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"i love you chieko, stay safe for me," akina said as she leaned in, leaving a kiss on the girl's head.
"i love you, too, i will!" she happily replied, opening the car door as she made sure she'd everything she needed — and might need — for the day ahead of her.
the girl waved goodbye to her mom as she walked towards the secret entrance of the large building, the boys' manager's eyes crinkling upon seeing her through the glass-made structure seperating them.
he opened the door when she was closer, "hello, byeol!"
"hello," she bowed her head as she walked inside, "it's nice to see you again!"
the two emerged in small conversation as they made their way towards the gathering area.
jay nudged the maknae's shoulder as his eyes landed upon the girl, ni-ki feeling his insides churn with butterflies as his own laid upon her being.
the manager called out his usual checklist for studio days, the heads, bags, and other miscellaneous items, everything being counted off in no time.
once the staff members began to dismiss, their manager leaned down to talk to byeol.
"there's an extra seat in their van, if you wanted to ride with them,"
her eyes slightly widened, "i wouldn't want to-"
their manager chuckled, "byeol, it's not like you're a random girl one of the boys are bringing along without permission.. he asked if you could come today because he said he'd do better if you did. you're a part of them now," he reassured the girl, her heart fluttering with his words.
he did?
she bowed her head multiple times in a row while agreeing to the offer, standing back as the male walked to the van to warm it up, eventually making her way towards the boys.
the seven were engaged in small conversation when sunghoon's eyes slightly brightened, the eldest realizing first. he turned his head towards where sunghoon had been staring, mouth turning up in the corners.
"hi, byeol," the lee boy greeted, the others now turning their bodies around to look at the girl.
"hi, guys," she greeted, lightly bowing her head as she smiled.
"our ni-"
"nope. you're done. you're done."
"are you sure you have enough space?"
"yes, rik,"
"is the seat comfortable enough?"
"yes, rik,"
"do you want a-"
"riki!"
her exclaim caused the youngest to stop his frantic rant, though he instead became alarmed by her raised voice, "are you okay? what happ-"
she silently chuckled, quickly covering his mouth with her hand.
"you're worrying too much, i'm okay, trust me," she showed a reassuring, small smile.
the boy accepted her words, nodding before facing the front. a small, contented smile took over his features before he engaged in conversation with the boys.
twenty minutes into the ride, byeol'd realized she hadn't been told how far the studio was located.
she reached for her phone in the midst of conversing with sunghoon, checking their location using the maps app.
the older's wandering eyes accidentally caught sight of her screen, able to tell what she was checking despite the device being set to japanese.
"if you're wondering how far we're going, we're about another thirty minutes from the place, with the traffic, and everything," he trailed off, the girl looking up at him, smiling in gratefulness.
she lightly giggled, "thank you.. manager just never told me where we were going and taeyang oppa asked," she said, the familiar name launching an uncomfortable feeling in her soulmate's stomach.
though he was mid sentence, his eyes glanced towards the girl sat beside him, bitterly rolling his eyes at the other's name being mentioned. when no one was looking, and his seeming attention was 'fully placed' on sunghoon's words, his hand unclapsed itself from the other, moving down towards where the girl's was.
without looking, he interwined their fingers together, the boy softly smirking at the way hers felt and looked so tiny compared to his own. he admired the new merge, able to feel the burning gaze set upon his face.
a few seconds passed before he fully paid attention to the staring eyes, softly craning his head to the side, making eye contact with his byeol.
their glowing orbs never let up, neither looking away for what felt like an eternity.
he knew there was nothing between her and taeyang. he knew no other guy had her attention the way he had a gold plate with his initials screwed onto it. she'd done plenty of things to reassure him of that, why was he still getting jealous over a mention of his name?
sure, they weren't together — yet – but what in the world could possibly keep them apart? their seperation would, quite literally, be life threatening, so no matter how much anyone hated seeing the two together, there was no going against the laws of the universe.
ni-ki felt at ease now, having let these things sink into his system and his mind. the two still held eye contact, though byeol's head had now craned to the side as a sign of confusion, considering he'd never stared at her like this.
"why?" she mumbled out, the boy discreetly coming back to. his eyes scanned over her face— her face. the face he'd unknowingly fallen so deeply for, he sometimes saw himself as pathetic for how much he felt for the girl. she could be sitting, doing nothing yet he found his heart racing. every. single. time.
he looked back up to her eyes, slowly raising the hand which he held. without breaking eye contact, he leaned down, kissing the newly added accessory which sat prettily on her index finger.
her eyes trailed after him as he did so, begging her face to not betray her and remain her usual tone.
what are you going to me, rik?
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+ HAOGALORE!
a/n! more byeolki fluff
before we get to the hard stuff >:)
&&& a chapter for FIFTY! THOUSAND!
READS!!!!!!!! insane.
