Against All Odds (Chaeryeong x Male Reader)

Retreating from the Masses

Your body switches you awake at 4 AM, and you can't catch an extra wink of sleep no matter how hard you try. You walk downstairs to the kitchen to make a cup of green tea, deciding there were things more productive than laying idly in bed. Reaching for your bluetooth speaker, you let some Kpop play in the background, switching over to your internet browser to read the morning news. As you finish your drink, you start heading back to your room before making a detour to the bathroom for a shower. Taking some time to relish the hot water running down your body and freeing it from the grip of the chilly morning draft, you, at last, find it in yourself to get out, unleashing a cloud of steam onto the bathroom's mirrors. You remedy this by grabbing a towel to wipe out a visible circle and examine your reflection, brushing strands of freshly washed hair out of your eyes. Reaching for a second towel, you dry off your body's excess moisture and keep it wrapped around your body on the trip back to your room before taking a seat on the foot of your bed, turning your attention back to your phone.

[4:51 AM] you: Yo, you up yet?

[4:52 AM] J Nguyen:  Yeah lol, couldn't sleep at all. At least us being up this early makes Mr. Li's 6:30 AM call time more bearable.

[4:52 AM] J Nguyen: You down to get some McDonald's right now? We could grab some McMuffins for the squad while we're at it, they probably won't have as much time as we do to eat breakfast. Pick you up at your place? 

[4:53 AM] you: Sounds good 👌

Not wanting to wake your family at this hour, you leave a note on the coffee table before getting dressed and collecting your luggage.  At the sight of Justin's car coming into the driveway, you walk downstairs and meet him outside after throwing on your thick winter coat. The two of you haul your luggage into the back seat and you ride shotgun as Justin chooses a playlist to bump on the stereo. Feeling your grogginess wane with the upbeat tunes and the caffeine making its course through your body, you and Justin have an impromptu car karaoke session before arriving at your destination. You enter and manage to place your orders and secure a table in no time, seeing that the two of you are the only ones in the restaurant at the time. 

"So," begins Justin, his face betraying a mischievous smirk. "How did it go?" 

"How did what go?" you pretend, though you knew exactly what he was talking about.

"You know, your little breakfast outing," he responds, in the middle of typing out a text:

[5:15 AM] Justin: Meet up in front of campus at 6. Hope yall got an appetite this morning. Don't be late 🥴.

You offer a smirk of your own as you stand up to pick up your orders from the front counter, ignoring the question. Despite taking your sweet time acquiring condiments, utensils, and napkins, you aren't off the hook for long as Justin picks up right where he left off the moment you return to your seat. 

"So? What happened?" he presses on.

You finally give in, seeing that your friend showed no signs of giving up.

"It was nice," you answer vaguely, munching on a hash brown.

"Oh come on, you gotta do better than that." 

"We talked a lot. I couldn't take my eyes off of her the whole time, she's so dang cute and even more fun to be around." 

"Okay, but did anything interesting happen though?" Justin probes.

Thinking back to that day, you recall the way Chaeryeong held out her arms for your taking, her lovely doe-eyes giving you the green light to throw all caution into the wind, and your accepting and stepping into her embrace along with all the sensations that came with it. Just the mere recollection of the experience is enough to send chills down your spine.