❒ Requested ✓
[ Can we see more hongjoong and chaeri moments, as well as ateez and Chaeri? ]
some clips in a rush ⸻ 🎬
"Alright, alright, I won't rain on your parade. But if you're going to imitate me, at least let me join"
Chaeri to Joong one second earlier: Babe, don't lock them in, what could ever happen?
1. Kids hurting themselves
2. Almost hitting the camera with his head
3. Jumping for (not) dear life
Joong "You are not affected at all"
Chaeri "Kinda used to it I would say"
Joong "Since she spends a lot of time in the dorm, the guys started joking that we are kind of the parents of the group" *smiling through the pain* "And we decided to make a list to estimate who is the easiest and hardest to raise"
Yunho "I will definitely be at the bottom of the list. I am one of her favourites."
ධ Fire mouth
Seoul; 2022
"In my defence, I didn't think they were that spicy."
She took one last sip from the now-drained bottle of water they had been forced to buy on the street.
They had passed by a Mexican food takeaway and were struck by a container of what looked like kettle corn. How did the diner call it?
"I will never eat Esquites from that restaurant again, my tongue is still on fire."
Esquites, right.
"You can't deny that they still had something ... addicting".
Hongjoong closed the door behind them as they crossed the threshold of his dorms. They had agreed to go back there for a few hours as neither of them would have to wake up too early the next day.
Chaeri, however, had made it clear she didn't want to stay overnight there, and he respected that.
"Addicting if you like hurting yourself"
Chaeri smiled entertained. "So whiny Joong, I probably should have brought Wooyoung instead of you. He'd have been a good kid and eaten everything."
"Do you enjoy trying to make people jealous or is it one of your qualities that you only show off to me?"
She placed the bag she was carrying on her shoulder right next to her on the sofa "Would you get jealous if I say I do it with everyone?"
He couldn't hold back a smile as he looked at her. So confident all the time, with that challenging stare, she drove him crazy.
"What are you staring at?" She crossed her legs and made herself more comfortable on the pillows around.
"Actually, I can't take my eyes off you"
He knew.
Chaeri told him, not in the slightest detail, that a relationship she previously had did not allow her to feel free to be with other men and that, with him, everything was coming up so naturally that it terrified her. If only he had not seen how her eyes changed every time a certain line was crossed between them, he would never have believed that Chaeri - famous for facing everything bravely - was afraid to let herself go in a relationship.
The conversation they had as soon as the 'fake date' thing was turning into something more was constantly on his mind:
"I don't know if I will ever be able to love someone as I did with him. I am not even sure if I will be able to love at all, someone other than him. But I needed to be clear with you. I like you..for real, but I can't guarantee that I will fall in love"
"I like you, Chaeri. And if you give me the opportunity to be close to you for a while, maybe you will understand that love is not just once in a lifetime. I won't be a liar telling you that I'm only speaking for your own interest. Call me selfish, but I want a chance with you."
And she was genuinely impressed. Hongjoong was not the usual boy, false moralist, who would try to manipulate her with his gentle ways to achieve his ends. He was human and not afraid to show it.
"I like to watch you too, Joong."
"Let's take a better look of each other, then."
He stood before her to offer a hand. He brought her close to one of the living room windows to let her face be naturally illuminated by the stars in the sky.
Ethereal. It was the only word that gave her justice at that moment. As the moonlight illuminated her eyes, the boy thought he had never seen a more perfect person than her.
He would have taken a photo to cherish the memory forever but he had nothing with him to do so.
He placed a finger on her chin and ran it up to her lips, tracing their outline gently, almost as if the fingertip were a phantom touch on her skin
"Is it ok if I do that?"
"You have already kissed me several times, Joong"
"True, but it always feels like the first one"
"Is it bad?"
"No, quite the opposite"
He leaned in, slowly bringing his lips to hers.
At first, the kiss was gentle, a soft brushing of lips against lips. But as the passion between them grew, the kiss deepened. His arms wrapped around her body, pulling her closer as they lost themselves in the moment.
He could feel on his tongue again the tingling of the Esquites still burning hot in Chaeri's mouth, probably 'cause she'd eaten far more than him.
You can't deny that they still had something ... addicting
Addicting if you like hurting yourself
It seems he was clearly someone who liked to hurt himself.