“Oppa!” The moment she opened the door, she ran straight towards Minho and gave him a hug. “You’re back!”

Minho chucked and hugged her back. The 31-year-old patted her head. “Yes, and in one piece.”

“Nice to see you, too, kiddo,” Key snorted from the side.

Yoonmi laughed and let go of Minho to approach the three other members. She gave Key a hug and felt herself being sandwiched from the back by Taemin. Giggles were all that came from her.

“To be fair, oppa,” she reasoned, “this is the first time I’ve seen Minho oppa since his last break. I’ve been seeing you three constantly the past month or so. And I saw Taemin oppa like every week for the past year.”

“That’s right,” Taemin poked her cheek.

She pressed her lips into a tight smile and escaped their hug sandwich. Next thing she knew, she was tucked under Onew’s arm and smiling at them.

“You’re complete,” she cheered. “After two years, all five of you are here!”

The four older boys gave her soft smiles. She grinned in content and wrapped her arms around Onew’s middle. It was nice to see them all there. She could see the small photo of Jonghyun that they stuck up on the mirror as if to have him watch over them while they practice.

“I still think it’s unfair that you clearly have your favorites,” Key booped her nose. “I mean, you waited for Jinki hyung’s discharge right outside his station.”

She scrunched her nose at him. That was true. She had ran and hugged the elder, and it was an airport moment. Onew had lifted her, swinging them a little to keep them from toppling over due to her momentum. A video of that somehow made it into twitter and trended for a week.

“I’m not playing favorites,” she stuck her tongue out at the Daegu boy, “you guys are brothers. Jinki oppa is a dad.”

“Well aren’t you a smart little kid?”

“I’m an adult now!”

“Stop,” Taemin groaned, “You can’t be an adult! You were literally a baby when we met you!”

She gave him a playful smile before laughing. She remembered that day. She was a small and shy 13-year-old girl who met the group that inspired and comforted her. Now, they were as good as family to her. Almost as much as Bangtan.

“It may have been eight years,” Minho ruffled her hair, “but she’s still a baby.”

She gave him a look. “You sound like the Bangtan oppas.”

“I’ve been chatting with Taehyung a lot recently.”

Onew chuckled and patted her head. “Okay, I’m gonna go and order lunch. How about you learn the dance to our comeback song while waiting?”

Her eyes lit up as she skipped over to the center of the practice room in front of the mirrors. The three younger SHINee members followed after her to show her what their choreography looks like. Onew smiled fondly at them and pulled out his phone to order food. With how excited the boys get whenever the little ray of sunshine visits them, their energy just skyrockets.

“Oppa, nothing too spicy, please!”

Onew looked up and smiled at the younger girl while Key lightly teased her about not being able to handle spicy food.

Yoonmi laid in Mark’s bed, glancing between her laptop and his back. She decided to come over that night just to check up on him to make sure he, and the rest of the dreamies, weren’t overworking themselves for their comeback.

The past hour has been filled with her working on schoolwork while Mark’s constant muttering and humming filled the silence. He had been working on making new songs on his own laptop on his desk. The whole time, though, the two haven’t spoken. Aside from Yoonmi giving him a small kiss on the cheek or on the lips whenever she left the room to get water or go to the bathroom, they didn’t really mind each other. Well, Mark didn’t.

Sure, this was how they usually were, but she was in the mood for actually spending time with each other together and not doing their own things.

Her phone dinged, pulling her out of her thoughts. It was a message from Jisung.

거대한 쥐🐹: hey, you’re in the dorms?

me: yeah why?

거대한 쥐🐹: wanna come over to the eighth floor? hannah noona says mark hyung’s way too in the zone to do anything else

거대한 쥐🐹: i can try teaching you mario kart again

me: sure

me: give me a few minutes, i’ll be right up there

거대한 쥐🐹: got it. hurry up, haechan hyung wants you to try this new thing he cooked

She laughed and put her phone back into her cardigan’s pocket. “Oppa, I’m heading over to the Dream dorm. Jisung wants to teach me games and Donghyuck oppa wants me to try something he cooked.”

“Okay,” he hummed in response.

She got out of bed and moved to walk past him, but she was held back before she could walk out the door. Mark was holding on to her arm.

“Hold on, Love,” he began, “did I do anything wrong?”

“Of course not.” Her giggles filled the room while she scrunched her nose at him. “What makes you say that?”

“You give me little kisses before you leave the room.” The slight pout on his face made her shake her head at him.

“I just didn’t want to interrupt your flow,” she said before placing a kiss on his nose. “Jisung says you’re way too in the zone right now.”

“Well,” the older pulled her onto his lap, placing a hand on her cheek and pulling her forward so their foreheads were pressed together, “I’ll focus on you now.”

She melted into his hold when he pulled her in for a kiss. Her hands rested on his chest while she let him hold her up.

A short while passed before Yoonmi pulled away a little, giggling at how Mark chased after her. “I told Jisung I’d head up there.”

With a kiss to her cheek, Mark pulled her phone out of her pocket and messaged Jisung through it.

Me: you can’t steal my girlfriend from me. better luck next time, sung -mark hyung

거대한 쥐🐹: 🤦🏻

거대한 쥐🐹: yoonmi, you’re coming over here next time instead of down there

She watched in amusement while Mark placed her phone with his on his desk. Squeals escaped her mouth when Mark lifted her up and carried her to his bed.

“We,” he began while getting them both under the covers, “are going to cuddle and talk about what happened in our day. You have all my attention, my little star.”

“First of all, I might need a date to Jiwoo unnie’s wedding.”

“I’m all yours. Well, that is if Jungkook hyung doesn’t beat me to it. Or Yoongi hyung. Or honestly the rest of the Bangtan hyungs.”

The grin on her face while her heart lightened was all too much for her. She pressed a kiss to her boyfriend’s lips and tucked her head under his chin to listen to his heartbeat while she spoke about their practice earlier that day.

Yoonmi woke up to find Mark already looking at her. She watched his smile grow before he kissed her forehead.

“Good morning, gorgeous,” he greeted her. “You know, I wouldn’t mind waking up to this everyday.”

He had stayed the night after her showcase just to spend White Day with her. Well, in the morning. He had promised Chenle he’d go over to the younger’s house in the afternoon.

“It’s way too early for me to cringe at that.” She closed her eyes and buried her face in his chest. The light shaking from his soft laughter made her smile. She felt her chest warm upon hearing him. It had been a while since they last had a sleepover.

“Hey, don’t fall back asleep.” Mark sat up, pulling her along with him. “I only get you in the morning before the hyungs take you and I go to my little sister.”

“You guys have had the strangest family tree since Chenle got Daegal.” Her voice came out in a murmur. Mark hummed in agreement.

She could feel him shifting around and heard the familiar sound of him unlocking his phone. Still half-asleep, she barely processed the fact that Mark took a selfie of them with her cuddled up on him. She was slowly being pulled from her sleepy state when she heard soft music playing.

“One Direction,” she lightly lifted her head and smiled at him, “I’m proud of you.”

“Only because it can say how I feel better than me trying to get something out.” He got up from her bed and held a hand out for her to take. “Wanna dance?”

His smile made her heart stutter even after years of being together. She placed her hand in his and let him pull her up. She rested her head on his shoulder and clasped her hands behind his neck. She could feel the warmth of his hands find their place on the small of her back.

They danced like that for a while. Just the two of them in their pajamas, bed head still a big mess, yet she somehow found this to be a pretty picture. Her insides practically melted when Mark started singing along in a low voice. The heat rose to her cheeks.

“This must be the cheesiest way we’ve done White Day together yet,” she let out a little laugh. “Which film or drama did you get this from?”

“Hey; I thought this up all on my own!”

“Mhmm.”

It was a simple nonsense conversation. They didn’t talk too much. Being with each other spoke enough words for the two of them, which is something she always loves about their relationship. Deep in her thoughts, she didn’t realize she started singing along to the bridge. Not until she felt him press a kiss to her temple.

“I’m here to stay,” he told her, “for as long as possible. As long as you’ll have me, I’ll be right here. You mean everything to me, too.”

His words made her feel like she was flying. Though she couldn’t say anything, the way she hugged him tighter and went on her toes to kiss his cheek expressed her appreciation for him.

“Let’s go brush our teeth, love.” She pulled him over to her bathroom, a content smile on her face. “Then you can help me out with breakfast, yeah?”

The NCT 127 members were packing up their things. Practice had ended early since it was a Sunday, so everyone was just excited to go home, take showers, rest, and wait for the release of their Japanese comeback.

Mark heard a sound of surprise from Hannah and some rustling, but he didn’t turn around. That was probably just Haechan giving her another hug while she tried to fix her stuff. Mark stretched his arms and groaned as he stood up.

“You know,” he heard Haechan’s voice call, “we’re gonna keep her from you if you keep ignoring your girlfriend.”

At first, he thought nothing of it. Then he realized that Haechan was talking to him. Mark quickly turned around and saw Yoonmi standing just a few steps away from him, a smile of amusement on her face. She skipped towards him and wrapped her arms around his neck in a hug.

“Oh my god,” he quickly hugged her back, resting his chin on her shoulder, “you’re here! What are you doing here?”

“Picking up my boyfriend before this mysterious anniversary date he has planned,” she told him with a playful smile. “Also delivering chocolates to your group mates.”

She pulled him over to where the other 127 members were huddle together, presumably trying out her chocolates.

She explained two boxes go to 127, two go to wayv, two go to the dreamies, one goes to Shotaro and Sungchan, and one goes to superm since, well, only three of them weren’t in NCT. She told them that she already passed by the SHINee boys and gave them theirs.

“Oh, I almost forgot,” she dug back into her paper bag. She pulled out a significantly smaller box with a rose head made out of chocolate. It was clearly store bought. “This is for Jaehyun oppa from me and Ggukoo oppa. Happy birthday!”

“Thanks, Yoonmi,” Jaehyun smiled and received the box.

Yuta snickered and pointed to Mark, “He’s jealous.”

“No!”

Okay, so his response came out a little too fast. He just huffed at them and circled his arms around Yoonmi’s waist, pulling her onto his lap. He could see her cheeks flush when he did that, embarrassed to be showing a little too much affection in front of his members. But the rest of 127 were just hooting at them. He could feel her slightly curling in on herself. Despite being able to perform in front of millions of screaming people, she was pretty shy to have eight grown men and a grown woman being loud in front of her.

“Okay, hey, stop,” Mark chuckled. “She’s getting embarrassed.”

The members laughed while Hannah took the paper bags from Yoonmi.

“Duckie and I will drop these off, don’t you worry,” Hannah told her. “I’ll even take Sungtaro to the Dream dorm for dinner so you can have alone time.”

“Oh,” Haechan stood up and held a hand out to Yoonmi, “handshake first. You aren’t leaving my sight until we do our handshake.”

Mark watched while his best friend and his girlfriend did their handshake that ended with a hug. He laughed and got up.

“Okay, hands off my girlfriend.”

“We’re best friends!” Haechan pouted. “It’s our job to team up with Haeeunie and against you.”

“That isn’t a lie,” Yoonmi shrugged.

Mark sighed but took Yoonmi’s hand. “Bye!”

Mark walked out of the shower and settled on his bed where Yoonmi was holding a box. He sat on the bed and watched while Yoonmi set the box in front of him. She then shifted behind him to dry his hair with his towel.

“Your shirt is nice,” she noted.

“Oh no,” he shook his head a little, “that’s code for you’re gonna steal this soon, isn’t it?”

“Maybe...” she trailed off and squeaked when he reached back to poke her side. “Open your box! It’s my gift!”

He laughed at her and pulled the cover off of the box. Inside was a big heart with “M&M” written on it in white. He smiled.

“What is this?”

“It’s a chocolate heart,” she laughed, “there’s a little hammer in there. You’ve gotta break into the chocolate heart to see your present.”

“But you made this heart. I don’t wanna break it.”

“Well, it’s made to be eaten,” she kissed his cheek and sat next to him, “and you’ve got to open it to see your present.”

He kissed her forehead before grabbing the small wooden hammer and proceeding to hit the heart. After a few hits, it caved in and revealed a small box with a ribbon on it. He picked it up, noting how excited she looked, and opened it. There was a little wooden box with a handle on the side.

“Turn it!”

He laughed at her excitement and spun the handle. A familiar melody started playing. His eyes widened.

“No way,” he played the whole thing through until it repeated, “this is Spring Love! It’s been ages since we wrote that.”

“I know,” she smiled at him. “I thought it would be nice. We don’t have plans of releasing it, so it’s nice to keep a little secret, just between you and me. So I got Yoonsung oppa’s help and made a music box!”

He looked at her, heart warming up at all the thought she put into his present. She went the extra mile once again. He made a mental note to give her something great on White Day before resting a hand on the side of her face and pulling her into a kiss.

“You’re way too perfect,” he mumbled once they pulled apart.

“Far from it,” she laughed. “Didn’t you say we have a date?”

“We do,” he took her hand and picked up the chocolate heart in the other. “We can bring this for extra dessert.”

He wrapped her up in one of his hoodies and pulled her out the dorm and into the elevator. Once they got to the top floor, they took the stairs to the rooftop. He opened the door for her which revealed a big blanket with pillows and an open basket on it. There was a dish filled with pasta and a box of spinach cheese pizza on it. Hannah’s projector and rarely used projector screen were set up as well.

“Oh my god,” Yoonmi gasped, “when did you have the time to do this?”

“Well, since you came early,” he booped her nose making her giggle, “I had to ask the dreamies to set if up for me. I’m also pretty sure Hannah used my card to order them dinner, too.”

Yoonmi laughed and skipped over to the blanket. She cheered when she saw the garlic butter dip for the pizza crust. He pulled out a bottle of wine from the basket along with two glasses. She caught a glimpse of the cookies and chocolate coated strawberries inside and laughed.

“Straight out of a movie.”

“That’s kinda my branding,” he shrugged and put on a romcom that she liked on the projector. “Sorry I didn’t get you a gift.”

“It’s been three years, love,” she laughed, “I thought we already established that the one who plans the date doesn’t need to give a gift.”

“Cheers to three years of us.”

“Three years and way longer.”

He stared at her while she excitedly took stuff out of the basket and tried the cookies. He didn’t get her a gift, but here she was still being excited about everything she could see. Her eyes lit up, especially when she noticed a movie playing on the projector. How did he manage to get her to like him back? And stay with him? Even if she didn’t see it, she’s one of the best people in the world. And she was his.

She noticed his eyes on her and tilted her head curiously. “Why are you staring?”

“Nothing,” he smiled. “I’m just glad it’s you.”

“Oppa, I brought food,” she told him. “Let me just bring the puppies out first.”

She set the dishes down on Yoongi’s desk then proceeded to take the dogs from his bed and carry them out to Jungkook.

Yoongi watched with a fond smile. He could take care of himself well enough. He was 28 for god’s sake, a fully grown man, but Yoonmi still insisted on taking care of him. A way to try and repay you for raising me, he remembered she had said. Not that she had to, he loved watching her grow up into the woman she is today.

He was brought out of his thoughts by her small figure entering the room and quickly shutting the door behind her, trying not to slam it. She smiled at him then skipped up to his bed.

“You did well on the AMAs today,” she joked while settling next to him with the dishes in hand.

“It’s like I never got my surgery,” he played along while sitting up. Yoonmi gently helped him up against the bed frame.

“You know I’m capable of sitting up myself, right?”

“You’re struggling with one arm.”

Yoongi shook his head with a chuckle. He silently watched her while she animatedly talked about how the fans reacted to their album while she helped feed him. Being the assistant music director with Namjoon, she was more nervous about how the public world receive it. Her worry about that is probably one of the few reasons he let’s her get away with feeding him. (If it were any other member, he’d just take the spoon and eat on his own) Thankfully, the album was received well and getting loads of positive responses.

Yoongi payed attention as she excitedly went on and on about the video edits she saw all over twitter. He loved seeing her this excited. A little part of him was a little disappointed that the world doesn’t see this side of her as much, but he was for the most part glad that they got to keep this excitable kiddy side of her to themselves.

“Oppa, I’m not making you uncomfortable, am I?” she asked, genuine caution in her eyes as if she were ready to step back the moment he said yes.

“Not at all, Princess,” Yoongi reassured her. “I love hearing your stories.”

The smile that grew on her face after that reminded Yoongi of the happiness he worked so hard to help her attain. One thought echoed in his mind.

“Eunseol unnie,” Yoonmi grinned into the phone, “why’d you call? Not that I don’t want you to call, but I thought you were with Yoonsungie oppa.”

“Your brother is a little too excited doing some online shopping with Yoonseol,” the older girl chuckled. “So, I decided to call you. We want you to be the first to know.”

“Know what?”

“Do you remember,” Eunseol began, “when we were expecting Yoonseol, and you didn’t really get to enjoy it or help in the preparations because of the situation?”

“Please don’t tell me those people are bothering you guys again,” she looked at her (practically) sister in worry. 

Ever since her brother’s business took off and Bangtan had become more well-known internationally, those people have been trying to use their names for their own businesses. She hated it.

“Oh, no, we’ve taken care of that legally,” Eunsol shook her head, “the same time you did, remember?”

“Thank god. So what’s up?”

“Well,” the grin on the older’s face was infectious, “what do you say about being a godmother?”

Yoonmi laughed. “Unnie, Seollie is like six already. Isn’t it a little too late for that?”

The look Eunsol gave her through the screen took a little longer for her to process. When it fully registered in her mind, her eyes widened.

“You’re pregnant!” She let out a joyful laugh when Eunseol nodded. “Oh my god! Another baby, and I get to be a godmother?”

Yoonmi was excited. With Yoonseol, they were practically sisters. With Yoonmi’s adoptive family being in Australia, her parents had entrusted her to her brother’s care. Yoonsung and Eunseol had practically treated her the same way they did Yoonseol. Now that she was an adult, she’d finally be able to be an actual aunt. A godmother!

“You’re going to be taking care of a new little baby boy in about six months, if that’s okay with you.”

“Of course that’s okay,” Yoonmi grinned. “It’s more than okay! This is great! I can get more gifts for him and help Seollie be a big sister! The oppas are going to be so excited, too! Oh, and I can introduce him to Mark oppa…”

A soft smile appeared on her face at the thought. She looked at Eunseol who simply chuckled at her.

“If you have time, stop by the house so I can show you the ultrasound.”

Yoongi pulled the phone away from his ear in frustration. Their manager wasn’t picking up. All he wanted was to surprise the members when he heard that Life Goes On got first on the Billboard Hot 100. He just wanted to celebrate with them.

His older brother walked in the room, a worried look on his face. “Everything okay, Yoongi?”

“Hyung,” Yoongi said almost urgently, “I know it’s four in the morning, but I need you to drive me to Seoul.”

A momentary silence passed between the brothers before Yoongi’s older brother sighed. Yoongi smiled and immediately got out of bed and started getting ready for the three and a half hour drive with one thought in his mind.

No wonder Yoonmi always grins when they give in to her. The victory of the maknaes.

He had seen Namjoon and Hoseok first, visiting Namjoon’s studio to see what they were working on. To say that the two 94 liners were shocked was an understatement, but they got over their excitement and told Yoongi that everyone was at the artist lounge.

The trip to the artist lounge was loud. What else could he expect when Jimin, Taehyung, Jungkook, and Seokjin were together. At this point, Yoongi was confused.

“Where’s the makdungie?”

“She locked herself in her studio,” Jungkook shrugged. “Something about putting the final touches on the songs she’s doing for her collab stage at MAMA.”

“You haven’t seen her yet?” Seokjin asked him.

“No, not yet.”

“Hyung,” Jimin grinned, “you can surprise her!”

“She needs it,” Taehyung agreed. “She’s been stressing herself out recently.”

And that’s how Yoongi found himself sitting in the artist lounge waiting for the rest of the members to head to the practice room for their rehearsals. When he got the text from Seokjin, he went straight for the practice room.

Yoongi cautiously opened the door and peeked inside. He could see the back of Yoonmi’s head, her now black hair a mess most probably from running her hands through it in her focus on work. He chuckled a little, a sound that Yoonmi did not miss. She turned around, and her face lit up.

“Oh my god, Yoongi oppa!”

Yoongi smiled as the younger came running to him. He enveloped her in a hug with his free arm while she avoided his cast. “Hi, princess. How are you?”

“How am I?” she repeated with wide eyes while stepping back, “Oppa, how are you? We haven’t facetimed since I visited you in Daegu!”

“I’ve been recovering well,” he fixed her hair a little and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “I’ve been missing you guys a lot, though.”

“We’ve missed you, too,” she mumbled into his good shoulder. “Wait, why is no one else coming to hug you?”

“Because we all already saw hyung earlier today before you did,” Jungkook teased her.

She playfully pouted at her fellow maknae before burying her face into Yoongi’s good shoulder once again. No one missed the fond smile that grew on Yoongi’s face while he tucked her head under his chin.

Yoonmi said she was going to sleep, but the flash drive Yoongi sent her with his gift was taking up her mind. His note had said to not let anyone else hear it, so she decided to pull out her laptop and earphones while her niece slept peacefully next to her.

She quickly opened up the folder and saw an mp3 file. Quietly anticipating a voice message, she clicked on it and pressed play.

She was surprised when a familiar piano melody started playing. It was something they were working on together before his surgery. Hearing Yoongi softly singing surprised her even more.

She smiled at the words he was saying. She knew they were aiming for a nostalgic and reminiscent mood, but she never expected him to write a soft melody rap about her growing up before his eyes.

One line in particular cut off. It went completely silent, and he half-mumbled the question with such fondness that she felt like he was right there about to give her a hug. The piano picked back up after that for the outro, but she had focused on the last thing he said.

“Have you always been this beautiful?”

The moment the last chord played, she pulled out her phone to video call him. She grinned when he picked up the phone, light still on from reading in bed.

“You’ve never called me beautiful before,” she said the moment she saw him.

“I’m guessing you’ve listened to it then,” Yoongi chuckled. “It’s about time. Our cute and pretty makdungie has grown into a beautiful woman, and I think I’m ready to accept that.”

She smiled at that. Everyone knew, despite Seokjin’s dramatics about her growing up, Yoongi was the one who was the least ready for it. He practically raised her from the start, so he always had the image of the nervous 10-year-old in his head as she grew up.

“I’m still you’re makdungie, though,” she laughed. “No need to get too emotional.”

“You know how it is, princess,” he told her. “I’m proud of you. You grew up so well. I made a few mistakes, but you never held them against me. Thank you.”

“I know you, oppa. You have a purpose for everything. Thank you for raising me well.”

“Thank you for letting me be a big part of your life,” he smiled. “You know, when we were discussing with your brother a few years back about who would adopt you if things go bad, I was ready to go back to my parents even if we weren’t okay yet.”

Yoonmi’s eyes softened. She never knew that. She just assumed everyone somehow got together to convince Chan’s (now her) parents to adopt her.

“I cared about you back then,” Yoongi began, “I cared about you now, and I’m always going to care for you, okay? Even now that you’re growing up. Especially now.”

“Thank you,” she told him.

There was a shift next to her. Yoonseol woke up, rubbing at her eyes. The five-year-old perked up when she saw who was on Yoonmi’s phone screen.

“Uncle Yoongi!” she called out. “I didn’t see you here! Where are you?”

“Hi, Seollie,” Yoongi let out a laugh. “I’m at home with my family because of my shoulder, remember?”

Yoonmi handed her phone over to the her niece who began babbling to Yoongi about the supposed “villain” he fought off that injured his shoulder. She saved Yoongi’s file into her laptop under a folder with a password. This was not just a song, it was a letter.