GUNIL 

It had been a long day, to put it nicely. You had held it in as much as you could, with small sniffles occasionally leaving you on the drive home, which you could easily pass off as allergies. Still, as you pushed your keys into the knob, you felt your chest tighten with that all-too-familiar feeling. You cleared your throat, trying to push away the feeling, pushing the door open.

“I’m home…” You called out, your voice a bit hoarse and raw. 

“Hey babe!” Gunil called back, his voice coming from the kitchen. You took a deep, shaky breath, shutting the door behind you, taking your shoes off, padding softly into the living room, sitting on the couch, and putting your head in your hands. You heard his footsteps get a bit closer, a small kiss being pressed on the top of your head as he made his way around to sit next to you.

“Woah, hey, you okay?” He asked, sitting down next to you, his hand finding its way to your knee. You nod your head, yes, but that doesn’t stop the tears from falling and the sniffles from leaving your nose.

“You don’t sound very okay... What’s going on?” He said, rubbing your knee softly. 

"Nothing,” you said, trying to push it down, but he could see right through you. 

“Hey, look at me.” He said, tenderly, letting you take your time lifting your head. His heart ached when he saw the tears running down your cheeks, and he reached out, cupping your face with his hands. “Hey, there you are. What’s going on, pretty baby?” He asked, rubbing your cheeks with his thumbs, wiping away your tears. His voice was soft, warm, and quiet. You shook your head softly, with more tears falling down your cheeks. 

“Long day?” He asked, letting you go through the motions while still trying to assess the situation. You nodded as he wiped a few more tears from your cheek. “Oh, my poor baby. Come here.” He said, pulling you into his chest, leaning back on the couch, shifting so you were lying between his legs. Your arms wrapped around his waist, and his found their way around your shoulders, letting you get it out, his hands occasionally rubbing your back or toying with your hair. After a while, when your soft sobs subsided and you were left with shaky but steady breaths, he patted your back softly. 

“Better?” His voice was still warm and soft, soothing your internal turmoil. You nodded, meaning it a little more than the first time he asked. He smiled softly, coaxing you to look up at him by putting his fingers under your chin. “How are you still so beautiful?” he asked, a small chuckle filling the otherwise silent room. You rolled your eyes playfully, adjusting your body so you could look at him properly. 

“You’re the beautiful one, you know. Taking care of me like this...” You said, your eyes meeting his with nothing but love and admiration for him.

“Loving you is easier than breathing, sunshine. We can both be beautiful.” He said, his hand petting your hair softly. You smiled at the contact and his words, too exhausted from the day to fight back in your usual playful manner. 

“Come on, let’s go be beautiful together and get you something to eat and get you some water.” He said, before pulling you into a small, tender kiss.

JUNGSU

You didn’t mean to slam the door when you got home, honestly. Jungsu was in your shared bedroom, working on something on the computer, and if it hadn’t been for the reverb of the slam against the wall, he wouldn’t have even noticed you were home. Curiously, he took his headphones off and walked out to the living room, where frustrated tears streamed down your cheeks. The last thing you needed after today was the laces of your shoes to be knotted, yet here you were, trying to force them apart.

Without saying anything, he approached you softly, letting you know of his presence with a bit more weight, not wanting to scare you or make anything worse. 

“Do you need help?” He asked softly, squatting next to you, noticing the hot tears streaking down your cheeks. Everything in you wanted to say no; you wanted to be independent and have control of the situation. But even you knew when to give up. And so you nodded softly, letting yourself softly fall onto your butt onto the floor. He followed suit, sitting next to you.

“Can I?” He asked, not wanting to overstep. You nodded with a heavy sigh. He nodded back in acknowledgment, his fingers slowly and easily undoing the knot in your shoelaces, pulling your shoes off and putting them by the door next to his. You let out a small scoff, frustrated that you had let yourself get to this point. 

“Hey, no, none of that.” He said, hearing your scoff, as he helped you up to your feet. “Bad day, huh?” He asked, pulling you into a tight hug. 

“You have no idea.” You said into his chest. His lips found their way to your forehead, leaving a small, loving, lingering kiss. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” He asked, not pushing either way. 

“No, not right now.” You admitted, your arms finally wrapping around him. 

“That’s okay. What can I do for you, then, baby? Name it, and I’ll do it.” He said, his voice sincere and full of love. He always offered to do ‘anything’ but he always meant it, good days or bad. You hummed, your fingers playing with the fabric of his shirt. 

“Can we watch that movie I’ve been wanting to see? I saw that they put it on Netflix the other day.” You asked softly.

“Of course we can. Come on.” He said, without hesitating. He interlaced your fingers, dragging you to the bedroom, sitting you on the bed. “Get comfy; I’ll be back soon.” He said. Sure enough, no more than 20 minutes later, he came back with his arms full of sweets, popcorn he had popped in the microwave, water, and your favorite drink, just as a little extra treat. He settled in next to you, arranging the snacks in front of you, wrapping one arm around your shoulder, and pulling you close to him. “I love you; you know that, right?” He asked, planting a small kiss on your temple. 

“I do. I love you too; you know that, right?” You asked, mirroring his words. He laughed softly, kissing your temple again. He did know that, and even on your bad days, he felt it more than anything.

GAON

Gaon, ever the energetic one, never passed up an opportunity to greet you at the door whenever you came home; it didn’t matter where you came from. Be it work, out with friends, or just some time alone, he was always there waiting for you, ready to shower you in love and ask about how it went. So when you came home in tears, shoving past him wordlessly, he knew something was wrong—seriously wrong. 

“Wh- hello??” He said, watching you shove past him and walk directly into your shared bedroom, slamming the door behind you. He stood there, bewildered for a moment, trying to process what had just happened. After a moment, he turned on his heels, following in your tracks and knocking on the door. “Babe?” He called through the door, his heart aching as he heard sobs wrack your body.

“Baby? Can I come in?” He asked again after a moment, listening intently. 

“It’s open.” You mumbled flatly into the pillow. He pushed the door open slowly, taking in the scene in front of him. God, did it hurt his heart to see you like this. It was a rare sight. His lips curled into a small frown, and he stepped into the room, slowly walking over to you. 

“What’s going on?” He asked, his tone more worried than accusatory. You shook your head, not wanting to talk about it, or rather, not really being able to. Whenever you opened your mouth, another sob fell from your lips into the pillow, which only tugged at his heart strings. He sat next to you on the edge of the bed, not wanting to overwhelm you but still wanting to be near you as much as possible. “Shh, it’s okay; take your time.” He said, his hand slowly coming down to rub your back, his thumb occasionally rubbing smaller circles in its trail.

“I’m just so tired.” You managed as your breath steadied, tears still falling from your eyes. 

“Emotionally or physically?” He asked while nodding his head in acknowledgment. You hadn’t been sleeping well the last few days, and while he took notice, he didn’t want to make you feel like he was controlling you by telling you to go to sleep at a certain time, the same way he didn’t want you doing the same to him.

“Both, I guess.” You mumbled. He nodded again, his hand rubbing up and down your back with a bit more pressure. 

“I get that. Do you wanna talk about it? Or just take a nap, and then we’ll talk about it later?” He offered, giving you the majority of the control in this situation. You didn’t have to answer verbally; your tugs on his arm were more than enough. He chuckled softly, lying next to you, pulling you flush against his body and wrapping his arms around your shoulders. One hand continued to rub up and down your back at a slow pace, the other slowly raking through your hair. “I’ve got you, baby. I’ve got you.” He whispered as your breathing steadied, his whispers of love and safety lulling you into a much-needed nap.

ODE

If there was one person in the world who made you feel the safest, it was Seungmin. You had texted him before you headed home that today was just the worst; your lack of emojis really punctuated the severity. The drive home was silent save for your occasional sniffles and labored breathing, your knuckles turning white from your grip on the steering wheel. You just wanted to get home. 

And home was waiting for you. The second you pushed the door open, there stood Seungmin, arms open, waiting for you. You wrapped your arms around his waist, finally releasing all of the pent-up emotion from the day, clinging to him so hard that you were afraid that if you let go, he would disappear. His chin rested on top of your head, one hand rubbing your back and the other carefully nestled in the nape of your neck, pulling you as close to him as possible. 

“I’ve got you. You’re okay.” He said, walking the two of you over to the couch, taking small steps so you didn’t trip. He laid down carefully, making sure you were comfortable the entire time, his arms cradling you. You were his baby in every sense. He let you go through the motions yourself, laying beneath you as your rock, wiping your tears and whatever snot had come from your nose, his eyes never faltering in their pure adoration of you. 

When you had calmed down enough to talk without hyperventilating, he sat up, sitting you up with him, pulling you into his lap, pressing his chest against your back, and resting his head on your shoulder. “There’s my baby. I’m proud of you.”

“For crying?” You asked, scoffing just a touch.

“For letting me take care of you.” He said, his tone stern but loving. It’s not that you didn’t let him take care of you often—quite the opposite, actually. He was always doting on you, pampering and spoiling you. Still, he loved to remind you that he was thankful for the opportunity, grateful and appreciative that you let him in and let him help you as opposed to shutting him out, which would be much easier to do. 

You nodded at his words, acknowledging them. “Of course, I love you.” You said, your fingers tracing small shapes on his arms that had wrapped themselves around your waist.

“I love you too. So much.” He said into your shoulder, inhaling the lingering smell of your shampoo and conditioner on the ends of your hair. “You smell good.” He said, trying to lighten the mood a touch. You chuckled softly, much to his relief. 

“Thanks,” you said, leaning onto him again and letting out a long, shaky sigh. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” He asked, knowing that there were times you did and times you didn’t. He never pushed when you didn’t, but he would always sit attentively when you did.

You nodded. “I think so.” You said, getting comfortable in his lap. He hummed in response, his fingers slowly raking through your hair, parting it, and then mixing it over and over. He knew you liked it but were too shy to ask for it, but the way you relaxed in his touch made him continue, occasionally pulling your hair into a braid or a ponytail before letting it fall again, all the while listening to you talk about what was bothering you and responding when he felt the need to. And so, the night went on like this until the both of you were too sleepy to keep talking but content enough to know that things were going to be okay as long as you had each other.

JUNHAN

Junhan was never one to pry, always giving you space when you came home from wherever you were, knowing you needed time to unwind from the world in a quiet place before you were ready to be loved on. But when you came home in near hysterics, he knew that he couldn’t sit there and watch. Still, he didn’t push. He watched carefully, assessing the situation and determining the right time to step in. 

That came when you dropped to your knees by the door a few moments later. He walked over to you quick enough to get to you but not fast enough to overwhelm you, kneeling by your side. 

“Hey, hey, listen to me. Can you do that?” He asked, his voice soft and smooth. Despite your hysterics, you nodded, finding some clarity and light in his presence. “Good, that’s my good baby. I’m here. Just listen. I’m gonna help you stand up, and then we can either sit on the couch, we can go lay down in bed, or we can do whatever works best for you. I’ve got you.” He spoke, his voice still calm and guiding. You nodded, gesturing your head to the couch as best you could. That’s all he needed. 

He stood first, offering both his hands to you and helping you stand up. His thumbs traced over your knuckles gingerly, his lips pressing into your forehead softly. “There you go; you’re doing so well. So so good.” He spoke, his voice quiet but firm. He led you to the couch, his hands never leaving yours. Once you were both sitting comfortably, he placed one hand on your back and one on your chest softly.

“Breathe with me.” He said, his words coming out as more of a gentle command than a question. He exaggerated his own breaths, taking large breaths in through his nose and exhaling them out of his mouth, guiding you to do the same. Once you got a steady rhythm, his breathing returned to normal, but he was still keeping a pace for you to follow if you felt yourself getting lost again. While you breathed, working through sobs and whines, his voice never faltered, the room filling with loving, grounding words. 

“There you go, just like that. You’re doing so good, I’m so proud of you. In and out, there you go. So so good.”

His hands both rubbed in small circular motions, the one on your back going in one direction and the one on your chest going in the other direction, a small way for him to bring you back to the present, grounding you and reminding you that whatever had been bothering you was gone now; all that was left was you and him, and that’s all that mattered in this moment. Once your breathing had returned to a normal, albeit shaky, state, he let his hand fall into your lap, grabbing your hand. 

“Is it a 'talk about it' problem or just a shit day?” He asked, his voice cutting through the silence.

“Shit day.” You replied, your voice hushed, resigned. He hummed in response, his hand moving up to the back of your neck, applying some soft pressure. 

“Do you wanna go to bed and forget about it?” He offered, genuinely. As much as he would love to know what’s going on, knowing wouldn’t make it go away or not happen, and really, all he wanted was to be there for you. You nodded at his question, leaning over and leaving a small kiss on his cheek; it was your wordless way of saying, “I love you.”. 

He helped you to the bedroom, taking special care to help you undress and get into your pajamas, his fingers occasionally rubbing out tense spots on your body in passing. He let you sit on the bed, brushing your hair for you and bringing you whatever you needed from anywhere in the house. His whispers were never silencing, full of praise and love.

JOOYEON

It was no secret that Jooyeon was incredibly protective of you. So when you came home with tear stains on your cheeks and fresh tears daring to spill over, his protective side took over immediately. 

When you pushed the door open with a heavy sigh, he immediately hopped up from the couch where he had been relaxing, waiting for you. Without a second thought, he pulled you into his embrace, his arms squeezing your shoulders—admittedly a bit too much, but you didn’t care. 

“What happened? Are you okay? Do I need to do something? Talk to someone?” He said, his voice full of worry and a bit of anger. Not at you, of course; never at you. Still, the fact that someone or something in the world was out there hurting the love of his life was enough for him to be angry. His actions made you chuckle softly—a welcome new feeling from those that had plagued you throughout the day. 

“I’m fine… It’s just been kind of a bad day.” You said, downplaying the situation. Frankly, it was a classic case of Murphy’s Law—everything that could possibly go wrong today did, and then some. 

“You don’t sound fine.” He said, sternly, pressing his chin to the top of your head, trying his best to protect you from everything in the world outside of his embrace. Your arms wrapped around him, and you let your head fall onto his chest. His heartbeat in your ear was a sweet soundtrack of purpose and love. 

“I… I’m not. I will be.” You reassured him. It wasn’t that you didn’t like to be taken care of, but you didn’t like worrying him, and you especially hated feeling pitied by him, despite the fact that he has never done that. He was your person, and you didn’t want to lose that. You wouldn’t, obviously, but the way the day had gone, you were preparing for it. “Just... please don’t leave.” You whispered into the fabric of his shirt. 

He pulled you away softly, keeping his hands on your shoulders. “Why would I ever do that?” He asked, his voice now quiet as well, but serious. There were hints of hurt in his words, but there was a bigger part of him that knew this was just the bad day and anxiety talking, and not that you meant it.

You shook your head softly. “I dunno. I just... everything has gone wrong. It feels like one wrong move, and you’re gone too.” You admitted. His heart ached, and he pulled you into another bone-crushing hug. 

“Oh, my silly baby. You couldn’t get rid of me, even if you tried. I’m here; I’ve got you; I’m not going anywhere.” One of his hands cupped the back of your head, pushing you into him, trapping you in his warmth and safety. 

“Promise?” You asked, your voice small. 

“I promise, with everything in me. The only place I’ll ever go without you is the bathroom.” He joked, trying to lighten the mood. It worked, despite how stupid it was, because you let out a genuine laugh—so much so that you couldn’t even fake a pout about it. 

“I guess I can live with that... Thank you for being here.” You said, your tone turning serious toward the end.

you heard footsteps slowly approaching you to your left, making you look up and lock eyes with an apologetic seungmin. “sorry it took me so long, i guess a lot of people wanted tteokbokki today.” the corners of his lips upturned, making your stomach do flips as if you haven’t been waking up to the same smile every day for the past six years. he plops down next to you, being careful not to drop any as he adjusts himself on the blanket.

“it’s okay,” you respond, smiling at him as he opens one of the containers and takes out a utensil from the picnic basket you both had packed the night before. “miyeon fell asleep while you were gone, though.”

he shrugs, placing a piece of rice cake on the plastic fork and smothering it in sauce. “here, have some.” you do as told, adjusting your daughter in your lap before leaning forward and taking the piece that was being fed to you. seungmin chuckles at your pleased grin, the sparkle in your eye asking for another piece. he did just that, adding two more pieces into the fork and feeding them to you carefully so as to not get any onto anything.

but you didn’t feel the sauce hit the side of your mouth at your second bite, making seungmin stare at you in awe for a few moments. tilting your head to the side in confusion, you swallow the tteokbokki as you match your husband's stare. you watch him as he grabbed a napkin and began wiping your mouth, watching the red sauce wet the napkin.

moments like this made you fall more in love with him than you already were. prior to meeting seungmin, you hadn’t felt a greater love than his. he was so caring, making sure you always felt so loved regardless of the bad nights you shared with one another. six years later and he still made you feel like you were still teenagers in love.

he noticed you staring, his toothy grin showing as his eyes scanned your features. “why is your face all blushing?” he double checked that he had gotten all the remaining sauce before tossing the napkin into the picnic basket, turning back to you and placing a small kiss to your cheek.

the heat in your cheeks rise as your eyes never leave his, moving your one hand to his and placing a chaste kiss to his lips as your thumb rubs small circles under his eye. his hand travels to your waist, gripping it gently as he sits down on his knees and moves closer to you. it isn’t until you both feel miyeon start moving in your arms that you both pull away, signaling that she’s coming out of her slumber.