you by her side, pouring you drinks and checking up on you from time to time. You were glad you felt less shitty now that you're around these people. It might've been a hard pill to swallow, but considering how you managed to get by the years without the two of them, you're sure you would eventually be fine.

The dinner soon ended after a speech from you and Jay, the bride and groom to be, and also their respective parents. The atmosphere of the open air venue along with the emotional speeches definitely contributed to the tears lingering in your eyes. You eventually said your goodbyes to the others and gravitated to Jay, wrapping an arm around him.

"Hey,"

"Hey, you good?"

"After a couple glasses of expensive wine, I'm doing more than just good," 

"You up for some cake then?"

"Do you expect me to say no?"

Along the way back to the hotel, you and Jay made a detour to a local bakery. You were sitting in a corner as Jay took his time ordering. It was crazy how fast the night changed. 

"Took you long enough," you said once Jay finally arrived with the cake slices. He set the plate down, casting you a suspicious grin.

"Read the words on the plate," he pointed at the plate, and it was then you realised there were writings in red icing gel on the plate. 

'BF & GF?'

You snorted at the simplicity of the wording, eyes flickering up to see a big grin already resting on his lips. "Seriously? BF and GF?"

"Okay, there wasn't enough space and I had to bribe them to write it for me," he threw his hands up in defence, then leaned his body forward. "So, what do you say? Can I be yours and you'll be mine?"

The sparks in his irises and the boyish grin he had made you smile, a rush of dopamine coursing through your veins. "I'd be an idiot if I said no," 

Without any say, you leaned over and pressed a haste kiss on his lips, but that wasn't enough for him. Just as you pulled away, his hand reached for your face and pulled you into a deeper kiss, as if he couldn't get enough of you and the taste of your lips.

"You are the best thing that's ever been mine," he whispered, his hand on your face still present as he gently stroked your cheek that was gradually turning pink from his words. 

"You're going to be the death of me. Quick, let's finish this before it gets late." Hiding the fact that you were actually dying internally because of him, you took a big bite out of the cake, ignoring his watchful gaze. 

Walking back to the hotel was a much different feeling compared to previous nights. Under the Greek night skies where the stars shined brighter than ever, it felt like this time around, all of them had aligned. 

You and Jay were a burning star in the sky that never ceased to stay alight. You and him were eternal. 

Wedding day chaos was real. 

Waking up at the ass crack of dawn and running around had fueled your adrenaline for the day. By the time you were dressed in your dress that you remembered vividly of that specific day when you tried it out, Chaewon was also done with her wedding gown.

You and the bridesmaids huddled around at the sight of the bride, most of which were moved to tears, including you. It didn't take long before your feet moved on their own towards Chaewon and engulfed her into a hug, suddenly overwhelmed with emotions knowing your cousin was getting married.

The ceremony itself was a huge success, a beautifully done success. You got to walk down the aisle with Jay, the best man, then you watched Chaewon and Heeseung both exchange vows, proceeded to shed tears and emotions wavered to happiness once it was over. What a rollercoaster. 

You managed to catch your breath a little more when the wedding reception started. It wasn't long until the round of speeches began, starting from you, the maid of honour. You couldn't lie, there were lots of tears and laughter shared during then, just as much as there was during Jay's speech. Alas, everyone shared a toast to the newly wed couple.

Dinner was interrupted by the dance session where the bride and her father shared their dance together, soon after it was the bride and groom's turn for their first dance. Seeing them dance only widened the smile on your lips, and it didn't go unnoticed by Jay as he reached for your hand, holding it tightly and squeezing it. You exchanged a knowing look with him. 

The moment the dance floor was opened for everyone else to join, you wasted no time in dragging Jay out of his seat and towards the dance floor. The music was slow, a mirrorball that hung above casted a soft glowing shine across Jay's face as he stood before you, hands on your waist and your arm around his neck, both swaying slowly to the song. 

"You look absolutely breathtaking," he leaned down to whisper into your ear, eyes shamelessing sweeping your figure from head to toe. It wasn't his first compliment of the day, he made it clear from the first moment he saw you that you were beautiful, pretty, out of this world et cetera. This man truly knew had a way of pulling lots of adjectives out of his ass. 

"Thank you. You're very stunningly handsome," you smoothed a hand on his chest, secretly taking in the look of him in an expensive black suit. 

He smiled at your words, the hand on your waist travelling lower. "I can't believe we're here,"

"I can't believe it too. The months leading up to this moment was insane," your hand that rested behind his neck was playing with some of his hair, neither of you could bear to get your hands off of one another.

"I'm glad it happened though, or else we wouldn't have this," his eyes gleamed, a glimmer of unwavering adoration and admiration filled his brown irises. "I believe it was meant to happen. We'd always find our way back to each other,"

It was hard not to melt at his words. Your gaze softened, an overwhelming urge to kiss him there was impossible to ignore. "You're not going to make me cry again, okay? My emotions are really unstable right now,"

Jay laughed, shaking his head. You kept your gaze on him, scrutinizing the way his eyes shined whenever he laughed or that slight dimple on his face, everything about him just made you want to be the reason for him to smile. "I'm glad everything worked out. I truly am,"

"Me too—"

"WHAT THE FUCK!" 

Your head snapped at the loud outburst coming from a semi drunk bride that was standing before you and Jay. Her shocked yet puzzled face told you everything you needed to know behind her reaction.

"You … and … Jay?" She gasped, pointing at you and Jay, her eyes only bulging bigger. You had to block out the teasing smiles and looks from your friends who most likely placed a bet on you two. 

"Surprise!" You tried laughing it off, waving your hands awkwardly.

Her shocked expression turned into a euphoric one almost in a blink of an eye. Another blink of an eye and she was pulling both of you into her arms. "Guys, you couldn't believe how happy I am. I was rooting for you two, and it happened!" 

It was no help trying to have Heeseung save you and Jay. He stood there, shaking his head, as if trying to say 'just let her be'. Well, you two really did just stay there with an overly drunk and emotional bride hugging you.

Towards the end of the wedding, it was time for one the most anticipated parts of the wedding reception, moreover, it was a round for all the unmarried women to gather. The bouquet toss plus a drunk Chaewon was going to equal chaos. From her mild stumbles to overly giddiness, you and the others were waiting rather anxiously. 

The wait was finally over when she sobered up by a fraction and straightened up, her back facing you and the crowd. You doubted you would even catch it, but what's the harm in participating anyway? 

On the count of one, two, and three, the bouquet was tossed into the air and screeches were heard as everyone scrambled around trying to catch the poor bouquet. You took a step forward, watching the bouquet fall almost in slow motion before you. With a stretch of your arm, you felt your fingers wrap around the bouquet, feet stumbling a little out of imbalance. 

Then, it clicked. You caught the bouquet. Time to eat your words from earlier on.

A loud holler sounded from the tables, specifically where Jay stood. You glanced over, watching the groomsmen and Heeseung clapping him on his back, egging him tirelessly. His gaze caught yours immediately amongst the crowd, a wide cheesy grin plastered on his devilishly handsome face. You couldn't hold back an amused laugh either, unable to resist the smile crawling onto your lips. 

It was crazy how a wedding was the reason everything even started. It has brought you and Jay together, again, but this time around, more than hate was in the air, there was love. A new found love that you didn't know existed until him, the man you couldn't imagine being friends with in high school and was now the person you're starting a new journey with. This everlasting love was something you would never, ever trade for. 

( © jaylver all rights reserved. do NOT copy, plagiarise or edit my work and repost whatsoever. once discovered will be exposed and blacklisted. )

taglist: @silentkarnival @strvlveera @freshsaladbowl @bejewelledgirl @fakeuwus @yenqa @hsgwrld @ilovegyuvin @enhacatalog @aishigrey @shinrjj @kgneptun @ilovegyuvin @hyunniesvlog @eleanorheartschishiya @nanabbg @letwiiparkjay @teddywonss @classicroyalty @run2x @yannnnaj @jakesfurry @gyuwooboozle @nylajp24 @usedto-me @vernonburger @simjyunnie @shinkenprincess-oh @enhahah @m3chigo @haerasblog @mora134340 @ineedsomezzz @en-chantedtomeetyou @thepoopdokyeomtouched @skylaly @jlheon @delulu4-life @brownsugarbaybee @blackhairandbangs @kim2005bomi @belowbun @desistay @woninluv @jayhoonvroom @minseongsworld @blurryriki @kwiwin @enhaslxt @teddywonss @firstclassjaylee @nikipedia07 @bbinwrld @nurihihi @pshwritess @nellwoo @rikiflr @nikisuar @odxrilove @yoonginikiluv @eneiyri @en-happiness @lilriswife4life @kiminis @notevenheretbh1 @cherry-park @star4rin @mersmoon @aloloveswonie @eclipse-777 @ms-no1kpopstan @letmein2urheart @honeybunnee @captainlittlebluebee @wika1312 @sparklovespink @luvjongseong