Bellelovin'

You crave for a rest in the middle of the day. 

Which is weird because you used to wake up in 7 in the morning and down a cup of coffee just to start your day quicker, but now you're no longer looking forward to it. 

You no longer wake up earlier than your alarm, and you start to buy similar clothes to avoid having to think about your outfit for the day. You wear the same thing anyways. 

He of course notices it. When does Sunghoon ever not notice? Simply, he never mentions it until he decides he has to interfere with it. 

The dark circles under your eyes, times he find you asleep on the couch when the two of you finally had time to catch up with all the episodes you missed on Netflix. Not once did he wake you up, only to carry you carefully into bed. He knew you needed the sleep. 

One day you stare into the mirror in the bathroom for so long, too long. So long that Sunghoon knocks on the door, then waits for a while to ask softly, "do you need me?"

It is supposed to be a simple question, but you know it isn't simple for him to ask. So you know you need to look at yourself, not like how you did a few minutes before, hollowly trying to find inner peace within staring at the mere image of yourself, which you don't recognize at you anymore. 

You remember vividly your graduation photo back in high school; you remember being in the body of that exact moment, not just staring in the younger version of you on the screen. Yet it was so unfamiliar, like that memory doesn't belong to you. 

Almost like remembering being in the body when you were three, but it isn't. 

It's like you never looked into you until now. 

So you do.

Yet you don't even recognize the body you are in at this very moment. 

And that fact scares you, so much that you don't realize Sunghoon coming in although you should be able to see his figure in the mirror also. But that doesn't happen until he accidentally knocks off the toothbrush on the sink and forces your attention to shift.

Your eyes see him but your mind doesn't, and it is frightening. 

It's like he is searching for your eyes in the mirror, but yours refuse to meet his, so he takes you into his arms. 

And that is the exact second when the rain starts to fall. From everywhere, into the sink, onto your clothes, wetting his sleeves around your waist. 

Prints on his chest. Stops there. 

It feels like being suffocated by water-like pressure at first, coming out of the dam, flooding the town where you live. Then being rescued onto a raft. 

Not huge, but enough to carry you through the waves and eventually onto dry land. 

Arms strong enough to carry you slowly, steadily onto the bed, and place you there carefully. Wiping away your tears with gentle movements while rocking you back and forth in his arms. 

The fear of being abandoned kept you holding onto him tightly, and it calms you down that he never once hinted at leaving. 

"I assumed that I had to break in since you were answering. I'm sorry." His voice sounds so far away and close at the same time. It must have been the intense crying that caused your ears not to function properly, but his voice can transfer through your close bodies and bones. 

Weird how you can figure that logic out by remembering reading that somewhere, yet it takes you time to figure out he is apologizing for getting into the bathroom, although you didn't lock the door. 

Sunghoon shouldn't be apologizing, you think. It's you who keeps taking advantage of his presence to numb your senses, yet not trying to tell him what is happening to you. 

Sunghoon isn't the kind who comforts people, not because he wouldn't be willing to, but because he has always been loved, so loved that he is always the one being comforted. 

But here he is, doing what he isn't familiar with, in his own way. You feel grateful and guilty at the same time. 

"Please don't apologize," you say quietly, "I should be the one doing it, shutting you out of my emotions isn't the right thing to do, but I just can't help it, and I know that-"

He shakes his head to stop you from saying that, "No, stop saying that princess, you know that isn't how things work between us. I am upset yes, but not like that. "

What he is trying to say is he doesn't like the not communicating part, but he doesn't want you to blame yourself. Not when you are partners that get on rafts and build a house from none to new after a storm. 

He didn't have to say that word by word because you know he's bad at words, but that's what he is trying to mean, and you get that. 

And that thought calms you down more. 

You lie down on the bed with him, in comfortable clothes, in steady arms, on steady land, in the home you built together. 

Eyes still sore from the heavy rain, and the constant hiccups make it hard to lie down comfortably, but Sunghoon has been patting softly and they calm down after a while. 

"Hmm?" He asks although you didn't make a sound. It's almost like he can hear your mind speaking. 

"What would I do without you?" You say with a raspy, exhausted voice, then turn to see his side profile. He turns to face you fully too, arms placed like the two are hugging while lying sideways on the bed. 

He smirks, "you can't, so you are never, ever leaving me."

"You wish." A weak smile appears on your face after a while. 

"Oh I don't have to, I know it's true." He says with closed eyes, being his confident self. 

You crave for a rest in the middle of the day. 

Which is weird because you used to wake up in 7 in the morning and down a cup of coffee just to start your day quicker, but now you're no longer looking forward to it. 

You no longer wake up earlier than your alarm, and you start to buy similar clothes to avoid having to think about your outfit for the day. You wear the same thing anyways. 

He of course notices it. When does Sunghoon ever not notice? Simply, he never mentions it until he decides he has to interfere with it. 

The dark circles under your eyes, times he find you asleep on the couch when the two of you finally had time to catch up with all the episodes you missed on Netflix. Not once did he wake you up, only to carry you carefully into bed. He knew you needed the sleep. 

One day you stare into the mirror in the bathroom for so long, too long. So long that Sunghoon knocks on the door, then waits for a while to ask softly, "do you need me?"

It is supposed to be a simple question, but you know it isn't simple for him to ask. So you know you need to look at yourself, not like how you did a few minutes before, hollowly trying to find inner peace within staring at the mere image of yourself, which you don't recognize at you anymore. 

You remember vividly your graduation photo back in high school; you remember being in the body of that exact moment, not just staring in the younger version of you on the screen. Yet it was so unfamiliar, like that memory doesn't belong to you. 

Almost like remembering being in the body when you were three, but it isn't. 

It's like you never looked into you until now. 

So you do.

Yet you don't even recognize the body you are in at this very moment. 

And that fact scares you, so much that you don't realize Sunghoon coming in although you should be able to see his figure in the mirror also. But that doesn't happen until he accidentally knocks off the toothbrush on the sink and forces your attention to shift.

Your eyes see him but your mind doesn't, and it is frightening. 

It's like he is searching for your eyes in the mirror, but yours refuse to meet his, so he takes you into his arms. 

And that is the exact second when the rain starts to fall. From everywhere, into the sink, onto your clothes, wetting his sleeves around your waist. 

Prints on his chest. Stops there. 

It feels like being suffocated by water-like pressure at first, coming out of the dam, flooding the town where you live. Then being rescued onto a raft. 

Not huge, but enough to carry you through the waves and eventually onto dry land. 

Arms strong enough to carry you slowly, steadily onto the bed, and place you there carefully. Wiping away your tears with gentle movements while rocking you back and forth in his arms. 

The fear of being abandoned kept you holding onto him tightly, and it calms you down that he never once hinted at leaving. 

"I assumed that I had to break in since you were answering. I'm sorry." His voice sounds so far away and close at the same time. It must have been the intense crying that caused your ears not to function properly, but his voice can transfer through your close bodies and bones. 

Weird how you can figure that logic out by remembering reading that somewhere, yet it takes you time to figure out he is apologizing for getting into the bathroom, although you didn't lock the door. 

Sunghoon shouldn't be apologizing, you think. It's you who keeps taking advantage of his presence to numb your senses, yet not trying to tell him what is happening to you. 

Sunghoon isn't the kind who comforts people, not because he wouldn't be willing to, but because he has always been loved, so loved that he is always the one being comforted. 

But here he is, doing what he isn't familiar with, in his own way. You feel grateful and guilty at the same time. 

"Please don't apologize," you say quietly, "I should be the one doing it, shutting you out of my emotions isn't the right thing to do, but I just can't help it, and I know that-"

He shakes his head to stop you from saying that, "No, stop saying that princess, you know that isn't how things work between us. I am upset yes, but not like that. "

What he is trying to say is he doesn't like the not communicating part, but he doesn't want you to blame yourself. Not when you are partners that get on rafts and build a house from none to new after a storm. 

He didn't have to say that word by word because you know he's bad at words, but that's what he is trying to mean, and you get that. 

And that thought calms you down more. 

You lie down on the bed with him, in comfortable clothes, in steady arms, on steady land, in the home you built together. 

Eyes still sore from the heavy rain, and the constant hiccups make it hard to lie down comfortably, but Sunghoon has been patting softly and they calm down after a while. 

"Hmm?" He asks although you didn't make a sound. It's almost like he can hear your mind speaking. 

"What would I do without you?" You say with a raspy, exhausted voice, then turn to see his side profile. He turns to face you fully too, arms placed like the two are hugging while lying sideways on the bed. 

He smirks, "you can't, so you are never, ever leaving me."

"You wish." A weak smile appears on your face after a while. 

"Oh I don't have to, I know it's true." He says with closed eyes, being his confident self. 

You crave for a rest in the middle of the day. 

Which is weird because you used to wake up in 7 in the morning and down a cup of coffee just to start your day quicker, but now you're no longer looking forward to it. 

You no longer wake up earlier than your alarm, and you start to buy similar clothes to avoid having to think about your outfit for the day. You wear the same thing anyways. 

He of course notices it. When does Sunghoon ever not notice? Simply, he never mentions it until he decides he has to interfere with it. 

The dark circles under your eyes, times he find you asleep on the couch when the two of you finally had time to catch up with all the episodes you missed on Netflix. Not once did he wake you up, only to carry you carefully into bed. He knew you needed the sleep. 

One day you stare into the mirror in the bathroom for so long, too long. So long that Sunghoon knocks on the door, then waits for a while to ask softly, "do you need me?"

It is supposed to be a simple question, but you know it isn't simple for him to ask. So you know you need to look at yourself, not like how you did a few minutes before, hollowly trying to find inner peace within staring at the mere image of yourself, which you don't recognize at you anymore. 

You remember vividly your graduation photo back in high school; you remember being in the body of that exact moment, not just staring in the younger version of you on the screen. Yet it was so unfamiliar, like that memory doesn't belong to you. 

Almost like remembering being in the body when you were three, but it isn't. 

It's like you never looked into you until now. 

So you do.

Yet you don't even recognize the body you are in at this very moment. 

And that fact scares you, so much that you don't realize Sunghoon coming in although you should be able to see his figure in the mirror also. But that doesn't happen until he accidentally knocks off the toothbrush on the sink and forces your attention to shift.

Your eyes see him but your mind doesn't, and it is frightening. 

It's like he is searching for your eyes in the mirror, but yours refuse to meet his, so he takes you into his arms. 

And that is the exact second when the rain starts to fall. From everywhere, into the sink, onto your clothes, wetting his sleeves around your waist. 

Prints on his chest. Stops there. 

It feels like being suffocated by water-like pressure at first, coming out of the dam, flooding the town where you live. Then being rescued onto a raft. 

Not huge, but enough to carry you through the waves and eventually onto dry land. 

Arms strong enough to carry you slowly, steadily onto the bed, and place you there carefully. Wiping away your tears with gentle movements while rocking you back and forth in his arms. 

The fear of being abandoned kept you holding onto him tightly, and it calms you down that he never once hinted at leaving. 

"I assumed that I had to break in since you were answering. I'm sorry." His voice sounds so far away and close at the same time. It must have been the intense crying that caused your ears not to function properly, but his voice can transfer through your close bodies and bones. 

Weird how you can figure that logic out by remembering reading that somewhere, yet it takes you time to figure out he is apologizing for getting into the bathroom, although you didn't lock the door. 

Sunghoon shouldn't be apologizing, you think. It's you who keeps taking advantage of his presence to numb your senses, yet not trying to tell him what is happening to you. 

Sunghoon isn't the kind who comforts people, not because he wouldn't be willing to, but because he has always been loved, so loved that he is always the one being comforted. 

But here he is, doing what he isn't familiar with, in his own way. You feel grateful and guilty at the same time. 

"Please don't apologize," you say quietly, "I should be the one doing it, shutting you out of my emotions isn't the right thing to do, but I just can't help it, and I know that-"

He shakes his head to stop you from saying that, "No, stop saying that princess, you know that isn't how things work between us. I am upset yes, but not like that. "

What he is trying to say is he doesn't like the not communicating part, but he doesn't want you to blame yourself. Not when you are partners that get on rafts and build a house from none to new after a storm. 

He didn't have to say that word by word because you know he's bad at words, but that's what he is trying to mean, and you get that. 

And that thought calms you down more. 

You lie down on the bed with him, in comfortable clothes, in steady arms, on steady land, in the home you built together. 

Eyes still sore from the heavy rain, and the constant hiccups make it hard to lie down comfortably, but Sunghoon has been patting softly and they calm down after a while. 

"Hmm?" He asks although you didn't make a sound. It's almost like he can hear your mind speaking. 

"What would I do without you?" You say with a raspy, exhausted voice, then turn to see his side profile. He turns to face you fully too, arms placed like the two are hugging while lying sideways on the bed. 

He smirks, "you can't, so you are never, ever leaving me."

"You wish." A weak smile appears on your face after a while. 

"Oh I don't have to, I know it's true." He says with closed eyes, being his confident self. 

You never thought things would turn out like they are now. 

It was fun being Heeseung's friend, really. He makes the whole room laugh by constantly acting out a whole drama when he wants. It's like all the lights are focused on him that instant, blinding eyes. His smile, never able to resist.

But nothing is like being in love with him. 

His eyes. They were shining. Like a spell upon you, making you turn to him, searching for his eyes wherever you go. Days were originally interesting, but they are captivating when they are with him. 

You once heard someone say, "when you are trying to make someone fall for you, you're not competing with other people, you're competing with that person's single life."

You agree so much with it because he made life better. 

Times you sit on a bus and get all excited when young couples holding hands and lean onto each other? It's your time to shine. 

Heeseung would stare at you when you're on your phone, trying to figure out which stop to get off. 

"Respectfully sir, what do you want?" So you fake getting all annoyed by his stares and feigning angry eyebrows. 

"Me? Sorry, I'm just tryna figure out the beautiful mess outside the window." But then eyes are still on you while fingers are pointed out the window. 

Is it easy to keep the act going? Not when he's looking at you, smiling like you invented the concept of sitting together on a bus. Eyes disappearing from smiling too hard, hair fluffy since you were in a rush this morning, trying to get him out of bed. 

It indeed needed practice, but at least you still caught the teasing tone in his reply.

"Mess? Who's calling who a mess?" You narrowed your eyes with a dangerous smile, hinting at choosing his next words wisely. And let's just say he knew better than elaborating on that topic. 

"Here baby, I think we're supposed to arrive at the next stop." He tries to avert attention to the phone in your hand and due to unknown reasons, you decide to let him off. 

You gave him one last look with a smile, then focused back on your phone. "Have you figured out where to go tonight? I was thinking of a late night cafe kind of place but maybe you'd have different preferences."

The look on his face is weird mixed with a little bit of curiosity. You soon know why. 

"I was thinking of visiting a jazz bar kind of place." He takes out his phone to show you. "This one is close to our hotel too." He was waiting for your answer with an eager face.

"You even have a place saved on Google Map?" It is a bit of a surprise since the two of you never went anywhere like that together. Most importantly, you've never seen him drunk. 

Heeseung did once warn you that he would be quite "restless", whatever that is supposed to mean, once he is drunk, which is why you never considered it an option for date activities. Guess you are going to find out today. 

Turns out there was a pretty valid reason. Heeseung is fully koala on you - all clingy and cuddly. 

It's not that he refuses skinship, but usually he's not the one to initiate moves. Not to even mention the situatuon where you're the one trying to avoid his attempted kisses on your neck. 

"We are in public princess, you got to get off me."

"Says who?" He tries to keep a straight face to deliver that argument, but can't stop himself from giggling when you hold his hands to keep him in place. 

"So you love me." Lee Heeseung says matter-of-factly. 

"Of course I do, I can't believe you are doubting that."

"I'm not, I'm just trying to repeat it for a couple more times so that it sticks in my head."

That sentence makes sense before you can even think about it, because he is trying to sneak into your arms again. 

For the record, you always try to flirt back when he does it, and sometimes it works when he blushes so much and hide behind you like that will help with all the redness on his face. 

But there are also times when he flirts back without hesitating, making YOU the one not being able to handle all the shyness you're getting just from him existing.

Now you know you do it when he is tipsy, when he can only nod and accept all the words to him. 

<She turned 11 months 10 days ago, hyung.>

Pff.

Heeseung frowned at the message.

Who cares if he was off by one month?

<Did she eat something?>

He put his phone in his pocket again, ultimately ignoring Jake’s follow-up message.

“Who cares? Right? Love can’t be measured by knowing some irrelevant dates.” He huffed, shrugging his shoulders at the baby.

Jaein cooed, munching at the sweet strawberry. The juice dribbled down her chunky elbows. She was leaving a mess everywhere.

“That’s right.” He murmured softly as he wiped her squishy arms with a wet tissue. “Knew you’d agree on this one.” He pressed a small kiss on her sticky cheek, his tongue tasting the sweet strawberry juice on his own lips. “Samchon picked the right snack for you, didn’t he?”

She cooed again, her soft eyebrows furrowed in concentration as she continued to munch and leave a mess on her face.

“I don’t need to know your age when I know your favorite food.” He nodded with a satisfied look.

Suddenly, she shoved the half-devoured, baby saliva traced strawberry in front of his face.

“Don’t you want it anymore? Are you full?” He offered his open palm to take the strawberry from her.

But she quickly shook her head, a quack left her mouth. Then she pressed the strawberry against his lips, forcing him to take a bite. He laughed softly as he did so.

“Thank you, princess.” His heart swelled in awe.

With a satisfied grunt, she took the strawberry back. Both of her chubby hands held it as she munched on it again with full concentration.

“Okey, you know what to do, right?” He whispered to Jaein as he leaned against the hallway wall in the company.

She cooed.

“Perfect. You’re such a smart princess.” He kissed her head. Jaein excitedly kicked her legs against his torso. He softly held one of her tiny legs in his hand. They were so soft and squishy. He squeezed them affectionately as he pressed another kiss on her warm forehead.

His other hand tapped rhythmically against the back of the baby carrier. Her round cheek pressed against his chest as she cooed. Her dimpled little hands curled into his shirt, eyes fluttering shut as his steady heartbeat soothed her into comfort.

“Exactly. Stay cute just like this.”

His eyes widened comically when he heard the footsteps he was anticipating. “Okey, okey. Don’t panic.”

“Just be cute.” Jaein looked up at him with parted lips, confused at her uncle panicking. “Okey, there she is. And. Action.”

Jaein’s head snapped to where Heeseung was looking.

“Hi.” Heeseung smiled softly at the young woman.

Jaein looked back to her uncle.

“Hey.” She smiled back.

Jaein’s big curious eyes darted back to the woman.

Yn raised her eyebrows as she looked at the tiny human in Heeseung’s hold, surprise flickered in her eyes. Heeseung immediately understood.

“Is she your…-?“

“No-! No!” He cut her off, “god, no!” An awkward chuckled escaped from his mouth. “She’s just my niece. Nothing else.”

Yn nodded with a smile, relief washing over her face, “I see.” She stepped forward, “she’s so cute.” A finger glided gently over baby Jaein’s cherubic cheek.

Jaein scrunched her eyebrows. A whine left her as she buried her face in Heeseung’s neck.

Yn gasped. “Oh- I’m sorry-. I didn’t mean to disturb her-“ she began to apologise.

Heeseung shook his head wildly, “no, no. Don’t apologize. She’s usually very friendly with strangers.” His head bent down to speak lowly into her ear, “princess, it’s okey. She’s my friend.”

Jaein rubbed her face into the crook of his neck groggily, shaking her head as her small arms covered her face.

“She had a long day, she’s just tired.” He gave yn an apologetic smile.

“It’s okey.” Her head tilted at the lovely sight, “how old is she?”

“11 months and 10 days.” He answered confidently. Yn smiled, “oh… you must take care of her a lot that you even know the day.”

He shrugged nonchalantly, “of course. That’s my duty as an uncle. I’m a family man. I take care of my family a lot.”

Yn’s heart melted, falling for Heeseung’s attempt to seduce her by using the oldest trick in the books. A baby.

“That’s nice that you’re a family man. Most men don’t take care of their relatives like that. Especially children. My friend’s brother doesn’t even know when his niece was born.”

Heeseung let out a fake gasp, “no way! That’s so cold hearted.” He rested his cheek on Jaein’s head for dramatic effect, “I would never forget anything about my little baby, especially not important dates like these.”

Yn’s eyes sparkled, “that’s so cute…” she then gasped a quiet giggle, a hand covering her smile in embarrassment, “for a moment I thought that you had a secret daughter.”

His bambi eyes went round, “no, no, no!” he panicked, damn, he hadn’t thought the plan through, “she’s just the daughter of my member. She doesn’t even look like me! Does she look like me?!”

“Oh- no! No, I don’t think so.” Yn laughed softly, shaking her head.

“Right? She looks nothing like me, don’t worry.” He chuckled. “Just a niece. No misunderstanding here.”

“Now I’m embarrassed.” Her cheeks heated up. His heart tightened in realtime. “It’s just- you really look like a dad wearing that baby carrier,” she vaguely gestured to it.

“What? For real??” Panic hands flew to unlatch the carrier from his body. Jaein whined in protest as she was separated from the warmth. “I- I just wore it because she wanted to be held- and I got tired- and then- uh- then,” he rambled. The carrier was now abandoned on the ground and Jaein kept whining. Heeseung rocked her gently, a hand patting her to lull her back to sleep. As if he didn’t just disturb her almost dozing off because he wanted to look cool in front of his crush.

Yn shook her head, “I didn’t mean it in a negative sense! It-“ she looked down at the ground for a spilt second, then looked up, cheeks heating up yet again, “it really suits you… this domestic look, you know.” She mumbled shyly.

Heat crawled up his neck, ears reddening as he chuckled. “Thank- thanks.”

Despite her own shyness, yn stepped closer to him. “We-“ she cleared her throat, “we should catch up soon. Like, meet up and… talk, maybe at a restaurant, you know? Not here in the hallways at work like we always do.”

A date.

You were suggesting a date.

Heeseung’s heart turned upside down. He was about to vomit.

“I would love to!” He couldn’t hide his excitement, “I- I mean, yes, let’s do that.” He tried again, this time more nonchalantly.

Yn chuckled, “text me, yeah?”

“I will!”

Heeseung watched her walk down the hallway with a lovesick smile. When she was out of his eyesight, he turned to Jaein, “did you see that??” He spoke excitedly.

The baby looked at him through her lashes, a thumb in her pouty mouth.

“Princess, we did it! Our plan worked!”

She continued to look at him lazily, eyes blinking slowly.

He shot her up in the air, large hands wrapped around her tiny body as he cheered loudly. “A date! She asked for a date!” Jaein protested with a quack as she awkwardly hung in the air. But he was already too far gone to notice.

“I know!” He pulled her down to kiss her squishy cheek, “you did it! You helped me with her, princess! I wouldn’t have thought this baby trick Sunoo suggested would really work-“

He was interrupted by a loud cough.

Heeseung turned around slowly, looking like a deer caught in the headlights.

Jake stood there with his arms crossed, an eyebrow raised—looking clearly annoyed.

“Care to explain why you’re using my daughter to ask your crush out?“

“No~” Heeseung spoke softly, “you press this one.” His large hand engulfed Jaein’s chubby, dimpled hand and guided it to the white key. He held her pointing finger out and pressed it down, his own finger resting on hers as the piano produced the note.

Jaein looked at him excitedly when he praised her, “beautiful, princess. Good job. That’s sol.”

With an excited gasp, she turned to the keyboard and pressed her hand down on multiple keys. Her little tongue stuck out in concentration. Heeseung hummed softly, “no. Not like this,” he shook his head as he held up his hand. “Like this.” He showed her his pointing finger and pressed on a key.

Jaein grunted with furrowed eyebrows and pouty lips, pressing her whole hand again.

Heeseung suppressed a sigh. “That’s not it, princess. Like this.” He took her sole, chubby finger and held it up to show it to her.

Suddenly, she quacked loudly in protest and smacked both of her tiny hands inelegantly at the keyboard.

“Princess.” He said softly. He tried to stop her, but she stubbornly continued with her agenda.

“No, princess-“

“Ngh!” She glared at him, and Heeseung swore he had seen that look on Jake’s wife before.

Then she wiggled her way out of his lap and crawled to her daddy. Jake let out a soft giggle when she reached him. He opened his arms as he sat tiredly on the ground of the practice room. Her pouty frown told him everything he needed to know.

“Was uncle Heedeungie too strict with you? Hm?” His eyes glistened with amusement.

Now seated in her daddy’s lap, Jaein grunted and frowned at her uncle from afar.

Sunghoon laughed heartily as he watched the scene unfold: “She’s just a baby, hyung. She’s not gonna learn it at this age.”

Heeseung’s shoulders slumped, “I know…” he whispered, a defeated pout forming.

Sunghoon’s eyes softened, “then why are you so serious about it?”

Heeseung’s doe bambi eyes watched Jaein disappear under Jake’s hoodie.

“I just- I just wanna teach her stuff… as long as I can…”

Jake’s ears pricked up at that.

“You can always teach her, hyung.” His voice was soft, understanding where his hyung was coming from.

“You’re speaking like an old man.” He chuckled, “you can teach her anything you’d like. But you can’t expect much from an 11 month old baby.”

Heeseung felt his throat tighten.

“I know…” he sighed as he turned to play the lullaby he usually played to help her fall asleep—after all she had crawled underneath her daddy’s hoodie for a sleepy reason.

The melody of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star began to resonate across the room.

“I just… I just want her to be great when she grows up. To be the best in everything she does. I want her to achieve only greatness in life. Reach the stars or something like that.”

Or become a diamond in the sky, he thought as the melody softly sang the feelings he couldn’t express.

His heart was full of wishes and dreams for his niece.

Jake’s heart cracked open. He hadn’t expected him to be so honest.

His hand patted Jaein’s tiny back which was covered by his hoodie, her tiny feet sticking out. She was nestled comfortably on his bare torso.

He peeked at her, lifting the hoodie’s neck line, and made sure she got enough oxygen. He blinked his teary eyes at the sight and chuckled softly. She was hibernating like a tiny bear.

“She’s not going anywhere, hyung. You’ll have her for the rest of your life. She’ll definitely reach every star she wants when she has an uncle like you. Don’t worry about that. You have plenty of time to teach her.”

Heeseung’s stomach churned.

Plenty of time.

And as the melody of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star continued to tell the story of his love to his niece, his eyes became blurry.

The pit in his stomach darkened.

The lump in his throat grew bigger.

Plenty of time.

₊˚ ✧ ━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━ ✧ ₊˚

I miss him. I miss enhypen being complete. I wish they would’ve comforted us. I regret loving them. Because the pain that came with that love is too strong. It’s too unbearable.

Other story.

Read more.

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The door to your dorm room crashed open—followed by your staggering steps. It’s Friday night, and you’ve just returned from classes. You feel miserable—hair oily, legs about to give out. Your friends are probably out partying, and you're here with unfinished assignments and a pile of lectures to catch up on.

It's not that you dislike parties. There are nights when drinking and dancing sound like the perfect escape. Unfortunately, you have a future you're trying not to destroy.

Carpe diem my ass.

You drop your bag (gently) next to the bed with a soft thud before immediately heading to the bathroom for a long-awaited hot shower. Time passed, and the bathroom door creaked open, hot steam escaping as you stepped out in your softest, cutest pajamas.

You walked over to your table and dropped onto the chair. The biggest exhale leaves your lips as you turn toward your bed to reach out for the bag—pulling out your laptop and iPad. 

You swore to yourself to finish everything as fast as possible.

No phones.

No TikTok. 

And absolutely no opening messages from anyone. 

Your laptop was slammed shut—assignments finally completed. With your iPad pressed to your chest, you spring up from your chair. Turning your lights off, you jumped on to the bed with a small grunt, a grin on your face. Your body relaxes into the mattress, immediately pulling the sheets up to your chest. 

As you wait for Netflix to open, a small ding! resounds from your phone. Your hands reach for it, unlocking it to see a warning sent by one of the dorm authorities to the group chat. 

WARNING! There are reports of incoming strong gusts of wind. It is advisable to collect your clothes. We are not responsible for any lost belongings.

Your eyes sweep over the message. 

You shrug to yourself—you had done your laundry yesterday, nothing to worry about. 

Phew! 

You closed your phone and opted to watch 10 Things I Hate About You for the fifth time. You don’t remember falling asleep, iPad still glowing on your pillow.

Saturday arrives loud.

You woke up to the sound of your sliding glass door rattling like it’s trying to escape, curtains flying around your room—which meant you forgot to close it properly last night.

Of course you did.

You groan, untangling yourself from the warm blankets and strode over to firmly slide the door shut. Then, curious, you slide it open again to step onto the balcony.

Trees were bending like they’re about to take flight. A person sprints past, hoodie pulled up like their life depends on it. Your hair whips across your face immediately.

You purse your lips and step back inside, shutting the door and pulling the curtains closed. Darkness returns to your room like a comfortable blanket, and you crawl back to bed.

The morning is perfect. You scroll. You fall asleep. Wake up and scroll, and nap again.

Eventually, the time strikes 12:19 P.M., and your stomach grumbles in protest. With a sigh, you drag yourself out of bed for food and change your clothes to something thicker like you’re preparing for war. The moment you step out of the building, the wind humbles you. Your hair looks like it has become sentient. Your eyes water, and a trashcan slides at least 2 feet on its own. Though none of it matters, as in your hand lies treasure. 

Juicy, juicy fried chicken.

The rest of the day is a blur of pure relaxation. You eat your chicken, start a movie, get bored, and start another one. At some point you opened your messages app, saw that no one texted you, and closed it with a sigh of relief.

By the time night falls, you’re curled against your pillows on bed. The wind calmed down—still strong, but calmer nonetheless. Its low hum serves as a reminder that it’s still there. You fall asleep with your iPad still propped beside you, a Barbie movie playing softly in the background.

Sunday arrives too quickly for your liking. You sit up, stretch, rub your eyes, and sit there for a hot minute while your soul slowly settles into your body. Stepping out of the bed, your fingers move to pull the curtains back.

And there—crumpled right in the middle of the balcony like it’s a prank—

is a pair of men’s boxers.

Black. Calvin Klein. 

“You have got to be kidding me.”

Fucking Sundays.

Your eyes twitch, slowly sliding the door open. Taking cautious steps toward it, you crouch down, opening the camera app on your phone with a grimace on your face.

B3 Dormitory Building

you: *one attachment*

you: hi, whose are these? it fell onto my balcony….

Immediately, bubble messages popped up.

choi yeonjun: LOLLL WTF

huh yunjin: oh hell nah who forgot to keep their underwear last night 😭

na jaemin: is that calvin klein 😹😹

yang jeongin: @ choi beomgyu ?

choi beomgyu: nah bro i use hugo boss

Why is literally everyone replying but the person who you’re trying to find?

Your thumbs move to type again until your phone dinged.

+82 xxxx xxxxx sent a message.

You click on the notification.

+82 xxxx xxxx

yo that might be mine 💀 can u take another pic

You blink.

With hesitant hands, your index finger and thumb pinch the absolute edge of the band, pulling it up to the air like it's hazardous. You aim your phone, taking a picture, before sending it to him.

you:

*image attached*

PLEASE tell me it’s urs, no one else has messaged me other than u

Speech bubbles appeared.

+82 xxxx xxxx:

oh shit it is

dude i was so confused this morning like where’d my underwear go

also why r u holding it like that lol

You raised your eyebrow.

you:

right.. so when are you taking it back?

+82 xxxx xxxx:

uhh rn. is that ok?

you:

yeah sure. my room number is xxxx

+82 xxxx xxxx:

omw

You dropped the boxer immediately after realizing you’ve been messaging the number while holding it this whole time, rubbing your fingers together as if it’ll clean them.

You stood up, kicking your legs after being tired from crouching. A small smile tugs at your lips. While this whole thing is rather inconvenient—and a tad bit gross, there's something quietly funny about someone else's embarrassment. Not in a mean way, just in a thank-god-that's-not-me way.

You start imagining what the guy might look like—would he be tall? Would he be those nerdy guys who shower once a week? Or would he be those jocks who's only interested in cheerleaders—

Knock knock knock.

You flinched. Well that was fast.

You lean down once again to grab the runaway item between your fingers, turning to move quickly towards the door. 

You open the door halfway, and a tall figure stands there. Black hoodie, messy hair, sheepish smile.

It was not a nerd, and it was not a jock either. Rather—

“Hey,”

Lee Heeseung.

Oh.

Oh dear.

See, Heeseung is not the average uni student. You could say he’s a basketball prodigy—the kind that people recognize before they even learn his name. His games fill the bleachers, his highlights circulate around campus like breaking news.

Professors tolerate his late arrivals, falling for the charm of his sweet tone. His teammates swear by his leadership, and the university practically treats him like a walking trophy.

Not to mention how gorgeous he is, which explains why half the girls on campus seem to have a crush on him. You’ve seen him around sometimes, twirling a basketball on his fingertips, surrounded by his friend group—and boy was he pretty.

Funny, to think that the campus golden boy’s underwear had landed on your balcony specifically.

You clear your throat, shoving the undergarment with your pinched fingers towards him—and he grabs it normally—to make things worse.

“Sorry about that,” he apologizes, failing to hide the way his eyes roam your features and his reddened ears. 

“Don’t worry about it,” you let out, hands returning to your sides.

He stands there for a moment, shifting his weight as if he has something else to say. When he opens his mouth, you beat him to it.

“I’m gonna head back in,” you say, pointing towards your room.

His lips part, like he’s about to respond, but only a small “oh,” escapes before he nods. You swear you catch the tiniest flash of disappointment in his eyes as he glances at you once more, hamster eyes shining.

The door clicks shut. You stare at it for a solid three seconds. Then five, then ten.

Right.

That just happened.

Lee Heeseung—the campus It Boy, captain of the basketball team who apparently cannot secure his own underwear—just stood outside of your door.

Your phone buzzes.

+82 xxxx xxxx:

you’re y/n, right?

thanks for not throwing it away btw 😭

You stare at the message.

Another one pops up.

+82 xxxx xxxx:

and sorry once again..

You type.

you:

it’s fine haha

and yes this is y/n

tho next time maybe clip them better lol

+82 xxxx xxxx:

so u’re saying there’ll be a next time?

You blink.

you:

? thats not what i meant

+82 xxxx xxxx:

good

bc i just checked

you:

checked what

+82 xxxx xxxx:

my laundry rack

you:

?

+82 xxxx xxxx:

theres 2 more missing

You stare at the message.

Slowly, your eyes drift towards the balcony—