#seokmin should never be touch starved

[seokminfilm]

god knows i'm not the strongest soldier because wdym 'touch starved seokmin'....☹

NINIIIIIIIII (´°̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥ω°̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥｀) WAAAHHHHH YOUR PROMPT

LIST LOOKS SO YUMMY I CANT WAIT FOR IT!!!!

would i be able to rq prompt no. 1 with dk pls 🥹🩷🩵 and happy carat day!!!!!!!!

- 🫧

awww hi my baby! omg i LOVE the excitement from this message, it's so cute :') of course you can request it, thank you so much for doing it! 💜 hopefully you will like it!

prompt: touch starved/cuddle curse

seokmin knows. knows he can be too much: too touchy, too clingy, too annoying. with time he learned to surpress his desires, moved around like shimmering desire to reach out and touch did not burn under his skin. his ability to adjust in any environment is truly remarkable, his acting skills are so on point that not a single soul knows how deeply he needs physical contact. but any patience can run thin and with additional stress the usual need for closeness leaves him irritated, stripped bare and miserable.

'seokmin?' your voice snaps him out of his thoughts. he looks up and finds you standing in the doorway with a hand raised. 'i knocked twice. sorry, is now a bad time?'

'no-no,' faking a smile is painful but he tries to do so anyway, because he actually likes you and doesn't want you to see him in any other state other than happy. 'come in, sorry, i didn't even hear you.'

you step inside, eyeing him warily. seokmin is sure that you don't see anything attractive in front of you; he probably looks like a worn-out rag and that's not how he wants to ever appear to you. you, however, look wonderful. you always do, at least for him. seokmin loves how any outfit of yours always looks so cozy, so touchable, so cuddly- he shakes his head. god, he's down bad. silently telling himself to get a grip, he asks: 'how can i help you?'

'uno reverse,' you proclaim, frowning. 'how can i help you? you don't look good, seokkie. what's wrong? did something happen?'

seokmin is not sure how to say that he's going to die if he won't hug someone, so what comes out is: 'i'm fine.'

your skeptically raised eyebrow makes it clear that he's busted and when you step closer, leaning on the table a little, his breath hitches. 'do you have a fever?' you ask and without asking reach out and place your hand on his forehead. 'a bit warm. how are you feeling?'

seokmin can't help it- his eyes close on their own accord and he bodily leans forward, chasing your touch. he pushes his forehead closer, his body zings with pleasure just at that little contact. he doesn't see how your eyes widen at this display, how you look confused at first before realization strikes. careful like you're afraid to spook him, you step closer until your legs brush. 'seokkie,' you call out quietly. 'what's wrong?'

seokkie. seokmin shivers at this nickname. in this new city no one called him that and hearing it from you makes him want to cry. he can't tell you what's wrong, doesn't have a courage to do so, but when you hesitantly squeeze his shoulder, he turns fully and opens his arms. one second passes, then another and another - seokmin is ready to die right here and now when you slowly pull yourself into his arms, hugging him tight. the closeness and the warmth of your body make him weak; he buries his head in your shoulder and holds you carefully, afraid to cross the boundary, afraid to spook you, afraid-

'it's okay,' you mumble quietly. 'i don't know what happened, but it's going to be okay.' you pat his back soothingly. 'i'm here. it will be fine. we can hug it out, yeah?'

you don't even know how close to home your words hit. seokmin tries his luck and tightens his arms around you - you don't react anyhow and tension leaves his body as he hugs you close. he hopes you're kind enough to not comment on his rapidly beating heart and tears in his eyes. he hugs you and it really does feel like it will be fine as long as he can stay with you like this.

a/n: i went for touch starved here, hopefully it was okay!! let me know if you liked it <3 - nini

request your own prompt here

[rosedkreme]

Sense of tactility. lsm

A brief report on patient : lee seokmin

Diagnosis : skin deprivation

-

It’s burning up deep inside

-

Touch-starve, a term that seokmin recently learnt. It was almost ironic how that one specific term just describe his mood every second of the day now. But this mood only applies when he sees you, or when he thinks of you, or when reading your not so children friendly texts. He was suffering. Suffering from his unsettling infatuation for you. It was all too well, he was able to hide it from everyone, from you too. He would veil his emotions with his loud laughter and innocent eye smiles. But then, it was not too fine.

You found out.

You supposed it’s normal for couples to get intimate, to hold hands, hug, kiss and more. After all, you have been dating for a solid three months already. You thought you understand the desire to want physical intimacy, you love being in his arms, having his lips on yours, to make him blush with teasing nibbles on his ears. But no, you didn’t understand. You didn’t even come close to empathizing his urge to touch you, or have you touching him. He needs it. You could as well call him wretched right now, nothing and no one could help him except for you. Your touch, to be exact.

Now let’s talk about how you found out about his symptoms of skin deprivation from you.

It was a chilly Sunday night. You, him and a few friends had arranged to meet at a Korean barbecue place. He had his arms wrapped around your waist once he greeted you, face buried in your shoulder whispering clichés. He missed you, and you got the message. But it was certainly weird when he refused to let go after a minute. You were hugging in the middle of the street, his face rubbing on the side of your neck. You nudged him and he finally decided it wasn't appropriate to be blocking others’ way and held your hand before started walking again.

It was odd. You thought to yourself.

He has always been a bit clingy, but you could feel the despair when he had to let go of you. It was almost like he HAD to hold you. Strange. But the thought brushed off as you two stepped into the restaurant, he waved at your friends with his free hand accompanied by loud greetings. As if he was his normal self again. His hand never let go of yours. But it was fine, he was keeping your cold hands warm. Everything seemed so picturesque and normal when conversations started, your friends mocking you two being lovey dovey. Everything was in order before the food came.

You let go of your hand when the food came, you had to help arrange the plates on the table to fit all the food you ordered. You knew it, you saw the pout on his face when you did just that. It was quick, but you caught it. He was whispering in your ears, he could help to take care of the food, he would help to grill the food. He was so close, he was practically putting his chin on your shoulder. He needs it.

You smiled, and nodded.

You found out.

He shivered when you placed your palm on his left thigh under the shadow of the table. It was supposed to be a casual display of affection. But not when you found out about his secret and all he could think of is the burning indentation of your hand on him. He could use a shot, he thought to himself. Alcohol or vaccine, or both. He needed help, yes. Yet to be fair, he needed you more. But nothing is fair now, because you knew now. And he didn’t know about that.

He lost his façade once your hand started moving. It was subtle, it was gentle, it was nothing. But was it? You were chatting merrily about a goofy professor with your friends across the table; and touching him absentmindedly under the table. No one was supposed to find out, his knuckles were turning white and his face turning pink. The dim lighting and smoky surroundings did him a great favor, he was just being helpful and turning the tiny steaks over. You were disappointed with his reaction, or more like the lack of reaction.

You wanted to see the hidden side of his, the side that was overshadowed by his bright, cheery persona. The corrupted and deplorable side. It would be fascinating.

So your hand moved further this time, he shuddered. You showed a faint smirk and sipping your glass of lime soda before carrying on the conversation you were having with your friends. Then they started joking about how unusually quiet he was today. He laughed it off and reasoned it with him being nice and cooking food for them. You couldn’t be a worse person, you thought to yourself when your hand landed right on his crotch. He let out a silent hiss, but it didn’t stop him from putting food on your plate.

It was funny how he knew exactly what you were doing and chose not to react. It was mildly infuriating to you. What was he trying to conceal? But you were done for the moment, you placed your hand back onto the table and the conversations went on.

He couldn’t help but feel ill about the situation. You kept an undetectable distance with him, but it was there. Your thighs weren’t touching, and all he wanted was to have that physical contact. He stared at your hand, it was on his lap ten minutes ago and now it was resting calmly on the table. He didn’t know what was in your mind, did you find out? Or was it just another tease?

The night with friends ended quickly when they headed home separately. You were holding hands with him on the way to your home. You weren’t about to give up on his confession, so you invited him over to your place, as the both of you enjoy a day off for Monday.

He didn’t know how to react when you sat down next to him on the couch wearing only a tank top and sleeping shorts. He had his hands on his knees, rubbing them subconsciously. He was nervous, it was the elephant in the room. The only thing that could bother him more other than your revealing pajamas was that your hands wasn’t on his. He had his eyes on you when you had yours on the romcom playing on your tv. He gulped out of instinct, he was thirsty and he didn’t know if he was able to hide it from you anymore. His breaths quickened, you observed and you found out. You pulled him closer and nibbled his neck.

He froze immediately but he didn’t budge. The sudden bliss of your touch travelled through his body. It was like a spark to gasoline. You still had your face nuzzled on his nape when he lifted you off gently and placing you on his lap. You steadied yourself and looked into his eyes, he was craving for more. He had his hands on your waist and you could feel them shaking.

You know what he wants, he knows what he needs, but no one says a thing.

Until now.

“Skin deprivation… also known as touch-starved and skin hunger. Did I guessed it wrong?”

You had a hint of evil in your tone. His hands never left your waist and his breathing got heavier. Your hands travelled to his exposed collarbones when you waited for his answer.

“I-I can explain. I don’t know why but I just want, no, need you to touch me… it was strange but I am sorry. I’m so sorry!!”

You smiled at his frantic apology. Your fingers tapped on his collarbones with a steady pace. It was supposed to satisfy his need for touch but why did it make the situation worse?

Now he just wanted more, he needed more.

What was wrong with him?

You answered him with a soft kiss on his nose, then one on his cheek, the final one on his lips. He didn’t let the opportunity slip this time, finally. He had his hand on the back of your head, deepening the kiss as his other hand pulled you even closer to him. It was a relief for the both of you, but it wasn’t enough. It wasn’t enough for the both of you. And you wanted the confession.

“Did this helped drench your thirst? Should we… go back to the romcom now?”

You broke away first, noticing the slight pout on his face but still spoke up. You knew he wanted more, he knew he wanted more. All he needed to do was ask. Would he?

“Can we … continue? I think I would need a little more, please?”

He had those beautiful puppy eyes when he asked, he was desperate for you and now that you found out, he had no reason to hide it anymore. You smirked, cupping his cheeks and placed a light peck on his lips.

“Anything to help.”

He was a goner by then.

-

Treatment result : success

-

So the idea of this imagine was inspired by this ask @thetypingpup sent in TAT !!! I wanted to make it more fun so I added the medical report detail ~

This is also proof of me not going hiatus ಠ_ಠ I just have a lot of stuff to do lately!!!!

Reblog and send me more asks yeeeeee ~

[fatgirlwritesscenarios]

Belated Happily Ever After

((A/N: Hello again, all! I’m finally getting back around to uploading the rest of the stories...kind of. This one I can say for certain was a request.))

Pairing: DKxReader

Genre: Angst/Fluff/Friendship 

Word Count: 7,962

Summary: You fell in love with the sun...but it turned out the sun did not love you back and couldn’t fathom loving you back, so you fell off the face of the Earth. Luckily, the sweetest sometimes-tiger, sometimes-hamster you’ve ever known was there to catch your fall until you were ready to face the sun again.

                                                     *~*~*~*~*~*~*

Your professor had a way of making time fly despite the class itself being over two hours long You had never been much of a history buff, the multiple dates you had to recall always being the enemy, but this history course was so interesting and engaging, it was easy to lose track of time. Hence, why you and most of your classmates didn’t even notice that the lesson was supposed to be over about 20 minutes ago, the next class crowding the door and waiting to take their seats.

“Time really does fly when you’re having fun,” you mumbled to yourself, finishing up your notes and storing your materials into your backpack before rising to make your exit.

“Remember to read Chapter 13 for homework, everyone! We’re going to have a very involved discussion next class meeting,” the professor announced, waving at the retreating students before welcoming the next class.

You pulled your planner from your bag with the intention of recording the homework and rifled further for a pen. Exiting the class and quite distracted, you never had a chance to prepare for-

“Finally!”

“ACK! Soonyoung!”

-the energizer bunny that wrapped his arms around you from behind and spun you around, his ecstatic laughter ringing loud in the hall.

“I’ve been waiting forever for you , Y/N,” Soonyoung laughed, setting you down on your feet and ruffling your hair, “What took the class so long?”

“Cut it out!” you demanded, batting his hand away from your hair and readjusting any stray strands, “What is it with you guys and messing with a girl’s hair? Anyway, I guess we all just got really into the lesson and lost track of time.”

“I wish my classes were that interesting…or maybe it’s because you’re just really smart and like the subject, so it comes easy to you!”

“I hate history.”

“Well, whatever! The fact is that we were waiting a long time for you and I’m starving!”

“We?”

“Seokmin was waiting with me, but went ahead to buy our lunch,” Soonyoung elaborated, turning you around by your shoulders and guiding you out of the building, “He should already be with the others, so let’s go! Hurry! Hurry! My stomach’s caving in!”

“O-Okay, okay! I’m going!” you replied, grateful that you were able to conceal the red of your cheeks, but very much aware of the heat burning beneath them.

Seokmin did that to you. Even just the mere mention of him; the sound of his name, the sound of his voice, a simple thought centered around the Child Development major known as Lee Seokmin had your heart galloping through fields of daisies and poppies. It had been one full year since you came to terms with your infatuation for him, but that didn’t keep the butterflies from swarming or your palms from dampening. It just made you an expert on hiding it from him.

With Soonyoung practically dragging you along behind him at a full run, the both of you eventually made it to the university quad, finding your friends lounging in the green not too far away.

“I brought Y/N!” the dancer announced, coming to a stop and smoothly pulling you next to him before slinging an arm around your shoulders like he always did, “Her history class ran longer than usual because they were having too much fun.”

“I thought you hated history,” Joshua mused with a smile, watching you struggle to catch your breath.

“I hate history…but I love…the professor…” you panted with your hands on your knees, eventually keeling over into the grass between Joshua and your roommate/friend, Miaka, “Soonyoung tried to kill me.”

“You were walking too slowly and I’m really hungry,” he whined, dropping down on the other side of Miaka and groaning dramatically.

“You were Sonic-running and I don’t appreciate the forced exercise,” you mumbled, laying stomach down on the grass and willing your breath to even out while remaining oblivious to Soonyoung’s pouting at being scolded.

Just as you were starting to feel better, your heart settling and your breathing steady, another attack came upon you in the form of fingers dancing up and down your incredibly ticklish side.

“AAHH! Nonono! Who?! Why?!” you shrieked, flipping over onto your back and curling up to prevent the onslaught, “Stop it!”

The laugh that hit your ears made your whole body tingle, the sun blocked by your attacker’s head as his smile took its place lighting up your world. In the exact moment your eyes locked with happy brown ones, you swore the birds sang sweeter, the wind was cooler, the sky was bluer and the grass felt like feathers. Everything felt so wonderful that if you died right then and there, you wouldn’t even mind it.

“You’re funny when you’re tickled, Y/N,” Seokmin stated, running a hand through his black hair, messing up his side-part a little bit.

“There is nothing funny about torturing me,” you answered, hoping against hope that the blush on your cheeks and the slight stutter you released wasn’t too noticeable.

He laughed again and held up a white, plastic carton along with a cold can of soda, “I got your lunch. I’m pretty sure I got what you usually like. Soonyoung’s better at remembering your order than I am.”

‘Oh, he’s just the sweetest!’ you gushed mentally, wanting to squeal, but instead sitting up and taking the items that he offered.

“I’m sure it’s fine. I eat just about anything, anyway.”

“She’s like a trashcan.”

“I’m sorry, did the bottomless pit over there say something?”

The whole group sat in amusement at the playful bickering between you and Soonyoung, Seokmin lowering himself down right behind you with his own food and laughing at Soonyoung’s expense. He was sitting rather close, almost forcing himself between you and Miaka with his legs on practically either side of your hips. Again, your heart did somersaults and the color in your cheeks deepened.

“Anyway, how much do I owe you for buying my lunch?” you asked him, beginning to rifle through your bag for your wallet.

Seokmin stopped you with a gentle touch to your arm, shaking his head once he had your attention, his smile beaming at your face, “You don’t owe me anything! It’s on me.”

You just gazed at him for a beat, wondering what good deed you did at any point in this life or others to deserve a person like him in your life. Even if he was just a friend…even if you wanted to be more.

It was hard to tell when this maddening crush of yours on Lee Seokmin actually started, but it felt like it’s been present ever since you entered University. You met both him and Soonyoung at around the same time, both becoming your best friends, but it was the sun-shiny man with a voice as beautiful as a song bird’s that captured your heart. He was playful yet considerate, positively hilarious, and so positive that you felt you could never have a bad day with him around or continue to mope after having a bad day. He made your dark days bright and your bright days even better. He was everything to you…and you wished you could be everything to him, too.

“Hey, Seokmin. Seungkwan. Why don’t you two sing us that song you were practicing? Let us hear how it’s going,” Jun, one of the oldest in the group, spoke up suddenly, disrupting conversations and forcing all eyes on the two mentioned males.

You blinked curiously, looking back at Seokmin, “You two are practicing a song? How come?”

Seokmin chuckled and shrugged his shoulders, “We were bored and heard a song that we wanted to try harmonizing on. I think Joshua was playing it on the guitar.”

“And look at this! Said person just so happens to have said guitar with him!” Seungcheol proclaimed from his spot beside Joshua, nudging the other’s arm with his elbow, “You should play it and you two-” he pointed to Seungkwan and Seokmin, “should sing it!”

“Yeah, sing it for us!”

“Come on you, guys!”

“Sing it! Sing it! Sing it!”

Soon, the whole group was chanting for the two vocalists, Seungkwan eventually calming them down with an exasperated sigh of ‘fiiinnne’. The two of them prepared themselves while Joshua tuned his guitar, you focusing on your food while they did so. Soon, the first riffs of the song drifted through the air, followed by the second and third…and then, they were singing.

Voices mixing and blending so beautifully, Seungkwan and Seokmin captivated the group, as always. Their powerful voices snatching every ear; it was both a blessing and a curse to be sitting so close to your crush at this point, struggling to not stare at him too hard and yet wanting to memorize the expression on his face while you still had the chance. He absently played with the back of your hair while he sang, a rush of tingles dancing down your spine. He smiled at you and you smiled at him, nodding your head along to the song and wishing you could melt into his arms…without it being weird.

At the end of the performance, the last note fading out, the trio received a round of applause from their friends, though you smiled the biggest and the brightest at Seokmin.

He leaned in closer to you, whispering playfully, “How did I do?”

“Amazing, as always. I don’t even know why you bother asking me,” you play-whispered back, reaching up to fix his side-part and melting when he smiled at you with a little touch to your arm as thanks.

Suddenly, the campus clock tower started to chime and you froze when you realized how late it was actually getting. “Crap! What time is it?!” you hissed, pulling your phone from your bag and cursing when you saw that it was just turning 3 PM, “My last class starts in 15 minutes and it’s across campus. I have to go.”

“Don’t worry about your trash. I’ll take care of it,” Seokmin offered.

You smiled nearly bashfully, but shook your head, “You don’t have to, Seokmin. I can do it. It’s fine.”

“Ah, you’re so stubborn.” His eyes narrowed into a playful glare, his tongue clicking in ‘disappointment’, “It’s fine to accept help, Y/N. It’ll be one less thing for you to worry about! I don’t want you to be late for class, so I’ll take care of your trash!”

To show that he meant business, the man took the pile of trash from you and reached over to put your backpack in your hands. He then ushered you up and pushed on the small of your back until you took two steps away.

“Go, go! You’re losing time! Make sure to pay attention!”

You stared at him for a beat longer, a silly smile touching your lips as you nodded, “Alright…thank you!”

After bidding good-bye to your group of friends, and promising Miaka that you’ll clear the night to help her study, you took only two more steps before Soonyoung was calling out to you.

“Wait, Y/N! I’ll go with you!” he said, stuffing the rest of his food into his mouth and then moving to stand up.

“Your class is in the opposite direction of mine, Soonyoung ,and it’s going to be starting soon, too!” you objected, frowning when he gave his trash to Seokmin and asked him to take care of that, too, which he happily agreed to.

“So?” the dancer retorted, hopping next to you with a big, cheeky grin on his face, “I want to walk you; make sure you get there safe.” You rolled your eyes as he bid his farewells, shoving his shoulder when he started pushing you in the direction of your class, earning a giggle from him.

“Good luck in class, Y/N!”

You looked back to see Seokmin smiling and waving after you, the dazzling brightness of his grin leaving you breathless, yet re-energized. You returned the gesture and called out a thank you, beginning a light-footed trek to your class with Soonyoung hot on your heels. Not even his teasing could make the smile fall from your face after spending time in Seokmin’s presence, your mind too occupied with his warm smile to even think of good, witty comebacks. You just…floated to class, drunk on infatuation and high on his beautiful voice.

~*~*~*~

It was right around 8:30 PM when you returned to your apartment that evening, mentally drained but feeling rather accomplished. After your last class, you joined a few of your History classmates for a study group and then went to get dinner with them, making sure to leave in a timely manner so you could have enough time to help Miaka study that night, as promised.

You sighed in relief when you got inside, classical music drifting pleasantly in the air; Miaka liked to study to the sound of an orchestra. She said it helped her to focus more.

“I’m home!” you called, toeing off your shoes and moving into the living room.

“And just in time, too!” Miaka greeted, never looking up from the index cards she was working on at the coffee table, “I’m just about done making my flashcard for my biology terms and then you’ll be able to quiz me on them for the test.”

“Sounds good,” you replied, throwing your coat and bag down on sofa behind her before throwing yourself down at the coffee table in front of her, “How many do you have?”

“118.”

“Do you plan on sleeping at all tonight?”

“Nope and I hope you don’t either.”

You rolled your eyes loudly, giggling when Miaka stuck her tongue out at you in retaliation. To entertain yourself while she finished with the rest of her cards, you picked up the already completed ones and started to look over them. A moment of silence passed between you two.

“So, how was your last class?” she suddenly asked, still focused on the cards.

“It was decent,” you answered.

Miaka glanced at you, smiling mischievously, “What, it wasn’t spectacular after being blessed by Lee Seokmin’s wish of good luck? You weren’t floating on air? Hearing angels sing? Citing romantic haikus?”

You stared at her flatly, clearly unamused, “I hate you.”

“You love me,” she shot back.

“I hope you fail this test.”

“And I hope you embarrass yourself in front of your dream man.”

You groaned at her last jab, setting the cards down before flopping back onto the carpet, “Why are you being so mean?!”

Miaka laughed, completing the last card and then reaching over to add it to the pile, organizing them in the process. “Honestly, why don’t you just tell the guy that you like him? What’ the worst that could happen?”

You popped back up, “I could make a fool of myself. I could ruin a perfectly good friendship and possibly lose Soonyoung in the process. I could make him feel so uncomfortable around me that he never wants to see my face again. The list goes on!” Another groan and another flop back onto the carpet. “God…why does he have to be so perfect? Why do I have to have a crush on a guy that’s never going to like me back?”

“Well, I wouldn’t say ‘never’.”

You returned to your sitting position, staring your friend straight into her soul, “What are you talking about?”

“Look,” she started, pausing to choose her words carefully, “It might just be me, but I think he likes you, too.”

“HA!” You laughed incredulously, Miaka narrowing your eyes at you. “Oh, you’re funny, Miaka.”

“But I’m probably not wrong.”

“But you probably are.”

“But I’m probably not,” she insisted, “I mean, look at the way he treats you! He buys food for you without making you pay him back. He’s always encouraging you. He’s always trying to sit really close to you. He asks for your opinions before anyone else’s. He offers to do things for you that’ll make your life easier! The man is practically establishing himself as your boyfriend. All you two need now are couple’s outfits.”

As much as you wanted to argue with her- because you vaguely remember Soonyoung doing a lot of the same things from time to time- that niggling of hope deep in your soul started to work against you. Big time. You started to think…maybe she was right? Did Seokmin like you? Were you more special to him than you allowed yourself to believe?

You chewed your bottom lip thoughtfully, brow furrowing in worry, “But…I don’t know, Miaka. If it’s true…and he likes me like I like him…then why hasn’t he said anything? Why hasn’t he confessed?”

The other woman shrugged her shoulders, smirking triumphantly, “Maybe you’re the one girl that makes him too shy to do it.”

You froze, giving her the chance to continue, “Maybe you should be the one to confess.”

“But…Me? How?! I can’t…H-How would I even-”

“The next time you two are alone.” She interrupted you, holding a finger up, “Conditions are never going to really be perfect, but take advantage of the next time you guys aren’t being bothered and tell him how you feel. He’ll probably be super relieved that you did!”

“I…I don’t know. It’s not exactly the romantic confession I imagined,” you mused, pouting slightly, “I always wanted to be the one that someone confessed to.”

Miaka clicked her tongue before pursing her lips in disapproval, “Do you want this man or not?”

You hesitated…and then nodded.

“Then you know what you need to do,” she finalized, handing you the finished and organized stacks of index cards, “Now quiz me. We can talk about your repressed love life later.”

You glared at her, but took the stacks and set them up on the coffee table, starting to go through the different categories with her. While you worked hard to remain in study mode for Miaka’s sake, you couldn’t help the little voice whispering in the back of your mind: how long would you have to wait before you could confess?

The answer…

*~*~*~*

Not that long at all, actually! About two weeks if we’re going to try to be exact and it was Seokmin himself who gave you the opportunity.

You remembered the Monday afternoon that brought you to this moment, the shriek that filled the apartment after you told Miaka how Seokmin had texted you and asked you to go to a movie with him. She had then started raving about how ‘This is it!’ and ‘This is your chance!’ and ‘He’s totally asking you on a date!’. This was followed up with her planning your outfit for your Friday night outing with him, from your shoes and accessories to what you were going to do with your hair. You had tried to tell her that it was just a movie, nothing big, so a nice pair of jeans couples with a pretty shirt and some cute sandals would work fine.

She wasn’t having any of that, though, and immediately took you out shopping for the perfect outfit, declaring that you couldn’t make a proper confession without looking drop-dead gorgeous first.

“I mean, more gorgeous than you already are,” she had added, giggling girlishly while pulling a multitude of dresses and skirts from the rack at your favorite store.

All of her primping, polishing, encouraging and hyping were what helped you to get through the week without losing your mind in excitement, to Friday night…to this moment here. She truly made you believe that this really was it, that this was the moment you confessed and it would end in happily ever after. Even the ‘date’ itself seemed to solidify it: he bought the popcorn and drinks at the movies for the both of you, draped his arm around your shoulders, he took you to dinner after, got you your favorite dessert. He complimented your whole look more than twice that evening and you even caught him staring from time to time, that giant grin of his ever present.

The night had been a success and this was now your moment, the both of you walking down the pathway through the park, trekking towards the bus stop that would take you home. This was it. Now or never.

“Hey, Seokmin…”

He looked at you expectantly, warmly, while you slowed to a stop with him facing you. “I, uh…I have…something…that I need to tell you,” you stammered, heart pounding relentlessly, cheeks flushing and palms nearly drenched.

His brows furrowed now, his hands hovering over your shoulders, as if preparing to catch you if you fainted, “What’s wrong, Y/N? Are you feeling okay?”

“Y-Yeah, I’m fine. I mean…I-I will be if I can just…j-just get this out.” You took a deep, shaky breath, fiddling with your fingers and staring at the concrete while Seokmin eyed you carefully, “I’ve been…wanting…I’ve been wanting to tell you this…for a while...and now seems as good a time as it’s going to get.”

Another deep, shaky breath and you forced yourself to lock eyes with him, “I like you, Seokmin. A lot. A lot a lot. I have for a while, now…and I was hoping, after tonight, we could try to make it a little more official. Maybe go on another date?”

He stared at you, dumbstruck. You stared back, sweating bullets, worrying your bottom lip. Your heart was beating out of control and you felt like you were going to vomit from the anticipation. Then Seokmin smiled. It was small at first, then bigger, then bigger still until it was fully, shining smile that you loved so much. It warmed you, comforted you, and you were so sure that he was going to confess back.

But then…he was laughing and you were confused.

“That was a good one, Y/N! You really had me going there!” he said between chuckles, his hand over his heart.

Your brow pinched together in confusion, “W-What?”

“You were so believable!” he said, “I almost fell for it, too! You having a crush on me? Oh, man. Did Soonyoung put you up to this? You two are always playing tricks on me!”

What was happening? What is this? He thought this was a joke? Your own heart was stuttering now, your mind panicking to try and make sense of this situation. How do you salvage it? What do you do?!

“Seokmin, no, I…I wasn’t joking…” He stopped laughing, stopped smiling, and stared at you. “I really do…like you.”

You both were quiet again, but the world was unbearably loud. You could clearly hear the cars passing on the street, the electric buzz of the lamps that lit the pathway, the sounds of the evening bugs. Your ears felt hot, but your fingers felt cold and your heart was pounding so hard you could swear it was just as audible as the cars on the street.

There was still a chance. There was still hope…until there wasn’t.

“Oh…Y/N,” Seokmin sighed, frowning and rubbing the back of his head uncomfortably.

Oh no…

“I’m…I’m sorry, but…”

What have you done?

“I don’t feel the same way. I like someone else.”

Your heart came to a screeching halt and then dive-bombed right into your stomach. Your hands felt clammy in your own grip as you tried to keep yourself from falling apart.

“O-Oh,” you muttered, dropping your gaze to your feet, “I-I just thought that…maybe…I-I mean, you were always so…sweet to me. Always buying my lunch and encouraging me and going out of your way for me…and asking me to go see a movie with you…”

“We hadn’t gotten a chance to just hang out in a long time and no one else wanted to watch this movie with me,” he explained, looking away from you as well, “And of course I would do all of those other things for you. You’re one of my best friends! But I would never like you in that way. I mean, it’s you. Why would I like someone like you?”

The coldest of winds passed over you and you felt like crumbling into nothing. That’s how you felt now, anyway…like nothing. Seokmin seemed to realize how harsh his words sounded and started to panic.

“Oh, no, Y/N! I didn’t mean it like that!” He took a step towards you, but you took two back. “Y/N, please. That was an asshole-thing for me to say and I’m sorry! I just meant that-”

You held a hand up and when you lifted your gaze, Seokmin could’ve sworn he had been hit in the gut by a train. The unshed tears in your eyes were things he never wanted to see, let alone be the reason for. The smile painted on your lips looked painful and he wished he could turn back time to keep this all from happening.

Regardless, you still continued to smile and took a deep breath through your nose, “It’s okay…Seokmin. I understand. I’m not the one you like and I looked at everything all wrong. It’s my fault for seeing things that weren’t there.”

He had no words, watching you dab at the tears that escaped and streaked down your cheeks, attempting not to smudge your makeup. You composed yourself as best you could, shaking your head.

“I think…I’m going to go home by myself,” you whispered, looking past him to avoid seeing the pitiful look he cast at you, “I can’t be around you right now.”

“Y/N, please don’t be like this. I don’t want to lose my friend.” He reached for you desperately when you walked past him, “I can’t let you walk home by yourself!”

You avoided his touch and stopped just three steps ahead of him, “…You can and you will. Good night, Seokmin.”

And then you left, not once looking back for fear of breaking down. You weren’t exactly sure how you got back to your apartment without breaking out into tears first, but when you arrived, you heard what sounded like Miaka and Soonyoung having some kind of battle from all the shouting you heard on the other side of the door.

You closed your eyes. Soonyoung…you didn’t have the strength to fake happiness in front of him right now, even though you knew how much he hated to see you sad.

With a deep sigh, and zombie-like movements, you walked inside and closed the door. The sounds of Mario Kart met your ears followed by Soonyoung shouting about how Miaka could ‘eat his tail’; his character must be Yoshi…he didn’t like Bowser very much. You slipped off your shoes and took off your coat, wondering how fast you could walk to your room without alerting the other two that something was wrong.

“Hey, Y/N! You’re back!”

Oops…too late. You were already spotted.

Miaka put the game on pause and hopped up from her spot on sofa just as you shuffled into the living room, “So how was it?! Was it romantic? Everything you dreamed of? Did you-”

She stopped once she got a good look at you, her own heart dropping at the broken state you were in.

“Y/N…Y/N what happened?” she asked you, her face contorting into worry just as Soonyoung rushed over to you as well.

You said nothing and it didn’t take long for Miaka to do the math, “You told him…and he didn’t…”

With slow movements and your body shaking with your repressed tears, you shook your head.

“Oh no…Y/N, I’m sorry,” Miaka sighed, but before she could comfort you, Soonyoung beat her to it.

He slid his hands onto your shoulders and made you face him, even as you refused to meet his eyes. The wall of tears built higher and higher, you struggling to keep them at bay; it killed him inside to see you trying so hard not to cry like this.

“Y/N…” he whispered, cupping your cheek, feeling you shaking, “I’m here…I’m right here.”

And that was all you needed, the tears pouring freely and Soonyoung gathering you into his chest. He hated to see you cry, but tonight, he wasn’t going to try and force you to stop. For that, you were grateful…for Soonyoung, you were grateful. He wasn’t the man you wanted, but he was the man you needed right now.

You held him tighter and he never let go.

*~*~*~*

It was four whole months before you had the nerve to even answer any of Seokmin’s texts again. You went from being heartbroken to being embarrassed and avoided the man like the bubonic plague. Unfortunately, that also meant avoiding your other friends as well since there was a chance that you could run into him at any outing they invited you to. Your only saving grace, aside from Miaka, was Soonyoung. He had always been by your side, but ever since the fiasco with Seokmin, he became more…constant, not that you were complaining.

In those four months, he named himself your official caregiver, making sure that you were eating well, resting well, and taking necessary breaks from studying. He would clear his weekend evenings to be with you or take you to hang out with other friends once it was confirmed that Seokmin was not going to be anywhere near the vicinity. The both of you spent long hours cuddling, still teasing one another, and going on little impromptu ‘dates’ where Soonyoung wouldn’t let you pay for a single thing. He complimented you more, texted you and called you, made it his life’s goal to always make sure that you were smiling and laughing. In those four months, he became more than just what you needed. He became what you wanted.

At the start of the fourth month, you were both official after a sweet, quiet, and red-cheeked confession from Soonyoung in the glow of the TV during one of your movie nights. Thinking about it now, a whole month into your new relationship, made you giddy and giggly, especially when you thought back on the kiss you shared that very same night: sweet and tender and a little bit playful, just like Soonyoung.

“Hey, princess.” A pair of warm arms encircled your shoulders from behind, warmer lips pressing a kiss to your cheek.

You giggled and wrapped your fingers around Soonyoung’s arm, turning your head to kiss him in return, “Hey, Soonyoung. How was class?”

He started whining as he plopped down in the seat beside you at the kitchen table, “Long. And boring! I just wanted to be with my jagiya! You should switch classes so we can always be together!”

“It’s too late in the semester, Soonyoung.”

“You’re right, you’ve put too much work into your classes to change them now, so I’ll change mine!”

“We’re not even in the same major.”

“I can learn!”

You giggled at his antics, Soonyoung puffing up proudly at the pretty sound. He lived to see you this happy and giggly and loved the fact that it was because of him your eyes shined so bright. He reached over and took your hand, giving your fingers cute little kisses of affection. You just about melted and begged him to stop making you blush.

“But you’re so cute when you’re embarrassed!” He pinched you cheeks and you made a face at him. “Anyway, what are you doing?”

“Studying,” you sighed, gazing down at the books and papers strewn across the dining table.

Soonyoung hummed, “Did you have lunch already?”

You shook your head, absently reading through your notes. “When was the last time you ate?” he asked.

You paused and stared at him blankly. After a few moments too long, you said, “I…I don’t remember.”

“Princess!” he exclaimed, looking horrified.

“I had to study!” you defended yourself.

“All of that studying won’t mean anything if you die from starvation!” he scolded you, standing up, “I’m ordering us food and you’re taking a break!”

“Alright, alright, fine,” you caved, watching him go into the living room where you and Miaka left the take-out menus.

You smiled to yourself at how caring your boyfriend, your thoughts interrupted by a ding on your cellphone. Checking the screen, your heart lurched momentarily when you saw that you received a message from Seokmin.

‘It’s been almost five months, Y/N. It’s time to get over it,’ you thought to yourself, opening the text.

‘Hi, Y/N. How are you? It’s been a long time since we’ve spoken to each other…I miss you.’

You took a deep breath, steadying your shaking hands as you replied, ‘Hey, Seokmin. It has been a while, huh? Sorry for avoiding you.’

‘No worries. I understand. I was harsh to you that night and I’m sorry,” he responded.

A flashback to that night crossed your mind, his question of why he would like someone like you ringing in your head…but not as clearly as it did a month ago. The sting of it had dulled itself, that you thanked Soonyoung for.

‘You weren’t that harsh, Seokmin. It’s okay. Thank you for apologizing, though.’

He didn’t respond right away, but when another message came through, it was a bit of a surprise.

‘Can we meet up? I need to talk to you about something. I feel like you’ll be the only one to understand.’

What did that mean? You stared at the message for longer than necessary, reading it over and over again. You knew this day would eventually come, where you would have to see Seokmin face to face. You imagined it a little differently, though, where you would meet him by chance out on the University grounds, probably in passing and you two would have an awkward moment of forced laughter and ‘how are you?’ questions before finally coming to terms that you were okay and ready to be friends again. What you never imagined was Seokmin asking to see you to talk about something very important, it looked like. That’s what swayed you in making your decision, but first…

“Soonyoung,” you called out, hearing your boyfriend shuffle from the living room and back towards the dining table, one hand clutching a take-out menu and the other holding his phone to his ear.

He stared at you expectantly and you gestured for him to hang up the phone. “What’s up, Princess?” he asked, taking his previous seat.

“Seokmin just texted me,” you answered, earning a stare back in return as he waited, “…and I answered him this time.”

“Oh…how did that go? Are you guys okay?” he ventured, worry lines appearing on his forehead, which you instinctively reached out to smooth away with your thumb.

“I think so. I mean, I’m pretty sure we are, but…he asked if we could meet up. I think he wants to talk to me about something important.”

Soonyoung blinked in surprise, but brushed it aside to study your expression. You didn’t look anxious or nervous. From that alone, he didn’t see a reason to try and persuade you not to go. He placed a hand on your shoulder, squeezing it gently as your eyes trained themselves on your phone.

“It has been four months, Y/N, and I know that he still wants to be your friend. He always cared about you and still does. I think he also just wants to know that you’re okay and actually hear it from you this time. He usually asks me.”

Soonyoung’s comforting gesture eased the butterflies in your stomach and only solidified the decision you already made. “So…you’re okay if I go to meet him?” you asked.

“Of course! We’re all still friends and you’re mine now, so I’m not worried about anything,” he answered cheerfully, pinching your cheek.

You giggled and playfully swatted his hand away. He only grabbed yours and laced your fingers together, watching you carefully.

“Do you want me to come with you? For support?”

You didn’t even need to think about it, shaking your head confidently, “No, I’ll be fine on my own. I think this is something we need to do by ourselves, anyway.”

With that, you picked your phone back up and texted him back, telling him that you would be happy to meet up with him. About 30 minutes later –this must be really important whatever he needs to talk to you about- you were waiting for him outside the campus food court at one of the outdoor tables. You sipped on a smoothie you had ordered, an extra one you bought for Seokmin sitting in front of you.

You weren’t going to lie and say that you weren’t nervous. The apprehension was making fidgety, your leg bouncing up and down as you gnawed on the end of your straw. A small part of you thought it was ridiculous now to be this afraid. Like Soonyoung said, it had been four months! The night was over, the embarrassment was over, and you were over the whole thing.

“Y/N!”

You whipped around just in time to see Seokmin jogging towards you, barely giving you time to stand up before he was throwing his arms around you. Frozen, you allowed him to hug you, the man swaying you both back and forth as an involuntary chuckle filled your ears.

“Sorry, sorry. That was impulsive and I probably shouldn’t have hugged you so suddenly, but I’m really happy to see you,” he explained once he let you go.

“Oh, um…sure…no problem.” You gave a small smile and took your seat again, Seokmin doing the same on the other side. Remembering the smoothie you bought for him, you picked up the cup and reached over to give it to him, “Here, I got this for you. It’s your favorite.”

His smile reached from ear to ear as he accepted it, “Thank you! What do I owe you?”

“Nu uh,” you shook your head, playful smile touching your lips, “This one’s on me. Think of it as a little payback for all the times you spotted me for food.”

He chuckled, but nodded his head, “Alright, then.”

Silence reined one more, the both of you trying to figure out what dynamic this was now. Some tension remained, but not nearly as much as you thought there was going to be. You took the time to study him, just as he was studying you. Your eyes roamed the planes of his face, searching for any dark circles or ghost-white pallor. You saw nothing, but the healthy Seokmin you always knew and found yourself hoping that he found happiness with the girl he liked the way that you found happiness with Soonyoung.

“It really is good to see you, Y/N,” Seokmin stated, breaking the ice as the warmth from his smile matched the light in his eyes.

“I missed you, too, Seokmin. I avoided you for a long time and I’m sorry about that…but I just didn’t know how to face you after that night,” you answered, gaze dropping to your smoothie cup.

“I understand,” he voiced lowly, fiddling with his straw, “I was worried, though…I thought I had lost you as a friend. That was the last thing I wanted to happen and it killed me to think that it actually did. I…was scared that you wouldn’t want to meet me today…or at all.”

You were astounded, your eyes transfixed on him. How were you supposed to respond to that? How did you want to respond to that? The answer came naturally.

“You were never in danger of losing me as a friend, Seokmin,” you said, voice filled with conviction.

It was his turn to stare at you incredulously, letting you continue, “I did, however, entertain the idea of not seeing you today. I wasn’t sure if I was ready, yet, but it sounded like you needed to talk to me about something important. Is everything alright?”

Here, he avoided your gaze, a nervous laugh bubbling up in his throat. This had you curious, your head tilting to the side.

“Everything…kind of hurts.” And for the first time since you had known him, Seokmin let his smile drop in front of you, hitting you with a sadness that made your heart clench.

You sat up straighter, leaning forward with your eyes fixed on his face, “Seokmin, what happened?”

“What happened is…what I did to you that night, someone else did to me.” You were confused, Seokmin leaning back in his chair. “The girl that I liked, she didn’t return my feelings. I thought we were hitting it off really well. We spent a lot of time together, had a lot of fun…but when I confessed, she told me that she would never date someone like me and that she never wanted to talk to me again.”

How familiar? You would never wish that kind of embarrassment on anyone, not even the person who made you feel like that in the first place.

“Seokmin…I’m so sorry,” you said, reaching for his hand and holding it, “I’m really, really sorry.”

“It’s not your fault, Y/N.”

“I’m not saying it because it’s my fault. I’m saying it because you’re hurt.”

He smiled sadly at you and squeezed your hand, “After she told me that, I couldn’t help but to start thinking if that’s how I made you feel. Like I never wanted to see you again.”

Oh…that made sense and, if you were being honest with yourself, that had been a prominent thought the first few weeks following what happened. You were so sure that he wouldn’t want to be around someone who had made things so uncomfortable between you two and that’s what fueled your need to avoid him at all costs.

“Truthfully, Seokmin, I did think that way for a little while,” you said, releasing his hand to sit up again, “But, I guess I didn’t have much to worry about.”

“You didn’t have anything to worry about. You’re one of my best friends. I was going to fight for you.”

You laughed, as did he, and this time, when things got quiet, it wasn’t tense. It felt…serene. At last, after all these months, the full weight of this situation finally fell from your shoulders. You and Seokmin made up, had closer. You breathed the deepest sigh of relief you’ve ever released and felt relaxed.

“I’m glad to see you doing so well after all this time,” Seokmin added, pulling a silly little grin from you.

“I have Soonyoung to thank for that.”

“I’m glad about that, too! You make him really happy, Y/N. He’s been in love with you since the day he met you!”

“Okay, now you’re exaggerating,” you rolled your eyes.

Seokmin shook his head insistently, “No, it’s true! He told me himself two days after he met you. He said that he met the girl he was going to spend the rest of his life with, but as time went on and we all became friends, he got too scared to tell you because he didn’t want to ruin the friendship he had with you.”

You stared dumbfounded at Seokmin, cheeks flushing and heart pitter-pattering against your chest. Suddenly, you released a loud, disappointed groan, throwing yourself back against your chair. Seokmin blinked at you.

“What? What? What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Poor Soonyoung! I must’ve drove him crazy talking about my crush on you all the time,” you groaned again, digging the heels of your palms into your eyes, “It was non-stop!”

“Wow, you really did like me,” he mused, making you glare flatly at him.

“I did. You have that kind of effect on people,” you replied, sitting up and sighing, “I’ll have to make it up to him.”

“I doubt he cares much at this point. He has you now! I’m sure he feels all the torture was worth it.”

You giggled and nodded your head, looking at Seokmin and then at your smoothie cup before lifting it up towards him, “Friends?”

He paused momentarily, grinning soon after and lifting up his own cup, “Best friends?”

Your smile grew all the wider, “Best friends.”

You both laughed and took a sip of your smoothies, sealing the deal. Now that the storm of your life had fully passed, you gave Seokmin an apologetic look.

“It was good seeing you again, Seokmin, but I should be going. I promised Soonyoung I would get back to the apartment with enough time for lunch and a movie before studying. Knowing him, he probably hid all of my books to make me keep my promise.”

“I don’t think he’s at the apartment,” he told you, catching you off guard.

“Huh? What do you mean? How do you know?”

“Because he’s trying to hide behind that tree over there.”

You processed his words a second too slow, but when you whipped around to said tree he was pointing at, you found a very familiar figure trying to duck behind the thin base. Your mouth dropped open and you stood up.

“Soonyoung!” you called.

He peeked out from behind the tree, donning a pair of sunglasses and a hoodie in an attempt to look ‘inconspicuous’. Realizing his cover had been blown, he pasted on the biggest, cheesiest grin and meandered over to you.

“Hey, Princess! Seokmin!” he greeted, popping a kiss on your cheek.

You narrowed your eyes at him, making him fidget, “Feel proud of yourself for spying on us?”

“Nooooo! Princess, don’t say it like that!” he whined, taking your hand in his, “I wasn’t spying on you. Okay, maybe I was a little bit, but I just wanted to make sure that you were okay.”

“I told you I was going to be fine,” you reminded him.

“I know, but then I started thinking what if it didn’t end fine,” he explained, his gaze never leaving you, “I didn’t want you to have to walk back to your apartment alone and sad if the worst happened.”

Oh, how this man made your heart stutter. You couldn’t stay cross with him, your expression falling into a smile as you cupped his cheek and gave him a soft kiss. He laughed childishly afterwards, embracing you right after. Once he let you go, with his arm slung over your shoulders, he looked between you and Seokmin, eyes flashing with worry.

“So are you two okay now? Like, completely?” he asked, almost fearing the answer.

You and Seokmin looked at each other, similar smiles spreading across your faces; “Yup, we’re all good!” you answered.

“Best friends again,” Seokmin followed, the both of you startling when Soonyoung released an excited shout.

“Oh, I’m so happy! I hated seeing you both so unhappy because of each other!” he gushed, cuddling you into his chest, “Let’s celebrate with lunch! I’m starving! And you, missy, are supposed to be taking a study break anyway.”

“Yeah, yeah. Come on, Seokmin, before he starts rushing us.”

Seokmin stood up beside you and before you could start your way into the food court, he grabbed you in a hug and squeezed you gently. This time, you were a little more prepared and hugged him back.

“Thank you,” he whispered.

“No problem,” you whispered back.

When you pulled away from each other, and you looked at him, you no longer saw the man that you had the biggest crush on and experienced the most painful rejection from. You just saw Seokmin, your best friend. His smile still made you warm, but didn’t cause butterflies. His laughter still made you grin, but didn’t mesmerize you. His touch was still gentle, but you didn’t crave it. Soonyoung was that man for you, now. Soonyoung was your happily ever after.

It took some time coming, but it got there and that’s what really mattered.

[im-whatchamccallit]

Wicked pt.2//Xu Minghao (Seventeen)

Part 1|Materlist|Request Guidlines

Pairing: Xu Minghao x Reader

Genre: Demon!Au, Fluff)

Warnings: Long and probably grammatically incorrect

Words: 3.3k, holy shit

(A/N: This was super long as, while I was editing, I realized I had over 100 followers so thank you so much! I know people do follower milestone type things but idk what to do so... request are open? Idk. I’m just happy. Thank you!)

You moaned slightly at the feeling of Minghao’s hands on your lower back, kneading at the muscles as you lied face down on your bed, beginning to feel sleepy as his thumbs grazed your skin. He slowly leaned down until his lips were right by your ear, the feeling of his cold breath causing you to turn your head slightly to see him.

“Is this good?” He asked lowly, the only thing you could do was nod slightly.

“Percentage wise, what would it be?”

“One hundred.” You muttered and Minghao shifted excitedly, knowing he was one step closer to finally being free.

“So that means you’re happy?”

“Mhm.”

“So, because you’re happy with this ‘one hundred percent’ massage, it means I’ve made you a hundred percent happy as a boyfriend?”

You tried to hide your chuckle as you let your eyes close, preparing for his soon to come tantrum from your words.

“Because you asked that, I’m only seventy percent happy now.” Minghao moved his hands up your back, telling himself to not flip you over and strangle you but, instead, pinching the back of your neck.

You screamed out and jumped up, glaring at him as he stared furiously at you.

“Now it’s sixty percent, asshole.”

“I’ve been here two weeks-“

“One week.” You corrected him, dragging yourself from your bed and towards your closet to find a new shirt, pulling out a button up shirt that you should save to wear to work but just needed to be covered at the moment.

“I know you’ve been happy this entire time, whether you want to admit it or not. Now you’re just fucking with me!” You turned to him as you finished buttoning the shirt, giving a smug look.

“I’m not fucking with you, Minghao. Just teaching you how to be a decent boyfriend for the next desperate soul that calls for you. By the way, snapping at me like that just dropped you down to forty.”

You let out a loud gasp as your back slammed against your bedroom wall, Minghao’s hand wrapped around your throat as he glared at you with a look that you could only assume was pure hatred. His hand just laid on your neck and, no matter how hard he tried to squeeze, he couldn’t leaving you both in a staring match, neither of you willing to back down.

“You have me where you want me, know what? You’re just not going to kill me? I dare you. I dare you to kill me right now.” You were at the same level as Minghao at this point. He drove you crazy the same way you did him.

The way he’d act out like a sociopath in public to annoy you, no longer following his plans of being the best boyfriend but the worst one possible, it all became so torturous. The past week was a constant battle of petty behavior and rage; rage that he wouldn’t get what he want and rage that you got what you wanted but now you wanted him gone.

He was shocked by your words and how they left your mouth so easily, not a hint of fear or doubt in them. But he only let out a growl before suddenly disappearing in thin air, leaving you against the wall and completely unfazed, learning that he came and left this way all the time, but you still held your anger.

“And that’s how you get to five percent, bitch.” You muttered before exiting the room, the negative energy suddenly suffocating you.

Minghao found himself in his apartment but, as soon as his feet touched the ground, his fist landed into the closest wall, causing the collection of males look to him in shock.

“Still no soul?” One asked condescendingly from the corner of the room where he sat on the ground to play with a small dog.

“I’m starving.” His voice was low as he marched his way to the sofa, placing his head in his hands as the eldest of the bunch sat by him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“You do realize you can just take other people’s souls, with or without being summoned.”

“No! I want (Y/N)’s! (Y/N) needs to die first then I’ll do what I want!” Minghao snapped as he glared at the man who was only trying to help before realizing he was in his human form, looking around to see the others just the same.

“Why do you look like this?”

“Chan finally figured out his disguise. We didn’t want to make him feel uncomfortable.” The youngest member appeared from his room, no longer in his usual, monstrous form but now his disguise for when he chooses to visit the human realm.

Hell was just like living world, just a lot darker with supernatural beings. Everyone bought homes and apartments like humans, everyone drove like humans, and most of them had families and pets like humans. The only difference was that they were immortal, having lived centuries or millenniums, their purpose in life set once they are born, forcing them to work every day of their lives under those orders. And that’s exactly what Minghao and his 12 roommates have been doing, almost all of them demons with different purposes yet managed to get along just enough to live together.

Minghao blandly congratulated him before standing, making his way into the kitchen and finding his laptop on the breakfast bar, the three men not acknowledging him as he opened it and slowly waved his hand across, the background immediately turning to the image of your living room. Minghao knew you were happy but you just refused to admit it to him, so he was going to find out one way or another, even if it made him seem insane.  All of them glancing over as they heard talking before the voice peaked their interest all but one of them crowding around to see who he was spying on.

It was you and the goth girl who sold you the book. Her name was Sunny, which was more than ironic, and, despite you laying into her about giving you a book you couldn’t understand which caused you to summon a demon, you two became friends. You invited her over once and she revealed she was fluent in English, Korean, Afrikaans, French, Arabic, and, luckily, Latin, reading about a few other creatures for you to prove herself although you couldn’t truly confirm it but went with it. She was back so you can continue the journey of who not to mistakenly convene.

You both sat on your sofa, her legs folded beneath her as your feet found a home on your table, your eyes scanning the book before stopping at one page.

“This one is Minghao? He’s cute! How could you hate him?”

“Please. He’s a nuisance and the bane of my existence right now. And you said you’re positive there’s no way to get rid of him?”

“Sadly, no. You guys made a deal and, if this books description is right, and he’s persistent, he won’t go away until he has your soul. What was the deal anyways?” You made eye contact with her as a small smirk graced your lips.

“He had to pretend to be my boyfriend and make me one hundred percent happy before he could have my soul.”

“And you aren’t happy?” The boys seemed to watch closely for your answer, Minghao ready to scream with excitement. He finally got you.

“You know what? I am happy, Sunny. Happy to be single, happy to be able to have some time away from that asshole. All I needed was a stupid date for my friend’s wedding, I only added the ‘make me happy while you’re my boyfriend’ part so he couldn’t kill me. I was happy while I was single, now I’m just stuck with a demon that wants me dead as much as I want him gone.”

The confession seemed to shock everyone, all for different reasons. Minghao was a demon with many powers, one being to read emotions. He always thought your anger and sadness was because you were happy but didn’t want him to leave and, despite his hunger for your soul and hatred of having to work this hard to earn it, he liked being around you. Some times when he annoyed you, you’d laugh it off and it made him smile, something he’s never experienced with his other victims. Maybe you’d be happy if he left you alone, he could consume anyone else’s soul anyways, he just didn’t want to leave you.

Sunny, on the other hand, mumbled ‘no’ repeatedly as she flipped through the pages furiously, finding one with a folded edge before turning it to you, practically shoving it into your face.

“These were the ones you were supposed to summon, I probably miscounted the pages.” Your eyes widened at the sight of three gorgeous men. They had strange looks in their eyes, despite the pictures on being drawings but it was so captivating, you just stared as she slowly moved away.

“Who are they?”

“Their names are Seungcheol, Junhui, and Soonyoung. They’re the demons of lust. They could have escorted you to the wedding but-“ Sunny froze as her face grew warm from the words written, making you lean forward in anticipation.

“What?”

“In return for your favor, you’d have to become their concubine for the rest of your life.”

“You tried to pimp me out?” Sunny already braced herself for your outburst, only flinching slightly at your raised voice.

“It’s not that bad! They’re cute and it’s sex for the rest of your life. What’s so bad about that?” You grabbed a nearby pillow and hit her, unbeknownst to you that Soonyoung smirked with a small shrug.

“She’s not wrong.” No one responded as they watched you finally back off from the poor girl, who held the book tightly in spite of your attack, watching as you fell back into your space next to her, holding the pillow close to you.

“Let’s just talk about the ones I need to look out for.” You watched as she flipped the pages, looking between three in particular.

“These three, Jeonghan, Wonwoo, and Seungkwan, are pretty much the same. Jeonghan’s the demon of deception, Wonwoo’s the demon of tricks, and Seungkwan is the demon of irony. Basically you ask for something and they give you the exact opposite.” You examined their faces, all attractive which could obviously aid in their mischief, your only reaction was to nod.

“Okay. Who else?”

“Uhm…. There’s Seokmin, the demon of joy.” Your face wrenched in confusion as she held up a finger, knowing you already had questions as she skimmed through the page.

“He doesn’t need to be summoned. He usually shows up, makes you laugh but, once you start, you can’t stop and you eventually drop dead.” With wide eyes, you nodded and sat back, silent as she continued to flip through the pages. You sat straight up as she flipped to Jihoon’s page, a small laugh leaving your mouth as you gawked at his photo, her eyes taking in every word.

“He’s a demon? But he’s so cute. Look at his cheeks!”

“He’s technically a bounty hunter. You can ask him to kill someone for you but only if you have a pint of blood to offer and, since it’ll be hard to stop the bleeding yourself, you may end up bleeding out and dy-“ Sunny stopped when she noticed the horror on your face, no longer finding the adorable male innocent. You could almost feel him smirking knowing he struck fear into you, and he was.

“Anyways, I already know about Hansol and Mingyu. They aren’t summoned and kinda just walk around like regular people but they cause chaos unintentionally, basically like the butterfly effect. Say, if one sneezed, a tornado could happen. This one is named Chan, though, he is the demon of balance. He can basically start trouble or make good things happen.”

As she flipped the page, you held back a gasp. He was an angel, literally. His face was meant to be stoic yet you could find the corners of his lips turning upwards, making yours do the same as his eyes mesmerized you. Nothing that was written on the page seemed to matter to you, just from the way he was drawn, you felt as if he could do no wrong. Sunny was about to move on to the next page before you stopped her, placing your hand on the book to let her know you wanted to know more.

“What kind of demon is he?”

“Joshua? He’s more like a double agent for heaven and hell. He basically dwells in purgatory and judges you to see where you’ll end up. He’s good because purgatory is a place to cleanse the soul but pretty evil with the methods he uses. But it’s all probably bullcrap, especially if he hasn’t been seen on Earth.”

“Is there a way to summon him?” You asked shyly.

“Not unless you die. Wait,” Sunny stared at you, examing your face and grinning wildly as you tried to move away, wanting to hide your steaming hot face.

“I know that look. I’ve had that look before! You see one picture and you’re already in the L-word with him? Really?” You scoffed and rolled your eyes, shifting so that you were on the other end of your sofa.

“You’re the L-word, and it’s “lunatic.” But, I won’t lie, he is cute.” The simple words were enough to make you both giggle like teenagers at a slumber party, eventually rambling on about him, pulling out your phones to try and find more information about him.

But, by the time you found something, Minghao had already slammed his laptop closed, annoyed by the moment and just glad Joshua wasn’t there to hear it. It was already a slap to the face learning you purposefully sabotaged your deal not because of desperation but spite, it was even worse that you had a crush on someone that would waterboard you with holy water when he had the chance.

A few stray laughs caught his attention.

“Who would’ve thought you’d be jealous of Joshua?”

“A demon falling for a human. Doesn’t that just sound weird?” Minghao tried to ignore the comments before he felt an arm drape over his shoulders, his eyes darting over to see Junhui scowling at the group.

“Leave him alone. He’s probably just upsethe got tricked. Come on, let’s go figure out how to get you that soul.” The pair turned and made their way down the hall.

Once out of earshot, Junhui dragged Minghao into his room, shutting the door and quickly grabbing a box from beneath his bed. He set it onto a nearby desk, rummaging through it while the now

“Listen to me, you can end all of this tonight with this.” He held up a small, cylindrical glass bottle with a red liquid before approaching Minghao, opening his hands and placing it inside, his confused expression meeting Junhui’s serious one.

“It’s just a love potion. Just a small drop is enough to make anyone fall in love with you. When you hear the words, get the soul, and get out of there. If that doesn’t work, just play nice. It’ll take a while but it’ll all work out. Now, go.” Minghao only nodded, unable to fight the logic of a lust demon. Who’d know better than him?

Minghao found himself back in your apartment, his eyes landing on you as you sat on the sofa with take out on the table right next to two bottles of red wine, one empty and one halfway gone. He cleared his throat slightly to catch your attention, your hooded eyes leaving the television to inspect him before a large smile grew on your face.

“Mingming! You’re back!” You were obviously drunk.

He slowly made his way towards you, taking a seat only to have your head rest on his shoulder.

“Did you drink all of this yourself?”

“Yeah. I thought my friend would be here to drink with me but she works weekends so I had to drink alone. Here!” He flinched as you shoved the practically empty wine glass into his face before shyly waving you off.

You scoffed and grabbed the bottle from the table, refilling your glass until it reached the brim and taking a large swig from the bottle, secretly glad he didn’t take up your offer.

You were much different when you were drunk. Sober you was graceful, so in control and grounded, while drunk you was more affectionate and playful, a bit sloppy but had no guard up, no witty remarks or anger, just smiles and love to give. Minghao was starting to rethink his plans but he knew once you sobered up, you would go back to hating him, go back to dragging out your arrangement for the sake of his pain, even if it meant you’d be unhappy forever.

He looked at you as you rambled on about the movie playing, wholeheartedly expressing your love for the protagonist while he quickly opened the vessel, pouring it in before hiding the bottle in his pocket. You brought the glass up to your lips, downing the half full glass in only a few gulps before placing it on the table and turning to Minghao. He watched as your eyes widened, your face dipping closer to his as your hand moved up to graze his cheek. Now was a better time than anything to see if it worked.

“Do I make you happy?”

“Of course you do!” He was so close yet so far. All he needed was for you to say the exact words.

“Do I make you a hundred percent happy?” There was a slight pause before you moved back, your smile never falling as you looked away at the television, staring at the couple bonding over their dogs playing.

“I had a dog that made me happy. He ran away but came back, right after we got a new dog! They became best friends after that!” Maybe it needed time to kick in? There’s no way Junhui, a lust demon who only acted upon and initiated his passions when summoned by willing participants, could screw up a love potion he never had to use. Right?

So, Minghao stuck to his plan to wait for the potion to kick in. An hour passed, then two, both filled with you rambling on excitedly about life and your dreams, your head in his lap as you were slowly starting to fall asleep. The constant bickering between you two, the arguing and insults, all of it left his memory as he took mental pictures of you smiling tonight. Not the usual bitter smile you gave him when you acted maliciously but a genuine one, like the one you had at the start of your friend’s wedding and during the late night talks you had while trying to learn about one another. His backup plan would take days, maybe weeks, to execute and succeed but it seemed more enjoyable than this.

“Okay, let’s get you to bed.” Minghao slowly sat you up before helping you stand, your body light as you could barely stand on your own, falling into his chest.

You let him lead you out of the living room and down the hall to the large bedroom, everything left in the same condition as when he was there before. Your feet dragged along the floor as he brought you to your bed, setting you down with small huff before adjusting you so that your body was completely on the bed.

“Good night, (Y/N).”

“What? No. You can stay.” The invite was softly spoken as you were already falling into slumber, your eyes shut as you were shifting between consciousness and dreaming.

The offer was sweet but he knew it was just the alcohol talking, your attitude and mind would be back to normal by the morning anyways. Minghao just smiled and moved to pull the blanket above you.

“Good night.”

[fatgirlwritesscenarios]

Hello! Could you do a DK angst (ft. Hoshi) scenario where you like DK (your best friend) and when you go to confess to him he rejects you and he says things like "why would I like someone like you?!" And when he goes to confess to the girl he likes, it goes the same way which causes him to realize he actually likes you but you end up being with Hosh (other best friend) when he goes to apologize and yeahh. Thank you!

((This was a long time coming! I know that! It was a challenge for me to get into this and I don’t think I made it angsty enough, I’m sorry. I tried my hardest to stick to the request, but I may have tweaked a few things here and there, otherwise it would have had a really jilted ending. Um…yeah, sorry for the wait! That was terrible of me!)) 

Pairing: DKxReader Ft. Hoshi

Genre: Angst/Fluff

Word Count: 7,956 (Holy shIT!)

Summary: It’s a difficult thing, being infatuated with the sun. He shines so bright for everyone, but you’re selfish enough to want him only for yourself. You think you have a chance of having him…until you get burned. 

*~*~*~*~*

Your professor had a way of making time fly despite theclass itself being over two hours long You had never been much of a historybuff, the multiple dates you had to recall always being the enemy, but thishistory course was so interesting and engaging, it was easy to lose track oftime. Hence, why you and most of your classmates didn’t even notice that thelesson was supposed to be over about 20 minutes ago, the next class crowdingthe door and waiting to take their seats.

“Time really does fly when you’re having fun,” you mumbledto yourself, finishing up your notes and storing your materials into yourbackpack before rising to make your exit.

“Remember to read Chapter 13 for homework, everyone! We’regoing to have a very involved discussion next class meeting,” the professorannounced, waving at the retreating students before welcoming the next class.

You pulled your planner from your bag with the intention ofrecording the homework and rifled further for a pen. Exiting the class andquite distracted, you never had a chance to prepare for-

“Finally!”

“ACK! Soonyoung!”

-the energizer bunny that wrapped his arms around you frombehind and spun you around, his ecstatic laughter ringing loud in the hall.

“I’ve been waiting forever for you , Y/N,” Soonyounglaughed, setting you down on your feet and ruffling your hair, “What took theclass so long?”

“Cut it out!” you demanded, batting his hand away from yourhair and readjusting any stray strands, “What is it with you guys and messingwith a girl’s hair? Anyway, I guess we all just got really into the lesson andlost track of time.”

“I wish my classes were that interesting…or maybe it’sbecause you’re just really smart and like the subject, so it comes easy toyou!”

“I hate history.”

“Well, whatever! The fact is that we were waiting a longtime for you and I’m starving!”

“We?”

“Seokmin was waiting with me, but went ahead to buy ourlunch,” Soonyoung elaborated, turning you around by your shoulders and guidingyou out of the building, “He should already be with the others, so let’s go!Hurry! Hurry! My stomach’s caving in!”

“O-Okay, okay! I’m going!” you replied, grateful that youwere able to conceal the red of your cheeks, but very much aware of the heatburning beneath them.

Seokmin did that to you. Even just the mere mention of him;the sound of his name, the sound of his voice, a simple thought centered aroundthe Child Development major known as Lee Seokmin had your heart gallopingthrough fields of daisies and poppies. It had been one full year since you cameto terms with your infatuation for him, but that didn’t keep the butterfliesfrom swarming or your palms from dampening. It just made you an expert onhiding it from him.

With Soonyoung practically dragging you along behind him ata full run, the both of you eventually made it to the university quad, findingyour friends lounging in the green not too far away.

“I brought Y/N!” the dancer announced, coming to a stop andsmoothly pulling you next to him before slinging an arm around your shoulderslike he always did, “Her history class ran longer than usual because they werehaving too much fun.”

“I thought you hated history,” Joshua mused with a smile,watching you struggle to catch your breath.

“I hate history…but I love…the professor…” you panted withyour hands on your knees, eventually keeling over into the grass between Joshuaand your roommate/friend, Miaka, “Soonyoung tried to kill me.”

“You were walking too slowly and I’m really hungry,” hewhined, dropping down on the other side of Miaka and groaning dramatically.

“You were Sonic-running and I don’t appreciate the forcedexercise,” you mumbled, laying stomach down on the grass and willing yourbreath to even out while remaining oblivious to Soonyoung’s pouting at beingscolded.

Just as you were starting to feel better, your heartsettling and your breathing steady, another attack came upon you in the form offingers dancing up and down your incredibly ticklish side.

“AAHH! Nonono! Who?! Why?!” you shrieked, flipping over ontoyour back and curling up to prevent the onslaught, “Stop it!”

The laugh that hit your ears made your whole body tingle,the sun blocked by your attacker’s head as his smile took its place lighting upyour world. In the exact moment your eyes locked with happy brown ones, youswore the birds sang sweeter, the wind was cooler, the sky was bluer and thegrass felt like feathers. Everything felt so wonderful that if you died rightthen and there, you wouldn’t even mind it.

“You’re funny when you’re tickled, Y/N,” Seokmin stated,running a hand through his black hair, messing up his side-part a little bit.

“There is nothing funny about torturing me,” you answered,hoping against hope that the blush on your cheeks and the slight stutter youreleased wasn’t too noticeable.

He laughed again and held up a white, plastic carton alongwith a cold can of soda, “I got your lunch. I’m pretty sure I got what youusually like. Soonyoung’s better at remembering your order than I am.”

‘Oh, he’s just the sweetest!’ you gushed mentally, wantingto squeal, but instead sitting up and taking the items that he offered.

“I’m sure it’s fine. I eat just about anything, anyway.”

“She’s like a trashcan.”

“I’m sorry, did the bottomless pit over there saysomething?”

The whole group sat in amusement at the playful bickeringbetween you and Soonyoung, Seokmin lowering himself down right behind you withhis own food and laughing at Soonyoung’s expense. He was sitting rather close,almost forcing himself between you and Miaka with his legs on practicallyeither side of your hips. Again, your heart did somersaults and the color inyour cheeks deepened.

“Anyway, how much do I owe you for buying my lunch?” youasked him, beginning to rifle through your bag for your wallet.

Seokmin stopped you with a gentle touch to your arm, shakinghis head once he had your attention, his smile beaming at your face, “You don’towe me anything! It’s on me.”

You just gazed at him for a beat, wondering what good deedyou did at any point in this life or others to deserve a person like him inyour life. Even if he was just a friend…even if you wanted to be more.

It was hard to tell when this maddening crush of yours onLee Seokmin actually started, but itfelt like it’s been present ever since you entered University. You met both himand Soonyoung at around the same time, both becoming your best friends, but itwas the sun-shiny man with a voice as beautiful as a song bird’s that capturedyour heart. He was playful yet considerate, positively hilarious, and sopositive that you felt you could never have a bad day with him around orcontinue to mope after having a bad day. He made your dark days bright and yourbright days even better. He was everything to you…and you wished you could beeverything to him, too.

“Hey, Seokmin. Seungkwan. Why don’t you two sing us thatsong you were practicing? Let us hear how it’s going,” Jun, one of the oldestin the group, spoke up suddenly, disrupting conversations and forcing all eyeson the two mentioned males.

You blinked curiously, looking back at Seokmin, “You two arepracticing a song? How come?”

Seokmin chuckled and shrugged his shoulders, “We were boredand heard a song that we wanted to try harmonizing on. I think Joshua wasplaying it on the guitar.”

“And look at this! Said person just so happens to have saidguitar with him!” Seungcheol proclaimed from his spot beside Joshua, nudgingthe other’s arm with his elbow, “You should play it and you two-” he pointed toSeungkwan and Seokmin, “should sing it!”

“Yeah, sing it for us!”

“Come on you, guys!”

“Sing it! Sing it! Sing it!”

Soon, the whole group was chanting for the two vocalists,Seungkwan eventually calming them down with an exasperated sigh of ‘fiiinnne’.The two of them prepared themselves while Joshua tuned his guitar, you focusingon your food while they did so. Soon, the first riffs of the song driftedthrough the air, followed by the second and third…and then, they were singing.

Voices mixing and blending so beautifully, Seungkwan andSeokmin captivated the group, as always. Their powerful voices snatching everyear; it was both a blessing and a curse to be sitting so close to your crush atthis point, struggling to not stare at him too hard and yet wanting to memorizethe expression on his face while you still had the chance. He absently playedwith the back of your hair while he sang, a rush of tingles dancing down yourspine. He smiled at you and you smiled at him, nodding your head along to thesong and wishing you could melt into his arms…without it being weird.

At the end of the performance, the last note fading out, thetrio received a round of applause from their friends, though you smiled thebiggest and the brightest at Seokmin.

He leaned in closer to you, whispering playfully, “How did Ido?”

“Amazing, as always. I don’t even know why you bother askingme,” you play-whispered back, reaching up to fix his side-part and melting whenhe smiled at you with a little touch to your arm as thanks.

Suddenly, the campus clock tower started to chime and youfroze when you realized how late it was actually getting. “Crap! What time isit?!” you hissed, pulling your phone from your bag and cursing when you sawthat it was just turning 3 PM, “My last class starts in 15 minutes and it’sacross campus. I have to go.”

“Don’t worry about your trash. I’ll take care of it,”Seokmin offered.

You smiled nearly bashfully, but shook your head, “You don’thave to, Seokmin. I can do it. It’s fine.”

“Ah, you’re so stubborn.” His eyes narrowed into a playfulglare, his tongue clicking in ‘disappointment’, “It’s fine to accept help, Y/N.It’ll be one less thing for you to worry about! I don’t want you to be late forclass, so I’ll take care of your trash!”

To show that he meant business, the man took the pile oftrash from you and reached over to put your backpack in your hands. He thenushered you up and pushed on the small of your back until you took two stepsaway.

“Go, go! You’re losing time! Make sure to pay attention!”

You stared at him for a beat longer, a silly smile touchingyour lips as you nodded, “Alright…thank you!”

After bidding good-bye to your group of friends, andpromising Miaka that you’ll clear the night to help her study, you took onlytwo more steps before Soonyoung was calling out to you.

“Wait, Y/N! I’ll go with you!” he said, stuffing the rest ofhis food into his mouth and then moving to stand up.

“Your class is in the opposite direction of mine, Soonyoung,and it’s going to be starting soon, too!” you objected, frowning when he gavehis trash to Seokmin and asked him to take care of that, too, which he happilyagreed to.

“So?” the dancer retorted, hopping next to you with a big,cheeky grin on his face, “I want to walk you; make sure you get there safe.” Yourolled your eyes as he bid his farewells, shoving his shoulder when he startedpushing you in the direction of your class, earning a giggle from him.

“Good luck in class, Y/N!”

You looked back to see Seokmin smiling and waving after you,the dazzling brightness of his grin leaving you breathless, yet re-energized.You returned the gesture and called out a thank you, beginning a light-footedtrek to your class with Soonyoung hot on your heels. Not even his teasing couldmake the smile fall from your face after spending time in Seokmin’s presence,your mind too occupied with his warm smile to even think of good, wittycomebacks. You just…floated to class, drunk on infatuation and high on hisbeautiful voice.

~*~*~*~

It was right around 8:30 PM when you returned to yourapartment that evening, mentally drained but feeling rather accomplished. Afteryour last class, you joined a few of your History classmates for a study groupand then went to get dinner with them, making sure to leave in a timely mannerso you could have enough time to help Miaka study that night, as promised.

You sighed in relief when you got inside, classical musicdrifting pleasantly in the air; Miaka liked to study to the sound of anorchestra. She said it helped her to focus more.

“I’m home!” you called, toeing off your shoes and movinginto the living room.

“And just in time, too!” Miaka greeted, never looking upfrom the index cards she was working on at the coffee table, “I’m just aboutdone making my flashcard for my biology terms and then you’ll be able to quizme on them for the test.”

“Sounds good,” you replied, throwing your coat and bag downon sofa behind her before throwing yourself down at the coffee table in frontof her, “How many do you have?”

“118.”

“Do you plan on sleeping at all tonight?”

“Nope and I hope you don’t either.”

You rolled your eyes loudly, giggling when Miaka stuck hertongue out at you in retaliation. To entertain yourself while she finished withthe rest of her cards, you picked up the already completed ones and started tolook over them. A moment of silence passed between you two.

“So, how was your last class?” she suddenly asked, stillfocused on the cards.

“It was decent,” you answered.

Miaka glanced at you, smiling mischievously, “What, itwasn’t spectacular after being blessed by Lee Seokmin’s wish of goodluck? You weren’t floating on air? Hearing angels sing? Citing romantichaikus?”

You stared at her flatly, clearly unamused, “I hate you.”

“You love me,” she shot back.

“I hope you fail this test.”

“And I hope you embarrass yourself in front of your dreamman.”

You groaned at her last jab, setting the cards down beforeflopping back onto the carpet, “Why are you being so mean?!”

Miaka laughed, completing the last card and then reachingover to add it to the pile, organizing them in the process. “Honestly, whydon’t you just tell the guy that you like him? What’ the worst that couldhappen?”

You popped back up, “I could make a fool of myself. I couldruin a perfectly good friendship and possibly lose Soonyoung in the process. Icould make him feel so uncomfortable around me that he never wants to see myface again. The list goes on!” Another groan and another flop back onto thecarpet. “God…why does he have to be so perfect? Why do I have to have a crushon a guy that’s never going to like me back?”

“Well, I wouldn’t say ‘never’.”

You returned to your sitting position, staring your friendstraight into her soul, “What are you talking about?”

“Look,” she started, pausing to choose her words carefully,“It might just be me, but I think he likes you, too.”

“HA!” You laughed incredulously, Miaka narrowing your eyesat you. “Oh, you’re funny, Miaka.”

“But I’m probably not wrong.”

“But you probably are.”

“But I’m probably not,” she insisted, “I mean, look at theway he treats you! He buys food for you without making you pay him back. He’salways encouraging you. He’s always trying to sit really close to you. He asksfor your opinions before anyone else’s. He offers to do things for you that’llmake your life easier! The man is practically establishing himself as yourboyfriend. All you two need now are couple’s outfits.”

As much as you wanted to argue with her- because you vaguelyremember Soonyoung doing a lot of the same things from time to time- thatniggling of hope deep in your soul started to work against you. Big time. Youstarted to think…maybe she was right? Did Seokmin like you? Were you morespecial to him than you allowed yourself to believe?

You chewed your bottom lip thoughtfully, brow furrowing inworry, “But…I don’t know, Miaka. If it’s true…and he likes me like I likehim…then why hasn’t he said anything? Why hasn’t he confessed?”

The other woman shrugged her shoulders, smirkingtriumphantly, “Maybe you’re the one girl that makes him too shy to do it.”

You froze, giving her the chance to continue, “Maybe youshould be the one to confess.”

“But…Me? How?! I can’t…H-How would I even-”

“The next time you two are alone.” She interrupted you,holding a finger up, “Conditions are never going to really be perfect, but takeadvantage of the next time you guys aren’t being bothered and tell him how youfeel. He’ll probably be super relieved that you did!”

“I…I don’t know. It’s not exactly the romantic confession Iimagined,” you mused, pouting slightly, “I always wanted to be the one thatsomeone confessed to.”

Miaka clicked her tongue before pursing her lips indisapproval, “Do you want this man or not?”

You hesitated…and then nodded.

“Then you know what you need to do,” she finalized, handingyou the finished and organized stacks of index cards, “Now quiz me. We can talkabout your repressed love life later.”

You glared at her, but took the stacks and set them up onthe coffee table, starting to go through the different categories with her.While you worked hard to remain in study mode for Miaka’s sake, you couldn’thelp the little voice whispering in the back of your mind: how long would you have to wait before you could confess?

The answer…

*~*~*~*

Not that long at all, actually! About two weeks if we’regoing to try to be exact and it was Seokmin himself who gave you theopportunity.

You remembered the Monday afternoon that brought you to thismoment, the shriek that filled the apartment after you told Miaka how Seokminhad texted you and asked you to go to a movie with him. She had then startedraving about how ‘This is it!’ and ‘This is your chance!’ and ‘He’s totallyasking you on a date!’. This was followed up with her planning your outfit foryour Friday night outing with him, from your shoes and accessories to what youwere going to do with your hair. You had tried to tell her that it was just amovie, nothing big, so a nice pair of jeans couples with a pretty shirt andsome cute sandals would work fine.

She wasn’t having any of that, though, and immediately tookyou out shopping for the perfect outfit, declaring that you couldn’t make aproper confession without looking drop-dead gorgeous first.

“I mean, more gorgeous than you already are,” she had added,giggling girlishly while pulling a multitude of dresses and skirts from therack at your favorite store.

All of her primping, polishing, encouraging and hyping werewhat helped you to get through the week without losing your mind in excitement,to Friday night…to this moment here. She truly made you believe that thisreally was it, that this was the moment you confessed and it would end inhappily ever after. Even the ‘date’ itself seemed to solidify it: he bought thepopcorn and drinks at the movies for the both of you, draped his arm aroundyour shoulders, he took you to dinner after, got you your favorite dessert. Hecomplimented your whole look more than twice that evening and you even caughthim staring from time to time, that giant grin of his ever present.

The night had been a success and this was now your moment,the both of you walking down the pathway through the park, trekking towards thebus stop that would take you home. This was it. Now or never.

“Hey, Seokmin…”

He looked at you expectantly, warmly, while you slowed to astop with him facing you. “I, uh…I have…something…that I need to tell you,” youstammered, heart pounding relentlessly, cheeks flushing and palms nearlydrenched.

His brows furrowed now, his hands hovering over yourshoulders, as if preparing to catch you if you fainted, “What’s wrong, Y/N? Areyou feeling okay?”

“Y-Yeah, I’m fine. I mean…I-I will be if I can just…j-justget this out.” You took a deep, shaky breath, fiddling with your fingers andstaring at the concrete while Seokmin eyed you carefully, “I’vebeen…wanting…I’ve been wanting to tell you this…for a while…and now seems asgood a time as it’s going to get.”

Another deep, shaky breath and you forced yourself to lockeyes with him, “I like you, Seokmin. A lot. Alot a lot. I have for a while, now…and I was hoping, after tonight, wecould try to make it a little more official. Maybe go on another date?”

He stared at you, dumbstruck. You stared back, sweatingbullets, worrying your bottom lip. Your heart was beating out of control andyou felt like you were going to vomit from the anticipation. Then Seokminsmiled. It was small at first, then bigger, then bigger still until it wasfully, shining smile that you loved so much. It warmed you, comforted you, andyou were so sure that he was going toconfess back.

But then…he was laughing and you were confused.

“That was a good one, Y/N! You really had me going there!”he said between chuckles, his hand over his heart.

Your brow pinched together in confusion, “W-What?”

“You were so believable!” he said, “I almost fell for it,too! You having a crush on me? Oh, man. Did Soonyoung put you up to this? Youtwo are always playing tricks on me!”

What was happening? What is this? He thought this was ajoke? Your own heart was stuttering now, your mind panicking to try and makesense of this situation. How do you salvage it? What do you do?!

“Seokmin, no, I…I wasn’t joking…” He stopped laughing,stopped smiling, and stared at you. “I really do…like you.”

You both were quiet again, but the world was unbearablyloud. You could clearly hear the cars passing on the street, the electric buzzof the lamps that lit the pathway, the sounds of the evening bugs. Your earsfelt hot, but your fingers felt cold and your heart was pounding so hard you couldswear it was just as audible as the cars on the street.

There was still a chance. There was still hope…until therewasn’t.

“Oh…Y/N,” Seokmin sighed, frowning and rubbing the back ofhis head uncomfortably.

Oh no…

“I’m…I’m sorry, but…”

What have you done?

“I don’t feel the same way. I like someone else.”

Your heart came to a screeching halt and then dive-bombedright into your stomach. Your hands felt clammy in your own grip as you triedto keep yourself from falling apart.

“O-Oh,” you muttered, dropping your gaze to your feet, “I-Ijust thought that…maybe…I-I mean, you were always so…sweet to me. Always buyingmy lunch and encouraging me and going out of your way for me…and asking me togo see a movie with you…”

“We hadn’t gotten a chance to just hang out in a long timeand no one else wanted to watch this movie with me,” he explained, looking awayfrom you as well, “And of course I would do all of those other things for you.You’re one of my best friends! But I would never like you in that way. I mean,it’s you. Why would I like someone like you?”

The coldest of winds passed over you and you felt likecrumbling into nothing. That’s how you felt now, anyway…like nothing. Seokminseemed to realize how harsh his words sounded and started to panic.

“Oh, no, Y/N! I didn’t mean it like that!” He took a steptowards you, but you took two back. “Y/N, please. That was an asshole-thing forme to say and I’m sorry! I just meant that-”

You held a hand up and when you lifted your gaze, Seokmincould’ve sworn he had been hit in the gut by a train. The unshed tears in youreyes were things he never wanted to see, let alone be the reason for. The smilepainted on your lips looked painful and he wished he could turn back time tokeep this all from happening.

Regardless, you still continued to smile and took a deepbreath through your nose, “It’s okay…Seokmin. I understand. I’m not the one youlike and I looked at everything all wrong. It’s my fault for seeing things thatweren’t there.”

He had no words, watching you dab at the tears that escapedand streaked down your cheeks, attempting not to smudge your makeup. Youcomposed yourself as best you could, shaking your head.

“I think…I’m going to go home by myself,” you whispered,looking past him to avoid seeing the pitiful look he cast at you, “I can’t bearound you right now.”

“Y/N, please don’t be like this. I don’t want to lose myfriend.” He reached for you desperately when you walked past him, “I can’t letyou walk home by yourself!”

You avoided his touch and stopped just three steps ahead ofhim, “…You can and you will. Good night, Seokmin.”

And then you left, not once looking back for fear ofbreaking down. You weren’t exactly sure how you got back to your apartmentwithout breaking out into tears first, but when you arrived, you heard whatsounded like Miaka and Soonyoung having some kind of battle from all theshouting you heard on the other side of the door.

You closed your eyes. Soonyoung…you didn’t have the strengthto fake happiness in front of him right now, even though you knew how much hehated to see you sad.

With a deep sigh, and zombie-like movements, you walkedinside and closed the door. The sounds of Mario Kart met your ears followed bySoonyoung shouting about how Miaka could ‘eat his tail’; his character must beYoshi…he didn’t like Bowser very much. You slipped off your shoes and took offyour coat, wondering how fast you could walk to your room without alerting theother two that something was wrong.

“Hey, Y/N! You’re back!”

Oops…too late. You were already spotted.

Miaka put the game on pause and hopped up from her spot onsofa just as you shuffled into the living room, “So how was it?! Was itromantic? Everything you dreamed of? Did you-”

She stopped once she got a good look at you, her own heartdropping at the broken state you were in.

“Y/N…Y/N what happened?” she asked you, her face contorting intoworry just as Soonyoung rushed over to you as well.

You said nothing and it didn’t take long for Miaka to do themath, “You told him…and he didn’t…”

With slow movements and your body shaking with yourrepressed tears, you shook your head.

“Oh no…Y/N, I’m sorry,” Miaka sighed, but before she couldcomfort you, Soonyoung beat her to it.

He slid his hands onto your shoulders and made you face him,even as you refused to meet his eyes. The wall of tears built higher andhigher, you struggling to keep them at bay; it killed him inside to see youtrying so hard not to cry like this.

“Y/N…” he whispered, cupping your cheek, feeling youshaking, “I’m here…I’m right here.”

And that was all you needed, the tears pouring freely and Soonyounggathering you into his chest. He hated to see you cry, but tonight, he wasn’tgoing to try and force you to stop. For that, you were grateful…for Soonyoung,you were grateful. He wasn’t the man you wanted, but he was the man you neededright now.

You held him tighter and he never let go.

*~*~*~*

It was four whole months before you had the nerve to evenanswer any of Seokmin’s texts again. You went from being heartbroken to beingembarrassed and avoided the man like the bubonic plague. Unfortunately, thatalso meant avoiding your other friends as well since there was a chance thatyou could run into him at any outing they invited you to. Your only savinggrace, aside from Miaka, was Soonyoung. He had always been by your side, butever since the fiasco with Seokmin, he became more…constant, not that you werecomplaining.

In those four months, he named himself your officialcaregiver, making sure that you were eating well, resting well, and takingnecessary breaks from studying. He would clear his weekend evenings to be withyou or take you to hang out with other friends once it was confirmed thatSeokmin was not going to be anywhere near the vicinity. The both of you spentlong hours cuddling, still teasing one another, and going on little impromptu ‘dates’where Soonyoung wouldn’t let you pay for a single thing. He complimented youmore, texted you and called you, made it his life’s goal to always make surethat you were smiling and laughing. In those four months, he became more thanjust what you needed. He became what you wanted.

At the start of the fourth month, you were both officialafter a sweet, quiet, and red-cheeked confession from Soonyoung in the glow ofthe TV during one of your movie nights. Thinking about it now, a whole monthinto your new relationship, made you giddy and giggly, especially when youthought back on the kiss you shared that very same night: sweet and tender anda little bit playful, just like Soonyoung.

“Hey, princess.” A pair of warm arms encircled yourshoulders from behind, warmer lips pressing a kiss to your cheek.

You giggled and wrapped your fingers around Soonyoung’s arm,turning your head to kiss him in return, “Hey, Soonyoung. How was class?”

He started whining as he plopped down in the seat beside youat the kitchen table, “Long. And boring! I just wanted to be with my jagiya!You should switch classes so we can always be together!”

“It’s too late in the semester, Soonyoung.”

“You’re right, you’ve put too much work into your classes tochange them now, so I’ll change mine!”

“We’re not even in the same major.”

“I can learn!”

You giggled at his antics, Soonyoung puffing up proudly atthe pretty sound. He lived to see you this happy and giggly and loved the factthat it was because of him your eyes shined so bright. He reached over and tookyour hand, giving your fingers cute little kisses of affection. You just aboutmelted and begged him to stop making you blush.

“But you’re so cute when you’re embarrassed!” He pinched youcheeks and you made a face at him. “Anyway, what are you doing?”

“Studying,” you sighed, gazing down at the books and papersstrewn across the dining table.

Soonyoung hummed, “Did you have lunch already?”

You shook your head, absently reading through your notes. “Whenwas the last time you ate?” he asked.

You paused and stared at him blankly. After a few momentstoo long, you said, “I…I don’t remember.”

“Princess!” he exclaimed, looking horrified.

“I had to study!” you defended yourself.

“All of that studying won’t mean anything if you die fromstarvation!” he scolded you, standing up, “I’m ordering us food and you’retaking a break!”

“Alright, alright, fine,” you caved, watching him go intothe living room where you and Miaka left the take-out menus.

You smiled to yourself at how caring your boyfriend, yourthoughts interrupted by a ding on your cellphone. Checking the screen, yourheart lurched momentarily when you saw that you received a message fromSeokmin.

‘It’s been almost five months, Y/N. It’s time to get overit,’ you thought to yourself, opening the text.

‘Hi, Y/N. How are you?It’s been a long time since we’ve spoken to each other…I miss you.’

You took a deep breath, steadying your shaking hands as youreplied, ‘Hey, Seokmin. It has been awhile, huh? Sorry for avoiding you.’

‘No worries. Iunderstand. I was harsh to you that night and I’m sorry,” he responded.

A flashback to that night crossed your mind, his question ofwhy he would like someone like you ringing in your head…but not as clearly asit did a month ago. The sting of it had dulled itself, that you thankedSoonyoung for.

‘You weren’t thatharsh, Seokmin. It’s okay. Thank you for apologizing, though.’

He didn’t respond right away, but when another message camethrough, it was a bit of a surprise.

‘Can we meet up? Ineed to talk to you about something. I feel like you’ll be the only one tounderstand.’

What did that mean? You stared at the message for longerthan necessary, reading it over and over again. You knew this day wouldeventually come, where you would have to see Seokmin face to face. You imaginedit a little differently, though, where you would meet him by chance out on theUniversity grounds, probably in passing and you two would have an awkwardmoment of forced laughter and ‘how are you?’ questions before finally coming toterms that you were okay and ready to be friends again. What you never imaginedwas Seokmin asking to see you to talk about something very important, it lookedlike. That’s what swayed you in making your decision, but first…

“Soonyoung,” you called out, hearing your boyfriend shufflefrom the living room and back towards the dining table, one hand clutching atake-out menu and the other holding his phone to his ear.

He stared at you expectantly and you gestured for him tohang up the phone. “What’s up, Princess?” he asked, taking his previous seat.

“Seokmin just texted me,” you answered, earning a stare backin return as he waited, “…and I answered him this time.”

“Oh…how did that go? Are you guys okay?” he ventured, worrylines appearing on his forehead, which you instinctively reached out to smoothaway with your thumb.

“I think so. I mean, I’m pretty sure we are, but…he asked ifwe could meet up. I think he wants to talk to me about something important.”

Soonyoung blinked in surprise, but brushed it aside to studyyour expression. You didn’t look anxious or nervous. From that alone, he didn’tsee a reason to try and persuade you not to go. He placed a hand on yourshoulder, squeezing it gently as your eyes trained themselves on your phone.

“It has been four months, Y/N, and I know that he stillwants to be your friend. He always cared about you and still does. I think healso just wants to know that you’re okay and actually hear it from you thistime. He usually asks me.”

Soonyoung’s comforting gesture eased the butterflies in yourstomach and only solidified the decision you already made. “So…you’re okay if Igo to meet him?” you asked.

“Of course! We’re all still friends and you’re mind now, so I’mnot worried about anything,” he answered cheerfully, pinching your cheek.

You giggled and playfully swatted his hand away. He onlygrabbed yours and laced your fingers together, watching you carefully.

“Do you want me to come with you? For support?”

You didn’t even need to think about it, shaking your headconfidently, “No, I’ll be fine on my own. I think this is something we need todo by ourselves, anyway.”

With that, you picked your phone back up and texted himback, telling him that you would be happy to meet up with him. About 30 minuteslater –this must be really important whatever he needs to talk to you about-you were waiting for him outside the campus food court at one of the outdoortables. You sipped on a smoothie you had ordered, an extra one you bought forSeokmin sitting in front of you.

You weren’t going to lie and say that you weren’t nervous. Theapprehension was making fidgety, your leg bouncing up and down as you gnawed onthe end of your straw. A small part of you thought it was ridiculous now to bethis afraid. Like Soonyoung said, it had been four months! The night was over,the embarrassment was over, and you were over the whole thing.

“Y/N!”

You whipped around just in time to see Seokmin joggingtowards you, barely giving you time to stand up before he was throwing his armsaround you. Frozen, you allowed him to hug you, the man swaying you both backand forth as an involuntary chuckle filled your ears.

“Sorry, sorry. That was impulsive and I probably shouldn’thave hugged you so suddenly, but I’m really happy to see you,” he explainedonce he let you go.

“Oh, um…sure…no problem.” You gave a small smile and tookyour seat again, Seokmin doing the same on the other side. Remembering thesmoothie you bought for him, you picked up the cup and reached over to give itto him, “Here, I got this for you. It’s your favorite.”

His smile reached from ear to ear as he accepted it, “Thankyou! What do I owe you?”

“Nu uh,” you shook your head, playful smile touching yourlips, “This one’s on me. Think of it as a little payback for all the times youspotted me for food.”

He chuckled, but nodded his head, “Alright, then.”

Silence reined one more, the both of you trying to figureout what dynamic this was now. Some tension remained, but not nearly as much asyou thought there was going to be. You took the time to study him, just as hewas studying you. Your eyes roamed the planes of his face, searching for anydark circles or ghost-white pallor. You saw nothing, but the healthy Seokminyou always knew and found yourself hoping that he found happiness with the girlhe liked the way that you found happiness with Soonyoung.

“It really is good to see you, Y/N,” Seokmin stated,breaking the ice as the warmth from his smile matched the light in his eyes.

“I missed you, too, Seokmin. I avoided you for a long timeand I’m sorry about that…but I just didn’t know how to face you after thatnight,” you answered, gaze dropping to your smoothie cup.

“I understand,” he voiced lowly, fiddling with his straw, “Iwas worried, though…I thought I had lost you as a friend. That was the lastthing I wanted to happen and it killed me to think that it actually did. I…wasscared that you wouldn’t want to meet me today…or at all.”

You were astounded, your eyes transfixed on him. How wereyou supposed to respond to that? How did you want to respond to that? The answer came naturally.

“You were never in danger of losing me as a friend, Seokmin,”you said, voice filled with conviction.

It was his turn to stare at you incredulously, letting youcontinue, “I did, however, entertain the idea of not seeing you today. I wasn’tsure if I was ready, yet, but it sounded like you needed to talk to me aboutsomething important. Is everything alright?”

Here, he avoided your gaze, a nervous laugh bubbling up inhis throat. This had you curious, your head tilting to the side.

“Everything…kind of hurts.” And for the first time since youhad known him, Seokmin let his smile drop in front of you, hitting you with asadness that made your heart clench.

You sat up straighter, leaning forward with your eyes fixedon his face, “Seokmin, what happened?”

“What happened is…what I did to you that night, someone elsedid to me.” You were confused, Seokmin leaning back in his chair. “The girlthat I liked, she didn’t return my feelings. I thought we were hitting it offreally well. We spent a lot of time together, had a lot of fun…but when Iconfessed, she told me that she would never date someone like me and that shenever wanted to talk to me again.”

How familiar? You would never wish that kind ofembarrassment on anyone, not even the person who made you feel like that in thefirst place.

“Seokmin…I’m so sorry,” you said, reaching for his hand andholding it, “I’m really, really sorry.”

“It’s not your fault, Y/N.”

“I’m not saying it because it’s my fault. I’m saying itbecause you’re hurt.”

He smiled sadly at you and squeezed your hand, “After shetold me that, I couldn’t help but to start thinking if that’s how I made youfeel. Like I never wanted to see you again.”

Oh…that made sense and, if you were being honest withyourself, that had been a prominent thought the first few weeks following whathappened. You were so sure that he wouldn’t want to be around someone who hadmade things so uncomfortable between you two and that’s what fueled your needto avoid him at all costs.

“Truthfully, Seokmin, I did think that way for a littlewhile,” you said, releasing his hand to sit up again, “But, I guess I didn’thave much to worry about.”

“You didn’t have anything to worry about. You’re one of mybest friends. I was going to fight for you.”

You laughed, as did he, and this time, when things gotquiet, it wasn’t tense. It felt…serene. At last, after all these months, thefull weight of this situation finally fell from your shoulders. You and Seokminmade up, had closer. You breathed the deepest sigh of relief you’ve everreleased and felt relaxed.

“I’m glad to see you doing so well after all this time,”Seokmin added, pulling a silly little grin from you.

“I have Soonyoung to thank for that.”

“I’m glad about that, too! You make him really happy, Y/N.He’s been in love with you since the day he met you!”

“Okay, now you’re exaggerating,” you rolled your eyes.

Seokmin shook his head insistently, “No, it’s true! He toldme himself two days after he met you. He said that he met the girl he was goingto spend the rest of his life with, but as time went on and we all becamefriends, he got too scared to tell you because he didn’t want to ruin thefriendship he had with you.”

You stared dumbfounded at Seokmin, cheeks flushing and heartpitter-pattering against your chest. Suddenly, you released a loud, disappointedgroan, throwing yourself back against your chair. Seokmin blinked at you.

“What? What? What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Poor Soonyoung! I must’ve drove him crazy talking about mycrush on you all the time,” you groaned again, digging the heels of your palmsinto your eyes, “It was non-stop!”

“Wow, you really did like me,” he mused, making you glareflatly at him.

“I did. You have that kind of effect on people,” you replied,sitting up and sighing, “I’ll have to make it up to him.”

“I doubt he cares much at this point. He has you now! I’msure he feels all the torture was worth it.”

You giggled and nodded your head, looking at Seokmin andthen at your smoothie cup before lifting it up towards him, “Friends?”

He paused momentarily, grinning soon after and lifting uphis own cup, “Best friends?”

Your smile grew all the wider, “Best friends.”

You both laughed and took a sip of your smoothies, sealingthe deal. Now that the storm of your life had fully passed, you gave Seokmin anapologetic look.

“It was good seeing you again, Seokmin, but I should begoing. I promised Soonyoung I would get back to the apartment with enough timefor lunch and a movie before studying. Knowing him, he probably hid all of mybooks to make me keep my promise.”

“I don’t think he’s at the apartment,” he told you, catchingyou off guard.

“Huh? What do you mean? How do you know?”

“Because he’s trying to hide behind that tree over there.”

You processed his words a second too slow, but when youwhipped around to said tree he was pointing at, you found a very familiarfigure trying to duck behind the thin base. Your mouth dropped open and youstood up.

“Soonyoung!” you called.

He peeked out from behind the tree, donning a pair ofsunglasses and a hoodie in an attempt to look ‘inconspicuous’. Realizing hiscover had been blown, he pasted on the biggest, cheesiest grin and meanderedover to you.

“Hey, Princess! Seokmin!” he greeted, popping a kiss on yourcheek.

You narrowed your eyes at him, making him fidget, “Feelproud of yourself for spying on us?”

“Nooooo! Princess, don’t say it like that!” he whined,taking your hand in his, “I wasn’t spying on you. Okay, maybe I was a littlebit, but I just wanted to make sure that you were okay.”

“I told you I was going to be fine,” you reminded him.

“I know, but then I started thinking what if it didn’t endfine,” he explained, his gaze never leaving you, “I didn’t want you to have towalk back to your apartment alone and sad if the worst happened.”

Oh, how this man made your heart stutter. You couldn’t staycross with him, your expression falling into a smile as you cupped his cheekand gave him a soft kiss. He laughed childishly afterwards, embracing you rightafter. Once he let you go, with his arm slung over your shoulders, he looked betweenyou and Seokmin, eyes flashing with worry.

“So are you two okay now? Like, completely?” he asked,almost fearing the answer.

You and Seokmin looked at each other, similar smilesspreading across your faces; “Yup, we’re all good!” you answered.

“Best friends again,” Seokmin followed, the both of youstartling when Soonyoung released an excited shout.

“Oh, I’m so happy! I hated seeing you both so unhappybecause of each other!” he gushed, cuddling you into his chest, “Let’scelebrate with lunch! I’m starving! And you, missy, are supposed to be taking astudy break anyway.”

“Yeah, yeah. Come on, Seokmin, before he starts rushing us.”

Seokmin stood up beside you and before you could start yourway into the food court, he grabbed you in a hug and squeezed you gently. Thistime, you were a little more prepared and hugged him back.

“Thank you,” he whispered.

“No problem,” he whispered back.

When you pulled away from each other, and you looked at him,you no longer saw the man that you had the biggest crush on and experienced themost painful rejection from. You just saw Seokmin, your best friend. His smilestill made you warm, but didn’t cause butterflies. His laughter still made yougrin, but didn’t mesmerize you. His touch was still gentle, but you didn’tcrave it. Soonyoung was that man for you, now. Soonyoung was your happily everafter.

It took some time coming, but it got there and that’s whatreally mattered.