#huang renjun imagines

[midmourn]

you storm out after a fight

♡ nct dream ﹒ gender neutral!reader genre angst warnings language and just general warning for angst note if yall have any requests let me know 🫶 ( library )

#kflixnet #k films #k labels #nct dream #nct #nct imagines #nct scenarios #nct angst #kpop imagines #nct reactions #nct fluff #na jaemin #na jaemin imagines #huang renjun #huang renjun imagines #lee jeno #lee haechan #mark lee angst #mark lee imagines #mark lee #lee jeno imagines #haechan imagines #zhong chenle imagines #zhong chenle #park jisung imagines #park jisung #nct dream imagines #nct 127 #kpop fake texts #kpop angst

[loveablejeekies]

7dream: you message them because you miss them ღ

↪ fluff, gender neutral reader, est relationships

⤹ i thought of trying something different after my long hiatus hahah. i hope you like this! tell me if i should make more of these?

#nct dream imagines #nct dream texts #nct texts #nct imagines #mark lee fluff #mark lee imagines #lee haechan fluff #lee haechan imagines #huang renjun fluff #huang renjun imagines #lee jeno fluff #lee jeno imagines #na jaemin fluff #na jaemin imagines #zhong chenle fluff #zhong chenle imagines #park jisung fluff #park jisung imagines #nct fluff #nct dream x reader #mark x reader #renjun x reader #jeno x reader #haechan x reader #jaemin x reader #chenle x reader #jisung x reader

[eyehearthoshi]

₊✩‧₊˚౨ৎ texts: besties to lovers with renjun (pt. 1)

read part two here!

pairing ⟢ huang renjun x gn!reader

warnings ⟢ sassy (?) intp renjun. reader uses emojis frequently. angst at the end. lowercase intended.

author’s note ⟢ i feel like i previously read a different renjun x reader text imagine where they talk about his snaggletooth, but i can’t remember fully! so inspiration credit goes to that!

#huang renjun #huang renjun x reader #huang renjun imagines #huang renjun texts #renjun x reader #renjun imagines #renjun texts #nct #nct texts #nct x reader #nct imagines #nct dream #nct dream x reader #nct dream texts #nct dream imagines #emisanctzen #emwritesiguess #kpop #kpop x reader #kpop imagines #kpop reactions #kpop texts

[jishyucks]

Happy Holidays! The Universe Hates Me. — hrj

‣ pairing: huang renjun x reader

‣ genre: fluff, academic-rivals-to-(implied)lovers, forced proximity, kinda slice-of-life

‣ wc: 3.7k

‣ summary: You don’t hate many things, but you could proudly say that you hate snow and Huang Renjun. And now that the universe has decided that it was a great idea to have you snowed in with the smartass himself, you’ll gladly add the universe to that list.

‣ warnings: slightly one-sided rivalry (more so Renjun’s developed feelings before reader so he’s acting on it before reader even gets what they’re feeling), the pair eat some cup ramen, set in that weird period where they dk how they feel

‣ an: I rly thought this was going to be easy to write but sike (⊙_⊙) ig its bc its basically e2l and these r difficult to write,, I was excited to write Renjun's but idk if I did my own idea justice,, anyways I hope it's still a fun read!

Series Masterlist

You’ve never been so nervous for a final in your life.

Sure, you didn’t find the content difficult, nor did you feel lost. Hell, if you were asked to explain the content with no aids, you can confidently do it. 

The only reason why you were so nervous for a damn final was because you knew that Huang Renjun was going to do better than you. Why? You’re not sure. But you had this gut feeling that his name was going to be listed right above yours on that stupid list and you were not going to let that happen. 

“You need to go home soon, okay?” Karina frowns. She’s all bundled up, a scarf tightly wrapped over her face to shield her from Jack Frost. She knows how much of a workaholic you were, especially when it came to Renjun, “It’s getting late. It’s already dark out and there’s no one else here. Text me when you get home.”

You nod, “I will, I promise. I’ll just finish this last lesson and then I’ll leave. I’m hungry, anyway.” 

Her stern expression softens underneath her scarf and she teasingly ruffles your hair, “Talk to you later, honeybun.” 

You wave and watch her leave before turning back to the scattered papers in front of you, your laptop burning holes in your eyes because you’ve been staring at it for way longer than a physician’s recommendation. The final was on physics, something that wasn’t your strongest suit. It was probably because the way your teachers decided to word the questions on exams screwed you over—but then again, you couldn’t blame your struggles on that. 

Maybe you did just suck at physics. 

Your eyes scanned the lesson you were currently studying, quietly reading it under your breath so that you could process the information—critical threshold… velocity… laminar to turbulent… fluid and momentum… the dissipation of energy…

“Ughhhh!” 

Your heart drops to your stomach, eyes almost slipping out of their sockets at the sound of another person groaning. You clearly remember Karina just saying that there wasn’t anyone else here. 

Then who in the actual fuck…

Your mind jumps to conclusions and thinks up the worst-case scenario. It could be a ghost… were you Scrooge and the ghosts here to visit you? No fucking way… you loved Christmas… Or it could be a murderer. But what kind of murderer groans before he reaches his target?

Using this as an excuse to procrastinate, you quietly push your chair away from the table and stand up. You can recall that the groaning echoed from the back of the library, so you begin making your way down to the back of the room. Your attempt to keep your footsteps quiet, barely lifting them off from the ground.

You guess you were making your way in the correct direction because now you can hear the sound of muffled music. You suppose it was coming out of the other person’s headphones. 

As you approach the end of one of the aisles of books, you bend over and peek through the cracks between the books. Your eyes betray you, not focusing on the figure sitting at one of the tables because the books are in the way. Leaning closer, you squint to get a better look at the figure studying, head bopping to the music blaring through their headphones. 

Who is that?

When your eyes finally adjust, you curse under your breath.

Personally, you would rather it be a murderer on the other side of the shelf. 

Because Huang Renjun of all people? Here? With you? Did the universe hate you or something?

You let out a faint groan, squeezing your eyes before you go to turn back to your table. 

Of course, Huang Renjun would be here and studying late. There’s a small tiny part of you that wasn’t even surprised that Renjun was the only other person at school at this hour. There was a reason why you felt like he was seriously going to do better than you on this physics final. He worked for it despite being naturally intelligent. 

“Fucking Huang Renjun,” you gently let your forehead fall forward, making a gentle thud against the table. Fucking Huang Renjun because, suddenly, you no longer feel hungry and you now desperately wanted to finish a week’s worth of content before leaving. Sure the idea was immature—doing all this for some guy who thought he was smarter than everyone else—but you couldn’t help it. This was how it’s been since junior high. 

And old habits die hard, right?

For the next 2 hours, you push yourself to study for the stupid final, eyes straining as you continuously shift them between your laptop screen and your papers. And you say push yourself because now that you had the knowledge that Renjun was sitting metres away from you, you somehow could not focus for the life of you. It was like he had cast some spell on you to do anything but focus on physics. 

You groan. You have been reading the same paragraph on boundary layers for the past ten minutes, hyper-aware of Renjun. The words blur together, and you become hyper-aware of Renjun's presence nearby. Despite your efforts, your mind wanders, and occasional stolen glances in his direction betray your attempts at concentration.

With an irritated sigh, you shake your head, attempting to bring yourself back to the task at hand. Why the fuck is Renjun occupying so much of your headspace?

Feeling defeated, you reach forward, roughly shutting your laptop closed before you begin bunching your papers up together. Not a single fibre in your body even cared if it was organized or not—that was for you to worry about later—because you just wanted out of here and away from Renjun before he completely plagues your mind. 

Finally, you throw your bag over your shoulder and begin making your way out of the library. 

Meanwhile, Renjun, who was managing well with his work catches sight of your figure leaving, winter coat zipped up to your nose. 

“Wait, Y/N!” 

You turn back to find Renjun pushing his seat back, getting up to make his way towards you. 

“Ugh,” you roll your eyes. You continue making your way out of the room, ignoring Renjun’s calls for you to stop. 

The mature response would be to, well, stop and listen, but after Renjun just indirectly wasted 2 hours of your life trying to absorb some information on physics, you didn’t want anything to do with him. You just wanted to go home and eat, before you pull another all-nighter to make up for the lost time. 

“Y/N!” 

You were jogging now, treating the situation like Renjun was some kind of monster coming after you. It was odd that Renjun was keeping up with you, tailing you like he was one of those salesmen trying to get you to try a sample of their product. 

You’re relieved when you see the front doors of the school ahead of you, streetlights illuminating through the small half-windows. You feel your feet pick up its pace, eager to finally get out of the building and get fresh air. 

“Y/N!” Renjun’s out of breath, “You can’t leave!” He reaches out and quickly grabs your wrist. The contact causes shivers to run up your arm and you’re quick to pull your limb back. 

Brows furrowed, you sent him daggers through your glare, “And why not?” 

Renjun fishes his phone out from his hoodie pocket and he holds it up despite you not being close enough to see anything on it, “The news. All the roads are closed. No cars on the roads. We’re stuck in here until they say everything’s clear.” 

“You’re lying.” Your stubborn ass refuses to believe Renjun. 

Renjun huffs, “Just check it for your fucking self if you don’t want to believe me.” His arms crossed and he pushes all his weight onto one leg. 

Reluctant to look stupid, you slowly pull your own phone out. You realize that you actually haven’t looked at any notifications lately, all your focus directed toward studying. When you finally look at your phone, you’re met with tens of notifications, both from the news app and a handful from your family members and friends, mainly Karina, who are asking if you’re going home soon or if you’ve gone home because of the news the city sent out about the roads. 

“And why didn’t you leave?” you say awkwardly, “When they sent the warnings out?” 

Renjun swallows his spit, “I didn’t see any of them either. I was too caught up with studying.” 

“Are you fucking kidding me?” you mutter. The realization of the situation starts to sink in—you're trapped at school, possibly overnight, and your only company is Huang Renjun, the boy who’s decided to make himself the bane of your existence. Then, you find yourself teetering between relief that you're not alone and frustration that you're stuck with Huang Renjun of all people.

Your eyes flicker at Renjun, who’s waiting for you to say something to him. And you do, “This is all your fault!”

Renjun’s mouth falls open slightly, the space in between his eyebrows wrinkling at your accusation, “How the hell is this my fault? I didn’t tell the damn city to close the roads!” Renjun holds himself back from raising his voice, but the emptiness of the halls causes it to bounce off the walls. 

“If I hadn’t seen you studying and being the overachiever you are, I would have gone home earlier,” you argue back. The second it slips from your lips, you realize how stupid you actually sound—but you don’t say anything. Without saying another word, you push past Renjun intending to return your spot in the library. 

Renjun, however, isn't one to let things slide. He follows you back into the library, his frustration evident in the tight set of his jaw. "So, it's my fault you chose to stay? That you didn’t see the notifications?” 

You shoot him a glare over your shoulder, not slowing your pace. "I chose to stay because of you! Trying too hard being a model student." 

Despite it being pretty clear that the argument was childish and that it was going nowhere, you and Renjun were far too stubborn to back down. 

Renjun scoffs, catching up to you. "Trying too hard!? I study because I take my education seriously. Maybe if you put in half the effort I do, you wouldn't be lagging behind."

"Oh, spare me, Renjun.” Your blood boils at his condescending tone, whirling around to face him and eyes ablaze with frustration. "You're insufferable, you know that?"

This is where you can see Renjun physically falter. The stress in his brows goes slack and there’s a shift in his expression, “Insufferable? Y/N I—”

"Whatever, Renjun. I really don’t want to speak to you right now.” You roll your eyes and turn your back on him, “Now, If you’ll excuse me, I have a fucking final to study for.”

Ignoring his attempts to keep the conversation alive, you make your way back to your table, your anger simmering in your chest. Renjun watches you go, a mixture of annoyance and something else in his eyes.

The library becomes a battleground of silent tension, each of you (mostly you) seething in your own space.

You set your table back up the way it previously was. Then, you quickly send your friends and family texts explaining what had happened and why you weren’t home by now. 

You attempt to start where you left off, the words Boundary Layers practically taunting you at this point. The phrase is pissing you off and you’ve read it enough times for you to be able to recite the sentence from the textbook perfectly. 

Wave interference, you read, eyes blinking at the screen—something about paths intersecting and creating new patterns of unity… discord… 

You let your eyes do the rest of the scanning, not exactly absorbing any of the material before you move on. At this point, you feel like not studying entirely. Besides, you weren’t exactly in the right state of mind to be absorbing material. 

The clock at the front of the library reads 8:28 and you feel like taking a nap is the best idea right now. It’ll help you cool off, pull you back in the right headspace and perhaps help you with the all-nighter you’ll probably pull tonight. 

Twisting your body, you pull your jacket off of your chair, folding it to create a makeshift pillow. Sliding your things aside, you place the pillow in front of you and shimmy your butt back against the chair before leaning forward to rest your head against it. In all honesty, it wasn’t the most comfortable place to rest your head, but it will have to do for now. 

⋆⁺₊❅⋆ ⁺₊❆⋆

The shuffling of feet and the clattering of objects woke you from your nap.

You don’t move, nor do you open your eyes, all you do is listen to try and figure out what the hell is going on. Through the fabric of your jacket, you can hear that Renjun is moving things around on your table and you can’t help but feel your anger shoot up. 

You keep your cool on the outside, pretending to stir in your sleep before you peek through half-opened eyelids. 

You’d honestly find this part funny if you were watching a drama. But the thing was, you weren’t watching a drama. And it was anything but funny. 

Slowly, you raise your head to get a better look at what Renjun was up to, fully expecting him to be messing with your belongings. You guess you were doing your job correctly because Renjun seems to not have noticed you looking at him. 

The scene (you embarrassingly admit) warms a piece of your heart just by a little bit—and you hate that it does.

Renjun’s trying to keep your papers organized, stacking them horizontally and then vertically to keep them grouped in the stacks you already had them in. He had even moved your laptop to a safer spot, off to the side. 

The reason why he was doing all this was sitting just across the table from you and to Renjun’s left. 

Two cups of instant ramen.

“What are you doing?'' Your voice comes out more hoarse than you’d like, but it was probably because you’ve been napping for what felt like an hour or two. 

Renjun freezes, lips parting slightly and eyes growing two times its size when he realizes that you’re awake. Sure, he would have had to wake you up sooner or later, but you waking up on your own wasn’t part of his plan. He should’ve done all this a bit quieter. 

“I…” He starts. Renjun gulps and pulls back, wringing his hands through sweater paws. 

You wait for him to give you a coherent reply, looking at him in hopes of forcing one out of him. 

Renjun’s at a loss for words, afraid that you wouldn’t quite get him if he explained his reasoning. He leans over and wraps his hand around one of the noodle cups, gently sliding it toward you. 

You blink at the steaming cup in front of you, caught between annoyance and a peculiar sense of gratitude. "Are you trying to make this situation bearable or something?" 

“Well it wouldn’t be fair competition if only I was able to eat, would it?” Renjun shrugs. From his hoodie pocket, Renjun pulls out a plastic fork wrapped in tissue, one he had probably taken from the cafeteria, and places it next to your cup of noodles, “Eat.” 

You blink at the noodles and eye the boy suspiciously, “You didn’t do anything to it, did you?” You mistrustfully pull the fork toward you, unwrapping it before you dip it into the soup. 

“Of course not… I’m not evil.” A scoff shoots out through Renjun’s nose. 

Renjun pulls out a chair from your table, taking a seat before pulling his own cup of noodles toward him. 

Your eyes linger on Renjun for a moment longer, contemplating whether or not you should believe him. Eventually, hunger wins over skepticism, and you take a cautious bite of the noodles. They taste surprisingly good, given the circumstances. 

For a while, there's a strange quiet as both of you focus on your meal. The only sounds are the occasional slurps and the storm outside rattling the windows. It's a bizarre scene, you and Renjun sharing instant ramen in the middle of the night, trapped at school. Who would have thought? 

As you dig into your food, you start feeling a shift in your mood. The annoyance from being woken up slowly turns into a grudging acknowledgement that Renjun tried to make things a bit less crappy. It's kind of funny when you think about it. You two had a small argument earlier, and now here you are, quietly sharing a meal. It's like an unspoken agreement, maybe a truce, even if neither of you is ready to admit it out loud.

Meanwhile, Renjun seems engrossed in his noodles, occasionally glancing in your direction as if gauging your reaction to the impromptu meal. He looks like he wants to say something, but he’s not choosing to do so despite the tension that is usually present in your interactions being strangely minimal. 

Finally, you break the silence. "Where did you get the noodles?"

He looks at you, brows raising at your willingness to start a conversation. "It’s not my first time staying past dinner. I have a stash in my locker."

“Not surprised,” you mumble. You pick the cup up and bring the rim up to your lips. Tipping your head back, you take sips of the soup, feeling the warmth of the fluids fall into your stomach like a hug. 

“Oh, shut up,” Renjun groans, “Or else I’ll take the noodles back.”

“Lucky for me,” you look at him and laugh, “I’m finished.” When you plop the fork back into the cup, it makes that noise you hear when you scratch the cardboard. 

Renjun hums. "Well then, I guess you owe me one. After all, you're enjoying the hospitality of my secret noodle stash." 

You roll your eyes, trying to maintain a facade of annoyance, but there's a glint of amusement in your eyes. Of course, Renjun would take this opportunity to gain something for himself. It was such a Renjun move. It’s always been like this. "I could've survived just fine without your instant noodles."

He chuckles, taking the last slurp of his own noodles before he deems himself finished, too. "And yet, you still ate it all up like a starved puppy.” 

There’s a beat of silence before you lean forward, resting your head on your propped arm, “I guess I should say thank you, huh?” 

Renjun grins and you only notice it because it’s more evident in his eyes than it was on his lips. He was seemingly pleased with your acknowledgment, but he quickly covered it up with a nonchalant shrug, "Don't mention it.” His voice comes out soft, mirroring the setting, “If you passed out from hunger under my watch, wouldn’t want that tainting my ‘model student’ image.”

You give him a side-eye, feeling the sudden need to tease him, “Don’t lie, Huang Renjun, you secretly care about me.” The statement was mostly a joke, so you think nothing of it. You stack your empty cup onto Renjun’s and stand up to throw it out. You don’t notice the way Renjun freezes in his seat for half a second.

“And what if I did?” Renjun shrugs. He gulps and feels the sudden need to flee the situation—Why did he say that? 

You turn to face him, surprised by his response. Renjun's casual demeanour, though slightly defensive, holds a hint of genuineness. It's a side of him you're not used to seeing, and it catches you off guard. 

"What if you did what?" you ask, feigning ignorance to see if Renjun would elaborate. A part of you is afraid of what he’s going to say. 

“What if I did care about you?” Renjun’s playing with the corner of one of your papers, creating a sound that fills the silence between the two of you, “I don’t hate you as a person, you know… I get that we always compete in grades and extracurriculars but… I don’t hate you as a person.” 

The confession makes your heart skip a beat and you catch yourself beginning to chew on your bottom lip, something you do when you’re nervous. The unexpected sincerity in his words causes you to halt your own, a momentary pause in your banter. You've grown used to the constant back-and-forth, the verbal sparring that characterizes your interactions with Renjun. This, however, feels different. 

"You're messing with me, right?" you reply, half expecting him to smirk and dismiss the entire conversation as a joke.

“What do you think?” Renjun retorts. 

You take a moment to think everything through. You have a good feeling Renjun’s not joking, that he really doesn’t hate you as a person, and you can’t help but think about the other possibilities of what this meant. Then you think about how you feel towards Renjun because you guess you at least owed him that. 

“You don’t need to say anything now,” Renjun assures, “It’s… confusing. Even I'm still figuring things out… I just know that I don’t hate you.” 

"You're not as insufferable as I claim you are,” you begin cautiously, “But it pisses me off that you both distract and motivate me when it comes to school.” And this was true. Today was a good example of that, though you weren’t entirely sure where these stem from. 

Renjun raises an eyebrow, his lips curling into a half-smile. "I'll take that as a compliment.” 

You roll your eyes. "Don't get too ahead of yourself, Renjun. I’m just saying—” “—Saying that you like me more than you think you do?” Renjun interrupts, “I know, I know.”

Your eyes narrow at Renjun, “You wish.” 

A moment of understanding passes between you, and for the first time, the competitiveness in your dynamic softens. It's not yet a friendship, but it's a recognition that there's more to each other than the constant rivalry. 

Renjun laughs, which transitions into a yawn. He acknowledges your comment with a hum, “I’m going to take a nap. Wake me up in a bit so I can study?”

You playfully roll your eyes, a small smile lingering on your lips. 

“Well it wouldn’t be fair competition if I didn’t, would it?”

tags: @tytrackfebreze @lovesuhng @hoonieji @niinjo @dinonuguaegi

an: the next few parts of the series might be posted a day late (until Felix,, but we'll see!). Next up is Jisung which I feel like will be ADORABLE. ty for taking the time to read! I would love to hear your thoughts even if its something short! hope you enjoyed it!

#nct #nct dream #nct imagines #nct dream imagines #nct dream scenarios #huang renjun #renjun #huang renjun imagines #renjun imagines #huang renjun scenarios #renjun scenarios #nct dream blurbs #nct blurbs #renjun blurbs #huang renjun blurbs #nct renjun #nct fluff #nct dream fluff #renjun fluff #huang renjun fluff #my writings #my nct writings #kpop #kpop imagines #kpop scenarios #kpop blurbs #renjun x reader #renjun x reader fluff

[jaelvr]

Homesick

Home | NCT Dream masterlist |

Requested : no

Prompts ; 11. “Hey–it’s okay. I’m here; I’m safe. And fine–see? Everything’s alright now.”  + 9. “Here, lay down. I’ll stay until you feel safe enough for me to go.” 

Pairing : boyfriend! Renjun x reader

Pronouns : you/yours

Type : fluff

Word count : 370

Warnings : mutual feelings, established relationship, idol!au, fluff, slightly ooc

Have a great day !! 

——————————

3am. You groaned, looking at the clock before staring at the ceiling. Taking a deep breath, you wiped your tears and sat up. Looking around, you saw the side of the bed was empty, Renjun's sleeping figure nowhere to be seen, raising your anxiety further after the nightmare you'd just had. "Junnie?" you called out, voice wavering as you got up, looking around. The bathroom light was out, meaning if he was still here, he was downstairs. You stumbled slightly, quickly making your way downstairs, a breath of relief escaping you as you saw him in the kitchen, waiting for the kettle to boil for his tea, lent over the counter.

The first thing he noticed was the trembling and the absolute fear etched on your face. "I thought you'd gone, I had a nightmare and-" you rambled, rushing over to hug him tightly, practically clinging to him. “Hey–it’s okay. I’m here; I’m safe. And fine–see? Everything’s alright now.” he comforted, arms holding you tightly and securely. "Breathe, love." he whispered, gently caressing the back of your head and pressing kisses to your temple. "You want some tea? It'll calm you down." he suggested, not letting you argue with him as he made it in his mug, giving it to you. He didn't judge you, he didn't mock you. He simply stayed with you, holding you in his arms as he whispered sweet words of comfort and reassurance while you finished the tea before he took you back to bed.

“Here, lay down. I’ll stay until you feel safe enough for me to go.”  he mumbled lovingly, helping you get comfy again. "..Can you cuddle me? I just don't want to be alone." you admitted, the smallness of your voice making his face soften, nodding as he climbed in beside you. Your bodies fitted together like puzzle pieces, your head buried in his neck while he lazily scratched your back, keeping a close eye on you. "Nothing will get you while I'm here, my love." he assured, kissing the top of your head. "I love you." you whispered, sniffing and pressing a delicate kiss to his neck.

"I love you too, angel. You're my home."

#renjun #renjun x reader #renjun x you #renjun x y/n #renjun imagines #renjun fanfic #renjun fluff #renjun scenarios #huang renjun #huang renjun x reader #huang renjun imagines #huang renjun fluff #huang renjun fic #nct renjun #nct #nct x reader #nct x you #nct x gender neutral reader #nct x y/n #nct imagines #nct fluff #nct fanfic #nct dream #nct dream imagines #nct dream x reader #nct dream x you #nct dream x y/n #nct dream fanfic #nct dream fluff #nct dream fic

[ronjunnie]

RENJUN FIC RECOMMENDATIONS

SERIES

arcane

case oasis

we met in online class

ONESHOTS

blondes are done with fun (m) (31k)

the trojan horse (m) (19.6k)

dr_magic2303 (18.3k)

huang renjun's envy (17.5k)

sour tangerine (15.3k)

service call (m) (14.4k)

my boyfriend wants to be abducted by aliens (14k)

Running From The Dark (m) (12.8k)

art of innocence (m) (11.8k)

portrait of a blank slate (m) (5.8k)

the element of power (5.4k)

beat you at your own game (3.5k)

bad habits (m)

lip tint (1.4k)

pint (0.7k)

TIMESTAMPS

2:34 am

3:01 pm

3:40 am (m)

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#nct renjun #nct dream #nct dream renjun #nct #renjun x reader #huang renjun x reader #renjun x you #renjun x y/n #nct renjun imagines #nct renjun timestamps #nct renjun oneshots #renjun oneshots #renjun imagines #renjun scenarios #huang injun #injun x reader #nct 127 #neo culture technology #huang renjun x you #renjun fluff #renjun angst #renjun timestamps #renjun smut #nct dream imagines #nct dream scenarios #nct dream timestamps #huang renjun imagines #nct imagines

[ningningsdream]

behind closed doors | h.rjn

pairing: renjun x fem!reader

genre: fluff, angst, suggestive, college!au, fwb!au

word count: 17.1k

summary: one drunken night and nothing is the same anymore. in which you can't seem to stop sleeping with one of your friends.

warning(s): mentions of sex/sexual stuff, no smut though, it is not really focused on the sex they have

a/n: this is probably the longest one i’ve written so far. i’ll never get over hot sauce renjun.

main masterlist

"are we going to this party friday?", chenle slammed the flyer a frat boy gave him earlier that day onto the lunch table.

"i am going if everyone's going.", the youngest, jisung, shrugged, continuing to munch on his sandwich.

"that's new. you don't usually like these kinds of things.", jaemin teased him, his hand reaching out to his face to pinch his cheek.

"i don't like it because every time you brought me with you, hyung, i end up being left behind because you are hooking up with someone.", he replied, whooshing jaemin's hand away.

you were sitting there, next to jeno, frowning as remembered all the nights jisung randomly texted you, asking if he could crash at your place and when he came, he smelled like cigarettes and alcohol. you connected the dots and flicked jaemin's forehead saying, "that's why he came by so late all those times?! we don't leave jisung alon, dumbass."

"ouch. i didn't do it on purpose. i thought renjun or jeno would be with him.", jaemin replied, rubbing where your fingers hit him.

you turned to jeno and flicked his forehead as well, "traitor.", the boy rubbed his forehead while glaring jokingly at jaemin.

you then turned towards renjun and the boy was prepared, you stopped in your actions as he raised his index, "don't you dare.", he warned.

"or what?", you challenged. you two started arguing, throwing insults at each other. it may seem like renjun and you hated one another and were only in each other's presence because you had the same friends, but you actually considered him your friend as well. even though sometimes, you did wonder if he really hated your guts, and that was what you first thought at the start of your friendship but when you got cheated on, he went with the others to have a talk with your crusty ass ex and from what you heard from jisung, renjun punched him in the face. he was the one to drag you out of bed when you spent a whole month home, crying in your room because another ex left you to be with one of your closest friends. he even tutored you so you could catch up onto the uni work you missed. of course, he was always in his usual grumpy mood and you two argued a lot but it actually helped you.

"so are we going?", chenle brought the attention back to the main subject.

"i'm in. i have sociology last on friday and i'll definitely need a party to wake me up.", donghyuck said.

"i have a group project thing to go to first, but i'll come afterwards.", you said.

"i'm 100% coming.", jaemin said, excitedly, "and this time, i'm not leaving your side, jisungie.", he cooed at the youngest.

"you so are.", jisung and you said at the same time, giving each other a high five afterwards.

"can someone pick me up on the way?", jeno asked.

"i can. i may be a little late though, depends on if my boss needs me to stay a little later.", mark said. he was working a part time in a coffee shop near the university.

the loud music hit your ears as soon as you stepped into the house. you knew the place since it wasn't the first time you came to a party organized by this frat house, so you immediately made your way to the kitchen. you poured yourself a cup of alcohol and juice before walking to the group screaming something in the living room.

"what's going on here?", you asked, managing to make your way to the center of the circle.

"y/n!", some of your classmates screamed when they saw you.

"yeonjun dared renjun to kiss ryujin.", someone caught you up.

"come on, dude. you can even kiss y/n if you prefer. it's either that or you have to finish five people's drink.", yeonjun pushed a little.

you could clearly see that renjun was uncomfortable with the dare but he also didn't want to risk mixing that many alcohol in his stomach.

"yeonjun, come on. we can clearly see he's uncomfortable with that. i've never seen him hug someone before so kiss someone...", you said, interposing yourself in the game, making some laugh, "he's maybe just insecure with his skills or he's too afraid.", you smirked at renjun. of course, you wanted to save him from an uncomfortable situation but it didn't you couldn't take advantage of it to irritate him, "i'll take his dare if you don't mind.", you said to yeonjun and ryujin.

people started cheering, liking the idea of anyone kissing anyone at this point, "i don't mind.", ryujin said and that was all you needed to make your move. you walked past renjun, "watch and learn.", you teased him before going towards the girl sitting on one of the couches. you gently cupped her cheek and leaned in, your lips delicately landing on hers.

people around them cheered around them and started drinking again. you pulled away with a smile and brought your drink up to clink it against ryujin's before taking a sip.

they continued playing for some time, but you dipped at a moment, making your way to the other room where people were dancing. you found jeno and donghyuck there, dancing in the middle of the room and you joined them, "hey guys!", you screamed so they could hear you.

"y/n!!!", donghyuck screamed your name, putting his arm around you as he kept moving his body to the music.

"where were you?", jeno asked.

"i was playing truth, dare or drink in the living room. even saved renjun from kissing shin ryujin."

"saved him or stole that kiss?", donghyuck asked, making you laugh.

"anyway, where are the others?"

"mark is talking with the people who are hosting the party, jaemin's with some girl again, and chenle and jisung are talking with some people in the kitchen i think."

you spent the whole night with jeno and donghyuck, dancing to the loud music and drinking. thankfully, it was friday so you had the whole weekend to rest.

you didn't see renjun nor jaemin the whole night, so you figured the latter went home with the girl your friends told you about and the other one either went home or was just some other place.

you caught a glimpse of the two youngest when you went to the kitchen to refill your cup and they seemed to be having fun which made you glad. chenle was the one who introduced jisung to the group at his start of university. jisung skipped a grade so it wasn’t easy for him to fit in with people a year older than him but thankfully, chenle, being the noisy child that he was, almost jumped on the poor kid with all his questions and just brought him to your table like a child asking his parents if he could keep the stray puppy he found.

mark joined the three of you after some time and danced. he didn't drink since he was driving afterwards and it was him indeed that drove chenle, jisung and you home.

"thanks, markie.", you smiled at him and waved goodbye before heading in your building. because of your tiredness and the amount of alcohol you consumed, the light in the elevator seemed so bright to you. you struggled a little to enter the code of your apartment door but managed to tap in the right one and finally stepped into your apartment. you made sure to immediately close the door behind you after you came in and then removed your shoes and jacket.

you grabbed your pajamas in your room and headed for the bathroom to remove your makeup. you always hated that part of the night because all you wanted was to sleep but you didn't want to risk your skin breaking out.

the moment your body slid under your covers and your eyes closed, you instantly shut down.

the sound of your doorbell ringing multiple times woke you from your slumber. you checked your phone and saw that you only had 30 minutes of sleep. you cursed the person at your door as you headed out of your room, rubbing your eyes. your doorbell camera revealed that it was renjun standing outside your apartment in a black shirt and some gray sweatpants.

"renjun? what the fuck?", you said once you opened your door and stepped aside for him to come in.

"i am not insecure nor afraid.", the words left his mouth without him even thinking about it. he didn't know why but those words deeply got to him.

you turned around and he was very close to you. you had to take a step back to fully look at his whole face. he was serious. you were only joking when you said that. you were just teasing him as usual, you didn't know he would actually take it personally. normally that was what you would've told him but seeing him getting all worked up like that was really entertaining.

"prove it."

your words irritated him even more and he had that inexplicable feeling that made him step towards you and cupped your cheeks. he paused for an instant. your back was against the cold entrance door and your face was centimeters away from renjun's. you've never been that close to him.

"what? you're scared?", you challenged him and that was enough to snap him out of his train of thoughts. his lips crashed onto yours and you two kiss passionately. each trying to assert dominance on the other. his hands traveled down your body to grab your waist to pull you closer to him and yours went to his hair.

renjun and you never thought of each other as more than friends. as you've never thought about the others in your friend group as more than friends. it's not that you didn't find him attractive, he was hot. all of your friends were but that was just not something you've ever considered.

the feeling of his hands on you was addictive and you two ended up spending a big part of your night in your room.

you slowly stirred up in your bed. stretching your whole body. it felt like you ran a whole ass marathon the day before. upon sitting up, you froze, eyes wide. you remembered what happened the night before.

renjun.

you immediately shot out of bed and searched for your friend in your apartment. you were alone.

he must have left, you thought.

you grabbed your phone and saw your usual notification from your friends' group but nothing from him. you spent your whole weekend trying to not think about what happened between the two of you but all it did was make you think about it even more.

on the other hand, renjun was trying even harder to get over what happened. he was drunk and you too and you were both tired. that was why it happened, right? renjun never thought that you two would ever sleep with each other. the probability of you stabbing him in the neck with a fork was higher than that. he had the whole way home to think about it so the minute he stepped into his dorm back on campus, he pushed all the thoughts of your night together to the back of his mind.

monday morning was a torture. like every monday of the year but that one particularly gave you a little anxiety. you didn't know how to react to the renjun situation but since he hadn't talked to you about it, you figured it'd be better to act like nothing happened. thankfully, you didn't have any class with renjun on mondays.

but it was easier said than done.

at lunch time, you were at your usual table with your friends except for jaemin and jeno who were held back in class by their professor. you avoided looking at renjun or speaking to him directly and he seemed to be doing the same thing.

"what's wrong with you two?", donghyuck nodded towards the two of you, "you would've have already insulted each other nine times by now."

"oh shut up, hyuck.", renjun and you said at the same time.

"wooh. maybe you really should shut up. you wouldn't want them both against you.", mark teased donghyuck with a smile.

"that would be a nightmare.", chenle added.

you rolled your eyes and saw jaemin and jeno coming into your direction with someone unfamiliar, "hey guys. hyein will be joining us for lunch if you don't mind.", jaemin introduced the girl.

"she just transferred this semester.", jeno added.

"hi everyone! oh, hey renjun.", she smiled at everyone and sat across from renjun.

"you two know each other?", mark asked, finger pointing at one then the other.

"we got assigned a group project this morning.", she clarified.

renjun just nodded, agreeing with what she said in a nonchalant way.

you sighed, sitting down on your couch with your plaid around your shoulders. you thought it was going to be weirder with renjun and it was at first, for you at least because it seemed like he wasn't affected at all so you figured that you should act the same.

your phone vibrated, notifying you that someone texted you.

it was two messages from renjun.

can we talk?

im coming over

your eyes widened. did he want to talk about what happened?

your heart started beating really fast. all that wasn't good for your cardiac rhythm.

a few minutes later, your doorbell cam signaled renjun's arrival. you opened the door for him and asked, "so what do you wanna talk about?"

he gave you a look, knowing damn well you knew what he wanted to talk about.

"fine. say what you gotta say."

"it's never gonna happen again."

"yeah, no shit sherlock."

he gave you another look, "i'm serious and it stays between us. the others are gonna act weird if they know."

"don't worry. it's not like it's something i'd love to brag about anyway.", you rolled your eyes.

"yeah, we were drunk. we didn't know what we were doing. it's not like i'd go for you sober anyway."

"oh really?", your ego took a hit and you took his words as a challenge. the way he said it made you forget completely about what the two of you were discussing, your pride taking over completely. you walked towards him, stopping only a step away from his body, "you'd totally go for me if i wanted you to.", you replied with a knowing smirk.

a glint appeared in renjun's eyes and he opened his mouth, took a step closer to you and repeated the same words you've told him before, "prove it."

your two bodies were very very close. you grabbed his two hands and guided them to your body, under your shirt and rested them on your waist. his cold hands against your warm skin sent a shiver down your spine. your arms circled his neck and rested on his shoulders. you brought your face closer to his while looking at him right in the eyes. you could feel his grip slightly tightening on your sides. you looked down to his lips as you wet your own and then brought your lips closer to his ear, "we both know you'd fold for me if i asked you too."

renjun's hands grabbed on your waist tighter as he heard you whisper in his ear. the action making you gasp in a breathy way that sent renjun over the edge. he grabbed your legs and wrapped them around his waist, making you lose your balance so you had to grip onto him. he carried you to your bedroom, closing the door behind you two with his left foot. he gently dropped you onto your bed and got on top of you.

suddenly it was friday night all over again.

the sound of your alarm clock woke you up from your deep sleep. your hand waved around your bed looking for your phone and it suddenly came in contact with something unknown.

"ouch.", someone groaned beside you.

you instantly opened your eyes and found yourself staring at a sleepy renjun. you sat up, realizing that the night before wasn't just a dream and rubbing your face as if doing so would transform the reality into a dream, "fuck.", was the first thing that came out of your mouth.

"yeah, that's what we did.", renjun grumpily groaned because you disturbed him in his sleep. you slapped his head, making him realized what he just said and like you did, he sat up and rubbed his face, "fuck."

"yEaH, tHat'S wHaT wE diD.", you repeated his words, mimicking his voice.

he gave you a look before getting out of your bed and gathering his stuff. he got dressed and quickly grabbed his phone and keys, "i'm gonna be late.", he said, checking the time on his phone.

renjun left to go back to his dorm and freshen up before going to uni. you got to your morning routine as soon as he left not wanting to be late yourself.

you didn't know what led you two to do it again, but it seemed like once it started you couldn't stop, or rather, you didn't want to.

you managed to be on time for your morning class, only arriving five minutes before the professor. renjun, him, didn't get so lucky. he arrived a whole thirty minutes late, panting, with his hair still wet.

"hello to you too, m.huang. what a pleasure to see you. would've been better if it was thirty minutes ago, though."

"i'm sorry, professor. won't happen again.", renjun apologized, bowing at a full 90 degrees.

you chuckled at him as your professor signaled to him to take a seat. he climbed the amphitheater's stairs to take his usual seat next to you. you couldn't stop silently laughing at how embarrassed he was. renjun noticed and glared at you. he took out his notebook and pencil case, elbowing your side in the process to stop you from laughing at him. you grimaced and hit him back which made him chuckle silently.

as expected, that time wasn't the last one you two did it. every time, one of you tried to talk about it, you always ended up naked in your bed. renjun never really spent the night, except for that one time, and neither of you talked about it in front of your friends or anyone else. it was fun and it did make the two of you closer, but you can't handle situation ships so after one of your sleepless nights, while renjun was putting his clothes back on, you said, "okay so we both know that that's...", you moved your index finger between the two of you, "...going to be a recurring thing.", you sat up in your bed, still under the covers.

"i don't mind that.", he smirked, making you want to kiss him but also throw a pillow in his face.

"then we gotta set some boundaries."

"okay. first, either we do it at my dorm or your apartment, no spending the night, people will start to get suspicious if we're coming to school together."

you nodded, agreeing with him, "tell each other if we slept with someone else. i don't mind not being exclusive but we don't wanna get or give each other sti's."

it was his turn to nod, "keep this a secret obviously."

"obviously.", you repeated, "oh and let's act like we usually do towards each other. i don't need you to be nicer to me because i sucked your dick."

the rawness of your sentence made him chuckle, "i wasn't going to."

"good."

you two kept seeing each other multiple nights in the week behind everyone's back. you grew significantly closer without acting completely different towards one another either. you still made fun of him every occasion you got, and he still called you out on your illogical speeches and arguing with you about them.

both renjun and you started to pick up things about each other, mainly sexual things of course but there were small things as well, like renjun noticed how your eyes were actually pretty expressive and even though you could lie pretty well, your eyes couldn't or how he knew jisung was your favorite, but you'd always make sure mark was also doing good because the rest of the group liked to make fun of him, in a none harmful way of course, just the usual teasing, but even though he was the oldest, mark was a pretty sensible kid. you noticed how when you asked renjun to lend you his notes, he would while scolding you for not taking some and saying it'd be the last time, but we know how the last time was never the last time or how even though renjun wasn't much into pda, he'd always let donghyuck or jaemin hug him or lay their head on his shoulder. he'd complain and try to shoo them away at first, but he'd obliged after a few minutes, even with a little smile sometimes. it wasn't that you two never noticed things like that before hooking up, you just never really paid that much attention to one another before. your friendship with renjun was never that deep.

"the bathroom is out of paper.", you said, coming back to your lunch table, shaking your wet hands in the air, water droplets spraying everywhere.

"ya!", renjun exclaimed, one eye closed as a droplet touched him.

"oops.", you looked him straight in the eyes and shook your hands towards him, spraying him with even more droplets. he glared at you but you just smiled innocently and sat beside him, grabbing the small water bottle from your lunch tray, "so what are we talking about?", you asked your friends, plus hyein who was sitting opposite to you.

"there's a party tonight.", jaemin informed her.

"you coming?", mark asked.

"nah, i think i'm gonna sit that one out.", you said, struggling to open your bottle because of your wet hands.

"who's party even is it?", jeno asked.

"i don't know. some rich kid in economy.", jaemin answered.

you put your bottle on the table to wipe your hands on your jeans, but then renjun grabbed it and opened it for you nonchalantly still focus on the group's conversation. no one really noticed his doing except for you and hyein, "you're so weak."

"my hands were wet.", you whispered back to him.

"sounds familiar.", he whispered so that only you could hear, his lips barely even moved.

your mouth formed an 'o' shape and your eyes widen a little. you punched him under the table and renjun faked a cough to hide his laugh and groan of pain due to the contact of your fist with his side.

"i have a class starting in ten minutes, i gotta go. see you guys later.", renjun said after checking the time on his phone. he got up, took his tray and left.

the conversation kept going about the party and who was going to go, "we're like in the middle of the week. yall aren't even gonna survive tomorrow if you go.", you said.

"y/n noona's right. i'm not going.", jisung said.

"yeah, me neither. she sounds sketchy. she only invited like half the group and i never heard anyone talking about this party.", chenle added, which made you realized it also. from what the group told you, the girl only invited jaemin, jeno, donghyuck and renjun personally.

"don't be surprised if you wake up missing a kidney tomorrow...if you wake up at all.", you joked, raising your eyebrows and smiling creepily at jaemin, jeno and donghyuck.

"ya! don't say that!", donghyuck whined.

"don't worry. she's pretty and rich. what's she gonna do with my kidney?", jaemin asked, in a way to reassure the others and himself.

"eat it.", you shrugged nonchalantly.

"gurl! you have an answer for everything, don't you?", jeno said. obviously scared by your theory.

you just laughed as they kept talking among them with jaemin trying to hype his friends up, not wanting to go alone.

"y/n?", a voice called you amidst the main conversation going on."

you turned your head in the direction of the voice and faced the person calling you, "yes, hyein?", you almost forgot her presence as she kept quiet all along. the girl was pretty discreet when she was around, only speaking from time to time. you didn't mind her presence, she wasn't there all the time. you just had a bad vibe from her. you didn't know where it was coming from, but it was definitely there.

"what can i do for renjun to stop disliking me?"

"huh?"

"i don't know why but it seems like renjun hates me and i don't know what i did. at first, i thought he was just like that towards girls because he wasn't comfortable but you two seemed close friends so if you could give me some tips."

you smiled awkwardly not really expecting that, "oh, mhm, don't worry much, it's just a typical renjun attitude."

you wrapped yourself in your plaid while laying down on your couch and watching my little pony on your tv. your lower back was killing you and you cursed the world for having to experience that pain every month.

your phone vibrated next to your stomach, making you groan. you lazily grabbed it to check who was the one responsible for disturbing your peace.

can i come over?

it was renjun.

sorry, on my period and casually dying.

you returned to your episode of my little pony when renjun left you on read, cuddling even more into your plaid. halfway through your third episode, your doorbell rang and the monitor on the side lit up. you sat up, squinting your eyes to look at the screen from afar and see who was at your door, "renjun?", you muttered to yourself.

"come in!", you shouted so he could hear. renjun entered the digicode he now knew all too well before entering your apartment, "what are you doing here? i thought you were going to that party with the guys.", you asked with no expression your face or intonation in your voice because of your tiredness.

"wow, just tell me to jump out the window, it'll hurt less.", renjun said sarcastically, a hand on his chest in a fake hurt way. you gave him a look that made him chuckle as usual, "i didn't want to go. also, i brought you food and some stuff that's supposed to help.", he said, handing you the plastic bag he had in his hands.

you took the bag and your eyes lit up at the view of its content. the convenient store bag was filled with various snacks from chocolates to gummies along with some salty snacks. you looked up at renjun with a pout and teary eyes, no one had ever done that for you. not even past boyfriends...or girlfriends for that matter.

"what? what's with that look?", he asked, sitting down next to you as he started to panic.

"thank you.", you shyly said, taking a snack out and opening it.

"you know, it's not because we're fuck buddies that i'm not your friend also. i'm not going to stick around just because i like fucking you."

what he said made you stop in your actions, you tried to hide the big smile wanting to spread on your face but a little one managed to slip through. you nodded acknowledging his words. you happily eat your snacks while watching the cartoon playing on your tv.

renjun tucked on your plaid, meaning he wanted you to share it with him. you allowed it since he brought you some snacks. your plaid was a little small for two so renjun and you just ended up cuddling with one another. you were both lying on your couch, barely big enough to fit the two of you and you were the little spoon.

"are we really watching my little pony?", renjun asked.

"shut up. it's great.", the sound of your voice was different than what renjun was used to.

he propped himself up and looked down at you, "are you crying? what is there to cry over in my little pony?"

"i want what they have.", you pouted, wiping your eyes. you turned around to face him.

"i- what are we? rocks?", renjun said, talking about your friend group.

"i know i have yall but like...it's just...", you hesitated.

"you can say anything. it's okay.", renjun's voice was a lot softer than usual and the gentle look he gave you almost made you skip a heartbeat.

"sometimes and i say sometimes only, i feel like you guys could replace me easily.", renjun furrowed his eyebrows at your words, "i mean, i'm the only girl in this group, people already think i don't belong."

"since when do you care about what other people think?"

"it's not only that...sometimes i just feel like i'm the odd one out like there are so many people that could fit more than me in this group so why am i here? i can see it with hyein you know. in a matter of time, she'd be replacing me without any of you noticing it."

renjun understood what you were saying. he once felt something similar at the start of his friendship with the group. if it weren't for jaemin who kept pestering him about being friends, he would probably still be a loner at this point. he didn't know why jaemin approached him. he knew he wasn't the friendliest looking one and he still wasn't.

he patted your head and looked at you in the eyes, saying, "you belong."

you didn't need anything more. those words were enough for you. you could see it in his eyes. he meant them. you wrapped your arms around his torso and buried your face in the crook of his neck. renjun felt drops of wetness hitting his skin, in response he ran his hand through your hair, allowing you to express your feelings freely.

after a few minutes, you wiped your nose and eyes with your sweatshirt's sleeves, "thank you.", you said, before turning around to watch the tv again. 

something came back to your mind as you thought back to what you said, "can i ask you for a favor?"

"anything."

"can you be just a little nicer to hyein?"

renjun propped himself up again, looking at you with a confused look, "why?"

"she thinks you hate her, and it seemed to be bothering her quite a lot."

"what makes you think i'd agree to do that. it's not really a favor for you after all."

you turned to look at him. you didn't really know why but right this moment, renjun looked really ethereal to you, not that he wasn't gorgeous everyday, but now, he was just unreal. his face was only illuminated by the tv in your living room as you two watched in the dark. you grabbed his face with your two hands and brought it down to smash his lips against yours. renjun was surprised at first but gave in rapidly, dying to do the exact same thing since he entered your apartment. you ended up making out with him as he was now fully on top of you, supporting himself with one hand while the other cupped your cheek. your hands were fully entangled in his hair, pulling from time to time as your tongues danced with one another.

you slowly pulled away for air as his lips followed yours, wanting more. you both breathed heavily, forehead against each other.

"i was gonna ask 50,000won but this also works.", renjun said, making you laughed. he dropped back next to you, wrapping you in his arms, bringing you closer and giving you a quick peck on the head.

your cheeks flushed as you felt something hard poking your stomach. you knew way too well what it was and renjun probably felt that you noticed as well, "mmh, want me to help you with that? i owe you at least that."

"you don't owe me anything, all right? ever. just turn the other way maybe, it'll go away."

you obliged with a soft smile on your face at how much he was considerate of you.

"it might be worse.", you heard him say after a few minutes and you completely lost it. you tried to control your laugh in vain as your eyes were now teary from laughing too much.

"it was so weird.", jeno told you as you sat at your usual table for lunch.

"it wasn't that weird.", jaemin said, trying to convince himself more than you.

"shut up. you were the first one to bail.", donghyuck said.

"it's not my fault. y/n got to my head. all i think about is that i didn't want to lose a kidney.", jaemin whined.

"wait. wait. wait. what happened?", chenle asked as him, jisung and you were attentively listening.

"ok so, jeno, donghyuck and i went to that girl's place along with mark because renjun didn't want to come and you two...", donghyuck started pointing to chenle and you, "...were right. there was no party at all. it was more like a small gathering, and we were the only guys there."

"what the fuck?", you said with a grimace on your face.

"we were like immediately attacked by the girls there. it was insane.", jeno said.

"the girl who invited us came up to mark and was all like 'you're not renjun'.", donghyuck added, with a high pitch voice at the end to imitate the girl.

"it was so creepy. she looked me up and down like i was a piece of meat and went like 'you'll do.' and in my head i was like 'for what?!'", mark said which made you laugh.

"then i started thinking about what you said at lunch and nothing else.", jaemin whined.

"we left like an hour later.", jeno said.

"an hour? damn. that's a new record.", chenle commented.

"there were like five girls for each of us and they started complimenting us, putting drinks in our hands and food in our mouth. it was the weirdest feeling honestly.", mark said.

"jaemin was the first one to manage to get out of their grip and announce that we'll leave because of some bs he invented on the spot.", donghyuck informed.

"i didn't get laid because of you.", jaemin whined, pointing at you.

"or you still got two kidneys thanks to me.", you joked, earning a laugh from everyone, except jaemin who was still sulking.

"hey guys, what are you talking about?", a cheerful voice said, arriving at the table.

"hey, hyein!", jaemin greeted, "we were just talking about seoyun's party."

"park seoyun? she's in one of my classes. she's pretty nice.", hyein answered. there was an awkward silence as some of them tried to hold back their laugh.

next to her was renjun with his tray, he went to take a seat in front of you and next to chenle, and hyein followed sitting next to him.

"did you two have the same class before lunch?", donghyuck asked.

"yeah, why?", hyein asked.

"we don't often see renjun with someone else other than us that's all.", donghyuck replied, definitely implying something.

you saw hyein blush at donghyuck's words as renjun was completely ignoring him, enjoying his meal.

did hyein like renjun?

they'd be cute, you thought even though something was still bothering you.

"do you guys know what middle aged woman love these days?", chenle suddenly asked.

"why would you want to know that?", jisung asked.

"it's for a gift.", chenle answered without really giving any more details.

"i'm trying to figure out if it's for your mom or to seduce your highschool english teacher.", you said, earning a laugh from your friends.

"technically, he has a shot now. he's legally an adult.", mark said as you laughed even harder.

"that was one time. when will yall drop that?", chenle complained.

"the moment we'll drop jeno's milk commercial.", you said, with a little smile. you saw jeno, next to you, stop in his actions as you ruffled his hair.

"i hate you.", he looked at you with an annoyed expression but all you did in return was give him an even wider smile.

you saw in the corner of your eyes, hyein poking renjun's shoulder and asking him to open her water bottle for her. you were glad to see that renjun accepted to help her and that he actually listened to you.

"i need to buy a gift for my mom's birthday.", chenle said, bringing the group back to the original topic.

"flowers?", jaemin suggested.

"flowers alone are not really a gift.", you said.

"but my mom loves when i buy her flowers. my ex-girlfriends too.", jaemin said.

"of course, because it's the thought that counts. personally, i don't really like flowers and if someone brought me some just because they didn't know what to buy, i'd be pretty disappointed. flowers can be kind of lazy. jewelry is a safe bet, depends on if she wears some or not. skincare or make up is not bad, you gotta know for sure what she likes though. i don't really recommend clothing but that's up to you and your confidence."

"i'm actually taking notes.", jeno said, totally captivated by your advice.

"i've been doing it wrong since day one.", jaemin said.

"i'm just talking from experience so maybe those things only apply to me. the thing is you gotta find something your mom loves or need and give her that. it'll make her feel like you actually listen to her.", you continued.

"why is it always you guys on the couch?", donghyuck complained as he sat on the ground of jaemin's apartment.

your group was having your monthly movie night a little earlier than usual since the month before, all of you were busy and couldn't find a day for yall to meet up.

"that's because your ass is always late to movie nights.", jeno answered from his place, next to you.

"should've have arrived earlier instead of talking to that barista who works next to the school's library.", jisung said, making donghyuck's eyes widened.

"oooooh, our little donghyuckie has a teenie tiny crush.", you taunted.

"shut up.", donghyuck replied, clearly embarrassed with a slight flush on his cheeks.

jeno, jisung and you highfived, managing to bully your way through staying on the couch. your attention turned to the door when jaemin opened it, revealing a late renjun, with his backpack still.

"where were you? you're usually not late. we thought you died or something.", jaemin said, letting the boy in.

"i was at a study group and i walked hyein back to her dorm.", renjun answered, catching everyone off guard.

"since when do you walk people home?", mark asked.

"last time i asked you to do that you just called me an uber and sent me to my death.", donghyuck dramatically said with a hand over his heart.

"stop being dramatic. i just needed to get something back. don't go inventing things in your head.", renjun put his backpack next to the couch and plopped down next to chenle on the ground right before you.

"what are we watching?", mark asked, giving out the bags of popcorn he just microwaved.

"a really scary one. at least that's what the reviews said.", jaemin answered.

"why do you always choose horror movies?", chenle asked.

"because i'm too scared to watch them alone.", jaemin admitted, sitting comfortably in his bean bag.

jaemin's reviews didn't lie. the movie was pretty intense in jump scares, but the plot was interesting. jeno, jisung and you were cuddling into each other in fear like dominoes, you onto jeno and jisung onto you. renjun kept his eyes on you from time to time, he couldn't help the feeling growing inside of him as he saw you so close to jeno. were you two always like that? had he been paying so little attention before?

"i'm going to the bathroom, remember what happen in the movie when i'm gone.", you whispered to jeno before getting up and making your way to jaemin's bathroom that was at the end of his apartment.

renjun, noticing you leaving and how engrossed everyone was with the movie, got up and walked to the bathroom a few minutes after you.

after drying your hands, you opened the bathroom's door, revealing a renjun blocking your way. you took a step on the right, expecting him to move the other way to let you through but he didn't move at all. you looked up at him, realizing he was already looking down at you. as he took a step forward, you took a step back and he closed the door behind him, locking you two in.

you were confused by his actions. did he want to fuck now?

"do you like jeno?"

"wha- excuse me?"

"do. you. like. him?", he repeated, getting closer and closer to you with each word.

"we're childhood friends, literally like siblings."

good was the first thing that came to renjun's mind and then confusion. why would he think like that? it wasn't like he liked you romantically speaking. it just bothered him a little.

"why?"

"it'd be weird to fuck each other if you liked one of our friends. if you like each other, i wouldn't want to be in the way."

you could see the sincerity in his eyes as he spoke and that warmed your heart. ever since you've started seeing him every other night for the past few months, you've discovered things about him that you probably wouldn't even knew existed if your arrangement didn't exist.

your hand went to caress his cheek automatically like it had a will of its own. when you realized what you were doing, you immediately pulled away not wanting to make everything weird. renjun frowned a little when he didn't feel the warmth of your hand anymore.

"what about hyein and you? the guys are right, you two seem to get along.", you said, taking advantage of the situation to also ask him something that had been on your mind for a while.

"she's whatever.", he shrugged, "we're just in the same classes and study group."

"you don't like her or anything? she's pretty and seems nice."

"not my type. i'm just nicer to her because you asked me to.", renjun got closer as he mentioned your name. he gently cupped one side of your face, his palm resting on your cheek

"since when do you listen to someone?", you teased.

"since that person can be very...convincing.", renjun said with his lips almost touching yours.

you stared at his lips for a while, moving ever so lightly for your lips to brush against his. at this point, you two were just playing with each other to see who would yield first and kiss the other one.

you wouldn't have mind if you weren't actually in the middle of movie night, "i should go back before anyone notices how long we've been gone.", you whispered.

the two of you separated and you joined the group for the rest of the movie, though you couldn't really concentrate even when jeno told you what you missed. renjun had this hold over you that you couldn't quite comprehend, that was just more than you would've expected from a fuck buddy.

"you didn't have to wait for me here. you could've just gone to my apartment, first.", you said as you found renjun waiting for you outside the library. it was pretty late since your group got caught up trying to finish your assignment.

"it's alright. i got things to do anyway."

you two walked to your apartment that was twenty minutes away from your university by subway. you talked about your day and mainly gossiped about things happening in your classes and your group of friends. you suddenly remembered something while you two stood in the elevator of your apartment building, "aren't you going to that party the guys talked about?"

"chenle, jisung, jeno and mark aren't going and jaemin and donghyuck are probably going to hook up with someone and abandon me so..."

"so you settled for your fuck buddy. i feel so special.", you joked, putting your hands on your heart dramatically.

you exited the elevator as it opened on your floor, "i didn't settle. let's just say there are things i wouldn't have done if i went to that party.", renjun said, catching up to you and grabbing your hand. he turned you around, his other hand immediately grabbed the side of your face and you saw his infamous smirk, appearing on his face.

his expression instantly triggered the flirt in you, "like what?", you asked playfully, stepping backwards until your back hit your door.

renjun quickly tapped in your code before saying, "let me show you."

his lips landed on yours as you opened the door. you two made your way into your apartment without breaking contact. you've grown quite a habit out of it since you two often found yourself making out before reaching your apartment unit.

"what the-", a voice screamed from your couch which made renjun and you jump apart.

"jisung?", you called out, eyes wide as you stared at the youngest of your group, sitting on your couch while eating snacks he just bought.

you couldn't see renjun's face, but he probably adorned the same expression as you. jisung was speechless. did he just saw renjun and you kiss? right in front of him? at this hour of the day?

"i- uhm...i should go...", renjun managed to say after a few minutes that seemed like hours. the sound of the door closing behind you, woke you from your trance.

"jisung...what are you doing here?", you weren't mad or anything, just highly embarrassed for being caught in the act.

"i decided to go to that party with jaemin and donghyuck and they ditched me again. but that's not important right now. can you explain what i just fucking saw?", jisung wasn't the type to curse much so you could understand how shocked he was when he started cursing.

"mmmmh...renjun and i have been hooking up..."

"what?"

"for a few months now."

"whaaat? months? how didn't we notice?"

"we've just been acting normal outside the bedrooms. it's not like we're together or something. please don't tell the rest of the group. you know how they are."

"i always thought you'd end up with one of us, but my bet was on jeno or mark.", jisung said, rubbing his chin with his thumb and index finger.

"yah!", you said, grabbing a pillow on your couch and hitting him with it before sitting next to him.

you two spent the rest of night watching movies and snacking on things jisung bought before coming, "sorry for being a cock block.", jisung shyly apologized to you in the middle of your second movie.

he must've been thinking about it for a while before getting the courage to say it out loud, you thought.

"i'll always be there if you need me, jisung. don't worry about bothering me or anything.", you ruffled his hair.

jisung was like a little brother to you. since the first day chenle introduced him to your group, you took him under your wing and swore to yourself that you'd protect him at all costs. he reminded you a lot of yourself. if you hadn't had jeno growing up, your confidence wouldn't have been so high, and you wouldn't have met your current group of friends.

when jisung fell asleep, you made sure to cover him in a warm blanket and put a pillow under his head. the boy was longer than your couch, so his feet were hanging off of it. you then texted renjun, saying that you told everything to jisung and that he wouldn't tell the others before plopping down on your bed with a sigh.

what a night.

"txt's frat party. friday. we're going.", you said, slamming the flyer on the lunch table and stopping your friends mid conversation.

"txt? really? isn't that going to be the first time they're hosting a party this year?", jaemin asked, grabbing the flyer and examining it.

"yeah, yeonjun told me they've been feeling the vibes of the frat's parties here. just to know what people do and like, you know.", you answered, sitting down next to renjun.

"yeonjun, huh?", donghyuck smirked as he said the boy's name, "he's so into you."

"what the fuck are you on about?"

"i can sense it."

you rolled your eyes at him and started eating your lunch.

"i'm in. i really need a party so don't expect me to drive yall home.", mark said.

"if you're all going, i'll come too. as long as you all don't hook up the same night.", jisung said.

renjun nudged you under the table to get your attention while the others talked about the carpool situation. you turned towards him as he leaned forward to whisper something in your ear, "should i expect to see you making out with yeonjun by the end of the party?", by the tone of his voice you knew he was teasing you.

"and more if everything goes well.", you whispered back, only half joking. you've known txt for a while, seeing them mainly at parties organized by the people going to your uni. they were all pretty attractive so if you got a shot with one of them, you wouldn't let that pass.

your phone's screen illuminated on the table and you gave it a quick glance, seeing a message from jisung.

you two are so obvious now that i know

you glared into the youngest direction, watching him act all innocent and ignoring you.

"have renjun and you confessed to each other yet?", seoyun asked hyein as the two of them were making their way to txt's party.

"i don't know.", hyein blushed.

"come on. he lent you his sweater, walked you home, opens your water bottle for you and had been overall nicer to you than anyone else apart from his group of friends. gotta confess before he thinks you're not interested. if i'd known i wouldn't have had invited him to my party back then. oh, maybe he didn't come because he already had you in mind.", seoyun seemed so excited for her friend, recalling all the moment hyein talked to her about.

"i don't know how to do it. or what to say. plus i kinda want him to do it you know."

"oh my god, i just remembered. one of my friends was at that new jewelry store that opened in gangnam and guess who she saw there."

"a celebrity?"

"renjun."

hyein's eyes lit up at the mention of the boy's name, "what was he doing there?"

"buying jewelry, duh. she said it was a necklace but couldn't see it. maybe it's for you. like as a confession gift.", seoyun jumped and clapped her hands excitedly, "that would be so cute."

the two girls stepped into the frat house and were immediately overwhelmed with the sound of the music blasting through the speakers.

hyein spotted your group of friends hanging out on one of the many couches in the house. her eyes immediately searched for one particular boy amongst you. her smile grew as she spotted renjun in his party outfit. he looked hot in his black jeans and shirt as he ran a hand through his hair while talking to jeno about something.

"hey guys!", hyein greeted as she found her way to you all.

some of your friends moved around to let her take a seat. you on the other hand had been talking with yeonjun since you arrived, and you realized that if you two didn't fuck tonight, you'll probably be friends. you two got a similar sense of humor and talked pretty well with one another. renjun, though, didn't really like seeing you stick with yeonjun all night. it somehow irritated him so much that he couldn't even concentrate well on what hyein was talking to him about.

"oh i love this song.", you said, grabbing yeonjun's hand and running to the dance floor. renjun's eyes followed the two of you completely filtering what hyein was saying. when he realized she was waiting for an answer he quickly acted like he couldn't hear her over the music, "sorry, what did you say?"

"i said, i'm going to get a drink. do you want something?", hyein repeated.

"i'm alright.", he gave her a neutral smile to thank her for her offer.

his eyes immediately went back to yeonjun and you. you were both dancing pretty close to one another and you seemed to be enjoying yourselves.

"stop staring or everyone will find out.", jisung nudged him with a smirk.

"i wasn't staring."

"sure.", jisung replied, not believing him one bit.

renjun's attention went back to you and he was surprised to find you dancing alone, yeonjun having disappeared like the bunny in the magic hat. his legs betrayed him and moved on their own towards you. next thing he knew he was standing in front of you.

"renjun? on the dance floor? i must be dreaming.", you teased, screaming over the music for him to hear you.

"where's yeonjun?"

"someone came to get him. apparently someone threw up somewhere they shouldn't so he had to go and take care of it.", you informed, while still moving your body along the beats of the music, "come on, dance a little. you look like a fly in a bowl of spaghetti."

your comparaison made him smile, "i don't dance."

you gave him a look before saying, "it's easy. just follow me.", you pressed your back to his chest and grabbed his hand to put it on your waist, swaying your hips to the beat. renjun followed you reluctantly at first but finally gave in after some time. you two were dancing really closely in the middle of the crowd of people doing the same thing.

jisung caught the two of you from the corner of his eyes and a little smile crept onto his lips. he won't deny the fact that you two looked good together, but he wasn't sure if the two of you would be a match for more than what you two already were. jisung wasn't really close with renjun, the two of them were the quietest of the group, only having conversations here and there, nothing really deep. though, jisung did appreciate when renjun would stay with him when the others abandoned him at a party, even telling him to go to your place. nevertheless, he was curious how your relationship would turn out.

from where he was, jeno also caught the two of you on the dance floor. even though there were many people dancing, he could see a glimpse of the two of you being really close. your current interaction just deepened his suspicious. for some time now, jeno noticed how renjun and you had gotten closer without really showing how close you've gotten. it was weird for him because he couldn't decipher how it happened or when. he would catch moments when you two whispered something to each other at lunch, thinking everyone was too engrossed into their conversation to notice or how you've been more in sync than you used to. jeno knew you since forever so he picked up on a few of your behaviors and how it changed with renjun. he wasn't sure of him yet but intended to ask you about it at some point.

on her way back to the group, hyein bumped into seoyun who was looking for her, "here you are. i was looking for you."

"why?"

"is everything okay between renjun and you?"

"yeah?"

"because he's on the dance floor with y/n and they seem pretty close.", seoyun nodded towards the crowd of people dancing with the two of you in the middle of it, practically glued to each other.

hyein furrowed her eyebrows, she thought the two of you were just friends, at least that was what she heard from renjun when one of her classmates insinuated that he may have a crush on you some time ago. were you into renjun then? should she back off? no, of course not. should she tell you to back off? no, that sounds weird, she didn't even know if you really liked him or not.

her eyes followed the two of you as you made your way through the people to walk towards the kitchen. seoyun and her followed you two, a few steps away, staying by the door frame to not be seen and acted like they were talking about something.

"what do you want?", renjun asked you as you scanned all the drinks available in front of you.

"make me your special drink.", you said with a smile.

renjun smirked, hearing the words coming out of your mouth. he grabbed two red plastic cups and started mixing his own concoction. you watched in awe as he poured and mix things together.

"y/n?", a familiar voice called from behind you.

you turned around and found yourself being mentally slapped by the face of someone you never thought you'd see again.

your first love was standing there, looking right back at you, "hyunbin? what are you doing here?", you asked, trying to keep yourself together.

"i know one of the txt's guy. i've been wanting to talk to you for some time now but never found the right moment so when soobin told me about this party, i was kinda hoping i'd bump into you.", he answered, scratching the back of his neck while having that embarrassed expression you remembered all too well, "do you have some time right now? i'd love to catch up."

you were speechless. you never thought you'd see him again after high school since he was supposed to go study overseas. it'd been three years. in three years, you managed to somehow forget about him. you just locked all the memories of him in a box in a corner of your brain and never thought about him again. of course, it was easier to do since he left but seeing him there in front of you with the same smile that melted your heart a few years back, unlocked all those moments and emotions you tried to suppress back then. you were overwhelmed.

"i- uh-"

"here, your drink.", as if on cue, renjun came back by your side, handing you a red cup filled with his own special drink.

"sorry, i'm with my friends, right now but someday.", you quickly said, turning to renjun and grabbing the drink he made for you.

"my number's still the same. text me.", hyunbin said, full of hope as he watched you walk away.

you hurried through the crowd, not really knowing where you were headed but only wanted to get out of there. the air was becoming heavy, and your mouth and throat felt drier as the seconds passed. you managed to find your way to the front door and exited rapidly, running down the stairs that led to the front door, followed closely by renjun. you needed to drink something so you one shoted the drink in your hand.

"wooh, i don't think that's a good idea.", renjun said, trying to stop you but it was too late, you've already finished your cup, "what happened?", he asked, voice filled with concern.

"nothing.", you lied, "i just want to go home.", you started walking away, waving goodbye to your friend.

there was no way renjun was going to let you walk home alone at this hour, completely drunk.

"you don't have to come with me.", you said.

"it's alright, i was tired anyway.", renjun lied as he gave his drink to some random guy that was passing by, about to go in the frat house.

you two walked in silence. you were thinking too much about what just happened.

text me.

did you still have his number? of course you did. his name was still the same. you never had the courage to delete it. maybe deep down you were hopping for him to text you one day. he was your first love after all. how can you really forget about him?

you felt sick to your stomach, it felt like your heart was clogging your throat. that weird feeling of having someone's hand crushing your heart in their palm along with a kick in the stomach that made you want to puke every bit of your soul out.

"oh fuck.", you stopped in your steps, eyes frantically searching for a nearby bush. you ran towards one, stumbling a lot. turned out the feeling in your stomach wasn't only due to the unexpected reunion with your ex but also due to the full cup of alcohol you one shoted earlier.

renjun held your hair as you threw up, grimacing a bit at the sight of your vomit. you stood straight back up after emptying everything you had in your stomach. renjun handed you a tissue and you thanked him, wiping your mouth. he then turned his back to you and got on one knee, "get on."

"wha-"

"you look exhausted and it'll be quicker like this so get on."

you hesitantly put your arms around his neck, pressing your body against his back as he grabbed onto the back of your legs, wrapping them around him.

"wanna talk about it?", renjun asked as he walked.

you buried your face in his shoulder, shaking your head, "no..."

he understood and didn't press the matter. he gave you a piggyback ride all the way back to your apartment in silence, leaving you to deal with your thoughts as you wanted.

renjun tucked you in bed before heading to your bathroom, he searched your drawers for makeup wipes. you lied in bed, eyes closed and ready to fall asleep when you feel the mattress sunk in next to you, "come on, bear with me just a little more.", he removed the covers from your head and removed the hairs covering your face. he then pulled out a makeup wipe from the packet and started gently removing your makeup. you whined as the wet and cold wipe touched your skin, "shhhh, just a little more.", renjun shushed you softly, concentrating on what he was doing.

he used two more wipes to make sure your face was makeup free before throwing them in the trash and putting the packet back into its drawer. renjun came back to your side, caressing your hair as you hummed in response, indicating that you were still conscious, "i'm gonna go. sleep well.", he gave you a quick forehead kiss and patted your head.

you grabbed his hand to stop him from stepping any further away, "can you stay please?"

that was the first time you've asked to break one of your rules. but right now, neither of you cared about a stupid rule, you needed comfort, and he was willing to give it to you.

"sure. i'll just change real quick.", renjun grabbed the pair of sweatpants he left at your apartment along with one of his tshirt before heading to the bathroom.

you rolled to one side of your bed, leaving enough space for him to lay down. when renjun came back, he slid under the cover next to you, wrapping his arms around your body. his warmth and presence made you feel safe and at peace.

you woke up the next morning to an empty bed. your mind was blank for an instant after you opened your eyes, but everything hit you back as soon as your brain registered that you were awake. checking the time on your phone, you sighed, getting out of bed. you went to the bathroom to take a well-deserved shower. it was already two in the afternoon and you didn't have much to do except maybe some research for the paper you had to turn in in a week.

after your shower you headed towards your kitchen for something to eat. you spotted a plastic bag on your kitchen counter along with a little black box and a note.

bought you lunch and some drinks. had to go. ps: you can consider the black box as an early birthday gift. i was supposed to give it to you when jisung was at your apartment.

you smiled at the note before setting it aside to look through the bag. he bought your favorite lunch from that place you liked down your street and your favorite drinks from the convenience store. the intention warmed your heart as you moved onto the black box. you untied the bow before opening it. there was another box inside. a velvety one. you opened it and your eyes mirrored the sparkles from the necklace in front of you. it was a simple, yet beautiful one that can easily match with all your outfits. there was a little card in the box, you picked it up and read it.

it reminded me of you.

you smiled again.

"is that new?", jeno asked, pointing at the jewelry hanging from your neck.

"yeah.", you nodded with a smile, hand grazing against the cold necklace as you sat down at the lunch table.

"who is that from?", hyein asked kind of suspicious. she got reminded of what seoyun told her before txt's party.

"is that from yeonjun?", donghyuck asked playfully, wiggling his eyebrows.

"it's from someone who didn't forget my birthday.", you rolled your eyes.

donghyuck's eyes widen in horror, "is it today?"

"she's messing with you.", jisung said.

"you still got a week.", mark patted his shoulder.

you all proceeded to talk about what happened at the party, you didn't talk about your ex, not ready to bring the subject up yet.

after lunch you were about to go to the library and continue your work on your paper when a voice called from behind you, "y/n? wait!"

"yeah, hyein. what's up?", you smiled at the girl in front of you.

"do you have some time to talk? it's important.", hyein asked shyly. you could tell that whatever it was, she was nervous.

"yeah, sure. what is it?", you tried to be as friendly as possible so she wouldn't feel stressed.

"i don't want to sound rude and it's not my intention at all but i'd really appreciate if you could back off renjun a bit?"

"excuse me, what?", your nice act dropped immediately, letting place to your real feelings as your smile dropped.

"i- you see, renjun and i have...uhm...something going on- i think-"

"and you think i'm...crossing the line?"

"no- i mean, not crossing the line- but- i- ", she stuttered, obviously flustered by your attitude, "i really don't want to sound mean...i just- i don't like the fact that you cling onto him that much..."

there was a silence before hyein spoke again, "well...uhm...i'll go to class now. thanks for listening."

you stayed there speechless for a moment. you couldn't believe the audacity of that girl, you were sure renjun wasn't interested in her. or did it change since last time? you mentally took note to ask him later.

you walked back into your room from the bathroom after one of your nights with renjun because you had to pee. yes, girls, always pee after sex, always. you were wearing his tshirt as you watched him put his sweatpants back on before laying back down on your bed, obviously exhausted.

"i have a question."

"shoot.", renjun replied, looking at you curiously.

"do you still not like hyein?", your question sounded clearer in your head than when you said it.

"what do you mean?"

"are you romantically interested in her?", you specified.

"i thought i already answered that question.", he replied, a little confused.

"yeah but i heard something today and just wanted to make sure."

"what did you hear?"

"she told me you two have something going on?", you hesitantly said. a part of you was afraid of what he would say.

"what?", he exclaimed as you could clearly hear the shock in his voice.

"that was my reaction. then she asked me to back off."

his eyes were as wide as yours were or even bigger.

"that's your fault!", he claimed, pointing at you.

"what now?", you exclaimed, offended by his accusations.

"you told me to be nicer to her!"

"yeah nicer, not make her fall for you! what did you even do?"

"i don't know!"

"think! what 'nice' things have you done for her so far?"

renjun paused for a moment, thinking, "i say hello to her, i open her water bottles for her when she asks me to, i give her my note if she asks me to, i once lent her my sweater because hyunjin told me to, had to walk her home afterwards to get it back. i also wait for her to go to the cafeteria together when we have the same classes."

you gave him a look. you understood why she could've thought he was maybe into her, especially since it was renjun. he was known to be pretty cold towards people that wasn't his friend.

"you told me to be nicer! so i acted like i did with yall."

"alright. i admit that i did play a part. you can act normally now and if she confesses, try to not let her down too harshly."

"yes, ma'am.", he playfully saluted you, sitting straight up.

you rolled your eyes but couldn't stop the smile creping on your face as you walked towards him and flicked his forehead with your two fingers. he winced at the pain for two seconds before smiling and pulling you onto him by your waist. you straddled him, cupping his cheeks between your hands and crashing your lips onto his. the kiss became more passionate than you expected but you enjoyed it nonetheless, pulling away after enough time for renjun to crave for more, "you're driving me crazy.", he said, making you smirk.

the next day, you were happily eating lunch and discussing with your friends as usual when the sight of something or rather someone interrupted you.

"hey, guys!", hyein cheerfully greeted, "i brought someone today, i hope you don't mind."

"hey, everyone. hey, y/n."

"hyunbin.", his name escaped your lips involuntarily. your ex sat down next to you as hyein sat opposite him, next to renjun, "how- how do you two know each other?"

"we met at txt's party and apparently he knows some of you so i invited him to have lunch with us.", hyein explained.

"i hope i'm not intruding.", hyunbin smiled at you shyly.

"it's alright...", you said, heart beating fast.

renjun gave you a quick look to make sure you were alright as hyein was talking to him about some homework thing.

"we couldn't talk much last friday. i missed talking to you. how've you been?", hyunbin asked.

you didn't know if he knew the meaning of what he was saying to you and you were quite shocked at his audacity, "good...", you managed to say, even though it was a lie, "how about you?"

"i've been alright. i spent some time overseas as you know. now that i'm back, my dad is going to train me to take over the family's business."

"are your parents doing well?", you asked. you've always loved his parents. they were really supportive of him and the both of you.

"they're doing pretty well despite getting older. they ask me about you sometimes. you were their favorite so far.", he chuckled.

you managed to smile back even though the thoughts of you two together back then crushed your heart. you managed to get through the lunch and not go into a full mental breakdown. hyunbin kept talking about his life overseas, asking what he missed in your life and such things. he talked as if nothing had change between the two of you, as if he didn't completely shatter the way you viewed relationships and yourself afterwards. it's messed up how no matter what you do, your first relationship affects all the relationship you have in the future. jeno was the first witness of it. being with you since kindergarten, jeno was there at every important step of your life and so were you for his. he remembered hyunbin and how he completely destroyed you. he remembered how you were happy with him at first but then it gradually got worse and worse in very subtle ways. hyunbin was quite the jealous boyfriend back then, he couldn't stand your friendship with him. at that time, you two weren't the closest because of that but it didn't stop you from not being friends with him at all. so when hyunbin showed up at your lunch table, he wasn't pleased and it got even worse when he learned that hyunbin was at the party friday, meaning you may have saw him. he took a mental note to check on you later.

you almost let out a sigh in relief as it was time for you to go to your afternoon classes. you said goodbye to everyone and headed to your shared class with renjun.

"y/n!", the voice made you stop in your actions as you froze on the spot. renjun, next to you, stopped as well, furrowing his eyebrows in the direction on the person calling you.

"what is it, hyunbin?", you asked, trying to control the pitch of your voice.

"can we talk? it's not gonna be long i promise."

you hesitated for a second but you knew how persistent hyunbin could be so you'd rather get it over with so you could forget he ever came back into your life. you turned to renjun and said, "go ahead, i'll join you after."

renjun gave you a look, to make sure you were okay with the situation and as you nodded with a little smile, he understood and left hyunbin and you alone.

"what do you want to say?"

"alright....uhm....okay...here i go.", he mentally hype himself up to get the courage to say what he wanted to say next, "i missed you. like a lot and i know i messed up. i am so sorry for that, i realized how wrong i was way too late. i know now that you're the one i want. we were so good together, remember? if you're willing to give me a second chance, i would like us to try again."

you were speechless.

"you don't have to answer now. text me when you have an answer. i'll wait.", hyunbin hesitantly pecked your forehead before walking away.

you were frozen for ten good minutes before your feet started moving on their own. you didn't go to class though. you headed straight home with a lot on your mind.

after his classes, jeno waited for you in front of yours, it was your second class of the afternoon and you were the only one in your group of friends to be in it. he waited until the last person but you weren't there, "hello, excuse me, professor, did you see y/n leaving?"

"y/n? she was absent today."

jeno frowned in response. you were there earlier. did you just go home after lunch? he thanked the professor before making his way to the parking lot to get his car and drive to your apartment.

as he went to open the door of your building, he bumped into a familiar face, "renjun?"

"jeno?"

"what are you doing here?", jeno asked as they both walked towards the elevator.

"y/n didn't came to class after lunch so the professor asked me to give her some documents for next class.", renjun lied. he had nothing for you, he just wanted to see how you were doing. you didn't come to class after talking to your ex and you didn't respond to any of his texts, so he was worried.

jeno rang your doorbell but nothing, you didn't open the door or said anything, "y/n, it's jeno and renjun, open the door."

still nothing.

renjun decided to tap in your code, almost as a reflex and jeno raised an eyebrow as the electronic sound of the door opening was heard.

you gave him your code?

"y/n?", jeno called once again.

they noticed the pair of shoes you were always wearing by the entrance and the absence of your slippers and deduced that you must've been home. they knocked on your bedroom's door and upon hearing a groan from the other side, jeno slowly opened it, revealing a you, all wrapped up in your blanket as you glared at them.

"what happened?", jeno asked, crossing his arms.

"none of your business.", you pouted like a four-year-old being scolded by their parents.

"really? what happened with hyunbin today? did you see him at the party?"

you sighed, "i did see him at the party and today, he wanted to talk."

"about what?"

"getting back together."

"woah! the audacity. how did you reject him?", the silence from you made him frown, "you did reject him, right?"

"he told me to think about it first.", you said.

"are you really considering getting back with that jerk?", jeno furrowed his eyebrows.

"i don't know...", you replied, fearing his reaction.

"y/n...do you realize how stupid you sound, right now?", it sounded harsher than he meant it to be.

"jeno...", renjun called, trying to calm his friend down.

"no really, don't you remember how much he hurt you? and i'm not only talking about the breakup. the relationship as a whole became so toxic. how on earth would you want to get back to that?", jeno was so frustrated with you at this point but it wasn't because he was mad. he cared about you and your well-being, that was why he couldn't stand watching you like that.

"it was a long time ago. he changed. he must have.", you said the last part almost trying to convince yourself more than the two standing in front of you.

"and what if he didn't. i don't want to stand by and watch him...dim your light. not again.", jeno had tears in his eyes as he spoke.

"i really don't wanna talk about this right now. can you leave please?", you said, turning your face away so they wouldn't see the tears in your eyes.

"y/n...", renjun started but you interrupted him.

"please."

jeno stormed out of your apartment, not waiting for renjun. he was obviously shaken up by the interaction, wiping the tears that had fallen down.

"renjun, please. i need to be alone right now.", you said, noticing how the boy hadn't move a bit.

"just...just answer this and i'll leave.", renjun said. you nodded, hesitantly, "do you really consider getting back with your ex?"

you took a deep breath before answering, "he was my first love, renjun."

even though you didn't give him a clear answer, he understood the meaning of what you said. renjun nodded before exiting your room in silence. he slipped his shoes back on and closed the door behind him as he left.

you finally broke down and let your tears overflow as you heard the door closing. you hated fighting with jeno. it didn't happen often, but it was mainly because of your poor love life choices. you two had different point of view on love. it wasn't that you didn't realize how toxic your relationship had become with hyunbin, you just had hope that since you two had grown up so much since high school, you'd be able to do better this time. like it was when you two first started dating. your first love always had a special place in your heart, you truly felt loved by him, and it was something you never felt from anyone else. you're not talking about friendship or family, you were talking about love. maybe it wasn't the greatest, but it was the best anyone had ever gave you in that department.

jeno, on the other hand, was a bystander in your love life for the longest time. from lovers to hook ups, he had seen everyone you've had a sort of relationship with and had seen you go through so much over the years, it almost made him happier when you were single, because you seemed to enjoy life more. he wished you'd be able to find someone who could make you even more happy though.

"do you know what happened between y/n and her ex?", renjun blurted out as soon as jisung let him enter his dorm.

"nice of you to visit us renjun.", chenle said from the couch.

renjun ignored his comment as he removed his shoes before stepping into the living room area.

"why do you want to know?", jisung asked, closing the door.

"she's considering getting back with him. jeno and her just fought about it."

"what?", the two youngest reacted at the same time.

"is it that bad?", renjun asked, seeing the look on their face.

"i wasn't there yet when it happened but i've heard about it.", jisung said.

"i was there.", chenle said, earning jisung and renjun's attention, "y/n wasn't really apart of the group yet. it was really at the beginning, there was only jeno, jaemin, donghyuck and i. they were a pretty popular couple so everything about them was pretty much public knowledge. at first, it was quite alright, usual couple stuff but then everyone noticed how y/n started talking to others less and less. even ditching her friends last minute. it came to a point that all her friends just gave up on her since they didn't hang out anymore. hyunbin had started showing his insecure side and was getting more and more jealous of whoever surrounded her, especially jeno. from what i know that was the only time their friendship almost ended for good. that's how bad it was. it became even worse after their breakup in senior year. i don't really know what he told her, but she took it pretty hard and almost didn't pass her exams."

"i knew it was bad but i didn't know it was that complicated.", jisung said with wide eyes.

"and i don't know the whole thing.", chenle replied.

"why would she want to get back with him then?", renjun asked, "y/n deserves so much better than him. the girl really has everything going for her, she doesn't need to settle for him."

jisung and chenle gave each other a look as renjun rambled about you. they've never seen him like this. the two youngest wondered if he himself, realized how infatuated he was with you.

"maybe because no one have shown her how she should be treated yet.", chenle said, hoping renjun would understand what he insinuated.

"wait! renjun! can we talk?", a voice called after him as he just stepped out of his classroom. he was a little irritated because he had plans but still stopped in his track.

"what do you want, hyein?"

"i- uhm... do you want to hang out someday, maybe...?", she shyly said.

"no.", he replied before walking away.

"wait. i don't understand. we were getting along just well. is it because of y/n? you know she has something going with hyunbin right? she's probably just toying with you."

she was getting on his nerves.

"how do you know about hyunbin and her?"

"he told me at txt's party. that's why i invited him over to have lunch."

that was it. he was fed up with her.

"you did what?", his eyes darken as he spoke, "first of all, whatever you think we have, never existed in the first place. i've only been 'nicer' to you because y/n asked me to. and second, who are you to interfere into someone else's business? please refrain from ever talking to me or y/n again."

renjun turned around for good this time and walked away without looking back. he may had been a little harsh but the thought of hyein bringing hyunbin to their group just so she could have him for herself sickened him. he tried to brush what just happened aside and got back to his initial plan. he took out his phone and texted you.

picking you up in an hour.

you've been sitting on your couch, staring at renjun's text for the past ten minutes.

what was that text for? where is he going to take you? why?

you changed into something casual since there was no precision in his text and waited for him. you didn't know why but it made you nervous somehow.

you almost had a heart attack when you heard your doorbell ring and renjun's face appeared on the monitor next to your entrance. you opened the door to reveal a well-dressed renjun, nothing too fancy but you definitely noticed the effort.

"are you ready?", he asked.

you grabbed your bag and a light jacket before slipping on your shoes while nodding in answer to his question.

"what is happening?"

"you'll see."

you followed him as you two took the subway to a mysterious place. you wondered what renjun had in mind.

"here we are.", renjun said, stopping in front of a restaurant.

your eyes lit up as you saw the bright sign on the front of the restaurant. it was a fried chicken place that you've always wanted to try but no one was free to go with you.

"come on. i told the ahjumma to give us the best table.", renjun gave you a smile as he held the door for you.

you were immediately hit with the smell of fried goodness. you looked around with sparkles in your eyes, "why is no one here yet?"

"i asked them to open thirty minutes early as a favor. the ahjumma running this place is really nice."

"renjun-ah! you came!", an old lady walked towards you two from the kitchen.

"yes, ahjumma.", he smiled.

"is that the lucky girl?", she asked, confusing you a bit, "here's the table i set aside for you two. the best in here, with the best view."

she accompanied you two to your table on the second floor. the view was incredible. you could see the street of seoul illuminated by all the restaurants' and shops' lights along with the cars circulating on the large routes and people going home from work.

"how did you-"

"just enjoy.", he interrupted you.

a waiter came to your table and said, "what you've asked for is almost ready. would you like to start with some drinks in the meantime?"

"sure.", renjun answered.

"here's the menu for all our drinks. you can tap this button right here when you made your choice.", the waiter gave each of you a menu before showing the call button on the side of the table.

"thank you.", you smiled before he walked away.

after ordering your drinks, they arrived pretty quickly while renjun and you talked about your day, "hyein confessed to me today."

"really?"

"well, i wouldn't really call that a confession. she tried asking me out and was offended when i said no because 'there was something between us'.", he air quoted with his fingers and a confused face, making you smile.

"you let her down easy i hope."

"not as easy as you would've wanted me to."

at the corner of your eyes, you saw an army of waiter arriving with multiple plates, "woah! what's all this."

"i figured since you've always wanted to come here, you'd have to try everything. so i asked them to make a smaller portion of everything on their menu."

"enjoy your food.", the waiters told you as they left.

you stared at renjun, flabbergasted and speechless. you didn't understand where all this was coming from, "stop staring and start eating before it gets cold."

you blinked away your shocked expression and started eating the delicious food. you commented on every flavor of fried chicken there were. renjun watched you smile as you enjoyed the food and wished he could see you smile like that every day.

"wooah! i'm so full right now.", you leaned back in your chair after eating your last piece of chicken.

"that was the best fried chicken i've ever eaten.", renjun said after finishing his drink.

"you two finished already?", you two sat straight up as you heard the ahjumma from earlier's voice.

"yes.", you smiled, "it was the best!", you complimented with a thumbs up.

"aigoo~ aren't you cute.", she cooed at you, "i wanted to see if you were enjoying the meal and to bring you the check personally.", she put the receipt down on the table and you reached for it but renjun grabbed it before you could.

"i invited you, i'm paying.", he said, taking his wallet out.

"he's a keeper.", the ahjumma whispered to you, making you blush.

"that was so good! thank yoouuu!", you smiled, bowing at a full 90 degrees as you exited the restaurant.

"do you have enough energy for one last thing?", renjun asked with a knowing smile.

"mmmh, yeah sure.", you said, cocking your head to the side, face full of question.

"come on. it's not far from here.", renjun grabbed your hand, intertwining your fingers as he led the way.

you were surprised by the pda. it wasn't his type to initiate these kinds of things in public. it felt different from all the time he's held your hand before. well, the only times your hand was in his were when he was literally in you, so the context was completely different, but you'd lie if you said you didn't enjoy it.

you frowned once you realized he let go of your hand because of the cold wind hitting your palm.

"tada!", he said, waving his hand in the air towards the shop. it was a place where you could take photobooth pictures with accessories and all.

"we came here the first year of college. i saw the pictures on your wall and thought it was about time they get updated. we struggled to fit eight people in the booth but two should be fine."

you two spent a good two hours, taking pictures with all kinds of accessories. renjun got tired an hour in but the smile on your face and sparkles in your eyes made him put on the cat ears you were holding out to him.

you looked so cute with your bunny ears on and for once he listened to the little voice in his head and cupped your cheeks, turning your face towards him as he softly planted a kiss on your lips. you were used to kisses full of passion and lust but this one felt different. it was gentler and full of...love?

it was funny how renjun was only noticing now how much your happiness mattered to him. not that it didn't matter before, he just never realized it. it made him think of back when he learned that you got cheated on by one of your exes with your girl best friend. mark told renjun, he had never seen him lose so much control before. he even surprised himself when he threw that punch square into your cheating ex's jaw. he was really protective of your whole friend group but maybe even back then there was already something.

you got out the store with five sets of pictures and the biggest smile on your face. you blush noticing one where renjun and you kissed. this night made you forget about all your problems, and you were really grateful for it. on the way back to your apartment, you rambled about the fried chicken place and how good it was. you even tried to make renjun reveal how he managed to make the owner agree to his requests, but he kept quiet on the details, making you pout. he noticed how you were shaking a little due to the cold and gave you his jacket and scarf.

"but what about you?", you said.

"it's fine. i was hot anyway.", he said.

that was a lie.

"what a night.", you said, falling back onto your bed once you've came back to your apartment.

"how do you feel?", renjun asked, standing next to your desk.

"tired but great. one of the best nights ever.", you said, sitting up.

renjun walked towards your bed, stopping right in front of you and lowering the top half of his body to face you, "remember that feeling.", he said, his index tapping tour temple, "and never settle for less."

his words hit you hard. you were speechless for a moment as you felt all sort of emotions. did renjun do all that to tell you you deserved better? your heart was beating really fast as you looked at him. 

renjun knew he wouldn't be able to convince you to not go back to your first love but the least he could do was show you how he should be treating from now on.

"i'll let you rest now. see you tomorrow."

his words snapped you out of your trance and thoughts. your body moved before you could even realize it. the only thing you could think of was that you didn't want him to leave just yet. 

you didn't want that feeling to fade away just yet.

you grabbed his hand, making him stopped in his tracks, "could you stay just tonight? can you pretend just a little longer?"

you almost cringed as the words left your mouth but there was no way to say it differently.

renjun looked at you in the eyes and there was no way he could've said no to you, right then and there. your words hit him deep though. pretend. did he really pretend?

after changing into your sleepwear, you two got into your bed, snuggling into one another. renjun brushed his hand through your hair, he learned that it was something that helped you fall asleep. once your breathing had stabilized and he knew you've fallen asleep, he whispered, "if only you've had notice, it wasn't all pretend...maybe...just, maybe it wouldn't have been too late."

this was the first time he's ever admitted it aloud, even though you'd never know because of how asleep you sounded.

for the next week, the tension in the group caused by your fight with jeno dissipated little by little. so much that you felt it was time for you two to make up. you've spent the whole day perfecting the speech you were going to tell him. jeno was someone important in your life and you didn't want to lose him nor make him worry about you.

after your last class of the day, you sprinted to the other side of campus, where student usually parked their car. you arrived right on time to see jeno start his. you stood right before his vehicle, making him hit the break really hard.

"yah, do you want to die?", jeno shouted as he rolled down his window.

"can...we...talk?", you panted with your two hands on his hood.

jeno was taken aback by your question. your fights usually just faded away on their own. he nodded and told you to get in his car.

you closed the door and turned towards your best friend, "i'm sorry.", you started, "i know i tend to isolate myself when things go wrong. i know that you just want the best for me and you're worried i'll do something i'll regret. i'm here to tell you that you don't have to anymore, i can handle myself and i'll always lean on you if i need to."

jeno blinked a few times before leaning towards you and wrapping his arms around you, "i just want you to be happy.", he muttered.

"i know.", you smiled, patting the back of his head.

"want a ride home?", he asked, pulling away from your hug.

"it's alright, i gotta meet someone before going home.", you said, "don't worry.", you added catching the look he was sending your way, "it's gonna be alright."

you bid him goodbye and exited his car, waving as he started driving away. you checked your phone to see that the person you texted right before running to the parking lot had texted you back.

i'll be waiting at the cafe opposite the university.

you took a deep breath before heading towards the coffee shop. you had a lot of talking to do today which you weren't really used to, but it was something that needed to be done. you've thought about a lot of things during this whole week, and you've come to a lot of conclusions. the first thing was to talk with jeno, which was the easiest. now, you had to talk to him.

"hey, y/n!"

"hello, hyunbin.", you greeted, sitting opposite him.

"i ordered what you usually drank. i hope you still like it.", he smiled at you, pushing one of the two plastic cups in his hands towards you.

"thanks.", you said, taking a sip of a drink that reminded you of so much.

"did you think about what i told you?", he asked, eyes full of hope.

"...yeah.", you started, "i...i don't think it's a good idea."

"why? we complemented each other so well. remember?"

"i do...", you sighed, looking out the window as the memories of your relationship came flooding back, "but i also remember how lonely i felt. our relationship started great, but it shifted at some point. i don't really know when. it hurt me, you know...the breakup, the relationship as a whole. maybe a week or two earlier, i would've accepted to try again, but someone made me realized that i shouldn't settle for less than i deserve.", hyunbin opened his mouth to say something but you stopped him, "i know it was back then and you must have changed, like i did. and that maybe, it could be better...but it is not something i am curious about anymore."

hyunbin had his head down, probably deep in his thoughts. you grabbed your phone and checked the time. it was getting pretty late, and the sun was already starting to set, "i have to go but i hope you'll find what you're looking for.", you patted his head before grabbing your empty cup and leaving. you threw the cup in the plastic bin and walked out the coffee shop without looking back. hyunbin was in your past now and you'll make sure it stays that way, walking towards your future.

your phone vibrated in your pocket as you held onto the subway pole.

i just arrived

where u at?

coming, you hit send.

you tapped in the code of your apartment and heard the melody telling you that you could enter.

"it's getting so cold outside what the fuck? i thought spring was coming soon.", you said, closing the door behind you and removing your coat and shoes. you hung your bag near the entrance and walked towards renjun who stood up from your couch.

"told you to buy gloves. it's still cold outside at this hour.", he grabbed your hands, rubbing and pressing them between his in an attempted to warm them. it was a habit he picked up during the last winter and you found it pretty cute.

"i didn't plan to stay out that long.", you pouted.

"where even were you?"

"i was talking to hyunbin."

"oh?", your answer made him stop in his actions and drop your hands, "how did it go?"

"better than expected."

"are you two-?", he couldn't even finish his question, leaving it for you to fill in the blanks as he avoided your eyes.

"nope.", you smiled.

"i thought-", renjun had trouble forming sentences as he looked at you with wide eyes.

"what did you think?", your smile turned to something more playful as you took a step closer to him. you examined the look on his face as you leaned in closer and cupped his cheeks with your two hands, making his heart beat faster than he thought it was able to, "did i make you speechless, renjunnie?", you teased.

he gulped at the closeness of your faces. he cursed himself for being this nervous suddenly. it wasn't like you two were never that close before. he was taken aback by your lips gently pressing onto his. he started kissing back after a few seconds as you mentally sighed in relief. you thought you did something wrong at first, but you completely melted as he kissed you back. it was the same feeling as when he kissed you during your 'date'.

renjun pulled away out of breath, "wh-", he didn't even manage to say the word completely, pressing his forehead against yours.

"it's never too late."

your words hit him like a train.

indeed, you weren't asleep. your eyes were closed, and your breathing was consistent, but you were still on that thin line between awake and asleep and you heard everything he said while he thought you were long gone.

"did you really think i'd settle for less than you after that?", you said, taking a step back and looking at him in the eyes, "so...would you like to go on a real date this time?", you shyly, asked, all your confidence vanishing with your question.

renjun remained speechless. the neutral expression on his face made it hard for you to know what he was thinking.

"please, say something.", you were on the verge of breaking down because of how nervous you felt. maybe this was a bad idea after all. maybe you read the signs wrong. maybe you didn't understand what he meant. maybe-

"yes."

you looked at him with bright eyes as if he just presented you twelve kittens. you smiled and wrapped your arms around his neck, bringing him in a hug. he instantly wrapped his arms around you, holding you tight as if he wanted to make sure this was real.

you two started dating publicly a few weeks later.

it only came as a shock to half the group as jisung, chenle and jeno already knew that something was going on, even though jeno got kind of sulky that you didn't tell him sooner.

"damn. you really never know what's going on behind closed doors, huh?"

#nct dream #nct #nct dream scenarios #nct dream imagines #nct dream fluff #nct dream angst #huang renjun #renjun #huang renjun scenarios #huang renjun imagines #renjun scenarios #renjun imagines

[leerongrong]

❥ 𝐍𝐂𝐓 𝐃𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐌 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 – they learn love through the little things.

⌜ mark ⌟

mark lives his days to the fullest; he laughs a lot, he has good food on the table, he has people who love him dearly, and he prays because he's grateful for all he's been given. but there are days he isn't content; he's human and the pressure put on him isn't something a 22 year old should be facing.

it was on those dark days when you showed him love through tranquility. the town was quiet with no one walking because of the downpour and you showed mark the beauty of simplicity, through bus rides.

"mark?" you whisper, hand gently carding through the front of his bangs as his head lols from side to side. not even a sudden movement from the bus wakes him from his sleep.

"be happy." you smile when he moves to cuddle your palm now placed on his cheek. "you of all people deserve to be happy."  

now, mark thinks of you whenever he sees a bus working its way down a street, the image of foggy glass a constant reminder of the constant love he receives.

⌜ renjun ⌟

if there's anything he wishes to have, it's to be his old self again. renjun feels like an old shell of who he used to be. days used to be filled with blue skies and he was ready to say hello to the bright future waiting for him. yet somehow, they all turned gray; a constant static he wishes he could break free from.

though one day his vision is dotted with flashes of yellow. you bring color into his life through the first sticky note you wrote on that day, stuffed in the pocket of his bag. there wasn't much on it, just a messy scribble of your writing in black saying 'i love you' with a smiley face next to it.

the next day, pitter patter of shoes and a shout catches renjun's attention before he could disappear into the practice room. he tilts his head when he sees you out of breath, one hand on your knee as you double over.

"what are you doing?" it's when he finally notices the lime sticky note in you other hand, comprehension hitting him as the words finally makes sense.

"sometimes it's going to be suffocating but give yourself sometime to breath. you're moving according to your own timeline and one can do it best except for you."

from that day forward, renjun smiles a little bit more as the colors that start to fill his life once again remind him of you.

⌜ jeno ⌟

jeno's life has always been filled with a buzz; he went on with his life around his friends, family, co-workers, and the millions of fans screaming his name. he went to school with his parents and older sister at a young age, he attended school with friends when he was a freshman, and now he puts on concerts to billions of people with his found family.

yet he doesn't feel secure and warmth from the people around him; it's a void in his heart and the echo of voices make his head spin whenever he steps into his room, the cold and comfort of his bed doing nothing to sooth his stress.

"jeno, i'm here. what's going on?" you step into jeno's room, seeing the boy curled up by the edge of the bed. you rush over at the sight of his shaking shoulders, an effort to calm himself down. "hey. what happened?"

"it's okay if you don't want to talk about it." you finger traces random patterns on his skin as you engulf him in a hug. his arms are around your waist and his head hiding in the crook of your neck. "i'm right here. i'll always be right here, jeno."

jeno learns to find comfort in silence from you.  he basks in your warmth and knows that all he needs is a calming presence to pull him through.

⌜ haechan ⌟

for all he knows. for all donghyuck ever knows is that he was given the name haechan because people wanted him to shine as bright as the sun.

he was given the term 'fullsun' meaning he was someone who needed to be as dashing and radiant as the sun that shines high in the sky. all day long, full weeks straight, from the start till the end of his career line.

and as much as he adores it, he hates it. he hates the dark circles starting to imprint under his eyes like a permanent tattoo. he despises the weight of his bones every time he's off camera, and he grimaces every time smiling feels more like a burden than a choice.

and yet, u bring him love through darkness like night. comforting like a toddler in the arms of his mother, lulling like gazing up at shooting starts at midnight, rejuvenating the day after a whole 24 hours of sleeping.

"it's okay to rest, love." you grumble, looking at haechan's reflection from across the room. his eyes are dark with lack of sleep and his expression monotone. "you don't have to earn rest. you need it, deserve it, are worthy of it."

"don't ever let anyone make you feel guilty for taking time to rest." your footsteps are soft, padding through the carpet to reach him and rest your hands on his shoulders. "sometimes walls, emotional blockage walls, they're there so we can lean on and rest."

a small smile breaks on haechan's lips, his head nodding as he slightly leans on your frame for support, the weight of his burdens slowly being lifted from his shoulders. "your smile could make flowers grow. don't ever lose it."

⌜ jaemin ⌟

jaemin has a long history with coffee. he's used to the fatigue seeping through his bones and the adrenaline that courses through him whenever he takes a shot of his coffee. he knows that it's bad for him; that he's borderline addicted to it but he can't find it in him to stop.

there are times when it tastes like heaven on earth but most of the times it's to dull his senses; a nagging reminder that he has so much to do with a body and mind that's threatening to crumble over without rest.

you bring love like a breath of fresh air, one he deliberately takes multiple gulps of, through tea. he hears your scolding more often than not, he distinctly remembers every mimic of your face; from your furrowed eyebrows, to your pout and especially your wrinkling nose, every time you catch him drinking coffee.

"stop drinking so much soul sucking liquids!" jaemin chokes on his coffee from your scolding and has to slam his fist into his chest to help with the shock. he feels your palms gently smoothing over his back to help. "oh gosh, i'm so sorry!"

"okay, okay, i'll stop." jaemin laughs, still slightly coughing out his drink. "i know you love me enough to scold me but maybe don't call coffee a soul sucking liquid while i'm drinking one?"

"whatever." you roll your eyes and smile when jaemin presses a kiss as an apology.

he doesn't realize it but jaemin has a fond look on his face every time he sees a kettle boiling. he has a special place in his cupboard for your ceramic tea cup, one that's the exact same as his because he thought it would be cute to match. he even bought a perfume of tea leaves and a tea set just to remind himself of the better half that is you.

⌜ chenle ⌟

chenle is used to being in the spotlight; he's had his fair share of fame since he was a kid and now he's part of one of the biggest kpop groups in the world. he's done his best with whatever he can control; practice, sleep, eat, repeat. yet he still can't control his short fuse.

he feels the need to explode sometimes,  people get on his nerves easily. he knows what its like to let his anger get the best of him and he knows the scolding that is bound to come right after.

"chenle, let's go over there." your voice breaks him out of his staring match with a rude employee. he's done his best to slowly let his anger simmer but nothing is helping him calm down. "let's drink our hot chocolate, yeah?"

chenle looks at nothing but the ground. all he sees is red until he feels your hand intertwine with his and recognizes your sweet tone. "you okay?" you bring him back by telling him to breath, reaching out to stroke his cheek. "i love you, chenle."

chenle sees you in the gentle breeze on a hot summer day, something smooth that brings him relief whenever he feels he might let himself slip away.

⌜ jisung ⌟

if jisung could describe himself in one word; it would be shy. he remembers hiding behind the shadows of his parents and brother, he knows he hides from the spotlight, becoming a side character in his own story.

"jisung! congratulations!" your shout from across the hallway has jisung hiding his face, groaning as attention gathers on him. "way to go! i knew you could do it!"

he hides his face behind his hands, eyes peaking through his fingers when he hears you stop in front of him. "did you have to shout?"

"yes," you frown. "jisung, you're number one in that dancing competition. you should be proud."

"i know but-"

"no buts!" you gently pry his hands away from his face, your smiling face coming into his view. "you're a winner jisungie, let the whole world know and celebrate!"

you bring love in the form of courage and jisung smiles at the thought of your bravery. your words make him want to live life as if it were a movie and he's the main character.

#nct dream x reader #nct dream imagine #nct dream reactions #nct dream fluff #mark lee x reader #na jaemin x reader #lee jeno x reader #park jisung x reader #lee haechan x reader #huang renjun x reader #zhong chenle x reader #mark lee imagine #na jaemin imagine #lee jeno imagine #park jisung imagine #lee haechan imagine #huang renjun imagines #zhong chenle imagine #nct x reader #nct imagine #nct fluff #nct reactions #mark lee fluff #na jaemin fluff #lee jeno fluff #park jisung fluff #lee haechan fluff #zhong chenle fluff #huang renjun fluff #nct dream

[chaoshoranghae]

attractive things that dreamies do that makes me love them

not this being 1.2k words

Mark,

Being giggly

his word usage

like him saying dude to fans or like

his jokes???

I laughed at the five guys joke

his quotes????

one of them was literally my senior quote

his reactions also

the undercut

his raps

bf coded

copying fans

yk on the fan calls and stuff, please

his bubbles

his spider verse msg pleaseeee

I really like his nose haha

his relationship with the dreamies???

the dance he does in the dingo video I love it

he's caked up of course

just realized I don't pay attention to his physical features???

Renjun,

his hair

I absolutely love when he had the Oreo hair I think it looks so good on him

and personally I had that same exact hair style during covid because of narcissa malfoy, I just love that hair

the opposite of that hair too I love it

how soft spoken he can be

when he gets mad or annoyed

his voice

his eye brows???? I strangely like them

his pictures????

totally would draw you all day and then give it to you

the little artist in him

he's funny tooo

his dynamic with all of his members and how it varies

he gets excited and it's so

or when he's over it with the dreamies haha

like when spoilers come up

him hating mtbis

when he wears his hats backward like during the dance practices

okay, I saw the video where he took those bad pictures of Jaemin

but hear me out

I feel like he would totally take the perfect candids of you yk

like have jaemin teach him so he can just be ur little own photographer = love language???

his insta posts??? please I love them

Jeno,

how reserved he is compared to dreamies???

how different he is when it's one on one

him with jaemin

the weird noises he makes

his back???

his eye smile <3

and his smile <3

that is literally what my mom called him the first couple of months

his oral fixation????

the funny faces he makes ????

he's really funny

how loud he can be?????

him holding grudges?????

me too king me too

being so calm yet chaotic

the care he has for his members

him counting down and then scaring us????

the episode of 7illin' in the dream where he's in the dog house entertaining himself with the light

when he also response to jaemins doggie call

him with dogs in general

him jumping on the bed with chenle and laying completely on top of him

he's so playful

Haechan,

The way he dances

his mood maker energy

Witty

quick thinking

lowkey his style???? I'm not a big fan of tight pants but

his airport style???? I love it

bro got the dogs out but it's so comf

His hair when he's all natural

it looks so fluffy

when he's barefaced and cooking and he has his hands on his hips

I always tell my mom he looks like a middle age mom but I find ur endearing

the way he's bratty???

and cuddly

his weird thumb?? was it?

that he broke and it's different

the way he tells stories, please

his better than gold performance dude please

his fluffy hair with the slight waves

him wearing sunglasses

he's so smart ?????

the way he watches himself as he dances, dude the intense stare oh my god

he is so on point with memorization???

he has such a distinctive voice?? i love it

the way he doesn't let anyone else dip??? but only him???

Jaemin,

He was my first and only bias in dream for a long time so he holds a special place

Nana vs na jaemin

the way he bounces on the beds yk

like how annoying he is in a good way????

Always telling fans to eat

his now cat pictures

How caring he can be

the video where he went cycling with jeno yk that entire video just makes me love him

his obsession with twerking????

i love his part in candy

my mom and I specifically love his part in boom and all the iconic one-liners, when we got to hear it in concert-

his hair!!!! i love it

the blonde? the pink?? i actually liked the blonde with the blue in the middle haha

oh he is also bf coded? but in a different way from mark

bro.... his lats???

his arms????

his shoulders

bro bias wrecked me so hard at the concert

the video of jaemin and jeno cooking.... just jaemin completely in that

he's so funny and weird in a good way

the video where he gave us jaemins foot cam

the way... the way where he sees his fan cams and locks eyes with them and stares at them continuously through the performance ...ugh

his hobbies????

the photography????

him grilling for all of the dreamies first and then eating

Chenle,

how different he is with other members, like the way he treats mark vs jisung

the way he responds to marriage proposals 😭 the are so funny

how he is with daegal

his thing with basketball???

How he points during his notes??? I never noticed it until a fan pointed out how haechan, renjun and chenle all do their notes and he kinda just points??? like I love that

how excited he was to prank jisung with mark, and then was deciding between pranking mark or jisung the way he was so happy

I also like his nose!!!

his face when he's judging

his side eyes

his grammar??? like how strict he is with it

ik for a fact bro would be correcting me all day long but

when he talks, like bro won't stop

like yes please keep talking I will listen

unbothered king

his laugh please

when he was on the fan call where she had a sign that said if you know me to blow a kiss and she showed him the video and he was laughing so hard

kinda want him to teach me chinese

his laugh

his own type of comedy

how honest he is

the way he uses jaemin as a pillow

Jisung,

how he's a little confused with the world

him talking to trees

is that just him talking to himself but he just stands in front of trees???

him saying ubb

the fact that he's only older then me by a little bit is crazy

the way he is about dancing

specifically popping

his dance breaks

how he had a bunch of ramen in his closet but still asked jaemin for a baguette

his clumsiness

jisung with the dominos

his reactions

i loved his ridin' hair

being awkward????? just like me fr

the way he gets so embarrassed

especially from his members

him being fascinated with the world

him showing us how to take off a ring and then struggling

his little gestures

everyone being whipped

this was hard fo renjun for me

I just love him

like I don't have a lot of reasons why

I just love him

I tried to do equal amounts for everyone i have yet to convert to jenoism but writing all these things for him and trying to find a picture makes me want to convert

#nct #haechan #nct dream #nct haechan #nct renjun #nct chenle #nct drabbles #nct jaemin #nct jeno #nct jisung #huang renjun #lee jeno #mark lee #na jaemin #lee donghyuck #jaemin #drabble #fluff #mark lee imagines #huang renjun imagines #lee jeno imagines #lee haechan imagines #na jaemin imagines #zhong chenle #zhong chenle imagines #park jisung imagines

[hirokari]

stupid, stupid face.

p: huang renjun x gn!reader | wc: 0.9k | g: roommate au, best friends to lovers, sliiiight angst, fluff | cw: brief mention of alcohol consumption | a/n: and they were roomates :0 js wanted to finish a short draft ^^

"I have no idea why you're acting like this right now,"

"He was too close, I didn't like him-"

"You don't even know him!"

It's a quarter past 1 in the morning, you and Renjun had just arrived at your shared apartment. Maybe you both had a little too much to drink, but this argument alone was enough to sober you both back.

"So what if I don't know him? It was so obvious he had other motives than just to hug you. Ugh, I could just punch his stupid face. Who the hell just hugs randomly, anyway?"

"Um, you, maybe? Or Haechan-"

"Hyuck is Hyuck! I know him."

Tired, you let out an exasperated sigh, dropping your shoes. "Look, Jun, I'm tired and extremely drained, so why don't we just head to bed, yeah?"

There's a sour look on Renjun's face, and you know he won't let this conversation end just like that. Though he clearly has a lot more to say, he follows behind you bitterly, stalking right after you into the living room.

"Look, Renjun," You say in a soft voice, which makes Renjun's head spin a little (but he'd rather blame it on the alcohol), "If it matters any amount to you, I genuinely don't think we'll see him again. Even if we do, I doubt I'll remember him."

"But... it hasn't been just him. It wasn't just tonight."

Puzzled, you stop in your tracks, turning around to look at him. "I don't understand-- there were other times?"

The look on Renjun's face suggests that he said something he shouldn't have. Wiping a hand across his face, he pauses— as if contemplating something— eyes searching for yours, then looking away when they meet.

"Renjun, what is it? What are you trying to say?" You ask, hand wrapping around his free wrist.

Your roommate is not the type of person to keep things from you-- you assume it's because he doesn't bother the effort, but really it's because he feels he can tell you everything-- so whatever he has to hide, it's something he hides from everyone.

Correction: it's something so obvious to everyone... except you.

"Renjun," You say, voice slightly upbraiding. At that, he folds. The boy holds his hands up in a sign of defeat, "Fine, fine! But what I'm about to tell you is frankly crazy, and I need you to stay calm. Stay calm!"

"You stay calm!"

"I'm trying!"

You really, really don't understand. What could possibly be so bad to the point where the cool-headed, calm Renjun that doesn't give a shit about his roommate does acts as stressed as he is now?

Renjun collects his thoughts and breathes slow, still letting you hold his wrist because believe it or not, it is giving him the slightest bit of comfort. He shifts his hand, fitting it into yours as he finally builds up the courage to look back at you.

"Y/N, the past year of being your roommate can't compare to what I've experienced the past 20 years of my life. It's really... ridiculous how much of my life you can change-- or did change." As he explains, Renjun can't help the small bashful smile that tugs on his lips when he sees you visibly stunned (in a good way).

"You've gone... on a lot of dates. And I've watched you come back every night. Sometimes you aren't really that fazed, and you're more excited to watch a movie or share a plate of take-out pasta with me than you are about the date. And, I guess, you gave me hope.

Hope for any chance that I am, by any means, better than the guys you've been seeing. And then you leave for another date on another night and I'm left in this really, really empty apartment feeling really, really lonely." The boy lets out exasperated huffs, fervent about the topic-- as if he'd been rehearsing this before.

Renjun looks straight into your eyes: but it's more than that. He looks past your flaws and sees your soul, raw and pure; he looks at the memories you'd shared with him in this small apartment, none of them a dull moment; he looks at all the stupid ideas you'd shared together about decorating the walls with graffiti, or hanging gummy worms up on the ceiling fan.

"Bottom line is: I'm insanely in love with you, Y/N," Says Renjun in a slight laugh, nervous and fidgety.

"What?" Your hands slip out of his, and his stomach falls. "Are you- are you serious?" Your voice suggests a small tone of relief, but you don't dare show it in the fear of this being some huge prank. But Renjun nods slowly, eyes growing more wary at the lack of a definitive answer from you.

"Renjun, the reason I've been going to all those dates was to get my mind off... of you."

The boy's eyes widen, mouth falling agape as he leans forward, taking your hands in his in a tight grip. "Are you kidding? Please don't tell me you're kidding."

"I'm not kidding, are you kidding?"

"I'm not!"

You stare at him for a moment, and he stares back. You search for any sign of facade or fraud, but you're left with your beaming roommate who stares back at you, a smile slowly growing on his lips. It's inevitable, the handful of laughter you both erupt into.

Falling into his arms, you both welcome each other in a warm embrace, your arms wrapping around his abdomen as you tuck your head into his shoulder, hot breaths fanning his neck as you let out another string of light laughter with him.

Renjun supposes he owes that guy tonight-- whatever his name was, he can't care enough to remember-- a thank you, and a good punch in his stupid, stupid face.

© hirokari, 2023

#nct #nct dream #nct dream imagines #nct dream drabbles #nct dream fluff #nct dream angst #nct dream scenarios #nct imagines #nct drabbles #nct fluff #nct angst #nct scenarios #huang renjun #huang renjun x reader #huang renjun imagines #huang renjun fluff #huang renjun drabbles #huang renjun scenarios #nct x reader #nct dream x reader #♪ mari writes!

[midmourn]

idol!s/o has dating rumors

♡ nct dream ﹒ (mostly) gender neutral!reader genre crack, suggestive warnings suggestive content, suicide jokes. mentions of other idols note if yall have any requests let me know 🫶 ALSO … i accidentally put ‘her’ in jisung’s once im sorry but anyone can still read 😭 ( masterlist )

#k films #kflixnet #k labels #nct dream #nct #nct imagines #nct scenarios #nct angst #kpop imagines #nct reactions #nct fluff #na jaemin #nct texts #nct fake texts #na jaemin imagines #huang renjun imagines #huang renjun #mark lee #mark lee imagines #lee jeno #lee jeno imagines #haechan imagines #lee donghyuck #haechan #zhong chenle #zhong chenle imagines #park jisung imagines #park jisung #nct smut #kpop fake texts

[cannedapricot]

midnight bus. || hrj

in which as much as renjun denies ever caring about you, he can't help but notice the twitch in your eye when you receive your test marks, the smile that doesn't seem to quite reach your eyes when praised by your principal, and the lack of smart remarks when he scores a single point higher. something was wrong, and it was driving him insane. alternatively, two kids ponder about their futures on a late night bus ride because neither of them can drive.

word count: 2.7k

genre, warnings: angst (?), slice of life, some fluff, comfort (?), academic rivals to lovers, high school!au, neighbor!au, teenage uncertainties uttered and lost between tall buildings and lights, profanities, trespassing

bgm: ghost city tokyo by ayase, overdose by natori, cinema by vivid bad squad, you're on your own kid by taylor swift

a/n: i just finished reading this book of mine and i am in absolute shambles.

Renjun's eyes narrow, squinting at you across the hall. He could clearly see the principal congratulating you on the debate club's latest win, yet, you weren't puffing your chest out in pride like usual.

If this was any normal day in the past five years of your unnamed war for valedictorian, you would've thanked the principal and skipped right up to Renjun with a smug smirk on your face. If this was any normal day he would've rolled his eyes at you and told you that "arguing for climate change isn't a useful skill".

Evidently, this wasn't a normal day. Something's off. You bid goodbye to the principal and shuffle right past Renjun. No snide comment, no shit eating grin, nothing to acknowledge him.

Now, Renjun would much rather jump off a ten meter platform than admit to care for you, but weeks pass by and your usual spark never returned. It wasn't like he needed your attention or anything.

But it was driving him nuts.

Grade 6. 11 years old. Renjun meets you for the first time. You showed up to the first day of class in bright yellow suspenders, it was hard not to notice you. Renjun thought the two of you would make great friends. After all, his surname did mean yellow.

He changed his mind after you scored higher than him in math. No one scored higher than him in math. He would've let it slide if it were just math, but you had scored higher in everything except art. To top it off, when he made the off comment about it you said,

"Oh, it's not like it was hard."

And from that day on, he decided that you were his biggest rival and his life goal would be to knock you off your high perch.

Somewhere along the line, you had caught onto Renjun's hostility towards you. It was so amusing watching him get ticked off at your smug comments, how could you stop making them? So you decided that your life goal would be to never let Renjun know peace.

This rivalry, of course, bled into high school and where the two of you stood in present time. Senior year, AP classes, volunteer work, college entrance preparation, the future.

Oh, the future.

"Y/n, can we get a friend discount?"

"No."

A sigh escapes your mouth. Friday night, 8pm. Family-run diner packed to the brim with teenagers celebrating their football win against the school across town. Clad in the retro diner uniform your mom insisted on, you glide across the floor back behind the counter to yell whatever the table of jocks ordered to the kitchen.

"Busy night huh?"

You rest your head on your mom's shoulder, a habit you've had since childhood.

"Sometimes I wish our diner was less popular."

"Now that wouldn't be great for business," Your mom laughs in response to your childish grumble. "You'll learn to enjoy it once you take over."

The family business that's been passed down for decades. The future that's been decided for you before you were even conceived. You've known that your whole life, yet, for some reason, you weren't sure about it.

Your response should've been much more enthusiastic. But all you could manage was a quiet "I know" before turning to bring the cheerleaders their curly fries.

Renjun thinks he's finally lost it. What other explanation could there be to him staring across the fence from his bedroom window to yours. Your light was on, so you were home. But from the shadows moving around he could tell you weren't at your desk preparing for class like usual.

Renjun thinks he's finally gone bonkers. What other explanation could there be to his inability to focus on his four page essay for AP literature. He was usually good at cranking out fancy words and analysis. But for some reason, he found his mind somewhere else.

Renjun thinks he's finally gone deranged. What other explanation could there be to him climbing out his window (his parents could never know), jumping the fence, and standing under yours. A few well aimed twig throws at your glass was enough for you to stick your head out in confusion.

"Renjun what the hell?"

"Come out. We're going for a ride."

So you begrudgingly close your window and look for a coat to wear over your pajamas.

And for the record, Renjun isn't a stalker. Just a neighbor.

"You know, when you said "we're going for a ride", I kind of thought you meant in a car? As in, car ride?"

"And risk my life for you? No way. We're taking the bus."

11:45pm. You were following Renjun as he sped walked through the quiet residential neighborhood. The two of you passed multiple bus stops along the way but none of them had buses running at this hour.

"Just say you can't drive." You scoff, trying to keep up with the boy in front.

"Well, neither can you. With your brains, I thought you would've breezed the driving test."

"Touché."

The bus arrived at 12am sharp. The bus stop was a fifteen minute walk away from your houses and the two of you barely got on, eyes squinted at the sudden neon lights of the bus interior. The bus driver, a woman in her late forties you presume, audibly clicks her tongue at the sight of you both. You don't blame her, you would probably do the same if you were still working at midnight.

You find a seat in the back half of the bus as to give the lady some peace (though she chooses to put on headphones anyway). Renjun sits in the seat on the other side, though the seats were made for two and there was definitely no one sitting next to you. An awkward silence fills the air as the bus heaves into motion, taking the two of you somewhere unknown.

It was kind of relaxing, you thought. Watching streetlamps pass by in a flash, hearing the faint tune of ABBA songs leaking through the driver's headphones, feeling the bus rumble underneath your body. It was almost like you were running away.

"So... What's up with you," Your neighbor awkwardly begins. "I noticed you weren't really yourself lately."

"Aw, does somebody care about me?"

Renjun never thought that hearing the familiar mocking tone that was the bane of his existence would be so comforting. You were still there. You hadn't changed.

"In your dreams." He hides his smile in his palm and keeps his eyes on the scenery passing by, "Unfortunate for me, living next door to you makes me notice things I don't care for."

His eyes slowly move to check on you when you don't say anything. You sat back in your seat, a long hum as a response.

"I don't know."

"The fuck you mean you don't know-"

"Do you ever feel unsure of the future?"

Renjun's sharp retort was cut short. He was caught off guard by your question. You refuse to look at him, making sure your head was turned to face the glass.

"My family expects me to do one thing but maybe... that's not what I want to do, y'know?"

Honestly, you don't know what's possessed you. Why were you spilling your feelings out to your sworn rival? What if he uses this as blackmail or something?

"I get it."

That's all he says. No mockery in his voice, no teasing to be seen. You look over to find Renjun looking at you with a soft gaze. As if you were something extremely precious to him. So you can't help but reveal more to the boy looking at you so gently.

"The world is so big and I'm not sure if being tied down to the family diner is something I want. Like, I know I'll be disappointing my parents but I don't think that's the future I want."

"Then don't."

"Wow! You're so smart! Why didn't I think of that?" You reply sarcastically. You shouldn't be grinning. But you couldn't help it.

"Thanks. I'm the future valedictorian." Renjun smirks, turning his eyes back outside.

"As if. That's my title."

You continue whining about your parents expectations and plans for you and the diner after college. It was a lot but Renjun didn't once complain. He just sat on the other side of the bus, listening.

A weight had been lifted off your heart. Who knew you could be such a whiner? The conversation dims down as the warm colored streetlamps turn into fluorescent ones. You notice the buildings turn into grey skyscrapers and the bus was suddenly making its way into the bustling city.

You turn your head in awe at the sights. Truth be told, you don't make many trips into town, always too busy in your little suburb with whatever activity to add onto your college application. Which is why you almost miss Renjun's words.

"I want to go to art school."

It was a quiet murmur. Nearly drowned out by the bus engine and the honks of city cars.

"I thought your dream was med school?" You weren't poking fun, you genuinely thought Renjun was aiming to be a doctor. Your entire grade did. He scoffs.

"That's my parents' dream. They want the entire family to be in the medical field. It doesn't matter what we want." Renjun's eyes are facing the window, yet, they weren't focused on anything at all.

"Well, I think you'd do great in art school. You're always great at anything artsy." You admit, fidgeting with your coat. He raises his eyebrow and looks at you.

"You noticed?"

"It's hard to miss when you make the best pieces in the whole school. And I remember "Singin' in the Rain" in middle school. You're extremely talented at singing too."

Renjun can't help the smile that blooms on his face.

"You remember."

"Uh, yeah? You literally had a standing ovation."

Renjun never thought you would remember or pay attention to any of that about him. For some strange reason, his heart skipped a beat and he turns back to the window to hide his reddening cheeks.

"Last stop. Get off."

The bus driver said, promptly leaving the second the two of you step off.

"Why is the last stop at a seven eleven?"

"That is kind of weird. Do you think she just kicked us off because she got tired of our bitching?"

You both giggle before stepping into the convenience store. The cashier spares an uninterested glance, then returns the attention back to his phone.

Weaving in and out of the aisles and nearly slipping on some unknown liquid on the tile, Renjun picks out a packet of Haribo bears while you fill a cup of big gulp, nose scrunching up upon touching the sticky machine. Upon exiting the store and leaving the uninterested cashier behind, Renjun tells you he knows a place the two of you could go to share your goods.

"Though we're going to have to break some rules getting there. Think you're up for that, top student?"

"Why of course, second top student."

You had no idea breaking some rules entailed sneaking past the sleeping security guard and jumping over some barriers in a paid car park building. How did Renjun even know this?

"Isn't this illegal?"

"Only if we get caught." Renjun winks, "and I know for a fact they don't check the cameras regularly."

Renjun holds out his hand for support. You take it and jump off a small ledge. You admit, it was exhilarating. And was your heart beating because of the adrenaline, or was it Renjun's hand that he didn't pull away, even after you landed.

"We're here."

Renjun opens the door and reveals the rooftop parking lot. The air was cold against your flushed face and the empty space seven floors up made you feel like you were floating amongst the grey jungle. You run out, stretching your arms before lying on your back, not caring about how dirty the ground was. You felt free.

"I don't want to make 9pm coffees for the book club ladies for the rest of my life!" You yell into the open air.

Your partner in crime (literally) laughs before joining you on the cold concrete.

"Well, well. Look how far the top student has fallen. How would the principal feel knowing you've trespassed."

You roll your eyes, a stupid smile etched on your face. Placing down your icy drink, you turn your body to face the boy.

"I could say the same about you. Aren't you runner up for valedictorian? After me, of course."

"Actually, I'm number one contender." He responds, turning to mirror your position.

Oh.

The two of you were closer than expected. Lying on a dirty parking lot floor, noses almost touching.

Oh.

His eyes flit down to your lips.

You cough awkwardly before sitting up, red in the face.

"Do you want to try some of my drink?"

"Yeah, okay."

He silently sips on the drink. Though it was cold, it couldn't calm his burning ears down.

A few hours pass. The two of you spent that time stargazing, talking about whatever on your minds, and exchanging shy touches.

"Do you believe in aliens?"

"Uh, yeah I do. Space is massive - I doubt humans are the only intelligent life form out there."

Except all good things must come to an end. Come 3am, the two of you tread back to the seven eleven, hoping a bus would be there to take you home.

"Do you think the guy's still at the register?"

"Probably. I snuck a look at his phone earlier. I think he's been caught cheating."

The pair of you snicker and a bus rolls up. The doors open to reveal the same driver you had coming over.

"Lovebirds on their way home now, eh?"

"What? We're- we're not-"

"Oh give up. I've seen enough of you to know what's going on. Are you two getting on or not."

With matching red faces, you and Renjun board the bus. Except this time, he sits next to you, not on the other side.

"You're awful at drawing." Renjun laughs. Your attempt at drawing him on cold window cries a little, the condensation dripping where you touched it.

"Yeah, well. There's a reason you're always top of art."

He smiles, reaching past you to draw his version of you. It looked much better than whatever you drew and you were never the one to let him win. So you destroyed both drawings with one swipe of your palm.

"Sore loser."

"Cry about it."

Arm in arm, you walked home together at the same pace. Renjun slowing down so he'd match your comfortable speed. You'd never thought you would ever leave the house, spend time with your rival, only to come back with some weird tension between the two of you.

Renjun sends you to your doorstep and you turn to him.

"Thanks for cheering me up. It really helped."

"Don't worry about it. I also ended up getting stuff off my chest too."

Then he cracks the cutest smile and you couldn't stop yourself.

You kissed him.

On the cheek. You weren't ready for the lip on lip thing just yet.

"I'll see you Monday then." You hurriedly mutter, rushing inside to hide your embarrassment and to avoid seeing his reaction.

"Yeah. Monday." Renjun whispers into the night, a soft smile on his face.

EPILOUGE

"Renjun, you've got to start cleaning up your paint pots."

Your boyfriend looks up from his easel, eyes sparkling realizing it was you.

"You're home early!"

It was a couple of years later. Renjun was perusing his art career after having a thorough talk with his family (it took a few months), which explained the apartment-studio thing going on.

You came clean to yours about not wanting to take over the diner. Though you expected them to look at you in disappointment, they didn't. All they said was that they were proud of you for dreaming.

And now, you were sharing an apartment with the love of your life (who was currently covered in paint), once rival (you are now also covered in paint. He gave you a massive hug and a welcome home kiss).

#if this were a hallmark movie the bus driver would be santa #nct #nct dream #huang renjun #renjun #nct scenarios #nct imagines #nct fanfics #nct dream fanfic #nct dream scenarios #nct dream imagines #fluff #angst #comfort #huang renjun imagines #huang renjun scenarios #high school!au #neighbor!au #academic rivals to lovers #kpop #kpop imagines #kpop scenarios #renjun scenarios #renjun imagines

[loveablejeekies]

friends with benefits (texts) ── hrj.

↪ mature, gender-neutral reader

⤹ can you tell who's my bias lol this was so much fun to write

#huang renjun #nct dream renjun #nct dream imagines #nct dream mature #huang renjun imagines #renjun imagines #huang renjun mature #renjun mature #renjun x reader #huang renjun x reader

[eyehearthoshi]

₊✩‧₊˚౨ৎ texts: besties to lovers with renjun (pt. 2)

read part one here!

pairing ⟢ huang renjun x gn!reader

warnings ⟢ cursing towards the end. renjun is protective af. use of the dreaded “y/n”. lowercase intended.

author’s note ⟢ thank you for all the support on part one! 100 notes is actually so crazy and i’m happy people like these cringey texts :)

tagged ⟢ @hamji-hae :)

#huang renjun #huang renjun x reader #huang renjun texts #huang renjun imagines #renjun x reader #renjun imagines #renjun texts #nct #nct texts #nct x reader #nct imagines #nct dream #nct dream imagines #nct dream texts #nct dream x reader #kpop #kpop x reader #kpop imagines #kpop reactions #kpop texts #emisanctzen #emwritesiguess

[jishyucks]

Walls, Brawls, & Sudden Rainfalls ‣ hrj

‣ pairing: renjun x reader

‣ genre: enemies-to-friends-to-lovers, fluff!, slow burn (!), college au

‣ wc: 23.6k (gawdamn)

‣ summary: Your first impression of Huang Renjun wasn’t the greatest. In fact, the first two encounters you did have with him were enough for you to conclude that he was just some cold-blooded boy who genuinely didn’t care about anyone else but himself. That was, of course, before the (damn) universe brings you both together to work on the local daycare’s mural.

↳ Alternatively where first impressions blind the fact that you two actually fit quite well together.

‣ warnings?: Brief mention of underage drinking, Renjun and reader argue really childishly lots, when I meant slow burn, I really did mean slow burn, very very brief mention of doing the dirty bc reader chooses to be dirty-minded (but they don't actually do it nonono)

‣ an:  this is the longest fic I've posted ever (so far), so it feels like I’ve incubated it in the womb, went into labour, gave birth, raised it, and now I'm setting it shi free and into the world lmaooo,,, anyways thank you so much to @hoonieji (my bestie) for reading over this and reassuring me that it was going great,, I hope you all enjoy this!!! <333

‣ taglist!: @hoonieji @nanaflwers @dandelionxgal @flowerpotrenjun @renjun-fairy @she-is-dreaming @mosviqu @hibernatinghamster @glamourizz — can't tag @markleeiloveyou @lovehowdream

ONE.

With the hundreds, hell even thousands, of people in university, there will always be a handful of rude, miserable people that you were deemed to run into sooner or later. 

Sure, not all of them mean to be rude. Often, there would be the occasional bump on the shoulder in the crowded corridors… Or there would be those newly woken up individuals who would give dirty looks, obviously not giving a single fuck. You’re a nice person. You understand those people since everyone did had bad days. But there was one man—cough—boy that genuinely had an attitude that needed to be fixed. 

You didn’t know his name, nor did you want to know his name, but you could easily pick him out of a crowd because of the smug look he always repped. Funnily enough, it was the very look you wanted to very badly slap off of his face. 

The only reason you knew of him was that he seemed to have a desire to be a menace to those who got in his way and unfortunately, you constantly ended up being on the receiving end of these situations. 

There was one morning you had been running late to class—no—you were sprinting to the auditorium in hopes of only missing the run-through of the previous class. Your field of vision chose to settle only on the doors of your class, which at the time was a huge mistake. The focal point blocked out everything else, causing you to run into the before mentioned boy in a rough manner. 

“What the fuck!?” You both were on the ground, briefly stunned at the collision, “This shirt is expensive!” You looked up and realized that dark coffee had stained the boy’s light-coloured shirt. The look on his face caused your heart to drop and eyes to widen. 

“I’m so sorry! I really am! I’m just late–”

“I didn’t ask for an explanation,” he scoffed. He stood up, peeling the shirt off of his skin. It tented easily. 

“I can repay you…” You say quickly, speaking before you could even process what you wanted to say.

“Can you pay for a hundred-dollar shirt?”

You shake your head, but you think of alternative ways to repay him. Only him interrupting you even before you could begin listing them indicated that he wanted none of it, “You know what? It doesn’t matter.” And at that he leaves you stunned, belongings still scattered around your puzzled self.

“Well fuck you, then,” you mumbled. Rolling your eyes, you were pulled back into the situation you had been in prior to the encounter. Class was a lot more important than some douche anyway.

Another encounter between you both happened after about a month of the first. The Starbucks found on campus was not at its busiest, yet it was not quite empty either. The baristas and cashiers worked their hardest to satisfy their customers, walking to and from different stations behind the counter. 

“Hi, can I order a grande iced caramel macchiato?” You questioned, one of your earphones sitting in your hand. The cashier nodded, asking for your name and other necessary information before you paid. 

You thanked her before slowly moving towards the serving counter, taking notice of the boy when you did. He had his head down, attention directed at his phone’s screen. He, too, had earphones in, practically blocking out his surroundings. In a way, you were glad he didn’t notice your presence, the memory of last month’s conflict running through your head. 

You placed yourself at the corner of the cafe, away from the boy but close to the counter. When you ordered at a cafe, you would often pay attention to the baristas, watching as they mixed up the drinks. You could see yours being made, which had been quick as there were still people waiting for their drinks. 

When the barista finally clicked a lid onto the cup, you begin making your way to the counter, ready to take it and leave. She slid the designated smaller straw next to the drink, so you grabbed it before the drink, then made your leave. Little did you know, the drink you took wasn’t actually your drink. 

“Excuse me!” 

You genuinely didn’t hear the boy calling you because of music blaring through your earphones. And even though he was waving his arms to catch your attention through your peripheral vision, your attention was poured entirely on the drink you held snugly in your hand, poking the straw in. 

“Excuse me!” 

He finally caught up to you, grabbing your shoulder to stop you. The sudden contact caused you to jump, attention shooting from the drink and up to the boy. You don’t say anything, pausing the current bop that was playing. 

“That’s my drink,” he gestured towards the drink, “Well not my drink but my friend told me to pick it up for him.”

You look down at the name, seeing a Donghyuck printed on the sticker. You blushed and replied sheepishly, “Oh I’m sorry, I genuinely thought it was mine…” You hold it out to him, “Do you want it? I haven't taken a sip from it yet.”

“Of course I want it, I’ve been waiting for ages,” he mutters, promptly grabbing the drink from your hand. Without another word, he walks away, muttering a string of words you couldn’t quite make out. 

“What? No ‘thank you’?!” You yell back. 

He doesn’t turn back, and not because he had his music playing, but because he didn’t want to. You curse under your breath and walk back to the cafe, seeing that your drink with your name on it had been waiting for you. 

Though you didn’t have the right to judge an individual, especially since you didn’t even know his name, the two encounters had given you a bad image of him. Two encounters in two different situations… you were being polite in both situations regardless of how embarrassed you had been only to be returned with cold responses. Who did he think he was? 

“Li Shang.”

“I agree, one hundred percent,” you replied. Yeji held up a hand for you to give her a high-five, which you completed. The conversation topic on Disney Princes had been more entertaining than the chemistry homework due next week, “That’s why you’re my best friend.”

“Him and Prince Naveen,” she kisses her fingers in a ‘chef kiss’ type of movement, “That’s all I have to say.”

“Also!” You hold up a finger, pause for dramatic effect and state, “Tadashi Hamada.”

“He’s not a prince… but I will let it pass because it’s Tadashi Hamada,” she giggles. You watch her sit back in the library chair she pulled out from another table because it had padding for your butt, smiling. She drops her pen onto her textbook, “Taste.”

Before you could reply and add to her comment, a third presence appears to the right of you and the left of Yeji, which puts the conversation on pause. You turn to see Jaemin bent down to catch his breath. He had a wrinkled sheet of paper in one hand and his phone in the other, his bag open at the top. 

“Woah, are you good?” You asked, standing up and assisting him towards one of the seats as if he were one of the elderly you helped once in a while at the old folks home. He nods but keeps silent, taking in deep breaths. 

Once Jaemin finally caught his breath, he began to spew out whatever news he had for you or Yeji, “That’s the… most exercise I’ve… done in years.” He gulps and sighs out, “Anyways, Y/N you’re looking for a place to work or volunteer at right? Like art-wise or something? Kids? Puppies? I don’t know… I forgot what you were going for…”

You nodded, “Just any type of volunteer or temporary job… Yeah, I still have no luck.”

“Well, this is perfect for you then!” Jaemin flattens out the crumpled-up sheet of paper in front of you, “They need some people to help paint a mural for this daycare. No previous experience needed. As long as you can hold a paintbrush!”

Yeji leans in to get a look at the sheet, “Woah, you get paid too! That sounds like fun. I would do it with you if I wasn’t busy with these damn classes.” She sinks back into her chair and begins playing with the sheets of her textbook.

“I ran here because a bunch of people might want the job.” Jaemin says, “The daycare is literally just behind the campus.” 

You stand up, the adrenaline Jaemin previously possessed taking over your veins, “Can you watch my stuff!?” Your phone was already in hand and you were ready to sprint out of the library and to the daycare Jaemin had been talking about. 

“Of cou–“

And at that, you were gone and running towards the building. To your luck, the library was by the back of the campus, so the run wasn’t as far as you anticipated. You could sense other students eyeing you as you sped past, though you didn’t really care since you were merely a flash in their eyes. 

Once you had arrived at the daycare, you entered and made your way to the front counter, “Hello, I’m here for the painting job?” 

The lady at the desk looked exhausted, eyes halfway closed and face struggling to present a welcome expression, “Can you draw and paint? All that kind of stuff?” 

“Yes! That’s mostly why the job appealed to me,” you replied, “Do you need a resum–“

“You’re hired…” she mumbled stiffly, “Please fill this sheet out and show up here on Saturday at one in the afternoon for further instruction.” 

Smiling, partly stunned, you nodded before turning to leave. That was easier than you thought… all that running was worth it.

TWO.

You sat across the street from the daycare, contemplating whether it would be better to come early or right on time. Through the windows, you could see that they weren’t as busy as yesterday due to it being a Saturday. It wouldn’t hurt to show up early right? Standing up, you dust your butt off before making your way to the crosswalk. 

“Hello, I’m here for the job information. I was hired yesterday,” you explained, “My name is Y/N L/N.” The person (wo)manning the desk was a different lady from a few days ago. The woman held a smile on her face, one that reached her eyes so, to you, it seemed like a genuine smile. You squinted at her name tag, which read Joy. 

Huh… fitting…

“Oh good!” She exclaimed, “Now you can sit just over there as we’re waiting for another person.”

“Another person?”

“Of course! We’re not expecting one person to work on the entire mural alone. It’s larger than it looks, so we decided to hire anyone who asked. Those two were you two,” she explained the situation, “I’ll further explain the objective of the assignment when the other boy arrives.”

Your ears perked up as you nodded, Boy? A small little piece of you started hoping that, whoever this other person was, was cute. 

You hear the door open behind you, a small greeting leaving the lips of the smiley woman, “Oh! This must be him! Are you here for the job?”

“Yes, ma’am,” the voice replied. It sounded rather familiar, but you were unable to pinpoint who it could have belonged to. Curious, you turn to look at the owner of the voice. Once you had processed who had been standing a few feet away from you, your jaw dropped. 

You both speak at once, evidently shocked at the coincidence.

“You!?” 

You couldn’t help but feel the sudden impulse to quit the job before it even started. You’d rather accidentally fall into dog shit than work with this unnamed douche of a boy. 

“Do you two know each other?” Joy questioned, “That’s even bett–“

“N-no, not quite,” you interrupted, “We’ve just… had a few encounters on campus.” You choose to turn your body completely towards Joy so that you couldn’t accidentally look at the other presence. 

Joy nods, “Makes sense… Anyways, name?” She directed the question towards the boy, pulling out another sheet from a clipboard. 

“Huang Renjun.” It was funny finally being able to put a name to his face, especially after all this time. But you very much preferred ‘that boy’ over his name. 

You feel him approach the desk, standing beside you as Joy begins going over the job instructions. You two were expected to paint a mural over the next month, about two to four days per week depending on how long you both worked. The theme of the painting is what was expected from a daycare mural, something pleasing to the eye, especially the eyes of kids. The two of you had freedom over what you wanted to paint but were expected to get the idea checked over by Joy before the actual painting started. Once that was approved, they’ll provide all the supplies for the painting process to begin. Easy. 

If only you were working on the project with anyone else but Huang Renjun. 

“Any further questions?” Joy concluded, shifting her glance between you and Renjun. You both shook your heads, “Okay good. I think a rough deadline for the idea should be around the end of next week? The boss really needs this done in a month.” You both nodded silently before turning to leave the daycare. 

“How do you want to brainstorm the idea?” Renjun had muttered before you were able to walk off.

“I don’t know,” you shrugged, “How do you?” 

He scowls, “I guess we can just meet up here during designated hours?” 

“That makes the most sense, doesn’t it?” you don’t feel like replying to him kindly if he spoke with an underlying attitude. Someone really needed to teach him basic manners. 

“Whatever.” Renjun leaves you alone in front of the daycare, giving you a chance to roll your eyes behind his back. 

You choose not to walk away from the daycare until you’re sure he’s left, opting to use your phone and scroll through whatever notifications you’ve missed during the meeting. Your face is left in a painful grimace, one that you didn’t even feel you’ve rendered on your face. 

You can’t believe you’re working on a team project with this particular boy out of all people. Yes, it was a bit overdramatic, but you’re not quite sure how to work with someone you’ve only had bad encounters with. It also doesn’t help that he seems to have mutual feelings for you—which you find particularly ridiculous since you really haven’t done anything wrong to him on purpose.

It’s somehow the next day when you’re able to tell Yeji about the happenings of yesterday. Though the topic only came up when Jaemin questions you about the gig and Yeji notices how your face contorts into a stiff frown. The both of you are sitting in the dining hall, food half-finished but untouched for the past ten minutes.

“What’s up with your face?” Yeji questions, almost laughing out loud at your shift in mood. This is something you really liked about Yeji. She was talented at reading facial expressions. There could be the tiniest quirk in your brow and she’d be questioning you to world’s end. 

You purse your lips and stare back at her, “What face?” 

“This face,” Yeji contorts her face into an exaggerated glower, “What’s up with that? I thought you were excited about the painting gig?” Jaemin nods along to what Yeji said. 

You don’t reply for one long second, trying to figure out how to explain to your best friend what happened yesterday afternoon. “Do you remember that guy I was really pissed off about a few weeks ago?” 

Yeji pauses to think, “The guy with the coffee?” 

You think about it and realize that both encounters you’ve had with Huang Renjun involved coffee. “Yeah, him! Today, at the meeting, guess who came as my temporary partner for the project.”

“No way!” Yeji’s eyes open, “That’s a whole coincidence! No wonder why you looked all pissed.” You can tell by the new wave of expression on her face that she feels sorry, “Is he still… douchey?”

Your eyes widen as you nod, leaning forward, “Yeah, but what’s new?” You’re about to roll your eyes, mouth opening with an intention to add more, but Yeji’s eyes shift from you to something behind you. She holds her gaze there for a few moments before her brows furrow in confusion. Her eyes flicker back to you.

“You know it’s not good to be talking bad about someone behind their backs right?” You turn and see Renjun with a friend of his. “Someone’s ending up on Santa’s naughty list.”

Your brows knit together, “You’re one to say something…”

Renjun throws you a look before taking a long sip from his drink. You can’t help but look at the beverage, an iced matcha latte, and feel yourself craving it. It looks good.

Renjun clears his throat, “Anyways, we’re meeting tomorrow.” His friend stands awkwardly behind him, looking like he just wants to be there to eat. 

“That doesn’t even sound like a question,” you point out. 

He shrugs, “Because it’s not… I have places to be.”

You look over at Yeji who’s witnessing the attitude of the one and only Huang Renjun. Even you can see that Yeji’s shocked at how Renjun’s interacting with you.

“Fine, whatever,” you wave him off, “Whatever makes you leave.”

“Good, because I wasn’t even going to give you a choice. I’m showing up even if you’re not there.” At that, Renjun and his (poor) friend walk away, leaving both you and Yeji rather stunned. 

In the corner of your eye, you see Yeji turn to look at you, so you look back, noticing her sorry expression, “Good luck tomorrow, Y/N.”

You thank her. Not because it was what people usually replied to the comment, but because you knew you genuinely needed it.

THREE.

Upon entering the daycare and being directed into a secluded room by Irene, another employee who ran the desk, you find Renjun sitting hunched over a sheet of paper. You could see his hand was working fast and that his attention was focused mostly on whatever he was doing. One side of the room gave you and Renjun a look at the main area of the daycare. 

“You’re late,” he muttered, not looking up. 

“You’re early,” you retorted. The clock at the corner of the room tells the truth. You had only been five minutes late. How much brainstorming could the boy have even done in that span of time?

He doesn’t reply to your response, slumping back in his chair to continue his brainstorming. You can’t help but make a face behind his back, slipping into a chair at the same table but across from him, refusing to sit next to him. You didn’t want him looking over your shoulder during your creative process, or else you’d lose your mind. 

But then you remembered that you were here to work with him. “You know, we met up here so that we can work on the idea together,” you point out, “But you do seem like the person who wouldn’t know what the word cooperation means.” Not even two minutes into this so-called meeting and you want to leave. 

Maybe you should just quit.

“You don’t even know me?” Renjun lifts his head towards you and scoffed, “So you can’t say that.” “You’re right,” you nodded, “I don’t know you, but I’ve bumped into you enough times to know you don’t give a single fuck about those you don’t know.” You pull out a pencil from your bag and take one of the spare sheets of paper sitting in the middle of the table. You start to write out random phrases that come to mind, whether it be inspirational or a pop culture reference. 

Renjun scoffs, “I’ll have you know, most of our encounters happened because of you.” You can see he’s adding colour to his draft, giving you no direct attention, “This all would be avoided if you weren’t an accident waiting to happen.”

“You know there’s always better ways to go about those same situations,” you spit back, “Because, I don’t know, accidents happen? Other people wouldn’t make big deals out of them.” 

Renjun mutters a quiet ‘whatever,’ under his breath, huffing out in frustration as he continues with his draft. At this point, you’re halfway done with your draft, which consisted of a cute scene of kids and a generic playground background. It was a bit mediocre, but you thought simple was cute. You both continue on in silence, letting the sounds of the kids playing drown it out. 

The silence wasn’t awkward. In fact, you could listen to the serene, no-sound room as if it were a hit song you’ve been obsessing over the past week. Anything but Renjun’s voice was a blessing, especially in situations like this. 

After about half an hour, Renjun looks over at your draft, “You do know kids can’t read, right? At least kids attending this daycare.”

You scowl. “Yeah and?” You continued with your business, “Haven’t you seen that movie ‘The Pursuit of Happyness’?” 

Renjun thinks for a hot second, “No.”

Your eyes shot up at him, surprised that he hasn’t seen the classic. When you weren’t in the mood to watch other movies, you’d naturally gravitate towards rewatching that one. It was a good movie, one that made you cry, yes, but you liked the underlying meaning behind the movie. “That explains everything.”

“What do you mean?”

You ignore his question completely, “There were words on that daycare’s mural, I don’t think it’s wrong to add some words to the mural, Huang Renjun. Besides, lettering is what I’m best at.” 

Renjun glares at you. “What if I don’t want words on the mural?” He quickly glances down at his own picture. It was more of a realistic picture, one of the skies with balloons floating through the scene. Attached to some of the balloons were toys or items associated with being a kid. It was simple, but he found it rather cute. To him, it beat your average picture of kids by a playground.

“What if I don’t want… whatever that is?” you childishly argue back, “Look, I know my idea is simple, but simple is easier and simple is usually best. Your picture has so much shading… imagine the two of us having to paint that.”

Renjun tries to hold back a laugh, “Are you serious? My picture’s obviously better than yours.” 

You both immaturely argue for another twenty minutes, pointing out the most ridiculous reasons for why your own pictures were one-hundred-and-ten percent better than the other’s. And it was consequently the stubbornness that both you and Renjun possessed that leaves you both with no decision by the time the shift was near over.

Your eyes drift to the clock sitting above the window, “Time’s almost up and we still haven’t figured out what we want to do. Let’s just settle with mine.” You push the picture towards the centre of the table, eyes holding your hopes of your idea being chosen. Maybe Renjun will finally break. 

“I don’t think we should,” Renjun shrugs, voice monotone, “Let’s just… decide on it the next shift. I really don’t want to deal with this—or you—right now.” Renjun picks his phone up and takes a picture of his and your pictures sitting in the middle of the table for reference.

You follow in pursuit before snatching your draft from its spot. You feel a sense of relief knowing that you can finally return to your Huang-Renjun-less life. “Fine, whatever you want. I don’t wanna deal with you either.” 

The shift abruptly ends with Renjun taking his leave first, leaving the room without another word. He bids a quick goodbye to Irene, who has no knowledge of what just happened before exiting the building entirely. 

Renjun feels nothing but irritation walking back to his dorm room. Days ago, he remembers being excited about the gig. He gets paid to do something he truly loves, all while giving such a flat looking building some colour to make it pop, which clearly was a win-win for both him and the daycare. But the fact that you’re there with the apparent purpose to contradict everything he’s planned, the excitement was simply sucked out of it all.

Renjun finally settles back at his shared dorm room, hanging his bag on the back of the nearest dining room chair before sitting himself at the couch, where both Donghyuck and Jeno were playing Super Smash Bros. Although they were rather loud, he’s just glad to be back in an atmosphere he knows he can relax in. 

“Hey, how was your painting thingy?” Jeno asks, eyes glued to the screen. In between Jeno’s question and Renjun’s response, there’s rapid clicking coming from the two boys’ controllers. 

“It was… fine, I guess,” Renjun mutters. He pulls up his phone and mindlessly swipes through social media. 

Both Donghyuck and Jeno don’t fail to notice the bummed tone in his voice. Donghyuck speaks up, “‘I guess’?” There’s more clicking, “You suck at this, Jeno.”

“Remember who I’m working with?” Renjun hints, “She literally contradicts everything I say and do for no fucking reason. It’s draining.”

More clicks. Then Jeno finally replies, “That doesn’t sound fun at all. Maybe she’s not aware about what she’s doing?”

Renjun sighs, “I think she knows what she’s doing. I just think she’s doing it to spite me. You should hear her arguments. They’re so senseless and they make me want to laugh.”

On his phone, Renjun pulls up the photo he’s taken of both of your drafts and enlarges yours. This is the first time today that he’s able to properly look at your picture and he can’t help but actually like it. No, he still doesn’t like your idea about the kids and the playground, but the words you had chosen to letter over top the main picture. 

Adventure Is Out There. Although it was pulled directly from the movie Up, the quote works perfectly well with the daycare’s name, The Adventurers. He liked it. But he wouldn’t admit that to your face. 

Renjun zooms out of your picture to show both of your drafts once again, eyes glancing between both images. The gears in his head begin turning, Renjun’s creative process in the works, as begins mustering up an idea that could possibly work for the both of you.

“How about we take your quote and add it to my picture?” 

It’s two days later and Renjun’s monotonously suggesting the idea that had developed in his mind some nights ago. No other ideas have been brought up since then and Renjun wants nothing else but to start on the project. 

You look up at him with a raised brow, “Oh, so Huang Renjun’s finally admitting that his picture is plain as shit?” You’re not against what Renjun’s suggesting, only because what he was thinking made sense. The balloons that his drawing had reminded you of Up. It did go well with your quote, plus you were able to incorporate your want of lettering. 

Renjun narrows his eyes at you, “It’s not ‘plain as shit.’ I just want to get this over with.” He reaches for a brand new piece of paper and begins drawing a second copy of his drawing. 

You sigh. “Fine whatever. But I get to suggest something about it too.” You eye how quick he was to copy down his drawing, head pivoting back and forth to replicate it. 

Renjun chooses not to look up, “What is it?” Although he was willing to hear you out, there’s still a splash of irritation in his voice. 

“Don’t make it so realistic.”

His head is brought up to look at you, “And why not?”

“It’s a daycare,” you say flatly, “Do you not remember that? Where’s the ‘cute’ factor in making it look realistic? This isn’t a commission from the city, Huang Renjun.” 

You have a valid point, Renjun thinks. He admits he’s been treating this as more important than it really was, but that’s just how he was. “Fine. It will be easier to paint anyway.” Renjun turns back to the new drawing, making it a little more kid-like. He refrains from colouring the picture before sliding it in your direction, “The quote.”

Pulling the new draft towards you, you pick up your own pencil and start your part of the drawing. Looking at Renjun’s sketch, you realize that you can’t place the words exactly how you had it on your original draft. There were areas that you didn’t want to cover. 

“After you’re done, I’ll colour it,” Renjun mutters, “Write down the supplies we need, then we can leave.” 

Only you using your eyes to look at him, you reply, “Sure.” And when he looks back down at his phone, you roll your eyes. Someone needs to tell him to simmer down with his attitude. Then maybe you can tolerate him easier. 

You pass the sheet of paper back to Renjun and sigh. There’s a sense of relief in your chest when you realize that this part of the process was over. Thinking back to two days ago, the way you and Renjun argued over what to do for the mural, you thought that there was no way you were getting it done in time, at least not with both of you being satisfied. 

But that’s all done and over with. Luckily this was the hardest part of the project. 

Right?

FOUR.

“You’re gonna be there for how long?” Yeji peers over her laptop’s screen, eyes wide at what you just told her. 

“Four hours,” you answer, “That’s not even that long, Yej.” You’re laughing quietly as you put your sneakers on, half-assedly tying the laces. The walk there is around ten minutes and it’s already 1:48. You can already hear Renjun’s ‘you’re late,’ along with his deadpan expression.

“I know, but I’m going to be here alone on a weekend afternoon,” she whines. You watch as her face quickly changes expressions, “Wait do you want me to bring you a snack later? Rub it into Renjun’s face that you have a great best friend who brings you food?” She bats her eyes and angles her face to convince you into saying yes.

You shake your head, “It’s only four hours today cause we’re finally starting the mural and we want to get the base done today. And I’ll be fine, I promise. Maybe invite Jaemin here for the time being.” 

“He’s off somewhere with his friend,” Yeji sighs, “But whatever you say. I’ll miss you!”

You playfully roll your eyes, “Bye Yej. I’ll miss you, too.” And at that, you’re off to the daycare. 

The peaceful walk to the daycare can be the calm before the storm, the storm being Huang Renjun. The idea made you laugh a little bit, childishly picturing Renjun like how animators would draw angry anime characters with a crimson face, steam blowing out of their ears and nose, and pupil-less eyes. You feel like that’s the only emotional state you’ve seen the boy in and you can’t help but curiously imagine how Renjun’s smile would look. 

You shake that thought out of your head before you let it run further into nonsense, finally arriving at the building. Through the glass doors, you can see Renjun sitting by the front desk. Upon entering, Joy, who was sitting at her computer, looks up with a bright smile, “Good afternoon, Y/N.” Renjun does nothing but let his attention waver over you for a quick second before going back to his own business. 

“Hi, Joy,” you greet back, “Sorry to keep you waiting.” Renjun finally stands up and stands at your side.

“Oh, no, no! You’re right on time and I will speak to you guys very quickly before I let you guys get to work,” she rounds the counter and leads you both to the meeting room like always, “So since the draft was approved, the supplies you needed, plus ones I’ve added are just in here. Grab what you need and you guys are free to start.” She shows you a closet near the back of the room, opening the door to reveal the many supplies that were ordered.

“Thank you, Joy,” Renjun nodded.

“It’s no problem! If you guys have any concerns, you know who to go to!” Spinning on her heel, Joy flashes one last smile.

“Chalk, white paint, string, ruler,” Renjun mumbles, taking the supplies up into his arms. 

You grab the paint brushes, “Why do we need half of what you just said?”

Renjun’s walking out of the room, paying almost no mind to you and your question. 

“Huang Renjun,” you say firmly, “Can you answer my question?” You both are outside at this point, “Or… or else I’ll chuck this brush at you!” Although it was a joke, you subconsciously knew you would if he seriously didn’t open his mouth within the next minute.

“So I can draw a grid?” He speaks to you as if you were stupid.

Oh, he’s going to get it, you think, but your thoughts and your body think and do different things. Your body decides to stay grounded where you were, “And why would we need a grid?”

Renjun huffs and turns to his bag. He fishes out the draft you both had made last week, only there’s a graph lightly drawn over it, “So we can replicate the picture onto the wall.” Renjun thought this over the past few days. If he and you wanted to mural to turn out exactly how you both had drawn it, eyeing it wouldn’t be the best to go about it. Hell, even drawing out a rough sketch of it could be difficult through eyeing it. 

“Can’t we just free-hand it?” You’re not understanding why Renjun wants to make the job more difficult than it was. There were only two of you. If there were maybe four of you working on the mural, then sure, go ahead and draw a graph, but there were only two of you.

Renjun shakes his head, “I think it’s worth it to draw the graph, that way there’s no chance of messing up.” He fiddles mindlessly with the string he’s been holding. You can tell by the expression on his face that he’s serious about this. You want to tell him that, ‘bro, this is a mural for a daycare, it doesn’t need to be one-hundred-percent perfect,’ but Renjun looks like he’s ready to fight for what he wants. 

“Fine, let’s draw the graph,” you say. 

Renjun looks at you confused. Why’d you back down so quick? “Huh?” 

“But you do it all on your own.” 

Ah… There it is.

“I’ll just sit here and wait for you to finish.”

Renjun wants to laugh out loud, not because the situation was funny, but because he can’t believe you’re actually saying what you just said. “Are you serious?”

You sit down at a nearby bench and nod, “Why would I be joking? You sure do act like you know what you want to do… so, go ahead. Do it.” A spiteful smile rises upon your lips and you wave for him to go on with his task. Being the stubborn boy he was, Renjun gives you one firm look before turning towards the small ladder. He drags it towards the right end of the wall and begins preparing the materials.

You watch him out of curiosity, wanting to know how he’ll manage to do it all on his own. You want to see if he’ll ask for your help, or end up wanting to free-hand the rough sketch in end. But as you do observe Renjun, it’s clear that he’s not going to ask for help or give up.

Renjun measures out string that’s about the height of the wall, 3 metres tall, and then the length, which was near 4 and a half metres long. Grabbing measuring tape, Renjun uses the ladder to measure and divide the wall into foot-by-foot squares, marking the corners of the squares with dark chalk lines. The job’s going to take long, that’s for sure, and watching him move up and down the ladder, while he tries his best to keep his marks aligned, you can’t help but feel bad for making him do it on his own. 

But then again, he wasn’t asking for help. 

Renjun on the other hand is struggling and he hopes you don’t see it. Yes, two hands were enough for the daily tasks he has grown accustomed to, but two hands weren’t enough to do this very task efficiently. There’s a voice at the very back of his brain that was itching him to ask you for help, but as always, Renjun and his stubborn ass refuse to do so, even if he’s on the edge of falling off of the ladder. 

“Can you hand me the black paint?” Renjun asks about forty-five minutes later. His hairline is drenched from sweat and the lack of expression on his face reveals how tired he was, “Please.” He hopes that you’d at least help with this. 

Without another word between the two of you, you stand up and pick up the bucket of black paint. You quickly plop it down next to the foot of the ladder before looking up at him, “Are you done with the graph?” You try your best to sound disinterested, eyes moving across the wall.

Renjun blinks down at you, “Does it look finished?”

There’s a caring instinct in you that notices the exhausted look in Renjun’s eyes. His eyelids are drooping, and he’s sniffling from the constant moving he’s been doing. Renjun’s sweating profusely from the sun beating down on the both of you, and you’re brought to wonder if he was prepared to be worked up to this degree. 

When your eyes meet his, you’re instantly pulled from your thoughts and you remember that you’re not supposed to give a single fuck about Huang Renjun, even if he’s working his ass off like this. He looks like he’s waiting for you to answer or leave to go sit back down. But a rogue idea somehow assembles itself in your head and you decide to just go with it. You roll your eyes, “Well, I’m going to the washroom if you aren’t.”

“Whatever.” He gives you one last glare before turning to the black paint and the string. 

You start making your way to the front door of the building, sending Renjun sneaky glances. The second he’s paying you no attention, both direct and peripheral, you make a break for it and start sprinting towards the centre of campus. There was no doubt that you look like a madman right now, zooming past students who were still on campus despite the day of the week, but you didn’t care. If you want to pull this off, then you need to do this quick—and quick means running like you were in a life or death situation.

Finally reaching your destination, you decide to take a breather, hands on your knees and everything. Your mind wanders back to the day you applied for the gig, getting deja vu from the exhaustion you’re feeling right now. 

Once you finally are able to catch your breath, you make your way into the building and sigh at the air conditioning. 

“Y/N! Hi! The usual?” The Starbucks worker, one you’ve obviously seen plenty of times, looks at you in an odd way but goes with the flow nonetheless. She’s smiling at you, finger hovering over the screen in front of her as she waits for a response.

You nod and add, “Add an iced matcha latte to that too. Make it venti, please.” She nods and continues on with the usual routine. 

You left as quickly as you came, although this time, you’re sprinting with a bit more caution, not wanting to spill the drinks you’ve used your own money for. You can’t help but wonder what Renjun was thinking right now—what were you doing in the washroom for so long? 

The two drinks you were holding in both of your hands said it all, though there was still no explanation why you decided to sacrifice some of your time and money for Renjun. It was just the nice person instinct inside of you that decided to do so. 

You’ll complain about it to yourself later.

When you finally return from your little mission, you’re lucky enough to arrive when Renjun’s distracted with the graph. You notice he’s done the vertical lines within the time you were gone.

“That was a long washroom break,” Renjun muttered rather loudly. He’s pressing the paint-soaked string against the wall, face angled slightly to the side in focus, “I was beginning to think you ditched me.”

You shoot him a glare behind his back and contemplate whether you should throw the drink that you bought for him at him. Instead, you say nothing and put the drink down next to his things, making sure it was in a spot that was safe from the surroundings. 

Renjun looks back at you, instantly noticing that you were now holding an entire Starbucks drink in your hand, completely missing the one sitting by his things. “Didn’t know they had a Starbucks in the washroom.” His tone is dripping with sarcasm and hints of irritation. He still can’t believe he’s actually been working on the graph for almost two hours on his own. 

“Oh yeah, they just opened one a week ago,” you shoot back. You plop into your previous place and sit there, taking out your phone to distract you from Renjun. 

You don’t realize how much time has passed when you see a pair of feet stop in front of you. You’re brought to look up at the owner, “What do you want?”

“I want a break.” Renjun answers flatly, “I’m done with the graph. Now work on transferring it.” He holds out the same draft he had shown you earlier, waiting for you to take it. The sleeves of his shirt are rolled up to show his shoulders and he’s using a small towel, that was originally supposed to be for the paintbrushes, to wipe his forehead. 

“Sure” was all you said before snatching the draft from his fingertips. 

All the hard work was done for you. Transferring it was easy. 

Gathering the supplies you needed, chalk, paintbrushes, and white paint, you get going on transmitting the draft onto the wall. The moment you start the rough sketch of the mural, you feel a wave of nostalgia hit you, remembering the countless activity books you completed as a kid. You can distinctly recall the pages where one side displayed a cute drawing of an animal or character of some sort, overlaid by a graph, while the page next to it shows an empty graph in which you were instructed to redraw the completed picture. This was exactly like that, only bigger and not for leisure. 

Your delight in starting distracts you easily from Renjun, who you unknowingly finally notices the drink you had gotten him not even thirty minutes earlier. Although he’s a bit puzzled by the drink, remembering damn well that he never got the drink himself, he lets his line of sight drift to your half-finished drink sitting by your things. When realization begins settling in, he does one more thing to confirm his thoughts.

Twisting the drink in his grasp, Renjun faces the sticker label towards him, eyes instantly finding what he was looking for. 

*Y/N*

His eyes flicker up to you, standing firmly at the top of the step ladder, unaware of the fact that his eyes have widened and the corners of his mouth have climbed higher on his face. Despite the fact he’s thankful and a bit sorry that he was giving you attitude the second you got back from your ‘washroom break,’ the larger part of Renjun that’s still certainly irritated with you doesn’t say thank you.

Not out loud at least.

FIVE.

Painting a mural required many steps because painting on a giant wall was different to painting on a smaller, feasible canvas. You and Renjun were lucky enough that the wall had already been painted white, which you guess covered whatever was painted underneath.

Two shifts ago, you both had managed to finish the outline of the image you both had prepared for the mural, and the shift after that, you both opted to outline the main subjects of the mural with the base colours. 

Although no problems had really arisen between the both of you (if you didn’t count small arguments about what shade of said colour a balloon should be), one weird thing you both noticed was the fact that none of you will willingly start on the same side as the other. You were no professional artist, nor have you been painting your entire life, but you knew damn well that the process of painting an image often involved starting at one part of the painting (usually the top) before working towards the other end. But regardless, the mural was, to your surprise, looking well done. 

Today was the third day, and counting, of painting said first layer, and if you were being honest, you were having the fun you expected when you first applied for the gig. But you knew it was probably because you and Renjun simply chose not to speak with each other, aside from the simple ‘where’s the thicker paintbrush’ or ‘can you hand me that (mural painting tool here),’ there was an unspoken almost-truce between the two of you. 

Leaning towards the wall, you apply lavender-coloured paint in short strokes, following the shape of the balloon you’ve been working for the past eleven minutes. You have music playing through your headphones, the volume just above half, and you can’t help but bop your head to the music. 

“It’s almost five,” Renjun says quietly to you. He’s been working in silence the past few hours, but he almost loses track of time because of how caught up he’s gotten with painting. If it hadn’t been for the watch on his wrist, he would have gone overtime. 

You don’t reply to him, continuing with your painting while Renjun begins to clean up. He finishes up with what he was working on before climbing down the ladder. He rinses the brush down and dries it, placing it into the paintbrush container that was provided for you both. Noticing that you haven’t moved from your spot, Renjun calls out to you again, “Hey! It’s almost five. We need to start cleaning up.” 

Renjun sighs when he realizes you still can’t hear him, forcing him to walk up to you to catch your attention. He tugs gently at your jeans, which almost immediately catch your attention. You pull one side of your headphones off and glare down at him, “What do you want?” 

“I said it’s five,” Renjun reciprocates your attitude, “Start cleaning up.” He turns away and starts gathering his things. 

You blow a stray piece of hair from in front of your face and roll your eyes, though you are surprised that Renjun had the decency to let you know it’s time to go. You climb down your own ladder and do just as Renjun did earlier before carefully placing everything into a large storage bin. Then, once you were sure all the supplies were gathered inside the bin, you go to retrieve the step ladder, folding it so that you could use your shoulder to carry it. Renjun stands at one side of the bin to help you carry it, already having his belongings hanging from one shoulder.

It takes you both no longer than a minute to return the supplies to the closet, leaving with a goodbye to Irene, but no exchanges between the two of you (unsurprisingly). You let Renjun leave first, staying back to text Yeji where she and Jaemin were.

At the library studying!

Jaemin brought brownies 

Say less. 

You arrive at the library within the length of two songs, immediately finding the two sitting in the area that you all usually sat at. You were expecting them to be deep in focus, table drowning in pages and textbooks of their respective classes, but instead, you catch Yeji telling Jaemin to ‘shut up before we’re kicked out.’ 

“I thought you guys were supposed to be studying,” you snort, taking the spot next to Yeji. After standing for hours straight, being able to finally sit down felt good in the knees. 

“Yeah, we were, but then Jaemin decided to bring up the topic of ugliest animals and we’ve been arguing ever since.” Yeji glares at Jaemin, “He claims that axolotls are the ugliest, but I say they’re cute.” 

Jaemin starts laughing but you send him a look that was similar to Yeji’s, “Axolotls are cute, what are you even saying!?” Yeji’s eyes widen as she brings a hand up to cover your mouth. She shushes you.

She removes her hand from your mouth and you repeat yourself, but lower your volume, “What are you even saying? They look like they’re smiling.” 

Jaemin gasps, “Excuse me? Name an animal uglier than an axolotl.” 

“Easy.” You shrug and answer flatly, “You.” Obviously joking, you wave your hand as if to shoo away the statement, “Just kidding. A blobfish. Those are ugly as shit.” 

Jaemin’s brows furrow as he leans forward towards his laptop to search it up. The way his face contorts itself makes you laugh, looking at you as if he’s seen the most disgusting image known to man (which probably did), “Shit, you’re right.” 

You nod, “Exactly.” 

Yeji laughs because she knows she won the argument thanks to your help. She quickly moves on with the topic, twisting the chair to face you, “So, how was your shift today?” Yeji’s expecting to hear something entertaining, especially since you’re working with Renjun. 

“It was fine,” you say, “But it’s been like the past few days where me or Renjun don’t even talk to each other except for maybe the start and end. We work on the opposite sides of the mural anyways, so there’s no conflict. I’ve just been listening to my own music, too, so even if he does want to talk, he has to make an effort, which I know he won’t do.” 

“Oh,” Yeji says, “Well, at least it isn’t as bad as those first few days. You guys just both sound done with each other.” You nodded and play with your phone in hand, not noticing the way Yeji’s attention diverts to Jaemin, “Oh right!”

“Hm?”

“Jaemin, tell Y/N what you were telling me about Renjun!” Your ears perk up at the mention of Renjun and possible gossip. Jaemin, though introverted, loved to branch out which meant he knew people through people. You wonder what type of stuff he’s heard of Renjun through acquaintances. This should be good. 

For the hundredth time within the hour, Jaemin is distracted from his pending paper, but he doesn’t mind. He’d do anything to get away from actually working on it. Besides, he still has a week to work on it. “Oh, right!” He sits up and slides his computer to the side, “It’s interesting actually.” 

The way Jaemin starts has you leaning in out of curiosity. This is probably what Yeji feels when you’re preparing to tell her about your day at the gig. “What is it?”

Jaemin lets out a ‘haha,’ then begins, “So, my friend Jeno knows Donghyuck because they went to high school together, and Donghyuck was the guy that was with Renjun that day at the dining hall, so we all basically know each other. I just don’t know Renjun as well because the dude is M.I.A. almost all the time.”

“Mm-hmm, go on.”

“I was telling Jeno how you were doing the painting gig with Renjun—don’t worry I didn’t say anything ’bout how you sorta loathe the guy—and Jeno was saying how Renjun’s always using his free time doing stuff like that.” Jaemin stops talking as if he’s explained every single detail he can about his small story. 

“What stuff?” You gesture for him to keep going because you’re missing a handful of information, “You can’t just end it there, the fuck?”

Jaemin laughs again, “Okay, okay, sorry. But in fairness, I was curious too so I said the same thing and asked Jeno to explain it a bit more.” The brown of Jaemin’s eyes visibly move upwards as he tries to recall what Jeno told him, “He told me that Renjun is always M.I.A. because he’s been volunteering at different places. He used to work at an animal shelter downtown, then quit to volunteer at the homeless shelter for women and children. But he quit that too, now he’s been volunteering at the retirement home near here. I guess he took up the painting gig for money though.”

You burst out laughing, “Ah, Na Jaemin…” 

“What!?” 

“Thank you for the laugh, Jaems,” you say, “But that’s such a bad joke. There’s no way Renjun’s done those things. If it is true, we’re not talking about the same Renjun.” The Renjun you know doing all that stuff? Please… it sounds like something straight out of a book. 

“His name is Huang Renjun, right?” Jaemin’s head tilts to the side. You nod. “Then, it’s him.” You gawk at your friend, “I’m sorry, it’s just… hard to believe that Renjun—the same guy who acts like some douche to total strangers—has done all of that.” It’s hard to picture it all, but it explains why Renjun decided to take up the daycare gig. It was all adding up now, but you’re not letting the realization settle that easily. “It was hard for me to believe it, too, especially with what you’ve told us about him.” Jaemin uses his arm to prop his head up, “But, I trust Jeno. There’s no reason for him to make all of that up.” Jaemin has a point. You don’t know who this ‘Jeno’ is, but there really would be no use in making this up. 

“You’re not making this up, are you?” You ask Jaemin. It’s still seriously hard to believe that all of this information was plausible. It’s as if Renjun, who you always viewed in a bad light, was now picked up and dropped under a new light. One in which you couldn’t even pinpoint if it were good or bad. Curiosity was getting ahead of you and you didn’t like it.

He shakes his head, “Why would I? Ask Renjun if you really don’t believe me.” 

“No thanks…” You shake your head, “There’s no way I’m going to ask him about anything. Especially not that.”

“Suit yourself,” Jaemin pulls his laptop back to its previous position, “Anyways, I need to get back to writing this paper.” 

With Yeji turning back to her own work, you’re left alone with your thoughts and the newfound idea of Renjun actually being… nice. It coincided with your earlier idea of Renjun repping a smile instead of the seemingly permanent scowl on his face.  No, you weren’t suddenly switching up with how you felt with Renjun because, despite the fact that there is this huge possibility that he spends his free time doing generous deeds, it didn’t automatically dismiss the way he’s been treating you. You guess it was just nice knowing that this sort of mini-hell you’ve been going through because of Renjun can finally be put to a stop.

°•. ✿ .•° 

“For Renjun?”

Renjun looks up from his phone before making his way to the counter. He quickly stuffs his phone into his pocket and grabs the drink he’s been craving for the past few days, “Thank you.”

“Have good one!”

“You as well.”

Renjun makes his way out of the cafe, cold drink in hand. At the back of his head, he wonders where Donghyuck is, because according to the time, his class should have been finished ten minutes ago and he still hasn’t texted. That wasn’t like Donghyuck at all. Usually, he would be bombarding the boy with spam texts asking where he was even though he already knew where Renjun would be waiting.

Even with that thought, Renjun shrugs it off, knowing that Donghyuck would find his way to him somehow. He decides to sit down at a nearby table, placing his bag on the chair next to him before fishing his phone back out of his pocket.

As Renjun finally decides to take a sip out of his drink, his mind frustratingly wanders back to that one shift when you’d bought him the drink without his knowledge. He still doesn’t know how you managed to get him his usual, especially since he’s aware he’s never told you it. 

He rakes through the depths of his brain to recall when you could have seen him with the drink. The one time you bumped into each other at this Starbucks, it was Donghyuck’s drink he was getting, so there was no way you saw it there. The one or two interactions after that, he doesn’t remember having a drink in hand.

Then he remembers. The day before the first shift. 

How the hell could you have remembered that? Were you that attentive? 

Why am I thinking so hard about a damn drink?

Maybe it was because the stupid drink was the reason why Renjun’s been feeling a pang of guilt everytime he’s with you. It took that one small random act of kindness to draw Renjun’s attention to the fact he was the one who often started the arguments and bickering between the two of you and you simply just returned his attitude. 

“Hey!” Suddenly, a body leaps out from behind him, almost weighing both Renjun and the other person down. It takes a moment for Renjun to realize who it was. He doesn’t even need to turn around to look. In fact, he’s not even startled by what Donghyuck had hoped was a jumpscare.

“What’s up?” Renjun questions, “What took you so long?”

Donghyuck shrugs and plops into the chair in front of Renjun, “What are you thinking about?” 

“Nothing,” Renjun retorts. He takes another sip out of his drink and tries to act it off. 

Donghyuck shakes his head, “You’re thinking about something. I know because your eye is twitching.” He brings his finger way too close to Renjun’s eye, “I can see it. Now you have to tell me.”

Renjun gives Donghyuck a look before glancing back down at the iced matcha latte sitting right in front of him. Sure, Donghyuck knows of you, but he doesn’t know of the interactions between the two of you. Renjun just doesn’t see the importance of telling Donghyuck these things. But maybe telling someone will get Renjun’s gears turning. 

So Renjun tells Donghyuck. From the coffee encounters, to the gig, the rough drafts, the drink, and painting. He makes sure not to miss a detail, trying to avoid sounding biased. He wants to know what Donghyuck’s going to say about this situation and he knows that sounding biased wouldn’t grant answers that fit with the situation. 

“It’s the fact that she still found the will to do something nice for me even though I’ve been a literal ass to her,” Renjun taps his index finger against the lid of his drink, “It’s not even that big of a deal but it’s been bugging me.”

Donghyuck sits in silence for a few moments, trying to muster up the perfect thing to tell his friend. “I really don’t know what else to tell you except that you’re stubborn as hell.”

Renjun’s taken aback, “What?”

“Sure, she probably felt bad for making you do the grid thingy on your own, but you’re right. You have been an ass,” Donghyuck bluntly continues. 

“So everything that’s lead up until now… it’s my fault?”

“Well, not completely,” Donghyuck points out, “Both of you guys seem to want to spite each other. Plus, you both seem really stubborn, which, adding both of those together, equals a shit show. But, if I were being honest, you started the whole hating each other thing. I feel like if you were nice to her, then she’d be even nicer to you. A bigger person move would be to apologize and be nice.”

It’s once in a blue moon that Donghyuck’s words made sense. Renjun thinks it through—if he were to apologize, or start being nice to you, how would you even react? Wouldn’t it be odd for him to just switch up like that? 

Renjun sighs. He feels like ripping his hair out. Maybe he won’t apologize just yet, not when his feelings are foggy. And maybe he won’t actively do nice things, only until he finally senses you wouldn’t react weirdly. He’ll just stop trying to spite you. 

“You’re right,” Renjun nods. Donghyuck grins proudly at his friend.

Maybe that’ll do it. 

At least he hopes it will.

SIX.

Painting day… five? Six? You’ve lost count if you were being entirely honest. 

But it’s not that it mattered. 

What mattered was the extremely ironic fact that you had somehow forgotten your earphones at your bedside table when you made it your number one priority on days like these in order to avoid any sort of conversation (or argument) with Renjun. But then again, there was probably a reason why the world had the audacity to pull such a thing. 

Since that day at the library, you had not been able to kick the thought of Renjun doing angelic things during his free time when he’s literally been the human embodiment of bird poop on a windshield to you. The curious part of you was itching to ask him about it, see if the way he spoke about it would bring out that hidden angel in him. But when you continue to think about it, you weren’t sure if you would be overstepping some type of imaginary boundary that the both of you had mutually set up. Was there even a right time to ask him about it all? You can’t imagine a time where you and Renjun would even be close enough to have a conversation with the topic. Even now, just physically, Renjun still chooses to paint near the other end of the mural. 

Well, as far as progress took him.

“You know if you painted as much as you’ve been staring at me, we’d be done this mural.” Renjun’s voice knocks you back into reality and it’s only then that you realize that you’re blatantly looking at him. 

Feeling a rush of heat run through your cheeks, you look away, “Sorry.” You quickly look away and try to make yourself busy with the area you were painting at, brushing the paintbrush despite already having painted that part.

“There’s no paint on your brush,” Renjun points out. He wants to laugh but he tells himself not to because it isn’t ‘on brand.’ Pshh… as if that mattered… but it did to him.

“Oh… oh right,” you laugh awkwardly and dip the paint into the closest colour, bringing it up with no thought.

“And that’s the wrong colour,” Renjun points out again. 

You look over at the mural and see that you’ve painted an entirely different colour on top of another colour. You gasp and put the brush down, “I’ll just… repaint it.” 

There’s silence as you hurry to clean your brush, using a dirty rag to wipe off the wrong paint so that the remaining remnants of it can dry out quicker. You don’t notice Renjun side-eyeing you, contemplating whether he should say something about the constant mistakes you just made. But then he remembers what Donghyuck told him.

“Are you okay?”

You’re thrown off from the words that just left Renjun’s mouth. You almost snap your neck when you turn to look at him, eyes wide, “Huh?”

He isn’t looking at you, instead keeping his attention steady on what he’s painting, “Are you okay? You seem distracted.”

He’s an empath too? Wait, is that even how an empath is?

“Anyone can see you’re thinking about something.”

And a mind reader?

You are very much close to panicking, blinking at Renjun with no words to say. You’re contemplating whether this was the right time to tell Renjun what you know about him and ask him about it. “It’s nothing, it’s just…” 

Renjun turns to look at you for half a second, then turns back to the wall. It’s like he was prompting you to say whatever you were wanting to say. 

“I was just curious,” You start, “I heard that you volunteered at the retirement home near campus?” There was no other way to put it. You hope that you don’t sound creepy, as if you’ve been stalking him recently. 

“Hmm?” This gets Renjun hooked, “Where did you hear that?” 

“Jaemin told me.” 

“Ah~ Jeno’s friend,” Renjun replies. Although the conversation has, so far, been awkward, you subconsciously knew it was an improvement from the bickering you both did. It was more civil, and you were actually glad it's taken a turn towards that direction. “What about it?” Renjun holds back the attitude that otherwise would have been evident if he weren’t trying to be nice to you. 

You shrug and tighten your lips toward one side of your face, “Like I said. I was just curious.”

Renjun tries not to take anything of what you said, turning back to his painting.

Then you quickly add, “Do you have–uh–any stories?”

Renjun looks at you again and he can feel his interest in this conversation rising. He’s had many stories that he wants to share with his friends, but when he does share them, he’s left with the realization that no one’s listening. “I have a few actually.”

“Can I hear one?” You asked, “Sorry…. I have a soft spot for the elderly… you don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

Renjun shakes his head, “I’d love to, actually.” You begin to paint once again, this time properly, while you wait for Renjun to begin his story.

“My favourite story since I’ve started volunteering at the retirement home is probably when someone had the genius idea to play hide ‘n seek with the active elders.” Renjun snorts at the memory. A small smile rises up onto his face, but you don’t notice. He continues, “I was the seeker, which wasn’t a good idea since I was new and I wasn’t really familiar with any of the residents there, but I thought it would fun, so I still agreed.

I counted to fifty, and there were rules where they were allowed to go and everything. Just on the main floor, and I remember the activities director made it clear that they were only allowed on the first floor. So when I went to look for them, I found all of them pretty quickly, except one.”

“Don’t tell me he… you know…”

“No he didn’t die!” Renjun gives you a look, “Why in the world would that be my favourite story?”

You shrug, “I mean, you seem like the kind of person to.”

Renjun lets this comment slide and continues, “I looked for him for almost an entire hour. One entire hour. It got to the point where a lot of the other volunteers dropped what they were doing and helped out. I was actually panicking because where else could an old man be in a building that wasn’t too big. Then the phone rang and the desk lady answered it, all she heard was snickering and I knew right then and there that it was that man. He was playing us.”

You couldn’t help but laugh quietly, “Wait, so where was he?”

“We gave up looking. We knew he’d come out sooner or later. It was just enough for us that he was alive,” Renjun retorts, “RIght before my shift ended, the same man walks in through the door with a whole box of beer in one hand and ice cream in the other.” Renjun’s laughing now and the sound takes you by surprise. It was probably the first time you’re hearing him laugh. 

You begin laughing along, “That sounds straight out of a movie! How the hell did he get out unnoticed?” 

Renjun shrugs, “Beats me. But I like to think that as my favourite story because he fooled us all. And no one knows what he did in those hours he was gone.”

“I get why it’s your favourite.” You can tell just by the way Renjun told his story that he enjoyed these things. You’d think that, because the old man caused so much chaos, he would not deem that as his favourite moment, but you were wrong. 

“Yeah,” he nods, “Then a close second would be the times they ask me to sing them their favourite songs. You can really see how playing something as simple as here comes the sun affects their day.”

It didn’t occur to you, at first, that Renjun just indirectly told you that he can sing—though you weren’t sure if he was good or not—but you were still dumbfounded, “You sing?”

“Sometimes,” he hums, “But it’s really nothing. Old people are impressed by anything.” Renjun puts the paintbrush down and flicks his wrist up to check the time, “Anyways, time’s almost up. We should start cleaning up.” 

And you both do. You both go through your usual cleaning routine before dragging all everything back into the daycare’s small closet. Once you were both were ready to leave, you go your separate ways, saying goodbye each other with small, subtle waves.

And you know what was funny about all of this? 

For the first time ever since you both met, there was zero negative intent behind any of your guys’ thoughts and actions.

SEVEN.

One new thing that you’ve learned from Renjun was that he was a pretty good storyteller, and alongside that, he had lots of stories to tell. 

Wait that’s two things. 

Nevermind that… The last two shifts of painting were pleasingly occupied with Renjun going on and on about his experiences at his volunteering opportunities. He jumped from talking about dogs giving birth to dressing up as an elf for an event at the children’s hospital—it’s like he’s lived so many lives in one. 

A small part of you was jealous of the fact that he was able to experience all of this in such a small amount of time, but hearing these stories through him made up for that pint of jealousy. After one of his stories, Renjun had stopped what he was doing and turned to you, “Do you have any stories?” 

You were slightly taken aback by the question, “Me?” It was a genuine question. 

He nodded before putting down some strokes of paint, “Yeah. Do you have any stories?” There’s a tone in his voice that told you that he was being serious. He wasn’t being the Renjun that you’ve grown to know the past few weeks—but then again, maybe that Renjun wasn’t who Renjun really was. 

“Not really,” you replied, “But don’t worry about me.” 

“It doesn’t need to be like my stories,” he pointed out, “Just a story.” Renjun gave you time to think of a story, providing some prompts for you so that you were able to come up with one on the spot. 

“How about a time when you thought you were actually done for?” 

At that, you feel a memory surface from your first year of university when you, Yeji, and Jaemin were caught underage drinking in Jaemin’s dorm by the RA, so you told him the story. How you all were completely drained from your first set of midterms and how drugs weren’t the best resort. So why not drink? You remember Jaemin had gotten a bottle or two of soju from his friend from a frat and he’s been keeping it for ‘times like these.’ In the middle of the small binge, someone knocked on the door, and you remember Jaemin saying he was expecting somebody and was stupid enough to not actually look out the peephole before opening the door. 

“And guess who it was?” you questioned. 

“Ummm,” Renjun lined one of the pictures, “His friend?”

“Nope,” you shook your head, “It was an RA. Out of all the people. It really had to be an RA. We were caught and he threatened to tell a higher-up, I’m not sure who.” Though it wasn’t that much of a problem, you remember your seventeen-year-old self feeling fear that was probably harnessed from tens of people. You were scared—no—you were horrified. It hadn’t even been two full months into the semester and you’re already in trouble.. “You should’ve seen how me and Yeji were begging for forgiveness. It was probably the deepest bow I’ve ever bowed.” 

“What happened, then?” 

“Right in the middle of our apologies, the RA and Jaemin started laughing like maniacs,” you recalled, “Yeji and I looked up and they were laughing at us.” You click your tongue against your teeth, “That motherfucker Jaemin pranked us. The RA wasn’t an actual RA.” 

Renjun bursted out into laughter, “Are you serious?” 

You brought yourself to laugh, “Yes. I was so close to ending my friendship with Jaemin. But he treated us to food the next week so… It’s kind of a stupid story but I can still remember how I felt when it happened.”

“No, I get it,” Renjun replies. He stands back from the mural to look at you, “Especially knowing how seriously they act on underage drinking, that must’ve been scary.” 

“Yeah, I think that’s mainly why Yeji and I were freaking out,” you nod. Realizing that you’ve finally finished the section you’ve been working on for the afternoon, you put the paintbrush down and pick up a rag. 

“Are you done for today?” Renjun questions. You look over at him and he’s still putting down strokes of paints, “What time is it?” 

You’re still trying to get used to you and Renjun getting along despite it being a good two weeks since you both had chosen to become civil with each other. But at the same time, it felt like weight was being taken off of your shoulders. It wasn’t like Renjun was a burden, but every time you had a shift at the daycare, you never really had the motivation to go because of him. 

But it was different now.

“There’s still like fifteen minutes before shift ends,” you say, glancing at your phone, “Wanna start cleaning?”

Renjun nods, “Let me just finish this and I’ll be right behind you.”

°•. ✿ .•° 

“Afternoon, Joy,” Renjun enters the daycare with a gentle smile, “How’s your day been?”

Joy grins from behind her computer, “Great, I guess. Yours?”

“Not bad.” Joy nods in response, “I’m sorry, I should have said this sooner, but today’s shift has been moved last minute.” She moves her rolling chair to the side so that she’s able to give Renjun all her attention.

Renjun frowns, “Why’s that?” He’s not sure if he could even think of a reason why a shift could be cancelled and moved, “Have you told Y/N?”

“Forecast says there’s going to be heavy rain today, so I think it would be better not to put new paint on the mural in case it gets washed off easily,” Joy states. At the end of her explanation, you enter the building with a quick greeting, situating yourself next to Renjun.

“But isn’t the rain for tonight? That seems to be enough for the paint to dry.” 

“What’s going on?” You asked obliviously.

Renjun nods, “Our shift’s cancelled for today because of the rain.”

“Yes, but it’s better safe than sorry,” Joy sighs, “But you guys can go and have a rest day for today. I’ll see you both in a few days!”

Without another word, Joy swings herself back to her computer and you and Renjun leave the building slightly confused. The sky looked perfectly normal on the way here. The air was still. There was no sign of a storm happening tonight. But Joy’s statements were confirmed when you pulled out your handy-dandy cellphone and tapped at the weather app. 

“She’s right,” you hold the phone for Renjun to look and he simply nods, “I guess I’ll see you next shift?” Adjusting your bag on your shoulder, you wait for Renjun’s response. He nods. 

“Yeah, I will.” Then you and Renjun begin walking down the same direction. You both hesitate before taking another step, giving each other a look. “Where are you going?”

“My dorm room.” “Oh, me too,” Renjun laughs awkwardly, “Uh… wanna walk together then?” 

“I don’t have a choice, do I?” you joke as you begin walking. Renjun follows shortly, keeping a good distance between you both. He chooses to walk your pace, keeping his eyes trained on the pavement in front of him. Although he feels like it should be awkward, there’s a comfortable silence between the both of you. 

It’s when the air starts feeling more humid than earlier that Renjun notices that it has started raining. At first, he didn’t mind it. The way the rain fell onto his head softly tickled him, but he liked it. It felt like soft kisses, if that even made sense. He looks over at you and he notices that you’re not bothered by the rain either. 

“It’s like Joy has superpowers,” you say, “One second, the sky’s blue, now it’s raining.” You only hope that the rain doesn’t get worse than now. Your dorm room is still a bit of a walk away and you’re not in the mood to get drenched. 

Renjun nods, “Next thing we know, it’s pouring.” 

And as if someone had snapped their fingers, the rain gets heavier, pelting you and Renjun from above. The raindrops completely contrast how they just were, thick and feeling like punches instead of the shower of kisses. You gasp and slip your bag off, bringing it into your arms to protect your expensive belongings inside. 

“What the hell!?” You say over the loud pitter patters of the droplets. You don’t know why you’re frozen in place. Perhaps it was the rush of cold water washing over you.  

Renjun thinks differently, opting to make a break for it. He glances over at you in near panic, noticing immediately that you’re not moving at all. Then, without thinking, Renjun takes no longer than a second to pull you along with him, sprinting down the narrowing pathway as it leads to the nearest building. He swings the door open, careful not to hit you in the process. When he takes out a key identical to yours, you realize then that this was his dorm building, “I think you should stay in my dorm while you wait it out. You might get sick.” You hesitate and think this situation through. Going to Renjun’s dorm? Were you even that close? What if–

“If you’re thinking about what I think you’re thinking, no I’m not,” Renjun grumbles, “Let’s go.” He waves you in and you’re led to impulsively deciding that, yes, you will accept his offer. And it’s mostly because you don’t want to be drenched in the rain, nor do you want to stand in this hot vestibule for however long the rain will last. 

“I hope the dorm isn’t messy, but it’s mostly my roommate who’s messy.” It sounds like Renjun’s speaking to himself but you know he’s trying to warn you. He’s walking a few strides in front of you, looking back subtly to make sure you’re actually following him down the hall. 

Soon, you find yourself walking through Renjun’s front door, greeted with a waft of some kind of candle scent. You can’t really pinpoint the smell to its exact fragrance, but you can describe it as homey–something warm and welcoming. 

“Lonjoon!” A voice exclaims from the small couch, “You’re ho– oh, hello?”

You recognize the boy who stands up from the couch as Donghyuck, both from the times you’ve encountered Renjun and from Jaemin. You wave awkwardly, “Sorry for intruding.”

Renjun speaks up, “Y/N’s dorm building is by the edge of campus and it’s pouring outside. I offered for her to stay here while we wait for it to stop.”

“I don’t mind,” Donghyuck grins, “Hmm, so you’re Y/N? I’ve heard a bunch of things about you from Renjun! I’m Donghyuck.”

Your brow cocks and you give Renjun, who’s sliding his shoes off and fixing them to the side, a look before turning back to Donghyuck, “Nice to meet you.”

“Likewise,” he says, “You’re just as pretty as Renjun sa–”

Renjun throws his damp hoodie at Donghyuck’s face with the goal of shutting him up, “How about you go to your room and we take the living room?” Renjun approaches his best friend, holding him by his shoulders before pushing him in the direction of one of the rooms. It’s funny simply because he doesn’t even wait for him to reply. 

Once he has gotten rid of Donghyuck, Renjun turns on his toes to face you, “Sorry, that’s just how he is… don’t listen to him, he makes stuff up all the time.” And although Renjun’s actually telling the truth—because no, he’s never called you pretty in front Donghyuck—he knows Donghyuck’s comments are believable to those who aren’t used to his shenanigans. 

There were two ways you could go about it. Ignore him and make the situation less awkward, or tease him and see what he says. Either choice would be funny, especially because you could see that this boy is on edge with what his friend just said. But since you’re feeling nice, you choose the former option, “So, what do you plan on doing while we wait for the rain?” 

Renjun quietly sighs in relief, “We can put something on to watch? I’m just not sure what we should watch though.” He makes his way to the couch and he gestures you to sit in the spot next to him.

It’s crazy how your mind works in times like these. At the back of your head, you almost make sure to keep an array of movies to watch, ones that you’re sure everyone would be content with. But with Renjun, one movie hovers above the others because you could still recall your astonishment when this whole adult man hadn’t seen the one movie you adore with your heart.

“How about the Pursuit of Happyness?” you say, “You haven’t seen it… so why not now?” 

Renjun nods, “Yeah, sure. That sounds good to me.” Within a few clicks of the remote, the movie begins and Renjun’s offering you some snacks he managed to pull from the kitchen (or that have already been there, courtesy of Donghyuck). The rain outside is still going at it, but the movie masks the sound of the raindrops striking repeatedly against the windows. 

Renjun’s incredibly entangled in the film. You can easily catch this in the way his eyes were steady on the screen as he leans towards it. He mutters comments every now and then, ones that complement your own thoughts of the film. 

“It’s… it’s just going downhill,” Renjun frowns. His eyes finally leave the screen about half way through the movie, “I can’t believe you’re making me watch this. If it has a bad ending, I’m holding you against the emotional damage I’ll be experiencing.” 

“I mean you did agree to watch it,” you point out. Biting your lip, you hold a laugh back despite the movie not even being comedic. It’s Renjun and his current state that’s making you laugh. It’s new territory for you, if that was even the right way to describe it. 

So far, you’ve only met the stubborn and spiteful Renjun, and most recently, the generous and compassionate Renjun. His actual character, you’ve learned, sits in the middle of both of those. But the one you’re watching this movie with was different. He was vulnerable, ready to cry whenever the movie finally pushes past his breaking point. But you’re glad to see that he isn’t afraid to show it to you, especially since you both were still just starting this odd friendship.

“What the fuck. I can’t do this shit. What the hell?” You snap out of your mini trance and you realize why a string of profanities are leaving Renjun’s mouth. It was the very scene that had you bawling like a baby the first time you watched it, and tearing up now. The scene at the subway station. 

You let Renjun watch it, keeping silent as you pay attention to the screen, too. You could feel your heart ache, the scene grasping it, as your mouth grew into a frown. 

In a hushed tone, Renjun questions out loud, “Please tell me that this is the worst it gets?” Looking over at Renjun, you notice that he’s actually crying. There were tears streaming down his face and he’s sniffling like he’s caught the annual flu. 

“I don’t want to spoil it,” you retort, sniffling yourself. Looking around, you spot a tissue box sitting at the centre of the coffee table in front of both of you. You reach for it, holding it out to Renjun. 

“Thanks,” he sniffles. Once Renjun’s finished blowing his nose, he falls silent again, attention all on the movie. He’s so attentive that you know thoughts are running through his head at an unreadable pace.

Next thing you know, the movie’s end credits are rolling and Renjun flops into the couch’s cushion, “I get why you were surprised when I said I haven’t seen that movie.” He turns his head to face you, “Because that was a good movie.” 

The way Renjun’s looking at you causes you to shrink under his gaze, though it wasn’t in a way where you were cowering. You felt… shy? There wasn’t a word that was coming up that described it precisely, but shy was alarmingly close. “I’m glad you liked it.” He stretches his lips into some form of lazy grin. There’s a very brief silence between you both but it was enough for you to recognize that the rain had stopped, or at least, it had gotten weaker over the past few hours. 

“Oh the rain’s stopped,” you say quickly, “I guess I’ll get going then.” Within seconds, you’re up and grabbing your belongings. Then, you’re at the door, slipping your sneakers on thoughtlessly. At that point, you’re aware that it’s almost dinner time and the sun’s probably setting if you could see past the clouds. 

Renjun follows you to the door, “It looks dark out, do you want me to walk with you?”

If your life were a reality TV show, this would be when the camera unsteadily zooms into your face as it simultaneously changes expressions into one that’s a mix of confusion and shock. “No, it’s fine, there’s probably some people walking from class.” The door’s open behind you and you’re ready to sprint out. But Renjun stops you. 

“Goodnight, Y/N,” he grins, “I’ll see you around.”

“Goodnight, Renjun.”

Renjun waves and shuts the door. He lets out a huff before turning around to find Donghyuck standing there with the most irritating smirk sitting on his face. 

“What?”

Donghyuck gasps, “Nothing!” 

Renjun pushes past him to turn the TV off before going to fold the blanket he was previously using, “Then don’t make that face if you don’t have a reason.”

Donghyuck snickers and shakes his head in a way that only irked Renjun even more. He chooses not to say anything else because he knows that Renjun’s mind works fast enough to work two and two together. 

That’s how it usually works, at least.

EIGHT.

Routines are meant to be routines. 

Every shift you and Renjun were supposed to arrive, bring the supplies you needed to the wall, paint, realize that it’s time to clean up, and then leave. While you both painted, Renjun’s role was to tell one of his many experiences and your usual role was to listen. If not, comfortable silence or music will often fill that silence. 

But today was different. 

You and Renjun were finally painting the second layer of the mural, and although it initially wasn’t necessary, the second layer of paint gave the painting a bolder look. So you both went for it.

The day was going as it usually would. Renjun had finished a more recent story from the old folks’ home, going on about how he’s excited for Thursday. “Throwback Thursday. We play music and shows and films from their times. Even if they already do that anyway, it’s a bit more special because practically all the residents attend.”

“That actually sounds like a lot of fun,” you say genuinely, “I can’t imagine the nostalgia they go through.” You squat down and dip the paintbrush into the paint. 

“How about you come with me, then?” Renjun offers, “Are you busy on Thursday?” He stands and waits for your reply, watching as you freeze suddenly at his question. You only freeze because this isn’t how it usually was. He’s supposed to say something like ‘it is fun’ or go on to tell you a story about a previous throwback Thursday. But asking you to come with him? 

“Me?” You verbalize, “Come with you?” 

“Yeah!” Renjun nods, “They love getting all the help they can get.” He carelessly strokes the brush against the wall and watches as the concrete completely disappears underneath the paint. “And it would be cool for you to be there. That way we can share one of these stories.” 

“Um…” You don’t like using agendas, but right now would have been the right time to have one. “I’m not sure, actually. I’ll let you know before then, though. Is that okay?”

“Yeah, that’s fine. Day of is fine, too.” 

The minute you get home, you feel a strong urge to tell Yeji about the invitation. But knowing Yeji, you know damn well she’s going to convince you to go.

You guess correctly when she peeks over her laptop and over at you after you’re brief ramble about it. “Didn’t you say that you and Renjun were on better terms now?” You nodded. “Well, I think there wouldn’t be any harm in going. Imagine how horrible you’d look if you rejected that opportunity.” 

“Renjun would understand,” you say quietly.

“Well, do you want to go?” Yeji questioned. 

You blink at your best friend, “It’s not that I don’t want to go. It’s just…” You pause and try to think about why you’re stressing about something that wasn’t even that big of a deal. Renjun literally just invited you to volunteer. It’s not like he asked you on a date (and why would he?). It was just the idea of him actually asking you to spend time with him outside of that gig that made you stop and think.

“There’s your answer.” 

“Huh?” your head tilts to the side, “Answer? Where?”

Yeji snorts and turns her attention back to her laptop, “You just said ‘it’s not that I don’t want to go.’ That implies that you do wanna go. Then go.” 

With a little bit more pushing from Yeji, you find yourself standing in front of Renjun’s dorm building that very Thursday with a tote bag and your head filled with thoughts that you couldn’t even comprehend. If you focused hard enough, you could pick out ones about what today’s dinner will be, how the residents were like outside of Renjun’s stories, and what the retirement home looked like. There were traces of what remaining tasks you needed done for the mural and if you’ve somehow left assignments unfinished. Then there were ones of Renjun and–

“Sorry for making you wait.” You jump and find Renjun appear in your field of vision. He’s fixing his crossbody bag over his shoulder, then you watch has he fixes the cap on his head, “I’m excited! Let’s go then?”

You and Renjun make small talk on the way to the retirement, which you admit, thought would be further away. But when Renjun told you that it was just a walking distance from campus, he wasn’t lying. The walk only lasted about ten minutes and the next thing you know, you’re telling the lady at the front desk your name.

“Alright, here’s your volunteer badge,” she slides you a laminated tag, “And here’s yours, Renjun!” You follow Renjun, who pins his own name tag to the left side of his chest. He pats it before saying goodbye to the lady, turning to you to see if you were set to go in. 

Renjun leads the way into the main lounge area. It was a rather large room, one wall being entirely windows. By the front, or what you believed was the front, was a big fireplace, and by that fireplace, a small grand piano. On top of the fireplace was a big TV that was currently playing the news, not that anyone was paying attention. 

Scattered throughout the room sat tables and padded chairs, some of which were occupied by residents. It was almost exactly how you imagined it, almost book-like, or ones you’d see in movies. It was cozy, yet not too cozy for it to be suffocating.

“Oh, Renjun, you’re here!” A slightly older guy seems to appear from the side, waving, “And you must be Y/N? Renjun told us you might be joining. Nice to see you actually did!” He sticks a hand out and grins, “I’m Taeyong. I coordinate a majority of the activities for the facility.” 

You shake his hand, “Nice to meet you, Taeyong. I’m a little nervous.” 

Taeyong shakes his head, “Don’t be! Everyone’s pretty nice here, especially in the afternoon.” He lets out a quiet laugh, “Well anyways, we just called down the other residents so we’re just waiting for them to come. Then we start exactly at five.”

Taeyong turns to Renjun, “You’re taking over for music right?” Renjun nods and cracks his fingers as if he’s about to go step into a boxing ring. 

“I usually take the role as emcee, but I was told I had other duties to go about for the next hour,” Taeyong says carefully, “Y/N, would you mind being the emcee? I promise you it’s not that bad. I even have cue cards if you need it.” Taeyong holds out a small pile of flashcards, holding them out to you.

Renjun lights up at the idea, “It would be fun if you did it! All you have to do is prompt the songs and the residents will raise their hands. Then you go up to them and hold up the mic to their mouths for their answer. Sorta like a game show host.”

“I guess I can try,” you say carefully. What was the worse that could happen? 

“Great!” Taeyong claps his hands together, “Thank you so much, Y/N. I appreciate it!” He hands you the cue cards and goes to leave, “Have fun guys!” 

Once Taeyong was gone, Renjun turns to you, “I know it’s a heavy job but don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone. I promise you, the old folks have gone through a lot, so slip-ups won’t matter to them at all.” 

You nodded, “I hope so. You better help me up there if something goes wrong.” You give him a look of warning, though it was playful and meant well. Renjun knew how Throwback Thursdays worked—this was your first one—so you don’t really have a feel of how it should be brought out.

“I will, don’t worry,” Renjun ensures, “How bout this. I’ll do the introduction and then you go from there. That way, you’re not super lost.”

“That would help,” you grin. 

Soon, little by little, the residents begin filling the room, taking seats at what you understood as their usual seats. They chattered amongst themselves, having conversations that mostly consisted of today’s weather or the news that was playing on the TV. From a nearby table, you overhear two ladies lightheartedly trash-talking each other, arguing over who would get the most correct songs for this week’s Throwback Thursday.

You can’t help but laugh at the bickering. Renjun notices this and smiles to himself. He’s glad you’re enjoying it so far. “There’s a leaderboard, if you’re wondering why they’re so serious about this,” Renjun points out, “Well not really an official one, but they keep track of it themselves. I don’t even know how but they do.” 

“That explains it,” you laugh, “I think it’s cute.” 

Renjun nods, “It is. They remind me of kids sometimes. They get happy over the smallest things. I admire it.”

This comment makes your heart do a ball change—two quick beats before settling back into its normal rhythm. It was just endearing seeing Renjun be all soft around what he loves doing. It only hits much harder when this wasn’t the Renjun you initially knew. 

First impressions were not always the best impressions.

“I think we can start with the intro,” Renjun nudges your elbow. He starts making his way to the front of the room. You trail right behind him, respectfully greeting the residents as you make eye contact with them. They obviously weren’t familiar with you, but they still smiled nonetheless. 

Renjun grabs the mic, turning it on before giving it a light tap to test it, “Good afternoon everyone! Can you all hear me?” You see some of the residents nod, others verbally responding with the loudest whoop they can let out. “Perfect! How’s everyone doing this afternoon?” There’s a chorus of different answers, but you can tell that they all were content with their day. 

“I’m happy to hear that! Welcome to this week’s Throwback Thursday! I think you’re all familiar with me, my name is Renjun!” Renjun turns to you, and gestures, “Today, I have my partner Y/N with me to help out! Can we give her a warm welcome?” Similar to earlier, they enter a chorus of replies, greeting you with waves and smiles. This made you feel much more comfortable. 

“Okay! So you know how all this works, I play a song on the piano, and if you know it, raise your hand. I’ll trust Y/N’s judgment on who raised their hands first. She’ll come up to you all and then you can give her the answer! Everything clear?” Again, a chorus of replies. “Then let’s begin!”

Renjun hands the mic over to you, whispering a ‘have fun’ and a ‘you got this’ before sitting down behind the piano. 

You look down at the cue cards given to you by Taeyong and find that it was the list of songs that Renjun was going to play for the night. There were about twenty songs listed down along with the artist. You felt a sense of relief wash over you. 

“Hello everyone! Are you all ready for the first song?” you question. You still feel a bit nervous, but from how Renjun went through with the intro, you knew exactly how you want to host. The residents cheered and you can feel the anticipation. It was nice that they were all willing to participate. “Okay, this one is really easy, so get your hands ready! Renjun, cue the music!”

Renjun smiles and nods, placing his hands on the keys for the first song. He begins playing it effortlessly and you’re a bit taken aback by the way he was playing the song well—it was My Girl by The Temptations. Renjun had only played the intro when hands were already shooting up. Your eyes naturally fall on a man seated near the windows, glasses slipping to the tip of his nose.

You grin and quickly make your way over, “I believe you had your hand up first!” Your eyes find a last name on his walker, “Mr. Moon. What’s your answer?” 

You bring the mic up near his lips and nod for him to answer. Before he speaks, he leans forward, “It is My Girl by The Temptations.” 

Although you already knew the answer, you still look down at the flash cards, “My, my, my…” You pretend that the answer is wrong, frowning and letting your voice trail before switching up, “My Girl by The Temptations is correct! One point for Mr. Moon!” 

You hear some of the other residents chuckle at your improvisation, clapping out of joy. You don’t notice as you walk back to the front, but Renjun’s smile grows wider. 

“Next song!” You read it, and hum, “This one’s a few decades newer, but I know you all will know this one!” You turn to Renjun, quietly signalling for him to begin the song. You watch the residents as they wait for Renjun to start the song’s snippet. Again he plays the intro, an easy-to-recognize sequence bouncing across the room. 

A different man raises his hand first, so you move across the room swiftly. This man doesn’t have a nametag, “Do you know the answer, sir?” 

“Of course I do, I remember going to their concert back in the day!” He speaks through the mic. The people around you react, eyes widening. 

“Oh, so you should very well know it, right?” You question, “Were you a fan of them?” 

“A big, big fan,” the man uses his hands to speak, throwing his arms to gesture something large, “Good ‘ol days. But anyways, the answer is Open Arms by Journey. One of my favourites.” 

“I guess you already know that the answer is correct!” you laugh, “Can’t argue with a fan. One point for you, sir!” He nods his head in pride before you turn to walk back to the front. At this point, you’re gaining more confidence despite it barely even starting. In a way, the interactions came naturally.

“The next song is one that might not come to you all easily since it’s a bit newer, but I guarantee that at least one of you will know it,” you say through the mic. 

Renjun begins with the intro, and you’re familiar with the song because you’ve heard your parents play it plenty of times in the car growing up. So far, none of the residents had brought their hands up to answer. You’re actually quite surprised to see that no one was familiar with the song’s intro. 

Renjun continues to play the song. 

Then he begins to sing. 

You remember when he had first told you about his time here at the retirement home and how he sang for the residents. You remember him completely dismissing the fact that he did sing for these people and after that, the subject wasn’t really brought up. 

Now that you’re here and volunteering with him, you finally get a chance to hear him sing. 

“Oceans apart… day after day… and I slowly go insane…” 

What the fuck. 

You almost say this out loud and through the mic in front of many many elderly people and you suddenly feel compelled to slap yourself. 

Renjun’s voice was unexpected, but it was beautiful. You really didn’t have any idea of how his singing voice would sound but now that you’re hearing it, it perfectly matched his speaking voice. It was satin-like and captivating—a voice you could and you’d honestly like to listen to all day. 

“How can we say forever?”

Your eyes drift to Renjun, who’s focused. His eyes are on the music sheets sitting in front of him. The expression on his face is calm and gentle, words of which could also describe his singing. You hope Renjun doesn’t notice that you’re looking at him, because if he did, it would be humiliating. 

“Wherever you go, whatever you do, I will be right here waiting for you…”

Then your heart does this thing. 

It was very similar to the little skip that it did earlier, but now, instead of falling back to the rhythm it usually followed, it only sped up in tempo. 

What the fuck. You repeat to yourself. Your eyes widen before dropping to your feet in panic. Because it really shouldn’t be doing that. Not at this point in time. 

“I raised my hand first!” One of the ladies knock you back into reality and you realize that a few people have had their hands raised. She was speaking to another woman sitting at the same table and you recognize them as the two women from earlier. You smile sheepishly, almost forgetting what your job is and opting to listen to Renjun and only Renjun for the rest of the game. You apologize, “I’m sorry, I didn’t quite notice. Can we play a small game of rock, paper, scissors to settle this fairly?” 

They play the game as you make your way up to them. Once it was settled, you bring the mic up to the winner, the lady who claimed she raised her hand first. “What do you think the song title is?”

“Oh, I know what the song title is,” she chuckled, “Right Here Waiting by Richard Marx.” 

“I love the confidence!” You say, laughing, “You are correct! One point for you, ma’am!” The woman cheered, ecstatic she got the point. Then, like before, you return to the front and you start at the beginning of the cycle for the next songs. 

You try your best to keep yourself together, especially when the song’s difficulty requires Renjun to sing part of it. He had a voice to be proud of. You have no idea why he didn’t choose to brag about it. But maybe that’s just Renjun. 

What’s ironic was the fact that Renjun was almost as charmed by you as you were with him. However, it wasn’t because of the way you sang, because if you were ever asked to sing, you’d warn them about temporarily losing the sense of hearing, but it was simply through the way you interacted with the residents. The best word Renjun could find to describe the way you spoke to them was genuine. 

You genuinely seemed to enjoy speaking to them, making small talk throughout the game so that you kept them entertained. Renjun also concluded that you were actually a pretty witty person. Jokes and fitting comments were flying out of your mouth whenever you pleased, giving the residents a reason to laugh hearty laughs.

Though it really didn’t appear to be that big of a deal to anyone else, Renjun found it endearing. It was simply just a trait that he found worthy of adoring. 

Renjun slumps behind the piano relieved that the instrument was helping him hide the smile that was uncontrollably growing upon his lips. And if you see him with that big, fat, doting smile, he wouldn’t know what to do.

At the end of the game and its conclusion, you actually find yourself feeling bummed that it was over. You stand at the side of the room, watching as the residents either take their leave or decide to stay in the lounge room a bit longer. You bow to the ones who cross your path, thanking them for being great participants. 

“Will you be back next week?” a lady stops to talk to you, “You were refreshing to have. That young boy, Taeyong, follows the same script and it does get very tedious after a while.” 

“I would love to, actually,” you say, frowning, “But I’m not sure if I will. Renjun invited me to join but I don’t know if this is just a one-time thing.” 

“Oh, well,” she smiles sadly, “If you ever decide to return, you’re always welcome.”

“Thank you, ma’am,” you mirror her expression before she walks away. 

In her place, another lady stops and reaches for your hand, “Thank you for a wonderful time!” 

You shake your head, “It’s nothing, really. Renjun played a large part as well, I shouldn’t take all the credit.” Over her shoulder you see Renjun speaking to a few of the male residents. 

“Oh! Speaking of that lovely boy, are you two together?” Her head tilts to the side in curiosity, “You two make quite a cute couple!” 

Her comment makes you freeze in shock for a short moment. You and Renjun? A couple?

“Oh!” you shake your head, almost to the point where you could feel your head coming loose from the rest of your body, “We’re not dating! It’s nothing like that. It’s really the opposite! We only started being friends not too long ago!”

“That doesn’t mean anything,” she only picks up your last comment, “You ever go to connect a plug to a socket without looking?” You nod your head but she could tell that you’re confused. “You miss it a couple of times, making small adjustments so you can get that damn plug into the socket. Then, finally, right when you get it in, the electricity runs through it to serve its purpose.” 

“I-I don’t understand what you’re saying, ma’am.”

“I’m saying that it doesn’t matter when you guys started ‘being friends,’” she laughs lightly, “If two pieces fit together, then that’s that. I know a match when I see one.” 

And without another peep, the lady walks away, singing a tune under her breath.

NINE.

“Is this enough?” Renjun’s pouring paint into one of the paint trays at the bottom of the ladder. 

You look down from the top of the ladder, “That looks like it, thank you.” You paint a few more strokes down before climbing back down to grab the newly filled tray. The goal for the day was to finish the second layer so that over the last few shifts, you and Renjun could focus on details and finishing touches. Judging by how much work was left, the two of you were probably going to end up working overtime. But none of you minded. 

“You know, some of the residents were asking for you when I returned a few days ago?” Renjun watches as you pick up the tray. When your feet find their way onto the first step of the ladder, Renjun unconsciously steps forward to keep the ladder steady, “I think they really loved your company.” The corner of his mouth quirks upward at the recent memory of you and your interactions. Not one inch of his bone regretted inviting you. 

“Really?” you light up, “I enjoyed their company, too.”

Renjun replies, “Yeah, really. I guess you made a really good impression on them.” Then Renjun makes a witty, lighthearted comment, “Unlike you did on me.”

You laugh and look down, “The feeling’s mutual.” 

Out of interest, Renjun lets this burning question leave his lips, “Why did you hate me so much anyway?” Then he shakes his head, “I mean I understand why, but I wanna hear your side of the story.” 

You take a seat on one of the middle stairs of the ladder and rest your head on your arm, “I guess… everytime we ran into each other, you weren’t exactly the nicest. I remember I apologized when I accidentally bumped into you that one morning before class and you made a comment about me not being able to afford your shirt or something even when I apologized.” “In fairness, it was before an eight AM and that shit was hot,” Renjun defends, “But you’re right. I could’ve handled it better.” He doesn’t even remember why he blew up that morning. But he does remember a feeling of remorse the moment he arrived in class and was able to reflect on what he just did.

“And that one time when I took Donghyucks’s drink,” you face palm because you don’t know how you even managed to do that, “You didn’t even say thank you when I gave you the drink when I could’ve taken it. Especially since it was you who had gone up to me.”

Renjun’s face heats up. He really was a whole douchebag to you. “I was in a hurry. But I could’ve handled that better, too.” Renjun pauses and drops his head to look at his feet, “I think my apologies are long overdue. But I really am sorry for both of those times. I don’t know… they were sorta both in the heat of the moment… but if I could go back, I’d treat you better. Maybe we could’ve gotten along faster.” 

“You’re forgiven,” you reply seriously, swinging your legs, “Besides, it’s not like we haven’t made any progress.” You look up at the mural and remember how your relationship with Renjun had been when you both started it. It was almost the complete opposite. “I think I owe you an apology, too. It’s not like I’m completely innocent either.”

Renjun turns to go back to his spot, “You don’t even need to apologize. You were just treating me the way I was treating you.” 

“Doesn’t make it okay,” you stand up and dip the paintbrush in paint. 

“True, but still.” Renjun raises his head to look at you, “But I forgive you too. Even though I still don’t think you need to say sorry.”

You don’t say anything else. Instead, you playfully roll your eyes. Despite your reaction, you’re actually glad that you and Renjun were finally at that point where you could joke about about the past. Being able to openly share how you both felt, and just conversing about it proves that your relationship with him has shifted. It’s relieving.

“Hey Y/N?”

You look through the ladder and find Renjun staring up at you. His hair is falling back, fringe brushing past the corners of his eyes. He looks pretty. “Yeah?”

“It’s getting late,” he says, “Want to wrap up and get something to eat?” 

You’re compelled to make a ‘like a date?’ comment, but you hold back. You and Renjun just made complete amends. You can’t be that bold just yet, “Sure. Where to?”

°•. ✿ .•° 

A handful of bites and sips of pop later, you and Renjun are walking back from the closest fast-food restaurant from campus. The topic of conversation had been jumping from one to another, keeping the atmosphere comfortable and busy. Currently, it was about the pet peeves that came along with your roommates despite still loving them with all your heart. 

“Sometimes,” Renjun sighs, “Donghyuck, he literally doesn’t wash the bottom of the cups cause he thinks that only water rinsing it is enough. He only scrubs the rim of the cup. Once, I was filling my cup with water and I see remnants of dried out coke floating from the bottom.” 

You gasp and make a face, shaking your head, “That’s disgusting! Imagine if you didn’t see that. You’d just be ingesting dried coke.”

“He learned from that,” Renjun shrugs, “Cause even he experienced it. He always scrubs the bottom of the cups first now.”

“Good,” you retort, “Because I was going to tell you to remind me never to drink from a cup when I go over to your guys’ dorm.” Renjun laughs but he can’t help but interpret your comment in a way that could be considered overthinking. “For me, Yeji used to wash her clothes without putting them with like colours.”

“How is her wardrobe not fucked up?” Renjun sends you a look, “Especially her white clothing.”

You shrug, “Beats me. But that one time I caught her, I felt like her mom teaching her right from wrong. I have no idea how she’s never been told off in all her years of life.”

“I don’t know what’s worse, that, or Donghyuck’s old habit.” You shake your and head and look down. You wonder if Yeji had any pet peeves about you. What would they even be? You didn’t feel like you were doing anything pet-peeve-worthy. But then again, Yeji didn’t see anything wrong with mixing her clothing up. 

When you see your dorm building growing in your field of vision, your eyes widen and you turn to Renjun, “We missed your building!” You stop in your tracks and try to do a one-eighty to go back to Renjun’s building. The two of you were so caught up in conversation that you missed it. 

“No I did it on purpose,” Renjun shakes his head, “I wanted to walk you back.” A tickling sensation subtly appears and disappears in your stomach. 

“You really didn’t have to!” you say shaking your hands as a way to deny his kind action, “The campus is safe anyways! I could have walked on my—”

“I know it is, but I wanted to,” he shrugs, “There’s a difference.” He’s right. There is a difference. Because it’s one thing to walk you home with some worry that you’d get into some form of accident, you know, to ensure your safety (which you understood as basic human decency), but it’s another to want to walk you home. Even with the knowledge that you’d be safe because there were other students probably walking the same way, he wanted to walk you home and it was probably because he wanted to spend more time with you. 

You don’t know how to react to that implication.

He starts walking towards your building, hands stuffed into his sweater’s pockets. When he senses that you weren’t following, he turns back, “What are you doing?”

“Sorry,” you sigh, “I zoned out.” 

You speed up to reach his side, trying to process whether or not you were overthinking or not. Before you know it, you’re at the doors of your building and you’re fishing your keys out of your pocket, “Thanks for walking me here, I guess.”

“You guess?” Renjun laughs softly.

“I mean like, it was unexp–”

“I’m joking,” Renjun rolls his eyes playfully, “I wanted to.” There it is again.

“Anyways, I’ll head in now,” you say, avoiding any awkward silences, “Goodnight.”

He grins, and you swear you see his eyes twinkle, “Goodnight.”

When you reach your dorms, Yeji’s standing at the entry way, arms crossed with a smirk, “I saw Mr. Renjun drop you off… care to explain?” 

“What are you even doing staring out the window?” you glare at her and kick your shoes off. Walking past her, you tug your bag off your arm and plop it beside the couch, “And explain what? He just wanted to drop me off.” 

“Key word is ‘wanted’,” Yeji walks up to you and digs her index finger into your shoulder, “I’m getting this psychic-netic sense that he’s starting to harbour feelings for you.” You want to laugh because Renjun? Feelings? For you? It’s laugh worthy. “No way. We just made up.”

“Yeah, but you both were all chill before today,” she rolls her eyes, “He’s probably starting to like you like you like him.”

“What are you even talking about?” You’re ready to escape this conversation. Mentally, you’re in a position that runners take when they’re about to begin a race, but in front of Yeji, you’re stiff as a rock, grounded and eyes wide as you react to what she just said. “Nothing,” she shrugs, “You didn’t deny it though.” Yeji cackles and makes her own great escape, sprinting into her room before shutting the door. 

When Renjun finally gets home, he’s greeted with a bear hug from his own roommate. 

“I thought you died or something!” Donghyuck yells, “Why are you home so late?”

“I had dinner with Y/N and walked her home?” Renjun’s confused. He leans forward and notices tears in Donghyuck’s eyes. He doesn’t know whether he should laugh or feel bad because he’s never seen his best friend in such a state, “Are you actually crying? Look I’m sorry, I actually forgot to update you.”

“Yes! I’m crying,” Donghyuck glares at Renjun, “It’s not like I splashed my face with water or anything.” Donghyuck wipes his ‘tears’ away and ‘sniffles’, “If I knew you had a date, I wouldn’t have sobbed my eyes out waiting for you to get home.”

“It wasn’t a date,” Renjun hurriedly denies, “It was just a friendly dinner.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Donghyuck waves off, “Friendly dinner my ass.”

“It was!” Renjun’s ready to jump Donghyuck, “We worked for a long time today and we also formally apologized to each other. It was fitting.”

“You know what?”

“No, I don’t know what.”

Donghuck clicks his tongue against his teeth, “You like her.”

“What even makes you say that?” There’s a bazillion things running through Renjun’s head, but none of those things were coming to a single conclusion that made sense with this conversation with Donghyuck. 

Donghyuck rolls his eyes, “The past few days, when you walk through that door from the gig or just being with Y/N, you have this sickening—but cute?—I don’t know… love-struck? Charmed?—Whatever you’d call it—look on your face and it’s painfully obvious that you’re starting to have feelings for her.”

Renjun gulps. He’s at a loss of words only because he’s never heard or seen Hyuck say something so serious in his life, “You’re lying.”

“No. I’m not. I can’t believe you haven’t realized it yourself when you’re usually more emotionally intelligent than me.”

Stunned, Renjun thinks it through. 

Sure the word ‘love-struck’ doesn’t really describe what he’s feeling for you, only because he knows it hasn’t gone that far. He thinks back to the day it suddenly rained, when you both watched The Pursuit of Happyness and he let himself be vulnerable in front of you. Then to the day at the retirement home and seeing your interactions with the older adults. Those few times you were too immersed in painting to comprehend what was happening around you… Hell, he even thinks back to the time you had gotten him that damn Starbucks drink despite how horrible he treated you that day. 

What did all these days have in common? Sure, all these days involved you and him, and progression in the relationship between the two of you. But the thing that persisted was how his chest warmed up in a way that was almost entirely unfamiliar to him. Shit, it has happened so many times that it has become familiar. 

Renjun sighs and he looks at Donghyuck with a defeated look, “I think you’re right.” 

“About?”

Renjun gets deja vu. He remembers the conversation he had long ago with Donghyuck about his attitude towards you. Never would he have thought that it would get this far. 

“My feelings for Y/N.”

TEN.

It was the final stretch. The mural needed no more than final details and cleaning up before it was finished. And after this, you and Renjun would be finished the project. 

You’re excited to see the mural in all its glory—no unfinished patches and pending layers. You can already taste the satisfaction, especially because both you and Renjun had worked your asses off finishing it. 

But there was an elephant in the room. 

It wasn’t a massive elephant, but it was there, sitting right in between you and Renjun and you didn’t know how to address it without him misinterpreting everything. 

The elephant: What would become of the two of you after all of this has ended? 

You look over at him with that lingering thought. 

It was rather baffling because your relationship with him appeared to be nothing more than two co-workers—maybe a little bit more than that. No. That’s wrong. You guys were friends—at least that’s what you considered him. You could easily tell he considers you one of his, too, but you weren’t sure that you were at that point where you would speak to each other after all this is over. 

You’d hate to see your relationship with him falter after everything. 

You’re hoping Renjun’s feeling the same way, simply because he hasn’t said anything all shift. Just a mere ‘hi’ was all that slipped out his mouth towards you, and a soft ‘thank you’ when Joy had come out to congratulate you both for almost completing the project. Otherwise, he hasn’t done more than breathe and paint. 

“You’re quiet,” you say playfully. You’re not sure if you were overstepping boundaries but you wouldn’t have said anything if you weren’t comfortable with Renjun. 

The noise in Renjun’s head nearly blocks your voice out completely, but you’re lucky to have caught his attention. “Hm?”

You finish the details of your current part of the painting and move onto the next. It was one step closer to Renjun, “I said you’re quiet. Is something up?” It’s a good sign that Renjun wasn’t shooting any sort of remark your way, but you can tell he’s avoiding eye contact. You haven’t seen Renjun so out of it. 

“No,” he replies, “No, I… I’m just thinking.” It was Renjun’s turn to finish an area. He takes a hesitant step closer to you to complete the details of a new area. 

 Dot. Dot. You use black paint to add details to a bear’s face. Its eyes. It looks a lot better than it did just moments ago. “Can I ask what about?”

Renjun pauses and thinks about his answer. You. He’s thinking about you. But he’s not sure if it would be odd for him to be honest and up-front. Renjun’s adding details to a toy car. Dot. Line. Dot. Dot. “Things. I’ll tell you when I get it sorted out.”

“You don’t need to tell me if you don’t want to,” you say. You move on to a toy train. Line. Dot. Two lines. Although you’re still truthful about what you just said, you’re still curious about what Renjun was thinking about. Things was such a broad term. It could be about anything—dogs, the colour periwinkle, even his best friend Donghyuck. But you guess you’ll let him marinate those thoughts. 

“I want to tell you,” he says gently, “They’re just all jumbled and shit.” The best way to describe his thoughts was like a box filled with stray wires. All of them have been thrown in carelessly and now they’re knotted into one messy ball. He can’t even follow one wire if he tried. 

Now you want it out of him ASAP because what the hell is going on in his head that’s causing him to act like this that would be making him want to tell you? Dogs? Periwinkle? Donghyuck? Although you’re panicking on the inside, you remain calm and give a hum in response. You’ll just have to wait until he’s ready.

Time flies and the shift is finished, leaving just a smidge of work left needing to be done for the final shift. Even with the mural not complete, it was already at the point where it did look finished. But with the sun setting, you’re not able to catch a good look at the work with its deserved lighting. 

“I’ll walk you home,” Renjun says from behind you. You’re surprised he even offers to do so, especially since he seemed to be preoccupied with his thoughts. Despite this, you don’t refuse because you’re not sure if this would be the last time Renjun would be walking you home. Besides, you want to spend as much time as you can with him. 

“How are those thoughts in your head?” you question. You both are halfway to your dorm and Renjun’s been mute the entire way. This was your way of pushing some sort of statement out of him because you’d be lying if you said you weren’t curious. 

Renjun huffs and hums to indicate that he’s thinking of a response, “Do you ever think a certain way about something but…  I don’t know, you have some sort of conflict with yourself about those same thoughts and feelings?”

You pause and think about what Renjun’s trying to get at, but he’s being unclear, “In what context?”

Renjun turns to look at you, “It’s hard to put it into words but it’s like… new thoughts you feel like shouldn’t even be there but are there. It’s not like they’re forbidden or bad, but it’s just weird.” He sees your building growing close. 

“Hmm…” A part of you knows exactly what he’s talking about, “I get what you mean.” 

“How would you handle them?”

“I think that those feelings wouldn’t be there in the first place if you weren’t actually feeling them… or considering them at least.” If you could laugh out loud right now, you would. But you weren’t really risking looking like a maniac in front of Renjun. Your response to Renjun was something you’ve been telling yourself ever since Yeji had you questioning your own feelings for your friend a few nights ago. You only came to actually accept them now. 

“But I don’t think you should overthink whatever’s going on up there,” you bring a finger up to his temple and tap it gently, “Chances are that it isn’t as big of a problem as you think.” Then you laugh, “You know, this is one of the things that gave me a bad impression of you at first. You think too much.” Renjun playfully rolls his eyes in response.

You walk ahead of Renjun to open the door. You don’t notice that he’s looking at you with brighter eyes because you’re right. Renjun let pessimism win and its got his mind preoccupied with what can’t happen when there was still chances of you reciprocating his feelings (or at least, what he believed were feelings).

“Wait,” Renjun stops you at the door. He’s standing at the bottom of the steps with you at the top and he realizes now that there’s no turning back from what he’s about to do, “I have my thoughts sorted out now.”

“Okay…” You let the door go and turn to him expectantly, “I’m listening.”

Renjun swallows the saliva in his mouth and he feels his heart pick up in pace. Yeah…  here goes nothing. “You know when I first met you, I really didn’t think for a second that I would even like you as a friend. Almost everything between the two of us clashed, but now looking back at it all, we were being stupid and childish.

“That one day when you bought me a drink during our shift… I think that’s when I knew that there was a chance for us to not hate each other. I know it’s a small gesture, but it was the fact you did something nice despite the fact we weren’t getting along. It was sort of a wake up call for me. 

“Then everything since then and up ‘til now… the conversations we’ve had, the walks back to the dorms, the visit at the retirement home… I feel like my feelings did a whole one-eighty.”

Renjun takes a step up towards you and exhales a quiet breath, “I…I think I like you. A lot.” He doesn’t know where to look. “And it angers me thinking about how the mural is going to be finished because then I won’t have an excuse to see you anymore.” His head drops for a quick second before he tries to gather his last few drops of confidence before finally looking up at you, waiting for a response of your own.

You’re taken aback by Renjun’s confession, simply because you genuinely didn’t see it coming. It’s hard for you to create the perfect sequence of words to say to him. Your mouth hangs open and all you can say is, “Renjun…” 

Renjun’s heart drops immediately with the implication that whatever you’re going to say is bad and he stumbles backwards, almost falling back from the stair he was standing on. “I’ll… see you next shift.” And at that Renjun’s walking away.

°•. ✿ .•° 

You’re sitting across the street from the daycare, staring at the almost-finished mural. You’re waiting for Renjun to come and judging by the time on your phone’s screen, he’s twelve minutes late, which was funny because he never was late. Not even once. 

You can see Joy sitting at her desk through the window while there are kids running around in the play area behind her. You wonder if she’s wondering where the two of you are. It’s the last shift of this gig and you guys are late. Shouldn’t you both be early to get it over with?

Huffing you decide to make your way in. It wouldn’t hurt to get the supplies ready without Renjun. That way, when he arrives, you both can start. 

“Afternoon, Y/N,” Joy looks up and around her computer screen, “Last shift!”

“I know!” you say excitedly, “I can’t believe it. Sorry for being a bit late.”

She shakes her head, “It’s no problem at all. You guys are almost finished, anyways.”

The door behind you squeaks open and you turn to find Renjun slipping through the doorway. His face shows no expression when he makes eye contact with you, but greeting Joy, he offers a small smile. They have a quick exchange, similar to what you just had with her, before you both are sent to grab the supplies. 

It felt negatively nostalgic, the way he was avoiding eye contact with you as you bring everything out. It was awfully similar to when you both still didn’t get along and you didn’t like it. 

You peek at him through the corner of your eye, heart skipping a beat. You can tell he’s forcing himself to focus on the task at hand. He’s leaning in extra close to the wall, shoulder blade turned towards you in hopes to not to feel tempted to talk to you. 

But it was odd. Only because he’s grown so used to your conversations. 

The silence goes on for a while (it was just eighteen minutes, but it felt much longer), and everytime you think Renjun’s finally going to say something, he doesn’t. There’s some kind of heavy atmosphere engulfing the both of you and you could feel yourself practically suffocating because of it. 

You decide to take matters into your own hands. Besides, you were the reason why he wasn’t talking in the first place. You were the reason why there’s this sort of tension between the two of you. “You know you left before I could even give you a proper response.”

Renjun’s breathing hitches at the sound of your voice, his movements halting simultaneously. “Judging by how you first answered, I didn’t think there was anything to hear.” He keeps doing whatever he was doing, but in his peripheral vision, he can see you turn to look at him. “I listened to you,” you say, “So now it’s only fair you listen to me.”

Renjun hesitates for a moment, but he slowly drops his hand before turning to look at you. 

“That night, I was going to say that I felt the same about you,” you say nervously. You’re straight to the point, only because you knew Renjun deserved to hear what you knew he wanted to hear three nights ago. “I just… couldn’t find the words to tell you that. Cause hearing me say that, it’s actually lame as hell compared to your confession.”

Your heart decides to use the inside of your chest as a drum and next thing you know you’re facing the wall. You try to busy yourself by finishing the last part of the mural’s details. Your cheeks heat up and you continue tentatively, “I can’t even exactly remember when my feelings for you started to become more than friendly-type feelings? I don’t even know if that makes sense… I just… started to notice that I couldn’t even handle these weird tickling feelings in my chest when I’m around you and I could not, for the life of me, stop them, but it’s not like I wanted to. Fuck, this is embarrassing.”

You’re starting to ramble. Cute, Renjun thinks, holding back a smile.

Putting the paintbrush down, he swiftly places himself next to you. As distracted as you were with your long, long train of thought, you don’t notice him standing next to you. 

“But I remember, at the retirement home… one of the old ladies put the idea of you and me being a couple in my head and I didn’t hate the idea of it… I think that’s when I actually realized that I liked–” You muster up enough courage to look at Renjun and you’re met with him looking down at you with adoration—the same ones the night that he confessed, “—you.”

There’s an entire marching band of butterflies in your chest and you’re sure as hell that Renjun can hear them with how close he was. The look in his eyes makes you want to melt into a puddle right in front of him, but you’ve embarrassed yourself enough. 

“You have some paint on your face,” he says softly. You gasp and foolishly try to spot the smudge of paint on yourself. 

If only you knew that Renjun was shamelessly lying. 

Without another word, Renjun reaches for your face, lifting it up with the inner edge of his thumb. Then he whispers, “I-I’ll get it for you. If that’s okay?” 

You’re too stunned to even say anything. All you’re able to do is nod. 

Renjun brings his lips down to yours and as if your heart conducted the band of butterflies in your body, they halt for a beat and a half before taking over once again. His lips press against yours softly at first, and once Renjun recognizes that everything happening within this very moment was perfect, he allows himself to fall into the kiss, bringing you two closer. 

The paintbrush in your hand falls to the ground and your hands instinctively find their way up to Renjun’s shoulders, using them to pull you up closer to him, deepening the kiss. 

It truly was perfect—if you ignored the fact that the two of you were probably being watched by anyone and everyone in the daycare—but the moment felt perfect. 

When you both finally pull away, Renjun’s eyes scan your face before he breaks out into a smile, bringing you to mirror it. “Did you get it?”

He nods. “Yeah… I did.”

BONUS SCENE!

When Renjun asked you to come back to volunteer for another Throwback Thursday, you were no fool to refuse. You’ve actually been waiting for him to ask you to join him again right after the first one ended—Renjun was just a few weeks late. 

“That concludes this week’s Throwback Thursday!” You say, looking over at the residents, “I really want to thank you all for participating and I hope you all enjoyed it.” You can see the residents smiling, clapping their hands. 

As the residents start to file out of the room, you turn the mic off, and you spin around to look at Renjun who’s seated behind the piano, “You almost made me cry.” Even after hearing his voice for the first time, you’re still taken aback by how captivating Renjun’s singing was. You don’t think you’ll ever get tired of it. 

Renjun’s brows furrow, “What do you mean I almost made you cry!?” He stands up and approaches you in subtle panic, “Did I hurt you in some way or form or–“

“Jun,” you laugh, “Your singing almost made me cry.”

Renjun pauses and steps back, “Oh… then I guess that’s a good thing?” You nod and bring a finger up to poke his cheek which was pulled into a semi-pout. Seeing your finger from a mile away, he attempts to bite it gently but quickly retracts. 

“Y/N! Sweetie!” You’re attention is pulled from Renjun to the same lady as last time. The one who made the ‘couple’ comment. She’s gotten a hair cut since you last visited, so you almost don’t recognize her, but she has the same smile. She’s waving  for you to come to her and you do without hesitation. 

“You don’t know how happy we all were when Renjun said you were coming in today!” She exclaims, “That’s why there were more people that came in today because they heard good stuff from last time.”

“Do you think I lived up to those ‘good things’,” you question, “I would have done better if I knew people had expectations.”

She nods. “I believe you did. Everyone had fun today.” 

“Well, that’s good to hear then.”

You watch as her eyes flicker between you and Renjun, who was gathering the papers from the piano, “I’m sensing something’s going on between you two.” A smirk appears on her still-youthful face and you suddenly feel your cheeks heat up. 

“You were right about last time, “ you say shyly, “We’re dating now.”

She lets out a sound of delight, hands coming together to make one loud clap sound. “Oh I told you so, sweetheart! This is what I love to see! Does this mean you’ll be coming more often?”

Renjun joins you two quietly and you nod, “I sure hope so.”

‣ an: hey you! you there who finished my fic! I love you sosososososo much for taking your time to actually read this entire thing (༎ຶ⌑༎ຶ) <— [that’s me ugly crying] but I really do hope you enjoyed it,, maybe let me know what your fav part was? If you didn’t enjoy it (even a lil smidge) I’m sorry about that (༎ຶ⌑༎ຶ) I’ll do better next time I swear (despite that though, I’m still thankful you read it <3)

#bless the fact I actually got this finished over break and now onto another fic #this one was a monster sized fic like what the hell it was only supposed to be like 15k words #did it even feel like 23.6k words tho #lowkey not tbh #Nct #Nct dream #Nct imagines #Nct dream imagines #Nct dream scenarios #Huang renjun #Renjun #Huang renjun imagines #Renjun imagines #Huang renjun scenarios #Renjun scenarios #Nct dream blurbs #Nct blurbs #Renjun blurbs #Huang renjun blurbs #Nct renjun #Nct fluff #Nct dream fluff #Renjun fluff #Huang renjun fluff #My writings #My nct writings #Kpop #Kpop imagines #Kpop scenarios #Kpop blurbs

[daegall]

soft hours okay but imagine renjun having a crush on you and suddenly treating you differently and everyone notices and teases him abt it 😭😭😭😭

MMM NO FR BC YES

before he realizes his feelings he treats you just like all his friends, scowling at you when you do anything remotely affectionate to him like trying to smooch his face and such

BUT LIKE IDK THERES SOMETHING DIFFERENT ABOUT YOU,,,, you're you, not haechan, or jaemin, or anyone else so when you start doing things like spending more time with him, buying him things, and caring for him he feels... strange. which is quite odd, because all his friends treat him just like you do, what's so different this time??

he realizes his blooming feelings for you when you suddenly worry him by being out a little too late. He's so worried, why is he so worried? you've always stayed out late, studying at the library, or going for a late night grocery run, why is so worried?

the moment you come home with all your textbooks and study equipment, you don't even notice renjun, not until he springs up from his seat on your study chair to help you with your things. "Jesus Christ, Y/n! I get that you feel more motivated at night, but at least tell me when you're gonna be out! God, I was so scared,"

You're completely taken aback at his sudden outburst, overwhelmed at the sight of a different side of renjun, one you're not quite familiar with. "I'm sorry," There's something in your voice, guilt, and the crease at your eyebrows that show genuine sadness tugs at Renjun's heart. It's at that moment, when he realizes how much he cares for you, when he also realizea that he may care for you a little too much.

"No, don't apologize, I was just overreacting." Surprisingly, Renjun's arms circle around you, and he brings you in a warm embrace.

WHEN THE OTHERS NOTICE,,, OOOHH BOY THEY WILL JOT LET HIM LIVE

they notice when Renjun complies to tutoring you with 0 complaints, with a bashful smile when you say he has more brain cells than Einstien. The moment you're walking away, Donghyuck's reaching over the table to slap at Renjun's back. "YOU TOTALLY HAVE A CRUSH ON Y/N!"

"Shut the fuck up!"

MMMMM you start to wonder why they start howling and whistling when you arrive, why they hurl whenever Renjun talks to you, why they always talk about Huang Renjun to you.

Maybe you'll find out in the future, but for now they'll stick to teasing the living soul out of renjun

#asks! #soft hours! #renjun! #bar <3 #haung renjun #huang renjun imagines #huang renjun x reader #nct dream #nct dream imagines #nct dream x reader