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dailynnt · 2 months ago

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FRIENDS WITHIN TOUCHING DISTANCE

⊹ Summary: Jungkook and you, his childhood friend, live together in an apartment, sharing space as roommates. Your relationship, built on years of friendship, is gradually becoming strained by growing sexual tension. You decide to become friends with benefits, trying not to complicate your feelings. But Jungkook's world is not so simple. When you begin to realize that he is hiding something, you open the veil of his double life - a world of mafia, criminal activity, and risk that could ruin not only your deal, but everything you valued in each other.

⊹ Couple: Jeon Jungkook/ Fem!Reader

⊹ Characters: The Reader, Jeon Jungkook, Park Jimin, Kim Taehyung, Min Yoongi, Kim Seokjin, Kim Namjoon, Jeon Hoseok.

⊹ 🔞 Age restrictions: 18+

⊹ 👩🏼‍❤️‍👨🏻 Relationships: ⚤

⊹ 📘 Number of part: 27/30

⊹ 🖇️ Tags: best friends, friends with benefits, slow longing, sexual tension, protected sex, unprotected sex, alcohol, drunken sex, inexperienced main character, mafia au, illegal trade, deaths of minor characters, weapons, swear words.

⊹ 👩🏼‍💻 From the author: Guys I did it, I wrote this chapter and this just phew, because it's so big 😅 I hope as always that you will love it 🥹👉🏻👈🏻 How do you like Y/N's confession and Jungkook's reaction? I don't know how to right and I haven't had the opportunity to write such things yet, but it turned out the way it did 😆 Enjoy reading my darlings 💗💘💜

⊹ 🫂 Dedication: For you, my love @myjungkookthighs. You are my favorite person 😘🥰 You know that I appreciate you so much and LOVE you🥰💜

⊹ ⚠️ Warning: English is not my native language, so there may be mistakes in the text. Please don't get mad at me too much! Those under 18, please don't read this story!

⊹ 📋Tag list: @myjungkookthighs, @notsevenwithyou, @nikkinikj, @lovelyyylunaa222, @jiminiemanura, @jalexad, @kelsyx33, @bhonbhon, @unholyforjk, @ambiee3, @mianhae-baozi, @someoneelse0109, @medstudentlifestyle, @mskookie, @kooccult , @smokinghotstargirl, @curse-of-art @wintaemoonjen (If anyone wants to be in my tag list let me know)

≣ Chapter Index ↓

Part 27. Under her heart is his future, behind their back is his past.

Doohoon leaned back, looking thoughtfully at the espresso in his cup. The smell of freshly brewed coffee mingled with the aroma of expensive tobacco coming from Sehun, who was sitting across from him, slowly releasing thin streams of smoke. They were sitting in the office of the OBSESSION Group. The tall panoramic windows offered a view of Seoul covered in twilight, lit by thousands of lights. The two men sat across from each other. Tension was palpable between them.

"Doohoon, this will take time to work." - Sehun spoke calmly, despite his companion's irritation. "Yes, I promised that everything would be ready in a week, but you see, sometimes things don't go as planned."

Doohoon didn't answer, just lifted the cup to his lips and took a small sip. The bitterness of the coffee drowned out his dissatisfaction, but did not facilitated his impatient. It had been over a week since Jungkook and Lee Gyuwon had been photographed together in Suwon. They did their best to create the illusion that Jungkook was working behind Namjoon's back. But the fake document that imitated the money transfer "for the deal" was not yet ready.

"But we're almost at the end of the line!" - Sehun continued. "There are only a few days left to finalize the documents."

"Two days..." - Doohoon scoffed. He didn't want to wait even a minute.

He set the cup down on the table without saying a word. Sehun stubbed out his cigarette, and a light haze of smoke dissipated into the air.

"What about the man who sold the information about Uranium? Did you take him out?" - Doohoon asks, changing the subject. Sehun turns his attention to his friend.

"You know?" - Sehun asks with a raised eyebrow. Doohoon expression is unchanged.

"I know." - Doohoon replies shortly. He took another sip of coffee and continued. "I wonder if Namjoon knows yet? You know it won't cost him anything to find out who did this. Especially since that person was responsible for the delivery." - Sehun laughs lazily. He throws his leg over his leg and throws his arms over the back of the couch.

"No, he won't know. First of all, it looks like an accident. And secondly, this man was a former customs officer who worked for the Kazakh mafia. He was one of the organizers, but definitely not the main one. We are not so stupid as to bribe a person who directly cooperates with Namjoon. That's why no one will know it was us." - Sehun explains. Silence falls, and everyone in the room thinks about their own things. Doohoon has a few more things to do, and if there's nothing else to do here, he'll leave.

He unlocked his phone and opened a chat with you. His last message was from a week ago. There was no response. This irritated him even more than the expectation Sehun had imposed on him. He looked up at his friend, who was still sitting in a relaxed position, as if nothing was bothering him.

"How long do we have to wait for that Ji Sung guy?" - Doohoon asked. His voice was clearly irritated. Sehun turned his lips into a smile.

"Are you in a hurry?" - He asked lazily. Doohoon remained silent for a moment to contain his frustration.

"Yes. I have a lot of things to do." - Doohoon replied.

"Just wait. He said he'd be arriving in ten minutes." - Said Sehun looking off to the side. "What are you nervous about? Do you think she won't agree to spied, because she loves Jungkook?" - There was a hint of mockery in Sehun's voice. Doohoon's mood became even worse.

"She'll agree." - He said shortly. Sehun chuckled softly but mockingly.

"Why do I think Ji Sung will come empty-handed? Your girl won't give up Jungkook." - Sehun says and watches Doohoon's reaction closely. He's quietly seething with anger. Sehun is amused by Doohoon's behavior. Although Sehun sincerely hopes that you'll have a reason to tell them what they want to know. Because as Ji Sung said, you're the only one who can know this information, except for those close to Namjoon. He's not happy with the fact that he's dependent on some girl. But for him, the main thing is to get the information so that Jungmyeon will be satisfied by him, and the idea of surpassing Ran Noir is like a balm to his soul.

"She will have her doubts. But in the end, she will cooperate. I know her." - Doohoon says coldly. You've already doubted Jungkook once, and you let Doohoon get close to you then. So he thinks that if you find out that Jungkook has gotten into something so dangerous again and your peaceful existence might be disrupted again, you might turn against Jungkook. It would be very good if that happened. And then Doohoon could make you his forever.

Sehun took another drag on his cigarette, exhaling the smoke in Doohoon's direction as if to test his patience.

"You sound so confident." - He drawled, squinting. "What if she decides that Jungkook is more important than her own peace of mind?" - Sehun asked. Doohoon clenched his jaw and gave Sehun a cold look.

"She won't!" - Doohoon said.

"Really?" - Sehun ran his tongue over his lips like he was enjoying this game. "You think if she trusted you once, she'll do it again?" - Doohoon looked at him calmly, but there was something dangerous smoldering in his eyes.

"I know what she's capable of when she's cornered." - He replied. Sehun laughed softly.

"You know..." - Sehun said quietly, shaking the ashes from his cigarette. "How well do you know her?" - Sehun asks. Doohoon turns his eyes to his friend and takes a long look at him.

"Quite well. That's why you didn't even doubt in my words." - Doohoon assures him. Sehun studies Doohoon's gaze.

"You like her." - Sehun says. From being he didn't know why Doohoon had asked him to help clean up Jungkook in the first place. He just said that he was getting under his feet, but now the reason is obvious. It's you.

"Yes." - Doohoon answered meekly and confidently, seeing no point in hiding it.

"So she's the real reason why Jungkook is bothering you. You can't have his toy?" - Sehun asked, ironically. Doohoon clenched his jaw. The muscles in his jaw played with anger.

"She was supposed to be mine until that asshole found out I liked her. He's taking everything that's mine and it's fucking annoying, don't you agree?" - Doohoon asks in an icy voice.

Sehun leaned back, not in a hurry to answer. His gaze slid across Doohoon's face, as if gauging how far he was willing to go. Then he slowly took a drag on his cigarette, exhaling the smoke aside.

"Oh, I understand you perfectly." - He finally said, smiling with a hint of mockery. "But the problem is that Jungkook doesn't seem to have just taken her away. He made her want to be with him." - Doohoon clenched his fists sharply.

"He's no better than me." - His voice was low, full of pent-up rage.

"Maybe." - Sehun shrugged, tossing his cigarette away and crushing it in the ashtray. "But you seem to be missing the point, Doohoon."

"Missing which point?" - He tried to keep his tone calm, but his irritation still came through. Sehun tilted his head, as if looking at his interlocutor with interest.

"It's not Jungkook you've been trying to fight all this time, it's her choice." - Doohoon felt a cold wave hit him inside.

"Choices can be changed." - He said in a low voice.

"So why isn't she with you yet?" - Sehun smiled wryly. Doohoon didn't say anything. He just stared in front of him, clenching his fists so hard that his knuckles turned white.

"She will be." - Doohoon says with such confidence, as if he knows you will in any case. But before Sehun can say anything, the door to the office opens.

A young girl of about 25 walks in, a personal assistant, secretary of Sehun, whatever. She straightened her hair nervously and made her voice steady.

"Sehun-sajanim, Kim Ji Sung is here to see you." - She says. Doohoon turns his gaze to Sehun and notices his lustful gaze, which can only mean one thing: he is either thinking or remembering how he fucked her. Doohoon looks away, almost rolling his eyes.

"Yes, darling, invite him." - Sehun says gently. The girl bows and walks away faster than she should.

A moment later, Ji Sung appears at the door of the office. He bows discreetly to the two people present and walks in their direction.

"So, what's there?" - Sehun asked, well concealing his curiosity. He gestured for Ji Sung to sit down next to him. Ji Sung sat down and hurried to tell him about the meeting.

"I talked to her, but she turned me down. She said she wouldn't rat on Jungkook." - Ji Sung said. Sehun hummed, holding back a louder laugh. The words "I already knew that" were on the tip of his tongue, but he waited for Ji Sung to finish. "I reminded her that she owed me debt, but she refused. I gave her until the end of the week. She has to tell us what we need to know or I'll make sure she gets in trouble." - Ji Sung finished his report. He was visibly tense.

Doohoon and Ji Sung were the ones who organized the whole thing. Doohoon assured that that you could know this information, and Ji Sung happened to be your sunbae to whom you owed a debt. You got it when you asked your sunbae to find information on the Namjoon clan. It was not difficult for your sunbae to find such information because he had long worked as an informant for the Black Pearl Clan. Ji Sung had the information you needed long ago, and asking you about Uranium was a great excuse to make Jungkook look bad for you, once again. Once again, Doohoon is trying to open your eyes to Jungkook's true nature.

He's a narcissist, manipulator, greedy, and cynical. He's only with you because Doohoon likes you. He seduced you because he knew you liked him for a long time. He's a bastard.

Sehun didn't answer, just looked at the two men in front of him. Doohoon was tense, though he tried not to show it, and Ji Sung looked more confident, as if he thought he had done everything he could.

"Do you think she'll break before the end of the week?" - Sehun finally broke the silence, his voice a bit mocking.

"If you push it right." - Ji Sung replied. "She doesn't have much of a choice. She's known me for years, so she knows I don't waste words."

"What are the chances that she has the information we need?" - Sehun asked, and it sounded like he was asking both of them. Ji Sung answered confidently.

"Almost a hundred percent. Jungkook is a childhood friend. They've been close since they were young, and now they're dating, so I'm sure she knows these things about him." - Ji Sung stopped talking and there was silence. Doohoon also wondered what you might know. After you reconciled with Jungkook and accepted his lifestyle and activities, you could know anything about him. This made Doohoon almost animalistic angry. You've always been so righteous, and now you're dating Jungkook, who's up to his eyeballs in the mud.

Sehun tapped his fingers thoughtfully on the table.

"So you say she'll share the data we need. But the question is: what's the point to her, telling us this information?" - Sehun asked. Ji Sung frowns a little.

"The thing is, she doesn't have a choice. She has a debt. She's not the kind of person who doesn't pay. Besides, I threatened her a bit." - Ji Sung replied. Sehun hummed, leaning his elbow on the arm of his chair.

"You threatened her a little?" - He looked at Ji Sung with an ironic smile. "And what did you tell her?"

"That if she didn't help, she'd be in trouble." - Ji Sung shrugged his shoulders. "She has nowhere to go, she's not stupid, she knows that debt is unforgivable."

Sehun tilted his head slightly, as if he was thinking.

"Are you sure it will work?"

"Why are you doubting all this time?" - Doohoon, who had been sitting in silence, interjected. His voice sounded dry.

"I'm just wondering what we'll do if she still says no?" - Asked Sehun. Everyone was tensely silent. "My thought: She won't say anything." - Sehun finally said confidently, standing up from his chair.

"That's unlikely, but if that's the case, we'll have to convince her with more forceful methods." - Ji Sung suggested.

Doohoon stared silently in front of him. He knew you wouldn't give up that easily. But that wasn't what made him angry. What made him angry was that you were so desperate to protect Jungkook. What did he have that Doohoon didn't? Why did you hold on to him so stubbornly, even though you knew who he was? Sehun glanced over, scrutinizing Doohoon.

"It seems like this situation is really bothering you." - He stated. Doohoon remained silent. Sehun smiled slightly and looked back at Ji Sung. "Okay. You gave her until the end of the week. If she doesn't talk, we'll figure out what to do about it."

Ji Sung nodded, but there was a hidden danger in his eyes.

"She will talk, Sehun-shi. I promise you." - Ji Sung said with hope in his voice.

"We'll see..." - Sehun went to the window. Doohoon was still sitting in silence, deep down he knew you were in the corner. And the question was not whether you would break. It was how long you'd suffer for Jungkook.

The sound of the water stops when you turn off the tap. You take off your clothes and touch the phone on the shelf not far from the bath. It's almost eight o'clock in the evening. According to Jungkook, he should be here soon. But the thought of him tickles your nerves. You climb into the bathtub and lie down straight. The water instantly relaxes you and you exhale blissfully. You wanted to take a bath to get rid of the feeling of tiredness and stress.

Warm steam fills the room, enveloping you in moist warmth. The lavender-scented water absorbs your body, relaxes your tense muscles, as if trying to wash away the fatigue that has settled somewhere deep inside.

You pull your knees up to your chest, hugging your arms to you, and stare at the shimmering reflections of light on the water surface. The soft splash of the slightest movement creates the illusion of calm, but inside you is a storm.

Your fingers involuntarily slide over your stomach, which is still completely flat, without any changes. And yet... there is already life inside you.

You are pregnant.

This word does not leave your head, it sounds in it like a continuous echo. You still can't realize that the doctor really said it.

"By all indications, you are in early pregnancy..."

You didn't believe her right away, so you bought two pregnancy tests and took them. Both confirmed that you are indeed pregnant.

You close your eyes as you inhale the hot, moist steam. How did this happen? You were taking those fucking birth control pills. But there was a time when you stopped taking them, right after you broke up with Jungkook. You stopped taking them because you thought you didn't need to because you weren't going to make up. But you underestimated your feelings for him, as well as his for you. The day he came to make up. Maybe it happened then? He cum inside you, and the next morning, too. But you took the emergency contraception pill.

You reach for your phone and turn on the calendar app you used to determine your cycle. After calculating the day Jungkook coming to you and you made up by having sex, you are horrified to realize that it was the day you ovulated. God... that's why you got pregnant, because he cumed inside you on your ovulation day. You locked the phone and put it back. You immersed yourself in the bathtub with just your head above the surface of the water. Right now, you wanted to plunge into the water with your head, that not to think about what had happened and what would happen.

Now you have a child, Jungkook child, that growing inside you. You imagined how you would hand in your diploma thesis with a stomach. You laughed hysterically. It was Jungkook's fault because he was joking about your pregnancy.

Suddenly you were scared. Not because of the pregnancy itself-you don't know how to tell Jungkook. How will he react? Will he be happy? Judging by what he said before, he will be. It's also scary because of the world you live in. You tried not to be a part of the mafia life, but no matter how much you try to avoid it, you are slowly getting involved in this world. Even today's situation with sunbae. Threats, blackmail, spying. It's all this shit to worry about again.

And then there's Jungkook and Uranium. Namjoon entrusted Jungkook with the uranium supply. You think this is the case he told you about when you were at parents' house. He was upset that day, obviously because he realized how dangerous and complicated it was. Oh Jungkook, why is this happening to you?

You are absorbed in your own thoughts, not noticing the apartment door opening. You don't hear the familiar footsteps approaching the bathroom. It's only when the door opens and you feel a slight movement of air that your shoulders tense.

Jungkook looks into the bathroom to find you lying in the water. Your heart starts to race as if it were telling you to. You look at his face for only a few seconds, but you already feel like crying. Because he is so dear, so loved, so beautiful. Your feelings for him overwhelm you with an uncontrollable wave. After you find out that you are pregnant with his child, you seem to see him from a completely different perspective. Somehow deeper, more reverent.

Jungkook enters the bathroom, closing the door behind him. He stops at the threshold, tilting his head to the side, looking at you carefully. His gaze slides over your face, lingering on your eyes, which shine with emotions that you don't have time to hide.

"Hi, baby. Are you okay?" - He moves toward you. You make an effort to hold back the emotions that overwhelm you.

"Hi. I'm fine." - You say, smiling gently. You lift yourself up a little in the tub, but so that your chest is covered with water and foam.

Jungkook smiles out of one corner of his lips as he sits on the edge of the tub and folds his hands in front of him.

"Is something wrong? You look lost..." - Jungkook is worried. He reaches out to touch your face. His palm touches your cheek, and you reflexively close your eyes against his warm. How pleasant, how desirable, how gentle.

Jungkook admires your appearance. Your hair is gathered in a high, lush bun, obviously to keep it from getting wet. The skin on your face is shiny with moisture. Your eyelashes flutter slightly when you close your eyes. "How beautiful my beloved girl is," he thinks. But he is worried about your condition.

You open your eyes, your hand warm from the water, touching his palm, covering it with your own. You cannot speak. Everything in your chest is tight, and it seems that if you open your mouth, you will just cry. From happiness, from fear, from love. From the realization that his child is growing inside you. Your child.

"It's okay." - You finally say, your voice breaking. Jungkook hums.

"It's not okay if you use that voice." - He says, stroking your cheek with his thumb. You inhale, trying to hold back the storm of emotions inside you, and hide your gaze in the water.

"Everything is really great... it's just..." - Your voice is quiet, almost indistinct. "A lot has happened today." - You say without elaborating.

"And you decided to hide in the bathroom?" - Jungkook says playfully. You smile.

"I thought it would work..." - You joke. Jungkook laughs softly. You think you have to change the subject quickly before he asks what happened. "I missed you." - You take his palm in your hands and kiss the inside of it. Jungkook looks at you with the tenderness and love of the world. He smiles as you kiss his hand. Jungkook takes his palm away and leans down to your face.

"I missed you too . Like crazy." - He whispers, causing butterflies to flutter in your stomach. You smile seductively at his lips.

"I couldn't wait for you to get here." - You whisper back. Jungkook is the first to respond. He's just a second ahead of you. He covers your lips in a greedy kiss that makes you throb between your legs.

Jungkook holds onto the edge of the bathroom as he kisses you. He touches your face with his hand, as if to capture you. You want to take his face too, but your hands are wet, you don't want to get him wet.

His lips already press gently but insistently against yours, causing a wave of trembling throughout your body. The water envelops you in warmth, but it's not enough, because the flame that Jungkook ignites with a single touch burns you from the inside out.

His hand, still resting on your chin, moves lower, slowly running his fingers along your neck, over your collarbone, until he finds your breasts. Jungkook squeezes them lightly, almost gently, tracing a hardened nipple with his thumb. His lips leave yours, and he looks at you in a way that makes your heart pound even harder.

"So hot..." - His voice is husky, full of desire, and his eyes are hungry. He dips his hand into the water, touching your stomach. You instinctively hold your breath. His palm is wide, warm, and it seems to envelop you, enveloping you with a sense of security. You want to close your eyes and just surrender to this feeling, forget about everything that bothers you.

"How was your day?" - You ask, trying to escape from his captivity, although you don't really want to. Jungkook leans back a little, raising his eyebrows in surprise, and then laughs - low, hoarse, so that a pleasant chill runs down your spine.

"Are you serious?" - He squeezes your thigh underwater, getting your attention. You nod, swallowing the heavy lump in your throat. Jungkook leans closer again. "I've been waiting all day to come home. To see you. To touch you..." - He runs his lips down your cheek, to your ear, making you hold your breath. "And now you're asking me how my day was?" - His another hand moves down, pressing against your stomach. You grab his wrist, stopping him.

"Kook..." - Your voice is barely audible, a little confused. He freezes, staring at your face, his eyes full of tenderness.

"What?" - He asks, studying your gaze. You have a thousand reasons to stop this moment. But right now, you want nothing more than him.

"Do you want to join me?" - You ask, almost whispering. Jungkook stretches his lips into a satisfied smile. He can't refuse you. He doesn't immediately accept your offer, though. Without answering, he straightens up and looks between your legs. Your knees are not submerged in water, so he can easily determine where he wants to go first.

You feel his hand slide over your stomach and approach your most desired spot. You spread your legs slightly to give him more than free access to your pussy.

"You didn't text me when you left the doctor." - Jungkook leans in closer, his elbow resting on the edge of the tub. His voice is quiet, almost a whisper, but you can hear the dissatisfaction in it. His fingers find your clit in the water. You close your eyes, feeling it in a whole new way. Jungkook massages your clit, with light movements that seem weightless in the water, but no less pleasurable.

"I forgot." - He force you to look up at him. He is so dear, so yours. His warm gaze makes your heart clench. Jungkook smiles, but it's more of a sly, playful smile.

"You forgot?" - He asks again, leaning closer. His lips stop a moment from yours. He dips his fingers into your passage. Your legs clench reflexively as you feel his fingers move inside, stretching your velvet walls.

The water envelopes your body in warm tenderness, but his presence makes it even more hot. Jungkook slowly touches his lips to your neck, leaving barely perceptible kisses. His breath is hot, and his touch makes you feel sweetly immersed in the moment.

"I've been waiting all day to finally come home..." - His voice sounds deeper, making you melt. He increases the pace with his hand to make you feel a pleasant pleasure. The water splashes with his movements, and a moan escapes your lips. Jungkook uses his thumb to reach your clit and the pleasure created by his movements intensifies. "I'm here to..." - He whispers, forcing you to look him straight in the eye. "To not let you forget about me."

Jungkook kisses you. His tongue enters your mouth and you accept it as if it were something you needed. Your tongues intertwine in a hot dance that ignites passion and need. You moan into his mouth as his fingers fuck you mercilessly. He feels you come on his fingers. Your clit twitches, and your muffled moan vibrates on his lips. He smiles into your mouth.

He pulls away, leaving you breathing heavily. He gets to his feet and your gaze falls on his bulge, which you can see immediately. Jungkook is undressing. He slowly unbuttoned his shirt, never taking his eyes off you. His eyes are dark, heavy with desire, and it makes your heart pound even harder. He drops his shirt, and you hold your breath as you watch the familiar, yet always captivating curve of his body.

"You're so beautiful." - He compliments you. "I could stare at you forever." - His words take you to heaven. You should have complimented him, but the emotions that overwhelm you do not allow you to speak.

You smile and watch in silence as he reaches for the waistband of his pants, freeing himself from his excess clothing. His every movement seems to be in slow motion, as if he wants you to remember this moment to the smallest detail. When Jungkook takes off his boxers, you literally devour him with your eyes. His hard cock is attractive and you can't look away. Jungkook walks to the bath and you are mesmerized, tilting your head back to see his face.

"Make place for me, my sweet." - He says, and you involuntarily move over, letting him sink into the warm water next to you. The water rises higher, hugging your bodies. You sit down on his lap, feeling his hard cock on your buttocks. Jungkook hugs your stomach, and then his hands lifted to your breasts.

He squeezes them, playing with your nipples. You lean your head back on his shoulder and breathe heavily.

"They feel like they've gotten bigger." - Jungkook says, referring to your breasts. He massages them, and you run your foot along his leg to ease the anticipation of more.

"No." - You say. "They shouldn't." - But they are because you're pregnant. You're suddenly tense about this fact. But when Jungkook kisses your shoulder, you calm down. He is your panacea, he is the one who always knows how to relax you.

"But it's true. They used to fit in my palm, but now they don't." - He says, squeezing them together. "Look." - Jungkook asks. You lift your head with difficulty and look at his hands on your chest. They do indeed not fit slightly in his palms. And his palms are big.

"Jungkook..." - You say his name almost unconsciously, as if it's rolling off your lips. You want to tell him.

"Mmmm" - He purrs in your ear. "What is it, my baby?" - He asks when you don't answer. You won't tell him now. Not yet.

"Uh... I was going to say that my breasts must have gotten bigger because I'm going to have my period soon." - You're lying. You don't understand why it's so hard for you to confess that you're pregnant with his child. His fingers caress your skin, and you can feel his impatience building. He lets go of your breasts and drops his hands to your clit and caresses it.

"What did the doctor say? Is everything okay in there?" - Jungkook asks.

"Yes, everything is very good." - You say with a blissful sigh. Jungkook's cock twitches and you feel it.

"And how do you feel now?" - He asks, referring to the state you were in a week ago and this morning. You can barely hold back a bitter laugh. How are you feeling? Overwhelmed with emotions you can't explain. Lost between fear and joy. In love with this man to the point of madness.

"Right now…I'm fine." - You say quietly, referring to this very moment. In fact, Jungkook's fingers almost bring you to a second orgasm, but he takes his fingers out of your pussy. He puts his hands on your hips and touches his lips to your cheek, sitting up straighter.

"Then let me make it even better." - He suggests. He motions for you to turn around and sit on his cock. You do so. You turn around and sit down, resting your knees on the sides of Jungkook's thighs. You know that tomorrow your knees will definitely be bruised. But it doesn't really matter right now. You lower yourself onto his cock with amazing ease and no pain at all.

When he plunges into you as far as he can, you can't help but hold back soft moans, because it's blissful. You squeeze his cock, feeling it so good. You haven't had sex in a little over a week, so you must be so sensitive.

"Baby, I'm mighty to cum if you don't get up." - He says and lifts you up, supporting your hips with his hands, but he doesn't hold you for long, and in a moment he's already back down. It feels so fucking good. Jungkook's breathing is ragged. He smiles at you as you watch him. "You missed my cock so much that you decided to strangle me right away?" - He says defiantly. You move closer to his lips, wrapping your arms around his neck.

"Now do you realize how much I missed you?" - You ask, and then kiss him. Jungkook squeezes your hips with some force, and his lips are greedy against yours. He was aroused by your words, and he wants to show you how much he missed his favorite pussy.

Jungkook makes push his hips so you can feel his cock, but it's not deep or sharp, it's gentle.

You pull away from his sweet lips and start moving slowly. The water is splashing around, but it doesn't interfere with the process. Jungkook looks at your face, admiring you. He helps you as you move on his lap. The sex is not rushed but slow and gentle. It's probably the first time you're not having passionate, hard sex, but rather slow, light, and loving.

"Did I tell you today that I love you?" - Jungkook asks as if you were sitting at a table, but not in a bathroom and fucking. Even though he says it, he feels your every move. The friction inside is just amazing.

You smile when you hear it. The butterflies in your stomach make themselves felt again.

"Yes, you said." - You say, between heavy breaths and exhalations.

"Okay, but I'll say it again." - Jungkook chants and pulls you in for a kiss. He stops a centimeter from your lips and whispers. "I love you."

"I love you too." - You answer.

The water gently embraces you, creating the illusion of weightlessness as you move in a harmonious rhythm. His hands gently slide down your back, supporting you. Breaths mingle in the air, warm and deep, intertwined with soft sighs that echo through the semi-darkness of the bathroom.

Jungkook looks at you, not believing it's you. You're his best friend, the one he's always wanted. The one he's always loved and wanted only you. Now you are his love and he will never let you go.

The movements are slow, smooth, like waves touching the shore, leaving behind only sweet bliss. You merge in a kiss-slow, deep, full of feelings. Jungkook presses you against him, letting you feel the depth of his devotion.

You move your hips and feel the same orgasm full of the purest pleasure. It turns out that slow movements can also make you cum. Your orgasm spreads down your lower body and you go crazy with pleasure. Jungkook makes you move on, speeding up the pace so that he can come too. It doesn't take him long.

A few minutes after you do, he spews his semen inside you, but you don't worry about it anymore because you already have a baby.You breathe heavily against each other. You smile when you meet Jungkook's eyes. He is in no hurry to let go of you, holding you gently. The water around you slowly calms down, leaving only light circles spreading across the surface. The water has long since cooled down, but the heavy hot bodies have not noticed.

You feel his fingers slide gently along your back, leaving you with pleasant tingling sensations. He puts his chin on your shoulder, breathing evenly, calmly, as if he wants to enjoy this moment as long as possible.

"I've been waiting for this day." - Suddenly he says, his voice a little hoarse, full of some deep, but incomprehensible feeling. You turn your head slightly to look at him.

"This day?" - You ask, not understanding. He runs his hand down your back again, hugging you tighter.

"The day when I can just come home and find you like this - relaxed, calm, mine." - These words make your heart skip a beat. If only he knew how much this moment means to you. If only he knew what secret warmth spreads through you when you hear his voice and feel his touch. But you're not ready to tell him what's important.

So you just smile, running your fingertips along his neck.

"How this day to you?" - Your voice is seductive, playful. Jungkook laughs slightly, pressing his lips to your shoulder.

"Perfect. But you know what?" - He asks you. You raise an eyebrow, waiting for him to continue. He bites your skin lightly and then whispers. "It would be even better if you didn't hide from me in the bathroom."

"I wasn't hiding from you, I was hiding from fatigue." - You laugh, pushing him in the shoulder, but he catches your hand and, pressing it to his lips, leaves a long, gentle kiss on your wrist.

At that moment, you realize that no matter how your future turns out, there will always be room for your love.

On the low table in front of the couch were boxes of food that had been delivered - still warm rice, chicken in sauce, fried mandu, ramen, and a few bok choy, which you ordered on purpose because you knew Jungkook loved them.

He was sitting next to you, wearing sweatpants and a T-shirt, a little relaxed but focused, his fingers touching his phone over and over again. Because of an incoming call or a message.

"You said you were to be free early today." - You remarked softly, opening the box with the chicken.

"I did it." - He nodded, looking away from the screen. "Just not finished something."

"Then what's the point of arriving early?" - You arched a skeptical eyebrow. Jungkook sighed guiltily, putting his phone away.

"Sorry, I'm with you." - He smiled, reached for you, and gave you an apologetically kiss. You smiled back in satisfaction. You took a couple of chopsticks and put some rice on your plate. Jungkook took some chopsticks too and finally focused on dinner.

"Are you busy because of that case you told me about?" - You asked cautiously. Jungkook took a bite of chicken, and you looked at his lips, which were glistening with sauce.

"Uh-huh…" - He muttered, mixing the sauce in the ramen. The smell of the food seemed pungent to you, and the only thing that didn't make you nauseous was the rice. So you ate only that. To avoid Jungkook noticing that you weren't eating anything else, you took some chicken and put it in the rice, but didn't eat it.

"By the way, did you talk to Namjoon about the debt? If you're doing something so illegal, shouldn't he forgive the whole debt?" - You ask seriously.

"What makes you think it's something too illegal?" - He asked, tilting his head to the side.

His voice sounded somehow slightly irritated, and you were worried that this dialog would not end well. The intense gaze of his dark eyes made you feel as if he was looking right into your thoughts, trying to find out what you knew.

"Because I see that this case takes up all your time. You're in the company almost around the clock. You come in late, and when you're home, you're always on the phone. Obviously, this requires careful preparation, which means it's something too illegal, knowing what you do." - You explain. Jungkook's eyebrows are knitted together tightly. He's annoyed that you're paying attention to such things and trying to find out something.

"It doesn’t matters, baby." - He says, not taking his eyes off you. You forced yourself to hold his piercing gaze calmly.

"Just tell me if Namjoon will let you go." - You repeated, trying to find out.

"I don't think you need to worry about that." - He replied dryly, going back to eating. His movements became sharp and tense.

"But I am worried!" - You said abruptly and put your chopsticks down on the table. "You said yourself you wanted this. If the agreement between you two is going to help you, then I want to know how soon he can let you go." - Jungkook ate in silence. His phone vibrated, and he glanced over but didn't pick it up. You saw that it was Jimin texting. "Are you going to talk to me?" - You asked.

"Y/N, I don't want you to know anything about what I do. I tell you about it all the time. But you somehow find yourself involved in everything you won’t need to be. Namjoon won't let me go as easily as you or I would like. Even the fact that I'm doing something so important to him doesn't give me any special privileges. He's my boss, I have to do what he says." - Jungkook replied. You raised your eyebrows, feeling irritated by his words.

"You sound like you're happy with everything. I thought you wanted to get out of the mafia as soon as possible..." - You say, looking away. You put a small portion of rice in your mouth and eat it. "Has it ever occurred to you that the more you get involved in darker things, the deeper you get sucked in...?"

Jungkook throws his chopsticks on the table and you jump slightly.

"Y/N! How many times have we talked about this? It's more complicated than you make it sound. You don't know Namjoon and my relationship with him. I'm not happy with everything, I just do what I have to do because it's the smart thing to do." - He says, raising his voice slightly. You don't turn to him, but stubbornly eat the rice, which doesn't taste good to you. Jungkook looks at you for a long few seconds and then turns away. There is a silence between you that weighs on both of you, only the sound of chopsticks against plates. Jungkook eats without much appetite.

"What if I had information that was really important to Namjoon, would he let you go?" - You ask, thinking about asking the sunbae why he wanted to know the time of the uranium delivery from you. Jungkook turns his attention to you and you catch his fierce gaze.

"What the hell information?" - He is angry. You're angry too, but you try to be sure.

"Important information, something that means a lot to him." - You repeat.

"What are you up to? There is doesn't exist that kind of information. He's very careful about what people know about him. I know everything about him and there is no such information like that." - Jungkook says sharply.

You lightly bite the inside of your cheek, wondering if you should go any further. Jungkook looks on edge, and you can see that his patience is almost bursting. But you've already started this conversation.

"He's not a saint, and even if he's cleaned up all the information about himself, it's impossible to erase everything completely." - You argue. "I'm a journalist, and if I wanted to, I could..." - Jungkook cuts you off in mid-sentence, unable to listen to what you are saying.

"Y/N!" - He shouts. You jumped up again, staring at Jungkook in shock. You didn't even remember the last time he yelled at you. "Stay out of this shit. Don't even try to dig up anything on Namjoon. Do you have any idea who you're talking about? Besides, you're not a journalist yet, you're a student, you won't be able to find anything on him." - Jungkook exhales nervously and gets up from the couch, and you follow him. You didn't expect him to react so sharply. Jungkook runs his hand through his hair, ruffling it. He turns to you, and his look is more desperate than angry.

"Fuck." - He curses, regretting that he got so angry. He didn't mean to yell at you or anything. Jungkook walks over to you and kneels down at your feet. He takes you by the knees and looks you in the eyes. "Baby, please don't do anything. Don't look for any information. Just go about your business. Leave everything to me. I'll take care of everything, you don't have to worry about anything. Namjoon will let me go when the time comes."

You look at him, feeling a wave of conflicting emotions rise in your chest. His voice sounds softer, but his eyes are full of anxiety. Jungkook rarely shows his fear, but now you see it, and it makes you question your decision.

"What if the time doesn't come?" - You ask, your voice soft but firm. You put your hands on his shoulders, trying to ignore the warmth of his skin through the thin fabric of his shirt. "You said it yourself, Namjoon won't let you go that easily. So you're just going to wait?" - You look into his eyes intently. Jungkook squeezes your knees a little harder with his fingers, as if he's afraid you're about to slip away.

"I'm not just waiting, baby. I'm playing a game you shouldn't be playing. I know the rules. You don't." - He explains.

"What if I learn?" - You decide that if you can't stay out of the mafia world, maybe you should be prepared for anything that might happen. Your question elicits a husky laugh from him, but it quickly disappears when he notices the determination in your eyes.

"No. I won't let you. This is not your life." - He says seriously, wiping the sad smile from his lips. You feel the irritation flare up even more.

"And what is mine, Jungkook? The one where I just keep quiet and pretend I don't care that my boyfriend is mired in shit? I can't just sit here and wait for you to..." - You swallow the rest of the words, because it's too scary to even think about. Jungkook sighs, leans over, and rests his forehead on your knee.

"I don't know what to say to make you not do anything." - He sounds desperate.

"You don't have to say anything." - You say softly. He looks up, his dark eyes drilling into you.

"If you really have something... information that's important to Namjoon..." - He takes your wrist, his fingers hot and strong. "Tell me." - You don't answer, because you don't really know anything. You have some ideas about how to pull it off, but you don't know what to do yet. You can trick the sonbe and try to get information from him about for who he is looking for. And then pass this information on to Namjoon in exchange for Jungkook's freedom. But you need to plan everything well. You have to do something for Jungkook, so that he is not alone on this battlefield.

"I don't know anything. I wanted to find something, but if you insist that I do nothing..." - You say to calm Jungkook down. He squints, not quite believing what you're saying.

"Y/N..." - He calls your name, emphasizing the seriousness.

"I won't do anything silly." - You promise, leaning down to his lips. You kiss him gently and carefully. He responds, unable to resist his favorite lips. It is a half-truth that you promise. He doesn't believe you. But for now, he doesn't say anything.

"That's not how he prepares." - You argued. Jungkook looked at you in surprise. "I know because my mom makes it perfectly. Seafood sundubu-jjigae is an authentic recipe." - Jungkook laughs at the way you prove your point. He also likes to tease you.

"Baby, no one makes sundubu-jjigae with seafood. Only beef." - He would say with a sly smile, propping his face up with his hand. You were sitting on the floor in the living room arguing over the sundubu-jjigae, you started talking about authentic dishes and when it came to this soup, your opinions were divided. You wanted to prove that the original sundubu-jjigae is a broth with seafood. You left your phone charging in the room on purpose.

"Give me your phone and I'll prove that the original recipe doesn't contain beef." - You said, reaching out to get the phone. Jungkook glanced at his phone lying nearby, but didn't give it to you. In case if someone texted he about work, that you won’t to see it.

You waited impatiently, because you had also early planned to turn off his phone’s Face ID so that you could get into his phone at night.

You knew that sunbae was looking for information about the date of the uranium delivery. You also knew that whoever was behind it wanted to use it against Namjoon. You couldn't let that happen-not when it put Jungkook in danger. So you planned to deceive your sunbae. Give him false information.

All you needed was a screenshot with date and place. And you knew where to get it. So you tried to get Jungkook's phone for the second time this evening, but he stubbornly refused to give it to you.

Jungkook grabbed your hand and pulled you to him. You found yourself leaning over him, and in a moment you were pulled into a kiss. You responded with great desire. You comfortably settled on top of him, and you kissed. Jungkook's hands roamed over your body. His palm went under your pajama shorts and squeezed the skin on your buttocks.

You kissed Jungkook while your mind raced. It's been a few days since you found out you were pregnant, but you still haven't told him. Maybe tonight is the time?

You started moving your hips, feeling Jungkook's semi-hard cock. He was aroused by your kiss, and your movements made him even more excited. You also felt your underwear getting wet.

In a moment, you were on your back, pinned down by Jungkook. He pulled away from your lips and spoke in a voice full of desire.

"Are you doing this on purpose? I didn't plan to fuck you tonight." - You laugh, you hadn't planned it either. You have something else to do. Jungkook was hovering over you, his hot breath tickling your skin. His hands were everywhere-warm, confident, greedy. You could feel your heart pounding furiously in your chest, and you couldn't figure out what was making you tremble more: his touch or the realization that you were hiding the truth from him.

You smile seductively. He sees how you want to continue what you started. You wanted to answer, but instead you just closed your eyes, dissolving into the sensations. Jungkook knew how to take your mind away, make you forget everything in the world. But not today. Today, you had a plan.

You wrapped your arms around his neck, pretending to be completely absorbed in the moment, but your mind was working clearly. Somewhere nearby, on the floor, was his phone. He didn't realize that you were counting on this moment.

As he leaned closer, you reached out, your fingers touching the cold glass. You slid the phone closer to you before picking it up and pressing it to your lips, as if involuntarily.

"I want to prove you wrong first." - Your voice was shaking, but Jungkook didn't suspect anything. He let out a heavy exhale and leaned back to let you catch your breath.

"You better have something else to prove to me." - He smiled, barely hiding the desire that still burned in his eyes.

"It will take a few minutes." - You said. "Just unlock your phone." - You point the phone at his face, so that the Face ID works. But it didn't work, so Jungkook enter a password. You followed his fingers but couldn't keep in mind the password. He unlocked his iPhone and handed it to you.

Jungkook leaned down to your neck and started kissing it, while running his hands over your figure. While he was busy with you, you had a good opportunity to turn off your Face ID to get into your phone at night and find a screenshot with some date and delivery of the goods.

You opened to the browser, pretending to search for something, and meanwhile quickly went to the settings. Your heart was pounding, but you had to be confident. Jungkook kissed you without moving away. When he went down to your chest, lifting up your pajama top, you barely knew what you were doing. His tongue was playing with your nipple. He sucked on the nipple, pulling the skin in with a slight pain. Your breasts are sensitive and you really hurt, but this one was more intertwined with arousal.

"Here, look, it says..." - You slipped the phone to him, distracting him from what he was doing, you had already managed to turn off Face ID. Jungkook muttered something as he looked at the screen, and then took the phone away and moved closer to your lips.

"Are you serious? I thought we were doing more important things..." - His lips found yours, making you forget about everything but him. You were kissing when Jungkook's phone rang. He growled right into your lips, and you couldn't help but laugh.

"Who's calling so late?" - You asked with mock jealousy. Jungkook turned his head to the phone.

"It's Jimin..." - He was about to get up, but you stopped him.

"Do you really want to answer it? Because I don't want to continue if you get distracted now." - You were giving Jungkook a choice. An incoming call from Jimin and a time like this — might be important, but you're lying there under Jungkook, sexy and so damn tempting that he can't take his eyes off you.

"Are you setting conditions for me?" - He asks, a danger in his voice that excites you.

"Yes, love. You're always working, so can I be first to you tonight?" - Your voice is soft, and you slip your hand into his soft hair and stroke it. He glances at his phone, then back at you.

"You always first for me. But this could be an important call." - Jungkook says hopefully, but don't pick up the phone. You tilt your head and squeeze your shoulders slightly.

"It's up to you. I will not continue, if anything." - You blackmail. Jungkook hums and leans closer. Heavy breathing escapes his chest, and his hands, still on your hips, squeeze your skin boldly.

"You're sneaky, you know that?" - He murmured, his lips almost touching yours.

"Mmm..." - You ran your fingers through his hair, enjoying the softness of it. "I just want you to be here with me, not off doing your own thing."

Jungkook sighed. The phone finally went silent, stopping vibrating, and the room fell silent, filled only with your rapid breathing. He turned his gaze to you.

"Good... You win." - His voice sounded hoarse, tinged with irritated satisfaction.

"Did we play a game, love?" - You whispered gently, running your fingers along his cheekbone.

"Yeah, tell me you weren't manipulating me a minute ago." - He protested, returning his lips to your attractive neck. He kisses it, sucking lightly. And when he bites himself, you just flow.

"Manipulation is such a rude word. I'd call it... persuasion." - You say, breathing heavily. Jungkook pulls away from your neck. He smiled at you, but his gaze remained heavy, dark, and filled with desire. He lowered himself sharply to your lips, biting deeply into the kiss. His hand slid down to your stomach and then lower into your underwear, forcing you to arch against him.

"Happy?" - He asked between kisses, finding your clit and massaging it.

You moaned into his mouth. He could hear how satisfied you were. But you also wanted to admit that you were pregnant. Should you wait until you two finish or should you tell him now? You've been silent for so long, you decide now is the time.

You part your lips. Jungkook is about to reach down to your chest to continue what he've started, but you call out to him.

"Kook..." - You try to withstand the sensations of his fingers on your clit and his tongue on your nipple. He plunges his fingers into your passage and returns to your face.

"Yes, my love. Do you want to say something?" - He asks quietly.

"Yes... I have... mmgghh." - You want to speak but you can't, Jungkook just won't let you. His fingers inside you create friction that isn't enough, and it force want more.

"What? Is it something important?" - He asks again, continuing to fuck you. You squeeze his biceps with your fingers to ease the sweet languor.

"Yes, it's important." - You affirm forcibly. Jungkook stops and you open your eyes. You see his handsome face very close.

"Can it wait? Or do you want say right now?" - Jungkook asks, not entirely happy that you're interrupting such a process. You bite your lip, feeling very nervous. If is the right time to say it?

"Jungkook... I'm pregnant." - The words come out of your mouth faster than you'd like. Jungkook freezes. His dark eyes, which had just been clouded with desire, clear. He stares at you, as if trying to figure out if he heard you correctly. He pulls his hand out of your shorts and sits up. You follow, looking at him.

You gulp for air, your heart pounding in your chest. This is not how you imagined this moment. You wanted to tell him this in a different setting-not now, not like this... But the words are already out, and you can't take them back.

"What?" - His voice is quiet, he doesn't even blink, he just stares at your face, as if looking for confirmation in every feature.

You exhale softly, your hand finding his cheek, warm and familiar.

"I'm pregnant." - You repeat more confidently. The moment of silence seems like an eternity. He does not look away. His hand involuntarily goes down to your stomach, as if he wants to feel something that can't even be felt yet.

"Are you... sure?" - He finally asks, his voice trembling more than you're used to hearing. You get up and go to get the test. You take it in the room and return to Jungkook, who is sitting on the couch, completely dazed. You give him the two ribbons that indicate pregnancy.

"You should know what the two strips mean." - You say with a smile on your lips. Jungkook picks up the pregnancy test and looks at it. His lips part slightly, as if he wants to say something, but can't find the words. He finally looks at you, his eyes darting between yours. You're flustered. "Maybe... you say something..." - Your voice is quiet, almost pleading. You cannot understand his reaction. And then, suddenly, he hugs you tightly, burying his face in your neck. His breathing is ragged, and you can feel his fingers trembling on your back.

"God..." - He whispers. You don't know what it means. Joy? Fear? Shock? He doesn't let go of you, holds you as if he's afraid to let go even for a second. "You really are pregnant." - He finally says, leaning back a little to look into your eyes again. You smile through your excitement.

"Yes." - You confirm. Jungkook inhales, bites his lip, and you can see him trying to deal with the storm of emotions inside. And then he leans down and kisses you - gently, slowly, not at all like a few minutes ago. There is no passion in this kiss, but there is something deeper - indescribable feelings that he himself does not seem to fully understand.

His lips tremble as he kisses you, as if he wants to remember this moment forever. His fingers gently trace your cheek and then move down to your stomach. He touches it so carefully, as if he's afraid he might hurt you.

"You..." - He stutters, searching for the right words. "Are you feeling okay? Have you been sick? Did anything hurt?" - You smile at his concern.

"I'm fine, Jungkook. I felt a little nauseous this morning, but it's nothing serious." - You say to reassure him. He nods and then runs his fingers over your stomach again.

"This... this is real." - He whispers. "I'm going to be a father... damn it, I'm really going to be a father."

"Yes you are. I warned you not to joke about it." - You say with a slight protest. Jungkook laughs and hugs you tighter.

"It wasn't my jokes that got you pregnant, so don't blame them." - Jungkook says and you laugh out loud. Yeah, it's not the jokes' fault. "Baby, I love you. I love you so much." - Jungkook says as he turns to you. You look into his eyes and can't figure out if this moment is real or if you're dreaming. When he touches your lips again, you can't help but feel the reality of this moment. You are relieved that he knows.

Jungkook fell into a deep sleep, as he always does after a busy day and he also a lot of emotions. You didn't have sex because Jungkook couldn't process the emotions of the news for a long time. You told him that you couldn't tell him for a long time because you were so depressed. Jungkook a little scold you, he saw how you were and you should have told him right away. You defended yourself by saying that you don't get pregnant every day and don't know how to behave.

Jungkook's breathing is steady, his arm is heavy on your waist. You need to find the right screenshot. You waited. You waited until the rhythm of his breathing became deep and his body relaxed completely.Then slowly, carefully, you pulled your hand out from under the blanket and felt for his phone.

You unlocked it. You went into the messaging. You didn't know where exactly Jungkook kept important information, but logic told you that it was in the chats where he was communicating with some of Namjoon's people. And you were right.

Correspondence with someone from Run Noir. Dates, numbers, places. You found what she needed. You took a screenshot. You sent it to herself, quickly saved and deleted the text message on your and his phone. You wiped all the tabs and put the phone down, turning the face ID back on.

You laid down and turned on your back. Jungkook stirred next to you. He snuggled up to you, burying his head in the crook of your neck, and resting his hand on your stomach. You exhaled a quiet, relieved breath.

Now all you had to do was fake a screenshot and meet with sunbae.

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#jungkook x reader #bts #bts jungkook #jungkook #jungkook x f!reader #jungkook smut #jungkook friends with benefits #bts mafia au #jungkook imagine #bts fanfction #jungkook fanfic

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tanghuyuj · 5 days ago

Text

LEFT LOVESTRUCK!

pairing: non-idol or idol!riwoo x short-haired-fem!reader

genre: fluff, fluff, and fluff !!

synopsis: after chopping your hair off to be short, you’re unsure of how your boyfriend will react. though, there’s nothing to worry about; i mean—he is lovestruck for you.

warnings: kissing, not proofread, and i think that’s all.

wc: ~0.6k

maia’s note: 1st riwoo work what am i doing ?? for all my short hair girlies out there (me) bc i just know riwoo would be obsessed with a short haired gf >< enjoy reading! reblogs and feedback are always appreciated!! 💘

you raise your hand and run it through your hair. your newly, freshly chopped off hair.

it’s now short, and not medium length short, but short short. so short, it barely reaches to the edge of your chin.

you stand in front of you and your boyfriend’s shared apartment, needing to take a moment before you walk in and see his raw reaction. riwoo knows you were going to get your hair done, he just doesn’t know that you got it cut to a certainly short length.

read under the cut! ⬇️

you aren’t scared for how he will react, just nervous! it’s natural to be nervous in a time like this, is what you manage to convince yourself.

you inhale a deep breath before slowly moving towards the door knob.

but in a snap of a second, you watch the door open.

you freeze in place, scanning the figure that is now right in front of you. a figure that you could recognize in a crowd of thousands of people, a figure that your heart beats rapidly for—in this moment especially.

your boyfriend, lee riwoo, wears soft, light pink pajama pants with white stripes going down them and a baggy, plain white shirt with a image of his dog, daebak, on it (he got it custom made). his short and orangish brown hair sticks up messily and one of his hands holds a trash bag with several recyclable plastics inside. his eyes widen and his mouth opens wide in an ‘o’ shape.

“yn..” he starts slowly.

you mirror him, eyes widening. “riwoo! i.. i can expla—“

he cuts you off, “you look adorable.”

he drops the bag dramatically to the ground as he steps closer to you and cups your face with his hands, your hair slipping into his hold as well.

your cheeks squish together in his hands. “riwoo, what are yo—“ you say, muffled.

he states the obvious, “your hair. it’s short.” he turns your head, tilting it from left to right.

your heart starts to pound against your chest faster.

“yes..” you mutter.

a loving, happy smile grows on his face which eventually turns into a wide grin.

he exclaims, “it’s so cute! why didn’t you tell me earlier you were getting it this short?” he continues blabbering, “actually no. i’m glad it was a surprise. it looks so pretty, you look so pretty.”

your face heats up immediately. for some odd reason, this whole time you’ve been expecting the worse. that he would hate it, find it ugly maybe. you realize that you never once should have doubted your boyfriend. hearing this, seeing him respond heavily positive, is a huge relief and makes your heart grow even fonder for him (if that’s possible).

“thank you, baby,” you smile. you try to remove his hands from your face but ultimately fail. “riwoo, let’s go inside.”

his pink lips form into a pout. “no, let’s stay like this for a little.”

“riwoo—“

he interrupts you with a quick peck on the lips. the touch of his soft, balmy lips withdraw a little too fast, leaving you wanting more.

but lucky for you, you don’t have to ask.

riwoo leans in to place more sweet, fluttering kisses to your face. he tries to not miss a single spot; your forehead, temples, and the last one on the tip of your nose. all while doing so, his hands move to run his fingers through your hair. he twirls some locks, loving the feel of your hair—the feel of you.

he pulls away in a lovestruck daze, leaving you the same.

“now can we go inside?” you tease.

he giggles, “only if that means i get to make little braids in your hair.”

you roll your eyes in annoyance, but truly, you love it.

“sure baby.”

perm taglist: @bambisnc @mungbeancoups @starriniqhts @stantxtforabetterlife @chrrific bnd taglist: @uncasings @oowir net: @kstrucknet

please do not copy, repost, or translate.

check out my other works!

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deerlino · 11 months ago

Note

Could u please do streamer felix x girlfriend reader where like reader comes and sits felixs' lap while he's streaming while gaming and she ends up sleeping?

౨ৎ — dreaming in pixels ( lf. )

lee felix x fem!reader — felix, the streamer, and you, his girlfriend, have a cute moment during one of his gaming streams. you sneak into his streaming room and plop down on his lap. surprisingly cozy, you end up dozing off, surrounded by all the fluffiness and warmth.

additional tags — streamer!felix. content creator au. (domestic) fluff. affectionate. cute girlfriend. soft moments. twitch stream. 824 word count.

content warnings — no need for content warnings here. it's all about being affectionate, tender, and comforting.

author notes @ anon — a heartwarming streamer lixie fic! 🥹 i'm obsessed with streamer felix, so getting this request made me super happy. 💘 hope you enjoy it and have a blast reading! xo. < 3

You tiptoed through the hallway, a mischievous smile curling on your lips as you heard the faint sounds of Felix’s voice, enthusiastic and animated, drifting from his streaming room. You peeked around the corner, catching sight of him engrossed in his game, headset firmly in place, fingers flying over his keyboard.

He didn’t notice you at first, too focused on his screen, but you couldn’t help yourself. You quietly crept up behind him, placing your hands over his eyes. “Guess who?” you whispered, giggling softly.

Felix’s fingers paused mid-keystroke, a chuckle escaping his lips. “Hmm, let me think… Is it my incredibly cute girlfriend who’s supposed to be studying right now?”

You laughed, moving your hands away and leaning over his shoulder to give him a quick peck on the cheek. “Guilty as charged,” you admitted. “But I needed a break, and I missed you.”

He tilted his head back to look up at you, his eyes softening. “I missed you too, babe. Come here,” he said, patting his lap invitingly.

You didn’t need any more encouragement. Climbing onto his lap, you settled in, wrapping your arms around his neck as he shifted to accommodate you. His arms wrapped around your waist, pulling you closer as he pressed a kiss to your forehead. “Comfortable?” he asked, a teasing lilt to his voice.

“Very,” you replied, snuggling against him. You rested your head on his shoulder, watching the screen as he resumed his game. His fingers moved deftly, effortlessly, and you were mesmerized by the way he played, so focused and skilled.

“What are you playing?” you asked, your voice a soft murmur against his ear.

“Just a bit of Valorant,” he replied, his eyes never leaving the screen. “The chat’s loving it.”

You glanced at the chat, seeing a flurry of messages reacting to Felix’s gameplay—and to your sudden appearance. “Your girlfriend is so cute! 💛” one message read, while another said, “Awww, our favorite streamer and his girl, goals! 😍”

You couldn’t help but smile. “Your fans seem to like me,” you teased.

Felix grinned, glancing at the chat briefly. “Of course they do. They have good taste,” he said, giving you a quick squeeze. “But I like you more.”

You felt your cheeks warm, and you buried your face in his neck to hide your blush. “You’re so cheesy,” you mumbled, but you couldn’t hide the smile in your voice.

“And you love it,” he shot back, pressing another kiss to your temple. His attention returned to the game, but his free hand remained on your waist, fingers tracing lazy patterns against your skin. The rhythmic motion, combined with the steady hum of his voice and the soft glow of the screen, started to lull you into a peaceful daze.

You fought to keep your eyes open, not wanting to miss a moment of this rare, quiet time with Felix. But the warmth of his embrace, the comfort of his presence, and the gentle rise and fall of his chest as he breathed began to pull you under. You yawned, nestling closer to him.

Felix glanced down at you, his expression softening even more. “Sleepy?” he asked, his voice a low murmur.

“A little,” you admitted, your voice barely above a whisper. “Can I stay here?”

“Of course, love,” he said, his voice as soft as his touch. “I’ve got you.”

You sighed contentedly, your eyes drifting shut as you let yourself relax completely. Felix’s heartbeat was a soothing rhythm under your ear, and the sounds of his game faded into the background. You felt his cheek rest against your head, and the gentle pressure of his hold reassured you, wrapping you in a cocoon of warmth and safety.

Time seemed to blur as you hovered on the edge of sleep. You were dimly aware of Felix’s voice, still chatting with his viewers, but it was distant, like a lullaby. His fingers never stopped their gentle tracing on your waist, each touch sending waves of comfort through you.

Finally, you let go, slipping into a peaceful slumber, your breathing evening out as you nestled closer to Felix. You were vaguely aware of his soft chuckle, the tender way he adjusted his hold on you, making sure you were as comfortable as possible.

“Looks like she’s out,” you heard him say softly, probably to the chat. “Guess I’m stuck here for a while. Not that I’m complaining.”

The chat erupted with comments again, but you were too far gone to care. All that mattered was the warmth of Felix’s embrace, the steady beat of his heart, and the overwhelming feeling of love that surrounded you.

As you drifted deeper into sleep, you felt Felix’s lips press a final, feather-light kiss to your forehead. “Sweet dreams, baby,” he whispered. “I love you.”

And with that, you surrendered completely to the comforting darkness, secure in the knowledge that you were exactly where you belonged—safe and sound in Felix’s arms.

© deerlino (est. 120624) ༯ heyo, did you enjoy this piece? if you did, maybe you could reblog, drop a comment, or shoot me an ask to let me know your thoughts. also, feel free to check out my other stuff! thanks a bunch for the support! <3

#lee felix x reader #stray kids x reader #skz x reader #stray kids fluff #skz fluff #lee felix fluff #felix x reader #felix fluff #stray kids imagines #skz imagines #stray kids fanfic #stray kids scenarios #skz scenarios #lee felix x you #stray kids x you #lee felix imagines #lee felix scenarios #lee felix fanfic #*writing

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becomingmina · 1 year ago

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How would SKZ ask Y/N to be their girlfriend on Valentine’s Day 💘 fluff & tiniest suggestive w/ SKZ OT8. 18+ only mdni.

Bang Chan/Chris:

Chan would be so so straight-forward but so so nervous.

Chan would be busy on Valentine’s Day and was only be able to meet you at night. He would be extremely apologetic but it wasn’t an issue to you because you were just happy he wanted to spend some time with you, regardless of the time.

He would pick you up around 9pm.

“I got you something,” he said nonchalantly as he handed you a single red rose when you entered his car. You would place kiss on his cheeks to thank him, and he would immediately tense up, even though you have done that numerously times in the past.

After dinner at your favourite restaurant, he would ask to go on a walk and you agreed, following him hand on hand down the walk path by the park.

Once you reach the half way point before turning back, he pulls you towards him, holding both your hands. You can feel how shaken up he is.

“Will you be my girlfriend?” He asked and you instantly nod yes making Chan let out a nervous chuckle before bombing you with many kisses.

Lee Minho/Lee Know:

Minho would try not to be romantic but is.

Minho would invite you over to his but blame it on his cats. “Do you want to come over? Soonie, Doongie and Dori has been asking for you?”

Minho would cook your favourite food and when you ask if you can help, he’ll say “no” but he would love it when you don’t listen and help him anyways. His heart would beat uncontrollably fast when your hand accidentally brushes against his when you reach for something. And when you ask him to help you cut the steak, he would hover over you, his chest flushed against your back as his hand is on top of yours guiding the knife down the piece of meat.

Once you guys are done eating, you both would sit on the couch and play with his cats. And when you weren’t playing attention, Minho would carefully place a cat treat on your thigh so his cats can jump on you and he would say, “See, I told you they like you so much. You know.. maybe you should be their mom?”

His ears would go red when you call him out for it but you say yes anyways, because who wouldn’t want to be Doongie’s dad’s girlfriend?

Seo Changbin:

Binnie would be so flirty and cheeky with it.

He would come over for a study date. It would be like any other study date you guys had, he’d help you with your music essay and in return you help him with study English.

“Can you read it for me Y/N? I need to hear it and then I’ll know,” Binnie would pout as if he was confused giving you his notebook. He points to a sentence and you read it.

“Do you want to be my boyfriend?”

“Yes I want to be your boyfriend.” He answered quickly with his smirk. You were confused for a bit but finally catch on, playfully hitting him across the chest as you cringe at him. The playful fight would soon turn in to something steamy.

“I can’t believe you asked me to be your boyfriend,” Binnie would tease you as he helps you put back on your shirt.

Would order a lot of your favourite food and make you take a break from studying to watch a movie with him. Definitely a rom-com.

Hwang Hyunjin:

Hyunjin would be even more romantic than he already is.

He would set up a picnic somewhere pretty like the beach. He would bring all your favourite snacks and drinks and some of his painting equipment so you both can paint a little too. Hyunjin would have his digital camera with him so he can snap countless photos of you.

After painting across from each other for a while, he would chuckle at his painting then ask you what you think about it.

When you crawl over to look at the painting you notice the he painted two people who had similar features to you and him. That’s when you ask him, “Is that us?”

And he would shyly answer “Yes, that’s me and my girlfriend Y/N,” before pulling you onto his lap.

Would make out for a hot second before coming to sense that you guys were not alone at this beach.

Han Jisung:

Jisung would be so fun with it and go all out.

He would come over to yours during lunch time just to ‘hang out’. When he texted you he was outside you ran quickly to open the door. You were met with Jisung with a box of chocolates and some roses in his hand.

Your eyes flicker to his adorable puffy face then to the presents, that’s when you read the little note on the box:

‘Excuse me noona, do you have a boyfriend?’

It would read and you would giggle at him.

“So do you?” He asks sweetly and you pull him inside.

“Mhm, I have a boyfriend. His name is Han Jisung,” you playfully reply him.

Ji would pull you into his lap as he feeds you the chocolate covered strawberries.

“The strawberries taste so sweet, just like you noona.”

Lee Yongbok/Felix:

Felix would be so sweet with a hint of playfulness.

He would ask you to come over to help bake some Valentines sweets together. He would get out all his heart shaped cookie cutters and pink utensils just to make it more special.

When he pulls you into the kitchen he would pretend the was no apron so he’ll can give you a shirt to change into.

“Change into this, I don’t want your pretty shirt getting dirty.”

When you come out from his bedroom after changing you notice he is in the exact same shirt.

“Hey, we are matching! Like boyfriend and girlfriend!” he would happily say and pull you into a kiss.

You guys would spend hours trying to bake, because he would definitely lose focus and cling onto you. When you guys finally put the brownies and cookies in the oven, Felix would lift you onto the counter and slot himself in your legs, showering you with kisses as you guys wait for the timer to go off.

Would spend another couple hours trying decorate the dessert because you both be too busy playing and licking the cream off each-other.

Kim Seungmin:

Seungmin would be so cool and casual with it.

He would messaged you a week before Valentines day to meet him at a small coffee place in the quieter area of the city. You would show up first on the day and message him where he was. It would be a couple of minutes after sitting down that the owner brings you a tray of two coffees and some waffles.

“I didn’t order this,” you say trying to reject the food.

“Your boyfriend did,” he says you become more confused. “Seungmin.. He is running a little bit late, he will be here soon,” the owner gives you a smile before walking off.

“Boyfriend?” You chuckle to yourself, unable to stop grinning at the title.

You gave in to the smell of the coffee and grabbed the coffee to taste it.

“Hi sweetie, how’s your coffee? From your boyfriend?” Seungmin would come from behind you place a kiss to your cheek before sitting down across from you.

The rest of the day, you would follow and cling onto your puppy boyfriend like a lost puppy.

Yang Jeongin/I.N:

Jeongin would be super shy, super shy.

He would ask his team members what was the best way to ask you to be his girlfriend and after many different options everyone agree on one. It would be best if he wrote and sent you a letter on Valentine’s Day.

You would receive the letter and immediately open up to read. You smile to yourself at his cute handwriting and all the effort he put in to write such a perfect letter address to you.

‘So I’m asking, if you want to make it official and be my girlfriend?’

“Hey, umm. I got your letter by the way. And I got an answer for you.. if you want to come over,” you say nervously over the phone.

“Yes, I would love to be your girlfriend,” you answered sweetly as you and Jeongin were sat at your dining table unable to control your silly smiles.

“And you can stay over tonight.. if you want,” you ask your flustered boyfriend.

The rest of the day was spend at your house , tangled with each other in your bed, as Netflix plays as back ground noise.

{Notes: Happy early Valentine’s Day. I hope everyone knows they are loved! Also not proof read, like ever!}

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lyvhie · 1 year ago

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requests are open wooo!!!! Read all ur fics and god theyre AWSOME…. Maybe requesting a mark x reader where it’s Valentine’s Day and u and mark have been bffs since like foreva so that’s why he catches feelings… And he’s always tried hinting that he likes you so when he finally does confess the 14th he gets all nervouse like sweaty palms and red ears YK…. I’ll leave it up to you for the ending (a happy one obv…)

Maybe also inspired by 1/3 loona song valentine girl it’s so cute plis 💘

confession | mkl

bestfriend!mark x gn!reader summary: a small misunderstanding combined with his impulsive acts led mark to finally confess the feelings he had been keeping to himself for so long. a/n: hii, anon! i took longer than i expected, but i finally made it! thanks for your patience! I'm not sure if it's exactly what you had in mind, but i did my best!! cw: fluff, best friends to lovers (and lemme know if i missed some!)

ANXIOUS (adjective) 1. experiencing worry, unease, or nervousness, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome. 2. wanting something very much, typically with a feeling of unease.

that was a perfect word to describe mark lee. from the moment he discovered his feelings for you, he was like a house of cards. one subtle movement or one simple word from you could bring his emotions crumbling down. he was always on the verge of a collapse whenever he was around you. a slight touch, the way you looked at him—all of it was enough to send him over the edge. he was a fragile, broken version of himself when it came to you.

the way he felt was beyond friendship or just liking each other. it was a deeper and more romantic kind of love, the kind that he wanted to devote his life to. to marry you and live with you for the rest of his life, it was the closest thing to perfection he could ever want.

even after so many years together, mark still wasn't able to tell you about his sudden change in his heart. the one common fear was weighing him down: losing you because of his feelings.

deep down, he knew that even if you didn't like him in this way, you wouldn't just distance yourself from it. instead, you were more likely to ask for some time to sort out your thoughts before returning to normal. but the very prospect of a temporary separation was enough to make him nervous and anxious again.

and it's not as if he hadn't already tried to tell you about his feelings before. he had actually started leaving hints and clues all the way back since... since ever. you both have known each other even before you knew your own names—you were born within just two days of difference in the same hospital, your mothers were friends and neighbors, so you both were practically raised together. it seemed like fate had brought you together.

the seeds of his sentiments for you started to bloom back when you both were in elementary school. it was the innocent acts like holding your hand together as you walked to school that made his heart pound and his face flush, which always caused you to look at him with worried eyes, thinking that he may be sick.

that was the issue with you—you were painfully oblivious. like, what parts did you not notice that pointed toward his love for you?

he was always complimenting you whenever he had the chance, because, wow, you're amazing in so, so, so many ways.

he paid extra attention in everything related to you, taking notice of the tiniest details about everything you shared with him and always finding an excuse to have quality time with you (he didn't even need a reason for that, as you were always up for spend time with him).

he was always giving you gifts saying, "i saw that and it reminded me of you”.

he loves telling others about how incredible his best friend is, and how proud he is of you.

he would always rush at your call no matter the situation, no matter the place, no matter the reason. one single word of yours is all he needs to come running, because that’s how much he cares for you.

the way that he looked at you with heart eyes the moment you were physically present with him... it was all too obvious—everything about him scream that he likes you.

it is no secret to the people around you that he is completely head over heels for you. It is plain as day that he is deeply in love with you, but the person who doesn't see it is you. and that makes the situation rather amusing to others. after all, you don't seem to know how he feels. the irony is that mark is so preoccupied with his own feelings and how to end things between the two of you that he doesn't even notice that your feelings are the same as his.

it was inevitable that everything you said would somehow include "mark" in it. he'd become the focus of your thoughts for days, constantly on your mind in every situation and conversation. everything seemingly revolved around him, with every thought and idea eventually connecting back to his name as the starting point.

how was your day? it was an amazing time with mark at the new cat coffee we visited. the little cats were simply adorable! mark looked like he was in heaven playing with the kittens, and I took loads of photos of him. do you want to see them?

did you watch that new movie at cinema? yes, i really liked it, but mark said it was terrible, can you believe it?! can’t wait to tell him every single flaw on spider-man movies!

how do you feel about art? i mean, mark is pretty cool.

mark this, mark that.

mark. mark. mark.

you somehow always tend to find yourself mentioning him without even realizing, and, whenever anyone asks if you guys are dating, the answer remains the same: “no, we're just good friends”.

this phrase irks him, for he does not wish to be merely a mere friend; he wants more. he wants you all to himself.

despite the countless frustrations he faces daily, he could not bring himself to say it all to you. for some reason, he found comfort in being just your best friend. it was better than nothing, he thought. being in that position, he couldn't even imagine the humiliation and embarrassment of admitting his true feelings. he knew it was hopeless—so why bother? he would rather be content with what he currently had over risking everything in some grand gesture.

mark left a soft sigh escape his lips. renjun's words echoed in his mind after another night of talking about you. he had been rumbling on about you, unable to get you off his mind. this wasn't the first time he had done this either, but this time felt different. renjun's question stuck out, and it hit him in his heart:

"if you truly love someone, and i mean with every fiber of your being, wouldn't you move mountains and swim across oceans just for a chance with them? is protecting what you already have worth losing everything you desire?"

mark had no explanation for why his friend's words had such sway over him this time, but here he was, knocking at your door on this beautiful valentine’s day evening.

calling you for a night walk together was a not uncommon activity between the two of you, as you were accustomed to taking your dog for a walk and mark always joined in so you wouldn't be alone. but tonight, he felt as though this night walk was different somehow. more special than usual. at least for him.

hearing your voice respond from the other side of the door with a "i'm coming," mark took a deep breath, almost as if preparing himself for whatever he hadn't planned for the night. as the door opened, there wasn't even time to say something before your dog jumped on him.

"oh, hey girl," mark laughed with a big smile on his face, leaning down to pet the dog that was joyously jumping all over him. the pup seemed eager for his attention, her tail wagging and mouth opened in a toothy grin. "did you miss me?" he asked, scratching her behind the ears as she barked in reply, her tail wagging even more.

"ah, the usual scene we have here," you sighed dramatically as this familiar interaction played out. "i mean, i take care of her and look after her, but of course, she goes and greets the person she loves the most instead," you click your tongue, shaking your head in disappointment at the clear favoritism she was showing.

mark rolled his eyes at your comment and straightened his body to face you with an amused smile. "you know that isn't true," he chuckled, casually placing his hands in his pockets. "yeah, this little lie helps me sleep at night," you say with a hint of sarcasm that isn't lost on him, making him giggle. "how was your day, drama queen?” mark questioned as you took control of coco's leash and led you both on the walk.

"oh, you know, the office today was full of surprise love confessions," you shrugged, leaving a soft laugh to escape you as you shook your head. "it's the 'love is in the air' thing," you added.

mark raised an eyebrow and turned to face you as he sounded slightly more curious than casual as he asked, "and... did you receive some of them?" he tried to sound non-chalant.

"well, yes, actually," you giggled softly again, reliving the moment in your mind. your answer caught mark by surprise, and it took him a few seconds to register the information before he could continue walking again. "you... did?" he asked hesitantly, a slightly incredulous tone in his voice as he wondered precisely how many confessions you got.

"a-and who was it?" he asked somewhat carefully, worried that his completely unplanned and not entirely sure if he would even actually confess confession might have already been ruined. "you know the new intern i was training?” you look at makt by the corner of your eyes, "let��s say he thought i was giving signals like hints and not instructions,” you sigh, shaking your head. “he was the only one tho.”

"oh, i see…" a small sigh of relief escapes his lips as he smiles back at you. "but what about you, mr. heartthrob?" you tease, poking his arm with your elbow. "did you get any love chocolates today?”

"of course," he nods with a small smidge of amusement in his eyes. "haechan and doyoung gave me a few ones again," he shrugs casually, and you can't help but laugh at the slight absurdity of getting multiple gifts from the same people year after year.

"should i start giving you chocolate too?" you ask jokingly, playing around with the idea. "i have a feeling that i might be replaced by these boys if things keep going this way, and i don't want to lose you to them," adding a cheeky edge to your tone.

"don't even joke about that," he denies right away, making you laugh at the intensity he rejected it with. "i know, silly, i know. you love me quite a lot," you tease with a wink. "yeah, i sure do," he mutters, his voice still tinged with the smallest shred of embarrassment.

as you both make your way over to the nearby dog park that was just a short distance from here, there are only a handful of people around. you release coco's leash as you settle down on a bench next to mark, and the two of you sit, content in the quiet evening.

"we still don't have lovers, mark," you sigh dramatically, leaning your head on his shoulder as you watch your dog happily frolic around in space. "look at us," you lament once more with another dramatic sigh, "we're at a dog park in the most romantic night of the year!" you shake your head slightly as you continue to keep a close eye on your dog.

the moment you leaned against him, mark had to fight off a swirl of sensations that briefly overwhelmed him. your proximity, your warmth, and the intoxicating scent of your hair had his head spinning. after taking several breaths to compose himself, he mustered the strength to respond with a bit of hesitance.

"i-it's not that bad..." he muttered breathlessly, realizing just how much he enjoyed you being close. after a few seconds, he continued, "we have each other," he chuckled softly.

"right, nothing better than two best friends who have enjoyed being on the shelf for so long, spending yet another year together on valentine's day," you teased him lightly, your lips curled upwards in a little grin. "as if you've ever displayed genuine interest in anyone else either, hm?" he counters in return, his smirk matching yours in both intensity and humor as he continued gently teasing you.

"well, i'm not so sure i'm made for love," you shrugged casually as you leaned against the bench slightly. "but what about you?" you add, pulling your attention away from coco long enough to glance at him curiously. "i've always seen you as this ultimate girl crush guy since we were in school, yet i've never seen you with a girlfriend. so, i have to ask... have you ever liked someone?”

with your question, his eyes were unconsciously drawn to you, admiring your features and taking in every single detail of you to store away, it was almost as if he was mentally engraving you in his mind, forever preserving you in his memory, like he always did.

he let out a soft sigh as he stared, the heat rising to his cheeks as he glanced away, unable to face you for a moment, his thoughts already racing.

a little whisper escaped him as he uttered the words, almost as if they were too precious for him to speak it too publicly. "y-yes, i did..." mark's voice was barely audible, but the sound carried an emotional undertone.

those few words were enough to stir something unexpected inside you, a faint twinge in your heart. you weren't sure why his words gave you that slight pang, but there was something about the way he said it that made it feel as though he wasn't talking about an old crush. it made you realize that you weren't quite okay with the thought of mark in love with someone.

"wait, really?" you raised your eyebrows in disbelief, placing a hand on your chest and feigning pain. "you never told me? why?! you don't trust me?" laughing softly, the smile on your lips quickly disappeared to little pout. "you're the worst, you know? l8ke, the worst betrayal i could ever suffer," you added with over-dramatic flare.

"c'mon, it's not like that," mark waved his hands dismissively. "i just... i couldn't tell you." your brow remained quirked, your curiosity piqued as he stumbled over the next thing he said. "and why?" you prompted gently, noticing the change in his energy. “it's just... i didn't want you figuring out who it was that i liked.”

mark shifted in his seat, clearing his throat as he did. his eyes were focused on you, considering his words and the situation at hand. as he looked at your face, he realized the sudden shift in the vibes between the two of you, which caught him off-guard.

you can't help but feel slightly upset at the fact that he kept this information hidden from you. it might be silly, but you felt weird knowing that he didn't tell you everything as you had imagined best friends supposed to do. you began to wonder if there were other things that he had kept from you over the years.

mark was observant, and the small shift in your smile wasn't wasted on him. he saw how your demeanor subtly changed as he spoke, and he could tell that you were a little hurt by the information he shared. he had to do something to correct the situation, and he couldn't let you misunderstand him.

"wait, wait, wait" he started quickly, "don't get it wrong...”

“no, no, i get it," you dismissed softly, waving your hands in a brushing-off motion, making it clear that you understood his hesitation. "it's fine," you added with a smile, laughing softly as coco stopped playing and came to greet you, sitting in front of you and waiting for your attention, which you gave to her, petting her head affectionately. “i know there are things we aren't comfortable sharing, and–"

"i like you!" mark's words spilled out of his mouth before he could think properly.

you froze, slowly looking at him with wide eyes, blinkling several times as your brain did a double take, trying to process if you'd heard him correctly. "what?" all you could manage to say in reply, confused and surprised by what he'd just confessed to you.

mark wasn't planning on doing it this way. a confession was supposed to be more romantic than this, maybe taking you to a nice dinner or to the amusement park, somewhere more special. he wanted it to be more meaningful than just letting it slip in the heat of the moment like he just did.

“look, I..." mark hesitated, unsure of how to begin his confession. oh god, he was so nervous, his heart pounding loudly in his chest, his hands clenched tightly in fists as sweat dripped down his back.

his mind was racing with a billion thoughts, his words refusing to come easily. how was he supposed to confess in this moment, when everything felt so overwhelming, when every fiber of his being was screaming at him to just say it and get it over with, but his fear of rejection was keeping him paralyzed.

“i-i haven't told you about that because... b-because you are the person i’ve loved since i can remember," mark struggles to get his words out, his breathing quickening as the words felt like they were getting stuck in his throat. "i love you so much that my heart hurts, you know?" he continues, his volume picking up a bit now that he's talking easier. "our friendship is so valuable, it's so precious to me... i-i didn't want to lose it.”

gosh, he sounded like such sappy romantic movie right now, yet it was all true. every single word, the words of a teenager who fell head-over-heels in love and knew that this was real, that this was more than just a crush, more than just attraction. mark was talking from his heart now, and he was opening up in ways he hadn't done with anyone before.

“i want you; i want the whole of you", he continues, his words becoming more and more passionate as he went on. "i don't care if it's selfish, but i want you, need you, i want you wholly and with everything inside of you. and maybe... yeah, maybe, that's really selfish of me, but it's the truth…”

mark felt like his heart was on the verge of exploding at any moment, as if he could drop dead from the overwhelming emotions running through his body, his face hot and red as if he were suffering heat exhaustion. but somehow, he felt a rush of relief, like an immense weight had been lifted off of his shoulders the instant he finally confessed to you.

coco was the only source of noise in the tense silence that hung between the two of you after mark's abrupt confession, her tongue lolling out as she stared back and forth between the both of you.

your jaw hung slightly open as you stared at mark, feeling like you could barely comprehend what had just happened. your insides went into overdrive, fluttering wildly while the infamous butterflies in your stomach fluttered like crazy, seemingly on a mission to take up even more space. you wanted to say something, anything, but the words got stuck in your throat. all you could manage to do was to stare at him, your heart racing ahead so fast that it felt like you could feel the pulsations.

your lack of response snaps mark back to reality, and he begins to panic, realizing that he may have completely misread the situation and ruined everything.

“b-but of course that's just how i feel... y-you don't have to like me back," he stutters quickly, hoping to fix the situation and make sure you wouldn't feel awkward. "if you d-don't feel comfortable around me anymore, i-it's okay, i understand, this was a complete mista—”

he couldn't finish his sentence because you silenced him with a kiss. your lips press together forcefully, making a soft 'smack' sound as they finally collide. he was tense for a moment, his eyes fluttering open as if surprised by your bold move, but he quickly relaxed, his hands gently cupping your face as he reciprocated the kiss, the warmth of his fingers seeping into your skin as he pressed his lips to yours.

he savored the sensation of your lips against his, the taste of your kiss sweeter than anything he had ever imagined. it felt surreal, like something out of a fantasy, and in that moment, he felt like the luckiest person in the world. the heat from your skin and the heat from your lips, the warmth that surrounded him as your bodies pressed against each other was intoxicating, a delicious rush that made his head swim. he wanted to lose himself in the moment forever, to stay lost in you for eternity.

yet, the inevitable finally struck and your lips parted as your lungs cried for air, the two of you panting heavily and staring at one another, both of you filled with delight as your sparkling eyes locked with each other.

“d...does that mean that you...?" mark couldn't seem to make his mind stop racing, not after that explosive kiss.

"are you really asking that question, mark?" you couldn't help but laugh, shaking your head as you noticed him flustered.

"s-sorry... i'm just..." he was still feeling your lips against his, still getting lost in the sensation as the memories of the kiss were running through his head now.

"yes, I like you too, silly.”

right, he really was the happiest person in the world right now.

“can i have... another kiss?" mark looked at you with pleading eyes, wanting more but uncertain of his request would be granted. you didn't hesitate at all, responding quickly with "you don't even have to ask,” as you lean in toward mark to grant his wish.

but as you two are just inches away from locking lips again, coco's sudden jump into mark's lap catches the both of you off-guard, interrupting your almost-second kiss and making the two laugh as the adorable dog makes herself comfortable on his lap.

mark's hands immediately reach out to gently pet her, and when she spots your gaze on her, her tail waves proudly, as if she's very satisfied with the outcome of her interruption.

"of course she's jealous," you roll your eyes at the dog's favouritism for mark, making her way into his lap and immediately getting petted.

"well, she was my girl first, right?" mark said in a cute baby voice, prompting a happy bark from coco. "what am i to you, chopped liver?" you countered, raising an eyebrow and pretending to be upset.

mark looked at you and smiled, laughing at the silly argument. "i guess in her world, you really are, my dear," he teased, as he scratched coco behind the ear. "oh, that's it, you two." you laugh, shaking your head as you playfully punch mark's arm.

coco, sensing all the attention coming to her now, jumped out of mark's lap and walked towards you, demanding cuddles. "finally, she chose me over you," you said jokingly, and started petting her head. "by the way, you didn't even bring me some chocolates? what kind of confession is that?" you protested, pretending to be upset.

"a little box of chocolates wouldn't be enough to express everything i feel for you," he shrugged.

a soft smile still etched on your face, “my boyfriend is so cheesy, oh my god," you said, laughing. "i didn't know you had this side to you," you said gigling.

"please, say it again," mark begged suddenly.

"say what?" you asked, playing dumb.

"you know what i mean, say it again."

"that you are my boyfriend?" you raised an eyebrow, your eyes shining with mirth.

"jesus, can you please repeat it again?"

"you. are. my. boyfriend." you repeated lovingly.

“let me kiss you again, please," he pleaded, leaning forward eagerly.

the little back and forth had you laughing, feeling your heart melt a little each time his eyes twinkled with the flirty banter you were having. “hmm... what about we go back to my house and i give you many kisses, as much as you want and..." you lean in close, you voice lowered seductively as you whisper on his ear. "maybe even something more?”

mark's cheeks were flushed and his ears were burning, as he struggled to hold back the grin that plastered itself on his face. “t-then what are you waiting for?" he asked, quickly getting up. "it's cold out here; w-we should go back quickly!"

#mark lee x reader #mark lee fluff #nct x reader #nct dream x reader #nct fluff

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forbebeandjam · 2 months ago

Text

Silly Cupid Crush | Bada Lee x Fem Reader | fluff

Summary: First time Cupid risk everything for love.

A/N: something I whipped up while crying in the car. I was too sad to make an angst so I made a fluff. Hope you like it! Oh! And happy love day!!💗

🪽💘💞

You walked the streets lonely and heart broken. It was around this time of year, your lover passed away. It left you broken and sad. You never ever wanted to fall in love again.

Behind you, trailed an angel named Bada. She watched your days go by with the same routine.

Home to work. Work to home. She watched you cry every night and she hated that she was unable to do anything. After all, all of her power and arrows didn’t work. At least not until February 14.

That’s right. She was your personal Cupid. She had gotten an earful from her higher up for making you fall in love with someone with such short life.

The good thing about it lived that she had learned from her mistakes and as she watched you for the entire year she learned more about you. Besides February 14th was the next day. She wanted to make you happy and see you enjoy your life to the fullest. She wanted to caress your face and hug you on stormy nights.

She… wanted you. Cupid fell in love with you. But she knew it all went against the rules. She watched you sleep peacefully with the same furrowed brows as if you were having nightmares and she placed her hand in your chest like every night, giving you a bit of ease in your sleep.

You woke up and followed your routine to go to work. Pink and red filled the entire world making you feel a bit sad but you ignored it and went to work. When you arrived, you noticed a small note and a box on your desk.

This did not make your Cupid too happy. She got jealous and she turned into cartoonish shade of red. She knew who it was from, but she hated him for it. And she hated that it was her next task to get you and the boy together.

She got her arrow ready as you looked around the room. And she pointed at you waiting for your eyes to land on the said person. She was about to lose you…

She knew what she had to do but she knew it would cost her everything she had.

So she stood in front of you. She took her arrow and pointed it directly at you as she held another arrow straight to her heart and in the blink of an eye, the arrow was piercing right through her.

You blinked a couple of times and she collapsed on the floor from the pain she felt.

“Bada, are you okay?” She said as she ran to help you up. You held her arms as the pain started to fade away. Then it hit you. She said your name and she was touching you.

“You… you know me?” She asked and you tilted your head in confusion.

“Babe, of course I do. Come on. Let’s get you some water,” she said. Your coworkers surrounded her. Your brushed them off and help Bada.

“I did it. I really did it,” she said holding her hand to her heart and once you two were in her office she grabbed your face and looked at her in a bit of shock.

“I love you. I love you so much,” she said. She kisses your lips and hugged you tightly.

“I love you too, Bada. Are you sure you’re okay?” She asked. Her mind was flooded with memories of your past girlfriend. She had transformed from a Cupid Angel to a human. Your girlfriend.

“I couldn’t be better,” she kissed you one last time before walking holding your hand and ditching work.

You spend the entire day with her, doing fun things and buying her gifts, making sure she was the happiest she could be.

All thanks to a silly Cupid crush

Thank you for reading🩵

#forbebeandjam #honeybee156 #street woman fighter 2 #swf2 #bebe #bada lee #lgbt #jam republic #street woman fighter x reader #bada lee x reader #bada lee fluff #bada lee imagine #Cupid #valentines day

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sunsetsandsunshine · 8 months ago

Note

Heyyy, hope your doing well.

Is it ok if I request switch!april switch!mikey and lee!donnie.April is spending time with mIkey while painting a mural somewhere... and they get into a tickle fight in which donnie gets dragged in.. If that's cool with you :D

~ 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙰𝚛𝚝 𝙿𝚛𝚘𝚓𝚎𝚌𝚝 ~

·̩̩̥͙＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚𝙷𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚘 𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚘!!! 𝙷𝚘𝚙𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚍𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚠𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏! 𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚒𝚜 𝚑𝚘𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚕𝚢 𝚊 𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚙𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝙸 𝚔𝚒𝚒𝚒𝚒𝚒𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚊 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚊 𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚍 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎 𝚠𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐. 𝙱𝚞𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚐𝚞𝚢𝚜 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚖𝚎 😌🫶🏾…𝙸 𝚗𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚊 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚎. 𝙴𝚂𝙿𝙴𝙲𝙸𝙰𝙻𝙻𝚈 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚒𝚝 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚏𝚊𝚗𝚏𝚒𝚌𝚜 👏🏾💗💖💓💘˚*•✩•̩̩͙*＊·̩̩̥͙

𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: 𝙵𝚕𝚞𝚏𝚏

𝚆𝚘𝚛𝚍𝚜: 𝟸,𝟷𝟺𝟺

𝙻𝚎𝚎: 𝙳𝚘𝚗𝚗𝚒𝚎 🐢💜

𝚂𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚜: 𝙰𝚙𝚛𝚒𝚕 👩🏾‍🦱💚 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙼𝚒𝚔𝚎𝚢 🐢🧡

𝚂𝚞𝚖𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚢: 𝙰𝚙𝚛𝚒𝚕 𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚍𝚜 𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚙 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝙹𝚞𝚗𝚒𝚘𝚛 𝚢𝚎𝚊𝚛 𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚓𝚎𝚌𝚝! 𝚂𝚘, 𝚗𝚊𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢, 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚜𝚢 𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚕𝚎 𝚋𝚛𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚜 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛.

𝚃𝙰𝙶𝙶𝙶𝚂𝚂𝚂: @shut-up-jo @itzsana-kiddingmenow @aceofspades-doodles

@ziipzeepzop-eez @someone1348 @rice-cake-teen10

@savemeafruitjuice @cedarrthefluffylee @mistyandsnow @tmntstayheadforever

(𝙰/𝙽: 𝙱𝚞𝚝 𝚖𝚘𝚜𝚝 𝚒𝚖𝚙𝚘𝚛𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚕𝚢: 𝙳𝚘𝚗’𝚝 𝚋𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚐𝚞𝚢! 𝚃*𝚌𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙺𝚒𝚗𝚔/𝙽𝚂𝙵𝚆 𝚋𝚕𝚘𝚐𝚜 𝙳𝙽𝙸!!!)

𝚆𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜: 𝙲𝚞𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐, 𝚜𝚒𝚋𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚋𝚒𝚌𝚔𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐, 𝚝𝚒𝚌𝚔𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚙𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚋𝚛𝚞𝚜𝚑 𝚝𝚒𝚌𝚔𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚎𝚑𝚎𝚑𝚎𝚑 >:]

＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚𝙻𝙰𝚂𝚃 𝙵𝙸𝙲 𝚁𝙴𝚀𝚄𝙴𝚂𝚃 𝙻𝙴𝚃𝚂 𝙶𝙾𝙾𝙾𝙾𝙾‼️˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥͙

“Pfft…Mikey you actually suck at this…” April said, stifling a giggle as she glided a paintbrush up and down her little brother’s shell.

The smaller teen shrieked at the sudden contact, his giggles bouncing off his room’s walls, “R-Riri plehehease…!” The youngest giggled, squirming slightly as he dug his feet into the carpet.

“Just say a word!” The elder said, “Literally any word that reminds you of this feeling!”

“Ihihi daha— squeak dohon’t knohohow!!” The younger squealed out as he kicked his legs from underneath his elder sibling, “Ahaprihil plehease juhuhust stahahap!”

“I can’t 'stahahap' unless you tell me, bro! How does this paintbrush against your shell feeeeeel?” The girl emphasized as she swirled her paintbrush where Mikey’s shell met his plastron.

“I cahahan’t— squeak pfftahahah!!!” The orange banded turtle cried as he arched his back, kicking his legs desperately from underneath his older sibling.

“Just say a single word, little brother. Aren’t you the one who wanted to help me with my art project~?” The green cladded teenager asked smugly.

Michelangelo blushed, hugging a nearby pillow to his face as his muffled laughs echoed around the room, “I-I dihid buhuhut Ihi dihihindn’t know ihit would be soho tihiHICKLY—?! NAHAHEEEK!!! SqueakAHAPRIL NAHAT squeak THEHEHERE!!!” The light scarlet eyed mutant squawked as his sister started to gently scratch at his lower shell with her nails.

The human raised an innocent brow, her fingernails dancing across the other, “I genuinely have no idea what you’re talking about. I’m just tracing your shell to help you think!”

“PLEHEASE PLEHEASE squeak REEREEHEE!!!” The paint loving turtle squealed, banging his fists in the floor, “OKAHAY OKAHAHAY!! F-FLUHUHUTTERY! IHIT FEEHEELS FLUTTERY!!” He laughed, letting out a sigh of relief as his sister got off of him, writing down the word he basically just screamed.

“Fluttery…I like it!” The elder mused, going back and tracing the other’s shell with the brush.

“M-Myhy gaHAHAD squeal Ihi hahate yohou…” The youngest murmured as he buried his face into the pillow more.

April held back an amused laugh, scritching her nails along the mutant’s upper shell, “Hate is a strong word, little buddy. But to refresh your memory, I’m doing a poetry art project so I need you to come up with a few…artsy word’s for me. And besides~: you’re in a mood…so you shouldn’t really be complaining all that much. I get my project done and you get tickled…it’s a win-win!”

Mikey huffed begrudgingly, blushing as his sibling basically just called him out…

The box turtle was a kind soul! A very kind soul in fact!

So when his dear big sister texted that she needed help with her art project, Michelangelo was more than thrilled to lend a hand.

That was until he was told that April’s class was working on collages…and were given a single word to get inspired by and base their art piece off of how it made them and the people around them feel…

…And you want to know what his sister’s word was…?

Laughter.

“Your soho meeheean…” The youngest groaned loudly through his giggles.

“I’m not being mean if you like iiiit~!” The elder giggled, causing the box turtle’s blush to deepen, “NO!NOHO TEHEHEEASING!” The younger one squawked, “PRIHILLIE WEEHEE HAD AHA DEEHEEAL!”

“Sorry, sorry. I couldn’t help myself.” She said as she scribbled her youngest brother’s hips, “Y'know…I think I can add a couple more words to the list...”

“Whahat ohOTHER wohords?” Mikey asked.

“Cute, adorable, sweet, lovable—” April listed.

“SHUHUT UHUP SHUHAHA— squeal SHUHUT. IHIT.” The scarlet eyed teen said, kicking his legs more now from underneath the other.

“But you are~!”

“NAHAH— squeak GOHAHA AHA— squeak AWAHAY!!”

“But I can’t~! I need more words for my collage!”

“THEHEN THIHINK OHOHOF SOHOME YOHOURSELF YOHOU FOUR EYED MOHOTHER— squeak FUHUHUCKER!!!”

The elder snickered as she lightly traced the sides of her little brother’s ribs, “Woowww…cursing me out…calling me names…it’s almost like you want me to go here…”

The orange banded teen let out a tiny but mighty scream at the new sensation at the back of his ribs, trying to get off of the floor, but alas, was stopped as April sat on the back of his lower shell once again, “YOHOU— SQUEAL!! AHAHAPRIL WEEHEE SQUEAK CAHAN TAHAHALK SQUEAK ABOHOUT THIS SQUEAK PLEHEASE!!”

“I’m hearing lots of words not having to do with my collage~!” The girl in glasses said in a sing-song voice as she pinched up and down his ribs. “NAHAH— squeak squeal GAHAHAD WHYHYHY?!” The youngest cackled.

“Because you legit asked me to?” The elder grinned evilly as she started to slowly count every single one of her little brother’s ribs now, “Duh~!”

“E-EEEHEEP! PLAHAHEASE NAHAT THAT NAHAT THAHAT NAHAT THAHAHAT!!!” Michelangelo screamed, hugging his middles as tears of mirth appeared in his eyes.

“Not what~?”

“OKAHAY! SQUEAL OKAHAHAY!! YOHOHOU SQUEAL CAHAN PUHUT SQUEAK MEHERRY, JOHOHOLLY, FUHUNNY, LIHIHIVELY AHAND SWEEHEET NOHOHOW PLAHAHEASE!!!” The box turtle absolutely squealed.

“There we go~! See? It wasn’t that hard.” April smirked, patting the other’s shoulder as she got up and added the five words on her paper. “Ihi feeheel lihihike I juhust gohohot bahahack frohom aha war…” Michelangelo groaned as he wiped his eyes to clear the happy tears streaming down his face.

“Oh, you’re fine.” April said as she rolled his eyes fondly, writing down the words Mikey said on the clipboard. The youngest stretched him arms, getting up and peering over the older’s shoulder, “Buhut anywahay’s, hohow mahahany mohore words do yohou need?”

“Five.” The elder said casually.

“FIVE?!” Michelangelo repeated in complete and utter awe, “How many words do yohou freaking neeheed?!”

“Five.” The older repeated, “The number in total was originally supposed to be ten but Mrs. Anderson said if I add one more to the required word count I’d get extra credit.”

“…Why do you always have to pick extra credit?” The orange cladded mutant whined, flopping on his bed as he looked at the ceiling.

“Because why not?” The elder huffed, “Now come over here! I need five more words on how laughter makes you…feel.” She said dramatically, putting a hand over her forehead for a theatrical effect.

“Yeah, yeah...“ The light scarlet eyed teen uninterestingly said, “But you come over here; I don’t feel like lying on my carpet anymore.”

“Pfft— okay, your majesty.” The glasses wielding human snickered, sitting next to her brother on his bed. And without warning, the smaller teenager wrapped her in a hug from behind with one hand while the other slipped under her shirt and scribbled all over her bare stomach.

“AUUGH! Y-YOU’RE HAHAHANDS ARE F-FUHUCKING FREEZING!!!” April seethed before bursting out into loud and contagious cackles, “AHHAHA— squeak! WAHAIT! WHAHAT THEHEHE FAHACK!?” She squealed.

“Aww~! Look at you giggling up a storm~!” The smaller teen smiled, “Your laugh is beyond adorbs, Riri.”

“STAHAP IHIT! YOHOHOU PEICE AHAHOF— squeal! NOHOH!” The older cried, kicking her legs in an attempt to escape which only caused the youngest to tickle harder.

The human girl threw her head back; completely lost in her own squeals and shrieks. “Soooooo~! About those words~!” The youngest teased.

“NAHAHAHAA— YOHOU LIHITTLE BRAHAHAT!!” The green cladded girl shouted.

“I don’t think 'brat' or 'little' goes with the word 'laughter', Prillie...” Mikey giggled.

Oho revenge was sweet…

…So so sweet.

“YOHOU— hic! STAHAHAP IHIHIT NOHOHOW!!!” The girl in green giggly threatened.

“No can do, big sis!” The youngest said as innocently as he could, “I need you to tell me how laughing makes you feel~! What do you feel right now~?”

“NO YOHOU— hic GAHAHAH! STAHAP IT— squeak!” April howled, “FIHINE! FLUHUHUTTERY! IHI FEEHEEL FLUHUTTERY!!”

“I already said that.” The orange themed turtle hummed, getting his hand out of the other’s shirt and squeezing her thigh mercilessly.

“MIHIHI— hic FAHAHACK— hic! O-OKAHAHAY!! GIHIGGLY?!”

“Four more woooords~?”

“NOOOHOHOH! DUHUHUDE YOHOUHAH— squeal!”

“I can’t stop unless you give me four more words~! Come on, big sis~! Just four more words~!” Michelangelo taunted, using both of his hands to knead the other’s hips. “GYAHAH!!! M-MYHYHY GAHASH!! FIHIHINE! JOHOY?!” The girl offered as she kicked and thrashed.

The younger teen nodded, “Three more~!”

“REEHEELAHAHAXED?!”

“Two more~!”

April let out a loud squeal, getting out of the hug as she lightly hit the other on the upside of his head, “Ahand trihiumphant.” She huffed, writing down the four words she said.

The light scarlet eyed mutant rolled his eyes, looking over her shoulder once more, “How do you feel 'triumphant' when you’re laughing??? That doesn’t even make any sense…”

“Yohou dohon’t mahahake ahany sense.” The girl with glasses retorted as she stuck her tongue out at her little brother; which the little brother in question gladly copied.

Then suddenly and abruptly, Donnie walked into the bedroom, leaning on the doorframe as he knocked on the wall, “Hello, Michael and Prillie. I’ve come to inform you two that Raph has obtained us some rice and peas and jerk chicken for dinner.”

April and Mikey turned their attention to the softshell as he leaned on the doorway, “…Where did Raphie get the food from?” The box turtle asked suspiciously.

“Oh…well, he and Leo made it.” Donatello grimaced, shrinking slightly as he saw his younger brother’s face start to form in anger, “They cleaned up after themselves— I promise. I supervised.” The light golden eyed mutant assured.

The light scarlet eyed teen rolled his eyes, going over towards his door, “I’ll be the judge of that.” He huffed, going to march towards the door but was halted by April as she gave him the clipboard. “Oh Dee~? Before we go eat, do you mind answering a quick question for me?” The eldest asked innocently.

“Uhm…okay?” The purple banded teenager said as he fully walked into the room, closing the door, “What’s the question?”

“How does laughing make you…feel?” April asked.

The softshell blinked once in confusion, “…What?”

“How does laughing make you…feel?” Mikey repeated.

“I…don’t understand the question.” Donnie chuckled in amusement, “How does it make me…feel…?” He repeated to himself as he scratched his head, “I…feel joy when I laugh, I suppose.”

“Anything else?” The girl in glasses emphasized, sneakingly inching her way to her brother as he was deep in thought. “Erm…lively? I do feel quite alive and quite joyous when laughter occurs.”

“Anything eeeelse?” The chocolate brown eyed teenager drawed out as she scribbled her nails alongside the taller’s sides. Donnie let out a short squeal, flinching back as he hugged his middles.

The one day he left his battleshell in his room…

“Ahahapril doohoo. nahahat.” The taller teen warned, backing away as his sister inched towards him. “Whaaaat~?” She said casually, “I’m just helping.”

“Tickling meehee ihihis not hehelping meehee thihink ohof ahan answer!” The light golden eyed teen said as if it was obvious, riskily sprinting to the door as his younger brother effortlessly caught him; the two boys basically fighting to the death as Mikey effortlessly pinned the older turtle to the ground, tickling his underarms.

“HEHEH— hic STAHAHA! YOHOU L-LIHIHITTLE SHIHAT!! LEHET MEEHEE GOHOH!!!” The tech loving turtle shouted, squirming from underneath the other.

“Nu-uh! I suffered so now you have to suffer.” The box turtle smiled.

“AHA— hic! WHAHAT— PFFTAH! DOHOES THAHAHAT EEHEEVEN hic MEAN?!” The taller turtle inquired through his chorus of cackles.

“Thought of a word to describe how you’re feeling yet, Don?” The eldest asked as she sat next to her two brother’s, grinning like the Cheshire cat.

“IHIHI’M hic GOHOING hic TOOHOO KIHICK YOHOU GUHUHUYS' ASSES!!!”

“Language, young man!” The box turtle scolded, gently flipping Donnie on his plastron as he scribbled his fingers lightly against his shell. Donatello frantically kicked his legs, banging his fists on the ground as he screeched in laughter.

“GAHAHAD NAHAHAH— hic! PLAHAHEASE!!! WHYHY?!” He wheezed, tears of mirth blurring his vision as he shut his eyes tight. “I-IHIHI FEEHEEL REEHEELAXED!!!”

“Already have that one.” Michelangelo commented.

“GIHIHI— hic! GIHIHIGGLY! I FEEHEEL GIHIHIGGLY!”

“Already said that one too~!“

Donatello wheezed once more, his heels digging into the carpet and his legs flinging around like crazy, “HAHAPPY! I FEEHEEHEEL HAPPY!!! NOW STOHAP STAHAHOP STOHOHOP!!” He cried, letting out a contented sigh as his little brother stopped the assault.

“I hic cohohome here…toohoo deliver hic news…ahahand thihis is hohow I’m hic being repahaid….” Donnie grumbled through his giggles, huffing and puffing under his breath as Mikey hugged him.

“And that makes eleven words!” The girl with glasses grinned, writing down the last word on her paper. “Thanks for your help, you too.”

“Ahanythihing fohor you, Ihi guess.” The softshell said as he rolled his eyes, getting up as his younger brother was still clinged to him, “So…are we going to go eat or…?” The box turtle asked as he hugged his older brother’s arm.

“Yeah, yeah…” April giggled as she clinged to Donnie’s other arm as all three of them walked to the kitchen, linking arms.

·̩̩̥͙＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚𝙵𝙸𝙽˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥͙

(𝙿.𝚂.: 𝙸𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚎𝚗𝚓𝚘𝚢𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚏𝚒𝚌, 𝚙𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚋𝚕𝚘𝚐!!!)

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jisungsdaydreamer · 2 years ago

Text

Love Playlist #3: Make It Right (Lee Know)

«GENERAL M.LIST» · «NAVIGATION» · «TALK TO ME»

"It hurts to love you."

Pairing: Lee Know x Fem!reader Genre: college au, angst, exes to lovers Warnings: swearing, messy break-up, mc has a fear of the dark, mild haunted house/Halloween descriptions Word Count: 18.3k

*Written for @skzwritingcafe's July/August event: Summertime Confessions ☀️

Special thanks to @baekhyyun & @simpforyongbokk for beta-reading!! 💘

“I love you.”

You roll your eyes and shove Minho away, trying to suppress the giggles that threaten to spill out. “Stop that. We need to concentrate, or we’ll never find an apartment.”

“I’m definitely concentrating.” Minho grins mischievously. “On you.”

Laughing at his antics, you shake your head, shutting your computer for a brief intermission to tend to Minho’s insatiable appetite for your attention. Your boyfriend never fails to make you smile, no matter what.

“I love you too, you menace.”

Minho wakes up with a start. He groggily glances over at the clock hanging on the wall in front of him. Nearly 3 a.m. Slinging his legs over the side of the couch, Minho just sits in that position for a good twenty minutes, marinating in the pitiful mixture of his sweat and tears.

The night before, he’d attempted to drown away his sorrows at some bar he stumbled upon while aimlessly wandering the city streets. It hadn’t worked, obviously, because his wallet wasn’t bottomless, and the pain was too great. But in true character, Minho had tried anyway, until his savior found him slumped over the counter and led him back to a safe place to sober up.

“Stay here as long as you need to,” Chan had said, tucking Minho’s drowsy form into a bundle of blankets on the couch, like he was a little kid.

Minho had tried to resist, mumbling complaints towards his friend’s retreating back, but fell into a troubled slumber before Chan even reached his own bedroom. Now he’s wide awake and unwilling to be so, praying he can just fall back asleep and forget about everything that had transpired in the previous twenty-four hours. But even sleep can’t save him from the memories of what you both once were: happy.

It’s not like he didn’t notice the rift growing between you two in the past few weeks. You didn’t have as much time for each other anymore, reducing your interactions to quick dinners and text messages. But you both have been together for nearly three years, and Minho had assumed that it was just the stress of senior year taking a toll on you both, nothing more. You both had been browsing apartments together just one month ago, finally planning to take the next big step in your relationship. He loves you more than anything in the world, and he so believed that you felt the same about him.

So when you sat him down yesterday at your favorite café, Morningstar Coffee House, and told him that you had doubts about your future together, he was shocked. Too fearful of what you were going to say next, Minho decided to take an abrupt exit out of the conversation, rushing out of the door by using class as an excuse. And now, he will be forced to confront a brutal reality, wishing he could have just gotten this over with yesterday.

A small chime alerts Minho to a new text message, and before he even reaches over to the coffee table to pick up his phone, he knows it’s you.

bobaluvrr: we need to finish talking catservant98: do we really need to? bobaluvrr: morningstar at 8. i have class, pls don’t be late.

With an exasperated groan, Minho stands up, tossing his phone onto the couch. At the very least, he could use the coffee.

“Don’t you think you’re being a little extreme?” Soyeon scrapes the bottom of the pint of ice cream in her hands, frowning when her spoon doesn’t recover as much as she’d like.

“Maybe,” Sunoo answers for you from where he’s sprawled out on the floor, lying on his stomach while scrolling through his cellphone. Soyeon chucks a pillow at him, making him yelp and lift his hands up in defeat.

“This is for the best, Soyeon,” you reply firmly, stabbing your spoon into your own pint of rocky road and digging out a generous chunk. As you lick the spoon, you note that you barely notice the creamy goodness that always succeeds in cheering you up. Not today.

Sunoo sits up and sets his phone aside. “Literally last month, you said you wanted to marry Minho as soon as you graduated.”

You swallow harshly, remembering the exact moment Sunoo is referencing. It’s true that you wanted to marry your boyfriend— no, you still want to marry him, even now. But you meant what you said; breaking up with Minho is necessary to prevent any more heartache. You’ve been feeling this indescribable longing seeping into your heart for weeks now, silently pressing through all of your warning bells. It was a whisper in the wind beneath your lofty wings, telling you that one day, Minho was going to leave you. The last few days had been the final straw, forcing you to grasp your courage and do what had to be done.

“I know.” You hold your tears back. “But the situation has obviously changed.”

Soyeon takes your hand in her own, softly rubbing your palm with her thumb to comfort you, while Sunoo just rolls his eyes. “I still blame that bitch Minju. It’s her fault you’re feeling like this, if anyone’s.”

At the mention of Minju, your expression hardens. After all, you don’t exactly have warm regards for a backstabber like her, especially when she had pretended to be your friend just to get close to Minho. When you found out about her ulterior motive, it made the betrayal hurt ten times worse.

You had befriended Minju nearing the end of the previous year, after she sat next to you at lunch when you were alone in the dining hall. All along your short-lived friendship, you had noticed that she would only ask you questions about Minho or your relationship with him, but you brushed it off as an attempt to just get along with your boyfriend. You had no idea that she wanted to do more than that.

At the beginning of the next semester, Minho mentioned that he had one class with Minju. Ever the optimist, you were pleasantly surprised, thinking that Minju could become friends with Minho as well. After all, it always took Minho forever to really bond with new people, and this would make everything easier. But the little things you kept overlooking built upon each other, forming a whole dam of distrust.

First, there were all of the times you hung out with both Minju and Minho. While Minho always engaged in conversation with the both of you, if not more with you, Minju would actively ignore you just to talk to Minho. Once, you three visited an arcade together, and there was a game that involved picking teams. Minju immediately declared that she would partner up with Minho, so you had no option but to team with a stranger. But maybe she just wanted to get to know him.

And then you ran into Heeseung, one of Minju’s old classmates. Heeseung had no malicious intentions; he used to have photography class with Minju before she switched out, and needed Minju’s number to ask her for the pen he had lent her. It looked like Minju had changed her course schedule to share a class with Minho. But maybe that was just a coincidence.

The final piece that made you put together Minju’s puzzle was when Minho was dropping you after a date one night. He had kissed you goodbye, and you went inside, wondering if you should invite Minju over to watch some movies. You called Minju and asked her if she wanted to come over, but she claimed that she was very sick and couldn’t even leave her house, down with a high fever in her bed. Feeling sorry for your friend, you decided to whip up a quick batch of soup for Minju and walk over to her loft. However, you saw two people standing right outside the building. Upon closer look, you realized it was Minju and Minho, talking about something you couldn’t hear. But the sight itself was enough— Minju looked perfectly healthy and fresh. You could give the benefit of doubt to your boyfriend, but Minju had obviously lied to you. You ran away before either of them spotted you.

You shake your head, knowing in your heart that even someone like Minju couldn’t really end one of the most important relationships in your life. “It’s not just her. I’m tired of watching every other couple on campus, wishing Minho and I were like that. Everyone calls us perfect, but really, we’re not. I’m tired of pretending. I’m tired of feeling like I’m the only one who cares. I’m just tired of everything, Sunoo.”

And it’s true. You’ve had enough of wondering about whether you love him too much, if you were being naive about everything. You have always been a very bubbly, social person, wearing your heart on your sleeve. You know that Minho is more of an introvert, and that it’s hard for him to express himself to others. However, you believed that with time, he would open up, at least to you. You found it as easy to confide your fears within Minho as it was to laugh when he tickled you. But communicating with Minho about his own feelings remained a difficulty. He still seems like such a mystery to you, and even if he wasn’t entertaining Minju’s whole plot, you feel like he isn’t as interested in you as you are in him. You hadn’t even bothered telling Minho the truth about Minju, because in the end, you doubt Minju would have troubled you so much if your relationship really was so unbreakable.

Sunoo’s face softens, as he gets up to envelope you in one of his hugs. “I’m sorry if I came off too strong. I just want the best for you.”

Soyeon joins your little huddle, wrapping her arms around the both of you. “You are our best friend, after all. We can’t have our favorite girl being sad.”

A tiny flicker of hope ignites in your stomach. Whatever happens, you know you’ll have Soyeon and Sunoo by your side. You tell yourself over and over again that you don’t need anyone else but them, until you start to believe it.

It hurts Minho’s heart to see that you look more beautiful than ever as you step into Morningstar, even with your downturned lips and the reddened sheen of your sleepless eyes. He busies himself with the menu as you approach the table he’s sitting at, as if he wasn’t just watching you a moment earlier.

“Thank you for seeing me.” Your words feel oddly formal, especially taking into account your usual greeting for Minho was an excited hug and an avalanche of kisses.

Minho shrugs, trying to seem nonchalant and not as scared as he really is. “Yeah, of course.”

You scoot your chair closer to the table, clearing your throat. “Did you sleep okay last night?”

Unable to help himself, Minho rolls his eyes. “How do you think I slept, Y/N?”

You immediately flush, realizing how obvious the answer must be. “I was just—”

“Checking on me,” Minho interrupts you, sounding more wounded than angry. “Right after you tell me that you think maybe we shouldn’t move-in together and that you aren’t feeling the same about us.”

You reach across the table to take Minho’s hands in yours. He can’t bring himself to wrench them free from your hold. “I’m sorry if I hurt you.”

“You did.”

“That wasn’t my intention. I just…” You trail off, gazing out the window. The campus is alive with the buzz of students waking up and going on about their days. It’s a gorgeous day for October, with bright sunshine and a cloudless sky— Minho hates it.

He looks away, not wanting to showcase how truly vulnerable he feels right now. “Why? Why this all of a sudden? Did I do something wrong?”

You start. “No!”

“Are you still upset about yesterday? I know everything is stressful right now, but I promise—”

You take a deep breath. “I can no longer trust you. I don't know if I’ll always be the only one. But it’s not you, it’s me.”

“Of course you’re my only one, what are you talking about?” Minho shakes his head, the desperation creeping in. “No. I promise I’ll try. I’ll be better. Whatever it is, we’ll get through this together.”

You slam your palms down on the table, making it shake. It shocks both you and Minho into a moment of charged silence. “We’ll only grow to hate each other at this rate. I need to end things with you now.”

“Y/N, please. I- I don’t want to break-up.”

You flash Minho a broken smile. “I don’t want it either. But I need to do this, for both our sakes.”

You stand up from your chair, and Minho finally breaks. Minho, who didn’t cry even when he fell into a ravine while hiking and broke his arm. Minho, who didn’t cry even when he was cut from the line-up for his dream internship in New York City. Minho, who never cries, sits in front of you now, the tears streaming down his cheeks and dripping onto his sweatshirt.

“Don’t go, please.” He makes one last attempt at getting you to stay, grabbing onto the arm of your jacket.

You gently shake him free, taking your purse. You’re crying now too. “Don’t make this harder than it has to be, Min.”

Minho lets his arm fall limply to his side as he hopelessly watches you leave as quickly as you came. He always hated saying goodbye after every time you went out, but the thought of being able to see you the next day helped a little bit. Now, there wasn’t even that.

“One… two… three.”

Minho grunts in effort, sweat slowly dripping down his neck at the arduous pace of each repetition.

“Keep going, Minho. You’re almost there,” Changbin says, leaning over Minho and supporting him on the bench press.

Minho barely hears him, flexing his biceps up and down, exhausted, yet determined to finish a set. He’s done nothing at all for the past few days, strangled with the inevitable grief of being broken up with. Minho sullenly welcomed trudging back and forth to classes. He went to bed early and slept in for as long as possible, and barely ate anything during the meals Chan forced him to have.

However, Chan finally became fed up with Minho’s mopiness, employing Changbin to drag him out to the gym and make him work out his feelings. And so, as he struggles under the backbreaking weight of the barbell, he yearns to feel a sense of accomplishment about something— anything.

“Ten! You’re done.” Changbin gently places a hand on Minho’s arm, willing him to stop, but Minho keeps going without toning down his pace.

Minho feels the excruciating ache burning in his muscles, the slow agony of pain rippling through him. Is this how you feel? Is this how much it hurts to love him? If so, he wants to live it over and over again, atoning for the reason you left him. He blames himself for letting you go, of course, but mostly for making you feel like you had to leave in the first place. He should have been a better man for you.

“Minho, stop!” Changbin lifts up the weight in his own hands, racking it and staring down accusingly at his charge. “Are you crazy? You could have hurt yourself.”

“You lift more than that, and you’re fine. Give me that.” Minho reaches for the barbell once more, but Changbin places it on an even higher hook, forcing Minho to get off the bench.

“I’ve been doing this for years. You started after your girlfriend dumped you, four days ago.”

Minho rolls his eyes, picking up his towel and dabbing at his dampened skin. “Thanks for the reminder.”

“You were already thinking about her anyway.” Changbin pats Minho’s shoulder, grabbing his bottle of green juice and walking over to the rowing machine to start his own workout.

Without further protest, Minho retreats to the locker rooms, wondering if he’s being that obvious. Minho gazes into the clouded mirror, inspecting himself for any signs of sadness, but all he receives is an eyeful of his general look, a guarded expression that reserves smiles only for those who deserve it. Weird. Maybe Changbin is just telepathic.

Minho shoves his belongings into his gym bag and heads out of the gym, back to nowhere else but Chan’s apartment, his temporary home until he finds a better place to stay. After all, he thought you both would be moving in together, but plans change.

As Minho makes his way down the sidewalk that leads to the university off-campus housing complex, someone throws a soccer ball into his path. Great.

“Hey, can you pass that over here?”

Clenching his jaw in annoyance, Minho kicks at the ball as hard as he can, not caring about where it lands. He ignores the person’s confused shouts and keeps walking until he reaches his destination, not acknowledging any of the strangers he passed by. What does it matter, anyway?

“Gym go well?” Chan looks up from the cutting board, setting down his knife and wiping his hands on a dishrag.

Minho sighs, neatly fixing his bag next to his current post, the sofa. “It was fine. I’ll go clean up and be right back.”

“Hurry! Dinner’s almost ready,” Chan calls as Minho heads inside the bathroom, locking the door and cranking on the shower.

Minho feels his body relax as he steps under the steady stream of water, but his mind remains tense. He’d gone to the gym with Changbin today because he thought he’d be able to get some peace of mind and forget about everything, but evidently, that hadn’t worked. All he can think about is you, you, you. He’ll deny it to his friends for as long as he can, but he isn’t sure how long he can keep lying to himself.

As he finishes, Minho steps out of the steamy bathroom and into the bedroom, drying off and quickly changing into his clothes. He walks into the dining area, where Chan has set up two bowls and is ladling pasta into each of them. When he was younger, Minho’s mother used to tell them that a good meal could ease a troubled heart. For her sake and Chan’s, he decides to eat well today, just for living.

Enveloped in a comfortable silence, Minho and Chan dig in, enjoying the spicy, cheesy penne that serves as an instant comfort food.

“Thanks, Chan,” Minho says, looking up from his bowl.

Chan swallows his bite and pauses, placing down his fork. “For what?”

Minho shrugs awkwardly, trying to find the right words. By now, he knows he’s no good at speaking his heart. “For being there for me. For feeding me. Everything, I guess.”

“And for making Changbin haul your ass to the gym.” Chan grins at Minho, nothing but warmth in his kind eyes. “What are friends for, brother?”

Even though he feels kind of crappy, Minho smiles. “Yeah, man.”

Chan reaches over and smacks Minho’s back, laughing the sentiment off. But deep inside, Minho knows that Chan understands him. Whatever happens, his brother will be by his side. He tells that to himself over and over again, through dinner and the TV show that Chan turns on, until he starts to believe it.

The next morning, Minho wakes up after finally getting a good night’s sleep. The much needed rest spurs him on to message you, something he’s been putting off for a while now.

catservant98: did you wake up? catservant98: how are you doing? catservant98: ??

You don’t reply to any of his texts. Minho knows that you’re not much of a morning person, but you would never miss class, so you have to be up. Every Thursday and Friday, both of you have Writing Seminar together, a course that is mandatory for every senior student at the university you both attend. When he first received his schedule, he had been elated that he shared a class with his girlfriend. Well now you are his ex-girlfriend, and he doesn’t know that being in the same room and unable to speak with you is a great option.

Nevertheless, Minho tucks his phone into his pocket, opening the door to the lecture hall. The moment he enters, his eyes find yours. You’re sitting in your favorite spot in the middle of the fifth row, but the seat next to you that Minho usually takes is already occupied by some other girl who’s busy reading a book. You didn’t bother saving him a seat, for the very first time.

You tear your eyes away from Minho’s piercing gaze, looking at the grassy lawn beyond the window behind you, leaving Minho to find a new seat. He sets his backpack down in the very back row, where no one else is, and sits alone, a sad new reality setting in. Thankfully, the professor enters and starts talking about some upcoming project, leaving Minho ample leeway to observe you.

Your head is tilted down and you're focused on the open notebook in front of you. Although he can’t see your hand properly, he knows it’s moving as you sketch a little doodle onto the paper. It’s a habit that he always found enormously endearing, and as you tuck your hair behind your ear, Minho feels another pang in his chest. He will never be able to brush back your hair for you, ever again.

The moment class is over, Minho quits pretending he’s actually paying attention and hurries over to you before you can leave. You’re midway through stuffing your books bag in your bag when you notice Minho hovering over you. With a resigned sigh, you look up at him expectantly.

“I- I just wanted to check on you,” Minho says quietly, looking down at his hands like he’s a kid again, guilty of stealing a candy instead of impinging on your time. “And see how you’re doing.”

“I’ve been better.” You look away and stand up, gesturing towards the door. “I should go. Soyeon’s probably waiting.”

“Okay then.” Minho steps aside, letting you pass. You both had a lot of mutual friends; surely every interaction between you both will not be this awkward, right?

Before you leave, however, you turn and look at him. “Let’s try to be civil and move on, okay? We’ll still be seeing each other a lot, so.”

Minho just stares at you, for a moment, before remembering himself. “Yeah, okay. Let’s try.”

You curtly nod and walk out the door. Minho isn’t so sure that moving on is what he wants. Of course he wants to get along with you, because having you in his life and not being romantically involved is better than not being involved with you at all. But he wishes the world— time, you, and even himself— would understand that moving on meant this loss in his life. Shaking his head, Minho heads out of the classroom and towards a hopefully better day.

“Are you sure this isn’t a bad idea?” You worriedly scan the increasing mass of partygoers. Usually, you love a good party; spending time with friends and making new ones is one of your favorite things to do. Tonight, however, you can’t help the bad feeling building inside of you.

Sunoo loops your arm through yours, leading the way for you through the swanky flat, searching for a place to sit. “No, it isn’t. You deserve to have some fun.”

“What if I see Minho?” You ask him, but you already know the answer. Of course Minho is coming to Jihyo’s birthday party; unfortunately, both of you were in the same large friend group, an aspect of your relationship that you used to cherish. Now, not so much.

He looks over at you, a challenge in his eyes. “And so what if you do? You told him you wanted to be civil. So be civil.”

“Right.”

You both find a place by the food tables, where boxes of pizza have already been opened to entice guests and bottles of beer chill in the cooler. After congratulating Jihyo and helping yourself to a few slices, you sit down on the couch next to Sunoo, trying to enjoy your dinner. After boba, pizza is your most favorite food on the whole planet, but even that can’t seem to soothe your nerves. You wish Soyeon were here too, but she’s stuck studying for an exam.

Noticing your restlessness, Sunoo whistles to a few people mingling nearby. “Hey, who wants to play Truth or Dare!”

Although outdated, Truth or Dare is a certified party hit for stressed college students like you all, especially if there’s alcohol involved. You’re just thankful for the distraction. Everyone quickly huddles around, buzzing in anticipation of either a comedy show or secrets being revealed.

“I’ll go first.” Chan says, stepping forward. If he’s here, so must be Minho. “Truth.”

Sunoo rubs his hands together in thought before piping up. “What’s your beef with your Student Council co-president?”

Chan immediately tenses, his cheeks turning red. “Shit. I’ll drink on that.”

Everyone whoops with laughter and cheers as Chan downs his beer, setting the cup down with a sour expression on his face due to the bitterness of the drink. He must really hate his co-president. The game continues, before you’re the only person playing who hasn’t gone yet. Unfortunately, your questioner is Mark Lee, a junior that’s notorious for his nosiness. You brace yourself for whatever invasive question he’ll come up with, but you aren’t as quite prepared as you think.

“Why did you and Y/N break up?”

“Huh?” You follow Mark’s gaze to see him looking at Minho, who joined the game without you realizing. The question was meant for him, not you.

Minho says nothing, giving Mark the opportunity to keep talking. “I mean, weren’t you guys the golden couple of campus or something?”

Everyone quiets down, zeroing in on you and Minho for all of the wrong reasons. Minho’s eyes dart over to where you sit, shifting uncomfortably in your seat. You feel your skin prickle and your body heat up, the stress clouding your senses once more.

“This is stupid. Game’s over,” Minho declares while getting up, and everyone disperses, not willing to argue with him.

You stare down at your lap as Sunoo places an arm over your shoulders, pulling you close to him. “I’m so sorry, Y/N. I had no idea Mark would ask that. What an asshole.”

“I’m fine.” You stand up, brushing off your skirt. “I’m going to go get a drink.”

“I’ll come with you,” Sunoo offers.

You shake your head. “No, it’s okay. I’ll come back.”

After getting some water, you wind through the impromptu dance floor that has now taken over the living space, everyone jamming to the raging music that thumps through the loud bass speakers that Jihyo had installed into her flat. You dodge a couple grinding up against each other and a pair of best friends swinging to the beat. Before you head back to Sunoo, you’re about to find temporary reprieve out on the balcony, but like a cruel universal joke, you see exactly what you fear most.

Minho leans against the railing, the evening breeze ruffling the chestnut hair that frames his handsome face. And next to him stands Minju, twirling her hair around her fingers while listening to what Minho is murmuring to her. Yours and Minju’s eyes meet, and she gives you the faintest hint of a satisfied smirk. Your heart drops and your feet want to give out right then and there, but you would rather die than fall apart in front of both of them. You turn on your heel and blindly march to wherever will rid you of the sight of the person you love the most speaking to the person you hate the most.

That destination turns out to be the kitchen, as you march in and huff out loud as your body hits the kitchen island. There’s no one else there except for one other person with his upper body hidden by the refrigerator, obviously raiding it. At the sound of someone else entering, he shuts the fridge door and looks over at you. Taking in his faded pink hair and beat-up converse sneakers, you vaguely recognize him from somewhere.

“I was just looking for some carrot juice, that’s all.” The guy shoots you a sheepish smile. “I don’t do booze past 9 p.m.”

“Carrot juice? Don’t tell me you’re a fitness freak.”

He raises his hands in faux surrender. “Guilty. But outside of the gym, I’m Kang Taehyun. Or Terry, if we’re acquainted, and hopefully you and I will be by the end of the night. So call me Terry.”

You’re intrigued by this carrot-loving stranger. “I’m—”

“Y/N, I know. We have Writing Seminar together.” Terry smiles as the recognition hits you.

You slap your palm against your forehead, wondering how you could have missed him. “I’m so sorry. I guess I was always too distracted in that class.”

He waves your apology off with a twist of his wrist. “No worries. Besides, you’re a lot more memorable than me.”

You feel your cheeks heat up. “Thank you.”

In the brief silence that follows, you gaze up at the pattern of the tiling on the countertops, toying with the hem of your skirt. Once again, your thoughts flit over to Minho, wondering if he’s still talking to Minju. Terry notices you spacing out and speaks up. “Hey, are you okay?”

You look up at him like a deer caught in headlights. Suddenly, everything feels like too much, and you’re overwhelmed with your own emotions. You feel yourself tear up, and you’re immediately mortified for breaking down in front of someone you just met.

Unfazed, Terry crosses over to you in three quick strides and gently touches your arm, concerned. “Hey, you don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to. I didn’t mean to intrude.”

You swipe at your eyes, trying to collect yourself. “No, it’s not you. I broke up with my boyfriend recently. And it’s been… bad. God, this is embarrassing.”

Terry dips his head in understanding. “I noticed you weren’t sitting next to him as usual in class earlier today. Minho— that's him, right?”

You let out a mirthless chuckle. “Yeah.”

“Well…” Terry trails off, and you fear you’ve ruined the mood with your depressive recollection, but he smiles at you. “I’ll tell you something embarrassing about me. I have a fear of mint chocolate chip ice cream.”

A giggle escapes your mouth at the absurdity of his confession. “What?”

Terry nods solemnly. “Yes. Technically, I have a fear of visiting the dentist, but mint choco is close enough to the taste of toothpaste to give me the chills.”

You grin at Terry, the down atmosphere slowly fading away. “What do you like, then?”

“Water slides. Pleasure reading. And caramel popcorn with extra caramel.” Terry flexes his bicep. “Even a fitness freak needs his sugar fix.”

You roll your eyes in good humor. “You’re really something, aren’t you, Kang Taehyun?”

“I’m hoping that’s a compliment.” Terry runs his hand through his bubblegum hair, carelessly mussing it up. You find the messiness of his bangs absolutely adorable.

“It is.” You tap your nails against your cup, trying to think of something to say next. Generally, you have no difficulty in keeping a conversation going, but Terry seems to be content with that role in this one.

“Are you an Apple or Android kind of person?” Terry inquires.

You take a sip of your water, raising your eyebrow at him. “Where did that come from?”

“I was trying to think of a good way to ask you for your number.” Terry shrugs, that playful smile that you’ve now become familiar with coming back.

You return it. “You just did.”

Both of you exchange cell phones and type in each other’s contact information. When finished, Terry slides your phone back into your palm, and you don’t miss the light touch of his fingers against your own.

“I have to go find my friend now, Terry. But I’m glad I met you. Don’t forget to spam me with more weird facts about yourself.”

Terry laughs. “I won’t. Like I said, Y/N, you’re not easily forgettable.”

You hide your smile and leave the kitchen, lost in your own world, even as you run straight into Sunoo, who asks you what took you so long. When you finally get back to the warmth of your own room after the party, you sit down to get some homework done before bed. You notice your favorite keychain, a little cat charm, hanging off your ID card lanyard that’s strewn across your desk. Minho gifted it to you last year, stating that you needed something to remind you of him when he wasn’t there. After a moment’s hesitation, you unclip the charm from the lanyard and tuck it away inside your desk. You don’t need the reminder right now.

terrypotter: hey, good morning!! this is terry from yday btw bobaluvrr: hii! bobaluvrr: omg ur user <3 i love harry potter too! terrypotter: this friendship was meant to be.

You throw off your covers, hopping out of bed. Last night was proof that things could start out horrible and end well. You meant what you said to Terry; you’re happy you were able to meet someone like him. Even though you both only hung out for a few minutes, talking to him felt relaxing and uncomplicated, less of a puzzle and more like a game, unlike how it felt with Minho. You were tired of always guessing Minho’s thoughts, and so Terry’s habit of speaking his mind feels incredibly refreshing.

terrypotter: here’s a thought- coffee @ morningstar? terrypotter: they make a mean breakfast bagel too, if ur up for it

You frown down at your phone, the lighthearted feeling fading into uncertainty. You are glad that Terry named this new acquaintance as a friendship, but still, he’s a boy— and a good looking one at that, too. You aren’t sure if getting coffee entails something potentially romantic down the lane, and if it does, it feels wrong, especially so soon after Minho. You definitely haven’t moved on, yet. After all, you once believed that Minho would be the man you would marry one day, and a tiny part of you still dreams of what could be.

bobaluvrr: i can’t :( promised my roommates breakfast terrypotter: aw that’s too bad

After a moment of thought, however, you text him again.

bobaluvrr: but i’ll save you a seat in class today! terrypotter: see u then :)

Strangely buzzed, you make your bed and get ready for the day, trying not to think of the fact that Minho is also in Writing Seminar with you and Terry. You don’t want him to give him the wrong idea, but then again, you both weren’t together anymore, so what does it matter?

After showering and getting dressed, you stand in the kitchen so that the excuse you gave Terry won’t be a lie, scrambling a few eggs in the frying pan that Minho bought you last year. As the designated chef in your relationship, Minho used to cook for you all the time, whenever you came over to the apartment he shared with Chan and Jisung. Whenever he visited you, however, he complained that there weren’t enough proper cooking supplies for him to create a “proper culinary experience” for you, so he insisted on buying you some.

When you nearly fainted, looking at the receipts for everything he bought you, he promised that you could make it up to him by bringing everything with you when you moved in with him. That’s how he very smoothly asked you to move in with him, and you accepted by attacking him with kisses. You both planned to find an apartment as soon as possible, since Jisung wanted to move-in with his best friend, and Chan was looking for his own place. The reminiscing smile on your face fades away when you remember that everyone’s plans came to fruition except for yours and Minho’s.

You don’t know if it’s the universe looping Minho into your life again and again, or if your treacherous heart just misses him so much that you can’t help but subconsciously cling to every last remnant you have of him. The sensible side of you knows it’s the latter scenario.

“I smell food.” Sunoo ambles out of his room, looking like a lovable yet scruffy teddy bear.

He tries to sneak a piece of fried egg from the pan, but you quickly push his hands away, wrinkling your nose. “Go brush your teeth first. I’m going to throw up.”

Sunoo rolls his eyes sleepily, but obeys, before Soyeon also comes out of her bedroom. Unlike Sunoo, however, she’s all dressed and ready for business, clad in her uniform of baggy jeans and a badass leather jacket that you adore. Soyeon pulls out three glasses and starts juicing a couple oranges to complete your meal, as you start plating the food.

“Thank you, my angel,” Soyeon blows you a kiss as you set the eggs and some slices of buttered toast on the table. You wink back at her as you both take your seats and Sunoo comes out to join you, still wearing his pajamas.

“And you, lazy ass? Wake up earlier so you can help out more. You never do anything.” Soyeon smacks Sunoo’s arm, hard, eliciting a cry out of him.

“Hey! I take on the emotional support role in this house,” Sunoo replies, aggressively biting into his toast.

“This is an apartment.”

Your two roommates trade their usual insults back and forth as you tune them out, picking at your own plate. Maybe it had been a bad idea, asking Terry to sit next to you. And it wasn’t even about how you could already envision your ex-boyfriend’s beautiful eyes full of betrayal, but more of how you’re coming off to Terry. What if he got the wrong idea, that you both were heading into something more than a friendship?

When you’ve escaped Sunoo and Soyeon’s bickering, you plug in your earbuds and walk to the lecture hall. The sound of your morning mix fills your ears as you enter your own world. While you cherish the people in your life more than anything, you treasure the times when you can slow down and just appreciate the fact that you’re alive and healthy. Gratitude isn’t something you feel a lot, especially taking into account recent happenings, but maybe you’ll start now. A new friend is always something to be thankful for—

You hear someone calling out and immediately pull out your headphones to see Terry next to you.

“Hey, Y/N!” Terry falls into a synchronized step with you. “Did I interrupt any deep contemplation? The look on your face was pretty intense.”

You shake your head, accepting the coffee that Terry hands to you. “Thank you. And no, you didn’t. It’s nice to see you again, Terry.”

Terry smiles, sipping from his own cup. “Likewise. Ready for class?”

You’re about to naturally give him an affirmative answer, before you halt, remembering yet another moment with Minho.

“Who the hell is he?” Minho glowers threateningly at the guy next to you, pulling the sleeves of his button-down up to his elbows. The man quickly rushes out of the bar and into the rain, without even bothering to open the umbrella in his hands.

You sigh loudly while Minho sits down on the stool the man was just perched on. “Was that necessary, Min? Poor guy just wanted to ask me about the book I’m reading.”

“That’s the pretense that all guys put up when they’re trying to hit on a girl.” Minho slides his arm around your shoulders, and despite your mild annoyance, you melt into his touch. He smells like a mix of cologne, rain, and fresh cotton sheets.

You look up at Minho through your eyelashes. “Is that what you did when you asked me out?”

Minho smiles lovingly at you. “I didn’t have to. You were down bad for me already.”

You shove him away in mock offense. “You were the down bad one! I remember your whole cheesy speech.”

“I don’t recall anything like that.” The smirk on Minho’s face fades in favor of a deep blush.

Laughing, you press a kiss to your boyfriend’s lips, and he quickly reciprocates. The truth is, you both were impossibly down bad for each other. And to be even more honest, you enjoyed it when Minho got like this; the feeling of being Lee Minho’s girl will never not excite you, especially when he was the one keen on enforcing it.

You sigh to yourself. While that was a pleasant memory without the context, you aren’t so sure it’ll be cute this time, when Minho reacts to you and Terry.

Terry holds the door open to the lecture hall, letting you go in first before shutting the door behind him. Most of the class is already assembled there, setting up their desks before the professor starts. You see that Minho’s also sitting, perched in the back again, but he seems busy rifling through his bag, looking for something. As you take your own seat, you don’t know if you feel relief at Minho not saying anything, or disappointment that he didn’t notice you at all.

Throughout the duration of class, you and Terry giggle together over the professor’s infamous random rants, but your mind keeps flitting over to Minho. You can feel his gaze on you and Terry, but when you turn, you see him immersed in his notes like he wasn’t looking at you in the first place, and you end up feeling stupid. Fearful of what Minho— or really, you— might do, as soon as class ends, you grab Terry’s wrist and practically pull him out of the door, ready to get out of there. Terry doesn’t question it, understanding the rationale for your actions. You appreciate that about him.

To make it up to Terry, you take him out to lunch, choosing a restaurant downtown. You love the views of the riverfront there, as well as their renowned spicy food. You block out the memory of all of the times you and Minho walked over here, hand in hand. You are entitled to lunch at your favorite restaurant, you remind yourself. Once you’re seated, the waiter comes over to your table.

“Chef’s special soup, please. Level-three spice,” you tell the waiter.

The waiter writes down your orders and walks away, leaving Terry to look at you with an amused expression. “Level-three? The food here is already spicy.”

You cross your arms. “I have a very high spice tolerance.”

“Alright.”

In no time at all, your waiter is back, setting down the food in front of you both. Terry immediately digs in, shoveling liberal spoonfuls of his mild fried rice into his mouth, leaving you to stare at your soup. You can practically smell the red pepper in the steam rising out of the bowl.

“Here’s my last warning before destruction,” Terry says, squeezing a lemon onto his rice. “Try some rice.”

You sit up, trying to look self-assured. “Nonsense. I can do this.”

Of course, you wish you hadn’t bragged so much, barely a few seconds after your first sip of the spicy broth. Your eyes start to tear up involuntarily, and Terry fills a glass of water from the iced pitcher and hands it over to you. You accept it, clumsily tipping the cool water into your mouth, as Terry gives you a knowing smile.

“Aren’t you overdoing it?”

The spoon in your hands nearly falls onto the floor in your shock at Terry’s words. “What did you just say?”

Terry gives you an odd look. “Um, I said, ‘aren’t you overdoing it?’”

You take a deep breath, the tears now flowing down your cheeks. But you know that they’re not completely due to the soup. “Wow.”

“Are you okay, Y/N?” Terry hands you a napkin, worry written on his face. He signals for the waiter to refill the water pitcher.

You smile ruefully. “Yeah, I will be.”

“I can handle it, Minho.” You give him a glare, placing the napkin on your lap and scooting closer to the table. It’s your first date with Minho, and you want to impress him so bad.

Minho nudges your leg with his own, and you try not to look flustered. “It’s okay if you want to order something else.”

You stubbornly dig your spoon into the bowl, gathering a large helping of broth and noodles onto it. “You like the soup here. So I want to eat it too.”

He just laughs, watching intently as the clear signs of regret manifest on your face. “Told you so.”

"What are you talking about?” You narrow your eyes, unwilling to admit defeat, even though you really, really want to. You drink the soup in careful spoonfuls, pretending it’s too hot, but you struggle to speak even in between tiny sips. “This… is.. so… delicious.”

Minho is now hysterical, losing his mind laughing at the look on your face when you bite straight into a whole jalapeno. “Aren’t you overdoing it?”

“Minho, you’re so mean!” You can’t bear it any longer, the tears gushing down your cheeks while you also laugh in both pain and genuine happiness at being here with Minho, at making him laugh.

“Alright, alright.” Minho quickly goes and gets a large glass of chilled apple juice from the bar, handing it to you.

When you’re finally calmed down, you wipe your mouth with your napkin and set the spoon down, metaphorically waving a white flag. You skip straight to dessert, opting to soothe your taste buds with cold ice cream, all while watching Minho in awe as he easily finishes his own bowl of soup. After paying for dinner, Minho takes you to a secluded section of the rocky beach bordering the river that runs straight through the city. You both walk in a comfortable silence, still at that point where your hands slightly touch as you walk, unsure of just holding each other like you so want them to.

You look over at Minho, suddenly self-conscious. At this point, you see no point in faking anything; he’s seen you literally sob over a bowl of soup. “About the soup… I promise I’m not a braggy show-off. Honestly, I just wanted to impress you. Guess I did the opposite, though.”

“What are you talking about?” Minho shakes his head, all laughter from before gone. “I’ve never met someone who ate a bowl of soup here just because I like it. Not even Chan would try it, and he’s my best friend.”

You blush, illuminated by the combination of the moonlight and the glittering city surrounding. “Thank you.”

Minho stops walking, turning around to face you. “I know I told you this when I asked you to go out with me, but I suck at using my words, so I’m sorry.”

You copy his movement so you’re looking him directly in the eye. “I understand you, words or not.”

Minho looks down at the rocky ground, secretly fighting his own insecurities. “I’m trying, but I… I admit I’m not great at this.”

You try not to show how utterly charmed you are by his bashfulness. “To be honest, neither am I. You’re actually the first person I’ve ever gone out with. Nobody’s really been into me before.”

“Seriously?” Minho looks shocked.

You now wonder if divulging that information in him was wise. Definitely not. “Yeah.”

Minho kicks a pebble into the river, watching it sink into the water. “Idiots.”

You blink. “Sorry?”

He scoffs, looking back at you. “I don’t know what kind of idiots you were hanging around before. How could no one be into you?”

You shrug, embarrassed. Your heart feels heavy, thinking of the things people used to say to you, thinking they were being funny but not realizing how much mere words were hurting you. “I’m kind of undateable, I guess. People tend to gravitate towards Soyeon. They say I’m more of the comedic relief. I don’t blame them, though. She’s perfect.”

Minho gives you an unreadable expression. “You have no idea.”

“Of what?”

He crosses that miniscule space between you both, answering you in a different way than you expect. His lips are full and sweet, and he tastes like your coffee ice cream that he stole a few bites from. The surprise you harbor quickly melts away when you shut your eyes, wrapping your arms around his neck as he circles his around your waist. If it took this long to find the right person, then so be it. And you don’t know if you can say that this— your first kiss ever— is like the movies; it feels even better.

“I may not be good with words, but I can say this: you are perfect.”

“You look kind of stupid,” Hyunjin says, cackling at Minho’s struggle to look over the top of the box in his hands while coordinating his movements.

Minho gives Hyunjin a sharp look in response. “And you look ready to go into the air fryer.”

Hyunjin immediately tosses his phone aside and scurries over to where Minho is, taking the box out of his hands and transporting it into Minho’s designated bedroom with ease, looking over his shoulder fearfully as he goes. Minho smiles to himself, satisfied.

He follows Hyunjin into the room, finding the latter boy dramatically smoothing out the bedsheets and straightening the pillows. Hyunjin side-eyes Minho’s entrance, earning him a smack on the backside and a great reason to get out of the room, leaving Minho in peace.

Minho quickly unpacks, neatly folding his clothes and stacking them in the closet, before organizing the rest of his belongings around the room. When he finishes, he falls back onto his new bed, staring up at the ceiling fan and observing it whir. Out of everything that’s happened, he knows he should be thankful; although Hyunjin is the designated comedian of their friend group— along with Jisung, of course— he values his privacy incredibly. So when Hyunjin offered to rent out a room in his apartment to Minho, he couldn’t believe his luck. Then again, he wishes he wasn’t in this position to begin with.

Earlier today, Chan insisted on going out to catch the football game that their university hosted. Minho had agreed, with nothing better to do— besides, he noticed that Chan was also having a rough start to his day, after being locked in the campus library all night with his co-president that he always conflicted with. Chan had stayed quiet for the entire time, staring out the window on the ride to the home game, but at least he had a happy ending. By the end of the game, things had changed for Chan, and for the better: he’d amended things with his co-president, and of everything that could have happened, they even emerged from the stadium as a couple. For Minho, however, things had been quite different.

Namely, there’s a new replacement for Minho. He saw you walk into class with Kang Taehyun yesterday, and he’d been so anxious to not let you see his reaction that he immediately busied himself with his backpack. The entire time, however, he was watching you both whisper to each other during class. He darkly observed Taehyun scribble something onto the corner of your notebook, and it had made you laugh. That was what Minho used to do all the time. By the end of class, Minho considered confronting you right then and there, without caring about anyone else, but you ran out of class with Taehyun before he could even move.

And to make things even worse, he saw you and Taehyun together at the game. Minho had to resist the urge to march down to your section and slap the flirtatious smile off of Taehyun’s face. But more than anything, he wanted to ask you if it was true. Did you really already start to move on with a new man? Is Minho really that replaceable to you?

“Hey, what are you up to?” Hyunjin cautiously sticks his head into the room, snapping Minho out of his reverie.

“Nothing much. What’s up?”

Hyunjin steps into the room, his silky shirt and pressed trousers a stark contrast to Minho’s soft blue t-shirt and gym shorts. “Wanna go to the convenience store with me? I ran out of snacks.”

“You and your snacks,” Minho teases, chasing after Hyunjin when he sticks his tongue in retaliation.

A few minutes later, Hyunjin successfully drags Minho into the convenience store, disappearing into the junk food aisles to get his fix and leaving Minho to wander around the store. Following the twisting row of frozen foodstuffs, Minho turns and crashes straight into you.

“Minho?” Your eyes widen.

Minho clears your throat, trying not to gaze at you like you’re a returned long-lost love. You are indeed lost to him, but he had class with you merely the day before. He needs to get a grip on himself. “You dropped this.”

He kneels down, picking up the tub of ice cream, and hands it to you after inspecting the flavor label. “Strawberry? You hate strawberry.”

You take it back hastily. “Yeah. You always loved it, though.”

That doesn’t satisfy Minho’s rampant irritation. “You wouldn’t even touch strawberry ice cream with a ten-foot pole before. What changed?”

“I just wanted to try something new,” you say, with what Minho observes as guilt.

Before Minho can respond, the person he wants to see the least rounds the corner and interrupts you both.

“I promise, the strawberry ice cream here is amazing and— oh.” Taehyun walks up to where you are, standing slightly between you and Minho, before he looks down at you, ignoring Minho. “Am I interrupting something? I can go away.”

You shake your head, flaring the rage in Minho. “It’s fine. You can stay.”

“So you’ll eat strawberry ice cream with him, but not me.” Minho rolls his eyes, the humiliation inside him swelling like a balloon.

“Hey man, it’s nothing like that. I know she doesn’t like strawberry ice cream that much, but I practically threatened her to try it. J'adore strawberries,” Taehyun says in a joking tone, but Minho doesn’t miss the protective glint in his eye.

Minho has never been a violent person, but he balls his fists. The nerve. “Who the fuck even are you? You don’t know anything about—”

“What is your problem, Minho?” You cut in angrily. “If you’re mad at me, then be mad at me. Don’t take your frustrations out on Terry.”

What you said is perfectly sensible, Minho knows that. He doesn’t have anything against Taehyun at all; he doesn’t even know the guy. But all logic is thrown out of the window when it comes to you.

“Terry?” Minho scoffs at the nickname. “You know what, I am mad at you. Because seriously? Kang Taehyun? He isn’t even your type.”

Before Taehyun can say anything else, you respond to Minho’s jab, sarcasm dripping from your voice. “Right, because you were so perfect for me.”

The words hit him like a sledgehammer, and Minho starts in surprise— you’ve never talked to him like that before, ever. And neither has he. The regret is evident on your face as you shake your head, frustrated, like that came out wrong.

“I got the snacks!” Hyunjin announces suddenly, waltzing into the aisle, before he notices you standing there with Taehyun. “What’s going on here?”

You and Taehyun stay quiet, adding onto Minho’s misery. He wants you to say something, anything. He doesn’t even want an apology; he knows he absolutely deserved that insult. Still, Minho can’t help that horrible feeling rising inside of him.

“Let’s just go.” Minho turns on his heel and walks out of the store, before waiting to finish the conversation, Hyunjin following closely behind. He doesn’t bother looking back.

Hyunjin doesn’t say anything to Minho, falling silent in the rapidly approaching night. At times like this, Minho prefers to be left alone. But he isn’t, really. Not with the truth leaning over his shoulder, like an angelic superego. He tries not to think of it, however, or the fact that his heart is falling apart so violently in his chest. Although you and Minho are not together anymore, you’ve both now fulfilled a milestone: hurt each other beyond repair.

The convenience store encounter with Minho left you feeling guiltier than ever, even more than when you actually broke up with him. You should have been more understanding towards Minho; after suddenly ending things, you appear out with Terry. Even though you don’t see Terry like that, you are well aware of how it can look to Minho. After all, you’d react similarly if you found out that Minho and Minju are dating. But you hadn’t, because you know that Minho would never do that to you.

You sigh, shutting the door to your room and collapsing onto your bed. After the whole incident, the air between you and Terry had been pretty awkward. While you still don’t know much about Terry, including his intentions, the topic of a romance had never been broached until Minho did it for you. He’d walked you back to your apartment, before wishing you a goodnight.

Your phone sounds with a text, and you pick it up, curling into your pillow. It’s Terry.

terrypotter: just checking up on you terrypotter: how are you doing? bobaluvrr: better, thanks for asking terrypotter: glad to hear terrypotter: and i also want to say that i’m sorry for any role i might have played in what happened today bobaluvrr: you’re good, terry. it wasn’t about you. i’m sorry for bringing you in

There is truth to this. No matter how much it feels like third parties have an avenue in furthering the split between you and Minho, the problem has always been internal. It’s truly between you both, hence, you’re not a couple anymore.

bobaluvrr: let’s change the subject? terrypotter: ofc terrypotter: wanna play would you rather?

You laugh in spite of yourself. It feels good to laugh, to distract yourself, but Minho stays like a stubborn mirage in your mind. Nevertheless—

bobaluvrr: game on. terrypotter: beaches or mountains? bobaluvrr: beaches terrypotter: sweet or salty? bobaluvrr: are u kidding? my username? boba?? terrypotter: LOL sweet then bobaluvrr: yes. terrypotter: spring or autumn? bobaluvrr: spring, duh terrypotter: and lastly, dogs or cats? bobaluvrr: DOGS terrypotter: u are 100% correct terrypotter: all of our answers are the exact same LMFAO

You think back to your first date with Minho. Before the whole soup fiasco, the atmosphere had been so awkward while waiting for the soup to arrive. This was months of tension and pining between you both, and now that the apex had arrived, neither of you were sure of what to say. Without thinking, Minho broke the silence by randomly asking you if you liked dogs or cats better. You were automatically enchanted by the bashful look on his face. From there on, for every single question he asked you, both of you had the exact opposite answers. For the longest time, your differences had felt charming, before they weren’t.

Terry, on the other hand, shares so many similarities with you, beyond the strawberry ice cream betrayal. Both of you are outgoing, have a similar sense of humor, and like to be unabashedly yourselves. If a romance did ever blossom between you and Terry, if your friendship lasts your current heartbreak, you could be happy with him, maybe. You would never be insecure, worrying about what’s going on in his mind, because he would talk to you directly. You appreciate that so much about him. But whenever you look into his eyes, or whenever your hand accidentally brushes his, you don’t feel that electricity that had always coursed through you when you were with Minho. You’ve been searching for it everywhere since, but that spark just isn’t there; Taehyun’s just not Minho. Your heart calls out to Minho, no matter how much you wish it wouldn’t, and you can’t deny it any longer.

If there’s one thing that Minho has learned in the duration of his college years, it’s that work has no tolerance for those special ailments of the heart. His professors don’t give a crap about the fact that his girlfriend dumped him, or that his girlfriend has now apparently moved on with some pink-haired stud. No matter how much he wants to slam his laptop screen down and fall asleep to the rhythm of his shattered heart, he knows he can’t. His term paper will not write itself, and it matters, especially since he’ll be graduating this year.

“What will you do when we graduate?” You set down your iPad, flexing your fingers.

“A job at a good company. And then one day, my own business.” That familiar, dreamy look mists Minho’s eyes.

You smile at him. “My handsome CEO.”

Minho tapped your nose with his finger, following it with a soft kiss there. “You are so cute.”

“I know.” You peek down at his notebook that’s full of graphs and lengthy strings of numbers. “This looks complicated.”

“Welcome to the life of a business and economics double major,” Minho laughs. “But you’re literally a pre-med student. I’m not going to complain when you have to memorize human anatomy and random proteins.”

“Don’t remind me.” You dramatically shudder, giggling at Minho. “But I don’t care, as long as one day, you’re CEO Lee, and I’m Dr. Lee.”

Your words shock both you and Minho, invoking a moment of charged silence. You both have never talked about getting married before. But before you can backtrack, a slow smile spreads across Minho’s face. “Dr. Lee… has a ring to it, don’t you think?”

You turn a bright red, but lean into Minho, kissing him sweetly on the lips. “Definitely.”

Minho clears his throat and shakes yet another memory of you away, trying to concentrate on the email open in front of him. Just minutes ago, he’d received notice that he’d been chosen for a position at Google, following graduation. Fucking Google. Every business major would kill for a job at Google. And not only that, but his employer noted in the message that they usually don’t even extend offers this early in the year, but made an exception for him because they wanted him so much.

For a moment, he forgot all about the angst of the previous day, giddily jumping off his bed in a rare display of emotion, even if nobody else was around. And then he reached for his phone, opening up your contact and preparing to type in a text to you; for months, you knew Minho was anxious about his application to Google. But then he remembers himself; he’s now someone in your past.

Minho swallows roughly, staring at the blank space where his response accepting the offer should be. A moment later, he decides he’ll respond to the email later. But he doesn’t even have any time to chide himself before he notices someone standing in front of him.

“Minju?”

She looks down at him, either oblivious to his confusion or choosing to ignore it. “Hey. Am I interrupting something?”

Minho nods, waiting for Minju to sit down and get settled into her chair, trying not to let his bewilderment show.

At Jihyo’s party, he had needed some air after that stupid game of Truth or Dare, and even worse, your reaction to the question asked of him. Minho had escaped to the balcony, hoping for a moment alone, when Minju approached him. When she launched into a conversation with him about school, Minho realized that you probably never told Minju about the break-up. So he excused himself as politely as he could, explaining that you and him both broke up. He never really considered Minju as his own friend, and did not expect Minju to pursue a relationship with him any further.

“I’ll get straight to the point, Minho.” Minju exhales, looking him directly in the eye. “I like you.”

Minho sits up immediately, shocked. “What did you just say?”

Minju purses her lips. “I like you, and I always have. Go out with me.”

Minho shakes his head in disbelief, the confusion fading into anger. “You’re Y/N’s friend. How could you do this to her? How can you even look at yourself?”

“You’re not together anymore, it doesn’t matter,” Minju says, her voice wavering.

He scoffs, packing up his belongings and shoving them carelessly into his bag. “Don’t talk to me again.”

Minju grabs the sleeve of Minho’s jacket as he turns to leave, desperation in her eyes. “Be with me instead. I’ll make you forget her.”

Minho shakes her free, giving her a look of both pity and disgust. “I still love her, and I always will.”

And with that, Minho leaves without looking back, walking slowly and deliberately in thought. Was this what you meant when you told him that you weren’t sure if you were the only one? Was Minju the reason for the love of his life leaving him? A strange mix of both fury and hope washes over Minho as he exits the library and breaks into a run, barely eight out of his eight-thousand word essay written.

After you broke up with Minho, you forgot one very crucial detail: you didn’t unlink him from your Google calendar. One of the few things you both share in common is your organization, and when you were together, you both loved to plan things together and very ceremoniously add them to your shared online calendar. It became a game, trying to guess where the other was at random times, judging by their schedule. More often than not, the calendar proved to be a very useful tool in pinpointing each other’s locations. It’s why the brief surprise of seeing Minho standing outside your apartment door in the middle of the day on a weekday fades away quickly. You don’t have any classes scheduled today.

“Y/N,” he pants, leaning against the doorframe.

“Minho. What are you doing here?” You cross your arms, resisting the urge to rush forward and hug him in all of his puffer coat glory. You used to make fun of him for that coat, all the time.

“I needed to see you. Minju told me,” Minho lowers his eyes, as if he’s nervous. “I need you to know that there was nothing going on with her. You have always been my only one. I promise. No one else. I miss you.”

Your heart wrenches in desire and nostalgia at the sincerity of his eyes. Of course you knew that he never cheated on you; this is Minho. But that’s not the reason why you have to remind yourself, once more, that you aren’t right for each other. Not in the long run. “I miss you too. And I know you didn’t cheat on me.”

Minho’s eyes fill with what you recognize as a mix of despair and tears, because after all, you’ve felt it in you too, before. “Then why? Why end it?”

“I feel like you don’t love me as much as I love you.”

The wheels turning inside of Minho’s mind and searching for possible reasons, immediately crash to a stop. “What?”

You shrug, drawing back your hands to tuck them into your lap, a habit that Minho has observed whenever you are nervous. “Remember when we were at that picnic with all of your friends? And Jisung and his girlfriend were also there? We were playing a question game.”

Minho nods slowly, still confused. “I do.”

“Felix had asked all the guys to think of why they love their girlfriends.” You look down at your hands, embarrassed. “Changbin had a whole list of reasons. But when it was your turn to speak, you had no answer.”

The recollection comes back to Minho like a tsunami. He hadn’t really ever thought much of that day; he always had trouble talking about personal things in front of other people, and he thought you already knew why he loved you. He didn’t know his inability to share something like that could hurt you so much, especially when he can write a whole book of reasons for why he loves you. Your smile. Your endless generosity. Your never ending patience for Minho’s antics. The way you always see the best in people, and how you light up the whole room when you walk in.

“Baby,” Minho starts, before realizing that he doesn’t have the right to call you that anymore. Reluctantly, he continues, using your name instead. “Y/N, I have trouble talking in front of other people. I love you so much, and if you know that, it’s all that really matters. A stupid game doesn’t change that.”

You laugh, but there’s no humor in it. “But see, Minho, I don’t know. I don’t know how you’re feeling half the time. Felix’s question was just the icing on the cake. I’m exhausted from wondering. Wondering if you love me. Wondering if I really know you. Just wondering all the time. I shouldn’t feel that way.”

I’ll try harder to be more open. I’ll work on myself. I just— please believe me.”

“I do believe that you’ll try, Min. It’s who you are. But I can’t force you to be someone you’re not, and you can’t force me to want different things. We’ll only end up hurting each other more.” Your eyes fill with tears. “It hurts to love you.”

Minho flinches at your words, and he sees the sorrow in your eyes, but you say nothing to soothe the burn. Nevertheless, he keeps trying, as if he didn’t notice the determination written in your gaze as well. “I know I was senseless. But please— I’m begging you. Don’t do this. Don’t leave, not again.”

You look away from him, a single tear sliding down your cheek, as Minho tries to hold back his own. The whole scene feels disturbingly like a few days ago, when you broke up with him in Morningstar. He had hoped it wouldn’t come to this.

“I tried to understand you. I did. But don’t you think that being senseless about everything that was going on also means that you were that indifferent towards me?” You scrub at your face to keep from crying even more.

Minho cringes, hearing the truth in your words. Once upon a time, he cherished the silence you both could share comfortably, working independently in the happy company of each other. Now the quiet hangs in the air like smog, a heavy uneasiness that he never imagined around you. “I really thought I could change. I swear.”

You nod, a brisk movement that doesn’t match the tears glistening on your face. “You should go now. Please.”

And you turn your head, as if you can’t bear to watch him any longer. Minho turns, his head hanging down like he’s a sinner. A small, ugly voice in Minho whispers that he truly is one, for hurting you and letting you go. It implores him to fall at your feet and stay, insisting, breaking at you until you crumble into his arms, taking him back. But the part of him that carries the resolve is stronger by a thread, the one that fuels his despondent retreat from your heart.

Later, holed away in the place he would now have to call his home, Minho is left alone in the bed that he’d once believed to belong to you as much as it did to him. The nights cuddled together and the mornings after, when you woke up to each other in a halo of sunlight, all fade away into the prickling solitude that now constitutes his new reality. There is nothing left for him to do now, except looking out at the sky through his tiny bedroom window, wondering if you were both gazing at the same moon in the separate worlds you both now are in. He’d left you one last message before promising himself that he’d never text you again, and thankfully, you never responded. He didn’t think you would.

catservant98: I’ll always love you.

“The festival will end by the time we get there.” Jeongin lets out an exaggerated sigh, making a show of checking the watch on his wrist.

“Shut up. I need to lock this place up properly or my parents will kill me,” Seungmin mutters grumpily, as he carefully turns the key in the lock to Morningstar, taking his time. “It’s not my fault that I’m the owner’s son.”

Jeongin, donned in a Harley Quinn outfit, bounces on his toes in uncontained anticipation. “Hurry up!”

Seungmin tugs at the lock for good measure, before turning and swatting at Jeongin, who yelps and jumps out of the way. His detective hat, which he wore as a part of his Sherlock Holmes costume, falls off, and Jeongin grabs it. Usually, Minho would have laughed at the way Seungmin has started to chase Jeongin around, but he just glumly stares down at his sneakers, having no energy to join in.

“You okay?” Chan notices Minho’s downcast gaze, slinging his arm around his shoulders. “You don’t have to come if you don’t want to.”

Minho shrugs with one shoulder, out of options. “I’m fine. I have nothing else to do anyway.”

Today is Halloween, your favorite holiday of the entire year. It seems especially cruel to him, to have to confront this day without you by his side. It was never much of his scene, and he’d always been reluctant to dress up, but one look from your pleading eyes and he’d fold, decking himself in a cheesy costume and feeding you all the candy you desired. The night would always end in you both binging horror movies together because you were too scared to watch alone. The memory of Minho getting distracted, just watching you hide behind your hands the entire time, used to bring a fond smile to his face. Today, it makes him want to smash something into bits.

“Let me know if you want to leave the festival early, though. Changbin can drive you home later.” Chan juts his chin out at Jeongin and Seungmin, who are now smacking at each other, while Changbin responsibly tries to pull them apart. “I have to make sure those two idiots don’t get in trouble.”

“Thanks. But you don’t have to worry about me.” Minho gives Chan a half-hearted smile. Chan looks hesitant, like he wants to keep talking with him, but he nods, focusing on the moonlit path in front of them.

The roar of the annual Halloween festival that the university throws resonates throughout campus, drawing stressed students ready to throw aside their homework and party. But Minho is in anything but a celebratory mood; the last few weeks have been absolute agony. Ever since things fell apart. He just wants to go home and curl up into a ball under his covers, ready for this stupid night to be over. He didn’t even bother with a costume, choosing to stuff himself into his hoodie and make himself seem as small as possible. But he’s too tired to tell anyone, so he opts to stay quiet and gloomy on his own.

The gravel of the walkway crunches under their little group’s shoes, barely heard over the deafening sound of “Thriller” blasting on the DJ’s stereo. The entire main lawn of campus has been converted into a party space, crammed with different tents full of attractions, games, and souvenirs for students to indulge themselves in. There’s even a converted frat house that’s now a haunted house, as well as tables of snacks and lightsticks for people to wave around. Jeongin, Seungmin, and Changbin immediately zero in on the haunted house, running off to get tickets for it, leaving Minho and Chan alone. Two boys swaying together at the edge of the dance floor catch Minho’s eyes. He looks closer and notices that they both are dressed in an obvious couples costume, and it makes him think of you again— last year, he was Chucky and you were Tiffany Valentine, and you both won “Best Look” together, at the festival’s costume contest. Minho feels sick to his stomach.

“Oh my god, she’s stunning.” Chan’s eyes are wide, and Minho follows his gaze to a very pretty girl dressed in a white gown that seemed to float above her knees, two trailing pieces of fabric sticking out daintily from the back of her dress. An angel.

She approaches him with a shy smile on her face, as she not-so-subtly checks out Chan’s own dracula costume. “You look good.”

“I— you’re pretty,” Chan stutters, and they both blush.

Seriously?

“Thanks, Chris.”

Chan smiles lovingly at her. “You don’t have to call me Chris, you know. My friends call me Chan.”

“Chan,” the girl tests with a beam, before quirking her brow at him. “So I’m just a friend now? Not your girlfriend?”

“You drive me crazy, you know that?”

And then they both start kissing right then and there, which doesn’t seem to faze anyone else around them, considering the fact that they are surrounded by other couples. Minho, however, has to look away, his stomach turning. Is this how everyone else felt when he used to kiss you, whenever and wherever he wanted?

“Hey guys, I’m going to go find a place to sit,” Minho calls out to Chan, who barely notices in the midst of his make-out session. “You know what? Never mind.”

Cringing to himself, Minho makes his way over to the food tables, dodging at least five witches, seven ghouls, and six zombies on his way. He collapses onto the bench of an empty table with a groan, letting his head rest on the table before lifting it up like he’s been stung; the thump of the DJ’s bass seems to vibrate through the wooden tabletop, worsening his already horrible headache. What was he thinking, coming here?

“You seem to be enjoying yourself.”

Minho looks up, ready to lash out at the intruder, before he notices it’s Hyunjin. He is so out of it that he hadn’t even recognized his voice. “I thought you were staying home and painting tonight?”

“Thought about it, but I kept getting distracted by all of the noise outside, and thought I’d take a snack break.” Hyunjin plops down on the seat across from him, setting a plate loaded with brownies, potato chips, and cookies cut into pumpkin shapes. He’s dressed in plaid pajama pants and a baggy sweatshirt to fight the October chill, the only one besides Minho who hasn’t dressed up. “Want some?”

Minho shakes his head, watching Hyunjin dig in. “Can I ask you a question?”

Hyunjin nods, his cheeks stuffed with food. “Sure.”

“Don’t you ever get lonely?” Minho fiddles with the strings of his hoodie, feeling his face heat up. He was never one for sentiments like this, but even though he and Hyunjin have more of a seemingly lighthearted relationship, they’re more alike than they think in how deeply they care about each other. “I mean, you’ve never even had a serious relationship before, but you’re like the most hopeless romantic I’ve ever met. How does that even work?”

Hyunjin looks surprised, at first, but quickly smooths it away in understanding. “I do get lonely sometimes. But I just occupy myself with the things I love. Painting, reading. Just because I’m a hopeless romantic doesn’t mean I can’t be realistic. And I have been in a serious relationship before, remember?”

Minho frowns. “Oh. Right. What happened?”

He notices Hyunjin’s eyes flicker with something— grief, maybe. But the emotion is quickly replaced with indifference. Hyunjin shrugs. “Let’s just say it didn’t work out. I love a good romance novel, but is it real life? No. I don’t do relationships. Not anymore.”

Minho stays quiet, unknowing of what to say. He never thought of himself as a huge relationship person either, but then again, that was before he met you. You changed his perspective on a lot of things, and most of the time, he thought it was for the better. Now, he feels empty, alone. He wants to match costumes with someone, and go bobbing for apples together. And he wants that someone to be you, only you.

Hyunjin must have noticed Minho’s melancholic contemplation, because he gives him a sympathetic look. “Is this about Y/N?”

Minho’s chest tightens at the mention of your name. “I don’t know, honestly. I just want to go home.”

“Same. I just came for the free food.” Hyunjin chews on a brownie, before swallowing. “Let’s go after I finish eating.”

Minho hums in response, pulling his hood over his head, as the rest of their group comes to join the table. Chan and his girlfriend, unsurprisingly, are discussing plans about some upcoming event for the Student Council. Jeongin and Seungmin, on the other hand, are immersed in a gleeful recollection about the haunted house with Changbin, who is dressed up as Woody from Toy Story. Everyone seems to have a role except him.

“That was actually wild,” Jeongin says. “If Jisung was with us, he would have fainted when he saw the chainsaw guy!”

Seungmin shudders, while Changbin glances around their table. “Hey, where is Jisung, anyway? And Felix?”

Chan breaks away from his own conversation as his girlfriend pauses to eat her slice of cake. “He’s handing out candy to kids at home. Meanwhile, Felix is Trick-or-Treating.”

Jeongin snickers. “Trick-or-Treating? What is he, ten?”

Seungmin grins evilly at Changbin. “At least he doesn’t have the height of a ten year old.”

Changbin rolls his eyes, but chooses to ignore Seungmin and Jeongin’s high-five at his expense, instead turning to Hyunjin. “Can I have a cookie? There are no more left.”

Hyunjin gives him a judgemental glare, but passes a cookie over anyway. “Where’s your girlfriend, by the way?”

Changbin stuffs half of the entire cookie into his mouth, licking the frosting on his lip. “She has work. But we’re going to meet up later tonight and watch movies. Wanna come?”

Hyunjin shakes his head. “I’m good. Minho and I are headed home soon anyway. Right, Minho?”

But Minho isn’t paying attention. His gaze is locked on none other than you and Taehyun, dressed in Hogwarts robes— you in Gryffindor, and Taehyun in Slytherin. He’s seen multiple people tonight sporting similar getups, and so both of you wearing Hogwarts robes doesn’t exactly entail a couples costume, but it makes his heart clench either way. Both of you are standing near the apple bobbing station, laughing and talking animatedly together. It hurts to see you enjoying yourself, while Minho has to struggle to keep himself together, to keep from breaking down on the spot. It hurts that he’s not the one matching with you right now, the one to be making you laugh, holding you on one of your favorite days of the year.

He watches as you and Taehyun walk closer to the haunted house. Your smile has now faded into an unsure expression, skeptical and tinged with fear. Taehyun puts his arm around your shoulders, evidently trying to assure you, before he leads you inside the house. Minho immediately springs up from the bench, fists balled up at his sides. You love everything about Halloween, except for one thing. You hate being in the dark, and so you had always avoided the haunted houses at every Halloween festival or any other event that you and Minho went to. Obviously, Taehyun doesn’t have a clue about your boundaries, and as always, you’re too kind to point them out.

Ignoring Hyunjin’s confused protests, Minho stalks after you and Taehyun, even though he knows that he should sit right back down. He told himself that he’d stay away from you if you didn’t want him, but if he even gets the slight sense that you are afraid, he’ll throw all reason out the window. He won’t let you go inside, not without him.

“Excuse me— you can’t go in right now. The haunted house is at full capacity.” The ticket collector stops Minho even though he shows her the ticket that Jeongin had passed out to everyone before. “Just wait for a few minutes for someone to come out.”

But he can’t. Not if you’re already inside. Minho steps back for a moment, and the collector glances back down at her phone. Before the collector can react, he rushes past her, running inside. She calls after him angrily, but he barely hears her. All he can register is the racing beat of his heart, and the faint screams deeper inside, wondering if one of them could be you.

He whips past the ax-wielding maniacs and the corpse brides in tattered dresses, pushing past their horrible acting and all of the other props in his way to you. Minho feels his hoodie snagged against a cloud of fake cobwebs, and the fake blood on the walls is enough to make him gag, but he goes on. A desperate search in nearly every nook and corner yields nothing, and Minho curses the haphazard quality of the setup, nearly tripping over a loose wire. As he passes through a room decorated like a murderous hospital room, he hears a small whimper from behind the fake operating table.

His senses perk up and there you are, sitting down with your knees drawn to your chest. With how his eyes have now adjusted to the dark, he can faintly make out your crouched body and the shine of your flowing tears. Immediately, he gets onto his knees, and envelopes you with his arms, firmly pulling you against his chest.

“Y/N, it’s me,” he murmurs, the scent of your coconut shampoo blocking out the stench of ammonia.

“Terry and I got chased by one of the ghosts and then got separated,” you mumble as you cry, shivering in his arms as he begins to rock you slowly. “I’m so scared, Minho.”

Minho looks at the tears still leaking down the sides of your face, and has to restrain himself from the instinct to kiss them away. Instead, he puts a steady hand to your skin, gently wiping them away. In this moment, you aren’t broken up. He isn’t your ex-boyfriend, and you aren’t his ex-girlfriend. You are the girl he loves, and him the very soul that has so vehemently devoted himself to even at such a ripe age, an inspiration and a shame to the vengeful spirits that govern your favorite holiday.

“I’m here now. I’m not going to leave you.” Minho gazes down at you. “Are you still frightened?”

You shake your head no, wide eyes clinging to his comforting presence. Minho gives you a small smile, rubbing your jaw softly with his thumb, a movement that doesn’t feel as inherently romantic as it generally would be. “See? You’re not afraid of the dark. You’re just scared of being alone in it. And that goes away when you realize something. You’re never really alone.”

Both of you just gaze at each other in the dark for a few minutes, saying both nothing and yet everything to each other. He carefully rests his palm against your heart, gaging the beat until it slows down to its usual calm. Wordlessly, he helps you onto your feet, his arms still wrapped around you as you both navigate the maze of the haunted house. You don’t encounter any other of the actors, but at one point, you jump in Minho’s hold, spooked by the amplified horror sound when passing by a speaker. Steadily, you both make your way out together.

The first thing Minho sees as he steps out of the exit is the array of blinding lights that shine on his face, in addition to the glow of the raging bonfire that has now been set up for students to roast marshmallows. Then he catches that shock of pink hair in the small crowd gathered outside of the haunted house; Taehyun, distress written all over his features as he speaks to the security guards.

You and Minho, however, stay frozen on the spot, just staring at each other with a fresh uncertainty. Realizing himself, Minho lets go of you. Contrary to how you felt, Minho could always read you like a book. He practically memorized all of your expressions, able to tell how you were feeling in an instant. But the indecipherable look you give him is baffling, but before you can open your mouth and say something, Taehyun notices your arrival.

“Y/N!” Taehyun immediately rushes over, his breathing labored from sprinting the distance to you. “I’m so, so sorry; I lost you and tried to come back inside to find you, but they wouldn’t let me!”

Minho steps to the side awkwardly as Taehyun hugs you tightly, squeezing his eyes shut. Your tears are long gone, and you pat his back softly, giving him the comfort of your safety. “I’m alright, Terry. It’s all good.”

Taehyun pulls back to look at you, before turning to Minho, surprise and confusion on his features as if just registering Minho’s presence. You clear your throat, placing a hand on Taehyun’s arm. “Hey, could you give us a minute?”

“Sure. Of course,” Terry says, the stress on his face softening as he looks down at you. Minho recognizes it— it’s how he always imagined himself to look whenever he saw you.

You turn back to Minho as Terry walks away to a food stand, presumably to get you a warm drink. “Minho, I—”

“I’m glad you’re okay,” Minho interrupts, unable to bear any more. He chokes back a sob, his eyes trained on your pained expression. “I need to go.”

“Minho, wait!” You grab his arm, and it places you both in the uncomfortable déjà vu of when everything ended.

He looks back at you, swallowing his dread and pushing away the angsty alert of his brain, the command to let everything go and just take you back, then and there. But he wouldn’t be the man you had always loved, then. Not if he takes advantage of you when you’re like this, vulnerable and exhausted. Not when there’s a perfectly good man standing at a distance, hesitantly holding a cup of hot chocolate for you. Not when he knows that he’s lost his chance of ever getting you back from the moment he gave up on you both. Minho realizes that he doesn’t have the right to call you his anymore, when you’ve finally found a man who prioritizes you over his pride and his insecurities— a man who will treat you right, and will never make you wonder if you’re his only one. All he’s ever wanted is for you to be happy. That has to be enough for him. It will be.

Minho leans down before you can protest, kissing you on your forehead softly. You stay silent, looking up at him with those wide, inquisitive eyes, the very ones he fell in love with. “Stay smiling, always.”

And with that, Minho finally walks away, willing himself not to cry as he tries not to think of his heart breaking.

You watch Minho, dazed, as he walks away for the second and last time. It feels worse, somehow, than when he left your apartment, weeks ago. Minho had spoken to you so gently, inside the haunted house, calming you down in spite of the fact that you had so cruelly broken up with him, and then he proceeded to wish you his best, before leaving. You didn’t miss that note of finality in his voice, the one that told you that he wasn’t going to go back on his word. He had let you go.

You barely notice Terry approaching you, placing a warm hand on your shoulder. “Is everything okay?”

He hands you a cup of hot chocolate, as you stare at Minho’s retreating back before it finally disappears within the crowd of partygoers. “Everything’s fine. Thanks for this, Terry.”

Terry blinks at you, slightly unfocused. “Yeah of course. But… can I ask you something?”

You nod, sipping the hot chocolate. It’s so warm and sweet, and it feels wrong to be drinking it. It feels like you don’t deserve it.

He hesitates for a moment, before speaking up. “What happened in there? In the haunted house?”

You bite your lip, still distracted by the thought of Minho; Terry’s question doesn’t pull at you as much as it probably should. “He just found me and helped me back. That’s all.”

Terry looks like he wants to say something else, but he doesn’t, and you don’t question it. The rest of the night is clouded by an awkward rut that has originated from nowhere at all, one that you never guessed you’d experience with Terry. He walks you back to your apartment early, and waits next to you as you fumble with your keys.

“Good night, Y/N,” he says softly, as you finally wrestle your door open.

“Thanks,” you whisper back, too drained of energy to make one of the usual jokes traded when you both say goodbye. He tips his head at you like he always does, albeit in a less jaunty way, and steps into the apartment elevator at the end of the hall, flashing you one last little wave before the doors close.

You turn back to your apartment, walking inside and locking the door behind you once again. This time, you don’t go straight to your bedroom and drop onto your bed, like you always do after a horrible day. Instead, you stalk over to the kitchen, which is illuminated by a single, flickering lightbulb. You tug open the freezer, fishing out a box from your emergency stash of ice cream, the one thing bound to be on stock at all times. When you went grocery shopping some time ago, you didn’t think that a crisis would hit so soon.

Cracking open the lid of the chocolate ice cream, you take your scooper and place a bowl on the counter. After a second thought, you take out your blender as well, and scrape the ice cream into there instead, throwing in some milk and peanut butter as well. Tonight is a milkshake kind of night, you think, the kind that necessitates butterscotch chips and whipped cream as well, you note, opening the cupboard to get said ingredients. When you finish blending, you pour your icy salvation into a large tumbler and collapse onto the living room couch. You turn on the television, blankly staring at the screen while barely registering the dialogue playing.

“That’s not a milkshake— that’s diabetes in a glass.”

“Don’t knock it ‘till you’ve tried it.” You shoot Minho a pointed look as you chug down your shake, savoring the sound of Minho’s laughter even more than a hefty peanut butter and chocolate combo.

It isn’t until you taste saltiness instead of the sweet milkshake that you realize you’re crying.

callmeterry: can we meet? bobaluvrr: yes. see u @ morningstar

You stare into the bathroom mirror, checking your face one last time, inspecting it for bloodshot eyes and dry skin, the telltale signs of the tears that have now become a habit over the past few days. Ever since Halloween, things haven’t been the same since you and Terry. Although a fairly new friendship, you both spent a significant amount of time together after meeting at Jihyo’s birthday party. However, you haven’t seen each other at all outside of Writing Seminar nowadays— probably because during class, you’re too busy staring at Minho, who won’t even spare you a single glance. You’re determined to at least save your friendship with Terry, which is why you are so quick to agree to meet him.

“Catch you two later,” you call out to Sunoo and Soyeon, who both are slumped on the couch, watching One Piece over boxes of takeout butter chicken.

The journey to Morningstar doesn’t take long, especially since the vastly approaching night has gotten you nearly jogging, regardless of how safe your college campus is. Although it’s been nearly a month and a half, you still can’t get used to not having the security and comfort of your boyfriend. Serves you right, you think.

You enter through the glass doorway of Morningstar, the door chime ringing and announcing your entrance to Terry. He stands up from the table he’s sitting at, walking over to you with the genuine smile that you were fearful of not being able to see again. Terry looks heartbreakingly handsome, dressed in a long brown coat and wool scarf, an ode to the plaid shirt days and hot chocolate nights that you know you could have with him.

“Hi,” he says, pausing his gait when he’s a few feet away from you. Tentative, but still Terry. The bouquet of assorted flowers in his hands, however, isn’t.

You can literally feel your face fall, as you stare at the certainly expensive arranged red roses and lilies. “I—”

“Don’t.” Terry’s smile doesn’t fade, but the slight sheen of moisture to his eyes is new. “ I know. I’d rather not hear you say it. Please.”

You’re speechless as he hands you the flowers, the refreshingly floral scent wafting up and screaming at you to wake up. You had a feeling, you knew how Terry felt about you. But you didn’t think he’d act on those feelings so soon.

“You know, I’ve been in love with you since August. You walked into the very first day of class late, wearing this gorgeous pink dress— and God, I was so whipped. I even dyed my hair the same color.” Terry laughs lightly, but you can see the heaviness in his eyes, the same thing that you feel in your chest. “I didn’t approach you, though, because I saw the way you were looking at Minho.”

You shake your head, still in disbelief. “Terry…”

“And then you walked into the kitchen at that party; it felt like a sign. But that can’t have been true, because the way you looked at him didn’t change. It never will.” He stops for a moment, taking in a shaky breath. “When you both broke up, I ignored my heart telling me not to dig myself deeper into this, to leave you alone. But I couldn’t, Y/N, because I thought that the risk would be worth it. And it was, you know. You are worth it.”

“I’m sorry,” you whisper, at a loss for words. You don’t know what else to say, whether it’s a reaction to how your friend is pouring out his heart to you, or the fact that he’s always known that you’d never be his.

The smile on Terry’s face is now a sharp contrast to the strings of tears that mar it. “Don’t be. It’s Minho. It’s always been Minho for you.”

He turns, but you rush forward and block him. You can’t lose someone else. Not again. “Terry, wait! Can’t we be friends?”

“Of course we can be. I’d rather have you as a friend than not in my life at all. I’ll move on, eventually. But you have to go fix things with him now.” He flashes you another one of his signature beams. It doesn’t have the same joyful effect on you as it usually does, now that it’s tainted with sadness. “I’ll see you next class. Hold onto him, okay?”

Terry leaves, and you stare after him at the door, dumbfounded, haunting the entryway of the coffee shop nearing closing hours. You never saw this confrontation coming, not today. And you didn’t want it to happen any time soon, not like this. But no matter how much you want to deny Terry’s words, you know they are the truth. You know what you have to do. Because love works in strange ways, you realize, and now yours needs to be made right.

“We shouldn’t be here.” You say, shaking your head. “It’s dangerous.”

Minho just stares at you, his eyebrow skeptically quirked in a way that shouldn’t be as attractive as it is. “It’s literally just a bridge.”

You glare at him, before looking out at the arched walkway that connects the wooded expanse of the university library to the rest of campus. According to university lore, any pair of lovers that walks over Forsaken Bridge together is doomed to suffer an untimely separation; hence, its ominous name. And you would rather look stupid for believing in superstition rather than risk losing Minho.

“It can’t be.” You cross your arms stubbornly. “I know so many couples that came here, and they ended up breaking up.”

Minho says nothing for a moment, just pondering your words, and you think he’s about to step back, allowing you to cross the bridge first, before following on his own. But then he grabs your hand, pulling you towards the bridge.

Your immediate reaction is to let out a small scream that cuts through the quiet night, and it’s quickly muffled by Minho’s hand gently closing over your mouth. “Trust me on this. Nothing bad will happen.”

You really want to remind Minho of what happened to Hyunjin and his girlfriend— well, ex-girlfriend— but you let him lead you towards your dreaded destination. Because you do trust him, more than anything.

The balmy summer night sticks to your skin, a feeling that will soon give away to the crisp bite of autumn. You’ve already moved back onto campus to get a headstart on the teaching assistant position for your biology professor, but for the first time ever, you don’t feel sad or apprehensive at the thought of going back to college again. This was the gap in time that you once despised because it signaled the unfortunate trudge of school life: textbooks, homework, and stress. But nowadays, you think it to be a reminder of something better: Minho, Minho, and Minho.

Your boyfriend takes an easy step onto the bridge, his hand tightly clasped in yours. You trail after him more cautiously, hiding behind his broad frame like the bridge will come alive and attack you. “You better not ever break up with me, Lee Minho.”

He turns back to look at you as you both near the center of the supposedly cursed bridge, his lips pressed together in a way that suggests concealed laughter; knowing him, it probably is. “Never. Now close your eyes.”

With a grumpy sigh, you oblige him, shutting your eyes. “For what, Minho?”

“I need to tell you something.” His voice is soft, almost vulnerable. It’s a new color to him, compared to how assured and confident he always seems to be.

You crack open one eye, looking at him curiously. “What is it?”

He frowns, letting go of your hand. “No peeking!”

“Okayy.”

Minho takes a deep breath, right before he turns your world upside down. “I love you.”

Your eyes fly open, and Minho doesn’t complain this time, only gazing at you nervously, clutching his right arm with his left hand like he’s a little kid again. “What did you just say?”

Regardless of his uncertain body language, he looks you directly in the eye. “I love you, Y/N. And I know it’s too soon to say it, but it’s true. I love you, and you don’t have to tell me back, but—”

“I love you too,” you blurt out, and you both just stare at each other for a moment, in mutual shyness and surprise. You can’t believe how good it feels to finally say the words that were hanging off the tip of your tongue for the past few months since you started dating.

Minho’s beautiful face breaks out into a dazzling smile as he steps closer to you. “Then let’s make our own story for this bridge. Two people crossing the bridge together will be lifelong friends. And if they kiss, lifelong lovers.”

Your poor, racing heart can’t take anymore of this; what a man that you have found. “Kiss me, then.”

Minho gives you a tender look, and in that moment, you wish you had a camera to capture it. You can’t seem to remember your initial fear of coming onto this bridge, not when you have a beautiful boy who gazes at you with nothing short of absolute adoration. You’ll follow him anywhere, if it means you’ll stay together. Always and forever.

From when you were a little girl, your parents painted fairy tales for you in your childhood bedroom, of handsome princes mounted on midnight stallions and towering castles set against sunsets. For the longest time, you thought them to be true, because by the time you might have grown up, you found your own handsome prince, who rode a secondhand bike instead of a horse, and his castle was the sweatshirt-strewn dorm room he shared with two other boys. Nevertheless, you so strongly believed you would get your own happily-ever-after, that it took you a long time to accept the thorns in the rosy brush that constituted your outlook on life. You had a hard time understanding your prince, sometimes, and ended up spinning your own stories to fill in the gaps you thought he created. It never once occurred to you that life would never be perfect, and that your prince could not be exactly who you dreamed him to be.

It’s why you stroll the length of Forsaken Bridge alone, materializing its dreary name with your head bent and hands tucked in your pockets. But you’re not surprised either, when you see your prince, standing on the very place where he made you a promise that you broke yourself. His crown is misplaced and his armor has lost its luster, but he’s your beautiful prince, still beautiful while heartbroken over you.

“I didn’t think you’d come,” you say softly.

“I shouldn’t have.” Minho stares at the deteriorating timber planks beneath your feet. “But I can’t say no when it comes to you.”

You shake your head, sniffling lightly. You both hate and love him for being so understanding, so kind, even now. You hate yourself for it, too. “I broke your heart.”

Minho blinks, clasping his hands in front of himself. “There are so many things that I’m sorry and thankful to you for, but you know I’m not good at expressing myself.”

“That’s my line, Min.” You scoff through your tears. “I tried to force you to be someone you're not. And you respond by taking care of me, like you always have. And you listened to me instead of fighting. You walked away.”

“I wanted you to be happy. That’s all I have ever wanted. With or without me in the picture.” Minho shoots you a watery smile. “I love you, you know. I always will.”

You inhale shakily. “And I love you too. I was scared of being hurt because I love you so much. I shouldn’t have been so afraid of what I didn’t know. I should have tried to ask you instead of coming to assumptions on my own.”

“We’re in this together, okay?” Minho steps forward towards you, reaching up to hold your face in his hands. “Remember what I said? You never have to be alone. I’m right here, always.”

Minho rubs his thumbs over your tears, nothing but devotion in his eyes. You touch his arms, pulling him into a hug. “I know I ruined everything, but please come back to me? I’m so, so sorry.”

“Me too. And you ruined nothing.” He squeezes you. “We still have our whole lives ahead of us.”

You draw back from the embrace, smiling through your tears— for once, they’re the good kind. “I love you, Lee Minho. Let’s start over?”

“I love you too, Y/N.” Minho whispers, a grin slowly spreading on his face. “And I don’t want to ruin the moment, but can we begin by finding an apartment, please? If I accidentally drink Hyunjin’s paint water one more time I think I will literally die.”

You laugh, raising your eyebrows at him teasingly. “Only because you want to escape Hyunjin? Not because you love me?”

He rolls his eyes playfully, a light blush tinting his pale skin. “You know what I mean.”

“You should show me what you mean.”

“I should.”

Minho obeys your command, leaning down to meet your lips in a chaste kiss, before you grasp his waist, pulling him closer and deepening the movement. God, you missed this so much. You missed him, so much. Minho’s hands reach up to cup your neck as you trace endless love letters on each other’s lips, campus curses and bad faith banished from your lovestruck young minds.

“See? Looks like our story came true.” he whispers as you come up for air, nudging your nose sweetly with his own. “Lifelong lovers, we’ll be.”

“Promise?”

“I promise.” Minho kisses you once more and pulls back, tucking a loose strand of hair behind your ear. “This means forever.”

Check out the rest of boys' stories on Love Playlist!

«GENERAL M.LIST» · «NAVIGATION» · «TALK TO ME»

AUTHOR'S NOTE

It feels so good to get back to Love Playlist <3 This whole series itself was inspired by the cute, college au vibes of the K-drama Love Playlist and its spinoff, Dear M. (starring NCT's Jaehyun, a must-see), but this story especially was heavily based on Dear M.'s second leads. Brownie points if you've noticed which hit superhero TV series I took a piece of dialogue from! I just adore that quote so much. Anyway, I'm a sucker for Minho and this story has a special place in my heart. Can you guess who is next?! And thank you for supporting me, always! -Dreamy

P.S. ♡ If you like my work, please consider giving me feedback in the form of reblogs, comments, and asks! ♡

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©jisungsdaydreamer 2023 | All rights reserved. I do not condone translations or transfers of my work onto other platforms such as Wattpad, AO3, etc. Tumblr is my only platform. Acts of plagiarism are strictly prohibited.

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