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disclaimer,
fluff
poor attempts at flirting
suggestive (?)
idk what im doing sorry
enjoy! don't forget to vote and comment 💕
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After finishing her 'Killing Me' Project Sanghee grew bored again. Everyone was busy with her own things and after being put on a temporary hiatus she found her life being very very boring. As the days went on her apartment became a total mess seeing as she had no motivation to clean it and she was just...a mess. Drinking helped some to pass the time. She'd never been one to drink much other than a celebration or a glass of wine at night but recently the soju bottles began to pile up despite the bitter liquid not being of her taste.
Currently she sat on the floor of her living room, Pororo playing on the t.v. as background noise. She had a bowl of cereal in her lap, the lucky charms already soggy from how long they've been sitting in the bowl. She'd been moving on auto pilot since her alarm went off at nine. Slowly Sanghee's eyes begin to droop, a mock tired feeling washing over her. She would have fallen asleep right there too had it not been for the whining she heard. Blinking her gaze into focus Sanghee sees Pooh standing in front of her door with his leash in his mouth. Her sister had only just dropped them off a few days ago and Pooh seemed even more eager to get out of the apartment after staying at her sister's house for three months.
"Hang on Pooh," she mutters, voice hoarse. She discards the now ruined cereal into the sink before going into her bathroom. Looking at her reflection, Sanghee wants to cry. She looks pathetic. Seriously what happened to her, she didn't used to be like this.
"Pull it together Sanghee" she says through gritted teeth. Flicking the sink on she cups her hands under the facet collecting water in them before splashing it on her face. Quickly she brushes her teeth and gives a quick wash of her face before pulling her hair into a messy ponytail. After leaving the bathroom she makes quick work of changing into decent clothes and throwing a mask and cap over her head before greeting Pooh at the front door.
"Come on boy, wanna go for a walk?" she questions giving his left ear a scratch. Pooh's tail wags excitedly as he gives a round of loud barks.
"Shh. You'll get us in trouble," Sanghee says as she clips the leash to his collar. "Come on let's go for your walk."
Being outside Pooh's tail wouldn't stop wagging. He stopped to look at everything, sniff everything and even rolled around right in the middle of the sidewalk earning a lot of annoyed looks from other passerbyers. Without realizing it Sanghee had walked them right to a park where Pooh began barking excitedly.
"Alright go, go!" she says unclipping the leash letting him run around. There weren't a lot of people out but Pooh doesn't ever bother anyone. He just likes chasing squirrels and admiring butterflies. He was such a gentle soul. Sanghee watches her dog closely ready to intervene incase he made anyone uncomfortable but the over grown pup ran about happily rolling in the grass every so often. Once he'd had his fill he jogged up to Sanghee laying his head on her lap.
"Hmm bet that was nice huh?" she mutters scratching at his head "I'm sorry I haven't been the best to you and your brother. I'll do better ok?" she says despite Pooh not being able to answer. The dog simply gives a small bark before licking her hand.
"Alright you, how about we get you some water and start home?" Sanghee questions as she reclips the leash. At the mention of going home Pooh jumps up and begins running dragging Sanghee behind him.
"POOH! POOH WAIT!" Sanghee shouts as she tries to adjust her grip on the leash to hold the dog back rather than being dragged by him. As he runs Sanghee picks up speed running beside him. It burned, running burned at her lungs especially since she'd done little to no physical activity for the last month but the burn felt good. Her throat began to dry from panting and her lungs burned and her muscles ached a bit. Sanghee felt good. They were reminders that she is alive, that she's living! She is living! She can do what she wants without judgment. She doesn't have to worry about Taesoo assessing her moves or fans assessing her moves or people recording her, stalking her whereabouts, antis telling her she's not good enough, her mother telling her she's not good enough. Sanghee is free from all of it right now and she is living so with that in mind she runs next to Pooh until the dog gets the hint that his owner was quite literally on the edge of passing out from exertion.
"Alright you brat" Sanghee huffs. She'd regained control of the leash and held her hips "it's time to go home for real now" she said as sternly as she could muster. Pooh barks tail wagging as he walks calmly beside Sanghee.
Entering her apartment again Sanghee tosses her keys aside and hangs up Pooh's leash. She wanders to the couch where Tigger was curled on his blanket basking in the sunlight.
"Hey you" she mutters. The cat lifts his head barely acknowledging her before going back to his nap. She tries to pet him but instantly gets swat Tigger giving her a look of annoyance.
"Yah I know. You're mad at me I'm sure. I'll make it up to you ok," she says before leaving him be. Standing Sanghee looks at her apartment. It was a mess that's for sure. For a moment she feels like spending the rest of the day cleaning it but the thought quickly leaves her brain when she realizes how much work it'll be. She opts for the kitchen rather than the entire apartment. The dishes are a simple chore to do followed by wiping down the counters and cleaning a stain off the floor she should have got to weeks ago. By the time she's done it's well past noon and her stomach aches.
"Ok what to make, what to make?" she mutters to herself. Despiste being a self taught chef her skills were only so-so and after looking at the tragic state of her fridge Sanghee didn't have much to work with. She decided on fried egg rice which wasn't too hard to mess up. As she cooks Sanghee hums to herself before getting a song stuck in her head. Grabbing her phone she plays the song letting her hips sway to the music playfully and soon she's forgetting all about the food and full on dancing to Oh My Girl songs. She's so swept up in it she forgets she's cooking until a burning smell attacks her nose.
"Oh shi-!" quickly she grabs the pan, dumping it in the sink before turning the water on.
"Well....there goes that" she huffs.
"Fuck it I'll just eat ramen." It takes her a while but eventually she finds her last ramen packet in the back of her cabinet and begins to cook it.
After her second and much easier attempt at making food Sanghee sits in front of the t.v. this time actually watching Pororo. She doesn't know how she ended up on a marathon run of the show but soon the show is done with its reruns and Sanghee comes to the realization that the day passed her by and it's eight o'clock.
She gets up from the couch making her way to her pantry where she keeps the food for her pets. She feeds Pooh first since he can never seem to wait and then she fills Tigger's bowl and even gets a few licks on the hand from him. Once their bowls are filled Sanghee settles on the couch on her phone ready to scroll through social media or do some online shopping when a text comes in.
Youngie:
Hey...
You free?
Wanna meet me somewhere?
She stares at the texts while biting her lip. In their free time her friends had been trying to get her to go out more, Youngjae especially seemed to try. They didn't have to do these things for her especially since they were busy with their own personal and work lives. She felt bad for rejecting their invitations everytime and yet she continued to do so. Hell she was even thinking about it now but then she stopped herself.
"I'm living my life now. It's ok to" she reminds herself. Her friends are just trying to go back to how things used to be. Hanging out with each other in their spare time, playing video games late at night despite having early morning schedules. They were trying and it's only fair for her to meet them half way.
Me:
Yeah!
Just tell me where!
After getting the location from Youngjae, Sanghee goes to her room to get ready. She takes a shower before standing in front of her closet deciding what to wear. All the options were right in front of her, she just had to choose something. Closing her eyes she sticks her hand in her closet choosing something blindly.
"Huh...ok" she mutters looking at the outfit she'd chosen. Sanghee doesn't dwell on it too long before getting changed into it. She moves onto her hair, straightening it and leaving it to lie across her shoulders. Once she deems herself ready she puts on some shoes, grabs her things and leaves her apartment.
The restaurant is quiet minus the gentle buzz of conversations flowing from each table and the clattering of dishes that could be heard every time the doors swung open as a server brought out food. Sanghee looked around for Youngjae for a minute or two until someone stopped her.
"Hello, can I help you find someone?" the receptionist questions.
"I'm looking for Im Youngjae," she says mustering up a smile. The woman blinks looking at the reservations list before smiling sympathetically.
"Ah we're sorry but Mr.Im is having a private dinner tonight."
"I'm here to meet him." Sanghee says but the woman scoffs.
"Sure you are" the woman says sarcastically. Sanghee grips onto her purse trying not to get frustrated with the woman. She opens her mouth to say something in response but then someone speaks up.
"Is there a problem here?" the voice is familiar as a man steps around the corner.
"This woman was trying to get access to the private room. I was just trying to send her on her way"
"Why would you do that when she's my guest?" Youngjae questions as he stands next to Sanghee. The woman blinks confusion and embarrassment written all over her face.
"G-guest?"
"I clearly stated to your manager that a friend of mine would be here and that she should be escorted right to my room so we wouldn't stir up attention. Why weren't you notified?" he questions. The woman blubbers trying to come up with a response.
"I-I don't know sir. I apologize!"
"It's fine. I'll talk to your manager so this thing doesn't happen next time" Youngjae says with a bitter sweet smile. His hand goes around Sanghee's waist as he glances at her.
"Shall we go?" he questions. Nervously Sanghee nods, letting Youngjae lead her to a private area of the restaurant.
"Sorry you had to go through that," Youngjae says as he pulls out her chair.
"I-It's fine."
"It's not. I know you don't want a lot of attention on you right now given the...entire situation," the older idol says as he sits in his seat across from Sanghee.
"I'm sick of cameras being in my face and people in the business only to use that information to hurt me."
"I understand that. It's how I felt when I was younger, being a child actor wasn't easy. Having cameras in your face from age five, always being recorded, interviews having people watch you. It's stressful. I don't think I can ever really be myself on camera"
"Afraid of judgment?"
"No that wasn't it. When I was a kid I was forced to put on this persona and carried it to my teen years, I still have it now. I'm afraid that if I stop, if I be myself people are going to think that everything was a lie and that I was never genuine"
"Wow, who is this Im Youngjae before me? He's wonderful," Sanghee says playfully but she means every word. Youngjae chuckles as he plays with the table cloth.
"I'd love to hear that honestly but...you know as much as I do that people don't always think like that especially when they feel like they've been lied to."
"Yeah...I know."
An awkward tension settles over them before the moment is broken by Youngjaes nervous laugh.
"Forget all that nonsense. We're not here to talk about that shit. I invited you out so we could spend some time together. You look beautiful by the way" he says. Sanghee smiles bashfully as she tucks a piece of hair behind her ear. She doesn't think she looks all that beautiful in an old black and white dress paired with black heels and a necklace her younger sister had given her years ago.
"Thank you" she says looking up with a smile which Youngjae gives her one back.
"Take a look at the menu and order whatever you want ok. It's on me,"
"Ooh I'm lucky then" Sanghee says trying to play off her nerves as she picks up the menu. They look at the menu for a bit before ordering. When their food arrives, so does a bottle of wine Sanghee is sure neither of them ordered.
"I ordered it before you got here," Youngjae offers, seeing her confused face "I thought you might like it."
Sanghee picks up her glass to take a tentative sniff of the wine.
"It smells nice."
"Tastes even better, try it," Youngjae says motioning to her drink. Sanghee raises the glass taking a sip of the win. She lets it sit on her tongue tasting the flavors covering her pallet before she drinks it down.
"Well?" Youngjae questions. Sanghee glares at him, almost annoyed with his cocky expression.
"Well.." she starts off "It's not bitter but it's also not sweet there's a happy medium..and is that," She takes another sip to assess the drink more "Is that peach?"
"Yeah! You like it don't you?"
"Yes yes I like it," Sanghee sighs with a playful roll of her eyes. .
"See I knew you would. As soon as I tasted it I knew you'd like it since it had a bit of a peach flavor," Youngjae says with a smile. Sanghee hums as she mindlessly spins the liquid in her glass.
"I don't like peaches though," she says, almost confused.
"Since when?"
"Since always? Hyunseok likes peach,"
"Oh...does he?" Youngjae awkwardly scratches at the back of his neck "Well you two are almost the same person so of course I got confused. I'll remember for next time," he says before stuffing his mouth with food.
"So...if you don't like peaches, what do you like?"
"Plums"
"Ahh. I see it now,"
"So...why did you invite me out?"
"Because, I wanted to see you. Is it a crime for me to what to see my beautiful friend and treat her to a nice dinner?"
"N-no but-" she starts but Youngjae cuts her off.
"You're thinking too hard. I just want to hang out"
"Ok..." Sanghee says although she's sure that taking your friend out to a nice restaurant and buying them an expensive meal and even more expensive wine means more than a simple hang out.
"So what did you do today?"
"My dog took me out for a run and I almost burned my apartment down," Sanghee says and Youngjae burst out laughing. Wine spills down the side of his mouth as he desperately reaches for a napkin.
"Im sorry," he says through a laugh.
"You're not," Sanghee says with a frown.
"You're right I'm not but come on Nana. How did your dog take you our for a run and you almost burned your apartment?"
"The dog thing because he's Pooh and the food thing because...I was dancing..."
"This is why we never let you cook for game night"
"I'm a good cook now!" Sanghee protests.
"Uh-huh and I've met Woodz" Youngjae says unconvinced. He goes for another drink of his wine only for a napkin to be thrown in his face. He blinks a few times before looking up to see Sanghee smirking at him.
"Did you just-"
"Sure did and I'm not sorry," Sanghee says before sticking her tongue out at him.
"Wow, take a friend out and pay for their meal and this is the thanks I get," Youngjae shakes his head, picking the napkin up and chucking it at her.
"Good thing you're pretty. Can't be mad at you for too long."
"Yeah well, you're not too bad yourself Youngjae. Especially in that suit..." Sanghee's eyes widened at the words that left her mouth. She has no idea how they just flew out without a conscious thought about not saying them. Youngjae's ears turn pink as he scratches at his neck.
"Are you drunk?"
"Not even close. I'm just...being honest. You're handsome Youngjae," Sanghee murmurs. She expects Youngjae to become bashful again but he smirks, shooting her a wink.
"I know."
"Ahh you're so annoying!" Sanghee groans but she's not really annoyed. It feels nice being able to joke like this with a friend, but as the night continued playful exchanges turned into flirty banter before they know it. All too soon the night is over and they're outside standing shoulder to shoulder waiting for Youngjae's manager to pick them up.
"So, did you like this place?" he questions gazing at her softly. Sanghee tilts her chin up thinking on it for a moment.
"Surprisingly I did," she answers. She didn't expect to like the food as much as she did seeing as she usually goes for more traditional food. The change was nice.
"See trying new things can be a good thing," Youngjae says bumping his hip against Sanghee's.
"Sure sure Youngjae," Sanghee says with a laugh leaning against his back. Youngjae hums his arms circling her waist as he leans down to speak in her ear.
"Do you wanna try another new thing tonight?" his voice makes her gasp as her face begins to heat up.
"I-I-" her voice wavers, showing her nervousness and maybe some hesitancy. Whatever it was, Youngjae quickly retracks his arms as he steps away from her.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you" he says awkwardly "forget I said anything."
For the next seven minutes the awkward atmosphere feels suffocating and Sanghee considers trying to get a ride on her own but Youngjae's manager shows up before she can even grab her phone. Youngjae opens the door for her making sure she gets in safely before getting in on the other side. They don't say anything for the entire ride, the playful and flirting having dyed out. They both drink down bottles of water as the radio plays softly from the front speaker. When they reach Sanghee's place Youngjae is quick to get out the car to open Sanghee's door helping her out.
"I'm ok. We didn't drink much and look, finished my water" she says shaking the now empty bottle of water.
"Doesn't mean I can't continue to be a gentleman for the rest of the night."
"Thank you for tonight Youngjae I really appreciate it."
"No problem Sanghee. I'm glad I got to make you smile again," the older says as he gently tucks a piece of hair behind Sanghee's ear.
"Well...night" Youngjae backs away to open the car door but a hand on his upper arm stops him. Sanghee feels her heart rate accelerate realizing she was stopping him. She didn't want tonight to end, not when she was having fun, laughing, flirting, almost feeling like she was getting her old self back. She can't blame the alcohol for her actions but maybe she can use a bit of the liquid courage it left behind, and she does.
"Do you want to eat ramen?" her voice is soft and not at all confident like she wants it to be but she hopes it's enough.
"Sanghee..." Youngjae mutters softly. He takes her hand gently stroking her knuckles "If this is about earlier I'm sorry ok. I shouldn't have said it."
"This isn't totally about it but I get to live now, really live and do slightly risky things and live in the moment" she says stepping a bit closer to stroke at his cheek "Right now I want to live this moment with you so...do you want to come into my apartment and eat ramen?"
"Hyung I'll see you tomorrow!" Youngjae shouts into the car before slamming the door. He picks Sanghee up carrying her into her building before setting her on her feet. She giggles at his sudden eagerness and holds his hand until they get to her apartment
"Are you sure you want to do this? Because we don't have to do anything and I can sleep on the couch" Youngjae says. They're literally sitting on her couch, Sanghee on his lap and yet he's still so sweet, so gentleman-like and Sanghee wants to slap him.
"Youngjae?"
"Yeah?"
"Kiss me already!" Sanghee says with a half groan, half laugh. When youngjae finally kisses her it feels scary and weird to be kissing someone that isn't Taesoo but it feels good, really good and if she isn't careful she might get addicted to it.
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ೃ⁀➷ ꒰ a/n꒱ sorta rushed through this chapter cause it was lowkey a minor part of sanghees life that didnt last long and id rather put a lot of work into all the fun sweet stuff thats to come later. hope it was still a good read and if not i hope it was decent at least💙༉
꒰BlueBirdie48꒱