Natsuki’s
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(group member since Jan 17, 2019)
"That's true," Youngjun concedes. Because they're not dating. They're just... friends, with benefits, he supposes, if you consider becoming Dispatch's New Year's Day Couple to be a benefit. So really, it's not fair of him to assume that whatever Jooyeon would look for in a boyfriend, or even a husband, someday—that she would ever see it in him.
"Me? Nice bone structure?" He laughs. "Aw, thanks, Jooyeonie. Don't worry; I get it. You don't need to be embarrassed that you wanted a piece of this—" He pauses to gesture broadly at himself. "—before I'm off the market."
Except that's never really come up, has it? What happens if one of them gets tired of this whole thing, or when one of them meets someone, because really, for all that Jooyeon says she hasn't found someone she wants to date, Youngjun is positive that there are more than a few nice, charming, not-at-all-scandalous men out there who would be more than happy to be her boyfriend.
And Youngjun's known that'll happen, except now they'll have to stage a fake breakup to end their fake relationship, and then everything will be like it was before they got into this whole mess.
He flashes his teeth in a broad smile. "Limited edition always tastes better, right?"
Iseul grins, pleased with his declaration. "That better be true," she says, "because if it's not, I'm going to find out, you know. I have my ways," she adds, waving a hand vaguely, because she's not really sure what those ways are, but she thinks she could probably needle a few of the Capt members for the information. Or, at least, the ones who've known her for a while.
(There had, of course, been the incident when she'd tried to make conversation with one of the new members, who had reported her to their manager under suspicion of her being a Minhyuk stalker, only to find out that she had, in fact, trained with him for half of her life. It was embarrassing. Not because he didn't know her, or the awkward conversation with Capt's manager, but because her behavior could be categorized as stalking her best friend.)
She frowns, and considers jabbing him in the side or stepping on his foot in retaliation, but she rarely sees him so tired, and that would be like kicking him while he's down. So instead, she settles for a scowl. "You do not always beat me," she insists. "Not always. Just... most of the time."
Summer hums in acknowledgement. "I know," she says, and she does, because for the greater part of their friendship, it had been the other way around, with Summer trying to find ways to keep up their friendship in non-suspicious ways in between busy schedules. And of course she wishes she saw Youngmin more — but she's not going to complain to him about it, because what kind of person would that make her?
Because he had bigger concerns than that, like nothing's for certain and worst-case scenarios. So she says, "Think of it this way. What's really the worst case scenario? You're not the only one who's going to stay. There's no way Junyoung is leaving. And even if it's just you two, your fans have been begging for that subunit for years now."
She's not sure that she's helping.
She sighs, resting her head on his shoulder. "Think of it this way: even in the worst possible outcome, you still have people supporting you. It seems frightening, but deep down, you have to remember that you still have your fans. And even if some of them leave — you know your brother and sister will always have back. And you'll still have me," she says, "so don't say you won't have anybody, because I might get offended, and I'm warning you, that's not pretty."
me @ me: try not to make it too obvious you literally just copied the still waiting album coverme: just makes it a square instead of a circle
CALLING (2018)
01. 잘 지내요 Fine (title)
02. 아무렇지 않은 척 Lonely
03. Without You
04. Dream (ft. 소미 of 7IOLET)
05. Home
06. 우리 그날 Our Days
07. 아스라이… Beautiful Stranger
08. Calling Out For You
Summer does understand it. She's pretty sure that DBCS' Summer is expected to have a little fluffy lap dog with bows on its ears and an outfit for every day of the week, but Summer Lee thinks those dogs looks vaguely like rodents, and neither DBCS' Summer nor Summer Lee likes rodents. She shrugs, blowing a stray hair out of her face as she sighs. "Cats, dogs—either way I'd be more of a grandma than an old hag," she says flippantly.
"It would be nice, though," she muses. "Things are kind of quiet these days. It's not that I'm not glad to be a little more rested these days—" And to complain about such a thing to Youngmin would be a crime, probably, when she's not sure he's had a true vacation since Chuseok. "—but... it's a little lonely, honestly."
She takes a sip of coffee, wincing a little at the temperature. Too hot. Looking up, she smiles at Youngmin, poking him gently in the side. "Don't worry about me, though. Not when you already have so much going on."
jsbd still killing it with the visuals
Youngjun doesn’t even take offense, because, to be frank, she’s not wrong. There’s a reason why he wanted this relationship in the first place—because dating is hard, because even after you eliminate all of the fans who would date him from the picture, other people want things from him, whether it’s the money or the fancy dates or unrealistic amounts of his time. And then people don’t want to be hidden, and sometimes people stalk him, and it’s a mess, and it’s a lot easier to just…
Have whatever it is that he and Jooyeon have.
Or, at least, he agrees with the first part. But. “I mean,” he says, “number two. That didn’t stop you, though.” And maybe he should be concerned, because obviously that means she has questionable taste. But so does he, considering that he’s the one who wore it in the first place. He smiles. “I must just be that charming. Don’t get too jealous if I show off my legs on TV again, though.”
Youngjun claps his hands, pleased with how things are working out so far. “Perfect, then. Me and the Lightningmobile will pick you up at one, then, so I can shower, unless you want to be seen in public with me when I’m sweaty and smelly.”
Iseul listens to him, watching him as he talks. In some ways, he feels different: a little more responsible, more confident, as he’s started to fill the role he’s been given. But at the same time she feels herself relaxing, because he’s still just Minhyuk—well, technically he’s Capt’s Mini now, too—and he’s still the friend she’s trained for years with.
She gives him a one-over, and her mouth presses into a thin line. She’s certain that he’s lost weight since the last time she saw him, and she doesn’t think she’s seen him this tired since he debuted. She hums in response and says, a little bit of smile appearing on her face, “Well, if you’re ‘not that busy,’ I trust you’ll use this time to rest a little and eat a little more, won’t you?”
She doesn’t push it any more, though, because she doesn’t really think he wants to talk about it, and she doesn’t, either—not when she’s finally seeing her best friend for the first time in what feels like forever. It’s not like before, when they were able to hang out together, eat together, when she could go over and they’d play games—“Minhyuk,” she says, tone bordering dangerously on mom mode territory, “if you’ve been spending your time out of work to play games instead of eating…” But then there’s the more important part, and she crosses her arms. “If you’ve been playing without me, I might need to find a new best friend.”
“I’ll even skip on the Instagram pictures for you,” he says. “The cat lattes are all yours to post.” Because he’s a good fake boyfriend, and he’s going to let Jooyeon post them and he won’t even post a story, because not enough time since the scandal has passed for Youngjun to gauge whether JSBD’S YOUNGJUN AND XGIRL’S JENNY - LOVESTAGRAMMING?!?! is cute or downright frivolous.
When Jooyeon points out that she’s already agreed to his whole scheme, Youngjun feels oddly like he was caught red-handed. He opens his mouth to say something, but his brain starts to catch up with his body, and he asks why he feels the need to justify himself. And it’s no big deal, he tells himself. He is just such an amazing fake boyfriend, a fake boyfriend but a real social media addict, one who’s willing to sacrifice that day’s precious likes and comments for his fake girlfriend, and so why shouldn’t he be flaunting his genius plans? And so he says so himself: “God. I am so good at this fake boyfriend thing. How am I not married yet?”
But the quieter part of Youngjun knows that really, that’s not the reason at all. Because just like Youngjun is a fake boyfriend and a real dumbass, Jooyeon is a fake girlfriend but a real friend. And a large part of Youngjun still feels like it’s his fault they’re even in this mess at all—not the fake dating, but the scandal from the start. And after everything—he wants to make sure that actually she’s okay with all of this. Not fake. For real.
He smiles at her again, then, this time a little less bright but a little more genuine, and says, “Well, aside from practice in the morning, I do have most of tomorrow off.”
Rating: Explicit
Archive Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Category: M/M
Fandom: JSBD (Band), DBCS (Band)
Relationships: Kim Deokhwa | Lil D/Lee Minhyuk | Mini
Characters: Kim Deokhwa | Lil D, Lee Minhyuk | Mini, Han Eun | He, Lee Moonsik, Hwang Taeil, Joo Minhyuk
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - College/University,
unrealistic romcom circumstances, references to the bdtown ensemble
Language: English
Stats: Published: 2018-09-06Words: 11100 Chapters: 1/1 Comments: 23 Kudos: 159 Bookmarks: 20 Hits: 2088
Summary:
The first time Lee Minhyuk ends up shivering, in nothing but a towel, in the middle of the night during a fire alarm - it's an accident, really. Deokhwa didn’t mean to trip and pull the fire alarm: he was, quite simply, sloshed.
The second time it happens, he can't be to blame, because it’s an actual fire drill.
But the fifth time. The fifth, seventh, and tenth times might be on purpose.
But it’s not his fault.
It's not his fault that Lee Minhyuk looks positively delicious angry and fresh from the shower, and it's positively criminal for him to not share that with the world. In the middle of the night. Outside of their dorm building for all of their residents to see.
Really, this should count as community service.
Notes:
I MEAN COME ON... IT WAS BEGGING TO BE WRITTEN.
EDIT: Please don't try this at home. It's illegal. Probably.
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HOW, exactly, people feel about Jeon Junyoung — better known by his stage name, JUN — is up for debate. While widely considered not only one of his company's best vocalists but one of their best visuals, Junyoung is also one of the better-known TV personalities of the new generation of idols. Some might say that he debuted in the wrong generation. More precisely: his sense of humor was born in the wrong generation, because no self-respecting man under the age of forty is going to make the kind of jokes that Junyoung does. While it makes him popular with people outside the typical idol fan demographic, leading many to call him the bridge between the generational gap of young idol fans and their parents and grandparents, it also creates an uncomfortable distance between him and the younger members of his group.
And Junyoung knows this! He does his best to connect with all the members of Jupiter. He knows that to him he's some sort of authority figure, some old-man-trapped-in-a-six-pack that doesn't understand them. (And, okay, that's true. He doesn't. But there's also a reason he's never been in want or need or more lines or screentime.) So he works hard for them. He acts cute, does his aegyo, tries to act — more like them. And it works, kind of. Kind of because, well — laughing at him and rolling their eyes is progress from when they used to just ignore him or reply to everything with yes, hyung, okay, hyung, I'll make sure of that next time, hyung. But he'll take what he can get, because being the leader of Korea's top idol group isn't easy, okay?
Youngjun winces a little at Jooyeon's initial reaction, because okay, yeah, it's probably one of his more questionable ideas in his life. This whole thing is already getting a little bit out of hand, and. Well. He doesn't want Jooyeon to get the wrong idea. Then again, it seems like everyone's getting the wrong idea these days, so maybe Youngjun might as well hop on the train.
"I mean," he says, "it's not like we have anything to lose, really. If anyone sees us together — well, what kind of news could that possibly create?" Because it's true: first, not nearly as many people recognize either of them in public as some might think because most of his fans are now busy raising children, and second, even if they are seen, everyone thinks they're dating now, and it's expected of people who are dating to actually date.
It could even be a good thing.
"Hear me out," he says. "Let's say we go. Best case scenario, we get coffee in peace. We already hang out all the time. It's not that weird to do it in public. Worst case scenario, we're spotted, but we're spotted having a good time, might get a couple judgmental looks, probably end up with a grainy Galaxy photo on Pann with the title kyaaa guess who I saw when I got coffee today, people lay off once they realize we are also just humans drinking coffee. Whatever happens, it's not going to be as bad as when it first came out."
Summer watches Youngmin smile, and feels a small one appear on her face, too. After all, that was the goal: to make Youngmin relax a little bit (even if it was at the expense of her bandmate).
She exhales, then, at his question; too intentional and not frustrated enough to be a sigh. "I've been good," she says, simply, because generally speaking, she has been. She's bored out of her mind, sure, but it would be far too dramatic and not accurate to call herself unemployed — but the endless days off she wished for a couple years ago have gotten. Well. Repetitive. And there's only so many TV shows you want to watch when you know most of the people on them.
"Not very busy," she admits. "But I'll find something. I don't know. Art classes? Youtube channel? Maybe I'll adopt a cat." Because, according to the netizens these days, DBCS are hags, and Summer might as well embrace it and become the old cat lady of her dreams.
"Okay," Youngjun says, shrugging. "McDonald's it is, then." After about a second, he feels his shoulders slipping from his faux-causal posture, and he makes a face. Even imaginary Youngjun — the Youngjun that dates his friends and is probably still a virgin — has higher standards than that.
"Hold on, I'll think of something," he says, crossing his arms, determined to think of a place that — well, that doesn't just scream Youngjun's taste, because supposedly he's a man who can think of someone else's preferences, too.
"There's a cafe," he says, after some thinking. "I met up with some of my friends from the army there. It's a little independent place, nice and quiet. It's pretty casual, but—" He considers his words carefully, because he does have an image to uphold, and he doesn't think that cute little cafes are helping it. "But they make little animals out of the foam on top of your coffee, and it's — cute," he says, giving his best effort to act like he's not actually pleased with the prospect of getting another kitten-topped latte.
And then, because apparently, somewhere between January 1 and now he's lost his mind completely: "I mean, I don't have to tell you. We could just go and you can see it for yourself."
"Okay," Summer says. TV first, rant about bandmates later. Maybe then it'll be late enough, she thinks, and Youngmin can break out the alcohol. She relaxes back into the couch, shifting until she's in a position that's probably unladylike enough to make her manager cry.
Her shoulder bumps against Youngmin's, but Summer makes no attempt to move it, and she thinks, not or the first time, that she's lucky they met back then when they had, when he was young and stupid enough to be accepting of her American touchiness. (Or maybe middle school Youngmin had just been desperate for any kind of physical contact with a female human. Summer supposes she's not sure, but it worked out okay.)
Summer scoffs at his question, the quirk of her lips betraying any attempt she might have been making to hide her amusement. "Look out, Mensa-deul — if Son Youngmin tells you that he watches his members' dramas, he's lying," she says. She laughs at her own joke — it's not her fault she's the funnier friend — and then adds, "I think Minyoung has one on KSB, though, actually."
Iseul smiles broadly, her face brightening as she makes her way over to Minhyuk. "I'm glad it's you," she says. "Truth be told, I came up here to be alone — but this is much better." Things tend to be better when she sees him, though those times seem to be less and less frequent as time goes on.
The truth is that it's been a long day. The seniors have been making their rounds, no doubt instructed to leave a good impression on — and, Iseul suspects, to help motivate — the new trainees from the merge. And it's a good thing. Iseul knows that. She's lucky to have seniors who are so kind, who have supported her and her dream all these years. But she also isn't blind to the pitying looks when they say ah, Iseullie, it's good to see you because they don't know what else to say to a girl who trained with them and still hasn't debuted.
She doesn't need to say that, though, or maybe she doesn't want to, so she just says, smile softening a little bit, "Yeah, I have." She laughs, a little bit, and says, "Shouldn't I be the one asking you that? You're so busy these days."
"Obviously," Youngjun says. "Simple and smart. Just like me." He's pretty sure that at least two members of the Son family and five of JSBD would strongly disagree with both of these statements, but hey. If Youngjun is a wreck, then the rest of them are all worse off.
He shrugs. "You could probably find my audition tape at the company. Or on YouTube. It was around the same time," he says. "I won the prize for vocal auditions, that year." He'd lost the grand prize, of course, to Hwang Wooyoung and his stupidly good face for a middle schooler, but still, he likes to brag that back in 2002, he was the best singer in his group. Even if it was a moot point by now.
The ridiculousness of this whole situation starts to sink in, and he runs a hand through his hair, unsure of whether to laugh or sigh. "Okay, well, that's settled," he says. "Where was our first date, then?" And then, partially because he knows his mother will ask, and because he's in doubt that he has a romantic bone in his body, and because, well, he intends to be good to Jooyeon, even if he's not actually her boyfriend, "Where would you want to go on a date?"
Summer enters after he opens the door, eyes scanning the place. She supposes it could be worse: Youngmin could be the kind of person who creates a mess when he's stressed, but instead every surface in his home is spotless. But also. He must be pretty worked up if he's using his precious time off to clean.
So she settles down on his couch beside him, giving him a knowing look that's equal parts pitiful, understanding, and amused. Pushing one of the coffee cups into his hand, she says, half-serious, "I think maybe I should have brought soju instead."
This might be a long night.
And it's not even night yet — but she can practically see the restlessness of angry and frustrated gears turning in Youngmin's head, and they haven't seen each other in too long, and it seems that there's a lot of catching up to do. "So do you want to talk about it, or do you want to watch some shitty daytime drama that one of our colleagues is probably starring in?"
