Chapter Text
Lilly's fingers halted their descent on the keyboard of her laptop, the glow of the lights behind each key dimming due to inactivity. With a groan, she stretched her arms up and over her head. Her joints popped in protest.
"Gaahhhh, I've been sitting here for so long..." she whined, quietly to herself. She was currently sitting in one of her university's many study rooms and it was reaching lunchtime.
Popping her earbuds out of her ears she turned to look at the student sitting next to her. Despite his books being opened, he was on his phone and appeared to be texting somebody.
"Hmm..." she closed her laptop as he let out a breath that sounded akin to a laugh. Adjusting her glasses, she pushed her laptop into her cat-shaped bag. She popped a chip into her mouth from the pocket of her hoodie as she did so. With a loud crunch, she started to make room for her laptop which struggled to stay out of its confinement.
As she struggled, the chip bag in her pocket slowly made its way out and onto the ground with a soft crinkle.
"Hey, Miss?" plop, success! her laptop was in her bag now! With a zip, she turned to look at the person who had addressed her.
Violet eyes met the milky, opaque lenses of her large, goofy glasses. She put on her signature dopey smile as they made eye contact.
"Yup?" She made sure to pop the 'p' as she ran her tongue along her bottom lip.
"You dropped something" his voice seemed to be rather timid, she couldn't stand it when people were shy around her.
"Pardon?" she heard him loud and clear, she just wanted to hear him say it louder and with more confidence. Instead, however, he went to pick up the bag of chips on the floor himself. Her smile dropped a bit as he handed it to her, his eyes still shy and unsure. As she went to grab it, his eyes seemed to scan the label before instantly lighting up. Did he really like chips?
"No way! These are Honey Buddha Chips! Where did you get these? Please tell me!" Lilly's hand stopped part-way towards the bag he was holding, his sudden outburst startling her. "Can I please have one?"
"I got a whole other bag, hold on" Lilly dug through her pockets pulling out her backup snacks. She always made sure to keep backup snacks handy just for emergencies like these!
"Really? You'll give me a whole bag free? You're so awesome!" Lilly laughed taking the half-empty bag from him before replacing it with an unopened one. "Gah! I have to savour these, they'll taste even better since they're free"
"Savour? they're a bag of chips, I have a ton more at home. If you want we can meet up here from time to time and share them." Lilly paused, her smile growing, before adding "for free..."
"Wait you mean Honey Buddha Chips right? Not just any old Lais chips?"
"You bet!"
"Oh my gosh, yes! You're so cool! I'm so excited!" Suddenly the shy boy from before was no more. His blonde hair bounced as he did a little victory dance in his seat.
"Anyways, it was nice meeting you but I'm gonna go grab some lunch. My stomach is my one and only boss!" She laughed, pulling her bag onto her shoulder and stuffing the packet of half-eaten chips back into her hoodie pocket. She then stood up and turned to push her chair in.
"Oh wait, I didn't catch your name! I'm Yoosung by the way..." the shyness was back, as he averted his eyes.
"Lilly." She gave him a quick raise of the hand akin to a wave before turning to leave through the closest exit. She could tell he was confused by her foreign name but she didn't bother to turn around and explain before she stepped out into the hallway.
It was dark out now and Lilly was finding it increasingly harder not to fall asleep on the subway ride back home. Her head bobbed back and forth as she went in and out of consciousness. She continued to suck in a string of saliva that tried to escape through the corner of her mouth.
“My lady?” She practically jumped out of her skin as a foreign voice entered her ears.
“Gaaah! huh? What? I'm awake, I'm awake!” She yelled in her stupor of fatigue before flailing her arms wildly. Her glasses fell to the floor with a clack and she groaned in irritation as she realized they had fallen from her face. She heard an amused chuckle in response as she went to pick them up and place them back on. “What, you think this is funny?” She pushed the glasses up her nose and gave a fake scowl. She then raised her head to look up at the stranger that addressed her.
“A lady shouldn't sleep on public transport, it's bad for your skin and potentially dangerous. Who knows what kind of people are lurking around.” she was met with red eyes and soft white hair tied neatly into a ponytail. To the average person, he would seem incredibly good looking but Lilly wasn't too interested in relationships.
“Oh, uh thanks. Just had a busy day ya know? I'm a student and all,” she let out a nervous chuckle. Her hands settled in her lap and she made a wave-like motion with her fingers as she spoke.
“Oh really? Do you go to SKY University? A friend of mine goes there. You probably don't know him though, so I don't know why I'm telling you this.” He let out a breath akin to a laugh “what are you taking?”
“I'm a computer science major with a minor in business”
“Computer science?” He asked no one in particular as he seemed to pause and think for a second. “I know a guy, his name is Seven and he's amazing with computers.”
“His name is a number?”
“Oh that's not his real name, it's just something everyone calls him,” he let out a nervous chuckle.
“Seems suspicious…”
“Oh no! He's a great guy, real jokester or at least he tries to be.” He put his hands out in front of him and waved them as he spoke while wearing an embarrassed smile.
“Hmmm…” Lilly squinted her eyes as if she was thinking hard. When he opened his mouth to try to defend his ‘totally not suspicious’ friend she burst out laughing. “Ah, I'm just kidding. I'm sure he's a great guy,” she said the last part in a sarcastic tone.
“You don't sound very convinced,” he glanced to his side for a second before focusing his attention back on her. His lips were upturned into a smile. She smiled and let out a breathy laugh in response. “So where are you heading?”
“Home, probably to make dinner for my little brother before passing out in the nearest bed.”
“You live with your family?”
“Just my brother, we sorta lost contact with our parents and our primary caretaker passed away during my graduation from high school.”
“You're taking care of him yourself?!” Most people reacted this way when she told them that she was her brothers, primary caretaker. She really didn't mind though, he meant the world to her and she felt she had the resources to do it. Though the man before her was looking at her with oddly concerned eyes for a stranger. He was treating this information like a secret his longtime friend hid behind his back and suffered from alone.
“Yeah, it's no big deal, when I'm too busy a close childhood friend of mine will usually help in some way. I have support,” Lilly had no clue why she was saying all this to a stranger. He looked genuinely concerned for her though so it felt easy to spill her thoughts.
“What's your number?” His phone was out in what felt like a split second. He had a determined look on his face as he held it out in front of him. Lilly laughed nervously before telling him, he quickly typed it in as she spoke. “I'll text you tonight, I know we just met but don't be afraid to ever text me if you genuinely need help.”
“Only when I genuinely need help?” She laughed.
“Or just to chat, that's fine too!” His face lit up with an embarrassed blush which made him seem cute and almost childlike. An announcement on the overhead speakers cut them off, it was her stop.
“Looks like it's time for me to go,” she said as she got up from her seat. “I'm Lilly by the way, we never really formally introduced ourselves”
“Oh my god! Where are my manners? My name's Hyun Ryu but my friends just call me Zen.”
“Alright, Zen..” she tested the name on her tongue “I'll talk to you later.”
“Yeah, you too and be careful on your way home!” Was heard as she exited the train.
“I'm home!” She closed the door behind her and dropped her keys onto a nearby table with a clang. She stripped herself of her shoes before sliding her feet into a pair of slippers. Trudging tiredly towards the kitchen; she dropped her bag along the wall near the entrance of her two bedroom apartment.
The pitter-patter of feet slapping against the hardwood flooring could be heard as she opened the fridge.
“Big sis,” she was met with a mess of auburn hair and big blue eyes akin to her own.
“Hey bud, you hungry?” Lilly was getting food out as she spoke.
“No need, I've already prepared dinner” Lilly jumped, turning to look at the woman standing next to her little brother. Her childhood friend, Rina Han. She was giving Lilly a very stern look, her amethyst eyes practically boring holes into the other woman.
“Rina...Why are you looking at me like that?” Lilly drew out her name in a whiny, playful tone. “And since when do you cook?” Lilly stared at the food in her hands for a second before tossing it back into the fridge without a care of where it landed. She then closed it with her foot and turned towards her friend and brother.
“Don't speak like that, it's annoying and I didn't. I got a chef to do it for me.” Rina crossed her arms as she spoke.
“Awe sweet, is it from that one guy, what's his face, that always makes really good food?” Her voice was becoming lazier as she spoke, coming out groggy and distorted. Rina grimaced in response to Lilly's speech mannerisms.
“Speak like a normal human being,” she scolded before continuing “and no he was busy back at home preparing a meal for my parents.”
“So, in other words, this meal is gonna suck?” Lilly made her way towards the dinner table, her brother in tow.
“Lilly you're such an ungrateful slob,” Lilly laughed mischievously as she knew her attitude would get a rise out of her friend. “And don't laugh.” Lilly let out a forced laugh just to spite her.
“So, Castiel, how was school?” Lilly asked as she sat down at one of the chairs surrounding her dining room table. Castiel sat next to her and Rina opposite of him.
“Don’t ignore me,” Rina scolded causing Lilly to let out another forced laugh. Rina rolled her eyes and sighed irritatedly resting her chin on the palm of her hand.
“Um, it was okay. I read a book on rabbits today…” he trailed off giving Lilly his cutest face. Lilly began to sweat profusely, it was such a hard face to resist. Her brother had been bugging her for a while now about getting a pet rabbit. He seemed to have an odd fascination with them. His room was covered in plush rabbits and most of his clothes had the fluffy-tailed creature on them.
“Oh really? Were you at the library again?” Lilly almost jumped out of her skin when his face switched from cute to menacing in what seemed like a split second. He was obviously angry at the fact that she was dodging the topic.
“Castiel you should finish up quickly and get to bed. You have to wake up early tomorrow and sleep is important for a growing boy like you.” Lilly practically sighed in relief; saved by the Rina.
“I-I know, sorry Ms. Rina,” Castiel replied shyly. When Rina turned her head, however, he began to glare daggers at his sister once more.
For the next two hours, Lilly chatted with both Rina and her younger brother over food and then tea. She could feel herself getting progressively more exhausted as the seconds ticked by though. So when she could take being tired no longer, she bid Rina a farewell before tucking Castiel into bed. She whispered an “I love you” and shut the lights off after reading him a favourite bedtime story.
Lilly collapsed onto her own bed, exhausted now that the day was done.The desktop fish tank on her end table lit the room up in a blue light. Her body was encompassed in its soothing glow.
She felt relieved as she pulled her glasses off her face and set it aside along with her hoodie, skirt and leggings. Laying on top of her comforter in nothing but her underwear and shirt. She began basking in the fact that she could just lay in bed and do nothing.
The sudden buzz of her phone startled her as the silence she was enjoying was disturbed.
She rolled over and pulled her phone out of her discarded hoodie's pocket and turned it towards her. She squinted as she was met with an unknown number.
“Hello my lovely lady, it's me Zen~ I hope I didn't wake you since it's so late.”
She stared at the text for a few seconds trying to remember who the hell Zen was again. When it eventually came back to her, she was quick to add him to her contacts.
“Yo, yo, hiya, hey~” was her response just to make sure he didn't think she was ignoring him. She planned to pass out right after sending that but his response was almost instant.
“Gah! I thought you were someone else for a second there, it scared me. You're not secretly Seven in disguise are you?”
“01011001 01100101 01110011 (yes)”
“Seven get out of Lilly's phone, right now!”
“Lol jk, it's me, not your suspicious friend. I'm exhausted so I'm heading to bed now. I'll be sure to text you in the morning.”
She shut off her phone before he could send a reply and promptly threw it away before cocooning herself in her comforter. She then instantly fell into a deep sleep.
Tip tip, tap. Lilly's hands were working tirelessly as she typed away on her computer. She was having trouble with her current assignment, frustration building on her face. She would have to ask her professor some questions later. She hated having to ask for help, she should be able to do this!
The door opened and closed as the once empty study room was filled with an extra person. She paid them no mind though as she glared angrily at her computer screen. She was getting painstakingly close to slamming her face on the keyboard.
The chair next to her scraped across the ground as someone sat down in it. They dropped their bag onto the table with an audible plop. The movement out of the corner of her eye caused her to glance to her side. She was met with a friendly, albeit shy smile and familiar violet eyes.
“Sorry, are you busy?” Was the first thing out of his mouth.
“Kinda, but I'm stuck” Lilly pouted, poking with mock sadness at her laptop. “Gah! Why is this so hard?!” She whined out, ruffling her hair.
“Huh? Let me see!” Yoosung scraped his chair across the tiled floor, scooting closer to her. His head was practically touching hers as he tried to make sense of what was displayed on her monitor. She waited patiently for him to respond, though he continued to go “uh” and “um”. Eventually, she glanced at his face and burst out laughing when his expression was that of utter confusion. He blushed and puffed out his cheeks in response.
“I-I don't know what any of that is,” he sputtered.
“It's quite simple really!” Her voice took on a sarcastic tone as she closed her eyes for a second and raised her right hand. One of her fingers were pointing up while the other hand rested on her chest. “I'm hacking into confidential information that might change the world as we know it. So far I've figured out that the current prime minister has two illegitimate sons!” Lilly joked but tried her best to seem serious.
“What?! That's not true, no way!” Yoosung gripped both her legs and leaned in closer to her in his excitement.
She let out a mischievous laugh, booping his nose with hers as they were now extremely close to each other. “Yeah you’re right I lied~” she winked after proudly stating that. “By the way, Yoosung~ did you want a kiss? You’re awfully close.” She puckered her lips playfully.
“Ack!” His face lit up with an embarrassed blush as he instinctively backed away. Though he misjudged how far he could go as his butt slid off the seat of the chair. He began to flail his arms wildly, losing balance. The chair he was sitting on tipping back and forth on the tips of its legs. Lilly quickly reached out and snatched his hands, pulling him towards her before he could fall. They ended up back in the same position, nose to nose as Lilly let out a soft giggle.
“Welcome back~”
“Stop that!” Yoosung quickly pushed her away as she laughed at his clumsiness. He quickly looked around the room to make sure nobody else was present. When he seemed satisfied that nobody had seen them, he turned his focus back to Lilly. He was glaring daggers at her. He looked like an angry tomato with how red his cheeks were. “What if someone mistakes us for a couple?”
“Then I’ll give you a really big kiss, Yoosung” she made sure to annoyingly draw out his name; she also clasped her hands together and fluttered her lashes.
He let out a whine and puffed out his cheeks irritably “I've never kissed a girl so stop teasing me.” there was a pause as both of them said nothing before Lilly piped up again as she was reminded of something. Something to tease Yoosung about, that is.
“Speaking of kissing and couples; it's getting close to Valentine's day, isn't it? Who will you spend it with? Huh?” Her voice took on a playful tone.
Yoosung’s mood seemed to darken almost instantly at the mention of Valentine's day. He began pouting and his blush disappeared. “You're so mean, I don't have anyone.”
“So I guess it's more like forever alone day,” Lilly teased.
“My loneliness isn't funny you know!” Yoosung exclaimed, crossing his arms. “Who are you spending it with? Huh?” He mocked her previous tone, smirking proudly as if he spotted her only weakness.
“Me, myself and I. I'm not really interested in relationships anyway, so it doesn't bother me~”
“That's a lie,” Yoosung accused, his arms still crossed. “I bet you're just as lonely as me.”
“Whatever you say,” she then tossed him a bag of Honey Buddha Chips, it landed in his lap. “I'm guessing that’s the real reason you're still talking to me.”
“Oh! I completely forgot about them actually, I was having fun talking to you so…” he trailed off, averting his eyes shyly at his admission.
“Ugh, I hate when you get all shy like that. You don't need to be afraid of saying anything around me. I may laugh or joke, but it's all in good fun.” Lilly's voice became irritated.
“Oh, so-sorry!” He stuttered, waving his hands in front of his face apologetically and putting on a nervous smile.
“You're doing it again. Stop.” Her lips downturned into a slight frown. He opened his mouth to speak again; though Lilly didn't feel like hearing another apology, so she cut him off. “You have any plans tonight?”
“Uh, I was going to go home and play some LOLOL, why?”
“LOLOL? what's your rank? I play it from time to time, which is never but still.”
“Really?! You play games?!” Yoosung was then quick to boast about how he was ranked number 2 on the shooting star server, and how he had a super rare skin. Lilly quietly listened to him prattle on. It was nice to see him be super passionate about something and not self-conscious of his every move. He suddenly stopped mid-rant and blushed slightly at how excited he had gotten at just the mention of his favourite game. “What's your rank?” He asked, his voice taking on a more timid tone.
Lilly gave him an unamused look as he went back to his old shy ways. “Uh, 10 or 13? I can't remember, I barely have time to play with school and work combined.”
“That's not bad, We should play together! what's your username? I'll add you.” Yoosung got his phone out and waited for her to speak.
“Uh I think it was, JusticeWarrior606.” she laughed at how stupid it sounded now that she said it out loud. Yoosung also let out a small laugh as he typed it in to remember it later.
“606? Reminds me of a friend of mine who constantly says that's his imaginary girlfriend. His name is Luciel but everyone I know calls him Seven.”
“Suspicious Seven?”
“You know him?”
“No, somebody I met on the train the other day said something about a guy who goes by Seven and is good with computers. He said his name was Zen, do you know him?”
“Yeah! We're close friends, wow what a weird coincidence,” he laughed, his smile growing. “What did you think of him? He's an actor, you know.”
“Really? He seemed relatively attractive, I think modelling would suit him better.” Yoosung was quick to shake his head.
“No way, he's way too passionate about what he does and he's really good at it! A friend of mine, Jaehee, always watches his DVDs and is a big fan.”
“Really? Maybe I'll check him out.” Lilly checked the clock on her phone realizing it was getting close to lunch. She could feel how empty her stomach was.
“Anyways, why did you call Seven suspicious?”
“Because who has a number as their name? Though I guess now I know his real name is Luciel. Still suspicious though.”
“Oh no, that's not his real name it's his baptismal name or something. His real name is a secret.” Yoosung explained, going to open the bag of chips he left sitting in his lap.
“Now he's even more suspicious than before.” Lilly snagged the chip bag in Yoosung's hands away from him just as he was about to open it. He opened his mouth to protest but she cut him off. “Let's go have lunch together,” she stated, dropping the unopened packet back onto his lap.
His eyes suddenly lit up, “Really? Finally, everything I imagined about college life is coming true!” Yoosung exclaimed as Lilly stood up to put away her laptop before zipping up her bag.
“Are you high or something?” She half-joked as she flung her bag over her shoulder and began walking towards the nearest exit.
“Ah, w-wait!” Yoosung exclaimed, quickly gathering his stuff before running after her.
Lilly poked at her kimchi and miso soup with her chopsticks. They weren't exactly the most appetizing. Both were overcooked and mushy. She stuck out her tongue, tempted to push her tray away.
“You shouldn't play with your food, Lilly, or skip meals.” Yoosung was sitting next to her, the cafeteria was both crowded and loud as people chatted away.
“Please, you were going to skip lunch to eat a bag of chips.” Lilly accused as she popped some of the food into her mouth.
“Honey Buddha Chips are amazing! I don't know how you don't eat all the chips you have for breakfast, lunch and dinner.” Yoosung replied through his own food.
“I usually have a chef to do it and I don't want to set a bad example for my little brother.”
“A chef?! No way, are you rich?” He gave her a look of surprise.
“No, a very close friend of mine is though. She's the niece of the chairman of C&R.” Lilly explained, shovelling more food in her mouth.
“What, I didn't know Jumin had any cousins.”
“Jumin Han?”
“Yeah, that's the one!” He paused, “Oh you probably don't know this but he's also a friend of mine, well kinda. We're in the same organization.” Upon Lilly's look of confusion, Yoosung continued. “RFA, it's a fundraising organization.”
“Never heard of it, but that's cool. How do you guys raise money?”
“We host parties, a lot of important people and celebrities show up! But…” Yoosung trailed off, a cloud of depression suddenly engulfing him. “My cousin Rika was the head of the organization and she…” his bottom lip began to quiver and it looked as if he were about to burst into tears. “She passed away during my graduation, I really loved her. I wanted to be just like her.” He sniffled, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand.
Lilly began to panic, she wasn't expecting him to get so emotional. “Hey, hey!” She exclaimed, grabbing his attention before placing a reassuring hand on his back. When he turned to look at her, tears brimming his normally cheerful eyes she had no clue what to say. Her breathing began to pick up, she felt as if she were failing him. So she decided to say the first thing that came to mind. She didn't know if it would make the situation worse or better. She wasn't good with this kind of stuff.
Her voice dropped to a whisper, “Let’s have sex,” she blurted out. She regretted it the moment it came out and began to sweat profusely. Luckily she said it in a very joking manner so hopefully, he didn't take it too seriously.
Yoosung practically choked on his own spit, his face becoming a dark shade of red. “What?!” He yelled, drawing a few of the stranger's attention that surrounded them. “Why would you say that, here of all places?!”
Lilly burst out laughing at his reaction, snorting every couple of laughs. “Sorry, I thought that would help you feel better.”
“How does that help me feel better?!” He exclaimed. They both suddenly went quiet and stared at each other for a couple seconds in silence. Yoosung's expression slowly changed from anger and embarrassment to a smile. He then started laughing at how ridiculous the situation was. Lilly's smile began to grow in reaction to his laughter, relieved she didn't completely turn him off by saying something stupid.
“Lilly, you're such a weirdo…” he paused fiddling with his fingers, a smile still on his face. He averted his eyes, “but thanks, that kinda helped.” Lilly smirked in response and was about to speak when Yoosung quickly cut her off. “Just never do that again, got it?”
“No promises.”
The rest of the meal they chatted and joked around, Lilly poking fun at Yoosung and Yoosung trying to poke fun back. Eventually though, one of Yoosung's peers from his next class showed up and the two left together. Lilly watched them walk away; Now sitting alone, she felt somewhat empty.