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poweredbycoffee · 1 month ago

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The Grand Atiny Hotel

Pairing: OT8 x fem!reader (separately)

Genre: fluff

WC: 4.8k

Eight handsome staff of the Grand Atiny Hotel, eight stories of their romantic adventures. The concept images for the newest Atiny kit took up residence rent-free in my head so quickly that I had outlines for all eight of these by midnight the same day they were announced. I had so much fun making these almost like fairy tales. Enjoy!

Yunho:

Something sweet for one of our sweetest guests, the card next to a slice of strawberry cake outside your room had read. Courtesy of the head chef.

You weren’t sure if you were being slowly poisoned or slowly romanced, but over the past week a different dessert each day had appeared outside your room after dinner. Each had been more delicious than the rest and you knew it was only right to pay your compliments to the chef—the trouble was that no staff seemed to be willing to disclose who it was. Only a smile was given in reply.

“If you see him, please tell him the lemon tart was incredible.”

“Of course, miss. I’ll pass the message along.”

On the seventh day, you’d resolved to walk around the hotel’s kitchen gardens in hopes of seeing your baking benefactor but after an hour no one had emerged. You sat on a bench to rest your tired feet with a sigh. “I’m never going to find out, am I?”

“Find out what?” A tall—and disarmingly handsome—man crouched with a pair of scissors by the herb garden, dropping stalks of fragrant basil into a basket. “Hm?”

“Who keeps leaving dessert by my door. No one wants to tell me who the head chef is and I don’t know, I need to at least say thank you or pay them.”

“You’re welcome, but payment won’t be necessary.”

You gasped. “How did you know I liked strawberry cake?”

He looked up from the row of basil plants and winked. “A lucky guess. We pride ourselves on anticipating our guests’ every need.”

“That wasn’t a need.” You blushed. “You didn’t have to.”

He chuckled and sat the basket on the ground then stood. “And sometimes we just give them what they want but are too shy to ask for.”

In polite company you’d have blamed the cool evening air for the rising goosebumps on your arms, but you knew the truth lay in his voice.

“Are you all right?”

“I—I’m fine,” you lied. “I’m not sure I packed for this weather, that’s all.”

Before you could fully process what had happened, Yunho had shrugged off his coat and draped it around your shoulders. It dragged the ground due to your considerable height difference but he didn’t seem to mind and smiled down at you. “I’ll have Yeosang light the fireplace in your room if you’d like. It does get cold here if you aren’t as used to it as we are.”

“Everyone here is so helpful. I’m not used to not having to lift a finger, it’s like I’m…”

“A princess?” His smile widened to a boyish grin. “That’s what you’d hoped for in coming here, I heard.”

You’d almost thrown away the blue envelope that had appeared in your mailbox addressed to a princess in golden ink, assuming it couldn’t possibly have been intended for you. “What is this place?”

“For as long as you’re here, I think it might be your realm. Let’s get you back inside where it’s warm.” He picked up the basket of herbs then offered it to you. “Hold this for me, please, I need to pick something else up.”

You did as he requested but nearly dropped it in shock when he lifted you into his arms as if you weighed no more than the pumpkins that grew on the other side of the garden. “Yunho!”

He laughed and started down the path back to the hotel, noticing with some satisfaction that you’d rested your chin on his shoulder. “Royal treatment. You’ll become accustomed to it soon enough.”

If falling in love and feeling loved were considered royal treatment, you hoped you’d be his princess for long after your stay was over.

Wooyoung:

The bell on the door softly rang out as you entered the empty hotel bar for your nightly visit to Wooyoung, the handsome bartender. You hadn’t touched alcohol in years, but he seemed content to have filled the role of soda jerk during your stay and waved as you sat down. “What’ll it be tonight?”

“One cherry vanilla soda, please.”

“Oh, I don’t know if I remember how to make one of those,” he teased. “I might have to charge a small fee for such a request.”

You reached for your purse and hoped you had enough cash to cover drinking in such lavish surroundings. “Hold on, I’ll see how much I have.”

His demeanor changed instantly as he turned back toward you. “I’m sorry, that was a terrible joke. Keep your money. That’s not needed here.”

“Nothing in a place like this could possibly be free.”

“We do whatever it takes to make guests comfortable. That’s what you’re seeking when you arrive, is it not?”

You swallowed hard, remembering how your hands had trembled a week prior when you’d approached the entrance with the blue envelope containing your room key you’d received. Leave your troubles at the front door, the card inside had read. They will be safely disposed of during your stay.

“You don’t have to answer that.” Wooyoung poured cherry and vanilla syrup into a glass as he spoke. “But it must be said the keys have a habit of finding their way to the people who need them most.”

“So they’re magic.”

“I used to think so too, but the boss doesn’t like that word. He says it’s merely a question of waiting to see who needs what we have to offer.”

“No, this place is magical. The sheets smell freshly washed every day, the moon is always full, and even sleeping in I never miss breakfast. I wish I never had to leave.”

He smiled a little sadly as he held the glass up to a golden spout to fill it with soda water. “I take it you’ve enjoyed your stay?”

“Very much.”

“You’ll find your way back. There will always be a time and place for a glass of something cold and a long talk.”

Tears filled your eyes as you watched the clock behind him chiming midnight, counting down the final hours until you knew you’d have to check out in the morning. “I’m sorry. I’m sure I’m not the first to cry into a glass sitting here.”

“No, but…” He placed the wine glass he’d been drying into the rack behind him and leaned on the counter with a smile that sent your heart leaping into your throat. “You’re the first I’ve hoped to see again.”

“You mean that?”

“Wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t. It’s getting late. Try to get some rest, okay?”

You picked up the napkin upon which your drink had sat to dry your eyes only to find a message had been written on the back of it: Something to remember me by. With love, Wooyoung. “I guess that means last call.”

He gave your hand a brief squeeze then turned back to the row of wine glasses. “Only for now. Sweet dreams.”

A little later, as you drifted towards sleep, you knew that for the first time in a long time they might be.

San:

“Is there something I can do for you?“

You nearly jumped a few feet in the air at the soft voice of the hotel’s receptionist breaking your sleep deprived reverie. “N—no. I’m okay!”

“It’s two in the morning. I’m usually the only one awake at this hour. Perhaps a cup of tea? It may calm your nerves.”

You shook your head. “Just a lot on my mind. I have trouble sometimes with sleeping on the first night in a new place too.”

He looked up from the guest book with a knowing sparkle in his eyes before taking a key from the row of them hanging behind the desk and beginning to polish one with a cloth. “Ah, a common complaint. It won’t last, I promise.”

“You sound so certain.”

“Only because experience tells me so. You’ll see once you visit a second time. By the third you’ll get the best sleep of your life.”

“It’s really peaceful here. You’d think I’d have been able to sleep better than I ever have at home.”

“May I ask why?”

“Work, parents, the usual. Feels like no matter what I do it’s never good enough.” You paused to chew on your lower lip, not wanting to bother him more than you worried you already had. “I can’t remember the last time I took a vacation.”

“Do you think receiving that envelope was a coincidence?” He raised one eyebrow.

“It can’t have been. It’s only the first day and already it’s like everything here is a dream come true. The music, the flowers in my room, the…”

“Go on.”

You blushed. “The staff are all handsome too.”

“That part is certainly a coincidence,” Satisfied with the gleaming gold key in his hand, San chuckled and reached for another one to polish. “But thank you. As for the rest, let’s just say we like to get to know our guests to give them the best experience possible.”

“I’m starting to wonder if this place is even real. If you are.”

He stopped and gently placed one hand on top of yours while it rested on the desk. “This hotel and we who look after it exist in a place that is as real as you would like it to be. It’s in your fantasy that we live, we love, and we do what we can to make sure it's a place you can always return to. The envelopes are merely an invitation to open a door some part of you has long known existed.”

His touch was warm but sent a shiver down your spine. “You’re here because…”

“Because we needed to see each other? Yes. Without you, there’s no us.”

He said it with such conviction that something in you, after weeks of barely holding it together, finally broke open. “Most people only say that when they want something. At least to me.” Your voice wobbled with each word. “What is it?”

San’s brow furrowed. “That’s unfortunate. I assure you, however, that all I’ve ever wanted is to see you happy in the way you deserve.”

With anyone else you might have jerked your hand away and sworn it was too good to be true but you stood still, not wanting the small but reassuring contact to end. They’re in my fantasy, he said. Weren’t fantasies supposed to be more elaborate than this?

“You’re good enough for me, if that helps. Shall I escort you back to your room?”

“If you won’t get in trouble.”

“I’ll just say I was looking after a very special guest.” He emerged from behind the desk and wrapped his hand more firmly around yours. “Better to try to sleep after something good to dream about…”

Mingi:

“Do you have your room key?”

You opened the dark blue envelope and found, to your horror, that the key that had been tied to your invitation was gone. “Just a moment. It isn’t where I thought I left it but I know I brought it with me.”

“You may not be able to enter without it. That would be the decision of the manager.”

Quickly you patted each of your pockets in hopes of feeling out its location and cursed under your breath. “It has to be somewhere…I’ve been here before.”

“You’re a repeat guest?”

“You don’t remember me? I came here when I was a teenager. My sister stayed for a week once and brought me with her.”

He shook his head. “I’m sorry, I don’t.”

You reached into the bag resting on top of your suitcase and pulled out the book you’d been reading. A bookmark slid free containing a picture of a young girl in a lace trimmed dress standing by a tall smiling man in a navy blue uniform. “Then remember this. Please. I’m telling the truth.”

He took the bookmark and examined it, eyes widening in realization. “You told me you’d come back.”

“And here I am. I’m sorry I’ve misplaced my key, but can an exception be made? For old times’ sake?”

His face went red when his gaze met yours once more and he extended both arms for a moment before withdrawing them, unsure if he could hold you again the way he had then. You’d been his favorite guest, he’d said, and he’d always had time to tell you jokes or dance with you at the lavish parties that otherwise bored you out of your mind. That was what had stuck with you all these years: few people had shown you the amount of unfailing kindness Mingi had.

“No hug? I haven’t seen you in years. What are we?”

At that he laughed and pulled you into his embrace, resting his chin atop your head. “I never thought you’d come back.”

“Neither did I.”

“You look the same as you did then.”

“Handsome?” He flashed a flirty grin.

A feeling you hadn’t had in years bubbled up in your chest and you stared down at your shoes, forced to confront the memory of the crush you’d had on him. Your sister had teased you about how you’d blushed at the mention of his name at breakfast while you swore you hadn’t. She’d told you it was cute when you’d nervously let him lead you out onto the ballroom floor. When you’re older, find someone like him.

It had been ten years. Surely those feelings didn’t mean anything now.

“Mingi, I was fifteen.”

“Yes, but you’re still giving me the same look.”

Or did they?

“Okay, so I might have liked you then but I was a kid. You were being nice to me because I was someone’s little sister. It was your job.”

“I still had fun getting to know you. Is there a chance we could pick that up where we left off? Be friends…or whatever that might one day turn into?”

You nodded, willing yourself to not blush or stumble over your words. “I think so.”

The morning sun caught the light of the golden key that lay on the ground between them and he picked it up then pressed it into your hand. “There it was all this time. I guess neither of us noticed.”

As you walked through the door he was holding open for you, you wondered if he knew just how right he was.

Yeosang:

You’d been staying at the hotel for three nights when a small gold envelope appeared on your pillow after your bed had been made. You are cordially invited to our Golden Hour ball to be held at 7pm. As a reminder, the dress code is formal. Please RSVP with your room attendant.

You had almost dropped the envelope into the wastebasket when a knock came at the door. “Be right there.”

When you opened it, there stood Yeosang, the room attendant. “Good morning. I see you’ve received your RSVP card. Can we plan to see you there?”

You shook your head. “My date broke up with me the day I left to come here. I’m sorry, I’m not in the mood to dance.”

“Plenty of guests attend alone. Perhaps it will take your mind off things?”

“And besides, he helped pick my dress. Wearing it now would just bring back bad memories.”

He smiled and nodded in the direction of the wardrobe in the corner of the room. “I think you’ll find something suitable there. You can always make new memories.”

“It’s not that easy.”

“But it can be.”

You opened the wardrobe to find the dress of your dreams hanging there that somehow appeared to be your size. “Where did you get this? Are you sure?”

His eyes lit up. “Trade secrets. Try it on. It should fit.”

Taking the dress out, you held it up to yourself in the mirror and gasped. “It’s beautiful.”

“It is but it pales in comparison to you.”

You bit your lip and shyly looked down. “I’m sure you say that to everyone.”

Stepping past you to open the bathroom door and usher you and the dress inside, he leaned down to whisper in your ear. “No, I don’t.”

I don’t deserve this. The thought had echoed in your mind since the night the friend you’d stayed with—after the fight that had ended your relationship—had handed you the blue envelope with a puzzled look. “I don’t know how your mail wound up here from the other side of town but this came for you. Free stay at a place like that? I’d take it. It’ll make you feel better.”

He’s just doing his job. It doesn’t mean anything. You stared at your reflection, still clutching the dress with both hands. No use in hoping.

“Are you all right?” Yeosang asked from the other side of the door. “Would you like me to assist with closing the zipper?”

“N-no, I’m fine!” Quickly you changed into the dress, trying to think of anything but his gentle fingers grazing your back as he zipped you into it. “Just a minute!”

“Show me once you’re ready.”

Every breath you took rattled in your chest as you opened the door, yards of silk rustling around you with each step toward him. “It fits perfectly.”

“Wonderful.” A half smile tugged at his lips. “You should get to feel pretty more often.”

“I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”

“You should get to feel pretty more often,” he repeated, taking one of your hands in both of his. “I heard your voice when you arrived. Someone had made you cry.”

“Will you go with me?” You’d never been the type to make the first move, but his hand in yours gave you courage you didn’t know you had. “If you have the night off, that is.”

Yeosang lifted your hand to his lips and kissed it, his eyes never leaving yours. “I’d have been jealous if you’d asked anyone else.”

Hongjoong:

The last person you had expected to see when you’d decided to go for a nighttime swim was the hotel manager, but after two weeks of work trips any company that wasn’t your coworkers was immediately welcomed. “Good evening.”

He immediately snapped to attention. “How may I assist you today?”

You shook your head and smiled, dipping your feet into the water and slowly kicking them to send gentle waves across the surface. “I was just saying good evening.”

“Oh. Sorry. Um…good evening. I didn’t think anyone would be out here this time of day but don’t mind me. Pretend I’m not even here.”

“Now that you’ve made your presence known, that might be a bit difficult.”

Hongjoong’s eyes darted around nervously, giving you the impression he was trying—and failing—to divert his attention from the way your bathing suit hugged your figure. “I thought I’d take a walk around since I have the night off, but the problem is I still don’t know how to slow down sometimes. Maybe I should send a blue envelope to myself and see what happens.”

”So you’re the one who decides who comes here?”

He gave a short laugh that was as musical as the sound of the wind chimes being played by the night breeze above your heads. “I’m not at liberty to tell.”

You knew he was being obtuse on purpose; such a place needed to keep its illusions intact for all its guests and it wouldn’t have been wise to let trade secrets slip out even if only the birds and you would have heard.

“We’re all here, however, for a reason,” he continued. “No matter how small that reason may be. Mine is to make sure that everything runs as smoothly as possible for all our guests. Keeping the team happy. Steering the ship, you might say.”

“That must be why the bartender calls you Captain.”

“It was my title in a past life. An old habit that stuck.” He pushed up the sleeve of his crisp white shirt just long enough to show you a tattoo of a compass on the inside of his wrist. “He’s known me for a very long time.”

You gasped, instantly recognizing the symbol from the fairy tales you’d grown up falling asleep to. Pirates!

“You’ve heard of me, huh?”

You weren’t sure if you were supposed to lie but on instinct you nodded. “Everyone said you weren’t real.”

“What did you think?”

Memories came flooding back and flooded your eyes in turn with tears. You’d spent years as a kid being bullied for believing the stories of pirates, those who sailed the seas of dreams and appeared when their protection was needed the most. Years of being dismissed as a historian who had grasped at any shred of proof of their existence. Years of hoping someone somewhere would finally see the truth.

Instead, the truth stared back at you with a smile.

“I knew. I knew all along.”

At that he seemed to relax and sat down beside you, pulling his shoes off and rolling up his trouser legs to plunge his legs in next to yours. “Even if you hadn’t been invited, I bet you’d have still found your way here. Could’ve followed my maps in your sleep.”

“With my eyes closed? Are you sure?”

“You don’t follow them with your eyes. You follow them with your heart. In fact, I also bet you used to know how and have simply forgotten. Plenty of people do as they get older.”

“How would I remember?”

He leaned over and pressed a gentle kiss to your forehead, the age old calling card of pirates having left their charges to blissful sleep at last. “Like this.”

“I can’t believe it.”

“Of course you can. You’ve never stopped before. Why try to stop now?”

“It’s a little harder to take a leap of faith at a moment’s notice.”

He reached for your hand and smiled. “Then I’ll hold on and we’ll leap together.”

Whatever forces had been at work to bring you to him that night, you decided, fate had surely been the strongest of them all.

Seonghwa:

“Let’s see. Candlelight, roses, a nice dinner, and a box of your favorite macarons.” Seonghwa, the hotel’s ever resourceful concierge and your boyfriend, gestured to each item laid out on the table in your room. “Too easy. I know everything you like.”

“I’ve been coming here for so long that I’ve run out of things to ask for.”

“Impossible.” He laughed and kissed your cheek. “There has to be something I’ve missed.”

It had been like a game to him since the day you and your first blue envelope had arrived. You’d asked for an extra blanket because it had been cold and he’d appeared at the door of your room with a lavishly embroidered silk quilt. “Our esteemed manager found it on his travels. I asked him to keep it safe for me until the time was right. If you require anything else, please do not hesitate to ask.”

By some strange miracle, as you saw it, each item you requested—from pillows to pet beds when your cat traveled with you—was the most exquisite version you could have imagined. You’d begun to wonder if your requests were a burden for him, but the thoughtful look in his eyes and teasing smile said otherwise.

You know that if you want a kiss, say the word and it’s yours.

Falling in love with a man who appeared to be able to give you the world was inevitable.

“There’s nothing else. I promise.”

“Think about it over dinner. I’m sure you’ll have an answer by then.”

The time passed in relative silence and after dessert was finished he leaned across the table in expectation. “Is there anything else you require this evening?”

“Nothing at all.”

“Give me a challenge. Something you’d never ask anyone else to get for you.”

“A husband?” You bit your lip and shook your head with a soft laugh. “I’m kidding, that would be impossible.”

He raised an eyebrow, his tone suddenly serious. “You think I can’t bring you that?”

“I can’t expect that from you, Seonghwa.”

He pulled a small box from the pocket of his uniform with a shy smile and flicked it open, a diamond ring sparkling in the candlelight between the two of you. “Good thing I’m full of surprises.”

“How did you…where did you…”

He smiled and shrugged, repeating his usual response to anyone who asked about the provenance of the items he sourced. “Our esteemed manager found it on his travels. I asked him to keep it safe for me until the time was right.”

You’d been trying for the past couple of months, across many letters and visits to the hotel, to find the courage to tell him that you wanted something more out of your relationship. That you’d happily leave your world behind for his if it meant you could stay together. “You always told me you’d find a way to make me happy.”

He pulled the ring from the box and slipped it onto your finger. “Except this time I did it for the both of us. I’m sorry it took me so long.”

“Everything you bring me is worth the wait.”

“Although I suppose that in a manner of speaking I haven’t brought you a husband just yet.”

You took his face in your hands and kissed him until you could barely breathe. “Tonight, this is close enough.”

Jongho:

Your favorite thing about your room, you were certain, would always be the view at night from the balcony. The moon shone over the sprawling gardens where not a single path was lit to avoid dimming the view of the sky, which appeared a rich indigo regardless of the season. It had to be magic. Almost as magical as stargazing with Jongho, your favorite staff member—and current crush.

You looked up from your chair, marveling at the masses of visible stars, and he smiled. “We might have added a few more for the occasion.”

”What do you mean?”

He shrugged, his eyes similarly bright with mischief. “Repeat guests get VIP treatment. You seem to come here often.”

“It’s better than real life.”

“That may be, but it gives you something to look forward to. A reason to keep going.”

One of the things you’d learned about Jongho in your four visits to the hotel was that, unlike some of the other staff, he was rarely interested in sugarcoating the reason why you’d landed there once more. Despite its existence on the borders of time and space, he seemed aware of the world beyond that guests sought refuge from in a way you found refreshing.

“It’s that much better when you get here at last,” he continued. “The good things feel better sometimes when they come suddenly after bad things.”

Much as you hated to admit it on your worst days, he was right. The first time a blue envelope had shown up in your mailbox had been in the middle of the night when you’d been unable to sleep. You’d taken a walk around your neighborhood to shake off the nerves of a job interview the next day and been shocked to find it there. We would like to invite you to experience the opening of the Grand Atiny Hotel. Please present this envelope upon arrival and wait to be escorted to your room.

One rejection email later, you’d never packed your suitcase so quickly.

“But if bad things didn’t happen, would I still be able to find my way back here?”

“I’d be shocked if you didn’t. Room 1117 practically has your name on the door.”

“Are you laughing at me, Mr. Choi?”

He laughed as he reached for a dark blue paper bag, the same shade as the envelopes you’d treasured, and placed it between the two of you. “Only a little. But as a repeat guest, I felt a thank you gift was in order.”

“You didn’t have to.”

“What kind of entertainment director would I be if I didn’t entertain you this evening? Go on, open it.”

You pulled the gold tissue paper out and reached inside, pulling out a stuffed bear with a matching dark blue ribbon tied in a bow around its neck. “I haven’t had a teddy bear since I was six…”

“If for some reason you can’t make it back here, hold on to him. He’ll be your reminder of all the time you’ve spent.”

You hugged the bear to your chest with both arms wrapped around it, wondering if it was a coincidence the bear’s fur carried the same scent of jasmine and orange blossom you detected on him in close proximity. “I love him! Thank you. He kind of reminds me of you.”

For the first time since you’d met him, Jongho blushed. “That might have been the point.”

“But for the time being, can I hold on to you instead?”

He moved the bag out of the way then put his arm around your shoulders and pulled you closer to him. “Let me do the holding, hm? I have to make this your most memorable stay yet…”

#ateez #kpop #ateez soft hours #ateez fic #kpop fic #yunho x reader #seonghwa x reader #hongjoong x reader #san x reader #yeosang x reader #wooyoung x reader #mingi x reader #jongho x reader #ateez fluff

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