Chapter 1: ₊˚⊹ 001 ₊˚⊹
Chapter Text
goldenretriever00 [2:04 AM]
why does cereal taste better at night than in the morning. explain.
(also i just stepped on lego send help)
Jake stared at the blinking cursor. He was sprawled on his bedroom floor, hoodie pulled over his head, bare feet still aching from the Lego minefield Sunghoon had left behind. The dorm was quiet, finally, and his mind, as usual, was not.
His alt account, @goldenretriever00, had maybe ten followers. A meme here. A shower thought there. No selfies. No hints. Just vibes. It was peaceful. Normal.
The kind of normal he missed.
midn1ghtbunny [2:05 AM]
cereal tastes better at night because your brain is too tired to judge you
also you earned that lego for choosing frosted flakes over cocoa puffs
i don't make the rules ho
Jake blinked.
Who...?
He clicked on the username. @midn1ghtbunny.
Default profile photo. A couple aesthetic posts. A recent one said,
"i can't tell if i'm tired or sad or both. either way, i'm eating noodles."
He snorted.
goldenretriever00: [2:06 AM]
cocoa puffs are chaos in a box
also your post about crying over instant ramen felt personal
midn1ghtbunny: [2:07 AM]
aren't you the one confessing to 2am lego trauma?
don't throw shade when you live in a glass cereal bowl, retriever boy.
Jake let out a real laugh. Not a polite stage chuckle. A real, warm - damn, she's funny laugh.
Maybe this was what he needed.
He watched the screen. Still smiling.
He had no idea who this Bunny was. But she didn't ask for selfies. Or fan signs. Or even his real name. She just sent dumb cereal memes and roasted him for his life choices. And maybe... that was everything.
He typed slowly:
goldenretriever00 [2:14 AM]
ok bunny
tell me your favorite cereal
this is a compatibility test
The reply came fast.
midn1ghtbunny [2:14 AM]
lucky charms
bc i'm 3% human and 97% chaos
ur move, retriever
Jake leaned back, laughing again, a little too loud at 2am.
Maybe, just maybe... Tonight would be a little less lonely.
Chapter 2: ₊˚⊹ 002 ₊˚⊹
Chapter Text
He created the account on a whim.
It was a Thursday night, the kind where everything feels too loud even when it's silent. The dorm had gone still hours ago, but his thoughts didn't know how to shut up.
He had scrolled through ENHYPEN's fan hashtags, read compliments that felt more pressure, and turned off his phone only to turn to his alt:
@goldenretriever00
It was dumb - and it worked.
Here, no one called him "Jake". Here, no one asked how he was doing because they expected him to say "fine".
Here, he could say weird crap like "I think bread is emotionally manipulative" and someone - she - would answer,
"omg are you okay? did sourdough hurt you??"
Bunny.
He didn't know what she looked like, he didn't care. He liked her. Her brain. Her unfilteredness and chaos. Now, she was stuck in his head.
[Minji's POV]
On Thursday, she found herself checking her messages during practice. Rookie mistake. Literally.
"Minji, again."
She groaned quietly and reset. Her shoulders ached. So did her pride. But her phone buzzed again whilst she was gulping on water on break, and this time, she caved.
@goldenretriever00 [10:31 AM]
thinking about how you chose lucky charms. red flag but i'll allow it.
@midn1ghtbunny [10:32 AM]
thinking about how you stepped on lego. weak feet. red flag.
also you're just jealous the charms have more personality than u
Jake replied with a GIF of a crying cereal box.
She smirked.
A second later, a notificaition popped u:
[@goldenretirever00] has requested to follow you
She paused.
...Okay. This was getting real.
She accepted.
Seconds later, a DM came through.
[@goldenretriever00] set their chat emoji to: 🐶
Cute.
🐶: ok now that we r mutuals, can i ask the real questions??
🐶: like... ok... do you put the milk first or cereal first
🐶: this is serious. this is our compatibility test pt.2
[@midn1ghtbunny] set their chat emoji to: 🐰
🐰: cereal first u monster... wth
🐰: who hurt you????
🐰: is this about the lego. blink twice if u need help...
🐶: 😔😔😔 you're so aggressive for someone who eats candy for breakfast
🐶: also. my feet still haven't emotionally recovered
[Jake's POV]
Jake grinned into his pillow, fingers tapping away on this screen.
🐶: whats ur job btw
🐶: are u like. a chaos consultant?? professional cereal jusdge??
She took a minute to answer.
🐰: "jusdge"
🐰: mmm kinda new around here
🐰: just started training at a place where everyone's better than me
🐰: so basically i cry, dance, and eat noodles :3
🐰: in that order
His smile faded a little. Something in that felt familiar.
🐶: hey
🐶: you don't have to be the best
🐶: you just have to keep showing up
🐶: and also never eat dry cereal, i will judge u
🐶: hard.
🐰: 😳😳
🐰: that was kind of sweet ????
🐰: are u flirting with me rn retriever boy
🐶: depends
🐶: is it working?
[Minji's POV]
She laughed, breath catching a little.
It had been a long week for her. Her legs were jelly, her chest was tight from the self-doubt. But somehow, this random stranger stranger knew how to say exactly what she needed to hear.
Not in a fake, try-hard way. Just... real.
🐰: you realise we're just two weirdos bonding over cereal trauma right
🐰: this is what modern romance looks like
🐰: we're gonna tell our grandkids we met in the cereal aisle of the internet
🐶: god i hope so
🐶: "kids, i knew she was the one when she called me weak for stepping on a lego"
🐰: romantic af. disney could NEVER
[Jake's POV]
He laughed out loud. His shoulders relaxed for the first time all day.
Somehow through a screen, through dumb jokes and emojis, someone saw him. Really saw him. Not just Jake the idol from Enhypen. Not the flawless image he always had to let off.
Just... him
Weirdly, that was the most terrifying and comforting part.
He didn't know what she looked like. He didn't know her full name. But he knew her laugh in text form. He knew her vibe like a heartbeat.
He wanted to keep knowing her.
Chapter 3: ₊˚⊹ 003 ₊˚⊹
Chapter Text
Kang Minji stared at her reflection in the practice room mirror, sweat clinging to her skin and frustration behind her eyes.
She hadn't nailed the combo. Again. Her trainer's words still echoed.
"You're behind. Fix it or fall behind permanently."
She wasn't sure she was built for this. Every step felt like proof that she didn't belong here—like she was always one breath away from breaking.
Hours later, curled under her blanket in her small dorm room, she clutched her phone like a lifeline. Her body ached, her spirit even more. And yet, her mind drifted to him.
Retriever Boy. He wasn't someone she knew, not really. Just a stranger on the internet. But he felt familiar now. Safe.
Her fingers moved on autopilot as she opened their DMs.
🐰: Today sucked. Hard
🐰:Wanna hear something dumb af?
🐶: Always.
🐶: Hit me with the dumb
🐰: cried in the bathroom stall during lunch
🐰: tried to hold it in but the toilet paper dispenser squeaked every time i moved and it echoed
🐰: so it sounded like i was crying to a beat😭
🐶: stop
🐶: not you crying to a bathroom remix
🐶: thats so tragic it looped back around to iconic
Minji let out a small laugh despite herself. That was the thing about him - he didn't offer pity. He offered presence.
🐰: i feel so behind
🐰: like everyone's miles ahead and i'm just trying not to trip over my own feet
🐰: idk why i'm telling you all this
🐶: because its easier to be honest with strangers
🐶: but also. im not just a "stranger" anymore, right?
She paused at the message. Something about it hit deeper than she expected.
Before she could reply, another message popped up.
🐶: can i call you?
Minji blinked at the screen. Her heart did a funny little stutter. She stared at his name. At the microphone icon.
Another message.
🐶: i'll regret this if your voice is ugly
🐶: babe i sound like a disney prince raised by memes prepare yourself.
She laughed, rolled her eyes, then hit "Call."
"Hello?"
Jakes voice was soft an low, just a bit unsure. There was a quiet tremble beneath it - the kind that came from not knowing if something good was about to happen or fall apart completely.
Minji laughed the second she heard it.
"You actually sound kind of attractive," she said teasingly, settling back against her pillow.
"Kind of?" Jake sounded scandalised. "That's not the full compliment I was promised."
"You sound different than I expected."
"Better or worse?"
"Worse," she teased. "I thought you'd sound like a cereal mascot."
Jake gasped dramatically. "I'm offended. I have golden retriever energy, remember? I deserve at least Tony the Tiger status."
"You're giving... Lucky Charms with trust issues."
"Oh my god-"
They both laughed until the silence stretched out; not awkward, just warm.
"Hey," Jake said softly, his tone shifting. "That stuff you said earlier? About feeling beind?"
"Yeah?" Minji replied.
"You're not. You're just on a different beat. Some people move fast. Others move true."
There was a pause. Then her voice, quieter this time: "That was weirdly poetic."
Jake scratched the back of his neck. "I have my moments. Don't tell anyone. I've got a reputation to maintain."
"What, your cereal influencer reputation?"
"Exactly."
They talked for hours. About nothing. About everything.
Minji told him about her most embarrassing trainee moment - falling asleep standing up during warm-ups. Jake pretended to be scandalised and then admitted he'd once drooled on his mic during rehearsal. She laughed so hard she snorted.
He kept up the story about his "boring office job," which was growing harder to maintain. He said it involved "crisis management," which, technically, wasn't entirely a lie.
"Is that code for gets paid to meme?" she asked.
"Absolutely," he answered.
She didn't dig too much. He was careful not to overshare. But the truth was: Jake didn't want to lie. Not to her. That scared him more than anything.
"Okay," Minji said with a yawn, "I gotta sleep. I have vocal lessons tomorrow and I'd like to not sound like a dying toaster."
"I believe in you," Jake said gently. "Toaster or not."
"Thanks, Retrie- wait. Do I call you that forever?"
He paused.
Jake hesitated, then said, "...You can call me J."
"Like... just the letter?"
"Yeah. Keepin' it mysterious."
"Alright, J. But only because 'retriever boy' is too long to say out loud."
Jake laughed. "Fair."
There was a moment of quiet, soft and golden.
"Hey," he said quietly. "Thanks for talking to me."
Minji smiled into the darkness of her room. "I should be thanking you. You made the worst day a little better."
He didn't say anything right away. But she could feel it - something in his silence. Something real.
Whoever "J" really was, he wasn't just some random stranger anymore.