For Jeenastar

 

A/N: I might have taken the word “ships” a bit loosely, so it’s probably a lot different from what the prompt giver had in mind. I hope you still enjoy it, because I had fun writing it :) Sungyeol always seems to be a really fun character to write, especially since he’s my bias in Infinite.

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“You’re a photography major, right?” The seemingly excited and rather hopeful voice had me sleepily pulling my head off my arms, and squinting up at a tall, lanky guy with the biggest smile on his face.

“What?” I asked, and yawned.

“I asked if you were a photography major?” he repeated and pointed to the camera bag at my side. Because my tired brain couldn’t comprehend the question, or even why this random guy was interrupting the only break I have between classes, I just looked back and forth from the bag to his cheerful face. Part of me wanted to tell him to just get lost so I could keep sleeping, but the clock on the wall of the library told me I didn’t have much time left until my next class, and definitely not enough to get back to my nap.

“Yeah,” I finally answered, and the smile on his face grew.

“Finally!” he exclaimed, sitting down next to me and throwing his bag on the table. “I’ve been looking all over for someone in photography, and this one guy over there pointed to you.” He pointed to the helpful person, who gave a little wave when he noticed our glance. Of course it was Sungjong, my roommate, who was always complaining I needed to get out more, and get to know a few people.

“And?”

“I want to hire you.” My eyebrows shot up. Sure, I had had some people offer me a job taking photos before, for a science experiment that needed careful documentation, or for fundraising posters, or even for a kid’s birthday once, but that was after they had seen my work, and they mostly found me through the club or at my professor’s recommendation. This guy was the first to just want to hire me.

“For what?”

“To take pictures,” he said slowly, not quite understanding why I asked. I wanted to bang my head against the table.

“Obviously,” I groaned. “What kind of pictures?” The guy’s cheeks started turning red, and he averted his eyes for a moment looking thoroughly embarrassed.

Oh God, I thought, seeing his reaction. I hope these aren’t shots.

“Actually, I just want a few pictures of me. It’s for a project I’m working on.” His hand scratched the back of his head, while I wanted to curse my tired brain for even thinking of such a thing. Sungjong might have been right, I needed to get back in touch with humanity. Then again, maybe I just needed to finish my nap. I looked back to the man who was holding his hand out, and gave him a weird look.

“Are you sure there’s anything going on in there?” he asked as he retracted his hand and pointed to my head. “I just said that my name is Sungyeol, and I’m a graphics and design major.”

“Oh,” I said awkwardly. “Myungsoo.” This time when he offered his hand, I shook it, briefly, feeling his icy cold skin against mine, which sent a chill up my arm.

“Does thirty dollars seem fair?” Since he only wanted some pictures of himself for a project, I nodded. “Great. Can we do it this Saturday?” I ran through the list of things I had planned in my head, and nodded once more when I realized I only had a paper for my art theory class to write this weekend. “So how about at my place sometime around three, and I can text you the address?”

“Alright,” I agreed, and he quickly scrawled out his number on a slip of paper he found in one of his pockets.

“Here, just send me a text and I’ll give you the address.” Sungyeol smiled as he handed me the paper, before he stood up and grabbed his stuff. “I’ll see you then.” And just as quickly as he arrived, he left, waving to Sungjong as he walked out of the library. I folded the paper and stuffed it into my pocket before I grabbed my own bag and camera and headed to my physics class.

 

Saturday came around faster than I expected, and I found myself in front of a rather small, cozy looking apartment building. The red brick walls and Roman arches had me itching to take out a camera in order to take a few pictures. I checked the time on my phone and figured that I could spare a few minutes. I pulled out the digital camera, thinking it would work best with the current amount of light, and messed with the settings to give the pictures a more rustic or vintage feel. I snapped a couple shots, angling them to catch the corner of the building, or part of a window, or the subtle curve of one of the arches. I looked through the pictures and smiled, happy with the way they turned out. A vibration from my pocket pulled me out of my thoughts.

r u here yet? Sungyeol had asked, and I rolled my eyes. I wasn’t even two minutes late and he was already wondering where I was. I chalked it up to him having a tight schedule, though I had no idea if that was true.

After checking the address on my phone once again, I headed up the stairs to the third level, and knocked what was hopefully the right door. The very second I pulled my hand away from the door, Sungyeol opened it, startling me.

“Hi,” he said with that same bright smile he wore the other day. “Come on in.” He moved to the side, letting me walk inside. For a college student’s apartment, it was actually relatively clean. A couch and a small tv sat off to the side in the living room, and behind that a small kitchen with two barstools at the counter. A hallway in the back led to what I assumed were the bedrooms.

“My roommate is gone for the weekend, so we have the place to ourselves.” I shrugged and set my bags down on the ground. “Want anything to drink?” I shook my head, but he went to the refrigerator and got a bottle of water for himself.

“So what kind of pictures did you want?” He flopped down on the couch, and had an expression of concentration on his face. “Anything specific for the background?”

He shook his head, “No, I don’t need a background. I guess I just need pictures of me at different angles.” Sungyeol grabbed a folder off the floor next to the couch, and pulled out a few sketches of different poses. I took a seat next to him, and let him explain everything. What he talked about sounded more professional than most of the students I worked for, who pretty much said “Take a few pictures every five minutes, at this angle.” I was like a living tripod for them. Sungyeol, on the other hand, was careful to describe the lighting and angles of the different shadows that would need to appear on his face, based on the angle of the light. He said the coloring didn’t matter so much, since he would fix it on the computer, but the less work he needed to do, the better. We talked about the different cameras, and finally settled on using the digital camera, which meant he could have the pictures right away, instead of waiting for me to develop them.

“Ready?” he asked, when I finished adjusting the spotlight that I brought with me. I nodded, and picked up my camera as he moved to stand in front of a plain white wall.

“Any specific expression you want me to get?” I asked.

“Happiness.” I was a bit taken aback by the word, not because it was the first time I heard it in a photo shoot, but because the way he said it sounded like his dream was finally coming true. Through the camera lens, I didn’t have to look for the feeling of happiness in his face, and attempt to capture it. His expression, with those dreamy eyes looking into the distance and faint smile on his lips, had me trying to do it justice. For the first time since I started taking pictures, I felt like my photography skills were inadequate. The grace of his smile and that little twinkle in his eyes, how his cheeks looked perfectly pinchable - all things impossible to catch in a single picture.

I snapped a few pictures, trying not to appear disgusted when I glanced at their previews. They were wrong, all wrong. Not good enough. They didn’t even begin to express the beauty of his expression. So took some more, forgetting for a moment that he had hired me for a reason, not to simply take pictures.

“Myungsoo?” I snapped out of my trance, and lowered the camera. Sungyeol looked a bit confused. The last few shots in the camera’s memory told me he had been like that for a few minutes at least. I never noticed. “Aren’t you going to change angles?”

“Oh. Yeah.” I shook my head, sparing a last glance to the pictures I had already taken and moved a few steps to the right. “Could you tilt your head down a little?” He did as I asked, and the lighting changed just a fraction, enough to highlight the the rich chocolate strands in his hair. The shadows defined the rather cute bridge of his nose, and the contours of his lips. I didn’t even know noses could be cute. But I wanted the camera to see it, too.

We changed angles three more times, and each time I found something new to appreciate. His slender neck, the subtle curve of his lower eyelid when he smiles, and the mischievous glint in eyes the color of dark chocolate.

“So that’s it?” I nodded, and he pulled himself away from the white wall that I wished was colored something more suitable for him, like a deep crimson, or a brilliant sky blue. Fumbling with the camera for a moment, I pulled out the memory card and handed it to him. “Thanks. I’ll go download these to my computer and then get your payment.” He headed toward the hall in behind the kitchen, while I packed up the spotlight. I shuffled on my feet for a moment, then rolled my eyes as my body’s biology decided to tell me it still worked.

“Sungyeol?” I called out.

“Yeah?”

“Where’s the bathroom?” There was a pause.

“In the hall on the left.” I walked down the way Sungyeol went and opened the first door on the left. What I saw, had me frozen in shock. The room, which looked like a normal bedroom, was just covered in pictures and posters of a particular idol I had only heard of. His name was something like Woohyun, and was part of the group, Destiny, with another guy named Sunggyu. Girls at school always went on about them, arguing over which was better, but I never pegged Sungyeol for a fan. Or superfan, going by how the posters covered every bit of space on the walls and even some of the ceiling, and his pillowcases had the group’s logo, and the albums lied on a desk mixed with papers from school. Little figurines of Woohyun decorated a bookshelf, and all I could do as I stood there was raise an eyebrow.

“-meant the door on the…” Sungyeol’s voice trailed off as I glanced to him, still holding the door open. His eyes widened and a bright red blush covered his entire face and we just sort of stared at each other. “...right.”

With the speed of a criminal attempting to escape the cops, he rushed to the door, and swiftly pulled it closed. Apparently he didn’t mind the fact that to do that, he had to wrap his hand around mine, and time froze with us just standing there.

“So you’re a fan of Woohyun?” I asked, sounding more disgruntled than I thought I was. Why would I care about someone else’s interests? Especially when I just met this other person.

“Um, yeah, a bit.”

“That didn’t look like a bit to me.”

“Look, it’s none of your business,” he snapped and released his hand, walking to the kitchen. “I’ll get your money in a moment. ’ll just give your roommate the memory card, since my computer isn’t working at the moment, and my roommate’s is really slow.”

“You know,” I started, taking my time to follow him. “By your reactions I’d say you had a bit of a crush on this Woohyun, or, how do those girls put it? You ship yourself with him?” Sungyeol froze in the middle of grabbing some bills out of his wallet and I swore my jaw dropped. “Wait, you don’t mean-”

“Get out.” His voice sounded cold, frozen even and it was even more surprising than the fact he had a major crush on some idol.

“Look, I didn’t mean-”

“Get out, Myungsoo.” I stared at his back for three long seconds. I even counted them. Figuring we would get nowhere, I headed into the living room and picked up my bags. I made it to the door before deciding I needed to say something at least.

“Sungyeol,” I started, “I don’t really care who you’re into. You could have a crush on the tooth fairy for all I care. It’s not my place to judge.” He remained silent, so I turned to open the door. I got as far as twisting the doorknob before I heard his voice, this time quiet and unsure. A voice marginally different from the loud and confident one I heard in the library the other day.

“You really don’t mind?”

“Why should I?” He didn’t answer, and finally I heard him shuffling around, so I turned to see him now sitting on the living room couch.

“I don’t know, you’re just someone I hired to take pictures,” he said, shaking his head. “But my roommate is the only other person who knows about this, and he’s not one to judge. Well, he does tend to make a few jokes about it, but he doesn’t really care. I don’t know why it matters so much, but I want to be seen as, I don’t know, normal, to you.”

“To me? As in me specifically?” He nodded, looking a bit ashamed, but then a small smile tugged at his lips.

“You looked really cool with your camera.” I dropped my bags on the floor and sat down on the couch next to him.

“You weren’t bad yourself. First person to hire me and actually know about lighting and imagery.”

“I’m in graphics and design,” he said with a wry smile and a light chuckle. I liked the way it sounded, so natural and kind of silly, and it almost invited one to join in its sound. “I better know about that stuff.”

“You want to get lunch sometime?” I asked, probably sounding just as awkward as I felt. Normally, I wasn’t one to associate myself with people, but I had to admit, if just for that single expression, this guy was interesting. Another lighthearted laugh had me feeling slightly better about asking him and I saw him nod from the corner of my eye.

“Sure,” he said. A bright, cheerful smile replaced the uncertain expression that had dominated his face before. It somehow relieved me to see it. “You know what? I just realized you’re an alright guy.”

“And what did you think I was before?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Honestly?” he asked, leaning back against the couch. “A little scary. You had this do-not-mess-with-me expression when I first met you.”

“You woke me up. What did you expect?” He shrugged. My phone rang right at that moment, and I pulled it out and looked at the message.

“Great,” I muttered, getting a confused look from Sungyeol. I closed my phone and looked to him. “My roommate locked himself out of our apartment again.” Sungyeol laughed.

“You should go rescue him.” I nodded and stood up. “Thanks for today.”

“No problem.”

“So I’ll see you around?”

“I’m always sleeping in the library at that time. Feel free to wake me up,” I told him with a shrug as I headed to the door, picking my stuff up on the way.

“And suffer your wrath? Nah, I think I’ll just settle for texting you.”

“Suit yourself. I’ll see you later.” Sungyeol nodded and I headed out the door.

 

“Oh my gosh!” Sungyeol shouted, loud enough to hurt my ears.

“Dude, seriously?”

He winced, then muttered, “Sorry, Myungsoo.” He turned back to his phone and squealed in delight. Sighing, I set my chopsticks down.

“Ok, what is it this time?”

“Woohyun, during his solo in Destiny’s big concert, totally just ripped his shirt off, and… He has abs! Like, a total six-pack and-”

“Sungyeol?”

“Yeah?”

“You’re fanboying again.”

“Oh.” He winced, put his phone back into his pocket, and picked up his forgotten chopsticks, taking a bite of kimchi. “Sorry, Myungsoo, but it’s so hard to control myself sometimes! I mean, honestly, Woohyun is just, I don’t know, amazing, and incredible, and-”

“Sungyeol.”

“Sorry.” The rest of lunch was pretty silent, or as silent as one could get in the middle of a college cafeteria. But it was nice. Comfortable even. After that first photo shoot, Sungyeol met up with me on Monday to hand back the memory card, and to pay me the agreed amount, which he had forgotten about. We then went to lunch at some little cafe near the school, and somehow we stuck together. It was actually kind of weird how we always seemed to radiate towards each other, and coincidentally meet in the strangest places, until we just decided to hang out between classes or during lunch.

He also showed me what he really intended to do with those pictures.

“You wanted to photoshop yourself with Woohyun?” I asked, still not believing what he said, even though the proof was in my hands. Various pictures of what were originally of Woohyun and Sunggyu, were now plastered with the graphics student’s face in place of Sunggyu’s.

“They’re cute, right?” Another one of his signature smiles was shining brightly on his face. I realized that Sungyeol was a rather smiley person, and that he had different smiles for different situations. That one was his fanboy smile, but my favorite was the one that would slowly crawl onto his face after laughing about something. Or maybe the one that he would always get when he would first see me, and he’d come running with it on his face, and a hand waving in the air.

“I got to head to class now,” he said, pulling me back from my thoughts. He scooped up the trash from his lunch and with a final wave goodbye, headed towards his next class, throwing the wrappers away on the way. I watched him until he disappeared from my sight. My head connected with the table and I groaned loudly.

I was going to admit it.

There might have been the tiniest bit of a chance that I might have liked Sungyeol.

It wasn’t necessarily a weird thought. Even when we first met I had been noticing things about him that I wouldn’t normally pay attention to in others. I always noted his interests, which mostly limited to Woohyun and anything related to Woohyun, but sometimes he would mention other things, like acting or astrology. Next was his multitude of expressions, and I learned how to classify most of them. Like, I knew he was frustrated when he would run his tongue over his teeth and swallow loudly, or when he was tired, how one eye would be open slightly wider than the other. I could picture each one of his smiles in my mind, some I had only seen once.

At first, I chalked it up to my photography oriented brain. I had been trained to notice details that others would skim over, but I soon realized it was more than that. I would hang around the tech building, just to “run into” him, and sometimes I even listened to his fanboy rants, just because I liked to see the way his face would light up.

Ok, so maybe there was a bit more than a bit of a chance that I might have liked Sungyeol.

But all he cared about was that stupid idol, Woohyun.

“What’s up with you?” I looked up to see Sungjong with a friendly smile on his face, but his smile didn’t make me feel a thing. My roommate sat down next to me, throwing his books onto the table. “You know, you look like someone punched you in the gut.” I snorted.

“That bad?” He narrowed his large doe eyes and seemed to really scrutinize my expression.

“No. Worse actually.”

“So why have you gone out of your way to find me, other than to insult me?”

“Dongwoo is having a party at his place,” he said, brushing a stray strand of hair away.

“And?” I prompted.

“And I think you should go.” A loud laugh burst from my throat and I gave him an incredulous look.

“And I think you’re crazy.” My words only made him smirk, and a glint of pure evil reflected in his eyes.

“Your little graphics and design friend is going to be there.” The amusement fell from my face.

“When’s the party?” It was Sungjong’s turn to laugh. He pulled out a piece of scrap paper and a pen, writing down what I supposed were the details. With a smirk, he handed it to me and stood up, grabbing his books.

“I’ve got class, so see you later.” He waved and strode out of the cafeteria, leaving me with a good amount of confusion and the time of Dongwoo’s party.

 

“I heard you were going to Dongwoo’s party this weekend,” I said, trying to sound casual. We were slumped on his couch, with him flipping through almost endless channels to find something to watch while I fiddled with the controls on my camera. Apparently even a photography major could forget how to save something specifically to the digital camera’s memory, rather than onto the memory card. Sungyeol had called me over once again, as Destiny’s latest photo shoot had been released, and he needed new angles and lighting to photoshop himself.

“I won’t bother you anymore,” he promised, practically begging. “It’s just these photos are really risque and-” I stopped him from going on by agreeing. I kind of wish I hadn’t, because he then went on about Woohyun for a good twenty minutes. But it wasn’t all that bad. Somewhere in the middle of the shoot, I managed to take a picture that had butterflies flittering in my stomach, which was why I was sitting there trying to remember my camera’s controls.

“Yeah,” he answered, not looking away from the tv. “Hoya, my roommate, was pretty insistent that I go. It’s not really my thing, though.”

“Really?” I asked, and he nodded, actually glancing my way for a moment. I refused to admit my heart beat just a bit faster. “I sort of pegged you for the social type.” Sungyeol laughed in that contagious way, shaking his head.

“It’s not the people that I don’t like.” He leaned back and gave me one of those looks, the ones he would always wear just before admitting something personal to me. His whole face would relax, except for the lazy smile he would have, and his eyes would practically close, except a bit of anxiety kept them trained on me. “I’m not too good with alcohol.”

“Can’t hold your liquor?” He shook his head.

“Nah,” he denied. “According to my ex-girlfriend, I get a bit out of control, I guess.”

“Isn’t that normal?” The lazy smile disappeared as he lightly bit his lip.

“I tend to get a bit intimate with other guys.” I blamed the way he said “intimate,” as if it were some big scandalous secret, for how I just burst out laughing uncontrollably. Sungyeol sat there in shock as I huffed to pull enough air into my lungs, just to have it escape once more in unstoppable giggles. Tears threatened to fall in pure amusement and I clutched my stomach. “You don’t sound surprised.

“Dude,” I breathed, still not quite able to properly speak. “I was more surprised when you said you had a girlfriend at one point. Your little Woohyun crush gave away your unconscious desires.”

“My love for Woohyun is innocent!” he said, sounding mildly offended. Inside, I hid the needle pricking my heart at his words.

“Oh?” I said, raising an eyebrow. “And what were you saying earlier about those ‘risque’ photos?” His cheeks adorably flushed with embarrassment. I tore my gaze away and finally figured out the right combination of buttons to save the picture.

“What about you?” he asked, leaning close enough that I could smell the spicy scent of cinnamon. A hand reached out to snatch away my camera, and he held it close, examining the buttons.

“What about me?” I leaned back, letting him sift through the pictures - he was going to see them all anyways.

“I assume you’re going to the party, too, considering you brought it up,” he said, hitting the nail on the head. “You definitely don’t seem like one who likes interacting with total strangers.”

“My roommate wanted me to go,” I told him, shrugging as I said it. It wasn’t the real reason, but I couldn’t very well tell him that I was only going because he would be there. I heard the click of a button, and the chirp that told me he had taken a picture, and looked back to see what he had the camera pointed to. Our eyes connected as he pressed the shutter once again, smiling at his victory.

“Did you just…?”

“Yup.” I launched myself at him and his cocky grin, and reached for the camera, only to curse his stupidly long limbs.

“Give it back!” I growled, but then jumped as a finger poked my side.

“Are you ticklish, Myungsoo?” Sungyeol said in a haughty voice, poking me once more. I recoiled, and covered my sides with my hands.

“No,” I denied.

“Oh, really? Then I guess you wouldn’t mind me doing this.” He surged forward, digging his fingers under my hands to poke, pinch and tickle the flesh there, forcing a laugh from my throat, and making me curl up into a little ball. I could barely breath from his torturous touches, but then they stopped, and I looked up at him to see a curious expression on his face. Then he grinned, and took off running to the back hall, taking my camera with him.

“That little,” I mumbled, jumping off the couch to chase after him. I needed to get my camera back to erase those embarrassing pictures before he had the chance to mess with them. Laughter sounded from inside his bedroom, and I banged on the unfortunately locked door. “Let me in, Sungyeol.”

“Not till the download is finished,” he sang, obviously more than a bit amused at the current situation. “And until I email the pictures to myself, in case you decide to wipe my computer clean.”

“See if I ever work for you again,” I grumbled. I leaned against the door, waiting for him to let me in.

“That’s ok. There’re other people in photography, or even professionals.” I knew he was just saying that to invalidate my argument, but for some reason the words had me feeling a bit insignificant, like if we got rid of this agreement, our connection would be severed. Was that really all I was to him? A photographer to supply pictures to sate his Woohyun obsession? I shook my head at my own reasoning. We were more than that, because what person would hang out with their photographer on a regular basis. And what was that expression I saw on his face just moments ago? I didn’t recognize it at all, and all this time I had been fooling myself into believing I at least knew that much about him.

I was pulled from my thoughts as the support I leaned on suddenly gave way, and I almost crashed to the floor.

“You zone out too much,” Sungyeol said with a grin, holding me up with one arm. Not surprising at all that my heart decided to skip a beat or two at being so close to him. “Honestly, you’re making me worried. You could be walking down the street, with your head in the clouds and then a car could come along send your body up to join it.” I righted myself and rolled my eyes, trying best to hide how disappointed I was at having to separate myself from him.

“I’m not that bad,” I said, crossing my arms. He laughed and shook his head.

“If you say so.” I held my hand out, and, with a sigh, he placed the camera in it. “You’re no fun sometimes.”

“Don’t act like you haven’t already downloaded the memory card.” He stuck out his tongue, then grinned like a little kid.

“You do know it wouldn’t be difficult to photoshop your face onto a girl’s picture.” I narrowed my eyes at him.

“You wouldn’t.” He leaned close, leaving only a few inches between our faces.

“Try me.”

 

“I can’t believe you,” I said, crumpling the picture and stuffing it into my bag, lest someone else saw it. “You really did photoshop me onto a girl.” Sungyeol shrugged and started snickering.

“You have to admit, you look would look pretty as a girl.” My eyes widened and I looked around the almost empty library to see if anyone heard him. Seeing that it was safe, I sent him my best glare in warning.

“I hate you.” I growled and he pouted.

“But I worked hard on that!” Before I could think of a comeback, my phone’s alarm started going off and I quickly turned it off.

“I have to go,” I told him, though I honestly didn’t want to leave. “Sungjong wanted me to help him with dinner tonight. His parents are coming over to visit.”

“Ah, then I’ll see you tomorrow at the party?” I nodded, and waved him goodbye, before walking to the bus stop. Maybe it was my heart playing tricks on me, but I could’ve sworn he sounded just a bit disappointed.

At the street corner, I leaned against the bus stop sign, and seeing nobody around me, I pulled out the crumpled paper and laughed at the image. My face had been pasted onto an idol’s head, and long black hair framed it. I had the most ridiculous expression, looking like I had just woke up from a daze, with my mouth open and everything. It totally didn’t match the seductive pose of whatever idol he found, who had a hand on her hip, and the other caught sliding up one side of her bare leg. She wore short white shorts, and a black turtleneck that was short enough to expose her pale stomach.

It looked pretty dumb, but a part of me was still touched at the fact he took the time to make it, even if as a joke.

I folded it carefully and set it back into my bag as soon as the bus pulled up, and it wasn’t taken back out until later that night, after Sungjong’s parents had left. I lied on my bed, just looking at it and laughing every other moment.

“Oh, boy,” Sungjong said from my doorway. I didn’t even hear him come in. “You’ve got it bad.” I quickly folded the picture and tucked it under my side, going for the oblivious act. “I’ve been standing here for the past five minutes. You really think I haven’t seen it already?” I smiled sheepishly and sat up, scratching the back of my head.

“Uh-oh,” he started, sounding like he was about to panic. “Myungsoo just smiled. The world is going to end.” I grabbed one of the pillows off my bed and threw it at him, adding a nice little glare as a final touch. “So it’s official, Myungsoo is crushing on Sungyeol. Aren’t you glad I set you two up?”

“You set us up?” I asked, not believing him one bit.

“I pointed him to you, didn’t I? And I even made sure that he would be at the party tomorrow. That makes me like your cupid doesn’t it? Except I didn’t do it for free.”

“What are you talking about?” I asked totally confused.

“I expect your help on the next campus newsletter,” he called out as he headed down the hall. Of course it would be that. I should’ve known he had some hidden motive. The one thing I loathed helping him with. Last month he had to pay fifty for my skills, and he cringed each time he took out one of his precious bills and put it into my awaiting hand.

He must not have known me well enough. No way did I value his help that much.

 

Loud music and dancing people filled the apartment like noxious gas would fill one’s lungs - fully and uncomfortably. I hung to the wall, squeezing past people who obviously needed to slow down on the alcohol, since the smell of beer clung to them worse than their cheap perfume. I noticed Sungjong talking animatedly in the corner with a group of his classmates, and he slightly jerked his head to the left. I followed the motion and noticed a tall, lanky guy in the middle of a small group at the impromptu bar.

Sungyeol’s lips pulled up into a lazy smile as he noticed me, and pushing through a few people, came to stand at my side.

“Hey,” he said, already sounding a bit more relaxed than usual. I had a feeling the beer in his hand was involved in making him that way.

“Hey.” We stood there for a moment, just looking at the crowd of people swaying, jumping, or even dancing to the music. Every few seconds he would take a swig, and I wondered how much it took until he became “out of control,” as he mentioned earlier. To a degree, I wasn’t surprised that my thoughts on the matter weren’t all that innocent. I actually started to wonder whether he would turn to me, become intimate with me, as he so described it. Remembering him confess that had a small smile touching my lips. I glanced to Sungyeol, who looked a bit out of it.

“I didn’t think you would really show up,” he said, surprising me, but I didn’t let it show.

“My roommate probably would have found a way to drag me here,” I lied, since Sungjong definitely didn’t need to do anything but prove Sungyeol would be here to get me to move. “I just chose the easier and less painful option.”

“You and your roommate sound close,” he said and I shrugged.

“I’ve known him since high school, but I wouldn’t call us close.” The conversation died then, and we just stood there awkwardly for a moment. “I’m going to get something to drink,” I told him, hoping a drink or two would loosen me up enough to actually talk to him. At the bar, I grabbed a random beer from one of the coolers, popped the cap and downed at least half of it, grimacing at the taste. Beer was not my favorite. I turned back to see Sungyeol gone.

With my beer in hand, I squeezed through the crowd, looking for a tall guy with lanky limbs. I finally caught sight of a head that was at least a few inches taller than most others around him. As I made my way toward him, I saw him with another guy, one who had a strange resemblance to a certain idol I had seen way too much of lately. Sungyeol had a bright smile on his face, and whatever he was talking about had the other guy smiling too. Someone chose that moment to knock into the toothpick, and send him crashing into the other guy. I rushed over in time to pull Sungyeol off, who then leaned on me, snuggling into my shoulder.

“Sorry,” I said to the guy. “My friend here is a little drunk.” The Woohyun-lookalike only laughed.

“It’s fine, just a small case of mistaken identity,” he said. “He thought I was his friend, Woohyun, asked me if I could sing for him.” I snorted. Of course he would.

“Again, sorry.” He waved it off and headed to mix in with the crowd. I glanced at my armful of fanboy, and shook my head. “And you were worried about me? Who’s the one trying to get random guys to sing for him?”

“Mm, Myungsoo?” he mumbled, sounding like he just woke up. “Guess what? I just met Woohyun, and he said he was happy to meet me. I think my dream just came true.”

“That’s great,” I said, trying to get him to walk with me towards the door. He had enough partying for one night. Unfortunately, Sungjong drove me here, so my only option was to walk. On the plus side, Sungyeol’s apartment wasn’t too far away. It only took a few minutes to walk the three or four blocks to the little brick building, and I had him get his key out to unlock the door. I got him to his room, and had him lie down on his bed.

“Need anything?” I asked him but he shook his head.

“I’m tired,” he said, rolling over and wrapping himself in his blanket. I raised an eyebrow, and shook my head.

“I’m going to go, so see you later.” I heard a little mumble as a reply and turned, noticing something different. Of the few times I had been in Sungyeol’s room (to wait for him to download the memory card onto his computer), his desk had always been a mess of papers, and pictures, open books and Destiny albums. This time, his desk was empty of everything but a single photo. I looked back to him, checking if he would notice my curiosity, and headed to it. My jaw dropped before I could pick it up, and when I did, I held it up to make sure I had seen it right.

On the little square of paper, there was a photo of two idols, in their over the top costumes, in a rather intimate position, with their foreheads touching. But that wasn’t what surprised me. No, what surprised me was that the faces on the two idols had been swapped for two rather recognizable faces. Sungyeol’s and mine.

“I was hoping you’d notice that.” I whipped my head around to see Sungyeol rising up from the bed.

“It’d be hard for me not to,” I said, letting my lips pull up into a small grin.

“So, what do you think?” he asked, sounding nervous and taking a few steps closer.

“What am I supposed to think?” He took another step, putting himself only a foot or so away. He bit his lip, and then gave me a hopeful smile, one that instantly went to the top of my list of favorite smiles, because his eyes literally shined and his cheeks were faintly red.

“You’re supposed to think that it’s not a joke, and that I’m being sincere when I say that I think I’ve liked you since you said you didn’t mind my Woohyun obsession.” I watched his fingers twist and form knots from nervousness, and my heart seemed to blow up like a balloon from something. Probably happiness.

“This isn’t some drunken confession that you’ll forget tomorrow, is it?” Sungyeol shook his head, and looked a bit sheepish.

“I actually set this whole thing up,” he explained. “I got your roommate to bring you there, I tried to show that I was jealous, and tried to make you jealous, but it seemed like you were oblivious to both. And I almost gave up hope right before you spotted the picture.” I studied Sungyeol, making him lose his nerves even more. I motioned for him to come closer, which he did, bringing our faces within inches of each other. My hand reached up to cup his ear, and I leaned in to whisper my answer. As soon as I got close, I pressed my lips to his adorably pinchable cheek, and almost smiled when he gasped.

“I like you, too,” I said as I pulled away. Whatever I said before about his smiles, was just thrown out the window as I saw his next one. His beautiful smile was all teeth and gums, that pushed his cheeks up cutely, and his eyes actually held unshed tears of happiness, and my hands itched for my camera, just to save the image, but I knew no photo could do this expression justice - it was just too beautiful. He threw his long arms around me, and pulled me close.

“My OTP’s ship is definitely sailing.” I didn’t even pretend to know what he whispered to himself, but I found myself liking it.

 

“I hope you’re ready to help me out today,” Sungjong called out from the front door as he entered our apartment. I looked to Sungyeol who gave me a brief nod. We were lying on the couch, cuddling and playing with each other’s hands.

“I guess,” I said when he reached the living room. I nuzzled my face into Sungyeol’s shoulder, smelling that same scent of cinnamon that I noticed before. “I don’t want to go.”

“But you should still thank Sungjong somehow for playing matchmaker. I’m so happy we started dating.”

“I’m happy, too.”

“I’m happier,” he argued, sounding cute.

“No, I am.”

“Uh-uh, I’m happier.”

“Nah, I am.”

“Alright, we both are,” he said, adding a sweet giggle. “Do you have to go, honeybuns?”

“Mm-hm, but you could come with, if you want.”

“I could be your model, maybe?”

“You’d be the best model.”

“Oh, God no,” Sungjong said, covering his ears. “You two are disgusting. Get a room and I’ll make the newsletter myself.” He strode out of the apartment as fast as he came in.

“ ‘Honeybuns?’ ” I raised an eyebrow, looking at Sungyeol, who shrugged.

“You were the one who said to be sickeningly mushy. I think I did a good job.” I snorted, and shook my head. “Besides, it seemed fitting.”

“And how would you know?”

“I don’t,” he said, then a sly smile spread across his face. “But there’s one way I could.” I thought about this for a moment, or at least looked like I was thinking about it, just to build the tension a little.

“He did tell us to get a room.”

“That he did.”

“I’m glad we’re closest to my room.”

“Why?”

“Just because you photoshopped my face onto all your posters and stuff, does not make it any less weird.”

“But-” I shut him up with a kiss, which he melted into.

Sungyeol was a smiley, photoshopping fanboy, but he was also my smiley, photoshopping fanboy boyfriend, and I loved him, posters and all.

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StarlightSpirit: THIS. IS. EPIC. The thought of Sungyeol being a fanboy and going up to random people at parties and asking if they are woohyun! And Myungsoo is perfect here! wow! I lov what you did with the prompt (I didn't know how you would do it so I love it). GREAT JOB! :)