Hi. I apologize for this being late. No promises if the next update will be on the exact day as well, but it'll be there sooner rather than later. And as always,

Enjoy.

Chapter Song: KATIE - Future Love

November 3rd, 2019

After parking, we made our way down to the ground floor and waited for a shuttle with everyone else. And as expected, there were large families with a bunch of excited children in tow— they were screaming, shouting, and chasing one another while we waited.

But as loud as it was, it was also endearing. They were just excited to be at Disneyland, and they visibly showed it more than Lux and I did.

When the shuttle finally arrived, Lux and I sat in the front-most car. As more people filed in, our hips, arms, and shoulders were forced together. I fought back a blush, trying to focus on something other than how warm she was despite the chilly weather.

Lux turned to me, her phone in hand. "Jae, let's take a picture together."

"Right now?"

She nodded. Lux held out her phone for a selfie. When she spotted how I was trying to distance myself from her, she motioned for me to come closer. "You can sit a little closer. It's a picture, so I'm okay with it."

I let out a breath. Then, I moved closer to her. Lux smelled like violets and roses with a hint of sandalwood— it took far more willpower than I expected to resist moving even closer to her. I positioned my chin just above the crook of her neck and looked up at the camera.

It clicked several times, and then Lux checked the photos.

"How does it look?"

"You're cute," she said. Then, Lux realized what she said. "I mean— It's cute. The photo. Not to say that you aren't cute, you are. But I was talking about the photo. Not you." She laughed awkwardly.

"That's good," I replied, moving back to my original distance from her. I glanced at her phone screen as she pulled up Instagram. "You're posting it?"

"Mmhm!" Lux smiled. Then, she tilted her head. "Do you not want me to?"

"No, you can," I replied. "I'm just asking."

"Okay." She returned her attention back to the phone and picked out the best photo. My cheek was centimeters from hers, our smiles were wide, and Lux held up a peace sign to the camera. It was cute. I wouldn't deny that. Then, she posted it to her story.

The shuttle arrived at Downtown Disney, and after purchasing drinks at the Starbucks, we headed towards the entrance of the actual park itself.

"You know, I had forgotten how loud amusement parks were," I said to Lux as we stood side-by-side in the line to get into the park.

She glanced up at me. "Tell me about it. And it's not like the inside of the park is any quieter."

I chuckled. "Well, it's not like we came to Disneyland to enjoy the peace and quiet."

Lux laughed. "Yeah, that's true." She rested her hands on her hips.

"I forgot to ask, but the tickets are park-hopper, right?"

She nodded. "My aunt only delivers the best."

We slowly moved to the front of the line, and once Lux reached the rotating bars, she showed the employee our tickets. The employee scanned her ticket and snapped a picture of her. Then, Lux stepped through the gates.

After grabbing a pair of maps, I followed shortly behind her.

Warmth spread through my chest as I watched her skip to the center of the area. Behind her, a white-flower version of Mickey Mouse smiled widely.

"Let's get someone to take our picture, Jae," Lux said to me. She dragged me into a line near the base of the Mickey Mouse. At the front of the line, the next group stood in front of the flowers and an employee clad in a dark blue vest snapped a picture of them before handing them a card with a QR code.

"Not even a minute in the park and we're in a line."

Lux giggled. "Standing in lines is half of the Disneyland experience, Jae."

As we found ourselves at the front of the line, Lux and I stepped up to the employee.

"Oh, it's the first couple of the day!" He exclaimed with a wide smile, extending a pair of badges towards us. "The first couple of the day gets free photos for the entire day."

I raised my hands up. "We're not a—"

Lux, meanwhile, pounced on the badges, immediately handing me one. "Thank you so much!" She pulled her phone out of her pocket. "Do you mind taking a picture of us with my phone too?"

The employee, somehow, managed to smile even wider. "Of course! Stand right on the little black circle and smile wide."

Lux and I stood side-by-side and arm-in-arm, her arm tightly interlocked with mine. She leaned her head against my chest and held up a peace sign, while I simply smiled towards the camera.

With a few clicks, the camera flashed brightly several times. Then, he switched the phone and snapped a few more photos. After giving us the codes for the photos, the employee turned his attention back to the growing line as more and more people passed through the park entrance.

"So…" I began slowly, following behind Lux as she looked through the pictures. "We're a couple?" I teased.

Lux's entire body froze as she turned to look back at me, complete horror written plainly across her features. "I… No. I just wanted to free photos, that's all."

I tilted my head. At that moment, I chose to believe her. "Okay. Well, if they're gonna charge us for every picture, these badges will save us a ton of money."

"Mmhm! And what's the point of going to Disneyland if you're not going to take pictures?"

I laughed. Reaching into my pocket and taking out one of the maps, I unfolded it. "Alright. So, where do you want to go first?"

Lux stood beside me and pointed at the top of the map. "Oh. That's new."

"Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge?" I wasn't that much of a Star Wars fan. But the music was well-made and pleasant to listen to. "Are you into Star Wars?"

"I enjoyed the movies. Not much more of a fan than that," she replied.

"So we can go there later," I decided. A smirk found its way onto my lips as I followed Lux's gaze. "So, Tomorrowland?"

"Tomorrowland." She pulled out her phone. "We can get Fastpasses for Space Mountain while we're in line for Buzz Lightyear or the other Star Wars ride. Is that good?"

"Sounds good."

As we made our way through Main Street, I watched as Lux skipped slightly ahead of me. She twirled and spun, her blonde hair whirling around along with her. She drank in the sight of Disneyland. Everything from the winter flowers and decorations that hung from the buildings and stores, to the giant Christmas tree that towered over Main Street.

Already knowing what she wanted to do, I caught up with Lux. She turned to look at me.

"Jae, let's—"

"Take a picture?"

Lux nodded excitedly. "Need to make use of the badges somehow, right?"

"Right."

After another set of pictures, Lux and I headed towards Tomorrowland. We walked beside one another. Lux leaned into me slightly— and part of me welcomed just how warm she was against the chilled, morning air. Then, she seemed to remember just how close she was to me. "Sorry," she said, backing away.

I shook my head. "It's okay. Are you cold?"

"No. Just…" Lux trailed off. She brushed back a strand of her hair. "It's nothing."

I figured that it wasn't 'nothing.' But if Lux wasn't comfortable with telling me, then I wouldn't pry. That being said, I had a fair idea of what she was going to say. Or at least what she wanted to say.

I'd considered, if only for a moment, confronting her about it. But… I wanted to enjoy this. Having a friend, that was. Regardless of how Lux felt about me— how I figured she felt about me— she was a great friend. She was reliable, kind, and filled with unbridled empathy.

I knew how hard it was to find someone like Lux.

And I knew how hard it was to keep someone like Lux at a friendly distance.

[;]

"Jae?!" Lux yelped between bouts of laughter. "Stop! Stop spinning it!"

"Not happening!" I tightly grasped the wheel in the middle of our bright blue teacup. With all my strength, I continued to turn it. "We have to go faster!"

And faster we went. Much, much faster.

Lux tried to peel my hands off of the wheel, but because of how hard she was laughing, she couldn't do much. Eventually, however, I released the wheel and leaned back against the teacup, fighting my own laughter.

As the ride slowed down and came to a full stop, Lux and I shakily stood from our teacup. She punched me lightly in the arm, grinning. "You asshole."

I bowed dramatically. "I try, milady."

Lux giggled. "Why am I not surprised that you like that ride so much?"

"It was one of the few rides my sister actually enjoyed," I explained while reaching into my backpack for a water bottle. I popped the cap open and took a swig before offering it to Lux. "So I always wanted to make sure she had as much fun as she could."

Lux accepted the bottle. "You're a sweet little brother." She drank out of the water bottle, returning it to me once she was done. Then, she glanced at her phone. "It's already noon."

"Oh, really?" I was a little shocked. We'd only been in the park for about three hours, but we already rode all of the attractions in Tomorrowland. Then again, our luck with the times for lines had been immaculate all day.

"Mmm."

"Where did you want to eat for lunch?"

She raised a brow. "There's only one right answer."

"Cafe Orleans," we said simultaneously.

Lux cheered, pumping a fist into the air. She raised her hand for a high-five. "We make a good team."

I met her high-five. "That we do."

After heading through the orange-rock pathway from Fantasyland to Frontierland, we grabbed lunch at New Orleans Square. As always, crowds of people filled the square, forcing Lux and I to walk rather close to each other. I reached around Lux and pulled her into a side hug.

She gasped at the sudden contact.

"Is it okay?" I asked as we walked.

Lux puffed her cheeks, nodded, then deflated her cheeks. She was trying to look at anyone, anything, or anywhere that wasn't me, but that didn't stop her cheeks from turning a brilliant shade of red. When we finally made it past the crowd and into Cafe Orleans, Lux nudged me with her elbow.

"J— Jae, you can stop hugging me now."

"I'm sorry, I probably should have asked if it was uncomfortable."

"You did, and I was okay with it. But…" She trailed off. "We're still just friends, you know?"

Immediately, I released her as a wave of guilt rushed through me. "Yeah. I understand. I'm sorry."

Lux smiled softly. "You have nothing to apologize for. It's not like you did anything wrong. And it wasn't like you were out to do anything malicious to me, right?"

"Just wanted to make sure I wasn't going to lose you in the crowd."

"I appreciate the gesture." Pink bloomed on her cheeks. "And ma— maybe if we ever date, you can do that sort of thing."

I chuckled. "Okay. I'll keep that in mind."

As Lux opened her mouth, her stomach let out a growl. She giggled and ran a hand through her hair. "I guess I'm hungry."

In response, my own stomach growled. "So am I," I said with a smirk. "What did you want to eat?" I asked, reaching for my wallet.

"Clam chowder, please," Lux replied. "While you order, I'll find us a table."

"Okay." And we separated.

I quickly placed our orders, and after a short wait, our food was ready to be picked-up. Carefully taking the tray into my hands, I spotted Lux waving at me from a table positioned on the outer edge of the roofed courtyard. The afternoon sun shined brightly from above us, and the cloudless sky allowed its rays to stretch without limits.

I grabbed the hem of my hoodie and pulled it over my head. My shirt began to hike up, but a pair of hands pulled it back down. "Thanks," I said to Lux, folding my hoodie neatly before placing it into my backpack.

"No worries," she bubbled. "Now let's eat!"

[;]

Faster than I could even remember, the mid-afternoon sun sunk beneath the horizon and the moon drifted in the darkness above us. By the time Lux and I finished all of the things we wanted to ride at Disneyland, it was nighttime, and we were already making our way towards California Adventure.

The shimmering lights of Pixar Pier reflected on the water, accompanied with the nose-tickling sugary scent of the churro that Lux munched on as she leaned against the metal fence. She had her elbows pressed against the metal, and as a cold breeze gusted through the air, Lux visibly shivered.

"Are you okay?" I asked, tentatively placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Just a little cold," she said shakily.

"Wait, I have an extra jacket." I set down my backpack and pulled a large, black hoodie out of it. "It's going to be pretty big on you," I said, handing it to her.

"It's… fine." She pulled the hoodie over her head. The bottom dangled to around her knees, highlighting the contrast between the dark jacket and her pale legs.

There was something about seeing Lux in my clothes. I shrugged the thought free. "Warmer?"

"Yeah. Much warmer." Lux smiled up at me. Then, she looked back to the gleaming lights of the ferris wheel, the icon of Mickey Mouse glowing like a miniature star. "Jae?" She asked.

"What's up?"

"How are you?"

"I'm… good. What brought this up?"

Lux's arms wrapped around herself. "I'm… I'm just worried."

I tilted my head slightly. "Why?"

"You work a lot of hours while going to school, and your sister does the same," she began slowly, trying to find the precise wording. "I don't mean for this to be condescending at all, but are… are you two struggling a lot?"

Ah. That's what she was talking about. "We're not," I said honestly. "Some months are tighter than others. But we manage." I turned to face her, leaning my side against the fence. "Any reason you're asking now?"

"I… I didn't mean to pry."

"You didn't, Lux. I'm just asking for my sake."

"Like I said, I just worry about that sort of thing. And I worry about it even more when I know I have a way to help," she said. "So, if you ever need a place to stay or anything like that, my house is always available."

"I'm not sure if we'll ever make use of the offer," I replied. "But it's greatly appreciated nonetheless. Thank you."

Lux beamed and nodded. "Of course. I just want to be helpful should you guys ever need it." She raised her arms and stretched. "Alright, it's 8 P.M., and I want to ride Incredicoaster at least twice before the water-show."

"Then let's get going!"

[;]

Lux clinged to my arm for balance as she woozily stepped out of the roller coaster cart. As it turned out, riding Incredicoaster three times in a row tended to cause a bit of motion sickness— even for the most die hard roller coaster fans.

"Are you okay?" I asked Lux, gently taking her arm and draping it over my shoulder so she had something to lean against.

She managed a small smile. "I'm alright. I just need to sit and drink some water."

Carefully guiding her to the nearest place where she could sit, I sat beside her and grabbed a water bottle from my backpack. I unscrewed the cap and handed it to her. Lux's hand wrapped around mine as she drank from the bottle.

When half of the bottle was finished, Lux wiped her lips and chin with the sleeve of her borrowed jacket.

"Hey, that's my jacket, you know," I said, half-scolding, as I tapped my elbow against her other arm.

"Sorry," she mumbled before releasing my hand and the bottle.

I packed the bottle away. "I was just messing with you."

Lux pursed her lips and nodded. "Do… do you mind if I lay down for a bit?"

I shook my head. "My shoulder or my lap?"

"Whichever you're more comfortable with."

I chuckled, patting my lap. Lux moved to a more comfortable position before laying down. She looked up at me, her blonde hair splayed outward like a blanket of gold across my lap. A rainbow of lights danced in her blue eyes.

Without thinking, I reached down and began to brush parts of her hair with my fingers. "Good?" I asked.

Lux hummed. "Yeah."

She laid in my lap for some time. It was already around 10 P.M., and there were still a good amount of people in the park. But California Adventure was closing soon, so they were beginning to make their way back into Disneyland. As they walked past us, most smiled and whispered about how cute we were, some merely offered us glances, but a select few took out their phones and snapped photos of us.

Rude. I lifted the side of my jacket to block Lux's face and part of mine, the flashes of the cameras causing Lux to rustle slightly.

They were gone as quickly as they came by.

Lux stirred. "What was that?"

"Just some rude people," I replied. "Did you get enough rest?"

She nodded. "I think so." Sitting up, she gathered up her hair and put it into a ponytail. Lux still had her hand in her hair as she glanced at me. "So, ready to watch some fireworks?"

[;]

As we walked from California Adventure to Disneyland, Lux was tightly hugging my arm for warmth. And as we waited beneath the night sky, she rested her head against my chest.

"Is this okay?" She asked.

I nodded. "Cold?"

She hummed in agreement and leaned further into me. We stood that way for some time, until the park began to dim. Music crescendoed from around us, and the crystalline lights of Cinderella's Castle sparked to life.

With a peal of bells, the first set of fireworks shot into the sky.

"It's… really pretty," Lux whispered as she stared up at the sky, a brilliant array of colors setting it alight. They reflected in Lux's wide, glass-like eyes that captured the fireworks like stars.

"Yeah. It is."

She glanced up at me. "Jae," Lux began. "Are you happy right now?"

A firework erupted, leaving behind a shower of golden sparkles in the sky.

"I… I think so."

"You think so?"

"I hope so," I corrected with a slight smile.

"Good," Lux said, turning her attention back to the fireworks. "So, what was that thing you wanted to tell me?"

"Pardon?"

"A few nights ago, when we were hanging out at UCLA, you mentioned that there was something you wanted to tell me. That it wasn't good news or bad news."

"Oh." I rubbed the back of my neck. "I wanted to thank you for inviting me out here. And for being my friend. I don't think you know how much it means to me to be able to hang out with someone like this, so I just wanted to express my gratitude. That's all."

Lux grinned. "You're welcome. And thank you for being my friend as well. A true, genuine friend, that is. You're pretty great, Jaemin."

"And so are you, Luxanna."

[;]

"Did she kiss you?"

I nearly spat out my water as Eunkyung's voice called from across the dim living room. "Jesus Christ." I breathed out a sigh. "Would it kill you to at least turn the light on before you leave your room?"

Eunkyung rolled her eyes.

I finished the water and rinsed out the glass before placing it into the dishwasher. "No, she didn't kiss me. But…"

"But?"

"I think she's definitely attracted to me."

"Oh?"

I leaned against the kitchen counter-top. "We were pretty physical with each other throughout the day. Hugging, holding hands, stuff like that."

"And you were okay with that?"

"It was nice," I said honestly.

"But?"

"But I don't know what I'm gonna do. About her. About our friendship," I said. "I… I'm still figuring out how to make friends, and keep them."

"Do you think I have the answer?"

I shrugged. "Maybe. Maybe not. But I have to stop relying on you eventually, right?"

Eunkyung nodded once. "Alright. Get some sleep. You have class at 7 A.M. tomorrow."

"I know, I know." I stretched and began to walk to my room.

"And Jae." Eunkyung placed a hand on the door frame, turning her back to me. "For your sake, I hope you figure out what you want. Before it all goes wrong again."

[;]

November 5th, 2019

I caught Seraphine in the halls as she walked towards Professor Laurent's class. She wore a pair of loose white jeans and an oversized, light pink hoodie, her pink backpack slung over one shoulder.

"Hey," I called, stepping up beside her.

"Oh." Seraphine looked surprised to see me. "Hi, Jae."

I tilted my head. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." She glanced away. "I just… didn't expect to see you today."

"I see."

We entered the classroom together, and for the first time in awhile, most of the students were there before Professor Laurent was.

And I was immediately surrounded by several people from my class. They bombarded me with questions. Not ones regarding music, but ones regarding a certain blonde-haired and blue-eyed woman.

"Jaemin, is it true you're dating Luxanna Crownguard?" Violet asked.

I flinched from the suddenness of the question. "I… No. I'm not dating her."

"But people saw you two at Disneyland together!" Violet continued. "Here, Janna Windweaver even wrote an article about you two." She showed me her phone, and true to her word, there was an article with a rather scandalous headline:

LUXANNA CROWNGUARD AND MYSTERIOUS BOYFRIEND CAUGHT BEING ROMANTIC AT DISNEYLAND.

I scrolled further down the article. Oh boy. There were numerous pictures of Lux and I holding hands, hugging, and, of course, Lux laying on my lap to rest her head and eyes. The article itself was nothing more than questions surrounding me and my relationship with Lux, calling into question my 'worthiness' to be around her.

In hindsight, I probably should have seen this coming.

"So…" came the soft, hesitant voice of Seraphine. "You two aren't dating?"

I shook my head. "We're not." I turned to the rest of the interrogators. "Besides, even if we were, it's not anyone's business but ours, right?"

Violet bowed her head slightly. "Sorry, Jae."

I waved her aside. "It's fine. You were just curious, I don't blame you."

As the group returned to their seats and Seraphine and I moved towards ours, I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. Not so much in Violet and the rest of the class, but more so in myself. How I didn't figure that Lux, coming from a well-established and renowned family, would be in the public eye is beyond me. Then again, I wasn't sure how she forgot about—

Ah. Nevermind.

In hindsight, it made perfect sense why Lux forgot about it.

"I didn't know you knew Luxanna Crownguard," Seraphine said from beside me as she pulled out her laptop. "Any other children of world-renowned families you're on speaking terms with?"

I rolled my eyes. "For the record, I didn't know she was that famous until recently. Up until then, she's only been Lux, a coworker at The Grand Vastaya. Honestly, I'm more surprised that you didn't recognize her when she was our waitress the one time we went there."

Seraphine flushed. "Well, it's not like I was really looking at her."

"You were giving her a death glare," I reminded her.

"It wasn't exactly a death glare—"

"It was a death glare."

Seraphine rolled her eyes. "You don't seem too stressed about this," she observed.

"I already have too much to worry about besides this," I replied. And it was true. I was going to be busier than ever with finals right around the corner, in addition to The Grand Vastaya's decision to move that loomed over my head.

She leaned her chin against the palm of her hand. Tilting her head towards me, Seraphine stuck her tongue out and blew a raspberry.

[;]

As I pushed open the door to my apartment, the scent of frying kimchi reached my nostrils. The door closed behind me.

"Jae?"

"Yeah, it's me." I kicked off my shoes and walked into the kitchen. I found Eunkyung standing in front of the stove, a spatula in her hand, patting down kimchi with the flat end. "Wow. You're cooking." I pulled open the refrigerator and grabbed a can of Milkis.

Eunkyung nudged me with her elbow as I cracked the can open. "I'm home earlier than you for once. Any reason why they kept you so long today?"

"Was helping Xayah and Rakan move stuff into their new building," I said. Even with Seraphine and me going to the gym more often lately, everything they made me carry was still heavy as all hell. Glancing over Eunkyung's shoulder, I could see that she was focusing intensely on getting the food right. I debated whether or not I should tease her— but I ultimately decided to shower while she cooked.

When I stepped out of the shower, the table was already set and Eunkyung had her laptop on the table. Her eyes scanned the screen while diligently taking down notes on her notebook.

"Jae, can you—"

"I got it." I served her a portion of the kimchi fried rice before serving myself one. Over the last few days, this was how dinners usually went when Eunkyung got home at a reasonable time— beside her cooking, at least. She was taking her bar exam soon, and was spending every waking hour at home studying for it.

It.. it made me feel lonely. But I perfectly understood why Eunkyung was so focused on it. If, or when, she passed, we wouldn't have to worry so much about money. That was the goal for both of us, I think.

I quickly finished my meal, but as I moved to begin washing my dishes, Eunkyung stopped me.

"I'll wash the dishes later tonight," she said. Eunkyung's gaze turned towards me and she smiled slightly. "Okay?"

"Yeah." I sat back down.

Eunkyung laid her glasses down and began to eat. "I saw an article about you today," she said. "Rather, my coworkers showed me an article about you today. Never thought I'd see the day my little brother got into a scandal."

I rolled my eyes. "If you can even call it that."

"Did Lux talk to you about it at work today?"

I shook my head. "She wasn't at work today."

"Makes sense, her family probably doesn't want her to appear in public for a while."

"Do you think they'll do anything to us?"

Eunkyung shook her head. "I doubt it'd be anything legal. It's not like you two had sex." She raised a brow. "Unless—"

I was abhorred. "What?! No?! No! No. We didn't do anything like that." I nearly felt myself gag at hearing Eunkyung even mention sex.

"Then you have nothing to worry about."

"And Lux?"

"The worst she'll face is a scolding by her parents. This is small news in comparison to her brother, Garen, and his relationship with Katarina."

I breathed out a sigh of relief. "Okay. That's… that's good."

A small smile appeared on Eunkyung's lips. "Why? Are you worried about her?"

"Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?"

Eunkyung shrugged. "It was just a question, Jae. I was curious, that's all." She grinned. "So, how did Seraphine handle the news of you supposedly dating the daughter of one of the richest families in the world?"

"Ugh," I groaned. My forehead banged against the table.

Thank you for reading. Please leave a review if you enjoyed the chapter. Normally, I don't respond to Guest reviews, but this one was really great so I think I owe it to them to respond.

Guest (OCxLux) - That was the intention regarding the relationship with Jae and Lux- I wanted it to come off as more natural because the two have been coworkers for awhile. Thank you for bringing up the dynamic between their disparity in wealth, and even thinking up a few ideas for how it'll impact the story. You're awesome. Thank you for reading and reviewing :D

Next Chapter: 12/4/2020