#nctslowburn

The moment Haechan walks through the door, you know he’s going to be clingy.

It’s in the way he dramatically sighs, tossing his bag onto the couch before throwing himself onto you, practically melting into your embrace like he’s been away for weeks instead of just a few hours. His arms loop around your waist, his face pressing into your neck as he groans.

“Finally,” he mumbles against your skin. “I missed you so much today.”

You smile, rubbing his back a little, but you’re on a mission tonight. A little harmless fun to see how long it takes before he completely loses it.

“I missed you too,” you say sweetly, before gently pushing his face away from your neck. He blinks up at you, eyes warm and expectant, lips already puckering up for a kiss—only for you to turn your head at the last second.

Haechan freezes. His lips land on your cheek instead, and he pulls back immediately, blinking in confusion.

“Uh… hello?” he says, narrowing his eyes at you. “What was that?”

You pretend to be oblivious. “What do you mean?”

He squints harder. “Babe, I was about to kiss you, and you just—” He mimes the way you turned your head. “You dodged me.”

You shrug, fighting a smile. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

A slow pout starts forming on his face, his lower lip jutting out. “What do you mean you don’t know? You literally just rejected me.”

“I did not.”

“Yes, you did!” He gasps like you’ve personally offended him. “Do you—do you not love me anymore?!”

“Haechan—”

“Oh my God,” he groans, flopping onto the couch like the dramatist he is. “My wife doesn’t love me anymore. I leave for a few hours, and suddenly I’m unwanted.”

You roll your eyes, but your heart warms at how ridiculously cute he’s being. Still, you keep up the act, brushing past him like you didn’t just watch him fall apart dramatically.

“Okay, I’m gonna go start dinner.”

“No, no, no, wait,” he cries, scrambling up to follow you. He latches onto your back like a koala, his arms locking around your waist as he rests his chin on your shoulder. “Babe, don’t do this to me. Kiss me, please.”

“Nope.”

“What do you mean nope?” He sounds genuinely distressed now, wiggling in your hold like a restless child. “Why not?”

“I just don’t feel like it.”

The sound that leaves his mouth is borderline inhuman. “You don’t feel like it? But—but kissing me is, like, your favorite thing ever! You always say I have the softest lips! That I’m—”

You casually reach for a pan, still ignoring him. “I changed my mind.”

Another gasp. “No, you didn’t!” He quickly moves to stand in front of you, his big brown eyes widening to their full puppy-like potential. He clutches at his chest like you just stabbed him. “You’re lying. Tell me you’re lying.”

You stare at him, pressing your lips together like you’re considering it. Then, as if to twist the knife deeper, you hum, “I don’t know… Maybe I’m just not in the mood for kisses today.”

He grips the counter behind him for support, like your words have physically weakened him. “Babe, you’re literally killing me.”

“I think you’ll survive,” you say, smirking.

“No, I won’t.” He grips your wrist desperately. “I need kisses to function. It’s like oxygen. You’re depriving me of air.”

You burst into laughter, unable to help it. “You are so dramatic.”

“I am not!” He whines, shaking you a little. “You don’t understand! My whole day has been so hard, and the one thing I was looking forward to was coming home to my beautiful wife and showering her with kisses, only to be treated like this!” He sniffs, looking away like he’s trying not to cry. “This is emotional abuse.”

You snort. “That is not what emotional abuse is.”

“It feels like it.” He pouts harder, his lips curling like he’s about to full-on sulk. “I don’t know if I can go on like this.”

You decide to push him just a little further, crossing your arms. “Okay, then. If you have to kiss someone, go kiss Mark or something.”

His jaw drops. “Kiss Mark?”

You shrug. “Yeah. Since you need kisses so bad.”

He scoffs, looking deeply, deeply betrayed. “I don’t want Mark’s kisses, I want yours!”

“Well, too bad,” you say, biting back another smile.

For a moment, he just stares at you, completely still. Then, as if he’s made up his mind about something, he launches at you.

You squeal, stumbling back as he grabs your face, trapping you against the counter. His eyes are dark with determination, his lips pressed into a firm line. “You leave me no choice, babe.”

“What—”

Before you can react, he starts attacking you with kisses—messy, exaggerated, over-the-top smooches all over your face. You burst into giggles, trying to squirm away, but he doesn’t let you, peppering your cheeks, nose, and forehead with dramatic mwah sounds.

“You think you can ignore me?” he mumbles between kisses. “Huh? You think you can deprive me?”

“Haechan—stop—”

“Nope! I will get my kisses one way or another!”

You’re laughing so hard you can barely breathe, weakly pushing at his chest, but he only doubles down, squeezing you tighter. Finally, when you’re on the verge of wheezing, you surrender.

“Okay, okay! You win!”

He pauses, his lips hovering inches away from yours, eyes twinkling with triumph. “Say it.”

You roll your eyes. “I love you, okay? You’re my favorite, and I’ll never ignore you again.”

His smirk grows. “And?”

“…And I was just messing with you.”

He gasps. “I knew it!” Then, without another word, he finally presses his lips against yours in a long, sweet, desperate kiss that makes your toes curl.

When he pulls away, he looks deeply satisfied, his pout completely gone. “That’s more like it.”

You shake your head, amused. “You’re unbelievable.”

“And you’re mine,” he hums, hugging you close again. “And from now on, I’m enforcing a no ignoring me rule, okay? Especially when it comes to kisses.”

You pretend to think about it. “I’ll consider it.”

He glares playfully. “Babe—”

You giggle, leaning in this time to kiss him first. And, just like that, all is forgiven.

You were convinced that Lee Donghyuck—better known as Haechan—had been put on this Earth solely to test your patience.

Ever since he moved in next door, it had been one thing after another. First, there was his terrible habit of blasting music late at night, which led to a heated argument in the hallway at 2 AM. Then, there was the time he “accidentally” stole your package, swearing he thought it was his, only to hand it back days later with a smug grin and a finger heart. And let’s not even talk about the passive-aggressive notes you two had exchanged over things as ridiculous as thermostat settings and the shared laundry room.

But today? Today took the cake.

You stood at your door, holding a package that had very clearly been meant for him. Except, instead of some dumb gadget or questionable impulse purchase, it was your grocery delivery—his grocery delivery—which you had already started unpacking without realizing it wasn’t yours.

The horror dawned on you as you pulled out a carton of oat milk (you hated oat milk) and a brand of cereal you would never, ever buy.

“Ugh, of course,” you groaned, slapping a hand to your forehead.

Just as you debated whether you could pretend this never happened, your doorbell rang. With a resigned sigh, you swung it open to reveal Haechan, leaning against the doorframe with his signature infuriating smirk.

“Let me guess,” he drawled, eyes flicking to the grocery bag still in your arms. “Realized your mistake?”

You sighed. “I don’t know why I expected to get away with it.”

“Because you secretly love making my life miserable?” he shot back.

You rolled your eyes and shoved the bag at him. “Here. I didn’t touch anything. Much.”

Haechan peeked inside before raising a brow. “Did you—Did you eat my strawberries?”

Your silence was enough.

He gasped dramatically, clutching his chest. “Unbelievable! You complain about me being a bad neighbor, and yet you’re out here stealing my food?”

You groaned. “I’ll buy you new strawberries.”

“Oh, you bet you will,” he said, stepping forward. “In fact, you’re coming with me right now.”

“What?”

“To the store. You owe me.”

You opened your mouth to argue, but before you could, he had already started walking, fully expecting you to follow. And somehow, you did.

It wasn’t until you were halfway down the street, side by side, that you realized something strange: Haechan wasn’t being entirely insufferable.

In fact… he was kind of funny.

The way he narrated the grocery trip like it was a dramatic reality show, making a huge deal out of selecting the “best” strawberries, was oddly entertaining. The way he wiggled his eyebrows at you when you scoffed at his cereal choice—borderline endearing. And when he casually mentioned that he’d actually started adjusting his music volume so you wouldn’t yell at him, you found yourself staring at him a little too long.

Maybe—just maybe—Haechan wasn’t as terrible as you had always thought.

And that realization? That was even more annoying than all his antics combined.

The walk back felt different, lighter. You noticed the way his shoulder occasionally bumped yours, how he exaggerated his dramatic sighs just to get you to roll your eyes. When you reached your apartment doors, Haechan hesitated, eyeing you with a mischievous glint.

“You know,” he said, twirling a strawberry between his fingers, “I wouldn’t mind if you stole my food more often.”

You scoffed, crossing your arms. “Oh, so now you’re encouraging bad neighbor behavior?”

He grinned, popping the strawberry into his mouth. “Only if it means I get to keep dragging you to the store.”

Hendery had always been the easygoing one—the friend everyone could count on for a laugh, the guy who never stepped on anyone’s toes. He was the nice one, the one who listened to all your problems, the one who smiled even when his heart ached. And for the longest time, that had been fine. It was just who he was.

Until now.

Until he saw you laughing with someone else, your hand resting on their arm in a way that should’ve been his.

His stomach twisted. He should’ve been happy for you, right? That’s what the nice guy does. He smiles, he nods, he convinces himself that this was how things were meant to be.

But tonight, he didn’t feel like playing that role.

“Hey.” His voice was steady as he walked up to you, even though his pulse was anything but. You turned to him, eyes bright like they always were when you saw him, and for a second, he almost chickened out. Almost let you slip away.

But then the other guy—someone he barely knew, someone who didn’t know you like he did—put a hand on your waist, and suddenly, the words came easier.

“Can I steal you for a minute?” Hendery asked, forcing himself to meet your eyes instead of the confused look the guy beside you shot him.

You blinked, clearly surprised, but nodded. “Yeah, of course.”

He led you a few steps away, just enough that he didn’t have to see that guy in his peripheral vision anymore. His heart was racing. He wasn’t supposed to do this. He had never done this. But he was done being the one who always stepped aside.

Taking a deep breath, he looked at you—really looked at you—and finally said the words he should’ve said a long time ago.

“I like you.” His voice was quiet, but firm. “And I don’t wanna just stand around and watch someone else get to be with you.”

Your lips parted slightly, surprise flickering across your face. “Hendery…”

“I know I should’ve said something sooner,” he rushed on, afraid that if he let you speak, you’d tell him it was too late. “But I didn’t. And that’s on me. I just… I need you to know. Because if there’s even the smallest chance you feel the same way, I don’t wanna let this slip through my fingers.”

The silence stretched between you, thick with something he couldn’t name. Then, slowly, you smiled.

“I was waiting for you to say something,” you admitted, and his breath caught. “I just didn’t think you ever would.”

His heart slammed against his ribs. “So does that mean…?”

You rolled your eyes, but it was fond, amused. “It means yes, you idiot.”

You took a deep breath, standing outside your family’s house with Ten practically glued to your side. He had his arm wrapped around yours, fingers loosely intertwined with yours, and his head resting dramatically on your shoulder.

"Do we have to go in?" he whined playfully, squeezing your hand. "What if they don’t like me? What if they think I’m weird?"

You turned to face him, gently flicking his forehead. "First of all, they will like you. Second, you are weird."

Ten gasped, clutching his chest as if you had just mortally wounded him. "Excuse me?! You love my weirdness!"

You laughed, nudging him toward the door. "I do. But come on, my mom is already watching us from the window."

Ten straightened up immediately, but his hand remained tightly around yours. As soon as you stepped inside, your mom was already there, greeting you both with a warm smile.

"You must be Ten!" she said, pulling him into a hug before he could react.

Ten’s eyes widened, but he immediately melted into the embrace. "Oh, I like your mom already," he whispered, making you chuckle.

Your dad stood behind her, eyeing Ten with a raised brow. "So, you’re the famous boyfriend."

"That’s me!" Ten said proudly, squeezing your hand for comfort. "Y/N talks about me all the time, huh?" He shot you a teasing look, and you rolled your eyes.

Your younger sibling popped up from behind your dad. "Do you really dance better than Y/N?"

Ten let out an exaggerated gasp. "Better? Y/N, how dare they question my superiority!" He clung to you dramatically, hiding behind you like a scared kitten.

Your mom laughed, clearly already falling for his antics. "Come on, let’s eat before Ten permanently fuses himself to Y/N’s side."

At the dinner table, Ten was an absolute sweetheart—helping serve food, listening intently to stories about your childhood, and sneaking little glances at you like he was already planning to brag about tonight later.

At one point, your dad cleared his throat. "So, Ten. What exactly are your intentions with my child?"

You tensed, but Ten, still holding onto your sleeve, simply pouted. "Intentions? To keep them forever, obviously."

Your sibling snorted, and your mom bit back a smile, but your dad raised an eyebrow. "Forever, huh?"

Ten nodded enthusiastically. "Of course! Y/N is my favorite person in the world." Then, as if realizing how much he was confessing, he turned to you and whined, "Y/N, your dad is scary! Protect me!"

Your dad sighed, shaking his head. "Fine, I approve. But only because you’re the first person to make Y/N bring home someone this entertaining."

Ten beamed, resting his head against your shoulder again. "See? I knew they’d like me."

You groaned, but deep down, you were relieved. As clingy as he was, he had your family wrapped around his finger already.

Later, as you walked Ten to the door, he suddenly wrapped you in a tight hug, burying his face in your neck. "Your family is nice," he mumbled. "But I missed having you all to myself."

You laughed, running your fingers through his hair. "You were literally attached to me all night."

"Not enough," he grumbled. "Now, come on, say you love me before I leave, or I’ll refuse to let go."

You rolled your eyes but leaned in, whispering, "I love you, clingy baby."

Ten grinned against your skin. "I knew it. You love my weirdness!"

It was a quiet afternoon in the dorm, and you were just about to sit down with your book when you heard the distinct thud of something hitting the floor followed by an exaggerated “Oof!”

You glanced over at Hendery, who had just tripped over the rug for the third time that day, sending a chair toppling over as he flailed his arms in an attempt to regain his balance. He had been trying to make you coffee, but it was clear he was more successful at creating chaos than anything drinkable.

“Are you okay?” you asked, trying not to laugh as he stood up, dusting off his pants like it was a routine at this point.

“Yeah, yeah! Totally fine!” Hendery said, his voice rising in pitch, clearly trying to act like nothing had happened. His hair was slightly disheveled, and a sheepish grin crept onto his face as he straightened the chair. “Just a... just a minor setback. I’ve got this!”

You raised an eyebrow. “Really? Because the coffee machine looks like it’s had a run-in with a tornado.”

He turned around to face the mess, eyes widening as he took in the spilled coffee grounds, the broken coffee cup, and the puddle of water spreading across the counter. “Oh,” he said slowly, “that might be my bad...”

You tried to stifle a giggle, but it wasn’t working. The sight of him awkwardly trying to fix everything, while knocking over another chair, was just too much.

“I swear, I’m usually good at this stuff,” Hendery muttered, trying to mop up the mess with a towel that was much too small for the task. “Like, I can do a lot of things, but... I don’t know. This? Not my forte.”

You couldn’t help but tease him. “I’m starting to believe you have a hidden talent for turning everyday tasks into an obstacle course.”

His face turned a shade of red that rivaled the coffee stains now spread across the floor. “I-I don’t mean to! It just... happens.”

You walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay. I’ll help clean up. You can stick to being adorable.”

Hendery’s eyes lit up as he smiled, his earlier clumsiness forgotten in an instant. “You think I’m adorable?”

You nodded, laughing softly as you grabbed a cloth to help him. “You’re a disaster, but you’re my disaster.”

“Maybe I should trip over things more often,” Hendery mumbled, half-joking, as he tried to stop the next round of chaos from unfolding.

“Only if you promise not to break anything important this time.”

The waves crashed against the jagged rocks, the salty breeze tousling Hendery’s dark hair as he stood at the cliff’s edge. You stood beside him, arms crossed, watching the turbulent sea below. You both should have turned back an hour ago, but something about the eerie melody floating through the air had kept you rooted in place.

“Hendery, I swear if you take one more step closer, I’m—”

Your words died in your throat as a figure emerged from the water, the siren’s body half-submerged in the foamy waves. Your stomach twisted.

It had your face.

Your eyes. Your voice. Even the same mischievous smirk you often gave Hendery when teasing him. But this thing… it wasn’t you. It was something else entirely.

“Come to me,” the siren—your doppelgänger—purred, extending a hand toward Hendery. “You’ve thought about it, haven’t you? About how it would feel if I touched you?”

Your face burned at the implication, but when you turned to Hendery, expecting him to be either horrified or confused, he just… froze. Staring. Not saying anything.

Your heart dropped.

“Oh my god,” you whispered, stepping in front of him. “Dude. Why did that siren take on my image to try and seduce you? Is there something you wanna tell me?”

Hendery’s head snapped toward you, eyes wide like a deer caught in headlights. “I—uh—what? No, I mean—wait, let me—” He choked on his words, ears turning pink. “That’s not—”

“You’ve thought about it,” you repeated in mock horror. “I knew it! You have a thing for me!”

“I—No! I mean—yes? No! I mean, it’s not like that—”

You raised a brow, crossing your arms. “Hendery.”

He groaned, running a hand down his face before shooting a glare at the siren—who was watching your interaction with an amused smirk. “This is your fault,” he muttered before finally sighing and turning back to you.

“Okay, fine,” he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. “Maybe I… like you. Like, a lot. But I wasn’t exactly planning to confess it under threat of being dragged into the ocean by a monster wearing your face.”

Your heart stuttered at his words, but before you could respond, the siren clicked its tongue.

“This is cute and all,” it drawled, “but I’d rather be stealing his breath in another way.”

“Oh, hell no.” Without thinking, you grabbed a rock and chucked it at the creature. It let out a screech before disappearing into the waves, its illusion vanishing with it.

Silence. Then—

“Did you just—”

“I panicked,” you admitted. “But hey, it worked.”

Hendery let out a disbelieving laugh before looking at you, eyes softening. “So… now that my biggest secret is out, are you gonna let me drown in embarrassment, or…?”

You rolled your eyes, but a small smile tugged at your lips. “Nah, I think I’ll keep you around. Someone’s gotta make sure you don’t get lured to your death by sea monsters.”

His grin was brighter than the moonlight.