#exo: parent

[baekhyunsbestie]

──★ god is a woman ˙🧸ྀི ̟ !!

જ⁀➴ᡣ𐭩 sum: you and your husband are completely smitten with your newborn baby, soaking in every moment of this new chapter in your life. but underneath it all, you can’t help but feel a lil insecure about your postpartum body. baekhyun, however, won’t hear any of it. what you don’t realize is that after watching what you went through bringing his beautiful, healthy daughter into the world, he sees you in an entirely new light. you created life—endured so much for him, for her, for your family. in his eyes, you’re a goddess, and he’s utterly devoted to you. and he's more than ready to show you just how much power you have over him.

જ⁀➴ᡣ𐭩 content: SMUT. 18+/MDNI. 5.6k+ words. baekhyun x f!reader. you're a milf, baekhyun's a dilf, and he calls you "ma" + "mama" :'), married!au, new parents, slice of life, angst + fluff, pet names, body worship, breastfeeding kink, fingering + oral + overstim (f! receiving), unprotected sex, p in v, breeding kink, and a whole lot of baekhyun talking you through it 😮‍💨 phhheeeeewwwww

it’s a quiet evening at home. the low hum of the baby monitor fills the air as your newborn sleeps soundly in the next room. life had changed so much in such a short time, and yet, you couldn’t imagine anything more beautiful than this—being a mom, seeing baekhyun as a father, holding the tiny miracle the two of you had created together.

watching baekhyun cradle your baby, his soft voice murmuring sweet things as he gently rocked her to sleep, oh!—it melted your heart. he was so tender, so attentive. each time you saw him interact with your little one, it made you fall in love with him all over again. falling deeper and more intensely than you thought was possible. his fatherly side brought out something new in him, something that made your chest tighten with comfort. every smile, every quiet “i love you” he whispered to your baby girl made you feel incredibly blessed to say the least.

but there was something else—a heaviness you couldn’t shake, a shadow that loomed just behind the love and joy you felt.

the changes in your body had been gradual, but now, two months after giving birth, you couldn’t ignore them anymore. your body wasn’t the same. your belly hadn’t returned to its pre-pregnancy shape, your breasts were constantly swollen and sore, and your hips felt wider. you couldn’t even look at yourself in the mirror without that persistent sense of imperfection creeping in. you were supposed to feel proud of what your body had accomplished—bringing life into the world—but instead, a growing discomfort and insecurity washed over you every time you caught a glimpse of your reflection. it got to the point where you avoided mirrors altogether. while brushing your teeth, you’d stare down into the sink, and the same went for washing your face. on the rare occasions you did glance at your reflection, it was only for a fleeting moment before the negative thoughts made you turn away.

you loved your baby more than anything, and the life you had with her and baekhyun felt like a dream come true. but the nagging thoughts kept creeping in—what if he doesn’t find me attractive anymore? what if he notices how much i’ve changed and doesn’t want me the way he used to? fifty percent of marriages end in divorce... what if he ends up finding me so undesirable that we become part of that statistic?

it was a silent war within you, a conflict between the pure joy of motherhood and the insecurities that threatened to swallow you whole.

baekhyun had always been loving, supportive—everything you could ever ask for. but lately, you found yourself pulling away. since the baby was born, the intimacy between you had dwindled, and even after your doctor cleared you for sex a few weeks ago, you couldn’t bring yourself to let him in. every time his hands grazed your skin, every time he tried to initiate something, you instinctively recoiled, overwhelmed by the insecurity tormenting you. it wasn’t him—it was you. you couldn’t stop feeling embarrassed, ashamed of the way your body had changed, of the woman you saw in the mirror.

tonight was just like any other. lately, you’d developed a bad habit of comparing yourself to others on social media. as you mindlessly scrolled through instagram, your feed was filled with photos of celebrity and influencer moms. your curiosity got the better of you, and you started looking through their pages, feeling a wave of jealousy with each post. 

they seemed to bounce back to their pre-baby bodies so quickly, showing off toned figures as if nothing had changed. each post served as a painful reminder of how far you felt from that ideal, feeding the insecurities already eating away at you. the more you scrolled, the heavier the feeling became, your own reflection feeling like a striking difference to the perfect images on your screen. you couldn’t help but question your body even more.

with a heavy sigh, you flung your phone across the room, no longer able to bear the relentless comparisons gnawing at you. it landed with a dull thud, but the weight in your chest remained, harsh like a gray storm cloud hovering just above you. you sat on the edge of the bed, hunched over with your elbows pressed into your knees, as if the weight of the world was pulling you down. your head rested in your hands, fingers curling through your hair like you were trying to hold yourself together, piece by piece, before you fell apart.

a whirlwind of love for your baby and frustration with yourself raged in your mind, drowning out everything else. you were so lost in the chaos of your thoughts that you didn’t even notice baekhyun’s return from the nursery until his gentle touch on your shoulder pulled you back to the present. startled, you glanced up, praying he wouldn’t see the sadness lodged in your eyes like shards of glass. but the worry etched into his features sent a sharp ache through your chest, and you could see the panic begin to flicker in his wide eyes.

“hey, what’s wrong, mama? you feelin’ alright?” he asked softly, kneeling in front of you, his hand brushing against your thigh.

you forced a smile, nodding, but it didn’t reach your eyes. “yeah, just tired,” you murmured.

baekhyun frowned slightly, his hand moving up to gently cup your cheek, his thumb brushing against your soft skin. “you’ve seemed distant lately,” he said, his voice low but filled with concern. “is everything okay? i mean… besides the baby and the lack of sleep?”

your throat tightened, the familiar lump of emotion rising as you struggled to find the words. you didn’t want to burden him with your insecurities, not when he was being such an amazing father and partner. but the weight of it all was too much to carry on your own.

“i just…” you began, your voice shaky as you looked away, unable to meet his eyes. “i don’t feel like myself anymore.”

baekhyun’s hand stilled, his eyes softening as he waited for you to continue. you took a deep breath, the words spilling out in a rush before you could stop them.

“i love her so much, baek. our baby… she’s everything to me. and every time i see you with her, it makes me fall for you all over again. you’re such an incredible dad, and i couldn’t have asked for a better partner to build a family with.” your voice trembled as you twisted the sheets between your fingers, the pressure behind your eyes building with unshed tears. “but... but i just can’t shake this feeling that i’m not enough anymore. i look at myself, and my body isn’t the same. i’m not the same. and i don’t know how to feel okay with that when i don’t recognize who i am in the mirror.”

baekhyun’s expression changed as he listened to you pour out everything you had been holding in, his heart breaking with each word. he had sensed the distance between you, the way you had pulled back, but he hadn’t fully understood the reasons behind it. he thought you just needed time to adjust to this new chapter in your lives. it was a significant change, and he knew how much you valued space when processing things, but he hadn’t realized it was tearing you apart like this. now, as he heard the depth of your pain and insecurities, guilt tightened in his chest for not recognizing it sooner.

the silence that lingers between you, coupled with your downcast gaze, speaks volumes. how could you possibly believe you weren’t beautiful anymore? he struggles to comprehend it, taken back by the thought. in truth, he has never found you more attractive than he does now. to him, you are a goddess, a magical being who has created and nurtured life. he holds you in the highest regard, without question.

“hey,” he whispered, his voice steady yet filled with emotion. “you’re more than enough, and you always have been. you’re still the same woman i fell in love with. and when i look at you... all i see is someone who’s perfect. you’re the most beautiful thing in my life.”

you shook your head, the tears finally spilling over as you buried your face in his shoulder. “you don’t understand, baekhyun. i don’t feel beautiful. i look at myself, and all i see is someone who’s… different. i don’t know if you can love me like this.”

“do you really think that?” he asks softly, his fingers brushing a strand of hair from your face. “that i don’t think you’re beautiful? that i can’t love you the way you are?” his arms tightened around you, his breath warm against your hair as he pressed a soft kiss to the top of your head. “baby, i love you more now than i ever have,” he said softly, his voice filled with sincerity. he pulls away enough to look you in the eyes, “you gave me the most beautiful gift—the life we made together. how could i not love you more?”

you sniffled, your heart aching with a mix of love and insecurity. “but i’m not the same. my body… it’s changed so much.”

“i think you’re being too hard on yourself, 'ma,” he whispers softly. you can’t bear to meet his gaze; the moment you do, you know you’ll break. “it’s only been two months since you gave birth—just two months. it took you over nine to create her. even if it takes longer than that for you to feel like yourself again, i wouldn’t care. honestly, even if you never return to who you were, it wouldn’t matter to me. as long as you, my love, are happy and healthy, nothing else matters.”

his hands, warm and gentle, glide down your arms and rest on your waist, anchoring you in his affection. he leans down and presses a tender kiss to your stomach, his lips lingering as if savoring the bond between you.

baekhyun pulled back slightly, his fingers tilting your chin towards him so you were forced to meet his gaze. his eyes were filled with so much love, so much respect, that it nearly took your breath away.

“you are everything to me,” he says firmly, his thumbs gently wiping away the tears that finally escaped. “and this—” he gestures to your body, his eyes never leaving yours “—this body gave us our child. you carried our baby, you’ve sacrificed your sleep, your comfort, everything—and you’re still the most devastatingly beautiful person i’ve ever seen.”

he leaned in, his lips brushing softly against yours, his touch so tender it made your heart swell. “why don’t you let me show you?” he murmured against your lips, his hand slipping down to cup your waist. “let me show you how much i love every inch of you.”

you hesitated for a moment, the familiar insecurity rising in your chest, but when you looked into his eyes, all you saw was honest love and pure devotion. there wasn’t a trace of doubt, not an ounce of anything but pure adoration for you—for all of you.

with a soft nod, you gave in, letting baekhyun lead you further onto the bed, his hands moving slowly, reverently, as if worshipping every part of you. a rush of vulnerability washed over you as he slipped off your oversized shirt, revealing your post-pregnancy body in all its glory, leaving you in nothing but your underwear. despite the insecurity that bubbled within, his lips found your skin, kissing you as if he were rediscovering every curve. each kiss, each gentle touch, was infused with such deep care that it made your heart ache in the best way

when his lips found your breasts, swollen and sore from breastfeeding, you tensed for a moment, the self-consciousness flaring up again. but baekhyun paused, his lips pressing soft kisses to your skin as he whispered, “these are so beautiful.”

he gently kissed your sensitive nipples, his tongue flicking out to taste the sweetness there. you gasped at the sensation, your body responding in ways you hadn’t expected, the embarrassment fading under the warmth of his touch. 

baekhyun's eyes darkened, a heated gaze sweeping over you. his breath caught as he took in the softness of your skin and the gentle curves of your body drawing him closer. in a husky whisper, he breathed, “god… you’re incredible. this body—how could you ever think i wouldn’t find it breathtaking?” 

you try to cover yourself, but he gently pulls your hands away, pressing a soft kiss to your wrist.

“don’t hide from me,” he whispers, his voice loving as he presses his lips to the curve of your stomach, right where the stretch marks are the deepest. “these marks… they’re so pretty. they’re proof of everything you’ve done.”

his words make your heart clench, and when he places another kiss along the line of your abdomen, your breath hitches.

he looks up at you, his hands running gently over the soft skin of your hips before dipping lower to caress your thighs. his touch is slow, intentional, as if he’s taking his time to worship every part of you.

“you don’t know how much i love this body,” he murmurs, his hands sliding upward to cup your breasts. his thumbs graze over your sensitive nipples, making you gasp as a rush of pleasure shoots through you. “the way it’s changed… the way you’ve changed. you’re more than i could have ever asked for.”

you bite your lip as you watch his soft, slender hands continue their agonizingly slow exploration, your body responding despite the insecurity still clinging to your thoughts. he leans forward, brushing his lips against one of your breasts, his tongue flicking out to taste the milk that’s already beginning to leak from your nipple.

“baek—hah” you gasp, but the sound turns into a moan as his mouth closes around you, gently suckling.

the sensation sends a jolt of warmth through your core, your hands finding their way into his hair as he continues to worship you. his tongue is slow, deliberate, drawing out each drop of milk as if savoring the taste.

when he pulls back, his lips are slick, his eyes dark with a mix of love and desire.

“i could do this all night,” he murmurs, his breath hot against your skin. “you don’t know how much i want you. how much i crave every part of you.”

is words wrap around your heart like a cozy embrace, and for the first time in what feels like forever, you begin to believe him. baekhyun shifts closer, bringing you face to face, his hands cradling your cheeks. the tip of his nose brushes against yours as he continues, “you’re perfect, and ’m gonna keep reminding you until you believe it.”

before you can respond, his lips crash into yours, a slow, consuming kiss that melts away every insecurity, every doubt. he kisses you like he’s trying to prove something—like he’s trying to show you just how much he means every word.

“relax f’me,” he whispers against your lips, his voice thick with need. you obey, sinking into the soft sheets as baekhyun hovers over you, eyes dark and focused entirely on you.

“you have no idea how much i’ve wanted this,” he murmurs, his hand sliding down your side, sending shivers across your skin. he presses a kiss to the swell of your breast, his tongue flicking out to circle your nipple, the sensitivity from breastfeeding making you gasp.

the sensation is unlike anything you’ve ever felt—raw, intimate, and so deeply connected that it makes your head spin. he groans softly against your skin, his hand kneading your other breast, coaxing out the milk that begins to flow. “ya taste s’good,” he murmurs between kisses, his tongue lapping at the milk that escapes. “so sweet.”

your cheeks burn at his words, but the way he worships you makes the embarrassment melt away, replaced by a deep, aching need. his lips continue their slow assault, drinking from you like he’s savoring every drop, and you’re helpless beneath him, your body responding to his every touch.

the pleasure is almost overwhelming, a slow, simmering heat that builds in your core. baekhyun’s free hand drifts lower, slipping beneath your underwear, his fingers sliding through your slick folds. you gasp at the contact, your hips bucking into his hand, desperate for more.

“you’re so wet f’me,” he whispers, his voice thick with desire as he pulls back just enough to meet your gaze. his fingers tease your entrance, his touch gentle but firm. “you like it when i drink from you, don’t you?”

you can only nod, too lost in the sensations to form a coherent response. baekhyun smirks, his thumb circling your clit as he presses a soft kiss to your chest, milk still glistening on his lips.

“i wanna hear ya say it,” he murmurs, his fingers sliding inside you slowly, stretching you in a way that makes your breath catch. “tell me how much you love this.”

you moan softly, the words tumbling out before you can stop them. “i love it hah—i love it when you nngghhh—when y’drink from me.”

baekhyun groans in response, his fingers curling inside you, hitting that spot that makes your vision blur. “that’s right, mama,” he whispers, his voice low and rough. “i’m gonna make ya feel so good. you deserve it.”

his fingers pump into you steadily, his thumb never leaving your clit, and you feel yourself spiraling, the pleasure building higher and higher with each stroke. his mouth, his hands, the way he’s so focused on you—it’s all too much.

“b-baekhyun, i—” you can’t even finish the sentence, the words caught in your throat as the tension in your core tightens, pulling you closer and closer to the edge.

he looks up at you, his eyes dark with lust, and the sight of him—his lips wet from your milk, his fingers buried deep inside you—is enough to send you tumbling over the edge.

your orgasm crashes into you, your body trembling as you cry out his name. baekhyun’s mouth never leaves your breast, drinking from you as you fall apart beneath him, his fingers continuing their steady rhythm, drawing out every wave of pleasure until you’re completely spent.

he finally pulls back, his lips releasing you with a soft, wet POP! making you shudder at the loss of contact. 

but baekhyun isn’t done yet. 

in fact, he’s just getting started.

he glides down your body, his hands leaving a trail of warmth across your skin before settling between your legs. and with a swift motion, he’s ripping your underwear off, leaving you utterly breathless and completely vulnerable. you barely have a moment to catch up, still trembling from the orgasm he just gave you. before you can process what's happening, his mouth is on you, his tongue teasing your overly sensitive clit. a gasp escapes your lips as your hips instinctively buck up into his mouth, but he holds you steady, his grip firm on your thighs as he devours you.

“holyyyy fuck—baekhyun, p-please!” you whimper, but you’re not sure what you’re begging for anymore. his mouth is persistent, his tongue swirling and flicking in all the right places, sending shockwaves of pleasure all throughout your already overstimulated body.

he pulls back just enough to speak, his voice low and rough, “mm mm,” he shakes his head, moaning into you, “not stoppin’ ‘til ya understand how much i love this body.”

his words send a fresh wave of heat through you, and before you can respond, his mouth is on you again, sucking your clit into his mouth as his fingers return, thrusting deep inside you.

you’re spiraling again, the pleasure building impossibly higher, your mind, body, and soul completely at his mercy. it wasn’t long before he had you cumming again with his name on your lips, your body trembling as he pushes you over the edge once again.

when he finally pulls back, you’re left breathless, your body spent and trembling from the intensity of it all. “i love you,” he whispers, planting soft kisses up and down your thighs, “every part of you. don’t you ever doubt that.”

you nod, still breathless. “i love you. i believe you.”

but the tenderness of the moment vanishes as quick as it came. once you lock eyes, you notice that his are dark and filled with something raw, primal. his lips are wet from your orgasm, and the sight alone sends another surge of heat through your body. he presses one last kiss to your trembling thigh, his hands gripping you possessively as he pulls back slightly, his gaze never leaving yours.

"i've missed having ya like this," he rasps, his voice thick with desire. his fingers continue to ghost over your sensitive skin, sending shivers through you. you can feel him, hot and hard against your inner thigh, the fabric of his gray sweats doing little to hide his need. the dark spot of precum soaking through makes it all the more obvious. "i’ve been waiting to be inside you, ‘ma. been drivin’ me crazy thinkin’ about it."

your breath catches at his words. you’ve been so wrapped up in your insecurities and exhaustion that you hadn’t realized just how much he’d been holding back. the yearning in his voice is unmistakable, and it sends a thrill down your spine.

“oh? is that so?” you tease, your voice barely above a whisper, still coming down from the back to back orgasms he’s given you. you feel overwhelmed by how much he wants you, how much he’s been waiting for this moment, for you. 

“it is so.” he presses his forehead against yours, breathing you in like he’s trying to ground himself, but the tension in his body is evident. “you have no idea how badly i need this,” he groans, his lips brushing against yours. “how bad i need you.”

his words give you goosebumps, the weight of his need making your body ache with anticipation. you can feel how hard he is, his dick pressing against you as he rolls his hips, the friction making you moan softly into his mouth.

“well, hurry up then,” you whimper, your impatient hands slipping down his toned chest, tugging at his waistband. he lets out a low chuckle, but there’s nothing playful in the way his eyes darken with pure, unfiltered hunger.

“you’re gonna be the death of me, i swear,” he says, pulling back just enough to slide out of his sweats, his cock springing free and brushing against your thigh. you gasp at the heat of him, the anticipation building with every second that passes.

his hand slips between your legs again, his fingers sliding through your wetness as he positions the pink tip of his aching dick at your entrance. he’s teasing you, slow and with purpose, as if savoring every second. he nudges his tip against you, and you gasp, already so sensitive from everything he’s done to you.

“i’ve thought about this every night,” baekhyun continues, his voice husky as his fingers dig into your hips. “about feeling you wrapped around me again. how perfect your pussy feels around me.” he slowly inches inside you, his length stretching you in a way that feels both familiar and completely new after so long.

you let out a shaky breath as he pushes in deeper, filling you completely. the sensation is overwhelming, his body pressed against yours, hot and solid, and for a moment, all the doubts and insecurities vanish under the sheer weight of his desire.

“oh—fffuuuck,” baekhyun groans, his voice low and strained as he stills inside you. his hands grip your hips tightly, as if he’s struggling to keep himself in check. he thinks if he starts moving he just might cum. and he can’t have that. not when tonight is all about you. “missed this so much. god, you’re so f-fuckin’ tight,” he groans, voice strained. “i’ve been hah—dying to be inside ya again, ‘ma.”

your hands slide up his arms, holding onto him as he slowly begins to move, each thrust deep and calculated, as if he’s savoring the feeling of being inside you again. his pace is unhurried, but there’s an intensity in the way he moves, a desperation that has been building for months.

“you’ve been drivin’ me crazy,” he murmurs against your neck, his breath hot against your taut skin. “every time i look at you, i just wanna nnghh—make you mine all over again.”

your nails dig into his back as he thrusts deeper, his hips pressing flush against yours. he’s slow, almost torturously so, drawing out every sensation until your entire body is trembling beneath him.

“hah—and ya wanna know what else i’ve been th-thinkin’ about?” he whispers, his lips brushing your ear. “i wanna put another baby inside you.”

the words send a shockwave through your body, your breath hitching at the intensity in his voice. his hips snap forward a little harder now, his movements more purposeful, more driven by the raw need to claim you in every way possible.

you gasp, heart pounding at his confession. you feel dizzy with desire, his words igniting something deep within you.

“i’ve thought about it s-so many times,” he whimpers, his voice rough with need. “about filling ya up, nngghh—watchin’ ya grow round with our baby again. hah—y’looked so fuckin’ beautiful carryin’ our child. goddamn.”

each thrust punctuates his words, and the idea of him wanting to put another baby inside you only fuels the fire burning between you. you can feel his need, his desperation, and it pushes you closer to the edge with every movement.

baekhyun leans down, pressing a kiss to your parted lips, his hand slipping between your bodies to rub gentle circles over your swollen clit. “i’m gonna make ya mine again,” he groans. “mmnnghh—’m gonna fill ya up, ‘ma. you’re mine—all mine. and every time you f-feel my cum dripping down your leg tomorrow hah—you’ll remember. just. how. much.”

the pressure builds rapidly, the combination of his praise and the way he’s holding you tightly as he’s rearranging your insides sends you spiraling. his thrusts quicken, and you can feel him losing control, the weight of his desire crashing down on both of you.

“oh, yes! f-fuck nnngghhh—baek!” you can’t even form the words, your body tightening around him as the pleasure builds higher and higher. his name falls from your lips again and again and again, your voice breathless as you grip his shoulders, your nails digging marks into his soft skin.

“’m so close,” baekhyun groans, his voice thick and rough as he pounds into you harder, his hips slamming into yours with a desperation that mirrors your own. “cum f’me, baby. i wanna hah—feel you.”

his words push you over the edge, your orgasm crashing over you with an intensity that leaves you breathless. your vision turns white, body clenching all around him, hips bucking up into his as he continues to relentlessly thrust into you, chasing his own release.

baekhyun’s movements grow erratic, his hips snapping into yours with increasing urgency until he finally stills, his body shuddering as he spills inside you, coating your walls in a pretty white shade. the heat of him filling you makes you shiver, as he groans your name, his grip on your hips tightening as he rides out his release.

baekhyun collapses against you, his chest heaving as he tries to catch his breath, his forehead pressed lovingly against yours. he’s still inside you, both of you completely wrapped up in each other, the weight of his body grounding you, making you feel safe, loved. for a moment, the only sound in the room is the ragged breathing of both of you, tangled together in the aftermath of your shared release.

“i love you,” he whispers breathlessly against your lips, his voice raw with emotion. “i love everything about you, mama. you’re everything i need.”

after the intensity of the moment eases, baekhyun lifts his head, planting a tender kiss on your forehead. you both wince as he pulls out, the overwhelming sensitivity leaving you breathless. he settles close beside you, propping himself up, his hands gently gliding over your sides. his fingers trace the delicate curve of your waist, drawing you closer to him. his gaze softens, filled with affection as he brushes a strand of hair away from your face. his fingers linger on your cheek, and you can feel the weight of his thoughts, the unspoken emotions swirling in his eyes.

“y’know,” he begins, his voice low, still catching his breath. but there’s a depth to it that makes your heart skip a beat. “i didn’t think it was possible to love you more than i already did.” his thumb gently strokes your cheek, and he gazes at you with a mix of awe and appreciation. “but seeing you pregnant with our baby, watching you go through everything you did—physically and mentally—it just... changed everything for me.”

you feel a lump form in your throat as his words sink in, the sincerity and raw emotion in his voice making your chest tighten with warmth.

“i don’t think you truly understand how incredible you are,” baekhyun says, his brown eyes locked onto yours with unwavering intensity. “you endured so much to bring our baby into the world. i saw every moment—the pain, the struggle—but you were so strong. you did it all so well, and i’ll forever be indebted to you for that.

he leans in, pressing a soft kiss to your lips, but it’s more than just a kiss—it’s full of gratitude, admiration, and love.

“and now… seeing you like this,” he murmurs, his hand sliding down to rest on your waist, tracing the beautiful curves of your post-pregnancy body, “you’re even more beautiful to me. so much more. every part of you.” his eyes roam your figure, and there’s nothing but love and desire in his gaze.

baekhyun’s acknowledgment of your strength, of everything you endured, fills you with a deep sense of gratitude and relief. his touch, gentle and meek, tracing the parts of you that you’ve been insecure about, feels like a silent reassurance that you are enough—more than enough. his love feels like a weight lifting off your shoulders, and you couldn’t be more at ease

your heart swells with emotion, and his kiss, filled with gratitude and love. his confession was the tipping point, breaking down the walls you had built around your insecurities.

“thank you for loving me the way you do, baek,” you whisper, cupping his face as your noses brush together, savoring the warmth of each other’s presence and inhaling the scent that feels like home. “how did i get so lucky?”

“i could say the same about you, my love,” he murmurs between gentle kisses that he scatters across your cheeks and forehead, each one a soft reminder of his unwavering devotion.

he holds you gently yet firmly against his chest, your heart racing with excitement, filled with butterflies. each flutter reminds you of the deep love that grows stronger between you both.

“oh, and i meant every word i said earlier, by the way,” baekhyun’s voice breaks the comfortable silence, soft yet serious. “every word. i want more of this with you—more of us. i can picture it: a whole litter of mini versions of us running around.”

a smile tugs at your lips, your heart swelling at the thought of a future filled with love and chaos. “yeah, yeah. we’ll see,” you tease, fingers threading through his soft, dark hair, enjoying the way it curls around your hand.

“awww, come on, wouldn’t it be great?” he continues, eyes sparkling with mischief. “there’d never be a dull moment! and i want them all close in age," he adds, his excitement bubbling over without pause—like he’s the one who’s going to be pushing out watermelon-sized humans. "they’ll be running around, constantly yelling, ‘mommy, mommy, mommy!’ nonstop. 24/7, 365 days a year. sounds fun, right?"

you snort, rolling your eyes. “the only thing that makes me want to do is call up my obgyn and schedule a total hysterectomy, baekhyun.” his laughter is contagious, and you can’t help but grin. “i can already feel my hair graying just thinking about it.”

“fine,” he sighs dramatically, feigning defeat. “just four more, then.”

“FOUR?!” you exclaim, eyes wide, utterly incredulous.

he looks at you like a child trying to convince his parents to buy him a toy, except instead of a video game, it’s a whole team of children. “well, with the one we already have, we’d just need four more to form our very own basketball team.”

“byun baekhyun, do you even hear yourself right now?”

he presses his lips together, mock seriousness creasing his brow as if in deep contemplation. “...three?”

“what the hell? no, baekhyun,” you deadpan.

he chuckles, his toned arms wrapping around you, feeling like home as he leans in to press a gentle kiss against your lips. "oh, you won’t be able to resist me," he murmurs against your mouth, playful yet intense. the twinkle in his eyes makes it clear that he’s already decided, and deep down, you know he’s not letting go of this dream anytime soon—if ever.

and as he holds you close, still connected, you know that no matter what the future holds, he’ll always love you exactly as you are—beautiful, strong, and undeniably his.

જ⁀➴ᡣ𐭩 a/n: as a leading member of the milfy trophy wife™ committee, i felt this request in my soul. this one really hit home for me, nonnie!!!!! :') i hope i did it justice for you <3 also, i think i’ll turn this into a series—little drabbles and such with dilf!baekhyun/husband!baekhyun hehe 🙂‍↕️ oh, and p.s., i’ll be updating the layout for all my fics to match this one! :") i just think it’ll be so pretty to have everything match hehe. anyway, i hope you enjoyed this one! <3

ଘ(੭ˊᵕˋ)੭* masterlist ° ᡣ𐭩 . 

[baekslight]

baekhyun explaining how he's given back to his family ♡

[queenoftsage]

LISTEN...

This is still my brand. Get outta here if you don't agree. I'm not gonna argue with you.

KAI x D.O. aka- Kim JongIn x Doh KyungSoo = Yeo Jin Goo's Parents.

Also he is The KaiSoo Lovechild <3 <3 <3

Them two combined = Yeo Jin Goo. End of story. Bye.

[theboytatu]

maybe chanbaek is real guys idk

[eruden-writes]

Desperation's Summit - Part 13 PREVIEW

widowed troll x human raising triplets enemies-ish to lovers? on-going chapters: 12 of ??

Summary:

What happens when a rich human woman gets kidnapped by a troll in the mountains? The troll claims it was an accident, but is that really true?

cw: spousal death backstory

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❄ First ❄ Previous ❄ Masterlist ❄

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Early release of this chapter is available in full on my Patreon!

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“I’ll take the cot tonight and keep an eye on my kids. I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep, so a bed would be wasted on me,” he replied, soft and level. His tone scraped over Cordelia, making her feel foolish and worsening her blush. Before she could reply, he started about the room, gathering items and heading to his home proper. Behind him, he left Cordelia with her change of clothes. 

She glared after Rakash, conflicting feelings warring inside her. Gracious for the bed, but not for the way the option was foisted on her, she couldn’t help but mutter to herself, “If I had my own room, I wouldn’t need your bed.”

Knowing she didn't have the energy to argue, Cordelia sighed and got dressed. Rakash could win this one, her tired bones decided as she shuffled to his room.

—

When Cordelia awoke the next morning, it was to a pounding head, a lung wracking cough, and a fever. After a loud sniffle, she added ‘sticky congestion’ to her list of ailments. Trying to ignore the agitation of being ill, she shifted and her eyes slid around the room.

Upon entering Rakash’s room last night, she found a rough-hewn desk and chair a top of pelt-like rug and books in an array of amateurish to professional binding. She didn't know if the books belonged to Karina or if they were legitimately bound Trollish texts and her exhaustion had outweighed her curiosity. There had also been a large fireplace, attached to the one in the main cabin room, she thought.

It took her a few minutes to locate the stairs that led to the mezzanine-like partial floor above, where his more bed and dressing area resided.

On the left side of the bed, morning light squeezed between panels of a curtained window. A large, foldable privacy screen sectioned off a small area of the room, flanked by a heavy, crudely made armoire. Her eye caught on the occasional tunic or discarded sock, reminding her she was in Rakash’s domain. As if the scent lingering in his blankets wasn’t reminder enough.

Vague snatches of last night danced through her mind. Her run-in with the thrall, the magic that had sizzled from her fingers, Rakash’s confessional backstory.

Cordelia rubbed her fingers against the blankets swaddling her, as if she could erase the phantom sensations still burning there. While getting the medicine for Ebra, she had quietly sworn to not indulge Rakash, flirtatiously or carnally. He had disappointed her. She didn’t bed people who disappointed her. Or that’s what she told herself.

Avoiding the thoughts lurking at the edges of her thoughts, she considered whether she should attempt to venture down the stairs, despite her body’s preemptive twinges, and to the kitchen for food.

“How’re you feeling?” As if summoned by her consciousness and appetite, Rakash appeared from the stairway with a tray gripped in his hands. The shadows under his eyes had returned, making his features as grim-faced as the first time they met.

Strangely, something felt something was softer about him. Though that might just be thanks to her illness.

“Peachy,” Cordelia croaked, her throat aching. Uncomfortable heat, unconnected to her illness, crept into her cheeks as she remembered her impromptu bath last night.

Rakash brought the tray closer, setting it on the bedside table with a soft clack. Without warning, he pressed his palm to her forehead. It took Cordelia a breathless beat to understand what he was doing just before he hummed in consternation, “I was worried this would happen.”

“What?” As he stepped back, relieving her of his cooler palm, Cordelia eyed the offerings on the tray. Thick greyish glop steamed in the bowl. She presumed it was oatmeal or gruel. A mug with a greenish yellow hue that was hopefully tea. A piece of toasted bread and - amusingly - a small bowl of fruit sauce.

Faintly, she wondered if a trolling or three had assisted on this breakfast. If so, then they were all feeling well. That eased an unexpected knot in her chest.

Also among the food was her bound journal. An odd offering, she thought, before she remembered. It was the journal with the proportions for the medication scrawled in it. Rakash picked it up, waggling it in the air gently. “Tell me the measurements.”

She blinked up at him, not quite understanding before realization hit her. Ah… it waswritten in Common, wasn’t it?

That didn't explain why he wanted to know about the medicine now. Her eyebrows furrowed further, a slow mounting dread sinking into her chest. “Why? Your kids are fine, aren’t they?”

“For you.” Rakash tipped the journal closer to her head but stopped shy of lightly bopping her on the forehead.

Oh, that was why? Cordelia swallowed down a sigh of relief, that cold dread dissipating. Not even looking at Rakash, she dismissively waved her hand. “I’ll be fine. It's just a cold.”

Rakash narrowed his eyes, his features darkening for a second. He supposed he should be relieved she was back to being obstinate, but her tone rubbed him the wrong way.

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Full chapter is available on my Patreon!

[touchlikethesun]

i have never stanned exo a single day in my 23 years on this planet. however. i do get the urge every six months or so to just fucking blast call me baby so hard it shakes walls until someone calls in a noise complaint.

[xian]

been away from kpop social media for so long i forget how much i despise most of it

[miniaturenerdnightmare]

Hai koi Mera friend banega😘😘😘

[sound-of-scoups]

Twice Upon a Christmas Trap | CSC | Teaser

Pairing: Choi Seungcheol x Female!Reader Genre|tags: Oneshot, second-chance love, marriage in trouble, exes to lovers, divorce au, fluff, comedy, drama, angst, smut.   Word count: TBA.  Rating: Explicit adult content (MINORS DNI). A/N: 1. Finally announcing what has been keeping me busy these past days, leaving me no time to edit the chapters of MTAF 🙈 I’m really excited about this story, so I hope you’ll love it as much as I do! 2. Obviously heavily inspired by the movie The Parent Trap (1998); 3. I know that South Korea's laws are shit when it comes to divorce and women's rights. That's why, even though it won't be deeply explored in the story, I'm using brazilian laws and my knowledge as a lawyer for their "divorce." Warnings: Mentions of divorce (it’s the plot), marital problems, arguments, bickering, silly fights (they literally argue like an old married couple), mentions of teenage pregnancy, seungcheol is kind of blind (but he’s going to redeem himself, promise), crybaby!cheol (because god made men and then sent their tears as an apology), jealous!cheol, jealousy in general, miscommunication, stubborn love, explicit language, graphic sexual content.  Release date: Coming soon... ��� Now listening to: ‘tis the damn season - taylor swift; christmas (baby please come home) - mariah carey; you’re losing me - taylor swift; chasing pavements - adele; 첫 눈 (the first snow) - exo; i miss you, i'm sorry - gracie abrams; the winner takes it all - jae hall; nobody gets me - sza; for us - v; don’t wanna cry - seventeen; christmas tree - v; kiss me - ed sheeran; imperfect love - seventeen; h.o.l.y - florida georgia line; this love - taylor swift; you're still the one - shania twain; christmas tree farm - taylor swift.

Summary: You and Seungcheol are the perfect couple: best friends, madly in love and married. Or, at least you used to be. After eleven years together, you are now navigating through a bitter divorce following six months of separation. Married at the young age of 19 due to an unexpected pregnancy, your relationship was built on passion and youthful dreams that crumbled under the pressures of adulthood and married life. With custody of your twin daughters at stake, and the sale of your beloved Christmas home getting closer, your family is at a crossroads during what is supposed to be the happiest time of year. The twins, however, unwilling to let their family traditions dissolve, devise a plan to rekindle their parents' love by orchestrating a heartfelt final perfect Christmas in the house.

★ JOIN THE TAGLIST HERE! ★ MOODBOARD

“Seemed like Kim Taehyung was enjoying himself a little too much tonight,” Seungcheol said, breaking the silence. His eyes stayed fixed on the road, his tone aiming for nonchalance, though the sharp edge betrayed him.

You glanced at him, your eyebrows arching in confusion. “Taehyung? He was just being friendly. That’s his nature.”

“Friendly?” 

Seungcheol straightened on the driver’s seat, his hands tightening on the steering wheel, veins prominent as they bulged.

The soft nightlight cast a gentle glow on his face, accentuating the perfect features that seemed to be carved with meticulous care. His sharp jawline, the curve of his lips, the long lashes that rested against his cheek—it was unfair how effortlessly beautiful he looked, even when his expression was marred by frustration.

No one could look as handsome as he did, even when he was angry.

The way his brows furrowed in thought, the slight twitch of his lips as if he was holding back words he wasn’t ready to say—it all drew you in, even when you wanted to be mad at him. There was a rawness in his expression, a vulnerability that flickered beneath the surface of his frustration, and it tugged at something deep within you.

You swallowed hard, your throat tightening. 

Why couldn’t he stop being so damn attractive, just for a second?

“He practically camped out by your side all evening. Offering to get you drinks, giving you those looks—”

“Looks?” you interrupted, your voice sharper and more defensive than you intended. “You’re imagining things, Seungcheol.”

“Am I?” His eyes flicked toward you, narrowing. “Because from where I was standing, he couldn’t stop smiling at you.”

“Well, he does have a beautiful smile,” you said with a casual shrug.

Seungcheol’s glare sharpened. “Is that supposed to be funny? Am I supposed to be laughing?”

You tilted your head, feigning innocence. “I don’t know, you thought ‘see you friday’ was funny."

His jaw tightened as his hands gripped the steering wheel harder, his knuckles whitening. “He had a crush on you in high school, you know that, right?”

You let out a short laugh, shaking your head. “That was ten years ago. Taehyung was being polite, Seungcheol. Maybe you’ve forgotten what that looks like.”

“I know what politeness looks like. And I know when a guy’s flirting with my—” 

He stopped abruptly, the unfinished sentence hanging awkwardly in the air. 

You turned to face him fully, searching his profile as his jaw tightened further, the muscle twitching with the effort to hold back whatever was on his mind.

“Your what?” you asked, challenging, your voice quieter, but no less intense.

Goal: 500 notes ❤️

[bluehoodiewoozi]

Lies and Butterflies

Joshua Hong x Fem!Reader

Genre: fake dating au; mostly fluff.

Word Count: 19.2k

Warnings: injuries & blood (injury is not explicitly described). joking death threats made between friends. mentions of drinking and alcoholic beverages. lying to parental figures. reader is written as single and desperate and moderately unwise (she’s actually me).

[Series: Serenity Street 17] Your roommate begged you to pretend to date him while his mom is in town for the month. The little crush you’ve had on him will either become your best friend or worst obstacle on this quest.

note: the fact that this fic came out as longer than my master's degree thesis will never not amaze me.

Your friends thought you were a naive fool for moving into Serenity Street 17, apartment 3A. Not because the neighbourhood or building was bad (if anything, they often commented about how cosy it was), but because you signed the rental agreement knowing full well you’d be sharing an apartment with a man you didn’t know. 

In your defence, you’d been hesitant to do so. However, after several reassuring comments from the building manager about how your roommate would be a perfectly sweet young gentleman (but mostly the influence of the looming end of your old rental agreement with a remaining budget from hell), you had done the insane thing and signed the agreement.

Fortunately, Joshua Hong, your new roommate, seemed like a true angel at first sight – both visually and metaphorically. Upon your arrival, he’d spent the entire weekend helping you move the heavy boxes and unbox everything (all the while you were trying your hardest to not feel weak at the sight of his gorgeous face and straining biceps). He assured you repeatedly that he’d do the dishes and cook for himself. He sent you off to work every morning with a sweet smile, a wave and a thermos full of hot coffee to start your day. 

You’d quickly learn why the neighbourhood aunties called him “Serenity Street’s gentleman”. And at first you thought he truly deserved the title.

That is until you had lived with him for a month and realised he was the dictionary definition of unpredictable. Sure, he wasn’t completely insane and most of the time he was truly the perfect roommate (as well as eye candy), but the moments when he did unleash his inner demons? Even now, many months later, you were still trying to decide if that side of him amused or scared you.

It was to the point where you and Chan, your neighbour from across the hall, had started keeping a shared list of Joshua’s wildest moments (a tradition which several of your other friends in the building soon joined). 

For one, there was the time when he decided to perform EXO’s ‘Love Shot’ with a truly unhinged choreography at the building’s monthly drunk karaoke night. The kicker? He didn’t start drinking until after the cover (probably to bury the shame he felt). 

Or the time when he mistakenly watered a fake plant for weeks and then, upon realising his mistake, proceeded to gaslight himself and everyone you knew that it had at one point been a real plant and someone must have snuck into the apartment to replace it with an identical fake one (you didn’t have the heart to tell him that he was fooling no one (but Minghao had been more than happy to share the news with him for you )).

There was also, of course, the time when he had a life-sized cardboard cut-out of himself made to decorate the living room and you couldn’t have reminded him enough of how terrifying of a sight it had been at 4 am on your way to the bathroom. To his credit, he moved the cut-out behind Jeonghan’s apartment door a week later to terrify him instead. Jeonghan has since sworn he’d get back at your roommate for it one day (and you dearly hoped he would).

Needless to say, your roommate had you living on the edge of your seat at all times. So it didn’t surprise you much when he knocked on your bedroom door at 11 pm before walking in and throwing himself head-first onto your bed.

Used to his shenanigans but well-aware of his need for attention, you just sighed and lowered the book you had spent all day looking forward to. “What’s up?”

His response was unintelligible, muffled against the sage green sheets. 

You waited a moment for him to lift his head. Nothing happened. For a moment you wondered if he’d fallen asleep. So you nudged him with your foot. “Shua?”

With a groan, he leaned upwards, resting on his elbows as he stared ahead and told you, “Do you think I’m too single?”

Amused and confused by the question, you blinked rapidly. “Is that even a thing? I think all single people are equally single, no?”

“I haven’t dated anyone in five years,” he told you.

“And?”

“I haven’t gone on a date in three.”

“So?”

“My mom thinks that’s too long.”

You took mild offence to that as you had been left out on the dry shores of Singleness for well over a decade – if your three-day middle-school playground marriage even counted towards this statistic, that is. If Joshua had been single for too long by his mom’s standards, then you surely must have seemed like a completely hopeless case. 

You shook the thought off and tried to seem like a supportive friend (even though your mind and soul were already lost in faraway lands, riding horses with dreamy fictional men that oddly looked like Joshua). “Why does that matter?”

“Because,” he started as if you should know this already, “she wants me to go on a blind date with her friend’s daughter. She wants to discuss it tomorrow over lunch.”

Was it too soon to tell him you sometimes daydreamed of your mom appearing at the door with a handsome young man and demanding you to go on a date with him? Maybe. Was that too desperate? Probably.

“You’re an adult man, Shua,” you told him with a scoff. “Just say no.”

“I can’t say that to my mom!”

“Why not? Because she’d be disappointed and sad?” you guessed, eyeing him with annoyance. 

He widened his eyes and all you saw in his brown irises was pure terror mixed with just a hint of frustration. “She’d lecture me!”

“Oh no,” you didn’t even try to feign any kind of an emotion before lifting your book back to your eye level, eager to get back to your reading where men didn’t trouble you with their mommy issues. “Your mom’s nice. You’ll live.”

“You could try to be more empathetic, you know,” he remarked before resting his cheek on the mattress and sighing. “What are you reading anyway? Another one of your historical romances?”

“And what if it is?” you asked.

“My mom would tell you to get off your ass and get an actual boyfriend.”

“Good thing she’s not my mom then. Men are disappointing and I only like the ones written by women.”

Joshua’s eyes narrowed. “Are you calling me a disappointment right now?”

There were many words you could use to describe Joshua, but a disappointment? – not one of them. Really, the only disappointing thing about the man in front of you was that he thought your valiant flirting attempts over the past six months had been a funny joke. Even if you thought he could be incredibly frustrating, you were not immune to his charms, and everyone but him seemed to know.

Still, if there was anything you liked more than being the sole object of Joshua’s attention, it was getting on his nerves as much as he did yours.

“Absolutely,” you told him with a straight face but your facade fell fast at his offended grimace. You couldn’t help but laugh. “Of course you’re not a disappointment. I actually like you.”

Would he pick up the hint (and was it even a hint if you were practically confessing your feelings?) … ?

“I hate you,” he mumbled and buried his face back in the sheets.

… No. The answer was no.

Aside from his wild shenanigans, another thing that frustrated you about your roommate to no end was the fact that he. never. read. his. messages. And yet, when he messaged you, he expected an answer ASAP. 

And if you didn’t reply within 2 minutes … ?

Your phone vibrated and rang, his contact photo bright and colourful on your phone screen. You could barely keep back from cursing under your breath before offering your co-workers an apologetic smile and rushing out to the breakroom to answer the call. 

You took a deep calming breath before putting on your best customer service-able smile and speaking into the microphone, “What’s up?”

“Where are you?” came the short reply. Was it just you or did he sound winded? 

As if he could see you through the radio waves, you theatrically glanced around the building before deadpanning, “At work. Like every Tuesday at 1 pm.”

 “Right,” he breathed out after a pause and suddenly you were worried. 

The Joshua you knew never hesitated to match your sarcastic remarks with ones of his own. There was rarely any bite to his words but you appreciated that he at least tried to match your energy (or maybe you had unknowingly matched his and you were fated to meet). But this? This hadn’t been a sarcastic remark.

“Are you okay?” you spoke, tone softening. “Did something happen?”

“You know how I had that lunch thing with mom today?” he asked after a sigh. 

You nodded before realising he couldn’t actually see you. “Yeah?”

“She brought up her friend’s daughter again and I panicked and–” He cut himself off with a laugh but it sounded anything but joyful. No, it sounded frustrated and disbelieving and like he was about five seconds from a mental breakdown. You found yourself holding your breath as you waited for his laughter to stop. When it did, he sighed again. “Can you come home early?”

The answer was obviously no. You couldn’t just leave your job to cater to your roommate's frenzies. You had made it a point to never ask for any unnecessary time off at all, eager to prove yourself at the office. You had only worked here for five months. Besides, you had goals and a dream and–

“Please?” he added. He sounded so soft, so fragile, so worried.

You squeezed your eyes shut and lied to yourself that your boss wouldn’t hate you if you just told him you had a horrible, perhaps borderline ER-worthy migraine and needed to go home ASAP. Or was that too risky? Would he ask for a doctor’s note? What’s the other option?

“If my boss emails you and asks if our apartment was flooded today, you tell him yes and that you almost drowned,” you finally told him, unable to believe you were about to blatantly lie to your boss, before swiping across your screen to end the call. 

“You’re home,” he breathed out when you stepped through the door half an hour later. 

You found him sitting on the living room sofa. He was still wearing his best white shirt and if it weren’t for the mess of hair on his head, he would’ve looked like he had just gotten ready to go out.

You shrugged off your jacket. “I would really like an explanation.”

“Yeah,” he sighed and rubbed his face. “Where do I start? Um… Well, my mom’s coming to stay with us for a month.”

Your jaw dropped. “A month?! Why? Did something happen to her house?”

“No,” he seemed almost pained to tell you so. With a gentle grip on your hand, he led you to sit next to him on the sofa. “You know how she was trying to set me up with her friend’s daughter?”

You nodded, raising a brow. “What about it? Was it, like, an ex or something?”

“Well, no, but,” he took a deep breath and turned to stare at the wall, eyes wide as if he was expecting something to crash as he spoke, “I might have panicked and said something bad.”

“Such as?” you urged, leaning closer.

Getting red in the face, he really looked like the words he needed had wedged themselves in his throat and were rebelling, refusing to come out. He opened and closed his mouth, trying to make even a single sound, but you still heard nothing. 

Your patience was running thinner by the second. “Joshua, I lied to my boss because of you. Spit it out or, I swear to god, I will make that lie a reality and drown you in the bathtub.”

The threat seemed to motivate him plenty. He let out a soft whine before blurting, “I told her I can’t go on a date with Mary because we’re dating.”

This man never failed to surprise, scare and worry you. And this time you were scared for the both of you. “You told her what?! We?! As in you and me?!”

“I’m sorry,” he immediately dropped to his knees in front of you, looking up at you with desperate and terrified sparkling doe eyes. “I wasn’t thinking! I didn’t want to make her feel bad and I panicked and I lied and I swear I’ll make it up to you! Whatever you want! Anything. I am so, so sorry.”

You didn’t even have the words to say. Frozen in your seat, you stared at him, trying your hardest to get your brain to reset so you could discover you simply had fallen asleep at your desk and this was all a dream. Was it a dream or was it a nightmare? You’d decide later.

When you hadn’t responded for nearly a minute, Joshua gently nudged your hand. “Hey, are you okay? I’m sorry, okay?”

But when you still remained silent without even as much as moving your eyes, he quickly added, “I’ll just fess up, yeah? I’ll tell her I panicked and lied and I’ll go on that date. Just please don’t be mad at me, okay?”

You held your hand up to stop him. “It’s fine. I just… I need a moment.”

“Yeah…” He breathed in relief before nodding and agreeing, “Yeah. Anything you want. I’ll…I can…  Do you want water? Tea? I could make cocoa.”

“Just water’s fine,” you told him almost robotically as you stared into space, rubbing your temples as if that would somehow make it easier to process the absolutely bizarre situation you had found yourself in because, no, unfortunately (or fortunately?) this was not a dream. This was your reality.

As he scurried over to the kitchen, you tried to wrap your mind around … well, everything. 

It felt like a cruel joke. All these months of pining after your handsome roommate, making him heart-shaped toast and pancakes, fixing his shirt collar as he prepared to leave for work, practically flat-out confessing to him – and here he was, practically throwing himself at you. 

But none of it was real. He wasn’t actually into you. It was just a panicked reaction. He’d just thought of the first age-appropriate woman that came to his mind – it was only you because you were roommates and spent so much time together. There were no feelings involved on his end. 

But on yours? You willed your heart to stop fluttering and pounding and threatening to beat out of your chest at the mere idea of dating Joshua Hong. 

“Here,” he spoke softly as he placed a cold glass of water into your hand and took his seat next to you. He watched for a while as you took a miniscule sip and continued staring into nothingness, lost in your thoughts. He hesitated to speak. “I really am sorry. I just wasn’t thinking straight. I was scared and–”

“I seemed like a safer option than Mary?” you finished for him, giving him a knowing look. “C’mon, is she really that bad?”

No, you’re just that much better is what you wished he’d say. Then you’d have at least something to hold onto.

Joshua offered a half-hearted smile. “Mom said Mary is really into haunted buildings and ghost hunting, so…”

Did that make you much better than her? Very debatable. But you were willing to take just about anything reminiscent of a win.

“Sounds dreadful,” you replied, matching his smile. “So what happens now?”

“Well,” he seemed hesitant all over again, as if no progress had been made at all. He quickly forced himself out of that headspace and met your eyes, “I could call my mom and tell her I lied…”

You sensed an ‘or’. Raising an eyebrow, you silently asked him to finish the thought.

He took a stuttering breath before grimacing. “Or we go on with the lie and pretend to date for a while.”

Option B is what your heart shouted. Please pick option B, even if it’s all a lie.

“A while being…?” you forced yourself to nitpick instead of immediately jumping into his arms and agreeing. 

He kissed his teeth. “A month-ish.”

“A month?!”

“Mom didn’t fully, entirely, really believe me,” Joshua supplied with an apologetic look, “so I bluffed a little and she said she’d come stay with us for a while to see it for herself and… I sort of agreed to let her stay a month.”

A month of (fake) dating Joshua Hong, your hot roommate, the very subject of your daydreams? You weren’t sure whether you wanted to scream in joy or cry in despair.

“Okay,” you breathed out and gulped. “We can– We can do a month… right?”

“Right.” He didn’t seem any more sure of than you.

“How long ‘til she comes here?”

“Two days.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

[DAY 1, FRIDAY]

Having read and watched a fair share of romantic comedies, you were adamant that there was no need for a ‘fake dating contract’. You and Joshua were roommates and good friends; surely just a verbal agreement of boundaries would suffice. You’d just tell him your boundaries and he’d tell you yours. 

In an ideal world, that is.

But in the real world, there was a knock on the door before you could even begin to whisper about the idea of boundaries.

While sharing a startled look with you, Joshua crept towards the door and peeked through peephole. 

“It’s her,” he breathed out and offered you one last grimace before opening the door. His voice went from tormented to overjoyed so fast you felt it give you a whiplash, “Mom! Hi! Let me help with your suitcase.”

Showtime (except this was not a theatre, and you didn’t have even the semblance of a script to play out, and you sucked at improv). Putting on your best smile, you stood up just as they entered the living room. 

“There she is!” his mother called out and rushed over to give you a warm hug. “Look at you! As good-looking as always!”

Your cheeks felt a little warm at that. “You look great too!”

“Oh, I know,” she joked and gave your shoulder a friendly pat. Then her friendly expression morphed into something more sinister. “So, dating, huh?”

If your cheeks had felt warm before, they were positively burning now. You tried to find your voice again, even offered a look to Joshua who could only respond with an equally nervous wide-eyed look. Finally, you cleared your throat and answered, “Yeah. We’re still kind of getting used to it ourselves.”

“I always knew you two would end up together,” she gushed, smiling ear to ear and winking at you between sentences. “Took you a while though. I was already starting to worry about my Joshua.”

“Yeah,” you heard him mumble, “me too.”

“Will you join us for dinner?” you asked her, trying to steer the topic away from the inevitable chit-chat about your almost-non-existent relationship.

She hummed in thought – a habit Joshua must have picked up from her, you realised – and nodded as she looked around the living room. “Of course. Let me just get settled in and put on more comfortable clothes. Where can I unpack?”

Your “boyfriend” and you shared a wide-eyed look. This is why you never did improv! 

“You can have my room,” Joshua finally spoke all the while still having that very same panicked expression. “I’ll get it set up real quick.”

His mother paused, confused (and was that a glint of suspicion in her eyes?). “You don’t sleep together?”

You could’ve fried an egg on your cheeks with how hot they felt. “Oh, we–”

“Like she said,” Joshua interrupted, forcing a smile that almost looked convincing, “we’re still kind of settling into this whole relationship thing. We’re taking it slow.”

“I’m glad to give you a push in the right direction,” she told him with a chuckle. “You can’t leave someone like (Y/n) just waiting. She’ll get bored of you, and then what?”

He laughed shortly. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

“Like always.”

He nodded before tugging on the crook of your elbow to drag you with him. “Sweetie, why don’t you come help me set up mom’s room?”

You thanked the heavens he had enough mental capacity to not leave you alone with his mom. “Of course!”

“Help yourself to anything you want in the kitchen, yeah?” Joshua told his mom as he reached to pick up her suitcase with his free hand, his left one still holding onto you like you were his lifeline. “Coffee, tea, a snack – anything.”

She replied with a smile and continued her (no doubt thorough) tour of your apartment. 

Once you were in his room, he closed the door so that it was just a bit ajar as to not seem suspicious and turned to you with a look of terror. His whispers were so loud and harsh that you wondered if there was any point in pretending otherwise as he asked, “What do we do?”

“We clean your room and make your mom feel at home,” you suggested, not entirely sure what he was getting at.

Joshua gave you a look that said he was holding back the urge to call you dumb. “I meant us. She’s taking my bed. Where will I sleep? I can’t sleep on the sofa – she’ll figure out we’re lying.”

Oh. Yeah, that was an unwelcome problem. Mostly because the only viable solution you could think of involved Joshua sleeping in your room and you not getting any sleep because he’d be so close to you. What if you fell asleep and talked in your sleep, confessing your everlasting love? Worse!: what if you had a dirty dream about him – one involving his gorgeous biceps and soft lips and– dear god, you’d never be able to look him in the eyes again. Hell, you probably wouldn’t be able to be in the same room as him. 

Joshua stared at you in silence, expecting a solution. Before you could offer one though, he shut it down with a “I’m not sneaking out to sleep on Chan’s pull-out couch either.”

Damn it. 

“Then there’s only one solution,” you whispered back, unable to believe your own words. “We’ll have to share my room.”

“There’s no room for another mattress there.”

It’s not like either of you even knew where to find a spare mattress. But you didn’t tell him that. And the look in his eyes said you didn’t have to because he knew it just the same and that left only one solution.

“We can share my bed, but if you touch my teddy bear, I’ll make sure you go missing under mysterious circumstances,” you told him and left the room to get some clean sheets for the bed (and calm your heart).

The rest of a day went by in a daze of terrible half-believable lies that just kept elaborating at their own accord because of course she couldn’t be satisfied with just a simple answer. No, she had to ask questions to clarify, as if she was a detective trying to figure out a suspect’s background.

And so you bluffed and lied and shared panicked looks with Joshua. Your collaborations added up to a decent backstory – at least that’s what you thought because at least your lies were not completely out of the realm of reality.

Who confessed first? You both did, in a moment of drunken chaos at Seungcheol’s housewarming party (you failed to mention there was no alcohol provided at said party). 

Where was your first date? A picnic at the park not too far from your home just a few short months ago (and she didn’t need to know it was an outing with all of your neighbours – something not Joshua but Jihoon had organised to help the people in the building become closer).

What was your first kiss like? You had kissed him under the streetlights when he walked you home from work because you’d be damned if you let a man make the first move (in Joshua’s opinion, this was the most obvious lie of all but he chose not to argue because the other option was to look his mother in the eyes and tell her he’d made the first move to kiss somebody on the mouth).

The little lies added up and by the end of the day, you weren’t entirely sure where one started or another ended. Hell, you were pretty certain you wouldn’t remember most of them the next day. 

But that wasn’t the hard part – not the real hard part anyway. No, the real problem was the evernearing night. Between the improv performance of your life and the general feeling of butterflies, you hadn’t had any time to come to terms with the fact that you’d have to share a bed with your handsome, hot, absolutely amazing roommate under the guise of being his girlfriend.

And now the reality was looming.

His mother was the first to head to bed, leaving you and Joshua to stare at each other in a relieved silence across the dining table as she went about her bedtime routine. Neither you or Joshua dared to move to head to sleep next. Neither of you wanted to make the first move. 

Sensing you were faced with a similar dilemma, he finally suggested, “We could watch a movie.”

“We’ll have to go to bed eventually,” you told him with a sigh. “We can’t spend the whole night watching TV.”

His silence told you he thought otherwise. 

And you were in no mood to make the first move or argue about pillow barriers and teddy bears. So, begrudgingly, you dragged yourself over to the sofa and turned on the TV. 

He joined you soon after, two cans of soda in hand. He handed one – already opened – to you as you flipped through the movie selection.

“You know, sugar really isn’t good for you before bed,” you remarked offhandedly. “Makes it hard to fall asleep.”

He just scoffed and opened his can with a pop and a fizzle. “Good thing we’re watching a movie and not sleeping then.”

“Rom-com or action?”

“Action,” he answered a little too fast before sipping his drink as if to distract himself. 

“We could watch Transformers,” you half-joked. “It’s got a good runtime.”

“Might as well,” he sighed and made himself comfortable as you clicked on the title. 

As you pulled a cushion into your lap for optimal comfort, Joshua remained sitting far from you. It was funny, really – it seemed that he was sitting further from you as your “boyfriend” than he ever had as just your roommate. 

You wanted to blame the movie for how silent the living room had become. Only Optimus Prime’s voice sounded in the apartment, and even that was quiet to not disturb your guest’s sleep. But the reality was that something had shifted between you. You were officially stuck in an arrangement that both benefited and ruined you, and the reality was sinking in fast.

Now there was no chance to take back the lies and the faking. The only option was to keep going and keep up with your elaborate plan to trick the sweetest woman you knew, all because your roommate didn’t want to date some girl called Mary and you had agreed to be his cover because you were infatuated with him. 

How does one process this situation? Where do you go from here? Can you do this for a month without thinking too hard about it? And what happens when the month is up?

“Hey,” Joshua’s soft voice startled you from your tortured thoughts. You turned to find him watching you with a somewhat wistful smile. “You did great today, you know?”

“Whatever do you mean?” You chuckled but it sounded pained even to your own ears. “I was just being a good girlfriend.”

He snorted a laugh. “You can stop acting. I’m pretty sure she’s asleep by now. It’s okay. ”

“How do you know if she’s asleep?” you whispered, eyeing his – no, her – bedroom door. “Would suck to get caught lying on the very first night.”

Joshua’s smile looked a little more real now, almost reaching his eyes as he still watched you like you were a beloved family puppy who had learnt a new trick. “She snores pretty loud.”

Tense in your seat, still eyeing the door, you listened and waited. Before long, you discovered he was right. There it was, a soft snore accompanying Bumblebee’s action scene. Closing your eyes, you breathed out in relief and relaxed into the plush fabric of the sofa. 

“Do you think she bought it?” you wondered.

“If she didn’t, we’ll just have to work harder tomorrow,” he replied before reaching over to brush your hair off your face. 

You willed the butterflies to just go to sleep already and let you be. They remained relentless and you could only pray Joshua wouldn’t notice how flustered his touch made you feel.

“We just have to do this for another 29 days,” you said to distract yourself. “It’ll be fine.”

Did he have to keep stroking your cheek so gently? How much hair did you even have stuck on your face? Maybe you were hallucinating and he wasn’t touching you at all – that seemed almost plausible. 

“We’ll be fine,” he whispered and he sounded to be closer now. His warm breath brushed against your temple. Maybe you weren’t entirely out of your mind yet. “It’s just a month.”

“Just a month.” 

You weren’t yet sure whether you wished it would last less or more.

[DAY 2, SATURDAY]

Three things had greeted you when you woke up: the smell of fresh coffee, the brightest sun you had ever had the displeasure of waking under, and someone’s arm around your waist. You almost hadn’t cared whose arm it was because it was holding you to a warm body, safe from the evils of the morning chill.

Begrudgingly, you had eventually opened your eyes and glanced around. You had fallen asleep on the sofa instead of your bed – a work-around for last night’s problem if you’d ever seen one, even if it was horrible for your back. And the arm belonged to none other than your roommate who looked like an angel as he slept, resting his head on your shoulder… 

“And how is any of that my problem?” Chan yawned over his cup of coffee as he watched you pace around his kitchen ten minutes later. He didn’t really have any plans anyway but it’s not like he enjoyed having neighbours march into his apartment to rant about their love lives (even if it was great material for the building’s gossip group chat which he would no doubt update as soon as you’d leave).

You offered him a glare. “You’re supposed to be a supportive friend.”

“You must have me mixed up with someone,” he deadpanned and took a sip of his hot drink. “What’s so bad about waking up next to him anyway? It’s not like you’ve never shared a bed before.”

Your face felt like it was burning at his words. “How do you even know that?”

Unimpressed, he raised a brow. “You did the same thing the last time it happened – ran in screaming and crying and giggling like a schoolkid.” He paused, narrowing his eyes a little as if a thought was occurring before adding, “You actually do this a lot. It’s a little concerning.”

“Whatever,” you groaned and slumped in the bar stool across the counter from him. “What do I do?”

“Seize the day and appreciate the fact that you’re dating your crush?”

“Fake dating,” you corrected him with a mild glare. And you had only revealed so much to him because he was your best friend and confidant (and because you had made him swear on his life that he wouldn’t tell anyone else).

Chan scoffed a laugh. “He might be faking but there’s no way you are. You suck at improv. Just embrace it and go with the flow.”

You stared at him. Were all your friends this unhelpful or was this just a trait unique to Lee Chan? 

“Why do I even come to you for advice?” you thought out loud. “It’s not like you can even get a date yourself.”

He sputtered and coughed up the sip of coffee he had unfortunately taken just seconds before. His ears turned red. “At least I’m trying.”

“So am I!” you whined. “Come on, give me something to work with. I’m in the middle of a crisis.”

“All of which is self-inflicted.”

“I hate you.”

“Maybe, but you love Joshua,” he teased, winked, and narrowly dodged the apple you threw at his head. He laughed heartily before taking another sip of his coffee. “I’m serious though. You might as well take advantage of your arrangement. Just forget about the fake part and just think of yourself as his girlfriend. I’m sure he won’t complain about your authenticity.”

“I don’t think that’s how it works.”

“Well, then take advantage some other way,” he suggested, appearing a little frustrated (which was fair; you had, in fact, interrupted his much needed me-time and breakfast for one). “What are you getting out of this arrangement anyways? He gets his mom off his back, and you? Is getting to live out your late-night fantasies the only perk?”

You stared at him. For a moment, he feared you were getting ready to hurl another fruit at his head. But then, instead of reaching for an apple, you slumped in your seat and let out a curious noise. “Huh.”

“Huh?” he mimicked, still tense in case it was a fake-out and you were going to throw something at him regardless.

“You’re right,” you said and he worried even more. 

He glanced towards the nearest door from the corner of his eye, wondering if it was close enough for a safe escape. You never said Chan was right – that just wasn’t a thing. It never happened. He had a bigger chance of getting struck by lightning than to hear you say those two words. Chan was fearing for his life.

“I’m right?” he echoed hesitantly.

“I’m getting nothing out of this arrangement,” you said with a scoff of disbelief. “That little scammer! I’m out here improv-ing my ass off to please his mother and all I get in return is daydream material? Screw that!”

Across from you, Chan still wasn’t sure if this was a healthy development or if he should call Jeonghan for back-up. Regardless, he decided it was safer to just play along. He let out an empathetic cheer and agreed, “Screw it! Yeah! He’s too nice to say no anyways.”

“I’m gonna make him pay!” you decided and marched out of his apartment.

The moment you were out of his sight, Chan breathed out a sigh of relief. 

But you? You froze in the hallway. You just had to cross the hall and demand your due payment. But what would you even ask for? 

As your mind raced for ideas – a new laptop? a new wardrobe? –, the door of your apartment opened. As if you were cursed, Joshua’s head peeked out. 

“Oh,” he spoke and his voice was so soft and welcoming that you almost convinced yourself you couldn’t take advantage of him any more than you already were, “there you are! We were starting to worry.”

“Worry?” you parroted dumbly.

“Yeah,” he laughed and reached out a hand as if to invite you in – as if your name wasn’t on the lease right next to his –, “we were about to have breakfast. Mom made french toast.”

“Oh.” You silently wondered what had happened to the woman you had been two minutes ago in Chan’s apartment. The spine you had grown seemed to have disappeared as soon as Joshua flashed you a smile. You were capital S Screwed.

Deep in your thoughts, you hadn’t noticed Joshua staring at you, confused and puzzled, his hand still outstretched for you to take. He cleared his throat to call your attention and forced his smile to brighten as he wriggled his fingers as if to entice you. You sighed quietly before faking a smile and taking his hand, finally letting him pull you to the kitchen.

“There you are,” his mother called out the moment she saw you. She was already at the table, sipping her tea and eyeing the fresh toast. “We were just beginning to wonder where you had gone.”

“Yeah,” Joshua agreed before frowning at you as he pulled a chair out for you to sit, “where did you go?”

What would be a convincing lie? A half-truth – at least that’s what Joshua himself had once told you in a drunken giggle fit.

You took a deep breath and lied through your teeth, “I remembered I promised to help Chan with something.”

“Chan?” She looked at you and there was an odd glint of something in her eyes. Amusement? Judgement? Suspicion. That’s what it was – it was clear cut suspicion and you had to shake it off before she caught onto your plan.

“Our neighbour from across the hall,” Joshua said quickly. Too quickly. You thought he must have recognised that glint in her eyes as well. “He and (Y/n) get along great.”

She hummed thoughtfully, giving you one last glance before declaring, “Well, let’s eat before it all gets cold, kids.”

[DAY 3, SUNDAY]

You had managed to avoid this twice already. This being the act of sharing a bed with the very man who had been the main character of your beautiful love-struck dreams for the past 7 months. 

The first time had been a lucky break – falling asleep on the sofa with a Transformers movie playing in the background. It had been believable enough.

The second time – last night –, had been less of a lucky break and more of a Joshua scheme. Whether it was because he couldn’t fathom the idea of sharing even a room with you (hurtful, but valid) or because he was afraid you’d be uncomfortable (absolutely valid), he had gone to hang out with his friend Jeonghan and the newest inhabitant of the building Choi Seungcheol and didn’t return until noon. And even now he was still hungover from their late-night activities.

But this time? It seemed that three was not a magic number after all. 

Dressed in your least revealing pyjamas, you stood next to Joshua, collectively staring at the twin bed in the corner of your room. 

The silence was deafening and suffocating you. And the butterflies in your stomach seemed to have doubled since this arrangement started. 

“Do you think it’s too late to call Jihoon and ask for a spare mattress?” you wondered out loud without really meaning to. 

You wanted to slap a hand over your own mouth – all these months of pining but when the opportunity is served to you on a silver platter, you’re a coward. What was it that Mina had called this? 

Self-sabotage? Sounds about right.

Joshua glanced at the time on his phone before sighing and looking at the bed again. “It’s already past midnight. And you have work at 8.”

“Oh.” 

“Whatever,” he sighed, blinking his eyes closed and rubbing the bridge of his nose. “I’ll take the window side. You take the wall side.”

Any love-blind or anxious thoughts jumped right out your third floor windows. Why did you even have a crush on this man who cared so little for your sleep? Making you sleep against the wall? When his shoulders were almost as wide as your whole bed? 

To quote the wise words of Lee Jihoon: Joshua? A gentleman, my ass!

You scoffed. “No way! Last time I let you do that, you almost squashed me.”

Frowning, he shushed you and pointed at the door. “My mom’s next door.”

You rolled your eyes and continued in a whisper – because unlike him, you were considerate of your friends’ feelings and needs –, “I’m not sleeping against the wall.”

“Fine,” he agreed with a soft scoff of disbelief, his eyes widening, “I’ll sleep against the wall.”

“And what? Push me off my own bed?”

He stared at you like you had grown a third head. But really he couldn’t argue – he knew he couldn’t because you had a perfectly valid point. And besides, he had lived with you long enough to know there was no winning against you. 

“Then what do you suggest?” he asked, defeated.

No ideas were popping up. You stayed quiet. 

After a few minutes of silence, you relented and suggested, “... Rock paper scissors?”

“You didn’t like either idea,” he reminded you.

“Just pick a side to defend. Whatever. I’m voting I get the window side.”

“But you didn’t want–”

“I want the window side,” you insisted half-heartedly but you both knew you were lying. There was no winning for you – not with a bed this size.

“Why did I choose you?” he thought out loud as he lifted his hand in the starting position. 

You almost scoffed at his words because it’s not like he actually had any other choices anyway. You were the only one crazy enough to agree to his scheme. Joshua had exactly two partners in crime and you doubted Jeonghan would have agreed to pretend to be Joshua’s boyfriend for a month. So, really, you were his one and only option.

“Rock, paper, scissors, shoot,” you softly counted in unison.

Your rock was swiftly beaten by his paper. You weren’t sure why that annoyed you – you were on the losing end of the bet either way.

Joshua stepped back and grandly gestured towards the bed with a sarcastic smile, “My love.”

“I hate you,” you told him with a groan and got in the bed before pulling yourself to the side against the wall. You already knew this would be a miserable night. 

Your roommate chuckled and followed suit, settling on his own side. Immediately, you regretted getting in the bed with him. Joshua took up more than half of the bed, easily and even when he was trying to be considerate, rolling to his side to take up less space, he was too close for comfort. 

Perhaps, you wondered, he wouldn’t bat an eye if you got out right now and pulled an all-nighter on a report you desperately needed to work on before the morning (the report being your Netflix catalogue; Bridgerton was calling your name).

But before you could even open your mouth to lie, Joshua pulled the blanket up to your neck, tucking you in with a gentle smile. “We can switch tomorrow, if you want. Just get some sleep now. You have an early day.”

As he closed your eyes and subconsciously leaned closer to you, you wondered if it would be so hard to take advantage of the situation after all and pretend it’s real. Would it really hurt to just forget about the ‘fake’ part of your fake dating plan and just… lean a little closer and rest your head on his pillow instead of your own? 

His hand was so close to yours, fingers just inches from touching. 

What would happen if you just reached out and wrapped your hand around his? What would happen if you pressed a single affectionate kiss to his knuckles? 

Would he smile in his sleep? 

Or would he be appalled?

You shook the thoughts out of your head and squeezed your eyes shut. This was going to be a long night.

[DAY 4, MONDAY]

In your months of living with Joshua, you had shared more than a few breakfasts. Hungover, sick, or even after a foul fight over who’s turn it had been to take out the trash – none of those breakfasts had been nearly as unpalatable as this one.

You could hardly look at him from across the table. Mortified. Ashamed. Certain he wouldn’t even want to look at you. You avoided his eyes and he avoided yours as his mother fussed about and piled waffles upon waffles onto your plates. 

It might have been rude to not listen to your guest’s morning rambles about the weather and the news channel, but you were still too caught-up in your embarrassment to pay her any kind of attention. 

You knew you shouldn’t have fallen asleep. You should’ve ignored the fluffy sheep and refused the offers of the Sandman. You really should have because you hadn’t and now you were forced to live the knowledge that Joshua had to gently shake you awake from his spot underneath you. 

From UNDERNEATH you. Meaning you had fallen asleep on top of your very handsome roommate. 

And now you couldn’t even look him in the eyes again. 

“Are you kids alright?” his mother wondered all of a sudden and a jolt of fear went through you. 

On instinct and instinct alone, your head snapped to share a look with your “boyfriend”. Remembering the morning incident, you immediately looked away again and feigned nonchalance even as your cheeks and ears burned (out of the corner of your eye, you saw him do the same – there went the small chance that he had thought nothing of it).

“Yeah, why?” Joshua replied after clearing his throat.

“You’re usually not this quiet,” she said and you found her looking at you with concern. “Did something happen? Did you two fight?”

“What? No!” you protested without really meaning to. In your head, you reminded yourself that it was just a reflex and the desperate need to fulfil your part of the deal. “We’re completely fine.”

“Are you?” she still worried, hands on her hips as she took turns looking at the two of you. “Be honest: is me being here a problem? You seem so awkward, like even being in the same room is a chore. Did you fight because I came to stay here?”

“No, no,” you and Joshua protested in unison. 

You shared another look, forgetting your embarrassment now that your plan was in jeopardy.

“Are you sure?” she asked. “Because I really didn’t want to cause you problems. If I’ve done something to upset either of you–”

“Mom,” Joshua assured her with a gentle smile that didn’t look entirely genuine, “(Y/n) and I are fine. We’re just…”

“Stressed from work,” you supplied when he trailed off in thought. “You know how it is.”

She didn’t fully seem to buy it, still eyeing the both of you with a mix of suspicion and worry. “You’d tell me if something was wrong, right?” She scoffed as if she had realised the gravity of her words and pinched the bridge of her nose. “What am I even saying? You wouldn’t lie to me.”

As if your morning couldn’t get any worse.

“We should go get ready for work, honey,” Joshua suddenly excused himself and you, pulling you up by the crook of your elbow. “Wouldn’t want you to be late to work with all those big projects you have.”

You wondered what big projects he was talking about. Your higher-ups barely even allowed you to proofread the company documents and fix typos. But the look in his eyes said he needed you to play along.

“Right, right,” you sighed and went with him, offering his mother one last sweet smile before the bedroom door shut behind you and Joshua practically trapped you against it. 

“She’s onto us,” he told you quietly, all the while still avoiding your eyes. “She’s onto us and she’s probably already setting up a blind date with that Maria-girl.”

“Wasn’t it Mary?” you wondered.

Joshua replied with a half-hearted glare and a sigh. “We need to fix this.”

“But how?” You crossed your arms over your chest, mostly to convince yourself that there was enough space between your and his body to not have the butterflies go absolutely wild. “We just, what, kiss and make up?”

His eyes lit up and you feared for your life. “You’re a genius!”

“Shua, I was being sarcastic.”

He didn’t even seem to hear your protests. “If we kiss, she has no reason to suspect we’re not together. And she’ll be off our backs. It’s perfect.”

The things you would’ve done to kiss Joshua Hong and his beautiful, plump lips… 

Joshua must have mistaken your eager expression for one of dismay or maybe fear because his eyes widened. He lifted his hands in a way that just screamed ‘I was just kidding, please don’t hit me’ before quickly adding, “Not that I want to kiss you – I’m sure you’re a great kisser. We don’t have to kiss though. Because–”

“Because we’re friends,” you finished for him with a smile that you hoped wouldn’t betray your disappointment, “and it would make things awkward, right?”

“Right,” he breathed out and visibly relaxing – slumping even – in front of you. “I’m sorry I even suggested that. It’s dumb. You’re my friend – you shouldn’t have to kiss me if you don’t want to just because of a stupid scheme to please my mom.”

If you don’t want to. If you don’t want to. You almost scoffed in his face – he had no idea what he was saying.

You wondered what was the formal and correct way to inform your roommate that you had the biggest, fattest, most ridiculous crush on him and would sell your left kidney for one kiss – if only he wanted to kiss you back.

“Well, we have to convince her somehow, right?” you pointed out as you prepared to start doing your hair. “I doubt a hug will make her less suspicious.”

Joshua chuckled. “You noticed it too?”

“She was acting like she expected us to slip up and confess at any moment,” you reminded him with a quirk of your brow, eyeing him through the mirror. “What did she say? ‘You wouldn’t lie to me’? Oddly specific, no?”

“We’re so screwed if we don’t figure something out,” he sighed and ran a hand through his hair (it took you great strength to resist the urge to reach over and give his fluffy utter mess of dark hair a pat as well).

You schooled your expression, willing the beginnings of a blush to go away, as you suggested, “We could still do something kiss-related, you know. Just this once, to get her off our backs.”

“I’m not kissing you,” he argued instantly, ears reddening.

Why was he so god-damn difficult? Why did he have to go on an anxious mental tangent about the wrongs of kissing one’s roommate? Why couldn’t he just kiss you already?! It was his idea anyway!

You almost rolled your eyes as you came up with an alternative, “I could kiss you on the cheek when I leave. Not as good as a kiss but–”

“That could work.”

“Okay, great, we’ve figured it out,” you told him with a chuckle and gently pushed him towards the door. “Now, get out. You haven’t dated me long enough to earn the privilege of seeing me naked yet.”

He snorted a laugh at that – you were half sure it was because he had, in fact, at one point seen you naked, under very different and less than ideal circumstances involving one too many shots of Bacardi – before leaving you to your thoughts and doubts and the knowledge that your roommate did not want to kiss you at all.

[DAY 7, THURSDAY]

While there was an extensive list of reasons why Joshua Hong was the most infuriating man you had ever met (and you meant this very affectionately, which your friends found hilarious), there was an equally extensive list of reasons why Joshua was the ideal man.

His looks were definitely on the list – his doe-like brown eyes, his little bird’s nest of morning hair, his bright smiles to name some of the points.

But it wasn’t all that superficial. You loved his sense of humour. You liked his unlimited patience and kindness. 

Most of all, you loved his cooking.

On most evenings, you got home from work and found your roommate beginning to prepare dinner. He’d offer you a wide smile and ask if his plan of tomato rigatoni suited your tastes. And then he’d just let you rant about your day as he cooked, a drink in your hand.

This tradition had been briefly broken by Joshua’s mother taking over kitchen duties. She felt it was only fair as she was staying in your apartment for free for such a prolonged time. But as much as you loved her food (which almost rivalled Joshua’s), you just missed your daily gossip sessions. 

So, when you got home from work and found your roommate, friend, and fake boyfriend extraordinaire sorting through ingredients on the kitchen counter, you almost cried of joy. You had so many tales to share and you were eager to listen to his stories as well (your last gossip session had ended on a cliffhanger on his part). 

“You’re cooking?” you asked him, leaning over to look at the ingredients, before even remembering that was not how you were meant to greet someone. 

Joshua jumped at voice before resting a hand on his chest and taking a deep breath. “Oh my god…”

“Did I scare you?” you laughed at him and offered an apologetic expression when he turned to glare at you. “So, what are you cooking?”

“I was going to just make some vegetable soup,” he informed you with a tired chuckle. “Mom’s feeling a little under the weather so…”

You couldn’t help but melt at the implications. The grand scheme of fake dating aside, Joshua was a great son to his mother. Yet another reason to add to your ever-growing list. 

And perhaps it was the melting of your heart that affected your brain activity because the next thing you knew you were doing the unthinkable.

“Can I help somehow?” you asked him. 

Even Joshua was startled by your question. And you soon realised why.

In disbelief, you scoffed. “C’mon, I’ve helped you before.”

“Have you?” His head tilted to the side in a manner resembling a curious cat but his eyes narrowed with suspicion. “You never offer to help cook. Actually, I don’t think I’ve ever even seen you use a pan.”

“Shush,” you told him and gave him a gentle slap on the bicep. “What do you need me to do?”

Looking at the various vegetables on the counter, he puffed his cheeks out in thought. Then he shrugged. “You could help with the potatoes.”

“What do I do with them?”

He sighed theatrically. “This is why I never let you help.”

“Hey!”

“Just peel and cut them into pieces, okay?” he finally instructed with a laugh that suggested he did not have a lot of faith in your ability to do so. “Not too small though.”

“I know how to cut potatoes, Shua,” you told him as you got out a knife and cutting board. “I’m a big girl.”

When he offered you another suspicious and perhaps worried glance, you decided it was time to prove a point. He didn’t think you could peel and cut a potato into perfect pieces for a soup? You were going to prove him wrong and you were going to make him eat his words.

It started out great. The first potato was a breeze, peeled and cut in record time. The second and third potato were a joy to turn into smaller chunks and chuck into the bowl Joshua had provided for you. While working on the fourth potato, you started sharing gossip from work and it didn’t affect your task at all. 

For a moment you were certain Joshua would regret doubting you. You were sure there was no way you were going to mess this up and make him question your cooking abilities ever again. 

That is until you reached the last potato. It was two chops in when you let out a whimper, dropped the knife and cradled your hand to your chest.

Joshua’s head snapped up immediately.  Eyes widening in concern, he rushed to your side. “Are you bleeding?”

“Yeah,” you sighed and reached for a towel to dry the blood. “It’s no big deal though, so don’t worry. I’ll g0 find some band-aids and–”

“Don’t get any blood on the potatoes,” he warned with a serious frown and your jaw dropped.

You smacked him with your good hand when his scowl turned into a mischievous smile.

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding!” he laughed and left the room. He returned just moments later with the first-aid kit. “Come here, silly. Let’s get that fixed up.”

When he reached for your injured hand, you snorted out a laugh. “You know, I can put the band-aid on by myself.”

“Who knows,” he teased all the while focusing on your wound, “maybe you’d mess that up as well.”

“Now you’re just being mean,” you told him but made no move to escape from your handsome nurse.

Leaning ridiculously close to you, he gently applied the band-aid. When you let out a soft hiss at the pain (mostly just to mess with him), he pouted and pressed a soft kiss to the spot. “That better?”

It was just your luck that his mother decided to come for a glass of water at that exact moment. She let out a soft gasp of delight before feigning nonchalance when your heads snapped to look at her. 

Clearing his throat, Joshua immediately leaned away, straightened up, and offered her a taut smile. 

“Don’t mind me, lovebirds,” she spoke in a theatrical whisper and rushed over to the cupboard to get a glass. “I’m not even here.”

You fought a grimace and turned back to your cutting board. The potato wasn’t going to cut itself and the pot of broth was already calling its name. 

“You’re making soup?” she wondered and lifted a glass of water to her lips, barely even bothering to hide a smile. “It smells delicious.”

Joshua chuckled. “It will be, once (Y/n) finishes the potatoes and we add them in.”

Her jaw dropped and she lowered her glass of water. 

“Joshua!” 

Her voice could only be described as the dictionary definition of the tone of a mother scolding her children for getting into trouble. It sent a shiver of fear down your spine until you realised it wasn’t you she was yelling at.

Your roommate offered you a panicked look before turning to look at his mother, offering her a tight-lipped, fearful smile. “Yes?”

“You’re not actually going to make your girlfriend cook when she’s injured like this, right?!” she demanded to know, her brows furrowed into a furious frown. “She’s bleeding!”

“She’s fine,” Joshua started to argue but his voice trailed lower and lower with every syllable until it faded into silence and his gaze dropped to the floor in shame. 

She glared at him and reached to drag you away from the counter by the sleeve of your blouse. “Come on, sweetheart. You can come watch a movie with me while Joshua thinks about what he’s done.”

As you made your escape from the heat of the kitchen, you glanced over your shoulder to find Joshua looking at you with a dramatic grimace. You replied with a bright smile of victory and a playful wave before joining his mother in watching Mamma Mia.

[DAY 12, TUESDAY]

As far as ways to throw your roommate’s mom off your trail go, cheek kisses were good enough for the first couple of days. You quite grew to like them and, judging by the pinks of his ears and cheeks, so did Joshua. Every morning, you’d leave for work with a kiss to his cheek, a sweet smile and prep to your steps.

Then, of course, his mother made an off-hand comment about how it seems that Joshua never kisses you and he, of course, took that as a challenge. So, he began sending you off with forehead kisses and warm hugs. You like those even more, honestly. 

But you both knew you were delaying the inevitable. Eventually, the cheek and forehead kisses would not be enough proof of your relationship. Paired with no late-evening love-drunk giggles and movie night cuddles, the morning kisses were barely enough to convince anyone and eventually you’d have to up your game.

You had simply hoped you’d have more time to come to terms with the fact before it happened.

“Mom’s starting to get suspicious again,” Joshua simply stated in a hushed tone as he helped you put on your coat. 

Your heart dropped at the mention. When you turned to look at him, he was looking at everything but your eyes. “Is she asking questions again?”

“She told me to stop eating so much garlic bread because it would make my breath stink,” he said while staring at the fake plant sat on the shoe rack. “That feels like a hint.”

“Well, you don’t want to kiss me, so,” you pointed out with a shrug and shook your scarf to unravel it. “Just tell her it’s my breath that’s bad.”

“No way. Everybody knows your breath smells like roses and vanilla,” he joked and you choked on a laugh. He took your scarf from you and untangled a knot in the middle. 

With nothing to do but stare at him, you came up with a mutually beneficial idea. “We could just fake it.”

“How do you fake a kiss?” he wondered, eyes narrowing and brows furrowing.

You shrugged. “I don’t know. Isn’t that what they do in movies? We just have to get the angle right.”

“How does that work?” 

It turns out it’s hard to answer any questions when your crush is standing in your personal space – so close that you could smell his shampoo and conditioner. Your brain stalled, blanked and desperately tried to restart all necessary systems while you stared at him. 

“Like this?” you heard his voice say but it sounded distant over the sound of your heart pumping.

Not seeming to notice your daze, Joshua placed the scarf around your neck gently. Carefully, he tugged on the two ends of it, pulling you closer inch by inch until you were so close that you had to fight yourself to not actually kiss him. He leaned closer and closer still, his nose brushing against yours, his hands still wrapped in the scarf to keep you from escaping. If you focused really hard, you could almost feel his lips brushing against yours ever so slightly.

The sound of the coffee maker starting and a mug being placed on the counter awakened you again, harshly forcing you back into consciousness. You let out a soft gasp without really meaning to. 

“That– That was–” Joshua stammered, stepping away from you like he’d been burned and running a hand through his hair. 

You cleared your throat. “That could work… I guess…”

“Right.” 

“Yeah.”

“Have— Have a good day…”

“Yeah.”

You couldn’t find another word to say until you reached your office. There, you slumped into your almost-comfy chair and stared at the ceiling. 

“Fuck.”

[DAY 16, SATURDAY]

Brunch is meant to be fun. It’s meant to bring joy. It’s breakfast without the hassle of waking up at 8 am – what’s not to love?

Well, you weren’t sure you liked brunch that much anymore.

Traumatised (a bit of a hyperbole) and furious (the scientifically correct term), you walked into your room and shut the door behind you before turning to glare at Joshua.

While you had gone out to eat with his mother – at her insistence and with a promise of free food –, your roommate stayed home with the excuse of a headache and snuggled into your blankets like it was his rightful place.

“You.”

His eyes blinked open. “Me?”

“Why do you never read your damn messages?” you burst out but tried to keep your voice low to not catch his mother’s attention. “I sent you, like, fifty.”

“You did?” He seemed genuinely surprised. Which meant that he hadn’t even looked at his phone once in the hours you were gone. Why did he even have a phone in the first place?

Your hands clenched into fists. “What if I died?!”

“My mom asking you to brunch isn’t really a deadly occasion.”

“I barely survived! She asked me about grandkids!”

“Oh.”

Your glare was unrelenting. You hoped it would somehow telepathically convey how much you wished to strangle him if only it weren’t illegal and you weren’t desperately in love with him.

“Well, what did you tell her?” he then wondered and you almost actually jumped to tackle and murder him.

“What do you think I told her, Joshua?” You scoffed. “I just said we hadn’t thought about it because this is still new and you know what she did? Do you want to know what she did?”

He raised a brow. “I guess so?”

“She started giving me the whole ‘you don’t have forever’ and ‘I’d like grandkids before I turn 70’ spiel,” you informed him and groaned. “It went on forever.”

“You’re a good actor,” he assured you with a small smile that almost seemed amused, “I’m sure you got your way out of it.”

“You’re sleeping on the floor tonight,” you told him with a roll of your eyes.

He gasped. “Because my mom asked about grandkids?!”

“Because you don’t read my texts.”

Joshua paused. “Yeah, that’s fair, actually.”

[DAY 20, WEDNESDAY]

Enough was enough. You could put up with many things – your roommate’s pranks, Chan’s endless fantasies about how he’s secretly the most sensible inhabitant of the building, Joshua’s mother staying for a month with little to no notice – but you even your charitability had its limits.

When you’d woken up this morning, your back positively aching and your joints sore from being stuck between Joshua’s wall-like form and the actual wall, the first thought you had was something Chan said:

“What are you getting out of this arrangement anyways? He gets his mom off his back, and you? Is getting to live out your late-night fantasies the only perk?”

And that was when you decided that you had finally reached your limit. With a shove that was far from affectionate or fond, you awakened Joshua and declared before he could even rub the sleep out of his eyes that he’d better keep his evening schedule and a sizable number on his bank account free for you.

What followed had been a shopping trip that dismayed him and exhilarated you. You had, after all, wanted a proper big bed for a while now. Finally, a chance to sprawl out and live out your starfish dreams without the worry of falling to the cold hard ground at 2 am. And more importantly, no more being pushed against the wall like an undignified cushion every other night.

But the thing you enjoyed most of all was Joshua’s hair getting progressively more messy and unkempt as he tried to decipher the IKEA instructions all on his own while you curled up in your desk chair and watched him with a cup of hot cocoa in hand.

“I thought you’d be better at this,” you noted passively upon hearing his frustrated sigh and seeing him unscrew what you assumed was meant to be one of the legs of the new bed. “Maybe I should’ve asked for Jeonghan’s help instead.”

The glare he sent your way was scathing but his tone remained as delightful as always when he assured you, “I’ve got this, don’t worry.”

You made a show of glancing at the time on your laptop – a rerun of Friends playing in the background in an effort to entertain your poor IKEA slave of the night – and announced, “I’m just saying. It’s almost midnight and you’ve only managed to add one leg to the frame.”

He groaned. “It’s not my fault this thing is so complicated. Why couldn’t you pick out a different frame? Something more easy to assemble, for one.”

“I wanted this one,” you teased.

“The oak one you looked at at first would’ve been better. And cheaper.”

“If you want me to keep playing along in your little improv show, you’d better be happy I only asked for a 700,000-won bed in return,” you pointed out and took a sip of your cocoa. 

You sighed happily at the warmth the drink provided. Oh the joys of girlhood. You thought you could get used to this: free furniture, free assembly, and a handsome man to do your bidding.

Joshua’s lips and eyes squeezed into a sarcastic smile as he slowly turned to face you. “Don’t forget the mattress, darling.”

You shrugged. “I didn’t see you protesting at the check-out.”

His smile dropped into yet another glare. “That’s called being in shock. My bank account is dying because of you.”

Without another word, he sharply turned back to his task of assembling the frame.

“This benefits you too, sweetheart,” you replied with a roll of your eyes. “I sleep better, you sleep better, everybody benefits.”

“For ten days,” he muttered and practically slammed two pieces of wood together now that he was sure they were meant to go together. “And then you have a new comfy bed and I just have poverty.”

You snorted. “I’m willing to split custody if you’re nice to me.”

It didn’t take a genius to know he was rolling his eyes. “Yeah right.”

“Besides,” you adjusted your position so you could nudge his back with your foot in an affectionate manner, “you barge in here to gossip every other night anyways. You’re benefiting plenty.”

“Remind me to never ask you to be my fake girlfriend ever again,” he pleaded.

You knew (or perhaps wished) he only half-meant it. But even so there was a pang in your chest. A feeling of sadness as the reality once again sank in. It was easy to forget that this was just an act and he had only bought you this bed because he felt guilty and not because he loved you. The feeling would nag you late into the night.

[DAY 22,  FRIDAY]

You had learnt early on that karaoke has the magical ability to heal wounds and erase bad memories, even if just for one night. Tonight you hoped it would once again prove true.

The building’s monthly karaoke parties were organised by Vernon and Jihoon in an effort to bring the community closer together. On every third Friday of the month, the lobby of the building would be lit with stage and string lights, decorated with colourful banners and dollar store party supplies, and a small stage would be built in the corner. As was tradition, everyone brought some snacks and drinks to the snack table and enjoyed the evening, getting progressively more drunk between karaoke and socialising. 

You thought it was the perfect solution to your problems. With the help of loud music, your nosy friends and alcohol, you would for sure soon forget your heartache and worries. 

There was, however, one problem you had forgotten: Joshua’s protective nature.

You had successfully managed to avoid him for the better part of the evening, sneaking between people, hiding behind Mingyu’s wide frame under the guise of playing hide and seek with your roommate (something Mingyu was very happy to help with; you suspected he just liked to feel useful), and running at every mention of Joshua. 

Seamlessly, the karaoke soon worked its miracle. You found you had missed the liberty that came with hanging out with your friends and not worrying how everything appears to Joshua’s mother. For this one night, you were not Joshua’s fake girlfriend, not someone’s pretend-daughter-in-law, and not an actress struggling at improv – you were once again just (Y/n), a simple woman in love with her best friend, eyeing him from across the room and giggling with your friends about it.

By the time you remembered you were hiding from him, you were far from sober and your thoughts were getting a little jumbled as you made conversation with Minghao, laughing between every other word because saying things was hard and your tongue felt heavy in your mouth. Minghao didn’t say a word and only smiled at you fondly, like one would at a kitten trying to chase after shoelaces, as he listened to you. 

His attention was caught by something behind you and you saw him give someone a gentle nod and a bright smile. Then, before you could even process the situation or ask any questions, he placed a hand on your shoulder and turned you around, bringing you face to face with him. 

You weren’t sure what it was about the dollar store lighting in the lobby, but you had always thought it made Joshua look even more delectable. It was hard not to stare at the shadow his lashes cast on his cheeks or the definition of his muscles visible through the thin fabric of his button-up shirt.

“Hi!” You greeted him with a wave and an intoxicated giggle, momentarily forgetting about the freshly opened can of beer in your hand and letting it slosh in your hands. “Oh! Sorry, my bad!”

A situation you would’ve once thought to be mortifying only made you laugh harder tonight as you searched for tissues and began to dry your hand. You didn’t notice when Joshua had taken the drink from you but you also wouldn’t notice he never gave it back.

He watched you with a smile. “Having fun?”

“Oh my god, I’m having so much fun,” you rambled, eyes shining as you looked at him, already forgetting your quest to dry the floor. “Did you see when Seungcheol and I did ‘Alcohol-Free’ together? It was so much fun–”

It was hard to finish your thought when he looked at you with those pretty eyes, and smile, and– 

He adjusted the sleeves of your dress for you and you almost melted. All thoughts gone. Words? Never heard of those.

You were silent for so long that he chuckled. “You awake?”

“I– Yeah, totally,” you replied, blinking your eyes to force yourself to focus again. “How about you? Are you having fun?”

He shrugged. “I usually have more fun when you’re with me.”

“Oh.”

“You didn’t even sing ‘Breaking Free’ with me tonight,” he complained playfully but you thought you saw a hint of actual sadness in his eyes. “I’m glad you’re making friends with Seungcheol though.”

You hummed and nodded. “He’s very nice. Very handsome too.”

His eyes widened and you couldn’t quite figure out why. 

Not that you even wanted to figure it out. You were, in all honesty, more preoccupied with memorising how pretty he looked with his doe eyes. The purples and yellows and pinks of the lights reflected back from the browns of his eyes and you thought it was the prettiest sight you had ever witnessed. No sunset, sunrise or wild landscape could compete with this view. 

And you wanted to tell him that; but words were so hard when your blood was buzzing with alcohol and adrenaline. So you thought you should show him somehow. 

Your eyes closed briefly. You leaned forward just a bit. Then your lips pressed against his. For just a moment. You couldn’t help but smile as you leaned back and opened your eyes again.

If you had thought his eyes were pretty before, they were positively the most gorgeous sight now as he stared back at you in wonder and confusion. There were not enough words in the dictionary. You thought they ought to fix that problem and add a few just to be safe. 

“The girl who wins your heart will be so lucky,” you told him softly and pressed another gentle kiss to the corner of his mouth. “I wish I was her.”

“(Y/n), I–” he started and you felt the alcohol leave your blood in an instant, the warm buzzing replaced with a cold rush. 

Before he could say anything in response, you ran out of the party. 

[DAY 23, SATURDAY]

Seokmin had always heavily advertised the building’s monthly karaoke parties as “life-altering”. He wrote that in large letters with a bright red marker on every karaoke party notice he saw and he said the exact phrase to every person he talked to in the week leading up to the event. Which was especially funny because 1) he wasn’t on the advertising team, 2) there was no advertising team to begin with, and 3) he never even volunteered to help organise the events. You had concluded that he was just very incredibly enthusiastic about karaoke (and with a voice like his how could one not be?).

But you now feared he was right after all.

Upon realising your mistake, you had, for a moment, contemplated going home and hiding in your room before you realised it would be the first place he’d look for you.

So, instead, you sent a silent apology your best friend’s way and took the spare key from under the doormat before letting yourself into Chan's apartment. 

Even as the morning arrived, you didn’t dare face Joshua. Not after what had happened. Not after you had kissed him and told him you wished he’d fall in love with you and kissed him again. You could never go home again. 

Chan looked away from his laptop screen just to give you a look with one of his brows raised. “You literally live with him.”

“That’s the whole point. I can’t go home,” you told him, lying face-down against his thigh. 

Turns out it’s surprisingly easy to make physical contact with men when you’re not attracted to them. You silently wondered if that could be the solution to your obvious touch-starvation problem – why else would you drunkenly kiss your roommate?

He rolled his eyes. “Then what’s your plan, drama queen?”

You didn’t answer, mulling it over in your head. There really weren’t a lot of options. 

Maybe it was a sign – finally you could fulfil your life-long dream of adopting a new identity and moving to Iceland to become an anonymous sheep herder. It sure sounded more tempting than facing Joshua Hong again.

Before you could open your mouth to suggest a viable idea, Chan beat you to it with a click of his tongue. “You’re too poor to move to Iceland. And no, you can’t move into my place either.”

There went your plan A as well as plan B.

“Fuck you,” you told him and rolled over to face the ceiling. “Then what do I do?”

“What you always do, I guess,” he sighed and turned back to his online shopping addiction. “You complain a bit, throw an apple at my head, and then pretend nothing ever happened between you and Joshua.”

You blinked. “Do I always do that?” 

“Without fail.”

You hadn’t realised there was a pattern. Perhaps this whole thing was worse than you had thought. Perhaps taking a new identity and running really was your only option. And who knows, you thought, maybe you’d find a nice man in Iceland and fall in love with a not-Joshua instead. Then you’d at least be free of one problem, even if at the expense of a new set of issues.

“Instead of catastrophizing, you should use this opportunity,” Chan broke the silence, eyes still on the screen.

You suddenly understood why throwing an apple at his head was part of the pattern. Fortunately for him, the apples were just out of your reach and you were too comfy and hungover to go get even one. “To fake my death and go into hiding? Absolutely.”

“What? No!” He frowned at you as if you had suggested 2+2 was 5. “What is wrong with you? You need to face this whole thing head-on instead of making escape plans!”

“I’d honestly rather go missing under mysterious circumstances.”

“Or,” he started and flicked your forehead with his fingers, making you curse at him as he rolled his eyes, “you could accept the fact that you confessed to your crush and see what he thinks of that.”

“He looked horrified last night.”

“You were drunk and kissed him without permission,” he reminded you helpfully. You failed to see how that information would soften the blow. If anything, it was making you feel like a predator – and not even a very clever one. You grimaced. “Give the poor guy a minute to process before jumping to conclusions. He was just surprised. If you stuck around instead of pulling a Cinderella, maybe you would’ve found out it wasn’t that big of a deal. Who knows, maybe he even likes you back.”

“Pull a Cinder–” You sputtered and glared at him. “Why do I ever come to you for advice?”

He offered a smug smile. “Because deep down you know I’m right.”

You were certain he wasn’t. You couldn’t imagine any scenario outside of your daydreams where the situation could’ve been resolved with a smile and a confession from Joshua Hong. You could, however, imagine a thousand scenarios of him running away or being so disgusted by your behaviour that he’d call off the fake dating scheme once and for all.

Seeing your hopeless expression, Chan sighed. “Instead of making doom’s day plans, try to look at the bright side of things.”

“What bright side?” you asked, closing your eyes and wishing the month would end already. “I embarrassed myself in front of my crush. What’s the bright side, Mr Positivity?”

His silence spoke louder than any words ever could have.

[DAY 24, SUNDAY]

After two nights at Chan’s apartment, you finally decided it was time to face your nightmare. If Joshua hadn’t unilaterally called off the scheme yet, his mother must have for sure been worried about the state of things. You thought you owed him at least these last 7 days of fulfilling this nonsensical plan. 

So, after two cups of coffee and a pep talk from Lee Chan, you braced yourself and walked into your own apartment for the first time all weekend. 

It was silent. Of course it was, you thought and facepalmed: it was only 8 am on a Sunday. Just because your sins and demons had kept you from sleeping in didn’t mean Joshua and his mother would be awake at this damned hour.

You were just about to come to terms with the fact when a soft pitter-patter of feet interrupted the silence. The steps came closer and you took a deep breath to calm yourself, praying it wouldn’t be who you thought it was.

But you knew it was a useless hope. You had lived with Joshua long enough to recognise his footsteps and the rhythm of his snores in your sleep. 

He let out a sigh that seemed almost relieved once he reached the living room. 

“Where were you?” you expected him to ask and put on his best impression of an overprotective dad. 

“How dare you come back here?” you half thought he’d say and glare at you as he’d shove a bag full of your clothes into your arms and kick you out.

But he just watched you in silence for a moment as if to make sure you were real and not a figment of his overactive imagination. And only once you had been pushed to the point of awkwardness where you couldn’t help but put on a tight-lipped smile and a shrug did he finally open his mouth to ask, “Did you eat yet?”

You had almost forgotten what he sounded like and it was a pleasant feeling to listen to him again. The soft murmur and slight sleepy growl to his voice sounded like home and it made the butterflies in your stomach come back to life with a roar of fluttering wings, free of shame and fear.

Your smile almost felt genuine when you replied, “I was going to make pancakes…” 

… To make up for what I did went unsaid, but you suspected he knew they were there nonetheless. 

He yawned in a way that didn’t seem entirely real, as if he was putting on an act to ease the awkwardness. After glancing at the clock he spoke again, “I kind of want to go eat breakfast outside today.”

“Oh.” 

You felt a little dejected at the thought but you understood. If someone had done to you what you had to him – someone you thought was your friend suddenly kissed you and confessed to you, even drunkenly –, you probably would have needed more time as well. If he didn’t want to eat breakfast at home with you, it was his right. You were sure his mother was better company than you anyways.

That didn’t mean it didn’t hurt you though. You turned your head to fight back the tears that threatened to make a comeback. You didn’t think you had any right to cry but that didn’t mean you didn’t want to. 

But before you could spiral further, Joshua chuckled, “Don’t worry. I’ll pay. You can get as many waffles as you want.”

Your head snapped to face him again, eyes blinking rapidly. You pointed at yourself. “You want me to–”

“Get dressed, silly. I’m too poor to pay for both you and mom, you know.” He could hardly keep from smiling. “Besides, we need to talk, just you and I.”

And talk you did. Or at least you would have if you weren’t so distracted by waffles and a sense of impending doom. You could hardly sit still in your chair, feeling uncomfortable sitting across from him. 

Any moment now, you thought, he’s going to say you were an awful person. Any moment now, he’s going to say it was all a big mistake and he should’ve just asked Jeonghan to fake date him instead. 

But maybe Chan was right and you were a fair bit overdramatic. 

“So about the other night,” Joshua finally started with a heavy sigh and put down his coffee cup. He avoided your eyes (not that you would’ve noticed because you were too busy avoiding his anyway) as he searched for words to say. 

“I’m sorry about that,” you blurted out, abandoning your waffles. 

He paused. “Sorry?”

“I’m sorry for… you know…” You couldn’t even say the words because it was so dumb and ridiculous and shouldn’t have ever happened anyway. How does one apologise for kissing someone? You forced yourself to look him in the eyes. “I shouldn’t have done it. I was just drunk and dumb and silly– You know how I get.”

He nodded. “Right. You were just… drunk.”

“Yep.”

“And you just kissed me because…”

“I was excited to see you,” you half-lied and avoided his eyes again. “I just hadn’t seen you all night and there you were and I guess I got a little…” Carried away? Lovestruck? “It doesn’t change anything, I swear. I was drunk.”

Silence. He was silent for so long that you were half-convinced he’d gone and left you to your own devices. Paying for the breakfast would’ve been the least of your worries.

When you looked up to see if he was still there, you saw him looking down at his food. He seemed… sad? Disappointed? Upset with you for making such silly excuses maybe? You shuddered to think what that odd dim look on his face meant.

The butterflies that had woken up just an hour ago went back to rest, ashamed of their work. You could just hope he wouldn’t hate you forever or kick you out of the apartment. 

Finally, after what felt like forever and then some years, Joshua forced on a smile that was a little too bright to be real. “Don’t worry about it. I’m just glad you’re back. Where did you even go after the karaoke?”

“I–” You were both overjoyed and taken aback by his question. He cared. He cared and he didn’t want you gone from his life. “I kind of broke into Chan’s apartment and stayed there.”

Brows furrowing and the corner of his mouth turning downwards, he scoffed. “Instead of just coming home? I was worried sick!”

“I’m sorry!” you squeaked and somehow it was the most sincere apology you had uttered today. “I was just so embarrassed and I didn’t think you’d want to see me, so–”

“I always want to see you,” he argued with a disbelieving laugh. “You’re my best friend, (Y/n). I could never be so mad at you that I’d never want to see you. You had me so worried! I thought you’d gone to sleep in a dumpster somewhere.”

There he was – the Joshua you had fallen so hopelessly in love with. Your silly, protective, way too sweet and dramatic Joshua. And you didn’t feel ashamed to be in front of him. 

A smile forced its way onto your lips at the thought.

“What are you smiling at? This is serious!” He could hardly fight a grin himself, already bordering on giggling at your argument. “I was worried about you. And mom kept asking about you and I almost told her you’d moved to Iceland like you always dreamed–”

“Okay, okay,” you interrupted him with a laugh. “I’m sorry, again. You can stop being a worry-wart now.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” He rolled his eyes theatrically. “Next time I’ll just leave you to freeze in the dumpster.”

“I didn’t sleep in a dumpster!”

“Chan’s place is not much better.”

[DAY 26, TUESDAY]

You had hoped that your Sunday breakfast apologies would be the last your actions would haunt you aside from the regular night-time program of nightmares. You had apologised, you had made up, and you were friends with Joshua again as if nothing had happened at all.

Had there been a small, minimal, miniscule glimmer of hope in your heart that Chan’s words would be true and Joshua would tell you he liked you back? Sure. 

Had it been crushed to the point of no revival? Absolutely. 

“Oh, hey, (Y/n),” Vernon greeted you when you entered the building’s lobby after a long day of work. 

You glanced around and noted that, as per usual, the clean-up of the karaoke party was taking five days longer than the setting up. It was only natural, you supposed, as Jihoon was too busy to bother with this and Vernon – as per Junhui and Seungkwan’s accounts – was not the biggest fan of cleaning. Today, four days after the party, he was taking down the last string lights.

“I see some things never change,” you told him with a good-natured chuckle. 

Though it took him a moment to understand what you were implying, Vernon rolled his eyes once the realisation hit. “You’re welcome to come and help.”

You had walked right into that one and so you sighed. “Alright, what do you need?”

He laughed. “I was just joking. I’ve got this. I planned this entire thing anyway.”

“Wouldn’t you rather spend some time with your girlfriend?” you wondered. You could barely wrap your mind around how people with dating lives didn’t just spend all their free time cuddling and being in love.

“Ella’s fine,” he told you with a shrug. “She’s got Rocket and Mango to keep her company.” He paused for a moment before adding, “I think she’s probably sick of me, anyway.”

“Why?”

“... I ate the last ice cream.”

You snorted a laugh. “Might as well send in the divorce paperwork already.”

“Right?” he joked before raising his brows. “How about you?”

“What about me?”

“Why aren’t you at home, making googly eyes at Josh?”

You froze. Did he know about your crush? Vernon – the master of not noticing the things around him – had noticed your crush? How obvious had you been?

 “Why would I do that?” you asked after clearing your throat.

He scoffed. “Oh, come on, we all saw you at the party.”

It appeared the magical karaoke regrets would never stop haunting you. You cursed under your breath. 

Barely noting your silence, Vernon turned back to the lights but asked, “So, are you finally together? Did he finally confess?”

“Confess?”

You cringed as you felt like a broken record forced to perform, but your brain was too far in overdrive to maintain its normal operations.

“I mean, he’s been in love with you since like… forever, really,” he told you oh-so-casually, as if he was discussing the Monday paper or the weather. “I thought the dumbass would never confess. If he hadn’t, I’m sure Jeonghan and Seungkwan would’ve set up a ploy to get you to date.”

And just like that you found yourself on Chan’s sofa once again. He had only greeted you with a deep, heartfelt sigh and a nod that said he had expected this. 

As he fell next to you on the sofa, he took a sip of beer and said, “Do your thing, drama queen.”

You stayed silent, still pondering your existence and the ups and downs of your (non?)existent love life. 

Mouth agape in surprise at your lack of complaints, Chan waved a hand in front of your face. “Earth to (Y/n)? What happened? You know, it’s good to let your feelings out. I might complain about it sometimes but–”

“Vernon said Joshua has a crush on me,” you finally blurted out, staring ahead, still deep in disbelief. “It can’t be, right? He’s probably being silly. But what if he isn’t? What if he’s right? What if Joshua has a crush on me? What if he had a crush on me and then I kissed him and now he thinks I’m gross?”

It did feel good to let your feelings and thoughts out. And now they just sounded even sillier. Why? Well, because it was ridiculous – Joshua would never have a crush on you.

Chan blinked. “Vernon said that?”

“Do you think he’s right?”

He kissed his teeth. “And if I say yes?”

“Then why didn’t he say anything?” 

“Why didn’t you?”

“Because he can’t possibly like me!”

He rolled his eyes and leaned back. “There you go.”

“Why hasn’t he confessed? He could’ve told me to not apologise. He could’ve kissed me back. He could’ve–”

“Maybe he’s a coward and he’s waiting for you to confess first,” Chan guessed. “You know, kind of like how you’re doing right now.”

“You are entirely unhelpful,” you told him with a mild glare that one could almost mistake for fond. “I can’t just confess to him. Not after what happened.”

“Says who?”

“Can you stop asking questions and help me,” you whined before practically slamming your head against his shoulder in a search for comfort. “This is a serious crisis. Do you think he could actually like me?”

Chan hesitated. “You didn’t hear it from me, but…”

“But?”

“I’m pretty sure I overheard Jeonghan, Seungcheol and Joshua talking about you. And I’m pretty sure Joshua said he could never live with himself if you rejected him.”

“He did?”

“You didn’t hear it from me,” he reminded you and patted your arm in a brotherly manner. “So I say you go and confess and live happily ever after.”

You groaned. “Or miserably.”

“If that’s what you want,” he joked. “But you should still give it a try.”

“But not today though.”

“Definitely not today. You look like a mess,” he blurted. “He’d have to be pretty far gone to accept your confession, Ms Frankenstein.”

He squeezed his eyes shut and tensed as if he expected you to hit him – with an apple, you guessed – and you just scoffed out something akin to a laugh.

“I’d kick you if you weren’t such a good friend,” you told him instead and gently patted his cheek. “Thank you for putting up with me.”

[DAY 27, WEDNESDAY]

The alarm still had a few minutes before it would go off. 

You stared at Joshua as he slept soundly beside you. It was tempting to smooth down his hair and press a soft kiss to his forehead. But you had other things to do before you could do that. 

You took a deep breath and opened your lips to just whisper the words – as practice for the real confession you would definitely, 100%, certainly make in a few days – but no sound came out. 

You sighed and slumped back into your pillow. Confessing is harder than it looks in movies and books, even when he’s asleep and can’t hear you.

Joshua’s phone began ringing, notifying both him and you of the beginning of a new day. He stirred beside you. You pretended you’d been asleep this entire time.

[DAY 28, THURSDAY]

It was cold. So, so cold. Of course fate would have it that the first snowstorm of the year would hit without warning on the one day the last bus home was over an hour late. And of course it had to be on the one day when your boss asked (or, rather, begged) you to work overtime. 

But maybe fate wasn’t entirely cruel and useless, you thought as Seungcheol’s car stopped in front of the bus stop and he invited you inside with a worried smile and a wave.

“What are you doing out so late?” he wondered as he cranked the seat warmers up to the maximum. “Didn’t you watch the forecast?”

Oh. So they had issued a warning after all. 

“I’ve been a little distracted, I guess,” you told him with a sheepish laugh before thanking him for giving you a lift and wondering, “What about you? It’s not exactly driving weather.”

“Every weather is driving weather,” he joked and offered you a bright smile that for the shortest moment had you wishing you had fallen for him and not your stupidly endearing roommate. “I’m sure Joshua’s worried.”

You hadn’t even thought to check your phone until now. Frankly, judging by its recent battery life, you’d be shocked if it had any charge left at all.

“He’ll live.”

“Are you– I thought–” He hummed in thought, brows furrowing. “Are you not together?”

How you wished you were.

“No,” you sighed. “But I was going to confess tonight until, you know, my boss decided we needed those reports two days ago.”

Seungcheol nearly swerved his car in surprise. He was quick to fix his error – it went fairly smoothly with how empty the streets were this late at night. “I’m sorry. I really thought you were together. He’s been talking about you so much. I thought–”

“Apparently you’re not the only one.” You laughed. “I don’t know how he’ll feel if I do confess though. Maybe he’ll kick me out.”

“He won’t. No way,” he said and it almost sounded like a promise. “But if he does, tell me and I’ll kick his ass.”

“So you think I should confess?” 

“Do it. I think you’ll like the outcome.”

“How do you know?”

He shrugged. “Let’s just say I have some experience with love.”

[DAY 29, FRIDAY]

Back home, Joshua felt like he was going to go out of his mind. The clock on the wall was mocking him, moving forward even as his worry deepened. 

It was already almost midnight. You were usually home by 7. And yet there was no sign of you.

Sighing, he fell back onto the sofa and checked his phone again. He wasn’t sure how many times he had done that already. Fifteen? Fifty? Five hundred, perhaps? 

Still no calls back. Still no sign that you had read his messages. When he tapped on your contact to call you, it went to voicemail and he almost went insane.

“I’m sure she’s safe. She’ll be home soon,” his mother comforted him with a gentle pat on the shoulder. But her words were hard to believe when she was staying up later than usual with him, her third cup of peppermint tea sat on the coffee table in front of them.

The clock ticked midnight and Joshua jumped to his feet. “I’m going out to find her.”

“You’re going out? In this weather?” She didn’t need to use harsh words for him to know that she was scolding him. 

But he didn’t care. He couldn’t care when you weren’t home. 

So he ignored her warnings and pulled on his coat, his boots, and grabbed his car keys. 

“I’ll be back soon,” he called over his shoulder as he left the apartment. He heard her call something out to him but he couldn’t be bothered to listen when he was half-certain you were buried in a pile of snow somewhere. 

He was halfway down the stairs, somewhere between the first and second floor when he heard your voice. He could’ve sworn life returned to his veins at the sound. He sighed in relief and picked up the pace, hurrying to see you.

But then he heard another voice. Seungcheol. 

“If you like it, keep it,” the man from 5A spoke, his voice rich and low in a way Joshua just knew would have any woman weak at the knees. And how was he supposed to compete with that?

He heard you laugh – giggle, really. “That’s so sweet, Cheol.”

Cheol? Joshua almost scoffed in disbelief. It had taken him two months to get to the nickname stage with you and this man comes and reaches it in less than a month? 

He wasn’t sure what this feeling in his chest was. Anger? Bitterness? No, he was just lying to himself. He knew exactly what this feeling was: jealousy. And he’d be damned if he let this continue.

Dusting off his black wool coat, he picked up the pace again and rushed downstairs to meet you. 

The acting lessons his mother had signed him up for when he was a kid paid off now as he feigned surprise at the sight of you. Eyes widening, lips falling apart, and a gasp of air to really sell it. He ran to you from the bottom of the staircase.

“Sweetheart!” he called out as he practically tackled you in a hug. He didn’t even have to pretend as he held you close, one arm around your back and one pushing against the back of your head to keep you as close as humanly possible. “Where were you? I was so worried. Are you okay?”

You had squeaked in surprise and he almost laughed. He let you go (all the while making sure to keep one hand on your back) and asked again, “Are you okay, baby?”

You seemed to be speechless, staring at him with wide eyes full of confusion. 

Seungcheol cleared his throat and Joshua almost glared at him just to prove a point. “I should leave you with your…”

“Boyfriend,” Joshua quickly supplied with a smile he hoped came across as both friendly and venomous. You let out another squeak of surprise. 

“Right.” Seungcheol raised a single brow before sharing a funny look with you. “I’ll see you some other time then, (Y/n). And don’t let your boss make you work overtime again.”

With that, he climbed up the stairs, leaving just Joshua and you.

“You worked overtime?” Joshua wondered, visibly relaxing once Seungcheol was out of range. “How long?”

“Just until 10,” you replied but it sounded almost robotic. 

“It’s midnight,” he reminded you and took your hand to check if your hands were cold. He sighed in both relief that they were warm and disappointment that he didn’t have an excuse to play with your hands now. 

You scratched your head. “The bus was late. I don’t know if it even came.”

“So, then you called Seungcheol?” 

The implication hurt him. He thought he was your first call no matter what happened. He had been all these months, after all. Even if he sucked at reading messages, he never failed to answer the phone on the first ring. 

“I think my phone died. Cheol just happened to drive past,” you told him and, for once, he felt better. 

He sighed in relief and closed his eyes, taking the situation in. It felt like he could finally breathe and think again now that you were back home. 

“Joshua,” your voice interrupted his thoughts and he hummed, “are you okay?”

He opened his eyes and looked at you. The urge to pull you back into his arms was overwhelming. “You had me so worried.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you. I should’ve called but–”

“I can’t keep doing this.” He hadn’t meant to say it out loud. He really hadn’t. But that hadn’t stopped him at all. 

You seemed startled at his words, not in a good way. In a way that made him wonder if you ever expected anything but the worst when he spoke to you. He had to put a stop to it. 

But before he could, you scoffed. “What’s that supposed to mean? You’re acting like I do this often.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Also, what just happened with Cheol?” He wasn’t sure what had set you off, but he felt himself matching your energy, getting agitated. “Since when are you introducing yourself as my boyfriend to our neighbours? If you wanted to do that, you should have warned me.”

“I lied,” he blurted out before you could continue. “I’ve been lying to you a lot.” 

You froze. “You… You lied? What do you mean?”

He took a deep breath. “When I lied to my mom, when I told her we were dating – it wasn’t random. I said I was dating you because… I guess I just wanted it to be real. I wasn’t nervous because I lied to her. I was nervous because I thought you’d be disgusted and upset and hate me. But I’ve liked you since the day you moved in and I’ve been in love with you since the time you borrowed my sweater in August because the moths ate all of yours.”

“You like me?” you asked dumbly and he actually laughed.

Joshua nodded. “I’m in love with you in a way I didn’t think I could ever be with anyone.”

“And… you’re choosing to confess now?” You glanced around at the empty lobby, only a single sconce lamp lighting the way into the building. “Here? Like this? Why?”

“Seungcheol–”

Your jaw dropped. “Because you’re jealous?!”

Joshua scratched the back of his neck and avoided your eyes. He didn’t have a single excuse. He was an impulsive man. He rarely thought of the consequences or even of what he was doing in that moment. Especially when it came to you. He looked down at his feet.

“I mean,” you continued with a chuckle, “I guess I’m no better. I kissed you at the karaoke just because I thought you were pretty.”

“I should’ve kissed you back,” he told you earnestly. 

You blinked. And then you blinked again. Then he saw a mischievous glint in your eye. “You should. Right now.”

You couldn’t have been serious. He didn’t think you were. There was no way.

“You can’t just confess to me like this and then not kiss me,” you told him and you didn’t sound mad at him. “You owe me that much after that scene with Seungcheol and confessing to me in the building lobby, Mr Gentleman.”

Who was he to argue? 

Taking another long gulp of air, he leaned closer. Slowly, centimetre by centimetre, unsure if you were serious or not. 

It was his turn to squeak in surprise when you grabbed him by the collar of his shirt coat and pulled him closer to kiss his lips. 

“So,” he wondered, voice soft and dazed, when you pulled away, “you like me back?”

“You can ask Chan for proof, if you want,” you simply told him before kissing him again. 

He didn’t care to ask for an explanation. Not when he was finally getting everything he wanted.

 [DAY 30, SUNDAY]

Turns out fake dating becomes a lot easier when you just actually date. Who could’ve guessed?

The agony of sharing your bed and being pushed against the wall no matter the size of your mattress was replaced with the domestic joy of being able to cuddle your boyfriend. By the second night of dating Joshua, you had found your favourite position was letting him lie half on top of you, his head resting against your chest at the perfect angle to play with his hair. 

The awkward breakfasts full of lies… Well, they still had a few emergency lies here and there, but for the most part it was stealing bites off his plate and nudging each other while giggling as his mother watched you with a mildly amused look on her face.

And the kisses. You couldn’t get enough of the kisses and neither could the butterflies in your stomach, still fluttering the same as they had during your first kiss even now as he kissed you for the fiftieth time (yes, you had kept count). 

It was only a shame that the real dating started so late into the scheme. After only two days of domestic bliss, it was time for his mother to pack her bags and go home.

Dressed in a warm coat and wrapped in a large scarf, she offered her son a warm hug, whispering endearments and gentle scoldings into his ear as you waited in the lobby. You suspected her taxi driver had fallen asleep by now.  

She then gave you a hug as well. A short and sweet one with a warning to treat her son well. And then she added, “Oh, before I forget, I left something on the kitchen table for you. Read it later, okay?”

You nodded and sent her off with a smile.

Joshua joined your side, resting a hand on your back (a new habit of his that you didn’t quite mind). He wore a smile.

“What did she tell you?” you asked him. “When you were hugging.”

“Told me to stop leaving the toilet seat up,” he told you and you suspected it was only half the truth. “What about you?”

“She said she left something on the kitchen table for us to read.”

He paused. “A book?”

“You think? What if it’s a poem?”

“Maybe a letter?”

“It’s possible.” 

You shared a look. His mother’s taxi barely managed to leave your sight before you and your boyfriend (you could never get enough of calling him that) were dashing up the stairs to solve the mystery.

True enough, there was a white envelope on the table.

“Maybe it’s pocket money,” you guessed as you picked the envelope up. “For hosting her or something.”

“If it is, you should give it to me,” he told you and you weren’t entirely sure he was joking. “There’s a hole in my bank account because of you.”

“You’re never letting that go, are you?” you sighed and opened the envelope. You were pleasantly surprised to find out you had been right – a handful of cash had been stashed into the envelope, probably enough to cover your rent for the month.

Barely bothering to hide his smirk, Joshua extended a palm. You gave him a look. Stared at him. Then sighed and placed the cash in his hand. He smiled bright and put it away in his pocket.

But the cash wasn’t all. There was a folded piece of paper. A letter.

You opened it, half-expecting a scolding or a motherly warning. But this letter – as short as it was sweet – exceeded all expectations.

Sweethearts

I hope you know I’m not unwise. I know all about your little scheme – neither of you are very good actors. Joshua, you should know better than to lie to your mother. 

But it was entertaining and I am glad to have given you some incentive to finally take the proper steps and start dating. You make a cute couple when you’re not acting. 

Can’t wait to see you two again soon

Your jaw dropped. 

“What does it say?” Joshua wondered, leaning over your shoulder to read. He let out a scoff soon afterwards. “She can be so mean.”

“She knew this whole time?” you cried out.

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “I should’ve known. It was too easy.”

“I mean, I thought she was suspicious of us, but this?”

“Do we really suck at acting this much?”

“Whatever,” you sighed and put the letter down. “I’m going to sleep. I can’t handle an existential crisis right now.”

“Right, let’s go sleep,” Joshua agreed, leading you away from the kitchen with a gentle tug on your arm. 

It was only when you were stood in front of the two bedroom doors, nearly identical and stood side by side, that you paused and a realisation hit. 

Was it appropriate to share a bed anymore? Surely Joshua would want to go back to his own room now that it was free again? 

You almost groaned out loud: you had thought the doubts and useless problems would cease after the confession. Everything was good and great and wonderful, so why were the stupid worries back?

Having probably reached the same conclusion, Joshua seemed just as stumped. He stared at his bedroom door for a while and you were certain he’d go to sleep in his own bed for the night, ending your most favourite part of newfound domestic bliss.

“I paid for the bed,” he suddenly said with a laugh and gently pushed you towards your room, following closely after. “You’re not getting rid of me now, sweetheart.”

“So you’re just inviting yourself into my room now?” you joked, nudging his side before letting yourself fall onto the bed. 

He laid down next to you, resting his head on his arm after rolling to his side to face you. He grinned. “It’s our room now.”

You loved the sound of that and you were certain he could see it on your face.

“So what will we do with your room?”

Joshua pondered for a moment. “We could turn it into a guest room. something tells me mom’s going to want to visit again soon.”

You paled at the mention of her. “I don’t think I can ever look her in the eyes again.”

“Me neither,” he sighed and leaned over to hide his face in the crook of your neck. “Let’s not think about it any more.”

“You’re the one that brought her up!” You laughed.

“Let’s just go to sleep,” he said. “I love you.”

The butterflies went crazy. You couldn’t and wouldn’t fight the smile that appeared on your face. “I love you too.”

[w1w2]

When the First Snow Falls

Winter x Fem!Reader

Word Count: ca. 7k

Synopsis: In the heart of winter, Y/N finds herself haunted by memories of Minjeong, the love she lost to her own neglect. When a chance encounter at a Christmas market rekindles their connection, Y/N must confront her past mistakes and prove she’s changed.

EXO– 첫 눈 "1년 전으로 갈 수 있다면 지금 우린 달라졌을까"

English isn’t my first language so I apologize in advance for any mistakes.

♡ Enjoy! ♡

Y/N stood by the large, frost-kissed window of her apartment, the warmth of the room a stark contrast to the wintry chill outside. Snowflakes, delicate and intricate, fell from the sky, blanketing the city in a soft white layer. The sight was mesmerizing, yet it filled her with an ache she couldn’t shake. It was the first snow of the season—just like that night a year ago.

The city below was alive with holiday cheer. Strings of twinkling lights adorned every lamppost, and garlands wrapped tightly around railings and storefronts. Families hurried along the streets, their laughter and chatter carried upward by the crisp winter air. Y/N’s gaze fell on a child tugging a small sled behind her, her scarf flapping as she ran to keep up with her parents. The joy in the air seemed to mock the quiet solitude of her apartment, the silence so heavy it felt alive.

Y/N sipped from a steaming mug of hot cocoa, its sweetness unable to soothe the bitterness of her thoughts. 

Kim Minjeong.

Even thinking the name was enough to make her chest tighten. She turned away from the window and set the mug down on the counter, her fingers lingering on its warmth. The snow had stirred a flood of memories—moments she both cherished and dreaded. She wished she could savor them without the accompanying sting of regret.

Her reflection in the glass caught her eye, and she frowned at the image of herself. The soft, heart-shaped face she was known for felt foreign in moments like this. It was hard to reconcile the bubbly, outgoing girl the world loved with the person staring back at her—a person weighed down by guilt and longing. Her hair, dyed a warm shade of brown for the season, framed her face in soft waves, but even its vibrance seemed muted in the pale light of the snow.

Minjeong had loved her hair. She remembered how Minjeong’s small hands would absentmindedly play with it, weaving little braids or simply running her fingers through it. 

Stop. 

Y/N shut her eyes tightly, willing herself to push the memory away. But it lingered, stubborn and vivid. Memories had a way of finding her on days like this, unbidden and relentless.

She couldn’t deny the truth anymore—she had taken Minjeong for granted. Her relentless schedule, the whirlwind of her rising career, had consumed her. She’d always thought there’d be time, always assumed Minjeong’s love would be steadfast, unshaken by her absence. But love wasn’t invincible. Minjeong had tried to tell her, to show her through the quiet sadness in her eyes and the spaces between their conversations. Y/N just hadn’t been listening.

The thought of that final night sent a shiver through her. She’d replayed it countless times in her head, wishing for a different ending, one where she hadn’t let her pride or fear stop her from reaching out. But regret didn’t rewrite history—it only lingered, feeding on her solitude.

Her gaze drifted back to the window. Snowflakes danced in the golden glow of the streetlights, their patterns chaotic yet beautiful. The world was transformed, each imperfection hidden beneath a pristine blanket. It reminded her of how things had been with Minjeong at the start—perfect, or at least it had felt that way. She’d been so sure of their forever.

Y/N reached for her phone on the counter. Her fingers hovered over the screen, tempted to type out a message she’d drafted and deleted too many times to count. What could she say now, after all this time? “I’m sorry”? It felt inadequate. “I miss you”? True, but also painfully obvious. She set the phone down with a sigh, her chest tightening with frustration.

The truth was, she wasn’t sure Minjeong would even want to hear from her. After everything, could she blame her if she didn’t? Y/N had hurt her, unintentionally but deeply, and she didn’t know if words could ever mend what she’d broken. She wrapped her arms around herself, trying to ward off the chill that seeped into her thoughts despite the heat of the room.

Outside, the snow continued to fall, piling on windowsills and frosting tree branches. It had a strange way of making everything feel still and silent, even in the bustling city. Y/N let herself be still for a moment, her thoughts slowing as she watched the snow. Somewhere out there, Minjeong was seeing this same snowfall, perhaps feeling the same chill, or maybe she was wrapped in someone else’s warmth now. The thought twisted like a knife in Y/N’s chest, but she forced herself to face it.

She didn’t know what tomorrow would bring or if she’d ever find the courage to send that message, to say what her heart had been screaming for the past year. But for now, she stayed by the window, letting the snow and the memories wash over her. It was painful, but it was hers—every regret, every smile, every laugh that echoed in her mind.

Winter had always been her favorite season. Now, it was a reminder of what she’d lost. But maybe, just maybe, it could also be a reminder of what she still had the power to reclaim.

She drew a shaky breath, her fingers brushing the frost-laced windowpane. The snow outside blurred as her thoughts drifted deeper into the past. No matter how much she tried to live in the present, this season always carried her back to those moments—the ones she could replay vividly, down to the smallest details.

Her gaze unfocused, the bustling cityscape faded, replaced by another time, another place. She could almost hear the laughter and music, see the twinkling lights reflected in Minjeong’s eyes.

It had all begun one December evening, at a small community hall that smelled of cinnamon and fresh pine…

Flashback

The lively hum of chatter and laughter filled the community hall, its walls adorned with festive garlands and twinkling lights. The annual Christmas charity event was in full swing, and Y/N was there as part of her agency’s outreach initiative. She adjusted her red Santa hat, a playful accessory that matched her outfit, as she carried a tray of cookies to the refreshment table.

“Careful, or the cookies might outshine your smile,” a voice chimed from behind her. Y/N turned, catching sight of Minjeong. Petite, radiant, and sporting a mischievous grin, Minjeong was dressed in a cozy green sweater adorned with tiny reindeer patterns. Her cheeks were pink from the cold, and her sparkling eyes danced with mischief.

Y/N raised an eyebrow, a smirk tugging at her lips. “Is that your way of asking for one? You could’ve just said please.”

Minjeong’s grin widened. “I could’ve, but where’s the fun in that?”

Their banter was lighthearted, the kind that flowed naturally, as though they’d known each other far longer than the few minutes they’d exchanged pleasantries. As the event progressed, they found themselves gravitating toward each other. Between serving refreshments and wrapping gifts for children, they discovered shared interests—love for music, a penchant for adventure, and a mutual appreciation for the joy the season brought.

The highlight of the evening came when Minjeong took to the small stage to sing Christmas carols. Her voice, clear and melodic, captivated the room. Y/N found herself mesmerized, her heart skipping as Minjeong’s gaze briefly found hers mid-song. When the song ended and the applause erupted, Minjeong hopped off the stage and returned to Y/N’s side.

“Well?” Minjeong asked, her tone teasing. “Do I pass your very high standards?”

Y/N chuckled, her cheeks warm. “You’re decent. Maybe a solid eight out of ten.”

“Eight?” Minjeong feigned indignation. “I’ll have to work harder to impress you.”

“You’re welcome to try,” Y/N quipped, already wondering when she’d see Minjeong again.

The next few weeks became a whirlwind of shared moments. Their first official “date” happened almost by accident, a spontaneous decision to grab hot chocolate after running into each other at the skating rink. They laughed over their inability to stay upright on the ice, Minjeong’s soft laughter ringing in Y/N’s ears long after the night ended.

From there, their relationship blossomed like the lights decorating the city. They built snowmen in the park, hands brushing as they sculpted the frosty figures. They explored Christmas markets, their fingers laced together as they navigated stalls selling everything from handmade ornaments to steaming cups of mulled cider. On quiet nights, Minjeong would hum Christmas carols, her voice a soothing balm as they curled up on Y/N’s couch, a tangle of blankets and limbs.

Y/N couldn’t pinpoint when she fell for Minjeong—perhaps it was gradual, like the way snow blankets the earth overnight, unnoticed until morning. All she knew was that Minjeong made everything brighter, warmer. Being with her felt like stepping into sunlight after days of gray skies.

Two years into their relationship, the festive magic they had shared began to fade, not from a lack of love but from the strain of Y/N’s growing career. Her schedule became relentless, each day packed with rehearsals, interviews, and appearances. At first, Minjeong was understanding, her optimism unwavering. She would wait patiently for Y/N to come home late, greeting her with a tired smile and warm embrace.

“I know you’re doing this for your dreams,” Minjeong would say, her voice soft yet reassuring. “I’m proud of you.”

But the cracks began to show. Y/N missed small but significant moments—a dinner date they’d planned for weeks, a family gathering where Minjeong had wanted Y/N to meet her cousins. Minjeong never voiced her disappointment directly, but Y/N could see it in her eyes, the way her smiles began to lose their spark.

One evening, as they sat on the couch in silence, Y/N scrolling through her phone while Minjeong watched the twinkling lights of the city, Minjeong finally spoke.

“Do you ever feel like we’re drifting apart?” Minjeong’s voice was soft, almost hesitant.

Y/N looked up, startled by the question. “What? No. Of course not. Why would you think that?”

Minjeong’s fingers traced the edge of her mug, her gaze fixed downward. “I just… I don’t know. Sometimes it feels like I’m not part of your world anymore. Like I’m an afterthought.”

The words hit Y/N like a punch, but she didn’t know how to respond. She opened her mouth, then closed it, fumbling for the right thing to say. Minjeong didn’t press further, but the weight of her words lingered between them.

The cracks widened as December approached. Y/N missed yet another date, this time at a winter festival they had been looking forward to. Minjeong had waited, bundled up against the cold, her breath visible in the frosty air, until the lights dimmed and the crowds dispersed. When Y/N finally called, hours later, Minjeong answered with a calmness that only deepened Y/N’s guilt.

“I know you’re busy,” Minjeong said, her voice devoid of accusation. “But I don’t know how much longer I can keep waiting.”

It was the first time Minjeong had given voice to the hurt that had been building for months. Y/N apologized, promising to do better, to make it up to her. But promises alone couldn’t mend the growing distance between them.

End of the Flashback

Y/N blinked back tears as she sat on the edge of her bed, the weight of the memories pressing heavily on her chest. She could still see Minjeong’s face that night, illuminated by the glow of the Christmas lights, her eyes filled with a mixture of love and sadness.

“I should have tried harder,” Y/N whispered to herself, her voice breaking. But words spoken into the emptiness of her apartment couldn’t change the past.

The weight of those memories pressed against her chest like a vice. Y/N leaned her forehead against the cool glass, her breath fogging the window as she exhaled. No matter how much time had passed, the ache hadn’t faded; it had simply settled, becoming a part of her. And at the heart of it all was that night—a night she couldn’t forget, no matter how much she tried.

Christmas Eve. The falling snow had been just as gentle, just as beautiful, but it hadn’t brought peace. Instead, it marked the moment everything unraveled.

Flashback

Christmas Eve arrived with a quiet kind of beauty. Snow drifted lazily from the sky, blanketing the streets in white and muffling the sounds of the city. Y/N had promised Minjeong they’d spend the evening together—just the two of them. For once, there were no excuses, no distractions, no last-minute cancellations.

She’d arrived late, but Minjeong had greeted her at the door with a soft smile and a tired look in her eyes. They’d exchanged pleasantries, but the warmth between them felt strained, like a thread pulled too tightly.

The apartment smelled of pine and cinnamon, and the Christmas tree in the corner glowed softly with twinkling lights. Beneath it sat a handful of neatly wrapped presents, the fruits of Minjeong’s careful planning. Y/N hadn’t even had the chance to wrap hers yet. She told herself she’d do it after dinner.

They sat on the couch, mugs of hot cocoa in hand, the space between them feeling wider than ever. Minjeong broke the silence first.

“Y/N,” she began, her voice steady but quiet, “can I ask you something?”

Y/N turned to her, startled by the serious tone. “Of course. What’s wrong?”

Minjeong hesitated, her gaze fixed on the steam rising from her mug. She seemed to be gathering her thoughts, weighing every word before speaking.

“Are you happy?” she asked finally, her voice barely above a whisper.

The question caught Y/N off guard. “What? Of course I’m happy. Why would you even ask that?”

Minjeong’s lips curved into a small, sad smile. “You say that, but sometimes… it feels like I’m not part of that happiness. Like you’re happy everywhere else—in your work, with your friends—but not here. Not with me.”

The words hit Y/N like a punch to the gut. “Minjeong, that’s not true. I—” She faltered, struggling to find the right words.

Minjeong shook her head gently, her expression unreadable. “You don’t have to say anything. I just… I need to say this.”

Setting her mug down on the table, she turned fully to face Y/N. The glow of the tree lights reflected in her eyes, making them shine even as her voice trembled. “I’ve been trying to hold on. For a long time, I told myself it was enough—your little notes, the times you made it to dinner, the way you always made me laugh when we were together. But Y/N… I feel like I’m always waiting for you.”

Y/N stared at her, words caught in her throat.

“I’m not blaming you,” Minjeong continued, her voice soft but firm. “I know how much you’ve worked for your dreams, and I’m proud of you. I’ve always been proud of you. But I’ve spent so much time trying to fit into your world that I don’t even know where I belong anymore. And that scares me.”

The pain in her voice was undeniable, and Y/N’s heart ached at the sight of Minjeong’s composure beginning to crack.

“I never meant to make you feel like that,” Y/N said finally, her voice barely audible. “I love you, Minjeong. I really do.”

Minjeong gave a sad smile, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. “I know you do. But sometimes love isn’t enough if it doesn’t feel like it’s being shown.”

The silence that followed was deafening. Y/N wanted to say more, to beg Minjeong to stay, to promise she’d do better. But the words wouldn’t come.

Minjeong stood, her movements slow and deliberate, as if giving Y/N a chance to stop her. But Y/N remained frozen, paralyzed by her own fear and uncertainty.

“I think I need some time,” Minjeong said softly, picking up her coat from the back of the chair. “To figure out who I am without waiting for someone else.”

She hesitated at the door, her hand resting on the handle. For a moment, Y/N thought she might turn around, might say something to undo the finality of her words. But Minjeong only looked back, her eyes filled with a mixture of sadness and love.

“Merry Christmas, Y/N,” she said, her voice breaking slightly.

And then she was gone, the door closing behind her with a soft click.

Y/N sat in the stillness, the twinkling lights of the tree casting faint shadows around the room. The mug of cocoa sat untouched on the table, its steam long since vanished.

She pressed her hands to her face, the reality of the moment crashing down on her like the snow outside. Minjeong was gone, and Y/N had no one to blame but herself.

End of the Flashback

The first snow of the season had been falling that night, too, soft and unrelenting. Just like now.

Y/N’s eyes lingered on the snow swirling outside her window, each flake catching the streetlights like tiny stars. A year had passed, yet the pain felt as fresh as the chill in the air. She closed her eyes, willing herself to move, to do something other than sit in the stillness of her apartment.

Moments later, she found herself bundling up in her coat and scarf, her boots crunching against the icy pavement as she stepped outside. The cold bit at her cheeks, but she welcomed it—it was better than the suffocating warmth of her solitude.

The park wasn’t far, and as she walked, memories tugged at her with every step. The snow fell heavier now, the quiet of the night broken only by the faint hum of the nearby Christmas market. When she reached the park, it was as if no time had passed at all.

Her gaze drifted to a familiar bench, the one tucked under a towering oak tree now dusted with snow. It was here, beneath these same branches, that Minjeong had kissed her for the first time. Snowflakes had clung to Minjeong’s lashes that day, and she’d laughed when Y/N had gently brushed them away.

The memory was both beautiful and painful, a bittersweet ache in her chest. Y/N paused by the bench, her gloved fingers brushing the backrest as if it might still hold some trace of that moment. But the cold, empty wood only deepened her sense of loss.

A year.

It had been an entire year since Minjeong had walked out of her apartment, leaving behind a silence that no amount of holiday cheer could fill. Y/N had tried to move forward, but her steps always seemed to circle back to the same memories, the same regrets.

She lowered herself onto the bench, brushing away the snow before sitting. From her coat pocket, she pulled out a small notebook, its edges worn from weeks of being carried around. Flipping to the last page, she reread the letter she had written—her thousandth attempt, it felt like—to Minjeong.

Minjeong,

I don’t even know where to begin. For the past year, I’ve been haunted by the things I didn’t say, the moments I let slip through my fingers. You always said I had a way with words, but now, when they matter most, I feel like I have none that are worthy of you.

I took you for granted, Minjeong. I see that so clearly now. I thought love alone would be enough, that you would understand my silences and forgive my absences because my heart was still yours. But love is more than feelings. It’s actions, presence, and choices—and I failed you in all of those ways.

Every memory we shared is etched into my mind like the first snow on pavement. I can still hear your laughter at the Christmas market, feel the warmth of your hand in mine on those freezing nights, and see the way your eyes lit up when you sang. You were my light, my safe place, and yet I dimmed you with my neglect.

I remember that night—Christmas Eve. I remember the look in your eyes when you told me you felt like you were always waiting for me. I should have stopped you, begged you to stay, promised to do better. But I was a coward, Minjeong. I let my fear of failure keep me from holding on to the best thing that ever happened to me. And for that, I am so deeply sorry.

The truth is, you were never an afterthought to me. You were my first thought in the morning and my last before I fell asleep. I just didn’t know how to show it. I got so caught up chasing my dreams that I forgot to nurture the one dream that mattered most—you and me.

I’ve spent the past year trying to understand myself and the ways I failed you. I don’t blame you for leaving, and I don’t expect you to forgive me. But if there’s even the smallest chance to try again, I promise to be better—to show you every single day how much you mean to me.

You are the love of my life, Minjeong. You always have been, and you always will be.

Forever yours,

Y/N

Y/N traced the words with her gloved finger, her heart aching with the weight of her feelings. She had written the letter weeks ago but couldn’t bring herself to send it. The fear of rejection held her back, a barrier she couldn’t seem to cross.

Folding the notebook closed, she slipped it back into her pocket and rose from the bench. The park’s stillness felt too heavy, pressing down on her chest, and she needed to move. She headed toward the Christmas market, hoping the bustling energy might distract her, even just for a little while.

Y/N’s boots crunched softly in the snow as she wandered through the Christmas market, the glow of fairy lights wrapping the stalls in warmth. The air was rich with the smell of roasted chestnuts and spiced cider, but it did little to settle the growing unease in her chest. Everywhere she looked, there were reminders of Minjeong—bright ornaments they used to pick out together, couples laughing over steaming cups of cocoa, and even a stall selling reindeer figurines like the one Minjeong had loved so much.

And then she saw her.

At first, Y/N thought she was imagining it. Her breath hitched, her feet faltering as her eyes locked onto the figure standing by a stall of painted figurines. Minjeong. She was unmistakable, her blonde hair tucked into a knitted beanie, her long camel coat dusted with snow. She stood with a small reindeer figurine in her hands, tilting her head slightly as if trying to decide whether to buy it.

Y/N’s pulse thundered in her ears, drowning out the noise of the market. She hadn’t seen Minjeong in a year, not since that night. She hadn’t planned to see her now, but there she was, so close and yet so distant. For a brief moment, Y/N considered slipping away, retreating before Minjeong noticed her. But then Minjeong turned, her gaze sweeping the crowd—and froze when their eyes met.

Minjeong blinked, her expression guarded, the hint of a smile faltering as recognition dawned. Her fingers tightened around the figurine she was holding, and she took a small step back, as if trying to decide whether to stay or leave.

“Minjeong,” Y/N said, her voice barely audible above the market’s hum.

Minjeong didn’t answer right away. Her lips parted, but the words seemed caught somewhere between her thoughts and her tongue. When she finally spoke, her tone was measured, almost cautious. “Y/N… hi.”

The air between them was heavy, a mixture of surprise, unease, and something unspoken. Y/N took a tentative step closer, her hands stuffed deep in her coat pockets to steady their trembling. “I… I didn’t expect to see you here.”

Minjeong’s smile was polite but distant. “It’s a small city,” she said simply. Her gaze flickered briefly to the stall, then back to Y/N. “Are you… here alone?”

Y/N nodded, swallowing hard. “Yeah. Just taking a walk, I guess. What about you?”

“Same,” Minjeong said, her voice softer now. She held up the figurine, the small reindeer painted in bright reds and greens. “I always liked coming here this time of year. It feels… familiar.”

Y/N’s heart clenched. She wanted to say something, anything to bridge the growing tension between them, but the words wouldn’t come. All she could think about was how different Minjeong seemed—still warm and kind, but guarded, as though she were holding herself together with careful precision.

There was a beat of silence before Y/N spoke again, her voice tentative. “Minjeong… I know this is unexpected, but… would you have time to talk? Just for a little while?”

Minjeong hesitated, her fingers tracing the edge of the figurine. Her gaze lingered on Y/N’s face, searching for something—sincerity, maybe, or a reason to walk away. Finally, she let out a small sigh, her shoulders softening slightly.

“Okay,” she said quietly, placing the figurine back on the stall’s table. “But just for a little while.”

Y/N’s breath caught, relief flooding her chest as she nodded quickly. “There’s a café nearby,” she said. “It’s quiet. We can talk there.”

Minjeong hesitated for another moment, then nodded, her expression unreadable. She paid for the figurine, tucking it carefully into her bag before turning back to Y/N. “Lead the way.”

As they walked side by side through the snow-dusted streets, the tension between them was palpable. Y/N’s mind raced with everything she wanted to say, but she kept silent, stealing glances at Minjeong. Minjeong, for her part, seemed lost in thought, her steps slow and deliberate.

When they reached the café, Y/N held the door open, and Minjeong stepped inside, pausing to glance at her briefly. There was something in her eyes—hesitation mixed with a flicker of the warmth Y/N remembered so well. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to keep hope alive.

They were greeted by a cheerful barista who directed them to a cozy corner table near the window. Outside, snow continued to fall, muffling the sounds of the bustling Christmas market.

Y/N ordered two hot cocoas, her hands trembling slightly as she handed her card to the cashier. She wasn’t sure if it was the cold or the nervous energy coursing through her. As they waited for their drinks, Minjeong removed her coat and settled into the chair opposite Y/N, her expression calm but guarded.

“So,” Minjeong began, her fingers tracing the rim of the small ceramic sugar bowl on the table. “What did you want to talk about?”

Y/N took a deep breath, her chest tightening. The moment felt fragile, as if one wrong word might shatter the delicate balance between them.

“First, I just… I want to say I’m sorry,” Y/N said, her voice barely above a whisper. “For everything. For not being there for you the way I should have been. For making you feel like you weren’t important. I’ve thought about that night every single day since it happened, and I hate that I let you walk away.”

Minjeong’s gaze was steady, but she didn’t interrupt.

Y/N hesitated, her fingers curling around the edge of the table. “I know I can’t undo what I did, but I want you to know how much you meant to me—how much you still mean to me. I was so caught up in everything else that I didn’t see what was right in front of me. And by the time I realized, it was too late.”

The barista arrived with their hot cocoas, breaking the tension momentarily. Y/N murmured a quiet thank you, her hands wrapping around the warm mug for comfort.

Minjeong stirred her drink slowly, her spoon clinking softly against the ceramic. “You really hurt me, Y/N,” she said finally, her voice soft but firm.

Y/N’s heart sank, guilt washing over her like a tide. “I know,” she said. “And I hate myself for it.”

Minjeong’s expression softened slightly, though her eyes still held a trace of sadness. “I’ve spent the past year trying to understand what went wrong. At first, I blamed myself—maybe I wasn’t enough, maybe I should have tried harder. But the truth is, I forgot to prioritize myself. I spent so much time waiting for you that I lost sight of my own needs.”

Y/N swallowed hard, the weight of Minjeong’s words settling heavily in her chest. “I don’t expect you to forgive me,” she said. “But I want you to know that I’ve been working on myself, too. I’ve realized how much I took for granted, and I don’t ever want to make that mistake again. Not with you, not with anyone.”

Minjeong looked out the window, her gaze following the falling snow. For a moment, Y/N thought she might brush her off, politely decline any possibility of reconciliation. But then Minjeong turned back, a faint smile tugging at her lips.

“You know,” Minjeong said, her tone lighter, “you were pretty terrible at time management.”

Y/N blinked, caught off guard by the comment. “That’s… fair,” she admitted, a small, nervous laugh escaping her.

Minjeong’s smile grew, and for the first time, the tension between them began to ease. “Do you remember that time you promised to meet me at the ice rink and showed up almost an hour late?”

Y/N groaned, covering her face with her hands. “Don’t remind me. I was so sure you were going to throw your skates at me.”

Minjeong chuckled, the sound warm and familiar. “I thought about it. But then you bought me hot chocolate and let me laugh at how terrible you were at skating. It was hard to stay mad after that.”

They both laughed, the sound filling the small corner of the café and pushing back the weight of unspoken pain.

As the conversation drifted to happier memories—snowball fights, late-night karaoke, and stolen kisses under the city lights—Y/N felt a warmth spread through her chest that had nothing to do with the cocoa.

“I missed this,” Y/N said softly, her eyes meeting Minjeong’s. “I missed you.”

Minjeong’s smile faltered for a moment, her expression growing thoughtful. “I missed you too,” she admitted. “But missing someone doesn’t erase the hurt.”

Y/N nodded, her throat tightening. “I know. I just… I’m willing to do whatever it takes to make it right. If there’s even the smallest chance—”

Minjeong held up a hand, her gesture gentle but firm, stopping Y/N mid-sentence. “Let’s not rush anything,” she said softly. “I need to think about this—about us. But… I’m glad we talked.”

Y/N’s heart both soared and ached at her words. It wasn’t the immediate reconciliation she had secretly hoped for, but it wasn’t a rejection either. It was something—a fragile thread of possibility, a glimmer of hope.

As they finished their drinks and prepared to leave, Minjeong glanced at Y/N, her expression thoughtful. “You’ve changed,” she said quietly. “I can see that. And I’m glad. Just… give me time, okay?”

Y/N nodded, her voice catching slightly as she replied, “Sure. Take all the time you need.”

The café door jingled softly as they stepped out into the crisp evening air. The warmth of their conversation lingered between them, like a fragile cocoon shielding them from the bustling noise of the nearby Christmas market. The faint scent of roasted chestnuts and pine drifted toward them, but neither spoke, both lost in their own thoughts.

As they walked side by side, Y/N tilted her head back, noticing the way the streetlights illuminated the delicate flakes of snow. The sight stole her breath for a moment, and she murmured, “It’s snowing again.”

Minjeong stopped, lifting her gaze to the sky. A small smile formed on her lips as a flake landed on her cheek. “It is,” she said softly, her voice tinged with quiet wonder.

For a moment, they simply stood there, the snow drifting down around them, their breaths forming soft clouds in the chilled air. The world seemed to pause, leaving only the two of them in the golden glow of the streetlights. It felt surreal—like stepping back into a memory when things between them had been so easy, so effortless.

Y/N’s gaze fell on Minjeong, her heart clenching at the sight. Minjeong looked serene, the snow catching in her hair and on her lashes, the tension from earlier melting away. It reminded Y/N of the countless times she’d seen her like this, moments she had taken for granted. She wished she could freeze this one, hold it forever.

A sudden breeze swept through the street, and Minjeong instinctively reached out. Her gloved hand brushed against Y/N’s, and without hesitation, her fingers curled around Y/N’s, the gesture as natural and familiar as breathing.

Y/N’s breath hitched, her heart pounding in her chest. The warmth of Minjeong’s hand felt like a lifeline, pulling her back to a place she thought she’d lost forever. She tightened her grip slightly, as if afraid this fragile moment might slip away.

“Minjeong,” Y/N began, her voice soft but steady. She turned to face her fully, searching her eyes for any hint of what she might be feeling. “Do you… do you think we can start over?”

Minjeong blinked, her expression unreadable at first. Her fingers remained intertwined with Y/N’s, but she didn’t speak right away. The silence stretched between them, broken only by the gentle sound of snow falling around them.

Y/N felt her chest tighten, the weight of uncertainty pressing heavily on her. She was about to say something more, to explain, to plead, when Minjeong’s lips curved into a faint smile.

“You really don’t give up, do you?” Minjeong said, her tone light, laced with both amusement and something softer—something hopeful.

Y/N’s cheeks flushed, a nervous laugh escaping her. “Not when it comes to you,” she said honestly.

Minjeong’s gaze softened, and for the first time that night, the walls around her seemed to lower. “I don’t know if it’s that simple,” she admitted, her voice quieter now. “There’s a lot to figure out. A lot to rebuild.”

“I know,” Y/N said quickly, her grip on Minjeong’s hand firm but gentle. “I don’t expect it to happen overnight. I just… I want the chance to try. To show you that I’ve changed. That I can be better.”

Minjeong studied her for a long moment, her eyes holding a quiet intensity as the snowflakes fell around them. Finally, she nodded, her smile growing just a little. “Okay,” she said softly.

Y/N blinked, caught completely off guard by the response. “Wait… really?” she asked, her voice tinged with disbelief.

Minjeong’s lips curved into an amused smile. “Don’t make me change my mind,” she teased lightly, though her tone carried warmth.

A laugh bubbled up in Y/N’s throat, a mixture of surprise and overwhelming relief. “I—I wasn’t expecting you to say yes so soon,” she admitted, her cheeks flushing.

Minjeong chuckled softly, her fingers still curled around Y/N’s. “Well, don’t get too ahead of yourself,” she said with a playful glint in her eyes. “It’s a tentative yes. We’ve got a lot to figure out.”

“I know,” Y/N said quickly, her voice steadier now. “But just hearing you say it… it means more than I can put into words.”

Minjeong’s expression softened, and she gave Y/N’s hand a small squeeze. “Then let’s start there.”

As they continued walking, still hand in hand, the snow fell heavier, blanketing the world around them in a clean, fresh start. For the first time in a year, Y/N felt like she could truly breathe again.

The evening unfolded like a dream. As the snow thickened and the market’s lights twinkled, Minjeong turned to Y/N with a thoughtful look. “Do you have plans for tonight?”

Y/N shook her head, her eyes bright with curiosity. “Not really.”

“Then…” Minjeong hesitated for only a moment before offering a small smile. “Would you like to come over? We can—well, I don’t know. Just spend Christmas Eve together?”

Y/N’s face lit up, her chest tight with gratitude and relief. “I’d love to,” she said softly.

Back at Minjeong’s apartment, the air was filled with the familiar scent of cinnamon and pine. The small space was cozy, adorned with fairy lights and a modest tree sitting in the corner, its decorations simple but warm. Y/N felt a pang of nostalgia as she took it all in, the setting so reminiscent of their past Christmases together.

“Help me with the tree?” Minjeong asked, holding up a box of ornaments.

Y/N nodded eagerly, her smile wide. “Of course.”

They fell into an easy rhythm, hanging ornaments and teasing each other about their differing tastes in decorations. Minjeong laughed when Y/N insisted on placing the slightly crooked star on top, calling it “quirky charm.”

Later, they moved to the kitchen, where Minjeong unearthed an old recipe for sugar cookies. The two of them worked side by side, the counters quickly becoming a mess of flour and frosting. Minjeong smeared a dollop of frosting on Y/N’s cheek, laughing at her exaggerated look of indignation before Y/N retaliated with a sprinkle shower.

After the cookies were baked, Y/N reached into her coat pocket, pulling out the letter she had carried with her for weeks. She hesitated for a moment, her heart racing, before offering it to Minjeong.

“I wrote this for you,” Y/N said softly, her voice trembling. “I didn’t know if I’d ever have the courage to give it to you, but… I want you to have it now.”

Minjeong unfolded the letter, her fingers trembling slightly as she smoothed the paper. Her eyes scanned the opening line, and a quiet sigh escaped her lips. Y/N’s handwriting hadn’t changed—slightly messy but earnest, the ink pressed deeply into the paper as if to anchor the words in place.

As she read, emotions washed over her in waves. The guilt, the sorrow, the yearning—they were all there, raw and unfiltered. Minjeong’s chest tightened when she reached the part about Christmas Eve, her mind instantly flashing back to that night. She had replayed it in her head countless times too, though she’d never admitted it to anyone. Hearing Y/N recount it now—acknowledging every hurtful moment—both soothed and reopened wounds she thought had healed.

Her fingers traced the words "you were my light," lingering as her breath caught in her throat. Y/N had never been good at voicing her feelings, and yet, here they were, laid bare in a way Minjeong had always longed for. Was this enough? Could this letter bridge the gap between them?

By the time she finished, tears blurred the ink slightly as she refolded the paper. Minjeong pressed it to her chest, her heart warring between cautious hope and lingering hurt. It wasn’t just the words that moved her—it was the vulnerability behind them, the promise that maybe, just maybe, Y/N had changed.

She looked up at Y/N, who sat across from her, nervously twisting her hands. Minjeong’s lips parted to speak, but for a moment, no words came. Instead, she reached out, placing the letter gently on the table between them. Her voice was soft but steady.

“You really poured your heart into this,” she said, her tone layered with both gratitude and uncertainty.

“I meant every word,” Y/N replied, her gaze steady. “I wanted you to know how much you mean to me. How much I regret letting you slip away.”

Minjeong nodded, folding the letter back and clutching it to her chest. “Thank you,” she said quietly.

Later that night, they ventured out into the park, retracing steps they had taken so many times before. The snow was heavier now, blanketing the world in a hushed stillness. As they reached the oak tree where they had shared their first kiss, Y/N stopped, turning to face Minjeong.

“I know I’ve said this a lot tonight,” Y/N began, her voice trembling with emotion. “But I need to say it again.”

She dropped to her knees in the snow, looking up at Minjeong with wide, earnest eyes. “Minjeong, I promise I will never take you for granted again. I will do everything I can to be the person you deserve, if you’ll let me.”

Minjeong stared at her, the snow catching in her hair and lashes, before a surprised laugh burst from her lips. “Y/N, get up! You’re going to freeze.”

Y/N laughed, feeling a surge of relief as Minjeong reached down to pull her to her feet. The next thing she knew, she was wrapped in a tight hug, Minjeong’s arms warm and steady around her.

“I missed you too,” Minjeong whispered, her voice barely audible but so full of emotion it made Y/N’s chest ache.

The night ended with the two of them curled up together on Minjeong’s couch, a thick blanket draped over their legs. The glow of the fairy lights bathed the room in a soft warmth, their gentle twinkle matching the rhythmic rise and fall of Minjeong’s breathing. Outside, the snow continued to fall, coating the streets in a quiet serenity that seemed to insulate them from the rest of the world.

Y/N glanced down at Minjeong, who was nestled against her shoulder, her golden hair brushing lightly against Y/N’s cheek. Minjeong’s eyes were half-closed, her expression peaceful, her hand resting lightly on Y/N’s arm. It was a sight Y/N thought she’d never see again, and it filled her chest with a warmth that no amount of holiday cheer could match.

“Thank you,” Y/N said softly, breaking the comfortable silence.

Minjeong stirred slightly, tilting her head up to meet Y/N’s gaze. “For what?” she murmured, her voice heavy with drowsiness.

“For giving me another chance,” Y/N replied, her voice trembling just enough to betray the depth of her emotions. She reached up, brushing a stray strand of hair from Minjeong’s face with a tenderness that felt both familiar and achingly new.

Minjeong’s lips curved into a small, sleepy smile. “Merry Christmas, Y/N,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper, but the words carried a weight that made Y/N’s heart swell.

“Merry Christmas,” Y/N replied, her voice steady but thick with emotion. For a moment, she hesitated, unsure if it was too much, too soon. But then, with a quiet breath, she leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to Minjeong’s forehead. Her lips lingered for just a moment, enough to feel Minjeong’s warmth beneath them.

Minjeong let out a soft hum of contentment, her eyes fluttering closed again as she leaned further into Y/N’s embrace. Y/N tightened her arm around her, as if to shield her from the world, her other hand finding Minjeong’s beneath the blanket. Their fingers intertwined naturally, the gesture grounding them both in the present.

The room was quiet, save for the faint crackle of the heater and the muffled sound of snowflakes brushing against the windowpane. Outside, the snow-covered streets glistened under the soft light of the moon, reflecting the hope that Y/N finally felt in her heart.

For the first time in a long while, she allowed herself to believe in the possibility of a future—one where they could rebuild, where every step would be taken together. And as she held Minjeong close, she silently vowed to never let her slip away again.

[baekslight]

baekhyun on donor-hyeong episode 8

[kookslastbutton]

Those Eyes Chico ༓ myg (m) | chapter one

✑ Summary: As the new marketing director for Min Yoongi’s upcoming D-Day album & tour, you’re expected to bring your expertise to the table. This shouldn’t be a problem—you’re the best in the business and you’re used to drawing a strict line between your professional and personal life. But what happens when the lines you’ve fought to keep as separate blur for the first time?

pairing: idol!yoongi x plus size!poc!reader

genre/AU: angst, fluff, smut, slowburn, coworkers2friends2lovers, winter setting, forbidden love,

word count: 6.5k+

warnings: oc is 28, Yoon is 30, oc is not originally from South Korea, oc has light brown eyes, swearing, mentions of alcohol consumption, mentions of anxiety, panic attacks, body insecurities, fear of being blacklisted, emotionally restrained yoon, unstable parental relationships, conservative parents, rude Hybe executive that should be fired, bestie!tae is wonderful support 🥹, and cute yoon and oc interactions bc yeah....its thier first time actually meeting so it must be cute!

now playing: Sweet Dreams by The Last Shadow Puppets

a/n: YAHHH chapter one!! Ok i apologize if the meeting is so long and drawn out...I really tried to make it fun but so much info is needed too haha. Anyway this series is dedicated to my wonderfully crazy friend and sorta beta, Gloom @theuselessdaydreamingidiot, and to all our fellow Yoon lovers bc we miss our sweet man SO MUCH 🥺 Enjoy! 🥰 Also huge thank you to @itaeewon for designing this beautiful series header! Love it!!

Series Masterlist | next chapter >>

Winter in Seoul feels like stepping onto the set of your most beloved holiday film.

As the brisk air wraps around you, delicate snowflakes gather atop your head, urging you to cocoon in your finest wool trench coat. Yet, despite the chill, the sight of frost-bitten trees basking in the morning's golden rays offers a source of warmth and delight. Perhaps the most radiant tree of them all is the towering Christmas tree that sits proudly in the heart of the city. Adorned with shimmering red and gold baubles, the giant evergreen catches the eye of every person that walks by–both tourists and locals alike.

Nearby shopping malls buzz with holiday fervor too as shoppers scour for treasures, couples engage in friendly competition to find the ultimate gift, and children line up to take their picture with Santa. But the best part is when night falls. The whole city comes alive with joy and laughter as loved ones meet one another on the ice-skating rinks, while karaoke bars echo tipsy renditions of timeless songs sung by overworked professionals, each with a bottle of soju in hand.

Yes, Seoul is a place for making memories and you’re in the thick of it.

Having been in the city for three years, one might assume you’ve become well accustomed to the energy of the season. You've really grown to love it here. But adjusting to the new environment is still proving to be a challenge, the most outstanding being the prevailing beauty standards.

Massive billboards featuring stunning models serve as constant reminders of the type of beauty one should aim to achieve as you commute to work. Impossible to miss are the shining examples themselves – iconic k-pop groups Seventeen, Red Velvet, EXO, BlackPink, Mamamoo, TXT, and of course BTS plastered on the side of every flat surface imaginable. You’re not exactly complaining about that aspect as you’ve helped design a good handful of them as a top marketing and advertising professional. But the strict image of what constitutes a beautiful and worthy individual weighs on you more than you’d like.

While a conventional body type isn’t what you’ve been given in this life, you don’t consider yourself to be completely unattractive either. Having high cheekbones, a strong jawline, striking light brown eyes, good enough ass, and a full chest shouldn’t classify as undesirable. Still, you wish you’d adopt this more body positive mindset rather than your current overthinking one. It’s easier said than done, being that you not only see idols everyday on the streets in digital form but at work as well.

You continue further into city until a set of tall, glass doors meet you mere steps away. You tilt your head back to catch the name of the skyscraper before nearing the building’s sturdy, silver handle.

BigHit Music.

Feeling its cool metal under your fingertips, the door swings open with an easier pull than imagined to welcome you into the bustling lobby. You feel a rush of confidence return to you upon entering– this is your domain, this is where you truly shine.

“Did you get the files I sent to you?”

The woman nods her head in affirmation while sweeping a few pieces of her long, silky hair behind an ear. To strangers, she appears to look about 24 which is only four years younger than yourself but nonetheless she’s the same age as you. Hei-Ran is her name, meaning “graceful orchid” according to Korean translation.

Hei-ran is one of Hybe’s newest hires and based on her experience, a near perfect fit to being South Korean boy group Tomorrow X Together’s new marketing manager. Until about three months ago, this had been your job.

You never imagined giving up the position after three years of working in the role. But with December right around the corner Hybe had other plans for you.

"Graduated summa cum laude with a bachelors degree in BTech in Electrical and Electronics Engineering and a MBA in Marketing from NYU Stern. You worked two years as a brand manager for U.S record label Atlantic Records immediately after graduating, and are now working at BigHit Music as a marketing manager for TXT including liaison with their global marketing team.”

You recall Bang PD's voice vibrate in the back of your mind from mid-August. You thought you were called into his office to discuss details of TXT’s latest promo, so having your resume read back to you was a sweeping curve ball. Your determination must have far exceeded the heaviness you felt in your chest because before you knew it you, you were shaking hands with your boss in acceptance of your role – the new marketing director for Min Yoongi’s upcoming D-Day album & tour.

The tedious knot that’s formed in the nape of your neck reminds you that as surreal as the situation might be, it’s undeniably real.

Months spent drafting a comprehensive marketing proposal for D-Day; often until the wee hours of the night, inevitably takes its toll on even the mightiest of warriors. An entire new team of fifty people, all of who you’ll be in charge of orchestrating for the next eight months, doesn’t provide much to relief either.

You’re excited nevertheless. Working with one of the most respected artists in the music industry is an opportunity you couldn’t let slip by, especially since the album’s rock-inspired genre aligns closely with your own music taste.

“Thank you so much for helping me get settled __,” Hei-ran’s gentle voice returns you to the present. “I appreciate the time you’ve taken these last few months to train me despite the tight deadlines you have.”

Smiling, you shake your head. “It’s no problem at all and if there’s anything you need in the future, feel free to give me a call or stop by my office.”

“On the 16th floor right?”

“1656A. Take a left off the elevator and walk to the end of the first hallway. The door on the right is mine.”

Referring to any room on the 16th floor as your own is something you don’t take lightly. For one the offices are double the size of any other office spaces in the building. Yours in particular has a giant skyscraper window draped with heavy white curtains. Secondly, the floor above is the 17th floor which is exclusive to Hybe artists only.

"How's the proposal coming along, by the way?" Her curiosity is palpable, genuine in its nature. You’ve always appreciated that in an individual.

“It’s done,” you respond. “Only thing left to do is to prepare for our meeting with C-suite executives next Monday. It’s nearly perfect as is, but the presentation could use a bit of refining in terms of organization.”

Hei-ran is silent for a moment longer than usual before her next inquiry, which is undoubtedly the question on both of your minds. “I can't help but wonder what it'll be like to meet him for the first time,” she muses.

You don’t bother asking for clarification on who the “him” is; you’re already well aware that it’s Min Yoongi. The same subject has managed to intrude your own thoughts more and more as the date of meeting him draws closer. It's peculiar honestly, considering you’ve encountered him before.

Granted, it was only a small handful of times the hallway, both heading in opposite directions. Min Yoongi typically greeted you with a hoarse 'Good Morning' those instances, along with a curt nod of his head. You would nod back with a brief 'Morning' yourself. Deep down you feel he'd make a quality friend, though it's only a premonition. It’s not like you actually know much about him beyond those small exchanges.

"I'm not sure what to expect, honestly," you admit. "I imagine it'll be similar to previous professional collaborations—composed, focused, and intense. D-Day is poised to become a global sensation for the next year, so it's going to need our full, undivided attention."

Hei-ran gives a knowing nod. “Good luck __,” she wishes you well as you head towards the elevator doors. Breaks over, back to work.

After another late-night prep session for Monday’s D-Day proposal, you trudge through your apartment door well past 8:30 pm with an empty stomach and a throbbing headache. Good news is that your graphic design team seems to be well on track with their album mockups ready to present.

The same can’t be said for your U.S. promo team however, who required additional guidance on their projects. The social media team was in a similar boat. Somehow several of their members lost track of time and were convinced the proposal was still two weeks away.

Despite the hiccups, you managed to tie up the loose ends, but it meant that none of you got to leave early.

When you finally get to curl up in your fluffy sofa, a loud, exasperated sigh leaves your lips. Your lids flutter shut too as you rest your head against the soft cushion. Silently, you make one last mental rundown of all the tasks you checked off today.

Did you miss anything?

D-Day is the most crucial project you’ve ever taken charge of—you need it to be flawless.

When nothing pressing comes to mind, you grab the tv remote from your dark oak coffee table and aimlessly flip through the channels. You’ll unwind for an hour and then call it a night.

Ten minutes into an episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine and the light chime of your phone's notification bell catches your ear.

Tae 💚: Haven’t heard from you all day. Everything alright?

Taehyung, your best friend. You smile fondly at his message as your thumbs hover over the reply button. He's always checking in on you. You and Taehyung have been friends ever since you first moved to Seoul and started working at Hybe. You didn't expect your friendship to become this strong, but both of you are sociable individuals, which led to discovering several unexpected commonalities. One of those is a shared love for jazz, which has been one of your all-time favorite genres for as long as you can remember.

You: yeah, I’m good. Just tired. Been working on D-Day's proposal for months and finally got it fully prepped for.

Tae 💚: Well, that's amazing news! You feel good about it?

You: I don't know. I’m definitely ready for this project but I’m also starting to feel a little burned out. The proposal is only the beginning you know, and it's already taking the wind out of me.

Tae 💚: Sorry to hear that 😞 I'm sure it must be draining, but I also know this is your territory. No one is more fit to head this project than you. Everyone thinks so. How about you take the weekend to rest?

You: Yeah...I'm watching B99 rn

Tae 💚: B99?! Without me?

You can't help but giggle. Somehow over the course of three years you've roped your best friend into becoming obsessed with your mindless sitcoms. You've done more than a handful of binge watching together, until all hours of the night.

You: Wanna come over for an hour?

The company might be nice.

Tae 💚: Be there in 20 🏃

Your door bells rings exactly twenty minutes after you and Taehyng finish exchanging texts. He's so prompt it scares you sometimes.

“Hey.” His deep, baritone voice greets you first, along with a friendly hug. Taehyung slips his snow covered boots off upon entering your apartment and hangs his wool jacket on your coat rack. His limited edition Gucci scarf is next. Taehyung loves the winter as it’s the time he can wear his most luxurious clothes.

“What’s this?” You peak inside a brown paper bag that Taehyung has conveniently set on your kitchen countertop. He flashes you a playful grin and gestures you to open it. Naturally, you're suspicious but it all washes away when a new, unopened bottle of whiskey presents itself. “Oh my god, you didn’t!" You swat his arm in a rush of excitement.

“I had to!" Taehyung opens a kitchen cupboard and grabs a glass from the top shelf. He's been in your apartment enough times that he’s grown comfortable with your place. That and he's also your best friend.

"With all the recent events you've had going on, I think it calls for a celebration." Taehyung expertly pours you a glass of the smooth, rich liquor and offers it to you.

“Thank you, Tae," you say, taking the glass from his hand. "Come sit down. Jake's about to sing I Want It That Way with the police lineup.” Taehyung pours himself a glass of Pinot Noir and follows your lead.

After about forty minutes of sitcoms and booze with your best friend you begin to feel yourself relaxing. Whatever challenges lies ahead, you know you'll be able to handle them one whiskey at a time.

All stream of thought is interrupted when your phone dings off again. It's now half past 9, who on earth is trying to reach you?

Fuck.

You tighten the grip on your phone as soon aa the message appears. Taehyung, previously occupied by the end credit scene, catches the sudden shift in your demeanor and calls your name but he's inaudible to you.

Mom: It’s been almost two weeks since we last heard from you. We know you're busy but your father and I want to know if you’ll be coming home. The holidays are coming up right? Why don't you use some of that time to come see us? There's someone we want you to meet.

"__, who is it?" Taehyung's voice manages to break your intense concentration.

“Just my mom.” You answer briefly, still averting eye contact.

“What’d she say?”

“She wants me to come home for the holidays.” You shut your phone off in an effort to calm yourself.

Unlike Taehyung your relationship with your parents has always been rocky. Expectations are set high from birth and you never see eye to eye. Likely, the only accomplishment that's earned genuine praise from them was when you accepted your initial job proposal with Hybe. A respectable career is only second to health to them after all. Your father was more torn with the news that you’d be moving hundreds of miles away than your mom however, not that you’re surprised.

Of course while having a healthy and respectable career is priority for your parents, there is no mistake that their greatest wish is to see their daughter married. A stable man with ample resources to provide her a secure home and healthy children is preferable.

You love your parents and you'll always be there for them, but you must admit that their traditional outlook is one you can never live up to. They tried setting you up dozens of times before, and tonight's request to have you come home "for the holidays to meet someone” is simply another attempt to marry you off.

Yes, you would like some sort of companionship in your life and you hope if you find it that they’ll approve. But giving your hand in marriage to the first notable suitor isn't your forte. You consider yourself to be an independent woman with a tender heart, and you'd rather be single for the entirety of your life than be forced into another obligation.

Preserving your independence is highly important to you. So no, you draw the line when it comes to relational affairs.

If only you could be firm and repeat all the above to them aloud, rather than within your own head— if only.

“So are you gonna go?"

You don't respond immediately, still weighing out your options. "Not sure," you murmur. "I don't really want to but maybe I should. I haven't gone home to see my parents since last year."

Taehyung recognizes the growing tension in your voice as well as the flushed expression playing on your face. He wishes he could take it all away but instead he moves closer to your side of the sofa and lets you rest your head on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry." He's silent for a moment before continuing. "Why don't you tell them you can't go because of work? There must be a number of things you'll need to get ahead of for Yoongi's album."

"True. But it's too easy, they won't buy that. I have to go."

"What if you say I invited you to celebrate with my family this year? We're going to a nice, cozy cabin a few hours north of here for Christmas."

The offer is temping and you know he means it but it's also not enough.

"No," you reject. "They'll think we're dating and ask to meet you."

"I'll do it!" Taehyung's voice lifts into a more playful tone, earning a soft chuckle from you.

"Very cute Taetae, but no. Neither of us are going to say 'that was a good idea' in the end, trust me. I'll have to make this decision on my own."

Taehyung grimaces slightly at your last choice of words. "I really think you should consider telling them you can't due to a full schedule. We don't get that much time off at the company any way. Don't your parents live at least 7-10 hours away? Come on, spend the holidays with me and the guys. Plus, it'll be my birthday soon. I want you there at my party."

When you look at your best friend to gently scold him for not so sneakily using the guilt tripping technique, he's pouting. Like a baby. Not even you can resist him with that face on.

"Fine. I'll think about it."

"Good," Taehyung chirps and snatches the tv remote to flip through episodes of Brooklyn Nine-Nine. "I want you to be around those closest to you, especially around the holidays. You're my badass best friend who deserves more than some stupid forced marriage to a guy with an unhealthy alpha male complex. Should we top the night off with one more episode by the way?"

You nod and Taehyung hits play on the remote. "Thank you," you coo, feeling a tad better.

The weekend is a blur at best and you’re back at the office before you realize. Of course this is no ordinary work day however, given that today signifies the day you officially start work as D-Day’s marketing director. You’ve been perfecting every detail of the proposal like a madman since the beginning, meticulously obessing over every element. Your new team members must have a pretty eye-opening understanding of what it’ll be like having you as a lead for the next year–you pity them to be honest.

Between your fingers clutches a small tube of lip balm, berry flavored with a faint tint to match. You love chapstick for some odd, inexplainable reason and you felt the need to apply a generous amount of it on your lips for good luck.

“No one’s here yet,” Yi-joon, one of the members of your graphic design team, speaks first upon stepping foot into your assigned conference room. Others hum, unsurprised. Being the ones leading the presentation, you’d be startled if anyone actually arrived beforehand.

A grand mahogany table, seating up to 14 individuals, boasts itself to you in the middle of the room with every chair lined in genuine black leather. Traditional seating arrangements have one chair at the head of the table, but today’s meeting has two, both positioned to face the wide presentation screen at the opposite end.

Undoubtably, they’re reserved for Bang PD and Min Yoongi.

A momentary shiver courses down your spine, yet fades quick when one of your team members asks if anyone's seen the remote to the projector. There’s no time for nerves to be acting up, you remind yourself calmly. Only 15 minutes remain until every C-suite executive in Hybe congregates into the room.

With a composed demeanor, you swiftly gather your thoughts and respond, "Try checking inside the podium. It's likely close by, but if not, we can always power it on manually." You then start delegating tasks to the rest of your team, mentally rehearsing key points of the proposal between each instruction.

Time appears to have vanished in the blink of an eye because in a matter of seconds a gentle breeze slips through the conference door, accompanied by the arrival of several Hybe executives. You offer a polite "good morning," which is briefly reciprocated as they take their respective seats around the conference table.

You count twelve at the table in total, including your own team.

"Sajangnim should be here in about–"

Hybe's Chief Finance Officer doesn't get to finish his sentence when an older gentleman in a freshly pressed suit walks through the door, fully immersed in conversation. The person following close behind him is none other than the man of the hour himself–Min Yoongi, fitted in a clean white dress shirt that's unbuttoned at the collar and sleeves rolled to the elbows. His soft, raven hair falls gently in front of his eyes, framing his face a little too well.

Unexpectedly, both your gazes shift from Bang PD and onto one another. His dark, intense eyes pierce through you as they observe you from the opposite side of the room. You're certain he recognizes you from your previous shared encounters, though you don't have the slightest clue what he's thinking. Min Yoongi has been known to be many things, but an open book isn't one of them.

He then walks in your direction until he's directly toe to toe with you for the very first time. Completely against your wishes, you feel all the tiny hairs on the back of your neck stand straight. You've never officially met before.

"It's nice to finally meet you __-nim. Those nods we give each other in the hallway hardly count as a proper introduction." He extends a hand to you, offering you a sturdy handshake which you accept.

"Absolutely, it's a pleasure to meet you as well Min PD-nim," you say, smiling warmly. "I'm looking forward to working with you on your new album. I truly appreciate the opportunity."

For a split second, Yoongi allows his professional demeanor drop. "I should be the one thanking you. You'll be the one leading this whole operation right? So I'll be in your care."

You want to respond with gratitude, but you're not given the chance due to an authoritative voice speaking up from behind.

"Min PD-nim," Hybe's Vice President calls out to the man in front of you, requesting his attention.

Yoongi is hesitant to leave you mid-conversation but you assure him that it's alright. "Please, feel free to take a seat," you offer. "The presentations will begin soon."

A small, subtle smile graces Yoongi's lips before he turns around to take his seat beside Bang PD at the head of the table. He engages in small talk with Hybe's Vice President who's conveniently seated across from him. Yet despite their conversation, he's only half focused; his eyes repeatedly wandering back to you. At this point, however, you've already stopped looking at him.

"Good morning, all," you address the room when the time comes to commence the meeting. "We'll be getting started now that everyone's here. I'm sending down samples of the album design our graphics team has created for D-Day. Please pass them along." You hand the stack of copies to Hybe's Chief Technology Officer who smiles courteously.

"On behalf of my team and me, I want to thank you for joining us today to discuss our marketing strategy for Min PD-nim's upcoming D-Day album. Our agenda will be as follows," you guide everyone's attention to the presentation board, which provides a rundown of all the points you plan to cover for the remainder of the meeting.

"Let's begin with introductions. My name is ___ ___, I hold a Bachelor's degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from NYU Stern, as well as an MBA in Marketing. Over the past five years, I've worked in the music industry as a marketing manager. Three of those years were spent here at Hybe. The recent promotional campaign for TXT's The Chaos Chapter was lead by my previous team and me, resulting in a positive return on investment. Now, with a new team, I aim to achieve similar success with Min PD-nim's D-Day album."

Once you finish your introduction, you introduce each member of your team. This is soon followed by a brief introduction from each c-suite executive.

The whole room falls silent when you begin diving into the bulk of the proposal; every measurable objective, goal, and market analysis is shared for D-Day. When it comes time to present the brand guide and album design, you invite your graphics team to speak.

"You'll notice that we have two versions of Min PD-nim's albums on the sheet in front of you," Yi-joon refers to the mockups you handed out earlier. A few executives nod quietly as they study the proposed album packaging while Yoongi leans over to Bang PD. He's whispering something but you're far to distant away to hear. His expressions aren't telling either.

Does he like it? Does he not? You don't know.

Nevertheless, you give a subtle smile to Yi-joon as encouragement to continue.

 "We've opted for a sleek, pitch-black design for the first version, and a dusty brown for the second. The first version symbolizes the past, characterized by societal expectations and internal struggles, while the second represents the present and future, conveying a message of liberation. To complement these themes, we've selected a bold and daring font to exude the album's transparency. This design consistency extends to the album's contents; for instance, lyrical cards will reflect the respective color and style of the version they belong to."

Hybe's Chief Marketing Officer appears to be in approval with the entirety of the plan so far, yet it's short lived when a low voice interrupts.

"I think the vision of album's design aligns closely with mine, so I like what I see in front of me." Yoongi pauses and places the mockup on the table. "There's one aspect that I'd like to discuss in hopes of some insight however. I've been mauling over it for a while now."

"I'll do my best to–" Hybe's Chief Marketing Officer opens his mouth to respond yet closes it immediately when he notices Yoongi's gaze sharply shifts to you. It's a signal that it's your insight he specifically requests.

"Please go on," you reply.

"Regarding the name under which the album should be released, should it be 'Agust D' or 'Suga'? I'm personally biased towards Agust D because it holds more weight for me. It's close to my heart and the stories I have to tell as Agust D are heavier than those of Suga, right? The D even stands for Daegu, my hometown where I grew up and where my parents still live. Suga on the other hand is my stage name, which I have some identity in as well."

You don't answer immediately, preferring to carefully process everything he's said. Your team has already proposed to release the album under 'Agust D', yet he makes a valid point that 'Suga' is also a part of him.

"I understand that releasing the album under 'Suga' has its merit. However, I still support the original idea of releasing it under 'Agust D'. As you've mentioned, the name carries a deeper meaning, evoking memories, emotions, trials, and tribulations. I'd also like to emphasize that by releasing D-Day under 'Agust D', you can showcase who the real Agust D is. The collaboration with IU in People Pt. 2 already has you one step in that door."

Like you, Yoongi considers your words cautiously, weighing them in his mind. "Thank you ___-nim," he finally speaks. "Your perspective is reassuring. We'll proceed with releasing the album under 'Agust D'.

Following your short discussion, the graphics team continues presenting their design materials. Minor comments are made by Hybe executives, but Yoongi doesn't comment again until half-way into the social media segment.

"Why do we need to schedule this many Weverse Lives? People might get tired of seeing my face after so many in a row. ARMY will read, 'Min Yoongi started a live' and say to their friends, 'This is the fifth time in a row, is he in love with his own voice or something?'." His joke sparks a light in the room as Bang PD gives a chuckle.

"I don't think that's going to be an issue for you Yoongi," he replies. "Don't you know the strength of your own fanbase?" Bang PD's statement is undeniable. Everyone in the room is well aware of Min Yoongi's international fanbase who willingly stay up all hours of the night just to catch a glimpse of him. In fact, rather than seeing less of him, they hope to receive his live notifications more, as Yoongi isn't as active on Weverse as other idols.

It's clear that compliments like these aren't easy for Yoongi to take though, judging by the flushed look that subtly sweeps over his face. You'd react the same way to be honest.

"If I may Min PD-nim," you speak up, deciding to offer an alternative plan. "Leveraging Weverse Live to help promote D-Day will draw significant international engagement. We know that time differences pose to be a challenge which is why we proposed an increase of live sessions per week. However, we understand that going live this often might be exhausting. Would you consider reducing the frequency to once or twice a week instead?"

"I'm open to once a week but didn't we film the 'Suga: Road to D-Day' documentary for a similar reason? Won't it be too much to add more than two Weverse Lives throughout the entire promotional phase?" Yoongi's challenge is met with an unanimous hum of support from his fellow executives. You'd feel intimidated if you didn't already have a justification mapped out.

"The objective behind releasing 'Suga: Road to D-Day' on Disney+ differs from that of Weverse Lives," you rebuttal confidently. "While the documentary presents a structured behind-the-scenes view of D-Day's development, the Lives focus on building hype among your existing fans who know you well, will spread the word to their peers, and will likely pre-order the album. As you're aware, Lives are more personal and stripped down, allowing your fanbase to feel closer to you."

Thinking of no further objectives, Yoongi, still somewhat unsure, accepts your suggestion. "Once a week will be fine then. While we're still on the topic, do we know when 'Suga: Road to D-Day' is set to release on Disney+?"

"Our digital marketing and promo team will be reviewing the specifics of that soon," you inform. "Right now we have the documentary releasing April 23 of next year. The poster for the film will release a week and a half earlier on the 12th."

Rather than furthering the discussion, Yoongi sends an understanding nod your way which allows the social media team to resume their portion of the proposal. Recording more Weverse Lives than usual remains a pain point for him, but he's willing to move forward if it means connecting with his fanbase.

Alast, after what seems like three hours of social media; followed by financing & budget talk, the last team to present their material takes lead of the meeting.

"We'd like to provide a timeline for D-Day's promo schedule as a way to wrap up today's proposal," So-hyun from your digital marketing and promos team explains. "Promotions will begin April 10, 2023 and will run until April 25th. During this time the album's track list, concept photos, MV Teaser, and official MV will drop. As far as concert schedule, we're proposing April 26-June 24. These dates include U.S, Asia, and Korea Tours."

"We might need to rethink concert dates but for now I'm on onboard." Yoongi remains brief in his interjection, allowing So-hyun to continue.

"As far as other marketing channels, we plan to implement both print and digital methods including billboards, banners, paid search ads, and YouTube. We'd also like to reach out to a variety of magazines like Rolling Stones Magazine for interviews. If we want to extend our global reach even further, we can book a time slot on the Jimmy Fallon Show. Bare in mind that if we go this route, we'll need to decide fairly quick, as slots are in high demand."

You notice Bang PD whispering amongst Yoongi and his Chief Finance Officer when Jimmy Fallon is mentioned. Yoongi seems the least interested. Perhaps he isn't fond of being front and center of talk shows, you guess.

"When will we need a decision for the Jimmy Fallon Show?" Bang PD inquires for the group.

"No later than three weeks from now," So-hyun answers. "It's a tight deadline but it can been done if we get the official go."

Bang PD directs his attention to Yoongi who's chosen to be silent in this conversation. "What do you think, Yoongi? It's your call."

"Maybe," he says, "give me a day or two to think on it."

Another ten minutes of productive overview with your promos team pass and soon, you're standing up to adjourn the meeting. You have to admit that out of all the proposals you've given in your career, this goes right to the top.

Your team was phenomenal today, and despite the the fact that several Hybe executives are biting at the bit to finally go on their lunch break, you feel confident that everyone is leaving on the same page.

"Min PD-nim."

You're ears inevitably pick up the conversation in front of you as you make your way out of the conference room. Yoongi and his Chief Financial Officer are running through some quick numbers only a few steps steps ahead, but with everyone simultaneously rushing in the same direction, neither must have realized you were within earshot.

"There's no doubt that she's good at what she does," Hybe's Chief Financial Officer continues. "Still, it's hard to believe that she's only 27 or 28. A person should take better care of themselves don't you agree? Like our Eunchae for example."

If there was a way to erase what you just heard, you'd do so, because in an instant, all previous successes you felt from today's proposal shatters to the ground. You're no stranger to receiving these sorts of comments about your appearance, yet it leaves your confidence fleeting, along with any amount of resilience you've built.

Blinking back the tears that threaten to spill, you exit the conference room the first chance you get. You have no desire to stick around for Yoongi's reply.

Not long after you leave does you phone ring off.

Tae 💚: Hey! How's the meeting going? Still available to get lunch this afternoon? I'm heading to the cafeteria as I type this.

You: It went okay. But I don't think I'll be coming to lunch, just a lot to do. I'm also not that hungry.

You second-guess how convincing your message is, knowing that it's your best friend on the other line. Regardless, it's the only words you can come up with right now. You really do have a lot of work ahead of you though, at least that part is true.

Tae 💚: Are you sure? I was looking forward on hearing how the meeting went! Wasn't there something you had to give me too?

The meaning of the last line suddenly dawns on you as you make your way down the long hallway. How could you forget? You made Taehyung one of his favorite foods to surprise him for lunch; Japchae, a sweet and savory dish of stir-fried glass noodles and vegetables.

You: Right, sorry it slipped from my mind for a second. I'll meet you in the cafeteria to give it to you.

"Why won't you stay and eat with me?" Taehyung devours the homemade Japchae you made for him with delight, a pair of chopsticks clamped in his hand.

"I don't have much of an appetite, Tae."

You've already told him this twice already, clarifying that you'd be heading back to your office once you deliver his food. Evidently, he's not letting you slip away easily.

"Then take a break with me instead, even if it's only for ten minutes." You watch as your best friend swiftly pulls out the chair next to him from under the table, gesturing you to sit. "Tell me what's got you down," he says. "Did Yoongi say something to you? He can be a bit too outspoken with his opinions sometimes."

Feeling defeated, you slide into the chair. "No, the meeting was fine. I'm just overthinking something that happened."

You then proceed to explain what you overheard Hybe's Chief Finance Officer say about you from earlier, that you didn't look healthy enough for your age and using Eunchae as an example. The scowl that appears on Taehyung's face as you retell the incident is unmistakable–he's clearly pissed.

"First of all," Taehyung starts once you finish, jaw clenched. "Eunchae is 17 and is a part of a Korean girl group. She has an entire team dedicated to making sure her appearance is flawless. It's the idol life; trust me, I'm well acquainted with it, so it's not a fair comparison. Secondly, Hybe's CFO is an asshole who I'd replace in a day. I don't want you letting him make you feel insignificant just because you don't conform to his narrow idea of how a woman should look."

You appreciate Taehyung's efforts to cheer you up, though you remain unaffected. Besides, he still isn't aware of Yoongi's involvement since you purposely left that detail out due to their close friendship.

"Yeah, I don't know. We don't have to talk about it anymore." You decide to dismiss the topic entirely and reach for your phone, along with a pair of earbuds bundled in your pocket. "Wanna listen to something?"

Music has always bonded you and Taehyung's friendship, as you've frequently found yourselves fully immersed in timeless songs from King of Leon and Led Zeppelin together. Taehyung nearly accepts the offer to listen with you once again, but then he freezes all movement. An eager grin follows close after.

"Hyung!" His voice echos though the room, earning the attention of Min Yoongi who's just entered the cafeteria. This time, you feel nothing but discomfort when the man looks your way.

"I have some material I need to review from my promo team. I'll text you later, okay?" You leave your best friend no time to reply as you quickly rise from your chair, stick your phone in your pant pocket, and head for the nearest exit. Yoongi attempts to make eye contact with you on your way out, but you avoid it completely.

When he approaches Taehyung, he acknowledges your semi-odd behavior. "I didn't mean to make her leave," he states, joining the younger at the table.

Taehyung offers a light shrug in response. "Don't worry, you didn't. She had other matters to get to. Something with her team members I think."

Yoongi grabs a fresh clementine from a nearby fruit bowl and beings peeling it little by little. "You two must be pretty close if you're having your lunches together."

It's not hard for Taehyung to read between the lines of what his member is insinuating.

"We've been friends for a while," he clarifies. "Just friends, nothing else."

a/n: Hope you enjoyed! Lmk what you think 🥰

Masterlist | Requests: closed | Taglist | Fic Recs

no reposting, copying, or translating my work– © kookslastbutton

[just-a-ghost00]

Which good news are coming your way?

Group 1

Ace of wands, XI-Justice, 2 of cups, 8 of pentacles, 9 of pentacles

If you were going through a period of trials and tribulations, no matter which area of your life was impacted, know that this phase is coming to an end. Balance will be restored and you will receive retribution regarding a situation that you experienced as unfair and hurtful. You are coming out of this situation victorious. This may especially be true for those of you that were unfairly treated in a work situation and/or within a relationship. You will be entering a period of abundance and productivity. A shift is happening in your energies and your reality will thus be affected by it. You may feel more driven, inspired, joyful. You may notice that people are being more sociable when you are around. You may receive communication from one or several people that you hadn't heard of in a while. A renewal may be going on within a connection. If you were in a situation where a person wasn't reciprocating your time and energy, your feelings and interest, their behavior will change. If you were feeling like you were not being supported by people around you, you will notice that this tendency is being reversed. You may start getting help in unexpected ways, without even having to ask for it. Your hard work will be paying off, whatever area of your life you were working on. If you were trying to manifest any specific project or partnership of any kind, be prepared to receive a positive answer. There could also be new opportunities arising as well as creative ideas. This will be a prosperous time for you and I feel like many of you have been waiting for this for a long time. This is more than well deserved and you can be proud of yourself for the journey you've been on, all that you have accomplished along the way. You are phenomenal!

Group 2

3 of pentacles, 10 of wands, knight of cups, 8 of pentacles, Justice

Your energies and cards are a bit similar to those of group 1. If you were drawn to that group, that may be a sign for you to check it out as well. I get the feeling of someone being sick and tired of always getting the shorter end of the stick in life, especially in relationships. Of being frustrated and burnt out because they are constantly giving and carrying the weight of the relationship on their shoulders, only to be receiving so little in return. If that is your case, you will receive support and rewards for your constant efforts from a person that you may not have thought would return the favor. You will be surprised that this person actually cares enough to give you back what you have invested. Not only that, but they will give you more than what you expected. I'm hearing "it's the least I could do considering all that you've done for me". I pick up on the energy of somebody that is a care giver and that has sacrified most of their life to help others ascend and thrive. It's now your time to shine, I'm hearing. You will now be receiving a fair return of the energy and time you have been giving so willingly, out of pure generosity. That may come in the form of financial abundance, of advice and encouragement from your community, of new uplifting connections, in the form of shared moments of happiness or declarations of love. If you were the main source of income within your home, someone else will now take the lead for you to be able to lay back and relax. Someone will spoil you and treat you like royalty. There may be parents among you. Your children may give you back as a way to thank you for your service and care. Also, if you had been fighting for a legal matter, you may receive good news about that as well. For some of you, a younger water sign may be significant. You will no longer be the only one assuming the responsibilities in your situation, whatever that may be about.

Group 3

High Priestess, 5 of pentacles, King of cups, Chariot, Judgement

Okay, here the energy seems to be clearer and I can sense that the main focus here is relationships, compared to the previous group where things were a bit more general. A significant movement will be made regarding a connection after a time of uncertainty, of no contact and being left in the dark. You will gain clarity regarding this situation and be able to move forward without any regret. With the judgement and the chariot combined, I get a sense of freedom. Whatever you may learn about will set you free, whether it is with or without this person in your life. This may especially resonate with you if you have significant water placements in your chart, more specifically if you have Scorpio or Cancer placements. I feel like for some of you, you will not wait for the other person to give you clarity and decide to make the decision for them. In other words, you will cut ties with this person whether they like it or not, to focus on your own self and well being. You will choose yourself over this person because you have decided that you gave them enough time and chances to make their decision, which they have not done. And you are done waiting for them to make a move. For others, maybe that might be a different dynamic, in the sense that instead of moving away from this person, you may be rushing towards them. That could also be coming from the other person's side. It depends on your situation. Also, your spiritual gifts may be honing during the upcoming months. I feel like you will no longer let yourself be fooled nor let your own perceptions cloud your judgement of this situation. I felt the need to clarify the 5 of pentacles and the Chariot. The 5 of pentacles was clarified by the 6 of pentacles. You felt left in the dark and felt like something was missing because you were not in a balanced connection. This person wasn't giving you what you expected and deserved. As for the chariot, it is clarified by the 9 of swords. Since we're talking about good news, I feel like this card means that you will move on from overthinking and will no longer cry over this person's lack of investment. If they won't see your value, then it's their loss.

[bambikisss]

Bad :: S.Mingi

(Bamb's ver.!) Bad Rich boy! Mingi x Criminal! reader

📙: Mingi grew up around his picture perfect family and friends, making him crave someone else who was different. So when you try and steal from him at his parent's gala, he takes the opportunity to see what it's like to be truly bad.

⚠ : Unprotected sex, sex in a public place, use of restrains (reader), biting, oral (f + m receiving), breeding kink (mingi), multiple rounds, slight stalking (Mingi puts a GPS on the reader when she escapes), robbery, mentions of smoking cigarettes, Song Mingi is basically obsessed with the reader, use of toys, phone sex, masturbation (m + f), choking, sex tape (mingi gets it), glamorization of stealing, Mingi has a robber/robbery kink (or just that you do it)

🎶 : Bad - Christopher, Slow Down - Chase Atlantic, Cyberpunk - ATEEZ, WayV - Love Talk (Demo), Rude boy - Rihanna, I got it - Marian Hill

Bambi's notes: Hello! So this fic has turned into a smut with random plot, but I'm not made about that. By the way, robbing is illegal so don't do it. Hope you all love it <3 ~ Bambs

TAGLIST: @horanghaezone @prettyjewel93 @xoxoluz666 @exo-saranghajaaa @acetruepunk @special4u @staytiny816 @popialover

@hyukssunflower @jjk-97 @juicy-red @@bts-iris @fandom-freak-geek @urlacuna @saintriots @frobin4ever @lovelyred2

ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY | REBLOGS + COMMENTS APPRECIATED | buy me a coffee?

Diamonds were truly a girl's best friend.

They sparkled and glimmered in even the darkest of lights, breaking through the darkness with ease constantly. It was something that everyone wanted and it was something that people had to drop serious money on to get.

But, why just stop at diamonds? Why not get the money same money they would spend on that diamond and take it? Money makes the world go round, and diamonds come from that world.

Hell, why not just take the whole world?

"Invitation please." You smiled at the usher, reaching into your small purse to pull out the gold card, the invitation to the charity gala sparkling in the moonlight. Your eyes never left the ushers, your charisma and eyes making the poor man gulp, his hands suddenly becoming shaky as he examined the card before handing it back to you, moving to the side so that you could enter.

You thanked him softly, placing the card back into your purse before entering the large venue, the usher's eyes now on your back as you strutted inside. Your eyes scanned the filled venue, searching for a bar or a waiter to get a drink from. Your eyes landed on a server who was walking around with champagne flutes, snatching one gracefully from her stand before you made your way deeper into the crowd. The crowd seemed to part at your will as you walked, their eyes and whispers now aimed at you, trying to figure out not only who you were, but if you came with anyone.

You were used to people looking at you, basking quietly in the gazes and attention before you chose a table that sat by the window.

Perfect.

As you sat down, a group of men approached you with hope in their eyes, asking you questions about yourself. Your lips formed a polite smile as they introduced themselves to you, fighting amongst themselves for your attention. However, your attention wasn't on their words, but where their wallets were. Your eyes would move quickly to their wallets as they pulled them out to hand you their business cards, hoping you would call them. Their movement gave you the view of all their cards in the wallet, along with if they carried cash.

You mentally memorized their card numbers before you chose to see if they had any personal items you could take from them, as that would be a better deal for you. Who would be willing to buy some random millionaire loser's card information when you could bring in their gold Rolex watches?

"May I see your watch?" You asked, peering up at the man through your eyelashes, smirking internally when the man gulped. He pulled up his jacket sleeve to show you his watch, the diamond-covered watch making your heart leap. Your fingers skillfully removed it from his wrist, looking it over with great interest as the guy tried to convince you to come home with him tonight.

That wouldn't happen, but you appreciated the offer.

You smirked as someone called for the man you were speaking to, nodding for him to go talk to them. As he ran off, you slipped the watch into your purse before standing up, looking for another man. It was much easier to steal things off of a man: to you, they were more willing to let someone else hold their things and walk away than women.

Your eyes scanned the room, searching for someone who looked stressed (they were more likely to run off or forget something). However, as your eyes scanned the room, your eyes met with eyes just as intense and alluring as yours. You felt your body stiffen at the sight of the man leaning against the bar, the sleeves of his black button-up shirt rolled up to show off his even more expensive watch. Your eyes went to the watch before returning to the man's eyes, as if he was controlling where you looked at. Every time you tried to look away, he seemed to pull you back in.

He looked different than the other guys at this event: he had short black/blonde hair, shades sat on his head, rings on each of his fingers. He was tall, around 6 foot. He was definitely your type, which was refreshing to see. You decided to have some fun for once, approaching the man with a confident smirk on your lips.

Mingi smirked also as you approached him, sitting up from the bar he was leaning against to give you a proper view of his body.

He could tell that you weren't someone his family invited: you looked far too sexy to be someone my family would associate with. He had grown up around the type of women at this party- their necks adoring pearls and their activities either being tennis or horse riding. Mingi had no interest in a woman like that, though. He was much more interested in the woman who now stood in front of him with such alluring eyes.

You reached your hand out to gently shake his, the tips of your fingers meeting his wrist and watch, grazing the bottom of the latch. Mingi didn't seem to notice as you pulled your hand back, leaning with him against the bar as you both ordered drinks.

"You weren't invited, were you?"

You couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the attractive man's question, surprised that he was able to tell. You gently picked up your glass of wine, taking a small sip of it as you maintained eye contact with the male, trying to read him. "Already making assumptions? You haven't even asked for my name." 

"Will you tell me your name?" Mingi asked, his thick rings clinking against the sides of his whiskey glass as he continued to lean next to you. You took the chance to glance once more at his watch before your eyes returned to his, deciding to give him your name. You would usually give a fake name, but there was just something about Mingi that made you want to tell whatever he wanted to know. Maybe he just had that aura about him.

"Y/N. What about you, rockstar?" Your words made Mingi smirk, glad that you told him your name. It fits you. At your nickname for him, he chuckled softly. "Rockstar? How did you come up with that?"

"You seem like a rockstar to me," He looked so cool, like he wouldn't spend his evenings here, but would be instead out in a club or something. You could just tell when someone is cool or is faking it, and Mingi wasn't faking it.

His deep voice vibrated through you as he moved closer, as if his name was secret and he wasn't the son of the people who were throwing this gala. "Mingi. My name is Mingi, beautiful."

"Beautiful? So now we're doing nicknames?" You asked playfully, your smile growing as Mingi nodded, his own smile appearing on his lips. "I thought we were using nicknames for each other. You called me Rockstar, I call you Beautiful." His words made your stomach tighten, arousal slowly pooling your panties at the confidence that covered his lips and voice. Your hand moved to his arm, slowly moving up his forearm to his bicep, holding eye contact with him as you tilted your head up at him, smirking when you saw him gulp.

"I wasn't complaining, I liked it" Your confidence was so addicting to Mingi, his mind short-circulating as your hand slowly moved back down his arm to his hand. You took the opportunity to walk closer to him, pressing your body against his. You could tell Mingi was having a hard time focusing on you, his eyes moving from your eyes to your lips down to your body, as if he was trying to memorize how you looked so that he could get off on it later. Good, he would never see you again, so you might as well give him something to remember you.

Mingi was so distracted that he didn't notice when your hand moved down his arm again, your fingers skillfully unlatching his watch before pushing it away behind you, your purse now blocking it from his view as you continued to flirt with him. Mingi was none the wiser at your moves, his body only focused on how good you felt pressed against him, everyone else in the gala fading away.

"Everyone, thank you so much for coming tonight. I'd like ask that you all help me in welcoming our son Mingi to the stage."

The room erupted into applause, breaking Mingi from his trance. His eyes widened a bit before he excused himself from you, making his way to the stage to stand with his parents. You smiled as he walked away, waiting till he had his back to you before you turned back to the bar, placing the watch that was once on Mingi's wrist now into your small purse with the other things you had taken throughout the evening.

Your eyes fell onto a clock that was on the wall of the venue, the time reading 11:30 pm. You decided it was time to leave, slipping into the crowd as you made your way to the doors. Your mind slipped back to Mingi as he gave a speech, thinking about what else could've happened between you both. Sadly, however, you were busy.

Mingi watched as you moved like a snake through the crowd, making your way to the double doors in the back of the venue. Mingi only broke out into a dark smirk when he got off stage, grabbing himself a bottle of whisky before leaving the venue himself; his parents had only asked him to make an appearance and speak on stage, so he was no longer needed. He didn't care for the galas his parents threw anyways, he was much more interested in the woman who stole from him and many other men that night.

Oh, you thought Mingi didn't know?

Mingi had to bite back his smirks so many times as he felt your fingers unlatch his watch, then kick it away behind your purse. He had to admit, you were good, but you weren't that good that Mingi could see through your ruse.

He kicked open the room to his study, grabbing one of his many lighters from his desk before lighting his fireplace, the fire adding to the heat Mingi felt for you. His thumb flicked off the top of the whiskey bottle as he fell back into his office chair, his feet kicking up onto the hardwood desk as he pulled out his phone. He took a swing from the whiskey bottle before he pulled up the tracking app he had, a large, devious smirk on his lips as he did so.

Mingi had tracking devices on his most precious items, the watch he wore tonight included. The same watch you had in your purse right now as you made your way back to your hideout. The same watch you were admiring as you leaned against your steel table, your fingers moving over the diamonds that surrounded the moving hands.

"Now, where did you run off to?" He asked as he stared at the large, blinking red dot that rested over downtown. He zoomed in, smirking as he was given your direct address.

"Mingi?" Mingi looked up from his phone to see his mom entering his office, a sweet smile on her lips that he instantly mirrored. He placed the glass of whiskey down before standing up, meeting his mom in a sweet hug. He may be about to track down a woman, but in his mom's eyes at that moment, he was her son: her sweet son. "Are you going to join me and your father out on the balcony for drinks?"

"No mom, I have something to do tonight." He placed a gentle kiss on his mom's forehead, grabbing his phone and keys from his desk as his mom looked at him puzzled. "This late?" Mingi nodded, holding up his keys as he paused at the door, offering his mom one more smile before saying "It can't wait, Mom. I'll be back."

Mingi walked away, an excited smile on his lips as he walked through his large car garage, picking one of his sports cars before climbing in. He took out his phone once more, smirking as he noticed that the red dot had moved from your hideout to a house, showing that you had gone home. Mingi plugged the address in, his thumb rubbing against his bottom lip as he tried to calm himself down, his cock already growing hard in his pants.

"I'm coming, beautiful."

____________________________________________________________

You sighed as you exited the shower, running your hands over your shoulders as you made your way through your large walk-in closet, looking for something to wear to sleep. You had everything you had stolen for that day ready to be sold tomorrow night sitting on your dresser. It wasn't hard to find buyers of some rich people's watches, jewelry, card information, and more on the black market. Plus, you knew a few people who had a thing for that type of stuff.

You put on an oversized t-shirt before watering your many plants, smiling softly at the sight of some of your favorites growing. Yes, you may be a criminal, but you still loved having plants and cats- it gave you some sort of normalcy.

You had just finished watering your Devil's ivy plant when you heard a knock at your front door, making you jump slightly. Who would be coming over to your house at 1 am? You picked up the nearest weapon that was around, which just so happened to be a police baton (that you stole), and inched to the door. Maybe it was a drunk neighbor or something. When you looked through the peephole, you saw a phone sitting on your welcome mat, making you sigh. You opened the door, crouching down to pick up the phone.

However, when you got closer to the phone, you noticed that the screen showed a tracker, the dot being right above your apartment building.

"You know, you're a lot easier to find then I thought." You paused at the familiar deep voice, your eyes widening as a tall shadow moved in front of you, covering you from the rest of the hallway. Your eyes moved from the phone, up his long legs up to Mingi's face as he looked down at you. He had a proud smirk on his lips as he met your eyes, tilting his head at you. "Hi there, beautiful."

"What are you doing here? How did you find out where I lived?" You asked, springing up from your crouched position on the mat to meet his gaze. Mingi let out a small "ooh" as he chuckled, your sudden confidence making him laugh. How come you were all of a sudden so mad at him when you were the one who stole from him? Mingi couldn't help but want to play with you, his face forming a faux confused look as he tilted his head.

"Well, that's funny because my tracker says the person who stole my watch lived here." Your eyes widened more at his words, watching as Mingi picked up his phone, holding it up to your face. "See? The tracker says that my watch is right here."

Your eyes moved from the phone to meet Mingi's eyes, which now were dark as he continued to play with you. He looked a bit crazy, making you close your legs as arousal pooled in your panties once more. Mingi noticed as you closed your legs, chuckling at the sight. Here you were being confronted with stealing from him, and you found it sexy.

Your mind jumped to try and think of an excuse as your mind flashed back to the watches that you had already promised to sell sitting on your desk. Mingi tilted his head as you rambled out excuses, nodding along as you begged him to leave and not tell anyone. He waited till you finished before he placed his hand on the wall by your head, leaning in closer to you as he whispered "You know, in all your little excuses you just gave me, in none of those did you promise to give me back my watch."

Your eyes widened as he pressed his body against yours, his eyes moving over your face as he smirked. He had you right where he wanted, and based on how he was playing with you, he didn't want his watch back. No, Mingi never wanted his watch back, he had 3 more just like it.

No, Mingi wanted more.

And you could see that, dropping your scared act, which only made Mingi's smirk grow. "What do you want, Mingi. It's obviously not the watch." Mingi smirked at the attitude in your voice, his tongue moving along his bottom lip before his eyes showed you his excitement that was now mixed in with his growing lust. Mingi didn't give you a moment to repeat your question, instead smashing his lips into yours. You gasped, your hands moving to his chest as you both made out in your hallway.

There was something about kissing Mingi that was absolutely filthy: the way his tongue played with and caressed yours, his hands moving all over your body greedily, how he moaned obscene things into your mouth. He didn't care about anyone walking by, nor the camera that was in your hallway. Mingi had never been with someone like you and he would be crazy to miss the opportunity to have someone as perfect and sexy as you moaning his name.

"Mingi" You sighed as his lips moved down your face to your neck, his hands moving to grab and play with the flesh of your ass over the large t-shirt. He moaned deeply into your neck, his tongue running along the bottom of your neck as he strained out "Fuck, I love how my name sounds coming from your pretty mouth." You moaned more as he flicked up the shirt, his hands now playing directly with you as he ground his hard cock against your panty-covered clit. Mingi didn't care if you two looked like horny teenagers, making out and grinding against each other in the hallway, only caring about how you moaned and how he could keep hearing it.

At the sound of someone's door closing, you tried to push Mingi away from your body, your cheeks beginning to burn with embarrassment at the thought of someone seeing you. However, to Mingi, it absolutely drove him wild, gripping your ass tighter as he tried to pull you back against him. "Mingi, we should head inside if we're going to-"

"Nah, I'm going to fuck you right here" Your eyes widened at his words, looking at Mingi with confusion before his lips met yours again, causing you to close your eyes. Your lips became wet as both of your tongues met again in the messy and needy kiss, a moan slipping from your lips again as Mingi delivered a spank to your ass before gripping the flesh. "I'm going to fuck you in this hallway so that everyone who walks by can see how good you take my cock."

You felt drunk as Mingi pulled back from your body, removing his belt in one motion before he tossed it inside your apartment haphazardly. He kept his eyes on you as he unbuckled and unzipped his pants, moving slowly as to tease you, a successful smirk moving across his lips when you began to reach for his pants to move faster. He grabbed both of your wrists in one hand, shaking his head as switched your positions, his back meeting the wall as he had you stand in front of him, your back to the rest of the hallway. You looked at him with confusion as he let go of your wrists, his hands slowly moving up yours like you had done to him earlier at the gala, only stopping when he reached your shoulder.

He repeated the same motion with his other hand before applying pressure to your shoulders, pushing you down onto your knees in front of him. "Have you sucked cock before, Y/N baby?" His voice was deep and slightly condescending as his hands moved from your shoulders back to unzipping his pants, a proud smile moving across his lips as you nodded. "Ah, so you have some experience. You're going to need it to make up stealing from me, princess."

You were about to complain about him calling you princess when he pushed down his pants giving you a perfect view of his cock. To say his cock was pretty was an understatement: it was long and thick, matching his skin tone perfectly, perfectly shaven. It slapped against his shirt, his precum leaving a stain before it dripped down his cock. Heck, there was even some on the inside of his thighs. Mingi watched as you admired his cock before his hand moved into your hair, bending down slightly in front of you so you could meet his eyes.

"You have never taken a cock so big, haven't you?" Mingi asked, his voice laced with faux care. He didn't care if you had before or not: you were going to take his cock anyways. When you shook your head, Mingi's cock twitched with excitement at your words. He licked his lips, trying to control himself as he spoke. "Hmm, well, looks like you're going to take your first big cock. Come get a taste, yeah?"

Mingi and you had both forgotten what this was even for by this point, Mingi resting his back against the wall again as you scooted forward, your tongue wrapping around the tip of his cock. He moaned softly, closing his eyes as you gently placed kitty licks around his cock, feeling the weight and girth against your tongue. Mingi soon grew frustrated, groaning out "I'm about to start calling you kitten with all of these kitty licks, baby."

"I'm just getting acquainted with it," you giggled against his cock, your voice returning to the seductive voice you had spoken to him earlier that night in. Mingi felt his mind once again short again at the sound, his hand moving to roughly grip your hair before forcing his cock into your mouth, making you moan and slightly choke around it. "There, now you can get acquainted with it" he moaned as you began to bob your head, cursing as your tongue moved around his cock. If you hadn't taken cock in a while or even just a cock as big as his before, Mingi couldn't tell: you had him moaning and groaning against the wall of your apartment building hallway, his hand firmly in your hair.

You had to slip your own hand into your panties at the sight, taking more of him to get a deep moan from him as your fingers moved along your slit, gathering your wetness before you began playing with your clit, moaning around his cock. Mingi hissed at the vibration, forcing his eyes open to watch you.

There you were, the woman who had him so needy at the gala, the woman who successfully stole from him and the other men, now on your knees in front of him, knuckle deep in your pussy while you sucked him off in the hallway of your apartment building.

Mingi felt like he was in one of his wildest dreams ever, biting his lip as he pushed you down deeper on his cock, taking him down your throat as you looked up at him. Mingi had to tighten his hands into fists to keep from holding you at the base of his cock, allowing you to come back up for air as he breathed heavily. "Again."

"What?" You paused your movements at the sound of Mingi's deep yet breaking voice, looking up at him. He ran a hand over through his hair before he repeated his words. "Again. Go back down on my cock, just like how you just did it." You bit your lip as the hand that was in your hair tightened, pushing your head to meet cock again. You moaned as your pussy clenched around your fingers, taking Mingi's cock down your throat as he tossed his head back against the wall, cussing out into the hallway.

"That's it, baby, fuck" He licked his lips before he began to fuck your throat, making you choke and gurgle around him, wet sounds coming from both of you. Mingi smirked as he watched your fingers move faster in you to match his thrusts, his cock twitching at the sight before he had an idea. After all, this was to make up for you stealing from him.

"Do you wish it was my cock, baby?" He pulled out his cock from your lips, chuckling as you coughed softly before crouching down in front of him to meet your face. Your lips were wet, streaks of his precum coating the sides of your lips mixed with your own spit. You looked pretty, if only you'd let him take a picture of you like this.

"Don't you wish it was my cock pounding into you instead of your fingers? I mean, your fingers must do the job, but my cock baby" he paused, cupping your jaw to meet his eyes as his free hand moved into your ruined panties, pushing away your fingers before his fingers replaced yours, making you moan at the stretch. He smirked, curling his fingers in you before his lips hovered over yours, his eyes still piercing into yours. "My cock will make you feel so fucking good. Going in and out of your pretty pussy, hitting all the right spots to make you scream and shake around my cock"

You bit your lip at his words, grabbing his bicep to keep yourself from falling back. It shocked you that he was talking to you like that in the hallway of your apartment building after you stole from him, his fingers matching his words, moving in and out of you, hitting all your spots perfectly.

You would be perfectly fine with just having his fingers, but with how Mingi was talking and with good his cock felt down your throat, you needed it in you.

Mingi smirked as you whispered that you wanted his cock, stilling his fingers that were inside of you as he tilted his head, his voice once again giving you his best faux confusion. "What was that baby? I didn't hear you." "I want you to fuck me." You whined louder, shaking around his fingers with need.

"Oh baby," Mingi chuckled, swiftly pulling his fingers out of your pussy before they entered his mouth, moaning at your taste. Mingi couldn't help but close his eyes as his tongue moved to gather all of your juices from his fingers, your taste making his mind further shortcircuit.

With you tasting this good, you could take anything from him you wanted.

Mingi picked you up, pushing your panties to the side as he pinned you against the wall. He gave his cock a few jerks before pushing in the head of his cock, moaning as his forehead fell forward onto yours, both of your moans mixing together. You ran your hands through his hair as you both tried to calm down, meeting his lips in a deep kiss as he began to push into you. You were no virgin, but there was something about Mingi's cock that felt absolutely delicious pushing into you. His cock was already brushing some of your spots as he filled you up, making you pull back from the kiss to curse against his shoulder.

Mingi gave you a minute to adjust to the size, rubbing your thigh in the process. He waited till you started moving your hips against his, showing that you were ready for him to move. He jolted his shoulder so that you'd pick your head up, waiting till you met his eyes before he began to rock his hips. He wanted to watch your face as it contorted with pleasure, moaning his name as your hands rushed up his shoulders. The sight made Mingi move faster, and soon he was drilling into you.

"Look at you taking me, baby. Wanna tell me how good it feels?" He asks, chuckling deeply when you try to speak, only for a moan to break through your words as he moves faster. You had completely forgotten about being in the hallway until Mingi pulled out of you, placing your feet back onto the floor before turning you to face the wall that was across the hallway before he pushed back into you from behind. Your eyes rolled back at the feeling, Mingi's hand moving up the front of your t-shirt to cup your neck, tilting your head back too. Only when you opened your eyes did you figure out why.

Mingi panted as he placed his head on your shoulder, his hand keeping your head tossed back before he whispered into your ear "Why don't you look into that security camera, huh? You're already giving everyone else in that lives within this hallway a nice show, why don't you give the poor night security guard a show too?"

You moaned as Mingi applied pressure to your throat, forcing your head to continue to face the security camera. Mingi moaned as he felt your wetness begin to drip down his cock, letting him know that you liked the idea. The feeling of your wetness and your tightening walls pushed him closer to his release, dragging his tongue along your cheek before he mumbled against it "I'm about to cum baby, I'm about to fill you up so fucking good. Look into that security camera, baby, let everyone hear and see you fall apart all over my fucking cock." You gasped softly at his words, your rope snapping as his cock moved faster, his cum mixing with yours as you both moaned loudly.

You panted softly as Mingi shoved his face into your neck, planting kisses wherever he could before he slowly pulled out of you, holding you against him as you both calmed down.

Well, your neighbors probably hated you now.

"Do you want your watch back?" Your question made Mingi pause fixing himself as you were doing the same, now leaning against the doorway of your apartment. You looked just like how you did back at the gala, his heart warming at the sight. He had to see you again, even if it meant letting you get away with robbery.

"No, I have 3 more just like that one, losing it won't kill me." You nodded at Mingi's words, watching as he fixed himself up. You felt your heart (and pussy) ache at the thought of him leaving, debating inviting him inside to stay the night. Mingi noticed how your eyes were looking at him, his own body aching for you now. Even though you both had just met earlier that night and only met again due to the tracker, his body wanted to be next to yours all the time.

"Here" You blinked as Mingi took out his phone, handing it to you, his contacts open. "Give me your number, Y/N."

"Mingi, I...can't" You tried to get out, but Mingi's body pressed against yours, pressing you against the doorway as he kissed your neck, unable to resist his body's craving for you. It was dangerous for you to give him your number as he could give it to the police, but a part of you trusted him: he didn't go to the police with his tracker, instead, he came to you.

You nodded, giving in as you placed your actual number into his phone. Mingi pulled back from your neck as you handed him back his phone, both of your lips meeting one last kiss before you stepped into your apartment, closing the door without any further words. Mingi bit his lip, wondering if he crossed the line with you before making his way out of your apartment hallway.

You covered your mouth as you rested your head against the door, realizing what just happened: Mingi not only knew where you lived, but he had your number too. You had basically exposed yourself to him. You suddenly saw your phone vibrate on the counter, making you bite your lips. You felt your heart pick up as you began walking over to it, jumping when you stepped on Mingi's belt. You picked it up before grabbing your phone, your thumb rubbing over the expensive leather.

Mingi: Let's meet up again soon

A smile broke through onto your lips at Mingi's text. He wanted to see you again? The idea filled your heart with excitement as you responded.

Y/N: Maybe. Goodnight Mingi, don't tell anyone about me.

Mingi: Of course, princess. I won't tell anyone about you. 

Mingi smiled as he sent the text, assuring you that you and your secrets were safe with him. Mingi had no use to go the police with the information he had on you, anyway; you were far too sexy for jail.

"I have the security tape from the hallway you asked for." Mingi placed his phone into his pocket, taking out his wallet to hand the security guy around 4 thousand dollars in cash. He watched as the man accepted it, handing Mingi the flash drive with the recording on it before he began to excitedly count the money. Mingi watched for a few moments before his hand moved to push the fan of cash the security guard had made down, leaning over the counter so that the man made eye contact with Mingi, who towered over him. "I better have the only recording of me and that woman. I assume that you understand that, right?"

Mingi nodded as the security guard rushed to assure him that he had the only recording and that he wouldn't tell anyone before Mingi walked away, holding the tiny flash drive that held his night of desire with the woman he craved on it.

______________________________________________________________

Mingi and you didn't stop after that night.

You had hoped that either you or him would ghost each other, but the opposite between you two keeps seeming to happen. Mingi prided himself on all the places he took you, from all the underground clubs he owned to hole-in-the-wall restaurants. He didn't mind keeping your hangouts with him a secret as if you guys went out during the day in public, the press would swarm you both and try to figure out anything and everything about you.

You had grown to enjoy his company, sneaking into his bedroom through his window at his mansion after a long night of theft for either mind-altering sex or just to talk. You had even told him why you began stealing from the rich like you tried to do with him, which you never told anyone. Mingi had learned more about you in 3 months than anyone else had ever known about you ever. You trusted him.

There were also feelings developing between you both that would spill into the sex you both had.

Mingi groaned into the phone as his hand moved on his cock, his hips fucking his fist as he listened to you beg for him to not only cum, but to come over right afterward to fuck you. He hadn't been able to see you as he had been working on the interior design of his new casino, keeping him busy. He had begged you over text to help him cum and after seeing a video of the custom dildo he bought you to use being deep in your pussy while you showered made him absolutely ravenous.

"Fuck, baby, I'm gonna cum, I love you" He groaned out, his deep groan of your name causing you to also cum. However, your mind was also short-circuiting at him saying 'I love you." You chose not to bring it up as you exited the shower, placing the dildo down onto the sink as you looked for the cleaner to clean it off before putting it away, keeping Mingi on Facetime. Mingi cleaned himself up before asking "Are you going to be out stealing tonight?" Mingi asked, resting back in his office chair, stretching out his long legs. It was a Saturday night and you usually spent them going to various clubs and stealing from the men there.

"No, not tonight. I got enough from the last night's robbery" You had grown comfortable with telling him about your nightly adventures, even showing him what you had gotten. You put on a robe as you carried the phone into the bedroom, placing the phone propped up on your dresser before you showed him the newest item you obtained from a gentlemen's club: A gorgeous necklace , a beautiful dark green gem in the center. It was going to be added to your prized collection, as it was just too pretty to sell, maybe one day, but not right now. Mingi whistled at the necklace, recognizing it as being extremely expensive. You smiled as he praised you before he asked "Well, since you're not busy tonight, does that mean that you can come see me?"

'I love you' Mingi's earlier words filled your mind, making you bite your lip. You didn't want to have to face the growing feelings between you both, but you also really missed him. Mingi smiled as you agreed to meet him, reminding him to keep his window unlocked. "We're not meeting at mansion, darling. I have family staying over this weekend."

Then where were you going to meet him? Mingi smirked at your confusion before saying "I'll send you the address, just show up. Oh, and bring that necklace and your bodysuit."

_____________________________________________________________

Mingi may be rich due to his parents, but Mingi knew what to do with that wealth.

Mingi was a businessman just like his parents, owning multiple businesses that all raked in millions a month. The Song family was known for their businesses always becoming popular within the city.

You put the address Mingi sent you into your GPS, following it as it led you to a large 5-story building that stood proudly in the middle of downtown. You looked up at it, noticing the large words "ARRIBA CASINO" glowing in the night. You were going to see Mingi's casino before everyone would be.

You smiled at the thought, keying in the code he gave you into the keypad before walking inside. You made a b-line to the grand staircase that would take you up to the second floor where Mingi said he'd be waiting for you. The second floor was full of poker and spade tables, only one having a light on, though.

Sitting at one of the poker tables was Mingi, cigarette resting in between his plush lips as he watched you approach him, leaning back in his chair. He had the same aura as when you both first met, his eyes watching you like a shark as you now stood beside him, slowly dragging down your body to admire your outfit choice of jeans and a hoodie. Mingi then sat back up, standing up as he placed the cigarette down, blowing smoke up into the air before his eyes returned to yours. "Did you bring the necklace?" You nodded, taking it out from your purse to show him. He nodded, examining it before asking "And did you bring your suit?"

When you first snuck into his room straight after a big robbery, Mingi couldn't stop thinking about having sex with you wearing your robber outfit. There was something about the tight leather and how it seemed to perfectly mold to your body that made him go absolutely insane. You nodded, a proud smile moving onto his lips before he kissed you softly, his hands moving to your shoulders. You furrowed your eyebrows as he turned you around to face the restrooms, his lips moving to press a small kiss to your ear before whispering "Go put it on for me baby. Take your time, I'll be waiting out here for you, baby girl."

Mingi loved it when you took your time getting ready for him; to him, you put all that effort into looking perfect for him, knowing that he'd make you cry off your effort with his cock. So you took your time getting ready for him in the luxury bathroom of the casino he owned. You slipped off your regular clothes and underwear, knowing that you being bare underneath the suit would drive him insane. You carefully put on the leather bodysuit and tall boots, taking your time applying your lipstick in the mirror. You smirked at how good you looked, feeling perfect to go see Mingi.

When you return to the casino floor, Mingi has to stop himself from leaping over the table to get to you. You looked like sin, his fingers itching to touch the skin that peaked out in between your bodysuit and boots on your thighs. He licked his lips before standing up, running a hand over his face before he successfully obtained control over himself again, raising his hand to do the 'come here' motion. You smirked, swaying your hips as you approached him, smirking more when his eyes immediately moved to watch your hips as you approached him. "Like what you see, babe?" you asked, your hand landing on his shoulder as you stood beside him.

Mingi didn't have to say anything, his eyes letting you know that he really liked the outfit. Mingi wrapped his arms around your waist before he placed you on the poker table, his lips meeting yours in a deep, demanding kiss. Mingi's tongue explored your mouth as your hands moved through his hair, scratching at his scalp the way you knew he liked. He moaned against your lips before he pulled back, pushing you back so you fell against the table. Mingi took the opportunity to admire you in this position and in this outfit, your eyes moving down his black button-up jeans to see the zipper of his pants was already down, his bulge strained against his boxers.

"Tonight, baby," Mingi whispered, placing a kiss on your lips before slowly kissing down your body, his hands grabbing at whatever he could. "Tonight, I'm going to punish you. You've been bad, and that obviously means that me letting you get away with what you doing whatever you want isn't working."

"I mean, the necklace I got shows that it's working perfectly fine" You smirked, holding up the necklace you had stolen earlier that night. Mingi growled against your stomach, taking the jewelry from you before he sunk to his knees on the velvet-colored carpet, roughly separating your legs as he did so. His hands moved up your legs, smirking whenever you let out a whimper or whined. "You're right, it is working. But, you've still been bad"

You gasped as Mingi's tongue met with your thigh, his fingers making quick work of the buttons on your bodysuit before his tongue finally meets your pussy. Your hand shot down into Mingi's hair as he ate your pussy, his mouth covering your pussy lips. Mingi didn't budge whenever you tried to push him away, his licks and sucks getting harder whenever you did. He even wrapped his arms around your waist, forbidding you from moving away from his mouth as your upper body writhed around on the table. You didn't think that Mingi would invite you over to his new casino to eat you out on the table, but you weren't complaining.

"That's it, baby, ride my tongue and fingers, now you're being good for me" Mingi's voice had deepened throughout him eating your pussy, his voice now dripping with arousal as you began to roll your hips against his face as his tongue curled inside you, his fingers doing the same. You closed your eyes as his lips wrapped around your clit, his own eyes closing at the sound of you moaning his name. Mingi didn't think he could ever get over how you said his name.

"Mingi" Your moans had picked up in volume, letting him know that you were about to cum. Mingi smirked before removing his tongue and fingers from your body, leaving you shaking on the table before you asked him why the hell he stopped. "I told you that you were being punished. Do you want me to stop punishing you?"

Mingi smirked at your nod, placing a short kiss on your lips before saying "Good. Now put your hands up." You did as he asked, a proud "good girl" leaving his lips before he climbed onto the table, climbing over your body before he sat back on the heels of his feet, his knees now on either side of your head.

You had no choice but to watch as he grabbed his belt from a nearby chair before tying your wrists together tightly. You tried to break free, but Mingi had it tied perfectly. Once he was satisfied, slowly dragged his fingers down your arms, making you shiver, his fingers moving to the zipper on your bodysuit.

"Y/N," Your eyes moved to meet his as he played with the zipper, teasing you as he pulled it down only an inch. His eyes were dark, the single light that hung over the table added shadows to his face, making you shiver. He smirked at your reaction before his eyes moved to the necklace that sat on the table. "What do you tell the men you steal from, huh baby? Do you feed into their fantasies like you are doing right now?"

You bit your lip as Mingi slowly dragged down your zipper, the sight of your bare breasts making Mingi's mouth water, just like you had hoped. He scooted down your body a bit so that he could lean down and grab your breasts, squeezing them before freeing them from the bodysuit. He dragged his tongue around your nipple before his mouth wrapped around it, making you moan. You tried to free your hands to touch him, but the belt stopped you. "Answer me, Y/N"

"I flirt with them until they either give it up or when they're really distracted, I take it from them" You admitted, making Mingi chuckle. His mind flashed back to the bar where you and him first met and how you tried to steal his watch while he was talking with you. He could see how it worked on other guys, you're so sexy and out of so many men's leagues.

He pressed your breasts together, his mouth engulfing both of your nipples as he began to grind his cock against your pussy, making you both moan. You raised your hips to meet his clothed cock, your eyes rolling back as he pressed his bulge more against you. Mingi sucked on your breasts, licking around your pebbled nipples before pulling back, groaning against you as your hips rolled to meet his. Mingi felt like he was in a daze like he was going insane.

Mingi and you met in a passionate kiss, your lips sliding against one another as your tongue fought for dominance. His hands moved to push down his jeans and boxers, having enough of waiting for you. He placed your legs around his waist, his hands finishing unzipping the bodysuit. He was setting you up how he wanted you, setting you like you were the table's centerpiece. His eyes then fell on the necklace, an idea moving into his head.

You opened your eyes to Mingi placing the jewelry onto your neck before he sat up, licking his lips at the sight of you. "Fuck, you look perfect, baby. Are you ready for my cock?"

You nodded, biting your lip as he pushed into you, moaning at the stretch his cock gave that you had grown to love. Mingi moaned with you, gripping your thighs as he finished filling you up before he began to fuck you. Besides the sounds that came from both of your mouths, you and Mingi's moans echoing around the whole casino, which drove Mingi crazy. "I brought you here to fuck you on the table, just like this baby. I made sure they were sturdy when I bought them so that every night when this casino closes, I can fuck you on one of these tables with everything that you stole from those suckers."

You moaned at the idea, closing your eyes as Mingi continued talking. "Fuck, I'll even cover for you when the police ask where you were. I'll tell them that you were here with me. I'll tell them, pay them whatever it'll take to send them away so that I can bend you over the table and punish you while you." Your mind filled with the view of Mingi fucking you on a poker table covered in cash, watches, jewelry- anything you could get your hands on.

Mingi was out of his mind, no longer even talking to you as he drilled his cock into you on the table, the table creaking as he leaned down to crash his lips with yours. Mingi couldn't tell if it was the love he had for you speaking, or his lust, but he would do anything for you because...

"I love you baby" he moaned against your lips, his cock now hitting your spot repeatedly as he dropped his head onto your shoulder. You gasped, your mind cloudy as Mingi said "Say it back, baby, even if you don't fucking mean it, just say it for me, baby girl." You didn't hesitate to say it back, the words leaving your mouth as you clenched around him, making him choke out "fuck, I want you so much baby, fuck I love you, god" as he came. You moaned loudly as he filled you up, your body shaking as he slowly pulled out. Mingi took a deep breath, tossing his head back to enjoy the cold air as it moved over his hot face and body. You bit your lip at the sight of sweat moving down his face and neck, disappearing underneath his shirt.

Mingi tossed his head forward after a bit, his hand moving to untie your hands from the belt before he looked back down at you. You thought he'd help you up, but Mingi instead got up off the table, not saying a word to you. He moved to grip your ankles, pulling you to the edge of the table before flipping you over onto your stomach, his hand colliding with your ass roughly. You jumped, turning back around as he removed his shirt, staring down at you with dark eyes.

"What do you want, Y/N?" Mingi raised an eyebrow at your shocked expression, leaning over your body to press his hands on either side of your body on the table, your back against his chest as his hard cock rests against your ass. You bit your lip at the feeling, which Mingi smirked at, leaning over to press a kiss to your lips, repeating his question once more before applying another slap to your ass. He leaned down to bite your neck when you didn't answer again, leaving hickies behind as he began to grind against your ass. "You're so fucking stubborn, you know that right?"

Mingi didn't allow you to respond, shoving his whole cock into your pussy in one thrust, making you jolt forward on the table. You moaned at Mingi's rough pace, his hand moving into your hair again as he fucked you. You couldn't help but scream his name, bouncing back to meet his thrusts.

Mingi was fucking you like you had stolen from him again, his rough thrusts making you fall forward against the bed before he pulled you back by your hair. It felt like he was using you, your lack of response to his question pushing him over the edge. "Should I breed you, baby? Should I fill your pussy up again with my cum and shove it deep in you?" Mingi spoke with his harsh, pointed thrusts, making you sob out his name. You could feel your orgasm begin to move through you, your eyes closing as you moaned "yes, yes! breed me Mingi, fuck I want it!"

"Yeah, you want that? You'll only answer my questions when I'm filling you up like this, won't you, my baby?" You nodded, your body shaking as you came around him. You rushed to beg for him to kiss you, Mingi obliging as you shook around his cock as he slowed down for you. You kept him in the kiss as your arm wrapped around his neck, arching your back as he began to pick up speed again, your whispers about wanting his cum and him to breed you driving him insane.

"Fill me up, Mingi, get me pregnant with your baby. Make me yours baby."

Your words caused Mingi to short circuit, smashing his lips back into yours as you both said 'I love you,' his cum filling you. You both held each other, trying to wrap your head around what just happened between you both before he pulled back, slowly laying you down on the table, leaving you to find a napkin. You nodded, lying against the table as you tried to wrap your mind around what you said. Was it sex induced? Did you actually wanna be with Mingi?

"I brought back a napkin, hold still" You nodded at Mingi's words, the wet napkin cleaning you up before he did the same to himself. He helped you get dressed, doing the same to himself before he turned to face you, his cheeks burning as you both made eye contact. He also couldn't figure out what just happened, nor if you meant everything you said.

You cleared your throat, reaching to take off the necklace when Mingi gently holds your wrist stopping you. "You should keep wearing it, it's pretty."

You nodded, watching as Mingi walked past you to clean up the table. Maybe this was your moment to leave?

"Don't even try leaving, Y/N." You paused your walk at Mingi's stern voice, turning around to face him as he finished wiping cum from the table, tossing the napkin away before he stood in front of you. You at first couldn't meet his eyes, his hand moving to cup your jaw to face him. His thumb moved along your bottom lip, his eyes meeting yours before he dropped his hand, sighing. You could tell that Mingi was fighting with the idea of saying those words again, feeling like you weren't going to say it back.

"I love you," you blurted out, your hand moving to cup his hand. Mingi's eyes widened, a happy smile moving onto his lips. You took a deep breath as he pulled you in for a loving hug, your eyes even tearing up. You didn't know if it was the sex, you admitting that you had fallen in love with him, or something else, but you couldn't help but wrap your arms around him and relax in his embrace. He placed a small kiss on your cheek before saying "I love you too. I know that was hard for you to admit...I'll always wait for you, Y/N."

_____________________________________________________________

1 year later...

"Mingi, are you coming to the charity gala this year?" Mingi shook his head as he spoke to his mom, letting him know that he had plans tonight. Mingi had attended every charity gala this year, so it wouldn't hurt for him to miss one.

He turned his head to his open window, watching as you climbed through his window, a proud smirk on his lips as he hung up. "What poor soul lost out on something tonight, baby?" Mingi asked you as you wrapped your arms around his neck, pressing a sweet kiss to his lips before you reached into your bag, picking up a tiara that the mayor's son brought with him when he was going out tonight. It went from the backseat of his car, to now your boyfriend's head. He raised an eyebrow as you placed it on his head, giggling at how cute he looked with it on, making him chuckle before he placed it onto your head, pressing a deep, hungry kiss to your lips.

You promised Mingi that one day, you'd give up your thief ways. For now, though, you were ok with Mingi fucking you with whatever you stole that night, including the tiara.

"Hmm, seems you've been bad baby" Mingi smirked, crawling over your body to meet your lips as you smiled. "Looks liked you to need to get punished."

You nodded as he kissed your lips, pressing your body down into the bed as he ground against you.

"Bad girl."

______________________________________________________________

BAMBIKISSS | 2024

[mins-fins]

❝ is this gonna get me on an episode of buzzfeed unsolved? ❞

in which . . . when your paired with an admittedly cute scaredy-cat in an online horror game, you opt to get to know him, even if it transpires in a seemingly chaotic manner. you just simply have to hope that park jisung is also a good detective, because if you don't figure out the identity of your now rising stalker, you both might just end up on episode of buzzfeed unsolved.

❝ buzzfeed unsolved ended three years ago.. ❞ ❝ allow me some hope, park. ❞

👻 content . . . park jisung x male!reader, social media au + written chapters, mainly streamer au bullshit, loosely mentioned university au but the main leads are literally dropouts, strangers to lovers, love at first sight kinda, fluff, surprising guest appearance from angst, humor, reader has a lowkey creepy stalker subplot, buzzfeed unsolved references, wish of epex as yn's face claim

👻 warnings . . . swearing, explicit language, sexual jokes, kys/kms jokes, repetitive humor, buzzfeed unsolved references, isa still lowkey not knowing how streaming works, stalking, many threats against the wellbeing of our main leads, mentions of blood, haechan, the danger kinda gets serious, i'll put warnings in chapters if needed

this series is currently . . . updated sporadically

profiles . . . 2015 exo pic | jwi shooters

table of contents . . .

001. we'll die holding hands <3

002. worlds silliest meet-cute

003. haechan's get rich quick scheme

004. my little alien boyfriend ❤️

005. the l word saga

006. BUZZFEED AM I GAY/!-&/!/?????

007. this happened at my parents divorce 😭😭😭

008. and jaemin is there!!

009. that 3 second character development bs

010. your exo bias ISNT sehun 🤨??

011. my lemon pecan pie 💖

012. stalker core ☺️

now playing . . . 💌