#mong mong

Seungmin didn’t look up. He just gave you the scarf, his fingers brushing yours in a moment so quick, you almost missed it.

“You’re cold,” he said, low and casual, like it explained everything.

It kind of did.

It wasn’t that they didn’t like you. They did — almost immediately, actually. You were sweet, easy to talk to, and you didn’t treat them like celebrities, which was refreshing.

And yeah, you were technically the youngest in the room whenever you came by — but only by a year. Still, the guys couldn’t help themselves.

The teasing stuck, but it never got mean. It wasn’t really about your age — it was about him.

Because Kim Seungmin — dry, sarcastic, endlessly composed — had turned into someone else entirely.

He smiled more. Real smiles, not the smug little half-grins he usually gave when roasting Jisung.

He texted first. Showed up early. Offered to carry your bag, open your water bottle, or tie the knot on your to-go bag when it got tangled.

“Dude,” Changbin said once, eyes wide as Seungmin carefully unwrapped a rice ball you brought him and put the wrapper in his own pocket so you wouldn’t have to carry trash, “who are you right now?”

“Do you hear yourself?” Hyunjin laughed. “That’s, like, soft boyfriend behavior. Actual tenderness.”

“It’s almost romantic,” Felix whispered dramatically. “I’m tearing up.”

Seungmin didn’t deny it. He just shrugged and kept eating.

They had always called it “puppy love.”

A joke, at first. Something about Seungmin — dependable, steady, but emotionally allergic — catching feelings for someone as bright and sweet as you.

“Bet it’s just a phase,” Chan had said once, joking. “First relationship, first crush… it happens.”

But it didn’t pass. If anything, it deepened.

They started catching moments. Little ones.

Seungmin absentmindedly brushing your hair behind your ear while talking to the others.

Holding your pinky under the table during dinner like it was a secret only you two knew.

Picking the mushrooms out of your food without a word.

Sending you home in his hoodie every single time.

He didn’t perform the way some people do when they’re trying to prove they’re in love.

He just… was.

One night, after you’d left the dorm with a shy wave and a promise to text when you got home safe, Seungmin stood by the door for a second longer than usual.

Not saying anything. Just watching the hallway.

“You’re different with her,” Chan said, arms crossed, tone gentle. “Not in a bad way. Just… softer.”

Seungmin looked over, unsurprised. “Maybe I just needed the right person to bring it out.”

“Yeah, but you’re like, boyfriend-of-the-year material,” Jisung added from the kitchen. “Who knew?”

“Don’t act shocked,” Seungmin replied, walking past them to grab a drink. “I’ve always been like this.”

“No, no,” Jeongin laughed, following him, “you’ve always been mean. This is new.”

But it wasn’t mean-spirited. None of it was.

If anything, the boys were starting to look at him with something like admiration.

Because somewhere between the teasing and the jokes, they’d realized something:

This wasn’t just a crush.
This wasn’t temporary.
This wasn’t puppy love.

This was real.

And Seungmin — sarcastic, steady, endlessly loyal Seungmin — had fallen hard.

── ⟢ ・⸝⸝

You're curled up next to Seungmin on the couch in the corner of the living room, your legs tucked under a shared blanket, a movie long forgotten on the TV. The rest of the boys are scattered around the room — some asleep, some still whispering and laughing about who snores the loudest — but in this little corner, it’s just you and him.

Seungmin has one arm around your shoulders, his thumb tracing slow circles on your arm. It’s subtle. Unthinking. Like touching you has already become habit.

You peek up at him.

He’s watching the ceiling now — not the movie, not the guys — just… thinking.

“What’s going on in that head?” you whisper.

He blinks, then looks down at you, a little surprised. He hadn’t realized you were still awake.

His expression softens. “Nothing. Just… this.”

“This?”

“This,” he repeats, quieter now. “You. Being here. I don’t know… I didn’t expect it to feel this easy.”

Your brows knit slightly, not because you’re hurt, but because you’re trying to understand him.

“You thought it’d be hard?”

“Not hard,” he says quickly. “Just… I’m not always good at this stuff. Feelings. I joke a lot. I hold back. I didn’t think I could be the guy who — you know — does the soft things.” He pauses. “But with you, I don’t have to try.”

You smile so softly it almost breaks him.

“Seungmin…”

He clears his throat, eyes flicking away like he’s just now realizing how open he’s being. “Anyway. Don’t get used to me being all sentimental.”

You nudge his side. “Too late.”

He laughs under his breath, then leans in, resting his forehead against yours.

“Don’t tell the guys,” he whispers. “I’ve got a whole sarcastic image to protect.”

── ⟢ ・⸝⸝

Later that night — technically well into morning — the movie ends, and slowly the others drift off. Someone throws a blanket over Jisung, who’s half-asleep on the floor. Chan disappears into his room. The lights dim, the volume drops, and everything settles.

You and Seungmin are still on the couch, tucked together, your head on his shoulder, his hoodie drowning your frame.

“I’m staying out here,” you whisper. “I don’t want to wake anyone.”

He nods. “I’ll get you some water before you sleep.”

He slips away from the couch with careful steps, disappearing into the kitchen.

And that’s when it happens.

You hear a soft rustle and turn slightly — only to find Chan, Hyunjin, and Jeongin still awake, looking at you like they’ve been waiting for this exact moment.

You blink. “…What?”

Jeongin grins. “So.”

“So?”

Hyunjin leans forward, resting his chin on his arms. “You know he really loves you, right?”

Your breath catches — not because it’s surprising, exactly, but because of how simply it’s said. No teasing. No drama. Just truth.

Chan nods slowly. “We’ve known Seungmin a long time. He’s always been… kind of closed off. Not in a bad way, just careful.”

“But with you?” Jeongin continues, softer now. “It’s different. He’s different. Softer. More open. Like he doesn’t have to keep walls up.”

You glance toward the kitchen — he’s still not back — then look down at your hands in your lap.

“I didn’t realize it was that obvious.”

“Oh, it is,” Hyunjin says with a small smile. “But not in a clingy way. Just… real.”

You take a breath, heart thudding a little heavier than before.

“I love him too,” you say quietly.

And that makes all three of them smile.

When Seungmin finally walks back into the room, holding two glasses of water, he pauses just inside the doorway and blinks softly at the scene — you sitting quietly with the guys, all of them smiling gently at you.

He gives a small, tired smile, clearly sensing something unspoken but not pushing. Without a word, he sets the glasses down on the low table and settles back beside you on the couch.

Chan grins quietly. “See? Told you he’s a softie.”

Jeongin chuckles, nudging Hyunjin. “We don’t get to see this side of him much.”

Seungmin looks down at you, his fingers finding yours in the dim light. His voice is low, almost shy. “You okay?”

You nod, heart full. “Yeah. I’m really okay.”

He squeezes your hand once, then leans in, resting his forehead gently against yours.

The boys quietly excuse themselves soon after, leaving the two of you wrapped up in your own little world.

In the silence, Seungmin whispers, “Thank you for making it easy to be this guy.”

You smile against his lips. “I’m not going anywhere.”

And right there, with the soft glow of the city lights filtering through the window, the teasing and the jokes don’t matter anymore.

It’s just you. Him. And a love that’s quietly, beautifully real.

── ⟢ ・⸝⸝

⤷ ゛TAGLIST ˎˊ˗