Moveset #1! (Sorry to keep you waiting!)
REIMU SHOOTS FOR VICTORY!
Reimu Hakurei (High-Flying Shrine Maiden)
(Quick note: If I’m basing it on something, don’t expect a 100% faithful transition)
Potential Alternate Costumes:
-Her blue palette from Phantasmagoria of Flower View, plus her other swaps from Scarlet Weather Rhapsody.
-Other variations on her outfit from the other games. (See her page on touhouwiki.net lol)
-PC-98 design
Overview: Reimu Hakurei is an all-around good fighter. The beautiful shrine maiden is quick, and has plenty of options for ranged and close combat, and even a dangerous trap or two to hunt down her opponents. She’ll float circles around you if you’re not careful~!
Standard: A 3-hit combo of three swings of her gohei, each sending some Ofuda to the opponent in a thin spread. The third comes down on the opponent and sends multiple Ofuda at once. The Ofuda have far better range than Mega Man’s buster. The gohei itself has medium knockback.
Up Tilt: Ascension Kick. Reimu kicks upward. Medium knockback, good for knocking around the Yin Yang Orb.
Down Tilt: Persuasion Needles. Reimu throws these needles at an opponent’s feet. Doesn’t have great range or knockback, but it does some nice damage.
Side Tilt: Youkai Buster. Fires some spreading purple amulets straight ahead. Deals good damage, but doesn’t have great knockback.
Dash Attack: Sliding Ascension Kick. A sliding kick much like the one she uses in Highly Responsive to Prayers to knock around the Yin Yang Orb. Can transition directly into her regular Ascension Kick.
Side Smash: Yin Yang Shot. A Yin Yang Orb is sent flying at the opponent, and a barrier is left where it is launched. It bounces off the ground and walls, until it reaches the barrier, where it’ll then accelerate to super speeds. The orb can be knocked around with other attacks from enemy and ally alike, but despawns when it does direct damage to an opponent. If it falls off the stage, it’ll disappear with the barrier.
Up Smash: Jewel Sign "Orbs of Light, Cast into Shade”. Reimu spawns in four small blue Yin Yang Orbs, two headed for the left, two headed for the right. They’re not very strong, but they move faster than the Yin Yang Shot’s Orb. This also means they’re easier to knock around IF they get hit, but they don’t disappear upon contact with opponents.
Down Smash: Cautionary Barrier. Throws down a couple of amulets that make a wall that can absorb bullets. Stuns on contact.
Back Aerial: Sealing Needle. Reimu spins backwards and fires off a bunch of needles at once. Good spread and range, but low knockback.
Front Aerial: Frontal Defense Talisman. Frontal shot that fires amulets which then divide into small bullets and shoot forward over a wide area. Weak after spreading out, but can provide cover.
Up Aerial: Mid-Air Ascension Kick. Same as regular Ascension Kick, but quicker.
Down Aerial: Demon-Sealing Dimensional Rift. Quicky throws down several needles in a wide arc. Doesn’t do much damage, but can be angled.
Neutral B: Spirit Sign “Fantasy Orb”. Fires a series of multi-colored homing spirit orbs, which do good damage. Amount depends on charge, up to eight.
Side B: Spirit Sign “Evil-Sealing Circle”. Reimu places her hand on the ground, summoning a pillar of light around her, damaging those who touch it. She also sends fast charms flying towards you with her then follows up with slow moving amulets.
(Combines elements of the above images.)
Up B: Divine Arts "Sky-Conquering Wind God Kick". A series of strong Ascension Kicks. Heavy knockback, perfect for finishers.
Down B: Dream Sign “Duplex Barrier”. Reimu sends Hakurei Shrine Amulets flying all around her, doing damage on contact, as well as reflecting projectiles. If used in midair, she floats until the B button is released or 10 seconds have passed, and can be maneuvered to move around briefly. The longer she’s in this state, the slower she’ll be and the more likely she’ll be made vulnerable when she emerges.
(This but condensed)
Okay, before we see a fairly obvious Final Smash, I would like to address the questions you probably have. “Where’s Fantasy Seal?” “Tsuki, where the fuck is Fantasy Seal” “Justin, I swear to Christ if there’s no Fantasy Seal I will end you.” Well, to answer your questions, I’m gonna have to ask you to bear with me for a brief moment. Allow me to introduce the “Bomb” mechanic, set forth to me by ya boi Mori (@fall-in-the-dark). By pressing A and B at the same time, you summon forth a Final Smash-like desperation attack that does plenty of damage and is activatable at any time (even when launched or stunned), but you only get two per stock. A Bomb will be given to all Touhou characters, and depending on fan reception I’ll apply this mechanic to all fighters. Please look forward to it.
Bomb: Divine Spirit “Fantasy Seal”. A souped up version of Divine Spirit “Fantasy Orb”. The damage is less, but the amount of bullets and their homing properties have been greatly increased. Cannot be reflected, but they can be absorbed/dodged if you’re skilled enough.
Final Smash: Fantasy Heaven. Upon casting, seven Yin-Yang orbs appear. Reimu becomes utterly intangible, as amulets, ofuda, and needles fly out everywhere from her body. The Yin Yang Orbs fly across the screen in three patterns, connected with pink streams of medium-damaging energy (The Orbs themselves do more damage upon contact). The first has them come from the upper left corner, arranged in a pentagram shape with two of the orbs swirling in the center. The second from the upper right corner, in the shape of the tassels on Reimu’s gohei. The third and final pattern resembles a massive Yin Yang Orb, and comes from the top of the screen and stops to orbit Reimu. The Orbs then suspend in midair and then explode into energy of all colors. These explosions do great damage/knockback.
Stage Entrance (Regular Ver.) Floats down serenely.
Stage Entrance (PC-98 Ver.) Rides onto the battlefield on Genjii’s back.
(Pictured: Grandpa Turtle)
Idle Animation: Floats slightly above the ground. Occasionally she spins her gohei around in her hand.
Walk: Floats forward, leaning slightly.
Dash: Leans further foward, hand clenching gohei harder.
Jump: Floaty, stays up after double jump if button/stick is held. Like Peach/Daisy.
Taunts:
-Up: Faces the camera and shrugs non-challantly.
-Down: Sits down and takes a drink of tea from a cup, looking bored.
-Side: Reimu holds out a donation box and shakes it around.
Taunts (PC-98 Ver.):
-Up: Reimu turns to the camera and strikes this pose from HRtP’s manual.
-Down: Genjii appears for a brief moment by Reimu, saying “Press on, my lady!” while Reimu pumps herself back up.
-Side: Reimu spins around, and strikes a peace sign with a “Yeah~!”
Victory Poses:
-Straightens out her hair and flashes a bored peace sign, saying “Are we done here?”
-Flops down onto the ground, acting exhausted, saying “I need a nap...” or “What a pain...”
-Turns around, and holds up her gohei, smiling slightly. “That was fun.”
Victory Poses (PC-98 Ver.):
-Strikes this very adorable, very familiar pose.
-The Yin-Yang Orb transforms into either a pink fairy or a joyful spherical creature as Reimu looks on smiling.
-Hops back onto Genjii, and rides toward the screen on him, giggling/saying “Let’s go, Gramps!” or “Too easy!” as he says “At once!” or “Indeed!”
(Feel free to give me feedback! And uh... pls reblog? Pls?)
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Room No.7
The regular college study areas have become a source of discomfort, and you end up looking for a place where no one will recognize you. When you come across an infamous “DVD room”, you find more than you bargained for.
Inspired by the movie “Room No.7″.
Word Count: 6,092
Masterlist
It wasn’t that you didn’t have anywhere to study. In fact, the opposite was true: your university had an excess of study areas for students. Your problem was that in each of these study spaces, you ended up running into someone you knew from your dreaded general education class. You and ART 201 (Intro to Art Appreciation) hadn’t always had such a rocky relationship. You didn’t even hate the class, it was the students that were starting to bug you.
On the day of your first exam, you and your classmates had discovered that your professor’s study guide materials were completely different from the actual test questions. Since you sat in the front row, it was painfully easy for the students around you to see your answers, and to then pass them on to the rest of the class. You didn’t have a problem with them copying you, in the end the exams only made up a small fraction of your total grade. As long as you did well on your projects and presentations without anyone copying you, you were fine.
However, you didn’t expect that after that day, the rest of the class would depend on you for answers to all of their questions.
“Y/N, did he say that they used paper-mache or clay?”
“You know, I’m not sure — ”
“Y/N! Do you think this is right?”
“#3 is false, not true. It’s contrapposto, not cross-hatching.”
“Y/N!”
At first, you tried to at least be polite despite the constant pestering. But as the semester passed, you found yourself losing your temper more, speaking to others in a clipped voice and practically running in the other direction whenever you spotted a classmate.
You took to looking for a cozy study area off campus, riding your bike through the streets in search of coffee shops or PC rooms. However, you didn’t spend much time at either of these places either. Coffee shops became too noisy at times, even with your earbuds in, and PC rooms gave you a headache with the constant brightness of the computer screens in your face.
As you rode through the streets on your bike, backpack and smoothie cup in your bike basket, you were constantly scanning the storefronts for the safe haven you were looking for.
The area you were in was less populated than where you lived, with only a couple of people walking here and there. The stores seemed just as calm, storekeepers inside finding some small tasks to keep them busy until customers came.
You were getting closer to a tall building, the signs outside indicating there were multiple shops inside. Your bike came to a screeching halt as you stopped, foot landing on the floor to balance yourself as you looked up at one of the signs.
The sign at the bottom caught your attention, “Hollywood DVD Room” printed upon it.
“DVD Room?” you read aloud, brow raising in interest. You had never been in one before, but you had heard about them from your roommate. You paid to watch a movie, and you would get to watch in a room by yourself. Your roommate also told you that these places were also known for being secret getaways for couples and their romantic endeavors, which was the main reason why you hadn’t been interested in going to one. The idea of sitting in a room where someone had been having sex wasn’t the most appealing to you.
But judging by the lack of traffic in this area, you hoped that the DVD room was just as quiet. Hopping back on your bike, you rode on in search of a bike rack, pulling out your lock and securing it in place once you found one. You took your backpack out of the basket, swinging it over one shoulder while you held onto your smoothie with your other hand. As you walked back to the building, you groaned inwardly. The sign said that the store was on the 3rd floor, and all you could see was a set of stairs, no elevator in sight.
Sighing to yourself, you opened the door, ready to climb up three flights of stairs for some peace and quiet. Unexpectedly, you found yourself in awe as you ascended the steps. The walls were adorned in old fashioned movie posters, Hollywood lights decorating some of them. You moved closer to one, examining the faded paint of the poster. For some reason, this made the building seem more charming to you, and you found yourself smiling before continuing on.
When you finally reached the third floor, you heard the sounds of music, a chord repeating over and over until they stopped, only to start up again but with a slight change in notes. The door to the DVD room was labeled, phone number and store hours painted on the door’s window. But the door itself wasn’t traditional: instead of having a doorknob or a lock, it was simply meant to be pushed open. It was pretty much a wooden swinging door, and you could see the light of the store inside seeping out from the cracks between the door and the walls.
You quietly made your way up the last couple of steps, moving to press the door open with your shoulder.
“Hello?” you called out, voice timid.
You were met by the sight of stacks upon stacks of DVDs, and caught sight of a small table in the back corner of the room. Your gaze traveled over to the far left, only to see a man seating behind a counter, turning around from his laptop to look at you. He tapped a key on his laptop quickly as he swung around in his chair, and the music you had heard earlier stopped immediately. You felt a breath hitch in your throat as you caught his eye, freezing in place.
His eyes were adorably round, a stark contrast to the block-like eyebrows above them and the all-black outfit he wore. A nametag rested on his hoodie, the name “Do Kyungsoo” written on it in plain font. His lips were his most striking feature, plush lips set in an unreadable expression.
“Can I help you?” he asked, voice deep but quiet.
You cleared your throat, walking forward so you were inside the room. As the door swung shut behind you, you took tentative steps towards the counter. “How much is it for a movie?”
“$15 for a new movie, $10 for everything else.”
“Can I watch more than one?”
The man raised an eyebrow, and you saw him examine you briefly before he answered. “Are you bringing someone else?”
“No, it’s just me. I might be planning on staying here for a while, though.”
He nodded to himself, before looking away and focusing on his laptop once more. “Go ahead. We’re only taking cash right now, our machine broke down.”
“Thank you,” you murmured before heading over to one of the shelves aimlessly. Since you were here to study instead of actually watching a movie, you were planning on picking a movie that wasn’t too distracting. You settled on a documentary about pandas, giggling to yourself at the cute pair on the DVD cover as you took it back to the store worker.
“I’ll have this one, please.” You handed it over to him along with your money, his curious expression not escaping your notice.
Despite his obvious interest, he got up wordlessly, putting it in one of the DVD players. As he turned around, you caught a glimpse of a marking on his neck, near his ear. It seemed to be a tattoo, script written in a language you couldn’t understand. Before you could stare at it further, he turned around, sitting back down in his chair. “You’re in Room 3,” he told you.
“Thank you.” You gave him a small smile, more comfortable now that you had gotten the hard part over and done with. Now all you had to worry about was getting your work done.
He didn’t return the smile, giving you a small nod instead before looking down at his desk, rummaging among various papers.
Room 3 was small, but a good fit for a single customer. You laid your bag on the floor, smoothie on the small table and settled down onto the couch provided. The movie was still rolling through the beginning credits, and you reasoned that watching the movie for 10 minutes couldn’t hurt.
Ten minutes soon turned to thirty, and then an hour. You startled upright as you realized the movie was almost over, checking your phone and groaning when you realized it was already 3. If you wanted to get home before it was too dark, you would have to leave by 5.
You pulled out your laptop and textbook, making a pointed effort to ignore the TV and instead do what you actually came here to do.
Once you got to the first body paragraph of one of your essays, you noticed that the movie had ended, music signaling the end credits. You got up, opening your room’s door silently as you headed back to the counter.
The man was still there, although this time he had headphones on, staring at his laptop screen intently until he noticed you coming closer. He pulled his headphones back, looking up at you. “Done already?” he asked.
“Do you have any movies that are only music? Like, instrumental music?”
Judging by the look on his face, you guessed that this was probably the most unusual request he had ever gotten in his time working there. In order to seem less strange, you tried to explain yourself.
“I’m studying, but I don’t want a movie that’s too noisy that it’ll end up distracting me.” You bit down on your lip, hoping that this was explanation enough. Lots of people studied with background noise, it’s not like you were any different.
His eyes glanced to your lips for a second before looking away quickly, clearing his throat and taking off his headphones altogether. “We might have some documentaries like that,” he said lowly, getting up and walking over to the shelves.
You watched as he rummaged through them expertly, hands floating over the DVD cases until he found what he was looking for. “Are you okay with a documentary on forests?”
“Yes!” Mundane and calming enough to keep you entertained, but not distracted while studying. “That’ll be great, actually.”
He nodded to himself as he came back, switching out your old DVD for the new. As you gave him your $10, you noticed how not much had changed since you entered the room in the first place. “Has anyone else come in?” you asked, genuinely curious.
To your surprise, Kyungsoo’s cheeks turned a slight shade of pink as he found it hard to make eye-contact. “No. We’ve been pretty slow.”
“Oh.” You guessed that you hit a sensitive nerve, and took that as your cue to leave. “Well, I guess I’ll see you in a couple hours,” you joked lightly, hoping to ease his discomfort.
Luckily, it seemed to work, as he watched you leave with a tiny smile on his face, the first you had seen since you came in. Emboldened by this breakthrough, you started on your homework again with more focus than ever. You made it through most of your essay, typing away furiously to the music and sounds of rushing water and birdcalls.
When that movie was over, you gathered up your belongings, packing everything back into your bag and throwing your now empty smoothie cup in the small trash can. You had spent so much time in that room, that at this point, you were eager to go back outside and get some sunlight.
This time, the man was busy cleaning down the counter with a washcloth when you came out.
“Thank you,” you greeted him as you passed by, giving him a parting smile.
“Have a good night,” he returned, hand pausing its movements as he watched you leave, the door swinging after you.
Once he was sure you were gone, he headed to Room 3, only to find that you had done a pretty good job at cleaning up after yourself. Most customers were messy about their belongings, leaving wrappers on the floor. He was still obligated to spray and wipe down the room according to work rules, but he was grateful that you had taken the effort to clean up.
As he wiped down the couch, he thought back to your movie choices. “Documentaries,” he mused to himself. He couldn’t even remember the last time someone came to watch a documentary. Everyone who came watched either the latest movies, or famous classics. Even more unique was the fact that you had specifically requested movies with instrumental music.
Kyungsoo liked listening to music while he worked too, velvety voices weaving among rich compositions. As a composer himself, he was always on the search for interesting and appealing sounds to include in his music. If only his work would get some recognition...
Last week, he had sent out demo CDs to various companies, hoping that he would get some response. None had come yet, but his roommates had told him not to give up hope.
“Someone will call you back,” his fellow composer, Chanyeol had told him. “Your music is amazing, Kyungsoo.”
“He’s right,” Minseok had called out from where he sat. “They’d be dumb not to call you.”
But dumb they were, since no one had reached out to contact Kyungsoo. It was getting harder, being rejected time after time with no success. He already felt worn down by the threat of loans hanging over him. He couldn’t even afford to pay for college, having to drop out after a year. Now he was barely able to pay rent.
This job wasn’t helping either. Working part-time in a DVD room with barely any customers was draining him. His boss was having financial troubles too, and hadn’t even been able to pay him for the past couple of weeks.
At that moment, the bell above the main door rung out, the familiar footsteps of Kyungsoo’s boss echoing in the empty space. “Part-timer?” he called out.
“Yeah?” Kyungsoo called out, giving the couch one last swipe before getting up and entering the hallway.
“Anyone here?”
“No, the last person left already.”
“Good. Go on and head home, I’ll close up.” Kyungsoo’s boss headed to the counter, opening up a drawer and looking through the contents.
Kyungsoo closed the door to Room 3 behind him before heading to the back to throw the washcloth in the laundry basket. When he returned to the front, he was sure to pack everything he brought in his backpack. He had once made the mistake of leaving a charger in the store, and the next day it was gone, taken by a customer while he was out.
“Good night,” he said, backpack safely on his shoulders as his boss barely gave him a parting glance.
“Yeah, goodnight.”
Your roommate was shocked, to say the least when you told her that you went to a DVD room.
“How was it? Was it noisy?”
“No, the opposite, actually. I think I was the only customer.”
“Really? Makes sense, since most people are streaming online now. Did you get a lot of stuff done?”
“I’m almost done with my essay!” you sang out, laying down on your bed with a sigh of relief.
“Damn, maybe I should try studying there too,” she joked.
“What study? You never study,” you teased back, giggling in delight when she threw a pillow at you.
“Shut up,” she laughed out. “I do study, you just never see.” She reached for her phone, charging a couple of feet away. You caught sight of a tattoo on her shoulder, a small bird she had told you she had gotten in memory of her grandmother. Seeing the tattoo made you think of the man, Kyungsoo, who had the unusual tattoo on his neck.
“The worker at the store had this cool tattoo on his neck. It was like, some European language or something,” you told her.
“DVD room workers are sketchy,” she replied, wrinkling her nose as she scanned through social media sites. “Half the time, they’re dropouts. The other half, they’re drug addicts.”
Her words made you feel uncomfortable, toes squirming and stomach churning at these basic stereotypes. “I don’t know, he seemed nice enough to me.” True, he hadn’t been extremely talkative, but that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. He had been kind enough to you while you were there.
“That’s good, at least,” she told you, still focused on her phone. “Is that your new study spot, then?”
You looked up at the ceiling, the plain emptiness of it staring back down at you.
“Maybe.”
“Hello!”
Kyungsoo looked up, head turning to see you enter. It had been a week since you first came, and if he was being honest, he had been hoping that you would return.
“Hello,” he greeted you back. “More documentaries?”
You gave a soft laugh, eyes crinkling at his small joke. Kyungsoo had been looking forward to seeing your smiles again too, a corner of his lips lifting in response to your own smile. “Yeah. I’ve got to finish a project, and this is the only place I’ve found where I actually get some peace and quiet,” you told him.
“What kind of project is it? If you don’t mind me asking,” he tacked on quickly, hoping he wasn’t being too intrusive.
You came closer, hands resting on the counter as you faced him. “It’s for one of my art classes, I have to fill up a sketchbook by the end of the semester.”
“How’s it going so far?”
“Pretty good, I have four weeks left to complete it. Hopefully, my hands don’t fall off by the end of it.”
He snorted, covering his nose with his hand after you spoke. “I’m sorry,” he added, teeth peeking through his fingers along with his grin.
“No, it’s fine! I’m glad you thought it was funny,” you reassured him.
He brought his hand down, smile now in full view. To say you were taken aback was an understatement. You had thought his lips were pretty before, but now after seeing his smile full-on, you could feel the flutters in your stomach more strongly than ever. Giving a small cough to distract yourself, you glanced behind you the shelf of documentaries. “Do you have any recommendations today?”
“Mmm,” he hummed to himself in thought. “There’s one on the Hawaiian islands that I remember being pretty good.”
You backed away from the counter, determination in your step. “Hawaiian islands, it is.” It was pretty easy for you to find the DVD, since the documentaries only took up half of the total bookshelf. The two of you carried out the same transaction as yesterday, although this time you both felt more relaxed around each other.
“Room 3?” you asked, remembering where you had been last time.
“Yep. See you later,” said Kyungsoo, almost the same words you had said to him last week.
You nodded in agreement, giving him a small wave before heading to the room. Once you were inside, you slumped down on the couch, back resting against the wooden wall. Not only had you found a reliable study place, but you had also gotten closer to the extremely attractive man. You smiled to yourself, toes wiggling as you remembered how his lips had shaped themselves into a sweet smile, looking so soft and kissable.
Wait, what?
Your own hand went to your lips, your body going rigid in shock at the sudden thought that had ran through your mind. A simple smile from him and already you were fantasizing about kissing him.
“Get a grip, Y/N,” you whispered to yourself. You shook your shoulders back before straightening up, taking off your backpack so that you could distract yourself with work. Hopefully by focusing on your sketches, you would be able to sort through your feelings for Kyungsoo.
Unfortunately for you, Kyungsoo was present even in your sketchbook. Your professor had told you to fill up your book with any sketches you liked, so you had absolute creative freedom for this certain assignment. Your hand started off by drawing an eye, a basic shape flowing from your pencil onto the paper. As you continued to shade, you realized with a startle that the eye you were drawing looked suspiciously similar to Kyungsoo’s.
You groaned, deciding to leave that sketch alone for now and moving onto an empty section on the page. A full upper lip appeared, with a lower lip just as full to match it. Lip creases and various shadows followed before you gasped.
Kyungsoo’s lips. They stared up at you from the page, very obviously his heart-shaped, plush lips.
This was going to be a long two hours.
The documentary ended, and you had managed to sucessfully complete three pages of your sketchbook. You were proud of yourself for finally being able to take your mind off of Kyungsoo, although it hadn’t been easy. You had to eventually draw from the documentary for reference, palm trees and sea creatures scattered throughout your sketchbook.
You wished you could stay longer, but your wallet was starting to feel the effects of your movie outings. In between buying art supplies, food and now these movie rentals, your already meager college money was now in danger of being used up before the end of the semester.
As you got up, you sent a quick text to your roommate to let her know you’d be coming home soon.
When you entered the main room of the building again, you were surprised to find a different man behind the counter. Compared to Kyungsoo, this man was older, middle-aged with wrinkles beginning to form on his face. He looked up as you came closer, thanking you for coming and hastily saying goodbye. Judging by the way this man was very clearly trying to get you to leave, you decided not to ask about Kyungsoo.
Your feet carried you out the door, the man’s watchful gaze making you feel uneasy. You got the feeling that if you stayed inside a moment longer, he would be pestering you to either rent a movie or leave. With a defeated sigh, you trudged down the stairs.
Until next time.
“Welcome,” said Kyungsoo as he heard the familiar ring of the bell above the door. He didn’t bother to check who it was, uninterested since he figured it wouldn’t be you. If his boss was there, Kyungsoo would have immediately gotten a scolding for failing to be a “gracious host”. Luckily for him, his boss had said he would be out until 10.
You hadn’t been there for a couple of weeks, and Kyungsoo was starting to get anxious. His boss had come in earlier than usual and told Kyungsoo to go home early the last day that he saw you. He had left with a reluctant heart, hoping that you would come back out before he left, but in the end he had ended up leaving before you.
He continued to fidget with the pen in his hand, papers in front of him as he went over a composition he and Chanyeol were working on.
“That looks pretty complicated.”
His head shot up, only to see you standing before him on the other side of the oh so familiar counter, grinning at him sheepishly. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” you apologized.
“You’re back,” he blurted out, face heating up once he realized what he had just said. “I mean, I didn’t see you around here for a while. I was starting to wonder where you were.”
“Yeah, I caught a pretty bad cold and basically stayed at the dorm unless I had class. I missed coming here though.” And coming to see you.
“The store was less quiet without you. You’re the most loyal customer we’ve had in a while.”
You looked away, a faint blush beginning to stain your cheeks and Kyungsoo found himself at a loss for words. If you thought you had been constantly thinking of Kyungsoo and his lips, he had been thinking about you and your beaming smiles just as often.
“I actually came today to ask for a favor,” you mumbled, looking in his direction but unable to meet his eyes for fear of rejection.
Kyungsoo’s eyebrows raised, curiosity piquing his interest. “What is it?”
“Will you let me do a drawing of you? I have one more page left in my sketchbook, and I’ve already done sketches of basically everything else. You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” you hastily backtracked.
“It’s fine. I’m happy to help you out.”
His response gave you the courage to face him again, lips turning up at the corners as you saw him waiting for you patiently, heart-shaped lips mirroring your own in a smile.
“Really? Thank you, so much. Umm...” you scanned the room for a place to set up your materials. You caught sight of the small table behind you, pointing at it with a finger. “Do you mind if I sketch you here?”
“Sure.” Kyungsoo got up calmly, pace measured and steady despite the fluttering nerves in his chest. He took a seat in one of the flimsy plastic chairs there, and you took a seat across from him in a chair of your own.
As you took out your materials and set them up, you could feel Kyungsoo watching you intently. “Feel free to do any pose you like, I’m not picky,” you joked lightly.
He hummed in agreement, hands coming up to rest on top of the table. His fingers twined together, and he gave a small cough, trying to shake off the nerves. Despite you often being on his mind, he was still shy about being in such close proximity with you.
Finally, with pencil and sketchbook in hand, you looked up to see him staring straight at you, face blank. Upon closer glance, you could detect something else in his eye: excitement? Could Kyungsoo be just as giddy about being next to you as you were about him?
“Perfect,” you whispered to yourself, jumping right into your drawing.
The only sounds in the room were of the wall clock, ticking away the seconds and the scratching of your pencil on paper. Occasionally, you had to reach for your favorite eraser, getting rid of a line you had overdrawn or a lightening up a shadow that you had made too dark.
You began to worry that Kyungsoo’s body was getting too stiff from sitting still for so long. When you asked him if he needed a break, however, he had simply shaken his head, telling you that he was fine.
It wasn’t a lie; Kyungsoo was truly fine. In fact, he was more than fine. Watching you immerse yourself in your work was entrancing, almost addicting. The way you would sneak glances at him before working away furiously at your sketchbook intrigued Kyungsoo. He thought of something Junmyeon, his old friend from high school had once told him.
“People who truly love what they’re doing are always the brightest. They’re so caught up in their passions that nothing else matters. Seeing someone throw all of themself into their work inspires me to find something that makes me feel the same.”
At the time, Kyungsoo had brushed it off as another one of Junmyeon’s flowery speeches. His friend was known for spontaneously dropping pep talks on anyone and everyone who was close enough to listen. But now, seeing you like this made him realize how right Junmyeon had been.
“How long have you been drawing?” he asked, breaking the comfortable silence.
You hummed in thought, the sound sweet to Kyungsoo’s ears before answering. “Almost four years? I started in my second year of high school because a friend recommended it, and I fell in love.”
Fell in love.
Kyungsoo was starting to think he had fallen in love too. If his friends saw him like this, they would tease him relentlessly until the end of time. It wasn’t that he hadn’t had a crush before, he’d had his fair share of innocent crushes in the past.
But with you, Kyungsoo felt himself falling deeper and deeper every moment he was with you. It was scary, but also thrilling to experience. It was the first time he had ever felt anything remotely like this in his life.
“Are you a music student?” you asked, breaking him out of his thoughts. “I saw your music sheets earlier,” you explained.
“Amateur composer,” he replied. “I work on them with my roommate. We’re still working on getting recognition though.”
“Can I listen to them someday?”
Someday.
“Sure. They might not be that great, we’re still in the beginning stages of this project,” he admitted.
“I’m sure it’ll be amazing,” you reassured him, glancing up from your sketchbook briefly to shoot him a warm smile.
“Are you an art student, Miss...” His voice trailed off as both of you realized you had never introduced yourselves.
“Y/N,” you jumped in. “I can’t believe I never told you. I’m Y/N, a second year art student,” you told him.
“Y/N,” he repeated to himself. A thrill ran through you at the way your name rolled off of his tongue, like he had been saying it for years. “I’m Kyungsoo,” he replied.
“I know.” Sensing his surprise, you pointed to his nametag with your pencil, stifling a giggle. “I saw it on your nametag the first day I was here.”
His eyes were drawn to it too, the old nametag long forgotten. “I’ve been wearing this for so long, I guess I forgot I was even wearing it,” he said with a chuckle.
“That’s happened to me too,” you confided in him.
Soon you were telling him about the time you walked out of the restaurant you used to work at with your apron still on, making it halfway home before realizing you were still wearing it.
It was easy to talk to Kyungsoo, not only because you discovered that you two were the same age, but also because you two were similar in personality.
Both of you preferred a cozy night at home rather than out on the streets, and were both introverted in general. Kyungsoo confided in you that he was supposed to be in college, but had some difficulties and was now pursuing his dream of creating music through a different path.
“If someone out there likes it, hopefully I can get more experience working with actual people who have years of working in this industry under their belt.”
“I hope everything works out well for you,” you told him. Your voice wasn’t laced with pity, something Kyungsoo had gotten used to when people found out he was a “college dropout”. You were genuinely interested in his career, and hoped for only the best for him.
“Alright, I’m done! Do you want to see it?” You looked at him with eyes alight, unable to contain your excitement.
Kyungsoo nodded, just as eager as you were.
You turned your sketchpad around, revealing a stunningly accurate depiction of Kyungsoo. He held in a breath as he examined every detail, from the rounded shape of his eyes, sharp lines of his eyebrows all the way down to the beaming smile on his lips. During your time together, Kyungsoo’s pose had gone from the passive, close-lipped smile to a more natural, cheerful one as the two of you talked.
“It’s amazing,” he breathed out, unable to look away. “You have a talent, Y/N.”
You set it down, bashfulness settling in at the compliments. “Thanks. It wasn’t only me, I’m glad I had such a great model.”
He shook his head empatically, making eye contact with you. “This was all you.”
“Thank you,” you whispered once more, unable to stop yourself from leaning forward. If you felt something for him before, it was nothing compared to what you felt now after getting to know more about him. Not only was Kyungsoo polite and good-looking, but he was also silly, kind and hardworking. You could feel yourself falling deeper and deeper for him.
Across from you, Kyungsoo copied your movements, leaning in closer until there were only a couple of inches in between you. His eyes flickered down to your lips before coming back up to meet your own, tongue coming out to wet his lips briefly.
You could feel your heart rate pick up as you moved closer, lids closing as Kyungsoo did the same.
The two of you met, lips coming together gently, both of you too nervous to make any further moves. You found the courage to press closer, urging him carefully. To your relief, Kyungsoo responded, kissing you back. He reached up with one hand, fingertips brushing against your cheek. You shivered at the touch, when he pulled away, to your dismay.
“Are you okay?” he asked, voice hushed.
“Yeah, I just... I can’t believe this is happening.” You cringed inwardly. So cheesy.
Surprisingly, Kyungsoo gave a low chuckle, hand reaching back up to caress your face with the pad of his thumb, rubbing slow circles into it. “I know.”
You leaned into his touch, not missing the proud smile he wore as you did so. You could feel it too, the way both of you were falling simultaneously for each other. It was a scary feeling, knowing that you were slowly opening up to another person. Having someone feel the same way about you made the feeling less terrifying, and more exciting instead. This wasn’t a one-sided crush like you had believed it was in the beginning. Kyungsoo was just as enamored with you as you were with him.
“Do you want to watch a movie together?” he murmured softly, voice hushed.
“Right now? Won’t you get in trouble?”
Kyungsoo shook his head, hand falling to hold onto yours before he got up, carefully pulling you along with him as he walked over to a shelf of new movies. “There’s no one here, and we’ve got the whole shop to ourselves. Do you want to pick?”
The two of you fought playfully over movies, whines spilling from you when Kyungsoo picked a horror movie, and him trying to persuade you to pick anything other than a Disney movie. “My roommate’s been obsessed with Disney recently. If I watch another one, I think I might lose my mind,” he had told you.
“Okay,” you replied between giggles, melting Kyungsoo’s heart and distracting him momentarily from Chanyeol and his latest Zootopia obsession.
“How about this?” You chose a classic drama, one you had never seen before.
“Looks interesting.” Kyungsoo reached out for the DVD, but you backed away, taking the disc out of its case as you went to put it in the DVD player.
“I want to do it once,” you told him, opening up the DVD player while Kyungsoo stood watching you, shaking his head with a grin.
He waited until you came back, your hand entwining with his once more as you walked down the hallway together.
“Room 3?” he asked, hand over the doorknob.
“Yep.”
“This is practically your room now,” he said as he sat down on the couch.
You took the seat beside him, arm wrapping around his as you watched him, the way the light from the TV screen reflected off of his face and cast colorful shadows there. “You mean our room,” you corrected.
He turned to look at you, smiling when he saw how the TV light shone on your face as well. “Our room,” he repeated.
It wasn’t exactly love yet for either one of you, but you could tell that both of you were getting closer and closer to it. And you were fine with it, this heart-fluttering, unknown territory the two of you had stumbled into.
Because you weren’t navigating this alone.
You pressed a sweet kiss to his cheek, lips curling upwards when he gave an appreciative hum. Resting your head on his shoulder, you turned your attention back to the screen, opening credits flooding it.
Sitting here among the various stories waiting to be told through the movies, was yours and Kyungsoo’s, just barely beginning.
Just waiting to be told.
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