A Moment In Time | Stray Kids x Reader | Oneshots

☁️Yang Jeongin - Working on a Late Night Project

"Finally! We're done!"

Jeongin beamed at you clapping and smiling back through the screen. He couldn't help but feel equally elated at the work you both managed to finish, so much so that he could barely feel the exhaustion that should be seeping in at this hour. "And with five hours to spare," he pointed out.

"Huh? It's 2 am already?" you ceased your mini celebration, glancing to the right - at your wall, he presumed - and your head fell back on the table, a groan escaping your lips. "And I thought I could get at least seven hours of sleep tonight."

Jeongin chuckled. "Well, maybe if we hadn't waited for the last three days to do a project assigned two months ago." He rubbed the nape of his neck.

You lifted your head up, gazing at the webcam with wide, dark-circled eyes before slumping down your chair. "I guess you're right." Suddenly, you stood up, pointing straight at the screen with seemingly new-found optimism, almost making Jeongin's heart stop. "But don't you worry, Jeongin, we are so going to get the As we deserve. I have a good feeling about this virtual presentation, so trust me on this, okay?"

He felt his smile grow wider, dimples visible despite the dark room he was in, and yet, the brightest thing he could see wasn't his laptop screen. "Yeah, I trust you," he said wistfully.

He found it kind of strange, actually, not just at how swiftly and thoroughly you managed to finish the project, given the time crunch, but how easily it took him to connect with you through this.

It seemed you almost instantly clicked, from that first meeting at the beginning when your teacher paired you two up. You'd split tasks then, only to realize none of you actually did any work until three days shy of the deadline.

Before then, all he'd known about you was your evident infatuation with art. Whenever he used to glance at you during class, it seemed you always had your nose buried in your sketchbook, not giving a care about the ongoing lesson. Although somehow you always managed to hide it from the teacher.

As it turns out, he learned more of your quirks through that first call. Your openness and willingness to compromise were what got him, actually.

At the start, you nearly got into an argument over who would get to handle the "artistic aspects" of the project. Jeongin really wanted to do it, even though he knew you probably could've done a better job. Even still, you let him do it anyway. "I have faith that you'll make it look good, yeah?" was what you said. But...

"Actually, the only thing I did was the graphic designs..." Jeongin glanced at the little icon of their finished product on his desktop, his smile faltering.

You furrowed your brows, tilting your head to the side. "What do you mean? You did help gather resources and proofread the whole thing." There goes that smile again, a small one, but enough to tug at his heartstrings. "And besides, they look really pretty."

Something warm and fuzzy was blooming in Jeongin's chest, and he wasn't sure what to do about it. But he did know it felt nice.

You yawned, stretching your arms back behind your chair. "Buuut, if you agree to cover for me, if I mess up or suddenly fall asleep during the presentation or anything, it's all good."

"Deal."

"Great!" you clapped your hands together as if breaking him out of his trance. "So, should we go over what we're going to say once more?"

He nodded in agreement and let you take it away. "In 1928, scientists discovered the existence of..."

Your dishevelled hair falling unevenly across your features. Your coffee-stained sweater. The way you didn't bother wearing any make-up in front of him, not that you needed. A bare-faced beauty, he was sure of it. Despite any visible flaws, Jeongin was sure that you were perfect. He could see it, from the way you seemed so open, so honest in front of him, and it drew him in in a way he didn't know how to feel about.

Whatever it was, what he was yearning for at that moment, while you were droning on about the project suddenly irrelevant to him, was to be beside you, listening to the tone of your drowsy voice in person. He mentally cursed quarantine for not letting him shorten the distance.

And yet, he remembered to momentarily thank technological advancement for enabling him to see such a sight as you, and Chan's laptop for giving him that gateway. Oh yeah, and that teacher he never thought to like until she paired you up. That was the one time he'd be thankful for anything she'd done.

"As you can... see from the... evidence above, it's... clear that..."

Jeongin only recalled the existence of the project when your voice trailed off, noticing that your head was now laying on your table, eyes closed, lips parted slightly.

There you were, dozing off openly right in front of him, but not exactly. And somehow he found himself entranced by such a vulnerable scene, how the sound of your sleeping sounded so peaceful, contrary to your sincere exuberance when awake.

He liked it, so maybe he'd just stay there on his desk, head on his arms, observing the steady rise and fall of your chest.

{...}

"Hey Chan, have you seen Jeongin?" asked Hyunjin, catching up to his hyung right outside his dorm room.

Chan was already peering inside Jeongin's room, before shutting the door as quietly as he could. "Shh." He put a finger to his lips. "It looks like he had a long day."

Hyunjin peaked his head through the door regardless of Chan's heed and came back out gaping with bewilderment. "Oh my God, he's sleeping with a girl."

Chan sweat-dropped knowing well how Jeongin would react if he knew they saw him. "Well, not exactly-"

"We are so going to tease him about this tomorrow!"

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Based on a prompt from prompt.neocities.org