It’d never been something Joonmyeon was ashamed of—browsing Tumblr, that is. Or more specifically, browsing aesthetic blogs on Tumblr. It sounded a bit silly, following all of these blogs dedicated to just posting a bunch of pretty landscapes or cute edits, but at the end of the day, stuff like this relaxed him. It made him happy, to come back from a long day of classes, debate club, and his part-time internship at his dad’s company, only to be greeted by some beautiful photos that instantly brightened his mood. He’d always been quite the visual person, anyway, enjoying things that were pleasing to the eye. His entire room was design in that way, with soft colors splashing the walls as to not irritate his vision, posters of his favorite TV shows and bands as a little added flare, and everything laid out exactly where it was supposed to be.

               So really, it wasn’t so much like he was a blogger; he was just someone who liked pretty things. It wasn’t like he got caught up in the lives of every person he followed, constantly dug through to watch all the seedy drama unfold online. He just liked to open up the site to warm his heart a little before he had to inevitably go back to being productive.

            He couldn’t lie to himself though, and so he had to admit that there was one particular blog he’d grown to becoming a bit overly fond of. Somehow, it just stood out from the rest of the accounts he followed. Sure, if he were to go onto the blog itself, all he’d see is a mess of a page. It wasn’t an aesthetic blog—far from it. More than anything, it was just a hodge-podge of different styles and pictures and posts that never really fit with anything else. The blog’s layout was bubbly and light, with pastel purple clouds laid out on the pink foreground. Upon looking closer, one would see that each of the clouds was a link—to the blogger’s tag list, archive, other social media accounts, and so on. The rest of the blog, however, barely fit with the fluffy visuals. While sometimes, there would be cuter posts that fit the cute style, like glamor shots of pastel macaroons or fanart of the girls from Puella Magi Madoka Magica, other times, there’d be something completely different. Whether it be a still shot of rippling water or an almost grungy looking photo of a road edited to reflect the colors of the galaxy, the blog was filled with mismatched styles and appeals, to the point where the blog itself looked like a visual representation of Chaotic Good (because Tumblr sure loved its alignments).

            But when the posts weren’t all together on the same page, but instead were spread out and littered all across Joonmyeon’s dashboard, he couldn’t help but liking and reblogging all of them. It was always a little surprise for him, a little game where he had to guess what the theme of the next post would be. None of the blogger’s posts were ever bad, either—quite the contrary, actually, as all of the posts were in quite good taste, even if they were a bit all over the place. It intrigued Joonmyeon, and added variety to the already pleasant experience.

            He could do without all the askbox answers, though.

            He was being a little petty, he knew that, but seeing those little text posts sprawled across his dashboard always just ruined the vibe for him. The blogger didn’t seem to know what the word ‘tagging’ meant either, as every post was just sent off empty, tag-less, meaning Joonmyeon couldn’t just blacklist the answers. But really, did you have to answer all your asks publicly? It wasn’t like they were related to his blog anyway—most of the time, they were just random asks sent by the blogger’s friends as though they did know what texting was.

            Still, he put up with it, because it wasn’t like this blogger was a proper aesthetic blog in the slightest. Really, the blog was a lot like Joonmyeon’s—messy, all over the place, really there only for one person’s use and enjoyment. Really, even with the layout and description (which simply read: Chen, he/him pronouns. Hit me up on Twitter if you wanna talk~), the blog wasn’t anything big or official, nothing meant to grab in hundreds and thousands of followers. So really, in the end, the blogger having his own little conversations on his blog was perfectly acceptable and normal.

            And maybe, just maybe, Joonmyeon liked reading the little snippets.

            He had unfollowed blogs before for getting too personal—he didn’t want to be an , but communication wasn’t what he used Tumblr for. He just needed some relief from his life and stress and that usually just came in the form of pretty pictures. But somehow, reading this blogger’s posts were always just so… cute. Somehow, it all just fit the way the blog was styled, and that little fact was endearing to him. Especially now.

anonymous asked: ur a guy? wow u gays have no shame
I’m bi but sure ok

anonymous: You’re parents must be soooooo proud of you all you do is blog all day
It’s your not you’re

anonymous asked: so… u single?
Baek get your out of my ask box I know it’s you

            Joonmyeon vaguely wondered how many followers Chen must have as he scrolled down further on his dashboard, stopping to snicker to himself as he came across a short text post of the blogger’s that read: ‘I swear if I get one more ask about how problematic I am for whatever reason I’m deleting.’ The constant sass in the blogger’s posts never failed to amuse him, and eventually, he just couldn’t find it in himself to be annoyed or upset whenever a little text post or response to an ask showed up on his dashboard. Somehow, he’d grown fond of the blogger, so when Chen reblogged a little Pokémon-themed ask meme, he couldn’t help but shoot off a message of his own.

            He only realized later, however, when the little reply notification appeared in his activity log, that he’d forgotten to turn on anon.

            , he swore to himself, but just as he was about to deactivate his blog, throw away his computer, and give up on his life to move to Tibet and become a monk, another notification popped up. It was… an ask. From Chen. .

            His brain gnawed away at itself as he was torn between reading the post, reading the ask, or reading neither and just pretending nothing happened. If it had just been the answer from Chen, he may have been able to handle it fine, but the more and more Joonmyeon thought about it, the worse his mood got. He practically reblogged everything Chen posted—he must have recognized his username at this point, and god that was so embarrassing.

            Steeling himself internally for what was to come, he reluctantly opened Chen’s response, his face already flushing as he read it.

guardianangel asked: Luvdisc, Wooper, Pichu, Metagross

“Luvdisc: I love your blog
Wooper: You make me smile
Pichu; You’re really cute
Metagross: I want to get to know you more”

omg

            Okay, okay, that wasn’t too bad. At least, that’s what Joonmyeon told himself as he flipped tabs, opening up his practically desolate ask box. His blog was of the many ignored ones in the Internet dustbin, and that’s how he liked it. Chen, of course, had to be the exception to everything.

chenniebaby asked: uhhh hi so you wanted to get to know me better? ouo

            God, he was cute.

            Talking with Chen wasn’t actually as dangerous for his heart as he thought it’d be. The boy was friendly, open, and almost constantly excited about something. Every time he found out that he and Joonmyeon shared an interest, or anything along those lines, he’d go into these half-rants, half-interrogations as he questioned Joonmyeon on practically everything.

               You like Gfriend too? Who’s your favorite member? What was the first song you heard from them? Do you know the dances? Did you watch their recent stage they were so cute in it ahhhh

               And so on.

               As they continued to talk, making use of the very instant messages Joonmyeon had made fun of when Tumblr first implemented them into the site, he slowly found himself becoming more and more enamored by the boy. They got along perfectly, talked regularly, and overall just blended so well together. Really, how could he not be at least the tiniest bit enraptured?

               Though he was still caught off-guard when the boy asked to meet.

               It had happened when they found out they lived in the same city and went to the same college, and really, Joonmyeon didn’t need to be as freaked out over this as he was. It was pretty normal behavior—you get close to someone, and eventually, you want to see their actual face and talk to them in person, especially if you know you’re in the same area. Chen had been casual about it too, a simple ‘omg we have to meet up irl soon then!’ as his message, but it still had Joonmyeon’s heart pounding.

               He was in way too deep, wasn’t he?

               They’d agreed to meet up at a pretty popular café on campus, and Joonmyeon couldn’t help but smile at the corniness of it all. Two people meeting online, talking (and flirting) for ages, until they finally meet in real life over a cup of coffee—it sounded like something straight out of a romcom or something. But maybe that was what had his heart fluttering so much? Everything was just so perfect, laid out so sweetly for them and it just had him bursting with anticipation.

               there he sat, blessing whatever deities there may be in their world that most people had classes this time on Thursdays, meaning the café wasn’t overflowing with people like usual. He’d come a little earlier than what they agreed, so he went ahead and found a nice little table by the window meant for two people and patiently sipped on his strawberry frappe—which he totally got because he loved sweet things (it wasn’t like pink was Chen’s favorite color and strawberries were his favorite fruit or anything). He’d even texted Chen (they’d exchanged numbers just the night before) to tell him where he was sitting, sending him a little selfie of him with his drink so it’d be easier to find each other. So, just like that, he sat, with his laptop on and open to the Literary Analysis essay he had to finish, and waited.

               …And waited.

               …And waited.

               …And waited.

               He hadn’t even realized it at first, too engrossed in the storytelling practices of Ancient India to pay that much attention to the people around him. But as time went on, and his essay came closer and closer to an end, he started to notice just how late it was. He immediately checked the time, only to realize it was nearly an hour after when they had planned to meet up. Frantically, he grabbed his phone, but there were no messages. Pulling open his texts, he looked over to where he’d messaged Chen.

Read 12:37 p.m.

               Not caring how pathetic he looked, Joonmyeon deflated and slumped into his chair, eyebrows drawn together in visible disappointment. Sighing, he moodily shut his computer off (but not before saving his paper, thankfully) and packed his things.

               Getting stood up hurt a lot more than he ever thought it would.

----

            It was only a week later, when he’d almost successfully forgotten about the whole ordeal, did an explanation come his way.

            “Uhm… excuse me?” A voice called out to him, and Joonmyeon looked over to see a boy fidgeting in front of him. They were both in the choir club together, but Joonmyeon had ever gotten around to learning the first years’ names. It was barely a month into the school year after all—they hadn’t even had their first concert together, so try as he might, he could never find the time or motivation to get to know all of them. “Could I talk to you in the hallway?”

            “…Sure?” Joonmyeon agreed unsurely.

               The boy seemed nervous, and it was a little disconcerting, but he figured he didn’t mean any harm, considering how the kid wouldn’t even meet his eyes. They walked out together, with thankfully no one looking at them weirdly or whatever. Propping himself up against the wall, he crossed his arms and looked at the other expectantly, nodding his head towards him as a gesture for him to speak up.

            “Ah, right,” the boy muttered out, as though he’d himself forgotten what he was here for. “Uhm, I just wanted to say I’m sorry. Like, really, really sorry.”

            “For what?” Joonmyeon questioned, unprepared for the verbal onslaught he was about to face.

            “For the other day! Or like last week whatever for the café thing I swear I didn’t mean to ditch you there I was gonna go but then you sent me that selfie and I realized who you were and I couldn’t find it in myself to go because I’ve had a crush on you forever but then I thought you were straight so I thought going on a date with you—like, online-you—would help me get over you—like you you—and then I found out you were the same person like you were him and he was you and I freaked out and texted my friend for help and he told me not to go but I really shouldn’t have listened to him because he’s really at giving advice I mean he runs a god damn blog why did I think asking him for dating help was a good idea he’s such an idio—”

            “Wait,” Joonmyeon interrupted the rambling the realization dawned on him. “You’re Chen?”

            The boy tensed, raising his head up as he nodded, but still avoiding eye contact. At this point, his face was almost as pink as the oversized sweater he was wearing and—oh god it made sense. Now that he got a good look at the boy’s face, he recognized him. His name was Kim Jongdae, if he remembered correctly, and really the only memory Joonmyeon had of him was a pretty impressionable one. He and his friend, Byun Baekhyun—oh god was that the Baek that Chen kept talking about in all his posts—had managed to wow their choir director on their first day, and since then, they’d almost always been leading during practices. Joonmyeon had always enjoyed listening to their voices, but he’d never paid much attention to what they looked like until now. , though, Jongdae—or Chen, whatever—was so much cuter than he thought he’d be.

            The boy was practically his blog embodied—dressed in the oversized carnation pink sweater, white skinny jeans, and galaxy-style high tops. He had a little bit of eyeliner on, the same color as his purely black hair, and did he have his ears pierced?  All that was missing was a flower crown of some random color and the mismatched, but somehow still adorable look would be complete.

            “I’m really sorry,” Jongdae repeated, and Joonmyeon let out a small sigh. It wasn’t in exasperation though—it was in fondness. Usually, he’d be more upset, as he had every right to be, but somehow, he knew that what the boy said was genuine. From the past few weeks he’d spent getting to know Chen, he knew the boy could get a bit too excited, and it seemed that his excitement this time around transitioned into insecurity and panic.

            “This has to be the most complicated confession I’ve heard,” he finally said, not able to control himself from chuckling when the boy’s head snapped up in shock.

            “Confession? Oh I said that didn’t I ignore what I said—”

            “Chen,” Joonmyeon cut in, stepping forward and reaching his hand out in Jongdae’s direction. When the boy didn’t move away or flinch from the action, he brought it up to cup his cheek, smiling as he involuntary leaned into the contact. “Jongdae. Don’t worry so much, I’m not mad.”

            “…You sure?” His voice was small, hesitant, as though he feared a single wrong word would ruin everything. Joonmyeon’s breath hitched slight as he realized that, and a small protective urge shot through him. Chen, overeager, sassy Chen, was here in front of him, so hesitant and shy that it tugged at Joonmyeon’s heartstrings a little.

            “I’m sure,” he confirmed, letting his hand drop down only to have it rest on Jongdae’s shoulder to give a reassuring squeeze. “How about we start this whole thing over, from the start?”

            Jongdae nodded slowly, straightening himself up and taking a deep breath before speaking.

            “I’m… chenniebaby, and my real name is Kim Jongdae. Will you go on a date with me?”

            “I’m guardianangel, and my real name is Kim Joonmyeon. I will.”

this was just supposed to be a drabble and then this happened dear lord i write too much
anyway that was grossly cute glad i got that out of my system
also idk why i may jongdae so shy in this dont ask me shy little chennie is just precious ok fite me