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shina913 · 2 years

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Sunshine (A Scions Story) | JHS

✼Scions Masterlist✼

Pairing: JHS x Fem!Reader; Fem!Reader Sister + Kim Brothers

Rating: M (🔞)

Genre: Friends to lovers; idiots to lovers; Sibling’s best friend; KimSiblings!AU; drama; some humor angst; smut; fluff

Warnings: ANGST!!!; DRAMA!!!; sibling bickering; small-town setting; overprotective/overbearing older sibling; lots of crying; vulnerable confessions; cussing; pining; unrequited love; emotional outbursts; oral (mutual); fingering; dirty-talk; breast/nipple play; unprotected sex in a committed, monogamous relationship; ANGST (yep, as if the first mention of it wasn’t enough of a warning)

Word count: 15,280 words

Summary: A look back at how things between you and Hoseok came to be.

A/N: This is a companion chapter to Scions. You could read the published chapters for context but I think that this story can stand alone. I’ve hinted at this relationship a bunch and thought that rather than inserting a bunch of long-ass flashbacks in my main chapters, I would just write a one-off for these two. And I have to say, I was in love with this story so much that I decided to sprinkle in some of my favorite “sibling’s best friend” scenes from popular movies and TV shows. I hope you’ll enjoy those!

AN/2: A bunch of huge time jumps occur throughout this chapter so hopefully it’s not too jarring. I tried to add dividers where applicable. And lastly, thank you to my loves, @internetjunkdrawer and @deepseavibez for getting through this monster chapter and being so encouraging and sharing my enthusiasm for this story! ILY!

Whenever your mom was on break from filming, she would be up early to make you all breakfast, pack your lunches, and drop you all off at school.

One particular day was special. Not only were you expecting your results from the grade acceleration aptitude test that you took to determine whether you can jump from the 2nd grade into the 3rd grade classes with Namjoon; but it was also picture day.

She excitedly put your hair up in a pair of braids, tying little red bows at the ends. You felt really pretty that day.

Taehyung waved goodbye to you and Namjoon before turning to Hoseok, who was already there when you arrived with your siblings. You normally carpooled with him and his mom.

“Buh-bye, Hobi-hyung!” He had trouble saying ‘Hoseokie-hyung’ when he was smaller so ‘Hobi’ was the next best thing. It just stuck.

Jin took your little brother’s hand and walked him to his Kindergarten classroom.

The three of you remained right outside the second and third grade classrooms, waiting for the bell to ring.

Hobi waved ‘hi’ to Namjoon, then he turned to greet you.

“Nice hair,” he remarked.

Before you could answer, Namjoon interjects with a frown. “Ugh. My mom put hair gel on it then brushed it back this morning. I hate it,” he mumbled while scratching his head.

Hobi chewed at his bottom lip and cringed, his eyes shifting from Namjoon to you.

You giggled at your brother. “I think he meant me, dummy!”

“Oh,” Namjoon says, affronted.

“Your hair looks like that character in that book–Little Miss Sunshine!” Hobi smiled.

Namjoon snickered at that. He thought of a big, round ball with braids and tiny hands covering its big mouth.

You felt insecure for a second–wondering if Hobi meant it as a backhanded compliment or–

“I think you look pretty.” Hobi immediately says with a sincere smile, making Namjoon shut up.

Your cheeks flushed, making you shyly fidget with the ends of one of your braids. “T-thanks, Hobi.”

Namjoon’s face soured. “Eeew, do you like her or something?”

Hobi’s eyes widened in a panic, but before he could answer, the bell rang, much to his relief. He and Namjoon walk towards their classroom while you walk across the hall into yours. Before you walk in, you look back and find him giving you a shy smile before he disappears inside.

Hobi steps out of Namjoon’s room for a bathroom break while his friend organizes his Pokémon cards in his binder. Heading down the hallway, he pauses when he catches sight of you as he passes the window–your little spot on the roof.

He walks towards the window, sticks his head out and calls out to you. “Hey, sunshine!”

“Hey, Hobi.” You turned around and greeted him, the sound of him saying his pet-name for you made your heart swell.

“What are you doing out here?” He asks, wearing that same shy smile from years ago.

You chuckle at him. “Nothing. Just…looking up at the stars.”

He laughs. “The stars, huh?”

“Yeah.”

He hums then leans on the window sill. “Need some company?”

Deep down, you’d love for him to sit next to you. You weren’t exactly sure what it was but you always felt safe around Hobi. And… as if you didn’t have more than enough of them, he was like a brother to you.

“Aren’t you and Joon supposed to be playing Xbox or sorting out your Pokémon cards?”

He gives you a half-smile then shrugs. “He’s a little preoccupied with the handbook–trying to organize his cards and figuring out which ones he still needs…which means that I don’t think he’s noticed that I’ve left the room,” he laughs. “I can spend a few minutes with you, though. I mean, if you want?”

“Are you sure?” You knew that he had a fear of heights–you found that out when your family took him to the amusement park recently. It was on one of your vacations while your mom was back in town. With that in mind, you found it strange that he would offer to sit next to you–on the roof.

“Yeah. I-it’s fine,” he tries to sound casual.

“Alright then. Be my guest!” You relented.

He carefully climbs out of the window sill and steps onto the roof tiles. You feel the surface shake a little and his breathing turns a bit uneven after he settles next to you.

You kept your eyes straight up on the night sky, affording him some privacy as he gathered himself, but you were still hyper-aware of his presence. He takes a few deep, shaky breaths to calm himself.

You turned your head to him and smiled. “Are you okay?” You were concerned about him passing out from fear.

He grinned uncomfortably. “Of course,” he says almost immediately. Desperate for a distraction, he cleared his throat. “So…do you do this often?”

“Sometimes,” you say with a hint of nonchalance. Honestly, you did this a lot. Being a teenager had its ups and downs. Having a moment on the rooftop brought some things back into perspective for you.

“I heard your mom’s show got picked up for a full season?”

You nodded wistfully. “Yeah, it’s good. Hopefully that would make her filming schedules more predictable than a movie.”

“That’s cool. Maybe she’ll be home more?”

“I hope so...unless her agent books another project for her,” you sighed heavily, hugging your knees to your chest. “I miss her a lot.”

“I’m sure you do,” he says sympathetically.

You really did miss her…more than usual.

“Yah! There you are! I thought you got lost on the way to the bathroom or something,” Namjoon says.

“Oh…I thought YN could use some company.”

“Oof, better watch yourself, Hobi. You don’t want to make Austin Cheng jealous,” he teases you.

When your mom called yesterday, you dragged the phone all the way back into your room after she spoke to your brothers. You warned them not to pick up the extension.

Once you had a private moment, you told her about a boy you’d been crushing on at school. When she asked who it was, you stopped short because you heard a crackling sound on the other end–a sign that someone–most likely Taehyung–picked up the extension to listen in, so you had to think fast.

Austin wasn’t bad. He was nice; one of those ‘math-letes.’ While most people would think that translates to ‘giant nerd’ it actually meant that he not only excelled in academics but he was an amazing athlete as well.

“Austin Cheng?” Hobi repeats while he eyed you curiously.

“Yeah! It’s why she’s been acting all weird since we got back from our vacation!” Namjoon adds.

But Austin wasn’t really the reason you were acting all stupid…it was just the first name you blurted out while on the phone with your mom. And sure, you thought he was cute and he and Namjoon were also good friends, but you didn’t like him-like him.

“Don’t worry, sis. Austin and I are cool. Although…his personality is a little dry,” he adds flatly. “Anyway, we’ll make sure that he doesn’t try anything crazy on you. Won’t we, Hobi?” He looks to his best friend for support.

“Uh…I…I guess?” Hobi answers slowly, still looking confused.

“Cool! Now that we have that settled, I’ve got the game all set up! You ready?” Namjoon asks Hobi.

“Y-yeah, sure,” he says to Namjoon before turning his attention back to you. “Are you gonna be okay out here?”

“I’ll be fine, Hobi. Have a good night,” you say to him as he steps back into the house. He gives you one final look, his expression was unreadable.

“Good night, YN.”

******

The truth was, since returning from that amusement park trip, you started to look at Hobi… differently. Before that, you have never spent that much time with him…alone.

While your brothers thoroughly enjoyed themselves going on marathon rides, you could tell that Hobi went gray every time he watched them zoom by while he waited in line.

You didn’t call him out but told your brothers you’d sit out the rest of the big rides, pretending to get a headache from all the whiplash. In reality, you felt bad that he had to put on a brave face for Namjoon when all he really wanted were his feet firmly planted on solid ground.

Hobi, seizing the opportunity to skip the rest of the rollercoasters, said that he didn’t want you wandering around the park by yourself so he volunteered to hang out with you.

It turned out to be one of the best days ever. You ate churros, beignets, then went on an astro-blaster adventure, and rode the same teacup ride over and over.

It was so amazing that you decided to fake a neck injury the following day so you could do all of the same things with him again. You stood in line for all of the ‘gentler’ rides, talking and laughing about the most random things. You shared more overpriced snacks together while you strolled around the park. Then when night fell, you stood elbow-to-elbow with him while you watched the fireworks and fountain shows right before closing time.

Something had shifted then because you started to feel awkward around him when you got back. Whether it was at his house or when you carpooled; or when he approached you during lunch–which was something he did on a regular basis–your heart rate picked up and your cheeks would feel flushed.

It felt like torture! The thought of describing it that way sounded dramatic, but as a teen, most things and feelings were described in superlatives.

When Namjoon noticed, you tried to play it cool and dismissed it as typical girl-stuff, which made him back off immediately. You didn’t want to make a big fuss over it. This was Jung Hoseok, for crying out loud! Your next door neighbor whom you’ve known since you were in preschool. The same Hobi you went on family vacations with and would sleep over on a regular basis especially after hours of gaming and watching sci-fi movies.

More importantly, he was also your brother’s best friend!

Your ‘weird’ feelings didn’t seem to affect him. He would still hang out at your house and often sleep over during the weekend. At that point, seeing his face became too much for you that you began to hide in your room to avoid any uncomfortable run-ins when he was at your house.

Once, you made your way into the bathroom to brush your teeth, unaware that it was occupied since the door was cracked open. And then you saw him.

You mumbled some form of apology trying to back away while saying you’d wait until he was done brushing his teeth. You forgot that he and Namjoon were pulling an all-nighter. But instead of letting you leave, he stopped you and mentioned that he could always make room for you by the sink. He also said that it was better for the planet if you just brushed your teeth together.

“You know, I hold my breath for 10 seconds every day to help decrease carbon emissions.”

His comment made you snort and diffused the tension considerably. But because he said it so earnestly, you relented, in an effort to keep things ‘normal’ between you two.

It didn’t take long for you to realize that being trapped in a small space with him was a huge mistake. Every time you glanced up at the mirror, you’d catch him staring at your reflection before he immediately averted his eyes, pretending not to look.

You both carried on like this for what felt like hours…even though it had only been about a minute. You rushed through flossing and blindly dabbed your mouth with a towel so you could scurry back to your room.

But he tugs at your wrist. “Hang on, you missed a spot,” he points out. Before you could figure out what he was talking about, his thumb gently swipes at some leftover toothpaste from the corner of your mouth.

Nervously, you murmured something unintelligible and made a hasty exit to run back into your bedroom, leaving him utterly confused.

******

Somehow this “fake-crush” reveal has thrown off Namjoon’s curiosity, much to your relief. He’s always been persistent

Weeks later, it was Homecoming at school and you wanted to make an effort to get dolled up and look a bit different.

Okay, maybe not exactly different, but more like–a better version of yourself?

“YN! Hurry up!” Namjoon bellows from the bottom of the stairs.

“Geez, okay. I’m coming!” You growled from your room.

Namjoon has been extra “big brother-y” since Jin had gone away to college. He had taken it upon himself to keep you and Taehyung in line.

“Girl, quit fussing!” Naya says as she swats your hand away from your hair, tucking one final bobby pin into your head and smoothing wayward strands with the tip of a rattail comb.

You groan at yourself but give her a grateful, appreciative look. You desperately needed help with your hair tonight and Naya has been offering to give you a mini-makeover for years! She let out a deafening squeal of elation when you finally asked her.

Naya steps back and gives you a once-over. “You look amazing! I really outdid myself!”

You rolled your eyes and laughed. But you had to admit, you looked better than usual. You wouldn’t have been able to manage this on your own. Naya even helped you pick out the perfect dress and shoes, which your mom happily sent money for.

You stood up and looked at yourself in front of your full-length mirror.

It was a floral print, knee-length, spaghetti-strap dress with a tasteful V-neckline. Cute, by your standards. More importantly, you didn’t look like you were trying too hard.

“You look so much like your mom!” She cocked her head to the side and smiled at your reflection dreamily.

Naya would never blow smoke up your ass. She was a great friend.

“Thank you,” you smiled back at her before you distantly heard Namjoon yelling your name again. “Now let’s go before Namjoon’s face melts off.”

You carefully take steps down the stairs in your chunky-heeled booties–which were a sensible two-and-a-half inches high cute but still comfy, as Naya pointed out at the store.

As soon as you reach the bottom of the steps, Hobi coincidentally walks out of the kitchen and into the foyer to grab his car keys by the doorway.

“Hi!” you beamed at him.

At the sound of your voice his head turns in your direction. His mouth falls slightly open at the sight of you. He blinked a few times and stuttered. “Uh…H-hi. W-wow…”

Just then, Taehyung and Jimin walk out from the living room and stop by the bottom of the stairs.

“Oh, you look pretty, noona,” Jimin remarked with a smile, which made Taehyung’s head whip around at his friend. “Bro, calm down! She’s my sister!”

“I didn’t think there was anything wrong with what I said,” Jimin counters. His eyes drift to Hobi, who looks to be stunned, still staring at you. He nudges Taehyung gently and jerks his chin towards Hobi’s direction.

Taehyung stifles a grin. “Hyungie, are you okay?” he asks with a soft chuckle.

Hobi snaps out of it, his eyes wide and flicking back and forth between you and Jimin and Taehyung. “Uh…s-sorry,” he stammered before shifting his attention back to you. “Uhm, y-you look…”

You nervously anticipate his remark until…

“Holy hell! What took you so long?” Namjoon grumbled as he came from the kitchen, with his eyes wide at you.

“Just wanted to look cute!” You snarked while Naya giggled behind you.

“For whom?” He countered.

You shrugged your shoulders, playing innocent, knowing that you’d already achieved the effect that you were going for.

“I think Austin’s definitely going to want to hang out with you tonight,” Naya teases.

After your little white lie about Austin, you decided to strike up a conversation with him to keep the ruse going. As it turns out, his personality wasn’t as ‘dry’ as Namjoon made it out to be. You’ve been talking to him since. And though it wasn’t anything serious, there was still a lot of heavy flirting there–which irked Namjoon.

“Don’t!” Namjoon barked at Naya.

You and Naya scoffed then rolled your eyes at him.

“Why can’t I just look cute for myself? I don’t always have to do things just so a boy can notice me.” Your eyes briefly shift to Hobi, who was still staring at you, before looking back at your brother.

“Hm. Good point,” Namjoon purses his lips. “And for the record, you look beautiful, sis...with or without all that stuff on your face.”

You smiled warmly at your brother. “Thank you, oppa.”

“Agreed,” Jimin adds. “Don’t you think noona looks pretty, Hobi-hyung?” He waggled his eyebrows at him.

“Oh! Uhm…y-yeah...she does,” Hobi says quietly.

Jimin and Taehyung chuckle to themselves.

Namjoon decides to remind everyone of the time. “Alright, alright! We really have to get going. Tae–are you good riding with Jiminie?”

“Yes, hyung.”

“Okay, good. I called dad to let him know we’ll probably be home late. He just told us to have fun and stay safe.”

“It’s a good tip,” Naya comments, winking at you, making you giggle.

Namjoon eyes you and Naya suspiciously. “Just for good measure, we’ll keep an eye on Austin. Right, Hobi?”

Hobi cleared his throat. “Uh, yeah, yeah. F-for sure,” he stuttered.

“Sheesh, calm down, guys. It’s just high school dating,” Naya says in exasperation. “Quit overreacting.“

Taehyung and Jimin look at Hobi, who was uncomfortably rubbing the back of his neck, trying to avoid eye contact.

“Anyway! Ready to go, Hobi?” Namjoon turns to Hobi

“Right…we should go,” Hobi answers hurriedly and proceeds to walk out the door, clutching his keys while the rest of you follow. Namjoon switches the porchlight on before locking the front door.

******

“Uggghhh,” Namjoon turned away growling after seeing you and Austin giggling and whispering into each other’s ears from a distance.

“She’s doing that on purpose because she knows I’m here and I can see them. C’mon, Hobi, switch spots with me!” Namjoon tries to pull Hobi to where he was standing so he wouldn’t have to have a clear line of sight to you and Austin.

Hobi pushes him off and stays in place. “Hell no, man! What makes you think that I want to see that?”

Namjoon’s eyebrows furrowed. “What? It’s not like she’s your sister.”

Hobi scrambles for a valid excuse. “I know that! I–I’m just saying…I don’t want–”

Namjoon interjects. “What do you think Austin sees in her?”

“You’re asking me?” Hobi asks incredulously.

“Yeah.”

Hobi chuckles nervously. “I mean…I don’t know. The better question is, what does she see in him?”

“Well…” Namjoon begins, “He’s smart, plays three sports competitively, speaks four languages, and pretty much has a clear path to any ivy league school in the country. What’s not to like?”

Hobi scoffed in annoyance. “Sounds like you might be interested in him, too?”

Namjoon laughed. “I’m simply stating facts. Logic allows me to look past extraneous details.”

“You just called him a ‘cocky bastard’ the other day,” Hobi deadpanned.

“That’s because I was having a rough morning with college applications and student council stuff...” Then he cleared his throat. “Besides, he had his hands all over my sister during lunch! Hating on the guy she sucks face with is pretty much a natural reaction.”

“I guess that’s valid.” Hobi slowly mumbles as he sips on some punch, wishing that Jimin had gone through with his plan to spike it with alcohol–before Namjoon stopped him.

“But seriously, though. What do you think he sees in her?” Namjoon decides to reiterate his question directly at Hobi.

Hobi sighs uncomfortably, finally turning around to see you and Austin laughing about something.

Then he takes a good look at you, warmth blooming within his chest. “She’s nice. Smart. She’s got a wicked sense of humor. And she’s pretty.”

Namjoon latches onto those last words. “Pretty?” he repeated.

Hobi paused to clear his throat, suddenly remembering who he was talking to. “Y-yeah. You know, she’s not bad looking.”

“Not bad looking?” Namjoon echoed with a slight chuckle.

“What can I say? Your family has good genes,” Hobi says scrambled. “She’s got nice skin!”

“Skin?” Namjoon echoed. “You think Austin is dating my sister because she has ‘nice skin’?”

Hobi realizes that he’s dug himself into a hole that he can’t get out of. He turns to face the opposite way and internally panics. “I-I’m just saying, you know, it could be a contributing factor.”

“Huh.” Namjoon cocked his head sideways. “Do you think YN has nice skin?”

“I mean…” Hobi let out a nervous laugh, “You say it as if I think about it a lot–which–I do not, for the record,” he says defensively.

Namjoon laughs out loud and smacks his friend’s back. “Chill out, dude! We’re just talking here.”

“I know that,” Hobi grimaces. “I’m totally cool!” He turns around again to see you wrapped in Austin’s arms.

******

Hobi walks out of his class with his algebra tutor, Dara, hot on his heels.

“Hoseokie!”

He turns around as she catches up to him. “What’s up?”

Dara had been extra friendly in the last few weeks. She felt all giddy when he asked if she could help him out some days after school with algebra.

“Was there something that we forgot to cover earlier?”

She was sweet, but he wasn’t really interested in her in that way.

“Oh no, it’s not that,” she says shyly. “I was wondering if we could hang out…uhm…” He barely registers what she says because his eyes focus at the end of the hallway where you and Austin were talking. He could see that you were upset. You were gesturing aimlessly with your hands while Austin stood there, mumbling something that made you shut your eyes and pinch the bridge of your nose.

Moments later, he sees Austin exhale, shake his head briefly before walking away from you.

“Hoseok?” Dara murmured, trying to get his attention back.

“Uh, Dara–c-can you hold that thought? I just need to check on somebody…” he trailed off before making a beeline for you.

“Hey, YN–are you okay?”

You look up to find Hobi standing in front of you in a protective stance. “I’m-I’m good.” You mustered a smile, sniffled, and wiped tears away.

“You don’t look like it.”

Your lower lip quivers, as you try your best not to completely break down in front of him.

“Is there anything I can do?” He asked softly.

“C-can you please take me home?” You whispered.

“Of course. I’ll text Namjoon. I’ll let him know that I can circle back to pick him and Taehyungie up later.”

Shit. You forgot about Namjoon. “No, Hobi…that’s okay. I’ll uhm…I’ll ask Naya to–”

“Hey–it’s fine. I’ll take you home. Don’t think anything of it!”

******

You whimpered quietly on the ride home. Hobi didn’t force you to talk about it, and frankly, you didn’t want to hash it all out–especially with him.

Austin’s been insanely busy with his college applications and campus tours. He’s also been in an intensive training program for his violin lessons as he was planning to double-major in music and engineering.

He didn’t have much of a choice since his parents wanted him to attend the best university in the country. It wasn’t like he had to try that hard…but it was still putting a strain in your relationship. It was fun for the first couple weeks until his schedule was packed and you saw less of each other.

Even though you didn’t tell Hobi that, Namjoon had mentioned it to him in passing since he noticed that you weren’t on the phone with Austin as much in recent days. Your sour mood was also a good indicator.

You vaguely hear Hobi angrily muttering under his breath.

“You know what? If I was him, I would have made time for you. In fact, I would always make time for you. If I was him, I’d be like—screw violin classes, I’d rather go see that new Marvel movie with my girlfriend!”

You sniffled, holding your tongue while you listened to him ramble on until he pulled up in front of your house.

“There’s so much more to life than trying to get into a top university. I mean…shit, we’re in high school! If I was him, I’d be enjoying whatever’s left of my childhood. Maybe fall in love with the girl next door or…” he stops short.

Latching onto his last words, you turn your head to him.

His eyes widened and he immediately switched tact. “I’m just saying that, if I were in his place—“

Exasperated and tired, you snapped. “You know, if you wanted to be in his place, then you should have just done that to begin with!”

His brows furrowed in shock. “YN…wh…I-I…” he stumbles on his words.

You cut him off. “A girl can only wait for so long, Jung Hoseok!” You nearly take the car door off its hinges, practically kicking it open then slamming it shut as hard as you could before storming off into your house.

Utterly dumbfounded, Hobi stares wide-eyed at the empty walkway to your front door, wondering what the hell all that was about.

This was the first time you ever lashed out on him. You always got along well and never bickered like you did with your brothers. He wasn’t exactly sure of what he did to be on the receiving end of your ire but he knew that he couldn’t settle until he made things right with you.

******

Hobi walks out of his house to take out the trash when he sees you sitting on the rooftop while you read a book.

He walked across the street and stopped right below where you sat and called out to you.

“Hey. Can we talk?”

You lower your book and look down towards where he stood. “What for?”

“I…I just wanted to…fix whatever I messed up today. It’s been bugging me all afternoon.”

You let out a huff.

“Are you mad at me?” He wondered out loud.

You sighed heavily. “It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it,” you say dismissively before raising the book to your eyes again–trying to hide the embarrassment in your face.

He scoffed. “C’mon, YN. We’ve never fought like that. Or…” he stopped to think, “I don’t know. Was it a fight? I’m not really sure.”

“It’s okay, Hobi. We’re fine! Just forget what I said!” You say evenly, still hiding your face.

He didn’t answer after a few beats of silence, you hoped he would just go back inside his house and forget you ever sort-of confessed that you liked him.

Next thing you knew, you heard a rustling by the side of your house–it was Hobi climbing up to the roof using the trellis and drain pipe.

“Oh my god! What do you think you’re doing?” You gasped, scared the pipe might break off and he’d fall and seriously injure himself.

“We’re going to talk, if it’s the last thing I do!” He heaves himself up on the roof, almost forgetting about his acro- and basophobia.

“Hobi, there’s nothing to talk about–”

“Why did you say what you said to me earlier?” He asks calmly while he sits next to you.

You play dumb. “Say what?”

“You know what I’m talking about,” he says firmly, keeping his eyes on you.

You look away from him, feeling flustered. “It was nothing. I was just pissed at Austin, that’s all.”

“If it’s nothing, then why can’t you look at me when you say it.”

“I just…” you sighed in frustration before turning your attention back to him. ”I–”

His face was close to yours–too close. It made your pulse race. Your mouth went dry and breathing was ragged.

“You just–what?”

You tried to form words in your brain but they just wouldn’t come out. All your sass out the window. But you hang onto your last shred of self-preservation. You scoffed, shaking your head. “It’s nothing, Hobi. It’s stupid. Can we just drop it? I’m sorry I flipped out on you,” you mumbled, while your head hung low.

He groans, running his fingers through his hair in exasperation. He bends his knees and rests his elbows on them.

“Want to hear something stupid?”

You turned your head to regard him quietly.

“When you said that you liked Austin…I…” He chuckles, “My first thought was: this is someone who deserves to be with YN. He’s athletic, ivy league-bound, his parents are rich…I can totally see the appeal.”

You stared at him while he kept his head down, picking at some roof tile whose edge was sticking out a bit.

“Then I thought…” He sighed, “There’s no way I’d ever be able to stand up to that.”

You gasped softly. Did you hear him right?

He peered up carefully at you. “I’m just the kid next door,” he shrugged.

You both silently stared at each other.

“Hobi…”

“Funny how things shift after you’ve been rescued from crazy-ass amusement park rides,” he said quietly.

Your eyebrows knitted, then seconds later, your mouth falls open at his confession.

He scoffed and smiled at you. “I did say you were going to hear something stupid, right?”

“W-why didn’t you say anything?”

“I just didn’t want to be the brother’s weirdo best friend trying to sabotage his sister’s relationship,” he uttered.

His eyes turned downcast. “I mean…what did I have to offer anyway?” He continued, ignoring your question. “We’ve known each other for…ages! We grew up together. You’ve seen snot dripping out of my nose and watched me do pretty stupid shit,” he laughed wryly.

“Everything about me just screams perpetual friend-zone.” He then looked up at you, his eyes meeting yours again. It made your heart crumble that you both had felt the same way about each other the whole time and were both afraid to tell the other how they felt.

You chewed at your bottom lip before speaking. “Hobi, I love that we’re great friends and the fact that we grew up together…it means I know you inside-out. I know that you’re loyal and trustworthy. And…” You sighed, trying to calm your heart beating out of your ears. “I wish that I hadn’t been an idiot and just told you that I liked you, too.”

He chuckled. “Don’t mess with me! I’m already freaking out at how high up we are and that I could slide off your roof any second!”

You laughed. “I’m not! I…thought it was just some stupid crush at first and that I’d get over it but…I really like you. I just had no idea if you felt…the same.”

“Guess we’re both idiots, huh,” he says outright with a grin.

You laughed together.

Once he calms down, he reaches up to touch your cheek. The small gesture sends a warm feeling coursing through your chest. “I hate that he made you cry.”

You scoffed, shaking your head, eyes flicking downward.

But he tilts your chin up so you could meet his eyes. “That won’t happen under my watch,” he says earnestly.

You stared at each other for what felt like ages. You’d known each other for so long; seen each other in their worst, ugliest, most embarrassing moments that you would relentlessly tease each other about. And yet, at this point in time, you both found those to be the most endearing thing; realizing that there wasn’t anything that neither of you could hide from each other. There was nobody around here that needed to be impressed.

“Are you going to kiss me now, Hoseok?” You ask impatiently.

He narrowed his eyes, feigning annoyance all while trying to stifle a smile. “Can you not mess up my game right now?”

You rolled your eyes and groaned at him. “Who’s playing games? Just shut up and ki–”

And he sure did.

Although this was the first time you had kissed him, it felt oddly familiar. It was as if your lips were perfectly molded to his; as if you’d always been meant to kiss them. Your belly fluttered and your heartbeat thrummed in near-perfect synchronicity to his.

You both smile as you pull away from each other.

“I can’t tell you how long I’ve been wanting to do that,” he says quietly.

You chuckled softly. “Better late than never, right?” He laughs in response. “Aw, man…Namjoonie should find this interesting,” he muses.

You inhale sharply at the mention of your brother’s name. “A-actually…can we not tell Joon first?”

“Huh?”

“I mean…he’s already kind of pissed at Austin and told me that he basically ripped him a new one before leaving school. And he said something about keeping a really close eye on the next guy who tries to get with me,” you grimaced. “I just thought, to be on the safe side…maybe we should wait a bit.”

He cocked an eyebrow at that. After you stormed off this afternoon, Hoseok drove back to school to drive Namjoon and Taehyung home. He didn’t really talk about Austin but he looked visibly irate.

“How long do you think we should wait?” He asks with apprehension.

“A few days maybe? He’s also stressed about student council stuff. I just want to wait until that calms down a bit.”

He’s tentative about it at first since he and Namjoon practically talked about everything. But he thought back to lunchtime when his friend was angrily ranting about one of the student council members for slacking on the job.

“You know what? You’re right. Let’s wait a few days and let’s gauge his mood and we can tell him together?” He suggested.

“Good idea!” You concurred, making him smile again.

“Would it be weird if I kissed you again?”

You giggled. “No, because I was going to ask you the same thing.”

You both laughed then his face softened. He cupped your face and slowly closed in to press another kiss on your lips.

******

You and Hobi tried to be slick about it but your dad knew that something was up. He caught Hobi climbing down from your window one night as he was coming back from the restaurant.

You thought that your dad had turned in for the night when you gave Hobi the all-clear to come hang out. But he suddenly received a security alert on his phone so he had to drive back to the restaurant to make sure that nobody had broken in.

“It’s amazing what a couple days in an amusement park can do,” he commented the next day, while sipping on his coffee.

He wasn’t mad. In fact, he encouraged Hobi to exit the front door next time. You guiltily confessed that you hadn’t told Namjoon yet and since his room was right across from yours, the window guaranteed your secret.

“Princess–give the poor kid a break. He’s terrified of falling!”

“I know that but…I think he’s more afraid of Namjoon finding out?” You countered.

Sighing, your dad offered to prop up his ladder by the side of the house so Hobi wouldn’t have to keep hanging onto the rain gutter for support.

Taehyung, on the other hand, caught both of you stealing kisses in the kitchen during a random movie night with Namjoon.

“Oh, chill out! I saw you guys kiss on the rooftop that night,” Taehyung said nonchalantly while he sipped on his orange soda. Being the youngest had its advantages.

“I think it’s great!” He quipped. Aside from getting away with a few things, he sometimes slipped in and out of the room unnoticed.

“I wouldn’t wait too long to tell Namjoonie-hyung, though,” he remarked ominously before walking away. “He might get upset.”

******

Another day, another morning with Hobi sneaking out of your house. Namjoon went out for an early bike ride that day so Hobi was able to walk out of the front door.

He steps out but turns back around while you hold onto the door jamb. “I’ll call you later?” He whispers.

“Okay,” you smiled dreamily before he pressed a lingering kiss to your lips. Before your kiss gets deeper, you pull away from him. “Better hurry before Joon gets home.”

He gives you one final peck before he crosses the street and back to his house. After one final wave, you shut the door quietly.

“Good morning,” says a deep, mischievous voice.

Your forehead prickles in a panic. You thought that you and Hobi were completely alone and up before anybody else in this house. You whip your head around and are shocked to find Jin, who was standing by the basement door with a coffee cup in his hand and a shit-eating grin on his face.

“Oppa! W-what…what are you doing here?” It sounded like a dumb question as soon as the words left your mouth.

He chuckled. “Last I checked, I thought I still lived here.” He shuts the basement door and walks towards the kitchen.

You shook your head, trying to shuffle your thoughts around so they could come out more logically. You nervously walk after him. “N-no, I just meant–I-I thought you had midterms and that you weren’t planning on coming home this weekend?”

“Well, we had a massive power failure on campus so...while the admin is still trying to clean that up, our midterms have been pushed back to next week. I thought I’d come home to get some laundry done, maybe surprise you guys. I didn’t realize that I was in for one, too.”

“Oh my god, oppa–” you said, mortified. “H-how much did you see?”

“Enough,” he says flatly while refilling his coffee cup before turning back to face you. “How long has this been going on?”

“A few weeks,” you mumbled.

He eyed you silently for a minute. “Shit, took you guys long enough!” He roared in laughter.

“Y-you’re not mad?” Your dad and Taehyung knew but you weren’t sure about Jin. He hovered just as much as Namjoon did when he detected boys sniffing around. But since he’s been away at college, you didn’t think much about how he’d react.

He exhaled dramatically. “You know, I’ve watched the way Hoseokie has looked at you all these years. I didn’t think he had it in him to ever make a move,” he chuckled again. “What does Namjoonie think?”

“Uh…” You internally panic, “We haven’t told him yet, oppa. So please–don’t–”

“Geez…calm down!” He laughed, “I was just asking!”

“I told Hobi that we just need to find the right time. He’s been feeling some pressure at school with college applications…his girlfriend,” you mumbled. Namjoon hadn’t been with his girlfriend that long but she was a bit high-maintenance and the stress of all that has led him to take more bike rides during the weekends.

Jin laughed again while picking up his mug. “Say no more! Your secret’s safe with me. But uh…let me know when you plan on telling Joon.”

Your eyebrows furrowed. “Why?”

“I wanna see how fast he can make Hoseok run across town,” he chuckled, drinking his coffee.

******

“Hey!”

“Hi,” you beamed back at Hobi. You kept a safe distance, in case anybody was watching, while he opened the car door for you.

You climbed into the back seat while you waited for your brothers. Taehyung said that he was talking to his teacher to try and get some extra work to raise his D to a C in Chem class. Namjoon, on the other hand, was wrapping up a quick student council meeting to discuss final details for prom night.

“Aren’t you on the committee this year?” Hobi asks as he slides back into the driver seat.

You leaned forward, resting your elbows on both sides of the front seats. “Yeah, but I have all my ducks in a row, that’s why I got to leave early. Namjoon wanted to talk about the faculty chaperones. I guess we need a couple more so he’s trying to delegate.”

Hobi laughed. “He was made for this job.”

“Oh, I know,” you sighed. “I almost dread what kind of person he’s going to morph into by the time graduation rolls around. He’s trying to oversee the yearbook committee, too.” You clicked your teeth, “But, I guess some people just thrive on that type of pressure.”

He groaned. “Not too stressed, I hope. I really want us to talk to him soon–at least before this weekend. I don’t want him to be all shocked that we’re going to prom...as a couple.”

You sighed. “Well, I guess…” you sighed again, “If he was in a shitty mood, we could still try to play it off as if we were going as friends?” You squint one eye at Hobi, unsure of what kind of headspace Namjoon would be in this weekend. You and Hobi were tired of sneaking around behind his back and he was feeling extra guilty about lying to his best friend about skipping their game nights to hang out with you–in your bedroom, across the hall from him.

He chuckled. “We could go as friends but…what if I wanted to hold your hand or pull you closer when we dance?” He leaned in further, “Or…kiss you?”

You crack a smile so wide, your face nearly splits in half. “Hobi…”

“What? Couples make out at prom…and…stuff.”

“Stuff?”

“Yeah…” He lowered his voice, his face inching closer to you until the tip of his nose touches yours. “You know…stuff.”

“You’d like to do stuff with me?”

“Only if you’re okay with it.

You looked out the windshield to make sure that Namjoon wasn’t walking down towards the van yet. When the coast was clear, you smiled against Hobi’s lips. “Can you settle for a kiss for the time-being?”

“Always.”

His kiss was tender–all of his kisses were. It was as if he took the utmost care not to bruise somebody he thought about so delicately–even though you were anything but. He just wanted to make sure that you were handled with great care…and that he deserved to be the one to do so.

Little did you know, while you were both lost in your stolen moment, Namjoon stood a few feet away, catching you in the act.

******

Namjoon is quiet the whole ride, which you found very strange.

Normally, he would always joke around; talk about the last student council meeting; or spout some random factoid of the day. Today, there was none of that. He just stared out the window, with his elbow on the passenger door while his chin rested on his hand.

You, Taehyung, and Hobi continued to laugh about something that happened at the cafeteria during lunch – no smartass quips from Namjoon.

His jaw was clenched from the moment he got in the passenger seat, right up until Hobi makes that final turn into your street.

Hobi pulls the car by the curb, leaving the engine on to let you all off before he makes that sharp turn into their driveway across the street. You thought it was really attractive whenever he did it in one swift move…which was pretty much all the time.

“Alright, see you tomorrow, guys.” Hobi says with a smile. He glances up at the rearview mirror at you and you smile back at him. You distantly hear Namjoon’s teeth click in his mouth.

“Thank you, Hobi. See you tomorrow.” You reach around from behind the driver seat and give his shoulder a squeeze. Something you had done many times before.

Namjoon catches a glimpse of the gesture and tenses up further. “Taehyung-ah, get out of the car.”

The rest of you look at each other in confusion. You weren’t sure where Namjoon’s sudden hostility was coming from. Maybe his meeting didn’t end so well?

“H-hyung?” Your little brother asks tentatively, making sure that he heard Namjoon right. Taehyung was seated behind him so he couldn’t tell if he was being serious.

“Did I stutter?” Namjoon snaps again.

“Uh…o-okay.” Taehyung keeps his head down, grabs his backpack, then exits the car to walk up the path to your front door.

You make a grab for the car door but Namjoon stops you. “No, you stay,” he says gruffly.

“Excuse me?” You sassed.

He turned his body toward the backseat and looked you straight in the eye. “I said, stay, Kim YN-ah!” He barked.

It made you gasp. That was usually Jin’s line. Namjoon very rarely used that ‘older brother’ tone on you.

Hobi’s brows knitted for a second but he relaxes his features, to try to break the tension. “Namjoonie, what’s up with—“

“What do you think you’re doing, Jung Hoseok?” His glare stops Hobi in his tracks.

This confuses you even further. What crawled up his ass today?

“Joon, what are—“

“Are you trying to fuck with me, Hoseok-ah?”

Hobi is taken aback by his question. “Namjoonie, I don’t understand—“

“I saw you at the parking lot earlier…touching my sister!” Namjoon’s eyes look like they’re about to fire laser beams at his friend.

Your mouth falls open, head prickling while your mind races, flashing back to the little moment that you and Hobi shared earlier. A moment that you both thought was private and hidden enough as you waited for Namjoon and Taehyung.

“Joon!”

Namjoon continued his ranting, completely ignoring you. “What happened to our bro-code, man? My sister is off-limits!”

You scoffed at your brother. “I’m sorry, what?”

“Be quiet!” Namjoon bellows at you, making your shoulders jerk.

Hobi’s face turns into a look of concern. He was afraid of this. He knew that he shouldn’t have let things get this far without telling his best friend. “Namjoon, it’s not what you think. YN and I, we—“

“No-no-no-no…” He lets out a humorless chuckle. “There is no ‘we’ between you and my sister. You and I agreed—“

“Excuse me but your sister is right here, and I have a name!” You exclaim angrily, having had enough of being referred to in the third person. “You keep talking about me as if I was invisible! What the fuck!”

“Watch your language!”

You scoffed and rolled your eyes at Namjoon. “Don’t play the ‘oppa’ trump card on me, Namjoon. It doesn’t suit you.”

“I am still older than you, YN-ah.”

You roll your eyes again. “Please–just stop–”

“Namjoonie–we wanted to tell you sooner, I swear,” Hobi finally says.

There was a long, silent pause–only filled by the sounds of the idling engine and Namjoon’s heavy breathing.

“Then why didn’t you?” Namjoon kept his voice low but it still had an edge to it.

Hobi opens his mouth to try to reason with his friend but you interject. “Because I told him to hold off on it. We just wanted to find the right moment.”

Namjoon pinches the bridge of his nose, trying to rein in his unreasonable anger. “I never would have thought–my best friend and my sister!” He shakes a clenched fist in mid-air.

“We didn’t plan on this happening. It just…kind of did.” You pulled the sassiness back and soften your tone.

“And you both decided to just mess around behind my back?”

Hobi finally turns the engine off. He took in a sharp breath before he lifted his chin to look Namjoon in the eye. “Namjoonie, I’m not messing around!” He says defensively. Your ears started to heat up and your heart pounded. You’ve never seen Hobi and Namjoon talk to each other like this. They’ve bickered and fought over trivial things like Pokemon cards or someone not returning the other’s Nas or Tupac CD. But at the end of the day, they always forgot about it and moved on as if nothing happened.

“I would never ever do that…not with her. I…” He paused for a beat to steady his breathing. “I’m in love with her, bro.”

You gasped softly. It was the first time he had ever said the words. Although his actions were more than enough to show you, hearing the words escape his lips felt near-euphoric.

Namjoon’s features soften. Suddenly, the urge to rip his friend’s head off was starting to fade.

Hobi turns his body to glance back at you and reaches for your hand. You interlace your fingers with his. “I’m sorry. I…didn’t plan on telling you like this but–” He smiled softly. “I love you,” he says evenly and confidently.

“Y-you’re in love with her?” Namjoon asks, still in disbelief.

Hobi kept his eyes on you. “Yeah. I have been, for a while,” he says in earnest. “I’m sorry it took me so long to say it.”

Your heart soars at his untimely confession but it didn’t matter. You loved him, too... so much…and for so long. You grinned at Hobi and couldn’t help but reach up to touch his cheek with your free hand.

Namjoon squirms at the sight of you looking at Hobi lovingly. He growls annoyingly. “Yaahh!!! What the fuck? I can’t believe this! How the hell did this happen?”

You give Namjoon a deadpan look. “Look, Joon–does it matter?” You turned your head back to Hobi. “I love him, too. And besides, dad and mom are okay with it. Jin-oppa and Tae are cool with it–”

“Wait-wait-wait-wait-wait–” Namjoon cuts you off. “You mean to tell me–that I am the last person to find out about this?”

You and Hobi grimace at each other, guilt painted all over your faces.

“I–I can’t believe this,” Namjoon says, sounding defeated. All that barking from earlier had been reduced to soft puppy-like whines. Regret eats away at you further. You and Namjoon were the closest out of all of your siblings. You practically shared everything together–whether by choice or otherwise. It was that openness between you two that strengthened your bond.

But since getting into a relationship with Hobi, you had been more secretive. Even though you meant well and fully intended on coming clean to him, you felt sorry for lying to him. And although half of your fears were warranted–based on his intense reaction earlier, you still felt bad.

You released Hobi’s hand and scooted closer to your brother. “Joon…I’m sorry for not telling you sooner. It wasn’t Hobi’s fault. I told him that we should hold off on telling you. I just…I wasn’t sure how you’d react and–well…truthfully, I didn’t want you to murder my boyfriend.”

He winces at the sound of the term. Your ‘boyfriend.’ Hobi was no longer a friend who happened to be a boy–oh, no. He was a boyfriend. He shuddered at the thought. Just when he was getting used to the idea of you dating. He wished Jin was here to back him up.

“Was Jin-hyung pissed?”

You bit your lip guiltily and shifted in your seat. “Uhm…n-not exactly.”

“What do you mean?” Namjoon asked.

“H-he…he said that…he wanted to be here when I told you...And he wondered how fast Hobi could run.”

Namjoon’s eyebrows furrowed at that. He thought Jin would have a stronger reaction since he almost blew his gasket when he caught his varsity teammate chatting you up right before a game nearly two years ago.

You and Hobi almost jump up on your seats when Namjoon bursts out laughing hysterically. You think maybe the shock had gone straight to his brain and he had started to lose his mind.

“I…I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” He chokes out after he calms down from all of the laughing. “I just feel like I’m having a Ross Gellar moment here.”

Namjoon loved his ‘Friends’ references. If there was an opportunity to insert it at any point during a conversation, he would. It somewhat calmed you down.

“I meant what I said, Joon,” Hobi says, turning serious. “I love YN. I would never do anything to hurt her.”

Namjoon sighed, shifting his eyes between you and Hobi. “Damn. My best friend…and my sister,” he shook his head gently then chuckled.

You and Hobi took it as his blessing. You scoot over closer to Hobi, smiling and gazing at each other, as if a giant boulder had been lifted off your chests. You touched your nose to his.

“Yah!” Namjoon squawks, interrupting your moment with Hobi. “I may be cool with both of you dating but please…I am begging you not to do all that,” he gestures his hand aimlessly at both of you, “...In front of me! Or…at least keep it to a minimum.”

You roll your eyes at Namjoon. “Fine. Now can you please get out of the car so I can kiss my boyfriend goodbye?”

Namjoon starts to gag at the thought. “Fuck, man,” he says under his breath before he pulls at the car door’s latch to open it.

“By the way, he’s coming over after dinner to watch a movie with me tonight.”

Namjoon groans. “As long as you both watch in the living room.” He steps out onto the curb.

You called out from the open window in the van. “Well, it’s a nice change of pace since we usually just watch in my room,” you laughed.

Namjoon lets out another pained cry, clutching his ears as if they started to bleed.

Once your front door shuts, you climb over to the front seat next to Hobi, still giggling.

“Don’t torture him, YN.” Hobi says, trying to defend his friend.

“I know, I know. I’m just…happy that we don’t need to sneak around anymore.”

Hobi sighed, seemingly content. “Yeah.” He leaned in closer to you. “But if I’m being honest, I’ll miss the whole ‘sneaking around’. It was kind of exciting.” He grinned mischievously at you before cocking an eyebrow knowingly.

“Jung Hoseok!” You grinned at him, suddenly feeling flustered.

He chuckled. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding. Actually, it’s a nice thought to actually leave from the front door rather than climbing down your window. I almost broke my ankle that one night!”

You laughed at him. “I’m sorry, jagiya.”

He laughed in return. “I know, I know. I meant what I told him, though. I love you, sunshine.” He touched his finger to your cheek, making your eyes close instinctively at the contact.

When you opened them, you smiled warmly at him. “And I love you, too.” At the sound of that, he closed the gap between you two to press his lips against yours. He cupped your jaw and you melted into him. Your kiss wasn’t frantic or rushed because you weren’t trying to hide from anybody. It was all out in the open.

You loved Hobi and he loved you. And you were happy to show everyone that.

High school graduation and the next four years of college were not without its challenges. But anytime things got difficult, you and Hobi always had each other to lean on. Namjoon had his own thing going–doubling back between university and traveling into the city to send demos and mix-tapes.

Taehyung was off partying God-knows-where, enjoying his college years, and Jin was back home helping your dad at the restaurant. Things between him and Yoojung were getting more serious–they had just moved in together. Your parents thought that an engagement would be on the horizon soon.

You and Hobi would talk about the future, too. Even though graduation was several months away, you were intent on securing a job in the city. There were more prospects for you there and opportunities for growth in your chosen industry: fashion.

“So, I have a couple of internships that I applied to. I should be hearing back from them in the next week or so. Have you looked into those other places that I emailed to you?”

You looked up at Hobi from your laptop screen. He was busy polishing some glasses behind the bar.

“Jagi?”

“Huh?”

“I asked if you checked out those places that I forwarded to you. They’re big accounting firms in the city and are accepting at least 5-10 interns this year.”

“Yeah, I did. I reached out and sent my application in.”

You smiled at him. Hobi dragged his feet with his internship applications but you gently nudged him–by sending him a few potential companies that he could work at. Hobi decided to major in accounting, just like his mom. He was already getting some real-time training in bookkeeping when he helped out at Hangsang, the local pub his family owned and ran.

“You know, if you do well, they’ll hire you directly. You’d be set right before graduation,” you say encouragingly.

“You don’t have to say all that. If I get it, I get it. Otherwise, I can just go and find a job elsewhere.”

That made you frown. For months, you and Hobi have talked about moving to the city together after graduation. He never really expressed any misgivings every time you brought it up. But as your senior year at university drew to a close, it seemed as if he wasn’t so keen on the idea.

“Don’t think like that, jagi. You have to be positive! You have such a great personality and you’re so smart. I’m sure you’ll ace the interview.”

He gave you a small smile. “Well, if my girlfriend believes in it then, who am I to question it?”

You beam at him then lean over to peck him on the lips. When you pull away, he’s smiling but it doesn’t reach his eyes.

“Is there something else bothering you, jagi?”

He sighed. “I’m just nervous, I guess. We’re far from home and we won’t know anybody there…”

“Namjoonie will be there,” You say in an attempt to console him.

“I know, but he’ll be doing his own thing. It’s not like he can hang out with us every single day.”

“Then we’ll just have to make new friends!”

He looked at you ruefully. “What’s wrong with the friends that we have?”

“That’s not what I mean, Hobi. What I’m saying is that we should make more friends…in addition to the ones that we have. It’s all part of getting acclimated, you know?”

Hobi, although incredibly outgoing once you got to know him, was painfully shy when it came to meeting new people. He always kept with the same inner circle and rarely ventured out. You knew that this was a stretch for him.

You cupped his face and gazed at him lovingly. “Jagi, it’s going to be difficult. I’m fully aware of that. I’m scared, too–I don’t know how things will play out for us. But you know what? Knowing that we’re doing this together? That’s all that I need to help me get through anything.”

He stared back at you, his thumb gently brushing over your eyebrow.

“Can we please just try? Please, Hoseokie?” You gave him your best puppy-eyes.

After a few beats, he nods softly. You beam with excitement and pepper him with kisses.

“Okay, okay,” he chuckles. When you calm down and pull away from him, his expression turns sober again.

“And if it doesn’t work out?”

You pursed your lips. Truthfully, you didn’t want to think of a scenario where things didn’t work out. But because you love him, you didn’t want him to be unhappy. He was already stepping out of his comfort zone for you but only with the assurance that you’d be in this together. You owed him that much.

You looked him straight in the eye. “Then we’ll come back. We’ll put our roots down here.”

He touched the tip of his nose to yours. “Okay then,” he acquiesced and smiled more broadly this time.

You smiled back and kissed him. “I love you, Hoseok.”

“Love you, too, Sunshine.”

After a day of moving, you and Hobi finally settle into your new place in the city. Once the moving truck was empty, you repaid your family with some delicious, extra greasy takeout food while Hobi picked up two 6-packs of beer from the liquor store around the corner from your building.

It was just a little past 8 PM and Jin, Taehyung, Jimin, his dad and your dad just left to drive back home. Namjoon left slightly earlier because he had a meeting with a music producer the next day.

The whole process went pretty smoothly except when your furniture got delivered. The couch was good, the dining table was good, but when it came to your bed, the company seemed to have shipped it with the wrong frame. They apologized and promised to deliver it in two days since it had to come from a different warehouse.

“I mean…I guess we’ll be okay for a couple days?” You stood in your bedroom, hands on your hips, staring at the floor, where the mattress currently laid. You wondered if it was worth putting sheets on it now or you’d be better off sleeping on the couch–which had a pull-out bed.

You felt Hobi’s hands wrap around your waist, resting his chin on your shoulder. You instinctively lean your head back to him, fatigue, suddenly hitting you.

“I don’t mind roughing it for a couple days.”

His comment made you chuckle. You were hardly ‘roughing it.’ You got lucky scoring the apartment. Not only was it in a decent neighborhood but it was rent-controlled, too. Your dad beamed with pride at you.

“So…” he began. “Do you want to christen it?”

You snorted. “Are you kidding? With the mattress on the floor?”

“Oh, c’mon,” he says slyly, “At least it’s on a mattress and not the backseat of my mom’s minivan?”

You roll your eyes at the reminder of where you had sex the first time. “Sure. And the sound of plastic sheeting crinkling under my naked body has always been a little kink of mine.” There may have been a mattress but you hadn’t unwrapped it yet since the frame hadn’t been delivered.

He laughed out loud. “That’s a very solvable problem.” He leaves the room quickly and is back in a few seconds with one of your throw-blankets. He quickly unfurls it and spreads it across the top.

He crouched down to sit on the edge of the mattress before scooting back to stretch out fully, putting his hands behind his head and laying on them.

“See? Nice and comfy already!”

You smiled. Leave it to him to always be solution-focused and see the bright side of things.

With a sigh, you bent down to crawl up to the mattress. He pulled his left hand from under his nape to stretch it across the empty space. You rested your head on it and snuggled up next to him. He pulls you in closer and plants a chaste kiss to your forehead.

You crane your neck up slightly to look at him. “Are you happy, jagi?” You ask him quietly. Before you left home, he had some reservations about moving away.

His thumb gently brushed over your eyebrow while he regarded you intently. “Wherever I’m at, as long as I’m with you–I’ll always be happy.”

“I love you, Hobi.”

“I love you too, sunshine.” He tilts your chin up, lowered his lips to yours and kissed you. It was soft, almost leisurely at first. It wasn’t long before you were licking and moaning into his mouth while his tongue also fought its way into yours.

You moved your body closer to his, feeling his hardon pressing against your center. You grind onto it, making him groan into your mouth.

He withdrew himself from you to pull his shirt off. You sit up and do the same then reach behind you with one hand to unclasp your bra.

He cursed under his breath once your breasts came into view.

Despite the humidity in the room, your nipples tightened into hard points. With a soft grunt, he sinks his mouth onto one to suck on it. You let out a moan when he flicked your nipple with the tip of his tongue. You feel your panties soak through in an instant.

“Hobi…I want you now,” you begged.

“Nah-uh. You know I love to take my time with you,” he crooned.

“But I’m ready,” you whined petulantly while dragged his mouth down your sternum, placing soft kisses on your ribcage.

“Just let me savor you first,” he says in between kisses. “And when I’m done, I promise I’ll give you what you want.”

You groan in frustration but in the back of your mind, you knew he was good for it—especially when he paused right below your navel, tugging on the waistband of your bottoms and underwear, peeling them off you, and tossed them somewhere on the floor.

Your thighs parted, as if they had a mind of their own, in anticipation of what would happen next.

He slots himself between you, resting the backs of your legs on his shoulders to open you up wider for him.

He swipes your clit with the tip of his nose to take a whiff of you, making your breath hitch in response. It didn’t matter if you were covered in dried up sweat from moving and unpacking boxes all day today. Your scent always turned him on. Something about the mixture of your pleasure and arousal made him feel euphoric.

He brushes your clit with his fingertips prolonging the agony for you, before pushing two fingers into your cunt.

“You’re all soaked,” he purred while simultaneously sliding his fingers in and out.

“I told you I was ready,” you mewled while you bucked your hips against his hand. “Stop playing with me and just fuck me, please!”

He chuckled, ignoring your pleas. “Always impatient, huh? You know I always want to make you cum first.” With that, he withdrew his fingers. You watched him lick them, and you would have cum right then.

Then he lowered his head again, dragging his tongue against your folds. You hissed through your teeth and tugged at his hair when he wrapped his lips around you, sucking and fluttering his tongue on your clit.

Your pulse quickened, feeling your climax building up within you.

“Fuck, Hobi…you’re so good at that.”

He hummed into your clit at the sound of your praise, the vibration pushing you closer to the edge.

“Oooh shit, I’m so close, fuck…”

Pushing two fingers into you, he curls them upwards and massages the sensitive tissues within you while he continues to tongue your clit.

With a few more gentle suctions and some hard licks, you cried out hoarsely once your orgasm hit, your core pulsing and squeezing around his fingers that he continued to pump in and out of you. You flinch, trying to pull away from him once overstimulation starts to set.

Still in a daze, you barely register him getting rid of his bottoms. But then you came back to full awareness once you felt him sink his length into you. Your walls make room for him while he stretched and filled you.

You wrapped your legs around his waist and churned your hips restlessly…your body quietly begging for more.

You looked into his eyes, they were dark and glazed with equal amounts of lust and love. He dipped his head to kiss you. You taste your arousal from his lips, igniting your desire even more.

His full weight was on you while deep, sexy groans vibrated against your chest. Your walls convulsed while he thrusted in and out, boring deeper into you.

Then, he paused to shift your bodies on the mattress, where he sat up and you were on top of him. He loved this position–when he would watch your tits bounce or suck on them while you rode his cock until you came all over him.

He licked the beads of sweat that dripped between the valley of your breasts, then moved to gently bite each nipple, sending another rush of shivers down your spine.

He cupped your face in his hands and locked eyes with you. “You’re so beautiful…I love you…”

You pressed your forehead to his. “I love you, jagi…so much.” You kissed him again while you rolled your hips to him. He breaks the kiss only to suck on his thumb before he slid his hand between you. He massaged your clit in slow, rhythmic circles. You lean back a little to give him better access, keeping your hands on his shoulders for leverage while his free hand holds your waist securely to him.

You contract your insides furiously, building up another climax as the feel of his cock fucking into you and his thumb on your clit work you up into a frenzy.

The way he knew your body was insane. He knew exactly where to touch, where to kiss, how to tease and how far to push it. He knew all of your cues, every shudder, a hitch on your breathing, and your moans…

You dragged one out while he hit a sensitive bundle of nerves in you. “Mm…getting close again, huh?”

You nod your head furiously, which only spurred him further. He kept stroking your clit and met your thrusts, goading your climax. The sensitivity made you thrash against the onslaught. A few more pulses of his finger on your clit sent you over the edge. You came again, letting out a hoarse, broken cry.

A rough sound rumbled within his chest while he swelled inside you, chasing his own climax.

“I’m close…where can I cum?”

“Lemme suck you off,” you breathed out.

He slowed his tempo. “You sure?”

You leaned in to kiss him. “Yes.”

He held you as you pulled yourself off him gingerly. He watched while you sat on your heels and settled between his legs. The flat of your tongue traced a vein up his length and up to the tip, making him drag out a groan. You took him in your mouth again, your neck arching back as you lowered.

“Holy fuck…” He threw his head back as his cock hit the back of your throat. You pulled back, your tongue coated in your arousal mixed with the rich flavor of him.

He groaned, his hands cupping your jaw. “Don’t stop, baby. Suck me dry.”

Your cheeks hollowed as you found your rhythm, while the sound of his ragged breaths and moans filled the room.

“Fuck, baby…gonna cum…” He ground out. His cock swelled in your mouth. Your scalp stung as his hand fisted and pulled at your hair.

His mouth fell open, his abdomen clenched as he let out a guttural cry, his body shuddering as he came hard.

He cursed as you swallowed. He emptied himself in thick, hot bursts, as if it was the last thing he’d ever do. By the time he finished, you were gasping for air.

He pulled you to your feet while you both stumbled backwards onto the mattress, tucking you to his side. His lungs struggled to catch his breath while he came down from his high. His hands roughly roamed your sweat-slicked body as he pulled you in tighter.

“Holy shit, I think I can see spots before my eyes!” He choked out, pressing a quick, rough kiss to your forehead. “Who knew blowjobs could cause temporary blindness?”

You curled into him, resting your head against his chest while his heart pounded loudly while you sighed. “Wow, I’ll take that as a compliment!” He lets out a throaty laugh.

You held each other like that for a while, his fingers sifting through your hair and gliding gently down your back.

“I’m so happy,” he said quietly while his lips tickled your temple.

You craned your neck to peer up at him. “You make me happy.” Swallowing a lump in your throat, you whispered, “Don’t ever leave me.”

He smiled and caressed your cheek. “I don’t think I could ever do life without you.”

******

“Hey…you haven’t touched your dinner.”

Even though you hear Hobi’s voice from a distance, you couldn’t make out what he was actually saying since your eyes were glued to your laptop and piles of paperwork that you’ve been poring over all weekend.

It was close to 11PM and you had a deadline–it technically wasn’t for another few days but you wanted to finish early and leave a great impression on the bosses.

You and Hobi were supposed to head back home for the long weekend but you volunteered to put together a capsule collection that was shaping up to be high-profile. It was a collaboration effort with a celebrity so you had to spend many hours picking and choosing possible pieces along with moodboards to present to your client. You saw it as a great opportunity to give you that leg up that you need to secure this permanent position at the company.

For a moment, you closed your eyes and stretched your neck from side-to-side. You tried to convince Hobi that he could still make the trip home to go see his parents and you would just stay back at your apartment in the city to finish work.

He refused to leave without you.

“Baby?”

“Hm?” His voice snaps you out of your hazy state–fatigue mixed with hunger and irritation. He was standing right behind you now, rubbing your neck and shoulders.

“You should get some rest.” He bends down and places a kiss on the crown of your head.

You leaned back towards him briefly, focusing on his hands that worked the pent up tension off your back. A few seconds later, you hunched over your laptop again. “I just need another two hours, jagiya. I have this all figured out–I only need to line this all up to make sure everything’s within the theme…then I can get all of it done before tomorrow.”

“I thought you said this wasn’t due ‘til next Friday? You know, on account of the holiday this weekend.” He took the seat next to you on the dining table.

You sighed, rubbing your cheeks slowly, willing some life back into them. Hobi watched you silently. You’d dropped a bit of weight since you were stressed and overworked.

“You should eat something. I can feed you, if you like?” he offers.

You chuckled at the idea. “Hobi, I’m not a little kid. You don’t have to do that.”

He remained serious and stared at you with concern. “I know I don’t have to but–I just get worried when you skip meals.” He cupped your hollowed cheeks. “You’ll get sick, sunshine. At least take a break and have a few bites?”

You gave him a small smile and relent. “Okay,” you say quietly. You take your plate of food that he made you and gingerly get up from your seat to microwave it. But as soon as you stood up, your vision went blurry for a second. The next thing you knew, your world had turned upside down.

Hobi curses, catching you before you hit the floor.

*********

A week later, after a long day at work, you come home to your apartment. You were surprised to see Hobi home early since he previously mentioned that he was meant to pull an all-nighter at the office to get through piles of paperwork.

“Hey.” He greets you after you toed your shoes off by the door. “I thought you had some stuff to finish at the office?”

“Eh…I just thought I put in enough hours this week. Someone else can start pulling their weight. How was your day?”

You flopped yourself on the couch next to him and he instantly wraps his arms around you.

“Fucking long,” you say emphatically, then sighing heavily. “I got in trouble today because one of the other junior staff fucked up on one of the documents, so I pretty much ate shit for the better part of the day.”

“What? And you didn’t say anything?”

“Well–technically, I handed off the work to her because I already had a ton of stuff going on. It was my responsibility to give her all of the information and…I missed a few details.” You groaned at the headache that started to build up.

“That’s fucked up! Did you tell your boss that it wasn’t your fault?”

“Hobi–I already apologized, I corrected the mistake—“

“Why? Why would you apologize for someone else’s screwup?”

“Hobi, please…I just wanted to avoid more trouble. Trying to argue would have just aggravated the situation and I really didn’t want to make it worse.”

He shakes his head. “That’s fucked up,” he says under his breath.

You scoffed. “Excuse me? In case you’ve forgotten, we need to keep our jobs to stay afloat here.”

“Mm…and getting treated for exhaustion is part of staying afloat?”

You bit the inside of your cheek at the sound of that. This job took its toll–but you had to work hard. All of this effort you were putting in was going towards your future.

“We should just go back home,” he says unceremoniously.

Your head jerked back in surprise. “Go back home? W-why?”

“Because, I hate watching you struggle like this! That night I took you to the hospital? It scared the shit out of me!”

A pang of guilt hits you. “I…I’m sorry for that, jagi. I’m trying to take care of myself now. I’m eating, taking breaks…”

“It’s not just that,” he interjects. He opens his mouth, hesitating for a few seconds before continuing. “You collapsing was the final straw!”

Your shoulders slump, utterly at a loss for words at this. You weren’t sure where all of this negativity was coming from. Day in and day out, you both went to your jobs, fully committed to reach your goals.

Final straw?

“What are you saying?”

He sighed heavily. “I’ve held on for as long as I could…but I just can’t anymore. I’ve been struggling…a lot. I hate my job, I’m tired, and I’m stressed all the time. What’s worse is that I don’t like how it’s all starting to affect us.”

“Hobi–I…” you moistened your dry lips. “Look, we knew it wasn’t going to be easy, right? And that it wasn’t going to be smooth-sailing? We’d get some bumps in the road…” you trailed off, trying to justify your situation.

“I know that but–we go out, come home…then we fight. It wasn’t like this before. I don’t want us to resent each other.”

“What? Jagi, I don’t resent you. Work is just…there’s just a lot of pressure involved for me and I’m sure what you’re going through is a rough patch. That’s what happens when we’re just starting out, right? Once we’re a bit more established–”

“I quit.”

“W-what?” Your voice faltered in disbelief.

“I quit my job. Today.” He deadpanned.

“W-wait–you quit?” You heard exactly what he said but you wanted him to repeat it once more just to make sure that this wasn’t one of his ‘gotcha’ jokes.

He nodded. “I was just getting pushed too hard and I couldn’t stand it anymore. Nobody should be allowed to treat people that way!”

Hobi had struggled at work from the get-go but he didn’t talk about it openly. He was usually vague when you asked him about it. In reality, he had a difficult time relating to people at the office, much less pleasing his boss.

In an effort to cheer him up, you tried taking him with you to happy hours with your coworkers and casual nights out with your new friends but something in him still felt off.

“Hoseok–” you groaned. “That is irresponsible of you. What about our rent? Bills? I–How…” You tried to form coherent sentences. “What are we going to do?”

After a beat of silence, he looked you straight in the eye. “We can go home.”

His suggestion stopped you in your tracks. “But…what about my job?”

“Sunshine, we can start over back home! The great thing is that we’re already familiar with it. We don’t need to make changes, everything can just stay the same! And the rent and utilities? Since we’re not locked into a lease anymore, we can just finish out the month in this place. That’s in two weeks!”

“Two…weeks?” You say vaguely. You felt as if you were having an out-of-body experience.

“I could see how this internship has been taking its toll on you. It’s just not right. You’re putting in all of this effort for a job that may not even get offered to you in the end. There’s no guarantee in that!”

He had a point. There was absolutely no assurance that you were going to get selected for the full-time position at the company. Although your boss promised that they would write everyone great recommendations, it wasn’t enough for you to bank on that.

“Huh…two weeks?” You ask again.

“Yeah, we’re out of here in two weeks!”

Your mouth opens tentatively, “Wow…that’s…really soon…”

Softening his features, he moves closer to you, cupping your face. His eyes glistened differently. It was this bright, warm light that seemed to have been snuffed out not long after you moved away from home. But now, with the promise of leaving all this behind, that glow was back.

“I know it’s a lot to take in. But think about it, we’ll be back home! No more stress, no pressure,” he assures you.

“R-right,” you concurred.

Then, he gets an idea. “C’mon, you must be starving! I’ll make you dinner, okay? It’ll be done by the time you get out of the shower,” he grinned.

A week later…

Hobi busied himself, packing and boxing up your things. Unfortunately, work has been riding your ass so much that you haven’t had the time to pack or sort through your stuff at the apartment.

Today, you came home early after a big meeting with your manager.

You were standing in the kitchen when the door opened and he saw you. He was just coming back from running errands all morning.

“Hey, sunshine,” he beamed at you.

You gave a somber greeting back. He walks straight to you to give you a kiss.

“I just spoke to our landlord,” he began excitedly, “She said that she’s sad to see us go since we’ve been such good tenants. She also said that if we ever change our minds and come back, she’d be happy to refer us to one of her other properties. I said that was a nice offer but I don’t think we’d be back anytime soon,” he chuckled. Leaning onto the counter, he sees that you were still quiet.

“Are you okay? Are you hungry? I can fix you something–”

“No, I’m…I’m okay right now,” you answer him. “Just had a pretty eventful day at work.”

“I’m sure,” he grinned. “Is your boss stressing out over your replacement after your two weeks are up?”

You exhaled nervously. “Actually…I wanted to talk to you about that.”

His eyebrows furrowed. “Talk to me about what?”

“Work.”

“Work?” He repeated. “What’s there to talk about? You put in your two weeks, right?”

You shifted your weight on your feet anxiously and sank your teeth into your bottom lip.

“You did put in your two weeks, right? YN?”

“I got offered the full-time position today…” You paused to gauge his reaction before continuing. When he didn’t speak, you said, “...And I accepted it.”

His jaw falls open from shock and confusion. “I…I don’t understand. I thought that you–”

“I was, I was! I…I fully intended on putting my two weeks in but I–”

“Is that why you haven’t packed?” He looked around the apartment where your things were still strewn about.

You stared at him blankly and didn’t answer.

“YN…” He gripped his forehead in exasperation. “I don’t get it. What else would be keeping you here?”

“A guarantee,” you answer quietly.

“What? What do you mean?” He was incredulous.

“You’ve told me that I keep hanging onto something that wasn’t even guaranteed. But now that it is, I’ve decided that I’m staying. I can’t leave now.”

His voice rose. “Yes, you can! Just as we came here, we can get out of here.”

“No!” You said firmly.

“I’m sorry…did you just say ‘no’?” He chuckled bitterly. “You really want to stay in this hell-hole?”

“It is not a hell-hole! Namjoon lives here and he’s doing just fine!”

“But that’s how Namjoon is! He grits his teeth and pushes through it. Doesn’t matter if his shit gets rejected 30 times. He’ll keep at it until he gets the validation that he needs. I’m not like that!”

“Well, maybe you just need to grow thicker skin!”

His eyebrows knitted at how absurd that was. “Thicker skin? What is that supposed to mean?”

“Meaning, you shouldn’t give up so easily. You have to keep pushing yourself to do better! This is all fuel—to make you stronger…better!”

His jaw drops in shock. “Better? Stronger?” He laughs bitterly.

“Yes! Things aren’t supposed to be just handed to you. You have to work for them!”

“You don’t think I worked my ass off in the last year?” He was agitated and started to pace around the room.

“I never said anything like that! But I also don’t understand why you are being so narrow-minded about all this.”

He stopped and stared at you, his expression hardening. “Oh, I’m narrow-minded? Will you listen to yourself? I just told you that I was unhappy at my job and our life here and you tell me to-to-to grow thicker skin? You are completely blinded by your ambition!”

You stared back at him, indignant. “My ambition? Wasn’t this supposed to be our dream to begin with? For our future?” You say loudly.

“This was not my dream nor was it what I envisioned as our future. This isn’t the life that I want.”

“Well, what kind of life did you have in mind?” You challenged.

“Just a simple, quiet life…with you.”

Now it was your turn to laugh. “See, that’s the problem with you. You’re just completely content in staying where you’re at. You don’t aim high enough.”

“The problem with you,” he points at you aggressively, “...is that nothing is ever enough. You always want more!”

You square your shoulders and tilted your chin up at him. “What’s wrong with wanting more?”

He caught his lower lip with his teeth, pain etched all over his beautiful face. “Because it means that I will never be enough for you.”

Your mouth drops at his remark and you let out a faint whimper. “Hobi…that’s…that’s not even–”

“I tried. I really tried. I tried adapting to life in the city. I went to work…tried to make new friends just to help me get used to it all even though I kept feeling out of place. And I did it all for you. But I realized that…I can’t do this for the rest of my life. It’s only been a year and I already feel exhausted. I’m done!”

You felt off-balance again, just as you did last week. Except that it wasn’t exhaustion or skipped meals that was causing it. After Hobi’s confession, you felt the need to lean against something. You settled for the kitchen counter.

“Please, YN, let’s go home,” he pleads, “While I still have my dignity.”

“If you’re exhausted and done with all of this…then leave,” you said quietly.

The crease between his eyebrows deepened. “Now you’re just being selfish.”

“Oh, I’m being selfish?” You pointed to yourself. “Working to build a nice future for us is selfish?”

“We can still have that! Why does it matter where we’re at?”

“Precisely! If where we’re at doesn’t matter to you, then why do we have to go back? Why can’t we stay here?”

Hobi runs his fingers through his hair in exasperation. “We’re going around in circles, sunshine–”

“Don’t call me that.” Your eyes turned downcast. His term of endearment always made your heart bloom, but hearing it now just made it sink.

“I resent the fact that you’d call me selfish.” Tears stung your eyes. “I am not nor have I ever been selfish when it came to you.”

You also worked your ass off in the last year. Working overtime, taking on more projects. You also did all of these things with him in mind. For both of you.

“YN…” He tried to reach out for you but you backed away from him.

You gazed at him wordlessly.

“I can’t leave without you,” he pleaded.

You sank your teeth to your bottom lip in an attempt to steady its quivering. “But I know that you can’t stay with me either.”

It’s been over two months. It felt more like years. But no, it’s only been a couple months.

You moved in with Namjoon temporarily until you saved up enough to find a place that you could afford. He didn’t mind you living with him and wasn’t pressuring you to move out, either. But since he’d been seeing this new girl, you didn’t want to cramp his style.

Since living in a new neighborhood, your usual work commute continued—albeit a different train stop. Luckily, both locations were still within walking distance.

“Miss! Miss!”

You look around to find a man chasing after you. While Namjoon’s neighborhood was relatively safe, living in the city has kept you hyper-vigilant and skeptical of random people trying to grab your attention at the train station.

You immediately dug your hand into your purse, finger firmly placed on the trigger of the can of mace that you carried with you.

“You dropped this,” the man says, holding up a familiar object.

Your other hand instinctively grabs at the carabiner keychain clipped to your purse strap. It held your office access badge and your metro card in a plastic card case. The card case was no longer attached to it.

“Oh my god!” You took your metro card and badge as he handed it back to you. The plastic case seemed to have broken off the keychain by accident. “Thank you,” you uttered in relief.

“You’re welcome. Might want to hang on to that,” he said, pointing to your transit pass.

“I had just reloaded this, too,” you said worriedly.

He smiled. “I noticed that you take the same train every night.”

You slowly reached into your purse for that can of mace again. “Y-yeah…”

The look on his face showed worry and confusion. “Oh…I wasn’t saying that to be a creep or anything. This is my stop, too. I just wanted to point out that we always seem to end up taking the same train often…the same car, even!”

You were still apprehensive. “I just happen to stand at a specific spot so that when I get off the train, I’m right by the escalators or stairs.”

He laughed. “I’m the same! I’d rather get in and out conveniently. I work around Montgomery Street,” he reveals.

“Oh, wow,” you let out a laugh, “That stop gets really packed.”

He nods. “I know.”

“I, uh, get on at the Powell Street stop.”

“Ah. Lots of retail shops there.”

“I work in fashion,” you affirm.

“I see,” he nodded again. “I didn’t catch your name—“

“I never gave it,” you responded.

He put his hand over his chest to introduce himself. “I’m Sam, by the way,” he smiled warmly. “And although I took a peek at your work badge, I’m hoping you would still tell me your name?”

He seemed a little less threatening now. You loosened your hold on the pepper spray.

“I’m YN.”

His smile grew wider. “It’s great to finally meet you.”

Joon and Jooni | Main Fic Masterlist

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