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stranger
PAIRING ⸠Watanabe Haruto x fem!reader
GENRES ⸠pining, high school au, lacrosse au, Iâm not really sure what genre this is lol
WARNINGS ⸠traumatic events?
SUMMARY ⸠When Haruto moves halfway around the world the last person he expects to see is you. His former nemesis...or so he thinks.
PLAYLIST ⸠Still Donât Know My Name by Labyrinth
WORD COUNT ⸠9626
UNIVERSE ⸠YG High; Treasure Lacrosse Team
A/N ⸠Iâve decided from here on out all my stories will probably fall within the same universe. I only really have like 4 universes in mind so Iâll label them just so you know. Also, Iâm looking to add some art to my stories to bring them more to life but I am useless at graphics/edits, so! If youâre really into making graphics/edits and you enjoy my work please please PLEASE reach out to me!!! I would love to work with an amazing artist! <3 <3 Plz enjoy.
A/N 2 ⸠This story is like a lot of crossover with Jeongwooâs story but I hope I was able to bring justice to Harutoâs character and bring his story to life. :P ok now enjoy for real realz.
You were the prettiest girl Haruto had ever known in his life. But to him, you were also his rival. You always managed to score just a few points higher than him on each exam, each quiz, each assignment. To him it always felt like the teachers liked you more, so he made sure your classmates liked him more. The thing that made him really mad was that you were so unbothered. You were ambivalent to him and you didnât even know his name. If you really were strangers and never sat in the same class he could understand. But you had been in the same classes for years. Each time you spoke to him, you politely asked for his name. As if you were strangers.
When his parents told him that his family was going to move to another city, far enough that he would have to transfer schools, he had mixed feelings. This was his last chance to confront you. To understand why youâd never bothered to remember his name, but each time he approached you he found you furiously scribbling in a notebook. Although he resented you for not knowing his name, he could never get himself to disturb you when you looked so stressed scribbling whatever it was in your notebook.
What Haruto didnât know is that you did notice him. You noticed the handsome, tall, skinny boy that was always in the corner of your line of sight. But you had no idea what to say to him. So you never approached him. He was a stranger.
Haruto wished he could forget you. He was a bit uncomfortable transferring to a new school at first but thankfully, three other boys had transferred with him. Asahi, Mashiho, and Yoshi had become literal brothers to him. The school also had a transfer students program and he made a new friend, Hanbyul. She was a chatterbox and sometimes she could literally chat his ear off, but she was also sweet and helpful. But she wasnât you.
But that didnât matter because Hanbyul had another guy on her mind all the time anyway. âYou know weâve just been friends for such a long time and lately, Iâve started to...I donât know. I feel different. Nervous. Is it normal to feel nervous around your best friend?â
âI donât know. Is it?â Haruto responded.
âNo, I suppose it isnât. But he probably doesnât feel the same way. I doubt heâs ever even thought about me in that way.â
Haruto felt someone nudge him, he turned to see that it was Asahi. Haruto leaned over to hear what he was going to say. âIs she talking about Jaehyukâs brother?â
Haruto nodded.
âJaehyuk talks about his little brother and this chick all the time. Sheâs so off the mark. The little brother definitely has feelings for her if Jaehyuk is anywhere near the mark.â So both parties had feelings for one another but both parties were too chicken to say anything to each other. And for no good reason.
In a way that reminded Haruto of himself and it pissed him off. He knew that spending so much time with his new friend would raise suspicions but he didnât care. He knew that spending so much time with her pissed Jeongwoo off. It didnât take a genius to recognize it when they went to the Big Bang Concert together.
Haruto thought he was going crazy when he spotted you a few spaces over at the concert. He rubbed his eyes and blinked a few times to make sure it was really you. Haruto stormed over to you once he decided that it was in fact you. He had spent months thinking about what to say to you if he ever saw you again, he wasnât going to miss this opportunity. Haruto didnât even think to tell his new friends where he had gone.
You saw a tall, handsome figure approaching your direction. You took a second to check him out, but then turned back to the performers and continued to enjoy yourself. Your parents were reluctant to let you go out to this concert on your own but it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that you wanted so badly. You smiled sadly at what might happen when you woke up tomorrow.
âI didnât know you were a fan of Big Bang.â You heard a voice from behind speak into your ear. You jumped in surprise and turned around to see that it was the handsome stranger you saw sauntering your way earlier.
âHi, whatâs your name?â You asked with a polite smile on your face. This is probably exactly what your parents were worried about, creepy men that would try to approach you. You started to think about the best way to remove yourself from the situation safely. The now unamused expression on his face alarmed you.
âWhen are you gonna cut the shit. You know who I am.â
You looked at him puzzled. âI do? How? From where?â
Haruto felt something in his chest crack. âI used to go to school with you. Youâre Y/N right?â
âOh, yeah. Thatâs me.â You furiously racked your mind trying to remember what you had read but your memory came up blank. You couldnât help but cringe and turn away. This is why you tried your best to keep to yourself and away from people. You looked up to see Haruto staring down at you with a curious expression. âIâm sorry I donât remember you. You said you used to go to school with me? You donât go to school with me anymore? Can I get your name again? Iâm really sorry. Iâll try and remember.â
âMy name is Haruto. I donât go to school with you anymore. I transferred to a new school a few months ago.â
âOh, I see.â
Haruto wasnât sure how to feel when he realized you actually had zero recollection of him. For some reason seeing you up close and seeing you really trying to remember him made him feel a bit sympathetic. He couldnât understand why. It still totally irked him that you didnât know his name. But something told him to sit down with you and get to know you.
âWell, do you like your new school?â You asked, looking up at Haruto. Your heart was beating hard and fast. You prayed that your face wasnât flushing.
âWhy donât we just enjoy the rest of the concert for now and we can grab a late night meal after the concert?â Haruto proposed. His own palms were sweaty and his heart was beating fast.
You thought about it for a second, then nodded and smiled. Haruto felt like the world had a glittery filter for a second. Heâd always acknowledged that you were attractive, but up close smiling at him, you were drop dead gorgeous.
âAwesome.â
After the concert, the two of you walked side by side as you left the crowded venue. You noticed Haruto took a second to text someone on his phone. He caught you snooping and laughed as you turned away. âItâs fine. I was just letting the friends I came with know that I was gonna head out with you.â
âOh, if you need to get back with them itâs fine.â You said, maybe hanging out with Haruto was a bad idea after all.
âNot a chance, itâs been so long since Iâve seen you. Iâm honestly curious to know how you are and how things are back home.â
Your face flushed at his words. You couldnât remember the last time you had spent time with a guy like this. Was this a date?
âAlright. Then what are you in the mood for?â You asked, pulling up a list of restaurants that were still open at this hour.
âWhatâs available now? What are you in the mood for right now?â Haruto looked over your shoulder at the menu as he asked.
âUm, what about McDonaldâs? Iâm not that picky and thereâs not that much open right now.â you said.
Haruto stared at you with wide eyes, were you always this cool? So the two of you made your way to the closest McDonaldâs and debated which was better, Coke or Sprite. To Haruto, Coca-Cola was non-negotiable.
âHow is your new school?â You asked Haruto, munching on a few of your fries. âDo you like it?â
âWhat are you doing here?â Haruto interjected.
âWhat do you mean?â
âWeâre not in Japan. This is far from home. Why are you in America?â
âOh, Iâm uh- Iâm visiting family. Iâve actually transferred to a school around here for the time-being as well.â You jumped in surprise when Haruto shrieked.
âYouâre here now? Like for good? Like you go to school here? Where?â
You giggled at the questions he rained down on you. The way he asked you with his cheeks full and eyes wide was rather endearing. âYes Iâm here now. Iâm actually, uh, home schooled for the time being.â
âOh, interesting. Why are you homeschooled? I remember you were always really good at school.â Haruto said before he shoved another chicken nugget into his mouth. The irritating thought that you were always better than him at school, just by a little popped up in his mind but he pushed it away. That didnât matter anymore. He had your attention now.
You felt your face flush. Even with your condition it was true that you maintained your good grades. So Haruto must have actually known you back in Japan. You eyed him again, when he caught you staring at him you turned away. Haruto smirked.
âEnough about me. Tell me about your friends. You said you came with friends from your new school right?â
âWell Iâd say one of them is actually who Iâd consider a friend. The other one is a mutual friend. A childhood friend that has feelings for her.â
âHer?â it slipped out of your mouth. Harutoâs smirk reappeared and his eyebrow jumped up when he looked at you. You looked away, what was this funny feeling in your chest? It was weird.
âOur school had this transfer student program and she just happened to be assigned to me. Sheâs really cool, Iâm not into her like that and sheâs not really into me like that. She likes her friend.â
âHow do you know?â
âShe told me.â
âOh. That feels like something important. Like a secret.â
âWell, I told her a secret as well.â
You stared at him. He didnât indulge in the secret. Haruto was wholly focused on sipping the last of his Coca-Cola before putting it down on the table and letting out a sigh.
âWell so whatâs going on with them now?â You asked.
âHopefully, they both pull their heads out of their asses tonight. I gave them time alone so the best case scenario is that they just talk it out. The dude, Jeongwoo, I actually met him for the first time tonight and heâs a cool dude. It would be nice to have more dude friends around here.â
âYou donât have any guy friends?â
âI do. There are 3 other transfer students from Japan and theyâre all dudes and Iâm friends with them. Actually, Americans like to play this sport. Lacrosse? My friend told me to try out for the team and I think I might. Mashi, Asahi, and Yoshi agreed to try-out as well so itâll be fun.â
You nodded, you had no idea what lacrosse was and you didnât think you would be that interested to learn either. âI should get home.â
âRight of course.â Haruto said, getting up. âWhere are you headed? Let me call you an Uber.â
âNo, itâs okay. I can actually walk back home from here.â
âOh really? Well, at least let me walk you back.â
You hesitated for a second. Would it be smart to show this guy where you lived? But then you shook it off, he seemed pretty harmless throughout the night and you trusted that he knew you from school in Japan. So you agreed.
âDo you have to be home-schooled?â Haruto asked.
âNo, I donât think so.â you answered.
âWould you be interested in attending school in person again?â Haruto could feel the devil on his shoulder kicking him. What was he doing? He had already gone to school with you before and the fact that you always did just a smidge better than him drove him nuts.
âUm, I havenât really thought about it. Why?â
âYou should consider transferring to my school?â
Your eyebrows shot up. âWhat?â
Haruto stepped back a bit and raised his hands. âIt was just a suggestion. Honestly, I struggled a bit when I first came here. I canât imagine how lonely it must be to be here and just be home-schooled so I figured it might be nice to have some sense of community.â
âUm, Iâll think about it.â You werenât going to think about it. You looked up and breathed a sigh of relief when you saw the familiar apartment complex. âThis is me. You donât have to walk in with me. Iâm gonna go now.â
âWait.â Haruto said. You turned around to look at him, a thin smile on your face. âI, uh, I had fun.â
âYeah, this was nice.â You said truthfully.
âWe should do it again sometime.â Haruto said. You stared at him, he looked perfectly composed to you. But his heart was practically beating so hard he thought it might fall out of his chest.
âHonestly, Iâm not so sure thatâs a good idea.â
Haruto felt a heat and anger flare up in his chest. But he did his best to tamp it down and get it under control. This was literally the first time you had acknowledged his presence. He put a smile on his face. âWell, then maybe weâll just run into each other again sometime.â
âMaybe, itâs all up to fate now. Good night Haruto.â
âGood night Y/N.â
The second you made it back into your room you pulled out your diary. You scribbled the notes you had logged into your phone throughout the day as quickly as possible. Briefly reliving each moment as you wrote them down. By the time you had gotten to the end of the list and began to recount the concert you could feel your eyelids getting heavier and heavier and your hands writing more and more frantically until suddenly, you crashed.
The next morning you woke up and read your notes. You squinted at the last thing you had written. Your handwriting became illegible near the end. âHaruto?â
The next morning Haruto woke up and smiled at the memory of you. Asahi and Mashiho eyed their roommate as he pranced around the living room and kitchen smiling and singing. But nothing could bring Haruto down. Well until he saw his friend looking depressed as hell.
âDude whatâs up?â Haruto asked. âDid you and Jeongwoo figure your shit out?â
âUh, about that. Well, no.â
âNo? What do you mean no?â
âWell what about you? Did you run into her?â
âNuh uh, this isnât about me. You literally had the perfect opportunity to make something of it. To make a moment! Did you guys have a moment?â
âYes, I think we did. But I got scared. I donât want to lose Jeongwoo as a friend, but at the same time I donât think he has any feelings for me like that. I just, I think I need space. Maybe if I just distance myself from him a bit then I can get over my feelings andâŚâ
âNo offense, but thatâs the stupidest thing I think Iâve ever heard in my life.â
âWell I donât care if you think itâs stupid. This is my decision and my decision is that I donât want to see Jeongwoo for awhile. Ok? Iâm not ready for the conversation. So you better get used to seeing me more often!â
Haruto sighed as he watched his friend storm out of the room. He turned around and exchanged looks with Asahi. âDid I say something wrong?â
Asahi shrugged. âHonestly, I think youâre valid. I think her logic in avoiding Jeongwoo is pretty dumb. The dudeâs in my gym class. Honestly, heâs chill. I donât think heâd react badly to her if she confesses regardless of how he feels.â
âI should probably find her and apologize anyway.â Haruto said, exiting the room. Eventually he found his friend and they sat together in the cafeteria.
âSorry about what I said earlier. Iâll admit it was kind of harsh. But honestly I canât say I understand your logic at all.â
âItâs fine Haruto. You seemed extra happy when you walked in this morning. Who was the friend that you saw at the concert?â
âIt was her. Y/N.â
âNo way! Isnât she in Japan?â
âThatâs what I thought too. I was so shocked to see her.â
âWhat did you say to her? What did you guys talk about? Did she recognize you?â
âThatâs the thing. The best part of it all was that I actually had her attention. You remember I told you about how she never acknowledged anybody right? She was always reading her notebook in the hallway. In the past when I spoke to her she never even knew my name! She had to ask me every single time. But this time, thereâs no way she wouldnât remember me!â
âYour relationship is weird. But I guess thatâs sweet. What does she write about in her notebook?â
âI donât know. Why does it matter? She knows my name now!â
âThatâs another thing. You went to school together for years and she never remembered your name? Why?â
âI donât know.â Haruto said. Now he was grouchy. All the questions that had been brought up to him were valid, but these werenât things he wanted to think about.
A few weeks before the lacrosse tryouts in the spring Haruto went to the hospital to get a physical done.
Once he was done he stumbled into a small cafe right next to the hospital. When he saw who was manning the cash register he rubbed his eyes and looked away and looked back a few times to make sure he wasnât being deluded. When he was confident that he wasnât going crazy he stood up and walked over to the register.
You saw a tall, handsome, and skinny guy walk up to the cash register. You cleared your throat and stood up straight. âHello, what can I get you?â
âY/N! Itâs fate. We ran into each other again!â
âAgain?â You put a smile on your face and thought of a response. âHey, itâs so good to see you! How have you been? Whatâll you have?â
âDo you...remember my name?â
You felt your heart picking up speed and your palms beginning to sweat. But you kept your composure. âOf course, let me take your order and we can chat for a second.â
Haruto beamed. âOkay, then Iâll just have an Iced Americano.â
âOkay, thatâll be $3.30. The ice machine is in the back so Iâll be right out in a second. You rushed to the back of the cafe and pulled out your diary and flipped through the pages, reading the entries as quickly as possible. Out of the corner of your eye you noticed a torn piece of paper that had slipped out of your bag. You picked it up, it matched the paper in your diary. You flipped it over to see that it had a name written on it. Haruto.
Was that this guyâs name? Who was he to you? Darn it, why hadnât you written more?
You quickly filled the cup with ice and walked out filling the cup with cold brew. You grabbed the marker and scribbled Haruto on it. You walked back over to the cash register. This guyâs eyes were practically glittering in anticipation. Was it normal for someone to get this excited over a coffee?
âIâve got one iced americano for Haruto?â you said.
If his eyes were glittering before, they were practically flashing light strobe lights at a nightclub now. A matching beaming grin on his face. âYes! Y/N itâs fate. We ran into each other again!â
âRight. Yeah, of course. What are the odds.â
âDo you have a minute?â
âUm, Iâm working right now. Iâd rather not get in trouble. Maybe another time?â
Haruto swiveled around, eying the cafe. âIt looks pretty empty to me. I donât think youâd get in trouble if you came out for a second just to keep me company.â
âStillâŚâ
âIs your manager even here right now?â
âNo.â
âThen come on. Just come out for a second.â
You looked around the cafe, cursing at how vacant it was. You tugged at your sleeves for a second before answering. âFine.â
You followed Haruto out from behind the counter. He walked over to a table and pulled a seat out from underneath the table. He smiled as he waited for you to sit down. You walked over to the table and turned around. Haruto slid the chair underneath you as you moved to sit down. Once you were seated Haruto ran around to the other side of the table and sat down.
âHow are you? How have you been?â Haruto asked.
You stared at the boy sitting in front of you. He was so handsome. âIâm doing well. How about you?â
âIâm good. I was in the area because I needed to go to the hospital.â
Your ears perked up. âWhy were you at the hospital?â
âWhy do you wanna know? Are you worried about me?â
You didnât say anything. You just stared at Haruto. Haruto cleared his throat and looked away for a second. âIâm just playing with you. I went to get a physical.â
You nodded, tracing the patterns on the tablecloth.
âI needed one for lacrosse tryouts.â
âLacrosse? What is that?â you asked. Haruto thought the way your nose scrunched in confusion was adorable.
âI told you about it last time! Remember? Itâs this sport that Americans like to play. I had never heard of it in Japan either.â
You didnât remember. âRight.â
Haruto couldnât understand the dynamics of the conversation. He watched as you avoided eye contact with him and intensely focused on tracing the pattern of the table cloth. Then you would stare out the window of the cafe, it almost appeared as if your eyes were glazed over. âWhat are you always writing about in your notebook?â
Your head spun over to look at him so fast, you thought you might have gotten whiplash. âWhat?â
âYour notebook. I remember in school back in Japan I always saw you either writing things down in a notebook or reading the same notebook. Whatâs in it?â
âUm, nothing. Donât worry about it.â
âWhy? It canât be that bad. I promise I wonât laugh no matter how embarrassing it might be.â Haruto said. Leaning forward over the table so that he was in your face.
âForget it.â You said, leaning back and looking away. You glanced over at your bag that was perched far back behind the counter and breathed a sigh of relief. âLook. I gotta go. Iâm supposed to be working right now. I think you should go now as well.â
You stood up from the table so quickly that the chair you were sitting on toppled over. You didnât bother to turn around and pick it up. You walked back towards the counter without looking back.
Haruto watched you as you walked away. He narrowed his eyes when he saw you grab your bag and walk to the back of the cafe. There was only one thing on his mind as he walked out of the cafe. Your notebook. What was in the notebook?
You frantically flipped to todayâs page in your notebook. In all caps with your boldest, darkest black marker you wrote at the top of your notebook. âBeware of Haruto. Tall, Handsome. Asked about notebook.â
Then you shut the notebook and exited the back room, breathing a sigh of relief when you noticed that the cafe was vacant once again. You walked over to the cafe table where you had previously sat and picked up the chair that had fallen over when you had left the conversation.
The next day at school Haruto was deep in thought. What could possibly be so important about a notebook? When Hanbyul shoved him, Haruto shrieked as he fell out of his chair. âDude, what the hell is your problem?â
âWhat are you thinking about? You look like youâre thinking so hard that your brain might break.â
âDo you have an important notebook? Is that like something girls do?â
âYou mean like a diary?â
Haruto snapped his fingers and looked up. âYes! Exactly like one of those. Do you have one of those?â
âI did when I was younger. I donât keep one anymore though. Why do you ask?â
âMy friend. The one from home, Y/N? I think she has one. I asked her about it yesterday and she got all dodgy and weird.â
âAh, well. Back when I did keep a diary it held all my dirtiest secrets. I donât think I would want to share it with anybody or for anybody to know about it. Not even now, and as an elementary schooler I really donât think I had any secrets worth keeping.â
âIt was so weird. She got so defensive over it. I didnât realize bringing it up would be such a touchy subject.â
Hanbyul shrugged. âDifferent things matter to different people. Are you ready for tryouts? Theyâre coming up soon arenât they?â
Haruto nodded. âAsahi, Mashiho, Yoshi, and I have started going to that gym that you recommended. Lacrosse is actually pretty fun. Mashiho is the best though. Are you coming to tryouts?â
âOf course I am. Iâm practically making you go so itâs only fair that I be there to see how you do. I reserve the right to totally make fun of you if you embarrass yourself though.â
Haruto rolled his eyes. âYeah, whatever.â
Soon enough it was the first day of lacrosse tryouts. Haruto had frequented the cafe that you worked at in hopes of getting the chance to speak to you again. Unfortunately, what he didnât know was that you had quit the job and diligently stayed home and studied.
Haruto was agitated at the thought of not being able to speak to you again. When he tried to sit down and rationalize it himself he couldnât make sense of it. A year ago he despised you for not knowing his name. You know his name now, right? What more did he want from you?
âHaruto? Haruto! Hello? Are you even listening to me?â
Haruto turned to look at Hanbyul. âHonestly no, sorry. Whatâs up?â
âI feel bad for how I treated Jeongwoo. You were right, avoiding him was not the right thing to do. But why hasnât he said anything to me?â
âLook I canât tell you whatâs going on between the two of you any better than you can. My assumption is that heâs a bit hurt and confused at the moment by how youâre acting and he doesnât want to make things any worse than they are.â
âCanât you say something to him?â
âMe?â Haruto looked up from his stick that he was re-taping. âWhat do you want me to say to him?â
âI donât know. Just...just get him to react.â
Haruto scoffed. âIf you want me to do that I can but again I feel like itâs not going to produce the results that you want. Like I think if I say anything things are gonna go really sour so I think you should think long and hard about this.â
âHaruto!â
âLook, I gotta go. Tryouts are starting.â Haruto said, turning away and walking onto the field. He didnât miss the hard stare coming his way from Jeongwoo. Haruto ignored them and focused on his gameplay. Lacrosse had actually become really cathartic for him and he found that he really wanted to make the team.
Haruto noticed that the coaches seemed to be reacting favorably to how he was playing. He also realized that Jeongwoo was also really good but he played really aggressively, like he had something to lose. At the end of practice Haruto figured his hunches must have been correct because the coaches called him over to speak with him.
âIâm sure you know Varsity tryouts were this morning, all of your friends from Japan did great as did you and so weâre thinking about pulling you up to varsity. So tomorrow I want you to come early and try out with the varsity team, alright?â
Haruto beamed and nodded.
âGood work son.â The coach slapped Haruto on the shoulder. He did his best not to fall over. Thankfully the coach didnât notice.
Haruto walked off the field and headed towards the school parking lot. Just as he pulled his phone out to call someone for a ride home his phone pinged, he tapped on the notification to see that it was a message from Mashiho.
Mashiho: Haruto have JV tryouts ended?
Haruto: Yes, I just finished
Mashiho: Cool. Have you found a ride home yet?
Haruto: No, do you know anyone who can come get me?
Mashiho: Ya, a lot of the guys on varsity can drive. Junkyu is over now but he offered to come pick you up.
Haruto: Junkyu?
Mashiho: Heâs trying out for the varsity team. Heâs cool. Kinda goofy but cool. Iâll come by with him.
Haruto: Alright, thanks dude.
Mashiho: Np.
Haruto checked the time on his phone before putting it back into his pocket. 6 P.M. Would you be at the cafe? The last few times he had gone by he hadnât seen you. He put the thought away when a car appeared in front of him. The window rolled down and Mashiho cheered when he saw Haruto. âGet in the car! You smell!â
âShut up and unlock the door Mashi.â The car door clicked open and Haruto hopped into the backseat. There was a large dude sitting in the driverâs seat who kept fidgeting with a bunch of random controls.
The guy turned around with a giant grin on his face. âHello! Iâm Junkyu. You must be Haruto! Nice to meet you!â
Haruto bowed. âHello. Yes, I am Haruto. Nice to meet you as well.â
âRuto! How were tryouts?â
âThey were really good. Coach pulled me over at the end of tryouts and told me to come early tomorrow morning and try out with the varsity team.â
âDamn! You must be so good!â Junkyu said from the driverâs seat. Haruto tried not to be concerned by the way Junkyu was driving. His head kept swiveling from left to right. âDid you guys play sports back in Japan? All of you were insane at tryouts today!â
âWe all played football. I think Mashi and Yoshi played basketball as well.â
âFootball? Do you mean football football or soccer football?â
âEh?â
âDo you kick a ball or do you carry a ball?â
âYou kick it. Duh. Why would you carry a ball? Thatâs just dumb.â
âAmericans call a totally different sport football. Donât worry about it too much. But itâs awesome that you guys are so good.â
âWell to be fair, we were told about that Lacrosse Club and we had a few training sessions every week leading up to try outs.â Mashiho said.
âAhh! Howâd you hear about that? A few of us have been playing on their club teams for a while.â
âMy friend told me about it. Sheâs the person responsible for me in the foreign exchange students program. Hanbyul?â
âOh! I know who youâre talking about. Her brother was a legend at this school. He was a top recruit since his sophomore year here. But right before the most important game of his senior year he tested positive on a drug test and he couldnât play. It totally turned him, his team, and the school around. He got dropped by the college that was recruiting him. But I heard he struck a deal with a pro-team and I guess heâs been training with them. The dude was in a league of his own.â
âDamn. Thatâs insane.â
âYeah, our school takes lacrosse pretty seriously. The best players at our school get recruited to some of the best schools so itâs a great opportunity.â
Haruto knew there were probably more important things to be thinking about in this conversation but he couldnât help but wonder if he could get you to come to one of his games.
The second day of tryouts Haruto was absolutely on fire. His shorts were shart, his passes were quick, and his steps were light. The varsity team was definitely of a different caliber but Haruto found the challenge fun. It was nice to be able to play with the rest of the Japanese boys as well.
At the end of varsity tryouts the coach pulled him over, âyou were great out there today. How are you feeling?â
âIâm feeling alright coach.â
âUp for a few more hours?â
Haruto paused, but then nodded. He wasnât in a place to argue with his coaches. âSure.â
âGreat. Then I want you to continue through JV tryouts. Grab some water and then head back out onto the field.â
âAlright coach.â
Haruto jogged out to the edge of the field. He was surprised to see Hanbyul sitting at the edge of the bleachers. âWhatâs up?â
âHey, what are you doing here?â
âWhat do you mean what am I doing here? I came to watch your second day of tryouts.â
âAre you sure youâre here to watch me?â
âShut up. Why are you all sweaty already?â
âCoach had me try out with the varsity team today.â
Hanbyulâs eyes widened. âDang, you must be awesome. The last two boys that made it onto the varsity team as sophomores were my brother and his best friend Bobby.â
Haruto shrugged. âThe game is fun. It would be awesome to play on varsity.â
The coach blew his whistle, signalling all the players to come back out onto the field. Haruto turned around and gathered around. Every so often throughout the day Haruto ran back to the bleachers where Hanbyul sat. His bag was stowed away there as was his secret stash of Coca-Cola. It probably wasnât smart to be drinking Coke in the middle of tryouts but every so often he needed a pick-me-up.
âYou need to quash that habit.â
âYeah yeah.â
At the end of the day the coach told Haruto to wait for him inside his office. So Haruto did just that.
âSo whatâd you think about tryouts today?â Coach asked.
âIt was intense.â
âYeah, what did you think of the way the varsity team played?â
âThey were quicker, sharper, and more nimble.â
âGood observation. Do you think you were good enough to play on their level?â
âYes.â
âOkay, then answer me another question. If you had to pick another player from the JV tryouts today to pull up to Varsity who would you pick?â
Haruto thought about it for a second. The answer was obvious. The only other person who seemed to put up a fight with him was âJeongwoo.â
âGood guess.â The coach laughed. âI donât know what they feed you kids in Japan. But all four of you are good.â
There was a knock on the door. Haruto turned around to see Jeongwoo. He smirked when he saw the sour expression on Jeongwooâs face. But it was gone once he had walked into the room and stood adjacent to Haruto.
âThe two of you have demonstrated amazing capabilities and I am considering pulling one of you up to the varsity team. Take this opportunity seriously. Tomorrow is the last day of tryouts.â
The last place Haruto expected to run into you was at the hospital. The last thing you were expecting at the hospital was for a dude to come up behind you and scare you. It was horrible, you canât remember the last time you screamed so loudly, let alone at a public place.
âWhat are you doing here Y/N?â
âUh, Iâm-â you hesitated, trying to craft an answer that was vague enough that you wouldnât have to tell the whole truth but not vague enough that he wouldnât continue to ask questions. But thankfully Haruto seemed to take it upon himself to fill the silence.
âLook, I just wanted to say Iâm sorry that I totally misjudged you when I first met you? In fact, I thought I hated you.â
Alarm bells went off in your head. Was it normal for a person to come to you and tell you they hated you? âUh, thanks?â
But Haruto continued. âBut I wanted to say I totally read you wrong. Youâre actually really cool. And I wanted to say thank you. For remembering my name.â
That was the first time someone had ever said that to you. You stared at him blankly unsure of how to respond.
âHaruto! Haruto! Haruto! Please report to waiting room 105, the doctor is ready for you now.â The voice over the loudspeaker belted.
âWell, thatâs me.â Haruto said with a soft smile on his face. He got up and waved goodbye to you before heading to the back of the office.
Once he was safely out of sight you pulled out your notebook. Your face paled once you flipped through it a few times. You thought about what to do. What did this guy want? You wrote out all these questions in your notebook. Then you came to a conclusion of what to do and wrote that down in your notebook as well.
You ripped out a piece of paper from your notebook and scribbled your number on it. Then got up to the receptionist desk. âHi, I donât know if youâre allowed to do this. But when that guy Haruto comes out. Would you mind giving him this?â
You handed the sheet of paper over to her, the receptionist gave you a look and then a wink before accepting the sheet of paper. You figured that meant she accepted, so you waved goodbye and left the hospital.
âExcuse me sir!â The receptionist lady called out to Haruto as he was about to head out of the doctorâs office. What felt and looked like a nasty possible sprain on the lacrosse field just turned out to be a measly bruise.
Haruto approached the reception desk. âThere was a young lady earlier. She asked me to give this to you before you leave.â
Haruto looked at the slip of paper. His eyes widened into the size of large gumballs when he realized what was on it. He felt like his heart would explode. But then his mind pumped the brakes, he wasnât ungrateful, but why did you give him your number?
On the way back home you second guessed your decision at least 30 times. Why did you give him your number? The only reason you could think of was that you didnât want to not know the guy. Contrary to what your mind and your diary told you. Your heart didnât want to give him up. Maybe it was selfish and confusing, who knew? But who cared?
Harutoâs excitement was cut short when he finished punching your number into his contacts. Before he could even send a message to you, his phone rang. Hanbyul.
âHey Hanbyul, whatâs up?â
Haruto became alarmed when he heard a sniff and a muffled sob. âHaruto, I miss him.â
Haruto sighed. âHeâll come around soon.â
âIs there nothing you can do to make him come around sooner?â
âHanbyul. If all goes well heâs going to be my teammate. Plus, what could I possibly say to change things?â
âI donât know. He probably thinks thereâs something going on between us.â
Haruto paused. âIs that why youâre friends with me?â
âNo, no I swear itâs not. Youâre an amazing person and youâve been an amazing friend.â
âHanbyul.â
âI know, Iâm sorry. I shouldnât have said anything. Iâm sorry.â
âI donât like what youâre asking me to do. But you are my friend. If youâre really sure this is the way you want to go about it.â
âIâm- Iâm not sure. I just need things to change.â
On the third day of tryouts Haruto was in a funk. And it showed. The events of yesterday night haunted him, he was happy to see you but he was sorry for Hanbyul. Haruto didnât really like to fight with anybody, but he found her requests unreasonable and the questions she asked about you probing and uncomfortable.
It seemed as if Jeongwoo was the same way. Haruto gave into the niggling voice inside his head and said probably he shouldnât have said. âYouâre gonna lose your girl to me and now youâre gonna lose your spot on the team to me?â
It pushed Jeongwoo off the edge and the two of them went at it. Haruto played ferociously and aggressively. As did Jeongwoo. The game ended when Jeongwoo illegally body checked Haruto.
âDude what the hell is your problem?â
âNo, whatâs your problem? Your comment back there? Absolutely uncalled for.â
Valid. But Haruto wasnât going to admit that. âPlease. Pull your head out of your ass. Youâre hurting your friend. Talk to her.â
Haruto stood by as he and Jeongwoo got scolded for their behavior. Eventually, tryouts ended with neither one ending up on the varsity team. Haruto knew he probably should have been more bothered but he wasnât. He had other things on his mind.
When Haruto exited the office he saw Hanbyul waiting outside. She turned to look away from Jeongwoo back to Haruto. Tired and hopeful that their saga would end, Haruto smiled and jutted his chin out towards Jeongwoo. Hanbyul smiled and ran after Jeongwoo.
Since the fateful day you have Haruto your number. Whenever he had a free moment he would ask to see you. After each time you saw him, you thoroughly wrote down everything that had happened in the day. You didnât want to forget.
A few Mondays ago, you went to get ice cream together. âWhatâs your favorite food, Haruto?â
âMe? Anything unhealthy.â
You whacked him on the arm for that.
âOw! What was that for?â
âFor being a stupid teenage boy. And because Iâm jealous of your metabolism.â
A couple Thursdays ago, Haruto asked you if you wanted to go watch a movie with him. The Uber and the weather didnât quite work out. âSorry we missed the movie by 45 minutes. But on the bright side, itâs not raining anymore!â
You laughed. âI guess youâre right. What should we do instead now that weâre here?â
Haruto looked around. He pointed at the grassy meadow. âWe should just lay down on the grass and look at the stars.â
âThe grass is wet.â
âLook, they're selling plastic tarps over at that convenience store. Letâs just buy one.â
âOkay.â
Haruto paid for a plastic tarp and spread it down out on the grassy meadow. The two of you laid on the ground parallel to one another. Until Haruto turned to you âcan I hold you?â
You felt your face flush and you looked away. You hesitated for a few moments but eventually Haruto smiled when he heard a soft âyeah.â
So he moved his arm as you lifted your head to rest on top of it. You curled into him as his arm wrapped around your upper body. Harutoâs stomach exploded in butterflies. Your face was on fire. But the two of you were happy, blissful.
Last Friday night Haruto asked you to come to one of his lacrosse games. âY/N, this is my friend Hanbyul. Hanbyul, this is Y/N.â
âY/N?â Hanbyul stared at you eyes wide. Like she knew something. She looked like she wanted to say something but she held it in. You wondered what it was, but decided not to think too much about it.
Hanbyul was sweet. She kept you company throughout the game. But she was an aggressive cheer-er. Most of her attention was spent yelling at the field. Her energy was contagious and by the end of the game you were standing on the bleachers cheering âGo Haruto!â
Now it was Saturday and the two of you had finally gone to see the movie that you had meant to see a couple Thursdays ago. You clasped onto the arm that Haruto had held out for you as you exited the movie theater. âThat movie was so good! It was so crazy!â
Haruto laughed. âYeah it was okay.â
âJust okay? You didnât like it?â
âNo, I liked it. It wasnât bad. But I feel like there were better movies from this cinematic universe you know?â
âYeah I guess.â
âWhich one was your favorite?â Haruto asked.
âHuh?â You looked up at Haruto to see him looking down at you. You turned away. âUm. Would you wanna come back to my place?â
âHuh?â Haruto wasnât normally caught off guard but this time he was.
âI mean. Not like that. I just, I donât know Iâm not ready for the night to end and I figured since my place is close by we could just go back and chat.â
Haruto smiled. âYeah, that sounds nice. Letâs go.â
Soon after the two of you arrived at your place, Haruto got situated on the couch and after making sure he was properly settled in. You had gotten up to go fetch your drinks. Haruto spotted your notebook sitting on the edge of the coffee table. He glanced over to see that your attention was fully occupied on making your drinks. Haruto turned back to stare at the notebook. No. The notebook was staring at him. Haruto knew it was wrong. He knew he shouldnât peek.
But he couldnât help it. Every time he saw you he either saw the notebook with you or he saw you writing the notebook and every time he even remotely looked in its direction you guarded it with your life. This could be his only chance.
And so, Haruto grabbed the notebook. He flipped through it and saw that it was very meticulously dated. Upon closer inspection he noticed that each entry was timed as well and every timed entry had extensive details about what you saw, what you talked about. Then he flipped backwards and found one page not like the others.
This page wasnât dated. Instead, it was titled. Haruto. Harutoâs eyes widened. Every line of his designated page was filled. There were things about him on there that even he hadnât realized he had said. Why had you written all these things down? All these details didnât seem that important to him. They were like things that were probably easily remembered. Or things you could ask him about, heâd answer if you ever asked him about.
Just as he was about to continue flipping through the pages of the notebook. âWhat do you think youâre doing?â
An index card fluttered out of the notebook right at Harutoâs feet. Haruto bent down to pick it up. But in a panic you kicked his shin and as he howled and grabbed onto his leg you snatched the card. âWhat the hell Y/N?â
âNo. I should be asking you that. Iâve made it abundantly clear that this notebook is not to be touched. Itâs incredibly private to me.â
âWhat is it? Why is it so important? I asked Hanbyul what it might be and she just said it was probably a diary. What is so special about yours?â
âWhat is so special about mine?â you were so angry you felt like your head was about to pop. While your head didnât pop. Your mouth certainly did. âWhat is so special about mine? This notebook? This notebook. Is my memory. I donât have a memory.â
You tossed the card at Haruto. He picked it up and read the words on the card as you spoke.
âAt age 13 you were involved in a very traumatic car accident. The accident left you in a coma for two weeks. After you recovered from your coma you were diagnosed with anterograde amnesia. From that day on, you no longer have the ability to make memories. The memories you make within a day will only last until you fall asleep wherein your memories of the previous day will be wiped. Use your notebooks to keep track of your days. Use these notebooks to help you remember.â
You could hear your voice waver as you finished reciting the contents on the index card.
âY/N, I-â Haruto said. The world seemed grayer and grimmer. Everything made so much sense now. Why every time he spoke to you in school you had to ask for his name. Why sometimes you looked confused or blank when he mentioned something or attempted to crack a joke.
âSo now you know.â You whispered. You could feel your body start to heave, your breathing became heavy. The gravity of what you had just exposed started to weigh down on you. âYou need to leave. You need to leave and never come back.â
âY/N. I wish you would have told me.â
âWhy?â You snarled. âWhy would I tell you that? Each day I wake up I canât even remember who you are. Why would I have told you anything? Just so you could go around pitying me? Telling everyone else about me? Absolutely not.â
Haruto started to feel tears well up in his own eyes. He felt trapped in his own body as he watched your body fail yours. When he saw you collapse something snapped in his head and he got up and picked you up. One arm held you under your shoulder blades and the other below your knees.
âGet. Out.â you said in between wheezes.
âNo. Y/N. Iâm sorry. I donât want to. Let me help you.â
âGet. Out.â you said, barely conscious.
âY/N. Youâre scaring me. What do I do? How do I help you? Let me help you and Iâll leave you alone.â
Your eyelids were getting heavier and heavier. Honestly, you werenât even sure what exactly was going on. Maybe it would be smart to have Haruto call your doctor before he left. âEmergency Numbers. Notebook.â
Haruto placed you down on your bed just as you had passed out. Haruto immediately ran back to the living room and grabbed your notebook that had fallen onto the ground. He flipped through it frantically. What page were the emergency numbers on? He saw them scribbled on the inside of the back cover. He grabbed his phone and dialed the first number listed at the top.
âHello? Is this Y/Nâs doctor? Sheâs just passed out and I donât know what to do. Iâm in her apartment right now. Someone please come help me.â Haruto hadnât even realized that tears had been streaming down his face until he saw wet splotches appear on the notebook. He wiped them quickly and sniffed. âThis is scaring me.â
âYes, this is Y/Nâs doctor. Iâm on my way over. Who is this?â
âHaruto. Iâm a friend of hers.â
âHaruto. You did good, son. Just wait. Iâll be there in a second.â
âDoctor. Is she gonna be okay?â
âHonestly I canât tell you right now. I have to check up on her. Right now Iâm in front of her door so you can let me in.â The call ended and Haruto opened the door.
âIs she in her room?â The stout man asked.
Haruto nodded and followed him back into your room. He tried to help the doctor but eventually the doctor turned to him and said âson, just relax. Give me some space. She should be fine. She had a panic attack, something must have worked her up. But sheâll wake up. But, it might be better if you arenât here by the time she wakes up.
âI understand, doctor.â
The doctor took a good look at him. Then nodded grimly before turning his attention back to you. Before Haruto could leave though he saw a stack of index cards, a roll of washi tape, and a pen sitting on your desk. He was still holding your notebook from earlier. He grabbed the materials and headed back out to the living room.
Before he left he scribbled out a note. Then pulled something out of his wallet and taped it to the back of the index card. He then taped the index card to the inside of the front cover before shutting the notebook and leaving it in the middle of your coffee table. He held in a sob as he got up. How had things gone so sour so quickly?
Haruto walked back over to your room and peeked in. Your doctor was still busy doting on you. So he turned around and exited your apartment. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and called Junkyu. âHey, can you pick me up?â
âYeah of course. Send me the address.â Junkyu said, trying not to be too alarmed by the tone of Harutoâs voice.
Eventually, you woke up. After reading the note that your doctor had taped to your hand explaining the situation you took a deep sigh. What a shit show. You needed to find the notebook your doctor had mentioned in his note.
It was sitting in the very middle of your coffee table. You flipped through the last few pages to read your entries. Your eyes started to water and you felt yourself get emotional. You could sense that you had grown close to someone. You read about yourself and how you felt about Haruto, but who was Haruto? For the most part you had made peace with your situation but for the first time in a long time, you began to feel frustrated. Angry. Cheated of a normal life that other 16 year old girls got to live.
Just as you were about to shut the notebook you noticed there were two index cards taped to the inside cover. The first one explained your situation. It was more or less what your doctor had just explained to you. But the second one was new. You lifted it up to your face and began to read it aloud.
Y/N,
If youâre reading this, I want you to know that you are the love of my life. My name is Haruto Watanabe and I am 16 years old. I met you for the first time in our freshman year of high school back then when we lived in Japan. We were only 14 years old. I used to be jealous of you, how you beat me in school every time even if just by a little bit. I also resented you because I thought you never bothered to remember my name.
By some stroke of fate, we both ended up in America. Whether by fate or not we saw each other a few more times and met up with each other and I really began to fall for you. You are the kindest, most beautiful, and genuine person I have ever met in my life.
I want you to know that even with your condition. My opinion and my feelings towards you have not changed. I want to be honest with you and tell you what I did and I hope in time you can read this and not feel angry.
Y/N, I did something bad. I invaded your privacy. You see, every time I saw you you fiercely guarded this notebook. Everytime I asked about it or possibly glimpsed at it you would react so strongly so eventually the curiosity of needing to know what was in the notebook killed me. And one day when your attention was occupied elsewhere, I read it.
It seemed like a regular diary to me but you caught me in the act and got upset with me. You explained to me your condition and I want you to know Iâm sorry. Iâm so so sorry I behaved so insensitively. If I were a more selfless man I would have left your life for good. But I am not. Iâve attached my school I.D. to the back of this card. On it has my name, my picture, and my phone number.
If you ever find it in yourself to forgive me. Please give me a call. I will always love you.
Love,
Haruto Watanabe
You flipped the back of the card over. Sure enough there was a school I.D. taped to the back. You pulled the card off and stared at it. The boy in the picture was handsome. He was tall. His height was 6â2â. You scoffed, at least you had good taste.
You saw his phone number at the bottom. You pondered over whether or not to call him, what would you even say to him? Where would he even fit in your life?
These were the questions that ran through your mind as you pulled your phone out and dialed his number. You stared at the numbers as you recited them aloud again. Your thumb hovering above the green button.
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PAIRING ⸠Watanabe Haruto x fem!reader
GENRES ⸠pining, high school au, lacrosse au, Iâm not really sure what genre this is lol
WARNINGS ⸠traumatic events?
SUMMARY ⸠When Haruto moves halfway around the world the last person he expects to see is you. His former nemesis...or so he thinks.
PLAYLIST ⸠Still Donât Know My Name by Labyrinth
WORD COUNT ⸠9626
UNIVERSE ⸠YG High; Treasure Lacrosse Team
A/N ⸠Iâve decided from here on out all my stories will probably fall within the same universe. I only really have like 4 universes in mind so Iâll label them just so you know. Also, Iâm looking to add some art to my stories to bring them more to life but I am useless at graphics/edits, so! If youâre really into making graphics/edits and you enjoy my work please please PLEASE reach out to me!!! I would love to work with an amazing artist! <3 <3 Plz enjoy.
A/N 2 ⸠This story is like a lot of crossover with Jeongwooâs story but I hope I was able to bring justice to Harutoâs character and bring his story to life. :P ok now enjoy for real realz.
You were the prettiest girl Haruto had ever known in his life. But to him, you were also his rival. You always managed to score just a few points higher than him on each exam, each quiz, each assignment. To him it always felt like the teachers liked you more, so he made sure your classmates liked him more. The thing that made him really mad was that you were so unbothered. You were ambivalent to him and you didnât even know his name. If you really were strangers and never sat in the same class he could understand. But you had been in the same classes for years. Each time you spoke to him, you politely asked for his name. As if you were strangers.
When his parents told him that his family was going to move to another city, far enough that he would have to transfer schools, he had mixed feelings. This was his last chance to confront you. To understand why youâd never bothered to remember his name, but each time he approached you he found you furiously scribbling in a notebook. Although he resented you for not knowing his name, he could never get himself to disturb you when you looked so stressed scribbling whatever it was in your notebook.
What Haruto didnât know is that you did notice him. You noticed the handsome, tall, skinny boy that was always in the corner of your line of sight. But you had no idea what to say to him. So you never approached him. He was a stranger.
Haruto wished he could forget you. He was a bit uncomfortable transferring to a new school at first but thankfully, three other boys had transferred with him. Asahi, Mashiho, and Yoshi had become literal brothers to him. The school also had a transfer students program and he made a new friend, Hanbyul. She was a chatterbox and sometimes she could literally chat his ear off, but she was also sweet and helpful. But she wasnât you.
But that didnât matter because Hanbyul had another guy on her mind all the time anyway. âYou know weâve just been friends for such a long time and lately, Iâve started to...I donât know. I feel different. Nervous. Is it normal to feel nervous around your best friend?â
âI donât know. Is it?â Haruto responded.
âNo, I suppose it isnât. But he probably doesnât feel the same way. I doubt heâs ever even thought about me in that way.â
Haruto felt someone nudge him, he turned to see that it was Asahi. Haruto leaned over to hear what he was going to say. âIs she talking about Jaehyukâs brother?â
Haruto nodded.
âJaehyuk talks about his little brother and this chick all the time. Sheâs so off the mark. The little brother definitely has feelings for her if Jaehyuk is anywhere near the mark.â So both parties had feelings for one another but both parties were too chicken to say anything to each other. And for no good reason.
In a way that reminded Haruto of himself and it pissed him off. He knew that spending so much time with his new friend would raise suspicions but he didnât care. He knew that spending so much time with her pissed Jeongwoo off. It didnât take a genius to recognize it when they went to the Big Bang Concert together.
Haruto thought he was going crazy when he spotted you a few spaces over at the concert. He rubbed his eyes and blinked a few times to make sure it was really you. Haruto stormed over to you once he decided that it was in fact you. He had spent months thinking about what to say to you if he ever saw you again, he wasnât going to miss this opportunity. Haruto didnât even think to tell his new friends where he had gone.
You saw a tall, handsome figure approaching your direction. You took a second to check him out, but then turned back to the performers and continued to enjoy yourself. Your parents were reluctant to let you go out to this concert on your own but it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that you wanted so badly. You smiled sadly at what might happen when you woke up tomorrow.
âI didnât know you were a fan of Big Bang.â You heard a voice from behind speak into your ear. You jumped in surprise and turned around to see that it was the handsome stranger you saw sauntering your way earlier.
âHi, whatâs your name?â You asked with a polite smile on your face. This is probably exactly what your parents were worried about, creepy men that would try to approach you. You started to think about the best way to remove yourself from the situation safely. The now unamused expression on his face alarmed you.
âWhen are you gonna cut the shit. You know who I am.â
You looked at him puzzled. âI do? How? From where?â
Haruto felt something in his chest crack. âI used to go to school with you. Youâre Y/N right?â
âOh, yeah. Thatâs me.â You furiously racked your mind trying to remember what you had read but your memory came up blank. You couldnât help but cringe and turn away. This is why you tried your best to keep to yourself and away from people. You looked up to see Haruto staring down at you with a curious expression. âIâm sorry I donât remember you. You said you used to go to school with me? You donât go to school with me anymore? Can I get your name again? Iâm really sorry. Iâll try and remember.â
âMy name is Haruto. I donât go to school with you anymore. I transferred to a new school a few months ago.â
âOh, I see.â
Haruto wasnât sure how to feel when he realized you actually had zero recollection of him. For some reason seeing you up close and seeing you really trying to remember him made him feel a bit sympathetic. He couldnât understand why. It still totally irked him that you didnât know his name. But something told him to sit down with you and get to know you.
âWell, do you like your new school?â You asked, looking up at Haruto. Your heart was beating hard and fast. You prayed that your face wasnât flushing.
âWhy donât we just enjoy the rest of the concert for now and we can grab a late night meal after the concert?â Haruto proposed. His own palms were sweaty and his heart was beating fast.
You thought about it for a second, then nodded and smiled. Haruto felt like the world had a glittery filter for a second. Heâd always acknowledged that you were attractive, but up close smiling at him, you were drop dead gorgeous.
âAwesome.â
After the concert, the two of you walked side by side as you left the crowded venue. You noticed Haruto took a second to text someone on his phone. He caught you snooping and laughed as you turned away. âItâs fine. I was just letting the friends I came with know that I was gonna head out with you.â
âOh, if you need to get back with them itâs fine.â You said, maybe hanging out with Haruto was a bad idea after all.
âNot a chance, itâs been so long since Iâve seen you. Iâm honestly curious to know how you are and how things are back home.â
Your face flushed at his words. You couldnât remember the last time you had spent time with a guy like this. Was this a date?
âAlright. Then what are you in the mood for?â You asked, pulling up a list of restaurants that were still open at this hour.
âWhatâs available now? What are you in the mood for right now?â Haruto looked over your shoulder at the menu as he asked.
âUm, what about McDonaldâs? Iâm not that picky and thereâs not that much open right now.â you said.
Haruto stared at you with wide eyes, were you always this cool? So the two of you made your way to the closest McDonaldâs and debated which was better, Coke or Sprite. To Haruto, Coca-Cola was non-negotiable.
âHow is your new school?â You asked Haruto, munching on a few of your fries. âDo you like it?â
âWhat are you doing here?â Haruto interjected.
âWhat do you mean?â
âWeâre not in Japan. This is far from home. Why are you in America?â
âOh, Iâm uh- Iâm visiting family. Iâve actually transferred to a school around here for the time-being as well.â You jumped in surprise when Haruto shrieked.
âYouâre here now? Like for good? Like you go to school here? Where?â
You giggled at the questions he rained down on you. The way he asked you with his cheeks full and eyes wide was rather endearing. âYes Iâm here now. Iâm actually, uh, home schooled for the time being.â
âOh, interesting. Why are you homeschooled? I remember you were always really good at school.â Haruto said before he shoved another chicken nugget into his mouth. The irritating thought that you were always better than him at school, just by a little popped up in his mind but he pushed it away. That didnât matter anymore. He had your attention now.
You felt your face flush. Even with your condition it was true that you maintained your good grades. So Haruto must have actually known you back in Japan. You eyed him again, when he caught you staring at him you turned away. Haruto smirked.
âEnough about me. Tell me about your friends. You said you came with friends from your new school right?â
âWell Iâd say one of them is actually who Iâd consider a friend. The other one is a mutual friend. A childhood friend that has feelings for her.â
âHer?â it slipped out of your mouth. Harutoâs smirk reappeared and his eyebrow jumped up when he looked at you. You looked away, what was this funny feeling in your chest? It was weird.
âOur school had this transfer student program and she just happened to be assigned to me. Sheâs really cool, Iâm not into her like that and sheâs not really into me like that. She likes her friend.â
âHow do you know?â
âShe told me.â
âOh. That feels like something important. Like a secret.â
âWell, I told her a secret as well.â
You stared at him. He didnât indulge in the secret. Haruto was wholly focused on sipping the last of his Coca-Cola before putting it down on the table and letting out a sigh.
âWell so whatâs going on with them now?â You asked.
âHopefully, they both pull their heads out of their asses tonight. I gave them time alone so the best case scenario is that they just talk it out. The dude, Jeongwoo, I actually met him for the first time tonight and heâs a cool dude. It would be nice to have more dude friends around here.â
âYou donât have any guy friends?â
âI do. There are 3 other transfer students from Japan and theyâre all dudes and Iâm friends with them. Actually, Americans like to play this sport. Lacrosse? My friend told me to try out for the team and I think I might. Mashi, Asahi, and Yoshi agreed to try-out as well so itâll be fun.â
You nodded, you had no idea what lacrosse was and you didnât think you would be that interested to learn either. âI should get home.â
âRight of course.â Haruto said, getting up. âWhere are you headed? Let me call you an Uber.â
âNo, itâs okay. I can actually walk back home from here.â
âOh really? Well, at least let me walk you back.â
You hesitated for a second. Would it be smart to show this guy where you lived? But then you shook it off, he seemed pretty harmless throughout the night and you trusted that he knew you from school in Japan. So you agreed.
âDo you have to be home-schooled?â Haruto asked.
âNo, I donât think so.â you answered.
âWould you be interested in attending school in person again?â Haruto could feel the devil on his shoulder kicking him. What was he doing? He had already gone to school with you before and the fact that you always did just a smidge better than him drove him nuts.
âUm, I havenât really thought about it. Why?â
âYou should consider transferring to my school?â
Your eyebrows shot up. âWhat?â
Haruto stepped back a bit and raised his hands. âIt was just a suggestion. Honestly, I struggled a bit when I first came here. I canât imagine how lonely it must be to be here and just be home-schooled so I figured it might be nice to have some sense of community.â
âUm, Iâll think about it.â You werenât going to think about it. You looked up and breathed a sigh of relief when you saw the familiar apartment complex. âThis is me. You donât have to walk in with me. Iâm gonna go now.â
âWait.â Haruto said. You turned around to look at him, a thin smile on your face. âI, uh, I had fun.â
âYeah, this was nice.â You said truthfully.
âWe should do it again sometime.â Haruto said. You stared at him, he looked perfectly composed to you. But his heart was practically beating so hard he thought it might fall out of his chest.
âHonestly, Iâm not so sure thatâs a good idea.â
Haruto felt a heat and anger flare up in his chest. But he did his best to tamp it down and get it under control. This was literally the first time you had acknowledged his presence. He put a smile on his face. âWell, then maybe weâll just run into each other again sometime.â
âMaybe, itâs all up to fate now. Good night Haruto.â
âGood night Y/N.â
The second you made it back into your room you pulled out your diary. You scribbled the notes you had logged into your phone throughout the day as quickly as possible. Briefly reliving each moment as you wrote them down. By the time you had gotten to the end of the list and began to recount the concert you could feel your eyelids getting heavier and heavier and your hands writing more and more frantically until suddenly, you crashed.
The next morning you woke up and read your notes. You squinted at the last thing you had written. Your handwriting became illegible near the end. âHaruto?â
The next morning Haruto woke up and smiled at the memory of you. Asahi and Mashiho eyed their roommate as he pranced around the living room and kitchen smiling and singing. But nothing could bring Haruto down. Well until he saw his friend looking depressed as hell.
âDude whatâs up?â Haruto asked. âDid you and Jeongwoo figure your shit out?â
âUh, about that. Well, no.â
âNo? What do you mean no?â
âWell what about you? Did you run into her?â
âNuh uh, this isnât about me. You literally had the perfect opportunity to make something of it. To make a moment! Did you guys have a moment?â
âYes, I think we did. But I got scared. I donât want to lose Jeongwoo as a friend, but at the same time I donât think he has any feelings for me like that. I just, I think I need space. Maybe if I just distance myself from him a bit then I can get over my feelings andâŚâ
âNo offense, but thatâs the stupidest thing I think Iâve ever heard in my life.â
âWell I donât care if you think itâs stupid. This is my decision and my decision is that I donât want to see Jeongwoo for awhile. Ok? Iâm not ready for the conversation. So you better get used to seeing me more often!â
Haruto sighed as he watched his friend storm out of the room. He turned around and exchanged looks with Asahi. âDid I say something wrong?â
Asahi shrugged. âHonestly, I think youâre valid. I think her logic in avoiding Jeongwoo is pretty dumb. The dudeâs in my gym class. Honestly, heâs chill. I donât think heâd react badly to her if she confesses regardless of how he feels.â
âI should probably find her and apologize anyway.â Haruto said, exiting the room. Eventually he found his friend and they sat together in the cafeteria.
âSorry about what I said earlier. Iâll admit it was kind of harsh. But honestly I canât say I understand your logic at all.â
âItâs fine Haruto. You seemed extra happy when you walked in this morning. Who was the friend that you saw at the concert?â
âIt was her. Y/N.â
âNo way! Isnât she in Japan?â
âThatâs what I thought too. I was so shocked to see her.â
âWhat did you say to her? What did you guys talk about? Did she recognize you?â
âThatâs the thing. The best part of it all was that I actually had her attention. You remember I told you about how she never acknowledged anybody right? She was always reading her notebook in the hallway. In the past when I spoke to her she never even knew my name! She had to ask me every single time. But this time, thereâs no way she wouldnât remember me!â
âYour relationship is weird. But I guess thatâs sweet. What does she write about in her notebook?â
âI donât know. Why does it matter? She knows my name now!â
âThatâs another thing. You went to school together for years and she never remembered your name? Why?â
âI donât know.â Haruto said. Now he was grouchy. All the questions that had been brought up to him were valid, but these werenât things he wanted to think about.
A few weeks before the lacrosse tryouts in the spring Haruto went to the hospital to get a physical done.
Once he was done he stumbled into a small cafe right next to the hospital. When he saw who was manning the cash register he rubbed his eyes and looked away and looked back a few times to make sure he wasnât being deluded. When he was confident that he wasnât going crazy he stood up and walked over to the register.
You saw a tall, handsome, and skinny guy walk up to the cash register. You cleared your throat and stood up straight. âHello, what can I get you?â
âY/N! Itâs fate. We ran into each other again!â
âAgain?â You put a smile on your face and thought of a response. âHey, itâs so good to see you! How have you been? Whatâll you have?â
âDo you...remember my name?â
You felt your heart picking up speed and your palms beginning to sweat. But you kept your composure. âOf course, let me take your order and we can chat for a second.â
Haruto beamed. âOkay, then Iâll just have an Iced Americano.â
âOkay, thatâll be $3.30. The ice machine is in the back so Iâll be right out in a second. You rushed to the back of the cafe and pulled out your diary and flipped through the pages, reading the entries as quickly as possible. Out of the corner of your eye you noticed a torn piece of paper that had slipped out of your bag. You picked it up, it matched the paper in your diary. You flipped it over to see that it had a name written on it. Haruto.
Was that this guyâs name? Who was he to you? Darn it, why hadnât you written more?
You quickly filled the cup with ice and walked out filling the cup with cold brew. You grabbed the marker and scribbled Haruto on it. You walked back over to the cash register. This guyâs eyes were practically glittering in anticipation. Was it normal for someone to get this excited over a coffee?
âIâve got one iced americano for Haruto?â you said.
If his eyes were glittering before, they were practically flashing light strobe lights at a nightclub now. A matching beaming grin on his face. âYes! Y/N itâs fate. We ran into each other again!â
âRight. Yeah, of course. What are the odds.â
âDo you have a minute?â
âUm, Iâm working right now. Iâd rather not get in trouble. Maybe another time?â
Haruto swiveled around, eying the cafe. âIt looks pretty empty to me. I donât think youâd get in trouble if you came out for a second just to keep me company.â
âStillâŚâ
âIs your manager even here right now?â
âNo.â
âThen come on. Just come out for a second.â
You looked around the cafe, cursing at how vacant it was. You tugged at your sleeves for a second before answering. âFine.â
You followed Haruto out from behind the counter. He walked over to a table and pulled a seat out from underneath the table. He smiled as he waited for you to sit down. You walked over to the table and turned around. Haruto slid the chair underneath you as you moved to sit down. Once you were seated Haruto ran around to the other side of the table and sat down.
âHow are you? How have you been?â Haruto asked.
You stared at the boy sitting in front of you. He was so handsome. âIâm doing well. How about you?â
âIâm good. I was in the area because I needed to go to the hospital.â
Your ears perked up. âWhy were you at the hospital?â
âWhy do you wanna know? Are you worried about me?â
You didnât say anything. You just stared at Haruto. Haruto cleared his throat and looked away for a second. âIâm just playing with you. I went to get a physical.â
You nodded, tracing the patterns on the tablecloth.
âI needed one for lacrosse tryouts.â
âLacrosse? What is that?â you asked. Haruto thought the way your nose scrunched in confusion was adorable.
âI told you about it last time! Remember? Itâs this sport that Americans like to play. I had never heard of it in Japan either.â
You didnât remember. âRight.â
Haruto couldnât understand the dynamics of the conversation. He watched as you avoided eye contact with him and intensely focused on tracing the pattern of the table cloth. Then you would stare out the window of the cafe, it almost appeared as if your eyes were glazed over. âWhat are you always writing about in your notebook?â
Your head spun over to look at him so fast, you thought you might have gotten whiplash. âWhat?â
âYour notebook. I remember in school back in Japan I always saw you either writing things down in a notebook or reading the same notebook. Whatâs in it?â
âUm, nothing. Donât worry about it.â
âWhy? It canât be that bad. I promise I wonât laugh no matter how embarrassing it might be.â Haruto said. Leaning forward over the table so that he was in your face.
âForget it.â You said, leaning back and looking away. You glanced over at your bag that was perched far back behind the counter and breathed a sigh of relief. âLook. I gotta go. Iâm supposed to be working right now. I think you should go now as well.â
You stood up from the table so quickly that the chair you were sitting on toppled over. You didnât bother to turn around and pick it up. You walked back towards the counter without looking back.
Haruto watched you as you walked away. He narrowed his eyes when he saw you grab your bag and walk to the back of the cafe. There was only one thing on his mind as he walked out of the cafe. Your notebook. What was in the notebook?
You frantically flipped to todayâs page in your notebook. In all caps with your boldest, darkest black marker you wrote at the top of your notebook. âBeware of Haruto. Tall, Handsome. Asked about notebook.â
Then you shut the notebook and exited the back room, breathing a sigh of relief when you noticed that the cafe was vacant once again. You walked over to the cafe table where you had previously sat and picked up the chair that had fallen over when you had left the conversation.
The next day at school Haruto was deep in thought. What could possibly be so important about a notebook? When Hanbyul shoved him, Haruto shrieked as he fell out of his chair. âDude, what the hell is your problem?â
âWhat are you thinking about? You look like youâre thinking so hard that your brain might break.â
âDo you have an important notebook? Is that like something girls do?â
âYou mean like a diary?â
Haruto snapped his fingers and looked up. âYes! Exactly like one of those. Do you have one of those?â
âI did when I was younger. I donât keep one anymore though. Why do you ask?â
âMy friend. The one from home, Y/N? I think she has one. I asked her about it yesterday and she got all dodgy and weird.â
âAh, well. Back when I did keep a diary it held all my dirtiest secrets. I donât think I would want to share it with anybody or for anybody to know about it. Not even now, and as an elementary schooler I really donât think I had any secrets worth keeping.â
âIt was so weird. She got so defensive over it. I didnât realize bringing it up would be such a touchy subject.â
Hanbyul shrugged. âDifferent things matter to different people. Are you ready for tryouts? Theyâre coming up soon arenât they?â
Haruto nodded. âAsahi, Mashiho, Yoshi, and I have started going to that gym that you recommended. Lacrosse is actually pretty fun. Mashiho is the best though. Are you coming to tryouts?â
âOf course I am. Iâm practically making you go so itâs only fair that I be there to see how you do. I reserve the right to totally make fun of you if you embarrass yourself though.â
Haruto rolled his eyes. âYeah, whatever.â
Soon enough it was the first day of lacrosse tryouts. Haruto had frequented the cafe that you worked at in hopes of getting the chance to speak to you again. Unfortunately, what he didnât know was that you had quit the job and diligently stayed home and studied.
Haruto was agitated at the thought of not being able to speak to you again. When he tried to sit down and rationalize it himself he couldnât make sense of it. A year ago he despised you for not knowing his name. You know his name now, right? What more did he want from you?
âHaruto? Haruto! Hello? Are you even listening to me?â
Haruto turned to look at Hanbyul. âHonestly no, sorry. Whatâs up?â
âI feel bad for how I treated Jeongwoo. You were right, avoiding him was not the right thing to do. But why hasnât he said anything to me?â
âLook I canât tell you whatâs going on between the two of you any better than you can. My assumption is that heâs a bit hurt and confused at the moment by how youâre acting and he doesnât want to make things any worse than they are.â
âCanât you say something to him?â
âMe?â Haruto looked up from his stick that he was re-taping. âWhat do you want me to say to him?â
âI donât know. Just...just get him to react.â
Haruto scoffed. âIf you want me to do that I can but again I feel like itâs not going to produce the results that you want. Like I think if I say anything things are gonna go really sour so I think you should think long and hard about this.â
âHaruto!â
âLook, I gotta go. Tryouts are starting.â Haruto said, turning away and walking onto the field. He didnât miss the hard stare coming his way from Jeongwoo. Haruto ignored them and focused on his gameplay. Lacrosse had actually become really cathartic for him and he found that he really wanted to make the team.
Haruto noticed that the coaches seemed to be reacting favorably to how he was playing. He also realized that Jeongwoo was also really good but he played really aggressively, like he had something to lose. At the end of practice Haruto figured his hunches must have been correct because the coaches called him over to speak with him.
âIâm sure you know Varsity tryouts were this morning, all of your friends from Japan did great as did you and so weâre thinking about pulling you up to varsity. So tomorrow I want you to come early and try out with the varsity team, alright?â
Haruto beamed and nodded.
âGood work son.â The coach slapped Haruto on the shoulder. He did his best not to fall over. Thankfully the coach didnât notice.
Haruto walked off the field and headed towards the school parking lot. Just as he pulled his phone out to call someone for a ride home his phone pinged, he tapped on the notification to see that it was a message from Mashiho.
Mashiho: Haruto have JV tryouts ended?
Haruto: Yes, I just finished
Mashiho: Cool. Have you found a ride home yet?
Haruto: No, do you know anyone who can come get me?
Mashiho: Ya, a lot of the guys on varsity can drive. Junkyu is over now but he offered to come pick you up.
Haruto: Junkyu?
Mashiho: Heâs trying out for the varsity team. Heâs cool. Kinda goofy but cool. Iâll come by with him.
Haruto: Alright, thanks dude.
Mashiho: Np.
Haruto checked the time on his phone before putting it back into his pocket. 6 P.M. Would you be at the cafe? The last few times he had gone by he hadnât seen you. He put the thought away when a car appeared in front of him. The window rolled down and Mashiho cheered when he saw Haruto. âGet in the car! You smell!â
âShut up and unlock the door Mashi.â The car door clicked open and Haruto hopped into the backseat. There was a large dude sitting in the driverâs seat who kept fidgeting with a bunch of random controls.
The guy turned around with a giant grin on his face. âHello! Iâm Junkyu. You must be Haruto! Nice to meet you!â
Haruto bowed. âHello. Yes, I am Haruto. Nice to meet you as well.â
âRuto! How were tryouts?â
âThey were really good. Coach pulled me over at the end of tryouts and told me to come early tomorrow morning and try out with the varsity team.â
âDamn! You must be so good!â Junkyu said from the driverâs seat. Haruto tried not to be concerned by the way Junkyu was driving. His head kept swiveling from left to right. âDid you guys play sports back in Japan? All of you were insane at tryouts today!â
âWe all played football. I think Mashi and Yoshi played basketball as well.â
âFootball? Do you mean football football or soccer football?â
âEh?â
âDo you kick a ball or do you carry a ball?â
âYou kick it. Duh. Why would you carry a ball? Thatâs just dumb.â
âAmericans call a totally different sport football. Donât worry about it too much. But itâs awesome that you guys are so good.â
âWell to be fair, we were told about that Lacrosse Club and we had a few training sessions every week leading up to try outs.â Mashiho said.
âAhh! Howâd you hear about that? A few of us have been playing on their club teams for a while.â
âMy friend told me about it. Sheâs the person responsible for me in the foreign exchange students program. Hanbyul?â
âOh! I know who youâre talking about. Her brother was a legend at this school. He was a top recruit since his sophomore year here. But right before the most important game of his senior year he tested positive on a drug test and he couldnât play. It totally turned him, his team, and the school around. He got dropped by the college that was recruiting him. But I heard he struck a deal with a pro-team and I guess heâs been training with them. The dude was in a league of his own.â
âDamn. Thatâs insane.â
âYeah, our school takes lacrosse pretty seriously. The best players at our school get recruited to some of the best schools so itâs a great opportunity.â
Haruto knew there were probably more important things to be thinking about in this conversation but he couldnât help but wonder if he could get you to come to one of his games.
The second day of tryouts Haruto was absolutely on fire. His shorts were shart, his passes were quick, and his steps were light. The varsity team was definitely of a different caliber but Haruto found the challenge fun. It was nice to be able to play with the rest of the Japanese boys as well.
At the end of varsity tryouts the coach pulled him over, âyou were great out there today. How are you feeling?â
âIâm feeling alright coach.â
âUp for a few more hours?â
Haruto paused, but then nodded. He wasnât in a place to argue with his coaches. âSure.â
âGreat. Then I want you to continue through JV tryouts. Grab some water and then head back out onto the field.â
âAlright coach.â
Haruto jogged out to the edge of the field. He was surprised to see Hanbyul sitting at the edge of the bleachers. âWhatâs up?â
âHey, what are you doing here?â
âWhat do you mean what am I doing here? I came to watch your second day of tryouts.â
âAre you sure youâre here to watch me?â
âShut up. Why are you all sweaty already?â
âCoach had me try out with the varsity team today.â
Hanbyulâs eyes widened. âDang, you must be awesome. The last two boys that made it onto the varsity team as sophomores were my brother and his best friend Bobby.â
Haruto shrugged. âThe game is fun. It would be awesome to play on varsity.â
The coach blew his whistle, signalling all the players to come back out onto the field. Haruto turned around and gathered around. Every so often throughout the day Haruto ran back to the bleachers where Hanbyul sat. His bag was stowed away there as was his secret stash of Coca-Cola. It probably wasnât smart to be drinking Coke in the middle of tryouts but every so often he needed a pick-me-up.
âYou need to quash that habit.â
âYeah yeah.â
At the end of the day the coach told Haruto to wait for him inside his office. So Haruto did just that.
âSo whatâd you think about tryouts today?â Coach asked.
âIt was intense.â
âYeah, what did you think of the way the varsity team played?â
âThey were quicker, sharper, and more nimble.â
âGood observation. Do you think you were good enough to play on their level?â
âYes.â
âOkay, then answer me another question. If you had to pick another player from the JV tryouts today to pull up to Varsity who would you pick?â
Haruto thought about it for a second. The answer was obvious. The only other person who seemed to put up a fight with him was âJeongwoo.â
âGood guess.â The coach laughed. âI donât know what they feed you kids in Japan. But all four of you are good.â
There was a knock on the door. Haruto turned around to see Jeongwoo. He smirked when he saw the sour expression on Jeongwooâs face. But it was gone once he had walked into the room and stood adjacent to Haruto.
âThe two of you have demonstrated amazing capabilities and I am considering pulling one of you up to the varsity team. Take this opportunity seriously. Tomorrow is the last day of tryouts.â
The last place Haruto expected to run into you was at the hospital. The last thing you were expecting at the hospital was for a dude to come up behind you and scare you. It was horrible, you canât remember the last time you screamed so loudly, let alone at a public place.
âWhat are you doing here Y/N?â
âUh, Iâm-â you hesitated, trying to craft an answer that was vague enough that you wouldnât have to tell the whole truth but not vague enough that he wouldnât continue to ask questions. But thankfully Haruto seemed to take it upon himself to fill the silence.
âLook, I just wanted to say Iâm sorry that I totally misjudged you when I first met you? In fact, I thought I hated you.â
Alarm bells went off in your head. Was it normal for a person to come to you and tell you they hated you? âUh, thanks?â
But Haruto continued. âBut I wanted to say I totally read you wrong. Youâre actually really cool. And I wanted to say thank you. For remembering my name.â
That was the first time someone had ever said that to you. You stared at him blankly unsure of how to respond.
âHaruto! Haruto! Haruto! Please report to waiting room 105, the doctor is ready for you now.â The voice over the loudspeaker belted.
âWell, thatâs me.â Haruto said with a soft smile on his face. He got up and waved goodbye to you before heading to the back of the office.
Once he was safely out of sight you pulled out your notebook. Your face paled once you flipped through it a few times. You thought about what to do. What did this guy want? You wrote out all these questions in your notebook. Then you came to a conclusion of what to do and wrote that down in your notebook as well.
You ripped out a piece of paper from your notebook and scribbled your number on it. Then got up to the receptionist desk. âHi, I donât know if youâre allowed to do this. But when that guy Haruto comes out. Would you mind giving him this?â
You handed the sheet of paper over to her, the receptionist gave you a look and then a wink before accepting the sheet of paper. You figured that meant she accepted, so you waved goodbye and left the hospital.
âExcuse me sir!â The receptionist lady called out to Haruto as he was about to head out of the doctorâs office. What felt and looked like a nasty possible sprain on the lacrosse field just turned out to be a measly bruise.
Haruto approached the reception desk. âThere was a young lady earlier. She asked me to give this to you before you leave.â
Haruto looked at the slip of paper. His eyes widened into the size of large gumballs when he realized what was on it. He felt like his heart would explode. But then his mind pumped the brakes, he wasnât ungrateful, but why did you give him your number?
On the way back home you second guessed your decision at least 30 times. Why did you give him your number? The only reason you could think of was that you didnât want to not know the guy. Contrary to what your mind and your diary told you. Your heart didnât want to give him up. Maybe it was selfish and confusing, who knew? But who cared?
Harutoâs excitement was cut short when he finished punching your number into his contacts. Before he could even send a message to you, his phone rang. Hanbyul.
âHey Hanbyul, whatâs up?â
Haruto became alarmed when he heard a sniff and a muffled sob. âHaruto, I miss him.â
Haruto sighed. âHeâll come around soon.â
âIs there nothing you can do to make him come around sooner?â
âHanbyul. If all goes well heâs going to be my teammate. Plus, what could I possibly say to change things?â
âI donât know. He probably thinks thereâs something going on between us.â
Haruto paused. âIs that why youâre friends with me?â
âNo, no I swear itâs not. Youâre an amazing person and youâve been an amazing friend.â
âHanbyul.â
âI know, Iâm sorry. I shouldnât have said anything. Iâm sorry.â
âI donât like what youâre asking me to do. But you are my friend. If youâre really sure this is the way you want to go about it.â
âIâm- Iâm not sure. I just need things to change.â
On the third day of tryouts Haruto was in a funk. And it showed. The events of yesterday night haunted him, he was happy to see you but he was sorry for Hanbyul. Haruto didnât really like to fight with anybody, but he found her requests unreasonable and the questions she asked about you probing and uncomfortable.
It seemed as if Jeongwoo was the same way. Haruto gave into the niggling voice inside his head and said probably he shouldnât have said. âYouâre gonna lose your girl to me and now youâre gonna lose your spot on the team to me?â
It pushed Jeongwoo off the edge and the two of them went at it. Haruto played ferociously and aggressively. As did Jeongwoo. The game ended when Jeongwoo illegally body checked Haruto.
âDude what the hell is your problem?â
âNo, whatâs your problem? Your comment back there? Absolutely uncalled for.â
Valid. But Haruto wasnât going to admit that. âPlease. Pull your head out of your ass. Youâre hurting your friend. Talk to her.â
Haruto stood by as he and Jeongwoo got scolded for their behavior. Eventually, tryouts ended with neither one ending up on the varsity team. Haruto knew he probably should have been more bothered but he wasnât. He had other things on his mind.
When Haruto exited the office he saw Hanbyul waiting outside. She turned to look away from Jeongwoo back to Haruto. Tired and hopeful that their saga would end, Haruto smiled and jutted his chin out towards Jeongwoo. Hanbyul smiled and ran after Jeongwoo.
Since the fateful day you have Haruto your number. Whenever he had a free moment he would ask to see you. After each time you saw him, you thoroughly wrote down everything that had happened in the day. You didnât want to forget.
A few Mondays ago, you went to get ice cream together. âWhatâs your favorite food, Haruto?â
âMe? Anything unhealthy.â
You whacked him on the arm for that.
âOw! What was that for?â
âFor being a stupid teenage boy. And because Iâm jealous of your metabolism.â
A couple Thursdays ago, Haruto asked you if you wanted to go watch a movie with him. The Uber and the weather didnât quite work out. âSorry we missed the movie by 45 minutes. But on the bright side, itâs not raining anymore!â
You laughed. âI guess youâre right. What should we do instead now that weâre here?â
Haruto looked around. He pointed at the grassy meadow. âWe should just lay down on the grass and look at the stars.â
âThe grass is wet.â
âLook, they're selling plastic tarps over at that convenience store. Letâs just buy one.â
âOkay.â
Haruto paid for a plastic tarp and spread it down out on the grassy meadow. The two of you laid on the ground parallel to one another. Until Haruto turned to you âcan I hold you?â
You felt your face flush and you looked away. You hesitated for a few moments but eventually Haruto smiled when he heard a soft âyeah.â
So he moved his arm as you lifted your head to rest on top of it. You curled into him as his arm wrapped around your upper body. Harutoâs stomach exploded in butterflies. Your face was on fire. But the two of you were happy, blissful.
Last Friday night Haruto asked you to come to one of his lacrosse games. âY/N, this is my friend Hanbyul. Hanbyul, this is Y/N.â
âY/N?â Hanbyul stared at you eyes wide. Like she knew something. She looked like she wanted to say something but she held it in. You wondered what it was, but decided not to think too much about it.
Hanbyul was sweet. She kept you company throughout the game. But she was an aggressive cheer-er. Most of her attention was spent yelling at the field. Her energy was contagious and by the end of the game you were standing on the bleachers cheering âGo Haruto!â
Now it was Saturday and the two of you had finally gone to see the movie that you had meant to see a couple Thursdays ago. You clasped onto the arm that Haruto had held out for you as you exited the movie theater. âThat movie was so good! It was so crazy!â
Haruto laughed. âYeah it was okay.â
âJust okay? You didnât like it?â
âNo, I liked it. It wasnât bad. But I feel like there were better movies from this cinematic universe you know?â
âYeah I guess.â
âWhich one was your favorite?â Haruto asked.
âHuh?â You looked up at Haruto to see him looking down at you. You turned away. âUm. Would you wanna come back to my place?â
âHuh?â Haruto wasnât normally caught off guard but this time he was.
âI mean. Not like that. I just, I donât know Iâm not ready for the night to end and I figured since my place is close by we could just go back and chat.â
Haruto smiled. âYeah, that sounds nice. Letâs go.â
Soon after the two of you arrived at your place, Haruto got situated on the couch and after making sure he was properly settled in. You had gotten up to go fetch your drinks. Haruto spotted your notebook sitting on the edge of the coffee table. He glanced over to see that your attention was fully occupied on making your drinks. Haruto turned back to stare at the notebook. No. The notebook was staring at him. Haruto knew it was wrong. He knew he shouldnât peek.
But he couldnât help it. Every time he saw you he either saw the notebook with you or he saw you writing the notebook and every time he even remotely looked in its direction you guarded it with your life. This could be his only chance.
And so, Haruto grabbed the notebook. He flipped through it and saw that it was very meticulously dated. Upon closer inspection he noticed that each entry was timed as well and every timed entry had extensive details about what you saw, what you talked about. Then he flipped backwards and found one page not like the others.
This page wasnât dated. Instead, it was titled. Haruto. Harutoâs eyes widened. Every line of his designated page was filled. There were things about him on there that even he hadnât realized he had said. Why had you written all these things down? All these details didnât seem that important to him. They were like things that were probably easily remembered. Or things you could ask him about, heâd answer if you ever asked him about.
Just as he was about to continue flipping through the pages of the notebook. âWhat do you think youâre doing?â
An index card fluttered out of the notebook right at Harutoâs feet. Haruto bent down to pick it up. But in a panic you kicked his shin and as he howled and grabbed onto his leg you snatched the card. âWhat the hell Y/N?â
âNo. I should be asking you that. Iâve made it abundantly clear that this notebook is not to be touched. Itâs incredibly private to me.â
âWhat is it? Why is it so important? I asked Hanbyul what it might be and she just said it was probably a diary. What is so special about yours?â
âWhat is so special about mine?â you were so angry you felt like your head was about to pop. While your head didnât pop. Your mouth certainly did. âWhat is so special about mine? This notebook? This notebook. Is my memory. I donât have a memory.â
You tossed the card at Haruto. He picked it up and read the words on the card as you spoke.
âAt age 13 you were involved in a very traumatic car accident. The accident left you in a coma for two weeks. After you recovered from your coma you were diagnosed with anterograde amnesia. From that day on, you no longer have the ability to make memories. The memories you make within a day will only last until you fall asleep wherein your memories of the previous day will be wiped. Use your notebooks to keep track of your days. Use these notebooks to help you remember.â
You could hear your voice waver as you finished reciting the contents on the index card.
âY/N, I-â Haruto said. The world seemed grayer and grimmer. Everything made so much sense now. Why every time he spoke to you in school you had to ask for his name. Why sometimes you looked confused or blank when he mentioned something or attempted to crack a joke.
âSo now you know.â You whispered. You could feel your body start to heave, your breathing became heavy. The gravity of what you had just exposed started to weigh down on you. âYou need to leave. You need to leave and never come back.â
âY/N. I wish you would have told me.â
âWhy?â You snarled. âWhy would I tell you that? Each day I wake up I canât even remember who you are. Why would I have told you anything? Just so you could go around pitying me? Telling everyone else about me? Absolutely not.â
Haruto started to feel tears well up in his own eyes. He felt trapped in his own body as he watched your body fail yours. When he saw you collapse something snapped in his head and he got up and picked you up. One arm held you under your shoulder blades and the other below your knees.
âGet. Out.â you said in between wheezes.
âNo. Y/N. Iâm sorry. I donât want to. Let me help you.â
âGet. Out.â you said, barely conscious.
âY/N. Youâre scaring me. What do I do? How do I help you? Let me help you and Iâll leave you alone.â
Your eyelids were getting heavier and heavier. Honestly, you werenât even sure what exactly was going on. Maybe it would be smart to have Haruto call your doctor before he left. âEmergency Numbers. Notebook.â
Haruto placed you down on your bed just as you had passed out. Haruto immediately ran back to the living room and grabbed your notebook that had fallen onto the ground. He flipped through it frantically. What page were the emergency numbers on? He saw them scribbled on the inside of the back cover. He grabbed his phone and dialed the first number listed at the top.
âHello? Is this Y/Nâs doctor? Sheâs just passed out and I donât know what to do. Iâm in her apartment right now. Someone please come help me.â Haruto hadnât even realized that tears had been streaming down his face until he saw wet splotches appear on the notebook. He wiped them quickly and sniffed. âThis is scaring me.â
âYes, this is Y/Nâs doctor. Iâm on my way over. Who is this?â
âHaruto. Iâm a friend of hers.â
âHaruto. You did good, son. Just wait. Iâll be there in a second.â
âDoctor. Is she gonna be okay?â
âHonestly I canât tell you right now. I have to check up on her. Right now Iâm in front of her door so you can let me in.â The call ended and Haruto opened the door.
âIs she in her room?â The stout man asked.
Haruto nodded and followed him back into your room. He tried to help the doctor but eventually the doctor turned to him and said âson, just relax. Give me some space. She should be fine. She had a panic attack, something must have worked her up. But sheâll wake up. But, it might be better if you arenât here by the time she wakes up.
âI understand, doctor.â
The doctor took a good look at him. Then nodded grimly before turning his attention back to you. Before Haruto could leave though he saw a stack of index cards, a roll of washi tape, and a pen sitting on your desk. He was still holding your notebook from earlier. He grabbed the materials and headed back out to the living room.
Before he left he scribbled out a note. Then pulled something out of his wallet and taped it to the back of the index card. He then taped the index card to the inside of the front cover before shutting the notebook and leaving it in the middle of your coffee table. He held in a sob as he got up. How had things gone so sour so quickly?
Haruto walked back over to your room and peeked in. Your doctor was still busy doting on you. So he turned around and exited your apartment. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and called Junkyu. âHey, can you pick me up?â
âYeah of course. Send me the address.â Junkyu said, trying not to be too alarmed by the tone of Harutoâs voice.
Eventually, you woke up. After reading the note that your doctor had taped to your hand explaining the situation you took a deep sigh. What a shit show. You needed to find the notebook your doctor had mentioned in his note.
It was sitting in the very middle of your coffee table. You flipped through the last few pages to read your entries. Your eyes started to water and you felt yourself get emotional. You could sense that you had grown close to someone. You read about yourself and how you felt about Haruto, but who was Haruto? For the most part you had made peace with your situation but for the first time in a long time, you began to feel frustrated. Angry. Cheated of a normal life that other 16 year old girls got to live.
Just as you were about to shut the notebook you noticed there were two index cards taped to the inside cover. The first one explained your situation. It was more or less what your doctor had just explained to you. But the second one was new. You lifted it up to your face and began to read it aloud.
Y/N,
If youâre reading this, I want you to know that you are the love of my life. My name is Haruto Watanabe and I am 16 years old. I met you for the first time in our freshman year of high school back then when we lived in Japan. We were only 14 years old. I used to be jealous of you, how you beat me in school every time even if just by a little bit. I also resented you because I thought you never bothered to remember my name.
By some stroke of fate, we both ended up in America. Whether by fate or not we saw each other a few more times and met up with each other and I really began to fall for you. You are the kindest, most beautiful, and genuine person I have ever met in my life.
I want you to know that even with your condition. My opinion and my feelings towards you have not changed. I want to be honest with you and tell you what I did and I hope in time you can read this and not feel angry.
Y/N, I did something bad. I invaded your privacy. You see, every time I saw you you fiercely guarded this notebook. Everytime I asked about it or possibly glimpsed at it you would react so strongly so eventually the curiosity of needing to know what was in the notebook killed me. And one day when your attention was occupied elsewhere, I read it.
It seemed like a regular diary to me but you caught me in the act and got upset with me. You explained to me your condition and I want you to know Iâm sorry. Iâm so so sorry I behaved so insensitively. If I were a more selfless man I would have left your life for good. But I am not. Iâve attached my school I.D. to the back of this card. On it has my name, my picture, and my phone number.
If you ever find it in yourself to forgive me. Please give me a call. I will always love you.
Love,
Haruto Watanabe
You flipped the back of the card over. Sure enough there was a school I.D. taped to the back. You pulled the card off and stared at it. The boy in the picture was handsome. He was tall. His height was 6â2â. You scoffed, at least you had good taste.
You saw his phone number at the bottom. You pondered over whether or not to call him, what would you even say to him? Where would he even fit in your life?
These were the questions that ran through your mind as you pulled your phone out and dialed his number. You stared at the numbers as you recited them aloud again. Your thumb hovering above the green button.
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aaaaaaa thank u for the repost!! i hope it was a good kind of cry and not a bad kind
double take
PAIRING ⸠park jeongwoo x fem!reader
GENRES ⸠mutual pining, best friends-to-read it to find out, high school au, lacrosse au,
WARNINGS ⸠foul language, mild aggression(???)
SUMMARY ⸠when two friends start questioning the feelings they have for each other.
PLAYLIST ⸠double take by dhruv
WORD COUNT ⸠4541 words
A/N ⸠Honestly, I'm not totally satisfied with this piece but I've been sitting on it for awhile and I would just rather publish it. I had many thoughts as I wrote this piece and at some point as I wrote I started to question if I picked the right member for this story. But I stand by my decision with the member I chose.
I could say I never dare
To think about you in that way
But, I would be lying
Jeongwoo was lost in thought as he walked back home from school. It was something he wasnât used to doing alone but lately it was something that had been happening more and more often. But still he wasnât able to shake the feeling and get used to it. Without your presence around, without his favorite person to bicker with, Jeongwoo found he had more time to think.
âJeongwoo-ya!â Jaehyuk yelled. When Jeongwoo got home he was still lost deep in his thoughts, so lost that he hadnât heard his brother call out to him at all. âJeongwoo!â Jaehyuck yelled again, this time right into Jeongwooâs ear. Jeongwoo flinched and poked his ear a few times to make sure he could still hear before he turned around to glare at his brother.
âWhat?â
âAre you good? I said hello when you came home and you just walked right past me in zombie-mode, I even offered you oreos.â
âOh. Sorry.â
Jaehyuk gave his little brother a strange look, his eyes wide and mouth gaping open. He was surprised. âYouâre even apologizing now? Whatâs gotten into you? Are you good?â
âYeah, yeah, Iâm fine. I think.â
To anyone other than Jeongwoo, it was obvious that Jeongwoo was indeed not fine. âCut the shit. Somethingâs on your mind, whatâs wrong? Also whereâs Y/N? I havenât seen her in awhile, I feel like she used to always come back here with you.â
âAish, Iâm fine. Y/N? Well⌠I think sheâs doing okay. Honestly, I havenât seen her in like a few weeks. One day she told me not to wait up for her and so that day I didnât. But the next day I did and the next day and the next dayâŚâ Jeongwoo said. He hadnât realized that each day he had waited for you until he said it aloud. Why did he wait for you?
As if he could read Jeongwooâs mind, Jaehyuk asked âwhy did you wait for her? Did she tell you to?â
âNo, but we used to walk back together every day.â Jeongwoo paused, âI guess I just got used to it and expected things would go back to normal. She lives next door, weâve been walking back together for years now.â
âHow do you feel about it?â Jaehyuk asked, doing his best to contain his excitement and to stop himself from cheering like he was watching a soccer match. Heâd been watching this budding relationship develop for years now. It seemed like his bone-headed baby brother was finally pulling his head out of his ass. His ship was taking off. Finally.
Jeongwoo paused. âI donât know. How am I supposed to feel? Weâre just friends right?â
âRight.â Jeongwoo could hear the snark in his brotherâs voice as he turned around and walked into his room. âMaybe you should think about it a little bit more.â
âThink about what?â Jeongwoo asked, exasperated, now it felt like his own brother was acting weird too. Jeongwoo wanted to pull his hair out. He wanted his brother to stop asking him such cryptic questions, he wanted to ask his friend why she had suddenly stopped walking home with him, and he just wanted...he just wanted to go back to when things were normal.
âJeongwoo. Tell me, have you ever thought of Y/N as anything other than a friend?â Jaehyuk said. Then he pondered it for a second. âActually, you donât even have to tell me. Tell yourself. Be totally honest.â
With that Jaehyuk disappeared behind the door to his room and Jeongwoo stood there once again in thought. He thought about the times you had spent walking back together, sharing stories, sharing secrets, and sharing songs. He thought about how vibrant and lovely you looked when you told him what crazy things had happened to you that day. The walks back home were so much more quiet without you.
To say he had never thought about you that way was...a lie.
And I pretend I'm happy for you
When you find some dude to take home
The next day of school Jeongwoo made up his mind to confront you about it. Okay, maybe not confront you about it but ask you if everything was okay. He found you sitting in your seat in the homeroom chatting away with your friends. Jeongwoo did his best to wipe his hands on his thighs as discreetly as possible before tapping on your shoulder.
You turned around, you could feel your eyebrows shoot up when you saw Jeongwoo standing there behind you. âHey.â
âHi, would you mind if I had a word with you really quickly?â Jeongwoo asked.
âNo, not at all. Letâs go out in the hallway.â You said, getting up from your seat and smiling at your friends before walking out of the classroom, you spun around once you were a reasonable distance from the classroom door. âWhatâs up?â
âI just, I was just wondering why I havenât seen you outside the school. So you know, we can walk home together. Iâve been waiting for you.â
You felt your heart flip-flop but you didnât let it show. âOh, well I joined the schoolâs ambassador program right? The foreign exchange students arrived. They asked us to stay after to help them get accustomed to the schoolâs culture and to answer any questions they have. Itâs actually so much fun, my student is this guy from Japan! His name is Haruto! Jeongwoo, heâs so attractive.â
Before you could continue or Jeongwoo could respond, the bell rang. You tossed an apologetic smile over your shoulder before walking into the classroom and taking a seat. Jeongwoo made his way over to his own classroom and sat down for class. But he couldnât focus at all.
âHaruto? Who was Haruto?â he thought. âHow attractive could he be? Thereâs no way this Haruto guy was more attractive than he was right?â
Jeongwoo pulled out his phone to check his appearance. He felt his phone ring, he glanced up to see that the teacher wasnât looking so he clicked on the notification to read the message he just received. His chest felt weird for a quick second when he saw the notification was from you.
Y/N: Was there anything else you needed? Iâm sorry youâve been waiting for me, you donât have to do that now. I should have told you earlier but Harutoâs been walking me home after our program.
Jeongwoo: No, thatâs all I was curious about. Thanks for the heads up. Haruto sounds like a cool guy. Iâm glad.
Jeongwoo was not glad.
But, I won't deny that
In the midst of the crowds
In the shapes in the clouds
I don't see nobody but you
And suddenly, it was like Jeongwoo couldnât not see you. You were everywhere. He started to take new routes home, he visited shops, studied in cafes, sometimes he even considered joining a school club just to stay after. But everywhere he went, everything he did he thought of you. He saw something in a shop that would remind him of you, he wondered what kind of drink youâd get at the cafes he visited, and even in the most crowded streets sometimes he swore he saw your face.
You were everywhere yet nowhere at the same time.
In my rose-tinted dreams
Wrinkled silk on my sheets
I don't see nobody but you
But Jeongwoo acknowledged he was truly and utterly screwed when he started to see your pretty face in his dreams. Your face wasnât ever the problem. It was missing you. It was wondering if you had replaced him. It was wondering if you were with that new guy Haruto now.
At the end of two weeks of utterly horrible sleep, Jeongwoo thought to himself. He needed to do something about the situation and he needed to do it fast. The best person to consult? His hopeless romantic of a brother.
you got me hooked on to something
Who could say that they saw us coming?
Tell me, do you feel the love?
âJaehyuk-hyung. Help me.â Jeongwoo asked, slamming his brotherâs door open and barging into the room.
Jaehyuk paused his game, muttered something into the microphone and then took off his headset. âWhatâs up?â
âI like Y/N. What do I do?â
âAwww Jeongwoo has a crush! My baby brother has finally opened his eyes and is admitting his feelings to himself.â Jaehyuk teased.
âYeah yeah. You get to jab at me this one time and then never again. You may be older than me but Iâve grown 8 cm in the last year. Iâm just as tall as you now!â Jeongwoo threatened.
âI feel like I should be able to tease you about it for a little longer than just this once. Itâs so obvious between the two of you. You both are such dummies.â
âWhat? What are you talking about?â Jeongwoo asked. âNevermind, I donât think I want to know. Just help me, what do I do? Sheâs been spending the last few weeks after school with another guy. I have to act fast and I want to impress her.â
âWell, thereâs a long weekend coming up. What do you guys like in common?â
âWe talk about music a lot. She and I have similar taste in music.â
âWhy donât you take her to a concert or see live music or something?â
Jeongwoo thought about it. The more he thought about it, the more he realized how good of an idea it was and it was possible, he saw an ad for his and your favorite artist that was coming to town soon. He rushed out of Jaehyukâs room.
âThanks hyung!â
The first thing Jeongwoo did once he got back to his room was search the concert details. To his relief, there were still tickets available and he snatched two as quickly as he could. He breathed a sigh of relief once he found the confirmation in his email.
His mind wandered over to what Jaehyuk had said earlier âitâs so obvious between the two of youâ. What was so obvious? Was there something he wasnât seeing? Did you feel the way he felt about you? Did everybody else see something between the two of you that neither of you had seen yourselves?
Who else saw them coming? Did you feel the love? Was it love? Whatever. Jeongwoo just prayed you would be available this weekend.
Spend the summer of a lifetime with me
Let me take you to the place of your dreams
Tell me, do you feel the love?
Jeongwoo: Are you free this weekend? I got tickets to Big Bangâs concert. We should go.
Y/N: Iâm so down to go to Big Bang. Haruto is actually a huge fan as well. He got me a ticket! We should all go together. Haruto is really cool! I think you guys would get along amazing.
Jeongwoo could feel his insides curling up on each other and the expression on his face souring. But he sucked up his pride and answered.
Jeongwoo: Awesome.
Jeongwoo had to admit, Haruto was cool. The two boys had exchanged conversations about music, sports, and clothes. Everything under the sun. Except for you. He wanted to ask but he also didnât want to ask. He was afraid of the answer.
He tried to keep his cool when he saw you interact with Haruto. His mind was clouded with questions, worries. Was he too late in chasing your affections?
About halfway through the concert you had started to get fed up by the way Jeongwoo was acting. Bang Bang Bang came on and you were not going to let Jeongwooâs prissy attitude ruin this experience so you grabbed his hand and started jumping. Thankfully, the sour expression on your best friendâs face started to disappear. At the sight of Jeongwooâs goofy grin, you felt a strangely warm feeling spread through your body and the warmth flowed up into your face. You tried your best not to think too much about it.
By the end of the song, Jeongwoo had his arm thrown over your shoulder and yours was loosely wrapped around his waist as the two of you jumped to the beat. At the very end of the song as you went to land the last jump, there was a sharp pain that shot up your ankle as you landed.
Jeongwoo felt his heart lurch as he realized you were about to slip. Without even thinking, he wrapped his other arm around you and held you before you could topple over. And then all of sudden it was like the world had paused. For the first time in a few weeks, Jeongwoo really looked at his best friend for the first time.
He looked into your eyes and asked the question that he was too afraid to say aloud. âDo you feel the love?â
And I could say I never answered
Those believers inside my head
But that's far from the truth
For the rest of the concert, Jeongwoo held you in his arms as the two of you swayed from side to side. You hadnât realized how much Jeongwoo had grown in the past few weeks. You were thankful that you were facing the band and that Jeongwoo stood behind you with his head resting on yours. His arms were wrapped around your shoulders.
Truthfully, the last few weeks had been both torture and a sweet relief. You knew there were feelings simmering for Jeongwoo for a long time, but lately you couldnât put a finger on it. He had grown up and he had grown up well. And then all of a sudden the feelings exploded and they became hard to tame and hide. So when you saw the flyer for the foreign exchange students program a few weeks ago, which would run after school, you snatched up the opportunity.
The time away from Jeongwoo did help you clear up your mind a bit. And you did make a new friend from it. Haruto. And Haruto was handsome. But there was no romantic chemistry. Haruto had his own romantic issues.
But this concert wasnât what you were expecting. It wasnât weird for you and Jeongwoo to exchange the occasional hug. But this felt like more affection than usual and it felt good. When Jeongwoo had caught you from the fall and looked into your eyes as he held you, your head started to spin, your thoughts and feelings started to run wild again. It was harder and harder to run from the truth, that you had fallen for your best friend, Jeongwoo.
To admit that was scary. To wonder what would happen to your relationship if things changed. What if he didnât feel the same way about you? What if he became awkward and the relationship irrevocably fell apart? But what if he did return your feelings? But then what if it didnât work out and it all fell apart? Suddenly, this didnât feel so good anymore.
Jeongwoo wanted to hold you and never let you go. Unaware of the many thoughts flying through your head, he wished youâd turn around and look at him again. He wished he was braver, he wished. He wished for so many things but he was scared. But for now he was so happy, so content, holding you in his arms.
Don't know what's come over me
It seems like yesterday when I said
âWe'll be friends foreverâ
âY/N? Can we grab food after this?â Jeongwoo asked into your ear. A sudden storm of butterflies stormed into your stomach and you pretended not to hear him as you pulled his arms off of your shoulders and stepped out of his embrace.
Jeongwoo could feel his body heat in frustration. He had never had to fight for your attention, there was never any competition for it before. But now that he had to, he hated it.
âWhereâs Haruto?â you asked, looking around for your friend, avoiding eye contact with Jeongwoo. Thankfully before it became too awkward you felt your phone vibrate. You tapped on the notification to see that it was a message from Haruto.
âHaruto was great, but was he really so great he could undo the years of growing up together?â Jeongwoo fumed silently as you read the message on your phone. He tried his best to compose himself.
Haruto: I had to go, sorry. I saw someone I used to know.
Shit.
âY/N? Whatâs up?â
âUh, Haruto dipped. He caught up with a friend.â you said. Jeongwoo did all that he could to keep the smile off of his face.
âSo...you wanna grab food?â
âWhat?â
âArenât you hungry? Letâs go to McDonaldâs! We should catch up. I feel like-â
âActually, itâs kind of late Jeongwoo. And Iâm kind of tired. Would you mind taking me home?â
This time, you did see the smile slide right off of Jeongwooâs face. âOh. Yeah of course.â
âThanks Jeongwoo. Youâre such an amazing friend to me.â
Constellations of stars
Murals on city walls
I don't see nobody but you
If Jeongwoo thought the two weeks leading up to the concert were bad, then the next two were absolute hell. Instead of moving forward, it was like your relationship had shot backwards.
âFriend?â Jeongwoo fumed. He was absolutely pissed every time he thought about it. He didn't want to be your friend. That much was obvious now.
Now it wasnât just that the two of you didnât walk back home together. Now you didnât answer his texts. Now you didnât even look at him in school. Now you didnât even show up to support him at his sporting events. Now it sucked. Jeongwoo felt like a kid who had done something wrong and had been sent to time out. But what had he done wrong?
Had he overstepped his boundaries? Had he said something wrong? He hadnât said anything other than âdo you want to get food?â
But still Jeongwoo couldnât get you out of his mind.
You're my vice, you're my muse
You're a nineteenth floor view
I don't see nobody but you
Jeongwoo thought he was being rational. He figured you needed space but he couldnât figure out why. But when Jaehyuk dropped him off at lacrosse tryouts in the spring and he saw that you were in the stands chatting with Haruto he was absolutely livid. He could feel his heart face and his blood boil. Jeongwooâs regular pleasant demeanor had evaporated in an instant.
But to be fair, all his pent up aggression seemed to work to his benefit as he exerted all of it on the field. And at the end of the day, his coach had told him that heâd done so well he might get a spot on the varsity team. That was an amazing opportunity as a Sophomore.
If Jeongwoo was livid seeing you at tryouts the first day. He was absolutely furious when he saw Haruto run up to you during breaks to chat. When he saw you hand Haruto a bottle of water with such a pretty smile on your face he wanted to punch something. Or someone.
At the end of the second day of tryouts, the coach called Jeongwoo into his office.
âI donât know what they feed you kids over in Japan. But all four of you are good.â Jeongwoo heard once he was within hearing distance of the office. Japan? Jeongwooâs mood soured when he saw a familiar lanky figure. He knocked on the doorframe to make his presence known to the coach.
Haruto smirked when he saw Jeongwoo standing at the door with a darkened expression on his face. But it was gone the second he turned back to face the coach.
âThe two of you have demonstrated amazing capabilities and I am considering pulling one of you up to the varsity team. Take this opportunity seriously. Tomorrow is the last day of tryouts.â
On the third and final day of tryouts, Jeongwoo was relieved that he didnât see you. He cringed when he realized how horrible that thought was but he wanted to be laser focused today. He wanted to do his absolute best. No, he wanted to be the absolute best.
But his game was off, Jeongwoo was antsy and his mind kept straying. During each break he didnât realize his eyes were wandering everywhere just to get a glimpse of you. It was infuriating to see you here for Haruto but it was unsettling not to see you here at all. And it showed.
On the field during the last game of tryouts, it was Haruto and Jeongwoo facing off against each other. Face to face, right in front of each other, just before the whistle blew Haruto taunted his opponent. âYouâre gonna lose your girl to me and now youâre gonna lose your spot on the team to me?â
If there was one redeeming moment of todayâs tryouts it was this last game. Jeongwoo played as hard as he could, as ferocious as he could. But just for a second he lost control and played a bit dirty. The game ended when he was called for an illegal body check.
âDude whatâs your problem?â Haruto asked.
Jeongwoo turned around and got up in his face. âNo, whatâs your problem? Your comment back there? Absolutely uncalled for.â
âPlease. Pull your head out of your ass. Youâre hurting your friend. Talk to her.â
âBoys! Over here, now!â the coach hollered before Jeongwoo could ask for an explanation.
As soon as the two boys entered the office, he asked âJeongwoo, how do you think you played today?â
âNot the best I could have sir, something was on my mind. I apologize, it wonât happen again.â
âDamn right, it better not. After seeing you play today I was about ready to cut you from the team entirely.â
Jeongwoo felt his heart drop to his stomach. Haruto felt awkward. He wasnât sure why he had to be here for this.
âHaruto. I saw you say something to Jeongwoo before the last game. I donât condone foul play. Whatever petty drama you both got going on between the two of you get it sorted out, fast. Because for now, youâre teammates. Junior Varsity. Hereâs the deal, if the two of you prove yourself in the first few games Iâll pull you up. But instead of competing against each other for the spot, itâs either you both get a spot or neither of you will get pulled up.â
Jeongwoo stormed out of the office. He was so angry he hadnât even noticed that heâd nearly trampled you.
You recognized the expression on Jeongwooâs face. It was the worst-case-scenario face. It was rare, but when it was there that meant things were bad. You turned to see Haruto exit the office, he saw you look back at Jeongwoo then back at him. Haruto jutted his chin out towards Jeongwoo and gave you a nod, to which you smiled back in relief before running off after Jeongwoo.
Do you feel the love?
Feel the love
âJeongwoo! Jeongwoo!â You yelled. He barely heard you or he ignored you, he was so pissed that he honestly didnât know. But right now he needed to find a way to deal with the anger. He needed to go home.
But he couldnât run away from you, not when you had caught up to him. He saw you standing in front of his path home, he looked over and saw that you had taken a shortcut that the two of you had found together years ago.
âWhatâs wrong?â You asked.
Jeongwoo rolled his eyes and made a move to step around you. But you stepped over so that you were in his way again. And when he stepped again. You stepped again as well.
âMove. Seriously.â
âNo, not until you tell me whatâs wrong?â
âWhy the hell would I do that?â
You felt a chill run down your spine. This wasnât Jeongwoo. Your Jeongwoo would never speak to you like this. Your Jeongwoo? Was he even yours? He was still your friend though, right? âWeâre friends. Right?â
Jeongwoo scoffed. He knew he was being rude but right now it felt like the entire world was giving him a giant middle finger.
âI donât know. Are we?â
âWhy wouldnât we be? Friends are there for each other in times of need. Youâre obviously mad and you need a friend right now. And Iâm your friend right?â you felt yourself get smaller and smaller the more you spoke.
âAre you really my friend? Because honestly, lately, youâve been a really shitty friend.â
âI-â
âFor years weâve walked home from school together, for years weâve hung out together, supported each other, we talked to each other, about everything. Then one day you stop meeting me in front of the school, then the next day you donât tell me whatâs going on or why or even to let me know not to wait up for you, then one week then one week turns into many weeks then all of a sudden. I feel like Iâve lost my best friend.â
âJeongwoo, Iâm sorry-â
âI was so upset at the thought of not being close to you that I made plans for us to spend time together. Just us. And you go and invite someone else. Then just when I feel like things are starting to get better at the concert, you iced me out. Completely. You donât answer my texts. You donât talk to me, hell you donât even look at me anymore!â
You could feel the tears streaming down your face. Everything Jeongwoo had said was true. In being scared of your own feelings for Jeongwoo, you had severed your friendship with him bit by bit. And now you werenât even sure if it was still hanging by a thread.
âI have spent weeks. Going over what I did wrong in my head. I have tried so hard to talk to you, to just talk to you. I had something I wanted to say to you. But I donât think it should be so hard to just speak to my friend. But Iâve just come to the conclusion that I havenât done anything wrong. I wasnât the one who was being a shit friend. That was you. So let me ask you again. Are you really my friend?â
âI-â you paused for a second to swallow. âI donât know.â
âYeah. I donât know either. And honestly right now, I donât even think I want you to be my friend. Bye Y/N.â Jeongwoo said, stepping around you. This time you didnât stop him.
You turned around and watched his back get smaller and smaller as he walked away from you, down the path that led you home. The path the two of you had walked along together for years. You sniffled as you wiped the tears from your face.
But what you didn't see were the tears that streamed down Jeongwooâs face.
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double take
PAIRING ⸠park jeongwoo x fem!reader
GENRES ⸠mutual pining, best friends-to-read it to find out, high school au, lacrosse au,
WARNINGS ⸠foul language, mild aggression(???)
SUMMARY ⸠when two friends start questioning the feelings they have for each other.
PLAYLIST ⸠double take by dhruv
WORD COUNT ⸠4541 words
A/N ⸠Honestly, I'm not totally satisfied with this piece but I've been sitting on it for awhile and I would just rather publish it. I had many thoughts as I wrote this piece and at some point as I wrote I started to question if I picked the right member for this story. But I stand by my decision with the member I chose.
I could say I never dare
To think about you in that way
But, I would be lying
Jeongwoo was lost in thought as he walked back home from school. It was something he wasnât used to doing alone but lately it was something that had been happening more and more often. But still he wasnât able to shake the feeling and get used to it. Without your presence around, without his favorite person to bicker with, Jeongwoo found he had more time to think.
âJeongwoo-ya!â Jaehyuk yelled. When Jeongwoo got home he was still lost deep in his thoughts, so lost that he hadnât heard his brother call out to him at all. âJeongwoo!â Jaehyuck yelled again, this time right into Jeongwooâs ear. Jeongwoo flinched and poked his ear a few times to make sure he could still hear before he turned around to glare at his brother.
âWhat?â
âAre you good? I said hello when you came home and you just walked right past me in zombie-mode, I even offered you oreos.â
âOh. Sorry.â
Jaehyuk gave his little brother a strange look, his eyes wide and mouth gaping open. He was surprised. âYouâre even apologizing now? Whatâs gotten into you? Are you good?â
âYeah, yeah, Iâm fine. I think.â
To anyone other than Jeongwoo, it was obvious that Jeongwoo was indeed not fine. âCut the shit. Somethingâs on your mind, whatâs wrong? Also whereâs Y/N? I havenât seen her in awhile, I feel like she used to always come back here with you.â
âAish, Iâm fine. Y/N? Well⌠I think sheâs doing okay. Honestly, I havenât seen her in like a few weeks. One day she told me not to wait up for her and so that day I didnât. But the next day I did and the next day and the next dayâŚâ Jeongwoo said. He hadnât realized that each day he had waited for you until he said it aloud. Why did he wait for you?
As if he could read Jeongwooâs mind, Jaehyuk asked âwhy did you wait for her? Did she tell you to?â
âNo, but we used to walk back together every day.â Jeongwoo paused, âI guess I just got used to it and expected things would go back to normal. She lives next door, weâve been walking back together for years now.â
âHow do you feel about it?â Jaehyuk asked, doing his best to contain his excitement and to stop himself from cheering like he was watching a soccer match. Heâd been watching this budding relationship develop for years now. It seemed like his bone-headed baby brother was finally pulling his head out of his ass. His ship was taking off. Finally.
Jeongwoo paused. âI donât know. How am I supposed to feel? Weâre just friends right?â
âRight.â Jeongwoo could hear the snark in his brotherâs voice as he turned around and walked into his room. âMaybe you should think about it a little bit more.â
âThink about what?â Jeongwoo asked, exasperated, now it felt like his own brother was acting weird too. Jeongwoo wanted to pull his hair out. He wanted his brother to stop asking him such cryptic questions, he wanted to ask his friend why she had suddenly stopped walking home with him, and he just wanted...he just wanted to go back to when things were normal.
âJeongwoo. Tell me, have you ever thought of Y/N as anything other than a friend?â Jaehyuk said. Then he pondered it for a second. âActually, you donât even have to tell me. Tell yourself. Be totally honest.â
With that Jaehyuk disappeared behind the door to his room and Jeongwoo stood there once again in thought. He thought about the times you had spent walking back together, sharing stories, sharing secrets, and sharing songs. He thought about how vibrant and lovely you looked when you told him what crazy things had happened to you that day. The walks back home were so much more quiet without you.
To say he had never thought about you that way was...a lie.
And I pretend I'm happy for you
When you find some dude to take home
The next day of school Jeongwoo made up his mind to confront you about it. Okay, maybe not confront you about it but ask you if everything was okay. He found you sitting in your seat in the homeroom chatting away with your friends. Jeongwoo did his best to wipe his hands on his thighs as discreetly as possible before tapping on your shoulder.
You turned around, you could feel your eyebrows shoot up when you saw Jeongwoo standing there behind you. âHey.â
âHi, would you mind if I had a word with you really quickly?â Jeongwoo asked.
âNo, not at all. Letâs go out in the hallway.â You said, getting up from your seat and smiling at your friends before walking out of the classroom, you spun around once you were a reasonable distance from the classroom door. âWhatâs up?â
âI just, I was just wondering why I havenât seen you outside the school. So you know, we can walk home together. Iâve been waiting for you.â
You felt your heart flip-flop but you didnât let it show. âOh, well I joined the schoolâs ambassador program right? The foreign exchange students arrived. They asked us to stay after to help them get accustomed to the schoolâs culture and to answer any questions they have. Itâs actually so much fun, my student is this guy from Japan! His name is Haruto! Jeongwoo, heâs so attractive.â
Before you could continue or Jeongwoo could respond, the bell rang. You tossed an apologetic smile over your shoulder before walking into the classroom and taking a seat. Jeongwoo made his way over to his own classroom and sat down for class. But he couldnât focus at all.
âHaruto? Who was Haruto?â he thought. âHow attractive could he be? Thereâs no way this Haruto guy was more attractive than he was right?â
Jeongwoo pulled out his phone to check his appearance. He felt his phone ring, he glanced up to see that the teacher wasnât looking so he clicked on the notification to read the message he just received. His chest felt weird for a quick second when he saw the notification was from you.
Y/N: Was there anything else you needed? Iâm sorry youâve been waiting for me, you donât have to do that now. I should have told you earlier but Harutoâs been walking me home after our program.
Jeongwoo: No, thatâs all I was curious about. Thanks for the heads up. Haruto sounds like a cool guy. Iâm glad.
Jeongwoo was not glad.
But, I won't deny that
In the midst of the crowds
In the shapes in the clouds
I don't see nobody but you
And suddenly, it was like Jeongwoo couldnât not see you. You were everywhere. He started to take new routes home, he visited shops, studied in cafes, sometimes he even considered joining a school club just to stay after. But everywhere he went, everything he did he thought of you. He saw something in a shop that would remind him of you, he wondered what kind of drink youâd get at the cafes he visited, and even in the most crowded streets sometimes he swore he saw your face.
You were everywhere yet nowhere at the same time.
In my rose-tinted dreams
Wrinkled silk on my sheets
I don't see nobody but you
But Jeongwoo acknowledged he was truly and utterly screwed when he started to see your pretty face in his dreams. Your face wasnât ever the problem. It was missing you. It was wondering if you had replaced him. It was wondering if you were with that new guy Haruto now.
At the end of two weeks of utterly horrible sleep, Jeongwoo thought to himself. He needed to do something about the situation and he needed to do it fast. The best person to consult? His hopeless romantic of a brother.
you got me hooked on to something
Who could say that they saw us coming?
Tell me, do you feel the love?
âJaehyuk-hyung. Help me.â Jeongwoo asked, slamming his brotherâs door open and barging into the room.
Jaehyuk paused his game, muttered something into the microphone and then took off his headset. âWhatâs up?â
âI like Y/N. What do I do?â
âAwww Jeongwoo has a crush! My baby brother has finally opened his eyes and is admitting his feelings to himself.â Jaehyuk teased.
âYeah yeah. You get to jab at me this one time and then never again. You may be older than me but Iâve grown 8 cm in the last year. Iâm just as tall as you now!â Jeongwoo threatened.
âI feel like I should be able to tease you about it for a little longer than just this once. Itâs so obvious between the two of you. You both are such dummies.â
âWhat? What are you talking about?â Jeongwoo asked. âNevermind, I donât think I want to know. Just help me, what do I do? Sheâs been spending the last few weeks after school with another guy. I have to act fast and I want to impress her.â
âWell, thereâs a long weekend coming up. What do you guys like in common?â
âWe talk about music a lot. She and I have similar taste in music.â
âWhy donât you take her to a concert or see live music or something?â
Jeongwoo thought about it. The more he thought about it, the more he realized how good of an idea it was and it was possible, he saw an ad for his and your favorite artist that was coming to town soon. He rushed out of Jaehyukâs room.
âThanks hyung!â
The first thing Jeongwoo did once he got back to his room was search the concert details. To his relief, there were still tickets available and he snatched two as quickly as he could. He breathed a sigh of relief once he found the confirmation in his email.
His mind wandered over to what Jaehyuk had said earlier âitâs so obvious between the two of youâ. What was so obvious? Was there something he wasnât seeing? Did you feel the way he felt about you? Did everybody else see something between the two of you that neither of you had seen yourselves?
Who else saw them coming? Did you feel the love? Was it love? Whatever. Jeongwoo just prayed you would be available this weekend.
Spend the summer of a lifetime with me
Let me take you to the place of your dreams
Tell me, do you feel the love?
Jeongwoo: Are you free this weekend? I got tickets to Big Bangâs concert. We should go.
Y/N: Iâm so down to go to Big Bang. Haruto is actually a huge fan as well. He got me a ticket! We should all go together. Haruto is really cool! I think you guys would get along amazing.
Jeongwoo could feel his insides curling up on each other and the expression on his face souring. But he sucked up his pride and answered.
Jeongwoo: Awesome.
Jeongwoo had to admit, Haruto was cool. The two boys had exchanged conversations about music, sports, and clothes. Everything under the sun. Except for you. He wanted to ask but he also didnât want to ask. He was afraid of the answer.
He tried to keep his cool when he saw you interact with Haruto. His mind was clouded with questions, worries. Was he too late in chasing your affections?
About halfway through the concert you had started to get fed up by the way Jeongwoo was acting. Bang Bang Bang came on and you were not going to let Jeongwooâs prissy attitude ruin this experience so you grabbed his hand and started jumping. Thankfully, the sour expression on your best friendâs face started to disappear. At the sight of Jeongwooâs goofy grin, you felt a strangely warm feeling spread through your body and the warmth flowed up into your face. You tried your best not to think too much about it.
By the end of the song, Jeongwoo had his arm thrown over your shoulder and yours was loosely wrapped around his waist as the two of you jumped to the beat. At the very end of the song as you went to land the last jump, there was a sharp pain that shot up your ankle as you landed.
Jeongwoo felt his heart lurch as he realized you were about to slip. Without even thinking, he wrapped his other arm around you and held you before you could topple over. And then all of sudden it was like the world had paused. For the first time in a few weeks, Jeongwoo really looked at his best friend for the first time.
He looked into your eyes and asked the question that he was too afraid to say aloud. âDo you feel the love?â
And I could say I never answered
Those believers inside my head
But that's far from the truth
For the rest of the concert, Jeongwoo held you in his arms as the two of you swayed from side to side. You hadnât realized how much Jeongwoo had grown in the past few weeks. You were thankful that you were facing the band and that Jeongwoo stood behind you with his head resting on yours. His arms were wrapped around your shoulders.
Truthfully, the last few weeks had been both torture and a sweet relief. You knew there were feelings simmering for Jeongwoo for a long time, but lately you couldnât put a finger on it. He had grown up and he had grown up well. And then all of a sudden the feelings exploded and they became hard to tame and hide. So when you saw the flyer for the foreign exchange students program a few weeks ago, which would run after school, you snatched up the opportunity.
The time away from Jeongwoo did help you clear up your mind a bit. And you did make a new friend from it. Haruto. And Haruto was handsome. But there was no romantic chemistry. Haruto had his own romantic issues.
But this concert wasnât what you were expecting. It wasnât weird for you and Jeongwoo to exchange the occasional hug. But this felt like more affection than usual and it felt good. When Jeongwoo had caught you from the fall and looked into your eyes as he held you, your head started to spin, your thoughts and feelings started to run wild again. It was harder and harder to run from the truth, that you had fallen for your best friend, Jeongwoo.
To admit that was scary. To wonder what would happen to your relationship if things changed. What if he didnât feel the same way about you? What if he became awkward and the relationship irrevocably fell apart? But what if he did return your feelings? But then what if it didnât work out and it all fell apart? Suddenly, this didnât feel so good anymore.
Jeongwoo wanted to hold you and never let you go. Unaware of the many thoughts flying through your head, he wished youâd turn around and look at him again. He wished he was braver, he wished. He wished for so many things but he was scared. But for now he was so happy, so content, holding you in his arms.
Don't know what's come over me
It seems like yesterday when I said
âWe'll be friends foreverâ
âY/N? Can we grab food after this?â Jeongwoo asked into your ear. A sudden storm of butterflies stormed into your stomach and you pretended not to hear him as you pulled his arms off of your shoulders and stepped out of his embrace.
Jeongwoo could feel his body heat in frustration. He had never had to fight for your attention, there was never any competition for it before. But now that he had to, he hated it.
âWhereâs Haruto?â you asked, looking around for your friend, avoiding eye contact with Jeongwoo. Thankfully before it became too awkward you felt your phone vibrate. You tapped on the notification to see that it was a message from Haruto.
âHaruto was great, but was he really so great he could undo the years of growing up together?â Jeongwoo fumed silently as you read the message on your phone. He tried his best to compose himself.
Haruto: I had to go, sorry. I saw someone I used to know.
Shit.
âY/N? Whatâs up?â
âUh, Haruto dipped. He caught up with a friend.â you said. Jeongwoo did all that he could to keep the smile off of his face.
âSo...you wanna grab food?â
âWhat?â
âArenât you hungry? Letâs go to McDonaldâs! We should catch up. I feel like-â
âActually, itâs kind of late Jeongwoo. And Iâm kind of tired. Would you mind taking me home?â
This time, you did see the smile slide right off of Jeongwooâs face. âOh. Yeah of course.â
âThanks Jeongwoo. Youâre such an amazing friend to me.â
Constellations of stars
Murals on city walls
I don't see nobody but you
If Jeongwoo thought the two weeks leading up to the concert were bad, then the next two were absolute hell. Instead of moving forward, it was like your relationship had shot backwards.
âFriend?â Jeongwoo fumed. He was absolutely pissed every time he thought about it. He didn't want to be your friend. That much was obvious now.
Now it wasnât just that the two of you didnât walk back home together. Now you didnât answer his texts. Now you didnât even look at him in school. Now you didnât even show up to support him at his sporting events. Now it sucked. Jeongwoo felt like a kid who had done something wrong and had been sent to time out. But what had he done wrong?
Had he overstepped his boundaries? Had he said something wrong? He hadnât said anything other than âdo you want to get food?â
But still Jeongwoo couldnât get you out of his mind.
You're my vice, you're my muse
You're a nineteenth floor view
I don't see nobody but you
Jeongwoo thought he was being rational. He figured you needed space but he couldnât figure out why. But when Jaehyuk dropped him off at lacrosse tryouts in the spring and he saw that you were in the stands chatting with Haruto he was absolutely livid. He could feel his heart face and his blood boil. Jeongwooâs regular pleasant demeanor had evaporated in an instant.
But to be fair, all his pent up aggression seemed to work to his benefit as he exerted all of it on the field. And at the end of the day, his coach had told him that heâd done so well he might get a spot on the varsity team. That was an amazing opportunity as a Sophomore.
If Jeongwoo was livid seeing you at tryouts the first day. He was absolutely furious when he saw Haruto run up to you during breaks to chat. When he saw you hand Haruto a bottle of water with such a pretty smile on your face he wanted to punch something. Or someone.
At the end of the second day of tryouts, the coach called Jeongwoo into his office.
âI donât know what they feed you kids over in Japan. But all four of you are good.â Jeongwoo heard once he was within hearing distance of the office. Japan? Jeongwooâs mood soured when he saw a familiar lanky figure. He knocked on the doorframe to make his presence known to the coach.
Haruto smirked when he saw Jeongwoo standing at the door with a darkened expression on his face. But it was gone the second he turned back to face the coach.
âThe two of you have demonstrated amazing capabilities and I am considering pulling one of you up to the varsity team. Take this opportunity seriously. Tomorrow is the last day of tryouts.â
On the third and final day of tryouts, Jeongwoo was relieved that he didnât see you. He cringed when he realized how horrible that thought was but he wanted to be laser focused today. He wanted to do his absolute best. No, he wanted to be the absolute best.
But his game was off, Jeongwoo was antsy and his mind kept straying. During each break he didnât realize his eyes were wandering everywhere just to get a glimpse of you. It was infuriating to see you here for Haruto but it was unsettling not to see you here at all. And it showed.
On the field during the last game of tryouts, it was Haruto and Jeongwoo facing off against each other. Face to face, right in front of each other, just before the whistle blew Haruto taunted his opponent. âYouâre gonna lose your girl to me and now youâre gonna lose your spot on the team to me?â
If there was one redeeming moment of todayâs tryouts it was this last game. Jeongwoo played as hard as he could, as ferocious as he could. But just for a second he lost control and played a bit dirty. The game ended when he was called for an illegal body check.
âDude whatâs your problem?â Haruto asked.
Jeongwoo turned around and got up in his face. âNo, whatâs your problem? Your comment back there? Absolutely uncalled for.â
âPlease. Pull your head out of your ass. Youâre hurting your friend. Talk to her.â
âBoys! Over here, now!â the coach hollered before Jeongwoo could ask for an explanation.
As soon as the two boys entered the office, he asked âJeongwoo, how do you think you played today?â
âNot the best I could have sir, something was on my mind. I apologize, it wonât happen again.â
âDamn right, it better not. After seeing you play today I was about ready to cut you from the team entirely.â
Jeongwoo felt his heart drop to his stomach. Haruto felt awkward. He wasnât sure why he had to be here for this.
âHaruto. I saw you say something to Jeongwoo before the last game. I donât condone foul play. Whatever petty drama you both got going on between the two of you get it sorted out, fast. Because for now, youâre teammates. Junior Varsity. Hereâs the deal, if the two of you prove yourself in the first few games Iâll pull you up. But instead of competing against each other for the spot, itâs either you both get a spot or neither of you will get pulled up.â
Jeongwoo stormed out of the office. He was so angry he hadnât even noticed that heâd nearly trampled you.
You recognized the expression on Jeongwooâs face. It was the worst-case-scenario face. It was rare, but when it was there that meant things were bad. You turned to see Haruto exit the office, he saw you look back at Jeongwoo then back at him. Haruto jutted his chin out towards Jeongwoo and gave you a nod, to which you smiled back in relief before running off after Jeongwoo.
Do you feel the love?
Feel the love
âJeongwoo! Jeongwoo!â You yelled. He barely heard you or he ignored you, he was so pissed that he honestly didnât know. But right now he needed to find a way to deal with the anger. He needed to go home.
But he couldnât run away from you, not when you had caught up to him. He saw you standing in front of his path home, he looked over and saw that you had taken a shortcut that the two of you had found together years ago.
âWhatâs wrong?â You asked.
Jeongwoo rolled his eyes and made a move to step around you. But you stepped over so that you were in his way again. And when he stepped again. You stepped again as well.
âMove. Seriously.â
âNo, not until you tell me whatâs wrong?â
âWhy the hell would I do that?â
You felt a chill run down your spine. This wasnât Jeongwoo. Your Jeongwoo would never speak to you like this. Your Jeongwoo? Was he even yours? He was still your friend though, right? âWeâre friends. Right?â
Jeongwoo scoffed. He knew he was being rude but right now it felt like the entire world was giving him a giant middle finger.
âI donât know. Are we?â
âWhy wouldnât we be? Friends are there for each other in times of need. Youâre obviously mad and you need a friend right now. And Iâm your friend right?â you felt yourself get smaller and smaller the more you spoke.
âAre you really my friend? Because honestly, lately, youâve been a really shitty friend.â
âI-â
âFor years weâve walked home from school together, for years weâve hung out together, supported each other, we talked to each other, about everything. Then one day you stop meeting me in front of the school, then the next day you donât tell me whatâs going on or why or even to let me know not to wait up for you, then one week then one week turns into many weeks then all of a sudden. I feel like Iâve lost my best friend.â
âJeongwoo, Iâm sorry-â
âI was so upset at the thought of not being close to you that I made plans for us to spend time together. Just us. And you go and invite someone else. Then just when I feel like things are starting to get better at the concert, you iced me out. Completely. You donât answer my texts. You donât talk to me, hell you donât even look at me anymore!â
You could feel the tears streaming down your face. Everything Jeongwoo had said was true. In being scared of your own feelings for Jeongwoo, you had severed your friendship with him bit by bit. And now you werenât even sure if it was still hanging by a thread.
âI have spent weeks. Going over what I did wrong in my head. I have tried so hard to talk to you, to just talk to you. I had something I wanted to say to you. But I donât think it should be so hard to just speak to my friend. But Iâve just come to the conclusion that I havenât done anything wrong. I wasnât the one who was being a shit friend. That was you. So let me ask you again. Are you really my friend?â
âI-â you paused for a second to swallow. âI donât know.â
âYeah. I donât know either. And honestly right now, I donât even think I want you to be my friend. Bye Y/N.â Jeongwoo said, stepping around you. This time you didnât stop him.
You turned around and watched his back get smaller and smaller as he walked away from you, down the path that led you home. The path the two of you had walked along together for years. You sniffled as you wiped the tears from your face.
But what you didn't see were the tears that streamed down Jeongwooâs face.
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Let Me Love You
"Smoke and Mirrors keep us waiting on a miracle."
âMy cousin Y/N is transferring here to SMU. My parents asked me to stay with her and take care of her, so she and I decided to share an apartment. I know we planned to stay here for all 4 years of college but my parents were adamant.â Taeil said to his friends apologetically.
Yuta got up from the table and scoffed. He would never openly admit it to anybody but in the past year he had gotten really attached to his friends, the members of their new secret society, NCT. After their first semester, they had agreed to rent a house together on the edge of campus that they would all stay in for the next seven semesters of university. âHow old is she? 12? Sheâs a university student, why does she need to be babysat by you?â
The other members eyed Yuta wearily, he definitely had the shortest temper out of all of them. After a long pause, Taeyong decided on a resolution. âThatâs okay Taeil, we understand. Just remember weâll always have a room open for you. Youâre still a member of NCT. Every Sunday at 8 weâll still meet here if that works for everybody?â
Taeyong looked around the table and was satisfied when everybody nodded, the last person he saw was Yuta. Yuta wasnât happy about this, but he knew it wasnât really his place to tell his friend not to move out. So eventually, he nodded his head in agreement as well and Taeyong smiled. He didnât see it but Taeil smiled and breathed a sigh of relief as well.
âIn all 21 years of my life, I have never met someone as infuriating as Nakamoto Yuta.â You thought as you tossed the left over trash from your cousin and his teammate, friend? You weren't exactly sure what their relationship was. When the Moon cousins had initially agreed to share an apartment together in the city just outside their university, the last thing You expected was to have to deal with a constant stream of rowdy boys constantly going in and out of their apartment.
After piling all the leftover dishes into the sink, You turned on the faucet and began to start washing the dishes. You only looked up and smiled when Taeil spoke to you, about to leave their place âHey Y/N, thanks for making us dinner. It was really yummy!â
Yuta didnât say anything. He could sense that You always had some kind of edge against him. It bothered him a little bit, but not enough for him to do anything about it. Whenever he came to hang out with Taeil at his place, you usually stayed out of the way so although your presence may have been uncomfortable. It had never outright inconvenienced him.
Once the two had left, You made your way to the balcony of their apartment. You shrieked when you breathed in the remnants of the cigarette smoke in the air. You looked down to see two cigarette butts in the ashtray that had not been properly snuffed out. You picked them up and tossed them on the ground and stomped on them to snuff them out.
You didnât have an issue with smoking, you even smoked a cigarette or two in the times you were most stressed out but there were few things you hated more than the smell of cigarettes. After snuffing out the butts, you stormed back into the apartment and picked up your phone to call Taeil.
âHey, I thought I told you to make sure you take care of the cigarettes and the smell when youâre done smoking them!â You yelled into the phone as soon as your cousin answered. âLook, I donât have an issue with it, but I donât want to accidentally burn down our entire apartment complex and you know I hate the smell when you smoke too much.â
You stopped your rant when you realized your cousin hadnât said anything. Taeil was sweet and usually he would have said something to apologize by now. You looked down at your phone, his name was on the caller ID. You brought the phone back up to your ear âTaeil?â
âNot Taeil. This is Yuta.â
âYuta? Whereâs Taeil? Why are you answering his phone? Can you put him on the line?â
There was a pause, You could hear vague mutterings from the phone before Yutaâs voice was back on the line. âTaeilâs busy right now.â
You heard a groan that sounded like someone got hit and then a bunch of voices that followed in an âoohâ. Then you heard a voice that sounded suspiciously like your cousin scream. âIs that Taeil? Is he okay?â
âIâll let him know you called. I gotta go now. Bye.â Yuta said quickly, trying to end the conversation.
âWait!â You shrieked before he could hang up. âWhatâs going on? Where are you guys?â
You narrowed your eyes as you heard Yuta scoff into the phone âyour cousin Taeil is a grown-ass man. You donât have to worry about him alright?â
âBut-â
âAre you busy tonight?â
âWhat?â
âThereâs a party tonight at my house. Come, starts at 11:30 PM.â
âNo, I donât want to go to a party. Itâs a Tuesday! Is Taeil okay? That sounded like him earlier.â
âIf you want to check on your beloved cousin, come to my party. Heâll be there. Loosen up a little bit, itâll be fun.â
âUm, Iâll think about it.â
âGreat.â Yuta said, hanging up before You could say anything else. You stared at your phone, what in the world had just happened? You looked at the clock to see that it was 10:30. You had an hour to decide if you would actually go to the party or not. Who else was going to be there?
You didnât know very many people since you had just transferred to SMU, so maybe it was a good idea to go to this party and socialize a little bit. You could take the opportunity to potentially make some friends.
Just as You was about to finish touching up your make-up, your phone pinged. You picked it up to see that it was an address from an unknown number. You tapped on the address to see where it was, as you were doing so, you saw a notification of another message. âThis is Yuta btw.â
The house was on the very edge of campus and close enough that you could just walk there. You were surprised to see that there were already crowds of people both inside and outside the house. There were colorful lights flashing from outside the house.
âHow the heck am I actually supposed to meet anybody like this?â You asked herself. You took a deep breath and made her way up the stairs and into the packed house. You threaded through the crowd of people dawdling in the foyer, pushing her way to find some space. Eventually, you made her way into the kitchen and breathed a sigh of relief once you had some space to herself.
There was a whole bunch of opened bottles of alcohol and stacks of cups laid out on the island in the middle of the kitchen. You moved closer to the island and started reading the labels of the bottles. In Germany you didnât go to very many parties, if you wanted to drink you would just go to the bar and order a beer. But you didnât see any kind of drink you recognized here.
âDo you need help?â a melodic voice asked her. You turned around to see a fairy like girl approach her. You didnât say anything as the girl grabbed the cup from her hand.
âDo you like Coca Cola?â the girl asked. You nodded and you grabbed a large glass bottle and started pouring the liquid into the plastic cup and then you grabbed the large bottle of Coca Cola resting on the island and poured it into the cup before handing the cup back to You.
âIâm Selena by the way.â Now that You could see her up close, she really did look like a fairy. You didnât comment on the fact that her hair seemed kinda messy or that her lipstick was obviously smeared.
âNice to meet you Selena, Iâm You.â
Just as Selena was about to respond, a pair of arms wrapped around her waist effectively cutting off the conversation. You were shocked to see that it was Taeil who had his arms wrapped around Selena, he was currently whispering something into her ear that made her giggle.
When Taeil looked up, his eyebrows jumped up to see You standing there. âHey Y/N, I didnât know you were coming.â
âUh yeah, it was kind of last minute. Yuta invited me actually.â
At this, Taeilâs eyebrows rose even higher. He knew that the two had always been at odds with each other. âYuta?â
As if he were summoned by the devil himself, Yuta appeared in the kitchen. He strode over to the other side of the kitchen island and started digging through the bottles. Cursing when he couldnât find whatever bottle he was looking for. He paused when he spotted the drink in Youâs hand.
âWhat are you drinking?â he asked. His eyes looked up, one side of his lips pulling up into a smirk when he recognized You. âSo the prissy princess finally decided to show her face to the lowly commoners.â
âIâm not a prissy princess.â You said. You looked down at your cup and then over at Selena, you had no idea what drink the girl had made for you.
âSorry Yuta. I used the last of the rum to make her a rum and coke.â Selena said, a smirk painted on her face. You tried not to appear too nosy when you looked over at Selena to see her leaning into Taeil. Did Taeil have a girlfriend that You didnât know about?
It was obvious that Yuta was dissatisfied. He stared you down and when you finally turned your attention to him, he looked down at the drink. âAre you going to drink that?â
You looked down at the cup again, startled, then looked back up at Yuta. âUh, yeah but you can have some if youâd like.â
You handed him your red solo cup over the kitchen island. Yuta plucked it from your hand and took a slug of it before dropping it back into your hand. âIt's good. Try it.â
He drank a lot, half of the cup was empty. You lifted the cup to your face and took a sip, you tried not to make a face as you tasted the bitter rum. This is what people drank at parties?
âWhat do you think?â
âItâs alright.â You said. It tasted horrible and you didnât want it anymore. But you didnât want to offend Selena.
âLiar.â Yuta said, he scoffed as he grabbed the cup from your hands and drank the rest of it.
âIâm not lying!â You said, looking over to make sure you didnât offend Selena. You were shocked to see that Selena and your cousin had disappeared. âOkay, maybe I lied a little bit.â
Yuta tossed his head back and laughed. âLoosen up. You look so uncomfortable. This is a party, go have fun.â
âIâve never been to a party before. Everyone is already so...drunk.â You said.
Suddenly everything made sense to Yuta, why the darn girl was always so uptight and prissy all the time. He made his way around the kitchen island and stood in front of You before placing one arm on each side of you and leaning down âthey didnât have parties back wherever you came from?â
What was he doing? You thought. You leaned back as far as you could, the expression on Yutaâs face was smug and you weren't sure what he was going to do. Out of all of Taeilâs friends, you heard that Yuta was the wildest and most spontaneous. âIn Germany we just go to bars and drink beer. Iâve never gone to an event so...wild.â
âYou think this is wild?â Yuta asked. âHave you checked out the basement yet?â
You shook your head. Yuta grinned, almost maniacally and grabbed one of your wrists and tugged you behind him, pulling you through crowds of people. Unlike how you had to push your way between groups of people earlier, the crowds seemed to part for Yuta and wherever he went eyes followed him.
Instead of pulling you downstairs like you expected, he pulled you up a set of stairs and pulled you into an empty room. You took a few deep breaths to calm yourself down. Both You and Yuta could tell that you had been tense and uncomfortable since you had stepped into the house.
âPick your poison.â Yuta said, pulling open a fridge he had set aside in the corner of his room. âThese are all my drinks. This is the good stuff that we donât share at parties.â
âWow, youâre letting me have exclusive access?â You said, in an almost mocking tone. Yuta raised an eyebrow.
You bent down to look to see what was in the fridge. You smiled in delight when you saw your favorite brand of beer. You grabbed a bottle and held it against the edge of the fridge and smacked the top with your hand to take off the cap. Yuta didnât say anything but he was impressed, this was the first time he had seen You behave this way.
Yuta couldnât say anything when You tossed your head back to take a sip of beer. You made it look like a beer commercial. After a couple more delicate sips, Yuta grabbed one of your arms and pulled you close so that you stood in between his legs and your ear was right up against his mouth.
âChug it.â he said. You looked at him with your eyebrows raised. Yuta raised his eyebrows in return.
You shouldnât chug it. That would be unclassy. You thought. But why did you kind of want to? You looked Yuta in the eyes and narrowed your eyes, what was he playing at? The corner of Yutaâs lips pulled up into his trademark smirk as he opened the fridge and pulled out a bottle of the same beer and used his teeth to pop the top off.
Yuta pulled the bottle you drank from out of his hand and replaced it with the one you just opened. He put your already opened one on the desk and grabbed another one before biting on the cap again and spitting out the cap. He clinked the two newly opened bottles together, and lifted his bottle up to his lips.
âIâll do it with you.â Yuta said.
With the bottle at his lips, Yuta gave you the most taunting expression. He was challenging you, and You never refused a challenge. You brought your bottle to your lips and started pouring the beer back down your throat.
Yuta was both mildly surprised and mildly amused to see how quickly You had finished your beer. In fact, you had finished your bottle before he had finished his. As soon as you finished your first bottle, he picked up the bottle you drank from earlier that was sitting on his desk and handed it to your.
You gave him a look before placing down the bottle you had finished and taking the one you had drank from earlier and tossing it back down your throat as well.
Two beers wasnât enough to get you blackout drunk. But it was certainly enough for you to start feeling a buzz.
Yuta waited for you to finish your second beer and once you did he took the bottle from you and grinned at you. You grinned back like a loon and with a satisfied grin Yuta grabbed your wrist again and pulled you behind him.
This time, he did pull you down to the basement. And it was wild. It was dark and the lights were colorful. There were people everywhere and this time people did not part for Yuta. People were dancing, or wobbling goofily. The sight was amusing.
You didnât even notice that you had let go of Yutaâs hand. You found yourself swaying along to the loud beats of the song. You didnât know who was around you or exactly where you were but you were having fun. Honestly, it was kind of gross as it was super hot and there were at least 5 people pressed up against you but never had you let herself experience this kind of situation.
Yuta cursed when he noticed that You were no longer with him. You would be fine on your own right? He needed to find Taeyong and take care of some things really quick.
You spotted Taeil near a makeshift bar and grinned, you pushed through the people and made your way over to him grinning. He grinned back and waved at you. When you were close enough, he approached you âare you having fun?â
You nodded, dancing along to the beat. âI didnât think I would but Iâm actually enjoying this. I could use a drink though, itâs kind of hot down here.â
Taeil nodded and brought out another red solo cup. âThe only thing we have down here is jungle juice. Itâs pretty much just cheap wine with juice, but it does the job.â
You took a sip and was delighted to find that it tasted pretty much just like juice and you drank the rest of the cup and before handing it back to Taeil for him to refill. The surprise was evident on his face âI didnât know you liked these kinds of events. I should have invited you earlier.â
âNo itâs okay. Iâve never really been to an event like this before and I donât think Iâd like it. But today I am loosening up.â You declared. You grabbed the cup and wandered off into the crowd of people.
The alcohol was starting to hit you and the people around you were starting to blur. You suddenly felt nauseous when you felt someone grab you by the wrist and jerk you around. When you looked up you saw that it was Yuta.
âYuta!â
âWhatâs that in your hand? Where did you get that?â he asked. He tried to grab the cup from you but you kept moving it away from him. âDonât you know youâre not supposed to accept drinks from strangers? Are you stupid?â
You shoved him away, shocked into sobriety by his words. You moved to walk away from him. You thought maybe you had read Yuta wrong and maybe he wasnât so infuriating but actually he was infuriating and a jerk.
Undeterred, Yuta followed you and grabbed your again. This time he did manage to grab the cup from your hands and he tossed it in a trash can that was sitting in the corner of the basement.
âHey! What are you doing?â You shrieked.
âWhat are you doing? Where did you get that drink? It could be roofied.â he yelled.
âWhat is your problem? I got that from Taeil. You know? My cousin?â You yelled back. This time Yuta had no words. You rolled your eyes and scoffed, you placed both hands on his chest and leaned close to speak in his ear.
âGet lost.â
You used both hands to push him back into the crowd and stepped away from him. You found the staircase that led you back to the main floor and made your way up. This isn't fun anymore. The party was over. Taeil was fine.
âWhatâs your problem?â Yuta yelled from behind you. You whirled around him and stomped back to him and stood so that you were standing right in front of him nose to nose.
âNo. Whatâs your problem? You invited me to this party. You gave me a drink too! Why are you overreacting over Taeil giving me a drink?â
He followed you out of the NCT house. âAw, did I make the prissy princess upset? Iâm so sorry. Whatever will I do?â
âWhatâs wrong with you?â You screamed once you were both far enough from the NCT house. You were incredibly irritated, tired, and frustrated.
âWhat do you have against me? Ever since youâve arrived at SMU all youâve done is be such a bitch. To me. And specifically me. Trust me, Iâve noticed.â
You paused. You didnât realize that Yuta had noticed. You looked away and tried to think of what to say. You couldnât come up with the right thing to say so you just settled with âsorry.â
âSorry? You think Iâm gonna let you get off with a sorry?â Yuta scoffed. He walked up to you this time, and looked down at you.
âWhat do you want then?â You asked, not backing down.
âYou.â Yuta said, and for a moment it was dead silent. Then Yuta threw his head back and cackled. âThatâs what you thought I was gonna say right?â
He didnât even notice that you had turned around and stormed off back towards the direction of your apartment. He followed you back to your apartment, but he didnât bother to chase after you. He strolled casually back towards your apartment jingling your keys in his pocket.
As soon as you reached your apartment and reached into your pocket for your keys you cursed when you realized they werenât on you. You patted your other pockets and fished out your phone hoping that Taeil was still awake. You dialed his number.
âLooking for these?â You heard Yuta say from behind you as he jingled your keys in front of your face.
Just as you reached up to snatch them from him, he moved to hold them behind his back.
âGive those back to me. I want to go home and sleep. This night sucks.â
âNo.â
You whined. âWhy?â
âTell me what I did wrong.â
âYou didnât do anything wrong. Iâm sorry for being a bitch can I have my keys back?â
Yuta looked unimpressed.
âFine. Iâll tell you why Iâve been rude to you, but can we do it inside? Youâll probably think itâs really stupid once you hear.â
âOkay. Move.â
You moved away from the door, and watched as he unlocked the door and pushed it open. You stepped inside when he gestured for you to go in. He stepped in after you and shut the door behind you both as you both took off your shoes and stepped into the apartment. Once the two of you were situated on opposite ends of the couch facing each other you spoke.
âThe first few times you visited our apartment I got the impression that you were upset with me. That you didnât want me around. So naturally, I decided to act back. Plus, whenever you come here you and Taeil leave this place a mess. The other guys either clean up after themselves or itâs not so bad and Taeil cleans it up himself.â
Yuta didnât say anything for a few moments. âThe truth is, I didnât want you here. At first.â
âGreat.â you said, turning away from him and getting up from the couch. âGet out.â
âWait.â Yuta said, grabbing your hand before you could leave. âAt first. At first, I didnât want you here. The truth is your cousin is awesome, before you came we and a few other guys lived together and theyâre the closest friends Iâve ever had. We were, we are a brotherhood. And I was concerned about what you coming here and Taeil moving out would do to the dynamic of our friendship.â
âSo what?â You asked, turning around to look at him. âWhat changed?â
Yuta didnât answer and you were getting annoyed. So you tried to tug your hand out of his. But he didnât let go. Instead when you tried pulling your hand out of his a second time, he pulled you forward, so hard you fell into his lap.
âI realized I was being really dumb. I realized that Taeilâs cousin is really cool and I started to get jealous that she treated all the other brothers better than me. Then...I started to develop feelings for Taeilâs hot prissy cousin from Germany.â
You didnât say anything as you were straddled on Yutaâs lap. His forehead was pressed against yours and you could feel his eyes looking at yours, trying to make eye contact you. But you were unsure of how to feel, you kept your eyes looking downward. How had things shifted so suddenly? What was this feeling?
Before Yuta could second guess himself he leaned forward and pressed his lips against yours. He stayed like that, holding his breath and hoping you wouldnât push him away. When you lifted an arm around his shoulders and moved your lips against him he breathed a sigh of relief and wrapped his arms around your torso and pulled you in so that your bodies were melded together.
When you ran out of breath you pulled your lips from his and leaned back to catch your breath. Yuta moved one arm from your waist up so that his hand held the side of your head. You leaned your head into it and he leaned forward and began to kiss down from behind your ear to your collarbones.
âI-, we should stop.â you were confused and you were tired. How had things escalated so quickly?
Yuta stopped and lifted his head up. He moved his arm back down so that both arms tightly gripped your waist, holding you against him. You moved your hands to his biceps and tried to push yourself out of his grip. âLet me go.â
âDonât you think that we should talk about it?â
âNo. I want to sleep.â You said, still looking away from him and avoiding his gaze.
He lifted you up wordlessly, you gave up on trying to fight out of his grip and wrapped your legs around his waist and your arms around his shoulders. You tucked your face into his neck.
âDonât fall asleep.â Yuta said as he fell back on your bed, still carrying you. âThe way we are, we still have a million miles ahead of us.â
âI donât want to talk about it. Please, Yuta. I need to sleep and I need to think.â
You were saying one thing, but your face was still tucked into Yutaâs neck and your limbs were still wrapped around Yutaâs body.
âCan I stay?â Yuta asked quietly. The truth was, he was nervous and worried that he had come on too strong, that he had played his cards wrong. But he breathed a sigh of relief when he heard you say.
âYeah.â
The last thing you heard as Yuta lifted both of you up and under the covers was âdonât you give up. Let me love you.â
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My Baby
"I'm helplessly falling into your eyes like whoa."
The last place Y/N expected to meet Mark Lee was at a nightclub in the middle of Boston, but also she wasnât the type to go clubbing regularly either.
There was a spark when their eyes met. Mark was sitting at a table with some friends? Y/N wasnât sure.
She had a drink in her hand as her body moved to the beat on the dance floor.
Damn that girl is hot. Mark thought to himself. Her face was gorgeous and her body was divine. The kind he thought about when he wrote songs.
He wondered if she knew who he was, normally when fans saw him theyâd run up to him. Ask for a picture. But she wasnât even looking at him anymore. She wasnât looking at anyone.
Y/Nâs eyes were closed as she let her body get lost to the beat.
Eventually when the song ended, Y/N made her way to the bar where there was an empty seat. She pulled herself up onto the seat and actually started to drink her drink. When she brought the cup down from her face she felt a presence beside her.
Mark Lee watched the girl open her eyes and walk over to the bar. Maybe for once, heâd be able to try being a normal guy at a bar. He followed her to the bar and moved to stand in the space beside her.
âIâll take a Rum & Coke please.â Mark said to the bartender before turning his attention to the girl.
Y/N looked over to see that it was Mark Lee standing beside her. âHey.â
âHi, Iâm Mark.â he said, holding his hand out.
Y/N couldnât help but laugh. She grabbed his hand to shake it. âI know who you are. Itâs nice to meet you Mark Lee. I wasnât sure if it was actually you.â
Mark wasnât sure how to feel about this so he paused for a few seconds before realizing she had never given him her name. âWhatâs your name?â
âIâm Y/N.â she said. Y/N slid off the barstool and placed her empty cup on top of the bar. She hadnât even noticed that she was still holding his hand as she walked towards the dance floor.
Mark didnât let her go. He gently pulled on their intertwined hands, turning Y/N around and pulling her back towards him.
With the alcohol running through her veins Y/N couldnât help moving her body along with the beat, a dopey smile on her face. Mark couldnât help but smile. She was really cute.
Now Y/N stood between Markâs legs as he sat on the seat at the bar. When she was close enough to him he loosely wrapped his arms around her shoulders.
âArenât you, like worried youâll get caught by the paparazzi or something?â Y/N said into his ear.
Mark smiled down at the pretty girl in his arms and shrugged. Maybe she was right but at this moment he couldnât find it in himself to care. âMaybe, but in this moment there isnât anywhere else I want to be.â
Y/N only smiled. For a few moments the two of them stayed silent, admiring each other. âSorry, I donât want to be like an annoying fangirl so Iâm just not sure what to say.â
Mark laughed. âYou can say whatever you want. Youâre definitely not annoying me right now.â
âOkay.â Y/N smiled. âDo you wanna dance?â
âSure.â Mark said.
Y/N turned around with Markâs hand held in hers and led them back to the dance floor. Once she had pulled them into a good spot on the dance floor she turned around and faced Mark, swinging their arms as she moved her body to the beat.
Mark swung his body to the beat. The two had matching grins as he led Y/N to dance under his arm. Then he pulled her in close to him so that her back was pressed to his front.
âYouâre a lot smoother than you look.â Y/N giggled, her head was tossed back on his shoulder as they moved in sync.
Mark couldnât help the flush that rose up on his face, thankfully it was dark in the club so nobody could see. He wasnât sure what to say so he just continued to move with the beat.
Y/N put one hand behind his head and pulled his head down so that she could whisper into his ear âitâs not a bad thing Mark. Itâs kinda hot actually.â
This time the corner of Markâs lips pulled up into a smirk. âYeah?â
âYeah.â
âSo would it be okay if I did this?â Mark asked before placing butterfly kisses from behind Y/Nâs ear down to her neck then to the end of her shoulder.
âYeah.â Y/N breathed. âI like the confidence.â
Mark held Y/N by the hips and turned her around, she had her arms tossed loosely around his neck. He stared into her eyes. âKiss me.â
Y/N hesitated for a second, looking at Mark in the eyes and then down to his lips and then back up to his eyes before pulling his head close and pressing her lips onto his.
And then they were kissing. And it was magical. Their lips moving together in unison, gentle licks and nips building up the tension until finally they had to pull apart to breathe.
âWow.â Mark said. Y/N giggled at his dazed expression. Mark looked down at the girl in awe. This was the Mark she saw online, sweet and kind of awkward.
âAlright, this is the last song of the night so everybody grab your partners.â
Last song? How did it get so late? Y/N thought to herself. She had to get home. At that moment, the only thing in her mind was hauling ass out of the club.
âI gotta go. It was so nice meeting you Mark.â Y/N said, before pushing away from him and running out of the club.
âWait.â Mark said, but in a rush to leave the club Y/N didnât hear. What she also didnât notice is that her phone had fallen out of the pocket of her shorts and onto the floor of the club. Mark picked up the phone and examined it. He laughed to himself, surely nobody in todayâs society could survive without their phone right?
A/N: This is my first ever post everrr so please be nice! I have a couple of ideas on how to continue this, so if y'all like it please let me know. I'd be happy to continue it.
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