#seventeen fake dating
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twenty two days before we go our separate ways (twenty two days of not falling for you) | yoon jeonghan
content: fluff; angst (because ofc); fake dating; friends to lovers; some joshua x reader; adults who are in their 30s and have jobs;
word count: 20.3k
summary: there’s a special bond between you and jeonghan, and no one was surprised when you announced you were together. to you, it’s a surprise no one realised it wasn’t real.
warnings: language; allusions to sex and suggestive language; (brief) descriptions of vomiting; jealousy and possessiveness;
after a five month hiatus i have returned with a HOLY WHY IS THIS SO LONG fic hope you enjoy :)
also i’ve decided i want to label my fics the same way fob write song titles
D-1
“You have got to be kidding me.”
His eyes widened, then slowly closed in embarrassment. “Look, you’re the only person I could ask…”
“There is no way I’m going to fake date you, Jeonghan!”
In all the years that you had spent knowing Jeonghan, you had never gotten fully used to the shenanigans and plots, half of which you were a pawn in, half were levied against you. Right now, it was easy to say you preferred the latter. Especially given that unlike your mutual friend Soonyoung, he never went too far. Jeonghan had a perfect skill for being outlandish but never unacceptable. Although, this time felt too far. This time felt ridiculous.
“It’s only for three weeks!”
“Twenty two days! Three weeks! Thats three separate, wait no FOUR separate Saturdays I’ll have to spend cozied up to you, pretending to- ugh.”
“Don’t gag.”
“Huoh.”
Gagging was excessive, in all fairness. Jeonghan was a gorgeous man, and the string of broken hearts he carried on his shoulder was evidence enough, which made you so much more suspicious of his words. Why were you the only person available?
“I just need to get this girl off my back at Wonwoo’s wedding, and it has to be believable, because you know that Jun and Seungcheol cannot keep a secret, so if they know then Jiwon will know, and if Jiwon knows then I’m trapped. Cmon, please.”
“Three weeks is so long.” You whined, throwing yourself down on the couch. You had always been one for the dramatics. Perhaps thats what drew you to Jeonghan, why you were good friends.
FRIENDS. Specifically.
“Look it’s not like you wouldn’t get anything out of it!” Jeonghan begged, kneeling in front of you in a desperate attempt to have you look his way. “It would make Joshua so jealous.”
“He would only be jealous if he actually had feelings for me, Han, and we both know he doesn’t.”
“That’s not true, I am so completely sure he has feelings for you, he just doesn’t know it yet.” Jeonghan’s hand was on your shoulder, rubbing it soothingly, as you were reminded of how helpless and pathetic you felt when it came to Joshua. The gorgeous American who never seemed to spare a glance in your direction. Sure, you were all friends, and he obviously cared about you, but only as a friend. It was clear the way he looked at other people, it was a way he had never looked at you. It didn’t take a genius to figure it out, and for the most part you would like to say you were pretty good at spotting when people had feelings for you.
When you were eleven and there was pesky Seokmin who kept throwing pencils at you when he thought you weren’t looking, it was obvious he had feelings for you, which you quickly shut down because who would want to go out with someone who had to resort to petty violence to get your attention? And Mingyu, who would avoid you like the plague all of year 12 until he could muster up the courage to tell you about his feelings for you, which you had obviously seen coming. You were always one step ahead - you didn’t like being caught off guard. Jeonghan was the only person you felt like you could trust to trick you, if that made sense at all. Even when he was being a menace, you still felt somewhat safe. And that was really working against you at the moment.
“You know,” He spoke with a glint in his eye that you couldn’t have missed, even if you wanted to. Oh, how desperately you wanted to. After being friends for so long, you could read Jeonghan too well. “He’s just broken up with Heejin. I bet we could try to make him jealous? Make him realise his feelings for you?”
You sniffled slightly, burying a laugh at Jeonghan’s cunning expression. “You’re just saying that so I’ll agree to go out with you.”
“Maybe. Is it working?”
You pondered for a moment. When Jihoon got married just a few months prior, you didn’t have anyone to go with, and you felt devastated watching the gorgeous boy hanging off Joshua’s shoulder. Jeonghan was quick to offer to ditch his date for you, but it didn’t make the ache in your chest dull any faster. You didn’t want to relive that, and you definitely didn’t want to seem lonely and desperate - you didn’t miss the concerned glance from Joshua last time. It would be nice to seem more desired, even if it was fake. It’s all about image, right?
“You know if we do this you won’t be able to flirt with anyone at the party.” You reminded him. “We’ll have to keep up the ruse that you’re actually interested in me.”
“Is it too late to take it back?”
“Yah, Jeonghan!”
“Kidding! Who wouldn’t be into you? Well…” He trailed off teasingly, and it’s moments like this where your glare settles in across from him that he feels so lucky to be secure in your friendship. “I wouldn’t dream of ditching you.”
“I can’t believe I’m doing this.” You whispered to your ceiling, and you didn’t miss the grin that spread across Jeonghan’s face. Lucky bastard. “Fine, starting from tomorrow we will be fake dating.”
“Thank you, thank you, thank you Y/N!” He grabbed your hands, pulling you up from the sofa to celebrate with him. “I will drive you everywhere, don’t worry, and whenever you don’t feel like cooking I’ll cook for you, and-“
“Woah, slow down, I’ll pass on the food. I’ve seen you in a kitchen.” You hushed your friend, letting him settle. “Besides, if we’re going to do this, we need rules. Everything needs to be out in the open.”
You never liked being caught off guard, and you were going to make sure you weren’t.
You settled back down onto the couch, and Jeonghan disappeared to grab something from out of your fridge before settling against you, cuddling to your side. “So what’s the backstory? People are definitely going to ask how we got together, we should probably get a story established.”
“Hmm, what about, you watched me kill it at karaoke, and you were so overcome with adoration and horniness that you confessed your undying love for me, and-“
“Absolutely not. I refuse to say any of that.”
“That’s okay, I’ll tell them.”
“No way!” You shoved him playfully, groaning as he elbowed you in retaliation. “Low blow, Han. Let’s try to think of something more realistic. What about you went on a date and it made me jealous, so I confessed?”
“Yeah, except we’ve both dated other people and it’s never caused jealousy before, I don’t think anyone would fall for it.” He told you, and you cursed under your breath because he was right. “What about we got tipsy and made out? And then realised we liked each other?”
“That works, I guess. It’s a little crass but it’ll do.” You nodded at Jeonghan, and grabbed a piece of paper from your coffee table. “Now rules: obviously we can’t tell anyone.”
“No shit.”
“Don’t be rude, we have to write the obvious too.” You rolled your eyes at Jeonghan, jotting down the words escaping your mind onto paper. No one can know this is fake.
“What about once it’s all over? You know, when you’re off being married to Joshua, and I’ve got myself a new sexy partner?” Jeonghan questioned, wiggling his eyebrows and nudging you.
“Ew? Why did I agree to this?”
“Because deep down you love me and my shenanigans.” Jeonghan popped a cherry in his mouth, chewing on it slightly, staining his lips red. You looked in disgust as a sliver of crimson drool slipped down the corner of his mouth.
“Deep, deep, deep, deep, deep down.”
“Didn’t deny it.” He winked. “So can we tell people eventually? Or are we taking this to the grave?”
“Okay, how about this? No one can know this is fake until we’re married to other people. There, that gives us plenty of time.” Jeonghan nodded thoughtfully, and you quickly jotted down the addition.
“Oh, pass me the pen, I have a good one.”
You let the pen drop out of your hands, pushing it to Jeonghan, who started scribbling something down. You looked over his shoulder, reading out the words…
“…We can’t be cliche and fall in love with each other- are you taking this seriously at all Han?”
He laughed, and you swear he would have spit cherries all over you. You cursed slightly, feeling suddenly very tempted to push him off the bed. “Dickhead.”
“A future junior partner at Kim-Byun Legal Services shouldn’t be using that kind of language, Y/N.” Jeonghan teased, smirking at your frustrated expression.
“Shut it Yoon. And take this seriously! If we fuck up everyone will find out, including Jiwon.”
He shuddered at the mention of her name. “God and she won’t leave me alone. Fine, what other rules do we need?”
“Hmm, we need to post each other on social media. Instagram is a must.” You told him, and to your surprise he hummed in agreement - you really were expecting more of a pushback. Jeonghan never liked tainting his single and available persona, and he was yet to ever post a S/O photo anywhere. “You don’t sound upset?”
“You’re right. It won’t be believable if there’s nothing online, at least on your social media. Besides, the more we commit, the more jealous Joshua will get, and the more Jiwon will realise she needs to back off.”
You nodded, writing it down. “That means we’ll probably have to pose for photos, go on dates and such.”
“Eh, we already hang out loads, we’ll just have to add cheesy captions. Doesn’t sound difficult at all.”
Jeonghan was right. You had spent way too many years being friends with him to ever feel uncomfortable around him, and with that boundaries were out of the window. Half of your outings looked like dates, and this wasn’t even the first time the two of you had used that ambiguity to convince others you or he wasn’t available. It was the first time you were actively deceiving people though. Perhaps that was why you felt on edge. All the other times, you had just let people come to their own conclusions, this time you would be lying. Was that why your heart was beating more? Was that what was causing the sudden discomfort as you laid in Jeonghan’s arms?
“Okay, that’s three rules, do we need anything else? Is there anything we’re forgetting?”
He thought about it for a moment, then brushed it off, letting the thought roll away from his shoulders, while yours stayed tensed and rigid. “We can probably add as we go along. Leave it on your fridge, oh but hide it when you get guests.”
“Well duh.” You rolled your eyes at him, grabbing a cherry out of his bowl. You chewed it softly, and groaned in surprise at the way it burst open. “God these are way too ripe, why are you eating them?”
“They still taste good, and they make me look like a vampire.” He grinned at you, showing off his stained canines (and chin, but you decided not to focus on that). “Just spray me with body glitter and I’ll have hoards of fangirls.”
“You already have hoards of fangirls, and fanboys.” You reminded him, rubbing at the corner of your mouth where cherry juice exploded down.
Jeonghan watched as you missed the trail of juice that had begun to dry on your skin. He smiled, and before you knew it he had licked his thumb, wiping away the red line from your mouth. Your breath hitched as you watched his eyes, trained on you, the part of your cheek right next to your lips, so much so that it felt like that’s all he was looking at. He smiled, drawing his finger back, with a satisfied look on his face.
“There,” He whispered, barely audible had you not been pressed up against him. “You can get a taste of the Yoon Jeonghan Boyfriend Treatment early.”
“Gross, you got your saliva all over me.” You whined, pushing him away. “I gotta wash my face now.” You ignored his chuckles as you made a beeline for the bathroom, eager to get him off of you, in every sense.
“You better get used to my saliva babe!” He laughed as you walked away from him. Cute.
It’s a strange feeling to ponder on your time with someone, but that’s what you watched yourself do in the hour before you were, technically, officially going out with him. The hour until midnight struck, you were in bed, teeth brushed, pajamas on, and only Jeonghan on your mind.
You’ve spent more of your life with him in it than without him. He was in the year above you at school, but you and him always gravitated to the same napping spot under the bleachers, and from there a comfort was born. Even before that, he was always around, his friends were the older brothers of your friends, and you had known each other by association, which made it easier to grow into an easy friendship come middle school. Half of the times you had suspected someone’s growing crush on you, it was Jeonghan whispering rumours into your ear. He had always looked out for you, and as the two of you aged and grew closer, you looked out for him too, until you two felt most comfortable together, and not with anyone else.
It had never stopped the two of you from dating, of course. He was hot, you were hot, and other people realised it. In your case though, it had been a force driving boyfriends away. They could never quite get used to how close you and Jeonghan were, and you had been accused of cheating or leading them on more times than you could count. Meanwhile, Jeonghan’s flings always came rushing to you on advice and inside intel, seemingly loving your presence - until they realised that he would never put them above you, and suddenly you were the bitter best friend who could never let him date in peace.
And you had friends, mutual friends who in turn formed a large group that you welcomed and blossomed with. But no one could ever come in between you and Jeonghan. The two of you existed in a little bubble, never to be popped or disturbed. You could imagine the delight some of your friends would express once you told them you two were an item, they were always the teasing that you two were secretly dating and hiding it from the world.
But you were an adult now, the two of you had been out of high school and university for several years now, and still you weren’t dating, despite being so close, it drove your friends mad. You knew that you didn’t need to explain it, as long as you and Jeonghan were on the same page. Boyfriends would come and go, but Jeonghan was always your priority. It had always been platonic, but you knew that if nothing else lasted, your friendship with Jeonghan would. He knew it too.
You turned, groaning into your pillow. How were you going to go to this wedding? Part of the beauty of your relationship with Jeonghan was that it was simple. It had never once felt complicated to you, just because other people didn’t understand it doesn’t mean you didn’t. But not dating for over a decade and suddenly starting to go out? Only to break it off three weeks later? That felt too complicated to explain, or even comprehend. Would people even believe it?
You were so tempted to text Jeonghan to call it off, to find another stunning specimen to hang off his arm and scare away Jiwon. She was all bark, no bite - no matter what hurtful words she had spat at Jeonghan when he tried calling their thing off, she wouldn’t go up and make light of those threats. Ultimately, she was harmless, but terrible at taking hints. Hence why he’s created this dumb plan. It wasn’t too late to back out was it? You grabbed your phone, and it dinged in your hand.
12:01. Shit.
And there it was, a text from your loving boyfriend.
Hannie: Happy first day of dating, baby ;)
No backing out now.
Day 1 - Saturday 3rd November
After the reminder Jeonghan had sent of your month long promise, you had rolled around your bed until you finally nodded off, and then subsequently overslept, which was only made clear as a banging on your door began to wake you.
Jeonghan was here.
The knock (which was always made with the full force of his fists - you swore that one day he was going to break your door down) was nothing other than courtesy. Jeonghan had his own set of keys to your apartment, and he wasn’t shy about using them. You could already hear him fumbling with the keys, and the muttered curses under his breath. You couldn’t wait to make partner and get out of this place and to somewhere with more soundproofing, you were certainly sick of hearing the muffled grunts and moans of your neighbours who had nothing better to do than spend the nights in each other(’s arms). But it did allow you those few seconds of awareness before Jeonghan barged into your home.
The door finally swung open, and there he was in his full glory - your new boyfriend. Even thinking the word in association with Jeonghan gave you a shudder. There was something about thinking of Jeonghan that way that just felt so… alien. It wasn’t like you had never had those wandering thoughts, but that was all they were: visitors who didn’t stay long. Now, the label was here for three weeks, and you were way too tired to comprehend just how long that really was.
“Why aren’t you up? Don’t you remember we’re helping Minghao set up the venue today? We’ve also got to make an all so important announcement, in case you forgot.”
You groaned, smoothing down your bedhead as best you could to be semi presentable. “I know, I just overslept. Struggled to fall asleep last night.”
He looked over at you as you stumbled out of bed, grabbing the coat hanger that had your outfit off your dresser as you walked slowly to the bathroom. “Just give me 20 minutes to get ready.”
“Are you feeling okay Y/N?” He asked carefully, walking closer to you. “It’s not too late to call it off, I don’t want to stress you out, especially with everything going on with work.”
It was certainly a tempting offer, and one you had been considering just the previous night. But looking back at Jeonghan’s concerned expression, you were reminded of why you even agreed in the first place. Yes, you wanted to make Joshua jealous, and that was your main goal, but Jeonghan had never let you down, and you weren’t going to let him down either.
“Don’t worry. Wonwoo’s wedding is on the 24th. Four Saturdays, I can definitely last that long.” You told him, blinking away the puffiness in your eyes. He didn’t seem too convinced, but you knew Jeonghan was too far in it to say anything else. “Twenty minutes, then we’ll go.”
Day 1 (cont.)
You weren’t too sure when it happened, but somewhere along the car ride, Jeonghan’s spare hand had nestled into yours. It felt somewhat romantic. You were no stranger to holding his hand, but it meant something different this time. Of course, something deceptive, but still different.
As the car pulled to the stop, you squeezed his hand comfortingly.
“Ready?”
You and Jeonghan smiled at each other, and to anyone who could see past the tinted windows, you were putting on your best show even before you walked out of the car. Of course, knowing Seungcheol, he was probably waiting outside the venue, and this sort of attention to detail that Jeonghan had mastered was crucial considering your friends.
“Ready.”
Your hands detached as the two of you got out of the car, only to join once more as Jeonghan rushed to your side, draping his arm across your shoulder and kissing your hand. You were almost shocked by his actions, the ones that felt so loving, until you heard the all too familiar screech of his would be best friend (had that title not been taken by you, long ago).
“Yoon Jeonghan! Did you and Y/N finally confess your love to each other?!” Seungcheol yelled across the parking lot, jogging up to you.
“Showtime.” Jeonghan whispered in your ear, nuzzling his nose against your skin. It was so sickeningly puppy love, you had to hold yourself back and be reminded that this is your life for the next month. “Seungcheol!”
He walked up and hugged his friend, and you followed suit, before settling back at Jeonghan’s side. Seungcheol couldn’t hide his grin, going on and on. “I knew it! For years, you guys said there was nothing there, but I knew it would happen eventually! I told you so, didn’t I Jeonghan? And all you ever said, Y/N and I are just friends, they would never see me that way, but HAH! I was right!”
Seungcheol kept rambling, barely even speaking to you, truthfully it felt more like he was yelling at characters on a screen rather than friends he had known for all his life (at least in Jeonghan’s case - you only got to know Seungcheol as you got closer to Jeonghan).
“Everyone’s going to be so shocked, even more so than when Wonwoo finally proposed.”
You scoffed. “No one was surprised when Wonwoo proposed, we were all surprised he hadn’t proposed sooner.”
“Same sentiment they’ll have with us, I guess.” Jeonghan shrugged, tightening his grip around you. You held your bated breath as you thought about just how close you were to Jeonghan, that if you reached out just a little you could tuck that stray hair that was in front of his face away, you always thought he looked so much nicer when his face wasn’t covered-
“…dating?” Seungcheol’s sentence finally trailed off, and you realised he was waiting for your answer. Shit, you hadn’t paid any attention, and it was clearly evident by your lost expression. “God you two are still in the honeymoon phase, pay attention to me as well, not just your boyfriend.”
Your nose almost curled so instinctively at that word. Boyfriend. It still felt so wrong to use for Jeonghan, and by the way he tensed only ever so slightly beside you, you knew he felt the same. As if you were claiming him, but you knew Jeonghan wouldn’t want that, that’s why he froze. Wasn’t it?
“Come on, let’s go inside, you can tell everyone you’re finally dating!”
You and Jeonghan followed Seungcheol, who chattered away to Jeonghan as you walked in silence. You were always the more quiet of the pair. Not exactly introverted or shy, but picky with your words. You hated the idea of saying something you didn’t mean. Jeonghan was careful too, but it was like he had everything ready before anything else was ever said. Jeonghan was always careful, always clever.
He had never been the boyfriend type. Everyone knew it. He had flings, some that even lasted months, but never relationships. He went on dates, but only those that ended up in a hookup. The word boyfriend had never been used to describe him, only used as a wish others had hoped he would fulfill. Your friends would always tease, of course, that he could never be a boyfriend to anyone else because he was too busy being a boyfriend for you, but the two of you knew it wasn’t that. No, Jeonghan could never be a boyfriend to anyone because he didn’t want the expectations that came with it. Jeonghan did as he wanted, on his own terms. But a boyfriend has a role to play, and Jeonghan would die before he gave into that. It was always frustrating for him that his friends never seemed to understand that, but now it played right into his plan. And you understood, so did anyone else need to?
As Seungcheol ushered you in, you were surprised to see just how many of your friends were already gathered, moving chairs and dusting the floors, with Minghao set in the centre, directing everyone. Wonwoo and his fiancee were doing their best to cut costs, with Minghao acting as wedding planner, and all their friends chipping in to help out where they could, which of course is how you all ended up setting up a wedding venue inside a dusty old warehouse. Minghao assured them it would look beautiful, if and only if everyone listened carefully to every instruction he gave, without deviation. To say you and Jeonghan were scared of pissing him off was definitely an understatement.
Eyes snapped to you and Jeonghan at the sound of the door closing, and even more gathered in your direction as Seungcheol started yelling about an announcement.
“Y/N and Jeonghan have something to say!” He yelled across the crowds (well, 30 or so friends), apologising silently to Minghao as he glared at the older boy.
You froze, hiding your head in Jeonghan’s arm as the pressure of being watched suddenly settled into you. He smiled at you, and wagged your hand held in his at everyone. “Y/N and I are dating!”
Everyone erupted into gasps and shouts, but were all effectively shut up by Minghao’s yell. “Get this place clean first, then gossip!”
Jun walked up to you, handing you a mop and reading off instructions Minghao had given him on everything that needed to be done today. “But seriously, I am so happy for you guys. Good luck fielding everyone off though, everyone’s gonna have so many questions.”
You walked over with Jun to where Chan, Yeeun, Sakura, and Seungkwan were all mopping the floors. The youngest pushed you gently, grinning at you.
“I can’t believe you and Jeonghan are finally dating!” Chan grinned. “Took you guys long enough.”
“I guess it’s been a long time coming.” You hummed, as you started cleaning the floors with them. You looked back to where Jeonghan was, now surrounded by friends who were congratulating him. It filled you with a strange pride to know you were a prize to be congratulated for winning. Of course, they don’t know it’s not real. But the illusion still felt victorious.
“Is everyone here? It’s been ages since we all met up.”
“Yeah! Oh, everyone but Joshua, he had to cancel last minute.” You felt your shoulders threaten to drop at the news Soonyoung shared. “Of course, the day we’re cleaning away the dust and mould, he can’t make it.”
Sakura hit his shoulder softly. “He would come if he could. There was an emergency at his firm.”
There was no skylight, but you were sure that if there was one, the clouds would have covered the sunlight.
You were only a year younger than Joshua, only a year younger than Jeonghan, but he had already been a junior partner at his firm for three years now, while you were spending every spare hour at your office in a desperate attempt to prove to the asses behind the desks in the floor above yours how much you deserved to be partner.
You weren’t surprised when Joshua was made partner. He was incredible, a talented lawyer who saw shortcuts and loopholes no one else realised were there. He was so dedicated, and smart, and dreamy, although you were sure that last part wasn’t one of the qualifying traits for partnership.
Your whole life, you were a step behind him. Most of that was just the fact that he was a year ahead of you: he graduated first, he took his bar exam first, he joined a firm first. Meanwhile you were the sad kid following him from place to place.
It was no secret Joshua cared for you like a younger sibling. Of course, he wasn’t always around, he couldn’t be. He had too much to do, too many places to be. But he cared about you, and always made sure you knew. What was a secret were the feelings you had for him, locked in a cage next to your heart, with a bluebird that sang love songs to fuel your adoration for him. Only Jeonghan knew, and he had been sworn to secrecy. (It didn’t matter that he had been - he could keep a secret easily, and he would have never given away one of yours.)
When you were seventeen, and Joshua left you to go to university, that was the first moment you realised just how much you cared for him. You ended up in the same university, and then later the same law school, and now the same city. The years you shared in law school, cuddled up in sofas trying to decipher notes from lectures, and questioning the sanity of professors formed a budding love, and one that you only realised when he left you once more. You followed him and Jeonghan place to place, in a desperate attempt to have him realise just how you felt, and he never did. You were his Y/N, always around, always there for him, but never an option. And while he dated, you did too, but no one seemed to replace him. All your exes blamed Jeonghan for your failed relationships, when they should have blamed Joshua.
And now here you were once again, back home from cleaning up Wonwoo’s rented warehouse, once again wishing he had noticed you, wishing that he would finally see you in a different light.
Day 2 - Sunday 4th November
“You have to pose more like you’re my boyfriend.”
“What does that even mean?”
“I don’t know! But you’re not very good at this.”
Jeonghan groaned, shoving your phone away from his face like a disgraced celebrity. The two of you had met out for coffee and, in your case, highlighting case notes and writing out forms, while Jeonghan edited scripts. You always thought Jeonghan should have gone into law like you and Joshua, he certainly had the intelligence for it, but he didn’t particularly have a drive to become a lawyer, and in his eyes it was too much work if he wasn’t motivated. Times like this convince you that perhaps he was correct.
Except now that the two of you were dating, there was also the task of creating the evidence necessary to post your relationship, and it was tedious and confusing having to show the difference between you as friends and you dating when nothing has changed.
“We might as well just post a photo of you or I in lingerie if you want to make it look more like a real relationship.” Jeonghan said teasingly, although you didn’t miss the hint of frustration in the growl of his voice.
“Gross.”
“Let me see the photos you’ve taken at least.” You handed your phone to Jeonghan, moving your attention back to the case in front of you. Malcom Optics vs. Kim and Hogan. You wanted to tear your eyes out. “These are boyfriend-y enough!”
“They look like all the other photos I have of you!”
“Everyone else was convinced we were dating beforehand, that’s definitely relationship kindling.”
You reached our for your phone from his hands, grabbing a highlighter. “It’s not enough. Apparently, something has changed.”
“Fine then. Kiss me.”
You dropped your highlighter, and it clacked to the floor.
“Excuse me?”
“You wanted to show that something has changed, what do people in relationships do? They kiss.” Jeonghan explained nonchalantly, leaning down to grab your highlighter. “We can post a kissing photo, you’re right, it’s more believable this way.”
“B-But…”
“It’s not like we’ve never kissed before, anyway.”
He was right, and you cringed at the memory of being drunk with Jeonghan. The two of you had spent a couple of nights in university drinking your problems away on the floor of your dorm when your roommate was away (and considering the sheer number of parties she spent her time at, you and Jeonghan had a semi frequent tradition), and one such night after an emotional day of being accused of cheating, you ended up making out with an equally wasted Jeonghan, only for the two of you to wake up with an insurmountable feeling of dread and regret. The two of you had always known whatever relationship between the two of you was platonic, but that night destroyed any sort of wondering. There was no way you had feelings for him if it resulted in that awful dread. And it made you so nervous to experience it once more.
“Y/N?”
“Fine.”
You got up from the desk to sit on Jeonghan’s lap. The seats at this coffee shop were comfortable, but not enough for two people to sit together. Jeonghan felt himself tense up as you settled into his lap. It had been way too long since the two of you kissed, and a strange feeling settled in his stomach.
“Ready?” You asked him, moving your phone into position.
“Guess I have to be.”
Jeonghan placed his hand so his thumb nestled just in front of your ear, holding the back of your neck securely, and closed his eyes as he kissed you, waiting for the click of your phone camera, which came quickly. You quickly pulled away to look at the results, ignoring the way your stomach dropped. It meant nothing. But why was it lingering?
“This actually looks good. We look like we could actually be dating here.”
You hummed in satisfaction, moving back to your desk to focus once more on this case, and you hoped Jeonghan missed the coy smile on your lips.
He was too busy thinking about how his own felt.
Day 7 - Friday 9th November
“Sofia is hosting a party, we’re going once you’re free from work.” Jeonghan’s voice was gravelly over the phone, and the reception in your office was so bad, you were barely getting every other word.
“Who’s Sofia again?” You asked, hardly paying attention to the question. Instead, your attention was trained on the office door on the other side of your office, where your coworker, Eunwoo, resided. You just watched as two senior partners had stepped in, and it had been now 26 minutes since the door closed. Were they going to promote him over you? Or perhaps he was getting fired? You had seen him grab one too many pens from the office storage room, he could have been selling them to make a bit of side money. Probably not. But could he?
“Vernon’s sister, try to keep up.”
“Right yeah, sister.”
“Who’s sister?”
“Umm…”
Jeonghan sighed on the phone, and you winced at his tone. “You’re working too hard. Or overthinking. One of the two. Either way, you need this party.”
“I’ve got so much work to do, Hannie.” You told him, taking note of the time. There were two shadows by the base of Eunwoo’s door. Someone’s feet? Was the meeting over yet?
“But it’s a Friday! You can work on the weekend. I’ll drive you, and I’ll stay sober so I can take you home. Besides, Joshua is going to be there.”
You perked up at the sound of his name. “Really? He’s actually coming?”
“Yeah, he called me earlier to make sure you and I were coming, and I told him you were. You don’t wanna flake on him, do you?”
You sighed. Your resolve was always diminished when Joshua was involved.
“Fine.” You smiled, imagining Jeonghan celebrating on the other side of the line. “I have to stay back late though, can you bring me a change of clothes? Something comfy though.”
“Got it, I’ll bring dinner and your sexiest ensemble. Bye!”
“Wait-“
Day 7 (cont.)
Just like he promised, at 7:43, Jeonghan showed up at your office door, with your clothes (which were a lot tighter than you would have liked) in a bag and a pizza box in the other. He settled on the other side of your desk as you finished up, and listened as you bitched about the meeting Eunwoo had which lasted a whole 34 minutes, which is insane for what looked like an unscheduled meeting, and were they really going to pick Eunwoo over you? I mean he’s a good lawyer but the pens!
Eventually he managed to get you to stop talking and follow him to his car before driving you over to Sofia’s new place. She had just moved, to a much more relaxed neighbourhood, hence the big party. While you and your friends were close to or had just reached their 30s, with you being on the cusp at 29 (Jeonghan is old and is already in the decade ahead of you, a fact you have mentioned to him several times), Sofia was still in her early 20s, and that was definitely reflected in the party she had set up (with the help of Vernon, who was perpetually stuck at 16). Music was blaring from the house, and you silently cursed Jeonghan for dragging you out. You knew exactly how this party was going to end - with you drunk, having embarrassed yourself in at least three different ways, and passed out somewhere to nurse a major hangover in the morning. At least this time Jeonghan would stay sober, true to his word, and could take care of you. Hopefully that comes with making sure you don’t embarrass yourself, but you wouldn’t bet on it.
You instinctively reached for his hand as Jeonghan led you to the house, and you were reminded of your job. This was a big party, your friends would be there, you had to play the role you were given. Beside you, Jeonghan was reminded of the same fact.
You almost forgot everything as you approached the front door, and saw him waiting for you. Joshua waved you over, and you felt the air knocked out of you as you and Jeonghan walked up and he engulfed you two in his arms.
“I heard you guys finally started going out! Took you long enough to ask them out, Jeonghan.” Joshua’s voice was honey mellow and so soothing, you were sure just like honey it was antibacterial. You hadn’t even entered the house, and you already felt drunk on his touch. Yet your heart seemed to drop at the fact that Josh didn’t seem at all jealous or upset at this development. That’s probably a good thing? But it definitely wasn’t the outcome you wanted.
“We should get Y/N to the kitchen, I’m sure they want something to get their mind off of work.” Jeonghan told Joshua, who let you slip out of his arms as he led the two of you inside the house.
“Tough week Y/N?” Joshua asked delicately, placing his hand on your shoulder, and every worry you had seemed to drain away, only for the reminder of Eunwoo’s closed door to come right back.
“Just feel like I’m putting in effort that will never be recognised.” You grumbled, and leaned closer into Jeonghan’s side. Joshua’s sweet gaze reminded you of your goal: you wanted so desperately for him to be jealous, so you nuzzled your forehead against Jeonghan’s bicep. “Luckily I’ve had my boyfriend here to make everything better.”
You don’t think you could ever get used to that word, and evidently neither could Jeonghan, who felt as though he was choking on air. You felt the vibrations of his discomfort, but Joshua didn’t seem to notice.
“Ahh, young love. Or, I suppose newfound love. I really am surprised you two didn’t start dating earlier.” Seungcheol’s voice suddenly permeated the air, and you watched as he settled next to Joshua, facing you and Jeonghan with a friendly gaze. “You drinking tonight, Jeonghan?”
“Designated driver.” He told him, running his thumb up and down your arm. Jeonghan didn’t miss the way Joshua looked at that small action, and he felt a glimmer of pride under his skin. “I think Y/N will want a drink though?”
“Oh god yes, Seungcheol, will you mix me something? Put those bartender days to use.” You hooked your arm around Seungcheol’s and let him guide you to the drink station (Sofia’s kitchen island which had a cupboard fully stocked with alcohol and mixers).
“Wow, you and Y/N.” Joshua smiled, and Jeonghan grinned coyly at his friend. “Why’d you finally ask them out?”
He stole a glance to you and Seungcheol. You didn’t notice his gaze, and why would you? You were too far away. But you seemed so in your world, like you always had been, something Jeonghan found endearing.
“Just realised I wanted more. Didn’t want to lose them to someone else.”
“As if you would ever lose Y/N, you two are stuck together. Honestly, I was a little jealous of it growing up, they would always pick you over me, guess this is another case of that.” Jeonghan hadn’t realised until now how Joshua’s skin was tinted pink, the blush of alcohol settling over his cheekbones. Was that why he was rambling like this? “But then I realised I had to find my own Y/N, make my own soulmate. Anyway, I’m glad you finally asked them out!”
Joshua stumbled back towards the drink station where you and Seungcheol were waiting for him. Yeah, Jeonghan wasn’t too sure he would be able to make Joshua jealous. But he owed it to you to try anyway. You weren’t always as aware as you wanted to think you were, but Jeonghan was, and he was acutely aware of the way you froze and smiled as Joshua approached you.
Over a decade had passed since you were seventeen, and you were still completely whipped for Joshua Hong.
Jeonghan knew this, he went into this knowing it, but why did it feel different now?
Day 7 (cont.)
Two hours in and you were officially drunk. It didn’t take much - you were out of practise from your days of drinking through the night as an undergrad, and too often your nights our were at charity functions and galas where you had to stay on the safe side of tipsy, and not let loose like you were currently doing.
You had lost Jeonghan a while ago, instead having spent most of the night with Joshua, catching up and taking shots together. He’d been having a stressful time at his own firm, and was happy to accompany you as you drank your worries about Eunwoo and making partner away.
“It’s just so stupid, cause Eunwoo is my age! He’s not more qualified than me, and he’s definitely not a better lawyer than me, cause he steals pens!”
“You mentioned the pens!”
“It’s important!”
You felt a tear roll down your cheek as you drunkenly recalled the events of the day, and before it several more followed. Joshua didn’t notice, you made no sound, but the stress of being at the office for 53 hours this past week only to get no recognition became so overwhelming so quickly, too quickly for your drunken self to register.
“Josh, did you make Y/N cry?”
You barely registered that Jeonghan had walked up to you until you heard his voice, the voice you had been missing for the whole party.
“H-Hannie…” You choked out in sobs, reaching your arms out for him. He obliged, pulling you close to him, letting you cry into his torso.
“Y/N, you’re crying?” Joshua questioned, but you could barely hear him, your face pressed against the fabric of Jeonghan’s shirt. It wasn’t a comfortable position, to cry sitting down into someone’s chest, but right now you weren’t thinking about that.
“Hannie w-where did you g-go, I miss- I missed you.” You sobbed, barely sounding out the words. “St-stupid Eunwoo and h-his stupid pens.”
Jeonghan cooed, running his hand through your hair soothingly. “Maybe we should go home? You need to get to bed. Josh, I’ll see you tomorrow? Say goodnight to Seungcheol for me.”
Jeonghan grasped your hand, pulling you up, and guided you out of the house to the car.
“Why are we l-leaving?”
“You’re way too drunk. Besides, we’re helping set up Wonwoo’s venue tomorrow, better get some sleep.” Jeonghan reminded you, tucking you into the passenger’s seat and clipping the seat belt around you. You hummed, shuffling until you felt comfy, and curled up as close as you could. Your eyes fluttered closed as the car started, and soon you felt yourself dozing off, the salty tears slipping past your lips.
“You’re such a good boyfriend, Hannie.”
Had you not been so drunk, maybe you wouldn’t have said it so easily. Maybe he would have felt more uneasy about the term. He hadn’t even noticed it until you were well and truly passed out, gone to the world.
Day 8 - Saturday 10th November
The streaming sunlight that peeked through your blinds was enough to awaken the deep nausea within you, yet the banging in your head begged you to stay in bed. This was such a gross hangover, and one you hadn’t had to deal with in years.
Who let you drink this much?
With as much strength as you could muster, you stumbled to the bathroom, luckily you had an ensuite, and felt the contents of your stomach escape up and out through your throat into the toilet bowl. The base of your throat burned, and so did your eyes, as more tears threatened to escape over the fiery sensation. You stayed there, waiting for another wave of nausea, when you felt Jeonghan’s hands push back the hair from your face, and rub your back soothingly.
“Why did I drink so much…” You whispered, your voice hoarse and sore.
“You’re just too out of practise, Y/N.” Jeonghan told you, pulling you up slowly. “You need to spend more nights drinking with me and not at the office.”
He handed you a glass of water, which you greedily took from his hands, gulping it down as fast as you could without suffocating, until you went to fast and started coughing it all up.
“God you’re a mess when you’re hungover.”
“Thanks, Jeonghan.”
He grabbed the box of panadol in your bottom cupboard drawer, handing it to you. God, he was far too familiar with your apartment, although you were fairly familiar with his. Well, actually not quite as familiar, because he still has a roommate (and according to Jeonghan, they are necessary for the nicer apartment he lives in on his salary, even though you’ve told him is useless since he spends most of his time here) that you never wanted to bother.
“We have to be at Wonwoo’s venue in three hours, you think that’s enough time to get ready?” You nodded, swallowing the pills quickly.
“That should be enough time for the panadol to kick in.”
“Good, because I’m only being this nice to you until then.”
You frowned mockingly. “Don’t you have to be the sweet and caring boyfriend?” You cringed at the way that word sounded as it came out of your mouth, and watched as Jeonghan did too. “God, I don’t think twenty days is enough time to get used to that.”
“I don’t think a lifetime is enough time.” Jeonghan let himself out of the bathroom, leaving you alone on the tiled floor. “Take a shower, then come and get some food!” He yelled, and you closed the door behind you, terrified of whatever horror he had cooked up (and you used the term cooked very loosely here).
Day 8 (cont.)
It had become a tradition for you to start holding hands with Jeonghan when he would drive you. Somewhere along the car ride, his hand met yours, and they joined, not a word to be said. You didn’t think about it. You wondered if he did.
The venue wasn’t too dissimilar to last week, but it was way cleaner. Once again, you and Jeonghan were separated, sent to do different jobs under the watchful eye of Minghao (and his faithful minions Jun and Jihoon).
“Do you think he gets stressed out or is he just like that?” Sakura whispered to you. She was friends with Wonwoo’s fiance, and wasn’t all too familiar with Wonwoo’s friends. You felt for her, most of the people here were on his side, and you were one of the only people Sakura knew here, having met previously in university.
“Both? He is a little bit like that, but Wonwoo is a close friend, I think he just wants everything to go well.” You told her in hushed breath. “We all want it to go well. Wonwoo is such a good guy, so is Eliza.”
“I know!” Sakura gushed, a little loud but not enough to catch the attention of Minghao. “They’re so cute together, I was so excited when she told me she finally got engaged.”
You smiled, making marks with electrical tape at each measure for Seungcheol to place chairs at later on.
“What about you though? Are you going to get engaged any time soon?”
You gulped, feeling awkward under the heat of her questioning gaze. “Jeonghan and I have only started dating, marriage is so out of the picture right now.”
“Don’t be modest! Chan told me you and Jeonghan have basically been together since high school.”
“That’s an exaggeration.” You told her, not meeting her eyes. It felt so strange, so deceitful, to keep up this lie. Were you a bad person for this? It was harmless, just a little lie to keep Jeonghan from Jiwon, but it followed you everywhere.
“We were just friends back then.” We’re just friends now. “We’ve just always been close.”
“Uh huh, and did you have feelings for him all this time?”
Wrong guy.
“I’ve always loved him.” You told Sakura, and she began to giggle once more.
That one wasn’t a lie. You have loved Jeonghan for a very long time. It’s just always been a platonic, simple love. You wondered if it still was, and then you wondered why it wouldn’t be.
But it was clear that no matter what it is, it was no longer simple.
Day 11 - Tuesday 13th November
“Hello?”
“Y/N! It’s Wonwoo.”
“Oh, hey Wonwoo! What’s up?”
“Nothing, nothing! Look, I know I haven’t been hanging out much-“
“Stop, don’t apologise! You’ve been planning a wedding, and we’re all so excited for it!”
“You’re too sweet, Y/N. Anyway, I wanted to congratulate you and Jeonghan!”
“Oh, you heard?”
“Can’t stop hearing about it. Mingyu was being a little pissy when he found out, kept saying this must have been why you didn’t like him back in year 12, instead of the fact that he face planted into a pool in front of the entire year group two days before he confessed to you.”
“I forgot about that!”
“Don’t worry, I put him in his place.”
“Ahh, thank you Wonwoo.”
“Of course. How did it go, by the way? Who asked who out?”
“Oh, I don’t wanna waste your time…”
“No no! Eliza wants to know too, go on.”
“Ahh, well, we were just hanging out one night and… one thing led to another…”
“My god did you fuck him on your leather couch because that poor piece of furniture has seen more than enough-“
“No! No, we made out, jesus Wonwoo.”
“Sorry, sorry, go on.”
“Wait what do you mean seen more than enough?”
“Okay you didn’t hear this from me but you should ask Soonyoung what he got up to that week two years ago when he was house sitting for you.”
“Oh god oh god...”
“Anyway the story?”
“I’m burning that couch.”
“Moving on.”
“Right, well we realised we both had feelings for each other, so we just decided to go for it.”
“That’s so cute! That reminds me of when we were all in uni, I got this call from Jeonghan in the middle of the night-“
“Sorry Wonwoo, the doorbell’s just rung, that’ll be Jeonghan. Do you wanna say hi?”
“Nah, I should get back to wedding planning. Have a good night Y/N!”
“Night Wonwoo.”
You hung up the phone as your door opened, Jeonghan’s figure standing in the doorway.
“I got kebabs!”
You ran up to rip the food out of his hands. “God I love you.”
He grinned smugly. “I know. Let’s eat!”
“Don’t sit there!”
Day 12 - Wednesday 14th November
cheolie_cherries: you guys are sickeningly cute 🤮 🤮
sunshineseok: about time you started dating!
julijuli33: oh my god he’s actually taken 😭 good for y/n but we lost today
wonworld: congrats guys!!
You couldn’t help but smile at the comments on Jeonghan’s instagram post of the two of you. There was a sneaky one he had taken of you working (which you had called and immediately asked him to take down, and of course he refused), as well as the kiss photo, to really prove the two of you were dating. Looking at it now sent flutters to your stomach. You had never seen yourself like this. Sure, you had dated, but it never really got all that serious, and you weren’t one for PDA, so photos like this were rare. That was probably what was causing this feeling. Right?
“Earth to Y/N.”
You snapped your head up to see Eunchae, your newest paralegal, at the doorway between your office and the hallway, grinning at you with a stack of files in her hand. She walked in, placing them on your desk.
“These need to be checked for errors.” She told you, and you waved her off.
“Got it. Anything else I can help you with?”
“Hmm, you could tell me what it is that’s on your phone making you look so giddy?”
“Nothing!” You quickly yelled, cringing at the volume your voice was raised to. “It was nothing, just having a good morning.”
“Mmm, sure…” She smiled knowingly at you, before walking away, closing the door softly behind her. When you heard the click of the door, you groaned, letting your body fall against the desk. That was too close.
Why were you even ogling? You had work to do, and you would be damned if you spent too long staring at your phone and it cost you the promotion.
They were announcing the newest junior partner next Friday, making the decision at the end of this week. You had to win. So you turned your phone onto silent and placed it face down on the furthest corner of your desk, burying your head into the paralegal’s work. No matter how much it beckoned you back, you would not lose.
Day 15 - Saturday 17th November
When you and Jeonghan stepped into Wonwoo’s venue the Saturday before the wedding, you were practically expecting a fairytale, and that’s almost what you saw. Minghao had dedicated so much time, you knew Eliza and Wonwoo would be so shocked when they finally saw the finished product.
Still, there was much to be done, and with less and less time, everyone was rushing even more to get as much as they could done. This time, you and Sakura were stringing up fairy lights across the pews for the optimal mood lighting, as Minghao called it, and a fire hazard as Jihoon called it (so they compromised to have it on the ceiling above the pews, meaning you had to stand on a 3 decade old ladder while Sakura tried her best to guarantee it didn’t collapse).
You slowly got down from the stairs, guided down by Sakura, when you saw Joshua waiting for you, and you felt your heart beat out of your chest.
“Hey Y/N, can I borrow you for a sec?” He asked, his deep brown eyes looked through you, as if they knew all your secrets.
“Yeah, I mean, Sakura do you…?”
“No, go ahead, I need a break anyway.”
Joshua offered you his arm, to which you took, and he led you to the corridor, secluded, hidden from prying eyes.
“What did you want to talk to me about?” You asked, waiting for Joshua as he glanced away from your view.
“Look, I really am happy for you, I promise,” He began, and you recoiled slightly, holding your elbows. What was he going to say? “But I’m questioning Jeonghan.”
“Like, as a person?”
“No, as a boyfriend.” The word dripped with malice from Joshua’s lips. “Look, I know you’ve only just started going out, but he went out with a lot of people before you,”
“So did I.”
“Yeah but that’s not the point, Y/N. I’m just saying, he’s putting on this whole show of being a good boyfriend, and being faithful and kind, but he never has been before.” You stood there silently, rocking slightly, but it didn’t seem to stop Joshua. “He’s known you practically all his life, he could have had you at any point, why now? And why is he suddenly acting so different compared to his past relationships?”
Joshua put a hand on your arm gently. “I’m not trying to hurt you, but if I were you, I’d be more suspicious of his motives.” He began rubbing circles into your forearm. “I love you, I don’t want to see you get hurt.”
“What about Jeonghan? Don’t you care if he gets hurt?” You asked, your voice barely a whisper.
“He’s not the one I’m most worried about.”
You stepped back, and Joshua’s hand quickly dropped from your arm. “I need to go.”
You turned away, and walked back to the venue before he could say anything.
“Just think about what I said, Y/N!” Joshua yelled behind you, but that was the last thing you wanted to do.
Day 15 (cont.)
You were quiet the rest of the day, feeling more drained from that interaction than the intense physical labour Minghao was making you do (maybe it was the combination of both that killed you). You don’t think anyone noticed, aside from Sakura, who realised you weren’t talking but didn’t say much, but you were terrified of someone else realising, so when Jeonghan approached you with his car keys in his hand you didn’t hesitate to drag him out to the car park before anyone else could follow.
The two of you had been on the road for ten minutes in silence before Jeonghan finally broke it. “Are you going to tell me what’s wrong?”
“Who said anything’s wrong?” You did your best to speak nonchalantly, but Jeonghan didn’t miss the quiver in your voice.
“I’m not an idiot, I can tell when you’re upset.” You were still five minutes from your apartment, you couldn’t dance around it for that long. “Tell me what’s wrong.”
“Joshua pulled me to the side, asked me if we could talk, and then he told me I should be suspicious of you and your motives.” You admitted, looking out the passenger window. You felt choked up. How could he think like this?
“That’s what you’re worried about, Y/N?” Jeonghan questioned, a slight smile on his lips.
“You’re not?”
“Josh has been super stressed at his firm right? It’s cause one of the senior partners was caught embezzling. That, and he’s the only one of us going to Wonwoo’s wedding without a date.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, of course he’s going to act weirdly.” He brushed off your concerns with such an ease you forgot why they upset you in the first place. “Don’t take it to heart, I’m sure he’ll get back to normal soon.”
You breathed out a shaky sigh, feeling your doubts subside and settle.
“It’s cute you were so upset though.” He teased, and you groaned, cupping your face with your hands. “You were so worried about what people thought about me, about your boyfriend.”
“Shut up, Yoon.”
“How can I? My partner cares about me too much.”
“I regret everything.”
He chuckled, stopping his remarks as he watched you calm out the corner of his eye. A secondary realisation as to why Joshua was acting like this was on the front of his mind, but it was nowhere near as comforting. No, this thought was one that was now threatening, and could result in losing you forever.
Jeonghan didn’t want to think about the implications of Joshua being jealous. Instead, he focused on you, and the way you stared out the passenger window.
Day 15 (cont.)
“Have you still got that 12-pack at the back of your fridge?”
“Go nuts.” You told him, kicking your shoes off and lying down on the carpet on the floor. You and Jeonghan had made a mutual decision to pretend the couch wasn’t there until after Wonwoo’s wedding, then you could go shopping for a new one, and until then there was always the floor. “I haven’t been drinking much, trying to just get through this wedding and the promotion.”
“How’s that going?” Jeonghan asked, and you heard the faint pop of a bottle opener from your kitchen.
“They said they would make their decision on who would be the next junior partner by the end of the week, and make the announcement the next week. It’s Saturday now, and I haven’t heard anything, so I know what that means.”
Jeonghan settled next to you, handing you an opened beer bottle and clinking it against his own before taking a swig. “Don’t be too worried, maybe they’ll tell you you’re getting the promotion on Monday.”
“Maybe.”
“You give your everything to that firm. They’d be stupid to not want you as partner.”
“They would be stupid! How’s your boss?”
The two of you spent your evening reminiscing and complaining (two of your favourite pastimes) as you drank more and more, getting gradually more drunk, unlike on the night of Sofia’s party where you got embarrassingly shitfaced way too quickly. At some point in the night, you had cozied up to Jeonghan, and now you were nuzzled up in his arms, too comfortable to even consider moving.
“God, this whole thing is so stupid!” You yelled, throwing your pillow across the room with as much force as you could gather, sending it a few feet ahead of you. “We gotta fake date to get people off your back and onto mine, meanwhile Joshua’s not gotten jealous once and we haven’t even seen Jiwon!”
“Don’t say her name three times, or she’s gonna appear.” Jeonghan told you, wide eyed, taking a quick look around the room just to confirm she wasn’t there.
“Pussy.”
“She’s coming to the rehearsal dinner though!” Jeonghan told you, wagging his pointer finger in the air, making you giggle. “And that’s Friday, so it’s coming up soon.”
“Ahh the rehearsal dinner. What are we rehearsing again?”
“We’re rehearsing how to fake date, Y/N, we’ve been over this.”
“And we have a whole dinner for it?”
“Yes! How kind of Wonwoo.”
You burst into fits of laughter, lolling your head into the crook of Jeonghan’s shoulder as you laughed, and he followed suit. Moments like this were ones where you felt so comfortable with him, like the bubble was intact once more.
“We should start rehearsals now!” Jeonghan exclaimed, grabbing your elbows excitedly. “What do people in relationships do?”
You shrugged, and his arms moved with your shoulders. “I don’t know, you’re basically my first boyfriend.”
“Well you’re the first time I’m being a boyfriend.”
“What does that mean?”
“I don’t know.” He admitted, giggling. The two of you were so far gone, and neither of you had the capacity to realise it. “But I know people in relationships kiss! Kiss me Y/N!”
“Ew gross, you have cooties.” You pushed away his pouted lips.
“No I don’t! I’m vaccinated against cooties!” He whined, pulling you closer to him.
“What if I have cooties?”
“Just kiss me!”
Jeonghan grabbed your face, guiding it to his own, where his lips met yours in a kiss. It was delicate, a kiss for the sake of kissing, and you relished in the feeling. There was a comfort to kissing Jeonghan, a comfort you hadn’t felt for several years. He was comfort, and his kisses were a perfect specimen of that comfort. Kissing him was returning home after a winter’s day.
But decisions were sobering, and the feeling of your lips against his suddenly drained all the alcohol from Jeonghan’s body. He pulled away slowly to see you still half lidded, barely aware of your surroundings. He stole a glance at the clock on the wall, 2AM. Maybe the two of you should end the night here, before you did something you couldn’t go back from.
“Time to sleep, Y/N.”
“Don’t wanna.” You shrugged him off. “Wanna kiss you more!”
Jeonghan chuckled. “Me too. But we can’t.”
As he tucked you into bed, you were already on the verge of passing out, but he was wide awake. Jeonghan found himself hoping the hangover would be a bad one, a distraction from the memories he knew would flood back. He didn’t need to be reminded of how stupid he could be.
Day 16 - Sunday 18th November
Your hangover wasn’t as bad as last Saturday, but you still didn’t feel like dealing with the pounding headache. This time, as you went to wash your face and drink water in the bathroom, there was no Jeonghan to hold your hair back and give you panadol. He wasn’t in the kitchen causing a mess (cooking) either. No, your apartment was strangely quiet without his presence. As the pain in your head began to subside, you checked your phone to see a message sent three hours prior.
Hannie: work emergency - had to leave early. drink lots of water <3
Something felt so off about the message. Jeonghan’s boss was fairly laidback, and he had never had work emergencies that made him go to the studio on weekends. But you were also way too hungover to question it.
You hoped Jeonghan’s hangover had already passed.
Day 18 - Monday 20th November
You called Jeonghan twice. It went to voicemail both times.
Day 19 - Wednesday 21st November
There was a flurry among the paralegals that day. You tried to ignore it, to keep your head down, but the amount of papers flapping in the air made you feel like there was a hoard of pigeons down the corridor. You hated the ‘open door unless in a meeting’ policy at work: half of the lawyers your level didn’t even follow the rule anyway. You wouldn’t have followed it had you not wanted so desperately to show what a good team member you were, and yet here you were, on a Wednesday afternoon, with nothing to show you it.
There was an annoying rap against your open door, and you briefly lifted your head to see Cha Eunwoo leaning against your doorframe. Eugh. Cha Eunwoo. The two of you were in the same cohort: graduated from high school in the same year, graduated from uni at the same time, went to the same law school, and both went straight to Kim-Byun Legal Services, where you’ve spent the entirety of your careers. And throughout law school and now work, you have wanted to beat Cha Eunwoo no matter the cost, and you never managed it.
“Can I help you? I’ve got quite a bit of work to complete.”
Eunwoo waltzed right in, taking the seat in front of your desk. “I have news, but you have to promise not to tell anyone.”
“Do I even get a chance to say no? Not interested?”
Eunwoo was smart. You were smart too, but you liked to think (and Jeonghan liked to tell you) that you were smarter than most of those law students you competed against. Sure, they studied hard, they were good lawyers. But you were quick witted, and they couldn’t keep up. Eunwoo could. If it were anyone else, you wouldn’t be opposed to playing dirty, to pulling little tricks where you could to show him up, but Eunwoo would catch on. The only thing he didn’t seem to notice was how desperate you were to beat him. He never realised the battle you constantly fought, and it killed you. So you had to work twice as hard, three times as much, and play by the rules, just to win a challenge where you were the only one competing.
“I made partner!”
(At this point you stopped writing. This was the first time Eunwoo had ever managed to completely distract you.)
“I’m not supposed to tell anyone before Friday, that’s when they’re announcing it. But I get the new contract this evening, and you and I came in together, I know you would tell me if it was you!”
No shit you would. You would love to act all classy and poised, only to rub it in his face that you won! You did better! But no, Eunwoo won. Throughout everything, this was the first concrete time he’s won, and it’s shattered your reserve. You’re a good actor though, something that helped you get through this job, so you keep your head down.
“That’s great Eunwoo, congratulations. We’ll celebrate properly next week, I’ve got a rehearsal dinner on Friday though.” You met his gaze with a smile, even though there was rage behind it. Eunwoo didn’t seem to notice. “Now, I’ve got to get back to work.”
He nodded, barely containing his grin, shuffling out of your office. “See you later Y/N.”
God you wanted to cry. You wanted to yell and scream, cursing the world, the senior partners, and most of all Cha Eunwoo, who had showed you up once more.Your composure was slipping, a veil that threatened to fall off your head and reveal your facade to the world, but you refused to lose it at work. Instead, you closed the door as gently as you could, and hoped to god that the third time you called him, Jeonghan would pick up.
“Please, please, please pick up…” You whispered, as if you were summoning him.
“Hey, this is Jeonghan. I can’t come to the phone right now…”
Fuck. Voicemail. Once again.
You heard a beep and considered hanging up, but instead decided to send a message.
“Hey, um, I don’t know if you’re just busy, or you’re mad at me, I really hope it’s not the second. I haven’t heard from you in a while. That’s why I’m calling, I guess. Oh, and I’m not gonna be partner. I got passed over for it. Cha fucking Eunwoo made partner. Fuck. Sorry, I’m rambling now. I hope you’re doing okay? You know you can always come to me, but if you don’t want to that’s okay I guess, I’ll leave you be.”
Day 19 (cont.)
When you went home that day to punch your pillows and scream about Cha Eunwoo, the last thing you expected was to see Yoon Jeonghan walk in with chicken and beer as if nothing had happened, which was especially strange, as it was so expected on a normal day. But something was off. Something had changed. You just couldn’t quite put your thumb on what it was.
“Are you mad at me?” You asked, your eyes more glassy than you realised. You could barely see Jeonghan, but you knew he had that stupid damn smile. Right now it was infuriating. “Is that why you disappeared?”
“No, never.” He told you, setting the chicken down on your dinner table. “Things really have just been so busy at work, I’ve barely had time for anyone.”
“But you have time to drop by with chicken?”
“Cha Eunwoo is an idiot compared to you.” Jeonghan told you, opening the can of beer with a hiss. “They missed out on not promoting you.”
You didn’t say anything in response, just stuffing your mouth with chicken. Jeonghan passed you a beer can. “Maybe I shouldn’t. I’ve got work in the morning, and last time we drank I didn’t remember anything after we started bitching about that one actor, Park Sunwoo.”
Jeonghan smiled at you, but you barely noticed, your expression trained on the can in front of you.
“Yeah, I don’t remember either,” He told you. “But one can’t hurt. We drank way too much last time, I’ll keep you in check.”
You shrugged, opening the can, and clinking it against Jeonghan’s. “Thanks boyfriend.” The metal made a satisfying clank noise, and you missed the way Jeonghan looked over at you. Maybe it’s changed, or maybe you’ve been missing it for a long time.
Jeonghan is your blind spot. You didn’t like surprises, you didn’t like feeling caught out, and you would always make sure you weren’t, until it came to Jeonghan. No matter how fast you ran, he always seemed to beat you by a few seconds. No matter how strong you were, he could always lift more. You and Jeonghan both had that same competitive drive, but you could never quite match him. As a teenager it pushed you to be better and better, but you’ve come to accept it. You’ll never beat Jeonghan. That’s why it’s always better to be on his side.
You were observant, but you let your guard down around him. That was how Jeonghan won. He never let his guard down around anyone. He didn’t need to have it up around you, he didn’t keep secrets from you (and you didn’t keep them from him). But he kept everything close to his chest, and he wouldn’t let himself get caught out at any moment.
You wondered if it was hard for him to never reveal himself fully. You knew he still kept to himself around you. It was the only way he could still play tricks, pull pranks, and he loved it. He wouldn’t stay reserved if he didn’t want to. Still, it’s tough to feel like you can never fully reveal your facade.
But there were moments he did. Like tonight, as he tucked you into bed once you fell asleep, and kissed your forehead with a sweetness he didn’t know was there. Maybe he would reveal it to you one day, but all in good time.
You didn’t like feeling caught out. Jeonghan hated it with everything he’s got.
Day 21 - Friday 23rd November
“How are you feeling about seeing Jiwon?” Jeonghan didn’t answer, but the grip he had on your hand tightened as he stared down at the road.
He and Jiwon were a bad match. He knew that, he knew that from the moment they met and she started talking about having a husband around at home to help with the kids one day. Jeonghan knew he could never be that. Sure, he had daydreamed about settling down, raising a family. Jeonghan could never be the husband Jiwon wanted him to be. Could never be the husband he wanted to become. But she was just so pretty, and she would stare down at him with a feverish grin that just made him weak in the knees, how could he say no to her?
So for three weeks, they went out, which for Jeonghan just meant promises of another day he never intended to keep so he could get back to her apartment. But she fully intended on keeping those promises, and soon she was the one setting up dates, and changing her name in his phone (which really freaked Jeonghan out, because, when did she have access to his phone?) to seem more like a girlfriend. Maybe Jeonghan wanted a girlfriend, but he definitely didn’t want to be a boyfriend, and now he was stuck acting one.
Jiwon didn’t believe him when he told her weeks later that they were incompatible. Why would she? She believed every lie that dripped from his lips, and couldn’t wrap her head around why it suddenly changed overnight. She thought he was lying, just trying to keep her away, but a good girlfriend doesn’t give up so easily.
And so began the midnight calls, the uninvited show ups to his workplace or his apartment (Seungcheol definitely had a fun time telling her off, not that it kept her away), and the letters slid under your door begging for your help getting Jeonghan back. This is what led to the whole thing. She seemed to calm down once Jeonghan posted you on his instagram, but neither of you could predict what she would do when she saw you together.
She was Eliza’s sister in law (Eliza’s brother’s wife’s sister, who just had to attend), so her attendance was expected, and you knew it made Jeonghan all the more nervous, especially in the way he would speed round corners. It didn’t frighten you, but worry for your friend escaped you anyway, and you squeezed his hand whenever the car revved.
Jeonghan pulled into the street along Wonwoo’s house, seeing cars littered along the side, and Jeonghan pulled the car into park. You took his hand off the gear shift and brought it to your lips, kissing it comfortingly. “Everything’s gonna be alright. I promise.”
“You promise?” He took a glance at you, and smiled cheekily. “Well what happens if you break the promise? What do I get?”
“I’ll cook you an actually decent brekkie to apologise, not those rubber pancakes you’ve been serving me these past few weeks.”
“Hey! You love those pancakes!”
“The texture is so chewy and terrible Jeonghan, I’m begging you to just use a recipe.”
“I don’t need one.” He huffed, but he never let go of your hand.
You rolled your eyes at his dramatics. Honestly, he was right. You did love the pancakes. Of course, they were way too chewy and tasted of nothing without lashings of sugar and lemon, but you loved that Jeonghan had been making them for you all the past mornings you had spent together.
“Cmon, it’s time to head inside.”
The two of you walked hand in hand towards the door, and you could feel the deep breaths Jeonghan took to calm his pulsing heart. He really didn’t want to cause a scene or do anything to ruin Wonwoo’s rehearsal dinner (or god forbid the actual wedding), but he felt so much more secure with your hand in his.
You weren’t surprised to see Wonwoo’s place completely packed. He and Eliza were having a fairly small wedding, but with the sheer number of family members on Eliza’s side, their starter apartment was bursting at the seams. You held onto Jeonghan as tightly as you could, and still you felt like he was slipping from your grasp.
“Y/N! Jeonghan!” A familiar voice greeted you, and you turned to see Jun greet you. You hugged him gently as he started going on about seating plans (there wasn’t much of a plan, with half of the guests eating off of paper plates on the floor, but Wonwoo had made sure to save his nice carpet for you and a few of his friends). “Don’t worry, the two of you are together, of course. Minghao stayed up all night setting up this seating chart.” You scanned your eyes to see who was attending, and saw most of your friends, minus one.
“Is Joshua here?” You cut Jun off with a worried look. “He was acting really weird last Saturday.”
“Yeah, he’s helping out in the kitchen.” Jun told you, pointing down past the archway to where there was (hopefully steam) pouring out. “He seemed fine to me though, he’s probably over whatever it was. Oh! Mingyu’s just arrived. He’s so late, that goddamn best man should have been here an hour ago! Got to run.”
Jun rushed past you, leaving Jeonghan and you hand in hand in the entryway. Jeonghan turned to look at you. “Is this a I want to see Joshua and flaunt our thriving and perfect relationship at him so he gets jealous?”
You pushed his shoulder. “No. It’s an I think I should be avoiding him thing. I’m still a little shocked by what he told me.”
Jeonghan smiled down at you. “Good luck avoiding him when we’re sitting with him at dinner.”
“What?”
“Yeah, you really have to pay more attention to Jun’s rambles. They often contain useful information.”
You groaned, leaning your head against his arm. He smiled, leading you towards the carpet, where Seokmin and Seungkwan were already seated. You waved a hello towards them, not wanting to remove yourself from Jeonghan’s side.
“God these two are way too cute together.” Seokmin spoke, nudging Jeonghan’s side.
You blushed, hiding your face as much as you could. Jeonghan was almost shocked at your display, you were far too good at playing the doting S/O, but it was working. He watched the way Joshua stared at you from the kitchen doorway. He knew without a doubt from the way Joshua looked over at you how jealous he was. That was what he wanted, right?
After a few minutes of small talk, Joshua eventually sat down next to you (even though there was a free space between to Jeonghan and Seokmin, which Jihoon ended up filling, with his husband settling in next to him) and the rehearsal dinner began. Luckily, with Minghao as wedding planner, there was never a free moment for Joshua to steal your attention. Jeonghan wasn’t sure if you or him was more glad about the fact, but he kept an arm around you at all times, separating your shoulder from Joshua’s.
As the dinner went on, with less formality and more people moving around the space to congratulate the future couple and catch up with old friends, your ‘table’ settled into a comfortable talk. Jun was right, Joshua seemed fine, which only made Jeonghan feel more uneasy. It helped settle your nerves though, and Jeonghan realised your grip on his side had loosened, and you were leaning towards Joshua ever so slightly. No one else at the table would realise, but Jeonghan knew, and he was sure Joshua did too.
“Honestly I’m still surprised Jeonghan actually had the guts to ask Y/N out.” Seokmin said offhandedly, and you looked up at Jeonghan with a cute grin. You were so good at playing the role, but why didn’t it feel like a role anymore? Jeonghan must be losing his touch if he was falling for your act.
Joshua took a sip of his wine, smiling as he spoke. “We all thought you two would never get a date before you realised you liked each other. Good thing you finally manned up to it, Jeonghan.”
Your gaze suddenly snapped towards the crowd. “Why does everyone always assume Jeonghan asked me out?” Jeonghan tensed, and everyone surrounding you looked away from your inquisitive gaze. Joshua opened his mouth to speak, but he was cut off by Jiwon’s commanding presence.
She was so short and petite, keeping to herself, but she walked with such a force that commanded attention. Her eyes were trained not on Jeonghan, but instead focused closely on you.
“And who did ask who out?” She asked sweetly, but you felt your tongue go numb under her gaze.
Jeonghan held you closer to his side, and you settled into him with comfort. “We kissed, and both decided to go for it. It was mutual.”
She hummed, still staring at you. “Well. I’m happy for you two.” And with that, she turned on the ball of her foot, walking away like nothing happened. You let out a shaky breath, and felt Jeonghan do the same. As Seungkwan and Seokmin started hissing gossip about Jiwon, you reached out for Jeonghan’s hand, relishing in the comfort of his touch.
“God she’s terrifying.” You told him in a whisper. “At least it’s over.”
He grinned at you. “Damn, I was looking forward to your breakfast in bed special.”
“You think I’m serving you in my bed? You would spill it everywhere, no way am I cleaning up that mess.”
“You wound me, babe.”
Jeonghan knew Joshua was staring, maybe that’s why when the urge to kiss you overcame him, he took it, placing a kiss on your cheek, as close to your lips as he could get. You let him, only to wonder why well and truly after.
Day 22 - Saturday 24th November
You were awoken by the now familiar smell of Jeonghan’s rubber chicken pancakes, and you followed the smell out to the kitchen.
“How do you always manage to wake up before me?”
“You always sleep in way too late.” He told you, flipping a pancake onto your plate and pushing it towards you. “Last day!”
“Huh?”
“It’s the wedding today. After today, we will no longer be officially dating.”
“Oh, right.”
You didn’t realise how quickly three weeks could pass. There was a strange sense of dread that passed through your system, although you blamed the pancakes. It felt weird that after everything, tomorrow all would be as it was before, as if this whole ordeal never happened.
“We’re gonna have to stage a breakup, of course.” Jeonghan told you, still flipping pancakes. “But we can plan that out tomorrow. In the meantime eat up! We’ll have to leave in an hour.”
You nodded along, feeling too tired to speak so early in the morning (10:30). Jeonghan sat down next to you, shovelling down pancakes as quickly as he could (how he managed to chew through those was a mystery to you) before excusing himself to your bathroom while you continued eating. God, why were these so salty today? Jeonghan’s latest prank, you suspected, but you didn’t have the strength to confront him, especially once you heard the splash of the shower turning on. You began cleaning dishes, not waiting for Jeonghan to finish showering before you stole the hot water, and giggled as you heard his shrieks. Hopefully the wedding would give you a little bit more energy.
Day 22 (cont.)
You and Jeonghan arrived at the warehouse at 11:40. You still had a few minutes before the ceremony would begin, and knowing how these things tended to go, you knew you had plenty of time. You walked hand in hand with Jeonghan, and tried not to think about how this was the last time you would be able to as you settled into a pew. Soon after, Joshua sat down next to you, clearly dateless. He didn’t say anything, and aside from a nod of recognition, you didn’t say anything to him either, instead choosing to rest your head on Jeonghan’s shoulder.
Silence is comforting, whenever it’s done right. With you and Jeonghan, silence never felt awkward, it was just a frame of being with him. It was relaxed, you felt no need to fill the air with meaningless speak. Your silence was interrupted as Seungcheol ran up to Jeonghan.
“Han, we need your help. Wonwoo can’t find his cufflinks, he’s dropped them somewhere, and it is freaking Mingyu out, please come look.”
Jeonghan looked at you, but you smiled. “Go help them. I’ll be right here.” He hurriedly followed Seungcheol to Wonwoo’s dressing room, cursing him under his breath.
You were left alone with Joshua, and the silence suddenly felt suffocating. It didn’t seem to bother him, as he spoke quietly about the venue. “Isn’t it all so gorgeous? Minghao really did a great job pulling this off.”
You hummed, leaning over to point out the fairy lights strung along the ceiling. “See those? That was all me.”
“Ahh, I was wondering. They’re my favourite.”
You smiled, and Joshua turned to face you properly. “I’m sorry about what I said, Y/N. I didn’t mean to scare you. I think I was just jealous.”
Your eyes widened. You felt strangely off guard. “Jealous?”
“Yeah. I just broke things off with Heejin, and then having not dated anyone seriously in, I think ever, Jeonghan suddenly lands a great person like you.” He admitted shyly, squeezing your shoulder with his hand.
“I landed him, too.” You reminded him, but you could barely process what you were saying as you realised he hadn’t moved his hand.
“Of course. You two are good together.” He told you, and you smiled.
“We are.”
Day 22 (cont.)
The pop of a champagne bottle was one you couldn’t miss. As you entered the reception hall, your eyes gravitated towards the bar, and you pulled Jeonghan along with you.
“I can’t believe how many of our friends are married now.” You told Jeonghan as you waited for the bartender to return with your drinks (or water, in Jeonghan’s case. He was determined to stick to his word until the very end). “First Seungcheol, then Soonyoung - who even saw that one coming - then Jihoon and now Wonwoo.”
“We’re getting into that phase of our lives.” He shrugged. “Makes sense to me.”
“Yeah but what about you and me? We’ve never even properly dated.” You pouted. “What happens when they all leave us?”
“Then we’ll have each other.” He told you. “Have you already started drinking? The reception’s only just begun.”
You grinned sheepishly. “We got here late! Anyway, it’s been such a hellish few weeks! Let me have this.” The bartender approached you with a shot glass that you quickly downed, and you pulled Jeonghan to your assigned seats (next to each other, of course). You were greeted by the same table as the night before, and you waved to Seokmin and Jihoon who sat opposite you.
“Where’s Joshua?” You asked, and giggled when Seungkwan pointed towards the flailing figure on the dance floor.
“He’s already drunk and living his best life.”
“Good for him!”
At the mention of his name, Joshua stumbled over, grabbing your hands in an attempt to pull you to the dance floor with him. You looked over at Jeonghan, your boyfriend for only a few more hours, but he waved you off. “Go enjoy yourself.”
You grinned, letting Joshua lead you. Jeonghan smiled as he watched you, his chest tugging with a strange feeling.
“Why’d you let him take Y/N?” Jihoon asked. “You know he likes them.”
The tugging in his chest felt stronger, but Jeonghan ignored it. “As long as they’re having fun.”
It doesn’t matter anyway. They like him too.
Seokmin and Seungkwan eventually joined them, and Jihoon and his husband went dancing as well. Jeonghan instead placed his attention on his phone, flipping through all the stories of Wonwoo’s wedding venue he had been tagged in. There was one, posted by Soonyoung, that he couldn’t seem to tear his eyes from. You were in the corner, next to Jeonghan, and there was something so sweet about the way you stared at him. It was dangerous, convincing him of something that wasn’t real.
“Hey Jeongie.”
Jeonghan looked up to see Jiwon, sat in the seat that once belonged to you. She had that same cat like gaze that made him fall for her initially, but now he felt nothing. He really was bad at committing, he couldn’t even commit to finding Jiwon attractive.
“Hi Jiwon. What are you doing here?”
She cooed, running her hand up and down his arm, much to Jeonghan’s discomfort. He looked away, breaking the eye contact she was trying to keep.
“Did you leave me for Y/N?” She asked, tutting under her breath. “I remember everything you told me, how they’ve never really dated. They’re not partner material, Jeongie, I am.”
“I didn’t leave you for Y/N,” He began, a shiver trailing up his spine. “We ended it because I didn’t want to date you any more. Y/N came after that.”
Jiwon leaned close, her lips barely separate from Jeonghan’s ear, and he couldn’t lean any further back in his chair. “Maybe not for long. They don’t seem to like the way we’re talking.”
Jeonghan tore Jiwon’s hand from his arm, looking to the dance floor to see tears close to spilling out of your eyes. When you met his gaze, you ran away, not willing to let him see you like this. Why did it feel this way? Joshua glared at Jeonghan, and quickly followed you as you ran down the corridor.
“Jiwon just stop!” Jeonghan raised his voice, cringing at the volume (and the heads that turned towards the commotion). “It’s over, just leave me alone, please.”
He ignored her whimpered sobs as he got out of his seat and scrambled to find you, but the sounds of Jiwon crying made him feel awful. He didn’t exactly handle their relationship well, and he wasn’t handling what was left of yours well either.
As he ran to find you, his heard lurched when he heard your own voice muffled by cries.
“It’s s-so dumb…”
“Clearly he was just trying to make her jealous, Y/N.” What was Joshua telling you?
“He wasn’t doing that.”
“You don’t deserve someone who will use you.”
Jeonghan couldn’t deny the guilt those words caused on his poor heart. Sure, you knew what was happening, but he was still using you, wasn’t he? It was his idea to start this whole fake dating thing.
“I wouldn’t use you like that.”
“Josh…”
Just as he had caught up to the sound of your voice, Jeonghan caught a glimpse of you in Joshua’s embrace, with his lips on yours. And his aching heart shattered.
You pulled away from Joshua to see Jeonghan’s forlorn expression, a sight you don’t think you had ever seen before.
“Hannie, I promise, it’s not what it-“
“Looks like? What a cliche Y/N.” He scoffed, moving away from you.
“Hey man, I kissed them.” Joshua spoke, dropping a protective arm over you, one that weighed you down and you wriggled out of quickly. “Besides, serves you right for using Y/N to make Jiwon jealous.”
“You’re so fucking stupid Joshua.” Jeonghan spat. “They were using me to make you jealous, looks like it worked, huh?”
“No, Jeonghan, wait-“
“Deal’s off, Y/N. We’re no longer dating.”
And he ran. And no matter how fast you ran too, you knew you wouldn’t be able to catch up to him.
Day 23 - Sunday 25th November
You woke up on Wonwoo’s couch with a massive headache and chest pain, although you knew only one of those was due to your hangover. He and Eliza ended up taking you home, luckily they weren’t going on their honeymoon for another week. Wonwoo was rubbing your back as you vomited, and the worst pain was knowing that it would never be Jeonghan doing this role anymore.
“I still don’t get it.” He admitted. “Although most of these weeks have been a blur for me.”
“I’m not really supposed to tell you.” You told him, sipping the glass of water in your hands. “We made these rules.”
“Tell me anyway, because no matter what it is it’s not worth losing him forever.”
You sighed, and settled against the tiled floor. “It’s a long story.”
“It’s a Sunday. Quit stalling and tell me what happened.”
“Fine fine!” You gasped, shoving Wonwoo slightly. “So pushy.”
“You know how Jiwon wouldn’t leave Jeonghan alone?” Wonwoo nodded along with your story. “Well, we knew she would be at the wedding, and Jeonghan really wanted her to take the hint that he wasn’t interested, so we decided to date. Well, fake date. Just to get her off his back.”
“And you agreed to this?”
“I didn’t really want to? But…”
“You were in love with Joshua.” You stared at Wonwoo in shock. He smiled back at you. “You’re not as difficult to read as you like to think you are. Maybe the other idiots we call friends can’t see it, but it was fairly obvious to me.”
“But you didn’t realise Jeonghan and I weren’t actually together?”
“Just continue the story already.”
“Well yeah. Jeonghan convinced me we could make Joshua jealous, so I agreed. We said we wouldn’t tell anyone, and we would post about it online so everyone believed it was real, and then once Jiwon backed off at the wedding, we would call it off.” You recalled the story, rubbing your head as the pain settled and you felt like your skull was cracking open. “God do you have any painkillers?”
“I don’t really get hangovers.”
“You lucky bitch.”
“What happened at the reception, Y/N?”
You cringed at the flood of memories. Most of the time when you got drunk and made bad decisions, your brain saved you the embarrassment of remembering everything. This time, you couldn’t escape the images. Of Jiwon and Jeonghan, of the way Jeonghan looked at you, the way he ran away from you.
“Joshua and I were dancing, and when I looked back I saw Jiwon flirting with Jeonghan.” You gulped, feeling an all too familiar lump in your throat. “And I ran off.”
“Why’d you run?”
“I don’t know. And then Joshua kissed me, and I thought it would be perfect, but it felt wrong.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know! And then Jeonghan saw, and I don’t know why but he was so upset, and then he left. He left me, Wonwoo.”
“You really don’t know why he was upset?” Wonwoo questioned, and you met his gaze with a confused expression. “Even after all this time, Jeonghan can still surprise you, wow.”
“What do you know?”
“I know that just like you, Jeonghan is not as difficult to read as he thinks he is.” Wonwoo told you, stroking your hair. “Nine years ago, at 2:30 in the morning, I got a call from Jeonghan, who was so excited because he finally got the nerve to kiss you, and he went for it. And then the next day, nothing. And you two continued this dance around never going out, even when everyone could see how much you liked each other.”
“That’s not true, I don’t like Jeonghan.”
“Then why is Jiwon bothering you? Why did you even agree to this whole thing? There are easier ways to get close to Joshua that don’t involve pretending to date your best friend.”
“I…” For once, you didn’t have anything to say.
“You do know, Y/N. You have to stop acting so blind when it comes to Jeonghan. All the signs are there, you just don’t want to address them.”
He offered you his hand, pulling you up off of the bathroom floor. “Want to know why we all thought Jeonghan asked you out? It’s because we all knew he likes you. It’s actually pretty obvious.”
Day 24 - Monday 26th November
There was a knocking at your door. This wasn’t like Jeonghan’s courtesy knocks before he let himself into your house, this was a gentle knock that barely reverberated through the room.
You walked up to let Joshua into your house. He was shocked to see you like this - tear stricken cheeks, eyes and nose red and running.
“You look…”
“Shit, I know.” You finished for him. “What do you want, Joshua?”
“I wanted to apologise.” He looked over your shoulder expectantly.
“Fine, come in, but you can’t come any further than the entryway. I just don’t want everyone to be spectators of this.”
Joshua followed you in, shuffling awkwardly. He acted as if he had never been in your apartment before. You weren’t entirely sure he had been. You let him shut the door gently behind him, and you leaned against the wall, blocking him from moving any closer in.
“I shouldn’t have kissed you while you were dating Jeonghan. I’m sorry.”
You clicked your tongue, not moving position. “Yeah, that was messed up. You’re Jeonghan’s friend. You’re my friend. I felt like you were just fighting over me to compete with him.”
“Y/N, that’s not true.” He reached his hand out to caress your arm, but you pulled it back.
“What’s even been going on with you?” You asked. “I’ve barely seen you since your breakup, none of us have, and you were a total dick the whole time Jeonghan and I were dating.”
Joshua scoffed, and you gasped at his attitude. “Yeah well you guys weren’t actually together though, right?”
“That doesn’t matter.”
“Yes it does!” He raised his voice as he began to yell. “Why are you upset? It’s not like you were cheating or anything, it wasn’t real.”
“Are you kidding? You didn’t know we weren’t actually together! What’s your excuse?”
“My excuse is that according to Jeonghan, the only reason you were even pretending to date was to make me jealous, and now you’re upset that it worked? I’m jealous. I’m jealous that Jeonghan got to go out with you and play the part of boyfriend, even if it was fake.”
“That’s not the reason.”
“Oh, so you didn’t want to make me jealous?”
He was staring at you with an intensity you hadn’t seen since law school, and it reminded you of the Joshua you once knew. The Joshua you fell for. And as you met his gaze, you realised all your feelings for him were gone. Every desire for him to fall for you like you had fallen for him had dissipated, because you weren’t sure you had ever fallen for him. You loved his drive, maybe that was all you loved.
“I did.”
“So what changed?”
“What do you think, Josh?”
He scoffed, dropping his gaze to the floor. “Of course. Of course I can’t beat him.”
“Joshua…”
“No, just,” He sighed, shuffling away from you. “Why do you always choose him?”
“I don’t, but I’m choosing him now.” You told him, And you were. After twenty two days with Jeonghan, Joshua didn’t feel as important to you anymore.
Joshua turned to leave your apartment. “Josh.” He looked at you, and you met his gaze for the last time. “You should have kissed me all the years I was pining after you, not once I wasn’t an option anymore. Maybe it would have been different.”
He left without another word, and your door shut so gently as he left.
Day 25 - Tuesday 27th November
You hadn’t been blocked. You could still see the messages, you knew he was reading them, he just wouldn’t respond. He wasn’t picking up either.
“Cmon Jeonghan…” You whispered under your breath. “Please just pick up.”
“Hey, this is Jeonghan. I can’t come to the phone right now…”
You groaned at the now too familiar sound of his voicemail. Was he ever going to talk to you again?
Okay, it was kind of your fault. Had it been anyone else, this would have felt so obvious, but you were so oblivious when it came to Jeonghan, and now here you were, pining for your best friend, hoping he would finally return.
“Hey Han,” You started talking, but you had no idea what to say. The only thoughts running through your mind were please just come back to me, but you weren’t sure how to say that without bursting into tears. “I, uh, I really want to talk to you, please. I miss you.”
You hung up, only to find your fingers reaching for the contact once more.
“Hey, this is Jeonghan. I can’t come to the phone right now…”
“Hi again. I want you to know that, umm, I spoke to Wonwoo. He called me an idiot, basically.” You chuckled as you recounted that morning, although you knew Jeonghan probably wouldn’t be laughing as he listened. If he listened. If you two weren’t… wherever this had led you, you know he would probably laugh at that, but he wasn’t here anymore. “I didn’t know. I should have known, but I didn’t, and I just really want to talk to you. Please.”
“Hey, this is Jeonghan. I can’t come to the phone right now…”
“Hey, um, I didn’t like the kiss. The one with Joshua. I think I did kiss him back? But I didn’t like it. I would choose our posed cafe kiss so much sooner than the one he gave me. I don’t even want it. Please talk to me.”
“Hey, this is Jeonghan. I can’t come to the phone right now…”
“It was so stupid of me to be jealous of Jiwon. I know you don’t like her, I just, I was so drunk and stressed out, I freaked out. It was so so stupid, and I’m sorry, but I hope you know that it was jealousy because I wanted to be in her place. God, this is so embarrassing.”
“Hey, this is Jeonghan. I can’t come to the phone right now…”
“I don’t think I like Joshua? I know, drastic turn. I think I just looked up to him, growing up. He’s always been so out of reach and ahead of everyone else, I think I mistook it for love when it wasn’t. I don’t love him.”
“Hey, this is Jeonghan. I can’t come to the phone right now…”
“I know I fucked up. Well, Joshua fucked up most of all, but I shouldn’t have run off like that. But you ran too. You didn’t let me explain. And last week, you disappeared. I know you said you were busy but it felt like you were running from me? And I fucked up because I ran, so you’re no better than me.”
“Hey, this is Jeonghan. I can’t come to the phone right now…”
“Please ignore what I just said. I’m not upset with you. Well, actually, I am. I think I’m mostly upset with myself? Or mostly upset with Joshua? But I’m still a little upset with you. Please can we just talk?”
“Hey, this is Jeonghan. I can’t come to the phone right now…”
“I’ll leave you alone after this one, I promise. I just… I miss you. And I think I need an explanation, because I’ve been clueless about this for way too long.”
“Hey, this is Jeonghan. I can’t come to the phone right now…”
“I love you. In every sense of the word.”
Day 26 - Wednesday 28th November
You felt so strange in front of Jeonghan’s door. Although he spent so much time with you in your house, very rarely would you visit him in his. You and him would always blame his roommate, but truthfully you knew it wasn’t that. Even though Vernon wasn’t the tidiest or most respectful of privacy, you were happy when he was around. No, Jeonghan’s house was a barrier between the two of you, a final wall he had placed to protect himself. And now you were destroying the that sanctity.
You almost felt bad, but you were so desperate for him to talk to you again. Sure, the two of you had arguments, but nothing like this, and you weren’t sure that without drastic measures, you would ever even see Jeonghan again. So here you were, your knuckles rapt against Jeonghan’s door, waiting to see him.
The door swung open, but Jeonghan wasn’t there. Instead stood Vernon, who looked like he had only rolled out of bed at the sound of your knocking. Honestly, had it been true, it wouldn’t have surprised you, despite it being 8:30 in the evening. You had no idea what this boy’s schedule was, if he even followed a set one.
“Oh, hey Vernon.”
“Hey Y/N.’
You shuffled on your feet. You and Vernon were friends - you practically grew up together, why did this feel so awkward?
“Cool party, by the way.” He cocked his head in confusion. “Sofia’s party! Two weeks ago, I know you helped her set it up. It was fun, from what I remember, Jeonghan dragged me along to it and I got very drunk very quickly.” Okay, you were rambling now. That helped. “Speaking of, is he here?”
“He?”
“Jeonghan? Is he home?”
“Nah, he’s um..” Vernon trailed off, and you cringed. Clearly he had told Vernon to ward you away. “He’s staying back late at work. Do you, do you want me to tell him you were here?”
You sighed, feeling your shoulders slump. “Don’t bother. Have a good evening, Hansol.”
“See you around Y/N.”
Vernon let the door shut in front of him, He hated lying, and unlike his roommate, he was absolutely terrible at it.
“If Y/N comes, just tell her I’m out.”
Jeonghan wouldn’t talk to Vernon. He barely spoke to Seungcheol, who was dropping by every night to check up on his friend. He hadn’t seen him for more than a few minutes every day as he left for work and stumbled back home afterwards. All Vernon could hope for was that you solved your issues with him soon. A grumpy Jeonghan was a nightmare, a heartbroken Jeonghan was a ghost.
Day 27 - Thursday 29th November
Eunwoo’s office had been mostly empty for a few days now, but today he picked up the last two boxes to take to his new office, a floor above. Instead of seeing his smug face across from your office door, all you saw was a clean desk, no files or loose papers across the surface like there had been before. It felt like a cruel reminder of what you were so close to gaining. Partnership. Jeonghan. You couldn’t tell which was making you more depressed currently.
You barely noticed when Eunchae walked up to your office, knocking gently against your open door. “You alright, Y/N?”
“Hmm? Yeah I’m fine Eunchae. Can I help you with anything?” You spoke, not lifting your head to meet her gaze. You didn’t want her to see the bags that had formed under your puffy eyes. It’s hard to fall asleep these days.
“I just wanted to say you should have been the next junior partner, not Eunwoo.” She barely whispered, and you understood why. The office behind her was practically haunted by Eunwoo’s cheery spirit. “He’s a good lawyer, but he barely pays attention to us and the newer lawyers. You take good care of us.”
You smiled at her words. “Thanks Eunchae.”
She walked in, letting the door close behind her. You had given up all pretence of following the dumb rules like commandments, and Eunchae caught on quick. “That’s why you’ve been so sad this week, right?”
“That’s.. half of it. How have you noticed?”
She shrugged. “I’m smarter than they are. What’s the other half?”
“Boy troubles, I guess.”
She leaned in. “Is this about your boyfriend? The one you posted on insta?” You nodded, and she smiled, pleased with her detective skills. “What happened?”
“He didn’t tell me he liked me until too late, and now I’m realising that I like him too, but he won’t talk to me.”
“I’m sorry, why doesn’t your boyfriend already know you like him?”
“It’s a long story.”
“Okay..” She trailed off. “Have you told him how you really feel?”
“Yeah, but he won’t talk to me anyway.”
“Tell him again.” She advised. “People are stupid, they don’t believe what’s right in front of him. What have you got to lose, anyway?”
Day 27 (cont.)
“Hey, this is Jeonghan. I can’t come to the phone right now…”
“I don’t want to fill your inbox, so I swear, if you don’t respond to this, I’ll leave you alone forever. But god I’m going to miss you if you leave. You’re such a heartbreaker, Hannie, you’re about to break mine. I’m in love with you. I’m sorry it took me so long to see it. Please just, let me know if you feel the same, or if everyone was wrong. I guess if I don’t hear from you again I’ve gotten my answer. I.. Goodnight, Jeonghan.”
Day 28 - Friday 30th November
You hadn’t heard anything from Jeonghan. All night, you stayed up, staring at your phone, hoping it would light up with a call, a text, anything. God, you would even settle for a subtweet, but nothing. When 5AM hit and the light of dawn peered in through your blinds you had given up. Jeonghan wanted nothing to do with you.
You called in sick to work. It wasn’t difficult, crying will make you sound all stuffy and blocked. You hoped the sniffles that slipped from your lips weren’t understood as what they truly were: forming scars. Whatever, it gave you an excuse to stay in bed all day.
You kept your promise, not to bother Jeonghan again, but couldn’t find it in yourself to delete conversations or photos. Your heart was shattered, and the pieces were lost deep in the text messages he sent, you couldn’t delete them so easily.
You made one phone call, to Wonwoo, when you woke again at 5PM.
“He hates me, Woo. I think I lost him forever.”
“If that’s really the case then he’s an idiot. Just like you.”
You felt no desire to reach out to anyone else, or let anyone know you were alive. You didn’t feel alive. All you wanted was to sink into your mattress and hide from the world. The blankets covering your face would have to do in the meantime. It was a weak shield, but you were hidden all the same, and that’s all you needed.
Someone came to check on you earlier, or perhaps it was just your neighbour. You heard the knocks, but pretended no one was home. They left quickly. You felt so forgettable, so discarded. What a pathetic existence.
9:21 PM flashed across your phone screen, but you didn’t seem to notice it. It was silenced on your kitchen counter, far away from you, because you knew if you kept it nearby you would do something stupid. And you were careful. You needed to be even more careful than before, now that you were nursing a broken heart.
When the knocks on your door sounded you hid even further away. They would go away, they all did. And the knocks did subside, replaced instead by the clink of keys. Fuck, was it your landlord? What was he doing here? The door opened, and you pulled the sheets tight over your head. Hopefully he would just leave.
You heard footsteps slowly lead to your room. Fuck, was this a home invasion? Maybe you should be more scared, but you couldn’t find it in you to do anything but stay in a frozen position. Your bedroom door creaked open, and you felt your heartbeat in your eyes.
This was it. You were going to die, and you couldn’t even see Jeonghan one last time before some stranger took you out in your own home. Well, the apartment you had rented for years. God, you were almost thirty, and you were about to die alone in a starter apartment you never bothered to leave. Why was this world so cruel?
“Y/N.”
Fuck. It wasn’t your landlord. It was Jeonghan. Somehow, when being confronted with the person you’ve been trying to reach for days, your confidence disappears.
“I know you’re not sleeping, Y/N.”
Maybe if you didn’t respond he would go away? Did you even want him to? Why weren’t you doing anything?
“I saw you left your phone in the kitchen. You’ve got a voicemail, by the way. It’s from an hour ago. I’m gonna play it for you, okay?”
“Hey Y/N. It’s me, obviously. I um, you’re right. I shouldn’t have run away. I was being a coward. I’ve been a coward the entire time we’ve been friends, because I don’t know when, but at some point I feel so hopelessly in love with you and I’ve been hiding it this entire time. Fuck, I really need to see you. Can I come over?”
Your protective sheets were pulled from your head, and you were met with the sight of Jeonghan, who’s eyes were as puffy as your own. He smiled down at you.
“You look like shit.”
“So do you.”
“Yeah, well, I was heartbroken.” Jeonghan grinned as he spoke. God, he was so beautiful. “I thought my best friend who I’ve loved for years didn’t love me back.”
You sat up, reaching for Jeonghan’s hand, which he gladly gave you. “Why didn’t you ever tell me before now?”
“Had to protect my fragile heart.” He told you, locking into your eyes. You were frozen in place once more. You had never once thought of Jeonghan as fragile, yet here he was, baring his soul to you, like a glass canary had been placed in your hands. “I was so content to just hide it all my life, watch as you fall deeper in love with Joshua, and then I discovered I really loved being your fake boyfriend. I never thought I would enjoy being a boyfriend, but something about being with you makes it so easy.”
All the walls you swore you would put up had been torn down by Jeonghan before you could even begin construction.
“Besides, what exactly was I supposed to think when you hated our first kiss?”
You gasped. “I didn’t hate it! We both agreed it felt weird the next morning.”
“Sure, I definitely thought that, and wasn’t just agreeing with you to save myself the embarrassment of rejection.”
You cringed as you thought of that fateful day. “I don’t know Hannie, when I woke up that morning things felt as if they had changed, and it scared me.” You blushed, feeling regretful of your naivety. “I was so scared of things changing for the worse I never considered that they could get better.”
Jeonghan’s hand met your jaw, pulling you towards him with such a sense of nostalgia. “What about now? Are you still scared?”
“A little.” You whispered. You didn’t need to say it any louder, you knew he could hear you. “But I don’t want my fears to hold me back any more.”
“Oh yeah? Show me.”
You rolled your eyes at Jeonghan, before doing exactly that, and capturing his lips with your own. No fireworks, no eruptions. Kissing him was the comfort you had craved for years. Jeonghan was your home.
You pulled away from him, letting your eyes flutter open. “That count as proof?”
He hummed. “I don’t know, why don’t you show me again?”
“You’re such a loser, Yoon.” You teased, but did exactly as he wanted.
Day 1 (of forever to come) - Saturday 1st December
This past month had no shortage of you waking with Jeonghan in your apartment, but this was the first time you had woken up beside him, arms tangled together. Your phone was buzzing incessantly under your pillow, and who thought it was a good idea to interrupt your sleep so early in the morning?
Oh, Wonwoo. You should probably give him peace of mind, after everything he’s done for you.
“Hello?” You spoke groggily, trying as best as you could to whisper so as to not wake Jeonghan, still asleep next to you.
“Y/N? Have you seen Jeonghan recently? I know you guys are fighting, but Vernon told me he left last night without saying anything and he’s still not back yet, it’s already 10.”
“Wow, Vernon’s up early on a Saturday. I’m not even out of bed yet.”
Wonwoo hissed through your speakers. “Take this seriously! Your best friend is missing!”
Jeonghan stirred, and before you could say anything, he spoke instead. “Y/N, tell your friend to hush, I’m trying to sleep.”
You stayed silent, and Wonwoo was silenced too.
“Is that…”
“Yeah, he’s here with me. He’s not missing, you can tell Vernon he’s alright.”
“Holy shit! He’s in bed with you?”
“He stayed the night…”
“Get it.”
“Shut up Wonwoo.”
Jeonghan reached his hand over to you. “Lemme talk to him.” You obliged, handing the phone to him.
“Hey Wonwoo, no nothing happened. Well, Y/N confessed their undying feelings for me and told me how incredibly attractive and sexy I am and how I’ve ruined anyone else’s love-“
“JEONGHAN!”
“Yep gotta go, bye Wonwoo!”
You snatched the phone from Jeonghan, only to see the call had already ended. “You snake! Stop badmouthing me to our friends!”
He gasped in mock offense. “Bad mouthing? Never! That’s basically what happened last night, anyway.”
“You’re missing the part where you confessed first.” You reminded him, pushing against his arm, but he resisted your force, instead wrapping his arms around you and holding you as you squirmed. “Let go of me you weasel.”
“Weasel? Are you gonna pay for the damages you’re causing my heart?” He pouted, and you wanted to badly to shove (kiss…) that pout off his face.
“More like ego.”
“Wonwoo has always known how incredibly whipped I am for you, he doesn’t need a reminder.” Jeonghan whispered above you. “Do you?”
You nodded slyly. “You’ve got a decade of reminders to make up for hiding this from me for so long. You better get cracking.”
Jeonghan leaned over to kiss your forehead. “Why rush it? We’ve got the rest of our lives, and I’m going to make sure you never forget just how much I love you.”
AN: i think this is the first time i’ve ever written a happy ending but goddamn i love this fic
+ read the university kiss scene here!!
#caratwritersclub#seventeen fic#jeonghan fic#fake dating au#seventeen fake dating#svt fluff#svt scenario#jeonghan scenario#svt angst#seventeen angst#jeonghan angst#seventeen friends to lovers#yoon jeonghan#joshua#joshua x reader#jeonghan x reader#jeonghan x you
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— again and again ⟢
pairing: mingyu x reader
summary: your mother calls one day, asking if you’re bringing mingyu along for chuseok this year. in your panic, you end up giving her an affirmative—never mind the fact that you and mingyu have stopped seeing each other over half a year ago.
word count: 15.7k words
tags: exes, fake dating, mutual pining, idol!gyu, vet!reader, mild angst, fluff, smut
warnings: medical jargon, mentions of shots (for pets), mentions of snake bites, graphic sexual content (minors dni!!)
notes: i wrote this with bss' 7pm on loop for two straight days. nothing like the sweet taste of yearning <3 this also wasn't extensively proofread, so if you spot a few mistakes, i implore you to ignore them EJWHJHSDF
this is part of the doting on you! series.
smut tags: vanilla, mingyu is super whipped, praise kink, service top gyu, dirty talk, nicknames (babygirl, sweetheart, sweet thing), overstimulation, multiple rounds, unprotected sex, creampie, heads up that the filth is at the very end tho
taglist: @cherrycheolie1995 - @ashkuuuu - @potatofrieswithketchup - @christinewithluv - @fancypoisonapple - @odetoyeonjun - @minnie-mouser22 - @etherealyoungk - @davoraciousreader - @mariondior - @hella-sirius - @coveyland - @marlow234 - @dobomiyeon - @belysusonrisa - @wonderfulshinee - @misssugarlips - @yourfavoritefreakyhan - @jeanjacketjesus - @just-here-to-read-01 - @hanihans - @venusrae - @taestrwbrry - @seoksoop - @dreamhannies - @renjunphile - @thvhannie - @kkooongie - @acgyu - @gae-uls - @pluviophile-xxx - @lenireads - @gaebestie - @ryusha-rose - @yutadae - @smileyjimvn
additional notes: you might want to check your visibility settings if you can't be tagged!
When you hear the telltale ring as the call connects to its intended recipient, you wonder why you even considered this idea in the first place. Not to mention, you’re getting a nasty case of phone call anxiety—one that you haven’t felt in god knows how long. Maybe it’s because of the identity of the person you’re calling that your nerves are all over the place.
In fact, you’re not sure if he’s even going to answer. There are a million and a half reasons why famous superstar Kim Mingyu won’t be able to pick up your call. He could be shooting for a music video or some fashion magazine. He could be in the middle of an interview. Or he could be out spending time with his members like tends to these days if his recent Instagram posts are anything to go by.
But you try anyway because your mother sounded so hopeful in the phone call you just hung up on five minutes ago (The rice wine he got for us last Christmas was splendid! He’ll bring some again for Chuseok, won’t he?), that you just didn’t have the heart to tell her the truth.
So, because you can’t take back the pretty white lies you uttered (Uh, of course he will. Gyu told me he missed everyone back at home, too. Especially Namja), you’re attempting to rope Mingyu into the charade even if the odds are against you.
The first call doesn’t go through. Neither does the second.
By your third try, you’re about to accept the fact that you’re going to have to make some due corrections to what you told your mother until you hear a groggy, “Hello?” on the other line.
You nearly fall off your seat at the throaty sound of Mingyu’s voice, but you’d rather not get weird looks from your receptionist, so you breathe in as deeply (and quietly) as you can before mustering a smile that he won’t even be able to see.
“Hey, Mingyu, it’s me,” you begin, a bit proud of how your voice didn’t even falter. “It’s been a while. Did I catch you at a bad time?”
He doesn’t respond for a while, and the prolonged silence makes you bite the inside of your cheek. Did the call fall through? Did he not hear what you said? But just when you’re about to repeat the words—
“Kind of,” Mingyu grumbles, and you try not to think about how sexy his morning voice sounds despite it being two in the afternoon. “We finished taping a variety show today and I figured I’d get some sleep. It’s midnight right now.”
Well that’s news to you.
“Oh. You’re not in Korea?”
“Nah. We’re in New York for some brand collaborations,” he says, and you hear some rustling in the background, followed by a yawn. “Though I doubt you’ve been keeping tabs on us.”
Okay, he doesn’t have to call you out like that.
Sure, you still catch posts from Mingyu, as well as the other twelve members of SEVENTEEN from time to time, but…after breaking up with him (on good terms, promise!), you thought it’s best if you didn’t see too much of them anymore. The block and mute buttons are your best friends, and while you didn’t use them on the members directly, gossip outlets were your regular targets.
So to speak, it’s been a peaceful six months since your break up with Mingyu.
Until now.
“Do you need something?” he asks, and you realize you didn’t respond to what he said last. “Whatever it is, I might not be able to help you out right away. We’re holed up here until next month.”
Well…that’s all the confirmation you needed.
“I see,” you sigh, trying not to sound too disappointed. “It’s— It’s okay.”
“So you do need something,” Mingyu points out, voice much clearer now than it was two minutes ago. Like he was more awake. “What is it?”
“Nothing you should worry about, Gyu,” you reassure before making a face, not realizing how easily the old nickname just slipped out. “I’m sorry for waking you up. You should go back to—”
The sound of him whining at the other end sends another rush of vertigo through your entire being. “Come on, I’m awake anyways right? You know how hard it is for me to fall asleep again.”
“If I’d known we weren’t in the same continent, I wouldn’t have called altogether,” you say before quaintly adding, “Shit. This counts as an international call, doesn’t it?”
There’s someone else in the room with him, you think—a quiet drawl of Mingyu-hyung, what time is it? You immediately recognize it as Seungkwan.
“Five minutes past midnight,” Mingyu says, and Seungkwan asks another question that you aren’t able to catch. “Who am I talking to? Bookkeu and Bobpul’s worst enemy.”
“Hey!” You scowl at him. “They never even whined when you and Seungkwan brought them to me for their shots!”
“Noona? Why are you calling this guy?” Seungkwan says a bit more loudly for you to hear. “Didn’t you dump him already? Good choice, by the way.”
This time it’s Mingyu’s turn to utter out a semi-offended, “Hey! Mind your own business, Seungkwan-ah.”
A few minutes of bickering with his dongsaeng later, you figure that Mingyu must’ve gone outside of their hotel room for some privacy. You can vaguely hear the sound of the wind blowing on his end before he heaves a deep sigh.
“Sorry about that.” He coughs awkwardly. “Anyway, if you’re not going to tell me about what you needed help with, how are you? Is the clinic doing well? Did your receptionist finally ditch her shitty boyfriend? Does that one guy with a husky still hit on you?”
You’re a little overwhelmed by the sudden influx of questions. Last you checked, you haven’t spoken to Mingyu since you greeted him on his birthday over a quick text message. But then again, your ex does have a talent for completely ignoring the time that exists in between interactions. Mingyu’s always been amicable for conversation, idol or not, boyfriend or not.
The mere thought that he hasn’t changed at all makes your heart ache in more ways than one.
You manage a quiet laugh. “I’m fine. The clinic’s fine. Chae has a new boyfriend now. He even helps us sort out new products on the shelves sometimes.”
At the mention of her name, your receptionist whips her head in your direction, one brow raised. You shake your head with a smile, gesturing that this is nothing she should even be remotely concerned about.
It’s just Mingyu after all.
“Okay, how about the guy who—”
“I turned him down when he asked me out for lunch last week.”
He whistles. “Ouch. And he’s been trying to get with you all this time.”
“I don’t usually date my clients, you know.”
“Yeah? I must be special then.”
Then comes the silence—so thick, you can cut through it with a knife.
“Uh, so I have a patient coming in an hour for a castration procedure,” you tell him a bit awkwardly. “Gotta prepare everything before the owner arrives.”
Mingyu sighs, and you can almost imagine him pouting. “You’re really not gonna tell me? I can still help you with whatever you need even when I’m out here. Unless it requires me to, you know, physically be there.”
You chuckle. “That’s the thing, Gyu. You can’t help me because I need you to actually be here.”
“Oh. Why? What for?”
You inhale sharp breath through your nose, closing your eyes as your face warms with embarrassment. Chae is definitely looking at you funnily from her station now, but you tell yourself not to give it too much thought.
“Mom asked if I was bringing you with me for Chuseok,” you admit. “I haven’t been home since Christmas, so… They kind of have no idea that we aren’t together anymore.”
Mingyu falls silent for a while yet again, and you realize that your anxiousness spikes whenever he isn’t talking like there’s no tomorrow. You wonder if he’s figured out what you’re trying to insinuate and is silently berating you for the lapse in judgment. But when Mingyu bursts out laughing on the other end, you suddenly don't mind being on the receiving end of his silence after all.
“No way,” he gasps between chuckles. “You were going to ask me to pretend to be your boyfriend over the holidays, weren’t you?! One of the fans wrote a story about the exact same thing once, except it’s between me and Wonwoo-hyung. It was in English though, but Vernon translated it pretty well.”
…Kim Mingyu admitting to reading fanfiction about himself and Wonwoo aside, you groan. “What am I supposed to do? My family loves you. I’d rather not dampen the Chuseok spirit by saying their favorite son has unfortunately made his unannounced exit half a year ago.”
“So you’re willing to pretend we’re still together just to keep them happy?”
“Well, yeah. It’s not like you’re an ex I should be ashamed of, Gyu.”
“Because I’m an idol that millions are vying for?”
You roll your eyes. “No. It’s because out of all my exes, you’re the only one that Namja actually likes. That’s pretty much the highest honor you can receive in your entire life.”
Your heart does a little flip when Mingyu barks out another light-hearted laugh. You tell yourself that you’re only reacting that way because…it has been a while since you talked to him. That, and Mingyu was always so smiley whenever you brought up your ten year-old retriever.
“Point taken,” he says. “I’d totally be down to help you out, but…yeah.”
“I knew you would be,” you reply, a sad smile ghosting your features. “That��s why I called.”
Silence settles over the line once again, but it’s, by no means, awkward. It’s more…sentimental. Like two old friends reminiscing about the good memories you shared.
Huh. You’re friends with Mingyu…
“Anyway, thanks for catching up with me, Mingyu,” you tell him before you end up saying something you’re not supposed to. “I’ll get going now. Good night.”
“Hey—”
You end the call before he can have the chance to make you falter.
Right behind her desk, Chae looks up at you with a knowing look. You flash her a smile that silently pleads for her not to say a word, but your receptionist has always been on the frank side.
“Something’s telling me you’re still hung up on him, boss.”
Sighing, you push yourself back to your feet, tugging on the lapels of your crisp white coat. That might be true to some degree, but it’s not like you can do anything about it.
You and Mingyu live in two completely different worlds. It’s something that you both came to terms with when you broke up. You just had to accept the fact that there’s simply no efficient way to work around his busy schedules and the appointments you need to attend to at the clinic.
It was the most unproblematic breakup you’ve ever had, and it’s with a famous idol. Who would’ve thought.
“Anyway,” you tell Chae before nudging the door to the operating room open. “Care to help me look for the anesthetics? I can’t remember where I put them away last time…”
Your receptionist is most definitely judging you inside your head, but despite how straightforward she can be, Chae still knows when to drop it. After a few clicks on the clinic’s desktop computer, she joins you on the hunt for that pesky bottle of anesthesia without asking any intrusive questions.
You make a mental note to treat her to some coffee tomorrow.
…
One of the reasons you seldomly paid your hometown a visit is the hassle that comes with the entire commute.
First you have to endure the long queue to get tickets before sitting through an eight-hour train ride to the seaside town of Haenam. Then comes navigating the local bus routes and schedules that always seem to change every time you go home.
When you made it out of the train station for this year’s Chuseok celebration, you didn’t even bother stressing yourself out with taking the bus back to your parents’ house—flagging down a taxi that definitely charged you a ridiculous rate in exchange for your utmost comfort instead.
You try not to think about how easier it was last Christmas, when you and Mingyu took turns driving one of his company’s cars on the way here—laughing and singing along to their songs on the road like nothing else mattered.
The scent of salt hangs heavy in the breeze when you unload your baggage from the trunk of the taxi. You had the foresight to make the trip before midnight, so you’re rewarded with the sight of the sunrise breaking through the nearby ocean—light glittering across the horizon like it means to say welcome home.
That’s what you should feel; like you’re at home. But the fact that you’re about to bring some disappointing news to the table regarding your breakup with Mingyu isn’t doing your peace of mind any favors.
You contemplated coming clean about it to your parents over a phone call, but it seemed too…impersonal with how attached they’ve gotten to your ex-boyfriend. Having a significant other that your family absolutely adores seems like a double-edged sword now that you think about it.
Once the cab hits the road again, you stand in front of your family home with a wistful sigh. It’s barely past seven in the morning, but your father must already be at the pier—sorting out today’s catch with the other fishermen in town.
Your mother loves taking walks in the market even if she doesn’t have anything in particular to purchase for the day. They’re early risers by default.
You can’t really say the same for your younger brother, Haneul, though. That one likes to sleep until noon.
When you ring the doorbell outside, you expect to hear the sound of excited barking from the other side of the gate. Namja was always the first to welcome you back whenever you’re in town, and just thinking about reuniting with him quells your anxiousness a little. But surprisingly, you don’t hear the telltale noise of your family dog’s excitement.
What you do hear is the sound of the screen door opening and slamming back shut—slippers being hastily slid on before the gate creaks open, revealing Haneul still sporting a bedhead as he rubs his eyes.
“You’re back,” he says a-matter-of-factly, like he isn’t even thrilled to see you, but you’re too surprised to see him up so early to quip about it. “Mom said you wouldn’t arrive until noon.”
“I wanted to make the most of my vacation leave,” you explain before looking around the garden inside. “Where’s Namja? Did Mom take him for a walk, too?”
Haneul hums before taking your luggage. “Hm. You can say that.”
“What does that even mean?”
As if on cue, your ears perk up at the sound of a familiar bark resounding from the end of the road. You quickly whip your head around to see your beloved golden retriever, Namja, wagging his tail excitedly at the sight of you before letting out another woof when you call out his name in glee.
However, the moment you realize who’s holding his leash, you suddenly feel like you got struck by lightning.
It’s Kim fucking Mingyu.
The sight of your ex-boyfriend just...standing there when he told you he was on the other side of the world sends a million thoughts surging through your head all at once.
You try not to think about how gorgeous he looks in the early morning light. Loose, long sleeved shirt that still emphasizes his muscular build despite. Hair having grown past his chin, curling slightly at the tips. And those stupid fucking canines that peek from his lips every time he grins.
The bastard is just standing there with zero disguises, as if his existence in this place, at this point in time, doesn't throw a wrench in all of your plans.
What the hell is he even doing here?!
“Oh, sweetie, you’re back!”
The sound of your mother’s voice is, thankfully, enough to snap you out of your impending mental breakdown. You were so taken aback by Mingyu’s presence that you didn’t notice her standing next to him, carrying the bag she usually brings for her early market visits as she flashes you a warm smile.
You can only stand there in shocked silence as your mother makes her way back to the house with your dog and ex-boyfriend in tow. Haneul was already inside, so you can’t exactly glare at him for not giving you a head’s up. But given that you still have no idea what on earth is going on, you’ll play along. For now.
“Are you surprised?” your mother giggles before patting Mingyu’s shoulder. “Mingyu here said he got off work for a while so he could celebrate with us!”
“Gee, I didn’t know about that,” you say dryly, unsure of what expression you should even wear. “I thought he was going to be in New York until next month.”
She laughs again. “Oh, he told me and your father to keep it a secret that he’s going back to Korea anyways. Seems like the surprise worked, didn’t it, Mingyu-ah?”
The culprit himself agrees with a minute nod before loosening his grip on Namja’s leash.
Your goldie immediately bounds towards you at the first sign of freedom, bracing his paws on your stomach as he attempts to lick your neck. It’s enough to distract you from the current predicament at hand, making you sigh in defeat as you sink to your knees and receive Namja’s slobbery affection in its entirety.
As you snuggle up to the family dog, Mingyu says, “What can I say? I missed Haenam a lot. The scenery, the family, Namja, but of course…”
You can only sit there in growing disbelief as Mingyu mirrors your movements. He crouches low enough so that your gazes are leveled before caressing your face with a tenderness that’s both familiar and foreign at the same time.
“I missed her the most.”
This is all a charade—that’s what you can confirm from the limited clues he’s dropping for you to pick up on. You can try to figure out why he’s suddenly here in your hometown—having arrived earlier than you, from the looks of it—a little later.
What’s important is that Mingyu, ever-so helpful, is actually playing along with the act you not-so-jokingly told him about on the phone.
You should be glad.
…But why do those words make your heart ache anyways?
“Of course you do,” you sigh before peeling yourself away from his touch, carrying Namja in your arms as if he doesn’t easily weigh thirty kilograms. “Come on. Let’s get back inside and help Mom prepare whatever she’s planning on cooking for lunch.”
Mingyu’s smile doesn’t falter despite your obvious dismissal of his affection. You remind yourself that he’s racked up a lot of acting gigs throughout his career, so it’s normal for him to be a natural at this.
But even if you know that this is all an act, you can’t help the way your heart lurches when Mingyu scoops Namja out of your grasp—the mere brush of his skin on yours more electrifying than it should be.
Namja whines in your ex’s arms, pawing at his chest before licking a long stripe across his cheek. Mingyu bursts out laughing as he coos at him, and your chest burns with an indescribable feeling.
A few moments later, your mother starts gushing about how excited she is to have both of you in the kitchen with her again as she leads you back inside the house. But all that rings in your head is a broken mantra of Mingyu saying I missed her the most.
As if repeating the words enough times will make them come true.
...
It’s one thing to know that Mingyu is in Haenam when he’s supposed to be overseas.
It’s another thing to see his usual overnight bag at the foot of your unmade bed, making you realize that he definitely came here much earlier than you anticipated.
Mingyu is currently in the kitchen, helping your mother out with lunch prep while she insists that you get some sleep first. Though the trains that led to the southern provinces were designed to be more comfortable than the ones contained in Seoul, nothing defeats the comfort of your old childhood bed.
Except when you’re made aware of the fact that your ex-boyfriend probably slept in it after making the trip all the way here.
The sheets even smell like him. A hint of that expensive fragrance he never seems to get tired of laces your pillows, and warmth rushes to your face when you realize you’re breathing it in a bit too much.
So what if Mingyu slept here, right? Your parents’ house doesn’t have a guest room, and this was probably the only room available.
Oh, and in your family’s eyes, Mingyu is still your boyfriend. There shouldn’t be anything weird about your boyfriend, who went out of his way to quote-unquote surprise you, sleeping in your room, on your bed, without your knowledge.
And there definitely isn’t an issue with having to sleep next to him on said bed come nightfall.
You totally got this.
An attempt to dissuade all these intrusive thoughts is made as you unload the contents of your luggage into your old cabinet. It works for a while because all the old clothes you still kept tickled some memories from way back in high school, when becoming a vet was nothing but a pipe dream you came up with after Namja became sick on the day of his first birthday.
In fact, as you look around further, you’re reminded of just how much time has passed since you moved out. The paint on the walls is starting to chip, and the floorboards creakier than you remember. Even the bed that was too spacious for your liking seems to shrink when you imagine Mingyu sprawled all over it with a blanket thrown over his large form.
But when you recall how you two somehow made the sleeping arrangement work last Christmas, you figure that there isn’t much to worry about.
Aside from the fact that you’re not together anymore. Fuck.
“Hey. Are you awake?”
You jolt at the sound of a soft voice coming from the door. Mingyu’s handsome face peeks from the crack before he opens it all the way, lips pressed together in a hesitant smile.
“Your mom asked if I could fetch your father at the pier in a few,” he says. “Do you want to come with me or do you want to get some sleep first?”
“Do I want to—” you cut yourself off, throwing your hands up in disbelief. “Mingyu, what I want is for you to explain what you’re doing here.”
He cranes his head. “You said you needed help.”
“Yeah, but I was going to be honest about the breakup anyway!” you whisper, not wanting to attract unwanted attention from outside. God knows this house has paper-thin walls. “But then you’re suddenly here, cozying up to my family like we haven’t been ignoring each other for months already.”
“Hey, I’d never ignore you.” Mingyu pouts. “I even picked up when you called me at ass o’clock in the morning, remember? If someone’s ignoring anyone here, it’s you, sweetheart.”
You hate how you bristle at that little pet name. Mingyu doesn’t seem to notice how you react to it, so you steel yourself instead—refusing to give into his unintentional charms. “That’s not the point and you know it, Mingyu. You can’t blame me for reacting this way when you told me that you wouldn’t be able to help me out.”
“But I’m here, right? I thought you’d be a little happier to see me, but I might have been overestimating myself.”
You are. You are happy to see him.
But having to live with the knowledge that Mingyu is right here, close enough for you to touch, yet can’t because your relationship has long expired?
You weren’t ready for that. You don’t think you’ll ever be.
“Look,” he starts with a tone that’s meant to placate you, “you were right about not wanting to ruin the holidays with the breakup. I’m just here to help you out since you’re obviously not ready to break the news to your family. It’s not a big deal.”
You scowl at him. “Mingyu, it is a big deal. You are literally an idol with a packed fucking schedule. You can’t just play house with me here when you’re expected to be somewhere else.”
Mingyu shakes his head. “Listen to me first, okay? We were all given the weekend off because of Chuseok on short notice. You don’t have to worry about you unknowingly stealing me away from work because there is no work. Besides, I told you I’d still be here when you need me, right?”
How can he say all that with a straight face? Like he still thinks of you as anything but an old flame that’s long been snuffed out?
The problem with Mingyu is that he’s too earnest for his own good. Always wearing a spectrum of emotions on his sleeve. Always so honest about what he feels about certain things. It’s so fucking difficult to stand your ground against someone who’s nothing but forthcoming about every aspect of his life.
But it’s not like you could ever resist him to begin with, right?
“Fine,” you grumble. “Give me a few minutes to prep. I don’t want to go out in the docks wearing this many layers anyways.”
You hate how your chest warms when Mingyu’s eyes light up at that. Fight back, maybe?!
He looks like he’s about to say something when an abrupt knock disturbs the quiet atmosphere of your room. From how annoyingly long it lasts, you single out your younger brother as the perpetrator.
“You better not be making your firstborn in there,” Haneul drawls from the other side.
Mingyu flashes you a mischievous smile before cupping the sides of his hands over his mouth. “We might be making our second born for all you know.”
You won’t survive this weekend. You really won’t.
…
“Remember when we used to eat ice cream by the Han River?”
You flash Mingyu a perplexed look as you climb out of the car he used to drive all the way to your hometown. It’s a mystery how his manager allows him to go places with their company car with no supervision, but it’s not like Mingyu has done anything in the past to warrant that kind of surveillance anyway.
Besides, if he’s spending the entirety of Chuseok with a bunch of bodyguards lingering around your house, you might actually force him to go back to Seoul altogether.
“Why’d you bring it up?” you ask. “I thought you didn’t like those kinds of dates ‘cause you had to amp up the disguises and everything.”
Mingyu pockets the keys to the car before leaning against the metal railings installed along the pier. Your father is yet to show up at your rendezvous point, so you figure it wouldn’t do anyone harm to entertain Mingyu’s attempt at small talk.
“Hmm. While I did prefer just cuddling in the dorms and at your place, it always felt a little different whenever we went out together,” he muses, the wind tossing his hair around slightly before turning to look at you. “How about you? Do you have any favorite date of ours in particular?”
You sigh, unsure why he’s even asking you all of this. Yet you indulge him anyway with, “I don’t think it classifies as a ‘date’, but I kinda liked it whenever you hung out with me in the clinic while I tended to some patients. Even if your presence there is an occupational hazard in itself.”
He snickers to himself, and you know damn well he still remembers the flock of fangirls that ran into him in the waiting room when Mingyu paid you a visit out of boredom. Thankfully, they were the respectful kind, and promised not to divulge information about Mingyu’s whereabouts whenever they catch him at your clinic.
“The dogs are always happy to see me,” he chuckles. “The cats, not so much. Oh, but remember when someone brought in their pet snake? I think that one had a crush on me.”
You do, in fact, remember the day Mingyu got bitten by a boa constrictor named Yujin. Her owner is one of your regulars, since other vets in the city don’t have reptiles under their area of expertise. Yujin hasn’t bitten anyone since she first came for a checkup, so you figure that Mingyu must have done something pretty stupid to provoke the aggression.
“You better be glad constrictor bites aren’t venomous,” you point out with an airy laugh. “Not even a true love’s kiss can cure a venomous snake bite.”
“It can cure a handful of other things though.”
You turn to glance at Mingyu with a miffed look at his attempt at smooth-talk. He’s always been this way, so it doesn’t particularly faze you. But it still feels surreal to be talking with him right next to the open sea in your hometown as you both wait for your father to arrive.
“I never really got to ask,” you murmur, eyes still trained on a flock of seagulls huddling together near the docks. “How are you? You’re not burning yourself out again, are you?”
You don’t see it, but Mingyu smiles to himself. “It’s in our job description to push ourselves past the limit, you know. But…honestly? It’s been pretty lonely.”
You make a face at that. “Lonely? You’re literally with twelve other guys, like, eighty percent of the time. How does it ever get lonely?”
Mingyu hums before leaning further over the railing. He looks up at the clear blue sky, breathing deeply with his eyes closed, and for a moment, you’re a bit taken aback by how breathtaking he looks under the spill of morning sunlight.
“You can still get lonely in the middle of all the noise,” he murmurs. “That’s why I was kind of glad I got to go back here for a while. I know I said I meant to help you out, but there might’ve been some selfish reasoning behind the choice, too.”
Your gaze softens at his words. Mingyu is one of the most intensely passionate members of their group, so it’s not hard to believe that he’s also one of those that ends up feeling this way. You remember having a similar conversation with him during a quiet night in your apartment, limbs tangled together under the sheets as he wonders if your lives would be different if he wasn’t an idol.
But of course, it’s your job to remind him that, even if it could become exhausting at times, he once dreamed of being where he is now.
“They probably miss you already,” you say. “Don’t you guys usually film content for Chuseok?”
“Yeah, but all of that’s prerecorded. They’re all with their families right now, too.”
“Really? What are you doing here then?” you tease.
Mingyu tilts his head to the side, lips curved into a lopsided smile that reminds you how it felt to catch feelings for him the first time.
“Who ever said you aren’t family?”
Unfair. He’s being so fucking unfair right now.
But you can’t even think about pushing him into the sea because your father has already made his entrance, waving at the two of you despite his hands being full of fishing paraphernalia.
He sulks about how it took you so long to go back home, and you had to explain that things have been extra hectic at your clinic, especially when you inevitably earned the reputation of being ‘SEVENTEEN Mingyu and Seungkwan’s trusted veterinarian’ despite neither of them having dropped by since the breakup.
You don’t tell them that last part though. The last thing you need is for Mingyu to have something to gloat about.
“It’s a miracle how those nasty paparazzi folks from Dispatch haven’t caught on yet,” your dad says before climbing into the backseat of Mingyu’s company car. “Unless you’re already in cahoots with them? Remember, Kim Mingyu, leave my daughter out of any celebrity gossip! She’s already built a good name for herself.”
A throaty laugh rumbles in Mingyu’s chest as he pulls out into the street. “You don’t have to worry about that, sir. Protecting her has always been my top priority.”
Your father nods, seemingly pleased with his response. “Damn straight.”
You don’t express any outward reaction to what Mingyu just told your dad, but you don’t resist when he reaches for your hand over the center console.
The moment you he squeezes your fingers, you squeeze back.
…
The rest of the day is packed with preparing lunch and dinner options for your other relatives in town. Having Mingyu on board is an undeniable asset, since the man knows his way around the kitchen even better than you do. It’s a little endearing to think that, even if it’s the first time he’s meeting your aunts and uncles and cousins, his personality makes him fit right in.
Turns out, one of your cousins’ daughters is a huge fan, and she couldn’t believe her eyes when she saw Kim Mingyu smoking fish in the backyard of your parents’ house. She made him promise to sign one of her photocards before they leave—a request that your ex is all too happy to oblige.
By dinnertime, most of the guests have already left, and it’s just you, Mingyu, and Haneul sharing the rice wine Mingyu brought for the occasion, with your parents having already retired for the night. You didn’t even tell him that your Mom wanted another taste of it, yet he delivered anyway.
“How are you guys doing it?” Haneul whines, a bit red in the face since he’s already had a few beers before your cousins all left. “When my ex-girlfriend moved to another city, it only took two weeks for us to break up. Long distance is the bane of everyone’s existence.”
“Everyone but ours,” Mingyu says before clinking his glass with yours. “You just have to communicate with each other constantly. If you’re honest about everything both of you are feeling, then it’ll be easier to work things out together.”
It’s so easy for him to say these kinds of things. As if your relationship didn’t go to ruin because of the long distance that always kept the two of you apart. You feel a bit bad for having Mingyu lie to your brother right in his face, but you tell yourself that you’re already here anyway.
You’ll just have to fake it until you make it.
“But what if the other party doesn’t want to talk about it?” Haneul sighs, tracing the rim of his own glass with his finger. “I wanted to make it work. I really did. But she… She didn’t even want to try anymore. Lost faith in us so quickly, I could hardly believe she even loved me.”
You know Haneul is just drunkenly rambling about his grievances with his ex. He called you about it a few years ago, long before you even met Mingyu, and you consoled him by saying that his ex-girlfriend never deserved his love in the first place.
But even if you know the circumstances that led to your split with Mingyu are completely different, you can’t help but find similarities between the stories.
You broke up with Mingyu on the first day of spring. When the snow was just beginning to thaw, and the wind started to bring in a warmer climate. They’d just gone back from tour, and you know you’re not the only one feeling the tightly-wound strings of your relationship beginning to fray at the seams.
“I’ve been thinking about it for a while now, but I don’t think we’re going to work, Gyu,” you murmured, not having the guts to meet his eyes. “I think it’s best if we just focused on our careers.”
You thought he’d throw a fit. Or at least ask you a bunch of questions. Did he do something wrong? Is he not enough? Yet Mingyu simply flashed you a sad smile before nodding right back at you.
“Okay,” he said with a kind of resignation that breaks your heart to hear. “Thank you for being with me all this time.”
In the present, Mingyu shifts beside you on the table—abruptly startling you out of that impromptu trip down memory lane.
“Then, you’ll just have to take it in stride, Haneul-ah,” he murmurs before throwing back the rest of his drink. Mingyu manages a tight-lipped smile that pains you to look at. “If you really love her, you’ll respect whatever choice she’s come to make in the end. Even if that choice doesn’t involve you anymore. Even if it hurts to see her walk away after everything you’ve built together.”
When Mingyu turns to look at you, you feel like there’s cotton sticking to the roof of your mouth.
“It’s a good thing I never have to experience that with your sister, though. She loves me too much to let me go.”
Haneul huffs from across the table before rising to his feet. “You two are so in love it’s actually disgusting. You know what, let’s just go to sleep.”
Half an hour later, you find yourself standing in the middle of your bedroom as Mingyu gets ready to sleep. He seems to be talking to someone on the phone inside your bathroom, but you purposely decide not to listen in. It was probably his manager or one of the other boys checking in on him.
You don’t wait for him to finish when you climb under the sheets, leaving enough space for him to occupy on the mattress, should he decide to share it with you tonight. There’s also an extra blanket folded on his side of the bed, since Mingyu’s a notorious blanket hogger, and you’d rather not wrestle that six-foot hunk of muscle for warmth.
Mingyu takes so long on that phone call of his that by the time he finishes, you’re already fast asleep, curled up while facing the wall so you wouldn’t have to face him. He chuckles, lingering just a few seconds longer by the doorframe of the bathroom. How long has it been since he’s last seen your face under the peaceful guise of slumber?
It’s been too long, and he isn’t about to pass up on the opportunity to commit the sight into memory.
…
Sometime in the middle of the night, you’re rudely roused by the sudden drop in temperature.
It’s only the beginning of autumn, but you noticed that it’s a lot colder than usual. Even if you already have a cozy blanket draped right on top of you. You sigh, shifting on the bed to get more comfortable before realizing that you’re not exactly alone.
Much like yourself, Mingyu is blinking out the drowsiness in his eyes as he turns to look at you with a question in his sleepy gaze. You shake your head in a wordless attempt to tell him not to worry.
“You’ve been tossing and turning for thirty minutes now,” he says, and hearing his throaty voice in person doesn’t even compare to that phone call you shared a week ago. “What’s wrong?”
You sigh. “It’s cold, and it isn’t even winter yet.”
He looks at you for a while, as if thinking of what to say before he reaches out for you and tugs you into his arms. Even if you’re practically half-asleep, the sudden action kickstarts your brain into motion, and you struggle against his grip all while whispering, “What the hell are you doing?!”
“You told me back then I’m as good as a furnace on cold days,” he mumbles as he tucks you into his chest—making you hyper aware of every ridge of his toned chest through his shirt. “If it bothers you so much, just think of it as a favor from one friend to another. How’s that sound?”
Friend. You know that’s all that Mingyu is to you these days, and all you are to him, but even in this drowsy haze you’re in, the word still feels like an insult. A word meant to scorn the time you’ve spent as lovers.
Just thinking about Mingyu as a friend leaves a bitter taste in your mouth, so instead of answering him, you cave and burrow yourself into his warmth—something that he seems pleased with, if the satisfied sound that rumbles in his chest is anything to go by.
He holds you in his arms the same way he did last Christmas, but there’s an unfamiliar sense of possessiveness sinking uncomfortably in the pit of your stomach. You know you shouldn’t think of what he’s doing as anything but a favor between friends. You’re perfectly aware that, as the person who officially ended things between the both of you, you have no right to yearn for something you already gave up on.
But when Mingyu tilts your head up so you can meet his sleepy eyes, you don’t even put up a fight when he presses his lips to yours.
It doesn’t seem like he planned on doing anything beyond that. In fact, you don’t think he meant to do it at all. Just a heat-of-the-moment decision that the two of you could just forget about come morning.
However, the moment he starts to pull away, you force a hand across the back of his head, crushing your lips back together as you hook one of your thighs across his hips. Mingyu groans into the kiss, large hands migrating to your waist as he reciprocates your newfound hunger like you knew he would. His touch leaves trails of fire tingling across your skin, and every time his canines graze your bottom lip, you quietly moan into his mouth.
This is stupid. You’re both being incredibly stupid. The walls are anything but soundproof, and your parents are sleeping just across the hall.
Yet you can’t bring yourself to care. Not when Mingyu is making your body remember what it feels like to have him all over you like this.
You missed him. His heat. His touch. His kiss. Everything. You missed him so much that it hurts. You missed him so much that when Mingyu’s fingers start to glide along the exposed flesh of your thighs, you detach your lips from his before pushing him away.
You missed Kim Mingyu with the intensity of a dying star collapsing in on itself, of black holes tearing through reality, but this isn’t how you should go about it.
“Let’s…” you whisper, not quite trusting your voice to carry out your message. “Let’s just sleep.”
Mingyu doesn’t argue. He rarely does. But neither do you when he tugs you back in the caging embrace of his warmth.
For the first time in weeks, you find yourself drifting off into undisturbed slumber.
…
The next morning, you’re set to go back to Seoul, and by some stroke of luck, so is Mingyu. Still, the two of you decide to stick around until lunch time—neither of you breathing a word about what just happened last night.
But while Mingyu starts to load both of your things into the trunk of his car, your mother asks you for a favor at the last minute.
“Can you bring Namja along with you back to the city?” she asks. “He’s been really listless before you and Mingyu arrived. Your father and I were starting to get worried, and figured you might have to do a check up first.”
You raise an eyebrow at her claim, not really noticing anything amiss about your retriever’s health, aside from the usual signs of age. He’s ten years old, turning eleven this year, so it isn’t such a mystery to see that Namja isn’t as hyperactive as he was as a puppy. But then again, your mother has spot-on intuition about all the strangest things, so you indulge her request in the end.
Besides, having a pet of your own to keep you company doesn’t sound so bad.
Fortunately, Mingyu is more than hospitable when you ask if you could bring Namja along for the ride—promising that he’s car-trained, and won’t make a mess as long as you pull over from time to time. In fact, your ex seems more elated with the idea of your goldie joining the road trip than you are.
“I can come visit Namja in Seoul whenever I want now, right?” he asks with a soft laugh, and you wanted to reply with, Yeah, if you aren’t always so far away, that is, but choose not to.
The two of you take shifts in driving as usual. Whoever isn’t behind the wheel is in charge of entertaining Namja in the backseat so he wouldn’t end up whining for attention the whole drive back. It’s a setup that you’re pretty okay with, since it minimizes any sort of window for you and Mingyu to have a conversation. God knows you’re not exactly ready to talk about…whatever happened last night.
So instead, you ask him about a bunch of trivial things so he doesn’t get any ideas.
“You sure your manager is okay with you returning the car while it reeks of Namja?” you laugh before switching lanes on the freeway. “He might not take the news that he sheds very lightly.”
Mingyu chuckles before scratching behind Namja’s ears. “I promised I’d have it cleaned before I returned it to the office building. Don’t worry about it.”
“Hm. Whatever you say.”
By your third stop-over, you decide to give Namja some food and water while Mingyu gets takeout for the both of you at a nearby fast food chain. You stretch out your limbs while your retriever happily laps from his water bowl, wondering how much longer it’s going to take before you reach Seoul.
Before you have to part ways with Mingyu again.
You’re startled out of your train of thought when you see Mingyu practically sprinting back to the car, his sunglasses nearly falling off the bridge of his nose. Namja glances up at him quizzically, and you have to stifle a laugh.
“Yeah, a bunch of fans spotted me in line, so we might have to get food back in the city instead,” he explains hurriedly as he helps tidy up Namja’s food and water bowls. “Let’s go. I’ll drive.”
After his meal, Namja is sated and sleepy—content with resting his head on your thigh as you watch the streetlights blur past the windows. Mingyu is a much faster driver than you are, so he’s able to cut the travel time shorter than it would have been had it been you behind the wheel. But the lack of anything to do has you quietly staring at Mingyu from the backseat while his eyes are glued to the road.
You can’t help but let your gaze linger on his strong arms, and the fact that you were tucked safely between them the night prior. But that’s your first mistake because now, you’re thinking about those desperate kisses you shared in the privacy of your room. Touching each other like you both feared the other would disappear if you didn’t pull them close enough.
You shake your head. No. This isn’t how friends should think about each other.
Whatever happened back in Haenam, you’re just going to have to leave it there.
It’s already past eight in the evening when Mingyu eases the car into your neighborhood, and you try not to think much of the fact that he still knows where you live.
“Guess that concludes our weekend getaway,” Mingyu says the moment he finishes helping you carry your stuff back inside your apartment. “Though it seems that someone’s getting pretty cozy really quickly.”
Namja is already familiarizing himself with his new home, wandering around the living room all while sniffing everything in his path. You stifle a soft laugh.
“Yeah. I guess it is,” you murmur before managing a kind smile. “Thanks for having my back, Mingyu. It…means a lot. Really, it does.”
He laughs softly, eyes trailing around the living room with a curiosity that isn’t so different from Namja’s. “You have your first boyfriend with you now. I can rest easy knowing you’re in good company.”
Your face flushes at the thought that Mingyu still remembers the reasoning behind Namja’s namesake. Namjachingu. When he was still a puppy, you said Namja was your first boyfriend, and that you didn’t need anyone else.
He lived up to his title for years, too—always acting hostile around past boyfriends that you did end up bringing to your parents’ house despite coming from a friendly breed. The only boyfriend that your first boyfriend seemed to approve of is the man standing right in front of you, just when you thought you would never see him again within the four corners of your house.
“You know,” Mingyu begins, hesitation crossing his face for a split second before he meets your eyes. “My family’s in Seoul for Chuseok, too. I told Minseo to bring Bobpul and Baptori, and you might want to schedule a little playdate between my kids and yours.”
You raise an eyebrow. “Where’s Aji?”
“Too old to travel around,” he chuckles. “But I’m sure the other two can keep Namja company just fine. Join us tomorrow for dinner. What do you say?”
You hesitate. This should’ve been where you drew the line. Mingyu has already helped you out of your initial predicament. You really shouldn’t create any more problems for yourself by joining his family for a late Chuseok dinner. In fact…
“What, you haven’t told your family that we split either?” you ask, half-jokingly, half-seriously.
“No, they know.” Mingyu shakes his head. “But they’ve always liked you too, so I see no harm in getting everyone to hang out in one place.”
You shoot him a pointed look. “You know this is just going to make things more complicated, right?”
When he flashes you that toothy grin, you already know that this is a losing battle.
“It does, but it’s still going to be fun,” he says. “So, are you coming?”
Sometimes, you wish you never met Mingyu at all. Maybe your life wouldn’t be so fucking difficult.
“Fine.”
…
The next day, you bring Namja to the clinic, and Chae is more than happy to see the brand new addition to the workforce. But while she’s giving your goldie more pets than he probably deserves, you ask if you have any clients coming this morning that called in advance.
“Oh, there’s this one guy who’s bringing in a maltese today,” she says, laughing a little when Namja whines at the fact that her attention is divided. “I think his name was… Seungkwan? Something like that. He has some records from last year, but he hasn’t been back since.”
Seungkwan’s coming today? Huh. Talk about coincidence.
You tell Chae about how Seungkwan and Mingyu belong to the same group, and your receptionist is adept enough to catch on to what you’re trying to say. She’s all too quick to suggest plans on how to mitigate the fans from flocking the entrance to the clinic, like that one time when Mingyu was too lax in disguising himself from anyone who could recognize him.
But when Seungkwan arrives at your door, you remember that he’s one of the members that doesn’t particularly like being crowded by people, even if they are his fans.
He’s dressed discreetly—dark shades, a beanie, and a black face mask—while carrying an adorable pet carrier that’s probably worth half your monthly salary. Seungkwan is so straight-to-the-point with carrying out his business with you, that it’s hard to believe you and him used to joke around like old friends a year ago.
But for some reason, when Chae excuses herself to answer a phone call, the façade he puts up falls apart in seconds.
“Noona, you have no idea how much I missed you!” he wails before throwing his arms around you. “Other vets just don’t cut it for Bookkeu! They’re always either too mean or too lax with her. You handled her just right today. Can’t believe Mingyu-hyung always calls you her worst enemy.”
You chuckle before patting his back, and Seungkwan pulls away with a pout on his face. “Hey, you guys are the ones who ghosted me after Mingyu and I broke up. You’re always welcome to come back to have your pets checked—non-showbiz girlfriend or not.”
“That hyung of mine is stupid,” Seungkwan scoffs as he scoops Bookkeu into his arms. “Well, you’re kind of the same way, but I can’t exactly call you stupid or you might take it out on Bookkeu—”
“I would do no such thing, Seungkwan-ah,” you complain.
“Okay, it’s just my personal opinion that maybe you two didn’t have to split up at all,” he huffs. “Mingyu-hyung has become more and more listless since you broke up with him. He might look like his usual self on camera, but when we’re not recording anything? He’s always so lost in thought! It gets on Coups-hyung’s nerves sometimes.”
Listless, huh…
Your mother said the exact same thing about Namja. Speaking of, your gaze drifts over to your goldie who’s staring outside the door to your clinic, like he’s waiting for Chae to come back and shower him with attention again.
Is Seungkwan insinuating that he and Mingyu aren’t so different?
“Maybe he’s just going through a blue period,” you suggest before writing up a prescription for the vitamins that Bookkeu will have to take for the next two weeks. “It’s been so long since we broke up. I doubt he’s acting that way because of me.”
Seungkwan breathes in deeply, like he’s just barely able to contain the urge to slap some sense into you. “Noona, listen to me. Kim Mingyu is catastrophically in love with you. When you called that night when we were sharing a hotel room in New York, it was the first time I saw him look so genuinely happy for reasons that aren’t related to our music. But that hyung of mine is too selfless for his own good.”
You startle a bit when he suddenly lifts Bookkeu closer to you and points her adorable face in your line of sight.
“He wants you back, but he’ll never admit it, especially when you made your choice clear all those months ago,” Seungkwan says before pushing his maltese even closer to you. “But now, something tells me that you’re still hung up on him, just as much as he’s hung up on you—if all the things he told me about your trip to Haenam are true, that is.”
Huh. That time he took so long in the bathroom… He must’ve been talking to Seungkwan.
“Okay, but why does it feel like you’re using Bookkeu to threaten me into doing something?” You laugh softly. “Seungkwan, our time is up. And it’s not something we can just take back whenever we feel like it.”
“Wh—! Don’t you think things are only that way because both of you are making it more complicated than it should be?” He sighs, exasperated. “Also, yes I am using Bookkeu to threaten you. Promise that you’ll at least talk to Mingyu-hyung about this? We can’t stand seeing him so out of it anymore. Come on, you can’t resist those cute puppy eyes, right?”
You sigh, half-considering pointing out that Bookkeu is, by no means, a puppy anymore, but then again, you still call Namja that despite being more than a decade old.
“Alright, alright,” you relent. “I’m meeting his family tonight for dinner anyways. Might as well clear the air.”
Seungkwan gasps, a comical expression rooting itself on his face. “See! You’re having dinner with his family, too?! If you’re not back together by the time we fly back to the U.S., I'm never talking to either of you ever again.”
Now, it’s your turn to pout. “Who are you going to go to for Bookkeu’s check-ups then?”
He opens his mouth, closes it, then opens it again before letting out a petulant huff. You can’t help the snicker that bubbles in your chest as Seungkwan tilts his chin up with indignance.
“Point taken,” he says before narrowing his eyes and pointing his index finger at you. “But I’m expecting Kim Mingyu to come back to the dorms later, happy and not heartbroken. Okay?”
You raise your hands before handing him your written prescription. “No promises.”
When Chae returns inside the clinic, you physically have to hold Namja down just so she can give Seungkwan a receipt for today’s visit. Your mother was right, he definitely was growing lonely back in Haenam. You haven’t seen him this excited in years.
Seungkwan bids you another, more formal goodbye, now that you're not alone anymore. He doesn’t need to reiterate what he asked of you out loud—the look in his eyes is already telling enough.
Given that today is a bit of a slow day, you decide to run a few diagnostic tests on Namja just to confirm whether or not he’s silently carrying some sort of disease. But all his results came out normal, except for a clinically insignificant but still noticeable increase in his body sodium levels. Might have to cut down the treats for a few days.
Otherwise, he’s happy and healthy ten—going eleven—years into his lifespan. The reason for his lethargy back home must have something to do with innate loneliness after all.
Then you remember what Seungkwan told you about Mingyu. How he hasn’t really been himself since the breakup. You never really felt that during your time together in your hometown. He’s still the effortless charmer that you once fell in love with. The big softie that can get along with anyone and everyone, given the right circumstances.
Mingyu has always been a people pleaser. The last thing he wants to do is inconvenience others. So it’s kind of hard to believe that he’s been so out of it that even Seungcheol is starting to get pissed with his behavior.
The sound of Namja barking jolts you out of your thoughts before your goldie pads over to where you’re seated behind your desk, whining as he nuzzles your hands as if he knows you’re thinking a bit too hard about something distressful. You let out a quiet laugh, scratching behind his ears just like you know he likes.
“I wonder what I’m supposed to do,” you chuckle. “Maybe I should’ve been born as a dog instead. Thinking about all of this is giving me a headache.”
Namja growls before barking again. Like he doesn’t approve of the idea of not having you as his fur parent. You let out another laugh that’s a lot less quiet before you decide to pull out your phone and shoot Mingyu a text.
Are you picking me up later or not?
…
Dinner with Mingyu’s family is splendid
The outdoor restaurant his mother booked in advance probably serves the best songpyeon you’ve ever tasted in your life. Add that to the fact that they accommodate pets in their alfresco area, this could easily be one of the next places you’ll take your own parents for a meal when you bring them to Seoul for a quick getaway.
Namja is a bit shy around other animals—a result of being around no one but your family for so long. But when Minseo introduces him to both Bobpul and Baptori at the same time, the two little rascals easily coaxed your senior citizen goldie out of his shell. Next thing you know, they’re running around the outdoor dining area like a bunch of energetic pups.
“Unnie, are you back together with this guy?” Minseo asks in the middle of dessert, pointing her spoon accusingly at Mingyu. “You can do so much better than him, though.”
Their father laughs at their youngest’s comment, and their mother rubs Mingyu’s back as if she agrees, yet still wishes to console her son regardless. Mingyu is simply scowling at his family for how quick they are to throw him under the bus.
“Shut up, you sound just like Seungkwan,” he whines.
“Well, we’re both right.”
You let out a laugh of your own before scooping some ice cream into your mouth. Then, tentatively, you say, “Don’t say that. Gyu wasn’t that terrible of a boyfriend, you know?”
“He’s always so busy though. Doesn’t even have time to come visit Bobpul and our other dogs anymore,” Minseo sulks. “He even missed my graduation! Can you believe it?”
Mingyu pouts. “I said I was sorry, didn’t I?”
She huffs. “Not sorry enough!”
“Well, for starters, even if he is ridiculously busy, he still makes sure to call me before he goes to bed after a particularly tough schedule,” you say. “He also answers my calls even if our time zones are different, and it’s an ungodly hour where he currently is. Then when he finally comes back to Korea, he’ll give a bunch of gifts that reminded him of me on his trip overseas.”
You don’t know what compelled you to do so, but the words just gush out naturally. It was a little difficult the first time Mingyu had to hop on a plane to some other country to film some content with the boys, but you eventually got used to it, and managed to make a couple work-arounds.
Now that you think about it, if you were so used to it, why’d you decide it was best for you to part ways when he got back from tour? It’s been so long that you don’t even know the logic behind the reasoning anymore. You just remember feeling like it was the best decision at the time. And you were right—your careers have definitely thrived even after the breakup.
As you continue telling Minseo and their parents about how much of a catch the eldest son of the Kim family really is, you fail to notice the way Mingyu’s eyes never leave you the entire time. Soft, with just a hint of yearning that you’ll only be able to notice if you knew what you were looking for.
“Ugh, fine,” Minseo huffs, and you don’t think she and Seungkwan are all that different from each other. “This is the first time I’ve seen a couple that’s broken up months ago talk about each other so fondly, still. You sure you two aren’t secretly dating again?”
“Minseo,” their mother scolds before flashing you an apologetic look. “I’m sorry about her. Minseo’s just been really snappy lately. Must be because she missed Mingyu here very much.”
She rolls her eyes. “As if I’ll miss that credit-grabbing punk. He didn’t even acknowledge me in his latest Instagram post!”
“Speaking of dating again,” their father interjects before taking a sip of his wine. “Minseo’s right about one thing at least. You and Mingyu still have chemistry after so long. What’s stopping you from getting back together again?”
At your side, Mingyu flashes his father a cautionary look. “Dad, that’s a really inappropriate question, don’t you think?”
“Oh, yes, of course. My apologies. This old man is really just…curious, so to speak.”
He bows his head slightly, and you make a little gesture that insists you took no offense. But the inquiry definitely made you think for a moment.
It’s like everyone you know completely supports the idea of you and Mingyu just burying the hatchet and rekindling your relationship. But didn’t they consider the logistics of it? You’re a full-time vet and Mingyu’s a full-time idol that travels out of Korea at least once a month. Though you’re a bit unsure of it now, that still played a part in why you called it quits in the first place.
Even when Mingyu took it upon himself to drive you and Namja back to your apartment, his father’s question still lingers in the back of your mind.
What’s stopping you from getting back together again?
The answer is pretty simple, but it’s not something you’re ready to face just yet.
It’s you. You’re the only one keeping yourselves from reigniting what you once thought was already lost. Your guilt. Your regrets. Your fears. You didn’t need a verbal confirmation to know that Mingyu would drop everything in a heartbeat if it meant you’ll take him back again. But as much as your friends joke about how you deserve better than Mingyu, you’re convinced it’s the other way around.
Mingyu deserves someone who can reciprocate the love he’s so willing to give tenfold. Someone who doesn’t flake out when he needs them most.
Someone who isn’t you.
When he pulls over a red light, he lets out a sigh as he checks the text messages that popped up on his phone. After a few scrolls he says, “Oh. Jeonghan-hyung texted about some party in Gangnam. Do you want to—”
“Gyu,” you whisper, eyes riveted on the busy street. “What are we doing?”
He blinks. “Celebrating Chuseok together?”
“But we’re friends right?” You laugh somewhat bitterly. “Friends don’t normally celebrate the entirety of their Chuseok weekend bonding with each other’s families. Friends don’t make out with each other in the middle of the night. And…”
You let out a shuddering sigh before adding, “Friends don’t look at each other the way you look at me.”
You can clearly hear the sound of his breath hitching even if you don’t turn to look at him. It seems like he was about to say something in return, but the stoplight turns green, and he’s back to pulling his focus on the road instead of you.
In the backseat, you can hear Namja whining—ever the empath, that one. You immediately feel him pawing against your seat, as if silently asking what’s wrong. Turning around, you give him a few reassuring pats, not wanting to get claw marks all over Mingyu’s borrowed car.
The two of you are completely silent as he walks you back to the front door of your apartment. You know he didn’t have to, yet he did anyway. How Mingyu of him.
When you finally muster the courage to look up at him and bid him good night, Mingyu grabs your wrist—forcing you to meet his desperate gaze.
“If I told you I wanted you back, would anything change? No, right?” he whispers, voice tinged with so much emotion, you can feel your own heart ache at the sound of it. “So I’m sorry if I’m being selfish for inviting you to every place I could think of. If I want to spend as much time with you as I can because I know I won’t ever get the chance to do so if I let this pass.”
When he presses your foreheads together, the look in his eyes is so smoldering, you can’t bear to look away. This is what a man that’s been yearning for you for months looks like, it seems.
And you don’t think you can keep resisting him for long.
“Before I get thrown back into that haywire of a schedule again,” he whispers, and you feel every breath fan across your skin, “can’t you at least let me have this? Let me have you?”
You don’t even know who it is that lunges in for the kiss. The next thing you know, Mingyu has you pressed up against your front door, devouring your lips where all your neighbors can see. But you don’t care. Not when he’s desperately holding your body flush against his as you reclaim what’s always been yours.
He whispers a bunch of things along the column of your neck as he loosens the strings holding your dress together from behind. Some sweet, some endearing, and others a touch too filthy for others to hear aloud. You stifle your little gasps when he wraps a strong arm around your waist, nudging your thighs apart with his knees so you can feel the hardness straining against his middle.
“It’s you,” he murmurs against your feverish skin, teeth grazing across your flesh ever-so lightly. “It’s always been you. And it will always be you.”
You know Mingyu is a good actor. But it’s so earth-shatteringly different to hear the raw desperation in his voice. How earnest he is in telling you just how much he still loves you without saying the words outright. You can only dream of being as honest with your true feelings as he is.
But tonight, you don’t think there’s anything wrong with letting yourself fall.
In the midst of your mounting desire for each other, though, a lone whine in the night snaps both you and Mingyu out of your newfound vigor. You nearly forgot about Namja, who’s impatiently waiting for either of you to open the front door so he can finally take a nap. You glance at Mingyu, and he glances right back, before the two of you burst out laughing like a couple of teenagers without a care in the world.
Once you’ve gotten your needy retriever settled outside, Mingyu practically tosses you on the bed the moment the door to your room clicks shut—all too eager to cage you between his arms as he continues where you left off.
The suit he wore tonight looked a bit too good on his frame, but now you want nothing more than to claw it off him. He chuckles, sensing your desperation as he shrugs off his coat and unbuttons his dress shirt along the way.
“I don’t remember you being this desperate for me, sweetheart,” he murmurs, leaning down to grasp your face as he strokes your heated skin with his thumb. “I can’t say I hate the development though.”
“Mingyu,” you whimper as you guide his thumb to your lips, suckling on it in a way that you know makes him lose his mind every time. “Please. I want you.”
It’s so easy to be honest with yourself. You wonder why you’ve struggled with doing that for so long, but then you remember that your brain is fogged with desire for the man that’s currently staring you down like he’s doing everything in his power not to fuck you into the mattress right away.
But at that moment, you throw all logic and caution in the wind in exchange for taking even more of Mingyu’s thick fingers into your mouth.
“So good for me,” he whispers when he sees you inch your knees apart to welcome him in between. The hand that’s not being fellated by your tongue finds its way to the apex of your thighs—cupping your clothed heat in a way that makes you moan around his fingers. “How badly do you want me, sweet thing?”
“So, so badly,” you manage to wrench out despite your mouth being full, rutting your hips to introduce some friction between your aching pussy and his hand. “Please, Gyu…”
When he’s satisfied, his free hand migrates to your thighs, spreading you further apart as he brings his lubricated fingers to your sopping core. There’s something so fucking hot in the way he just nudges your panties to the side—groaning when he finds you already soaked for him.
“You need something to stretch out this pretty little pussy, don’t you?” he murmurs into your ear, nipping at the lobe just the way you like it. “You want my fingers or my cock, babygirl? Better choose wisely.”
You want to say that you’re too fucking horny for foreplay, but also remember that each time you had sex with Mingyu in the past, the stretch of his massive cock can be quite uncomfortable if he doesn’t prep you. With how long it’s been since you’ve laid in bed together, you don’t want to rush into it without thinking of the consequences after.
So, you mewl, “Fingers first. Then your cock.”
Mingyu laughs—a deep, sexy sound—before planting a kiss on your nose. “That’s my girl.”
He carefully eases one digit into your hole, eyes never leaving your face as he gauges your reactions. Part of you wishes to tell him that he doesn’t have to worry so much. That you still trust him with your own body even after all this time. You don’t say anything aloud, but Mingyu seems to get the gist from the look in your eyes either way, surging forward so he can press his lips back onto yours as he loosens you up.
“You’re always so quick to get wet for me, baby,” he sighs, stifling the noise that escapes you when he slides in a second finger to test the resistance of your walls. “You’ve no idea how much I missed this. Missed you .”
“Gyu, I—” Your breath hitches once he curls his fingers just so, making your legs rise involuntarily off the mattress, but Mingyu pins one of your thighs down with his free hand.
“What was that?”
He’s teasing. He rarely ever does that. You shoot him a petulant look before taking his bottom lip between your teeth, tugging hard enough to coax a groan out of him.
“I missed you, too,” you whisper. “You’re the only one who can make me feel this good.”
A dozen emotions flit through Mingyu’s face in the span of a millisecond, but the one that remains is something not so different from longing. You hear him sigh a couple of words that you don’t quite catch before he’s taking his fingers out of your sopping cunt and pulling away from you. Just when you’re about to voice out a complaint, he starts undoing his trousers, kicking them away to some uncharted part of your bedroom before working on the rest of his dress shirt.
Not-so-newsflash: your ex-boyfriend is still fucking hot.
But he doesn’t seem to notice the way you’re reacting to the sultry way in which he peels his clothes off—dark eyes still trained on your pliant form on the bed. As Mingyu palms himself through his boxers, you can’t help but press your thighs together in anticipation of what’s to come.
There was a time when he railed you so good, you legitimately couldn’t walk straight the next day. You wonder if he plans on reenacting the whole thing tonight.
“Let’s get you out of that dress, sweetheart,” he breathes before gently guiding you back into a seated position, tugging at the hem of your dress before tossing it to the side.
You feel your cheeks warm when he stares at the underwear set you have on tonight. Plain cotton panties and plain cotton bra. In your defense, you really didn’t expect to get laid tonight.
“Doesn’t matter,” Mingyu chuckles. It’s either he can read minds or he still knows you well enough to figure out what you’re thinking. “I’m taking everything off anyways.”
As he makes quick work of what’s left of your clothing, you distantly remember the last conversation you had with Seungkwan. How you told him you’d ‘clear the air’ with Mingyu right after having dinner with his family.
You’re pretty sure what you’re doing right now is only blurring the lines even more, but you don’t really fucking care right now.
You let out a hushed moan when Mingyu latches his mouth onto your nipple, massaging your other breast as he swirls the appendage across your sensitive skin. His free arm snakes itself behind the curve of your waist, pressing you against his firm body while rutting his hips against the bed.
He’s just as desperate for you as you are for him, and it fills you with a heady sort of hunger that only Mingyu can alleviate.
“Can I?” he whispers.
You feel his teeth graze across the skin of your chest, making your toes curl with anticipation. It’s been a while, but you can’t easily forget how much of a biter Mingyu is in bed. He loves leaving his marks on your body, and even if you always complain about how hard it is to cover them up, you let him do as he pleases every single time.
“Yes,” you whimper, rubbing your bare pussy against the ridge of his abs. “Do whatever you want with me, Gyu.”
The sound you let out once he finally bites down is caught between a yelp and a moan, your fingers threading across his hair as he suckles on your skin. He’s such a talker in bed, too—whispering all sorts of endearments that are too soft for you to hear, but add fuel to your growing desire regardless.
“So fucking pretty,” he says once he detaches himself from your breasts and marvels at his own work. The fruit of his effort is yet to become visible, but he’s left enough angry red marks on your skin to guarantee the lovebites they’ll turn into come morning. “And it’s all for me.”
Lacing your fingers around his nape, you mold your lips together in another kiss, tongues dancing to the rhythm of your erratic heartbeat as you grind yourself against his toned stomach.
“Mingyu,” you whimper against his mouth—hot and heavy. “I need you inside me. Need to get stretched on your cock.”
He groans again, fisting your hair so that he can kiss you even deeper. As he busies you with his mind-numbing kisses, Mingyu gets rid of his boxers in a flash—positioning himself between your thighs. You nearly cry out when you feel the fat head of his cock sliding against your soaking slit. When he grazes your sensitive clit, you could’ve sworn tears started together in the corners of your eyes.
“Fuck, babygirl, so fucking wet for me,” he sighs as he lays you back down on the bed and eases your knees further apart.
You bite your lip at the sight of his cock, still as long and girthy as you remember. Mingyu pumps his length all while sliding the head across your cunt, but you let out another desperate mewl to just fuck you already.
“Shhh,” he says, leaning down to plant a chaste kiss on your forehead. “Let me take my time with you, sweetheart. I want you to commit all of this to memory. Gonna have you feeling me inside you for days.”
And you don’t doubt that. Kim Mingyu has a knack for making it hard for people to forget about him, and if he plans to fuck the shape of his cock into your pussy, who are you to complain?
When you feel his cock catch across your entrance, you genuinely wonder if it’s going to hurt. Mingyu’s attempt at foreplay was cut halfway through because he got distracted by his sudden desire to leave a trail of love bites all over your breasts. But the thing about having sex with Mingyu is that your comfort is his top priority.
He would never do anything that he knows can hurt you.
“I’ll go slow, alright?” he whispers, and all you can manage is a nod. “Words, baby. You have to talk to me so I’ll know if you really want it.”
“Gyu,” you whine, arching your hips in a feeble attempt to get him to fuck into you. “I’m alright. Anything you do is alright with me, just— Please. Please fuck me full.”
He sighs, staring down like he doesn’t know what to do with you before finally, finally, you feel his dick breach your entrance—pushing inch by delicious inch inside you with restrained hunger. You fist the sheets at the familiar stretch, but it’s not so uncomfortable that the sensation burns. You’ve taken Mingyu’s cock dozens of times before, and it seems that your body still knows how to accommodate his ridiculous size.
“Pretty pussy’s happy to see me again,” he chuckles, his grip on your thighs tightening ever-so slightly. “Still made to fit me so snuggly. Did you miss my cock, sweet thing? I can feel you pulsing around me.”
“Yes,” you drawl. “Missed your cock so fucking much, Gyu. Fuck—”
You feel so hot, so full. It’s like Mingyu’s the only thing you’ve ever known—surrounding you in every direction until all that floats in your lust-addled mind are the letters of his name. Once he buries himself to the hilt, Mingyu doesn’t move right away, still so attentive to your reactions that even if you want nothing more than for him to rail you into the mattress, he won’t press forward until he’s sure you’re ready.
“Is it too much?” he whispers, tucking your hair behind your ear. “Do you need more time to get used to me?”
Something similar to a growl reverberates in your chest as you stare at Mingyu hard. “What I need is…for you to fuck me until I black out.”
Mingyu’s lips turn up into a grin as he shakes his head. “Baby, the last thing I want to be is some sex-deprived savage after we’ve been apart for so long. I don’t want to hurt you.”
Then, he leans forward on the bed again, bringing his lips right next to your ear.
“But I can still make you feel good.”
He prefaces the words with a powerful thrust that you don’t expect, splaying your thighs further until they’re flat against the mattress. The slide of his cock still feels so unbelievably good that even if the sudden stretch should’ve been uncomfortable, you’re too blindsided by the pleasure to notice.
Your eyes trail across the beautiful man above you as he fucks you in his favorite position. Mingyu has always had a thing for missionary—something about wanting to see your face as he wrecks you. You think you’re starting to share the same sentiment because not only do you get to see his fat cock slide in and out of your sopping cunt, but you can admire all of him at once, as well.
The exertion in those toned arms with every forward thrust. The conspicuous outline of his pecs. That toned fucking stomach. That gorgeous fucking face, so lost in the velvet heat of your pussy—
Why did you ever think letting someone like this go was a good idea?
“You’re going to laugh at me for this but,” Mingyu breathes, chuckling to himself. “I think I’m kinda close.”
You do laugh, but it’s quickly silenced when one of his fingers finds your clit, rubbing it in quick, precise circles like he hasn’t forgotten how to get you off after all this time.
“I am, too,” you tell him. “Cock so fucking good, you can make me come in minutes.”
Mingyu lets out another guttural noise as he presses your knees to your chest, throwing your legs over his shoulder with a look in his eyes that promises nothing but pleasure. Though his fingers have departed your puffy clit, the angle he has you bent in has his cock easily grazing your g-spot with every thrust—reducing you into a pathetic, mewling mess underneath him.
“Your pussy’s a fucking drug, babygirl,” he sighs. “Haven’t wanted anyone else after you.”
Even in your cock-drunk haze, those words bring forth some semblance of clarity within you. But it’s immediately snuffed out when Mingyu amps up the cadence of his thrusts, fucking into you with the intention of bringing you to completion at the same time he achieves it. Your eyes are screwed shut, fingers finding purchase across the ripping muscles of his back as you babble an incoherent mantra of yes, yes, so close, so fucking close, love how you fuck me, love how you make me feel full—
And then, it’s over—a white hot flash like stars bursting behind your eyelids. You curl into Mingyu’s embrace as your orgasm washes over you like a tidal wave, and he’s all too glad to help you ride it out, pistoning inside your spasming walls with a rhythm that’s starting to stagger.
“So goddamn tight,” he growls. “Where do you want my cum, sweetheart?”
You’re still too blissed out to give him a proper response, but from the way your legs tighten themselves around his waist, Mingyu figures that that’s the green light he needs to make a mess out of you. Mingyu sighs, burying his face in the crook of your neck before biting down—his cock twitching in the heat of your cunt as his release gushes into you in thick globs.
He comes so much that when Mingyu does pull out of your abused pussy, his essence trickles out of your hole as you do your best to catch your breath. The world is just starting to return to its normal axis in your vision, and the first thing that your eyes focus on is the sight of Mingyu smiling at you so fondly, it makes your heart hurt.
The look scares you. Like he’s about to say something that you don’t know how to respond to.
So instead of giving him any leeway for conversation, you tug him back down into a tongue-filled kiss, rubbing your ruined pussy across his still hard length as you mewl against his lips.
“More,” you whimper. “I need more, Gyu.”
And he’s all too happy to oblige.
Mingyu slides himself back inside you with an ease that wasn’t present earlier—your mixed arousal acting as a good enough lubricant to accommodate him. His erratic breathing as he fucks his cum deeper inside you only serves to turn you on even more, making another orgasm creep ever-so slightly beneath your skin.
“Babygirl can’t get enough of this cock, can you?” he sighs. “Seems to me like your pussy never wants me to leave.”
“Yes!” you hiss, moving your hips in time with his as you desperately claw at his back. “Love your cock so much, please—”
“Come for me again, sweet thing, I know you can do it.”
It’s unbelievable how a few choice words can get your body to submit to his whims without much thought. Unlike your first orgasm, the second one that Mingyu coaxes out of you singes through every functional nerve-ending in your body—sending you into a flurry of overstimulation that has you twitching under his touch.
Just when you thought Mingyu’s finally done with you, however, he suddenly flips you onto your stomach—pressing your chest against the mattress while your ass is high in the air. The sudden change in positions makes your head spin, but you’re too dazed to protest.
When you glance over your shoulder, he’s showing you that same smile you fell in love with a lifetime ago.
“You can give me a few more orgasms, right, baby?”
When he slides his still hard cock along your swollen cunt, you groan into the sheets—having momentarily forgotten that Mingyu’s stamina can go until morning. If you don’t stop him now, he might actually fuck you until you black out, despite his earlier refutal.
But honestly? You’re not against the idea. Not one bit.
…
When you wake up the following day, it’s to cold sheets and the startling clarity of Mingyu’s absence.
You never minded living alone. You’ve been doing it since your first year of college here in Seoul. You’re used to waking up with nothing but the silence of your room to keep you company.
Even when you eventually got together with Mingyu, lonely mornings have always been a staple, especially on days where he has early schedules. It fills you with a sinking feeling to see that he isn’t with you, but you’ve learned to take it in stride.
Besides…it’s not like you’re together anymore now.
This is what you wanted, right? For him to not treat…whatever this is as if it’s a relationship thing. The two of you were just heavily pent up, and caved into your mutual desires last night. There’s nothing more to it.
However, when you pad outside the bedroom after shrugging on a flimsy oversized shirt, the scent of pancakes and frying eggs fills your nose. When you see Namja sitting right next to a tall figure hunched over your stove, you can hardly believe your eyes.
He doesn’t notice you right away—too preoccupied with making the perfect breakfast to pick up on your presence. Namja, however, is more perceptive, glancing behind and perking up at the sight of you. He lets out an excited bark before skidding over to where you’re standing, and you crouch down to the floor so you can give him a tight hug.
“Oh, you’re awake!”
Mingyu faces you with a smile that’s nearly blinding in the morning light, a spatula in one hand and a kitchen mitt in the other. It’s the exact same scene that you’re greeted with during lazy weekends where he doesn’t have any work to do, and your chest twists yet again at the memory.
“Yeah, I am.” You smile, rubbing Namja’s belly when he sprawls himself on the floor. “What are you still doing here? Don’t you have to go back to New York tonight?”
“Yes, but it’s still morning,” he points out, and you roll your eyes.
A few minutes later, Mingyu starts to set the table while you wash your hands. He tells you about how Seungkwan doesn’t want to room with him anymore over breakfast because Mingyu takes so long to close the lights when he’s binging a new drama. You tell him to be more considerate of his roommates or they might just dropkick him off the hotel room balcony in his sleep.
When you help him put away the dishes, the sight is so…domestic, it gives you whiplash. Bumping shoulders, splashing water, stifling mutual laughter... Being with him like this, tucked in your own little pocket of happiness makes your heart soar in ways that not even mind-blowing sex can help you attain.
You pray that Mingyu doesn’t breathe a word about it, but of course things don’t always go your way.
Just when you’re about to turn around to give Namja her morning fix of dog food, you find yourself trapped between the sink and Mingyu’s arms—unable to escape the fondness in his eyes even if you tried.
“I think,” he whispers, “we can still make this work. You and me.”
You bite the inside of your cheek. “Gyu…”
You think so, too. With someone as understanding and compassionate as Mingyu, you know nothing’s impossible if you just quit being so stubborn. You were so afraid of him attempting to bring your relationship back to life last night, but…
Seeing him bathing under the sunlight in your kitchen after months of getting used to being alone again…
Maybe it isn’t so bad to let him back inside your heart.
“O-Of course, you don’t have to answer right away,” he says, turning red in the face. Cute. “You can tell me when I get back from New York. How’s that sound?”
You’re about to open your mouth to respond, but the moment is quickly shattered by the sound of Mingyu’s phone going off. He sighs, releasing you from the figurative cage of his arms as he leans against the sink right next to you—fishing his phone from his pocket before answering it in loudspeaker.
“Kim Mingyu, where the hell are you?!”
“Good morning to you, too, Seungkwan-ah,” he chuckles. “Why? What’s wrong? I told Jeonghan-hyung I won’t be coming back to the dorms until noon.”
“Well, Jeonghan-hyung must’ve forgotten to tell everyone else because the entire dorm panicked when we realized you didn’t make it home!” the younger man squawks. “We thought something bad happened! You weren’t answering your phone last night either!”
You and Mingyu exchanged knowing looks, and you have to stifle your laughter if you didn’t want to be on the receiving end of Seungkwan’s rage, too.
“Sorry about that, I was a little…busy,” Mingyu supplies.
“Well, whatever you’ve been ‘busy’ with, you better get your ass back here! Manager-hyung is looking for the car you borrowed, and if you don’t bring it back soon, he’s going to give all of us an earful.”
“Fine, fine. I’ll be back in thirty. Bye, Seungkwan.”
“Hey—!”
Mingyu ends the call with little remorse before letting out a long sigh. When his eyes dart back to yours, they flicker momentarily to your lips before he leans forward. You meet him halfway this time, pressing your mouths together in a firm kiss.
“I’ll be back,” he murmurs. “I hope you’ll still be willing to accommodate me when I do.”
Though it pains you, he peels himself away from your touch, leaning down to kiss Namja’s head as he gathers his coat in his arms. It just occurred to you that he’s been eating breakfast with you donned with the outfit he wore last night while you’re dressed in nothing but a loose, oversized shirt. The knowledge makes you blush a little.
When you hear Mingyu’s car drive away, you sigh, running your hands through your messy hair. Namja pads over to you, tail wagging as he anticipates another round of petting. Of course you indulge him.
“Kim Mingyu is such an idiot, isn’t he?” you tell your goldie, and you like to think the small huff he lets out means he’s agreeing with you. “Why wait until he comes back when I already have an answer for him?”
This time, Namja actually barks out loud, making you shake your head with a laugh.
You don’t mind waiting for Mingyu, really. He obviously doesn’t mind waiting for you. At this point, you’re at peace with the fact that you might still love him. Maybe, you never stopped loving him at all. Once he lands back in Korea and comes home to you, you promise yourself that you’ll definitely show him.
Again and again.
this is part of the doting on you! series.
#svthub#seventeen smut#seventeen fanfic#svt smut#svt fanfic#kim mingyu#seventeen mingyu#mingyu x reader#seventeen x reader#fake dating#mingyu smut#lovelyhan#full length fic 📚
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New Rules
Title: New Rules
Genre: basketballplayer!mingyu, collegestudent!reader, fakedating!au, fluff, angst, s2l, smut
Tags/Warnings: Cheating, heartbreak, gender neutral reader, slow burn, smut, creampie, unprotected :/, general arguments between the reader and some characters, alcohol drinking, hurt and comfort, 26k words
This is a part of a sports collaboration being hosted by @gyukult . Thank you so much for the opportunity to write this I seriously never would have come up with this idea and written this had it not been for this collab!
Summary:
Kim Mingyu is the star basketball player of your schools' team, and one of the most popular boys in your entire University. You’re just a college student with the best boyfriend in the world.
-
You stared at the lake in front of you, your eyebrows furrowing in concentration. You felt the breeze blow through the trees, and you shivered a little despite the warm fall sun beating down on you.
You weren’t cold for long, after only a moment warm arms wrapped around your body, tugging you close. You smiled, a giggle leaving your lips.
“Come on, I’m trying to enjoy the view while it lasts.”
“I’m not distracting you.”
A fleeting kiss was pressed to your cheek, which you tried to laugh off. You wiggled against him, trying to get out of his grasp but ended up being unsuccessful. You struggled a little more in his arms only to be spun towards him, pulled into a deep kiss.
You smiled against his lips.
“You’re stupid,” you mumbled.
“Shhh I’m trying to kiss you.”
You wished that days like this never ended. You wanted to stay like this until the end of time. You wanted to feel the sun on your skin and hold onto the love of your life. But you knew that you two couldn’t stay like this forever. You pulled away from him and looked at your boyfriend of five years.
“I never want this day to end.”
Donghyun looked at you like you were everything he had ever wanted in life.
“Me neither.”
You two stared at one another for a few moments before Donghyun finally sighed, pulling you close against his chest.
“But, unfortunately, we have to finish this hike and get home before it gets too dark out.”
A pout crossed your lips, but you knew he was right. You pulled away again and reached up to mess with his hair. He had dyed it blonde recently, at first you hadn’t thought it would look very good on him, but upon having it dyed for a while you had grown to like it. His hair was kind of long too, falling past his ears.
You reached over and tucked a few strands behind his ear. When you finally thought that his appearance was appeasing again you slid your hand into his and began to drag him forward.
“Are you ready to get back to school?” He asked. “I bet you miss Jaeyun and Rei.”
You smiled at the mention of your friends, but you decided to play it off coyly.
“Hm, I bet they miss me more,” you mumbled. A laughed erupted from Donghyun’s chest and you two’s hands swung between each other. “It’ll be nice to be back on a schedule. I miss going to classes and working.”
Again a laugh came from Donghyun.
“That’s what I love about you,” he said in awe. “You actually miss working. I would rather be here on vacation forever.”
He swung you around in front of him causing you to giggle and leaned in close to you, pressing a kiss to your lips.
“As long as you were here with me that is.”
You rolled your eyes.
Donghyun was a romantic. He had been for as long as you had known him, even if he wouldn’t admit it. While you tended to get lost in your studies and hardly messaged him, he was always planning extravagant evenings and telling you just how much he loved and needed you in his life.
Five years ago, relationships hadn’t been your thing. Now, you were happier than you had ever imagined you could be.
“You’re dumb Donghyun.”
He hummed, nodding in agreement.
“Maybe,” he mumbled. “I’m going to a party the day after we get back.”
“Quite the way to start the semester,” you teased. He rolled his eyes.
“You’re just jealous that’s all.”
“I’d rather be studying then stuffed between a bunch of stuffy college students who smell like weed and alcohol,” you said. Donghyun laughed again.
“You and your books,” he said affectionately. He took another look at the lake in front of you two and shook his head.
“I guess everything has to end at some point.”
-
“There you are,” Jaeyun said, shaking his head and crossing his arms over his chest. “Gone for a weekend and you still think you’re too good for us huh?”
“Not a single message or picture,” Rei agreed joining him by his side. A teasing pout crossed your lips.
“Aw did you guys miss me?” You whined teasingly. “How domestic.”
You laughed as they both rushed up to you, lightly hitting you with their fists.
“Okay! I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” you apologized. “I missed you guys too, but you know how I am.”
Both Rei and Jaeyun pulled away from you, their fake expressions of anger gone from their faces.
“I don’t suppose you are going to come to the party tonight as a formal apology?” Rei asked, raising her eyebrows suggestively. You rolled your eyes.
“Yeah, that’s plausible.”
Jaeyun groaned.
“You are no fun, Donghyun is going, and I bet he would love to have you there.”
You highly doubted that was true. Whenever you had been dragged to parties by Rei and Jaeyun they had all abandoned you, and Donghyun had just near pretended that you weren’t there. It was fine, he liked his time with his friends, and you didn’t blame him for that. You liked to have time away from him too and that was something that he respected you for.
“You guys will be fine without me,” you said with a roll of your eyes.
“Hm.”
Rei didn’t look to happy about that response, but Jaeyun was already done with the topic.
Jaeyun and Rei were your two best friends in the entire world. While Jaeyun was a tall boy who was constantly dying his hair different colors, Rei was a level-headed skater girl with shoulder length hair that was currently the same shade of purple as Jaeyun’s.
The two had tried to convince you to dye your hair too but in no universe were you willing to dye your hair purple.
Your schedule was pretty much the same every day. You went to classes, studied between, ate lunch with your friends and then went to work for the day. Your schedule was strict, but it made you feel like you had more control in your life. You didn’t like it when things happened that were out of your control.
Luckily for you, pretty much everyone in your life knew that and they were careful to make sure you stayed comfortable in your own skin.
When you got home from work and your phone went off you weren’t very amused. You had told your friends a million times that you didn’t want any part of their party, but when you saw the message from Jaeyun it was a little different then you were expecting.
Your boyfriend is wasted, you should come pick him up
You sighed; you didn’t often have to pick up Donghyun from parties. He was a pretty responsible drinker. So, you didn’t mind having to every once in a while.
You threw on some normal clothes and grabbed your keys, heading straight to the party.
There were too many people at the party for you to be able to find Rei or Jaeyun, much less Donghyun. You weaved through people for about ten minutes before finally you just started asking people if they had seen him.
“Donghyun? Is that him over there with Jennie?”
You could almost swear that time stopped when you turned around.
You had never had your heart broken before. You had the perfect life. The perfect grades, the perfect friends, the perfect boyfriend.
You had never really imagined what it would be like if Donghyun betrayed your trust because no part of you had imagined he was capable of it. He loved you. That was something that you believed undoubtedly. He gave you his time, his energy, he remembered the things about you that no one else remembered.
He hadn’t been bad to you. He never raised his voice or got angry with you. Everyone you had met had always been so jealous and Donghyun’s eyes had never even strayed from yours.
“How long do you think we are going to be together?” You whispered, burying your face in Donghyun’s chest. You couldn’t see his face, but you could feel his heart beating, and feel as he wrapped his arms around you, pulling you closer.
“Forever.”
You didn’t even realize that you were still looking at him until someone bumped into you. Then it was like the sight of what was before you finally set in. Donghyun had his arms wrapped around Jennie, his face hidden beneath hers.
The guy beside you laughed and nudged you in the side roughly.
“Yo, just wait until the person dating Donghyun sees this!”
He looked over at you, his smile faltering.
“Wait, aren’t you...?”
That was what snapped Donghyun into the present. You watched as he pulled away from Jennie, pulling her tighter against his body as their hips swayed together. He laughed victoriously to his friends, as if he had done something spectacular and no one around could really believe it.
And then his eyes met yours.
You stood in front of the mirror, frowning as you ran your hand down your shirt.
“Do you like this?” You asked. “I don’t kn-”
You interrupted yourself with a sigh. Who were you kidding? You hated how you looked in this outfit. It hardly flattered your figure and you felt like it made you look bigger than you really were-
“You look beautiful,” Donghyun said, coming up behind you and spinning you away from the mirror. He whistled and shook his head as he got a better look at you. “How on Earth did I get someone as beautiful as you?”
Your face flushed red, and you dropped your eyes from Donghyun’s.
“Shu-”
Before you could finish what you said, Donghyun had his fingers gripping your chin, turning your gaze back to his.
“Seriously. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone as beautiful as you.”
“Shit.”
You didn’t think you had ever seen Donghyun move faster. He scrambled to get himself unraveled from Jennie, his hands flying to his hair as if that would change the fact that her hands had been in it moments before.
“Shit babe, it’s not what it looks like.”
You didn’t move, you couldn’t think. You felt something salty seep between your lips. You sniffled and raised your hands to your face, wiping the tears over your cheeks.
You turned from Donghyun- You couldn’t look at him anymore. You felt yourself beginning to move through the crowd of people, moving faster as you heard him growing closer.
“Come on, don’t-” He bumped into someone. “Stop- Let me just explain-”
You didn’t respond, you just started running faster. You pushed past people, tears running down your cheeks so rapidly you couldn’t see. You had to be close to the door now, then all you had to do was get out of here and go home and-
You slammed into someone’s hard chest. You would have fallen but the person caught your wrist steadying you with a hearty laugh.
“Woah there, careful where you’re-”
You looked up and he stopped talking. It was a little hard to figure out who was standing there in front of you with all the tears in your eyes. All you could see was that he was tall, and his hair was dark, and his grip on you was tight.
“Are you...?”
Before he could finish Donghyun let out a sigh of relief.
“Thank god, look it’s not what it looked like-” You felt his hand touch your shoulder and it forced a sob from out of your lips. You pressed your lips together firmly and pushed yourself further into the guy that had caught you as you choked out the first words that you could muster:
“Leave me alone.”
Donghyun didn’t try to touch you again but you could hear his breathing nonetheless. He was close to you. He was too close to you.
“Come on, please let me just talk to you,” Donghyun pleaded. “I can explain everything.”
You didn’t respond. You didn’t trust your own voice. Honestly, you didn’t even trust your own mind. Had your eyes really seen Donghyun kissing Jennie? Surely not. They were just friends, and he had never given you any reason to suspect that he thought of her as anything else. You had trusted him.
But maybe that was the problem right there. You trusted him. Why weren’t you trusting him right now? Maybe he could explain it.
You sniffled and peeked from out of the strangers chest, risking a look at Donghyun. His eyes were red. He looked desperate for you to give him a chance. You could visibly see him breath in relief at having seen you.
“You were kissing Jennie,” you whispered, your voice broken. He nodded and held his hand out to you.
“Let me explain, let me explain,” he mumbled. “I love you more than anyone, you know that?”
Of course, you knew that Donghyun loved you. He had been with you the longest of anyone. He was your biggest supporter, always by your side. You loved him too. Without him you were nothing. You sniffled and nodded.
“You can explain?” You asked.
“I can explain,” he repeated. You started to pull yourself away from the person that you had run into but before you could make it very far, the grip on your forearm tightened.
“I know I should stay out of it but I don’t think that’s a very good idea.”
You looked up at the person. He looked so familiar, but your vision was still blurry.
“What the fuck dude, back off.”
That was odd. You looked over at Donghyun your eyes wide. You had never heard him address someone so angrily before. His eyes flitted towards you and it was like he could hear your thoughts. His expression softened.
“Babe, who are you going to listen to? Him?” He gestured towards the person that was holding you still. “Or me?”
He spread his arms out in such an inviting way. All you wanted right now was to hug him. Maybe if you did you would be able to pretend like this hadn’t happened. You could close your eyes and go back to the you that hadn’t seen him kissing Jennie.
“Hey.” You looked up at the boy who was holding you. He leaned in close to you so that you could feel his breath on your ear. “Cheaters never change.”
Your eyes flickered to Donghyun who was watching you two with large eyes.
“You can let him manipulate you into going back to him, and you can get your heartbroken or-” His other hand rose slowly to your waist. He was careful touching you, and to be completely honest it felt weird to have someone’s hand there with Donghyun standing so close to you. “You can kiss me, and let Donghyun get a little taste of his own medicine.”
You looked up at the man in front of you. God you really couldn’t shake how come he looked so familiar. You pursed your lips in concentration, trying to search his eyes for any indication of how you knew him. Instead, you found something else there.
You got to the tips of your toes and nodded.
“Okay.”
And before you could think about it you pressed your lips to his.
His lips tasted like beer, and he didn’t kiss anything like how Donghyun did. Having kissed Donghyun for so many years his lips were the only ones you knew so you weren’t really sure what you were doing with this guy. You felt like you were sloppy, and your eyebrows were scrunched in concentration.
Before you could think about it too much the person pulled away from you. He let you turn and look over at Donghyun who to your surprise didn’t look hurt. He looked angry.
“Cute,” he spat. His eyes looked to you. “Let’s go before you do something else stupid.”
You had never seen Donghyun look at you like that. You pressed your lips together uncertainly, and began to pull away from the boy you had just kissed. You cleared your throat, but before you could pull away you felt the guy beneath you tug you lightly. You looked back up at him.
“Date me.”
Your eyes widened.
“What?” You said at the same time as Donghyun said it. The confusion must have been extremely clear as the boy spun you so that his back was to Donghyun’s. He winked. Trust me, he mouthed.
You had never been able to imagine a life without Donghyun. Not since he had entered into yours. You two had planned each other’s futures together. Trusting Donghyun had gotten you here. Crying at a party because he had been kissing another girl. Trusting the person that made sense had gotten your heart broken.
It was time to do something dumb for a change.
“Donghyun,” you said, tearing your eyes away from the person in front of you. “We’re over.”
A laugh erupted from the stranger who... You supposed you needed to get to know now as he turned to Donghyun.
“Now I have an excuse to do this...” He tilted his head from side to side and stretched out his arms, cracking his hands. He shuffled you behind him, and as he took a step towards Donghyun a large number of boys around him rushed forward.
“Mingyu-”
“Bro-
“It’s not worth it-”
Their protests didn’t matter. He pulled his fist back and it collided with Donghyun’s face.
“Aren’t you worried that I’ll hurt you?”
The question caught you a little off guard. You rolled over in the bed to look at Donghyun. Despite the odd question you couldn’t see anything suspicious in his eyes.
“No,” you replied pointedly. He laughed his eyebrows scrunching slightly in thought.
“Why do you trust me that much?”
“Because you’re Donghyun, and you love me,” you replied confidently. Donghyun hummed in agreement.
“It’s true. You know me so well.”
After the party you didn’t see much of your new “boyfriend”. Everyone rushed to the two boys’ sides. Most of the people ran up to the person who had punched Donghyun. You didn’t stay around to see how it played out.
You didn’t really know how to feel. From Donghyun kissing Jennie, to a guy punching Donghyun for cheating on you... It had been too much.
You went home and you cried yourself to sleep.
The next day when you woke up you had almost forgotten about everything. You woke up and you got ready and you smiled at yourself and you looked to your phone to message Donghyun and...
You didn’t even want to leave.
But regardless you knew you had to.
You dragged yourself out of bed and to school.
“Hey!”
Rei and Jaeyun rushed over to you as soon as they saw you, concerned riddled across their faces.
“What are you doing at school? You should have stayed home today,” Jaeyun said. Rei nodded in agreement, brushing some of her hair out of her face.
“Seriously, your grades would be fine if you missed one day.”
You shrugged.
“I have a quiz today,” you mumbled. “Besides, it’s not like it’s a big deal or anything.”
That was a lie, it was a huge deal. You and Donghyun had spent five years of your life together. He was your first and only boyfriend. You had spent the better part of your life dedicated to him and him only.
How were you supposed to heal after having lost the one thing in your life that had stayed the same over five years.
A pang of hurt ran through your chest and you cleared your throat, feeling warm tears pricking at your eyes.
“Better now anyways. More time to study.”
“Stop pretending it’s not a big deal,” Jaeyun insisted. “It’s okay to be upset.”
“I’m not upset,” you said. “It’s better this way.”
Both Rei and Jaeyun stared at you snd you hated that look in their eyes. It was just pity. You loathed pity. Yeah you were a mess, yes you wanted no more than to curl up in a ball and cry and miss Donghyun but that didn’t mean you needed someone’s pity.
You were fully intent on telling them just that when suddenly, you were all interrupted.
“There they are; my beautiful partner.”
Your eyes widened as you were enveloped in the arms of a large man. He kissed your cheek cheerily and then placed his head over yours.
You were a little too surprise to react at first, and such a reaction must have been transparent as he leaned in close to your ear.
“You’re not really selling this fake relationship.”
You swallowed. You couldn’t believe that this was actually real. The party felt like it had been years ago at this point. You couldn’t believe that everything there had actually happened.
A flash of the night shot through your brain, but for once it wasn’t the memory of Donghyun kissing Jennie, it was of you kissing a stranger.
“I haven’t seen you since the party.”
You thought you sounded a little robotic but your friends eyes widened.
“Oh my god, you’re dating Mingyu?”
Your heart stopped.
“I’m dating...?”
You whipped around and your mouth literally dropped open.
The man standing behind you was none other than Kim Mingyu. You weren’t sure what to do or say, you just stared at him dumbly. He didn’t seem to be too bothered by your reaction, in fact he looked a little amused by it.
Kim Mingyu was one of the most popular boys at your University. He was a star player on the basketball team. Even people across the country knew his name. People from your high school would have paid thousands of dollars to be simply in the same room with him. Girls in other countries dreamed of being able to even brush shoulders with him.
You had only ever seen him before at a distance. That must have been why he seemed so familiar the night before. How had you not recognized Kim Mingyu?
A gasp left your mouth and you smacked your hand over it.
Oh my god, had you kissed Kim Mingyu?
You swallowed hard and tried to gain composure of yourself, hoping that your extremely obvious rapid change of emotions wasn’t too obvious.
“Yeah, Mingyu and I are dating,” you agreed. You figured that after that, frankly, embarrassing display you had to be really convincing to really sell it at this point. You turned back towards Mingyu and after hesitating for a good second you leaned up and pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth.
Part of you expected Mingyu to get mad at you at that. Maybe to make fun of you and say that you were an idiot for thinking that he would ever fake date you. But he didn’t say that. As you pulled away he leaned forward, his lips ghosting your ear.
“You’re not really selling it.”
You swallowed hard and turned to your friends.
“I’ll see you guys tomorrow, yeah?”
Rei and Jaeyun stared at you like they were seeing a completely different side of you.
“You’ve moved on already?” Rei blurted. You stared back at Rei and Jaeyun not really sure what to say to sell this. They knew you the best of anyone in the world. They knew better than anyone that there was no way you were over Donghyun and they knew that you would never date someone again so fast.
But they also knew that you didn’t lie and they probably thought that pretending to be in a relationship had no benefits to you.
And you had to use that to your advantage.
“It’s hard… To not be with Donghyun but Mingyu is really nice,” you glanced at him. He was looking at you with a curious look on his face. “I think that he’ll take care of me and be there for me while I heal.”
It was utter bullshit, but judging by the way that Rei and Jaeyun’s shoulders relaxed in relief you figured your lie was good enough.
“Well then Mingyu,” Jaeyun said, standing up to shake his hand. “If you break our friend’s heart… We’ll get some other basketball player to punch you in the face.”
Mingyu laughed, his whole body shaking with it.
“How about this: I’ll punch myself if that happens.”
-
“Okay, okay.”
You placed a hand against the door that you had just closed, breathing like you had just run a marathon.
“Oh my god.”
You looked up at him.
“You’re Kim Mingyu,” you said, your eyes wide. “You are the Kim Mingyu.”
He didn’t even look embarrassed. He just smiled, crossing his arms.
“Yeah.”
A squeak left your mouth.
“You kissed me,” you blurted. A near scream left your lips. “You punched Donghyun.”
“Is that his name?” He wrinkled his nose. “If I could I would have punched him again.”
Your eyes widened.
“Mingyu.”
He rolled his eyes.
“You sound like my friends...” He trailed off. “And my coach.”
You scoffed and looked at him.
“Why do you want me to fake date you?” You asked suddenly. That actually caught him off guard.
“Do I have to have a reason?” He asked. Everything he did made no sense to you. When a random person runs into you at a party you don’t get involved in their business. You don’t worry about their relationship drama or offer to kiss them for revenge or punch their ex.
He did need to have a reason. Everything you did had reasons. Everything that Donghyun had ever done had a reason.
Your heart stopped as you saw him again. At that party, Jennie’s brown hair brushing against his shoulder, their lips pressed together. Your eyes dropped to the ground.
“I guess not,” you mumbled.
MIngyu seemed to sense the sudden mood drop and he cleared his throat.
“I mean... It’ll be good for my image,” he said. “I’m sort of known as a wild child. Party all night, kiss random people, punch dudes at parties.”
You snorted.
“Sounds exactly like you.”
Mingyu grunted.
“That’s the point. I’m more likely to get scouted by the pros if I clean up my reputation,” he said. “And you seem...”
His eyebrows scrunched as he looked at you.
“You seem good.”
You pressed your lips together firmly.
“I still don’t even know if this is a good idea for me,” you said. “I don’t want to make Donghyun jealous.”
Mingyu snorted.
“It’s really none of my business but he kissed some girl at a party, he’s an asshole,” Mingyu snapped. “And you seem nice, and you almost went back to him. After he cheated on you? This is for your own good.”
You looked at him.
“If you are fake dating me you can’t go back to him. If he tries to talk to you, you bring in me, you need time to heal, and you can’t go back to that relationship.”
You knew Mingyu was right, but that didn’t mean it didn’t sting.
You had been in love with Donghyun... You still loved Donghyun. He meant everything to you. You didn’t really know who you were without him. You wanted to go to him so badly. Hear him out, listen to his excuses. You wanted him back.
“Hey.”
You looked up at Mingyu.
“You deserve better.”
You looked away from him.
“We need rules,” you said. A sound of surprise left his mouth.
“Rules?”
“Yeah, like...” You trailed off. “I don’t like pda.”
A snort left Mingyu’s mouth, but when you looked at him, he sobered up.
“You’re serious?”
“It’s no ones’ business who I’m kissing,” you mumbled. “I never used to kiss Donghyun in front of people.”
“I kiss people left and right,” Mingyu said. “We need some common ground because no one will believe we are dating if we don’t kiss each other.”
Your nose scrunched.
“I’ve only ever kissed Donghyun,” you mumbled looking at Mingyu, a mischievous smile crossed his lips.
“Oh it does not show.”
Color spread to your cheeks, and you looked away from Mingyu.
“Okay, one kiss a day.”
Mingyu grunted.
“Four kisses a day.”
“What? No.”
“Fine, three kisses a day.”
“Mingyu.”
“Two kisses, one at anytime, one good bye every single time we see each other, even if it’s multiple times a day.”
You chewed on your bottom lip nervously in thought.
“Fine, but not where too many people can see.”
“You have to kiss me at my first game.”
You didn’t think that Mingyu was very good at this negotiating thing.
“But there will be-”
“No one will believe we are dating! We kiss one game a month, and it trumps how many kisses we have that week. One kiss at a game equals no kisses that week other than the game kiss.”
You scrunched your nose.
“Okay, fine.”
“What about other signs of PDA? Hand holding, hugging?” Mingyu asked. You thought about it for a second.
“If we keep the kissing down I guess it’s fine in front of people,” you decided. “But don’t go crazy with it. I don’t really like being touched.”
Mingyu hummed and nodded.
“And how often do I get to see you?” He asked.
“We can schedule dates that need to be public. I don’t really see any need to hang out outside of that,” you said. Mingyu’s eyebrows furrowed.
“You have to come to my games.”
Your eyebrows furrowed.
“Why?”
“You’re fake dating a basketball player,” Mingyu said like it was obvious. “What kind of significant other doesn’t come to their boyfriends basketball games?”
You supposed he had a point but you didn’t like it. You were starting to think that the relationship you had with Donghyun was to be treasured more than you realized. You hadn’t had to do things with Donghyun. You didn’t need to see him on certain days or kiss him in public. He wasn’t really touchy unless you two were... Say on vacation.
You sighed. It felt like years ago that you had been on vacation with Donghyun. Taking long hikes and waiting for him to write his poetry every time he saw something beautiful. Finding out that most of the time that poetry was about you.
You wished you could go back in time.
“Where are we going to go on vacation next?” Donghyun asked you as you two sat in the hot tub, your shoulders brushing against one another. You hummed.
“I don’t know, the Netherlands?”
“I think we should go to Paris. The most romantic city in the world,” he said dreamily. You rolled your eyes.
“Paris is actually not that beautiful. There’s supposedly trash everywhere and french people are mean to-”
Before you could finish what you were saying Donghyun interrupted you with a deep kiss. When he pulled away your brows furrowed.
“You’re so pragmatic,” he stated. “I love you.”
“Okay I’ll go to your games, but I know nothing about basketball.”
Mingyu shrugged.
“When I get a ball in the basket you cheer. It’s not too hard,” he said. “Any other rules?”
“No surprises,” you said immediately. “I hate surprises.”
Donghyun lifted his hand to Jennie’s hair as he deepened the kiss, holding her close like he used to hold you.
“Done,” Mingyu agreed. “PDA only when necessary and you come to my games but I never surprise you.”
You nodded.
“Yeah, okay that’s okay.”
Mingyu seemed happy with your agreements.
“Phone number?”
You watched as Mingyu put his phone number into your phone, making a cute face as he took a picture of himself for a contact picture. He stared at your phone for a few seconds.
“You have to change your screensaver,” he said after a moment. Your eyebrows furrowed.
“Why?”
He turned your phone to you as a response and your heart sank.
How had you forgotten that your screensaver was a picture of you and Donghyun?
“Right.”
“We should take one. Come here.”
He gestured for you to join him, and you didn’t feel like arguing.
“I’m just going to touch you for a second, okay?”
You nodded and he wrapped his arms around you. You both smiled at the camera as he took a picture. He started talking again as he let go of you and started to mess with your phone some more. You weren’t listening at all. Despite Mingyu’s explanation this still didn’t make sense to you.
This was Kim Mingyu after all. He was handsome and popular, he could date literally any boy or girl in the school that he wanted to. So why you? You were nothing spectacular. Sure you were attractive, but not attractive enough for someone like Kim Mingyu. You cared more about grades then parties. You barely spent your free time with people. It just didn’t make any sense.
“Are you sure about this?”
You must have interrupted him because Mingyu looked surprised by the sudden outburst. His nose scrunched ever so slightly.
“Sure about what?”
“Me,” you replied. “I’m just some random person, I’m nothing spectacular. Why me?”
Mingyu stared at you for a few seconds, his mind clearly racing. He sighed and walked over to you, handing you his phone.
“How long did you date Donghyun?” He asked you. Your eyebrows shot up in surprise, but you decided to humor Mingyu.
“Five years.”
Mingyu nodded.
“Let’s get coffee tomorrow,” Mingyu said, instead of explaining his thought process or answering your question. “If we are going to be fake dating, we have to know a little bit about each other.”
You nodded numbly. He smiled.
“I’ll text you.”
And then he was gone.
“There you are.”
You looked up from your book furrowing your eyebrows when you saw Donghyun was standing in front of you with two cups of coffee.
“Hey babe,” you greeted. Your eyebrows furrowed. “What are you doing here?”
“I thought I would surprise you with some coffee!” He replied.
“I don’t like surprises,” was all you said. Donghyun laughed.
“I know I’m sorry. I won’t do it again okay?”
He set the cup of coffee down in front of you.
“I just missed you.”
“What kind of coffee do you like?”
You looked up at Mingyu and shrugged.
“Anything really,” you said. “Iced lattes.”
Mingyu nodded and wandered away to order two drinks for you two. You noticed that as he walked up a number of people in the coffee shop started whispering to each other, watching him with wide excited eyes.
You thought it was weird that so many people knew him from basketball. Even if you were into sports, you didn’t think you would ever be able to keep straight the players in the game and that being said you hardly believed you would recognize them when they were out.
You only knew who Mingyu was at all because Rei was obsessed with sports and as weird as you thought it was Kim Mingyu was a household name.
When Mingyu wandered back he handed you your drink and tilted his cup towards you. He smiled.
“I got the same thing,” he said, sounding like a child trying to impress their parent. You pressed your lips into a smile and took your drink taking a sip. He sat down across from you and leaned forward.
“So… Tell me about yourself.”
There wasn’t really much to know about you, but you told him everything you thought was important. You started off by telling him about Rei and Jaeyun. You told him about your relationship with Donghyun. You told him about your family and what you did for work.
The whole time Mingyu just watched you, nodding accordingly, his attention never straying. You could hardly believe he was taking this so seriously.
“And what else?”
You shrugged, toying with your straw.
“I don’t there is much else to talk about.”
“What about your favorite color?” Mingyu prodded. Your eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
“What? Why do you need to know that?” You asked. Mingyu scoffed.
“You’re telling me you didn’t know Dong-douches favorite color?”
You rolled your eyes.
“Why would I need to know Donghyun’s favorite color?”
“It’s important! That way I can figure out what color notebook to buy you next year when you send me shopping for a notebook for one of your lectures.”
“Mingyu this is a fake relationship.”
Mingyu exhaled in frustration.
“You know what I mean.”
You didn’t really know what he meant, but considering he was so passionate about it you decided to just give in and tell him your favorite color.
“What is your favorite color?” You asked him. He hummed.
“Red,” he said without missing a beat. “What’s your favorite food?”
“This is stupid,” you insisted. “I didn’t know that about Donghyun.”
Mingyu didn’t really seem to care what you thought.
“I’m going to be a better fake boyfriend then Donghyun ever was a real one,” he said insistently.
“Donghyun wasn’t that-”
“Babe?” Your head shot up and you looked at Donghyun who had just walked into the room. He was staring at you with such wide eyes. It felt like you hadn’t seen him in such a long time.
“Donghyun,” you exclaimed. You looked at Mingyu and then Donghyun and scrambled to your feet. “It’s not-”
“You’re actually dating this guy?” Donghyun blurted. He stepped closer to you two and looked at Mingyu. “Seriously, he punched me. He would rather make someone feel small then have a conversation with them. Hardly your type.”
As Donghyun spoke he gestured towards his eye, which was admittedly different shades of blue and purple and horribly swollen. He turned to Mingyu.
“You’re lucky I don’t sue you for punching me.”
Mingyu just rolled his eyes.
“Stop playing these games,” Donghyun said, turning his attention back to you. “Haven’t we been fighting long enough? I love you. I made a mistake. I just want you back.”
You stared at Donghyun, feeling tears welling in your eyes.
“Donghyun, I-” love you too. I miss you so much, I don’t want to fight either I just want you back too.
Your mind raced with all of the things that you wanted to say to Donghyun. You felt tears running down your cheeks and you took a step towards Donghyun. That was when Mingyu got involved. He stood up, placing himself between you and Donghyun.
“Yeah, I don’t think so,” he said. “I think you’ve forgotten that your ex is dating me now and I’m not going to break their heart.”
Mingyu looked back at you. He looked so angry, and you could tell that he was holding himself back. You didn’t really know what he was so mad for. It wasn’t really any of his business what happened between you and Donghyun. You still couldn’t understand why he had gotten involved with you in the first place.
Mingyu very carefully reached forward, his hands rubbing the tears from your cheeks.
“Let’s go.”
His tone was stiff. You nodded.
“Yeah.”
He grabbed you by your wrist and began to practically drag you out of the coffee shop. You couldn’t keep your eyes away from Donghyun.
“What was that?” Mingyu blurted once the two of you were alone. You winced a little.
“Your grip is too tight,” you muttered. Mingyu immediately withdrew his hand from your wrist.
“Sorry I just...” He grunted in frustration. “He cheated on you.”
“It was just one kiss,” you insisted. “Besides he said he could explain-”
“It wasn’t just one kiss,” Mingyu blurted. Your heart skipped a beat and your eyebrows furrowed.
“Wh-what?”
“Every time he goes to a party he goes alone in a room with Jennie,” Mingyu explained. “I-I didn’t know he was dating anyone... Before you ask, I don’t think your friends knew.”
You stumbled and your nose scrunched.
“Really?”
“You need rules,” Mingyu said, instead of responding. “Whenever you see Donghyun you’re like two words away from marrying him. You can’t go back to that dick.”
You didn’t respond. You felt numb.
Every party? Had Donghyun really cheated on you that much? Surely it wasn’t true.
“Delete his phone number and his texts, and block him,” Mingyu started. “Block him on everything you don’t need any reminder of him to make you want him back.”
You nodded and searched for your phone, beginning to do what he had asked.
“You can’t be his friend anymore. You can’t even talk to him,” Mingyu continued. “You’ll just want him back more.”
You hated that. You wanted nothing more than to have Donghyun stay in your life. You missed spending time with him. You missed confiding in him. You missed him.
“I know it hurts,” Mingyu said, his voice going soft for the first time since he had gotten you away from Donghyun. “Get rid of things that remind you of him. Gifts he may have given you, anything.”
“But-”
“No buts! If you go back to him he will hurt you again, that’s a fact,” Mingyu said. You fell silent. “Don’t give him that power.”
“What would you do if we ever broke up?”
You rolled your eyes at the question. Donghyun was always asking you such dumb speculative questions.
“I highly doubt that will happen,” you said. “Why are you even asking me that?”
Donghyun shrugged.
“Just wondering if you would ever leave me.”
You turned to face him, a smile tugging at the corner of your lips.
“I would never leave you Lee Donghyun.”
You felt sick to your stomach, but you still nodded slowly.
“That’s... That’s fair.”
You felt tears running down your cheeks again.
“Mingyu have you ever loved anyone before?”
Mingyu was quiet for a few seconds, so you finally looked up at him. He shook his head slowly.
“Not like you loved Donghyun.”
“I don’t think I’ll ever love anyone again,” you mumbled.
-
You had never actually been to one of your University’s basketball games. Mostly because they were so confusing to you. It was hard to get tickets and you knew that the games were all just loud and crowded and honestly a waste of time. But even so, there wasn’t much that you could do if you wanted to help Mingyu out with his end of the fake relationship pact.
You still weren’t really sure why he felt the need to get into it with you. He was probably so much better asking one of the many other people in the school to be his significant other for this façade, but he had chosen you. And you knew he was right. Being in this fake situation with him would certainly make Donghyun back off of trying to win you back.
Mingyu was... Much stronger than Donghyun, and even though he had threatened to sue you knew he wouldn’t. He was scared of Mingyu. That was good for you.
Mingyu was right, and you knew that your friends would agree with him if they knew that you would take back Donghyun in a heartbeat. You shouldn’t go back to a cheater. If they cheated once they would cheat again. People don’t change.
But you trusted in Donghyun. You had trusted in him for five years. It was hard to just turn your back on him.
So that’s why you needed to do these things.
These things that Donghyun would never make you do.
And Rei was ecstatic.
“I have been dreaming of the day that you would come to a basketball game with us,” she gushed. “This is going to be so fun.”
It didn’t feel as exciting to you as it did her, but to be fair that made sense, she actually liked basketball. She knew the in’s and out’s. She led you to the student section and made sure that you all got there early enough that Mingyu would be able to see where you were sitting and she even showed you where the bathrooms were.
Mingyu’s game plan was simple. At the end of the game when they won (he was confident that they would win) he would run up into the student section, pick you up and kiss you in excitement.
It was all a bit extravagant to you but Mingyu had insisted that would be the most realistic way for him to react if he was actually dating someone and you figured that one huge kiss being made a spectacle wouldn’t exactly kill you.
And yet still you were feeling nervous. There was a reason you didn’t bother at parties, and mostly kept to yourself. Crowds made you anxious. As the basketball game started you were stuck between hundreds of sweaty college students, painted in your school colors, and screaming at the top of their lungs. You could hardly think or move or even hear as Rei tried to point out who was who on the court.
Mingyu was pretty easy to keep track of. He was tallest of everyone on his team and his coach Seungcheol was always on his feet, running up and down the court as the team did so he was easy to pick out too. Then there was Jihoon also easy to pick out due to his height. Everyone else may as well have been the same person because you couldn’t figure out for the life of you who was Jun and who was Soonyoung when they were both running side by side down the court and were so far away that you could barely make out their faces.
So amongst trying to remember the names that Rei told you as the team members switched on and off the bench and start running up and down the court you had to try to pair those names with faces.
For goodness sakes you knew nothing about basketball and none of this was helping you figure it out.
As the first half of the game came to an end you were left feeling like you were being crushed by the room around you, and like you knew less about basketball than you had known going in and that was making it harder to breath in itself.
“Donghyun? Hey Donghyun.”
You tugged at Donghyun’s sleeve and he glanced back at you over his shoulder.
“Yeah?”
“I want to go,” you murmured, your eyes flitting to the ground. “I’m...”
You didn’t want Donghyun to know that you were stressed. Even after five years of dating you never wanted him to know how stressed you were.
“If you want to go we can go,” Donghyun agreed. His brows furrowed slightly in confusion at your behavior, but he turned to say good bye to his friends anyways.
You were knocked out of your racing thoughts by Rei elbowing you lightly. You looked over at her and she gestured down to the court. You were confused as to why at first and then you noticed that Mingyu was standing at the bottom of the student section. There was a half-heartedly placed barrier there that Mingyu was leaning on as he talked to a handful of girls down in the crowd.
Your first thought was that he must have decided he didn’t need your fake relationship anymore and was going to do something with someone else but then his eyes flickered up to you. When you two made eye contact he tilted his head to the side.
“I think he wants you to go down there, he’s been staring at you,” Rei explained. You nodded numbly and began to push your way through the crowd.
When you got down to him your heart was beating so loudly in your chest that you could have sworn everyone in the room could hear it. When you got down to Mingyu he waved away the people he was talking to and wandered over to you.
“Hey,” he greeted. “You look stressed.”
Your heart skipped a beat in your chest and for just a second you really did forget how to breath. How did he know that? Were you really that transparent? Could Rei and Jaeyun tell too?
“We don’t have to do this,” Mingyu continued before you could respond. Your eyes widened slightly at the suggestion.
“What do you mean? If we don’t do this no one will know that we are dating and there would be no point in us fake dating at all.”
Mingyu shrugged it off.
“You’re stressed, this seems like it is really far out of your comfort zone. I don’t want to stress you out,” Mingyu explained. “We can talk about it later. We don’t need to do this today.”
You couldn’t believe he was saying this, but mostly because you were probably one of the most stubborn people that you knew. You hated that people could change their minds so easily, because it meant you never knew what someone wanted from you.
You had thought you understood what Mingyu wanted from you but now he was going back on what he said before and you were as confused as ever.
“No, we still have to-” You didn’t get the opportunity to finish what you were saying as Seungcheol walked over to Mingyu. He glanced at you, barely paying any attention to you at all. He probably thought you were just a random fan of Mingyu’s. He said something to Mingyu too quiet for you to hear, and Mingyu glanced at you and began to walk away.
“Wait, Mingyu fuck-” He wasn’t listening to you at all as he followed Seungcheol back over to the bench. You knew that you had to do something to stop him from not announcing your relationship at this game. You were here after all, he was doing you a huge favor and you wanted to do him a favor too. All you had to do was convince him to kiss you but you knew that it wasn’t going to work unless-
You hopped over the barrier, alerting that of the staff around you. Luckily when they said something to you, rather loudly, Mingyu turned around. You didn’t waste a second. You rushed over to him, wrapping your arms around his neck.
You felt like the whole world was looking at you.
But before you could stress too much about it you slammed your eyes shut and pressed your lips to Mingyu’s.
Kissing him was nothing like it was like kissing Donghyun. You still weren’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. You felt like you didn’t know what to do, like at any second you would be harassed for doing something wrong or being a subpar kisser.
Instead of that, you were interrupted from your rampaging thoughts by Mingyu laughing against your lips. You pulled away, your face dark in color.
“Okay, I get it now,” he mumbled. “Once you’ve made your mind up on something you’ve made your mind up on it.”
That didn’t help to cull your embarrassment. You took a deep breath and looked away from him.
“What am I supposed to do now? Donghyun and I never did things like this,” you murmured. He laughed.
“Tell me not to lose.”
-
“Kim Mingyu.”
You felt like you were going to pull your hair out of your head if you heard Mingyu’s full name being said to you again in astonishment. You glanced back at your coworker with a mostly unamused look and he shrugged innocently.
“I just can’t believe it,” Sehun replied. “You went from dating Donghyun-”
Sehun looked disgusted for a few moments.
“To dating the basketball star handsome model prodigy himself.”
Sehun sighed dreamily.
“A man could only dream.”
“He’s just another guy,” you said. “I mean...” You kept forgetting that you were supposed to be pretending that you liked Mingyu. “He’s great, I just am tired of people making a huge deal about it.”
“It is a big deal,” Sehun exclaimed. “I thought that when you broke up with Donghyun you would be broken hearted forever but instead you went on to date a fucking 100.”
You shot Sehun another glare and he sighed.
“Okay fine,” he stated. “I’ll shut up, but you have to tell me about Mingyu at least a little!”
You knew that Sehun wouldn’t leave you alone until you had told him some things, so you decided to rack your brain for something to tell him about.
“There’s not much to say. He’s nice,” you said softly. “Pays attention to me. His favorite color is red.”
You thought the last statement would be enough to make Sehun call you out on the fact that you were the worst person at pretending you were in a relationship, but he did nothing of the sort. Instead, a smile crossed his lips.
“Oooh you know his favorite color?” He teased. “Someone has been having late night pillow talk conversations.”
You had no clue what Sehun was trying to insinuate with that, and you did not want to know. You laughed nervously and looked at your computer.
“Focus on your work Sehun.”
Sehun rolled his eyes and scooted his chair closer to you.
“You’re no fun,” he insisted. “You just going to keep all that juicy information about Mingyu to yourself? How’d you wrangle him up?”
You thought maybe if you ignored Sehun he would let the conversation topic drop, but instead he popped his blonde head around you to shut your laptop.
“You went from Donghyun to Mingyu in a heartbeat...” He trailed off. “Did you know Mingyu before you broke up with Donghyun?”
The exclamation was absolutely ridiculous, but regardless you decided to play into his hands.
“We were friends. Never knew he liked me until he asked me out at that party.”
Sehun laughed in disbelief.
“I didn’t know you had it in you,” he insisted. “How many other famous basketball players are you hiding from me?”
Considering you didn’t even know who the other basketball players were you didn’t think that this conversation was going well for you.
“Sehun how are things with your boyfriend?” You asked, trying to redirect the conversation. Sehun groaned.
“Annoying,” Sehun admitted. “We’re fighting right now because he missed our date night.”
He shrugged.
“But that’s just how relationships are right?”
You nodded. You had fought with Donghyun a fair number of times. All things that looked pale in comparison now that you two were broken up. He had always figured out some way to sweet talk you into forgiving him. Now you were wondering if you should’ve stayed angrier at him for the ways that he messed up.
Or maybe forgiving him was just another reason why you two had worked for so long. What was love without squabbles and resolutions?
You wanted to tell Sehun that you missed Donghyun but you knew that you couldn’t tell him that. You couldn’t tell anyone that. If everyone was going to believe that you were actually in this fake relationship you couldn’t be missing Donghyun.
And you didn’t think there was much sympathy for someone who missed a cheater, even if Sehun didn’t know that part.
“Mina did you hear about our coworker's newest flame?” Sehun baited. Mina stopped walking, pressing her clipboard against her chest. To your dismay she wasn’t the only one standing there. Next to her were Sowon, Eunbi, and Wendy. They all stopped to give Sehun their attention.
“You’re not dating Donghyun anymore? He seemed nice,” Mina said, her eyes widening.
“Nope, our innocent little child here is dating Kim Mingyu.”
All of the girls gasped.
“Are you serious?” Eunbi whispered. Color rose to your cheeks, and you dropped your eyes to the ground.
“It’s not that big of a deal.”
And you only wished that were true.
-
“So how are things going with Mingyu?”
You wanted to shove your face into a wall.
“Why’s everyone always asking me about Mingyu? Hardly anyone asked me about Donghyun,” you mumbled in annoyance. If Rei and Jaeyun noticed your frustration, they didn’t comment on it.
“It’s because Donghyun was mid,” Jaeyun replied. “And Mingyu is Mingyu.”
Rei elbowed Jaeyun in the side.
“And you sort of just hopped into a relationship after getting out of a long one. How are you feeling?”
You felt empty.
Donghyun had been a piece of you. You had always thought that he was the person that you hadn’t known you needed in life. The person you hadn’t even thought you wanted at first. How were you supposed to go on everyday without him?
“You know I thought I would be sad,” You admitted. “Donghyun and I were together for so long. But being with Mingyu is a dream. I can’t imagine being with anyone else right now.”
A smile slowly spread across Rei’s face. For once neither of them were teasing you or freaking out about the fact that you were dating Kim Mingyu. They seemed scarily serious.
“I’m happy for you,” Rei said softly.
Jaeyun nodded.
“Me too,” he said. “He seems really attentive of you.”
You shrugged off the statement and it seemed like Jaeyun and Rei were finally satisfied with changing the topic. A new movie was coming out this weekend that they wanted to see so they started talking about it. Just as you had finally relaxed and stopped thinking about Mingyu, your phone vibrated.
Mingyu: Hey we haven’t made any appearances together since the game, my friends are starting to think we made this thing up
A frown riddled across your face.
We did make it up
Mingyu: I want you to meet my friends, is that okay?
You bit down on your lip nervously.
When?
Mingyu: This Friday. Is that okay?
I guess
There was a few moments were you didn’t receive any message from him, and then your phone vibrated again.
Hey are you okay?
You decided not to respond to him.
When you left your last class of the day you immediately knew that something was wrong, and that was because when you left the room half of the class was huddled into a circle together. Normally you didn’t bother with seeing what was going on when things like that happened but this time... You couldn’t just keep to yourself.
You wandered over to the group of people and couldn’t help but roll your eyes when you saw that it was Mingyu that they were all talking to. You were thinking about just walking away and pretending like you hadn’t seen him at all, but before you could do that he spotted you.
“Babe!”
A pang of hurt ran through you at being called that, but you did your best not to let it show. You smiled at Mingyu as he rushed to you.
“Hey,” you greeted softly. He smiled.
“Now I know you don’t like surprises, but I thought that I could walk you home.”
The group of people around you all awed and an irritated expression crossed over Mingyu’s face. He took you by your hand and quickly began to lead you away from all of the people. Once you were alone an apologetic expression crossed over his face.
“Practice got out early and I just thought it would be fun to hang out with you outside of being public for my games and stuff.”
He let go of your hand and raised his hand to the back of his neck.
“I didn’t mean to cause a scene.”
You still didn’t quite get Mingyu but you figured there was no point in being mad at him. After all, he was acting very genuine to you and so far he had been very respectful of your boundaries.
“It’s okay,” you replied. Silence fell between you two and you wondered again why Mingyu was here. He seemed to read your thoughts.
“Look it’s just... Jun pointed out something to me,” he said. “You were cheated on by your boyfriend of five years and then immediately got pushed into a fake relationship you don’t really seem like you want any part of. Are you okay?”
The question surprised you.
“Of course, I’m okay,” you lied. “It’s just different.”
“You don’t have to lie to me,” Mingyu said with a sigh. “Look I know we don’t know each other but even Rei and Jaeyun don’t know this is fake-”
“You remember Rei and Jaeyun?”
“Of course, they are your best friends,” he said dismissively. “You have to have someone to support you but you don’t have anyone. Have you even really given yourself a chance to feel sad?”
You had nothing to say, so Mingyu sighed.
“What’s your favorite flavor of ice cream?” Mingyu asked you. Your eyebrows furrowed thinking this was another one of his stupid ice breaker questions.
“What’s it matter?”
“We’re going to buy you some ice cream and we are going to go to go over to my apartment or yours and we are going to watch movies and you are going to cry and it’s going to be a lot of fun,” Mingyu explained. You just stared at him.
“Why would we do that?” You asked. He shrugged.
“So you can give yourself some time to actually feel your emotions,” Mingyu explained. He stopped walking and turned to you, giving you a serious look.
“Someone who was sobbing when they found out their boyfriend if five years was cheating and then almost went back to him needs to heal,” Mingyu said, his voice soft but firm. “It’s okay to be upset. You’re allowed to miss him, to want him back. You’ll never stop missing him if you don’t get the opportunity to feel sad that he’s gone.”
You thought that what he was saying was stupid, and you felt like that was obvious from the look on your face, but to your dismay you felt something salty meet your lips.
“Shit,” you mumbled turning your face away from Mingyu. You weren’t going to cry, you didn’t want to cry, you just-
And before you could try fighting it anymore you felt Mingyu’s hand touch your shoulder.
“My favorite’s mint chocolate chip,” he said softly. You turned your face into Mingyu’s chest trying to muffle your sobs. At first he seemed surprised but he wrapped his arms around you, holding you tight.
“I thought you didn’t like to be touched,” he said with a soft laugh. You wrapped your arms around him tighter.
“Everyone likes to be held every once in a while.”
Another laugh vibrated through Mingyu’s body.
“I’ll remember you said that.”
You felt a bit calmer from the feeling of Mingyu laughing against you. You pulled away from him, your eyes falling to the ground.
“So… Ice cream?”
You couldn’t begin to grapple with what motivated Mingyu to do the things he did. When he dragged you to the store he didn’t just get two huge pints of ice cream- you decided to try his favorite ice cream instead of getting your own- he bought a bunch of sweet and salty snacks for you two to munch on as well.
“Mingyu I’m going to gain like ten pounds if I eat all of this.”
“It’s a part of the healing process.”
You decided to let Mingyu come to your apartment. Mostly because you thought you would be happier on your own coach then someone else’s.
Mingyu didn’t really care either way. He was happy to fall you into your apartment, kicking off his shoes and asking you to make sure that you grabbed a lot of pillows and blankets for the night.
When you came back in the room he already had a movie queued up. You groaned.
“That movie is supposed to be sad Mingyu,” you mumbled. He nodded.
“That’s exactly the point. If you start crying about something else maybe you’ll finally let yourself cry about Donghyun.”
And he was right. You started sobbing about the movie (albeit Mingyu did too) but even as the credits started rolling you realized that you couldn’t stop crying.
One of the things you hated most was crying in front of people. Mostly because you hated how weak and emotional it made you look. You tried your hardest not to ever let anyone see you crying, or emotional or weak and for some reason Mingyu brought out the worst in you.
“... Do you want to talk about it?” Mingyu murmured. You stared down at the slowly melting ice cream in your hands.
“Not really.”
“You should really try talking about your feelings,” Mingyu suggested. You turned and glared at him.
“I feel like you are really fucking annoying,” you said bluntly. Mingyu didn’t even crack a smile, he just nodded seriously.
You sighed.
“I don’t know, I just miss him,” you said softly. “What more can I say? I feel like a piece of me is missing without him. He was a part of my life for five years.”
“He went through the biggest transition of your life with you.”
You nodded, tears running down your cheeks even faster at the reminder.
“We planned together where we would go to college. We applied to the same places...”
You groaned and buried your face in your hands.
“I would never do that for someone but I thought-” A sob wracked through your body. “Mingyu I was going to marry him.”
You were enveloped in Mingyu’s warmth again and you didn’t even bother to complain about it. When you hugged people you generally cut it off pretty quick. Unless you and Donghyun were cuddling you didn’t really hug for that long.
You weren’t sure what it was about Mingyu holding you but despite the fact that you hardly knew him you felt so safe there in his arms.
You honestly wanted Mingyu to hold you forever.
“I know it’s hard right now, but you’ll wake up one day and you won’t miss him,” Mingyu whispered into your hair. You wrapped your arms tighter around him.
“Shut up.”
You hoped he was right.
A few hours later you two had turned on a movie that was less sad. A silence had fallen between the two of you. You took a scoop of your ice cream, looking down at the counter that was only a quarter full. You sighed.
“I hate that this ice cream is actually good,” you murmured. Mingyu’s eyes gleamed with excitement.
“Isn’t it the best?” He asked. You threw a hand in the air.
“Not the best,” you denied. “But still pretty good.”
Mingyu seemed to take that as a personal victory. He sat up and began to rummage through his bag.
“Now, let’s see, what do you do for fun?” He asked. You shrugged, taking another large scoop of ice cream.
“I don’t know, watch movies, play games, what everyone does,” you replied. Mingyu scooted closer to you, brandishing a switch with a large smile on his face.
“Mario Kart?”
There was something to be said about hanging out with Mingyu. He sure knew how to bring a smile to your face. He was stupid, and he thought it was funny when he knocked you off the course on Rainbow Road but you couldn’t help but find yourself laughing when you lapped him regardless.
When you first met Mingyu you hadn’t really imagined that you two would get along all that well. After all he was a sports guy, and you... Well, you didn’t know the first thing about sports. But despite it all when you woke up the next day, tangled between blankets with two empty cartoons of ice cream on the floor you couldn’t help but smile.
You reached out to try and hit Mingyu but when you only met your couch cushions, your eyebrows furrowed in confusion. You sat up and looked around your living room but he wasn’t there. You heard a clatter in your kitchen and your confusion only grew. You got to your feet, fixing your shirt that was definitely not supposed to be worn to sleep and peeked into your kitchen.
Mingyu was standing at your stove, your milk and flour on the counter and all of your cabinet doors opened. He was humming softly to himself, bobbing his head as he cooked.
“Hey,” you said, still feeling surprised by your find. He looked back at you over his shoulder.
“Good morning sleepy head,” Mingyu greeted giving you a toothy smile. “I made pancakes!”
You laughed at his bright attitude.
“Why?” You asked. He shrugged.
“Long night thought you would like some sustenance,” he replied. He turned his back to you and took some of his pancakes, putting them on a plate and handing them to you. “Luckily you had all the ingredients.”
You took the plate of pancakes from him and hopped up on your counter.
“Give me syrup,” you said, making grabby hands towards your syrup. Mingyu rolled his eyes with a smile on his face and handed you the syrup.
“So, tell me Kim Mingyu,” you started. “You are scary in touch with people’s emotions, kind, always looking out for others, can cook-”
“What are you getting at?” Mingyu interrupted, looking fairly amused by your words.
“Why do you need a fake relationship?” You asked. “You hardly seem like you aren’t ready to settle down, and it’s not like you don’t have options.”
Mingyu fell silent for a few moments, the only sound between the two of you the sound of the pancake batter sizzling on the pan. You were about to call off the question completely, you were starting to feel bad after all. He had been nothing but nice to you and he had been pretty respectful of your boundaries. Maybe you had gone too far.
“I want to find the right person,” Mingyu finally said, his voice barely above a whisper. “Yeah I could date anyone but I feel like everyone just wants me because I’m Kim Mingyu the basketball star.”
Minyu sighed and turned back around, running his fingers through his hair.
“I don’t really have any friends, did ya know that?” He asked. “All of my friends are from the team.”
He shrugged.
“It’s hard to get close to people when everyone thinks I am this god among men,” he admitted.
You weren’t really sure what to say to him about that, and it didn’t seem like he was looking for an answer.
“But you’re different.”
“Yeah?” You murmured. He nodded.
“Yeah.”
As you stood in front of Mingyu’s apartment door you ran through Mingyu’s friends again, desperate to remember all of their names.
Seungcheol, Jeonghan, Joshua, Jun, Soonyoung, Wonwoo, Jihoon, Minghao, Seokmin, Seungkwan, Hansol, Chan.
You tried to picture their faces with their names but after staring at the pictures for so long you weren’t really sure if you had been able to get them all straight or if you had confused them all more. Before coming you had also run through some news article things that you had found about Mingyu, trying to find out the stupid little things that he thought were so important.
Sure you knew a few things that he had told you but certainly not enough. You had to pretend you were a good significant other. He liked to clean, he played the bass in high school, he preferred pig feet to pork belly, he really wanted to visit Latin America, his favorite number-
The front door to Mingyu’s apartment swung open, startling you out of your thoughts. Standing before you... Your brain went blank for a scary second as you scrambled to put a name to the face.
“... Joshua?”
The boy before you smiled, his head falling to the side ever so slightly.
“You know my name?” He asked. A huge sigh of relief left your lips.
“Of course,” you replied. “Mingyu tells me so much about you guys how could I not put a name to the face?”
Mingyu popped up behing him at that. He beamed when he saw you.
“Hey, babe!” He exclaimed. He pushed past Joshua and grabbed your hand, pulling you into the room. You forced a smile onto your face as Mingyu dragged you through the group of people, trying to introduce you to all of them. Luckily for you, your studying had paid off. You were able to beat Mingyu at everyone’s name, and the further that you got into the group the more confident you were on who was who.
When you had finally gotten through everyone, Mingyu and you had stopped to talk to Jihoon. The conversation quickly turned to basketball and... You really wanted a moment to yourself.
“Hey... Babe?” You felt like you said it a little weird, but neither of them showed that on their faces. “I’m going to get something to drink okay?”
Mingyu smiled and patted you on the head.
“Yeah, don’t worry about sticking by me all night. You can do what you want,” he said. You nodded and got onto your tiptoes, pressing your lips to his in a brief kiss. You gave Jihoon a smile in farewell and then wandered to the kitchen.
You got to feel the joy of being away from Mingyu for exactly... Two seconds. You were just grabbing a cup from the cabinet when someone cleared their throat behind you. When you turned around... Jun was standing there.
“Hi,” you said. “Sorry, were you trying to-”
“Are you in love with Mingyu?” Jun interrupted. Your eyes widened. You and Mingyu hadn’t talked about this, you had no clue what to say. Were you supposed to be in love with Mingyu?
“I mean, it’s too early to say for sure,” you said with a nervous laugh.
“Right,” Jun said. His eyes narrowed towards you. “Look, you may have everyone else convinced but you don’t have me convinced.”
Jun wandered closer to you, leaning close to your ear.
“You aren’t really dating Mingyu.”
A laugh was ripped from your chest, and you backed away from Jun.
“Why would I not actually be dating Mingyu?” You blurted. You were worried for a second that you had been too loud, but to your relief nobody around you seemed to have heard. “Seriously what kind of accusation is that?”
“It’s not an accusation, it’s a fact,” Jun said bluntly. “You’re just using him as a rebound.”
Now that accusation was interesting. You stared at Jun blankly.
“What?”
“I heard all about your thing with Donghyun,” Jun said. “Now, this can go one of two ways. Either you tell Mingyu that you don’t actually like him or I do.”
You weren’t even sure what to say to him and apparently silence was the wrong way to go about it.
“Ming-”
You leaped forward, throwing yourself on Jun. You both tumbled to the floor and Jun looked up at you with a surprised look on his face.
“What-”
“You can’t say anything it’s a fake relationship,” you hissed. Jun’s face lit up.
“I knew-”
“We are both faking it. Mingyu knows because it was his idea.”
This time Jun fell silent. He stared at you motionlessly for a few moments and then he nodded slowly.
“I sense that I have made a mistake,” he said slowly. You nodded. “You can get off of me now.”
“Oh, sorry.”
You scrambled away from him but you didn’t stand back up. Jun’s eyebrows furrowed in concentration. He sat up on his elbows.
“It was his idea?”
You nodded.
Jun stared at you a little longer.
“Why?”
So you told him everything.
You told him about Donghyun, and about Jennie. You told him about running into Mingyu and him coming up with this rouse to help you stay out of a relationship with Donghyun. The whole time Jun nodded slowly, finally coming to sit right beside you on the floor in the kitchen.
You decided to leave out the ice cream night. You didn’t think he needed to know about that.
“I can’t believe that he just forced you into a relationship like that,” Jun mumbled. “You got away from a cheater just to be stuck with Mingyu.”
You laughed.
“No, it was good that this happened,” you said. “Mingyu is right, I would have gone right back to Donghyun.”
“And he was right about his reputation,” Jun mumbled. “Even the others are taking him more seriously now that he has you.”
He stared at you.
“So how long are you two going to keep the charade going. Aren’t you going to want to try and fall in love again?”
A pang echoed through your heart at the question.
Could you ever fall in love again? You had been feeling a little better about the breakup since you had talked to Mingyu the other night, but even so the fact that you had been in love with Donghyun still remained. You missed him less. You had more fun with Mingyu then you had ever had with Donghyun in one night then with him in five years but regardless... There was still that part of you that wondered if you should still be with him.
“However long Mingyu wants to.”
Jun glanced at you.
“You’re going to be good to my friend, aren’t you?” He asked. You looked across the room at Mingyu who was currently making Jihoon look like he hated his life.
“Yeah, I’ll be good to him.”
You and Rei slowly began to stand up as Mingyu took the ball from the opposing team. Your eyes widened and you straightened up, throwing your hands in the air.
“Yes, yes, yes-”
The ball was stolen from Mingyu and the entire team started to run the other way. Minghao knocked the ball out of one of the players hands, and tossed it to Jihoon, who dribbled it a few feet and tossed it to Mingyu. Mingyu took off down the court again, growing closer to the net.
There were only a few seconds left in the game. You felt your mouth hanging open in anticipation. One of the other players came up right behind Mingyu, about to knock the ball out of his hand.
He jumped and tossed the ball and it went-
A scream ripped itself from your throat as you rushed down the bleachers to the edge of the fence. The timer went off through the court.
They had won.
You hopped over the fence, and this time security didn’t even bother to stop you. You rushed up to the team that was cheering among themselves in a circle. Soonyoung nudged you in the side, a huge smile spread across his face and you ignored him so that you could press yourself up against Mingyu, giving him a long dramatic kiss.
When you pulled away, Mingyu had the biggest, dumb smile on his face.
“Did I do good?” He asked teasingly. You rolled your eyes.
“You did the best.”
“So... Since I did the best, does that mean you are going to buy me as many scoops of mint chocolate chip ice cream as I want?” Mingyu said teasingly as you two walked down the street. You rolled your eyes.
“You are really pushing your luck with that Mingyu.”
After you two had said goodbye to Mingyu’s team you had decided to go out for ice cream. For some reason Mingyu was obsessed with mint chocolate chip and practically begged you for any reason to get ice cream.
“Please it was a really hard game I deserve it!”
“Seungcheol wouldn’t be very happy.”
“Seungcheol doesn’t have to know.”
Secretly you liked that he was always making you get Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream. The more you got it with him the more that you started to like it and honestly you were happy to get him the ice cream. Usually Mingyu was on a diet, and he actually tried to stick with it pretty carefully.
So any excuse to make him break the stupid diet was a pro in your book.
“Have you heard from any recruiters yet?”
“Not yet,” Mingyu replied between licks of his ice cream cone. “But Seungcheol said the media is looking at me completely differently now so it’s looking pretty good.”
“Good,” you said warmly. “That’s really good.”
Your favorite thing about hanging out with Mingyu was that he loved to talk. Donghyun was more introverted then he was. He tended to keep to himself and you two settled for just spending quality time together in silence. You had always thought that you liked it best that way, but you loved how Mingyu talked about his friends.
You loved listening to him gush about the latest song that Jihoon had written, and the painting that Minghao had done. He always apologized for talking about meaningless stuff, but you didn’t mind at all. You loved that he talked about meaningless things. You were starting to understand why he was so insistent on knowing your favorite color and your favorite food.
A part of his love language was the little things.
And you were so happy to be his friend.
“And then he-”
Jaeyun interrupted you with a laugh, a smile spread across his face.
“What did Mingyu do next?”
A pout crossed your face.
“Why are you making fun of me?”
Rei laughed too.
“Probably because we have been hanging out for two hours and you have brought up Mingyu practically every minute since we started.”
You rolled your eyes.
“That’s so-”
“And then Jihoon stole his video game and he came crying to me-”
“And he made pancakes again he is so good at making pancakes-”
“And he picked me up after class and we got his favorite ice cream-”
“Mint chocolate chip,” they both cooed together.
Your face flooded with warmth.
“Okay, okay, I guess I have been talking about him a little bit more than normal,” you admitted.
“Honestly, it’s cute,” Jaeyun said with a shrug. “It’s nice to see you so excited about someone. You were never like this with Donghyun.”
“What do you-”
“We only ever knew that you were hanging out with Donghyun when we ran into you two hanging out ourselves,” Rei explained.
Jaeyun nodded.
“It was like we only knew that you two were dating because, everyone knew that you two were dating.”
“I talked about Donghyun,” you argued. Rei shrugged.
“It’s not a bad thing. Mingyu and Donghyun are really different people,” Rei said. You leaned back.
“Who would you chose?” You asked. “I mean if Donghyun had never cheated on me, who do you think is better?”
“No question, Mingyu,” Rei replied. “Donghyun cared about you and he treated you well but... Mingyu treats you like you are the most important person in his life.”
“Donghyun treated me like-”
“Like you were important but not essential,” Jaeyun disagreed. “You need someone who would do anything just to make you smile, and Mingyu is that person.”
It wasn’t often that you asked Mingyu to do something for you. So he was pretty excited when you invited him to go to a party with you. Personally you didn’t think it would be fun and you didn’t want to go but when you were complaining about having been invited to it, Rei brought up a good point.
“Look if the problem is that Donghyun is going to be there just invite Mingyu,” she stated. You frowned.
“Why would I do that?” You asked. “It’s not like I want to make him jealous.”
“No but you should still live your life, it’s Taeyeon’s birthday and she wants you to be there. If Mingyu is there Donghyun won’t bother you, and who knows maybe you’ll have fun.”
So Mingyu had been ecstatic and you had been nervous. You didn’t tell Mingyu that Donghyun was going to be there. You didn’t want to cause a scene, but you also didn’t want to just not go because Donghyun was going to be there.
You were trying to be more social with Mingyu.
While you still had a lot of social anxiety, having Mingyu there culled your stress level a lot, with him at your side you thought that tonight had the chance to be bearable.
“Who’s birthday is it again?” Mingyu asked, his nose scrunching in thought. You rolled your eyes.
“It’s Taeyeon’s birthday.”
He nodded slowly.
“... Family friend... Loves to party, nice but you only see her every once in a while,” he mumbled. You nodded in agreement.
“I don’t know why you are always trying to one up me,” you murmured. “My memory for people sucks.”
“You remember all thirteen of my friends,” Mingyu argued. You rolled your eyes.
“Yeah just their names, you remember how I met my friends, all of their favorite foods and the last time the girls had their periods.”
Mingyu laughed.
“Shut up,” he said lightly. “We’re here.”
Mingyu led you into a crowded room, people dancing on every side of you. The music in the room was loud, too loud for you to really think. You found yourself reaching for Mingyu’s hand as you two moved through the crowd. You let Mingyu take the lead. You figured he knew parties a bit better then you, and along with that, you figured he was probably taking you to Taeyon, and even if he wasn’t... You would find her at some point.
Mingyu was popular. You supposed you had forgotten just how popular. You two had to stop at pretty much every person you ran by. Most of them greeted Mingyu very familiarly, probably from other parties. Others just got excited to be in the same place as the Kim Mingyu.
Mingyu avoided introducing you to people. He mostly just made an off-handed comment that he was there with you, and then proceeded to make no move to let them meet you. You weren’t sure if that was because he was being respectful of your social anxiety or something else.
You didn’t question it. You were happy to not meet new people.
“Taeyon!” Mingyu said triumphantly. Taeyon turned around from the person she had been talking to, a puzzled expression spread over her face.
“Kim Mingyu?” She addressed with wide eyes. Mingyu was tuned to her confusion. He pulled you around him with a smile on his face and you waved.
“Taeyon,” you greeted. “Happy birthday!”
She grinned and brushed her long hair out of her face.
“Pink for the birthday girl,” she said brightly. “I almost thought those rumors about you dating Kim Mingyu were fake but...”
She gestured towards the two of you.
“Here you are.”
You suddenly became a little self-conscious about the fact that you were still holding Mingyu’s hand. You pulled your hand away from him, your face bright red.
“Yeah, I know it’s not really what people expect,” you said with a nervous laugh. Mingyu seemed to sense that despite the fact you had pulled your hand away you were still uncomfortable as he grew closer to you, draping his arm over your shoulders.
“Happy birthday Taeyon,” he said softly. “Thank you for inviting us.”
From there Taeyon directed all of her attention to Mingyu, giving you the opportunity to let your mind run blank again.
After all the last time you were at a party you had seen...
Fuck.
You slammed your eyes shut thinking that maybe you had been imagining everything. You opened your eyes again and sure enough there he was.
Donghyun. Your Donghyun, wrapped around Jennie all over again.
Your face was red, tears begin to stream down your cheeks. As if sensing you, he looked up, the smile that was on his lips completely disappearing when he saw you. He pushed Jennie away and gestured for you to come over and you wanted to so badly. You were ready to tell Mingyu that you were going to try and find snacks, and drag Donghyun in a room and finally hear him out. You wanted so badly to hear him out.
But you remembered Mingyu’s rules.
You sniffled and looked away from Donghyun.
“Hey,” you mumbled. “I want to go now.”
You looked at Taeyon.
“Thank you for the invite, I hope you had a great day.”
Taeyon looked disappointed that you were leaving, but understanding crossed through her eyes.
“Yeah, ‘course. Thanks for making an appearance.”
You looked to Mingyu, who looked confused by your sudden drastic change of mood. He reached forward and tenderly wiped your face free of tears.
“We’ll go then.”
He looked up as he said that, clearly searching for the reason that you had started to cry. Your eyes widened.
“Okay lets-”
And then his shoulders squared and you knew he had seen.
“Give me a second,” he mumbled. He started to pull away from you. You grabbed at his wrist, tugging him like you had the strength to physically stop him.
“No Mingyu you’ve already done enough let’s just go.”
“But-”
“Mingyu.”
Mingyu didn’t look happy about that but he nodded and let you drag him out of the party.
You may not have been physically strong enough to pull him but apparently you were convincing enough. You two walked in silence for a little. Tears still running down your face, Mingyu looking over now and then to wipe your tears from your face.
“You knew that Donghyun was going to be there, didn’t you?”
You nodded slowly, letting your shoulder run into Mingyu’s side.
“You didn’t kill him, that was nice,” you murmured back. Mingyu sighed.
“Yeah, well, when you tell me that I can’t kill someone I have to listen,” he grumbled. “I’m a good fake boyfriend.”
You nodded solemnly.
“You are a great fake boyfriend,” you agreed. Silence fell between the two of you, a silence that allowed you to... Unfortunately think.
Donghyun had moved on so fast. You knew that he had been cheating on you, so maybe he had moved on a long time before you had caught him cheating Jennie at that party but still. To see him with her... After he had tried to win you back it-
“It hurts huh?” Mingyu mumbled. You looked up at him, color rising to your cheeks.
“I don’t know what you are talking about,” you denied. Mingyu shrugged.
“Y’know you don’t have to be like that with me,” Mingyu said softly. “Donghyun is a dirty cheater. Fuck him.”
A smile flickered across your face.
“Why’re you so supportive all of the time?” You asked him. “Our relationship is purely beneficial. We don’t have to be friends.”
“You don’t want to be friends?” Mingyu asked, a flicker of hurt crossing his face. You laughed.
“Well, maybe not before, but now I do,” you admitted. “I just don’t understand why you would want to be friends.”
For once your words seemed to have an affect on Mingyu. He looked away from you, swallowing hard.
“Why not be friends?” He asked after a few moments.
“Now you know that’s not a good enough answer for me,” you replied. Mingyu huffed.
“You’re cool, you know that,” he mumbled. “Who wouldn’t want you as a friend?”
You thought that was a weird answer. You didn’t really think that most people thought that about you but you decided not to dwell on it.
“Thanks for coming with me tonight, Mingyu.”
He turned to look at you, a serious expression on his face.
“Anything for you.”
You thought you were really lucky to have Mingyu.
You couldn’t believe it when Mingyu invited you to go to a party with him, and you especially couldn’t believe it when you agreed to it. He had made you a few promises. He knew the person that was throwing the party and they had promised not to let Donghyun in, and that all of Mingyu’s friends would be there.
You thought it would be nice to see the boys again, and you figured that if you got bored and wanted some time away from Mingyu then you could try talking to Jun again. He had been fairly nice at the first party.
Mingyu was pretty excited that you had agreed to go to the party with him, and when he started drinking he had gotten a little carried away. While you sat next to Jun and watched Mingyu bounce around the party you couldn’t help but laugh. You had never actually seen him drunk before.
If you had thought he was clingy before, you were in for a whole new world seeing him right now.
“Babbbbbbeeeeeeee,” he called out, rushing over to you. You waved him away, trying to persuade him not to come over but it did nothing. He scooped you up, laughing as he drew you close and made a show of kissing you.
“Ew stop,” you said, still laughing. He pulled away and pouted at you so you rolled your eyes and gave him another kiss.
As you kissed him, your heart leaped, and your mind wasn’t on the people watching, but Mingyu himself.
-
“Can we make some soup dumplings?” Jaeyun asked, rolling over on your couch to look at you. You shrugged and looked over at Rei who was fiddling with her switch.
“I’m okay with that, are you?”
Rei shrugged.
“I could eat.”
You nodded and got up to start making the food when there was a knock at your door. A puzzled expression crossed your face as you walked up to the door, surprised to find that Mingyu was standing there.
“Hey, now I know you don’t like surprises but I thought maybe we could hangout? I brought my switch.”
You laughed at the puppy dog look on Mingyu’s face and leaned on the frame of your door.
“Mingyu, my friends are over,” you said. You gestured behind you to Rei and Jaeyun who were peering at you two from the living room. Mingyu’s face fell.
“Oh,” he said.
“And that’s why you should message me before you come over,” you said softly. “I would love to hang out, but not right now. You could come over later if you want?”
And just like that, Mingyu’s face lit up again.
“It’s a date!”
He started to turn away, but before he could completely he grabbed the collar of his shirt, pulling him around so that you could press a kiss to his lips.
Butterflies sprouted in your belly.
“Okay, see ya.”
You closed the door before Mingyu could say anything, honestly feeling warm at just having gotten to see him today. When you looked across the hall at your friends they were looking at you with the biggest shit eating grins on their faces. You rolled your eyes.
“Okay let me hear it.”
“No, no, nothing,” Rei said with a laugh. She tried to give you a serious expression but a smile kept breaking through. “It’s just interesting to see the person who hates pda, and surprises be so happy with it.”
“I’m not...” You trailed off. When had you become so okay with all of these things. With Donghyun you had never entertained surprises or pda, but with Mingyu you actually looked forward to it. You loved his friendship with you, you loved it when he showed up places you didn’t expect him because you just loved to see him.
And when he kissed you...
“Oh my god I’m in love with him.”
You slammed your hand over your mouth, your eyes widening.
“Wait I-”
Rei and Jaeyun practically tripped over themselves to scramble over to you. Rei grabbed your wrist.
“Oh my god,” she said. “Have you said that to him yet?”
To them it was a big deal in a completely different way than it was for you. It had taken you a full year to tell Donghyun that you loved him, and then you had only said it because he was ready, and you just wanted to humor him when he was ready. It was two years in before you were ready to say it to him, and that wasn’t because you hadn’t loved him, you just hadn’t been ready yet.
But you realized now that you were so in love with Kim Mingyu. You loved his smile, you loved how he teased you when the two of you were alone but defended the hell out of you to everyone else. You loved it when he held you when you cried, and when he let you hold his hand at parties and now every time that you had initiated a kiss made sense.
-
“Hey,” you looked up at your boss, who was giving you a skeptical look. You felt panic shoot through your body. Had you forgotten to do some paper work? Had you missed a deadline?
“I’m almost done with the report that’s due next week,” you said quickly. “I-”
“No, that’s not it,” your boss said with a sigh. “You have a visitor... Just wanted to make sure you actually knew him.”
Your eyebrows furrowed.
“A visitor...?”
Your boss gestured down the hall behind him, and you peeked around him. Mingyu was standing there, his fingers toying with a cup of pens on the welcome desk. He accidentally knocked it over, and his eyes widened as he scrambled to gather all of them. Once they were all back in the cup he looked around to see if anyone had seen and he made eye contact with you. His eyes widened, and he raised his hand in an excited wave.
A smile crossed your lips as butterflies sprouted in your stomach.
“That’s my boyfriend,” you explained, turning your attention back to his boss. “He won’t bother me too much, I can take my lunch break right now.”
Your boss sighed.
“I guess that’s okay.”
You thanked him and walked down the hall, opening the door to your center of offices. You smiled at Mingyu.
“Look who it is,” you said softly. Mingyu eagerly closed the distance between you two, giving you a kiss to the corner of your lips. Your face reddened in embarrassment.
“I missed you,” he whined. “Why did Jaeyun and Rei stay for so long last night?”
“I’m sorry,” you said with a laugh. “We just lost track of time and then it was so late that it was better that they stayed the night.”
Mingyu rolled his eyes, but he didn’t argue with you. Instead, he reached forward, holding his hand out for you to take.
You felt your heart leap at the gesture. You usually didn’t mind showing those little signs of affection, but now... You felt your body burning.
You decided to pretend that you didn’t know what he wanted. You turned around and gestured for him to follow you.
“I just need one more second,” you said. “You can...”
You reached for a spare chair and pulled it up to the corner of your desk. You led Mingyu to the chair, pushing him down in it and patted his shoulders.
“Stay there.”
You returned to your work, Mingyu sitting silently beside you. You started typing, the sound of your fingers dancing across the keyboard filling the air. The silence only lasted for a second. You heard Sehun clear his throat and you sighed.
“Yes Sehun.”
You looked up to find him, Sowon, Mina, Eunbi, and Wendy all staring at you with wide eyes.
“Are you going to introduce us?” Sehun said, gesturing towards Mingyu. You looked at Mingyu who had a smile spread across his face. You rolled your eyes.
“No.”
A laugh erupted from Mingyu, and he stood up.
“I’m Kim Mingyu, the boyfriend,” he introduced. As if to prove it he leaned down, pressing a chaste kiss to your lips. Your eyes widened at the kiss. You felt your fingers falter and your eyes flickered up to him in surprise. “Sorry, I think someone’s jealous that I’m giving you attention.”
His hand landed on your head, and he beamed at your coworkers.
“I’m not jealous,” you mumbled, but even as you said it your chest tightened. A weird feeling in itself. You never got jealous of people. In fact, when you had been dating Donghyun he had been the one who got jealous.
You didn’t see a reason in feeling jealous when someone interacted with someone.
Maybe... Maybe it was because this wasn’t real.
You looked up at Mingyu, who was looking back down at you.
“Mingyu and I are just going to get lunch,” you said, ripping your eyes from Mingyu. “But babe, I actually... I have a lot more work than I thought I did. I don’t think I have time to go out.”
A disappointed look flickered across Mingyu’s face.
“What? But-”
“That’s why you shouldn’t surprise me,” you said pointedly. “I’ll be at your game next week; we can hang out after the game, right?”
The disappointment was still evident on Mingyu’s face, but he seemed reserved to the fact that you had made your decision.
“Okay,” he said with a sigh. He leaned forward to give you a kiss, but you didn’t think your heart could handle it, you turned away as if you hadn’t noticed.
“I’ll see you!”
You glanced back at Mingyu, noticing that he had a weird look on his face. His eyebrows were pinched, and he was looking at you like you were a completely different person.
“Yeah, I’ll see you.”
You felt nervous all of a sudden. A buzzing in your brain that was different than what you were used to when you were socially interacting with people. Whenever you were near Mingyu, you felt like your body was screaming at you.
Make it real.
It took everything in you to keep your hands off of Mingyu. Even though you wanted it so badly you avoided touching him, and kissing him, and honestly being around him too much. It took everything in you not to run and hug him every time you saw him because you had just missed him so much.
You were so frustrated by these feelings. Even when you had first been with Donghyun it hadn’t been this bad.
The butterflies in your stomach, the way you couldn’t even hold his eye contact. And it didn’t help that he was literally the perfect fake boyfriend. For goodness sake you were two were making up this whole relationship. Did he know he didn’t actually need to be amazing?
He was always atune to your feelings and ducked you two out of social situations when you were too stressed. He made excuses to see you... Even though you kept reminding him you hated surprises he surprised you left and right... And you didn’t really hate it. It had gotten to the point where you hoped he would show up for your lunch break.
But you never asked him.
You gritted your teeth.
It was fake. It was fake. It was-
“And this is my better half,” Mingyu introduced, shuffling you forward ever-so-slightly. Your face reddened and you rolled your eyes.
“Hello,” you greeted. “He’s a little dramatic.”
“Oh I am not dramatic. I’m lost without you.”
Your heart leaped, but you tried to keep your composure. You were starting to wonder if he had forgotten it was fake.
“You’re acting weird.”
You glanced over at Jun who was sitting next to you on the counter of Seungcheol’s kitchen island. He was staring at you, his eyebrows furrowed.
“I’m not acting weird,” you denied. Jun looked away from you.
“You and Mingyu haven’t kissed today,” he replied. You shrugged.
“So? It’s a fake relationship. Our kisses are meticulously planned out-”
Jun barked out a laugh.
“We don’t need to kiss in front of you guys anymore,” you finished.
Jun hummed.
“Maybe.”
He didn’t sound very convinced. He let silence fall between you two. Only for a few minutes.
“You’re staring at him a lot.”
“He’s drinking a lot,” you said back. “This would be a toxic fake relationship if I didn’t watch out for him.”
“He comes to you when he’s too drunk because you have to make him feel better for your arrangement,” Jun stated. “You don’t have to watch him so closely to make sure he’s okay.”
You decided the best way to avoid Jun was to ignore him. That turned out to be the wrong decision.
Jun suddenly leaned in close to you. He looked at you with a mischievous smile on his face.
“You like him.”
You sighed.
“Don’t be stupid.”
Jun laughed at that. Leaning back on his hands.
“You never used to blush so much around him,” Jun said. “It’s very telling. You don’t want your relationship to be fake anymore.”
It was true, and hearing it out loud made it even worse.
“You’re annoying Jun.”
Jun sighed, and rolled his head back.
“You’re just mad because I’m right. You like me better than everyone else here.”
“That’s true,” you agreed with a laugh. You and Jun watched in silence for a moment as Mingyu and Soonyoung both shot gunned a bear together.
“You know, I think you two would be good for each other.”
You looked at Jun.
“We are good for each other. Remember? Fake relationship.”
Jun rolled his eyes.
“Yeah, don’t you think it’s a little too perfect. Lies are clunky and awkward. But you two have made it work so well and so easy, it’s almost like it hasn’t even been fake from the beginning.”
You were starting to think Jun was missing the point.
“But it was fake.”
Jun sighed.
“If it’s fake, Mingyu won’t get jealous.”
You frowned.
“Jealous of wh-”
Before you could even finish speaking Jun had leaned forward again. He placed his hand flat on the counter between your legs, his chest brushing against your arm. His lips grew closer to yours, his hot breath mingling with yours. You weren’t impressed. You weren’t even flustered.
“Trying to be a homewrecker Jun?”
But before he could answer, you two were being forcibly separated. Arms wrapped tightly around your body, and dragged you close to what you knew had to be Mingyu’s chest.
“What are you two doing?” Mingyu whined. He looked down at you, his eyes wide. “Did you forget that you were dating me?”
“There was something on your shirt,” Jun said, directing the comment to you. He looked up at Mingyu. “I was just trying to get it off.”
He acted innocent, but you could tell but the slight twitch of his lips. This is exactly what he had wanted.
“Mingyu you know you are the only one that I want,” you said softly. Mingyu looked frustrated so you sighed.
You leaned up, and very tenderly gave him a kiss.
“Remember? We’re in this together.”
That seemed to make Mingyu happy. He dipped down again, giving you another deeper kiss. It was a little sloppy, probably because of how drunk he was, but you didn’t care at all. You couldn’t help but smile as you batted him away.
“You taste like alcohol.”
Which reminded Mingyu of his prior activity. He gave you a pat on the head and rushed back over to Soonyoung. You joined Jun back on the counter, trying to ignore the huge grin on his face.
“So if it’s so fake, why did he-”
“Just shut up Jun.”
The craziest thing to come from your relationship with Mingyu was the fact that you had started to actually enjoy his basketball games. A few months ago you wouldn’t have been able to say how many points a person got from shooting the ball in the hoop.
Now you were calling out penalties, and screaming as one of Mingyu’s teammates got the ball as they were running down the court. You felt your heart beating in your chest as the teams ran up and down the court, and you couldn’t help the smile on your face when Mingyu’s team won yet again.
Now you thought it was expected for you to leap over the barrier to go greet Mingyu after a game. You two were actually infamous for it. Even that one girl on tiktok who duetted cute couples had duetted a video of you two, angrily slamming her pillow into her bed.
It was weird to think that most people looked forward to the hug and kiss you gave Mingyu after a winning game.
Some people thought you were his lucky charm. They were unbeatable this season.
“I’m going to go change and I’ll be right back okay?” Mingyu said. You nodded, squeezing his hand.
“Yeah, I’ll be right here.”
After every game you and Mingyu went out to get ice cream. His team always tagged along, and Mingyu always made a huge point of complaining about how he just wanted to spend time with you, but you two had loved it anyways. It had helped make your relationship seem more real to have Mingyu isolate you at a table pretending like he didn’t know the twelve other boys in the ice cream parlor.
You watched as him and the other boys disappeared into the locker room, Jun sticking his tongue out at you as he passed. You rolled your eyes, and surfed the crowd for Rei and Jaeyun. You saw them, giving you a wave good bye as they walked out with the crowd. You smiled.
You sort of regretted not coming out with them to games before. God it was fun.
“Hey. We need to talk.”
You turned around, your smile disappearing from your lips as you came face to face with the last person that you wanted to see.
“I don’t have anything to say to you Donghyun.”
Your mind raced to remember all of Mingyu’s rules. You couldn’t be talking to Donghyun, you had to-
“Stop avoiding me,” Donghyun snapped. “You haven’t let me explain myself, you blocked my number, you blocked me on social media-”
“You’re dating Jennie now, isn’t that enough?” You demanded. Donghyun pressed his lips together tightly.
“I’m just dating Jennie to make you jealous,” Donghyun exclaimed in frustration. “I don’t want Jennie, I want you, and I know that you want me too-”
You stopped listening to him, you just tried to brace yourself from the feelings that were sure to surge up. The longing in your heart to take Donghyun back, the wish to just be in his arms again, but... It never came.
“So? Are you finally going to listen to me? Stop frolicking around with some basketball player with no brains-”
“Don’t talk about Mingyu like that,” you interrupted. “Say whatever dumb excuse you want to give me for cheating on me but don’t talk bad about Mingyu.”
Donghyun scoffed.
“Are you serious? Are you pretending that you actually care about him? I know you are just trying to make me jealous.”
“Jealous?!” You blurted. You couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m not trying to make you jealous, Donghyun I don’t even care about you anymore.”
A thick silence fell between the two of you. Donghyun looked more surprised than you had ever seen him in his life, and you understood why. He had always been a master of your feelings. He always won arguments because he played to whatever made you happiest, unless he thought that he could win.
“That’s not true,” Donghyun mumbled. “You’re nothing without me. You have no friends. You have no social life. You have nothing.”
A frown crossed your face.
“I don’t ever want to see you again,” you mumbled. “I can’t believe-”
“What’s going on?” You had never felt your heart sink faster. You looked across the room, suddenly acutely aware of the fact that you were standing inches away from Donghyun and... When had Donghyun’s hand gotten on your wrist?
You ripped yourself away from Donghyun.
“Mingyu, it’s nothing,” you insisted. He completely ignored you. He stormed towards you, stretching out his arms like he was about to punch Donghyun.
“How many times do I have to tell you to get lost?” Mingyu demanded. You rushed up to him, throwing your hands on his chest. Considering Mingyu’s strength you thought that would do absolutely nothing. But Mingyu stopped moving as soon as your hands touched him. “I swear to god I’m going to-”
“Legally, he’s lying,” you said. You slapped your hand across Mingyu’s chest. “We’re leaving.”
“But-”
“We’re leaving,” you repeated. Mingyu turned around as you directed, letting you drag him all the way back to his locker room. You shut the door behind him, and took a deep breath. “Look before you freak out-”
“What was that?” Mingyu demanded. You hated that he was yelling at you, but you understood why he was upset. He thought that you were going back to a cheater, after building such a strong relationship with him it felt like you were falling backwards.
But you weren’t falling backwards.
“It was nothing,” you insisted. “He just wanted to talk-”
“Your rules-”
“I tried to follow them I just-”
“You know he’s just going to break your heart again,” Mingyu said. You looked away from him. You hated to fight. You could feel the tears beginning to run down your cheeks.
“He’s not going to break my heart,” you denied.
“He did it once, he’ll do it again,” Mingyu replied. He looked a little sad. He reached forward, gingerly rubbing a tear from your cheek. “People don’t change.”
You didn’t reply, which didn’t seem to make Mingyu forget what he had walked in on. You could see the frustration furrowed into his brow. He groaned and pulled away from you.
“I just don’t get why you would even want that asshole back, ” Mingyu blurted.
“I don’t want him back Mingyu.”
“Right, of course you don’t.”
“I’m serious.”
“Then why were you making googly eyes at him?”
“For fucks sake Mingyu I think I’m falling in love with you.”
Mingyu looked at you like his whole world had just come to an end and it made your heart break just a little. You looked away from him.
“And look I know you don’t feel the same way-“
“Shut up.”
“I didn’t want to ruin our friendship,” you explained. “But you’ve got to understand-“
“Shut up,” Mingyu repeated.
“I don’t even miss Donghyun anymore. I used to think that I needed him, but now I know I don’t and I want you-“
“Do you listen at all?” Mingyu demanded. You decided to keep ignoring him.
“I understand if you want to end the fake relationship,” you whispered. “I just want-“
“I said shut up.”
Before you could speak again Mingyu had surged forward, one of his hands slipped around your waist to hold the small of your back and his other hand tangled itself in your hair as he pushed his lips to yours. You hadn’t realized exactly how desperate you had been for Mingyu until his lips were on yours, and then it was like you could only breath when he was kissing you.
There was no denying the electricity sparking between the two of you as you panted against one another’s mouths. A whine ripped from your mouth as Mingyu wrapped his arm around your back, pulling you closer to him.
“Does this mean-”
Mingyu interrupted you by deepening the kiss. He backed you two slowly up against the wall, his hands traveling your body. After a few long moments, he pulled back.
“I love you too,” he mumbled. “I do I have I hated everything being fake.”
You still couldn’t breathe, and it wasn’t because the kiss had completely knocked the breath from your lungs.
“You mean you want-”
“You,” Mingyu interrupted. “I want to be a cliché, strangers to friends to lovers.”
You couldn’t help the laugh the erupted from your chest causing Mingyu to pull away, a smile spread over his lips.
“Are you making fun of me?”
You were still laughing but you pressed a kiss to Mingyu’s lips.
“It’s not that,” you said. “I just- you sound so cheesy.”
“Are you surprised?” Mingyu asked mirroring your smile. You shook your head.
“No.”
A comfortable silence fell over the two of you as you stared at each other. You weren’t really sure what to do, you were just so excited to be there with him, to be officially official.
“We should go,” you said softly. “The others will get suspicious if we aren’t there for ice cream.”
Mingyu nodded.
“Right.”
He didn’t move, instead he just stared at you, that same goofy smile on his face.
“You know, you’re...” You cleared your throat. “You are really close.”
Mingyu snickered.
“We’ve kissed how many times? But now we’re too close?” He asked teasingly. You gave him a small glare.
“You’re annoying.”
“You love me,” he said happily. “Besides do you really want me to pull away?”
He made no move to pull away from you, and you made no move to move yourself. Your eyes flickered to the ground.
“Stupid,” you mumbled. “I guess you can stay there if you want.”
Mingyu laughed, and leaned forward, burying his face in your neck. You smiled warmly, wrapping your arms around his body.
“You really sure you want to date me?” You asked him, your voice soft. “It’s not too late to back out you know.”
Mingyu shook his head, his lips pressing briefly to your neck. You shivered slightly, but... You rested your head on Mingyu’s.
“I’m happy with us,” he said. “I think we’ve already proved that we work.”
“That was fake,” you replied. You felt Mingyu’s lips move, you could only imagine it was to smile.
“Was it fake?” He asked. He pulled away from you and looked up at you. “We kissed a lot for a fake relationship.”
“We did kiss a lot,” you said with a laugh. “And I told you I didn’t like pda.”
“You initiated most of them!” Mingyu denied. You raised an eyebrow at him.
“When you were drunk-”
“You knew what you were getting into fake dating me,” Mingyu insisted. “I punched your ex-boyfriend when I was drunk once.”
You couldn’t help but smile.
“You sure know how to win my heart.”
Real dating Mingyu wasn’t that different then fake dating him.
Maybe that’s how you knew that you had been really bad at faking your relationship. You had gone into your situation-ship with him with such real feelings, and he had been so supportive and perfect. It’s was no wonder to you that you had fallen in love with him.
And yet, it almost sucked that you two had been fake dating in the first place because it meant that you didn’t really have anyone to tell that you two were official to. Well, no one except...
“Jun.”
Jun kept walking his earbuds in his ears. You sighed, trying very hard not to look like an over excited fan.
“Jun.”
You finally caught up to him, tapping his shoulder. He glanced at you; his eyes widening slightly when he realized it was you.
“Hey, what are you doing here?”
“I asked Mingyu for your schedule,” you replied. You didn’t offer him much more of an explanation and you two walked for a minute in silence. “Mingyu and I are dating now.”
“I knew it,” Jun exclaimed excitedly. You rolled your eyes, pretending to be annoyed but in reality... You were so happy with his response. You wanted this so badly. To be able to tell people that you were dating Mingyu and for them to be excited for you. You had really taken advantage of it before.
“What did I tell you?” Jun continued. “You and Mingyu like each other and what did you say-”
“Yeah, yeah,” you said with a roll of your eyes. “I get it, you were right.”
A troubled look spread over Jun’s face.
“I should have made a bet with you,” he mumbled. “I could have gotten something out of this.”
You laughed and he started to walk forward, you fell in step beside him, not really having anything to do other than hang out with Jun at the moment.
“So, now that you two aren’t fake...” A mischievous expression crossed Jun’s face. “When are you going to... You know.”
You stared at him blankly.
“I don’t know.”
Jun rolled his eyes.
“Well before you Mingyu was a very.... sexually active-”
Your eyes widened.
“Shut up-”
“I’m just saying, Mingyu is a very attractive man.”
Color flooded your face.
“We like just started dating,” you stammered. He laughed.
“But technically you’ve been fake dating for a long time now,” Jun said. “You can’t tell me you haven’t thought about it.”
You wished you could tell Jun you hadn’t thought about it. When you were fake dating, it was all pondered for curiosity. Just a seed of thought in your brain that was pretty easy to ignore, but now.
The color on your face was all the evidence that Jun needed.
“Just saying, Mingyu is rough in bed,” he said with a whistle. “I hope that you can handle it.”
Ever since your stupid conversation with stupid Jun, things had become more awkward then ever around Mingyu.
There was of course the puppy dog phase between the two of you, excited to be officially dating, but there was also an underlying narrative that just kept running through your head. Whenever his fingers brushed against your body or his lips were on yours... You wanted more.
“Babe,” you looked up from the card game between you and Jun, giving Mingyu a smile.
“What’s up Gyu?” You asked him, setting your cards on the table.
“Jihoon won’t play mario kart with me,” he whined. He came up behind you, burying his face in your neck. He pressed a kiss there, his teeth grazing your neck. Heat crept up your face.
“That sucks,” you said, trying to keep your voice even. Jun’s eyebrows raised as he looked at you a smile spreading over his lips. “But Mingyu, I can’t make him play with you.”
Mingyu whined against your neck, causing your eyes to widen even more. You raised your hand to pat against his head, hoping it would get him to move because if he kept whining into your neck, you would have a serious problem.
Lucky for you, he pulled away from you.
“It’s not fair,” he mumbled. You nodded, pressing a kiss to the corner of his lips.
“We can play later, okay?”
That satisfied him and he bounded back over to the other side of the room, beginning to loudly brag about how you always play games with him. You turned your attention back to Jun, your face still red.
“Don’t say anything,” you murmured. Jun shrugged innocently.
“There’s an empty room down the hall if you need to-”
You threw the deck of cards at Jun’s face.
“Hey Mingyu,” you murmured, glancing at Mingyu from across the room. He had come over to hang out, but you had been busy studying all day, you finally had a chance to breath, and you wanted to see what he was up to. He glanced up at you, and then back down at his switch.
“Just playing Fall Guys,” he said. “You want to watch?”
You nodded eagerly and wandered over to the couch. You craned your neck to look over at Mingyu’s screen, but he only let you sit there next to him.
“Come closer,” he mumbled. He wrapped his arm around your waist and pulled up onto his lap. He trapped you between his arms and peeked his head around yours so that he could look at the game. You couldn’t even bare to focus on what was before. You tried your best to look at the pastel-colored game, but you couldn’t focus on it.
All you could focus on was Mingyu’s hot breath on your neck and... You willed yourself not to think about what you knew you had to be sitting on. You were so close to him; you could practically hear your heart pounding in your chest.
You tried your best to focus.
“You’re not doing very good,” you observed as his character fell off one of the wheels. Mingyu huffed.
“I’m better then you are.”
You supposed that was true. After all, he wasn’t hard, and you... You were progressively getting wetter and wetter.
-
“Babe,” Mingyu called, running towards you from across the hall, you blinked in surprise at the sight of him. He didn’t explain anything, instead he grabbed a fistful of your shirt and dragged you close to him. Without any explanation he pressed his lips to yours. He had been gone for the last few days, at a game hours away from where you were.
You were surprised to see him back so soon.
You practically melted under his touch, wishing that his hands were touching you more then they already were. You wrapped your arms around him and as you did Mingyu pulled away from you, resting his forehead against yours.
“I missed you so much, you’re coming with me next time,” Mingyu said. You rolled your eyes.
“I have class Mingyu, I don’t get exceptions like you.”
Your body was burning. You missed him too, you were so glad he was back.
“I hate being away from you,” Mingyu mumbled.
You couldn’t understand how you had gotten so lucky.
When you and Donghyun broke up in that moment your entire world had ended. For just a moment you didn’t think that you would ever be happy again. But Mingyu had saved you. Despite not knowing you at all he had caught you when you fell, he had been there for you when you needed him the most, and he was probably one of the best people that you had ever met in your life.
“I should never have let you cook,” Mingyu said, laughing as you patted out the fire on your oven. You shot him a glare over your shoulder.
“I’m not usually this much of a disaster,” you murmured. “It was just one time.”
“And I have never set something on fire in the kitchen,” Mingyu replied. “So, who should have cooked again?”
You grabbed some flour from a bowl and threw it at Mingyu’s face. He laughed in surprise.
“Hey,” he complained. “Now my shirt is all dirty.”
“Why don’t you just take it off,” you mocked back. “It’s just a shirt.”
Mingyu’s eyebrows raised slightly.
“You would like that wouldn’t you?” He teased lightly. “You’ve just been begging me to take my shirt off.”
You rolled your eyes.
“You sound like Jun,” you said without thinking about it.
“You and Jun talk about me being shirtless?” Mingyu asked you. Your eyes widened when you realized what you had implied.
“I plead the fifth.”
Mingyu laughed and shrugged.
“Well, I actually am going to take my shirt off,” he said. “Because you did ruin it and frankly I don’t want to wear it anymore.”
The reasonable part of you knew that you should argue with him and tell him to keep it on, but the part of you that wanted to see him shirtless didn’t care. You tried to pretend you weren’t interested by looking away from him, but it didn’t really matter. He wasn’t looking at you in the first place.
“Well, what are we going to eat for dinner then?” You asked. Mingyu laughed.
“We’ll just order a pizza. I can call them right now.”
You nodded and walked into your front room, sitting down on your couch.
“Get pepperoni.”
It only took Mingyu a few minutes to finish ordering the pizza, and then he came and joined you on the couch. You took one look at him and rolled your eyes.
“Mingyu put your shirt back on,” you said. He shook his head.
“Uh, no. You got my shirt dirty; you have to deal with me not wearing a shirt.”
“But it’s so annoying,” you whined. “You’re distracting me.”
Mingyu laughed.
“What am I too attractive?”
You scoffed.
“More like you are too ugly.”
Mingyu didn’t respond for a moment and then he took you by your shoulders pushing you down onto the couch. You looked up at him with wide eyes.
“Are you sure that I am still too ugly?” He asked teasingly.
You felt your heart thumping in your chest as you looked up at Mingyu, he was staring at you with an unreadable expression, his lips so close to you that all you would have to do would be to tilt your head and your lips would touch.
“You should stay the night,” you murmured, your face blazing hot. Mingyu’s lips twitched upwards.
“Yeah, and what are we going to do then?”
Mingyu pulled back slightly, his hand traveled down to your waist and his fingers dipped under your shirt. You shivered under his touch.
“Well...” You trailed off; you were so embarrassed. “You know.”
“Watch a movie?” Mingyu asked, his tone low and teasing. “Read books? Eat ice cream? Get some sleep.”
He knew what he was doing, and you knew he could feel how embarrassed you were by the heat of your skin, but he was not doing you any favors.
“I want you to touch me,” you whispered. His eyebrows rose in amusement.
“Oh?”
His fingers dipped deeper within your shirt, his hands splaying over your chest.
“You want me to touch you? Where?” He asked teasingly. A whine left your lips and you arched your back into his touch.
“Just... Touch me,” you murmured. He smiled and began to run his fingers lightly up and down your sides, making your body tingle under his touch.
“You know how badly I’ve been wanting to feel your body?” Mingyu asked you softly. You looked up at him, your face still burning. “You know how absolutely beautiful you are?”
You raised your hands to your face, covering it so Mingyu couldn’t see you. He let out a noise of disappointment at that and his fingers retracted from your body. Your hands shot out so that you could grab his wrists.
“Don’t stop,” you blurted. A sound of amusement left his lips.
“Then don’t cover your face.”
You nodded and let go of Mingyu’s hands, hiding your hands behind your back. He smiled and his hands returned to your body, his fingers slid up to the edge of your bra and he lowered his hands to your back and unclasped it.
A squeak left your lips, but Mingyu paid it no mind.
“Sit up,” he instructed softly. You did as he said, and he slowly pulled your shirt off. You felt cool air on your hot skin and you shivered, reaching forward to hold onto Mingyu’s shoulders. He smiled and leaned forward, his lips attaching to your neck again. He peppered kiss after kiss across your collarbone, every once in a while, stopping to bite down lightly on your neck, always soothing over it with his tongue.
With each kiss, every touch, you felt yourself shiver and tighten your grip on Mingyu as if that would do anything for you. He wasn’t paying much attention to your desperation as his lips trailed down your body. You heard a small sound of desperation leave your lips as Mingyu’s lips trailed over your breasts, his tongue darting out to flick over your tits.
Mingyu laughed at the sound, peaking his head up to look at you.
“There something you want?” He asked you teasingly. You shot him a glare.
“Why are you-”
Before you could finish talking, he dipped his head again, lips latching onto your breast. His tongue darted from his mouth, dancing over your nipple. Your fingers buried into Mingyu’s hair, whining as he began to suck your nipples, his teeth nipping at you briefly.
“Fuck Mingyu,” you mumbled softly. He laughed against you.
“That’s not a very good word babe. Somebody should do something about that mouth of yours.”
Mingyu trailed back up your body, his lips pressing firmly against yours. You whined into his mouth, tightening your grip in his hair so that you could press him closer to you. He pulled away sooner then you liked.
“But I can kiss you anywhere anytime huh? Let’s do something more fun.”
Finally, Mingyu’s mouth began to trail lower down your body. He hummed when he got to your waist.
“You have too much on,” he murmured.
“Mingyu I’m shirtless,” you blurted. He shrugged.
“But what I want to do with you doesn’t end with your shirt being off.”
You didn’t really need to be told twice. You got up, shuffling out of your clothes. Mingyu did too, but he was much faster. By the time that you were naked he was sitting on the couch again. You looked over at him, embarrassed by the way he was looking at you.
“What?” You murmured, your face burning. A smile slowly crossed his lips.
“You’re just beautiful.”
Your eyes widened and you looked away from him.
“Shut-”
Mingyu wrapped his arms around you, suddenly pulling you flush against his body. His nose brushed against yours and he gave you a chaste kiss.
“I’m so lucky to have you,” he mumbled. He dragged you closer to him, turning you so that you were laying on the couch again. He lowered his lips to your neck again and his fingers prodded between your legs. At first his fingers just slowly slid up and down your folds, barely pushing in to feel the wetness between your thighs. You let out a soft whine as he dipped a finger into your pussy. Your hips wiggled making Mingyu press a hand on your pelvis to hold you still.
“You seem a little desperate babe,” he mumbled. You bit down hard on your lip to prevent yourself from telling him to stop teasing you so much. You thought that if you did, he would stop touching you and... You really didn’t want him to stop touching you.
Mingyu didn’t seem to mind this, instead he focused on pressing another finger into you. His fingers bent up inside of you, making you want to try and arch your back again. Unluckily for you, Mingyu was a bit too strong.
“Mingyu I want to-”
You were interrupted by your own strangled moan when Mingyu pushed his fingers deep inside of you again, scissoring his fingers in and out of you. The stretch sent a burn of pleasure soaring through your body. You wiggled underneath him more.
“I want to move,” you whined when you finally found your voice again. Mingyu snorted.
“I think you’re fine,” he said. “Unless you want to tell me that you want me to stop, I think you’re fine being held in place while I finger you.”
You whined again, but you didn’t want him to stop.
“I-I can bear with it,” you agreed breathlessly. He laughed. He leaned down, his tongue darting out to flick over your clit, causing you to cry out. “Fuck maybe I can’t.”
Mingyu laughed again and looked up at you as he slid a third finger into you.
“I’ve got to keep you still so that I can open you up for me,” he said teasingly. You groaned, thrusting your head back against the cushions.
“Fuck you,” you mumbled.
“No babe, I’m fucking you.”
He dipped his head again, his lips attaching to your clit. You moaned loudly, your fingers balling.
“Please, fuck, I need you to do more than just fucking tease me,” you blurted. Mingyu hummed against your clit which did not change your level of urgency. “Please just fuck me already.”
Mingyu peaked up at you.
“What did you want exactly?”
His fingers spread deep inside of you.
“I want your dick inside me please Mingyu, please, please, please,” you begged. As cruel as Mingyu seemed he still pulled his fingers from you, lightly tapping your pussy with his hand.
“Well since you insist, I suppose I could do something for you.”
Mingyu pulled away from him, positioning himself between your legs. He took a deep breath and looked at you.
“You sure?” He asked softly. “I should be safe and find a condom-”
“No,” you interrupted your face blazing red. “I don’t need- You can just- You know-”
Mingyu smiled at you and nodded.
“Okay,” he said softly. “You ready?”
You nodded.
“Ready.”
Mingyu slowly slid into you, making your back arch in a mix of pleasure and pain. You pressed your hands against Mingyu’s chest as he came fully seated in you.
“J-Just- One sec-second,” you murmured. “I just-”
“Take your time,” Mingyu replied softly. He dipped his head, placing a few soft kisses to your neck. You whined at the touch, feeling yourself begin to feel a little more comfortable on him. You wiggled your hips a little, forcing the stretch a bit more.
“You’re just... Bigger than I’m used to,” you mumbled. Mingyu chuckled.
“Let me guess, Donghyun couldn’t compare?” He asked. You could tell that was just an ego boost for him, so you decided to just completely ignore the question. Even if it was true. You only needed a few more minutes, you wiggled your hips and the burn was only pleasurable. You wrapped your arms around Mingyu’s body.
“O-Okay,” you murmured. Mingyu began to slowly slide himself out of you, the burn sending shoots of pleasure through your body, and low moans left your lips as he slowly began to push himself back in. His pace was slow, probably to make sure that you didn’t get hurt. You appreciated it but...
“I uhm...” You bit down on your lip and looked away from Mingyu. “I heard you like it rough. You can... You can be a little rougher.”
A chuckle left Mingyu’s lips.
“Are you sure you can handle it?” He asked you. You shot him a glare.
“I’m not made of glass Mingyu.”
“You’re not,” he agreed. “But I’d hate for you to go from little vanilla Donghyun to-”
“Just fuck me Mingyu.”
“Only if you say please-”
Mingyu came at a full stop inside of you, his cock pressed deep within you. You squirmed underneath him.
“Mingyu just-”
“I won’t move until you ask nicely,” Mingyu replied. “Unless you want me to just go ahead and pull out- There are other things-”
“Okay, okay,” you interrupted. You looked up at Mingyu. “Please fuck me.”
A grin spread over Mingyu’s face.
“Well since you begged so prettily-”
He cut himself off by pulling his dick almost entirely out and then slamming it back inside of you. You cried out in surprise, throwing your hand over your mouth. Mingyu looked down at you, a dark look in his eyes.
“I want to hear you baby,” he murmured. “And you know to just say something if it becomes too much.”
You nodded and moved your hand from your mouth, but you didn’t get much time to recover from the surprise of his first thrust. Mingyu wasted no time, beginning to set a cruel fast pace, his hips pressing his cock deep inside of you fast. Noises you didn’t even know you could make were leaving your mouth, each thrust making tears of pleasure sprout at the corners of your eyes.
“Baby,” Mingyu mumbled, leaning down to catch your lips with his. “You feel so good, you know that?”
Mingyu’s voice was rough, and lower than you were used to hearing it, and it only made the pleasure coil even more in your stomach.
“M-Ming-gyu,” you stammered, slamming your eyes shut. “It feels so good, please I want- Harder- More-”
You sounded like an idiot, barely able to form a coherent sentence, but you didn’t even care, as you spoke Mingyu pushed down on your pelvis, pushing one of your legs further out with his hand. It just proved to push him deeper inside of you. You whined, your fingers digging into Mingyu’s back.
“You’re so good for me baby, taking so much,” he murmured. “You’re so wet too, absolutely dripping, how badly have you been wanting this?”
“S-So badly Mingyu,” you admitted. “I’ve been wanting you so badly.”
A low growl left his lips as he surged forward, his lips pressing against yours again. Usually when Mingyu kissed you he was fairly gentle, even when you two were making out it was more passion then desperation, but right now. You felt like you could barely breath, each thrust made you pant against his lips, and he didn’t even seem to care as his tongue prodded yours.
“M-Mingyu, I can’t- I’m going to-”
“Good,” Mingyu interupted you. His hips stuttered a little. “Want to feel you cum around my cock okay?”
You nodded wordlessly, and it only took Mingyu a few more thrusts before you were coming around him, your walls spasming out of your control. You buried your face in Mingyu’s neck to avoid screaming too loudly. He fucked you through your orgasm until your toes curled from the sensation of still having him seated deeply inside of you. You whined out in pleasure and oversensitivity.
“Pl-Please, c-cum to, you’ve gotta c-cum too-”
Before you could even finish your nonsensical begging Mingyu pulled his cock out of you, he gave himself a few pumps and buried his fingers in your hair. He gave you a small tug.
“On your knees, mouth open, don’t break eye contact.”
You scrambled to get into position, your body still shaking a little and your mouth panting as you tried to catch your breath. Mingyu only gave himself a few more pumps before his cum began to spray on your face. A few ropes falling on your tongue and a few landing on your cheeks. You waited until Mingyu’s hand in your hair relaxed and he knelt down in front of you, pressing a kiss to your lips, tasting himself on your tongue.
You buried your own hands in his hair as you deepened the kiss, your pussy suddenly feeling empty without his cock buried inside of it.
“Mingyu,” you mumbled, against his lips. He pulled back, not answering you. Instead, he pressed a kiss to your cheek, cleaning his semen off of you. HIs fingers travelled down your body, his fingers slowly sliding over your folds.
“You okay?”
You nodded against him.
“Sensitive.”
He dipped his fingers briefly inside of you and then raised them to his lips, sucking his fingers into his mouth. Your nose wrinkled and he laughed.
“What? You taste good.”
His fingers dipped briefly into your pussy again and he held his soaked fingers up to your face.
“Taste,” he said. You opened your mouth to protest but that only resulted in him pushing his fingers into your mouth. You sucked them clean, your face burning at the embarrassment of licking your own juices off of his fingers.
Mingyu didn’t ask you how it tasted. Instead his eyes flickered to your lips and he leaned forward, dragging you into another deep kiss. As he pressed closer to you his knee pressed between your legs, brushing up against your folds. You whined against his lips and involuntarily rolled your hips against his leg. He laughed and pulled back.
“Still horny huh?”
You buried your face into his neck.
“Shut-“
You were cut off by yourself gasping lightly as a result of Mingyu pressing you back into the couch and sliding his cock back inside of you.
Your lips pressed against Mingyu’s skin as you tried to muffle the desperate moans that were falling from your lips. His first thrust was slow, but he didn’t bother with being careful as soon as he had pressed all the way in.
He did one hard thrust, and then a second one faster. Loud moans at every thrust tumbled from your mouth as you tightened your grip on Mingyu yet again to keep from falling onto the couch cushions.
“You’re so good for me,” Mingyu mumbled. “So good.”
You nodded against Mingyu’s skin, bouncing back and forth as he thrust in and out of you.
He was fucking you a lot rougher this time then the first time but his words were all the same.
“So good.”
“You sound so pretty.”
“You feel so good, baby.”
You moaned at his words.
“Please,” you murmured. “H-Harder.”
Mingyu’s hand snacked between your bodies, his finger coming to play with your clit sloppily.
“You sound so dirty baby,” he said, amusement dancing in his voice. “You really want it harder? I’m already fucking you so hard.”
You mewled against Mingyu’s skin.
“You’re annoying,” you mumbled.
“And yet you're begging me to fuck you harder,” he replied. “That means you’re going to be good for me and cum, aren’t you?”
You didn’t care that he was teasing you. You nodded frantically against his neck feeling coils of pleasure curl in your stomach. It was like he could read your mind, you had no clue how he had known you were close.
“I’ll be good,” you agreed breathlessly. “I can be- I'll be so good.”
Mingyu’s own voice was starting to cut off to, his own moans tumbling from his lips as he grew closer too. You tugged Mingyu closer to you.
“Mingyu, please cum, please cum,” you began to beg. “C-cum inside me please.”
You could tell that Mingyu was shocked by your words by the way that his free hand rose to your hair and tightened in your strands.
“I can’t do that,” he mumbled. You nodded and peeked up at him.
“You can, please, it’ll be okay, I want it, I want to feel you inside of me.”
Mingyu searched your eyes, his own dark with pleasure. He sighed.
“Fine,” he murmured. “Since you want to beg for it like a slut-”
A small cry ripped through your body as you started to cum at the word. Mingyu’s grip in your hair tightened and he tilted your head back so that he could drag you into another airless kiss and it only took a few seconds before Mingyu’s thrusts were getting sloppily and you felt his cum start to coat your insides.
You were practically crying in pleasure against Mingyu’s mouth, feeling his hips stutter against you until finally coming to a stop deep inside of you. You felt your toes curl as you broke the kiss, panting heavily against Mingyu. He let you down on the couch, pressing soft kisses to your face.
“You, okay?” He asked softly, his own breath coming heavy and somewhat strained. You nodded.
“Tired,” you mumbled. He nodded with a laugh.
“Yeah, I’m sure you are,” he agreed. “You’re deceptively kinky, aren’t you?”
You groaned.
“Are you done teasing me?”
“Did you really cum when I called you a slut?”
“It was a coincidence!” You protested. He laughed.
“Alright sure, we’ll just test it next time.”
Mingyu laid down next to you, slowly pulling his cock out of you. You whined when he slipped out of you, your feelings balling against his back. You turned and buried your face in his neck.
“Feels weird,” you mumbled. “To have your cum inside of me.”
Mingyu bounced against your chest with laughter.
“You begged for it.”
“I liked it,” you agreed. “Still weird.”
Mingyu hummed and slid down your body, his lips pressing against your pussy lips. His tongue darted out against your sensitive pussy as he slowly began to clean out your pussy, licking the semen out of it. You whined.
“M-Mingyu,” you murmured. He ignored you and instead stayed licking out your pussy for a little bit. Not stopping until semen had stopped dripping out from inside of you.
“You want to take a shower?” He asked. You shook your head.
“Come back up here,” you said instead. Mingyu hummed and crawled back up, wrapping his arms around your body. You pressed your face into his chest. He seemed fairly amused.
“You going to go to sleep naked on your couch?” He asked. You nodded.
“And you’re not going to leave, okay?”
Mingyu nodded.
“I’m not going to even try.”
Suddenly, there was a soft knock at the door, and you groaned, burying your face further into Mingyu’s chest.
“Who is that?” He asked. You shrugged.
“The pizza? Maybe they’ll go away.”
They knocked again.
Mingyu laughed and began to pull away from you, you whined in protest but he just placed a hand on your head.
“I’ll be right back.”
He pulled his pants back on but didn’t bother with a shirt. He walked up to you door and you heard him unlock and open it.
“Hey stupid you left your pizza out- Mingyu?”
There was a moment of silence between Jun talking and Mingyu standing at your door without a shirt on. He laughed.
“I knew it.”
Your face burned red as you shot up, pulling a shirt over your head and pulling pants on. You rushed to the door.
“Shut up Jun, what are you even doing here?”
Jun held out your earbuds, a cocky smirk on his face.
“You left these with me the other day and I was around so…”
He trailed off as you snatched the ear buds from him.
“You know you look like a wreck-“
You pulled Mingyu by his wrist and slammed the door in Jun’s face. Mingyu laughed at you, pulling you close to his body.
“Jun knew what now?” He asked his voice full of mirth.
“Shut up,” you mumbled.
The best thing about dating Mingyu was dates.
Mingyu was a huge romantic and he loved taking you out on dates whenever he got the chance. As much as he enjoyed sitting around and gaming with you he much preferred to take you out to dinners, or take you on elaborate nights out.
Tonight was nothing elaborate. Ice cream with the guys to celebrate a win out of town. But still you were pretty excited about it.
You were so excited in fact that you weren’t really paying attention to where you were going.
You felt yourself bump into someone and as you were about to say sorry for doing so, you stopped.
“Donghyun-” Your eyes widened as you backed up a little. You glanced down at your phone. You were running late. “Look I don’t really have the time, I’m-”
“Meeting Mingyu for a date?” Donghyun asked, his voice low. “Right. You know he’s just using you right?”
You rolled your eyes. You thought it was a little desperate of him to try this now. Maybe when you two had first started this crazy fake relationship you would have thought about this, but Mingyu had been nothing but respectful of your space and general wishes. No part of you thought that he was capable of using you.
“Donghyun I don’t care what you think about him,” you said. “You’re just jealous for whatever dumb reason you justify with yourself to go to sleep at night.”
“Mingyu is a known fuck boy,” Donghyun said. “Let me guess. You’re fucking him, right?”
Color flooded your face.
“H-Hey, shut u-”
“You’re a slut,” Donghyun said with a shrug. “And he’s using you.”
“I’m so fucking tired of your bullshit Donghyun,” you mumbled. “You can’t just come in here and ask me about my business and my life when you long forfeited the rights to know what I’m doing.”
Hurt flashed through Donghyun’s eyes.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” you mumbled. “Seriously, you cheated on me, why are you acting like I suddenly left you for no reason?”
“You never even let me explain!” Donghyun protested.
“Okay then, explain,” you blurted. “Tell me your amazing excuse for why I caught you kissing someone else.”
“Because I was bored,” Donghyun yelled right back. Your anger dissipated, and you frowned.
“What?”
“You’re so boring, do you even know how boring it is to be in a relationship with you?” Donghyun asked. “For five years we dated, and you would barely do anything.”
“I am not boring,” you argued back.
“All you ever do is study! You never went to parties with me, and you hated kissing in public. You got upset if I tried to show you off-”
The more that Donghyun argued with you the more you began to realize something very important. All of the things that Donghyun argued about were things that you did with Mingyu. You didn’t care when Mingyu showed you off or kissing him in public, you went to parties with him every week...
You laughed once in disbelief and then again. Donghyun stopped in the middle of his sentence.
“What is so funny?” He asked. You shrugged.
“I just... I do all of those things with Mingyu,” you replied softly. “And I love him.”
That hurt look crossed Donghyun’s face again.
“Don’t say that,” he murmured. “It took you a year to say that you love me. Don’t tell me that you are already in love with him.”
You shrugged.
“Then fine, I won’t.”
You almost weren’t surprised when you turned around and saw that Mingyu was standing in the doorway. He didn’t look angry, simply amused.
“Is he really still bothering you?” He asked. You shrugged.
“Can’t leave me alone,” you replied. You bounced over to Mingyu, wrapping your arms around his body. The hurt of being called boring echoed through your mind and Mingyu placed his hand over your head protectively.
“Can I punch him?” He asked you. Tears pricked at your eyes and you shook your head in his chest.
“No,” you mumbled.
“But-”
“Seungcheol will kill you and it’s not good for your reputation,” you continued firmly. “Let’s just go.”
“The guys are expecting you for ice cream,” Mingyu agreed. “But... Won’t you just leave me for a moment?”
“Not alone,” you argued. Mingyu looked down at you, his hand prodding at your chin. You looked up at him, baby tears smeared on your cheeks.
“Seriously, just going to talk to him,” he promised. “Don’t you trust me?”
Unfortunately, you did.
“I won’t talk to you for a week if you punch him.”
“Just meet me for ice cream, okay?” He asked you.
You nodded and peeled off of him.
“But if you aren’t there ten minutes after I get in-”
Mingyu waved you off.
“I’ll see you in a moment.”
When you got to the others Jun seemed to sense that you had something on your mind.
“Are you actually thinking about the kind of ice cream you want?” He asked. “Don’t you always just get Mingyu’s favorite?”
“I can’t believe I actually like mint chocolate chip now,” you said with a disappointed sigh. “But no... I left Mingyu with Donghyun.”
Jun shrugged and licked his ice cream cone, so you thought maybe he hadn’t heard you.
“Mingyu is with Donghyun,” you repeated.
“So?” Jun asked. “Did you ask him not to do anything?”
“Well, yeah,” you replied.
“Then it’ll be fine. He listens to you.”
As if on cue Mingyu walked into the ice cream parlor. You looked at him and raised an eyebrow towards him. He just smiled at you.
“What? We just talked that’s all,” Mingyu assured. “He’s not going to bother you anymore.”
You eyed Mingyu suspiciously.
“And how’d you convince him of that?”
“How else? With my charming personality and award-winning smile.”
You rolled your eyes, but even as you did, you couldn’t escape Mingyu pulling you into his arms and giving you a large, long kiss.
“What was that for?” You asked, slapping at his chest as if you hadn’t liked it. He laughed.
“Just appreciating what I have,” Mingyu said softly. Disgust spread over your fast.
“You are disgustingly sappy sometimes,” you mumbled.
“Yeah, but you love it,” Mingyu said.
You smiled.
You really did.
#ahhhhhhh#I hope this is okay I spent two straight weeks on this#Seventeen#gyukult#gyukult sports collab#Kim Mingyu#Seventeen Fanfiction#Seventeen fanfic#Svt fanfiction#svt fanfic#Fake dating au#Basketball player Mingyu#Mingyu Fanfiction#Mingyu fanfic#Mingyu fluff#Seventeen fluff#svt fluff#Mingyu smut#Seventeen smut#Svt smut
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water ; joshua hong
genre - protective shua, fake dating kinda?
word count - 1.1k
disclaimers - mentions of alcohol / being drunk, unwanted attention, lowercase on purpose, no proofreading, fic under the cut
a/n - just a short fic, nothing special just shua being very protective :) been finding it hard to get motivation to write lately so this is just something from the back of my brain. enjoy!!
“next rounds on you, jeonghan! i can hear my bank account crying from my pocket!!”
going out with the guys after an especially long string of promotions was the perfect way to blow off steam. they always chose the best, fanciest bars to occupy. plus, there was an added bonus that if coups gets drunk enough, you can convince him that he agreed to pay for the next round of shots.
after having a couple drinks that were definitely stronger than you anticipated, it was time for you to make your way to the restrooms. minghao stabilized you as you stood up and less than gracefully made your way to the other side of the room. when you got into the restroom, you stood and looked in the mirror. as the room spun around you, you realized that maybe your limit has diminished as you’d gotten older. you do your thing and head back out, making a stop at the bar first to get yourself a glass of water. at least drunk you was still capable of making somewhat rational decisions.
as you stood at the bar, you half fell over but caught yourself on the counter. a man walked around you, hooking his arm around your waist and holding you up. you didnt think twice, assuming it was one of the guys just helping you out. but, as you looked towards the table they were all sitting around, the only empty seat was your own. now you’re filled with confusion and discomfort. you try to pull yourself away but the man tightens his grip on your side.
“now now, we both know you’re not as stable as you think you are.”
you try to make your voice as stable as possible as you make an attempt at pushing him away or getting someones attention, whichever you can manage first.
“im fine, please let me go.”
the man leans closer until you hear a voice from his opposite side whichs makes his arms tense, but slightly release you at the same time.
“babe, everything ok?”
joshua?
“not really..”
joshua steps closer to the man who has now completely let go of your waist. he lowers his tone and his voice becomes raspy and powerful as he speaks.
“i don’t want to sound like a douche or anything, but i can have you kicked out of here faster than you could leave on your own accord. so i would suggest that you make a decision before i have to.”
the man mutters apologies to shua as he steps back and hurriedly leaves the bar. at this point, you are completely depending on the counter to hold you up. shua puts a (much more welcoming) arm around you, making you feel secure. you lean into him with your head on his shoulder as the bartender comes over and shua asks him for a glass of water. the bartender hands him the glass as the two of you make your way back to the table. the guys shift down so you can take the seat next to joshua, and you sink into his side as he feeds you the glass of water.
at this point your night had been ruined, and the guys noticed that too. shua offers to take you home which you gladly accept. you both say goodbye to everyone as you head outside and find a bench to sit on while you wait for your taxi to show up. you babble into shua’s shoulder as he scrolls on his phone.
“thank you, shua.”
“hm?”
he put his phone in his pocket as he turns his full attention to you.
“thank you for getting that man to go away.”
“i knew you were uncomfortable, i just did what anyone else shouldve done.”
“but this is better.. cuz its you…”
shua chuckles as he rubs your arm, making you snuggle further into his side. when the taxi comes, joshua practically carries you to the car. you settle in and he makes quiet small talk with the driver as you slowly fall asleep on his shoulder.
when you get to your apartment, you pass shua your keys and rub your eyes while he unlocks the door and ushers you inside. he picks out your pajamas as you sit on your bed, watching his every move. he passes you your clothes as he leaves the room to let you get dressed.
you call out for him to come back in when youre in your pajamas, and he passes you another glass of water. you groan but he laughs as you take the glass anyways. he grabs your makeup remover wipes from your bathroom and sits on your bed next to you, lifting your legs and moving you to face him. his hands are warm.
when you’re all ready for bed, you crawl under the covers and watch as he puts everything back in its place. he makes everything look beautiful, elegant. even the simplest of motions are incredible when it’s shua. he pulls out his phone to book another cab to his place, but you sit up half way in your bed.
“shu?”
“yeah?”
“maybe it’d be cheaper if you didn’t get a taxi tonight and i could take you home tomorrow?”
“are you suggesting i stay here tonight?”
you give him a pleading smile as you pull back the covers and he playfully rolls his eyes. most of the guys have left miscellaneous clothes items at your house from other occasions, so he digs through the drawer and finds some pajamas to change into. when he comes back into the room, you watch him again. beautiful. thats the only word to describe him.
he slides into the covers and smiles at you as he leans over you and turns off the lamp on your bedside table. the night fades away, as you both fall asleep after mumbled ‘goodnight’s into the dark.
when you wake up, the bed is empty. you stumble out of bed, trying to ignore the throbbing pain in the right side of your head. the smell of breakfast enters your nose, as you get to the kitchen and see shua cooking at the stove. you walk to him and rest your cheek on his back.
“good morning, party animal.”
his eyes are fond as he gestures to the counter behind the two of you, where he has two ibuprofen and a glass of water sitting out, ready for you.
“another glass of water, ive never been so hydrated in my life.”
shua laughs.
“thats not a bad thing, is it?”
he walks towards you and looks into your eyes as you drink all the water and lay the glass down with a smile.
“no, not at all.”
#kpop x reader#kpop fluff#kpop imagines#seventeen imagines#friends to lovers#protective#fake dating if you squint#kpop#seventeen fluff#seventeen oneshot#seventeen reactions#joshua#joshua hong#seventeen joshua#joshua x reader#svt joshua#whoreanghae
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RECOMMENDED SEVENTEEN FICS OF JULY 2023💖
hello, hello! here are my recs for seventeen for july! hopefully these beautiful stories get more recognition as well as the writers 💝
** anything in parentheses and bolded are my thoughts that can be disregarded if needed **
🔞smut || 💔angst || 💕fluff || ✅completed || 🔄ongoing || 💯favorite
Admire Me (Like I Do For You) || @wheeboo💕✅
↳ in which seungcheol shows you his tattoos.
Dimple || @icyminghao💕✅
↳ you can’t sleep, so you try touching seungcheol’s dimple just for the fun of it (spoiler: he loves it)
Shave || @yikesmary💕✅💯
↳ with your boyfriend’s comeback approaching, mingyu asks you to help with shaving.
The Stars And You || @wheeboo💕✅
↳ in which you bring the stars to your boyfriend for his birthday. (to this author, i am so sorry, but 90% of the fics that i have read from you so far, most of them are on this list. keep doing what youre doing please. i love them)
Try Me || @cheolhub🔞✅
↳ you push your sweet boyfriend a little too far when you threaten to fuck his business partner at dinner. he decides to show both you and mingyu who you belong to. (oh lord, heaven have mercy.)
Ukiyo || @wheeboo💕💔✅
↳ in which you and minghao spend the day together.
Wonwoo's Tasty Cereal (And Milk) || @twogyuu💕✅
↳ You've been eating cereal wrong your entire life. Wonwoo and your niece are going to fix that.
Fake Dating Roommates || @yikesmary💕🔄💯💯
↳ in which choi seungcheol becomes your roommate and fake boyfriend in one fell swoop. and you still don't know how it happened.
Seventeen As Fake Dating Scenarios || @bluehoodiewoozi💕✅
↳ (title says it all and i am out here fulfilling my delulu side of my brain. doing great out here im telling you)
Baby, All I Really Want Is Your Attention || @viastro💕✅
↳ you and mingyu have been academic rivals since the beginning of your high school career. having always aimed for the #1 spot, mingyu would beat you without even needing to study. now dedicating all your time into studying at the local library, you find yourself wondering who keeps neatly packing your things and waking you up each time you fall asleep while studying. (hes so soft, i cant)
Catnaps || @wheeboo💕✅
↳ in which you volunteer at the local cat shelter with your crush.
Dating Seventeen (Hyung Line) || @wqnwoos💕✅
↳ (out here filling my delulu brain. also seungcheol does radiate sugar daddy tho, ngl)
Fix You || @smileysuh🔞💕💔✅💯💯
↳ “As a member of 53V3NT33N, I have two different states of mind coded into me, aggression and admiration. To love something, to admire it, is to feel aggressive when it’s questioned, to want to control it, if even for a little while- it’s the need to consume it, endlessly, as my fans consume and control me as an automaton. Even though I’m a member of a group, there’s a distance. Automatons can never truly motivate each other because our motivations are based on external human needs, it’s built into us- We can see when humans need us, and we do what we can to fix that need… I know you need me, the way I’ve needed you since I got here.” (god, yall dont even know how much i freaking love their fics. like bro, ily)
Gamers Do it Better || @sluttyminghao🔞✅💯
↳ (listen, just hear me out. tag teamed by the two lord saviors of svt's hhu. i really need like a threesome au/tag or something i swear.)
Hits Different || @hellohannie💕💔✅
↳ it was no secret that you had dated many people in your past. when you were with them, you believed you loved them and they loved you. when you broke up, you realized that they didn't truly love you. but you still believed that love was real. then, you met lee chan. when he broke up with you, you started to question if love truly did exist after all. (i need me some more dino fics cause i barely come across any)
Loving Him Was Red || @boowanie💕💔✅💯
↳ After the café you were part-timing at suddenly closes, you were left unemployed and broke as you tried your best to look for a new job. But when your best friend suggests an alternative way of earning money, you suddenly find yourself falling for a certain Jeon Wonwoo.
Pup Code || @beefboyandbabygirl🔞💕✅💯💯💯
↳ mingyu doesn't have crushes. he likes avril lavigne and sometimes he fucks pretty girls. but you seem to stir something in him that no one else can. without the trusty girl code, mingyu makes his own code to help you fall in love with him. (yall need to read this one. like read it cause i lowkey can imagine him making up his own code ngl. man has no self control sometimes)
Crossing Boundaries || @wonusite🔞💕✅
↳ Seungcheol has always demanded that all of his employees keep professional boundaries, but it frustrates him that his son’s nanny is a little too good at keeping things professional.
Happy (First) Fathers' Day || @icyminghao💕✅
↳ it’s fathers’ day, but you seem to be more fixated on an event for your newborn daughter, much to mingyu’s dismay.
Made With Love || @icyminghao💕✅
↳ joshua wakes up to quite the commotion, and you’re not by his side.
The Cake In the Back || @toruro🔞💕✅
↳ cheol is a regular at your bakery, and it's all because his son loves the banana bread you make—at least that's what he tells himself. it also doesn't hurt that you're cute. and polite. and totally someone he'd like to fuck.
Roommates With Benefits || @shuaflix🔞💕✅
↳ initially, wonwoo doesn’t think much about your incessant requests to play on his xbox. however, when what was supposed to be a two-hour visit to his place stretches out for two weeks, he starts to think you’re overstaying your welcome.
The Secrets Kept From Roommates || @cheolism🔞💕✅
↳ you are hiding a secret from mingyu. little do you know that he's hiding one from you too.
Broken Pieces || @bluehoodiewoozi💕💔✅💯💯💯
↳ Your friend broke your soulmate's heart, leaving you to pick up the pieces of both his and your own heart. (stop my heart, i cant)
Right? Right. || @bluehoodiewoozi💕💔✅
↳ Your soulmate mark might be broken, but at least he will always be there for you.
Do check out all of the other seventeen fics that i have reblogged as well!!
** if there is any fics that you guys would like to recommend, please do! i am slowly running out of fics to read **
#seventeen scenarios#seventeen soulmates au#seventeen established relationship au#seventeen fluff#seventeen angst#seventeen smut#seventeen roommates au#seventeen dad au#seventeen fake dating au#seventeen fic rcs#seventeen recs#svt fic recs#svt recs
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Be My Valentine | Ch- 1 "No"
pairing: Vernon x reader
genre: fluff, angst, slight crack, friends to lovers, non-idol!au, college au
summary: College was hard enough and the thought of spending Valentine’s Day alone and sad was not your style. And the best solution was to go on a platonic date with your best friend Vernon. It goes so well that it becomes a tradition until it gets messy… nothing ever goes wrong by pretend-dating your best friend right?
status: ongoing
a/n: first time trying something like this cuz I saw too many edits on Vernon’s Fire verse! Please tell me your feedback!
pictures from Pinterest!
As if the sheer cold of the dying February winter was not enough to make life miserable, it also had to be dubbed the month of love. You weren’t a cynic but you knew enough to understand that Valentine’s Day and the gala around it is all nothing but a big capitalistic scheme. As the happy couples invest in the meaningless gifts and expressions of their extravagant love, the lonely saps drown their sorrows in the name of self-love. But your biggest complaint against this whole bonanza is the forced self-hate, even though it usually felt perfectly normal to be single and you even enjoyed it, this time of the year it always felt worse.
Maybe you were just another miserable single sap.
This year was going to be different. You were determined. But also you didn’t want to go through the painful process of pretending to be interested in a guy who, like all the other ones, would either turn out to be misogynist, homophobe or a transphobe- which constitutes 90% of the available population in your uni.
Hence why you find yourself walking with purpose toward the university library with the sole motive of hunting down you’re too smart for his own good best friend of a year and a half, Vernon.
You still remember meeting that shy little boy on the first day of your undergrad, looking lost in the crowd of the class and hoping you would let him sit with you. All it took was an awkward introduction for both of you to build your solid friendship. It was a perfect match- him, a hardworking genius with very minimal social skills and you, an almost genius with the concentration skills of a goldfish.
Vernon might be top of the class, a computer nerd with the face of a young Leo DiCaprio but even he was prone to the February blues and having seen how miserable he was during the previous year Valentines Day, especially as he watched his high school ex go gallivanting about with his then-roommate, you were determined to make this year a good memory for both you.
Also, he is the only guy in the university that you trust and is capable of handling you at the height of your drunkenness.
Looking at your watch you realise that only 10 minutes are left before he leaves his sanctuary at the library and goes to his Virtual Reality class. Of course, you knew his schedule, and he knew yours. He also knew that you hated being left on read and yet chose to do the exact same thing when you had texted the previous night about your genius plan.
Wheezing you finally reach the third floor of the big library that hosted all varieties of nerds and unfortunately, couples (they're everywhere this month, ugh). Walking across rows of shelves interspersed with group tables filled with students seeking refuge from the harsh winter cold or simply biding time, you finally reach the semi-private cabins.
Counting down five from the cabin to your right, you march toward the one you knew Vernon would be in. And surely enough, when you peek your head through the partition separating the hooded figure on the chair, with headphones and his laptop, from the rest of the library.
His head is bent as if he was peering into the laptop through the screen and as you move closer to his chair to reprimand him you realise he is sleeping. Gently moving inside the cabin, standing near the table, facing him, you can see that he had slept while coding. It doesn’t even surprise you anymore.
“Hey douchebag”, you say as you tap lightly on his shoulders. He jerks awake and blinks a couple of times before you see the understanding of reality dawn on his face. Removing his headphones, he moves his chair lightly behind and ruffles his fluffy hair.
“What do YOU want?” He sounds like his usual annoyed self. If you didn’t know he truly did like you as a friend you'd be offended.
But you don’t mind the grumpiness one bit as you settle down on the little space on the table smiling lazily as he gets more annoyed by the disturbance to his ecosystem of peace.
“I want a lot of things, for instance, I want a big mansion on top of a hill just to relax in the summer. I want to know why dolphins were made to be sea creatures if they can’t even breathe in water. I want to know why my skin breaks out in hives due to stress ONLY on my left side. I want to know why I get horny when-“
“Please shut the fuck up.”
He cuts you off with his palms reaching up to cover your mouth mid-sentence. You try mumbling against his palm for a second before which he grips tighter effectively stopping any attempt on your side.
He slowly lifts his eyebrows to warn you against trying to babble again and you nod in affirmative to the same. His eyes thin as he considers your sincerity of shutting up and seemingly convinced releases his grip on your face.
“Why do you talk so much all the time!” He growls as he rubs his eyes while settling back on his chair and lets out a yawn. He looks so much like the freshman kid you met and less like the overworked junior that he is.
You shrug nonchalantly (or so you hope).
“Someone needs to balance your entire lack of energy.” He sighs and slumps back on his chair. “Yeah yeah, I’m not arguing with you anymore… I’ve learned it’s best to just agree with you.” You give him a sarcastic smile as you say, “They don’t call you smart without a reason.”
He responds with an incoherent dismissive grunt and after a moment begins to lean forward as he tilts his chair towards you with both his palms placed on either side of your thigh.
Oh.
“No.”
That’s all he says, his brown eyes twinkling, mouth pressed into a straight line looking right at your eye. You're sitting on the inclination of the table and he's on the chair looking up at you, yet he looks so intimidating. Not that you are going to let him bother you.
Two can play this game.
You lean forward and meet his face, a good few inches apart, bring out the good old puppy dog eyes and whisper, “What is the ‘no’ for Hansol”. You purposefully use his Korean name knowing he gets annoyed when you say it (Not sure what that is about till now).
You can see him grinding his teeth beneath that calmness and a smirk naturally plays up your face.
“Quit it, y/n. I saw the text and I’m not going to do it. Get lost.” The words fall out of his mouth in a hurry as he continues to grit his teeth together and not lose eye contact.
“Oh, so you did leave me on read by purpose.” You fake a heartache with your left palm pressed on your chest and your right palm on your forehead.
He sees you dramatically pretending to have a heart attack and headache at the same time for a good minute before he decides to end this charade. Just as he moves to get up from the chair you hold him down with your hands on his which were at the side of your thighs.
“Pleaseee”, this time the puppy dog eyes come out naturally.
He looks at you for a second before sighing.
“Ugh! You’re impossible but alright.”
“Wait really?!” You squeal a little too loud in excitement and earn a dozen “shh”s in response from the general crowd in the library. Looking around apologetically and back at Vernon, you hold his hands in yours (they’re somehow always warm even in the depths of winter).
“Is that a yes?” Cue more puppy eyes.
Another sigh. “I don’t have a choice do I!”
Grinning wide, you say “Not really.”
Vernon looks to the side as if to consider something important before turning to you, looking down at your still-connected hands, and then your face.
“I’ll do it but it’s gotta be strictly platonic-“ you’re violently shaking your head in positive because of course that doesn’t need to be said.
“-andddd….”, he’s got a mischievous glint in his eyes which stinks of trouble for you. This is the same glint he had when you ended up eating a pizza with ice cream AND a steak.
“And?” You prod, curiosity up to the brim of your head.
“I want you to formally ask me… now.” The grin has turned into an almost full bright smile.
“What does formally mean?”
“I’ll leave the details to you…” he shrugs and removes his hands from yours and pushes the chair all the way back to the wall and folds his hand.
“I can wait all day”, he sounds way too proud, sitting there in his hoodie and that smirk(I swear he looks like an actual young Leo).
“No, you can’t. You have a class in-“, you make an ordeal of checking your watch, ”-exactly 9 mins.”
He shrugs, “This is worth missing it.”
This bitch.
"Are you really cashing in your bet right now?" You ask referring to the advantage he got after you lost your bet in a UNO game six months back.
He just nods casually and stretches on the chair before settling in a lazy and proud position, again.
You groan knowing he won't give up and get down from the table and get on one knee facing him.
“Chwe Hansol Ve-“
“Nope. Redo.”
This actual bitch.
Giving him your best glare you adjust on your knee, clearing your throat, you try again.
“Vernon…”, you look at him for approval and he nods.
Ugh.
“… will you be m-“
“Louder, I can’t hear you.” His grin has transformed into one of his signature all-teeth-visible smiles and his entire face is lit up in amusement and joy.
Clearing your throat a little too loudly, you try… for the third time. Humiliation and anger heat up your entire face.
“Vernon, will you be my platonic Valentine?”
Your voice echoes in the near-silent library halls and the minute you’re done at least another 20 “shhs” are once again thrown your way.
People are assholes.
Vernon looks positively thrilled. He is full-on laughing, shoulders jerking, all 32 of his teeth in display and eyes disappearing behind the light of his smile.
If only he didn’t look so wholesome and adorable when he humiliates you.
He straightens up after a couple seconds and rubs his index finger against in chin, in fake thought.
“Hmmmm...”
Oh god, he is planning something... shit
"No."
#be my valentine!#vernon svt#vernon x you#vernon x reader#vernon#vernon x y/n#seventeen au#seventeen#svt fanfic#seventeen fanfic#svt x you#college au#friends to lovers#fake dating#vernon boyfriend#hansol fanfic#seventeen hansol#seventeen imagines#seventeen angst#seventeen f*ck my life#svt fluff#vernon scenarios#vernon fic#vernon imagines#hansol icons#svt fanart#fanfic#17#ashinsmoke#cryinginmyroom
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[#ROSIE🌟 Weverse]
230810 17:10
➸ summer
➸ the weather is absolutely perfect.
➸ you should go soak up the sun too ♡
#ficnetfairy#rosie.sns#justmochi: rosie#daisie#daisie date#rosie.love#seventeen 14th member#fake seventeen oc#fake svt addition#fake svt member#fake seventeen member#14th member of seventeen#fake kpop soloist#fake kpop idol#fake kpop addition
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just forget before anything changes (i refuse) | yoon jeonghan
a short prologue to the events of my longer Jeonghan fic, twenty two days before we go our separate ways (twenty two days of not falling for you) (read here!) it can be read alone too :)
i was so shocked by the attention my latest fic received, and i’m so honoured the positive reception it’s received, so i wanted to share this little drabble about one of the events in twenty two days that i mentioned! hope you enjoy :)
((somewhat angsty, especially if you’ve already read twenty two days))
member: yoon jeonghan - seventeen
word count: 0.9k
warnings: language; mentions of alcohol and hangovers
Imagine if time was physical. And not just physical, but heavy, and moving. In fact, moving with such a speed that it was downright dangerous. And it had just crashed into you. That was just a glimpse of how you felt when you woke up that morning.
Your hangover was especially deadly. God, what even happened last night? Maybe if it didn’t hurt so much, you could have opened your eyes to see any clues you had left yourself, but that was certainly a struggle for you currently. All you could remember was the clink of your beer can against Jeonghan’s.
Jeonghan. Of course. The two of you were drinking together last night, a way to get over your latest heartbreak. Well, heartbreak was dramatic. Your pride hurt more than your heart. But how else can you describe a breakup? Especially one so unfounded.
“He’s such an asshole! Wooyoung just... refused to listen to me, refused to entertain the idea that I wasn’t cheating on him with you.”
You opened your eyes as little as you could, yet the sunlight still blinded you, leaving you hissing and groaning. As you focused, you saw a pile of crushed beer cans laying in the corner of your room, a couple of feet away from your dustbin. Next to those, an almost empty bottle of tequila.
You remembered the tequila. You remembered hiding it, wrapped in towels and stuffed under your mattress, when your RA made a surprise visit, and promising yourself to save it for when you really needed it. And it seemed like in your infinite wisdom, that you had decided last night warranted it.
“He doesn’t deserve you. You don’t need to keep searching for losers who don’t understand you.”
Nausea is especially painful when paired with regret. You have a 10AM class, one you’ve probably already missed, and all you can think about is the pounding in your head. And whatever went on last night.
You should go to sleep Y/N, before you do something you’re gonna regret.
Your dorm room looked especially messy. Someone’s shirt was on the floor, and it definitely wasn’t yours. Maybe if you weren’t hungover you would know who it belonged to. It was so familiar.
“What about you? Are you going to do something you’ll regret?”
“If you keep looking at me like that, I will.”
There was a soft snoring noise to your left, one you recognised instantly, the snores Jeonghan let out just before he would wake up. You looked over to see the gentle rise and fall of his bare back.
Shit. You and Jeonghan kissed.
“Like what?”
“Fuck it.”
Time had once again rammed into you at full speed, and you were knocked back by the force of the memories. How Jeonghan cradled your jaw so gently before pulling you into him, the way he smiled as he kissed you, how you smiled as you kissed him back.
“Why have you, mmhmm, never kissed me before, Hannie?”
“Never had the guts.”
Your nausea came back in full force, but you managed to swallow it down, replacing it with guilt. You did this. You allowed something to shift. And now, you weren’t ever sure if things would return to normal.
Jeonghan stirred, groaning as he shielded his face from the sunlight, shielded his face from you. Is it a sign? Does he regret it too? Does he even remember? You stayed quiet, as quiet as you could, in the hopes that he wouldn’t even notice you. Although that was tough, especially when he was in your room, in your bed, and oh god was that his leg tangled between yours? You were so fucked.
“My head is going to kill me.” He whispered, and you didn’t miss how husky his voice was. Would yours sound the same? “How are you feeling?”
“Shit.” Yep, husky, dry, and scratchy. “Last night was so dumb, we should not have drank that much.”
Jeonghan took a quick look at you, one you would have missed had you not been staring right at you, before tearing his eyes away. God, things were so strange now. Was it just you who felt strange? He was acting weird too, did you cause that?
“Look, Hannie,” You started, cringing as you spoke with thorns in your throat. “I’m sorry about last night. I was being dumb.”
“No, Y/N, I-”
“It feels weird now, right? I just feel like... things are so strange now, like everything is different now.”
“Yeah. It feels different.”
He wouldn’t look at you. God, why did you let him kiss you? Why did you kiss him back?
“Let’s just forget about it, yeah? Pretend it never happened. I don’t want things to change.” You begged.
Jeonghan didn’t answer you, and you wanted to cry, thinking of all the ways you had already messed up. You should have never kissed him. Eventually, he turned to you, with a loopy smile on his lips.
“Forget about what?”
You grinned, leaning over to hug him, and after a few seconds he complied, wrapping his bare arms around you. You wished you hadn’t, but you couldn’t deny that you blushed at the sensation of his skin on yours. It felt so intimate.
But it would end. You refused to let things change. You would be damned if you were the reason you stopped being friends with Jeonghan. So you wouldn’t let it.
(You missed the way Jeonghan slumped against you in disappointment. You would miss it for years to come.)
#seventeen#seventeen fic#jeonghan#jeonghan x reader#angst#seventeen angst#jeonghan x you#jeonghan angst#fake dating au#seventeen university au
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┊.˚🪩 ༘┊͙ 𝐒𝐂𝐑𝐈𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐒 ;
↳ as a rising star in the tumultuous world of hollywood, you're handed a golden opportunity to boost your career – a fake relationship. what your manager forgot to mention? your leading man is none other than satoru gojo, hollywood's notorious fuckboy. easy? well, not exactly.
pairing: fem!reader x satoru gojo
tags: smau/partially written; actor/actress!au, fuckboy!gojo, jjk is a live-action show in this au, fluff/angst/humor
length: 1/??
note: AAAAAAAAA im a sucker for fake dating, actor au trope. enjoy besties! <3
taglist details: CURRENTLY CLOSED !!
to be added to the taglist, leave a reply on the MASTERLIST post of the smau (this post!)! the capacity is 50 users so pls be mindful of that!
[disclaimer: the way the reader is portrayed is just for the reason of style/posing! this is not what the reader looks like (she should look like however you’d like her to!) just wanted to clarify!! <;3]
PROFILES
↳ y/n's besties
↳ gojo's group
↳ others
ONE – hold on, i'm dating who?
TWO – the deal
THREE – he will be a pain in the ass
FOUR – satoru, don’t be a whore
FIVE – act like you like her
SIX – meeting and matching hoodies
SEVEN – exclusive! satoru gojo’s party
EIGHT – interrupted movie night
NINE – angus disapproves
TEN – the interview
ELEVEN – it’s giving jealousy
TWELVE – breaking out
THIRTEEN – besties united
FOURTEEN – good night, loser
FIFTEEN – the audition
SIXTEEN – try again?
SEVENTEEN – sleepover
EIGHTEEN – sugar daddy
NINETEEN – we’re booked!
TWENTY – lego flowers
TWENTY & A HALF – friends?
TWENTY ONE – in denial
TWENTY TWO – invitations sent!
TWENTY THREE – i’m literally home
TWENTY FOUR – roommativersary party pt. 1
TWENTY FIVE – roommativersary party pt. 2
─ BONUS – maki and shoko's texts after the party
─ BONUS – texts from shoko and suguru to gojo
TWENTY SIX – two months later…
TWENTY SEVEN – new character unlocked
TWENTY EIGHT – get her a grammy
─ BONUS – y/n's texts with suguru
TWENTY-NINE – sleepovers n skincare
THIRTY – let’s be honest…
THIRTY-ONE – coming to terms
#jjk#jujutsu kaisen#jjk smau#jujutsu kaisen smau#gojo satoru#jjk gojo#gojo satoru x reader#gojo x reader#gojo x you#jjk satoru#gojo fluff#gojo angst#gojo smut#jjk geto#jjk geto suguru#geto suguru#jjk nanami#nanami kento#jjk yuuji#yuuji itadori#gojo fanfic#gojo smau#jjk social media au#gojo social media au#jjk smut#jjk fluff#jjk angst
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Dancing Around
wonwoo/seokmin, PG-13, 35880 words.
Jungkook's wedding is coming up and Wonwoo's date, or lack thereof, turns into the topic of their dinner rehearsal. So he may have taken the desperate route and now he's trying to keep a smile as he tries to keep up with his own lies.
Yeah. He really should've thought this through.
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JJH fic recs
been getting a little hard trying to find long fics to read these days but here are some that i complied in the last month or so :)
(🫀) -personal faves
all these years @domjaehyun
WC: 34.1k
fluff, smut, angst; childhood friends-to-lovers!au, college!au, neighbors!au
Just friends @lonelyharmonies
WC: 22k
Strangers-to-friends- to-lovers!au , college au
what happens when you wake up in someone else’s bed after getting drunk in a party?
(🫀) Only @ppangjae
WC: 21.6k
almost!lovers au
You like to believe crossing paths with Jaehyun after graduation is just pure coincidence. He always comes and goes. But what if he decides to stay? To stick around? To give what was an ‘almost’ a chance?
Romeo roulette @wincore
WC:21.1k
soulmate au, office au, fake dating
if finding your soulmate is the same as a damn game of Russian roulette, you are determined to not pull the trigger at all. except, you know who your soulmate is and he doesn’t—and given a choice to pretend, you find that jaehyun is the lesser of the two burdens to bear.
he fell first and he fell harder @taurusdaylight
WC: 18.7k
Basketball captain!jaehyun, childhood-friends-to-lovers
jeong jaehyun really loves basketball. but also, he’s terribly in love with his childhood best friend of seventeen years, you.
(🫀) all i wanted @yutaholic
WC: 17k
heartbreakers, smut
A year has passed since you last saw your best friend, Jaehyun, but the man who returns is not the boy you once knew and loved. Jaehyun will barely speak to you and you don’t know why, but you both may be exactly what the other needs to mend your broken hearts.
(🫀)The Apple of My Eye @sehunniepotwrites
WC: 17k
school! au , teacher!au , Kindergarten teacher!jaehyun
As a young and handsome kindergarten teacher of two years, Jeong Jaehyun was used to receiving presents during Teacher’s Appreciation Week. This, however, was the first year Jaehyun wanted to give a present of appreciation to someone else—his new and ever-so-lovable teacher’s assistant.
(🫀)song for a little sparrow @ppangjae
WC:13.7k
poet!jaehyun x painter!reader , strangers-to-lovers
As a burnt out painter, you packed one suitcase and flew a one-way trip to Paris in hopes of finding your passion again. In the city of love, the last thing you expected was to bump into a man who doesn’t believe in love. But you do, and you find yourself showing him the wonders of love and falling in love. Just don’t fall in love with him.
I like me better (when i’m with you) @tyonfs
WC:11.8k
friends to enemies to lovers, sports au , smut
there was no one else on the planet that made your blood boil like jeong jaehyun did. you never thought your feelings toward him were anything past pure hatred, but when you were lost in the feeling of his lips on yours and his hands on your body, you couldn’t help but think that maybe a part of you didn’t completely hate his guts.
Someone to Bring Home @rouiyan
WC: 10.2k
Med student!jaehyun, College au, Brothers best friend , home for thanksgiving
synopsis — “if you’ve been waiting for fallin’ in love, babe, you don’t have to wait on me.” (sanctuary - joji)
Boyfriend material @mochidoie
WC: 6.2k
fake dating au, strangers-to-lovers , slight angst
Although you and Jaehyun had never spoken a word to each other before this class project, he asks you to be in a fake relationship in order to prove to his longtime crush that he is boyfriend material.
Back up Valentine @tyonfs
WC: 2.9k
Spiderman!jaehyun
you don’t have any unrealistic expectations for valentine’s day considering your love life has never flourished, but the least your best friend could’ve done was not summon an intergalactic army of an alien species during your first blind date ever.
SERIES
S.C.S; ayakashi @starlightkun
WC:66.2k
heavily based off yet another otome game, ayakashi: romance reborn ; bc of this, all the lore used in here is inspired by/based on/taken from the lore of the game, not the actual lore of traditional ayakashi/yokai stories
#nct 127 jaehyun#jaehyun nct#jaehyun#jaehyun layouts#jaehyun imagines#nct jaehyun#jeong jaehyun#jaehyun smut#jaehyun au#jaehyun fluff#nct 127 au#nct fluff#nct au#nct imagines#nct u#nct smut#nct 127#nct#nct x reader#jung yoonoh#jung jaehyun
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RECOMMENDED SEVENTEEN FICS OF MAY-JUNE 2023💖
hello, hello! here are my recs for seventeen for may-june! hopefully these beautiful stories get more recognition as well as the writers 💝 (i discovered that combining atz/svt/skz&txt into one post may be too much and too long + might take too much space in the tags for each respective groups so i’ve decided to make them all separate!)
** anything in parentheses and bolded are my thoughts that can be disregarded if needed **
🔞smut || 💔angst || 💕fluff || ✅completed || 🔄ongoing || 💯favorite
[04:15AM] || @fairyhaos💕✅💯💯
↳ Requested by one of their readers. (THE AMOUNT OF SOFTNESS AND FLUFF AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH)
Blood Moon || @smileysuh🔞💕💔✅💯💯💯
↳ ".....let’s just say, you’re all that matters to me now. And I’m going to worship you as if you were the moon” (idk this author personally, but i just wanna say that i love your fics and everyone needs to give atleast their fic a read! you will be seeing their fics in my nct fic recs too just saying.)
Drunk Giant || @yikesmary💕✅
↳ in which you have to figure out how to transfer your drunk boyfriend to the bedroom without causing major bodily harm. and he’s not making it easy for you.
The Athlete (Bonus) || @sun-kore 🔞💕✅💯
↳ You are assigned to do an interview with Kwon Soonyoung, the trailblazing athlete everyone calls Hoshi. But as you spend more time with him, you start to see there are more layers to him than football. (i honestly had to re-read The Athlete because i forgot how the story went. + it was a given to read the first one before the second one. i suggest yall do the same.)
How To Unsubscribe To Dating || @dropsofletters💕💔✅
↳ on april 18th, hansol likes his favorite youtuber’s instagram picture. not because of her content—though, he finds himself laughing at all of her weekly videos—but because he thinks she’s gorgeous. that is how it ends. just a like on a picture that no one will see.
This Is How We Fall || @bitterie-sweetie💕💔✅💯
↳ You should know better than to make a deal with a stranger, but the need for a date to Minghao’s party has you desperate. It can’t be too bad though; all you have to do is show Mingyu what you saw in your reading, and he would be your date for one night. Simple enough, right?
A Sheep In Wolf’s Clothing || @rubyreduji🔞✅
↳ kim mingyu is the biggest player on campus, so why is he coming to you for sex help
Doting On You || @lovelyhan🔞💕💔✅💯
↳ a svt hhu x pets series!
Fallin’ Flowers || @leejungchans💕💔🔄💯💯💯
↳ "while flowers bloom and falls, scars cure and buds shoot // we are living our first and last moments // so i won’t take you for granted // because you loved me as i am” - fallin’ flower by seventeen
I Found Love In Your Smile || @wonlouvre🔞💕💔✅💯
↳ falling in love with wonwoo never felt so easy. however, when unforgivable truths test your relationship, you can’t help but think that maybe you were betrothed for all the wrong reasons.
Inflection Point || @lovelyhan🔞💕💔✅
↳ you love yoon jeonghan. no, scratch that. you fucking adore yoon jeonghan; so much that the moment he asks you to be in an exclusive set-up with his current partner, you accept the offer in a heartbeat. what you fail to consider, however, is who your boss’ boyfriend actually is.
Money Talks || @sunlightwoo💕💔✅💯💯
↳ everybody needs to get by somehow, and what better way of it is through a ‘club’ full of men that are loaded with money to help pay for whatever you need help with? to put it shortly, thirteen sugar daddies are here to help you pay for what you need or give you money in exchange for something to make them feel better about life.
Puppy Parents || @yikesmary💕✅
↳ where your golden retriever has the tendency to bring you things she has an interest in— sticks, frisbees that obviously don’t belong to you, and even the occasional bird. but this time, your dog brings… a man? and not just any man, only the most beautiful man you’ve ever met. maybe your dog is onto something…
Partner Privilege || @blue-jisungs💕💔✅
↳ (title says it all, i can honestly see this happening to their future s/o.)
Feverish Lips || @sunlightwoo💔✅
↳ you’d think that because it’s the first semester of the year, it’d be like the beginning of a roller coaster when its slowly becoming climatic and stressful. however, once you’re at the top of the point you have two choices: scream your lungs or quickly hang onto your life support. sadly in your case, you can either suck it up and get through it, or get involved in its loops in tangles with trouble that is bound to be met within every corner that you turn to.
Introduce Me A Good Person || @taeyegu 💕💔✅
↳ if there is a nice person, please introduce him to me. sometimes like water, sometimes like fire. someone who can love me sincerely. i hope he is someone who is mature and faithful…
What I Would Do || @sungbeam 💕💔✅
↳ minghao is kinda sorta maybe in love with you, but he thinks you're so out of his league.
Meet Cute of The Century || @lovelyhan 🔞💕💔✅💯💯
↳ the last thing you expected when you volunteered at your city’s local animal shelter is to meet the hottest cat person in the world. now if only he’d just adopt one of them so you’d stop ogling him every time he drops by.
Do check out all of the other seventeen fics that i have reblogged as well!!
** if there is any fics that you guys would like to recommend, please do! i am slowly running out of fics to read **
#seventeen scenarios#seventeen fluff#seventeen angst#seventeen smut#seventeen social media au#seventeen reactions#seventeen established relationship au#seventeen fake dating au#seventeen fic recs#seventeen recs#seventeen strangers to lovers au
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Be My Valentine
Vernon Mini-Series | Completed | Fandom: Seventeen
pairing: Vernon x reader
genre: fluff, angst, slight crack, friends to lovers, non-idol!au, college au
summary: College was hard enough and the thought of spending Valentine's Day alone and sad was not your style. And the best solution was to go on a platonic date with your best friend Vernon. It goes so well that it becomes a tradition until it gets messy... nothing ever goes wrong by pretend-dating your best friend right?
status: complete
a/n: first time trying something like this cuz I saw too many edits on Vernon's Fire verse! Please tell me your feedback!
pictures from Pinterest!
Chapters
ch 1 - No
ch 2 - It's a Success!
ch 3 - Turbulent Traditions
ch 4 - Uh Oh
ch 5 - My Forever Valentine...
#vernon svt#vernon x you#vernon x reader#vernon#vernon x y/n#seventeen au#seventeen#svt fanfic#seventeen fanfic#svt x you#college au#friends to lovers#fake dating#vernon boyfriend#hansol fanfic#seventeen hansol#seventeen imagines#seventeen angst#seventeen f*ck my life#svt fluff#vernon scenarios#vernon fic#vernon imagines#hansol icons
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[#ROSIE🌟 Weverse]
230402 22:03
➸ the cherry blossoms were so pretty. 🌸 i hate to see them go 🥺🥺
➸ go see them now if you haven’t !
#justmochi: rosie#rosie.sns#rosie.love#daisie date#daisie#14th member of seventeen#seventeen 14th member#fake seventeen member#fake seventeen oc#svt oc#fake svt member#fake svt addition#fake kpop addition#fake kpop idol#fake kpop soloist
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December Seventeen recs
Red horn | @himbocoups (smut)
devils are contract workers - simply offer them a payment that they can never refuse, and your problems would be taken care of. the only thing is, what could a mere human possibly offer to a devil?
Bad enough | @sluttywonwoo (smut)
lee chan isn't the type of guy you usually go for... but you don't know that.
Simp notes | @shuastruck - on going (smau, strangers to lovers, fluff)
lee chan, college's critically acclaimed and certified (read: self-proclaimed) cupid was a hundred percent sure that his guide to love manual aka the simp notes worked just perfectly fine, seeing the number of campus couples he had managed to get together. until you came up with your complex romantic problem and chan finds his trustworthy notes betraying him, especially when he begins to fall for you.
or, in which, chan never thought he would be following his own simp notes to win over you.
Always | @spamgyu (fluff)
When Soonyoung told her he would always be there, he meant it. The days of pining for the girl he had fallen for freshman year had finally paid off.
Office hours | @seungkw1 (smut)
Red string theory | @spamgyu (soulmates au, fluff)
Soulmates weren't real. This wasn't a fantasy world... But somehow, the world wanted them together. Giving them one too many chances to be together. Almost as if there was a little string that connected them to one another.
Insomnia - city lights series- | @hannieween (smut)
The last bit of sanity in your mind vanished the moment before you asked your hot neighbour to be your fuck buddy. Whatever prompted you to muster the courage to get the words out was something you didn't know you had inside you.
But he wasn't saying no.
Sehnsucht | @leejihoonownsmyheart (academic rivals, smut)
You and Wonwoo have been rivals since your first of University, and despite it being your final year, that rivalry doesn't seem like it's going anywhere soon when you both end up in German 101.
The Christmas boyfriend | @rubyreduji (fake dating, fwb, fluff, smut)
When you tell your mom the little white lie that you have a boyfriend, you don’t expect it to evolve into bringing your friend with benefits home for christmas. what can go wrong?
Maybe this is wishful thinking | @gyuldaengi (angst)
Fifteen to forever | @gyuswhore (fluff, angst, smut)
Fifteen was the age you had met Choi Seungcheol at a school hockey game. Forever was the age you would find yourself spending with him.
Must love dogs | @nevernonline (strangers to lovers, fluff)
after a breakup (three years ago) your friend finally attempts to get you back on the saddle by creating you a dating profile despite your protesting, hooking you up on dates with some of the eligible bachelors of their choice, none of which impressed you. until one day you met the boy with the dog.
From Accords to kisses | @hoshifighting (fake dating, smut)
Seungcheol, feeling overshowed by his accomplished cousin Jisoo, concocted a plan to surprise his family. Desperate to match up, he enlists Y/N, a talented athlete swimmer from his university, to play his girlfriend. Amidst the charade, unexpected sparks fly, leading to a surprising turn in their relationship.
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not according to plan | hjs (teaser)
summary: your ex-fiance is getting married and everyone you know is going to be there. when he calls to ask if you're coming, you accidentally mention a boyfriend. which would be fine, if you weren't very single. thankfully your best friend comes through with the perfect solution when he sets you up with a friend of his.
pairing: joshua x f.reader
genre: fake dating, strangers to ?? | fluff, slight angst, smut
rating: explicit (in the full fic), minors DNI
word count: ~1.1k in this teaser (full fic ~22k)
notes: johnny suh as the ex (sorry!), also includes other idols not in seventeen solely as face claims, there's a heavy focus on the fake dating, mentions of food & drink, warnings to be added to the final fic
fic post date: friday, april 26th (full fic here)
a/n: i started this legit months ago as kind of a joke, talking about it with @shuadotcom but it's finally done (and a lot longer than i anticipated).
thank you to: @wonwussy & @kwanisms who read over this for me (too long ago), and to @cheolism @wooahaeproductions @hannieween, & sj for all the brainstorming help along the way.
tagging: @aaniag @gyuminusone @crepecakeu
if you'd like to be tagged in this fic (or any of my fics), comment, click here for my tag list, or send an ask 💕
You still think this is a terrible idea, yet agree to meet Jeonghan’s friend, Joshua, anyway. Apparently, he’s somewhat new to the area, doesn’t know many people, and is incredibly easy to be around. There’s no mention of why Jeonghan thinks he might be willing to pretend to be your boyfriend. A part of you wonders if your friend even told him, but he’s not that cruel. So, whatever the case, Joshua must at least have some idea of what he’s walking into.
Several days pass between the nightmare of a call from Johnny and you actually meeting Joshua, which only adds to your anxiety about whether or not this is going to work. Johnny is asking for a name for the seating chart and for dinner selections. Your mom wants to know when they’ll be able to meet this new boyfriend before the wedding (because “meeting him for the first time at a wedding is gauche” and we wouldn’t want that). Your sister is convinced that he doesn’t actually exist since you haven’t posted him on social media. That you can at least answer to say that not everyone posts their entire life online like she does. It doesn’t seem to allay her suspicions, though.
Then, there’s the fact that you’re actually meeting Joshua for the first time at dinner. All you wanted was to go for coffee, yet he insisted. You couldn’t exactly press the point. Not when you’re planning to ask this stranger to pretend to date you just so that you can avoid the embarrassment at your ex’s wedding. On top of that, because Jeonghan really is a demon at his core, you don’t know what Joshua looks like. Don’t know who to look for. Which leads to you doing the only sensible thing and showing up 5 minutes late for dinner, hoping that he’ll already be at the table when you get there.
It works.
When you give the reservation name at the host stand, you’re immediately led back to a table. Without even thinking about it, you smooth your hands down the front of your dress, looking for a small amount of comfort in this situation. It’s not even that you struggle around new people, this is just…well, it’s a lot. It’s out of anyone’s comfort zone. Whatever you’re expecting, it’s not the man sitting at the table the host leads you to. He nearly stops you in your tracks.
His black hair is perfectly styled down to the pieces on one side that come down over his forehead. The black dress shirt he wears is open at least one button too many, but he makes the exposed chest look work in a way models would envy. Even though his pants are black as well, he makes it look classic and effortless, rather than too dark. That’s all without even acknowledging the soft smile on his face. This man would break a thousand hearts without even saying a damn word. While you’re appreciating him, you miss the way his eyes rake over you appreciatively. Miss the way his eyes trace your curves and the way the dress clings to you.
In one fluid motion, he’s standing up to greet you, a gentle kiss placed on your cheek. Is it weird if your knees are a little weak? Well, even if it is, there’s nothing you can do. You’re completely captivated.
“You must be Joshua,” you say. Brilliant, you think. That’s obvious.
“It’s nice to meet you. Jeonghan had nothing but good things to say,” he answers with another smile as he pulls your seat out for you.
“I feel like he hardly told me about you,” you respond. Joshua raises a perfect eyebrow at that.
“Then why did you agree to go out with me?” Joshua asks.
“Go out with…is this a date?” The question comes tumbling out.
Joshua’s eyes widen in genuine confusion. “Is it not?”
“What, exactly, did Jeonghan say to you?”
A lot and nothing at all, it turns out. Joshua tells you about how he’s somewhat new to the area, which you knew. About how he met Jeonghan through work, kind of. They work in the same building doing very different things and happened to run into each other getting coffee a handful of times before Jeonghan introduced himself. The two had hung out several times, something Jeonghan had not really mentioned, and gotten to know each other over drinks more than once. The very first time, Jeonghan had mentioned you and Joshua admits immediately being intrigued without pressing for more information.
In any case, Jeonghan talked about you pretty freely, a fact that’s hardly surprising. Before Joshua texted you, Jeonghan had mentioned, in what Joshua calls an offhand way, that you were sick of dating the same people. According to Joshua, through Jeonghan, you were looking to possibly be set up. (Read: Jeonghan thinks he’s crafty and isn’t going to come out and tell this man what you’re really looking for. Typical Jeonghan, honestly. You know that “offhand comment” was anything but. And you had the audacity to think Jeonghan would have to tell Joshua what he’s getting into. Rookie move.)
Now you’re in a bit of an awkward situation because this man is honestly gorgeous, one of the prettiest humans you’ve ever met. And, already, he seems like he might be sweet with a pretty good sense of humor. It’s just…well, you’re absolutely not looking for a relationship and this is the last person you want to get involved in your mess. Thankfully, you get a moment to catch your breath when someone comes by to take a drink order and suggest an appetizer. It’s just enough time for you to talk yourself into telling Joshua the real story.
To his credit, he only looks mildly surprised as you outline your whole situation, inform him that yes, Jeonghan does know all of this, and clarify why you didn’t actually realize it was a date. It’s hard to miss the way his eyes seem to sparkle a bit when you also admit that he’s absolutely stunning in a way that hurts your feelings. Easier to miss is the way his face barely falls when you say that you’re not actually looking for something right now. Interesting.
“So that’s the whole thing and now that I’ve embarrassed myself in front of you, I’m sure you’ll understand if we never see each other after tonight,” you finish.
“How am I supposed to go to a wedding as your boyfriend in a matter of weeks if we don’t see each other after tonight?” Joshua wonders.
let me know if you want to be tagged when i post the full fic next week 💕 (and what you think so far)
#joshua smut#joshua fluff#joshua angst#joshua x reader#joshua x you#joshua x y/n#joshua fic#joshua fanfic#seventeen smut#seventeen fluff#seventeen angst#seventeen x reader#seventeen x you#svt x reader#svt x you#svt smut#svt fluff#svt angst#svthub#kvanity#joshua imagines#joshua scenarios#seventeen imagines#seventeen scenarios#svt imagines#svt scenarios
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