Illusions [Ateez x Reader]

Chapter 18

Today, I have some free time before I head to KQ to meet Yunho. He told we to meet him at one at the building, and I woke up at nine, so I have a good few hours to kill.

I got up and went straight to my kitchen, grabbing food for myself. Once I got my food and coffee, I went to my couch and turned on the tv, turning on Supernatural to watch while I eat.

Once I was done with that, I went back to my room to change. I ended up in an oversized black t-shirt tucked into black and white Nike sweatpants, along with my Nike tennis shoes.

Once I had changed, I walked into my recording studio to work on a song I was writing. This song is actually very special to me and have just recently gotten inspired to work on it. As of now, I don't really have a purpose for writing it, but I have to finish it.

    When I take a look at the time again, I notice that it is 12:46. I have no idea how fast time could fly.

    I rushed up to my room and grabbed my bag, then practically sprinted out of my apartment. I walked at a brisk pace and made it to KQ on time. When I say "brisk pace" I mean that I was switching between speed walking and running the entire distance. Oh well. Once I entered the building, I headed straight up to the practice room to meet Yunho.

*Yunho's POV*

    Surprisingly, I'm not very nervous for today. I have a great outing planned and I really hope Y/N will like it. When Y/N enters the room, I can see his/her/their chest rising and falling rapidly.

    Chuckling, I walk up to him/her/them. "Did you run here?"

     Y/n just shook his/her/their head. "No. I walked here. Just quickly."

   "In a rush?"

     Y/N nods. "I didn't want to be late."

     My heart flutters a little. In the past, Y/N would have gladly been late to any time we set to meet. I understand why, but this little sentence shows improvement. I feel elated.

    "Well then," I hum. "Let's go."

*Y/N's POV*

   Yunho grabs my wrist, and a basket by his side, and pulls us out of the room. I have to walk a little faster to keep up because his legs are a lot longer than mine are. We exit KQ, and begin to walk on the sidewalk to our destination. Yunho, however, won't tell me where that is. I don't even try to force it out of him.

    We walk quietly to the destination. While it is in silence, it isn't awkward silence. I feel comfortable around him. After a little while, we stop in front of a small park and Yunho drags me inside.

    "A park?" I ask softly.

    Yunho nods like a happy puppy. "Yep, we are gonna have a picnic! And star gaze later!"

    My eyes light up and I let my mouth form into a childlike smile. "Star Gazing?"

     He nods and I let out a small sound of excitement, causing him to chuckle softly. Yunho grabs my wrist and pulls me slowly into the park and further back to a small clearing. He lays down a banket that was in the basket and takes a seat on it, me following suit.

"So I kind of guessed on food," Yunho admits quietly. "But I brought y/f/f."

I laugh quietly. "Well then, you are a damn good guesser."

His face perks up. "Really?"

"Mhm," I nod. "It's my favorite food."

Yunho's smile grows as he pulls the food out of the basket. Yunho and I keep up small talk while we eat, but mostly we eat in silence. Not that that is a bad thing.

     "Can I ask you something?" Yunho asks suddenly once we are done eating.

    I nod slowly. "I suppose."

    "Okay," He pauses. "Did you ever listen to our music? Like before you had to work with us?"

   "I did a little while after you debuted," I admit. "It took me a while to bring myself to listen to it though."

    "That makes perfect sense."

    "Gotta say, I got a little mad whenever I liked one of the songs you guys sang," I say, laughing softly at what I admitted.

     "Wait seriously?!" Yunho laughs with me.

     I nod. "Yeah, it makes me laugh when I think about it now."

    Our laugher dies out into a comfortable silence. I notice the light around us dying, so I look up only to be greeted with a gorgeous sunset. Pinks and oranges colored the sky in a different organization of patterns, with blues and purples woven in in various areas. As the sun continues to set, the pinks and oranges fade away into a beautiful dark blue, eventually settling into the gorgeous midnight color of the night.

    "This is gorgeous," I marvel, still staring up at the stars.

    "Yeah it really is."

*Yunho's POV*

   "Yeah it really is."

   To be completely honest, I hadn't looked up at the sky yet once. My gaze was completely on Y/N.

      His/her/their gorgeous e/c eyes shimmered under the sunset and the light from the sky reflected off their s/c skin, making a halo around him/her/them. I couldn't bring my eyes away from Y/N.

    That is, until he/she/they looked at me.

    I ducked out real fast after that.

*Y/N's POV*

    I look over at Yunho, seeing him already gazing at me. However, when we make eye contact, he immediately averts his gaze and a soft pink blush spreads over his cheeks. I chuckle at the sight and turn my gaze back to the star.

    "You know," Yunho hums. "If you laid down, your neck wouldn't hurt so bad."

     I look at him, seeing him already laid down on the blanket. I shrug and lay beside him, a good amount of space between us.

    "I have got to say," I begin with a laugh. "I didn't pick you to be a star gazer."

     Yunho turns to me and gives me a fake offended look, going as far as bringing his hand up to his heart. "How dare you?!"

     "I'm sorry!" I raise my hands in mock surrender.

     "No it's fine," Yunho shakes his head. "In all honesty, I just remember you saying that you liked looking at stars back in high school."

     I turn to him with a hugely shocked expression. "Wait, you remember this from high school?!"

     He nods slowly. "Yeah, you mentioned it in class to one of your friends."

     "You paid attention?"

     "We paid attention to you a lot actually," Yunho admits, looking down. "I guess we never put that knowledge to good use."

    We let conversation fall flat, both of us looking back up at the stars. I, however, let a smile build on my face. A small one, but it's there.

  They actually paid attention...

   After a little while, Yunho and I pack up the blanket and basket and walk back to KQ. I don't go in with him this time, electing to just head back to my apartment. With a wave, I turn and walk down the illuminated streets to my home.