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jaeyunverse · 2 years

Text

seasons in the sun

pairing: lee donghyuck x fem!reader

genres: fluff, crack, mild angst, romance, slowburn, enemies to friends to lovers, summer camp au

wc: 23256

warnings: profanity, daddy issues, mc and donghyuck are dumbfucks who cannot tolerate each other but are also really whipped + they have no moral compasses, childish banter (lots of it!!). i think that’s all but pls lmk if there’s smth else you want me to add :)

summary: camp beaver falls and camp saltwater have had an intense rivalry for more than a few decades, so when a fight breaks out between the two establishments, the respective head counsellors, you and lee donghyuck, decide to hold a championship to once and for all decide who’s the best. the minor hiccup? both of you are sore losers, huge cheaters, have little to no morals, and will do anything to obliterate your competition to emerge victorious. let the games begin.

playlist: click here!

note: this wip was birthed one year ago for the loml jeon jungkook but i abandoned it and then the other loml lee donghyuck gave me the motivation to finally finish it :”) i’m posting a new long fic after six months so i’m rly anxious LOL but i hope it’s to your liking!! feedback would be greatly appreciated!! have fun reading <33

masterlist

“Can all the girls come to me, please? All the girls to— hey! Red Cap! I said all the girls to me. Stop going towards Jeno!”

Red Cap stopped in her tracks and turned to look at you. She arched an eyebrow, shrugged, and said, “I’d rather go to him. He’s, like, one of the hottest guys in this godforsaken camp, and I only associate myself with hot people.”

Imitating her snobbish and bitchy tone, you replied, “He’s also, like, twenty. So get in line and—” you went back to your original voice and deadpanned— “Come. To. Me.”

Red Cap rolled her eyes and raised her hands defensively but began walking towards you, nonetheless. “Jeez, okay. Stop being such a party pooper.”

Stop being such a bitch, was what you wanted to say to her, but for legal reasons, you had to settle for an eye roll.

The walkie-talkie in your partially zipped fanny pack came to life. “Damn, Y/N.” Jeno chuckled from several feet away. “You got insulted by a thirteen-year-old in front of ten campers. Maybe you should take a break and dig a hole to bury yourself.”

“And maybe you should do your job,” you muttered into the device and covertly flashed a finger his way, your eyes roaming around the parking lot in search of other rogue girls who wanted to follow Red Cap’s footsteps. “I’m done being the bad guy. Next time, you tell off any campers that want to make a move on you.”

You switched off the walkie-talkie and shoved it into your fanny pack before Jeno could be any more of a smartass and piss you off even further. Your patience was already wearing very, very thin.

Bringing the loudspeaker back to your lips, you yelled, “Do I need to keep repeating myself? All the girls to me!”

The camp, yesterday as silent as a grave, now buzzed with chatter and life. You looked around and took in your surroundings, marvelling at how happy and cheerful a few dozen children made the place seem.

Camp Beaver Falls was a place of learning and teamwork—a place you were incredibly proud to be an integral part of. Your grandfather had built the establishment thirty years ago to instil values that he deemed were much needed among the younger generation.

To be honest, they weren’t.

He was an army veteran and being on the border for so long had made him think that the number one value he needed to teach kids was survival. You were glad to say that Beaver Falls had come a long way from being a youth military training camp and was now just a fun place for a bunch of children and preteens to spend three weeks of their summer vacation at.

The camp inhabited five acres of land and was nestled on the shore of a lake. Fifteen cabins—each one made to house three campers—were built towards the rear end of the establishment in the form of a gigantic ‘U’. A bonfire pit made of stones was in the centre of the cabins. The rest of the camp consisted of the cafeteria, the volunteers’ dorm, washrooms and toilets, and adventure sports like artificial climbing walls, archery ranges, and sheds that stored safe swimming and rafting equipment.

All in all, it was a place you would have killed to be at when you were a kid.

“Alright,” you announced once all the girls had gathered around you. “I’m going to call everyone’s names now. If your name is called, go to—” you pointed towards a certain tall boy standing a few feet away— “Jaemin. And if you don’t hear your name being called, stay with me.”

“I’m Kim Minju, and I’m pretty sure my name is on the registration list,” Red Cap, who now identified as Kim Minju, cut in before you could speak. “So, I’m just gonna go.”

It took every ounce of your will to restrain yourself from snapping at her. You mentally slapped yourself for getting riled up by a stupid teenager and with a sigh, ticked her name off the list. Watching her sashay towards Jaemin out of the corner of your eye, you continued, “Next, we have—”

Once again, you were interrupted, but unlike the last time, it wasn’t because of a self-centred brat. A groan and the sound of someone thudding to the ground had you dropping your writing pad and dashing towards the source of the commotion.

You pushed past the campers standing in front of you and rushed forward. Too bad for you, so did they. As it turned out, everyone wanted to witness a potential fistfight.

“Move,” you grunted, “out of the way. Guys! Get out of the way! I’m gonna be the one blamed if someone is injured.” You lightly shoved everyone aside and emerged to the front of the circle that had been formed. Some old-time campers from Beaver Falls had surrounded a few kids from the neighbouring camp, Camp Saltwater.

From the looks of it, Beaver Falls was winning. A boy from Saltwater was already down, and the other was looking really, really pissed off.

You, on the other hand, were delighted. A slow smile began creeping on your face, and you had to do everything within your power to make sure it went away. Yes, as head counsellor, you weren’t supposed to enjoy the fight. But did you care?

No. Not one bit.

Those assholes from Camp Saltwater had it coming for them since last year. Enough of being the bigger person; you were gonna let your campers be hateful this one time.

Plus, it wasn’t even like anyone was hurt. Your kids were untouched, and the only injuries the campers from Saltwater would have only gotten were a few scratches at most. Not only that but Jaemin and Jeno seemed to be enjoying the tiny brawl as well.

And they were older than you, albeit by only a few months. You could always throw them under the bus. It was time you took revenge for the years of blame-shifting anyway.

Even the campers were chanting Fight Fight Fight. Who were you, as Minju had so kindly pointed out, to be a party pooper?

Just as you were about to blend into the crowd and pretend like you never saw anything, someone pushed their way past the campers and yelled, “Hey, you Bloodsucking Beavers! Cut it out!”

You groaned.

Lee Donghyuck, like the shining knight in armour that he was, had once again come to rescue his cowardly campers. The boy in question broke the fight apart and shoved your campers away from his. He pulled the fallen Saltwater boy to his feet and checked for any injuries.

Once Donghyuck made sure the boy wasn’t hurt, he glared at your campers and took a step forward menacingly. That was all it took for you to forget about your plan to remain oblivious and become involved instead.

Donghyuck’s eyes shot to yours, his jaw locking and fists clenching.

“Y/N,” he growled.

“Yes?” you sing-songed and batted your eyelashes at him. “Need anything?”

“Are you out of your mind?!” he yelled, then checked his voice upon realising four dozen children were witnessing the scene. “Why were you stupid Beavers beating my campers? Why didn’t you intervene? They were about to beat each other unconscious!”

“Oh, come on, Hyuck!” You waved him away and sauntered towards him. “Beat each other unconscious? Stop exaggerating. My kids barely did anything. It’s not my fault yours are—” you cupped your mouth with your hands to make sure the campers couldn’t read your lips and whispered in his ear— “pussies.”

Seething, Donghyuck whirled on you. However, before he could say anything, you moved away to stand in front of your campers like a barrier and continued,

“To answer your second question, I didn’t intervene because my campers were showing your campers their place. And as far as I’m concerned—” you shrugged— “that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.”

“Bup bup bup!” You raised a finger to silence Donghyuck yet again. “Don’t even try to lecture me. I’m pretty sure you only intervened because your Fish were getting their backsides handed to them.”

“What? No!” he burst out at last. “I intervened because it’s my fucking job as a head counsellor! And they’re not Fish, they’re Sharks, you little piece of shit!”

“Oops.” You grinned in victory. “Not doing your job too well, are you? You just cursed in front of four dozen kids.”

Donghyuck’s face drained of colour. His eyes darted around the crowd and a nervous smile graced his lips.

Sorry, kids, his demeanour seemed to say. The campers seemed unimpressed.

“And just so you know,” you began, picking at the non-existent dirt in your nails. “A shark is a type of fish. But I imagine they don’t teach that in Goldfish camp over there, do they?”

Donghyuck’s answering groan was like music to your ears.

“Leash your kids,” he finally said through gritted teeth. “I don’t want them attacking my campers again.”

He turned around to leave your camp, the children of Camp Saltwater in tow. The crowd shifted to make way for them.

You furrowed your eyebrows. “Hey!” you called, and the crowd moved back into place again. You felt your chest inflate with pride.

Donghyuck slowly turned to face you again, exasperation evident on his face.

“Why should I leash my campers? It was your kids who left their camp and wandered too far.”

Realisation dawned on Donghyuck’s face. “Why were you on Beaver Falls grounds?” he demanded from one of his campers. “I told you to not enter anything that houses trash.”

Your gasp echoed through the parking lot and into the woods. The crowd stirred, and the boys behind you cracked their knuckles. “What did you just say?”

“Exactly what you heard.” Donghyuck looked at you once again, a sweet, saccharine smile on his lips.

You narrowed your eyes at him and lunged forward. “You little piece of—”

“Woah, there.” Jeno finally stepped between the two of you. “No need to fight in front of the campers.” A pointed look at you. “Let’s peacefully settle this.”

Donghyuck snorted. “Yeah, I don’t think your rabid Beavers know what peace means.”

“Really? My campers don’t know what peace means?” you scoffed. “Fancy hearing that from someone who punched a guy just for breathing last year.”

Oooooh went your campers.

“That’s sick,” one of the girls whispered. Jaemin laughed from the sidelines, still making no effort to get involved.

“You know what?” Donghyuck fumed and stomped towards you, stopping only when there was less than a foot’s distance between your figures. “Why don’t we check if your untrained dogs can actually participate in a championship and beat my Sharks, or if picking fights is the only thing they’re good at.”

“Goldfish, Hyuck, not Sharks,” you guffawed. “And stop being so delusional.” Taking a step forward, you brushed away an invisible piece of lint off his shoulder and whispered with a mocking smirk, “You don’t wanna initiate a challenge you can’t win.”

Donghyuck tilted his head to the side and gazed at you with dark eyes, his answering smile nothing short of absolutely wicked. “You’re on.”

“Honestly, Y/N, what were you thinking?” Your father let out an exasperated sigh and massaged the bridge of his nose. “You know I’d ruin those Saltwater campers any chance I get, but right now is not the time.”

“Oh, come on, Dad!” you exclaimed, pacing in his personal cabin. “Don’t you get it? We get to make it official this time! Just win the damn championship, and we’ll officially be able to say we’re better than them.”

“We are better than them,” Jeno cut in. “We just have too many first-timers this year, Y/N. They don’t know about the rivalry. And it’s not like we can just make everyone compete against Saltwater. That’s not what their parents paid for.”

“So what?” Jaemin shrugged and moved to stand beside you. Throwing an arm over your shoulder, he said, “We tell them about the rivalry. We tell them exactly why Saltwater needs to be destroyed and humiliated. We tell them what we gain once we beat Saltwater at their own game. And as for what their parents paid for, a little competition never hurt anyone, did it?”

You nodded at Jaemin. “See? He gets it.”

Averting your gaze towards your father again, you pleaded, “Please, Dad. Shouldn’t you be thrilled? Beavers never back down from a challenge. What message would it send to our campers if the owner of the very camp they attend—”

“Fine,” your father relented. “Stop being so melodramatic. God, you’re exactly like your mother. No wonder you can be so manipulative.”

You shoved Jaemin off you and pulled your father in a tight embrace. “Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you,” you squealed, your head buried in his chest. “I love you so much, Dad.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he said dismissively, but you heard the smile in his voice. “I need more information about this championship, though.”

Moving away from him, you stood next to Jaemin again. Your father continued, “I’m gonna need to know what sports, what games, what venue, and when the championship going to be held. I’m also gonna need you to get a confirmation from Donghyuck’s dad. That kid is an expert at running his mouth.

“I don’t want any of our usual activities to be skipped as you train our campers for the big day. I can manage to free up a few hours for practising every day, but other than that, the schedule is not to be messed with. I want this competition to be healthy. I don’t want our campers getting into hate fights. And if they do, I want the three of you to break them up immediately.”

You glanced at Jeno and Jaemin, and the three of you smiled at your father sheepishly.

“Right.” Your father shook his head warily, already used to your antics. “I need you to follow everything I told you right now. Talk to the other counsellors and ask them if they’re okay with this championship. They’re going to have to work harder than what they’re paid for, and so are you. I don’t want anyone to feel obligated, okay?”

All of you nodded eagerly. Your father brought his hands together and exhaled. “Alright. Get back to work. We’ll reminisce about the origin of this rivalry for the first timers at the bonfire tonight.”

You raised an eyebrow, waiting.

“Oh, I’m done. You guys can go now,” Your father chuckled. “That was a lot, wasn’t it?”

“Nothing we haven’t heard before, uncle.” Jeno mock saluted. “Adios.”

The three of you shuffled towards the cabin door. Jaemin turned the knob, and right as you were about to leave the cabin, your father said, “Win this goddamn championship, Beavers. Make me proud and make this camp proud.”

Jaemin, Jeno and you looked at him over your shoulders with smirks on your faces. Unanimously, you replied, “You bet.”

The first bonfire night was a huge success. Because the camp had just started that day, no activities had been taken. The kids had all arrived a little after lunch, so there wasn’t much to do anyway. Especially because unpacking took most of the afternoon.

The campers had been allowed to explore the Beaver Falls grounds and mingle amongst themselves in an attempt to make friends.

The counsellors, on the other hand, were doing room checks. Three mobile phones, an iPad, sodas, and a lot of snacks had been confiscated. You hated it when counsellors took your stuff when you were a kid, but now, it was your favourite part of the first day.

It was, after all, you guys who ate the confiscated snacks. And it was with those confiscated snacks you had convinced the other counsellors to help you with the championship. You had distributed most of your stash to get what you wanted.

A small sacrifice to achieve a bigger goal.

You were practically shaking with excitement by the time dinner was over and everyone had gathered around the bonfire. Many kids had warm blankets wrapped around themselves and were roasting marshmallow skewers over the burning embers of the bright fire.

Your father turned to face you. “You wanna tell them, or—”

“Me!” you exclaimed, earning a chuckle from Jeno. “I’ll do it.”

Jaemin made a grand gesture with his hands and said, “The floor is all yours.”

You snorted and smacked the back of his head. Ignoring his complaints, you made your way towards one of the empty logs arranged around the bonfire and stood on top of it.

Clearing your throat, you announced, “Hey, guys! Can I please have your attention?”

The chatter died, and everyone turned to look at you. You took a deep breath and began, “How many of you are first-timers?”

More than half the campers raised their hands. You nodded. “Okay, then. Would you like to hear a story?”

“Woah,” Jung Hyun, a fifteen-year-old boy who had been coming to Beaver Falls for the past eight years, spoke up. “Is it about the hollow-eyed woman? Cool!”

“No, Hyun.” You frowned at him. “You know we save that story for the last night of camp every year. Why would you think it would be any different this year?”

“I don’t know.” He shrugged and chewed on a piece of roasted marshmallow off his stick.

You groaned. “It’s not about the hollow-eyed woman.”

“Who is the hollow-eyed woman?” You turned towards the source of the voice to see a ten-year-old girl looking at you curiously. “I want to know about the hollow-eyed woman.”

“Honey, no.” You sighed. “The hollow-eyed woman’s story is reserved for the last night—”

“I want to hear the hollow-eyed woman’s story too!” another boy exclaimed.

“Yeah, me too!”

“Same!”

“Why does Hyun know about her, and we don’t?”

“Is it because he’s one of the oldest?”

“This is ageism! I’m just a year younger. Tell me right now!”

Your eyes widened at the number of children demanding to know about the hollow-eyed woman. “Guys, guys!” you yelled. “I’m not going to talk about the hollow-eyed woman. That’s not—”

“We want to know!”

“Guys!" Jeno stepped in, and you almost scoffed at how quickly the noise died down. You could only hope to have an authoritative presence like his. Apparently, you looked gullible and easy to bully.

“Trust me, you don’t want to know about her right now,” he said. “It’s a camp lore that’s followed by a fun activity, so we can’t just tell you the story without doing the activity afterwards. It’ll be boring otherwise. But—” he paused— “Y/N, here, is going to narrate another camp story. It’s one that all you first-timers are gonna want to hear.”

“Ooohhh, are you going to tell them about the rival—”

“For the love of God, Hyun, just shut up and eat your marshmallows,” Jeno said sharply. “Try not to spoil another campfire story, would you?”

The fifteen-year-old grinned. “I’m right, though, aren’t I?”

“Yes, you are. Just go back to eating,” you snapped.

The annoyance in your voice must have been very evident, because Hyun glared at you before saying, “You just don’t like it when you’re not in the spotlight.”

“I just don’t like it when you’re being a brat,” you shot back.

“Burn,” a few kids hooted.

Hyun shrank back into his seat, muttering something along the lines of taking over the camp once you graduated college and would no longer be able to volunteer as a counsellor.

You promptly ignored him, unwilling to let a stupid teenager get under your skin.

“So.” You brought your hands together and took a deep breath again, eyes sweeping over the campers eager to listen to your story. “Today’s story is about the decades-old rivalry between Beaver Falls and Saltwater. Back when my dad was a camper and Beaver Falls was under my grandfather’s management, a new camp called Saltwater was established on the other side of the road.”

The old-timers booed.

“Beaver Falls had been in business for three years already at the time,” you went on. “And my grandfather was a decent man. He went over to meet the owner of Saltwater to welcome and hopefully befriend him. Things were going well for a few years; there were casual competitions and both of them used to brainstorm ways to make the camps better.

“Then, Saltwater’s owner asked my grandfather if he wanted to be partners. If he wanted to merge the two camps and manage the newer, bigger, better camp together. Beaver Falls agreed, and a contract was drafted.”

You weren’t sure if the kids knew what a contract meant, so you explained in simple words what it was and continued, “My grandfather trusted the owner of Saltwater with his life so he let him draft the contract by himself without taking part in the process. He didn’t intervene because the owner of Saltwater insisted that he didn’t need help and didn’t want to bother my grandfather with legal matters.

“My grandfather was ready to sign it without getting a lawyer to look at it. He believed making a professional go through the contract would send a bad message—that it would make his friend think he didn’t trust him. But my grandmother convinced him to hire a lawyer. Business is business, and personal relations should not interfere with it, she said.

“She was right. She saved my grandfather from losing Beaver Falls that day. Turns out that the owner of Saltwater wanted to take Beaver Falls for himself. He planned to bulldoze the entire camp and rebuild it the way he wanted. He wanted my grandfather out of the picture.”

The crowd stirred, mutters of disbelief leaving the newcomers’ mouths.

The old-timers just sat in their seats, silent on the outside but raging on the inside. Most of their parents and older siblings had attended Beaver Falls too, so the story angered them more than it would have angered a normal camper.

“Naturally, there was a confrontation after my grandfather found out. He was betrayed by the very person he trusted the most. There was a huge argument. Stuff only got worse over the years, and the hatred got so much more intense. It’s been more than 25 years, but Saltwater still refuses to apologise for what they did back then. They say my grandfather was stupid. Easy to scam. That it’s not their fault he was gullible.

“Yes, he trusted too easily,” you admitted. “But that didn’t give Saltwater the right to exploit him. The owner took advantage of his weakness and left him unable to trust anyone ever again. My grandfather was so broken that he wanted to shut down Beaver Falls. He couldn’t bear to run the camp when the traitor was right across, but then he realised that closing business would mean Saltwater won. So, he kept going. Kept expanding. Kept working hard till Beaver Falls became one of the biggest summer camps in Seoul.

“It’s up to us now to keep his legacy alive. We can’t let Saltwater run over us by winning that championship.” You looked at all the campers, at the expressions adorning their faces and the waves of anger rippling through them. “Will you help?”

The crowd erupted. Yells of approval laced with determination echoed.

You smiled.

Saltwater was going down.

“We don’t have all day, Hyuck! Hurry the fuck up!”

The sun was shining brightly above your head, making you hot and sweaty. It was midday, and while all the campers and counsellors were having lunch, you were standing outside Camp Saltwater with a hand above your head—a necessary precaution to make sure your brain didn’t start melting.

It had been two days since Donghyuck had challenged you, and at that moment, the two of you were supposed to be finalising the details of the championship. The fucker was nowhere in sight, though.

“Donghyuck!” you yelled again.

No response.

You cursed under your breath. “Fuck this shit. I’m going in.”

You were pulled back by your collar as soon as you took a step forward. “Nope, not at all. You’re not going in,” Donghyuck said, his lips grazing your earlobe. “We try to keep our camp as clean as possible, and trash like you simply doesn’t belong there.”

“That’s a surprise.” You elbowed his chest and moved out of his grip to face him. “Because you seem to have no problem living where you don’t belong. Also, try planting a few trees, will you? My head’s become so hot you could fry an egg on it.”

He grinned and wiggled his eyebrows. “Wanna try it out?”

You rolled your eyes. “Shut up. You’re already late. Just explain the whole thing to me so that I can go back and have my lunch.”

“Fine.” He dragged the word out. “Both our camps end on the fifteenth of July, so we’ll have the championship on the fourteenth. The sports—”

“Woah,” you interrupted him. “No can do. We explore the woods on the last night. Also, can we sit somewhere? My legs hurt.”

“Hag alert.” He smirked but directed you to a bench a few meters inside Saltwater’s main entrance, nonetheless. Thankfully, it had a tree throwing shade on it. You would have sat on it as soon as you arrived if it weren’t for Donghyuck and his stupid condition that didn’t allow you to enter Saltwater without someone from his camp keeping a watch on you.

“And I know you explore the woods at night,” he continued. “The competition won’t extend sundown anyway. It’ll probably be over by early evening.”

“Hyuck,” you deadpanned. “I said we explore the woods at night. Exploring means walking and walking needs energy. And so does the competition, and if my campers are going to spend all their energy winning the competition, they’re going to have no energy to explore the woods.”

“One, you’re not going to win. Two, your—no! Don’t you dare interrupt me again!” He wrapped his hand around the finger you had raised to cut him off and shot it down. “Regular activities need energy, too, but you still take them out into the woods on the last night.”

You frowned, realising that he was making sense. “Fine.”

“Right,” he said rather smugly. “The sports will be the usuals because this is so last minute. Boat race, archery, soccer, volleyball, water dodgeball, and finally capture the flag.”

“In that order?”

“In that order. Also, one camper cannot participate in more than two activities because everyone needs to be included.”

You raised an eyebrow at him. “Is it because you don’t want me to make Sungho participate in every category?”

Donghyuck stared at you. “No.”

“Yeah, right.” You laughed. “You’re a terrible liar, Hyuck.”

“Come on!" he exclaimed and threw his hands in the air. “The guy’s good at everything. You can’t expect me to stand by and watch him participate in every sport.”

“Mina’s good too, you know,” you pointed out. “She can carry your camp.”

“She skipped this year,” Donghyuck grumbled. “Went to Hawaii with her rich-ass, recently divorced mother.”

You smiled at him evilly. “Oh, you’re losing. And you’re losing bad.”

“I’m gonna smack you upside-down,” he threatened, shooting a glare your way. “Sungho doesn’t get to participate in all the sports. My competition, my rules. You’re supposed to give me a list of the names of the participants two days before the championship.”

“Okay,” you hummed, not at all stressed about the competition now that the Saltwater ace, Mina, was out of the way. “And where is this legendary championship?”

“Saltwater.”

You snorted. “So you wanna eat dirt in your own camp? Ballsy, I must say. I’m gonna enjoy obliterating your ass.”

“Really?” Donghyuck asked, amusement evident in his tone. “You’re all bark and no bite, Y/N. You’re arrogant, and you’re getting way too ahead of yourself. For your own sake, get rid of the overconfidence.”

You smiled at him sweetly and leaned forward until your faces were but a few inches apart. “For your own sake, start training your campers. I don’t want an easy victory.”

“You’re not winning, Y/N,” he whispered and tilted his head to the side. Suddenly, it felt like you weren’t in control of your own actions anymore. Your gaze lowered and settled upon Donghyuck’s soft, cherry-red lips. You fell into a trance-like state, wondering what his mouth would feel like against yours. You wondered what he would taste like. If the kiss would be as sweet as the strawberry lip balm you had seen him apply so often. “Get that through your thick head.”

Your eyes shot back to his, the action taking more effort than you would have liked to admit. You flashed a condescending smile his way. “You’re adorable.”

You stood up and moved away before he could answer, hoping the distance would prevent him from hearing the pounding of your heart.

“Here, take this.” Donghyuck stood up as well and fetched a neatly folded piece of paper out of his pocket, holding it out for you. “It’s what I said, but in written format. Make sure your father goes through this. My dad said he doesn’t your old man stomping in here and demanding to change the rules later.”

You ignored the comment he made and snatched the document from his hand. Once you were done studying what was written, you looked back at him. “Why didn’t you just give it to me in the first place?”

“Maybe because I wanted to spend some time with you,” he said nonchalantly. Your body froze at his words, but your heart began racing at a thousand miles an hour. You wondered what he meant by that. Why he would—

“To, you know, get into your head,” Donghyuck finished.

A breath you hadn’t realised you had been holding left you. Right. That’s what it was—a trick to get into your head. You were sure he had taken that pause and implied wanting to spend time with you to throw you off. He was playing mind games with you.

Fine, you thought to yourself. I can play dirty too.

“I’m so stressed,” you groaned and let yourself fall on your bed, your hair splaying in all directions. “There’s no one good this year. And Donghyuck’s stupid rules won’t let Sungho participate in more than two categories. We could’ve bagged the trophy easily if the kid were allowed to play every sport.”

“There’s a trophy?” Jeno asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Unless Saltwater turn out to be cheapskates, I assume so.”

Laughing, your cousin said, “Get ready to settle for certificates, Y/N.”

You groaned again and rolled over on your stomach, burying your head in your hands. “It’s not even about a reward. I just wanna show that piece of shit Donghyuck his place.”

“Oh, cheer up! You will!” Jeno yanked your leg in an attempt to get you to stop moping. You kicked his hand away and let out a string of curses. “Why is this championship so important to you?”

You sighed and mumbled, “I told you; I wanna show Hyuck his place. Also, our camp’s reputation is at stake.”

“No, it isn’t. Your inflated ego is at stake.”

You removed your head from your hands and stared at him. “What?”

“It’s just a stupid competition, Y/N.”

You frowned and sat up. “I can’t believe you’re saying that, Jeno. You’ve been at this camp as long as I have. You know everything that has gone down so far. And weren’t you just as excited as Jaemin and I were in Dad’s cabin that day?”

Jeno sighed and took a seat beside you. “Well, yeah. I’d like to obliterate those shitheads too, but I think you’re taking this championship too seriously. This is all supposed to be in good spirit. To hopefully, finally, end this rivalry and begin a new chapter.”

You looked at him like he was being stupid, which he was. “Don’t tell me you believe that bullshit.”

“No one’s going to care if you lose, Y/N!” he exclaimed.

“I will!” you shot back. “I will care if we lose!”

“And that,” Jeno said, “is because you’ve got a lot of pride.”

“Well—” you sputtered— “Dad will care if we lose!”

“Yeah, that’s because you’re his daughter and—I mean no offence when I say this—he has just as much of an ego as you do.”

“Big words coming from someone who’s part of the same family!” you fumed. “You’ve got a huge ego as well!”

“True,” Jeno muttered. “And that’s why I’m going to help you make sure we win. I just wanted to point out that this rivalry is stupid and childish, and that you have an ego problem.”

“How?!” you exclaimed, ignoring the blatant hypocrisy he displayed and the jab he made at you. “How are you going to make sure we win? All the aces outgrew Beaver Falls!”

“Is this the part where you regret gloating to Donghyuck?”

“Don’t rub it in,” you grumbled. “Give me a solution, Jeno. We could’ve trained the campers better if we had more than just a few stupid fucking hours every day—”

“You wanna win, right?” Jeno interrupted.

“No,” you deadpanned. “No, I don’t want to win. That’s why I’ve been whining for so long—”

“What I meant to ask was,” he clarified, “is the victory important to you, or is the way you emerged victorious?”

“Jeno,” you snapped. “I want to win. That is all. Don’t make me repeat myself.”

“Okay. Are you willing to cheat?”

“Are we going to get caught?”

“Not as long as you follow exactly what I say.”

Your lips tugged upwards, the smile adorning your face a wicked, cruel thing. “I’m listening.”

You had to admit, Jeno was not as stupid as you had thought him to be.

You were pleasantly surprised when he first laid out his plan in front of you. He might have eaten crayons when he was a kid, and he might have believed cooties were real even when he was in middle school, but he was a mastermind where it really mattered.

It was easy to figure out when Saltwater was training their campers for the championship.

You slipped into the rival camp’s grounds as soon as everyone went to sleep the next day. Having spent most of your summers living across them, you knew when the security rotation occurred.

And thanks to several years of sneaking into Saltwater to TP their trees, you had valuable knowledge about the blind spots in the CCTVs they had installed throughout.

(Not that you would need to hide from them once you were in the camp since you were wearing a cap and your face wouldn’t be visible, but you couldn’t have them recording you entering the premises from outside.)

“Merida to Base.” Jeno’s voice filtered through the walkie-talkie you possessed. “What’s your 20?”

Startled, you brought it to your mouth, clicked on the PTT button and hissed as quietly as you could, “Shut up, Jeno. I told you not to contact me first. This shit is loud as fuck.”

“Don’t call me Jeno!” your cousin complained. “Use my code name.”

Rolling your eyes, you scanned the woods you were currently making your way through. No one in sight and not a single noise except your conversation.

“We’re not kids anymore, dumbass. I’m not gonna call you Godzilla and I’ll kick you in the nuts if you call me Merida again.”

“I can’t believe you’re insulting my favourite princess like that,” Jeno mumbled. “I’m gonna kick you in the face if you talk shit about her again.”

Despite yourself, your felt your lips tug upwards in a smile. You could always count on Jeno to be the brother you never had.

“I’m switching the radio off now,” you said. “You talk too much and are jeopardizing this mission. Over and out.”

You turned off the walkie-talkie and pocketed it before he could protest, prowling for the edge of the woods on near-silent feet.

If there was something you had learnt after years of camping and counselling, it was that there was at least one kid who broke curfew—be it to ransack the snack bar or to sneak over to someone else’s cabin.

In most cases, campers had a genuine reason for not being in bed, and you’d found that reason to be the need to use the toilet.

So, as soon as you were out of the woods, you aimed for the porta-potties that were placed near the dorms for easy access so the kids didn’t wander unnecessarily in the middle of the night.

Upon arrival, you locked yourself in one and bid your time.

Twenty minutes later, you heard someone approach. Judging from the lightness of their footsteps, you deemed that it was one of the younger kids.

The moment they went inside another booth to do their business, you slipped out of yours and patiently waited at a substantial distance for them to come out.

You had information you needed to extract, but that didn’t mean you were going to be creepy and stand right outside the toilet.

“Hey.” You smiled at the six or seven-year-old that exited the porta-potty after a few minutes and fell into step with her, acting as if you had just happened to see her on your way to do something else. “How are you enjoying your stay here?”

The girl narrowed her eyes at you. “Do you go to this camp? I haven’t seen you before.”

“I do,” you confirmed. “I’m actually a counsellor. Look, I’m wearing the shirt too.”

Her gaze fell on the Saltwater shirt your figure adorned, and you saw the suspicion on her face slowly fade away.

Resisting the urge to let a victorious smirk grace your lips, you mentally pat yourself on the back for not ripping apart the shirt Donghyuck had thrown at you as a reminder of your failure in a swimming competition between the two of you a few years ago.

Every time he pissed you off after that, you hung the shirt on a wall and threw darts at it. Despite being frequently assaulted by the pointed tips of the arrows, it had not torn.

“You probably didn’t see me because I joined late,” you continued. “Personal problems, you know?”

No, she did not know, and from the look on her face, it didn’t look like she cared either. “Okay.”

“So what’s this talk about a competition against Beaver Falls?” you inquired. “It’s all I’ve been hearing everyone talk about ever since I arrived.”

The girl’s expression changed immediately, and you saw a spark ignite in her eyes. “Oh, yeah. Head counsellor Hyuck challenged the head counsellor from that doo-doo camp to compete against us in a championship on the last day of camp.”

One might have thought being called doo-doo would hurt less than being called outright shitty, but no, the impact was still the same. Your eye twitched, and your jaw locked, but the girl was too busy gloating to notice the change in your demeanour.

“We’ve been training for three hours every day,” she droned. “One hour after breakfast and two hours after we finish the daily activities. You should see how excited everyone is. It’s my first year here and I already feel like I’m part of the family!”

You forced a smile on your face. “Mutual hate does bring people together, doesn’t it?”

“It does!” she beamed. “I know all about what happened between the two camps, and I can’t wait to defeat them. We plot about bringing Beaver Falls down at lunch. They have no idea what’s coming for them.”

The evil giggle she let out after had a chill running down your spine.

What was Hyuck planning? Was he going to rig the entire championship? It was, after all, Saltwater that was going to host it. They could do anything they pleased unless Beaver Falls intervened. Perhaps you should have let a third party plan the championship.

You were going to have to discuss this with your camp. But right now, you needed to know more.

“What is coming for them?” you asked, putting a stop to her rambling. Then added upon seeing her grow suspicious again, “No one has had time to fill me in yet.”

“Then you should wait till the counsellors do,” the girl said cautiously. “You seem to have a lot of questions, and I don’t think you want to ask them to me. I’m just a kid.”

Fuck, she was onto you. And not as gullible as you had thought. Thankfully, you had reached her cabin, so escape was easy.

You nodded. “You’re right. I’ll see you tomorrow, yeah? Have a good sleep.”

“You too.”

And then she was gone, leaving you alone outside. You made your way back to Beaver Falls the same way you had come. Jeno was waiting for you by the archery range.

“How’d it go?” he asked.

“We’re done for” was all you said.

“At least we know what time they’re training,” Jeno said in an attempt to cheer you up. “We can spy on them as we decided before. We can still figure out their game plan. And we can make Saltwater let us co-host. They can’t deny us.”

The two of you were sitting on a wooden bench, and you had just finished reciting everything that had happened. It was way past midnight, but you were too worked up to worry about getting enough sleep. Gone was the confidence you felt the previous night when you narrated the rivalry.

“You don’t get it, Jeno,” you snapped. “That’s not what is bothering me. What’s bothering me is that we let history repeat itself. Grandfather let Saltwater draft the contract all those years ago and we let them host the championship this year. And now they’re gonna rig the entire thing. We trusted them again. Despite everything that has happened so far, we trusted them, and now we’re gonna lose.”

Jeno cursed and ran a hand through his hair. “How are those motherfuckers always a step ahead?”

You laughed mirthlessly. “Maybe they were onto something when they blamed us for being too stupid.”

“You gotta talk to your dad tomorrow,” Jeno declared. “We gotta make Hyuck let us co-host.”

“No.”

“What?”

You glanced at him upon hearing the utter disbelief in his voice. “I thought we were at a disadvantage before,” you said. “I thought we were fucked. But maybe I was wrong.”

“I’m gonna need you to ditch the need to be mysterious and start explaining everything in one go,” Jeno said impatiently.

You shot him a glare but elaborated, “As of now, we know exactly what Saltwater plans to do. But they’ll become suspicious and realise we’re onto them if we suddenly demand to co-host after handing them the reins just a few days back without any problem. They’ll change their strategy, and we’ll be back to square one. Let them think we’re still clueless. Let them think we’re cocky and overconfident.”

Understanding dawned on your cousin’s face. “Let them think they have the upper hand.”

“Let them think victory is theirs,” you said, a smirk morphing on your lips. “But we’ll be right under their noses the entire time, keeping tabs on what they’re planning. Figuring out how they’re rigging the games, and then modifying everything so the scales tip in our favour.”

“Holy shit,” Jeno swore, admiration coating his features. “While that’s an amazing strategy, you do realise it’s going to need a lot of planning and effort to actually work, right?”

“You got something better to do?”

He snorted. “Two people can’t pull this off.”

“I never said it was just gonna be the two of us.”

Jeno followed your gaze, and a laugh escaped him when his eyes landed on the cabins in the distance.

“I’m willing to bet everything that every single person will help,” you said with a small smile. “If there’s one quality we Beavers have, it’s that we’re loyal as fuck.”

You were having such a blast preparing for the championship that you barely realised a week had already passed since summer camp began.

Everyone was training really hard and morale was skyrocketing. You felt like you had gotten much closer to the campers and the counsellors with all the plotting you were doing.

Of course, your father had no idea you were playing dirty, and you never planned on telling him that you were. He despised Saltwater just as much as you did, but he was an honest man who valued his morals more than winning.

You, on the other hand, didn’t give a fuck. You just wanted to hand their asses to them and most of all, watch the smug expression on Donghyuck’s face morph into horror when he realised you had beat them at their own game.

As if simply thinking about the bane of your existence was a beckoning, you spied him approaching you at the lakeshore from the corner of your eye.

You crossed your arms over your chest and turned to face him. “What?”

“Why were you sniffing around Saltwater?” he demanded, cutting right to the chase.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” you said nonchalantly and shrugged, focusing on the kids exiting the changing rooms one by one, clad in their swimsuits.

Grabbing your upper arm, Donghyuck twirled you to face him again. “Don’t play dumb,” he growled in a low voice. “I checked the CCTV feed and saw you talking to Nabi.”

You tilted your head to the side and raised an eyebrow. “Did you see me or did you think it was me?”

Even with the footage, you knew he couldn’t prove it was you. Not once did you look at the cameras, always keeping your back to them. And you doubted the girl—Nabi—would be able to identify you. It was dark, and the shadows of your cap were concealing your features; you’d made sure of it.

Donghyuck’s jaw locked, as if he realised the same.

He knew it was you without a doubt—the two of you were so familiar that you could recognise each other from miles away—but he had no concrete evidence. He couldn’t dock your points for cheating.

“How did you get the Saltwater shirt?” he asked instead.

You felt your cheeks heat. While not discarding the shirt had been useful in the long run, admitting that you had saved it was embarrassing and seemed intimate for some reason.

You knew Donghyuck would make a stupid, extremely untrue comment if you told him the truth, so you shrugged. “I don’t know.”

He stared at you for a moment. Then, a sly smirk took form on his lips, and you braced yourself to hear said stupid, extremely untrue comment. “You wanna tell me why you didn’t burn the shirt and held onto it instead?”

You didn’t know the answer to that question yourself. There was no way you could have predicted needing to use it for the championship, and you hadn’t held onto it with the intention of using it as a dart target. No, you had thought of doing that later on. After Donghyuck had pissed you off so bad that your fingers were itching to punch him in the face.

You blew out a breath and mumbled, “Don’t get the wrong idea,”

“Too late.” He grinned cheekily. “Too fucking late.”

“Are you done?” you snapped. “I have counselling duties I need to attend to.”

“Nah,” Donghyuck chirped, still smug. “But I’ll let you go for now.”

You rolled your eyes as he backed away. The hand he had wrapped around your arm vanished, an imprint of his warmth the only thing left behind.

You shuddered, hating that you missed his touch.

“Is everyone ready to swim?” you asked, diverting your attention to the kids talking amongst themselves. Upon hearing a chorus of yes, you asked, “There are floating tubes in the shed by the tree for those who can’t swim. I’m getting into the water too so that I can teach you. The rest of you can play around but don’t go beyond the marker, okay?” You pointed at the floating buoy.

Another chorus of yes, and everyone dispersed.

Crossing your arms, you clutched the bottom of your shirt and pulled it over your head in one swift movement. Upon hearing a crash and yelp, you whirled around.

Only to find Donghyuck fallen on his ass several feet away, his face painted red like a tomato.

The corner of your lip tugged upwards. “Like the show?” you called, sauntering towards him.

His face turned a deeper shade of red—something you didn’t think was possible—and he dipped his head, letting his fringes cover his face. You could see him trying to fight the fluster as he said, “Would’ve liked it better if there wasn’t a swimsuit covering everything underneath.”

You laughed, causing Donghyuck to look up at you. “Sorry to disappoint,” you popped and held your hand out for him. Grabbing it, he pulled himself to his feet.

Before he could let go and move away, you strengthened your hold and tugged him closer. Putting your mouth against the shell of his ear, you whispered, “But I can make up for it.”

Leaning back, you shoved your Beaver Falls shirt into Donghyuck’s chest. His mouth parted in surprise, and you let go of his hand, walking back to the campers waiting for you by the wooden plank.

You glanced over your shoulder moments later, expecting him to scowl and throw your shirt on the ground.

What you did not expect, however, was to see his grip on the shirt tighten and a soft smile to creep on his face as he gazed at it shyly.

What you did not expect, however, was for your heart to go into overdrive at the sight.

“Are you going over to Saltwater tonight, or do you want me to go?” Jeno asked during lunch the next day.

Upon receiving no response and no change in your expression to indicate that you had heard him, he shouted, “Y/N!”

Snapping out of your reverie, you glanced at him, an apology spilling from your lips. “Sorry. What did you say?”

Your cousin narrowed his eyes at you. “What is wrong with you? You’ve been out of it all day long.”

“It’s nothing,” you said, dismissing him and popping a piece of cut-up watermelon in your mouth. “Was that what you said?”

Jeno looked unconvinced but decided to drop it for the time being. “No. I asked if you’re going over to Saltwater tonight or do you want me to go again?”

Swallowing, you replied, “I’ll go. You should rest.”

“Are you sure?” he asked, trying to get you to talk for the last time. “You seem distracted.”

“I’m not!” you exclaimed.

“Not sure or not distracted?”

You stared at Jeno, wanting to punch him in the face. “Not distracted.”

He stared right back, trying to figure out what you were hiding from him. He gave up a few moments later, deeming his food to be more important than whatever was bothering you. “Okay.”

You sighed in relief. You had lied; you were distracted. You couldn’t stop thinking about the exchange between you and Donghyuck from the day before.

You’d given him your shirt in an attempt to mock and recreate what had gone down two years ago when he had thrown his own shirt at you. You hadn’t expected him to genuinely smile and clutch onto it like it was some goddamn gift.

You hadn’t expected to dream about the encounter either. Hadn’t expected fellow counsellor, Lia, to wake you up in the middle of the night and ask why you were squealing in your sleep like a maniac.

As if dreaming and thinking about the stupid idiot from the camp across wasn’t enough, you were missing him too. You were having these sudden urges to rush over to Saltwater and talk to him. Spend time with him.

Scowling, you shoved another piece of watermelon in your mouth. You were unhappy with the amount of effect Donghyuck was having on you, but you had at least managed to accomplish your goal of embarrassing him with your antics.

He looks cute when he’s embarrassed, a voice inside your mind piped up.

You silenced it immediately. In fact, you spent the entire day silencing the awful thoughts that kept running through your mind.

Hell, your self-control was so horrible you had to take a pause and recollect yourself as you made your way through the Saltwater woods after sundown, a pair of binoculars hanging around your neck.

“Shit,” you swore under your breath and rested your forehead against a tree. Pushing your eyeballs into your sockets with the heel of your palms, you tried to get rid of a disgustingly cute and mushy image of you and Donghyuck forming in your mind. “I’m an idiot.”

“You are,” a low voice whispered right next to your ear.

You froze in place for a moment. Fear crept into you, and you opened your mouth to shout for help.

However, before you could do so, a hand clamped over your mouth, and an arm snaked around your waist, pressing your back against a wall of solid.

Not a wall, you realised upon tilting your head to catch sight of your captor. It was Donghyuck’s chest that you were flushed against.

The scream in your throat died, and you stopped struggling, letting your figure fall limp in his hold. Glowering up at him for scaring the living shit out of you, you tried to rip his hand from your mouth.

“Promise me you won’t scream,” he warned, pressing his palm harder.

You rolled your eyes and fought the urge to bite him, conveniently ignoring the way you didn’t want him to let go. The way your body seemed to be leaning into his of its own accord.

And for whatever reason, Donghyuck didn’t appear particularly inclined to let go of you either. So, you ignored the rational part of your mind that was yelling at you to get away and enjoyed the feeling of being enveloped in his embrace.

Deeming your annoyance as a good enough answer, Donghyuck removed his hand.

“What the fuck?” you demanded, craning your neck to look at him. “You almost gave me a heart attack, Hyuck!”

“Don’t what the fuck me!” he scoffed. “What the fuck yourself! Why were you sneaking around Saltwater again?”

“Well,” you began, scrambling for excuses to explain your presence, “technically, I wasn’t in Saltwater. I was outside it. And I wasn’t sneaking. I was just taking a little walk. Also, the woods aren’t your stupid camp’s property, you know? You can’t control who comes and goes.”

“You’re right; we can’t control who comes and goes,” he admitted. “But we can question any suspicious people wandering around the camp property to ensure the safety of our campers.”

“Suspicious people?” You feigned innocence and batted your lashes, allowing a pout to settle on your lips. “We’ve known each other since forever.”

Donghyuck’s eyes dropped to your mouth, and your heart skipped a beat at the way they darkened.

But a moment later, they were back to normal and glaring at your face instead, causing you to think you’d imagined the entire thing.

“We have,” he said. “And that is exactly why I know you weren’t out here on a walk.”

“I was!” you protested weakly. You were too distracted by the sight of Donghyuck’s strong arms to bother defending yourself better. It was pathetic, the way you were being undone when he was barely doing anything.

“You have binoculars around your neck!” he said incredulously. “Didn’t you think they’d weigh you down while you were strolling?”

“No?”

An exasperated sigh left Donghycuk’s mouth. “Just admit it, Y/N. You were cheating. You came here to spy on us.”

“Why bother asking when you already know the answer?” you huffed.

A click and a victorious smirk taking form on his face—that was all it took for you to realise.

“You motherfucker!” you growled and elbowed his chest, stumbling away from him. “You recorded me!”

Donghyuck shrugged and removed his hand from his pant pocket. Your gaze immediately zeroed in on the concealed tape recorder. “I didn’t have evidence of you playing dirty before. Now I do.”

You scoffed. “Mighty hypocritical of you to say that when I know for a fact that you’re cheating as well.”

“Mighty smart of me to not get caught in the act, though,” he popped, grinning from ear to ear.

The colour from your face drained, and dread settled into you. The thought of recording them as they rigged the games and plotted had come to your mind long back, but you had refrained. It wasn’t like you could call them out without raising unwanted questions. Like how exactly you had figured it out, how you just happened to have your phone on you when even counsellors didn’t use them during summer camp save for emergencies, and why you were hanging around Saltwater woods for no reason.

“What are you gonna do with that recording?” you asked blankly.

Donghyuck crossed his arms over his chest and rested his chin on his fist, pretending to think. “I suppose your father won’t be too happy to know his daughter decided to cheat.”

You barked a laugh in an attempt to hide your rising fear. “What? You’re gonna rat me out like a goddamn middle-schooler?”

“Nah.” He clicked his tongue. “There’s no fun in that.”

Your eyebrows furrowed as you tried to understand what he was implying. Noting the expression on your face, he continued, “I’m gonna blackmail you instead.”

Gritting your teeth, you asked, “What do you want?”

Donghyuck shoved his hands in his pockets and took a step forward, leaning down until you were both at eye level and his face was barely a few inches away from yours.

“I want you to meet me by your camp’s entrance tomorrow at midnight.”

“Why?”

Donghyuck grinned. “Looks like you’ll have to find out yourself.”

“You let him blackmail you?!” Jeno exclaimed the next day. “How could you be so stupid, Y/N?”

Jaemin snorted. “Why are you so surprised, Jeno? It’s Y/N.”

“Hey!” You glared at Jaemin, regretting letting him listen in as you narrated the previous night’s events to your cousin. You hadn’t returned to camp immediately after your encounter with Donghyuck, instead choosing to go on that little walk for real and determine your next move. You hadn’t told Jeno upon your arrival either. You didn’t particularly feel like getting insulted and told you were a big idiot right before you went to sleep. “I didn’t let him blackmail me.”

“What does he want?” Jeno cut in before Jaemin could make another unhelpful and unnecessary comment. “For us to back out from the championship?”

“No, nothing like that,” you said and added, “Plus, I doubt Hyuck would want us to drop out. The competition is his biggest ticket for publicly humiliating us. He just wanted me to meet him outside our camp tonight.”

Jaemin furrowed his eyebrows, sipping on his juice box. “That’s it?”

“Yeah.” You shrugged.

“Hold on,” Jeno interrupted. “Why does none of you find this suspicious? He could be planning to murder and bury Y/N in some ditch for all we know!”

You rolled your eyes. “Be realistic, Jeno. It’s Hyuck we’re talking about. I’ve known him my entire life. He’s an asshole, but he would never hurt me. He probably just wants me to jump off that small cliff on the other side of the lake. We’ve done that tons of times already.”

“Yeah,” Jaemin agreed. “Hyuck might be a jerk to Y/N, but we all know he’s got a soft spot for her.”

You furrowed your eyebrows. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You don’t know?” he asked incredulously.

You looked at him with a confused expression. “No?”

Jaemin whistled. “Damn.” Then, he noticed Jeno’s lost face and added, “I’ll tell you later, bro.”

“Okay, what is going on?” you demanded, frustrated that he was being so secretive and indirect. “Why does Jeno get to know, but I don’t?”

“Not my place to tell you,” Jaemin said simply and before you could protest, asked, “Are you going to meet him tonight?”

“I mean, she has to,” Jeno replied in an obvious tone. “That’s the point of blackmail.”

“See, that’s where you’re wrong,” you corrected your cousin, making a mental note to talk to Jaemin about what he was hiding later on. “I don’t have to. I never confessed to cheating with actual words.”

“Wait, what?” Jeno asked quizically.

You explained, “I realised it last night while coming back to camp. Hyuck told me to admit that I was spying on them and playing dirty, but I never explicitly said that I was. I just told him to not ask me questions he already knew the answers to. That isn’t concrete proof; I could have meant the exact opposite as well.”

“Why’d you tell us about getting blackmailed then?” Jaemin inquired. “It doesn’t make any difference in the end. We’re right back to where we were yesterday afternoon.”

“Except Saltwater knows we’re cheating,” Jeno chimed in.

You waved them both away. “Saltwater always knew we were going to cheat. They just know for sure now and think they have the upper hand, which is something our entire strategy is dependent on. But that’s not the point here. The point is I don’t have to go, but I’m still going to.”

“Why?”

You shrugged. “I don’t know. Curiosity?”

“Curiosity?” Jeno deadpanned. “That’s bullshit.”

It was bullshit. You weren’t curious; you’d just accepted you were down really bad for Donghyuck. Against your better judgement, you wanted to spend time with him. He could make you jump off the cliff if he wanted to; you’d just take him down with you. There was something about jumping into the water together that seemed very romcom-y.

Or maybe you were just deranged.

You lowkey hated yourself for being attracted to him. Thinking about Donghyuck in romantic light made you want to punch yourself. It made you want to punch him, too, but not more than it made you want to hold hands with him.

How could he creep into your heart and change the way you viewed him with something as simple as a smile?

But then, maybe you had always liked him. Maybe you had been in denial all this time. You always claimed to hate him, yet you could never stay away. You voluntarily went over to Saltwater to TP their trees. You purposely indulged him and went toe to toe with him even when the situations were trivial.

Perhaps, a part of you always liked the attention he gave you.

You shuddered, trying to get rid of the unwanted thoughts racing through your mind. This was not the time to think about the past and analyse all the interactions that had taken place between the two of you.

“Well, I’m going,” you declared. “Maybe I’ll get some info while I do whatever it is that Hyuck wants me to do.”

“Saltwater knows we’re onto them, though,” Jaemin reminded, aiming the juice box at the garbage bin several feet away. He threw it—clean shot. Focusing on Jeno and you again, he continued, “What about that little fact we forgot?”

“I guess we have to play clean now,” your cousin mused. “Unless you have a plan, Y/N?”

You sighed. “I don’t. I think we should just continue what we have been doing so far and try to figure out what Saltwater’s next move is.”

“They already made theirs by busting and blackmailing you. Pretty sure it’s our turn.”

“I don’t have any ideas!” you exclaimed. “I’m not some soap opera villain to constantly keep plotting.”

“Jeez, fine,” Jaemin said, raising his hands defensively. “He was just asking.”

You sighed again and pinched the bridge of your nose. “I know. I’m sorry. I just—I don’t know what to do next. I talked a big game, and now we’re gonna lose, and I’m not gonna be able to show my face to anyone.”

Jeno’s eyes softened. The championship was not Beaver Falls versus Saltwater as much as it was Y/N versus Donghyuck. If your camp lost, you’d take the blow harder than anyone else. It was more personal to you than it was to anyone else.

“We’ll brainstorm about what to do next tonight,” Jeno said. “You try to get Donghyuck to quit cheating.”

“Fat chance,” you snorted. “He knows there’s very little possibility of Saltwater winning without playing dirty, but I’ll try.”

Jaemin nodded. “Good luck.”

You tapped your foot against the ground impatiently, checking your wristwatch every few seconds.

You’d been waiting for Donghyuck for 10 minutes. You’d kept your word and arrived exactly when he had asked, but it looked like your blackmailer didn’t care about punctuality. You’d thought he’d be on time since he had seemed excited the previous night about whatever you were going to do tonight, but apparently not.

“Come on,” you mumbled to yourself. “Where the fuck are you?”

The moment the words were out of your mouth, you saw Donghyuck’s jogging figure approach you. You crossed your arms over your chest and glared at him.

“You’re late,” you pointed out.

He wiggled his eyebrows and grinned at you, struggling to catch his breath. “Miss me so much?”

Unfortunately.

“You wish,” you scoffed instead. “I just don’t like it when people don’t follow through.”

Donghyuck hummed. “I know. I’m sorry. We’re gonna have to wait for a few more minutes, though. Renjun’s doing last-minute fixes to the scooter.”

You gawked at him. “You finally fixed it?”

Donghyuck smiled at you—the same stupid, genuine smile that had your heart going haywire—and beamed, “Yeah! I can’t believe it needed so much repair, to be honest.”

You laughed. “It literally went down a hill and crashed into a tree. How did you not believe it would need so much repair?”

A few years ago, Donghyuck had challenged himself to ride his brand new 50cc scooter up the steep slope of a hill when you had called it useless. You’d said that buying a vehicle with such a low power output was of no use when your camps were surrounded by hills on three sides, but he had been adamant to prove his money had not gone to waste.

Halfway up the hill, his scooter had given up on him. Since he couldn’t really lug it up with him, he had decided to make a U-turn and take it back down.

Unfortunately, the scooter had slipped from his hand and barrelled down the hill at a speed that was faster than Donghyuck’s sprint. Thankfully, no one had been in its way, and the vehicle had come to a stop after crashing into a tree.

How it had balanced on its two wheels while racing down the slope, you had no idea.

You had made fun of Donghyuck that entire summer. Since the two of you lived in neighbouring towns, you had told everyone in his high school what had happened too. Too bad he had been a senior then and had suffered the teasing from his peers for no more than a year.

Before he could answer, a horn beeped, and headlights blinded you. You winced and covered your eyes with your arm, only lowering it when they were turned off.

In front of you was Huang Renjun, casually sitting on the scooter and grinning at you and Donghyuck. “She works.”

“Holy shit,” Donghyuck whispered and ushered Renjun to get off so he could sit. He turned the key and started the engine, accelerating the scooter in place. “She works!”

You pressed your lips to keep a smile from breaking out on them. Donghyuck looked so childlike and adorable when he was excited that you wanted to pinch his cheeks. Instead, you turned to look at Renjun and waved. “Hey.”

Even though your camps were rivals, the two of you got along well. You’d found out he attended your college when you asked him what he did and where he lived during his first year as a counsellor. The entire academic year after that, you often met up to hang out and eventually got closer.

“Hey.” Renjun shot you a wink. “How’s the preparation for the championship going?”

You sighed and said truthfully, “Awful.”

“Damn, why?”

You blinked. The question didn’t sound mocking—just plain curious. Did Renjun not know about you getting caught cheating? Had Donghyuck not told him about the tape? You’d thought he would flex about cornering you and gaining the upper hand the moment he returned to Saltwater the previous night.

You glanced at Donghyuck to find him shrugging at you. Focusing on Renjun again, you waved him away and said, “Just messing with you. You’re too gullible, Jun.”

“Looks like I ended up in the wrong camp then,” he joked. “Should have applied as a counsellor in Beaver Falls.”

You smacked his shoulder playfully, eliciting a laugh from him.

Donghyuck cleared his throat. “Thanks for helping me fix the scooter, Renjun, but we gotta go now.”

Realisation dawned on Renjun’s face. “Oh, right. Have fun on your date.”

Ruffling your hair, he jogged away, leaving you behind with your jaw on the floor. You whirled to face Donghyuck. “Date?!”

“Be grateful I said that instead of telling him I was blackmailing you!” he said defensively. “If he knew you were stupid enough to get caught while cheating, he would have never let you live it down!”

You winced, finding his words to be true. “Whatever.”

Rolling his eyes, Donghyuck put on a helmet and said, “Get on.”

“What?”

“Get on, Y/N,” he repeated and handed one to you. “We’re leaving.” When you didn’t move and stared at him incredulously, he asked, “Why did you think I fixed the scooter with Renjun and asked him to bring it out?”

“I thought you wanted to show off!”

“No! We’re going somewhere, so haul your ass and set it down behind me!”

“I don’t trust your driving. You crashed the scooter the last time you drove.”

“It was just one time!” Donghyuck glared at you. “Besides, you’re wearing a helmet, and I’m not gonna drive it up any steep slopes.”

You hesitated for a moment before slipping the helmet on your head and swinging a leg on the other side of the scooter to sit behind him. “I don’t know if I have life insurance.”

“You won’t die,” he said exasperatedly and accelerated, the inertia causing your unprepared self to jerk back in your seat.

You yelped and grabbed his shirt by the waist, screaming at him to slow down.

Donghyuck just laughed. “If you think this is fast, wait till I take you out on a ride on my motorcycle.”

“You have a motorcycle?” you asked, your chin hovering over his shoulder. The wind was carrying his voice away, so you had to lean in to hear what he was saying.

He nodded and slightly turned to look at you, a grin on his face. Your noses were barely a few inches away, his eyes darting between you and the road. “Yeah, it’s my uncle’s. My aunt told him to sell it because she doesn’t want their kids to be fatherless in case he dies on it, but he handed it down to me because he’s too attached.”

“I wish I had an uncle like that,” you sulked.

“I’ll let you vicariously live through me,” Donghyuck popped.

“Aren’t you a sweetheart?” you huffed. “Where are we going anyway?”

“Stargazing.”

Your mouth parted open in surprise, and you stared at him in shock, but his entire focus was on the road ahead. “Really?”

His throat bobbed, and he nodded once. “Yeah.”

“Is this some sort of serial killer slang to keep the suspicion from rising? Do you tell your victims you’re taking them stargazing if they ask questions while you’re leading them to a second location to commit murder?”

Donghyuck’s lips quirked up in a small smile. “Shit, you busted me, Y/N. Looks like I’m gonna have to come up with a better plan to kill you later and take you stargazing for real right now.”

You laughed and pushed back a strand of hair that had flown in your face. “I might let you blackmail me all the time if this is your idea of the word.”

“And I might not use blackmailing as a cover for wanting to hang out with you from next time and just start being honest about wanting to spend time with you.”

It took you a few moments to fully understand what he’d said, and your heart started thundering in your chest as you tried to figure out what exactly he meant by that. A small part of you wanted to ask Donghyuck if he truly wanted to spend time with you, but the bigger part feared being made fun of for assuming.

What if he was just joking? The two of you did that a lot. What if he thought you were joking and had gone with the flow? In a way, you sort of were, but your words had an underlying implication that you were having fun hanging out with him.

Before you could overthink and overanalyse what Donghyuck had said, he killed the engine and announced, “We’re here.”

You blinked, snapping out of your reverie and getting off the scooter. “Already?”

“I didn’t think it would be wise to go too far so late,” he explained as he unbuckled his helmet. “Our camps are pretty isolated, and there’s nothing except farmland around for miles.”

You hummed and took in your surroundings. The two of you were standing on the side of the road, a huge field with overgrown, surprisingly green grass sprawling for acres in front of you. You looked at the sky to find the entire galaxy gazing down at you.

Fumbling with the clasp of your helmet, you asked Donghyuck, “How’d you find this spot? It’s so pretty here.”

“My dad used to bring me here whenever I missed home during summer camp. He said it was to make me appreciate all that the world had to offer,” he said. “This is the first time I’ve come here in a long time and brought someone else along instead of him. Do you need help with that?”

The change in topic was so quick that you barely had time to think of a response. Not that Donghyuck waited for you, his hands encasing your own as he undid the buckles for you. The feeling of his knuckles brushing the underside of your chin sent shivers down your spine.

He took the helmet off your head and even went as far as fixing your hair for you. Your cheeks set on fire, and you sent a silent prayer to the Gods for the lack of visibility the night sky offered.

“Let’s go.” Donghyuck motioned you along after fetching a blanket from the little storage box under the scooter’s seat.

You followed him silently, enjoying the grass tickling your ankles and the slight wind caressing your face.

A few minutes later, he stopped and spread the blanket on the grass. He lay down on it, and you followed suit, making yourself comfortable beside him. Your arms brushed against each other, the contact sending electricity zinging through your body.

You could tell why Donghyuck loved coming here. The stars shone brighter than they did when you gazed at them from your camp. There was a sort of peace and quiet here that you hadn’t experienced anywhere else. The cool wind was doing wonders in relaxing your mind.

“Do you like it?”

You turned your head to look at Donghyuck to find that he was already staring at you, his eyes shining with hope. Smiling softly, you said, “I love it.”

He returned it, and your heart clenched at the relief flooding his face. “I’m glad.”

“Why’d you stop coming here?” you asked and returned your gaze to the sky, afraid of identifying the other emotions swirling in his dark orbs.

When he didn’t answer for several moments, you realised you’d crossed a boundary and asked him something he wasn’t comfortable sharing. You opened your mouth to apologise, but he beat you to it.

“I messed up,” Donghyuck said quietly. “I told my dad to quit bringing me here after a few older kids made fun of me for being a middle-schooler and still missing home even though summer camp only lasted for three weeks. That it was uncool for my dad to coddle me and take me stargazing just because I missed my mommy.”

The way his voice turned bitter… it compelled you to look at him again. To put your entire focus on listening to what he was saying.

“But they didn’t know that wasn’t the reason we still came here,” Donghyuck continued, his eyes not leaving the sky for even a second. You suspected that even though he was physically beside you, he was reliving everything that had happened in the past. “They didn’t know we came here because I loved spending time with my dad. Because stargazing was something we did; it was our thing.

“I didn’t tell them that, though. I was scared they’d bully me and call me a baby. I was just entering that stage of my life where my peers’ validation was the most important thing ever. I cared so much about what they thought of me—even more than I did about my dad’s feelings. I was mean to him and told him to leave me alone in front of everyone when he asked me if I wanted to go stargazing.

“I hurt him so a bunch of bullies could think I was cool. I regretted it so much later, but I couldn’t bring myself to apologise because I didn’t want him to think I was so shallow. He never asked me to go stargazing again, and I couldn’t bring myself to come here alone either. It just didn’t feel right without him. I’ve been trying to get the courage to make amends for so long, but dad pretends like it never happened. He never asks me to do anything new with him anymore.

“I don’t know if he even remembers what happened all those years ago. Maybe he’s already over it. Maybe he knows I didn’t mean it. I—I just don’t know. He deserves an apology, but I don’t know how to apologise for something that happened over five years ago. I don’t want to open old wounds just so I can feel better about being a shitty son,” Donghyuck finished, hastily wiping away a tear that had escaped his eye.

You were speechless. You’d never known Donghyuck’s relationship with his father was strained. You didn’t know he was carrying this huge burden of guilt on his shoulders. You didn’t know what to think, what to say so he could feel better.

So, you settled on offering him the absolute truth.

“It’s never too late to apologise, Hyuck,” you said, slipping your hand into his. You didn’t expect him to interlock your fingers and hold on like he never wanted to let go, but when he did, you reciprocated. He turned to look at you as you continued, vulnerable and glossy eyes staring right into yours,

“I’m not saying your father wasn’t hurt, but you were a child when everything went down. You were stupid like every goddamn teen out there, and I’m sure your father knows that—he deals with so many of them every summer. I’m sure he knows you didn’t mean to hurt him. No one ever wants to hurt their parents.

“I know it’s hard to apologise for something that has happened so long ago. You don’t know how to bring it up—you don’t want to bring it up, like you said, to avoid opening old wounds. But Hyuck, you need to realise that even though the bleeding is stopped, the wound never really heals until it’s treated.

“You don’t want to look back years later and regret not making amends. You don’t want to look at the sky when you’re older and think about the nights you could have spent stargazing with your father. There’s nothing worse than time lost and spending your life wondering about the what-ifs.

“Maybe your father is not asking you to do new things with him anymore because he’s afraid of being disappointed again, not because he’s angry at you. You told me stargazing was your thing, and when you turned him down in front of everyone, you probably made him think it didn’t matter to you anymore. You need to tell him that it does matter to you. And I know he will forgive you. I know it because that’s what parents do. No matter how much you fuck up, a parent can never stay angry at their child forever.”

Donghyuck swallowed and rasped, “Thank you.”

You offered him a small smile in response and squeezed his hand reassuringly, gently wiping the new tears staining his cheeks. “You don’t have to. I know I haven’t implied it in the way I’ve behaved with you so far, but I’ll always be there if you ever need anything.”

His lips quirked up. “I know.”

You blinked, but Donghyuck returned his gaze to the sky again. “Why do you think I brought you here and told you about everything? You’re one of the very few people I absolutely trust. Our camps are rivals and might hate each other, but I’ve never hated you. You’re infuriating, sure, but that’s one of the things I love about you. You never take shit from anyone and always stand up for yourself and what you think is right. You never lie about what you really think, and all I needed was some of that.”

Your heart was racing inside your chest, thumping against your ribcage so hard that you were afraid it might break the bones and leap right out. You couldn’t breathe—couldn’t believe Donghyuck was saying all of that to you and was meaning every single word.

“I’m glad I could help,” you said softly and tried to regain control of yourself. “But I think you’re giving me more credit than I’m due. I mean, I don’t think cheating’s right, but I still did it and defended myself.”

Donghyuck laughed and looked at you, the entire galaxy shining in his eyes. “Yeah, how about we quit treating this championship like some life or death competition and just have fun participating.”

“You’re just saying that because you know you’re gonna lose.”

“How dare you?” Donghyuck gasped and feigned offence. You shoved his shoulder with your free hand, eliciting a chuckle from him. He continued, “I guess I’m just over the entire rivalry thing. It was fun when we were kids, but it’s starting to get tiring now. I just don’t see why we can’t let go of things that happened so long ago. Why keep grudges?”

You raised an eyebrow. “You act like you don’t enjoy bickering with me.”

“You act like I need a reason to do that,” he shot back. “I’d bicker with you even if there were no rivalry between our camps.”

“Now you just sound like you’re obsessed with me.”

“Kindly get off your high horse.”

You grinned. “I’ll stop cheating when you stop cheating.”

“I don’t think you could play dirty even if you wanted to,” Donghyuck pointed out, his face the epitome of smugness. “I know everything you’ve planned so far. Heck, I have a pretty good idea of what strategies your little pea brain might come up with in the future too. You’re in deep shit, Y/N. Deep. Shit.”

You narrowed your eyes at him. “I thought you wanted to end the rivalry.”

“I suddenly remembered I’m having too much fun watching you scramble to win something you can’t, so let’s wait until after the championship to do that, okay?” He smiled at you sweetly.

You locked your jaw. So much for trying to convince Donghyuck to play fair. Jeno would be disappointed.

“You better watch your ass, Hyuck,” you grit through your teeth. “I’m going to fucking obliterate you and your stupid little camp. I’m going to humiliate you so bad that your kids are gonna ditch you and come to me. And then we’re gonna watch you go out of business together just like you should have all those decades ago. I’m going to bulldoze your fuckass camp and—”

“You look so hot when you’re angry and determined and threatening me.”

You blinked. “What?”

Donghyuck’s lips twitched, as if he was trying not to smile. “Look how easily you got distracted, how quickly you lost sight of your goal. Maybe you’d stand a chance at winning if you worked on that.”

You looked away from him and glared at the sky, feeling your face heat up due to anger and embarrassment. What he said was true. After all, he had gotten you to confess to cheating because you were too busy being down bad for him.

Heck, the same thing had happened again. He caught you off-guard so easily. All it took for him to get you to lose your train of thought was to flirt with you.

“I don’t want to talk to you anymore,” you muttered, causing him to laugh.

“Then sleep, Y/N,” Donghyuck urged you. When you looked at him in alarm, he said, “It’s already very late, and I don’t think we’ll get to sleep for more than a few hours if we waste time returning to camp. Let’s just go back tomorrow morning.”

You contemplated his suggestion for a moment, making a mental list of the pros and cons of sleeping outside.

Who knew what sort of critters resided in the grass you were laying on? You didn’t even have a blanket to cover yourself to protect yourself in case the chilly wind decided to pick up. Anyone driving on the road could see the scooter parked on the side of it and decide to make you the victims of their murder.

But the weather was terrific and so was the view. Your body felt heavy, like it was already asleep, and your strained muscles were finally relaxing after a long day of physical exertion. The air was fresh and carried an Earthy scent that was lulling you into a slumber. Sleeping in a field under the stars sounded therapeutic. Heck, it was therapeutic.

“Okay,” you mumbled and closed your eyes. “But don’t blame me if I accidentally kick you in the middle of the night.”

Donghyuck hummed. “I won’t. I’ll just kick you harder.”

You smiled to yourself, feeling your consciousness slowly slip away. “Deal.”

It felt like you and Donghyuck had become friends.

Well, friends was probably not the right word to describe what had bloomed between the two of you since you still wanted to overthrow and humiliate each other. But you had definitely gotten closer.

Maybe you could put a label on whatever was blooming between you once the competition was over a week and a half later.

Both of you went stargazing for a couple of hours almost every night. You had even started to take food with you, thanks to the peaceful silence your stomach had broken with its demands for nutrition two days ago.

Obviously, Donghyuck had been a child about the incident and commented about your fart smelling like shit that had gone stale, but the next day, he’d brought with him a stash of confiscated junk food that the two of you had devoured together.

You hadn’t asked him about his dad again. You just didn’t feel right bringing up the topic since it wasn’t your place to stick your nose in their father-son business. You knew he needed time to gather courage to talk to his father and think about what he was going to say to him.

So the two of you just hung out together, doing things friends usually did.

Never mind the fact that you wanted to go beyond friendship.

For every moment you spent with Donghyuck, you wanted to spend a thousand more. His teasing remarks and grins never failed to make your day. Your bickering only made you want to talk to him more, and the stupid shit he said only made you want to slam your lips on his to shut him up.

The interactions between you weren’t making things easier either.

The first night you’d stargazed, he had held your hand the entire night. You were still sleepy when you got on the scooter and started to drive home, causing you to accidentally rest your cheek on his back.

You’d pulled back as soon as you realised, but he had urged you to use his back as a pillow. Heck, he’d even told you to wrap your hands around his waist. You’d spent the entire day over analyzing his words and trying to figure out if he’d said that for your safety or for some other reason.

Three days ago, when Donghyuck had come to Beaver Falls, he’d caught you staring at his arms and had asked if you were okay. You were actually looking at the bulging veins, but no way in hell were you going to admit to that. In an attempt to hide the real reason, you’d blurted out that you were looking at them because they seemed lanky, and he wouldn’t stand a chance against you in hand wrestling.

Donghyuck made a face that conveyed he thought you’d finally lost your sanity, and in response to that, you’d challenged him in front of everyone.

You had won.

Rather, he had let you win. You could tell from the way he smirked at your bewildered expression. You could tell from the way he kept flexing his arms casually. You could tell from the way he stuffed his hands in his pockets to provide you with a better view.

The fucker knew, and you had never been more embarrassed in your life. You had supposed you should be thankful he hadn’t made a comment about your blatant shamelessness but on second thought, had realised his knowing gazes were worse than him calling you out.

“Y/N!” Jeno called as he jogged over to you, snapping you out of your reverie. “Uncle was looking for you.”

You blinked, slightly confused. “Oh, okay. Where is he?”

“By the canteen, I think.” Jeno nodded at the largest building in your camp. “You should be able to catch him if you hurry.”

You didn’t respond, instead turning on your heels and speed walking towards where your father was. You spotted him talking to the cook and noting something down—most likely a list of supplies that needed stocking.

He noticed you and nodded in acknowledgement, motioning for you to wait. You complied, taking the extra time to calm your nerves.

You had no idea why you were anxious. Your dad wasn’t intimidating or scary. He didn’t even look mad or stressed. Heck, Jeno hadn’t warned you about anything either. So why—

“We need to talk.”

Shit.

You gulped, startled by your father’s sudden appearance and slightly upset at yourself for getting lost in your thoughts so often these days. “Sure. What’s up?”

“Not here.” He shook his head. “The office.”

Yeah, you were most definitely screwed. What was the problem with speaking right there? It wasn’t like anyone was around; everyone was occupied with their respective camp activities.

“Okay,” you croaked and followed him to his office.

Once you were inside, your dad closed the door behind him and told you to take a seat. Your nervousness was skyrocketing now. There was a lump in your throat, and you couldn’t bring yourself to relax in the chair. Your breathing was laboured, and your leg kept bouncing.

“Is everything okay?” you inquired.

“Yeah, everything’s fine,” he replied simply. Then added, “Isn’t it?”

You furrowed your eyebrows. “Of course. Why wouldn’t it be?”

“I don’t know.” He shrugged. “Why do you think it wouldn’t be?”

You were seriously starting to get weirded out now. Your dad kept answering your questions with more questions, and the entire conversation was beginning to seem like some sort of trap or set-up.

You didn’t have the patience to play his game, so you asked directly, “Quit beating around the bush, dad. What do you want to talk to me about?”

Your old man stared at you for a moment before sighing heavily and resting his elbows on the desk in front of him. “I saw you going out with the boy from Saltwater last night. Really late, might I add, like you didn’t want anyone to see you. What’s going on?”

You froze, feeling like a deer caught in a headlight. You had no idea how to answer that question. What was going on?

How were you supposed to tell your dad you were being buddy-buddy with the son of his rival and spending most of your spare time with him? How were you supposed to tell him that you liked him?

You couldn’t exactly lie to him. You were already hiding things about the competition. Any more deceiving and you wouldn’t be able to live with yourself. You decided being vague yet truthful was the best course of action.

“We’ve—” you cleared your throat— “we’ve just been hanging out. That’s all.”

Your dad’s forehead creased, and he tilted his head to the side, not believing you. “Hanging out?”

“Yeah!” you exclaimed and laughed nervously, scrambling for a better explanation. “We just started talking and realised we got along really well. So we started meeting up and thought, Wow, not hating each other and holding grudges feels good. What is the point of this rivalry? We don’t need to have beef just because our grandfathers did. Maybe we should—”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” your father interrupted and signalled a time-out, overwhelmed by your rambling. “So is the competition off now? Weren’t you excited about it? I vividly remember you begging me to let our camp participate.”

“I was— I am excited!” you corrected yourself, trying to clear the misunderstanding. “The competition is still on. We were talking about ending the rivalry after it gets over.”

“I’m confused right now,” he said. “If you wanna end it, why not end it now? Why wait?”

“Well, that’s because—” you caught yourself and narrowed your eyes on him. “Wait, why do you sound like you don’t mind the idea of getting along with Saltwater? I thought you hated them.”

Your dad sighed. “I don’t hate them. It just doesn’t sit right with me that Lee thought his father’s actions were justified. Then again, I don’t know what version of the story he was told. Maybe Saltwater painted your grandfather to be the bad guy like he was painted to be the bad guy in the version we were told.”

“But what about all the mean stuff you’ve said about their camp?” you sputtered. “Why would you raise me in a way that made me hate them if you didn’t hate them either? Why would you make our campers hate them?”

“Okay, let me rephrase that,” he backtracked. “I don’t hate the camp; I just hate Lee. Actually, maybe I do hate the camp by transitivity because Lee’s the one leading them. But anyway,” he moved on upon seeing your incredulous expression. “I think competition and healthy rivalries are good for character development. I may have been blinded by my own rage and let things get out of hand, causing the kids to be full of hate for Saltwater, but I’m glad you and Donghyuck are getting along. I’d like for our establishments to be able to exist in harmony. I can’t forgive Lee or ever have a civil conversation with him, but I’m proud to know our kids aren’t as petty and stubborn as us.”

Your jaw was hanging open. You couldn’t believe what you’d heard. The continuation of the entire rivalry was a result of misunderstandings and lack of communication between your dads? Because they had huge egos and didn’t have the ability to forgive and forget?

This was the stupidest shit ever.

Then again, you had no right to judge your father. You had been doing the same thing until Donghyuck put the thought of ending the rivalry in your head.

“Well,” you started, trying to come up with something to say. “What next?”

“I still think there should be a healthy rivalry between our camps. I just don’t think we should hate each other as people.”

“But you’re still gonna hate Donghycuk’s dad?” you asked dryly.

“Absolutely,” your dad confirmed, getting up from his chair and opening the door of his cabin. “He’s the biggest asshole out there, and I’m going to talk shit about him every chance I get. But I trust you’ll be better when I hand over this camp to you.”

You rolled your eyes and walked out. “You’re impossible.”

“I know” was all he said before shutting the door in your face.

“What are you thinking about?”

You averted your gaze from the sky and glanced at Donghyuck. He was already staring at you, an amused yet curious expression lining his features.

“Do you think I’m impossible?” you inquired absent-mindedly.

He snorted and turned on his side, propping his elbow on the ground to rest his head on it. He looked down at you and flicked your forehead, replying, “Absolutely. Why do you ask?”

“No reason,” you popped, smiling to yourself at the thought of you and your father being so similar. “By the way, my dad found out about us.”

Donghyuck’s lips quirked in a shit-eating grin. “No way! He knows we’re dating?”

You rolled your eyes and shoved his shoulder playfully, stifling the longing blossoming inside you. The idiot had no idea how bad you wanted to be his girlfriend.

“Yeah, he told me I could do much better than your fuckass.”

“That’s funny because I caught you staring at it today.”

“Don’t be flattered. You had leftover shit stains.”

Donghyuck tried to keep a straight face but failed miserably and ended up laughing at the insult you’d hurled at him. “You’re disgusting.”

Smirking, you sat up and tucked your knees under your chin. He got up as well and spread his legs in front of him, leaning back on his arms.

“He saw us sneak out,” you said, coming back to the topic at hand. “And then he confronted me about it.”

Donghyuck hummed. “What’d you say?”

“The truth.”

“Which is?”

Brushing away a strand of hair that had fallen in your face, you said, “That we’ve been getting along and don’t wanna hold grudges anymore.”

“Did he take it well?”

“Surprisingly, yes. He said he doesn’t hate Saltwater; he just hates your dad—” a snort from Donghyuck— “but since your dad is the one leading Saltwater, he hates the camp too. Like, he wouldn’t hate it if someone else were the owner. For example, you.”

Donghyuck blinked and tilted his head to the side. “Does that mean your dad likes me?”

“Yeah.” You huffed a laugh and ruffled his hair, causing him to swat your hand away in annoyance. “He even said he was proud of us for not being stubborn and petty.”

“But we are stubborn and petty.”

“We’re also cheaters and manipulators, but he doesn’t need to know that.”

Donghyuck raised an amused eyebrow. “I feel like I know you more than your own dad. You’d get into serious trouble if I spilled all the dirt I have on you.”

You scoffed. “I don’t think you have any dirt on me.”

“So you weren’t high and drunk at that end-of-semester party you went to with Renjun?” he quipped, looking smug.

You froze, the smile on your face dropping. A chill ran down your spine as you sputtered, “H-how do you know about that?”

“Because you FaceTimed me, told me to fuck myself and then hung up. A minute later, you sent me a snap of you smooching a bottle of vodka that was captioned “kiss my ass like this.”

“No way,” you gaped. Straightening, you faced Donghyuck and crossed your legs under you.

You stared at him anxiously, wanting to know more about what had happened. The entire night had been a huge blur. Even now, you barely recalled anything other than blacking out and then waking up with a pounding headache.

Donghyuck smirked, clearly enjoying the power he held over you at that moment. “Oh, yeah. I called Renjun to make sure you weren’t too far gone and told me he’d gone off with some girl because he forgot you were there with him.”

“Motherfucker,” you cursed under your breath, making a mental note to kick Renjun in the nuts the next time you saw him. You couldn’t believe he’d abandoned you to get some even though he had volunteered to be the sober one and take care of you. “What happened after that? He came back for me, right? I mean, I was in my bed when I came to it the next day.”

Donghyuck looked at you with mock sympathy. “If only Renjun were that good of a friend,” he pouted. “I was the one who picked you up and took you back home after he texted me your location. You were passed out on the floor of a cubicle and cuddling with the toilet when I found you.”

“But you live an hour away.”

He shrugged. “So? I couldn’t just let you be by yourself when you were so wasted.”

Your lips parted, and you gazed at Donghyuck in shock. You’d seen an outgoing call with him on the night of the party but had been too tired to wonder what it had been about. You had forgotten about it later, but you remembered now.

“You took me home?” you whispered.

He nodded. “Yeah. I left right after tucking you in, though. I had an 8 a.m. class.”

“But Renjun didn’t mention you when I asked him if he put me to bed,” you said.

He snorted. “He knew he’d get his ass handed to him if you knew what really happened. That’s why I didn’t leave a note or call you the next day.”

And all this time, you’d thought Donghyuck was an asshole. You couldn’t believe he’d driven for hours at night to make sure you were okay. That he had never mentioned the incident because he didn’t want his friend to get into trouble for ditching you.

Even now, he was looking at you like what he’d done for you wasn’t a big deal. Like it was something he’d do again in a heartbeat. You didn’t know how that made you feel.

“I…” you trailed off, not knowing what to say. “Thanks for being there for me.”

Donghyuck ruffled your hair and smiled at you cheekily. “Anytime, Beaver.”

Warmth rose to your cheeks, and you averted your eyes from his, dipping your head to hide the effect he was having on you.

“Let’s go somewhere else,” he said and stood up, holding his hand out for you. You raised an eyebrow questioningly, but grabbed it and pulled yourself up, nonetheless.

“Where are we going?” you inquired as he led you back to the scooter.

Donghyuck only grinned at you before saying, “To the end of the world.”

The end of the world, as Donghyuck had so dramatically put it, was a cliff overlooking the lake.

It was the same place you’d thought he would take you to when he asked you to meet him for the first time that day. At that time you’d assumed he would ask you to jump off.

As it turned out, you weren’t entirely wrong.

“We don’t have our swimsuits,” you pointed out. “Our clothes are gonna get wet.”

“Then strip,” he simply responded, kicking off his sneakers and stuffing his socks in them.

Feeling your face heat up, you crossed your arms over your chest defiantly. “You sound like you’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time, Hyuck.”

“What if I say yes? Does that make a diff—”

“No, it doesn’t!” you exclaimed, genuinely unable to tell if there was some truth to his words or if he was joking around as usual. Regardless, his response sent a trail of goosebumps erupting across your skin. “I’m not stripping!”

“How unfortunate.” Donghyuck grinned and stepped closer to you. “Is it okay if I get rid of my shirt?”

It was an effort to not let your eyes leave his face and wander down to his clothed abdomen. You gulped, struggling to find your lost voice. The boy in front of you smirked, as if he knew exactly what he was doing to you.

“It’s only fair for you to ruin your clothes if I ruin mine,” you croaked with much difficulty.

“Sure,” Donghyuck drawled. “Clothes on, it is.”

You breathed a sigh of relief the moment he moved away and gave you space to get ready for the jump. Trying to calm your racing heart, you tied your hair in a messy bun at the crown of your head.

“Ready?” Donghyuck asked once you got your strands out of the way and were standing barefoot in front of him.

You hummed. “Wanna run off?”

“Only if we race.”

“I hope you’re not a sore loser,” you commented, shooting a small smile his way.

He laughed, leading you away from the tip of the cliff. “You know I am.”

The two of you faced the drop once you were several feet away. Glancing at Donghyuck out of the corner of your eye, you proposed, “On three?”

“Do the honours,” he replied, nodding once.

You looked forward again and dug your feet in the ground underneath, bracing yourself for the run. “Three,” you began, “two, one!”

And then you were sprinting, Donghyuck’s laughter chasing after you as he met your pace. You forced yourself to go faster, faster, faster in an attempt to outrun him, and within no time, you were leaping off the cliff and soaring in the sky.

A scream of pure joy spilled from your lips as gravity dragged you back down.

The dive was over right as it began. It barely lasted for more than five seconds, but it was an indescribable experience—one of the best you’d ever had in your entire life.

And having Donghyuck by your side, accompanying you as you made the fall, only made it even more memorable.

The cold water of the lake swallowed you whole the moment you made contact with it. You stayed suspended for a while, drinking in the peace and quiet that came along with being underwater. The moment you began running out of breath, you felt for the lake floor with your feet and propelled yourself upwards.

You broke to the surface with a huge grin on your face and found Donghyuck gazing at you with a similar one on his own.

Before you could ask if he wanted to jump again, he pushed back his wet hair, diving into the water once more.

And then he was suddenly under you, slipping one arm under your knees and putting the other behind your back to support your upper body as he picked you up.

“Hyuck!” you screamed gleefully, wrapping your arms around his neck and clinging on to him for dear life. “Don’t throw me!”

Donghyuck snickered. “You really think I’m gonna listen to you?”

You tightened your hold and glared at him playfully. “You’ll pay for this.”

“Shiver me timbers” was all he said before flinging you with all his might.

A split second—that was all you had to take a breath before the lake enveloped you again. You puffed out your cheeks and pinched your nose shut, but the water still entered your mouth.

Coughing and gasping, you emerged to the top. “You fucker!” you croaked, choking on your own words. “It went up my nose!”

“Your fault,” Donghyuck said and smirked at you. “I warned you.”

You narrowed your eyes at him, wanting to slap the grin off his face. “I’m gonna drown you,” you threatened and lunged at him.

He laughed and dodged you like it was nothing, but that didn’t stop nor deter you. You leapt again without wasting time, grabbing hold of his shirt and pulling him towards you.

Once you’d dragged him close enough, you pounced on his back and dunked his head into the water. “Suffer, asshole!”

Upon hearing his muffled screams and seeing him flap his arms to signal he was getting short of breath, you let go of him and got off his back. “I thought you were a swimmer. How’d you get run out of breath in under a minute?”

Scowling, Donghyuck turned to face you. “You caught me off guard, dumbass.”

“Did I?” you asked sarcastically. “I told you you’d pay.”

He rolled his eyes and pointed at his exposed collarbone. “You tore my shirt too. I expect compensation.”

Like hell were you going to compensate Donghyuck when he was the one who had started this entire thing, but your curiosity got the better of you, and you decided to indulge him. Arching an eyebrow, you inquired, “What sort of compensation are we talking about?”

Donghyuck pretended to think, resting his chin on his fist. “Hmm, I don’t know. There’s not much I want from you other than your failure in the championship.”

You snorted and opened your mouth to tell him to fuck off, but before you could do so, he continued, “Except, maybe a kiss.”

And just like that, you changed your mind about not giving him any compensation.

You were so shocked and overjoyed at the same time that you couldn’t breathe. Your heart came to a stop, and you could only look at Donghyuck. Could only hope he wasn’t messing with you.

But his face had become dead serious. The mischievous glint in his eyes was gone, and all signs of his usual amusement had faded. Unblinking and unmoving, he stared back at you.

You knew he meant it—you could see the hope and anticipation swirling in his orbs. But a part of you still felt compelled to confirm. So, you did.

“Are you sure?” you whispered.

Donghyuck glanced at your lips for a split second before gazing into your eyes again. Gulping, he nodded once. “Yeah.”

And then, your heart was suddenly beating at the speed of light. You couldn’t gulp down enough air as you waded through the chin-level water and approached him.

He stood where he was, not removing his eyes from yours for even a moment. You paused once you were right in front of him and raised your trembling hands to cup his wet cheeks.

Donghyuck didn’t pull you against him. He didn’t close the distance between your mouths. He only waited for you to make the first move.

You took a shaky breath and dropped your gaze to his lips. Parting your own, you tilted your head up and pressed a soft kiss to his mouth.

You felt Donghyuck smile against you. Felt him snake his arms around your waist and finally pull you against him. Felt him kiss you back like he had wanted to do it since forever.

Your heart went haywire inside your chest. Pure euphoria coursed through you, and it felt like your brain was short-circuiting. You’d kissed plenty of times before, but none of those came close to the one you were sharing with Donghyuck.

He tasted like the strawberry chapstick you’d always seen him apply. His full lips were as soft as you’d imagined them to be, and they fit into yours like the last piece of a jigsaw puzzle. Your noses brushed as he dipped his head and titled it to gain better access.

You removed a hand from his cheek and fisted the nape of his shirt, pulling him closer, closer, closer.

“You’re gonna completely rip my shirt, you know?” Donghyuck mumbled against your mouth.

“Good. Then I’ll be able to compensate you again.”

He huffed a laugh and detached your lips. Resting his forehead on yours, he asked, “Am I going to have to let you destroy my clothes to kiss you from now on?”

You smiled and opened your eyes, pressing a chaste kiss to his cheek. “Nah. Just come over.”

Donghyuck chuckled. “Don’t regret saying that when I show up every single day.”

“Don’t be surprised when I do the same,” you quipped, moving away a bit.

His hands stayed on you for a moment, as if he didn’t want you to create distance. But the two of you needed to go back to camp. Dawn was approaching, and you needed to dry yourselves. Having wet hair first thing in the morning would raise questions you weren’t particularly inclined to answer.

“This changes nothing, though,” you added. “I’m still gonna humiliate your stupid camp and make you eat your words.”

Donghyuck gave you a lazy grin—the kind that made you want to pull him against you again. “I look forward to making out with you while plotting your downfall.”

You smirked. “Me too.”

“Where do you keep disappearing all the time?” Jeno inquired, narrowing his eyes at you. “One minute you’re here, and the next, you’re not.”

“What do you mean?” you asked nonchalantly. “Where would I go?”

“She hangs out with Hyuck every night and makes out with him in the woods,” Jaemin popped, biting into his apple.

You started, slapping your hand to his mouth and hastily scanning your surroundings to check if any campers were around. “Shut up! How the fuck did you know?” you demanded.

Jaemin’s mouth moved against your palm as he chewed on the fruit. He pointed at your hand, causing you to remove it from his lips and allowing him to speak. “You’re really not that subtle, you know?”

“You disappear to make out with him?” Jeno whisper-shouted before you could snap at Jaemin. “When did he confess to you?”

You froze, averting your gaze from Jaemin and focusing on Jeno instead. “What do you mean when did he confess to you?”

“He means Donghyuck has been attracted to you for a while now,” Jaemin cut in. “It was kinda obvious, but the two of you have always had pathetic love lives, so I don’t blame you for not realising.”

“Hey!” Jeno and you protested at the same time.

“Shut up. Don’t even try to defend yourselves. Jeno, you’re just a big dumbass who pays no attention to his surroundings. I had to tell you Donghyuck was into Y/N. And Y/N, you’re just a stupid fucking idiot who can’t see something that’s right in front of her. I thought you knew Donghyuck liked you. I thought you never paid any mind to his obvious head-over-heels behaviour because you didn’t like him back.”

You glared at Jaemin and crossed your arms in front of your chest. “What gives you the idea that Donghyuck likes me? That he has liked me for a while now, as you said.”

“I don’t know what happened between the two of you that made you start tongue fucking each other, but the fact that you do it makes it pretty clear that he likes you,” Jaemin said in a deadpan voice. “And I know he’s liked you for at least a year because he punched that asshole who was looking at you like he was mentally stripping you.”

You blinked. So Donghyuck hadn’t gone off the rails and become unnecessarily violent like you’d thought he had. He’d raised his hand to protect your honour. The realisation made warmed your heart.

“Donghyuck is a good guy, Jaemin,” you retorted, pulling yourself out of your reverie. “He doesn’t need to be attracted to me to help me out. I’m sure he would have done the same if any other girl were in my place.”

“Fine,” Jaemin said. “Accepted. But you can’t deny the way he looks at you screams I love you and I want you to be mine and—”

“Hold on,” you interjected. “First you accuse him of being attracted to me, and then you say he loves me? You’re insane.”

Jaemin sighed. “Why are you so against the possibility—reality—of Donghyuck liking you. And that’s me toning it down for you because I’m, like, 99% sure he’s in love.”

Your words died in your throat. To be honest, you had no idea why you were so set on dismissing Jaemin’s theory. You liked Donghyuck a lot, but you’d never really expected your newly developed feelings to be reciprocated.

And to now find out that there was a chance he’d liked—you refused to use the word love—you for a long time, even when you’d disliked him…

“You still don’t believe me,” Jaemin scoffed, noting the expression on your face. “Wow.”

“How the hell do you expect me to, huh?” you demanded. “Have you seen the way we act? We’re always hurling insults at each other and saying the most awful things—”

“But you don’t mean any of them!” Jaemin finally burst out. “The two of you never truly mean any of the shit you say. Being assholes to each other and arguing over the most insignificant things is just your dynamic. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t love you.”

“But—”

“Why don’t you just go and ask him yourself,” Jeno, who had been silent all this time, cut in. “Prove to us that you’re not a coward.”

Glaring at your cousin, you said, “I’m not stupid enough to fall for that.”

“You’re not,” he admitted. “But that doesn’t change the fact that you’re still a coward. You’re a goddamn pussy, and that is how I know Donghyuck made the first move. And if he was the one who initiated the kiss, he definitely likes you, Y/N.”

“What’s the worst that could happen anyway?” Jaemin continued. “You could get rejected. Donghyuck could be an even bigger jerk than we thought he was, and say that it all meant nothing. But then you’d at least know. You could use your hatred and anger as fuel and fucking crush him in the championship.”

“He’s not a jerk,” you mumbled, dropping your gaze to the ground.

“Oh, yeah? Then why don’t you go and talk to him?”

You knew Jaemin and Jeno had a point. You knew they were rightfully calling you out on your bullshit. You knew you were scared. You just didn’t know of what.

Donghyuck wouldn’t play around with you. He wasn’t the type of guy to do something like that. The two of you had practically been around each other your entire lives, so no way in hell would he just mess around with you knowing your paths were so entangled.

But what if he thought you were messing around? What if he thought you weren’t serious? You certainly hadn’t done or said anything to hint that you were.

Maybe that was why he hadn’t asked you out yet. Because he thought whatever was going on between you was just a short-lived summer fling.

Or maybe he was just waiting for you to make the move this time. Donghyuck wasn’t a jerk, but he did like to get on your nerves. And he could be very patient if he wanted to be.

“If this backfires,” you began, “I will chop your testicles in your sleep. I don’t need to be rejected by fucking Lee Donghyuck.”

“It won’t,” Jaemin urged, throwing the core of his apple in the dustbin nearby and pushing you towards your camp’s exit. “I know he likes you.”

You grumbled to yourself. Jaemin better not be wrong. You’d rather die than confess to Donghyuck and not have him return your feelings.

“Hey, Renjun,” you greeted and waved at him upon entering the grounds of Saltwater. “Have you seen Hyuck?”

“Yeah,” he said as he pulled you into a side hug, pointing at a cabin several feet away. “He’s in his dad’s office. I think he’ll be out soon.”

“Can I wait?”

Renjun snorted. “Hell, nah. I can’t have you spying around and seeing things you shouldn’t be seeing.”

“Even though we’re best friends?” You pouted, refraining the urge to blackmail him by mentioning the time when he ditched you at the party.

He flicked your forehead playfully. “Especially because we’re best friends. I know the exact kind of a person you are.”

You began to protest but cut yourself off when the corner of your eye caught Donghyuck’s figure exiting the cabin, his father in tow. Even though you were far enough to not be able to hear them conversing, you didn’t miss the huge smile adorning the boy’s lips.

It wasn’t playful or evil. Neither was it the mischievous one that he gave you so often. Donghyuck was smiling a real smile that conveyed nothing but happiness and childlike joy.

Watching him look at his dad like that made the corners of your lips curl up too.

As if feeling your gaze on him, Donghyuck’s head turned in your direction. You saw his mouth move as he bid his father goodbye. And then, he was sprinting towards you.

You let out a surprised laugh and took a step back, bracing yourself for the hit you were about to take.

He rammed into you with the force of a small vehicle, wrapping his arms around you and pulling you in an embrace. The ground under your feet disappeared as you were picked up, and he began twirling you around. You just grabbed his shoulders, screaming at him to slow down.

“You won’t believe what just happened,” Donghyuck breathed after setting you down, his hands still resting on your waist. Your own clung to his biceps while you tried to regain your balance.

Excitement bubbled inside you, and you looked at him expectantly. “What?”

“I talked to my dad. I finally fucking talked to him about everything. Apologised for every single time I hurt him and asked if he’d be willing to go stargazing with me tonight.”

You beamed at him. “He agreed.” The expression on Donghyuck’s face and the twinkle in his eyes made it clear.

“Not just that,” he gushed. “He forgave me. He said he’d love to take me on a week-long father-son bonding trip after camp ends!”

“What?” You laughed. “That’s insane, Hyuck! I’m so happy for you!”

Donghyuck smiled at you softly, tucking a stray strand of hair behind your ear. “Thanks for being there for me.”

“Anytime, Goldfish.” You winked and pressed a kiss to his cheek. Donghyuck chuckled lowly, whispering in your ear that he was a shark. You simply hummed and called him a goldfish again. Your goldfish.

From behind you, Renjun cleared his throat.

Shifting away from Donghyuck, you faced your friend and tried your best to fight the fluster that was warming your cheeks. Renjun was looking at you with a raised eyebrow, but he thankfully didn’t make a comment.

You knew he’d torment you later, though, and ask why you were suddenly so close to the boy you always talked shit about.

“I’m happy for you, Hyuck.” Renjun grinned and pulled him in a brief hug. “I don’t know what happened between you and counsellor Lee, but I’m glad you grew the balls to make things right.”

Throwing an arm around your shoulder, Donghyuck said, “Wouldn’t have done it without Y/N knocking some sense into me. Besides, if her dad could be proud of me, there was no way mine wouldn’t even hear me out.”

That’s when the reason behind his sudden courage dawned on you. Donghyuck must have felt shitty to know his enemy’s father was proud of him when he was on awkward terms with his own.

“True,” Renjun popped. “Anyway, I gotta go know. Archery starts soon. I’ll leave you guys to it.”

Once the boy was out of earshot, you shrugged Donghyuck’s arm off your shoulder and glared at him. “You drove Renjun away!”

“What?” he exclaimed. “I literally only breathed!”

You groaned. “Did you have to be so touchy in front of him? He clearly got uncomfortable and escaped. What’s worse is he’s gonna tease me about it—”

Donghyuck shut you up by capturing your lips in a kiss. It was pathetic how you instantly melted into him and reciprocated, giving no thought to your surroundings.

“Don’t lie; you love it when I’m touchy,” he mumbled against your mouth, pulling back with a cheeky grin on his face.

Touché.

“Also, it’s not that I don’t enjoy seeing you,” he continued, “but why are you here?”

Oh.

Clearing your throat to buy yourself some time to think of an excuse, you squeaked, “Um, I was just spying on you.”

Donghyuck gave you a weird look that said there was no way he was buying your utter bullshit. “When do I get to hear the truth?”

Never, you thought to yourself. It wasn’t that you were chickening out, but it just didn’t feel right to confess to him immediately after he had made amends with his dad. It was their day, and you didn’t want to intrude on it. You could talk to him the next day too.

“Tomorrow,” you declared. “After you’re back from stargazing.”

“I was actually hoping we could meet tonight,” Donghyuck countered. “Dad and I won’t be gone for long—just a couple of hours at most.” When you raised an inquiring eyebrow, he explained, “Trust me, I wanna do spend more time with him, but he still has a camp to run. This place might fall apart if the owner and the head counsellor both disappeared for an entire night.”

Laughing, you agreed. “Sure. Midnight?”

“Midnight.”

It was midnight.

Donghyuck was nowhere in sight, but you weren’t really surprised. His lack of punctuality didn’t even faze you anymore. But when fifteen minutes passed, and he still didn’t show up, you started to grow agitated.

Had he decided to spend the entire night stargazing with his father? It was possible for them to have made last-minute changes to their plan. You couldn’t even be angry at him for ditching you because tonight was special for him.

Sighing, you let your shoulders slump and scanned your surroundings for the last time. Upon finding the road stranded and no one in sight, you turned to go back to your camp.

You had taken no more than one step when all the lights winked out, and darkness engulfed you. Slapping a hand on your mouth to keep a scream from escaping, you whirled to see what had caused the sudden blackout.

Before your eyes could adjust to the sudden lack of light, a lamp post inside Saltwater grounds came back to life, your gaze immediately zeroing in on it.

You’d seen enough horror movies to know that following the light would be a mistake. But then again, standing alone in the dark was even terrifying. The security personnel from both camps had also seemed to vanish into thin air.

“Fuck,” you cursed under your breath and threw a glance over your shoulder, trying to detect any movement in Beaver Falls.

You weren’t surprised to see that the camp was as silent as a grave. It was way past curfew, and even the counsellors didn’t stay up past midnight. Walking into your own home felt scary when it was shrouded in darkness.

Averting your gaze to the only source of light in a sea of obsidian, you steeled your nerves. “I’m gonna kill Donghyuck if I die,” you muttered and took a step forward.

But then you remembered that you had nothing to protect yourself with against the ghost that was tormenting you, so you speed walked to your side of the road, crouched and blindly searched the ground with your hand.

Bingo, you thought to yourself as your fingers wrapped around a large, heavy stone. Throwing it would be challenging, but you had a solid defence against the threat now.

You took small, measured steps towards the lamp post with the stone raised above your head, your eyes constantly darting around in fear. When you were less than a few metres away from the beacon, another one lit up, and the one in front of you extinguished.

You froze, eyes wide and breathing laboured. The stone slipped from your fingers and landed on the ground with a soft thud.

“Hell, no,” you whispered, realising that you were being led towards the woods. This was not how you were going to die. “I’m out.”

Turning on your heels, you began sprinting in the direction of your camp. Thanks to the little bit of light, your eyes never adjusted to the utter darkness. The only thing keeping you from falling was your muscle memory.

You had only run for a few seconds when you crashed into a wall of solid and rebounded, falling on your ass. You dared to look up and instantly wished you never had.

Staring down at you was the urban legend whose story you narrated to the kids in your camp on the last night of their stay—the hollow-eyed woman.

She had no eyeballs, and her figure adorned a white gown splattered with blood. Her mud-stained skin was pale, as if it had never seen sunlight, causing her blue veins to look like they were popping out. Her waist-length hair covered most of her face, her empty sockets staring into your soul through the gaps.

You knew she didn’t really exist. You knew she was just a myth. You knew it was you who dressed up as her every year to scare the kids when they explored the woods.

Unfortunately, your terror had rendered you unable to think rationally. Heck, you couldn’t even bring yourself to breathe, much less scream. But then your body suddenly switched to survival mode, and you were scrambling away from her.

Hauling yourself up, you made a beeline for the light. To Hell with your worries of being baited into the woods.

Anywhere was safer than where the hollow-eyed woman was.

One after the other, lamp posts lit up, the ones behind them winking out as you sprinted past. When the woods got thicker, the posts were swapped with hanging lamps nailed to the tree.

It felt like you had been running for hours, but then you stumbled into a clearing. There was no light to follow anymore, so you came to a stop, your eyes darting around in an attempt to identify your location.

Realisation slowly began to dawn on you. “What the—”

You were cut off by the lights suddenly switching back on. Raising an arm to shield your eyes against the brightness, you squinted, trying to see what was going on.

Lee motherfucking Donghyuck was standing in the middle of the small clearing, a shy smile on his face.

He had ditched his camp jersey in favour of wearing casuals—a black button-up shirt that was tucked in from the front and had its first two buttons left open with the sleeves rolled up, a pair of blue ripped jeans and white canvas shoes. His hair was pushed back, putting his forehead on display.

All thoughts about the hollow-eyed woman flew out of your mind. The only thing you could focus on was the boy in front of you and how good he looked.

Your fear was replaced with confusion and fascination and wonder. The clearing had been decorated, and from the looks of it, a lot of effort had been put into making it look pretty.

Fairy lights were hung on the trees to illuminate the place and a table for two had been set up behind Donghyuck, soft music playing in the background.

“What…” you trailed off and began walking towards him. “What’s going on?”

Donghyuck chuckled softly. “I told you to meet me tonight, didn’t I?”

“But I did come to meet you,” you sputtered. “But there was no one there, and then everything went dark, and this lamp post suddenly lit up, and then more started lighting up, and there was the hollow-eyed woman, and I started running and—”

“That was all to bring you here,” he said, cutting off your ramble. “You were supposed to follow the lights.”

“And the ghost?” you asked incredulously. “That was a set up too?”

“Of course, it was.” He laughed, slipping his hand in yours and pulling you closer to him. “Jeno dressed up.”

Despite your confusion regarding what was happening, you couldn’t help but let out a snort at the image that formed in your mind. “I didn’t know he was so good at costuming.”

Donghyuck smiled, cupping your cheek with a hand and caressing it with his thumb. “Neither did I. And I didn’t know you’d be so scared either. Sorry for baiting you that way.”

Rolling your eyes, you shoved his shoulder playfully. “I wasn’t scared,” you lied, trying to play it cool. “I was just taken aback. Was the ghost part really necessary?”

He gave you a look that said he didn’t believe you but indulged you nevertheless and said, “I knew you wouldn’t follow the lights. You’re too smart to fall for something like that, so we had to think of a way to make you do what we wanted.”

“We?” You raised an eyebrow. “Why does it sound like more people were involved?”

Donghyuck grinned. “Because there were. When I told you I wanted to end the rivalry, I meant it. Kids and counsellors from both our camps helped me to set everything up.”

“No way!” you gasped. “They actually worked together?”

He laughed. “Yeah. Now can I ask you out, or do you want me to explain the entire process and tell you about the fights I had to break apart in order for this to be a success?”

Your heart thundered inside your chest. “Ask me out,” you breathed.

“Will you go out with me, Y/N?”

“Yes,” you whispered and closed the distance between your mouths.

Feeling Donghyuck smile against your lips as you kissed him was probably one of the best things you had ever experienced. That little upward quirk of his lips spoke volumes about how happy he was.

How happy you made him.

You’d never thought you would crave something—someone—so much. You’d never imagined having the courage to lay yourself bare with all your flaws out in the open for a person to see. Had never expected anyone to witness them and still accept you for the way you were.

It dawned on you that Donghyuck had been doing so your entire life. You may have been enemies and gone head-to-head on numerous occasions, but he knew you from the inside out and had never been repulsed. He’d seen you at your worst and had still fallen for you in the end.

And despite knowing all his imperfections, the same had happened to you. Maybe it was because you never saw them as something that needed to be worked on or fixed.

Donghyuck was annoying, stubborn, a literal child when it came to certain things, but that was what you loved about him. Had perhaps always loved that about him even when you hated him.

You realised that it’s true what they say: sometimes the answer is right in front of you.

Donghyuck was your answer.

It was the day of the competition.

Both camps were buzzing with excitement, adrenaline was flowing through everyone’s veins, and anticipation was evident on each face.

All of your campers had worked tirelessly for this day, and you were incredibly proud of them. They’d even gone as far as waking up an hour early every day for the last week of camp so they could practice for longer.

Hell, even the six-year-olds had willingly gotten up at five in the morning to polish their moves.

Donghyuck and you had decided to play fair. If you wanted to end this rivalry once and for all, the best way to do it was by not sabotaging each other. In fact, you’d made changes to the basis of the championship too.

Now, everyone was competing to build teamwork and develop a sense of sportsmanship. No longer would the winner be declared as the “better of the two camps.”

As per your expectations, the kids had been against the “participation is more important than winning” mantra you had proposed. To be honest, you yourself thought the entire saying was bullshit, but it was time you started acting like a figure the campers could look up to and aspire to be.

You hadn’t bothered to make changes to the intense pep talk you had written in advance on the day the championship was announced, though. Most of its contents still humiliated camp Saltwater and encouraged the Beaver Falls representatives to put those pathetic Goldfish in their places.

It didn’t matter anyway. You wanted to be a good idol, not a great one.

“Ready to lose?” Donghyuck drawled in your ear, throwing an arm over your shoulder.

“I hope you are,” you quipped. “I’m going to destroy you bitches.”

“You aren’t even participating.”

Throwing him a side glare, you said, “You know what I mean, dumbass.”

“I don’t know how I feel about my girlfriend calling me a dumbass.”

Your heart started beating a little faster at the word girlfriend. “How about fuckass?”

“Nah.”

“Whore? Slut? Dipshit? Bitch boy? Douchebaguette—”

“Douchebaguette?” Donghyuck asked incredulously.

“Douchebaguette it is!”

“Hey, I didn’t—”

“Bye, I gotta go practice the trash talk I’m gonna make you hear after I win this championship,” you interrupted him and shrugged his hand off you, beginning to walk away with your front still facing him.

Donghyuck snorted. “Yeah, you go do that, Douchebaguettess. You’re seriously lacking.”

Biting your lip to keep a smile from creeping on your face, you gave flipped him off with both hands. “Suck my dick.”

“Why don’t you suck mine?” he called after you. “At least the one I have isn’t hypothetical!”

You couldn’t help the laugh that escaped you. Shaking your head, you finally put your back to him.

Dating the idiot was going to be a rollercoaster. The good kind. You couldn’t wait to see what was in store for you. Couldn’t wait to experience the wonders of life with him.

And maybe it was too early to put a name to your feelings for Donghyuck, but they sure as hell felt a lot like love.

note: I’LL GIVE YOU A BIIIIG HUG IF YOU MADE IT SO FAR <3_<3 writing seasons in the sun has been such a rollercoaster for me LOL as someone who has zero commitment but still wanted to include everything that was thought of, completing this fic was a huge challenge <//3 BUT all my frustrations turned out to be worth it in the end bc the amount of satisfaction i’m feeling rn......PHEW once again, thank you soooo much for reading :”) truly means the world to me <3

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hwaflms · 17 days

Text

round & round! ★ [ l.dh ]

{💭} hyuck : i suggested playing spin the bottle because i wanted to kiss you, but now everyone’s kissing you except me :/

[☆] pairing. haechan x reader, slight jaemin x reader ft. 00’ line, chaewon of lesserafim and sieun of stayc

[☆] genre. smut + fluff | stoner!nct, pwp bc it’s me

[☆] wc. 6.1k

[☆] warnings. explicit content (mdni), weed/marijuana use, lots of making out, slight choking, dirty talk, fingering, sexual stuff in a semi-public place, use of the word ‘slut’, very slight degradation, not very proofread, pretty tame tbh

[☆] notes. my first time writing again in like??? two years???? istg i didn’t mean to abandon this acc 😞 pls be nice i haven’t written in a while and this is not my most favourite work but i’m warming up for more stuff in da future i just wanted to post a lil self-indulgent smth abt hyuck bc bf☝️ idk how active i’ll be because of uni and other things but i missed u guys!!! any feedback is appreciated enjoy :p

even through the clouds of smoke engulfing the little living room of jeno and jaemin’s shared flat, your hooded eyes still met.

today was an important day amongst your friend group; it was chaewon’s first time smoking up with everyone. your friends weren’t really the type to pressure anyone into doing anything they weren’t sure about, but considering the astounding majority who enjoyed smoking some variation of weed, group sessions were a frequent occurrence. you either joined in or didn’t, chaewon being the latter until she decided of her own accord that she was going to try it with the people she trusted.

you sesh with jeno most often, seeing as he was the one who introduced you to weed and taught you everything you know about it. after weeks of listening to you complain about sleepless nights, jeno suggested you try smoking a joint before you go to bed, especially since it was starting to affect your attendance. (“i can’t keep attending these zoology classes without you, y/n. every time something stupid happens, i laugh and make a joke out loud because i forget you aren’t there, and now i’m pretty sure people think i’m either insane or just really fucking lonely”.)

now, smoking up has been a pretty regular occurrence, especially since jeno introduced you to a bunch of his friends and vice versa, all of you making up one big, happy group of stoners. chaewon and sieun were your friends who got along with everyone else just fine, and though they didn’t hang out with the others as much as you did, they were still welcome whenever.

presently, you are leaning back against the couch, all the way on the end, because jaemin is sprawled out alongside you, opting to rest his legs on your lap. haechan makes a joke that you don’t understand, but you laugh anyway along with everyone else, except renjun who covers up his laugh with cough.

“you can never let me have it, huh?”, hyuck scoffs, narrowing his eyes at renjun who’s mouth forms a thin line. “i know for a fact you find me funny.”

you hear that he makes a remark back at haechan but what he says doesn’t register in your head, everything sounding far away. remembering the special occasion, you turn to face chaewon and sieun, who are giggling away on the floor about something between the two of them. you don’t know what they said but you smile anyway. she clearly seemed like she was having a good trip, and so was everyone else.

swallowing nothing, you realise how dry your throat feels, and with that realisation came this undeniable desire for some form of liquid. “jen,”, you tilt your head back and call out to the boy who was already rolling another joint on the table behind you. “did you end up buying more coke?”

“check the fridge”, he mumbles without looking at you, tongue poking his cheek out of concentration as he focuses on what he was doing. with a groan, you heave jaemin’s legs off your lap, muttering a couple ‘sorry’s when he starts to complain about the change in position.

you all but float to the kitchen, heading straight for the fridge and spotting the fresh cans of coke placed neatly in the overcrowded appliance. the first gulp feels like heaven against your parched throat, taking a few more while standing there.

“you gonna share or no?”, a voice startles you, turning to find haechan’s figure looming right behind you with a dopey smile on his face.

“god, we need to get you a bell or something. i never hear you coming”, you roll your eyes before grabbing two glasses from the cabinet. you’re disappointed to see that there was no ice in their freezer, but you pour the drink into the glass anyway.

“why are you pouring it into a glass?”, haechan furrows his eyebrows, looking pointedly between the glass and the literal can in your hand. “now we have to wash two glasses when we could’ve just drank it from the can.”

he’s right, of course, but you’re not gonna tell him that. instead, you pretend that you were planning on adding some lemon juice to the drink because you saw it on instagram. while you figure he doesn’t believe you, he humours you anyway and tries your little concoction, which ends up being pretty damn good.

out of all of jeno’s friends, haechan definitely stood out to you. you didn’t really understand why, you were just drawn to him, even way back before you met him, when jeno used to tell you about his friends. “loud and annoying” were the words he used to describe him, but the smile that appeared on his face anyway let you know that he was someone special to jeno. this was not to say his other friends weren’t special, you got along incredibly well with all of them, meshing right in with their group.

as of right on cue, jaemin’s voice loudly sounds out from the living room, “are you guys fucking in there or what?”.

sighing, you pick up your glass and begin to walk out of the kitchen, but not before purposely knocking haechan’s shoulder when you walk past him, hearing him snort before following you out as you exit the room. perhaps if you had lingered in the kitchen for a couple seconds longer, you would’ve heard haechan muttering something along the lines of “i wish” under his breath.

“jeez, took you long enough, can i have some of that?”, renjun drawls, lifting himself off the armchair with a smile, to which you roll your eyes but pass him your glass anyway. you sit down on the floor opposite the couch and he looks as if he is about to compliment your drink-making skills before haechan cuts him off.

“dude, chaewon and sieun look like they’re about to fall asleep, let’s do something”, he half yawns out, opting to stroll over to your spot on the floor and sinking down next to you.

“not…sleepy…”, chaewon murmurs, but her voice is muffled because her cheek is pressed against sieun’s shoulder, both of them sprawled out on the floor like it was a comfortable bed.

“sure you aren’t…”, jeno chides with a smile, getting up from the table to walk over to where all of you were situated. he twirls his newly rolled joint between his fingers, finally holding it out in his palm as if it were some magical gadget, and if you were being fully honest, you were sold. “round 2? or 3, I can’t really remember…”

some words of agreement were muttered across the room, chaewon and sieun even groggily getting up from what looked like a very comfortable napping spot. another rotation began, and you made sure to blow out your smoke directly into an unsuspecting haechan’s face when it was your turn.

“let’s play a game or something”, jaemin suggests, taking a long puff and passing it to jeno who sat beside him, and soon the room was hazy once again, the smell of weed infiltrating your nostrils.

“like what?”, chaewon coughs weakly in between her hit and renjun pats her back before he hands her your coke that you hadn’t received back after you gave it to him. so long for that.

“monopoly?”, jeno offers with a shrug and haechan lets out an obnoxious snore as a reply, making you laugh but you cover it up with a cough when you meet jeno’s playfully narrowed eyes. “okay then, big guy, what’s your incredible idea?”

haechan appears to actually think about it for a moment, looking around the room for some sort of inspiration maybe, until his eyes land on you.

“okay jaemin, get that empty wine bottle from last week, we’re playing spin the bottle”, he is grinning from ear to ear, wiggling his eyebrows even though all his suggestion receives is a bunch of groans and sighs.

your eyebrows are raised however, and you try not to let your reaction show too much on your face. spin the bottle? you hadn’t played that since you were maybe fourteen, but that was the least of your concerns at the moment. haechan wanted to play spin the bottle? who was he hoping to kiss? or was it just a whimsical little suggestion that was more of a joke?

it didn’t fully seem like he meant it as a joke, judging by his expression as he awaited some actual responses from the group. “what are we, fourteen?”, renjun might as well have read your mind, but he soon joins you and haechan on the floor, the others following suit. jaemin presents the empty bottle and places it in the middle of the little circle you have formed, everyone seeming slightly more keen as the joint runs out.

maybe it was the thc talking, but it didn’t really seem like a bad idea to you anymore. you were all single, attractive and close enough that it wouldn’t make things weird, and most importantly, you wouldn’t mind getting more familiar with haechan’s lips.

you shocked your own self with the sudden lewd thoughts in your head about the male sitting next to you, squirming in your position slightly. he turns his head towards you like he could hear your thoughts (“shut up, y/n, he can’t hear your thoughts…right?”) and you swear his eyes soften a bit. “are you sure you wanna play?”, he asks softly, mistaking your tenseness for discomfort, but you shake your head a little too quickly for your liking.

“no, no, let’s play, it’s not like we have anything better to do, right?”, you feign indifference and after everyone else agrees, the bottle is spun for the first time by haechan.

much to renjun’s dismay, it lands on him, and it’s almost comical the way he looks at the bottle pointing at him before slowly looking up at haechan. “renjunnie, let me kiss you”, haechan whines in a high pitched tone while drawing out the “you”, puckering his lips expectantly. the next three minutes consist of renjun listing every single person he would rather kiss than haechan, and you’d have half the mind to volunteer yourself if you weren’t clutching at your sides laughing at the whole exchange, slapping at both jeno and sieun who tried and failed to dodge your waving hands.

renjun finally relents when chaewon suggests he lets him kiss his cheek instead, but haechan is no quitter so he makes sure that he plants the loudest, most wet kiss on his face before sighing in victory when he sits back down. renjun is not the most happy with this, and he tells jaemin to take his turn instead while he rushes off to the bathroom to wash his face. hyuck looks indignant, calling out behind renjun, asking if he wants another one.

taking the turn instead of renjun, jaemin spins the bottle harshly, and it spins and spins and spins for what seemed like an eternity. your eyes are so focused on the way the bottle looks as it spins that you don’t even notice that it has stopped, until jeno nudges you with his shoulder. it’s neck is pointed directly at you, and you finally look up from your trance at jaemin, who wears an undeniable smirk on his face.

while you didn’t exactly see him that way, there was absolutely no denying that jaemin was a very attractive man, and he was no different presently, the sleeves of his hoodie rolled up as he propped himself up with his arms, looking at you expectantly.

you don’t want to look at haechan right now, because you can see out of the corner of your eye that his face is looking straight forward, not at you or jaemin, just forward. you wonder what is going through his head, but your thoughts are cut short when jaemin scoots closer to you in the circle.

“are you okay with this?”

and when you think about, you are. “yeah, i mean it’s just a game”, you reply, not wanting to ruin the fun or raise any suspicions, to which jaemin agrees and inclines his head towards you.

he kisses you, more fully than you were expecting, but you had no complaints really as you kissed him back, titling your head in the opposite direction to slip your lips over his. you wonder if your lips were as dry as they felt, and in the back of your mind it registers that your friends are watching you kiss your other friend because they hoot and giggle, but you can’t really bring yourself to care.

jaemin’s lips taste sweet and he smells sweet, his touch soft as he brings a hand up to your cheek, gently holding it while he continues kissing you. it probably wasn’t as long as it felt, but jaemin finally pulls away, the remnants of his sweet chapstick lingering on your lips. you are aware of how hot your face feels when you pull away and return to your spot, tucking your hair behind your ears.

“dude, what chapstick do you use?”, you ask after clearing your throat, and jaemin rummages in his pant pocket for a moment before whipping out a cute pink tube, holding it out in front of him. “strawberry dream, baby”, he winks, reapplying it on his lips. “never go anywhere without it.”

renjun returns after god knows how long, stating that he had to re-do his skin care routine because haechan had completely thrown off his skin’s ph balance, and is saddened to hear that he missed witnessing you and jaemin.

the game continues in a steadfast manner for the next couple of rounds thanks to haechan insisting we play one more round, though it doesn’t exactly go in the manner you were hoping for. the group is practically in tears after watching jeno and jaemin share an awkward kiss, chaewon arguing that they can’t claim “no homo” because it was the most homo thing she’d seen in a while, and that was saying a lot because she was, in fact, gay.

you have now kissed sieun, jaemin once again and an especially endearing renjun, who’s cheeks and tips of his ears are painted a bright red after you plant a full peck on his waiting lips. haechan grumbles something about renjun not having kissed anyone besides his mom to explain his reaction, but jeno is quick to cut renjun off before another argument ensues.

“i don’t know about you guys, but i think that’s enough exchanging of saliva for one day”, he all but sighs, lying down on the floor dramatically. while you do agree, you’re disheartened, because not once has the bottle landed on you when spun by haechan, or the other way around. it feels like the universe is fucking with you, because really how many times can you spin a bottle between a group of seven people and not have it land on the one person you want to kiss even once.

haechan looks like he wants to say something, but appears to decide against it in the end, stretching and standing up. it is then mutually agreed by everyone that it was time to watch a movie.

“super bad?”, jaemin proposes, and even though most people had already watched the movie, no one argues against it and jeno starts setting up the movie on their big screen tv.

settling into the couch, you glance over at haechan and you’d be lying if you said you weren’t feeling a tad bit disappointed. this whole spin the bottle thing makes you wonder about all the other times where you could have had an opportunity to make a move on the brown-haired boy.

you’d gone on long drives together, gone partying, even drank with just each other a couple of times. the closest the two of you had ever come to crossing that line was while you where dancing at a party and his arms were looped around your waist from behind, slowly swaying to the beat. you’d danced with him tons of times before that but you recall thinking the air was a little different than normal, more heated, but you also recall mistaking renjun for your professor, so you didn’t trust yourself. the moment came and went, and neither of you ever had the balls to address it, and now it had been way too long since to bring it up.

“this seat taken?”, haechan snaps you out of your bitter thoughts, jerking his head towards the spot on the couch next to you. you clear your throat and shake your head, scooting over slightly so he could sink down next to you. “what’s up, y/n, you look a little…not present. you still high?”

it’s funny because your mind certainly wasn’t present, it was in the gutter, but you choose to blame the weed. “yeah, i’m still high”, you answered truthfully, and so was he, his red, hooded eyes a dead giveaway.

“okay, perfect, i wanted to show you this stupid tiktok i saw”, he’s pulling his phone out of his pocket and leaning closer to you to show you some video of a cat, or maybe a dog, you weren’t paying attention. he laughs at whatever the animal did, the corner of his eyes crinkling as he does so, and you observe him instead of watching. when he doesn’t hear you laugh, he peeks over at you but you’re quick to turn your head back to his phone, letting out a very late giggle at the video.

if he did catch you, he doesn’t mention it, continuing to scroll and show you more videos. jeno finally gets the movie set up and turns off the lights, taking up the final seat left on the couch. the movie begins, and everyone falls into a comfortable silence bar hyuck, who makes the occasional comment that earns him a snort from you each time.

at some point during the movie, haechan stretches his arms out behind him, placing his arm on the head of the couch directly behind you. glancing at him quickly, you can’t tell whether the action was purposeful or not, because if it was, he was doing a very good job of looking nonchalant. you try your best to ignore it, but his hand is resting directly above your shoulder, inches away from touching you- but it never does.

you had never noticed what nice hands haechan had before. long and slender, nails clipped short and clean, his middle, ring and index finger adorned with various silver rings. you note that he wears three rings on his left hand, but none on his right. his right hand sits on top of one of his thighs, two of his fingers drumming against it following some rhythm going on in his head. his fingers are long, and the only thing you can think about is just how nice they would feel inside–

no, no, no, stop it, since when are you this horny?

you realise stressing out about how horny you are all of a sudden is just going to lead to a bad trip and you don’t want that, and you want to clear your head. even though you’re feeling a different kind of thirsty, you figure a distraction for a couple minutes would be helpful, so you excuse yourself to go get some water, jumping up from the couch and walking towards the kitchen. unbeknownst to you, haechan’s watchful eyes follow your figure as you exit the room.

finally away and in the kitchen, you fill up a glass and lean over the sink, closing your eyes to collect yourself. you can finish the movie without driving yourself crazy over haechan, right? tonight is no different than any other hangout and you don’t want to weird haechan out with your unnecessary staring and poorly concealed thirsting. you just need to stop thinking about his stupid hands, his stupid thighs, his stupid hair and his stupid kissable lips. “kissable? lock in, y/n, lock in…”

“who are you talking to?”

you wince but don’t turn around, eyes screwed shut tightly. you’ve been gone for a couple minutes and you don’t know when he left the room, but you put down the glass and turn to face him.

“what’s got you so jumpy?”, he questions, leaning against the counter. his arms are folded and his gaze is piercing, face tilted slightly to the left as he observes you. this is the second time he’s startled you in the kitchen today and also happens to be the very reason you’ve been so jumpy.

“nothing, i just…god, you need to starting announcing your entry into a room, dude…”

he furrows his eyebrows but lets out a chuckle anyway, slowly sauntering over to where you stood. eyes never leaving yours, he now stands directly in front of you, caging you in between the sink and his body. the closer proximity and dim lighting isn’t helping your case in the slightest, feeling all hot and bothered as if there was a sudden change in temperature. “what’s happening? you’re usually never like this, we’ve smoked up together so many times. are you having a bad trip?”

you understand why he might think that, what with your jerky movements, dazed staring and just overall disconnected demeanour. while you were wound up a little tighter than usual, you weren’t having a bad trip, your mind was just very slightly preoccupied. “no, hyuck, i’m fine, i just…needed some water”, it’s a half-lie you tell, choosing to not tell him the full truth for the sake of your own pride.

“you just seem…off”, he seems to pick his words carefully, eyes roaming over the expanse of your face. “no, i just…”, you trail off to try and find the words to explain this situation away, but he’s just looking at you so intensely. it’s so silent in the room and the air feels all too still, and you swear you’re trying to speak coherently but haechan switches his weight to his other leg, wetting his lips with his tongue while he awaits an answer and you just freeze. “i…”

“‘i’ what? see? you’re doing it again”, he starts, running a hand through his hair, and the muted light that leaks in through the window illuminates only one half of his face, but you can see him so clearly that even the way his pretty eyelashes brush against his cheek when he blinks doesn’t go unnoticed by you. you’re subconsciously chewing on your bottom lip, feeling a little like a deer caught in headlights. “you have this look in your eye. like you wanna…”

“…what?”

everything is still and unmoving, until your eyes zero in on haechan’s hand as he raises it, slowly bringing it to graze his fingers over your cheek. his touch leaves a burning hot trail on your skin and using his thumb, he releases your bottom lip from under your teeth, hand lingering cautiously for a fleeting moment before he drops it.

“like what, haechan?”, you repeat yourself, urging him to just say whatever it is he has to say, getting tired of this back and forth. you could sell a kidney just to see what was going on in his mind right now, because he looks torn between speaking his mind and just staying silent.

“like you want to kiss me.”

a few beats of complete and utter silence pass, not even hearing the dull sound of the television in the living room anymore over the thudding of your heart in your ears. haechan takes a small and tentative step towards your frozen figure, gripping the counter you’re using to lean against with his right hand, effectively trapping you in your place. now you really are a deer caught in headlights, because he’s spoken what you’ve been thinking about for the past couple hours into existence and he is absolutely correct.

“am i wrong, pretty?”

judging by your sharp intake of breath and open-mouthed expression, you’d have to be a fool to think otherwise. he looks as if he’s waiting for you to answer him regardless, giving you a chance to get out of this, but your voice is no longer functioning, and it takes all the strength in your body to shake your head ‘no’.

his eyes flicker between your eyes and your lips, tongue peeking out to lick his lips again. “i suggested playing spin the bottle because i wanted to kiss you”, his voice is strained as he admits this, quiet and careful like he’s holding back while his eyes are trained on yours like he’s daring you to break eye contact. you don’t. “but then everyone else was kissing you but me.”

normally you would giggle at his little frown, but all you can muster up is a whisper of his name, finally breaking his all-consuming eye contact in favour of looking at his lips again. you don’t know who moves first, but the next thing you know is your lips are pressed together in a fierce kiss, your hands tangled in his soft, brown locks while he grip your waist and pull you into him.

he kisses you like a man starved and you do the same with equal fervour, not even being able to process that your little daydream is coming true. his hand comes up to caress your cheek, soon moving down your neck after stroking your face softly, using it to tilt your head for you. the position of his hand is very purposeful because his thumb presses into your throat ever so slightly, but his grip is still tight enough that you couldn’t break the kiss (not that you wanted to, anyway). the other hand snakes around your waist and pulls you impossibly closer, pressing his hips into yours.

you’re positively drunk off the feeling of haechan’s lips molding over yours and you think you might just ascend when he tugs on your bottom lip with his teeth, using the opportunity to slip his tongue into your mouth. body on fire, you mewl against his lips, swirling your own tongue around his while he slowly but surely bucks his hips into yours.

no wards are spoken while your hands thread through his hair, pulling on it and letting out a sound of surprise into his mouth when his hand trails down to your ass and grips it harshly. he finally releases you from the searing kiss, but he doesn’t let you catch your breath, instead spinning you around in his hold so that his front presses tightly into your back, hands slipping around your waist from behind. this feels like a déjà vu kind of moment because you are reminded of the time when you both were dancing in this exact position, except this time you were getting exactly what you wanted.

“you know how bad i wanted this?”, his voice echoes your thoughts and breaks the silence, hands running up and down your front in a teasing manner. lifting your shirt up slightly, he trails his fingers over the exposed skin of your torso and the action makes you squirm in his hold a little, and much to your surprise, he groans lewdly against your ear. “fuck, i’ve been thinking of this for so long. kissing you, having my hands all over you…”

you get the sense he’s talking more to himself than you, but you revel in it nonetheless. his hand grips your jaw and squishes your cheeks together so your lips form a pout, forcing it to the side where he plants one, two, three kisses to your puckered mouth. his other hand slips further up your shirt where he brazenly cups your boob through your bra, fondling one of them while his tongue peeks out to flick at your bottom lip.

you’re putty in his arms, all gasps and squirms and whispered ‘haechan’s. “what, baby?”, he mumbles into your cheek, the hand gripping your jaw letting go in order to slink down to your hip where it lingers for a moment. “what do you want?”

your lack of answer doesn’t bode well with him, earning you a tight squeeze to your hip as a kind of warning. “need you to touch me”, you whisper out defeatedly, and you feel haechan laugh mockingly against your face.

“yeah? need me to touch you?”, he mimics your voice while tutting, letting his hand slip further down to where you needed him the most, but not letting you have it just yet. “think you can be a good girl and keep quiet for me? we don’t need everyone outside hearing what a little slut you’re being in here.”

everyone outside. the fact that you were just a room away from all your friends who were sat watching a fun little movie together had completely slipped your mind, but if you were being honest, you couldn’t find it in you to give a shit. everything about your current disposition was so dirty. one hand under your shirt, the other about two seconds away from fingering you right in the middle of your friends’ kitchen, while said friends were sat outside, unaware of the goings-on under their own roof.

though you didn’t think actually getting caught in this position would be the most pleasant experience, the idea of it dampened your panties and caused you to whine out loud, tilting your head back against haechan’s shoulder. you receive an immediate hand clamped over your mouth in return, haechan tutting in your ear condescendingly. “looks like the little slut can’t follow a simple request.”

even though he reprimands you, his hands begin fumbling with the button of your jeans anyway, undoing it and pulling the zipper down. one hand comes up to wrap around your front and rests on your shoulder, holding you in place, and the other he sticks down your pants and cups your heat but makes no effort to move, chuckling when you try to move yourself against it. his crotch ruts against the swell of your ass and for you, any friction is better than no friction at the moment. with one hand gipping the arm around your shoulder, you slip the other behind you to palm at his hard cock over his pants, making him let out a sound of approval.

“please, hyuck”, you shake your face free of his hand and turn to look him in the eye, and he grips your throat and presses a chaste kiss to your lips.

he seems to accept your plea, finally moving his hand against you and you breathe a sigh of relief, lost in the feeling of his fingers rubbing circles on your clit over your wet underwear. he’s quick to slip his hand inside your panties, cold fingers pressed directly on to your bare pussy, spreading your wetness all over you. when he ultimately slips a finger into your tight, waiting core, you moan but it’s cut short when he slaps his hand over your mouth again. “keep. quiet.”

if someone were to walk in, the two of you would be a sight to see. you writhing in his tight hold while his hand is stuffed in your pants, two fingers pistoning in and out of you at a fast pace as his forehead is pressed against the side of your face, releasing short breaths. you look positively fucked out, and you’re both in a state of complete bliss as you grind against each other in a timely rhythm.

“my pretty girl. if i had known you wanted this too, i would’ve just grabbed you and kissed you like i wanted, in front of everyone.”

his voice is honey-like and sultry, and his fingers are nothing short of heavenly. they pump in and out of you, and he still manages to use his thumb to toy with your clit in this position, leaving you breathless and on the edge. “can’t believe jaemin and renjun got to kiss you before me.”

you’re so wet that your cunt makes downright sinful noises as he fingers you and you’re hoping that it isn’t really as loud as it seems. “you’re so wet, angel. so this is what had you all jumpy today”, he laughs like he’s stating the obvious, and you’d have half the mind to feel shy if his ministrations didn’t feel so fucking good right now.

you’re aware that you’re close and so is he because you’re clenching around his fingers, so he quickens his pace both inside you and against your clit. “you gonna cum for me, baby? right here, in the middle of kitchen, while everyone’s outside?”, he purrs against your face and you grip the part of his arm that isn’t shoved in your pants, digging your nails into his skin in a way that’s sure to leave a mark. his words make you feel dirty in the best way, not even knowing you could feel this turned on.

he peppers kisses along your jaw and neck, sucking here and there, and through the pale moonlight bleeding into the room from the window, the red blemishes that begin to bloom on your skin are visible to hyuck, and he seems pleased with his artwork. “that’s it, sweetheart, let go for me.”

your moans are muffled against his palm when you finally come, the orgasm ripping through you so strongly that you go limp in his hands, legs almost buckling at the sensation. with the added boost of the weed you smoked earlier, your orgasm is immense, feeling it pulse through your body until it’s too much, whining and wriggling in haechan’s firm hold. he holds you still and helps you ride out your high, whispering utterances of “that’s right, baby” and “my good girl” into your ear while you throw your head back and try to regulate your breathing.

in a moment, his hand slips out of your pants, turning you back around so you’re now facing him, grinning down at you from ear to ear as if you both hadn’t just defiled jaemin and jeno’s kitchen. “you feeling okay?”, he mumbles, tucking your hair behind your ear with the hand that wasn’t soaked, pressing a number of kisses all over your face as you nod and giggled, trying to evade his attack. he lets you go just to wash his hands, and it’s when he dries his wet hands on the material of his pants that you notice his raging boner, immediately feeling bad.

“wait hyuck, let me–“

as if he’s reading your mind once again, he shakes his head and takes both of your hands into his, wrapping them around his own waist while pulling you into him. “we can save that for another time, pretty”, he insists, his expression turning shy when he realises the implications behind his words. “that is, i-if you want another time, of course–“

it’s your turn to cut him off this time, but you do so by leaning up and connecting your lips again, bring a hand up to stroke his cheek. “of course i want another time, hyuck. i want this. i want you.”

your assurances do good to bring a smile to his pretty face, taking ahold of the hand on his cheek and pressing his lips to your skin gently, lovingly. “so, so, perfect.”

taking note of the prolonged amount of time the two of you had been gone, you skulk back into the living, but this time, hand in hand.

the scene you’re greeted with is a surprising one, because you find every single one of your friends to be sound asleep, much to your amusement and hyuck’s dismay. “so you’re telling me i could’ve been hearing you moan the whole time and none of these idiots would have even known?”, he is appalled, a hand coming up to rub at his face out of frustration. “i did all that for nothing?”

“i wouldn’t say for nothing”, you reveal, biting your lip and smiling up at the boy shyly. “i might have woken them up.”

“oh yeah, well now you’re going to”, and with that, he’s dragging you back to the kitchen while you giggle, nearly tripping over your own feet before he all but scoops you up in his arms, muttering to himself about having left something in the kitchen that needed urgent fetching.

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joyoushyuck · 2 months

Text

15:06

Your head rests on the smooth expanse of Donghyuck's thigh.

He is wearing a tiny pair of black shorts, bronze skin barely hidden by the minimal clothes, glowing under the rays of the afternoon sun.

His thighs are so soft under your head. The warmth radiating off of his skin comforts the most tender parts of you. He runs his fingers through your hair, gently disentangling some knots. It prompts a content sigh from you.

The slightest tilt of head, and you place a kiss on the inside of his thigh. It's barely anything, just a fleeting press of lips against skin. But you are slipping into unconsciousness, a slumber tempting you with the promise of beautiful dreams, happiness and Donghyuck. So you kiss his delicate skin to convey how much he means to you and more.

Just when your last rope of consciousness is about to break, you feel fingers grazing your temple, plump lips lingering on your forehead and hear a mesmerising voice that says, “Sleep tight, sweetheart.”

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ooshu · 11 months

Text

falling in love with haechan wasn’t planned.

it started with a walk on that friday night after your long work shift. he was waiting for you. hell, he wasn’t even from around. but he stood there with a chinese takeout in one hand. “breathe a little!”, the enthusiastic one exclaimed. he didn’t like seeing you frown and knowing you haven’t smiled even just a bit for a day. and so you nodded. haechan swore he was head-over-heels.

as haechan kept asking from “how was your day today?”, “does your boss treat you well?” to “did you have lunch?”, the question suddenly escalated to:

“would you go out with someone like me?”

“huh?”, you might have heard differently because the silly boy beside you started to eat his food.

haechan chewed his food fast so he could repeat: “i said… would you go out with someone like me…?”

you hit his arm playfully. “ah, what are you talking about, haech?”

“i mean… hypothetically speaking. would you go out with a haechan?”

“with a haechan?” you furrowed your eyebrows. oh, what a silly man.

“yes, with a haechan. i stand out from the rest, you know?” he nudged you on the shoulders. “you’d be lucky to end up someone like me.”

“you’re so full of shit, haech.”

“willing to be cheesy and anything for you.”, he winked.

so he tossed his empty food into the nearest bin. then there was this silence, a complete total silence as you two continued walking. but it was so nice, so pleasant. it just felt so right. it felt so fitting that it scared you that you wanted to feel the warmth of his body. there’s this strong urge to bury your head in his chest. falling in love was an unfamiliar, frightening feeling. it consumes you to the bone. oh, how clueless the boy beside you was.

and loving a haechan, you cursed cupid for hitting the wrong person with his lovestruck arrow. because he is like this to everyone—so lovingly, so sweet, so reliable, to the point you’ve been confused about where to draw the line between being friends and potential lovers.

but you slowly started reaching for his hand. it looked really soft. you wanted to grab it and interlock your fingers with his and say, “yes, i would go out with someone like you, haech.” and—

suddenly you curled your fist into a ball and pulled out when a honk of a car suddenly was heard. you came back to your senses.

haechan noticed. just so you wish he didn’t.

“i’ll take you home.”

“no? you’ve already taken me into the bus shed, haech.”, you insisted. “you promised you wouldn’t go further.”

“but what if someone takes you?”

“haech-”

“…from me?”

fuck. you thought. here he goes again. but you shrugged it off with a laugh. but haechan loved it on you, when you wear it—your smile. and his heart would burst to know your smile was because of him.

the bus arrived and he let you get on first. but you knew haechan liked taking the window seat, so you let him be.

you sat together. he was watching the cars passing by along with the skyscrapers shining at night. would it be unrealistic to dream of someone, you, as high as these buildings?, he wonders. then you looked at him, carefully admiring his sde features. memorizing every line and shape; how his lips would slightly pucker and the bridge of his nose you’d always want to trace and pinch. and little did you know he was watching you from the reflection of the window.

and when he tilted his head back at the front, you steered yours away. but your eyes fell down and roamed around until you see his hand over his bag. haechan looked at you, and he started slightly tapping his fingers on the leather. you wanted to reach for them again but… but—

then you made it less obvious as possible to go back looking at his face, but you couldn’t as your head tries its best to look forward. so your sight landed as farther as this: the crook of his neck, his shoulder blades you would want to lean onto. it’s sad to say your heart absentmindedly made haechan your home, your comfort, your confidant, even though he wasn’t yours.

so you came back to your senses once again. you leaned your head backward fell onto the back of the seat and sighed. you watched the people in front of you as they ride forwards.

and suddenly, haechan reached for your hand and interlocked it with yours.

you looked at him dumbfoundedly; almost taken aback.

then he slowly reached for your head and leaned it on his shoulders. you thought it was a bit uncomfortable so you said, “it’s okay, haech.” because instead, you wanted to nuzzle your head at the crook of his neck. but you believed you weren’t going to fit in, just like the two of you, which you believed. he’s still holding your hand though. so firm yet so soft, how could it this paradox be possible?

so haechan let go of your hand.

you almost yearned for the touch. god, the loss was so overwhelming, you could almost cry. you were dangerously so drawn to haechan, the thought of it would make you flinch. you had to go away. i have to go away. you reiterated at the back of your mind. god, please, help me. how cruel must you become?

but then he wrapped the same arm around your shoulders and enveloped you with his body. he adjusted his body down so your head would lay on the crook of his neck.

and just like that, you surrender.

and nothing haechan would want in this world but to wish this bus wouldn’t stop driving.

it’s okay to fall in love with me, love.

happy birthday, donghyuck lee.

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tenswrld · 5 months

Text

true romance

popstar!haechan x upcomingartist!reader, angst, fluff

summary: haechan's the world's boyfriend — and yours too, i guess.

word count: 4.1k

listen to: true romance - pinkpantheress

a/n: first, sorry that its been so long...im trying to be better about writing but inspiration comes and goes,,i hope you will indulge in whatever this is!!! everytime i hear this song my mind goes to haechan for some reason sooo yeah >_< i have lots of drafts its just a matter of when or if i finish them LOL love yall tho & enjoy

•°. *࿐

tell me, do you view me the same or do you call me a stranger?

"leave a bit after me so no one sees."

haechan is popular — without a doubt one of the most popular artists of your time. everyone either wants to be him or be with him, to which you completely understand. everything about him screams someone who was born to be on a stage, stealing hearts and whatnot. with such a bright personality, it was almost impossible to not like him.

you've had the privilege of getting to watch haechan grow from singing songs he wrote in his bedroom on youtube to him performing them in sold out shows. you're a fan, of course, but somewhere along the way — with crazy luck — you've wiggled your way into his life and into his heart. the two of you were music artists wishing on every star for some kind of breakthrough to the industry (take a guess on who got it). naturally, it brought you together. you were there when haechan reached 5,000 subscribers, and you were still there when he was selling out shows to 50,000 people. you've stuck by his side for so long that you're sure that its where you fit best.

in the moment, however, you're not so sure anymore.

"leave a bit after me so no one sees."

the small smile on your face slowly disappears at haechan's words and hurt quickly settles into your chest. "...why? what would be so bad about that?"

haechan seems unable to grasp how upset you are at his words. he shakes his head with a small laugh. "it's not like that, y/n. but a scandal at this time wouldn't be good."

"a scandal?" you scoff slightly. "since when have you ever cared about that?"

he sighs and runs a hand through his hair that's still slightly wet from his post-performance sweat. "i just don't want to take any risks right now. especially since my album is coming out soon. you understand, right?"

"i fly all the way out here to see you, and you don't want to be seen with me?" you say with a trembling lip and a weak voice. you're hurt and you're angry, but can't seem to keep your tears at bay.

"i didn't say that."

"you might as well have," you spit back at him.

"let's talk about this later, okay? trust me, it would be a lot worse for you than it would for me." haechan picks up his bag and swings it over his shoulder, making his way towards the backstage exit door.

frozen in place overwhelmed with emotion, you watch your boyfriend open the door. you think he's had a change of heart when he pauses at the door and turns back to you, but somehow he's managed to hurt you even more.

"maybe you should take these too," he says, placing the bouquet you made him back into your hold. the smell of roses and sunflowers taking over your senses as more tears well up in your eyes. you hope the flowers hide them from haechan's gaze. though, you're not so sure he'd notice anyway, as he'd already let the door close and left you behind.

•°. *࿐

'cause, baby, i don't care about the fame

people talk. as an upcoming music artist, you're aware that people talk. as the (hidden) girlfriend of a global superstar, you're more than aware that people love to talk about anything and everything that doesn't concern them.

you and haechan aren't on the same level of fame — not that it matters to you. it never mattered to you, really. even as haechan grew and grew and you remained with your significantly smaller (but still decent) following, fame was never your strongest desire.

yet, now, you're wondering that maybe if you were just a bit more famous, more popular, more well known, then you wouldn't feel as far away from haechan as you do right now. even as he sits beside you on the king bed of the luxury suite he booked for this stop of his tour, you feel further away from him then ever.

"i mean, what would people say about us, y/n? about you?"

"you keep saying that, hyuck, but you're not explaining it to me," you say, growing frustrated with him. "why is it just about me?"

he purses his lips before averting his gaze to the floor. "they'll say nasty stuff about you — that you're using me for fame, or money, or something like that."

you shake your head. "but you and i both know that's not true. we've been together for how many years now? their words shouldn't matter." you take hold of his hand and rub your thumb against his knuckles. "you could have nothing and i'd still be here."

"people don't know that," he scoffs. "they'll assume the worst about you."

maybe he's right — you're sure they will assume the worst about you regardless of your long, deep history with haechan. would he start to believe them? you think it, but you don’t ask — too afraid of the answer you might receive.

"what are you so afraid of?" you ask him softly, begging him with your mind for him to look at you.

but he doesn't, his eyes stayed trained on the ground and he can only weakly squeeze your hand that holds onto his own.

"i don't know."

•°. *࿐

tell me, why i don't play about you

every song is about you

haechan finally has a short break in between the legs of his tour and he chooses to spend every waking moment of it with you.

things between the two of you have felt rocky for a while. it makes haechan ashamed to say it, but he's been so focused on tour and his new album that he's pushed everything else to the side. he's a perfectionist and he feels like he's barely made it — he wants everything to work out perfectly and is committed to making sure that happens. he's not sure how long he's been brushing off anything non-career related, but he misses you — even if you're with him.

he flys the two of you out to a small, quaint place in kyoto where he finally gets to enjoy some peace and quiet in his life. he chooses to turn off his phone, not too keen with the idea of his manager berating him about all his responsibilities he'll have to tend to when he gets back. he's on vacation and he's here with you: the one person who's been with him through every up and down.

you're laying in his arms and haechan misses you to the point where it hurts — when was the last time he laid with you like this? the revelation urges him to pull you closer, placing a soft kiss to the crown of your head as you lay on his chest. he sighs into your hair, breathing all of you in. it's silent, for the most part, until you ask a question that rattles haechan's being.

"why do you not sing about me?" you ask it so softly that haechan almost misses it.

"what? what are you talking about?" he's genuinely confused as to what you mean. who do you think he sings about?

"i know a handful of your old old songs are about me, but you don't perform those anymore," you murmur into his chest. "ah, don't mind me, i'm just talking."

you sound embarrassed and defeated and haechan wants to cry. did you really not know? how long has he been pushing you away?

"y/n, every single song i write is about you," haechan professes. "i couldn't write about anyone else if i tried."

his words shock you, even if they shouldn't. you tilt your head up to look up at him and he looks down at you with the softest gaze.

"not that i ever would, anyway," he continues, a sad smile painting his face.

"you mean it?" you whisper to him, wanting so badly to believe him.

when haechan's resolve breaks and his eyes glaze over, you know he means it. his hold on you tightens with one hand and the other comes up to caress your cheek, swiping a tear you didn't even know had fallen.

"of course," he croaks. "you're my muse, y/n. you."

this time, you're wiping his tears away as he cries and cries into your palms. you shift the two of you so that he lies in between your legs, arms wrapped around your waist and face buried into your torso, your hands running through his hair. he's apologizing over and over and doesn't say why, but you know why. you regret ever doubting haechan's love for you — even if he was to blame.

but, just as you're certain you love him more than anything, you know that haechan loves you back all the same.

"it's always been you, y/n."

•°. *࿐

and everybody’s shouting out your name

“you look too handsome to be pouting like that, you know,” you tease lightly, approaching haechan to adjust his tie fondly.

he can’t help but smile at you as you do so, his hands easily finding their place around your waist, tugging you close. “if you tell me to stay, i will.”

you sigh and place your hands upon his chest, allowing you to push yourself up to place a soft kiss on his lips. his lips trail after yours once you pull away and he pouts at you again, eyes begging for another kiss but you push him back ever so slightly.

“you can’t miss this, hyuck, you know that. this could be really big for you!” you beam, swiping a bit of your lip gloss off of his lips. “some important people might be there.”

“but you won’t be there,” he whines. “what’s the point?”

you roll your eyes playfully. “you’ll be fine. now go, your manager has been waiting.” haechan sighs and leans down to place one more kiss on your lips.

you pull away before he can get carried away. “go! and put a good word in for me with taeyong, yeah?”

haechan rolls his eyes but smiles at you, pecking you on the cheek as he bids you farewell. “no promises.”

ੈ♡˳

it’s barely been over an hour and haechan wants to leave.

normally he’s able to tolerate these sorts of things — the bright lights, loud music, snobby people all trying to one up each other. he can get by and chat with anyone as if he’s known them for years. typically, events like these breeze by for haechan. why was he hating every second of it?

it’s lee taeyong’s end of year celebration party. of course, as his junior, haechan was invited. he’s grateful that he’s made friends with lots of other artists under his company, otherwise haechan would have been long gone within the first 45 minutes of arriving. but, haechan stays, mostly because he admires taeyong and does, in fact, bring up you and your songs — which, to his surprise, taeyong says he knows you and enjoys your music.

haechan isn’t given the chance to talk more, unfortunately, due to an excited kim jungwoo who locks an arm around haechan’s shoulder and drags him away.

“ow — hyung! i was in the middle of a conversation!” haechan grits to jungwoo, lightly shoving his arm off of him.

“my bad, it looked like you needed saving,” jungwoo chuckles. “come on, everyone’s been looking for you.”

jungwoo leads haechan to a small circle of people to which haechan knows as his small circle of friends: mark, his company's beloved canadian rapper; johnny suh, one of seoul's most popular djs; and of course there's kim jungwoo, kim doyoung, and jeong jaehyun who make up dojaejung, korea's heartthrob boy group.

"yo, where have you been?" mark greets him excitedly, lightly slapping him on the shoulder playfully.

"what do you mean 'where have i been', i saw you yesterday, mark," haechan grumbles.

"woah, someone needs a drink," johnny chuckles. doyoung is quick to hand haechan a glass of champagne.

haechan takes a large gulp, hopefully to ease whatever tension he feels in his shoulders. he's trying to enjoy the party, he really is, but all he wants to do is come home to you.

"everything okay?" doyoung asks him, concerned with the way haechan seems to be downing his drink.

the younger boy sighs. "yeah, i'm fine, sorry. just stressed out."

"oh, your album is coming out soon, right?" jungwoo remembers, nudging haechan with his elbow. "congratulations!"

the rest of the boys congratulate him and haechan can only half-heartedly reply despite being very grateful.

"i'm sure it'll be great," johnny reassures him.

"saw a lot of love songs on that track list," jungwoo teases. "got a special someone?"

haechan stills at his words and he's caught in an argument with himself. does he mention you? does he say no? is this how he wants people to find out you’re together? before he can even reply, though, jaehyun cuts in.

"speaking of, i heard that kim minjeong has had her eye on you for a while, haechan," jaehyun says. he raises his eyebrows at the younger boy and haechan gulps, the rest of his friends nudging him playfully as they coo at him.

"that's the model, right? and singer?" doyoung asks. "you should talk to her!"

haechan feels like he's going to be sick. maybe he's being dramatic — its not like they're shoving him into minjeong's face and asking him to profess his love. still, he feels like he's betraying you in some way and he realizes he has to go home.

"i can talk you up, probably," mark says. "we're normally at the studio at the same time."

“i heard that shin ryujin has been talking about you, too,” johnny pipes in. “honestly, who hasn’t been talking about you? i’m surprised you’ve done nothing about it.”

doyoung hums. “she seems like your type, donghyuck! i know some people over at —“

"no! no, don't — " haechan places his champagne glass onto a nearby table abruptly and sighs shakily. "just...don't. sorry, i-i don't feel well. i should go."

confused and concerned eyes watch haechan as he rushes towards the nearest exit. he doesn't bother saying goodbye to taeyong, but makes a mental note to send him an apologetic note tomorrow. haechan sees kim minjeong catch sight of him, and he's sure she's about to make an attempt to stop him to chat with the way she looks at him with a flirty gaze. haechan is quick to turn in the opposite direction and flees out of the nearest door.

haechan's manager comes out soon behind him, frenzied after trying to catch up to a frantic haechan. he doesn't get the chance to ask the latter if he's okay, too occupied with calling their driver upon haechan's request.

"home," he chokes out. he's out of breath and he feels dizzy — whether its from the champagne or from guilt, he's unsure.

"i want to go home."

•°. *࿐

i'm in the crowd, can you see my hand?

haechan has reached the encore of his final show of his tour, yet he still feels a pressure that he cannot explain.

its not from all of his seniors and friends that attended in support of him, he knows that. it's not from the different producers and music artists that flew to seoul for him, either. its a pressure that weighs on his chest that has made him feel unsatisfied with each stage, despite putting 150% effort in everything.

the crowd is going crazy for him after he delivers his final ment, and he takes a moment to soak in it all, in hopes it would give him some peace of mind.

then, his eyes finally spot you.

you, in the back row of some random section, sitting with your manager, with a banner with his name on it and a headband with bear ears perched on top of your head. he doesn't know if you can tell that he's staring right at you, but you start waving around the banner with excitement. haechan can't help but adore you even more than he already does.

time stops for him as he realizes that you're here. through thick and thin you've always been there — what has haechan ever done for you? he hasn't given you even a sliver of what you deserve, yet you've never left him. you stayed when he was a nobody, and even now when he's been terribly selfish, you let him be.

there are thousands of other hands waving at him, but haechan can only see yours.

"actually," haechan starts, quickly silencing the crowd. "there's one more thing i wanted to say."

from your seat, you feel your heartbeat quicken. haechan is still standing and looking into your direction and you know he sees you.

"there's someone very special to me that's here tonight."

your heart stops as you realize what he's doing and you can't help but glance at your manager in a panic. fans around you are murmuring in confusion since haechan had already given a shoutout to his guests.

"they've been by my side since i was writing silly love songs in my childhood bedroom," haechan says, a fond smile taking over his features. "i wrote those love songs about them then, and i still write every love song about them now."

the gasps and shocked noises at his confession fall upon deaf ears — to you, you and haechan are the only two people in the world.

"some of you may know her — she's an amazing music artist as well. far better than me, in my opinion, but maybe i'm a bit biased." haechan sees you laugh and can't help but chuckle too.

"my girlfriend, y/n, is here tonight, and i couldn't be more grateful. wave, y/n!" haechan calls out to you. surprisingly, the camera cuts to you as you wave shyly, hiding behind your haechan banner. even more surprising, the crowd cheers loudly for you.

"isn't she cute?" haechan asks. he's delighted when he sees and hears the rest of the stadium agree.

haechan finally feels that weight lift from off of his chest and he feels like he can breathe. he's happy — ecstatic, even — now that the world finally knows he's yours.

"y/n, you once asked me what i was afraid of, and i said i didn't know," haechan recalls gently. "but i know now." he purses his lips to prevent himself from choking up.

"you've always been so supportive of everything i've done. you've done so much for me and i'm not sure how i could ever repay you." haechan sucks in a sharp breath. "i'm afraid that i'll never truly deserve you."

the crowd coos and some fans in front of you turn around to look at you. you're a mess: tears are streaming down your face, and your hands are shaking. you hide pathetically behind your banner again as your manager wraps a comforting arm around your shoulder.

"i'm sorry for making you wait." haechan puts a hand over his heart, and you do the same. "i love you."

the camera cuts to you again and haechan glances at the monitor to get a better look at you as you mouth something back. haechan doesn't even attempt to conceal his smile or to hold back his tears. there's no use.

"i love you, too."

•°. *࿐

say what you want, this is true romance

“did you really have to mention that, hyuck?”

your boyfriend settles next to you on the couch, arm draping over your shoulder, as you scroll through his recent interview with vogue korea.

you pout at him and he's unable to stop the smile that takes over his face. he pinches your cheek and you quickly swat his hand away.

"what? what did i say?" he rests his chin on your shoulder to read the article for himself.

"i mean, does the public really have to know about me crying on our first date?" you complained. you continued scrolling and laughed as you read. "in what context would you ever have to tell vogue about our matching crayon shin-chan pajama pants?"

haechan laughs and presses a kiss to your shoulder. "honestly, i don't remember half of what i said during this interview. or any of what they asked me." he tugs you a little closer to him so that you're leaning against him, laying the two of you down. "all i know is that i'm pretty sure i started talking about you so much that they just called it a day."

"you're that obsessed with me, huh?" you teased.

haechan scoffs, wrapping both of his arms around you tightly. "obviously."

he watches you open instagram and sees you check the likes on your new post. he gasps dramatically, loosening one arm around you to snatch his phone from his pocket. "you posted?! where was my post notification?" he whines cutely.

he's a little too quick to find your account and he then quadruple clicks the picture to give it a like. "babe, why are your comments off? i was about to get really out of pocket," haechan whines again.

"okay, first, don't do that, please. save some of your dignity," you scold him. "but its because people are mean," you admit softly.

haechan's eyebrows furrow together and his tone stiffens. "who? what did they say?"

you sigh. "no one specific, don't worry. some people are just not too keen about us. your predictions were right, i guess," you attempt to joke, but it only makes haechan upset.

"here, come here," haechan beckons you up with him as he sits up. you're still under one of his arms, which he locks around your neck as he tugs you into his side. you're caught off guard, but lean into him anyway, arms wrapped around his torso. haechan lifts his phone up and takes selfies of the two of you, cheeks pressed together as you both smile uncontrollably.

you're both giggling like two high schoolers fresh into a relationship and you've never felt more happy and in love in your life. haechan presses wet kisses against your cheek before you eventually push his face away. still, he steals one more kiss from you — this time on your lips — and you let him.

"okay, i'm posting all of these," haechan declares casually, leaning back against the couch.

your eyes widen and you reach for his phone in an attempt to stop him, but haechan has already dodged you and raised his hand up. "hyuck, don't."

"why not? i'm in love with you, people just have to deal with it," he shrugs. "anyone who has a problem with us can get blocked."

you fall onto haechan's chest and he gladly wraps you up in his arms again. "you're stupid, but i love you."

"good, because i just posted it."

you peer up at haechan's phone and you see that he was true to his word. all of the selfies you just took piled into one singular post to which haechan captioned 'my heart'. you watch as he scrolls through the comments and blocks anyone with anything bad to say.

"wow, you weren't kidding," you say, amused.

"'course not. these people need to learn true romance." he leans down to kiss you one more time, this time letting the kiss linger. he pulls away but rests his forehead against yours, staring at you with eyes full of love. "i love you, too, by the way."

ੈ♡˳

haechan is popular — without a doubt, he's one of the most sought after guys in the industry. he's confident, charismatic, and he's bright. he's everyone's dream guy, it's no secret.

but, above all, he's yours, and you're his as well. he has devoted his heart and life to you and its not a secret to anyone anymore.

this time around, haechan wraps you up in his scarf to protect you from the cold before the two of you leave.

"i already have a scarf on, hyuck, just keep yours," you mumble from underneath the thick fabric.

haechan doesn't hear you (not just because he literally can't) because he's too focused on zipping up your jacket and tugging your beanie over your ears.

"okay," he says as he intertwines a hand in yours. he clutches the bouquet you made for him proudly in his other arm while he carries your bag and his own over his shoulder. "let's go home!"

its bittersweet as you realize how familiar yet different the situation is. you clutch haechan's hand tighter as he tugs you towards the backstage exit door, outside where the press and his fans are waiting.

he doesn't hide you anymore. no, instead haechan shows you off proudly and wholeheartedly as if it was what he was meant to do.

#bitch im back #nct 127 #nct dream #nct #nct fluff #nct angst #haechan x reader #lee donghyuck #lee haechan #donghyuck x reader #haechan fluff #haechan angst #donghyuck fluff #donghyuck angst #haechan oneshots #nct haechan

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haechrry · 1 year

Text

Who's bad? | L.DH

PAIRING: Lee Haechan x Fem/reader (mentions of other idols)

GENRES: Strangers to enemies to lovers, smut, fluff if you squint, a lil bit of angst, humor (i tried, bear w me)

WARNINGS: Alcohol consumption, explicit smut, language, sub/dom (more like switch*) dynamics, sexual tension, dubcon, unprotected sex, haechan monster cock agenda idc idc, creampie, fingering, oral (f/m receiving), nipple play, dirty talk, pet names, begging kink, praise and degradation kinks, impact play, breath play, overstimulation (f/m receiving, but, hyuck's receiving more lets pretend ur surprised), dacryphilia, squirting, haechan is mean n down bad at the same time. Minors do not interact.

SUMMARY: Lee Donghyuck saw you while you were on your working hours, with a pretty frown on your face, and decided to shoot his shot disturbing the peace of your mind. But one thing was sure: he found something to sink his teeth into, and you were on the same page as him.

WORDS COUNT: 11.7k

PLAYLIST/SONG: Bad - Michael Jackson

[author's note is at the end!]

"We're closed."

"No, you're not. I still have a few more minutes left."

A thud rang through the walls: exasperated, your forehead slammed into the shelf in front of you, where various cameras and lenses were placed immaculately.

It was ten minutes before the closing of the shop, you were mentally and physically tapped out, so dealing again with people wasn't part of your plans for the evening. You were on the verge of freaking out on a daily basis, but that day was more stressful than usual, 'cause there would be a big event in the city, hence you had to serve a crew who were in charge of filming the occasion. And of course, they were demanding.

"It's part of human decency not to show up at closing time." You weren't afraid to fight back, on the contrary it made you feel satisfied if it were a debate you could easily win.

"And I don't care. I just need a new battery for my camera, then I'll head out." The man did in fact not care, 'cause before you could blink he was right in front of your very eyes, in all his height, staring down at you. He must have figured out where your voice came from.

It wasn't his fault, he forgot to check the battery status of his camera as time passed, in consequence it burned right after he took the last picture he needed. But you didn't need to know that, you weren't his friend and it's not like he was that keen on explaining himself, especially to strangers. So he kept staring with his unflinching gaze waiting for you to finally move and get him what he wanted. In which he was, obviously, pleased; it was part of your job, you could not fail in your duties even if you didn't like the attitude of a customer.

And you didn't like at all the man's behavior, your left eye was trembling with anger.

Not saying a single word though, you retraced your steps, directed to the section where you could find the cameras' batteries, and picked some of them, not sure which camera he had.

You went back to the cashier's desk, expecting to find the guy already there, if he was a little bit perceptive. You found out that he was in fact, perceptive. If your best friends were there, you would've asked them if they could slap the living shit out of you, 'cause there was no way you actually thought so low of a stranger, you weren't usually like this.

"Just pick the one you need and then please, go away." Your voice sounded exasperated while watching him picking the right battery, so he said nothing, at least he seemed to have understood you were really tired and not able to deal with him. A small 'thank god' resonated in your head while you were putting his things in your shop's bag, and handed it to him, with a circumstantial smile plastered on your face.

"That's what I said earlier after all, Miss.Happiness. And nice bump over there, on your forehead." A wink before he could vanish after the sliding doors. You were wrong, and he was already gone.

Again, you slammed your head on the countertop.

"I'm telling you 'Ning, he walked in like he was the owner of my shop. Pretentious and everything, you know how I hate that shit." Out of breath, you kept walking down the street, right where the event would be held.

It was your day off of the week, this is why you were strolling around, with one of your best friends on a call, and also 'cause this was one of the roads that led faster to your house.

"But I swear to god herself, I was this close to pulling out his vertebrae one by one, and use them to play fucking hockey in my fucking backyard." The tone of your voice went from angry to calmer than two seconds before, 'cause maybe now, you were too distracted by your surroundings.

Several teams were working fast in front of your figure: there were those who were setting up the stage, others the street, which was decorated with various electric cables covering the asphalt, and the trees were decorated too with small lights and colored ribbons. Videocameras were placed on both sides of the stage and in front of it, for different perspectives. So many led spotlights for distinct purposes.

Everything about that deeply fascinated you.

"He was also pretty. Don't pry, this is why I refrained myself 'Ning." Your distraction made you lose the control of the tongue. And even your thoughts. 'Cause yes, he was indeed a good-looking man: the way his black hair fell on his forehead, right on top of his piercing dark eyes too, caught the air in your throat, and it made you to freeze on the spot without a single thought in that head of yours the day before.

Not to mention his deep voice and his tanned skin, the latter got you the urge to trace every inch of it with your own hands, if not lips. You didn't know yet, but if there was one thing you surely knew, it was that his eyes were exactly on you. In that exact moment.

The necessity to disappear in a split second far exceeded any other desire you ever had, but it didn't seem like it was too much to ask, because soon enough an electric cable got in your way, causing you to fall down and make out with the road. Maybe you should have done what was written on the ban sign, which was not to get too close.

You even saw him moving from his position to approach you.

"I'm fucked." Groaning in pain you quickly stood up, fixing your now dirty clothes. You heard Ningning saying a 'you wish, bestie', before you could close the call.

How outrageous.

"Was the asphalt telling you a secret or what?"

"Okay, first of all I saw money on the ground and I wanted to pick them up. Second of all, fuck you, you basketball hoop." A finger pointed at his chest.

It did feel good going for his throat now that you didn't have to be professional for your job.

"This explains for sure why you panicked when I noticed you. Did I, perhaps, make you flatter, pretty girl?" He smirked while crossing his long legs to lean against the barrier behind him.

You surprisingly took your sweet time to let your gaze embrace his full body in the meantime he was talking, understanding what he was actually saying, but you decided to briefly ignore him.

It wasn't your fault if he was dressing prettily, the black skinny jeans were literally hugging his long legs, enhanced by the suede boots he was wearing, and the white shirt was doing god's work. You shook your head and took a few steps away from where he was standing in all of his glory.

"Are you Ryan Reynolds?" You crossed your arms to your chest.

"Damn, I wish."

"Keanu Reeves?" You tried again looking him deadly in the eyes.

"Of course not?"

"Lee Dongwook?"

"...Are you slandering me?" He spread his arms exasperated.

"Then watch your mouth, nameless boy, I know the game you're on." You grimaced.

"Donghyuck. And believe it or not, you know nothing, doll."

He was no fun.

It was as if an iceberg suddenly had taken his place; his glacier tone remained in your mind for a while, and you kept following him with your eyes until he returned to his previous spot, now with his camera's lace around his nape.

You couldn't lie, he was sexy as fuck, but you truly couldn't understand what was that. You guys had just a little to a nonexistent conversation in these two days, and it was mostly insults and cold comebacks, so you didn't understand why he was trying to hit on you. It wasn't like you weren't attractive enough, indeed quite the opposite, but guys like that were known as troublemakers, and you'd rather be a snippy bitch than to get hurt for this kind of game.

Sighing, you decided it was time to go home and rest before it was too late, the next day would still be a working day for you.

You only hoped these three weeks would pass quickly, 'cause it was bright as the sun that you had to see Donghyuck every day.

Donghyuck. You tasted the name on your tongue. That motherfucker had a pretty name too.

Ningning were on your left, Yeri on your right, and Chenle and Renjun were walking in front of you. According to Chenle, staying on the same line as Ningning would lead them into a fight. You'd swear they'd get together sometime soon, they were just momentarily blind.

You and your friends were coming back from the shopping centre, now heading to your house for a sleepover, so walking down that street was necessary if y'all didn't want to add another ten minutes to your little trip.

"Please guys, act normal, we're getting close to where he works for the event." Days prior you ended up freaking out in your best friends group chat about Donghyuck, telling them how confusing and unnerving he was, 'cause in one moment he was flirty, and in the next one he was cold as a mint popsicle forgotten in the freezer for years. Let alone his look, they had to put up with you 'cause you couldn't stop drooling all over him. So they insisted on seeing him.

"You're talking like we can embarrass you, come one now, Y/n." Chenle gave you a side eye before he could turn around again as you watched him in disbelief.

"Renjun? Chenle?" A distant high-pitched voice called the names of your friends. Confused you all turned towards the direction of it, and you almost gasped audibly.

"Yo, Haechan!" The three of them exchanged a nod of acknowledge, followed by a handshake as if they were companions of a lifetime.

"Miss. Happiness. Do you still have the money you found on the floor last time?"

You mouthed him a 'fuck you, giraffe.' and he fucking smirked at you for the second time in these last days, then he greeted the girls as if it was nothing and returned to the boys for a chitchat.

"And now what the fuck he means by Haechan?!" You whispered in panic to Yeri and Ningning, while the both of them just laughed and shrugged you off. Of course they couldn't know.

A few moments later, they finished their gossiping and Renjun and Chenle returned to where you girls where standing waiting for them, luckily it was late afternoon so you didn't have to wait under the scorching sun in the middle of the summer.

Donghyuck seemed to get you were a close friend of his two best friends, so he actually got convinced and before he could get back to his work, he explained to y'all how he ended up working in such place: two of his other buddies, Johnny and Kun you recalled, were searching for some help for the event they were working for, and he happened to be good with the camera, so he accepted the offer also because he wouldn't mind working with his friends.

A stark contrast from what he seemed to be. You really didn't know anything about him, and you knew it was wrong to judge a book by its cover, so maybe you should given him a pass and had fun without overthinking things too much. In the end it shouldn't have been anything too serious.

"Don't tell me he's the Donghyuck you told us.. and what kind of money was he talking about?" Renjun just let his eyes come out of his sockets as he bumped into you with his shoulder. You groaned like you were in actual pain, not wanting to remember any part of that.

"I fell in front of his eyes a week and a half ago, and at that time I just came up with a lame excuse, saying I didn't fall but found money on the ground, instead." You whined while looking at your feet kicking a tiny pebble. "Don't ask me anything else, this is awkward enough." A loud laugh and various 'always the same' 'you're so clumsy' and a 'so gawky' emerged from the small circle of your friends, and they were on a thin ice 'cause you almost smacked every one of them.

"I can't believe he actually gave you his government name. He won't even let us call him like that."

"Renjun's right, i think he's hitting on you for real, Y/n."

"Yeah, okay, but I don't understand why he's doing this?" You gawked at the boys in front of you like they had two heads each and their body was united together, but again, no answer as they shrugged you off before entering your home and make themselves comfortable.

You guys were dispersed around your living room, now chugging on your beers while debating on which game to play or what movie to watch together.

"If Y/n wins at rock paper scissors, we'll watch again John Wick with her, if only one of the three of us wins instead, Y/n's gonna try to give Haechan a chance and be friend with him." You scoffed at Renjun. And to say you thought he was the only one on your side.

Un-fucking-believable.

Your competitive spirit kicked in, and at their signal you threw your choice. Scissors. You cheered on your victory swinging your fists in the air while your feet were stamping on the carpet. Yeri just threw paper, Ningning scissors too, and Renjun the same as Yeri.

One moment.

Your cheerings came to a stop, and Chenle gave you a sympathetic look.

"I lost, didn't I?" Emotionless voice, as you couldn't believe what you saw.

"Yeah."

"...We can still watch John Wick together, Y/n." Your wails were the only sound echoing in the room, as you sat down on your couch already searching for your favorite movie on your streaming platforms.

Would have been the fucking bare minimum, assholes.

"Chenle, I'll take Daegal out every day for a month." You prayed him with your eyes from your spot in the middle of the movie.

"Not happening."

"I'll do the chores at yours for the rest of the summer."

"Appealing."

"So it's a yes?" Your voice was exuding hope.

"No dice."

Goddamit.

Another week passed.

You were taking easy the whole Donghyuck-Haechan situation, and though it may seem strange, you were trying to be more loose around him. Starting by smiling and waving in his direction, or making small conversations when you had to go through the street where he was working, he noticed that, and seemed to admire it, since he always greeted you back, and from time to time he too took the initiative, which you treasured heartily.

One day he even unexpectedly came to your shop to give you coffee, making you at a loss for words. No one had ever done such a thing for you, and the coffee was just perfect to say the least.

"I just tried to guess what your favorite coffee was, so I went to the cafeteria down the road earlier, and bought you one." He would've said smiling at you. Not a smirk, or a lipped smile. A full smile. And his smile was so- it made the air inside your lungs dissipate, basically.

Aside from that, you actually spent willingly the rest of that morning with him in your store concentrate on the different cameras and their lenses. He was so endearing wrapped up with the things you loved too.

God, what the hell was that.

You soon found out that he was undoubtedly an amusing, witty and smart person. Quite the opposite of the façade he put on when you first met, the sleazy flirt was still there, but the cold surface was starting to melt down, if not it was already melted completely.

Donghyuck didn't know either why he wanted to mess up with you that bad, it was like his gut feeling told him to do so in the exact moment he saw you roaming with that cute frown on your delicate face around your store, so he went for it. In simple terms, that philosophy was his ride or die, he just did not expect you to act in the same way as him. The way you fought back that day made a strike in his mind, and jokes on you if you thought that Donghyuck would have let you go.

After he bought you the first coffee that day, he kept doing this everyday, and he made sure to buy a coffee for himself so he could drink it next to you in your store, and if it wasn't the coffee in the morning, it was a packed lunch in his break from work. The boy always asked you how was going your day and if you needed anything.

Eventually you ended up opening a little and telling him more about yourself, like how you as the owner of your store was the result of your passion for photography, except you couldn't use a camera, and he genuinely laughed at that revelation, finding you adorable and telling you in exchange how he made photography one of his hobby and sometime, his job too.

It went like this, it was as if you two had made a pact: you told him a fact about yourself, and he in return told you something of himself. His persistence was what you got convinced that giving in wouldn't hurt no one, and also 'cause his presence started not to be so bad as in the beginning.

Fucking Renjun.

And this is exactly how you got at the event that day. In the long run everything was ready for the occasion, so the day the show would go on the air had arrived, and you were close to being ready to go.

Yeri and Ningning came to your house early that afternoon, they said they would get ready with you, so there you were, sitting on the floor of your room while putting some make up on, mascara and lip tint were generally your pieces de resistance, so you opted for them for the night not wanting to exaggerate.

Ningning was roaming enthusiastically in your closet 'cause based on what she said your outfit should have made an impression on everyone, to whom you raised a brow.

"I'm definitely not wearing that." This time both of your brows was raised to the roof, scowling at her for good measure.

"'Ning it's a music show, not a pool party, that skimpy dress looks like a fucking bikini." Yeri deadpanned frowning and you almost launched at her and kissed her on her pretty full lips. Maybe you should've done it.

"Can we make out?" Your eyes were glowing like a light stick while looking at her, but soon your vision went black.

Was that a pillow? Your pillow bed?!

"No."

What was the meaning of your life if you couldn't even kiss your best friends? That was the most atrocious thing in the whole world.

Sooner or later the three of you got dressed in time, settling on for just summer dresses 'cause you all realized it was still hot even though it was nighttime, and the lightweight fabric in contact with the evening breeze, was doing wonders on your skin while walking down the streets, slowly reaching the set up venue.

You all stopped at a stand, fortunately on your way, to get a drink and you didn't know why, but you were in the mood for a piña colada, so you settle on it for the night. Yeri, Ningning and you, once arrived, perfectly found a spot where you would've had a good view of the stage but at the same time not being in the middle of the crowd, y'all didn't want to sweat.

There was a good atmosphere, for someone who had only seen the preview, there was to say that everybody had done a good job with the location, and as a matter of fact, a few photographers were around you to capture the foremost moments.

Hoping to go unnoticed by your two friends, you searched for Donghyuck knowing that he was there to work, and even just seeing him for an instant would have been enough for the rest of the festival.

Little did you know.

After a while you indeed spotted him, you supposed he was taking a rest in the staff's section and he too was sipping on his drink while chatting with his colleagues; as might as expected the piña colada didn't affected you that much, your blood alcohol level was nonexistent, but you still felt the sudden desire to go and greet him and let him know that you were there too.

"Girls, I'm just gonna say 'hi' to Donghyuck," you shouted over the music and the crowd loud noise, pointing a finger behind you in Donghyuck's direction, "I'll be back soon!"

They gave you a thumbs up and vanished in turn into the throng, leading to who knows where. You eventually updated the girls on your start of friendship with him, and they were strangely happy about that, Renjun and Chenle instead, limited themselves to wink and smirk at you, patting your shoulder in the end.

You reached the brunette guy over where he was standing with a cup of alcohol in his hand, and poked his left side with your index, definitely surprising him. Donghyuck always thought you were actually an introvert and didn't like these kind of places, but seeing you there with a drink in your hand and a silly smile on your face, took him off guard, but he greeted you back and returned your smile, kissing the back of your free hand too.

What a gentleman.

"How's going your night, Hyuck?" You grinned as you took a sip of your drink while looking at him up and down, he looked good that night, even with a slight layer of sweat on his forehead. You caught sight of the dampness also on his neck and on the portion of his tonic chest left uncovered by the unbuttoned shirt, but afraid that he could've realize what you were doing, you quickly looked away, and 'cause you did not want that view to distract you again too.

"Actually, I think it's going much better now, you know?" Donghyuck found endearing your grin and he smirked at you sizing you up, finding you extremely cute for his own sake. "Who are you trying to impress? Me, perhaps? 'Cause it's working, doll." He took advantage of the loud music to get close and hear you better, so close that he could count your upper and bottom lashes, and you could see his dark irises being illuminated by the spotlights, and able to feel his sweet breath gently hitting the lower part of your face. Your body tingled at the sensation, but suffice it to say, you didn't mind at all.

"I thought you got tired of flirting for nothing? Be easy on yourself, Hyuck." You scoffed and purposefully rolled your eyes at him, trying to hide the amused smile by taking a second sip of your piña colada.

You guessed you were starting to get again under his skin with your bitter remarks, but honestly? It was too fun. Plus, he didn't give weight to it 'cause in those three weeks he pretty much figured out that your character were calling for someone who would match it, someone with the same fiery energy, and he knew that people who didn't respond cheekily to a person like you, could be a big turn off. You were just like him. That's why he always had a ready answer for you. He wanted to let you know that he could be a good candidate for you, but you were- oh so hard to read.

He wouldn't give up on you though, if he was knew for something, apart from being the epitome of ENTP, it was surely for his determination.

You'd be his at the end of this circus.

"I may go easy on myself, but I for sure won't go easy on you, baby girl." He winked while pointing at you.

Was he recreating Rihanna's meme?

"Donghyuck." Your voice was stern while you were trying so bad to keep a straight face.

"Too cheesy and cringe?" He asked flatly, and you simply nodded.

"Noted." And he clicked his tongue.

When all was said and done, he searched for a couple of chairs for you and him; it was an event were the public could watch standing, so there weren't many chairs out there, but luckily he managed to find one there in the staff's wing and he offered it to you.

"You're working Hyuck, you're definitely more tired than me." Shaking your head you declined his offer, gesturing him towards the said chair, but he instead poked the inside of his cheek with his tongue closing his eyes for a brief moment and opening them again to look at you poker-faced.

If you didn't know any better, you were actually this close to suck him fucking dry, you cleared your throat to distract yourself, in panic you tried to compromise, "Okay! Okay what if- what if you sit, and I sit on your lap?" You looked at him tentatively, and he simply snickered, sitting down on the chair and manspreading.

Juicy thighs on full display.

Someone up there must have hated you to her content. At that sight, you started praying in every language you knew.

"C'mere, my sweetheart, I don't bite. Or I do bite, if you prefer." He patted his covered thighs with his slender hands waiting for you to sit on him, and gaining a little more of boldness, you confidently sat sideways on his lap. You grimaced snorting loudly at his comment, taking another sip of your piña colada, realizing you almost drank it all.

"Will you ever actually stop?" You weren't annoyed by his words, actually his way of sweet-talking to you was what you got all wound up.

You realized that the night was taking a turn from the moment he placed his free hand on the small of your back. You quivered under his dark gaze feeling even smaller than you already were near him, while goosebumps were starting to be visible on your arms caused by his slight touch.

Nonetheless, you were capable of feeling his warmth through the fabric of the dress. He placed his camera on a tiny counter for the occasion near him, where lenses cameras and lights were scattered around, and before he could do anything you heard him whispering seriously this time:

"Your own eyes are betraying you, Y/n. Stop making a fight, your talk is cheap." Thank god you were sitting on him, otherwise you wouldn't have heard his deep voice. He simply responded flatly before he could set one hand on your jaw, lightly squeezing your cheeks together so to make your lips pout, your heart and stomach dropped, making you breath heavily, not to mention the literal feeling of your face growing red at such a simple touch and a few words certainly said with no care.

How embarrassing of you.

And things got worse when you felt him leaning in, capturing your lips with his.

You physically felt your breath get stuck in your throat, fingers fidgeting not knowing where to put the hand without the drink in, deciding to just put it on the base of his neck, intertwining your fingers with his short but still long enough hair on his nape.

He deepened the kiss by angling his head to the side, brushing your bottom lip with his tongue only for him to part your mouth with the latter and settle within your soft lips, tasting in the meantime the flavor of each other's drink you were previously drinking. You pulled away reluctantly, you feared that kiss took you to the moon in the true sense of the word 'cause your lungs were begging for a breath of air, but you knew it was an exaggeration and it was your mind's fault for your body to react like that to him.

And did he say your name or was your brain tipping over the edge?

"How did you know-" You said out of breath biting your bottom lip, in hope to taste him again.

"Your best boy friends can't keep their mouths shut. Blame them, pretty." He said in amusement. One of his hand was now caressing your bare thigh, where the edge of the dress did not reach, as if you didn't have enough chills along your spine.

You promised yourself to have a tiny little talk with both of them later.

Now you were just pondering whether or not to kiss him taking the initiative, but before you could answer you found that your lips were on his again, kissing him fervently, with your other hand clutching his shirt, to get even closer to him than before.

You started to feel heady again and the sudden awareness of the ache between your legs started to kick in. The only way to find relief in that moment was to clench your thighs together, hoping to go unnoticed, but that idea went out of the imaginary window in your head as you felt him nudging at the back of your right thigh.

The hand previously on your skin, went up on your ass, kneading it shamelessly for everyone to see, and you almost leaked through your panties at the mere thought of doing the deed in public, but the need to have him laying under you on your comfy mattress got the best of you.

"Hyuck-" you breathed out on his lips, parting slightly from him, watching him with your pleading eyes, silently saying to do something.

"I know baby, I know. Show me the way." Hearing your breathy and delicate voice saying his name like that got him weak in the knees. He didn't think twice before caving in, so he literally followed you like a lost puppy while you were dragging him down the road to your house, trying to be as discreet as possible.

Technically, he was still on his working hours, but practically he didn't give a damn.

You let him in, and without any hesitation and zero effort you were pressed against your door with your legs wrapped around his waist.

What did he need that small waist for? For another people to grab it? Whore.

Well, in that case you were circling it with your legs, but you certainly wouldn't have wasted the opportunity to grab it with your hands thereafter.

You apparently weren't the only thing pressed, 'cause you felt him again against your core this time, and the pressure just felt amazing, but it wasn't enough.

You parted from his swollen-kissed lips to say that your bedroom was down the hallway to your left, he nodded in response and began to make his way through your house with you still anchored in his arms.

You didn't waste your time, and in a matter of fact your plump lips were leaving lazy kisses along the line of his sharp jaw, leading to his soft spot under his right ear, and ending your journey on his collarbones, gently biting his sun kissed skin every now and then, feeling his breath cut off in his throat and gasping under his nonexistent breath when your teeth were sinking into his flash, making you grinning devilishly. Pointless to say you were determined to hear more sound like those coming from him.

He kicked open your room's door with one of his foot, not caring to close it shut 'cause he looked like he understood you lived alone, and no one could have unintentionally disturbed or interrupted you.

Surely a gift sent from god herself.

Donghyuck threw you without grace on your bed, making himself at home between your now parted legs, the consequence of being sprawled on your sheets was that your summer dress collected around the curves of your hips and the straps of your dress were no longer on your shoulders, but hanged loosely on your arms, leaving you in a vulnerable state right in front of his eyes, not being totally covered. It wasn't uncomfortable though, to tell the truth you even spread more your legs wanting him to be comfortable, wanting his eyes fixated on you, and it was not long in coming.

He felt his cock being restricted in his jeans, and by that you were able to see its outline and you could witness it was massive, to say the least. You gulped down the saliva that had formed on the back of your throat, asking yourself if it was even going to fit, deciding that the pain would have been worth it.

You curled your index in his pearl necklace bringing him down with you so you could reconnect both of your lips and make your tongues dance together, all while his hands were working frenetically trying to take your dress off.

He completed his quest the moment the latter went over your head, tossing it somewhere on the ground, making him stop above you and looking down at you with stars in his eyes, as if he had never seen anything more beautiful than you under him. 'Cause yes, he did think multiple times about how you could have looked without your clothes, he couldn't lie, but he would never have imagined such a view.

"Good fucking lord, you're so beautiful even like this." He stayed still staring at you for a little more, just to take in your appearance and memorize you in his mind, he then descended on you so he could have kissed languidly your neck and alternately leaving little hickeys behind his wet trail until he reached the valley of your breast, blueish and reddish spots rose on your skin making a little work of art to only you and the man all over you to see.

"I bet you'll be even prettier with my head between your legs and your pussy stuffed with my fingers." And the fact that you weren't wearing a bra? Fucking out of your mind, 'cause that sent Donghyuck head over heels for you. You were so wild, just like him.

And his cock were throbbing in his now tight jeans, but we don't talk about it now, he was already in pain enough. You squeaked at his implication, your body already trembling in anticipation. Still too intoxicated with only his close presence you didn't know if you were sober enough to receive more, but whether you were ready or not that was your fate for the night.

Not that you complained.

He kept faith to his words and before you could register what he said in your mind, his face were at the same level as your pelvis. The tip of his nose traced the edge of your panties, going painfully slow down to your slit, pressing for a moment his button nose on your clit under the light fabric, making you stutter his name under your breath.

You felt him grinning against the most sensitive part of your body, and not a second later he flattened his tongue on your lower lips, going slowly down towards your covered entrance, dipping in slightly for him to feel your arousal leaking through your panties. You were heavily breathing at that point, waiting anxiously for his next move, which immediately arrived.

Donghyuck wasn't exactly a patient person, so the said next move was him removing your panties with his teeth, slowly dragging them all down your legs and throwing them away on the floor to keep company to your dress that were laying there. His large hands found their place on your parted thighs now with your centre exposed, and he fucking whined at the sight of your glistening folds.

"Do something, Hyuck, please." You tried to wiggle under his firm touch, but he squeezed the flash of your thighs, making you whimpering loudly. His lips formed an 'O' when he caught your hole clenching around nothing while you whined.

"So, here I have a fucking greedy pain slut." He mumbled, and with that he dipped his head between your shaking legs. "Dear lord, you're so pretty even down here, how's that possible." You know he was talking to himself, but you couldn't stop the heat rising up to your face, and just wailed out lowly, throwing your head back on your pillows. You didn't complain, you were eager to feel him on you, and when he actually attached his lips to your core, you completely lost your mind. He trailed roughly in the middle of your puffy lips with his wet muscle, going forth to the entrance and back to your neglected clit, sucking firstly and hard on the little ball of nerves, and then on both of your lips.

"You taste so sweet, so, so sweet." At that your hands flew to his hair, gripping onto them for dear life while your moans reverberated off the walls, you heard him whimpering again, the vibrations clashing against your centre made you gasp and brought him even closer while your thighs clamped around his head, putting him in a headlock position. You'd swear you even saw him fucking grinding on the covered mattress at your action.

He was eating your pussy like a starved man.

"It seems that-" a gasp escaped you, making you arching your back off the bed, interrupting your speech, "I'm not the only pain slut here-" your mouth fell agape feeling Donghyuck easing his tongue past your entrance. You were starting to get addicted to his mouth, at that point. He stopped at your sensitive bud, lapping at it and sucking it in his mouth, in a repeated move, putting in the middle languid kisses that went straight to your core, and as if it weren't enough he pushed two of his fingers into your drenched pussy, his knuckles almost disappeared when he went all the way up to your g-spot.

Always straight to the point.

"You saw nothing, just concentrate on my mouth and my fingers, babe." You thanked god you didn't have roommates, 'cause his name moaned, whimpered, and whined, was the only thing you could hear all over your house.

The tension in your stomach started to build nearly immediately, as you were writhing under him, he was just good at that shit and you guys were only at the beginning of the foreplay.

"Haechan-" just slipped out of your mouth, and a harsh slap came in contact with your bare ass, leaving the red and the 3D print of his hand on it.

"Call me like that again, and I'll stop." And fuck, you did not want that to happen at all, damn you were already thinking about the second round-

"Shit- no, I swear I'm sorry, you feel too good, so good- Please Hyuck, I'm sorry just don't stop-" you were embarrassingly babbling, on the verge of literally sobbing because of the near first exploding climax of the night. You knew he was showing you pity as he returned to his actions, not before giving you a warning look, and you bit your lip while looking at him with your already fucked out gaze, hands still gripping hard his hair.

Independent woman my ass.

"Cmon Y/n, don't run from me, I can feel you squeezing my fingers, I know you wanna cum," He kept pushing in and out his slender fingers at a quick peace, making you gasping shakily whenever he curled his fingers upwards your spongy walls. "You can do it pretty girl. Go ahead, make a mess on my fingers." That was your last straw.

You cried out while squirming and twisting when the knot in your stomach snapped. And as you were calming down it felt like you were combusting on your spot, laying lifeless on your sheets trying to give your lungs the oxygen they lost along the way. If he gave you this mind blowing orgasm as your first, you didn't want to imagine how the upcoming ones would be. You were thrilled.

Donghyuck's next target was clearly your cleavage, he didn't say it out loud, but his eyes spoke for him, you could see the eagerness they were holding by simply looking at your chest covered by goosebumps while you were still breathing deeply through your nostrils. In his eyes you were mouth-watering just lying on your blankets in that already fucked out state.

But he had to wait because much to his surprise you were pretty fast at recovering from foreplay, and in just a couple of minutes you were face-to-face to him, in the same position as him on your knees, now wanting to have your fun with him. After all, he as well, deserved his part.

"I think we're playing an unfair game here, don't you think, Hyuck?" Dismissively you pointed the nail of your index finger on his chest, letting it slide down his torso, pressing gently against his shirt.

"What do you mean by 'unfair'?" Voice slightly strained as he was busy following your lips with his gaze.

"I mean that your clothes are still on, but mines are on the ground, don't you find it unequal?" You pouted while looking at him with your doe eyes, trying to be as persuasive as possible.

"Yes, I think you're more than right, actually." His words couldn't come out of his mouth faster than that, and you snickered in amusement at him. He were already so vulnerable, for fuck's sake.

"So, if I do this," you proceeded to unbutton the rest of his shirt, sliding it down past his shoulders and his wrists, "you don't mind, mh?" Your voice was sugary.

"Do as you please, I'm down with everything," he whispered on your mouth while you still were at his height on the bed, "just, don't tease."

You chuckled at him while you hooped a finger into his waistband bringing him closer, clashing your noses, "You better stick to your words. If you're fine with whatever, just sit back and enjoy your time."

What were you, the voice ad who tells you to enjoy your time watching the movie at the cinema? What the fuck Y/n.

You shrugged off your own ridiculous thoughts, and done that, you placed both of your hands on his firm pecs, not too muscular, not too scrawny, just to die for. Of course, for your standards. Hands started to drop down his torso, brushing and flicking on his nipples in the way, making him hiss, and he even tried to capture your wrists in his hands to stop you, but you gave him in return a dour look, so he stopped mid-air quickly mumbling an 'I'm sorry', and you pecked his lips as a reward.

You kept on pecking him, but each time you changed directions of your lips, moving slowly to the corner of his mouth, to his jaw, along the side of his neck, to his bony collarbones, and then down his abs, peppering his soft flesh with small kisses, and with kitten-licks in between. This, while your hands were still caressing him, coming down with you as you moved.

You eventually and finally reached his pants, not halting your movements and simply taking off his belt, absentmindedly placing it there on the bed, while his pants were quick to reach the pile of your clothes on the floor. You set down on your elbows, now facing his cock still restrained, and that's where you heard Donghyuck's breath getting heavy, but you plainly smirked up at him aware of your next moves.

You actually didn't waste your time and pulled down his boxers in one move, which took him off guard, making you chuckling. His member slapped proudly against his lower stomach, it reached his navel and you almost salivated at the only sight.

"Oh god, Hyuck you're so big-" you muttered under your breath and with that you simply wrapped your hands at its base, wanting first to slowly stroke him, tasting the waters. "I'm gonna deep-throat you-" you said without even thinking about the fact that he was literally so big that he would have split your throat in a half, probably because, in fact, you didn't care at all about that particular.

He choked on his saliva, placing one hand in your hair trying, but not trying at the same time, to stop you, "What- wait, I mean yes- oh my god, just-"

You shushed him by licking his leaking tip, going down the length of his shaft and reaching his balls, then you went back at the tip, and wrapping your lips around it your head started to bob up and down with a slow steady rhythm.

You heard him cursing in a soft tone, while his grip on your hair thighed, and you hummed contentedly at the slight pain on your scalp. At your hum you felt him twitching in your mouth, so you hollowed your cheeks around him and went all the way down his length, feeling him in the very back of your throat. Your gag reflexes were irritating you, but you fought them back and as a result tears started to form in your waterlines, feeling them at the corner of your eyes and down your cheeks afterwards.

He cooed at you, snickering proudly while your hands were squeezing his thighs for support, "Am I, perhaps, too big for my baby? Should I pull out?" You shook fast your head in a 'no' motion, looking up at him with your wet eyes, wanting to demonstrate to him that you could do it, that you wanted to do it at every cost.

And so he brought you closer with his hands on the back of your head, your nose was now touching his happy trail, and with his massive cock now buried in your throat, even if you were trying so hard to breath through your nose, you were never been happier than that.

"Fuck- you're so warm, stay still for a moment." he grunted while exposing his veiny neck, you started to feel like you were about to faint due to lack of air, but nonetheless, you felt again the stickiness between your legs.

He eventually released you, and you were able to breathe again, briefly gasping for oxygen waiting for your lungs to be full again, and as a matter of fact you were back to sucking him dry.

You hollowed again your cheeks around his shaft while your tongue were flat on the underside of his length, this time stopping bobbing your head where you were the most comfortable, repeating your motions until you saw his stomach contracting and him almost curling on you, while gasping for air, and you understood he was close to his climax. So you brought your hand to his balls, massaging firstly them together and then separately, and apparently that was his last straw, 'cause before he could warn you he was already releasing himself down your throat.

You peered at him through your wet lashes and noted he had his eyes screwed shut and his mouth wide opened, his cock still throbbing in your mouth, so you waited for him to come down on heart before you could pull off of him with a loud and wet pop, swallowing everything he gave you.

"I actually hate you." He said still breathing heavily, fixing you hair in the meantime.

"No, you actually don't." You grinned ear to ear and went up at his height again, throwing your arms around his neck while licking your lips, tasting again his release.

"How was it?" He asked you smugly.

"How was it what-"

"My cum."

"Donghyuck!" You yelled exasperate, putting your face in the crook of his neck.

"I'm kidding!" He kissed tenderly your exposed temple.

Your cheeks were burning at his action, but you were quick to change your positions so he couldn't see that. You pushed at his shoulders, making him to fall back on your blankets, head on your pillows, and bed eyes looking up at you, watching you attentively.

"I know you're not, you horny fucker." You straddled his lap, hands on his lower abs, and now with both of your legs on both of his sides, you just sat back, feeling his cock under the curve of your ass. And that made you smirk devilishly, 'cause it made you realize you were right on top of him, "Screw that, I'm the fucker apparently."

He raised an eyebrow at you, "Idea is not acceptable."

You raised back an eyebrow at him, "Idea is very acceptable," you wiggled your ass on his already growing erection, "Go tell your dick."

Grinding his teeth in annoyance he felt indeed his cock twitching under you, "You're being incorrect, princess and the pea."

You rolled your eyes at him, "You could have stopped at the 'princess', thank you very much."

"Stop being a brat and fuck me, you need an invite or?" He crossed his arms behind his head watching you with a defiant smile.

"How the tables have turned." You scowled at him, your hand reached down in between your bodies lifting yours up, to place the said hand on the base of his length, lining the tip at your entrance.

"Yeah, and I'll turn 'em again later."

You ignored his snark remark, even though his words were echoing in your brain like a nursery rhyme, and you just eased down onto him, letting him fill you up to the brim. You winced at the stretch, both his length and girth were ripping you apart, but you didn't complain at all.

"Fucking hell. I can fucking feel you in my stomach." You said with a faint voice, proceeding to moan rolling your head back, staying still for a moment, adjusting to his size.

You slightly lifted your ass up, leaving only the tip inside, still feeling full, just to smack it loudly against his tonic thighs trying to remain as quiet as you could 'cause you wanted to hear him, even if you wanted to scream out loud thanks to him who was reaching places you didn't know existed, causing you to violently clench around him and repeat your moves.

"Shit- Y/n you're so greedy and for what," as if he didn't know. He grunted, gripping your hips so forcefully you feared he would find the pieces of your flesh in his hands, but that pain only wounded you up even more, in fact, you felt yourself dripping into his shaft, the wetness helping your movements to get more smooth, and that made him hiss through his teeth, closing shut his eyes while whimpering.

Greedy for you, dickhead. You truly wanted to reply, "Your brobdingnagian dick makes me greedy, Hyuck." You opted instead, moaning shakily when he accidentally met up with your hips while you were going down.

"Never say that again." He tried to keep a straight face, but he soon realized that it was like boiling the ocean. Impossible.

After he closed his mouth, well, opened his mouth, to stop talking and letting out his moans mixed with his whimpers, you started to move off of him and on again, this time faster, making your boobs bounce up and down in a rapid motion. He was salivating at the view, and his hands were quick to make it to them, holding onto them for dear life, kneading like they were pizza dough, registering in his head that they even fitted perfectly in his hands.

He was waiting for this, to make you his, since the first time he saw you.

He was looking, trying at least, at you with so many emotions and feelings in his eyes that he couldn't even comprehend what they were exactly. Could you be more perfect than that?

Well, he figured it out that yes, you could be more perfect than that, in the exact moment you stopped bouncing on him, and started to fucking grind on him. Moans and curses words were spilling out of your mouths almost at the same time, both of you started to get louder. You felt him twitching more repeatedly than before, signaling you that he was reaching again his climax, and you were on the same wavelength if it weren't for the fact that you were restraining yourself from being only one step closer to that.

"I'm close- I'm fucking close Y/n, slow the fuck down-" A white ring of your slick around the base of his cock, now sliding down his balls and onto the mattress. He babbled out of his breath, not noticing that he was pinching your nipples between his fingers while he was holding your mounds, making your core tighten around his erection.

"And why would I do that?" You whined while your nails were digging deeply in his chest, unhurriedly sliding down his stomach and pelvis, leaving vivid red marks behind. If you were to be marked, he had to be too.

"'Cause I want- fuck- I want you to- cum first." You literally felt him trembling under you, and you tsked at him, how could he say such a thing if he was literally on his last legs? That's what he made you obsessed with him when you guys first met.

"Lightning never strikes twice," you clenched around him again, "this time, you cum first, pretty boy." and apparently it was the straw that broke the camel's back.

His legs folded under you making them crash into your back, while he was messily thrusting up into you to catch his own release. You physically felt him shooting his cum into you, filling you up as you never were in your whole life. Now it was his turn to lay lifeless under you, taking in deep breaths.

But you didn't give him much time to recover, you were still trying to reach your climax, which it was closer than you thought.

You regained your movements, grinding on him with your clit now in contact whit his pelvis, but it wasn't enough, so you brought your hand on it, and began to stroking it with your middle and ring fingers, the movement made your head fall back, resting on the knees of the guy who were stuttering under you, gripping your thighs as his life depended on them while watching you touching and getting yourself off, using him. You just were so hot in his eyes.

"Y/n-, Y/n stop, I'm gonna- gonna come again if you don't stop like," he gulped down while he whined like a baby deprived of his pacifier, "right fucking now- oh my god I'm dying, I'm dying, I'm dying-" he kept blabbering and stuttering, at that point you couldn't even understand the fuck he was saying, but you swear you saw tears at the corner of his eyes, and evidently, that was it for the both of you, 'cause he filled you up again with his load in no time while you were crying in your turn on top of him, this orgasm hitting you harder than the first one that had you almost sobbing.

You clashed down on him, with your damped skins in contact, and usually it would disgust you, but this time you noticed it actually didn't bother you at all while Donghyuck was caressing your back. You stayed cuddled like that for a while, just the right amount of time to regain control of your lungs.

"Well, that was a long ass ride." You chuckled breathlessly, playing with his necklace.

"You fucking overstimulated me." He pinched your side, making you yelp and you tried to run from his fingers, but to no avails, 'cause he was caging you with his legs so much stronger than yours.

"What can I say, it's hazards of the job." You said nonchalantly while looking up at him with a smirk on your face. He was glowing, and he was so pretty, dear lord.

"I'm gonna stifle you."

"Is it a threat or a promise?"

"Actually," he began calmly, connecting your mouths on a slow kiss, savoring the saltiness of your tears on both of your lips, licking your bottom one, dancing briefly with your tongue afterwards, and in the meantime both of his hands went down on your ass, kneading and taking his own time with it. He must have really liked it, and you smiled in your shared kiss. "It was a fucking promise." You forgot he had to continue his sentence, and with his radical change in his voice, everything surprised you, 'cause you really thought you were done for the night. But again, you were oh so wrong.

He suddenly flipped you on your stomach, making you land on your knees and elbows on the blankets. But he wasn't happy about it, he pushed your blades down so your chest would be pressed against the mattress, with your ass up. Again, he wasn't content and pushed down on your lumbar spine, making you arch your back and stick out your ass even more. That satisfied him.

Thank god you were an ex artistic gymnast.

"Hyuck wait- I can't do it anymore-" you gasped in fear. He was actually unpredictable, and that was one of the many proofs.

He prodded the thick head of his cock at your entrance, sliding it into you by one or two inches while chuckling fiendishly, "You can, and you will. You will be nothing but my personal cumdump, yeah?"

He shoved his length in you so hard that you jolted forwards, a hiccup already leaving your mouth, feeling stuffed like a thanksgiving turkey. He threw back his head grunting like a wild animal at the feeling of your warm and still wet, from all of his cum, walls around his dick, "I'm gonna fuck you that brattiness off of your pretty face, doll."

Breathing through his teeth he started to build up his own pace, making you jolting forwards with each of his deep thrusts. In that position you could feel him reaching your cervix, hitting your g-spot as he kept going past it every time, causing you to stutter his name numerous times as you felt again your tears rolling down your cheeks, they didn't stop like the first time, they kept flowing and your mascara was soon ruined, staining your skin under your eyes, on your cheeks, and even under your chin as they grouped together. You were a babbling mess under him while he started plunging into you at a inhuman rate, feeling weaker and more alive simultaneously at every bump of his hips against your ass.

"You- You fill me up- so well Hyuck-," your right cheek were pressed against your sheets, not even trying to look at him 'cause you had no strength, you were just mumbling nonsense every now and then, "you're so good for me." Your intent was to say that he was good to you in that moment, not that he was the person good for you in general, but you guessed your mind disagreed, 'cause you didn't even corrected yourself, not wanting to in the slightest.

He landed forcefully a palm on your asscheek, leaving again another print on it, and he kept going like this: a slap that sent you into the next century on each asscheek until you were, in the true sense of the word, sobbing like a newborn, staining your blankets under you with your tears and saliva.

He was chasing his own release at this point, again, and that sent you a shiver along your spine at the anticipation, 'cause that meant he was about to be overstimulated once more, given the fact that you were yes on the verge of literally squirting on him, but it wasn't still your time, and that made you grin like crazy.

Donghyuck noticed you smiling to yourself hoping to go unnoticed, but you failed, and that rose curiosity in him, he didn't pry, but that made him place his left hand around your throat, bringing you up towards his sweaty chest. He was putting pressure on both of the sides of it, cutting off the blood pressure and giving you the feeling of pain and pleasure caused by the dizziness in your head.

"Told you it was a promise, slut, didn't I?" He whispered to your ear, brushing it softly with his plump lips, making your nipples stiffening in pleasure. You tried to nod at his words, wanting to give him an answer, but he fucking laughed at you, nibbling at your lobe while his other hand outstretched to your neglected nip, rolling and flicking it between his thumb and index finger.

Next time he would suck on them like they were his favorite lollipops.

"Answer me properly, doll." His deep voice went straight to your core.

"Y-yes, Hyuck-" you tried to say, gasping next for a little more of air, "you- you told me."

"You're such a good girl." The pet name made you squirm in his arms, your walls clenching around him multiple times as you whined out a plea. You were right there, but he beat you to it.

"Oh fuck- I'm coming-" his pace slightly stuttered "I'm gonna fuck you full of my cum again-" and with that, he emptied himself into you, filling you up deliciously in that position. You almost felt his cock in your throat again while he was still throbbing inside you.

You wouldn't be surprised if you could see his bulge through your stomach.

"You didn't come." He stated while looking at you sternly, "but that's not a problem. Whores like you get rewarded if they behave."

You mewled at his degradation, tightening once again your pussy around his cock, making him hiss and curl up towards you, but that didn't stop him. He kept fucking you setting aside the pain mixed with pleasure he was feeling, whimpering praises and degradations in your ear. You didn't know what to do anymore, your mind was in a hazy state and he hitting your spongy spot didn't help either.

Sniffles and moans were leaving your lips again, "Hyuck- I'm-" you tried to warn him, but the knot in your belly broke again and abruptly, not giving you time to realize it was really squirt, how you supposed earlier, that came out of your body.

That, was a result of how badly he could mess up with your body and mind. And you liked that.

Your incredibly amount of slickness drenched everything around you, including you and a content him. And with that he came again, too overstimulated for his own likes, but he wouldn't have complained if he had the chance to witness that afresh.

"Do that again but on my face please."

"Next thing I'll do is kicking you in your ribs."

He mocked you high-pitching his voice, but he proceeded to pull out of you with his finally softening member, and he dragged you down so you could lay your head on your pillow right in front of him, face-to-face still soaking all wet and breathless, your bodies screaming at you for a shower and a couple of glasses of water.

He plonked his free arms around your torso, bringing you closer to him, your chests and noses now touching softly, you giggled while looking in his eye, finding him already looking at yours with a silly expression on his face, was all that sex enough to make him a different person or what, he was literally calling you a slut seconds earlier. You shook your head, still smiling like a fool, and you pecked at his lips, lingering for a little longer on his lips you were starting to love excessively.

He pecked at your lip this time, biting softly your bottom one before he pulled apart, "Cat got your tongue?" An eyebrow raised at you.

"Shut up before I pee on you." In amusement you rolled your eyes at him, while standing up, heading trembling to your bathroom.

"Actually, you already did tha-"

"Lee Donghyuck!" You screamed from outside your door with your hands in your hair, stressed (not really) again by his antics.

He made a little run to catch up with you, swiftly picking you up much to your surprise, carrying you bridal style.

"Let's take the aftercare in the shower, my love." He grinned down at you while you steadily held onto him.

Your eyes went out of your sockets, making you choke on your own saliva, "your what?!"

"Nothing!"

And your hand tugged on his hair, making him yelp out of pain.

The next morning the ringing of a phone, echoed between the walls of your room.

You were a light sleeper, that was why you heard the phone firstly, but you noticed it wasn't your ringtone, so you quickly kicked in the shin the man that was sleeping next to you in your bed.

You thanked god again, 'cause you remembered to turn the AC on before you and Donghyuck could fall asleep as soon as you came back from the shower last night. And yes, that implied that the guy was sleeping soundly anchored to you, and without the AC on, you surely would have gone to sleep in your backyard.

"Donghyuck." You grunted in a hoarse voice.

No response.

You shoved him with your leg out of your bed, letting him hitting the floor, and he cried out in pain, again.

"Your phone." You simply said to him, and with that you saw him sprinting towards his jeans lying on the floor in front of him, searching frantically for the device in his pockets with his messy hair in all the directions, making you almost laugh at him.

"Hello?" His voice was hoarse too, so he cleared his throat while rubbing his eyes to wake up at least a little bit.

"No, I- Johnny I can explain-" he said hurriedly, "actually, I can explain to you, but don't tell Kun-" it was funny watching him walking around your room in panic, trying to save his own ass with his friends, with his hirers.

"What do you mean he wants to fire me?!" He squealed with his free hand in his hair.

His dick was dangling with each of his movements, making you try to suppress your laugh in your pillow.

"But- he can't! Well no, yes- I know he can-" he wails walking in circle, "but I'm the best among all other employees even if I disappeared from work last night-" he tried to sugarcoat his friend, but it was ineffectual. The call ended, and a cute pout appeared on his face. You sweared you could've kissed it off of him under different circumstances.

"Now I am jobless." He said puffing his cheeks, throwing himself on the bed, precisely on you.

You dramatically gasped for air while patting his head, which it was on your chest, and he was looking up at you, still with that pout on his lips.

"Now all I have left is my girlfriend." Now, you were gasping for air for real, 'cause that took you off guard, but not in a negative way. You actually took a moment to think about the man on top of you: aside from the first meeting went all the way down, you indeed realized that he was the only one, not counting your best friends, that were able to take your bull by the horns. He always had something up his sleeve to make you laugh and flatter at the same time. The way he took care of you, even with small gestures, made you fall for him quickly, plus his fun and witty ass was a relief for your monotonous course of life, so maybe he would put a twist to it.

"Ask me properly Lee Donghyuck." You feigned annoyance at him, when instead, you were more than on a cloud-nine.

"Y/n," he took a moment to elaborate his thoughts, he already screwed up his job, he didn't want to screw up with you too. "Could you give me the honor of calling you my girlfriend?" With his eyes full of hope he kept staring at you, with his heart pounding in his ears. He was about to faint from the anxiety, he could feel it.

"Of course I'll be your girlfriend, you silly dumbass." You never smiled so widely in your whole life, and placing both of your palms on his cheeks, you kissed him like time didn't existed, making his ear flush both for your final response and the breathtaking kiss.

Needless to say that you guys stayed a little longer on your bed, kissing like teenagers do in high school.

"Hey," he tried to say casually after sharing the last kiss.

"Oh no."

"I was thinking-"

"Oh no." You repeated dramatically, like something catastrophic was about to happen.

"Can you not?!"

"I'm sorry, it actually surprises me that you can think," you raised your shoulder, curling his already curly hair in your fingers.

"Now I think I'm just gonna go non-verbal on you."

"I was kidding baby, go ahead," your tone softened.

"Could you hire me, perhaps?" He said with a hopeful and devilish smirk.

Again, you took a moment to think about his offer, and you in fact needed one more hand at work, 'cause you were all alone in there, and sometimes you really wished you had an employee to help you out with the stocks in the back, o simply in the store sharing your tasks with one another. And having your boyfriend working and staying with you everyday? It was like a dream came true.

"Hell, no."

You just were as bad as him.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: hi! this is actually my first fic ever, which has been on my mind for far too long, so i thought it was time to publish it. even tho i was (still am*) too insecure to do that fr, my obsession with haechan motivated me to do so ((mj's absolutely one of my favorite artists, so i couldnt help but choose one of his songs as a title for my first hyuck's fic)). Also, my mental health's at it again so i considered writing to distract myself from it at least a little bit, hope you can appreciate my efforts! Plus ik it's pretty basic-, but w time ill def get better at this! An honorable mention n a massive thank u goes to my bae @mrkis , i wouldnt be here without her. I love you a lot dude, im being ffr. Feedbacks n reblogs r highly appreciated! Hoping yall enjoyed ur reading♡.

2K notes · View notes

twilghtkoo · 9 months

Note

hello i absolutely love your works! can i please kindly request a haechan drabble with this prompt 🥺 no pressure! thank you and stay safe! 🩷

pairings. streamer!haechan x streamer!reader (f)

genre. fluff, established relationship

warnings. gamer!haechan, short drabble :/

notes. LOVE THIS ANON *starts smashing keyboard*

[ masterlist | haechan masterlist ]

"chat, i cannot express this enough, but do not date a gamer. okay?" you joke facing the camera, as your gamer boyfriend is tugging your arm with light force.

he had walked into your streaming room, knowing you were streaming tonight. when you both are streaming it's an unspoken rule to not bother each other, but neither of you get upset if one walks in just to greet each other or to give a kiss goodbye if one of you are leaving the house.

but that's not the case right now, because haechan walked in with an empty stomach and asking when you were going to cook dinner.

your stream chat was going crazy when they saw your boyfriend walk into your room behind you.

haechan scoffs behind you, chuckling. "yah, what do you mean?"

you burst out laughing, his grip on your forearm loosening but you link your fingers with his before he drops his hand.

"i'm almost done, i'll end the stream in about an hour and i'll cook. what do you feel like eating?" you look up at him from your chair.

he ponders a bit before answering he wants spam fried rice.

"ok, sounds good. can you make the rice, can you at least do that?" you ask him with raised eyebrows.

he sucks his teeth, nudging you with the hand that's holding yours. "of course i can."

he leans down to show his face to your camera. "hi chat, be nice to my baby, my love, my little chef, my- ow!" he hisses, rubbing the top of his head where you smacked him.

"okay, okay, i'm going, but one more thing..." he smiles.

you huff out of slight annoyance, but it's all love. and he knows that.

"yes, hyuck?"

"do you know how to whistle?"

you tilt your head, confused at the random question. "i feel like i showed you i can't, look." and then you pucker your lips out and you attempt to blow out air to whistle but haechan's lips are on yours in a matter of seconds then he runs out your room giggling.

you blink, slowly turning your head to stare at your monitor and glancing at the chat.

you let out a breathy laugh, ignoring how red your cheeks look on camera. "like i said, don't date gamers kids."

user haechan is an exception !!

user LMAO mans got rizz

you nod slowly, grinning. "yes, haechan is an exception."

788 notes · View notes

haechwrites · 1 year

Text

sugar, butter, & the royal crown - L.DH

prince!lee donghyuck x baker fem!OC (no name!)

synopsis: prince donghyuck only has one princess on his mind, but she's not actually a princess. she's just the royal baker's granddaughter.

wc: ~17.1k

warnings: pet names used only so i don't have to namedrop lol. no other warnings tho!

A/N: this is my second longest fic i've actually finished hehe i'm really happy with this one and now i wish i had a prince haechan lol

-- some things to note first:

THIS FIC IS WRITTEN IN FIRST PERSON. if you see ♔, that means it's in haechan's pov written in third person!

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

As a child, life is all about the simple pleasures. It didn’t matter that I’d come home to a dark house carrying the faint snores of my mother. I was still reeling from the sweet taste of mangoes on my tongue, the slight dusting of sugar in my hair, and the lingering soreness from laughing in my cheeks. I’d quickly wash up, give my mom a quick peck on the forehead, and tuck myself in bed. Before I know it, the sun greets me again and I meet my grandma outside as she leads me to the palace. This was my routine and for my young brain, there was nothing ever wrong with it.

My grandma is the head baker at the palace. Since the separation of my parents, I have spent my days with my grandma at work. It was all I knew and I was content with it. Every sunrise, I’d have 30 minutes before I had to meet her outside. Together, we’d walk to the palace’s servant entrance and my grandma would give our favorite guard, Doyun, a warm smile and a promise to slip an extra pastry in his meal for letting me tag along. I’d walk past him with a finger to my lips asking him to be sworn to secrecy. He’d always return it with a wink and a small laugh. It was our little promise, though I’m sure no one would actually mind an extra guest on the grounds – especially a mere 7-year-old.

Once inside the kitchen, I strap on the apron that the palace’s tailor secretly made specifically for me. Grandma told me that the busiest times in the kitchen were the mornings, so I always sit in the corner to let her start the day. I occupy myself for at least an hour before my friend comes to play with me. His entrance is always the same: a secret knock on the side door and a gleaming smile when I open it for him.

Today he’s dressed up in a super fancy garment, almost like a uniform. I had never seen him in anything other than his casual button-up and pants, typically covered by an extra adult-sized apron we’d find laying around.

“Donghyuck! What are you wearing?”

“Princess!,” He’d squeal, pulling me into a tight hug. “It’s my special outfit.”

“Is it your birthday?” My nose scrunches in confusion, looking him up and down. Even if it was his birthday, I can’t imagine his servant parents could afford such expensive fabric.

Donghyuck laughs before yanking a spare apron off its hook and pulling it over his head.

“Nooo. I have something important to do today. That’s why I’m wearing this,” He explains, looking a little nervous.

“Oh wow. You look like the King. Or like a prince,” I say jokingly, but Donghyuck freezes. His eyes are wide like the time he accidentally ate the last mango tart I was saving.

Then he breaks out into an awkward laugh and smiles wide at me, “I am a prince… because you’re my princess.” He says with utmost confidence, before grabbing my hands. We’re standing the way I position my two play dolls during a pretend wedding ceremony.

I quickly turn the shade of freshly baked cherry pies and I tear my hands out of his hold.

“Donghyuck-ah! How many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me that?” I huff, crossing my arms.

He snickers, “Hmmm… maybe one hundred more times.”

“One hundred more times?!”

“Yes, if you can even count that high,” he smirks, instantly easing the tension from earlier. He plops down onto my stool and looks up at me. “So what are we playing today? Or should we read? Or does Baker Grandma need help?”

I aimlessly kick the leg of the stool, thinking about what we could do today as I can see him anxiously bounce around in his seat. He looks like he’s running on limited time today. Sometimes Donghyuck disappears on me in the middle of our hangouts or doesn’t show up at all. I just assume his parents need help with their tasks just like how Grandma often calls me to help her bake. He’s never told me where in the palace they work despite the years we’ve been hanging out.

“What if we help your parents today?” The minute the question leaves my lips, I hear a snort from the kitchen staff and Donghyuck goes into a coughing fit as if the flour seeped into his lungs.

I begin to feel myself turn red again and wondering what was so wrong till I feel a familiar warm hand on my shoulder.

“Ah Donghyuck, you’re here today?” My grandma looks at his attire with a suspicious gaze. “Don’t you have somewhere else to be?” Her hands are on her hips and it feels similar to the times she’s caught me using the oven on my own.

Donghyuck starts shyly giggling while fiddling with the oversized apron my grandma is reaching to remove. I stand there in confusion as he looks like a puppy that was told he wasn’t allowed to play or have a treat. I want to help him but the look on grandma’s face is too scary to fight.

She’s slowly ushering him out the door and I’m holding his apron in my hands, watching him pout.

“Bye Hyuck,” I mutter, sad that our day was cut short before it even began. This was the quickest that one has ended.

“Byeee Princess,” He says with as much despair in his voice. He always has to be a little more dramatic than me. I giggle and wave him goodbye, spirits lifted by his antics. I see a smile grow on his face at the sound of my laugh before my grandma closes the door.

My loneliness returns as I stare at the wooden panels of the side door.

“Did he have to go?” I ask, slumping back onto the stool he was just on.

My grandma turns to me with a quizzical look. I can’t tell if she’s angry, sad, or disappointed and then she’s crouched down in front of me. Her flour-coated hands are resting on my lap.

“Donghyuck got called by his parents. They’re very important people,” She starts slowly. Grandma has never talked about Donghyuck’s family or personal life before. It was never brought up in the past because I assumed he was just like me. Now that we’re finally beginning to talk about it, the hesitant look on her face makes me not want to know anymore.

“Guards?,” I ask. To me, Doyun is the most important worker in the castle as he freely lets me in and out. Maybe guards earn enough to adorn such fancy clothes I saw Donghyuck wear.

“No, honey,” She glances back at her staff, and I notice they’ve been watching. They give me a reassuring smile, but there’s uneasiness quivering on their lips.

“Donghyuck… Donghyuck is the Prince.”

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

♔

They found him. Donghyuck’s personal guards find him where they usually do when he escapes his tasks, and that would be at the palace kitchen. This time, they find him outside the door, rather than inside scarfing down mango tarts.

Without any hesitation and with no room for him to trick them and run, they grab the tiny prince and bring him to the meeting he was meant to attend with the King. It was meant to be the first glimpse of his life as a future ruler, attending meetings with fellow diplomats and other boring princely things. Donghyuck does not understand why he can’t spend his day playing like a regular 7-year-old with his pretty friend from the kitchen.

Despite having complained and whined his way out of most duties, Donghyuck had reached the level of maturity to know that this one he couldn’t fight. I mean, the tailor adjusted his royal attire just for this one-hour meeting. After having come to terms with sitting in boredom for an hour, Donghyuck did not expect to be dragged into more as he was about to skip his way over to the kitchen once the diplomats left.

“And where are you off to now, Donghyuck?”

He freezes in his tracks and a shiver ripples down his spine at the sound of her voice. He’s been caught again.

He spins around, plastering the biggest smile possible on his face. “Nowhere, Mother. Just strolling around until my tutoring session.” He hopes she doesn’t recognize this path to the kitchen.

“And is your tutoring session located in the kitchen today?” She asks, words dripping with a patronizing attitude. Nothing Donghyuck isn’t used to.

“Oh! I wanted to see if I could get a quick snack before. My brain needs food, right?” He hides his crossed fingers behind his back, praying she doesn’t call his bluff.

“And you’re not just going there to see that girl, are you?” She takes a step closer and Donghyuck is scared she can see the drip of sweat beginning to trickle down his forehead. How did she know about Princess? He wonders if his guard ratted him out… even after Donghyuck gave him half of his tart. The betrayal, he scoffs.

“There’s no girl, Mother.” Donghyuck decides it's best to deny it and stare straight at his feet.

“You are correct, there will never be a girl. Instead, there will be a future queen. A princess for now and you need to begin meeting our potential suitresses,” The queen firmly states, grabbing his shoulders to steer him towards the library. Before he could stop himself, his chest bubbles with heat, and his brain is fogged with confusion. He can’t imagine anyone by his side but her.

“Why can’t she be my princess?”

The words spill out from his royal lips before he could catch them. There’s no missing the instant look of rage and disgust on the Queen’s face when her son’s true desires are revealed. Desires of the heart, but a complete disgrace to his duties as the Prince. Her eyes grow colder and her skin pales till her blush is the brightest hue on her cheeks.

Donghyuck feels his throat go dry and the crossed fingers behind his back unlock. No luck can help him now.

“No more kitchen visits, Prince Donghyuck.”

The queen’s words are final. His shoulders slump lower and his feet are heavy as he drags them across the cobblestone trailing toward the library. It feels like there was a wall that slammed into the ground behind him, forbidding him from seeing her again.

“Yes, ma’am. No more.”

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

^ FIFTEEN YEARS LATER ^

The only memory of my childhood that lingered was the heat of the oven. Like I did every day at the age of 7, I continued to bake to keep that fire alive. There were days where the warmth was cooler than normal and my urge to bake waivered. Days like when my grandma stopped showing up outside my house every day a half hour after sunrise. Days like when my mother decided I was too much to raise when I stopped spending my time at the palace. And days like the one when I moved out of the city to live with my dad.

However, there were also days where the flame was ablaze. Days like when I got my own personal baking set. Days like when I got accepted into a baking school. And days like today, where I return to the city that pushed me out fifteen years ago to open a bakery. Despite the dismal circumstances of the day I left, I always felt the urge to return. It never felt right that I moved in the first place. Confusion still envelops my mind when I think about how my grandma stopped taking me to the palace for unsaid reasons and how my mother was incapable of taking care of me due to it. There had to be something more going on.

Outside of this mystery of my childhood, my main goal was to return with my own bakery specializing in my soon-to-be infamous mango tarts. I had visited the city for the first time since my move before to scope out bakery locations. But today was the day that I officially move in, to both my home and bakery, and kickstart my business. My first task was to put up a sign displaying the bakery’s name.

“Oh my goodness… so it is true!”

Warmth blooms in my chest; I would recognize that voice anywhere. I flip around and I’m greeted with her same sugary sweet smile. My grandma looks just as she did before but her hair is dusted white like the flour she worked with. But she still smelled like spiced apple pie, my eyes watered in disbelief.

“Grandma!” I ran into her open arms and I could feel her chuckle.

“Oh honey, it’s been much too long. Look at you now… a beautiful woman before my eyes,” She’s smiling widely and I can see her eyes take in my features. Fifteen years worth of change and growth.

“I’m sorry we haven’t been in contact much. I could barely find the time to tell you I was coming back.”

“It’s alright. All that matters is you’re here,” Grandma rubs my arms reassuringly. “And are you here alone? Or have you moved back with a lover?” The childish gleam on her face makes me giggle and I quickly correct her that I’m single and focusing on my baking.

“Ah, I see. In that case, you must have more time than I anticipated. You must come with me to work one of these days. Just like old times. Consider it research for your bakery.” The way she sways with excitement makes it hard for me to turn it down, and I can’t deny the flutter in my heart at the idea of stepping foot onto the palace grounds again. It was where it all started for me. I agreed with a smile.

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

After a week of prepping the bakery, I decided to visit my grandma. To be completely honest, outside of the work I had to do, my nerves did play a role in keeping me from going earlier. But now that I’ve decided I’ve run out of excuses, I’m walking to the servant entrance of the palace a little before noon to give my grandmother the morning to solely focus on work. It makes me smile knowing I still remember the schedule of the palace kitchen.

The streets surrounding the castle are quiet at this hour. I can still remember the hustle and commotion of the staff in the early morning, lining up to get inside to start their days. It was never daunting to be a young girl surrounded by a diverse array of people. It was thrilling and almost comforting and it was much better than staying home alone.

When I reach the gates, I feel like I’ve traveled back in time because blocking my path is a young guard who looks eerily like Doyun, the guard I knew from before.

“How can I help you, miss?”

“Hi.” I’m inspecting his face. He has the same colored hair, but it’s parted differently. He has the same warm light brown eyes and his face is a little softer than Doyun’s. My mind can’t help but ask, “I’m sorry if this is a strange question but do you know Guard Doyun?”

His stiff demeanor drops like a curtain and the young guard’s eyes light up, “I’m his son, Yunseo! How do you know my father?” Suddenly I don’t see a guard in uniform, but instead a bright, inviting individual in his place.

“No wonder! I’m the granddaughter of the head baker. I used to greet your father every morning when I was a child.”

“Oh yes! Yes, she told me you were coming. You can go right along in, just make sure she knows to sneak me an extra sweet treat.” He opens the gates for me.

“Ah like father, like son,” I giggle, slightly bowing to him as I enter.

“Do you remember how to get to the kitchen?”

I stare at the familiar worn cobblestone paths and nod, “I think so.”

The walk to the kitchen is shorter than I remember but the smell wafting from the windows is all the same. I reach the side door and I’m about to knock when I notice it’s creaked slightly open. I hear a voice above all the kitchen noise.

“Gran, please sneak something in my food today so I can get sick and stay in bed for the whole week. I do not want to court these women.” I peek my head in further to take a look at the man speaking. I let out a soft gasp when my eyes land on him.

Outside of his stunning beauty, he looks familiar. His tufts of chestnut brown hair are slightly waved as they curl around the nape of his neck. He often shakes his head to get the bangs out of his face, exposing his tan skin. If I look close enough, he has distinguishable moles on the plush curves of his cheeks. His rosy lips are wrapped around a piece of pastry and even when he’s talking with his mouth full, he’s still attractive. My eyes instantly widen when I notice his outfit: the royal attire.

A squeal escapes my mouth and before I could hide, the door is swung open by my grandma.

“You’re here!”

At the announcement of my arrival, the young man is dusting the crumbs off his hands, and looks like he’s about to make a quick escape.

“Hi Grandma,” I give her a hug, not minding the flour sticking to my sweater. “I was just about to knock.” I let out a small laugh to hide the fact that I was definitely eavesdropping not moments ago.

“Grandma?” I hear the man say behind her. He decided to stay after realizing it wasn’t one of his guards coming to get him, but instead a pretty woman. An oddly, familiar, pretty woman.

My grandma bites her lip to keep from smiling any bigger and she grabs my arm to present me to the man.

“Oh my. I forgot you guys know each other! It’s Donghyuck, do you remember, honey? You used to play with him every day as I worked.” The glint in her eyes is something more than just happy nostalgia and I give her a look.

“Pri-... Princess?” When the old nickname leaves his lips, I gasp and feel my cheeks bloom pink. The layers of the handsome man in front of me started to peel and I could see the little boy I spent my early life with. Most of my warmest days were spent with him. But I’m also brought back to one of the colder days of my childhood. The day I found out my childhood best friend was the Prince.

At first, I didn’t understand why my grandma was so fearful of telling me who he really was. I was ecstatic to hear that Donghyuck was royalty. I was fascinated and curious to see what his life was like and how it compared to being the granddaughter of a palace worker. I soon learned that what I wanted to discover was not so glamorous. Because apparently, his life excluded me. I didn’t piece that together until a few years after my move. Why else did Donghyuck stop showing up and why else was I forbade from going to the palace with my grandma? When I came to the realization, I began to resent him and eventually, completely forgot about him.

“Prince Donghyuck,” I bowed, trying not to show any expression. He had his arm slightly raised like he was about to reach for me but his body stiffened at my curtness. My grandma even looks at me with confusion. “It’s… It’s nice to see you again.”

“Oh, there’s no need to be so polite. You guys were friends!” My grandma squeezes my arms, urging me to get closer. I stay in my place.

“He’s the Prince, Grandma,” I whisper through my teeth and I can tell he hears me by the dejected look on his face. I can’t get myself to look him in the eyes.

“It’s quite alright. I actually have to get going. Prin-... Sorry, It was lovely to see you,” The Prince ducks his head and leaves the way I came in. He looks back at my figure once more, thoughts churning, before he disappears.

My feet remain still and I’m staring at the place he stood. Staring at the pastry he bit into. He’s real and he’s back. And the door he walked through was the same one he used to leave me 15 years ago. The alarms rang in my brain and I quickly shook my head, grabbing a bowl and mixing whatever contents are in it. The faster I stirred, the more I begged my mind to stop thinking about Donghyuck.

“You’re overwhipping the cream.”

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

♔

On every page he turned to, the words blurred and all Donghyuck could see was her. She was more beautiful than he remembered. She’s much taller now, and he naturally smiles remembering when she used to argue that he was only taller than her by a centimeter. Her hair was also longer and not bound in her classic two braids. Though he didn’t get to see her smile, he was sure that it’s brighter than before. After all, everything about her seemed to have grown more beautiful than before. Donghyuck wonders if he should be calling her “Queen” now with how wonderfully she’s aged.

A delicate tap on his shoulder forces Donghyuck out of his lovestruck haze. “Prince Donghyuck, are you enjoying your book?”

He remembers that he’s in the library with one of his potential suitresses. He turns to her and almost wants to laugh. For the years that his childhood friend has been gone, it was the memory of her that invaded his mind whenever he was forced to go on these dates. But now that Donghyuck has seen her again in the flesh, he realizes how doomed he is and how these other princesses definitely don’t stand a chance.

During the fifteen years apart, Donghyuck’s gloom exacerbated the Queen’s determination to find him a future queen. Out of all his regular royal responsibilities, his courtships took the most time. He excels in all areas of his duties, but the one he can’t manage to succeed in is getting a wife. From playdates to formal dates, Donghyuck aged and remained single. And both he and the head baker knew why.

Despite the Queen’s warnings to never enter the kitchen, Donghyuck found himself there every week whether it was to steal extra mango tarts or ask about the baker’s granddaughter. It was usually after failed dates when he’d trudge into the kitchen, completely drained of energy, and beg the baker to talk to him about his first love. Questions about where she is, how she’s doing, and whether she thinks of him spill from his mouth, and the baker would entertain him every time. Even if he only knew and could only remember the child version of her, Donghyuck still managed to compare her to every suitress he met. None of them stood a chance against his princess. And though with time he could recognize how silly this infatuation had gotten, he grew fatigued of courtship and this was the easiest way to go about it. The grandmother was wary of this long overrun connection as well, but at the same time commended him for his commitment to her granddaughter. She also didn’t have the heart to tell him to move on.

And now Donghyuck’s here, on another date and he actually has an image, a real person, to be thinking of.

“I’m sorry. I don’t think this is going to work out.”

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

“So you are hiding from me?”

“Oh Jesus Christ,” I drop the bowl of frosting at my feet and scramble to pick it up. A pair of far too expensive shoes enter my vision. I shoot up and my heart races, knowing exactly who it is.

“My prince,” I bow, meeting the ground once more. I stand upright and give him a passing smile.

“I like hearing you say that,” The Prince smirks. He swiftly scoops a finger of frosting before popping it in his mouth.

“Formalities,” I respond and I move the bowl out of his reach.

He chuckles and he starts to fiddle with an apron left on the counter.

“So you’ve been visiting at nighttime. Are you actually avoiding me?” He looks at me like he’s challenging me to say no.

Yes. “No, I just prefer the kitchen at night.” I clutch the frosting bowl tighter and focus my attention on what’s salvageable.

“You mean my kitchen… which you’ve been sneaking into with the help of my guard.” I can feel that he’s moved closer and I wince.

“Yes… I’m sorry. My grandma said it’d be okay and my kitchen at the bakery isn’t finished being built. If you’d like me to stop coming, I can.” I start to untie my apron and his hand catches my wrist.

“No,” He blurts out. “There’s no need. Feel free to use the kitchen.” The Prince raises his hands in the air as if to give me permission. I politely nod and go back to fixing my frosting, ignoring the tingling I feel on my wrist.

He doesn’t make a move to leave. Instead, he puts on the apron from the counter and leans in to watch.

“Um, what are you doing?” The Prince is tapping the table and humming as he stares at me.

“Hanging out,” He says matter-of-factly.

“I see,” And that’s all that I can say because who am I to kick the Prince out of his own kitchen? So I just mix and continue doing my thing.

“Just like the old days. You do remember, right?” I make the mistake of looking up and meeting his eyes. He’s looking at me like his question meant more than just a test of my memory.

“Vaguely… It was a long, long time ago.” A time I don’t wish to relive.

There’s a short pause before The Prince replies.

“Well, I remember. I think I’ll always remember. You were my best friend… And those were probably the best days of my life.” He doesn’t look at me when he says this. In fact, he looks nervous to be admitting it in the first place.

All I can do is nod, not knowing what to say to his confession. Especially when the feeling I get when I look back on those times is not as positive.

“Anyway… I’m planning on recreating those times.” Without thinking, I meet his eyes and he’s smiling hopefully. “So don’t try to hide from me next time. I’ll be here whenever you are. Think of it as your payment for using the kitchen.”

The uneasiness and warmth in my stomach are hard to decipher. The thought of spending more time with him is thrilling and terrifying at the same time. I try to ease my nerves by mixing even harder and he notices before laughing.

With my unspoken agreement, we spend the rest of the night in silence, just in each other’s presence. Every now and then he steals a bite of my makings and tries to lighten the air with a poorly made joke. And I don’t hold my laughter back.

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

“And then, once the frosting is on, you can add the strawberries.” I demonstrate by putting the nicely sliced strawberries on in a thin layer.

“When are you going to teach me how to make the mango tart?” The Prince pouts and bites the strawberries instead of putting them on the cake. I scowl and move the bowl away from him.

“When are you going to stop eating my ingredients?”

He smirks and taps the counter, “When are you going to stop using my kitchen?” He tilts his head to the side to goad me.

I roll my lips into my mouth and stuff another strawberry in his face when he laughs.

“Eat up,” I say sickeningly sweet.

Completely out of my control, my hangouts with Prince Donghyuck have returned. However, this time, I know he’s the prince and instead of every day in the morning, it’s 2 to 3 times a week at night. My excuse is that my kitchen in the bakery isn’t done being built, but to be completely honest, I could have it done by the end of the week. Maybe it’s because I enjoy my time with the Prince or maybe it’s because I actually do want the extra amenities I asked to be installed last minute… who knows? The end conclusion is that I find myself in the palace’s kitchen more often than I intended, and I find myself enjoying the Prince’s company more than I intended.

“Okay, your highness. Do you think you can stack these layers evenly?”

He gives me a playful salute, mouth full of cream, as he hops off the kitchen counter. He stands by my side and takes the cake from my hands.

“You know… as much as I like hearing you call me ‘your highness,’ why don’t you ever call me by my name anymore?”

“Because now I know you’re the Prince.” And I don’t know how it feels to have your name roll off my tongue as it did before, I think to myself.

The Prince lets out a low whistle. “Do you see me differently?” He trains his eyes to the level of the cake to get it precisely right. I watch him from above.

“It’s been fifteen years… so yes, I do see you differently.” I move to mix more frosting to coat the cake with.

“Okay,” He nods, thinking about my response. “So me being the Prince isn’t part of it?” He glances at me quickly with what I can assume is worry before he goes to add another layer of cake.

“Mmm… It is. Not a big part, but definitely a part. I think it’s mainly because you’ve grown up, We’ve both grown up. Maybe me more than you,” I tease. He sticks his tongue out at me and I make a face back. “Example number one.”

He finishes putting on the last layer and stands up straight to admire his work.

“What makes me different than before?” He takes the frosting bowl from my hands and begins icing the cake like I’ve taught him a couple of days ago. I take this as a break and I lift myself up to sit on the counter, dangling my feet.

“You’re taller than me, for one,” he gasps in fake shock and I hit him on the shoulder.

“You’re dressed nicer.”

“That’s not a compliment for me, that’s a compliment for my stylist,” He corrects me.

“True, okay. You’re smarter than before, I can see you’re not skipping your tutoring sessions. And… you’re not as cute.”

At that, he perks up, frosting is long forgotten. “What do you mean I’m not as cute?” And with the face he’s making, I almost take back my words.

“Well, your highness, you were a boy before. Of course, you’re not cute now. You’re a man.” I roll my eyes as if that were the most obvious thing.

“If I’m not cute, then what am I?” He squints at me and I can tell I’ve fallen into a trap.

“You’re… You’re handsome. Now,” I mutter out. I quickly clear my throat and point to a bald spot on the cake. “Hey, you missed a spot.”

Without even looking at him, I know he’s smiling. “You think I’m handsome.”

“Alright,” I drag out the word. “You’re the Prince. Aren’t you supposed to be handsome so you can woo and marry a pretty princess?”

“Not exactly. Being ridiculously handsome isn’t a royal requirement.”

I let out a scoff, “When did I say ‘ridiculously handsome’?”

“You didn’t have to, I see it on your face.” He taps my cheek and I suddenly notice how close our faces have gotten. Before I know it, my face is blooming pink again and I can feel the warmth shoot from my head to the rest of my body. I launch myself back and adjust my apron. And he stares at me like he’s won.

“Okay, your turn. What’s different about me?” I look around the kitchen to get my heart to settle down. What is happening?

The Prince doesn’t hesitate. “Well, you’re just as beautiful as you were before. Maybe even more.”

I gasp at his words and look him in the eyes. There’s no hint of his typical teasing attitude; he looks completely genuine. My mind goes blank and my ability to respond is rendered useless. He seems to notice that so he brushes off his comment quickly, thinking he’s overstepped.

“Anyways, since we’ve discovered that the only thing that makes me different from before is that I’m exceptionally more handsome-”

“Didn’t say that.”

“-Then why don’t you just call me ‘Donghyuck.’ Like you did before.”

Maybe it’s because he called me beautiful. Maybe it’s because I like the idea of exclusively calling him ‘Donghyuck.’ Or maybe I’m excited to eat the cake we just made, but my heart is fluttering quicker than it ever has.

“Okay. Donghyuck.”

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

“FIRE! DONGHYUCK! FIRE, FIRE!”

“OH SHIT!”

Watching the medium sized fire bursting from the top of the pot, I run to the fire extinguisher. I’m scrambling to grab it, swift to squeeze the white dust all over the burning stove, despite the dough covering my hands. I hear Donghyuck’s screams in the back and he’s grabbing my shoulders to hide. Once I see the last flame get coated, I drop the extinguisher on the ground, exhausted.

I feel his hands digging into my shoulder blades and I grab him by the jacket, turning him to face me. Knowing how to cover his ass, he smiles in shame, rubbing my arm.

“I swear I was watching the stove,” He whips out his baby voice and try my best not to smack the side of his head. He’s the Prince. He’s the Prince. He’s the Prince, I repeat to myself.

“Your looks distracted me.” I slap him anyways.

He groans in pain, even though I could’ve slapped harder and I cross my arms to look as threatening as possible.

“You burnt the caramel,” I whine, staring at the black tar in my brand new pot. “And my pot!”

He immediately attacks me with a hug, shaking me around, mumbling apologies. “I’ll buy you a new one, I promise! I’ll buy you three! Four? Seven!”

“Make it eight,” I huff, tearing his arms off me, only to weirdly miss them.

He gasps, hands against his head in shock. “You definitely dressed prettier today just so I could set your pot on fire and buy you twenty more… You’re evil,” He looks at me like I’ve masterminded the biggest robbery of the century.

I narrow my eyes at him, lifting my hand to smack him again. “And you’re on timeout. No more baking today.” I start putting away the dishes I had ready.

“Hey! Who’s older here?” Donghyuck begins helping me sort the supplies into the pantry.

“I’m pretty sure I am,” I say, trying to remember if we told each other our birthdays back then.

“When were you born?”

“May.”

“Shit,” He mutters. He tosses the burnt pot into the trashcan, wincing at the char. “Okay, let’s keep the ball rolling. What’s your favorite color?”

I laugh, “Really? Also should I save this dough for tomorrow when we try again?” I hold it up to show him and inspects it.

“Yeah, why not? Just wear a trashbag or something tomorrow.” I kick him in the foot and he chuckles. “But yes, really. What’s your favorite color? I like red.”

“Purple,” I play along while saran wrapping the dough. “Favorite food?”

“Kimchi jjigae,” he spits out, with no hesitation. I nod along, remembering all the times he’s requested it as a midnight snack while we bake. “What do you like to do besides baking?”

“I like to go on walks. When I moved out of the city and with my dad, we lived near the beach. It was nice to just walk on the shore only five minutes away from me. I miss it sometimes. I should probably visit soon.” I tap the bowl mindlessly, trying to figure out my schedule.

“You should take me,” Donghyuck says. He’s right next to me now. “I always wondered where you went after I stopped seeing you. I assumed you were still in the city, until your grandma told me you moved-moved.”

“Ohh, no, yeah. I moved. It was hard leaving everything I knew, but at the same time, I learned so much when I was there with my dad. Come with me next time, and we can hangout on the beach. Nothing should be too flammable there.” I tease, bumping his hip with mine. He laughs with me, but I can tell his mind is somewhere else. His eyebrows are furrowed, and he looks almost guilty.

“You know, when I found out you were the Prince, I wrote down a list of questions. I was so excited to see what your life is like.”

This grabbed his attention and my heart eased seeing his eyes light up a little more. The kitchen was relatively clean now, so I decided to prop myself up on the counter. Donghyuck always gets mad at the sudden height difference, but I can tell he loves it when he naturally wedges himself between my thighs like he does right now.

“Yeah? Do you remember any?” His hands were pinned on either side of my hips, forearms pressed against my outer thighs. It’s comfortable. I’m not sure when we got so comfortable. “This is kind of like ‘Princess and The Pauper.’”

I snort trying to remember my list. “I think I wanted to know how many crowns you had.”

“Classic question. I’m pretty sure I have three. My head’s kinda small, so it actually takes awhile for them to make it.”

I hum, investigating his head. “I can tell.”

“Mean.” He lightly pinches my thigh and I stop staring at his skull.

“I also wanted to know if you had any royal pets.”

“A cute, small, white dog. Yep.” He nods, like he’s impressed with himself for having such a basic dog and I have to laugh.

“Any cool cars?”

“Tons,” He brags. “Okay, what does ‘Adult You’ want to know?”

There’s always been a question I wanted to ask him since I started hanging out with him again. It nagged in the back of my mind as I watched him, always happy, always cheering everyone on. Despite his bright facial expressions and body language, I could tell it was tiring, it must be. I never imagined the royal life to be hard, or as hard as my own, until I met him again.

I look at his face, checking for any signs that I shouldn’t be asking him. But he looks at me with such softness and openness, that I don’t hesitate to ask.

“Are you happy? Like… do you like being the Prince?”

His eyes widened at my question and he looks down at my lap to think. He takes longer than I expect, and I assume no one has ever bothered to ask. His silence is telling.

“Hey…,” I reach for his face to lift his chin up. “It’s okay to say you’re not. You don’t have to be all the time.”

He flinches like this was a concept he couldn’t accept for himself. I grab his face a little tighter so he really hears me.

“As long as you’re at least looking for your happiness, that’s all that matters,” I stroke his cheek with my thumb. “You deserve all the happiness, Hyuck.”

I can see his mind slowly wrapping around my words as something in his face shifts. He looks hesitant for a different reason.

“And what if I find my happiness in you?” I gasp, instinctively letting go of his face slightly. He’s fast to bring his hand up to keep mine there. His fingers slot between my gaps. He looks desperate to keep me here.

Knowing my words hold immense weight, I still don’t stop myself from saying, “Then I’ll be that for you, in whatever way I can.”

Despite me being vague, Donghyuck takes all that he can. His face blooms into a smile and I return it, knowing it was cause of me. He holds my hand this time and brings it down to my lap, sighing happily.

“Thank you.”

And for a split second, I’m scared for what I’ve promised. After all, he’s the prince and I’m the pauper.

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

♔

Donghyuck is the happiest he has ever been. Unlike how it was when he was a kid, he’s attending his classes, his meetings, and even having lunches with the princesses the Queen sends over. However, he can’t promise that these dates are leading up to a potential marriage. He’s doing just enough so that his mother doesn’t get suspicious. Best of all, for most nights, he gets to sneak into the kitchen and talk, bake, and laugh for hours.

The secret hangouts are going amazingly. He can tell she’s warming up to him as she did back then or maybe it’s just the fire from the oven heating up the place. Last week, the kitchen at her new bakery finally finished being built and he knows this because he hired his staff to make sure the job was done well without telling her. That day he expected her to come in and tell him that she had to stop seeing him, but she still showed up like clockwork – two to three times a week.

Next week, her bakery is set to have its grand opening and Donghyuck hopes this isn’t what actually stops her from coming to see him. He’s even practiced his baking skills on his own and eaten less of the fruit while they’re together in hopes it doesn’t make her want to leave again. And so for the following week, Donghyuck is treading carefully.

“Do you need help with that, Princess?”

“Should I preheat the oven for you?”

“Here, let me tie your apron.”

“I’ll carry that for you.”

All of these mini acts of chivalry are met with a suspicious gaze and a light dusting of red on her cheeks. Donghyuck feels a sense of achievement whenever she accepts his help. And this all leads up to the night before her grand opening.

Donghyuck is lighting the last candle when the sound of keys unlocking the side kitchen door is heard. He quickly blows out the match before scurrying behind the table to greet her with a “Surprise!”

“Donghyuck! Don’t do that! God, I thought I was caught for sneaking in.”

He rolls his eyes at her lackluster reaction and reorients himself.

“I said… Surprise!” He dramatically waves his arms around to show all the work he put into decorating the kitchen. She finally notices her surroundings and her eyes light up. Donghyuck can feel his heart soften, compared to how it was racing earlier trying to set all of this up without his staff.

“What… what is all of this?” Her hands are covering her mouth in disbelief. There are streamers and fairy lights gracing the walls and candles are littered all around the room. Donghyuck is standing in the center with a single cupcake in his hands.

“Congrats. I heard from the grapevine that your bakery opens tomorrow.” She laughs at his theatrics and sets her bag down to look at the cupcake he’s made. In messy red font, the top of the treat reads the name of her bakery. She almost wants to tear up.

“Only one? Are we sharing?” She takes the cupcake from his hands and he tries not to think too hard about her fingers touching his.

“Well, I made that myself, and I personally don’t trust that I didn’t mess up the recipe in some way. So if anyone’s getting food poisoning tonight, it’d be you.” He taps her nose. “Eat up!”

At that, her jaw drops and she keeps the cupcake at a distance as if it’s some nuclear substance.

“Do you secretly want me dead?” She laughs.

“Hey, when it comes down to a royal and a baker. The baker’s going.” Donghyuck mimics his throat being slit and bites his lip to stop himself from smiling too hard. He loves to mess with her.

“You are the worst. Way to look out for your people, your highness.” She begins to unwrap the cupcake, taking a sniff out of precaution.

“‘Your Highness’? Aw, Princess, don’t be like that.” He moves closer to her and she shifts back, tutting.

“Nope. As a baker under your kingdom, I will gladly sacrifice myself by eating this cupcake. Alone.” She dramatically curtsies before going in for a hesitant bite.

Donghyuck swiftly beats her to it and takes a large bite out of the other end as her lips touch the cupcake. Her eyes widen in shock and he sends her a wink before brushing the crumbs off his mouth.

“Now you can’t tell me I don’t care about my people,” He says while chewing the weird texture of his creation. Donghyuck smirks at the deer-in-headlights reaction she has on her face.

She gulps, shaking her head so that her hair hides her blush. She sets the cupcake down, not wanting a reminder of how close his face just was.

“Well, it’s edible,” She jokes. Donghyuck’s tongue prods the inside of his mouth as he takes in what was supposedly a compliment.

“Says the one who took the smallest bite known to man,” He accuses, pointing at the cupcake.

“How was I supposed to take a bigger one when you practically shoved your face into it and devoured half?” Once again, she’s reminded of what just transpired and feels her cheeks growing warm.

“Ooo, did I make you flustered? Scared your lips were about to touch mine?” Donghyuck takes a step closer and brushes a nonexistent crumb off her lip with his thumb. He hopes she doesn’t feel his heart pounding like fireworks.

Like she can sense his fake confidence, she grabs his wrist. “Is that what you were thinking about when you took a bite? Kissing me?” She tilts her head to the side and his whole body buzzes.

Before he could crumble even further, he tears his hand out of hers. “Please. Like I’d let anyone touch these royal lips.” He turns around to calm himself down and pretends to busy himself with something on the fridge.

He hears her laugh behind him. “I bet they’re not as sweet as a baker’s.”

He turns around and narrows his eyes at her. “How did this grand opening celebration turn into you messing with me?” Accepting defeat, he resorts to fake anger and his signature pout.

“You started it,” She playfully rolled her eyes. “Anyways…”

With the softest smile, she says, “Thank you, Hyuck. I really appreciate you.”

He returns it, “Always.”

The rest of the night is filled with laughter and playful bickering as the two avoid finishing the mysteriously textured cupcake. Donghyuck makes multiple attempts to pit the blame on her as the teacher, and the soon-to-be bakery owner fails to leave and sleep early at the expense of the Prince’s whines. To be honest, the lack of sleep was worth it if she got to spend more time with him.

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Now that the bakery is well past its grand opening and flourishing greatly, I’ve gotten my days back. My employees are well-trained and seasoned and I feel comfortable taking days off when I need to. Oddly, my new opened-up schedule was somehow sensed by Donghyuck and I was invited to the palace during the daytime for the first time ever. I was nervous at first to be sneaking in in broad daylight, but he assured me that if I followed the steps he gave me exactly, I’d be fine – not that reassuring.

As written in his note, I greeted Yunseo, the guard, as usual, and he gave me weird looks, going back and forth between the sun and my face.

“You know the sun is out, right?” He asked, still looking at me funny.

I gave him the most incredulous look. “You’re joking? It’s not nighttime?” I made an effort to crazily look around and he sighed.

“Alright, alright, I get it,” He shook his head. “What are you doing here?”

“Thought I’d switch things up,” I shrugged, not wanting to reveal who I was meeting.

Yunseo nodded, “Fair… okay, be careful, okay? The palace feels a little frantic today.” With that, he opened the gates for me and I gave him a smile.

“You’re the best. Make sure to stop by sometime this week, I have pastries for you.” I waved goodbye as he promised to come.

Following Donghyuck’s poorly drawn-out map, I realized our meeting point isn’t the kitchen and that he’s taking me on an obscure path that the Queen and King definitely are not aware exists. As I walk through centuries-old, dimly lit stone walls, I think about how many times Donghyuck has used these secret passageways and if little Donghyuck used these when he snuck out to see me, 15 years ago. I can imagine 7-year-old Donghyuck discovering these routes within the castle’s walls.

“Stop right there!” A voice echoes through the abandoned hallway.

My heart spazzes and as loud as my brain is yelling at me to run, my feet don’t budge. I curse under my breath and crumple Donghyuck’s map in my hands, remembering to kill him unless I die right here. And if I do happen to die here, then I have to make sure I return as a ghost, haunting that man for life. I turn around slowly, eyes half closed, to see who’s behind me, but there’s no one there. There’s no one in the passageway at all. I whip around a few more times to confirm and I notice a crack in the wall to my right. It’s a peephole overlooking the actual palace hallways.

Out of curiosity, I look through and I see the Queen, face as red as the beautiful gown she adorns.

“Prince Lee Donghyuck,” his name is spat out like bile. “You will follow my orders.”

Coming into view, I see Donghyuck. He and the Queen are in the middle of a heated argument. His head is hung low and I can see him playing with his sleeves like he does when he gets anxious. I wish to reach for him, but then I remember the wall separating us.

“Your majesty, I… I can’t. I don’t want to,” He hiccups, and if I can’t see the tears on his face, I can hear them. “I never did.”

The space in my chest feels as tight and narrow as the walkway I’m in and I want to look away, but I can’t.

“It doesn’t matter what you want. You are the Prince and you are expected to marry a Princess. How dare you fool me for all these years?” As the Queen, she still carries her natural elegance, but her words burn like acid. She’s speaking to him at a normal volume, but her tone pierces your ears.

“I-I didn’t mean to fool you. I tried my best, but I don’t love them. I don’t love the suitresses you send. And I need you to understand that I never will.” Donghyuck finally looks up and I can see the desperation in his eyes from where I stand.

“Love?,” The Queen laughs bitterly. “I don’t need you to love them. You just need to marry one. As the Prince, what makes you think you have the privilege of being in love? Not when you have a country to rule.” There’s less anger in her words and more disappointment.

Donghyuck winces, looking like he’s fighting back what he wants to say. His bottom lip is trembling and the grip he has on his sleeves is tight. His whole body practically shakes. Eventually, he lets go.

“If I’m not meant to love someone, then explain to me why I already do. Explain to me why I love her? Explain to me why I can’t have her?!”

Tears are rolling down his cheeks like heavy rainfall. “I never asked for this!” He screams, and I wonder to which he’s referring to.

My body is sweaty like I ran a mile and I feel like my breathing can be heard through the wall. He never mentions my name, but I know, I can feel, that he’s talking about me. My whole body is buzzing and I don’t know whether to feel ecstatic or sad. Despite my confusion, one feeling is clear: fear. Before I can hear what the Queen has to say, I run.

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

♔

“Oh God. Sorry, I was supposed to get here before you. I was supposed to be part of the surprise,” He smiles meekly, praying the puffiness from crying doesn’t make him look strange. He accidentally sniffles and hopes she blames it on the flowers and his chronic allergies.

She’s sitting in the garden chair next to the tea table Donghyuck had set up an hour ago. He scoped out a secluded spot in the royal garden and slowly put everything together. He moves to sit down across from her and she’s staring intently at the cup in front of her.

“I asked Gran what your favorite tea is and brewed some for us. I know I don’t have your baking skills, but if we get hungry, we can sneak back to the kitchen,” he playfully winks, trying to hide the fact that he was in the worst state five minutes ago. Although he can’t bake, he can definitely make a good batch of tea. He hopes it hasn’t gone cold.

He waits for a response, but she’s still frozen, chewing the inside of her cheek. Maybe he’s still on edge from his argument with the Queen, but she doesn’t look happy. This is definitely not the reaction he was expecting.

“Do you wanna try the tea? I bet it’ll amaze you so much, you’ll beg me for the recipe,” he teases. The teapot hovers over her cup, but she makes no move to accept it.

“Okay, no tea. That’s fine,” Donghyuck chooses to laugh it off. “Do you wanna walk around? Most of the garden is secluded so we don’t have to worry about someone catching us.”

“Would that be so bad?” The first words she whispers strike him with confusion. Her voice is dry like she just strained it.

“Huh?” He tilts his head, scooting his chair in closer to hear her.

“Would that be so bad?” She says, unable to bate her anger. “Being caught with me? Would his royal highness hate being found walking with me?”

“Hey,” Donghyuck grabs her hand from her lap, interlocking his fingers. “What’s going on?” She tears her hand out from his hold like it stung and he feels like he’s making mistake after mistake.

“I-I’m sorry, is this too much? I wanted to do something nice for our first date outside of the kitchen. Was this a mistake?” He starts to stack the plates, quickly discarding his work. “I usually don’t plan these myself, so I’m sorry if this is bad. I-”

Donghyuck sees her wince in his peripheral and feels her hand on his wrist as he’s about to haphazardly dump the tea in the bushes. Her hands are cold today.

“Date?” The word leaves her mouth as if it made her sick.

The alarms go off in Donghyuck’s mind. “Date? Did I say date? Sorry, I actually mean-”

“Donghyuck,” she cuts him off. He can see her harshly swallow. “Why are you doing this?”

He blinks. “I… I wanted to do something nice for us. It doesn’t have to be romantic if you don’t want it to be. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.” Donghyuck can feel himself beginning to ramble.

“No. Why have you been hanging out with me? If it’s because you feel guilty about ditching me all those years ago, forget about it. I don’t care anymore.” She looks at him with so much intensity, not only trying to convince him, but convince herself that none of this matters.

“Princess, please. No, it’s not out of pity. You know that.” He shakes his head almost violently, begging her to believe his honest intentions. He was shocked he had to convince her in the first place, always assuming she knew his heart better than him.

Completely ignoring him, she continues, “And why aren’t you married yet?”

“W-what?” Similar to whiplash, Donghyuck feels like his brain has just been jostled. Are his ears tricking him and forcing him to relive the traumatic conversation he just had with his mother? Why is this topic being brought up?

“You’re the Prince,” she says like it’s an unwavering fact. “You’re meeting with princesses weekly. You’re meant to rule side by side as King and Queen. Why… why aren’t you married yet?” She asks and her eyes are ice cold like her hands.

She too closely resembles the older woman who was just yelling at him moments ago. The casing around his heart begins to harden and the feeling he gets from the girl in front of him is now anger. The same bitter taste returns in his mouth.

“Are you serious?” He looks at her and the Donghyuck she knows has washed away. Betrayal, rage, and sorrow are painted across his face. It was like she was looking through the peephole again.

“Don’t ask stupid questions you know the answers to,” he mutters, words barely making it past his tight lips. He’s breathing much harder than before.

“Answer me. Why. Aren’t. You. Married.” Her hands are gripping the edge of her knees to stop them from shaking.

Donghyuck stares at her for a long time, eyes flittering over every facial feature, confirming that she actually wants to hear the answer. Her face is firm and her question is set. He takes a deep, pained breath and leans back slightly.

“It’s because I love you.” Not like the confession he imagined in his head, Donghyuck reveals his long-term feelings like this was their end and not their new beginning. The period at the end of a sentence. The last page of a hardcover book. The last second on a timer.

She simply nods, stiff in the neck. She excuses herself before standing up, bowing, and walking away.

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

“That’ll be $6.06. Would you like your receipt?”

The cash register dings with another purchase and I slump back in my chair as the customer leaves. It was a slow and agonizing shift with only two more hours till closing. It’s also been a slow and agonizing two weeks.

I’m haunted by what went down at the royal garden almost every hour of the day. At first, I was using every chance I could get to skip work and wallow at home. But suddenly the plants in my room reminded me of him and the teacups in my cabinets smelled like the tea he prepared for us. So for the second week, I decided to dedicate myself to work. I’ve been coming in every single day and overworking myself to the point where my employees don’t know what to do but stand around. I debate whether or not to let them leave early when a familiar head of brown hair walks in. My heart picks up its pace and it’s like the teacups all over again.

“Donghyu- oh. Hi, welcome!” I smile wide, trying to hide the previous disappointment drawn on my face. The customer gives me an awkward smile back and begins browsing the pastry racks as I mentally slap myself.

I slump down to the floor behind the counter and silently groan in my hands. Why does every male brunette customer these past two weeks remind me of him? And why are there so many of them? Like every other time I’ve confused a customer with Donghyuck, the guilt begins to creep back into my system and I get flashbacks of our last conversation.

“Why aren’t you married?,” I mock my own voice. “Are you stupid?” I repeatedly hit my palms against my head when I hear a ding from the counter bell. I quickly shoot up and brush the bangs out of my face, hoping the customer thinks I’m at least slightly normal.

“Hi, how can I hel- Grandma!” On instinct, I glance behind her, foolishly hoping he’s hiding behind her tiny frame, and my shoulders slump when I’m met with no one. So now I’m really imagining him.

“What are you doing here?” I ask, composing myself.

“Just checking in on you. I notice you haven’t been coming to the kitchen because when I come in in the mornings, my counter is actually clean,” she jokes. I smile sheepishly and nervously adjust the apron string around my neck.

“Sorry, it’s usually Donghyuck’s fault,” I quickly clear my throat, answering a little too fast. “The Prince, I mean.”

Grandma’s eyebrows shoot up at the mention of his name and she looks down at her feet, suddenly fidgety. I notice her change in demeanor instantly.

“Speaking of him…”

“We don’t need to,” I cut her off. “Speak about him, I mean.” I wince at how suspicious my words sound.

“If you don’t want to, that’s okay. I’m just curious… if anything happened between you two.” She whispers the last part, looking back at the customer to make sure he can’t hear. She clears her throat and steps behind the counter with me, naturally rearranging the bread in the display case. She busies herself while encouraging me to speak.

I gnaw on my lip, tapping the counter, debating if I should finally talk it out with someone. I’ve only been talking to my employees about bread starters and yeast.

“We fought.” I admit.

“About?” Grandma loads the case with more bread. I start passing them to her one by one.

“He told me… he told me he loved me.” I press my lips together and I hear her head hit the top of the display case and the bread hit the floor. “Grandma! Are you okay?”

I crouch down, grabbing the top of her head to inspect, and she’s giving me the most incredulous look.

“He told you he loved you?!” She squealed at an embarrassingly non-discrete volume, making the customer drop the pastry in his hands. He’s looking around, frazzled, and I can see him debate whether or not he should pick it back up.

“Don’t worry about it! I’ll clean it up!” I screamed from behind the counter.

“Grandma, keep it down,” I curse through my teeth.

She’s rubbing her head and shaking it in either pain or confusion.

“I know, I know. A Prince saying he’s in love with the baker’s granddaughter is farfetched and unrealistic. I get it.” It’s what has been circling through my brain every day.

“That’s not what I’m confused about, dear.” She looks like she’s debating what to say next. “Did you not hear?”

“Hear what?” At the end of my question, and like a universal sign, the door jingles and the mailman is rushing in, hair swept back by the wind.

“Sorry! I forgot to drop this off this morning. It’s urgent mail.” He salutes and is out the door as quickly as he enters.

On the counter is a letter with the royal stamp. My stomach feels queasy assuming this is the first contact I’ve had from Donghyuck since our fight, but I can’t help the naive smile that breaks out on my face. I rush to open it, not worrying about the papercuts. Every doubt that was just in my head disappeared and my grandma interjects, hoping to bring me back down from my high.

“Sweetie, wait. I need to tell you that-”

To the owner of Princess Bakery,

Prince Lee Donghyuck will be celebrating his union with Princess Nam Soohae on 26 May, 2023 at the royal garden grounds. The royal family requests a wedding cake to be made with your expertise and culinary skills.

Please accept this royal assignment with details soon to come.

Signed,

The Lees

The words on the page silenced me and my thoughts, my breaths barely leaving my lips. My eyes kept darting across the paper; the calligraphed words are being repeated over and over again in my brain.

Prince Lee Donghyuck.

His union.

Wedding cake.

Realization finally dawns that this isn’t the love letter or apology I was expecting from Prince Donghyuck. A breath finally escapes and it’s shaky as it wavers in the air like an offkey music note. A heart-stopping pain envelopes my chest and it seizes up to my eyes. The whites of the paper burn my irises. I catch a teardrop splattering onto the parchment. I’m haunted with images of Donghyuck at the altar with someone else. And then I’m thinking about the garden. And us.

Surprise.

Our first date.

Because I love you.

Because he loves me? Because Prince Lee Donghyuck loves me? Prince Lee Donghyuck who is getting married to an actual princess in a week? Suddenly, it feels like the floor’s unsteady and the oven temperature was turned up to the highest. The letter wrinkles between my fingers and the ink smudges with salty tears.

This is what I was afraid of. And yet this is what I set myself up for. I knew I should have stopped seeing him. I knew it the moment mango tarts began to remind me of him. The moment my secret ingredient of love found in every bake was powered by him and his place in my heart. Even though I meant to stop this from happening during our talk in the royal garden, that small teaspoon of hope was still sprinkled in my mind. That hope stayed every time I saw a plant, a teacup, or a brunette. But now it’s dissolved.

A new feeling washes over me. One that I haven’t felt once these past two weeks. Not false hope. Not heartbreak. And not regret.

Anger.

“Don’t blame him.”

My grandma’s words slice through the red and her hands on my arms attempt to calm me down. I look up through wet lashes, lips trembling.

“Donghyuck… Prince Donghyuck had no say. The royals… they never do.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be my grandma?” I clench my jaw to stop the shaking, slightly regretting my bitter words.

Her grip is softer. “Oh honey, I am. And that’s why I’m telling you not to waste this energy on being mad at him. What you guys share is beautiful, don’t let this taint it.” She takes the letter out of my hands and physically turns me to face her.

“Shared,” I corrected her.

“Share,” She corrects me. “Your love for each other is seen by everyone. I know it can’t flourish the way love is supposed to, but at least cherish it for what it was.”

Her words reintroduce more feelings. Sorrow. Frustration.

“I was really hoping this time it works out…” She voices my thoughts.

At this point, I’m hiccupping between breaths, caught between reliving the past and hearing these explanations. The world was never meant to have us together it seems. But at least I was told this time we had an ending.

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

The next royal letter came two days after the first, and I was called to spend a week in the royal palace to test out different wedding cakes. I essentially had no choice but to say yes as the royal chauffeurs picked me up every morning to take me there. It felt like those sunrises with my grandma when I was seven but the butterflies in my stomach turned into bees. Unlike the past, I prayed I wouldn’t run into Prince Donghyuck, but with him having requested I make his cake, I’m sure he knows I’m here.

My grandma designated a portion of the kitchen to me as the head baker and it mimicked the old days as much as it could. That was until I got a visitor on the second day.

“Good morning! I’m Princess Nam Soohae.”

My eyes widened and my whisk fell out of my grasp as I took in her presence. She’s beautiful. She’s an actual princess. Her bright, toothy smile would’ve made anyone smitten if it weren’t for the fact that she was about to marry the man I loved. The pretty pink dress she wore was tinted green through my eyes. I shook my head, trying to remind myself of my place.

“Good morning,” I bowed. “I’m the baker in charge of your wedding cake.” My smile faltered only slightly with the mention of the union.

She giggles and I almost want to laugh with her. “I know that, silly. I was sent by the Queen to sample some. Or should I say my future mother-in-law.” She bites her perfectly manicured nail with excitement.

Soohae leans her hands on the counter and peers at the bowl in my hand.

“Is there any to try right now?” Her head surveys the kitchen like a kid looking for cookies. It’s genuinely hard to dislike her.

“Um, I have a few cakes placed to the side to cool right now. There’s no frosting on it yet, but I’m sure it’d be good to try the base first!” I move to grab one of the trays and she flutters to follow me.

“Ooooh!” She gushes. “I’m so excited to try it. My own wedding cake, can you believe it?”

“No.” I almost drop the cake. “I mean, yes? Sorry. Getting married to the one you love is… it’s a crazy thing.” I cut a piece of cake and place it on a plate for her.

She doesn’t hesitate to take a bite and as she chews, she thinks.

“I don’t love him yet, to be honest. This cake is really good, by the way.” I start cutting a slice from the other cake to sample. “But I know I will love him eventually. I already get butterflies when I look at him. I trust that he’s the one for me, I mean have you seen him?”

Before I can agree, and thank god she doesn’t give me a second to, she continues, “I know it’s silly for a person in my position to believe in the one. But I really, really do think it could be him. The other day he brought me my favorite flowers, like how did he know?!” She pops a bite of the other cake in and her eyes light up.

“Oh this is the one! Don’t even think about giving me another,” The Princess reaches for another bite and applauds me.

I laugh and make sure to note to go with the lemon base and not the mango one. As my hands are about to toss the mango cake away, my mind stops me and I consider whether Donghyuck would prefer this instead. The clanking of the Princess’s fork on the plate, finishing the lemon cake slice till it’s crumbs, reels me back and I let the cake fall into the garbage. It feels eerily like a metaphor.

For the rest of the week, Princess Soohae visits me and taste tests the frosting, fondant, and other things she wants. With every passing day, I hear more about Haechan and I can feel that her words have turned fonder. Coincidentally, her sweet tooth has gotten worse and the final components of the wedding cake are a complete sugar bomb like her personality.

On my final day, the Queen joins her. The last time I saw her majesty, she was berating the Prince as I secretly watched. It felt like I was in that hidden passageway again as she watches me prepare a slice of the wedding cake for her. My hands shake, placing the plate down in front of her and her gaze is sharp. It’s interesting how harsh her energy is when her facial features are as soft as the Prince’s. She looks like she’s been through a lot and I wonder if Donghyuck will experience the same thing when he fulfills his role as King. Like she can tell I’m thinking about him, The Queen’s eyes narrow.

“I hope you enjoy,” I bow, and she doesn’t say a word. Princess Soohae on the other hand is completely bubbling over how good it turned out and how her guests are sure to love it too.

The Queen simply nibbles on a piece and nods along. The black and white vibes almost give me whiplash as I stand there, watching the two of them. A sweat forms on my hairline and I’m internally glad this is my last day. I can’t go through this any longer.

And like a karmic jinx, the kitchen door opens and a familiar brunette walks in. This time, it is him.

“Oh my! Prince Donghyuck!” Princess Soohae scrambles off her chair and bows both gracefully and clumsily. I bow as well, trying hard to hide the immediate blush on my face I get whenever I see him. I wonder if I can stay bowing so I don’t have to meet his face. The last time we saw each other was when we talked at the royal garden, and as much as I prayed I wouldn’t run into him here, truthfully, a part of me also hoped I would.

As soon as I force myself to stand up straight, we lock eyes and the strain in my chest loosens like a snapped thread. I can feel my lungs fill with air and it’s relieving to see him again after so long. It hurts in the best way as I’m overwhelmed by his presence. That familiar brown waved hair, the sunkissed tan skin, and the plump smiley cheeks. Everything is how I left it but his expression is not one I expected. He’s in complete shock and I don’t know what to do but look around the room to find something that would cause such surprise. I quickly glance at the Queen, and for the first time since she sat down, there’s a small lift in the corner of her mouth. Is she smirking?

“Princess?” He tilts his head, still staring at me before he realizes what he just called me. “Princess! Princess Soohae! I came to get you.” He runs over to grab her hand and the lifted cheekbones on her face tells me she’s grinning.

“What- uh- what’s going on?” I’m fixated on the way he fiddles with her hand as he looks around the room for answers.

“Cake testing? How did you forget, silly?” Princess Soohae laughs as she playfully pats his cheeks. Everyone in the room can tell she’s head over heels and my stomach hurts. As I’m clutching my stomach and the Prince stares at me quizzically, there’s one person in the room watching all of this go down.

“She’s the wedding cake baker we outsourced, Prince Donghyuck.” The Queen says calmly, gesturing to me. She tells him like it’s his first time hearing this and I’m taken aback, my movements making the utensils on the table quiver slightly.

“He didn’t know?” My mouth was too quick to voice my thoughts. “His highness, I mean.” I bow in apology.

“No. No, I didn’t.” His hands are at his side now, gripping the fabric of his sleeves. The shock left his face and now he’s staring at me with pity and then silent anger when his head turns towards the Queen. My eyes follow his and she returns his look as if to challenge him to say more.

Completely obvious to the shift in atmosphere, Princess Soohae raves about the final wedding cake decisions and begs the Prince to try a bite. He turns her down without sparing a glance and asks her to leave with him. He doesn’t give me a second thought as he breaks eye contact with the Queen and drags his future wife away. There’s no stopping the ache that fills my chest again, slow but strong like the rising tide.

“So he still likes you.”

Snapped out of my haze, my ears don’t believe the words I hear coming from the Queen’s lips.

“Pardon?” She’s looking at me now and it’s a mixture of disappointment and disinterest etched on her face. The warmth on her face has depleted.

“My son. Prince Donghyuck. He still likes you,” she laughs dryly. “After all these years…”

My eyebrows furrow and I feel myself getting dizzy. Maybe this is all some sort of hallucination and the Queen isn’t talking to me right now. I grip the counter for support, and she doesn’t wait for me to respond.

“You know, I thought I handled the issue 15 years ago when I asked the head baker to stop bringing you here. I was stupid to think it would be that easy when he purposely sabotaged every date I set up for him the years after.”

She’s twirling the fork on the plate now and the scrapes make me flinch. The kitchen no longer feels like a safe space for me right now as her words slowly suffocate me.

“And when he started to actually go on these dates this year and report back to me that they’re going well? I was foolish to think it was him beginning to try. I saw you one day, back in this kitchen. Back in his life. It all made sense and it made me so angry.” Her hands grip the fork handle. They’re dainty, but if you look close, they’re calloused, indicating years of work. Her face appears the same. If it weren’t for the terrifying state I was in, I would’ve wanted to comfort her. She looks up at me, and I felt tinier than I did before, her eyes piercing into me.

“Do you not understand the life I’m trying to set up for Donghyuck? He’s the future king. He needs a queen, a real queen to survive in this world. As the queen, I know firsthand what he needs. My king wouldn’t be anywhere without me and his mother who set me up with him. You’re not fit for this role and you never will be.” She finally sets the fork down with a clatter.

“Listen to me, and let him go. It’s what’s best.” Her threatening nature fades as quickly as it came and she gracefully stands up, brushing the nonexistent debris on her gown. The Queen gives me one final look, waiting for me to bow and essentially agree, before leaving the kitchen.

The air returns and I grasp my chest to let myself breathe. Tears prick the corner of my eyes as I choke back sobs.

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

“Remember, it’s the room on the right hallway. Third door. And if anyone sees you, don’t tell them I sent you. I’ll get in trouble.” My grandma hammers in the details one more time, waiting for me to nod in confirmation.

It’s the end of my final day and she asked me to deliver pastries to a room in the palace before I leave, saying her workload is too large to be going herself. I figured it’s one more thing I could do before I never step foot in the palace again. I almost turned her down earlier in fear of running into the Queen. Just the thought of that happening makes me feel sick, but I know I won’t be seeing her again after this anyways.

I scoff, “So you’d rather I get sent to the guillotine?” I tease her with an exaggerated horrified look.

She easily flicks my forehead, despite our height difference, and I grab it wincing. “You’re lucky I don’t chop off your head myself with that attitude of yours.” She sneers at me and I giggle.

“Fair…,” I playfully mutter, soothing the area between my brows.

Her directions sent me to a room with beautiful brown double doors. I smile at the two ladies standing outside of it and I’m about to explain why I’m here before they cut me off.

“Pastry delivery for the Prince?” They say in unison.

Like a horror movie, my jaw drops and I lose my instinct to run. One thing I do know is to make sure I yell at my grandma later as I nod and tell them they’re correct. She completely set me up.

On another occasion, I would’ve appreciated the doors to Prince Donghyuck’s bedroom more, but right now, they look like the gates of Hell. I attempt to swallow whatever saliva was left in my suddenly dry mouth as I brushed my hair out of my face. The ladies allow me to knock on the door. My palms are sweaty as I shakily knock on the varnished wood, hearing it echo into the space on the other side. His room must be huge.

No responses are heard. This was my out, but my body was telling me not to leave, even though my mind was screaming to run. Instead of knocking again, I turn the knob and almost wish it wasn’t unlocked, but it was.

There he is on the other side, scribbling at his desk. His back is facing me and I watch the muscles in them move with vigor. I haven’t seen him work this hard since he convinced me to teach him how to make a creme brulée and accidentally made scrambled eggs with the yolks.

I shut the door behind me and hope it catches his attention, but it doesn’t. I gulp, realizing how very real this situation is and I almost want to throw up knowing I have to speak.

“Hyuck.”

I hear him inhale and he spins quickly out of his chair to look at me. Different to how it felt seeing him in the kitchen earlier today, his face is softer, accepting my presence. My heart floats in my chest, wondering why I was so nervous to see him when just the sight of him oozes comfort. He looks at me like he’s feeling the same way. I see the longing in his eyes and the way they warm, I close my own to stop myself from giving in too much.

“Princess.”

His voice is fragile and his choice of words makes me shut my eyes harder, scared that I’d lose all my resilience and run straight into his arms. He doesn’t correct himself this time, and he says it again with more confidence.

I finally peel them open and force myself to act cold. Just an hour ago I was finishing his wedding cake; this fire has to be extinguished.

“Princess Soohae will make a great queen.” I move to set the pastry basket down on a table near me.

“It’s not what you think. I was going to-“ He turns around in a frenzy and grabs the paper he was just writing on. The Prince takes a step closer and it takes all my strength to recoil. It takes all of me not to be swayed by the obvious hurt on his face. This will be good for us, I have to remind myself.

My hand is up, drawing the line. “You don’t have to explain. It’s not what I’m here for.”

He hesitantly puts his arm down, eyebrow twitched in confusion. The paper is still in his hands.

“I got you a gift,” I partly smile. “A wedding gift and I guess, also… a goodbye gift.” With that statement, I break away from his stare, fixating on a corner in his grand room.

I hear paper wrinkling. “A goodbye gift?” His voice gets lower and it causes me to wince. It feels like all the tension in the room gathered in the small vacancy in my chest and the overwhelming pressure makes my eyes sting. I can already feel the tears build up as I play with the hem of my shirt.

“Mhm,” I painfully affirm. “The wedding cake. It’s both my gift and my goodbye. I thought you requested it when I first got the royal letter,” I laugh at the situation, trying to stop myself from letting him see me cry.

“Turns out it wasn’t you, but regardless. You’re getting married and I can’t be here anymore. So I left it in the kitchen. Obviously, it’s not a goodbye-goodbye, since I’ll still be living here in the city, but… No. Yeah, it’s a goodbye,” I nod to myself, trying to unravel the knot in my throat. “I guess you took my advice, huh? Congratulations, your highness.”

The silence from him is thick and it leaves a sour feeling in my stomach. It calls me to look up at him, and his eyes are icy cold. The sweet honey brown is as dark as coal.

“This is your response?” His words are robotic, I can feel the venom on his tongue as it pricks at my heart.

“S-sorry?” I tilt my head, not understanding him. It felt terrifying to make him repeat himself in the state he’s in.

“I told you I loved you. I’m assuming this is your response.” My eyes flicker to the paper in his fist, no longer readable. Neither is his face as he gives me the blankest look. It makes me want to cry more knowing this is how I will remember our last moments.

This time, I do take a step towards him but he’s shaking his head aggressively, lower back pressed against the edge of his desk. Now I know how he felt.

“If you want to hear me say ‘I love you’, you know I can’t do that.” Just having those three words leave my lips causes a tear to roll down my cheek.

“Because I’m the Prince?” This time, his expression changes to match mine. I can feel the frustration and pain radiating off of him, and all I want to do is to tell him what he needs to hear. But I just nod, forcing a distance.

“So it always mattered. What if… what if it was 7-year-old Donghyuck asking his princess? What would you have said? You didn’t know who I was back then. I was just… just Donghyuck.” He sighs, his body is limp as he settles onto his desk. I notice his frail build, worried that he’s been eating less.

I smile, fondly remembering the ignorant bliss from 15 years ago. But then I’m forced to remember our situation now, our ugly situation where our hearts are demanded to stay silent.

“I would’ve told him I loved him too.”

And with that, all strength is gone as I sob into my palm. I’m trying to force the wails in, but my body is shaking. My legs feel weak and he’s over here and his arms are wrapped tightly around me in a second. I can feel his heart beating against my arm trapped between our bodies and his breath shakily blowing on the top of my head. One hand is holding me tight and the other is brushing through my hair as he shushes me.

“I love you. I love you. I love you,” He repeats. A part of me thinks this is to calm himself down too.

I know I’m right when I slowly pull myself back and see the red in his eyes and on the tip of his nose. My hand flinches as I’m about to caress his cheek. His breath is steadier as it now fans across my face and his eyes are lidded like they’ve finally got some rest. My hesitation vanishes as I let myself cup his face, trace the constellation painted on his cheek, and feel the sweetness of his lips on mine. The warm sensation that envelops my body makes me gasp and Donghyuck tightens his embrace on me, refusing to let go. He tasted better than every sweet treat I’ve had combined. He was intoxicating and my whole body buzzed like a sugar rush.

I close my eyes tighter, savoring the feeling of his lips, wanting to remember every trace — letting myself be selfish this last time. He’s sugary, cozy, and soothing like the afternoon sun on my back. His mouth moves with such ease against mine and it feels like I’ve been kissing him my whole life. The feeling of his tongue gently nudging my bottom lip jolts me back to reality and I push away, seized by the cold air of his big room again.

I bring my hands to my face, hoping to cool down the flush. The Prince is breathing as heavily and in sync with me, and all I can hear is our matching breaths and the ringing in my ears. I have to end it here.

“Um. Congratulations on your wedding,” I say in one breath. I don’t dare look at him as I quickly bow, scrambling to his door.

“Princess! Wait,” He grabs my wrist, almost too tight. “I can’t go through with this. Please, I-I only want to marry you.”

“Your highness…”

“Don’t. Don’t call me that. Say my name, please. Call me Hyuck. Call me Donghyuck. Anything but that. Just don’t-“ His teeth are chattering and he blinks away the tears. “Don’t leave me again.”

Without a second thought, I’m shaking my head ‘no.’ Even with tears blurring my vision, I can see the hurt on his face and I feel a part of my heart rot. It pains me just as much to reject him, but the Queen’s words swirl around in my head, unrelentless. I’m forced to leave him and my heart here and I want to scream, but I can’t. He notices that. It reminds him of himself.

Letting the finality of my decision settle in, he lets go of me, taking in a shaky breath. This was our end.

I restrain myself from taking any steps towards him as I reach for the door behind me. The wooden panel swings open, gliding past my extended fingers as I’m met with the face of the Queen.

That same hand shoots up to touch my lips, remembering what just happened in here and I bow till my hair grazes the tiled floors.

“Your Majesty,” I squeak. She looks at me with a million emotions and plants her glare at the Prince. Like pieces of a puzzle coming together, her face twists into anger, dissecting the situation. I take this as my cue to leave but the Queen shuts the door behind the both of us. I don’t hear the Prince make any moves to save me.

“What were you doing in there?” She angrily whispers between clenched teeth. Not sure what comes over me, but the fear I felt before is gone. Instead, I’m left feeling numb.

“Don’t worry. I was just saying goodbye.” I swallow, bracing myself for her reprimands.

A beat passes, before she speaks, this time in a normal tone. “Are you done?”

I nod, “Yes, and I’d like to be excused from attending the wedding to serve the cake.” The Queen’s eyebrows quirk up, shocked that I’ve made a request. I look her straight in the eyes so she knows I mean it.

“I can’t… I can’t be there for that. I believe I’ve done all the preparation I can and I am not needed to actually attend.” My confidence waivers, and I draw my attention back to the ground.

“Fair enough. You don’t have to attend. I’ll tell the other bakers to serve it.” I take my chance to meet her eyes again and I can almost see concern on her face. I shake my head of that ridiculous thought, and offer her my best smile.

“Thank you, your majesty.” I bow before dragging my feet off the palace grounds. Hoping to never set foot in here ever again.

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Bells. I plan to remove all bells from my bakery. The royal wedding bells have been ringing all morning and I don’t need any more reminders moving forward.

I spent the whole night crying after leaving the palace and then my anxiety kicked in, trying to get me to map out my life without him. Naturally, I planned to pour myself into work and here I am, out of bed, manning the shop by myself on his wedding day. I may have cried into a batch of dough in the morning, but baby steps are important. This is only day one anyways.

I realized I made a mistake leaving the house when I overheard everyone in town talk about the wedding of the century. I even let my employees off for the day, mainly to have my space to wallow alone. Practically everyone was outside the palace gates, waiting to get a glimpse of the couple. The streets were currently empty and I wonder if I should just close up shop.

Right when I was about to count up the cash and close out the register, the bell on the door jingles. I’m halfway into the one dollar bills when I roll my eyes at the sound, pressing my lips together to stop a groan. I make a mental note to remove the bell before I leave.

I look up to check on the customer and I see a man with, of course, brown hair surveying the bread on the back wall. All I can see is the back of his head as he peruses. I scoff to myself at the instant fluttering of my chest at yet another brunette customer. Is no one blond anymore? Are gingers that rare for me to never encounter one in my bakery?

I finish counting the ones and I move onto the fives when I realize he’s still standing in the same spot. I’m organizing the bills in my hands as I examine him. Normal guy. Black hoodie. Jeans.

Maybe he’s just really indecisive. I can see him tapping his foot from the counter. I decide to offer help after I finish counting the five dollar bills.

With the last dollar to count, I place it in the tray and slowly walk over to the man. As I get closer, my stranger danger instincts kick in and I suddenly regret my decision. His foot is still shaking and from this close, I can see him fidgeting with his sleeves in front of him. I grab a pair of tongs from the closest case and approach him.

“Excuse me, sir? Can I help you find something?” I have the tongs gripped with both hands, discreetly but ready to swing.

I see his body tense and my breath hitches, thinking I’m really going to have to hit this man with my makeshift weapon.

He turns around painstakingly slow and I raise the tongs instinctively to block my face, before letting out a squeal.

But then I see his face. And different bells go off.

“Oh my god. Hyuck?”

The bags under his eyes are prominent and I finally notice the way his hair has been pulled in different directions. His lips are dry as he cracks a sheepish smile. He’s rubbing the back of his neck and notices the kitchen utensil in my hands.

“Were you gonna hit me?!” His mouth is open in surprise and he’s taking the tongs from my hands. I let him and put my hands up in defense.

“You were standing there for so long, all fidgety! I’m alone in here, what was I supposed to think?” I fight back, taking the tongs back and clutching it close to my chest.

He lets out a long sigh, seemingly frustrated with himself as he runs his hands through his hair. I hate that I find it attractive.

“Wait.” He looks up at me through his lashes, swallowing. “What are you doing here?” I ask. He blinks, knowing that question was coming.

I expected to feel sick awaiting his answer, but instead my heart is racing, anticipating his next words. I almost feel that false hope I felt a week ago, and I try hard to deny it. But the way he’s looking at me leaves me with no doubts.

I’m about to push him out the door when he digs a hand into his pocket and pulls out a piece of paper. The wrinkled piece of paper from yesterday. He plays with it in his hands as he thinks about his next move.

“I was drafting a request to get the law changed.”

His words peak my interest. I set the tongs down and let him continue. Wrapping my arms around my waist for security, I’m fearful of what he has to say next.

“I’ve actually been working on it for the past two months.” He flattens the paper out in his hands. “You caught me finishing the final draft yesterday. I didn’t expect it to take up until my wedding day…” He laughs, unhumored by the situation.

He hands it to me. “This is an old copy now, but it’s actually already being reviewed by the King. Right now. Being who I am, I fled just in case.”

He looks at me anxiously as I read the top of the page, the words in bold:

Formal Petition to Repeal the Royal Marriage Ordinance

Written By Prince Lee Donghyuck

My eyes don’t believe what’s written, like the royal letter I received not too long ago, requesting I bake the royal wedding cake. The same royal stamp and all rests in the top left corner.

This time, I can read the words clearly. They settle into my chest, leaving me with such a funny feeling. I read the text and I can tell it’s written by him. I imagine him staying up every night after we meet in the kitchen, working by himself on this proposal. All of his hard work for the past couple months was printed on this very paper. All this work… for us.

I feel my cheeks wet from pure joy and I cover the smile straining my mouth. A rush unfurls through my body like sweet, sweet sugar and I look up to share it with him.

“Donghyuck… You-?”

“Marry me.”

He gets down on one knee, holding my free hand. He’s rubbing that one spot on my ring finger and it feels unreal. The gleam in his eyes reminds me of the toasty fires in the oven, the glistening mangos on his favorite tart. His smile matches mine, nervous just slightly, and I want to paint this memory in my brain forever. The love and desperation in his eyes are begging me to think of him. Think of us. Every fear that had been eating away at me the past month was overcome by his pleas. This paper and his actions are proof that we can happen.

He continues,

“Princess, please marry me. I’ve only wanted to marry you almost my entire life. I know that sounds crazy, but how can I doubt my obvious soulmate? You always come back to me, but I still don’t want another reason for you to have to leave. So please, trust me and trust us. Forget everything and everyone else and say you’ll marry me. If this petition doesn’t pass, I’ll continue to fight. Just…

Say you’ll be my princess forever.”

I tug his hand softly to get him to stand up. He obliges and I free my hands to hold his face. He finally breathes and closes his eyes, leaning into my touch. I can feel him relax and his hands rest on my hips, drawn like a magnet. My mind is bouncing back and forth trying to contain the frenzy in my heart and the steady warmth of my core. I tap his eyelid lightly with my thumb and ask him to look at me. He opens them slowly, fear still trickling in his irises. I smile at him.

“My Prince,” His breath hitches. “I love you too.”

Donghyuck wastes no time tucking his head into my neck and lifting me against his body. He spins me around between the cases of bread and I giggle, feeling his heart beat erratically against mine. He softly lets my feet touch the ground and we’re looking at each other again, tears adding sparkles to his eyes. I wipe them away instantly.

“Thank you for coming back,” he whispers, but it feels like he said it with his whole being.

“Always.” I say with just as much commitment.

We’re cherishing the moment together, laughing at how happy we get to be, when the wedding bells go off once more. I look at him with confusion and he shrugs, just as lost.

“I can’t believe my wedding cake is going to waste,” I pout, remembering all my hardwork. And he squeezes my hip at my choice to be silly, snickering.

“I can’t believe you went with a lemon cake. Do you even know me?” He teases, pretending to be hurt. I gasp, slapping his chest.

“I’ll make sure to go with the mango tarts for ours.” I press a soft kiss on his lips and he smiles with me, pulling me unbelievably closer.

“I like the sound of that,” Donghyuck hums.

“I’m sure you do.” I laugh.

Donghyuck and I stand there in each other’s arms for as long as our legs allow. We talk about the past, how it felt to leave each other. We talk about the garden and I admit to catching him talk to his mom, which explains everything he needs to know. Even as I’m profusely apologizing, he’s doing the same, saying sorry for putting me in such a situation. I choose to ask about Princess Soohae and he bites his lip nervously, telling me he hasn’t handled that predicament yet. I almost drag him out of the bakery at the sound of that. We even go over his repeal proposal and I call him out for some typos.

Eventually we move to the kitchen, doing what we do best, and what we’ve done for years, waiting for someone to find him. The Prince and his Princess.

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

A/N: i hope you enjoyed!! pls like, reblog, reply, whatever!! if u want hehe

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