although intrigued by the occasional bickering from your friends, you were curious who Tara so happened to let in. you've heard of Tara's other friends but hadn't met any of them within the past 3 days of staying at the island. a few of them have been introduced to you through a of couple facetime calls with her, but you thought it'd be nice to see some new faces too.

Tara walks into the living room, mid conversation with her two friends who followed after her. a male who seems to be just a little above average height; hair a light, sandy colour, and a pretty face which adorned a gentle smile once your eyes met. that's when it started. that's the moment you realised your heart had started to pick up its pace.

your attention reverts to your best friend once you hear her laughing and you thought it would only be polite to introduce yourself to her friends. she's always so out-going and bubbly, and you know just how happy it makes her to see you, her child-hood best friend, get along with her friends.

patting away the soft creases on your tan trousers, you make your way towards Tara and her two friends, a smile on your face mirroring the tall blonde's. surprised, she notices your arm hooking onto hers and nods her head towards her guests, a small gesture to let you introduce yourself.

"hi guys, how are you doing? I'm y/n." your arm still hooked, but not for much longer, Tara slightly nudges your side and lets go as she makes her way to the kitchen.

the taller one with dark hair introduces himself, holding out his arm for a slightly awkward side hug, "hi y/n, I'm Soobin." he was gentle though. you notice his cute dimples appearing while you exchanged smiles.

stepping closer to you, the blonde male offers an open palm and shakes your hand, "and I'm Beomgyu, Tara's best friend." he made it sound like there was some sort of competition between the two of you, but you scoff it off and watch him raise a brow at you, intrigued.

"have you guys eaten yet? we've just cooked plenty of food, so don't be shy." they nod as you make your way to the kitchen, passing Tara on her way back to them.

"they're fine, huh? would you let them get it?" Soobin teases, nudging Beomgyu's arm as he watches you talk to someone in the kitchen, leaning against the door frame.

"yeah, why not?" beomgyu chuckles and nonchalantly shrugs his shoulders.

"you guys are actually pigs. I didn't let you come in here to check out my friends, behave please." Tara, lightly slaps their arms with the back of her hand paired with her brows faintly scrunched together.

time passed since you last spoke to the both of them, despite them staying for just under an hour. you sat on the arm of the sofa closest to the living room door, noticing the way one of your aunties started to interview the both of them and ask them questions left, right and centre.

"you know, I didn't expect that." Tara started. your eyes still observing the way Beomgyu would make the aunties laugh. you roll your eyes and look at Tara. "he's such a leo, he loves the attention right now." you both giggle at her statement.

"wait, what didn't you expect?"

"I didn't expect you to come over and introduce yourself to them." she stood behind you and wrapped her arms over your shoulders, placing her chin on your left shoulder.

"why not, you know? I might as well be nice to your guests, plus I love meeting your friends. oh, and your best friend." you exaggerate the end of your sentence, clasping your fingers with hers just under your neck.

Tara lets out a light chortle. "I can have more than one best friend, you know."

"tell that to Beomgyu." you, by no means meant for it to make you sound annoyed by his introduction at all, just heavily amused.

"hey, don't be like that. I'm just glad that two of my best friends have finally met. by the way, after you left them, I walked in on their convo of them checking you out." she gave you a tight hug before noticing that the two males were done entertaining the aunties and getting ready to leave. placing the back of your hand against your cheek, you force yourself to think not much of it, yet you were still left dumbfounded with a subtle warmth spreading across your face

your eyes follow her, panning to Soobin who was waving back at you and mouthing a 'nice to meet you.' you give him a quick nod and a wave back before meeting with the same brown eyes you met earlier.

Beomgyu did nothing but look at you over his shoulder, a plain smirk on his face and a single nod in your direction. you let out another light scoff, just knowing how stubborn that guy is and it's only just the first meeting. you keep contact with his eyes until you were looking at the back of his light-coloured locks.

back to sinking into the sofa, your friends have played multiple rounds of mario kart and you still wonder how they're still playing at quarter to midnight. you feel your eyes begin to shut ever so slowly until you hear the sound of a high-pitched notification from your phone. lifting your phone, you open up the compiled notifications and noticed a certain one that found you smiling to yourself.

instagram: xbeomgyuxx has requested to follow you! 1m ago

"which one is your favourite?", he retorted at you, turning his head to face you with a cheeky smile as he supported himself on his left elbow.

you let the book fall open on your lap to caress his hair, still half-wet, and with said movement a scent of sweet almonds invaded your senses.

"hm, let me look closer at them", you let your hand rest at the back of his head as he lets himself fall down on the mattress again.

"you've seen them plenty of times, jagi", hongjoong chuckles once more, his right hand tapping your hip lightely before resting there.

you, on the other hand, slid down on the bed just a little to become closer to him. your fingers tracing his skin from the back of his neck to the middle of his back, following the abstract lines that created an irregular path. you loved the unorganised organisation of that path, stopping right above his last rib, as if it was made to tell you he liked to be kissed there.

but as much as you loved the thicker lines, your eyes always diverted to the finer ones on both his shoulder blades.

"the cherubs. the cherubs are my favourites."

"and why's that?", hongjoong pulls you closer to him, placing a soft kiss on your bare shoulder.

"the design itself is very pretty, but the fact they are facing each other in such a perfectly symmetrical way, it's like the lines in the middle work as a mirror. the whole thing is very pleasing to look at."

"glad to know im also pretty from behind", your boyfriend laughs into your neck, his hot breath tickling and sending shivers down your spine.

"oh, so that's the reason why you did them!", you look down at him with a faked surprise before pouting, "cute..."

you both fall into a quiet laughter once more, partly because you found yourselves funny like that, but mostly because you felt the most content with each other.

hongjoong took the book from your lap, placing it on the nightstand only to lay his head there instead, beginning to drift in and out of sleep.

after a while, with your restless mind still hung up on his marked skin, you called his name through a whisper, almost inaudible, "hongjoongie..."

"hm.. yes?", you bite your lip at the sound of his raspy voice, mentally slapping your forehead for waking him up.

"uh, nothing... nevermind, sorry i woke you up baby.", you take his hand in yours, bringing it to your lips as he turned to face you, eyebrows furrowed and sleepy eyes.

"no, what is it? is everything okay?"

"it's kinda stupid joongie..."

"it's okay, you can say it. it's just me", hongjoong sits up, resting his back against the headboard and pulling you into his embrace.

"the cherubs aren't my favourites just for being pleasing to look at...", you hesitate a little, hiding your face in the crook of his neck, too shy to look him in the eye, "i also like to think they're there to protect you when i can't"

with the lack of verbal response, hongjoong simply holding you a little tighter and chuckling lowly, you felt your cheeks heating up.

"i told you it was stupid! its embarrassing!"

"no, no, its not! trust me, it's not stupid or embarrassing.", hongjoong lifts your chin and your eyes are met with the ones of a smiling man, one who cups your cheek before pecking the tip of your nose, "it makes me very happy to hear that. i just made them because they looked cool, but now i will forever associate them with you."

taglist: @su-lix @bobateastay @serialee @leihey ♡

six: he just self inserted

seven: makeover montage😍😍

eight: LET YOUR TITS FREE🗣️🗣️

nine: who tf is harvard and one letter hyung?

ten: dave and juan🥺 (I can’t edit this chapter as it is broken)

eleven: tell us what you know old man👹

twelve: I wanna kick some shins😍😍

thirteen: curby

fourteen: snorting my sorrows away

fifteen: elavatoe

sixteen: plot hole once again

seventeen: sunoo finds out!

eighteen: alpha female raptor

nineteen:

twenty:

twenty-one:

twenty-two:

twenty-three:

twenty-four:

twenty-five:

twenty-six:

twenty-seven:

twenty-eight:

twenty-nine:

thirty:

thirty-one:

thirty-two:

thirty-three:

thirty-four:

thirty-five:

thirty-six:

thirty-seven:

thirty-eight:

thirty-nine:

fourty:

fourty-one:

fourty-two:

fourty-three:

fourty-four:

fourty-five:

fourty-six:

fourty-seven:

fourty-eight:

fourty-nine:

fifty:

special episodes!

baby name website

more to come…

ask business proposal casts

most

mingyu: i have a small feeling that he falls in love at first sight many times a week so i think he would meet someone and immediately turn around to tell the guys how incredible they are. no shame at all when they relentlessly tease him.

mingyu: i have a small feeling that he falls in love at first sight many times a week so i think he would meet someone and immediately turn around to tell the guys how incredible they are. no shame at all when they relentlessly tease him.

dokyeom: he would be so nervous and overcome with feelings about liking you that it would just spill out; you run into the guys and as you're leaving he literally cannot hold in his happiness. literally collapses while talking about how cute you are.

seungcheol: he would be a little shy about it, but would definitely be comfortable turning to the guys for advice on how to get closer to you. he probably blushes and can't hide his smile when talking about you.

jeonghan: would try to be suave about it but definitely is a little schoolgirl on the inside. he's obsessed with you and tends to slip up on his words and his cool guy persona around you. the guys notice fairly quickly so he just owns up to it.

hoshi: obsessed with you and not good at hiding it part two. he literally talks about how hot or cute or fun or talented you are to their faces and then is surprised when they’re like “oo your crush is here”

joshua: i would say he’s definitely on the lesser willing side. he doesn’t really tell anyone but when the guys start noticing he doesn’t fight too hard. a little coaxing and he ends up spilling the beans for sure.

jun: a little more of a private guy but he also seems like when he likes someone he would be overcome by it. he wouldn’t really want to tell anyone but the look of adoration on his face is so clear that he knows he might as well just fess up.

dino: is 100% sure he’ll be teased, but he will definitely mention it eventually. he probably tells someone in confidence and slowly spreads it around to other members. it is less of a dramatic feat and more of a subtle understanding. when they give him reassuring words that you might like him too, he feels much more at peace.

seungkwan: he would be so shy about it. also maybe a little bit insecure or unsure how to navigate even having a crush, so he’s hesitant to mention it. if he does it’s to a small group of maybe three people who he swears to secrecy.

hao: he’ll keep it very quiet. he’s falling for you but he’s doing it on his own accord. he doesn’t like how if he tells others they‘ll have an influence on him. they’ll try to convince him to confess and he doesn’t like that. it’s important to him that he does it on his own time.

wonu: his feelings for you are so incredibly personal to him. he takes them so seriously and feels every emotion he can about you. you make him flustered and he admires you so dearly. he’s worried to vocalize it because he knows no one will understand his feelings as deeply as he does.

vernon: it takes him an incredibly long amount of time to realize he likes you and even longer to tell someone. he's really scared to vocalize it. i feel like he would think another member likes you or has a better shot with you so he would take the back seat :(

woozi: he’ll write hella songs about you and all the members will know there’s someone but he’s taking his feelings for you to the grave. no one notices the small smile form on his lips and his eyes softening when he looks at you.

The windchimes by the door made a light tinkling noise, signaling that a new person came in the pub. The woman was greeted with nods and smiles by the bartenders and waiters of the place, and she gave them a small smile, sitting by the bar.

It was a tiring day at work and summer just came in. Even at night, the cold breeze can't be felt.

All she needed was an ice cold beer to relieve her from everything.

The dim orange lighting of the place dampened her mood even more as she swirled her bottle by the neck, releasing a sigh.

She was bored of everything, feeling like her life was dull and she's just moving by itself like a machine. She always felt like there was something missing but she never bothered looking for it, because she doesn't know what she's supposed to look for.

A plucking of guitar strings cut her away from her thoughts. The people up front started hollering, making her turn her attention to the commotion.

A guy that was standing on the small stage at the front was tuning his guitar, head leaning down to focus on the sounds of each string as he carefully turned its knobs.

When he finally got the right tune, he gave one of the staff a thumbs up, signaling them that he was good to go.

Suddenly there was a small buzz filling the room. He tapped the microphone in front of him, checking if it was on.

"What's your name and who are you?" A guy shouted from the crowd.

"I'm a guy called Joshua," he said.

"Yeah, Joshua!" Another guy cheered, making Joshua chuckle.

"And I'm originally from L.A."

Joshua started strumming the chords of the intro of the song, and everyone started clapping along the familiar beat.

She finds herself swaying along with them.

Sunday morning, rain is falling.

The moment she heard his voice, her heart started to pound.

She doesn't know why but his voice sounded familiar to her the moment he sang.

Joshua was happily singing while smiling at everyone up front. Then he looked her way.

She didn't want to assume he was looking at her but she was alone at the bar, and the bartenders were facing their backs, busy making drinks for other customers.

Her cheeks started to feel warm. She didn't know if it was from the beer or from the way that guy called Joshua was looking at her.

That someday it would lead me back to you.

He smiled while singing the word 'you,' as if he was singing it to her. His eyes turned into crescents as he sings the chorus, never taking his sight off her.

That maybe all I need, in darkness she is all I see.

People were singing along and swaying with their hands up through out, completely drunk.

The men filming him at the side were singing louder than him, making her giggle.

Everyone was feeling good by his singing and so did she, forgetting that she was sad in the first place.

And I never want to leave.

Strumming the last chord, Joshua finished singing Sunday Morning.

Evryone cheered, giving him a round of applause. Some were even chanting his name and whistling at him.

He shyly thanked everyone and stepped down the stage, making his way towards the bar.

She quickly faced the counter again and started look busy, pretending to be interested at the print of the beer bottle. But she felt his presence beside her.

Of all the stools he could've sat on, he sat next to her.

"One stout, please," he ordered from the bartender.

At the corner of her eye, she saw him reach out in his pocket and pull out his wallet.

The bartender placed his drink and just as Joshua was about to hand over his card, she interjects.

"It's on me," she said abruptly, making the two men freeze. "Please put it on my tab."

The bartender gave Joshua a look, mentally asking him if he wants to accept.

"Okay then." Joshua gave the bartender a nod, putting his card back into his wallet. "Thank you."

He lifted his glass and clanked it to hers before taking a sip.

"Nah, thank you for that amazing performance."

Joshua laughed at her compliment, his head throwing back a bit and covering his mouth with the back of his hand as he did so.

'Cute', she thought.

"Well I'm glad," he said with a smile, and she felt her heart skip.

It's like one of those scenes in movies where a guy flashes a groups of ladies a smile, and they faint from it—yeah it felt like that.

She was so mesmerized by him, staring at his face, while he animately talked about something.

He's so beauti—

"So are you from here?" His question snapped her out of her thoughts, almost slipping from her seat.

She quickly sat up straight and leaned her arm on the counter, regaining her composure.

"Oh, yeah, I'm from here. I actually work nearby."

She mentally cursed herself for giving out such a personal information to a stranger.

A beautiful and talented stranger.

"So, how's life treating you lately?"

She didn't know what it is, she really can't pinpoint it. But there was something with the way he asked her that suddenly made her feel comfortable around him.

The night went by so fast, the two of them didn't even notice the time was nearing 2 a.m.

They talked the night away, discussing almost everything they could think of, their forgotten drinks turning warm.

She poured out everything on him as it felt like he was this long-time friend trying to catch up after not seeing each other for years.

"Sorry to interrupt," a tall guy chimes in, breaking their conversation. "It's getting late and we still have a flight to catch." He apologetically reminded Joshua.

Joshua looked at his wrist watch, wide-eyed, seeing the time.

He looked back at her, seeing that she's already looking at him with sad eyes. But her lips still formed a polite smile.

His heart broke. He wanted to stay here with her, wishing everything would just stop and freeze, never leaving this moment. He finally got to spend time with her but their time was limited and sadly, he can't stay.

"Hey it's okay," she reassured him. "I had a great time. It was nice meeting you, Josh."

The moment she said his nickname, it pulled his heartstrings.

He wanted to combust right then and there.

A smile slowly crept up to the corner of his mouth, trying his hardest not to show how much saying his name affected him.

"Want to exchange numbers? Or usernames?" She offered.

~

"So, how did it go?" Mingyu finally asked as the lights turned red, stopping the car.

"She's the same like before. She never changed," Joshua found himself smiling at the thought of her.

Mingyu looked at Joshua's way, shaking his head and laughing at how giddy his friend was right now.

"Do you think she'll remember you?" Mingyu cautiously asked, tapping on steering wheel as he stares at the stop light, waiting for it to change colour.

He knows not to bring that topic up, but tonight's events made him curious as he saw everything unfold from afar.

"I don't know," Joshua sighed but his smile never left his face. "But I guess it doesn't matter anymore. I guess it's better if we start anew." He shrugs.

Ding.

The message alert got Joshua scrambling to get his phone out of his pocket.

Mingyu snorted in laughter, never seeing his friend act like that before.

A huge grin appeared on Joshua's face as he read the message Y/N sent him.

"I think she likes me," he murmured happily.

"Of course she does!" Mingyu chuckled.

The light finally turned green and Mingyu continued driving, attention going back to the road.

ᴍɪɴʜᴏ

legitimately and honestly doesn't get the big deal when he first turned you over from you on top of him to you beneath him in bed, your eyes wide as a deer caught red handed, your mouth agape and a blush creeping up your cheeks. and minho just looks so genuinely. confused. his explanation is sheer that yes, you're obviously not light, but if you happened to forget that he works out daily and your weight does literally nothing to him?? he's almost offended when you explain that you never really thought he'd be able to switch positions smoothly like this, when you say that you never even expected him to attempt doing anything related, simply because you're heavy. after that incident, though, mans will use all and every chance to prove you wrong, mostly to tease you, of course. will grip your legs and pull you towards him, your thighs jiggling against him which he nothing but drools over, will take your upper body from behind, when your head is shoved deep into his pillow and your ass is raised high towards his hips, and pull it up towards him so you're on your knees and chest to back with him, giving him easy access to your body. and yes, his thighs and adomen are flexing while pulling you up, his face is concentrated and slightly distorted to bring up the amount of strenght needed — but isn't exactly that the best part of it all?

ᴄʜᴀɴɢʙɪɴ

OK NOW MANHANDLING IS SIMPLY HIS FAVOURITE THING TO EVER DO TO YOU BECAUSE HELLO. HAVE YOU SEEN HIM AND HIS ARMS???? HAVE YOU SEEN HIM AT THE GYM like YES he just finds it so hot to flex his arms to turn you around on the mattress, knowing that you don't expect him to be able to. with him, you're laying on your back one second, the next your face is burried in the pillow while changbin's pounding into you from behind. and the fact that he needs strenght for it makes him go literally feral. he loves the little preparation he undergoes, as though lifting weights at the gym, when he wants to pick you up (the reason will forever be unknown to you, he has an obsession with having you on his arms), and he adores the surprised look on your face whenever he does. like for him it's not about being rough with you or territorial, it's not because he loses himself and literally gets lost in you and your body, making him want you in every type of way — all that, no matter how real it is, doesn't make his love for treating you as though you belong to him, his need for it stems simply from showing you that he can do all that, while others simply can't. he can tell you to jump and wrap your legs around his torso, he can pick you up bride style, he can seat you on top of a table to kiss you feverishly, only to go down on you mere seconds later, making you see stars. and others can't.

ʜʏᴜɴᴊɪɴ

with hyunjin — he loves to feel you on him, simply put. he probably can't pinpoint it himself exactly, but he absolutely obsesses over the feeling of having you on top of him, in one way or another. especially when he knows that you turn shy and insecure about it more often than not — he needs to physically remind you how pretty and hot and beautiful you are in his eyes and turns having you on top of him into some sort of reassurance for you. now, since you're not the biggest fan of simply coming up and sitting in his lap (as much as you do love it when you end up straddling him, you'd never initiate it, though), he has to find tricks and methods to lure you in nevertheless, to have your legs wrap around him instictively, to get your body be all over him in seconds. when making out, face to face on the mattress while laying lazily on your sides, he's noticed just how easy it is to take you by your leg and pull it over his hips, before proceeding to flip over slowly with you, rolling, rather, practically half on top of him anyways. and while yes, that part specifically requires more strenght than simply dragging your leg over him, he especially enjoys that part, feeling you almost pin him down and ending up on his lap while he's laying down and looking up at you just turns him on beyond anything. like in general he definitely has some strenght in his arms while not being particularly strong strong, and will definitely grow past his dislike to work out and hit the gym simply to treat you this much more rougher if you happen to like it.

ᴊɪsᴜɴɢ

ok now. i feel like. he'd enjoy being the one manhandled more than the other way around LMAO. like honestly having you have his way with him is so hot to him he just??? loves it so much??? partly because he sometimes is too scared to be all that with you, like he finds it THE worst image to wanting to explore treating you a bit rougher and just simply not really being able to, because he is very much obsessed with you and your body but he knows that you aren't, that you tend to think negatively and him for whatever reason not bringing up the strenght makes him so so nervous. so he only ever initiates it in the smallest portions at first, like pulling you towards him by your hips, putting your legs over his shoulders — he doesn't go as far as simply flipping you over or picking you up. though, with time, he feels like trying — you're seated on top of him, kissing him down, teasing on your way and he just can't take it anymore, needs you more in any type of way so he - quite awkwardly, you can't lie - gets you to roll over with him, onto your back and him on top of you. he surely feels that he could have made a better job, that it was definitely not as smooth as he imagined and your light slap against his arm and your blushing face told enough of your embarrassment but — he nevertheless loved the feeling of taking just a tiny bit more control over you than usual, even with something banal like rolling you onto your back, he finds it sexy through and through and doesn't scare away as much from it next time.

ғᴇʟɪx

though my man's not the strongest out there physically, he will make sure to still show you that he very much can take a bit of control at times, if he wants to. he just.. does it differently, slightly, which doesn't make it worse in any way or less sexy, you had to admit. while he wouldn't really be able to nor would he really want to throw you around or simply grab and get you into positions he'd want, he'd think of other ways to make you feel almost owned, in a way, desired, definitely. one thing he does that makes your head short circuit is the way he grabs your leg from beneath whenever you lay on your back and find him on top of you, and how he proceeds to pull it just this much up to hit a deeper angle within you. it's not much, necessarily, but it's so much more than enough to make you whimper out his name desperately. when he's losing himself a bit more he's setting your thigh on his shoulder altogether, loving how it feels on top of him, loving how your face changes into one of pleasure momentarily. another thing you'd notice he loves is the way he'd hold you down, by your wrists up and above your head, or intertwining hands and holding them right next to your head, without a chance for you to escape his grip, not that you'd ever want to. it surely isn't the epitome of what you'd call manhandling, necessarily, but none of those acts of his make it any less pleasurable for you, by any means.

sᴇᴜɴɢᴍɪɴ

sir is so rational with it and knows he simply isn't strong enough to have you any way he wants — though he never sees that as anything bad or negative, he simply would go as far as he could, physically. like similar to lix, it would be more pulling you by your legs, getting them over his shoulders, stuff like that. he does learn how to do one thing, though, because he finds it insanely hot. the first time ever you sat on his face (much to your embarrassment and slight unseasiness, but after finding out how much seungmin liked it for whatever reason you grew close to it yourself) he couldn't get enough of it, he loved having you all over him, loved how he struggled to breath just slightly, obsessed over the fact you sometimes forgot yourself and wasn't all careful to hover and not actually sit over his face, adored how his hands could grab and grope all over your body. and whenever you were on your back, your legs opened for him prettily with his head in between, having you on top of him was everything he could think about. so he would take it upon himself to learn and flip you over mid eating out to have you on top of him. like he'd be so unsure how to at first because he knows strenght that he doesn't have is required, but he manages over time?? much to your surprise because damn??? like with him as well, he loves the way he can't help but struggle a bit, he loves how you do have to help him to roll over, how he has to grunt out when having your thighs against his sides — like all that makes him go just a bit more crazy, feral for you.

ᴊᴇᴏɴɢɪɴ

honestly doesn't initiate ANYTHING at all whatsover because he simply wouldn't with a skinny partner as well, if that makes sense. like the idea of being all "showing his strenght and dominance during sex" isn't at all like him?? not that he's all soft and butterflies all the time necessarily, but he just never really thinks of going too far with it. you wouldn't be surprised too if he doesn't even know something like manhandling exists in relation to sex and that you might find it hot, so if you happen to want it you'd have to straight up ask for it jfjejdje. and if you do — boy would do his best to give you as much as you want. it would start with small things like pinning your wrists down here and there, using his big ass hands to his advantage. only with time he understands just how much more you want, and he is genuienly confused on how to achieve it. not because of you, not because of your body or weight — he doesn't even go as far as to think that that could be a problem — it's rather because he can't imagine himself flipping you over into positions he likes and enjoys. he's a simple man, if he wants another angle he simply asks you, isn't that how it worked? just really doesn't get the big deal over it BUT will from time to time, to tease you, drag you closer towards his body when taking you from behind, and that alone is enough to make you see stars.

not for any particular reason, of course. it’s just always been something that you struggle with. and no matter how many times people tell you how important it is to drink lots of water, you can never seem to remember until it’s hours too late and your body is cursing you for forgetting to take care of one of its basic needs.

you’re not sure when it was exactly that seokmin first took notice of your little predicament (probably the first time you complained about a headache in front of him), but in the last few weeks, he’s made it his personal mission to make sure you stay hydrated.

it started off with him giving you a water bottle every time you saw each other on campus, always making sure you took at least a few sips before he had to run off to one of his approximately 2380238 obligations. and then it upgraded to a personalized tumbler full of ice water — the cup was your favorite color and covered in adorable angry cartoon cats. when you’d taken your first sip from the straw, he’d smiled so wide and proud that you’d felt your heart skip three beats. (and then you’d choked on your water and ended up hacking up your lungs as he worriedly patted your back, but you try not to remember that embarrassment).

which brings you to now, the week of midterms, and the realization that you’ve somehow acquired your very own hydration fairy.

you know he has his own busy schedule to attend to, but somehow, every few hours seokmin manages to find you and refill your tumbler with fresh, cold water. sometimes there are even little pieces of fruit in it — "for the vitamins, y/n!" —and more than once, you’ve been so focused on your work that you didn’t even realize that seokmin was there and putting a straw to your lips until half the cup was gone and you felt like you could focus again.

it’s one of those times now, late thursday afternoon in the campus library, and when you turn to look at where he’s crouched down next to where you’re sitting, your breath catches in your chest. he’s tired, you can tell – who isn’t right now? – but even then, he’s one of the most beautiful things you’ve ever seen. the golden light filtering in from one of the nearby windows gilds his silhouette, and the light of his soft smile brightens all of the dark, exhausted corners between your ribs.

finally, after weeks of keeping the question on the tip of your tongue, you hold up your nearly empty cup and ask, “why do you keep doing this?”