vee

thing is, you love him still. despite the crazy schedules, despite the flaws and disappointments, your heart can't help but long for him. because even if he's late or forgets to reply, sometimes he comes home. and when he does, yeosang holds you in his arms like you're made of glass, and kisses your temple as if he was whispering a silent promise: "i'll be better". he makes love to you, not a quick fuck, but love. he makes your skin feel like it's on fire, leaving kisses on every inch of your body.

so it's all worth it, you think. you can live with the coldness in his side of bed, and with the pity looks from your friends. so you unconsciously started adapting your routine to his schedule. on the days he's not home, you wake up, make your coffee just the ways he likes it (just so you can feel closer to him in some way), go to work, attend class, come back home, and wait in the living room for his return. if he doesn't text you by 2 am, you'll simply fall asleep on the sofa, wearing one of his hoodies and wrapped in a soft blanket he once bought. there are times when he comes home unexpectedly, finding you in the usual spot, awaiting him, but sound asleep. and without you noticing, he carries you to bed, and you wake up the next day with a lose arm around your waist.

and it's worth it.

you, 3:27 p.m: i'm so excited for tonight!

[seen]

you, 5:31 p.m: hi! i know you must be busy, but can you tell me when you'll get home? or if we're meeting at the restaurant? whenever you can, no rush!

[seen]

you, 8:22 p.m: the reservation at the restaurant is at 9pm, so just in case i'm gonna head over there! see you soon <3

[seen]

...is it really worth it?

as you're sitting uncomfortably at the restaurant, taking small sips of your cup of wine, you start to wonder, actually wonder, if it's really all worth it. it's been two hours of waiting, and the pity looks from the waiters started to get annoying. you checked your phone one more time: no new messages. with a sigh, you stood up, tipped the waiters and went back home.

on the way back, you prayed yeosang would at least text or call you, expressing some sort of apology before telling you he's actually at home, waiting for you.

but you found the apartment exactly as you left it, no sign of your boyfriend, and still no text or missed call. that is, until you heard the front door unlock and open.

"well hello to you, yeosang" you said sarcastically, starting to feel your anger slowly bubbling up as you caught sight of the man in front of you. he was wearing his usual practice clothes as he carried his bag.

"oh baby, what are you doing up? and why are you dressed all fancy?" he asked, coming closer to you in order to hug and kiss your temple. and it took everything in you to not give in and take a step back, away from his touch.

"don't "baby" me yeosang, how dare you ask why i'm dressed like this?! did you forget what day it is today?" you asked, raising your voice. his confused expression only angered you more. "oh my god, you actually forgot! you forgot our anniversary!"

"baby i am so sorry, i've been so busy with the upcoming comeback and tour that-" he started saying, attempting to get closer, only to be stopped by a pillow hitting his chest.

"our fourth anniversary yeosang! four years that we've been together, and you don't remember the day of our anniversary! you even chose this date because you knew it was my favorite number and you wanted every year to feel extra special! or did you forget that as well?" you asked, starting to feel angry tears roll down your cheeks.

"y/n i promise i did not forget on purpose, of course i know when our anniversary is! i'm sorry, i've just been so busy with the comeback and tour-" yeosang started saying, but soon got interrupted by you again.

"what?" you asked, perplexed. "what tour?"

"what do you mean "what tour"? i told you about it, i'm going on tour soon" he said, confusion evident in his face again.

"oh my god yeosang, you forgot that as well! when are you leaving?!" you asked, but you were met with silence as your boyfriend looked down at the floor, not knowing how to face you since he realized his newly mistake. "when are you leaving, yeosang?" you repeated.

"in three days" he muttered, before sighing and looking everywhere except you.

"three days" you repeated, taking a step closer to him "you forgot our anniversary and in three days you're leaving on a tour that you never told me about, what the hell is wrong with you? when were you going to tell me? oh let me guess, you weren't gonna tell me at all, just like every time you don't come home?"

"i swear i thought i told you! how could i not? you're the most important-" he started saying, but you laughed ironically. "i love you y/n, i'm truly so so sorry" yeosang finished, almost tearing up. he felt like his heart was breaking into millions of pieces, like you were tearing a part of his soul as you looked at him with pained but angry eyes. oh the irony.

"you love me, but you leave me on seen. you love me, but you barely text or call. you love me, but you forget our dates, our anniversary even. you love me, but you rarely come home. you love me, but you couldn't notice how much you've been hurting me" you muttered, face burning with angry tears that fell even faster than before.

"what can i do for you to forgive me?" yeosang whispered, finally managing to get a hold of your hand, gently and scared you would slip away. you shook your head in response.

"we've been broken yeosang, i realize that now. it took me a long while but it's so clear now" you said, but now it was the man's turn to shake his head in response as he cried.

"no, baby, we're not, i promise i'll be better, we're not broken" he cried, craddling your face. you just closed your eyes, defeated.

"i can't do this anymore, yeo. i'm tired. for a while my life has been going around you, i think i lost myself" you said.

"please don't leave me, i'm sorry" he apologized again, lifting your head so your teary eyes met his. yeosang looked so... broken, desperate even. you have never seen him like this, and a part of you wanted to kiss his pain away. but for once, you decided to stand your ground.

"let's take a break" you started, before getting interrupted by more apologies and his head shaking no again. you craddled his face, forcing him to look at you "look at me yeo, let's take a break and meet again when you're back from tour. let's take this time to think about us, as individuals and as a couple, and when you're back, we'll talk".

"what if you want to break up?" he asked.

"what if you want to break up?" you asked back, giving him a small, faint smile.

"never" yeosang said, almost annoyed at such suggestion.

"you don't know that" you answered, tucking a strand of hair behind his ear. "that's why we'll talk when you're back".

"okay" yeosang whispered. "i love you, y/n"

san found you in the kitchen, softly humming a song while you prepared some midnight tea. you were wearing one of his shirts that looked a little too big on you, and your hair was messy, yet he thought you never looked more beautiful. he hugged you from behind, wrapping his arms around your middle and hiding his face between your neck and shoulder, kissing the spot. “san! you surprised me” you squealed, nearly dropping the cup. he muttered some sort of apology, that got lost between his kisses. “tea?” you asked, grabbing his favorite cup, not even waiting for his reply. you just knew it. 

san once told you about how he used to write songs back when he was a trainee, but eventually stopped doing so to focus on his dancing and singing. he remembers your surprised face, and how you took his hands in yours excitedly as you exclaimed “you should start writing again!”. with your encouragement, and a little help from hongjoong, he started composing whenever he had the time. on some occasions he shared lyrics with you, and each and every time you would look at him like he put the stars in the sky “you are so talented, sannie”, you said, followed by a kiss on his cheek. 

san found himself sitting on the sofa, with you cuddling right on his side as he mindlessly wrote about his feelings about the exhausting day he had, as per your suggestion when asked for inspiration. he had made mistakes while practicing the new choreography for the upcoming comeback, making him feel extra frustrated for the rest of the day, which affected his mood at the fansign. he didn’t want to let anyone down, so he kept thinking of ways to improve his dancing skills. it’s like he was hearing the same voice in his head from when he was a trainee, the same voice that said “you should be doing more” each time he failed. but, as if you could hear the same voice in his mind, you turned to him, setting aside the notebook and pen on his hand for a moment. “tomorrow is a new day, san. it’s going to be okay”. san nodded in response, closing his eyes as he rested his head on your chest. 

san finished the song. he wrote it as a ballad, about how exhausting it is sometimes to wake up, but how rewarding it feels when you come back home and find your person, softly humming in the kitchen while making midnight tea. about how, despite the pressures from the outside world, he could just be himself around them, admitting that he is, in fact, too soft for it all. you teared up after reading the lyrics (i would too). 

MINGI - THE LAKES

mingi is actually a private person, who often indulges in side quests from his main story as an idol. he tries to do whatever he wants while avoiding the media, not finding it necessary to share every aspect of his personal life unless he decides to. because of this, sometimes he feels like he “doesn’t fit” with the rest of the idols, i mean, if you don’t want attention why become one in the first place? 

mingi knew it was controversial, yet he hoped his fans would understand. at least, he knew you did, often supporting his decision of randomly taking off to some random place whenever he had a break. he liked bringing you with him in said trips, not only because you’re his lover and favorite person, but also because you inspire him in more ways than you can imagine. you’re his muse, the only person who can inspire him to make a thousand different songs about one single thing. he could pull out a ten minute song about the way your eyes looked under the sunlight, or how dark they seemed after a heated kiss. or about how easy it was for you to make him smile, even after having a rough day. or how tempting your lips looked after applying gloss, or after waking up in the morning after an intense night of lovemaking. 

mingi could hear the sound of your giggles as you excitedly talked to your friend on the phone, about the upcoming trip he had planned for you two now that he’s on a break after touring. “no, i don’t know where exactly he is taking me, but isn’t that exciting? i just know the weather is going to be hot during the day so i’m packing light” you said as he entered the room. you were throwing clothes all over the bed, matching them and making outfits for the week. “oh hi love!” you said when you saw him. “mingi please tell me where you’re taking my friend, i’m dying to know!” your friend exclaimed on the phone, earning a chuckle from both of you. “no way, it’s a surprise for a reason”. 

mingi took your hand, leading you towards the lake by the cabin he rented for the week. the sun was setting in, painting the whole scenery in a golden color, and the breeze was light, merely messing your hair. the wet grass under your bare feet tickled. “it’s so pretty mingi! definitely worth the suspense” you said, leaning on him as he wrapped his arm around you, bringing you closer to kiss your forehead. 

you admired the view, while he admired you, his one and only muse, the one who will always inspire him. his patience was growing thin though, he just couldn’t wait to give you the small piece of jewelry that had been resting in his pocket for a month now. 

WOOYOUNG - I CAN SEE YOU

wooyoung watched you from across the hallway, as you took pictures with the members of your group by the stairs. for a moment, your eyes interlocked before you quickly averted your gaze, a soft blush quickly making its way to your cheeks. truth is, wooyoung has been obsessed with you ever since you met at a variety show. always so quick to continue his jokes, with that contagious laugh of yours and your charismatic aura. how your personality remained the same even after the cameras stopped rolling, walking up to him and indulging him in an entertaining conversation. 

wooyoung’s gaze followed your every move on the stage you were performing at, quickly becoming enamoured with the way your body moved to the beat of the song and the way your voice hit the high notes perfectly. despite the professional scene, he still felt sinful from the way he couldn’t stop himself from imagining you squirming underneath him while your melodic voice begged him for more. that was, until you caught his hungry gaze and smirked. in that moment, he knew he had to have you, professionalism be damned. 

wooyoung’s lips found yours as soon as he dragged you inside the usual empty room at the very back of the hallway. he managed to pin you against the wall while simultaneously locking the door, making sure the little affair you had been having for three months remained a secret. “i missed you wooyoung” you said in between kisses, pulling him closer to your body by the tie around his neck, as his hands traveled all the way to your ass. “me too” he muttered, before suppressing a moan when you pulled his hair lightly. 

wooyoung was having trouble keeping quiet, you just felt so perfect for him, so addictive. “w-wooyoung keep quiet, we were a- fuck- almost discovered by my manager last time” you managed to say in between moans and gasps. “and who’s fault was that, baby?” he counter-attacked, before biting your neck trying to muffle the sounds he was making. as if it was muscle memory, you threw his jacket on the floor and started working on the buttons on his shirt. “besides”, he started saying “it’s more fun this way, no?”. 

wooyoung’s lips traveled from your neck down to your collarbones and chest, as his own hands copied your actions from moments ago, undoing the complex top in which you performed. his lips kept going down, lower and lower, tickling your stomach and sides as your lower part burnt for him to touch you more. how ironic, as you had shushed him moments ago, now it was your turn to struggle with keeping quiet. wooyoung’s experienced hands started pulling down your pants along with your underwear, licking his lips as he admired the view. “i think this is fun” he muttered, before pressing a short but wet kiss where you needed him the most, “hiding away, the secrecy of it all-” another kiss. “the discreet glances-” lick. “it makes me want you even more”, he finished, before diving deeper.

JONGHO - SO IT GOES

jongho’s eyes landed on you the moment you entered the bar where your mutual friends decided to gather to celebrate the “moving voices” project. after working hard on each song you all performed around different cities, it was finally time to relax for a little bit.

jongho’s relationship with you was rather… complicated. he understood that both of you had responsibilities in your own respective groups, so most of the time everything was handled proffessionally. but sometimes, late at night as you both met up in the studio to rehearse a song you’ll be performing together, every line and boundary became a blur. neither of you knew who leaned in first, nor how you both ended up on the studio’s worn out couch moaning each other’s name as if it was part of the song and nothing else mattered.

jongho’s thoughts had been scrambled ever since, always hoping to whisk you away and make you his again and again. at such longing, he found his heart skipping when you’re gone. but it also skipped in your presence, specially when you sat so close to him he could smell your perfume.

jongho mentally counted every minute of the hour and a half that you spent at the bar, along with the number of times another guy made you laugh or blush. he found himself gritting his teeth and surpressing an immediately eye roll, covering it up with a sip from his drink and acting chill about it. hell, even hongjoong managed to get under his skin at some point, after making you blush by complimenting your voice throughout the project. after an hour and a half, he felt like he had enough. he placed his hand on your thigh, squeezing slightly in order to get your attention, and interlocked eyes. you seemed to understand what he wanted, because you fakingly started yawning and pretending you were tired from the day.

jongho offered to take you home, making all eyes fall on him. then you. and finally, his hand on your thigh. he noticed his captain surpress a chuckle, seeing right through the whole act. whether the others saw it too or not, he did not care, as you both said your goodbyes and left the bar.

jongho pressed you against the wall, his leg placed right between your legs as his thigh flexed against where you needed him the most. his lips never left yours since the second you entered your home, but as soon as a delicious moan left your lips, he lifted up his gaze and noticed the smudged lipstick you were wearing. he was sure it covered his face too, and couldn’t help but smirk at the sight.

jongho’s hands were placed on both sides of your hips, rocking you back and forth against his thigh, while managing to balance you against the wall. your moans only got louder as you felt a burning sensation on your lower stomach, and he genuinely thought that he could live like this forever. despite having been intimate not for too long, he quickly found out about the things you liked and didn’t, and he was surprised that you had the same understandment of him. it was like you both fit each other, like pieces falling right into place whenever you were together.

“i didn’t know you had a boyfriend” the man said, glancing back at you. “he’s actually my best-“ you started saying but wooyoung interrupted you.

“boyfriend, yes. i think you should leave” .

like what was so wrong about that?! he shoo’ed him away, he was probably a creep anyway!

“that’s for me to decide wooyoung! i didn’t call for help, you shouldn’t have intervened” you had argued with him, as you walked away with arms crossed against your chest.

“i saw it in his eyes, trust me i know what i’m talking about” wooyoung answered, following you outside the venue. you turned around, anger evident on your face. “oh so you’re a mind reader now?” you asked as you called for an uber, deciding it was enough for the night.

“what are you doing? hongjoong is our driver” he said, attempting to grab your phone. luckily for you, you were quicker. “you mean your driver, wooyoung, plus i can’t stand you right now so i’m going home. you crossed the line, once again”

with your back facing him, you finished typing your address and waited for an uber to pick up your request. after a few minutes you started shivering from cold, since you were a bit underdressed for the late night weather. wooyoung, who had been unusually quiet since that last part of the argument, noticed how your hands had started rubbing your arms in a poor attempt to warm yourself up. he sighed, taking off his jacket and putting it on your body.

“why did you do that?” you asked, not looking at him but accepting the jacket anyways, pulling it closer.

“you were cold” wooyoung said, as a matter of fact. you huffed, rolling your eyes. “not this, i mean what happened inside. be honest”

“because i like you” he admitted, quietly, as if it was a sin to reveal such secret. in a way, it was, or at least that’s how he felt about it: you are someone so precious to him that he was almost scared to ruin it all.

“i said be honest wooyoung!” you said in a loud tone of voice, bringing outlooker’s focus on you. you fake coughed, but looked back at him “for once, i’m asking you to be honest with me. no tricks, no lies. be my best friend for once”

wooyoung stared at you, as he pretended like that didn’t just stab a dagger into his heart. he clicked his tongue and looked away “i don’t know” he muttered, loud enough for only you to hear.

he chose to go against your wishes, because maybe that’s what you needed to hear. and he much rather lie and play pretend than to lose you completely.

———

two days had passed since that night, and you went completely silent on him. wooyoung attempted to pretend like nothing happened, and texted you multiple times about random things, but you didn’t even open his chat. so he tried calling you instead, but to no avail: it went directly to your voicemail.

it’s not like he could blame or call you dramatic for your reaction. i mean, it wasn’t the first time he drove someone away from you. actually, it had happened multiple times, and at first they had been unconscious, not fully aware of his own feelings but disliking the way they touched or flirted with you. his reasoning at the time was that they were “weird”, looked like “creeps” or simply too ugly for you, and that you deserved someone better. he was masking his feelings with the argument of being an overprotective best friend, and he only realized that a couple of times later when his friends pointed it out.

he also noticed that he stopped overly flirting with everyone that crossed his path, unless there were cameras nearby. he had an idol facade to keep, sadly. but besides that, he stopped seeing other people, started flirting less and became solely focused on you. his best friend became a priority in such an unconscious way, that once he realized how he felt he couldn’t go back in his tracks. he was already too deeply in love with you.

yet you failed to notice.

and it killed him.

specially when you went out and some random people approached you. each time a strong feeling of jealousy would bubble up inside him, only to erupt into his interventions. he needed to drive you away, you were his and his only. even if you didn’t know that yet.

wooyoung felt like he did cross a line this time though. he’s done this many times in the past, but somehow you never stayed mad for too long, always realizing he was right or simply believing he was being overprotective. but never ignored him for too long, specially not for days.

“wooyoung, look here please” the photographer said, pulling him out of his thoughts. he looked at where the man was pointing and posed. maybe i should apprach them differently? he thought, losing his focus again. the photographer sighed, dropping his camera as he announced everyone to take five.

“normally these things go very swiftly for you and i’m the one having trouble to stay serious” he heard yeosang say. wooyoung hummed in response. “i’m thinking about y/n” he admitted, earning a a teasing grin from his best friend. “when are you not?”

“yeah but they haven’t spoken to me in two days, i think i took it too far this time. i even confessed and they didn’t believe me” wooyoung said, kneeling down. “well you do joke around a lot” yeosang pointed out, before wooyoung looked at him with an annoyed expression. “i’m joking wooyoung, maybe try talking to them in person? about the seriousness of your feelings i mean”

wooyoung meditated his options: there weren’t many to pick from. it was either wait until the anger passed by, but risk a bigger explosion later on (he didn’t plan to stop boycotting other people’s advances on you) or else confess the real reason behind his actions. both options equally bad in his opinion, since both held the slight risk of losing you forever. you could be pissed off in a irremediably way, or you could reject and push him away.

yeosang has always been a great friend, never giving unsolicited advice unless he genuinely saw his friends conflicted, like right now. “think of it the other way” he started saying, making wooyoung look up to him from his kneeled position. “how would you liked to be approached if the roles were reversed?” yeosang asked.

wooyoung stayed silent for a few minutes, thinking. then, he smiled.

“okay everyone, back to your positions, let’s end this shoot!” he photographer exclaimed, returning to his position with camera in his hands.

———

slam!

the loud bang of the door in front of his face startled him, making step back instinctively. after the photoshoot, he went straight to your apartment with a set mindset. he rang the door bell and even knocked on on the door repeatedly, making you yell in annoyance “coming!” from inside. once you opened the door, your eyes interlocked. you looked tired and your hair was a mess, it was clear you haven’t gone out since that night. before he could react, you had slammed the door in his face before exclaiming “go away wooyoung!”

so he started doing what he knew best: to annoy you. he banged and banged on the door as he simultaneously rang the door bell insistently.

“y/n open up! we need to talk” he exclaimed. unbeknownst to him, on the other side of the door, you wanted to bang your head against the wall, while hoping your neighbors weren’t home.

“go away wooyoung!” you yelled, putting the lock on. after a few more minutes of complete madness, the ringing and banging stopped, making you sigh in relief. maybe he finally gave up and decided to leave.

it’s not like you didn’t want to talk to him ever again, you were just angry and needed time to cool off. he should learn from his mistakes and-

clink clink clink

swoosh

“like i said, we need to talk” you heard wooyoung say from behind you. you quickly turned around, only to see hin standing by the door of your bedroom, wide window opened behind him.

“are you insane?!” you exclaimed, sprinting past him to your window. “i could call the police you know?”

“you wouldn’t, i’m your best friend still” he pointed out, sitting on your bed like he didn’t just climb through god knows what things outside your building and break into your home. “plus you weren’t opening up the door like a normal person, so i had to take drastic measures because i really really want to talk to you about something”

“jung wooyoung you are unbelievable” you said, shutting the window and locking it. “if someone doesn’t open the door, you should leave you know? like a normal person”

“yeah yeah anyways i’m here now so can you tell me why exactly have you been so distant and pissy?” he asked.

way to approach the subject stupid, he thought to himself after his poor choosing of words. you rolled your eyes, crossing your arms against your chest.

“so you think i’m overreacting after what? the thousandth time you boycotted me?” you asked, venom in your voice. “or i’m overreacting because i wasn’t given a good reason for those actions? let me tell you, ‘i don’t know’ isn’t a good reasoning by the way”

you sat down next to him on the bed, but somehow he felt like you were miles away. it’s like you set up an invisible wall between you two, and it was both pissing him off and making him anxious.

“am i so unlikeable that you have to intevene to save me from future pain?” you asked, in a low voice while facing the floor. he heard you though, and before his mind could process the words, his body turned to yours as he held both of your hands.

“no!” he exclaimed, looking deeply into your eyes. “you’re perfect”

“then why? don’t i deserve to be happy with someone?” you asked once again, feeling the tears creep into your eyes.

“there’s nothing i want more than to see you happy y/n but-“ he started saying, but stopped himself, looking down to your hands intertwined. it felt nice, comforting, like your hand was made to be held by his. “but what?” you pushed.

“i want to see you happy, but i want to be the reason of that happiness” he whispered. you looked at him, confused. “you make me plenty happy woo, i just-“ you started saying, but he cut you off: “you want to love and be loved back, i know. you want romance, passion, i know that as well. you want the romantic kind of happiness, yet you fail to notice that it has been here for years now. i’m here, i love you and probably way more than other random person at a shitty bar! i’m here in front of you, open your eyes” he begged.

“wooyoung don’t say things like that-“ you started saying, shaking your head and attempting to remove your hands from his. but he held you tighter.

“i’m not lying y/n, and i’m not playing tricks either, not when there’s so much to risk here. i wasn’t lying two days ago, and i’m not lying now. is it too hard to understand that your best friend is in love with you?” he asked.

you stared at him, trying to decipher his honesty. he looked desperate, yet his gaze was soft, almost pleading. you noticed that his hands were slightly shaking and that he was biting the inner side of his cheek, an usual habit of his that you noticed a while ago, that tended to appear in moments of anxiety.

he wasn’t lying.

“so you’ve been driving everyone away because-“ you started saying, but once again, he impatiently interrupted you.

“because i’m desperately and foolishly in love with you and i can’t handle it when other people take your attention from me” he concluded.

you stayed in silence, trying to process everything he had just said. his hold weakened with each second, and he started overthinking. did he just fuck everything up? was he about to lose you?

"you don't have to give me an answer, you know? i just thought you deserved the truth behind my actions. at least that's what i would have wanted to know if i was in your place" he said, feeling his voice about to break. he let go of your hands and stood up, making his way to the door while he felt his heart slowly breaking apart piece by piece. but it was okay, at least you knew now. who knows? maybe this was the start of finally moving on.

he felt your hand grab his arm, making him stop and turn around. you had stood up, silent tears falling from your eyes now. honestly, it was a sight wooyoung wished to delete from his mind. your hand went up to his neck as you walked closer to him, uncertainty filling all your senses.

“i think you deserve honesty from me as well” you started saying “i don’t know how to feel about this, about you. at least not yet. you’ve always been there for me, like an extension of myself. you always seem to know what i want or need before i am conscious myself about it, so what if-“

you bit your lip as you stared at him, more tears falling from your eyes. your hand was now holding his cheek, and it took everything in him to not lean into your touch.

“what if i’m unaware of my own feelings?” you asked, barely in a whisper. if he wasn’t standing so close, he probably would have missed it.

“as much as i would love that, a part of me thinks that maybe you’re just saying that to not hurt me, or maybe because you’re lonely” he argued. he refused to force you into something that you may not even want, just to preserve the friendship.

but you shook your head.

“i’m not lonely, i never was actually. you’ve always been there, that’s why i’m willing to try” you said, bringing his face closer to yours.

“you know how i want to be loved, now teach me how to love you back” you whispered, now barely inches from him.

he nodded slightly, before his lips touched yours for the first time.

and it felt right for both sides.

JONGHO

jongho’s mind has been spiraling since that afternoon. maybe he was being too obvious with his feelings? i mean, he didn't recall telling anyone about his secret, so if his friends noticed, what if you also did? what if you were just playing along because not only you did not like him back but also didn't want to risk the friendship? what if-

"jongho? are you okay?" you asked, interrupting his thoughts. jongho blinked rapidly and faked a smile, before nodding "yeah i was just thinking of all the things i have to do in the following days", he said, playing with a little spoon to busy himself. you two had met for coffee at a new place near his company, but you had not left his mind since that afternoon five days ago.

"anything i can help you with?" you asked, concern evident in your face. jongho felt like if you asked him to commit a crime, any crime at all, he would simply oblige, only becuase he considered you an angel sent from heaven just for him. and as any angel, you were forbidden.

"no, no don't worry about it" he said, "it's just some schedules and then i should clean the house a bit, it's my turn this week".

your face lit up at the last bit, and grabbed both of his hands excitedly, nearly dropping the spoon that he was still holding. "well i don't know about the first part, but i can definitely help you clean the house!"

"i'm not going to make you clean a mess made by three grown men! i wouldn't even force my worst enemy to do it" he said, chuckling and earning a giggle from you as well. "you're not forcing me actually, i'm offering! plus i won't be able to see you much if you're packed with schedules, so consider it as quality time with your best friend" you argued.

jongho thought for a moment, then sighed in defeat. how could he say no to you? specially when you're giving him your adorable puppy dog eyes. he never considered himself a saint, but also he was no devil.

---

"again, i'm so sorry for the mess, lately we've been arriving late and tired from schedules so we just leave things anywhere" jongho apologized, letting you in his apartment. to be honest, he did try to clean as much as he could before you arrived, but there was still much left to do. but, at least, it didn't look like an actual dumpster anymore.

"it's fine jong, i did volunteer to help" you said, leaving your bag and jacket on a chair nearby. jongho watched as you fixed your hair so it didn't get in the way, and as you lifted your arms, your shirt went up a little bit. it wasn't much for you to realize that a little skin was showing, but it was enough for jongho to lose his breath for a minute. "so where are we starting first?" you asked, hands now resting on your waist.

"the living room? you can start picking up the pieces of clothing and stuff laying around, while i dust and then clean the floor" he said, trying to sound as composed and normal as usual.

and with that, cleaning day started. as you were picking up shirts, jackets and socks, you two talked about what you've been up to the last few days. you were both busy with your own responsibilities, which left little time to text, so you were determined to take this time to the fullest to catch up with jongho. as he was telling you about the preparations for the european tour, you squatted down to pick up a sock from under the sofa. your friend was very focused in his task to dust the shelves as he talked, but as soon as he turned back to you, all coherent trail of thoughts died. he couldn't help but stare at your butt, and he mentally slapped himself over it. "i'm definitely going to hell" he thought to himself.

"so wooyoung... what?" you asked, sitting back down on the floor once you reached the sock. jongho quickly regained his composture, clearing his throat in the process. "he's going to write something down for each show, it can be a request for a member or simply something he wants to say" he answered, returning to the shelves and cabinets.

the next hour went on smoothly, and as the sun was starting to set and the moon was coming up, you were both almost done with the living room. at some point he suggested listening to music, which lead to the current scenario: you stealing the broom from his hands to use as microphone as you dramatically sang the song playing. jongho was laughing loudly as well, trying to steal his broom back with one hand as the other attempted to playfully tickle your side. the view was rather cute, actually, you two looked like- "you look like newlyweds" wooyoung said from the entrance, earning a not so subtle kick on the side from hongjoong, who was standing next to him.

you both flinched at the sudden intrusion, completely forgetting about the possibility of others interrupting your special little moment. jongho, personally, felt like he could kill wooyoung for his choosing of words.

"jealous?" you asked jokingly, as you untangled yourself from jongho and went back to the couch to keep on folding clothes.

"actually, a little bit" wooyoung started saying, mischief evident in his face as he smirked at the youngest member. jongho felt the terror in his veins. "you know it's amazing that you both found time to be so domestic, so cozy, so-"

"i think it's your turn to cook wooyoung" hongjoong interrupted, earning a sigh in relief from jongho. in return, wooyoung lifted up his arms dramatically, pretending he didn't do anything at all and disappeared to the kitchen. "now lovebirds, if you excuse me i'll be helping wooyoung" the leader said, emphizising on the word "lovebirds" as a manner to tease jongho as well.

once you were back alone, silence filled the room. it wasn't awkward per say, but sometimes saying nothing meant more than actual words. only the soft music played in the background, and that was enough for jongho's mind to spiral.

"i'm sorry about-" jongho started saying, but you interrupted, shaking your head "no, no it's fine! it's just them being them, right?" you said as a matter of fact. but jongho wasn't satisfied with that answer: "yes, but i feel like they crossed a line with their teasing and i'm sorry"

jongho wasn't sure how to feel. on the one hand, he knew he was being a tad bit dramatic, since your face didn't show any signs of discomfort. but also, he was terrified of ruining the irreplaceable bond you two had built. he feared that such small silly comments would turn into something bigger that might chase you away. a heavy sigh left your lips, interrupting jongho's trail of thoughts.

you looked up at him from your place on the couch, and smiled softly. your smile really was his favorite view, not a single landscape or starry sky could compare to it. you patted the spot next to you, suggesting him to sit down. his legs felt heavy all of a sudden, but he obliged anyways.

"they always tease us and it never affected you before, why now all of a sudden?" you asked, taking his hand on yours. jongho felt a chill run down his spine, and the words got caught up on his throat.

once again, sometimes silence is louder than words. he realized when your smile dropped, as you let go of his hand slowly. "jongho?" you asked, trying to get an answer from him.

but what could he say to you? it's getting to me because i love you more than a friend, but i'm terrified of you rejecting me and running away? he's an honest man, but not stupid.

so he shook his head no, averting your eyes "i'm fine, i just don't want you to feel uncomfortable" he managed to say.

after a few moments of silence, he looked up at you, and the view nearly killed him: you looked... sad, disappointed even. he had seen that look on your face countless times throughout the many years of friendship, it mostly appeared due to scumbags that broke your heart. so, why now?

"is the thought of dating me" you started saying, before your voice broke into a whisper: "...embarrassing?"

before he could react or think of a smart way to handle the situation, you stood up, and smiled. but it wasn't the same smile he worshipped, the one that lit up his life daily, it was rather different. it was fake, and one he never thought would be directed to him.

"forget i said anything, anyways! everything is pretty much cleaned up, so i'm gonna go now since you're probably tired from your busy day" you said, picking up your jacket and purse. "i'll see you soon!"

and with that, you left his sight. everything happened so quickly he was having trouble processing the information, but it wasn't until he heard the main door closing that he realized something: he was so busy trying to hide his own feelings that he completely dismissed yours. instead of assuring you, he stayed silent, allowing your mind to spiral into god knows what direction, convincing yourself that you were embarrassing him. what a ridiculous thought! if only you knew how much you occupy his thoughts on the daily, how much he wants to show you off and kiss you whenever he feels like it. if only you knew how hard he had fallen in love, you would never overthink or doubt him again.

then, he realized something else: he was still sitting in silence, too busy with his own thoughts, while you were on your way home still thinking ridiculous things. and that was the main issue: silence. you always came to rescue him whenever his friends teased him, while he panicked thinking about what you might be thinking. you were always quick to answer, while he kept his thoughts to himself. his mind, plagued with what ifs, overtook him and forced him to think that you're better off without knowing the truth. but what if it's not confessing what leads to the friendship's demise, but the silence instead?

his legs that felt heavy just moments ago, suddenly felt lighter, as he sprinted towards the main door without a second thought. he heard hongjoong's voice asking where he was going, but paid it no mind as he shut the door close: there were more important things at hand.

---

the early night was chilly, and you mentally thanked yourself for being wise enough to bring a jacket despite the warm afternoon weather. although, you were hoping it wouldn't be necessary if you had stayed over at jongho's.

jongho.

your best friend.

you shook your head at the thought, and quickly wiped off a tear that silently fell down your face. "i am so dramatic" you thought to yourself, wanting to laugh at your own misery but not being able to. truth is, you were feeling disappointed and sad, because your best friend, and the man you loved, was still blind to his own feelings. honestly, you had liked him for a long while now, but it wasn't until recently that you noticed the difference in interactions between you two and the rest. you noticed the lingering touches, the stares, the way he would run to you at 3 am only if you asked him to. you knew it all, you felt it all. and you tried to reciprocate it as much as you could, just so he could notice. but to no avail, it seemed like he still viewed you as his best friend, nothing more, nothing less. so before throwing away the towel forever, you decided to try one last time.

but again, it was all for nothing. maybe you deluded yourself, maybe it was all some sort of sick fantasy your mind created just because you desperately wanted jongho to love you back. maybe he really was embarrassed by the thought of being in a relationship with you. what a fool, what a lovesick fool.

as you felt more tears rolling down your face you mentally cursed yourself for the dramatics. "i feel like i'm in a kdrama" you thought, but you knew that the ending is far different from a tv show. in the end, this is real life, and your real best friend doesn't feel the same. so now all that is left to do is curl up in bed and cry until all tears dried, then you would appear again and pretend like nothing happened. and finally, you will move on. maybe.

"y/n!" you suddenly heard someone yell from behind you, interrupting your thoughts. you turned around, confused, and saw something you never expected to: jongho running towards you.

"what are you-" you asked once he reached you. jongho was out of breath, but immediately managed to shut you up the second he put his hands on your shoulders, keeping you still as well.

"i haven't been honest with you" he said, catching his breath finally. he noticed the faint tears on your face, and he wanted to punch himself for not being quicker, despite running at his max speed.

"jong it's okay, really" you tried assuring him, as you quickly wiped away the tears on your face, trying very hard to stop them from falling again. but if jongho running towards you wasn't enough of a shock, what he did next definitely was: he grabbed your face, and gently wiped them away himself.

"it's not" jongho said, still cradling your face. "i want to answer your question with honesty, and i want you to listen closely: the thought of dating you is not embarrassing, in fact-" he started saying but then stayed silent.

you stared at him, trying to figure out where he was going with his phrase, but you quickly noticed uncertainty in his face, almost like he was scared of something. before you could open your mouth to reassure him, he continued: "in fact, there is nothing i want more".

it was barely a whisper, but it was loud enough for you to hear and make your legs wobbly. you suddenly thanked the heavens that you were still holding each other.

jongho cleared his throat, and his hand moved to fix a strand of hair behind your ear as his face softed. "what i mean to say is, i love you. more than a friend actually, and i'm sorry for letting my fears get in the way of honesty. i understand if you don't feel the same way, you can just give me a few weeks or months to get over it but please don't stop being my best-"

and what happened next, shocked the both of you: you stood on your tippy toes and kissed him. and it felt right, it felt perfect. and most important of all, it was corresponded.

if you closed your eyes and focused hard enough, you could still feel his perfume invading your senses, his touch on your skin, the sound of his laugh echoing in the room as he told you one of his stories about the many adventures with his friends. what a world so different than mine, you thought to yourself each time.

yunho has always been a hard working man, you knew that from the very beginning of your… relationship. kind of.

but he still made time for you at least once every week. and those nights felt magical for you, making you wonder if they were even real once you woke up the next day.

“one last kiss and i’ll let you go” he would say, holding your face in his hands as his thumbs caressed your cheeks. you would laugh, as it always happened.

“you’ve been saying that for the last hour!” you would say, making yunho bite his lip before leaning in once again. “it’s not my fault you’re so addicting”

it happened every time. and each time you would feel yourself falling a little more in love with the tall man in front of you. a little more addicted to the way his lips would feel against yours. and a little more comfortable when his hands would leave your face and go lower and lower down your waist.

it felt perfect, like you were both meant to be for each other. you could be yourself around him, and yunho would stop being “yunho from ateez”, only to become just yunho. your yunho. the one who giggles softly at the nostalgia some stories bring him. the one who would look at you like you were the one that painted the sky orange and golden, when the sun came up after a long night of talking about the secrets of life, among other things. the one who would kiss you like he had never kissed anyone else before.

so really, if love normally feels this way, so golden, so pure and unique, how can it be torn so quickly?

was it something you said?

was it something you did?

too slow? too fast?

too perfect?

what is love, then?

it surely can’t be being ignored for days. and definitely not asking a question, only to stop typing mid way and change the subject after an hour of not replying.

love isn’t supposed to induce anxiety

love isn’t supposed to be scary

or is it?

it is scary to get hurt, specially by the one you trust. but that fear is supposed to be nullified by that person. what happens when they don’t?

“hi” you texted him once.

no reply.

“can we talk?” you asked him later that day, after hours of not getting an answer. in fact, he has barely texted you twice in a week.

still no reply.

if it’s not love, then why is your heart hurting so much? you can feel it dying little by little, each minute that goes by without a single peep from him.

normally you wouldn’t even feel this way, even less for a man like him. but yunho quickly made his way into your heart, learning about the things you like and dislike, making you laugh effortlessly and blush with a single touch of his hand on your cheek. normally… no, scratch that. the connection you had wasn’t normal. friends don’t do all that. or maybe it was different for him?

how was he feeling about you?

did he feel the connection too?

was he scared? or did he trust you to not break his heart?

was he missing you the same way you did?

too many questions that probably would remain unanswered plagued your mind, day and night, no matter what you were doing. every buzz of your phone would make you immediately drop everything you were doing at the moment, just to see if it was from him. only to be left disappointed and sad when it wasn’t.

how can something so pure become so rotten, so quickly? what was once golden, now it’s painted in black and brown, as if it’s rusted and burnt.

maybe that is what love really is.

“who talks about their mother on the first date? like the whole time i mean, of course it’s okay to mention one or two things following the context of the conversation” you said, moving your hands dramatically to prove your point “but the whole time? i tried to switch the topic of the conversation towards work and can you believe he told me about what his mother does for a living before telling me what HE does for HIS?”

san couldn’t help but let out a loud laugh. you were so cute and he was so happy and relieved that the date had failed.

“he should go to therapy” he said, in between giggles. “right?! sigmund freud would have been thrilled to have him as a patient” you exclaimed, laughing too.

after a few moments of cracking jokes and laughing about the situation, you turned your head to face san. “so what about you?” you asked. he looked down at you, smile on his face still. “what about me?”

“have you gone on dates lately?” you asked. he threw his head back, shaking it slightly “with what time? i’m too busy with schedules” he answered, half lying. it’s true that he’s very busy with his idol duties, but he always managed to make time for you. he knows he could easily use up that time to go on dates, but for obvious reasons that you still were ignorant to, he didn’t. to you, he was just an introvert.

“but are you not interested in anyone?” you pushed, lifting your head and sitting up to face him properly. san chose to avoid your eyes, not trusting himself to keep his own secret. instead, he looked to the city on his right, suddenly finding the building architectures more interesting. he noticed that the air in the terrace got warmer too, and the concrete platform you were sitting on got harder. or was he the one that got warmer and stiffer? “no, i don’t think so” he lied, but you knew him enough to see through it. “liar, you’re blushing”

“well it is an intimate question” he answered, attempting to smile in order to play it off. you shook your head no “you blushed and your left eye twitched a bit. that was definitely a lie and as your best friend i want to know!” you exclaimed, grabbing his hands. if only you knew the effect you had on him.

when he came back from tour, he was determined to confess. but now that the perfect opportunity arose, he couldn’t open his mouth. questions and different negative scenarios plagued his mind, convincing him that maybe it was a bad idea. he much rather work on moving on than lose you as a friend.

“are they that special to you?” you asked, in a much quieter tone of voice, noticing his silence. he nodded, staring at your eyes, hoping you could notice the love they held whenever he looked at you. but despite his desperation, you didn’t. “they are very lucky then, you genuinely are amazing in every aspect sannie”. you continued, going back to your original place with your head on his lap, but still holding his hands. he kept staring at you, if only you knew.

“thank you” san managed to say.

———

“how fast can you come over to help me with something?” you asked san on the phone, as he exited the practice room. it was like the stars aligned, because he had just finished for the day. “i can come over right now, are you okay?” he asked, worried something may be wrong despite you sounding relatively okay. “i can’t pick an outfit and- shit my aunt his calling me, invite yourself in when you arrive, i’m in my room and you already know the lock number of the door” you said, before hanging up.

outfit for what?

———

so that’s how san found himself sitting on your bed on a friday night, numerous pieces of clothing scattered all over without care. he scrolled through some unread messages while he waited for you to try on a different outfit for your new date. yes, new date. as if his heart haven’t just healed from last time.

“i matched with someone on this app and they immediately invited me on a date so now i’m having a fashion crisis” you had explained to him as soon as he entered your room. why was it so hard for you to realize that your dates have been failing for a reason?

you appeared once again, now wearing an outfit that honestly took san’s breath away as soon as his eyes landed on your figure. it was nothing too extravagant, actually, it was rather simple, but it was enough to make san’s head spiral. specially when you twirled around to show the outfit from the back, since your shirt had an open back.

“so? what do we think?” you asked, eyes filled with hope.

san was conflicted: he was 100% sure he has never seen anyone look more beautiful, more dashing, more perfect. but, it wasn’t for him. he didn’t want anyone else to look at you like that, they would never come remotely close to the way he feels about you.

“san-?” you started to ask after a few seconds of silence, but got interrupted by him: “don’t go on that date”

you looked at him confused, as he stared back with the same surprised face. that really had slipped from his lips before he realized what he was saying. you fucked up big time san, he thought to himself.

“why? do i really look that bad?” you asked, turning around to face the mirror in order to examine your body and face. he noticed the way your eyes dimmed, as you carefully traced your eyes over your figure, finding little imperfections that made your face turn into a sad frown. san felt his own heart shatter at the sight, and before he knew, he stood up and quickly hugged you from behind, hiding his face in the crook of your neck.

“sannie?” you asked, startled by his sudden action and making you momentarily forget about the insecurities that started flooding your mind. you looked at him through the mirror: even if he was leaning down on you, he was still much wider, making you feel very small in his arms. unconsciously, you lifted your hand and patted his hair. san lifted his head, looking at you through the mirror as well, and your eyes interlocked.

“you’re perfect y/n” he whispered. “i’m sorry if i gave you the wrong idea, you look beautiful and your date is very lucky”. he was trying to be supportive, but traces of sadness and desperation were evident in his face. enough for you to notice. you turned around, and the same hand that was patting his head went down to his cheek, holding him in place to look at you.

“what’s wrong san?” you asked, softly. your thumb traced comforting circles on his cheek, and you could feel his arms tighten around you as he closed his eyes.

“go on that date” he whispered in a shaky voice, before adding “you look beautiful”.

you stared at him confused for a few moments, not really knowing what to say. then, he kissed your forehead and, with the little bit of strenght he had left in him, unwrapped his arms, stepping back. he grabbed his jacket and went to the door, but not before shooting you another sad look and saying “like i said, your date is very lucky”.

he left, heart in his hands, slowly breaking with each step.

you cancelled the date.

———

san couldn’t sleep that night, he kept tossing and turning as his mind wandered about what you were doing with your date. were you still having dinner? no, probably not since it’s like 2 am. maybe it went so well that you invited them over for coffee at your place, something that will probably lead to something else. something he didn’t even want to imagine, since it wasn’t him committing those sins.

maybe it was time to move on, after all. he wants you to be happy, truly, so if your happiness doesn’t include him, then he should at least be supportive. and in order to do that from the bottom of his heart, he should move-

*knock knock knock* he heard, coming from the door. he decided to ignore it, thinking that it was probably mingi, so he turned around and closed his eyes, pretending he was asleep.

“maybe he’s asleep, i should come back tomorrow but thank you soenghwa” he heard you say from behind the door. he never got out of bed faster, as he sprinted to the door and opened it widely.

there you stood, now dressed in a familiar oversized shirt and baggy pants. completely different from the outfit he last saw you on, but to him you still looked beautiful. you looked at him with wide eyes, as seonghwa smirked next to you.

“i’ll leave you alone” he said, before he made his way to his room and shut the door behind him.

you stood there awkwardly, avoiding his eyes. you came here with a question, but now that you had san right in front of you, thoughts were scattered all over your mind and you couldn’t say a word.

“come in” he said, sensing your internal dilemma. you nodded in response, as you entered and made your way to his unmade bed.

“did i wake you up?” you asked. san shut the door and shook his head “actually i couldn’t sleep”

“me neither” you said in a low voice.

“how was your date?” he asked, unsure of what to say. he sat next to you on the bed, looking at you while trying to decipher your expression. you turned your head to san’s bedside table, finding the small plushie you once gifted him randomly. you smiled. “i cancelled it”

“what? why?!” he asked, with surprised wide eyes. you turned back to him. “i suddenly didn’t want to go, that’s it really. so while i was tidying up my room i found this shirt” you said, fiddling with the ends of the shirt that looked a little too big on you “the one you once lent me after we got stuck in the rain that one time. i told you i would wash it and give it back, but i didn’t. why didn’t i give it back to you?”

san stared at you in silence.

“so i realized it still had your perfume, and before i knew it, i had put it on. then i started thinking about you, about us. you’re my best friend, you know? but as i was laying down on my bed, i was thinking: what if you were not? what if my dates always failed for a reason?” you continued, as your fingers reached for his. “what if the reason they always failed was because i always searched you in them? so again, before i realized i was standing in front of your apartment, but with one question in my mind”

san could feel his heart beat increase and his breath shorten.

“what will happen to us and our friendship if i told you how i feel? how i think i always felt even if i didn’t know it?” you asked, looking at him scared.

“you’re dumb” he said, loud enough for only you to hear. that didn’t surprise you, what did was the way he immediately let go of your hand in order to hug you close, bringing you closer to his body. “what will happen? how would i feel? y/n you’re dumb because that’s how i’ve been feeling for a long time now” he said, hands leaving your waist and craddling your face. san stared at you, and now you realized that his eyes looked different: they held love in them. something you always searched on random people in dating apps, yet were never able to find. instead, it has been right in front of you this whole time.

“i love you” he whispered, pressing his forehead against yours. finally, he thought. he finally said the words he has been keeping locked deeply inside him for years. you smiled, as your nose touched his. “i love you too, i’m sorry i just realized”

maybe it was time to give you the silver necklace he bought you on tour, since now the timing was right.

MINGI

mingi missed you, a lot. he hadn’t heard from you since you stormed out of his house a week and a half ago. he had left you a couple of texts apologizing, and even attempted calling you, but to no avail. you had disappeared, and he didn’t blame you, he was stupid enough to let you go. in fact, that’s the thing he regretted the most about the fight: not chasing after you.

so he did what he knew best: he took his misery and transformed it into work, to be precise, he wrote three songs, all about his feelings, the situation in itself and you.

three different scenarios that made him hear yunho’s voice calling him dramatic in his mind. to be honest, he knew he was being a little dramatic about the situation. he knew that you probably just needed time to cool down, and that if his apology was good enough you would forgive him in a heart beat, because, in the end, he knew you loved him. maybe not in the way he wished for, but you loved him nonetheless.

mingi stared at the ceiling in silence, wondering what were you doing while he layed on his bed feeling miserable. did you miss him too? were you also thinking about him? he was certain of one thing only: he wanted to see you. it didn’t matter to him if you opened the door or not, he needed to at least hear your voice through the door.

he checked the time: 11:47 pm, almost midnight. fuck it, he thought. he stood up and quickly got dressed in a speed record time, tied up his shoes and grabbed his keys and song notebook in the process. by 11:55 pm he was already closing the door of his car.

as mingi started driving, questions also started flooding his mind: will you hate him if he suddenly showed up? what if you had invited someone over? shouldn’t he have discussed this with one of his friends first just in case?

questions, questions, questions.

no answers.

soon enough, he found himself standing in front of your apartment door. he could easily ring the door bell, knock on the door or simply use the spare key you gave him once for emergencies. yet, he was unable to do any, frozen in place as he mentally debated on what to do.

mingi decided to do something odd, something he would have probably laughed at if he saw it in one of the movies you usually forced him to watch with you: he took out his pen and notebook, ripped off one of the pages and wrote on it. then, he slid it under the door and left.

“i’ll tell you everything -m”

———

you have always been a hopeless romantic, mingi knew that perfectly well. you believed in happy endings, and that love and friendship can win over everything. so why hasn’t he heard from you still? did you not get the note? should he leave another one? no, that would be too pushy, it was only two days ago.

questions, questions, questions.

still no answers.

mingi was sulking again, and honestly it started to worry seonghwa and san, who watched as he walked back to his room right after dinner, without saying a word during the whole night. honestly, he was just too lost in his thoughts. their pair exchanged a look, before following him.

“mingi, hold up, everything okay? you’re more… distracted than usual” seonghwa said, carefully choosing his words. mingi hummed in response, nodding as he stopped in his tracks. “yeah, there’s just a lot in my head” he answered, not looking at his friends. “let us hear it then” san said, patting his back and leading them towards the living room.

the trio sat down on the sofa they had bought a few months ago, the one you had scolded them about because it seemed very expensive and too hard to clean. they had all laughed, but soon enough realized you were right when mingi spilled a bit of sauce on it. the stain was still there.

“so? what’s wrong?” seonghwa asked once they all got comfortable. mingi sighed, looking down before he started spilling everything that had happened, from two weeks ago until now. he noticed the eldest nodding along the story, but neither of them said anything until he finished.

“when exactly did you leave this note?” san asked, fidgeting with his bracelet. “two days ago” mingi answered. san’s eyes went wide, as he muttered a small fuck before he sprinted towards the kitchen. seonghwa and mingi exchanged a look, both equally confused at their friend’s actions. after a few moments and very weird sounds that came from the kitchen, san appeared again, with a crumbled up yellow post it in his hand. he handed it to mingi.

“the hell is this? it has food stains san, gross” mingi said with a disgusted face as he barely touched the paper. “open it, i found it this morning” san said, sitting down next to him again. mingi gave his friends a strange look, before carefully opening the crumbled up piece of paper. as he read, his eyes widened in surprise.

“what time is it?!” he exclaimed. “9 pm” seonghwa answered, checking the time in his phone. mingi muttered a small fuck, before putting his shoes on, and grabbing his bag.

“i’ll be back in a while” he said, before shutting the door behind him.

seonghwa looked at san, confused. “what the hell did the paper say?” he asked. san picked it up from the floor and showed it to him:

“8 pm, our special place”.

the hand writing was yours.

———

mingi was almost sure he broke one or two speeding laws on his way to the park where he hoped you were still waiting at. he cursed san for not telling him sooner, even if he knew it wasn’t really his fault to begin with. the park wasn’t far from his apartment though, just a short 10 minute drive. as cliche as it sounds, it was the park were you both met.

at that time, around 6 years ago or so, his mind revolved around perfection, hard work, pressure, debut. so he would succumb to overwhelming feelings pretty often, that forced him to need some time alone. that’s how he found a park nearby, and specifically, one peculiar tree that caught his attention for some reason. he used to sit down under it, notebook on his lap and pen between his fingers, as he scribbled down some random thoughts that plagued his mind during hard moments. he didn’t really plan to turn his words into songs yet, it was just his way to deal with stress. he used to find these little moments very special: it was like he was reconnecting with his inner, truer self, and not the mean facade he wore in front of his soon to be members. yeah, some of them irked him, like that wooyoung guy, but he didn’t mean to be that rude all the time. so, to escape the constant pressure kq fellaz was facing in between the company walls, he found solace in a park, but specifically, he found solace under that tree.

he could remember the day he met you like it was yesterday. he remembers all the stress he was feeling, debut date coming closer and closer. everyone was on edge, from the members to the staff. he had also recently come back from morocco after successfully shooting his first music video! but he couldn’t deny it: as much as he was excited, he was already feeling a little tired. he needed some alone time, just himself with his thoughts. so he found himself walking towards his favorite spot in the park.

only to find you there, sitting down under the tree. his tree to be precise. and you were writing on a pink notebook with a fluffy pen. mingi felt like he was looking at a reflection of himself, but instead of being comforted by it, he felt annoyed. it was HIS tree after all!

“excuse me, this is my spot” he said, coming into your field of vision. you looked up to him, pausing your hand and taking an earphone off. “excuse me?”

“this is my spot” he reiterated, making you chuckle slightly. “the tree you mean? does it have your name or something?” you asked, finding the situation hilarious. he rolled his eyes in annoyance, why did nothing go his way?! “listen, i had a shitty day and i need to sit there for a while, so can you leave?”

“no, i got here first. plus there are tons of other trees here, it’s a park after all” you said, putting your earphone back on and turning your gaze to your notebook. he stayed still in his place in front of you, making you huff in annoyance at his persistence. “look dude, i am not going to move. you can either sit on the opposite side or leave, i don’t care but stop bothering me” you continued.

mingi really really reaaaally needed to be at his safe place, too overwhelmed to funcion rationally, so he rolled his eyes and sat on the opposite side of the tree.

that’s how the story started: at opposite sides of the tree. soon enough it got replaced by sitting nearby, and eventually next to each other. some times you would even bring snacks to share in silence, as you both wrote down your thoughts on your respective notebooks. once he debuted, he broke the silence for the first time, urging you to listen to his song. after that, you started talking more, about music, shows, your respective jobs and life in itself. the safe place you both found under the tree, was also found in each other, quickly realizing you often shared the same thoughts and views about the world.

the story started under a tree, and he hoped it wouldn’t end there too. he needed you to be there, because he wasn’t ready to lose not only his best friend, but also his safe place. even the tree would become stained from the pain. and he would have nothing left, just questions, questions, and more questions about different what ifs.

you weren’t there.

but mingi wasn’t about to give up anytime soon. he started running towards the direction of your apartment, forgetting that he had parked the car on the opposite direction. his legs were aching, and he felt like he was a bit out of breath, despite all the idol training he has been enduring for six years. but he kept running.

until he spot you in the distance.

“y/n!” he yelled. he saw you stop in your tracks and turn around to his direction, confused at the sudden call of your name. once you spotted him running towards you, you sprinted to him.

his body collapsed against yours, as he hugged you tightly, like you would disappear if he let you go. mingi hid his face in the crook of your neck as you wrapped your arms around his back. you could hear his quick heart beat from how close he held you, and you were sure he could hear yours too.

after a while, mingi lifted his head from your neck, and looked at you. “why are you crying?” he asked, wiping away the tears with his thumbs. “i thought you wouldn’t come, why are you crying mingi?” you asked, repeating his own actions, but on his cheeks. he giggled, he didn’t even realize he was crying. “i thought i lost you” he said, truthfully.

the park was dark, the only lights came from street lights. so, for outsiders, you probably looked like a random couple having a dramatic moment. definitely not mingi from idol group ateez and his best friend y/n reconciliating.

“i’m sorry” he whispered, locking his eyes with yours. they still held tears, that threatened to spill depending on your answer. you shook your head “no, i’m sorry mings, i shouldn’t have walked away like that. plus i didn't even give you a chance to explain”.

“i’m sorry for not showing you the songs, for not chasing you, and for being too much of a coward to not face you directly” he apologized. you hugged him again, shushing him. “i shouldn’t have pressured you to show me, you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do”

mingi looked at you again, and bit his lip. “can i still show you though?”

“it’s not necessary, mingi, it’s fine real-“ you started saying before he interrupted you, taking your hand and leading you towards the same old place from before. “i want to” he said, determined.

you let him whisk you away.

———

back at the peculiar tree that was iluminated enough by a street lamp a few meters away, he sat you down at your usual spot. he sat down beside you, as he pulled out his notebook from his bag. mingi gave it to you.

“mingi, this really isn’t necessary-“ you started saying once again. “please” he interrupted, with pleading eyes. so you took his notebook and opened it on the first page. you already read that song, it was the first one he ever wrote a long while back. “read the last ones”

you turned the pages, until you found them. mingi looked at you nervously, starting to feel fidgety at the thought of you realizing his deepest secret, the only one he hid from you. he just hoped you wouldn’t hate him. he scanned your face, puffy eyes filling with tears once again as realization hit you. you turned your gaze back to him with wide, surprised eyes.

“mingi- what? wait, hold on” you stammered, as tears fell from your eyes. you quickly set his notebook aside to grab your own bag, taking out your new pink notebook, your diary. you handed it to him, saying: “open it on august 5th”

he stared at you confused, and slightly unsure too, since you’ve always been pretty secretive about what you wrote there. he found the page and read:

“august 5th.

so i realized something, that i’m almost too afraid to write even here. i’m scared that if i admit it, i’ll have to face a sad reality. i think i’m in love with my best friend, isn’t that stupid? that’s how i feel, at least. i haven’t seen him in a while because of his work, and i feel like i’m slowly losing my mind. why do i only feel complete when he’s with me? scratch that, why am i even writing this?

anyways, i’ll probably die with the secret”

“now turn to september 16th” you said, avoiding his eyes.

“september 16th.

i’m in love with my best friend. i love mingi. how insane is that? and how stupid? he is my best friend, for god’s sake. but i can’t help the way i feel, specially when he’s so annoyingly observant. like for example, the other day he noticed my pen was dying, so today he surprised me with a new fluffy pink pen. i hate him for making my heart swell at such gestures. specially because i know I KNOW that’s what best friends do.

anyways i’m not gonna use his pen because i decided i’m going to preserve it forever”

“and now, tun to november 10th” you muttered. mingi realized it was yesterday’s date.

“november 10th.

i still love him. and i fucked up. but i’m still in love with him”

he closed your notebook, turning towards you. he found you with your face on your knees, as you hugged your legs, too embarrassed to face him, despite now knowing his feelings. he loves you too, with the same devotion, with the same desperation and intensity. mingi loves you, his best friend.

“look at me, y/n” he whispered. you slowly lifted your head, hesitantly looking at him. the way you both looked at each other held more intimacy than ever. mingi slowly reached for you, bringing your face closer to his. his hold was shaky, almost unsure, this was a whole new territory. he took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

“i love you” he admitted.

too many questions, that finally got an answer.

“i love you too” you whispered.

taglist: @yoongles2025 @reallychaoticwoo

wooyoung and san were sitting on the floor and were being as loud as ever, cheering and gasping at the bloody animations. meanwhile, you sat next to yunho, arm wrapped behind his back as you played with his ear. this was really distracting him from the game, since your body was pressing against his side while your soft touches caressed his ear and side of his face. every time you laughed at something wooyoung and san did or say, he would get hit by yeosang’s character due to him losing his focus. how could he though? when your face was so close to his and your laugh was like music to his ears?

despite his lack of attention to the game, yunho’s face remained serious and unreadable. for anyone else in the room, he was getting in a competitive mood. yet, you knew better.

“you okay, baby?” you asked, after he lost the first round. he quickly glanced at you, before returning to face the tv humming and nodding. “just a little distracted, that’s all” he said, quickly pressing on the different buttons on the controller. just in case, you decided to retrieve your hand, maybe the reason why he was distracted was because your touches tickled him. he shot you a quick look almost immediately, not actually wanting you to stop. “don’t stop, keep doing that” he ordered, eyes back on the tv. you chuckled “okay baby”.

unbeknownst to you and yunho, wooyoung and san saw the whole interaction, while yeosang quickly glanced at you as well. they all knew how yunho felt about you, since they’ve been friends and roomates (in yeosang’s case) for a long while now. they noticed the way he would look at you, and how he would light up every time he spot you. they also noticed the way he would always accommodate his schedules to fit yours for game night, no matter the time or place. if they were on tour? no problem, a small online card game becomes a good and entertaining alternative if you weren’t feeling like playing league of legends. they found the whole situation endearing, and, without yunho’s knowledge, they had a bet going on about when he would confess.

“did you just call him baby?” san asked, smirking. yunho immediately shot him a warning glance, the last thing he wanted was for you to stop using the nickname due to their teasing. “you know y/n, some words have heavy meanings” wooyoung added, mischief evident on his face. you rolled your eyes and stuck your tongue out “are you jealous woo?” you asked, momentarily stopping your touches on yunho’s skin as he simultaneously sighed. “i’m just saying, i don’t call everyone baby” he said in response.

you remained quiet, staring at the tv as the characters still hit each other. yunho, on the other hand, started panicking. what were you thinking? how you were feeling about what wooyoung said? “i like the nickname” he admitted suddenly after a few minutes of silence, except for the aggressive taps on the controller’s buttons. your head turned to him, and he quickly interlocked his eyes with yours, sending you silent but comfortable words in support. somehow, you understood what he said with his eyes: “i don’t mind”. you smiled in return.

“oh i know you like the nickname” wooyoung said, before getting a kick on his back by yeosang’s leg. “don’t distract the player wooyoung! i don’t want to win due to distractions” he scolded, earning ‘oooh’s from san. “he sucks anyway!” wooyoung exclaimed, getting another two kicks, but this time from yunho and you. “ow” he complained, earning a laugh from the dimply man beside him.

after a while, yunho won the second round. “wooyoung distract him again, i take it back” yeosang said, laughing ad the third and last round started. “that’s unfair!” you complained in defense of your best friend. “you heard them” yunho said, still focused on the game.

“how cute of you you to defend your boyfriend” wooyoung teased. yunho felt his blood run cold and visibly tensed, shooting you a look to check your reaction. but instead of feeling awkward like yunho imagined you to be, you started kicking wooyoung with a pillow while exclaiming “you’re being soooo insufferable today!”.

———

yeosang won the fight, ending it at 2-1 and with a pouty yunho in consequence. san exclaimed it was his turn to play against yeosang, so yunho gave him his place as he said he was going to get more drinks from the kitchen. you looked at him disappearing behind the door and sighed. “go help him out y/n” san said. “we all know how he gets when he loses at something”. you nodded in response, standing up from your place and ignoring the way wooyoung said “we are so going to win this bet” as you exited the room.

you found yunho in the kitchen scrolling mindlessly through social media with a beer bottle on his other hand, casually sipping it. he was also leaning against the counter, and you could not deny it: it was definitely a pretty sight.

“are you okay yun?” you asked, taking the bottle from him and sipping it. he chose to ignore the thought of an indirect kiss. instead, he hummed in response, blocking his phone and setting it aside. you kind of stood there, feeling a bit awkward, not really knowing what to say. “i’m sorry if wooyoung’s comment made you uncomfortable” he said, looking out to the window, avoiding your eyes. you stared, confusion evident on your face. “it’s fine, it didn’t make me uncomfortable or anything”.

“one thing though-“ he started saying, bringing back his gaze to you as he stood up straight. “he was right about one thing”. you left the bottle on the kitchen counter next to him, asking what he meant by that. “words do have strong meanings sometimes”

“i want to know what that nickname means to you” he finished, holding your hand in his. you bit your lip, trying to find the words to translate your thoughts, but weren’t able to say anything in response. yunho pulled you closer to him, now leaning on the counter again as you stood in between his legs. “i don’t know, but you’re the only one i call baby” you whispered, looking down, suddenly feeling ashamed of your boldness. he chuckled in response, lifting up your chin to look at him. his face was close to yours, like never before. “i’m glad to hear that y/n, but i still want you to tell me the meaning”

“i don’t know yun” you said, unable to think with his face so close to yours. “you can’t find the words to describe it?” he asked, finger tracing patterns on your arm. you shook your head, not trusting your voice. “what about-“ he lifted his hand to your face “telling me through actions?”

you closed your eyes, unconsciously leaning in and pressing your lips against his. his other hand went to wrap around your waist, bringing you closer to his body as you kissed him softly, pouring all the love and devotion for your best friend that you didn’t know you hid deep inside you. you wrapped your arms around his neck, deepening the kiss, as you quickly became addicted to the way his lips felt against yours.

after a while, you broke the kiss, pecking him again when he chased your lips. “yun?” you asked. he hummed, before kissing you again. “what does the nickname mean to you?” you asked.

“hope”.

YEOSANG

“hoping they realize how you feel won’t change anything, you know? i think you should just tell them” san told yeosang as he took a sip from his drink. yeosang sat on the opposite side of the table, his own drink long forgotten due to his long debate with himself about whether to tell you his real feelings or not. san, being as perceptive as he is, noticed something was off since that party a week ago, so he invited yeosang to a small new cafe nearby.

yeosang couldn’t stop thinking about it. he didn’t even need to focus hard enough, he could still feel your lips on his, how your scent invaded all of his senses and how addictive the whole moment was. he was sure the kiss lasted longer than intended too, since he faintly remembers the drunk voices of his friends telling each other to “give them space” or “get a room”. it’s like one of those phrases hit you like a bucket of cold water, because you immediately separated yourself from him as an intense blush covered your cheeks. “i’m sorry” you whispered, avoiding his eyes. despite the loud background, he heard you perfectly and shook his head “it’s okay, really”. he noticed your eyes drifting back to his lips and then quickly to his eyes. what if he kissed you a- “still friends right?” you asked, interrupting his thoughts. he couldn’t find the words to answer, so he nodded slightly. stupid he thought to himself.

after that you kept your distance, even on the car ride back home. you successfully got everyone back to their respective homes safe and sound, so yeosang expected to talk about what happened now that everything quieted down. but he was wrong, again. “are you okay?” he asked, stopping at the red light. you hummed in response. he expected you to elaborate or say something, anything, but you didn’t. so he decided to press further: “are you sure?” your eyes drifted from the road to him, and patted his shoulder lightly “yeah yeo, i’m just tired. i forgot how exhausting everyone is while drunk, specially san and wooyoung” you said. he suspected you were lying, but chose to leave it there. maybe you just needed to process everything, like he did the first time you kissed.

after that, you disappeared. well, not actually, but you stopped replying as often as before. reason why he started feeling anxious, what if he fucked up? maybe he should have reassured you more, or maybe he should have just said no to that kiss, or maybe he-

“earth to yeosang” san said, interrupting his thoughts as he waved his hand in front of his friend’s face. yeosang blinked, nodding “sorry, sorry. what were you saying?”

“i was telling you about hongjoong organizing a small gathering for his birthday, it’s gonna be us and very few other people” san told him, before adding: “one of those is y/n, and they confirmed their assistance already”.

his friend leaned back, smirking at yeosang’s widened eyes. “if i were you i would start thinking of what to say to them”, san said, finishing his drink.

yeosang had a lot to think about indeed.

———

yeosang is a coward, that’s what he is. you stood right next to him, as you always are, yet he couldn’t manage to say the words he has been aching to say. so, he decided to take drastic measures: he decided to drink enough to get courage and drag you out to an empty room in order to confront you.

one shot.

two shots.

three shots.

he lost count after that, mind already going hazy. yeosang looked at you, it seemed like you were also in a similar state, since you giggled at anything and muttered incomprehensible words. his eyes drifted to your lips, plump as he remembered. do they still taste the same as in his memory?

suddenly, he felt a small push from behind him, making him almost spill his drink. “go, tell them” san said, appearing in his field of vision as he patted his shoulder blades. “tell what to who?” you interrupted, smiling widely. yep, clearly drunk as well. yeosang shook his head, before sipping his drink “nothing, don’t worry”.

stupid he thought, once again.

———

“who’s that guy?” yeosang asked hongjoong, pointing to a tall man that was talking to you on the opposite side of the room. you seemed interested in whatever he was saying, which made yeosang’s blood boil.

hongjoong smirked “that’s my brother’s best friend, he’s cool”. yeosang huffed in annoyance, muttering a low “he needs to ‘cool’ off and get away from y/n”. his captain heard it though, deciding to entertain himself for a bit. “he asked me to introduce them to him” hongjoong told yeosang, who quickly turned his head to him with wide eyes. “why?!” he exclaimed. “because he’s interested? yeosangie you’re usually good at reading the room”

his eyes turned back to you. wait, did you two get closer in distance? he watched as that man (yes, he refused to acknowledge him by name, despite hongjoong telling him twice) started playing with the ends of your hair. something he, yeosang, did.

he had enough.

he finished the remains of his drink and tipsily, but surely, walked towards you, who stared at him questioningly once you noticed him. you didn’t even have time to ask him what’s going on, before he grabbed your hand and led you to one of the empty rooms.

“yeosang! i was in the middle of a conversation back there” you exclaimed, confusion all over your face as he shut the door behind him. “why are you talking to him when you should be talking to me?” he asked, facing you.

“i’ve been right next to you the whole night” you said, crossing your arms against your chest. “not the way i want you to” yeosang answered, getting closer. “tell me, is he more interesting than me?”

you shook your head no “of course not”. “then is he more handsome than me?” he asked, stepping closer and making your cheeks flush. “would he kiss you the way i do?” he asked, leaning closer to your face.

you stared into his eyes, despite the obvious drunkness, they remained as gentle as ever. “tell me” he begged, pressing his forehead against yours and closing his eyes. he needed to hear it, even if it’s a lie. “n-no” you managed to say, uncrossing your arms as you set your hands on his chest. yeosang opened his eyes, staring at your lips as if he was silently asking for permission. like you could read his mind, you nodded slowly.

so he crashed his lips against yours for a third time, but now it was desperate, hungry. he needed to feel you, taste you, as he pretended you were finally his. he pressed you against the wall while his hands found their way to your lower back, making you slightly arch your back, pressing your front to his body. to his surprise, you kissed back with the same hunger, biting his lip and sliding your tongue on his mouth when he gasped in surprise. he could still feel your favorite drink in your mouth, and he wondered if you could taste his own. he felt intoxicated, addicted to the way your mouth moved against his.

“best friends don’t do this yeo” you managed to say suddenly, in between kisses and small gasps. yeosang hummed in response against your lips, before biting on your lower one “we haven’t been just friends since that first kiss, my love” he muttered, making you smile without separating yourself from him. “i like the sound of that” you said, breaking the kiss but pecking his lips sweetly. “what?” he asked, pecking you back. “you calling me your love”

he chuckled, before lifting his left hand and cupping your cheek. he stared deeply into your eyes with so much devotion, making you suddenly realize that it’s the same gaze as always. gentle, sweet, loving. a look that was only reserved for you, and you only. “that’s because you are, my love” he said, smiling.

you couldn’t help but kiss him again, and again, and again. you felt so loved and cherished. how could you have been so blind?

“y/n” he said suddenly, breaking the kiss and making you frown “don’t address me like that” you said, pouting, making yeosang let out a laugh. “already so demanding” he said “my love, we are both drunk right now, probably not enough to forget about this though. but i still want us to talk about it in the morning” he said, holding both of your hands and bringing them to his lips, kissing your knuckles. “i promise” you answered.

once morning had come, already sobered up and fully conscious of your actions, you called yeosang, ready to face your own feelings as you accepted that you are, also, in love with your best friend.

taglist: @yoongles2025

“do you think i’m printing too many?” you asked, as you downloaded another sticker from pinterest. hongjoong smiled, finding the amount of fairy cat stickers you downloaded endearing. “knowing you, you’ll end up sticking the rest anywhere plain, or on my laptop” he said in response, earning a chuckle from you.

“you know me too well hongjoong” you said in between giggles, before throwing your hand behind the back of his head as you played with strands of his hair. your attention went back to the screen though, but in contrast he could only think about the way your fingers felt against his scalp. unconsciously, his eyes turned to you: he always knew you were beautiful, he didn’t just fall for your personality. but sometimes he couldn’t help but notice small aspects that normally would go unnoticed by the rest: how you would play with your lips whenever you’re focused on something, the way you would squint adorably as you tried to read small phrases on the screen. also your eyes, he could get lost on them forever and wouldn’t even care. in moments like this, he would also focus on your lips, mind wandering about how they would feel against his or-

“joong, is everything okay?” you asked, pulling him out of his thoughts. he blinked rapidly, regaining his composure and fake coughing. “what’s going on in that pretty genius head of yours?” you taunted, getting closer to his face.

“trust me, you wouldn’t want to know” he muttered in a low voice, but you heard him anyways. “i’m asking because i want to know, you can tell me anything, i’m your best friend”

“that’s exactly the problem y/n” he sighed, turning his gaze back on the screen, finding the satoru gojo cat suddenly super interesting.

what you did next set the timer in him though: you grabbed his chin and turned his face back to you, staring curiously. “i want to know, joong” you said in a firm voice. your eyes remained interlocked for a few moments, but hongjoong’s patience started running extremely thin. “i can show you” he whspered back, gaze going back to your lips. your hand left the back of his head and went down to his neck, pulling his face even closer as you nodded in response.

hongjoong closed the distance between you, finally pressing his lips against yours softly. you tasted the way he imagined: faint traces of strawberry from the chapstick he once gifted you, the one you refused to change despite the years. his lips moved against yours in sync, as his hands cupped your face, angling it to a degree so he could taste you better.

he thought he could kiss you forever and never get tired or bored, reason why he also felt disappointed when you pulled away. he chased you lips, so you pecked him as you tried to suppress a smirk from creeping on your face.

“finally” you admitted, causing him to look at you questioningly. “i wanted to do that for a while, joong”

“you literally friendzoned me more times than i can remember” he pointed out, shock evident on his face. “i don’t get touchy with just anyone! i had to camouflage it somehow” you said in response, blushing. “plus i also thought that’s how you viewed me, just a friend”.

“hell no, y/n never say that word around me again” he said, finally giving in to his initial thought as he pulled you on his lap in one smooth movement, making you laugh. you cupped his face, looking at him intently. “i like you, joong” you whispered. “you have absolutely no idea how much i adore you” he answered, before crashing his lips against yours again.

now that he knew how you tasted, he was never going to let you go again. you’re his new addiction, just like he always imagined.

SEONGHWA

“i still can’t believe my friend is getting married to him” you said, as you finished applying your lipstick before turning back to seonghwa. he was standing next to the window, admiring the view from the luxurious hotel while you finished preparing for the wedding reception. he was already dressed in a gorgeous wine colored suit, which was a bit oversized yet still looked formal on him.

your friend had announced a few months ago that she forgave her boyfriend for cheating, claiming that it was just a “drunken mistake”. she also informed you that she was getting married too, having already set the date and venue, and telling you that you could bring a plus one. of course, you immediately dialed seonghwa, not just to spill the hot gossip but also to invite him. he immediately agreed.

“that marriage is already doomed” he said, turning his gaze back on you, chuckling. “but at least we get an opportunity to stay at a fancy hotel, get all dolled up and then party” you pointed out, carefully pulling out your outfit from your suitcase. you had picked a dark blue long dress, that had the back open. you had picked it because it reminded you of the yellow dress from “how to lose a guy in 10 days”, which, by the way, seonghwa found absolutely gorgeous. in fact, he chose the color of his outfit to match yours.

“very true, the hotel is amazing” he said, turning back to the window “i didn’t know what to expect when you told me it was in the middle of literally nowhere”. you laughed in response as you exclaimed ‘right?!’, before entering the bathroom to get dressed.

a few moments later, seonghwa found himself having difficulty to breathe due to how gorgeous and breathtaking you looked. the dress fit your body like a glove, and when you did a little turn to show it from the back, he had to literally control himself from crossing the friendship boundary. “so? how do i look hwa?” you asked him, a little nervous. seonghwa walked towards you, holding your hand as he twirled you around, before setting both of his hands on your waist. his eyes, unbeknownst to you, were holding so much love and devotion, yet you failed to realize it. “if i was the bride i’d kick you out for stealing my spotlight” he said, earning a chuckle as you cupped his cheek. he unconsciously leaned in to the palm of your hand, wanting more of your touch. “thank you hwa, you look mesmerizing too” you said. you both stared at each other, too lost on the small intimate moment you were having.

in seonghwa’s opinion, it ended too soon, as you broke away the moment you started blushing intensely. “come, i’ll do your hair” you said, fake coughing as you led him to your shared bed for the night. you climbed on the bed and sat behind him, and seonghwa was sure he died and went to heaven. he unconsciously closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling of your fingers combing his long hair into a half ponytail. once you were done, you straightened your dress and grabbed his hand.

“ready to go?” you asked, smiling. he nodded.

———

the ceremony was beautiful, and even the vows you and seonghwa swore would be questionable ended up being terribly adorable. once the groom finished what he had to say, seonghwa whispered in your ear “cute, but i still think this is doomed”, making you laugh silently in your place while simultaneously getting side eyed by other guests.

as the night went by, you found yourself in the need of fresh air from all the intense partying inside the venue. as if seonghwa read your mind, he pulled you from the dancing crowd and led you to the garden with your hands intertwined.

“thank you, i was starting to feel overwhelmed” you thanked him once outside. he nodded, smiling “i could see it on your face”.

“you always seem to know what i’m thinking about, hwa. you’re amazing” you said, in a low voice that only he could hear from his place next to you. “of course, i’m the only exception, right?” he said. you nodded “you’re also my only exception, y/n” he added, now turning his body to face you entirely.

the garden was lit with tiny lights and candles all over the place, and thankfully the sky was clear enough you could see the stars. you could hear a slow dance playing in the background, belonging to the main venue where everyone watched the newlyweds waltz.

“wanna dance?” seonghwa asked, taking notice of the way your gaze switched from him to the main couple. you looked at him once again and smiled “i don’t feel like going back so soon, can we dance here?” you asked. “of course” he answered, taking a better hold of your hand as his other wrapped around your waist, bringing you closer. funny, you didn’t even realize you were still holding hands. it almost felt natural to you.

you slow danced to the faint music, and you could feel your heart beat louder and louder with each step. a strange feeling bubbled up on your chest, before lifting up your head from his chest to face him. he was already looking at you, making the feeling more intense. “hwa, can i ask you something?” you asked, earning a hum from him. “anything”.

“why am i your only exception?” you asked in a whisper. you saw the faint blush creeping on his cheeks as he sighed, thinking of different ways to approach the topic. “i think you’re the only one who has ever made me feel the way i feel” he answered, deciding to just spill the truth he was yearning to say. “you’re the only exception because you are the only one for me”.

as soon as he finished saying that, his hands dropped to his sides, as he took a few steps back, giving you space. “i’m sorry i can’t continue being your best friend, not when i feel the way i feel every time i see you”, he said, loud enough for you to hear while averting his gaze.

yet you always managed to surprise him. he was sure you would feel disgusted, betrayed that your best friend of years suddenly viewed you in a different light. but instead, you approached him again, hugging him close and shaking your head. “i don’t want to lose you” you started saying, feeling the way he slowly and cautiously wrapped his arms around your waist. “but also i would be a fool to ignore the butterflies in my stomach when you say such beautiful things. can you, i mean, can we give each other a chance?” you asked, voice trembling in fear of ruining it.

he cupped your face, thumb smoothing your right cheek. you realized that his stare held a lot more than you initially noticed, for how long did he look at you light that? for how long have you been dismissing his feelings? your questions subdued as he leaned closer, lips now only inches apart. he looked straight to your eyes, as if asking for your permission. you nodded, closing your eyes before his soft lips touched yours.

as cliche as it sounds, you felt like fireworks erupted inside of you. it just felt so right, so genuine and like nothing you experienced before. it felt like the first time you ever experienced love as a teenager, but now you were older and wiser. seonghwa wasn’t just your best friend, he was also your only exception, the only one for you.

SEONGHWA

“can we talk for a moment?” you asked seonghwa, who immediately felt his blood run cold at the question. he dropped his phone and studied your face: you looked sad, tired even.

realization struck him as quick as alighting: you’ve been avoiding his kisses for at least two days now, and he’s been brushing it off thinking you were just in a weird mood. i mean, yes it bothered him, but he also loved you too much to not give you space if you needed it. he always wanted you to be as comfortable as possible. but maybe he was wrong about that?

“is something wrong, my love?” he asked with a shaky voice as he took your hand in his. he chose to ignore the way you slightly flinched at his touch, or else his heart would break even more.

“i think-“ you started saying, looking down at your intertwined hands. his hold was gentle, as he always has been. kind, gentle, beautiful, all things you were not. “i think we should take a break”.

you looked up to him, and immediately regretted it: tears formed in his eyes, threatening to spill, while his lips were parted, probably trying to think of what to say. the scene completely broke you, and further proved your point about your insecurities.

“did i do something wrong?” he whispered, not trusting his voice to speak louder without breaking. your eyebrows furrowed, how could he think that when he’s been nothing but perfect in every way? “if i did i’m sorry y/n, i’ll change, but please don’t leave me”

you hugged him tightly, hiding his face on your neck as he sobbed. you didn’t realize you started crying too. “i’m sorry baby, you didn’t do anything wrong” you started saying after a while, pulling him back and cradling his face “it’s me, it’s all me and it has always been me. i’m the problem and i’m always holding you back, i’m sorry hwa”

“holding me back? what do you mean? baby you’re my motivation” seonghwa said, wiping away your tear with his thumbs. “but-“ you started saying, only to be interrupted by him:

“no, don’t ever say that again. you’re my star, y/n”.

YUNHO

normally, you would find yunho’s angry face hot, but now that it’s directed at you? not so much. not when he’s staring at you like you’re a waste of time and space, which only made your anger bubble up more.

“don’t just sit and stare at me! can you please give me a response? it’s not hard yunho” you exclaimed, earning a big eye roll from him “it’s a simple yes or no question: were you flirting with them?”

“god y/n you can be so annoying! no i wasn’t flirting, but now i wish i was so i could have a valid excuse to not see you again!” yunho yelled, standing up abruptly from his seat, making you take a step back unconsciously. this action didn’t go unnoticed by him, quickly realizing that surprise took over your face for a moment, before turning back to anger.

“if you don’t want to see me again then let’s just break up. i’m setting you free yunho” you said in anger, contrasting the way your eyes started watering.

you turned around in order to leave, not wanting him to see you cry, but he grabbed your hand, stopping you. when you turned around, you saw that his hard expression had softened, anger slowly dissipating.

“wait, don’t leave” he started saying “i’m sorry, i wasn’t thinking straight when i said what i said. i love you, i didn’t flirt with them and i don’t want you to leave”

yunho’s eyes silently begged you to forgive him, as he brought you closer to him slowly, testing the waters. when he realized you weren’t going to move away, he wrapped his arms around you. “i’m truly sorry baby, please don’t leave. i love you”.

you cried softly on his chest, as he thought of ways to make you forgive him completely. he refused to let you go.

YEOSANG

“i think this should end, y/n” he said suddenly, making you turn around in your spot at the kitchen. you looked at him confused, tea cups still on your hand.

“you mean the habit of us having tea together before bed?” you asked, eyebrows furrowed. yeosang stood up from the coach, and approached you slowly as you took notice of his sad face. “you know what i mean” he whispered once he reached you.

you shook your head “no, actually i don’t. is this about the argument earlier? i forgave you already, it’s all good yeo i promise” you replied quickly, setting the tea cups aside and proceeding to hold his arms. yeosang stared at you, it seems like he was about to cry as well, becoming all too real.

it’s rare for you to argue honestly, often choosing to just talk things out calmly. but earlier that day, ‘talking’ seemed impossible, as constant yelling filled the room. yeosang had promised, once again, to take you out on a date to celebrate your anniversary (two weeks and a half ago), but due to his idol duties he cancelled again. you have had enough, so things escalated rather quickly, making him leave your shared home with a loud shut of the door.

thing is, hours later yeosang showed up with a small bouquet of flowers and asked for forgiveness. he also explained to you how overwhelmed he felt at the moment with all the upcoming comeback preparations. you understood him obviously, and decided it would be better to just move the date until after promotions.

so everything was fine, all forgiven. what brought this now? “baby we barely see each other, except late at night like right now” he started saying, biting his lip so he could stop the tears from spilling out “you deserve someone better”.

“yeosang you are the ‘better’ you’re refereing to! i don’t want anyone else” you answered, hugging him. “i just want you, all of you, even with your weird and long schedules. i still want to feel your kiss on my cheek every time you leave and i still want to have tea with you late at night”

yeosang kissed you, pouring his whole soul and love in it as he held you impossibly closer than before. after a while, he reluctantly broke it, face still close to yours.

“i’m sorry, i love you” he whispered.

SAN

“no” he said, shaking his head as he looked at you with an unreadable expression “no, we’re not breaking up”

“but-“ you started to argue, kind of getting annoyed at the way he dismissed your previous statement. it’s been a week since fans started suspecting of your relationship, after a sasaeng had caught you at a restaurant celebrating your first anniversary. the media was going wild, even going as far as searching up your socials and sending malicious messages, all telling you to break up with san and that you’re harming his idol image.

“i said no, baby” he said, kissing your cheek and taking your hand, leading you to the bedroom “let’s go to bed”

“san! i’m about to ruin your career, i can’t just brush it off like it’s nothing! we need to break up, or at least take a break until everything calms down” you exclaimed, taking your hand back. san stared at you, face still unreadable but with some traces of hurt evident in his eyes. he took your hands again.

“you’re not going to ruin my career, love” he started saying, holding your hands tighter as if he was scared of letting go “kq’s management is handling it, they assured me everything will be fine because the angle of the photo didn’t show my face, and the couple behind us hid my body as well, so it’s not noticeable that it’s me”

you thought for a moment. truth is, you love san way too much to bring him harm, as small as possible it may be. he knew this, but his reasoning made sense. for all the media knows, the guy in the picture could be a lookalike.

“please” he said, barely above a whisper. you nodded, kissing his lips reassuringly. it’s going to be okay.

MINGI

the room felt heated, despite the different pieces of clothing that have been mindlessly discarded all over the place. mingi’s mouth never left yours, tongue entering your mouth as if it was it’s second home. his hands were everywhere: massaging your chest, holding your waist, playing with your ass, caressing your thighs. you felt him everywhere, all at once.

“we should really break things off” he said, in between kisses. you nodded, letting out a small moan when his lips found your neck. “definitely” you managed to say.

you and mingi have been arguing a lot recently, sometimes over silly small things like laundry or house chores, and other times the argument would revolve around hin forgetting important dates or your stubbornness to remember that he is an idol and is, of course, busy.

mingi’s hands went back to your ass, slapping it lightly and making you jump. he proceeded to hold your thighs, pulling you up to his height as he pressed you against the wall. he kissed you again, desperately and deeply.

“min-“ you started saying, or attempted to say since his lips made it near impossible. he bit your lip in response. “mingi”

he hummed against your lips. “this is not what breaking up means” you managed to say, pulling the back of his hair lightly but enough to make hin groan. “i know, but what if it is for us? i know you’ll miss this, miss me. now hold tight” he answered, unbucking his belt as you held on him tightly to not fall while he maneuvered with his pants.

once he was done, and pressed you harder against the wall, your trail of thought immediately disappeared. if it was a good or bad decision, or something that would become cyclical, that would be a problem for the future.

WOOYOUNG

“we should break up” you said, as a matter of fact. you stood in front of him, arms crossed as a serious expression adorned your face. wooyoung, in contrast, was sitting on your shared bed, mindlessly scrolling through social media. he didn’t even bother to look up.

“and why do you think that, baby?” he asked, still not looking at you, which caused your eye to twitch slightly. “exactly because of things like this wooyoung! i’m trying to break up with you and you don’t even care!” you exclaimed, throwing your arms in the air dramatically.

wooyoung blocked his phone and set it aside, sitting up straight in the process. his eyes found yours, probably trying to decipher how you were feeling. “are there any other reasons?”

“you don’t have time for me-“ you replied. “i still see you every night unless i’m on tour, and even in that circumstance i call every day” he interrupted. “okay, but you also never help me around the house” you argued. “baby, i literally cook half of your meals”.

“but-“ you started saying, only to be interrupted once again by wooyoung: “see? no reasons, no break up” he said, patting your head and returning to his phone.

“you’re impossible” you said, sitting beside him with your arms still crossed against your chest. wooyoung kissed your cheek “i know, but you love me nonetheless. plus i know this was an attempt to prank me as revenge for last time”

your eyes widened in surprise.

“HOW?!”

JONGHO

you might have taken a few too many drinks at tonight’s night out with your friends, so they had to call your boyfriend jongho to come and pick you up. thankfully, he answered quickly and said he would be there in 10.

“noooo you called jongho?” you asked, tipsily as you grabbed your friend’s hand that was holding your phone. “he has to wake up early tomorrow! he shouldn’t be driving around, he has to rest!”

“someone has to get you home, babe! plus he seemed fine, i promise” your friend answered in between giggles watching you pout.

once you spot jongho, your whole face lit up involuntarily, as if it was a reflex. once he reached your table, he hugged you from behind, pecking your cheek. “thanks for calling me and taking care of her” he told your friends. you clumsily bid your goodbyes to your friends and turned to jongho, ready to go.

“you shouldn’t have come, jongs” you started saying as he buckled up your belt in the passenger seat. “you have a long day tomorrow”

“it’s no problem baby, i couldn’t sleep anyways” he said, jogging back to the driver’s seat. you looked at him, thoughtful expression on your face for a few moments. “what?” he asked, chuckling as he drove the car out of the parking lot.

“you weren’t able to sleep because i was out? or because you weren’t feeling tired?” you asked, curiously. for someone who was terribly drunk, you sure got philosophical. add that to the long list of things jongho finds endearing about you.

“little bit of both i guess” he answered, stopping at a red light. you stayed quiet, strangely so, which caused jongho to turn his face to you to check if you fell asleep. but you weren’t. instead, you looked at him with tears in your eyes. “baby? what’s wrong?” he said, slightly panicking, not caring that the light turned green. since it was late at night, his car was the only one there at the moment.

“i’m a burden to you” you concluded, tears rolling down your cheeks “i’m holding you back and you should leave me”. huh?!?!

“baby, what are you talking about?” he asked in confusion, before frantically holding your face and wiping your tears away with kisses. “you always appear to save the day jongs, and i do nothing in return” you whispered, looking deeply into his eyes.

“you do more than you realize, y/n” he said, kissing you once more. “but you’re drunk, and i know nothing i’ll say will stick in this state. so let’s talk about it tomorrow, yes?”

SEONGHWA

“so he told her that she was the crazy one! can you believe that, hwa?” you asked, crossing your arms as you walked beside him. you have been rambling non stop about what happened to one of your friends and her now ex boyfriend. “bold of him to accuse her of being crazy when he was the one that cheated with her cousin” he answered, turning his head towards you and smiling.

“right, thank you! that’s exactly what i told her!” you exclaimed, throwing your arms in the air dramatically. “i swear guys are so dumb these days”

“the dumbest” he said, chuckling.

“not you of course, you are always the exception whenever i talk about men and their stupidness” you said, patting his shoulder lightly in a friendly manner. seonghwa’s heart skip a beat. he wanted to be an exception, he wanted you to realize his feelings so bad and for you to reciprocate them.

“trust me, i would not be friends with a dumb man” you continued, now grabbing his arm and leaning your head against it. “i genuinely think you are the only exception”.

he was about to start jumping from joy, were you about to realize how meant to be you both are? how you both were each other’s ‘exceptions’?

“i think you’re an exception too” he said, testing the waters as he stopped in his tracks, causing you to lift your head up to look at him. you smiled, and he swore his heart stopped beating for a second.

“of course i am! that’s why we’re best friends, hwa!” you exclaimed happily. in contrast, he internally screamed, hope slipping through his fingers slowly.

YUNHO

it was a sort of tradition to have game night every week in order to de-stress, followed by a slumber party of two. you would bring snacks and drinks, and yunho would provide the tv, playstation and games. it was the perfect arrangement.

tonight was no different: you were lying on the coach with your legs resting on top of yunho’s lap, as you quickly pressed on the buttons of your customized controller that he had gifted you for your last birthday. meanwhile, he played with his spider man joystick, silently cursing whenever he got hit by enemies.

“noo yunho i’m down! come and revive me!” you groaned when your character died. he chuckled in response “you are really bad at this game, y/n”.

you playfully hit his arm and rolled your eyes “i would be better if someone covered for me instead of running off!” you said. “i was getting supplies!” he complained, making his character bring you back to life. before he was done though, another player killed him. “what were you saying about my gaming skills, baby?” you asked, playfully.

yunho.exe stopped working, as every time you called him that nickname. he knew that you were just being friendly, but he couldn’t help how fast his heart would start beating each time. for you, it was just a word. but for him? the nickname meant everything: hope. hope that someday you will use the nickname in a way that would trascend friendship. hope that someday, you will realize his feelings and reciprocate them.

maybe if you used the word often enough, you would soon realize it.

YEOSANG

the first time you kissed was a drunken mistake. you both took one too many shots at san’s birthday party, and one thing lead to another and you ended up straddling his lap as you hungrily kissed him. despite his *very* drunk state, yeosang was over the moon, hoping this would change the direction of your friendship.

he realized how wrong he was when he woke up the morning after with a text from you that said “i hope that last night doesn’t change anything between us, i’m sorry”. he knew you were probably spiraling into the worst case scenarios, so he thought it would be healthier to just leave it there, for now at least. “we’re still friends, don’t worry” he texted back, hating himself for being a coward.

the second time was a dare at some party you attended of a mutual friend. he was the designated driver, and you knew he would have a hard time dragging his drunk friends back back to the car, so you offered to stay sober with him. he told you that it wasn’t necessary, earning a warm smile from you as you replied “that’s what best friends are for”.

the music was loud and the place was filled with drunk people, some making out in corners of the room, others engaging in incomprehensible conversations. yeosang and you were gathered in a circle with your friends as you played some sort of truth or dare game. it was mingi’s turn to spin the empty bottle of beer, having just finished his dare. to your misfortune, it landed on you.

“truth” you answered, earning groans from your friends, complaining about how ‘boring’ that option is. “y/n you picked truth last time! it’s dare time” mingi said in between giggles. “ugh fine, dare then i guess” you said, rolling your eyes as a smile creeped on your face.

“i dare you to kiss someone from this circle” he said, quickly glancing at yeosang, who immediately paled. you blushed, meditating your options for a moment before turning to your best friend. “we kissed once and remained friends. please don’t let this change”, you said, crashing your lips against his.

and he was, once again, over the moon, choosing to ignore the last part of that sentence.

SAN

“sannie!” you exclaimed, running up to him and throwing your arms around his neck. his arms immediately wrapped around you, holding you in place as he hid his face on your neck, inhaling your scent in discretion. it’s been too long since he last saw you, felt you near him. “i missed you so much, san! tell me everything about the tour”

you spent the afternoon talking about his adventures while on tour, showing you pictures of different places and telling you funny anecdotes of his members. each time he finished a story, you would smile so big and radiantly he found himself trying to control his heartbeat from racing. you also told him about how you were doing, of course! he wanted to know every new detail in your life, even though he knew many of the updates since you both regularly texted.

“i missed this” he confessed, before adding “i missed you”. your eyes softened at his words, taking his hand on yours. “i missed you too, sannie. it’s hell not being able to see your best friend every day as usual” you said. unbeknownst to you, you had just broken his heart a little with that last part. he just nodded, giving you a small smile.

on tour he felt your absence in words he couldn’t describe, always reaching for you when you weren’t there or aching to just grab his phone and call you. so, he decided he had enough of that. he was determined to tell you his feelings.

“actually, i bought something for-“ he started saying, but got interrupted by your phone vibrating beside you. “sorry, hold on” you said, before picking up. a smiled immediately appeared on your face, lighting up your whole aura as you talked back to whoever was on the phone with you. san couldn’t be more in love with you.

“sorry sannie, i have to leave. i thought my date cancelled tonight but apparently will be able to make it on time. so i have to leave right now to get ready for it” you explained.

his heart broke once again, letting go of the silver necklace he had bought for you. maybe another time, or maybe he was already too late.

MINGI

you were starting to get annoyed, and mingi knew it. you stood in front of him, crossing your arms as you looked at him questioningly. “i just don’t understand why you won’t let me read your songs”, you complained.

mingi sighed in response, leaving his notebook on the table beside him. “because it’s personal, y/n”. you rolled your eyes in annoyance, not believing a single word that came out of his mouth. “oh so now it’s personal? wasn’t it also personal when you, without my knowledge may i add, read my diary?” you argued back.

“that was different and you know it! i literally didn’t even know it was your diary” he said. “plus you forgave me for that!”

on normal circumstances, he would let you read his song notebook as many times as you wanted, hell, he would even sing/rap the verses for you. but ever since he realized that the meaning behind those songs revolved around you, about how you, his best friend, were his main source of inspiration, he decided to never let those songs see the light of day. unless until he was ready. what if you were repulsed? what if you decided he was creepy and distanced yourself from him? he didn’t even want to think about those scenarios.

“yes i did, but that doesn’t change the fact that you still read about my deepest thoughts and-“ you started saying, before your eyes widened and your voice started stuttering “wait. do you- do you actually not trust me? do you think i would leak the songs to the media?”

mingi honestly couldn’t believe what he was hearing. or worse, what you said next: “is this also why you’ve been avoiding me?”. mingi felt like punching himself, had he been avoiding you unconsciously? he knew he started keeping his distance a bit more, not replying as quick and not visiting as often as before. but he thought the changes were not noticeable by you.

you stared at him, tears forming slowly but surely on your eyes, as you tried so hard to keep them from falling. mingi was looking down, too lost on his thoughts. you waited a few moments, before muttering a low “i would never do that to you, mingi”.

he realized you were gone when he heard the door closing behind you.

WOOYOUNG

“if looks could kill, that guy would be long dead” yunho said, wrapping an arm around wooyoung as he smiled teasingly. he huffed, not taking his eyes from you and the random guy that had been keeping you entertained for longer than appreciated.

you were just getting drinks from the bar, but a random guy approached you suddenly and stole your attention before wooyoung could do something about it. you didn’t look uncomfortable, so it’s not like he could just walk up to you and steal you away. you weren’t even “his” to steal to begin with, his official title being “my bestest friend in the whole world” as you would say. a title that he, in fact, despised.

“you can always intervene you know? i mean they were supposed to get you a drink” yunho pointed out before sipping from his beer can. wooyoung looked at him. then looked back at you. his decision was made the moment he saw the man reach for your waist.

“love, what’s taking my drink so long?” he asked as soon as he approached you at the bar, stealing you away from the man and wrapping his arm around your waist instead. you turned to him, unknowing of his true intentions “oh my god woo i forgot! here it is, i’m sorry”

but wooyoung’s eyes didn’t leave the man, who immediately averted his gaze. “i didn’t know you had a boyfriend” the man said, glancing back at you. “he’s actually my best-“ you started saying but wooyoung interrupted you.

“boyfriend, yes. i think you should leave” .

JONGHO

jongho felt your arms wrap around him from behind the coach, pulling him back and stilling him in his place. he looked up at you and smiled softly, as you looked down with the same kind of smile. then, both of your attention was drifted back to wooyoung, who was dramatically telling a story about how hongjoong almost lost his laptop again.

“correction: someone stole it the first time, i didn’t lose it” hongjoong pointed out, earning a laugh from you. as cheesy as it seems, jongho truly believed that it is his favorite sound.

actually, you were his favorite everything: favorite person, favorite singer (despite only hearing you sing in the car or shower), favorite cook. the sound of your voice and laugh was his favorite, along with the way your face expressed clearly how you were feeling at the moment. to him, you were an open book, his favorite book.

the only problem was that he wasn’t sure if he was yours. yes, you were closer to him than with the rest, often confiding in him with your deepest secrets. you built an irreplaceable bond with him, one that he was truly afraid to break if he told you about his feelings. so for now, he settled with enjoying the skinship you offered.

getting too entertained by the dramatic scenery displayed in front of you, neither of you noticed mingi looking at your small, almost unconscious, interactions.

“hey how come we never get to hug you without getting kicked, jongho?” mingi asked, making everyone take notice of the way you were hugging and resting your head on jongho’s, as he traced his fingers along your arms.

“best friend privileges” you answered, noticing the way jongho flinched while he tried to think of a quick way to answer. what you didn’t know, was that your explanation made him want to scream. “oh really? isn’t it because-“ mingi started teasing, only to be interrupted by jongho abruptly standing up to kick him jokingly as he screamed, trying to block what he was trying to say.

“it’s not too late to leave” you muttered, squeezing wooyoung’s arm as if it was a stress ball. “in fact i think it would be very smart to leave”

wooyoung giggled nervously, squeezing your arm right back. “it’s just a haunted hospital baby, we have to hide long enough and avoid everyone until we reach the back door to the garden”

“woo you are literally shaking” you said as a matter of fact. the scene was rather comical, you both were holding each other, taking one step at a time and shaking from head to toe. “plus if you think about it, losing the game is not that bad when you consider us dying by the hands of a crazy sadistic surgeon ghost”

“first, according to jongho, only patients and maybe some nurses died here. no crazy surgeons. secondly, it’s not about the game itself, it’s about our pride baby! i’m not going to lose my pride over this, and neither will you” wooyound replied, scanning the area to his left.

it all started when yunho suggested to do something fun for halloween. by “fun”, you, wooyoung and mingi thought he meant a night out dressed in hot costumes and getting drunk out of your minds. definitely not this creepy haunted hospital jongho suggested. on top of that, to make things more “fun”, he also suggested to play a game: some sort of hide and seek, where everyone hid except for two people, who had to search for the rest. the thing is, you could only win by reaching the garden at the very back of the building. the searching party would win if they found at least half of the hiding party. the trick? the main route towards the back was blocked by old furniture and some chunks of the roof that fell with the pass of time, so you had to get creative.

the area was dark despite the small flashlight that was given to you. “use it wisely” seonghwa had said before returning to jongho, who was his partner in the search team. jongho knew the place already, so it would be unfair if he played for the hiding team. regarding seonghwa, he lost rock paper scissors. poor hwa, but at least he had jongho with him.

the place was, also, awfully quiet. the only sounds you could hear were your steps and sometimes wind currents whenever you entered a room with windows. “let’s go through that door” wooyoung said, pulling you towards a door to your left. he entered first, shielding you from possible dangers from hypothetical ghosts, but never dropping your hand.

the room was darker than the rest, and it was filled with the smell of humidity. wooyoung pointed the flashlight to scan the room, probably in search of another door. the room had an old, unmade hospital bed, and a big desk filled with unrecognizable liquids in testing tubes along with medical papers. broken glass covered the floor near the bed too. definitely not a pretty sight.

suddenly, the door shut closed behind you, and as reflex you crashed onto wooyoung, tripping in the process. he caught you, hugging you close to his body and pointing the flashlight towards the door. nothing out of the ordinary, but a bookshelf fell down due to you tripping, now blocking the door. between the loud shut, your scream and the fallen bookshelf, you were sure about to get disovered, but that wasn’t wooyoung’s worry right now.

“hey, hey baby it’s okay, look at me, you’re fine” he said, holding you close to his body with one hand and the other cradling your face. you couldn’t stop shaking, and your heart was beating miles per hour. “breathe, it’s okay y/n” wooyoung said, holding your hand against his heart and taking deep breaths with you. thing is, he was nowhere near calm, he had, too, almost shat his pants from fright. your eyes filled with tears, that’s when he knew he had to switch tactics.

so he crashed his lips against yours, hard. your eyes widened in surprise, but after two seconds, you closed them, kissing him back. your lips moved against each other, making you both almost forget where you were. after a while, he broke away, causing you to chase his lips and earning a smirk from him.

“welcome back, my love” he said, pecking you. you rolled your eyes and brought his face back to yours. “shut up and kiss me again, i’m still scared”.

he kissed you again, but this time, slower, sensually. his tongue pressed against your lower lip, and you gladly let him in, as you wrapped your arms around his neck, bringing him even more closer than before, if that was even possible. his arms, that rested around your back protectively, slowly slided down towards your ass, hands cupping it and squeezing, earning a low moan from you. his mouth left yours, proceeding to kiss your jaw, and down your neck until he found your soft spot, sucking and biting lightly as to not leave a mark.

“please, woo” you muttered between small gasps. one of his hands traveled from your stomach to your breasts, massaging each one, giving them equally atrention.

“please what?” he asked in between kisses. “please fuck me wooyoung” you said. he smiled against your skin, biting a little harder before lifting his head to look at you.

the hand that was squeezing your ass moved towards your clothed cunt, pressing his fingers hard so you could feel them against the fabric of your jeans, making you moan. “here? when there’s a crazy sadistic ghost surgeon going around?” he asked, pressing his fingers harder and kissing your cheek. you stared at him warningly, not appreciating the way he was teasing you. “your wish is my command, my love”.

he pushed you against the desk, jars and testing tubes clinking. wooyoung quickly undid the button of your jeans and slid them down. his fingers returned to your clothed cunt, rubbing against the fabric in circled motions. “i can feel how wet you already are” he whispered against your ear, making you moan harder. your nails clawed against his jacket, making you realize he was wearing too many clothes. you managed to take his jacket off, throwing it somewhere behind him. after you were done, wooyoung kissed you again, desperately while his hand moved your panties to the side and his fingers entered you, filling you up. he moved them just the way he knew how, while his thumb pressed on your clit, making you moan louder against his mouth.

“baby we are still playing a game, you don’t want jongho and seonghwa to find us right? to find you like this?” he asked, before biting your lower lip. he removed his fingers, causing you to whine at the loss. “answer”

“n-no” you managed to mutter.

he went back to your pussy, playing with your clit while you tried desperately to stop your moans from leaving your mouth. one finger slid back in, curling it before adding a second one, and curling them again. he set a quick pace, making you see stars soon enough. before you could reach your high, he stopped altogether, removing his hand from you.

“wooyoung!” you squaled, earning a laugh from him. “relax baby, i got you” he said, before unbuckling his belt and sliding down his pants along with his boxer. his tip was already leaking with precum, and he pumped his shaft a few times before aligning it against your core. “i always got you” he whispered against your lips, before sliding his head inside, making you both moan against each other.

you hungrily kissed each other while trying to muffle each other’s loud moans while he sled in and out of you, each time going much deeper than the last until he bottomed in completely. you felt so full, so good, and when he started moving again, setting up a constant quick pace you had to bite his neck to contain the loud whines and moans from escaping your mouth. he, on the other hand, had much harder time to shut up.

yes, you would pretty much get discovered soon if he kept it up.

you noticed a chair next to the desk, filled with old papers. so you decided to switch places, pushed him down to it, making him seat down. he quickly chased you and brought you towards his body again, needing to feel your soft gummy walls against his hard cock. he swore if he didn’t he would explode.

you positioned your legs on either sides of his lap, and aligned his cock to your entrance, slowly sliding him in again. you both sighed in relief. his hands flew to your ass, cupping and squeezing just the way you liked it as you bounced on his dick like your life depended on it. to stiffen his moans, he bit harshly on your neck while you bit on your own hand.

the sounds of skin slapping against skin filled the room, and he started bringing you down on him harder now that he was approaching his climax. you were close too, feeling the familiar knot on your lower belly each time his tip kissed your cervix. one of his hands left your ass to rub circles against your clit as he looked up towards you with his mouth opened in an “O” form. he was impossibly close, and you were too.

“let go woo, i got you” you said in between moans, capturing his lips with yours. that’s all he needed to hear, with a hard thrust, he bursted inside you, filling you to the brim. his movements slowed down for a bit, but never stopped, determined to make you cum too. with the last of his energy he thrusted up again, setting a quick pace and moving his fingers against your clit even harder and faster. the combination of the quick pace and the feeling of his cum inside you was enough to make you see stars, reaching your climax.

he stayed inside you for a little bit, as you both tried to catch your breaths. you interlocked eyes, before he kissed you slowly and lovingly.

“did we really just fuck in a haunted hospital?” he whispered, chuckling softly. you hid your face against his neck and said “i cannot believe we just did that!”.

you got up from him and his cum dripped down from you, staining his inner thighs and the papers that he was sitting on. you wiped up the cum from his thighs with your finger and licked it clean. “let’s clean you up before i get stupid hard again and fuck you in every room in this hospital” he said, searching for tissues in his back pockets as he buckled up his belt again.

once you were done, he kissed you one last time, sweetly, before asking if you were ready to leave. when you nodded, he took the flashlight that rested on the hospital bed and took your hand, leading you out.

strange, the hospital wasn’t as scary now and surprisingly you found the exit quick enough.

“finally! i was starting to think you both got killed by ghosts!” san exclaimed dramatically as soon as he caught sight of you. everyone turned towards you two, but their faces quickly changed from relief to confusion as soon as they took notice of the bruises on both of your necks and messy hair.

“did you-“ san atarted, eyes widening. “did you really fuck in there?!”

intense blushes covered your faces, making you look everywhere except your friends in front of you. wooyoung, never letting go of your hand, laughed and exclaimed “do you think ghosts enjoyed the view?”, earning a slap on his arm from you and laughs from the rest.

on the way back home, wooyoung stopped in his tracks, making everyone turn around to face him, questioning.