#yes all of svt are in this au even the ones not mentioned by name exist in this universe ok

[joonsytip]

Coffee, Tea or just more of Me? || Vernon

Pairings: Vernon x Fem!Reader

Genre: Fluff, Crack, Strangers to Friends to Lovers au, Barista!Reader au, Jock!Vernon au, University au

Synopsis: Vernon thinks life has given him another chance when sees the new barista of the café he is a regular at. You think the popular jock of the university is weird for always zoning out on you. It's the same everyday, until you to decide it's enough.

Word Count: 4.5k

Warnings: nothing heavy just mentions of staring a lot, mention of murder as a joke once, kissing, mentions of lots of beverages, dramatic Seungkwan and Junhui but equally wholesome (lmk if I missed any)

Banner credits to my baby @hoeforhao <3

A/N: Please Like, Comment and Reblog, it would really help me keep going ♡

Please send an ask or comment under the Masterlist post to get added to my permanent taglist or SVT Flick - Fic Masterlist.

[SVT Main Masterlist] [SVT Flick - Fic Masterlist]

He is staring at you again.

An exaggerated huff stirs out of your chest and you turn to the customer who looks like he'd would faint if deprived of his iced tea one more second.

You have recently started working as a part timer at the café which is a block down from your university, no genius for guessing, to add some cash to your wallet for covering some of your expenses.

The café jostles as an extremely busy hub at afternoons. Mornings doesn't attract much of a crowd except for the zombie like students who basically live on caffeine, would undoubtedly bleed in dark brownish through veins.

You work in evening shifts and evenings attract bunch of loud and shout guys.

Today's no exception, the familiar faces flood into the place, some continuous screeching of chairs or calls of name, some hearty laughs or snarky remarks that follows before all of it simmers down.

Junhui nudges at your arm and before your questioning gaze falls on him, it lands on that one face with prominent and sharpest features, hair dyed in shades of brown those stick on his sweat glistening forehead.

His eyes are not glued on you. Finally.

You look at your shiftmate, "What?"

"I thought you finally got a break.", Junhui comments while pouring coffee powder in the brewing machine.

"A break?", you echo in confusion, "I don't recollect--"

"A break from being stared at.", Junhui cuts you off when you fail catch his humour.

The eye roll that he gets as a response has him worried that they would really roll to the back of your head someday.

"Oh my god, he's coming here", Junhui squeals, "I'll fleet inside so he thinks you're alone at the counter but I'd be peaking from behind okay?", and next he's making an abrupt run to the backside.

You breathe in, breathe out and strech your lips in a smile as you walk back to the order section.

"Hi Vernon", you greet, "Can I please know your order?"

Vernon's eyes blow wide, as he whips his head from the menu card he's holding to meet your eyes.

"H-Hi...", he's shocked, so panicked right now, "Do you know me?"

Yes, you're the one who always stares at me.

Ofcourse you know him. Everybody knows him.

The star forward of the varsity soccer team.

Chwe Vernon Hansol.

You have a motive today and that's to ask him what's his deal. The only reason for which you had purposefully spilled out his name.

"You're quite popular.", you give him a smile, "And we share the Graphical Engi--"

"We share the Graphical Engineering lecture?", he spurts out comically, as if he's hearing the most amusing or the most non sensical thing in the world and the next question confirms it, "We both go to the same uni?"

"Yeah we do.", you say somewhat dejected and your thumb hovers over the computer screen, "Your order please."

"Do we seriously share the GE lecture?", he asks one more time and you simply nod.

Not something unobvious, the times you've noticed him after entering the lecture hall, you have always found his head propped on his bag which is loaded on the desk and he's soundly sleeping.

Something obvious that he doesn't know because the two of you don't even fall into the category of acquaintances.

You know him because everyone knows him because as said he's popular.

He mouths a 'wow' and goes back to ogling the same menu card. With only you being behind the counter and no one being behind him to place orders you know he's gonna take long time just to order his regular, a Latte Macchiato.

"A Latte Macchiato please.", he says and you nod robotically.

"Anything else?", you ask out of habit and your thumb is almost pressing the confirm button for billing, knowing he never has any add ons.

"Would you like to suggest something?"

You gape at him amused.

Vernon has his expectant eyes on you and you have your comical ones on him.

"Y/N?", he asked with concern and your eyes blow wider.

Your gaze immediately drops on your uniform, no there isn't any tag of your name pinned on you.

He's not reading your name, he knows your name.

"How do you know my name?", you ask him stunned. No you are not over reacting, not when you have seen who and how hard people are trying to woo him.

Oh well, his nicknames include Geek God and DiCaprio.

Vernon thinks he has caused an accidental slip up and thinks of ways to cover it up.

"Your co-workers call you by your name, I've heard it many times.", he blurts out.

You don't buy it but you don't peer further.

It's been two weeks since you are working in the café and you hadn't even noticed him until Junhui decided to knock over your obliviousness.

It was your third shift and you were seated on the tool leisurely when Junhui came over saying.

"Vernon keeps on looking at you. I have been noticing."

"Vernon? The Geek God VERNON? Looking at me? Sure, I look funny."

That was your comment before you waved him off instantly.

Day four and you decide to observe the varsity star just to confirm the genuineness of Junhui's comments.

"He's staring at you again."

This time you pull out your pocket mirror and Junhui, the genius angles it perfectly so no one was suspecting anything and you confirmed that Vernon was really staring at you.

You didn't what to make out of his blank expression.

The next week rolled in and you were having a casual conversation with Junhui and your best friend, the best gossip pal Seungkwan.

"Oh my god, you're planning to bag Vernon--"

Seungkwan's dramatic quip stopped abruptly when you slapped your hand on his mouth.

"Nothing adds up, Kwan. He definitely stares but with the most neutral expression I have ever seen on anyone. Like he could be plotting my murder but again he could also be looking at me and thinking about Teletubbies in his head."

Junhui was almost rolling on the floor which he was supposed to mop after those words left your mouth.

"But he lingers longer when Y/N is at counter.", Junhui managed to add, "The time he spends there holding that same menu card, if it had been me, I'd have had it memorized."

Two curious pair of eyes landed on the blonde haired boy and he took his position on one of the tools as he crossed his legs and leaned back at the wall behind.

"I have been working here for over a year and trust me, Vernon never made orders. Their group have a guy called Chan, who mostly places the collective order. I think I have taken orders from almost everyone but Vernon. He never did until Y/N came."

Seungkwan was suddenly wolf whistling and doing some questionable dancing with Junhui.

But you were still concerned.

Did you anyhow do something to offend him?

Vernon likes you, a lot.

It's not sudden, it's not prolated.

His liking towards you leads back to Cheshire, a stray cat he has been sheltering for some time.

The first time he saw you was when he decided to visit Cheshire before heading towards home after a game. You were already feeding her a can of tuna, unaware of his presence.

He watched you petting her, making funny sounds to entertain her to you sitting on the ground so that she could lay on your lap and take a nap.

Though his heart swelled and chest tinged, he watched it all with a straight face. Often misunderstood by people because of his blank stares he's tired of convincing them that it's never intentional, rather a habit by birth. He's just a bit lesser expressive that's all.

This continued for days, he would watch you play with Cheshire and waited until you left so that Cheshire could get her dose of SeroVertonin for the day.

Unknowingly, he develops a bond with you, solely from his side.

Vernon is also so grateful to you. Once Cheshire had gone missing for two days and Vernon could feel his heart plummeting to stomach, a fear creeping within him when he couldn't find her in all the places he searched.

He had given up but still visited the place in hopes of seeing her. He could vividly remember the pang in his chest when he saw her again inside the shelter with a note stuck on one of the bricks.

Hi,

I found her by an alleyway that's really far from here. She's safe so don't worry. Thanks for providing her a shelter.

Vernon still keeps the note in his wallet.

The day he decided to introduce himself to you was the day you stopped showing up. And he had no way to reach up to you except for waiting.

He gradually gave up with lots of regret and longing until he saw you again at the café.

Always been asked out, never have asked someone out person Vernon was at loss of words and actions. With no idea how to approach you, he sorted back to his same old habit.

While you indulged in different activities, he indulged himself in watching you, unaware that you have caught onto it.

Next day during GE lecture, you are scribbling down the notes in a questionable handwriting knowing you won't be able to decipher a word out of it later.

When the professor excuses himself out of the hall for some sudden priority work you could sense someone's gaze on you.

Quickly whipping your head and sweeping glances across the hall makes your gaze meets with Vernon's.

Oh, how could you not guess it.

He's flustered when he looks away and next he's grabbing his bag and skipping down the stairs to fleet out of the class.

But your sprint to catch him is faster than the Cheetahs.

"Vernon!"

You call out at the corridor and now every living object in the area is looking at you, waiting for another proposal - rejection episode.

Suddenly you feel small, having those curious eyes, mocking smiles pivoted at you.

Vernon notices your flickering gaze and he doesn't like the creases between your brows.

In three large strides, he covers the distance between two of you and before you could comprehend the situation, his loud voice reaches your ears.

"You didn't have to run so hard for returning my pen.", he's eyeing the pen in your hand, "But I'll take it because you have a habit of loosing them."

The murmurs are loud as others try hard to understand the dynamics you both share.

A glare in sweeping gaze from the jock causes the whispers to simmer down and the crowd regain it's mobility again.

"Thanks",you peer ar him, "Can I talk to you for a moment?"

Vernon thinks he should be run away. His heels are hot and his mind is calculating precs for a run but his heart wants to listen to you.

This time the heart prevails.

As Vernon follows you to the emptier section of the corridor, you think you'd get indigestion from the venomous glares you are accumulating throughout.

"Have I done something to upset you?"

Your question catches him off guard.

When he doesn't respond you throw a follow up, "I'm sorry if I'm wrong but I have seen you staring at me for past days."

Vernon cheeks blush up in pink tint as his gaze falls down. He's biting his lip and shaking his head.

You know his having a conversation in his head but right now you want to be a part of it.

"I won't be judging you if that's what you're worried about.", you assure him, "I just want to know if I have ever unintentionally caused you trouble in any possible way."

Time is elapsing but you wait with all the patience. Vernon seems distressed and you feel bad for this sudden counter you have roped him into.

"I'm sorry for making you uncomfortable.", he says in a calm and assuring voice, "That wasn't my intention. It's just, I always have this poker face on and people feel, well, how you're feeling right now.", he laughs but you could feel the strain behind the words.

"I have been searching for you so long and now that I've found you, as cheesy as it sounds", his lips curl up the slightest almost making no difference to the previous neutral expression but this time you notice the gleam in his eyes as he says, "I can't take my eyes of you."

Your heart skips a beat. Damn Vernon for being so smooth.

"Cheshire misses you.", and he adds suddenly so now nothing is making sense to you.

"What do you mean by that? Do we know each other from before? Who's Cheshire?"

Vernon chuckles and he's pulling out his phone to show you his device wallpaper.

Your hand fly to your mouth in shock when you recognise whom Vernon is refering to.

"I also miss her.", You say with a stain of longing in your voice and look at him expectantly, "I can take a guess at some parts but you'll have to fill up the rest for me."

Vernon agrees instantly.

"But for now if you're free, would you mind taking me to her?"

"Ofcourse! Let's go.", he offers and he's relieved, "I'll explain everything on the way."

You are miserable without Junhui as the later takes a day off to perform at another gig. The café is not as busy so you're bored.

"Can I place my order?"

Your voice perks up at the familiar voice and your gaze lifts to see Vernon standing at the queue lane.

"Sure Sir", and you're laughing at the face he makes, "Latte macchiato is it?"

"Yes--"

"No.", you cut him off, "Let me serve you my special today, up for it?"

Vernon nods in delight and he goes back to take his seat and you go to the kitchen, asking your coworker to manage the counter for some time.

When you come back with a glass of Peach Tranquility on the tray, Vernon salivates at the beverage because of the fruity smell and vibrant colours.

"I never knew a Herbal Tea could taste this good.", Vernon compliments you, "Or is the magic in the hands of the one making it?"

Your cheeks warm up, meeting his gaze seems to be difficult so you scurry away making an excuse of getting to the counter.

Does he make your heart flutter as much as you do to his, Vernon ponders over.

Jealousy is a disease and you have it.

It's been weeks since you introduced Vernon to two of your treasured friends. You still remember the first encounter.

"Should I leave? They don't like me it seems."

Vernon whispered in your ear and you held his arm on an instinct, a gesture meaning no stay.

After some awkward glances and formal talks you were successful in stirring the fluidity between the three.

And now, Seungkwan and Junhui are more Vernon's friends then they are yours.

You are really content, though sometimes you get jealous how close they seem but it's funny how perfectly Vernon slots himself in your life.

What's funnier? It's the way your heart has been constricting whenever you're around Vernon. The air around get harder to breath in when he's too close to you. You know what it means, you're not dumb.

And because you're not dumb you know that harbouring a crush on Vernon is ridiculous because, well, he's handsome, he's a popular and he has the whole town lined up for him.

Everytime it occurs to you, a wistful sigh comes out and you end up waving the thoughts away.

Your memories of the past weeks makes you realise how Vernon clogs in each one of them.

"If I'm failing this class, it's on you."

Your GE lectures are similar expect nowadays you are occupying one of the chairs at back and Vernon's bag is of no use as he always lays his head on your shoulder quoting it gives him the best sleep.

"Stop being dramatic, take notes and let me sleep Y/N."

Instead of taking notes, you always end up counting his lashes, admire his sharp nose or linger your gaze on his lush lips.

"Don't you have a match tomorrow?"

You couldn't pinpoint since when you had started taking notes of his session calenders for the soccer matches.

"Will you come?"

It was kind off ritual to Vernon, asking you to attend the matches and getting a no everytime. Not that he minded, knowing you had no interest or knowledge in the sports, plus the extra classes you attended was taking much of your time and he would never want to add another baggage to your counter.

"Here, I made you porridge since you still have fever but decided to work your shift.", Vernon places the carrier on the counter sounding disappointed, "I got you some medicines as well."

After your shift ended, you found Vernon waiting for you by one of the tables. You took the carrier and pushed it to him, taking the seat adjacent to his.

"You want me to feed you?"

You didn't even have to answer him and he was opening the lids while holding the spoon in his hands.

The red tints on your cheeks were not from fever burns but because of the guy who was feeding you, even letting you use his other arm as a pillow but he didn't need to know that.

Seungkwan takes a sip of his Iced Americano in silence. Junhui is unusually quiet, he's the one spacing out today.

"You have done nothing except for sipping on that never ending drink", Vernon points to Seungkwan in an accusatory tone and turns to the one sitting beside him, "And you, are you awake? Are you sleeping? Are you even listening?"

Seungkwan lets out a hum, a poised one which makes Vernon anxious.

"So you admit to liking Y/N?"

Vernon cocks his brow, "Is this a court session? Am I being charged?"

"Just answer in Yes or No."

"Yes. I like her, a lot. I think I love her.", Vernon says it again, with sincerity and emphasis.

Junhui chimes in with a grin, "We know. You're damn obvious but", the grin is wipped off and seriousness ghosts over as he continues, "It's not that we don't trust you but we want to be sure that this is not some kind of prank or a bet which general goes on between the group of jocks. We have seen that a lot and everytime the one on recieving end gets heartbroken, mocked and it becomes their pain to bear."

"The one causing it is termed cool or passed as if it's obvious. It never effects the popular person. They go on as if nothing ever happened and their popularity remains the same.", Seungkwan picks up, "To be honest, your other circle is good, I have never seen or heard anything problematic which comes as a surprise but I hope you understand where we both are coming from."

"No one would want to see their friend suffer", Vernon says with stark seriousness, "I swear on Cheshire and Soccer that I really love Y/N and I want to court her."

Seungkwan gasps before closing the palms over his mouth.

Junhui stands on his feet wide eyed, the chair making the loudest screech because of the abrupt movement.

And Vernon thinks he had said something wrong. Incredibly wrong.

"Oh my god, did you hear him?", Seungkwan asks Junhui.

"He's totally smitten, gosh!", comes the other's response.

Vernon groans, heart pulsating a little lesser than before. He's at fault for forgetting how dramatic these two idiots can be.

They exchange a knowing glance before looking Vernon.

"Confess to her.", both of them say in unison.

Vernon is however unfazed, "Trust me I want to. If I could do it right now--"

"Do it as soon as you can.", Seungkwan encourages him.

"It's not easy when I know I'll get awkward around her", Vernon knows he's gonna spend some sleepless nights, "But I need to one up."

You are confused when you reach the shelter to see no signs of Vernon when he was the one to call you up to meet him here.

Cheshire meows at you, circling around your feet when you notice a note tied to her tail.

Turn left and walk past the tree if you wanna a play a game with me.

-Vernon

Your eyes squint searching for the creator of the note that you're holding as you turn around. You start walking towards the instructed place while Cheshire follows you.

Vernon is so nervous that if now someone asks him which team he plays for he'd mix up the names, his jersey number, even the position he plays in.

He almost jolts when he sees you approaching but Goodness Gracious his calming pill, Cheshire is also with you.

"What's the meaning of this note?"

"I want to send a code to you.", Vernon explains, "Answer three questions to get a slot each time and put it as a whole to decode my message."

You have never been this confused in your entire existence but you comply.

"First question,", Vernon says, his nervousness swaying away a bit, "Which jersey number is generally assigned to a team's first choice goalkeeper?"

The gears in your head don't need to turn at all.

You immediately respond, "When I said, I intake everything you speak about your passion including facts, I mean it.", your lips curl up, "The answer is 1."

Everytime he thinks his heart couldn't swell more you prove it wrong.

"Correct!", he is grinning, being so proud of you.

You mirror his grin

"Next question is... it's the easiest of all", his brows cocks at you, "What's the only self-enumerating number in English?"

You scoff and speak nonchalantly, "4. What am I, a four year old trying to memorize numbers?"

Vernon chuckles, "You got that correct too. Now time for the last question."

You brace yourself for the last one. Cheshire is seated on the ground, in between you two, her gaze moving from you to Vernon and vice versa.

"I am usually found with a couple of friends, Quarter a dozen, and you'll find me again. What am I?", he asks with a underlying tone, "Even though it's a riddle, you'll have to take the words as it is to crack this."

It's time you have use your brain. Riddles are meant to make you think about everything expect for the actual answer which most of times are present in the question itself.

Vernon watches you intently as you bite your nail, a habit of yours when you're thinking too hard. He crouches to pet Cheshire and the later purrs in content.

Some time passes by and you're still thinking of everything and anything unaware of the amused looks you're getting from both Vernon and Cheshire.

"Got it!", your sudden yell startles him, "The answer is 3!"

Vernon is instantly up on his heels as he smiles, "Congratulations for getting all the no-brainers correct.", he laughs when you scowl, "Now the last part, put the answers together and you'll get the code. Decode it and that'll be the message I'm trying to send you."

"Okay, let me put it together.", you mumble, "In order right? Then it's 1 4 3--"

You tongue gets tied and you look at Vernon with wide eyes. The nervousness that had simmered down comes back to him tenfold. He could feel his legs giving up when he meets your gaze.

None of you speak.

Both of you are frozen.

His heart might burst out of his chest if you prolong your answer one minute more. You only hope that what's Vernon trying to say is the only meaning to 143 that you know.

Cheshire, the cute little bean could also sense the tension between her adoptive parents. So she meows to stir some mobility.

Vernon thinks it's time he asks for his sake. He's about to open to his mouth when he hears you.

"I love you too.", you say so timidly and look away that Vernon has to close the gap between you two.

"Can you say it again?", he asks in desperation, "Do you really mean it?"

The index hooked under your chin, forces you to look at him.

"I love you, Vernon."

Comes your affirmation and the words that he needed to hear.

His head dips down to plant his lips on yours. Your arms circle around his neck and his settles on your waist.

He has his eyes opened while you have them closed. That's definitely a sight he'd love to see everyday, he's sure. You're loving the plush of his lips against yours and you don't miss how gentle his grip is on you. This feeling is so new yet so satisfactory that you'd need to have it everyday, you're sure.

"I love you, Y/N.", he whispers against your lips and you pull him back to have the touch of his lips again.

It's intoxicating.

You are kissing under the stars, moonlight being the only illumination on you both. The birds are chirping something soothing faraway and the cold breeze is doing nothing to cool you because it's Vernon, the only other you can feel on yourself.

You both break the kiss giggling when you hear another mewl from Cheshire. You immediately lift up the feline in your arms and Vernon is hugging you from back as you both pet her.

"You could have just confessed directly you know?", you crane your neck to tease him, "What if I got the answers wrong?"

Vernon pecks your forehead and says, "I had a lot of alternatives ready. I wouldn't have let you go until I got the correct answers from you."

You gaped at him in disbelief.

"Such a dork."

"But your dork", he laughs making you smile as well.

"How about we rename Cheshire to Cupid?"

"The shop is closed, we won't be taking anymore orders Sir.", you are half leaning on the counter and as you joke around with the man standing infront of you.

Your boyfriend.

Vernon is unfazed, "I was in a mood good, would have tipped you well."

You snort at his response and you're undoing the ties of your apron, "Well in that case, along with our regular menu I can provide you an exclusive item."

"Sounds good, can I know what it entails?"

You keep the apron inside the case and walk out from behind the counter. When you do so, Vernon is instantly pulling you to him as he entwines his fingers with yours.

"Would you prefer Coffee, Tea", you grin tightening your grip on him, "or just more of Me?"

Vernon feigns to ponder, even rubbing his chin for a good measure, "The last one sounds appealing. I'd always like to have you, love."

"You're so corny.", you're pinching the bridge of his nose, "Good that I love you."

Vernon just smiles and the warmth he's radiates is enough for you to thrive longer, to love stronger.

→ Do not copy, re-post, translate, or share any of my works on other platforms! All stories are copyrighted, joonsytip. ©️

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[blossom-hwa]

taking care | k.th

I was... inspired. yes. let’s just call it that. definitely not me projecting my idiot brain into a fic. Definitely Not.

Pairing: Taehyun x gender neutral!reader

Genre: fluff, slice of life!au, sick fic, editor!taehyun, writer!reader

Triggers: cursing, mentions of medication (prescribed), panic attacks are mentioned once but no one actually has one

Word Count: 12.6k

When Taehyun goes missing from work, you hunt him down to his apartment where you find him sick. Attempts to take care of him ensue. It doesn’t all go as expected.

Seungcheol (SVT) Ver. | TXT Masterlist

It is two am on a Friday morning when you finally emerge from your little den of sadness and misery to actually attempt to be somewhat of a functional human being.

(The little voice in the back of your head that sounds annoyingly like Beomgyu reminds you that no one is ever able to actually function at two am like a normal human being, and the fact that you are only able to attempt functionality at this hour speaks to something deeply, deeply wrong with your sleep schedule and mental psyche. You swat it away.)

Switching on a light, you blink into the brightness. For a moment it feels like your eyes are burning. Sometime over the past five days, you became a vampire, probably. Minus the bites and fangs and sexy undead creatures.

Wait.

Five days?

You pat your pockets for your phone, which does not seem to be on you. Ah. Yes. You often shove it away when you're in gremlin writer mode so that the bright light won't distract you from your empty word documents. Shuffling back into your study, you flip on the light there too and start throwing things around.

“Beautiful,” you mutter, finally dragging the device out from under a pile of scribbled-on papers. “Please turn on, please turn on—”

It turns on. Bless, so it isn't dead. Squinting at the tiny screen, you check the date and time. Two oh seven in the morning on Friday, November seventeenth.

(The tiny rational voice in your brain that sometimes sounds like Soobin and sometimes sounds like Taehyun reminds you that you could have easily checked your still open laptop for the date and time instead of rooting around for your own. You swat it away, too.)

Hm. So it has been five days. That's... interesting. And mildly concerning. Not because of your fucked up sleep schedule which isn't even a sleep schedule at this point, but because this means Taehyun is off schedule. And by that you mean he didn't show up on the third day of your writer gremlin-induced madness to bring you coffee.

It happens like clockwork. You get sucked in by a deadline, ergo you go MIA. You ignore all texts and messages for two days, ergo Taehyun deduces you have spiraled into deadline induced writer gremlin madness. Coffee is the only thing that sustains you on a day to day basis, ergo Taehyun shows up at your apartment on day three, your favorite coffee in hand and not the bitter unsweetened shit you make yourself at home, and forces you to take a nap while he cooks.

It's a neat little syllogism. Or something. You don't quite remember the names of all the literary devices your writing teachers tried to shove into your head in high school. It all became irrelevant anyway in college when you could have arguments with your professors over the merits of the Oxford comma (it has many merits, but sometimes you just like to be contrary and your professors grew to know this very well). But now the syllogism has been broken because it's been five days since you sank into your little black hole of word documents and black coffee and Taehyun has not shown up once.

Ergo, concerning.

Your fingers have pulled up Taehyun's contact before you realize what you're doing at this time of the night—well, morning. You cannot call Taehyun right now. He's most definitely asleep because he's an actual functioning human being who goes to the gym, eats semi healthy food, and has a sleep schedule. And also happens to be ridiculously good at editing every anxiety-infused chapter you send him of your in progress novel. Therefore you cannot bother him before six in the morning, which is when he actually wakes up. It would be unholy. An even greater transgression upon the gods, assuming they exist.

You close your laptop, making sure to double and then triple save your work because accidents happen and you don't need any of them at two am on Friday when something's already wrong with Taehyun, then shut off the light before shuffling back into the room where you're actually supposed to sleep. The bed looks extremely inviting all of a sudden, what with all the nice little blankets and pillows that you haven't seen in days because you've just been taking cat naps in your office, and it's all you can do to force yourself to brush your teeth first and attempt to wash your face before plugging your phone into its charger and falling onto the bed.

In minutes, you're fast asleep.

. . . . .

When you wake up twelve hours later, at first you don't really remember why there's anxiety buzzing in your chest.

Your eyes feel crusty. So does your mouth. It feels like something died on your tongue. And your entire body feels grimy, probably because you haven't showered in a couple of days, so you ignore the little flutter of anxiety for now, just for now, and head to the bathroom.

One shower and a set of fully brushed teeth later, you stand in front of the bathroom mirror and attempt coherent thought.

Fact 1: You feel somewhat anxious.

Fact 2: It is true that you can sometimes feel anxious for no reason. It's called anxiety and it's the reason you see a therapist.

Fact 3: You're finally on track to meet your deadline in several days thanks to the past five days of gremlin behavior.

Conjecture 1: The deadline is not the source of your anxiety.

Conjecture 2: Something else is the source of your anxiety.

You blink. Wait. How many days has it been since you went into writer gremlin mode?

Five. It has been five days.

Your final thoughts from two in the morning come rushing back. Right. Taehyun didn't come by on the three day mark to bring you coffee, make you food, and force you to nap.

Somehow in the light of day, this realization seems more concerning than ever.

You head back into your room to check your phone, which is now happily and fully charged at your bedside. Several new text messages, but none of them from Taehyun.

Concerning has now become worrying.

You flick through the other texts. One from Beomgyu that's just a weird meme, one from Chaewon reminding you to take a break at some point. Nothing from Taehyun at all.

You call the office.

“Hello?”

“Is Taehyun there?”

A pause. “... Y/N?”

“Yes, it's me, I'm incredibly offended that you don't remember my voice,” you rattle off. “Is Taehyun there?”

Soobin pauses again on the other end. The sound of shuffling papers fills the phone. “Greetings to you too,” he snarks, and you really want to hit him. So much. But he's several miles away in an office building and your only connection is through like... electrical wires. Or waves. Or something. Science wasn't your strongest suit in school. Point is, you can't hit him. “Glad to see you've dragged yourself out of your writer gremlin induced stupor. And no, before you ask again, I don't think he came in today.”

This is more worrying than you thought it would be. Taehyun doesn't miss work. He's always on time, if not early—the one time he came in late and you were on time, you thought the world was going to end.

“Cute, thanks. Have a good—” you check the time— “four more hours of work!” You hang up before you can hear his reply.

So not only has Taehyun not texted you or called you at all in the past few days, but he isn't at work either. These levels of worrying are starting to get dizzying. Which means only one thing:

You need to find him.

Luckily, you've been to Taehyun's place several times for both work and social purposes, like when Yeonjun and Beomgyu convinced him to host a little Christmas party that ended with almost everyone tipsy or drunk and passed out in his living room by morning. You were on your meds so you couldn't drink, so you got saddled with the fun responsibility of bullying everyone into drinking hangover cures when they woke up.

It was actually kind of fun getting to record them doing and saying stupid shit, though. You were able to stock up on at least a year's worth of blackmail material in just one night. Efficient.

Not the point. You know where Taehyun lives. Now you need to go there and ascertain whether or not he's alive. And if he isn't alive, see if his cat is doing okay before you go have a mental breakdown because Taehyun can't die. It's like, impossible. He's pretty much invincible. Anyone who goes to the gym every day like it's his religion can't die.

You throw several things into your beaten up bag, then on second thought shove your laptop into its case to bring it too. Another voice that sounds ridiculously like Yeonjun chirps something like you bring that everywhere.

“It's called separation anxiety,” you say out loud.

No one replies. Which is good, because if someone did, you’d have a whole new problem on your hands.

With that, you grab your laptop charger, shove it in the bag, and head out the front door. You only almost forget to lock it on your way out.

. . . . .

It only hits you that you might be overreacting when you're right outside Taehyun's apartment. When you've literally raised your fist to knock on the door.

Because maybe he's... fine. Maybe he's perfectly fine and he's just tired of coddling you like a child. It would be valid. He shouldn't need to bring you coffee every third day of your gremlin life. He shouldn't need to learn to cook for you just so you can actually eat a fresh vegetable every so often. He shouldn't need to make you take naps like a toddler because you forget to take care of yourself a little too often to be acceptable as a full grown adult.

Maybe you should have called him beforehand and seen if he actually needed you before coming here.

Okay, no. A voice that sounds suspiciously like your therapist cuts through your spiral of negativity. Taehyun is your editor. He is also your friend. Friends check on each other and make sure they're doing okay.

Yes, but friends don't usually do... all of that. Taehyun's cooking has actually improved in the process of attempting to make you eat. That's dedication you aren't sure you deserve.

That's the effort he's putting into your friendship, your mind therapist says. And you put your own effort into the friendship. It's not like he's doing this all alone.  

Right. You look at the door. You've shown up to his apartment unannounced because you were worried about him. That has to count for something, right?

Yes! your mind therapist cheers.

No, says the bitch ass part of your brain.

This hurts, says the arm that is still raised in the air, ready to knock on the door but unable to because anxiety.

Whatever. You sigh. You've already made the entire subway ride and walk to his apartment and are standing outside his door. Might as well check on him while you're here.

You knock.

No one answers.

You frown. Maybe he's not home, in which case finding him will be considerably more difficult. Or maybe he just didn't hear you. That would be the better option. Maybe you should knock again.

You knock again.

This time, to your relief, something does sound behind the door. To your concern, however, it sounds like a groan mixed with a crash, which is not something you ever thought you'd hear from Kang Taehyun's apartment. You did not prepare yourself for a possible horror story on this bright Friday afternoon.

“... Taehyun?” you call through the door.

Another sound follows, more like a thump this time. There's also a meow that sounds like Hobak, which is reassuring. “Coming,” you make out very faintly.

Well, it sounds... vaguely like Taehyun. You frown. You could kind of hear the undercurrents of his tone in the garbled mess that you made out as coming. Maybe it's not a horror movie monster in his apartment, then.

Awkwardly, you shift from one foot to the other as you wait for what is presumably Taehyun or some sort of Taehyun-esque form to open the door. Someone is staring at you out of the corner of your eye at the end of the hall and you really don't want to be out here for longer than is necessary.

Finally, you hear something click in the door. You have about one second to prepare yourself for something ghastly and horror movie-like before it swings open.

You blink. So does Taehyun.

“... Y/N?”

Okay, so not a horror movie monster. At least not one that's possessed him. But honestly, if Taehyun had told you such a monster had ransacked his apartment and left him to die, you'd have believed him because this is the worst you've ever seen him.

His eyes are red. So is his nose. He's got this huge fluffy blanket wrapped around him and—is he shivering? You have to look again. The Taehyun you know would never look like this. He always looks so put together, even when he's just come from the gym—which is ungodly because you always look like shit after you've gotten off the treadmill—and even when he's wading through your little writer gremlin cave he never looks out of place, but right now...

“You aren't, like...” You gesture vaguely. “You are Taehyun, right?”

Taehyun blinks. That's how you know he’s really in bad shape—it's taking him a full one, two, three seconds to actually buffer and process the bullshit that's coming out of your mouth when it normally takes him less than one. “Yes, I'm Taehyun,” he mumbles, all congested and muffled, and if you weren't so shocked you might actually laugh because it's kind of cute.

“Oh. Okay.” You blink again. “You're sick.”

Taehyun's face flushes redder, which you thought would’ve been impossible. “I'm not that sick.”

“Taehyun, you are very, very sick.” You push your way into the apartment and shut the door. “As in I've never seen anyone this sick before, even myself. Which is weird because I thought you could never get sick, given that you're actually a healthy human being with a functional eating and sleeping and exercising schedule that you actually keep to on the regular.” You dump your bag on a nearby chair—how is he still so neat even when he's probably a mess on the inside? “Where were you before I came? On the couch?”

He nods feebly.

“Go back to the couch and sleep.” You steer him toward it and push him lightly onto the cushions. He does it without much protest, which is highly worrying considering Taehyun is made of many pounds of pure muscle and you shouldn't be able to maneuver him this easily. “I'm going to make you soup. Or something.”

“You shouldn't be here,” he mumbles, though his eyes are already closing. You might coo if you weren't half worried he'd spring up and kill you for it. “You'll get sick.”

“Lucky for you, I have an immune system of steel.” Which is kind of a lie, but you'll take your chances while Taehyun is too conked out by his own shit immune system to counter you with facts. “And I can make a mean fucking bowl of soup. Do you have masks?”

“By the door,” he mumbles, even softer than before. “Thanks.”

“You're very welcome.” You pat his head. “Now go to bed. There'll be soup and meds for you when you wake up.”

He's knocked out before you finish your sentence. Which is just as well, you think as you locate the masks and pull one over your nose. He shouldn't be exerting himself at the moment, and you need to concentrate on making some soup.

. . . . .

An hour later, you have made one trip to the grocery store and convenience store and returned with a variety of things with which to make soup and some pills that you think Taehyun might need. You're not a doctor—the universe should thank you for that—so you're not sure what exactly he's come down with, but you checked his forehead and it was hot, so fever pills are probably a safe bet. Hopefully. As for the soup, you've made this so many times you could do it in your sleep. Mostly because when your mom made it the first time you were sick, you liked it so much that you kept bugging her to make it again and eventually she taught you to make it on your own so you'd stop bothering her.

Good memories.

It takes a while to locate everything you need in Taehyun's kitchen because he's not an organized mess like you are, he's just organized, therefore because there's no chaos in the kitchen you can't really find anything at first. This is not made better by Hobak attempting to climb up your leg every five minutes, but eventually he goes to his refilled food bowl, which gives you time to get together all the things you need and can start cooking. Taehyun doesn’t make a sound in the background, which worries you several times, but each time you check on him to change the wet cloth you've draped across his forehead, he's just sleeping. Very, very soundly.

According to Google, that's a good thing. Because he needs rest. So you leave him be.

Soon, the soup is done, and you can smell its wonderful aroma even through your mask. Probably because you're standing right in front of it. But the point is, it smells wonderful, and Hobak clearly likes the smell too since he keeps sniffing your fingers, so hopefully Taehyun will also be able to smell it being wonderful if his nose isn't too congested. Maybe then he will also be able to appreciate its taste. Something in an intro psych class you took in college said smell and taste are very much related. You also didn't need an intro psych class to tell you that because you have experienced the connection several times in real life firsthand.

Like when you were sick.

Luckily for you, Taehyun's eyes are beginning to flutter open when you check on him after ladling half the soup into a bowl. He kind of blinks when he sees you like he doesn't really believe you're there, so you wave a hand in front of his face. “Hi.”

“... Hi,” he says. “You're actually here.”

“What, did you think I was just a dream?”

He nods, then winces. “Yeah.”

“Fortunately for you, I'm not a dream. And to prove it, I made soup.” You point to the kitchen. “Can you smell it?”

Taehyun blinks blearily. “Vaguely.”

“Oh, great.” You breathe a sigh of relief. “Your nose isn't completely shot then. Do you think you can eat it?”

“... Maybe?”

“All right, I'll go get it for you.” Bustling back into the kitchen, you return with a hot bowl of soup and a glass of water. “You should take some of these meds before you eat, probably,” you say, indicating the bottles you dumped on the table before.

Obediently, Taehyun swallows the pills you give him and drinks the full glass of water. When you hold up the soup bowl, however, he grimaces.

“What's wrong?” You put it down. “Does it smell bad? I promise even if your sense of smell has been completely corrupted by whatever illness you have, it tastes good.”

“No, no, it smells good.” He coughs. “I just... don't know if I can hold it. The bowl.”

“Ah.” You look at the soup, then at him. That might be something of a problem. Hm.

Oh, simple solution. You pick up the spoon yourself. “I'll feed you, then.”

For some reason, Taehyun seems to balk at this. For the entire world you can't understand why. “Do you want the soup?” you ask. “If you can't eat it, I can just store it away for later.”

“I want it,” he mumbles, looking very put out and very childish in a way you never thought you'd see on the one and only sturdy, steady, reliable, healthy Kang Taehyun. “You just shouldn't have to feed me.”

“Well, I don't see why not.” You wave the spoon in the air. “You're sick. You want soup. You can't hold the bowl without dropping it and I am here. Ergo, I will help you drink the soup. By feeding you.”

Bam. That's a good syllogism. If that's even what a syllogism is. You still haven't checked the definition.

Taehyun finally relents, nodding slightly. “Okay.”

You pat his head. “Good boy,” you smile before dipping the spoon in the soup. Blowing on it softly, you extend your hand. “Open wide.”

“I'm not a child,” he mutters, but he follows your instructions anyway. You feed him the soup. “Good, isn't it?”

“I think so,” he says, swallowing.

You blink. “You think so?”

“I can't fully taste anything,” Taehyun complains. “My nose is stuffed.”

“I can't believe you're missing out on my mom's famous soup,” you say, shaking your head. “You know the first time she made it, I bothered her into making it so many times after that she just taught me how to make it myself at some point so I wouldn't keep asking her.”

Taehyun swallows the second spoonful. He coughs and you hand him a second glass of water. “You kept asking her, didn't you.”

You grin beatifically. “Well, when I'm at home with a mother who's willing to cook, I'm going to try and take advantage of that. Otherwise, I will go into my messy kitchen and cook it for myself.” You poke another spoonful into his face. “Drink.”

Sip by sip, Taehyun empties half the bowl before he decides he's had enough. You carefully push the rest of the soup away so that you won't accidentally spill it before handing him the glass of water. “Drink the rest of that,” you say, “and then you should probably sleep some more.”

He grumbles, but he finishes the glass. You pat his head again. “Go to sleep, now.”

“Don't wanna sleep,” he mumbles. “I slept so much earlier.”

“I'm pretty sure you slept like—” you check the microwave clock, which now reads five in the afternoon. “Two hours since I got here. At most.”

“I slept a lot before you came,” he mutters. “Why did you come, anyway?”

Oh. You blink. That's a question you weren't exactly expecting to have to answer. “Uh. Well. I kind of, uh, emerged from my den yesterday. Well, this morning. At like, two am.”

Taehyun makes a noise that sounds suspiciously like a snort. Out of the kindness of your own heart and mercy for his sick little body, you ignore it.

“And I realized five days had passed since I spiraled into my deadline anxiety, and then I realized you hadn't come by on the third day to bully me into halfway taking care of myself, and then I checked my phone and saw that you hadn't texted or called me at all, and then I kind of passed out because I was going to call you but then I saw the time and thought no reasonable person should actually ever call anyone at this time of the morning and especially not you, so I passed out for like twelve hours and then I woke up and called Soobin and he said you weren't in the office. Which is extremely worrying because you always go to work on time. So I kind of panicked and decided to find you and then I showed up at your front door.” You scratch the back of your neck sheepishly. “I realize I probably should have called before coming, but I only came to that conclusion when I was like... right outside.”

Taehyun blinks about five times before he actually says anything in response. “I got like... half of that.”

“Oh.” You shrug. “Sorry.”

“It was enough,” he reassures you, and you feel kind of bad because even sick he's still having to reassure you about dumb things like talking too fast for his sick brain to keep up with, but then he coughs again and you have to go fill up the glass a third time and the thought flies away. “Anyway, if you'd called, I probably wouldn't have answered,” he admits after drinking more water. “I was kind of dead to the world for a while.”

“Why didn't you call anyone?” you ask, raising an eyebrow. “I'd have thought of all people, you'd be the reasonable type to actually call someone for help, you know. Like Kai. Or Yeonjun. Or Beomgyu or Soobin. They would've brought you meds.”

“None of them can cook,” Taehyun says.

You pause. “Yeonjun can cook.”

“He has the ability to put things in a pan and not burn them,” Taehyun corrects, and you have to admit that he's right. “That's not exactly cooking.”

“It's cooking. Just not cooking well,” you say, and Taehyun grumbles a little but nods in the end. “And anyway, they could've brought you convenience store soup or something. Doesn't need to be home cooked.”

“Home cooked is best,” he says.

“Taehyun, you could barely taste what I made for you.”

“Still.” He pouts, and this time you actually coo. “What?”

“You're cute when you're pouting.” You pat his cheek, which is still worryingly warm. “Hang on, I'm going to change the cloth on your head.”

You half expect Taehyun to have gone to sleep in the time it takes to wet a new cloth with cold water, but when you come back, his eyes are still open. “You really aren't sleepy, are you,” you say, draping the new cloth over his forehead.

“No, I'm not,” he says, like a petulant child.

“Sleeping will help the sickness pass faster,” you point out. “I don't really know what you were thinking, keeping this from everyone for what—five days? Were you sick this entire time?”

“I wasn't. I started feeling kind of off on... Tuesday, I think.” Taehyun screws his eyes shut, as though trying to remember, which is ridiculously cute but you manage to keep yourself from cooing this time. “On Wednesday I still went in to work but then I was coughing by the end of the day so I didn't go in on Thursday and just slept like the whole day and now it's apparently Friday, I guess.”

“Aw, look at you. You're the one figuring out the days of the week this time, not me.” You giggle at Taehyun's death glare expression as you pat his head again. “Seriously, though, why didn't you call anyone? All of the people I mentioned before would've helped if you'd just said something.”

“Why didn't you mention yourself?”

Okay, another weird question you weren't expecting to get asked. It actually takes a moment to formulate your answer because you don't even know it. It doesn't rely on undebatable facts the way your previous answer did. Just stupid personal opinions.

“Uh, probably because I'm a mess?” you finally say, raising an eyebrow. “Like a certified, grade A mess, Taehyun. I'm like one of those grade A eggs at the supermarket that are expensive, but a mess. Not an egg.”

“Yeah, I figured you weren't an egg.” Taehyun goes into another coughing fit and you pat his hair through it—which he seems to like, at least unconsciously, by the way that he keeps sort of leaning into your hand. “That's what snark will do to you,” you say seriously as he drinks the rest of the glass of water. “It'll throw you into a coughing fit. Better watch your mouth, Taehyun.”

He puts down the glass of water with a withering glare that gives you hope he might fully recover, because that's a normal Taehyun expression. Not the weird, sick one he's been sporting for most of the past few hours. “Be quiet,” he mutters. “Anyway, you're not—that much of a mess.”

You laugh, loud and sharp in the silence. “I'm very much a mess, Taehyun. There's no need to sugarcoat it for me. I've accepted it.”

“Y/N—” he starts, but you cut him off. “I go into like... hibernation, but more messed up because I'm not a bear for like. A week in a row. Sometimes. Because I have spiraling anxiety about deadlines and stuff and like, yeah, I'm going to therapy, but it still happens so you have to bring me coffee and cook for me and make me nap and shower because I can't really take care of myself like a normal human being sometimes, Taehyun. I'm like... a certified mess. By anyone's standards.”

Taehyun stays quiet for a moment. You realize then how much you dumped on him and how you really didn't mean to do that at all.

“That sounded kinda like trauma dumping, right?” You try to laugh. “Sorry. Didn't mean to. Just ignore everything—”

“I don't do any of that because I have to,” Taehyun says quietly. “I do it because I care about you and I worry about you sometimes. Not because I have to.”

You blink once. Twice. How do you respond to that?

“And like, you kind of are a mess,” he continues, “but it's not like the most destructive mess in the world. You realize what's up and you get help for the things you need help with. I think that's pretty commendable.”

Your heart is beating a little faster. This is not what you needed. Or expected. But for some reason you're getting it anyway.

“You're the one who came to me when you thought something was up,” he says. “The others didn't. They probably will, at some point, but you're the one who came first.”

Now you really don't know how to respond. Like even saying supercalifragilisticexpialidocious wouldn't cut it. Or whatever the fuck that word is.

“Y/N?” Taehyun's looking up at you now with a very strange expression on his face—not the sick one, not really, but very... earnest. And honest. It's how you know he wasn't lying with his words, not the way the fucked up part of your brain would try to have you believe.

“Huh? Yeah, I'm still here.” You smile. “I just—thanks, Taehyun.” Your voice drops a little. “I appreciate it. Really.”

“I appreciate you a lot,” Taehyun murmurs. “A lot of people appreciate you too. You just don't see it, sometimes.”

That's probably true, if you operate under the assumption that Taehyun's second statement is true. His first statement too. Which is a logical loophole because the veracity of the third statement relies on the truthfulness of the first two but your brain is a little fried from Taehyun's compliments so you decide to just take them at face value. He's probably right about all three things, as hard as it is for your little fucked up brain to believe. If people do appreciate you as much as he says, you have a hard time noticing it. But hey, that's what therapy's for.

“Maybe,” is what you eventually settle on as an answer. Ambiguous enough to not fully agree, but also to not fully disagree. Taehyun will understand. He always does. “Are you sleepy now?”

He frowns. “No.”

“Well, uh.” You check the time. Wow, you've been talking a while—it's almost six. “Do you want to try drinking the rest of your soup? I can heat it up again.”

Taehyun blinks. Coughs. Eyes the bowl of soup at the end of the table where you can't accidentally knock it over. Hobak might have a chance at it if he weren't asleep in the corner by now. “I can try,” he says warily. “I don't know if I'll be able to finish it, though.”

“Don't force yourself,” you say. “If you don't want to drink it, we can save it for like, tomorrow.”

Taehyun looks up at you with a strangely hopeful expression. “Are you going to stay until tomorrow?”

You pause. Well, it's more like you were planning to go home, fuck around with your word documents for several hours, pass out, and then come back. But with the way Taehyun is looking at you... “Do you want me to stay?” you ask.

He burrows into his blankets even more, like he's shy. If you weren't sure that Taehyun would find some terrible blackmail on you and leak it to all your good for nothing friends, you'd take a picture. “Kinda,” he mumbles.

“I mean, uh...” You think. You have your laptop with you and there's another bowl of soup for yourself waiting on the stove. “I'd probably have to go home and get a few things. But if you really want, I could stay the night...?”

“Please,” he mumbles into the blankets. “I don't really want to be alone.”

“You're so cute when you're sick,” you coo, patting his head. The look on his face would be more menacing if he wasn't curled up in a blanket burrito with a very red nose sticking out. You tell him as much.

“Stop being mean to me when I'm sick,” he mutters.

“I'm not being mean. I'm telling the truth.” You point at the half empty bowl of soup. “Now do you want to try and drink the rest of it, or no?”

He does end up finishing about a third of the remaining soup before he decides his stomach can't handle more. You get another glass of water into him before pulling your own soup out from its spot on the stove, and then you put on some random white noise Netflix drama on Taehyun's laptop as you eat your own dinner. Taehyun makes interesting commentary on the characters and you shit on the plot. At some point, Hobak wanders into your lap, and Taehyun complains about his cat liking you more than him. It's like things are back to normal, except for his sniffling and coughing and you periodically helping him sip water from his glass.

Eventually he does doze off and only then does Hobak decide it's time to snuggle with his owner, so you take the opportunity to clean up the living room table a little, sweeping a few tissues into the trash can and wiping down the table itself. His place is still annoyingly clean even though he's sick—if you were in his position in your apartment, it'd be even more of a shiftiest than it is now—and when you're done washing the dishes and throwing things away, you finally check your phone.

More memes from Beomgyu, a cat picture from Kai, a missed call from Soobin and a following text. You open that up first.

did u find taehyun? is he ok?

You rattle off a quick message in reply.

he's sick at his apartmnt. dw I made him soup and he's sleeping now sorry didn't se ur call earlir

Immediately your phone buzzes with some sort of response, but your brain is already headed in a different direction. Namely trying to decide whether or not you should change the towel on Taehyun's head again. You end up changing it because he still feels pretty warm, but his nose is dotted with sweat. Maybe his fever will break soon.

Settling back down on the floor, you scroll through your phone for a bit and answer Soobin's ensuing text as well as the other meme messages before remembering that you're staying the night, which means you need to head back home and get a few things.

Taehyun's still asleep, though. And you feel kind of bad leaving him here without any notice, even if you know you'll be coming back within an hour. You debate between waking him up and just leaving a note, but in the end you decide to shake him awake a little. He wouldn't want to wake up to just a note, you know that much.

“Taehyun.” You nudge his shoulder lightly. “Taehyun.”

He mumbles a little, eyes blinking open slowly. “Wha…”

“Don't move, you'll disturb Hobak.” You hold him in place. “I'm going to go back to my place to get a few things,” you whisper. “I'll be back within an hour.”

You turn to leave, but something's tugging you back. You look behind you to see one of Taehyun's hands gripping your sleeve.

“... Taehyun?”

“Don't go,” he murmurs adorably, and your heart nearly breaks at the sight. “I have stuff. Spare toothbrush under sink. Sleep on my bed.”

“Taehyun, as much as I appreciate it, I need clothes,” you say. “Not just a toothbrush. Probably a towel too, I'd like to shower. Remember?” You wiggle your fingers. “You're all germy and gross and I've been here for several hours.”

“I have extra towels,” he protests, his eyes blinking awake further. Damn it, this is ruining all your plans to just shake him awake and be on your way in a minute. “And you can wear my clothes. I have stuff that'll fit.”

You have to buffer for a minute to make sure you're hearing this correctly. “Me. Wear your clothes.”

Taehyun nods.

So you weren't hallucinating sounds. You shake your head. “Taehyun, seriously.”

“I'm being serious,” he whines. And he looks so very heartbroken at the thought of you leaving, even if it's just for an hour, that you actually find yourself reconsidering. Kang Taehyun, a full grown man with muscles and a sleep schedule, is acting like a child and melting your heart in the process. “You can use my shampoo and soap too.”

Oh, God. He's being so ridiculously convincing. What is his problem. You sigh. “I'm going to make a mess, probably.”

“I don't care.” Taehyun pouts and it's even more ridiculously convincing. “Everything's already messy.”

You look around. That's a blatant fucking lie. Everything is still in very much spotless condition. But when you look back at him with a raised eyebrow, Taehyun's eyes are already fluttering shut like a cute little baby and you find your heart melting again. “You can't deny me my dying request,” he mumbles.

“I never thought you'd be this dramatic when you were sick,” you mutter. “All right, all right, I'll stay. On one condition.” You point at him. “Go back to sleep.”

His eyes narrow. “Promise you won't leave?”

You sigh again. “I promise.”

He goes quiet, then, his eyes fluttering shut. You turn toward the bathroom, ready to take stock of whatever he's got in his unnecessarily neat cabinets, but a little noise makes you look back once more. “Hm?”

“Can you pat my hair,” Taehyun mumbles, so quietly you can barely hear. He looks half asleep—his eyes aren't even open as he speaks. “'s soothing.”

That's it. Sick Taehyun is actually going to kill you because of cuteness overload. You settle on the edge of the table like you did when you were feeding him, not even bothering to hide the smile on your face anymore. “Sure, Taehyun,” you say, stroking through his messy hair. “Feel better?”

“Mm.” He snuggles deeper into the blankets. Your heart is melting more than you thought it could. “Thanks.”

“No problem,” you murmur. “Sleep now, okay?”

“Mm,” he mumbles. He's already half gone.

You smile wider as his breath evens into sleep.

. . . . .

One shower and requisite cleanup later, you've settled on the small armchair by the couch and set up your laptop to write. No longer does a blank word document stare back at you menacingly when you open the application, which is encouraging, and for some reason, the soft sound of Taehyun's sleeping breaths is good background noise as you try to get into this final chapter.

Once you've lost yourself in the writing, it can take anywhere from a few hours to like, a day, or maybe three or five days, for you to pull yourself out of the daze. When you look up from your laptop, eyes burning with the need to look at something that isn't a screen and throat parched for water, the clock says it's a few minutes past midnight.

Time for a break, then. You sneak a glance at Taehyun, who's still fast asleep. If he were awake he'd be forcing you to drink water right about now, anyway.

You down a glass of water in the kitchen, then bring another back into the living room only to see that Taehyun has since shifted in his sleep and is about to kick off all his blankets. Probably half due to Hobak, who has made a nest right on top of him and clawed off several sheets.

That can't be a good thing. You go to pull them back up around him but he shifts again, this time actually kicking half the blanket burrito off of him. Hobak does not help matters by waking up and skittering his way off the couch, taking the other half of the burrito with him. In the process, he also manages to drag Taehyun's shirt... up.

Oh. Okay. This is—totally fine. So, super, totally fine. You put down your glass of water before you can do something like drop it and shatter it and make a huge mess that you're unqualified to clean. Like, logically, you know that Taehyun goes to the gym every day he can, but somehow you did... not make the connection between gym every day and abs.  

Because Taehyun has abs. Very nice ones, in fact. The intrusive thoughts are telling you to touch them but you have just enough sense at ten minutes past midnight to abstain, which is something you should earn an award for. Instead, you avert your gaze and pull the blankets back over him as much as possible, swatting away the image of abs abs abs abs abs whenever it comes up. Which is too many times for a single minute.

You sigh, looking back at your abandoned laptop. Part of you wants to go back to writing but another part of you still wants a break (aka time to think about abs abs abs abs—shut the fuck up), so you pull out your phone and settle on the ground. If it's past midnight, that means the new day's wordle is up.

Sure enough, a blank puzzle greets you when you pull up the site. You try a random first guess—grief, it's got two vowels so it can't be too bad—and come up with some decent clues. Hm...

Your second guess goes without much luck. So does your third, though at least all the letters that are confirmed to be in the word are in the correct place. You scan the rest of the keyboard that isn't completely blacked out. What makes sense? Is there even a word that makes sense? What if it's something stupid and contrived, or even worse, a word with a repeating letter—

“Merit.”

You shriek.

Taehyun blinks owlishly from above on his perch on the couch, staring at you heaving on the floor. “Y/N?”

“Jesus Christ,” you gasp. “Taehyun, don't scare me like that—I thought you were asleep—”

“I was. Then I woke up.” He blinks. “I feel better, I think.”

“Let me check your fever.” You place a hand to his head. Even under the lingering coolness coming from the mostly warmed over cloth, you can tell he's come down a few degrees. “Oh, good. It looks like you aren't lying.”

Taehyun scowls. It almost looks like a normal expression for him. “Of course I wasn't lying.”

“Uh uh.” You shake your head. “I'm ninety nine percent sure you'd probably lie to me so that you could end up going to work tomorrow. Don't try to refute me.”

He grumbles, but in the end says nothing. You take that as a win. “Give me a second, I'm going to change the towel.”

With a new towel on his forehead and the sweat wiped away from the rest of his face, Taehyun actually looks somewhat better than the death warmed over look you saw on him when you first arrived earlier today. Or yesterday, since it's past midnight. Wow, your schedule is seriously fucked.

You sit back on your heels. “Okay, what were you saying before? Something about merit?”

Taehyun blinks. “Your wordle. Try merit.”

You look down at your phone where it's lying on the floor, your incorrect wordle guesses staring back up at you, taunting you like you're a fucking imbecile who can't guess the correct word in three tries or less. You blink, picking up your phone. Merit might actually work... You tap it in.

“Shut the fuck up,” you whisper, staring at the screen in horror.

It's the correct answer. It's the correct fucking answer. You glare at Taehyun, who glances back at you innocently from his little burrito on the couch. “Was it correct?”

“Yes, it was, you—argh.” You put your phone down before you can do something stupid like throw it across the room. “Why the fuck are you being my editor when you're sick as a dog?”

Taehyun blinks. “I'm not being your editor.”

“STOP EDITING MY GUESSES!” you screech.

“I didn't edit anything,” he replies in a matter of fact tone that makes you want to scream even louder. “I just found the correct answer.”

You groan, flopping to the floor. “I hate you.”

“If you hated me, you wouldn't still be here.”

You glare at him. “Bet. I'll leave right now.”

“You wouldn't.” Taehyun stares back at you, steady, resolute, but...

Aw. There was a little tremble of uncertainty in his voice.

Instantly your heart melts, but you have too much pride (you shouldn't, your dignity was flushed down the drain at birth) to give in completely. “Yeah, I won't leave,” you say, rolling your eyes. “I'm staying until you get better, doofus. Now go back to sleep. I don't know why you woke up.”

Taehyun pouts. “Can I get some water?”

“Anything for you, Your Majesty.”

He successfully drinks half of the glass you bring back to him, and then you have to help him shuffle to the bathroom. When he comes out, you shuffle him back to the couch, where he collapses into a blanket burrito once more. “Sleepy,” he mumbles. “Pat my head.”

“What a demanding little child you are.” You start patting his head anyway. “Go to bed, Taehyun. You'll feel better in the morning.”

“Mm.” He snuggles closer to your hand, and you have to fight back a coo for the umpteenth time today. Or in the past twenty four hours, because it's Saturday. Allegedly. “Goodnight.”

You laugh a little, stroking his hair. “Goodnight, Taehyun.”

. . . . .

In the morning, Taehyun's fever has mostly broken, and by midafternoon, he's able to get up and walk around. Soobin and Yeonjun show up at lunch with some convenience store soup that he can actually taste, and then for dinner, when Beomgyu and Kai come around, you make your mom's famous soup and all of them say it tastes better than convenience store anything. You beam with pride.

All this is to say that when evening comes, you're mostly convinced that Taehyun is actively getting better (he hasn't had a coughing fit in five hours, you were counting) and he probably won't die if you don't spend the night. Taehyun doesn't seem as convinced, but when you show him the reading on the thermometer that Beomgyu brought along, he kind of acquiesces. At least that's what you think he does when he sinks back into the couch.

“Look, your nose isn't even that red anymore.” You show him a picture you took when he was sleeping, then snap another picture right now before he can protest. “See the difference? Before and after. It's evidence.” Taehyun likes evidence.  

So eventually, after washing your clothes from yesterday and changing from the t-shirt and sweatpants Taehyun lent you, you head back to your apartment. It's dark and Taehyun-less and Hobak-less and for a moment, standing in the doorway, you feel a little lonely, but then you remember you have a deadline to meet in three days and half a chapter left to write and your mind decides to latch onto that.

Which is to say when Taehyun calls two days later, demanding you open your door, you're mostly a mess. Not entirely, because it's only half a chapter and you have probably just a few paragraphs left, but you've written the ending three different times and each time it just sucked more. You'd probably start biting things if it weren't for Taehyun's call.

Stumbling out of your little writer cave, you throw open your apartment door. “Hi. Why did you ask if I had a mask.”

“I forgot one from home and I thought you might possibly be sick. Also, I might have leftover germs.” Taehyun pushes into the door, vaguely reminiscent of when you shoved yourself into his apartment the day you found out he was sick. “Have you eaten? And do you have one?”

You blink. He looks... mostly normal. There's a little sparkle back in his eyes, and even though you can't see his nose under the mask to tell how red it is, he doesn't sound nearly as congested anymore as he used to be. He actually came all the way to your apartment so he can't be feeling too bad.

But there's still something kind of... off. You're not sure what it is. Maybe it's the remnants of sickness still clinging to his body, but while the conjecture makes sense, it doesn't feel right.

He looks at you. “Are you listening to me?”

“… No.”

Taehyun sighs. “I asked if you've eaten. And if you have a mask.”

“I ran out of masks like two weeks ago and forgot to restock.” Ignoring Taehyun’s groan, you purse your lips. “I... think I ate a cup of ramen last night.” A memory returns of you dumping an empty ramen cup into the wastebasket by your desk. “Yeah, I definitely ate ramen last night.”

“So maybe you aren't sick.” Taehyun sighs, and it sounds kind of relieved. “What were you thinking, coming over and staying the night when I was sick?”

“I—what?” You poke his forehead. “You were the one insisting that I stay over! Do you remember yourself? You were literally begging me to stay, you wouldn’t let me leave to even get clothes—”

“You shouldn't have agreed!” Taehyun snaps, and that's when you see the anxiety buzzing around his figure. Ah. That's what was off about him. He looks a little jumpy. “You should have gone home and not worried, Y/N, I would've been fine.”

“No, you wouldn't have.” You wish you hadn’t left your phone in the office, you could show him pictures—evidence—that he was sick as a fucking dog for the day you were there. “You were dead and dying on your couch. Who was going to take care of you? Hobak?”

Taehyun looks at you for a very long moment, almost tensed to spring. Then, all of a sudden, he deflates. “I didn't want you to get sick too,” he mumbles. “You already overwork yourself.”

“Says you.” You snort. “And you’re forgetting, I have an immune system made of steel.”

All Taehyun does is raise an eyebrow.

Damn, you forgot that he's mostly back to normal, which means you can't get away with speaking outrageous untruths because he'll catch you in them immediately. “Well, that means you're better,” you mutter.

“Huh?”

“You're judging me with that raised eyebrow.” You point. “It took you a whole three or five seconds or something to process my bullshit when I came over. Now you're back to dealing with it in one.”

“I feel like your standards for determining whether or not I'm sick are kind of concerning,” Taehyun replies. “Whether or not I'm able to judge you.”

“Well, it's that, and also you look considerably better than when you were burritoed on the couch with Hobak sitting on you like a fluffy hat. In addition to the fact that you were able to get on the subway and walk here like a normal human being.” You blink. “Anyway, why are you here? I have a deadline. I feel like I probably mentioned this to you. Actually wait, you're my editor. Don't you have my deadlines memorized better than I do?”

Suddenly, Taehyun looks very... embarrassed. Which is interesting and concerning because he rarely looks embarrassed. You've seen shy Taehyun, giggly Taehyun, cute Taehyun, but never really embarrassed Taehyun.

“Just...” He shrugs slightly, then doesn't say anything else.

You put your hand to his forehead and he jumps. It's not feverish, but you still narrow your eyes. “Are you still sick? You're weirdly jumpy today.”

“I'm not sick,” he mumbles. “I just... thanks.” He swallows very visibly. “For taking care of me.”

You blink once. Twice. It's like when he complimented you when he was ill—how the fuck do you respond to that?

“It's fine,” you eventually say, feeling like something is definitely not fine because there's still tension in the air except you don't know how to resolve it. “I mean, you're always taking care of me. It was the least I could do for you.”

For some reason, that seems to upset Taehyun more. His eyebrows knit together like he's worried and you have no idea why anything you said could have made him more jumpy or nervous or upset. “... Taehyun? Are you mad?”

“It's not a negotiation,” he says, and now you're more confused than ever. Negotiation?

“It's not like... a tradeoff.” He blinks and this time you can't look away from his big eyes looking at you like the saddest, most worried puppy in the world. “I take care of you because I like taking care of you.”

Vaguely, a memory starts to re-form from when Taehyun was sick and you were sitting by him on the couch and you were probably patting his head while talking. Or maybe not. You're not entirely sure. But you do very much remember talking about how he shouldn't need to make you take care of yourself because you should be able to do it on your own, but your brain has made it clear that one some days you can't, and then he said something very akin to what he just said...

I don't do any of that because I have to. I do it because I care about you and I worry about you sometimes. Not because I have to.

You didn't know how to respond then. You still don't know how to respond now.

“Uh.” You blink. “Is this about, like. What I said when you were conked out on the couch.”

Taehyun sighs. “Kind of, yeah.”

“Okay, we can probably move past that.” You try to smile. “I mean, like. I'm getting help. I'm figuring things out. At some point I'll actually be able to deal with my own shit, hopefully.”

“That's the point,” Taehyun snaps, looking even more upset. “I don't take care of you because it's an obligation, Y/N.”

You're starting to get a little annoyed now, too. “Okay, you've said that several times. It's not as if I don't believe it at all, Taehyun. I don’t really get what you’re trying to say.”

“God.” He puts his face into his hands and stays there for one very awkward, charged moment. When he lifts his head again, though, he looks a little calmer. “You just... act, sometimes, like me taking care of you is this huge burden on me. It isn't.” He takes a deep breath. “I like taking care of you, Y/N. Seriously.”

He's said that twice now. That means, logically, that it's probably true. Logically. But mentally, your brain has decided not to compute it properly. “Uh.” You try your best to hold his very intense gaze. “I gotta ask—why would you ever enjoy taking care of my bitch ass?”

Taehyun almost laughs. You can see it. You can fucking see it and it's more of a relief than anything else, honestly, to see him able to laugh.

“Do I really have to spell it out for you?” he asks, now smiling slightly.

You blink. “Spell what out?”

“Y/N.” He steps closer, and suddenly you become much more aware of the very short distance between the two of you. You were already cutting it kind of close before in this little entryway, and now you're even closer. “I like taking care of you because I like you.”

I like you.

Oh. Oh wow. Okay. That's certainly—a statement. A very strange one. One that could be taken—in a myriad of ways, certainly. Probably he meant it in a friendly way. Like, as in he likes you as a good friend and likes taking care of you that way.

But even the idiot part of your brain knows you'd be stupid to think that with the way he's looking at you right now.

“Uh.” Your voice is a lot squeakier than you'd like it to be. “You don't, uh, mean it, like, in, um, a friend way. Right?”

Taehyun shakes his head. “No, I don't.”

Holy shit. Holy shit. You're probably going to have an aneurysm. Okay, he confirmed it which means your brain can stop being a fucking stupid idiot now, he confirmed it and there is literally no reason for him to lie.

Okay, but what if—

“You're not lying to me, right?”

Taehyun blinks. “Why would I lie to you about this?”

Exactly. Shut up, brain. You smile. It probably looks somewhat insane. “Sorry. Brain being stupid. But. Uh. Let me get this straight.” You take a deep breath that feels a little too shaky when it comes out. “You like me.”

Taehyun doesn't even bat an eye. “Yes.”

Oh. Okay. Wow. You close your eyes for a long moment. Maybe this is a dream. But when you open them, Taehyun is still there.

Probably not a dream, then.

You take a deep breath. “Okay, so—you, Kang Taehyun of the gym bros—”

“I'm not a gym bro.”

“—You go to the gym every day, you're definitely a gym bro—of the men who own cats, of perfect abs and bringing me coffee when I haven't seen the light of day for a week, like me, Y/N, writer gremlin extraordinaire and stupid bitch supreme.” You pause. “Did I get that right?”

“You're not stupid.” Taehyun frowns. “Also, when did you see my abs?”

Your mind chooses then to very conveniently place the memory of Hobak dragging several sheets to the floor while clawing Taehyun's shirt up at the forefront of your memory. Horrible. Terrible. You're going to have to have your therapist order you a brain transplant sometime soon.

“You kinda rolled over in your sleep at one point and dropped half the blankets to the floor.” It's kind of funny watching Taehyun's face redden with embarrassment. Or at least it would be if you weren't internally screaming as much as you currently are. “And then Hobak was sleeping on top of you but woke up so he dragged the rest of them with him and in the process he kinda rolled your shirt up and you flashed me.”

Taehyun is very red. Redder than you've ever seen him. And you've seen him drunk. Also very sick.

Before your brain can tell you to shut the fuck up, your mouth decides to speak again. “I covered you with the blanket. Promise.”

“Oh God.” Taehyun puts his face back in his hands. “This is…”

“Look, you just said that you liked me,” you protest. “I feel like this is a fair trade. Or something.”

He looks up at you, deadpan. “A confession for... what exactly? The reveal of an ab reveal?”

“Oh come on, you go to the gym every day and anyone can see the results. You having abs would probably be the least surprising thing ever.” You scoff, very blatantly ignoring the fact that you were extremely surprised for zero reason about him having ridiculously sculpted abdominal muscles.

Taehyun groans. “This is a terrible conversation.”

“As I'm pretty sure most conversations with me are.” You smile widely. It definitely looks insane because you don't know what else to do and when that happens all you end up able to do is smile like a serial killer. “Are you rethinking your past words?”

“No!”

You jump. Taehyun also seems to realize the volume of his words because he kind of cringes into himself. “Sorry. But no, I'm not.”

This is terrible. Not even a ridiculously horrible conversation with you and your over caffeinated, sleep deprived brain is deterring him. You ignore the therapist voice part of your brain that asks why you want to deter him and look him straight in the eye. “Why?”

Taehyun blinks. “What?”

“Why.” You gesture vaguely to the air. “Why do you like me, even now?”

“What do you mean, even now?” Taehyun raises an eyebrow and oooh, this is terrible, he's taking another step closer and there's probably like two feet of distance at most separating your bodies. Vaguely you remember that you haven't even stepped out of the entryway, that you're both still standing right in front of the door. “Your conversations are a very physical manifestation of you, and I like you. So why would talking with you change my mind?”

“Okay, when you put it like that, it makes sense.” You huff. “But also, my brain can't exactly wrap its mind around the fact that someone with their life so put together at almost all times likes me, a...” A meme gif that Beomgyu once sent you pops into mind. It was a blue dumpster set on fire floating down what you presumed was a flooded street. It seems to fit the situation. “A certified dumpster fire that’s floating down a flooded street.”

Taehyun laughs. He actually laughs and you don't know what to do with it. He looks ridiculously cute and it's doing unhealthy things to your heart—like making it skip beats or some shit. “Where do you keep getting these things?”

“Beomgyu.”

“Figures.” He shakes his head. “You may be a certified dumpster fire, but you're also very much... Y/N. A kind, wonderful, amazing person who writes extremely well and has a way with words that makes me cry, who always tries their best in everything they set out to do, who makes a really amazing sick person soup that I would eat even if I wasn't sick.”

He's smiling now and it's doing even worse things to your heart. You never liked the metaphor of someone's heart beating out of their chest because it reminded you a little too much of panic attacks, but now you kind of feel like you need to use it because there's nothing else to explain this feeling. At least it's being used in a situation where you are very much not about to have a panic attack.

Taehyun's continuing. He's continuing with no regard for your sanity and you can't even stop him because your throat is refusing to allow you to speak. “I like that you're self-aware, Y/N, and I like that you're honest. But I also think that you never really understand that you're capable of a lot more than you give yourself credit for.” His smile softens.

That’s it. You're going to need him to pay your hospital bills. And therapy bills. Actually, your therapist might need to bill him because he's all you’re going to be able to talk about for several sessions straight, just your really hot editor and his really cute smile.

“You're brilliant, you're smart, and you're funny and kind, and really, I don't see how anyone couldn't like you.” Taehyun looks a little nervous now but he keeps going. “Honestly.”

You open your mouth. And then close it, mostly because you think if you try to say anything you're going to make some noise that is extremely reminiscent of a dying whale. It takes you a second to compose yourself and get rid of the stupid lump growing in your throat but finally, you've convinced your brain that you are sane enough to speak—

“My therapist is going to hear about you.”

Oh God. Oh fucking God. You really just said that. And you've scared Taehyun, look at his big eyes, what the fuck is wrong with you why are you such a monster—

“Uh.” He blinks. “Why?”

You blink too and it surprises you to realize that there are tears beginning to form behind your eyes. This is worse than you thought it would be.

“Because you're hot and sweet and kind and you always take care of me even though technically you're just my editor and like I've talked to my therapist about the hot gym bro editor in the office before but that was mostly because we were like, friends or something, and I was worried that you were doing too much for me and I wasn't doing enough for you so then she told me about friendships being a two way street and that I'm definitely not the one forcing you into taking care of me so you're probably doing it of your own volition. And we worked on enforcing that for my brain for a while but that was in a friend context and I never told her that I had a kind of dumb stupid kid crush on you but now you're telling me you actually like me as something that is not a friend and you are complimenting me and holy shit I have so much to unpack.” You take a deep, shaky breath. “My therapist is going to hear about this for the next twenty sessions and she's going to get sick of hearing me talk about you and your smile so she's going to have to bill you because you’re the one who did this to me.”

Great, you're really crying now. Shoving the heels of your palms into your eyes in a botched attempt to stop the tears, you try to breathe. “Pay my fucking hospital bills, dipshit, you're going to send me into cardiac arrest.”

“How about I try something else instead of paying your hospital bills?” Taehyun's voice sounds above you, light, amused, entirely too sweet for your brain to handle. And then—as if that wasn't fucking enough—two warm arms begin to encircle your body, slow, slow, and you know this is Taehyun's way of reminding you that you could back away at any point and he won't take offense, but it feels really fucking good to be hugged right now so you let him wrap you up tight against his chest, your head knocking against his shoulder. “Is this okay?”

“... I'm going to cry into your shirt.”

Taehyun laughs. His chest kind of rumbles with the sound and it feels ridiculously soothing to your still rapidly beating heart. “That's fine,” he says. “I think I coughed on your clothes a lot more when you were taking care of me.”

“Yeah. About that.” You swallow, choking back another round of tears. “Why were you so pissed about me taking care of you? You'd do the exact same thing for me. You already do the exact same thing for me.”

“... I don't think I've ever taken care of you when you were sick to oblivion, Y/N.”

“You bring me coffee like clockwork every three days when I descend into writer gremlin oblivion and force me to eat, sleep, and shower.” You gulp. “That's how I knew something was wrong with you. Five days passed and you didn't come.” You blink. “Oh, also Soobin said you didn't come in to work that day.”

“Yeah, I know. You told me, remember?” And vaguely you do remember, which should probably make you feel embarrassed at having repeated knowledge to Taehyun who apparently still retains information even when his brain is working at twenty five percent capacity, but now he's patting the back of your head and you kind of just want to space out into the void. “And... I just, I know how you are sometimes. I know how you try to take care of yourself, but even then, I know your immune system can be kind of shit.” Taehyun sighs. “I got worried that you got sick because of me, and I really hated that, and then you weren’t answering my texts for a while...”

“I had a deadline.” You blink. “I still have it.”

“I know. But I also wasn't thinking properly.” He pulls you a bit closer and it makes you want to cry harder. This is too sweet. Too nice. Too comfortable. Too much Taehyun, you’re drowning in him. “It's kind of hard to think properly around you, you know.”

“I live in my own brain, Taehyun.” You let out a very wet laugh. “I don't think properly around me. Ever.”

“Touché.” He joins your laugh. “But in my case, it's because you're sometimes a little too brilliant.”

“Or because I talk a little too fast,” you reply in an effort to deflect because if you let yourself process how sweet that was you’re going to probably die right here and now.

“That too.” He pats your back. “But mostly the first reason.”

His admission forces you to process it, which brings a fresh round of tears to your eyes and now you're getting snot on his shirt instead of just saltwater. “Sorry,” you mumble. “I'm feeling a lot of emotions right now.”

“I can tell.” You can't bring yourself to look up at him just yet, but you're certain you hear a smile in Taehyun's voice. “It's okay. I'm feeling a lot of emotions too.”

“You're not crying, though.”

“Just because I'm crying doesn't mean I'm not feeling anything.” He pulls back just enough that you look up again to whine about why, but then you lock eyes with him and every word in your throat dies. “Remember? You're the one who said crying was an overused tool to make characters show emotion.”

Fuck. You did say that. You said that on like your second time meeting him when you went off on a rant about cliches and tropes and ended with the caveat that while they can be done well, some people just overuse them for the heck of it and you hate it. “I can't believe you remember that fucking rant,” you mutter.

“I remember a lot of things about you.” Taehyun smiles. Your heart is on its way to beating out of your chest again. “Sorry, was that too cheesy?”

“Yes,” you snap, but Taehyun's smile only widens. “Stop it. You're going to send me into cardiac arrest for the second time.”

He raises an eyebrow. “Second time?”

“Yeah, the first was when I saw your abs.”

That was a terrible thing to say. Horrible. For you and for Taehyun. You because you can't get the image out of your brain for the nth time, and Taehyun because his ears are turning red again.

“… Sorry.”

“It's... fine.” Taehyun coughs a little, but it doesn't sound like a sick cough. More like a clearing his throat cough. It sounds kind of shy, which is very cute. “Sorry. I'm just kind of... shy about it.”

You blink. “Why are you shy about your fucking abs?”

“I just am.” Taehyun pouts and you kind of want to slap it off. Or kiss it. Or both. None of those choices are probably a good idea at the moment.

Silence kind of falls for a moment. It's not that uncomfortable. The tension from before is gone, at least. But then Taehyun has to ruin it with his sweet little voice and sweet little smile. Bastard.

“I don't think you ever responded to my confession,” he says, once again trapping you with his dark eyes that you can't seem to look away from in times like these.

You make a very intelligent noise. It sounds something like 'uh.'

“I said I like you.” Taehyun is taking no prisoners now. Actually, he'll have your heart soon if he keeps looking at you like this. “Do you have anything to say to that?”

“... I told you already that I had a dumb kid crush on you.”

Taehyun shrugs. “Does that dumb kid crush mean you still like me too?”

You stare at him for a moment. “Are you really going to make me say it?”

He grins. “Yeah.”

“You're a terrible human being, Kang Taehyun.” You jab a finger into his chest, which was absolutely the wrong thing to do because it is hard and muscled and now you're having bad thoughts again. About abs. “I feel like a fucking middle schooler,” you mutter. “I like you.”

“Could you say it again?” Your jaw drops as Taehyun looks at you, all doe-eyed and innocent with so much evil brimming behind that sweet expression. A true demon in disguise. “I didn't really hear you.”

You stare at him for one second. Two. Three.

It's like it happens in slow motion. You watch your arm shoot out, fingers grabbing a fistful of the front of Taehyun's shirt. You watch yourself jerk the arm back, see Taehyun's eyes widen for a just a moment before—

You're kissing him. You're kissing Kang Taehyun, your editor, your good friend, the boy you just nursed back to health like three days ago, the guy you've had a dumb idiot crush on for longer than is probably healthy and who apparently has a dumb idiot crush on you too.

Taehyun makes this small noise into your mouth and your brain promptly goes blank.

When you come to, you've both pulled away, somehow, and you're trying to breathe properly. Which is an ordeal, considering you just kissed Taehyun—you just kissed Taehyun—and remembering that in and of itself is taking all of your brainpower. There's none left for air.

“I like you, Taehyun,” you say too loudly and too clearly, but it's worth it for the sparkly doe-eyed look that burst full force into Taehyun's expression. Yeah. The imminent cardiac arrest is totally worth it.

Wait. Cardiac arrest. Your mind whirls. Hospital. Sick.

Taehyun was sick two days ago.

“Oh, shit.”

Taehyun blinks like he's just come back to Earth. “What?”

You try for a sheepish smile. “So, uh. What are the chances of me getting sick, now that I've kissed you?”

(You succumb to chills, snot, and a light fever exactly one day after your deadline has passed. Taehyun arrives with an overnight bag, plenty of disinfecting wipes, and several surgical masks that he wears the entire time he's here. Which is nice because he shouldn't get sick a second time, but also terrible because you can't kiss him.

It's okay, though. Because when you're finally feeling well once more, the two of you go to meet your publisher at the office, and Taehyun doesn't let go of your hand the whole way there. And when you leave, in full view of the entire lobby and all of your friends parked at various angles around it—

He kisses you. Once, soft, light, gentle.

Someone gasps. Someone else screams.

Grinning widely, you pull him in for a second one immediately after.)

If you enjoyed, please don’t forget to reblog and leave a comment to tell me what you thought! Thank you for reading and have a lovely day <3

(1 reblog = 1 flower over my fucking casket I'm so down bad for taehyun it’s a problem)

#ficscafe #txt #tomorrow x together #tomorrow by together #txt taehyun #taehyun #kang taehyun #taehyun x reader #taehyun imagines #taehyun scenarios #taehyun fluff #txt scenarios #tomorrow x together scenarios #taehyun oneshots #taehyun fanfic #taehyun au #txt fanfic #txt oneshots #txt taehyun x reader #txt x reader #fluff #slice of life!au #tw meds #tw cursing #tw panic attack mention #taking care #blossom-hwa

[cherriscoups]

The Ghost of Noria University | Episode 02

Pairing: Seungcheol x Fem!Reader (ft. SVT & other idols)

Words: 1.4k

Content: strangers to lovers, college au, non-idol!Seungcheol, workaholic!reader, reader has implied social anxiety, she/her pronouns used to describe reader

Warnings: mentions of xenophobia, insecurities

A/N: ngl, I've been procrastinating on writing this. I know these episodes are short but my attention span is shorter lol. and yes a part of this is just me projecting. ps I'm not a uni student so I don't exactly know how uni works ._. sorryy

disclaimer: this is purely fictional. any resemblance to actual persons or events is purely coincidental.

Masterlist Previously Next

Seungcheol.

He was in your extra credit class last semester. One of the popular boys, the kind that has everyone’s attention, which worked out well for you since the girls that liked him always tried to grab his attention. It made your life easier knowing that you could easily slip out of class the moment it ended. That was honestly all that you knew about him. You only took that class for the extra credit. The class wasn’t even in your main faculty and if it wasn’t just an extra credit for him as well, it meant that the both of you studied different courses. 

A part of you wanted his attention too. But there were eyes on him at all times and any attempt to interact with him would only leave you with having to deal with attention. Not only was this guy attractive, he seemed like a great leader too. He took charge of a lot during that class which made him all the more attractive. 2 classes was all it took for you to acknowledge the fact that if you weren't scared of attention, you too would be one of those girls who chased after him. But of course, that might affect your grades so you were kind of grateful you weren’t chasing him. 

“So is he like a crush crush or just an eye candy?” You once told your roommate, Doyeon, about him. To you, he was just someone you found attractive, like a lot of people. You didn’t mention his name though. Of course, you had to bribe her into not telling your other friends. It kind of hurt you a little knowing that you could be as outgoing as Minnie, as confident as Doyeon or as independent as Lisa, Minnie’s roommate. Except, you aren’t any of that. 

Moving to Korea really wasn’t as sunshine-y as you foolishly anticipated. When you first moved, you ended up dealing with some hate. Some people apologised upon realising that you could understand them but only because they got caught, not because they meant it. The people in your university weren’t like that though. Majority of the people you’ve met are welcoming to the international students who chose to study here. Regardless, you told yourself to stay away from any attention which somehow manifested itself into a fear of attention.  

You felt the notebook next to your hand move. It was at this moment when you realised that during your ‘argument’ with Chan and Jun, Doyeon and Minnie had started to pack your books. “Put those down.” You say, still being painfully aware of Seungcheol’s presence by the door. “I have 3 days till my last paper of this semester and then I'll stop coming here. ok? I just really need to study."

You notice how Doyeon gripped onto Minnie as Minnie smiled sheepishly while putting your books back onto the table. Jun was actively trying to avoid all eye contact. Chan just shakes his head with disappointment. And Seungcheol? He smirked. He smirked. 

And then he left. 

Doyeon watches him leave and closes the door once he is completely out of sight. She takes a deep breath and then starts squealing like a teenager. “You saw that too! You saw how he looked at you! God, he’s so hot for that!” It’s now Minnie’s turn to sigh. 

“He’s the secret admirer?” The Mr Has Everyone’s Attention has a crush on you? You almost laugh at that thought. You probably would have laughed if you didn’t know him. 

“Apparently he’s been trying to book this room and someone probably told him that you were the one hogging this room.” Jun tries to say it in a way without having to actually say that there is a rumour that this room is haunted by you. 

“Ah.” 

But it’s easy to catch on when you hear people around you constantly whisper about the ghost. It took you a while to realise that it was about you. As much as you hate the name and the attention it gives you, you find it amusing to see people talk about you without realising it’s you. 

Have we met?

Time flies at an awful speed and somehow it's already the spring semester. 

You and Doyeon walk over to the cafe that’s by the back alley outside of the university. This cafe was always quieter than the ones by the main road (because it’s in a back alley) so your friends often met up here. You saw Minnie, Lisa and another girl sitting by the window. The other girl was one of Lisa’s friends. Jisoo. While Minnie and Lisa were roommates, Lisa studied a different course from the rest of your friends so she often hung out with her friends from her faculty. 

Lisa and Jisoo will be taking your class as extra credit so Minnie thought it would be a good idea to introduce Jisoo to your friends since they didn’t know anyone else in your faculty. Jisoo’s friendly and you’re glad that you got to meet her. Chan and Jun show up a little while later. The 7 of you get breakfast and decide to meet like this every Monday before your class. 

Given the fact that you still had 30 minutes till your class starts, you all decided to take your time walking to your class. When you got to class, you all decided to sit towards the back. None of you have ever taken a class with this professor so you were curious about how his style of teaching would be. 

The first disaster of the day started when the girls in your class started squealing when the door flung open. He was here. Seungcheol strolled in with 2 of his best friends, Jeonghan and Joshua. You knew them but of course they didn’t know you. Well, at least you think. Doyeon leans in to whisper, “The blonde one is so handsome!” Jeonghan. You can see her almost shaking with excitement. You and Minnie attempt to hold her down to calm her down. You almost want to tell her his name. Almost. But you aren’t ready to explain the fact that you already knew who they were. 

You have yet to mention the fact that you knew the guy from the library to Doyeon. If she knew he was the guy you fancied during your first semester in university, you would never hear the end of it. You were pretty sure that nothing would have been enough to bribe her to ensure she kept it a secret. So you kept it a secret instead. 

Girls and guys swarmed over to where the 3 of them sat, some of them openly staring and admiring their beauty. And then it was time for the second disaster of the day. “You’ll be randomly assigned to your groups!” The professor had the biggest grin on his face as he said that. It kind of reminded you of the Joker. Just a little bit. He pulled out a box with tiny slips of papers and said that those with the same number would be in a group. 

“That’s her.” Seungcheol leaned towards Soonyoung and whispered as softly as he could. 

“The one at the back, sitting in between the girl and guy in blue?” He questioned, trying to confirm if they both were looking at the same person. Wonwoo flashed a quizzical look. 

“That’s her. The library.” The last 2 words were enough for Wonwoo to catch on. 

Jeonghan and Joshua were busy entertaining their fans so he made a mental note to tell them later. 

Doyeon held your hand as you got off your seat to go pick your fate for the next semester. Those that sat in front had flocked to the box after the professor made his announcement. You and your friends decided to wait a bit before going down to the box. 

3 

“What did you get?” Doyeon looked over onto your slip of paper. “Damn it I got 4.”

Lucky for you, Chan also got 3. Doyeon passed your hand over to him before heading off to find her soon-to-be groupmates. It almost feels like a parent passing their child over to the other parent. Chan held your hand tightly while going around and looking for other people with the number 3. So many people. The crowd of students feels claustrophobic to you. 

“Any number 3s?” The same cold whisper of a voice. The both of you turn around to see Seungcheol looking directly at you. 

This was not going to be a fun semester. 

_______________________________

© cherriscoups 2022 - all rights reserved.

#cherriscoups #cherriscoups: noria university #svt #svt seungcheol #choi seungcheol #seventeen #scoups #seventeen scenarios #seventeen x reader #seungcheol fanfic #non idol au #strangers to lovers

[leewonkyeom]

Naurrr i literally shed my blood sweat and tears trying to come up with a username 😭 like all the usernames I typed in were taken somehow (even the most down bad ones like Jaehyunleftbuttcheek)

YOU'RE SO RIGHT Chan is being a real threat nowadays 😭😭 he is a good brother figure but like...he been looking a bit TOO fine recently... especially that one back it up performance pic of his (you definitely know what I'm talking about I'll still put that pic in tho)

This was my last straw.

Pls not shua bias wrecking both of us like damn dude don't do this to me T^T vernon and hoshi are fighting for their spots in my svt bias unit 😭 (or they just have to make more space)

I love how we both had vernon in mind when Spiderman au was mentioned lol he fits in a bit too perfectly <33

with the Jeonghan one I was saying that if anyone decided to make a Spiderman au with him he would be Mary Jane or Gwen Stacy and the reader would be in the place of Peter Parker! (It's biblically accurate cause I'm the one down bad and desperate for hannie) If Vernon is Spidey then ofc reader would be his mj/Gwen

Ooh a Avengers au sounds interesting!! It could either be a serious fic or a crack smau I kinda had a similar idea for a while now but instead of Avengers it's teen titans! i would eat the Avengers au up if you ever decided to write it anyways which Avengers would be who? I'm assuming cheol would be iron man and Woozi would be Cap??

Oh Scandinavia! I have heard those things don't phase ya'll much but i didn't know ya'll were chill like that! The culture I'm from is more sort of reserved?? Things like that are very taboo so in a million years i would NEVER watch any media with adult scenes with my family T^T

I was able to sit through sex education (on my own ofc) it's actually a pretty good series but i haven't watched the recent episodes yet

Ida is still a very cute nickname I love it!! I was gonna go by my government name too but it's kinda weird to pronounce and just doesn't suit as much as Jolene does 😭

WAIT YOU'RE A JOJO FAN?? omgomg what are your favourite parts and characters⁉️

lmao i love that😭😭 i love those jaehyunsleftbuttcheek names on some level, but the name you have now is sm cuter!! i think it turned out well

NO CAUSE ALL I'M ABLE TO SEE IS THAT DINO PIC I AM NOT WELL😭😭 dino literally shows up in all my pulls😭 like i have two carat versions of this guy😭 AND HE ALWAYS LOOKS SO FINE

i agree. personally my bias line is ot13😌😌 always room for everyone

vernon is absolutely perfect😭 so perfect that i didn't even really think about reader being a spider creature instead of him😭😭 but that actually sounds like a good idea... i'll think about it. also seems easier to execute than a whole avengers type thing😭

i agree that cheol would be iron man, but cao is 100% shua😭 like he's captain AMERICA. i imagine woozi more like hulk😭 ig wonwoo or mingyu would fit too, but they don't get angry often enough tbh. so mingyu's more of a thor maybe?

like i watched the entire game of thrones series with my mom😭 like it's awkward still, but definitely nothing more than that. like i am shocked the way some people on the internet treat sex, bc in my culture it's seen as such a normal thing🥴 i'm also not caught up on sec education lmao

thank you!! no, but that'd definitely fair. besides i love the name jolene so i get it 100%

i feel like almost everyone who likes kpop also likes anime? but yes!! my fave part is part 4 (i've only watched until part 5 though whoops, but i know who jolyne is dw) and fave character is josuke. what about you?

#ask ida #⭐️mutuals #🐱jolene

[bbugyu]

how jeonghan knew

a journey with yoon jeonghan, lee seokmin, and you.

there was always something about his infectious laugh and his genuine nature that felt like fate to jeonghan, and maybe you were the muse that kept their red thread in tact.

prelude | part one | part two | part three | epilogue

wc.10662 (LMFAO) | fluff, smut, courtship, angsty in the beginning, polyamory, sugar daddy!jeonghan musician!seokmin escort!reader, hi cheol, hi gyu (again), hi boo, hi wonu, gay pining, jk he's pan probably, discovering sexuality, daddy kink, special guest seokmin!!!!!, threesome, lots of mlm, oral, cumpla, handjobs, choking, butt plugs, male penetration, there's a full on reader-less memberxmember sex scene idk, unprotected sex, please use condoms, jeonghan gets overwhelmed, the TEASING, jeonghan being a home improvement freak, don’t mind han jisung he’s just vibing, required listening is positions (2020) by ariana grande because it’s a perfect album

and here we have poly seokhan: the gayening!!! this is going to be the end of my scheduled updates for neverending artistry, but i’ll be posting an epilogue when i finish it - probably after i post a couple of other fics. this chapter.... is my fave......... i think u will see why lol. i went ahead and got a lil carried away with the house stuff but LISTENNNN i watch a lot of architecture videos ok LFJDSJ

thank you all so much for your continued support and incredible feedback on this series! it seriously means so much to me and i love seeing asks and messages from everyone telling me how excited they are to read more. i hope this satisfies you!!!

~

jeonghan is pretty sure he always loved seokmin. it wasn't something he would ever be able to change about himself, he figured, as he watched his friend date woman after woman in college with varying seriousness. he decidedly ignored any amount of feelings he harbored for the younger, especially after he dropped architecture as his major and he saw less of him. 

jeonghan tried to get over the destined musician (he would always be singing or fiddling with his guitar when he was meant to be helping jeonghan with a diorama) with several women, and after decisively focusing on his career for a couple years, he found success in another man. his short lived gym buddy, but lasted quite a bit longer as his boyfriend. they had connected first when jeonghan had offhandedly commented that he liked the logo on his shirt, to which the long lashed, broad shouldered man had said he had gotten it at the brand's store down the street, making jeonghan chew his cheek before he admitted that he had helped design that location. they connected the second time later that night, clumsily but intensely, and jeonghan liked his plush pouty lips and how his messy black hair felt between his fingers.

while that didn't last forever, he found varied success in other men, and he figured this was why dating women had always been so difficult for him. definitely not that he had been given small choice amongst the rotten apples that attended his college.

he was single again, and at an industry party when he reconnected with an old friend from college who happily reminisced about the fun their small group of friends had back then. he asked if jeonghan remembered seokmin, the guy that dropped the program.

"lee seokmin?" he asked, his brows knitting as he tried to react normally to the name, and mingyu hit his shoulder, laughing.

"yeah! guess what? that son of a bitch is teaching my niece piano!"

jeonghan smiled at the idea of seokmin as a piano teacher, nodding along as mingyu talked about how he had volunteered to take her to her lesson one week, only to be put face to face with a long lost friend. jeonghan laughed as mingyu imitated the face the other had made, laughing harder when he recognized it and remembered seeing it on seokmin's face in the past, then telling mingyu about how he had once pranked him by making the poor guy think that he was going to fail a project because seokmin had accidentally destroyed a diorama. it had already been graded, and he was going to take it apart to save on materials anyways, but the younger nearly cried when he thought he had wasted hours of jeonghan's time and cost him the grade by accidentally kicking it off his desk.

he asked how seokmin was doing these days, and mingyu told him he seemed well, and that he takes his niece to her lessons as often as he can spare, just to chat for a while. "i could give you his number," he said, feeling his pockets for his phone. "i'm sure he'd love to hear from you."

mingyu had been right. seokmin did love hearing from him. and he loved the way seokmin made him laugh with his ever joking tone and physical comedy antics. the way his eyebrows creased as he tried to keep a stern face but was unable to hide the smile across his lips. the way he always fought with him for the check despite jeonghan being older and notably better off.

he didn't love, however, how seokmin nodded his head after the waitress and asked him if he thought he had a shot.

maybe he was desperate, or maybe he wanted an excuse to not date seriously, or maybe he just wasn't ready to let go, but jeonghan continued to invite seokmin out, despite the fact that their relationship would never develop past friends who met in college. he enjoyed his company anyways, even if it felt bittersweet.

he poured himself into his work for several months, taking more contracts than usual and keeping himself occupied, only really seeing others for meetings and constructions, or when he was depressed on a friday night and caved, asking seokmin to join him for drinks somewhere. he continued this cycle for too long, his personal assistant noticing his mood changes before most.

"are you taking your vitamins?"

"yes, seungkwan, i'm taking my vitamins," jeonghan bit back, fully aware that he wasn't asking about vitamins at all, but about his state. confirming he was still making an effort to take care of himself rather than spiraling, sat in his living room on a tuesday after being told by a doctor to rest, for god's sake as a solution to him nearly collapsing several hours earlier. seungkwan shifted on his feet, tongue running over his teeth as he stared at the architect, hands folded in front of him.

"you need to stop seeing him. it only hurts you."

jeonghan sighed, staring at the black screen of his television. "i know."

his assistant studied him. "you should come out with the team sometime," he said. "we get drinks on wednesdays, usually. come tomorrow, it could take your mind off things."

jeonghan looked up at seungkwan, who was clearly sucking on his cheek. he knew he was right. more importantly, seungkwan knew he knew, but jeonghan had a hard time wanting to take his mind off this one specific thing, considering the way this one specific thing laughed like a hyena, poured himself over a piano like an ocean wave, and sang along like an angel. his head fell back on the couch, and he had to take a long, conscious breath to lower the ringing in his ears at the silence. "i'll be there next time."

seungkwan exhaled in defeat, eyes flickering around as he excused himself and said goodnight, knowing his boss was lying.

jeonghan found you on accident - put in an uncomfortable corner by an ultimatum from his publicist and the circulating rumor that he sleeps with men because he can't keep a woman around that seemed to pile on top of everything else on his plate - and the second you opened your mouth, he knew you were special.

he remembered the profile he had seen from your broker, and knew you were attending university. he asked you your major, and when you told him you wanted to produce music for a living, something deep in him stirred. you had been sitting in his car for all of twenty minutes, and you nearly had him under your spell already.

he couldn't understand his fascination with you, but he continued to book you for dates, sometimes deciding what event he would be attending by asking what day you were available that week. he figured if he needed to prove to the world that he wasn't gay (which he was, he was pretty sure), you were the only one he was interested in doing it with.

maybe he had a thing for musicians.

he had taken out quite a few escorts before you, but none of them were nearly as fun. you always did an incredible job engaging in whatever event he brought you to, but also hit his chest as you tried to stifle a laugh at something he muttered into your ear, guiding you away. his friends liked you, too, the few he had. the ones that had met you. yongsun had even tugged him aside briefly, asking if he really liked you. you seemed nice, she had said. and good, in general, but also for him. she wanted to make sure he wasn't just leading you along to quiet some stupid rumor. he glanced at you, smiling wide as you excitedly discussed music with one of his other friends (the fifth and last person he liked at this event, the two of you included), and wasn't quite sure why he told her he actually liked you, but didn't feel the need to correct himself.

then you told him you were quitting, and he realized what he would be losing. then you kissed him, and he realized what he had been feeling. then you looked at him with wide eyes, just as shocked as he was by the explosion of fireworks you had both just experienced, and he realized what he had been missing out on all this time.

he figured he must have always loved you as his eyes scanned the hotel bar, confused at how you had managed to get away so quickly. he was running into the hall to see if you had escaped to the lobby when someone caught his arm.

"hey, you seen yongsun?"

jeonghan blinked at his blonde friend, recognizing her play. "have you seen y/n?"

"try the bathroom," she said, throwing a thumb over her shoulder in the direction she had come from.

he looked down the hall at the restroom signs, nodding. "i saw her at the chocolate fountain a minute ago."

byulyi patted his shoulder as she walked past him. "good luck, yoon."

it felt good telling you the truth, while sitting in your well organized and tastefully decorated studio apartment that you had insisted he would hate, even if he was too scared to admit all of it. why he had needed you before, but wanted you now. his heart nearly beat out of his chest when you agreed to his conditions, though he recognized that he had given you just about every advantage in the deal. it would have been near impossible for you to say no, especially after the way you had kissed him before someone had finally tried to enter the bathroom you were hiding in.

for a while, he only kissed you as a farewell, mostly because he enjoyed the old school romanticism of kissing a beautiful woman in the moonlight, her back against the passenger door of his black vehicle parked on the street outside her studio apartment. then, when he had invited you to his home after the two of you had ditched a boring dinner several hours early, you had curled up in his side to watch a movie. at some point, he caught you staring at him, and you put a hand on his cheek and kissed him sweetly. slowly. kissed him in a way that only made him crave more. you smiled, settling back into his side for the rest of the movie, and even though you had done it unconsciously, the back of your hand rested against his thigh in a way he had a hard time ignoring, and he decided he must have just had real shit taste in women before he had met you. 

the following sunday, when you mentioned how pitch black the sky seemed at that late hour, having gotten caught up binging some drama, he not-so-vaguely hinted that he'd be okay with you spending the night in his bed. you eyed him, and he shrugged playfully.

"or i have guest rooms. up to you."

"i have class tomorrow," you tested.

"i can take you," he responded. "if you want."

you paused, watching him as he recorked the wine bottle the two of you had opened earlier in the evening but only managed to have one glass of each before abandoning it to cuddle on the couch. he was always so thoughtful, even in his teasing. he cared about your comfort. he wanted to maintain your boundaries. but it had been a really long time since you had gotten laid, and everything in you yearned to say yes. jeonghan's voice in your head reminded you, no expectations. this could be whatever you wanted out of it.

so you went to bed with him.

jeonghan would swear up and down that you were the most beautiful woman in the world, and his beliefs were only confirmed when he pulled your shirt off of you, dragging your pants down your legs, and got a real look at you for the first time. you felt unexplainably embarrassed under his gaze, asking if he was okay.

"yeah," he said breathlessly, a hand running up your side, your back arching slightly to his touch. he curled over you before he whispered "god, yeah, i'm more than okay," against your lips.

not even ten minutes had passed before you told him you loved him between your panting, and he was so ecstatic when he could tell you, wholly and truthfully, that he loved you, too. and after your pulses had died down and you were falling asleep in his arms, he said that if you were staying under his roof, you were not allowed in any guest rooms. that if you needed space, he would find a different bed to sleep in, because this one looked best with you in it, and he refused to have it any other way.

jeonghan never got bored with you. over time, you began going to his place after events and dinners more than he dropped you off at your apartment, becoming an often enough occurrence that he had asked you one night to fill an online shopping cart with clothes for you to keep in his closet, so you could stop this silly packing bags nonsense. he had already bought you a full set of toiletries for his bathroom, started keeping your favorite snacks in the pantry, and even gone as far as to buy you the house slippers you had offhandedly said were cute when the two of you wandered aimlessly around a mall together. you were becoming a part of his home in more ways than one, and he was happy to have you.

he offered you an unused office on the second floor when you started studying for finals on the peninsula of his kitchen counter one monday afternoon, and you asked what was wrong with you doing it where you were.

"because you're not going to clean it up," he pointed out.

"maybe if we had a rewards system," you argued. "if i clean up, i get a prize."

he laughed, rounding the small jut of countertop, thinking about how he would probably need a proper kitchen island if you were going to be sticking around. "just because i give you an allowance, doesn't mean you're a child. you're not supposed to focus on the baby part of sugar baby."

you pouted as you turned on the stool to face him, a hand gently tugging his tie to pull him into you. "what if i focus on the daddy part of sugar daddy?"

a hunger dropped in jeonghan, gazing down at you as you sat at his kitchen counter, surrounded by textbooks and notes. your eyes sparkled under the lights, and his fingers went behind your neck before he kissed you, muttering against your lips to try calling him that again, angel.

the kitchen remodel had gone about as smoothly as it could have, given the fact that it was nearly impossible to transport such a large slab of granite for his dream island without it snapping in half from its own weight, but they managed, and when the light fixture finally turned on for the first time after the new cabinet doors had been installed, he felt justified in remodeling a kitchen that had hardly needed updating. he felt even more justified when he came downstairs to find you, having woken up in an empty bed, only to have you yell at him as you flipped pancakes on the griddle of his new gas range, saying you were going to bring him breakfast in bed and if he didn't cooperate, he wouldn't see you for a week. he laughed at your threatening spatula, putting his hands up in surrender, unable to stop smiling as he made his way back up the stairs.

you had enrolled in online courses for your last year of school, mostly so you didn't have to be anywhere specific for several hours every day, and instead could keep your schedule massively open to cater to jeonghan's needs. this also meant you usually attended your afternoon lectures at his home, waiting for him to get off work and distract you.

then the two of you started attended wednesday drinks with the team. seungkwan had thanked you, though you hadn't realized that you were deserving of a thanks.

"he'll tell you when he wants to, i guess," he said, twirling the beer in his hand. "but he wasn't in a great place before he met you."

you could hear the subject of your exchange laughing further down the bar, and you wondered what kind of place he meant, but tapped your glass against seungkwan's instead of asking the question. "to better places."

he chuckled, bringing the beer to his lips. "cheers to that."

jeonghan enjoyed having you on his lap on the couch, listening to whatever r&b record you had chosen as you worked your lips against his. he nudged several kisses down your neck, and you mentioned offhandedly that there was a perfect place in his living room for a bar, pointing at the wall behind him. he pulled away from you, turning his body with an arm over the back of the sofa, and his head cocked as he stared at the wall that only held a painting. he silently agreed with you, wondering why you seemed to inspire all his recent projects as you nipped at his neck, drawing his attention back to you with a smile on his face.

the bar was finished in time to hire a bartender for a halloween party. he hadn't told the guests that it was an anniversary party, but you had been made aware of the secret arrangement during a conversation the two of you had over a private meal in your favorite restaurant the week before. 

"a threesome," you asked, hoping for clarification. 

"with a guy, preferably," jeonghan said. "but i could be convinced to approve of a girl if that's what you would like."

"you're being serious?" you seemed to find yourself asking him that a lot. every time he suggested something that he knew you wanted, you wondered if he was pulling your leg. "and you want me to choose?"

"yeah, at the party," he said, watching you shake your head incredulously with a smile on his face. the two of you had discussed the possibility in the past, and he thought it made a fun gift. an unexpected one, from someone who had enough money to comfortably gift you just about anything. "i have to approve, obviously, but you get to pick the candidates."

you thought a moment. "what if we can't agree on anyone?"

"then i take you to bed alone and we have fun anyways." 

he laughed when you squinted at him.

"if the opportunity comes up down the line, we can try again later," he said. "but i thought this would give you something fun to do while i'm hosting guests."

and it had, as you sneakily scoped out the guests, flitting around the party of both familiar and unfamiliar faces in your angelic cheerleading costume. visiting and laughing heartily with the team, as well as your uni friends that jeonghan insisted you invite, offering them more drinks, then saying something about having to play hostess so you could continue your search. byulyi and yongsun were there, and you complimented their matching rapunzel and flynn get up, jeonghan catching you for just a second to ask if you needed anything.

you settled in on one target perhaps too quickly, without even really having made an effort to see all the options. you had been struck by the same sharp cheekbones, puppy dog eyes, and crooked smile that jeonghan had once fallen for. when he saw you tucked into lee seokmin's side, recognizing your flirting even from a distance and noticing how receptive the musician was to it, his heart fluttered, and he couldn't tell if it was a good or bad thing.

a good thing, he decided, when seokmin had asked him permission before he came in you. because, seemingly, sexuality was much more of a spectrum than jeonghan had once thought, and perhaps his college crush just needed the encouragement of an incredible woman to try something a little beyond his experience, much like he had.

and when you wouldn't stop mentioning the musician the two of you had enjoyed the company of while schmoozing guests at the opening of him and his friend's collaborative art exhibit, he got a slick idea. on the way home, he told you that you weren't allowed to make a noise until he hung up the phone, but you were already writhing in the passenger seat just as the phone rang.

and when he answered, you clamped a hand over your mouth, a bare foot landing on the dashboard as you tried to grind against jeonghan's hand, his voice steady as he talked to the younger.

and when he mentioned you, your walls pulsed around his fingers, a smile finding its way into his lips as he spoke. he tried not to take too much pleasure in the way you looked at him with begging eyes and your fist between your teeth, or in the way seokmin's tone dropped as he confirmed that he would get a cab, but he truly couldn't help himself when he made eye contact with seokmin as you sucked him off, his hips canting into yours recklessly, forcing seokmin to break the contact as he reacted to your moan on his cock. 

he noticed the way seokmin's hips began to move on their own, begging for enough control to chase his nearing high in your mouth but having it brought right to his doorstep instead. jeonghan felt your perfect heat cling to him in reaction, and before he could think to stop himself, he pulled you into his chest by your throat, not daring to let you claim it all as he lapped cum from your mouth. you whimpered against him, your orgasm lasting impossibly long as he fucked into you, getting milked by your needy walls.

when he caught seokmin staring directly at him, he grinned and wiped the back of his hand across his chin and lower lip, languidly licking any escaped cum off it, and asked if he wanted to try his, too.

seokmin agreed, nodding shakily before jeonghan massaged at your sides, pumping himself into you a few more times. he told you to give seokmin's mouth a ride. you groaned, his cum dripping down your thighs.

jeonghan watched the younger's cock twitch as you moaned over him, one hand on the wall and the other on his scalp, his fingers digging into your thighs. he stared at how it never lost hardness. he didn't even realize that his hands were on seokmin's hip and thigh before he even asked if he could touch him, but a large hand left your thigh to shakily bring jeonghan's to his thick cock, answering the question despite you occupying his mouth, his fingers lingering over jeonghan's as he pumped his length.

he couldn't deny that how badly he wanted to fuck seokmin, but he could settle for making him cum in his hands until he was ready for something more, especially with the surprising amount he had to give after already having cum once. he let himself indulge in a single lick across seokmin's sensitive slit - though it was hard to stop there - triggering a garbled moan before he left to shower.

a week or so later, jeonghan asked you if you were interested in dating seokmin. you put your phone down and rolled over in bed, propped up on your elbows as you asked him what he meant.

"i love you," jeonghan assured, pulling you to lay closer to him. "and i can tell you like him."

you studied his face. "but i'm with you."

"that doesn't have to stop," he said, smiling at you as he tucked a hand behind his head. you eyed his arm briefly, then refocused on him. "but you know how things get in the winter, and i would be okay with you trying things out with him while i'm busy."

"you're being serious?"

jeonghan laughed at the familiar question. "yes, y/n, i'm being serious. i know you want me, but i also know you want more than me."

you had never told anyone about your desire for multiple partners, not even admitted it out loud to yourself, so his candid assessment caught you off guard. "how did you-"

"just little things you've said," he teased, leaving you to question how much you had revealed about yourself without realizing. "besides, no one can deny the chemistry."

you paused. "boundaries?"

"just tell me," he said, putting his arms around you and tugging you into him. "i just want to know when you're seeing him. and, eventually, i would like to be invited every once in a while."

"invited to dates?" you asked, throwing a leg over his lap to straddle it as you laid over him. "or invited to bed?"

he smiled up at you, hands running over your rear. "either. both. whatever you two want."

you agreed, but only after you made him promise he would tell you if anything changed for him. that he had to tell you about every doubt and worry he had. "i'll always choose you," you stated plainly, lips brushing against his as he gently rolled his growing length up against your clothed heat. "no matter what, i'll choose you."

"i know, sweetheart," he said, a hand on your cheek as he kissed you. "i promise."

after he came back from a business trip in december, you admitted to him that you and seokmin had exchanged i love yous, and he just put an arm over your shoulder and turned down the volume on the tv, telling you that he was pretty sure he loved seokmin, too.

"it was him, wasn't it?" you asked, studying his profile. "he was the guy you couldn't get over?"

jeonghan rubbed his face with one hand, sighing. "yeah, it was him."

"why didn't you say anything?"

he thought a moment. "i didn't want you to feel obligated, i guess."

your fingers straightened the seams of his long sleeved shirt across his shoulder. "obligated to win him over for you?"

"obligated to love him, too."

"jokes on you," you giggled. "he's very easy to fall in love with."

jeonghan supposed that was true, thinking of how quickly he had fallen for him, even back before he had admitted he liked men. how he had fallen into the same spot even years later, just over a shared meal and a few bottles of soju.

but you were easy to fall in love with too, he thought, remembering how he hadn't even understood his feelings towards you until you had kissed him, but he had felt them strong enough to want you to stay by his side anyways. maybe jeonghan just fell easily, but maybe he was lucky enough to have found his people at such a young age.

you settled back into the crook of his arm and asked him what he thought about seokmin coming over to join you two for christmas. while much of the world celebrated with family, it was more of a hallmark holiday in korea, often times spent with a long time sweetheart or a budding romance. or both, in your case, jeonghan supposed, when you were distracted trying to find the third christmas music lp you had specifically gotten for the occasion (out of eight, of course, because you didn't want to run out of christmas music). he was leaning against the tasteful home bar that had been hardly touched since halloween when seokmin shyly admitted that he knew jeonghan was interested in him.

he said nothing for a moment. "she told you?"

"kind of, back when you were in japan, but-" seokmin paused. "i think she was just suspicious, but i should have known. you were always too kind to me."

"not too kind," jeonghan said, hiding behind his wine as he sipped at it, trying not to show his embarrassment.

"i think i'm interested, too."

he looked at seokmin, who was staring down at his hands. "are you sure?"

"i'm-" he paused, catching jeonghan's eyes for only a second before scratching the back of his neck. "i think so. i've never even thought about doing anything with - uh - men. until you."

"that's okay," jeonghan said, looking to where you were flipping through records. "i didn't like women until y/n."

seokmin faltered. "wait, really?"

he nodded, a small smile on his face. "i thought i was gay. turns out i'm not."

"but you-" the musician stretched his jaw. "weren't you kind of a player in college?"

he almost said something about how having sex to meet an end and keep an appearance was different than enjoying it, but stopped himself when you announced that you had found the lost record, switching the lps with a flourish and setting the player again. and while he was curious about the level of seokmin's interest in him, he was happy to leave the conversation where it stood when you excitedly rejoined them at the bar.

"do you think i could be a bartender?" you asked, leaning over the counter and grabbing an unused shaker.

"probably," seokmin said.

"for sure no," jeonghan laughed.

you pouted at the latter, holding the shaker between your hands as you directed your attention to the former. "thank you, seokmin. i appreciate you encouraging my dreams."

"any time," he joked.

jeonghan rolled his eyes. "what about that music degree i'm paying for?" he asked, taking another sip.

"just because you've known what you wanted to do forever, doesn't mean everyone does. maybe i'll change my mind." you tried to spin the shaker in your hand, but the force you used was too little and it stopped on your palm too quickly, clumsily clattering to the counter. you stilled it, exhaling sharply when jeonghan giggled beside you, looking to seokmin. "he might be right."

"it's almost like i know you," jeonghan teased, nudging you. "she was convinced she could become my personal bartender for all of two weeks."

"i tried," you whined. seokmin laughed. "the tricks are harder than they look."

"and you hated shaking drinks."

you put the shaker back, defeated. "the ice made it cold."

"isn't that the point?" seokmin asked.

jeonghan smiled at you. "you're lucky i like wine."

"i'm gonna talk to you now," you announced, turning your body to seokmin. "because you're nicer to me than he is."

"aw," the architect chuckled, and seokmin watched you react to a squeeze at your butt. "did he make you soft? can't take my teasing anymore?"

you ignored him, trying to ask the man in front of you about his lessons, but you yelped when his hand firmly landed on your ass, grabbing seokmin's arm in reaction. he looked at you, seemingly just as shocked, and you tried to continue the conversation, but jeonghan's hand didn't leave, and your entire body was reacting to the way it was slowly hiking up your skirt and running between your thighs.

your eyes fell shut, and you muttered for him to cut it out as your grip on seokmin's arm tightened, but jeonghan just made eye contact with the other male, asking him instead if he should.

without thinking, seokmin shook his head and put his hands on your jaw, pulling you in to kiss him. your moan against his lips was involuntary, and jeonghan grinned as his fingers ran over your core, making you whine.

"did you tell him?" you gasped out, asking seokmin with hooded eyes. he shook his head, saying that he hadn't told him everything.

"told me what?" jeonghan asked, interest piqued as he put down his glass, pulling his hand out from your skirt and placing them on your hips instead, squeezing gently as he stood behind you, and your head fell back into his shoulder without much intention as you licked your lips. "seokmin?"

he pulled his gaze, trained on your mouth, to look at jeonghan, and he felt his breath stop in his throat as he fully processed the sight in front of him. you gasped again, as jeonghan's hand came up to knead at your breast, and you tried to pull seokmin closer, but he didn't stop moving even when he was pressed against you.

jeonghan thought he might faint. he wasn't sure what he had been expecting, but when seokmin's hand found the back of his neck and pulled him over your shoulder, his mind went blank. when his lips found his, his vision went white. when he felt his tongue against the inside of his teeth, he couldn't help but moan, one hand gripping your waist and the other aimlessly tugging on seokmin's shirt, seemingly just to hold something that belonged to him.

"fuck, okay," jeonghan breathed, staring after the musicians lips even when they left. you giggled, recognizing the feeling. "okay," he repeated. "got it. understood."

you spun around, hands on jeonghan's chest. "we prepared something for you," you said, and seokmin's cheeks and ears were bright red when he sheepishly nodded with you.

jeonghan looked between the two of you, swallowing suddenly. "what?"

you tugged on his hand, then grabbed seokmin's, too, when he didn't move right away, leading them both to walk around the couch. you pulled jeonghan onto the cushions with you, kissing him briefly before he realized someone was between his knees. when he saw him, that was when jeonghan's dick woke up, suddenly realizing what was happening.

"be nice," you muttered against the shell of his ear, your hand running down his torso. "it's his first time."

seokmin's hands were strong but gentle, and despite never having touched a dick that wasn't attached to him, he knew what felt good. he needed a bit of guidance from you to begin, less from lack of knowing the process and more because he was nervous, but quickly found a comfortable rhythm. jeonghan sighed when he finally got pulled out of his pants, and you were sucking a mark into his neck, his arm wrapped around you and his hand kneading at your rear. his eyes could hardly stay open when seokmin ran his flattened tongue up the underside of his cock.

"isn't he pretty?" you asked, whispering, a smile on your lips. 

he groaned, threading his fingers behind seokmin's ear, desperately trying to hold back his release because he hasn't even put you in his mouth, yet, jeonghan, for god's sake, keep it together. the younger's eyes flickered up to his, and he nearly came just from the feeling of his soft lips around his member, sinking slowly.

"fuck, you're too good at this," jeonghan said, the half chuckle on his lips falling quickly when seokmin's tongue ran over a vein, the warmth of his mouth feeling like heaven. his teeth bit down on his lower lip, watching your hand run through seokmin's hair. he hummed at the contact, his grip tightening slightly, sending a jolt through jeonghan's system. "fuck, i'm gonna cum already."

"there were lessons," you giggled, your hands wrapping casually around his neck. his breathing hitched, eyes falling shut, focusing on the mouth sheathing his cock as he recognized your fidgeting fingers over his pulse. "merry christmas, daddy."

he inhaled sharply right before you squeezed at his throat, and he thought that he should maybe let you lead more often if it was going to feel this good. seokmin seemed surprised by the feeling of jeonghan cumming in his mouth, but he did his best to pump every drop from him, swallowing thickly. you only smiled when jeonghan sat up, leaving you behind as he pulled seokmin's face to his, his hands running up jeonghan's thighs as he kissed him.

jeonghan decided the sunroom extension was all wrong, and that he'd have to redo it.

"you just built that," wonwoo said, having been the contractor that oversaw the construction. "besides, it's snowy season, we can't do outdoor construction. you'll have to wait til spring."

"not outdoor," jeonghan said, rolling out the drafting papers he had drawn up over the course of his new year break, the final pieces being completed in the wee hours of that morning. he had sent wonwoo a text as soon as he thought he would be awake, asking for a meeting despite it only being two days after the new year. "the shell can stay the same, we just need to build indoors. besides, i need this done in february."

wonwoo blinked at him. "when in february?"

"it has to be fully furnished by the 18th."

the contractor laughed at the deadline, only a month and a half out, as he looked over jeonghan's drafts. it would be a tight schedule, considering the structural changes he wanted, but he recognized his long time work partner's determination and knew there was little he could do to argue. "okay. let's get to work."

he turned down a contract for a café to make time for the new home project, but not before recommending they contact a kim mingyu, giving him the vaguest thank you for introducing seokmin back into his life. he didn't have time to draw several attempted variations of every café he had ever designed, he was too busy mapping out the logistics of adding a lofted space to the two story sunroom. too busy planning to tear out the outer wall of your office and picking the right sliding glass doors that would lead to the loft. you had to ask him several days in a row before he finally told you what he had planned.

"a music room?"

he tried to gauge your reaction. "is it crazy?"

you broke out into a smile, studying his design, gripping the mug that held your latté that morning. "absolutely, but i love it."

he asked you to help him pick instruments, saying his wishlist included a white grand piano and three to five guitars that could be displayed together. he also told you to pick out your dream computer setup for production - you were graduating that year, afterall, and it was about time you started using something other than your laptop and a midi controller to make music - and you almost started crying from how fucking excited that made you.

hiding the plans from seokmin was the hardest part, especially when he started spending weekends at the house. he saw the construction area often, and one friday afternoon, he had even asked if he could help, leaving you to usher him away and assure him that jeonghan didn't like help when it came to these things. he believed the white lie, allowing you to distract him with the option of watching shit television in bed, even convincing him that tonight was the night to surprise his new boyfriend. seokmin laid in bed with his arms wrapped around you, trying not to move too much, fully aware that even the slightest movements in his body caused his dick to come to life, until the last of the workers left and jeonghan appeared, asking if there were dinner requests before he went to take a shower.

seokmin had been training with you for over a week. you had bought him some toys, even helped him try them out in the comfort of his loft, and he got increasingly excited - generally, but also in those moments - to show jeonghan what he had learned. the surprise he had been keeping had already made him beg you to cockwarm him as he waited, but you refused on account of knowing him, and by extension, knowing that he would not being able to stop himself. he had a bit more confidence, though it may have only been fueled by horniness, when he pulled the vaguely sweaty architect toward him on the bed. he tried to say something about how he should really wash up, but seokmin just kissed him, hands gripping around his skull in desperation, his dick already hard against jeonghan's pelvis.

jeonghan's hands wandered, as they usually did, and when he reached down to palm at seokmin's ass, he reacted in a way that earned him a questioning glance.

"we - ah-" his eyes shut, jeonghan's hands getting closer to his surprise. "she's been helping me-"

and that was when he felt it. the small, hard handle of a plug, situated between seokmin's perky asscheeks, easy to feel through the loose fabric of his shorts, and jeonghan felt his arousal tenting his pants just from the concept.

jeonghan hadn't even noticed your movement off the bed until a bottle of lube hit his leg, looking down at it briefly before looking to you.

"i'm gonna go clean up," you said, running a hand through your hair as you retreated to the bathroom, leaving jeonghan with an already flustered seokmin. 

before long, he had him on his back, naked, and finally got to see how sweet his little ass looked when jeonghan pushed his knees towards his chest. when he saw the black knob fitting tightly into his hole, he groaned, his own bare cock flinching in need. he put a hand on seokmin's dick, gripping it lightly, then put a thumb against the plug.

"nngh- fuck," seokmin stammered, fingers gripping at the bedsheets as his neck stretched out against the pillows, bucking into the hand wrapped around him. "j-jeonghan…"

"this is cute," he said, slowly moving his thumb in a circular motion, the plug's movement making seokmin let out choked moans. "but i really need to play with you now."

seokmin nodded, hurriedly, brows knit together. "please."

he hooked his fingers under the knob of the plug, slowly pulling it out and relishing in the reaction. the younger's back arched in a way that jeonghan wished he could see from every angle, knowing that the way his shoulders and back looked must have been incredible, but satisfied by just watching the way his mouth hung open and his eyes clamped shut, his fingers gripping at jeonghan's hand where it stayed on his dick.

he began to pump the dick in his palm, setting aside the plug and grabbing the lube, popping it open with just his left hand and quickly squirting a healthy amount onto the tip of seokmin's penis, making quick work of spreading it completely over the engorged member, the slickness making him moan even louder and reach out for jeonghan's shoulders.

he let seokmin tug him over him, kissing him briefly before looking down at where the younger's thighs spread over his, wanting nothing more than to just fuck him already.

jeonghan's hand left seokmin's cock, leaving him whining against his lips, but it was short lived as his lubed fingers slid down to his puckered hole.

"seokmin," he muttered, studying his face. "you're sure, right?"

"fuck, i've been wanting this for since christmas, jeonghan," he sputtered out, eyes barely able to focus when there were fingers teasing his entrance. "yes, please, i'm sure."

jeonghan slid a digit into the tight hole, watching seokmin's face as his brows creased and his head fell back, a moan tumbling from his lips. another finger, jeonghan decided, and the reaction was similar, making him smirk.

"god, you're ready, aren't you?"

"please," he begged. "i want you."

jeonghan sat back, and the musician got on his elbows to watch as he readied his cock with lube, putting more on his finger and spreading it around seokmin's hole. he whined when jeonghan placed the head of his dick at his entrance, tugging him over him again.

"i'll go slow, okay?" jeonghan assured him. "tell me if i need to stop."

seokmin just nodded, eyes trained on his, and they locked lips as jeonghan pushed his hips forward slowly, the man under him immediately moaning and huffing against his mouth.

jeonghan really liked sex with seokmin. he also really liked sex with you. but he was pretty sure he liked it the most when you were both present.

seokmin didn't walk right for a day and a half, and while he was slightly embarrassed, you told him it was a badge of honor he should wear proudly. afterall, he had done the same to you on halloween. 

"how's your butt?" you asked when he came down the stairs, the sunday morning after they had done the deed without you, making him choke out a laugh as you got his tea out of a cabinet in jeonghan's kitchen.

"better than yesterday," he said, gingerly seating himself at a stool. "but not as good as friday."

you eyed him. "before or during?"

seokmin thought a second. "both."

"good morning," jeonghan said, quickly planting kisses on the man and then you, cheek and lips respectively based on the convenience as he walked past you, making his way to the espresso machine. "i think i'm gonna work on the sunroom today."

"today?" you asked. "wonwoo's gonna say no."

"wonwoo isn't getting invited. i still have to find furniture," he said, rinsing out the espresso shot glass and wiping down the portafilter. "we're getting close to deadline, i need boo to order the upholstery job on tuesday and i have a meeting tomorrow."

"when's deadline?" seokmin asked, wondering why he had one for a home project.

jeonghan blinked at the wall, not even turning towards the younger. "don't worry your pretty head about it."

you pouted, closing the short distance and wrapping your arms around him, your chin on his shoulder. "it's sunday. can't we cuddled puddle?"

"you mean like we do every night?" jeonghan asked, but grinding espresso beans so you couldn't answer the rhetorical question, packing down the grounds. "if you want to cuddle puddle, don't get out of bed so early."

you huffed as you dropped your arms, leaving him to prep a glass for his americano. "whatever. seokmin and i will have fun without you."

"what kind of fun?"

you stick your tongue out at him, using a teasing voice when you said "wouldn't you like to know."

innocent fun, was the truth, but you thought it was a victimless bluff. you spent the morning sitting on the couch with seokmin while a record played, discussing everything from your favorite movies to your weirdest dreams. you had to get up every six songs or so to flip or change the record, but seokmin liked that every time you rejoined him on the couch, you got closer to his side until you were eventually snuggling into his side, arms wrapped around his torso.

the innocence stopped when jeonghan emerged from his study, joining the two of you for a break. he planted himself on the other side of seokmin, under his arm, letting his hand not-so-subtly run over his thigh. you noticed the contact, peeking around to jeonghan.

"what kind of break are you looking for, hannie?"

he adjusted. "an inspiring one."

you giggled, recognizing the euphemism he used whenever he was stuck on something for work as you leaned back again. "that means he's horny."

seokmin sputtered out a laugh, jeonghan chuckling at your direct observation. "it's hard to not think about you two sitting out here, having fun without me."

"you may not believe it," seokmin said. "but i don't think sex was even on the table for us two today."

jeonghan's eyes met his, and he swallowed harshly. "can it be on the table for all three of us?"

the comfort of returning to bed was hard to deny, especially when they had you laid out against seokmin's chest as he was pressed against the headboard, his mouth attached to your neck and his fingers twisting a nipple, all while jeonghan was digging his digits further into you with his tongue flicking against your clit. 

seokmin grunted, rutting his hips against your back. "fuck, he looks good there."

you gasped, nodding, biting at your lip as he kneaded your breast, your fingers digging into jeonghan's hair. "you both do."

jeonghan never struggled to pull you apart, his deft fingers and teasing lips making you squirm and moan until you were shaking, mouth hanging open as your vision blurred and he told you you tasted like candy.

"minnie," jeonghan prompted, making the younger sit up with you whining against him to clean your taste off his fingers. his dick throbbed in need, watching the singer's agile tongue against him, wishing it wasn't just on his fingers.

seokmin had to practically beg jeonghan to fuck him again, but his only hesitation was that he may not have recovered yet. seokmin  was on his back and gripped at jeonghan's thighs, urging him forward as your hand twisted around his thick, throbbing cock.

jeonghan swallowed, pausing despite being covered in lube and in position. "you're sure?"

"yes," seokmin said, gasping at your hand on him. "jeonghan, i appreciate you asking, but i'm always sure when it comes to you."

you weren't sure you had ever seen jeonghan blush like that in bed, and you smiled against seokmin's neck as he groaned, his cock firming in your grasp as the older pushed into him. you admired seokmin's silent scream, his head lolling to one side at the feeling.

"angel," jeonghan sighed, settling into the way seokmin squeezed around him. "what do you wanna do?"

you teased a thumb over seokmin's slit. "i wanna ride."

"f-fuuck-" seokmin panted, his hips resting against jeonghan's spread thighs as his knees hung to either side. "i'm not- nngh- gonna last."

"you don't have to," you said matter of factly, adjusting to straddle his torso. jeonghan winced, watching your form as he pumped into seokmin. "we're done when daddy says so."

you put your hand, palm up, over your shoulder, and jeonghan chuckled at the recognized motion for him to spit on your fingers - usually, so that you could slick his dick to sit back on it. you worked jeonghan's spit over seokmin's engorged cock, then slowly lowered yourself onto him.

seokmin stared up at you, eyes fluttering and mouth open, suddenly not only feeling impossibly full, but also absolutely stuffed into you. he moaned out loud when jeonghan bumped into his spot, overwhelmed by the simultaneous pleasure. you fell forward onto his chest, holding yourself up with shaky arms as your face hovered over his, both of you trying to hold off your own demises.

then, jeonghan pushed himself deep into seokmin, who whined, his dick pushing up against your cervix. you nearly collapsed, whimpering as your forehead fell to his, gasping into a desperate kiss. jeonghan groaned, his hand running over your hip as he looked at the intersection of you all, staring at the way you barely contained all of seokmin before he leaned forward and kissed your spine.

"you two will kill me," he said, one hand holding you firmly at your waist while the other gripped seokmin's thigh as he picked up his pace. you both moaned, fingernails digging into the plushest part of your thigh when seokmin questioned how much longer he could hold out at jeonghan's unrelenting pace.

a long, high pitched whine fell from his lips. "fuck, i need to cum," he rushed out, bleary eyes barely opening as he looked at you.

"hang on, baby," jeonghan said. "ladies first."

you babbled against seokmin's lips, somehow never being able to get used to the way he filled you, though jeonghan pushing him into you didn't help. you could do nothing but repeat curses in increasing pitch, pushing your face into seokmin's neck as your walls clamped down around him. his mouth gaped, desperately trying to not succumb to your plush insides before he got the okay.

jeonghan smiled at how seokmin tried to focus on him, despite his hands gripping you as you shook against him. "go ahead, baby."

so seokmin went. and god, he went, coating you internally, immediately squeezing out around his stuffed cock and onto his lap, making jeonghan pant as he kept his hips moving, chasing his own end. he leaned forward, chest pressing against your back as he fucked into seokmin, not stopping until his eyes were clamped shut and he was painting his walls white.

there was a long period of time where none of you moved, then another after you had all managed to untangle from each other. jeonghan sat back, leaning against a hand and scratching his brow as he breathed heavily.

"bathtub cuddle puddle?"

you laughed, chest heaving as you looked over to him, but it was seokmin who spoke. "that sounds nice."

he started to get suspicious when his birthday got closer.

jeonghan told you to suggest a dinner outing for that night to divert attention, but he had caught you moving one of the guitars for the music room only a few days before his birthday, and he looked at you with squinted eyes when he asked if it was for him and you hurriedly said no, hiding the guitar behind your back despite him clearly being able to see it. 

"i panicked," you told jeonghan, eyes wide. "he saw it in me. he could tell it wasn't just the guitar."

"it'll be fine, y/n," he said, pushing around potted plants until they satisfied him. "he has to think it's weird that we haven't let him see this room yet, anyways."

you chewed your cheek, looking around the almost completed sunroom. the tall windows showed the light snowflakes falling from the sky, not quite thick enough to leave a layer but enough to make the enclosed yard look slightly pastel. despite the open space that looked out into the cold seoul winter, it stayed cozy, heat radiating from the floorboards and the faux fur rugs laid across them. the space near the entrance had a raised floor with a grand piano, along with several guitars hanging upon the wall, while the area partially covered by the balcony had two heavily cushioned, dark heather gray couches and a bright armchair, adorned with pillows and cable knit blankets.

jeonghan had a slight obsessive nature when it came to his home projects. he was meticulous with contracts, too, but he truly wanted this house to be perfect - not just for him, but for the people he loved. so you watched him rearrange pillows about four more times before you ran up the stairs to the loft to see if he had changed anything there since you had looked the day before.

it almost felt as though it was outdoors, with plants hanging off the edge of the railing and the rustic desk he had originally picked for your office placed to one side. you imagined doing schoolwork here, fantasizing slightly about watching seokmin play piano from your vantage point as you wrote essays. you slid open the glass doors to peek into your new office.

he had painted the walls white, taking a hint from the styling in your own apartment when he picked out a neutral toned couch and light wood shelving, your early graduation present of a computer set up spread across an L shaped desk. he had even paid to have your upright piano moved here, and cut into the next room over to give you more space for an electric drumset. you couldn't help but smile, imagining your friends coming over to record stuff with you. you had always felt strange about inviting them to your rich boyfriend's house, despite him insisting they were welcome, but he had really gone through the trouble of making a room so perfect for all of them that you had no choice.

and it was brighter, you thought. you had told him you worked better in bright spaces.

despite jeonghan's promises, the music room renovation felt like it was as much a gift for you as it was for seokmin. though, maybe he couldn't help it, when the reasons he loved you both overlapped so much.

you went to seokmin's apartment the next day with a bagged gift for him, arriving again right as his client was leaving, and you smiled at the same young man you had seen the first time you had come to visit seokmin. you knew his name now, not because you had spoken to him much, but because you had been told about him by his teacher, and you congratulated him on getting a gig the upcoming weekend.

"oh," jisung said, glancing between the two of you. "he talks about me?"

you laughed and gave him a fighting, seokmin looking upwards to hide his embarrassment as he ushered his student toward the door. "have a nice week, jisung! i'll try to be there this weekend," he said, throwing you a look as you giggled. 

"it's not for guitar, you don't have to come," the younger assured. "but if you want to, bring your girlfriend!"

"yeah!" you said, putting your fists on your hips. "i'm getting you dinner for your birthday tonight, the least you can do is take me to an underground rap show!"

"okay, both of you, no more talking," seokmin said, trying and failing to prevent jisung from stopping in his tracks at the news that it was his birthday.

"woah, teach, happy birthday!" he laughed. "you weren't gonna say anything?" he kept talking even as his teacher pushed him out of his apartment.

you couldn't stop grinning when the door closed, seokmin turning to you. he pointed at you, trying to hide his smile as he could only get out a vaguely annoyed "you."

"happy birthday, baby," you said, wrapping your arms around his neck and pulling him into a kiss. he softened against you, smiling as you pulled away, his hands on your waist as he thanked you quietly.

"he asks about you a lot," seokmin said, joining you when you laughed at the fact. "i think he has a crush on you."

you rolled your eyes. "stop bragging about me, then."

"i don't brag," he said, smiling into another kiss. "i just tell the truth. i can't help that you're a dream come true."

you only pulled away from him to grab the two thick paper bags that you had set on his couch. "c'mon, we gotta head out. open your presents."

seokmin's mouth dropped open when he saw the logo on the bag. "wait, you didn't."

"i had to," you said, giggling as he grabbed one and tugged it open, moving to the couch to pull the garment out. "you said you wanted it."

"where did you find one?" he asked, staring at the corduroy parka from the brand you saw him wear constantly. "they've been sold out for weeks!"

"i got it before then, duh." you poked his cheek when he pouted at you, his eyebrows knit. "there's more, stop getting distracted."

seokmin hugged you extra tight as a thank you for his romantic crown haul, and he decisively pulled on the golden yellow shirt with the pizza on the back, making you grin at how perfectly jeonghan had predicted his thought process before you dragged him out of his apartment to go get dinner.

"we're just picking it up," you said, jangling a keychain. he gave you a quirked eyebrow, and you giggled, pulling him over to jeonghan's car. "do you wanna see it self drive?"

you pushed the side door closed with your butt and called out to jeonghan, saying the birthday boy was here. seokmin took the pizza boxes from your arms and put them on the kitchen counter as jeonghan walked around the stairs.

"well one of us has to change," jeonghan said facetiously, and seokmin looked down at the yellow shirt peeking through his half zipped parka, looking back up at jeonghan, who was wearing the same shirt.

"wait wait wait," you giggled, turning around to undo the zipper of your own jacket, pulling it open as you spun around to reveal that you, too, were wearing the shirt.

seokmin looked between you two with wide eyes, his eyebrows creasing. "you got us matching shirts?"

"pizza shirt gang!" you giggled, stripping off your jacket. "do you like them?"

he smiled into a disbelieving laugh. "how did you know i would put it on?"

"because we know you, minnie," jeonghan said, reaching for his hand after he took off his new coat. "before we eat, i finished the sunroom today, wanna see it?"

"hang on," seokmin stopped, making his hand fall from jeonghan's. "that's not the gift, right?" he looked at you. "the sunroom isn't the gift?"

you pursed your lips, looking at the ceiling, and seokmin started to argue, making jeonghan laughed. "who cares if it's for you, i just want you to come look at it."

jeonghan is pretty sure he always loved seokmin. it wasn't something he would ever be able to change about himself, he figured, as he watched his lover cover his face with his hands, sinking to crouch on the floor as his eyes looked around the large room that was lit by fairy light. the first thing he had seen was the piano, which made him gasp, then he saw the guitars, and looked at your smiling face, suddenly connecting dots, unable to stay standing from the shock as he understood why he hadn't been allowed to help.

and then he started crying.

the two of you ushered him to a couch, sitting him down as he sniffed back the tears. you sat beside him, wrapping your arms around his shoulder and cooing, jeonghan crouching on the floor in front of him.

"i'm sorry," jeonghan said, smiling slightly as he gave him an apologetic look. "i didn't mean to overwhelm you."

seokmin choked on a laugh, wiping at his cheeks. "how did you think i'd react?"

"i don't think he thought about it," you whispered, knowing full well jeonghan could hear you.

"i got a little carried away," he admitted, hand rubbing comforting circles on seokmin's leg. "you're special to me, so i wanted to make something special for you."

"this," seokmin said, looking around, gesturing at his surroundings. "this?"

the older huffed out a laugh, almost embarrassed. "yeah, this."

seokmin laughed too, eyes wet as he looked into the other's. "i can't believe you would make something this incredible for me."

"you're incredible," jeonghan said. "i want you to feel welcome in my home."

"i couldn't believe the record wall, either," you offered when seokmin seemed speechless, pressing your cheek against the his shoulder, hand rubbing his back. "jeonghan's love language is a little unique."

seokmin sniffed one more time, studying jeonghan's face, his brow creasing ever so slightly. "holy shit, i'm in love with you."

your heart stopped as you pulled away slightly to look at him, then jeonghan, who was frozen.

"i didn't realize that's what this was," seokmin said, hand gripping the one on his thigh. "i knew i liked you, but this is-"

jeonghan rose quickly, seating himself at seokmin's other side and kissed him. "i love you," he said, thumbs wiping over his slightly damp cheekbones. "it's taken me years to admit it, but i love you."

seokmin kissed him again in response, his face feeling hot from the continued attention. he broke away, only to look around the room again, jeonghan studying his face with a smile as he did.

"i think," seokmin said, clearing his throat when the words came out weak. he looked to you, then to jeonghan. "i think this is the best birthday i've ever had."

jeonghan laughed. "we haven't even had the pizza yet."

#dude just like magic by ariana is just about the mc of this au deadass #middle finger to my thumb and then i snap it #anyways #seventeen fluff #seventeen smut #seventeen imagines #seventeen scenarios #jeonghan fluff #jeonghan smut #jeonghan imagines #jeonghan scenarios #dokyeom fluff #dokyeom smut #dokyeom imagines #dokyeom scenarios #yes all of svt are in this au even the ones not mentioned by name exist in this universe ok #they all have a place i have a chart #whenever jeonghan gets an idea for a project at home seokmin runs and grabs a bass guitar and does the home improvement bass riff #i wrote dis #seokhan poly au

[leejungchans]

trial and error : k.mg

word count | 2.9k

pairing | kim mingyu (svt) x female reader

warning(s) / includes | food mentions (lmk if i missed anything!!)

genre | fluff, humour (a lil), barista au

summary: three times mingyu tries to ask you out and fails and the one time he actually succeeds… though not without some help.

a/n: can’t have a valentine’s day/season without a present to my very seggsy wifey @seungcy 💗 heyyy babe happy very belated valentine’s day 😻 i hope you like this very little something i wrote about the man you always cheat on me with /j luv u hottie muah muah :hehecat:

PHASE 0

Mingyu thinks you might just be the cutest person he’s ever seen when you walk in. It’s like a scene pulled straight from a K-drama: dreamy music playing in his head as the bell chimes above your head with your arrival, your eyes twinkling with anticipation while you look around the café before flashing a smile at him and—

Okay, so maybe that wasn’t exactly how it played out. He caught a glimpse of you before you promptly disappeared behind the growing queue of customers waiting to have their order taken. He’s instantly reminded of all the times Wonwoo teased him about his tendency to fall in love with strangers easily, but that’s not going to stop him from developing a crush on you. Maybe you really will be the one this time! Who knows?

So when you walk up to the counter, his palms are already starting to get sweaty. God, you look so cute with your pink beret.

“Good morning!” you greet cheerfully, “can I get an iced latte to go, please?”

“Sure,” Mingyu says plainly because he doesn’t trust himself not to blurt out something painfully uncool to you, “cash or card?”

You’re either unfazed or unaware of his monotonous attitude, still smiling brightly at him as you answer the latter and hold your card to the reader. You move over to the waiting zone with your receipt, oblivious to the distress you’ve caused Mingyu from your fingers touching when he handed you the slip of paper. His heart hammers as he watches your back profile, eyes lingering on the cute pins on your backpack—how much more endearing can you get? he wonders to himself, a smile tugging at his lips as the Pikachu hanging from your bag bounces with every step.

The customer after you clears their throat, and with a fiery hue spread across his cheeks, Mingyu tears his attention away from you with a sheepish grin. That usually does the job; even the most peevish patrons find it hard to stay annoyed with him even when he's looking at them like that.

“Sorry about that, what would you like to order?”

PHASE 1

“You sure this isn’t just another one of your three-day crushes?”

“Yes!” Mingyu whines, looking up from the table he’s been wiping down with a damp rag. “It’s been more than a week and the last time she came in we actually had a conversation! And at least this time I know her name!”

“That’s a start,” Wonwoo agrees, “what did you guys talk about?”

Mingyu’s eyes practically shine when he whirls around to face his best friend. “She told me she moved out of her university dorms to live with a roommate, and that she started coming here because it’s on the way to the bus stop.”

“The one a few blocks down?”

“I think so?” Mingyu hums as he secures his apron around his waist, ready to start another busy shift. Despite the early hour, on a Monday no less, he finds himself looking forward to the morning rush, because even seeing you for just a few minutes brings the brightest of smiles to his face.

Wonwoo observes quietly as his friend giddily takes his place behind the counter. Sure, Mingyu’s had countless crushes on customers in the past, but he’s never seen him as smitten for one as you. He’s refilling the straw holder when Mingyu speaks again.

“I’m gonna do it.”

Wonwoo pushes his glasses further up his nose bridge. “Do what?”

“Ask Y/N out,” Mingyu says like it’s the most obvious answer in the world. “For coffee or something, so we can get to know each other.”

“You’re gonna ask her out for coffee… when you’re already working at the café she goes to?”

Huh, he has a point. “Then… I’ll let her pick! Yeah, that’s it!” He then falls silent for several beats before his voice comes out slightly shaky. “You don’t think someone would suggest rock-climbing or bungee-jumping for the first date… right?”

Wonwoo snorts. “Probably not. But I’d focus on asking her out for now if I were you.”

“Pft, it’ll be easy.”

Spoiler alert—it’s not. Because the moment you walk up to the counter with your usual cheery smile, the short spiel Mingyu had come up with all but disappeared from his mind, and he’s once again reduced to a tongue-tied mess before you.

“Are you okay?” you ask, peering at him curiously after noticing his shifting, nervous gaze as he punches in your order.

“Y-Yeah! Everything’s fine!” Mingyu squeaks, gesturing for you to tap your card. “Don’t worry about me! Everything’s just fine!”

From the corner of his eye, he sees Wonwoo glance over at him, his expression wholly unimpressed as though to say “as if anyone’s gonna be convinced”.

“O…kay, well… thanks, Mingyu!” You don’t seem to be offended, perhaps just a little confused, by his odd behaviour as you take your receipt and begin moving aside for the next person in line, but it still has guilt and panic sinking deep into his gut like a ton of bricks.

“W-Wait!”

Your widened eyes blink owlishly at his sudden outburst. “Hm?”

Mingyu blushes, the rosy pink tint on his cheeks now rapidly spreading to his ears. “I—I was j-just wondering if… uh…if…”

“If…?”

“If you also wanted a blueberry muffin, they’re fresh out of the oven,” Mingyu finishes lacklusterly, already mentally slapping himself.

“Oh! Sure!”

And as he watches you tap your card against the reader once again for your added purchase, the disappointed sagging of his shoulders having gone unnoticed, he wonders what had deluded him into thinking this would be anything near easy.

PHASE 2

“You’re going to what?”

Pointedly ignoring the disbelieving look Wonwoo sends him, Mingyu ushers him aside as he takes your cup and the milk frothing pitcher from him.

“I’m doing the latte art,” he finally responds before adding as an afterthought, “only for Y/N’s though, I don’t think I’m capable of doing more.”

“Yeah, because there’s a reason why Seungcheol put me in charge of the hot lattes for our shifts.”

He’d really rather not be reminded of the questionable foam design he made that led to such a decision from their supervisor. “No, it’s because I want to channel all my energy into just her cup.”

“Right…” Wonwoo says skeptically, but relents and steps aside anyway because he’s a good friend and he genuinely wants to see Mingyu’s love life thrive. But he also doesn’t want to witness the absolute fiasco that may very well likely result from Mingyu being let anywhere near the milk frother. Having hot milk dripping from every surface of their workspace isn’t the most ideal reoccurrence, and this time Wonwoo would like to be as far away from the splash zone as possible.

Mingyu’s tongue pokes out from between his lips, deep in concentration as he begins pouring the milk into your cup. So far so good, he mentally pats himself on the back. Maybe this will prove to Seungcheol that he deserves a second chance with the latte art.

A loud clatter resounds through the café, startling him. His hand jolts, hot milk missing the rim of the cup and splattering inches away from his feet. Mingyu cranes his neck in the direction of the sound just in time to see a customer nearby picking up their fork from the ground with a sheepish smile, cheeks tinged red as their friend muffles their giggles behind a gloved hand.

Huffing, Mingyu turns back to your latte to find the design ruined, what used to be a heart now split down the middle. Definitely not a very nice omen to give someone just a week before Valentine’s Day. What if you thought he was trying to curse you?

“You want me to do it for you?” Wonwoo asks sympathetically, gesturing for them to swap duties. With a heavy sigh, Mingyu agrees, taking his initial place back behind the cash register and plastering a smile on his face as the same customer comes up asking for another fork.

A pout subconsciously makes its way onto his face at the sight of your smile when Wonwoo brings you your latte. He can’t hear what you’re saying, but he’s guessing you’re marvelling over the leaf design his friend created.

Maybe next time.

PHASE 3

“Ta-da! It’s a coffee stencil!”

“Yes…” Wonwoo enunciates slowly, not knowing where this is going, “we have those in the back for special events—speaking of which, we need to grab the heart ones for the Valentine’s Day event starting tomorrow. Did you specifically buy that for this?”

“No!” Mingyu says, bringing the stencil closer to Wonwoo’s face, practically shoving it in the space between his eyes. “See? It says “YOU’RE CUTE”, I’m gonna use it when Y/N orders her latte and this time I’m bringing it over to her table and ask if she wants to hang out!”

His words are almost slurred from how excited he is, almost vibrating with excitement because his plan is so fool-proof; he knows he won’t mess up with the stencil and he knows you come in every other day to enjoy a piping hot cup of latte and a toasted croissant before heading to your late-morning lectures. There’s no way anyone could ruin it for him this time.

He can’t help himself from staring at the door awaiting your arrival during whatever short break he gets from taking orders and heating up baked goods, oblivious to the way Wonwoo occasionally sneaks glances at him with an amused smirk tugging at his lips. If the phrase ‘lovesick puppy’ were a person, it’d undoubtedly be Kim Mingyu.

Soon enough, your figure appears behind the frosted glass windows of the café, and while your entrance brings in a gust of frosty wind from the streets outside, he feels nothing but warmth in his chest as you walk up to the counter with a smile he’s come to associate with the summer sun. Sweet and dazzling.

“Hi, Y/N!” he says, a soft pink blush blooming across his cheeks, his fingers already hovering over your usual order on his screen, “hot vanilla latte with a toasted croissant?” His stencil—the one he bought just for you—sits on the counter right behind him, patiently waiting to be dusted in a layer of cocoa powder to create his little message.

You smile apologetically as you adjust the beanie on your head. It’s so you, he thinks, in a dreamy peach shade and topped with a fluffy white pom-pom.

“I’ll have to get both to-go today, I have to meet up with some groupmates for a project,” you explain, and Mingyu feels the blood drain from his face at your words. He can almost hear the shattering glass sound effect if this were a rom-com; the universe must be playing a prank on him.

It’s not even April Fool’s.

“O-Okay,” he falters, his arm suddenly weighing heavy as he inputs your order into the machine, “y-yeah, I can definitely do that.”

You smile gratefully. “You’re the best, Mingyu.”

He definitely doesn’t feel the best as he watches you leave with your breakfast, not even the encouraging pat on the shoulder from Wonwoo is helping much.

“Always next time, right?” his friend consoles.

He wonders how many more next times it will take.

PHASE 4

“I’m giving up,” Mingyu bemoans, slumping over the counter fifteen minutes to opening, “I’ll just accept that the universe doesn’t want me to find love.”

Wonwoo is hardly fazed by the sight of the giant man draped over the granite as he touches up the drawing of the limited edition drink—the red velvet latte—on a small chalkboard to put near the cash register.

“You’re being dramatic, Gyu,” he reasons, voice soft over the scribbling of chalk, “just try again today.”

“But it’s Valentine’s Day! Do you know how many happy couples I walked past on my way here? Plus, maybe she already has plans and isn’t coming in. I’ll never believe in love again.”

“Let’s just see how it goes, hm? Don’t give up hope just yet.”

By some miracle, Wonwoo’s right. You show up precisely thirty-seven minutes before their shift ends—yes, Mingyu counted.

“Any plans today?” he probes lightly, trying to sound casual when you order the red velvet latte and a scone.

“Nah, no boyfriend sadly,” you reveal with a quiet chuckle, “but it’s okay. It’s just any other day, right?”

Mingyu nods. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Wonwoo shoot him a knowing look. “Yeah, I guess... But if it makes you feel less alone, I don’t really have plans either,” he blurts.

“You? Really?” You look skeptical, lips curled disbelievingly.

He places a hand over his heart in mock hurt, thankful business is slow today so he has more time to talk to you without worrying about holding up the line. “What? You don’t trust me?”

“Well… I just didn’t expect someone like you to not have plans on Valentine’s Day.”

“And what kind of person am I?” He delights in how the question seems to fluster you, internally cooing at how adorable you are as you fumble over your words and take your receipt before claiming a table near the pick-up counter. Your reaction gives him a little hope that maybe, just maybe, you feel the same way as he does.

His confidence all but dissipates into thin air the second he finishes your latte. He used the same ‘YOU’RE CUTE’ stencil for the cocoa powder on top, and thankfully it turned out great if the appreciative whistle Wonwoo let out when he saw it was anything to go by. But the thought of bringing it over to you was daunting. What if you didn’t feel the same way? What if you don’t realise he used a different stencil specifically for you?

“What if I trip and accidentally spill it all over her?”

“You won’t,” Wonwoo groans, exasperated by his friend’s ridiculousness, “now hurry up and get this to her before she starts wondering why it’s taking so long.”

Mingyu’s eyes are pleading as he asks, “Can you do it for me?”

“What? The whole week you’ve been sulking because you couldn’t ask her out and now you want… me to do it for you?”

“I wasn’t sulking,” he mumbles, looking over his shoulder to find you happily sketching something on your iPad. “And well, now I’m chickening out. Maybe I’ll do it when she’s about to leave, it feels less awkward that way. Please?”

Wonwoo’s sharp eyes narrow behind his glasses, the gears turning in his head before sighing. “Fine.”

A new customer walks up to the cash register, tearing Mingyu’s attention away from your cup as he rushes to take their order. Wonwoo watches carefully from the corner of his eye, ensuring Mingyu isn’t looking his way as he nabs a napkin and a pen from his pocket, having decided that his friend needs a little nudge in the right direction.

You look up from your screen with a smile when the other barista gingerly carries the steaming beverage and the pastry over to your table. He’s cute, but he’s not Mingyu. Grinning down at the rather fitting design on your latte, you lift the cup to take a sip only for your eyes to be immediately drawn to the napkin that sits on the saucer. You scan the message scrawled on it, hiding your smile behind the rim of your cup as you feign nonchalance, though pinpricks of heat are already beginning to form on your cheeks.

Still, you wait after you’ve finished your late breakfast until you spy Mingyu mopping up the floor behind the pick-up counter. He peers up through his eyelashes when you place your empty cup and plate in front of him.

“Thanks,” he says with a smile, “just leave it there, I’ll get it after I finish.”

Much to his confusion, you don’t walk away. Instead, you continue standing at the opposite side of the counter with an expectant glint in your eyes. Bewildered, he looks down at your empty cup, brows furrowing when he spots what appears to be writing on the napkin underneath it. Hesitantly, he picks it up.

Oh, he’s so going to kill Wonwoo.

my friend thinks ur rlly cute and wants to ask u out and it’s painful watching him struggle, pls put him (& me) out of his (our) misery if u like him 2, no pressure though

“I—I can explain,” Mingyu stammers, mouth opening and closing like a fish but words simply refuse to leave him. It’s cute, it reminds you of the goldfish you had as a kid, Turtle. You loved that funky orange dude.

And perhaps love truly is in the air, because you think you really like the barista standing before you too.

“Well, I did say I don’t have any plans today,” you muse, beaming at him, “and if my memory serves me right, so did you.”

“M-Me?” he echoes, jabbing a finger at his chest, “you wanna hang out… wi-with me?”

A beautiful chime travels to his ears as you giggle. “Yes, Mingyu, I’d love to hang out with you.”

“My shift ends in ten! W-We could go somewhere after that, if you want!”

You grin, cheeks round from smiling so widely as you toy with the lace hem of your sleeve. “Sounds like a date.”

a/n: is this word vomit? atp idk anymore 😞 but thank you sm for reading and feedback is greatly appreciated hehe ily besties 💗💗

#ficscafe #caratwritersclub #kdiarynet #sol.writings #seventeen x reader #mingyu x reader #svt x reader #kim mingyu x reader #seventeen imagines #svt imagines #seventeen fluff #svt fluff #seventeen scenarios #svt scenarios #mingyu fluff #kim mingyu fluff #mingyu imagines #kim mingyu imagines #mingyu scenarios #kim mingyu scenarios #seventeen mingyu fluff #svt mingyu fluff #seventeen mingyu imagines #svt mingyu imagines #mingyu x you #kim mingyu x you

[wonwoonlight]

my daisy / chapter 8 | kim mingyu

➝ CEO!Mingyu x Secretary!Reader

➝ strangers to lovers // single dad!Mingyu // fluff // lighthearted // non idol!au // like pls dont expect any dramas here lol // tiny bit of angst ig

➝ series warning: mentions of sex, no smut but there’s implied sexual activities, insecurity (as always jshbdjhsfshbf am sorry), curses, food, let me know if theres more ^^

➝ word count: 2.4k

➝ A/N: I. AM. BUZZING. WITH. EXCITEMENTTTT. i love this album so much specially Rock With You and I Can't Runaway 😭😭 anywayyy, this chapter is a bit short but I promise the next one is gonna be longer heheh enjoy!! idk how you'll like this one tbh :/ but, as always, your thought would be welcome❤

when your cousin asks you to be her substitute at SVT Inc. as she takes her maternity leave, you’re pretty sure this wasn’t what you signed up for.

series masterlist

“Daisy!!!” Gyuri squeals once she sees you, running out of her father’s embrace the moment Mingyu kneels down and lets her go.

“Hi Lili,” you grin and accept her hug, your arms trapping her in. You look up at her father standing in front of you, and you greet him with a shy smile before you stand up with Gyuri in your arms. “Hi Gyu.”

“Hi,” he’s adorably holding back a grin at the name, and instead settles for a tight smile and a squeeze on your arm. “Why are you outside?”

“I’ve just arrived actually,” you chuckle, telling him Jisoo and the others are waiting. You turn around and tell the waiter that you have a table under Kim Jisoo, so he nods in return before telling you to follow him inside. Gyuri can’t stay still in your arms, constantly moving around as if she’s trying to dance. “You’re super excited, aren’t you?”

Gyuri nods fervently, her small fingers playing with your hair as she tells you about how much she’s been looking forward to the lunch meeting. You grin at this, and Mingyu scolds her so she won’t move too much because she’s already heavy as it is.

“Lili not heavy!” she gasps in horror. “Papa heavy.”

You look at Mingyu in amusement as he pretends to clutch his heart and tells her how hurt he is. But Gyuri doesn’t seem to care, simply sticks out her tongue as she clutches herself closer to you.

“Oh, did you come together?” Jisoo asks when the waiter leaves the private room after guiding you and Mingyu, and then takes Gyuri from your arms as the girl giggles when Jisoo tickles her belly.

“No, I was just about to go in when they arrived,” you explain, thanking Mingyu for pulling out your seat before he settles on the seat beside you, Gyuri’s baby chair on his other side. Jisoo and Jennie share a knowing look at the interaction, but they don’t say anything about it just yet and Jisoo instead asks you about the trip to Japan as if she didn’t practically call you everyday then.

“You,” you narrow your eyes at Jennie. “…have a way of putting on schedules that I don’t feel tired until I get on top of the hotel bed.”

“I’m amazing, aren’t I?” Jennie grins, taking note of the way Mingyu’s arm is limply hanging down with his elbow resting on the edge of your seat. “I know I have to keep you moving so you won’t get exhausted in the middle.”

It’s Mingyu who replies, shaking his head as he remembers how tired you looked by the end of the trip. “You know her feet almost gave up because of the heels?”

“Don’t tell me you got through all that schedule with heels?” she turns to you with a scandalized look.

Again, it’s Mingyu who answers while you pout at her. “No, I told her to change into a plain pair of sneakers by day two.”

“Didn’t you only pack your heels and a streaking red Converse?” Jisoo frowns, remembering how you tell her you would not need three pairs of shoes even though she insists you should bring one more pair so you could ‘color code your fashion’.

You bite your lip and glance downwards when Mingyu helpfully supplies for you. “Yes. I told her to buy a pair of white shoes with my card but she wouldn’t budge, so I bought one myself and forced her to use it.”

Your face burns at the memory, the picture of Mingyu appearing in front of your hotel room with an Alexander McQueen paper bag still clear in your mind. You have initially refused, too flustered at the sudden, overpriced gift, but Mingyu insists you take the shoes and wear them instead of the heels during meetings, or he’ll just throw them away somewhere outside the hotel. Naturally, you have no choice but to comply and accept.

You still have no idea how he got your size right.

“Wait, is that why you asked me about my size?” Jisoo cuts, something clicking in her mind.

“Yeah. I remember you said you have the same size as her.” Mingyu is looking at your friend, but the grin on his face makes you jittery inside. Did he need to do that just to make sure you wear comfortable shoes? “You thought I was buying you shoes, huh?”

Their bickers fade out in the background when you catch Jennie’s knowing glance, her eyebrows shoot up as if to ask if you’re still in denial when Mingyu does all that for you without anyone asking him to. You don’t know how to react to her, so you simply shrug before you turn away from her prying eyes.

It’s been roughly two weeks since you’ve come back from the trip and, despite your ongoing denial about Mingyu’s interest towards you, you’re just downright lying if you say the relationship between the two of you hasn’t rapidly progressed since.

After that night in the festival, something shifts between you and Mingyu more than it did before. He gets bolder with his touch; brushing his fingers against yours every chance he has, eyes boring into yours like you’re always in interrogation, and even offers to take you home everytime he catches you working overtime (Seungkwan notices all of this, and the first thing he did was to ask if you took his advice and actually shoot your shot). There are also the sudden phone calls when you’re off work, ones that he blames Gyuri for even though you usually end up talking to him more than you do Gyuri.

You’re far from complaining, but you still don’t know what to do with the whole situation. And while you’re no longer in denial about your feelings for the guy, your brain still refuses to accept that Mingyu might even be remotely interested in you. There’s just… no way.

It doesn’t make sense.

You can’t explain why, but it just doesn’t.

“You’re spacing out again,” Mingyu mutters from beside you. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah, yeah,” you smile hesitantly. “Just… some stuff on my mind.”

“You’ve been doing that a lot, you know?” he frowns, worry painted clear on his face. “Are you overworked? Should I ask Seungkwan to take some of your workloads?”

You immediately wave your hands at that, telling him it’s not about work and your workload is fine as it is. Mingyu doesn’t seem like he buys it, but he knows he’s not in a place where he can push it, so he settles for an ‘are you really sure?’ and lets it go when you give him a nod with a small smile that doesn’t quite reach your eyes.

It isn’t long until your smile turns genuine though, and when he follows your line of sight, he finds Gyuri bursting into giggles on Seungcheol’s lap. He says something that Mingyu can’t hear, but her eyes turn big and she gasps lightly at whatever he’s whispering and then happily squeals when Seungcheol drops a big kiss on her cheek.

“Lili eats with Uncle Cherry!” she declares to the table. Mingyu just chuckles and nods, well aware that Seungcheol has always had ways with children and he’s easily Gyuri’s favorite uncle out of all his friends.

“Used to heartbreak, huh?” you jokingly say to Mingyu.

“As long as it’s not because of you,” he boldly says with a wink, his voice so low that it’s only you who heard him.

You look at him with mock disguise, gently punching his arm to cover up the fact that you’re flustered beyond measure. It doesn’t work though, because his grin doesn’t falter and you’re certain Mingyu knows you enough by now to be able to tell when you’re embarrassed.

“Anyway, where’s your husband?” you turn to Jennie instead, eyes dropping to her huge belly. You’re truly unsure if Jennie is in an okay condition to have a lunch meeting outside, she’s probably on that stage where she can be in labour just about anytime and you feel like you’re more nervous than she is about the whole thing.

“He wanted to join us, but Hansol suddenly called, said he needs help in the garage or something,” Jennie shrugs nonchalantly, taking a sip of the iced tea in front of her. “It’s okay, I see him enough already. He’ll join later if he can or he’ll just pick me up.”

“Auntie Nini, baby here?” Gyuri softly pokes her belly, having moved from Seungcheol’s lap to Jisoo’s.

“Yes. A little more and you can meet the baby,” she beams at the little girl who’s still so fascinated with the fact that there’s a baby inside her auntie.

Just then, the door opens and the waiter comes in with the food you’ve all ordered, prompting everyone to stop conversing and almost immediately starts digging in the moment the door closes back. True to her words, Gyuri is back on Seungcheol’s lap while the guy patiently feeds her before he takes a bite himself. Next to him, Jisoo is busy helping Jennie who sits beside her, putting food on her plate and helping her move her seat so she can eat comfortably.

And then there’s Mingyu who is doing the same; his chopsticks are busy placing food on your plate with food that he declares ‘to die for’ and ‘you haven’t lived if you haven’t tried’. If your friends notice this strangely intimate gesture, they don’t say anything about it.

The lunch goes pleasantly like always, and when the meal is done, Jennie decides she wants dessert which Gyuri delightfully agrees to. Mingyu tells her she’s only allowed to have dessert if she goes back to his lap after being with Seungcheol the whole time. Gyuri whines, but eventually says she wants to sit with you because ‘Lili can sit with Papa tomorrow’.

“I’m sad, Flower. I really am,” he dramatically says, earning a snicker from Jennie and Seungcheol while Gyuri simply giggles at her father’s forced pout. She waves her hand though, signaling him to get closer so she can kiss him on the cheek. Your breath hitches when he leans down to Gyuri on your lap, his hair faintly grazes your arm as he does so.

“Love you, Papa,” she whispers between giggles, the soft words warming your heart beyond control. And as if that’s not enough blow to your heart already, Mingyu whispers the words back to her with the happiest smile you’ve ever seen across his face.

“You guys are so mushy,” you scrunch your nose, feeling a little weird to be witnessing the interaction in such close proximity. It’s a good weird, though, one that makes your heart buzz in content and the butterflies in your stomach fly just enough to make your inside flutter without being too overwhelming.

You don’t know if it’s good that a part of you longs to continue witnessing this in the long run.

Mingyu always makes sure not to check his phone first thing in the morning when it's the weekend. Weekends are usually reserved for his family and, most importantly, Gyuri, and he knows himself enough to know that he’d be replying to emails and reading updates despite it being weekends if he checks his work phone because that’s just how dedicated he is to his job.

That said, Mingyu frowns when he wakes up to an empty bed, his daughter nowhere in sight. Did his mom take her? He gets up from the bed, stretching his arms up as he walks out of his old room in his parents’ house without even bothering to bring his phone with him.

It’s been sometimes since his parents come back to Seoul and, everytime they do, they’d have Mingyu stay over in their house along with his child. They’ve called him a few days ago, telling him they’re flying back to Seoul over the weekend and he should bring Gyuri with him to sleep over.

“Morning,” he sleepily groans as he makes his way to his mom’s garden, Gyuri comfortably sits on his mom’s lap as she nibbles on her bread. He drops a kiss on top of her head and then his mom’s, taking the empty seat beside them. “Did she wake up early?”

“It’s you who woke up late, son,” his mom scolds playfully. She's a little tense despite her smile, Mingyu notices, a telltale that she has something to say but isn’t sure how to bring up. So Mingyu kindly throws the bait and asks if something’s up.

His mom would usually spill right away once he asks, but she seems almost hesitant this time, taking her time to answer. An alarm quickly rings in his mind; Mingyu has never been this nervous in front of his mom since the time he had to tell his parents he got someone pregnant. He looks at his daughter for comfort, her presence has always been able to calm him down no matter what and he’s glad he insists on keeping her even if he has to do it alone.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were dating—uh, what was her name… Daisy?”

Mingyu violently coughs at the mention of you, wondering how on earth his mom came up with this question at 8 in a Saturday morning. Gyuri lights up at the name, but the two adults don’t really answer when she asks if you’re coming.

“You mean [Y/N]?” he makes sure, stalling time. “How did you know her?”

“Lili calls her Daisy,” she shrugs, her calm face scaring him more than it should. “Lili called you with my phone when you were in Japan, remember?”

“Oh, right. And… no,” he answers hesitantly, something that his mom catches but doesn't comment on just yet. “She’s Jennie’s temporary substitute. Gyuri just likes her a lot. Where did that even come from?”

His mom doesn’t answer immediately, simply hums before she fumbles with her phone and pushes it in front of his face. He recognizes the place immediately, as it was just last week that he was there with you and the others. There’s a picture of you, Gyuri, and him there, with Gyuri safely in your arms. Both of your faces are blurred in contrast to Mingyu's, his wide grin clearly caught on camera.

Is The Most Sought Out Bachelor in South Korea Actually Taken? SVT Inc. CEO Kim Mingyu Seen with His Hidden Family

©wonwoonlight – all rights reserved.

taglist: @yslshua@penny-quinn@nollixtrml@dnylwoo@itsveronicaxxx@john-and-paul@wheeinz@rjsmochii@w0nuuu@boowanie@n6body@imtotallydef@wwssi@bythe8@cheolright@coupsiekkuma@hoe4wonwoo@kyeomjjigae@jh-fn@clairdelunesstuff@yoongischeeksluv@onlywonforhui@janandbeyond@treasure-hwa@teddy-cheol@tito-jun @projectjuvia @notscoupy@jeonshuawreads @cheoriemoawa @wtfkidult @itsdnguyenxoxo @nothingbutadeadesceane @juli-ssi@soonchanshua @wonunuu @cottonsthings @fr0gluver

#mingyu scenarios #seventeen scenarios #seventeen fic #seventeen fluff #seventeen scenario #svt fic #seventeen imagines #mingyu x reader #seventeen au #svt scenarios #my daisy masterlist #svt scenario #mingyu scenario #mingyu angst #mingyu fluff #mingyu au #svt fluff #mingyu imagines #mingyu fic

[district2001]

Protective Hyungs Pt.2

Seventeen AU: 14th member

Jangmi x 95′ Line ft. Stray Kids

Recap: Jangmi gets angry at her hyungs for being so closed minded

Requested: Yes

jangmi scenario please! maybe one where members get protective over her esp 95z, when someone from another group flirts with her during a music show or award show? tysm

Words: 1.8k

AN: Requests are OPEN

Be warned for Angsty SVT

  Jangmi’s Masterlist

Read Part 1 First: Just a tad Protective Pt.1

Jangmi speed walked out of the room, trying her very best to ignore her hyung’s voices.

“You know better than to leave the main room.”

“Are you really this irresponsible?”

“You could have got lost.”

“Why were you even here?”

“I swear if it was to hang out with that boy who speaks terrible Kore-”

“Rydel Kim.” Seungcheol bellowed, right as she touched the handle of the door which would take them to the main waiting room.

She turned around at the mention of her real name, sucking in a sharp breath. “What.”

“Why did you go backstage?” Seungcheol boomed, his jaw seemingly tense,

Jangmi closed her eyes firmly for a split second, trying to keep her tears at bay. “I told you. I went to see a friend.”

“Stop with that bullshit.” Jeonghan joined. “You don’t even know the guy- he asked for your number.”

She sighed in annoyance. “If you would let me speak, you would know that I went to see Kevin. Not Felix. Kevin.”

“That’s his name.” Joshua muttered under his breath.

When no one spoke, she threw her hands in the air out of frustration. “Are we done here? Can I go?”

“Absolutely not.” Jeonghan declared. “Why were you with Felix and not Kevin then?”

“Because Dino needed to go pee so I waited for him. And then Felix walked by, and I thought it’d be nice to introduce myself.”

“Introduce yourself?” Seungcheol scoffed. “If you’re going to lie, at least lie well.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Jangmi asked accusatorily, glaring at him.

“He means how you never go and make friends- you always need us to make them for you.” Jeonghan interjected, replying on their leaders behalf.

“I make friends myself”

“Name one.”

“Mark, Haechan, Kevin, Som-”

“She doesn’t count. Nayoung introduced her.”

“I still named a friend!” Jangmi screeched. She could feel her eyes becoming cloudy.

“Should we chat about this later?” Joshua pointed at the sign saying, ‘keep quiet.’

“Fine.”

“Good.”

“Hyungs!” They all turn to the left, to see Dino walking up to them with the members of Stray Kids.

“Annyeonghaseyo Sunbaemin.”

“Annyeonghaseyo.” Her hyungs bowed back politely, the lack of smiles clearly evident on their face.

“I’m looking forward to your performance today.” Chan grinned, not noticing the gloomy atmosphere.

“Thank you.” Seungcheol replied coldly. “Nice meeting you.”

And with that he walked away, Jeonghan and Joshua right behind him.

Jangmi turned to face Stray Kids. “I’m sorry about them. They’re a bit stressed about our performance.”

“They’re not usually like this.” Dino added.

Seungmin smiled. “That’s alright. We better head of anyway.”

“See you around.” Jangmi chirped, before grabbing Dino’s arm and following 95’ line back into the main room.

“That was weird.” Dino noted.

She grimaced. “I’ll tell you after.”

The rest of the award show went quite smoothly. Her hyungs acted civil, which meant she did as well. No need to escalate the matter further.

In fact, she didn’t even know why they were mad. Because she spoke to Felix? Maybe because she went out of the room. But then again so did Dino?

All she knew was that she wouldn’t be able to fall asleep until the matter was solved. Meaning that was why she found herself on the rooftop of their apartment at 2am with her hyungs.

“Are you going to explain why y’all acted so rudely today.” Jangmi asked, sinking her fingers deep into her jacket pockets.

“I don’t think we acted rudely.”

“You’re joking.” She scoffed. “You acted like the biggest dicks in front of Felix.”

“I admit we didn’t act nicely.” Josh agreed.

“But you did also act irresponsibly.” Seungcheol added.

She nodded. “I‘m sorry. I should have known better after doing this many awards shows”

“You live and you learn.” Jeonghan said, rubbing his hands together for warmth.

“I’ll ask you ne-” She stopped. “Why isn’t Chan here then?”

“Why would he be here?” Seungcheol asked.

Jangmi furrowed her eyebrows. “Because he also snuck out of the main room.”

“What does Chan sneaking out of the main room have to do with you talking to boys?”

Jangmi felt the anger starting to simmer within her. “Wait, you’re not talking about me sneaking out right?” She clarified.

“That.”

“As well as hanging out with the boy.” Jeonghan continued.

Joshua corrected under his breath. “Felix.” Seungcheol glared at him.

“I’m suddenly not allowed to hang out with boys now?” Jangmi asked accusingly.

“Not boys who are clearly trying to get in your pants.” Seungcheol replied, raising his voice.

Jangmi crossed her arms angrily. “That was totally uncalled for.”

“No. What was uncalled for was him flirting with you, and you not stopping it.”

“HE WAS NOT FLIRTING WITH ME.” Jangmi told Jeonghan. “And if he was, I would shut it down.”

“He shouldn’t even flirt with you in the first place.” Jeonghan exclaimed. “You’re his fucking sunbae.”

She held a hand in front of her. “I’m not even going to respond to that cos you’re off your damn mind. A girl and guy can have a civil conversation.”

“Not when he’s staring at you like that.”

“Like what?” She stoped talking- trying not to cry. But it’s too late, she blinked thrice but couldn’t stop the tears that were starting to roll down.

“He’s looking like you’re the most important thing in the world.”

“Why can’t he, Seungcheol?” Jangmi questioned, furiously trying to remove any trace of tears.

“Because-”

“Because what?” she asked firmly. Stepping closer to her hyungs. “And what if he was. Why am I getting punished for his actions?”

“You should have known and stopped it.”

“Instead of standing so close to each other.”

“Why is everything my fault?” Jangmi yelled. Like really yelled. And she rarely, if not ever, yells in anger. Frustration? Yes. But never anger.

Yet here she was, yelling.

“Nothing’s your fault. But you need to learn to read the room.”  Joshua acquiesced.

Jangmi turned to glare at him. “I did read the mother fucking room. And let me tell you what it was completely fine.” She swore in English.

“You guys.” She pointed at her oldest hyungs. She was crying again, the anger and bitterness in her voice a mere second ago was replaced by tears of frustration. “You guys don’t trust me.”

“No. Jangmi. We do trust you. You know we trust you.” Joshua’s voice softened.

“Well, doesn’t seem like it.” She pressed. “You complain I don’t have friends, and then don’t trust me when I decide to make friends.”

“We just want you to make the right friends.” Seungcheol clarified.

Jangmi scoffed. “And you know what’s best for me? I can make my own goddamn decision.”

“You can.” Jeonghan stepped closer. “But as your hyungs, we’re always going to look out for you. Whether you like it or not.”

“But why can’t I be friends with Felix.” Jangmi questioned. “What makes him different from Mark or Sanha or Somi.”

“He’s a boy.” Josh stated obviously.

“Hate to break it to you mate. Mark’s a boy too.”

“But we know his groupmates.”

“You can’t only expect me to make friends with members of your friends.”

“That was what you did before.”

“Yes.” Jangmi sighed. “That’s when I couldn’t speak Korean well. When I was super shy. I’ve been trying really hard to be more outgoing. And for fucks sake. You’ve all told me to be make friends.”

She paused to compose herself. “Do you know how bloody long I’ve waited for to make an Australian friend. YEARS. It’s been 3 fucking years since we’ve debuted, and you’ve ruined my one shot by being jealous bandmates.”

“No ones stopping you from being friends with Rose.” Jeonghan stated, in a matter-of-fact tone.

“Someone’s gender doesn’t dictate if I can be friends with them or not.” Jangmi glared at him. “And once again. You have no right in deciding who I make my friend, through some bullshit criteria.”

“We’re making sure you’re being careful. You’re a girl. Don’t give boys the wrong idea.”

Jangmi raised her eyebrows at Seungcheol, after his last comment. “Don’t play that card with me.”

She tried to ignore the rage which was pulsing through her veins. “Why do I need to make sure boys don’t get the wrong idea? Why can’t they figure it out for themselves? You all have a brain. You can learn to read the room. Why does the responsibility have to fall on me?”

“It’s because you his sun-”

“Don’t give me the sunbae bullshit.” She interrupted Josh. “You know very well I would have been kicked out of Seventeen if I had tried to flirt with Yugyeom or Taehyung of some shit. Their members wouldn’t have been dicks and blamed them.”

Josh sighed in frustration, before pausing to think of his choice of words. “You know what. You’re right. We shouldn’t have put all the blame on you. We’re sorry.”

“We are?” Seungcheol asked in confusion.

“Yes we are.” Jeonghan agreed, his tone a lot kinder than before. “We shouldn’t have freaked out that you were making friends. Especially since we give you so much shit for it.”

Jangmi smiled. “Thank you.”

“Even though it did look like you were flirting, we should believe you when you say you weren’t flirting with him.” He continued.

“I understand how it looked like flirting. But I tell you guys all the time. I’m way more comfortable talking to boy after living with all of you. Girls’ kind of scare me.” She chuckled.

Jeonghan gave a weak smile. “And about the whole blaming you for his flirting was not cool- I think this is a perfect instance of the patriarchy influencing out through process.”

“I see you’re reading the books I got you for your birthday.”

Jeonghan nodded proudly.

Seungcheol cleared his throat. He had been awfully quiet during the other apologies. “Look. You’re our baby sister. And whether you like it or not. We’re not going to be very happy with you flirting with boys.”

“How many times to I have to tell you I wasn’t flirting.” Jangmi groaned.

“We do have to accept it some point, but just know we’re gonna give him a hard time no matter what.”

Jangmi nodded, wiping the tears which were now drying on her face. “I’m sorry for leaving you all and I’m sorry for giving the impression I was flirting, which I definitely was not.”

She stepped closer to them. “Group hug?” Jangmi asked, with her arms outstretched.

Her hyungs happily obliged, and she had never been so thankful for their warmth.

“Guys trust me. I don’t have a crush on Felix. Or Kevin for that matter. Honestly.”

Seungcheol moved her hair out of her face. “Do you have a crush on someone else?” He innocently joked.

“No.” She denied.

She totally did though.

#Jangmi SVT OC #seventeen #svt #stray kids #felix #joshua #joshua hong #hong jisoo #scoups #seungcheol #choi seungcheol #jeonghan #yoon jeonghan #seventeen 14th member #svt 14th member #kpop female additions #kpop additional member #kpop female addition #kpop additions #female member addition #kpop fic #kpop au #kpop imagine #seventeen angst

[ravixen]

The vocal unit’s reaction to s/o pretending to be asleep is so cute!!! Can I request Hip hop unit’s reaction to this too? 🥺🥺🥺

svt + pretending to be asleep (pt. 2)

➔ reaction || requested || domestic!au || hip hop unit

➔ notes: glad you liked it! that one was when they’re pretending to be asleep, though, not the s/o. I kept it the same for this. let me know if you wanted the reverse!

SEUNGCHEOL: loves attention and pampering it's the leo in him so when he hears your whispered compliments, his heart is threatening to beat out of his chest. he wants to smile and pull you into his arms so badly, but then you'll stop and he loves hearing you talk about him. absolutely shameless with how much he's basking in your praise. when you sit up, ready to move on with your day, he opens one eye with a pout. you freeze half-way through a stretch. "hey, you didn't mention my amazing leadership skills or how good I am at sandwich making," he says after a beat. you sputter his name. "were you awake this whole time?" flipping the blanket onto his face, you try to get out of bed quickly, but he latches onto your waist first, tugging you to his chest. "you can't leave until you finish listing off all of my good traits."

WONWOO: he's on the couch with his head in your lap, reading something off his phone, but the late practices get to him and he starts dozing off. absorbed as you are in your book, you don't notice for a while. "tired, huh?" you chuckle, brushing the hair out of his eyes to take off his reading glasses. he's hovering between sleep and wakefulness, but he doesn't have the energy to respond. he doesn't want to anyway - the way you're carding your fingers through his hair is too relaxing. "...you're so handsome," you muse after some silence. "it's unfair." "is it?" he murmurs, eyes still closed, faint smile on his lips. "I think you're charming, too." "I called you handsome, not charming." "am I not both?" "if you have time to speak nonsense, come help me make dinner." he shakes his head. "five more minutes."

MINGYU: most likely to actually be sleeping when you do this lmfao if anything, he wakes up towards the tail end of your attention, confused at the feather-light touches along his cheeks. when he shifts, though, you stop, so he fakes a sigh and nuzzles into the pillows. your hands go back to tracing his features, and it's so comforting that he ends up falling asleep again. when you pull away, he follows, pushing his face into your palms. "no, keep going," he slurs, voice thick with exhaustion. "feels good. s'okay." you hesitate for only a moment before continuing. "what's it feel like?" "tickles a little," he admits. "but soft. like it when you touch me." he cracks open his eyes to see your blurry smile. "yeah?" he nods. "you always make me feel appreciated."

HANSOL: I'm sorry, but he cannot pretend to save his life. as soon as you say his name or reach for him, his face is going to react. so let's say he's facing away from you and you don't catch the way his eyebrows shoot up automatically. fingers flicking the ends of his curls, you let out a soft giggle, calling him your precious boy, thanking him for always cherishing you. "I'll take care of you for as long as you'll have me," you murmur. you can't see his face, but whew, his ears are bright red and that finally tips you off. you shove his shoulder. "oi...chwe hansol, are you awake?" he flops over to face you with a sheepish grin. "yes. thought I'd save you the embarrassment." "knowing that you were listening makes this even more embarrassing." "nooo, it was cute." he pulls you close, pressing a kiss to the top of your head.

#seventeen scenarios #seungcheol scenarios #scoups scenarios #wonwoo scenarios #mingyu scenarios #hansol scenarios #vernon scenarios #g: svt #m: seungcheol #m: wonwoo #m: mingyu #m: hansol #t: reaction #s: request #domesticau #ravixen #anonymous #100

[virryth]

Wounds | Woozi AU

Your tattoo artist seems to enjoy seeing your tears. 

1.3k | suggestive sfw, tattooist jihoon x reader

tw// mentions of blood, mentions of needles

Author’s note: it’s always the jihoon aus that goes over 1k,,, im whipped. 

Read more Jihoon AU | SVT AUs | Masterlist

——————————————————

“Are you sure about this? Don’t chicken out and cry to me later.”

Mingyu whines as he sways your hand back and forth at the counter, not daring to make eye contact with the man in front. Minghao had offered to accompany you to the tattoo parlor, but you’d decided it’s better to take someone who’s as scared as you for your first tattoo, and Mingyu was the best choice. At least he’ll do the whining and crying for you.

Your tattooist watches you both from the side, disinfecting his tools and waiting for his customer to give him their cue. He used to not enjoy the pain, or the sight of it. Even seeing the little pricks of a needle is enough to make him flinch, physically, and shudder his eyes closed. He thinks there’s something so masochistic about an intentional wound, but he’s sure that’s not why most people get them. Piercing or tattooing, he couldn’t commit to either options despite the constant teasing from Joshua and Chan with the wounds they inflict on themselves. 

Wounds. That’s what he used to call them.

He sees a bit of himself in both of you, maybe even more so now than back then. The way you calmly sit down as instructed, curious eyes roaming the cold back room where he does his work. The way Mingyu fidgets with the hem of his shirt and slouches in fear something would jump out and scare him. Some time within that interval of waiting, Mingyu has decided he couldn’t watch you getting stabbed and settled in the little chair outside, occasionally peeking from the curtains to check if you’re still alive. 

“Seems like your friend isn’t getting one today.”

“No,” you laugh as he takes your arm in his hand. “He’s not good with needles.”

Your tattooist massages the spot you wanted on your forearm, slowly and gently, sending chills all over your body. He grips your upper arm and pulls you closer to inspect the spot as you catch a glimpse of his name tag--Jihoon.

“Are you scared?”

“N-no. Should I be?” 

You don’t know what to expect from your tattooist, but certainly not the way he’s circling the spot on your arm with such tenderness. Maybe it’s the sudden rise in temperature of the room, or because he’s sitting closer to you now that it’s gotten hotter. You know he won’t hurt you, he seems too gentle for that, but something about the way he’s looking at you makes the blood rush right up to your ears.

And just like that, Jihoon chuckles and lets go of your arm. “Hold on to my arms if it’s painful.”

You thought you’d be more scared, seeing the needle and all, but his voice is a strange and soothing melody that draws you in, and you don’t notice he’s already started until you feel the sharp pain. Strange, you wonder why, despite his line of work, Jihoon doesn’t have any visible tattoo or piercing while Seungcheol, the man in the front, is almost fully inked on both arms.

Jihoon does his best to be swift and precise. He’s done this for years, yet it always leaves a sour taste in his mouth every time he starts the process. Only at the start, though, because the moment he sees the blood, his hand glides through mechanically, robotically. He’s gotten so used to this that the needle or the scent of blood doesn’t faze him anymore.

The scent of you and the mark you’re leaving on his arms do faze him, though, as you dig your fingernails into them. You’re not screaming or crying like most first-timers, but he can see you’re trying your best to contain the sound escaping your throat. You take slow, deep breaths as the sweat pools on your forehead and temple, and Jihoon becomes nervous not for you but for himself.

Half way through the process, Jihoon sees the tears welling up in your eyes and the delicate movement of your throat as you gulp down the shakiness and fear you’ve been trying to contain, keeping them safe inside so others won’t see.

“You don’t have to hold back,” Jihoon gives you a reassuring smile, peering at you through dark locks of hair. “Crying is expected.”

You tilt your head a little to the side and finally let your emotions out at his words. “You must h-have dealt with this a lot.” 

Jihoon wants to say yes, of course he has, but the moment he sees the tear running down your cheek, he stops the needle, entranced at the sight of you trembling slightly underneath his touch. Something inside him snaps so loudly he’s sure you can definitely hear it. 

“U-um,” you sniffs, your voice almost a whimper as you ask him to continue. “I’m fine now, you don’t need to stop.”

Just like that, Jihoon snaps back to his work, and the last half goes by quickly. He barely looks at you as he works on your tattoo, and you’re left feeling a little bit lightheaded after having a good cry. Mingyu peeks in occasionally to make sure you’re alright, giving you thumbs up and covering his face when the needles get in his line of sight. By the end of it, when you’re almost used to the pain, Jihoon wraps up your new wound with gentleness you wouldn't expect from a tattoo artist, his pretty fingers gliding over your skin with such docility.

“Jihoon doesn't offer his arm to just anyone, you know?” Seungcheol hands you the receipt from across the table along with a box of tissue for your sweat and tears. Mingyu looks horrified at your forearm, and even more so when Seungcheol winks at him. 

“Leave the kid alone, Cheol.” The store owner, Jeonghan, chimes in as he slaps Seungcheol’s arm. “But he’s right, that’s some mark you left on him in there.”

Before you can apologize, Jihoon walks out and throws a towel at Jeonghan while making his way towards you. His face is a bit flushed and you chalk it up to the temperature of the room again. He reads you the instruction for aftercare and you watch as he fiddles with the aftercare kit, trying your best to listen to his mumbles as you envision yourself back at the small room again, his fingers rubbing circles on your skin. 

“Are you listening to me?”

You’re pretty sure either the pain or the way Jihoon looks with his hair now pushed back is making you a little woozy in the head. “Yes. Of course. Rub it when it hurts.”

Jeonghan snorts at the same time Jihoon sighs. “Don’t touch it even if it hurts.” 

“Oh, right.”

“Do you need Jihoon to come and take care of you?” Seungcheol suggests, ducking behind the table just before the aftercare kit flies out of Jihoon’s hand and hits the cabinet behind Seungcheol’s head.

“Cheol, stop teasing him and get back to work.” 

Seungcheol pouts and glares at Jeonghan. “Boss, you’re always on his side!” 

“Anyway,” Jihoon dismisses, turning away from the potential argument Seungcheol is bound to have with his boss. Just a typical day at the shop. “Come back if you need more antiseptic. You can call the number on the back if anything comes up.” 

You turn over the card in his hand and point at the number scribbled hastily next to the shop’s official line. Must be what Jihoon was writing after cleaning up his tools. 

“C-can I call you just to talk?”

Mingyu gasps from beside you, covering his mouth with both hands as he looks excitedly from you to Jihoon to Seungcheol and Jeonghan at the back. The room has gone terribly still, and you regret not asking him out earlier in the back with just the two of you.

“You can call me tonight.” 

——————————————————

Read more Jihoon AU | SVT AUs | Masterlist

#jihoon #woozi #woozi au #svt #caratwritersclub #svt au #jihoon au #lee jihoon #seventeen #seventeen au #woozi fluff #honestly it's kinda #smut #suggestive sfw #tattoist jihoon

[unmanageable-day]

Come to me

PART 1 - next

Summary. After what happened in a relationship in the past, you found it difficult to trust someone with the gentleman image. 'Gentleman' seems like merely a concept and it was probably impossible for someone to be a genuine one. Now that you're stuck with the number one gentleman at campus for a group project, how would you cope with the one and only Joshua Hong?

Genre. College!au, non-idol!au / friends to lover

Pairing. Joshua x y/n x a little bit of S.Coups, and a sprinkle of Wonwoo

a/n: my brain cannot make plots with ‘y/n x ???’ like those awesome smau writers. anyway this is the first svt series i write! as i’m practicing smau, there will be some parts with texts and social media too! i’ve gotten into svt not long ago and yeah picking a bias in svt is like you pick one and you get 12 for free. if you have time to let me know what you think of this, i’d appreciate it somuch! i can’t update regularly so i don’t think im gonna make taglist like other writers. but if you’d like to be tagged, don’t hesitate to say so! stay safe and stay healthy everyone!! xoxo

"I guess it's just Jisoo now," Johnny informed you for a group project.

It was surely not the first time you encountered people with the same name. Since your school days, there would be at least two Lee Jieuns, three Kim Jonghyuns, and many Minhos or Jaehyuns with various surnames. You just had to ask which one of them if any of your friends mentioned their names without the surname. This, of course, happened until college. One day when you were assigned for a group project, Johnny Suh, the oldest member in your group, asked you to find someone named Jisoo so all of you could gather and start working on the project. Unusually, you didn't ask which Jisoo it was. You were quite certain that you had met two Jisoos since the first day of college. So you thought it would be a piece of cake to find one of them.

"Hey, I've met Kim Jisoo and she said she had taken this class. I spoke to other Jisoo, that guy who goes anywhere with Jieun. He also didn't take this class." You looked at your groupmates, confused.

"I asked Choi Jisoo too. She does take this subject but not the one with Professor Choi," added Suhyun.

You tilted your head, slightly curling your eyebrows. "Is there another Jisoo?" you mumbled with your lips pouted.

"That would be me."

You and the other friends look up at the deep voice that came out of nowhere. The puzzled look was not only appeared on your face, but also on all your groupmates.

"Joshua?" you said his name in confusion, exchanging looks with Johnny and Suhyun.

"Wait a minute." Johnny rushed to dig his bag, searching for a piece of paper that he got from the professor's assistant regarding the group members. Now that he remembered he might not have told you which Jisoo that should be on your group. "Hong Jisoo? Hong Jisoo is Joshua Hong?"

"That's correct," he answered with his unfazed face.

Joshua Hong was a transferred student who came in the second year. You were 200% sure that on his first day, he introduced himself with the name Joshua. That was the one and only information you knew about him. How were you supposed to know that he officially enrolled with his Korean name? Even all the lecturers call him Joshua too. Even Johnny, the social butterfly who knows everyone, who was also a transferred student from the States didn't talk much to him. But again, you never really noticed who your classmates were. The class was always too big, which was the excuse you'd always use.

"Anyway," Suhyun broke the silence. Finally. You were too dumbfounded that you just froze still, trying to process and make sure that Johnny didn't mistake the group members. "Let's just get started because we still have a lot to do, shall we?"

You let Suhyun and Johnny divide the workload for the four of you. And somehow Johnny decided to make pairs so you can work in 2 subgroups. Being a wise man as he claimed to be, he wouldn't let you pick Suhyun to pair with you, saying that every process had to be fair and square. You gave him a judging look, since you knew he also wanted to be with Suhyun because it can be said that she was one of the brightest in class.

"Let's draw," Johnny initiated. He got a pouch—your pouch which he took with force—that was filled with markers and continued, "There are 2 pink and 2 black markers. So, good luck with your hands."

The four of you took turns to pick the marker, starting from the boys. Johnny, who got a pink marker, grinned wide at you, slightly giving a victory vibe, just when Joshua picked a black one. You glared at him. When the chance was 50:50 between Johnny and Joshua, you couldn't even think of anything. First of all, you were not familiar at all with this Hong Jisoo. You had no idea what his pace was like. And you might not be able to order him around. Second, when it came to Johnny, obviously you were much closer with him. You were friends after all. But you knew his pace. You can give him orders and commands but it didn't mean that he would do it. So there were possibilities that you might have to do all the big work unless you were willing to have adrenaline rush, since Johnny was that deadliner type.

"Let's take it at the same time," Suhyun suggested, in which you agreed immediately. You gritted your teeth, hoping it would help you to not lose the poker face you were wearing. Then the markers of fate were revealed. Johnny almost jumped out of joy when the pink marker was in Suhyun's hand. He immediately gave Suhyun a high-five. Meanwhile you quietly turned to Joshua who had been silence since he joined the discussion. You tried to read his expression, but you looked away when his eyes searched yours.

"Anyway, let's get along and get this work done with good marks," Joshua initiated speaking.

You almost startled yourself after hearing clearly how soft Joshua's voice was. Like, it had somewhat a soothing effect to your ears. "Yeah, sure." You flashed him your best smile.

"Do you mind if I leave, like, now? Because I have to run some errands," he asked, still with that gentle, calming voice. The way he spoke and his aura certainly hit differently; it made him the weird one within your group which consisted of loud people. Sometimes you thought yourself to be a calm person too. But now looking at Joshua Hong, you started thinking that you might not be as calm as you thought.

"Yeah, no problem. We've got everything covered. Johnny will manage everything, including the online worksheet so you can just look up everything there. I'll let you know when it's ready."

"Okay, cool. I think Johnny has my number. So you can ask him."

You nodded, pretending to look just a little bit excited. After Joshua left, the fake smile on your lips disappeared and you let out a heavy sigh. Your face landed on your thick textbook. A small groan slipped off your mouth, showing your frustration which Johnny and Suhyun can't really find the reason why. They just didn't see why being grouped with someone like Joshua who had nothing but positive track record in public could be troublesome.

Johnny nudged you on the shoulder. "Hey, don't be like that. You don't even know him."

"I'll tell you a fun fact about him if that makes you feel any better." Suhyun unusually used her cheerful tone. You just knew it must be something unnecessary or something that you didn't want to know about. "Lately he becomes the it guy because he was spotted helping some freshmen, and suddenly he earned title of being a gentleman. Some of my friends also said that he always behaves with such a manner in parties. He doesn't get drunk and does stupid things, because he drinks in moderation."

Raising your head, your brows furrowed with your eyes squinting. "And why do I want to know about this?"

"She's saying that he's a catch. Who knows you're gonna get laid." Johnny clicked his tongue and winked at you.

Your eyes rolled as you sighed. "Not gonna happen. His first impression of me was not really good. I mistook him for an exchange student I was supposed to guide, so I dragged him here and there, causing him to be late on his first class—the evil Professor Lee's class! The next day I tripped over my own feet and basically threw my coffee at him." You groaned as you recalled the memory of meeting Joshua Hong for the first time. He was still as calm and quiet as now. But you can't really forget his expression when Professor Lee scolded him, and when he silently tried to wipe off the coffee stain on his white sweater. "Seriously, if you were him, you must hate me too. Even I hate me sometimes."

"Yeah, but you didn't do it on purpose?"

"Whatever." You stood up as you put back your stuff in your bag, getting ready to leave. "I'm not sure why but I feel guilty for mistaking him for another Jisoo. It's already awkward between me and him. Unless you want to switch partner—yes, I'm talking to you, John."

"It will only worsen the awkwardness between you if I say yes to switch."

Ugh, this giant has a point. But it was not like you wanted to make up to Joshua Hong. Or eventually, you had to? At least for the sake of this group project?

#seventeen imagines #seventeen au #seventeen scenarios #seventeen joshua #joshua imagines #seventeen fics #seventeen x reader #joshua x reader #svt imagines #svt au #svt scenarios #kpop fanfiction #post by yourblinkies

[writer-k-pop]

The Tailor (h.j.s) - Waning Crescent Hotel

Please read this (W.C.Hotel) if this is the first post of this series that you see. Warnings: Swearing, Mentions of death Genre: Angst, Hotel Del Luna AU, Choose your own adventure, SVT x Fem! Reader Staff: Yong (Spirit General Manager) / Jiwoo (Human General Manager) / Soon Bok (Room Manager) / Mun Hee (Front Desk Receptionist) / Shin (Grim Reaper assigned to Waning Crescent) Word Count: Ending A - 4.3k / Ending B - 4.3k

W.C.Hotel | Seventeen Masterlist | Masterlists

"And what would you like me to do about that?" Soon Bok asks loudly as I walk into the lobby. The guest standing in front of Soon Bok is standing with her arms crossed and a hip popped. I immediately know that the guest has been giving Soon Bok sass and Soon Bok doesn't take sass from guests.

"That's what I thought." Soon Bok says when the guest doesn't have anything to say, "Now, please, go and enjoy the hotel's amenities while I help other guests." Soon Bok bows politely as the biggest bitch slap she can give without actually laying a finger on the guest.

I snicker and take the long way to meet up with Soon Bok while avoiding the guest.

"Sassy?" I ask when I catch up with the rooms manager.

"You have no idea." Soon Bok breathes out. "She wanted me to change her room. And you wanna know her reasoning?"

I stay silent and let Soon Bok continue venting.

"Because she didn't like the rug. The freaking rug!" Soon Bok throws her hands up in the air in disbelief, "And then she has the nerve to ask me to move her room even though we are nearly fully booked with people checking in during the day and the night. Crazy bitch." Soon Bok grumbles with disgust.

I laugh and place a hand on her shoulder, "How did you ever survive here for so long, Soon Bok?"

"With great skill." Soon Bok jokes lightly. "Hey, have you seen Mun Hee? He was supposed to do something for me but he disappeared awhile ago."

I look around the lobby in search of our young receptionist. "He disappeared from me too. I'll go find him and tell him he's needed."

Soon Bok nods in thanks, "I'll be doing rounds in the 600 level."

"I'll send him right up." I say with a smile before breaking away to find Mun Hee.

I check around the lobby once more to make sure he isn't hiding behind some couch. But I have no luck. So I walk through the front reception doors to check his regular working station and low and behold, Mun Hee is sat behind the counter, scrolling through his phone, and laughing like he doesn't have a job that needs doing.

"Jang Mun Hee." I cross my arms over my chest and just stare at him. The sound of my voice startles him so much that he sends his phone tumbling across the desk and he stumbles as he stands on his feet.

"I-I wasn't scrolling through videos." Mun Hee stutters out a bad excuse, "I-I was doing research for our hotel."

I raise my eyebrows at him in suspicion and keep my mouth shut.

"I was watching videos." Mun Hee lowers his head in shame.

"Well, Soon Bok is looking for you." I tell him, uncrossing my arms.

Mun Hee's mouth drops open in realization. "Oh shoot. She asked me to print some things for her." His hands tap nervously against the desk, "Oh. Oh. Oh. (y/n) can you stay here for just a few minutes while I go do that? Please?" He asks.

I nod once, "She's in the 600 level."

Mun Hee clasps his hands together in thanks, "Oh, thank you, thank you." He rushes past me, "I'll be right back!" He says and yanks the door to the hotel open then is gone from my sight.

I shake my head and chuckle before making my way behind the desk. Standing behind the desk for the first time in hundreds of years, I run my hands over the polished wood. Behind me, a wall lists all the rooms available and each room number has a light next to it. The rooms who's light is turned off have a guest situated there. Seeing as our hotel is quite nearly full, most of the lights are turned off but there are still a good number lit.

The bell above the front door dings, announcing a guest's arrival.

"Welcome to the Waning-" I start the usual speech but stop when I see the guest's face.

"Hi. Am I in the right place?" The guest with Sang Kyu's face asks while looking around our pretty empty reception area.

"I, I can check that for you if you uh, would just show me your palm." I stutter in the face of one of my former human managers.

The guest with Sang Kyu's face willingly holds out his hand, palm up. I have to read over his palm a couple times to make sure I'm reading his lives correctly.

I breathe out in relief and the guest pulls his hand back.

"You actually will need to go find Hotel Blue Moon." I tell him. "Just follow the moon and it'll guide you there."

"I thought that's what I was doing." The guest tilts his head to the side and Sang Kyu's unique confused expression shows through loud and clear.

"You probably were following the moon's shadow." I explain, "The moon's shadow leads you here while the moon leads you to Hotel Blue Moon."

"Ah, I see. So follow the actual moon, yes?" The guest repeats my instructions.

I nod, "Yes, there you will rest before leaving to live another life."

"There's more after this life?" The guest's eyes widen and I'm reminded of Sang Kyu's first few days as a manager and how every single thing amazed him.

"There is." I smile softly.

"Thank you." The guest says and quickly makes his way out of the reception area.

I sigh as the door closes behind him, "The Gods have given you 8 lives. Live them well." I sigh again and continue to stare at the closed doors.

"Who was given 8 lives?" Mun Hee asks from behind me.

Startled, I whip around to face him while he has his hands tucked into his pockets.

"Mun Hee, don't sneak up on me like that." I scold him.

"Okay but who was given 8 lives?" He repeats his question, ignoring my fright.

"Sang Kyu's soul." I tell him and lean my forearms on the desk.

"Sang Kyu showed up?" Mun Hee asks and brushes his arm against mine as he copies my body posture.

"A future life did." I say, "But I had to send him to Hotel Blue Moon. His soul's not done yet."

"Damn, I missed him." Mun Hee says disappointed and I turn to face the board of rooms.

"He'll be back." I say, "Which room did Soon Bok put Joshua in?" I ask, searching the rooms as if they'll tell me.

Mun Hee turns around and points to a room with its light off, "312. And he's staying for 14 days. I read his palm." Mun Hee adds before I can say anything.

"Two weeks?" I rephrase the duration of Joshua's stay, "That's so long."

"But it also means he lived a lot of lives, which is good, right?" Mun Hee questions.

"I'm impatient." I give him a lazy smile and push away from the desk to head back into the hotel.

"Oh, are you not going to hang out with me?" Mun Hee asks, his eyes following my movements.

I pause with my hand on the doors and chuckle, "I wish I could, Mun Hee, but you have your job and I have my job. I'll see you later." I wave at him and open the door to the bustling lobby.

~The Fourteenth Day~

I sigh and set down my pen after signing the 19th form of the day and I've only been awake for an hour. With one hand, I close the final folder and the other brings the champagne flute to my mouth. I lean back in my chair and close my eyes after setting the flute back down on my desk. My ears listen to the soft orchestral music I put on for background noise and stretch out my wrist.

"It's just around the corner." Chung Ho argues from the driver's seat. "And it'll only take like six seconds. I just have to pick up my suit jacket."

"Can't you do it on your way home?" I groan and sink further into my seat.

Chung Ho shakes his head, keeping his eyes on the road, "I need it for the thing I have after I get off."

"I'll let you leave early." I try to bargain cause I really just want to lie in my bed and ignore both worlds.

Chung Ho gestures to the road in front of him, "We're basically here. Stop complaining," He turns down a side street full of shops. "You can brood and sulk soon."

I humph and turn my head towards my side window.

The shops we pass are brick-and-mortar stores but most seem to be busy as there are a good amount of people out and about.

Chung Ho parks the car outside of a tailor shop and turns the car off.

"I'll be right back. Wait here." He instructs me and I scoff that he's giving me instructions.

He leaves the car and walks into the store. The store front is quieter than the other surrounding stores and there are some sharp suits set up on mannequins in the front windows.

"Doesn't look too shabby." I mutter and peel my eyes back to the inside of the car.

I turn my attention back to the inside of car where Chung Ho's wallet sits. My hand wraps around the wallet sitting in the center console. Worried that he'll need it, I exit the car and quickly make my way inside the shop.

Chung Ho stands at the counter, patiently waiting for someone, and I make my way over.

Holding out his wallet to him, I announce my presence, "You left this in the car."

He looks down and then up at me, "You do have a heart." He jabs at me like a little sibling.

I roll my eyes as someone approaches with a suit jacket in a clear plastic covering. He's dressed in slacks and a freshly pressed button up shirt. And I have to say he looks quite good. I read his name off of his name tag: Joshua.

"Here you are." Joshua lays out the jacket on the counter then points out where he fixed it but I can't actually tell, "I fixed the stitching on the pocket and the buttons on the sleeves. And there was some loose stitching on the inner layer so I fixed that as well."

"It looks amazing. Thank you." Chung Ho runs his hands over the front of the jacket and pockets his wallet.

As Chung Ho picks up his jacket, Joshua turns to me.

"Have you been helped yet, miss?" He asks and I'm taken aback not expecting it.

"I, I'm with him." I gesture to Chung Ho who is trying so hard to stifle a laugh.

"I see." Joshua looks between us, "Well, if you need anything tailored or custom made, do stop in."

"Thank you." I smile, slightly off put by the normality of his tone.

"Oh, here, take my business card." Joshua hands over a small piece of paper, "My name's Joshua." He smiles and my mind burns the sweet sight deep into my memory.

Quick and consistent knocking brings me out of the memory and I sit up, rubbing my eyes.

"Who is it?" I ask, my voice laced with sleep.

Jiwoo opens the door and stands halfway in the doorway, "It's me."

"Mm, come in." I run my hands through my hair, pushing through the small knots that had formed during my nap.

"You signed all the forms?" Jiwoo asks, noticing the large stacks on my desk.

"Yupp." I say and pop the 'p.'

"Did you even read them?" He asks and raises a questioning eyebrow.

I shrug, "I skimmed."

Jiwoo shakes his head and then scoops of the files, "Soon Bok brought Joshua down just now. You better get going. Don't want to keep your man waiting." He says and winks at me.

I chuckle and quickly make my way out of my office with a wave of goodbye. My heels notify the hotel walls that this boss lady is not to be disturbed on her way to her garden.

When I reach the garden, Joshua is standing, facing me with his head bowed and his hands clasped behind his back. He hears my footsteps and lifts his head up. A smile grows on his face and mine does the same.

"Hey, stranger." Joshua says with a light chuckle.

I run into his arms and sigh happily. "Joshua."

Joshua pulls back and his eyes gaze over my face while he tucks some of my hair behind my ear. "God, you haven't changed a bit." He whispers.

I shyly laugh and Joshua chuckles at my reaction.

"How have you been?" Joshua asks, stroking my cheek with his thumb.

"I've been... existing." I answer him.

"Just existing?" Joshua raises his eyebrows.

"Well, I was living for a while but then I had to wait and at that point I was just existing." I explain then turn the question onto him, "How was your stay?"

"Really nice." Joshua says slightly surprised, "You run a really nice hotel."

"What, did you think I was running an old moldy motel?" I question with a laugh.

Joshua quickly shakes his head, "No, no. I just never expected the after life to be this... extravagant."

"We get our money from the Gods and they do not disappoint." I say with a smug smile. "Plus this is only the beginning, there's still the other side."

Joshua wiggles his eyebrows playfully and twirls me in a circle. "Sounds exciting."

I land back in his arms and he looks around the garden.

"So is this your private garden?" Joshua asks, keeping one arm wrapped around your shoulders while turning his body towards the tree.

"This is." I say, "And that's the tree that keeps me tied here like a chained dog."

"Ah, don't drag innocent dogs into this." Joshua pouts, "Well, you keep it in good condition."

"It keeps itself like that." I tell him and lead him towards the tree. "The Gods use it as a twisted reminder of why I'm running this hotel."

I pull his hand and rest it against the trunk of the tree. "Do you feel it?"

Joshua tilts his head to the side, "What am I supposed to feel?"

I smile softly at him, "Close your eyes and focus on the tree." I tell him and let go of his hand as not to interfere.

"Okay." Joshua whispers and closes his eyes. After a few seconds, he opens his eyes again. "There's a faint heartbeat."

"It's mine." I lean in close to tell him the secret.

"So you are alive." Joshua teases and boops my nose.

"Just cause I have a heartbeat doesn't mean I'm alive." I argue and walk back to sit on the bench.

"Always the stubborn one, aren't you?" Joshua asks, taking a seat next to me on the bench.

I scrunch my face up at him then move the conversation away from the topic of me. "I have a question."

"Ask your question." Joshua says dramatically.

"That first day we met, why did you assume I was just another customer?" I ask and Joshua's face flushes with embarrassment.

"That was so embarrassing." He covers his face with his hands. I giggle and pull his hands away. His cheeks are flushed pink and he smiles sheepishly.

"I thought it was kind of cute." I tell him.

Joshua chuckles while he exhales, "Well, if I'm being completely honest, it was your clothes."

"My clothes?" I question and look down at my outfit.

"Not the ones you're wearing, silly." Joshua nudges his shoulder against mine, "The day you walked in with your friend you were wearing at least what looked like high end stuff and your friend was wearing a lower level of fashion."

"How could you tell it was high end?" I continue to probe into his explanation.

"Have you already forgotten what I did for a living?" Joshua asks, slightly offended but then continues his explanation, "The fabrics your dress was made out of and, not that I was looking," He lays out his defense, "The stitching on your dress was flawless. Damn near perfect."

"You got all that from the what, one minute we were standing in front of each other?" I wonder.

"Uh, yeah." Joshua responds with sass, "I'm a tailor. It's what I did for a living."

"So you totally judged us." I sum up.

"Oh, I totally judged you." Joshua laughs and I join in with him. "Just don't tell your friend that."

"You really don't remember his name?" I ask.

"I was kind of focused on you." Joshua smirks.

I breathe out, "Well, lucky for you, I haven't seen Chung Ho pass through this hotel yet. So he's still out there living lives." I lean in closer to Joshua and poke his tummy. "Speaking of lives, you, sir, lived a fair amount."

"Fourteen is a fair amount?" Joshua wonders. "I thought I would've lived more."

"More than fourteen lives?" I repeat incredulously, "Fourteen lives is a lot! Most souls only live like 5 to 9 lives. You had fourteen."

Joshua laughs in defeat, "Alright, so I lived more than the average number of lives but I still thought I would've lived more."

"The Gods decide all that and I'm pretty sure they spin a wheel to see how many lives each soul will live." I explain and try to joke at the same time. "Which life was your favorite?"

"Hmm." Joshua hums in thought, "My first. Cause you were in it." He lazily smiles.

"That's biased." I roll my eyes.

"No but I am serious about my favorite being my first." Joshua explains, "The clothes I made and the clothes I fixed, I don't know, there was just sometime about the work that I didn't find in any of my other lives."

"So you like using your hands." I conclude and start playing with his hand.

Joshua chuckles and grips my hand securely. "My hands are everything. I get to hold my most favorite thing in my hands." He holds up your interlocked hands for emphasis.

"And what was your favorite part about making or fixing the clothes?" I ask, leaning in closer and listening to the echo of his heartbeat. Strong and steady.

Joshua shrugs underneath me, "The feeling of the cloth underneath my fingers and the motion of sewing the pieces together was just, soothing? Calming?" He searches for the right word.

"I get it." I nod in understanding. "Plus, you always made the seams nearly invisible. You were so good."

"Only for you." Joshua whispered and planted a kiss to the top of my head.

"Nah, I couldn't have been the only one." I deny.

"You're right. You weren't the only one." Joshua states simply and I still at his answer, "I did it for my kids, also."

A smile grows on my face, "Kids? You had kids?"

Joshua mirrors the smile on my face and nods, "I had two. Two girls." He explains.

"Tell me about them." I ask, looking up at him and he settles more comfortably with me.

"What do you want to know?" Joshua asks, wrapping an arm around my shoulders and pulling me closer.

"Everything." I exhale happily, ready to dive into the stories of Joshua's first life.

Joshua chuckles but easily begins telling me all about his girls. Where they went to school, what they ended up doing after college, and even some of their embarrassing stories-many of which he took part in. I listen with admiration as he claims that because of me and my wardrobe full of dresses, he was well versed in the world of dress tailoring.

From his children, he moved onto the shop and how it faired over the years. How he couldn't find a successor for it and it retired when he did. The things he did in retirement and the few grandchildren his daughters gave him. He even lived long enough to meet a couple of his great grandchild.

In between the stories, we'd sometimes get sidetracked and start talking about our own memories. From the happy ones when we had chaotic dates and amazing adventures to the less happy ones where we had our arguments or when I had to return to the hotel for long periods of times and I couldn't tell him where I was going.

As the last of the stories are told, the sun also tells its last stories while it bids the day goodbye.

And it also signals the goodbye I have to say to Joshua.

Joshua sighs and kisses my head then rests his cheek on the top of my head. "My turn to go, huh?" He murmurs.

I slowly nod, "Your turn to go."

"And if I don't want to?" He questions, slumping onto me.

"We don't really have a choice, Joshua." I giggle as my body starts to bend underneath his dead weight.

Joshua pouts like a child and I shake my head.

"You, sir, are a child." I tell him with a laugh.

"My soul is still so young." Joshua says and dramatically places a hand over his heart. "And now it must go to an eternal rest. How unfair and cruel is this world." Joshua flails his body out.

I stand up with an exhale, "Alright, my love. You have a soul that needs resting." I grab his hands one at a time and try to pull him up but he does nothing to help me. He even closes his eyes.

"Joshua..." I drag out his name.

He peeks at me through half opened eyes before suppressing a smile and closing his eyes again.

I cross my arms and tilt my head to the side, "Joshua, come on. I don't want this anymore than you do but come on. Please?"

Joshua sighs in defeat and holds out his hands while opening and closing his fists. Much like a child. "Help me up." He says.

I roll my eyes playfully but give into his request and grab his hands. When he stands, he pulls me so we're standing chest to chest and looks down at me with a look that I can't quite place.

"What?" I ask and he smirks.

"Can't I take in the beauty of the woman I love for a last time?" Joshua questions me.

I release one of his hands and lead him out of the garden, "Yes you can, but you are on a deadline."

Joshua mumbles nonsense and wraps his arms around my waist from behind. "Do you think the weather will be nice over there?" He asks, nuzzling his face into my neck.

"I'm sure the weather will be beautiful over there." I chuckle.

As we enter the lobby, Joshua lightly kisses my neck and a shiver runs down my spine.

"Joshua, behave." I scold him, "The guests will be awake soon."

"Sooo?" He drags out the word in a low voice.

"Joshua." I elbow his stomach, telling him that he seriously needs to stop.

Joshua pulls back and falls in step next to me, "Okay, I'm sorry. I'm just really going to miss you." He explains

"I know." I smile at him as we near the departure door.

Joshua reaches out and opens the door. The night air wastes no time rushing into the hotel. We both stand shoulder to shoulder looking out towards the forest, neither of us aying a word.

That is until the wind blows the sound of an idling engine in our direction. Joshua hears it as well and starts walking forward with me in tow. We walk in silence but Joshua's grip on my hand doesn't lessen one bit. Our footsteps slow as we approach Shin standing next to the idling car.

I take in a deep breath and try to release my hand from Joshua's grasp but he doesn't let go.

"Promise me something?" He asks, reaching into his other pocket.

"Anything."  I say, my voice not coming out as strong as I would've liked.

Joshua gives me a small smile and brings something out of his pocket. The colorful cloth floats in the wind and some gold sparkles under the growing moonlight.

"Keep this close." He says and places the cloth in my hand, closing my fingers around it.

I open the fabric in my hands. The deep blue silk is soft against my fingers and I know exactly where i've met this fabric before. It was Joshua's favorite handkerchief.

My hands close over the cloth, "I promise." I promise and Joshua nods in satisfaction.

Joshua leans down and places a sweet kiss on my lips. For those two seconds, I spend the entire time memorizing how his lips feels against mine and how they mold with mine as easily as chocolate sets in a mold. And all too soon, Joshua pulls away and smiles sweetly at me.

Without another word, I watch him walk to the car and lower himself into it. I watch as the car door shuts at the sound solidifies Joshua's exit from this world.

My grip on the handkerchief tightens as the car drives away. I pray that the Gods won't take this last shred of Joshua away from me but of course, they don't listen to me.

Minutes after the car disappears into the forest fog, the satin slowly disappears until all that's left in my grasp is air.

When the cloth has fully disappeared, a white chrysanthemum withers and dies back in the garden. Then I turn back to the hotel and walk straight to my office and lock myself away to wait for the next to arrive.

Return to the Navigation Page (Waning Crescent Hotel) to choose the next guest.

"I wonder which one was right." Joshua says, uncrossing his legs in preparation to stand up.

"Which one was right?" I repeat his question in confusion.

"Which religion was right." Joshua explains, "I was always a Christian but I wonder which one actually had it right."

I smile at his thoughts, "They all are." I tell him, leaning towards him, "That's why they're called 'Gods' and not 'God.'"

"And no one knows." Joshua says in awe.

"Not until they come here." I smile and rise to my feet, "So let's go see it."

Joshua jumps to his feet, "Let's go." He smiles widely and grabs my hand. He leads me out of the garden with a little spring in his step. But as we near the lobby, my footsteps begin getting heavier.

We walk hand in hand to the lobby where Yong, Mun Hee, Soon Bok, and Jiwoo stand solemnly.

"So this is it?" Mun Hee asks with tears in his eyes. "This is the day you leave us?"

I wrap him up in a hug, only a tiny bit annoyed that he's being so sappy. "Maybe I'll get punished again and be back here by the end of the year." I try to joke but Mun Hee abruptly pushes back from me.

"Don't you dare say that. You better not return here." He says angrily through his tears.

I chuckle, "I won't come back. I promise."

Turning to Soon Bok, I thank her for her service and her amazing work. Something I never did and should've done more.

Next onto Jiwoo. I also thank him for his and his entire family's service then I unclip the bracelet that has held him to this place.

"When you leave today, you won't be able to find this place again." I inform him, "I hope that you'll be able to go and live your life happily."

Jiwoo nods, "Thank you for letting me work with you. I won't ever forget you."

I smile sadly, "You will. But thank you."

Finally I reach Yong who is sniffling and trying so very hard not cry.

"You'd think after all these years of waiting that I'd be prepared for this day." She says through sniffles.

"Thank you, Yong." I rests my hands on her shoulders, "For everything. Thank you."

With lips pursed together, she leans forward and wraps me in an unexpected hug. But I soon wrap my arms around her and squeeze her tightly.

We pull apart after a couple seconds and I wipe the few tears that have escaped from her eyes.

"Keep this hotel running beautifully." I tell her before Joshua grabs my hand again.

With final waves of goodbye, Joshua and I walk out to the foggy forest that will take us to our resting place.

At the edge of the forest, Shin stands next to an idling car, a somber look on his face.

"(y/n)." He says when we reach him, "It has been an honor working with you. I wish you both a peaceful rest." Shin bows his head and I pat his arm.

"The honor was mine." I tell him with a smile. Now the tears start to line my eyes as the realization fully sets in.

I'm free. I served my years of punishment and now I'm free to let my soul rest.

I turn back towards the hotel and look up to the top where the rooftop patio is outlined with bright string lights. Then to the mid floors where random room lights are turned on, some guests staying in while others opting to experience the hotel's many services. Then to grand base where guests would be milling around, waiting their turns to leave this world.

"(y/n)?" Joshua softly asks pulling my attention to where he sits just inside the car, "Are you ready?"

I take one last quick look at the hotel before turning away from it. "Yeah, I'm ready. Let's go."

I lower myself into the car and Shin securely closes the door after I am completely inside. As the car begins to drive forward, Joshua securely grabs my hand and I let his warmth guide me towards our final destination.

In the garden, the final chrysanthemum withers and dies so that no more stand at the base of the bare tree.

#kpop #kpop imagine #seventeen #seventeen imagine #seventeen joshua imagine #seventeen joshua #joshua imagine #hong joshua #hong joshua imagine #writer-k-pop #waning crescent hotel

[moon-stars01]

Party Of Two

Dk x Reader

Author:Staryynighttae

Summary: He was loud. He was annoying. Your neighbor’s apartment is a party central and he doesn't care if your shared wall pounds with the loudness of the music. In a fit of pique, you rename your wifi network to tell him to shut up.

Pairing:Dk(Svt) x Reader

Gene:Neighbor au,Seokmin is a party animal,reader wants peace,members are mentioned

Rating:General Audiences

-Party Of Two-

“This is like the worst decision I’ve ever made in my life.” You said to your friend through the phone.

“Why? You said the place looked perfect.”

It wasn’t the place that was the problem. It has more than enough space for someone who lives alone, good interior and lighting, good location because it is near the school you’re attending; it was perfect, or even beyond that.

The problem wasn’t the unit. It was the unit next door, which is apparently owned by an annoying brat who tries to have like at least three parties in the span of five hours.

“The guy living next door is so annoying. I can’t even focus on reviewing for my class. His house won’t stay quiet for even 30 minutes.”

“Well, you can go tell him? I mean, he should respect your space, too, right?”

Your friend was right. You indeed deserved respect. You deserve peace and quiet, even just for an hour.

So, you decided to hung up and go out, ring your neighbor’s bell and waited for him to open the door.

And you regret doing just that.

“Who— Oh hi are you here to deliver jjajjangmyeon, noona??”

The door opened to a sight of a young man, clearly drunk and barely holding himself up.

“Uhm... no. I live next door and—“

“Is that jjajjangmyeon?” Another guy shouted.

Now everyone was by the door, waiting for you to give them the jjajjangmyeon you never even had.

“I just wanted to study what the sam heck have I gotten myself into?”

You just looked at the guys staring at you, as if still waiting for food.

“I’m not here to deliver food. I just— I live next door and I’m trying to study but the walls are thin so I can hear everything.”

“So, you have no food?” The guy who opened the door said. And you shook your head.

“That’s a waste.” He said, pouting. And he held the door knob. “It was nice seeing you though.”

And he shut the door. Right in front of your fucking face. What. The. Actual. Fuck.

“Hey I’m not—“

The door opened again. “I’m seokmin, by the way. Hehe.”

And he closes it again.

‘What is up with him?’ You sighed and just decided to give up and go back to your room.

The noise was still pounding against your walls. You just can’t take it. He needs to lowkey get that he and his noisy friends aren’t the only ones in the building.

You can’t go there every freaking night just to tell him to turn the volume down.

“God, I need my peace. I need to find a way to shut that entire unit up.”

-0-0-0-0-

 The next day, you were leaving the house to go to the nearby grocery when the door to the next unit opened, revealing the guy from last night. He seemed to have just woken up, and was stretching and yawning when he came out. He looked towards you and suddenly closed his mouth and scratch the back of his head, as if embarrassed that you had to see that early in the morning.

As if you haven’t seen worse last night.

“Uhm... good morning.” He then said in a soft voice.

You just nodded and turned around to lock your door.

“You moved in a week ago, right?” He asked. “I’m sorry I haven’t introduced myself yet.”

“But you have, not properly, though.” You then whispered, only enough for you to hear.

“I’m Seokmin. I own 1230.” He said, reaching out his hand towards you.

Should you accept the handshake? After what this guy did last night, would you be so kind to accept this? They didn’t even shut up after you nicely asked, and they even asked you if you were delivering food.

You looked at him. He was smiling. Smiling so beautifully, enhancing his  equally beautiful features. This is so annoying, him acting like he doesn’t even remember what happened last night.

Or maybe he actually didn’t. You, of all people know all of them inside that house were dead drunk. You decided to take his hand.

“I’m (Y/N). 1228.”

You put your keys in your pocket and started to walk when he decided to catch up to you.

“Where are you going?” He asked.

“The mart nearby.” You replied blandly.

He smiled. “I’m going there, too! Let’s go together?”

What is this boy trying to do, being nice to you and all?

You let him walk next to you, and shop next to you, answering his questions flatly, but never engaging more. It’s not that you wanted him to do these things with you, God knows you don’t, but he is somehow unnecessarily curious and he won’t even let you out of his sight.

You only thought of one thing: this boy was the reason you’re having a hard time focusing on your studies and he has to know.

“Seokmin-ssi, do you like parties?”

He looked at you and showed a grin. “Yes! Do you?”

You shook your head. “Not much, especially when I have stuff to study.”

You wanted to tell him straight to his face, like how he slammed the door straight at yours, that you hated how his parties distracted you and ask him if he can at least turn it even a bit down.

“Actually, I was studying last night and there was a unit that was partying so hard, I can’t focus.”

He thought for a short time and nodded. “Oh, well I guess they could maybe turn it down a little.”

You looked at him with disbelief in your eyes. Did this boy just forget about him partying last night right in his house and asking you for jjajjangmyeon because he was dead drunk? Did he think you were referring to someone else in the building? Is he still drunk?

“I know, right? These people should be considerate enough because they clearly know they’re not the only ones living in the building.”

He nodded. He fucking nodded. This guy is so hopeless; nothing is more dense than him.

-0-0-0-0-

Another day of another party. Another day you can’t study in your house. This is getting out of hand.

You grabbed your phone and decided to look for cafes near your building open later than 12AM and that’s when an idea crossed your head.

“What if..?”

You grabbed your laptop and connected your internet modem directly to it and changed some settings.

“Hope you finally get the message, Seokmin-ssi.”

You were in front of his door again, with your laptop in hand, waiting for anyone to open the door. You hope it was Seokmin, so you won’t have to take long.

“Yes— oh hi (Y/N)!” Seokmin said, a smile beaming from his face. “What’s up?”

Time to execute your ‘pass the message’ mission. “Hi, I’m so sorry to bother you at this hour but my internet modem isn’t working well and I have a paper to submit tonight. Do you mind if I connect to yours for a short while?”

“Yeah, sure uhm... well you can come in?” He said, awkwardly gesturing you to go inside.

Inside, there were 12 more boys sitting in front of the television, playing some sort of video game. These people are the same faces you saw the last time you were here and almost got my face hit by a door.

“Don’t they ever get tired of each other’s faces?’ You wondered as you looked at them.

Seokmin led you to the desk counter and you placed your laptop there. You faced it towards him and said a soft ‘thank you’.

He smiled and started to scroll through all the available wifi connections listed when

“Who the he— ‘1230 shut the fuck up I need my peace’?”

You almost laughed at his reaction. His face depicted confusion, as to who wrote it, and embarrassment because I saw and heard it.

“Oh my God, why are they so mean? I mean, we’re just having fun?”

You wanted to take all the hair from his scalp right there and then. Does this boy even know respect?

“Well, maybe they’re doing something important like, I don’t know, studying?”

“Well, then he can just go straight here and tell it to my face.” He said, slightly annoyed. “I know what compromise is.”

‘But I did, and you asked me for jjajjangmyeon, you idiot.’ You thought. He grabbed your laptop.

“Can I use it for a second?”

You nodded, and watched as he reached for his own modem and connected it to your laptop. You figured he was setting up his internet connection, too, since that was what you also did.

So, got a message for me, too, huh?

He then returned and gave back your laptop.

“There, I connected it and I checked automatic connect so if ever you need it again...”

You smiled sarcastically, “Thank you again, Seokmin-ssi.”

You went back to your room, laptop in hand and checked the name of his wifi connection.

“I don’t know you but no need to be rude, dude. It’s all fun.” You read. You snickered. “This rude little— I just need you to shut up for 1 hour!”

It’s official. The boy’s stupid. And you hate him.

-0-0-0-0-

The wifi name exchanges continued for days, weeks even, with you saying “I need to study, you idiot” and him replying with a “Well I need my social life, too, little miss goodie”

It was annoying. He was still doing his party routine and you just wanted him to stop for even a second.

But sometimes, it was also fun. He’d joke around and you won’t hide that you found it funny. He also asked you why you’re always so mad and you just reply, ‘you annoy me’. Sometimes it takes both of us minutes to reply, but sometimes it would take hours. But it was weird because no matter how long the replies took, you waited.

It was your linear algebra test tomorrow. And by the looks of it, you are about to flunk it if you don’t get to study. But this boy is, again, making it difficult.

“Oh for the love of God, shut up!” You wrote, as if Seokmin can hear your wifi name.

And he was quick to reply. “You too!”

You need your study time, and if you had to beg, you will.

“Please, I have a linear algebra exam tomorrow I need to pass this.”

“Please. I really need this.”

“I beg you, even just for two hours.”

You changed it in 2 minutes intervals, hoping he was keeping an eye on it.

And the music stopped. The loud banging on the wall was gone. He was indeed keeping an eye on your messages.

You checked the available wifi connections for his possible reply.

“Two hours. If you need more, just write it down.”

“Why is he being uncharacteristically nice tonight?” You wondered, but brushed it off and opened your algebra book.

Two hours did fly by too quickly, and you did ask him for another hour of quietness and he obliged. This was weird to you, but you figured maybe he was nice after all and you just needed to ask him nicely.

After you were done reviewing, you typed in a short “Thank you” to him through the modem and switched of your lights.

Seokmin, on the other hand, wondered who the person having a conversation with him through the modem is, because it was indeed a weird but unique way to communicate with him. Although most of the time, the person was annoyed and rude towards him, he still found it cute that he continued to communicate with him through this.

-0-0-0-0-

This is a great progress. For three weeks now, you don’t even have to ask him to give you time to study; he’s the one offering it to you. He also asks you how your day went, how many papers you need to do, and if you ate dinner. He sounded like he cared a lot. And it felt so nice to hear someone being concerned about you. It made you feel special.

“You need two hours today?” The wifi name stated. You smiled. He did mean it when he said you just needed to ask nicely. Seokmin, he really is nice unlike how you pictured him to be.

“Today is fine. No homeworks. But keep the volume down.” You typed and plopped yourself on your bed, waiting for his music to start.

“But today, it was different. The music wasn’t loud and banging. “Jazz music?”

You placed your ear next to the wall and listened. The music was soothing and calming.

“I’m alone today. I figured you needed relaxing music.” The wifi name was changed again.

You still placed your ear on the wall, and indulged in the smooth sound of the music.

You decided to chat with him.

“Where are your twelve loud friends?”

“They come over for a week every other month. It’s a tradition.”

“Why?”

“Because they work far away.”

“And you?”

“I’m a singer. And a jazz music enthusiast.”

“I can see that.”

“No, you just hear it.”

“Ha ha I’m dropping you.”

“Btw, how did you think of this way of communication?”

His question brought you back to why you even started this. You wanted silence. You wanted peace. And you did get it. Come to think of it, you can already stop this nonsense of talking through the wifi names.

But now, talking to Seokmin like this made you feel more at ease.

“Well, millennials love the internet”

“It’s cute. Different, unusual and weird, but cute.”

Your eyes widened by his comment. He found it cute that you actually talked to him like this. You tried to brush off the redness off of your cheeks.

“I’m glad you think that way.”

“Are you a girl or a boy?”

“What do you think?”

“A girl. A guy can’t possibly do something as cute as this.”

There he is again, calling this cute. He needs to stop.

“Stop calling this cute.”

“But it is. And you are, too.”

“No.”

“Maybe if I see you, I’d stop.”

“Why? Because maybe I’m not cute?”

“No. Maybe because you’re beautiful.”

He did not.

He called you beautiful.

Okay, maybe it was a 'maybe beautiful', but it was enough to make your heart beat a little faster than usual.

“Stop it. I’m leaving.”

“Sorry. I just want to know you.”

“I’m still in college.”

“Yeah, explains the studying. How old are you?”

“20.”

“I’m 22.”

“Really? I thought we were the same age when I saw you.”

“You saw me? Where?”

You wanted to curse yourself. You just told him you already saw him. That was a freaking big of a giveaway for you, stupid.

“Just around.”

“How did you know it was me, then?”

“I just guessed.”

Wow. What a freaking excuse.

“Wait.”

“Where are you going?”

And he was gone, no reply for about 30 minutes.

“Are you there?”

You typed and refreshed the scanning and waited, but no reply, still. You decided to call it a day and sleep in.

The next day, you checked if there was a message waiting for you.

-0-0-0-0-

“I’m sorry for not replying. I just went to get something last night.”

“It’s okay, you gave me time when I needed it, too.”

“Well, now can you give me the time and hear me out?”

“Sure. What is it?”

“I know you.”

You froze when you saw the last sentence. He knew you? How?

No, he must be bluffing.

“Really? How?”

This is nerve-wracking. It took him minutes to reply.

“I’ve been theorizing this the whole night.”

“And?”

“How did you know I have twelve friends coming over?”

Dang it. I never noticed that I wrote it down that way. You didn’t reply.

“You won’t know unless you came and met them.”

Why is this stupid boy suddenly so smart?

“And you’re 20. I asked the landlady.”

"She said there are only 3 people who are 20 years old here."

"Two of them are boys."

"In the mart, you told me about being annoyed while studying."

"Connecting to my wifi was intentional for me to see your message."

"I think I also met you even before the morning we went to the mart, that's why you acted so annoyed towards me."

"Soonyoung said he vaguely remembered me shutting the door at someone's face the night before they left."

"That was you, right?"

"Right, (Y/N)-si? 1228?"

You just froze all over again. He did know.

"You got me." You typed.

"You got me, too." He replied. What does he mean?

"What do you mean?"

"Do you need two hours today?"

Why is he suddenly asking you if you needed time? And on a weekend?

"No. Why?"

"Well, now you do, because I need it with you."

"What?"

"I'm asking you out do you even have sense?"

You laughed as red spread through your cheeks.

"You could've worded it more clearly."

"I'm a tongue twisted human being, stop being mean."

"You're cute."

You heard a soft 'thud' on the wall.

"Seokmin, what was that?"

"I just threw my pillow to the wall. My heart won't stay still, you idiot."

You laughed again.

"How are you so cute?"

"Oh my God, stop it!"

"Okay, okay!"

It took him a few minutes to reply.

"Hey, maybe it would be better for me to ask you on the phone. 010-800-xxxxx"

You rolled your eyes. Look at him, slyly giving you his number so you can contact him.

"Just come over and ask me. I'm a door away."

"But all of this is cute."

"Seokmin."

"But you got to admit, I'm cuter than all of this."

"I hate you, you idiot."

"Too bad, then"

"Because I like you a lot, (Y/N)."

#seventeen #seventeen fanfic #dk x reader #dokyeom #dokyeom x reader #seokmin #seokmin x reader #Dk x you #stories #dk fluff #dk fanfic #seokmin fanfic #seokmin fluff #seokmin drabble #seokmin scenarios #seokmin seventeen #svt dk #dokyeom scenarios #dokyeom fluff #dokyeom fic

[leewonkyeom]

despite all the biases I agree SVT OT13 ALWAYSSS like if I'm supporting a group I'm gonna love and support ALL the members! WAIT WONWOO (and shua) WAS YOUR FIRST i love Wonwoo and dk biased creatures (this sums up both of us tbh) omg like ya'll slay fr‼️as for shua I was gonna mention him as bias wrecker in my previous ask (as if having 4 biases wasn't already enough 😭)

i will always support having same biases‼️I know some fans don't like having same biases and shit but I love it <33 it's good to meet someone who's as down bad, delulu and desperate for them as I am 🤧

Looking at Wonbin is justifiable like how can anyone NOT look at him??? He's just so majestic??? Like is this guy even real?? 😭😭

You get me fr i thought i was the only aghase to see them as big brothers and dw being mark and jinyoung biased is valid af‼️now that we are talking about got7 being like big brothers I wouldn't mind if fanfic authors and smau writers put in got7 as readers big bros or platonic bffs instead of y'know having the same Jackson party over and over (he's TIRED give my bro a break T^T)

WAIT NO WAY I WAS GONNA PUT JOOHEON AS MY BIAS TOO we're both illoyal when it comes to them 💀 (🤡- my honest to god reaction when i used to think that I'll stay loyal to Jeonghan)

It looks like all my current biases were your previous/first biases heheh

I get not liking action movies they're definitely a hit or miss for me other than Spiderman ofc because who doesn't love Spidey?? (Idk if it's just me but you've seen the mark Spiderman au fanfics right?? Okay now just hear me out for a sec...)

Wong kar wai is a Hong Kong director i found him through tarantino's recommendations and I loved his films so much his style of films are kinda different from your typical hongkong cinema hits. If you love dreamy (?) vivid cinematography with an aesthetically pleasing colour palette, amazing soundtracks and nonlinear narratives or you just appreciate good films i really recommend Wong kar wai! My favs have to be Chungking express (1994) and fallen angels (1995) they are kinda connected but can also be watched as stand alones (maybeee i love fallen angels just a little bit more because of Takeshi Kaneshiro) in the mood for love is also really good

yes😭😭 even though i joke about only looking at dk 90% of the time, i love them all sm😭😭 like my name is literally meant to represent lee (chan), won(woo) and (do)kyeom so i thought at least two of those were obvious😭😭 dino is more of a sympathy thing bc i love him sm but he could never replace dk in my heart (in contrast to wonwoo and shua who are very real threats)😭 me and my irl carat friend watch a lot of svt content together and sometime's she stops and is like "you and dk really are the same person" and it's always when he does something awful😭😭😭

omg mark spider-man🔛🔝 i was also living for those spider-man svt edits that were trending on tiktok a while back 😭 like i'll take a spider-man au any day... on that note... should i just write one myself?😩😩

oh my god the way you described his movies sounds so magical !!!! i'll definitely check them out when i have time (like i never watch movies😭) but it also sounds like something my dad would like so maybe i can get him to watch them with me when i go home for christmas, since i barely watch movies by myself

#ask ida #⭐️mutuals #🐱catsaki

[atinykidult]

TMW #1—SVT Performance Unit

[angst] [3122 words] — 500-1000 word scenarios, Trainee!au, specific tags with each part, x reader

[a/n] — To supplement my growth as a writer, and to hopefully post more often, I’m going to start this TMW series. In it, I just want to explore different aus/emotions/styles in very short but hopefully still impactful blurbs. Thank you for reading!

[taglist] — @yunwoo @woozisnoots​ @multifanhere (Thank you for supporting me! It means the world!)

— K W O N   S O O N Y O U N G

[established relationship] [trainee!reader] [tw for trainee contracts being horrible]

Heartache is saying goodbye for a very long time, even though I’ll see you tomorrow.

He lets out a watery okay.

You bite your lip and nod.

“We’ll give you a few minutes, then please return to your training rooms.”

“I understand,” he says.

“Yes.”

The door clicks shut, and you both look at each other.

His eyes are bright with tears; yours are, too.

You let out a tired yet almost humored snort. Watery eyes, tired hearts. It’s ironic. This is how you and Soonyoung got together in the first place.

You were a good thing, and you were incredibly good for each other.

After all, trainee life is hard. And the closer to debut, the further away you get from any non-idol humans.

And to be at a company with two groups nearing that fabled debut?

Your shared manager’s exhausted admission sums it up: “This is my fault. The company’s, really. We should have expected two overworked trainees to find comfort in each other.”

Soonyoung wetly clears his throat. “I—I am so, so sorry. I…”

You shake your head. “Don’t be.”

He meets your eyes, expression fiercely argumentative.

“We both knew what we were doing.”

His shoulders, usually shaking in laughter or holding themselves strong for choreography, are hunched over. For being the cause for that, you hate yourself.

“‘We both knew what we were doing,’” he murmurs. “I… I guess we did.”

More than viciously heartbroken, you just feel bone tired. Even now, you wish you could lean against Soonyoung and feel him lean against you in return. You’d spent many hours that way, silent in your mutual understanding.

Now there’s a table between you.

A contract laying between you.

No comfort, no soft touches—only two pens.

“We should sign.” You don’t raise your hand, despite your words. “Get it over with.”

You can’t feel your face.

Soonyoung’s lips are pressed so tightly together you wonder if they’ll bruise. Distantly, your insides curl when you recall the color they turn when they do.

“Right,” he agrees, not reaching for a pen either.

He tearfully stares at you, memorizing the way you stare back at him.

The thing that had attracted you to each other so powerfully?

Your sheer determination, mirrored in the other.

And also...

Your shared dream to debut.

A tear falls down his cheeks, and you can’t help yourself when you reach over and wipe them away with the pads of your thumbs.

Instead of whispered words of, we’ll get there, together, you can only offer him this:

“Keep working on that fluidity.” Your voice shakes a little. “You’ve been getting so much better.”

Your way of saying: I’ll miss you. I’ll watch your growth and be proud of you.

“You, too—with your locks.” He sounds like someone’s strangling him. “Even Jihoon was saying how much you’ve improved.”

His way of saying: I love you. I’ll watch you, too.

You both reach for your pens.

“See you after five thousand,” he says, hand hovering over the paper.

There’s a meteor in your throat, moving down and down. You shake your head wordlessly.

With your inability to reply, he signs his name.

You sign yours.

With the sound of your pen dropped to the table, the meteor meets your heart and pushes it down and down and down....

Trainees Kwon Soonyoung and Y/L/N Y/N shall not interact again until either of two conditions.

Condition A) The latter of the two reaches their group’s third anniversary.

Condition B) The event of both eventual groups acquiring 500k sales on a single album.

— W E N   J U N H U I

[angst with lighthearted aspects] [could be “canon” setting] [childhood friends]

Heartache is saying goodbye and leaving things unsaid.

You and Junhui—childhood friends to best friends to something a little too tender to be platonic—well.

There’s the whole story, really.

No verb needs to be added.

As you stare at your phone, you huff out a chuckle.

You blame PMS when your eyes well up a little, scrolling through the many selcas Junhui has sent you. It warms your heart whenever he sends you them. Even though, or rather because, he has little phone time, it means the world that he sends you a quick selca every so often.

It also makes your pathetic heart scream a little.

Not from a stabbing pain, not a scream saying I’m on a 9/10 on the pain scale, SOS!

A scream more like I feel a little helpless to my pain, and it aches dammit, and I should have just told him I loved him.

As one of your alarms goes off, you scream into your elbow.

Back to the books.

.

Heartache masks itself under warm memories and whispers of comfort.

Junhui, for all his loudness and talking much too fast, knows his heart. He understands what he feels, most of the time, and he knows what he wants.

He wants to debut with the other trainees in the Seventeen Project.

Right now, he wants to eat a delicious supper. Then he wants to sleep until he wakes up naturally.

Then, he wants a three day vacation so he can go home and reminisce childhood schoolyard games with a certain best friend. And maybe say those particular words...

Well, that’s not a want.

It’s a wish.

And while his stomach flutters at the thought of it, the reality of the ache in his muscles pulls his attention away from the pleasant fantasy of those wishes.

For now, it’s time to focus on wants and learning new choreography.

But maybe, in ten years, maybe….

Maybe then, it’ll be time to think about wishes.

.

The day Junhui left your hometown, you saw him off. Although you couldn’t see him to the plane itself, you shared breakfast with him and spent every minute together until his family left in their car.

At one point, he and you were sitting on his bed, staring at an unnaturally clean room.

“You know… I bet you’d pass the audition if you tried,” he joked, not for the first time.

“Haha. And I would enjoy trainee life just as much as you enjoy schoolwork.”

Both of you smiled with your eyes.

“But you’d enjoy it because you’d see me every day!”

“And you could enjoy my schoolwork just as much seeing me everyday!”

A pause, then a much too honest: “That would make the school work worth it.”

If you were brave, you would have asked him something like: Are you trying to say something? Please tell me you’re trying to say something.

You weren’t brave.

“Then why are you leaving me all alone?! Huh?! To suffer all by myself?! Do you know how many credits I’m taking?”

“And you’re leaving me to a bunch of foreigners!! So what about that?!”

“I’m not the one leaving!”

Insert spluttering.

And laughter.

So much obnoxious laughter.

It was a good last day together.

It was a warm goodbye.

But, want to know something that sometimes makes your heart scream a little?

Wondering if you could have made that last day even better if you had been brave.

— X U   M I N G H A O

[one-sided pining] [TW for slight age difference/feelings for an authority figure][favorite of this set]

Heartache is falling for someone untouchable.

First of all, don’t point any fingers at him.

Having the vocal instructor be a beautiful, attractive, and young person? Who compliments trainees in their native tongue? And sits with them at lunch?

It’s like the higher ups are trying to weed out the trainees via dating clause.

Second of all, and corollary of the first point: Minghao’s not the only one.

“Our teacher’s the best!” Junhui crows in his ear, Mandarin a little too breathless.

Minghao lets out a little grunt in response.

“I didn’t know our teacher could dance, too!”

“Seonsaengnim is very talented,” one of the Korean trainees says to Minghao, ignorant to Jun’s words.

Minghao wills his cheeks to not show anything.

“Really!” someone else says.

He groans at his thumping heart.

Third of all, it’s not like the feelings will last.

Shortly after the dancing display, Seonsaengnim sits with Minghao, Junhui, and a few other trainees at lunch. Here, Minghao learns something very important about their young instructor.

“Yeah, I was a trainee just like you three!” you say, hoping this conversation doesn’t take a poor turn. “Honestly, I think it was only a little over a year ago.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, how did you end up a teacher here?” Jihoon doesn’t mention any of the trainees’ popular assumptions in his question.

Seonsaengnim must not have been as good as everyone else.

Maybe all the other trainees were more beautiful.

Honestly, I bet that’s it.

Minghao doesn’t quite know it for sure, but he knows that Jihoon, like himself, worries that he won’t debut because of his visuals. Korean entertainment… just isn’t fair.

“Korean entertainment goes through its phases.” It’s like you read his thoughts. Minghao can tell you’re sifting through your thoughts very carefully, choosing your words not unlike the way he often does. Trying to find the words. The right way to articulate best intentions. “For me, I was good enough that even though I couldn’t debut, the company thought I was worth keeping around. That was honestly very…” He's fascinated by the way your tongue peaks out to wet your lips. “Very complimentary. Of them, to me. I’m thankful.”

“Do you think you could debut in the future?” someone asks, stupidly.

“No.” Minghao is surprised to see your lips begin to smile so sincerely. “But I’m looking forward to helping you all debut.”

There’s no bitterness in your tone.

Something in him stirs fiercely. He wishes he could have that surety.

When you smile warmly at him, tilting your head as you study his expression, the buzz that courses through him is surely the way Soonyoung would feel if he ever met Taemin. Surely.

It’s admiration, that’s all it is.

Fourth of all, it was inevitable, really.

“Minghao, can we talk for a minute?”

He nearly jumps at the Mandarin.

There’s rage sitting in his stomach right now—at the company, at the guest instructor, at the mistakes he made today, at his own pathetic face.

Minghao just wants to disappear for a while.

But he can’t say no. Doesn’t want to, to this one staff member.

“Of course.”

You sit next to him, back to the studio’s mirror.

“I know today was hard, but you’ve been doing better the last four practices in a row. That’s incredible. Remember… Every time you’re not going to improve visibly. That would be impossible.”

“Thanks.”

“And that instructor is a piss poor excuse for a—oh, sorry. I shouldn’t be teaching you those kinds of words—”

“Seonsaengnim, I won’t be telling anyone on you.” He can feel the corners of his lips twitching up, despite himself.

“Just… Know you’re already working hard enough. You don’t need to be… ‘working double because you don’t have the visuals.’” You run an aggressive hand through your hair and let out a righteously indignant noise. “Just… You’re so talented, and I honestly think you look perfectly attractive. So… Just… Ugh. Know that you’re unofficially my favorite. And I hope today doesn’t stick with you. Damn, that was a horrible instructor...”

Minghao can’t help but flush at the praise, and how intimate it feels for you to be here. Sitting with him. Rambling to him so that he’ll feel better.

This talk will stick with him.

But only for the best reasons.

You take his hand; squeeze it once reassuringly.

“You’re going really far. Remember that.”

He meets your eyes, heartbeat galloping.

It was inevitable.

Fifth of all, it’s not like he’ll ever say anything.

“Today’s my last day with you! I’m so proud of you all for making it this far.”

It’s not like he’ll ever have the chance.

“Thank you for everything, Seongsaengnim!”

“Yes, thank you!”

“You were our best teacher!”

Minghao freezes.

It feels like someone took all the warmth he had felt from that talk, and drained it from him. And decided that, you know what? For the hell of it, let’s just dump some ice cubes in there. Like rubbing salt in a wound, but emotionally.

The practice passes as quickly as clouds on a windy day.

Then, suddenly, you’re hugging everyone goodbye.

Then, suddenly, you’re fondly ushering the last of the trainees through the door.

Then, suddenly, you’re brushing his sweaty hair out of his eyes.

“Minghao, you’ve made it to the debut lineup. I’m so proud of you.”

You say more, but his mind is empty except for the panic settling in.

He’ll never get to say anything.

He grabs your wrist.

“Seonsaengnim, you can’t be leaving.”

A surprised frown. “I can’t?”

I need you to stay with me throughout my career.

I need you to keep watching me improve, with that proud look in your eye.

I need—

Minghao can’t find any Korean to answer with, leaving him nearly in tears.

He feels hysterical.

And you hug him.

And the tears fall.

“I’ll miss you too, Minghao.”

I love you.

So I need you to stay.

“I’ll be watching the headlines for your name, and when I see it, I’ll be telling my new trainees, ‘He was my favorite!’” A pure, bright grin against his sweaty hair. “You’ve made it, Hao! You don’t need to be crying over me.”

That’s not the words that will make me feel better.

“I—I—”

Minghao knows the three Korean syllables.

But it’s not like he’ll ever say them.

— L E E   C H A N

[angst] [exes]

Heartache is pouring out my regrets out on stage, knowing you’ll never see it.

Chan doesn’t know why he’s feeling this way, this minute, this song.

But he is.

It’s trainee evaluation day; his focus should be unwavering.

Yet, as he takes his spot with the other three trainees, he feels that familiar wave of regret bowl his heart over.

His memories of you flash through his head as he lowers it, waiting for the music to play.

Those memories are bowling pins in his mind, one toppling into another and that pin into another—

And Chan, being who he is, aims for a strike every single time.

“It’s alright you cancelled today—I know being a trainee leaves you no time.”

“I’m sorry. I love you.”

“Love you, too.”

The first one always falls, and then the next.

“I understand. It’ll be worth it when you make it to the big stage.”

“Only if you’re in the front row.”

“Talk soon.”

“Talk soon.”

The second pin rushes into the third.

“I have to go in a minute. But you were trying to tell me?”

“It’s… no, it’s nothing, babe. Dance good. And… maybe—call me soon?”

“I promise I’ll call right after.”

And the next ones always fall much faster.

“I’m sorry I didn’t call last night. We were all so exhausted, and I just couldn’t deal with y—”

He stops himself in time, but the damage is done.

“You just couldn’t deal with me? Well, you know what, Lee Chan. Maybe right now I can’t deal with you.”

And then they all fall indiscriminately, until the last few are teetering, wobbling...

The music plays, and muscle memory sweeps Chan’s body away into the choreography.

“No, Chan, you don’t need to apologize. I understand exactly how we stand. I really do believe you, don’t worry about that. You like me, but not as much as yourself! And your ‘dreams.’ I understand completely.” Your voice is a both a cry and a hiss by now. “You’re really selfish sometimes, you know that?”

...And the last one falls.

“Chan, your lyrics are really... “

“Are they that bad?”

“No—not bad… Just, well… Heavy. For someone your age.”

“It’s a heavy topic, hyung.”

“True.”

“So, can we use them for the evaluation?”

“No. They’ll be wanting something lighthearted for that. But…”

“But.”

“I’ll hold onto these, if you don’t mind. We can use them on an album someday.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“No, really! They’re good lyrics.”

“No, uh… That wasn’t what I meant! It’s just…”

“Are they too personal? You don’t want them in the world?”

“Sort of.”

“Ah.”

“Yeah.”

“Well, it’s decided then. We won’t use them.”

“Thanks, hyung.”

“What, you’re leaving? Don’t you at least want these back, if they’re so personal?”

“...No, that’s alright. I… I—just, can you keep them for me? I don’t want them again. Ever.”

“Hey, I—”

“Please.”

“You wrote ‘I’m sorry,’ nineteen times. Not to pull the responsible hyung card on you, but I feel like this isn’t something you can… keep away from yourself. For forever.”

“I know. I’m working on it.”

“Okay then.”

“Thanks for everything, hyung.”

“Sure.”

“I’ll just go now.”

“Okay…. Uh… Actually, Chan?”

“What?”

“Just remember that, even if… Even because you’ve messed up before... Just know that doesn’t mean you’re that person for forever. I don’t know if you can make up for whatever happened. But you’re not… ‘stuck on this tear-stained road, for ever. You’re a good kid.”

“Are you going after sappy hyung role, now?”

“You can talk to us if you’re not feeling okay.”

“Thank you, hyung. I’ll get out of your hair now.”

“Chan!”

The song ends. The dance resolves with a final swoop of the arm. And Chan’s heart hurts a little.

“That was really good,” someone whispers.

“For real, I got chills.”

“Chan-ie, are you crying?” one of his hyungs asks. He touches his face; he is. “Are you okay?”

“I will be,” he feels himself reply.

Hey, Y/N. I’m sorry if this is the last thing you want to see. Hell, you might have me blocked, and honestly, a better me would hope you do. Anyways, I needed to get off my chest how sorry I am. I’m not going to try to explain myself. But I needed to try to let you know that I understand what I did was selfish. And that I shouldn’t have let us continue like that for so long….

Five years later, Chan will perform a solo at a concert.

Thematically, there’s a lot going on. And the lyrics say sorry a lot of times.

The fandom wonders what inspired the lyrics.

Chan doesn’t cry when he performs it.

The ending of the song isn’t happy, but it does resolve. The sad chord makes any listener feel a little bittersweet, though.

And, from the front row, one ticket remains unclaimed.

—T H A N K   Y O U   F O R   R E A D I N G!

If any of these touched you in particular, please leave me an ask or rb! I really appreciate any feedback. Have a great day!!

#caratwritersclub #seventeen #svt #seventeen imagines #seventeen scenarios #seventeen angst #seventeen x reader #the8 #minghao #svt jun #wen junhui #hoshi #kwon soonyoung #dino #lee chan #minghao imagines #jun imagines #hoshi imagines

[thekidultlife]

idk if this is where i post drabble requests but can i have idol! cheol with a famous singer foreign! reader where she admits her ideal type is cheol on a show, then like a week later the boys expose cheol for having a big crush on you on a show. they end up meeting somehow, maybe on a show or through working on a song together w seventeen and they’re all cute and blushy around eachother but at the end cheol asks for her number ? it’s long but i think it’d be rly cute! - dimple anon

Author's Note: Hello, dimple anon! This was supposed to be posted earlier, we're so sorry! 😂 Also, this is just a snippet of the idol AU I am making through this imagine, so please wait for it to unfold! Thank you for sending your request, too!!! You can send one again, too! Just use the format "word + SVT member" (which we strictly follow haha) and we promise to deliver! ❤

I mentioned Sam Okyere here, an amazing man who doesn't deserve the hate he receives from racist people in and out of South Korea. If you do not know what'a happening to him, please read about it here.

Word Count: 830+

. . .

“I’m coming, I’m coming!!!” Seungcheol bounded across the room and jumped onto the couch, his face all red as he kept typing furiously on his phone.

"Hyung, the show is about to begin!!! Guys, it's on now," Mingyu declared. It was their rest day at the dorms, and they were anticipating all morning for Sam Okyere's morning show to come out on TV.

They've been longtime fans of Sam Okyere, but this morning, they weren't just waiting for Sam Okyere himself to appear onscreen.

Giggling like teenagers, the boys filed into the living room and scrambled onto whatever couches or chairs they could find around the massive television set. Seungkwan and Chan bickered about who gets to sit closer to the TV. Mingyu frantically planted a leg on the place beside him. “Seungcheol-hyung! Jeez, where is that guy?”

“What are you doing? The show’s about to start!”

“I know! And I’m documenting that I’m about to watch it.” Seungcheol kept typing on his phone. Every now and then he would be hitting Mingyu on the shoulder or he would hug him close as he did his best to release pent-up excitement. “SHE’S ABOUT TO COME OUT!!! Wait, should I video this? Like record it? Or do I just watch? What do I do? I can’t. I’m too excited I just can’t—”

“—Ouch.” Mingyu drew back from Seungcheol, annoyed and massaging his poor shoulder. “You have a Twitter account just for stanning her?”

“She’s my ultimate crush, Mingyu.” Seungcheol looked at Mingyu with besotted eyes. “My ultimate crush. And, actually, I have two Twitter accounts for her. Then an Insta. Snappy. The works. Everything.”

“Crazy,” Mingyu muttered, suddenly scared as he thought of Seungcheol snooping around TWT and Instagram with secret fan accounts.

“I’m president of one of her fanbases, too!” Seungcheol declared with bleary eyes and a voice full of emotion as he briefly showed Mingyu his phone. “This is how much I stan her.”  

“You’re crazy,” Mingyu declared in his adorable English, shaking his head, before turning away.

“What are we doing?” Jisoo asked, laughing as he caught himself also participating in the rush to the couches. “Why are we acting like teenage boys?” Even as he slapped Jeonghan’s legs away from the spot that he wanted to squeeze himself into, he added as he shook his head, “Why are we like this?”

Even though Jisoo knew the answer and he was just voicing out his thoughts, everyone answered (and not without sassiness in their voices), “Duh.” “Did you really have to ask that, hyung?”

“The host is about to announce her!!!”

“I’m going to faint, I’m going to faint,” Seungcheol muttered to himself as he shakily zoomed the camera in on the TV.

“Hello, everyone!!!”

At the sound of your voice, everyone in the room started screaming, covering their blushing faces.

“She hasn’t even sung yet and we’re all going crazy,” Chan lamented, leaning on Hansol as he did so. “How is she that pretty onscreen? And she doesn’t look like she’s wearing too much makeup, either.”

Seungcheol dried his eyes, which were tearing up as he collected his emotions while videoing everything that was going on the screen. “She’s so beautiful,” he gushed adoringly, “so beautiful.”

. . .

“Now that we’ve finished talking about your concert, I’d just like to ask if it’s your first time coming here to South Korea, or have you visited before?” the host, a cheerful, beautiful man named Sam, asked you brightly.

You laughed self-consciously and nodded. “Yes, I’ve been here before! Actually, I come here almost every year since 2015. I wasn’t as big a singer then yet, so I had more freedom coming in and out of the country. I love this country. Feels like home to me! I stay here for about two weeks, tops, after concerts—” you stop in your tracks, your hand flying to your mouth.

Sam wiggled his eyebrows comically. “A concert? Which group? There are a lot of groups here! And we’re so glad that you go to one—or two?”

“One,” you acknowledged, blushing a crimson red and smiling. “Just one. But I do know a lot of groups, though. It’s just that I’m an avid fan of this particular group…” you debated revealing which group it was, and you kept laughing with Sam because you have been outed.

“Can you tell us which one?”

“Of course!” you answered, smiling at the camera. “SEVENTEEN, if you are watching this, I just hope you know that I’m your biggest fan and I love you guys!” You hesitated, before adding, as your face turned very red but very happy, “Especially you, Choi Seungcheol!”

. . .

As everyone watched the screen, they were dumbstruck.

Slowly, the twelve boys looked to their leader, who had dropped his phone on the floor the moment he heard you say those words. Seungcheol’s mouth hung open, his eyes so wide and so sparkly that it looked like the flecks of light on his eyes would jump out like stars.

“Especially. Me?”

“She probably doesn’t know what she’s saying,” Jeonghan commented calmly but with venomous intent, as he playfully glared at his friend. “She’s probably jet-lagged. We say crazy things when we're jet-lagged."

Soonyoung turned to Seungcheol, his adorable, tiny eyes narrowing glaringly. “I am such a hater.”

“Especially me.”

Seungcheol couldn’t breathe.

“Especially me.”

- Leanne. 🙆‍♀️

#seventeen #svtcreations #caratwritersclub #seventeen scenarios #seventeen imagines #seventeen drabbles #word prompts #seventeen fluff #seventeen choi seungcheol #seventeen scoups