Two: Stop Staring

Not for the Chase (because you’re incredible)
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Gotta say, there’s a lot of feels in this one! If you liked it, tell me down below in the comment section <3

 

Joori was on her own little world, her eyes a shade of soft honey gazing softly at the boy a few seats across her with his friends, eating their late, late lunch, or brunch in this case. She hadn’t wanted to focus on him; she really hadn’t, but while she was going to take a bite from her food, her eyes locked with his beautiful face, and she couldn’t pull them away.

He was urging Sehun to eat his food like a parent scolding their bratty child, and his face did not look amused at all. He was so close to her that she could hear him arguing with the youngest, but all she cared about was how nicely sculpted his face was when he was serious. He was more of an awkward, soft-looking boy, a bit angelic-like, so to see such intense features on his face, it made her halt all of her action to just.. stare at him.

Joori took pride in being the girl that wasn’t swayed by anything. She was mentally strong, and rarely did people manipulate her. But something about Kim Junmyeon made her turn into actual liquid mush. It was so pathetic. She shifted from that untouchable, popular girl to a silly girl who couldn’t even look away from her crush. He wasn’t even that amazing. He was just a boy, nothing special, so why the heck was she so mesmerized by him? He’s just a boy, she kept thinking, hoping she’d be able to tear her eyes away. He’s just a boy, Ri, Goddamn it, why are you still looking? Look away! Look away! What if he caught you staring? That’d be so embarrassing! 

From her side view, she could clearly see Kai staring at her with a smirk on his face, having noticed her staring. Chanyeol, who was beside him, noticed him giving her a stupid smirk and looked at her in curiosity, too. She, however, did not look away from Junmyeon, not even for a little. Slowly, her friends from her side began to notice, too.

“You’re doing it again.” She heard Yuri whisper secretly from beside her, leaning over her ear so she wouldn’t be heard. Finally, she was able to force her eyes off of him, and she turned down to poke her food with her fork moodily.

“What?” She muttered, without actual will or curiosity. Yuri didn’t hesitate. 

“Staring at him.”

A sigh came out of her lips, a tired sigh, and she raised her head to give him a last, longing look. He was finally eating his own food instead of scolding those who aren’t eating. “Let me be, please.” She whispered back, looking away once again. 

“I’m not saying it as a bad thing,” Yuri whispered, and her evil intention could be heard clearly through her tone. She was fooling no one. Joori readied herself. “But imagine what everyone would think when they see their heartbreaker girl staring at a guy, finally having an interest. Personally, I think it’s cute!”

“Personally,” Joori started with a bored expression on her face. “I don’t give a crap about yours of their opinion.”

“Harsh, Ri, harsh,” Yuri exaggeratedly placed her hand over her chest. “My heart is shattered.”

Joori ignored her, of course, it was the best thing to do regarding her over enthusiastic best friend. However, it didn’t seem like Yuri was done, and she opened to start another mantra, when Joori interrupted her. 

“Don’t you have anything better to do? Like making out with your bratty boyfriend?”

Joori and Sehun had a strange relationship going on. She was the one who introduced them together considering he and Kai were dance majors, and she saw them frequently in their classes. She didn’t exactly treat him like how she treated everyone, and neither did he. Their relationship consisted of a lot of sarcastic comments and eye-rolls. Everyone thought they hated each other, but instead, it was just their way of interacting. Yuri didn’t believe this was it, and she thought they secretly hated each other which was funny, because it was Joori that introduced them together in the first place. Would she have deemed him as worthy and friendly if she didn’t like him enough? Would she even trust her friend with him? Really, Yuri was a little bit over the top sometimes. 

“Don’t be like this towards my love,” Yuri whined, still talking in hushed tones so the boys don’t overhear. “Do you know that he’s practically Junmyeon’s baby? Junmyeon instantly dislikes anyone who doesn’t get along with his son, so the two of you gotta get over your little stupid feud.”

Joori didn’t know if she was exaggerating. It didn’t help her surprise that she practically just saw him scolding Sehun to eat his food. “You don’t—that can’t be ri—you’re lying.” Joori stuttered, eyes wide.

Yuri looked amusingly sympathetic, yet Joori could clearly see the way her eyes twinkled evilly. What kind of a best friend was she? “I’m not lying, what would I gain from lying? You wanna a Junmyeon, you gotta love a Sehun.”

She ignored her friend and looked back at Junmyeon, not because she didn’t believe her — which she halfheartedly didn’t — but because she couldn’t have this stupid conversation with her. She and Sehun did not hate each other, but it might look like that to outsiders who don’t understand their relationship’s dynamic. What if Junmyeon thought of her the same and decided she was an ? If Yuri was truthful in what she said, then Sehun truly meant a lot to Junmyeon, and she didn’t want to ruin her chances with him because they both couldn’t show their feelings properly without their fists. She looked at Junmyeon once again with a sigh, hoping that looking at him with ease her childish anxiety.

She found him looking right back at her.

Her heart lodged in almost right away, having caught his brown eyes immediately as if she were drawn to them, and his face just flashed awkwardly, not knowing of her inner turmoil. Her whole body was hyperventilating, reacting to his single look to her, and she found her dead and cold heart beating faster than it ever did. In a way, she felt like electricity running through her veins, making her skin sensitive, and she gulped at the aching thought of touching his beautiful face with the pads of her fingers. Junmyeon gave out a small smile at being caught, his whole eyes expressing nervousness although nothing else about his other features gave anything away; and then he looked back at his food.

She saw Sehun leaning up from where he sat next to him to whisper something, and she didn’t understand what they were telling each other, but she understood one thing: she was in trouble. She was in a huge pinch.

“Aw, how adorable,” Yuri was heard whispering again, this time none too maliciously and just oozing with cuteness. “He’s completely oblivious to how you see him.”

Okay, so she saw the whole exchange. 

“Oh my God, Yuri, you’re on a roll today, aren’t you?” Joori sighed in embarrassment, looking down and down at her plate of food and avoiding Yuri’s eyes, wondering if she could hide herself in her food somehow. 

“Why are you so embarrassed about your feelings anyway?” Yuri asked curiously, leaning up to her the same way Sehun was leaning up against Junmyeon. 

“I’m not embarrassed of my feelings at all,” Joori stated, annoyance slowly seeping over her features. “Because I’m not embarrassed of my choices nor am I embarrassed of him specifically. It’s just you’re making yourself sound stupid, stop it. I don’t understand why you’re so excited about it either.”

“Are you kidding me? You don’t know why I’m excited?” Yuri looked at her like she was crazy, and she probably thought she was crazy by how wide her eyes had gotten. “Maybe because you’re looking at someone else like you want to spend the rest of your life with them for the first time since I’ve known you. May I remind you that I’ve known you for over seven years?”

Joori grumbled but stayed silent, so Yuri completed.

“C’mon,” Yuri’s voice took a considerable degree of gentleness, and the mock was no where to be found. Joori tensed, knowing she was about to say something serious. “What’s stopping you from chasing after him? I’ve known him for a few weeks now. He’s not bad, a little awkward with strangers but he’s super kind. I see the way he treats others. What’s holding you back?

“Maybe how he doesn’t know I exist?” Joori said pathetically, avoiding her eyes. Yuri’s face brightened, for some reason, and her next words came a little bit loud. 

“That’s easy! You can show him that you do exist! Beside, I find it hard to believe someone doesn’t know you exist.”

“Because everyone should know I exist, right?” This sentence of hers became a little bitter, and even she could feel the sourness in her speech. She always found it hard to hide her emotions. “Because I’m so freaking popular.”

“Hey, why do you sound so bitter about it?”

“Did you see him?” Joori snapped her head from where she was watching her food and gave Yuri a look as if she was the one losing her mind now. “He is someone completely out of my league. We’re both people from a different social status, not like I care, but it seems like he does! Every time I approach him he looks awkward, and he looks like he’s second guessing my intentions. He doesn’t seem to understand I actually like him. He just thinks I’m going to get him or something, and not in a good way!”

Yuri took a few minutes to answer, surprised at such outburst from Joori. At her slightly raised voice, a few heads turned to watch them, including Junmyeon’s head, and when Joori noticed them watching her curiously, she lowered her head. Yuri waited a few more minutes until everyone looked away to speak, and when she did, her voice came out calm and disappointed. 

“Maybe you should settle with Chanyeol then, or Baekhyun, heard he has a crush on you.”

“Yuri.” Joori stated, looking and sounding unamused to a default. 

“Okay, what do you want me to say?” Yuri sighed helplessly, an ancient sort of sadness and hopeless coating her tone. “If you’re so afraid and insecure about yourself, maybe it’s better to be with someone who doesn’t make you second guess yourself. Wow, didn’t think I’d ever say these words to our little monkey!”

She mumbled something for Yuri, but the girl didn’t seem to have heard it.

“What was that?” 

“I’m not afraid.” Joori said in a louder voice, sneaking another glance at Junmyeon and checking if he was eavesdropping on their conversation or not. He was now talking to Kai, oblivious to whatever was happening around him. They were talking with too small of a voice anyway. 

“Oh really?” Yuri dryly commented. “You sound pretty damn intimidated to me.”

Joori just gave her an exasperated look, a tired one, and Yuri sighed, releasing herself from her sarcastic nature. No wonder she fell for Oh Sehun, the two were practically twins. 

“Listen here, little monkey,” God, how much she hated this nickname. “Once you like someone, you’ll always feel like you’re less than them, it’s the way your feelings mess with you. In most cases, it’s completely normal. You’ll wonder how the heck you’ll be able to make your feelings mutual, how the heck you’ll let them see you the same way you’re seeing them, and you’ll feel like they deserve the world, which is scary because you don’t know how to give them that. But that shouldn’t stop you, you hear me? You’re perfect and amazing and probably the nicest person out there. If there’s someone who deserves you it’s him, and if there’s someone who deserve him it’s you. Go get this under control, babygirl, and yeah, you have to befriend Sehun too.”

In a way, Joori thought Yuri didn’t understand her point. She was not afraid, or intimidated, or insecure; she was just sure pursuing a guy like Kim Junmyeon was difficult, a challenge that she has never gone through because things were just handed to her on a gold plate. It was this that unsettled her, that after working after him for a long time using a lot of effort, it would never be enough, because the two of them were simply worlds apart. But in another way, Yuri wasn’t entirely wrong. Liking someone who doesn’t like you back can be a big knock on your self esteem, and can do you a whole other things from questioning yourself, to feeling weak just at seeing him. 

“We’re already friends.” Joori mumbled, smiling a little at her friend and feeling some sort of affection bloom in her heart for her. 

“Oh, really? Then what is this hostility between you two all about?” Yuri squinted her eyes dangerously at her, having missed her smile, and Joori rolled hers. 

“It’s how we show love, Yuri.”

Joori gave her friend a bigger smile, and understanding the gratitude behind it, Yuri smiled back. 

 

-

 

The first time Joori saw Junmyeon, it wasn’t anything drastic or unique. Yuri had just gotten together with Sehun and he asked her — and all of her friends, including Joori — to sit with them in their large table in the cafeteria. A lot of them were from different majors, which meant different campuses, so Joori didn’t meet all of Sehun’s friends instantly. But she did see Junmyeon sitting there. He hadn’t been someone extraordinary and he wasn’t doing anything so pulling, either, but she found her eyes going to his face every few seconds. 

Unlike the usual boys she hangs out with, he was stark different. He was polite, extremely so, and he treated her friends with respect. He didn’t seem all that interested when she introduced herself to him, and he didn’t seem like he cared that much about who she was, despite catching the spark of familiarity in his eyes. Of course, who hadn’t heard of her? Most of Sehun’s friends acted really excitedly when they met her, especially Kai, Baekhyun and Chanyeol. She didn’t understand why Baekhyun and Chanyeol seemed so interested, whereas she had seen Kai a few times in the dance classroom she always danced in, so she thought he was interested in a semi-dancer. Junmyeon, however, regarded her like how he regarded everyone else, with detachment. 

It wasn’t what really attracted him to her at all. She found him handsome, and his playful smiles whenever he chided one of his friends made her feel even more attr

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BlackWhiskers
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Comments

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Innocentsoul123
#1
Chapter 5: Chapter 5: Joori is hands down one of the best female lead I've ever read in a FF especially for a guy like Junmyeon as both of their personalities complements each other so much despite being polar opposites in nature. Whether in real life or in FFS I just feel he deserves so much love cause as you've mentioned, guys like him are often overlooked and really deserve all the love. I'm surprised at how hot and adorable she is altogether especially when approaching him without being annoying or crossing line. Both Junmyeon and Joori are such realistic characters. Both are amazing in their own ways and non of them isn't actually innocent unlike what most authors try to portray the characters in their stories or shows. Both of them have a sense of restrictions over their dating lives instead of having full on flings but they admit when they're feeling cause again that's part of human nature so they don't try to fight that part when situation arises. I just loved Junmyeon's characteristics here as they're so relatable and while Joori's outgoing personality itself isn't relatable to but her attraction for Junmyeon and way to approach him are relatable to how I feel that a kind guy like that should be approached. I seriously want more of it, too bad it's only 5 chapters. Their last kiss is so hot though 🔥 I wish I could find more work like this for Junmyeon. By the way I can't find bonus chapter, where to search it?
Baembi
#2
Chapter 5: The way she insists on paying for him is so cute I realized that Junmyeon probably almost doesn’t get treated by anyone so it’s like a new experience for him
Baembi
#3
Chapter 2: I- Baekhyun was so sweet and shy, it’s so adorable >_<
stephanie1138 #4
Chapter 5: THIS IS TOO GOOD
MandySal
#5
Chapter 2: Aww this is giving me butterflies!!🥺💖
sb1202 #6
Chapter 5: A jun fic!!!!! It's so rare to see him as the romantic interest, I just couldn't resist reading ^^ jun definitely doesn't get the attention he deserves and I'm so thankful to see another jun×oc fic in the pool! I especially liked how the focus was on his actions throughout most of this story since usually we only get a female pov
But this story was so cute omg 🥺 I loved seeing jun stepping out of his comfort zone to tease joori back. It's refreshing to see the female lead so outgoing, in tune with her emotions, and determined to get what she wants
Thank you for this story and featuring our boy jun ❤
blackstardust
#7
Chapter 5: shut up i want what they have 😩😩😩😩😩
Wanderer_bj
#8
Chapter 5: God! I want more of this. And As everyone is saying they both are so cute..
Gingerdip
#9
Chapter 4: I'm going to die this is too cute
Gingerdip
#10
Chapter 3: The pool scene made me so jorny.. And the way they read the book together is melting my heart like😭