#x exo chen

[eomayas]

exo getting caught simping for you

a/n: it’s ok to be a simp! some are suggestive (jongdae, baekhyun, sehun) this is a bit long btw!

minseok: “i miss you,” he says into the phone, cradling it to his ear. he can practically hear your smile when you respond with i miss you too. “what are you doing right now?” he asks, pulling the blanket closer to his chin and snuggling deeper in the bed. minseok wishes it was you that he was lying with, and not these hotel pillows.

“talking to you,” you reply cheekily. minseok giggles at this the way only a person in love would. “baby, you should probably get some sleep. you have a show tomorrow.” you say and he sighs, his bottom lip jutting out slightly.

“but i want to talk to you!” he whines, somewhat like a child would. you only scoff and tell him that he can call you in the morning after he’s had some rest. “fine. i love you, honey!” he says, just as the hotel door opens and jongin and baekhyun walk in, jongin making a face at him and baekhyun laughing.

“i love you, honey!” jongin mocks, bursting into a fit of giggles. “is that jongin?” you ask, amusement in your voice.

minseoks cheeks turn red. “yes, goodnight, y/n,” he says, rushing to get off of the phone.

“don’t hang up on me!” you say, letting out a light laugh at his embarrassment.

“y/n,” he groans, burying his face into the pillow. jongin and baekhyun are quietly waiting for him to say something so cheesy and incriminating, so that they can use it against him later.

you giggle and sigh. “alright. goodnight minseokie, i love you. tell jongin i love him too,” you say, blowing him a kiss into the phone before hanging up. minseok would have blown one back, but he is already getting mocked by his younger members and can’t handle the teasing he’s going to get for the next few days.

“minseokie!” baekhyun yells, making smooching sounds at him. jongin giggles and joins in, the two men jumping onto his bed and shouting the nickname and pretending to be you on the phone.

minseok wishes he was dead.

junmyeon: “please don’t leave,” your boyfriend groans, burying his face into your neck, holding you close to him. you rub your hands up and down his back soothingly. “come with?” he asks, pulling back to look up at you with wide eyes.

“no,” you say, punctuating it with a kiss. suho let’s out a groan and a fake cry, and you laugh. “you’re such a baby.” you say, running your hands through his hair.

“yours,” he says quietly, and you smile, squeezing him tightly before patting his back and telling him that he needs to get ready to leave. junmyeon stands up straight and looks down at you, a dejected look i’m his face.

“oh my god, you’re so dramatic!” you say, and he cracks a small smile. you gently whack him on the chest and clutches your hand in his, settling it over his heart. “it’s only a few days.” you say, rubbing his forearm with your free hand.

junmyeon juts out his bottom lip slightly. “i dont know what i’ll do without you,” he says, and a brief snort makes you both perk up and look around for culprit, finding sehun wheeling his suitcase behind him.

“you’re so dramatic,” sehun says to junmyeon, laughing at his leader and older friend. junmyeons face sobers, turning bright red at his youngest member making fun of him and seeing him in such a vulnerable state.

“go away,” junmyeon all but whines and stomps his foot as he says it, making you giggle at him. he rolls his eyes at you and you wave goodbye to sehun who (for once) listens to what junmyeon tells him to do. “this isn’t funny.”

“it kind of is,” you say, grabbing his hands and pulling him closer to you. he continues to pout, even after you cradle his face in your hands and smush his cheeks together. “i love you, junmy.” you say. he only hums in response and you gasp, letting go of him. “say it back, asshole!”

he smiles and pulls you back towards him. “i love you, y/n,” he says, his voice sincere. junmyeon puts his hands on your hips and leans down to your level, brushing his nose with yours. he gets close to your lips and you pull back slightly.

“i’m gonna miss you,” you whisper, looking into his eyes. he gives you a soft smile, and this time you let him kiss you, wrapping your arms around his neck and pulling him close. it’s probably too intimate of a kiss for public, but neither of you show any signs of caring.

“we’re leaving without you!” minseok and jongin shout, breaking up your kiss with your man. junmyeon sighs and goes back to pouting almost immediately, and you gently push him away from you and towards his group members who are starting to board the jet. “hurry up, lover boy!” minseok shouts before disappearing into the jet.

“go,” you say, pulling away from him at last. junmy sighs again, finally starting to head towards the jet, looking over his shoulder at you dramatically like they do in the movies. you giggle at that and wave once he gets up to the door of the plane. “i love you!” you shout, and rather than getting a response from him, the rest of the exos shout. “i love you too!”

baekhyun: you smile at your boyfriend on facetime as he hums absentmindedly. he’s looking away from the camera, and you get a nice view of his side profile. “baek,” you say, resting the side of your head in your palm.

“hmm?” he says and turns to the camera, a soft smile on his face. you smile back at him, hearts probably taking the shape of your eyes.

“i love you,” you say, suddenly feeling very embarrassed. he smiles wide, showing his teeth and making his eyes crinkle.

“i love you too,” he says. you hear a door open on his side, and he turns around to greet whoever it is. “hey, junmyeon. say hi to y/n.” he says, moving the camera to show his leader. junmyeon crosses him arms over his his bare chest, trying to shield himself from you.

“hi, y/n. sorry i’m not dressed, i just showered,” he says apologetically.

“it’s alright,” you reply.

“what do you mean it’s alright?” baekhyun shouts, turning the camera back to his face, sporting an incredulous expression.

you roll your eyes. “you know what i meant,” you say.

“you should only be alright with seeing me naked,” baekhyun says.

“i’m more than okay with that,” you say, and he smiles. he pretends to lift his shirt up, and junmyeon yells at him to stop, not while he’s still digging for his pajamas. you only giggle and add, “you can get naked whenever.”

“can you wait a second!?” junmyeon yells, frantically digging around his bag for his clothing so he can lock himself in the bathroom and get away from you and baekhyun.

jongdae: “you know i miss you,” you say into the phone, a hand on your chest, right over your heart where jongdae lives.

“yeah? how much?” he asks teasingly, a big smile on his face. he leans his shoulder into the wall and crosses one leg behind the other.

“a lot,” you reply, unable to contain your smile. so far, every conversation you’ve had with him since he’s been gone on tour. "she misses you too." you add coolly, biting the inside of your cheek.

jongdae's cheeks tinge pink and he looks down at the floor. "yeah?" he manages, putting a hand on the back of his neck, his face only getting redder at the thought of you. its been too long since hes had you.

"mhm. we miss you a lot."

he only smiles to himself and says "both of you can show me how much when i get back," just as the door to the practice room opens and kyungsoo enters, his eyes narrowed in jongdae's direction. when jongdae blushes bright red at getting caught, kyungsoo raises his eyebrows, a knowing smirk on his face. "baby, i gotta go." he says, clearing his throat and straightening his posture.

on the other line, you frown. "fine. but you are upsetting us." jongdae glances over at kyungsoo who has taken a seat on the floor, preoccupied with his phone.

"i'll make it up to you," he says, turning his back to kyungsoo's direction. "swear i will. just be good." he says lowly, already embarrassed from kyungsoo walking in on the both of you having borderline phone sex.

"don't know if i can do that, dae. we really miss you. she's getting lonely; nothing feels as good as you do," you sigh, resting your head on the couch pillow.

jongdae forces himself to think about anything other than your words in order to stop a tent from forming in his pants. "kyungsoo is here," he mutters, many minutes too late.

you gasp. "oh my god, jongdae! can he hear me?" you panic, irritated that he let it get that far with an audience.

"i dont think so?" your fiancee replies, his voice unsure.

"oh my god, bye, jongdae," you say, and hang up before he can get another word in. jongdae lets out a breath and squeezes his eyes shut, trying to rid his brain of images of you on top and underneath him.

turning around and sliding his phone back into his pocket, jongdae starts walking over to kyungsoo. kyungsoo lifts his eyes from his phone at the sound of jongdaes footsteps and says, "you should really turn your phone volume down," making jongdae stop in his tracks get insanely red in the face, embarrassment flooding his body.

chanyeol: "wait, listen to this real quick," chanyeol says, scrolling through his laptop to find the track he had showed you a few weeks ago. he's changed a few things and added more drums and a flute--he really values your opinion on his music and wants you to hear what hes made.

you wait patiently for him to click play. the opening notes make you smile as you remember the way you told him he should let them play before he stacks them and blends the sounds together. "replay that part," you say when you hear something new.

chanyeol rewinds a few seconds and presses play before asking, "this part?"

you listen and gasp when you hear it again. "yes! pause it!" you shout over the phone. "did you add a violin?" you ask, a smile on your face.

chanyeol smiles at the phone, impressed with the way you've enhanced your musical knowledge and have noticed little things, like the violin strings that are stacked behind drums. "i did," he says, proudly.

you sigh in awe of him. "yeolie you're so... you're so cool," you gush, like a little schoolgirl talking to her crush. everything about chanyeol amazes you and makes you smile, and yes, maybe it’s because you’re in love with him, but you also would like to think that it would be this way even if you weren’t, if you were just friends or some fan.

chanyeol can’t help but blush at your words, the tips of his ears turning red in the way that you love. “aw, he’s blushing!” jongin says, taking the phone away from chanyeol to tell you. you smile, your heart swelling at the image your brain conjures up.

“are his ears turning red?” you ask and chanyeol yells in protest, only making his blush deepen.

“of course,” jongin replies, ducking out of reach when chanyeol swings to hit him. you only giggle and sigh, feeling mildly upset that you are not there to witness one of you favorite things ever.

“give me back my phone!” chanyeol says, reaching around jongin for it, but the younger man is too quick and gets out of the desk chair and crosses the studio in record time.

“you know, he’s made, like, four songs for you. i don’t know why he didn’t show you one of those,” he says, a devilish grin on his face, though he’s telling the truth. at this admission, chanyeol launches himself from his seat. “i’m sorry! please! here, take it back!” he pleads, holding out his phone for chanyeol to take back and shielding his body from the blows that don’t come.

“shut the fuck up,�� chanyeol groans at jongin, taking the phone off speaker and it putting it to his ear. “ignore him.” he says to you, running a hand through his hair.

“…so you didn’t write four songs for me?” you question. chanyeol bites the inside of his cheek, not ready to admit that yes, he did write four songs for you, most of which have lyrics that he hasn’t let anybody hear. “yeol.”

“hmm?” he says, settling back into his chair at the engineering table, his face burning. you smile, because you’ve got your answer.

kyungsoo: you run your hands over kyungsoo's newly shaved head, grimacing a bit when you run your hands the opposite direction of the cut and the follicles prick your fingers. "you don't like it?" he asks after seeing your face.

"i love it, actually. just feels weird," you say, dragging your hands down to the sides of his face and smiling down at him. kyungsoo gives you a small smile. he turns his head to the side and kisses the inside of your palm, your heart melting in your chest. "hi." you say shyly, kyungsoo leaning into your touch.

he smiles up at you, his eyes crinkling around the edges. "hi, pretty," he says, and you could just die. you remove your hands from the sides of his face and put them on his shoulders and adjust yourself in his lap so you are fully facing him and your legs are on either side of him, knees resting on the couch. kyungsoo laces his hands together behind your back, loosely holding you against him. “you look really pretty today.”

“just today?”

kyungsoos cheek turn a light shade of pink. “always,” he says, you smile at him and lean down to place a gentle kiss on his lips. the door to the lounge opens, and all 7 of the exos walk in loudly.

“y/n!” they shout when they see you on kyungsoos lap, making kyungsoo and you pull apart resignedly. irritation is etched on your boyfriends face at the interruption, and you gently pinch his cheek before moving to turn around.

“hi, you gu- kyungsoo, let me get up,” you say when he holds you tightly on his lap, making you turn around uncomfortably to greet the other members. at your request, kyungsoo let’s you get up with a sigh, holding onto the back of your skirt so you don’t accidentally flash the men behind you. “you guys did great tonight!” you compliment when you’re finally standing up and facing them.

a conversation breaks out, and you don’t notice when you lean against the couch and drape your arm over kyungsoos shoulder, gently stroking the side of his face. you both hold hands with your free one, and he rubs the inside of your palm with his thumb.

it’s only when you notice chanyeol cut his eyes at you and kyungsoo being so clingy that you smile. “kyungsoo, i’ve never seen you act like this!” he says, his eyes wide.

“like what?” kyungsoo asks absentmindedly, looking up at you with eyes that make your knees weak and your heart beat faster.

“so cheesy, and-“ kyungsoo snaps his head to look at chanyeol, daring him to finish his sentence. chanyeol closes his mouth, a nervous smile on his face just from a look from kyungsoo alone. the other members wait in silence, as do you, with amusement on their face, waiting for chanyeol to continue and claim his fate or to surrender. “never mind.” he says, waving kyungsoo off.

a collective giggle is let out in the room, and kyungsoo looks up at you with wide eyes, unaware of the effect he has on people.

jongin: “here,” jongin says softly, holding out his fork in front of your face. you try to take it out of his hands and he pulls it back, shaking his head. “let me do it.” he says, a shy smile on his face.

you comply and open your mouth, letting him feed you. “is it good?” he asks, watching you with so much love in his eyes it’s slightly overwhelming. you nod and give him a thumbs up, swallowing the food. jongin smiles and gives you a soft kiss on your lips.

this goes for the rest of the night; he’ll present food in front of your face and wait for you to open up to feed you, ask you if it’s good, and then kiss you. it’s sweet, really, and you don’t think anything of it, even after the rest of the exos join you for your meal.

sometimes you feed jongin, but most of the time he steals it off your plate or you put it on his. it becomes second nature for you both. “ooh, let me try that,” you say, pointing to the dessert that kyungsoo places down in front of jongin. your boyfriend cuts off a piece, giving you the first bite.

you accept the food and your eyes widen as you taste it. “kyungsoo, this is really good!” you say after you chew and swallow. he gives you a kind smile and thanks you.

jongin already has another bite of food waiting for you when you turn back to ask him, and you accept it with a smile on your face. he can only smile back, resisting the urge to grab your face and just kiss you until the sun rises, his group members be damned.

the man made sound of a whip cracking makes you and jongin snap your head in the direction, eyes falling on jongdae, minseok, baekhyun, and junmyeon all giggling, or holding back laughs. you smirk and look over at jongin, who wears an annoyed expression. “whatever,” he mumbles. you rub his back and he leans into you, making the situation worse because even kyungsoo joins in on the teasing, pantomiming cracking a whip and making the noise as well.

sehun: you cage your arms around him and put your chin on the center of his chest, looking up at him. sehun looks down at you with a small smile. “you’re cute,” he says, and if his arms weren’t pressed so tightly against his sides he’d boop your nose.

“so are you,” you say to him, loosening your hold around him and instead wrapping your arms around his waist.

“i know,” he says, and you roll your eyes. sehun moves hair out of your face and leans down to place a kiss on your lips. “cmon, let’s finish.” he says, sliding out of your grip. the two of you had choreographed a dance to a song you both liked, and had been using the exo practice room for a few hours now.

you nod and he jogs over to the speaker to play the song again, and then comes back to get into the starting position. you watch yourself in the mirror as you hit all of the moves, your feet feeling like they barely touch the floor. sehun watches you too, getting lost in the way that you move so freely, like you’re weightless and gravity isn’t any concern of yours.

he misses a few steps and you notice, smirking at him through the mirror. “keep up, lover boy,” you say, doing the last few moves as the song comes to a close. you wipe your sweaty forehead with the hem of your shirt, and sehun comes over to you, just as the door to the practice room opens. you turn and wave at jongdae, and he greets you and sehun with a wave, his phone pressed to his ear.

sehun takes this moment to pull you closer to him by your shirt. you let out a light laugh at him, and awkwardly keep your hands off of him because youre both sweaty. “i’m all gross,” you say.

“me too,” and he leans down and kisses you, his hands sticking to your skin through your shirt. you hold onto his arms, cringing at the feeling of sticky skin on sticky skin, and pull away.

“it’s too gross,” you say, making a face. sehun frowns at you, and you have to hold back a smile.

“you think i’m gross?”

“when we’re both sweaty? yes,” you say say, putting your hands on your hips.

“i like you when you’re sweaty,” sehun replies. “i like you when you’re all dirty.” he adds, making you exclaim in protest and draw the attention of jongdae, who just gives you both a disgusted look.

[nanawritesit]

Being EXO’s fem!idol crush who gets shipped with them - Hyung Line Ver.

Maknae Line Ver.

a/n: this is based on the SM girl group idol au that i wrote a while back, please read that first so that the writing will make sense :) ALSO chen’s will be written platonically bc as i’ve stated before, i don’t feel comfortable writing romantic scenarios for someone who has a wife and two kids 💀 AND these scenarios are LONG so i’m splitting this into two parts! enjoy :)

TW: kissing, being held, crying, mentions of food

Xiumin:

You and Xiumin had been growing close as colleagues and friends for a few months now. You began hanging out on a semi-regular basis, and today he was guest starring on a live video for Etoile Clubhouse.

“You ready?” you asked him, finger hovering over mouse to click the “live” button. You were actually asking yourself if you would be able to get through a whole video with him without making a fool of yourself. Lately you had been developing the biggest crush on him, and it was highly embarrassing. Not even your members knew about it. You knew that Nabi and Marie would just tease you mercilessly, and that Iseul and Kaori would never stop bothering you with questions, so you decided to keep it to yourself.

“You know it.” he winked, leaning forward in his chair with a grin.

You nodded, letting out a small gulp as you clicked the button. In just a few seconds, fans and comments were pouring in.

“Hi Starlight! It’s your main vocalist Y/N!” you greeted your fans lovingly. Xiumin glanced over at you with an admiring sparkle in his eyes, which you didn’t seem to notice.

“Today I’m joined by my good friend, Xiumin of EXO!” you announced, gesturing over to him.

Xiumin waved at the camera. “Hi Starlight! It’s good to see you!”

You began scrolling through some of the comments.

ugh, my two biases together, my heart can’t take it 😭

OLDEST MEMBERS ON TOP!

look at the way he’s looking at her 🥺💞

You tried to control the blush smile that threatened to make its way onto your face, leaning back in your chair. “Well, they’re certainly happy to see you too!”

He smiled appreciatively, giving the camera a small bow. “Thank you, Starlight. It’s an honor to be here with the lovely Y/N.”

You hit his arm playfully. “Stop trying to butter me up! You’re not stealing any of my fans!”

He laughed at you, ruffling your hair slightly. “Awh, you know I wouldn’t do that to you. Besides, I could never betray EXO-L like that.” He flashed a finger heart at the camera with a cute wink.

You rolled your eyes, then went back to reading some of the comments.

just ask her out already xiumin 😑

the banter??? they’re so cute omg

oh they’re definitely dating 👀

“Wow, you guys really have a lot to say today.” you chuckled nervously.

Xiumin glanced over at you again with a reassuring smile, his eyes so full of compassion that you could melt. “We do make a pretty good team, Y/N. You can’t blame them for being honest.”

You laughed at his comment, easing up a bit. As the live went on, you both just answered some questions and talked about the projects you’d been working on lately. There were a lot of laughs, and overall you were very satisfied with the fan turnout. A lot of EXO-L’s had heard that Xiumin was on your live, and popped over to say hi as well.

“Well, we’re approaching our hour mark, so unfortunately it’s time to say goodbye.” you huffed disappointedly. You always hated saying goodbye to your fans.

“I suppose so…” Xiumin sighed. He pouted at the camera, making you chuckle.

“Alright, until next time, stay twinkly!” you smiled at the camera, pressing you hand to your lips to do your signature ending. You always blew a kiss to the camera at the end of a live.

However, as you did, Xiumin pressed a kiss to your cheek. You froze, hand falling away from your lips slowly.

“Did you just…?” you asked in bewilderment, looking over at him with doe eyes.

He just sat there with a content shit-eating grin on his face, looking at you innocently.

You looked over at the monitor to see what the fans were saying.

OH MY GOD Y/N-MIN IS HAPPENING !!!

XIUMIN IS BOLD AF

KISS! KISS! KISS!

“ALRIGHT, it’s time to say goodbye Starlight!” you chuckled anxiously, quickly blowing a kiss before exiting out of the live. You swiveled around in your chair to face Xiumin. “What was that?”

“It was just a kiss on the cheek.” he chirped, resting his chin on his hand.

“Yes, but on live? That could’ve been a disaster! What if the fans-“

“What if the fans what?” he interrupted, grabbing your hand and rubbing his thumb long the back of it. “They obviously liked us together. And so do I.”

Your heart stopped, and you looked up at him in disbelief. “You… you do?”

He nodded, brushing a strand of your hair behind your ear. “I do. I really do. I want something more with you Y/N.”

You gave him a small smile, placing your hand over his. “I do too Xiumin. I’ve wanted it for a while now. I’m sorry I freaked out.”

“It’s understandable. What I did was kind of risky.” he chuckled.

“You think?” you replied sarcastically.

“Come here…” he grumbled, tugging you closer to him. He brought his hands up to the sides of your face and pulled you in for a kiss. It was sweet and delicate, and everything you had been hoping for. You placed your hands on his shoulders as you leaned into it, deepening it slightly. As you pulled away, your foreheads came to rest against each other.

“You make me so happy, Y/N.” he whispered, squinting his eyes.

“Ditto.” you replied, pecking his lips again.

Suho:

It was the long anticipated MAMA awards, and you and your group were all dressed up in matching indigo gowns. You were all sitting together in your row, watching the performances and applauding as the awards were presented. You were especially entertained by one of the hosts… Suho from EXO.

“Wow, you’re really engrossed in the ceremony Y/N.” Nabi commented, leaning over and nudging you in your side.

“Oh, shut up!” you grunted, slapping her arm away. “I’m just excited to see all our colleagues get rewarded for how hard they’ve worked this year.”

“Yeah, and it has nothing to do with how you’ve had a crush on Suho since the day he accidentally walked in on our dance practice back when we were trainees.” Marie teased you from your other side.

“I’m feeling very ganged up on right now.” you grumbled, crossing your arms. “At least the maknaes respect me enough not to make fun of me.”

“That’s only because they’re such big STAYS that they can’t take their eyes off the stage long enough to realize you’re making googly eyes at the host.” Nabi retorted.

You glanced over at Iseul and Kaori who were totally immersed in Stray Kids’ performance. They were totally in love with Felix and Changbin respectively, and were so jealous when you got to make a cameo in one of their music videos. You promised to get them autographs, but it only eased the pain a little bit.

Everyone broke out into applause as Stray Kids exited the stage and returned to their seats. Suho and Irene walked back to the center of the stage to announce the next award, and a hush fell upon the audience. You looked up at the stage with bright eyes, trying to act as if you were looking at both the hosts, and not just Suho.

“What a wonderful performance from Stray Kids!” he congratulated. “It’s no wonder they’ve already received three awards tonight.”

You laughed along with everyone else, making Nabi and Marie share a knowing glance. You hit them both lightly on the thigh, making them snap away from each other quickly. Sometimes your unni-card came in handy.

“That’s true, but now it’s time to announce the winner of best female group!” Irene beamed, waving the envelope in her hands.

The crowd erupted in cheers, and all five of you looked at each other with wide eyes. It was your first year in the running, and while you weren’t expecting to win, the anticipation was killing you all. Etoile had really taken off last year after Andromeda was released, and was already considered in the realms of Twice and Red Velvet. It was certainly going to be a tense moment, and the whole audience knew it.

You grabbed onto Nabi and Marie’s hands, immediately forgetting about how frustrated they had made you earlier. Marie reached over to hold Iseul and Kaori’s hands. It was a tradition you all started after you won your first award with Andromeda. Even if you weren’t expecting to win, you all held hands to signify your unity. Irene began to unfold the envelope, and everyone was on the edge of their seats.

You glanced up at the stage, and for a moment, you could swear that Suho was looking at you. His eyes were full of admiration and joy. Your heart stopped, and you gripped onto your members hands even harder. Suddenly, Suho glanced over at the envelope in Irene’s hands. His eyebrows raised and his mouth fell open slightly. Forgetting himself, he looked back over at you in the crowd and gave you a small wink. Did that mean that…?

“And the MAMA award for best female group goes to Etoile!” Irene cheered, clapping her hands together excitedly.

The five of you sprung up from your seats, eyes wide with shock and disbelief. There was no way! This had to be a joke. But when you looked behind you and saw nearly all your colleagues, senior and junior, looking at you with praise and pride, you knew it was real.

You looked over at Nabi, who already had tears streaming down your face. You giggled at her emotional reaction, putting a hand on her shoulder. “You okay?”

She shook her head, wiping her tears. “I’m… I’m…”

You chuckled at her, taking her hands in your own. “Come on, we have to go accept the award.”

As you led your leader out into the aisle way, you glanced back to see Marie clinging onto her, then Iseul clinging onto Marie, and Kaori clinging onto Iseul. They were all sobbing and barely making it out of their seats without passing out. You shook your head with an amused smile. This always happened. Your members would all be blubbering messes and you were always the only calm one, leading them up the stage like a mother hen.

As you reached the stairs, you looked up to see Suho rushing over to help you up. You couldn’t help the giddy smile that was plastered on your face as his eyes met yours. You took his hand and allowed him to lead you up the steps, with him taking extra care to move slowly enough so that you wouldn’t trip in your heels. As you ascended the last step, he gingerly placed a kiss over the back of your hand. Your eyes went wide, and you could hear your members giggling behind you.

“Congratulations. You deserve this.” he told you, gesturing over to Irene, who was waiting to give you your award.

You gave him an excited, blushy smile and rushed over to Irene, who already had her arms extended to give you a huge hug. As she pulled away, she handed you your award. “I knew you could do it, little sis.” she grinned admiringly.

“Thank you, big sis.” you replied with a small bow, leading your girls over to the microphone to give the speech.

—————

Later that night, you were all at the after party, and everyone there was treating you like the guests of honor. Your friends from Stray Kids came over to congratulate you, making Iseul and Kaori’s millennium.

“Did you see the way Changbin looked at me?” your maknae squealed, clutching the award to her chest. She hadn’t let go of it all night long, treating it like it was her own child. You had to admit, it was adorable to see your “daughter” so excited about your groups’ achievement.

“Yeah, it was the same way Suho was looking at our Y/N during the ceremony.” Nabi teased you once again.

You rolled your eyes. “Yeah, well you couldn’t look at anything during the ceremony because your eyes were flooded with tears.”

The other girls laughed along with you, except Nabi, who scoffed annoyedly.

“I still can’t believe he kissed your hand though.” Iseul commented, shaking your shoulders excitedly. “I really think you should shoot your shot with him!”

“All I want to do right now is go get some air.” you shut her down, patting her shoulder lovingly. “All this interrogation is making me feel suffocated.”

The four girls chuckled at you, waving you off as you made your way to a secluded hallway. You knew they meant well, but god they were insufferable sometimes.

However as you turnt the corner, lost in thought, you came face first with a solid brick wall. At least, that’s what you thought it was until you looked up to see Suho’s eyes locked in on yours.

“Oh, forgive me, I’m so clumsy!” you apologized frantically, feeling your cheeks heat up.

“No, it’s alright!” he reassured you, placing his hands gingerly on your arms to stabilize you. “Are you okay?”

You nodded. “Yeah, I just had to get some air.”

“I get it. Being so successful is exhausting.” he replied.

You smiled at him before glancing down at the ground nervously. “We really weren’t expecting to win.”

“What?” he asked you, furrowing his brows in confusion. “Why not? I thought you guys were an absolute shoo-in.”

“Is that why you were staring at me in the crowd?” you asked, feeling a bit more bold.

Now it was his turn to blush and glance down at his shoes. “Maybe. I just knew that my favorite junior group had worked really hard this year and deserved to win the award.”

Your heart slipped a beat. “We’re your favorite junior group?”

He nodded with a playful grin. “Absolutely. And you’re my bias.”

Your mouth impulsively dropped open, making you feel like an idiot. You quickly slapped it shut, adjusting your hair anxiously. “That’s really funny, because you happen to be my bias.”

“Really?” he gaped, copying the same actions you had just taken. You giggled with a nod, making him chuckle. “I guess EXO-L and Starlight are right, we do make a good pairing.”

You squinted your eyes in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“Oh, you must have been so busy out there that you haven’t had the chance to check social media!” he realized, pulling his phone out of his back pocket. He pulled up a popular fanpage and handed it to you. “It’s all anyone can talk about. Along with how adorable you were leading your group down the aisle.”

You scrolled through the comments, eyes bulging out of your head at how many there were.

suho was so cute kissing Y/N’s hand 🥺 i’m so jealous but i think they’d make an adorable couple

suho rushing over to help Y/N up the stage was the cutest thing ever! he definitely has a lil crush on her <3

did anyone else notice how Suho winked at Y/N in the audience??? and how Y/N was looking at Suho the whole time he was hosting??? they’re literally so in love idc 😤

You fought back the tugging at the corner of your lips, handing Suho back his phone. “That’s amazing.”

“I know. I guess the only thing left for us to do is go out on a date.”

You nodded. “I’d like that very much.”

You both exchanged numbers, then said your goodbyes as he made his way back out into the party. As you got to the bathroom, you shut the door behind you and pressed your back against it, clutching your chest. You had just gotten the award of your dreams and the man of your dreams, all in the same night. How much more lucky could you get?

Lay:

You were having a great time in China with Marie, being chosen as guest mentors for an idol training program. A lot of the girls on the show were fans, and your appearances were bringing in a lot of new Chinese Starlights.

You were reaching the end of your filming, running through the last steps of your dance practice with the girls. You and Marie were standing at the front of the room with your backs’ to the door, and you were so entranced with watching your girls’ practice that you didn’t even hear the door open behind you.

Suddenly, a strong pair of arms was thrown around the two of you, making you both jump. Your head whipped around quickly, and your eyes widened as you realized who it was.

“Yixing!” you both cheered, turning around in his arms to hug him.

He flashed a smile at you before wrapping his arms around the two of you tightly.

The girls all finished their dance and cheered at the arrival of another mentor, one that they had been working with for quite a while now.

“Alright girls, I think it’s time for a break!” you announced. They all thanked you and bowed before filing out, leaving the three of you alone in the dance practice room.

“I didn’t know you guys’ were going to be on the show!” Yixing beamed, putting his hands on his hips. “I came in to do the dance practice with the girls today and they were all gone, then the producers told me you were guest mentoring today, and I just had to come say hi.”

“Yes you did!” you agreed. “We’ve missed you so much at SM! You were our favorite senior!”

He blushed slightly, running a hand through his hair. “I’ve missed you guys too. But I really like the work I’m doing over here.”

“Of course, we understand that.” Marie reassured him. “It just gets hard without your expertise sometimes.”

You all laughed, shifting slightly.

“Alright, I think that’s enough footage for now.” the camera man announced. “The main focus of the episode is going to be the vocal practice so you guys are good to go.”

You and Marie thanked him, then turned back to Yixing.

“So, if you guys aren’t doing anything tonight, do you wanna get dinner together? It’ll be my treat.” he offered with a cute smile.

You blushed slightly. “I’d love to.”

“Thank you, but I’ll pass. I think I pulled something in my shoulder today.” Marie grumbled, rolling her shoulder back a few times. “But you guys have fun.”

“Okay, no worries. Y/N and I will have a great time together without you.” Yixing teased her, ruffling her hair. She pushed him away with a scowl. He had always treated Marie like a little sister, which made you laugh because she was usually so tough and headstrong.

He turned back towards you. “Text me which hotel you’re at, and we can meet up around 7 if that’s okay?”

You nodded, smiling brightly at him. “It’s a date!” You cringed internally. Why would you say that?

He said his goodbyes and left the room, leaving you and Marie to yourselves.

“You’re welcome, by the way.” she huffed, punching you on the arm lightly.

“For what?” you asked, grabbing your purse.

“For making up that lie about my shoulder so you could have a dinner alone with Yixing.” she grinned, taking a few swigs from her water bottle before continuing. “I’m missing out on a great dinner just so you can make a move with your crush, so you better not waste it.”

—————

“And so I’m standing there in the middle of the subway in a Sailor Moon costume, looking around for my members, and they’re just nowhere to be seen! I had to take the subway all the way back to the dorms in that ridiculous outfit!”

Yixing threw his head back in laughter at your story, bringing a hand up to cover his mouth. “Oh my gosh, they did not leave you there by yourself!”

“Yes they did! And that’s why you don’t leave the group to get coffee after shooting a music video.” you concluded, rolling your eyes.

He was rolling, small tears forming in the corners of his eyes from how hard he was laughing. “Ah, that’s too funny. I mean, not for you, but… as a listener.”

You nodded, brushing a piece of hair behind your ear. “No it’s okay. It’s unfortunate, but hilarious.”

“I’m so glad I asked you out to dinner tonight.” he commented, eyes looking into yours and sparkling with sincerity. “I meant it when I said I’ve missed you.”

“I did too. It’s not the same without you there.” you replied.

He seemed to be reaching across the table for your hand. Your heart stopped in anticipation.

Ring! Ring! Ring!

You squinted your eyes and exhaled an annoyed sigh. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay, go ahead and answer it.” he chuckled awkwardly.

You practically ripped your phone out of your purse and hit the answer button, hardly even looking at who it was. “What?!” you spat.

“Y/N! For the love of god check your phone!” Nabi screeched on the other end of the line.

“Nabi? Why, what’s going on? Are the girls okay?” you asked worriedly.

“Yeah, we’re all fine! Just check your phone!” your leader demanded, then hung up the phone.

You looked over at Yixing in confusion.

“Everything okay?” he asked, concerned.

“I don’t know. Nabi just screamed at me to check my phone.” you shrugged, beginning to scroll through your text messages. First was the group chat you had with the members.

Nabi 🦋: “Y/N Y/L/N YOUVE GOT SOME EXPLAINING TO DO”

Marie 🐈‍⬛: “Relax, I just ditched dinner so she could be alone with Yixing. They’re not dating yet. No one call her, you’ll ruin their date.”

Iseul 🐶: “YES! FINALLY!”

Kaori 🐥: “Wait, Y/N and Yixing are dating???”

Iseul 🐶: “Y/N? Who asked who out?”

Kaori 🐥: “I’m so glad my parents are finally together :)”

Nabi 🦋: “CALL ME RN.”

Marie 🐈‍⬛: “You guys are literal idiots.”

You knit your brows in confusion before switching over to your other text messages. Why were they talking about you and Yixing dating? And how did they even know you were out with him?

Yeri 💜: “bestie, have you seen this?” *article attached*

Taeyong 🌹: “Y/N, have you been on twitter recently? There’s some stuff you might wanna see…”

Ten 🐱: “WHY DIDNT YOU TELL ME YOU WERE GOING OUT WITH YIXING?! I THOUGHT WE WERE FRIENDS 😭”

Karina ❤️: “yessss get it girl!” *photo attached*

Manager 🫡: “Call me when you get a chance. It’s important.”

Yixing reached for your hand again, actually holding it this time. “Y/N… what’s going on?”

You looked at him helplessly, feeling your heart swell with anxiety. “There’s dating rumors about us. I’m guessing the fans saw us on that tv show and then saw us here together.”

He looked like he was about to say something, but was interrupted by his own cell phone ringing loudly in his pocket.

He sighed, grabbing his coat. “Let’s go to my place. I have a feeling we’ll be sorting this out all night.”

—————

You had just gotten back to Yixing’s place, and were currently sitting on the sofa waiting for your manager to pick up his phone. He had gone into his bedroom to talk to his own manager, telling you to just make yourself comfortable.

You tapped your foot anxiously as your phone rang. You had no idea what your manager was going to say. Would he be angry? Understanding? Just as confused as you were?

“Hey Y/N.” he finally answered.

“Hey.” you sighed, feeling your stomach turn. You prepared yourself for the worst.

“How are you holding up kid?” he asked, seemingly genuinely concerned.

“About as good as I can. I still don’t really know what’s going on.” you replied.

“Well, I just got done talking to the company. They said the response is mostly positive. They’ve given you the okay to confirm the relationship.”

Your eyes widened in disbelief. That was pretty much the opposite of what you were expecting to hear. “Really?”

“Yeah, it’s really interesting. Apparently they saw the two of you hugging and bantering on that idol show you’re on right now and thought it was really sweet. Then someone posted that picture of the two of you at that restaurant and the comments were just flooded with approval.” he laughed, seemingly just as perplexed as you were. “I’ve gotta say, I have to agree with them. You guys do look good together.”

You chuckled, pushing your hair back in amazement. “Oh my gosh. I have no idea what to do now.”

“Are you with Yixing right now?” your manager asked.

“Mmhm. He’s in the other room talking to his manager.” you replied.

“Okay. You two can talk it over for a bit. Let me know what decision you come to.” he instructed. “Take care, kid.”

“Okay, I will. Talk to you in a bit.” you told him, hanging up the phone. You sighed in relief, tossing your phone onto the coffee table. You sunk down onto the sofa and shut your eyes, rubbing them slightly.

Suddenly, Yixing emerged from the hallway. He chuckled at your disheveled appearance, walking over to sit down next to you. “You good?”

“Honestly, I’m better off than I thought I would be.” you answered with an amused smirk. “My manager just told me the response is mostly positive.

“Mine said the same thing.” he nodded. “Now it’s just up to us.”

You sat up, folding your hands in your lap. “So, what do we want to do?”

He shrugged casually. “I’d like to confirm it.”

Your heart stopped. “You do?”

He smiled, dimples showing prominently. “Y/N, I’ve had a crush on you for years. Now thanks to the fans, I might actually have a chance with you.

Your face broke out into an enormous grin, and you began to feel butterflies in your stomach. This was really too good to be true.

“Alright, I’ll call my manager and tell him to confirm it.” you beamed, reaching for your phone.

He grabbed your wrist delicately, stopping you. “Wait, just a second…” He then leaned forward and placed a tender kiss on your cheek.

Your face heated up, and you touched your hand to your cheek lightly, looking at him perplexedly. “What was that for?”

“For giving me a night I’ll never forget.”

Baekhyun:

It was the fans’ dream come true. A collab between SuperM and GOT the Beat. All the male and female legends of SM were going to be together in one music video.

You were all currently shooting the music video. The director’s vision was to mix up the different ages and genders in individual cuts to showcase the true unity of the super groups. Taemin, Hyoyeon, and Kai were put together since they were a fan favorite grouping. Taeyong and Taeyeon were another paring. Ten and Seulgi were partners, as well as Mark and Iseul. Then, Karina and Winter did their section together. BoA, Wendy, and Lucas were the last trio. That left you and Baekhyun, who had been your idol and celebrity crush since you were 16.

Karina and Iseul winked at you before walking off into their own groupings, making you scowl and roll your eyes. You turned back to Baekhyun with a weak smile, bowing politely.

“It’s so nice to meet you formally.” you stammered meekly. “I’m a huge fan. You’re actually one of my biggest inspirations as a main vocalist.”

Damnit, you thought, that probably made me sound like such a nerd.

Baekhyun’s face lit up in the most genuine smile, he was practically giggling in contentment at your confession. “That’s so wonderful to hear! I’m honored to have inspired the best female vocalist at this company.”

You gasped, eyes going wide. “Oh I’d hardly call myself the best, especially considering what powerhouses I get to work with in GTB!”

He chuckled, crossing his arms and leaning closer to you. “Your nickname is ‘angel voice’ for a reason.” He seemed to be getting more and more comfortable with you by the second. The two of you seemed to just click instantly.

“Would you like to hear a secret?” he practically whispered. You nodded and turnt your ear towards his lips with an intrigued grin. “You give quite a bit of inspiration to me as well Y/N. I might just be your biggest Starlight.”

You gasped again, this time out of excitement. “You’re kidding!” you exclaimed.

He shook his head, playful smile still wide on his face. “Why would I lie to my favorite junior?”

You rolled your eyes and blushed, looking away in embarrassment. He really knew how to fluster you. Luckily, the director had just walked over to you and was about to start shooting.

“Alright Y/N and Baekhyun! We’ve got a lot of good visuals and vocals between the two of you so I’m very excited to shoot these cuts!” she beamed, clapping her hands together. “We’re going to take a teaser photo first, then we’re just going to roll the cameras to get some b roll for the music video.” The both of you nodded understandingly before moving over to the shooting area.

“Let’s start by having Y/N stand in the foreground looking straight at the camera.” the director ordered. “Baekhyun, how about you put an arm around her chest and place the other hand delicately on her waist. Now, tilt your head towards her as if you’re whispering in her ear.”

Your heart stopped as you both assumed the position. You had filmed music videos with other male artists before, so the intimacy wasn’t the issue. It was the fact that Byun Baekhyun was going to be just inches away from your ear and holding you close to him.

You froze as he placed his hand on your waist.

“Is this okay?” he asked softly enough that only you could hear him.

You smiled appreciatively and nodded slightly. He then placed the other arm around your chest and gripped his fingers securely onto your shoulder as if to comfort you. He was really making it easy to lean into his touch, and soon you were comfortably standing there in his arms, giving the camera your best smize.

“You’re breathtaking, Y/N.” he murmured, a wholesome smirk evident on his face. You couldn’t help but flash a huge, toothy grin at his compliment. As soon as you did, the cameras flashed, signaling that your photo had been taken.

“Beautiful, you guys! That was a perfect photo!” the director praised. “We don’t even need to take a second one. Now just do your thing while we roll the cameras for some b roll.”

“The camera loves us together.” Baekhyun commented, resting his head on your shoulder with a sigh.

You glanced down at him with a teasing side eye, clamping your hands onto the arm he had around your chest. “Well, the camera’s apparantley not the only one.”

“Ah, so sassy for a junior.” he scoffed, leaning closer to your ear. “Someone should teach you a thing or two about respecting your elders.” he hissed out teasingly.

“And are you going to be that someone?” you chuckled, an amused grin making its way onto your expression despite how hard you tried to fight it.

“I might be.” he grinned, rocking you in his arms a bit. “But I’d have to take you out first.”

You turned around to face him, forgetting about the cameras in front of you for a second. “Are you genuinely asking me out on a date?” you inquired.

“That’s usually what someone means when they say they’d like to take you out. Unless they’re an assassin.” he chuckled, placing his hands on your hips.

You laughed nervously, gripping onto his arms with your hands. “Baekhyun, I don’t know if that’s a good idea. I mean, we’re idols. I know we don’t have a dating ban anymore, but it’s still risky.”

“I’m willing to take that chance.” he reassured you, staring into your eyes with a carefree smile. “You’d be worth it, without question.”

You grinned uncontrollably wide, glancing down at the floor bashfully. “I… I just don’t know.”

“Think about it, okay?” he practically pleaded.

You looked up into his big brown puppy dog eyes, which were glimmering with hope and sincerity. It was impossible to say no. “Okay, I will. I promise.”

“That was incredible guys!” the director suddenly interrupted your intimate moment, making you spring away from each other. “Now let’s do some lip synching to the lyrics!”

—————

The fans’ response the collab was amazing. Many were calling it a shoo-in for song of the year, and one of the best decisions SM had ever made.

“Hey Y/N! Have you read the comments on our music video?” Karina asked you as she approached you in the SM hallway on your way back from vocal practice.

“No, I haven’t gotten the chance to yet.” you explained. “Why?”

She raised her eyebrows at you suggestively. “Well, you definitely should. Apparantley there’s a lot about you and a certain main vocalist you were paired up with.”

Your heart sunk. “Oh no, are the fans upset?”

“No, not at all!” your junior chuckled. “In fact, they’re shipping you guys together.”

You couldn’t help the idiotic smile that flashed onto your face. “Really?”

“Yes, so why don’t you just go out with him already? Taeyong and Ten told me he’s absolutely smitten with you!” Karina whined, tugging on your arm slightly.

You rolled your eyes, pushing her away. “Shouldn’t you be getting to your dance practice, Miss Leader?”

She gasped and began to take off down the hall. “Shoot, you’re right! See you later, Y/N!”

You chuckled at her silliness, then leaned up against the wall and whipped out your phone. You pulled up the music video and began scrolling through the comments.

Wow, Y/N and Baekhyun look really good together <3

Y/N-hyun is my new favorite ship 👀

Anyone else think Baekhyun and Y/N would make the best power couple in kpop history???

You let out a baffled scoff at the positive response. Maybe it was silly to be so worried about dating him. Suddenly, you took off down the hallway with renewed purpose, knowing exactly where you had to go.

As you arrived at Baekhyun’s studio, you knocked on the door and waited for him to answer. And he did, peering out with a smile and fixing his hair at the sight of you.

“Y/N? What are you-“

He was cut off by you grabbing his face and delicately pressing your lips against his. It was just a small peck, but it was ever so sweet, and let him know just how you felt about him.

“I thought about it.” you said once you pulled away. “Let’s go out.”

He put his hands on your hips, grinning from ear to ear. “Thank god. I was starting to think you didn’t like me.” He leaned down to kiss you again, longer and more passionately than the last time.

Chen:

“That was awesome, Kaori!” you complimented your maknae from the other side of the recording booth. She had just finished her rap feature for one of the songs on your solo album. “You’re good to go, kid.”

“You sure?” she asked, removing her headphones. “I can stay and help you with the rest if you want.”

“Nah it’s cool, you’re a growing girl. You need your sleep.” you told her with a reassuring smile. “Besides, you know how particular I am about things.”

“Alright mom.” she chuckled, rolling her eyes playfully. “Just don’t pass out in the studio again. Nabi ran all over like a mad woman trying to find you last time.”

“I promise I won’t. I’ll see you back at the dorms in the morning.” you replied, waving her off.

You sighed as the door shut behind her, slumping down in your chair. You moved on to organizing all your tracks and adjusting them to your liking. It was a tedious process, but you knew it would be worth it when your solo album was finally out. You wanted to do this, for yourself and for your fans.

After what felt like a few hours of working, someone came through the door. You huffed irritatedly.

“Kaori, I told you to go to sleep…” you stopped mid-sentence as you realized the person at the door was definitely not Kaori. “Oh, Chen! What are you doing here?”

He chuckled at your sudden change of attitude. “Oh, I was working in the studio at the end of the hall and heard someone tinkering around on my way out. I thought I’d check it out.” He sat down in the chair next to yours. “How long have you been at this?”

You glanced at the clock. How the hell was it 3 am? You sighed before answering him. “Five hours, I suppose”

He pressed his lips together and nodded understandingly. “Yeah, that’s about what I figured. Come on, we’re taking a break.” He patted your shoulder and stood up from his chair.

“What? No, I can’t…” you protested, gesturing to the monitor in front of you.

“You most certainly can.” he retorted, putting his hands on his hips assertively, but still keeping a smile on his face. “Let’s go get you some food and water, and we’ll come right back. It won’t take more than ten minutes.”

You sat there for a moment, just staring at him blankly, not quite knowing what else to say that might make him give up.

“Don’t make me use my dad voice.” he threatened.

“Alright, I��m going…” you sighed defeatedly, grabbing your coat as you stood up and followed him out into the hallway.

—————

He was true to his word, the walk to the convenience store and back only took about ten minutes. You were now back in the recording room, snacks strewn about everywhere, going over your tracks with Chen.

“I think this is really solid!” he complimented you. “Obviously you’ll want to do a few tweaks here and there, but this is really good. You should be proud.”

“Awh, thanks Chen!” you replied gratefully. “One of the things I was thinking about doing was…”

The two of you went back and forth bouncing ideas between each other, adjusting parts of the songs and making them perfect.

“Okay, I’m gonna save your original, but I’ll tweak it how I would do it, and then I’ll show it to you.” he proposed, taking over the sound board. “Just hang tight for a sec, okay?”

“Roger that.” you told him, giving him a thumbs up. You rested your head against your arms, which were folded up on the desk in front of you. Suddenly it hit you how tired you were. Your eyelids felt like they weighed 100 pounds, and the soft clicks of Chen using the keyboard seemed to be lulling you off to sleep like a metronome. Before you could stop yourself, your eyes closed for the last time, and you were dozing off right there in the studio.

“Okay, I’m done…” he stated, swiveling around to face you. He chuckled as he realized you had fallen asleep right next to him. “This kid…” he laughed, shaking his head. He pulled out his phone and snapped a picture of you, posting it on instagram and tagging Etoile’s account.

Hey Starlight, just thought you’d like to know how hard your main vocal is working on her solo album! I know I can’t wait for it to come out!

He clicked the post button, then shoved his phone back in his pocket. He saved all your work, then shut off all the lights and machines. Once everything was taken care of, he grabbed one of your arms and threw you over his back, beginning to carry you back to the dorms.

—————

Needless to say, you were highly confused when you woke up in your own bed the next day. Furrowing your brows, you threw on your slippers and walked out into the dining room to see Nabi and Kaori at the table eating breakfast.

“There’s our sleeping beauty.” Nabi teased with a loving smirk. “Got in pretty late last night, huh?”

“Dude, I don’t even know how I got home.” you yawned, trudging over to the coffee pot.

“Oh, you don’t remember? Chen brought you home!” Kaori told you. “He said you passed out in the studio again.

“Yeah, the fans are talking about the picture he posted. They think it’s super cute.” Nabi explained, pulling up the post on her phone.

You took a sip of your coffee before grabbing the phone from her hand. You smiled as you read the caption, then began scrolling through the comments.

awh, chen is such a good big brother to our y/n! 🥺

thank you for saving y/n from nabi’s wrath XD

look at chen being a proud dad, i’m sobbing 😭

i love the wholesome sibling vibes these two have!

You grinned as you gave Nabi her phone back. “He is kind of like an older brother. That was really sweet of him to bring me home. I should thank him.”

You sat down at the table with your coffee and pulled out your phone, only to see that he had already texted you.

Chen ✌🏻: “Just so you know, I’m making you feature in one of MY solo songs sometime soon. I can already tell your album is going to be huge, and I need your talents 👀”

You laughed at his demanding tone, typing up your own reply.

Y/N 🦢: “aye aye cap’n 🫡 also thanks for getting me home last night :)”

Chen ✌🏻: “No problem, just don’t pass out in the studio again or Nabi and I will BOTH come after you 👊🏻”

“So if you’re my mom, and Chen is your big brother, does that make him my uncle?” Kaori asked with a confused expression.

“I guess so.” you shrugged with a smile. Your found family at SM just seemed to keep growing and growing, but you couldn’t complain. It was nice to work with people who cared about you, and you wouldn’t have it any other way.

[marshmallow-phd]

Genre: Regency Gothic AU

Pairing: EXO x Reader

Summary: A stormy night brought you to the manor in the middle of the woods. Nine strange men occupied its halls. They won't let you leave. A dangerous secret haunts this estate. Learning it might either be your saving grace or it could lead to the last breath you ever take.

Part: 1 I 2 I 3 I 4 I 5

**

Lightning lit up the thin curtains covering the two small windows on either side of the carriage. Thunder rumbled and you felt it deep within your chest. Tugging your silk cloak closer, you closed your eyes and prayed that the driver would get you through the storm. There was no one to comfort you, to reassure you that a little rain and noisy sky wouldn't delay your journey.

Your father had insisted you take your sister or even a friend, but the two day’s journey didn’t  seem consequential enough to need a companion. Besides, what would they have done once you arrived? Your elderly aunt had only asked for you. From what you could decipher from her letter, she needed you to be a companion as she traveled to the southernmost coastal town. Apparently, it was now the ultimate fashion to travel to for the summer. Just the idea of rolling waves made your stomach churn. But what was worse was who else would be there–

The carriage jolted to the right. You spread out your arms, only barely catching yourself from falling to the floor. No sane person would have endured such dangerous weather. This storm had come from nowhere. Skies blue and cloudless as you had ever seen bid you farewell in the late morning. Most of the day's journey had been uneventful. Then the joyful light faded. Thunder shook the walls of the carriage. Rain pounded on the roof. When would you reach the inn? Bile rose up in your throat, burning the sensitive tissue as the carriage continued to rock violently. The horses neighed over the sounds of the storm. 

The carriage shifted hard to the left. And kept falling. You slammed into the door, nearly opening it with the force. You didn't know what was happening. The floor was now the wall and the wall the floor. A downward momentum made it impossible to stand. Screams ripped at your throat.

Then it stopped. 

The rain continued to pour and the thunder roared on but the carriage was still. Your legs wobbled as you slowly stood. With your palms, you pushed open the door. The thin wooden panel clapped against the outside of the carriage. Immediately you were pounded by the storm. Large drops pelted your face, obscuring your vision. It was dark. You could tell that much. And there were trees. In every direction. 

You climbed out of the carriage, calling for the driver. Your feet slipped in the mud, but you managed to keep your balance–for now. The mud was thick and sticky as you trudged to the front of the carriage.

 No. No, no, no. Both of the horses were gone. And so was the driver. Somehow, the carriage had fallen down a hill or ravine. With a storm this terrible, you needed to get to higher ground or risk possibly being carried away–or drowning. Clawing and digging your hands and feet into the soaked dirt, you climbed the hard incline back to the road. 

Once you could make out the road, you called for the driver again. No answer. He was nowhere to be found. You needed to find shelter. The storm gave no promise of letting up. You wouldn't survive the night in this forest, even if you went back into the carriage. The only choice was to find sanctuary. You stared in the direction you believed you came from. Nothing but trees and darkness. You turned to the other choice. All the same–wait. 

There was something... when lightning brightened up the sky. Your heart began banging in your ears. Spires, towers. Not trees. It was some distance away, but it was shelter nonetheless. 

With near tears in your eyes, you picked up your skirts–your fingers numb from the cold–and hurried towards the castle that could be your saving grace. 

*****

The manor was calm tonight. Odd, considering the amount of bodies roaming around these haunted halls. Only the beautiful storm outside and Chanyeol's sorrowful melody from the piano broke the silence. Jongin had draped himself over one of the arm chairs as he inspected the wine mixture within his goblet. The taste was… adequate. The cellar would need replenishing soon.

In the corner, a rather lax game of cards covered the small, round table. Minseok smirked at his winning hand. The faded wooden chips with bits of white painted around the edges were piling up in front of Yixing, who leaned back carelessly, sure of his next win. Little did either of them know that the youngest among them had a little... trick his sleeve. As the quickest, Sehun had perfected sleight of hand long ago. None had caught him yet.

A fire roared, coaling the usually gray and brown room in flickering orange. With how close he stood near the fireplace, Kyungsoo's silhouette was visible through his loose shirt. He leaned his palms on the mantel and let the warmth of the flames engulf him. Warmth was all they could feel after all these years. It could be an addiction so strong it was tempting to throw himself into the fire. 

Junmyeon joined him at the fireplace, leaning his shoulders against the brick. The bite of the edge hardly registered in his mind. Pain of that measure... it was only a ghost that had nearly crossed over. 

“Such strong thoughts for a night like this.”

Kyungsoo didn’t look from the fire, but raised a questioning eyebrow in response. 

Junmyeon shrugged a single shoulder. “I can’t read minds, but it's obvious you're turning something over more times than a praying rock.”

“It's the same thoughts,” Kyungsoo murmured in his strange, monotone voice. “Always the same thoughts.”

“One day you will have to let it go,” Junmyeon sighed. “This is our existence now. And forever will be.”

“Acceptance of the present doesn’t erase the past.”

“But it does make the present more enjoyable.” The red liquid sloshed against the rim of the goblet as Jongin draped an arm over Kyungsoo’s shoulders. He wore a mischievous smile. A clear indicator of his true intention. 

Junmyeon shook his head. “We’re not going out tonight. There’s nothing out and about in this storm.” Hunting in these conditions would wield no trophies. Tomorrow would be a better night. 

“Jun’s no fun tonight,” Jongdae teased as he and Baekhyun emerged from the hallway. 

“If you want to go out in this mess,” Junmyeon waved towards the front door. “Be my guest. Just don’t you dare get mud on the rug–”

Bang! Bang! Bang!

“Help! Please! Help!”

Nine pairs of eyes snapped to the echoing sound. None moved. 

Bang! Bang! 

BANG!

One of the double doors burst open and a figure fell to the floor, landing on its knees and palms. It looked up. A flash of lightning illuminated the face.

The face of a beautiful young girl. 

*****

Your knees vibrated when they hit the wooden floor. Water fell from your loose hair that clung to your cheeks. The chances of  the door opening when you pushed on the handle had been low–yet the barrier that kept you victim to the storm fell open and you crashed downward with it. 

Greeting you in this strange hall were several men, their jaws hanging open in a mirror of your own surprise. More men appeared from a side parlor, curious as to who dared intrude on their evening. One, two, three–you counted nine total. Nine men. This was not ideal–a bit terrifying, really–but you didn't have a choice. The storm raged outside.

"P-please," you stammered past chattering teeth "The st-storm overturn-overturned the carriage.” 

The men stayed silent as they exchanged unreadable glances. One raised a questionable brow. 

"Jongdae, go run a bath," ordered the man closest to you. One of the shorter residents nodded and disappeared into the darkness that led into the rest of the manor. 

That's what this place was. A grand old manor, not a castle. Isolated. When you'd first run through the rusted iron gate, you'd feared it abandoned. A long dormant instinct whispered that you might have been better off if it had been. 

The first man approached, each motion slow, deliberate, and hauntingly graceful. He crouched down in front of you and captured your frightened stare. The fear in you began to melt away. He was… beautiful. Obsidian fell over his forehead in gentle waves. His tunic was of a fashion your grandfather would have worn. There was something strange about this man–all of these men. Something... different. 

"Let's get you warmed up." He held his hand out and you were up on your feet before you even realized your fingers were resting on his. "Don't worry," he murmured. "You're safe here. My name is Junmyeon." 

You nodded, somehow believing him, but unsure if you should. Through your violent chattering, you managed to stammer out your name in response. 

Bang! 

You jumped at the sudden noise. One of the other men had somehow appeared behind you to shut the door you'd fallen through. 

"Thank you, Yixing," the man beside you said. The one named Yixing nodded and then shifted his eyes to you. “Come.” A hand pressed into the space between your shoulder blades and guided you down the hall, leaving a trail of mud in your wake.

The man led you down several halls until you reached an unoccupied bedroom. Red blankets draped the oversized bed. Matching curtains hung limply from the canopy. All of the wood was a dark sort, rich in color but not quite welcoming like other, brighter woods. 

Jongdae emerged from another door on the other side of the bedroom. Steam rolled out after him as if it were following him for its next set of orders. “Anything else?” he asked drily. 

“No, thank you.”

Jongdae strolled the from the room without a glance either of you and closed the door behind him. Your breath hitched in your throat. The two of you were… alone. It wasn’t appropriate. It was…

You looked to the man still with you, fear causing your heart to pound painful against your chest. You tugged your cloak closer to you, but it was soaked from the rain. Shivers violently raced down your arms and spine. The man didn’t seem to notice as he walked over to the dresser and opened the top drawer. He pulled out a long white cloth. 

“These should suffice for tonight.” He held up the cloth for you to see. A nightgown. An old one by the cut of it, though thankfully it hadn’t been devoured by moths or mice. “If you need anything else, don’t hesitate to ask.”

You nodded. “Thank you.” 

He visibly suppressed a laugh at your small voice and waved you into the adjoining bathroom. Taking the nightgown, you tried your best to avoid his gaze. You scurried inside and shut the door. 

*****

Junmyeon smirked at your mousy state. It was understandable why you were so frightened. The women of this period were warned of being alone with a man. And now you were alone with nine. 

Nine very dangerous men. 

The proper action for him to take was to leave your room now that you were safe inside the bathroom, but his feet didn’t move. Somehow, the storm had stranded you in their forest. What had happened to the driver, he wondered. Surely a gentlewoman such as yourself was not controlling the carriage. And yet, you were all alone. Circumstances were… ideal.

A small hiss echoed in the bathroom. It stretched out, along with the sound of sloshing water. Junmyeon frowned. 

Hm.

He stood there for a few minutes more, listening to you sigh as your skin grew used to the scalding water. The sound of soap scraping against skin reached his ears, followed by more sloshing water. Soon, you would be getting out of the tub. Time to leave. 

He emerged from the bedroom, careful to close the door as quietly as possible. Everyone had gathered out in the hallway since they were too curious about their visitor to go about their night. Junmyeon found Jongdae blending in with the cluster. He glared at him as he hissed, "The water was too hot." 

Jongdae merely shrugged. Why would he care about water possibly being too hot? It would never hurt him. 

On the opposite end of the group, Yixing cleared his throat. "What are we going to do with her?"

Junmyeon glanced at the door behind him. There was only one best option, for all their sakes. "Tomorrow morning, we will send her on her way." 

The eruption was instant. 

“Enough!”

In an instant, the hissing ceased. 

Baekhyun huffed and folded his arms against his chest, collapsing against the wall. Jongin scoffed. "Such a waste." 

“A waste that will keep this household from tearing itself apart,” Junmyeoun countered. It was an outcome none of them wanted. No one wanted to cause a fight, but resisting was difficult. The temptation was great. The quicker you left, the better off they would all be. 

"Do you really think it’ll end so well?" Minseok’s mocking comment hung in the air. Silent agreements rippled through the air. 

Junmyeon looked to Kyungsoo, whose answer was to look away. "No one touches her," he ordered. They all would try, he knew. But their strength would only get them so far. He stared down a few of them especially, so they knew he meant it.

Sehun pushed off the wall with a roll of his eyes. "Just get her out of here so I can get some peace." 

Junmyeon started to call after him but was interrupted by a soft thud from the room behind him. Confused, he opened the door to find you lying on the floor.

[jongbross]

Hi, it’s boyfriends things with Exo😅🤍

Thanks

kim minseok:

cutest boyfriend out there

will take such good care of you 🥹

is literally a keeper

your family loves him, he just charms everyone around him

might be a bit difficult as sometimes he can't see why you're still with him

doesn't realize that you're the luckiest person for having HIM

kisses your nose a lot

holds your hand while walking on the street

listen to you vent and gives you the best advices

won't let you sleep in though, so good luck with that

kim junmyeon:

the personification of a gentleman

pulls chairs for you, open doors, makes sure you're with your seatbelt on, doesn't let you walk on the side of the sidewalk that's closer to the street, etc

has the warmest hugs

can literally hug you for hours if you let him

secretly plans to pop out the question in the near future

buys you anything you want. anything.

respects your opinions SO MUCH, it's ridiculous

has the boyfie vibe somehow, so people don't hit on him anymore

chanyeol can see how much he changed because of you, how he's much more bubbly now

"you made him worse!!" (joking)

zhang yixing:

nicest boyfriend out there

dude is just soooo chill, your friends adore him

shows you random stuff on your phone just so you can laugh about it together

hands you his jacket whenever you're cold, but scolds you for not taking one with you

calls you a lot whenever he's away

you'll have to take care of his cats, i'm sorry

does this thing where he kisses both your temples before kissing your lips when he has to say goodbye to you before traveling

passes out beside you on bed while you're talking about a nice recipe you saw on tiktok

doesn't bring up marriage if you don't

really, really hopes you do

byun baekhyun:

i hate him, but congrats to you, i guess

ugh he's just so sweet

takes you out EVERYWHERE, like picks you up at your place

always has a smile on his face when he's around you

asks you about your day and listens to carefully

holds your hand while driving

charms your mom with helping her on the kitchen, it's like a scene straight out of a movie

sings 24/7, so your house is never silent anymore (your neighbors hate you though)

has a whole way of talking that's for you and for you only

you can't trick me baekhyun, i know you must have at least one (1) flaw

kim jongdae:

sunshine boyfriend

let's you sleep in whenever you feel like it

clears some space on his wardrobe/drawers for your clothes and things

"jagi, can we cuddle?"

has so much fun playing with you, you're literally he's best friend

always places bets with you

lots of kisses on your cheek

randomly smiles to you because he knows it makes you happy to see him smile

likes to take you away for the weekend, just you and him

loyal af

park chanyeol:

the "it's okay, i got it" boyfriend

personal uber driver, takes you everywhere if you let him

really, reaaally stubborn

can't sit still, is always looking for something to do with you

"did you see they opened a new bowling place downtown?"

purposely leaves his things at your place

his house is way bigger than yours but he doesn't care

plays guitar while you cook dinner

kisses you everytime you feed him

loves when you sleep on top of him

do kyungsoo:

he's comfort embodied in a person

likes to have breakfast with you, it's like his favorite part of the day

bonds with your pet if you have one (and they love him)

saves new videos on youtube to watch it with you

is in charge of cooking, always

asks you to help him shave just because

gets excited whenever something good happens to you

is your number 01 supporter

loves when you cuddle closer to him in your sleep

shy forehead kisses whenever he can't find the words to express his feelings

kim jongin:

cutest, most caring boyfriend

respects you more than anything in this world

listens to you so carefully whenever you have something to say

is willing to fix some of his bad habits for you

needs constant reassurance that you love him, just because he loves you so much and can't stand the thought of you falling out of love

laughs so hard at your jokes, and they're not even that funny

pays for every meal but lets you pay for his coffee so you won't feel bad

helps you choose your outfits

loves when you play with his hair

wanna have a baby with you so bad

oh sehun:

gets offended whenever someone treats you badly

"why didn't you tell me?? i would've give them a piece of my mind"

smirks whenever he sees you wearing his clothes, he just loves it

calls you whenever he can't go see you

encourages you to go see your friends, especially when he can't be around

but let's be honest, he's attached to you by the hip

rolls his eyes whenever you baby him, but secretly loves it

stares at you dearly when you're talking to his hyungs or his family

lets you play with his fingers when you're bored or too shy to talk to people

dude is so in love it's actually sickening

[kimbappykidding]

Imagine you and Chanyeol acting like a couple but neither of you being confident enough to actually ask the other out

Chanyeol was just nice to everyone. That's what you must've told your fellow Red Velvet members a thousand times. Irene would always shoot you a look while Wendy would outright argue with you. They'd all tried to get you to confess your feelings to Chanyeol but you were terrified to. If he was going to like someone in your company it wasn't you. You were the same age as Irene and considering she was the most beautiful girl on the planet that was hard to compete with. Or he'd surely ask Joy who was gorgeous and tall like him. Or Seulgi who had those stunning sultry eyes. You just didn't get why he'd look at your beautiful members and choose you. Wendy would hit you every time you said but in your mind it was true. Chanyeol had a similar experience. His members constantly told him to hurry up and ask you out. Every time Lay called his first question was "are you dating Y/n yet?" and it drove him crazy. He knew the two of you were close but that didn't mean you liked him. In truth, he was a little intimidated by you. You were one of the smartest idols he knew and the way you spoke was so eloquent and perfect but you could also transform from bookworm to sensational performer in seconds and he respected that so much. You were so complex and multi-dimensional and he was just ordinary in his mind. So he felt out of his depth, surely you'd prefer someone like D.O. or Suho. Someone intelligent and sophisticated but Chanyeol jumped anytime a stage confetti cannon went off. At the next award show your group was in attendance and so was Exo which was exciting because your groups were rarely at the same event especially nowadays. You were looking forward to a laid-back night just enjoying performances when Irene, who was meant to MC, became too sick to go on. She could barely stand up straight so was out of the question and you all began debating who should do it but there was only one plausible option. "Y/n you'll have to go" Irene said and you froze. "But I can't! If they're expecting you sending me out is bound to upset them". Irene rolled her eyes and Wendy punched you. "Y/n you are beautiful and they will be happy to have you there. Now go get ready...go!" she said using her leader voice and it was hard to argue when she used that. So you went to get ready but were so nervous it only took you about 10 minutes. You couldn't sit still long and so the stylist declared your hair done. Luckily you'd already had your makeup done so now you just had to wait. You were freaking out so decided to go speak to Chanyeol who was also a host. Exo always stayed at the same dressing room so you made your way there in auto-pilot. Xiumin opened the door and smiled "hey Y/n! You look great!". You smiled back "thanks is Chanyeol here? I've got to step in as MC and I'm freaking out". Xiumin nodded "of course! Come in" and he led you inside calling for Chanyeol.

That’s when you spotted the beautiful man and despite everything, your heart still sped up a little just from seeing him. 

Chanyeol turned and stopped as he saw you. "Woah" he said "Y/n you look insanely good" he gaped and you smiled but he could tell it didn't meet your eyes. "Y/n what's wrong?" he asked. You sighed "I've got to fill in for Irene because she's ill and I'm panicking big time". Chanyeol nodded "sit down and breathe. It's okay, you're not alone. I'll be with you to help every step of the way". "You will?" you asked and he nodded "yeah I'll go see the director now and make sure we're paired together. You'll be absolutely fine". You nodded feeling a little better but still weren't 100%, "What's wrong?" Chanyeol asked and you sighed "everyone is going to be so disappointed, they're expecting someone beautiful like Irene and they get..." you trailed off ashamed to even finish your sentence. Chanyeol was silent for a few seconds before he spoke. "Y/n that's ridiculous. You know that right?". You shrugged and Chanyeol took your hand "Y/n look at me". You didn't want to, scared you'd cry and ruin your makeup but Chanyeol gently squeezed your hand and you looked at him. "Y/n you're just as worthy as anyone else. Looks and appearances don't change that and it's irrelevant but you're just as stunning as Irene. More so in my opinion". You shook your head "now you're just going overboard" but Chanyeol shook his head "I'm not" and his expression was deadly serious. You stared at Chanyeol in shock and he gently brushed away a tear from your cheek. You shivered at his touch and sighed "I should head back to makeup and see if I've done any damage. Thank you for this...I feel better knowing you'll be there. Thank you for everything Chanyeol". He nodded "you never have to thank me, I'm always here for you" and he hugged you. You lingered in the hug just enjoying the feeling of being safe before pulling away. "I'll come find you before it starts?" Chanyeol asked and you nodded, thanked him again and left. As soon as the door shut his members went suspiciously quiet. "Come on then out with it" Chanyeol called "I'm ready for the onslaught of teasing" but the members shook their heads. "No that was really...sweet" Baekhyun said. "Really?" Chanyeol asked and D.O. nodded "yeah you were really there for her and were so kind to her". Chen nodded "well done Chanyeol". Suho paused "can I ask...have you considered you might be a bit more than that? That you could possibly be in love with Y/n?". Chanyeol's mind went blank at the meaning of those words but he knew instantly what the answer was. He blushed and Suho shook his head "sorry that was a personal question. Ignore me. I agree with the guys you were wonderful with her" and everyone carried on like Suho hadn't asked that question and like Chanyeols's response hadn't answered it. Chanyeol stuck to his word and appeared at your door before they called you. "Hey" he smiled as soon as he saw you "you ready Y/n?". You nodded "let me just check my hair once more". "It looks nice" Chanyeol told you and you blushed "okay...then I'm ready. Guys I'm leaving:". "Good luck!" everyone called. "You look great together!" Yeri added mischievously and you glared. "Just ignore her" Seulgi said "but you do both look beautiful" she smiled. Chanyeol blushed "thank you" and you smiled at how cute he looked. As you made your way backstage Chanyeol explained how he'd sorted it all with the director. "You're a lifesaver" you commented and he smiled "it's nothing, if you need anything during the show or get panicked just tap your little finger twice against your card and I'll cut in, okay?". You smiled "you thought of a secret signal?".  Chanyeol nodded "why? Do you think it's dumb?". You shook your head "no I love it!". Chanyeol smiled "great" and you both arrived. You gave your names and they told you to get ready to go live and get suited up with microphones. You did as they said and right before it went live Chanyeol squeezed your hand "you're gonna be great Y/n" and he said it with such sincerity you believe it. "So how was it?" Seulgi asked catching you after the show and you smiled "actually not so bad. I mean I did have Chanyeol beside me so I kind of had it easy but it was fun. I enjoyed chatting to the idols and the presenting felt...way better than I expected". Your members all cheered including Irene. "I'm so proud of you!" she cried flinging herself in your arms and you paused "thanks...are you okay?". Seulgi frowned "she had a lot of medicine and it's beginning to set in. I'm taking her home but wanted to check on you first. Would you like to come with us." "Or you can come to the after party with us" Joy cried posing with Wendy and Yeri. She looked so silly it made you laugh and you nodded "I kind of feel like celebrating so yeah I'd like to go". "Chanyeol was so sweet" you told Joy, Wendy and Yeri making them smile. "He's always sweet with you" Joy said and you nodded "I know but tonight was something else...he gave this whole speech to me earlier in front of all his members and it was weird. My exs were always afraid to say anything emotional in front of their friends but Chanyeol...he's different". "He is pretty special" Wendy agreed and Yeri smiled "special enough for you to finally tell him how you feel?". You blushed but didn't dismiss it automatically as you usually did. This made the girls very excited and you couldn't help but smile "let's just see how it goes. I don't want to force it but if something happens naturally then yeah...yeah I might”. Meanwhile the Exo boys were already at the afterparty."So...you and Y/n had great chemistry tonight" Lay said and Chanyeol smiled "you think?". The boys nodded and Xiumin passed him a phone "the fans think so too, they know you're friendly and loved tonight". Chanyeol flicked through a few clips of the two of you together before laughing "is that really how I look at her?". "YES!" Baekhyun cried and the boys laughed. "I never knew that" Chanyeol said "I thought I had a better poker face". "No it's terrible" D.O. said "but if it's any consolation she also looks at you like that". "She does?" Chanyeol asked and he re-watched the videos focusing on how you watched him. He blushed when he saw it was true and paused "you might have a point". "Enough of a point to go ask her out?" Sehun asked "Y/n's just walked in". Chanyeol turned to see you, Yeri, Wendy and Joy enter together. He suddenly felt very flustered because sure you looked at him like that but did you actually want him? All his worries about you being too clever for him came rushing back and he felt anxiously impulsive. Did he go for it or didn't he? The second you were open to something natural happening with Chanyeol, Wendy, Yeri and Joy decided they would make something natural happen. As soon as you walked in Joy bought your favourite shot and they did their best to keep your energy and mood up. Pretty soon you were having a brilliant night and had been dancing for a few songs when a tall handsome man appeared in front of you. "Mind if I join in?" Chanyeol asked and you nodded "of course!" and danced together having fun. You'd had enough alcohol to make you feel buzzed and felt fully at ease despite how great Chanyeol looked or how your heart fluttered. When the song turned to more of a ballad you laughed at the look on Chanyeol's face and gently put his arms around you. "Here, we can slow dance, if you want?". "Yeah I want to!" Chanyeol agreed and you swayed together. "You did amazing tonight” Chanyeol said smiling down at you and you blushed. "Well if I did it was only because of you" You replied "I got through it because you were beside me". Chanyeol blushed "I'm pleased I have that effect, that I can be useful to someone like you". "Someone like me?" You asked confused and Chanyeol paused "I just meant you're so intelligent and put together that I'm pleased I could help you in any way. That I could support you...not that I wanted you to struggle of course!". You smiled "I get what you're saying Chanyeol and you're so sweet. You've always been so kind to me even from the start". Chanyeol chuckled "yeah I have always had a soft spot for you" making you blush "you have?". He nodded "yeah the guys always mention it. How i'll say no to something they ask me to do but if you ask I say yes. They call it favouritism but I call it common sense. Of course I prefer you to them". You blushed "I feel honoured and don't know what I did to deserve such lovely treatment". "You were you" Chanyeol shrugged "simple as that". You went to speak and then trailed off "I don't know what to say...". "You don't have to say anything" Chanyeol replied and he looked at you with those big beautiful eyes until you decided enough was enough. "Actually I do know what to say...I like you Chanyeol, as more than a friend and I want you". "You do?" Chanyeol asked, his big eyes going even bigger and you nodded "yes". "I want you too and always have" Chanyeol admitted and kissed you. The girls were dancing nearby and Yeri spotted you first. She gasped and yanked Joy's arm "look! It worked!" she cried and Joy and Wendy turned to see the two of you wrapped up together. "Yes!" they cried and the three girls did a victory dance leaping around together which made the Exo members look over and also gasp. They began to cheer and you both broke apart at the noise. Chanyeol motioned for them to shut up but they just cheered louder making everyone look over at you. You were both blushing but Chanyeol hadn't let go of your hand. "Come on" you said leading him away and he followed you out into the crisp night air. You both laughed at the situation and how goofy your members were before going quiet realising what just happened. "So you really want me?" Chanyeol asked and you nodded "yes". "Even though I'm not...as clever as you'd like". "As clever as I'd like?" you asked and Chanyeol nodded "yeah you're way smarter than me so thanks for looking past that I guess". "Chanyeol there was nothing to look past! I don't care what your IQ is the main thing I care about is that you're a nice person and you are! Plus you're not stupid, there's a lot I admire about you including your brain". Chanyeol was surprised at that but pleased so his smile returned "and what are these other parts of my body you admire about me?" he asked coming closer. "I never said they were body parts" you argued and he smiled "no but your eyes did" making you blush. "Dammit!" you said pretending to be angry and Chaneyol laughed tilting your chin up so he could kiss you. It was a lot softer and sweeter outside just the two of you and it felt perfect...until you were interrupted again. "Hey Chen you were right!" Sehun cried before pausing as you both pulled apart and looked at him. "Don't stop on our account!" Baekhyun cried "get it Chanyeol" and Chanyeol shook his head at him. "So this is cute" Kai smiled and you both blushed. "I finally told her how I feel...or more accurately Y/n told me and I followed" Chanyeol admitted. "Knew it!" Xiumin cried and he patted Suho "pay up". "You bet on this?" you asked and they nodded "yeah who would break first" and several other members exchanged money too. "Unbelievable!" Chanyeol said and you both laughed. "We'll leave you alone now" Suho said "unless you want a ride back home with us?". You paused not sure how quickly you wanted to move but Chanyeol sensed this and smiled "thanks but I think we're going to hang out for a bit" and he waved the guys off. You spent all night together but not in the typical way. You found a late-night bowling alley and played a few games together. Chanyeol gave you some tips which was really just an excuse for him to wrap his arms around you which you both knew but neither of you minded. Then you played in the arcade until the early hours of the morning. Chanyeol dropped you off at your place feeling invigorated even after getting zero hours sleep. He walked you to the door and was just about to kiss you when the door opened and Irene appeared. She blinked as she spotted Chanyeol and flushed "oh sorry we're the two of you...I was just happy you were home. Carry on" and she closed the door. You blushed thoroughly embarrassed but Chanyeol found it hilarious. "Suho's the same with us, that's probably why they get along so well". You nodded "yeah that makes sense, see you are smart" and Chanyeol blushed adorably. "You're so cute" you said and reached up to kiss him. You only intended it as a peck but Chanyeol wasn't letting that good an opportunity pass and when you were still outside 10 minutes later Irene appeared "Y/n bring him inside if you're going to do that, what will the neighbours think?" making you both burst out laughing. Irene was deadly serious even as you and Chanyeol wiped tears from your eyes. "It's okay don't worry I'm leaving" Chanyeol said and Irene nodded taking your hand as if to stop you going with him. "I'll text you" Chanyeol said and Irene nodded "I should hope so" making you both smile. You knocked her arm and Irene sighed "sorry Chanyeol just our Y/n's special and I want to see her treated right". Chanyeol smiled "don't worry, I intend nothing else" and after saying goodbye to you both he walked away. "You'll probably want to rest after being out all night" Irene said "but I could make you some breakfast or something if you're hungry?". "No I'm good, I'm going to drink some water and I promise I'll go to bed soon" you said and Irene nodded "make sure you do" and patted your shoulder. You sat on the window with a glass in your hand and watched the beautiful sunrise but to be fair anything would've looked beautiful to you that morning...because Chanyeol was yours. As if summoned a text lit up your phone from Chanyeol himself asking if you were free this evening for dinner. You smiled and let yourself enjoy this moment. You'd earned it.

[paintingwhiteceilings]

can you make exo members as your childhood best friend? and with fem reader please! love your writing <3

❃EXO members as your childhood best friend❃

A/N: Hiii thank you so much for this ask! I am so sorry that it has taken me months to finally respond to it :’)  I spent the last few months birthing a 35.000-word, 65-page thesis so I didn’t have any time/energy left to do any creative writing. Regardless, thank you for this cute ask! It was fun reminiscing over my memories with my childhood friend that I have known since I was four months old. Thank you for being so patient with me the very long wait, hopefully, this makes up for it!

Xiumin/Minseok:

✾ Xiumin and you became friends during recess in primary school. He noticed your classmates constantly picked you last whenever you played a game together during recess. Thus, whenever he was chosen to be a team captain, he made sure to pick you first, resulting in you two becoming close friends.

✾ Your mom adores him; heck, she prefers him over you. Xiumin has always been the perfect son; he got perfect grades, is polite, is handsome, cleans up after himself, etc. Whenever you call her, she asks whether you can pass the phone to him so she can ask her favourite child how he is doing.

✾ He is a very consistent friend. Regardless of how busy his schedule is, he makes sure to drop by your place regularly. If he can't visit you in person, he will have a four-hour phone call with you instead, where you two talk about everything and anything happening in your lives.

✾ At some point during your friendship, he had a massive crush on you. He never told you -and you might not have noticed it- but it was incredibly obvious to everyone around you as they watched him follow you with puppy dog eyes. Your mother still holds out hope that you will end up together.

Suho/Junmyeon:

✾ You guys became friends all the way back in pre-school when Suho noticed you were having trouble learning how to tie your shoelaces. Five-year-old Suho wasted no time and offered to help you out, patiently teaching you how to do it. You have stuck together ever since, remaining close throughout your teenage years.

✾ Suho dragged you through secondary school; if it hadn't been for him functioning as your tutor throughout your educational career, you would not have had the grades you ended up graduating with. Nowadays, he mostly gives you advice on work and will look over contract details with you when needed.

✾ He was 1000% your wealthy, rich best friend growing up. His childhood birthday parties were incredibly lavish; he would take all his friends to theme parks when he was younger, his parents paying for every expense. Even nowadays, he never misses a chance to spoil you rotten, taking you on already-paid-for trips whenever he is able to.

✾ You guys have stayed at each other's places so often that you call each other's parents mom and dad. It is not unusual for one of you to have dinner with the other's parents without the other present.  

✾ Compared to the other members, he is less consistent with meetups, not minding it too much when a lot of time passes between phone calls. You can go months without talking to each other before sending the other a random TikTok or stopping by each other's place unannounced.

Baekhyun:

✾ The two of you have a crazy story of how you met. You met Baekyhun shortly after moving into the same street. At the time, you were convinced mermaids were real, so you decided it was perfectly reasonable to dive into the river running next to your house to introduce yourself to them without actually being able to swim. Luckily for you, Baekyhun happened to be playing nearby and jumped in after you without a second thought, rescuing you from drowning. He still holds it over you whenever he needs a favour.  

✾ You have so many weird stories of when you were growing up together. You two would constantly get into trouble, most of it initiated by Baekyhun. It got to the point where your teachers decided to put you in different classes to prevent you two from pulling pranks during class.

✾ Your place is his place, and vice versa. On one occasion, you accidentally switched apartments; Baekyhun had gone over to yours whilst you had visited him. You still complain that he should cover your grocery bills as he tends to eat most of the food in your fridge whenever he is over.

✾ Baekyhun is such a loyal friend; he will always have your back and drop everything to come running when you tell him you need him. Baekyhun has friends he has known for over 20 years; he is a friend for life.

Chen/Jongdae:

✾ Your dad and his dad were best friends, introducing you to one another when you were two years old in the hopes you would become best friends, too. At first, you two were painfully shy, hiding behind your fathers to stare at the other strange kid, but after leaving you two alone for an hour, you two became quick friends.

✾ He acts very much like a brother. Chen can be super annoying, teasing you whenever he gets a chance, but he will drop everything and anything when you call him. He will not let anyone else -not even his members- tease you; it is only okay if he does it.

✾ You two give each other the best advice. You guys regularly call each other to talk about whatever problems and hardships you are going through. 

✾ Chen wasted no time in asking you to be one of the bridesmaids at his wedding. God knows how much you contributed to the two getting together and how much time you spent helping Chen plan the proposal. 

✾ Chen and his wife immediately called you to ask whether you wanted to be the godmother the moment they discovered she was pregnant. He cannot wait for you to have a child of your own so they can become best friends, too.

Chanyeol:

✾ You two met in primary school when you were six, and your teacher decided to have you sit together. Chanyeol got super competitive when he discovered you had gotten a higher grade than him on a spelling test, resulting in a friendly rivalry. To this day, you two get along perfectly well, but the moment that grades or board games are involved, a war will break out.

✾ He 1000% bullied you into playing video games with him. Chanyeol even bought you a gaming laptop, trying to convince you to join him. Regardless of his schedule or location, you have a regular game night where you play random multiplayer games, affectionately yelling at each other.

✾ You developed a tiny crush on Chanyeol when you first saw him after he got his growth spurt. It did not last very long, however; you remembered he was the same Chayeol who once ate a crayon on a dare and puked the contents of his stomach all over your shoes.

✾ Chanyeol is the worst wingman. He is very protective over you, and, according to his opinion, nobody is good enough to date you. Whenever you go out drinking, he will lurk behind you, attempting to intimidate whoever dares to come up to you. This man might be secretly in love with you and absolutely in denial about his feelings.

✾ Chanyeol once wrote a song about your friendship, but he has not yet made up his mind on whether he wants to release it. Part of him feels he should save it for a solo album.

D.O./Kyungsoo:

✾ You met Kyungsoo as he is the son of your mother's best friend. His mother had asked yours to introduce you two as Kyungsoo was a painfully shy child, and she wanted him to have more friends his age. Initially, he was quiet around you, hiding behind his mother whenever she brought him over. However, he slowly came out of his shell the more you played together.  

✾ You two didn’t attend the same schools but remained good friends nonetheless. Whenever school would end, you would rush to meet up underneath a big old tree in the park near your house. You would sit there for hours, talking about your day or doing your homework together, until it got dark.

✾ Kyungsoo never told you, but you were the main reason why he pursued a career in acting and singing. You never failed to hype him up, giving him the confidence to put himself out there. He fondly remembers the countless karaoke nights where you would be his biggest fan, praising his skills when the song would end.

✾ He definitely developed a crush on you somewhere during your teenage years. Kyungsoo never felt the need to act on it, finding your friendship too precious to risk anything. His friends were very aware of it, though, teasing him whenever he would rush out the moment school ended to meet up with you.

Kai/Jongin:

✾ You two met on a playground when you were three years old. Someone had pushed you off the wigwam, and Kai, seeing you cry, stood up for you as much as a three-year-old can stand up for someone else. He refused to leave your side after, playing with you until it was time to go home. You two have been close friends ever since.

✾ He insisted on you taking dance classes with him, thinking it was fun to have something to do together. It became your regular weekly meetup point, enabling you to stay connected even when you went to different schools. You would show up an hour before class would start, just so you could talk without being scolded by the teacher, and would take your sweet time walking home, squeezing out as much time as you could.  

✾ You recognize that Kai is incredibly handsome whenever you see him perform, but all you are able to see when he thrusts his hips is the same kid who once fell into a pond when he was collecting a bunch of rocks because he thought they were pretty and cried over a feather because he felt bad for the bird that lost it. Having so many embarrassing childhood memories of him is why you are still sane and not drooling over him.

✾ Kai bombards you with messages throughout the day; you once had over fifty notifications from him as he sent you every video and photo of a dog or cat he stumbled upon.

Sehun:

✾ You and Sehun met during daycare and initially did not get along whatsoever. You two got into a fight when Sehun stole the stuffed animal you were playing with, resulting in the caretaker putting the both of you in time-out. Weirdly enough, you bonded over your time in toddler jail, becoming inseparable after you were set free.

✾ Sehun and you constantly bicker with one another, having no problem calling the other one out or, as you like to put it, keeping the other person humble. To those who know you well, they liken your dynamic to that of an old married couple. However, people who do not know your friendship tend to assume you hate each other.

✾ Sehun gets insanely jealous when you hang out with his members or other friends of his. You are his friend, and as much as he likes his friends getting along, the bratty part of him hates when you do not have time for him. He will become incredibly whiny when too much time has passed between meetups and when he feels like you are ditching him for your friends.

✾ Sehun is your favourite gossip buddy. He will randomly call you to tell you whatever drama he witnessed or caught wind of. If calling is not an option, he will instead send you a thirty-minute voice note explaining the situation in full detail. Your chat is basically a podcast where you update one another about people you do not know and drama that does not concern you.

Masterlist

[marvelous-llama]

EXO recs

most of the mentioned works is 18+ NSFW, MINORS DNI

tumblr is based on reblogs not likes, so please reblog and comment under works you like. Show love to the authors and appreciate their hard work

<<next chapters

pls don´t hesitate to hmu, if any of mentioned links doesn´t work or you have suggestions for more fics... thank you so much for all the love and comments

OT9

Exordia Academy by @kpopfanfictrash

Welcome to the Exodus Mall by @yehet-me-up

12 days of lust by @kwanisms

Gaurdian angel series by @marshmallow-phd (Kyungsoo, Sehun, Baekhyun, Jongin, Chanyeol, Junmeon)

Vampire series by @marshmallow-phd (Tao, Chanyeol, Yixing, Luhan, Minseok, Jongin, Kyungsoo, Baekhyun)

Crimson Aurora Hotel & Spa collab by @myeoning-call

meant to be by @galactichen

Kim Minseok

Kim Junmyeon

Zhang Yixing

Byun Baekhyun

Kim Jongdae

Park Chanyeol

Do Kyungsoo

Kim Jongin

Oh Sehun

[reddoll123]

Face of Innocence~

[exoldiary]

BAEKHYUN X TEOLAEGI header 🐶🍓

• fav if you liked. 🩶

• reblog if you saved. 🔃

We Are One~~🩶

[proudahgase-exol]

How getting drunk with Exo be like (my opinion)

Minseok: 10/10

He likes a good drink, and he will be down to drink with you. It will be a Saturday night when you suggested to go for a drink and he agreed. You guys went to your favorite spot and ordered a few drinks, with Minseok Drinking is always fun, but he will be the responsible one between you both. He will make sure you are safe and comfortable and will not let you off his sight.

Junmyeon: 10/10

With Junmyeon, it will be kind of hard. He will want to stay sober so he can take care of you, especially if it’s somewhere public. But if it’s at home, he migh let lose a little. He will have a few glasses of wine or beer depending on his mood. He will still take care of you and make sure you don’t do something stupid. He will also make sure you don’t throw up on yourself.

Yixing: 8/10

He will be down to drink with you; he will also be a sad, clingy drunk who will probably sit down in a corner looking confused. Well, you drunkenly talk to him; he will also get sleepy, so you will have to take care of him. When he’s drunk, he will tell anyone who hears him about his eight brothers and how cool they are; he might show them his favorite Exo dance.

Baekhyun: 6/10

He was the one who came to your place with drinks. He was stressed from work, so he wanted to "relax.” At first, he’s acting normal, but then he will get super sad and cry about god knows what. He will also get mad and try to leave your place, saying he should go. You will have to seat him down because he's acting up.

Jongdae: 100000/10

He is a chill drunk, he will start to sing out of nowhere and will show off his good singing skills. He will also be giggling about nothing, then get up from his seat and start to dance and sing. His just a really happy drunk, you will not get bored with him.

Chanyeol: -2000/10

At first, it’s all jokes and games. He will be laughing and joking. He will be doing a happy dance and singing in a funny way, but then he will do a 360-degree turn and be a crying mess. He will want to be held. He will be sad about the most stupid thing ever. He is really a sad drunk, so if you're getting drunk with him, you will need to hug him and make sure he knows his loved.

Kyungsoo: 2/10

He's not much of a drinker, but when he gets quite drunk, he will sit down and judge the shit out of people. He will look like he’s angry, but he’s just drunk. He will also talk in a low voice and get annoyed at everything and everyone.

Kai: 1000000000/10

He's a happy drunk he will be singing, dancing, jumping, you name it he will also be hugging you every few seconds he will show off his dance and singing skills he will also make you dance with him and will laugh at you if you do a dance move wrong he might be drunk but even so he’s still a great dancer and will make fun of you for not dancing like him

Sehun: -100/10

He will be talkative when drunk and will talk about his dog and his hyungs. He will also be a show-off; he will show how much his hyungs spoiled him and will make fun of you if you do anything stupid or if you talk nonsense. He will turn into a bully when drunk and only with people with whom he’s comfortable.

[jaemmphilia]

☾ violent night ☽

☾ synopsis: you are sick and tired of chen hogging all the blankets. especially when the heater is broken and it's below freezing. ☾ featuring: chen (exo) x gn!reader ☾ prompt: "i almost fist-fought you last night when you took the blanket." ☾ warnings: chen is an accidental meanie, slight age gap (31 and 27), oral (m receiving) ☾ disclaimer: this is just a work of fiction and does not represent chen as a person. ☾ triplejracha, 2024. please do not copy, translate, or upload to other platforms.

read hjenthusiasts' version hereeeee! <33

a gust of freezing air hit your bare legs and jolted you out of what was once a nice, warm slumber. your body shivered, your hand reaching blindly for the thick duvet. when you felt nothing there, your eyes opened, slowly adjusting to the darkness of the room.

you rolled over just a bit to see your boyfriend, jongdae, curled up with the duvet in his arms. you furrowed your brows and tugged the blanket out of his grip. jongdae didn't even stir, he just let go of the blanket and let out a deep sigh. you rolled your eyes and got back into your comfortable position, your eyes closing as you fell back to sleep.

the next morning, you're up making coffee for you and jongdae, one of your thick throw blankets wrapped around your shoulders. you hope that someone can come out and look at your heating, it's been out for almost three weeks and you don't know how much more could take.

you hear heavy footsteps trudging down the stairs and you poke your head out of the kitchen doorway to see jongdae tying his robe around his naked upper body. he lets out a loud yawn and you shake your head as you pour the coffee into two mugs (the mugs are matching).

"good morning, handsome," jongdae says to you as he presses a kiss to your temple. you lean into his kiss, a smile painted on your face.

"morning, how did you sleep?" you ask, sliding his mug of coffee toward him as you reach to open a cabinet above you, containing sugar and other coffee additives.

jongdae hums as he takes a sip of his coffee. you'll never understand how he can just drink it straight from the pot and although you might tease him about it, you never shamed him for it. "i slept pretty well, i got a little cold at one point, though."

that's when you remember his heinous act from last night. you halt your movements and you face him with your hands on your hips. your lips are pursed as you look him up and down.

"well, i almost fist-fought you last night when you took the blanket." you state, causing jongdae to stop mid-sip. you see his eyes peer at you over the rim of his tipped mug. you watch as his eyes turn into crescents, his cheeks risingin amusment at your "angered" expression.

jongdae's chest rumbles with laughter. on a typical day, you would revel in his laughter, finding joy in such a sound. but right now, you're supposed to be angry with him.

"i don't know why you're laughing, i almost froze to death last night!" you exclaim, pointing an accusatory finger at the older male.

"you're being quite dramatic, huh?" jongdae teases you, his mug placed on the counter, his full attention on you now. he's leaning against the counter behind him, his arms crossed against his chest.

you sputter at him, a incredulous look on your face. how dare he, he's supposed to feel bad and apologize to you!

"i am not! i expect you to make this up to me, you know!" you spouted, pouring some sugar into your mug of coffee. you feel jongdae shift beside you then you feel his hand on your hip.

jongdae moves you so that you're standing in front of him. you allow him to maneuver you, looking at him confused. jongdae doesn't say anything, he just gets down on his knees.

now you're even more confused.

jongdae tugs your sleep shorts down to your ankles, taking your boxers with them. he runs his hands up and down your bare thighs, your half-chub right in his face.

he brings his hands up to stroke you to full hardness, making you place your hands on the counter in front of you to hold yourself up. jongdae then wraps his lips around the tip of your cock, which gets you hard pretty fast. you bite the knuckle of your index finger, slightly muffling a moan.

jongdae takes you down further in his mouth, his hand pumping whatever he doesn't have in his mouth. your mouth is open as a multitude of moans spill from your lips, you also started drooling onto the counter at some point.

you aren't known for lasting long when getting a blowjob, this time is no different. it isn't much longer and you're spilling your cum down jongdae's throat, your hips stuttering as your legs nearly give out from under you.

jongdae pulls your shorts and underwear back up for you as he wipes his mouth with the back of his hand.

then he just picks up his mug and goes on about his day as you come down from your high. he really is bold.

[eomayas]

masterlist

exo masterlist

svt masterlist

[marshmallow-phd]

A Manor of Shadow and Blood

Genre: Regency Gothic AU

Pairing: EXO x Reader

Summary: A stormy night brought you to the manor in the middle of the woods. Nine strange men occupied its halls. They won’t let you leave. A dangerous secret haunts this estate. Learning it might either be your saving grace or it could lead to the last breath you ever take.

Part: 1 I 2 I 3 I 4 I 5

**

The grand hall was lit as bright as midday. Every surface was polished to perfection, reflecting the candlelight at a greater force. Brilliant brass and gold surrounded you as you made your way through the dancing couples, their movements in perfect sync. Wrapped in each other's arms, they spin around without a care for your wandering presence. 

While all who surrounded you were decorated in blacks and whites, your own dress was the color of freshly spilled blood. The heavy skirts that hug from your waist made it difficult to navigate the ballroom. Their fullness was of an older fashion, one that maybe your grandmother would have worn in her youth. The dropped shoulders left you exposed, your skin chilled despite the amount of bodies in here. 

You kept navigating the dance floor, on the look out for something, though you didn’t know what. Then you felt the familiar burn of eyes boring into your back, which sent a shiver down your spine. You whirled around to find the source, the dress brushing at your feet with the sudden motion. Through the crowd, you spotted Baekhyun leaning against the wall. With a single finger, he beckoned you over. And you obeyed. 

Breaking through the sea of dancers, you took in his elegant suit, the hems lined with gold thread that shimmered against black velvet. 

"You shouldn't dance alone," he purred. Arms crossed over his chest, he smirked at you with a grin even the devil wouldn't wear.

"I have no partner," you retorted. He held out a lazy hard. Hardly the romantic gesture. "No, thank you." 

"How about me?" asked a sweet voice in your ear. 

You turned your head to find Junmyeon at your back. He laid a soft hand on your hip to keep you from escaping out of propriety. When you didn’t shove him away, the hand slyly moved to your stomach, pulling your bare shoulder blades into his chest. With the fingers of his left hand, he tilted your chin towards him. 

"Am I a suitable partner?" 

No answer passed your lips. You could think of nothing to say. The thought of him twirling you around the dance floor was not… unpleasant. 

Junmyeon neither needed nor cared for a reply. He dipped his head to your shoulder and pressed a kiss to the skin. A small gasp passed your lips. And then he pressed another. More and more as he climbed up the curve of your neck. Heat rose from every inch of you as you sighed into the affectionate touches. You relaxed into his touch, welcoming each new contact of his lips. 

"It's rude not to share, Junmyeon.”

Your attention snapped back to Baekhyun, who you had forgotten was there. He pushed himself off the wall and stepped closer to you so he stood in front of the minor. 

No, not a mirror. There was no reflection. 

Except… there was. The mirror reflected the floor, the ceiling, the candlelight. You. 

But not Baekhyun. Not Junmyeon. And not the dancers still spinning behind you. 

Fingers snaked through your hair and pulled your head back, your vulnerable neck exposed. From the gallery above, Kyungsoo watched as elongated fangs flashed behind Junmyeon’s lips and plunged into your neck. 

*****

You woke with a start, the blanket flying off of you as you sat up in a fury. Sweet drenched every pore of your skin. Your day old dress clung to your skin in a way that felt suffocating. Each breath was a struggle for your lungs. 

Vampires. The nightmarish tale that had kept you up as a child until you were convinced they weren't real turned out to be true. But how could they be real? 

Creatures of the night. Blood drinkers. Horror stories meant to keep children from wandering about after dark. 

Curling your legs to your chest and encasing them in your arms, you tried to think of a way out. To escape. With what strength you possessed, you slid off the bed and walked over to the window. The sun, so bright and full of life, was just beginning its descent towards the horizon. Night–their domain–was hours away. If the legends were true, then they would all be asleep at this moment. Any risk that was to be taken had to be taken now. 

After changing into a sturdier dress, you retrieved your still mud-covered boots and, keeping them in one hand, you carefully pushed away the pathetic barrier and snuck out of the room. 

Each step was taken with unmatched caution. You tested every board with your foot before fully committing. Any squeak of a floor or stumble down a stair could alert them to your escape. But by the grace of a miracle, you made it to the front door. Fingers trembling, you pulled on the boots and tied up the laces before opening the door only wide enough for you to slink through. 

The next breath taken outside was like the first breath of life. But there was no time to take it in. 

Gathering your skirts in your grip, you took off into the trees. The dirt was dry and sturdy under your feet. Branches and leaves crunched with the weight of your boots. A lady’s delicacy was out of the question as you ran without abandon. You didn't know what direction you were running. But vampires needed blood to survive and they weren’t drinking yours. And Jongdae had brought those buns from a bakery, not their own kitchen. You doubted any of them knew how to cook. That meant a village or town had to be nearby. Junmyeon had lied about the isolation of the manor. If you just kept going, you could find freedom. 

However, your stamina was running out. This was never your preferred activity. Your lungs and throat burned in an unfamiliar way. The sun still shined above. A short respite could be spared. 

You leaned against a tree trunk for support. In your boots your feet pulsed. Only now did you realize that you had run away without food or water. Not knowing where the kitchen was located, you didn't have time to waste on it. You could survive, you told yourself. Just a little farther. The town couldn’t be too far. Unless you were headed in the wrong direction. 

A rustling rippled through the silent forest. You snapped to attention, trying to find the source. 

“The wind,” you gasped between ragged breaths. “It had to be the wind.” 

A low, rumbling growl said it wasn't wind. 

In the distance, large silhouettes emerged. Wolves. Nearly a dozen of them. 

You ran as fast as your crying legs could take you. With their superior nature built for the hunt, the wolves caught up to you within seconds. Their growls and howls grew louder and more threatening behind you. Running from the manor had been easy. Running from the wolves was to be your end. 

Powerful paws slammed into your back. You were thrown to the ground, rolling across the ground as a scream ripped at your throat. The momentum stopped you on your stomach. Hair covered your face, but you could still see your death through the strands. 

Wolves of gray and black gathered in a half moon circle. They had their prey in perfect position. The middle wolf pounced. All you had time to do was throw up your arms to protect your face. Claws raked across your forearm. Another scream echoed through the merciless trees. The wolf landed on the other side of you with pride. Now you were surrounded. A second wolf leapt. 

A blur appeared in front of you and collided with the wolf midair. The two bodies tumbled across the forest floor. A human and the wolf. 

Not a human. 

Chanyeol. The wolf trapped within his grasp, Chanyeol tightened his grip–

Crack. 

The wolf fell limply to the ground, its tongue hanging from its jaw. 

The others appeared seconds later. Not understanding what they were up against, the wolves let you go to attack the newest threat. 

"Are you alright?" Junmyeon knelt down in front of you. His hands were outstretched as if you were the wild animal on the verge of attack. Behind him, snarls and whimpers told of the fight–and who was winning. Despite not answering him, he caught sight of your bleeding arm. "We need to get back to the manor." 

He didn't ask permission before picking you up into his arms and sprinting through the forest. Everything blurred past you, your loose hair whipping at your face. He burst through the manor doors and didn't stop until he was able to set you down in the largest chair. Once you were safe, he fell to his knees, only his palms keeping him upright. The others soon stumbled in behind him, heaving and collapsing onto the floor. Only then did you notice the smoke floating up from each of their backs. Patches of burnt, red skin sizzled on their knuckles and faces. Anything that had been exposed to the sun. 

"Baekhyun," Junmyeon gasped. 

"I already have it." Kyungsoo came into the parlor with bottles stacked in his arms. He quickly passed them around, waiting until the others were quenching their thirst before pulling the cork out of his own bottle and chugging the contents. 

With his bottle empty, Junmyeon tossed it to the side and wiped his mouth with his sleeve. Red smears stained the ivory fabric. You shrank back in the chair as he turned towards you. 

"What hell were you thinking!" He growled. "I warned you about the wolves!" 

"Junmyeon, she's shaken up enough," Jongdae defended. Before your eyes, his burnt skin healed to be like new.

"She could have been killed!" 

Your head was pounding. He was… concerned about your life? The legends said that the sun was a vampire's deadliest enemy. It was why they thrived in the darkness. But they had all risked a final death to come after you. 

"Did you hear me scream?" you whispered. You could barely feel your own lips moving. All heads tuned to you. 

Yixing was the one to answer. "Yes. We all heard you." 

"Why were you out there?" Sehun asked aggressively.

You sucked in a sharp breath. There was no escaping the truth now. You stared at Jongdae. "I figured it out.” 

Baekhyun laughed. "At least we don't have to walk around delicately anymore." 

"When exactly did you do so?" Minseok mocked.

"Then you should remember what I said to you before was true. Harm would not come to you within these walls." Junmyeon crouched down next to the chair. His eyes... there was something behind the darkness that tugged at your still wildly beating heart. "I know you were running away. And if you're desperate to get away enough to get yourself killed, then the choice can be yours. We can send you on your way with every provision. Or," he cleared his throat, "you stay here. With us." 

A choice? He was giving you a choice?

Your gaze drifted over the faces that stared back at you. Even Kyungsoo refused to look away while he waited. There was almost a plea in his expression, a subtle beg. But was it to stay? Or for you to run as far away as possible? 

Junmeyon took your attention away when he picked up your wounded arm with delicate fingers. His pleading was much more clear. 

To leave would be the better choice. The more sane choice. But what would happen afterwards? You could claim being lost in the woods. With evidence of the carriage and the missing driver, what else could they believe? After a few days on bed rest, you would be back by your aunt's side, following her every whim. Including indulging her on a "perfectly adequate" suitor because you had no other option, no other path. That suitor who would then become your future. But you didn't want it. You refused to give in to it. 

Already within these few days, you were… changed in a way. They might not be human, but these men would forever be burned into your memory. Who could move you with music the way Chanyeol had? What silent strength could match the aura of Junmyeon? You had been promised that none of them would harm you. The chance for something extraordinary was right in front of you. The kind of chance you had only read about. It just had to be taken.

"I think… I think I want to stay."

*****

The moon became an ever changing friend. You hardly saw the sun anymore. Like the men you had given yourself over to, you lived under the stars. It was oddly beautiful. This time was often forgotten about by you and many others. The night was only a background to your time within your dreams. But now it was your entire world. 

Every evening, you awoke to the dying orange light of the day. Breakfast always waited for you outside the door. It was the rule that no one broke; none could enter your room without explicit permission from you. Those walls remained your safe haven when things grew too overwhelming. 

Despite your decision to stay, discovering that other creatures walked the earth required a step away once in a while. Especially now, with you aware of their true nature, the men were refusing to hold back. 

Dropping from the roof, running around with spectacular speed, and lifting objects that ten men couldn't hold. It was remarkable. Except for the diet and inability to walk in the sun, the… condition seemed more like a blessing.

"You're rather thoughtful this evening,” Jongdae commented. He walked beside you like he did every twilight. 

After you finished your breakfast, you met Jongae at the front doors to go on a walk around the manor grounds. Often others would join you as well. Junmyeon was the most frequent, though Yixing, Changed, and Jongin made many appearances over the past week and a half. Boundaries were constantly tested, but one word from you and they retreated.

"I guess you could say I am thoughtful tonight," you finally sighed. You hadn’t realized that you were being so obviously quiet. Funny, since you would have thought Jongdae would enjoy the silence. You typically had many questions or comments of your own to make. 

"Should I go steal a penny from Sehun?" 

You laughed. "I'd like to think my thoughts are worth more than a single penny.”

"They must be if you've become so skilled in deflecting from them." He crossed over to block your path. Gaze narrowed, he studied your carefully guarded expression. "What are you thinking about so hard? Regretting your decision to stay already?" 

"No," you insisted. "Not at all."

He raised an eyebrow that simply asked, "Then what?" 

"Do you always stay here?" you countered. "At the manor, I mean." 

"We travel," Jongdae answered with a nod. "Not too often. It’s a bit difficult, you see."

"But we like traveling north.” Minseok dropped from who-knew-where, landing with barely bent knees and hands folded behind his back. "In the winter, the night lasts longer. Junmyeon has a small hunting lodge up there. 

A hunting lodge? "Then why do you stay here?" 

Minsoek shrugged. "This manor is bigger." 

"Having nine of us in one household can be a bit volatile,” Jongdae added. He stepped aside to continue the stroll. "We need the room to separate so we don't level a building." 

Your foot caught on an invisible lump in the grass. "You could destroy a building while fighting?" 

Minseok snickered as he caught your stumble and helped steady your stance. His hand lingered at your waist until your sharpened glare made him remove it. "We haven’t crumbled a wall in a few years."

You scoffed at the casual tone. "What sort of fight caused that?" 

"I can't remember." Minseok leaned forward slightly to look at Jongdae for help. But he didn't seem to recall either. 

"Who knows what started it between Chanyeol and Kyungsoo.”

Your mouth dropped open in shock. Kyungsoo and Chanyeol had fought over something to the point of destroying a wall to crumble? It didn't feel plausible. Neither seemed like the hot-headed sort. You wanted to know the igniting incident so desperately. 

Both Jongdae and Minseok suddenly whipped their heads towards the front of the manor. 

"What is it?" you asked when neither offered an explanation. 

"Junmyeon's calling for us." Jongdae scooped you up into his arms without warning. At your confused expression, he explained, "We're not leaving you alone out here." Remember your last adventure in the woods lingered in the silence.

The short lived wind whipped at your hair that you still wore loose to cover your neck. As soon as he stopped running, you wiggled out of his arms to be back on your feet. Everyone else was already gathered just outside the door. Several eyed you and Jongdae with suspicious and annoyed glares. You took a step away from him for some separation. 

Clearing his throat, Junmyeon called everyone to attention. "We have to go hunting–real hunting. Now, normally, we all go together, but now that we have our guest," he nodded towards you, "some will have to stay behind with her until the first party… comes back." 

"If you all need to go,” you couldn't quite speak the word feed, "then I'll be alright. For a few hours, at least." You weren't sure how long this excursion would take.

Junmyeon's features softened. "No. We'll go in groups. Chanyeol, Kyungsoo, Minseok and I will go first. We shouldn't be gone long." He reached out and patted the top of your head before disappearing into the trees. Kyungsoo gave no goodbye as he followed suit. The last two playfully shoved each other while taking off. 

"Come." Yixing took hold of your hand and started pulling you inside. "I want to show you something."

"But–" You had wanted to ask Jongdae a question, but the traitor was already gone, off somewhere to do something he would never tell you about. So, you let Yixing take you into the manor and up the main staircase at the end of the hallway. At least he let you stay on your own feet instead of insisting on going at his speed. 

Going down an unfamiliar hallway, you were reminded how big this place was and how much you still had to explore. The men occupied most of your time, vying for your attention and pulling you this way and that so you didn’t have much time on your own. It was odd and overwhelming at times. 

During your seasons in town, you were hardly a well-sought after prize. There were prettier girls with grander dowries. You had accepted that fact. Now you were the center of a courting dance to which you knew none of the steps and possessed endless partners. 

Yixing paused in front of a door that looked identical to all the others. He kept his fingers tight around yours as he slowly turned the knob with his free hand. The door swung open. 

The gasp inhaled through your parted lips wasn't enough to convey your awe. 

Maps of all the places you'd heard of and dozens more you hadn't covered the walls like homemade wallpaper. Slipping out of Yixing's grip, you walked further into the study, spinning slowly around to take it all in. The maps were varying degrees of tan, some as light as his skin, others as dark as animal leather. 

Instead of bookshelves, doorless cabinets waist high lined three of the walls. Their squared shelves were stuffed full of parchment and ink and quills. A lone sketcher's desk sat in the middle, an unfinished drawing laying against the tilted surface. 

"What is this place?"

"It's my personal study," Yixing answered as he laid a hand on the edge of the desk. "Kyungsoo gave it to me after I had accidentally taken over one of the parlors." 

Your awe increased ten-fold. Your initial assumption was that he was a collector, not the original artist. "You drew all of these?" 

He nodded almost... shyly. "I did. I was a cartographer. Before." 

"Before?" You understood what he meant, but you didn't know how to ask for the story. 

Turning his eyes to the parchment, he pinched it between his fingers. "I didn't just love traveling. I loved capturing it on paper. I wanted to make these places into art, but not like every other painting. I wanted them to be perfect. Exact replicas as if you were staying at them from God’s point of view. And I wanted to be the best. I couldn't be, though. I wasn’t good enough." 

You moved closer to him, entranced in the story. "What happened?"

A rueful smile tightened at his lips. "I was given a chance to become perfect. What I didn't know was that I traded everyone knowing my maps for the talent to make it happen." Sorrow rolled from him like the tide warning of an oncoming storm. 

Feeling the pull to comfort him, you reached out and covered his fidgeting hand with your own steady fingers.

"People will be able to know your work some day," you whispered. "I’m sure of it." 

Perhaps you had been a bit too forward, a bit too open. 

Yixing moved gracefully forward to eliminate most of the space between you. A smooth thumb that once must have been calloused when it was human caressed the edge of your jaw. His flickering eyes made intentions obvious. 

Clearing your throat, you stepped out of the touch. "Why isn't this one finished?" You pointed to the drawing on the desk. It was an aerial view of the manor, with the top half of the parchment containing the beginning edges of the garden hedges. Disappointed, Yixing sighed and went along with your distraction. 

"I'm still working out the maze. It is intricate. Much more than I was prepared for." 

"Goodness." You were thankful that you hadn't wandered in there yet, especially on your own.

"Yixing.” 

Both of you turned towards the door to find Sehun standing under the frame. 

"Yes, Sehun?" Yixing said through somewhat gritted teeth. The young vampire wasn't phased. 

"I need to speak with you." 

"Fine." None of you moved. 

Sehun looked at you with a pointed glare.

You received the hint loud and clear. "I'll leave you, then.” 

With more relief than you cared to admit, you scurried out of the room and down the hallway. 

Around the corner, you pressed your back against the wall and forced yourself to take deep breaths that filled your lungs to capacity. Panic had been the response at Yixing's closeness. You didn't mean for that to be the response. You didn't want to be closed off to any of them. But you couldn't help it. Maybe it was merely the closeness of the situation. 

Giving yourself a small amount of grace, you pushed off the wall and made your way downstairs. So used to your time being absorbed by the men that you weren't sure what to do with yourself. Two of the ones that remained behind were currently occupied. As for the three others, they could have been anywhere. 

You wandered around the main floor with a fleeting hope that one would come to find you. Then you saw them. A row of grand doors evenly spaced along the north wall called you forward.

The grand ballroom took your breath away. Not so dissimilar to the one in your dream, though this one’s lack of warmth and light left you heartbroken. Memories of dancing figures and lively music haunted these walls. In the corner, you could imagine a small orchestra strumming their instruments in delight. 

You walked to the center where dozens of pairs used to twirl and bow and embrace each other in time with the melody. Ghostly laughter echoed in your ears. What had once been  bright and golden and full of life was dull, dark, and covered in cobwebs that swayed in the breeze of unknown origin. 

Glancing around, you confirmed that you were truly alone before closing your eyes, lifting your arms, and began a soft hum. 

You danced with an invisible partner in the fashion that your grandfather had taught you as a small child. It was more intimate than the choreographed dances currently popularized. You had always imagined your first ball like this, instead of the disappointment you really experienced. You had pictured a boy you didn’t know catching your eye. As the music was struck up, he laid a hand on your waist.

Just like now. 

Hm. Your imagination was running wild, even pretending the weight of a palm was there on your lower back. And now in your lifted left hand. 

No. That wasn’t your imagination. 

Your eyes snapped open. 

Jongin had taken the place of your imagined partner. He smiled down at you with a feline smirk as his hands tightened around you, refusing to let you slip away. There was no choice in leaving this musicless dance. You had stopped humming but he continued to whirl you around the marble floor. He controlled the dance, in charge of every step. He led with an expertise he shouldn’t have possessed–if he were a man of this age. 

In one final move, he slipped his arm fully around your waist, pulling you so close that no room remained between you. Without breaking the spin, he lifted you from the floor as if you were no more than a kitten and whirled you around like the heroine from your favorite novel.

When the spin came to a close, he set you back on your feet, but didn’t let go. Your lungs heaved from the exercise–and from the way your bodies pressed together. Each rise of your chest brought you even closer to Jongin. He kept your gaze like a stablehand trying to calm a wild horse. His right hand slipped from your fingers, softly tracing the delicate inside of your arm. The touch left behind a fire you couldn’t explain. A cold, simmering fire.

He cupped your jaw as his eyes drifted down to your lips. This was a different reaction to Yixing’s wandering gaze. Not panic, but something similar. 

Jongin held you in place as he leaned down, his lips pressing gently into the corner of yours. The thin breath in your lungs hitched. He lifted his lips only to find a new patch of skin. The delicate skin covering your pulse. Every muscle in your body froze. He kissed the skin softly. Surely, he could feel the race of your blood. 

“Whenever you need a partner,” he said in a hush against your neck, “just whisper my name.”

And then, he was gone. 

You stared off at the empty path left behind Jongin. The sheer hubris.

His name lingered on your lips, wondering if he would really come back like he said. But you kept the whisper inside and left the ballroom just the same. 

[jongbross]

What do you think Exo’s red flags are? (if you haven’t done this yet)

i discussed this with my teammate (she's an eri too, have i ever told you guys that?) and here's what we agreed on:

minseok: gets angry/annoyed too easily, so he might be a bit aggressive sometimes (but never physically). might also project his own insecurities on you.

junmyeon: will want to be the provider in your relationship so he can have some sense of control over everything, and that includes you. would want you to stay home with the kids and not have a life of your own besides him.

yixing: workaholic, will always put work first. doesn't like when you confront him about it because, honestly, you knew what you were getting into when you got with him (tbh i'm so much like him, is that my red flag too?)

baekhyun: flirts with everyone, doesn't care who it is. he likes being liked, he likes the feeling of people giggling and blushing because of him. would roll his eyes at you if you complained about it.

jongdae: literally could not pinpoint a red flag about this man and that scares me a LOT because that means he can hide his flaws very well, which makes him unpredictable (or the best person in this entire world, which is what i believe).

chanyeol: too possessive, likes to know where you are and with who. but also kinda naive, so can easily be seduced. might cheat, as i've stated before.

kyungsoo: manipulative, turns your own words against you. gets bored easily too, so he also might cheat if you're not what he expected you to be. would lie about it.

jongin: also manipulative, but in the "i'm a mess and it's because of you" way. acts really sulky to make you feel bad for whatever happened.

sehun: too competitive, doesn't like to lose to you (especially if you're a girl). might cheat if you're not satisfying his needs too.

[kimbappykidding]

You and Baekhyun had always been close and even if you hadn't been in the same company you were sure you'd have become friends. Bakehyun's group Exo and your group Red Velvet debuted not too far apart and you saw one another a lot. Baekhyun was the first one in EXO you noticed because he was so funny and friendly. You'd been so nervous back then and needed a more confident personality like Baekhun to bring you out of your shell and he did that. He was the first idol you became friends with and your friendship had stayed even years later when you'd both become successful. Then it turned into something more 3 years into your relationship. You started dating BTS' Jin a few years after your debut but just shy of your 1 year anniversary, he ended things with you. You were devastated and Baekhyun was there for you...then his girlfriend broke up with him later that same week. The timing was uncanny and you wallowed in your situations together. In an odd way, it made you feel closer to Baekhyun to go through something like this with him and you definitely became closer physically. You got drunk together and bonded over your pity, one thing led to another and you slept together. You couldn't remember all of it but recalled having fun and Baekhyun was very good. He said the same of you and jokingly offered his services if you ever needed them. The two of you laughed it off but found yourself in the same position 2 weeks later. From then it just become a deal, if you were both in the mood then you hooked up. There were no strings attached and it wouldn't change your friendship...atleast that's what you said. Neither of you even wanted a relationship so this seemed like the perfect solution. Baekhyun didn't want to date again because it hadn't worked. He didn't have enough time so he figured that was just not on the cards for him. Meanwhile, you still weren't over Jin. You didn't miss him anymore but you were scared to let another guy in and the emotional scars were still there. So it should've been perfect. You had the friendship part for comfort and the physical chemistry for sex but it wasn't as carefree as either of you pretended. You recognised you had feelings for Baekhyun and your members were always urging you to tell him. "You'll get hurt if you don't" Irene would always say and you knew she was right but couldn't bring yourself to tell him. You didn't think you could face rejection from someone so close to you again and didn't want to see the pity in Baekhyun's eyes as he looked at you. You knew he didn't feel the same way because it had been 2 years now and surely he'd have said something if he wanted this to be more? You suppose, you could've said the same about yourself but you could sense something in Baekhyun that told you he didn't feel the same way. Atleast not completely. You knew he cared for you a lot and at times thought he had caught feelings but there always seemed to be something there stopping him. You felt an invisible wall between you and knew if you pushed it, he'd just build it higher. So you ignored your feelings because there were more important things happening...like Baekhyun's enlistment.

Baekhyun's military service had been looming malevolently on the horizon for a while but it was finally here. You helped Baekhyun get everything sorted and offered as much support as possible. He didn't want to say a rushed goodbye to you when he was leaving for the airport so you spent a night together and that made everything more passionate. Baekhyun made you feel things nobody else could and you loved being with him. This was very much on your mind as you lay together and you sighed "I'm going to miss you" you said honestly and Baekhyun tightened his grip on you. "I'm going to miss you too" he said "but I'll be able to text sometimes and visit...". "I know but it's not the same and I worry about you. What if you hate it?". Baekhyun chuckled "well I don't think I'm going to love it". You made a humph noise and Baekhyun smiled "but I'll be fine okay? You don't have to worry about me. I want you to live your life as normal and it goes without saying, you should find other guys to treat you like this. You don't have to wait for me, you don't owe me anything and I'd never expect you to restrain yourself". You paused because this was the closest Baekhyun had ever come to describing your relationship...and it was to tell you to hook up with other guys. "I don't mind" you told him but Baekhyun shook his head "I want you to be happy with other guys, I won't get upset. You should be with other people" and you felt your heart break a little more but you nodded "okay".   Baekhyun left for the military 2 days later and his words echoed in your head constantly. You knew he didn't have feelings for you but still, hearing it hurt. You told your members and they comforted you. "Not to be impolite but in some ways this is good" Joy said and Irene shot her a glare. "No it is! It's better you found out before he goes than you waiting 2 years only for him to tell you when he comes back. Plus out of sight really is out of mind, you won't have to see him for ages and can focus on other people". Wendy nodded "she's actually right, it'd be so much harder if you had to bump into him everywhere but you won't!". Irene and Seulgi nodded seeing the girls' point. "Plus this is good because it means you can hook up with more guys!" Yeri said "there's more to the world than Baekhyun". You smiled "it doesn't feel like it right now". "I know it doesn't but she's right" Irene said "and this time apart will show you that. So use this time to heal and have fun". You nodded "okay! I will" and vowed to use this time wisely. Fast forward to nearly 2 years later and you wanted to kick your naive self's butt! You had not used your time to hook up with tons of hot people and focus on you. You'd slept with a grand total of 2 people and one of those was your ex Jin. "Am I just incapable of making new connections? Can my brain only repeat things?" you asked your members the morning after and they laughed. "No of course not, just the familiar is less scary that's all. Plus you always said Jin was attractive so that's what this was". You agreed but didn't believe yourself. You'd kept in contact with Baekhyun the best you could during his enlistment and had called a few times. Despite everything you missed him a lot and couldn't wait for him to return. So much so that when Suho invited you to come and pick him up with him, Kai and Chanyeol you agreed. You were nervous the whole drive over and then when you saw Baekhyun you knew why no other guys had done it for you. They weren't him. Baekhyun spotted you and a big smile filled his face. You missed that smile and rushed to his with the boys. His members got to him first and then Baekhun was in front of you again. "Y/n" he smiled and opened his arms. You stepped into his hug and felt happy to be back in his arms. You went back with Exo to a small party Suho was throwing for Baekhyun with all the members and some of his friends. Baekhyun was catching you all up on everything you missed on the drive back and when he ran out of things to say the boys started chatting among themselves. "I'm really happy to see you again" Baekhyun said and you smiled "me too! I missed you". "I missed you too" he said and put a hand on your leg. Before this, you'd considered ending this friends-with-benefits deal but the second Baekhyun looked at you like that it went out the window. You disappeared together at his welcome home party and went right back into old habits not 24 hours after he'd left the military. "Wow you just really jumped back into that" Joy said when you confessed to the girls the next day. You sighed "I know but I couldn't help it. He looked at me with those big eyes of his and I was hooked". Irene sighed but Yeri shrugged "I don't see what the problem is, I think if you still want him after 2 years apart and he clearly still wants you then go for it. You're young and can settle down at any age. Have fun with the hot guy who wants you". Wendy nodded "I agree, just decide what you want this to be. If you want to date him then tell him but if you're happy for this just to be hooking up. No relationship then that's fine". The girls nodded but Irene carried on staring at you. "I won't get hurt" you told her and she sighed gently stroking your hair "if you say so". Baekhyun's members also found it funny that the night he came back he was with you and teased him about it. It started out funny but by the end Baekhyun was worried. "How does he have a girl waiting for him the second he's discharged?" Chanyeol asked "Chen only got that because he's married. The rest of us had to wait at least 48 hours, not 3!". Baekhyun laughed "guess you're just not as magnetic as me". "Oh please, you and Y/n are as old as time" Lay said and Xuimin nodded "I don't think it counts when you're basically a couple". Baekhuun paused "but we're not a couple, we're just friends with benefits". "You don't wait 2 years for your friend with benefits to get discharged" Kai said and Baekhyun looked at him "what do you mean? Y/n didn't get with anyone while I was gone?". "Not that we could tell but I mean she could've at some point" Chen pointed out. Baekhyun frowned and Suho shushed the guys "hey leave her alone, this is a good thing. Baekhyun has a girl who cares about him a lot and will always be there for him. Who cares what they define it as, they're happy together and that's all that matters". The guys nodded but Baekhyun felt jittery and anxious. He had no idea everyone considered the two of you a couple and now he thought about it he could see why. He was worried you'd gotten the wrong idea about what this was and wondered how he could correct it. Exo had a comeback a month after Baekhyun arrived back. It was a really quick turn around and Baekhyun got almost no time to readjust but he was happy to be in the new song. It turned out really well so Baekhyun was happy he did it. They were promoting it at award shows and Baekhyun was really enjoying being back...but he still had his worries about you. You weren't at the award show but Baekhyun figured there had to be something he could do to fix the situation he was in and then he spotted an idol he thought he was done with, watching him. You hadn't seen Baekhyun much because he'd been rushing to prepare for his new comeback. He'd be so busy with work and trying to get back integrated into society, see his family and friends etc. You totally got it and gave him space. He texted you last night apologising for his absence and you told him it was totally fine. You saw Exo win an award for their new song and were so proud of them all but especially Baekhyun. He'd jumped right back into work like it was nothing and you were biased but you thought he killed the latest comeback. You want to congratulate Baekyun and knew he always got home for award shows around 1 am so headed to his place with his favourite alcohol to celebrate. You were excited to see him and knocked on his door wondering how happy he'd be. 30 seconds passed and nobody opened the door so you knocked again. And then when more time went passed you wondered if Baekhyun was in. Maybe he'd stayed out longer or something. You were setting the drink down on the ground, getting ready to leave when the door opened and Baekhyun appeared. "Y/n?" he asked "what are you doing?". "I brought you something to celebrate your win...did I wake you?" you asked seeing his messy hair and how he was squinting. Baekhyun paused "aww that's so sweet thank you and erm no...". "I didn't?" you asked laughing "then why do you look so..." when someone else appeared behind him. "Where did you go?" a girl asked and you saw it was Seoyun and froze. Seoyun was Baekhyun's ex and according to pretty much everyone the love of his life. Their romance was one of the most famous in kpop history and their breakup even more so. It had been so romanticised that all fans were so sad when they broke up but always claimed they'd find each other again and it looked like they had. You of course knew Seoyun from when she did date Baekhyun and she smiled when she saw you "Y/n, is that you?". You nodded "Hi Seoyun...sorry I didn't realise you guys were...don't worry I'm leaving". Baekhyun paused "okay but I...I'll call you tomorrow?". "Sure" you said and Baekhyun went to hand you back the drink. "No keep it, you guys celebrate". "Wow are you sure?" Seoyun asked "it's a good bottle" and you nodded "sure!". "Thanks" she said wrapping an arm around Baekhyun's waist and you glanced at it without meaning to. "So goodnight!" you said and rushed off. Baekhyun closed the door feeling awful. He'd wanted to send you some sign but he didn't want it to hit you in the face like this. He saw the hurt in your eyes and it stuck with him. He cared about you and you were the last person he wanted to hurt. "You're not drinking your champagne" Seoyun said pushing his untouched glass towards him and Baekhyun shook his head "I'm not in the mood...for anything actually. Do you mind if we call a rain check?". You went back home and didn't plan on telling your members. You thought you were pathetic enough but the second Irene saw your face she knew something had happened. You burst into tears and told them all of it. "I'm such an idiot" you said while Seulgi hugged you. "No you're not" Wendy said but you shook your head. "You all told me to be careful and not get too invested but I did". "Y/n you didn't choose to fall in love with him" Joy said and you froze "I'm in love with him?". The girls looked at one another unaware you didn't know that. It made sense and you groaned "Oh God I am...and he's never stopped loving her" you cried and buried your face in your hands. The girls stayed up comforting you for several hours and expected you to be a mess the next day but you woke up before any of them and went for a run. You found when you were stressed or hurt the best thing to do was exercise because if your body was exhausted it was harder to think. So you got on the road and just kept running. You didn't pay attention to anything, hardly even traffic and just ran as far as you could until you had to stop. You struggled to sit down, your legs utterly exhausted and breathed so heavily your chest moved up and down. Despite it all you started crying, so much for your exhaustion plan. Once you'd finally calmed down you realised you didn't recognise this neighbourhood. Your phone wasn't getting any signal but there were some shops down the road. You stopped off at a cafe trying to work out where you were. You bought a Smoothie while you were there, figuring it'd be a long walk back when someone called your name. You turned to see Jin and cringed because you looked a mess and were meant to look hot when you saw ex. Jin didn't seem to care/notice though and greeted you warmly. "What are you doing all the way out here?" he asked. "Oh you know just out on a run" you laughed and Jin laughed "all the way from house?" before it clicked. Jin remembered you liked to run when you were upset "you did, didn't you?" he asked. You nodded "yeah...". Jin didn't want to pry so he just smiled "want a lift home?". Jin drove you back and sensing you didn't want to talk he did. He told you about his day and of course he'd already had a very eventful morning. He was telling you about a misunderstanding he got in with the barista and made you smile with his over the top his facial expressions. Jin smiled seeing you looked happier. When you reached your home he looked at you "you know you can always reach out to me if you need anything don't you?" He asked "above everything I'd like to think we're friends". You had no idea Jin felt like that so smiled "That's really sweet...thank you for telling me. I will reach out if I run too far away from house again". Jin smiled "of course or even if you just want to go for a coffee or meal or something. It's nice to see you laugh and I feel like I haven't seen you do that lately...anyway I'm here if you need anything" he said and you smiled "thank you" and got out the car. You walked inside and Yeri paused "was that Jin's car,". You nodded "I ended up running to the bakery on Tutland". "But that's like a 40 minutes drive" Wendy said. You nodded "yeah..." and the girls patted your arms in sympathy. "But it was okay because Jin saw me and offered me a lift back. He was really nice. I forgot how positive he is to be around". The girls exchanged glances and Irene stepped forwards "Y/n you shouldn't get into anything new right now". You nodded "I know and I'm not planning to, I just think Jin might be a good friend to have" and the girls nodded "okay". Jin's kindness played on your mind for a while and you texted him thanking him again. He told you it was totally fine and a few days later you decided to take him up on his offer and asked if he wanted to grab a coffee with you. It turned into dinner because Jin had to travel right afterwards and wouldn't be able to eat for a whole. You were fine with that though and took Jin to a place you really liked. You were right about how positive Jin was and he made you smile and see things with Baekhyun from a different perspective. Your life wasn't over and there were so many things to be grateful for. As if surmounted though who should walk past and see you but Baekhyun? He'd been wanting to contact you about what happened since that night but had no idea how. It was too awkward and the longer he left it the worse it seemed to become. He now thought it might be too late to contact you but then as if by magic there you were in your joint favourite restaurant...with Jin. You looked happy and kept smiling at the worldwide handsome who of course looked amazing. He had one of the most beautiful smiles in Kpop and Baekhyun felt a big burst of jealousy which surprised him. He'd always liked Jin so had no idea why he was feeling so resentful. Baekhyun didn't like those feelings and hurried away from the restaurant in case you saw him. Baekhyun got home and still, that angry jealous feeling persisted. He had no idea why until a cold sensation came over and he got a horrible idea. He'd just destroyed your friendship to show you the two of you would never be a couple when he had feelings for you? And now you were back with your ex?

Baekhyun put his head in his hands because things had just got a lot more complicated. 

This is a two-part series and part two can be found here