okay so i think this chapter would be boring, i hope not
BEING IMPULSIVE AND BUYING INSTYLE BC DANIEL IS THE COVER IS TOTALLY WORTH IT
and have you guys seen the full video of jaehwan singing skyfall? it is so lit
my soul was awakened
and daniel's contemporary dance video from hs heh such a qt
did a single run through and minor edits, will edit when i'm not feeling lazy and all
ok end of spazz, go on and read this random drabble

Today felt like the judgment day. Jinri’s meeting her thesis adviser, Professor Nam, for the first time this semester, and he’s ready to give her the draft filled with a lot of red marks.

Jinri can feel her knees shaking as she stood outside the faculty room. Jaehwan was the first one inside, and he’s currently having a consultation with the professor. Based on the previous discussions, Jaehwan’s thesis was going to the right path. Her thesis, on the other hand, is still a little shaky and she’s still not sure about how she’s going to gather her data.

What makes her nervous the most is the possibility of her thesis getting scrapped altogether. If this happens, all of the sleepless nights she had last semester would be put to waste. All those data she’s gathered, her effort, all gone.

Just in case that happens, Jaehwan said he got her back. Since his work is a little stable, they can work on his thesis together. Even with the assurance that she can graduate next year, given that they finish the thesis on time, Jinri knew that deep inside, it would be so much better to work on her own study and not just freeload on something Jaehwan worked so hard for.

Her phone vibrated inside her pocket, and when she checked, it was a text from Minhyun.

To: Jinri
From: Minhyun

Good luck, I know you’ll pass. ^^

Jinri let out a sigh, placing her phone back inside her pocket. She was too nervous to even think of a proper reply. Maybe she’ll get back to it after getting her draft.

The name Yoon Jinri and the word ‘luck’ usually don’t go together, but at the moment, Jinri wished that the universe would let her off this time, give her a break from the streak of unlucky events recently. She really needed all the luck she can get.

If I get my thesis approved, I promise I’ll be nice, she thought to herself as she chewed on her lower lip. Her nerves were getting the best out of her, and she gets more anxious with every second that passed by.

The door opened and Jaehwan came out, holding the thick print-out of his thesis proposal in his arms. He looked relieved; even though Jaehwan may have the confidence of a hundred people on a daily basis, receiving the judgment for his semester’s worth of work still got the best of him. On their way to the professor’s lounge, he kept on jumping around, screaming random high notes to release the stress piling up within him (and he got scolded for it twice because he’s been disrupting classes).

“Oh my freaking gosh.” It was as if Jaehwan’s knees gave up; he let out a relieved sigh as he sat down on the floor, leaning his head and back on the wall. “I made it, I’m pushing through with my study!”

Jinri tried her best to be very happy for Jaehwan, she really did. But with all the nervousness, all that she was able to do was give him a pat on the shoulder. Maybe if she went first and had hers done already, given that the results were okay, she would’ve been jumping around out of joy for herself and her dear friend. She knew that if she gets lucky, Jaehwan would do the same for her.

Jaehwan stood up and gave her a pat on the shoulder. “Your turn. You can do this.” Jinri let out a soft sigh, nodding her head slowly. Jaehwan pressed his hand on her forehead, as if he’s passing on his energy to her. The two let out soft and awkward laughs before Jaehwan urged Jinri to go inside.

Compared to how she felt when her Japan application got rejected, this felt so much worse. After hearing the words ‘the study isn’t possible, I’m sorry’ from her professor, everything felt like a blur. Her eyes were glazed with tears but she tried her very best to stop them from falling. Her hands were shaking so she kept them behind her back, and all the words that came out of her professor’s mouth went in and out of her ears.

She understood her professor’s concerns: it would be hard for her to gather the data she can use for the study since there are only few sources. It would be hard to build her work with the little information around. Out of the thousand books inside the library (and the other libraries around town), there was only one book which talked about her research, and using only one book would make her study a little biased. Professor Nam tried his best to go around asking people he knew if they could help look for possible respondents throughout the break, but her study seemed blurry at the moment.

Professor Nam admired her at first for her courage to take up on the research of the said topic, but gave her a warning that it’s going to be a tough ride. Jinri wanted to get out of her comfort zone and try something that she thought would make a difference. She wanted her study to be remembered and have people thinking ‘wow, she did that?’, but it just wouldn’t be possible at the moment.

This day marked the end of that tough ride; all of those sleepless nights were put to waste. She tried to comfort herself by thinking that she did her best, even until the end.

Her footsteps were heavy as she walked out of the room. She held her thesis proposal in her arms tightly as she met Jaehwan outside. He was waiting for her with the most hopeful expression she’s seen, mouthing the words ‘how’d it go?’ continuously as she got closer.

Jinri forced herself to smile as she shook her head, and right in that moment, as Jaehwan’s smile faltered, she cried. Jaehwan isn’t the best person to be with during her sudden outburst of tears, but during that whole time, he held her in his arms, hugging her tightly without saying a word. He knew that no words are enough to comfort her at the moment, and hoped that him being there for her would be enough.

Throughout the whole day, Jaehwan and Minhyun tried their best to cheer her up. The two knew how much of a big deal her thesis proposal was to Jinri. Even though it kept her up most nights and brought her to tears, it kept her alive and breathing throughout the whole semester the year before. She was excited about it, and to have it scrapped altogether like this is the worst feeling on earth.

Minhyun started it off by buying her favorite ice cream bar, the blueberry yogurt bar they always buy at the convenience store beside their university, and then Jaehwan keeping it low with the teasing and bickering (he was extra nice). Jinri appreciated their effort, and they succeeded in cheering her up. She felt okay throughout the remainder of the day, her mind off of her thesis, but the alone time during her walk home from the bus stop got her mind busy again, and her mood went downhill quickly.

Before heading home, Jinri decided to stop by the convenience store one block away from their apartment building. After buying a pack of yogurt drink, she went to her usual place by the window and started drinking them one by one while staring blankly at the sidewalk. It was still too early for her to go home since she usually goes home when the sun is down, and she decided to just kill time in the convenience store.

“Do you want me to pack everything?” Jinri held her phone with one hand and held the pack of yogurt drink with the other. Jisung called a few seconds ago and asked her to pack him some clothes for his sudden meeting in Busan.

“Yes, please. I’ll br— no? We’ don’t have time to go home? Alright. Nevermind, Jin. We’re just going to buy our things there. You’ll be okay on your own, right?”

“I’m not a kid anymore, oppa. Of course I will be okay, don’t worry about me.” Jinri took the last sip of the fourth bottle of yogurt and placed the pack on the table again.

“Alright, I’ll see you tomorrow. Stay safe, okay?”

“Back at you, oppa.” Jinri ended the call and placed her phone beside the pack of drink.

Since Jisung wouldn’t be around for dinner, she felt like buying a cup of ramen, and probably a roll of kimbap before going home. Between the two of them, Jisung was the better cook. Jinri knew how to cook as well, but she was too lazy to do so since she still has a research paper to work on when she gets home.

She was too busy on her drink to even notice the guy with the pink hair and the red hoodie staring closely at her from the other side of the window, and when she did, she felt like she almost got a heart attack.

Daniel laughed as he waved at her, holding a black skateboard with his other hand. He grinned at her before going inside the convenience store. If he was in front of her, Jinri would’ve hit him with the pack of drinks due to shock.

She followed Daniel with her gaze as he went through the shelves, paid for two cups of ramen, a pack of kimbap, a few packs of what looks like jellies and a big bottle of water.

It was unexpected to see Daniel in her neighborhood, since it’s a little far from school. Most people from the university live in the dorms since it’s cheaper, and since Daniel is someone who doesn’t originally reside in Seoul (it is obvious due to his extreme Busan accent), she automatically assumed that he lives in the dorms.

Daniel was smiling and waving at her as he walked towards where she is, and in return, Jinri awkwardly bowed, a little confused at how things ended up this way.

“Fancy seeing you here, sober Jinri.” Daniel grinned as he placed his bag of food on the table. He placed his skateboard on the floor, making sure that it wouldn’t move around before taking his food out of the bag. “This place is not really the place where most people from our school go, so why are you here?”

“Back at you, Daniel.” Jinri glanced at Daniel and watched him as he opened the small bag of jellies. He looked like a puppy munching on jellies. “I live in this area, that’s why. What about you? Why are you here?”

“I live in this area as well.” Daniel turned to look at her with a smile, tilting his head to side. “Now that’s interesting. That’s unexpected.”

“Mm.” Jinri nodded slowly, not having the energy or the enthusiasm to feel surprised that someone from school lives in her neighborhood.

Daniel poked her arm, making her look at him as he offered her some jellies. She shook her head and gave him a polite smile before concentrating on her drink.

“You’re silent today, are you okay?” Daniel glanced at her as he took off the plastic wrap on his plate of kimbap.

On a normal day, she would’ve thought of a witty comeback for that but since the day isn’t really one of her best ones, she just shrugged and threw the empty pack of yogurt drink on the trash can beside the table.

“Bad day, huh?” Daniel offered her some kimbap and she shook her head. He then looked at her with an amused expression. “Are you the kind of person who doesn’t accept food from others?”

“I’m going to get one for myself in a few so it’s really okay. Eat up and help yourself.” Daniel nodded slowly, eating the kimbap slice by slice, glancing at Jinri who’s busy staring into space from time to time. “I’m going to get some for myself.”

As she went through the shelves, Jinri kept on thinking about what to do for her thesis. Before Jaehwan left for soccer practice this afternoon, he assured her that if she felt like working with him for the thesis, he’d love to work with her and finish the study together. She’s actually considering his offer, since it’s a little too late to think of a new research topic and start over. Besides, it would be harder to finish a new research especially with the continuous productions they needed to film this semester and the upcoming internship in the summer.

Just like she planned, Jinri bought a cup of ramen, a plate of kimbap and a small pack of kimchi for dinner. Since she didn’t like eating alone, maybe it would be better to just eat at the convenience store since Daniel was there as well.

When she came back to the table, Daniel was busy tapping on his ramen cup with his disposable chopsticks, as if he was playing the drums. He looked at her and smiled, gesturing for her to join him.

“We have the same dinner.” Daniel said, as if it wasn’t the most obvious thing at the moment.

Jinri placed her hot cup of ramen on the desk and started to remove the plastic wrap from her plate of kimbap. She popped a slice in and glanced at Daniel. “How did your reaction paper go?”

“It was okay.” Daniel nodded slowly as he removed the lid of the cup completely. “I got a B.” He let out a soft chuckle and looked at Jinri. “Not really the kind of person who likes to write papers so getting a B is almost equivalent to an A-.”

Jinri nodded slowly, offering Daniel some kimbap. The boy grinned and took a slice, popping it into his mouth as he hummed a soft tune. “What’s your major again?”

“Mushic productionsh.” Daniel said as he chewed.

“Don’t talk when your mouth is full.” Jinri checked on her ramen, and it was ready. She didn’t like eating overcooked ramen noodles; she liked them a little crispy.

Daniel chuckled softly, nodding. “Yes, mom.”

“Don’t call me mom.” Jinri narrowed her eyes at Daniel, who ended up laughing more than he already does.

“You nag like my mom.”

She raised an eyebrow as she looked at the pink-haired boy busy stuffing his self with noodles. “Why do you see a lot of your family members in me?” Jinri asked in an amused tone as she crossed her arms. “You think I look like your cat, and now I nag like your mom? I’m feeling a little weirded out, Daniel.”

Daniel shrugged nonchalantly, biting on the noodles to cut them before looking at the girl beside him. “I was just stating my observation. You look like my cat, and that is a complement, just in case you feel bad. Rooney’s really pretty, you know.” The boy nudged her gently on the side, trying to convince her that being compared to a cat is actually a good thing.

Jinri shook her head in amusement. “But still, a cat?”

“Mm.” Daniel nodded. “Rooney’s really pretty.”

“I don’t know how to react to that to be honest.” Jinri shook her head in amusement, chuckling softly before she took her first bite of the ramen.

“Heh.” Daniel poked her arm repeatedly. “I made you laugh. That’s a relief.”

Jinri smiled slightly, appreciating Daniel’s effort of trying to make her feel better.

The rest of the meal was just filled with random conversations. The two talked about their media studies class, the noisy freshman block they share the class with, how Jaehwan was like in swimming class (Daniel said Jaehwan’s laugh always echoes around the pool area), and some of the clubs they have been to. Since Daniel has been to a lot of clubs recently due to his part time job as a DJ, he knows which ones were the best.

Daniel even asked Jinri to listen to a set he just created the night before, and asked for an honest opinion since he was planning to use the exact set for his gig this Friday. At first, Jinri refused since she isn’t someone who can give useful comments, but Daniel insisted that her opinion would matter since she’s part of an audience, not someone who knew the technicalities of what Daniel does. She had to give Daniel an applause after since his set was good, considering the fact that he’s just starting out, and unlike other DJs she met, Daniel’s set is considered refreshing to the ears, not just pure tugs tugs tugs and beat dropping. But that’s just her, and she’s not a pro. It was just an opinion, but Daniel was grinning from ear to ear after hearing that comment.

It was already dark when the two went out of the convenience store. Daniel bought more packs of jellies since he already finished half of what he bought, and Jinri bought a bar of chocolate and a bottle of instant coffee to keep her awake that night. She still has to complete her research which was due two days from now, and she still hasn’t started yet.

“I’ll see you around, I guess?” Daniel wore the hood of his hoodie and gave her a smile as he waved at her. He placed his skateboard on the sidewalk and stepped on it, getting ready to leave.

Jinri nodded, zipping up her coat and fixing her scarf. “Mm. See you around.”

Daniel waved at Jinri as he went off, slowly skating through the sidewalk. It was the same route Jinri takes as she goes home, and she thought that maybe, Daniel lived on the apartment building a few blocks away from theirs since most people who lived in their building were families.

Jinri walked in silence, still contemplating about what she’s going to do for her research. She held her phone tightly in her hands, thinking about the exact words she’s going to use to ask Jaehwan to take her in and make her his thesis partner. She knew she has that bit of the pride, and having her research scrapped like this wasn’t part of her plan. Just like what Minhyun usually tells her, she stayed positive and believed that she can push through with her thesis. Even if Jaehwan is her friend, she still feels a little ashamed and embarrassed to ask him for such a thing, even if he already offered to do it a few hours ago.

Just before she was about to start typing her text, she received a message from Jaehwan.

To: Jinri
From: Jaehwan

I know u. You’re probably overthinking about what to say or what to do. Don’t. Don’t be embarrassed, or ashamed or whatever. U did your best, and I know you’re having a bad day bc of it. But I’m here, u can talk to me or whatever (ew btw), and yes, u can be my partner for the thesis. No need to ask, I know you’re already considering that. You’re welcome, u ;p

Jinri let out a soft chuckle after reading Jaehwan’s text. He isn’t Kim Jaehwan for nothing.

To: Jaehwan
From: Jinri

Thanks , luv u (ew)

To: Jinri
From: Jaehwan

OMG u r so obsessed with me go awei

Jinri laughed softly as she placed her phone back inside her coat’s pocket, and ran quickly to catch the lift slowly closing its doors. It was a good thing that the person inside was nice enough to press the button so the doors wouldn’t fully close, and luckily, Jinri was able to get in.

She bowed at the person, catching her breath while doing so.

“Oh?”

A familiar husky voice caught her attention as she looked up. The shade of the red hoodie looked familiar, and when she stood up completely, that was when she confirmed it. Jinri stared at the pink-haired boy who she was just talking to a few minutes ago.

Daniel looked at her with a raised eyebrow, his lips slowly forming a smile. “This would be interesting.”

“I hate you, Minhyun.” Jaehwan narrowed his eyes as he looked at Minhyun from head to toe. He crossed his arms across his chest, looking like a five-year-old kid glaring at his classmate for bringing the same bag as his.

Minhyun raised a brow, completely dumbfounded at how Jaehwan acted. “What is your problem?”

“Stop dressing up like that.” Jaehwan scoffed as he gestured at the way Minhyun was dressed. “Stop dressing up like a prince, I look like so small beside you.”

Jinri watched in amusement as Jaehwan sulked. Minhyun liked to dress up, and with his handsome face and height, everything he wears looks good on him. He isn’t the type to buy a lot of clothes though, but every time his mother visits him in Seoul, she goes on a shopping spree for she wouldn’t want her son to look shabby. On this special day, he was wearing this striped long-sleeve shirt, tucked in his black jeans, paired with a black coat.

Jaehwan on the other hand, is the complete opposite of Minhyun’s classic style. He chooses comfort over pretty clothes which make you sacrifice a lot. Hoodies, the classic pair of jeans and loose sweatshirts which can be used for layering makes up his wardrobe. (Minhyun and Jaehwan's outfit reference)

Minhyun blinked, amused at what Jaehwan said. Not knowing what to say, he ended up laughing while shaking his head. “Ah, Jaehwan.” He said adoringly, ruffling Jaehwan’s hair while doing so.

“What the hell, are you on your period?” Jinri asked in an amused tone as she pushed the pub’s door with her whole body, glancing at Jaehwan who’s still busy sulking.

The three went inside Nostalgia, the pub where Jaehwan and his band played before. Jaehwan and Jinri wanted to work on their very first script assignment together, exchanging ideas and criticizing each other’s works while doing so. Since Jaehwan isn’t really the type of person to stay inside the library for so long, he suggested to just go to this specific pub due to its relaxing ambiance. Jinri was more than happy to agree, since the pub was really her style. Minhyun tagged along, bringing his laptop with him to edit some of the articles for the semester’s first newspaper, as well as making improvements and adjustments on his thesis.

“My handsome friend is sulking.” Jinri grinned, pinching Jaehwan’s fluffy cheek as they settled on the small booth by the corner.

Jaehwan scoffed, pushing Jinri’s hand away.

“He’s sulking since the girl he said hi to asked for my number.” Minhyun said with a slight chuckle, sitting across Jaehwan and Jinri. He placed his backpack beside him and took out his laptop. “I told her I don’t have a phone and that I don’t talk to strangers.”

Jinri chuckled, nodding slowly. “Nice one, Minhyun.” The two high-fived, laughing softly while Jaehwan continued to sulk. Jinri looked at the boy beside her and nudged him gently. “C’mon, she probably isn’t that pretty. You make girls scream whenever you play the guitar, you don’t need to dress up like Minhyun to get all the girls. Just sing Skyfall and all girls would probably offer their selves to you.”

Looking a little convinced, Jaehwan’s expression slowly turned into a smirk. “Oh c’mon, Jinri. Stop confessing your love for me lik— ” before Jaehwan was able to finish his sentence, Jinri punched him hard on the arm, mouthing the words ‘shut up you ’. “HEY!!!! STOP HITTING ME, YOU SADIST!” Jaehwan gritted on his teeth as he pulled on the hoodie of Jinri’s jacket, using it to cover her whole face. He held onto it, pulling it downwards tightly while laughing.

“I CAN’T BREATHE YOU !” Jinri flailed her arms, trying to hit Jaehwan as much as possible even without seeing where her fists land. None of her punches reached Jaehwan though.

Minhyun laughed as he scanned the menu for something to eat, glancing at the two across him. “Stop, children.” He then hit the two lightly on the head with the menu until they stopped bickering like elementary school students. “Let’s order.”

Jinri grimaced as she fixed her hoodie and her hair afterwards, glaring at Jaehwan who looked like he won the lottery. He happily scanned the menu, looking at each page with enthusiasm.

“I’m ordering the large cheeseburger with fries and a glass of beer.” Jaehwan closed the menu and handed it to Jinri.

She glanced at him as she scanned the menu. “You’re going to drink?”

Jaehwan nodded nonchalantly. “I write scripts and papers better when I’m a little drunk.”

Minhyun nodded, closing the menu. “He starts his research papers when he’s drunk, and edits it the day after. I read his work once after he passed out, and he does make interesting analysis on times like that.”

Jaehwan grinned proudly, taking his laptop out of his bag. “I know, I’m that awesome. Sometimes, I get surprised at what I wrote the night before, like the things I wouldn’t be able to think of when I’m sober. ”

“Eh?” Jinri raised an eyebrow, not fully believing Jaehwan. “Really?” She reads most of his papers, and Jaehwan really does have interesting points and analysis of things. If he really did those with alcohol in his system, she wanted to applaud him. She knows she won’t be able to do something that good when she’s drunk. She’ll just end up sleeping.

Minhyun nodded. “You know how some people in the art department drink first before they paint? Jaehwan does that. Sometimes with soju.”

Jinri nodded slowly, glancing at Jaehwan who was calling the waiter. “You really are an interesting person with an interesting point of view.”

“I know, don’t fall for me too much.” Jaehwan grinned, instantly raising his arms to block any attack from the girl beside him. It has already become an instinct for him to block any kind of hits from Jinri whenever he makes jokes like that. When Jaehwan finally let his guard down, that was when Jinri attacked him, earning whines and complains from the boy.

After ordering (Minhyun ordered a one serving of carbonara, a glass of cookies and cream milkshake and a plate of garlic sticks he’s going to share with Jinri. On the other hand, Jinri ordered one serving of chicken pesto, a glass of iced tea and a slice of blueberry cheesecake Jaehwan agreed to share with her), the three started working on each of their homeworks.

Jinri and Jaehwan’s first individual script for the semester was a public service ad script on special issues, most especially suicide. Jaehwan already had an idea of what to do with his work, already typing the plot of his script on his laptop. On the other hand, Jinri was still trying to conceptualize hers. Since it was an extremely sensitive topic, Jinri wanted to convey it in a way that isn’t too graphic or depressing; just the right amount of everything enough to tell the people its message.

The three worked in silence, eating a spoonful of food every now and then. Jaehwan was already halfway with his work and his glass of beer, and since grammar isn’t Jaehwan’s biggest strength, Jinri had to read his work and make some adjustments. Minhyun wore his earphones, listening and singing to random songs on his playlist as he did his work.

“Eh?” Minhyun’s voice caught Jinri and Jaehwan’s attention. The two looked at him, and then followed the direction of his gaze. Minhyun was looking at the painting hung on the wall right beside their booth. “This is Seongwu’s work.”

Jinri stared at the painting beside her. It really is Seongwu’s work, his sign is on the lower right side of the canvass. It was a small signature, his surname written in English with three dots on the letter O, just like the shape the three moles on his face created. Seongwu’s work was called ‘Constellation’, an abstract painting filled with dark colors, mostly the different shades of blue and gray.

“Wow, it looks deep.” Minhyun said while looking at the painting hung on the wall. “The colors are really dark and gloomy.”

Jinri nodded slowly, agreeing with what Minhyun said. “It’s pretty though.”

“Mm hmm.” Jaehwan nodded, taking a sip of his beer before going back to his work.

Jinri excused herself, heading to the restroom for a little break, and also, to wash her face to keep herself awake. They’ve been working on each of their homeworks for almost two hours, and she’s feeling a little sleepy and tired from staring at her laptop for so long.

“Hyung,”

Jinri thought she was just delusional, but she heard Seongwu’s voice as soon as she went out of the restroom. She looked around the place, and saw Seongwu talking to the person behind the counter, holding a big canvass wrapped with manila paper.

Jinri hid by the walls, watching Seongwu out of curiosity, and also, afraid that he might see her looking all sleepy and tired.

“Thank you for buying this, Yoojin hyung. I could really use the money.” Seongwu continuously bowed at the manager, handing him the canvass carefully.

“It’s okay, your works fit the ambiance of the restaurant.” The manager named Yoojin answered, handing Seongwu a small white envelope.  “You’re running out of money?”

Seongwu nodded, rubbing his nape shyly.

“Jiwu isn’t giving you any money?”

“I don’t want to bother her. Noona’s been really busy these days.”

“Just go back home, Seongwu.”

Seongwu’s smile faltered a little, shaking his head. “You know why I can’t, hyung.”

The guy named Yoojin let out a sigh, nodding slowly. “Alright. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to come to me.”

Seongwu shook his head. “It’s okay, hyung. Thank you. I don’t want to be a bother.” He bowed once again. “I’ll be leaving first, hyung. I’ll see you around.”

After making sure that Seongwu has left, Jinri walked out of the restroom hallway. On her way back to their booth, another painting of Seongwu has caught her attention: ‘Underneath’. Just like the previous one, it’s an abstract painting filled with warm colors such as red, orange and yellow, together with a few streaks of black and gray.

Jinri isn’t the kind of person who knew much about art, but this work of his is the complete opposite of the kind Seongwu she has seen so far. Beyond the brightness of the colors Seongwu used, it felt dark, gloomy and lonely.

Despite all the smiles and laughs, is Seongwu a lonely person? Jinri couldn’t help but wonder.

“If my paintings could speak, they would’ve told you to stop staring already.”

**

and i think this story would be longer than expected
bc cheese in the trap is my fave, i wanted the feels to be like that, not just a romance story but something that other people can relate to. i hope it's going the right path
let me know what u think of this chapter, an upvote would be highly appreciated, xo