In A Daydream

As expected, it’s just the two of you once again, the glow of your computer screens and the sound of the rain tapping against the office windows. You break the steady silence with a yawn, stretching dramatically, which makes Chan glance your way. “Need a bedtime story?”

You smirk. “What, like The Tragic Life of an Overworked Employee?”

He chuckles, shaking his head. “You’re hilarious. Remind me why I put up with you?”

You grin. “Because if I weren’t here, you’d have no one to make fun of your disastrous caffeine addiction.”

It’s moments like this that make your heart flutter. It’s just so quiet, easy, and comfortable.

There are times when you can tell he wants to go, but he always lingers by your desk a little longer, as though he’s waiting for something… maybe he’s hoping you’ll ask him to stay… like right now. There he is, loitering. And you weigh the thought for a second as it crosses your mind.

Your fingers hover over your keyboard, pretending to still be focused on your work. But the words aren’t making sense anymore, and neither is the way your heart beats just a little faster when Chan doesn’t immediately grab his things to leave.

Instead, he stretches again, arms reaching over his head, his sweater riding up just slightly before he lets out a soft sigh. “Alright,” he says, but he doesn’t move. He just looks at you, eyes flickering with something teasing yet unreadable. “Tell me, how much more suffering do we have left?”

You glance at the document in front of you, but really, you’re stalling. “Depends,” you say, leaning back in your chair. “Are we talking about tonight’s workload or the existential kind?”

Chan chuckles, shaking his head. “Both, obviously.”

You exhale dramatically, tapping your pen against your desk. “Well, tonight’s suffering is about… thirty more minutes if we really focus.” You pause, then add, “Existential suffering? Probably lifelong.”

He lets out a low laugh, and the sound does something dangerous to you.

“See, this is why I like being around you,” he muses. “You make my impending burnout entertaining.”

You smirk. “Happy to help.”

A comfortable silence falls between you, broken only by the rain outside and the occasional clatter of keys. Chan, now sat back in his chair and not making any real move to leave, spins his pen between his fingers before finally speaking again.

“You know,” he starts, quieter this time, “you don’t actually have to stay late every night.”

You blink at him, caught off guard by the sudden shift in his tone.

“Says the guy who practically has his name engraved on this desk?” you counter, trying to keep it light.

He smiles, but there’s something softer in it now. “I mean it. You could go home. Get some sleep. Not stress over this job like you do. I’d still be here.”

And that’s the thing, isn’t it? You could go home. You could leave him to his late-night habits, his empty office, his half-drunk cups of coffee and his relentless need to be the last one standing. But you don’t. You never do.

Maybe he knows that. Maybe that’s why he stays by your desk longer than he needs to.

You could say something. Ask him why he always waits until you’re done before packing up. Ask him why he notices your yawns, your stretches, the way your fingers slow on the keyboard when you start getting tired. Ask him why he lingers.

But instead, you just smile.

“Yeah,” you say, looking back at your screen. “I know.”

Minho

The Post-It Note Pranks

Your daily routine with Minho consists of endless banter, stolen glances, and… a Post-it note war. A little unusual, yes, but it’s been happening for so long that neither of you can remember how it started… only that you’re both incredibly competitive and stubborn.

Today’s round begins when you stick a note to his monitor: Try to look less busy today.

It doesn’t take him long to retaliate with one on your keyboard: Try to do actual work today.

And so the war escalates. You retaliate with a note on his stapler: I licked this.

So Minho counters with one on your favourite coffee mug: I spit in this. (He didn’t. Probably. Hopefully.)

The next morning you arrive to find a hundred yellow notes covering your desk, each reading: I win.

You huff, turning to the culprit. “Minho-”

But then, from the corner of your eye, you spot a pink one hidden under your keyboard. Sheepishly picking it up, you read: By the way, you look really pretty when you’re annoyed.

Well, that made your heart skip an unexpected beat.

You continue to stare at the note, your heart pounding a little too fast for your liking. Then your eyes flitter to find Minho, still watching you, with his chin propped on his hand and that infuriatingly smug smirk on his lips. He quirks a brow, waiting for your reaction.

Feeling irritation at his clear attempt to fluster you into submission, you grasp a pen and scribble a reply before closing off the few steps to his desk and sticking the note right onto his forehead.

He blinks up at you, momentarily stunned, before peeling it off to read: That’s cheating.

But he simply chuckles, the sound low and amused, and you’re too aware of how close you’re standing. His eyes flick from the note back to you, and for a second, the office noise—keyboards clicking, printers whirring, distant voices—fades into the background.

Then he leans forward slightly, just enough to make your breath hitch, and murmurs, “You’re just mad because you liked it.”

You scoff, crossing your arms even as heat creeps up your neck. “In your dreams.”

He hums, twirling the note between his fingers. “Maybe.”

Before you can fire back, he casually sticks another Post-it onto your wrist. You glance down, expecting another teasing jab.

Instead, it’s just a simple message: Lunch?

You hesitate for only a second before rolling your eyes and scribbling your response. When you slap the note onto his desk, he barely has time to grab it before you’re already walking away.

He flips it over and grins.

Try to keep up.

Changbin

The “Fake Dating” Bet

You and Changbin are always fake-flirting in the office. It started as a joke - dramatic declarations of love, exaggerated winks, calling each other “babe” just to get reactions.

But then your pesky colleague Jisung bets that neither of you can keep it up for a full week without actually catching feelings.

You and Changbin just share a smug side glance. Challenge accepted.

Day one and you’re already getting alarmingly used to it: Changbin leans against your desk, smirking. “Morning, darling. Did you miss me?”

You roll your eyes. “Tragically, yes. My heart aches without you.”

The problem? You do miss him. You do feel your heart race when he tucks a loose strand of hair behind your ear. And by day two, when he casually pulls you into a side hug and murmurs, “You know… we’re really good at this,” you wonder - what if we weren’t faking?

Day Three: You’re officially losing it.

Changbin’s hand finds the small of your back as he guides you through the office, and instead of rolling your eyes or making a joke, you nearly lean into it. When he calls you babe in that lazy, affectionate tone, your stomach does an embarrassing summersault.

Jisung is watching. He’s always watching, a knowing smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth as he observes every lingering glance, every subtle touch. He doesn’t say anything, but he doesn’t have to.

“You’re getting soft,” you murmur to Changbin when you’re alone in the break room. You mean it as a tease, but it comes out quieter, more uncertain than you intended.

Changbin raises a brow, stepping closer. “Am I?”

He’s so close. The air between you crackles with something that wasn’t there before—except, maybe it was, and you were just too busy pretending to notice. Although, you don’t step away. And neither does he.

Day Four: You’re so screwed.

You tell yourself you’re overthinking it. That this is just the nature of the bet. That Changbin isn’t actually looking at you differently, and your heart isn’t racing faster than usual when he throws an arm over your shoulders and keeps it there, fingers idly tracing patterns.

Then, after a long day, you find yourself walking out together. It’s dark, the city buzzing with life, and Changbin hesitates before speaking.

“You know this is the last day, right?” His voice is softer than usual, like he’s testing the weight of the words.

You nod. You’ve been thinking about it all day. Tomorrow, the bet is over. And then what?

Before you’re able to spiral, Changbin reaches for your hand. Not dramatically, not for show—just a gentle brush of his fingers against yours, hesitant but hopeful.

“We don’t have to stop,” he murmurs.

You should laugh it off. Call his bluff. Make a joke about it. But instead, you allow his fingers to thread through yours.

“Yeah,” you breathe. “I know.”

Hyunjin

The Office ‘Secret Handshake’

You and Hyunjin have a dumb, overly complicated handshake that started as an inside joke but has now become a thing that everyone knows about and finds incredibly annoying.

It’s all dramatic finger snaps, spins, and an unnecessary over-the-head high-five at the end. Everyone rolls their eyes when you do it, but neither of you care.

Until one day, during a particularly boring meeting, when you glance at Hyunjin from across the conference table. Without a word, you start subtly miming the first move under the table.

Hyunjin bites his lip to hold back a laugh before mirroring your movements. You both manage to get through the whole sequence without breaking eye contact, even as Chan - your long-suffering team leader - sighs, “I know you two are doing that stupid handshake.”

After the meeting, Hyunjin nudges you, grinning. “Maybe we should make it our thing for real.”

Your heart skips. But before you can question him on it, he sends you a wink and strolls away.

You stand frozen in the hallway for a second, replaying Hyunjin’s words in your head. What does he even mean? The handshake is already your thing. It’s dumb, ridiculous, and completely unnecessary—but it’s yours. Unless…

Your thoughts short-circuit for a second, the thought coming into your mind and destroying your rationality.

By the time you’re able to shake yourself out of it, Hyunjin has long disappeared, but you can still hear his whistling from down the hall - sounding so casual for someone who’s just wrecked your entire brain.

And it’s not until mid-afternoon when you see him again.

Acting on impulse, you grab onto his sleeve just as he passes you in the break rooms entrance. “Okay, what did you mean earlier?” You try (but miserably fail) to sound casual.

Hyunjin just looks at you with a slow, knowing grin spreading across his lips. “What does what mean?”

You narrow your eyes, knowing that he’s acting sheepish because he thinks it’s funny. “You know.”

He tilts his head, pretending to think, then suddenly steps closer. The break room is luckily empty, but still, the space between you feels too small. “Are you asking if I meant us?”

Your breath hitches, the air becoming so thick you feel like you’re about to suffocate. He watches you for a moment, his confident stare burning into you - trying to read every emotion and thought that flickers behind your eyes. “Because I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t mean it.”

Your brain short-circuits again.

There’s no way he isn’t enjoying this - he has that glint in his eye, the one he gets when he’s teasing but also dead serious. And the worst part? You can’t even think of a good response because you want more, too.

Before you can properly process it, Hyunjin reaches for your hand and, with a dramatic flourish, initiates the first move of your handshake. Automatically, your fingers snap into place, muscle memory taking over. The spin, the sync, the final over-the-head high-five - it’s all the same. Except now, as your hands linger just a second too long at the end, Hyunjin’s gaze doesn’t waver.

“So?” his voice is softer now. “Our thing?”

Your heart pounds, but you can’t fight your grin.

“Yeah,” you smile, lacing your fingers through his before he can pull away. “Our thing.”

Jisung

The Office Supply Heist

Jisung has a bad habit of stealing things from your desk - pens, sticky notes, even your stress ball. Every time you call him out, he plays dumb. “What? Maybe you’re just bad at keeping track of your stuff.”

But you’ve finally had enough. So you set a trap. Leaving a small notebook and pen on your desk, you write on the first page I know what you’re doing - so when he flips it open he’ll see.

Sure enough, Jisung swipes it within the hour.

When he flips the notebook open and sees the message, he bursts out laughing. “Okay, maybe I take your stuff. But only ‘cause it’s yours.”

You cross your arms. “That’s the worst excuse ever.”

Jisung shrugs, twirling your stolen pen between his fingers. “Or… it’s the best one.”

You roll your eyes, but secretly? You kind of love it. Nonetheless, you scoff, shaking your head as he continues twirling the pen like some kind of smug magician. “So what, you steal my stuff just for fun?”

He smirks. “It’s more entertaining than ordering office supplies like a normal person.”

You narrow your eyes. “You do realize the company provides free stationary, right? There’s literally a whole cabinet full of it.”

Jisung tilts his head, pretending to consider this. “But those don’t have the same charm. Yours are just… better.”

You let out an exasperated sigh. “That makes no sense.”

“It makes perfect sense,” he counters, grinning. “It’s like stealing fries off someone’s plate. They just taste better.”

“That is not the same thing!”

Jisung just shrugs, tapping the pen against his chin. “Agree to disagree?”

You shoot him a glare before holding out your hand expectantly. “Give it back.”

He hesitates, twirling the pen one last time between his fingers. “Hmm. Nah.”

“Jisung.”

“What?” He leans back in his chair, completely unfazed. “They’ve got sentimental value now.”

You stare at him, deadpan. “They’ve been in your possession for thirty seconds.”

“Yeah, and in those thirty seconds, they’ve become my favorite stationary.”

You lunge forward in an attempt to snatch the pen first, but Jisung is faster, jerking his hand away just in time. Laughing, he tucks the pen into his pocket before grabbing the notebook and standing up. “Tell you what - if you want them back, you’ll just have to come steal them from me.”

Before you can argue, he winks and strolls off toward the break room, leaving you sitting there, half-annoyed, half-amused. You sigh, shaking your head. This is not over.

Felix

The “Accidental” Coffee Dates

Felix always seems to be in the break room at the exact same time as you. Suspiciously so.

“Wow,” you say one morning, entering the break room at the same time you do everyday to retrieve your first cup of coffee. “What are the odds?”

Felix blinks innocently, but his cheeks tinge just the slighted bit pink. “What do you mean?”

“You definitely time your breaks to match mine.”

He grins sheepishly, “Maybe I just happen to also need a beverage at precisely -” he pauses to check his watch, “10:03am?”

You raise an eyebrow. “Oh? So you don’t just come in here to check what mug I’m using so you can steal it from me later? Because somehow they always end up on your desk?”

Felix smirks. “Well, maybe I don’t want a whole coffee and I just like sharing yours.”

Well, that makes your heart stutter.

Felix watches in amusement, waiting for whatever sassy comeback you’re coming up with. He’s never flirted with you so blatantly before, but it’s clear he’s trying to figure out if you’re into him too.

You hesitate, your fingers tightening slightly around your mug. The break room feels smaller somehow, quieter, the usual hum of the coffee machine and the distant chatter of coworkers fading into the background. Felix is still watching you, his smirk softened into something more patient, like he’s waiting to see if you’ll take the bait.

Your mind races through the past few weeks - the way he always seems to find a reason to linger when you walk in, how his “accidental” coffee thefts have become a running joke, the way he looks at you when he thinks you’re not paying attention.

Maybe it really was time to stop pretending this was just about caffeine.

You take a slow sip of your coffee, then tilt your head. “So, what you’re saying is… we should just only share one cup from now on?”

Felix grins, but there’s a flicker of something deeper in his expression. Surprise, maybe. A little anticipation. “I mean, if that’s what you’re offering.”

You tap your fingers against your mug, considering. “Mmm. I don’t know. Feels like a dangerous precedent.”

“Dangerous?” He leans in slightly, elbows resting on the counter. “How so?”

“Well,” you muse, pretending to think it over, “first it’s coffee. Then maybe it’s lunch. Next thing I know, we’re getting dinner, and suddenly people start thinking it’s a thing.”

Felix hums in amusement, nodding as if this is a very serious concern. “Sounds risky.”

“Very.”

He takes a step back to fully assess you, folding his arms. “And would that be such a bad thing?”

There it is. The shift from playful to real, the challenge hidden beneath his casual tone. He’s putting the question out there, giving you a choice. Your heart instantly kicks into overdrive.

You could brush it off, keep playing the game. Or you could take the leap.

You exhale, setting your cup down on the counter, exactly halfway between you. “I guess there’s only one way to find out.”

Felix’s smile is slow, knowing. Then, he picks up your cup, slowly lifting it to his lips, taking an exaggerated sip before handing it back. “Guess so.”

Your fingers brush as you take it, and just like that, the game changes.

Seungmin

The Mutual Roasting Sessions

Your entire relationship with Seungmin revolves around mercilessly making fun of each other. It’s just how it’s always been between you, so effortless and lighthearted. And you know he’s as addicted to it as much as you are.

For example, yesterday when you walked past his desk, you caught a glance at him scribbling something, working away like a maniac and couldn’t resist: “Seungmin, you literally have the handwriting of a serial killer.”

“At least I write things down. When’s the last time you actually met a deadline?” He’d quipped after you, throwing you a quick glance that revealed just a hint of his smirk.

Okay, you admit, that was fair… you do have a habit of being a little late with deadlines.

But were you about to let him get away with it? Absolutely not. However the next day, you were mid-roast when Seungmin had suddenly leaned in closer, smirking. “You know, if we ever dated, our love language would just be insults.”

Your first response was to let out a snort, followed by an “If we dated?”

Oh, you’d regretted that right away. It’d only taken half a second to notice the way his smirk faltered. But Seungmin had been thrown off by your reaction for just long enough to let slip the flicker of something real behind his eyes.

“Shut up,” he’d muttered, looking away.

Then later that same day, you’d caught him sneaking a glance at you, and suddenly, the teasing didn’t feel so lighthearted anymore.

Which brings you to present day and, for the first time in forever, Seungmin seems off his game. It’s subtle, but you notice it - the way his comebacks aren’t as sharp, the way he hesitates a fraction of a second too long before responding. The way he keeps sneaking glances at you when he thinks you’re not looking.

If the other day hadn’t happened, you would have found it funny, the King of merciless teasing suddenly being flustered? Hilarious. But now, you can’t help feeling awkward - wishing you’d not made a joke out of him before.

In an attempt to restore your normal dynamic, you try to test the waters. The next time you see him, you make a show of stretching before dropping onto the seat beside him with a sigh. “Man, I don’t know what I’d do without you, Seungmin.”

He raises an eyebrow, suspicious. “Finally admitting I’m the best thing in your life?”

“Oh, absolutely,” you deadpan. “I mean, who else would insult me so consistently? I’d have to pay someone.”

His mouth twitches like he wants to smile but refuses to give you the satisfaction. “That’s true. You’d be lost without me.”

There it is again - that tiny hesitation, the way his gaze flickers to your lips before snapping back up. You should let it go. You should let the moment pass. But you’re insistent.

Instead, you tilt your head, feigning curiosity. “Hey, Seungmin?”

“What?”

You lean in slightly, just enough to close some of the space between you. His breath hitches.

“Were you serious?” you ask, voice quieter now. “About… the dating thing?”

For a second, Seungmin does nothing. Then, he scoffs, but it sounds a little forced. “You think I’d actually want to date you?”

You don’t even flinch. “I think you wouldn’t have brought it up if you didn’t at least think about it.”

Silence. A long, charged pause where neither of you move. Then-

“Shut up,” he mutters again, looking away.

But this time, when you catch him sneaking another glance at you, he doesn’t look away so fast. This time, he holds your gaze for just a second longer. And this time, you maintain eye contact with him, trying to prove that you’re not as against the idea as you’d initially made out to be.

Jeongin

The ‘Fake Office Enemies’ Game

You and Jeongin pretend to be workplace rivals for fun. You’re not sure how, or why, it started. All you know is that you’re both on the same strange wavelength and just get so much fulfilment from it.

“You got the last blueberry muffin?” you gasp.

Jeongin smirks, taking a slow, deliberate bite. “Should’ve been quicker.”

So you decide to take it up a notch, escalating things by dramatically declaring, “Jeongin is my nemesis!” in front of the entire office.

To your surprise, he steps closer, grinning. “Oh yeah? What are you gonna do about it?”

You hesitate - too aware of how close he suddenly is. His smile is still teasing, but there’s something softer in his eyes. Something almost fond.

“…I’ll get my revenge,” you say weakly.

Jeongin hums, tilting his head. “Looking forward to it.”

The game, it seems, just got a little more complicated.

You tell yourself it’s nothing - just another moment of playful rivalry, the same as always. But as you settle back into your seat, trying to shake the heat lingering on your face, you can feel Jeongin’s eyes still on you.

The rest of the office drones on, people returning to their work or previous discussions, but your mind is elsewhere. You’re too aware of Jeongin sitting just across the room, the way his fingers drum idly against his desk, the occasional amused glance he sends your way like he knows something you don’t.

When lunch finally rolls around, you make a quick escape, heading toward the break room for a moment to collect yourself. You shouldn’t feel this flustered - this has always been a game. A silly, harmless, pretend-rivalry game.

But the way Jeongin had leaned in earlier, the way his voice dropped just slightly, the way his smirk had softened at the edges… It didn’t feel like just a game anymore.

You shake your head, reaching for the coffee pot, only to find it completely empty.

A familiar voice hums from behind you. “Looking for something?”

You turn, already knowing what you’ll see. Jeongin, holding the last fresh cup of coffee in his hands, lifting it to his lips with that signature smirk.

You narrow your eyes. “You did that on purpose.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he says innocently, taking a slow sip.

Your hand twitches at your side. “You do realize this means war?”

Jeongin tilts his head, pretending to consider your words. “Hmm. Does it, though?” His gaze flickers down to you, the teasing light still in his eyes, but something else lingers there too. Something almost expectant.

You don’t know why your heart speeds up at that look.

Before you can come up with a witty retort, he steps forward, lowering his voice just enough that you can feel the shift in the air between you. “You’re taking this rivalry thing pretty seriously,” he muses, tapping a finger against the coffee cup. “Almost like you actually care about beating me.”

You scoff, folding your arms. “Of course I do. What kind of nemesis would I be if I didn’t?”

He grins, leaning in just a fraction closer. “Oh? So if I stopped playing along, you’d miss it?”

Your breath catches. It’s a simple question. A playful one, really. But for some reason, you don’t have an answer ready.

Jeongin watches you carefully, the smirk on his lips softening ever so slightly.

For the first time since this game began, you feel like you’re standing at a line. One you hadn’t even realized existed until now. And you have no idea what happens if you cross it.

“…I’d just find someone else to be my office enemy,” you say finally, forcing a casual shrug.

Jeongin clicks his tongue. “Ouch.” But there’s no real offense in his voice, just that same easy amusement, the kind that always makes it hard to tell exactly what he’s thinking.

Then, before you can react, he lifts the coffee cup and presses it into your hands.

Your fingers wrap around the warm ceramic instinctively, blinking up at him in confusion. “What—”

“You can have this one.” He grins. “Consider it a peace offering.”

You narrow your eyes. “You’re plotting something.”

“Maybe.” He winks. “But you’ll just have to wait and find out, won’t you?”

And with that, he turns and strolls out of the break room, leaving you standing there, holding the coffee he’d stolen for himself.

His fingers are warm, enveloping yours easily as he gives them a small, affectionate squeeze. He knows your hands are always cold but - right now - they’re like icicles.

“Your hands are freezing,” he says casually, as if he hasn’t just sent your heart into palpitations. “I read somewhere that skin-to-skin contact is better than gloves.”

You swallow hard, nervously glancing at your intertwined hands before peeking up at him. His expression is unreadable, a soft smirk playing on his lips. Then, without breaking eye contact, he stuffs your intertwined hands into his coat pocket, his grip remaining firm, like he’s not planning to let go anytime soon.

“Is that so?” you gulp, trying to sound as unaffected as possible.

“Mhm.” He squeezes you hand lightly in his, tugging on it to force your body closer to his side, as if testing how natural this feels. “Guess you’ll just have to hold mine the whole way home.”

Your face burns, but you don’t pull away.

Minho

You’ve never experienced this level of clinginess from Minho before. Not that you’re complaining. It’s just… new. Especially in such a public space.

Walking through the grocery store isles, you can barely move two steps away from him before he finds an excuse to pull you right back.

It began so unassuming too, with a soft “Hold the shopping list for me.” You’d complied without second thought, but that had given him the opportunity to thread his fingers through yours in a grip so secure you knew he wasn’t going to be letting go anytime soon.

Then, after managing to get your hand free so you could examine the shelves, you reach for a bag of chips, only to be stopped with, “This cart is kinda hard to push, help me out.”

Turning to look at him, you notice he’s holding onto the cart with one hand just fine. But it’s apparent his real focus is on wanting you back in his arms, his free hand extended out to you. He’s looking at you with that expression that simultaneously looks so innocent and caluclated.

You narrow your eyes at him, catching onto his little game. “Was holding my hand not enough?”

Minho smirks, not even pretending to deny it this time. He grasps your hand and presses a lingering kiss to your knuckles, his expression softening.

“Maybe.” He gives your fingers a gentle squeeze. “Are you complaining?”

“…No.”

“Good.” He tugs you in between his arms and the cart, caging you into a back hug, before continuing down the aisle - your hands still clasped together while they hold the carts handle like it’s the most natural thing in the world.

Changbin

The rain is relentless, hammering against the pavement as you and Changbin huddle under a single umbrella. The space is tight, forcing you to walk awkwardly, shoulders bumping every few steps.

After the third time you nearly step into a puddle, Changbin sighs. “Here, hold my hand.”

You blink up at him. “Huh?”

“So we don’t get separated,” he says quickly, his eyes fixed straight ahead. “And so you stop walking into puddles.”

You hesitate, but he extends his hand toward you, palm open, fingers slightly curled—waiting. Slowly, you place your hand in his, and he wraps his fingers around yours, his grip firm and steady.

It’s practical. Sensible. Yet your heart pounds louder than the rain.

“See? Better,” he smirks, adjusting his hold like he’s memorizing the way your hand fits in his.

You don’t let go until you’re safely inside. Neither does Changbin. And maybe you both find yourselves hoping it will rain more often.

Hyunjin

Hyunjin tugs you along as you weave through the quiet gallery, his eyes bright with excitement. He stops in front of a painting—completely enamoured by the piece—and takes your hand in his as you step up beside him.

“Look at this,” he whispers, lifting your intertwined hands slightly. “Your hand looks so delicate next to mine. Like something from this painting.”

You raise an eyebrow, glancing at the abstract modern art in front of you before flicking back to him. “Uh- isn’t that a collection of geometric shapes?”

He turns to you with a teasing grin. “So? Art is about interpretation. And I interpret this as us being a masterpiece.”

You roll your eyes, but your fingers tighten around his.

“Smooth,” you mutter.

He leans in, brushing his lips against your knuckles. “You love it.”

And you can’t deny that you do.

Jisung

Jisung had talked a big game about how he wasn’t scared of haunted houses. But now, standing in the dimly lit entrance, he’s gripping your wrist like a lifeline.

The first jumpscare sends him leaping behind you, his hand sliding down until his fingers are tangled with yours.

“It’s just a survival tactic,” he whispers hurriedly, his voice a little shaky. “But if I’m going down then I’m taking you with me.”

You bite back a laugh. “Right, of course.”

Another shadow moves, and he squeezes your hand tighter while whispering little words of comfort to you as though you’re the one who’s almost fainting with fear every time something happens.

“Jisung,” you say, amused. “You do know I’m not the one who’s scared, right?”

“I—” He pauses. “Shh. Holding hands is, uh… scientifically proven to lower fear responses.”

You smirk. “Oh? Where did you read that?”

He doesn’t answer. Instead, he just grips your hand a little tighter, and for the rest of the haunted house, he never lets go.

Felix

Felix has been making a mess in the kitchen, flour dusting his cheeks and chocolate smudged on his fingertips as he grins at you.

“Look at you,” you sigh, reaching for a paper towel. But before you can wipe his hands clean, he takes yours in his instead.

“See?” he says, holding up your flour-covered fingers next to his. “Now we match.”

You laugh, shaking your head. “Felix, this was just an excuse to hold my hand, wasn’t it?”

He leans in, brushing his nose against yours with a smile. “Maybe.”

Then he presses a kiss to your flour-dusted knuckles, grinning as he whispers, “But can you blame me?”

Seungmin

Navigating a crowded subway station is chaotic, people pushing and moving in every direction. One second, Seungmin is walking beside you, and the next, he’s gone.

You instantly panic, but half a second later - and without a word - you feel his hand slide down until his fingers are entwined with yours, almost giving you the jump-scare of your life. Until your head whips around to find it’s only him and not some creep.

Your heart stutters. “W-What are you doing?”

He doesn’t even look at you, his gaze focused ahead. “We don’t want to keep getting separated, right?”

You nod as warmth spreads up your arm. His grip is strong, steady—but he doesn’t let go even after you exit the station, even when the crowd thins out.

“…You can let go now,” you shyly murmur.

He pauses in the middle of the sidewalk, glancing at your hands with a slow, knowing smirk, before shrugging. “I could.”

But he doesn’t and neither do you.

Jeongin

You and Jeongin are curled up on the couch, watching a horror movie that he had insisted he wasn’t scared of. Yet every time a jump-scare happens, his fingers tighten around yours.

“Innie, you’re going to cut off the circulation in my hand,” you tease.

“I’m comforting you,” he retorts, though his grip doesn’t loosen one bit.

You fight a smile, feeling the way his fingers cling to yours, warm and reassuring.

Even when the movie ends, he still doesn’t let go.

“Jeongin?” you whisper, nudging him.

His head is resting against your shoulder, eyes closed, your fingers still entwined in his.

You press a soft kiss to his forehead. “Not scared at all, huh?”

Of course, you’re revelling in his misery. A devilish smirk stretched across your lips as you scoot a little closer and sing-song a “Hey” to get his attention. Nothing.

“You’re not mad, are you?” Your tone is condescending and Chan can feel the annoyance bubble within him as your elbow lightly nudges his side.

But he refuses to move.

Unluckily for him, this makes you go in for the kill. Leaning in, you rest your chin on his shoulder and beam at him with the most sickly-sweet smile you can muster. It’s the kind of smile that reveals a little smugness from behind it and you know that it will be just enough to get under his skin.

That does it. Chan can’t hold back his groan, finally turning to look at you with an expression that reads a mix of simmering agitation and flustered - his pink-tinged ears giving him away without consent.

“Yeah, yeah, you’re cute. Just stop smiling at me like that.”

There’s a gruffness to his voice, but he doesn’t pull away from you. In fact, instead, he lets out another long, over-the-top sigh before tilting his head to rest against yours, as if admitting defeat.

Your grin widens at the action, feeling triumphant in your continued ability to wind Chan up while also still getting him to cave into you.

But maybe that’s all just part of a bigger game between you both. One that you know - deep down - you both cling onto as a reason to be around each other without admitting how you really feel.

Minho

This wasn’t the first time you’d stolen Minho’s hoodie purely to get a rise out of him. But he’d been pretending not to care… until he couldn’t any longer.

“So you’re really just gonna wear my hoodie like it’s yours, huh?” He leans against the counter with a raised brow, startling you a little from scrolling through your phone.

You instantly recoil, snuggling into the fabric with a small smile. “It’s mine now.”

Minho expressionlessly watches as you scrunch up the too-long sleeves to make little sweater-paws. The oversized fabric practically swallowing you and filling your senses with the smell of him - fresh laundry and something undeniably Minho.

He knows exactly what you’re doing, his lips twitching like he’s fighting a smirk as he thinks up a rebuttal.

“You have your own hoodies, you know.”

“Yeah, but none of them are yours.” You give a dramatic sigh, tugging further at the sleeves. “And this one is so warm and cozy. It’s perfect.”

His eye twitches. “I hate you.”

“No, you don’t.”

Minho rolls his eyes but doesn’t try to take it back. He just stands there, staring at you with that unreadable expression he always wears when you get under his skin. After a long moment, he runs a hand through his hair and lets out an exasperated sigh.

“You’re so annoying,” he mutters, voice dripping with faux frustration. Then, quieter—so quiet you almost don’t catch it—“but I love you so much.”

You blink. “What?”

“Nothing.” His cheeks turn pink as he turns on his heel, retreating toward his room. “Give me my hoodie back.”

“Never,” you grin, tugging it tighter around yourself.

Minho grumbles, already regretting his life choices. But when he glances back at you, still curled up in his hoodie, still looking unbearably you, he knows—deep down—he doesn’t really mind.

Changbin

Changbin had been complaining all morning about being sore after an intense workout session. You had tried your best to ignore it, but when he let out another dramatic groan, you couldn’t help yourself.

You’d tried your best to keep your mouth shut and ignore the nagging in your brain to tell him to shut up. But, then you’d had a better idea…

With a devilish grin, you poked his side. Immediately, he flinched, tensing up and shooting you an irritated side-glance.

“Don’t,” he warns, narrowing his eyes at you.

You simply raise an eyebrow, pretending to look puzzled. “Don’t what?”

His eyes follow you suspiciously, but before he can react, you poke him again, this time a little harder.

He closes his eyes and exhales deeply, almost like he’s meditating. His shoulders rise and fall slowly, and for a second, you think he might actually ignore you. But then, without warning, he stretches his arms overhead, a smirk playing on his lips as he cracks his neck.

“Give me a minute,” he says ever so casually, his voice laced with an unsettling calm. “And then I’m going to tickle the shit out of you.”

Your eyes widen in genuine alarm, and your heart skips a beat. “No, you’re not!” you exclaim, quickly scrambling off the couch and onto your feet, but he’s already standing, his mischievous grin growing wider.

“Oh, I absolutely am,” he replies with a wink, his voice dropping to a teasing tone.

You make a break for it, darting across the room, but it’s already too late. Changbin lunges after you with the speed of a predator, his strong arms closing the gap between you in seconds.

“No—wait!” You try to dodge him, but he catches you effortlessly, tackling you back to the couch with a triumphant chuckle.

You squeal, squirming beneath him, but his grip is firm. His fingers find their mark—your sides—and he begins to tickle you relentlessly, sending you into uncontrollable fits of laughter.

“Changbin, no! Stop!” you gasp between bursts of laughter, but his smirk never wavers.

He’s relentless. His fingers dancing over your ribs, moving with precision as if he knows exactly how to get under your skin.

“You wanted to mess with me, huh?” he teases, his voice muffled by your giggles. “Now you get what’s coming to you.”

You twist and try to squirm out from beneath him, but it only makes him laugh. You can feel the warmth of his breath against your skin, and despite his teasing, you can’t help but smile through the laughter.

When he finally relents, giving you a brief moment to catch your breath, he leans in close, his face inches from yours, his breath still shaky from laughing.

“You think that’s funny?” he whispers, his voice softer now, though his smile is still menacing.

You’re unable to answer, still gasping for air, but he can see it in your eyes—he’s won this round.

“I swear, you’re impossible,” you whine, but the affection in your voice makes it clear that you don’t really mind.

Changbin just chuckles, giving your side one final poke. “I know,” he smirks, leaning back on the couch, his arm casually draped over your shoulders as if nothing had happened. “I’m perfect.”

You roll your eyes, but you can’t suppress the smile creeping onto your face. “Whatever,” you mutter, still trying to recover from the laughter.

“Don’t mess with me again, or next time,” Changbin adds, “I might just tickle you into next week.”

You can’t help but throw your head back in laughter, despite yourself. “I’ll take my chances,” you shoot back, nudging him playfully.

Hyunjin

Your relationship with Hyunjin has always been difficult to put a label on. You’re not quite friends, but equally your bickering never quite goes far enough to be considered truly spiteful. It’s like you’re in some middle ground between like and dislike - yet, there’s still a subtle sort of intimacy between you that you both just accept without ever acknowledging out loud. Like right now.

He’s been lazily sprawled across your lap for the last twenty minutes, the soft hum of music sounding from his phone as he mindlessly scrolls. He’s clearly relaxed, content with the casual comfort you have been providing him. Until you get a call from a friend and break the silence with your chatter.

“And then I swear, the guy at the café gave me the wrong drink on purpose—”

He can’t take it anymore. Exasperatedly groaning, he tries his absolute best to interrupt your discussion, hoping that if he does it enough then you’ll just give up and call your friend back later.

You’re successful in ignoring him, until he rolls onto his stomach and burrows his face into your sweater with a muffled sigh. Upon which, your whole body tenses and you instantly make up some excuse to your friend before ending the call.

“I crave your affection,” he mutters the second you put your phone down, his voice muffled by the fabric, “but I crave your silence even more—so please shut up.”

Your eyes instantly widen in shock by his bluntness. Mocking offence, your hand flies to your chest, “excuse me?”

You watch the way he peaks up at you from where his face was buried, the cheekiest grin tugging at his lips - it’s like he knows that whatever he’s about to say next will really throw you off.

“I love you, but please, for the love of everything, let me nap in peace.”

He loves you. You blink, unsure how you should respond. Loves you. Does he mean it, or is it just some plot to make you melt and agree to his wishes?

“Are you serious right now?” you ask, trying to sound unaffected, but your voice betrays you with its little tremor.

Instead of answering, Hyunjin simply pulls the edge of your sweater up and nuzzles into your stomach like he has every right to do so… like it’s something he’s done a million times before.

You watch in trepidation, observing the way he looks so content, so unapologetic as he continues to nestle deeper into your lap and his arm moves to drape across your waist.

Your fingers twitch with the urge to smooth over his head, caving seconds later to do just that. “Fine,” you sigh, rolling your eyes, though your fingers don’t plan on stopping their gentle caress. “I’ll let you sleep. But only because you look so pathetic right now.”

He smirks into your skin, a quiet chuckle berating hot breath into your stomach in a tickle attack. “I’m not pathetic,” he mutters, though his muffled voice makes it sound more like a confession than a rebuttal.

You can’t hold back a laugh this time, the warmth of the moment wrapping around you like a soft blanket. “Oh, you definitely are,” you tease, but your tone remains soft and affectionate.

“Get some sleep,” you add with a small, fond smile, the dynamic between you two as natural as breathing now. Despite his grumbling and his constant teasing, you know Hyunjin adores these little moments just as much as you do - moments where the world outside didn’t matter, and the only thing that matters is the softness of his touch and the warmth of his presence.

He emits a small, content sigh, his grip on your waist tightening briefly before loosening, his face softening as he finally lets himself relax completely. His breathing slows, and within moments, you can feel the weight of his exhaustion pulling him deeper into sleep.

You smile down at him, your hand still gently resting on his head. There’s a quiet affection between you both, one that doesn’t need words or grand gestures. In these moments, despite the playful bickering, it’s clear: Hyunjin’s presence is the comfort you crave; even if you’d never admit it aloud.

As he continues to drift off, his hand gently reaches up and holds onto yours, intertwining your fingers.

“I love you too.” You whisper when you’re sure he can’t hear you.

And although he doesn’t answer, you feel the tiniest squeeze of his fingers, making your heart instantly skip a beat.

Jisung

You’d been fidgeting non-stop and Jisung had been trying to ignore it. But your fingers kept brushing against his in fleeting, almost unnoticeable touches every few seconds and he was losing the ability to remain silent.

The subtlety isn’t lost on him. He can feel the warmth of your hand so close, just a little out of reach, and it makes him smirk in amusement. He shifts, tilting his head with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

“Is this your way of subtly hinting that you want to hold my hand? Because it’s quite cute,” he teases, his voice light and full of playful mockery. He drags his words out, making sure the underlying humor is clear, but before you can respond, he adds, “It’s a shame I’m not in the mood to hold your hand.”

You scoff, your cheeks warming at his words, trying to push down the fluttering feeling in your chest that always rises when he gets under your skin like this. As if on instinct, you move your fingers away, pretending to be nonchalant despite the heat on your face.

Jisung’s smirk grows wider, watching you. In an instant, he grabs your hand, his fingers slipping between yours with ease. The suddenness of it catches you off guard, and you let out a soft huff, your cheeks now burning even more.

“You literally just said you weren’t in the mood,” you point out, trying to keep your voice steady, though it betrays you with a slight crack.

“Yeah, but I changed my mind,” he shrugs casually, his fingers tightening around yours as if to make a point. He gives your hand a gentle squeeze, his thumb brushing over the back of your hand in a way that felt far too affectionate for your liking, yet you can’t bring yourself to pull away.

You shoot him a glare, but he just raises an eyebrow, clearly amused by your flustered reaction. “You’re ridiculous,” you mutter under your breath, but your heart betrays you, beating a little faster with every second that passes.

Jisung only laughs, his hold on your hand never loosening. “I’m just giving you what you wanted, relax,” he lightly mocks, his voice softening for a brief moment, though the playful glint never fully leaves his eyes. “I’m not a monster.”

Felix

You walked into the living room to find Felix sprawled out across the couch, his limbs flopped over the cushions in the most dramatic way possible. He looked like a sad little starfish—his usually cheerful energy completely drained. His eyes were closed, but you could see the exhaustion on his face. It was both a little funny and a little endearing.

“Aw,” you mockingly pout. “My sad little starfish, what’s wrong?”

Felix lets out a long, exaggerated sigh, his entire body sagging as though the weight of the world rests on his shoulders. “I’ve had a long day,” he mumbles, his voice dragging with tiredness.

You can’t help rolling your eyes, but there is still a playful twinkle in your gaze. “A long day? What, did you finally tire yourself out from all the overdramatic sighing and complaining?”

Before you can continue your teasing, Felix’s eyes snap open, his gaze turning from dramatic exhaustion to something more mischievous.

Without a word, he reaches for you with one arm, pulling you toward him with surprising strength. You’re dragged to him helplessly, caught off guard as he tugs you down to sit beside him, his other arm wrapping around your waist and pulling you closer still.

“You’re talking too much,” he grumbles, his voice still laced with a hint of exhaustion but also a hint of something else—something familiar. You attempt to pull away, but his grip tightens almost instantly. “Stop resisting and hold me.”

You chuckle, the sound soft but full of affection. You had come to learn to expect moments like this from Felix. He’s one of the few people you know who loves affection so much, but with you - knowing you’re not big on affection - it always seems to be wrapped in a teasing, sarcastic way to get you to cave.

“You’re ridiculous,” you mutter, but despite your words, you let him pull you fully into his embrace, your body resting against his as he buries his face into your shoulder. His arms tighten around you, almost possessively, and you can feel the steady beat of his heart against yours.

Felix sighs into your shoulder, the weight of the day slowly melting away as he settles against you. His fingers trace small, absent patterns on your back, as if grounding himself in your presence. You can’t help but smile, despite the teasing that always accompanies these moments.

He mumbles something against your skin, but it’s too soft to catch. And when you don’t respond, he tightens his hold again, his voice low and playful. “I said, you resist too much. I think I’m the one who needs to encourage your affectionate side.”

You let out a soft laugh, your fingers running through his hair as you let yourself relax into him. “You’re lucky I tolerate you,” you tease, though your tone is light and unchallenging.

Felix snorts, his arms wrapping tighter around you, as if you were about to go elsewhere. “Good thing, huh?” he murmurs, sounding just a little too smug for someone who has just spent the last hour whining. “Because I’m not letting you go now.”

Seungmin

Always the type to act indifferent, Seungmin thrives on teasing and throwing playfully-sarcastic jabs your way. But as much as he tries to keep his distance, there is a soft spot for you - one that he wouldn’t let anyone else touch. Although, he refuses to acknowledge it, despite how clear it is to everyone that the so-called “enemies” dynamic between you has evolved into something more affectionate.

Sat beside him on the couch, you feel the familiar warmth of his side as he absently drapes an arm over your shoulders. Although the action is random, it plays out so smoothly that you hardly notice, continuing to doom scroll on your phone without a flinch. And you remain completely unaware of the triumphant smirk that rests on Seungmin’s face as the minutes go by.

Your dynamic is a little odd - in the sense that the two of you tend to bicker more than get along - but Seungmin’s proximity has never been something you’d shy away from. Subconsciously, you lean in a little closer, his fingers brushing your arm leaving little goosebumps in their wake.

It’s not until Chan, however, comes barging in and slumping beside Seungmin that you finally fully flick back into reality and notice how close you and Seungmin have become. It’s Chan’s love of skin-ship that probably drew him towards the both of you - seriously, you’re sure he has like a sixth sense for it - because he drapes his entire body over Seungmin with a dramatic flair that almost knocks you out of Seungmin arms.

“Ew. Get away from me,” Seungmin mutters, pushing the eldest off with an exasperated shove.

You roll your eyes at their antics - clearly Chan had shattered whatever bubble had enabled such a casually intimate affection blossom between you. So, as Chan dramatically pouts and scrambles back to his feet, you begin to shift further away from Seungmin on the couch.

“Wow, unfair,” Chan grumbles, acting exactly as he does when he’s five.

But there’s no sympathy from Seungmin, catching your awkward shifting away at the same time he rolls his eyes.

“No—not you. You stay,” Seungmin murmurs under his breath as he quickly grabs your arm in a possessive tug and draws you back into him. His voice seems to be laced with an almost reluctant softness that you’ve never heard him direct to you before.

With his arm draped over your shoulders again, a little tighter this time, it’s difficult to hide the heat that floods through your body.

You blink at him, surprised by how gentle his tone was, in contrast to the way he so confidently pulled you into him. But before you can respond or make sense of it, Chan’s eyes widen in mock disbelief before fading into a knowing-smugness.

“I see how it is,” Chan teases, watching the two of you like he’s just figured out the answer to a million dollar question.

The air between you and Seungmin suddenly feels so much heavier, as if the lines between friends and something else have just blurred a little further. You glance at him, but he is already half-turned away, trying to hide the slight flush creeping up his neck.

With a heavy silence continuing to stretch out, you decide to try and create some physical space between the two of you again. But upon the first sign of discomfort, you feel Seungmin’s grip on you tighten, his voice - barely above a whisper - stopping you.

“Don’t.” he mutters, his hand gently pulling you even further into him. It’s as though every time you try - or even think about - moving he clutches you tighter as punishment… or to make a point… you’re not sure?

You can feel the heat from his body, his breath close to your ear. But Chan breaks the charged-silence with a dramatic sigh.

“Uh, yeah, okay. Guess I’ll leave you two lovebirds alone.” he grins, wiggling his eyebrows before turning towards the kitchen.

Seungmin only shrugs, a little too nonchalant. “Shut up, Grampa.”

You let out a little chuckle at his inability to not somehow make a comment about Chan being old at least once in every interaction they have.

Finally, you tilt your head up to glance at him properly, shockwaves flashing through you when you meet his eyes. They pierce yours with a gentle assuredness that catches you off guard, before flickering away as though he didn’t just feel the exact same connection you did.

It’s evident the playful couldn’t-care-less facade is still there, but underneath it, there’s an undeniable surge of something more - something with a deep rooted tenderness.

“You’re lucky you give good cuddles because the next time you command me like that…” You trail off as you mumble, your tone not even half as reprimanding as your words are.

Seungmin scoffs, but you can see the corner of his lips twitch upwards as he answers. “Yeah, I know.”

Jeongin

The air between you and Jeongin had always been filled with playful banter and unspoken tension—those little moments where the lines blurred between genuine annoyance and something more. And today is no different.

Sitting across from him at the cafe, you absentmindedly munch on your fries while talking about your day. It’s coming towards the end of the evening, the rest of your friend group having dispersed, leaving just you and Jeongin still standing.

As you continue to ramble, you miss the way his eyes flutter back and forth between your eyes and lips, his own curling into a smile every time you laugh or speak with that little spark of excitement in your voice.

Despite remaining oblivious to the way he eyes you up, Jeongin is keenly aware of every little thing you do and it’s starting to get to him in a way he can’t quite explain. Although, you do finally notice the way his eyes soften as you finish your last fry.

“What?” you mutter, raising an eyebrow when you catch him staring - maybe he was hoping you’d offer the last one to him? Although that’s really not your dynamic. You’re sure if he’d wanted it that bad he would have just stolen it from you himself…

His eyes quickly advert to the table, but the slight pout on his lips is hard to hide. “It’s just not fair…” he begins, softly pondering. “…how cute you are.”

Your breath hitches. But as his words sink in, you can’t stop the grin that stretches across your face. “What did you just say?”

Jeongin huffs at your apparent amusement toward his confession, already despising himself for allowing the words to come out so naturally.

“Stop being so cute. It’s not fair.” He repeats with a hint of irritation, but his ears give his true feelings away, turning a bright pink.

Tilting your head, your grin widens. “Are you flirting with me, Jeongin?” You tease, the words slipping out before you can stop them. He gulps at the use of his name. It’s rare you address him by it, usually opting for Innie, but wherever you do it makes his heart palpitate and his mouth go dry.

“No,” he scoffs quickly, clearly flustered, but his voice betrays him with a slight tremor. “I’m just stating facts. It’s a problem, that’s all.”

Leaning back in your chair, you savour the way his words stammer in defense. You know this game too well. “Sounds like flirting to me,” you wink, your tone light and playful.

“Shut up,” he mutters, clearly trying to play it off, but his face is a shade of red that could rival a tomato. His eyes dart away, staring out the window like he’s pretending to be interested in something else, but you can tell he’s mentally cursing himself for giving you this ammunition.

The affection that he tries so hard to hide always slips out in these little moments, and you can’t help but enjoy every second of it. It not the first time Jeongin has let something slip, but it is the first time he seems genuinely frustrated with himself. And it makes you grin even wider.

You lean forward again, closing the distance between you two to let the playful tension fill the space. “You know, you could just admit it. I wouldn’t mind if you flirted with me,” you watch as his shoulders stiffen at your words.

“I’m not flirting,” Jeongin insists, but the pink on his cheeks doesn’t lie. He’s so clearly flustered, it makes your heart do a little flutter of its own. The way he pretends not to care, the way he gets irritated with you, it’s all part of the charm.

It’s not like he’s going to stay mad at you for long, not when he’s secretly melting under the weight of his own feelings.

“Well, I guess I’ll just have to take that as a challenge,” you shoot him a sly smile.

You can read his internal groan as his hand flies up to rub the back of his neck in frustration.

“I can’t believe you,” he mutters, still trying to hide his embarrassment behind a wall of deflection. But the slight curl of his lips tells that his defensive act is slipping.

“Come on, admit it,” you continue to poke without relent. “You like me don’t you?”

Jeongin remains silent for a moment before his eyes meet yours with a directness you weren’t prepared for. Something flashes behind them, a heavy sincerity that makes you almost forget how to breathe.

Finally, he sighs dramatically, dropping his shoulders as though giving up. “Fine, maybe I think you’re cute,” he grumbles, looking away quickly as though he’s embarrassed by his own admission.

“Well…” you begin, about to attempt the discussion that you knew no one wanted to have but was very necessary. Until, the room erupts into complete havoc.

You spot Hyunjin jump onto the only bed, followed by Changbin and Jisung. Jeongin was laughing at Felix, who’d tripped over one of the multiple bags that had been discarded in the middle of the limited floor space. And Minho had bumped into Chan in an attempt to clear said floor space while the elder was trying to stop the three on the bed from causing any damage. Absolute carnage.

You turn to your left to find Seungmin leant up against the wall, completely unbothered by the chaos unfolding, but watching none-the-less. Neither of you had managed to step any further into the room than just enough for the door to close this whole time.

“We’re doomed.” You grimace towards Seungmin, who simply shrugs. It’s almost alarming how calm he is with everything going on. You wish you could relate, but you can feel the tension in your shoulders and the headache that’s about to form.

“Hey…” you feel a hand take yours, “are you ok?”

You blink back into reality, not too sure how long you’d spaced out, but clearly it was long enough that Seungmin had taken notice. He can read the tension in your eyes. You know from the way he’s looking at you with such concern, and the way his palm squeezes yours reassuringly, that he’s not going to let go anytime soon.

You send him a nod, not feeling up to any verbal response. But it seems to do the trick.

That’s the thing with Seungmin. While he may come off as nonchalant most of the time, he’s deeply caring for those he holds closest, like the guys and you. So now that your hand is in his - for your comfort - it won’t be leaving - for his comfort too.

It’s only a little later, once everyone has taken their turn using the bathroom, that some order is attempted to be established.

As the loser of rock paper scissors, Seungmin is the last to exit the bathroom, instantly making his way back to you and intertwining your fingers once again - despite the fact that you’d taken refuge in Minho’s arms while he was away (because Minho had claimed the only desk chair and no one was prepared to dispute him)

“Alright, we need to strategise.” Chan grabs the rooms attention with everyone exhausted enough to listen to his voice of reason, despite the fact he looks just as exhausted himself. “If we position ourselves efficiently, everyone can fit without suffocating.”

That plan lasts for exactly five seconds before Hyunjin is star-fishing the mattress like he’s claiming land for a new empire, his limbs sprawling in every direction.

“I need space,” he whines dramatically, making himself as wide as humanly possible.

“Then get on the floor,” Seungmin suggests, utterly unimpressed.

“You get on the floor,” Hyunjin shoots back without hesitation, already scooting closer to Jeongin, who groans but doesn’t shove him away. Yet.

On the opposite end, Changbin is already complaining. “It’s too hot,” he grumbles, shifting like he’s trying to regulate his own temperature. “We’re all gonna overheat and die in our sleep.”

“So go sleep somewhere else,” Minho says, voice muffled from where he’s placed his forehead on your back, still hugging you closely like a pillow.

“No,” Changbin replies immediately, despite the fact that he’s practically glued to Felix’s side, his arm pressed against the youngers.

Meanwhile, Jisung has taken this as an opportunity to be a menace. Wedging between Felix and Changbin, he’s made himself completely at home, head half on Felix’s shoulder, half on Changbin’s. He keeps mumbling about dream synchronization theory, which sounds made up but is too ridiculous to argue against in your current state of exhaustion.

“I read that if you sleep too close to someone, your dreams sync up,” Jisung says, voice thick with sleep. “So technically, we might all be sharing one big dream right now.”

“That’s not how that works,” Jeongin mutters from his spot, clearly regretting every life decision that led him here.

“But what if it is?” Jisung insists, lifting his head slightly. “Like, what if we all wake up tomorrow and realize we had the exact same dream—”

“Please stop.” Seungmin grumbles, cutting Jisung off as he finally trudges over to the already full bed, tugging you behind.

As you’re coerced into his hold, with your head on his chest, you accidentally knee another body. Awkwardly peering around you notice it’s Felix, who’s luckily already lost the battle against sleep. His breathing is slow and steady, completely undisturbed by the shifting and shoving happening around him, clinging onto the closest source - which unfortunately now happens to be the youngest.

Watching the others continue to squirm and sneak more room, you feel Minho’s arms wrap around you from behind, capturing you as his little spoon once again.

“Is he drooling on me?” Jeongin asks, voice filled with resignation.

“Yeah,” Seungmin replies, not even looking.

Jeongin sighs, but he doesn’t move Felix away.

On the far edge of the bed, Chan is lying stiff as a board, clearly wondering how his life has led to this exact moment. “I feel like I’m supervising a sleepover,” he mutters, rubbing a hand down his face.

“You love it,” you tease, reaching over to poke his shoulder lightly.

“I tolerate it,” he corrects, but the corner of his mouth lifts just slightly.

Hyunjin lets out a dramatic sigh, wriggling around until he’s completely entangled with Changbin. “How is your arm so bony?”

“Why is your whole existence so loud?” Minho grumbles in response, becoming increasingly annoyed with the formers whinging.

Slowly, the room settles into something resembling sleep. Jisung finally goes quiet mid-sentence, his breathing evening out against Chan’s shoulder. Felix shifts in his sleep, tucking himself closer to Jeongin, who exhales but doesn’t fight it.

And despite the mess, the body heat, and the absolute ridiculousness of it all—you can’t bring yourself to mind.

~

When you wake the next morning, you instantly notice the distinct lack of personal space.

It’s warm, almost to the point of boiling, but you’re unable to shift much due to the steady weight draped over your waist and another against your back, pressing you into the mattress like a human sandwich. A groggy inhale tells you that your pillow is, in fact, Seungmin’s chest, rising and falling steadily beneath you. One of his arms is still wrapped around you, his grip loose but undeniably present.

Clinging to your back, Minho is just as close as last night, his own arm curled around your side and his fingers lightly hooked into the fabric of your shirt. He shifts slightly in his sleep, nose brushing against the back of your neck, and you swear you hear him mumble something incoherent before settling again.

For a brief moment, you think that maybe you can drift back to sleep. But that’s ruined half a second later when something sharp jabs into your shin.

“Shit,” you hiss, voice rough with sleep. “Who—”

Awkwardly lifting your head, your answer comes in the form of Jisung, who is sprawled half across Felix, half across Changbin, looking about two inches from rolling off the bed completely. His foot, however, has found its way to your leg, and he shifts again, nearly kicking you in the process.

Seungmin grumbles under his breath. “I will throw him.”

“I’d pay to see that.” You snort, a bubble of amusement erupting throughout your exhausted body.

You can feel Minho sigh deeply behind you, shifting his grip so his hand splays flat over your stomach. His voice is thick with sleep when he finally speaks. “Not before I get five more minutes.”

You roll your eyes but don’t move. Five more minutes. That doesn’t sound too bad.

The room is surprisingly quiet, save for the occasional shifting and the steady hum of slow breathing. You can hear Jeongin sigh in his sleep. Hyunjin mumbles something that’s practically unintelligible before turning over and burying his face into a pillow.

You let your eyes flutter closed again, but Seungmin’s voice breaks the silence.

“We’re not doing this again tonight.”

Another sleepy laugh bubbles in your throat. “Like you’ll have a choice.”

Minho hums in agreement behind you. “Yeah. You’re stuck with us.”

Before you can respond, he tightens his arms around you, resting his chin on your shoulder. His breath is warm against your skin as he leans ever so slightly to place a gentle kiss.

“Not that I mind.” His touch is gentle but firm, and you can feel the steady rhythm of his breathing beneath you.

If he was working on something, he’ll absentmindedly return to it, one hand still holding you close. But if it’s late at night and the two of you are unwinding, expect him to shift slightly, pulling you even closer into a proper cuddle.

Lee Minho

Minho’s first reaction is a raised brow, his lips twitching ever so slightly in amusement.

“You’re brave,” he remarks, tilting his head slightly as he looks up at you. But despite his teasing, his hands instinctively settle on your hips, holding you in place like he was expecting you to do this all along.

His eyes scan your face, gauging your expression before he smirks.

“Is my lap really that comfortable?” he muses, his fingers lightly tracing patterns on your thighs.

He pretends not to care, but the way his hands tighten slightly whenever you shift gives him away. If you try to move away, he won’t stop you outright, but he will let out a soft scoff and pull you right back.

“You sat down first. Stay.”

If he’s feeling particularly playful, he might lean in close and whisper, “If you wanted my attention, there were easier ways to ask, you know.”

Seeing your flustered reaction only makes his smirk turn more devilish, before he moves one of his hands to cup your cheek and gently forces you to maintain his eye contact.

Seo Changbin

The moment you sit on Changbin’s lap, his eyebrows shoot up in surprise before a slow grin spreads across his face.

“Oh? What’s this?” he teases, his arms naturally wrapping around you, locking you in place.

His hands settle on your waist, thumbs rubbing small circles against your sides as he leans back slightly, completely content with your weight against him.

“You’re not getting up now,” he adds with a chuckle, giving your waist a playful squeeze.

Changbin isn’t one to shy away from affection, and if you make yourself comfortable, he’ll take it as an invitation to wrap his arms around you more securely, pressing a soft kiss against your temple.

“You just made a big mistake,” he jokes, “because now I’m never letting you go.”

He might even start rocking the both of you gently, fully enjoying the excuse to hold you close.

Hwang Hyunjin

Hyunjin freezes for a brief moment before his lips curl into a slow, mischievous smile. “Oh?” he hums, tilting his head slightly as he stares up at you. His hands find your waist, warm and firm, as he adjusts his posture to accommodate you better.

“You should be careful,” he murmurs, his voice dropping into that soft, teasing tone that makes your heart race. “Sitting here means you’re mine for the next hour at least.”

He buries his face into the crook of your neck, pressing a lingering kiss against your skin and when you squirm you feel his grin against your shoulder, his arms tightening around you to stop you from twisting yourself enough to see his expression.

Hyunjin thrives on physical affection, so he takes full advantage of the moment—playing with your fingers, swaying slightly with you in his arms, or tracing patterns on your thighs.

“Comfy?” he asks, though his tone makes it clear he already knows the answer.

And if you even think about moving? He’ll pout dramatically and whine, “Stay just a little longer,” a satisfied smirk on his face knowing you can’t refuse him.

Han Jisung

Jisung stares at you for a second before gasping dramatically, placing a hand over his chest like he’s just been personally attacked.

“You really just—sat down? No warning? No heads-up?” he exclaims, though his laughter betrays him.

Before you can respond, he sighs dramatically and leans into you, arms looping lazily around your waist.

“Guess I have no choice but to accept my fate,” he mutters, nuzzling against your shoulder with a playful pout.

Despite his teasing, you can feel how relaxed he becomes with you in his arms. He’ll absentmindedly play with the hem of your shirt or run his fingers along your back, fully enjoying the warmth of your presence.

If you shift too much, he’ll tighten his hold and whine, “Hey, stop moving, you’re gonna ruin the moment!”

If he’s in a particularly clingy mood, he’ll lay his head against your chest and mumble, “You can’t just sit here and expect me not to fall asleep.” And honestly? He might just do exactly that.

Lee Felix

Felix’s immediate reaction is pure joy—his eyes light up, and a soft giggle escapes his lips as he instinctively wraps his arms around your waist.

“Aww, you wanna cuddle?” he coos, his deep voice laced with warmth.

Holding you close, his hands rub soothing circles on your back. “You’re so warm,” he murmurs, resting his head against your shoulder.

When you let out a little hum in response, he smiles and nuzzles into you even more.

“You’re not allowed to leave now,” he adds, his grip tightening slightly.

Felix lives for moments like these, so he’ll fully embrace the situation—rocking you gently, playing with your fingers, or even humming a soft tune against your skin.

If you try to move, he’ll pout dramatically. “But I’m so comfy,” he whines, giving you those wide, pleading eyes. And let’s be honest—you’re not getting up anytime soon.

Kim Seungmin

Seungmin raises an eyebrow, unimpressed. “Really?” he deadpans, watching as you settle into his lap. But even as he acts indifferent, his hands immediately move to secure you in place, his grip firm on your waist.

“You’re bold,” he remarks, but there’s a slight smirk tugging at his lips.

His fingers lazily trace patterns against your sides, his warmth seeping into you despite his teasing exterior.

If you try to move away, he won’t stop you, but he will tighten his grip just enough to make you hesitate.

“You started this,” he reminds you. “Deal with it.”

Despite his playful sarcasm, you can feel how comfortable he is with you there. Then you feel him lean you both further back and hear him sigh dramatically. “Guess I have to tolerate this now,” he muses, his tone dry but his actions betraying him as he rubs slow circles on your back.

Yang Jeongin

Jeongin stiffens slightly, caught off guard by your sudden closeness. His ears turn pink almost instantly, and he blinks up at you. “Oh. Um. Hi?”

But within seconds, he relaxes, a small, shy smile forming on his lips.

“You’re comfy,” he admits softly, his arms tentatively wrapping around your waist. His grip is gentle at first, but as the warmth between you settles in, he holds you a little tighter, more securely.

He lets out a contented sigh, leaning his forehead against your shoulder. “You’re not allowed to move now,” he murmurs, his voice slightly muffled.

It’s been a few days and you haven’t been able to untangle your muddled feelings into something understandable or rational. Trying to convince yourself that you’ve simply mistaken how you feel about him is not easy in the slightest. You’ve even gone as far as blaming your ego, that it’s not because you’re in love with Chan, but because you simply don’t like the idea of him choosing someone over you. That you don’t want to become second best.

However, all those ways of interpreting your feelings become useless when the day of his date arrives…

You blame Jeongin for inviting you over to their place because you can never say no to your sweet Innie. It’s all his fault. It’s his fault you have to witness Chan sprinting around their place as he gets ready. It’s his fault you feel so sick with nerves that you’re unable to eat any of the snacks he’d so thoughtfully bought for you. And it’s most certainly his fault that - for lack of anyone else being around in Chan’s final moment of panic - that Jeongin had disappeared right when he’d needed last minute advice on how to style his hair.

“Just run your fingers through it - fluff it up a little.” You try to fight the overwhelming mix of nausea and nervousness that slowly raises from your stomach.

“Like this?” Oblivious Chan runs his fingers through his hair bashfully, only making more of a mess.

You guess his lacking ability to take instruction helps you settle though, finding yourself laughing at how clueless he has become.

“Please help me…” he begins to sulk, signalling for you to just take over and tidy the mess he’d created atop his head. And how can you say no?

With trepidation, you step closer to him. Fingers a little shaky as they timidly thread through the first few strands of hair with caution. You lean onto your tippy-toes to reach the hair further back. But, as silent seconds tick by, you find yourself relaxing into the task. With each wisp of hair being neatly placed, your breathing becomes pliant and your racing heart resettles.

“There…” you softly utter while giving one last examine of your work. “Perfect.”

Lowering yourself back to flat feet, you force a smile to your quiet friend. But, being your clumsy self, you wobble mid-way as you make eye contact, almost toppling over from his intense stare.

“I got you-” Chan breathes, catching your waist in his warm palms before steadying you into his chest. With your head right above his heart, the steady thump-thump and the way his hands continue to hold you so securely make you feel as though you could drift off to sleep. If only you could get the guilt of being in his arms when he’s not yours out of your head.

“I sho- you should” you break away from him, stepping back with your head hanging low. You fear meeting his eyes in case of giving yourself away. Until his finger tucks under your chin and coerces you to.

Your breath hitches in your throat from the unexpected proximity, noses almost brushing.

“We should.” Chan stares at you deeply, the corner of his mouth perking upon seeing your brows furrow and your head tilt just the slightest in confusion. So many questions spring into your mind, mouth slightly agape as you struggle to find the right one to ask first.

But it seems Chan knows exactly how to settle them all.

“There was never a colleague. There’s only ever been you baby girl.”

Minho

Best friends brother

You’ve had a crush on your best friends brother for as long as you can remember. But, when Minho left for college, you swore to yourself that you’d get over him. It broke your heart enough to know that he would no longer be there every time you visited your friend. You also knew that he’d be having the time of his life at college, meeting lots of people that are way more attractive than you… you made a promise to yourself that you’d move on from your silly little crush.

But then he returned home for the summer and your feelings came flooding back ten fold. He’d matured a lot in the time he’d been away. Your weak little heart couldn’t resist him.

Everything seemed to fall back into the way things always used to be. You’d spend your time secretly admiring Minho while you hung out with his sister, blushing any time he’d catch you staring from across the room. That caught-you-staring smirk of his had a way of simultaneously embarrassing and melting you, shyly looking away from him for barely a second before you found yourself looking back. He never failed to make your heart skip a beat from the adrenaline rush of finding him still watching you, his grin growing wider from meeting your eyes again so soon.

These small interactions repeated themselves for the rest of the week until Minho finally had enough. He’d thought it was adorable how you couldn’t seem to keep your eyes off of him. He gets it, he’s the mature older brother who’s off limits. It makes him desirable because you can’t just admit to his little sister how you so very clearly feel.

But what if he made the first move? It would probably make things far easier for you and he could take the blame if his sister got mad.

It felt slightly bazar for him to think of it this way. It’s not like you’d caught his interests before. Not that Minho hasn’t ever found you cute. He’s just never looked at you the way he has since he’s been back home. His time away at college had really changed you, you’d grown out of your childish charm and into an adult.

“You know, I’ve seen you almost every day since I’ve been back and yet we’ve barely talked.” You’re met with Minho’s sheepish smirk as you let his statement sink in. “Why is that?”

“Maybe because I’ve been studying for finals?” You tilt your head, raising a brow at him. “Like you were last year.” He chuckles, catching on to your teasing. It seems senior year had really bought you out of your shell.

You take a small step back when Minho moves closer, eyes narrowing onto you like he’s inspecting. “Studying. Staring. You’ve been very busy.” And finally he laughs. You scoff away the flustered feelings that begin to raise from his accusations, wishing you’d been better at disciplining yourself to keep your eyes off of Minho and on your notes instead.

“Disagree all you want pretty.” His hands find their way to your waist, making your breath hitch. “You find me just as alluring as I find you.”

Changbin

Cute neighbour

It sucks having a neighbour like Changbin because every time you encounter him, you somehow make yourself look like an idiot. He’s just too nice and handsome and cute, it melts your brain. The last thing you wanted was to develop a crush on a guy in your building but here you are. Crushing hard. And he’s your neighbour. So every time you interact with him, you’re usually in some disorganised state - running late to somewhere or returning home after a long and busy day - it’s embarrassing.

You’d just managed to lug your heavy grocery bags up five floors because the elevator happened to be out of service on the very same day your cupboards were bare. Out of breath, you placed one your of heavy bags on the floor to one-handedly fish out your keys from your pocket and begin trying to unlock your door. It’s more difficult than you anticipated it to be and after a few unsuccessful attempts at turning the key, you begin to whine like a child.

That is until you hear a voice offer their help and you freeze. Before you know it, your apartment door is swinging open and the heavy bag you’d still been holding has been taken from your hands. You watch Changbin carrying both grocery bags with ease into your apartment, before he places them down and turns to you with that smirk of his. “Are you coming in or…”

From that day onwards, things began to shift between you and Changbin in ways that left you giddy yet completely unsure of where you stood. It started with small, casual interactions—friendly waves when you passed in the hallway, his cheeky grin popping up most mornings when you stepped out of your flat. But soon, those small moments grew into something more.

He always seemed to be there when you needed him, like when the strap of your bag snapped in the middle of the stairwell, and he fixed it with a hair tie he somehow had on hand. Or when your phone fell from your hand while you were juggling too many things, and he caught it mid-air with a smug, “You really need to slow down.”

One evening, after a particularly stressful day at work, you trudged home only to find Changbin sitting on the floor of the hallway outside your door, scrolling through his phone. He glanced up when he saw you and grinned.

“Lost your key again?” you asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Nope,” he replied, standing and stretching. “Thought I’d make sure you got home safe. You’ve been looking exhausted lately.”

Your heart fluttered at his concern but you weren’t at the stage of letting him know that yet, so instead you settle for light sarcasm. “I look tired huh? Aren’t you sweet?”

“I didn’t mean it like that.” He laughed, stepping aside to let you unlock your door.

One evening - a few days later - you were sitting on your living room floor, sorting through a pile of old photos and papers, when a knock at the door interrupted you. Without thinking, you called out, “Come in!” assuming it was Changbin. And of course, it was.

He stepped inside, hands in his pockets, and gave you a curious look. “What’s all this?”

“Just… a clear-out,” you said, gesturing vaguely at the mess. “Thought it was about time I sorted my life out.”

He smirked, crouching down beside you. “Good luck with that.”

Before you knew it, he was rifling through the pile, holding up embarrassing photos and making you laugh so hard your stomach hurt. Somewhere between teasing you about a particularly tragic haircut and helping you create a “keep” and “bin” pile, the atmosphere shifted.

“You know,” he said, leaning back on his hands, “I don’t really spend time like this with anyone else.”

You paused, your heart skipping a beat. “What do you mean?”

“I mean,” he said, turning to look at you, “I like being around you. A lot.”

Your breath caught. For a moment, all you could do was stare at him, the warmth in his eyes melting every bit of doubt you’d ever had about how he felt.

“I like being around you too,” you admitted softly.

His grin widened, and without another word, he reached out to brush a strand of hair from your face. The touch was so gentle, it sent shivers down your spine. And then, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, he leaned in and kissed you—a kiss so warm and soft, it left you dizzy.

Maybe having a neighbour like Changbin wasn’t so bad after all. In fact, it was quickly becoming your favourite thing.

Hyunjin

Forbidden love

Why is it that you always want the one thing you can’t have? What is it that makes it so alluring? These are questions that have circled Hyunjin’s mind of as long as he can remember. Is it the thrill of sneaking around without getting caught, or the fact that it makes him feel like he’s living a double life of sorts? Maybe it’s knowing that his family would never approve. In fact, he’s pretty sure it is all off those things and more.

Being with you makes Hyunjin’s already incredibly privileged life complete. It doesn’t matter to him that you don’t come from money like he does, or that you didn’t grow up surrounded by the filthy rich and famous. It makes him like you even more. You’re different, down to Earth. You are able to show him a new perspective to life, one without all the chauvinistic, ungrateful, money-hungry crowds he’s used to.

Hyunjin wants for nothing when you are around. You fill his heart up with so much love and make him a million times happier than any of the so-called suitable matches his parents have tried to force upon him ever could.

Which is why he’s decided to run away.

When a servant of his parent’s caught Hyunjin sneaking you into their palace-like mansion, they’d instantly forbid you to go near their precious heir again. And Hyunjin was to be matched with someone of their choice, with more riches than you could ever dream of. His parents couldn’t care less about their only son’s desires for true love. In their eyes, accumulating more power is what he’s good for.

Hyunjin can’t stand the thought of being without you and so, in the early hours of the dreaded match day, he flees to you. Arriving on your doorstep with the sun barely rising in the horizon, Hyunjin doesn’t care how bitterly cold he is. The endearing confusion on your rosy face warms him up as though his heart has been set on fire.

“You’re crazy.” Hyunjin can see your frown from where you pour him a warm cup of tea near the stove. He hasn’t been able to take his eyes off of you for a second since he arrived. And, if he’s being completely honest, he’s a little dissatisfied with your lack of excitement to see him. After all, he knows you love him just as much. You’ve told him countless times before how besotted you are with him.

“Crazy for you, my love.” He shivers under the blanket you wrapped him in. A trembling smirk trying to keep still so as to not ruin his attempts to butter you up to his idea.

But how can you agree to such a thing as running away and starting a new life? You won’t deny how there’s nothing more you want than to do exactly that with him. But not under these circumstances. Not knowing he’s left his parents without so much as a goodbye. Let alone knowing he is safe.

“Baby.” You grab his hands, leaning into him. “You know I love you more than there are stars in the sky…” his expression brightens “…but we can’t run away from our problems.” then falls, the burning flames from the fire casting his ethereal features in a honey-orange glow. Your palm raises to cup his cheek. “If we’re to be together then we have to stand up for ourselves.”

Hyunjin nods. He knows you’re right, he just wanted to push that reality so far away so neither of you would have to face it. Knowing that you are telling him to fight for what he wants makes him feel differently about it though. He knows that his parents will be furious with his desires. But he doesn’t care. He’s not afraid of them anymore. And he knows that he needs to go back to face them.

But for now he just wants to be with you, pulling you into his arms as tightly as he can, until your face is smooshed against his chest. You both cuddle in silence, only the crackling of the fire filling the space around you. And with a final kiss to the crown of your head, you both drift into sleep knowing that your love is stronger than anything this world can throw at you.

Jisung

Fated/ Literally falling for each other

To be fated with someone can seem like such a daunting thing. You’d always found the prospect of being predestined as someone’s one and only to be petrifying. But that was before you met him.

Fate was what bought Jisung into your life. How could it not have been? Never had you clicked with someone so seamlessly. It was like everything had been slowly aligning to make that one perfect meeting of two lonely, anxious lovers.

You’d chosen the wrong shoes to wear on your way to work, not realising before that the temperature outside was so cold everything had become covered in ice. The soles of your feet were smooth, providing no grip on the slippery concrete as you tried to manoeuvre along the sidewalk while dodging passers. And everything was going as uneventfully as possible, until you lost your footing and began falling backwards.

You braced yourself for the impending thud against the ground, your eyes screwed shut as though that would make the hit less painful. Except, it never came… Instead, you felt strong arms secure around you as your weight crashed into a surface that was sturdy but not solid like like the ground.

“Woah, you ok there?” A man. That’s what you’d fallen into. You’d opened your eyes just as you were helped back onto your feet, taking in your saviour. And suddenly you’d forgotten your own name.

Jisung’s eyes had shone brightly, worriedly, into yours in search of an answer. But you had been rendered speechless by him - your hero - and the genuine concern for your wellbeing, even though you didn’t know each other mere seconds before.

From that moment onwards, life had liked to cause you issues and disruptions, and fate had it that you’d end up being led back to Jisung each time.

Like that one time a few months after your initial meeting when your bus had been cancelled and so you’d ended up walking to work. It was early Spring and you’d been too distracted by the blossom emerging on the trees to notice that you were at a crossing and needed to stop. Just as you were about to step out into oncoming traffic a hand had grabbed your arm and pulled you to safety. And when you’d turned to thank your saviour, you’d been met with those familiar eyes and their warmth.

The third time fate bought you together - because apparently neither of you could take a hint that you were meant to be together - was actually when Jisung was running late for a blind date.

He’s arrived at the restaurant so late his date had apparently left. Feeling terrible and embarrassingly out of breath from all his rushing about, he’d approached the bar and ordered a drink, simultaneously elbowing the one at his side all over the counter and you.

“Ah I’m so sorry!” He’d panicked, reaching over the bar to grab some paper towels. You’d giggled, watching as he clumsily mopped your drink up, letting him know it’s ok in an attempt to settle his nerves.

“So…” you’d been speaking to Jisung for a while before it dawned on you to ask what he was doing here alone. “… are you waiting for someone?” He nervously gulped, guilt filling his expression.

“I was meant to be on a blind date, but I was running so late they obviously left…” it’s clear he’s ashamed of himself. Jisung can’t believe he’d stood someone up like that, he felt terrible. But your amused laughter made him chuckle along nonetheless - albeit mostly in confusion.

“That’s funny, I was meant to be on a blind date too.”

It’s not until you notice the way Jisung is frozen in place that it dawns on you what he must be thinking. And after verification that you were set up by the same friend, there’s no denying. You are each other’s blind date.

From that moment onwards, your relationship had flourished. I mean, it was a great joke to begin your relationship with. You’d continued your date well into the early hours, laughing and getting to know one another with ease. It was like you’d know each other for way longer than just one night - which you somehow had without realising.

And as you recounted your previous - although brief - meetings together, you realised that you were meant to be. You guess fate really doesn’t give up that easily.

Felix

College crush/ popular student x invisible student

Becoming friends with Felix happened so naturally and developing a crush on him happened just as much so. You knew from the first encounter that he was going to be a part of your life. From the way his eyes shone with glee, his smile wide and scrunching up his freckled cheeks. He was like a ray on sunshine on a miserable day; warm, inviting and a missing presence when not around.

You’d shared many classes with him over your first few years. Always sitting, going over notes and working on assignments together, which had only enabled for you to fall for him deeper and deeper. The more you got to know him, to see little quirks of his personality, the more you loved him. Yes, love. You’ll admit it to yourself because - despite never being in love with anyone before - you are sure that is what it feels like.

There’s just one huge problem… Felix is the most popular guy on your campus, he’d never see you in the same way. In fact, it’s a miracle that he even sees you as a friend.

You’d describe yourself as pretty invisible to most people. Although, it’s somewhat intentional on your part - you just prefer to keep yourself to yourself, having been burnt by past friends before. But with Felix, it was easy to let your guard down. Despite him being known by practically everyone, he never let it go to his head. His kindness and empathy extends to everyone, regardless of if they’re trying to be invisible or not.

As you sit in the quiet corner of the library, your laptop and books spread out haphazardly in front of you, you can’t help but glance up at Felix as he speaks. He’s perched across from you, his face animated as he delves into some intricate lore from a recent series he’s been obsessed with. It’s hard to focus on his words when the sight of him is so… distracting. His golden hair catches the soft overhead light, his freckles standing out like constellations, and his enthusiasm is so genuine it makes your heart ache.

Felix is, without a doubt, the most handsome guy on campus. Everywhere he goes, people try their best to grab his attention so they can greet him, stop him for a chat, or even flirt with him. It’s like he’s a magnet, drawing everyone in with his sunshine-like warmth. And yet, somehow, in the middle of all that attention, he’s chosen to spend time with you.

Being invisible has its perks—no drama, no pressure, no risk of getting hurt. But with Felix, it’s different. He sees you, really sees you, in a way that no one else ever has. And that’s what makes it so hard to keep your feelings for him in check.

“You’re quiet today,” Felix says suddenly, snapping you out of your thoughts. His deep, warm voice is filled with curiosity as he tilts his head to study you. “Am I boring you?”

Your eyes widen, and you shake your head quickly. “No! Not at all. I just… you’re really passionate about this stuff. It’s nice to see.”

His lips curve into that signature smile of his—the one that sends your heart racing every time. “You’re just saying that to be polite,” he teases lightly, leaning forward on his elbows. “But I’ll take it.”

You chuckle softly, but the sound feels hollow. It’s hard to relax when he’s looking at you like that, his amber-brown eyes filled with warmth. It’s moments like these that make it impossible to forget how out of place you feel next to him. You’re the shy, quiet one who fades into the background, while he’s the golden boy who lights up every room he walks into. What could he possibly see in you?

“Seriously, though,” Felix says after a moment, his voice softer now. “You’ve been really quiet today. Is something on your mind?”

You hesitate, your fingers fiddling with the edge of your notebook. He always asks questions like this, as if he genuinely cares—and you know he does, which only makes it harder. “I’m fine,” you say eventually, forcing a small smile. “Just tired, I think.”

Felix doesn’t look convinced. He leans back in his chair, crossing his arms as he continues to study you. “You’re always saying that,” he says, a hint of a pout on his lips. “You know you can talk to me, right? About anything.”

Your chest tightens at the sincerity in his voice. You want to believe him—you do—but the idea of opening up, of admitting how you really feel, terrifies you. “I know,” you murmur, lowering your gaze. “But I promise, I’m fine.”

He sighs but doesn’t press further. Instead, he reaches out and gives your hand a gentle tap, his touch sending a jolt through you. “Alright,” he says, his smile returning. “But I’m here if you change your mind.”

The conversation shifts after that, and you’re grateful for it. But as the two of you pack up your things and leave the library together, you can’t help but feel the weight of your unspoken feelings pressing down on you.

As you step outside, the cool evening air nipping at your skin, Felix glances over at you. “It’s freezing,” he says, his brow furrowing. Without hesitation, he shrugs off his jacket and drapes it over your shoulders. “Here. You need it more than I do.”

Your cheeks heat up at the gesture, and you clutch the jacket tightly around you. “You didn’t have to do that,” you say quietly, your voice barely above a whisper.

“Of course I did,” he replies easily, his smile as bright as ever. “What kind of friend would I be if I let you freeze?”

The word friend twists in your chest, but you force a small smile and thank him softly. He falls into step beside you, his hands tucked into his pockets as the two of you make your way across campus. The walk is quiet at first, the soft crunch of leaves beneath your feet the only sound, but Felix breaks the silence. “Hey,” he says suddenly, his tone almost casual, but there’s a flicker of nervousness in his expression. “Do you fancy grabbing a coffee tomorrow?”

You blink at him, startled. “Just us?”

“Yeah,” he says, glancing at you out of the corner of his eye. His voice lowers slightly, and his steps falter as if he’s hesitating. “We’re always doing study sessions, but… I thought it might be nice to hang out properly. No stress of assignments, just a bit of time to relax. What do you think?”

Your heart pounds, and for a moment, you’re certain he can hear it. The idea of spending time with him—just the two of you, outside of your usual routine—feels too good to be true.

“I’d like that,” you say softly, trying to keep your voice steady despite the warmth spreading through you.

Felix’s smile brightens, and there’s something in his expression—relief, maybe, or something softer—that makes your breath catch. “Brilliant,” he says, his tone light again. “I’ll text you the details later, yeah?”

You nod, clutching his jacket closer as a breeze sweeps past. The scent of him—fresh and warm—lingers in the fabric, and you can’t stop the small smile that tugs at your lips.

As Felix walks you to your building, his voice filling the quiet night with a story about something funny that happened at soccer practice, you feel a flicker of something you haven’t let yourself believe in before: hope. Maybe, just maybe, you’re not the only one who feels like this.

Seungmin

Enemies to lovers/ grumpy sunshine couple

I actually ended up posting this on its own because I got carried away…

Read here!

Jeongin

Brothers best friend

For as long as you’ve known Jeongin, he’s always been your twin brother’s friend. Until he went on vacation for the entire summer and came back different. He’d clearly had a growth spurt, his shoulders had broadened and his face had become more defined. He’d adopted a mature style and became more serious about his passions, choosing to spend extra time in the gym instead of playing video games with your brother. He’d really caught your eye. Amazed at how much he’d changed in such a short time.

Sharing the same classes as your brother and his friends had always been a nuisance for as long as you have been at school. That was until you developed a huge crush on one of them. Suddenly, you didn’t mind having your brother and his friends around, so long as Jeongin was there like he always was. It gave you the most perfect opportunities to spend time with him and get close, forming your own little friendship together right under your brother’s nose.

Soon enough, Jeongin was coming to your house to see you. The first time being a bit confusing when you answered the front door to see him when your brother was not at home. But, after some explaining about how Jeongin wanted to hang out with you instead and felt it was probably best to do it while your brother wasn’t around, you let him in. And over the years since you always continued to keep your little friendship.

The only problem is it’s your final summer before heading off to college. Your final summer before you have to say goodbye to your Jeongin. Well, not really your Jeongin. You’ve never been able to get out of the friend zone, always too afraid of his feelings not being reciprocated. But your heart wishes he was yours.

From afar, Jeongin watches as you give the iced americano you’ve made for him a stir with a contented smile on your face. The morning light that streams through the kitchen window frames your face perfectly, highlighting the light dusting of freckles across your cheeks so they glimmer like little stars. He’s never been more breath-taken by you than in this moment, and Jeongin is sure he’s breath-taken by you every time you’re around.

“Thanks.” He smiles, accepting the drink from you, his dimples deepening as you lock eyes.

You’re not sure what it is, but there seems to be something hanging in the air around you. It’s been there ever since he arrived at your family home the night before, lingering when you snuggled into him on the sofa as you watched a movie, and still clinging on this morning as you have both slowly gotten ready for the day. You just can’t put your finger on what it could be…

“So… (Y/N)…” your full attention is on Jeongin as he slowly begins. “Do you have any plans for this evening?” He looks nervous, unable to hold his gaze as he finishes his question.

Your sigh makes his heart drop. There it is, the impending rejection. But you’re finally in the clear about that thing that’s been following you since yesterday and you can’t believe it took you so long to remember. Tomorrow Jeongin goes off to college.

You close of the few steps between you and Jeongin, tucking your finger under his chin so he has no choice but to look at you before his mind begins to swirl with too many worries. You can see it in his eyes as they pour into yours.

“I know tomorrow is going to be incredibly tough for both of us, but let’s just focus on right now, okay?”

There’s a gentle smile on your lips that draws Jeongins attention, only able to softly nod in acknowledgement of your words as his mind tries not to let him stare for too long. But then what you’d actually said sinks in - you’d misunderstood his intentions. He chuckles to himself, noticing your confusion to his sudden change.

You hadn’t rejected him like he thought you were going to, because you thought he meant about leaving tomorrow.

“I was actually asking you out, like on a date…”

The light “oh” that sounds from you does, however, reignite his fear of rejection. Which you pick up on right away.

“I’d love to!” You rush out urgently, grabbing onto his forearm in earnest. Peering up at him, you notice the small, but growing, smile that spreads across his lips. And you can’t help but to reciprocate.

There’s a moment of happy silence between you before he speaks.

It was at his own party, having just lost the so-called ‘fun’ beer pong game because Jisung is clumsy and has no hand-eye coordination. Why did Seungmin ever agree to be his teammate?! Anyway, he was brooding over his losses when you were introduced and you’d made the mistake of trying to break the ice with him by making a joke about how much he sucked at beer pong. Not a good idea…

You remember being mortified when Seungmin had narrowed his eyes at you and thrown an insult back at you spitefully - even though you’d clearly just been trying to be playful - before storming away. Chan had apologised on his behalf, before trying to distract your hurt feelings. And - while it didn’t ruin your night - you were never able to gel with Seungmin like you did with the rest of your shared group of friends.

Seungmin always seems to go out of his way to be mean to you. From bitter comments muttered under his breath, to always being in a bad mood when you are in the same room. He even makes comments to the group about why you have to be invited when they do things together in front of you. It used to upset you, but now you just roll your eyes and give him the cold shoulder. You’ve learnt to accept that not everyone you meet will like you, and there’s nothing you can do about it. Until…

You turned up on his doorstep late one night in tears. You’d actually come to see Chan, having just had a huge fight with your boyfriend which ended with you splitting up. In your heartbroken state, you’d sought out the one person you knew would be able to cheer you up.

“Where’s chan?” You sniffled, trying your best to hide your tears by swiping them away with the damp sleeve of your sweater. You feel so uncomfortable being like this in front of Seungmin that you miss the way his face softens.

“He’s working late.” Although Seungmin’s tone is firm, it’s quiet, lacking its usual annoyance as concern floods him. He’s seen you upset before sure - he’s usually the one making you upset - but you usually just make this adorable little pout that gives him a rush of adrenaline. You never cry.

You stare at your feet. The muted “oh” that hiccups out of you in disappointment ignites something in Seungmin that makes him want to help you.

“Do you want to come in and wait for him?” Your head shoots up, wide watery eyes connecting with his unreadable expression. He seems a little awkward, almost like he’s only offered because he doesn’t know what else to say to you. And any other time you’d be certain he’s just messing around, building you up just to crush you back down. But this feels different and there’s something in you that can’t refuse him, nodding your head yes before stepping inside.

After some more awkward attempts at conversation with Seungmin. Him offering you a drink. You declining. Him asking if you want to have a seat. You sitting uncomfortably on the sofa. Him asking if you want to watch some tv. You shrugging a “sure” in response. You both end up pretending to be interested in the random nature documentary that plays out in front of you.

If you weren’t so adamant on not moving a muscle until Chan got home, you’d notice the way Seungmin’s gaze flickers from the tv, to you, to the tv again. You’d also notice they way he fights with himself on how to talk to you. How does he break the weirdness?

Seungmin isn’t sure why he cares about you all of a sudden. But it turns out that maybe he usually focuses on not caring about you so much because of moments like right now. Because once he starts to care, he can’t stop. He has to know what happened.

“We can talk about it…if you want?” The second your focus is torn away from the tv onto him, Seungmin begins to internally panic. Why are you looking at him like that? Like a deer in headlights. The cutest dear with the deepest, most mesmerising doe eyes he’s ever seen. He can read the emotions that pass over you. Mortification. Confusion. Worry that slowly melts into something more mellow… then you let out a heavy sigh.

“We got into a fight…” Seungmin nods. He assumes the we you’re talking about is you and your boyfriend. Although, initially it almost sucks all of the air out of his lungs. His silly little mind making the - albeit millisecond - assumption that you could have possibly meant you and him. Though the thought of you referring to the two of you as a we makes Seungmin feel a type of way that no one else has ever made him feel before. “…and broke up…”

Why does that make his heart jump? Seungmin deeply suppresses the smile that wants to beam right onto his face. Instead, keeping his lips pressed tightly into a firm line as he shuffles himself slightly closer to you. He feels a little stiff with his movements, but the need to provide you some comfort overpowers that. And of course, you still haven’t mentioned what the fight was actually over. He thinks for a moment…

“If he was willing to walk away from your relationship over a fight, then it seems to me like the relationship wasn’t worth fighting for.”

There’s something in Seungmin’s tone that shocks you. He sounds… genuine. Like he’s actually putting thought behind his words towards you. And that’s something you’ve never experienced from him before.

Seungmin isn’t sure what’s going on in your brain - as much as he finds himself wishing he could know - but his words seem to register with you in a way that he wasn’t expecting. He can tell from the flicker of realisation that ignites behind your eyes. Which gives him a surge of courage to ask “what was the fight about?”

You were clearly not expecting him to have asked that so soon and Seungmin waits patiently as you seem to internally battle over how to explain it all to him. How do you explain that it was about him?

You see… your boyfriend has always been sceptical about your predominantly male group of friends. Yes, you also have friends of the same gender. But your bestest friends were the guys and there was no way you would ever give them up. Of course, your ex didn’t like that. So he’d tag along every now and then, observing the way they’d act towards you and then try to use it against you after. Seriously, why did you put up with him for so long???

Anyway, he began taking a turn towards Seungmin about a month ago. It was during a night out when he’d noticed the way your frenemy was quietly eyeing you up from afar. Of course, you’d laughed in his face when he’d told you. Really? Seungmin eyeing you up? More like plotting your murder. And that’s exactly what you’d responded with. But no, he was convinced that Seungmin was secretly in love with you.

Long story short, you’d ended up in a huge argument - the very one that led you to seek out Chan, and subsequently landed you alone with Seungmin - because your ex wouldn’t stop going on and on about him.

“…I shouldn’t have asked…” Seungmin’s guilt-ridden tone snaps you back into reality. Your eyes snap to his and instantly you know that it’s a safe space, that you can tell him about it all… and maybe that’s not such a bad thing because it will confirm what you’ve thought all along.

“He thought you were in love with me.” You rush out in one breath, squeezing your eyes shut in anticipation of his laughter or impending grossed out comments. But when none of that followed you peeked one eye open. “Seungmin?”

There he’s sat, frozen. Like, unmoving, no blinking, frozen.

Meanwhile, Seungmin is internally freaking out. It begins with confusion over how your ex could have ever made that deduction, before shifting into denial. I mean, there’s no way right? He’s always picked on you, found you irritating beyond belief, craved the feeling he gets from making little jabs at you. But slowly, it morphs into a feeling that Seungmin isn’t sure what to call… whatever it is though, it makes his eyes go wide.

It feels like an eternity before he says something, but when he does, it’s the furthest thing from anything you’d have ever expected to hear him say to you.

“What if I am?”

You can hear your blood rushing in your ears, heat flooding to your cheeks and palms sweating within a millisecond. No way. He’s joking right. There’s no way…

Except, when you look at him, you’re not met with a teasing grin or devilish eyes. Instead he looks just as vulnerable as you feel inside. He really means it.

The air is thick with all the unvoiced thoughts between you, so much being left unsaid and unanswered. Although, Seungmin takes it as a sign that you’re not completely repulsed by him. Because you haven’t run away. You just seem to mirror his bewilderedness.

And bewildered is probably the only word he can use to describe how he feels - other than completely head over heels for you. Bewildered because he’s not sure when he fell in love with you, but because - now that he really thinks about it - he can’t remember a time when he wasn’t. Because you were the target of his anger for so long because he didn’t know how to handle the way you made him feel. Because imagining his life without you in it makes everything seem so pointless.

It’s only when you register the sound of the door unlocking that you realise you’ve both been sat just staring at each other with the weight of his confession hanging in the air.

Jolting, you stand up from the sofa, breathing heavily. Your chest feels tight, but your whole body feels jittery, panicked.

Seconds later, Chan steps into his apartment in blissful unawareness, humming a tune to himself as he slips of his shoes. That is until he turns and his eye fall on you.

“What’s wrong?” You can hear the concern in his voice, instantly approaching you and placing his hand on your cheek, thumb wiping over your skin where your makeup-stained cheeks offer up evidence of your tears - even though it seems like an eternity ago that you had been crying. The next thing you know, he’s accusingly looking at Seungmin. “What have you done now?”

Despite Chan’s tone being soft, it holds a weight to it that shows his disappointment. Your head moves to look at Seungmin, watching as he stands up and begins moving towards where you are. “Nothing, I swear.”

Chan’s head swipes back to you the second he hears your breath hitch in your throat - the very same second Seungmin brushes past you, his fingers briefly scraping yours. You feel your own reaching out for his, but they’re gone before you can catch them in your hold, and so is he.

That night, you stayed at their apartment. But you didn’t see Seungmin again. You had wanted to leave but Chan wouldn’t allow it, especially after you’d filled him in on the breakup - leaving out the topic of the argument and Seungmin’s confession. You had said how nice he’d been to you while you waited for Chan though.

The next morning you had gone home and tried to return to normal. But you couldn’t get Seungmin out of your head. Meanwhile, Seungmin couldn’t stop thinking about you. He couldn’t stop scolding himself for what he’d said. I mean, confessing to you like that when you’d only just gotten out of a relationship? What was he thinking. You were in no position to even be considering dating, let alone reciprocating his feelings. He knows that. So why does it still hurt so much?

It’s a few weeks before you’re meant to see each other again. Well, you had assumed Seungmin would be there. But when you arrived at the restaurant and found your friends, you realised that he was the only other person they were waiting for. You can’t lie, your heart had sunk to the bottom of your chest as you took a seat next to Felix and tried to join in with the group conversation.

You see, the last few weeks had been a slow process of moving on from your past and figuring out your feelings. But, the more you delved deep, the more you realised that the only future you could picture was with Seungmin in it. And you wanted to tell him that more than anything. In fact, you were planning on telling him that night, hoping that it wouldn’t be too late considering the last thing he’d told you was that he was in love with you all those weeks ago.

But the meal came and went with no sign of him. Even Chan was surprised he didn’t show…

You were frustrated. You’d spent so long building up the courage and working through your feelings in order to confess to him and he didn’t even show. You’re not about to let it all go to waste though, and that’s how you find yourself knocking on his door.

Seungmin is clearly expecting to see Chan, grumbling something about how he’s going to staple his keys to his roommates forehead next time he forgets them. But he falls silent the second his eyes fall on you.

“Why weren’t you at the meal?” Really? That’s the first thing you say to him? Seungmin can’t believe it. He feels his jaw tighten, trying not to let the annoyance show on his face. Like, isn’t it obvious? How could he show up to a meal knowing you - his enemy turned lover turned enemy again - had not even tried to reach out to him since his confession.

Seungmin had spent days waiting for you to message him, to eventually give him an answer. He knew what you were going through, and he was mindful that you probably needed time to process. But as the silent weeks went by, he grew hurt and angry. And he knows you were never technically friends, but you could have at least given him an answer. So he decided not to go to the meal, or to any gathering if you were attending, becuase he never wants to lay eyes on you again. And yet, here you are.

Deciding that you don’t deserve an answer, he grumbles and storms into his apartment, swinging the door shut as he turns, uncaring of if it hits you in the face. But he regrets it the second he’s face planted onto his bed.

Just as he’s about to force himself to get up and go back to the front door to see if you’re still there and apologise - seriously, he’s becoming so soft for you and he hates it - he hears his bedroom door open.

“You know,” you begin as Seungmin lifts his head and takes in how pissed off you look. “I came here to tell you how mad I was at you for ditching everyone tonight. But now I’m just disappointed.”

He knows he’s in the wrong, and he’s still incredibly hurt by you, but Seungmin cant help the amusement he finds in seeing you stood in such a “dad pose” - you really do hang out with Chan too much.

“Oh wow, you really scolded me there.” His sarcasm is thick. “Not disappointment.” You roll your eyes.

“Seriously? You’re reverting back to this?” Seungmin feels giddy from hearing how wound up you sound. But then you grumble “I can’t believe I’m in love with you.” and his heart stops.

“You what?” Realisation hits you the second you hear his reaction. But you aren’t sure what to do, standing helplessly as Seungmin stands from his bed, not once able to wipe the shock off his face. It’s only once he’s closed off so much space between you that you can practically feel his body ghosting yours that you realise he wants you to repeat what you said.

“I’m in love with you…”

It comes out breathy, like a feather-light whisper. But Seungmin can hear you loud and clear. All the anger has melted away from both of you, your confession making it all seem so pointless.

“… and I’m sorry for not telling you sooner.”

Seungmin can’t quite believe his ears. You love him back.

A hushed “it’s ok” sounds from him in response as one of his hands cups your cheek, the other interlacing your fingers. “I’m in love with you too.”

— Bonus —

A month later, while walking back to Seungmin’s apartment after your fifth date, you convince him to take the long way back under the guise of not wanting such a perfect evening to end just yet.

Of course, loved up Seungmin can’t say no to you. As much as he internally scolds himself for being so mushy - something he always swore to himself he’d never become. But he doesn’t realise you’ve played him until you’re on the doorstep of your ex’s place.

“(Y/N), what are you doing?” His brows furrow in confusion, squeezing your hand in warning as you knock on the door.

“You’ll see…” you grin at him devilishly.

Seconds later, your confused looking ex is stood in his doorway, also asking what you’re doing there.

“I just wanted to let you know that you were right.” Huh? Ok, everyone’s lost except you. “The night we broke up, you told me Seungmin was in love with me, right?” Your ex looks at you like you’re clinically insane, nodding in agreement nonetheless.

“Baby let’s-”

“And I just wanted to let you know that I’m in love with him too.” You cut Seungmin off, before grabbing him by the back of his neck and crashing your lips into his.

You see, you’d been minding your own business at the bar, waiting to be served after offering to get the next round for your group of friends. It was busy and so you had begun occupying yourself with the soggy cardboard coaster that had been left on the bar top to wilt, tearing it into small sodden pieces until a staff member became available to attend to you. Until some overconfident - and clearly already pretty drunk - guy had decided that you needed to be chatted up by him.

Unbeknownst to you, Chan had been eyeing up the interaction from your table a short distance away, taking note of your standoffish body language. He was just waiting for the slightest indication from you before he stepped in… ah yeah, there it is.

“You good baby?” You flinched upon the hand that carefully landed on your shoulder, exhaling when you turn to find that it was only Chan. You don’t say a word, instead sending him your best “help me” look. And you’re relieved to see your best friend nod, having read your mind and clearly the situation at hand, before he gives a quick glance to the guy who’d been trying to chat you up.

You’d half expected Chan to calmly pretend to be your boyfriend and coerce the guy away. But instead you feel a finger tuck under your chin and, before you know it, his lips connecting with yours. It takes everything in you to keep your knees from buckling under you, having had all the air sucked out of your lungs. But luckily Chan feels you wobble and moves his hands to secure your waist before breaking the kiss to see if your unwanted admirer had left.

“All gone.” Chan smirks, feeling satisfied with his work. There’s not even a glimpse of embarrassment upon his features like you may have expected there to be - had you not been frozen in place like you are. The only thing that breaks you out of your swirling mind is the approaching face from before from just past Chan’s shoulder.

And that’s how you end up pulling him back in, smashing your lips into his and making out with you best friend, the drinks you’d initially set out to get long forgotten.

Minho

“Why’d you do that?”

“Because you wouldn’t shut up.” Minho rolls his eyes, like it wasn’t the most obvious thing in the world. Why else would he have kissed you? Because he wanted to? Pft. Yes, he actually did want to, but that’s besides to point because he also wanted to shut you up.

You’d been yammering on for what felt like an eternity and all your boyfriend wanted to do was rest after a long day of practice. Minho loves you, he really does, and he would usually let you talk to your hearts content without any complaint. But he’s spent all day with Hyunjin and Seungmin, both of whom had been in the most annoying moods Minho had had to endure for a long time. Even his threats of tissues and being put in the air fryer were ineffective. So by the end of the day, once he’d finally returned to his quiet room and you’d messaged to say you were on your way over, Minho finally felt like he was able to relax.

“That was uncalled for.” You grumble, more so to yourself but still loud enough that you knew Minho would be able to hear you.

“Which part?” Minho raises a brow in challenge. You stare each other down while he waits for you to dare answer him. “The kiss or the shutting up?” and then he has the audacity to smirk at you.

“You know what, I think I’m gonna go hang out with one of the others.” You make for the door, but are stopped by his hand grabbing your wrist. “Minho if you don’t let me go-”

Before you have a chance to utter any half-hearted threat to him, he’s spun you around and captured you in his hold. You frown up at him when you meet stern expression.

“Call me that again. I dare you.” You gulp. While your boyfriend clearly isn’t that mad at you (you know because if he was, he would have just let you leave and then proceeded to give you the silent treatment until you are practically begging him to acknowledge you), his stare makes you nervous. You think back to just before, how you knew he’d had a long day. And the guilt washes over you like a tidal wave because, although he’d tried to get you to be quiet, he’d only kissed you to do so…

“Min…” your voice is soft, almost a whisper, as your hand slowly raises to cup his cheek. “My love. I’m sorry. I know you’re tired and I should have let you rest… please let me go so you can have some quiet.” You hold his gaze until his eyes begin to soften and you feel his grip on your waist falter.

“I’m sorry too kitten.” He sighs, placing a tender kiss to your forehead. “But please stay with me. I don’t want to be without you.” You hug him tight in response, burying your head into his chest and wrapping your arms tightly around his torso, intending to never let him go. Eventually he manages to move you so you’re cuddling on his bed, pressing a delicate kiss to your lips before you both fall asleep in each other’s arms.

Changbin

The world around you seemed to slow the moment your lips met Changbin’s. It wasn’t planned, wasn’t something you had even been thinking about. Until suddenly, it was the only thing that made sense. His hand, which had been resting gently on your arm, froze in place as the warmth of the kiss lingered between you two.

Changbin blinked, wide-eyed, his expression a mix of surprise and something softer that you couldn’t quite put into words. Then, the corners of his lips slowly curled up into a shy, almost boyish grin. His hand, which had been frozen against your arm, finally moved, gently brushing up to cup your cheek. You could feel the heat radiating off of him, his cheeks pink with a blush that matched the warmth in your own.

“Did that… really just happen?” he asked, his voice soft, almost disbelieving. There was a playful edge to his tone, but you could tell that he was being sincere.

You smiled, feeling a little embarrassed but also strangely at ease. “It did.”

“You know,” he began, his voice low but filled with warmth, “I was just thinking about how I wanted to do that.”

“You were?”

Changbin nodded, his grin growing wider, more confident now. “Yeah… but I didn’t know how to make the first move...”

You felt your heart swell at his words, the soft sincerity in his voice making the moment feel even more special.

“I didn’t want to wait any longer,” you admitted, the honesty coming easily in the quiet, intimate space between you. His smile softened, his eyes crinkling at the edges as he leaned closer, his forehead gently resting against yours. The warmth of his breath mingled with yours, and you could feel the steady rhythm of his heartbeat against your own.

“Good,” he whispered, his voice filled with a quiet confidence. “Because I don’t think I want to wait any longer either.” His thumb gently traced along your cheek before pulling you in once again. This time the kiss wasn’t filled with hesitation or surprise. Instead, it was soft and full of warmth and when he pulled back, his cheeks were still pink, but his smile was brighter than you’d ever seen it.

Changbin chuckled, pulling you into a gentle hug, his arms wrapping around you in that familiar, comforting way. As he held you close, you could feel the steady beat of his heart, the warmth of his presence wrapping around you like a soft blanket.

“I’m really glad it was you,” he murmured into your hair, his voice low and content.

You smiled into his chest, feeling the same warmth bloom in your heart. “Me too.”

Hyunjin

“You can’t just do that without warning me!”

Hyunjin hadn’t expected you to freak out so much. The delulu part of his mind had actually thought you’d react very differently to him kissing you. Like thanking him or instantly confessing your undying love for him. Most certainly not reprimanding him like you currently are…

“I thought it would be romantic!” He throws his hands in the air, exasperatedly explaining his reasoning. “You said you wanted a guy to, and I quote, “sweep you off your feet”. So that’s what I was trying to do.”

He’s not lying. You had said that only the day before. But you didn’t think he’d take your words so seriously and literally try to do just that barely 24 hours later.

“I wasn’t aware you’d actually do it.” You begin to laugh, the humour of the situation finally setting in. You can’t help the smile that breaks across your face or the laughter that just won’t stop tumbling past your lips. Even Hyunjin begins to join in after a moment. And the longer you allow his actions to sink in, the more you realise how flattered you actually are and how good his lips felt against yours…

The laughter slowly dissipates between you into silence, which you would feel the need to fill if you weren’t fixated onto Hyunjin’s lips. You can’t seem to pull your gaze away from them no matter how much you tell yourself you should and it’s not until Hyunjin breaks your daze by waving his hand in front of your face that you realise there’s no way of playing it off.

“What’s on your mind Pretty?” You gulp, finally taking in his knowing smirk. You know Hyunjin isn’t really looking for an answer, you’ve been caught red handed. And to top it off, he’s using the nickname that you have always protested him calling you…

It takes you another moment to gather the words into a coherent sentence, but once you’ve decided what you want to happen next, there’s no way you’re not going to tell him.

“Do it again.” You try to sound assured and confident in your choice, watching as Hyunjin’s devilish expression grows. He mutters a low “do what again?” to you, knowing fully well what you meant the first time. “Sweep me off my feet.” You assert.

The words have barely left your mouth when Hyunjin launches into action, scooping you into his arms and crashing his lips into yours. You can feel his smile as you allow him to deepen the kiss, your fingers reaching up to thread through his hair and giving it a little tug. You reluctantly break the kiss a second later, in much need of air, both of you staring into each other’s eyes knowing that you’re officially done for. You’ve been well and truly swept away.

Jisung

As you pulled away, you could still feel the softness of Jisung’s lips against yours, the warmth of his breath, and the slight tremble in his hands as they hovered uncertainly by your waist. His eyes were wide, surprise and wonder dancing in them as he stared at you, his lips slightly parted as if he was trying to form words but couldn’t quite find them. You could hear the distant sounds of the other members in the dorm, laughing and talking in the next room, and suddenly the closeness of the moment felt both exhilarating and a little dangerous.

The noise made Jisung blink, snapping out of his daze, a soft chuckle escaping his lips as he looked at you, his hand instinctively moving to rub the back of his neck in that shy, awkward way you’d seen a hundred times before.

“You should go before someone sees,” he whispers, his voice a mix of nervous laughter and soft fondness. His eyes dart toward the door, and you can practically see his thoughts racing, imagining one of the members barging in and witnessing the whole thing.

Your heart skips a beat, the playful urgency of his words making you smile. “And what if I don’t want to go?”

Jisung’s cheeks flush a deep pink, as he quickly looks away, biting his lip to suppress a grin. He glances back at you, his eyes sparkling with a teasing glint, though you can tell he is still trying to calm the rapid beating of his own heart.

“I mean… we could stay here,” he murmurs, his voice quieter now, “but if Hyunjin or Seungmin catch us, we’ll never hear the end of it.” His tone is light, but the way he looks at you makes your heart swell.

You laugh softly, stepping a little closer, feeling bolder now despite the playful warning. “Are you really that scared of them?”

Jisung’s expression turns mock-serious, though he can’t hide the smile tugging at the corners of his lips. “You don’t know what they’re capable of. The teasing? Endless.”

You giggle, the tension between you melting away into something light and easy, just like it always does with him. There is still that lingering warmth in his gaze, a softness in the way he looks at you that makes you feel like this moment is more than just a joke.

Before you can respond, jisung suddenly takes a step closer, closing the distance between you with a surprising tenderness. His fingers brush against your hand, hesitant at first, before slowly curling around it.

“I’m really glad you kissed me,” he whispers, reflecting on the week before when you finally caved in and made a move. Since then, it’s been a lot of kissing behind closed doors, neither of you wanting things to get out until you both felt ready.

Your heart flutters at the quiet sincerity in his tone, rendering you unable to speak. Upon this, his smile softens and his thumb gently rubs circles on the back of your hand. For a second, it feels like the rest of the world has faded away, the sounds of the dorm distant and unimportant. It’s just you and him, standing in the small space, the closeness between you comforting and safe. But then, the faint sound of footsteps from down the hall snaps you both back to reality. Jisung’s eyes widening as he quickly lets go of your hand before taking a step back. “Seriously, you should go before they see…”

You bite your lip, trying not to laugh at how serious he suddenly looked, like getting caught would be the end of the world. “Alright, alright. I’m going.” You hold your hands up in surrender.

As you start to walk toward the door, you glance back at him. His gaze has followed you, his cheeks still a soft shade of pink, but his smile is wide and genuine. “See you next time,” you utter with a teasing smile.

Jisung chuckles, shaking his head fondly. “Next time, I’ll make sure we’re alone.”

Felix

“You, uh… you taste amazing,” Felix shyly gushes, his voice dropping into that familiar, deep tone, tinged with a hint of nervousness. His eyes flicker to yours as soon as the words leave his mouth, and he immediately bites his lip, as if he hadn’t meant to say it out loud. “I mean, it’s just…” He stumbles over his words, looking down at the floor for a second before glancing back up at you through his lashes, his shy smile never leaving his face. “You taste like… strawberries or something. It’s really nice.”

Your stomach flips at how adorable he is, his usual confidence giving way to something much softer. “I was just eating strawberry candy before you came in,” you admit with a giggle, feeling your own cheeks flush. Felix’s eyes light up, his smile widening as he nods.

“That explains it.” He glances down at your lips again, his voice a bit quieter now, a little more thoughtful. “I like it.”

“You taste amazing too,” you tease lightly.

Felix’s eyes widen in surprise before a deep, rumbly laugh escapes him, his eyes crinkling at the corners in that way that always makes your heart flutter. “Oh, do I?” he asks, his voice filled with amusement and warmth now.

You grin, feeling more confident as you nod. “Yeah, like cinnamon… sweet and warm.”

Felix’s grin softens into something more tender, his hand finally resting gently on your cheek, his thumb brushing over your skin. He looks at you like you are the most precious thing in the world, the playful teasing fading into a quiet moment that felt just as sweet as the kiss had been.

For a moment, neither of you say anything, just standing there in the comfortable silence, enjoying the closeness. Then, with a soft chuckle, Felix leans in slightly, his forehead resting against yours.

“Maybe next time, I’ll bring some strawberry candy too,” he says, his voice low and teasing.

“Next time?” you ask, raising an eyebrow playfully.

Felix grins, his eyes twinkling with that familiar mischievous glint. “Yeah. I think we’re going to need a lot of next times.” And with that, he leans in, kissing you again, just as soft and sweet as the first time, but this time with the promise of many more to come.

Seungmin

The kiss was soft and warm, full of the familiar comfort you’d come to love about your arrangement with Seungmin. The world seemed to narrow down to just the two of you, the quiet hum of the room and the warmth of his body pressing against yours making everything feel right. But then, suddenly, Seungmin pulled back, his lips parting from yours with a mischievous glint in his eyes. His expression oddly calm, as if he’d just paused a moment to consider something.

“Why’d you stop?” you ask, still feeling the tingle of his kiss on your lips.

Seungmin shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly, the corners of his mouth twitching into a playful grin. “Because you weren’t responding.”

You frown, your brows knitting together in confusion. “But… I was?”

The amusement in Seungmin’s eyes only grows upon your reaction. “You’re saying that your lips were moving against mine? That I wasn’t doing all the work?”

His teasing tone makes you want to roll your eyes, but you hold back, knowing that doing so would only encourage him to be more infuriating. Instead, you try to keep your composure, even though you can feel a hint of annoyance bubbling up inside you.

Your agreement is simple: kisses whenever you both want, without the baggage of a relationship. It works well, and Seungmin’s kisses are, without a doubt, addictive. His lips are soft and plush, making every touch a sweet temptation.

“Pup, I put my tongue in your mouth and you froze,” Seungmin states, his voice dripping with condescension as he watches you mumble “You didn’t warn me.”

You shoot him a sulky look, trying to hide how his teasing is making you really feel. Seungmin’s eyes soften as he takes in your pouty expression, and a warm chuckle escapes him. “You look so cute when you sulk,” he continues to tease.

Ever since you’d struck up this kissing deal, Seungmin had found it hard to imagine why he hadn’t made a move sooner. Everything about you felt so right, your laugh, your smile, the way your lips fit against his… He couldn’t help but feel drawn to you, and it was becoming harder to keep things just as simple as you both had agreed upon.

“Just come back here and we’ll pick up from where we left off, okay?” Seungmin holds his hand out to you, his smile affectionate and warm, a silent promise of more to come. It was the kind of smile that made it impossible for you to say no. With a shy smile of your own, you take his hand, letting him pull you back against him. His warmth envelops you, your lips just close enough to feel his hot breath. The anticipation makes your heart race as your noses brush together; the closeness making every small touch feel electric.

“You ready?” Seungmin asks softly, his eyes locked onto yours with an earnestness that makes your pulse quicken.

“Ready,” you whisper back, leaning in closer. This time, as his tongue seeks entrance into your mouth, you accept it without hesitation. The kiss deepens and you feel a shiver of delight run through you as Seungmin’s arms wrap around you, pulling you in closer.

When you finally brake apart, both of you breathless and smiling, Seungmin’s eyes are filled with a satisfied glow. “See? That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

You laugh softly, shaking your head. “Not at all.”

Seungmin grins, the mischievous glint still dancing in his eyes. “Good. Because I’ve got plenty more where that came from.”

You can’t help but smile, leaning in for another kiss, your lips meeting his with the same warmth and affection. It was clear that, despite the teasing and the occasional annoyance, Seungmin was exactly where he wanted to be. With you.

Jeongin

So, you’d accidentally kissed the bane of your existence, and now he wouldn’t let you forget it. You weren’t sure how it had happened. One minute, you were squabbling like usual, the same old playful back-and-forth that always seemed to erupt between you two whenever you were in the same room. Jeongin had made some sarcastic comment, flashing that signature smug grin of his, and you, frustrated and flustered, had turned sharply, and somehow… your lips had met. It was brief, barely a second, but the impact was enough to knock the air out of your lungs. And Jeongin, of course, had the audacity to just stare at you, completely unfazed, his eyes wide but sparkling with amusement, like he couldn’t believe what had just happened. It was a complete accident, but try telling that to Jeongin.

Now, here you are days later, still reeling from the embarrassment while he seemed to be living his best life. Jeongin, famously sweet and adored by practically everyone, was one of the few people you couldn’t stand. He was annoyingly charming, effortlessly liked by everyone and always had this expectant attitude, like he knew you’d give in to him eventually. And now he had this to hold over your head. You glared at him across the room as he lounged casually on the couch, one arm draped over the backrest, his expression far too relaxed for someone who had been driving you up the wall for days.

“What’s that look for?” he asked, his voice laced with amusement. “Still thinking about it, huh?”

You shoot him a sharp glare, hoping the heat creeping up your cheeks isn’t as obvious as it feels. “I am not thinking about it.” You force a response through gritted teeth.

He raises an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced. “You’re definitely thinking about it.” His grin widens, that infuriatingly smug look returning to his face. “I mean, it’s understandable. I’d probably be thinking about it too if I were you.”

You groan, throwing your head back in exasperation. “Jeongin, I swear, if you bring it up one more time—”

“What? You gonna kiss me again?” he teases, sitting up a little straighter, his eyes sparkling mischievously. Your face flames at the memory, and you clench your fists, trying to maintain what little dignity you have left.

“It was an accident.”

Jeongin’s grin softens, but the teasing glint in his eyes doesn’t fade. “You keep saying that, but I don’t believe you…”

You groan again, pressing your palms to your face. This is torture. Absolute torture. “Why do you insist on making everything so difficult?”

He leans forward slightly, resting his elbows on his knees, his expression softening just a little. “Difficult? Or interesting?” He chuckles, a low, pleasant sound that somehow makes your stomach do a little flip. “You just make it so easy to mess with you. You get all worked up over the smallest things.” He pauses, tilting his head slightly as he studies you. “Maybe that’s why I like teasing you so much.”

You blink at him, caught off guard by the sudden sincerity in his voice. His smugness is still there, but you’re sure you see a glimmer of something else, too. Something softer, almost playful in a way that wasn’t designed just to get under your skin. “I don’t know how anyone puts up with you,” you mutter, though the bite in your words is far less sharp than usual.

“Well, my friends think I’m charming,” he smirks triumphantly. “They all see me as their younger brother. Innocent, adorable… maybe you should start seeing me that way too.”

You snort, crossing your arms over your chest. “You? A younger brother? Absolutely not.”

Jeongin’s eyes light up, his grin widening. “What, so you see me as something else then?”

Your eyes narrow, heart racing as you realise how your words had played right into his hands. “Don’t twist my words.”

But Jeongin isn’t about to let this go. He leans back against the couch, looking entirely too pleased with himself. “Too late. I’m twisting them.” You open your mouth to argue, to tell him he is delusional, but the words die in your throat as you see the look in his eyes. His teasing smile has softened into something gentler, his gaze steady and, for once, not filled with mischief. The silence stretches out between you, and you suddenly feel the weight of what had happened a few days ago settle over you again. The accidental kiss. The way he’d looked at you afterward, surprised but not… upset. Like he hadn’t minded it at all.

Your heart thuds in your chest as you meet his gaze. “Why are you doing this?” you ask, your voice quieter now.

Jeongin tilts his head, his expression thoughtful. “Because you’re fun to be around.” He pauses, his lips quirking up in a half-smile. “And because I like seeing that look on your face.”

You blink, startled by his honesty. “What look?”

“That look,” he speaks softly, his gaze never leaving yours. “The one where you’re actually thinking about me, and not as if you hate me.”

Your breath catches in your throat, the heat rising in your cheeks again. You can’t believe it. The bane of your existence is actually saying something sweet. And the worst part? It isn’t annoying anymore. It’s making your heart race in a way you would never expect.

“I don’t hate you,” you mutter, looking away, embarrassed by how vulnerable you suddenly feel.

Jeongin’s voice softens even more, and he leans closer, his words a gentle murmur. “I know. And I don’t hate you either… but I’m still not going to let you forget that kiss.”

You groan, covering your face with your hands again. “You’re impossible.”

“I know,” he playfully shrugs. “But I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t remind you every day.”

You peek through your fingers at him, rolling your eyes even though you’re unable to hide the small smile tugging at your lips. “You really won’t let me live this down, will you?”

Calls you at 2am when he’s stressed with work and everything seems to be going wrong. But just hearing your voice on the other end, softly distracting him with how your day went or what you both want to do on your next date night helps his tense shoulders to slump and his mind to finally simmer down.

Pats his lap and tells you to sit down. He’s got the most sheepish look on his face as your attention turns to him. Instinctively, he sinks back further into the sofa behind him and opens his arms wide for you to cuddle into his embrace, pressing a kiss to the crown of your head as a reward of doing as he asked.

Always walks on the outside of the sidewalk when he’s with you. And - if for any reason - he finds that you’re somehow on the side closest to the cars, he will take you by the wrist and manoeuvre you to the other side.

Idiotically in love Minho who…

Just loves to call you kitty. Be it affectionately or sarcastically. He mostly just uses the name because he likes the way your cheeks turn the tiniest bit pink upon hearing it roll off his tongue. “I didn’t realise you were such a bad kitty.” “Aw kitty come here.”

Gets excited to have you in his arms but will rarely admit it. He just loves the way you snuggle into him, fitting so perfectly against his chest and acting like a human hot water bottle to keep him warm.

Can’t remember how or why the unspoken rules between you came to be, but it would feel wrong not to do them when given the chance. Like the unspoken rule of Minho always kissing your nose before you fall asleep, or how you instinctively hold his hand while crossing the road because you know he stresses when it’s busy. His favourite is whenever you hug him, you never complain about his hands grabbing your butt and if you have back pockets then he’s definitely putting his hands inside and keeping them there so you can’t pull away.

Calls you an idiot all the time but you both know that really stands for “I love you.” It started because of a silly little argument you were having. He was purposefully refusing to say I love you back to you and it was pissing you off. In the end, after you’d given him the silent treatment, he’d approached you with “you know you’re an idiot, of course I love you.”

Never believed in love at first sight until he saw you. It’s like his whole world was flipped upside down and he knew right there and then that you were going to be a huge part of his life.

Idiotically in love Changbin who…

Didn’t realise he’d fallen for you until he’d had a dream about kissing you. He woke up shook becuase… where did that come from??? But then it became all he could think about. Little by little, it dawned on him how much the two of you already acted like a couple just without the title. And that’s actually how he chose to confess to you. By telling people exactly that when they asked but by adding a “yet…” onto the end and smirking at you.

Loves to sneak up behind you while you’re preoccupied to cage you in a back hug. Resting his chin on your shoulder, his strong arms holding you so tenderly.

Calls you just to hear your voice. He loves the light rasp it has when he calls you first thing in the morning, still laced with sleep and your brain clearly a little foggy.

Always looks at you after doing something funny to see your reaction. He lives to make you smile and laugh and so, especially when in a group of people, Changbin will instantly find you amongst the group to make sure you found him funny. Yours is the only reaction he cares about and it warms his heart to see you so elated because of him.

Can’t help but to use cheesy pick up lines on you at least once a day. It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been together, Changbin just loves to flirt with you.

Idiotically in love Hyunjin who…

Fell in love with you without realising. Really, Minho should take credit for your relationship happening becuase it was his no-nonsense talking that made Hyunjin finally realise how he felt about you. After all, everyone except Hyunjin could see that he was in love with you, from the way he always wanted to partner with you when needing a buddy and then insisting that holding hands is the number one rule of the buddy system, to moping around like crazy when the group had to go away on schedules and he wouldn’t be able to see you for however long (apparently one time he wouldn’t stop saying things like “y/n wouldn’t have made me do this…” or “y/n would have shared with me…”)

Longingly looks for you in the crowded room because he can’t stand all the people he’s having to speak with just to be socially polite. All he wants is to escape with you to somewhere where he can be himself.

Adores the inside jokes that crack both of you up with a single knowing look but no one else understands. Your minds are just wired the same way, and so you find all the silliest, most random things hilarious.

Calls you his pretty mess becuase your hair is always like a birds nest when you wake up in the mornings. The first time you’d stayed overnight at his and woke to him teasing you about your bed head you were mortified. But, in truth, Hyunjin found it so adorable. He loves that you are both real in your relationship and don’t try to upkeep a perfect image around each other.

Does this thing where he tilts your chin up to look at him so your eyes lock into a deep gaze. It’s so intense that you forget how to breathe, mouth falling agape as he continues to slowly inch your faces closer together. Always stops when your lips are ghosting, waiting for the little whine of impatience you make before finally kissing you like your lives depend on it.

Idiotically in love Jisung who…

Realised he was in love with you when one of your mutual friends had confided in him about their feelings for you. It was the burning jealousy ignited inside of Jisung from just the thought of you being with someone other than him that made him think… hang on a minute, they’re mine.

Confessed to you by calling you first thing the next morning and asking to meet him for breakfast. When you said that you could he immediately responded with “it’s a date.” And then when on said breakfast date, he’d come clean about your mutual friends feelings towards you and how he’d respect your choice either way, but that he just had to let you know how he feels too. It’s safe to say he was surprised when you’d leaned over to him and shyly given him a peck on the lips as your answer.

Hasn’t seen you all day and all he wants is to kiss you. He doesn’t care who’s around or if you’re meant to be somewhere else. He wants - no needs - to make up for lost time.

Can’t get you out of his head. It’s like everything makes him think of you. He walks past a stall selling flowers and remembers your favourite. Or he is in a different country and sees an old couple walking hand in hand and thinks about how one day that will be the both of you.

Is always there for you no matter what. He’s a blabber mouth with most things but when it comes to you, if you asked him to keep something between the two of you, he would take it to the grave. His priority is making sure you know you can tell him anything and that he would do everything in his power to keep you safe and loved.

Idiotically in love Felix who…

Lost his phone and his first panicked thought was not being able to contact you.

Always asks about your day, every day without fail. He loves to know that you’ve eaten properly, slept well or done something productive/ social when he’s not been around.

Realised that the need for him to know you were always happy and safe was because he had fallen for you. It had happened so seamlessly that he hadn’t noticed until the possibility of you not being around so much made him feel less motivated.

Confessed to you by asking if it would be weird if he kissed you. Which was probably the most endearing thing you’ve ever witnessed in your life. Of course, you didn’t hesitate in telling him that, yes, he could kiss you. And Felix is so glad he did because wow, nothing had ever felt more right to him than the feeling of his lips on yours.

Realises now that he’d been such a fool all of those times he’d denied the two of you being a couple when asked by others if you’re dating because now he can see that the way you look at him is the same head-over-heels in love expression that he looks at you with.

Idiotically in love Seungmin who…

Randomly decides to mess with your head one day. He seemingly suddenly switches from spitting sarcastic retorts at everything you say to sending you heart eyes every-time you look at him. It’s suspicious.

Had always assumed that the strong way he felt about you was not being able to stand you. Like how he couldn’t stand how you always seemed to draw everyone in, like the first ray of sunshine breaking through the clouds after a long storm. But soon, he realised that he couldn’t stand being away from you. Like he needed your light to illuminate his dark mind and make him feel at ease.

Silently listens to things you say, storing them away for when he may need them and remembering little things about you that you don’t ever remember mentioning to him.

Plays with your hair subconsciously. It’s usually when you’re cuddling and he’s zoned out. With your head on his chest, it’s impossible for his fingers to not thread through your soft hair. It lulls you to sleep every time so when Seungmin does finally blink back into the real word he’s met with the angelic picture of his love resting against him.

Mocks the size of you. Any possible part of you that is smaller than him and he’s making a cheeky comment about how tiny you are. He gets a kick out of reminding you that you’re small and need him to help and protect you.

Idiotically in love Jeongin who…

Cannot bear to be apart from you anymore. Sod however scary it may be to confess his feelings to you. He has to let you know that there is no other way for him to live other than by loving you wholeheartedly.

Calls you dude or bro romantically. Just the thought of any sickly-sweet pet name makes him internally (and sometimes externally) cringe. Maybe it’s slight ptsd from his friend’s adoration towards him. But then you’re out and about and he can’t ignore the need to hold your hand. So, to get your attention, he calls you “dude.” before signalling for you to hold his hand.

Always gives you his hoodie to wear. It’s like the sight of you in his clothes, smelling of his cologne and scrunching up the cuffs into your palms to make little sweater paws makes him melt.

Carries you to bed and tucks you in when you fall asleep elsewhere. Like that one time Jeongin found you hunched over your open laptop, fast sleep in the early hours of the morning. Yes, he was annoyed that you’d stayed up so late working. But then again, he had also only just gotten back from practice and so wasn’t really in a much better position himself. Although, he will still nag you the next morning about the importance of self care.

“Chan I-” it’s like he’s been waiting for you to finally crack, to begin speaking so he can cut you off and remind you that he’s the one in control here.

“What a poor thing. Thinking you could run away like that?” He mockingly pouts. With every step he takes forward, you take one back. Until you’re cornered with no way of escape. You stare at him like a deer in headlights, only able to watch and wait until he reaches you. The lighthearted game of cat-and-mouse you’d been playing long dissipated.

There’s barely enough time for you to register one of his hands finding its place on your waist, the other cupping your cheek and his lips smashing into yours. Your response is instantaneous, unable to resist how mind-meltingly good his kiss is.

“I win.” Chan smirks, pulling away just enough for the words to be uttered in a heated whisper. And it sends shockwaves through you, your fists clenching onto the soft cotton of his t-shirt impossibly tight with the way it makes your head spin, before he smoothly delves back in for more.

Minho

He holds you to his chest firmly, one hand on your waist and the other of the back of your head as his fingers thread through your hair.

“Did you really think you’d have a chance?” He whispers into the crown of your head before placing a kiss there. When you fail to respond he yanks you back by the grip on your hair, snatching the breath out of your lungs in a sharp gasp of pain. It forces you to meet his dark eyes, unblinking as they burn into yours.

Of course you didn’t really think you had a chance of escaping Minho. But you weren’t going to let that stop you from trying. And with the perfect opportunity presenting itself, you would have been stupid not to take it…

You couldn’t believe it when you had walked into your shared bedroom to find the window had been left ajar. At first you thought it was your mind playing tricks on you. But when you had moved closer to examine and felt the cold on your skin, you knew you weren’t imagining it.

It had taken all of two seconds to decide what your next move was. You could still hear the shower running and knew that even if Minho was to enter the room in the next few minutes, he would be soaking wet and undressed. So you hoisted the window up and took a seat on the ledge. If only you hadn’t hesitated for so long about the drop…

You were only two stories up, but the ground still looked a million miles away. In your assessing of any alternative way to climb down the bricks or use the piping as a ladder, you hadn’t been paying attention to what was going on around you. The shower had shut off, the door to your bedroom had opened and Minho had quietly approached you. Only, you weren’t aware until you felt both of his hands grip onto your shoulders and pull you backwards. After scrambling to your feet, he’d pulled you into his firm hold. Which brings you back to exactly where this started.

“You not going to answer me Princess?” You’re still tongue-tied by his piercing gaze and now he’s smirking at you too. You place one of your hands on his chest for support, only realising he’s shirtless when you feel the cool water droplets against his hot skin.

“I’m… sorry?” You gulp, posing your weak apology as more of a question, unsure of what answer he is looking for. Minho just snickers at you, finally releasing his grip from your hair in preference of placing his palm back on your shoulder to push you down.

“Show me how sorry you are then.”

Changbin

“Don’t ever leave me. It’ll only break my heart.” Your thumb strokes Changbin’s cheek. You’re eye-to-eye, noses brushing as he mutters his confession into your lips.

“How could I ever?” You smile into him, placing a peck to his lips. “I’m so in love with you.”

Your friends had expressed concern to you over how clingy you are with your boyfriend. They’d said you’re so obsessed with him, that it’s not good to be too dependent on your relationship. But how could you not be obsessed with Changbin? You’re absolutely head-over-heals smitten with him. As he is for you.

After confessing your friend’s strong opinions to him, Changbin had immediately panicked. The thought of not having you in his life petrified him. How could your friends not want you together? How could they not see how perfect you are for him or how happy he makes you? Do they not want you to be happy? Do they just want you all to themselves?

With all of these questions racing through his mind, Changbin knows he can’t let them take you away from him. He knows that he has to get you to give them up. You only need him. No one else.

So he’d put his plan into action. Over the last few weeks, Changbin had been coddling you. You were never out of his sight for more than 60 seconds. He’d even been checking through your phone after you’d gone to sleep each night, just to ensure that no one was trying to steal you away from him. Several of your friends had stopped talking to you after he’d replied to their messages telling them you don’t want to be friends anymore. But you were none the wiser to this, too preoccupied with Changbin’s lovey-dovey distractions to notice.

And now it’s time for his final part of securing you for good. Changbin knows all he has to do is look at you with those heart-eyes of his and you’re putty in his hands.

“Lets run away and get married.”

Hyunjin

“I’ve given up everything for you and this is how you repay me?” Hyunjin’s hands exasperatedly flail in the air, finally falling to brush through his hair as he paces back and forth. Meanwhile, you are frozen, back pressed firmly against the door that you’d been unsuccessful at unlocking. “Do you want me to suffer?” He stalks over to you, closing off so much space you’re practically chest to chest.

You suck in your breath, staring up at him to meet his erratic gaze. You can practically see all of the thoughts buzzing around his mind.

“Baby…” you weakly utter as you place your small hand in his bicep. Anything to try to get him so out of his head. Upon this, Hyunjin’s attention falls to where you hold onto him, his other hand reaching over and gently intercepting where your hand touches him to interlace your fingers instead. His forehead falls to rest on yours, his eye shut as he regulates his breathing. “…I just thought-”

“You didn’t think.” He cuts you off. “You scared me. I thought I’d lost you for good.” He finally opens his eyes to reveal the tears he’d been holding back.

“You could never lose me like that.” You struggle to swallow the lump in your throat. You’d never meant to worry Hyunjin so much. It’s just, after the argument you’d had, you felt like going on a walk to clear your head would do you good. You had planned to slip out of your apartment for 10 minutes without Hyunjin knowing. But, of course, he’d caught you trying to unlock the front door and you froze.

You watch as he sniffles, a stray tear rolling down his cheek. Instinctively, you deranged your hands and reach up to wipe it away with your thumb, continuing to caress his skin as your hand trails down to his neck, then shoulder, then arm. All the way until you reach his hand and interlace your fingers once again. It seems the delicate touch soothes him, settling his blubbering down until he’s calm. But his grip on your hand remains firm, like he’s scared that you’ll pull away and disappear into thin air.

“I don’t know what I’d do without you baby.” Hyunjin’s voice is a whisper after a moment of silence. With his forehead still resting against yours there’s no need to speak any louder. You watch as his eyes rake over your face until they land on your lips.

“I’m not going anywhere.” You respond equally as softly. “We’ll work through this.”

Jisung

If there’s one thing that Jisung is flawless at, it’s guilt tripping you. He’s aware he’s got many talents, but keeping you wrapped around his finger is the one he’s most proud of.

“Am I not enough for you?” Jisung’s eyes glisten with unshed tears, his bottom lip wobbling. “Do I not provide you with everything you could ever want?” Another rhetorical question is thrown at you before you have any chance to form a string of word-vomit to his first one.

“Yes baby, you-” you begin, the words getting caught in your throat as Jisung takes a step closer to you. You watch as he kneels.

“Then why would you try to leave me like that?” He’s on his knees before you, looking up at you with the most innocent eyes you have ever seen. Your gaze flickers onto where his hands clutch at the rope that bounds your ankles to the chair, pulling it tighter and burning into your skin, making you hiss. “Why would you run away?”

“I’m sorry!” You squeeze your eyes shut, trying not to cry. Your body thrashes about as you feel Jisung move to where your hands are tied behind your back, grabbing the rope and pulling it harshly. “Please let me go.”

You feel like the biggest idiot alive. How could you think that you wouldn’t get caught when you ran away… you wish you could take it back. If you could go back in time then you would try an alternative way to calm yourself instead of panicking and making a run for it in the middle of the night.

You’d only intended to get a glass of water, having woken up in Jisung’s arms after a nightmare. It was a humid night and you felt so panicked that you wanted - no needed - fresh air. You were shocked to find the key in the back door and couldn’t resist just stepping outside for a moment. You convinced yourself that Jisung would never know, that you’d simply allow yourself a few moments to cool down and then you’d re-lock the door and go back to bed.

But even the fresh air couldn’t settle you and you found yourself having flashbacks to the nightmare. Before you knew it, you were running and running and running…

Jisung takes a step back, observing how helpless you look all tied up. He’s not ready for your pleas for forgiveness yet. Not when he watched how little you hesitated at leaving him. Of course he was awake when you left your bed. Of course he followed you as you stood by the back door and contemplated opening it. Of course he caught you before you made it to the end of the street.

Felix

“Maybe you should run away… start life over in a new place.”

Felix is many things. He’s your sunshine, your main supporter and your most favourite person in the world. He’s so sweet and thoughtful and always goes out of his way to make people happy. He would move heaven and Earth for you just to make you smile.

Which is exactly why you aren’t surprised he’s so accepting of your plans to ditch the small town you’ve both grown up in.

It breaks his heart to think of his life without you in it. For years you’ve been his rock, the one person he could go to about anything, his home. But Felix guesses the saying is true, if you love someone then you have to let them go. He could never be the reason you don’t live your life to the fullest.

Even a week later, he still can’t process you’re about to leave. He’s helping you pack the last of your things into your suitcase, taking in the bare walls of your childhood bedroom. You share so many memories in here. Like the first time your parents let you have a sleepover and you’d spent all night on a sugar high. Nor will Felix ever forget the countless times you’ve given him makeovers, tying his hair into little piggy-tails with little bows. He looks over to where you are now, lying on your bed and staring at your phone. He can’t help the heart-eyes as he takes you in, still as hopelessly in love with you now as he was back then.

“Lix?” You call out to him without looking away from your phone, his heart skips a beat as he responds with a “yeah?” alongside an amused puff of air through his nose. “You missed a spot.”

Finally your eyes move to focus on him, unable to hide the devilish smirk any longer. Upon this, Felix makes a stand, dropping the items he’d been so carefully placing into your suitcase for you to instead make his way to where you are still lying lazily on your bed. He’s laughing giddily as he approaches, raising his hands in preparation for a tickle attack.

“No!” You squeal, trying and failing to wriggle yourself away before he reaches you. But it’s futile when he’s far quicker and stronger. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” You plead through shrieks of laughter. “I surrender!”

“So easily?” Felix teases, raising a brow at you as the tickles momentarily pause. He’s pinned you down beneath him, keeping you in his hold. Both of you beaming at each other as you regain your breath.

The silence that settles around you quickly goes from lighthearted to something deeper as you continue to stare at each other. You watch Felix’s smile slowly fade, turning more and more thoughtful. Until you notice how one of his hands (which had been holding him up on either side of your head) has begun to slowly move closer to you. The next thing you know, the pad of his thumb is gently smoothing over your cheek.

Felix watches as you bite down on your bottom lip, your eyes growing wider in a soft, doe sort of way. By now, your faces a mere inches apart, noses touching and his hot breath fanning your face.

“Is this ok?” His voice is so low, almost strained from how much he’s having to hold himself back. You whisper a breathy “yes” as your eyes flutter shut, his lips connecting with yours instantly.

When you pull apart, you know you’re done for. There’s no way you can leave Felix after he’s just kissed you like that. So you desperately plead him before he’s able to close the space between you once again.

“Come with me.”

Seungmin

You can’t remember the last time you left this house. Or the last time you felt the sun on your skin; the wind in your hair; the smell of fresh cut grass or the sounds of birds chirping in the trees. You’ve been held hostage for so long you’re starting to forget what the world beyond the window is like.

You’ve tried - really really tried - to escape. But every time you’ve thought of a new way to deceive him and finally make a run for it, your plan has been foiled and you’ve been caught. He’s just too quick to miss any of your tricks. It’s impossible to outsmart him, to think of anything that he hasn’t already… and so you remain trapped by him, helplessly watching the world go by from the window.

Until he catches you trying to smash the glass (something that you have tried and failed at many times before). Thank goodness Seungmin had taken every precaution and gotten bulletproof windows. It’s actually amusing watching you struggle. You’re so desperate to escape him that you actually think your tiny fist could cause enough damage to set you free?

“When you finally decide to give up, I have dinner ready downstairs.” Your breath gets caught in your throat, fist frozen mid-air as you jolt your body to face him.

Stood in the doorway with his arms folded across his chest and a devilishly amused smirk on his lips. He looks both menacing and heart-meltingly attractive. He turns before you are able to form any sort of coherent response and you listen to his footsteps grow distant as he makes his way back down the stairs.

“So let me get this straight.” Seungmin continues to chew on his food. “You want to run away?” He says it like it’s nothing, like he’s not keeping you captive here.

You’re at a loss for words and haven’t eaten a single morsel, too anxious from the anticipating of what the repercussions of your attempted escape may be.

“Baby please eat something.” He sighs when he realises you haven’t so much as moved since you arrived to the dining table. But you have no apatite. And what’s making things worse is that Seungmin is acting so unnatural. Usually he would have punished you for misbehaving by now.

“I’m not hungry.” You mumble, refusing to look at him. Instead you sit with your hands in your lap, continuing to remain as still as possible. That is until you hear his heavy sigh and the clatter of his fork as it’s put down onto his plate.

“You’re really pushing it, you know that right?” It’s now you choose to cast a brief glance to meet Seungmin’s displeased frown. He’s watching you intently, his dark brown eyes staring at you so deeply you’re sure if you were to look at him for long enough he’d be able to hypnotise you.

“Then punish me.” You sound like you’ve given up all hope. Defeated.

It’s funny, Seungmin has always wanted to get you to this point. He’s dreamed countless times of what it would be like when you finally give up, when your resolve and determination to escape him have gone. But right now, witnessing how broken you look, he doesn’t feel as triumphant as he thought he would.

It’s now that he realises that he doesn’t want you to give up just yet. He likes the chase. Its exhilarating. And he finds himself trying to think of a way to get you back. Maybe he could accidentally leave the back door unlocked and see how long it would take you to notice? Maybe it would be fun to let you have your wish of running away just so he can hunt you down and reclaim you as his prize…

Jeongin

“How could you run away like that?” You roll your eyes at your best friend’s tone. He’s reprimanding you exactly how your parents did when you were a child.

“Y’know I’m not some helpless little child. I can take care of myself.” It’s apparent that your flat-toned comment rubs Jeongin the wrong way, his frown deepening and his fists clenching tighter by his sides.

“I know you’re not.” He clenches his teeth. “But you’re certainly acting like one right now and running away from your problems isn’t helping your case.” You scoff.

“And what do you know of my problems?” You sass, folding your arms defensively. You thought you could go to Jeongin about anything. That’s exactly why you’d rushed to his place after having a terrible argument with your boyfriend. Well, that and the fact that the argument you had with your boyfriend was over his jealousy of your friendship with Jeongin.

“What I know is that whatever the argument was about, it’s probably not worth you running away and ruining your relationship.” Jeongin sighs, signalling defeat with his rational response. If only he knew…

“It was about you.” His eyes go wide upon your confession. “I ran away becuase he wanted me to choose.”

Jeongin’s sure he goes through every emotion possible within a single second. The processing of your words, to anger at your boyfriend. There’s heartbreak for you at the thought of someone putting you in that position. Then a few more waves of emotions until he finally settles on hope. Hope that you could possibly - finally - share his feelings for you. Because you ran away and came to him. Because you have chosen… him?

“And what did you choose?” Jeongin finally makes eye contact with you, staring so deeply into your eyes. You take a step closer without so much as blinking. You’re so close you can feel the body heat radiating off of him.

Heeseung thinks he’s winning when you don’t immediately respond. He’s sure he can see the cogs in your head turning as you try to come up with a way to avoid giving him what he wants.

“But Hee, I’m already going to be late as it is.” You take a step back as he takes one step closer, helpless as he continues to stare you down with those deep, mesmerising eyes of his. “And with you it’s never just one quick little kiss.”

There’s a few seconds of outstretched silence before Heeseung lets out a deflated sigh, his gaze dropping to where your feet are pressed toe-to-toe.

“You’re right.”

You gulp. Damn it. You may have been able to dodge his doe-eyed look, but there’s no way on Earth you are able to leave him looking so defeated and kiss-less like this.

So, set upon letting your boyfriend have his way, you tuck your finger under his chin and close the space between you until your lips ghost. Smiling into him as you watch the successful smirk finally break out across his lips, before delving in without hesitation. You guess being late isn’t the worst thing in the world anyway.

Jay

Do you think he cares? Pft. No way… or at least Jay is certainly trying to convince himself of that.

Except he does. He really really does care that you just walked away from him like that. And with his lips still puckered no less.

“Daggers at 6 o’clock (Y/N). What did you do?” Jungwon nudges you with his elbow as you stand beside him, packing away some of Jay’s things after the end of the group’s practice.

Upon Jungwon’s words, your head raises to look in the mirror, your gaze instantly falling on Jay in the background sending you daggers exactly as you had been told. And despite being informed beforehand, his gaze still manages to send a shiver down your spine.

“Oh Jay’s just goofing.” You try to sound unaffected, snatching your stare away to refocus on tidying the last few items away.

The other members had already up and left by the time you’d slung Jay’s bag over your shoulder and grabbed the last few empty water bottles to put into the trash. Everyone except said owner of the bag you’re carrying.

“Shall we try again?” You almost jump out of your skin from the sudden proximity, your mouth gaping as you take in the way Jay leans up against the door of the practice room. The only door of the practice room. “C’mon (Y/N), there’s no one around anymore. We don’t need to worry about being caught.”

He’s got you there, knowing fully well that you really don’t like PDA. That’s the only reason you’d ever reject his affection the way you did.

“I’m even blocking the door.” And you can’t help but to mirror his smile at that, finally letting your tense shoulders drop as Jay reaches out and pulls your body flush against his.

“I love you.” You whisper-giggle.

“And I love you more.”

Jake

It’s been so long since you’ve tested the patience of your boyfriend that you’d forgotten just how much stamina he has. Running away never has served you very well against Jake because he could out run you in his sleep. But that doesn’t mean you still didn’t try.

“I promise I’m not mad, my love.” You try to quieten your heavy breaths to keep yourself hidden from Jake. “I know you didn’t really mean to reject my kisses… right baby?”

The way he speaks so softly, condescendingly and ever so dangerously leaves you in a hot flush, biting down on your bottom lip and squeezing your eyes shut as you hear him creep slowly closer to the first empty room in his apartment you found and chose to take refuge in. Judging by the soft plushies on the singular bed, you assume it must be Sunoo’s room.

Before you have time to register what’s happening, Jake has easily overpowered your weight leaning on Sunoo’s bedroom door and chased after you as you let out a squeal and dashed to the opposite end of the room.

Caging you between the wall and his lean arms, you’ve got no shot of another escape. Surrendering is all you have left.

“Jakey.” Your voice is weak, but you still continue to try to get him to let his guard down. Raising your hand to caress his cheek, you smooth the pad of your thumb lightly over his soft skin. “I was only messing about when I dodged your kiss. Of course you know that and you’ll let me off because you love me, right?” You give your best pleading smile, finding it harder to hide how his towering stature and devilish grin affect you.

“Y’know, I told you I wasn’t mad.” Jake begins in a whisper, leaning down so his soft words pepper the sensitive skin of your neck. He smirks watching you shiver. “But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to get revenge.”

You breath hitches as Jake’s palms move to hold your waist, squeezing you firmly in his hold as he manoeuvres you away from the wall. You feel the edge of the bed on the back of your legs, allowing Jake to push you down until you’re laying beneath him.

He hovers over you with a taunting smirk, watching the way you watch him. You look so timid. Waiting so willingly for him to make the next move. And so he does.

Without a glimpse of hesitation, your lips connect with his. Melting into his every capture and recapture of his velvet soft lips. And that’s where you stay… at least until Sunoo returns, judging and complaining until you leave.

Sunghoon

He’s strong-willed and stubborn. He will get his own way. You will give him a kiss. Even if that means he has to reverse psychology you into it. Sunghoon is willing to work for your affection. Better yet, he’ll work so hard you’ll want to give him a kiss even more than he wants to kiss you.

You hadn’t realised that your boyfriend had noticed the fact you’d deliberately dodged his attempted kiss that morning. No, Sunghoon had played it off so well that you honestly thought he just didn’t care. And that bothered you all day.

Why didn’t he make a comment? You didn’t even get a grumble, or a huff. Nothing. No reaction what so ever. Does he not really want to kiss you? Does he just feel the obligation because of his boyfriend title? Does he still care about you?

That can’t be it. You absolutely refuse. And so, to dissipate your overworking mind, you decide that as soon as you get back from your busy day of errands, you’re going to prove yourself wrong… or right? Ugh. Whichever means that your boyfriend is still into you.

Sunghoon, on the other hand, can’t believe it actually worked. His reaction-less reaction had actually gotten into your head so much you’d been fawning all over him the whole evening. He’d not been able to get away from your hugs or kisses or touches for more than half a minute max. And he was absolutely loving it, he just wasn’t giving you any indication about it.

In fact, Sunghoon had shut himself in the bathroom for the last few minutes just to try to cool himself down a bit. He was starting to get so hot and bothered by your ever-increasing ministrations. And he is by no means ready to give up his little facade yet. Not when he’s having so much fun.

“Seriously bro, you’ve got to try this out. It’s on another level.” Sunghoon chuckles down the phone to Jake, who he’s been relaying his whole plan to - his ego only boosting with each sound of approval from his friend.

“Hoonie~” he hears you call from the opposite side of the door, excitement bubbling up inside of him as he whispers a “gotta go” to Jake before hanging up and sliding his phone back into the pocket of his jeans.

“Yes ba-” he’s rendered speechless when he opens the bathroom door to find you on your bed, snuggled under the covers. “What are you doing?” He chuckles in amusement. You look so adorable. So small. So snug. So so kissable.

“I’m tired baby. So I thought we could make out here instead?”

Sod it. He can’t resist you any longer. So Sunghoon wastes no more time in slipping into bed beside you, pulling you into his embrace and kissing you like there’s no tomorrow.

Sunoo

You hadn’t intended to reject Sunoo’s kiss last night. It’s just that you’d had such a long day and you were so tired that you were practically asleep the second your head hit the pillow and long gone by the time your boyfriend had finished brushing his teeth and gotten into bed beside you. Meaning that Sunoo never got his goodnight kiss.

He knows it’s petty and that you were just exhausted. But without his goodnights kiss, Sunoo was unable to fall asleep. Which meant that he spent most of the night wriggling around in bed because he couldn’t get comfy. Because he couldn’t relax. Because he never got his kiss.

In a bad mood way before the sun rose, Sunoo got out of bed with every intention of just getting his day over and done with. There was no skip in his step or smile on his face. There was no “good morning pretty” or his usual request for a good luck kiss every 10 seconds. No. Sunoo was dressed and gone for schedules before you’d even awoke. And he didn’t even leave a cute little note telling you to have the most amazing day like he usually would have done.

While you were concerned, you brushed it off as him just being in such a hurry that it must have slipped his mind. Not even realising anything could be off until the evening arrived and your precious, beloved sunshine returned to you in a grump.

“How was your day sweetie?” Your attempt to give him a back hug is swatted away as he trudges into the bedroom and flops himself face down onto the bed.

Ah paradise at last. Soft, pillowy bed sheets and silence. Until you come trailing behind him with a million questions about his attitude and if everything is ok? Sunoo knows he’s being irrationally unfair towards you, but no, everything is not ok. Because he got no sleep, because he got no kiss from you.

You’re speechless upon the onslaught of hurtful words that tumble from his mouth. How could he take it all out on you like that? You didn’t intentionally forget to kiss him before bed. And, regardless of you being asleep, he should have woken you for a kiss. You never would have pushed him away. You’d give him a kiss every second of every day for the rest of your life if it were possible. That’s how much you love him. But clearly the sentiment is not returned…

“I think I should go…” your hoarse voice whispers through the pain that is your broken heart, speaking to Sunoo’s back as he continues to lay face down on the bed you shared. He flips over the second he hears your words.

“Where? You live here.” His tone is void of emotion; his version of anger. Sunoo doesn’t shout or rage when he’s mad. Instead he goes void.

“Does it matter?” You shrug, trying to keep the tears from falling. But then you begin to tremble and turn your back to him.

Finally reality hits Sunoo like a ton of bricks. How has he let himself get into this mess? More importantly, how had he allowed himself to treat you the way he has? No amount of tiredness can excuse that. Ever.

“I’m so sorry baby.” You feel Sunoo’s hands hold your waist before turning you around and pulling you into his chest. He clutches onto you as though he’d lose you forever if he lets go. You blubber into him. “You’re the best thing in my life. Please don’t leave me.”

You pull your face away just enough to peek up at him, immediately meeting his remorseful gaze and seeing that he really does feel terrible. You’re not quite up to speaking yet, but you want to start putting this behind you so you can both go back to being loved-up like you usually are. So you move your arms to behind his neck and raise onto your tippy-toes before pressing a loving kiss to his lips.

Jungwon

Your boyfriend is just too cute to say no to. Most of the time, at least…

“No no no no NO!” He shouts, dropping the controller to exasperatedly flail his hands in the air instead.

“Jungwon. Stop shouting.” You glair at him from where you try to read. But you should have known that paying him a visit when he told you that he had made plans to play games with Heeseung and Niki was a bad idea. I don’t mind, I’ll just enjoy your company. Oh how wrong you were. Between Jungwon shouting at the screen and losing another round to Heeseung, you’d not had a single moment of peace since you’d arrived.

“Sorry baby!” He shouts without realising, continuing his game as though nothings amiss. You simply roll your eyes at him before marking the page of your book and standing. Once you have reached your competitive boyfriend you tap him on the shoulder.

“Niki you little shi-” Jungwon’s explosion falls short when he turns to face you. You look pissed. “Everything ok baby?” He plasters on his best smile, hoping it’s enough to pacify you.

“No. It’s not.” This wipes the smile right off his face, instead replacing it with something more akin to fear. “I’m going home.” You state, not giving your boyfriend a chance to rectify your annoyance. Jungwon is so speechless he doesn’t even give a reaction to Niki’s teasing “Sounds like there’s trouble in paradise…”

The next day Jungwon won’t stop pleading and pestering you.

“Baby please come over tonight. I promise I won’t shout, I’ll use my indoor voice only.” Jungwon chases after you as you continue to walk away from him. So it’s clear you’re still miffed from the night before, you’ve not even given Jungwon a single kiss all day.

“Just tell me what I need to do to make things right again.” You’re halted by his hand on your shoulder, allowing him to turn you so you face each other. It’s not exactly like he’s done anything wrong, he did warn you that he would be playing games with his friends and you did say you didn’t mind. You suppose you’re just annoyed because you were unable to relax or read more than a few pages of your book.

With the way he looks so sorry, you feel yourself deflate.

“No Wonnie…” you sigh, “…you did nothing wrong. I just wanted to spend time with you and I was being petty about it.”

His smile melts your heart as he lets out a relieved chuckle.

“I’m sorry for not prioritising you, or for listening to you.” Jungwon whispers as he closes the space between you until you’re impossibly close. You watch as he bites onto his bottom lip while he assess if you would resist one of his kisses. And when he realises that you’re waiting for him to just make the move already, he wastes no more time and closes the space between you completely, savouring every part of you.

Niki

It wasn’t so long ago that you and Niki were just friends. So it’s understandable that you’re both still working out how to cross the line between just friends and something more.

You’ve got hand holding down. In fact, it feels so natural it feels wrong to be waking anywhere with Niki and not be holding his hand. And cuddling was never an issue because you’ve always had quite a cuddly friendship. But kissing is a whole new ball-park of affection.

It’s not that you don’t want to kiss Niki. In fact, you don’t think you’ve ever wanted to kiss anyone more. It’s just… it’s a little daunting for you to kiss the guy you’ve been friends with for so long. The very same guy you’ve always daydreamed of kissing.

You’ve been so in your head about it that you’ve been freaking yourself out. To the point where Niki actually tried to kiss you after dinner a few nights ago and you panicked and swerved into a hug instead. How awkward…

Thankfully he’d found it adorable how nervous you were and chuckled into the hug. He’d even teased you the next day about it, telling you that he won’t try to kiss you again unless you kiss him first. Except, now you’re putting more pressure on yourself. What do you mean you have to be the one to initiate the kiss?!

Another 24 hours later and another date comes drawing to an end. This time, you find yourself in the passenger side of Niki’s car, stopped in front of your apartment building. It’s clear neither of you want for the night to end just yet, your hands still intertwined across the middle console that separates your seat from his.

“What’s on your mind pretty?” His voice is soft, lowly questioning you with that signature smirk of his. The way his eyes run up and down your face, sultrily drinking you in shadowed by the darkness of the car. The streetlight just outside casting his features in an insurmountably gorgeous way. It has your brain melting. And you know this is the moment. You’re ready and you can’t resist him anymore.

Niki remains unmoving as you slowly lean towards him, accepting your hand that cups his cheek and coerces him to draw closer until your noses brush. The next thing you know, your lips find his and your eyes have fluttered shut.

You can feel his smile outstretch as he almost immediately kiss you back, allowing him to take over and deepen the kiss. You’re so lost in how right it feels that you don’t realise you’ve been manoeuvred onto his lap until Niki pulls back for some air. Your eyes finally opening to find him already watching you, so loved up.

It had all started because you’d gotten into some petty bickering between you. It was so trivial you can’t even remember what it was about. All you know is that you’re meant to be mad at him for it. But that stupid last sentence he called after you with hasn’t let you have a moments peace.

“Baby, are you ok?” He picks up after the first ring, the concern laced through his tone making your heart summersault.

“No. It’s 3am and I’m still awake…” you sleepily grumble down the phone.

“Well, go to bed then.” He teases, his tone bright and chirpy from the other side. Of course he’s unaffected by the time, your boyfriend is practically nocturnal.

“But I can’t!” You whine, letting out a soft cry.

Chan’s “why not?” seems instantly more serious. You can just imagine how his lighthearted expression fell off his face when he realised you weren’t playing with him.

“Because I’m supposed to be mad at you and I don’t know why and I just want to sleep but all I can think about is kissing you.”

There’s a few too many seconds of silence after you finish your complaining, to the point where you have to pull your phone away from your ear to make sure the call hasn’t cut off. “Chan?”

“I’m on my way baby.” He sounds like he’s rushing about, hearing a door slam behind him in the process. “Just don’t fall asleep before I get to you ok?”

You feel smug knowing he’s just dropped everything to fulfil your wish of kisses. Yawning again as you drearily mutter an “ok.” to him before the call ends.

Spoiler: you are asleep by the time he gets to you and he can’t bring himself the wake you when you look so snug. He doesn’t know how you manage to look so beautiful even while sleeping. So, instead, Chan cuddles up beside you, gently pulling you into his arms. But not before placing a delicate kiss to your pouted lips.

Minho

There’s a comfort in getting home after a long day to find your best friend Minho already waiting for you. It never fails to put a smile on your face seeing him making himself at home in your place; helping himself to snacks from your cupboards or kicking his feat up on the coffee table as he sinks into your sofa and watches tv. Entering your small apartment to find him already there, waiting for you, can instantly make any bad day so much better. Just like today…

Except, this time you return home to find Minho already fast asleep.

At first you don’t realise he’s not awake, calling out to him from the door as you slip off your shoes and shrug off your jacket. But then you realise his lack of invitation to join him on the sofa, or his offer of snacks that he’d already helped himself to.

Approaching said sofa, you quietly peer over to find him fast asleep. He looks so peaceful with the way his mouth hangs slightly agape, the hood of his hoodie pulled up over his head and his arms folded across his chest in a self hug. Adorable. It’s slightly strange to see him like this, so vulnerable and delicate. There’s not many people Minho feels close enough to to let his guard down around and it warms your heart to know that you are one of them.

Just as you decide to leave him be to go shower, his hand reaches out and grabs your wrist, making you jump out of your skin with a squeak. His amused chuckle fills the room at your response.

“I thought you were asleep.” You pant, your free hand on your chest, still feeling your heart race.

“I was until someone started watching me like a creep.” His smile taunts you. You just roll your eyes, muttering “rude” under your breath as you begin to pull yourself away from his grasp.

“Come cuddle.” His hand squeezes your wrist in resistance, already overpowering your weak attempt to move away from him by guiding you to the front of the sofa.

“But I want to shower.” You pout, caving the second Minho tugs you down into him and wraps his arms around you securely.

“You can shower later.” He mumbles, resting his chin on the top of your head.

Damn Minho and his ability to persuade you. Damn him and his snuggly hoodie… and how safe he makes you feel in his arms…

You lift your head from his chest after a few minutes of silence to see he’s back to resting. With his arms still clutching your body firmly, it’s a little difficult to move, but you are able to free your arms so they rest on the cushions on either side of his torso.

Minho’s grip on you is more lax than you’d initially realised. You notice this as you use your arms to leverage yourself into a half push-up (the rest of your body still laying against his).

There’s something so mesmerising about him as he sleeps. An angelic quality that makes your heart swell. You find your fingers itching to reach out to move the hood away from his face a little so you can cup his cheek. Delicately letting the pads of your fingers smooth over his soft skin.

“Will you just kiss me already.” Your breath hitches when you register his words. Again, you hadn’t realised Minho wasn’t asleep. And, again, you’d been caught admiring him.

Initially, you’re a little unsure if he’s actually just asked you to kiss him or if you’ve just imagined he did. That is until his eyes slightly open to stare you down, wordlessly commanding you to do it.

So you do. Without hesitation you draw your lips into his and let them melt into each other. Crossing a new boundary in your friendship with ease. And you know that neither of you will ever go back.

Changbin

Changbin had been trying his hardest to get you to kiss him. He really had. But all he’s managed to get from you so far is an eye roll as you walk away.

“So you’d really leave me like that.” He plops onto the sofa beside you with a cute pout.

“Like what?” You hold back the amusement wanting to show in favour of raising a brow towards your boyfriend. Maybe you want him to think he’s annoying you because he’s momentarily stealing your attention from the TikTok playing on your phone. Maybe you don’t want to give away how much you really do want to cave in and kiss him.

“(Y/N)~~~” he whines loudly and you can’t help the light laughter that sounds from you upon his emerging tantrum.

“Binnie, I really don’t know what you’re going on about.” You shake your head, lowering your voice to a whisper as you peer around the room, “and people are staring.”

“One kiss and I’ll stop.” His voice continues to reverberate the space around you, making you wince a little. You know he knows your resolve is wearing thinner and thinner with every loud noise he makes. You’ve been together for too long and he knows you too well to not catch on.

“Fine.” You huff. “Come here.” You reach your hand out to pull him closer by his broad shoulder, biting down on your bottom lip upon feeling the toned muscle underneath.

Changbin is silent, simply sending you the smirk he always does when he gets his own way. He’s very pleased with himself right now. You have to fight the eye roll when he puckers his lips at you, the temptation to tease him by shoving him away all too strong.

But the next thing you know, his lips have captured yours, your bottom lip being sucked between his. There’s not an ounce of you that could push him off now. Not with how good his lips feels against yours.

“Why’d you stop?” You complain when Changbin detaches from the kiss, smugly darting his tongue across his bottom lip as he eyes you cockily.

“Cause if you want to kiss me like that then we need to go somewhere less public.”

Hyunjin

You really don’t like your past self right now and if you could turn back time, you’d go back to the week before when you’d let Hyunjin rile you up to the point of your ego getting the better of you and smack yourself in the face.

“Don’t be such a sore loser and kiss me.” Hyunjin taunts, smirking at you in such a way you are unsure if you should be annoyed or turned on.

“Stop being a sore winner and I’ll consider it.” You fire back almost instantly, without filter between your brain and mouth.

Hyunjin chuckles at your retort, his tongue poking the inside of his cheek in amusement. Cocky bitch. He knows that’s one of your weaknesses.

“I wouldn’t test my luck if I were you, Princess.”

You gulp. There goes your sanity.

His tone drips confidence and authority in a way that you’ve never witnessed from your friend before. Sure, you’ve seen this side of him when he’s doing something he loves like dancing. But the power he radiated in those moments and the power he radiates now are polar opposites.

He’s watching you in an almost predatory way, his eyes darkened and narrowed onto your smaller frame. The bet has ended and he wants his prize.

“Hyune- I” you stumble over your words, mouth dry and mind blank as you watch him take a few slow but sure steps closer to you.

“You what,” he raises a brow. “Can’t wait to kiss me?”

There’s no space between you now and you couldn’t run even if you wanted to because you’ve been backed into the wall. Between Hyunjin’s hands holding your hips and his eyes staring deeply, unashamedly into yours, you’re practically paralysed.

Your eyes flutter shut as he leans down, anticipating his lips on yours. That’s why it startles you to feel his warm breath fan your neck, his lips grazing your skin as they trail their way up to the corner of your mouth, leaving a burning in their wake.

“Princess, if I’d known you’d react to me like this I would have kissed you a long time ago.”

Your breath hitches in your throat when you hear his whispered words, leaving no time before he finally crashes his lips into yours.

Jisung

It was a few days ago when he’d heard your muffled confession through your bedroom door, where you’d confided to your friend that you were missing your boyfriend because he’d been so busy recently.

It made Jisung’s heart break to know that you felt that way, even if it was completely unintentional. And he hasn’t been able to get it off his mind since. All the guilt troubling him into overthinking and being unable to focus properly. Had he really been neglecting you? Had he really been that bad of a boyfriend?

Of course, he didn’t directly confronted you about it. Instead, he decided to be extra attentive to you. So when he next payed you a visit, Jisung wrapped you in his arms, fully intending on not letting you go. He placed kisses on every inch of your face and doted on you as though you were unable to do anything for yourself.

He’s been super clingy for the past week. Leaving work on time instead of staying late, sleeping at your place, kissing you goodnight and good morning and - all in all - just showering you in so much affection. It feels just like when you first started dating all that time ago, when everything was new and exciting.

“Baby!” Jisung calls out for you, getting you to enter your bedroom to find him already laying on his side of your bed. When you chuckle an amused “what?” at him, he simply opens his arms and makes grabby hands, impatiently begging for you to cuddle. “And a kiss.” He mumbles into your shoulder, only pulling away so you are able to reach his lips.

You give him a few short pecks without hesitation, your free hand smoothing over his cheek as you do so.

“What’s gotten into you recently?” You laugh, voicing the question that’s been circling your mind the last few days when Jisung complains, dissatisfied with your short kisses. “You’ve been so clingy.”

“I just want to remind you how much I love you.” He sulks. “I feel like I’ve not done that enough recently and I never want you to forget that…” he trails off, becoming shy from his own feelings.

Suddenly his recent behaviour make so much more sense. He’s doubting himself as a partner. You find yourself remembering the feelings you expressed to your friend before. Remembering that evening, you realise that is when your boyfriend had started smothering you; he’d heard what you’d said. You couldn’t feel more guilty if you tried.

“I know.” You nuzzle your nose against his, “and I love you more than anything in this world.” You gush.

“I love you too baby.” He whispers back.

Felix

Felix had been acting differently around you recently. At first it was so subtle you hardly noticed. But with every passing day and week, things would begin to add up that just felt… suspicious…

For starters, he’d been a lot more touchy with you. And again, at first you hardly noticed because it’s no secret that Felix loves a cuddle. But what had started as his usual asking for a friendly hug, slowly developed into him pulling you into back hugs without saying a thing, or wrapping his arm over your shoulder, or oh-so causally slipping his hand into yours while walking beside you.

You weren’t sure if Felix was even aware of these new ways of affection being shown towards you. He’d never made any comment about it verbally, nor had anything else in your friendship changed. So, despite it continuing to mentally drive you crazy from all your overthinking, you decided it would be best to not say anything. After all, you really enjoy being closer to him and you’re sure that if you’d ever indicated you didn’t like it, then Felix would stop. He’d never make you feel uncomfortable.

It’s a casual Friday evening when things take even more of a turn however.

After spending the evening surrounded by your group of friends, one by one they’d slipped off to do their own things. It started when Chan excused himself to finish some work on his laptop after dinner. Then Changbin left for the gym. Shortly after was Jeongin, who dragged himself off to bed after nearly falling asleep on the sofa. The rest slowly slipping away for various reasons until only you and Felix remained.

“You not sleepy yet Lix?” You lean into him to whisper, the movie still playing on the tv before you. Even though no one else was around, it still felt wrong to speak at full volume.

“A little…” he trails off, turning to meet your eyes.

You admire the way his sleepy smile reaches his heavy lids. How his cheeks, despite the dim lighting of the room, seem to have a rosy hue to them. His hair is still a little static on top from the boisterous play fight he’d had with Seungmin hours ago, but it looks more fluffy than anything. And his lips…

You’re so engrossed in admiring him that you entirely miss his words, blinking yourself back into the moment with a “huh?”

“Will you kiss me now?”

You find yourself looking from his serious eyes to his lips and back again, trying to decipher if you’d really just heard him correctly. There’s not a single element of joking on his face, and the more his words register, the more you struggle to look anywhere but his soft, plump, kissable lips.

“Are you still with me sweetheart?” He smirks as he leans down to you, one of his fingers sitting under your chin to make you eye level. You’re awestruck by everything about him. Your mind running on overdrive trying to process as much as quickly as you can.

And then it all clicks. He’d been waiting for this moment, slowly warming you up with increasing forms of skin-ship and lingering touches. It has all been intentional.

You’re the first to close off the small space between you, crashing your lips into his with so much force you feel Felix almost fall back. Luckily he’s able to steady himself without breaking away, his hands clutching onto either side of your waist as you pull him in closer by cupping his cheek.

And that’s how you stay for the rest of the night, in each others arms and with enough kisses to make up for an eternity of lost time.

Seungmin

“Just kiss me.” Seungmin deadpans, not impressed in the slightest by you, nor is there any hint of amusement towards your devilish laughter.

You’d been dodging your boyfriends kisses all day, wanting to see how far you could push him before he did something about it. And judging by the way he’s shooting daggers at you, you think he’s almost there.

“Ew gross.” You fake a grimace, stepping further away from Seungmin.

“Ok. That’s it.” He practically growls, striding towards you so quickly you barely have enough time to think of your next move. The time it takes for your brain to register his fast movements and your body to spring into action are only just enough for you to escape his clutches. “Hey! Get back here!”

Seungmin follows your trail of shrieks and giggles as you do your best to rush away. But his place - while far bigger than yours - doesn’t go on forever and eventually you reach a dead end.

“Any last words pumpkin?” He tilts his head at you. You can tell he’s trying to hold back the smile that wants to overtake his stern expression. The corners of his mouth are faltering. “Or do you want to keep disobeying me?”

You have to bite down on your bottom lip to stop yourself from blurting all the sassy comebacks that are daring to slip out. But you know you’re in very dangerous waters. Your boyfriend has closed off so much space he could capture you in his arms and never let you go.

“Puppy…” you swallow your pride, making your voice as timid as you can as you blink innocently up at him. This tactic almost never fails getting you out of trouble…

An adorable smile breaks out across Seungmin’s face, finally dropping his faux-anger in favour of showing the joy it brings him to see you at his mercy like this. Boy does he love it when you act all cute for him because he knows it means you’ve run out of options. Usually he’d melt like putty in your hands. But this time he’s determined to get his long awaited kiss.

“Nu-uh that’s not gonna work this time.”

“But, Pup-” you’re cut off by Seungmin’s lips capturing yours. His hands pull you in by the belt loops on your pants, pressing your body flush against his, while your hands fly to his biceps, clinging onto them for dear life as his lips work their magic, melting your brain.

He pulls away with the most triumphant beam, catching the way you chase after his lips a little. The cutest whine sounds from you in retaliation and upon this, Seungmin shakes his head before leaning in and reconnecting your lips.

Jeongin

“And that’s why you should kiss me.”

You hadn’t even realised the PowerPoint presentation had concluded until the sound of Jeongin loudly clearing his throat brings you back into reality.

Yes, he’d actually made a full-on, detailed presentation to you to showcase all the reasons it would be “the best decision of your life” to kiss him - his words, not yours. And, while it’s not the most conventional way of admitting feelings to his best friend and longtime crush, Jeongin had come across the idea on TikTok and hadn’t been able to get it out of his head since.

You - on the other hand - had been in such disbelief that you’d actually tuned out halfway through because your mind had begun to wonder about what it would actually be like to kiss Jeongin for real. That had then led to imagining him as a boyfriend, how he would be so attentive and affectionate and, just, perfect… not that you hadn’t thought about him like this before.

When more agonisingly slow seconds pass without you saying a single thing, embarrassment and regret hit him like a tsunami.

“…you know, I should probably just-” “No!” Jeongin stops mid sentence upon your sudden outburst. He looks so flushed with embarrassment and adorably confused.

“I need you to kiss me…” You retract your voice back to its normal level, feeling your own nerves fall away when you see the shy smile form on your best friends face. “…please Innie.”

He’s speechless, simply nodding in response before hurriedly making his way over to you.

The kiss is filled with pent up longing. Like you’d both been waiting for this moment without realising the other felt the same until now. It just feels so right to kiss your best friend and to feel him hold you so close.

You pull apart for air after a few seconds, lips ghosting and elated smiles on both of your faces. You let out a little chuckle as your foreheads rest together, Jeongin’s hands lacing your fingers with his on either side of you.

“All good.” His voice comes out strained, watching as your smile somehow grows wider. He observes the way your hand smooths over the shiny baby blue metal of the car, gazing into the way it reflects your loving expression.

“Well, she looks amazing.” Your eyes flicker up to meet his, watching the way his Adam’s apple bops. “Thank you, Sungie.”

“Oh, it was really no problem…” he gushes, playing down all the turmoil your precious car has given him over the last few weeks. Not that Jisung ever plans on telling you about all the extra hours he’s spent fixing up your car for you. He doesn’t mind at all. He spends most of his free time at the garage anyway because his band is also allowed to practice there in return for Jisung helping out repair some cars.

It’d be a dead giveaway to all of the feelings he has towards you and he also knows you’d insist on paying him extra for his time if you knew when you’ve already put every penny of your savings into repairing the car you’d worked so hard to get.

Besides, with the way you look at him now, radiating so much adoration, Jisung feels it’s more than enough compensation for his hard work.

“You’re the best!” You reach out to ruffle his hair the second he ducks his head shyly from your compliment. Whispered giggles tumbling from his lips as his cheeks burn. “Can I pick her up tomorrow after school?” You shine those big doe-like eyes at him.

“No problem.” Jisung nods, smiling warmly. And he watches you skip out of the garage with so much excitement, shouting a “see you at school!” over your shoulder. Just as you have left his line of sight, Jisung is called over by his band mates for practice. And while they spend the rest of the evening playing their songs, Jisung continues to replay your interaction over in his mind. Damn, he’s down bad for you.

You reach home quicker than usual, thanks to the spring in your step from Jisung’s amazing work with your baby. You’re so unbelievably excited to finally be able to drive your dream car. You’ve wanted a baby blue mustang since you can remember, so you’d scraped all of your savings from your part time job together to buy the old beaten up car and payed the garage where Jisung works to make your car dreams come true.

“That you honey?” You hear your mom call as you walk further into your house. She sends you a smile over her shoulder when your bag clatters onto the kitchen table. Picking up an apple from the fruit bowl as you watch her refocus on the painting before her.

“Did you get another commission?” You speak through half-chewed apple.

“Uh-huh.” You mom hums, placing down her brush carefully onto the tray beside her easel before turning to you. “Who knew posting my art online would rake in so much work?”

“I did.” You tease, taking another bite of your apple.

Your mom shakes her head at you while rinsing her hands in the sink. All the while, you push yourself away from the counter, grabbing your bag to begin heading to your room.

“(Y/N), wait!” Your mom calls just as you reach the stairs. “Your grandmother called today. The live one.” Your mom adds upon seeing your shock.

“The one I’ve never met?” You tilt your head in confusion, bushy eyebrows furrowing. “What would she suddenly want?”

“She said she wants to have tea with you after school tomorrow.” Your mom explains. “Something about important news she needs to share with you.”

“Oh, I was supposed to pick up my car tomorrow… but I guess I’ll have to rain check.”

That was two weeks ago now and little did you know at the time how much your life was about to change.

The following afternoon, when you’d arrived at your estranged grandmothers house - or should you say mansion - you’d had your world flipped upside down.

“A-a Princess-” your mouth hangs agape, unable to comprehend the situation at hand. Your eyes dart around the room, looking from your grandmother to her staff, then the security, before finally landing back on your grandmothers perfectly calm expression. She’s not joking. “No no no nonononono." You shake your head.

“You’ve got the wrong person. I’m the furthest thing from a princess. Look at me!”

-

As it turns out, they did not have the wrong person. Your father, who you’d never met, had been heir to the throne of the small European country you’d never heard of and after his death, that left you - his only child - next in line.

You’d come to an agreement with your grandmother that, before anyone made any rash decisions, you’d give it some time to try out the role of Princess. And so commenced the ‘Princess training’ every day after school with your grandmother. You’d learn how to walk, talk, sit, stand and live like a true Princess within the agreed trial month between this life altering news and the annual independence ball.

Sworn to secrecy, you’d not told a soul about your new informed identity. So, while your private life has somehow changed in every single way, your school life has not budged an inch. From the hours of 8-3 you’re the same invisible girl, with your two bestest friends since kindergarten, Jisung and Chenle.

“Woah, he’s so dreamy.” You gush, resting your chin in your palm as you watch Jaemin walk past your lunch table. Jisung simply rolls his eyes at the way you simp over the most popular guy in school, like always. He doesn’t get the hype around Jaemin. So what if he’s the captain of the football team, extremely lean and always seems to have perfectly shiny hair? Anyone could have all of those things. Jisung could have all of those things…

Despite the fact that he’s almost flunking gym class because of his terrible hand-eye co-ordination in football.

Jisung feels his only consolation is that Jaemin is dating Nina, the head cheerleader.

“Anyway…” Chenle speaks a little louder, “as I was saying before (Y/N) let her hormones take away from the crisis at hand. How am I going to get another guest for my show on Saturday?”

Ah yeah, you were trying to console Chenle on his last minute drama. His school curricula radio show, Talking with Chenle, had finally been getting more than three listeners a week. And ever since his audience has started to slowly grow, he’s been putting more and more pressure on himself to promote the topics he cares about with guests.

“Dude, chill. You still have four days to find a replacement.” Jisung grumbles from beside you. He looks a little like he’s sulking, although you have no idea what could have possibly made him so annoyed within the last thirty minutes that you’ve been sat at your lunch table.

“So much help you are.” Chenle fires at the grumpy Jisung on your left as he stands from the table, slings his bag over his shoulder and storms off.

You turn your attention to said grump, frowning.

“That wasn’t nice Sungs.” You watch as regret consumes his face, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder as he mumbles a muted apology.

“So, are you collecting your car from the garage tonight?” Jisung finally builds up enough courage to ask you. He’s been battling in his mind for the last few days on how to bring this up, so he’s a little nervous, but tries his best to suppress the shyness that wants to win over.

“Oh I can’t.” You guiltily grimace. You feel terrible putting him off again, especially when you were meant to pick up your baby weeks ago. But, since you’ve been having your ‘Princess lessons’ everyday, you’ve had no time. “I’m seeing my Grandmother.”

“Again?” Jisung regrets how quickly the word slips out of his mouth. But you don’t seem offended, nodding yes in response.

“How about Saturday?” You quizzically raise a brow, biting down onto the corner of your bottom lip in anticipation.

“Saturday works…” You let out a breath in relief upon Jisung’s agreement. “…and maybe you can stay for a bit, hang out?” Jisung suggests.

“…it’s just my band are practicing that afternoon in front of a few people and it’d be great to have a bit more of an audience…” Jisung trails off, cutting off his word vomit just in time to notice the way your smile reaches your eyes.

“Sounds perfect.” You beam, just as the bell rings for class.

-

You were beyond nervous. Petrified, if you’re completely honest. Yesterday evenings ‘Princess lesions’ with your grandmother had turned out to be a head-to-toe makeover and you’d come out the other end of the evening looking like someone entirely different. Some may even say, like a Princess. Gone were your glasses, bushy eyebrows, your hair had been cut and the frizz tamed. To you, you look almost unrecognisable. To Chenle, you look amazing. But to Jisung, you look like the very thing you’d always swore you’d never want to be - a popular - and it scared him.

While you liked your new look, you felt like a bit of a sellout for complying with the makeover to look more ‘regal’ - as your grandmother had described it. So you’d walked into your first class of the day wearing a grey bucket hat, so as to cover as much of your new look as possible.

Jisung had to do a double take when you entered the classroom and took your usual seat beside him. He’d always thought you were beautiful before, but wow, you’d somehow managed to ascend to another level quite literally overnight. From under the hat, he could see your bright eyes and long lashes. The neat shaping of your eyebrows and the plumpness of your lips, accentuated by the baby pink lip gloss you’d applied. Although, he’s unsure of why you’re wearing a hat on such a warm summers day, especially when you’re inside.

“Okay class, simmer down.” Your teacher, Mr Sums enters from the back of the room, hushing all of the excited chatter in the room as he places down his bag on the front desk and begins to set up for the class. “Yes, Nina?” He acknowledges without so much as glancing in her direction.

Nina sat in the seat behind you, perfectly poised and ready to strike. She’s the head girl in your grade for a reason, with her off-scale intelligence, popularity and cunning attitude. She will take down anyone who gets in her way. Which, right now, is your hat covered head that’s in her line of vision to the front of the class.

“Mr Sums. Isn’t there a rule about no hats allowed?” You can feel her smirk on the back of your neck, letting out a concealed huff as you try to prepare yourself for what you know is going to happen next.

“You’re right Nina.” Mr Sums sighs, “(Y/N), please could you remove your improper dress coded attire?” He glances at you and your mortified expression, watching as you gulp down your nerves while simultaneously reaching up to reluctantly slip your hat off.

Out tumbles your perfectly smooth hair as it cascades down past your shoulders. Jisung’s eyes almost pop out of his head from beside you. Not that you notice, too busy being consumed by the gasps from your classmates.

“Oh wow.” You hear Nina laugh, “Look who’s trying to fit in now?”

Her sickly-sweet tone only makes your cheeks burn deeper and you try to sink into your chair.

“Well, I think (Y/N) looks stunning, actually.” Your head whips towards Jisung, grateful for him sticking up for you. You send him a thankful smile as class begins and everyone’s attention is turned away from you. For now.

-

“So what’s the deal with your sudden change of appearance?” Chenle questions as he shovels his salad into his mouth. His words come out slightly muffled between the half-chewed lettuce and Jisung just rolls his eyes.

“Nothing.” You try to shut down the topic, bowing your head into your own lunch.

“It’s clearly not nothing.” Chenle deadpans, before narrowing his eyes at you. “You’re hiding something.”

“Am not.” You grumble into your sandwich.

“So you’ll be coming to my baseball game after school then, like we agreed weeks ago?”

Shit. You’d completely forgotten about Chenle’s baseball game and you know for certain you can’t get out of seeing your grandmother.

“I can’t.”

“See!” Chenle drops his fork into his salad, folding his arms as he turns to Jisung for support. “What? Are you just bored with us now? Don’t want to be friends anymore?”

“No, that’s not even close!” You cry in distress.

“Then tell us what’s so important that you keep dropping us (Y/N).”

You bite down on your jittering bottom lip, your worried eyes casting from Chenle’s unimpressed expression to Jisung’s concerned one.

“I’m not allowed to tell…”

Upon this half-confession, Chenle drops his attitude and leans across the table to speak quieter.

“Are you in trouble? Being blackmailed again? Do we need to beat someone up?”

“No!” You shut down his conspiracies, hands flying up in surrender.

You know you shouldn’t tell anyone. But you also know that if you don’t spill it all to them now, you’ll risk loosing the only people keeping you sane. Heaving a deep sigh, you know what you have to do.

“Okay. You have to promise me you’ll keep this strictly between us.” You point between your two intrigued friends, encouraging them to lean into the table so you can whisper. “I’m serious. The repercussions if this gets out-”

“Just tell us.” Chenle rolls his eyes.

To other students, it simply looks like your gossiping like any other group of high schoolers. But if they were to look closely enough, they’d notice the way both Chenle and Jisung’s eyes blow wide and how the colour seems to drain from Jisung’s face faster than lightening.

“You’re a what-” you cover Chenle’s mouth before he has a chance to shout anything further, covering it with a “Shhhhh.”

“Promise this stays between us.” You stick your pinky finger out for them to link, watching as both of your friends entangle theirs around yours.

“Damn. Wish I could be a…” Chenle begins to mutter.

“Dude!”

-

Walking into school the next morning feels a little more unnerving than usual. You’re barely through the threshold of the gates when someone spots you and shouts “that’s her!”.

Everything’s a blur from that moment. With a frenzy of people shouting “Princess!”, a crowd of students swarm you in seconds, phones and cameras are flying in front of your face as they all take pictures and videos. You feel nauseous from being elbowed and shoved in the midst of the unfolding chaos. However, just when you think your about to spew your guts from the motion sickness, you feel a pair of hands find your waist and clutch onto you, wrapping you into the taller frame of your saviour and using their body as a shield until you’re safely out of the crowd.

“Follow me.” Your saviour moves you away from their hold, clutching onto your hand and forcing you to run as you’re dragged along behind them to a place of refuge. You’re pulled into the main building and twisted through the narrow corridors until there’s no one on your tail.

It’s not until you’re hidden inside a janitors closet that you’re able to look at the person before you and realise it’s Jisung.

“How do they know!” You rush back into his chest, wrapping your arms tightly around his torso and burying your face. Jisung is winded a little from the impact, tumbling a few steps back with you before he regains his balance.

“It’s ok. Everything’s going to be ok.” He whispers into the top of your head, fluttering his eyes shut as he inhales the floral scent of your freshly washed hair.

Of course, Jisung has no idea how your secret had gotten out, or what to do next. All he knows right now is how perfectly you fit in his arms and how much he wants to protect you.

“I want you to know, it wasn’t me.” You pull away from Jisung, peering into his worried eyes. You’d never once doubted it would have come from him and there’s nothing more in the world you want right now than to let him know that. Cupping his cheek, you brush your thumb over his soft skin.

“I’d never even consider that being a possibility.” You soothe.

Jisung drinks in every drop of affection you give him as though he’d been traversing the desert for days on end without water. Knowing you never could have accused him rehydrates him and makes his heart feel like it could burst.

“It wasn’t Chenle either. I was with him all evening after his baseball game.”

“I don’t doubt him either.” You reassure. “This feels bigger than just some school gossip.”

-

After cooling down in the janitors closet for a while, you’d managed to sneak out and into your first few classes of the day without too many people bombarding you. Your principle had made an announcement to not cause another commotion and all staff were on patrol during lesson changeovers and breaks.

“Wait, (Y/N)!” You turn to find Chenle forcing his way to the front of the cohort of students following you, instantly linking his arm with yours as you continue to uncomfortably make your way to class surrounded by your new admirers. “You’re an overnight sensation!” He beams, loving the attention on you both.

“Tell me about it…” you mumble, juxtaposing Chenle in every way. Unlike your friend, you’re not made for the limelight. You don’t like all the attention on you. Not now, not ever.

This was one of your biggest fears about people finding out you’re a Princess.

“So, you’ll be my special celebrity guest on Talking with Chenle this Saturday, won’t you?”

Your mouth gapes, finally making eye contact with him and ready to outright refuse. Until, you see how hopeful he looks.

Damn it. There’s no way you can turn him down.

“Sure…” you sigh, unable to hide the small smile that forces its way onto your face when he jumps in excitement.

“You’re awesome!”

-

“(Y/N)!”

You’re just closing your locker when you hear your name, your heart picking up pace from the unmistakeable voice of your caller.

Spinning around, you find none other than Jaemin, smiling at you with his signature smile and staring at you with those heart melting eyes.

“How are you holding up? Been a bit of a crazy day…” He leans one arm on the locker beside you, standing so close you can smell his earthy cologne.

“Just a bit.” You giggle sweetly.

It’s amazing how Jaemin can have such an affect on you. One word and your mind has gone to putty and you’ve forgotten how to act like a normal person.

“Well, I just wanted to apologise for Nina this morning…”

“Huh?” You furrow your brows, feeling yourself come back down to earth.

“She was the one who shouted when you entered the gates and made everyone swarm you?” Jaemin’s tone comes out unsure, not realising that you weren’t aware when you let out a light “oh.”

“I just wanted to let you know that I do not condone that at all. In fact, I broke up with her because of it.”

“You did?” You gush, surprise written all over your face.

…and you’re off in space again.

“Yeah, it was totally not cool.” Jaemin nods. “Anyway, I was wondering if you wanted to go to the end of school beach party with me this Saturday?”

Oh my gosh! Na Jaemin just asked you out!

“Yes!” You blurt. “I-uh I mean, yeah” you swallow, “sounds cool.”

“Cool.” His smile reaches his eyes. “I’ll see you Saturday.”

You watch dreamily as Jaemin walks away to join his group of friends at their lunch table. You’re only pulled back into reality when you spot Jisung perched on the edge of the fountain across the courtyard.

“Guess who just asked me to go with him to the beach party this Saturday!” You park yourself next to Jisung on the ledge of the fountain. “Jaemin!” You squeal your answer when Jisung simply raises an inquisitive brow at you.

“But, what about seeing my band practice?” Jisung tries to not sound depleted.

“Well, I was hoping we could reschedule? I just, I’ve been wanting to go out with Jaemin since forever and you’ll have other band practices, right?”

“Oh, yeah, right.” Jisung forces a smile, feeling himself deflate the second you’ve squeezed him in a tight hug before skipping off to get some lunch.

His attention flickers over to the table where Jaemin sits. How could Jisung ever compare? He’d always felt you were unattainable to him because of how he was too shy to express his feelings. And that was before your new look and title. But now? He has no shot.

You’re a Princess for goodness sake. You belong with the most popular guy in school. Not a shy keyboard player in a band that sings in the local garage like him…

-

“Oh, thank goodness you’re here!” Your grandmother rushes to you as you arrive for your ‘Princess lesson’ of the day. She takes you by your shoulders and peers at you intently.

“Now,” she exhales a deep breath. “We’ve got the press under control with the looming promise of the annual independence ball, so long as they keep a little distance for now.”

You nod in understanding.

You were honestly a little nervous about seeing your grandmother this evening. You’d been worrying about her reaction to this all getting out, even though she is calm and has dealt with an unimaginable amount of trials and tribulations during her many years of reign. She is also strong willed and has made it clear to you that - even though you have yet to make the choice to accept your title and duty - the expectation of this trial period would be as though this is your future.

“And we’ve found that the leak was from the stylist we’d hired.”

There’s more relief in knowing your Grandmother knows it hadn’t come from you than there is from the culprit being found out.

“And we’ve got him doing a formal apology to the press this evening.”

-

Saturday rolls around quickly and before you know it, you’re on your way to the beach party for your date with Jaemin. Everyone who’s anyone is there; dancing, sunbathing or cooling off in the ocean as the sun begins to set.

You feel a little awkward as you walk down the beach to join the other party-goers. It seems like it’s well underway already and you’re not typically one to mix with the crowd in attendance.

“Welcome to paradise.” You almost jump out of your skin upon hearing Jaemin’s voice from your side. You had been so engrossed in your awe of the scene in front of you, you didn’t notice he’d walked over. “I got you a drink.”

You accept the plastic cup, your fingers brushing accidentally with his. Chuckling a flustered thanks before taking a sip, you try not to be affected by his amused grin. He thinks you’re so adorable. How had you been kept so hidden before?

“C’mon.” You feel Jaemin’s hand slip into yours, gently tugging you along with him to head further into the crowd…

“Hello, welcome to Talking with Chenle.” Chenle professionally introduces when his fellow producer Mark signals they are live. “On todays show, we have a special interview with the newfound Princess and close friend of mine, (Y/N).” Mark hits the applause button.

“But, before our main guest’s appearance, we have a short segment on the upcoming senior class projects, presented by our very own Mark.”

Mark jumps in with his pre-written script, listing out the upcoming events for the semester. Meanwhile, Chenle checks his phone to see if you’ve tried to contact him about your whereabouts. Nothing. You should have been here 30 minutes ago…

Back at the beach party, you’re having the time of your life dancing with Jaemin. Uncontrollable laughter tumbling from your lips as he takes your hand and spins you around.

“Who knew you were such a good dancer?” You teasingly glance up at Jaemin as he leads you out of the crowd of dancers and to the side for some much needed air, your hand still firmly in his.

“Well, who knew you would make such a great dance partner.” He praises back, succeeding in making you flustered.

You cast a shy glance up at him through your lashes, still unable to believe that this is reality. You really are here with Jaemin, hand in hand in front of everyone. You feel like you should pinch yourself, just to double check your not dreaming all of this.

That is, until reality comes crashing down in a burning rage. What you’d simply brushed off as a plane flying above you, turned out to be a helicopter filled with paparazzi. It lowers, the wind from the propeller cutting off the party and almost knocking everyone off their feet as multiple cameras flash at you, trying their best to get a good snapshot.

You panic, a million questions buzzing around your mind. What should you do? How do you get away? But most of all, how did they know you’d be here?

“Quick, follow me!” Jaemin pulls you, both of you running towards the lifeguard shack at the back of the beach.

Once inside, Jaemin bolts the door shut and silence and darkness settle around you.

“I’m so sorry.” You plant your face into your hands as you fall into the chair behind you. Being chased by paparazzi - all shouting Princess at you - was not a part of your imagined date with Jaemin. And it’s mortifying to know that’s the reality.

“Hey.” You hear him whisper, his larger hands coercing yours away from your face. In the time you’ve been wallowing, Jaemin had made his way over to you and knelt down to your level so the first thing you see are his eyes and the way they catch the moonlight that filters in through the crack in the curtain covered window. “It’s not your fault.”

His sincerity mesmerises you and washes away your humiliation. How does he do it? How does he seem to know the exact right thing to say?

Meanwhile, Chenle’s radio show is crashing and burning live on air. The last forty-five minutes have been filled with Marks terrible jokes and ramblings and it’s all because of you.

“Alright, I’m off.” Chenle sounds defeated, taking off his headphones and making a stand from his chair the second the ‘live’ light goes dim.

Mark doesn’t respond, nodding his understanding as he watches his friend walk away. He knows it’s not his fault. Heck, Mark did everything he could to act on the spot and make the best out of the shit situation. Chenle is grateful for Marks loyalty and perseverance.

But damn, he still wishes you’d showed… they both do.

“Ok, I think they’ve given up.” Jaemin asserts, peaking through the curtain to find a dark and empty seeming beach. The relief that fills you has you following Jaemin out of the lifeguard shack without thought.

“Thank you for sticking by me, it means a lot.” You timidly smile at Jaemin, allowing him to take your hand in his as you begin to walk up the beach.

Before you have time to register, a bright flash snaps in front of you, the momentary blindness giving time for multiple lurking paparazzi to spring out from their hiding places and surround you both.

“Princess! Who’s your date?”

“Is this your boyfriend?”

“Princess, give him a kiss!”

The crowd shout as you panic, looking around to try and find an escape route.

You spot a slither in the sea of bodies and pull on Jaemin’s hand, but he doesn’t budge. Instead, he complies to the crazy demands of the privacy invading press and scoops your body into his. His lean arms make your desperation to get away worthless and before you know it, he’s cupped your cheek and forced you to look at him.

With one final deer-in-the-headlights look at him, Jaemin crashes his lips to yours.

It takes you a few seconds to register what he’s doing, before you muster up the strength to shove him away and force yourself out of the circle.

You can’t believe he just did that.

-

“It’s really not that bad.” Jisung tries to console you.

You’re flopped over the table, head in your arms as you try to block out every piece of reality. After Saturday’s kiss fiasco, the picture had been posted everywhere. There was no escaping the horrifying image of your first kiss with Jaemin. No less because you’d always dreamt your first kiss with Jaemin would be magical, like something out of a fairytale. And while you may be a Princess, this feels nothing close to those magical Disney princess movies you adored so much growing up.

For starters, where is your fairy godmother? You could really use one of those right about now…

He can’t lie, Jisung’s a little heartbroken seeing the picture of you kissing someone else posted everywhere. He’s upset for you, knowing how much you hate the situation. But, selfishly, he’s more gutted for himself. That should be him in Jaemin’s place. In fact, if he’d been lucky enough to kiss you, the image wouldn’t have existed because he never would have done it in front of the cameras. Knowing that Jaemin used you to get his 15 minutes of fame angers him too. The first time he saw the picture online, his fists had clenched so tightly from the rage that bubbled up in his stomach his nails had left little crescent moons in his palms. And yet, he can’t bring himself to not look at the grainy image.

“Not that bad?” You retort. “Any hope I had of being Princess has gone down the drain.” You begin to sob.

“What’s my grandmother going to say?”

Jisung doesn’t realise how stern his face had been until he finally looks away from the picture to find your eyes peaking out from their hiding spot. His gaze softens in a heartbeat, his hand reaching out to instinctively rub your back.

From your peripheral, you recognise the group passing by and tear your gaze away from Jisung’s to find Jaemin and his friends snickering as they walk past.

“Hey (Y/N), great kiss.” Jaemin puckers his lips mockingly.

You’re not sure what hurts you more, having reality shred the mask to uncover his true, obnoxious personality to you or knowing how many years you spent pining over someone so shallow.

“Ugh.” You bury your face back into the safety of your arms, blocking out all daylight and - you hope - reality.

-

After a lot of pep-talk from Jisung, he finally managed to coax you into going to your next class. But it’s not until final period, when see Chenle enter the classroom, that you realise you hadn’t seen or heard from him since last week. You send him a smile when he makes eye contact, feeling confused when he frowns back before taking a seat on the opposite end of the room.

You find yourself casting glances in his direction throughout the class, hoping to catch him looking over at you at least once. But nothing. Not even a peep is sent your way.

“Chenle,” you chase after him. Barely five seconds after your teacher had dismissed class, Chenle had been out of the door and down the corridor. You’d had to sprint through the throngs of students just to get to him before he got out of the building. “Why’d you not sit with me?”

But your question is met with the biggest eye roll you’ve ever seen as Chenle continues to make his way out of the school grounds.

“Did I do something?” You press.

“Did you do something?” Chenle fires back at you, narrowing his eyes vehemently. “Try what you didn’t do!”

You’re dumbstruck.

“I have no ide-”

“My radio show Saturday?” Chenle sasses. Thank goodness you’re down the street by the time Chenle finally stops walking and begins exploding on you. “I had to listen to Marks lame jokes for an hour.”

“Oh my god! I’m so unbelievably sorry.” Your eyes go wide, mortified at how you’d completely forgotten about being Chenle’s guest. “I’ll make it up to you next time, I swear!”

“There won’t be a next time.” Chenle scoffs, turning away once again. “Oh,” he stops himself to mention one last thing. “and, just so you know, just because you a Princess now, doesn’t mean the only thing that matters is you.”

-

“Hey Sungs.” You mournfully approach where Jisung finishes polishing your car. The garage is oddly quiet, no music or clatter sounding in the usually busy space. No. Instead, it seems like it’s just you and Jisung here. “Thank you for taking such good care of my baby.”

“No problem.” Jisung sends you a half-smile as he hands over the keys. “She’s all yours.”

“You don’t know how much this means to me.” You warmly smile, but feel your mood drop when he doesn’t reciprocate like he usually does. There’s a silence that fills the space between you. You’ve never felt so awkward with Jisung before.

“Well… I better get going…” you try not to sound too deflated, jangling your keys in the air as you go to open your car door.

You watch as Jisung takes a step back from the car, his hands stuffed awkwardly in his pockets as he wordlessly watches you.

“Hey, can I ask you something?” You timidly look at Jisung, stopping yourself from clutching the car door handle in front of you. “You don’t think I think the only thing that matters is me, right?”

There’s a timidity to your tone that makes Jisung gulp. He knows all about the argument because Chenle had ranted down the phone to him for a hour after school and he can tell Chenle’s words have gotten to you. At the same time, however, he feels a little dumbfounded that you seem to only realise this now, after you’d had someone shout it in your face. It’s even more ironic you only ask Jisung of his thoughts when you are just about to take the finished car home. The very one that you’ve been stringing him along with for weeks. He knows he has to be honest with you.

“There were times when I would say I agree, yes.” Jisung nods. “I mean, you dropped me for Jaemin in a heartbeat and he’d never once given you the time of day before your Princess glow-up.”

“Right. I really should go…” you voice comes out hoarse. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Jisung feels terrible as you spare no more time getting into your car and starting the engine. It revs to life and roars as you drive away, leaving him alone once again. But the it sinks in how much you’d made him feel used. You’d chosen to walk away from the truth when you’d asked him for it. And Jisung can’t help but feel disappointed.

-

Walking through the halls the next day you feel so insecure. Groups of students stop their conversation to stare at you as you pass, their expressions unreadable, leaving you unable to tell if they are judging you or just fascinated.

Reaching your locker in the courtyard, your eyes light up in hope upon seeing Chenle a few doors down at his locker. You watch him until he notices you, forcing a meek smile his direction when he does. But instead of him smiling back and making his way over to you, he frowns and slams his locker shut before walking the opposite direction.

You self-consciously peer around, hoping no one had witnessed that rejection and your eyes light up when you spot Jisung.

“Jisung!” You call as he walks past. But he doesn’t even acknowledge you. Instead, he picks up his pace and your eyes follow him as he catches up with Chenle. You turn back to focus on getting the right books out of your locker, trying to hold back the tears that threaten to spill.

How had you managed to mess up so bad that your friends won’t even acknowledge you…

With tears still in your eyes, you enter your next class with your head hanging low. You can’t bear to look up and see your two friends, knowing they won’t speak to you. Instead, you rush to the back of the room and take the seat furthest in the corner.

But when you do eventually look up towards the front of the classroom, you catch Jisung glancing your way. He turns back to face the front a split second after. But there’s as hope that flows through you from catching the longing in his expression.

Maybe there’s still a way to win them back.

-

It’s taken a few days to figure out, but you think you know how to get your friends to forgive you. Starting with Chenle.

First you have to sneak up on him so he doesn’t get away when you try to talk to him, which from his avoidance of you the past week, has proven more challenging than you thought. But you do manage to corner him in class as everyone leaves for lunch.

“Chenle, I want to make it up to you.” You plea. “I just want everything to be right between us again.” While you’ve technically been successful in talking to him, he’s still refusing to look at you. “Tell me what I can do…”

This piques his interest.

“Stop being a Princess.” He flatly states. If only he knew…

That was actually something you’d been working on, deciding days ago that you don’t think you’re cut out for accepting royal duty as a Princess. You’ve already spoken to your grandmother about this and, despite her reluctance and assurance that you would be more than capable for the role, you’d come to a mutual agreement to make no public announce until the evening of the ball.

You wish you could tell Chenle, but you can’t break your promise to your grandmother. You’re done breaking promises you’ve made.

“Well, I was thinking more along the lines of attending the independence ball this Saturday?” You send him a hopeful beam.

You take his blank expression and lack of a quick response as a good sign and continue to persuade.

“It’s invitation only…”

Chenle sighs. Damn him and his weakness for exclusivity. Plus, he’s always wanted to go to a ball and he doesn’t know when he’ll get this type of opportunity again.

“Fine!” He caves. “You’re forgiven.”

You squeal, jumping into him to squeeze him in a hug. You feel his chest vibrate with laughter and look up to finally see him smiling.

“I missed you.” You gush as you pull away and begin walking down the hallway together.

“I know.” Chenle laughs heartily when you shove him and roll your eyes.

You finally feel like you’re on the right track. If you can get Chenle to forgive you, then you’re pretty certain Jisung will too. Now you just need to find him.

-

“Wassup bro.” Chenle greets Mark as you join his table for lunch. You’re familiar with Mark because he helps Chenle out with his radio show and you’ve always found him really bubbly and sweet on the few occasions you’ve spoken.

“Sup guys.” Mark greets you both warmly. “I see you’re back on speaking terms.”

“Yep.” Chenle responds through a mouthful of food.

“Yeah, I’m really sorry about all of that.” You grimace towards Mark. “But I heard you’re on your way to becoming a comedic genius.”

“I think I’m good with sticking to the pre-scripted topics.” Mark laughs loudly.

“Oh, hey Jisung!” Chenle’s sudden shout almost makes you jump out of your skin.

You turn your attention to where Chenle looks to find Jisung casting an embarrassed side glance over to your table while trying to continue his conversation with one of his band mates Renjun.

You don’t really know Renjun, other than what you’ve observed. Even though he’s part of Jaemin’s popular group, he seems like a nice guy and there’s always been a part of you that’s been curious to know how he ended up with friends like Jaemin, Jeno and Donghyuck. All so loud and attention loving in comparison.

You watch as he bids Renjun goodbye and approaches, stuffing his hands into his pockets once he’s reached your table. It’s clear he doesn’t want to hang around…

“Aren’t you gonna join us for lunch?” Chenle snickers at his friend, his tone mocking at the way Jisung acts so hesitant.

“Actually, I-uh have,” Jisung gulps. “I have last minute band practice.”

“But you just said goodbye to Renjun?” Mark furrows his brows.

“Gotta go!” Jisung takes off as quickly as he can. He doesn’t look back when he hears you call after him, instead only ducking his head lower and picking up more speed. You have to run to catch him. Damn him and his long legs. You hate running.

“Jisung.” You pant, catching him by the arm and using all of your body weight to slow him down. He lets out a defeated sigh as he stops, knowing there’s no escaping having to talk to you now. “Please talk to me…” you beg, pleading with the best, saddest puppy eyes you can muster.

“What is there to say?” His voice comes of quieter than he wanted it to. He’s so hurt and upset with you and he wants to be able to express that. He usually can when it’s towards other people. But when it’s you on the receiving end, there’s just something that stops him. No matter how much you broke his heart.

“Look, I’m sorry about yesterday. I shouldn’t have run away from what you’d said.”

Theres something in your words that makes him wake up and finally realise that he’s been running away too. Not just now. But for way too long. Jisung’s been running away from telling you how he really feels about you. For so long he’s talked himself into waiting for you to fall in love with him, to wake up and finally see that the person you should be with has been by your side the whole time. His feelings have been repressed and he’s forced himself to be invisible for too long. But he’s done with that now.

“Sungs, are you ok?” He blinks back into reality, not having realised he’d gotten caught up in overthinking for too long.

You watch him, wide eyed as he stands up straighter, determination written across his face.

“Actually, I have something I need to say.”

You nod, waiting intently.

“I’ve been an idiot for too long.” And… you’re confused. “I’ve let you walk all over me for years because I’ve been so in love with you.”

“Heck,” Jisung laughs at himself. “I even let you off when you ditched me for Jaemin because I kept telling myself that I wasn’t good enough for you.”

You feel your heart break knowing Jisung had been putting himself down like that. Any and every emotion courses through you as you try your best to take in the weight of his words.

“I-” you begin, but Jisung cuts you off before you have a chance to say anymore.

“I know you don’t feel the same… it’s ok.” Jisung forces a smile. “I just need some time apart.”

You feel like you’re suffocating, unable to voice anything as you watch Jisung walk away. Chocking on sobs as the weight of the world hits you like a ton of bricks.

You just wished you’d realised sooner. Because if you had, then maybe you wouldn’t have lost your best friend, you wouldn’t have hurt him for so long and maybe you wouldn’t have had your heart smashed to pieces like you just have.

-

“Can’t you just have someone do the speech for me?” Your voice is muted by the duvet that you insist to remain under. Your mom perched on the side of your bed as she encourages you to at least go downstairs to eat something.

It’s the morning of the annual independence ball and you’ve not left your bed since you’d gotten home the day before.

You’d had many home truths and realisations from Jisung yesterday. But cocooning yourself inside your duvet has really helped you process a lot. Like the fact that you love Jisung too… and not in just a platonic way. He’s always been there for you and you’ve taken that for granted.

You’ve been so dumb to your feelings for so long, brushing infatuation off as excitement or just that you really care for Jisung, when reality is that your heart doesn’t flip every time he smiles just because he’s your best friend. It flips every time he smiles because his smile is one of your favourite things in the world. It eases your worries and brightens your day.

Just being around Jisung makes you feel like everything’s going to be ok. He’s always so supportive and soft-natured. He takes care of you not because he’s a good friend but because he loves you.

You know that if he were to be here today, you’d be able to get through your speech this evening, facing crowds of people and answering to them why you are abdicating your royal duties. With Jisung by your side, you can get through anything.

Without him you’re lost.

Similarly, Jisung has been trying to drown out reality since he confessed to you by focusing all of his energy on his band practice and fixing up cars. He went straight from school to the garage and worked through the night to try and get his mind off of you.

Which is why he jolts awake to Chenle shouting in his ear for him to “wake up!”

“Why!” He cries, rubbing his sore neck from the poor posture of his sleep on the couch by his band’s equipment.

“You seriously slept here last night?” Chenle doesn’t hold back any judgment, raising his brow at Jisung as he grumbles out unintelligible remarks under his breath.

“I get you’re heart broken or whatever, but that doesn’t mean you should give up now.”

“Well, what else should I do?” Jisung, still sat in the chair he’d slept in, sulks like a child.

“Uh, I don’t know, go after her?” Chenle retorts like it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

“But she doesn’t feel the same, I’d just be making a fool of myself…”

Chenle scoffs. How does he not see it?

“Of course (Y/N) feels the same. It’s so obvious.” Chenle leans down to place his hand on Jisung’s shoulder. “Trust me. I’ve had to watch you both almost every day for years.”

He’s not joking. He really has. All the times he’s rolled his eyes at the way you both act so soppy towards the other. You’ve both been too wrapped up in either convincing yourself that you have no shot, or mistaking your feelings to notice.

Jisung springs to his feet. With the way Chenle remains so serious, he knows he must be telling the truth.

“I need to win her back!”

-

You frantically pack, shoving everything you can into your bag before anyone catches on to what your about to do. You feel so hopeless, like a complete failure and you know you can’t face the crowd of influential people and reporters to decline your role of Princess. So you’re running away.

You’d managed to convince your grandmother to not send a limo because your mom wanted to take you to your first ball. And you’d also lied to your mom, telling her that your grandmother had organised a limo to pick you up.

As soon as your mom had left, the race against time had begun and you’d been flying around your room packing.

You pick up the embossed faux-leather diary your grandmother had gifted you when you’d first met and found out you were a Princess, stilling when it slips from your grasp and falls open to reveal a letter that had been tucked in between the pages.

Carefully picking it up and unfolding it, you realise it’s from your father before he passed away.

His heartfelt words bring tears to your eyes as he expresses all the love he has for you and his country as soon to be King. But the final line strikes something within you that makes you rethink everything you had planned to do.

“Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear. The brave may not live forever, but the cautious do not live at all. From now on you’ll be travelling the road between who you think you are and who you can be. The key is to allow yourself to make the journey.”

-

Helping Jisung come up with a plan to win you back is easy for Chenle. With the independence ball being that evening, nothing could be more perfect than Jisung turning up, declaring his love and sweeping you off your feet. Just like a true Prince. So he’d offered the plus 1 you’d given him to Jisung.

Waiting in the grand hall for your arrival feels like an eternity. Everyone seems to be here except you.

“Have either of you seen (Y/N)?” Your mom rushes up to Chenle and Jisung in a slight panic. Both of them shrug, shaking their heads no in response. “She told me a limo was picking her up, but apparently she told her grandmother I was bringing her.”

Shit. There’s something in Jisung that springs into action upon the possibility that you could be in danger.

“Stall until I get back.” Jisung directs Chenle.

“Where are you going?!” Chenle shouts back, but it’s too late. Jisung’s already run off.

“Oh no no no…” you whine as your car conks out, the heavens pouring down on you and pooling in your hatch-back. “Is this what I get for messing everything up!” You shout at the sky, flopping back into your seat and sobbing your heart out.

You don’t blame the universe for this payback. You deserve it after all your selfishness. But you have been trying to make amends, to right all of your wrongs. You have every intention to go to the independence ball to share your decision in person. It’s the least your families country deserve. It’s the least your family deserve. But, right now, you’re failing. Failing at getting to the ball on time just like you failed at making amends with Jisung.

Gosh, even when you’re trying to do something else it’s still seems to end up on Jisung…

Just as you’re giving up all hope, a car horn jolts you up in your seat with a gasp. The headlights blind you momentarily as they round the corner, until the car has stopped beside you.

“Need a ride, Princess?” Your mouth hangs agape as the window rolls down to reveal Jisung in the drivers seat.

Although you can only see the top half of him, you’re heart summersaults from his attire. There he is, coming to your rescue, dressed in a black tuxedo and bow tie. He looks just like Prince Charming.

“How did you find me?” You remain in your car, unable to move from the shock… and the cold. You look like a drowned rat as the storm continues to shower down on you.

By this point, Jisung had gotten out of his car, into the pouring rain and rushed over to help lift you out of your vehicle to transfer you into the warmth and shelter of his own.

“Lucky guess.” He smirks from the drivers seat, twisting the keys and bringing the car to life again, before racing through the dark deserted streets.

You watch him from the passenger seat as he remains focused on the road, mesmerised by the steady focus of his eyes and his tight jaw, the way his hair - now wet from your rescue - drips little droplets of water onto his forehead and nose, down his cheeks to his perfectly plump lips.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” You’re caught off guard by his question as it breaks the silence that had settled. You hadn’t even realised you’d been staring that long, or the fact he’d noticed.

“I was… just looking.” You blush, turning to look out your window. You’re just thankful it’s dark right now.

A few seconds go by and you begin to recognise the street just as the car pulls into your grandmothers driveway and stops at the entrance.

“Wait!” You clutch onto Jisung’s arm as he goes to open his door. He freezes from the touch before slowly twisting back to look at you. “Thank you.” You whisper.

“It was no problem.” Jisung sends you a tight lipped smile.

“No. I mean, thank you for always being there for me.” You elaborate, moving your grip down his arm until you get to his hand, entangling your fingers with his. “For loving me.”

Jisung’s breath hitches. He’s not sure what to say. It’s like all the air has been sucked out of his lungs. And the way you continue to stare at him makes him feel so warm and fuzzy and loved.

“(Y/N), I-”

“I know you said you wanted space.” You cut him off. “But I’m so lost without you.”

“Why me?” He whispers.

You slowly reach up to cup his cheek, drawing him in closer and closer until your noses touch. Your eyes flutter shut as you breathe in his signature piney scent. The familiarity makes you feel like you’ve arrived back home and gives you the courage to utter your next words ever so breathily.

“Because you saw me when I was invisible.”

The next thing you know, Jisung’s lips are smashed against yours. You’re unsure which of you initiated it, not having had your eyes open in fear of his rejection. His lips are just as soft as you’d imagined they’ve be and you feel yourself unable to suppress the smile that explodes across your face, causing Jisung to smile into the kiss too.

Everything seems to fall into place again. Who knew kissing your best friend could feel so right?

Pulling apart breathlessly, you both continue to smile at each other, idiotically in love.

“We really should get inside and put Chenle out of his misery.” Jisung chuckles, only imagining the chaos he’s cause by trying to stall.

“I guess…” you trail off, sending Jisung a sheepish smirk. He knows exactly what you’re thinking. “…Or we could kiss some more?”

“We can do that later. But first, you have to tell your country you will be their Princess.”

~ bonus ~

“How’s my baby?” Jisung rolls his eyes.

“I told you to stop calling me that.” He deadpans, failing to hide the blush that tinges his cheeks from the way you smirk at him.

You know he loves it really.

“But it’s cute!” You continue to tease, laughing as you speak.

Jeonghan

“You kissed Joshua!” Jeonghan’s voice reverberates off the walls, making you wince. “When?”

“It was years ago and it meant nothing.” You try to keep your voice soft, encouraging your friend to match your volume.

You understand his reaction, the confession seeming to have come out of nowhere. If you count nowhere as playing a lighthearted game of sharing secrets with your best friend.

You watch Jeonghan for a few silent seconds as he seems to take in your answer and swirl it around his mind.

“So,” a coy look overtakes his expression, “would you kiss me?”

“Absolutely not!” You answer a little too quickly for your friends liking, earning an overly dramatic gasp in offence.

“Why!” He whines.

“Because…” you trail off, wondering how the best way to go about this should be, not just for Jeonghan, but for your own sanity too.

It’s not like you’re repulsed by him, not even close. It’s more that you’ve always felt a certain way about Jeonghan. He’s pretty much your dream man and you’ve thought about what it would be like to kiss him more times than you’d like to admit. But there’s no way you can tell him that.

“(Y/N), seriously?” You blink back into focus, realising that you’d definitely kept him waiting too long for an answer. “You’d happily kiss Joshua but not me?”

You roll your eyes upon hearing him go into his dramatically sassy defence. You know there’s not really anything you can say that will make him quit nagging you about it for an eternity. So you decide to show him instead, cutting him off mid-rant by pressing your lips to his.

Joshua

Was he getting a kick out of this? One hundred percent.

Sometimes it feels like your relationship with Joshua is just him trying to annoy you beyond belief and then giving you cuddles until you forgive him. But right now, you’re so beyond done with his smothering that he can shove his offer of make up cuddles in the trash.

“Baby, just one teeny tiny little kiss… please…”

“But I’m trying to focus.” You refuse to look at your boyfriend. It’s the best you can do to get your point across when he’s already holding you hostage in a back hug.

“Just one verrrrrryyyy small one?” He tries to lean around to catch a glimpse of your face.

“Dude no!” Your voice sounds way louder than you intend and guilt immediately overwhelms you when you feel your boyfriend finally quiet down and detach from you.

The silence that follows is painful and the loss of your boyfriend sized hot water bottle makes you shiver from the cold. You regret letting your bad mood get the better of you…

“Joshi, I’m sorry…” you sigh, perching on the edge of the sofa where you boyfriend has retreated too.

He looks at you, maintaining eye contact for a moment before opening his arms and wordlessly inviting you in for a hug. You let out the breath you’d been holding in relief, snuggling into his embrace and burying your face into his chest.

“And a kiss?” You shyly lift your head to peek at his reaction, unable to stop the giggle that erupts as he simply puckers his lips.

Jun

“You better stop that right now, I’m serious.” Jun deadpans you, his hand wrapped firmly around your wrist to stop you from putting any more space between you.

A bets a bet and you undeniably lost. So while your boyfriend has been trying to make you pay up for the last few minutes, you’ve been trying to stall.

The forfeit for the looser isn’t even bad. All you have to do is admit that Jun is better than you and then kiss him. But you’ve decided that you want him to beg you for it first.

“Hi serious.” You smirk, coyly looking up at him through your lashes. “You know, you look like a grumpy version of my boyfriend.”

You have to physically bite down on your bottom lip to stop your laughter when Jun rolls his eyes at your childish joke.

“Well maybe that’s because you’re acting like a sore looser?” The sarcasm drips off his words so condescendingly and you couldn’t be more pleased with yourself at successfully riling him up so easily.

“Or you’re a sore winner!” You squeak as you manage to wrangle your wrist free from his grasp and sprint away, giggling like a child when you look over your shoulder to find him chasing after you.

“(Y/N)! You better get back here and kiss me!”

Hoshi

“You do realise I’m still mad at you, right?” You raise a brow at your friend and his failing attempt to get you to forgive him.

“But I said I was sorry like a hundred times!” Soonyoung exasperatedly throws his hands in the air.

“But sorry doesn’t make the bite mark on my arm just magically disappear.” You counteract. “Do you realise how much teasing I’ve had to endure from everyone because of it?” Soonyoung shakes his head “no” in response. You’re just thankful that no one has clocked onto the fact that is was Soonyoung who gave you the mark.

You admit, you love everything about your best friend. His loudness, his sometimes child-like ways of annoying you, even his never ending amounts of energy. Everything except his persistent tiger agenda when he takes it too far; just like when he accidentally bit your arm last week trying to prove he was a real tiger.

“Trust me, Mingyu has been bugging me non-stop trying to find out who did it.” You cringe.

“What if I kiss it better?” Your eyebrows raise in shock. But Soonyoung seems serious about his offer.

“That’s not really going to do much though…” you shyly hesitate.

“Well, how about this?”

Soongyoung smashes his lips into yours just as you open your mouth to ask him what he means and you’re instantly hooked. Maybe a kiss really does make it better…

Wonwoo

Heavy panting and heated breaths fill the otherwise quiet room. You’d only pulled apart from Wonwoo just a second ago and yet you already miss the velvety soft feeling of his lips against yours and as your gaze trails up from his lips you find his eyes waiting for you. His expression is unreadable, but calm, and it somehow makes you feel comforted and nervous at the same time.

“You’re so desperate.” His sudden smile and his low chuckle as he shakes his head catch you off guard. All these months secretly getting closer and you’re still unable to read him.

“Says the one who pounced on me when he arrived.” You mutter, but you know Wonwoo heard you loud and clear. He wouldn’t be smirking at you like that if he hadn’t.

“Says the one who’s drooling over me right now.” He cocks a brow at you. Check and mate. He knows you too well.

“Oh,” you scoff, “and you’re not just as whipped?” You fold your arms defensively across your chest. They’re only there for a few seconds before Wonwoo has taken a step closer to you and you watch as his hands reach out to unfold your arms, guiding your palms to press flush against the soft cotton t-shirt that covers his toned chest.

“Maybe I am,” Wonwoo begins, leaning down as you feel one hand fall to your waist. “Maybe I’m not…” he finishes coyly, his other hand cupping your cheek before he smashes his lips back onto yours.

Woozi

Why you’re in a bad mood is beyond Jihoon. But there you are, sat up in bed, with the grumpiest face as you scroll through your phone.

“So, are we gonna talk about what’s annoyed you?” Your boyfriend tries to start a casual conversation as he climbs into bed beside you. You can feel him watching you, waiting for an answer. You scoff.

“Seriously?” You sassily side-eye him. How could he not know?! You roll your eyes when you notice the perplexed expression on his face, realising you’re going to have to spell it out for him. “We had reservations at that new place down town and you forgot.”

You watch as Jihoon’s eyes grow wide, a small “oh” falling past his lips as the realisation dawns on him. And now your grumpiness and how you dodged his kiss when he arrived home earlier make a lot of sense…

“Babe, I’m so sorry.” He begins. “I have no excuse for forgetting, but work has been so busy lately and we just got some lyrics sent back with like a billion changes needed and I-”

Before he has time to continue rambling, you press your lips against his, shutting him up. Relief washes over both of you as you fall into sync. It’s clear your boyfriend didn’t stand you up on purpose, and you feel guilty for shutting him out for it.

“It’s ok.” You whisper, pulling apart breathlessly to let him know all is forgiven. “Just don’t stop kissing me.” You manage before your lips smash back into his.

Dk

“Have you ever thought what it would be like if we kissed?”

Seokmin pouts upon witnessing the bubbles of laughter that immediately tumble past your lips. But despite his serious expression, you can see the difficulty your friend has trying to keep his smile from braking out across his face. He wanted this to be a serious conversation, not melting at the way your eyes gleam in happiness while you make light of his words.

“You promised you wouldn’t laugh.” Seokmin manages to keep his voice calm and controlled, unlike the way his heart races in his chest.

“I promised I wouldn’t laugh at you. Which I’m not.” He sighs at your rebuttal. “You just made me nervous…”

“I made you nervous?” His eyes go wide. Although it’s more surprising to you how he had clearly not considered that voicing his thoughts about you kissing each other wouldn’t possibly catch you off guard.

“Obviously.” you tease, “It’s not everyday your best friend randomly tells you they want to kiss you.”

“I asked if you’ve ever thought about it.” Seokmin rolls his eyes, trying his best to suppress the way his stomach summersaults at your blatantly flirty teasing.

“So you’re saying you don’t want to kiss me then?” You pester back within half a second.

“Of course I do!” Seokmin confesses frustratedly, not realising what he’s said out loud until he hears your next challenge to him.

“Well, do it then.”

Mingyu

He’d been alone all day. Waiting. And so that’s why you find him sulking. Your plan from the morning had really backfired on you. And by the evening, no longer were you the one avoiding his kisses and affection. Oh how the tables have turned. Now you can’t seem to get your boyfriend to so much as look at you (unless you count his salty glares to your turned back). So you’d avoided his good morning kiss and his second attempt after brushing his teeth… and his third attempt as you put on your shoes to head to work… so what? It’s not like you’d ripped his heart out of his chest like a violent animal.

Except, that’s exactly what it felt like to your giant boyfriend.

“How’s your day been baby?” Your attempt to start a nice conversation falls on deaf ears. “Gyu?” You wave your small hand in his face, trying to get his expression to change from his child-like sulk.

“Oh, so it’s different when you want my attention.” He mutters so quietly you almost miss his words. Almost. You sigh as you plop down next to him on your shared bed.

“I was only teasing you this morning Gyu.” You explain, watching the way he side-eyes you and catching the hurt that pours out of them. “I didn’t mean to upset you…”

Mingyu feels guilty when your voice grows quieter, his resolve growing thin as he finally caves in and looks at you properly. And he can’t stand the picture of you before him. He can feel his heart fracturing from the way you stare down at your lap. You look so fragile like that.

“Baby.” Your breath hitches as your chin is tilted up by your boyfriend’s hand, your faces way closer than you’d expected them to be. He looks at you like you’re the only person in the entire world. And there’s no need for anymore words to be spoken before your lips collide and you melt into him completely.

The 8

“Did you just hear something?” Your body is frozen, trying not to move a muscle or make any noise as you listen. There’s always something eerie about being in the practice rooms after hours.

“(Y/N), relax.” Minghao cups your cheek. “Everyone went home hours ago.” You nod your head, telling yourself that Minghao’s right, you’re just being paranoid about getting caught.

It’s not like it would be a bad thing for people to find out that you and Minghao had been secretly seeing each other for the past month. It’s just, you’re not sure either of you are ready for all the inevitable questions his friends would ask about your relationship. You’ve not even had that discussion with him about that yet.

“You’re right.” You exhale. “Where were we?” You can’t help how your heart skips a beat as you watch the slow smirk stretch across his lips. “Oh yeah…” you minutely giggle as Minghao dips his head down to brush his lips against yours. Everything else instantly fizzes away and all the tension in your body melts.

But then you definitely hear something from a distance the resembles a door slamming and you jolt away from Minghao with wide, fearful eyes.

“Ok,” he sighs, “I’ll go check who that was.”

Minghao is barely able to take a step after turning around to face the door before you’ve grabbed onto his wrist with one of your hands.

“I’m not letting you go alone.” You state, threading your fingers through his. He smiles down at you affectionally before pulling you towards the door, ready to investigate - and possibly get caught - together.

Seungkwan

“Was that really necessary?” You try - and fail - to hide the amusement from your boyfriends silly antics. Yes, Seungkwan really did just smack your backside with his damp towel as he walked past you.

“Absolutely!” He grins, chucking said damp towel into the laundry basket by the door before making his way back towards you and enveloping you in a back hug.

You’re stood in front of the mirror, applying the final touches of makeup to your face, while you try to ignore the way Seungkwan watches from over your shoulder. It’s difficult to not get distracted by him when he looks like that and he knows your weakness for him when he’s fresh out of the shower, wet hair and little droplets of water glimmering on his skin.

“Maybe we should bail on the guys tonight and stay here?” You shake your head at the way Seungkwan wiggles his eyebrows at you.

“Kwan, you’re not gonna seduce me into ditching Mingyu’s birthday dinner.” You keep your tone firm, adamant on remaining focused; you’re not going to be teased by everyone the whole night for being late. That is until Seungkwan pinches your sides and you let out a yelp. Thank goodness you hadn’t begun applying any mascara yet; half a second later however…

“Ok, that’s it.” You turn to face your mischievous boyfriend, waving the mascara wand around in your hand. “No kisses for the whole night!”

Despite you’re attempts at scolding Seungkwan, he’s not even slightly threatened. Instead he simply raises a judging brow before picking you up by your waist and holding you in his arms, planting kisses all over your face while you feebly attempt to fight his hold. He continues until you’re both a laughing mess, tears of laughter spilling down your cheeks and getting ready long forgotten. Yeah, you’re definitely going to be late now.

Vernon

“Kiss me, baby.”

His lips are ghosting yours. But despite his endeavours to make you cave, you’re not quite ready to give in just yet.

Why won’t you kiss Vernon? Well that’s an easy question to answer.

You been hanging out since the morning and everything had been so normal, just like every other time you’ve hung out together. Just two best friends enjoying each others company. Until Vernon had told you about how the guys had been teasing him about your “friendship”.

You’d initially laughed it off and the topic would have been dropped if you hadn’t felt the need to make the jokey comment about how you could never see Vernon in that way, let alone take him seriously if he tried to kiss you…

You were surprised to say the least, when he’d taken a little offence to your words. Usually so laidback, it was like the thought of you not being able to see him in that way had flicked a switch within him and suddenly he was determined to change your mind. So for the whole day, Vernon has been trying his absolute best to get himself out of the friend zone.

“Just tell me to stop and I will.” You feel Vernon whisper into your lips and you have to resist every impulse you have to let your eyes flutter shut, even though there’s no use in really trying at this point.

Vernon gives you a few second to respond, to show him any sign that you don’t want him to continue. And when he finds none, you feel his lips stretch into a smile before, finally, connecting with yours softly.

Dino

You swear, the next time you see Seungkwan you’re gonna murder him. Why did he have to get all in your head about how clingy you are? And why did you let it affect you to the point where, when you bought it up to your boyfriend Chan, you felt so insecure when he didn’t immediately disagree? Of course, Chan didn’t agree with Seungkwan’s teasing statement either… but he still hesitated!

Meanwhile, your boyfriend thinks he might also murder Seungkwan when he next sees him too. Because it’s his fault that you refuse to show him affection in case you’re being too clingy. Poor Seungkwan. And poor, affection deprived Chan.

“Babe, one cuddle doesn’t make you a clingy person.” Chan tries to reason with you as you both prepare for bed together. He just misses your affection, considering you barely show him any when he’s with the guys. Which is practically all the time!

“Well that’s what you get for agreeing that I’m clingy.” You state matter of factly as you slip under the covers of your duvet.

“But I didn’t agree.” Chan tries to reason, following suit and snuggling under the covers. “How about a kiss? You have to kiss your boyfriend, it’s law.” You snicker at his silly reasoning.

“Oh really?” You raise a brow at him. “Would I go to jail if I don’t?”

“Yes.” Chan laughs along with you.

Throughout the rest of the day, Yeonjun made it his mission to get a kiss. He has to or else he doesn’t know what he’ll do. He’s never been so determined. But time and time again, he’d failed. The closest he got was on his fifth attempt. Noticing you stood facing the counter while making yourself a warm drink, Yeonjun had quietly made his way towards you, enveloping you in a back hug with his arms securing your body against his firm chest.

“I’ve got you now baby,” he whispered into your ear smugly. “I know you want to kiss me really.” He knows your just messing with him, if you were really mad then you wouldn’t have been able to hold it in for this long. You were able to keep your expression stoic, focusing on your task at hand before somehow wiggling your way out of Yeonjun’s grasp and heading back to your laptop to work.

By the time it reaches the evening, and your stomach is crying out for food, you finally decide to take a break from work. This is when you notice how quiet everything is. You’re not even sure if your boyfriend is home anymore. Walking through your apartment, you finally find Yeonjun sat on the bed, occupied by his phone. You’re not sure why you feel a little nervous, standing timidly in the doorway as you wait for him to notice you.

“Junnie, what are you doing?” Your small voice successfully gains his attention, sending you a smile as his eyes flick up from his phone screen to meet yours.

“I’ve been waiting for you, my love.” His words make your stomach summersault, simply nodding your head in acknowledgement. You watch as he gets up from the bed, making his way over to you. “Are you ready for a kiss now?”

His tone is soft, speaking to you as though you are the most precious thing to ever exist and he doesn’t want to scare you away. You feel breathless, uttering a light “yes” in response as Yeonjun finally reaches you. His hands find refuge on your waist, yours on his chest.

Finally, you don’t resist or shy away from him when he dips his head and captures your lips in his.

Soobin

“We could… kiss… if you want?” Soobin sounds unsure of himself, which if you weren’t so focused on trying to comprehend his words, you know you’d find adorable. The way he watches you as he waits for an answer holds the same anticipation of a child asking their parents for some candy.

Your internal debate flits between asking yourself if he is being serious and if agreeing to kiss your best friend is the right thing. You suppose Soobin wouldn’t offer if he wasn’t willing to kiss you, he’s rarely the type to make such a bold move without having put a considerable amount of thought into it beforehand. Which surely means he’s thought about kissing you prior to this moment.

All the while your mind wonders deep in your thoughts, Soobin notices how subdued you have become. He can’t help the shy smile that twitches the corner of his lips. Nor can he help the half-hearted huff of laughter that escapes his lips in amusement. He knows that if your answer was going to be a no then you would have said it by now.

“I know you want us to kiss as much I do.” His unexpected statement grabs your attention instantly, making your heart thump in your chest. Where has all of this confidence come from? Your gaze snaps to his, locking with the glimmer of longing that pours from them and rendering you unable to look away.

You finally smile. “Of course.” tumbling out as the quickest answer you can give. And when you see Soobin’s expression break out in the widest smile a wave of feelings wash over you. This is the exact moment you realise how much you really do want to kiss your best friend. No one has ever looked more kissable to you than he does now.

You willingly close off a large amount of the space that is between you, allowing for Soobin to take his time as he takes you in. First, his hands find place on either side of your waist, but then he quickly decides that he wants one of them to caress your cheek. Next, he uses his hand to angle your face, his own leaning down so the only space remaining is occupied by your heated breath.

“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted this.” He whispers, only just allowing for enough time for you to gasp before he dives in.

Beomgyu

It’s his fault that he’s as wound up as he is right now, not yours. But your adorably childish boyfriend has somehow put all the blame onto you. Long story short, you refused to admit that you had feelings for Beomgyu before he realised his feelings for you. But that’s just the thing, while you’ve never denied how you fancied Beomgyu from very early on in your friendship, Beomgyu says he didn’t realise his feelings until later on. Which basically means he could have liked you before you liked him, he just didn’t acknowledge it.

It’s such a trivial debate. Regardless of who liked who first, it doesn’t change your relationship or the fact that you’ve been happily together for almost a year. However, to Beomgyu, it is still a big deal.

He always feels so proud of the fact that you had a crush on him first. It boosts his ego like nothing else. Seriously, when he first found out he boasted to his friends about it every time you tagged along with him to see them.

But, in the present, you are refusing to admit anything of the sort. And it’s pissing your boyfriend off, just as you want it to. So now you’re in a stand off, so to speak, after stupidly agreeing that the first one to cave in and kiss the other is the one who caught feelings first. It’s the only way.

“Why.” Beomgyu punctuates his words with a step closer to you. “Won’t.” And another. “You. Kiss. ME!”

By the time he’s finished his sentence he’s closed off all the space between you and captured your smaller frame in his firm hold. He looks down at you with wide, serious eyes. Waiting for an answer. Beomgyu really wasn’t expecting you to last almost the whole day. Heck, usually all he has to do is give you puppy eyes and he’s got his own way. But you’ve had more resistance to his tricks so far.

The coy look you give him, paired with your shrug, makes Beomgyu tense. He shouldn’t be treated like this right now. No. Instead, he should be receiving lots and lots of kisses from you. He pouts.

“You do still find me attractive, right?” Oh no, here comes the guilt. The doubt in his tone has you instantly biting on your bottom lip in a feeble attempt to suppress the raising regret. You feel terrible. It doesn’t matter if he’s trying to make you feel bad on purpose or not, you can’t stand the thought of him not knowing how much you truly adore him.

So, with a heavy sigh, you accept the inevitable bragging that will ensue and cave in. Reaching a hand up to cup his face, you draw him in so your noses are touching, breath mixing and lips tantalisingly close.

“It’ll only ever be you, Gyu.” You confess before crashing your lips to his.

Taehyun

You feel stupid really. It happened days ago now, but your mind hasn’t let it go. The it in question is the picture you saw on social media of your ex kissing their new partner. Sure, the breakup was mutual and you’re no longer together. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t sting a little to know that they’ve moved on first.

“I’ll kiss you.” Taehyun’s offer makes you feel the need to pinch yourself. Never had you expected for him to suggest kissing you as a result of you confiding in him about how seeing your ex made you feel. You were ranting away mindlessly, blabbering silly things like how maybe kissing someone else might help you to feel better about it all. But not once did it occur to you that Taehyun would take that in and offer up his lips.

“You’ll what?” You gawk at him, eyeing the way his chest vibrates from his laughter. It’s now that you notice how broad and firm it appears under his shirt. And the way his smile reaches his eyes, which glimmer with specs of honey and caramel from the way the light reflects off of them, makes you feel a little weak for him honestly.

“I’ll kiss you,” he repeats in amusement. “And then you’ll be able to move on.”

You ponder the proposed scenario for a moment. On one hand, Taehyun is a close friend and you wouldn’t want anything to be weird between you afterwards. However, on the other hand, you kind of want to kiss him… just for the sake of closure… not for any other reason at all…

“Ok.” You nod. Trying to cover your shyness with a smile. It takes everything in you to control the way your heart begins to race in your chest, palms becoming clammy and heat rising up your neck. All he’s done is suggest to kiss you. There’s been no attempt at making a move yet, but the thought alone is having such dramatic effects on your body.

“Ok.” Taehyun smiles, scooting closer to where you are sat. Thank goodness none of your flatmates are currently home, you don’t think you’d be able to handle the risk of one of them stumbling in on you right now. “Just… relax.”

It’s slightly awkward knowing how to go about the best way for Taehyun to hold you, or where you should place your hands, and for the first second your lips touch you feel so tense and unsure. But Taehyun’s voice echos around your mind, reminding you to relax. It’s now that the feel of the way he holds you makes you feel so safe and you can’t help but slowly melt into him, savouring every brush of his lips.

Once you pull away, you can’t help but see him in a new light. You think kissing him was the best decision you’ve ever made.

HueningKai

“Come over here and kiss me you wuss!” While your boyfriends tone is full of lighthearted teasing, you can’t help but feel a little agitated by his words. You may be many things, but a wuss is not one of them. Ok, so maybe you’re being a little over-sensitive. There are far worse things Kai could call you. But, given the context of the situation, it feels valid to be offended.

You were simply having a nice day with your boyfriend, finding yourselves with the rare day where neither of you had any plans. So you’d agreed to spend some quality time together, huddled up in your small apartment under copious amounts of blankets. It had felt like a dream, laying on the couch wrapped in your favourite persons arms. But then you both got hungry and decided to get up and bake some cookies together.

That’s when it all began to get hectic. Starting with Kai cheekily flicking some flour at you, you later retaliated by offering him to try some cookie dough and smooshing it in his face. That escalated things into a cat and mouse chase around the kitchen, until you had managed to put a somewhat safe distance between you. With the small table your only shield against your boyfriend and his threat of tickles, it gave you both some breathing room to calm down and catch your breath back. That’s when he’d called you a wuss.

“And what, surrender myself?” You raise a brow at him in challenge, mimicking the wide grin that’s on his face. Now is not the time for you to back down. “You’ll have to catch me first!” You stick your tongue out before running out of the kitchen. Problem is, Kai has long legs and is quick on his feet; you stood no chance of escape.

You squeal as you feel his hands pinch your waist, both of you falling onto the sofa in fits of laughter. Kai has the proudest look on his face as he holds you close to his chest, finding the way to try to wriggle free from him adorable. Although, after a few minutes, you lose your energy and give up, simply laying against his chest and panting for breath.

“I’m not letting go until you kiss me.” He speaks softly into the skin of your neck. You can feel his triumphant smirk as his lips skim your skin. You can feel your resolve wear thinner and thinner with each millisecond. But then you have a brilliant idea.

You turn your face so you face Kai, noses nuzzling together. But you keep enough distance that your lips don’t touch, coyly watching his reactions through your lashes.

“Come on,” His cute giggle completely opposes the teasing smirk he sends your way. “I know you wanna kiss me.”

He’s sure of himself, but not in a cocky way. He more so just puts himself in a light that makes you see him as a man who knows what he wants.

You’re not even entirely sure how you got onto this topic of conversation. All you’d intended to do was join your friend for dinner like you so often do. But somehow, the conversation had turned from how you’re enjoying your meal onto comments that Chenle had previously used to poke fun about your friendship with Mark. Until finally, the question had come about if you’d ever thought of what it would be like to kiss him.

The way he’d first proposed the question was so casual that you almost choked on your mouthful of food, pulling an exaggeratedly disgusted face after.

“And if I do?” You choose now to take a sip of your drink, hiding your rosy cheeks behind your glass. It takes everything in you to keep your expression controlled.

“Then what are we waiting for?”

Renjun

“You know you want to…” Renjun sing songs, pulling a knowing expression. But you’re not ready to give in to him yet.

You’ve been sulking on the sofa, giving your boyfriend the silent treatment for a little over two hours now and Renjun doesn’t know how much longer he can last without you talking to him. It’s all over something so trivial anyway.

“You watched our show without me.” You grumble, refusing to look at the person who betrayed you. Yes, Renjun had watched the latest episode of the drama without you, he’d only intended to watch a few seconds, a minute tops. It’s not his fault that Netflix had just so happened to open on that screen and he couldn’t resist the temptation of pressing play…

“And I said I was sorry!” Renjun scoots himself up against you, twisting his body so he is able to lean his head right in your line of vision. He knows that the pleading smile he sends you will melt your resolve, growing increasingly pleased with himself when he notices your cold expression begin to soften.

“Can I have a kiss now?” You watch as he raises a brow at you in question, trying to suppress the triumph that he feels.

“Fine.” You reluctantly agree, bending to press the quickest peck you can to his lips. Except, before you have a chance to pull away, one of Renjun’s hands has cupped your cheek and kept you close, chuckling into the non-existent space between you before kissing you a little deeper.

Jeno

You’ve had feelings for Jeno for as long as you can remember. In fact, you had initially wanted to become friends with him because you found him so attractive. Of course, you then got to know the goofy side to Jeno and found that you were surprisingly even more charmed by his bubbly personality.

So while your crush on him has been there since the very start of your friendship, you now have different reasons as to why you would want to date him. Alongside his good looks, you find his protectiveness towards you so attractive. The way he always offers to walk you home when it’s dark outside and how he always messages you to make sure you are still alive when he hasn’t heard from you in a few days. They are just a few from a long list of reasons of why you’ve fallen for Jeno.

Which is why you are unable to pass up the opportunity when he offers you a kiss.

“Give me a kiss.” He puckers his lips playfully in your direction. You can’t help but snicker at the face he pulls, your eyes simultaneously darting around the cafe self-consciously. “Don’t pretend like you don’t want to.” He adds after a few seconds of waiting.

You roll your eyes at his clear lack of care towards the fact that you’re in public. But, with a wide grin, you comply to his request and lean over to press a kiss to his lips.

Your skin burns from the wave of feelings that wash over you as you pull away and retreat into your chair once again; now with a respectable distance between you.

Except Jeno wants more. So he scoots his chair until it’s pressed into the side of yours, one arm reaching around your shoulders while his other hand gently tucks under your chin and coerces your face to look at him.

“We’re not done yet. You have no idea how long I’ve waited to kiss you.”

Haechan

Another day, another petty argument. It seems that you and Haechan bicker about such simple domestic things all the time. “Why do you leave the damp towel on the wet floor after your shower?” “Put your empty mug in the sink rather than beside it!” “Turn the light off when you leave the room!” Even your friends have picked up on it and begun to tease you both. But, however frequent your arguments are, they never seem to last long. And this time is no different.

First of all, your boyfriend had gotten annoyed at you for not moving your feet off of the sofa so he could sit down beside you. So he’d acted like a sulking child and put his glass of water on the table without using a coaster.

When you’d got annoyed over the ring of residue staining the wood from his glass, you then decided to get him where it hurts: you hid his keyboard so he couldn’t play games. Although, it took him a few hours to notice what you’d done because it wasn’t until the evening that he usually played. Once he had noticed though, he was very clearly wound up and you were definitely in for it.

Haechan lured you into a false sense of security when he’d called you into the bedroom, his voice light and seemingly cheerful. It’s only once you’ve been caged in against the wall by him and questioned relentlessly about the whereabouts of his keyboard that you realise what a mistake you made by messing with his gaming setup.

“Oooo you wanna kiss me so bad.” Haechan doesn’t even try to hide his amusement, clearly enjoying holding all of the power. By this point he’s pushed you so far, you’re unsure if you love or hate this side to him. “But that’s the last thing you’re going to be getting unless you confess.”

You gulp when he whispers his words dangerously close to your ear, your whole body tense. He has you reeling, taking far too much enjoyment of the current dynamic.

Once you’ve finally caved in and Haechan has won back his keyboard, don’t think it’s all over. No. You do get awarded a kiss, way more than you’d expected after winding him up. But it’s just a continuation of his payback, keeping you in his lap while he games and only giving the bare minimum of affection.

Jaemin

“How about we have some kissy time?” You burst into laughter, not quite sure how to respond to Jaemin’s out of the blue request in any other way. Sometimes you wonder how you two became friends. Although, you do love his randomness.

“I said I was bored. How does that relate?” You deadpan once you’ve regained your composure. You can’t give away how fast your heart is racing in your chest, or how much his suggestion really has affected you. Even if he did refer to kissing as “kissy time”.

“It kills time.” He shrugs like its no big deal. No embarrassment evident on his part. “You’re telling me you don’t want to kiss these lips?” He pouts, pointing at his lips in the most shameless way possible.

“I never said that.” You whack his arm, rolling your eyes.

It’s almost impossible to hide the way your cheeks inflame over the thought of kissing Jaemin, one of your closest friends. Although, you’ve never denied how handsome you think he is to his face; it’s always been in a more lighthearted, no pressure sort of way previously. Unlike now, where his invitation is laden with something different.

“Then get over here.” Jaemin grins devilishly, revelling in the way you practically jump into action, closing off the small space that was between you in an instant.

“Promise that you’ll never call it kissy time again.” Jaemin laughs at your pleading eyes, his hands securing you in his hold as he begins to close the space between you.

“We’ll see…”

Chenle

He’s angry and it’s all your fault. You just can’t help the fact that you find Chenle so attractive when he’s rilled up and about to loose his temper.

It started with you giving him the silent treatment for no reason other than finding it funny. Then it progressed into avoiding his touches, noticing how deep his displeased frown got when he had tired to pull you into a back hug but you quickly stepped away and rushed into the bathroom. After that, Chenle wouldn’t leave you alone, knowing exactly what you were up to just from seeing how pleased you looked with yourself.

But you crossed the line when you dodged his kisses. He’s not having that.

“If you don’t get here and kiss me I’ll-”

“You’ll what?” You sassily cut in, failing to hide the amusement you’re taking from seeing your boyfriend so wound up. You can’t help the fact that Chenle is so easy to annoy.

He glares at you. No more words. Just glares. His unfinished threat hanging in the air of the silent room while you wait for Chenle to say something.

Before you know what’s happening, he’s sprung into action, pacing towards you before - albeit a little rougher than he intends to - grabbing you by the waist with one hand, cupping your cheek with the other and smashing his lips into yours.

“Do you really want to know now?” He dares you, mumbling the question into your lips before diving back in without giving you a chance to answer.

When he feels you kiss back without any resistance he grins into your lips, understanding that you have surrendered to his challenge.

Jisung

How the random conversation had lead to this you’re unsure. The last you can comprehend is hearing Mark mention a fact he’d recently read in an article about reasons to date your best friend. Everyone had dismissed his statement with a laugh or teasing remark, except for Jisung who had taken it in silently.

That was almost a week ago now and while it was mostly forgotten by everyone, Jisung hadn’t let it go. It’s mostly because he’s had a crush on you for quite a while now and, along with the fact that you have a good friendship, Jisung thinks that Mark’s statement is all the more reason to finally make a move on you.

“I want you to kiss me so bad…” He gulps, whispering breathlessly. “Please…”

This is definitely not what you were expecting him to say when you’d received his message asking you to come over. You had just assumed he wanted to get food or play video games or something, like you usually do. But the second you had stepped through the threshold of his apartment, Jisung had grabbed you by the wrist and dragged you into his room where he wasted no time in confessing how he feels.

“Sungie,” He watches the sheepish smirk that slowly makes its way across your lips. “If you want us to kiss then you need to be the one to kiss me…” You’re teasing him, making eye contact with him through your lashes.

Sucking in a sharp breath, you prepare yourself for the conversation you’re about to have as you spot Taehyung arrive, glancing around the busy cafe until his eyes meet yours.

“Is everything ok?” Taehyung asks as he reaches your table and slides into the chair beside you. He looks worried, his brows furrowed and bottom lip slightly jutted out as he waits for your answer.

You’re incredibly endeared by his concern, although you do understand that your text was vague. All you’d messaged was for him to meet you at the cafe as soon as possible and that it was urgent. You didn’t want to go into too much detail in case it deferred him from coming. This conversation must be carried out in person.

“My mom called this morning…” You inhale a deep breath. Taehyung watches you through large, concerned eyes, intently. “…and she wants to meet us for lunch tomorrow.”

You can almost see the cogs turning inside Taehyung’s mind as he processes this information.

“Us? Like me - your boyfriend - and you?” His unsure voice airs, pointing his index finger between the two of you as he speaks. “Huh…” he mulls when you nod, his gaze casting off to the side in thought.

The seconds that pass seem to drag, leaving you on the edge of your seat for his answer. Your hands begin to fidget with each other where they are placed on the table in front of you. But then Taehyung’s unreadable expression begins to morph into a sheepish grin.

“I guess I made quite the impression then.” His hand extends to cover yours, halting your fingers from their nervous movements.

You forget how to breathe.

“We make a great team.”

~

Taehyung strides confidently into the locker rooms, a proud smirk etched onto his face as he slugs his gym bag off his shoulder and it thuds onto the wooden bench in front of him.

He doesn’t normally like having to attend practice on a Sunday. But after his meeting with you, he’s been put in a good mood.

“What’s got you looking so smug?” Jimin is the first to notice the captains mood.

The truth is, Taehyung is unbelievably happy to be playing your boyfriend for a second time. After how smoothly your sisters engagement party went and how much he had enjoyed your company, he had found himself arriving home hoping for another opportunity to arise. And it seems that someone has been looking over him and granting his wishes.

He regrets chickening out of kissing you before he said goodbye the previous night, but even more so, Taehyung regrets pushing you away for so long. Particularly now he knows how well you are able to work together.

“I haven’t seen him look like that since he first started dating Elena.” Jin comments, the name of Taehyung’s ex snapping him back into reality.

“Oh yeah - he’s definitely loved up!” Hoseok joins in.

Taehyung rolls his eyes at his friends. He’s not in love. No way. He’s just enjoying your company and helping you out by pretending to be your boyfriend. Definitely not loved up.

But it seems that his teammates are sold by his unusual positivity, the entire room filling with noise as they all begin to share their opinions in one go.

“Hey!” Taehyung bellows, gaining everyone’s attention. “Has it not occurred to any of you that I could just be in a good mood?”

But the responses of his team make him frown.

“No.”

“Definitely not.”

“Yeah right.”

“Ugh.” He huffs. “Just get outside. Time to practice.” He instructs, walking out to the field with the rest of the group following behind.

~

Monday rolls around quicker than you want it to, bringing with it the dreaded lunch with your mother.

After receiving a message from Taehyung informing you of his arrival, you quickly finish getting ready before rushing outside of your dorm building. You find him leant up against the red brick wall beside the entrance, occupied by his phone.

Clearing your throat to get his attention, you feel yourself grow shy when his head snaps up and he lets a light “Woah…” escape his lips.

“I didn’t realise it was such a formal occasion.” Taehyung begins. “I would have dressed up more otherwise…” he trails off, looking down at his more casual attire in scrutiny.

Yes, you’d dressed up more formally than one would typically expect for a Monday lunch. But this isn’t just any weekday lunch.

Regardless of Taehyung’s doubt over his outfit, he still looks breathtaking to you and you know that your mother would never hold him to the same nit picky standards she does for you. It was made abundantly clear at the party that she took an instant liking towards Taehyung.

“Where my mother is concerned, there’s no such thing as overdressed.” You joke. “You’ll learn that in time.”

Taehyung simply nods, mouth still ajar. He’s not sure what catches his attention more, how stunningly beautiful you are or the fact that you insinuate there’ll be more times like this ahead.

Meanwhile, you are mentally cringing at yourself for your slip up. It sounded like you have expectations of more to come with your relationship. Which shouldn’t even be entertained considering this arrangement has already lasted far longer than it should have done.

~

Your mothers face lights up when you arrive. Greeting you both warmly as you approach her table. Your hand slips into Taehyung’s as you get closer, feeling him accept your fingers as they thread between his and squeezing your palm in silent support.

“It’s so lovely to see you again.” She directs towards you both, welcoming you warmly as you take a seat. “Thank you for joining me.”

“It’s our pleasure.” Taehyung beams, putting on the charm for your mother without a hint of hesitation. You have to suppress the shock of how smoothly he is able to transition from the Taehyung you have come to know to Taehyung your boyfriend.

“I must say, I am slightly surprised you turned up together.” You mother begins to laugh, making your posture tense further. “Your sister seemed to be convinced that you’d turn up alone darling.” Your mother directs to you. The way her eyes soften as she admits this makes you feel queasy. You know it’s all for the sake of your boyfriend though, she’s rarely this empathetic.

You look like a dear caught in headlights, frozen in your seat as you comprehend her comment. You feel Taehyung shift in the seat beside you, clearly understanding the dig from your mother and the apparent suspicion from your sister. No amount of faux care can trick him.

“Luckily we have evening classes on a Monday. Right baby?” Taehyung politely informs, managing to control the bitterness that begins to bubble in his stomach from your family’s clear lack of faith in you.

For some reason, he feels protective. Like he wants to swaddle you in cotton wool to protect your delicate ears. It hurts him to see someone else’s parents treat their own child with such ill intentions, purposefully informing them of snarky gossip from other family members. Your mother didn’t need to share your sisters doubts about your relationship. But, either way, Taehyung will not stand for it as long as he is around.

You’re still yet to speak up, forcing yourself to be occupied by the menu as a way to evade the topic of conversation.

You’re incredibly thankful, once again, for Taehyung always sticking up for you. He seems to have noticed fairly quickly that your mother wouldn’t dare question him about your relationship or argue back with him. And in thanks to him, you decide you need to say something to move the conversation onto a more lighthearted topic, adamant on raising above your mothers quip.

“Everything sounds delicious!” You overly enthuse. “Anything taking your fancy Tae?”

Finally tearing your gaze from the menu, you peer innocently towards him.

“Oh I’ve got my eye on something.” He smirks, confidently staring at you.

Whether he is speaking the truth or over-playing the part for the sake of being believable, you’re unsure. All you know is that you are affected by him dramatically.

In all honesty, you feel so stupid for ever thinking that your mother wanted lunch with you because she had taken a genuine interest in your life. It seems that, as always, Ruby is still the one that rules your parents love and support.

Although, you will admit that having Taehyung beside you makes it a million times more bearable. The irony of it all when he’s the one that used to pick on you and make unnecessary comments. Now he’s the one protecting you from them instead.

The remainder of lunch passes uneventfully, which you are thankful for. Taehyung continued to make a show of his affection towards you, and you had fed into it for the sake of believability. However, it’s on the walk back to campus that you notice something is plaguing him.

“Thank you for helping me again.” You voice, a little unsure how to break the silence between you. Taehyung’s stoic expression makes you nervous. He’s intimidating when he’s mad and, unlike before all of this fake relationship when you wouldn’t have cared much, you feel guilty.

“What did your sister say to you at the party that made you turn ill?” He’s stern, the abruptness of his tone making you shudder. You had no idea he’d even noticed your conversation with Ruby. Wasn’t he too preoccupied by your cousins children?

Your mind flashes back to that moment, her words echoing in your head again. He understands you more than even myself… you’re made for each other…

“Just how she thought we made a great couple.” You force yourself to hold his eye contact, worried smile etched onto your face. You’re technically not lying, just not giving away the whole truth. But you fear Taehyung can tell there’s more than you let on.

He’s sure of it.

“And?…” He presses, knowing that you’ll cave in under the pressure. He doesn’t like having to force you to tell him things, but right now it feels necessary.

“Well… it wasn’t really what she said.” You’re cautious. “More how it made me feel.”

By this point, you’ve reached the entrance to your building. However, Taehyung has made no attempt to let you off just because you’ve reached home. No. If anything, it’s making him more persistent.

“How did it make you feel?” He steps up to you. It’s almost torture how close his body is to yours, merely a hairs breadth away but not touching; skin ghosting skin. It makes you weak for him and he knows it.

You want to blurt everything out. How safe you feel when he’s around and how everything seems a little bit brighter because of his presence. How, when he’s gone, you miss him almost immediately and find yourself fantasising about what it would be like to invite him up to your small room, to have him hold you for the sake of wanting to, not because he has to.

“I felt like I wasn’t alone anymore.”

You’re hoping that he understands without the need for any further explanation. That, despite having attended huge family gatherings like that your entire life, you’d always felt so alone until you’d bought Taehyung along.

You don’t expect the kiss that Taehyung presses to your forehead, his hands finally caving in and holding your waist. Even if it is only for half a second.

“Anytime you need me, I’ll be there.” His promise floods you with emotions you’ve never felt before. Maybe Taehyung really does understand you more than anyone else.

~

It’s been just over a week since you last saw Taehyung. With so many assignments to complete and trying to recover from the aftermath of your family, you feel like time has just flown by.

Of course, while you’ve not seen each other in person for a while, that doesn’t mean you haven’t had any contact. Quite the opposite in fact.

Everyday you spend hours smiling at your phone screen like an idiot, always as the result of receiving a message or stupid meme from Taehyung. He’s been the main reason for your laughter on a daily basis, finding his unique humour and, more generally, the way he views the world so amusing.

Simultaneously, between the pressures of classes and football practice, Taehyung has found your conversations the best way for him to relax. Where things concern you, he’s not the captain of the football team or the wildly popular ‘it boy’, he’s just Taehyung; it’s nice to be seen simply as who he is, rather than who everyone builds him up to be.

Once again, Taehyung has found himself hoping for another opportunity to play your boyfriend. Once again, he continues to scold himself for being too afraid to make a move on you; a real one. He doesn’t understand how he can want to kiss someone so much, desperately wanting to be able to call you his and, yet, he’s unable to fully express his feelings. Especially when he is able to do it while pretending.

But that’s just the thing. Pretending isn’t real. If you were to push his affections away while he’s your fake boyfriend, then at least he can cover it up with the excuse of committing to his role.

What is real, however, is the message that lights up his phone screen. It’s from you. And he almost can’t believe his eyes when he reads what you’ve sent.

You need him to accompany you to a picnic at the weekend. Orders specifically from your mother for Taehyung to attend. He doesn’t think he’s ever smiled as wide as he is now, typing his reply to you.

The universe seems to work in mysterious ways.

~

The picnic, as it turns out, is an annual occasion reserved for just your parents, your sister and her fiancée and you. Taehyung finds this out once he is already there. He supposes it’s a good thing for your mothers insistence for him to join because it indicates that she believes in your relationship enough for your boyfriend to be included as immediate family.

Sat on the old woollen blanket with your legs outstretched before you, you have found comfort in leaning your upright body into Taehyung’s side. Both of his arms are stretched behind him, palms on the long strands of uncut grass to leverage himself and you.

Your family are currently engaged in a highly competitive game of frisbee; it’s literally the only time of year they play. Competing in your couples, the aim of the game is to catch the other team out. If you throw and they miss, you win a point for your team. With you and Taehyung currently refereeing, the first game is well underway.

“I wish you’d told me it was just going to be the six of us.” Taehyung bows his head a little in order to keep his voice low. He doesn’t want any eavesdroppers, even though your family seems to be intensely occupied by the game.

“Would it have made a difference if I had?” You lightheartedly retort.

“Oh yeah, I would have run a mile.” He teases, body rumbling with laughter as your fist lightly thumps his chest.

“Oh hush,” You reprimand. “What happened to I’ll be there anytime?” You mockingly mimic Taehyung’s words from before.

With your head resting on his chest, you’re unable to see the devilish smirk that plays across his lips. And before you have any time to register what’s happening, Taehyung has grabbed you by the waist and twisted your bodies so you both fall back onto the ground facing each other.

You let out a squeal upon the sudden attack, the side of your body hitting the earth with a thud.

“What was that for!” You try to scold him, but with the coy look on his face, it’s impossible not to find it all amusing.

Taehyung simply shrugs - well, half shrugs - in response, the soft sounds of your giggles the only noise between you.

It’s now that you realise just how close he’s pulled you. How, laying together on the ground, your faces are only a few inches apart. You then feel the urge to reach your fingers out so you can brush the hair that has fallen across his face away. And with the way he watches you so intently, you become increasingly aware of your own heartbeat.

“Hey!” You both jolt, head snapping to find Ruby stood at your feet. She looks wound up. “You didn’t keep count of the scores.”

“Honey, give them a break.” Max approached her side, his hand smoothing over her shoulder. “You remember what it was like to be newly in love.”

Max clearly has a way of making your sister let things go, you’ve never seen her back down so quickly.

“Fine.” She rolls her eyes. “It’s your turn anyway. Up you get!” She bosses, offering her hand out to pull you to your feet.

Reaching your waiting parents, you go to shake their hands, nodding affirmatively before you take your place, ready for the game to begin. You notice Taehyung finding your families seriousness towards a simple game of frisbee quite amusing. Clearly, no one has made him aware of what’s at stake here.

Bragging rights for the next year.

You hear Max count down from three and you spring into action the second you hear him shout go.

It’s intense from the offset. With your father making the first throw go so far you have to sprint to try and catch it before it hits the ground.

Luckily for you, Taehyung is fast on his feet. He manages to catch the frisbee with ease before running back and hurling it through the air in your mothers direction.

The game grows more intense with every passing second and so with it, does Taehyung’s competitive streak. He’s incredible, working with you to try and catch your parents out. On a particularly good throw by yourself, Taehyung rushes over to you, picking you up and spinning you around after your father was unable to catch it.

It’s the most fun you’ve ever had.

A few more turns are taken before the frisbee is sent flying your way again. It takes flight so high in the air that you know you need to make the highest jump you possibly can to catch it.

Zeroing in on the plastic disc, you ready yourself. Bending your knees and jumping with as much force as you can muster into the air.

“Yes!” You hear Taehyung’s deep voice cheer as you regain your balance with the frisbee clutched tightly to your chest. “That’s my baby!”

You’re amazed you actually caught it. But, somehow, your attention is focused more on Taehyung’s competitiveness. Anyone would think you just achieved the impossible judging by his reaction.

“Time!” You hear Ruby shout from the picnic blanket. And then reality comes rushing in.

You won. For the first time ever, you actually won the frisbee match. And it’s all because you had Taehyung.

“We did it!” You cry elatedly, falling into Taehyung’s arms as he gives you the biggest hug possible. “I’ve never actually won one of these before.”

“I told you we make a great team.” He reminds proudly.

You notice how everyone else has already retired to the picnic blankets again once you’ve pulled apart from Taehyung’s embrace. Grabbing his hand, you both rejoin the group with huge grins.

“That was the most intense game I’ve had in ages!” Your father praises. “I’ll have to put in extra practice for next year.”

You hear Taehyung respond to your father as you take a seat, accepting the way he pulls your body into his side and wraps his arm around you.

Next year.

It echo’s your mind, bringing you down from the euphoria of winning to torture you. Then reality sinks back in. That Taehyung isn’t your real boyfriend, that he won’t be joining your family picnic next year…

While your family falls into lighthearted conversation, pouring fresh drinks and enjoying the lovely day, you become more subdued. Folding on into yourself with each passing second until you feel like you can’t handle it anymore. You need some space.

“I-I’m going to find the restroom.” You suddenly announce, standing from the blanket and hurriedly walking away.

Taehyung frowns as he watches you leave. He’d noticed something was troubling you, but felt he couldn’t press to find out in front of your family, who remained oblivious. But now you’ve walked away, he knows he needs to go after you. He needs to make sure that you are ok.

~

“Why did you run away?” Taehyung catches up to you, stopping you from walking any further by grabbing onto your arm.

“I think I made a mistake bringing you here.” Your bottom lip quivers. “This isn’t right.”

“What’s not right about it?” His voice is soft, willing you to open up to him. He wants you to be able to tell him anything. He wants to be the person to make all the hurt and upset go away. “It certainly feels right to me.”

“We’re not a real couple Tae!” Your voice comes out more forceful than you intend it to, freeing your arm from his hold from the strength of your exasperation.

“So you think I should stop?” He looks hurt. “That we should just stop this?” His hands gesture between you.

“Yes! No - I don’t know!” You contemplate back and forth aloud before finally casting your sorrowful gaze onto him. “I’m petrified of my feelings towards you.”

“What makes you think that I don’t feel the same?” Taehyung’s question feels like a punch to the lungs, his quick rebuttal catching you so off guard. You stare at him wordlessly, allowing for all the things you said to hang in the air around you.

“Baby, how could you not notice how much I adore you…” Taehyung takes a step towards you, closing off the little space that separates you from him. He’s looking at you like no one else ever has, like you’re the only thing he sees, his whole world.

“How could you not see that I’m in love with you…” You allow his hands to find refuge on your waist.

“That it’s always been you.”

And just like that everything clicks in your mind. His constant watching you, all the comments he’d made to draw your attention onto him, sitting next to you in the classes you shared despite his apparent dislike towards you, his willingness to be your fake boyfriend, to interact with your family and make a show of his affection. Every pet name, every delicate kiss he placed on your skin, every longing look and lingering touch.

With the way you look at him, Taehyung is sure that your eyes hold all the stars in the universe. He knows this is his now or never moment.

So he takes the plunge, diving in head first, capturing your lips in his. You don’t think you will ever be able to find a way to describe how Taehyung truly makes you feel. All you know is that you want him to hold you and never let go; to kiss you and never stop. To be yours forever.

~ Epilogue ~

One year later

“Tae hurry!” The urgency in your voice is mellowed by your uncontainable laughter. You’re unable to keep still as you wait for him by the door, watching as he rushes about to pull his shoes on and grab his jacket. It’s comical how clumsy he is when rushing about. “My sister will never forgive me if we’re late to her wedding!”

“Ok, ready.” He affirms, grabbing your hand as you leave.

The last year has been a whirlwind. After the day of your family picnic, you finally went on a proper date with Taehyung, and it didn’t take you long to become official for real. It was at the end of the academic year when you both decided to find a place together outside of campus and from that moment onwards, you’ve continued to fall in love more and more everyday.

Then there was the matter of bringing a plus one to your sisters wedding. You’d teased Taehyung for days about how you were unsure who to bring as your date. But, don’t worry, he got his own back on you after you began to find the joke boring and actually asked him to go with you (despite both of you knowing he would be going all along).

Reality is, you couldn’t be any happier with each other. So maybe your stupid lie to your parents wasn’t so stupid after all.