Archive of Our Own ^beta

The audience was loud when the show came to an end. 

There was confetti everywhere, and as Stray Kids stood at the front, with NOT CUTE ANYMORE being played loudly on stage, Changbin could hear—and see—very clearly how much everyone enjoyed it; the fans, the performers, and everyone loved it. He had to admit he was a bit too excited himself. 

Waving at the camera when it panned to him, Changbin looked around, wrapping his arm around Jisung, and they both bowed as ZEROBASEONE greeted them with their heads ducked low. He bent down just as Jisung did, smiling and hugging each and every one of them when they came over to him. 

Changbin only noticed it was time to retreat backstage when Bang Chan Hyung called them. He rushed towards his members, stopping to look around when Seungmin asked them where Felix was.

Not again. 

He stopped in his tracks, eyes zeroing in on the crowd of other idols, squinting as he tried to spot a familiar blond head. It was no use. He bowed politely at a girl group, stepping backwards to let them go backstage first, and as he did, Changbin accidentally bumped into somebody behind him. Hard.

Startled, Changbin whirled around and quickly caught the person by the wrist, holding them steadily before they tripped and fell because of him. It wasn’t the first time it had happened. Changbin was way too clumsy like that.

“That was close,” he said, chuckling as his eyes flitted up. He stopped laughing. 

As a matter of fact, his breath hitched as soon as he realized who was standing in front of him. 

They were the prettiest person Changbin had ever seen in his entire life.

No, they must be an angel of some sort. They had to be. Nobody was that beautiful.

They had platinum blond hair, brighter than Felix’s bleached one, tied up in a high ponytail, with bangs covering their forehead. Not only that, their eyes were different in color, one blue and one pink, and all Changbin could do was stare at their glossy pink lips before his gaze fell to their white outfit. They had a layer of white fur wrapped around their slim shoulders and their hips. For a second, Changbin could see a glimpse of pale skin where the shirt was riled up. 

He forced his gaze back up again and breathed out shakily when the person flashed a pretty smile at him. Fuck.

“Whoa, gorgeous.”

“I’m sorry?” the person said, and their voice was so soft and gentle that Changbin felt something click inside him, like it had been set in place. 

It took a while for Changbin to respond.

“Oh! Oh, no, no,” he stammered, unsure why he was stuttering in times like this. “I’m sorry. For bumping into you, I was—I wasn’t looking. I’m sorry. Are you okay?”

The person nodded gracefully. Beautifully. Changbin’s knees were close to buckling. 

“I’m okay,” they said, smiling at Changbin. His heart was racing. “Are you okay?”

He managed to nod, and the beautiful person in front of him gave him another blooming smile before pulling away from his grasp and walking past him.

Changbin only managed to breathe properly then, looking down at his hand, which was still tingling from where he had touched that slim wrist. 

He blinked and clenched his hand into a fist. 

Who was that person, and how come Changbin had never seen them before?

“Hey.”

Changbin flinched, only because Felix had just smacked him on the shoulder and brought him back to reality. 

“What are you doing, staring at your hand?”

“I was looking for you.”

“Pretty sure I’m not in your palm.”

He snorted. “Shut up, let’s go,” he said, escorting Felix backstage. 

When they reached the narrow hallway inside, Changbin looked to the left. The rest of his members were there, waiting for him and Felix to catch up. He looked to the right, and his chest did a flip when he noticed the white ponytail in the crowd. There were three other people in white outfits, too.

He let go of his arm on Felix’s shoulder, his eyes following that particularly beautiful person before him. Even their silhouette was beautiful. 

The longer he stared, the more fidgety he got. He couldn’t stop looking at them, couldn’t stop thinking about how pretty they were, and couldn’t think about how he hadn’t even known their name yet. He had to know their name, because what if they never met again? What if Changbin never had the chance to ever see them again, and this was his only shot?

Changbin ran. 

He heard Felix’s startled noise behind him, but he kept running. He couldn’t let the person go like that.

“Gorgeous!” Changbin blurted out and then mentally smacked himself for saying it. “Wait! I mean—pretty person, stop! Wait, no, I mean—fuck, please wait!”

Changbin groaned, but he didn’t stop until the person turned around. They stopped. For him!

It took a few more seconds for Changbin to reach them, and as he came to a halt, breathing heavily with his hands on his knees, the person stood before him with a soft smile. 

“I’m sorry, I—” He waved his hand in the air, straightening his back and catching his breath. Once he calmed himself down, Changbin said, “You stopped.”

“Yes, because someone was yelling in the hallway,” they said. “Were you calling for me?”

“Yes! Yes, I’m—” he said, nodding frantically, and at that moment, he suddenly couldn’t remember what to say anymore. “Uh, wait, this is the part where I—” He shook his head, waving vaguely with his hand in the air, then he uttered, “Stray Kids!”

“Yes.” The person chuckled. “You are from Stray Kids, Changbin hyung.”

“Yes! My name, yeah. I’m Changbin. Seo Changbin,” Changbin said, gesturing with his hand—his trembling hand. “You know me?”

“Everyone knows you,” they said, and, god, Changbin was so stunned by their beauty he was hardly thinking about anything else now. “I like your new song, and your performance was great.”

“Thank you! Thank you, I—” 

He gulped as he was starting to regret not watching the other performances before his group. He should have, because then he wouldn’t have missed them.

“Do you have anything else to say, hyung?” they said, curious eyes looking back at him. It made Changbin’s throat dry. 

“I, um, I just—” He cut himself short, fumbling for his phone from the pocket of his pants and opening his Kakao app. “Can I have your Kakao? Or Line, whichever—whichever works, really. Anything.”

He extended his hand, and the person before him tensed up, for some reason. They looked at him, eyebrows furrowing, lips pressing tightly together, before they fidgeted with the butterfly charm on their fur coat.

“I’m not a girl, Changbin hyung,” they said softly; their voice had sounded so vulnerable that Changbin’s chest tightened.

He blinked. 

“I know,” Changbin said. 

“Oh,” they said, scrunching up their nose. It was cute. “Are you sure?”

“I am,” he answered confidently. “I don’t think I could leave this place without knowing your name. You’re really, um, I’m totally not exaggerating here, but you’re the prettiest person I’ve ever seen. In my entire life.”

A smile blossomed on their pink lips, and that delicate hand reached out to take Changbin’s phone from his hand. He waited patiently until he could get his phone back and stared at the name and new number on the screen.

“Rui,” he murmured softly.

“Rui.”

“Your name is as pretty as you are,” he said, then stammered as he looked back at Rui. “Sorry, I mean, um, like, in the way that’s—”

“I know.” Rui chuckled softly, giving him a nod. “My name is as pretty as I am.”

He grinned, feeling shy all of a sudden now that someone this beautiful was looking at him. This had never happened before. 

Rui glanced over their shoulder, looking back at Changbin and putting a hand on his upper arm. 

“I have to go,” Rui said, sliding those soft fingers down his bare arm. “But maybe I’ll see you at MBC next week?”

“You’ll be there, too?”

“Yes.”

“Okay!” Changbin smiled brightly. He was sure his mouth had never stretched this wide before. “I’ll see you there, Rui-ya.”

Rui hummed, turning around and taking a few steps forward before looking over their shoulder, cocking their head to the side.

“I think this shirt fits you very well, Changbin hyung.”

With a smile, Rui walked away, following their group outside, and Changbin stood there like a statue frozen in time from one compliment given to him by a divine being. It was surreal. 

“Dude, what are you doing?”

Felix grabbed him by the shoulder, and Changbin finally managed to function again.

“Everyone’s waiting for you.”

“Sorry,” he said, shaking his head as he let Felix drag him towards the others. “Felix.”

“Yeah?”

“I think I’m in love.”

“What?”

*

Changbin had a little problem.

Okay, it was a big one. It was a giant one, actually. 

He was pretty sure he was in love with Rui. 

Chen Kuanjui. Born December 28th, 2000. Changbin had gotten so curious that he managed to find out whatever he could about Rui. He had even watched Boys Planet. Cried when Rui got eliminated, too. Hyunjin had asked him if he was okay. Through tears and snot, Changbin gave him an incoherent answer and a nod. 

Not only that, but he had watched every video of XLOV ever since their debut, every fancam, and every picture of Rui that was taken. It was mesmerizing to see Rui on stage. It was as though he was watching someone who loved performing so much that it was what they were destined to do. Rui was meant to be in the spotlight. The spotlight loved Rui, and Changbin could not blame it in the slightest.

Rui was beautiful. So, so incredibly beautiful that he was rendered speechless every time he watched Rui’s videos or saw one of Rui’s pictures. He was still in disbelief that someone that beautiful was real. 

Actually, his obsession had gotten so bad that he had gone out of his dorm, dressed in black clothes, and covered his entire face to purchase XLOV’s new album set in hopes he’d get a photocard of Rui. Instead, he had gotten two photocards of Hyun, one of Haru, and one of Wumuti, and they had all disappeared inside their shared living room several hours later for some reason. He was pretty sure several people in the dorm had taken them to their own rooms already.

Maybe next time he’d get better luck.

Changbin fidgeted with his phone, staring at the blank conversation in front of him. There was that other problem, too. 

He couldn’t figure out a way to talk to Rui yet. 

How could someone even talk to such a beautiful being? Because every time he tried to type in a sentence, it sounded so stupid and lame. Sounded like he was trying too hard. He didn’t know how to make it casual. He didn’t know how to impress Rui. It was impossible!

“Channie hyung,” Changbin muttered quietly, and Chan looked up from his phone.

“Yeah?”

“How do you flirt with someone?”

“You’re asking me about it?” Chan raised his eyebrows, surprised by Changbin’s question. “You’ve never asked me that before.”

“Well, Hyunjin and Jeonginnie aren’t here,” he said, and Chan snorted. “And I know you’re dating.”

“What? I’m not.”

“You’re literally typing on your phone while looking at me, Chan hyung. That person with a bunny emoji and the letter T in your contact.”

Chan gulped and stopped typing. 

“It’s okay, I’m not gonna ask you who you’re talking to; I just need some advice,” Changbin said. “How do you start a conversation with someone?”

“Start a conversation? So you haven’t talked to them yet?”

“We did, but I haven’t texted them. They gave me their number four days ago.”

“Four days?”

“I know!” He groaned. “I kept dwelling on it, and the next thing you know, it’s been four days. Do you think it’s bad?”

Chan gave him a look, and Changbin knew he fucked up.

“Maybe it’s not that big of a deal.”

“Really? How long did you wait before you texted your partner? You know, before you two started dating.”

“Waited?” Chan blinked.

Changbin blinked back.

“You didn’t wait?”

“Technically? I sort of did. They gave me their number, and we parted ways. I got in the car and texted them.”

“Immediately?”

“It was, like, ten seconds afterwards, I think.”

“Fuck!” Changbin threw his head back and slouched into the couch. “I totally messed this up.”

“Maybe it’s not that bad. Maybe they didn’t notice. They won’t even remember it.”

“You think so?”

Chan shrugged, and Changbin heaved a sigh. He really fucked this up.

“Will you meet them again?”

“Yeah,” he mumbled, playing with the edges of his phone. “Hopefully, we’ll meet. I’m not even sure they’ll even want to look at me.”

“Use that occasion to talk to them again anyway. Tell them why you didn’t text them; explain it to them. I’m sure they’ll understand if you tell them the truth that you were just nervous.”

He furrowed his eyebrows and said, “You think it’ll work?”

“Maybe get some flowers, too. I don’t know. Something they like.”

Changbin hummed, chewing on his lower lip before he said, “They’re pretty into butterflies.”

“Okay, take that into consideration. If you want to talk to them, find a way to talk to them. It’s as easy as that.”

“Is that how you started dating?”

Chan blinked, eyes averting briefly before he said, “Yeah. I just had to seize the chance. There was no way in hell I was going to let them go just like that.”

Changbin stared at him and breathed out. Maybe that was what everybody felt when they found the right person for them.

He needed to talk to Rui tomorrow.

*

Changbin got Rui a butterfly ring.

Granted, it might be a little bit expensive, and it might be a bit too extravagant to give to someone he hadn’t even talked to for longer than five minutes, but the second he saw that ring as he walked past the jewellery store, Changbin had to drag Minho in there as well. He’d told Minho that he got the ring for his sister. He doubted he was being convincing. 

The ring was now lying neatly in his pocket. Changbin looked at himself in the mirror, fixing the shoulder blades of his sleeveless top for the fifth time—he only counted after Seungmin pointed out he had been doing it four times now. 

Okay, so maybe he was a little nervous, but if someone were to meet Rui again, they’d feel the same way. He had to look presentable, at least, and since Rui had said he liked Changbin’s look the last time, he had specifically asked his stylist to dress him in something similar to their last performance.

He hoped Rui would smile at him and compliment him again. And, maybe, touch his arm again and stuff.

Minho gave him a curious look in the reflection of the mirror, but he didn’t say anything as Changbin fidgeted with the edges of his sleeveless shirt and fixed his hair. 

“You’re humming, hyung.”

Startled, Changbin looked over at Jeongin, who was staring at him. He blinked.

“Me?”

Everyone was looking at him now.

“Yeah,” Seungmin said with a curious grin. “As you have been for the last four days, hyung.”

“Five,” Minho added quietly.

“Yeah, what is that song you’ve been humming?”

“Something beep beep,” Seungmin said, and Jisung gave him a beaming look of agreement.

“Yeah! It goes like, “And my heart goes beep,” or something.”

“Okay, now, don’t tease him,” Chan chimed in, and Changbin mentally thanked his hyung in his head. “Changbin probably just got an earworm or something.”

“It’s not an earworm,” Felix said, not looking up as he continued playing on his phone. “He’s just in love.”

“What?”

“Changbin hyung is in love?”

“That’s not true!”

“Come on, this is coming from our hyung who wrote ‘I Like It.’”

“Hey!” Changbin gasped. “That was a year ago, and I—I’m not in love.” That was a lie, and everybody knew it.

“That’s what you told me,” Felix mumbled, still not looking up from his phone.

“Who is it, hyung?” Jisung asked, eyes gleaming brightly. 

“It’s not—it’s nobody,” he uttered, looking over at Chan for help. It was this moment that his hyung decided to flash him a helpless smile. You’re on your own, kid. “It’s not love, nothing that big. I just—like them.”

“So it’s a crush,” Seungmin said. 

“It’s not! I don’t know! I just—” Really like them and couldn’t think about anything else but them for the past few days.

Changbin decided to keep quiet instead, even as everyone was looking at him. 

“Almost our turn,” Chan said. Now he stepped in. 

As Channie hyung looked up at the TV in their dressing room, broadcasting the current performance live, Changbin’s breath hitched when he saw a glimpse of the name of the group that was going to perform next.

“I gotta go to the bathroom,” Changbin said and fled the room. 

He stood outside, scanning his eyes around the hallway, and flinched when the door behind him was opened. 

“You’re getting real fidgety these days, Binnie.” Chan snorted, patting his back as he said, “I thought you were going to the bathroom.”

“Oh, yeah! I’m going to. It’s just that—it’s, uh, not really an emergency.”

“Right.” Chan flashed him a smile and pointed to the hallway. “I’m going to go to the bathroom, too. See you in there?”

“Very funny, hyung.”

Chan cackled as he walked away. 

Changbin stood there, waiting patiently with his hands constantly fidgeting with his shirt, so much that he had to put his arms behind his back to keep himself composed. It was hard.

When he heard voices approaching, especially one that sounded so soft it was like music to his ears, Changbin straightened his posture and swallowed, squeezing his hands together as the moment came.

There were only three people this time; their leader—Wumuti—was nowhere to be seen, but fuck, Rui was here. Rui, with their hair short and dark and slicked back, dressed in a black shirt and a black pair of leather pants that clung to their body perfectly, along with a burgundy fur coat that fell down to their knees. Changbin felt his breath being taken away from the mere sight. Rui was exceptional today.

He took a step forward, lifting a hesitating hand up to wave at Rui excitedly. He wanted to say something, but the words were all lodged in his throat, refusing to form a coherent sentence. When their eyes met, Changbin smiled.

Rui looked away first and walked past him. 

Something dropped inside Changbin’s stomach, and his shoulders slouched as he withdrew his hand, watching Rui’s back as they walked towards the stage. XLOV stood at the wing, and the second Rui turned around; their eyes weren’t aimed at Changbin. 

Someone with red hair strutted past him in a rush. Wumuti-ssi stopped next to Rui and said something Changbin couldn’t decipher.

Rui hadn’t looked at him since. 

His stomach rumbled uncomfortably, and it wasn’t until someone tapped him that Changbin snapped out of his trance and stopped staring at Rui.

“Hey, you good?” 

Chan was in front of him, and he stared at him with a worried look. Changbin put on a small smile.

“Yeah, I’m good.”

“I didn’t see you in the bathroom.”

“I didn’t feel like it anymore,” he said, entering the dressing room again with a sigh. 

“Christ, what did you do in the bathroom together?” Felix said, his eyes finally ripped away from his phone for a second.

“What?” Channie hyung said.

“Your hair’s a mess again. Our stylist’s going to kill you.”

Chan snorted, flopping back on the couch as Changbin did the same. He couldn’t help but stare at the floor underneath his feet and recall Rui’s face from earlier.

It was as though they had never met at all. 

Changbin really fucked up.

*

Not only did Changbin fuck up his relationship with Rui, but he also messed up his performance today. He’d forgotten a move. Just for a second, but everyone noticed it. They must have. It was just that he couldn’t stop thinking about Rui at all, and it was the first time he’d ever acted like this towards somebody. He couldn’t shake the feeling off.

It was weird, and he knew everybody thought the same thing. They just hadn’t pointed it out to him yet.

They definitely noticed his sour mood, though. Felix had given him a comforting pat on the back when they returned to the dressing room. It was that bad.

“Are you okay?” 

Changbin breathed out softly, clutching the phone between his hands. 

“Channie hyung.”

“Yeah?”

“What happens if somebody ignores you?” he murmured quietly, only for the two of them to hear. “When you see each other face to face, I mean.”

“They ignore you?” Chan said. “Like, they didn’t notice you?”

“They saw me, they just didn’t—” He shrugged. “Say anything, or do anything. They walked past me.”

“Oh.”

“Is it because I didn’t text them? I let them wait four days. Could it be that they were waiting for me to text and then, because I didn’t, they decided to ignore me?”

“I mean, it could be.”

Changbin frowned and said, “You think so, hyung?”

“It’s a possibility, but why don’t you just ask them about it?”

“I don’t think they want to talk to me.”

“It can’t hurt to try. You should tell them why you didn’t text them for four days, I think; if it’s the right person, they’ll understand. Come on, man, you were so nervous that you couldn’t even do anything. It’s not a bad thing.” He smiled, patting Changbin’s shoulder. “You can do it, Binnie. I’m sure there was a reason why they did what they did; you just need to ask them about it.”

“Okay.” He sighed and slouched back onto the couch. “I’ll try.”

“Changbin-ah.”

“Yeah, hyung.”

“Is the person you’re talking about in one of the groups performing with us today?”

He gulped, fidgeting with the phone screen and looking down. Changbin breathed out, “Yeah.”

“So it’s even better.”

He blinked. “How is it better?”

“You have another chance to talk to them. Once all of us go back out there, you can find a way to catch them before they leave, and then you can talk.”

“Do you think it’d work?”

“If I know anything about relationships, Binnie, it’s that you should always be honest,” Chan said. “Especially when it comes to your feelings.”

He put on a smile and said, “Being in love is a good look on you, hyung.”

“Yeah, I know.”

They shared a little laugh, and Chan gave him an encouraging smack to the back before they stood up and followed each other outside once their manager told them it was time.

Like last time, they stood at the front with two other groups, while XLOV was at the back. Changbin didn’t like it. They should be at the front just from how amazing they were during their performance. It took him a minute just to locate where Rui was and another minute to pull himself back to focus because he was looking over his shoulder too much. 

Rui didn’t look at him. Not even once. 

An unfamiliar ache settled in his ribcage whenever he realized just how much he had ruined his chance with Rui. He couldn’t just let Rui go like this, not until they talked. 

Before he knew it, confetti was flying everywhere again, and other groups were coming to greet them. He bowed back, constantly looking at the crowd to see where Rui was. The exact moment he noticed Rui heading towards the wing, Changbin freaked.

He practically sprinted into the crowd to chase after Rui. 

“Rui!” he called out, but in the midst of the crowd, he couldn’t even see if Rui had heard him or turned around for him. “Rui! Wait!” 

With no responses, Changbin’s determination only skyrocketed, and he sped up, sliding past the people and trying his best not to bump into anyone. When he finally saw Rui in his line of sight, he breathed out in relief. There were only three people again, as their leader had disappeared.

He grabbed Rui by the wrist and stopped them in their tracks. Changbin heaved.

“Rui,” he panted, tugging Rui around so their eyes could meet. The two members from his group were looking at him. “Rui, can we talk?”

Despite his efforts, Rui wasn’t looking at him. Their eyes were fixed on Changbin’s hand on their wrist, as though asking him to let them go.

“Can you look at me?” he said. “Please?”

Finally, those eyes flitted up to him, and Rui looked so sad that Changbin wanted to hold them and never make them feel anything but happiness again. 

“Five minutes,” he added. “That’s all I need.”

Rui breathed out softly and gave him a nod. “Okay,” they said, looking over their shoulder to speak to their members. “I’ll catch up with you two later; is that okay?”

“Of course,” Hyun said. Changbin remembered them. “We’ll wait in the dressing room and—oh, shit.” Hyun’s eyes widened, and they quickly bowed at Changbin. “Anyway, see you later! Let’s go, Haru.”

With a quick tug, Hyun managed to drag Haru away, leaving Changbin the opportunity to find somewhere private so he could talk to Rui. It seemed that Rui was as curious as he was as to why his members were so inclined to rush away, but neither of them had the chance to ask about it. 

“Hey! Wait!”

Changbin blinked, his eyes following Jisung, who bolted past him and possibly didn’t even see Changbin there. He seemed to be in a rush, too.

“Can you let go of my hand?” Rui’s voice pulled him back, and Changbin flinched.

“Oh!” He withdrew his grip around Rui’s wrist and said, “Sorry, did I hurt you?”

“No.” Rui shook their head. “I just didn’t want anyone to see.”

“Oh,” Changbin said, glancing around them. Of course, Rui wouldn’t want anyone to see them like this. “Uh, we have a green room next to our dressing room. It’s probably empty. Can we talk there?”

Rui gave him another nod, and it ached Changbin to see them this dejected. He’d really messed this up.

The walk there was quiet, with Changbin leading the way and Rui following one step behind him. Occasionally, he’d look over his shoulder just to see whether Rui was still there or they’d run away.

When they reached the green room, Changbin opened the door and poked his head into the room first, checking to see if it was empty. Luckily, everyone had left.

He let Rui in first, and the second Changbin closed the door behind him; every word that came to his mind all came pouring out like a fountain.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I’m really, really sorry. I know I didn’t text you and all, but I swear it’s not because I don’t like you or anything, because I do. I like you, and I want to text you and talk to you and call you, but the only reason I didn’t is that I was stupidly nervous.”

Changbin paced in front of Rui, walking from one side of the room to the other, waving his hands frantically as his eyes were set on the floor. He couldn’t even look at Rui. His nerves wouldn’t let him. 

“I didn’t know how to start a conversation or how to text you so it wouldn’t come off as too much or too little, and I don’t usually feel that way. I’m never this anxious about texting anybody or asking them out, ever, but I don’t know why when it comes to you, I get all—fidgety.”

He groaned, clasping his hands together. He didn’t stop pacing.

“And I kept trying to come up with something good to send you, but nothing feels enough; nothing feels like it would—wow you,” he said. “For the first time in my life, I’m stumped because I don’t know how to talk to someone as beautiful as you, because I am so terrified of failing. I don’t want to make a fool of myself in front of you, and I don’t want you to hate me, and I can’t believe that through overthinking this, I ended up making you hate me anyway.”

He stopped, turning to Rui, and gulped. “I’m so sorry, Rui. I didn’t mean to ignore you, I swear. I really want to talk to you, but I got overly worried and did a stupid thing. If it’s possible, can you allow me the chance to do this again?”

Rui looked at him, and the longer those mesmerizing eyes were fixed on him, the more nervous Changbin got. He hoped Rui would forgive him.

“I don’t hate you,” Rui said eventually, and Changbin blinked.

“You don’t?”

“I don’t. I thought you had a reason that you didn’t want to talk to me.”

“No! I wanted to! I—still want to, I swear,” he said. “I want to talk to you. I just let my nerves get the better of me, which has never happened before. But I want to talk to you. That’s why I asked for your number.”

“Oh.”

“I mean, after that day, I went home and watched all of your performances.” 

Rui nodded, averting their eyes. Changbin wanted Rui to look at him. 

“I had a feeling you did. I thought it was why you didn’t text me.”

“What? No. It’s not like that. I couldn’t stop watching you,” Changbin said. “I even watched Boys Planet, too.”

Rui raised their eyebrows. “You did?”

“Yeah! I watched everything you were in, and, uh, I realized now that it might be a weird thing to say, but I did. I had to. You were—you were so mesmerizing in everything you’re in. You still are,” he said. “Whenever there’s a camera on you, or not, to be honest, you’re always glowing, and I couldn’t help but stare at you, in a super non-creepy way, but I couldn’t keep my eyes away from you. Like, it’s impossible for me to look away.”

“Even now?” Rui asked softly, looking down at themselves. “In this outfit?”

Changbin blinked and nodded. “Yeah! Of course, even in this outfit. God, you’re so stunning today; I almost fell to my knees watching you.”

Finally—finally, a smile blossomed on Rui’s face. 

“That cannot be true.”

“No! It is, I swear. You were so smooth; even with the fur coat on, you didn’t trip at all. You were, like, a total professional; it was so impressive, and everyone was looking at you, and I—I was the same. I couldn’t look away if I wanted to. And I didn’t want to. You’re beautiful today.”

Rui fidgeted with the sleeves of their fur coat and said, “You didn’t ignore me because you—found out about me?”

“What? No! I was just nervous. I didn’t know how to talk to you or how to ask you out, even though it’s not the first time I’ve done it, and I usually know how to do it, but I don’t know why, with you, I just get super flustered, and I can’t do anything but think about you, and I totally blew my chance.”

“And you still think I’m beautiful?”

“So beautiful,” Changbin said, sighing softly as he walked towards Rui. “You’re gorgeous.”

Rui blinked at him. “Even when I have short hair?”

“Of course!” He smiled and said, “I like you, Rui. It doesn’t matter if your hair is short or long, or if it’s black or in a different color, I like you because you’re you.”

“You like me?”

“I like you,” he murmured, “so much. And this is probably way too early for me to say, but I really want to ask you out on a date someday.”

Rui smiled, their eyes finally softened, and Changbin had to remind his heart to calm down from looking at Rui.

“I’d like that, too,” Rui said.

“You do?”

“I like you, Changbin-ah. I really do.”

At this moment, the tension Changbin had been holding in for an hour finally melted off his shoulders, and he stepped in closer until their shoes nearly touched. 

“I really do like you, too,” he said, tempted to reach out and touch Rui, but he wasn’t sure if that was appropriate yet. “And I promise I’ll text you today.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yes! I will. Actually—” 

Changbin paused and pulled out his phone, opening KakaoTalk and clicking into his chatbox with Rui. He sent Rui a sticker he used the most, and Rui let out a chuckle. 

It was, apparently, that easy to text someone. He didn’t know why he struggled so much with it for the past four days.

“Can we,” he murmured under his breath, typing in the words on his keyboard, “go out for a cup of coffee someday?”

He quickly sent the message and shoved his phone back into his pocket as he looked up at Rui. Changbin said, “If you want to.”

“Okay,” Rui said. “I’ll check my schedule first, and I will reply to you tonight.”

“Okay.” He grinned. “I’ll look forward to it.”

“Okay.” Rui smiled, licking their lower lip. Changbin’s gaze helplessly fell to their rosy lips. “Is there anything else?”

Changbin fidgeted with his fingers and said, “I do have something for you.”

“Oh?” 

“Yeah! Wait—” Changbin rummaged through the pocket of his pants and pulled out the butterfly ring, holding it before Rui with a lopsided smile. “I saw it, and I thought of you.”

“The butterfly’s blue,” Rui said, smiling softly as they examined the ring in Changbin’s palm. 

“Yeah, it’s aquamarine.”

“It’s really pretty.”

“Like you.”

Rui’s eyes softened, and they cocked their head to the side, extending their hand. “Will you put it on me, Changbin?”

“Oh! Yeah, of course.”

Breathing shakily, he held Rui’s hand in his, and fuck, Rui’s skin was so soft and delicate; Changbin felt like a clumsy giant just holding his fingers this way, like he might hurt Rui if he weren’t careful. 

With all the caution he mustered up, Changbin slid the ring onto Rui’s pinky finger, adjusting the ring, all the while his heart was pounding in his chest.

When he looked up, Rui was looking at him. 

“The ring doesn’t really fit me now, does it?” Rui said. “Since I’m a prince today and not a princess.”

“No! It does, it fits—you,” Changbin said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re a prince or a princess; you’re really beautiful either way.”

“Well, you’re beautiful, too, Changbin.”

“Really? Me and my amazing biceps?”

Rui laughed, and Changbin was sure his heart fluttered at that joyful sound. 

“Yes, you and your amazing biceps,” Rui said, grazing their fingers down Changbin’s arm. Changbin gulped. “Your performance today was great.”

“Thank you,” he said. “But it’s nowhere near how amazing you all are. I mean, your choreography, it’s so impressive. I just—I was amazed. I mean, the split and—it’s all so good.”

“Thank you, Changbin.”

“And your outfit. God, you’re so gorgeous. In every outfit you wear, you’re stunning. I don’t even know how you manage to do that. You’re just so—breathtaking.”

Rui smiled at him still, and for a second, Changbin was worried he might have rambled on too much, but when Rui leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on his cheek, Changbin forgot all about it immediately. 

“Thank you,” Rui murmured.

He froze, staring at Rui with wide eyes. Rui had just kissed him.

Rui had just kissed him!

“Sorry, was that too sudden?”

“No!” Changbin said. “No! No, it’s not. It’s not. I—I was just surprised. I actually…” He cleared his throat shyly. “Can I—”

“Yes?”

“Can I also give you a kiss?”

Rui briefly looked away, their cheeks turning slightly pink—not from the makeup—and Changbin was worried he might have been too pushy.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have—”

“Yes,” Rui said, and Changbin’s shoulders tensed again. Rui poked at their own cheek with their finger—the one with the ring—and said, “You can kiss me here, Changbin.”

“Okay,” Changbin mumbled breathlessly.

Fuck, he was going to kiss Rui.

Gathering all of his courage, Changbin leaned in and pressed a kiss on Rui’s cheek, and it felt so soft. It lasted a while, certainly a few seconds longer than a normal cheek kiss would last, but Changbin didn’t want this moment to end. He was so close that he could smell what could only be Rui’s natural scent, and it was heavenly. 

Pulling away slowly, Changbin breathed out, eyes flitting up to meet Rui’s just as Rui tilted their face towards him. They were so close that he could feel Rui’s breath ghosting over his lips.

Rui looked at him, long, curly eyelashes fluttering at him, and Changbin didn’t know how it happened, but at some point, they both leaned in, and Changbin met Rui halfway for a kiss. 

If Changbin already knew Rui’s cheek was soft, Rui’s lips were even softer, with a layer of gloss that was smearing all over Changbin’s lips as he kissed Rui. He brought his hands up to cradle Rui’s face, licking into Rui’s mouth and taking in the soft noise that Rui let out. Slim fingers wrapped around his wrists, and Changbin was breathless by the time he broke away. 

“Whoa,” he said, shuddering as he slid his hands down Rui’s neck.

“Whoa?” Rui smiled. “Is that a good thing?”

“Yes! Yes, it is. Fuck, it’s—that’s the best kiss I’ve ever had in my life.”

“The best?”

“The best.”

“Well, thank you,” Rui said, and Changbin gulped, looking at Rui’s wet, smudged lips. He’d licked most of Rui’s lipstick off. 

“Was it good for you, too?” he asked, then immediately wanted to crawl into a hole and hide because Seo Changbin had never asked this question, nor had he ever doubted his kissing skills before. Rui just did that to him, as it turned out.

Rui smiled, rubbing their thumb over Changbin’s racing pulse. “It seems that rapping is not the only thing you excel at, Changbin-ssi.”

He flushed, breathing out shakily to compose himself. “Please, you can call me Changbin or Binnie. Both are okay.”

“Changbin,” Rui said softly, lifting their hand to Changbin’s face and wiping the corner of his lips with a smile. “Some of my lipstick got on you.”

“I don’t mind it.”

“Your members might question you.”

“I don’t mind that, either,” he said, and it was as though his hyungs knew exactly when to summon him, because as soon as he finished his sentence, his phone buzzed in his pocket. 

Changbin pulled his phone out at the same time Rui did with their own phone. It was Channie hyung who texted him.

“Is it Wumuti hyung?” he asked, and Rui gave him a nod.

“We should go.”

“Okay,” Changbin said, letting his own body be tugged to the door by Rui. “Can we text more tonight?”

Rui smiled, placing their hand on the doorknob. “Of course.”

With no warning at all, Rui ducked their head and placed a kiss on Changbin’s lips, soft enough to make Changbin’s brain malfunction, before opening the door and sashaying away. 

Changbing let out a breath and gulped.

Fuck, he was so in love with Rui.

The End