⋆.˚16 ⋮ ⌗ ┆hotel room | FOREVERMORE
your new favourite comfort angsty - friends to lovers story
pairing — yang jungwon x female idol
status — ongoing ִֶָ. ..𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ🪽་༘࿐
synopsis — For years, Yang Jungwon and Min Miyoung have built their lives side by side, sharing stages, memories, and a friendship that quietly became the center of everything. But when Jungwon learns that Mimi is preparing to leave Korea and return to England, the world he thought was certain begins to fall apart. What begins as panic slowly unravels something far more dangerous - feelings he has spent years trying to ignore. Because losing her might mean losing the person who has always been his home.
content warnings — mostly fluff. feel - good, slow-burn romance type of story. toxic family dynamics, generational trauma, slight implications of EDs and Depression.
forevermore playlist 1221
now playing: Love is in the air, John Paul Young
▶︎ •၊၊||၊|။||||။၊|• 1:40
"That was the best night of my life, Unnie."
Semi was lying spread out on her hotel bed, her stage makeup still on, taking deep breaths. She was still trying to process what had just happened.
That night — it had just changed not only the girls themselves, but their entire career.
Mimi was just leaving their shared bathroom in their shared hotel room, hair wrapped in a towel, smiling from ear to ear.
"Tell me about it," she commented, the adrenaline still pumping through her veins even though it had already been hours.
She would certainly never forget this night. Those lights on her, as she shared the most exhilarating, thrilling, most overwhelming feelings of joy and pride and true happiness with the people she loved most in this world. In an almost dramatic way, Mimi hadn't even cared about the cheers, the glory, even though she was thankful for it. It had been yet another milestone in their shared path, one they would always remember, no matter where life would lead each and every one of them someday.
Mimi remembered every moment so deeply, as if the images had already burned themselves into her mind. The stage, the band, the lights, the crowd. The wind in her hair as the atmosphere carried something almost magical. "You know, I thought I would definitely mess up at some point and I know I should be evaluating myself more objectively, but I'm not even going to lie to you. I couldn't fucking care less! Tonight was absolutely perfect. Per-fect, Unnie!" Semi spoke again, still lying on her hotel bed.
"You were a bit flat on the last—"
"Hey!" Laughing, the American girl threw a pillow at Mimi who was now laughing as well.
"I'm joking!" she defended herself as she threw it back and finally let herself drop down next to Semi, both girls now staring at the ceiling above them.
Mimi couldn't even remember her stage fright from earlier. Her best friend had been right: she had truly forgotten all about it as soon as she had stepped onto that stage. Once Mimi checked her phone, she saw his message pop up right away. A selfie with him and the boys, laughing into the camera in front of their TV.
'EPICENTER IS SO COOL!' he had added.
Mimi grinned as she handed Semi the picture. "Look at those cuties," the brown-haired girl commented cheekily before she finally got up herself to wash up as well.
"You know, it's really a shame we couldn't share this moment."
"Their time will come. I bet next year, it's going to be them on there and us watching," Mimi tried to reassure her, but she felt the same way: what would have made tonight absolutely, flawlessly perfect would've been seeing the other half of her family in the crowd. Or better even: on stage with them. But by saying this, manifesting it in a way, she had something to look forward to. Something to cheer her up. It was weird not having seen them for a while again and this year's tour hadn't even started.
"That's not what I meant," Semi said, now standing in front of the bathroom mirror, hesitating to close the door as she wanted to continue talking to her favourite Unnie. "No, I know what you mean. I'm just trying to see it in a positive way."
"Of course you do." While Semi was still speaking in a teasing tone, she was deeply appreciative of Mimi's ability to turn things around, even if it was just for the way she saw things. Even someone as naturally bright and optimistic as herself needed that sometimes, and it showed in the way Mimi always sounded so sincere when she said those things, like a mantra she had been telling herself long before anyone else. Semi was just about to close the door when she suddenly stopped and remembered.
"Speaking of guys! Hello?! Why has nobody addressed the fucking elephant in the room at all during dinner earlier? Soomin unnie?!"
She was speaking so fast Mimi was seriously considering giving her rap lines for their next song and she laughed again.
"Maybe because we had just performed at freaking Coachella, what do you think?" she commented back, deeply sarcastic now.
Semi laughed as well, but she was quick to guide the conversation back to where she wanted it to be. She remembered everything in sharp detail now: the moment that had quickly been overshadowed by their breathtaking performance, but that had probably been Soomin's plan anyway. She had been so nervous about it, telling the girls: "I can't believe I'm sharing this moment with you guys... — and the guy I like."
"Ateez' San sunbaenim, I cannot believe it." Semi was still shaking her head with a cheeky grin on her face. "I think they make a fine couple." Mimi was still drying her hair with the towel, her bright smile giving her away instantly, especially to Semi. "You knew about this, didn't you?"
"I didn't know it was San sunbaenim!" the blonde girl quickly defended herself, but her best friend was already looking at her through squinted eyes. Mimi didn't mind that. She was genuinely happy for their leader, especially as she remembered finding her in the kitchen a few nights ago, heartbroken and without any hope, and then seeing them share a kiss, an innocent, supportive one. It had been odd at first, like any couple in public, something the blonde-haired idol couldn't quite wrap her head around, but seeing Soomin so happy had certainly been worth it.
After Semi's shower, the two idols found themselves tucked into their beds, scrolling on their phones before eventually turning off the lights. There were a few things scheduled for the next day, some interviews but mostly sightseeing, and they wouldn't have to get up early either. "Since when have you known, Unnie? About Soomin unnie?" Semi suddenly asked into the darkness.
"Maybe two weeks? Ten days. She's kept it to herself for a long time," Mimi admitted, her voice already sounding tired, as if she was falling asleep while speaking.
"You mean, kept it from us?"
"I don't think we should see it that way." Suddenly, Mimi was fully awake again, at least with her mind, while her body continued to slow down. Semi let out a confused hum, asking her to explain further. "Well, dating is a sensitive topic, Semiyah," she answered gently.
"Sensitive, my foot. I always tell you about each and every single date I go on!"
That's when it suddenly hit Mimi and in her mind she was sitting up straight in her bed.
In reality, she had only opened her eyes wide, but now she was fully awake.
"Speaking of. I kind of, sort of, maybe accidentally asked Juyeon out... in a way."
The next thing she knew, Mimi was squinting her eyes as her heart jumped when Semi suddenly turned on the lights again.
The brown-haired American was staring over at her now, eyes widened, jaw almost on the floor. "You did WHAT?!" Mimi shrieked, then let out an awkward laugh.
"The short version is that I accidentally spilled some coffee on his shirt and promised to treat him to a good dinner to make up for it. But I only later realised that it kind of sounded like I asked him out." The blonde girl had sat up now, back against the pillow, a frown on her face.
"Ummm— so you don't want to go out with him?" Semi asked, very confused now and almost disappointed. She didn't want to hear Mimi's answer. And Mimi's answer ended up being nothing more than a shrug at first. Then she explained further:
"Well, I don't know! I don't know him like that and it's rather... uncommon, isn't it?"
"Well, that's what people go on dates for," Semi began, a bit calmer now.
"To get to know one another. Check if the vibe matches. Chemistry and stuff." Mimi knew she was right. Still, she didn't feel very sure about this.
"I don't think the whole dating scene is for me then." Both girls laughed again before sinking back into their thoughts.
Semi was already drawing pictures of her Unnie in love inside of her head. Mimi in a relationship. As a girlfriend. In a way, it felt so far away from the reality they lived in and yet it totally made sense. Mimi'd make a fine girlfriend, Semi thought. A perfect girlfriend. And Mimi was overthinking the situation again. Maybe Juyeon would've forgotten about that after they'd come back to Seoul. She was secretly hoping for that, just to not make things awkward between them.
"By the way, am I the first to hear about this? After Jungwon, of course." Once again that night, Mimi froze again and this time she sat up too, the realisation washing over her like a cold shower. "What? Like you haven't told Jungwon!" Semi joked at first, but then she saw the look on Mimi's face and gasped again. There was this odd thing about Mimi and Jungwon and Semi had noticed it from the very first time she had met them back in 2020. They were linked, almost like twins. There was nothing one didn't share with the other, so this — no matter how small it seemed — was new. And when Mimi thought deeper about it, she realised she didn't really have a reason not to tell him.
She didn't even remember not telling him.
For a moment, she was sure she had. And then again, she came to the conclusion that whatever "date" there was, it probably wouldn't even happen. So why make a fuss about it?
"It's not a big deal, is it?" she asked, lying back down again and Semi snickered before protesting: "Well, he told you right away back then when he had a crush on that backup dancer."
"Gawon, I remember. But that only lasted, like, a week. She was such a sweet girl though. He never told me why he didn't ask her out," Mimi thought back to that moment. Was it a year ago? Two? The boys had teased Jungwon about a girl and he had later admitted that he found her really cool and admirable. Now that Mimi thought about it more deeply, for the first time, she started asking herself why Jungwon had never dated anyone. It was a weird thing to think about when it came to someone closer to family than anything else, but she did it anyway. For herself, it was more simple, at least to her. She had been busy and she was very careful, especially when it came to letting people in, and frankly speaking, she knew she was kind of hard to approach because she was quiet and closed off. But her best friend? He was easy-going and popular. He got along with people, that was just the kind of person he was.
Still, asking him about it remained something entirely impossible to picture.
← read previous chapter | go to next chapter →
