The first time you met Yuta’s dog, you were pretty sure he wanted you dead.

A hulking, sharp-eyed creature—half wolf, if you had to guess—stood between you and Yuta’s apartment door, teeth bared, hackles raised. Yuta had just chuckled, leaning against the frame, watching with amusement as his dog decided whether or not you were worth sparing.

“He doesn’t like people,” Yuta had warned.

You had met the dog’s burning gaze and, against all logic, crouched down with an outstretched hand. “Guess I’ll have to prove I’m worth liking then.”

Yuta had smirked, eyes glittering with something unreadable.

That moment had been the start of something.

Because against all odds, the beast had taken a liking to you. He would still act aloof, still keep his guard up, but you were the only person besides Yuta who could touch him, who could sit beside him without earning a growl of warning.

And, in some ways, the same could be said about Yuta himself.

The night had started like any other.

You and Yuta had been holed up in his apartment, the dim lighting casting shadows across his sharp features as you sat across from him at the small kitchen table. His dog lay curled by your feet, a silent guardian—one you had long since gotten used to.

But something was off with Yuta tonight.

His fingers drummed against the table, his jaw tight, his normally sharp, teasing gaze darkened with something unreadable.

You had learned, over time, that Yuta didn’t let people in easily. He could be cruelly distant, a ghost when he wanted to be. But you had also learned to see through the cracks, to recognize when he was struggling against something too big to name.

“What’s wrong?” you asked softly.

“Nothing,” he bit out, standing abruptly. The chair scraped against the floor, and before you could respond, he slammed his hands against the table.

The reaction was immediate.

The dog shot to its feet, stepping in front of you with a vicious, guttural snarl. Every muscle in its body tensed, ears pinned, teeth bared in warning.

"Down," Yuta snapped, his voice like a whip.

The dog didn’t budge.

The growl deepened, his stance unwavering. For the first time, the dog—the creature Yuta had trained, raised, and trusted with his life—was defying him.

Your breath caught as Yuta took a step forward, then stopped. He exhaled sharply, running a hand through his hair. His expression was unreadable, frustration warring with something else entirely.

"I know I said protect her," he muttered, voice lower, almost pained. "But I never meant from me."

Still, the dog refused to move.

Neither did you.

Not because you were afraid. Never because of that.

But because there was something in Yuta’s voice, something raw, something stripped down to its bare bones, that made your chest ache.

It wasn’t anger. It wasn’t rage.

It was fear.

Fear of himself. Fear of losing control. Fear of becoming something he couldn’t come back from.

And suddenly, you understood.

The room was thick with tension, but you moved first. Slowly, carefully, you rested a hand on the dog’s back, feeling the tension coiled beneath its fur.

"It’s okay," you murmured. "He won’t hurt me."

The dog hesitated. Then, miraculously, it backed down, still watchful but no longer hostile.

You rose to your feet, stepping toward Yuta. He didn't move. He didn’t meet your eyes.

“You really think I need protecting from you?” you asked, voice quieter now.

Yuta let out a hollow laugh, finally looking at you. “I think everyone does.”

Something in your chest twisted.

“You’re an idiot.” The words came out soft, affectionate even. "If your dog trusts me enough to protect me, then maybe you should trust me too."

Yuta blinked, momentarily stunned. Then he let out a breathless laugh, the tension in his shoulders easing just slightly.

"You always have to be right, don’t you?" he murmured.

You smiled. "Only when it matters."

A long silence stretched between you, filled with something fragile, something breakable.

And then, Yuta closed the distance.

His fingers brushed your cheek, hesitant, as if afraid you’d pull away. When you didn’t, he let out a shaky breath, his forehead resting against yours.

“I don’t know how to do this,” he admitted.

You reached up, resting your hand over his.

“Then let’s figure it out together.”

Later that night, Yuta’s dog laid between you both on the couch, content but still keeping watch.

Yuta was quieter now, softer in a way he rarely allowed himself to be. His fingers idly traced patterns against your palm, a silent reassurance, a silent promise.

You had always known that loving Yuta wouldn’t be easy. He was sharp edges and wary eyes, a storm that never quite settled.

But that night, as you lay curled against his side, his dog finally allowing the both of you a moment’s peace, you knew one thing for sure:

Even storms had their moments of calm.

You roll over and hear a soft sigh. "Hmmm..."

Brushing your hair from your eyes, you see Johnny smiling softly down at you. He gives you a soft morning peck.

You smile back and deepen the peck, moving so your knees are on either side of his thighs.

Your hands snake up his sides until they rest in his fluffy sleep mussed hair, threading through the black strands.

You pull back softly and rest your forehead on his. His hands creep up to your waist and he pulls you in close. "Well good morning." He says breathless from the kiss.

You chuckle and slide off him. He flips over onto his side and props his head up on his palm. "I could wake up like that every morning and never get sick of it."

You roll your eyes and push his arm. "Oh stop."

He laughs, showing his white smile.

"Never." He whispers while leaning in to kiss you again. You lean in to meet him, eager for another kiss.

When your lips meet it's like the first time all over again. Kissing Johnny is different every time but in a good way.

His lips move against yours, claiming them, while he rolls over on top of you. His arms are on either side of your head, blocking you in using his body and propping him up.

Then he moves from your lips to down your neck, so slowly with light kisses that tickle you, sending goosebumps running all down your limbs.

You arch up against him, trying to get as close as possible to him. He groans softly and nuzzles against your neck.

His warm breath sends more goosebumps down your spine.

You feel his chest pressing against yours, taking deep breaths. He sighs against your neck, making your hair flutter slightly.

Picking his head up, Johnny looks at you, cheeks flushed pink. "Hi." He says softly.

"Hi." You whisper back.

He smiles lazily before removing his body off of yours and lays next to you.

You smile back and get the urge to kiss him again. It was addicting.

"If you keep looking at me like that, we're never going to be able to leave this bed." He says in a husky voice while leaning into you.

"That doesn't sound so bad..." You murmur against his lips, taking his face in your hands.

He hums softly. "I know but we need to go make a quick errand since I forgot to wrap your Christmas present..." He admits against your lips.

You laugh, the sound vibrating through him.

"I'm not surprised."

Johnny gasps playfully, pulling away to look at you.

"What makes you say that?!"

You laugh at your soulmate.

"I mean," You say leaning into him again, "with me coming here and with school, it makes sense you forgot." You finish the sentence by sealing your lips against his.

He hums against them in agreement and gently pulls your bottom lip in, deepening the kiss.

Your fingers ghost up the side of his face, feeling his strong jaw and prickly skin of his unshaven cheeks, up to the back of his neck and the soft hair there.

Johnny's hand to cup your cheek gently.

A few more moments pass before the need for air becomes overwhelming and you pull apart.

Johnny puts his forehead to yours and closes his eyes. He sighs and smiles. "What am I gonna do with you? You make it so hard to stop kissing you."

You giggle and your lashes brush again his skin, sending a shiver down his spine.

Pulling back, you slide off the bed and onto your feet. Padding into the bathroom, you get ready as Johnny does in his bedroom.

Once finally ready and full from breakfast, you two head off to Target to get wrapping paper.

Johnny hands you his phone and gives you control of the aux cord. "Go crazy." He says with a wink.

You laugh and wrack your brain for a song. Then one comes to you. You quickly type it in and press play before smiling big at Johnny.

"If you don't know this I'm going to be disappointed." You tell him.

He glances over at you. "Now I'm nervous!" 

The song begins to pour out of the speaker, the beat taking off.

Ooooo Ooooo Ooooo

Johnny turns to you eyes wide. "Omg is this?..."

You put a finger to your lips and sing the opening lines with Taeyang and G-Dragon.

Johnny smiles big and sings along with you.

Then the chorus hits and you both go crazy and jam out.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! Ppangya ppangya ppangya BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! Ppangya ppangya ppangya

You start to do the choreo in your seat while Johnny moves his body as best as he can while driving.

Throwing your head back, you start laughing. Big body shaking laughs. You couldn't help it but Johnny looked so funny jamming out in his seat while trying to be a safe driver.

"Y-you're..,” You gasp,”the c-cutest." You try to get out between gasps of breaths and the tears coming out of your eyes.

He looks over at you and flashes you a smile. "Thanks babe."

---------------------------------------------

Pretty soon you arrive at Target and you head inside to find wrapping paper for your own present. The irony of it all.

Johnny takes your hand and begins to wander down each aisle with you, oblivious to the signs of where things are.

"Hey babe can you go grab me some tape while I go look for the paper?" He turns to you.

You nod and let go of his hand. "Sure."

You easily find the tape and make your way to the wrapping paper. Out of the corner of your eye though, you see the color of Johnny's coat flash in and out of sight. Curious, you walk over to where you saw him.

Turning the corner, you see the flash of his coat again and his black hair. "Johnny?" You softly call out, not wanting to call attention to yourself.

No answer.

"Johnny?" You try next calling out down the bond.

"Can't hear youuuu~." He says back and you head him giggling.

You huff out loud and roll your eyes. "Are you hiding from me?"

You hear more laughter rolling down the bond. "Maybeee~."

Sensing motion, you snap your head to the side and see Johnny dart into another aisle. "Found you!" You shout down the bond and take off after him.

It surprised you at how well he got away from you considering how tall of a dude he was. But eventually you caught him.

"Got...got you." You gasped out of breath. Johnny's chest heaved too.

"Took...took you long enough." He teases. You hit his chest and glare at him playfully. Laughing, he pulls you close.

You prop your chin on his chest and look up at him. Your eyes go to his lips. Unsurprisingly, you wanted to kiss him again.

You push up to your tiptoe but its still not enough. Was he always this tall?

Johnny notices you struggling to kiss him. "You're almost there babe." He teases, those beautiful eyes crinkling at the corners like how you love.

You huff and try to push up further on your tiptoes. Your hands grip his shoulders, trying to give you leverage.

Like the brat he is, Johnny takes one of your fingers and taps his lips with it. "My lips are up here." Yet he continues to stand tall despite you trying to pull him down to you.

Eventually, he feels bad for you and leans down some. His lips meet yours finally in a deep kiss in the middle of Target, to make up for his teasing.

He pulls away with a smile while you hit him again. "Oh my God you're so annoying."

He laughs and squeezes you tight. "But you love me Y/N."

You roll your eyes again and he taps you in the head with a roll of wrapping paper. "By the way I got the paper!"

You grab at the roll of paper, wanting to use it to hit him.  But like the evil tease he is, Johnny  raises his arm high, keeping the paper out of your reach.

He begins to laugh at your weak jumping attempts, hands splayed trying to grab at the paper.

Eventually you just give up. Johnny laughs again at you and gives you a kiss on the head before going to pay for the tape and paper.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Back at Johnny's house, you lounge on his bed while he wraps your present in his bathroom so you couldn't peek.

His present sits next to you, all wrapped and ready with a blue bow on top.

You were excited to give him his gift ever since you'd bought it.

It was a Polaroid camera. A simple white camera but once you saw it you knew you had to get it for him. You had also bought him extra film for it. Which was smart of you considering the amount of pictures he took.

You shiver slightly from being outside and rub your arms, attempting to warm up quicker. Then you get a great idea and your lips curl up evilly.

"Now where were his sweatshirts?" You think to yourself, looking around his room. Luckily he left one out on his desk chair. It was the black one he wore from your first night here.

You reach over and slip it on. It was huge on you. You were swimming in it, but you loved it. It was also soft like really soft.

You snuggled up in it, pulling the hood over your head and the front of the sweatshirt up to your nose. It smelled like him. Minty and earthy with a little musk.

You were mid another big sniff when Johnny opened up the bathroom door with your present hidden behind his back. At first he didn't notice you in his sweatshirt until he got closer to the bed.

"Is that my...?"

"Yep!" You say from the cocoon of his large hoodie, your face the only thing peeking out.

He smiles that dazzling smile and laughs.

"Wow you move quick. Already taking my clothes." Then he plops down on the bed, flailing out next to you.

You scrunch your nose and try to push him off the bed.

"I got cold!" You try to defend yourself. "By the way, why is it so soft? What is it made out of?"

Johnny gives you an evil smirk and an eyebrow quirk.

"Boyfriend material." He says without missing a beat.

"Oh my God you did not." You throw your face in your hands, exasperated.

Johnny just laughs at your reaction and clutches his stomach.

"I'm sorry babe. I had to! It was just too good of a moment to pass up!"

"I hate you."  You chuckle in between your fingers.

"I love you too." He responds reaching up to pull your hands away from your face.

You just shake your head at him and he removes your hands from your face.

"I'm going to spend forever with a dork." You sigh teasingly.

Johnny laughs some more. "But a cute, loveable, funny dork." The corner of his eyes crinkle as he smiles at you.

You lean down lips curled into a soft smile. "That is true. My cute, loveable, funny dork."

Johnny leans up to meet you in a chaste kiss.

You give him a little peck back before reclining back on the bed pillows.

His present digs into your back. "Oh your present!" You pull out the box and hand it to him, giddily watching him.

He tears through the paper and looks at the writing on the front of the box.

"Oh my god, you didn't did you!?" His head whips up at you, eyes shining like a little boy.

You shrug. "I dunno. Keep opening it up."

He continues to tear through the package and pulls out the white Polaroid camera.

"Y/N... I love it so much..." He turns it over and over, running his long fingers gently across the surface.

Out of the corner of your eye, the blue bow from the top of Johhny's present catches your eye. You reach for it and put it on top of your head.

"Hey Johnny," You say to get his attention. He looks up from his camera, "Look, I'm your present." You give him a silly grin, your turn to be cheesy. He smiles back at you.

"And my future."

Oof that hit you right in your feels. Then the bright light of the flash goes off.

"Hey! Did you take a picture of me?" You demand as your soulmate grins at you while flapping a Polaroid to develop it.

"Maybeeee... I had to test it out and you look so cute right now." He smiles at you with that heart melting charm of his.

You smile back and laugh. "You're lucky I love you." You mumble softly.

"I know.." He says softly back, pulling you close. "Soooo, do you want your Christmas present?"

You sit up quickly and give your soulmate a charming smile. "Of course." You say before moving away from him so you have space to open up his gift.

He smiles back at you.

"So I really hope you like it... I don't know if it's cheesy or not but I was like what do I get for the girl who is perfect in every way but then I was talking to Eomma and she said since you're a medical student you need to take care of yourself and... oh... I just ruined the surprise..."

His cheeks grow red and he looks away from you as he hands you a wrapped box. You smile and laugh at him.

"I will love anything you give me."  You say as you gently rip off the wrapping paper and open up the box. You begin to pull out each item as he sits close and watches you intently.

You pull out the first item, a light green candle. You unscrew the top and smell it.

"Eucalyptus is supposed to help with stress relief..." Johnny narrates as you continue to go through things.

Next thing is a pair of pale pink polka dotted fuzzy socks. You rub the socks against your face because they are so freakin' soft.

"Fuzzy socks for when it's cold and you're studying to keep your feet warm and promote circulation..." He rambles off, ears growing red as his eyes dart up to meet yours then back down to his bedspread.

He really put a lot of thought into each item. Your heart swells has you reach back into the box.

You pull out a ton of your favorite chocolates with colored sticky notes on them. Each sticky note had a different motivational saying or a sweet something from Johnny in his handwriting.

"For your sweet tooth and to keep you motivated..." He now is rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment for how cheesy everything is getting. You love it though.

You look a little closer at some of the chocolates. There was a ton of sticky notes. He painstakingly wrote out all of them. It must have taken him hours. Your eyes begin to water with how sweet your soulmate is to you.

You sniff a little and go onto the next thing.

It was a big black t-shirt and a grey hoodie. The smell of his cologne wafted up at you. You hug the clothes.

"For when you miss me and I can't be there...it's an old t-shirt and hoodie of mine..." He picks at the bedspread, cheeks and ears bright red. You smile at his reaction. Your soulmate who loved to make you a red mess was a red blushing mess himself.

You gently set the clothes aside and reach inside for the last thing. It was heavy and took two hands to pull out.

It was a dark navy blue weighted blanket. You had always wanted one but they were too expensive for your college student budget.

"You had talked about once how you wanted one really badly... I researched them some and it's supposed to help with your anxiety and sleeping problems..." Now he looks up at you, eyes searching your face.

You look at your soulmate, watery eyes spilling over.

Johnny's brow crumples and his eyes get wide. "Oh no...Y/N... I'm so sorry if you don't like something-"

"N-no, it's perfect." You cut him off. "You're perfect. I love it all so much... I'm just really happy right now."  

You rub your eyes with the sleeves of Johnny's black hoodie that you're still wearing. "These are happy tears."  You say with a smile and a sniffle.

Johnny pushes the box and wrapping paper off the bed so he can be closer to you. You crawl into his lap as he wraps his arms around you and pulls you in tight, bundling you up. "I love you so much Y/N. I'm so glad you love it." He whispers while planting a kiss on the top of your head.

They were members of a popular boy group called NCT 127. To be honest I never knew who they were before, I never really looked into idols, I would just listen to whatever I thought sounded good. Of course I did have some groups and soloists that I was a big fan of, like Lee Hyori, Rain, TVXQ, and so on.

The first time I substituted for my aunt, she told me they were celebrities but I didn't know who, I honestly didn't care either, I just wanted to do my job, get paid, and go home. They boys didn't know that I had no clue who they were until my third time substituting.

After that day I looked into them some more, and honestly they made some good music. I even watched a few of their shows just to understand them a bit more. I became a fan of them I guess, but I wasn't crazy about them.

I woke up early the next day and put on a pair of comfortable shorts a grey t-shirt before putting my hair up in a bun. I was going to be cleaning and working all day so I wanted to be comfortable and didn't want to have to worry about ruining my clothes.

After I had a bagel I head out of the apartment and stepped into the elevator and went up to the 5th floor.

Oh, right. I forgot to mention, my aunts apartment was in the same building where NCT lived, it was more convenient for work.

Once I was on the 5th floor I walked over to their apartment door and keyed in the passcode to the door before entering.

"Hello? Is anyone home?" I called out as I took my shoes off and slipped into the house slippers that were meant for my aunt. I was soon greeted by an older male who smiled at me "I was waiting for you Mina, I'm their manager, I've already told the boys about the situation so they'll be out to greet you soon, they're just getting ready to go out," I nodded my head and bowed  before he led me inside. He didn't need to show me around as I was already familiar with the place.

The boys soon came out and greeted me. The members who lived on this floor were Johnny, Haechan, Doyoung and Taeyong.

"It's nice to see you again Mina! We look forward to seeing you around more...oh also tell your aunt we really miss her, she was really sweet and we loved having her around!" Taeyong grinned and I smiled back at him, before I could reply Haechan chimed in "I already miss her cooking, she's a really great cook! Ugh I just drool thinking about her food..."

I let out a small chuckle "so you just miss her for her food?" I teased.

"No no! Of course not!" He shook his head put his hands up to deny it.

"I know I'm just teasing you,"

Haechan let out a sigh of relief. The boys soon left for their schedules and I was left alone to do my job.

I grabbed their laundry and sorted the clothes, separating the whites from the colored before I loaded the washer. After than I began dusting off every book and cranny followed by vacuuming and sweeping.

When I was finished I cooked a simple meal for them to have once they got back.

I made my way to the 10th floor where Mark, Yuta, Jaehyun and Jungwoo lived. The apartment was of course empty. Once again, I got everything I needed to get done done.

The boys had gotten home around the same time I had finished cooking. The boys all walked in saying how they smelled something good. I came out and formally greeted them as their new permanent maid.

"What did you make? It smells so good!" Mark exclaimed.

"Yeah, I'm starving, is it ready?" Yuta chimed in.

"The food is ready if you want to eat now, I'll go set the table,"

They had asked me to eat with them so I did. They all complimented my cooking saying it was just as good as my aunts cooking which honestly made me really happy. Once the boys had finished eating I did the dishes and made sure they didn't need anything else before I made my way back to the 5th floor apartment to check on them as well.

It seems they had also enjoyed the food down here as well and everything seemed to be going well. Before I left Johnny suggested that we should all gather tonight to just hang out and get to know me better so that I could be more comfortable being around them. Their manager agreed and asked me if I would like that. I nodded my head as I saw no harm in doing that.

The boys from the 10th floor came down and we all sat down together and chatted, we asked each other questions and soon the conversation turned into a bunch of jokes and laughter.

After all they would be seeing me almost daily from now on and this could help me understand their needs better.

I excused myself as soon as it started getting dark out and headed straight into the shower once I had gotten home. It seemed like things were going to be pretty easy around here.

Though I definitely did not expect what was to come.

What I thought was going to be a normal life of a maid just doing maid things, would suddenly take a turn.

My maid life became more....interesting to say the least.

And it all started when I walked into his room.....

Your mom wraps the scarf around your face one more time. "Promise you'll call once you get there? Please?" She reminds you for the hundredth time.

You huff but the sound is muffled by the scarf. "Yes mom I promise I will remember to text you."

"More like I'll remind you to text her." Johnny says lounging in the back of your mind. He was trying to give you some space to say goodbye to your family but he didn't want to fully leave you. Not while you were so close to being with him.

You click your tongue, meaning the sound for Johnny. "Quiet you or else I won't come see you." You tease him.

Johnny lets out a short laugh. "Oh like we both know that's never gonna happen. You won't be able to stay away."

The two weeks at home went by quickly but also dragged on. They were heavy on your heart which was already in Chicago.

But now. Now it was finally time. You were catching a flight to Chicago for 2 weeks before school started again. In a few hours you would finally see your soulmate. Finally be able to hug him, smell him, feel him. And kiss him.

Your mom gives you one last hug. "I love you Y/N. Have a good time with Johnny. I also expect to see pictures." She pats your cheek lovingly.

You smile back at her. "I will momma. And I love you too. Be safe going home." She nods and gestures for you to go into security.

You wave goodbye until she can't see you anymore.

Your pulse quickens once you get through security and are walking to your gate. "Omg this is really happening. I'm really going to Chicago. I'm really gonna see Johnny."

"Are you at your gate?" Johnny pops back in, breaking your train of thought.

"Uh..ah yeah. Yeah I am. I'm just waiting to board right now."

"Are you good baby? You sound off." Concern shows through in Johnny's voice. "Are you afraid of flying? I can talk to you the whole time so you don't think about it if you want."

You smile softly. "Aww you're so sweet love. But no I'm alright, I'm just nervous. And excited."

Johnny laughs softly. A warm sound filling your ears. "There's nothing to be nervous about baby. But I know it is a bit nerve wracking. But how do you think I feel? I don't even know who to look for! I'll just keep yelling for you and embarrass you."

You laugh at him now. "Oh you'll know. I promise. But you better not yell for me! I'll just hide from you then!"

Johnny's laughter fills your head again. "Yah that's mean Y/N!" You laugh with him and then the voice goes off saying your zone is boarding.

"AH! I'm boarding now!" You say while packing your things up and pulling out your boarding pass.

"I'll be waiting for you. Are you going to stay up on the plane or are you going to sleep?" Johnny asks.

You hand the lady your boarding pass. "I'm probably going to try to sleep since I'm tired and had to wake up early."

Johnny hums in understanding. "True since it's nearly impossible for you to wake up in the morning." He laughs again at you since he's the one who sometimes has to wake you up when you ignore your alarm.

"Yah you meanie! That's only been a few times! You better be happy, I don't wake up early for just anyone." You pout as you walk to your seat on the plane.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding. I love you Y/N and I appreciate you waking up early to come see me. I'll make it up to you. How about that?"

You plop down in your seat and pull out your phone charger and some earbuds. "I guess..." You tease him.

Putting your earbuds in, soon you get sleepy and fall asleep. You wake up to someone shaking your shoulder.

"Miss? Miss, we've landed. You can get off now."

You look around wildly. "Omg I slept through landing and getting off." You look at the flight attendant.

"O-oh thank you. Sorry for sleeping through everything." You say as you get up and grab everything as quick as you can. The flight attendant just nods at you and leads you off the plane.

You stand outside the plane and walk down the chute, clutching your backpack strap. You were here. You were really here in Chicago. After sending a quick text to your mom, you pick up your luggage and head out the gates onto the arrival floor.

Your heart beats loudly and your breathing speeds up as you look around trying to find that shock of fluffy black hair and tall stature in the crowd.

"Babe where are you? Shouldn't your flight have landed by now?" Johnny sends you a thought, sounding worried.

"I'm here. I slept through landing and getting off so I'm a bit behind..." You trail off, straining to see around people.

Johnny sends a short chuckle, "Dang you must have been really tired then."

Then there he is.

There's no denying that's him.

He has on dark jeans with a tri-colored sweater and white sneakers. That black hair is done and swooped back, showing off his forehead. He has this lost expression on his face and his eyes search wildly in the crowds of people.

Your heart is beating so loud, you're surprised he can't hear it.

Wiping your sweaty palms on your pants, you feel rooted to the spot.

"Dang Johnny, you clean up well." You muster up the courage to tease him even though you feel like you're going to throw up because of all the excitement and nerves swirling in your gut.

He stops in his tracks and looks around. Then finally those dark eyes find yours and you feel a spark in air. You smile big at him and drop your backpack at your feet with a soft thud.

Johnny rushes at you and you at him. He scoops you up in a hug, enveloping your body in his. He buries his head into your shoulder.

"Oh my god, it's really you. You're really here. Y-you're even more perfect than I imagined." He breathes out in that deep voice of his.

You just melt into his arms. You're actually hearing his voice out loud and not just in your head. It feels so surreal like a dream.

He sighs and takes a deep breath in, squeezing you even more, trying to get you as close to him as possible. You bury your face into his chest and squeeze him back.

Hugging him was even better than you imagined. Nothing could compare to his hugs now.

Pulling back from you, Johnny gently holds your cheeks in his hands and places a soft kiss on your forehead. You blush and smile up at him.

Now actually looking at him you notice you barely reach up to under his chin. "Good lord he's even taller than I thought." You say in your head.

Johnny laughs out loud. "Yeah I get that a lot." He smiles down at you and once again you melt.

Those eyes twinkle like actual stars and his cheeks smush up when he smiles big, making it your new favorite thing in the world. His smile is so dazzling, no wonder you could feel it across the bond.

"Oh my god you're so cute." You blurt out before slapping a hand over your mouth and closing your eyes in embarrassment.

You hear Johnny's laughter. Even that sounds better in person.

Your cheeks heat up and you become even sweatier because of the embarrassment.

You open up your eyes when you feel Johnny pulling your hand off mouth.

"Thank you babe. You aren't bad looking yourself. I'm glad I can see your cute face now." He gives yoi a little wink and that sends another rush of warmth through your body and into your cheeks and ears.

Johnny pulls himself away from you and reaches down to pick up your backpack and slings it over his broad shoulder. One hand grabs your luggage while the other one reaches for your hand.

He entwines your fingers, his large hand engulfing yours. Then he lifts up your connected hands and places a soft kiss on the back of your hand. More pink splashes across your cheeks and your ears burn red hot.

He flashes you a quick smile before pulling you through the crowd and out to his car.

In the car, you still can't believe you were there with him. All you wanted to do was look at him and catalog every little detail about him. From the way the corner of his eyes crinkle when he smiles down to the veins in his hands and everything else.

Johnny looks at you. "I know, I can't believe it either." He leans in, gaze flicking down to your lips then back up. You lean in too, desperate to finally kiss him.

But then he pulls back abruptly.

"Uh uh uh remember how I was going to make you wait?" He winks again at you. This tease.

You hit his arm, "Really?!"

He laughs and winces as he rubs the spot you hit. "Ow, you've got some power in that swing. I just want to make it special, ya know? Do you trust me Y/N?"

"With my life and heart." You respond back, less angry at him. It was actually really sweet that he wanted to make your first kiss something special.

Johnny starts the car and pulls out onto the busy airport road, taking you to his house.

It was dark by the time you arrived in Chicago. Your face was glued to the window looking at all the lights of the city passing by. It was such a magical and calming sight. Almost whimsical with all the lights and colors.

"Hey love?" You turn back to Johnny.

"Hmm?" Johnny hums, eyes on the road. The street lights outside bounce their light off his hair and his tan skin. Everything this man does is attractive to you, even driving a freaking car. You die a bit inside because of the happiness.

You're fairly certain by now Johnny can hear how loudly your heart is beating. This boy just confessed to you. Confessed! And not like a typical boy, the "I think I like you " confession. He went straight for the l-word. The BIG l-word. 

On the other end of the bond, Johnny was currently having a mental breakdown. "Omg omg I'm so stupid. It's too early. She can't possibly be in love with me right now. She's only really known me for a little bit. Even though I've known her for months, I shouldn't have said that...I shouldn't have put that pressure on her..." He aggressively scrubs his hands across his face and into his hair, making it stick up in all angles. 

In midst of his freak out, you get waves of anxiety and fear coming down the bond and pieces of his thoughts, "so stupid" and "shouldn't have put that pressure on her." Your heart aches for him and to give him a hug to calm him down. Finally you speak. 

"Johnny, you aren't pressuring me at all and that wasn't stupid. You were brave. That was so incredibly brave."  You tell him, hoping to lighten his heart. Your voice grows softer with your next set of words. "A-and I think I love you too. I-I mean I don't really know what love feels like but I think I'm feeling it for you. J-johnny... I love you too." 

Your heart feels as though it could burst out of your chest at any moment but you also feel so light and bubbly after saying those words. I love you. They just felt right. They rolled off your tongue so easily you realized. Like you were meant to say them to him. 

"Y-you do? Y/N, you don't have to say it just because I said it. Also I'm sorry if you heard my freak out and-" Johnny goes on talking nervously and you cut him off again to derail his bad thinking. 

"Johnny shut up,"  You say in the nicest way possible. "I love you. I love you Johnny Seo. I'm not saying it because I felt pressured, I'm saying it because I realized I do love you.. I also didn't hear your freak out, only pieces and some feelings." You tell him gaining more confidence in your feelings. You smile brightly at this feeling.

Johnny smiles equally bright, making his cheeks and eyes scrunch up all cute like. "She said she loves me. She loves me!" He says out loud, breathless and not quite believing it. His heart pounds loudly and skips a beat when he keeps replaying your confession in his head. Ugh how badly he wanted to kiss your face. Your cheeks, your forehead, your temples, your lips. God he wanted to just see you and tell you in person. To hear it off your lips in person.

After that day, those three words started and ended each day... and basically every other moment too. Soon days turned into months and you and Johnny became even closer. You would consider him one of your bestfriends and him the same about you. Despite being fated to be together, Johnny was the type of guy you could see yourself dating if there weren't such a thing as soulmates. He was everything you ever wanted in someone and more. He was just all around an amazing human being. You got along so well with him and it never felt forced. Everything was as easy as breathing. You couldn't wait until the day you could tell him that in person. 

Soon the air turned colder with the middle of winter approaching. Which also meant finals but also finally the chance to see your soulmate. It was hard to focus when in the back of your mind all you could think of was how you would finally see Johnny soon. The excitement made you giddy and you could hardly stay seated for very long. 

"Y/N, aren't finals soon?" Johnny asked one day when you were trying to study but were failing miserably so instead you were watching more of his YouTube videos to see his handsome face to distract you.

"Yeah, I have one tomorrow and some in a few days. But I just can't focus since I get to see you soon and I'm so worried for my test tomorrow. So to distract myself, I'm watching some of your videos." You reply back. 

Johnny makes an unapproving humming noise. "Umm... baby as much as I love that you're watching my videos, I care more about you focusing on your finals. You're so close to being done and I don't want anything to happen to your grades. I would be crushed if I was the reason why you didn't do as good as you should have on them. I'm not going anywhere so you just focus on your finals, ace them, and before you know it we'll be together. Or else I'll stop speaking to you until finals are over." He threatens with a light laugh. 

You pause the video. "You wouldn't dare." 

Johnny clicks his tongue, "Oh watch me baby. Your education is far more important to me than the views on my videos or talking to you for hours when you should be studying. We have forever together. We can talk then." 

Sighing, you close your laptop with a soft click and push it away from you. You know he's right. "You're right, you're right. I'm just so jittery, I can't sit still to study. I'm so worried for it tomorrow."  Putting your computer away, you reach for your notes to study. 

"Who said you have to study sitting down? That may work for some people but not everyone. Since you're jittery, walk around while you study or put up sticky notes on the walls and walk around reading them. That's what Taeyong does. He always has to be moving. He cannot sit or stand still. Not for the life of him. Sometimes when he's forced to be still, he looks like he's malfunctioning because then he jerks around all weird." Johnny says laughing a little at the visions he got of Taeyong malfunctioning at various times. 

You also chuckle at the thought of Taeyong "malfunctioning". He always seemed like a quirky, funny guy in Johnny's videos. You were excited to meet them too, if they were going to be around for Christmas break. 

"That's a good idea babe. I've never thought about that. I do always get a ton of anxiety and nervous energy before tests..."  You pick up your notebook and flip it open. Getting up, you begin to walk around your room in circles as you read over your notes. Johnny must know what he's talking about because you feel better once expelling some energy. 

"I'm gonna let you study. I'll be here if you need me. Don't forget to take breaks! Oh and I love you Y/N." He says before leaving. 

You smile at his mothery concern. You still couldn't believe how good you have it. "He's the best." You sigh softly in contentment before diving back into your studying. 

Hours later you're still studying, despite Johnny's warning to take breaks. You had every intention to stop but you just kept going, telling yourself after this next unit you'll take a break. That was like 7 units and a 3 subjects ago. The anxiety of this upcoming test drove you on.

You hear a heavy sigh resounding in your head. "Baby, you didn't listen to me. I didn't want to bother you but you've been studying for like 16 hours without a break. Please go get some food or something, I'm concerned about you. Go take a break. Please." Johnny gently scolds. You feel a small mental push from him. 

Putting your notebook down, you rub your eyes, seeing spots for a few seconds. "Alright, alright. I will."  

"Thank you." He says softly. "I'll check up on you in a little bit. You better have eaten and rested a bit by then. Study hard but not too hard." You nod at his words while reaching for your phone to text Maeve if she wanted dinner. "I love you." 

"I love you too." You say to him before he leaves once again. 

Maeve responds back to your text and the two of you go eat. All throughout dinner the anxiety of your test tomorrow eats at you. It was the subject you struggled in the most and you wanted to do well. It was crucial you did well if you wanted to get into medical school. Good grades mattered so much and you worked hard to keep your GPA and grades up to the absolute best they could be. But you still feel like you needed to study more. "I'll study more after dinner." You tell yourself. 

Back in your room full from dinner, you pick up your notebook and get back to it. 

Johnny sits up in bed and rubs his eyes. Your thoughts were rushing through his head, making him unable to sleep. He glanced at his phone, the artificial light almost blinding him. It was 2:34 am. "Baby..." His husky sleep voice was soft and deep in your ears. "You've studied enough. You'll do wonderful but you need to sleep. So go to bed please."

Comfort washed over you, making your heavy eyes even heavier. It felt like Johnny was wrapping his body around you. You felt like someone was putting their chin on your shoulder and wrapping their arms around you."Okay," you murmured, walking over to your bed and throwing the comforter over your tired body. 

"I love you." He tells you as your close your eyes.