#dokyeom fics | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

ikigaisvt · 2 years ago

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A cupcake, a friend and a love story.

how your favorite cupcake at your favorite café runed by your friends led you to meeting your boyfriend.

pairing: seokmin x gn!reader words count: 5.9k content: strangers to lovers, non-idol au, fluff, some very poor comedy and a little bit of angst (on reader’s side), seokmin and reader are college student, 95z line regular appearance as café owners, mentions of minghao and wonwoo (implied college students.) warnings: some cuss words, only a tiny bit of skinship (hands holding and implied kiss) note: hi everyone! this the very first work i am posting on here; i hope everyone will like it!! i’m always open to feedback as long as you’re being respectful 🫶🏻 there are some cuss words as stated in the warnings so if you’re uncomfortable with that please don’t read! minors are allowed to interact with this fic as it is only fluff but please do read my pinned as i do not allow minors to follow me.

You are late. Again. What really strikes you the most, when you run down the usual busy streets to get to university, is how much life can change in so many ways with only one encounter. A rushed morning routine, sleepless nights, a constant smile, and a heart full of love. This all happened because of one person, Lee Seokmin. Your own special love story.

As you walk on the 13th street during a chilly Wednesday afternoon, you find yourself in front of Heaven’s Cloud café once again. I guess I really am obsessed with their strawberry filled cupcakes, you mumble to yourself as you push the door open. This comes to no surprise to you as Wednesday afternoon comes with your weekly stops at this café.

When you enter you are immediately hit with the different scents of all the pastries. This is such a nice place with its mint and pink aesthetic, the couches all around the place and their bookshelves filled to the brim. You walk over to the counter where Jeonghan, one of the workers, and a recent friend of yours, is greeting you with his usual angelic smile.

“Hey you! How are you doing today, y/n?” he says while arranging some pastries behind the counter, “I’ll be there in a sec.”

“Yeah, sure! Take your time. I’m fine, what about you? Was today busy?” you ask him as you wave over at Joshua who just came in for his shift.

“Are you worried for my business? You are starting to sound more like my business partner than Seungcheol or even Joshua.” he jokes around as he walks behind the cashier, “What will you have today, my dear y/n?”

“I told you to stop calling me sweet names! I don’t want anyone to get the wrong idea.” you say as you reach over the counter to lightly hit him on the arm. Unfortunately, you miss him. One day, you will get him, you think to yourself. It’s what he deserves for putting you through so much misery.

“Don’t worry, y/n.” answers Joshua as he ties his apron around his waist, “It’s not like there is anyone who wants to keep you to themselves, is there?” Jeonghan laughs out loud as Joshua finishes his sentence. You will get them both, one day. These evil twins deserve it. Sometimes you wonder why you are even friends with them. They’re lucky they fuel your body with their delicious pastries and their sweet drinks.

“I was here to get my precious pastry, not get attacked, Hong Joshua.” you snicker around.

“And I am here, waiting for your order. Even though I probably know it by now.” Jeonghan throws back at you.

You continue joking around with Jeonghan as you hear the door’s jingle behind you and Joshua says their usual “Welcome to Heaven’s Cloud!”. He stands behind the second cashier and start taking the order of a brown-haired – and cute – boy who is probably around your age. You don’t notice him that much as you start telling your order to Jeonghan, “I’ll take a latte and one of those strawberry filled cupcakes, to go please.”

“-and one of those strawberry filled cupcakes.” You hear the brown-haired – and very cute – boy. You don’t pay him much attention as Jeonghan lets you know that your order will be out soon.

You wait for your order for a few minutes while looking at some new books that Wonwoo brought over at the café. You know he brings over even more books ever since you two have been friends. You’re lucky to have him too. You will have to thank him properly one day. You hear your name being called and go back to the counter, exactly at the same time as a certain Seokmin gets called out – probably the cute boy as he is the only other customer in the café.

“Here’s your latte.” Jeonghan says as he hands you your drink, “Unfortunately, Seokmin, ordered the last strawberry cupcake,” he says as he glances at the cute boy whose name is now confirmed, “do you want anything else?”

“That’s not very nice, Seokmin! You deprived y/n of their pastry!” teases Joshua as Seokmin looks at you with an apologetic look on his face.

“It’s okay, don’t listen to him!” you reassure him, “Do you have any cookies? I would like-” you start to ask Jeonghan.

“Do you want to share the cupcake with me?” you hear Seokmin suggests.

“Me?” you ask as you turn to him, pointing to yourself.

“I don’t think there is anyone else he could ask that to, y/n.” Jeonghan whispers, loud enough for everyone to hear.

“Oh, shut up Yoon Jeonghan!” you voice out as you give him a look and he holds his hands up in sign of retreat, “Are you okay with that?” you turn back your attention on Seokmin, “Because that would be greatly appreciated. Today was a long day and I really like those cupcakes.”

“Yes, It’s okay! It’s on me, don’t worry.” he answers as Jeonghan already hands you your change back, “Let’s go, let’s seat down.” he says as he starts going over to the couch.

“Thanks!” you say cheerly to Jeonghan as you head towards the seat Seokmin picked.

After a few minutes of observing you, Jeonghan and Joshua exchange a knowing look before Jeonghan whispers a “maybe there is someone who wants them to themselves now.” Which goes unnoticed by you or Seokmin, too engrossed in getting to know one another.

You wake up, the next morning, with a smile on your face. How could you not after meeting such a sweet soul as Seokmin? He was nice, funny, a gentleman. He reassured you countless time about you not being a bother. He handed you napkins when you spilled a little of your latte on the table and let you rant about the books you recently read. You had such a nice time with him that you didn’t even realize you were late for your weekly Wednesday’s movie night with your roommates. When you checked the time, you were already late, and you knew you were stuck with a week of doing dishes as a penalty. You quickly said your goodbye to Seokmin as you grabbed your stuffs hurriedly while he looked at you with a fond expression – unseen by either of you but noticeable to anyone else.

What you two only realized too late is that you did not exchanged numbers. All you could do was to believe your paths will come to meet again.

As you lay around in your bed, daydreaming about his sweet smile and everything you two talked about, you don’t realize how fast time passes by. It’s when you roll over on your stomach, a natural smile on your lips, and grab your phone that you realize that 30 minutes have already passed, and your smile immediately drops.

“Shit, I’m late!” you say out loud to yourself as you jump out of bed. You grab clothes in haste, rush into the bathroom and twenty minutes later you are outside, running in hopes to get to class in time. Lee Seokmin, this is all your fault, you think to yourself. Day one into my life and you already make a mess of it.

A few days later, you stride along the street to get to Heaven’s Cloud café. You convinced yourself to come get a cupcake since you had busy days but deep down you know it’s not your only reason. You just hope the real reason will be here.

You also hope that Jeonghan is not, despite all the love you have for him, because you know for a fact he’ll understand why you’re coming. You don’t want him to meddle into this. Even though this is nothing. Absolutely nothing.

The usual jingle of the door welcomes you as you walk into the very familiar place. Seungcheol, who’s behind the counter, greets you and waves at you. You like Seungcheol. He runs the place along with Jeonghan and Joshua, but he deals much more with everything that needs to be dealt with for the place to run smoothly; from scheduling all the way to accounting. Which is why you are surprised – but not disappointed – to see him working behind the counter today. You quickly scan the place and realize that he is not here. You walk over to the counter and greet Seungcheol.

“Why are you behind the counter? Did the evil twins let you down?” you ask jokingly.

“No,” he says with a smile, “they have the day off. Went out of town to see family. Today’s a calm day so it’s only me!”

“Well, at least when they’re not here we don’t have to be scared about being attacked by their antics.” You two joke about.

You really like Seungcheol. He’s much more composed and calmer than his same-age friends. He tends to give you more advices about anything while Jeonghan and Joshua are the ones who will make you laugh.

“Yeah, you’re right,” he laughs softly, “so what brings you here?”

“Your strawberry filled cupcakes brings me here! I will have one, for here, please, with a cinnamon latte.” you say as you start looking for your wallet.

“Thanks,” Seungcheol tells you as you hand him the money, “go sit down, I’ll bring it to you.”

You make your way to your favorite spot after thanking him and you look at the shelf where Wonwoo puts the books he brings over. Just as you were about to pick your new read, the door jingles and you see him. The reason. His eyes immediately lock with yours and he smiles brightly.

“Y/n!” he says loudly as he walks over to you, “How are you?”

“I’m good! What about you?” you beam at him.

“I’m very good actually.” he starts, “I’ve been searching for you.”

He what? “You were searching for me?” you ask, surprised.

“Yeah, I came here yesterday to see you some more but Jeonghan told me you only really come on Wednesdays.”

“Oh, yeah,” you start, a blush creeping on your face, “I was busy yesterday but I wanted to stop by once more this week. So here I am now.”

“Well, I’m glad we stopped at the same time,” he says, a soft smile making its way on his face, “Is it okay if I join you?”

I have been waiting for that, you almost say. “Yeah, sure! Go order and come hang out with me.”

He comes back with both orders – his and yours – “I told Seungcheol I could bring over your order.” he says as he puts the tray in front of you.

“Thank you, that’s sweet. So, how was your week?”

“Oh, it was fine. Just went to study for a test with a friend on Thursday and I absolutely killed that test! So, I’m here to treat myself for a good job.” he says with a laugh, “What about yours? Were your roommates mad you missed movie night on Wednesday?”

“You definitely deserve that treat right now.” you tell him with a smile, “They were not that mad, really. I mean I do have a penalty but that’s the rules! I wouldn’t have changed anything else though.” As soon as you say it, you regret it. You don’t want to sound like you are flirting because you are not.

“Me neither, don’t worry.” He tells you, his smile hidden behind his cup of coffee.

“By the way, do you know it’s bad to drink so much coffee at almost, what, 6pm?” you snicker as he puts his cup down.

“Well actually I have a study session planned at 6pm until-” he says as he looks at his watch, “Oh fuck, I’m late!”

He jumps out of his seat and grabs his things; “I’m so sorry, y/n, I have to go!” he says hurriedly, “God, why do we keep making each other late?” he mumbles under his breath, “Bye! I will see you around!”

You watch him run out by the door and down the street, smiling sweetly as you follow him with your eyes until he disappears at the corner of a street. It’s only 5 minutes later that you realize you once again forgot to give him your number. But weirdly enough, you have the feeling you’ll see him again soon enough.

1 hour passes by as you work on one of your assignments until you decide to go back to your apartment. You grab your bag, sling it on your shoulder and bring back the trays of dirty – but empty – dishes to Seungcheol.

“Oh, thank you.” he tells you with a bright smile when he notices the trays.

“Yeah, Seokmin forgot to bring his tray too so there you go.” you tell him.

“I didn’t know you knew Seokmin.” he says you as a way to start conversation as he organizes some utensils. Since the café is empty you two can talk freely.

“You know him? Like is he a friend?” you start interrogating him. Maybe you are a tiny bit curious.

“Well, I mean, he is a good friend of Jeonghan so yeah. Jeonghan likes him a lot. He says he’s kind, and he can easily play pranks on him and well, you know how Jeonghan can get.” he explains while he wipes his hands clean.

“Oh yeah, I know how he can get sometimes.” you chuckle, “But he’s right. Seokmin is a very kind person.” you tell him without realizing the smile making its way on your face.

“He really is,” he says as he walks up to you, “he has a really good heart.” he adds on, looking at you a certain way. Oh no.

“Oh god, no, it’s not like that.” you immediately warn him.

“Never said it was.” he says with a slight smile, “But if it was, it wouldn’t be such a bad thing, y/n. He’s a really good person. I know we aren’t that close, or you aren’t the kind to confide, even to Jeonghan or Joshua, but what I know is that you deserve someone good. Someone like Seokmin.”

“I don’t know, Seungcheol…” you tell him, surprised by his words. You didn’t know Seungcheol thought so high of you.

“All I’m saying is that if it was, if it ends up becoming something like that, it wouldn’t be so terrible.” he reassures you, “And don’t worry, I’m not Yoon Jeonghan. I will act as if this conversation never happened.” he says as he mimics locking his mouth with a key and throwing it over his shoulder.

On your way back home, you think that Seungcheol forgetting about the conversation doesn’t help the fact that, try as you might, you can’t seem to be able to get over what he told you. Despite being tired, you can’t seem to find sleep and you turn in your bed trying to make your mind forget about the conversation. It’s only at dawn that your body finally finds sleep. It may have to do with your realization that maybe Seokmin could be a good person for you. The good person.

It’s only a few days later when you find yourself striding along the familiar street where Heaven’s Cloud stands. You come into the café before your class, in hopes to see the boy who searched for you once – now is your time to search for him. You walk to the counter as Jeonghan greets you.

“What are you doing here, again? Are you in love with someone here or what?” Jeonghan sneers.

“I’m just here to see my favorite café employee! Did you miss me?” you tell him teasingly as you look at the new pastries.

“Yeah, I guess… But it’s unusual for you to come around so much…” he says with a pensive look, “I will figure out what makes you come back because we both know it isn’t me.”

“There’s nothing to figure out–” you start bickering back just as the door opens and you hear someone talk. Oh. You know this voice. Without even realizing, a smile and a slight blush make its way on your face. You turn around just for your eyes to lock with Seokmin’s who’s currently talking to a tall, very well-dressed boy. He gives you a little sign as to say that he’ll come talk later.

You don’t notice Jeonghan looking back and forth between you two but he catches your attention; “Oh, I figured it out.” he says with a slight laugh.

“No, you didn’t.” you say way too quickly for it to be casual.

“I definitely did! Oh my, y/n likes someone!” he starts to tease.

“Stop it! You didn’t figure out anything!”

‘What didn’t he figure out?” Seokmin interrupts, “Because, not to take side, but I feel like when Jeonghan figures something out he’s kinda always right.”

“It’s nothing, Seokmin really,” you say trying to act composed while you give a look to Jeonghan. “How are you today? I haven’t seen you in a few days!”

“I’m good, what about you? I’m glad to run into you, I’ve started missing you.” He says with a big smile.

“I’m glad too!” you tell him as you feel your cheeks burn.

After ordering and getting your orders – and some more looks from Jeonghan – you two are sitting down at your usual spot. “So, did you make it in time last time?” you ask Seokmin after setting down your cupcake.

“Absolutely not! I was lucky Minghao – my friend – waited for me. And I told him you were the one keeping me hostage so he forgave me.” he adds with a smile on his face.

“I did not keep you hostage!” you laugh around with him.

“That’s true, I was with you willingly.” he tells you with a slight blush on his face, “You’re like my favorite café partner now.” he says as he brings the cup to his lips.

“I like the sound of that.” you tell him softly, “Do you have classes today?”

He blushes profoundly, “In the afternoon. What about you?”

“Yeah, I do, I have a class in- shit, in 15 minutes.” you say with a laugh, not even surprised anymore that you are late after meeting up with Seokmin “Well, I will be late.” you say before finishing your latte.

“Well go!” Seokmin says hurriedly while watching you gather your things with not the pressure that late people feel.

“Wait,” you say as your grab his hand in one hand and a pen, you just pulled out of your bag, in the other. “I’ve been meaning to do that.” you say as you start scribbling something on his hand, “There you go! I’m going now. Bye Seokmin!” you tell him before turning around and heading towards the door. Before going out, you turn around one more time towards him; “Oh, and Seokmin? Please use that.” you say nodding towards his scribbled hand before finally going out the door and running down the street to get to your class.

For a few minutes Seokmin is stunned because you, the girl of his dream, just gave him your number. The scribbling your favorite café partner followed by a series of numbers on his hand is the proof of his surprise. And at that precise moment, Seokmin feels his heart burst with love.

It’s been a week since you gave your number to Seokmin and today is the only day you two don’t have something planned together. He told you he was busy with studying for the upcoming finals – which you should be too. As you walk the street to get to university, you think about how you two talked and saw each other so much you didn’t have time to miss one another. All your conversations start in the morning and ends late at night, sometimes face to face, other times over phone or text. You don’t think you ever felt as safe and happy with anyone else. He’s the only one who can bring out certain sides of yourself and the only person in the world who will ever make you forget time. It’s like any time you get with him, your world stops and it’s only you two, talking and getting to know each other in a way no one ever got to know you. You’ve opened more to him than to anyone else. And you think this must mean something.

As you get closer to university, you notice, just down the street, that you once again found yourself going to Heaven’s Cloud café. As you check the time on your watch, you decide to make a quick stop to take your latte and your favorite cupcake in this world.

The jingle of the door welcomes you as you step into what could be called your second home. Just as you start walking towards the counter where Jeonghan stands, greeting you with his usual smile, you hear the door chime behind you again and out of curiosity you turn around and your eyes meets two brown eyes you know very well by now. “Seokmin!” you yell out as you realize who is standing before you, “What are you doing here?” you ask him.

“Oh, uhm my study session got cancelled? Last minute emergency from Minghao.” he tells you, “I kind of wanted to ask you to hang out since I was free but I didn’t want to assume you were free for well, me.”

“I’ll always be free for you, Seokmin.” you tell him with a smile, “So do you want to hang out here?” you say as you start walking with him towards Jeonghan.

You don’t even see how Seokmin blushes greatly at your words or how he stutters when he lets you know he would really like to hang out with you right now.

“Hi you two!” says Jeonghan cheerly from behind the counter, “Did you two came in together?”

“We just ran into each other when getting in the café.” Seokmin explains him, “What do you want? It’s on me!” Seokmin tells you.

“You sure?” you ask as he nods to give you confirmation, “Okay Jeonghan, I’ll get a latte, per usual, and a cupcake filled strawberry.”

“Per usual,” Jeonghan answers sassily, “What about you, Seokmin?”

“I’ll just get an americano and a strawberry filled cupcake too.”

“Do you want to share one again?” Jeonghan teases as you and Seokmin glare at him, “I’m kidding! I’ll bring your order, just go seat down.”

You and Seokmin make your way towards your usual spot by the window as your arm brush against his. Oh, how much you want to hold his hand right now. You seat down first as Seokmin takes the seat in front of you and you two starts catching up. As you hear him talk about anything, you realize how much you missed him. But more than anything, you realize how much you like him. Not the same way you like your classes, or your friends and not even that strawberry filled cupcake comes close. You don’t like him. You love him. You’re in love with him. You’re in love with him and you’d give him all the strawberry filled cupcakes and some more if it’s what he wanted.

Your realization is cut short as Jeonghan settles the tray with two drinks and only one cupcake. “Okay so, I guess we’re short on cupcakes again…” Jeonghan explains with a chuckle, “Do you want anything else?”

“I think we’re good with only one?” Seokmin asks you as you nod to agree, “Yeah, it’s okay Jeonghan, don’t worry about it.” He says with a smile before Jeonghan makes his way back to the counter.

“Go ahead, y/n!” he encourages you, “It won’t be the first time we share something. We literally did it the first time we met.”

As you reach for the cupcake, you think to yourself how you would never have thought you’d meet the one you like by sharing a cupcake.

“What did you just say?” Seokmin asks you with a look you never saw on his face.

Oh. Shoot. “Nothing, absolutely nothing.” You tell him, trying to keep your calm. Did you really just say that out loud?

“Me too, y/n.”

“Me too what?” you tell him, hoping he is saying what you think he is.

“I also never thought I’d meet the one I like by sharing a cupcake.” Seokmin tells you, expediently waiting for your answer.

“I like you, y/n.” he says with the most serious expression you ever saw on him, “No, scratch that. I love you. I love how you scrunch up your nose when you laugh. I love how you look at the world. I love how you get obsessed with so many stories that never really exist outside of their pages or your heart. I love how you show so much empathy to others. I love how you pull down on your sleeves when you’re a little cold. I love how you can get riled up quickly but still love your people more than you’ll ever love yourself. I love you. All of the parts that makes you, you. I love it all.”

“Oh, Seokmin…” you tell him softly, with tears in your eyes, “What did I do to deserve all this?” you take a deep breath, trying to calm yourself down, “I love you so much. I think if I told people how I fell so fast for you, they’d never understand. They’d never understand us. What we are, what we feel for each other. In the span of a few weeks, you showed me what love really look like. Ever since reading all of these stories, I have hoped to find my own person and all the waiting time was worth it because now I have you.” you tell him, “Or well, I hope I can have you.”

“You have me, my dear y/n. Ever since I walked into that café, you had me.” he tells you as he holds your hand, “I guess we have to thank Jeonghan for all of this.” he chuckles.

“Jeonghan?” you ask, confused, “Why Jeonghan?”

“He’s the one who told me to come check out the strawberry filled cupcake on that particular day.” he explains, “Which is weird since he knew you’d come here that day and you’d take the only cupcake.”

“Oh my god,” you mumble under your breath, “he didn’t.”

You hear Seokmin asks you what you are talking about while you make your way through the empty café towards the counter. You’re surprised to find Seungcheol standing there, talking with both Jeonghan and Joshua.

Jeonghan notices you first; “What’s up, y/n? Need anything else?”

“You three. Come to the table please. I need to talk to you.”

The three of them look at each other, confused and not used to you being so upfront. Still, they follow you and bring chairs to sit with you and Seokmin.

“So,” Seungcheol starts, “what is it?”

You look between the four-man sitting with you before starting, “Me and Seokmin like each other.” You hear Seokmin gasps next to you, not expecting you to say that.

“That’s great!” Joshua almost screams, “is it not?” he says as he looks at Seokmin which answers him with a I’m-as-confused-as-you expression.

“No, it is.” you say calmly, “You see, I never really thought too much about all of the “there’s only one strawberry filled cupcake” ordeal. I mean, things like that could happen.” You say as you look at Jeonghan. He might be a good pranker but you’re good at reading people. You got him, you think to yourself. “But when I think about it, it seems a little weird to me. You tell me you’re out of your best-seller pastry in the middle of the week? As if you wouldn’t anticipate by having enough stock?”

“Things like that could happen…” Seungcheol cuts you off.

“It could. It could also be all a coincidence and if so, I’m really sorry.” you say, believing in your words, “But, honestly, I don’t believe in those coincidences when Yoon Jeonghan is involved.” you say before adding a not to be mean when looking at Jeonghan.

“Jeonghan,” you start, “did you, perhaps, set me and Seokmin up?”

Seokmin starts hissing “He did what?” as Jeonghan starts denying when Joshua almost screams; “Okay he did it! He set you up!”

Jeonghan looks at him with rounded, surprised eyes; “Joshua!” while his friend looks at him with a sorry look. “Best friend card is revoked!” Jeonghan adds.

“Can someone explain me what’s going on?” Seokmin blurbs out.

“Let me do the honor,” Jeonghan starts, everyone listening intently, “I knew our dear y/n came into the café every Wednesday afternoon after her classes and I knew Seokmin badly wanted to come to the café so I told him to come-”

“At the same time as me.” you cut him off.

“At the same time as you…” he says, “And I knew you would take a cupcake, because when do you not-”

“I don’t think you’re in a position to tease her.” Seungcheol adds in the conversation.

“Okay, first of all,” Jeonghan says with a finger pointed at his oldest friend, “don’t cut me off, that’s rude. And secondly,” he says, lowering his finger and looking at you, “I’m sorry, I will not make fun of you for liking this cupcake anymore.”

“Anyway,” he starts again, “I knew you would take this cupcake and I told Seokmin to specifically take the same one as yours and I only put one in the display.” he confesses.

“And how did you know I’d ask to share?” Seokmin starts asking, “And how did you make it so we would literally come into the café at the very same time? Did you hire someone to spy on me so you could plan it all to the second?” he starts panicking while you chuckle at his reaction. He’s so cute, you think to yourself.

“No, I didn’t do that, I was not that eager for you two to get together, come on now.” Jeonghan says with a laugh. “Everything that happened between you two was natural. I just forced you two to meet earlier than what would have, eventually, happened.” he says, looking between you two. “And as for the first question, Seokmin,” he says, fixing his eyes on him, “you’re literally an angel. I was almost afraid you’d cry when you realized you took away their favorite pastry.” Jeonghan says with another chuckle, “I always call myself an angel but we all know I’m a demon in disguise. You’re the angel. I knew you’d do it.” Jeonghan adds as Seokmin blushes looking at you.

You really love him. You take his hand in yours as you turn to look at Jeonghan. “Why did you do it?” you question your demon-like friend, “I’m not mad, I just want to understand.”

“Oh god, you’re not mad?” Jeonghan answers excitedly, “Oh thanks god, I thought I lost my strawberry-filled-cupcake lover.” he jokes around.

“Jeonghan, you’re on thin ice here.” you try to say seriously despite the smile on your face.

“Okay, okay, sorry.” he says as he gets suddenly way more serious, “It’s just… I always see you hanging out here alone, reading your books or studying. And I know you never talk about it but you yearn for something bigger, preferably in the form of love. Any love.” he explains, “I also know you feel alone. Your family and friends are far away, you left them to come to this city and I know you miss being well surrounded.” he says with a sympathetic smile, “Of course, you have people here, but you don’t let yourself have your people because you’re scared you’d have to leave them one day or another.” he continues, “And I know you needed someone that would make all your walls come down and that person is Seokmin.” he admits, looking at your lover, “He’s love in the form of a person. I knew he’d be good to you. I knew he was who you needed.” he adds on, “And I think I did it for myself too. I like talking to you, hanging out with you but I always knew you were keeping up your barriers around me, around us. And, you can ask Joshua or Seungcheol, I always talked about us becoming best friends in the future. And I just did what I needed to do so I could become your person too. Your person in a different way.” He clarifies when he hears Seokmin snicker at his words.

Well, I guess he is better at reading people than I thought.

“Jeonghan…” you say softly, teary eyed, “Where did that come from? I was supposed to be mad at you, not grateful!” you say with a laugh.

“Hey, no! You said you weren’t mad at me!” he says, smiling big, “You’re not a liar now, are you? Or did Seokmin corrupted you already?” he teases, again. There is the Jeonghan I’m used to, you think.

“I think you are the one who corrupted me.” you throw back at him, watching him laugh. “Thank you, Jeonghan. I hate saying it but you were right. All along.” you start, “I wish things were done differently but I also know I’m grateful for how things are now.”

“So, are we good here?” Seungcheol asks.

You look between the four friends and when you see Seokmin smiling at you reassuringly, you decide everything is very good; “Yeah, we are.” you speak.

“Okay, we’re going to go back then.” adds Joshua as they organize the chairs.

“But, hey, Jeonghan,” you say, getting his attention, “wait for my revenge. Because it will come.” You let him know with a smile on your face.

“But you said we were good!” Jeonghan says loudly, as you shrug, “And what about them?” he says, pointing at his two best friends, “They knew and they didn’t say anything!”

“They’re my favorite now so they get a pass.” you throw back at him, an angelic smile on your face while Joshua and Seungcheol snicker next to him, “Now you all can go back to work. I want to enjoy alone time with my boyfriend.” you say looking sweetly at Seokmin.

The 3 same-age friends walks away as you hear Jeonghan mumble “I think I made a mistake by setting them up together… I’m not ready for them to be disgustingly in love.”

“I have never seen someone stand up to Jeonghan like that.” says your now boyfriend while looking at you with heart eyes. You can see it now. How his eyes lit up when he’s next to you and how his smile doesn’t fade away.

“He’s nothing, I swear. He likes annoying people but he gives up easily once you tell him off.” you let him know while looking at him with the same fond look.

“That’s good to know,” he tells you, “When’s your next class?”

You look at your watch, noticing how your class starts in 5 minutes; “I’m late,” you tell him softly.

“What? Well go! I’ll text you later.” He says hurriedly, waving his hands at you as to make you leave.

“It’s fine. I’ll be late.” you say as you hold his hand over the table and look in his eyes, “There’s other classes but there’s no other you.” you tell him as you lean over the table.

thank you so much for reading my first work! i hope you like it, don't be shy to reblog and tell me what you thought about it 🫶🏻

#seventeen x reader #seventeen scenarios #seventeen reactions #seventeen imagines #seventeen fics #seventeen one shot #seventeen fluff #dokyeom x reader #dokyeom scenarios #dokyeom reactions #dokyeom imagines #dokyeom fics #dokyeom one shot #dokyeom fluff #sammy's works #i hope i tagged this right

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lockburn-castle · 2 years ago

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⋆ ✩‧₊˚ ᴅᴏᴋʏᴇᴏᴍ ʀᴇᴄꜱ ˚₊‧✩༘⋆

LEGEND:

⇒ 『✓』 - 𝔠𝔬𝔪𝔭𝔩𝔢𝔱𝔢𝔡 (𝔞𝔩𝔰𝔬 𝔪𝔢𝔞𝔫𝔰 𝔦𝔱𝔰 𝔞 𝔰𝔢𝔯𝔦𝔢𝔰) ⇒ 『📱』 - 𝔰𝔪𝔞𝔲, 𝔰𝔬𝔠𝔦𝔞𝔩 𝔪𝔢𝔡𝔦𝔞 𝔞𝔲 ⇒ 『 ☁ 』 - 𝔣𝔩𝔲𝔣𝔣 ⇒ 『 🗣 』 - 𝔠𝔯𝔞𝔠𝔨, 𝔠𝔬𝔪𝔢𝔡𝔶, 𝔥𝔲𝔪𝔬𝔲𝔯 ⇒ 『 ⚠︎ 』 - 𝔞𝔫𝔤𝔰𝔱 ⇒ 『 ❣︎ 』 - 𝔢𝔫𝔢𝔪𝔦𝔢𝔰 𝔱𝔬 𝔩𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔯𝔰 ⇒ 『 18+ 』 - 𝔪𝔞𝔱𝔲𝔯𝔢 𝔠𝔬𝔫𝔱𝔢𝔫𝔱 ⇒ 『 ➳ 』 - 𝔬𝔫𝔢-𝔰𝔥𝔬𝔱𝔰 / 𝔰𝔠𝔢𝔫𝔞𝔯𝔦𝔬𝔰 ⇒ 『 🕰 』 - 𝔱𝔦𝔪𝔢 𝔰𝔱𝔞𝔪𝔭𝔰 ⇒ 『 ⚛ 』 - 𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔠𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫𝔰

𖠋 do remember to read the warnings before continuing to read the fanfics!!

⚔️ lee seokmin ⚔️

one-shots/time stamps

right now, you and i, i'm thankful we're together - by @wooahaes {➳, ☁} amusement park - by @wheeboo {➳, ☁} MOZZARELLA SWORD - by @slytherinshua {➳, ☁} cold ice, cinnamon smiles - by @fairyhaos {➳, ☁} lunch - by @wheeboo {➳, ☁} Psychiatrists? Smart as hell, dumb as well - by @welcometomyoasis {➳, ☁}

𖠋 to be regularly updated!

do check out part 1 and 2 of my svt fics -> here !

#fanfiction #fanfic recs #kpop fanfic #svt #seventeen #dk #dokyeom #lee seokmin #dk imagines #seokmin scenarios #dokyeom fics #svt fanfics #lockburncastlerecs

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buntanteen · 29 days ago

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svt fic recs list <3 - ot13 individual sections - sfw & nsfw ver.

summary: 13 sfw & 13 nsfw ot13 svt with individual member sections reader insert fics :)

contains: 18+ nsfw (mdni!!) majority is afab reader

✩ svt writing & fic rec masterlist ✩

✩ sfw section ✩

❥ levels of romance - @soonyoungs

❥ seventeeners' random habits <3 - @shuacore

❥ seventeen x groveling - @boofeine

❥ svt when reader journals about them. - @xinganhao

❥ SEVENTEEN AND SOFT LAUNCHING - @odxrilove

❥ them helping their s/o relax after work - @hannieehaee

❥ clingy around s/o - @wheeboo

❥ randomly kissing svt’s hands - @lovingseventeen

❥ seventeen's reaction when you prank them by wiping your lips after they kiss you - @etherealyoungk

❥ svt - when you forgot to kiss them - @wooahaes

❥ i will really live the rest of my life repaying you. - @ylangelegy

❥ how seventeen get cuteness aggression for their s/o - @fairyhaos

❥ clingy with s/o - @babyleostuff

✩ nsfw section ✩

❥ things that get svt vocal in bed - @boofeine

❥ SVT ; ! most likely to be a submissive - @nsfwhao

❥ cock warming with seventeen - @hoshifighting

❥ seventeen reaction at you trying to dom them - @hannieehaee

❥ cumming too fast - @sluttywonwoo

❥ yandere!poly!bandmates!svt x gn!14thmember!you - @yiichan

❥ ass or boobs - @svtswhorehouse

❥ svt bust hands free/in their pants - @hoshifighting

❥ things you do that make svt bust quick - @pochaccoups

❥ kinky things that make seventeen members more aroused during sex - @boofeine

❥ asking to place lipstick marks on 'it' - @cxffecoupx

❥ cumming untouched - @sluttywonwoo

❥ riding seventeen until they cant physically cum anymore (getting milked dry) - @hoshifighting

ames note: no commentary cuz i just wanted to get a fic rec post out since i haven't done one in nearly 2 weeks. i hope y'all enjoy and give the authors some love!! i hope everyone is as excited for howoo as i ammmm <3

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fairykyeoms · 4 months ago

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how seventeen get cuteness aggression for their s/o

requested by many people! counterpart to this hc <3

masterlist

seungcheol, woozi

has probably actually gotten mad at how cute you are at some point. like genuinely, looking over at you and then just freezing, before loudly complaining and making a whole fuss over how you can't keep looking at him like that because he will!!! he Will need to punch something bc of just!!! how!!! cute!!! you are. nonono, he's not punching you, he's gonna punch like. a wall or something. just to vent over how someone as adorable as you actually exists. and then he'll give you kisses all over until you're laughing because you are ridiculously cute and he needs to shower you with affection so you realise how enamoured he is.

jeonghan, joshua, minghao

only he could make cuteness aggression sound like the softest thing ever. he'll be aggressively squishing your cheeks so hard that your eyes are all squinty and everything you say is basically indecipherable, whilst he continues sighing and looking at you with all the fondness in the world and lamenting over how goddamn adorable you are and honestly, what is he going to do with you? the stark contrast between his soft, enamoured voice and the way he's ruffling your hair and kissing your face everywhere like you're going to disappear any moment makes you laugh, weirdly endeared by his behaviour. you're going to get him back for it, though. and ruffle his hair until he can't see a single thing.

junhui, hoshi, mingyu, chan

probably cries. he looks at you sitting there all pretty, completely minding your own business, and the feelings just bubble up inside him so aggressively because WHO is allowed to be that adorable whilst doing absolutely nothing? it's not fair. what starts out as a rant over your cuteness ends up with him a bit teary-eyed and sniffly bc you're just so pretty and he doesn't know what to do. you have to pat him on the head and wipe away his tears as he clings to you and continues to tearily confess that you're the sweetest and loveliest person he's ever seen. his episodes of cuteness of aggression always end with you getting cuteness aggression too bc of how adorable he is everytime he does this

wonwoo, vernon

he's not very showy about his cuteness aggression, at all, but that doesn't mean it's not obvious. he'll stare at you for hours with literal hearts in his eyes, fondness written all over his face, and anyone who looks at him will just know how cute he finds you, even though he hasn't said a word. acts like you're the most precious being in the entire world, and is basically dissolving into a puddle of adoration right then and there. god, he's so lucky to even be in your presence and be able to love you, bc you're just so pretty and so cute. “why are you staring at me so much?” / “you're just so cute, i don't know what to do with you.”

dokyeom, seungkwan

he is very, very noisy about how cute he finds you. i mean like genuinely screeching and being all loud as he complains that you are far too adorable and what about his heart?? have you thought about his heart? bc it's currently melting onto the floor and it's all your fault!!!! the loud screeching is Also accompanied by very clingy hands, so expect the sudden shout to then be followed up with him basically hanging off your shoulders and holding your face in his hands as he cries over how adorable and lovely you are. everyone within a fifty metre radius will know that he finds you cute, by the way. be prepared.

request guidelines

reactions tags: @weird-bookworm @minhui896 @slytherinshua @haowrld @belladaises @newgirlygirl @moonlitskiiies @mirxzii @wonranghaeee @yonabutnotyuna @crackedpumpkin @wqnwoos @kthstrawberryshortcake-main @kawennote09 @a-wandering-stay @icyminghao @valenhui @sweet-like-caramel @odxrilove @kyeomyun @chansburgah @pepperonijem @jeonride @kellesvt @kikohao @astrozuya @eightlightstar @onlyyjeonghan @aaniag @starshuas @all-american-fangirl @f1uffyjun @sea-moon-star @nonononranghaee @isabellah29 @mcu-incorrect @hrts4hanniehae @suraandsugar @pan-de-seungcheol @dokyeomkyeom @melodicrabbit @bananabubble

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hoshifighting · 3 months ago

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Can you please do svt members who eat out their girls because they want to pleasure them vs those who genuinely fucking love the taste of pussy vs those who are so into eating out they might just cum totally untouched while eating you out

why svt like to eat pussy?

WARNINGS: pure putaria and smut, oral (f. receiving), pussy-drunk analogy.

eats you out bc he wants to pleasure you

seungcheol: the type to give you a speech about how he’s a man of duty and literally write essays about making sure you have toe-curling, back-arching, crying-in-pleasure levels of satisfied.

seungkwan: gold star service provider. it’s giving “nothing but the best for my baby.” he type to ask for feedback mid-session like, “is that good? or do you want me to go harder?”

wonwoo: mf reads books about anatomy to perfect his technique. he’s meticulous as hell, but he’s also so quiet and focused while doing it that you’re left wrecked because how does he even know your body better than you??

seokmin: he’s just so happy to make you happy. he’s the king of telling you how good you’re doing while he’s down there, and it’s the most wholesome yet sinful thing ever.

vernon: this man’s lowkey about it. he’s not saying much—he’s just doing it. very intuitive, very chill, but still SO effective. the kind who gives lazy and broad licks but somehow leaves you shaking. and when he’s done, he’s like, “you wan’me to order some food?” like he didn’t just wreck your entire existence. would probably frown at the sight of your legs shaking. (gives this vibe of that one meme: my boyfriend just left me trembling, and now he is playing minecraft)

2. loves the taste of pussy

jeonghan: smirks while wiping his mouth this man will straight-up tell you he loves the way you taste. and the thing is, he’s cocky but he’s earned it. you’re left wondering who’s being pleasured here because he’s moaning like he’s the one getting off.

joshua: sweet, until he’s between your legs like a man possessed, act like you’re a full-course meal, and he is starving. will kiss you after, totally unbothered that you can taste yourself on his lips.

minghao: he’s the type to tell you you’re delicious with the most deadpan sincerity while licking his lips, and it’s lowkey terrifying how good he is at it.

jun: this man is an enthusiast. he’ll legit say, “I could do this all day,” and you believe him. will pause mid-session to kiss your thighs just to prolong his enjoyment. he is is savoring you like the main course you are.

vernon (again, because he’s sneaky like that): listen, once he gets a taste, it’s game over. sure, he acts chill, but he’s obsessed. you’ll hear him humming into you, vibing just like when the waiter put your fav food on your table.

3. so into eating out they might cum untouched (y’all already know these men are problems)

mingyu: he would grind against the mattress and your leg just from how turned on he is. you’d hear him moaning WITH YOU, and suddenly it’s not just about you anymore—he’s a mess, and it’s hot.

hoshi: would put his whole chest into it like it’s a performance. he’s slurping, he’s whining, and he’s holding onto you for dear life while losing himself in the process. will look up at you with those wide, starry eyes like, “did I do good, baby?” (might need a minute after because he is too into it)

woozi: his arms are locked around your thighs so you can’t run. his tongue is completely illegal. you’re sobbing, and he’s just groaning into you like it’s his orgasm. would cum untouched 100% and then smirk about it.

chan: this man is hungry. his whole vibe is;; “you’re my first meal of the day, and I’m starving.” mf has no shame, no chill, and no limits. he’s gripping your thighs like his life depends on it, grinding into the mattress because he’s that turned on. when he cums untouched, he’s shocked AND EMBARASSED like he wasn't literally eating you out seconds ago.

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eoieopda · 3 months ago

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triple-dog dare | lsm

“Bambi.”

The sternness of his tone surprised both of you, so much so that when you snapped to look at him, both of you froze. Your moon-sized eyes were further proof that your childhood nickname still rings true to date, although your being the deer made him the oncoming car in this scenario.

He didn’t love that analogy.

Recovering quickly, he pulled the Ace from his sleeve: the surefire way for one of you to get the other onboard:

“I triple-dog dare you to come with me.”

pairing: lee seokmin x reader summary: when you're left off the guest list to seokmin's parent's thirtieth anniversary party, you're content to keep your questions to yourself and stay home. seokmin, on the other hand, is not content. in fact, he pulls the one card he knows will always win. au: childhood best friends to lovers genre: fluff, angst, smut type: one-shot rating: 18+ only. minors do not have my consent to interact. wc: 13k cw: pov switches, complicated sibling dynamics (seokmin’s), there is in fact one (1) bed, halmonis gone wild, stupid childhood nicknames, fingering (v), oral sex (m receiving), multiple orgasms, implied penetrative sex (p in v). reader notes: afab, uses she/her pronouns, wears a dress/heels to the party, is implicitly an only child. the setting is intentionally ambiguous, so she's not implicitly korean and/or asian. there are no descriptions of body shape/size, complexion, etc. a/n: thank you to the incomparable @daechwitatamic for beta-ing this! it's been a long damn time since i've written anything, so this might not have seen the light of day without jo, the hype-man. on that note, i suck at summaries; just read the fic, lmao. svt masterlist. svt permanent taglist. multi permanent taglist.

For being the walking disaster that he is, there have been shockingly few moments in Lee Seokmin’s life where he’s needed to shove his oversized foot into his oversized mouth.

Prior to the incident at your apartment, the last time he’d embarrassed himself like this was when he’d asked his oldest sister, Soyeon, in earnest whether or not she was pregnant, only to learn that she was just bloated; and he’s just an ass.

To your credit, you’re far from cruel when he slips up, but that almost makes it worse. You visibly deflate when he asks his well-intentioned but ill-fated question, rather than letting him have it the way his two siblings would have done.

The day in question went like this:

He asked, ��Did you reserve your room yet for the 31st? If not, we can double up. It’ll be a lot cheaper.”

And you blinked, stunned like you’d been slapped. “Have I what?”

It dawned on you both at that moment that, for whatever reason, his parents’ thirtieth anniversary party was in fact news to you. Two things then happened at once: you tried to hide your surprise and the twinge of pain that comes with being excluded; and he racked his stupid brain to find any explanation for why you had to feel either one of those things.

The best option he found was to gently toss his middle sister, Seonmi, under the metaphorical bus.

“Seonmi’s been working on something special for them. You know how she gets,” he waved dismissively. “So obsessed with finding the perfect napkins — ” He wiggled his fingers for emphasis. “— and creating custom cocktails, that she misses the forest for the trees.”

You didn’t look convinced. Likewise, you didn’t look any less uncomfortable.

Fuck.

“I’m sure it was an honest mistake.” To drive his point home, he reached from his spot on your couch to give your knee a reassuring squeeze. “I have a plus-one, so it’s not like it’ll be a logistical problem. You belong there as much as we do.”

And he meant it, wholeheartedly.

All his life, the running joke has been that Soonyi and Minseok Lee have four kids: two biological daughters, a younger son, and his otherwise unrelated twin, who spent more time sleeping on his top bunk than in her own home next door.

The way he saw it — and the way he’s sure his parents would see it — is that no family gathering is complete without you. That’s a hill he’d die on if need be.

You shifted in your seat, which caused his hand to slip off your knee, whether or not you meant for it to happen. Glancing uneasily out your window, you worried your bottom lip between your teeth, mumbling, “I don’t know…”

Seokmin frowned. You didn’t see it, though, and therefore weren’t moved by it. Instead, you cycled through your anxious thoughts at high velocity. If he was still touching you, he’d be worried that your sparking brain might catch him on fire.

“What if it’s not a mistake? I mean, what if it’s a couples thing?”

He couldn’t even classify these questions as rhetorical because he wasn’t meant to hear them in the first place. Though you asked out loud, each one of them was for your ears only. From his half of the couch — miles away — his frown deepened, unbeknownst to you.

“You know, Seonmi follows me on Instagram; she’d know that Kai and I broke up a few months ago. Maybe she doesn’t want me to feel awkward? Even if I went, and I didn’t feel weird about that, her expecting it to be weird might make it weird, right?”

Fuck.

You’d spiral all day if Seokmin didn’t stop you. As much as he loves how thoughtful you are, he knows better than most that you have a tendency to take it too far, inflicting that relentless consideration on yourself until it wounds.

“Bambi.”

He didn’t love that analogy.

Recovering quickly, he pulled the Ace from his sleeve: the surefire way for one of you to get the other onboard:

“I triple-dog dare you to come with me.”

Begrudgingly, you’d conceded, just like Seokmin hoped you would. You sat with him while he figured out travel plans to the mountain resort, helped him visualize what the hell he needed to wear to an event like this. When the time came, you sent him half the cost for the room he booked, even though he repeatedly insisted that you didn’t need to chip in.

Now, that unsolicited sum sits untouched in his Venmo balance. You sit next to him on the night train out of town.

Sit, he thinks, is a bit of an understatement. You’re barely upright, so exhausted from your work day that his shoulder and side are bearing most of your weight. His arm went from tingling to numb an hour ago, but Seokmin doesn’t mind. There isn’t a burden he wouldn’t carry for you, up to and including you yourself.

Besides, he’s not worse off for being left to his own devices. In fact, he keeps himself thoroughly entertained by taking selfies of the pair of you. The aftermath will stay securely in his camera roll — largely because you’d kill him if you saw how squishy your face is, pressed against his coat, or how your little pout trembles slightly, almost as if you’re trying to talk through your sleep — but he still finds it worth the risk. This mochi-cheeked version of you is one of his favorites.

When Seokmin has amassed enough silly photos to comprise a dossier, he tucks his phone back into his pocket with a self-satisfied smile. You’re still out cold, so you don’t stir at his subtle movements or the sound of the concession trolley rattling your way down the aisle.

The girl manning said trolley is significantly outweighed by the thing itself. She hardly looks old enough to have graduated high school, he figures, and he can’t imagine how it is that she’s working at this hour — or how she got stuck doing this job, when it takes all she’s got to maneuver the giant metal contraption through all the train cars.

“Anything, sir?” She asks politely, albeit slightly out-of-breath.

Even though she’s speaking to him, her gaze is directed squarely at his hat, leading him to believe that she may also be too shy for her job. Nonetheless, it’s been two entire hours since his dinner, and he’s on the brink of starving to death, so he coughs up a few bills in exchange for several different snacks.

She could do him the kindness of assuming his massive pile of food is for sharing, but she doesn’t. She gestures to you and whispers, “Anything for your —?”

Seokmin intercepts the question, knowing exactly where it’s headed: in the same direction as the million others like it that he’s heard over the years.

“— parole officer?” He supplies with a smile, “No, this nap is fueled by a lot of crab rangoon. She’ll be out for the duration, I fear.”

Both halves of his response seem to stun her, which means he has to cover his inevitable laugh with a fake cough.

This bit of yours will truly never get old, although the implications that prompt it did a long time ago. It was a stroke of genius on your part, dodging inaccurate references to your relationship status by offering up something too absurd to converse around.

“You two make such a cute couple,” an Uber driver once told you.

“He’s not in a relationship,” you’d politely corrected him. “He’s in witness protection. I’m duty-bound to keep him and his identity safe.”

The silence turns awkward, so Seokmin thanks the girl and gives her a smile he hopes says, “you’re allowed to run away from me now; I won’t take it personally.” She bows her head a little too eagerly, then skitters off with a grimace, like she pulled something in her neck.

Alone again with you, he wiggles gently upright in his seat so that you can rest more comfortably against his pectoral, rather than his shoulder bone. Even though you’re still asleep, Seokmin swears he hears a quiet mmpfh, as if you’re expressing gratitude. He bites his lips to keep from smiling, knowing that smiling in your proximity is one step away from laughter: the only thing you’ve never been able to sleep through.

Instead of giving into the urge, he murmurs, “You should get paid royalties whenever we use that joke. Being as smart as you are should pay off.”

Now, he knows he’s not simply hearing things because you’re just barely loud enough to overcome your own mumbling.

“Agreed,” you sigh on an exhale before slipping to sleep off again.

“Well?”

There are two beats between his first question and his next: the unfilled gap you’ve left in the conversation and the cab’s trunk shutting firmly. “‘s that cool with you?”

Seokmin stares at you, staring at him. His expression is soft, like your lack of responsiveness is something to be fond of, rather than annoyed by. It’s unexpectant, too, leaving the door wide open.

You blink. “Sorry — I — What did you say?”

Hitting him when he least expects it, you shift your suitcase from your dominant hand so you can gesture properly to the bright, poorly crocheted bucket hat flopping over his forehead. “It’s a bit hard to hear you. That hat is so loud.”

His quizzically raised eyebrows drop in an instant. Likewise, that airy smile of his flattens into a straight line.

Bullseye.

“Is it me that you hate?” He asks, tone dead serious as he points his finger towards his own chest. “Or is it the very concept of whimsy?”

You’re too busy biting back a grin to protest when, without being asked, Seokmin reaches out and takes the handle of your suitcase into his own hand, as well as the garment bag you’d draped over your arm. Before turning away to abscond with both sets of luggage in addition to his own, he shoots you an incredulous look. It dissolves entirely before his face even disappears from view.

“This is an objectively delightful hat,” he mutters, nonetheless, in furtherance of the bit.

He spots a member of hotel staff standing on the sidewalk directly outside the hotel’s double doors and pleads his case to them. “She made me this hat, you know,” he announces, gesturing back to you with a nod.

The valet’s uniform hat casts a shadow under the lamplight, but it doesn’t do enough to hide the expression on their face. It is abundantly clear — even in the dark — that they didn’t hear a single word Seokmin said before he offered up that bit of trivia, seemingly apropos of nothing. They muster up a customer-service smile that doesn’t reach their eyes and tell him it’s a wonderful hat. Meanwhile, you roll your eyes from behind because nothing either of them just said is true.

That hat is the byproduct of delusions of grandeur and innumerable skeins of color-conflicting yarn. You made it for yourself, believing that you were the kind of cute and kitschy person who could pull it off; and inconsolable weeping Christ, were you wrong. It was — no, is — your greatest fiber arts failure.

Frankenstein’s floral monster would be in a secondhand shop somewhere if you’d had any say in the matter. It isn’t because you didn’t. Seokmin “rescued” it from the “to donate” pile on your bedroom floor. Since then, he’s worn it at every — public — opportunity, season be damned.

Admittedly, he’s exactly the kind of cute and kitschy person who can pull it off, but you’ve decided out of sheer pettiness to keep that appraisal to yourself.

You take your time catching up to him, both because his long legs make it hard to keep pace; and because the room is reserved under his name. After all, he’s the welcomed guest, not the reluctant party-crasher. The receptionist is already handing him a white keycard when you finally reach the desk. Seokmin holds it up between his index and middle fingers, closed-eye grin sparkling in a matching shade of ivory.

Though the journey up to your shared room is long, the real trip is being confined to an elevator with mirrors for walls.

No matter how hard you try to avert your eyes, you manage to keep finding some new, horrible angle of your stale, post-train state. It’s torture. Three versions of you stare back with deep, dark undereye circles; and all you can think about is how dull your complexion is — especially in comparison to Seokmin, who may as well be bioluminescent with the way he glows from the inside out.

It’s joy, you know, his primary state of being and something he radiates like no other. He’s happy to be here, happy that you’re here, and happy to be happy. Whether or not he means it to be, it’s infectious. Now, you feel yourself starting to smile, too.

Despite your quiet observation, you must have missed him looking at you. Seemingly out of nowhere, he carefully sets down your belongings, raises his now-empty hand, and cups the right side of your jaw. Unaware that you’ve frozen solid, he swipes his thumb carefully over your cheek, tilting his own head to the side and frowning.

“I got you bad, huh?”

You blink.

“The zipper on my coat,” he explains, laughing. “Looks like it took a bite out of you when you used me as a pillow on the train.”

For reasons you can’t possibly explain, the only word to roll off your tongue is a sheepish, “Sorry.”

For a second, Seokmin is just as confused as you are about whether you’re needlessly apologizing to him or his coat. He chuckles quietly at how easily distracted you both are, then he gets back to the point: “Does it hurt?”

“No.”

Your response comes unnaturally quick. Your pulse does, too, when you finally make eye contact with him. After clearing your throat, you give him a half-hearted smile, ignoring whatever medical event you seem to be experiencing. “I didn’t know it was there until now.”

He hums in acknowledgment, then rescinds his hand. You watch in silence while he re-encumbers himself with your luggage and turns back to face the elevator doors, which open almost immediately.

Seokmin steps out easily, like the weight of your respective burdens doesn’t mean a thing. “I’d say this way, please, but I’ve already forgotten the room number,” he admits with a sheepish laugh. “The keycard’s in my pocket.”

You take his cue and reach into the front, right pocket of his coat for the keycard. As soon as you see the room number, you snort.

“You booked room number 218 because that’s your birthday, and then… what? You forgot your own birthday?”

“I’m deeply flawed.” He sighs, put-upon. “Now, let’s go, Bambi. It feels like you packed a week’s worth of bricks.”

There’s no time to point out that you never asked him to carry your suitcase or bag for you in the first place. Likewise, there’s no opportunity to ask exactly how many bricks is a week’s worth. He’s on the move again before you can blink, energy evident in each step regardless of how late it is.

Once again, you follow Seokmin’s lead. Despite the signage, which is clearly visible on the wall, he walks confidently in the wrong direction, prompting you to grab him gently by the elbow and steer him the opposite way. His smile doesn’t falter; he plays it off as if he was just testing how closely you’re paying attention.

It takes several turns down several additional hallways before the pair of you reach your target. When you come to room 218, you tap the keycard against the reader, causing the lock to click open. You turn the handle, push the door open into the room, and step awkwardly out of the way so your personal bellhop can get by.

“This is what I was trying to tell you when you so viciously insulted my favorite accessory.” Seokmin nods his head towards the center of the room. “All of the rooms Seonmi included in the reservation block have a king-sized bed — singular. The rooms outside the block are criminally overpriced for ski season.”

It’s far from the first time you’ve doubled up, so you shrug. “Just like old times, right? Like, when you thought your house was haunted, and you forced your way into the top bunk with me?”

“First of all,” he says as he sets both of your suitcases down and places one hand on his hip, the other pointing at you. “We were six.”

After locking the door behind you, you toe off your shoes, smirking at him from over your shoulder. “What’s your second point?”

“It was haunted —” He insists. Then his stern expression melts into something smug, the way it always does when he’s about to blatantly rewrite history. “— and you asked me to come up there because you were scared.”

A laugh slips out of you automatically, but you selflessly decide to let him have this. Crossing to him, you pat him on the bicep, patronizingly simpering all the while, “You are the brave one.”

Even though you’re both cowards, and he knows it, he pockets this little victory with a pleased hum and a grin.

Turning away from him, you make a beeline for the closet area near the door. There, you shuck off your coat and hang it up, out of the way. While you do, Seokmin passes you both your garment bag and his. From there, the pair of you work in efficient silence: you, pulling your respective formal wear from their bags and smoothing out any wrinkles; him, tucking away your extensive collection of toiletries in the bathroom.

When everything is in its place, you turn back around and notice for the first time how beautiful the room actually is. Though the shades of the floor-to-ceiling windows are almost completely drawn, the snow-covered mountains are at least partially visible through the gap in fabric. If you had the time, you’d spend all day tomorrow sitting on the forest green, velvet chaise directly in front of the window, staring at frosty peaks so massive, they feel close enough to touch.

To your right, an electric fireplace heats the room, while a portrait-framed television hovers on the wall above the mantle, flipping through famous artworks as a screensaver. In between flashes of Van Gogh’s Almond Blossoms and Klimt’s The Kiss, you catch a glimpse of Seokmin’s smile reflecting on the black screen.

Awestruck, you turn to him and sigh, “Don’t let me get used to this.”

He jerks his thumb to his right, gesturing towards the bathroom. “Don’t judge me if I steal one of the bathrobes. They’re probably more expensive than half the shit in my apartment.”

“I won’t, but they’ll bill you for it when they figure it out,” you warn him. “On that note, do you need to shower or anything before I start my skincare side quest?”

Seokmin shakes his head, causing the crocheted abomination to flop. “All yours. My hair’ll get weird if I don’t deal with it tomorrow before we head out.”

And with that mental image of his insurmountable cowlick, you quickly grab your pajamas and shuffle off towards the bathroom.

The first few seconds after you close the door are spent gawking at the insanely intricate, geometric tile pattern in the walk-in shower. Thinking of how much time it must’ve taken to lay each one of them, you set to work on your own tedious task: your ten-step regimen of cleansers, toners, serums, and moisturizers. Seokmin says otherwise, but you don’t think any of them truly make a difference. As stupid as you know it is, the routine itself is therapeutic, even if your skin is no more bouncy and glowy than it was before.

When it’s all said and done, you emerge from the bathroom to find your best friend stretched out on the half of the bed nearest the door with his eyes fixed on his phone screen. It’s the side of the room he always chooses, claiming that it’s to protect you from any intruders, but you know the truth: he’s too much of a freeze baby to sleep near the window, and he knows you like it cold.

“Feeling refreshed?” He mumbles to the best of his ability; his sweatshirt hood is pulled up and drawn so tightly that it squishes his cheeks and chin, restricting his movement.

Chuckling quietly as you go, you pad over to your half of the bed and slip under the comforter. Like a moth to a flame, the other occupant sends his last text, tosses his phone to the side, and scoots closer to you, eager to siphon whatever extra body heat he can. His head winds up on your shoulder, while your cheek rests against the top of his head.

“Before you tell me that I look it, I’d encourage you to stare long into the abyss that is my under-eye circles.”

When he laughs, it’s merely a puff of air from his nose. “You never look as tired as you feel,” he says distractedly, fiddling with the drawstrings of his hoodie. “Pretty miraculous, given how little sleep you get.”

That comment warms you up so thoroughly, you wonder if he can feel it. Then, you wonder if that was the point. You intend to tease him for that, but then it dawns on you how fidgety he’s being. It’s rare for him.

“You okay, Thumper?”

It feels silly, using that nickname after so long. Your clumsiness stuck around for the ride, continuing Bambi into perpetuity; but he grew out of his companion name when he hit puberty, and his giant feet were suddenly proportional to the rest of him.

He’s certainly no bunny, nor is he a child, but the low ebb of anxiety rolling off of him reminds you of the scared little neighbor boy you used to know. It fits, even if it is silly.

At first, Seokmin begins his explanation without peeling his gaze off his restless fingers. “Apparently, Seungcheol and Mingyu are in town.” Then, his eyes slowly lift up to find you peering down at him. “They want to meet up to go snowboarding before we leave.”

Ah.

There it is: the top-secret look in his eye that only you can decipher. The one he’s been practicing for years, at your insistence, for moments like this, when he needs to be talked into something. When he needs to be brave and avoid missing out on something he’d love, solely because it freaks him out.

You respond the same way you always have; the way you once pinky-promised you always would: “I triple-dog dare you.”

He sighs deeply, neither fully resigned nor relieved, but then he nods. His head knocks slightly against your shoulder as he does. “I’ll do it.”

And that’s that; it’s settled.

Or so you think.

A beat passes in silence, until Seokmin suddenly pipes up again, “But you’re going to have to hold my hand on the chair lift, or I’ll pass out and fall to my death.”

“Deal.”

You grab his hand now in consideration of your promise and scratch affectionately at his palm. Surprisingly, his thoughts haven’t made him clammy. His skin is even softer than usual, likely due to the expensive hotel lotion he’s undoubtedly now harboring in his suitcase. Tongue firmly in cheek, you look at him sideways.

“Just — leave the hat in your suitcase, okay? The snow will be blinding enough.”

Seokmin’s been dressed and ready for at least thirty minutes, but you’re still standing exactly where you have been for the last forty-five. Face pinched, you turn this way and that in front of the mirror, smoothing fabric that’s already wrinkle-free, apparently for the hell of it.

“I’m oh-for-three.” Your exasperated sigh is punctuated by your bare, right foot stomping on the carpet. It doesn’t make the impact you likely hope it will, at least sonically. It does, however, speak volumes about how close to the ledge you are.

“All of them looked good,” he says earnestly. “I think this one is my favorite, though, if that means anything.”

Apparently, this is the wrong answer. Your wild-eyed gaze lifts from your own reflection until you’re staring him dead in the eye through the mirror.

“Why did I even pack this?” You ask, “Do you see this?”

Suddenly, you lift a manicured hand to point at your neckline, from which he’d admittedly been averting his eyes. “This is too much cleavage for a family function, isn’t it?”

As quickly as you glanced at him in the first place, you go right back to fussing with your dress, thankfully missing the way he swallows thickly.

Fuck, now he’s staring — but you’re the one that made him look in the first place — and he can feel heat rising to his ears, a dead giveaway. His sudden silence does enough to communicate his struggle. He has no idea how to respond without vaulting over the boundaries of your friendship.

Is it hot in here?

Deciding to rely on his usual tactic, he jokes his way out.

“If you think I’ll ever side against tiddie…” He forces a grimace, shaking his head gravely. “Then you really don’t know me at all.”

You laugh loudly, and whatever one-sided tension filled the room snaps like a twig. Better still, the smile you give him stays on your face while you reassess your dress. Seokmin takes it as a personal victory that you commit to his choice, rather than cycle back through your options for the second time.

While this means that you’ll both be able to hit the open bar sooner rather than later, the biggest upside is that he no longer has to keep excusing himself to the bathroom so you can change again, and again, and again.

You finish up quickly, tossing on jewelry, and then turn to him. His shoulder keeps you steady while you slip into your devilishly high heels. Seokmin pays them little mind now, however; his attention is drawn to the accessories you’ve chosen. Sure, they match perfectly with the rest of your outfit, but that’s not what strikes him. It’s the fact that everything you’ve picked was gifted to you by his parents at one point or another.

Unable to stop himself, he reaches out and gently taps on one of your dangling earrings. “Eighteenth birthday,” he muses to himself.

Then, both his gaze and his hand lower to your necklace. He skims his fingertip along the delicate, gold chain, inadvertently making you freeze up. “Christmas 2019?”

You shake your head slightly, though it barely counts as movement.

“Ah,” Seokmin corrects himself. “2020.”

Sensing that he’s somehow made you uncomfortable, he reels himself back in and clears his throat. “Shall we?” He asks, furnishing you with a bent arm to loop yours through.

You take his cue, link your arm to his, and sigh, “I suppose we shall.”

The walk to the elevator is quiet, in that neither one of you says a thing. Seokmin can hear the gears in your head turning, though, without any conversation to drown them out.

You step inside that glorified, mirrored box; and for a few minutes, he lets you work through the thing he knows ruined your sleep last night. That is, until he hears your breathing come a little quicker than usual.

“Hey.”

It was supposed to be a jumping off point. He was going to go from there and reiterate that you belong here with him. The plan was to reassure you for as long as it takes to get you to believe it, but you look up at him almost helplessly, and his Etch-a-Sketch brain is wiped clean in an instant.

The very best he can do is smile and offer a single word: “Hi.”

“Hi,” you whisper back, eyes twinkling.

Your plagued frown curves slightly back in the right direction. The creeping shroud of doom lightens, if only a little bit.

“That’ll do, pig.” You swat his arm, but he says it again, emphatically, “That’ll do.”

Halfway through you scolding him for quoting Babe at a time like this, the elevator door reopens, ready to regurgitate the pair of you out onto the ballroom level.

Unlike the lobby, which sits only one floor below, this floor looks like it was ripped straight from the pages of a fantasy novel. Everywhere he turns, there’s something new — and vaguely elven — to look at. Fairy lights hang in perfectly spaced arches from the lofted ceiling, delicately illuminating the exposed, wooden beams above. The chandeliers — plural — are crafted out of antlers of some kind, cutting between rugged and highly refined.

As stunning as it all is, Seokmin’s mind snags on a single conclusion. You’re the one who voices it, though, much to his surprise.

“This is the most Seonmi thing I’ve ever seen in my life,” you whisper to him, all without taking your eyes off the extravagance in front of you. “Is this a dress rehearsal for her wedding next year?”

He bites down on his lips hard to keep his laughter to himself. Of course, you’re dead on. Nothing about this space feels like his parents, who are supposed to be the sole focus of this entire event. He already found it odd that they agreed to such a big to-do in the first place — especially when it would require their loved ones to go out of their way, literally and financially — but this is….

“Am I being petty, or is this kind of… selfish?”

Petty, no.

Psychic? Probably.

“You’re right, and you should say it.” Seokmin nods and withdraws his arm from yours so that he can drape it properly around your shoulder. “This way to the beer, please. We’ll need it.”

Merely four steps in the direction to the bar, and a screech rings out from somewhere neither of you can locate. In fact, Seokmin’s head is turned the opposite way when someone launches themself at you, damn near ripping you from his hold.

“Oh, my god! I knew you’d come!”

Soyeon’s relief in seeing you is palpable. Seokmin can practically feel his bones being crushed as she hugs you tight, swaying from side to side. He catches a glimpse of your expression, which barely peeks through the curtain of his oldest sister’s hair; you’re far happier now than you were in the elevator.

His sister kisses the side of your head. “I missed you so fucking much. I love my residency program, but I hate how far away it keeps me.”

A solid minute passes by like this. When it starts to get unbearable, Seokmin clears his throat, hoping to remind his sister that she hasn’t seen him in months, either; and he’s also standing right here.

Instead of greeting him, Soyeon shoots you a wry smile. “Who is he today? A fugitive you’re harboring?”

In tandem, the two of you appraise him with thoughtfully narrowed eyes. See, this he didn’t miss: being both of his sisters’ least favorite younger sibling.

“Oh, no, though I can see why you think that.” You shake your head, then reach out to pat his shoulder patronizingly. “If anyone asks, this is a foreign diplomat, and I’m the interpreter he can’t understand a word without. Best not say hi to him; he won’t know what you’re saying.”

Soyeon nods, though Seokmin wonders if she truly gets what you’re trying to achieve. Not quite, he realizes a moment later. Instead, she covers his chin with her hand so she can squeeze both his cheeks at once.

“He’s adorable,” she coos. “Doesn’t look old enough or mature enough for diplomacy, though.”

Seokmin rolls his eyes. “Well, we can’t all be doctors, can we?”

Again, in tandem, all eyes on him widen with feigned shock. Between overlapping gasps of “he does understand!” and “someone’s been studying!”, he shakes off his sister’s touch and scowls.

“If you’re going to keep bullying me, can you at least do it at the bar? That way, I can numb my suffering with booze.”

At this, Soyeon drops the charade and pulls him into a hug like a vice grip. She holds him so tightly that his vision starts to get spotty. It’s not until he gently pats her back, begging for air, that she lets him go.

“I missed you too, Thumper,” she swears, prompting you to snicker.

Now, he’s annoyed for a completely different reason — one that makes even less sense to him. That nickname hasn’t bothered him in the last decade, so it shouldn’t now. Then again, the only person who’s called him Thumper since middle school is you.

The rules are different for you, if they exist at all.

“And I promise to catch up with you later, but I’ve got five thousand questions for Bambi, and the answers aren’t half as juicy with you around.”

Just like that, his plus-one is subtracted.

As much as you love Soyeon, she’s no Seokmin. With him, talking is easy; he never rushes to fill silences, doesn’t steer the conversation with a white-knuckled grip.

On the contrary, his oldest sister comes forward with a pickaxe, smashing through small talk while she mines for the wild stories she thinks she’s missed out on since moving away.

You don’t blame her, really. If you spent all your hours in a hospital, only sleeping in the lulls between other people’s trauma, you’d probably become just as intense — the human equivalent of a cracked-open fire hydrant — in the search for closeness, too.

In the thirty minutes you sit with her, you brief her on all the cliffhangers you’d left her with the last time you saw her.

Yes, you’re still stuck with your lease in the same apartment; and the old lady next door still regularly sets off the building’s fire alarm by accident.

No, you decided not to stay with Kai and haven’t spoken since the breakup; he needed more of your time and energy than you wanted to sacrifice for him.

No, Seokmin still hasn’t gone out with anyone that you know of in months. In fact, it’s been so long since either of you have touched on this topic, especially compared to how little time he and the last girl were together, that you can’t even remember her name.

Beyond that first, limited fact, you keep your mouth shut about the rest. It’s not your business to share; and it wouldn’t kill her to ask Seokmin about himself for once.

The longer you spend with her, the more frustrated you find yourself getting, although you keep this fact to yourself, too. Soyeon and Seonmi have both spent their lives fussing about Seokmin, talking about him like he’s some helpless baby, without doing much to get to know him.

That’s it.

If you were at all confident that Soyeon would take the initiative, you’d let her find all of this out on her own. She won’t, you know, but maybe it’ll sink in if she hears it from you.

“Seokmin’s doing really well, now that you mention it,” you offer, though she barely mentioned him in the first place. “He got promoted last month; he’s now lead architect on that massive commercial lot downtown. Apparently, it’s still a secret, whatever it is they’re putting there. Must be something special.”

Seokmin is something special, you all but yell inside your head.

Soyeon’s eyes brighten.

Nobody loves secrets quite like she does. You wait for the barrage, anticipating all the questions to which you’ll have to respond with “seriously, I don’t know,” but they don’t come.

Instead, she puts her drink back on its coaster, reaches out, and squeezes your wrist with her slightly chilled hand. “I’m grateful that he’s always had you, Bambi. If he didn’t, I don’t know if he’d lean in to opportunities like that.”

The look on her face tells you she means it. Maybe that’s what makes your stomach sour: that she can sit there, hearing of Seokmin’s accomplishments, and still find a way not to credit him for them.

Anger ignites inside of you. The flames lick up your esophagus, ready to explode, and you suck in a breath with every intention of letting her burn.

But then an arm slinks around your waist. Seokmin’s head bumps slightly against yours until you’re cheek to cheek.

“I hope I’m interrupting something.”

For a second, you think his slight tipsiness caused him to misspeak. Tilting your head to the side the best you can, you look at him out of the corner of your eye and catch his very subtle wink.

Soyeon opens her mouth, but Seokmin makes his wish a reality.

“Sorry, sis,” Seokmin says, entirely unapologetically. “I just found out that the band takes requests; and I’ll be goddamned if Bambi and I don’t show you clowns the meaning of dance.”

It takes no encouragement whatsoever for you to slip off your stool, get to your feet, and inch your way closer to his side. Then, like a starting gun was fired, the two of you bolt clumsily away from the bar, with you shouting “sorry!” over your shoulder as you go.

Your heels skid against the dance floor when you finally reach it, but Seokmin steadies you before you can eat shit in front of god and everyone.

“You’re way too expressive, you know that?” The fact that he’s out-of-breath doesn’t keep him from laughing. “I could’ve seen that grumpy turtle face of yours from space.”

Unintentionally, you prove his point, drawing your eyebrows together and frowning. “I do not —”

“— Also, I lied,” he interrupts yet again.

This, coupled with the everything else going on, leaves you too stunned to speak.

“This band is all trot, all the time. They don’t take requests — trust me, I tried — but if you stay here with me long enough, we can kill two birds with one stone.”

Seokmin doesn’t wait for you to answer because he knows it’s a yes. He doesn’t wait for you to assume your position, either, and instead holds your left hand in his right before placing your right on his left shoulder. This close, you feel the urge to tell him how handsome he looks with his hair parted off his forehead. You don’t, however.

The music swells behind you. Seokmin leads, and you follow, swaying slowly and moving across the floor.

“Two birds?” You remember to ask, one eyebrow arched.

His right arm lifts. “Spin,” he whispers. You step under his arm, then twirl. While you’re facing the opposite direction, he continues, “There. Do you see it?”

“Oh, my god.”

You do.

The bar stool you were just occupying is now filled by Seokmin’s great-uncle, Hajoon, while his new and much younger girlfriend, Yunhee, hovers near his shoulder. Even from this distance, you can see the look of abject distress on Soyeon’s face, totally unhidden by her attempt to seem engaged.

You return to your position in front of Seokmin, your hand accidentally landing on his bicep, rather than his shoulder. Flustered by the deceptive bulk there, you immediately scoot your palm back to where it belongs.

He leans in so that only you can hear him. It doesn’t feel necessary at all, given how loud the band’s horn section is, but you don’t recoil this time.

“They had me trapped over by the appetizers,” he explains, low voice making you shiver involuntarily. “Every time he started a story with when I was your age, I wanted to point out that Yunhee hadn’t been born yet.”

You can’t help the laugh that erupts out of you and therefore can’t pull your head away from Seokmin’s ear in time to save him. Instead of wincing or complaining, he looks at you and breaks into laughter of his own as soon as your eyes meet. The effect doubles, and before you know it, both of you are teary-eyed.

“How the hell did you get away from him?”

It’s a feat you've never once managed. Uncle Hajoon’s inability to read a room is equal parts due to his horrible hearing and his tendency to never stop talking. Even if he did leave space in the conversation for you to excuse yourself, you’d never successfully get the message across.

Seokmin lifts his arm again but not for you. He takes his leave to spin himself, simpering as he goes, “That’s where Yunhee came in handy, actually. I didn’t know she had it in her, but she’s not as much of a dud as we initially thought.”

“Oh?”

“She told him that I should be able to dance with my girlfriend, and he shouldn’t keep me any longer.” He shrugs. “It didn’t seem like the time to correct her.”

All the heat in your body goes straight to your cheeks. Nonetheless, you attribute it to the dancing and choke out, “No royalties for me, then.”

“Not this time.” Seokmin shakes his head. “I said that Soyeon was trying to catch up with everyone and would love to hear his stories.”

You bite back a grin. “You’re a bastard, you know that?”

“Maybe.” He smiles with every single one of his teeth. “But you’re free.”

“Surprisingly so. I haven’t felt the Eye of Sauron on me at all yet.” Just in case your statement serves as a jinx, you glance around the room for Seonmi. The tension you’ve been keeping in each one of your muscles slackens when, once again, your radar is blip-free.

“Dinner was supposed to start ten minutes ago. If I had to guess, she’s either leaving a scathing Yelp review or personally waterboarding the chef as we speak.”

“Both at the same time,” you counter, earning a wry smile. “She inherited your mom’s self-assuredness. If she believes she can, she will.”

After the pair of you dance through two more songs, the band breaks, and the hotel’s battalion of waiters come in, bearing domed, silver trays. Seokmin takes off in a hurry for your assigned table in the far corner of the ballroom, so famished that he barely remembers to tug you along behind him.

Through the meal and all its complimentary wine pairings, you do your best to focus on the conversation. Seokmin introduced you to the few people sitting with you that you haven’t had the occasion to meet yet. While he does what comes naturally to him, charming them with ease, you struggle for the first time to pay attention to him.

A few tables over, Seonmi sits down with her fiancé, joining the company of her parents; Soyeon and her date are there, too, leaving Seokmin out by design. Like an insane person, you can only watch her, rather than Seokmin’s blatant theft of bites from your plate. She laughs at whatever jokes her mother cracks, but you’d recognize that look of veiled angst anywhere. She isn’t happy, you realize. You can’t avoid the feeling that you’re the reason why she isn’t.

Time passes, somehow too quickly and too slowly. The plates are emptied, then cleared away by the wait staff — except for your half-empty glass, which is your third. Much like the other guests at your table, the joyful buzz you’d been feeling so far leaves, too.

All that’s left is you, Seokmin, and that ominous, storm cloud you can’t seem to shake.

“You’ll probably feel better if you talk to her.”

He’s always more observant than you give him credit for. You snap out of your zoned-out stare across the room in order to look at him. You frown. “I doubt it. She already looks pissed. Me parading my presence here despite her isn’t going to help anything.”

“Bambi,” Seokmin sighs, not impatient but gentle. “She’s not exactly warm, but she has always liked you. There’s literally no reason why she wouldn’t be happy to see you —”

You open your mouth to argue.

“— that happened over twenty years ago, and you really need to stop feeling guilty about it —”

You close your mouth, cross your arms self-consciously, and sink in your seat. Despite yourself, you glance over at him and catch the way he’s looking at you. He doesn’t need to say the words out loud for you to hear them.

It’s either the unspoken dare, his reassuring, soft-eyed smile, or all the blasted merlot that does you in. You’re not sure which of the three was the coup de grâce, and as you slink off towards her table, you realize it doesn’t matter. For one reason or another, you’ve decided that fear isn’t going to get the better of you this time.

Seonmi somehow senses you coming. Even without the band underscoring your movement, your timid steps across the mahogany parquet should’ve been impossible for anyone to pick up on.

Must be an older sister thing, you think, being doomed to keep a perpetual eye on others.

She doesn’t say anything when you slip into the chair next to her, which doesn’t bode well but isn’t a deal breaker, in and of itself. The important thing is that she doesn’t get up to leave. You tell yourself that this is a good sign. The knot in your stomach begs to differ, however.

Say something.

Say anything.

“Everything’s… lovely, Seonmi, seriously.” You gesture around you, smiling, but she only gives you a cursory look. “You’ve really outdone yourself with this one.”

Seonmi takes a sip of her cocktail — something bitter, the petty voice in your head assumes — and lets the corner of her mouth rise slightly. If it’s the closest thing you’ll get to a smile, you’ll take it. She hasn’t granted you a proper one in the decades since you got gum in her favorite Barbie’s hair.

“Thanks, kid,” she sighs, setting the drink back down on her personalized, cardboard coaster.

You can’t remember the last time she called you “Bambi”, let alone your real name. Just like Seokmin, you’ve always been a child to her. Apparently, you always will be, no matter what you do.

Her grip around the glass remains rigid, not unlike her overall posture. Condensation weeps under and around her manicured fingers, uninhibited. You watch those droplets soak through the coaster’s design, darkening her parents’ initials and wedding date, while you mull over whose turn it is to talk.

Ultimately, as is usually the case, Seonmi makes this decision for you. Without so much as a glance at you out of the corner of her eye, she muses, “It was a lot of work, getting all the details ironed out.”

You pick up on the subtext immediately. One of those details would’ve been the guest list; another, the invitations. Seokmin assumed it was all an accident and said as much to you no fewer than a hundred times, but this little comment from his sister blows his assurances to smithereens.

Your exclusion wasn’t an accident at all.

Suddenly, somehow, the room is twenty degrees colder. You shoot a panicked glance over to where Seokmin was just sitting, wanting nothing more than to slink back to his warmth with your tail between your legs; but he’s not where you left him. In fact, he’s nowhere to be found.

Fuck.

“Ah,” is the best you can do.

And then the two of you sit awkwardly in silence while the seconds age in dog years.

You should’ve brought a drink over with you so you’d have something to do with your hands. Or your phone — except you left it on its charger, you idiot — or a time machine, so you can revoke your bullshit decision to walk over here in the first —

“He deserves that, don’t you think?”

The combined suddenness of her voice and the switch in topics makes you jolt ever so slightly. You try to pass it off, to pretend that you’re simply adjusting the skirt of your dress, but your efforts go unnoticed. Seonmi is too busy pointing casually ahead, drawing your focus to the center of the dance floor.

Like absolutely no one else is watching, Mr. Lee twirls around his laughing wife, his heart-shaped smile beaming so brightly that it almost hurts your eyes. The love of his life has to hold one of her hands over her mouth to keep her laughter from bursting out; the other hand is raised with the rest of that arm, allowing her husband to spin himself underneath. When he’s halfway through, she surprises him, drops her arm down, and embraces him fully, giggling all the while.

It almost makes you tear up — Mr. Lee’s unabashed, silly love, and how much it reminds you of his spitting-image of a son; the way Seokmin’s mother’s eyes sparkle in the same blissful, radiant way his do. Maybe the same can’t be said for his older sisters, but it’s abundantly clear where Seokmin came from. It’s even clearer where he should end up.

“Yes,” you breathe, and it almost sounds like a laugh because of course, he does. Before you can stop yourself, you ask, “Is that really a question?”

No, you realize too late, it’s bait.

Without batting an eye, she counters, “Is it really so hard for you to let him have that?”

Seonmi turns her head to look you dead in the eye. Confusingly, despite her words, there’s nothing in her tone or gaze that reads like malice. If anything, the slight furrow of her brow shouts concern.

Your mind is spinning too fast to keep up with. Whatever her next move is, you’re too dizzy now to see it coming and too disoriented to follow it. With the knot in your stomach tightening further, you stammer, “Is — what?”

“God,” Seonmi drops her face into her hands. “You don’t get it, do you?”

A fish on dry land, all you seem to know how to do is open and close your mouth. You may not be literally flailing, but with the state your mind is in, you may as well start.

“Seokmin loves love.”

She says each of these words slowly, like she’s trying to hammer each nail through a thick skull.

“It’s the one thing he’s wanted most since he was a kid, yet I can count on one hand the number of short-term relationships he’s been in. He doesn’t ever bring anyone home to meet us; he doesn’t bring anyone to weddings, or parties, or holidays; he just brings you.”

Of course, you’ve been right there through all of his situationships. He’s always scant on details when they end — and you’ve never pressed for any — but you know better than anyone that nothing has stuck long-term.

You’ve never thought about how odd this really is, but with Seonmi spelling it out for you now, you can’t come up with a single, good reason why someone as objectively incredible as Seokmin can’t make these things work — or why, even as you rack your brain, the only constant you can find in his life is you.

She glares now, as if she’s daring you to speak; as if you’ve got anything she’d deem worth adding. The bulldozer revs up again, whether you’re ready or not: “You’ve always been the only person he saves space for, whether or not there’s a place for you, and he has no room left in his life for someone to love him like that —”

Seonmi points again to her parents, who are circling slowly on the dance floor, talking softly to one another.

“So, what is it? Do you truly not see what he’s missing, or are you choosing not to because you like his attention?”

Your eyes burn with tears, but you can’t let them fall, and you can’t wrap your head around why that is.

Who are you hiding them from: Seonmi or yourself?

The longer she stares at you, the muddier it gets. You don’t want her to be right. You don’t want to be the kind of person she’s describing; but there’s something awful whispering in the back of your mind, saying that you might be.

You’ve left every relationship you’ve been in, telling everyone who asks in the aftermath that you like being on your own better. But that’s bullshit. It’s not your own company that you keep when you’re single; it Seokmin’s.

He makes sure that you never spend a day feeling alone, that he’s always available over the phone in the rare times he’s not physically with you. As his best friend, he treats you better than every single one of your exes ever has. Like you’re worth more than anyone else will credit you.

What kind of friend are you if you feel relieved whenever his relationships expire?

Seonmi’s hand drops, landing half-heartedly clenched on the tabletop. Just the same, her voice drops until it’s almost a whisper.

“I am begging you,” she pleads, eyes narrowing desperately as they search yours. “If you don’t want him, someone else will. Please just — get the hell out of their way.”

By the time you reach the elevator, all you’re left with is a blur. You’ve already forgotten how the conversation ended, or which one of you was the first to get up. If she said anything else to you, it was drowned out by your own hammering pulse and a looping chorus of voices validating your biggest fear, stating in no uncertain terms that you don’t belong.

You’re shaking when you reach your floor. Heels clicking under unsteady footsteps, you make for room 218; and as you go, you shove your hand into the well-concealed pocket of your dress for the keycard Seokmin forgot to grab himself on the way out earlier.

He’s certainly not in the room when you finally step inside, although you have no clue where he’s gone. It’s for the best. The door closes behind you, and with no one to see it happen, you burst into tears.

All rational thought flies out the window, shaken off by the tornado of utter confusion tearing through your brain. You grab your suitcase, needing nothing more than to be anywhere else, and begin haphazardly throwing your things back inside of it.

Why did you still come with him, knowing it wouldn’t end well? It wouldn’t be the first time you’ve told him no; he would’ve listened if you truly meant it.

If you didn’t mean it when you initially tried to squirrel your way out of this, why not? Was it just your friend asking sincerely that won you over without a fight; or was it because you knew, deep down, it’d hurt to see him bring someone else?

Why would it hurt?

The answer to that will crack the foundation of everything the two of you have built, but only if you admit it to yourself. It can’t threaten you if you don’t say it out loud, don’t make it real.

So, you won’t.

You’ll bury it deeply enough to forget about, repour the concrete, and tiptoe through the rest of your life with your best friend still at your side.

That is, if your friendship survives the weekend — rather, your sudden departure from it — at all.

“Halmoni, it’s time to go back to your hotel, okay?”

He coos this, as if he’s pleading with a toddler at bedtime, because that’s exactly what it feels like to wrangle the drunk, 80-year-old clinging to his arm.

Physically, she needs to hold onto Seokmin to keep herself steady. Mentally, she’s ready to run and has made several attempts to do just that when she thinks his guard is down. It’s no wonder the hotel staff cornered him and begged him for help; she’s too wily for those who don’t know her.

The manager had at least done him the courtesy of hailing a cab. It sits out front, warm and waiting, while he shepherds his grandmother through the lobby.

“— and another thing!” She slurs.

There is never not another thing. She shouldn’t bother concluding her sentences in the first place; she’s never done talking.

“I told your sister — I said, Sunny —”

Seonmi, he dares to presume, although he doesn’t dare to correct her.

“— you can’t have stuff like this —” She gestures animatedly, albeit vaguely around her. “— in places like this and expect retirees to pay for it! I said — oh, what did I say? — Ah, I said, ‘find me the cheapest motel in the area, or I’ll be staying in your room with you’ —”

Her kitten heels hit the brick outside with an angry thwump.

Seokmin can’t help himself. “She didn’t go for that?”

“No!” His grandmother squawks.

The driver sees the ball of a woman wobbling his way and quickly exits the cab, skirts around it, and flings the back door open for her.

“I can’t imagine why, halmoni,” he lies through his teeth, which shine down on her in his best, least sincere smile. “You’re a blast in a glass.”

She roars with laughter, even while two grown adults work together to pour her into the backseat without bumping her head on the doorframe. “Glast in a blass!”

“Exactly. Can you —?”

He gives up before he finishes voicing his request; it’s no use. Instead, he bends down to hug her and finagles the buckle of her seatbelt while she’s too distracted to fight him off. That click is the most beautiful sound he’s ever heard, after the clunk of the door shutting her in.

By the time Seokmin turns to the cab driver, his grandmother is fully slumped in her seat, pilled peacoat rising and falling with every wine-laced breath.

“I am so sorry.” He sighs, which devolves into a sheepish laugh, and fishes all of the cash out of his pocket. No tip could possibly cover the emotional toll of this ordeal, so he does his best and gives the driver everything he has.

The driver’s eyes widen. Seokmin gets the impression that he doesn’t quite understand the task he’s undertaking.

Poor bastard.

Seokmin continues, “My grandfather is at the inn already; he didn’t feel well enough to come here, but he’ll be ready to get her inside once you drop her off.”

“Sounds easy enough.” The driver smiles and holds out his hand to shake.

Seokmin reciprocates, and he declines to explain just how wrong that assessment is. He thanks the man and chirps a quick goodbye to his grandmother before rushing back inside.

Walking into the ballroom, he hopes to find you and Seonmi laughing about whatever misunderstanding had gotten in your way before. At the very least, he expects you to still be sitting next to each other at the same table. That would be good enough, he thinks; he could assist in repairing the situation from there.

The problem, it seems, is beyond his help. Neither one of you occupies the same table. If his quick scan tells him anything, you’re not even in the same room.

No matter which way he turns, he can’t spot you. His sister, on the other hand, is near the far corner, having what looks like a nightmarish conversation with their parents. There are approximately five billion things Seokmin would rather do than get in the middle of that, but you don’t have your phone on you, and he has no other way to find out where you went.

Above the heads of the two women, Seokmin’s father catches sight of his approach. They lock eyes; there’s something insane in his father’s gaze. The older man shakes his head, mouthing “no.”

Seokmin stops short, raises his hands with the palms up to get across his confusion, and mouths back, “Bambi?”

In response, his father extends a single finger and points upwards. He then makes a shooing motion with his hand. His wife and daughter are so engrossed in their argument that neither of them catches the pantomime or Seokmin’s quick exit, back the way he came.

On the elevator ride upstairs, Seokmin worries. The most likely explanation is that you went to find your phone so that you could find him – but you haven’t texted or called him in the time he’s been looking for you, so he supposes it isn’t likely after all.

Maybe, he thinks, the wine caught up to you. You’re not as strong a drinker as you think you are. While he walks down the hallway to room 218, he steels himself. Even though you both hate it, he’s ready to hold your hair if he walks in and finds you with your head in the toilet. That dress looks too good on you not to be expensive; he’d rather talk you out of your embarrassment tomorrow than have you shell out for dry-cleaning.

You didn’t deadbolt the door behind you, which strikes him as odd. In fact, you didn’t even close it properly; it isn’t latched. All he has to do is tap on it for the door to open.

“Bambi?” He calls out before stepping inside entirely, thinking it’s only decent to confirm in advance that he’s not an intruder. “Sorry for disappearing. I had to pour my grandmother into a cab – it was exactly as awful as it sounds.”

The faint rustling sound he hears isn’t coming from the bathroom, which is both dark and unoccupied. Part of him wants to take this as a good sign, but the rest of him wonders if he’s walking in on a burglary. That flicker of fear is followed by a stupid sense of validation:

You always laugh at him when he cites this as his reason for choosing the bed closest to the door; you claim it’s statistically unlikely. Finally being able to say “I told you so” after a robbery wouldn’t make either of your belongings magically reappear, of course. That said, it might make him feel a little better.

But the figure rooting through your suitcase isn’t a bandit at all. It’s you with your coat on.

“Um,” he starts, unintentionally startling you. “What is….”

His question peters out when you look up at him. There are broken mascara tracks down your cheeks, as if you tried to wipe them off without actually looking at them. Above them, your wide eyes are wet, like you’re seconds away from crying all over again. Even worse, you’re trembling.

Seokmin’s only instinct is to reach for you. Before he can wrap his arms around you, you jerk away from him. “Please don’t.”

So, he stops, though he doesn’t understand why. This is quite literally the only time in your life that you’ve pushed him away.

“What’s going on?” Ideally, he’d project calm at a time like this. He just sounds desperate. “What happened with Seonmi?”

“She — um, she didn’t — It wasn’t that bad; I’m just… You know how sensitive I get when I drink wine.”

Like a switch flips, a half-hearted smile takes over the bottom half of your face. It’s not real; if it was, your eyes would light up and crinkle at the corners. Whatever that look is, it’s bullshit.

Seokmin gestures to your suitcase, where everything you brought with you has been unceremoniously shoved. “Sensitive enough to, what, run away? No. I’m not buying it. She said something — or did something — to make you this upset. Bambi, what happened?”

His urgency is selfish, he knows it. Seonmi’s always been way too intuitive for her own good. There’s no way she hasn’t noticed the way he looks at you when you aren’t looking; how god-awful he is at acting platonic.

He tries — has been trying, for a long time now — to shake these feelings off because he knows you’re not emotionally available. Because he knows who he’s supposed to be for you, and how devastating it would be if he threw your friendship away.

That devastation is right in front of him now; and it’ll push you out of his life forever if he doesn’t shut it down. He has to get in front of it.

You strike first, though. “Seokmin, why didn’t you bring anyone else?”

There are two ways for him to interpret that question: with the emphasis on anyone, meaning not you; or as an escape route. For your sake, he chooses the latter.

“She gave me a plus-one, not a plus-two,” he says softly.

Despite his tone, it must hit you like a punch. You nod curtly, once. “Got it. Basic math. Thanks, Seokmin; that was never my strongest subject.”

Foot, meet mouth.

You immediately set back to work, reaching for the lid of your suitcase to close and zip. Before he thinks once, let alone twice, his hand darts out and flattens against the mesh inner pocket on the top, preventing you from doing so.

“No.” He shakes his head firmly. “Not happening.”

You don’t scowl at him the way he expects, nor do you even stop to look at him. It’s far worse than that; your eyes start swimming, focused helplessly on your suitcase.

When you speak, your voice cracks. “I shouldn’t have come in the first place. I knew that this invitation shit wasn’t an accident; I knew I wasn’t welcome to —”

“— You came anyway.” Seokmin doesn’t mean to snap at you, but the point is moot. Softening at the edges, he quickly continues, “And I’m glad that you did because I don’t want to be here with ‘anyone else’.”

It’s not the whole truth, so it may as well be a lie. You know him too well for him to get away with it; it was stupid of him to try. Your head turns, and the slight narrow of your eyes says it all.

I triple-dog dare you to tell me the truth.

This fork in the road has two dead ends. His only options are to do just that or double down and lie straight to your face, while you see straight through him. Either option pulls the pin, he figures, so it’s no longer a question of who gets hurt; it’s who gets hurt worse.

Seokmin jumps on the grenade.

“I don’t want to be with anyone else!”

It comes out too loudly, startling you. In a way, it’s angry, too. He wishes could project that anger onto Seonmi for starting shit, as usual, but the person he’s maddest at is himself for putting you both in this position.

For the first time ever, he can’t decipher the expression on your face. He’d shove his foot into his mouth to try and keep himself quiet, but his adrenaline is firing on all cylinders, and he can’t seem to stop shouting.

“And I’m really fucking sorry to say it because I know you don’t want to hear it, not from me or anyone else. So, you can leave, alright? I’m not going to stop you.”

The force of the surprise almost knocks the air out of him, so quick that Seokmin can’t process what’s happening until his back is flush to the wall behind him — until your hands, flat against his white button-up, curl to grip the fabric, and you kiss him so hard that he sees stars.

You’re surprised too, it seems. When you pull away, chest heaving, you freeze in the same way he does. Eyes searching the other’s, unsure of what to do now that twenty-plus years’ worth of boundaries have been blown to bits.

You whisper, “Are you still sorry?”

Of the five million feelings swelling inside of him — fear, kind of; joy, yes; fucked up by your blown-out pupils, definitely — regret isn’t one of them.

Actually…

He cups your face in his hands like water from a spring, drinks down the sight of you in this new and perfect light. “I’m only sorry that it took me this long to tell you,” he confesses before kissing you back twice as hard.

You’d ask Seokmin to pinch you and prove to you that you’re not dreaming, but the fear you feel at the thought of waking up is too overwhelming.

Even if it wasn’t, he can’t help you, can he?

His hands are far too busy.

Your pretty dress is long gone now, having been shucked off and tossed somewhere out of sight. In its place, it’s Seokmin’s body that now drapes over yours, warm in touch and tone, like molten gold.

His middle and marriage fingers curl inside you, working you up again; and all you can do is cling desperately to his hair, whimper, and wait for the fall.

“I take back what I said earlier,” he murmurs between nips and kisses at your neck.

You can’t ask him to elaborate. You’re too close to careening over the edge for the second time tonight; too busy babbling fucking nonsense.

His simper against your throat reverberates all the way down, lights up your every nerve in tandem like a switchboard. “Only an idiot would tell you to be less expressive.”

The pad of his thumb swirls over your clit; its movement synchronizes with his middle finger inside of you, targeting your weak spot. He presses down on that spongy patch of nerves, and your hips buck involuntarily, a hallmark of your body begging for you while your words fail.

“You were right, though.”

You summon all your concentration. “I’m always right,” you counter. Seokmin pulls his mouth away from the underside of your jaw just to look at you pointedly. “You’ll have to be more specific.”

He picks up the pace of his ministrations, pulling no punches. You’re teetering on the ledge with no real ability to lift your own neck; your head crashes back against the pillow as you wail, clenching and gushing around his fingers.

“I do know how sensitive you get,” he snickers before slipping his fingers from you and sweeping down to kiss you sweetly.

The ringing in your ears has barely subsided, but you’ve decided not to take anymore of his teasing laying down. Slipping your fingers from his hair, you move your hands to his shoulders; and with whatever muscle control you still maintain, you flip him off of you, onto his back.

“How long —”

You climb over his lap and straddle him, placing your palms flat against his chest. It’s as much a show of dominance as it is a carefully disguised trick for balance.

“— have you been waiting to say that?”

Caught red handed, Seokmin shoots you that trademark, heart-shaped smile. His cheeks were already flushed from the effort he just expended on you; that perfect pink only deepens when he blushes and laughs, “What, you think I can’t come up with killer lines in the heat of the moment?”

You scratch your nails gently down the lines of his abdominal muscles. “Nope,” you purr.

Sitting up on his elbows, Seokmin tilts his head to the side and narrows his dark eyes at you. You’re nowhere near used to seeing him look at you like this, like you’re something to be devoured. The feeling of being wanted so badly makes your stomach flip.

“Give me some credit, won’t you?” He asks, voice low. “You’re a knockout; you’re naked in front of me for the first time; and it’s a miracle I can talk at all when I feel this concussed.”

When you lean in, he licks his lips expectantly. You’re close enough to kiss him, of course, but you stop a few millimeters shy of your mark and watch him fight the urge to pout. His eyes search yours, almost pleadingly.

“Is that why you’re still not naked?”

Seokmin’s next move is to reach for the black briefs he’s still got on, but you stop him, encircling each of his wrists with your hands.

“Ah, ah, ah,” you tut with a patronizing shake of your head. “You’re fired. I’m in control now.”

If the little sigh he lets out is any indication, he is very much on board with your self-promotion.

He takes your cue and reels himself in, allowing you to move further down his body, your fingertips hooking under his elastic waistband and tugging as you go. When his length finally springs free, you duck your head to take him into your mouth, beyond eager to feel his weight on your tongue.

“Oh, my god,” he groans, eyelids fluttering, while you swirl your tongue around his head. “Feels s-so —”

The rest of his sentence gets stuck in his throat; you take what you can of him down your own throat, working whatever remains with your hand.

Seokmin wants so badly to watch, you know he does, but he’s sensitive, too. His head tips back, eyes closed and mouth hanging open.

It’s messy, the spit dribbling down your chin and the sound brought forth by the suction of your mouth around him. The obscenity of it all spurs you on. Nothing inspires you quite like Seokmin’s breathy whines and low moans, though. Above all else, it’s his reaction to you that slicks the inside of your thighs.

You’d give him the ending he deserves, right down the back of your throat, but you feel his fingertips graze your shoulder, beckoning you to look up at him.

Voice rough, he pleads, “Come here.”

With his steadying hands on you, you move back into your original position with your bent knees on either side of him. You immediately spot the indent his teeth have left on his lower lip, which is now slightly swollen. Delicately, you brush your thumb over the mark. “Oh, you’re a goner.”

Seokmin looks at you pointedly. Though you tease, you’re even worse off: drunk on the taste of him, as much as the sight of him underneath you, wanting you just as badly.

“Alright, alright,” you concede. “I am, too.”

The hand you use to wave dismissively at him then reaches down between your thighs, fingers wrapping around his cock and lining it up with your entrance.

“But I’m taking you down with me.”

And you do.

So thoroughly that you barely recall him staggering off to the bathroom when all is said and done, the wash cloth he returns with to clean you up, or the way you slump into his waiting arms before promptly falling asleep.

You sleep so soundly, in fact, that you don’t stir when the sun blares through the open curtains. Likewise, when Seokmin carefully maneuvers himself out of the tangle of your limbs and places your head on a real pillow instead, you’re none the wiser.

What finally gets to you is the thwack of the expensive, hotel-issued shampoo clattering against the floor of the shower, echoing off the tile like a sonic boom. You sit bolt upright in bed, staring bleary-eyed in the direction of the bathroom.

As if on cue, Seokmin pokes his head out of the doorway to see if you managed to sleep through the noise. Damp hair splays over his forehead, hanging just as loosely as his lazily-knotted bathrobe. If you weren’t still too sleepy to function, you’d love nothing more than to grab him by that tie and drag him back to bed.

“Shit. I’m sorry, Bambi,” he coos, though his mouth is full of both toothpaste and a toothbrush in a distinctly greener shade of blue than usual.

You merely point at his mouth with a half-powered look of distress, otherwise unable to put your suspicion into words. He doesn’t get it; he glances down at his chest, looking for what he assumes is a stray glob of paste.

When you finally do speak, it’s a prayer: “Please tell me that’s not mine.”

Seokmin blinks at you, then down his nose at the toothbrush he’s using. He cocks his head to the side, opens his mouth to assure you it isn’t, and finally, when the realization makes his eyes widen, he groans.

You wail, “Noooooo!”

Memories of your last trip together clash before your mind — specifically, attempting to navigate a drug store in a foreign language while you shopped for the replacement toothbrush Seokmin is currently holding.

Ears bright red with embarrassment, he ducks back into the bathroom. Immediately, you hear a rush of water from the tap, which nearly drowns out his feeble cry of “I’m sorry!”

“I know it’s an honest mistake, but how do you make it twice?”

You collapse back onto the pillows and bury your face in your palms; and you stay that way, even when you hear him padding softly over to you. The mattress shifts under his weight as he makes his way, one knee at a time, until you feel him looming over you. His hands reach out and gently pull yours from your face.

Before you can get any ideas, Seokmin flattens himself on top of you; a weighted blanket, smelling like vanilla and spearmint. He folds his arms across your chest and props his chin up on the top of his right wrist, bright eyes sparkling as he peers up at you.

Suddenly, you find it very difficult to be annoyed with him. The worst part is that none of this is by design. He always just looks at you this way, not to get out of trouble but because you’re you.

Your hand reaches out of its own accord and brushes the remaining damp strands off his forehead. When your touch lingers, Seokmin leans into it, warming your palm with his cheek.

“Hey,” you say, after failing to come up with anything better.

He beams. “Hi.”

“Why are we awake at this hour?”

That smile of his evaporates slowly, giving way to a grimace you’ve seen before. “Seungcheol and Mingyu want to meet up at the ski lodge before the post-brunch crowd gets there,” he explains. “And I told my parents we’d get breakfast with them first, since yesterday was… well, mostly a disaster.”

“And it will conveniently provide you with time to think of a way out of snowboarding?” You chuckle quietly and pat his cheek.

Seokmin shakes his head firmly, then stretches his neck enough to kiss you.

“No,” he mumbles defiantly against your lips. “I never back down from a triple-dog dare.”

941 notes · View notes

iannmin · 4 months ago

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DOKYEOM AS YOUR INEXPERIENCED DOMESTIC BOYFRIEND 𖧷 ,, 이석민

🏷️ ⋆｡˚. new couple!dk x reader, fluffy&comedic headcanons, dk is a little dumb here haha bear with me

🗒️ ⋆｡˚. we all love a goofy silly boyfriend <3

୨୧ ‘ masterlist ‧˚₊•┈┈┈┈୨୧┈┈┈•‧₊˚⊹ 🫧𓇼𓏲*ੈ✩‧₊˚🎐

dokyeom who always complies to your little silly requests and never once uttered a single complaint — wear matching banana onesies in broad daylight to the nearby convenience store? yes. make a funny face in front of the pastries you’ve just ordered at the cafe for your instagram post? sure. switching shoes just because your feet started hurting from the high heels? of course (at this point he is high-heel trained, he could be doing full-on jogs with them haha) he just can’t say no to his princess because honestly how could he ever deny your pouty, doe-eyed face…?

dokyeom who has absolutely no idea what the definition of personal space is and loves sticking to you whenever and wherever you are. and by that, it’s literally whenever and wherever. there was once when you were up showering at 2am to cool off the scorching summer heat, and when you turned around after applying shampoo, you literally caught him sitting down on the bathroom mat, bed hair sticking out in all directions, rubbing his eyes and staring at you doe-eyed. “kyeomie what the heck are you doing there???” (not gonna lie your soul nearly left your body) “I was scared…. :( the bed’s too empty”

dokyeom who would panick when you have your period in front of him. “JAGIYA YOU’RE BLEEDING” “it’s called menstruation…” and you can literally see the cogs turn in his brain, trying to process what that meant. “do you need a bandage?” and of course it took him quite a while to learn that you indeed do not need one…

dokyeom who brings you down to the playground across the street to build snow ducks during winter, but every single snow duck he made had some fuckass weird mutations — the beak would be missing or even the whole ass head would be gone, but regardless,, you would praise him. “look jagiya, this is us” he pointed to three snow ducks perched on the wooden bench. “kyeomie but there’s three ducks not two?” and he smiles at you saying “this is gonna be our little family in the future” 🥹

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miniseokminnies · 1 month ago

Text

the subtle art of stirring the pot —- l.sm

⭑.ᐟ pairing: lee seokmin x fem!reader ⭑.ᐟ theme: coworkers to lovers, annoyances to lovers, sous chef!seokmin ⭑.ᐟ w/c: 9k ⭑.ᐟ warnings: 18+ MDNI, mentions of food, stressful work environment, insults, jealousy, switch!seokmin, switch!reader, semi public make outs, protected sex (that's a yes yes), marking, fingering, multiple orgasms, slight angst, miscommunications ⭑.ᐟ a/n: written as part of the Lonely Hearts Café collab put on by @camandemstudios - make sure to check out the full collab masterlist here send over some love! (haha get it) thanks a million to my lovely beta readers: @tomodachiii and @lovetaroandtaemin and a special shoutout to @seungkw1 for betaing and overall keeping me sane

Ring ring ring

The chaos of a kitchen is only aided by the sound of orders being put in. Saturdays are statistically the busiest days of the week, and being a restaurant in New York City, Quartz and Serenity is no exception. You had been frantically chopping carrots for the better part of an hour.

“Y/N!” The head chef called out to you, “Go get more mushrooms, chicken, and sherry for me please.” Without another word you jogged toward the walk in refrigerator to retrieve the ingredients. The last few years you’ve spent in this kitchen has allowed you to map it all out to a science, which in a way it was. You felt like a part of this well oiled machine and you handled the pressure with ease.

You piled the ingredients in your arms and pushed out of the walk in. You began to unpack the items on the counter next to the chef. He instructed you to take them out of their packages and begin chopping them for him. While the dinner service ran smoothly, there was an air of stress that always comes with being short staffed. You always pulled it off though, and tonight was no different.

The moment you crossed from the hallway into your apartment, you dropped your bag to the floor and kicked off your shoes. You smelled like grease and sweat. The apartment was bathed in the yellow light above your stove you left on this morning. There were dishes in the sink and cook books stacked up around the kitchen.

Sighing, you dragged yourself to the bathroom. You dropped your chef’s coat into the laundry pile and waited for the water to get warm. Once hot, the water ran over you, loosening your tight muscles. You stood in the stall staring at the wall for several minutes, mind wandering to what ingredients you had in your refrigerator and whether or not you should just order something.

The water sputtered and threatened to turn cold all too quickly. You rushed through your routine, savoring the last few drops of warm water. It went straight from warm to ice cold in seconds as you were rinsing your conditioner out of your hair.

Clad in pajamas, you stared into the boiling water on the stove. You dumped probably too much pasta into the water and turned to the other burner. You mixed together ingredients in a pan over the fire to make a sauce. This was a typical meal for you after manning the kitchen at Quartz and Serenity because it was easy and not on the menu.

No matter how much you enjoyed cooking, you always tended to get tired of the food that you worked around all day. Customer complaints and repetitive pressure did that to you. You wouldn’t change a thing though, this is what you loved.

“Everyone!” You heard the booming voice of the head chef call through the kitchen, “I have someone to introduce you to!” The staff and yourself meandered to the center of the kitchen where Chef Choi was standing with a man you didn’t recognize. He was around your age, maybe a bit older. His features were so striking, you almost missed the chef’s coat he was wearing.

“This is Chef Lee,” your boss smiled, clapping the man on the back, “He is our new sous chef!” You didn’t hear anything he said after that, you felt like the walls were closing in on you. You could feel eyes on you but you stared straight ahead. You could feel your jaw tighten as you bored a hole into Chef Lee’s stupid head with your eyes.

Once you were dismissed back to your stations to prepare for dinner service you saw him hovering near your station out of the corner of your eye.

“Can I help you?”

“Oh!” He smiled sheepishly. “I just wanted to introduce myself to everyone individually! You can call me Seokmin.” “Okay, can I get back to what I need to do, Chef Lee?” You looked back to your knife.

“Uh, sure…what is your name first?”

“Y/N.” You gestured to the nametag pinned to your coat. He nodded and wandered away towards the wait staff. You rolled your eyes.

Throughout the night you were tasked with showing your new coworker the way things run at Quartz and Serenity and much to your displeasure, he was very excited to be there. Every so often he gave you room to breathe by floating around the kitchen, observing everything. However, everytime he returned to your side you thought you might punch him.

Somehow you made it through the dinner service. It wasn’t your turn to clean up the kitchen tonight so you bolted to the bus station as fast as possible. You didn’t say goodbye to anyone, knowing that you might get sucked into doing something with your coworkers.

Once on the bus you check your class schedule on your phone, only to realize with horror that you have a test tomorrow. Your stomach turned with the dread of having to be up all night studying, again.

—-

“Need any help with anything?” Seokmin’s sickly sweet voice offered at your side.

“No.” You were already on edge today, you made it through your test by the skin of your teeth and your professor made that abundantly clear. You had no time, or patience, for him right now.

“I saw you prep yesterday, I could do part of that for you,” he pushed.

“No thank you, Chef Lee.” You asserted through gritted teeth. “I would ask Chef Choi if I were you.” He slinked away like a kicked puppy while you continued chopping vegetables. It’s not your fault that he is completely out of his element and didn’t know what he was doing.

However, when orders came pouring in you noticed that his confidence seemed to double from last night. He was able to keep up with different elements, even without knowing the recipes very well yet.

The kitchen was louder than it had been in months, the new addition to your team taking it upon himself to fill the room with music, from his own mouth, to your dismay. You weren’t sure how much of his relentless optimism you could take, especially today. He floated around the kitchen with a carelessness that you would never be able to comprehend.

To your horror, at the end of the night Chef Choi announced that tonight was the most efficient night the restaurant has had in several weeks.

“You’re singing.” You deadpanned without looking up from the vegetables on your cutting board.

“Y/NNNNN” Seokmin mused, “How was your dayyy?”

“Don’t ask me how I’ve been.” You forced your knife through a carrot, “Just do your job, and stop singing.” There were exactly three seconds of silence before Seokmin moved from singing to humming. You slammed your knife down onto the cutting board. “I’m taking a five!” You huffed and turned toward the walk-in. Seokmin stopped humming.

The tears started as soon as the door closed behind you. Your back slid down the wall, the coldness biting through your clothes. It was stupid to cry, but you couldn’t help it; he was so infuriating. You had no idea what Chef Choi saw in him. The tears sliding down your cheeks smudged the swipe of mascara you put on this morning? Yesterday? Couldn’t have been more than two days ago…

The door opened.

“So, what’s up?” Seokmin asked softly, leaning against the wall next to you.

“Oh my god!” You cried, “Can’t you leave me alone for a single second?”

“I did,” he blinked at you, “If I had it my way, I would’ve followed right away.”

“I’m in here because of you!” Your voice cracked, a new bout of tears threatening to spill, “I would have loved it if you didn’t come in at all!”

“Well….technically, I’m…kind of your boss.”

“God, ew, no not really,” you scrunched your face in a look of disgust, “Chef Choi is our boss.”

“Y/N, what did I ever do to you?”

“The kitchen ran smoothly without you!” You informed him, “Everything was fine without you!”

“Now wait a minute,” there was an edge to his voice that you had never heard before, “I have never messed anything up.”

“Well–”

“No,” he cut you off, “Seriously, you may not like how I operate, that’s fine, but you aren’t going to sit here and tell me that I’m a problem in this kitchen.” His words were firm but it was hard to miss the tears swelling in his eyes.

“This is serious to me.” You hardened your gaze.

“And it isn’t to me?”

“Doesn’t seem like it.”

“God,” He sighed. “Y/N, maybe this can be a lesson for you. No one is ever going to do things exactly as you expect them to. That doesn’t mean they’re wrong.” He stood up to leave.

“You can’t just walk away after you talked down to me!” You shot to your feet. “You think I’m some dumb kid!” He turned to look at you, you chose to ignore the glimmer of a tear on his cheek. “I’m at the top of my class! I know what I’m doing!”

“What are you trying to prove?” His voice rose now too, “I never said you didn’t know what you were doing! Do you want me to?” You blinked at him. “You couldn’t even julienne the carrots today! Why? All because I was singing?” He wiped the tear away from his skin angrily. He moved toward you and crowded you against the wall. The proximity forced you to look up at him, his face was stone. “What’s your problem with me, Y/N?” He whispered, looking down his nose at you. The cold of the refrigerator made the warm breath fanning across your cheeks even harder to ignore.

“We have a kitchen to get back to…” You tried to avoid looking at his lips.

“You don’t think I’m serious about this,” he planted his hand on the wall next to your head, “So does it matter if I get back to that kitchen?”

“You said I didn’t know what I’m doing! So I guess the kitchen doesn’t need either of us at this point!” You jutted your chin up defiantly. He chuckled sarcastically.

“You’re being so ridiculous right now, are you like this with every new hire?”

“No, only the ones I find irritating,” and incredibly attractive, your thoughts wandered. Rookie mistake, your eyes flit to his lips before you had time to think. When your eyes returned to his he was looking at you, absolutely bewildered. Then, in one swift motion he smashed his lips to yours. The way he kissed you was just as angry as the way he was talking to you moments ago; his lips moved with a fervor that was almost malicious.

Your fingers found the front of his chef’s coat, you attempted to pull him closer. He whined into your mouth at the feeling of being wanted. The sound awakened something in you and heat settled in your stomach. You shifted your weight trying to ignore it. Seokmin nudged you with his knee until you parted your legs slightly for him to slot his thigh between. He was firm and muscular pressed against your core and it took everything in you to not rock against it.

With a jolt you remembered where you were and who you were with. You pushed against his chest until he moved away from you. Eyes wide and cheeks flushed, Seokmin seemed as though he realized the same thing.

“Come out when you're ready,” he nodded and left the walk-in without looking back. You tightened your ponytail and took a deep breath before following him out. You returned to your station and picked up the knife you abandoned before the ordeal. “Thin as matchsticks, Y/N.” Seokmin reminded you through kiss-bruised lips.

“Table 13 sends its compliments to the chef!” Soonyoung comes barreling into the kitchen carrying plates to deposit into the wash.

“That was the last table right?” Seokmin breathed a sigh of relief.

“Yup!” Soonyoung popped the “P” and punctuated the exclamation by dumping the dishes he was carrying into the sink. You had the day off and Seokmin felt the pressure of your absence throughout the entire day.

The encounter he had with you was heavy on his mind all day, the first day he’s spent in this kitchen without you by his side. He still couldn’t figure out what it was that he could have possibly done to you in the short time you’ve worked together.

“Hey Soonyoung?” He called without thinking. Soonyoung turned to him with a questioning look on his face. “You’ve been here a while right?” “Yeah, why?” Soonyoung reached around Seokmin and grabbed at the carrots, earning him a slap on the hand. He winced and pulled his hand to his chest.

“Can you think of any reason Y/N would dislike me?”

“Hm? Y/N?” Soonyoung mumbled, “Oh! The scary one. Yeah I try not to talk to her much.”

“Because she scares you?” “Because she scares me.” Soonyoung nodded.

“She wanted your job.” One of the waitresses, Jeongyeon, asserted from the doorway. Seokmin switched his attention to her, almost begging her to clarify. She sighed and adjusted her bag on her shoulder. “She’s about to graduate, the position was vacant for so long that she was under the impression that Chef Choi had decided to hold it for her.” Seokmin moved across the kitchen to beg her to tell him everything.

“Why would she assume that?” He pleaded.

“You have no idea how long your position was vacant, do you?” She turned to leave, “She was acting as unofficial sous chef for almost a year. In her opinion there’s no reason she shouldn’t have your job by now, diploma or not.” He looked down at the floor. "Oh, and stop looking at her with those puppy dog eyes, she'll chop your fingers off."

Eventually, Seokmin dragged himself home. His apartment felt too big, too empty. He wished he could stop thinking about you, if he was honest. He stared into his pantry and quickly decided he had no desire to actually cook. He popped an instant ramen into the microwave and went to go change his clothes.

The microwave was beeping four minutes later, he pulled the cup out and narrowly avoided burning his hand on the outside. He set the ramen on the counter and dug through the refrigerator in search of something to drink. There was not a lot to be found, besides a full pack of wine coolers he bought weeks ago in hopes he could invite some people from work over to celebrate working together, clearly that never happened.

About two hours later, Seokmin was crying to the credits of Dear Evan Hansen with five empty wine coolers on his coffee table and a sixth to his lips. Whether he was crying over the movie or something else entirely, he wasn’t sure.

He still couldn’t stop his mind from wandering to you, he had new information to mull over, but he still couldn’t understand why you hated him. He would’ve talked it over with you if you just came to him with the issue instead of giving him the silent treatment. Even worse, he couldn’t stop thinking about the feeling of your lips on his.

Your lips and the warmth of your body against his had been running through his mind since it happened. He continued to sip from the bottle as he thought about you. He admired you in a way, so headstrong and willing to go after what you wanted, even if that got him yelled at. He didn’t really care, he realized you were pretty even when you were insulting him.

Soon the bottle was empty and Seokmin’s eyes were closed thinking about your mouth. He knew he would never live it down if you knew, but that didn’t stop him from delivering the soft initial touches over his shorts. Eventually pulling them down, letting his semi hard cock spring free, and pumping himself until he was stiff.

His voice surprised him, sounding foreign to his ears, whispering your name to his empty apartment. Everything became muffled as he heard the blood rushing in his ears, he felt his own hips sputter and he picked up his pace, fucking up into his hand. He thought about the pretty way you said his name with an edge to your voice and he was quickly undone.

You pushed the french fries around in the basket, the parchment paper soaking up the grease they left behind. You barely got three bites into your burger before you felt sick again and resorted to just pretending to eat. Maybe an entire bottle of wine to yourself last night and sleeping until 1 pm was not your best idea, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

You checked the time, you have to be at work in a little over an hour, and you knew you had to eat something for your stomach to stop swirling. You sighed and picked up the burger again, and took a bite. Your body tried to protest but eventually you felt your stomach calming, thankful to have food. You laid your head back onto the back of the booth and closed your eyes for a moment, taking deep breaths.

“Rough night?” You cracked an eye open to see Seokmin standing over you, a basket matching yours in hand. “Me too,” he lifted his basket in a gesture of comradery. “May I sit?” You nodded, not having the energy to argue with him over it. You sat up and studied his face briefly. He had bags under his eyes like you, his hair was more askew than normal, and he was wearing the biggest hoodie you had ever seen.

“What got you so hung up?” You asked, selecting another fry from your basket.

“Oh,” he didn’t look at you, “I just have a lot on my mind, you?”

“You.” His eyes snapped to you, clearly surprised by your boldness.

“What?” He sputtered around a mouthful of his burger.

“I’m sure this isn’t the first time you’ve annoyed someone to the point of drowning in alcohol.”

“I mean, maybe,” he dropped the burger into the basket, “but no one has ever been so bold as to tell me outright…”

“Are you pouting right now?” Seokmin crossed his arms over his chest at your words, once again refusing to look at you. “See!” You scoff, “this is what I mean, you get everything you want and when someone calls you out on your bullshit you can’t handle it!” You pushed your food away from you with a huff.

“I get everything I want?” He raised an eyebrow at you. “You know I graduated from culinary school, just like you’re about to?” He leaned his elbows on the table, getting closer to you. “I worked hard to get where I am, and I was hired because I come highly complimented from previous bosses.”

“What is this? Your resume?”

“Let me show you, come to dinner with me on Thursday, we both have the day off”

“So you can brag?”

“No,” he cracked a smile. “So we can get to know each other better, and maybe put this behind us.”

You stared up at the facade of the restaurant. This building had been your dream for years, since you moved to the city. Now, because of Seokmin, you were able to dine here? It almost doesn't seem fair.

“Hey!” Seokmin’s voice pulled you out of your thoughts. “Sorry I’m late; I hope you weren’t waiting long!” You turned to him and shook your head. “Oh good, shall we?” He ushered you inside, lightly touching the small of your back. You tried to ignore the feeling in your stomach at the small gesture.

Once inside, he let his hand drop but stayed close to you. He leaned around you to speak to the man at the host stand. “Table for two, the name Lee should be on your list?” The man flipped through a few sheets of paper before stopping to read through a short list of names. Seokmin’s hand returned to your back, pushing you to follow the man through the restaurant.

The decor was almost enough to distract you from the warmth of Seokmin spreading through your body as he pressed his hand against you more firmly. The ornate light fixtures bathed the room in a soft light, making everything feel more dreamlike and romantic.

Seokmin pulled out your chair for you as the host was informing the two of you that a waiter would be with you soon. As Seokmin took his seat, you had a moment to take him in. You had never seen him wearing anything besides his chef’s coat. He had the sleeves of his collared shirt rolled up, showing off his watch and his toned arms.

“See anything you like?”

“What?” Your eyes widened, and a blush creeped up your cheeks. He pushes a menu towards you.

“Anything?” He smiles, choosing not to bring attention to your obvious staring. You shoved your face into the menu and began to study it intently. After a few minutes of silence the waiter provided glasses of water and a promise to return in a few minutes to take your orders. You laid your menu flat on the table and looked up at Seokmin.

“What do you like?” You asked sheepishly. He chuckled to himself and set his menu down.

“Well,” he pointed at the wine selection, “I was going to order us wine. Do you like white or red?”

“White, usually,”

“Okay, so,” he looked at you over his glasses, “you know enough about wine pairings to know what dishes a white wine rules out.” You nodded. “They have a lovely creamy pumpkin penne dish that pairs nicely with chardonnay, and we could share a brie sampler for an appetizer?”

“Honestly, that sounds wonderful,” you smile at him. You let him order everything for the two of you. He lets the silence linger for a few minutes while you wait for your wine. Once the glasses are poured, and he’s confident no one will bother you for a while, he breaks the silence he crafted.

“You’re much more shy outside of the kitchen,” he observed.

“I’m out of my depth,” you admitted quietly. He raised an eyebrow and took a sip of his wine, inviting you to go on. “I’ve been waiting to eat here since I moved to New York, and you just happen to have your name permanently on the list?”

“I know the chef,” he muttered into his wine.

“I know how highly qualified you are,” you informed him, “you’re experienced out of the ears and I’m just some kid in culinary school.”

“Well,” he tipped his glass forward to clink it with yours, “you can legally drink, so you’re not a kid.” He watched you smile, “And for what it’s worth, I think you’re really talented.”

“Oh don’t say stuff like that to me,” you rolled your eyes and picked up your wine glass, “You might get me to come around to you.”

“Oh God forbid, we can’t have that.”

“Where’s Y/N?” Seokmin was frantically moving through the kitchen. “Dinner service starts in 40 minutes, why aren’t any of you telling me where Y/N is?”

“She’s in the dining room, damn…”

Seokmin knew that you closed the restaurant last night, opened this morning, and the two of you were closing together tonight. So, when he found you asleep in a booth in the dining room, he wasn’t surprised. You often used the few hours Quartz and Serenity was closed between breakfast and dinner to catch up on studying.

Your head was resting on your arms, your ponytail was loose and strands of hair were falling in your face. He reached to brush them away from your eyes but stopped short when he read the papers under your hand. Application for Employment. He read it over and over with his hand hovering above your head. He felt his stomach drop so fast he was afraid it would fall out of his ass.

Taking a deep breath he let his hand settle on top of your head. He rubbed your hair softly with his thumb for a few moments, hoping that you would wake up. When you didn’t stir, he moved his hand to your shoulder and shook you lightly.

“Y/N,” he leaned closer to you. Your eyes opened slowly. “Hey,” he smiled, “dinner service starts in 30. I would let you sleep, but we need the table.” You jolted upright at his words, knocking his hand back to his side.

“In 30?!” You began to shuffle your papers back into the folder and snapped your book closed, “why didn’t anyone grab me sooner?” Seokmin didn’t have time to answer before you were breezing past him toward the kitchen. He watched you until you disappeared into the back room, agonizing over what he would do if you actually left Quartz and Serenity.

The entire dinner service was spent the same way, Seokmin becoming flustered when you assisted him. If he was being honest with himself, he would be impressed with how easily you were able to bounce back to routine. It was almost as if the hiccup from before didn’t even happen.

You moved through this kitchen like you’ve been in it your entire life, Seokmin truly could not imagine this place without you. He didn’t want to think about the fact that he didn’t want this kitchen to run without you. But you deserved to run a restaurant in his opinion. He wanted you to call the shots and to be successful, even if that meant he and Chef Choi would be competing against you after your graduation. Then it hit him; he also wanted to be selfish and hide you away for himself.

“Can’t you move any faster?” You shoved a soapy dish towards Seokmin. The two of you were the only people left in the building after a successful Sunday. You were eager to get home and sleep after the worst lineup of shifts. You picked up a shift from a coworker because you desperately needed the money, but you didn’t think ahead to how your bones would ache after it all.

“If you would rinse the soap off I could,” he sighed. He pulled the faucet head toward the dish in your hand, spraying you lightly with the water.

“Seokmin!” You squealed in annoyance. Grabbing the faucet back from him, you angled it towards him. The water rolled off his exposed forearms, his coat sleeves long pushed up over his elbows. He raised an eyebrow at you, almost like a challenge. He plunged his hands into the sink filled with soapy water and splashed it up onto your coat.

It wasn’t like you to sink to his level. Any other day, you would put a stop to this, get the dishes done, and go straight home. However, you’re not stupid and didn’t miss a single look in your direction through the entire day. Seokmin looked at you like a lovesick puppy everytime. Something about those looks lit a fire in your belly, and you didn’t care to find out if it was anger or interest.

So, you followed suit. You cupped your hands around a gaggle of bubbles, lifted it high above your head and smoothed the soap into his dark hair. He stood motionless for a moment, looking down at you in disbelief as his hair dripped onto the floor. Finally, he swiped his hands through his wet hair, slicking it back and exposing his forehead. Somehow it seemed like his features became more sharp and striking with his hair pushed away. Your eyes followed the sharp slope of his nose down to his lips and back to his dark eyes.

He moved toward you quietly. The tension hung thick in the air. He cupped your jaw with his wet hands, eventually moving to thread suds through your ponytail. Any part of him that thought he might kiss you was dampened by the water you suddenly hurled out of the sink at that exact moment. He yelped and moved away from you.

“We have dishes to finish, Chef Lee.” You smirked. The dishes in question were finished and dried in complete silence. The water and the clattering of the glass were the only sounds in the room.

“Let me take you home,” Seokmin broke the silence.

“What?” You gaped at him.

“No…” A blush creeped up his neck, “not like that. You take the bus, right?” You nodded at him. “You’re all wet, just let me drive you to your place.”

“You don’t have to do that…”

“I know,” he smiled sheepishly, “but I want to, please?”

Somehow, he convinced you. You were panicked, too panicked to even make fun of him for being the kind of person who lived in New York City and owned a car. He passed his phone over to you and instructed you to put your address into the maps app.

The ride was silent, your leg bounced as you watched the location get closer and closer. You nearly threw yourself out of the car when he parked in front of the building.

“Bye! See you Tuesday!” You blurted as you ran towards the lobby of the building. Seokmin waved, confused, at the back of your head.

“You need to stop telling people you live here.” The front desk attendant deadpanned.

“I know, Jane,” you ducked to spy out the window.

“Who is it this time? Bad date?” Jane was used to you showing up in her lobby every few weeks at this point. You were lucky that she loved to gossip or else she would have banned you from the building months ago.

“Ugh, no,” you watched Seokmin’s car pull away from the curb, “My coworker.”

“Why do you care if your coworker knows where you live?”

“Honestly?” You stood up and moved toward her desk, “I’m not sure…”

“Hm,” she holds out a lollipop to you, “might want to unpack that.”

“Yeah, yeah,” you unwrap the candy and pop it into your mouth, “whatever.” You exit the building with a wave and begin the short walk to your actual apartment.

“Red wine this time.” Seokmin declared as you slid into your chair.

“Feeling bold today are we?”

“Well,” he chuckled, “It’s a steakhouse, so we have to pair correctly!” This was the second installment of what Seokmin had started calling Seokmin's Surely Spectacular Suggestions . You were starting to realize that he knows a lot more than you thought he did. He always seemed to know someone at every restaurant, if not multiple people.

“Oh my god!” A woman’s voice pulled you from your thoughts. You looked up and the waitress was smiling at Seokmin. “It is so nice to see you!”

“Oh!” Seokmin smiled widely at her, “I didn’t think you worked on Thursdays!”

“Ugh!” She put her hand on her hip, “I don’t usually! Dosie needed the day off and as a good friend I took the shift.” She laughed and rolled her eyes. You watched Seokmin’s face contort into a laugh. Something panged in your chest watching them laugh together. Suddenly, you were extremely interested in the menu in front of you as you tried not to think about what that could possibly mean. Seokmin and the waitress chatted for several more minutes before she bounced away. She never looked in your direction the entire time she was at the table.

“Ordered us wine, hope that’s okay.” Seokmin knocked on the table in front of you to get your attention. You hummed affirmatively. “What’s wrong? Have you decided you hate me again?”

“No,” You didn’t look at him. You felt him stare at you from across the table, you held strong and did not look up from the menu. It didn’t matter that you had read the words 8 oz wagyu beef steak and garlic potatoes six times, you couldn’t look at him.

The same waitress from earlier came back with your wine and a basket of bread. She placed everything down on the table and turned to Seokmin again.

“Are you ready to order?” She smiled.

“No, we need a few minutes.” You snapped before you had time to stop yourself. Seokmin shifted his gaze to you.

“Oh, uh…okay.” The waitress blinked at you and turned on her heel without a second look.

“What was that?” Seokmin was looking at you like you had grown a second head at some point in the last thirty seconds.

“Nothing, she was pushy.” You shrugged, feigning nonchalance.

“No she wasn’t.”

“She was!” You finally looked at him, he looked like a confused puppy, “You just didn’t see it because she was flirting with you.”

“What are you talking abo–” His face contorted into a smirk, “Are you jealous?” He dropped his voice to a whisper.

“I’m going to the bathroom.” You declared, pushing out of your chair. You all but stomped all the way to the bathroom, mentally cursing yourself for being jealous in the first place. A hand encircled your wrist as you turned the corner to the hallway that housed the bathrooms. You turned to find Seokmin latched on to you. He pulled you into the bathroom and locked the door behind you. Looking him up and down he looked almost as shocked at his own actions as you felt.

“Were you jealous?” He whispered, “I have to know, because if you don’t tell me it’ll eat me alive for the rest of my life.” You couldn’t help but think he was being just a little dramatic. You slotted your hand into the hair on the back of his head and pulled his lips to yours anyway.

It took him a few moments to respond properly. When his brain caught up to what was happening he kissed you back hungrily. His lips moved roughly and he wrapped his arms around your waist. He pulled you as close as possible and swiped his tongue along your bottom lip. You deepened the kiss and allowed him to explore further with his tongue.

Seokmin had a way of putting every emotion he was feeling into his actions, it was evident when he kissed you angrily weeks ago, and it was evident now. It felt like weeks of anger and bickering had melted off the two of you and now what was left was want and attraction that was left unsaid.

He detached himself from your mouth and moved to kiss over your pulse point. You squeezed your eyes shut and threw your head back to give him better access. Experimentally, he sucked gently on the skin below your ear, earning him a quiet moan. He did it again.

“Let’s go home,” he panted into your skin. “Please.”

“Seokmin we’ve only had wine,” you whispered

“I’ll make you pizza at home, I don’t care, I just need you.” He whined.

—-

Seokmin fumbled with the key to his apartment, his thoughts were elsewhere at the moment. Finally, he unlocked the door and ushered you inside. You tried not to think about the fact that his apartment was about double the size of yours. He kissed you again once he had the door locked and you both inside. His hands found your hips and he pulled you closer as he was licking into your mouth. He tasted like wine, the same one you knew was on your lips as well.

“You owe me pizza, Chef Lee..” You whispered, breaking away from his desperate mouth.

“Oh my god, Y/N,” he groaned, “I can make pizza with my eyes closed.” His confidence was attractive, it was rare for him to be cocky like that.

“You didn’t buy me dinner, and I’m a lady.” He scoffed and rolled his eyes before grabbing and lifting you up, forcing you to wrap your legs around his trim waist. You yelped in surprise, you had no idea he could do that. He plopped you down on the kitchen island and moved to the other countertop. You watched as he rolled out pizza dough. His arm muscles bulged as he put in effort to flatten it. “Not even homemade dough?” You teased, “Some chef!”

He sent you a glare out of the corner of his eye, but the blush creeping up his neck gave him away. Suddenly it clicked, “oh my god, do you get turned on when I’m mean to you?” You smirked.

“Shut up…” Seokmin muttered while opening the pizza sauce.

“Well…better hurry that prep…” You smiled wickedly, spreading your legs. Seokmin glanced over at you and nearly moaned at the sight of your panties under your dress. He frantically pressed the buttons to preheat the oven. Once the pizzas were ready to be put in the oven he slotted himself between your legs and captured your lips once more.

You guided his hand to your breast and encouraged him to squeeze. He placed his other hand on your exposed thigh. He trailed his fingers slowly up and up towards your center until the oven beeped. He groaned and ran over to place the pans in the oven and set the timer.

“Take your pants off.” You stated simply when he turned back to you. He nodded and stumbled out of his jeans, the thin fabric of his briefs left little to the imagination as he was hard by this point. He moved toward you and you ran a hand over his clothed cock, he hissed at the contact.

“One second,” He blurted before disappearing down the hall. You contemplated touching yourself while he was gone, but he returned in a rush before you had the chance. He wiggled a small foil package in his fingers to show you why he left.

“Who said you could hit?”

“I–well I just figured…”

“I was about to start without you just now, I could still do that.” You could tell that Seokmin was weighing his options, knowing it would be so hot to see you get yourself off, but needing the feeling of being inside you.

“No, no!” He sputtered, “I got you!” You grabbed his wrist and moved his hand to your clothed cunt.

“Prove it.”

He started slowly, the pads of his fingers circling your clit through your panties. His lips attached to the sensitive skin below your ear. He kissed the skin slowly, letting his teeth graze your neck every so often. He hooked his thumbs under your underwear and pulled them off gingerly, letting them flutter to the floor.

He ran his fingers through your folds, savoring the wetness there just for him. Experimentally he slipped a finger inside, earning him an arch of your back and a sound so delicious it could be the only thing he heard for the rest of his life and he would be happy.

“C’mere,” he grunted, his voice deeper than you had ever heard it. He moved you to the edge of the counter and inserted a second finger. You couldn’t help but rock your hips against his ruminations. He reached that delicious spot inside of you and you felt yourself hurtling off the cliff. “You talk a big game, but you’re so desperate for me.” Seokmin snaked his free hand over his cock, teasing himself as he finger fucked you into an orgasm.

Once you came back to Earth he slowly removed his fingers. Before he had the chance to wash them off, you took his hand and guided his fingers into your mouth. He watched with wonder as your tongue swirled around his digits, cleaning them. You pulled them out, a string of saliva connecting you to him.

“Who’s desperate now?” You breathed watching him continue to tease himself over his briefs.

“Can I please fuck you?” He whined. You helped him out of his briefs, you watched his cock spring free, the tip red and angry. You leaned down and thumbed his leaking slit, earning you a delicious moan. You spread the mess down his shaft.

He opened the condom with his teeth, you watched as he rolled it down. He pulled you to the edge of the counter again and lined himself up with your entrance. He pushed himself inside of you slowly, allowing you time to adjust. The stretch was delicious. He slowly began to thrust, whining in the process.

“You’re so warm,” he cried. You felt every inch of him as he slid in and out of you. His hands anchored you to the countertop as you draped your arms across his back. Seokmin found his rhythm once you wrapped your legs around his waist, he felt so surrounded by you. He swore he could live with you wrapped around him for the rest of his life.

“Why didn’t you fuck me in the restaurant?” You breathed. His hips stuttered for a moment.

“In public?” He bit his lip.

“Yeah?” You swiped a hand through his hair and gave it a tug. He moaned into the crook of your neck.

“I uh-” He whined, “I didn’t think-I don’t know?” “Oh you really can’t think when your dick’s busy, huh?” He whined into your neck again, the vibrations and the warm air fanning against your skin left goosebumps behind. Seokmin’s hands trailed down from your hips to your thighs and he began to knead your soft skin with his nimble fingers.

You leaned your head back, enjoying the feeling of him all over you, inside of you. With better access to you he experimentally captured your skin between his teeth. Your sounds spurred him on and encouraged him to begin sucking and biting a bruise into your skin. With this your hips bucked up to meet his thrusts.

The idea of being marked by Seokmin would have appalled you just a few weeks ago, but now you couldn’t bring yourself to hate the idea of people knowing you have had him like this. Like that stupid waitress. “She wanted you.” You muttered between moans.

“What?” Seokmin breathed into your skin.

“That waitress, she wanted you.”

“Oh well.” Seokmin bit you again. He was marking you, even after you told him that another woman wanted him like this. The coil in your stomach threatened to snap at that alone. You could envision yourself falling off the edge soon. Seokmin was still massaging the underside of your thighs, pinning your legs around his waist. Suddenly everything was overwhelming, everything was him. You felt like fireworks were setting off inside you. He continued rolling his hips into you through your orgasm. Shortly after he was releasing into the condom, moans rattled your throat the entire time.

He pulled back to look at you, his eyelids were heavy over his eyes, his lips puffy. Before either of you had the chance to say anything the oven beeped. Seokmin’s eyes grew wide, both of you obviously forgot about the pizza.

“Get your dick out of me and turn that off!” You laughed. He nodded and slowly pulled out of you. You watched him slap the off button on the oven, trying not to laugh at him being naked from the waist down.

Once both of you were cleaned up and clothed, Seokmin cut the pizza and put it on plates. You were waiting on his couch, dressed head to toe in his clothes. To him you looked like a dream.

“Stay the night.” He handed you your plate and sat down next to you.

“No.” You stated simply, picking up a piece of pizza. After several seconds of silence you looked up at him, he was looking at you dumbfounded. “We have work tomorrow.”

“I’ll drive you!”

“And walk past Jeongyeon after showing up with you and smelling like sex? No thanks.”

“You can shower here, I’ll even walk in ten minutes later, please?” He looked like a puppy again.

“I don’t have my work clothes, and no yours won’t fit me.” You gestured towards his clothes that were far too big on you.

“There’s extras, you know that.”

“Fine…” You wouldn’t mind showering in a nice apartment for a change. “You walk in fifteen minutes after me, and you shower with me.” “You have a deal!”

Finals week was upon you. The only week out of the year that work came second to school, you were so close to graduation you just had to make it through a week of practical exams. You were confident in your ability to pass but your mind was elsewhere most of the time.

You wondered how the kitchen was fairing without you, how Seokmin was doing without you. As much as you hated to admit it, he did know what he was doing, but being absent was eating at you. You flipped through the pages of your textbook without reading a single word wishing you could pick up your phone and hear about the days you’ve missed.

Across town Seokmin was doing just about as well, he knew your name wasn’t on the schedule and he was dying to know where you were. He was chopping carrots to have for dinner service when he decided to go straight to your apartment tonight. He didn’t care if he had to get on his knees and beg the woman at the desk to tell him your apartment number.

He all but sprinted out to his car once the kitchen was clean for the following day. He parked on the curb in front of the building after the short drive. He practiced what he was going to say to the woman at the desk on his way into the lobby. He took a deep breath and approached her.

“Can I help you?”

“I’m looking for Y/F/N Y/L/N!” He blurted. “She hasn’t been to work in a few days, she isn’t scheduled but she didn’t tell me she wouldn’t be here and I wanted to make sure I didn’t do anything wrong and I–” The woman was laughing. Sure he went off script, but how would she know? He looked at her, confused.

“She doesn’t live here.” Now he wasn’t expecting that.

“What?”

“I told her this would happen eventually, somebody would come looking for her and I would have to be the one to break it to them.” She sighed.

“She just…lies to people?”

“Yeah all the time.” She began digging in her desk for something. “You said you worked with her?” “Yeah, I dropped her off here after work once…so I just thought..” Seokmin rubbed the back of his neck with his hand.

“Oh you’re the one she was weird about!” “What?” “What? Nothing.” She began scribbling something on a slip of paper. “Here, this is her address, tell her Jane sent you.” She handed him the paper and two lollipops.

—-

A cautious knock rang through your apartment, which was confusing considering no one knew where you lived. You unfolded yourself from the couch and padded to the door. Seokmin was standing in the hallway and you almost slammed the door in his face.

“What are you doing here?” You almost shrieked. He held up two lollipops silently. “Fuck, okay, uh…come in.” You stepped to the side allowing him entrance. He shuffled past you, seeing another person standing in your tiny apartment was odd to say the least.

“Hi,” Seokmin offered quietly while you were intently staring at the ground. “It’s nice to see you.”

“I’m sorry my apartment is gross and cluttered and small.” You muttered. Seokmin looked around the apartment. The cookbooks in the kitchen were piled almost as high as the refrigerator, the pink throw blanket on the couch made him smile, seeing a softness that no one else gets to see. The living room was bathed in lamp light that made the shadows in the room look exaggerated and long. The apartment was uniquely you and he loved it.

“What?” He chuckled, “I don’t care what your apartment looks like, is this why you lied?” Your head snapped up at him calling you out so directly.

“I never lied, I told you to drop me off there, not that I lived there.” You pointed out. He gave you a look. “I didn’t lie.”

“Sure, maybe not,” he sighed.

“I’m sorry,” You whispered, Seokmin had never seen you at a loss for words like this.

“Look,” he took your hand, “that’s not why I’m here, it doesn’t matter.” You led him to the couch, moving the open textbook so that he could sit down. Seeing him sitting on your couch was strange, seeing him here was not something you thought you would ever see. “Are you okay?” He blurted out.

“What?” You were taken aback, “of course, I’m fine.”

“You just haven’t been to work in a few days and after…the activities at my apartment I thought maybe you hated me, and–” “Woah!” You smiled, “why would I hate you? Seokmin, I took the week off to focus on finals week.”

“Oh.” He looked at you sheepishly. “Uh, well, how are they going?” You rolled your eyes.

“Fine, I’ll pass, I miss work though.” You shrugged.

“Just work?” “No, I miss the way Soonyoung runs out of the kitchen when he sees me.”

“Oh…” He dropped his gaze dejectedly. “Hey!” He exclaimed as your fist connected with his arm.

“I miss you, dumb ass.” “So you didn’t quit?” “No,” you looked at him, confused. “You know you could have asked literally anyone where I was, right?”

“No one was talking about it! I thought we were all super sad about you quitting! I don’t know!” He gestured wildly with his hands. “And…ugh, okay, you remember that one day like a month ago? When you were asleep in the dining room and I woke you up?”

“Yeah?” “I, uh, I saw what you were working on…the job applications.” He lowered his volume as if he was afraid you would explode. “I thought you might’ve just up and left, you never liked me anyway, so you didn’t really have any reason to let me know.”

“Oh,” you sighed. “I’m sorry…” “Tell me you’ve changed your mind, you’re not leaving us.” “Seokmin….”

“Is it because of me?”

“Maybe at first,” You started, you could see the tears well up in his eyes. “But now…if anything you’ve made it harder to leave.”

“Where are you going?” He met your eyes again. You reached out to swipe the tears that managed to escape.

“I have a few offers, I don’t know yet.”

“Of course you do,” he laughed sadly, took hold of your wrists,and rubbed the back of your hands with his thumbs. “You’re so talented any restaurant would be stupid to not offer you a job.”

“That’s not what you said a few months ago.” You pointed out.

“Well, you know how to julienne the carrots now.”

“Hey!” You tried to push him away but he held you in place. He glanced at your lips before leaning in to kiss you. He kissed you softly, his lips tasted vaguely of salt and honey chapstick. He let himself linger without deepening the kiss until he suddenly pulled back, looking panicked.

“Those offers are for sous chef positions right?”

“Of course they are, watch out, Chef Lee.”

Three years later

You stretch out on your couch after making the most of your day off. With your recent promotion to head chef at Diamond you haven’t had a lot of time to relax. With your new hectic schedule you were shocked that you were able to make it the entire day without getting a single call about the restaurant.

A hand squeezed your calf gently. You hummed at the contact.

“I’ll make dinner tonight, love.” Seokmin mumbled sleepily from the other end of the couch.

“No.” You stated simply.

“Um, why not?”

“‘The only thing worse than the tacky decor at Quartz and Serenity is the incompetence of the kitchen. If you’re looking for the exact opposite of what you asked for, this is the restaurant for you.’” You rattled off.

“What are you doing?” Seokmin sat up, knocking your legs off the couch.

“‘I would give them zero stars if I could!’” You stared at him, “‘I ordered a steak and it came out barely cooked at all! Will not be returning!’”

“Okay! In my defense on that one, she ordered a well done steak!” He threw his hands up. “Who does that?”

“MichelleJo1965, obviously.” You deadpanned.

“When did you have time to dig through our Yelp reviews?” Seokmin scoffed, “I didn’t realize dating the competition meant I would have to defend myself at home.”

“Step up your game, Head Chef Lee.” You shrugged. “But seriously? She ordered a well done steak?”

“She did! It’s not my fault she has no taste.” He shrugged. “By the way I have plenty of great reviews, and I seem to remember my girlfriend really liking my cooking.” “You’re alright, I guess.” You shrugged. “When are you going to ask me by the way?”

“What?” He tried to stay calm, you could be talking about anything, certainly not the ring that has been staring at him from under his underwear for the last six months.

“You really need to figure out where to hide things where I won’t find them” Wordlessly Seokmin got up from the couch and stomped into your shared bedroom. For a split second you thought you might have pushed too far until he returned with the small velvet box.

“I hope you at least left me one secret, you didn’t look at it did you?” He smiled sheepishly.

“No, Min, I have no idea what it looks like, swear.”

“Good,” to your surprise he sank down to one knee, right there in the living room. “You never were good at leaving well enough alone, I had a grander plan, but this seems much more our speed, huh?” You laughed. “Will you marry me, even if my Yelp reviews suck sometimes?” He popped the small box open to reveal a ring.

“Of course I will, you idiot.”

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minniesfiles · 1 month ago

Text

SEVENTEEN AS GIRL DADS

❧ PAIRING; ot13 x reader

❧ GENRE; fluff, very light angst

❧ TAGS/WARNINGS; tooth rotting fluff, sprinkle of angst in some parts, some dramatic situations but fluffy ending, established relationship, first time parents

𐚁₊⊹

SEUNGCHEOL

Seungcheol was sitting at his desk leaned over his laptop as his fingers quickly moved across the keyboard. His brows were knotted in concentration as his eyes were fixed intently on the screen. With the deadline approaching, he was committed to completing this document before the end of the evening.

Then suddenly the door to his study room bursted open, slamming against the wall. Before he could react, a small figure rushed inside with her tiny feet pounding against the wooden floor. His five-year-old daughter, Haeun, ran straight towards him crying out loud with her red and tear-streaked face.

Hot on her heels was you, looking frustrated and exhausted. “Haeun, come back here!” you called as you stepped into the room.

But Haeun didn’t stop. She launched herself onto her father’s lap and buried her face into his chest. Her little body trembled as she cried.

Seungcheol’s heart clenched. He immediately forgot about his laptop, the document, and the upcoming deadline. Nothing mattered more than his daughter’s distress. He wrapped his arms around her small frame and rubbed soothing circles on her back.

“Shh, princess. What’s wrong?” he asked gently, tilting his head to look down at her.

“Mummy said…I c-can’t have…ice cream before dinner!” she managed to get out through hiccups and sniffles.

Seungcheol barely suppressed a smile. He glanced up at you, who crossed your arms and let out a tired sigh.

“She threw a tantrum when I said no,” you explained, shaking your head. “Then ran straight to you for backup.”

Your husband exhaled softly and pressed a kiss to the top of your daughter’s head. It was a small thing, really, but to a five-year-old, it was the end of the world.

“Hey, princess,” he murmured, gently pulling Haeun back so he could look into her teary eyes. “I know you really want ice cream, but Mummy’s right. If you eat it now, you won’t be hungry for dinner. And you need a good meal first, don’t you?”

Haeun sniffled as her lips quivered. “But…but I really wanted it…”

“I know, princess” he said as he wiped away a stray tear from her cheek. “How about this? If you eat all your dinner, we’ll have ice cream together afterward. Does that sound like a deal?”

Haeun hesitated, her big brown eyes searching his. Then, after a moment, she nodded slowly. “Okay…”

You raised an eyebrow. “Really? I said the same thing, and she threw a fit.”

Seungcheol rinned. “Dad privilege.”

You rolled your eyes but smiled. “Fine. But only if she eats her vegetables.”

Haeun pouted but nodded again. “Okay Mummy.”

Seungcheol lifted her off his lap and set her on the floor. “Now, go wash your face, and we’ll have dinner soon.” Haeun gave him a quick hug before trotting off.

You sighed and leaned against the doorframe. “I swear, she’s got you wrapped around her little finger.”

Seungcheol chuckled as he turned back to his laptop. “Yeah…and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

JEONGHAN

It was a lazy Sunday afternoon when your six-year-old, Jiwoo, looked up from her colouring book and studied her father’s long, smooth hair. Jeonghan was sitting on the sofa reading a book as his dark brown locks brushed over his shoulders effortlessly. You often teased him about how unfair it was that his hair looked better than yours with minimum maintenance.

Jiwoo tapped her chin thoughtfully, and an idea formed in her head. She set her crayons down and hopped off the sofa, marching over to her father.

“Daddy?” she asked sweetly, tilting her head.

Jeonghan looked up from his book. “Yes sweetheart?”

“Can I braid your hair?”

“Braid my hair?” he blinked.

Jiwoo nodded eagerly. “Please! Your hair is so pretty, and I want to make it even prettier!”

Jeonghan chuckled and set his book aside. “Well, how can I say no to that? Alright, let’s do it.”

Jiwoo clapped her hands in excitement and grabbed his wrist, leading him toward her bedroom. “You have to sit on my bed! And you can’t move, okay?”

“Yes ma’am,” he said, grinning as he obediently sat on the small pink bed which his legs barely fitted.

“Wait here!” she instructed before running over to her little play hairdressing station in the corner of her room. She rummaged through her plastic vanity and began gathering her toy hairbrush, colourful clips, and a few ribbons she saved from old presents.

Jeonghan patiently sat with hands resting on his lap as his daughter returned with her arms full of supplies. She placed everything on the bed beside him, then climbed up behind him and ran her tiny fingers through his hair.

“Wow Daddy. Your hair is so smooth! Mummy always says she’s jealous,” Jiwoo said, giggling.

“She does, doesn’t she?” Jeonghan smirked.

From the doorway, you leaned against the frame with your arms crossed, watching the scene unfold with an amused smile. “Don’t get too proud Yoon Jeonghan. I let you have the better hair,” you teased.

“Of course dear” your husband chuckled.

Jiwoo, who was completely focused on her work, began brushing his hair with exaggerated care. “You have to be very still Daddy! I don’t want to mess up.”

Jeonghan straightened up his posture. “Not moving an inch,” he promised.

She nodded in approval and got to work. She hummed softly as she created a long, wobbly braid, occasionally stopping to add a colourful clip here and there.

You on the other hand covered your mouth to stifle a laugh as your daughter sprinkled in pink and purple ribbons, tying them into small bows at random spots.

After several minutes, Jiwoo finally clapped her hands. “All done!” She reached for a small mirror from her vanity and handed it to her father. “Look Daddy!”

Jeonghan held up the mirror and burst out laughing. His hair was an absolute masterpiece of uneven braids, mismatched ribbons, and bright butterfly clips.

“Well?” Jiwoo asked eagerly.

“I love it! Thank you sweetheart” Jeonghan smiled warmly.

JOSHUA

Joshua had been through his fair share of tantrums. Having a toddler meant that outbursts were a normal part of life. But today’s meltdown? This was on a whole new level.

He held Byul in his arms as she screamed, her little face red and wet with tears. The two-year-old kicked and squirmed as she tried to escape his grip. Her loud wails were practically echoing through the entire grocery store. It was the kind of tantrum that made people stop and stare. The kind that turned heads and made strangers mutter under their breath.

You on the other hand walked a few steps ahead, pushing the shopping trolley. Your face was carefully neutral, but Joshua could tell that the stares you were getting were bothering you. You exhaled softly and glanced at him. “She’s really going for it today,” you murmured.

“Oh, you think?” Joshua muttered, adjusting his grip as Byul twisted again, nearly knocking his baseball cap off. “She wanted the chocolate chip cookies, I said no, and now we’re here.”

You sighed while grabbing a box of cereal from the shelf. “People are staring.”

Joshua didn’t need to look around to know that was true. He could feel the eyes on him — annoyed glances from shoppers who just wanted to get through their day without a screaming child in the background. An older woman shook her head disapprovingly as she passed by, and a man near the dairy section shot Joshua a look that practically said, ‘Control your kid’.

Joshua tightened his hold on Byul as he bounced her slightly. “Bubba, please,” he whispered, brushing damp curls away from her flushed face. “I know you’re upset, but we can’t get cookies right now. We’ll have a snack when we get home, okay?”

But Byul wasn’t having it. She threw her head back and let out another ear-piercing wail. Joshua felt the frustration slowly creeping in. He was usually good at keeping his cool, but this was exhausting. He looked at you helplessly. “Any ideas?” he asked.

You pursed your lips, then reached into the trolley. You pulled out a bag of baby carrots and waved it in front of your daughter’s face. “Byul, look. Want some carrots?”

Byul, still sniffling, peeked at the bag and immediately shoved it away with a furious, “NO!”

You shrugged. “Worth a shot.”

Joshua sighed. He was sweaty, tired, and feeling the pressure of every judgmental stare that was coming his way. But then, an idea struck him. He didn’t know if it would work, but it was worth trying.

He turned Byul around in his arms so they were face to face. “Bubba,” he said in a softer, playful tone, “can you take a deep breath with Daddy?”

Byul, still hiccupping from crying, shook her head stubbornly.

Joshua exaggerated a deep breath, making it loud and dramatic. “Biiiiig breath in—” he puffed out his cheeks, “—and whoooooosh, out!” he blew air gently on her face.

Byul blinked. She was still upset, but something about his silly breathing caught her attention. And so he did it again. “Whoooosh!”

Byul let out a tiny giggle between sniffles. “One more?” Joshua grinned. She hesitated, then copied him, taking a tiny, shuddering breath in and blowing out.

The screaming stopped, and both of you were relieved. “You’re a wizard” you smiled, shaking your head.

Joshua chuckled, “nah. Just a dad.”

JUNHUI

Junhui adjusted the straps of his backpack while holding his three-year-old’s hand. Mei clutched her stuffed bunny tightly as her eyes darted around the unfamiliar space. It was her first time on an airplane. More importantly, it was her first trip to China to meet Junhui’s side of the family for the Spring Festival.

“Are you excited to see Grandma and Grandpa?” Junhui asked as he crouched to her level.

Mei nodded hesitantly, and then looked up at you who smiled reassuringly. “It’ll be fun, sweetheart. And we get to fly in a big airplane!”

Mei didn’t look so sure about that part.

After checking in and going through security, you finally boarded the plane. Mei sat in the middle, with you by the window and Junhui by the aisle seat.

She fidgeted in her seat with her small legs dangling above the floor. Her nervous energy was apparent as she looked around to take in her unfamiliar surroundings.

Junhui then helped Mei put in her small earplugs, hoping they would soften the unfamiliar sounds. “These will make it nice and quiet,” he promised as he tucked a blanket around her lap.

When the flight attendants finished their safety announcements, the plane rumbled to life.

Despite the earplugs, the deep growl of the engines startled her. She flinched, eyes widening as she looked around in panic. Junhui reached for her hand. “It’s okay darling. That’s just the plane getting ready.”

But Mei didn’t look convinced.

The aircraft began rolling toward the runway, and the motion made her grip her bunny even tighter. Then the speed picked up — faster, faster — until suddenly, the nose lifted, and you were taking off.

The three-year-old felt her heart drop at the unfamiliar motion, and soon panic set in. She let out a whimper as her face scrunched up. Tears welled up in her eyes, and then — she bursted into sobs.

Junhui’s heart clenched. He hated seeing her scared. Ignoring the glances from other passengers, he unbuckled his seatbelt just enough to lean closer.

“Mei, it’s okay,” he said gently while rubbing her back. “Daddy’s right here.”

“I don’t like it!” she wailed as her little hands gripped your shirt tightly. “I want to go home!”

You pressed a kiss to her head. “Shh, baby, we’re safe. The plane is just going up in the sky, like a bird.”

Mei sniffled but still whimpered. Her tiny body trembled as she cried while gripping her bunny like a lifeline.

Junhui hated seeing her in distress. So he thought for a moment, then reached into his backpack and pulled out a small red envelope. “Hey, Mei, look what I have.”

Her sobs slowed just enough for her to look at it.

“This is a hóngbāo from Grandpa,” he said, opening it just enough to show the shiny coin inside. “He sent it early for you. And guess what? He can’t wait to give you more when we get there.”

Mei sniffled, eyes still watery but now distracted.

You wiped your daughter’s tears gently. “And when we land, we’ll see Grandma and Grandpa, and there will be lanterns, fireworks, and lots of yummy dumplings.”

Mei hesitated, then clutched the red envelope along with her bunny. “Dumplings?”

“Lots of them” Junhui grinned.

The plane soon steadied in the air, and the worst of the takeoff behind was now over. Mei’s sobs faded into sniffles as she leaned sleepily against her father’s arm.

Maybe this trip wouldn’t be so scary after all.

SOONYOUNG

The music stopped. The cheers faded. And the winner was announced.

But it wasn’t him.

Soonyoung sat backstage, slumped against the wall with his arms resting on his knees and his head hanging low. Sweat dripped from his tired face, while his tank top was soaked through from the hours of dancing under the bright stage lights.

His chest ached, but not from exhaustion. This pain ran deeper. Months of practice, of pushing his body to the limit, of dreaming of victory…all for nothing.

He clenched his fists, his breathing shaky. He told himself it wouldn’t matter if he lost, and that the experience alone was enough. But now, sitting here alone in the dim backstage area while the winner celebrated, he felt like a failure.

A choked sob escaped his lips. He buried his face in his hands, and his body trembled as tears silently rolled down his cheeks.

“Daddy?”

Soonyoung felt his breath hitch. He looked up with his tear-blurred vision.

There he saw his five-year-old daughter, Arin, standing a few steps away with her small hands clutching the hem of her pink dress. Her big brown eyes were filled with worry. Behind her stood you with a sad smile as you let your daughter go ahead.

Arin took a cautious step forward. “Daddy…are you sad?” she asked.

Soonyoung swallowed the lump in his throat as he tried to find his voice. “Yes baby,” he whispered, his voice hoarse. “Daddy lost.”

Arin frowned, then quietly sat in front of him, folding her legs. She reached out her tiny hands and placed them gently over his own. “It’s okay Daddy.”

Soonyoung let out a shaky breath as fresh tears spilled over. He tried to hold it together, but with his little girl sitting there, looking at him with so much love and concern, the dam broke. He sobbed openly and pulled her into his arms.

Arin wrapped her small arms around his neck, patting his back the way he always did when she cried. “Don’t be sad Daddy,” she said softly. “You’re still the best dancer in the world.”

Soonyoung’s shoulders shook as he held her tighter. “Oh, baby…”

Arin pulled back slightly and cupped his tear-streaked cheeks in her tiny hands. “You dance so cool Daddy. Even cooler than the people on TV!”

You knelt beside them and rubbed your husband’s back. “She’s right, you know,” you murmured. “You worked so hard, and no trophy can change that.”

Soonyoung let out a weak chuckle through his tears, and looked into his daughter’s hopeful eyes. He wiped his face and kissed her forehead. “Thank you, my baby.”

“Can we dance when we get home?” Arin grinned.

Soonyoung exhaled, and a genuine smile finally broke through his sadness. He nodded. “Yeah. We can dance as much as you want.”

And at that moment, the loss didn’t feel so heavy anymore. Because to his little girl, he would always be a champion.

WONWOO

Wonwoo loved the beach in theory. The soft sand beneath his feet, the salty breeze that tousled his hair, the crashing of the waves — it was beautiful, and peaceful. But the ocean itself? That was different. Ever since he was a child, he had feared the water. A near-drowning incident during his childhood left a scar in his mind, one that never fully faded.

Still, he wouldn’t let his past keep him from making memories with his family. You were laying out your small picnic on a checkered blanket while humming a tune as you arranged the sandwiches and fruit.

Your five-year-old daughter, Yoonji, was giggling as she played near the shore with her bright pink floaty bobbing in the gentle waves. Wonwoo was distracted by your laughter and the task at hand that he unintentionally forgot to keep a close eye on Yoonji.

When the food was ready, he stood and dusted the sand off his hands. “Yoonie! Come eat!” he called, but there was no response. His heart began to race as he turned around, scanning the shoreline.

Then he heard the screaming.

His head snapped toward the water, and his heart nearly stopped. A small figure thrashed in the waves, the familiar floaty drifting farther away from her.

Yoonji.

A terrified scream tore from your throat as you ran towards the sea, but Wonwoo was faster. His body moved before his mind could catch up. Fear gripped at him as he approached the sea. He felt his past fear creeping in, but nothing mattered more than his daughter.

“I’m coming baby!” he frantically exclaimed as he charged into the waves.

The shock of the cold water sent his heart racing as he dove into the sea. For a brief second, the old memories surged back. But then he saw Yoonji’s tiny arms struggling against the waves with her mouth opening and closing as she tried to stay afloat.

His fear vanished. All that remained was the desperate need to reach for his child.

His strokes were fast and uneven, but determined regardless. The salty water splashed into his face and burned his eyes, but he pushed forward. He had to.

Finally, his fingers brushed against Yoonji’s trembling form. He pulled her into his arms and cradled her against his bare chest.

“I got you, baby. Daddy got you” his voice broke, but his grip was firm.

Yoonji held onto her father as she sobbed against his shoulder. He could feel her tiny body shaking. With every ounce of strength he had left, he swam back. His muscles burned, but he refused to stop.

At last, his feet found the sand. He stumbled but held tight to his daughter. “You’re okay, baby. Daddy is here” his breath was ragged as he carried her onto the shore.

You rushed towards them with tears streaming down your face. You wrapped Yoonji in your arms and pressed frantic kisses to her wet hair.

Wonwoo collapsed onto his knees beside you from exhaustion. But guilt soon overwhelmed him.

He took his eyes off her. He let this happen.

“I’m so sorry,” he whispered with a hoarse voice.

“You saved her” you reassured him.

Yoonji sniffled as her small hands clutched his arm. “I was scared.” Wonwoo swallowed hard and pulled her close. “Me too baby.”

As he sat there, holding his daughter in his arms, he realised something. He feared the ocean all his life, but nothing had ever terrified him more than the thought of losing his daughter.

JIHOON

Jihoon sat hunched over his keyboard with headphones covering his ears. He was working on a track for another but k-pop group amongst his long list of requests. He adjusted the bassline and nodded slightly as he felt the groove settle in. He was close, but not quite there yet.

A sudden knock on the door pulled Jihoon from his focus. He barely had time to react before the door opened, revealing two of his favorite people in the world.

“Daddy!”

A high-pitched squeal filled the room as his six-year-old daughter, Nari, dashed towards him with her small feet pattering against the floor. Jihoon turned in his chair and pulled off his glasses as a wide smile stretched across his tired face.

“Come here my princess,” he said, spreading his arms wide.

He chuckled as Nari wasted no time leaping onto his lap and wrapping her tiny arms around his neck. He felt the warmth of her hug melt away the heavy exhaustion of the day.

“I missed you Daddy,” she mumbled against his shoulder.

Jihoon pouted in guilt. He had been working late for weeks now, buried in projects and fine-tuning beats until the early hours of the morning. He kissed the top of her head and inhaled the familiar scent of strawberries from her shampoo.

“I’m sorry princess. Daddy’s been really busy.”

You walked in with a soft smile before leaning down and pressing a kiss on your husband’s lips. “You should take a break love,” you whispered.

Jihoon exhaled. He knew you were right. But before he could argue, Nari gasped and wiggled out of his grasp. “Daddy! Can I play the piano?” she asked with her eyes twinkling with excitement.

Jihoon chuckled. “Of course princess. Show me what you got.”

Nari scrambled off his lap and ran to the sleek black piano sitting in the corner of the studio. You and Jihoon followed, taking a seat beside your daughter as she placed her small fingers on the keys.

With absolute focus, Nari pressed the keys one by one as she attempted to play a tune she heard him compose before. The notes weren’t perfect — some were offbeat, others hesitant — but she was determined. Jihoon exchanged a knowing glance with you before both bursted into soft giggles at your daughter’s intense concentration.

“You almost got it baby,” Jihoon encouraged and guided her tiny fingers to the right keys.

She pouted slightly, frustrated with herself, but tried again. And again. Jihoon’s heart swelled with pride. He loved that she shared his passion for music, even if right now, it was just for fun.

After a while, Nari suddenly turned to him with her best pleading expression. “Daddy, can we go home now? Let’s have s’mores and watch a movie together! Please?”

Jihoon hesitated and glanced back at his computer screen. He had so much work left to do. The deadline aside, Jihoon was a perfectionist. It was why he spent so much extra time in the studio to make sure the tracks he produced were top quality.

But then he looked at his daughter’s hopeful eyes as her small hands tugged at his sleeve.

Work could wait.

Jihoon sighed, then grinned as he scooped Nari into his arms. “Alright, alright. You win princess.”

Nari cheered in victory, and you laughed shaking your head.

As you all left the studio together, Jihoon knew he had made the right choice. Music was his passion, but his family was his heart. And in the end, no melody in the world could ever compare to the sound of his daughter’s laughter.

SEOKMIN

The park was quiet, save for the gentle rustling of leaves in the evening breeze. You and Seokmin walked along the park path with your fingers intertwined as you rested your head on his shoulder. It was one of those rare, peaceful moments he wished could last forever.

Ahead of you was your four-year-old daughter, Hana, skipping happily with an oversized ice cream cone in her small hands. She was talking a mile a minute about her day at kindergarten, barely pausing for breath between licks.

“And then, Miss Kim said my drawing was really pretty, and I got a gold star!” Hana announced proudly.

“That’s amazing sweetie. What did you draw?” you smiled.

“A rainbow! With a unicorn! And sparkles!” your daughter exclaimed, turning slightly to flash you both a wide, toothy grin.

“Sounds like a masterpiece” Seokmin laughed.

Hana nodded eagerly and took another bite of her ice cream. Everything felt perfect. The quietness in the park, the warmth of your body against his, your daughter’s innocent laughter — it was a moment he’d tuck away in his heart forever.

But then, in an instant, that peace was ruined.

A man, walking briskly and not paying attention, carelessly bumped into Hana. The impact sent her tiny body stumbling backward. She landed hard on the pavement while her ice cream slipped from her grasp and splattering across the ground.

There was silence for a second before a wail cut through the air.

Seokmin’s stomach dropped as he sprinted forward and dropped to his knees beside Hana. She was holding onto her arm with tears streaming down her flushed cheeks.

“Hey, Daddy got you, hmm? Are you okay? Let’s check your arm” his voice was gentle, but his hands trembled as he checked her over.

“My arm hurts,” she whimpered as her little body shook. “And my ice cream is gone…”

You knelt beside them and quickly examined Hana’s arm. “I don’t think it’s broken, just a little bruised,” you reassured as you brushed her hair from her face. “You’re so brave sweetheart.”

Seokmin’s jaw clenched as he turned to the man who had knocked into her. The guy — dressed in a dark hoodie and jeans — barely stopped. He looked back briefly but made no move to apologise or help.

And something in Seokmin snapped.He stood up abruptly with his body rigid with anger. “Hey!” he barked with a sharp voice.

The man hesitated, but then scoffed. “Wasn’t my fault, the kid wasn’t watching where she was going.”

Seokmin took a step forward, his fists clenching. “You knocked over my daughter, and that’s all you have to say?”

You, who was still crouched by Hana, snapped your head up. “Seokmin…” you called out to him.

But Seokmin was already stepping closer. He had never been the type to pick fights, but seeing Hana cry and the indifference on this guy’s face — he couldn’t just let it slide.

“You need to apologise,” he growled as his fists itched to do more than just demand words.

The man scoffed again. “Whatever,” he muttered before turning to walk away.

Seokmin took another step forward, but suddenly, a small voice stopped him.

“Daddy?”

He turned back and his eyes met Hana’s teary ones. She wasn’t scared of the man — she was scared of him. He shut his eyes and exhaled a deep breath before fluttering them open again.

He walked back over to her and crouched down to her level. He cupped her cheeks and wiped away her tears. “It’s okay baby, you’re okay.”

Hana sniffled again and looked at her fallen ice cream. “But…my treat…”

“Then let’s go get you another one. How about two scoops this time?” you said.

Her eyes widened. “Really?”

You hummed and then turned to your husband, touching his arm gently. “Come on love. She needs you more than he deserves your anger.”

Seokmin took a deep breath, forcing himself to let it go. With one last glare at the man’s retreating figure, he lifted Hana into his arms.

Hana immediately wrapped her arms around her father’s neck and snuggled into him. As you walked back toward the ice cream stand, Seokmin kissed the top of his daughter’s head, holding her close. Some fights weren’t worth it — but protecting his family always would be.

MINGYU

Mingyu stepped out of the shower feeling his body aching from an exhausting day at work. The warm water had helped ease some of the tension in his muscles, but the fatigue was still there weighing heavily upon him. He ran a towel through his damp hair and sighed as he prepared himself for what he hoped would be a quiet evening.

Then he heard it — a sharp, piercing wail resonating through the house. Aera’s cry — tiny yet somehow powerful enough to make his heart stop.

Mingyu didn’t think twice. He dropped the towel and hurried toward the nursery. The moment he stepped inside, he saw you sitting in the nursing chair cradling your newborn daughter against your chest. You looked exhausted, and your eyes were glassy with unshed tears.

“I don’t know what’s wrong,” you said over the frantic cries. “She won’t latch…she won’t stop crying…”

Mingyu’s heart ached at the sight of your struggling. He knew how much you wanted to breastfeed, and how much pressure you put on yourself to make it work. But your daughter, barely two weeks old, was inconsolable as her tiny fists flailed, refusing to settle.

Without hesitation, he moved towards. “Let me take her.”

You hesitated, but your shoulders slumped in relief as you gently passed Aera to him. The moment she was in his arms, Mingyu was struck again by just how tiny she was. At six feet-two inches tall, his arms broad and strong, she fit against him like a fragile doll, so impossibly small and delicate.

“Shh, baby girl,” he whispered to her as he held her close. “Daddy’s got you.” his voice was softer than it had ever been.

Her cries didn’t stop immediately. They were still loud, her tiny face scrunched in distress, but Mingyu remained calm. He placed her upright against his bare chest, one large hand supporting her fragile back while the other cradled the back of her head. He began to rock her gently as he paced across the nursery.

The frantic hysteria in her voice soon quieted just a little, turning into tiny whimpers as her small body slowly relaxed against him. Mingyu pressed a soft kiss to the top of her head, inhaling the faint scent of baby lotion.

You watched from the chair as tears rolled down your cheeks — not just from exhaustion, but from relief.

“I don’t know what I’m doing wrong,” you whispered.

Mingyu turned to you while still rocking Aera. “You’re not doing anything wrong love.”

Your lip quivered. “She wouldn’t stop crying…she wouldn’t eat…”

Mingyu walked back over and crouched down so you could see your daughter’s peaceful face as she nuzzled into his chest. “She just needed a minute to feel safe. And she will eat, when she’s ready.”

You exhaled shakily and nodded as you wiped away your tears. Mingyu leaned in and pressed a soft kiss against your lips. “You’re doing an amazing job,” he assured you. “She’s lucky to have you.”

Aera let out a tiny sigh as her tiny fingers curled against his chest as she finally settled into sleep. Mingyu felt his heart swell. He was overwhelmed by love for the little family you and he had created.

Exhaustion didn’t even matter at that point. Work didn’t matter. All that mattered was this — holding his daughter close, keeping her safe, and making sure you knew you weren’t alone.

He would always be here. For both of you.

MINGHAO

Minghao adjusted his glasses as they slipped down the bridge of his nose. It was a movement so familiar that it became muscle memory. He barely noticed anymore — just a simple push, a brief pause, and then back to the task at hand.

Stacks of student papers sat before him, each marked with his red pen in his neat handwriting. It was late, far later than he intended to stay up. But even as a college professor, he had deadlines. The responsibility was big.

Then, a sound broke the quiet atmosphere. He heard soft cries growing louder as they approached the living room.

Minghao set his pen down and turned just as you entered. Your face was lined with exhaustion, your eyes glassy with worry. In your arms, your one-year-old daughter, Daiyu, whimpered pitifully as her tiny face scrunched in distress.

“I think she has a fever,” you murmured as you shifted Daiyu in your arms.

Minghao’s heart clenched at the sight of his little girl’s flushed cheeks and tear-streaked face. Without hesitation, he stood up and reached for her. And with gentle but firm hands, he took her from your arms.

Daiyu squirmed. He felt her warm body radiating heat against his chest. She was clearly burning up. He rocked her gently and pressed a kiss to her damp forehead.

“Shh, bǎo bèi,” he whispered. “Daddy’s here.”

You hovered close while rubbing your arms as though you were cold. But your worry was visible. “What should we do?”

“Let’s check her temperature first.”

Carrying Daiyu, he walked towards the medicine cabinet and grabbed the thermometer with one hand while balancing her with the other. He placed it under her arm and murmured soft reassurances as she fussed. A few seconds later, the reading confirmed what he was already worried about.

“She’s definitely running a fever,” he said as he kept his voice steady, though his heart ached at the sight of her discomfort.

You bit your lip as your hands twisted together. “Should we call the doctor?” you asked.

“Not yet,” Minghao said gently. “Let’s give her some medicine first and see if it helps.”

He carefully measured out the correct dose of infant fever reducer and gently encouraged Daiyu to swallow it while whispering soothing words. Despite her little whimper, she leaned against his chest and gripped his shirt with her small fingers.

He resumed pacing around the house while rocking her in his arms. His professor’s mind was now entirely focused on his daughter. The academic world, the papers waiting for his attention — none of it mattered right now.

You sat on the sofa watching them with a soft expression. The tension in your shoulders eased slightly as you saw how gently Minghao held your daughter.

For nearly an hour, he walked, whispering lullabies, stroking her back, feeling her tiny breaths against his neck. Slowly, the fever medicine began to work, and Daiyu’d cries quieted. Her body relaxed against him as her breathing evened out.

Finally, when he was sure she was fully asleep, he carefully laid her in her cot. He stood there for a moment and watched her to make sure she was truly resting.

You stepped beside him and leaned into his side. “Thank you,” you murmured.

Minghao sighed, rubbing a hand over his tired face. “She’s our baby. I’d do anything for her.”

As he looked down at your sleeping daughter, peaceful at last, he knew he’d stay up all night if he had to — because some things were far more important than grading papers.

SEUNGKWAN

Seungkwan let out a satisfied sigh as he sank into the sofa after putting the laundry in the dryer. He knew you would appreciate coming home to clean clothes instead of another argument about his procrastination. You worked long hours, and the last thing he wanted was to hear you yelling about unfinished chores.

Just as he was about to close his eyes for a well-earned break, a small voice interrupted him.

“Daddy?”

Seungkwan opened one eye to see his five-year-old daughter, Yuna, standing beside him with an eager grin. “Yes darling?”

“Can I put makeup on you?” she asked.

Seungkwan frowned. “Makeup? But Yuna, you don’t have any makeup.”

“I’ll use Mummy’s!” she giggled mischievously.

Seungkwan sat up straighter. “Uh…I don’t think Mummy would like that,” he said carefully. “She doesn’t like anyone touching her stuff.”

“Please Daddy?” Yuna pleaded with her big eyes shimmering with hope. She clasped her little hands together and tilted her head like a puppy begging for a treat.

Seungkwan hesitated. The idea of having his face covered in lipstick and eyeshadow wasn’t exactly appealing. But how could he say no to that face?

“Alright,” he finally relented with a sigh. “But! Mummy can’t know, okay? It’s our little secret.”

Yuna squealed in delight and grabbed his hand before dragging him upstairs to the bedroom. She climbed onto the bed and rummaged through your emergency makeup bag with the enthusiasm of a treasure hunter. Seungkwan at patiently, already regretting this decision.

The next fifteen minutes were filled with giggles and concentration as she dabbed powder onto his cheeks, swiped red lipstick across his lips (some of it ending up on his chin), and painted his eyelids with an uneven mix of shimmering pink and purple.

Seungkwan caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror and nearly laughed out loud. He looked ridiculous. But when he saw Yuna’s face beaming with joy, he didn’t care.

“You look so pretty Daddy!” she said proudly.

Before Seungkwan could respond, the sound of the front door opening made his stomach drop. You were home.

“Quick! Clean up!” his eyes widened.

But it was too late. The footsteps got closer, followed by your voice. “Yuna? Kwanie?”

The bedroom door swung open, and there you stood.

Your gaze swept over the scene before you — the makeup scattered across the bed, your daughter holding a mascara wand like a paintbrush, and your husband sitting there with his face covered in a colorful mess.

Your eyes widened in shock, “my makeup!” you shrieked.

Yuna flinched at your tone, but Seungkwan quickly spoke up. “Honey, I—”

“You let her use my expensive makeup for this?!” you interrupted.

But then, as you stared at them, something shifted. You saw the way Yuna giggled with her little hands covered in powder. You saw Seungkwan looking utterly ridiculous but grinning as your daughter beamed with happiness.

And just like that, your frustration melted away.

Seungkwan gave you a sheepish smile. “I’ll buy you new ones, I promise” he told you.

He then glanced at Yuna, who was now giggling uncontrollably. “But…look how happy she is.”

You let out a deep breath. Then, against your better judgment, you laughed. “You’re lucky she’s cute,” you muttered, shaking your head.

“So, do you want Yuna to do your makeup next?” your husband grinned.

“Yes! Mummy, can I do your makeup next?” Yuna jumped up.

“Not a chance” you deadpanned.

HANSOL

Hansol sat at his tiny desk typing away on his laptop with one hand while the other cradled his six-month-old daughter Nabi against his chest. She was so warm and peaceful in his arms. Her tiny fingers curled into the fabric of his grey hoodie as he gently rocked her with his knee.

He was exhausted, but exhaustion had become second nature by now. Between his final year of university and fatherhood, sleep was a luxury. His dissertation deadline was in two weeks, and with every keystroke, he fought against time. He was determined to finish strong, if not for himself, then for you and his daughter.

Nabi wasn’t exactly planned to begin with. When you found out that you were pregnant, it hit him hard. Both of you were scared. Hansol remembered sitting on your dorm room bed with his hands gripping his hair while you cried softly beside him. Neither of you had an idea how you were going to manage university and a baby. It felt impossible.

But that was until Nabi was born.

Hansol wasn’t the type to cry easily, but when the nurse placed her in his arms for the first time, he broke completely. She weighed like a feather, so small and fragile, and yet the weight of her in his arms felt heavy.

Every doubt, every fear, melted away in that moment. He made a silent vow to her that he would do anything to protect her and give her the life she deserved.

It wasn’t easy. Balancing classes, assignments, and sleepless nights with a newborn pushed you both to your limits. But he and you faced every challenge together. You leaned on each other when things got overwhelming.

And tonight was no different.

Hansol adjusted Nabi slightly to make sure she was comfortable, and kept typing. His dissertation deadline was fast approaching, and he still had a long way to go. He tried to focus, but the warmth of Nabi against him and the rhythmic sound of her breathing made it hard not to get distracted.

And then, without warning, Nabi stirred. She let out a tiny gurgle before she vomited all over him.

Hansol’s body froze.

The warmth of the spit-up seeped through his hoodie and onto his chest. His eyes widened in horror as he realised some of it had also landed on his dissertation papers.

“Oh, come on,” he groaned as he pushed his chair back abruptly. He carefully lifted Nabi away from the mess, wrinkling his nose.

“Babe! I need backup!”

A moment later, you appeared in the doorway with your own tired eyes widening as you took in the scene. Hansol, covered in baby vomit, Nabi blinking innocently in his arms, and his once-pristine papers now splattered with milk.

You clamped a hand over your mouth, but a snort of laughter escaped. “You look like you just lost a fight,” you teased.

“Yeah, and she didn’t even have to try,” your boyfriend muttered, trying to wipe himself down while keeping Nabi steady.

“Can you grab me a towel? And maybe some clean paper while you’re at it?”

Still giggling, you disappeared into the bathroom and returned with a damp cloth. You wiped Nabi’s mouth first before handing Hansol another towel.

“You’re taking this surprisingly well,” you mused.

Hansol looked down at Nabi, who was now grinning up at him, completely unaware of the chaos she had caused. He couldn’t help but smile back, shaking his head.

“She’s worth it,” he said simply.

“Aren’t you princess?” he looked down at his daughter with a smile before leaning down to kiss her forehead. Nabi giggled as she reached her arms up to grab his face.

You leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to your boyfriend’s cheek. “Yeah,” you murmured, “she really is.”

Life wasn’t perfect. It was messy, exhausting, and full of unexpected surprises. But as Hansol looked at his daughter and the love of his life, he knew one thing for sure — he wouldn’t trade it for anything.

CHAN

Chan stepped out of his car and stretched his arms as he took a deep breath of the cool night air. It had been a while since he went out with the boys, and though he enjoyed the break, he was eager to be home. The comfort of his wife and daughter was where he truly belonged.

But the moment he stepped inside, he knew something was wrong.

The house was in chaos. There were pillows thrown from the sofa, toys scattered everywhere, and a sippy cup knocked over, juice pooling on the coffee table. Then he heard his four-year-old daughter, Dahyun, crying and screaming loudly.

Chan’s stomach tightened as he hurried towards the living room.

When he walked in seeing you holding Dahyun by her arms and guiding her down onto her bottom with an exhausted but sharp glare.

“Sit on your bottom, now,” you ordered, your voice raised and filled with frustration. “You do NOT throw toys across the room like that when you’re told no. That made Mummy very sad!”

Dahyun froze, startled by your angry tone. Her big, tear-filled eyes locked onto your face as her little chest rose and fell in quick breaths. The room was silent just for a second, and Chan saw the confusion in his daughter’s expression. Then, she bursted into loud, uncontrollable sobs with fat tears rolling down her flushed cheeks.

Chen’s frown deepened. His heart squeezed painfully watching her wail with her tiny hands gripping her pyjama shirt as she hiccupped between cries.

“What’s going on?” he asked.

You let out a long, tired sigh as you rubbed your temple. Dark circles under your eyes showed just how drained you were. “She threw her toy at me when I told her she couldn’t have another custard tart,” you explained softly but still frustrated.

“It nearly hit me Chan. I can’t let her think that’s okay. She needs to learn.”

Chan nodded understandingly. You were home with Dahyun all day managing her tantrums, her tireless energy, and her stubbornness. He knew how exhausting it was. He also knew that you weren’t usually this harsh. You were just at your limit.

Still, the way Dahyun was crying, the way her little body shook on the floor, made his chest ache unbearably.

“Don’t comfort her yet,” you added quickly, sensing his thoughts. “She needs to understand that what she did was wrong.”

Chan hesitated as his gaze shifted between you and your daughter. You weren’t wrong — Dahyun needed to learn boundaries. But the way she was sobbing and struggling to breathe between her cries made it impossible for him to stand by and do nothing.

He couldn’t.

Ignoring your warning, he stepped forward and knelt down before scooping Dahyun into his arms. She held onto him immediately with her little fingers grasping the fabric of his shirt as she buried her wet face into his neck.

“Shh, my baby, calm down” Chan whispered as he rocked her gently.

Dahyun’s cries softened into hiccups as he rubbed her back in slow circles. He pressed gentle kisses to her tear-streaked cheeks while murmuring soothing words as he held her close.

You sighed as you leaned back against the sofa, exhausted. “Chan..”

“I know,” he said before you could finish. He knew discipline was important. He knew Dahyun had to learn that throwing things in anger wasn’t okay. But he also knew she was only four and was still learning how to handle her big emotions. Right now, what she needed more than anything was comfort.

You exhaled as your anger faded into quiet understanding. “It’s just been a long day,” you admitted.

Chan nodded while he adjusted Dahyun as her sniffles finally calmed. “We’ll teach her together,” he promised. “But I can’t just watch her cry like that. I just can’t.”

“I know” you offered a smal, tired smile.

As Dahyun’s small body relaxed against his chest, Chan knew that parenting wasn’t about being perfect. It was about balance. Discipline and love, lessons and comfort. And at the end of the day, no matter how difficult things got, love would always come first.

a/n; comment your favourite!

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