Sweet
Dreamcatcher's Dami x M!Reader
Note: Hey! Sorry for not updating for like a month-ish, and May will be the worst month yet personally. But appreciate everyone for waiting, and I will be trying to get all the requests here!
Also, happy 800 followers!
For the first time in a while, Dami wakes up to silence. Not the eerie, post-apocalyptic kind, but the kind of silence that has birds chirping somewhere far off, a breeze politely brushing the curtains, and not a single person yelling about makeup calls or dance rehearsals.
12 pm
No alarm. No schedule. No morning manager texts with twenty exclamation marks and a picture of her half-asleep face attached. Just⊠the countryside.
Dami sits on the edge of the futon, stretching her arms above her head as the sunlight slips through the wooden blinds and kisses her skin like itâs apologizing for yesterdayâs heatwave. Her hairâs a little messy, one sock's missing, and her bucket hat is tossed haphazardly on the windowsill like it, too, needed a vacation.
âSo,â she says to the room, which contains nothing but a suitcase, a folded map she still doesnât know how to read, and one very confused-looking butterfly thatâs been following her since last night, âwhat do people even do out here?â
She grabs her phone. Barely any signal. Of course.
And honestly, good.
She didnât come out here to scroll through news articles or check her tagged posts. She came here because something inside herâsomething small and sharpâhad been aching for quiet. For stillness. For a chance to hear herself think without the echo of someone elseâs voice layered on top.
Still, she hadnât exactly planned anything. One minute she was signing off her final company commitment with a polite bow and a box of donuts, and the next, she was staring out the window of a bus heading toward some random, green-splashed town with more cows than people, with now waking up after an interesting sleep in a small inn.
Her stomach growls. Loudly. Dramatically. Like it also wasnât expecting to be in the middle of nowhere this morning.
Dami pats her hoodie pocket, pulling out the scrap of a tourist brochure sheâd snagged from the bus stop. The inkâs smudged, one cornerâs ripped, and the translation is⊠well. Creative.
She reads aloud.
ââTry taste our sweet store candy: handmade with love and sugar of honest heart.ââ
She blinks. Then reads it again.
âSweet store,â she murmurs, narrowing her eyes at the fuzzy little photo beside the text. It shows a small, wooden-fronted shop with faded awnings, jars of pastel-coloured candy lined up on the window display, and a blurry figure sweeping the porch like theyâre trying not to be in frame.
Itâs oddly charming. Like something out of a slice-of-life drama where everyone has a tragic backstory and nothing really happens except people discovering the meaning of life through tea.
Dami pulls on her bucket hat.
âAlright,â she mutters, half to herself, half to the moth still chilling by the curtain, âletâs go and get sugar rush.â
The wooden door creaks when she pushes it open, and a small brass bell tinkles from aboveâsoft, delicate, the kind of sound that makes you instinctively lower your voice even though no oneâs around. The place smells like nostalgia and melted sugar, warm and heavy, clinging to the air like a childhood memory that refuses to fade.
Shelves line the small space, some slanted from age, others patched up with duct tape and what she assumes is leftover washi paper. Glass jars filled with brightly coloured sweets gleam under the filtered morning lightâbarley candies, flower-shaped jellies, dried persimmon gummies, and those ridiculously addictive sesame crisps that break your teeth but heal your soul.
Itâs quiet, except for the low whirr of a fan in the corner and the soft crackle of something cooking behind the counter.
And then she hears it.
That very familiar string of muffled curses.
âMotherfâhotâwhy is everything so stickyââ
She rounds the corner just in time to see youâyou, apron on, sleeves rolled up, face flushed from the steam of whatever candy cauldron youâve got bubbling away. Youâve got your hair slicked back with a fork (an actual one, probably stolen from last nightâs takeout), and your fingers are expertly folding a ribbon of molten sugar onto a wooden board with practiced ease.
âWow,â she says before she can stop herself, leaning against the counter. âYou actually did it.â
You jerk at the voice, almost drop your taffy paddle, and turn with the slow, wide-eyed look of someone who just saw their midterm professor walk into a karaoke bar.
ââŠYubin?â Your voice cracks a little on the last syllable.
She grins. âTold you Iâd haunt you eventually.â
âYouâyouâre here?â You look around like you forgot where here is. âIn this town? In my shop??â
âYour shop,â she repeats, letting the words roll off her tongue. âDidnât expect to see you here either. Last I checked, you moved out of our hometown right after middle school. I figured youâd be somewhere in the city by now, overworked, underfed, and buried in a pile of part-time jobs.â
âI was,â you say, still trying to process the fact that Dami, middle school buddy/crush turned K-pop idol, is standing in your candy shop like she just walked in off a sitcom set.
âBut then my aunt handed me the keys to this place last year and dipped to Jeju, so now Iâm here. Day job: sugar gremlin. Night job: dying over assignments.â
Damiâs laugh is quiet, a little nostalgic. âSo we both escaped.â
You blink. âHuh? What do you mean?â
She shrugs, walking slowly around the small shop, fingers skimming along the counter. âContract ended. No rush to renew anything. Figured Iâd disappear for a week. Rest. Breathe. Maybe find myself in a bag of chestnut toffee.â
You smirk. âThat oneâs on that shelf on the left, right next to the emotional damage gummies.â
Her eyes light up. âOoh, limited edition?â
âHand-pulled bitterness,â you say with mock pride. âBest seller. The damn kids kept buying it for challenges.â
For a moment, the two of you just stand there, grinning like itâs still math class and youâre trying not to get caught passing notes behind your textbooks.
âSmall world, huh,â she finally says.
âStupidly small,â you reply.
And just like that, the years between middle school and now feel like theyâve folded into something softer. Like saltwater taffy stretched thin but never snapped. You both left the same town. Took different trains. Ended up back at the same platform anyway.
âHey,â she says, suddenly sheepish. âYou mind if I hang out a bit? I didnât really have a plan for the day.â
You glance at the clock. Your next batch of plum jellies still needs to set, and your current batch is probably imploding as you speakâbut honestly?
âOnly if you help wrap these,â you say, nudging the pile of cooling candies toward her.
She raises an eyebrow. âYouâre putting the idol to work?â
You toss her a spare apron. âYouâre the one who walked into my shop, miss.â
Dami catches it midair, laughter trailing behind her like powdered sugar in the wind, and just like that, your quiet little candy shop becomes something warmer.
-
If there was a camera in the shop right nowâjust one, even a dusty old CCTV oneâyouâre pretty sure this moment would go viral. Dami, former girl group cool-icon, multi-talented performer, deadpan queen of stage presence⊠is currently fighting for her life against a roll of wax paper and losing.
âWhy is it curling like this?â she mutters, brow furrowed, as the sheet sheâs trying to cut keeps flipping back onto itself like it has a grudge. âThe hell is this? Did you curse it?â
You, very professionally, do not laugh.
At least not out loud.
Youâre by the counter, refilling the sesame crisp jars, trying to focus on literally anything other than the sight of her trying to measure and fold wax paper with all the grace of a kitten learning to walk on ice. Every few seconds she mutters something to herselfâsome half-hearted insult aimed at the paper, your shop, or gravityâand it takes every ounce of willpower not to burst into full, wheezing laughter.
âI thought idols were supposed to be good with their dedicate hands,â you say mildly, glancing over just in time to see the tape dispenser get caught in her sleeve. "âŠand not cursing."
âI was,â she shoots back, trying to wrangle it off with one hand. âThis is bullshit. Youâre sabotaging me. This is revenge for the time I told everyone in class you had a crush on that substitute teacher.â
Your eyes narrow. âYou mean Ms. Park? The one everyone had a crush on?â
âShe wore collared shirt and glasses,â she deadpans. âTo be fair, it was the look.â
"Still is, you know that." You scoff and toss her the little candy label stickers. âHere. Just put these on the wrappers. Itâs harder to mess that up.â
âYou say that like itâs hard,â she mutters, peeling one off with exaggerated care.
You both settle into a rhythmâher sitting at the low table, tongue peeking out a little in concentration as she sticks labels onto neat little plastic-wrapped candies, and you at the counter, folding paper boxes while the soft hum of an old fan and the distant chirp of birds fills the air.
Itâs oddly peaceful. Domestic, almost. If someone walked in, theyâd probably mistake you two for co-owners or an old married couple running a family shop passed down for generations.
âHow long have you been here now?â she asks suddenly, her tone gentler this time.
You pause, thinking. âAboutâŠnine months? Moved in right before spring. My aunt used to run this place, but her knees started acting up. Gave me the keys, said, âItâs your problem now, kiddo,â and ran off to Jeju with her yoga group.â
Dami huffs a laugh. âSounds about right. You always said you wanted something quiet.â
âI said I wanted peace,â you correct her, holding up a half-folded candy box like itâs proof. âDidnât realize peace included burning my hands on hot syrup every week.â
She smiles, but thereâs a softness behind it now. âStill⊠I get it. The quiet. The slowness.â
You glance at her, noticing the way sheâs leaning slightly forward now, elbows on her knees, the faintest crease between her brows.
âWas it hard?â you ask, voice lower.
She doesnât pretend to misunderstand. Doesnât deflect with a joke this time.
âMaybe a bit,â she admits. âItâs weird. Youâre surrounded by people all the time, but⊠you get so used to performing, itâs like you forget how to just be. No cameras. No pressure. Just⊠existing.â
You nod, slowly. âWell, youâre existing now. And apparently waging war against packaging.â
"Shut itâŠ" She snorts. âItâs humbling.â
"Well, you're welcome, missy." You throw a jellybean at her. She dodges it with the reflexes of someone whoâs been through years of dance practice and too many fan-thrown plushies.
âYa,â she says, suddenly grinning. âRemember that time we had to do that candy fundraiser in school and you accidentally dropped a whole tray of lollipops down the stairwell in front of everyone?â
You groan. âPlease donât bring that up. Iâm still emotionally scarred.â
âI think you cried.â
âI twitched,â you say defensively.
âYou sobbed.â
You stare at her. âYouâre never helping in this shop again.â
She laughsâreally laughsâand the sound fills the little space like something old and familiar, something you didnât know you missed. You lean back against the counter, watching her with an amused smile and a warmth settling quietly in your chest.
Itâs strange.
How someone can be gone for years, grow up into someone bigger, brighter, more distantâand yet still sit here, in your little candy shop, struggling with tape and teasing you like no time passed at all.
Maybe the universe isnât so bad.
Maybe it brought her back right when you both needed something sweet.
-
By day two, youâve already made a sign that reads:
âYubinâs Specials â Limited Editionâ
You prop it up right outside the door.
She sees it.
She groans.
âYouâre seriously using me as clickbait,â she says, holding a tray of chestnut taffies she just helped wrap.
âOf course I am,â you say proudly. âAnd youâre doing amazing, Lee Yubin.â
âYou didnât evenâŠfckingâŠtrain me.â
You shrug. âTrial by sugar.â
It turns out people really like candy made by a former Dreamcatcher member. Even if her wrappers are a bit lopsided and she keeps messing up the ribbon curls. Tourists stumble in with giddy grins, locals pretend not to fangirl too hard, and somehow even the old grump from the vegetable stand next door stops by for two packs of barley candy and whispers, âWasnât she on TV?â
You nod solemnly. âSheâs our intern now. We pay her in red bean mochi and my yapping.â
Dami, whoâs been quietly tying goody bags in the back, shouts, âI heard that!â
And so, business booms.
Your little shop starts getting lines out the door. A couple from Seoul asks if this is the place that sells Damiâs Panda Honey Drops.
You blink. âThatâs not a real thing.â
They pull up a blog post on their phone on Dami's Insta.
...Okay, apparently it is now.
Meanwhile, Dami slips further and further into her âinternâ role. You catch her giving free samples to a group of shy high schoolers, writing little notes on wrappers like âDonât forget to restâ and âFighting! â. They leave with red cheeks and stars in their eyes.
âYouâre stealing my customers,â you tell her.
She looks too smug. âYour fault for using me as clickbait.â
âYouâre fired.â
âYou canât afford to fire me,â she says, stretching with a yawn. âThe people love me. Iâm your brand now.â
"Tsk." You try to glare, but end up grinning instead.
The rest of the day is a blur of sugar, laughs, and the occasional candy-stick swordfight during slow hours (you lost, tragically). By the time the sun starts setting, the shopâs pretty much wiped clean.
You hang the "Closed" sign and wipe your hands on your apron. âWe survived another day, Yubin.â
She stretches again, slower this time, her frame outlined by the golden hour light streaming in through the door. âYouâve got a good thing here,â she murmurs. âItâs cozy.â
âCozy?â you echo. âThatâs your review?â
She shrugs. âCozy. Honest. Kind of⊠nice.â
You blink at her. That was a bit more real than expected. But before you can say anything, sheâs already slipping past you to hang up her apron.
âWhere you going?â you ask.
She turns around with that trademark poker face, then lifts her brows. âObviously to help you out in the neighbourhood, boss. You said this gig comes with overtime two days ago.â
You snort. âOf course. Itâs not a full experience unless you also carry bags of flour for Mrs. Hwang and untangle Mr. Jangâs fairy lights that have no business being up in spring.â
She grins. âLead the way, boss.â
So you both head out to the warm neighbourhood. A few kids run past with grape lollipops from your shop still clutched in sticky hands. A dog you only kinda know jumps up on Dami and she laughs, crouching down to ruffle its ears.
Mrs. Hwang waves from her porch and hands you a small plate of rice cakes. âFor the idol girl. Tell her thank you for helping me bring in my laundry yesterday.â
You smile. âSheâs right here, you know.â
Mrs. Hwang squints. âYou wonât pass it on?â
âMaâam, sheâsânever mind.â
Mr. Jang yells from two houses down. âI tell you two, those lights are seasonal! They just work better than the porch lamp!â
âThey blink like a horror movie!â you shout back.
Damiâs laughing the entire time, shoulders shaking, eyes bright. Not in that polite, polished way for cameras, but in the way you remember from middle schoolâwhen she fell off the jungle gym and laughed before she even hit the ground.
And you realize⊠she fits here.
A little too well.
Like sheâs always belonged in the quiet lull between candy jars and nosy neighbours. Like maybe this week off wasnât a random break, but a breadcrumb trail back to something she forgot she needed.
Later that night, youâre both back at the shop.
Sheâs lounging at the back table again, sipping warm barley tea, while you log sales for the day. The numbers are ridiculous. You glare at her from behind your laptop.
âYou made more money for me in two days than I did in a whole month,â you say flatly.
âI accept my payment in roasted rice crackers and lifelong bragging rights.â
You throw her one from the snack shelf. She catches it easily, smirking.
You watch her for a moment. The way she sits so comfortably in this space, even after years of stages and screaming crowds. The way she hums under her breath without realizing it.
âHey,â you say softly. âYou really okay out here in the middle of nowhere?â
She looks up. Meets your eyes.
âYeah,â she says after a second. âIt's nice.â
And somehow, it would be nice to have her here with you too.
-
The next morning, you woke up to birds chirping way too cheerily for someone who spent all night boiling malt candy until their soul nearly evaporated. You barely cracked your eyes open before tossing a hoodie over your head, grabbing a cooler, and jogging to her place and banging on Damiâs dorm door like the tax collector.
She groaned from the other side. âItâs not even 9 am.â
âExactly. Prime beach hour. Letâs go.â
You didnât wait for her to protest.
Half an hour later, you were both trudging across soft sand, you with your cooler slung over your shoulder, and Dami squinting at the ocean like it personally owed her money.
âWhat are we doing here?â she muttered.
âShut up and relax,â you said, tossing her a can from the cooler. âThatâs an order.â
She looked down at the cold beer in her hand, eyebrow raised. âIs this really allowed?â
âDo you see cops?â
âNoâwait, actually, that guy over thereââ
âThatâs a fisherman, Yubin.â
âSame energy.â
You rolled your eyes and sat down first, your legs stretched out toward the water. The tide was lazy today, dragging the foam in and out like it was breathing. Beside you, Dami plopped down with a sigh so dramatic it could've won an award.
Then she opened the can.
And for the first time in daysâmaybe weeks, maybe monthsâshe really breathed.
The kind that filled her lungs, her chest, her ribs. Not just the automatic inhales for survival. No, this one was different. Deep. Slow. Like she hadnât realized how little air sheâd been taking in until now.
Her eyes drifted toward the horizon. âGod⊠itâs quiet here.â
You cracked your own beer open with a soft hiss. âThatâs why the shop is here.â
She sipped. Then again. âThis might be the best thing Iâve tasted all year.â
You nudged her shoulder with yours. âItâs not the beer. Itâs peace, Yubin.â
âCringe.â
You both laughed. But then, slowly, it settled. The silence. The soft rhythm of waves brushing the shore. The clink of aluminium as your cans tapped the ground.
And her voice came quieter this time. Less of a joke. âIâve been thinking.â
âYou think?â
"Shush, you." She ignored you. âWhat if I didnât go back?â
You blinked. âTo Seoul?â
She nodded, eyes still on the sea. âTo that life. Schedules. Spotlights. Deadlines. Everyone watching everything I do⊠waiting for the next thing to eat me alive.â
You stayed quiet. Let her talk.
âI could stay,â she said softly. âHere. In the countryside. Wake up when I want. Help out. Run a small cafĂ© maybe. Or just⊠nothing at all. Isnât that enough?â
You took a slow sip. âYouâre drunk.â
âIâve had three sips.â
âExactly. Drunk. Aren't you lightweighted?â
She turned to look at you fully now. âIâm serious.â
So were you. Because you leaned in just a little, reached out, and smacked her on the head.
Harder than you meant to.
She yelped. âWhat the hell?!â
âYou donât get to say that like itâs simple,â you snapped. âLike youâre just tired of singing and poofâyouâre gone. You worked your whole life for this. And now what? You want to throw it away because you got a week off and tasted quiet?â
Her expression shifted. Something between hurt and frustration. âYou think itâs that easy for me to let go? You think I havenât been thinking about it for months? Every single day? When I wake up feeling hollow, go to sleep feeling watched, smile until my jaw hurts because someone says Iâm their happiness and I donât even know how to find mine anymore?!â
You froze.
The beach didnât.
Waves kept folding into themselves. The wind teased your sleeves. The gulls cried like nothing had happened.
But something had.
ââŠYubin.â
She shook her head, looking away. âIâm tired,â she said again. âReally tired. And I know I joke about retiring, but itâs not a joke anymore. I want to stop. And this place⊠this stupid, quiet, peaceful place⊠itâs the first time I felt like I could breathe.â
You stared at her. At the way her fingers curled around the can like it was the only thing keeping her grounded. At the sea salt sticking to her lashes. At the familiar slouch of her shouldersâthe one you remember from middle school, when the world was too much even then.
And you got it.
Of course you got it.
You just hated that you got it.
ââŠThen stay,â you said finally. Your voice barely louder than the tide. âBut donât stay just because itâs easier. Stay because itâs right. Stay because this is where you heal, not where you hide.â
She didnât answer for a while. But she didnât move either.
The beer grew warm in your hands. A breeze passed, cool and calm. And the sun, despite everything, kept rising.
-
You knew she was leaving the moment she woke up early without you knocking.
The sun wasnât even up yet, just that soft grey light smudging the edge of the sky. You were already at the shop, brewing tea and boxing up the last batch of barley and chestnut candies from the night before. Dami came in, hair still a little damp from the quick shower you assumed she took to hide the puffiness in her eyes.
You didnât say anything.
Just slid over the warm cup.
âThanks,â she mumbled.
You smiled. âSo. Youâre ditching me.â
She huffed out a laugh. âLike you didnât say yesterday that I shouldnât stay just to hide.â
âI meant it. Still doesnât mean I gotta like it.â
Dami smiled into her cup.
The next hour passed the same way the last few days hadâquiet banter, easy rhythm, sugar and wrappers and sweet scents hanging in the air. Except now, the silence had a ticking clock beneath it. You felt it in every glance. Every pause.
When the bell above the door jingled, you looked up mid-wrap and nearly dropped the entire tray.
Because walking into your shop was Dreamcatcherâs Jiu In the flesh. And not just herâsoon behind came a few more heads peeking in. Siyeon waved politely. Yoohyeon smiled wide and said, âOoh! It smells good in here!â like it was a surprise your candy shop did what it said on the tin.
You blinked at them. Then turned to Dami with your most exaggerated fake scowl. âSo this is the kind of company youâve been keeping, huh? Surrounded by literal beauties while Iâve been over here stirring malt syrup and burning my fingers.â
Dami, bless her, turned a shade redder than the strawberry jellies. âShut up,â she muttered.
You grinned.
âSeriously though,â you leaned back, arms crossed, âyou didnât tell me they are this pretty. Makes me feel like the ugly duckling.â
JiU chuckled as she stepped further in. âYou must be the friend she wouldnât shut up about all week.â
You shrugged. âGuilty.â
There was a calm in Damiâs expression now. The quiet kind of peace that comes after a storm. After words were said and decisions were made. She helped you pack the final tin of candiesâher batch, the ones she kept burning the first day until she learned how to mix in rhythm with yours.
You handed it to her.
âThis is for the road,â you said softly. âDonât eat them all in one go. Maybe share with your unnies if they behave.â
Dami took it. Her hands lingered against yours just a second too long.
Then she hugged you.
Not quick. Not awkward. Not half-hearted.
No, she buried herself into your hoodie, arms tight around your middle, like she was trying to memorize the way you felt. Like if she let go too soon, sheâd forget how you laughed when she burned her first sugar pull. Or the way you dragged her to the beach and told her to breathe like it mattered.
And it did. It mattered more than sheâd ever say aloud.
ââŠYou sure?â you whispered.
Her answer came against your chest, muffled and soft. âYeah. I think I gotta come back.â
You nodded, even if she couldnât see it.
Even if some part of you screamed to hold on.
âJust know,â you said, trying to keep your voice steady, âif you ever wanna come backânot just for a week, not just for candyâyouâve got a place.â
She looked up at you then, eyes a little glassy but smiling. âYouâd take me in like a stray cat?â
âIâd exploit you like an unpaid intern again.â
She smacked your arm. âYouâre the worst.â
âYou hugged me for a full minute, dummy.â
âShut up. You're lucky you're cute.â
"Wait huh-" Before you could question, she playfully pushed you back and walked out, ignoring the blushes crept to her cheeks.
The others waved their goodbyes, polite and sweet, as Dami stepped outside. The car door shut with a gentle click, and just like thatâshe was driving off, a blur of black van and sunlight catching on the windshield.
You stood there for a while.
Letting the silence settle. Ignoring the tears left your eyes.
Letting the wind carry away whatever she left behind.
The candy shop was quieter now. But your fingers still smelled like sugar, and your chest still felt full.
Because sometimes, even goodbyes can taste sweet.
Especially when you know itâs not the last one. Just⊠not yet. Not today.
Maybe you will actually tell her next time she comes back.
















