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You were shaking slightly as your back was pressed against one of the walls of your college’s hallways. This was one of many instances that you hated how shy you were. Sometimes you were fine and were able to converse with people with such an ease one would never suspect how truly introverted and shy ridden you were. Despite being from another country, you settled into your new life in South Korea just fine. You were so happy to finally practice the language and do college in another country without relying on anyone. Heck you made a few friends.
However, there were the big moments that made you so nervous and freak out so badly you needed to take your anxiety meds. Today was one of those days. You already took her pills and sadly they were not helping. What was making this poor individual have a meltdown right outside the student lounge? The thing is that you have always admired this one boy in your creative writing class: Lee Jihoon or as others called him Woozi.
You heard how gifted, popular and amazing he was from the rumors around the school. It didn’t help that some of your classmates kept saying how good looking he was. It was getting annoying until you finally saw him in your elective class.
Yeah you understood what they were saying.
It was truly criminal to be both adorable and handsome at the same time.
At first you were confused why the music genius was taking a writing course but then saw how Minghao, Hoshi and DK were also in the class. Jihoon was apparently the best of friends with 12 other boys in the college that everyone loved. You have seen the group around. They were nice guys based on what you had seen.
Suddenly there were loud shouts and laughter coming from the lounge, causing you to jump a bit before realizing who it was. You smiled softly to yourself thinking about the group of boys, specifically a certain member whose laugh you would know anywhere.
Anyway, you weren’t sure when exactly it started but at some point you just couldn’t take your eyes off of him. You were drawn to Jihoon for some reason. You knew he was good looking and brilliant but despite all rational, those weren’t good enough to satisfy your mind. You began to quietly study him from afar. It was his personality.
As time went on, you realized how witty, smart, caring, sweet and just lovely Jihoon actually was. His devotion and love for his friends was so admirable and moving it moved to try the same things for you and your friends. He was so quiet compared to the rest of the boys but he actually spoke the loudest even without saying much.
You were content to just gaze upon your muse from afar but then your professor wanted the class to exchange their recent assignments with one another. Yes, you had to share one of your pieces with Woozi.
It was so nerve wrecking to move next to him and actually pretend that you hadn’t noticed him the entire time. You had to literally command your brain to stop your hand from shaking to give him your recent story and him yours. There was a part that should not have been surprising how good of a storyteller this man was. You were silently cursing whoever is in the heavens about this entire situation when Jihoon
“You’re really good.”
Your brain stopped cursing and froze at those words he just said. “Excuse me?”
You questioned him, finally looking at him directly. He looked a bit surprised by your tone which made you stutter. “I’m so sorry for my tone. I didn’t mean anything by that. I’m just shocked that you of all people actually like what I wrote. Wait, I mean that might sound bad too. I meant-”
You stopped herself rambling when you noticed he looked amused. It was the type of the silent gentle amusement that rang of his kindness you often saw on his face. You knew it well.
Jihoon responded, “I mean it. You not only fulfilled the prompt but made a few creative choices that I didn’t see coming. You’re very skilled at this.”
Your muse, the genius that was Woozi, complimented your work. Not even your own family had much faith in your writing skills before.
You tried to breathe and smile back at him. “Thank you. You have no idea what that means to me.”
“It’s true.” He shrugged.
Just like him, you thought as you glanced back at him once more with a soft smile still on your face before finishing your assessment in his.
“While we are giving each other compliments, I have to say I really liked your story, Jihoon. It was such a moving piece. I didn’t want it to end,” You gave your mini assessment. You noticed he turned his head smiling and ears a little red. “If you don’t become a world famous musician, you have a solid back up being a best selling author.”
You were surprised at how comfortable you felt around him to tell a joke, but you couldn’t dwell on that too long.
He chuckled at that, making your insides squeal in delight. “Thank you. I don’t think so but thank you for the words.”
Looking at how the other groups were still talking, you realized this might be a good opportunity to finally get to know your muse better. You finally asked, “If you don’t mind me asking, how come you’re in this class?”
Jihoon replied, “My friend Minghao suggested we get rid of our literature elective class by doing this. I also think writing a song isn’t that different from telling a story. I want to be a better songwriter that connects with people.”
After that mini conversation, your admiration for this man just grew stronger than it had before. You realized then your desire had grown. Now you knew how easy it was to talk to him, you wanted more. You wanted to get to know him more.
You didn’t want more passing greetings in the hallways or the cafeteria. Studying from afar wasn’t helping anymore. If anything, it made things worse now he knew of your existence. Sometimes Woozi would see you looking in his direction and give a small smile as if he knew something.
You hit your head against the wall softly, groaning at your past self’s actions. Woozi was clever. It wouldn’t take him long to realize what was happening.
Yes you had a small minor crush on him but in your head that wasn’t important. You genuinely wanted to get to know him and perhaps something more if it goes well.
This led up to your dearest friend, Somi, suggesting why don't you invite him to a coffee date and get to know one another that way.
(You refused to tell Somi who was the mysterious man you kept writing about. You found out early on that Somi and Woozi were friends.)
You figured out all of the guys were in the student lounge, catching up and such before night classes. Now how to ask him without embarrassing both him and yourself in front of all of his friends and other students who might be there.
You took a deep breath. “You got this, (Y/N). Just go in there to see what the situation is like. If he is too busy, then you just try another time.”
As you went into the lounge, you noticed Seungkwan was having a dance off of sorts with DK and Hoshi. Someone must have had a speaker on them and put on some older K-pop songs while she was not paying another. You shook your head with a smile at their goofiness and youthfulness. Some of the guys were dancing in their chairs, singing softly too.
You spotted Woozi doing such, though he noticed your entry into the lounge. Your insides froze for a second before you made a small wave at him which he returned. You went over to the vending machines when one of your favorite songs was playing.
It was “Be Mine” by Infinite.
You couldn’t help but sing along with them quietly to yourself and move your head to the groove. Once your drink came down, you turned around to find Hoshi watching you with a mischievous smile.
You knew him kind of through brief greetings and conversations whenever you came across both him and Woozi. He was really kind and friendly towards her. So it wasn’t a shock that he shouted over the music, “(Y/N)! Come on!”
You laughed, “I don’t know the moves that well.”
“Yes you do. It’s easy.” Hoshi dragged you closer to the group and showed you a bit of the dance.
You followed along pretty well. So when the chorus came, you were in perfect synchronization with the boys while singing. You couldn’t stop laughing while singing. It was so much fun.
Your eyes tried not to look at Woozi too much while you were dancing but your heart took over one time. You almost stumbled at how happy he looked and his eyes would soften slightly looking at you.
You snapped out of it when she almost stepped on DK but stopped yourself. Once the song was done, the boys applauded you which made your red cheeks even redder. You bowed dramatically, “Thank you, thank you,” You turned to Hoshi and bowed slightly towards him. “Thank you master for teaching.”
Hoshi laughed, wrapping his arm around your shoulders. “You already knew the dance, didn’t you?”
“I will neither confirm nor deny.” You smirked at him.
Hoshi briefly introduced you to all the guys, ending with, “And of course you know our Jihoon over there.”
You smiled at Woozi who was narrowing his eyes at Hoshi for some reason. He erased that when he noticed your eyes on him, smiling back. “Yes of course we have a class together.” You turned to all of them, bowing slightly. “It was nice to meet you all but I have to get going to grab something a bit substantial to eat before night class.”
S. Coups stopped your tracks when he offered. “Why don’t you join us for dinner? We are all about to go down the road to try out a Chinese restaurant Dino found.”
“Somi, Sana and some of the other girls are coming too.” Mingyu added.
“Are you sure?” You really liked these guys and wanted to get to know them better. They were a big part of Woozi’s life. Plus you would get to see Woozi in a setting that wasn’t school related. “I don’t want to intrude.”
Hoshi reaffirmed the invitation with a smile a bit bigger than before. “Oh trust me, you’re more than welcome.” You looked to the other guys who nodded and said other confirmations. Woozi directed a sharp dark gaze towards Seungcheol and Mingyu for some reason who were grinning wide.
“Um sure I guess.”
At that, you all left the lounge. You briefly tried to say hi and do mini conversations with the guys but once you all officially left campus, all the boys with the exception of Woozi were way in front of you. You didn’t even know when that happened. Woozi was kind enough to stay with you in the back.
All the calm you felt earlier when you were in the lounge with the boys left your being. Your hands were shaking but thankfully your big sweatshirt sleeves were a good way to hide them.
“Come on, (Y/N). You were fine earlier. You got this. Just ask him for coffee tomorrow.” Your brain shouted at her.
“Um…”
“Sorry…”
Both of you said at the same time.
“You can go first.” You insisted.
Woozi apologized, “Sorry about this.”
“For what?”
“They all mean well but they can be a bit pushy at times.”
“No, I wanted to come. I’ve been wanting to get to know them better for some time now. This seemed like the best chance to do that.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, so you don’t need to apologize for them.”
“That’s good to know.”
Silence fell briefly.
“You were going to say something.”
Your heart jumped a bit before your inner self slammed it back down. “Right. I don’t know how to ask this now considering we are technically doing something similar now. And you can absolutely say no if you don’t want to. You are under no obligat-”
Woozi chuckled, stopping you from rambling again. “You’re doing it again.”
“Sorry.”
“It’s fine. It’s cute.”
He did not just call your rambling cute. You needed to survive the night.
“Go ahead.” He paused walking which stopped you as well. He looked at you with his lovely eyes. “Ask.”
You took a deep breath. “Would you wanna go get coffee with me tomorrow?”
Your eyes closed, bracing for whatever answer he was going to give you.
“Sure.”
Your (y/e/c) eyes opened to find him amusingly watching your reaction. You knew you were blushing and looked slightly shocked. You tried your best to recollect yourself quickly while he continued, “I’m not a big coffee person but I like it sometimes.”
He began to walk again which immediately made you quickly catch up with him. “What do you drink then?”
“Oh I get an iced americano occasionally.”
“Really? You give me black coffee vibes.”
“And you give me green tea vibes.”
“You’re not entirely wrong. I prefer tea over coffee.”
“And you asked me out for a coffee date?” He raised his eyebrow looking at you with a slight smirk and reddening of his ears.
“Usually, coffee places offer tea options. I figured I’d be fine. Plus I never said this was a date.”
“Oh I just assumed, considering your cute rambling and blushing.”
“You’re enjoying this way too much.”
He chuckled as he opened the door for you to go into the restaurant. “Sorry.”
“No you’re not.” You walked in, silently thanking him for the door.
Woozi watched you being greeted by the girls and being slightly teased by the guys for your blushing face. “I’m not sorry at all.” He whispered smiling fondly at you before going in to join the others.