Stray Kids Seo Changbin - Tumblr Posts

The Deal

Summary: She was officially failing in life and most importantly in university! With her grades hanging of the edge of a thread and tutors rejecting her left and right her only option is to make a deal with the devil a.k.a Kim Seungmin.A deal should always be fair. Your grades in exchange for Kim Seungmin's dream girl. Simple?...Right?!

Word Count: 35k

Slight enemies to lovers, idiots to lovers, slow burn, angst, fluff.

No warnings, some foul language.

AN: Finally it's here! Tumblr won't let me post it in one post, so I am forced to divide into two parts. Would you be interested in SKZ x Greek Mythology theme? Hope you enjoy!!!

Part 2

@lethallyprotected

    "Your tutor requested to be released from his duties"

"Again?!" You cried out, frustrated beyond belief. You started sweating in your seat. That was my 6th one! You thought, running your hands through your hair messing up the soft curls you had tried to make 2 hours or so ago. "Mr Marlow isn't there anything that I can do? Can't I do some extra credit?" You pleaded the professor that stood across you, desperation clear on your face.

   Mr. Marlow was slumped also in defeat in his plush rolling chair. His office was always the epitome of an organized chaos. Heavy books sat on top of his mahogany desk, some opened, some closed. Papers littered the surface, some with angry red notes accompanying them and some others filled with highlighted colors as to remind him of an extra important issue. 

      You always felt grateful that you had been assigned to Mr. Marlow, he may oddly resemble the white rabbit in the Alice in wonderland film personality wise, but he had a good heart and God bless him, he was so patient with you. He was the first teacher to show you such compassion and empathy and to push you to pursue more of your studies. He was an excellent teacher. And he wasn't obligated to sit and listen to you whine about your problems, but he was sitting there and trying to work out a solution with you. With great hesitation he opened his mouth "Maybe if you approached a professional?"

    You signed. "That would be way over my budget" you muttered regretfully. That would mean double the hours only to be left with crumbs. And you couldn't possibly ask your father of this.

     You signed once again and stood up with your bag on your shoulder ready to leave, slightly bowing to the old man before you. He had way more grey hair in the midst of his hair and beard since you had first met him you noticed. You bet that you were responsible for a good chuck of it. " Thank you regardless Mr Marlow. I will try to work it out" You made your way to the door with heavy steps before heading a rushed "Wait!" 

    He stood hurriedly from his chair and walked around the desk towards you, or more specifically towards to the large bookcase that covered his whole wall behind you, and started shuffling through more papers. You watched him, waiting for an explanation to his sudden manic frenzy. When he finally found what he had been searching for, he let out a yelp and turned towards you. "I shouldn't be doing this. I mean- It's not against the rules, but they wouldn't be pleased- Anyway! Y/N-"

    "Is this the part where you tell me you are my father and try to convince me to come to the dark side, professor? Because if it has cookies, let me tell you, I am already sold" you joked.

    Mr Marlow chuckled under his breath but moved on quickly. " This list that contains the names of the top students of our university. They may be of help to you. Try and persuade someone to help you, dear"he said grabbing a pen and scribbling down a note before giving you the piece of paper. A brief look in his smiling eyes and an other to the piece of paper with messy familiar swirlings on it and you were melting.

    "Thank you, Mr Marl" you smiled gracefully at him and bowed, deeper than last time, before taking the final step outside of his office.

 Now let the games begin.

 "So let me get this straight.. you will stalk the top three geniuses of the school to convince them to save your sorry ass from failing?" Yuqi provided, rather unhelpfully, in your humble opinion as she continued to stuff her face with her banana yogurt.

  "I am not stalking! I am watching them with an interest" you corrected her sternly. You were no stalker. You were a girl with purpose.

   "Sounds like stalking to me, but whatever floats your boat" she ironically replied. "Who will be your first target?" She said glancing at the instagram page you were snooping through. "Namjoon?"

    "I mean he is a literal genius. Who would be better to teach me than him?" You wondered out loud, fingers continuously scrolling down his page. He seemed nice, a little on the dorky side and smart. Not to mention handsome. "Well wish me luck" you said as you closed your phone and stood up.

     "You are going right now?" She asked, shocked at your standing figure.

     "Well, the semester isn't going to wait for me" you cackled and made your way to the table Kim Namjoon sat.

    It was not your first choice to approach him like this, but he always seemed to be running around doing this and that, which left lunch as the only safe option that didn't made you into a creep (in comparison to approaching him in a bar setting as you had contemplated). But now that you were approaching the group you were nervous, not only you had to ask a very attractive and smart stranger to tutor your failing ass, but you had to-partly- do it in front of his equally attractive friends.

     You heard a lively laugh booming from the table, a young man with a heart shaped smile was the source. You scanned them quickly, going through shades and shades of hair colors, before settling on the ash brown color that you wanted to speak to.

     "Kim Namjoon?" You asked, tone uncertain. Even though you said one name, seven pair of eyes turned to you. Every one more attractive than the next, you though dreamily. You briefly locked gaze with a short male with honey coloured hair and equally honeyed smile before an answer from your desired target caught your attention. "That would be me" a low voice answered you.

     You turned your gaze to the tall male. Board shoulder that enhanced his already tall frame, even thought his oversized tee and lose pants made it difficult to pinpoint, you were sure he was well built. Sand coloured hair, neatly cut, complimented his olive complexion awfully well. Small face, even smaller than yours even though you wouldn't admit it, straight nose and upon inspecting his smile a pair of adorable dimples. Yep, that was Kim Namjoon.

     "Can I talk to you for a minute?" You asked, politely, arms crossed behind you, making sure you were using your customer service smile.

      He looked at you, obviously not recognizing you and then back to his friends that wore wolfish smiles and eagerly nodded at him. "Uhhh..Sure" he replied, not yet sure of your intentions.

      "Come on" you said, leading him away from his friend's prying ears. You ended up a few meters away, standing a bit awkwardly facing each other. You craned your neck to make eye contact with him and decided to bite the bullet. "I know that this" you made a notion between the two of you "is random, but I have a big favor to ask" you started and lowered your gaze, not being able to look up now, you played with your fingers out of nerves. "Umm I know you are really busy, but I need help." You said, finding courage to look him in the eyes. " Truth is... I am failing in math and physics and you are the only one that can help me. I heard you are a genius and I thought that learning from the best is the best strategy." 

      Okay.. that could have gone better,you thought. But flattery and a pretty female face seemed to make him flustered... hopefully enough to agree. He opened and closed his mouth several times, hands raising to stroke his neck in shame and in embarrassment at your rough compliments. "Ohh...Umm.. I don't really know if I am the one that can help you. I am pretty busy-" he started before you cut in.

      "So am I! And I really need this! I wouldn't have asked you otherwise! You won't have to work hard! Just- just when I don't get something maybe you could explain it to me? Please?" You clutched your hands together in front of you, almost giving him puppy eyes. You were desperate and it showed. 

      "I-I don't know if I will be a good teacher but..." He looked uncertain and confused but an easygoing smile made its way onto his face "Sure! If I can help, I guess" he chuckled as he shifted his weight from one foot to another.

      "Thank you! Thank you Namjoon!" You said, particularly jumping up and down from joy. You couldn't believe it! It was so easy! You were going to make it!

You weren't going to make it.

You were doomed.

Namjoon was a sweetheart and a genius. And how did geniuses speak and explain? Apparently in a language you didn't understand or comprehend.

The gentle giant was true to his word and after you exchanged numbers you started going over the basics. For the record it was difficult to meet up.. Apparently everyone wants a genius in their project, so poor Namjoon was constantly running all around the place trying to fit it all to his hectic schedule. So you took it in a fast pace, trying to absorb as much info as you could and while Namjoon tried to help you (he truly did!) that only ended with frustrated signs and desperate stomps from you. Every word he spoke was like...like it was in an other language! You hit the first wall at physics and that wall extended into the math area and grew into a bigger and bigger wall and ended up like the Great Wall of China, separating your weak academic ass from the man who had an IQ of 148. 

    Sorrowfully you said your last goodbye at Namjoon, who in turn hugged you like the child he now thought you were and told you to call him whatever you needed.

    You signed.. it was already September! How would you be able to lift your grades by February? You couldn't give up though! Your part scholarship depended on it! So you pulled out the now crumbled paper and traced your finger over the second name. 

Kim Hong Joong.

You knew of him and his rowdy crew. Plus a close friend of his, Wooyoung, worked with you. You were on good terms with him, fortunately. He was way too cute for a guy in college you though, easy to talk to and with a breathy laugh, similar to those witchy cartoon characters, you like it though...not only it was contagious, but unique too. You would have to talk to him when you went to the coffee shop later, you decided. For now you slumped on your desk, ready for an exciting lesson on philosophy.

 After a good 3 hours of Aristotle's teaching you made your way to the cafeteria. Yuqi texted you a little while back, saying that her lesson ended early and was with Yuna to the cafeteria. You stood up shrugging on your thrifted university jacket and making your way through the crowd. The weather was perfect this time of the year, still hot enough from the summer heat with a light breeze blowing just enough to refresh you. The whole campus was still green and full of life, causing students to hang around the lawn. While you crossed the campus you catch a glimpse of the mess that consisted of Han Jisung. The short brunette was a ball of energy, that completely exhausted you while on the clock together, but his charm was incomparable. You still couldn't believe it that he had broken a dozen of cups and the manager just left him off the hook. You paused your walking to greet the boy.

   "Y/N! Hi!" He exclaimed, pulling you for a side hug. You smiled at him, greeting politely his friends as well. The brunette boy only stared at you, a single nod your only greeting while the taller of the two, a pretty boy with foxy eyes gave you an adorable dimpled smile, which you returned.

   " Hi! I haven't seen you almost a week." You replied, his absence from work painfully obvious. Thankfully you, at least, had Wooyoung, the funny man making the hours pass easily.

    "Oh yeah! I had to take some days off cause boss didn't match with my uni schedule. The semester barely begun and my professors gave us 3 new projects! To see if we lost our talent over the summer. Who says that?" He cried dramatically, but you were no better than him.

    "I know right?! Math has been beating my ass too" you whined, hosting your bag higher up your shoulder. You exchanged a look that only students who were failing could understand.

     "I get you. Not my best subject as well" he agreed as well.

     You smiled sympathetically and shook your head. "Anyway I got to run! Yuqi and Yuna are waiting for me! See you later Sung" you saluted, threw a last polite smile to your listeners and took the path to the cafeteria. You heard muffled whispers behind you, but you didn't pay much attention as you put your headphones on.

     Soon you were entering the cafeteria through the double glass doors, that overlooked a good chunk of the campus yard. You looked at the crowd trying to find the pair and just as you spotted a bright orange hair color in a space bun up do in the crowd, your front made contact with something solid causing you both to fall down.

     "Ouff!" A yelp escaped you as soon as you made contact with the floor under you. Ouch! You rubbed your aching bum as you checked yourself. Other than your headphones,that fell off (those darned wireless buds! I love you and hate you at the same time!) you were good to go. You lifted your head to see a petit girl, in a similar position to yours, only clutching her pink clad phone in her hands and letting a relieved sign. She lifted her head and-

     "I am so sorry!"

     "I am sorry!" 

   You both blurted at the same time, looked each other and burst laughing. You standed up, extending a hand to the dark haired beauty in front of you. "Sorry! I wasn't watching were I was going. You good?" you apologized as you pulled her up, inspecting her. Her short black skirt let you know that her thin legs were injury free, but you asked nevertheless, making sure.

   She smiled at you and showed her phone. "Nah I am good, only worried about my phone. Don't worry about it! I shouldn't have stood in the middle" she said as she dusted herself off.       

     "I am Lee Soojin" she said, extending her hand. She had glossy black locks framing her doll like face, which consisted of huge onyx eyes, a tiny nose and a set of full lips.Although she was the same height as you, she was thinner, almost fragile looking. She was dressed to the nines, a black skirt, a white fluffy top and loafers with a slight heel. She looked like a dream. Especially in comparison to you who wore flared jeans with a black tee, your outfit completing a pair of double soled black converse and your loyal thrifted university jacket. 

   "L/N Y/N" you said, shaking her hand.

   "I know.Sort of" she laughed a bit awkward in response to your raised brows. She knew you? "I often come by the coffee shop you work in. You get my coffee just right"

   Ohh."Vanilla Latte with one spoonful of sugar?" You asked, her face coming back to you bit by bit.

   "Yeah!"she beamed, unnaturally happy that her barista remembered her face. 

   "Nice to finally.. knowing you? " You joked, cocking your head. "I gotta go now. I will see you at the shop I guess" You said turning to see if Yuqi was still were you last saw her. She was. "Goodbye " you waved, before making your merry way to your table.

   "See you then"She called,waving. 

   As you made your way to your friends,you accidentally locked gazes with a boy who sat on the near table. Why was he looking at you so persistently? But then you noticed his gaze was still nailed to the spot, where your exchange with Soojin have been. You looked over your shoulder seeing Soojin talking with a tall male. Oh, well that made more sense, you snickered and started walking away.

   "Girl!" Yuqi exclaimed seeing you approach. "You okay? You fell on your ass pretty hard." She laughed that throaty laugh of hers, clearly enjoying your suffering.

   "I am glad my suffering and humiliation is funny to you" you murmured as you took a sit across her.

   "Don't pay attention to her, bub. You okay?" Yuna asked. She was always a motherly figure to the group, always asking and caring about you two. 

   "Thank you Yuna. I am fine Yuna" you answered sweetly, not looking to the direction of Yuqi. In response she laughed even harder, mocking me right back. 

   "Did you figure out what to do with your tutor problem?" The orange haired hirl asked as she was playing with the remaining food on her tray.

   "My second line of defense is Kim Hong Joong. I know him, sort of. Wooyoung is friends with him. I will try to get more info from him, I guess" you answered, unsure as you are a spoonful of the food the girls brought you.

   "And the third Kim?"she asked, mirth dancing in her eyes. She found it extremely funny that the top 3 students of the school were Kims'. 

   "Kim Seungmin." You muttered,against your bitten fingernails. Anxiety was not your scene. "I didn't find him on insta. I don't really know anyone who knows him. I will have to snoop around" Yuna swatted your bitten hand away from your mouth. 

   "I can ask some people if you want" suggested Yuqi, in the mist of a bite. You nodded gratefully towards her. Yuna looked between you two, several times before signing "You know you should stop talking like you are members of a mafia gang" she contemplated, finishing the last of her desert. 

   You looked at Yuqi, cocked your head and with one voice you both answered: "No"

   Yuna laughed, raising her hands as if she was admitting defeat, Yuqi and you soon followed.

   You were on the very edge to being late.

Once again your professor thought that, their lesson was the only thing taking up your time so he thought it would do you good to deepen on the subject. 

  For an extra half hour.

 Which left you with little time to no time to eat, cause queues in the cafeteria were a bitch and hurrying to make your way to your afternoon shift.

   When the coffee shop was on your line of vision, you were finally able to catch your breath. Usually the sight of the small coffee shop that was full of  glass covered walls and potted plants brought you a sense of calm. Today you were on edge though, not only you were running all the way from across campus, but you were going to ask Wooyoung about Kim Hong Joong's number so you can make contact with your second contestant. 

   As soon as you walked through the glass door, the sound of shutters going off greeted you. Your boss's idea to make the place instagramable was the best thing that could happen to her. Cute art on the walls, well placed neon lights, that were not over the top and fit the relaxing vibe of the shop were placed on bare walls, that the costumers could be photographed against. Cute cozy sofas and chairs in pale colors were all over the shop. A grand staircase by the bar lead to the second floor, which was reformed into a studying area for the struggling students. All in all, the shop was an instagram dream, the staff was consisted mostly of cute looking guys and dashing girls (you still couldn't understand how you got the job, you were pretty but those people were on a whole other level) but you wouldn't complain.

    You made your way behind the bar, into the staff room shedding your jacket and your favourite messenger bag and donned your black apron with the log of the shop.  By the time you were out, Wooyoung was leaning against the counter, sweet talking to some girls that were giggling in response. You shook your head and started to make a cup of coffee for yourself, reading yourself for a busy shift. 

    You had barely touched the machine, when you noticed a tall boy waving at you to get your attention. You went to him and started reciting your familiar line: "Hello. What can I get you?"

    He smiled prettily at you and leaned slightly closer so he can speak more quietly "Hello.. Can I order a coffee and maybe you can deliver it to the table?" He asked, scratching the back of his neck, not sure how to get out his inner thoughts.

     "Sure" you answered easily. "What can I get you?"

      "A vanilla latte with one spoonful of sugar please. Can you deliver it to the table by the window? To the girl with the green cardigan. Tell her it's from Eric" you raised your head to the direction the boy pointed and saw Soojin sitting there with a couple of friends you vaguely recognized.

     "Well, Eric...consider me your cupid for the evening. Don't leave until after I give her the drink" You supplied with a crooked grin as you made the coffee. You exited the bar and drink in hand you made your way to the girls.

     "Good evening Soojin. Girls" you greeted, placing the cup in front of her. "This is for you from the gentleman over there" you pointed out the lean form of Eric, that stood rooted in place. He gave an adorably awkward wave and a charming smile and bolted (as confidently as he could) out of the door.

      "You are for sure popular" you joked.

    She politely raised her hands, silently arguing with your statement. "You just got here? Is.. Jisung's.. shift over?"

      "Jisung is the brunette one. The red headed one is Wooyoung. But yes, he is done for the day. And I am just getting started..Yay.." You made sure to plaster a very fake smile to show your.. excitement for the day that is to come. "Anyway, nice seeing you again. I gotta go back now" you said, already walking backwards to your post.

       "Hey Y/N! How it's going?" Wooyoung greeted you now that the coast was clear of beautiful girls, that required his attention.

      "I am good. I wanted to ask you something though... about your friend Hong Joong-"you started to say, but was rudely interrupted.

       "While you are beautiful, he is currently semi-available. He has his sight on this girl-" he started, but you quickly cut him off.

       "Thank you for the unwanted info and for the compliment, but that was not my intention. I actually wanted to know if he is interested in tutoring. I learned that, he is one of the top students. Currently math and physics are making my life a living hell and I thought maybe someone who was on a more...high intellectual level, would be able to help little old me" you finished.

       He stared for bit before answering "Well, I don't know if he have the time, but I'll tell you what. I'll give you his number so you can ask him yourself" he exclaimed, already fishing his phone out of his back pocket.

      "Thank you, Wooyoung! I owe you one!"  You grinded big and wide. Maybe luck would be on your side this time. "How it's going with Somi by the way?" You asked, as you put your phone back to its place under the bar.

       His smile immediately fell and frustration took place. "She hasn't called, texted or anything! I just don't understand! We go out, have fun, we are talking and suddenly, she disappears! Is that normal?" He cried out, hands shooting to his fiery locks, messing them further up.

      "Maybe she doesn't know what she wants yet. Or maybe she hasn't cleared up a previous relationship yet and is hesitant to get involved with you" you shrugged as you leaned back into the wooden surface of the cashier.

     "Well why can't she say so then?! What does she think that I would do?" He clicked his tongue as he cleaned the tools he used to make a coffee. At least he was putting his frustration into good use.

        "Hello!" A voice sounded from behind you and you turned to ask yet again, what the next person would like.

     You were once again on your way to the coffee shop. You swore that these days the shop saw you more than your own house. It was a sorry excuse of a house really, but it was a house. You couldn't complain, it was cheap rent and a roof over your head. You walked into the shop and immediately you were greeted by a familiar voice "Hello! What would you lik- Oh it's you" the man finished, his voice significantly lower by the end of his sentence.

      "Nice to see you too, Sung" you sassed back, walking to the bar where he usually lounged. "An Americano, please! Is he here?" You inquired as you watched him get to work. The shade he dyed his hair now suited him very well, you thought. Pure black with blue undertones. You had heard several girls gossiping or rather complimenting him on his new appearance. He had let his hair grow a bit longer, not enough to grow a mullet, but enough to ruffle through. Today he donned a white shirt and black skinny jeans with chains, that gave him an edge. He never learned his lesson though, you clicked your tongue, white clothes and making coffee didn't go together. As he turned to you, you noticed a tiny stain on his sleeve. You passed him a bill as you took your coffee.

       "Yeah, he is upstairs" he answered as he passed your bill right back to you, winking.

        "Thank you love" you said, winking back and making your way upstairs. For a Wednesday afternoon the second floor was understandable empty, especially at the beginning of the semester. That's why you immediately knew who was the party who awaited you. You crossed the floor and took the opposite seat. "Hong Joong, right?"

        "Yes. Y/N?" He asked you, hands around his cappuccino. He had a small face, his straight slim nose was a masterpiece you were jealous of and pared with a nice set of lips, he seemed adorable. What greatly contrasted his sweet face was his wild half white half black hair, that was styled into a mullet with the side chopped off. Along with his hair, his multiple piercings gave off a more bad boy vibe that you were used to.

        "Yeah thank you so much that you agreed to come. Wooyoung mentioned your.. hectic schedule." You laughed the awkwardness off. 

       "Don't mention it! I came to talk to you, but I don't know if I can help you. I am on my final year and this will get crazy pretty soon." He said, grimacing throughout every word. He threw an apologetic smile towards you, but you cutt him off before he could continue.

        "Yeah I know! I know and I don't want to pressure you! But I really need help.. I really can't afford to fail.. I can be available whenever  you are. If you tell me in advance, I can schedule it with my manager so my shifts won't be a problem." you breathed, suddenly dropping out was becoming a very real problem. You never thought that you would be so close to failing and doing so was not an option.

       "Well then..okay. I will try to help you. But just so you know things will be difficult. Mainly because my hours can be weird-"

       "I am fine with that! Just-...Thank you" you finished, a grateful smile spreading across your face.

       "How about we start now?" He suggested with an oh-so-innocent smile on his face. 

       "Now now? Well I have only my math notebook with me.."you trailed.

       "Excellent! I can see where do you get stuck then!"

       "Yes! Thank you Hong Joong!"

        "..And then she tried to call your grandma out!" He cried out onto the speaker 

        You laughed loudly at that. "Did she beat this granny up?" You questioned, knowing oh so well your grandma's fiery temper.

      "They almost dueled on the supermarket with the carts!" He giggled, recalling the scene.

      "Damn! I wish I was there to see her!" You cheered gleefully. You had missed your home.

         "Aahh you should have seen her! Now that you said this..when are you coming home?? Your grandparents are talking my ear off! They want to see you! And so do I?You know better than this!" He laughed that full belly laugh of his. 

     "I will come home for Christmas daddy. I promise!" You oathed. 

    "Can't you miss one weekend?" He asked, defeat evident on his tone. You couldn't miss your shifts, but he didn't have to know that. 

  "I will be there before you even know it, old man!" You sassed, distracting him. 

 "Yeah, right " he scoffed into the line.

You couldn't go now. Not when everything was going great!

     Everything, for once, was going in your way! You and Hoonie were on spectacular terms when it came on understanding, he explained everything so well, that it was practically impossible not to get it! Your physics professor ,after seeing your newfound effort in her class and after a particular talk with Mr. Marlow, agreed to give you an extra project, so you can get some much needed credit.

     You were running around double the time you were used to, but it was worth it. Many times Hong Joong would finish particularly late, so he would come over to teach you and you would study well into the early hours of the morning, but you were content. You were good on your house payments, even making something extra to send to your dad. He was on house installments that were kicking his ass and together with your grandparents he made it through, but with little to spare. 

     Your phone vibrated as you spoke. You checked it out seeing the familiar Instagram name of Hong Joong."Yes yes dad! I gotta go now. I love you" 

        "-ve you too " you vaguely heard him call out, before you hung up. A message from Hong Joong made you freeze. 

We should talk.

That's all it said. You quickly unlocked your phone, searching for his number and called.

         "Hey Hong Joong! I saw your message.. Is everything okay?"you inquired, plopping down your bed. You should reverse it back to the couch setting, since you expected the man that you were currently on the phone with, you mentally noted.

         "Yeah, but I have some bad news. I will tell you in person. We have a session in 2 hours right?" He asked, absentmindedly as he was shuffling through papers. He was making so much noise you could barely hear him.

        "Yeah, I will be expecting you Hoonie"you said as you nervously bounced on your bed.

       "Do a recap, okay? I will test you on the last four chapters" More shuffling was heard from the other end of the line. 

       "Okay.. I have the papers you were asking for ready, by the way. I asked my friend" you mumbled, teeth already working on your ruined nails.

       "Thank you Y/Nie! I won't be long" he chanted, his voice more distant now.

        "Ok! Byee!" you called. You shouldn't panic, maybe he wanted to tell you about a problem he had found on your worksheet, you reasoned. It didn't have to be anything bad. You decided to distract yourself, you had chores to do and a review to complete before Hong Joong arrived. Get up, you said to yourself. Don't think about it.

         You pulled yourself up and started collecting your fallen clothes, that you had scattered around in your try to get to your lecture on time this morning. You should go to the laundry mat later, you noted. The pots, that were left on the sink yesterday evening, were starting to smell so you donned your apron and quickly started cleaning the kitchen as well. An hour passed by, before you settled on your old but comfy grey couch-bed to study per request of Hong Joong. Math were starting to get easier as you went by, but they were still a pain to deal with.

    Not much time passed, or so you thought, before you heard a knock. You looked at your clock to see it was six o'clock already.

        You stretched over the sofa to reach the doorknob, turning slightly to let Jong Joong in.

      "You know you shouldn't open the door like that. What if I was a stranger trying to rob you?" He said as he passed the threshold, already hand in his backpack to get out his books. 

       "If someone came in and saw me like this, he wouldn't tried to rob me, he would pity me so much that he would even give me pocket money' you said, eyebrows lifting as you watched him spread books upon books on your coffee table and on your floor. 

      "Ha ha" he ironically said. "Are you ready?" 

      "What was that you wanted to tell me?" You wondered.

      He hesitated, but eventually he said "Let's study first ..I will tell you after." Do you studied meticulously for the next hour or so. And when you thought the torture had finished, you were in for an equal bad time.

      "What?!"you incrediously exclaimed, shocked by the news. "Noo!" you shouted in despair. 

      "I am sorry. We are only a month in and I couldn't keep up." He admitted regretfully.

      "No...this isn't your fault Hoonie. I had known that you would be burdened eventually. Your final year is beating your ass, you should do your best to concentrate" you admitted, head lowering. Despite your words of encouragement, you felt as someone was destroying your carefully build house of cards.

       "Thanks for understanding. And if it comforts you are doing much better already!" He tried to cheer you up, but a look on your face was enough to shut him up. "Do you have a backup plan?" He asked you, concerned.

        "I have one more person, that was recommended to me. But I don't know him so I have to look him up. I hope that he is accepting "you signed, checking your phone. "Hey, do you have plans right now? Yuqi and Yuna are coming for a movie night" 

        "I have plans with Yunho and Mingi, but I appreciate the offer. Good night, Y/N!"

        You smiled and waved him goodbye. You would have to study twice as hard now. It was true, that you were getting better. Physics, with a little more effort, would be doable. Math on the other hand...

         You opened your phone, entering Instagram. You tapped on the search bar and typed Kim Seungmin. But no results came.. well it came up with several names and faces, but none of them was connected to your university or had common friends with you.. How the hell you were supposed to find him? You searched on Facebook, on Viber too.. N.O.T.H.I.N.G! Was the dude a ghost or something?

       A knock on your door pulled you out of your daydream. You recognized the loud voices and the frequent giggles, so once again you opened the door without checking. 

       "Babyy~" arms wrapped around you and the smell of peaches filled your senses. Yuqi rocked you in her arms, quite strongly, for such a petite figure. "How was your lesson with Joong?" She asked as she released you and Yuna made her way into your small home, carrying a large pizza.

         "Hoonie was wonderful, but that was our last lesson" you wailed. Wiping fake tears, you continued "He got assigned to two new projects and his professor suggested him for a possible internship. I mean, I am happy for him. I am just worried." You ranted as you got up.

        You made your way to your fridge and took out a half empty bottle of rose wine, that you kept especially for movie nights. You grabbed 3 glasses and returned to the girls that were already opening the bed. You passed each of them a glass and took a sit on the head of the bed.

         "So now what?" Yuna asked as she took her first bite of her pizza.

         "I tried searching for Kim Seungmin on insta, on facebook, on everything! But I came up empty...I will try some more and if I can't find him...I will just do whatever I can on my own." Yuna's hand rubbed soothing circles on your back. You looked up only to find their concerned gazes focused on you.  "Hey don't look at me like that! Come on! Let's forget about it and eat! On which episode we paused last?"

         "The 12th! Finally! I was waiting the whole week for this!" Yuna cheered "Do you know that, they will make a second season?"

         "As they should. Alchemy of souls is a masterpiece! I would watch 10 more seasons!" 

         As the tittle song rolled in, all of you fell quiet and let the amazing drama pull you in.

    "Y/N!!!"

  A piercing scream in the form of your name echoed inside the coffee shop. Some customers were startled, some were plain staring at the hurricane,that was Yuqi. 

       You shushed her warningly and turned with a very fake smile to the customer in front of you. The guy gave you an understanding look, took his coffee and left you with the loud girl. 

     "You'll never guess! You owe me! You owe me!" She was literally rocking on her heels, her hands clasped together and looking at you adorably excited. "So about the thing with your third Kim. I asked Lucas, who asked Yuta, who knew that Ten and Minho are friends, that Minho is friends with Seungmin. But guess who Minho and Seungmin are friends with?!" She finished without a breath and left you staring at her. 

       You blinked twice. "You should have become a rapper, not a linguist" you amazed. "And also... what?"

        "Girl! Focus! Kim Seungmin! The target! We know who he is!" She exclaimed, her excitement peaking again. "Kim Seungmin. Second year like us. Science department, dental care. Tall, brunette, glasses. He doesn't really have a large friend group. He is close with Minho, who I mentioned earlier and guess who else?!"

        "Who?" you asked, looking at her rather dumply. 

        Not caring about you not catching up, she exclaimed a name you didn't expect. "Han Jisung!" 

        That startled you out of your shock. "My Jisung?" You questioned, pointing at the culprit who was cheerily cleaning up the station. The only response you received was a fierce nod from her. Luck was smiling at you again. So you took casual but calculated steps towards the boy, who had his back turned to you. 

         "Jisung! My man! How are you?" you squealed as you placed your hands around him, successfully capturing him. He turned around with a smile, not having a better sense to start running away. 

         "When we last talked..you know 7 minutes ago..I was well."he laughed as he wiped his hands on the only dry towel we kept in our station. 

           "I have heard you are friends with Lee Minho and Kim Seungmin.."you started, not really knowing how to tell him but a voice stopped you on your tracks.

           "What would you like to know about me?" A smug voice asked from the counter. You turned and saw a new presence next to an awkward Yuqi. The new arrival was a little taller than Yuqi, brown locks,almost honey colored, were framing his slim face. His eyes were up turned, feline like and they were watching your every move with intelligent and playfulness. Like a true cat. His lips were slightly up turned as well, giving you the impression that he was silently laughing at you. 

      "Who are you?" you asked as you approached the cashier where he was standing, not knowing better yourself. 

       Eyebrows raised and smug smile intact. "I am Lee Minho. I heard you talking about me." he returned as he tapped his fingers against the counter. 

        "Oh!" you said, finally understanding. "Actually I was interested in your friend-" 

        "Seungmin!"

        "Seungmin!"

   Two voices cut the air, equally shocked. You looked both at the stranger by the cashier and your coworker in wonder. Their smiles threaten to break off their faces, eyes widened with pleasant surprise. Oh! They misunderstood you. "No! No! It's not what you are thinking! I actually am searching for a tutor and I was told he was on top of the academic list. But I can't find him anywhere" 

       "Ahh.." 

       "Ahh.." 

    In union they let out an equally disappointed sign, making you let out an amused huff. 

       "It's a shame tho...I think you would suit each other.."murmured Jisung, tousling his hair gently. 

        "You could give him a run for his money. From what Jisung told me about you." Minho pleasantly hummed.

         You turned to face your friend, eyes squinted and face accusing. He immediately raised his hands and denied any guilt. The rest of your company let out laughs at the comical scene. 

          "But jokes aside. Our Seungminnie is a little... emotionally constipated. Yeah, let's say that." Minho explained as he scanned the menu now. Yuqi was silent by his side, eyeing between you and him. "Other than that, he is an lovable idiot"

        He eventually ordered to Jisung, who started making the drink right away. "What do you mean by that?"you asked. 

        "Well he is rather reserved and he is the no bullshit type of guy. He will not be likely to accept tutoring you." 

        Wonderful. That was exactly what you didn't want to hear.

        Well you hoped you could have to change that. 

    You turned to him, with a hint of a smile and asked him.

      "Can you tell me where I can find him?"

      After your short talk with Minho and Jisung, you stalked Kim Seungmin. 

      You and Yuqi were the main agents, that were running all over the place. The first time you caught a glimpse of him with Minho and Jisung at the courtyard, chilling leisurely. In contrast to what Minho told you, he seemed lovely, cute smile and animated talking from what you saw. You spotted him going to class, thankfully your hours matched, so you had an eye on him. You even saw him at the coffee shop a time or two, though he never stayed. 

     From what you gathered he was a reserved guy, just as Minho said. He didn't really talk to many people, he made a funny comment or two, but then he was out of sight. You currently were on the cafeteria, with Yuna and Ryunjin by your side, watching him from afar. He was sitting with a black haired boy you didn't know, he looked quite young though (probably younger than you two)  and was constantly glancing somewhere. You tried to follow his gaze, but you couldn't pint point where it landed every time. Something in your gut told you to pay attention though, as if this could be the solution to your problems. 

And you always trusted your gut.

       So the gazes continued. He was watching someone and you were watching him. Just as you were growing tired of this and was beginning to quit your whole detective game, his gaze shifted. The person he was watching was moving towards the exit. So you snapped your gaze at the door and there they stood, in all their glory against the sunlight that burst through the glass walls. As fair as the snow white herself. You turned your gaze towards Seungmin again, watching him ogle Lee Soojin, like an idiot in love and a smile made itself known in your face. 

      You had a plan.

    After careful examination, or detective work as Yuqi had affectionate calling it, you finally had confirmed your hatch. 

    A little more stalking was required, but along with the help you received from your girls, it was easy as a piece of cake. 

    A little comments here and there in an attempt to make Jisung spill some beans, which worked wonderfully and left him in a stupor (you made yourself a mental note not to trust him with anything personal again), and your plan was set.

    It was a little bit of a stretch, to think that he would agree to help you just so he can get a girlfriend, but you had no options left. Math was kicking your ass again and alone you were struggling, it was like you were drowning and you were trying to paddle your way through.

    You just needed a lifeline that would get you through. Just for the upcoming exams. So determinately you lifted your chin and made your way to the library.      

         You hadn't made it a habit to visit the library. You hadn't had the time either. 

You stood outside for a beat, gathering your wits. The building was tall and imposing, making you even more hesitant to go in. But you had to brave it, you had to fake it till you make it.

   You took one big breath and entered. The three floor building seemed even bigger on the inside. Old wood, that was a miracle that still held, was everywhere and the smell of old books surrounded the place. Your eyes ranked over the multiple desks, that held many students. No, not him. Him neither. No. And here he was. Your eyes found him.

    He was there, just like Minho said he would. He was taller than you expected. And more handsome. Soft brown locks that were cut into a neat haircut fell just above his eyes. Glasses stood high on his straight nose, hiding the exact color of his eyes due to the light hitting on them, but if your own eyes didn't deceive you you would swear that they were a dark brown, maybe even onyx like. He wore a serious expression, his mouth pressed into a thin line. The oversized white tee he wore, along with the black cargo pants didn't do wonders on his figure but he sure looked comfy in them. He also looked very concentrated and you felt bad to break it off, but not bad enough not to do it. 

       You criss crossed between the tables and unsuspecting students and plopped down on the opposite seat. He briefly looked up from his laptop, but upon seeing your unfamiliar face, he soon returned his gaze at the screen in front of him. 

      "Hi, you're Kim Seungmin, right?" You slowly asked, testing the waters. When the words left your mouth, he slowly looked up and met my gaze. He seemed unsure of what my deal was and not really keen on finding out. 

     "Yes, that would be me" he said, not offering any other information or asking for your own name, for that fact. His face stayed the same as when he was reading. 

     Great.. from what it seems, this was the default.

     "Since you didn't ask. Hi, my name is Y/N and I am here to propose a deal to you." You said, bringing your hands on the table and waving them together. He didn't say anything just made himself more comfortable on the chair and his figure slouching . 

      "I am on the verge of failing my math class and I need help. Your help to be exact." He crossed his arms and leaned back further. No emotion yet on his face, a subtle raise of his eyebrow was the only answer you got, something similar to a disbelieving scoff leaving him, he seemed like he was mocking you. But you didn't know if you were imagining things, just to fill that void in his facade. Maybe if you stroked his ego? "They said to come to you and that you were one of the top three students of the school" you said putting your chin on top of hands, smile still intact. Be pleasant and nice was your only option. Smile and waved boys, just smile and wave.

        He leaned forward, mimicking your posture. His hands were long and elegant you noticed, like that of a piano player. "Thank you for the.. preference. But I will have to decline" he said with a grimace that some would call a smile. You knew better.

       "But you didn't let me finish. It has come to my knowledge that you like Lee Soojin" you said, a smile making it's way on your face.             Finally, a spark of emotion! His  eyes momentarily widened and his mouth fell slightly open before he straightened his expression, he immediately turned his head right and left and he leaned closer to you, glaring intensely. You grinned even wider at the action, a crack in his armor was all you needed.

     He continued glaring at you for a moment, clearly contemplating if killing you was the safest option, but eventually he fell back against his chair, not speaking a word.

     "I can help you get together with her. I saw you watching her from a far. I happened to know her, she is a regular to the cafe I work at" you begun before he could open his mouth.

          His face didn't change much, now annoyance was a little more prominent, but the emptiness still ruled over his face.  "Unfortunately, I will not be helping you as I have my own issues and I believe the second statement is none of your business. I wish I could say that it was a pleasure meeting you but I avoid lying. Have a good day" he said, utterly dismissing you. He turned back to his laptop, leisurely fixing his glasses, not giving you an other lick of attention.

 Well that went exactly as they warned you. When Minho said emotionally constipated, you didn't think they really meant it. Even though you wanted to grab him by his shoulders and shake him, you couldn't force him to accept. You had played your cards and lost. As you would probably lose your scholarship..

            You looked at him for a moment, then collected your stuff from the chair you had pushed them into and stood "If you change your mind, you will find me at the coffee shop by the uni. You know the one Soojin goes. Have a good day "you said, almost giggling to the look he threw you, at the mention of the girl's name. You gave him a salute and turned walking away so you can cry away your day in peace.

       Despite you thinking that the promise of a girlfriend would be enough, mister Kim Seungmin proved you wrong and didn't agree to your offer. So you were left struggling alone just shy of October. To your surprise and utter delight of Mr. Marlow, you were decent enough in physics now. Your physic proff was moved by your struggle and impressed by your newfound knowledge so she agreed to give you a couple of projects, in order to make up for the lost grades. It was a real pain in the ass to balance your university life, along with work and the extra hours of studying that you put in to catch up, but at least you were afloat..for now. 

      And despite of denying your deal you saw more and more of Kim Seungmin. First it was at the cafeteria, him gazing discreetly at her and you gazing at them. Once or twice, your eyes would meet and you would raise your eyebrow at him, secretly judging. He would answer with a fiery look and squinting eyes back at you.

  You would meet him at campus were he would simply hangout with his friends. You had repeatedly greeted them, asking the usual 'how are you' and 'are you good', both Jisung and Minho had answered you (your coworker bubbly as ever and Minho albeit with less enthusiasm but not unfriendly), but Seungmin just stared you emptily. You swore he only had two emotions, emptiness and aggression. If he had more.. well you had yet to see them. 

     The third place he frequent went in was no other than your workplace. He collected the info you gave him, the sneaky bastard, and used it without you reaping the benefits. He showed up just a week after your meet up. As Minho's friend he had visited the place before and sure, he could have grabbed a casual pick-me-up, but he had never sat down on the cafe. One day though, he rolled up in a casual sky blue hoodie and a pair of jeans with his own trusted bad on his shoulders. A cute pair of glasses decorated his face and his hair, even messy, had a certain charm.

    Such a waste of good looks, you thought. His face upon seeing you behind the bar was comical to say the least. He was pretty neutral before entering, a calming aura around him but when he saw you, his lips pressed together in a grimace and a cold demeanor met you. You had smiled though and took his order, mentally scoffing. A black Americano. How unoriginal. 

     He had came up empty that day, as Soojin hadn't shown up. His next try was successful, not only he had manage to nail the time the girl came ,but also managed to secure a spot near her table. His subtle heart eyes made you want to puke. 

     His third time though was your favourite. Soojin was by her usual corner, but she was not alone this time. Eric was by her side in all his blonde glory, making the girl giggle and blush so hard. Of course Mr Kim Seungmin was shooting lazer from his eyes, face empty and eyes filled with the promise of murder. It was a delightful thing.

        Two weeks flew by and your panicked began to rise. A typical Wednesday and you were staring blankly at the entrance, wondering if a future as a barista was the only option left for you. Your train of thought was rudely interrupted by a tall figure getting all up in your face. A tall brown haired menace.

   As the days flew by your polite smiles turned into sarcasm filled giggles and a pressing desire to annoy the fuck out of his majesty, the genius. So you looked up to meet his eyes, met with the usual picture of him frowning down at you. 

       "Can I help you?" You asked monotone, already moving away to prepare his order. He never tried anything else besides his bland americano. 

        He didn't move, only looked at you decisively. He leaned over the counter as much as he could "I don't want coffee. I want to talk to you" You stared at him. Did you want to be rude and deny? He deserved it, but that would require your downfall so you swallowed your pride and nodded.

       You quickly told  Shushua you would be a minute and leaded Seungmin into a quiet corner of the shop. You sat down and the staring match began. 

     You knew this, this was a war of nerves. As a business major you knew he wanted the deal you presented, but he was stubborn enough not to begin the discussion. " You thought about my proposal?" You probed gently.

      After a brief hesitation he nodded and finally spoke. "I would be willing to help you" he stated simply. He was truly a man of few words. You hoped that didn't seep through to his teaching. 

       "Wonderful!" You cheered, clapping once in satisfaction and leaning back to your plush chair. " When can you start? I am in immediate need of attention" you joked, just to see him squirm. He didn't disappoint as he lightly shifted his weight on the comfortable couch he sat. 

        "I don't work.. so we can follow your program" he stated dismissively. "Where do you lack?" He seemed more comfortable focusing his attention on your academic problem, than his unrequited crush. Cute, you thought.

       "Math is my main problem. I fixed my physics grade enough to pass through this semester. Maybe a lesson or two in exam season, if you are kind enough." You listed, resting your head in your hand. You should sound dismissive and aloof and play your cards right this time. 

      "Okay we can work on that.." he trailed off, not knowing how to get on with the conversation.

       "You should open an Instagram page" you suddenly said. He needed the exposure you had decided. He had the looks, he was smart and if we worked on his manners.. he could get Soojin.

        He scoffed, right back at his usual self. "And why would I do that?" He asked, now that you knew him a little, his voice filled with disbelief and irony.

       "So you can show off your good looks to Soojin obviously. From my point of you this is the only thing you have going on" you stated, smirking. His relaxed, albeit a little uncomfortable, pose tensed. "It's adorable how tense you get when I mention her" you teased, lips curling a little, not able to resist. You had to ask. "What made you change your mind?"

    "I thought about it. That's it"  You looked at him. His jaw was clenched, his posture still tense and he was looking you straight in the eyes, almost as if he was daring you to say it.

   "Are you sure? Are you sure that someone didn't help in changing your mind? Like someone trying to get your girl. Someone named...Eric?" you waved your fingers together and placed your chin lightly on them. From the way his body tensed even more, his mouth was pressed into a thin line, fully concealing his full lips and the lightly squinting of his eyes, you hit bulls eye. 

      "Well.. appearance wise, I don't have a lot to fix. Personality wise though..we could do so much better." You innocently smile. "Anyway she is on social a lot, she often comes to take photos here, she even followed me. The first step we have to make is her acknowledging you. So genius boy... When are you free?" 

     His way of teaching is as insufferable as he is you soon learned.

     You had agreed to meet at the library. The tall building served as an excellent place as he wasn't keen on visiting your house. It was fine by you, you weren't thrilled about having him in your apartment as well.

       The first thing he did was a through  exploration of your knowledge. And then, the torture began. Equations, problems, types... And a good chunk of it, you failed to get.

     "You must be kidding! Even the professor doesn't give us that much homework!" You dramatically yelled, earning a few looks from the people around you and a glare from your companion.

     "If you want to improve, this is the appropriate amount. It's truly remarkable how much you don't understand" he noted as he started gathering his books, placing them neatly in a navy blue backpack. You were amazed at capability of his backpack. You could probably fit yourself in there, if you tried.

     "I am a marketing major! I don't need to know these things!" You cried out, more quietly this time, no less dramatic though, desperation coloring your voice. 

      "You are in marketing?" He asked, taken aback. You were crossing the entrance of the library and stood there for a moment. Should you be offended by his surprise?

      "Yeah, why the surprise? What you thought I would be?" You rocked on your heel, craning your neck to look at him. 

       "Something more dramatic. Performing arts, perhaps" he replied. Well... you could give him that. You could be a total drama queen when you wanted.

       "I will inform you, that I am excellent at what I do. Point proven by the fact you are here. I advertised my deal in an appealing way, you weighted your options and you took mine." You said, trying to bite back the smile you could feel surfacing. He grimaced at your wording, not being able to deny the truth.

        "Whatever." He said as he began to walk to a direction that you had not in mind. So you reached for his precious backpack and pulled him towards you. He lightly stumbled, but regained his footing quickly and turned to you, eyebrows raised and mouth pulled tight together. "What?"

        You smiled up at him. "I thought our deal should be fair. After our lessons, it will be your turn. So today we are going to the cafe!" You pulled once again, at his sleeve this time and much to your surprise he followed you without complains.

     You let him go and walked backwards so you can face him "Soojin visits the cafe regularly. But Fridays are a must for her. Her lecture is done at two, so she eats at the cafeteria and she usually comes around 3ish"

      "You know too much for someone who is simply her barista" he noted, eyes fleeting at the road behind you and refocusing on your face. You shrugged nonchalantly.

      "You would be surprised at what I know " you dismissed. You turned to walk normally and adjusted your brown messenger bag on your shoulder. You should try using a backpack as well, you adored the bag but the weight was starting to hurt your shoulder, especially with the weight of the extra books. "After going to the cafe, we are going to have a photoshoot!"    

He looked at me from the side like I had grown a second head and shook his head."No"        

         "Yep"        

         "No"      

         "Yep!"   

         "No!" He raised his voice for once matching your tone, but quickly he cleared his throat and said "I am not doing it"     You threw a smile over your shoulder and opened the door to the cafe you had reached. People littered a few tables, here and there, but a calmness ruled over, a calmness that your loud coworker disturbed with over hyper 

tunes.

 His bright red hair served just as an additional distraction from the comfy atmosphere as it caught the light from the way he moved all over the place from behind the bar. You smiled and you made your way to him. You didn't turn to check, but you felt Seungmin following silently behind you.

     "Wooyoung!" You exclaimed, successfully capturing his attention. You dramatically threw yourself over the counter top and whined for coffee. 

       "Hello to you too!"he giggled and threw a polite smile over your shoulder to the giant behind you "Hello!" He said, receiving a nod from Seungmin and turned back to you "How was your lesson?" He asked as he showed his back to you, starting to make the precious drink you desired.

      "Awful" you and Seungmin answered as one. The 2 hour session clearly weighted down both of you. "And a black americano as well, Woo" you added, reaching into your bag to pull out your wallet. 

        A hand fell on top of yours stopping you and you turned towards the boy, a question in your eyes. He shook his head and answered "You don't have to buy me coffee"

     "You are helping basically for free. A coffee isn't much" you cheered back. Giving your card to a awaiting Wooyoung, he passed it over the machine quickly before giving it back. 

     "Were are you heading now?" He asked as he prompted his head on the counter. 

      "We were thinking about taking a walk in the park near by. You know... the one with the garden" you absentmindedly returned as you scanned the place, not telling him that it was in fact Seungmin that informed you about its existence, mere minutes before. 

     And score. At the far away corner sat a certain snow white. Target required "Woo ,I will talk to you later. We are still on for Sunday right?" You threw, getting a response you didn't pay any attention to and strode towards your prey. A tug on your arm halted you, a grim Seungmin shaking his head greeted you, but you promptly ignored his whines and mouthed a 'come on'. You reached the table rather quickly and called "Soojin! What is my favorite customer doing?!" 

       The brunette turned with a smile on her face "Favorite customer huh? You say that to everyone" she teased you, good natured.

      "Pss no!.. Only on regulars" you commented, giving her a wink, which made her let out a quiet giggle, before her gaze shifted behind me.. bingo. You also threw a look to the boy that stood behind you, almost as if he was hiding behind his mom. "That's my new tutor, Kim Seungmin. He really saved me. This is Lee Soojin, she comes by often so I guess you will be seeing each other" you finished, turning your body sideways so more of Seungmin could be shown. No that you could hide him, you snorted. 

        "Nice to meet you" she showed a bright welcoming smile at him, that quite literally made him shake. You couldn't blame him through, if you had been in his shoes, you would have fell on your knees too. 

        "You too" he quietly said, looking at the table and avoiding eye contact at all means. You looked at him, trying to control your laughter.

       "Well.. we have to get going! But I will see you around "you waved, throwing a smile at the rest of her group and tugged your tutor along with you.

   You waited until you two were no longer visible throughout the windows and turned to him, hands behind your back and your foot awkwardly scratching the ground and said in a manly voice that in no way resembles the one you mocked. "Y-You t-too" you mumbled, looking at him from underneath your lashes.        His face was comical. His jaw was clenched hard and his ears were an adorable shade of red. "Shut up" he said, looking everywhere else but you. 

       "Come on! Let's get you your photos, doc"

      The Instagram business went well. The  park was a lovely place to get the photos you needed, even with your uncooperative model. His friends cheered and howled, welcoming him to the civilized world. Two days later, your first story starring him at the library (unknown to him) with the caption: 'study session with @kim_seungmin' had  earned him a follow from The Lee Soojin.               Instagram has became your main form of communication as well, it started with you sending memes that reminded you of him, mainly Squidward memes, and proceed with him spamming you with math questions. A look in your notifications was truly a nightmare now. You learned that the boy was more on the grumpy side, but had always had good intentions. Minho had let it slip that, he had an alarm on his phone especially to remind him to send you your insta-homework. You also discovered that he also shared a great love for kdramas, similar to your own. Contrary to the first meeting where he uttered only a couple of words, he spoke more comfortably now, not less savage but you could usually find him in a conversationable mood. Your quick tongue and his unbothered nature made you a interesting duo. And a duo that always had a target. Most often than not, poor Jisung had the short stick on this deal. 

         October was nearly over and you were excelling. Seungmin, on the other side, was not making so much progress with Soojin. Sure.. now he was talking a little bit with her in the coffee shop, when their tables were near.      And sure, they were exchanging likes on insta, but was that enough? On top of that, Eric was still regularly hanging around Soojin and that was making you uneasy. What if Seungmin decided to call the deal off, if they got together? What would happen to you then?

      That evening, you were meeting up with the girls so you reluctantly you picked yourself up and headed to your bathroom to get ready. Your dim lighting complimented your tired face. Or rather it didn't. It was a few weeks of that feverish schedule and you were begging to tire, but you shook yourself. 

   Put on some concealer and your best jeans, you said to yourself and soon enough you were braving the cold, in order to get some alcohol in you. 

          As soon as you entered the local bar, you took a look around you. Almost all of the booths were full, the jocks that were by the pool tables were howling loudly and the bar was half full of people trying to get their poisons. From the corner of your eye, you saw a sudden movement. Yuqi was waving at you, as Ryunjin and Yuna were giggling over who knows what number cocktails of the night. You broke out a smile and made your way over to them, avoiding busy waiters and drunk bodies. You took a seat in the enormous red couch by Yuqi and greeted the others. 

         "Won't Lisa and Rosie be joining us?" You asked, as you took a hold of the menu, already knowing you would order your usual Daquiri, but scanning it nonetheless. 

       "Nah, Lisa is doing two solos at the school festival and is freaking out. Rosie..is mental support, I guess" Ryunjin informed you as she sipped on her drink. You nodded and took a look around the bar. 

     Your waiter was nowhere on sight. But you understood, if you worked at a place like this you wouldn't be able to keep up with everyone either. But you did catch a quick glimpse of a particular sassy brunette on the dance floor. Minho did know how to have fun, that was certain by the smiles of his companions and the way they seemed to want to get closer to him. You wondered if your grumpy tutor lurked somewhere near. But a quick look at the place revealed a happy Jisung with two anonymous blondes by his side. You made a mental note to stop by and greet them later. 

        "What are we looking at?" A voice whispered, rather loudly, in your ear. You turned to Yuqi, grimacing, but answering all the same.

        "I spotted Minho on the dance floor and I was wondering if Seungmin was here" you truthfully replied. 

         She craned her neck to catch a glimpse of Minho as well. She looked at him way more than the respectable time, so you leaned in and tapped at her chin, a knowing look on your face. She chuckled but didn't deny anything. "You know for someone who you described as emotionally constipated, you get rather along with him" 

      You shrugged. "He was a little...shy in the beginning. All glares and moody. Now he is just... fun to tease" you huffed as you remembered him speaking so fast, almost rapping, when you told him that you hadn't completed a couple of exercises or him going red on the face from frustration when you couldn't understand a solution. "My biggest problem now is that he can't talk to Soojin!" Your deal was a known fact among your friends, that you have swore to secrecy. "He is cute, he is smart, once you get over the first shock he is pleasant to be around! Why he can't score a date with her?!" You wailed, dramatically flopping on the table. 

      "You should keep him to yourself, if he is that great" Yuna proposed, laughing as soon as you gave her the stink eye.

      "Why don't you tell him to come to the festival? Soojin is performing. He can come by the backstage, compliment her a little. Oh! Oh! Maybe ask her to go to a little walk around the festival!!" Ryunjin clapped, excited about her idea. 

       It wasn't so bad. Rather it was a rather good idea.

       "My sweet sweet genius!" You proclaimed, throwing your hands up in the air. "That's it!"

      As if the universe agreed and decided to reward you, your waiter appeared. So with a drink in your near future and a good plan to match, you enjoyed the rest of your evening. 

   "I am just saying, that you could be a lot more productive if instead of going out, you studied" He said, as he slid your red highlighted notebook back to you. 

     "You say that as if I am out everyday! I went out a Friday night to have a drink! Kill me!" You sassed as he signed and turned to his own workload.

     A moment passed and then two.

    You looked over at him under your lashes, biting your lips. Now it was just as good as any time you guessed. "Seungmin" you whispered. 

      Upon hearing the quiet call of his name he turned his head towards you. "You solved it?" He leaned closer only to see the math problem in front of you half solved and you looking at him. "Come on. We have done this. I am not helping you. Think again and solve it" he said almost soullessly, returning to his own homework. 

        "No no. I wanted to ask you something" you said, fumbling with your pen. "You.. haven't made so much progress with..you know who" you grimaced, remembering how many times you have uttered her name and Seungmin have immediately shut you up by placing his hand hastily over your mouth. Voldemort had she became.

      He let out a quiet sign, resting his head on the table. "Yeah..I mean we talk a little but.."

        "But not enough" you completed his sentence "Can I ..propose something?Why don't you try getting her a coffee and sit there with her?" You whispered, reaching your hand to play absentmindedly with your notebook. 

         "Yeah, I could do that" he mumbled as he straighten himself up, leaning onto his chair instead.  

         "I have an other proposal." You said, adopting his previous position and leaning onto the table. 

         "You scare me" he replied drily, with a hint of smile playing on the corner of his lips. 

         "Why? I am spectacularly amazing and I have at least 70% ratio of success" he snorted at that but didn't comment further "As you know ..SHE is a dance major. Why don't we go to see her performance? You say a few nice things to her, give her a smile, you know, tell her a 'I will see you around' Maybe offer a walk around the festival? We have to get her to notice you" 

         He looked everywhere but me, such simple conversations still managing to embarrass him. "That would be..nice" 

          "Perfect! I have already gotten you a ticket!" you cheered, collecting a few looks by the surrounding students. That's why you detested the library, quiet wasn't your forte. 

          At the sound of that he stilled and turned to look at you. "You won't come with me?" He looked like a deer caught in your car's headlights. You compared his current look with the void ironic silent that greeted you the first time.

          "I mean...I am coming. I have tickets to see Ryunjin and Yuna perform. I didn't know if you would like to stick with us" 

          "Yes, please" he replied instantly, probably imagining himself alone in the large crowd and recoiling. 

          "Sure. Wear something nice though! No hoodie! And for the love of God, no sweatpants!" You cried out, well aware of his usually fashion choices. He always looked comfy though, you like his style but he had to dress to impress for the festival.

           He stayed quiet in reaction to your request, mumbling under his breath 'what's wrong with my sweatpants' and 'wouldn't do that' but the rest of the session rolled smoothly without interruptions and talking about Voldemorts. 

        You were running as much as your heeled legs could muster. Of course you were late..but it wasn't your fault! If only those damn customers didn't come in last minute, maybe you would have time to go shower and get ready like a normal person.  

      Your phone vibrated in your hand, no wonder the others were searching for you. You answered the call not looking at the name on your screen. "I am coming!" You panted. 

      "I am waiting by the front entrance" a deep voice answered, taking you by surprise.

      "Seungmin?" You called, unsure. 

      "Yeah. Now come on" he said and hung up.

      You gathered your strength and ran the remaining distance. As you reached the entrance you looked around, you tried to locate him. You found him by the door, a lean body waiting for you. He had heard your advice. Black slacks, a simple white T-shirt underneath and a grey coat adored his frame. He looked put together and a perfect image of a boyfriend. You jogged lightly towards him. "Hey! You look nice. 100% boyfriend material" you complimented. 

       He shyly smiled at you and cocked his head inside. "Come Yuqi saved us seats. What took you so long?" He questioned as he turned to walk to the theater.

        "Some customers came last minute and I couldn't leave. I never have gotten ready that quickly" you laughed, avoiding bodies that were threatening to crush you. He took your forearm and guided you to your seats. 

        "It's okay." he comforted you. 

        You looked up amused and surprised. "I never thought that the Kim Seungmin would tell me it's okay to be late" you teased. 

        He huffed and lead you to the seats, where Yuqi and Jisung awaited you while discussing the music he had produced for one of the acts. You waved at them and settled on your seat, readying yourself for the spectacle. And you were just on time. You were amazed by the elegant lines of the dancers and the sharp moves, that were enhanced by the booming sound of the bass. The couples, that were twirling on stage, stole your breath and the solo performances were equally enchanting. 

        "Aren't they so cool?" You whispered to Seungmin, feeling bad that he was singled out. You were sitting between him and his friends so he stayed mostly quiet, except when he replied to your humorous comments. 

        "Yeah, I couldn't do that in a million years" he agreed, still captivated by the performance. All too soon the performances were over and the curtains fell. 

        You stretched, pulling yourself out of the uncomfortable seat and nodding to Seungmin "Come on! Let's go and give our congratulations to the 'chef'" you joked as you pulled him up.  "Yuqi we will catch up with you outside,ok?" She nodded her consent and dragged Jisung away, possibly to get some food. So you turned to your own companion who waited you patiently..not that he had an other choice as he didn't know the backstage as you did. "Come on lover boy, let's go to your ballerina"

        He grimaced but complied, following you into the dark backstage. You turned and turned until you catch a glimpse of Soojin. Then you promptly stopped and turned to him, fixing his clothes and fussing over him. He tried to avoid your touch but seeing you not giving up, he simply gave up. You fixed his hair as well, passing a hand threw them and perfecting each straw so they framed his face beautifully. "Okay. You got this" you said pushing him lightly to the door. 

        "Wait! You are not coming?!" he said, panic filling his eyes as a hand raised to clutch your wrist.

        "No! You go and tell her she's beautiful and if she wants to hang out after the show" 

        He opened his mouth to argue, but you pushed with more force and he stumbled into the room. The noise all around the place didn't exactly help you to listen in on their conversation, so a few minutes passed and you didn't know if that was a good sign or a bad one. But the door suddenly opened and Seungmin crossed the border throwing a careless 'I will see you around' over his shoulder. After the door closed though, he clutched his heart and let out a troubled sign. Immediately you were on his face.

        "How did it go? What did you say to her? She didn't want to come to the walk?" You buzzed, shifting your weight, almost circling around him.

         "Can you calm down for a moment?" He said, tugging at his collar "She said thank you and that she appreciates that I came. She said that she has plans but she will see me around in the coffee shop." 

         "Such a shame.I expected her to go with you." you pouted, disappointed. You had to fix him up in order to continue with this deal. You casted a glance towards him, to find him watching the space across you. You followed his gaze and located a blonde figure lounging there. Eric, who probably came to give his own congratulations. 

         "Maybe I can get her a cup of coffee when I see her again?" He quietly mumbled, gaze not straying from Eric's figure. 

         "Yeah" you agreed, eyes stuck in that direction too. But quickly you shook yourself out of your stupor. "Since you are free how about a stroll around the festival? I wanna go to the waffle station. I heard they are to die for" you whistled, already imagining the sweet chocolate melting in your mouth.

         He looked down on the floor for a beat, until you nudged him playfully. He met your stare but the discouraged look didn't leave him. 

         "You don't have to look down. You played your cards and lost. It's okay. There will be other opportunities. Now come with me" you took a hold of his jacket, gently moving him towards the exit. 

       He didn't say anything but moved along. 

       Once outside you were contemplating where to go. The food stands where a must and you voice that.

        "Okay. Plan." You said, turning to your companion who seemed equally as lost as you. "I wanna stop by the food stands. I heard this year they have a theme about foods around the world. Other than that I have no clue what is there" 

        "Umm okay. We can stop by. Not something spicy though. I can't really eat it" he said, not really here. He looked dazed at the festival. 

        You looked up at him, squinting. "Where do you wanna go?" 

        He still looked lost. Maybe he had been more hurt than you thought. Well you could distract.

        "Seungminnie!" you whined, hoping to distract him. And it worked by the distasteful scoff that took over his face. 

        "Don't call me that" he puffed and strode to whichever direction his feet took him. Hopefully for you, to the food section. 

        "Why?" Giggling, you took a look around. You were currently to the craft section. You marveled at the things that the student body managed to put together "But seriously what do you like to do? I never heard you mentioning hobbies" 

        "I like to take pictures. I took some nice shots at the park" he said, quietly.

        "Ohh that's how you knew about the park! Show me later some. That's really cool" you returned. "And? What else?" you questioned. 

        "I like baseball" he answered simply.

        "Oh! Oh! Which team?" You asked as your attention was snatched from a very nice pair of earrings to him. 

        "SK Wyverns" he replied, hesitantly. "You like baseball?" Suddenly focusing on you, you knew it was rare for women to like sports but you didn't know if you feel offended by his surprise.

        "Nahh my old man watches it so I know a couple of teams. He isn't a fan of that one though" you commented.

        "Which one he likes?"he asked, intrigued. 

        "Something heroes" you said, tapping your chin. You couldn't remember their name for the life of you!

        "Kiwoom Heroes! Over the Wyverns! Really now?!" He exclaimed, eyes wide and bewildered at your father's preferences. The scrunching of his nose betrayed his true dislike towards the team.

       "Hey don't tell it to me! Tell him that!" You joked as the sparkly earrings stole your attention again. The blue sparkling light caught your attention, the gold only enhancing their beauty. You shook your head. You weren't here to buy jewelry. You were here to eat. 

       "What do you like to do?" He asked as he took in his surroundings too. He looked more relaxed now, hands crossed at the back, head moving wherever to take in all of the stations. 

        "I don't have really the time to spare. If I do.. I guess a movie or some drinks with friends." You never really were into something particular. A simple time could be a good time too. 

         "Yeah I noticed. How come you are always working? Don't you want some time of?" He asked, examinating you more now.

         "Yeah it would be. But I need the money. And besides I stir up enough trouble when I don't have time in my hands. Could you imagine me with time to spare?" You raised your eyebrows at an alarming pace to empathize the fact. He scoffed, clearly amused.

       "God no. I wouldn't like to see that!" He laughed behind his hand. 

       "Exactl-" you started but an aroma stole your attention. A chocolatey rich aroma, that came from the stand ahead. "Seungmin, the sweets!" You exclaimed and thrusted forward, literally dragging him along. 

         "On the other hand.. with your limited attention span how bad could it be?" He sassed, but turned towards the chocolatey dough. "We will take two" he said to the boy in the cashier. 

         You reached in your bag to take out your purse, but you noticed Seungmin taking out double the amount that was required and give it to the cashier. "Hey! What are you doing? I can pay for mine!" you pouted. 

         "Too late!"he replied, having already paid and grabbed the sweets. You took your own while he took a bite from the dough. His eyes widened comically and he pointed at it with his mouth full. You laughed, but your reaction was very much the same as his when you took your first bite. 

        "I will pay for the next round" you said as you started your rounds again. This time heading towards the games. 

         "Sounds good" he said, the desert on his hands half way eaten. Men you thought, they could eat anything within seconds. 

         You wondered around for a bit. You tried the trivia game they hosted, you were tremendously bad at it while Seungmin tremendously good. You tried the maze they made up by cardboards and some other poorly made materials, but you both had a good sense of direction and got out pretty easily. One look at the karaoke stand had you both running for the hills and you ended up in front of an other food stand. But to the bad luck of Seungmin, the spices didn't sit right with him so here he was gulping water as if his life was depending on him.

       As you waited for him to calm his taste buds down, you were looking around. You spotted something in the far corner, a enormous cube, painted pink but the color was peeling away revealing the grey mass underneath. But none the less you jumped and shook Seungmin, pointing aggressively at the photo booth. "Let's go take some pictures" 

       "Now?!" he coughed, still red in the face. "I am dying!" 

       You looked at him and dead serious you replied "Well..die later" 

       He looked at you perplexed, but once again he let himself be dragged by you. So you got in first and patted the space by your side, which he dutiful filled. You chose a simple frame and a playful one, that one  he frowned upon. But you ignored him and passed an arm around him, squishing yourself into his arms in order to get into the frame. You feel him stiffen momentarily so you quickly looked up. You were a little too close for comfort, you could almost count his eyelashes. He looked.. pretty from this close. His eyes big, looking down at you slightly more wide than normal. His skin was so smooth it seemed like marble. 

       "Sorry" You said, as you shifted away, giving him more space to breathe.

       "Um..it's okay. Shall we?" he said and faced the poor quality camera again, so you leaned in (not too close) and stroke a ridiculous pose with your eyes crossed and tongue out. You turned as soon as the sound ticked of and saw Seungmin poker faced behind you. 

       "Come onn. Humor me" you teased. So he did. He brought his hand over his face in a cute v pose. You gleefully turned around in a similar pose. For your last click you just smiled at the camera, leaving Seungmin to fend on his own. You soon paid for two copies and left the booth. As you were handing Seungmin his own, you heard your familiar ringtone pierce the air. Your phone, you realized. So you opened your bag, manically searching for it, finding it at the bottom of your bag and breathlessly answered. 

       "Y/N!" A raspy voice boomed through the speaker. 

       "Yuqi" you cheered. 

       "We are at Tony's. Fancy coming?"she shouted into the line so you can hear her above the music and the noise. "Jisung is with me. And we bumped into Minho too. If you are still with Seungmin stop by!"

       "Roger that."you said and you hung up. You turned to your tutor, who was observing whoever was left at the fair.

       "Yuqi is with Jisung and Minho at Tony's. Wanna go?" You asked as you began to descend the stairs, that lead to the front entrance of the school.

       "An unlikely combination." he noted as he strolled right beside you. The descend was supposed to be easy but your heeled boots hurt your feet now and the breeze was getting stronger for your liking, lightly blowing your hair into your face. 

       "What can I say?" you said as you tried to get your locks away from your face. "You wanna come?" 

       He stayed quiet for a while. Gazing at the remaining tents that the students were scruffing to pick up, so they can party the night away. 

       "Yeah. I will come. For a little while" he replied at last, focusing on you. 

       You smiled at him, strangely happy your new friend decided to join you. So you made your way to the bar.

 With Seungmin by your side.

And your heart beating abnormally loud in your chest.

     It was a slow day in the cafe.

     Wooyoung and you were absent-mindedly cleaning, while talking about your weekend plans. The flow of people was steady, close to none at the time, so you tried to get the shop ready for the next shift. You looked over the supplies you had gathered. Cups? Check. Coffee? Check. Lids? Check. What was missing? You thought as you skimmed the shelves. Oh! The straws! 

    "Wooyoung! Do we have any straws over there?" You called, hand wandering inside the low cupboard in order to feel around for any stray sets. 

    He lowered himself to see into the other supply cupboard, with a quick look he confirmed your thoughts. "Nope!" 

     You grumbled under your breath. "Going to grab some from the back!" You called as you headed to the back room, where your supplies were stored.

    It was not a big room, storage shelves decorated every wall and it had no window nor any other form of natural lighting, except from the tiny bare bulb above your head. You switched it on and took a look around, trying to locate the troublesome straws. In the end you found them on the highest shelf of the stock room on the far right corner. 

 Whose brilliant idea was this? 

  No one in the coffee shop could boast about their height so the supplies usually where at a reasonable height for you. Except these darn straws! 

      "For fuck's sake.!" you spat out as you dragged the small ladder behind the door to help you up. You climbed it easily and took hold of the straws. But in your haste to finish your task, you knocked over a box.

        You blew a breath out and climbed back down. You let the packet of straws fall from your grasp and hosted the medium sized box in your arms. You climbed the ladder quickly, the box obscuring your vision. You placed the merchandise in the very edge of the shelf and pushed it with as much strength as you could. But as it seemed you needed to hit the gym sooner than later as your strength was proving not to be enough. You pushed even harder going on you tippy toes to get the box into a safer position and then you heard it. You heard the sound before your eyes caught up.

 The awful sound of the ladder tipping. Suddenly your vision tipped, just as the ladder did and you were falling. You thrashed your hands out in hopes of softening your fall, but it was of no use. You landed on the floor on your side, with an intense pain piercing your left ankle. 

         You sucked your teeth in response to the pain travelling up your leg. Fuck! That was exactly what you didn't need right now. You tried to get up and put some pressure on your leg only to stumble and nearly fall flat on the floor again. 

         Desperate situations required desperate solutions "Wooyoung!" You wailed loud enough for the whole store to hear. And when you didn't get an immediate response you wailed even louder. Till the sound of a pair of feet, running to you, was heard. 

 The door was thrown open and a dramatic I'm gasp cut through the air. "Y/N! What happened? Are you okay?" He fretted as he attempted to lift you up.

 Key word. 

Attempted. 

    As Wooyoung lifted you up, you put pressure on your bad leg almost falling down again. "Ouch!" you hissed out, grinding your teeth in order not to whine out loud. This time more carefully, Wooyoung lifted you and kept you close at his side so he can manage your weight. 

         "What happened?!" He asked incredulously as he moved you to the staff room.

       "I fell from the ladder. I must have twisted my ankle, it fucking hurts when I try to stand" you pouted, looking down at your feet. It didn't look swollen nor bruised. Maybe you had gotten lucky and it was just a strain.

         After a quick visit to the doctor, courtesy of your very fretty boss, he confirmed that you had indeed gotten lucky and that it was a sprain that. Rest was prescripted and you should be fine in three days time. 

    Your boss was overjoyed, that she didn't have to pay you medical leave or worse. She even happily offered you a ride back home as you couldn't quite move easily. You thanked her, truly grateful that you wouldn't have to walk all the way back to your apartment by yourself. 

   Once you were in the apartment you let yourself ungracefully plop down on your bed and sign. This incident would take you back a few days. Days you could spend working.. studying...doing everything else besides sitting on your ass. 

         You heaved a sign of exaggeration and pulled out your phone. You had a lesson with Seungmin today and you would have to cancel. You couldn't go to the library like this and he had made clear that he would not go out of his way to come to your apartment.

 You bit your lips, deciding what to write. A simple and nice message would do. 

 A skull emoji? Really? But given his aloof personality it oddly suited him. You shrugged it off and decided rest and a bowl of warm food would be the best for you. 

    Two episodes in your new series and your telephone was ringing. You felt around your covers for your phone and once your hand come in contact with it, you answered without a second thought. 

       "Hello?"  

       "Hello" A gruff voice greeted. 

    You sat up, suddenly more aware. You weren't expecting a call from him."Seungmin?"

       "Yes, it's me" he confirmed quietly.

       You bit your lips. Have you forgotten to write something on your text? Had you forgotten your homework? "Can I help you?"

       "I heard that you fell today and require rest. Is this the reason you cancelled our lesson today?" He asked, dare you say, concerned. He didn't sound like he was craving a path on his room out of worry but he cared enough to ring you up. It was oddly sweet of him.

       "Yeah.. the doctor suggested rest. Like 3 days top" you said, absentmindedly, but soon paused. "Does this change your programme?" You fretted, hands going through your hair, succeeding only in messing it up further.

        "Not much but.. We can have our lesson tomorrow.. At your house" he quietly proposed.

        He had made sure not to include your home at the possible study places. Maybe it made him uncomfortable..was it out of concern for you? The surprises didn't ceased. After a brief hesitation you asked "Are you sure?"

        "Yeah. It's not like you are bored walking to the library. You are injured. I am not that cruel to make you walk till there" he said in astonishment. 

      You suppose he was not. "I really appreciate it, Seungmin. Thank you"  you whispered.

       A humm was heard from the other line before asking "Same hour tomorrow?" 

        "Yeah. Yeah. Bye" You muttered before hanging up. 

        Huh. You fully expected him to take advantage of his free day. Instead here he was calling you to ask you if you were okay and arranging tomorrow's date.

 He was nicer than you expected. 

You felt warmer than before.

    The buzzer let you know that Seungmin had arrived.

    With a grunt you stood on your good leg and hopped over to your door to buzz him in. Leaving the door ajar so he could get in, you hopped back to your kitchen table, where you had laid your books.  

    You could hear his steps as he made his way to your apartment, the instructions you had provided guiding him. You heard him pause outside your door, unsure whether to enter or not, based on it's open state. You giggled and called him over "I left it open for you! Come on in!" 

    He stepped over the threshold and inspected your house. Well... house was a bit of a stretch. Your apartment was rather small, but had a homey and cozy feeling to it. The walls were painted a beige that didn't express you, but it was a requirement of your landlord.     

 You had tried to make it better by hanging artwork all over the apartment. Some where of land scapes you enjoyed, some of quotes that you favoured and some of your close friends and family. Your couch, that also served as your bed, was placed against the wall facing your spacious wardrobe and a bookcase that took way too much time to build.

     Your kitchen was small, some of its wooden surface were begging to submit to time, but you used it well. Plenty of fake plants were decorating it, giving it a splash of color that it needed. Once upon a time you tried to decorating with living breathing plants but... your skills proved not to be up for the challenge. 

      Your bathroom completed the wonderful set. A small white thing that consisted the only other door in the apartment, besides the threshold.

     Seungmin stood still at your threshold, unsure how to move in your space. You shook your head and guided him to leave his things by your couch and join you. He slowly did and approached as fast as a platypus. 

      You got up, careful not to apply much pressure on your bad leg and asked the awkward boy "Coffee?" 

      He looked you as if in thought. "Are you supposed to be standing?" 

      You shrugged, already hopping over to your counter. "I sprained it, I didn't break it so I should be fine. Want some cookies?" You asked, not bothering to turn to him as you were focused on the task. 

      "No, thank you" he said as he watched you make him coffee "Are you sure you're okay? Want some help?"he pressured.

      You did turn to look at him then. He was attentively looking at you from his seat, alert as he expected you to fall over.

      "What did Wooyoung said to you?" You joked as you leaned back. 

       "He said that you fell from a ladder. He didn't heard the crash, but he heard you shouting for help" he parroted back immediately, brows furrowing. 

       "Always the drama queen" you mumbled under your breath, but the boy heard you letting a chuckle at your words. "I am fine. Really. But thanks for the concern and thoughtfulness" 

       He looked at you oddly before turning you his back and reaching inside of his backpack to pull out the necessary items. "Minho had injured his leg last year. It took him a while to recover. He had it bad. But looking at you now.. you do seem fine. So finish that coffee and come here. We should begin" 

       "Yes sir. Right away sir!" You saluted. A small smile your only reply. 

     "Hey Puppy" 

     "Do NOT call me that" he stated, not even bothering to acknowledge you. You heard his sister calling him that over the phone, ever since you haven't missed the chance to call him that. He hated it, of course.

     "Say...You said you have read the SKZflix series right?"you wondered aloud and that was enough to catch his attention. He slightly turned his body towards you and stopped typing on his laptop. 

      "Yeah..why?" He asked, now giving you his full attention. He lifted his hand to pull his glasses away, rubbing his eyes tiredly. He needed more rest.

      "Well, you know that they are making a movie-"you started but was rudely interrupted.

      "Obviously" he sassed, scrunching his nose at you.

      You rolled your eyes at him. "Well it comes out next Friday. And I was wondering if you wanna..maybe.. go?"you mumbled the last part.

      He blinked in surprise. The last month and a half it was not strange for our groups to merge here and there. In fact, you have spend several evenings with your grumpy tutor and his sassy group. They now visit your workplace a lot more, even when Jisung has a day off. Yuna, Ryunjin and Minho, being all dance majors, have a lot of classes together and often end up having lunch together while the rest of you fill the table.You and Seungmin usually come together because your hours matched and your buildings are close. Jisung arrives always fashionably late and Wooyoung pops out here and there.

     Even though you spend a lot of days together, be it at school or outside of it, you have never hangout alone together. But it wasn't like you were never alone. But, never, neither you nor Seungmin have made such plans. But as soon as you saw the posters, your first thought was him. 

      Seungmin and you often talked about the movies and books you enjoyed and, to your surprise, your tastes matched. When you shared your favourite series you didn't expect the enthusiastic reaction. It seemed he was a hug fan as well. So it was only natural to think of him.

        "Sure" he said, after his initial surprise. "What time is the show?" He asked as a hand came to rub his nape. 

         "I don't know. I simply saw the posters. We can swing by after to see, if you are up to it" you said, fumbling with the paper in front of you. You couldn't keep still for some reason. 

         ".. Yeah, let's do that" he said, giving you a small smile.

   Days flew by quickly. Tomorrow was the screening for the movie and you were so excited. You contemplated dressing up as the main character, but you quickly disregarded the idea, thinking about the turned up noses and stares you would get. 

    You were on your way out when you felt your phone buzz and the familiar song filled the atmosphere. You fished it out of your pocket and checked the caller. Puppy, it read. 

    "Hel-" You squeaked as you balanced your phone in your shoulders to lock the door. 

    "She asked me out!" Seungmin shouted through the phone. His tone bright and happy, as if he had won the lotto. 

     You paused your motions, taking better hold of your phone. She asked him out? Soojin? When? What has you missed?

     "Soojin asked you out..?"you slowly repeated, trying to focus.

     "Yes! We were talking since the festival you know! She said that there is a photography exhibit at the center tomorrow so she invited me to go! She said she felt bad that she couldn't go with me when I asked her after the performance" he eagerly continued, happy with the date he scored. 

     "Tomorrow?"you asked as if you were lagging. Tomorrow was your movie. 

     "Yes! I know I told you I would go with you to the SKZflix... Do you think we can reschedule? I would own you a big one" he rushed to say, explaining himself. 

     You bit your lip hard enough to draw blood. They have known each other for nearly 2 months and they decide to go out now? Now that you had plans to watch the premiere? A sudden itch on your skin, your hands couldn't keep still. But what could you say? No?

     "..yeah. That's alright Seungmin. I mean- it's a bummer that you'll.. miss the movie. But- umm have fun at your date!"you rumbled, shifting uncomfortably. 

     "Thank you! We can still watch it together at my house some time later. Minho bought a pair of new speakers so he can practice at home. They help him to 'hear the music better' or whatever that means. They have amazing sound though, I give him that" he continued, happiness clear in his voice. On the other hand, you were distracted. You barely managed to step away from your building, answering with hums and acknowledging him when necessary. When you had crossed over half the distance to your work, you decided that you couldn't keep up anymore.

      "...my partner didn't know this, so the teacher said-" you hesitated but you cut off his grumpy voice, rather rudely. His just wanted to speak about his day, but you wanted none of that at the moment. You wanted some quiet.

      "Seungmin I am at work now. We should hang up." You stated, tone flat. You prayed that he couldn't hear the noise around you through the speakers.

       "Oh..okay.. I will talk to you later" He paused briefly. You usually let him talk longer, you tried not to interrupt him when he was ranting. Not today, you guessed 

       "Yeah. Later" you mumbled the last part and cut off the connection. You kind of stood there for a moment.

 Breathing in and then out.

 It would be a long day today. 

You could just feel it.

        You ended up seeing the premiere with Hong Joong, who was available and a big fan as well. He had recently ended his something with Dami and he was in the mood for company. That's how you ended up in a restaurant after the movie, happily drinking your night away. 

      The next day Seungmin particularly skipped over to you, all smiles and giggles. You almost didn't want to ask about last night so you didn't. You sat at your usual desk and dived into the math problems. You had ignored the efforts he made to start small talk, choosing instead to focus on the numbers in front of you. 

      You managed to stay quiet a whole hour and a half before your curiosity got the better of you. You turned towards him, a little hesitant and not looking at him, you asked "How did it go with Soojin yesterday?"

    He paused his typing and turned to you with a small smile. "Good. We went to the fair and then we grabbed something to eat. We had a great time"

     You slowly looked up to the desks in front of you. "That's great, Seungmin. I hope it goes well" you murmured. You felt a little funny today, distracted, head above the clouds. It must have shown because you felt a hand being placed on your shoulder. You turned, dazed, towards him. He had a smile, a different one this time, as if he was asking you if you were alright. He voiced his concern soon after. "Are you alright?" He asked slowly. 

     You met his stare for what it seemed like the first time this evening. His eyes were full of concern for you. You felt bad that your moody ass was making him concerned, so you plastered a small smile and answered.

"I am alright. Just a little blue"

      He looked at you for a beat. "Do you want to..maybe watch the SKZflix together? I have the place to myself. Sorry for cancelling last minute yesterday" he regretfully said, his head lowering this time. 

       You looked him over and the first thing you thought, he was feeling guilty. You don't know what he was guilty about..but you oddly appreciated the thought. So you gave him a small smile "it's a deal" you chuckled.

Days flew by in a rapid pace.

Life was normal, if not a little bit hectic. Your days was full of classes, work and Seungmin. You woke up, went to uni, you ate, you went to work, on the days you didn't work you had your lessons with Seungmin. To say the least, you were exhausted. 

And it was shown clear as day. Either by your ... irritable attitude or by your awful appearance.

     "Girl you look awful. Like I-spend-all-week-doing-all-nighters-and-have-been-drinking-only-energy-drinks" she put out while she pitifully looked down at you. 

Upon hearing her, you lifted your head and looked her dead in the eyes. "What kind life have you been living?" You returned, tiredly.

      "One that doesn't require me to live like a zombie. When was the last time you rested or went out like a normal person?"she inquired while taking a long sip of her already dried up frapuccino, making your temples throb even harder. 

       When was the last time? You picked yourself up and thought about it. "Like.. two weeks ago? I watched a movie with Seungmin" you concluded.

     Yuqi raised her eyebrow at that, but didn't comment. Instead she wondered, tone full of promises "Can you take off the next Friday and Saturday?"

      You threw a glance at her. "I can run it by boss. Why?" You asked. 

      Her eyes were almost glowing. "It's party time" 

     "Say it again"

   You winced when his voice reached your end of the line. You weren't even asking for a cancellation! "Puppyy" you let out a long whine. 

     "I thought you said you were on schedule, Y/N" 

     "I am. I am just...tired, Seungmin. I am running around since September with little to no time to rest" you mumbled as you run your hand over your face, trying to wake yourself up a little. "I am not asking you to cancel...just move it to the next day?" You asked, hopefully.

     Grumbles could be heard over the line. "Fine, yes" A brief pause and then "Are you ok?" He asked, a little above a whisper. 

       You let out a breath. "Yeah, I...I choice that. I just want to rest for 2 days." You concluded.

      "Okay. I guess I will see you on Sunday. Don't sleep in" he warned, knowing full well your post drinking behavior by now. He had woken you up many times by now.

     "I won't!" You chuckled  "As for the Sunday part. I have a proposition.." you trailed off with a smirk on your face.

 "It's freaking cold!" Yuqi whined as she stepped out of the car.

       You also got out of the Uber you had to catch because of the stinging cold. 

      You were already regretting the dress you chose to wear, even if your knee high boots were covering most of your legs, the cold was hard to beat and was freezing your exposed legs to the bone. You hurried towards the entrance of the club you had agreed to meet with the rest of the group.

    As you neared the club two loud laughs could be heard from the queue, two laughs you could recognize anywhere due to the long hours you spend together. Jisung and Wooyoung stood in the queue joking, quite loudly as Minho and Seungmin stood there, nodding and smiling at the goofy jokes that were thrown at them. You were pleasantly surprised by their presence, you were sure that when you had proposed the idea to your grumpy tutor the answer would be shift and... negative. 

    The both had donned their winter coats so you couldn't see exactly what they were wearing, but you catch sight of a collar picking from the neck of Seungmin's coat. He had pushed his hair back and now his face were all angles and sharp lines. After months of being in his presence you still couldn't believe how handsome he was. 

      "Hi!" Yuqi cheered, capturing the groups attention. Even if she hadn't greeted them, she would've captured the attention - the pink iridescent dress she wore left no other choice, but to look at it. Yuna and you followed closely behind her, huddling in the queue along them. You exchanged pleasantries with everyone and a quick hug with Woo and took your place next to Seungmin. 

       "Well we'll look who we have here!" You puffed, your breath shown clearly in front of your face - almost like white smoke. You could feel your nose running, possibly ruining your make up and the crispy wind slapping your face.

    He clicked his tongue and gestured with his chin to Minho. "He dragged me. Said something about having fun." He huffed and puffed like a child that was being dragged to a family gathering by their parents. 

       "Oh come on, you grandpa! We will have plenty of fun! You'll see!" You said, jumping in place to keep yourself warm. You saw him briefly looking down at your attire and your legs before tearing his gaze to your face. You wondered if the flush on his face was from the likes of you or the wind. But you didn't have time to dwell on it or question him as the bouncer ushered you all in.

     Stepping inside, smoke filled your lungs and colourful lights blinded you. The warehouse, that was turned into a club, was full of swaying young bodies that cheered and drunk the night away. A anxious waiter showed to your table, that were basically two stands pushed together and certainly couldn't accommodate your large group but you hadn't had it in you to complain, you simply dumped your things into the tables and catch the nearest waiter to take your orders. 

      After your third drink you found yourself on the dance floor in between Yuqi and Wooyoung. With Wooyoung's hands on your waist and your own embracing Yuqi around her shoulders, you threw your head back as you let the music that played consume you. Giggles and smoke surrounded you as you let your hazy gaze wondered and it fell straight to a pair of moody eyes that watched you. You untangled yourself from the chaos that were your friends and you lightly treaded towards Seungmin.

     He somehow managed to find a chair into the chaos, which he dragged to your table and sat there, his first glass of the night still in his hand half empty. You reached him and threw an arm over his shoulders, his sitting position making things easier. He side glanced you but didn't react otherwise, choosing to bring his glass to his lips. 

     "Seungminnie why are you brooding?" You sing songed as you shook him playfully. Everything had a pleasant haziness that you were enjoying, even the smoke that was suffocating before started to gently caressing you and the lights just made everything prettier. Especially the boy beside you.

      "I am not brooding" he scoffed as he turned slightly towards you. "I am simply not enjoying myself. This isn't my scene" 

     "Well how are you gonna enjoy yourself when you are sitting here alone?" You pouted and tagged at his black shirt, noticing he had rolled up to his elbows due to the the heat in there. A ridiculous idea popped into your head, making weirdly sense into your clouded mind then. "Come dance with me!" 

       He gave you a look and turned away again  "I don't wanna dance. Go back to Wooyoung and Yuqi" he said, not looking at you. His focus was on the dance floor and you fleetingly thought that maybe Soojin was in there, if he knew she come here often and the only reason he was here was to catch her or if he was simply watching by the sidelines again, but you shook your head dismissing the thought. Instead you stepped in front of him, effectively cutting his view of the crowd and making him look at you. 

        You tugged gently at his hands, not altering a word, you smiled and nodded to the floor and he got up willingly. Rocking on your uncomfortable heels, you looked at him for a moment and replied "But I wanna dance with you" 

        He also gazed at you for a moment, signed before giving a brief nod. You slipped your hand in his, for fear he will change his mind, and tugged him at the dance floor . You found a space by the sidelines that wasn't as crowded as the centre of the floor and started swaying away to the Rihanna song that blasted through the speaker. He stood there swaying awkwardly, even from your tipsy point of view. So you drew closer and threw your hands around his shoulders, making him match your tempo. He freezed briefly before you felt hands slowly cradling your waist and hips, which you were moving with the music and body mimicking your gestures. You looked up at him throwing a smile, hoping you were helping him relax and enjoy himself.

     He was looking down at you with a unrecognisable look. His brows was furrowed and his eyes lidded. His eyes looked more smothering and hot than normal under the red lights. So you did what your hazy mind told you and stepped even closer, hands tangling in the hair on his nape. The song, as if to prevent you, changed to something quicker and fun making you break the intense eye contact and swing wildly with him. 

       The songs were changing from pop to old rocks to rap music you both didn't know well but you didn't move from your spot, continuing dancing with each other. Tem songs have pasted until the DJ settled to a slow piece, that allowed tou to catch your breaths. You were both smiling, making grimaces and weird dance moves to entertain yourselves.            You were once again in each other's embrace, moving slowly. You tip toed to whisper in his ears "See? Aren't you having fun?"

    His breath fanned your jaw and neck as he draw even more near and whispered "Yeah" 

      You turned your head to look at him and realized you were inches apart. You could see the lights reflected in his eyes, a swirling mess of colours, much alike to what you were feeling now. His sharp features looked painfully good and mixed with the smell of his musky cologne, it made you more dizzy than the drinks you previously had. His lips, unreasonably red and inviting, parted lightly and only then you realized you were looking at his mouth. You pulled your gaze to his eyes, only to see his gaze lifting up to meet yours, painfully obvious that he followed the same path as you. You could feel the distance between your lips getting smaller and his hands holding you just a bit tighter as you both moved closer to shorten the distance-

        "Y/N!" A loud voice pulled you out of your daydream. You took a step back out of Seungmin's arms and turned to the direction of the call, only to see a pink clad figure approaching. "I looked all over for you! Come with me for a moment, please?" She wrapped herself around your form, batting her glittery eyelashes at you. You laughed and nodded, casting a glance at your partner.

      "Go ahead. I will go order a drink" Seungmin said as he passed a hand through his already disheveled hair. Before you could answer him, your friend started dragging you away. So you called over your shoulder to wait for you by the bar, by the smile he sent over his shoulder, you took it as a sign of consent.

      You waved your way through the crowd, which was getting larger as the night went by and found the toilet tucked away in a corner. The line, fortunately, wasn't unfathomably big so you leaned by the wall awaiting your turns.

       "Girl what was that on the dance floor?" Yuqi inquired as she came to stand in front of you. Not a sight of sweat on her skin, despite the way she was jumping on the dance floor. You sure you looked like a mess.

      "What?" You asked as you looked over the tacky bathroom, from the papers that littered the ground to the overflowing baskets by the sinks. 

        "Don't what me. You and Seungmin, of course. I swear you were ready to kiss, if I hadn't walked in" she gassed, leaning even more towards you. "Did I do something stupid?" 

     A brief irritation passed over you, before shaking your head to clear it from the alcohol you consumed. "It wasn't like that. We were just talking, maybe it looked weird from your angle. Besides he likes someone else." You dismissed as you moved deeper into the bathroom. 

         "Are you sure? You looked pretty comfy to me." She questioned, giving you her pooch as she reached an empty bathroom stall. 

          "I mean.. yeah. We are close" You answered, facing the mirror. Your make up wasn't totally ruined, but you could see a faint shine to your face due to the heat and all the dancing you were doing. You quickly passed your hands through your locks, ruffling them just right. Before reaching into Yuqi's bag and reapplying the lipstick on your face. You didn't mind the slightly different shade. You closed it up and waited for your companion to exit the stall. Once she did exit and after a couple of 'are you sure' questions, you braved the crowd once again, reaching your table in a agonizing slow pace. 

       When you did arrive, you saw the lone figures of Seungmin and Minho at the table, the others were missing. Even after a quick scan of the dance floor you only managed to pinpoint a dancing Jisung and a Ryunjin chilling with a couple girlfriends' of hers. Wooyoung wasn't anywhere to be found, but you had learned better than to question that. 

      "Wanna have shots?" You asked. The buzz was going away and you couldn't have that, especially that early into the night. 

         "You already had 3 drinks"  Seungmin said, leaning in his chair once again. Minho sipped on his drink of choice but didn't give a negative reply yet, seemingly watching the scene unfold. 

            "Blasphemy! I only had two. Come on three shots!" You raved as you bounced, along with Yuqi, who you didn't have to get consent. 

"Yeah! Let's have some shots!" Her booming voice, parroted. 

         "One" he said, ignoring your pouty lips and puppy eyes. 

         "Two" you challenged, already making your way to the bar, giggling along the way with Yuqi. 

         Once you reached the bar, you waved the pretty bartender over and placed your orders. 4 shots of tequila. You gave the boys their own, noticing Seungmin looked at the glass like it was poison. You cheered, clinked your glasses and off you went to the dance floor, where you ended up in the arms of your handsome tutor. As the night went the one shot became two, and then three, and then four and then you lost count. The only thing that was on your mind was the music, the laughter and the arms that supported you. 

       Suddenly the world was twirling along with you and your eyes closed. When you opened your eyes again, darkness greeted you. You felt yourself moving but not really, and your head leaning on a surface, that was uncomfortable and digging on your cheek. You made to move but a warm voice told you not to and as a warm sensation racked your back, darkness took over again. 

      Your eyes fluttered open once again,but this time, light was hitting your face. 

      You groaned as the first thing you felt was a raging headache. How much did you drink? You opened your eyes only to see that you were in bed, blanket tightly wrapped around your frame in order to keep warm. How did you get home? You sat up, rubbing the sleep from your eyes and stretching your body. You could feel your legs killing you, even though you hadn't used them yet. You stepped on the ground to get up but a sudden groan from the floor spooked you. A body laid there, in between your spare blankets. Oh god...what have you done? 

       "You finally woke up?" A deep voice grunted, still laced with sleep. Seungmin?! He rose from the floor, wrapping the blankets around him and he moved onto the bed with a pained moan. "Move" 

      You pulled your body to the side, allowing him to climb better and lay down on your bed. His shirt was replace by one of your oversized hoodies that, no surprise there, fit him well enough, since they were huge on you. His hair was messy from sleep and his eyes half closed.

      "Seungmin? Why are you here?" You asked, but he was already in dreamland.

      You looked at him for a beat, trying to gather your thoughts. You remember dancing with him last night, cracking jokes and laughing.. and then nothing. You vaguely remember waking up to a moving vehicle, leaning on someone and you looked at the boy sleeping in your bed. Did something happened between you? No. Seungmin wasn't the type of guy to take advantage of you. Also, you had your clothes on and he was sleeping on the floor, you doubted that he was that gifted. 

     You got up, treading towards your bathroom. Your hair could be more of a mess, you decided, thanking yourself for straightening it last night. Your face was clean of make up, only a light shadow under your eyes from your mascara. So that meant you washed up last night. You now realized that you were dressed in your PJs and that you had no recollection of doing so or anything for that matter. Hell, you didn't even remember bringing Seungmin here. You washed up and went to your living room again.

      Seungmin was still peacefully sleeping in your bed and you felt bad waking him up, especially when he spent the night sleeping on the floor. You decided on making some coffee and breakfast. That would be sufficient for now. 

      You had just finished making the last bit of the french toast, when a grunt left your guest. You looked over and saw him, slowly sitting up and freezing when he realized that he was sleeping on your bed and not on the cold floor. 

      "Good morning" you saluted, from your seat in the kitchen table- already nursing a cup of hot coffee. "I made breakfast. Come to eat."  

     He slowly walked up to me and took a seat opposite of you. Either your toast looked really appetizing or he was really hungry, because he fell immediately on top of the plate and started devouring it. "Coffee?" You asked,  getting a positive grunt so you got up and  poured him a mug. You looked idly at the boy, eating your breakfast and hesitantly spoke up. "Seungmin? How did you end up here?" 

    He looked up from his feast and took a sip before he spoke. "You don't remember?" 

    "..No" you responded. 

He lifted his hand on your forehead, flicking it lightly. You blinked, rubbing the sore spot on your forehead "Ouch! Why was that?!" 

     "For the trouble you got me into. After you downed your first shot, you kept drinking. I tried to stop you but you slipped away. Mind you, surprisedly, stealthily for someone so drunk and downed more shots. Eventually it took a toll on you and you blackened out. I brought you here." He used his dad look, the look when you got a problem wrong. Squinting eyes, eyebrows drawn together and his left side of his lips slightly raised. 

     You cleared your throat in order to avoid the tension. "And how exactly you ended up staying over?" You quietly mumbled, now playing with your food. You expected the worst now. 

      He quietened for a moment before reaching to scratch his nape. "You... umm.. you were in a pretty bad condition and I didn't want to leave you alone. You threw up several times-" You closed your eyes, regretting your past actions. But quickly your eyes quirked over your place, looking for accidents.

       "No! No you managed to race to the bathroom. I didn't see anything, but I.. umm.. heard you. " he rushed to get out, explaining the situation. You mentally face palmed, of course you had and done that. You hanged your head in shame, not mustering enough courage to look at Seungmin at the eye. "Are you ok?"  

       You huffed, lifting your head only a little to look at him. His attention was on you, eyes full of worry. Who could blame him though? You would worry about you, if you were in his shoes. "Yeah.. I do that kind of often... if I have too much to drink. And the clothes?" 

       "You gave them to me." He said, pitching the sky blue hoodie he wore to show it off. "I almost thought you were cold stone sober when you exited. You gave me clothes and insisted for me to sleep on the bed."he laughed, making you hang your head even lower.

     "A guest should always take the bed."you mumbled even quieter than before. 

     "Yeah that was exactly what you said!" He laughed, your embarrassment clearly entertaining him. 

      "Puppy... " You said carefully, as you put your weight on your elbows on top of the table. He looked at you, now resigned at the shameful nickname and hummed. "My head is killing me.."

      "Serves you right" was the immediate response. Meanie.

      "Yes..but I don't know if I can concentrate like that-" you got out before he cut you off.

       "You can't concentrate either way. Now get to the point" he huffed, taking a sip of his coffee. 

 "Canwepleasenothavealessonandputonamovie?" You got out as quickly as you could, secretly hoping he wouldn't hear you and just agree. A girl could hope. 

     He didn't shut you down immediately, just looked at you with a strange expression. 

     "You don't have to fill it. It would be on me. Promise" you persuaded him further. 

      He looked at you some more, before nodding "What do you wanna see?" He said as he got up to put his plate on the sink. You grabbed the chance to go and get the laptop and prob it to the coffee table, stretching yourself on the still unmade bed. 

      "I started the show you proposed. It's good. I am on episode 4. Hey! Leave them! I will do it later" you called over your shoulder, hearing water running from the kitchen. 

     "You did? I told it was good!" He exclaimed, as he finished the dishes and took his respective place on the other side of the bed. 

     "Care for a rerun?" You wingled your brows.

      "Nah, put it on" and the rest of the day was spent there with idle talk and comments about this and that...

You could get used to that...

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The Deal (2)

Summary: She was officially failing in life and most importantly in university! With her grades hanging of the edge of a thread and tutors rejecting her left and right her only option is to make a deal with the devil a.k.a Kim Seungmin.A deal should always be fair. Your grades in exchange for Kim Seungmin's dream girl. Simple?...Right?!

Word Count: 35k

Slight enemies to lovers, idiots to lovers, slow burn, angst, fluff.

No warnings, some foul language.

AN: Finally it's here! Tumblr won't let me post it in one post, so I am forced to divide into two parts. Would you be interested in SKZ x Greek Mythology theme? Hope you enjoy!!!

Part 1

@lethallyprotected

Well it was time.

   The holiday season. 

   The absurd seasonal drinks you were making all day confirmed that. 

   It was your last shift before taking off to your hometown and everyone on campus decided to pay you a visit today. You were running all around the place, making sugary sweet coffee and foamy milks until the smile was swiped off your face. It was the morning shift so that meant you were getting off at four. A quick glance told you it was 3:30 pm and the half hour that was left was pure torture. 

       But it passed. 

       At the end of your shift, you hung your apron to the back room and bid your coworkers and boss the appropriate Christmas wishes and temporary goodbyes. And you went straight home to start getting ready. You were calculating the time it would take you to get ready tomorrow morning and when should you leave to get there on time, when your phone interupting your train of thought. 

       You checked the id caller and saw Seungmin was calling you. Well, that was a surprise!

      You slid your finger over the screen accepting it and exclaimed loudly "Puppy!"

      "I told you not to call me that" he grumbled under his breath. "Where are you?" 

        You mentally checked before answering.

 You didn't forget any lessons today.

 And you didn't have any plans with him or the rest of them.

       "On my way home" you replied carefully, voice so low that you doubted he was able to hear it.

       A pause and then "Weren't you working today?" 

       "Yeah, my shift ended like 10 minutes ago" you snorted as you crossed the street. 

       "Oh.." he only said. But you could hear noise on the background like he was outside.

       "Seungmin where are you?" You inquired, curious.

       "At the coffee shop.." he replied, sounding defeated.

       You laughed at that. "Why?!"

       "I came by to drop one of your notebooks cause tomorrow you are leaving early" he hastily explained. It was true he had one of your notebooks, but it wasn't like it couldn't wait until after Christmas. 

       You bit your lip, unsure of what to say but opening your mouth all the same. "Well..I am going home you can.. swing by and leave it to me...If it isn't much trouble!" 

       "No, I will be there." he replied "You want anything from outside?"

       "No, I am okay. I will..see you in ten" you replied.

       "See ya in five" he said before hanging up. 

    You quickened your steps, almost fast walking to your house. You reached in no time and climbed the steps in a hurry. At first glance it didn't seem too bad, but it was in no state for visitors. So you began twirling, picking up whatever caught your eye first. You just finished tucking your bed when a knock sounded. 

    "Coming!"you said, rushing to the door and throwing it open to reveal a flushed from the cold Seungmin. He greeted you politely and entered your home, bringing along with him a plastic bag. You looked up and saw him fumbling. 

     "I..I thought that maybe we can watch that movie you said the other day.."he got out, not really looking you straight at the eyes. 

      You tucked your hair behind your ear, sending him a smile. "Sure! I would love to! Thanks for the snacks" You replied and took the bag from his hand.

         You shoved him lightly towards your couch and made your way to the kitchen to plate the pop corn he brought. Only to feel him hover behind you. You threw a glance and there he was leaning against the kitchen table, in all his glory.

       "What time are you leaving tomorrow?" He interjected.

        "Around 9. The train leaves at 10 but we said with Yuqi to be there a little earlier" he hummed, clearly approving of your plans. "How about you?"

        "I am leaving the day after tomorrow. We said with the guys to hang tomorrow evening" This time it was your turn to humm in approval. Some time out with his friends would do him good. He was way too couped up in his house.

       "What are you doing for the holidays?" You wondered as you opened up a bottle of coke as well. The less your fridge had for the holidays the better. You still could recall the horrifying smell of the food that had gone bad while you were away visiting your family. Never again.

       "Probably, I will just stay home. I talked with Jeongin- You don't know him.."he trailed off once he remembered.

        "Baby faced with dimples?" You asked, reaching for the glasses.

        He wordlessly nodded as he took a step closer and pulled them down for you.

        "Thanks. I have seen him around"you confirmed, turning to him.

        "Where?" He asked, doubtful. 

        "With you. Around the school. You know I see many people on a regular basis"you joked, recalling the faces that pasted through the store today and you shuddered.

        "I guess. Anyways, we said that maybe... we can take a trip to go skiing" he said, absentmindedly as he grabbed the full plate and walked towards your couch. He set the plate down only to unravel your bed, which you had previously set. For a moment you stood there watching him in your space. He didn't ask where to sit like the first time. He had been here by now multiple times and you found yourself liking this intimacy. Him at your space.

        When you didn't reply he turned towards you with one eyebrow raised. So you shook yourself out of the daydream you had and replied something like 'you will only hurt yourselves' 

      You quickly settled down beside him on your bed, searching for a calm movie to watch. Through a hasty search and your displeasure with the lack of good movies, you selected Lilo & Stitch, which you absolutely adored. You expected whines and arguments from your company, but only silent greeted you as the movie started. You looked over at him, only iluminated by your laptop's light and had an absurd thought.

 You would miss him during the holidays. 

   The next morning you were running in the cold streets, alongside Yuqi. Running with all your might, although exhausting, managed to secure you spots on the second running train of the day. Your journey was calm and quickly you parted ways with Yuqi, strolling towards the opposite direction. Your dad and your grandparents welcomed you warmly into your house and all together you sat until the early evening simply catching up.

       The rest two days you were spent in a relaxing state, you were simply sleeping and talking with your family. The third day you caught up with some old friends. Some you hadn't seen since forever, so it felt good to know they were doing well and some you still regularly contacted, so you were more aware of their news. 

     As you were walking back, your friends came in mind. What was Yuqi doing? Was Yuna well? Ryunjin got back safe from her trip to her boyfriend? How about Wooyoung and Jisung? Were they out there causing trouble? ...How about Seungmin?

     You fumbled with your phone for a bit, before unlocking it. You strolled through your contacts before briefly stopping above his name. 

     You bit into your lower lip before locking your phone. You would be a bother. You didn't really talk the last days, besides the occasional meme you sent. It would be weird to call him all of a sudden, wouldn't it? 

      Your phone suddenly rang and you nearly jumped out of your skin. You quickly turned your phone over and a gasp left you. The screen displayed the name, that you couldn't bring yourself to call just now. You accepted the call straight away.

      "Hey Y/N" he greeted quietly.

      "Hey Seungmin"you shyly greeted back, unsure what to say now that you were on the line with him. "How have you been?"

      "Good, good. My parents stuffed me with as much food as they could. I made plans with Jeongin this weekend as well." 

      "Mmm your ski trip. Sounds wonderful!  My dad had a feast for me as well. I am just now returning from an outing with friends." You said as you walked further down the familiar street. 

      "Am I interrupting you?" He asked as the thought just dawned on him. 

      "No! No, I am just walking home. Actually I wanted to call too. I was wondering what you were up to"  you shyly admitted, not knowing if it was okay for you to do that. Your nerves soon calmed at his response.

       "Me too. I just stayed at home today. Watched a baseball game."

     "Yeah, dad was watching too when I left" you giggled, amused to hear him grumble at his team defeat. 

  And so the calls continued for the next 2-3 days. 

  And one day calls turned into a video calls. He was only exploring the app and by chance called you, he said. You didn't complain, you just sat and humored him, but imagine your surprise when the video call invitation popped up.

      Here you were today laying on your bed, trying to do math and you had mostly.. completed them, when you stumbled upon a problem you couldn't quite solve. So you decided, that a call to your tutor would be required. So here you were with your hair up and flying everywhere and your pjs on, contemplating to call or not. In the end you sat up, letting your hair down and combing them swiftly before making the call. You waited for a the first beep and then for the second and third and when you were about to hung up, the call was accepted. 

       It was a small comfort that he was in a similar state as you. Clearly in his sleepwear, hair messy enough to match your own and face pressed against his pillow. He seemed just as cuddly as the stuffed animals you had back in the days. 

       "Hey"you whispered into your screen. 

       "Hey"he replied, sounding sleepy.

        "If I called at a bad time I can.." you trailed off, suddenly regretting your choice. You should have checked the time or send a message ahead.

        "No, I was just watching a movie. What's up?" He sat up and stretched to get rid of the stiffness in his body. 

        "I was doing math and I am stuck on this one problem." You mumbled, embarrassed. 

        "Look at you! Doing your homework!" He chuckled, making you roll your eyes "Let me see" you shifted your camera towards the notebook on your bed. The explanation was brief and quite simple, much to your surprise, but instead of hanging up you ended chatting casually. Only when he made himself more comfortable on his bed, you saw the background. "Is that you on the photos?" You asked, trying to cran your neck to see better. 

        He paused for a moment before confirming your guesses with a nod.

        "Can I see?" You interjected excitingly.

        He slowly turned the camera towards his desk. A photo of him in a baseball suit adored your screen. He would be about ten,smiling brightly to the camera, or you guessed, his parents, proudly holding his bat. In the next he was in the arms of his parents, clearly celebrating his second birthday, judging by the number on that cake. And in the third he was in highschool on his sides Minho and the black haired boy that you vaguely recognized as Jeongin. He wasn't smiling full on the last one, a small smile adored his face. 

        "You were so cute!" You exclaimed, laughing. You couldn't see his face as he hadn't turned the camera yet but you knew he would be scoffing at you. "Don't you have more photos?" 

         "A few.." Short it was the reply and his tone anxious but that didn't fazed you in the slightest.

         "Show me" you demanded, making yourself comfortable.

      And so, he did show the few ones he had in his room. He even ventured into to his living room to show the bigger pictures his parents had hung up. Once again in the safety of his room, you were gussing over his photos

      "You really were a beautiful child!"you teased him. 

      "Yeah. Right" he scoffed and paused for a bit. He met your stare through the camera and immediately lowered it as he softly spoke again. "You know my schoolmates used to tease me a lot. Not really bullying, but.. they would say-" he paused as if he said too much.

      The cheery atmosphere shifted. His uncomfortable state wasn't something that sat right with you. It felt wrong to see such a level headed person being anxious over sharing his past experiences. You bit your lip, wondering if you should let it go or encourage him to talk to you. A look at his lowered head had you gently speaking words of encouragement. "If you wanna talk about it, I will listen" 

      He raised his head and looked at you. He was thinking hard about this, but after a good look at you, he signed and continued his story. "They would call me mouth-monster or ugly. I had braces when I was younger, as you saw." You had thought they were adorable. Why would they tease him about something as simple as this?

    "They didn't really continued it for long. Only a couple of months. Maybe a year top. But..you know. Later, I learned Minho threatened them to stop. And who saw Minho and wasn't scared of him. I really own him one" He let out a humorless laugh.

       He was trying to talk about it as if it didn't bother him, as if he was untouchable and it broke your heart a little. He was facing down again, not really looking at you so you coed him gently. 

    "That's why I went into the dentist care. I guess I wanted to help the kids that were like me. Maybe if I was told earlier I wouldn't have to wear them and-..." He looked at you from underneath his lashes. "Maybe if I had been told that I have a beautiful smile more often, it would have been better.. different"

    You could only look at the boy in front of you, your heart breaking at his soft admission. He only wanted someone to tell him he's beautiful. And damn you, if you didn't!

       "Seungmin I think you were beautiful as a child. And I think you are even more beautiful as an adult. You have a amazing smile and you are kind to talk about it as if they aren't the scum bags."  That one got a laugh out of him. "Have you seen the comments on your Instagram? They were fighting over who got to have you" you joked, trying to lighten the mood.

      And it worked as a flush was covering his face now and an embarrassing laugh left him. "But really shouldn't think that about yourself. You are wonderful and you should see yourself as that. You only have yourself in this lifetime. Treasure yourself, Minnie" 

        He looked as if he would cry for a moment, but then he smiled at you. That smile at the photo, the mega watt full smile that lit up his whole face. You couldn't keep a smile off your own face.

      "My eyes! I am blinded by beauty!" You cried and flang yourself out of the screen. 

     "Y/N!!" Giggles left your phone, showing Seungmin also yeeting himself out of the screen. You layed down and brought the phone closer to your face. He mimicked your stance and the conversation flowed down on more easy paths.

      "Don't you have your own home?!" You asked incredulously as your video call was answered once again by none othe than Jeongin himself. 

      "I can say the same for you, Noona! Don't you have other..friends to call?" He said with a pause full of meaning, his foxy eyes almost staring you down. You felt the blood rush to your face at his words and sure enough you were red. 

    "Seungmin!" You called again in hopes of catching his attention.

    "Mmm" he mumbled mid bite, his mouth and fingers stained from the chips he was munching on. He briefly looked over to you before returning his gaze back to the screen.

     "Did you really call me to watch Brooklyn 99 together?" You asked, amused by the boy with the stuffed cheeks in your screen. 

      "Yeah! Now shhhh! We're missing the best part!" He whined, pointing to the tv you couldn't see. 

    You laughed at him but turned on your laptop and went with it.

     The morning air was biting you in the ass. 

     The crispy winter morning wasn't tolerable at all and if only your dad didn't drug you here for your morning holiday tradition, you would be happily sleeping away the cold. But here you were with a basket on your hands and trailing behind him, half awake. 

       "What gift should we buy for grandma and grandpa?" He wondered as he inspected a pink wooly shawl. 

       "Probably something for the winter would be good. You know they get cold easily." You thought out loud, inspecting the shawl as well. It seemed warm and you adored the color.

       "Should we?" He asked back just as unsure. Your grandparents never asked for anything for the holidays. They always accepted their gifts, whatever they were, with a smile and the familiar line of 'it was exactly what I wanted'. You snorted to yourself, they were too nice to tell you that you weren't cut out for gift buying. 

       Suddenly as you rounded an other corner of the market, a stall caught your attention. The stall was full of baseball merchandise. But what caught your attention was a cap. It had the SK Wyverns logo on it and it was a nice shade of dark blue. For some reason, you saw it and immediately thought of Seungmin and how well it would fit him. 

     You didn't know you stopped walking until you heard your dad calling you. You snapped your head towards him, sheepishly and turned your attention back on the cap. You called the shop owner over and asked for a prize. It was a reasonable price, that's why you were buying it. Besides you had bought some gifts for the others, it would sadden him not to receive anything. 

      Your dad was quiet during the whole exchange, but you felt him figgeting beside you and working his courage to speak up. You wish he wouldn't. 

    "So who is the lucky guy

     But he did.

     "No one, just my friend." 

     "Hmm. You have a friend"

     "Daaaad!" you whined, clearly not wanting to continue talking about it. But the old man paid you no mind and continued his 'investigation'. 

        "So when did you meet?"

        You let out a breath. He wasn't letting it go. "He is my tutor. We met in the beginning on the semester. I was failing and-"

        "You are failing?" He asked shocked. He turned towards you, alarmed and worried. 

        "I WAS falling. Keep up, dad. Seungmin helped me raise my grades back up." 

         He wasn't in a good state to hear anything right now "Honey we have talked about this. If you are having troubles with school, you tell me. I know you said you wanna work but if this is too much for you.. You don't have to work-"

      "I have to work. How else can I support myself?" you cut him off, facing forward. You had strayed from the market paths and you were now walking to your truck. 

      "Excuse me? You say that as if I don't support you! Y/N we said that, if it compromise with your studies you would -" 

      "You said! I didn't said anything!" You talked back, already feeling the blood rushing to your head.

       "Y/N!" He roared, taking you by surprise. Dad never yelled. He must be extremely furious to raise his tone like that. But right at this moment you couldn't force yourself to care, as you were in a similar state. "Do you have to be that damn stubborn all the time! We have talked about this! I didn't agree to you working in the first place! You-! Ugh! You still did! But! But this! This is taking things too far!" He spit on your face, his face growing redder and redder by the minute. 

     "You can barely manage here! How can you manage me too?!"you were both shouting at this point, anger taking over.

      He took a step away from you, breathing heavily from his nose. You did the same catching your breath, your eyes were misty and you hated that. So you turned to the truck you had unconsciously reached, placed your things inside and stepped back. You turned to your father, who was stomping his way to the driver's seat and told him sharply "I will go and see if I can buy something for grandma and grandpa. I will see you at home" 

    You didn't expect an answer, you simply closed the door (albeit with a little more force than necessary) and disappeared into the crowd. 

       You wandered quite a bit, passed stalls and merchants as they shouted loudly to be heard over the others. You stopped in a few stalls to inspect some things that catch your fancy, but with your temples throbbing and your teeth still gritted on anger, you couldn't appreciate them right. So you wandered aimlessly across the market some more, until you grew tired and cold. You knew a place, where they sell the most amazing hot chocolate you've ever tasted and it was near the market so you headed there. It was a small shop, colours of yellow, green and white blended all together to create a childlike atmosphere that seemed to make you lighter when you headed in. You ordered your hot chocolate and sat at the window, trying to calm down.

     Theoretically, you knew that your dad cared for you and that's why he told you to quit and pay attention only to school, but he would't be able to afford to pay for everything. You wanted to be able to go out and party with your friends without worrying if the money would be enough. You wanted to lighten the amount of rent your dad paid and help him around the house too. Help with your grandparents' meds and expenses too. 

     You signed and took out your phone to check the hour. 11:45 pm. It was still early for your next bus. 

     You unlocked your phone and played with it for a bit, before checking your messages. Yuqi and Yuna had replied to your last message and you had been sent memes by Wooyoung and.. Seungmin? You opened the message and saw it was a mathematical meme. Classic Seungmin. You laughed and called his number before realizing. When he answered after the first beep, you were shook out of your stupor. 

      "Hello?" He called "Y/N?"

      "Hey. Yeah, it's me" you whispered shallowly. Why did you even call?

      "What's up?" He asked.

      "Nothing.. Nothing much! I just..wanted to chat" you said, not really knowing what to say. "Sorry I didn't know you were busy. I will talk-"

      "It's okay. We just arrived with Jeongin to the rooms and we would take a rest anyway."

       "Ohh right. You went skiing this weekend. How is it?" You asked as you nursered the rest of your chocolate. 

      "It's nice! The snow is thick enough so we can go skiing tomorrow" he exclaimed, clearly excited to slide through the snow and down the hill.

      "Tell Jeongin to take videos of you falling. I need something to laugh at" you teased him lightly, still watching the busy market out of the window. 

      "..Y/N? Are you okay?" He asked quietly, probably sensing you weren't in the best mood. After months together when you didn't talk his ear off it was a red flag, you supposed. 

       "Mmm. Everything's fine" you replied.   

Silence greeted you on the other side of the line and then. "If you wanna talk about it, I will listen" 

     A snort left you. "Gosh, I hate when you throw my words back to me" He laughed along with you trying to lighten up your mood.      "Annoying isn't it?"he asked, still laughing. 

     "Yeah..it is" you paused briefly,  but the need to tell him made you open your mouth again. "I had a fight with my dad." It was quiet for a moment, only the rustle of the bed as he sit up was heard. 

      "About?" He wondered.

     "He found out that I was doing bad at math. He said to stop working and focus on school." You played with your cup, twirling it around in your now warm hands. People were slowly filling the store, but the seats around you remained empty.

      "Okay" he dragged the word, trying to select his words carefully "And why did you fight?" 

       "It's just...money is tight, dad is struggling to make meet's end and pay for my grandparents' expenses. I am on scholarship and if I fail, it would only be more money-" you couldn't complete your sentence as tears choked you up.

 Gosh you hated this. 

 You didn't like to cry. And there you stood, in a crowded shop, your only company your phone with tears streaking down your face.

      He on the other line was panicking, never heard you cry this easily before.  "Hey! Hey! Don't cry! Take a big breath for me."

     And you listened to his instruction. You gulped as much air as you you could "Good. Good. Take more breaths for me" he coaxed you.

     Breath in.

     Breath out.

 You continued breathing, calming yourself enough.

     "Ok?" He asked, uncertain.

     "Yeah..I just.. don't wanna be a burden to him. I wanna help. If I have a job that means one less worry for him. It isn't easy, I don't want to work all the time. I wanna have fun but I can't be a burden to him, Seungmin." you sniffled. It was as simple as that. 

       "You are not a burden-" he started, but you cut him off ready to go at it.

      "I am! I am a burden to you too! I made you agree to this deal! I had a lot to win, you didn't. I am burdening you-" you swallowed back a sob. Your throat was clogging up again and some costumers where starting looking your way.

      "Y/N. You are not a burden. Don't say that" he pleaded, starting to sound upset as well. 

     You paused, gathering your thoughts, trying to explain to him in a more effective way.

      "You asked me before why I was in marketing... It's always needed. You always need to sell a product. If you always need to sell, I would always be needed, so I will always have a job and income" you quietly said. 

     You were simple really. You were a little greedy, a little chatty and sometimes over confident for no good reason. 

      "Y/N listen to me. You are not a burden. You knew how to make a deal. You gave me a solution. If you were cruel about it, you could have told everyone but you didn't. You care about your father and don't want to weight him down. You are working hard and at your own expense, you are struggling. You are a good daughter and a good friend. And for what matters, I am glad I met you. You encourage me to try new things, that I wouldn't dare to try. I don't want you to think bad of yourself." He instructed you. He made everything you did sound like a noble act, it couldn't be so far from it.

      You moved the phone slightly away from your face and sniffled quietly. A new bunch of tears were wetting your face, sobs racked your body and at this point you were panting for breath. He had really moved you. And even though you knew he was saying some of those things because you were a little sad, you decided to enjoy the comfort and question yourself later. It made you feel a little better all the same. 

      "Thank you" you got out.

      "Your welcome." He replied right away "Y/N can you take some more breaths for me please? Where are you now?" He asked. Was he concerned? He sounded frustrated enough and like he was pacing up and down on his room. 

     "Out. We came to the market with dad. He..left but I have a little more shopping to do." You sheepishly replied, leaving the walking away from the car incident out of the conversation. You already over shared.

       "You should head home and talk with your dad. And call me after. Okay?" The pacing had seized and a loud thud was heard maybe as he landed on the bed. 

       "Okay.." you said slowly, now more in control of your breathing "You sent me pictures of your trip, okay?" It would be wonderful to see something as pretty as the snowy mountain.

        "Okay" he mumbled more quietly now, as if he was being heard. Maybe Jeongin come in. "Talk to you later" he said and you half- heartly bid him goodbye.

        The ride home was a long one. You thought over and over what to say to your dad. You were a bit cruel and you exaggerated a lot. An apology should be the first thing that leaves your mouth, you concluded. 

        As you neared the door, it flew open revealing your very worried dad. He looked trousled, his hair (or whatever was left of it anyway) was messy as if he run his hands relentlessly, his face was flushed as he was crying. 

         "Dad what-?" Was all you managed to get out, before you were cradled into his arms. He didn't talk, just squeezed you harder. A sound like a sniffle was heard and just as you made to question it, you were drugged on the inside. 

        "Dad?"you questioned, standing still. He was pacing back and forth now right in front of you in the middle of your living room. "Dad!" You exclaimed successfully catching his attention. "I am sorry"

        He looked at you before engulfing you between his arms again. "No, baby. I am sorry" And with that sentence it was like he opened up the gates and tears welled up in your face.

      "I didn't want to be a burden! You have so- so much going on h-here! And! And I was t-trying to do w-what I can on my own" you sobbed. Your nose was blocked and your voice wobbled as you tried to get the point across.

        Just then hands cradled your face making you meet his eyes. "Baby..you are not a burden. It is my duty as your father to provide for you. You don't have to think about money all the time. I am here for you" 

       Hearing those words you broke down again in the safety of his arms, your troubles seemed so little and insignificant. For now you could be a little vulnerable and less tough. 

    Hours later, you were freshly bathed and in bed, ready to go to sleep when your phone rang. You reached over to your desk to grab it. Only to see a familiar name flashing across your screen. 

     "Hey Minnie" you whispered. 

     "Hey.. how are you? You.. didn't call so I... yeah" It was quiet on his end, he should be in his room by now, tired from the day's activities but he still made the effort to call you. You felt grateful you had met such good people. 

      "I am good. We talked about everything. Maybe I will cut back a few days to relax and study a bit more." You said as you cuddled into the bed, the emotional day finally catching up with you. You felt your eyes drop, but you willed them to open up again.

      "That's good. You should rest more. You deserve it" he replied back, tone gentle. You weren't used to hearing him like that. Sweet and gentle.

     "Seungmin.. thank you. It means a lot to me that you called"you said quietly. Hoping you weren't dumping much on him. 

       Quiet was all you heard through the line for a bit and then "I wanted too. I wanted to comfort you as you did to me the other day. I don't talk much about that time and it felt.. good...that the first thing you said to me about that period ,where I was not in a good state..it was that my smile was shinning" 

        You smiled. For some reason, hearing you made him feel lighter and happy made you lighter in return. It always did for some reason. All the times that he did things out of his comfort zone, all the times he followed along with your schemes, everytime he smiled at you and comforted you. You liked it..

    You liked him. 

    You blinked twice at the sudden though.            You liked him?

   Your first thought about the guy was that he was way too stuck up and insufferable to get along with. Where did all this came from? Maybe from all the times he cared, when you twisted your leg, when he cared for you when you were drunk, when you silently sat at your home and watched dramas, when he came by the coffee shop to sit with you. 

      Ohh. You were officially fucked.

     "Y/N?"

     His voice pulled you out of your daydream. Face completely flushed at this point, lips bitten to shreds and eyes wide you only could stare at your phone.

       "Y-Yeah! I-I was looking for my charger! This thing always runs out of battery" you explained, thankful for once for your ability to lie easily. 

      "Maybe if you didn't spent all of your day on your phone the battery would be okay" he teased, trying to get a reaction out of you. And he got it

        "Hey!" you whined loudly to your speaker. But the only response was his giggles, that warmed your heart a little more. Suddenly you didn't want to got off the phone, you want to hear him speak idly about his day and poke fun at you. So you asked just that and as if he was thinking the same he eagerly spoke.. It was well into the morning when you hang up, your heart lighter than ever and a silly smile plastered onto your face, even in sleep.

      Fifteen days passed before you could even blink.

    The cheery homey atmosphere at home, the meetings with your friends and the calls with Seungmin filled your day to the brim. 

Yesterday was the first shift of the year. It was lovely to see all your coworkers and friends together again. Your boss, being the generous woman that she was, had prepared gifts for everyone. You had been gifted a black ribbon that served as a hair tie. It was adorable. And a discreet reminder to tie your hair during work hours. 

your hair during work hours.

      Now you stood before the library, waiting at your usual spot for Seungmin, with your own gift in your hands. The cap was nothing much and you were sure it wasn't even original, but along with the pair of blue mittens and a scarf, you hoped they were enough.

 You eyed the people coming.

 No sign of Seungmin yet. 

A quick glance at your phone told you, it was a minute past your agreed time so you would let it slide. You busied yourself by replying to some texts from Hong Joong and Ryunjin, when you felt a presence behind you. With a quick glance, you found yourself looking straight into a pair of chocolate eyes. 

    You yelped from the surprise and the closeness. "Kim Seungmin!" You barked, hands coming to clutch your heart. Furious giggles greeted you in return. You looked up to see him, the two weeks apart treated him good. He seemed refreshed and lively, who knows what kind of mischief he had caused along with Jeongin. You instinctively reached up and slapped away his hand, that was covering his smile. He didn't dodge your efforts, letting himself be hit.

     "Hello" he said when his giggles seized.

     "Hi"you got out.

 He looked even cuter on person, was your first thought. You mentally slapped yourself. Come on Y/N! You have known him since October! You were together almost every day since mid October! Those were the rose tinted glasses people talked about. "How was your break?" 

       "As you don't know" he said, rolling his eyes. "We have been talking almost everyday" he quoted and starting walking towards the double doors of the library. 

      "Wait!" You yelped, clutching nervously his gift. You were beginning to sweat purposefully and you felt way beyond yourself. "I...um..I got you this!" You thrusted the cute bag in front of you, body all stiff.

       He cocked his head to the side and walked over to where you stood. Gingerly he reached for the bag, opening it gently as you would take it away from him. Slowly a smile spread on his face, he looked up briefly to you and then down again on his gift. He took it out and wore it, with a proud smile on his face. "How do I look?" He asked, turning his head from right to left so you can see him from all the possible angles.

       "Adorable" you teased, now at ease. Blue suited him, you thought and you told him so, your words bringing a pretty flush on his ears. He then cleared his throat and began searching in his backpack. After a beat, his hands come up clutching a small white bag. With a embarrassed smile, he extended the bag to you.

       "I guess we had the same thought" he explained, looking over your head before fleetingly meeting your eyes. You felt a warm feeling spreading over your body as you gazed from him to your gift. You sent a big toothy smile his way before taking the bag and taking a look inside. Inside the bag sat a smaller bag made of tulle, which contained the most beautiful pair of earrings you had seen. A dangly thing it was. A single pink cherry blossom sat, where you supposed your lobe would be and from it three almost invisible chains ran down, petals sprinkled over the chains. You loved them. 

      "Thank you Seungmin. I love it" you said, tucking it safely back into the box. 

      He smiled at you and shaked his head. "It just reminded me of you. Shall we?"he asked, pointing at the building behind you. 

        "We shall" you answered.

     The next few days were a dream.

 You all came back, hang out, had multiple night outs and had been having a blast. 

You hadn't noticed how Seungmin had warmed himself up in your daily routine. You met almost daily, his friends always lurked around the cafe, either because they were working in it (insert Jisung) either because they enjoyed the place. You had officially met Jeongin, who you always chatted with on your video chats with Seungmin, but never actually met. He was a sweetheart and always ready to mercilessly tease the grumpy boy.

       But, unfortunately, you were not the only ones that reconnected. Soojin and Seungmin reconnected. And they reconnected really good.They had been actively hanging out. Mainly on the cafe, occasionally out of it. You saw their stories and how they discussed where they would be going. 

       And you were seething.

       You wondered all those past months.. how did you manage to stand this? Not only you had to watch them on your shifts, you had Seungmin telling you all about his conversations with her. On the past you had no problem, now things were...a little different. But you hadn't had the heart to tell him to stop talking. You always wanted to hear him talk about things that made him excited, even this.

     Today though was your day though.

 You had a new series you wanted to watch. You had prepared masks and facials you had been dying to try out. As you searched through the fridge you realized. You had forgotten the beer. Usually your fridge was fully stocked and ready to serve, but a certain non drinker (as he had called himself) had been through 5 cans of beer the last time he was here leaving you dry. As you were contemplating running a quick errand to the market down the street, your phone rung. You checked the caller, seeing exactly what you wanted. 

     "Seungmin! Perfect timing! We ran out of beer. Can you get some on your way here?" You asked as you filled up the bowl with your favourite barbeque pop corn. 

     "Y/N...I hate to do this but do you think we can .. reschedule?"he said, tone slightly off.

     You assumed the worst. Seungmin was nothing if not punctual.

     "Are you okay? Do you feel alright? Did something happened with Minho or Jeongin?"you stressed, hands immediately flying up to trousle your tresses.

     "No! No, I.. had made plans with Soojin and I kinda mixed the days"he said, carefully.

     Oh.

     Of course he would prefer to spend his night with Soojin than you. You bit your lip, unsure what to do. Of course you minded. Not only it was the second time he did that to you, it was for the same person as well. But you couldn't exactly tell him that, could you? "No..I.. don't mind. Have fun" you slowly said, voice void of emotion in order not to betray your true one. 

     For a moment you thought that he would question you about your tone and your robotic manner, but he eventually signed. "I will make it up to you. I swear" he said.

     You hummed and muttered a simple goodbye. Energy suddenly drained and with your mood bungee jumping through the floor, you decided a wine or a beer would be definitely needed after all. So you grumpily grabbed your coat and your old sneakers making a bee line to the store. You entered, greeted the cashier and taking your familiar basket to browse the selves for anything that caught your fancy. You had a couple chocolate bars in it and you were standing in front of the fridge with the alcohol when the sound of your name being called grabbed your attention. 

     Turning your head, you met with a two coloured head and a bright smile.

 Hong Joong. 

 You smiled and waved him over.

     "I haven't seen you since before the holidays!" He exclaimed as a greeting, crushing you into a bear hug. 

     "Happy New Year Joongie!" You giggled, as you took a step back. His stare fell from your face to your basket to the fridge you were currently standing in front of. 

     "Not so happy right now, is it?" He asked knowingly. A grimace overtook your face, not being able to lie, you nodded.

     "I admit it could have gone better" you signed and then asked, half turned to him, half scanning the alcohol. "Did you finish your project?"

     "Yeah! We still have a check over left, but it was all smooth sailing" he laughed, clearly at ease. You envied him. Especially now, that the exams were looming over your head with the threat of expulsion. And there was the thing with Seungmin. You know the recently discovered and one sided feelings you had for him. Your thoughts must have manifested on your face because soon he was asking what's wrong. 

     "My friend, to tell the story it would take a long time and alcohol" you preached, eyeing the strawberry flavored soju bottle. 

     "I got time" he announced, making you turn at him. You raised your eyebrows and he nodded. 

     "In that case what kind of soju flavor do you prefer?" You required.

    After a few hours later and some (a lot) of drinks later you were okay. Your second tutor became the first one to learn of your feelings for your third one. Ironic. But Hong Joong had a calmness that made you feel perfectly at ease telling him that. He had adviced you to go for it and he had admitted he thought you guys were already dating. You had snorted at this.

   You wished. 

    But Hong Joong was wrong. He had been right about Seungmin curling himself up and begging for mercy as he did that the very next morning. But he hadn't seen coming the next rejections. 

    Three weeks in and Seungmin had cancelled on you 5 times. Soojin this, Soojin that. You had grown tired of hearing how great the girl was. Not to mention insecure. She was pretty, nice, kind. What hasn't she had? And do you have? 

    You tried to drown your feelings and feigned empathy towards the sudden cancellations and ruined plans. But you felt heavier with every ruined outing or night in. Those 5 times were enough for your eyes to shine maliciously green. You were beyond yourself jealous and you didn't know what to do and how to act before Seungmin anymore. Maybe a little more distance would do you good, maybe you could salvage a little of your heart. Yeah, a little distance is good.

    And apparently you must wear your heart on your sleeves because Seungmin caught right on. He apologized about the plans alright, but now every time you made plans you would find an excuse to avoid him. You had to go shopping with Yuqi or you had agreed to meet with Hong Joong and you couldn't cancel last minute. You even tried to cut down on your study time and that's when he knew that something was definitely wrong, after all exams were a mere 3 weeks away and you needed that time. 

    Ηe stepped up then. 

    That's why today you waiting for him in your house, practically vibrating with nervous energy. He seemed on guard when he called you. Almost awkward. But then he probably mimicked your own behavior. Your lips were bitten to shreds and your nails bloody by the time the doorbell rung. You gulped down as much air as you could and you opened the door. 

  And there he stood. 

  The cap you had gifted him on his head, black puffer jacket engulfing him and with an adorable flush on his cheeks, probably from the cold. You took a step back, inviting him in silently. He made his way into your home, now the surroundings familiar to him and plopped down to your couch. He cocked his head to the empty side of the couch, silently asking you to seat. 

     You made your way to him and before you could even sit on the couch, he started the interogation. 

     "What is going on?" He asked, always his straightforward and level headed self. 

     Truth or lie, that is the question. But right now lying seemed like your only ally. "What do you mean?" You asked carefully. 

     "I mean you are avoiding me. You are cancelling our plans. You even wanted to cancel the lessons!" His voice was steady, raising slightly at the end, making you feel even worse for a moment. And then you remembered the scene of them sitting together at the cafe, the phone call to cancel your plans and the words flew out of your mouth without your consent.

   "Like you didn't do the same" you returned, a scoff leaving you. 

      His eyes widen at the mockery that was present in your voice, but they quickly changed, they seemed like steel now. "I cancelled on you once" he reasoned, hands coming together to grip each other tightly. "Only once"

      "No, you cancelled after we already made plans once. You had been pushing around the dates that we planned and the hangouts 5 times at least! I guess that happens when you get a girlfriend" you commented, lips pulled back in a snarl, your face an menacing grimace now. 

      "Ohh so you can hang out with Hong Joong, but I can't hangout with Soojin" he chided, tone ice cold.

      "Don't compare the two. It's totally different" you reasoned, frustration causing your voice to raise. You turned to face him fully on the couch now, he seemed as agitated as you felt. "Besides I hanged out with Hong Joong the times that you left me stranded" you spat.

      He flinched at that. Head hanging low for a beat and then raising again, ready for a duel. "I like Soojin that's why I am hanging out with her. You were supposed to be happy for me. That was the deal" 

      It was your time to flinch at that. That was a low blow, even though he didn't know. "So why don't you go now to her?" You bitterly asked, looking away.

       He sat silent for a moment. Staring at his hands. When his voice shattered the silence.

  "I will confess tomorrow. That's what I wanted to tell you" he breathed, twisting his hands nervously at the thought, letting his guard down for a second.   

      Your heart plummeted in response to those words. It felt like an invisible hand went through your chest, grabbing your poor heart with its only purpose to rip her right out. 

Your vision that stayed nailed to the faded corner of your coffee table started blurring little by little, like you were looking at the world through mist eyed lenses. You closed your eyes not wanting to let the tears escape and betray the deviation you were felling inside right at this moment.

      "I guess the deal is over.. But I..I will see you around Y/N." He smiled an odd uncomfortable smile that showed the confusion he was feeling, and even though not a word come out of your mouth, he got up, gathered his things, walked to the front door and left.     

       Upon hearing the sound of the door closing the tears that you tried so hard to keep, were now slowly dripping down your face. Your mouth was trembling, lifting and dropping, as if it couldn't decide what expression to keep to express your sorrow better. Even breathing was more difficult now, due to the blockage in your nose. But all that wasn't what was important right now.

 You were losing him.You had lost him before having a chance to tell him how you feel.     

    Suddenly you weren't on the sofa anymore, you were up and running. Running after him. You flew out of the door and raced towards the stairs, you didn't have time to wait for the elevator to arrive, instead you headed to the stairs. When you reached the entrance your breath was unstable and the place under your ribs hurting from the sudden work out but you paid them mo mind. You run outside, turning your head left and right trying to locate his disappearing figure. There! There he was! By the end of the street, a lone figure, coat clad and on top of his head sat a very familiar cap. Your gift to him specifically. 

       "SEUNGMIN!" You yelled with all your might. He heard your panicked call and turned towards you. But before he could take a step to your direction, you were already running. Running before time caught up with you. 

      You reached him, panting from the rally. He looked beautiful. In the middle of the street, lights hitting him just right to appear ethereal, his hoodie and black thick coat made him appear warm in the cold winter night, almost like a beacon, calling you closer. His capped head cocked slightly to his right made him more adorable as he waited for you to breath normally and tell him why you chased after him.

    "I like you" you blurted out incapable of controlling your feelings anymore. "I like the way you always scold me when I do the wrong thing so I can try harder, l like when even though you pretend to be cold you are always so considerate, I like how you are always so adamant to be right and react so adorable when things don't go your way, I like how passionate you are. I like how we can be silent and watch stupid shows together. I like how you sent me every little thing you thing it's cute so you can share it with me. I like how easy are to get with, contrary to first opinions. I like how I am with you. I like who I am because of you. I like you Kim Seungmin" Tears were still filling your vision, you could now see your breath in front of you in the darkness of the night but you didn't care. You needed to tell him, you had told him and right then you felt so light like you could float away. 

     One look in his wide eyes though, told you that maybe you should fly away, flew the scene and most devastating of all something told you that maybe you couldn't have your chance after all.  

       "Y-Y/N I..I-" he tried getting out and your whole world tumbled down. "I don't know- I am not sure if I feel the same-" he could have stabbed your heart and it would hurt less than what you were feeling right now. 

He doesn't know. 

  A new set of tears came to your eyes, but this time you were incapable of holding them in. A sob was clawing it's way out of your throat, only escaping a mere second before you slapped your hand over your mouth in order to keep it in.

    "Y/N!" He exclaimed, taking a step towards you, hand raised as if to wipe your tears away, but your shaken step back stopped him. You shook your head as you took another step back. He didn't want you. Even though you told him everything.. he didn't want you. You turned around and blindly runned.

 "Y/N!!Y/N wait!"  He shouted after you.

   Nothing stopped you though.

   He didn't stop you. 

   An excruciating pain clawed at your chest making you blind to anything except your inner turmoil. You reached your apartment door in a pained haze, bursted in and let your sobs take over. Painful sob after painful sob racked you, making you unable to comprehend anything around you. You didn't know how much time you spent there against your front door, crying your heart out. All you knew was that you were light headed, your ears were ringing and your grip over the world was slipping. 

  It was exactly as you feared. 

  You had told him and you weren't enough to keep him. 

You weren't everything he wanted. 

You weren't good enough to love. 

You would never be good enough. 

You picked yourself up from the floor, took the remaining steps towards the sofa and slumped over it. You hadn't enough strength to fight the oblivion from taking over. The last image your mind concurred was of Seungmin-wide eyed in reaction to your confession and tears slipped down your eyes again as you finally slipped into the oblivion.

     After that night you had made it your mission to avoid him at all costs. 

  Your shame and pettiness didn't allow anything less than that. 

You had blocked both his number and his instagram, which you had crafted slowly together.

 Seungmin had made several attempts to contact you ever since that night. He had come by your workplace as he had deemed the phone useless by now but you had taken a couple days off work. Not wanting to worry your father with an unexpected surprise and not wanting to be alone in your apartment, you had crashed at Yuqi's for a few days, hoping your dramatic ass wasn't too much for her. Her roommate Soyeon rolled her eyes at you for crying over a boy but joined your pity party anyways, not able to resist pizza. 

    With exams drawing near, you unfortunately had to study. Looking at your notebooks and books filled with Seungmin's neat handwriting you felt like they mocked you. But you had to get through this, for this stupid scholarship you made the deal, for this you broke your heart. 

    Eventually you had to get back to work. Your days went smoothly, you ticked in, greeted your regulars, small talked with Jisung and now you were on the front on cashier's duty. You heard the door opening and you opened your mouth automatically to greet the customer, but the sight in front of you left your mouth dry. Seungmin bursted through the door, panting as he made a bee line straight to you. He came with such strength that he collided against the counter. He looked wild, hair a mess and clothes hastily put on. 

        "Y/N! Where- Nevermind! I need to talk to you." He got out, hands inching over the counter to reach you. 

      But you took a step back and with a tone as cold as you could muster you stated "I don't have anything to talk about with you" You could do this. You spent enough days crying over him. You wouldn't cry anymore. 

       "Please! I have to tel-" 

       "Seungmin." You cut him off, staring him dead in the eye. His desperate appearance and big eyes made you crumble a little inside. "I said everything I had to say. You gave me your answer. We have nothing to talk about" 

       "No you don't understand. I-" he rushed his words in order to get something across, but to his bad luck and to your good one, a customer cut your conversation short.

       "Excuse me? Can I order?" A unfamiliar face inquired. 

         "Yes, of course." You called over Seungmin's shoulder before turning to him "If you excuse me, I have work to do" you ushered him gently to the side and tried to pay him no mind. 

 Seungmin had made several other attempts to contact you.

 You still avoided him as much as you could, but it was a bit difficult when he stood there looking at you. You tried to not talk to him while he tried to corner you. You had instructed Ryunjin to not let him near you. You would break if you did. Even now the sad looks were getting to you. 

    This thing was going on for a week and a half. You hadn't spoken to each other seven days now if you included the small talk by the cashier the other day. You weren't ready to hear him, you weren't ready for him to tell you that he was together and happy with Soojin while you were over here, green with envy and with a large challenge in front of you.

 Exams were starting. 

   You weren't even there, neither mentally nor emotionally. But you had to fight it. Your scholarship depended on it.  

  Fake it till you make it.

  So fake it tou did. You forced yourself to work on your studies. In the mist of it all, little notes had been finding their way into your things.

Don't forget the formula! 

Keep on working hard!

Hope we can talk..

You had a pretty good idea on who was the writer.  

And it pained you greatly. Why was he going through all this trouble. You had gotten his message and while he was being nice trying to make sure you were alright, you would rather he wouldn't. He was making this too hard on you. 

He had Soojin now. All was good, right?

The truth was you hadn't seen him with Soojin,not once. The girl's visits were few now, that she had started on her finals (earlier as all the art students did), but when she appeared she had gifted you a knowing smile. A secret only she knew apparently, because you had no idea why she was looking at you like that. You didn't pointed that out, in fact you hadn't looked at her that much.

 And exams rolled in.

   The first three subjects were a success.. Of course you couldn't escape the dread that filled you everytime you sat behind the desk, but you had managed alright. It was manageable till now, but the big threats (maths and physics, you couldn't even utter their names!) had yet to come. 

 You had picked up less hours at the cafe in order to prepare yourself. You were a tutor down yet again, albeit this time a little more painful.

   And finally the d-day arrived. You raised your head, shoulders pulled back. 

Pens? Check. 

Pencils? Check. 

Water? Check. 

Student ID? Check. 

Note from Seungmin?... Check 

The little yellow note was safely tucked in your pocket last minut,e because you couldn't bear to part with it. He had sticked to your front door last night, you showed it when you came over from work and it had moved you to tears. Gosh, you were such a crybaby now!

 You knew that your conversation was long overdue. Three weeks have already passed and even though you wanted to, you couldn't bring yourself to. 

    But that was a problem that future Y/N had to deal with.

 Now you needed your head in the game. 

You had maths to do, you thought as you marched to your possible doom. 

 You had passed! 

The endless hours, the blood, the sweat and the tears you had spilled were all worth it. Admittedly you had made it barely, but you had made it! You had made an exceptional progress on physics too, acquiring a better grade than you originally thought you would.

   You were beyond happy and your immediately thought was of your beloved tutor. You should contact him, firstly to thank him and secondly for a conversation you had apparently left in the middle, what was left to say was beyond you. 

    You were playing with your phone currently, the contract named Puppy open and ready to be called. You bit your lips, your finger hovering above the button when a voice stopped you on your track.

   Soojin.

    "Hello Y/N" she pleasantly greeted, an ever lasting smile on her face.

   "Soojin, hi. The usual?" You asked, not in the mood for pleasantries. You had already turned your back to the girl to make her coffee.

   "To go, please" she called sweetly to you, getting a sharp nod in response. "How is Seungmin?" she asked, voice still dripping honey. You froze. While you didn't know Soojin that well, you didn't think she was the type to gloat in your face about her winning Seungmin's heart. You appeared to be wrong again. 

    "How should I know? Shouldn't I be asking you that?" You returned coldly, trying to hold yourself back. You were at work, you wouldn't be caught fighting like a 6-year-old for a doll you both wanted. Not that Seungmin was a price to be had. He was just as pretty as a doll thought.

    "Ahh, you still didn't talk with him" she signed. You turned to place her drink of choice on the counter, ready for her to be gone. "Why are you avoiding him?" She said, head cocked to the right, making her seem all too innocent for your liking. 

      You almost scoffed "I don't think this is any of your business" you answered while you took her card to ring up her order. 

     For the first time her face turned sour and a determinated pout appeared on her face "Well I am making it my own goddamn business. We talked with Seungmin. We made everything clear. He likes you and I like Eric" she answered, sassiness dripping from her tongue this time. 

    What?

   "What?" You voiced out loud, shock obvious on your face. Seungmin did what? 

    "Yeah, you know tall, blonde and handsome?" She quoted, raising her hand a ridiculous amount above her head to indicate Eric's height. 

    "I know how Eric is! I told him what drink you like for god's shake!" You exclaimed, teeth grinding together. 

     She looked like the cat who got the milk as she thanked you for that. You blinked.

     "I don't understand. You and Seungmin went on so many dates" you mumbled. 

     She looked quite guilty this time "I already apologized to Seungmin about that. I was trying to...make Eric jealous" she admitted, her eyes focused, all of a sudden, on the coffee in her grasp.

     "The photography exhibition?" You asked, dazed.

     "Eric was managing a tent there" she whispered, head low.

    "The movies?" You insisted.

    "A girl from Computer Science had invited him! Gosh, how much I don't like her! She always made heart eyes at him!" She scoffed, sounding much like you when you cursed her in your head.

    You felt your jaw slagging, mouth open whole you stared at her. Really? Seungmin liked you? 

     She glanced at you, seeing how you were taking it all in. "He told me he thought that he liked me. When I asked him what did he meant by 'he thought', he explained the deal to me. He seemed so happy when he talked about you, content." She smiled at you, that knowing smile she had been sending lately. "When I asked him if he perhaps liked you, he blinked and nodded. He even apologized!" She giggled and you joined too. Socially awkward and adorable as always. "He cares about you. And I think you should talk to him, Y/N" she finished. 

    You nodded, still dazed from all the information. She saluted you silently and walked out the door.

    What Soojin said stayed with you. You weren't sure if she was being truthful or not, but you had already decided to contact him, you reasoned with yourself. At least that's what you told yourself as you send the message at 10 p.m. 

       You had fully expected to be left on read for days maybe even to beg him him for a small talk, so the immediate response, needless to say, surprised you. The answer left you at a total loss.

   You immediately tensed up. You hadn't expected him to rush here that late. But better now than never, you guessed. 

    Not even twenty minutes later, there was knocking on your front door. You took a deep breath and opened your door.

     And there he stood. He was panting, as if he sprinted here, his face was flushed and adorably nervous. His eyes ranked over you, taking you in the way you were doing to him right now.

You watched him for a moment too long, the weeks of not seeing him were catching up with you. He looked tired as well, he had bags under his eyes and his face was sucked in. Worry fleetingly took over you as you took a step in his direction, but the way his eyes were, so intensely, focused on you, not shying away, reminded you of your situation. Letting out a breath you took a step back, allowing him to enter your home. His eyes fell from your face momentarily as he took the step in, gently closing your door behind him.

       The two of you stood there, tense and not knowing where to begin. You had said everything that you had to say, so you stood there utterly defeated. Discarded in favor of Soojin by the very boy that stood in your living room. By the very first boy that was begging to win your heart. Or do you thought. If what Soojin had said to you was true...then why reject you? Tears threatened to make an appearance (as they often did those days) but you pushed them back and sucked your cheek. "How have you been? Did you do good on your exams?" You asked, a small smile on your lips as you gestured at your couch.

       He returned the awkward smile you sent him, taking a seat across you. "I am doing.. alright, I guess. I have done well in my exams. You?" He asked, pointing at you. 

         A bigger smile overtook your face. "We did it!" You exclaimed as you wanted to do since the morning that you learned the news.  "I mean, it was a little above average but... I passed nonetheless" you cheered. 

      He made a grimace "A little above average?" He asked, scrunching his nose.

      "What? Will you say you teached me better than that?" You inquired, lounging better in your spot, smiling all the way up to your ears.

     "Will you throw me out if I say that?" He asked, head cocking to the side. His tone was a mix of sassiness and uncertainty.

     You deserved that, you guessed. "No, I will not" you mumbled, not able to look into his eyes. 

    "Then, yes. I taught you better than that" he quoted, lightly giggling to easy up the tension. It brought a smile to your face, but you quickly sobered up.

     "Why are you here, Seungmin?" You asked, plain and simple, tired.

      The boy took a breath, shoulders squaring as if to ready himself "I am sorry" 

A slap. 

Right on your face. You swallowed your words and returned nothing, wanting to hear what he had come here to say. "I was an idiot. A moron. When you told me you..liked me, I hadn't thought about it. I mean..we ar-" he looked at the floor briefly as if willing himself to remember pointers he wrote, but he picked up when he left off shortly "We are close. We talk every day, we joke around, watch movies together. I had gotten used to you, you were an ally, a friend. I hadn't thought about you in..that light.." you turned your face away, facing the wall, a few stray tears escaping your eyes. He took notice of your state, quickly scooting over, closer to you, one hand on your arm, the other gripping feather light the place your neck and jaw connected. You raised your hands, a motion that meant to shoo him away, but he didn't budge. He stood there looking over you, worried and painfully tender. 

      "That was what I thought I felt. But Y/N, I don't face time my friends everyday for hours, I don't text them to remind them to study or eat, I don't have reminders to tell me to text them, I.. don't catch myself thinking they are pretty or wishing they were closer when we are watching movies..I don't dance with them and think they are beautiful and wish I could kiss them." he continued, voice quieter as he went on, the last part almost inaudible. If you weren't in front of him, almost locked in his arms, you wouldn't be able to hear him. 

But you could. 

And your heart was pumping so hard that you could hear it in your ears, your breath was short. You were hanging from his every word. What? What was he saying? 

"I didn't ran like a madman to find a pair of earrings for them. The exact copy of the earrings they were looking at the festival..I failed at that one, but I think cherry blossoms suit you better anyway" he breathed, a low laugh escaping him. How he could remember that was beyond you. Had he always paid that much attention to you? 

"I don't go mad when I don't talk to them for a few days" he whined, clearly embarrassed if the flush on his face and ears said something. "I don't beat myself up for hesitating to return their feelings" he finished. 

      That was a confession? "What then?What am I, Seungmin? What am I to you?" You challenged, looking him straight at the eyes. Yours reflected resolution and a fiery temper, his.. reflected guilt and affection, that much you could read, but also pain and hopefulness. 

    He took a shaky breath and dived in, sealing his lips over your own. You stood frozen for a moment, Seungmin overtaking all of your senses. All you could smell was his manly and wonderful cologne, all you could taste was the mint on his lips and an essence, so clearly him you couldn't explain otherwise. All you could feel were his soft hands clasping you affectionately, his plush lips on your, his eyelashes tickling you gently. All you saw, before closing your eyes, was fluffy hair and his beautiful face coming closer. You got lost in the moment, reciprocating the kiss before your mind could talk you out of it. You reached up, waving your hands into his soft hair, bringing him closer. Your mouth opened, inviting him in and pressed yourself complete onto him, wanting to fell him touch every inch of you. You kissed him fiercely, with a passion, he gladly returned. You felt him draping himself around you, holding you desperately and with a passion you hadn't expected to show to your person.

 All you now was that you were experiencing pure bliss. You didn't want it to end.

        You didn't know how much time you were kissing, tasting each other eagerly, having gotten lost at the feelings but eventually you had to part to get some air inside of you. You didn't exactly separate, he retreated just enough so he can rest his forehead against yours. You could feel his breath in your mouth, that was also covered in the taste of him. You opened your eyes to look at him, seeing him already gazing adoring at you. And then he spoke.

        'I like you" he stated confidently. Face flushed, lips even more kissable than before and eyes alit. "You never were just a friend in my mind. I just...I never have been in a serious relationship..I didn't know what I was supposed to be looking for. But when they asked me what I wanted and I started describing, I realized I was describing you, Y/N" he whispered, nusling closer to your face. The proximity was driving you crazy and his words was making it worse. It was all too much to take in at once. 

  "Soojin" you mumbled, the close distance between your faces allowing him to hear you. "What about her? You said you like her" you mewled, pained. The same guilty feeling resurfaced on his face again and his hands tightened around you. 

       "I am so so sorry" he nearly sniffled. As soon as you heard the little sniffle, alarms went off inside your head and you immediately drew closer, hiding your face on the crook of his neck, arms tenderly patting him for comfort. You felt him rest his head on top of yours and nussle his face in your hair. "I thought I did. I hadn't thought about the chance that you.. I didn't know what I was feeling and God-" he took a big breath and started again "I thought I liked her, but when you confessed, don't get me wrong I was super surprised but I couldn't get you out of my mind, so I told her. And it ended up being alright because she-" 

     "Likes Eric. I know" you completed. 

     "How?" He asked.  

You crewed your neck back in order to see him better and gave him a small smile. "She came over at work. She spilled everything. And for the matter, I think they look cute together." 

   "Hey! Are you calling me ugly?!" He protested lightly, hands tickling you and making you let out loud giggles.

     "Stop!" You shrieked, burrowing yourself deeper in his arms. He did and hugged you tighter in return. "I think you look cuter with me" you cheekily murmured squished against his neck.

   He laughed briefly and slowly he unwinded himself from around you. You immediately missed his warmth.

      "I am so sorry for all of this" he got out, guiltily. "I have made a mistake. A stupid one. And ..and if you take me back I promise not to make the same ones again. I promise to listen to you and try to express myself more...I.."he trailed off, unsure what else to promise you. You quietly giggled to yourself. 

You liked him too much to hold it over him. You liked him too much for you own good.

 So you smiled and wrapped your arms around his neck again. He immediately cradled you near, not missing the chance to hold you. 

      "You promise to never make the same mistake again? And talk to me instead of mumbling nonsense?" You inquired, your hands reaching up to cradle his face gently. He closed his eyes for a moment in tot bliss, before snapping them open and nodding.

      "I promise" he stated. 

       "And you must promise to do what I ask of you" you pouted, dragging the words out, now in a playful mood. 

       But he eagerly nodded his head, taking your every request without complains. "I promise"

       "Even when I ask you to go photoshooting with me?" You wondered, eyes scanning him. But he easily let out a giggle, nodded before ducking to kiss your nose, setting off butterflies in your stomach. You pressed your lips together in order to seal a smile before continuing. 

     "Even when I ask you to watch boring dramas with me?" You asked, eyebrows raising, remembering his distain in your pickings. 

        "Mmhhmm"he let out easily, as his eyes swept over you with literal stars sprawled over them. 

     "Even when the Wyverns are on and you wanna see them?" You mischievously asked, beaming up at him. He chuckled, drawing you closer than ever, not an inch separating your bodies. 

       "Even then" he agreed, content with you in his arms. 

        "You got yourself a deal then" you said, cheekily, peaking up at him. He opened his eyes at the sound of that, meeting your gaze, full of intent and tenderness. Now affection and playfulness twirled in his own eyes, so much in contrast with the cold boy that you had met all those months ago.

        "Deal" he said, reaching down to seal this deal with a press of our lips.

Mrs. Grinch & Mr. Sunshine

A request from @lethallyprotected about sunshine! Jisung x grumpy! Reader. Hope you like it!!!

If you have any requests I will be glad to listen!

Barista! Jisung x Customer! Reader (f)

Acquaintances to lovers, fluff

Words: 1,4k

"Is your father a thief? Because he stole all the world's stars to put them into your eyes!" You stared dead into his eyes, pondering your life choices and most importantly your barista choices. He smiled brightly, too brightly, for the unholy hour you were both forced to wake up and handed you your first cup of the day, filled to the brim with coffee.

"No, but he must be a ring leader with all the clowns I attract" you huffed out, hand already spread out to accept your drink from the lousy brunette. You greedily swallowed a big gulp of it, your eyes flying to his messy hair and crisp apron. He must have gotten up earlier than you and you cried a little inside.

"Ohh Come on! It's Valentine's, princess. Everybody deserves a compliment!" He whined, flashing a big heart shaped grin that fit the holiday to the glove.

You furrowed your brows "Don't call me princess" you bit, annoyance obvious in your tone. You weren't one of the girls that fell with that kind of line.

Rather than princess, witchling fit you better.

He blinked at you innocently and opened his mouth once again "Mrs Grinch then?" He inquired, one eyebrow high but upon seeing your deadpan expression, he exploded with laughter. He literally threw himself on the countertop, almost doubling from laughter on top of it. You huffed a breath, left him some of your change and walked towards the door. "See you later Mrs Grinch!"

You didn't bother looking at him instead you waved a hand over your shoulder as a goodbye and called back "Sure Mr Sunshine"

...

You weren't running.

You were calm.

You were quiet..

You were in your zone...

And so fucking late!

You speed walked to the cafe on your way to class. The morning philosophy class you had to take this semester wouldn't be so bad with a coffee in your hand. Or so you had convinced yourself.

You threw open the gigantic glass doors and rushed to join the queue of the grumpy students trying to get their dose of caffeine. You were just about to reach goe your phone to busy yourself till you reach the counter but a call stopped you.

"Mrs Grinch!" Ryunjin shouted.

You blinked. It sounded familiar...

"Mrs Grinch!" She shouted, this time her gaze locking with yours. You checked if she was looking at someone else around you but when you saw no one giving her the time of day, you raised one brow and pointed at yourself.

She enthusiastically nodded so you hesitantly left the queue and approached her. You stopped in front of her but didn't said anything. So she grinned, pushed the cup towards you and quoted "From Mr. Sunshine" You let out a breath at this. Jisung had his ways, that was certain. You thanked her, but she dismissed you with a wave and a knowing smile and ushered you out.

You tentatively took a sip.

Black, just how you liked it.

And he knew that.

...

This continued for several days and you slowly started to make your appearance, besides the busy mornings, to the afternoon shifts of a certain loud barista.

"Hello Mrs Grinch! I see today you are not in a hurry!" He greeted you cheerily, but you couldn't pay attention at him. You only could stare at his hair.

"You dyed it" you said instead. His lovely chestnut hair was replaced by a bark blue black that was enhancing his features sure, but it also gave him an edge that you weren't used to.

His hands immediately flew to his tresses, giving them a tug. "Does it look bad?" He wondered quietly, almost insecurely. But that couldn't be, loud he may be but insecure he was not. And he had not a single reason to be.

"No. They look good. It's just not.. very you" you concluded as you tapped your chin in your search for the right words.

He smiled slyly. "What is very me?" he questioned, leaning over the counter that always separated you. You stared into his eyes.Shrugged.

"Sunshine core, I guess. Black to go" you changed the flow of the conversation quickly. He whined for a bit but, eventually, he turned around to make your coffee.

"Why you always leave? Can't you stay here for coffee for once?" He asked, still whining cutely to you. You paused your search for money to give him a confused look. Why would you? He saw the question in your eyes and exclaimed "I would be over the beans happy! Get it?" His giggles surrounded you.

You wouldn't be able to focus in there. The music, the chats and...his laughter would, surely, be distracting. So instead of an answer you told him "Keep the change" and walked out of the door.

...

Once more you were in the cafe for leisure rather than need. You had wanted to relax and enjoy a cup in your own pace. You entered and quietness welcomed you. From the melodious jazz music till the airiness from inside the bar brought you a sense of calm.

Until you saw Jisung'a face.

His bright heart shaped smile, that you had used to seeing upon his face, was missing. In fact his lips were turned downwards almost in a pout, but sadder. You roused the cashier slowly. "Who is the Grinch now?" You asked, gently without your usual bite. Today seemed like he could do without it.

He met your eyes a with small smile, that seemed all he could muster at the moment. He turned and started making your coffee, without a single word. So you stood there and watched him. Usually in his haste to turn around again and talk to you, he would rush and make small mistakes, he would curse or laugh the pain away and he would ask about your day. Today was not usually. So you asked instead. "Are you ok Mr. Sunshine?" Low and gently. You were afraid of raising your voice to a normal tone, as if it would shatter a very needed barrier he had build.

He sighed.

The sound came from somewhere deep insiyhis chest. "One of my friends...he had a fight with his girlfriend..and when I took her side, he said a couple of things.. Nothing you should be worried about. I am fine." he concluded, eyes on your cup, on the check out, anywhere but you.

"I see" you hummed. And began gathering your things and your cup from the counter. "I hope you don't worry yourself too much, Jisung. Talk to him. It's not fair to you to be uncomfortable or insecure about something he said in anger and, probably, didn't even mean." You said and left the shop before he could answer.

On your way to your dorm you couldn't get out of your mind the image of Jisung pouting and avoiding your gaze. You stood still for a moment and signed before turning around. You knew just what to do to cheer him up. So you walked to the nearest bakery, bought the freshest and loveliest cheesecake and made a bee line to the coffee shop, where the unhappy barista worked. You opened the enormous doors again, this time more cautiously.

You checked the tables and the stairs, but the boy was nowhere in sight so you approached the counter, fully prepared to leave the cheesecake and leave. But, of course, it was that moment he chose to return to his post.

His eyes widened a tiny bit, but he quickly put a small smile on his face and approached you. "Hello again. Want anything else?" He asked quietly, his eyes fleeting from yours again.

Now or never. You told yourself.

You placed the baked good on the countertop and pushed it lightly towards him. "No. But this is for you. Hope you feel better" you muttered and speeded towards the exit yet again. The fresh air hit you but before you could step further into him and away from the cafe, your name was being called. Or rather you peculiar nickname.

"Mrs Grinch! Y/N!" Jisung called, breath elaborated from his jog.You turned to him, unsure of what to make of this sudden persuasion. You raised a brow and jotted your chin towards him, a silent invitation to speak first.

He looked very pink in this new and natural night, you thought. "So....ummm..I was wondering..if you.. would like to go out sometime." he asked, nervousness taking over. "With me!" He quietly squealed, almost forgetting the most important part.

You looked at him, really looked.

A sweet boy, who knew how you took your coffee, asked how your day was, how you were feeling and what plans did you have.

Were those enough to like him? No.

We're those enough to get you interested in knowing him? Yes.

And you got the feeling that you would come to like him easily. He was sweet, cheery and warm.

Your personal sunshine.

"I would love to go out with you"

♡⁠♡♡

“I adore you.” - Changbin

find more content here: stray kids masterlist ↬ summary: changbin has a knack for making you laugh easily (this author had a brain rot imagining this, thank you) ↬ tags: idol! changbin, gn! reader, ft. hyunjin’s dog kkami, based off his kprofile (so ,, if anything this is solely based off my imagination) ↬ word count: 325 words

Changbin’s ideal type is a girl (someone, anyone) who can laugh with him when they’re together. And boy, he wasn’t kidding when he said that. After being with you for a while, he managed to categorize the different types of laughter he manages to elicit from you. 

- tired, muffled laughter

These are the times when he would come back late from his schedule to find you sleeping on the couch, limbs placed in an awkward and ungainly position. He would drop his bags and whisper in your ear in an attempt to wake you up, “You look really funny sleeping like this.” You mumbled something unintelligent and Changbin rolled his eyes and lifted you up from the sofa easily. You clung onto him like a koala, laughing into his shoulder because he said you were such a baby. “M’not a baby. You...are big baby.” Changbin placed you down on the bed but you simply refused to let him go, forcing him to lie with you. 

- squealing at cute things

He doesn’t tell you but you continue to fawn over Hyunjin’s dog, making him a tad bit jealous. “Bin! Kkami is so cute! So freaking cute!” He felt his mind go blank when he saw you lift the dog up, nose scrunching up because you simply adore the dog. He’d better tell Hyunjin to not bring his dog out. 

- shy giggling reserved just for him

Whenever he makes you giggle shyly, he feels very accomplished as you would be so tongue-tied. Especially when he compliments you for the umpteenth time or when he uses a pick-up line on you. “Aigoo~! Why is my lovely so pretty today?” And you would giggle at his comment, hiding your absolutely red face in his chest, “Ah! Stop it! You are the most pretty between us two!” Your repeated smacking on his shoulders while giggling just made Changbin fall in love with you again, “I adore you.” 

₊˚ʚ stray kids masterlist

Get cool 이 좋은 날 뭐가 더 필요해  what else do I need on this fine day? Get cool 내일 걱정 안 하며 날아갈 거야  i won’t worry about tomorrow i’ll fly away

now playing: stray kids get cool

00:00 ━━━━━●─── 03:15 ✰

⇆ㅤ        ◁ㅤ ❚❚ ㅤ▷       ㅤ↻

↖ back to main masterlist ⋆｡𖦹

call me up - k. seungmin 🧷

when calling has become the norm, to not call felt weirder

⤹ 22.09.23

✰ what “i love you” sounds like: with SKZ 🧷

⤹ 21.06.23

✰ “you texted me to come get you. so i’m here.” - s. changbin  🧷

changbin’s worry gives way to affection whilst picking you up in your drunken state

⤹ 11.03.23

“then i’ll know it’s you.” - b. chan 🧷

chan got LED lights for this single reason

⤹ 12.07.22

[ a standalone , but can be read with “ah...love.” ]

✰ “i like how you are doing your best for someone.” - h. hyunjin 🧷

⤹ 24.05.22

✰ stray kids + sensory overloaded reader  🧷

⤹ 05.04.22

✰ routine - l. felix  🧷

slice of life with the lovable felix 

⤹ 28.12.21

“ah...love.” - b. chan 🧷  

you had terribly missed everything about chan

⤹ 15.10.21

“seriously?” - l. felix  🧷

maybe just maybe, you liked the fact that Felix was over-protective.

⤹ 31.03.21

stray kids + skinship  🧷

part 1: chan, lee know, changbin, han

⤹ 04.03.21

part 2: felix, hyunjin, seungmin, i.n 

⤹ 06.03.21

🧷 - proofread and refurbished

>>  older works below

“Somehow I just fell more in love with you." - Chan

prompt list b-19 

how many drinks would it take for you to confess? turns out just one peach flavoured soju is enough.

tags: idol! chan, manager! + fem! reader, ft. deceased mother figure, mentions of drinking

“Do you want me to leave?” - Lee Know 

prompt list a-1

minho knows when to give you space and when not to.

tags: non-idol! lee know, author! + gn! reader

“I adore you.” - Changbin

prompt a-100

changbin has a knack for making you laugh easily.

tags: idol! changbin, gn! reader, ft. hyunjin’s dog kkami 

"Hey, can I borrow a kiss? I’ll be sure to return it to you." - Hyunjin [ ✰ ]

prompt b-91 

hyunjin’s sneaky. 

tags: student! hyunjin, student! + gn! reader, ft. hyunjin’s dog kkami

“You’re safe now. I’ve got you.” - Han

prompt list a-79 

jisung somehow has to babysit a fox and a hamster hybrid one fine night.

tags: non-idol! jisung, hamster hybrid! + fem! oc called min, fox hybrid! jeongin, non-idol! chan 

[special] “April Fool’s Day!” - Felix

the 00 liner attempts to complete missions around felix, one of the gullible members in stray kids.

tags: idol! felix, fem! reader, ft. idol! 00 liners & chan, the whole story doesn’t make sense but let’s pretend it does

[special] “Are you a camera? Because every time I look at you, I smile.” - Seungmin

seungmin didn’t know he was the type to enjoy cheesy pickup lines, especially from you.

tags: student! seungmin, student! + fem! reader, ft, student! jisung & lee know, some random prefect (or student leaders/ counsellor whatever you might know them as)

“I’m going to take care of you, okay?” - Jeongin 

prompt list a-5 

the maknae is stressed out because you’re stressed out.

tags: idol! stray kids, idol! jeongin, student! + gn! reader, mentions of other skz members, nosebleeds! (but not too gory), awkward! jeongin (he’s cute like akjshkajs)

stray kids + skinship part 1

↖ navigation: stray kids masterlist || main masterlist

part 2 here

『 c h a n 』 

very huggable, would actually be the small spoon 

would not let you go until you give koala Chan attention 

even more clingy when tired 

nuzzles your back as his muscular arms wrap around your waist 

can i put him in my pocket? 

Chan sleepily stepped out of the room. “Good~ morning~ baby~!” His raspy voice resounded, and with half lidded eyes, Chan shuffled towards you. His bigger frame in his slightly oversized sleeping clothes made him all the more endearing as he opened his arms. He curled up on your folded legs, arms securely wrapping themselves around your waist. You wordlessly started carding through his hair, earning a satisfied sigh from him. “Good morning to you too Channie.” 

『 m i n h o 』 

when he first placed his hand on your thighs, you’d be flustered

“??? we’re in public…” “so?” 

might just grip your thigh so hard it leaves marks 

(thigh kink sorry not sorry) oddly calming

loves to trace patterns with his fingertips (and if you’re ticklish then…) 

Minho glanced at you before shifting closer to you. Noting that you were bouncing your legs nervously, he reached over and firmly placed his hand over your right thigh. You faltered and Minho leaned in, “You’re going to do great, trust me.” “Yeah, do great if you aren’t gripping my thigh so hard.” You feebly joked and Minho chuckled, opting to just leave his hand there. Quickly pressing a kiss to your temple, he nodded affirmatively as you got up. “All the best in this match!” 

『 c h a n g b i n 』 

you know the small part on your back? Yes

It’s a habitual thing, just placing his hand there

but if you two are cuddling then he’d just arm around the waist

(his hands are very warm) 100% shivers down your spine

dominant protective

Changbin’s eyes darted around the crowded reception area. Upon finding out that you were at a corner, he frowned when a couple of males (read: 2) flocked towards you, visibly causing you to shun them. Picking up his pace, he strode confidently over to you. “Changbin!” In one swift motion, he gently pulled you in for a kiss, hands easily settling itself on your back. “Ah, uh, have a good day.” The both of them stuttered before skittering away. “You can let go now, Bin-ah.” “And what if I don’t want to?” 

『 j i s u n g 』

has the tendency to cup the back of your head 

very adoring and heart-fluttering, especially if he is going to pull you in for a hug

uwu vibes are immaculate and i’m living for this 

protective when he holds you tightly like he never wants to let go 

might melt if he pats my head and praises me o.O

As soon as the music ends, and everyone files off stage, Jisung pulls you into his embrace. Feeling your entire body sag in his arms, he cupped the back of your head, “You did so well today. I’m so proud of you!” Ignoring his members' groans from all around him, he spoke a little louder for you to hear, “You did a brilliant job on stage, and our chemistry was really good.” Jisung pressed a kiss on your cheek, “Love you.”

@ppumeonae-bigvibe ‘s work ; likes and reblogs are appreciated

stray kidz + sensory overloaded! reader

↖ navigation: stray kids masterlist || main masterlist

pairing: skz x gn! reader

↬ tags: sensory overload/ being overwhelmed by sensory irritants 

↬ word count: 1.2k words

a/n: i don’t experience the full spectrum, but i relate the most to being overstimulated by touch & light (e.g. when wearing wrong socks, sleeping with certain bed linen, having the lights too bright etc) ,, i am not very knowledgeable on the FULL extent of sensory overload so if you’re curious you can always search it up !

↳ chan + sound 

chan had always thought you were a little on the antisocial side at first: your headphones were always on you and you never really seemed to like being in groups of more than 2-3 people

until he found out: you weren’t actually playing any music in your headphones—it was there for a buffer—because it could get loud at times and you were really uncomfortable with that much noise bombarding your senses 

since then he’d be absolutely gentle around you ,, while he’s an ENFP by nature he’d make sure to tone it down around you

would ask you what you had done previously in similar situations so that he could do the same, if not better for you

has curated a music playlist just for you 

↳ minho + light

minho had always assumed you were clingy by nature ,, somehow grabbing onto him whilst he leads you around 

until one day when the sun was simply high up in the sky and you had begged him to cancel the date to the beach with tears in your eyes

was actually scared like ?? what did he do ?? + when you had finally revealed to him about your sensory overload it clicked: all the times you squinted in the sun and thus holding onto him because it was THAT hard to see, having many pairs of sunglasses (poor boy thought it was accessories) 

from then he’d make sure that he would hold you tight especially in bright areas + it’s a good way to have dates in the late evening  

has an extra pair of sunglasses/ plenty of hats for you (and he thinks you rock them too)

↳ changbin + touch/ feel

changbin occasionally teases you for having shirts of similar/ same texture and you joke along with him (or anyone else) 

when changbin had given you a new shirt and petulantly wanted you to wear it, you were torn between keeping your current top on, or finding an excuse because you hated anything else that wasn’t that specific texture

but you had went with wearing his gift—changbin then noticed how uncomfortable you were: constantly rubbing your upper arms, adjusting the shirt 

you finally had enough of the shirt and had bashfully told him that the gift was nice but you didn’t want it + cue you explaining to a confused changbin why

has gotten your favourite brands/ of similar texture to match you (and so he could see you wear HIS clothing)

↳ jisung + sound

jisung might notice you flinching at very sudden and loud noises but didn’t think too much about it

until there were some mini sparkler-fireworks being set off nearby the two of you that caused you to jump (quite literally) into his lap while you two were out on a date

like minho he was worried like: did it actually scare you this much but would cover your ears, whispering sweet nothings into your ear (okay if you had a smaller frame GOOD because his beautiful body would shield you from anything)

had to clarify if it was a phobia or something else and when you had explained he would do thorough research + learn to take in your social cues when you had wanted out in certain situations

had purchased a good quality headphone set just for you

↳ hyunjin + touch 

(i feel like) hyunjin has an inkling that you were not letting on, but won’t push: in a way he knows that you hadn’t like people touching you

but when he finally saw (someone had lightly brushed past you and you ticked, gripping onto him for dear life) for himself, he blurted out the question that has been weighing heavily on his mind  

you had tried your best to explained what it was to you: deep, firm pressure was okay, but brief touches that left residual sensations were a big no-no for you 

you had also thanked him for asking (now it’s hyunjin’s turn to blush) and for being understanding [but you see even if you two didn’t hold hands, hyunjin would appreciate you for who you were, pda or not]

had now made it a point to ask you for permission before giving you big bear hugs

↳ felix + light

i think straight-up from when felix visited your house, he’d have seen that it was dim, yet bright enough just so you can still see what’s around you 

just as he was about to switch on the light you had vehemently stopped him, felix would just go “isn’t it a little dark, that isn’t good for your eyes” 

in the end you’d compromise with a small glow lamp, which was effectively affecting you either ways as you revealed about how having too much light elicited a counter productive fight-flight-freeze reflex 

but what felix was caught unaware of was that for him you were willing just to leave a few more lamps on (for this bright sunshine i think i would try my best to tolerate until i can’t) 

he’d make it clear that if you were uncomfortable he could switch of the lamps too + made sure to observe you for cues if you were about to breakdown 

has littered your room with glow lamps/ dim fairy lights so that whenever he could hang out with you it would still be just as romantic/ cuddly (wtfosdkfsd i want a felix too)

↳ seungmin + sound (as a seungmin stan, i would love for him to hold me-)

seungmin (as your desk partner: let’s imagine that) was gentle by nature, so talking to him wasn’t half that bad; but on days classmates hovered round your table, seungmin would realize that you’d excuse yourself hurriedly, earbuds in your hands as you exit the classroom 

he had a (sadly wrong) hunch that you didn’t like crowds; then fast forward to your graduation, seungmin was by you when a huge hoard of classmates congratulated you for doing the highest in class (oh how i wish) that you started getting panicky, eyes darting everywhere while giving half-hearted replies 

you had dashed out mid-question and seungmin ran out after you, finding you hidden in the utility room far away from the graduating classes: he had no idea what to do other than to hold you and shield you from any curious by-lookers 

when he had asked what’s wrong, you had told him in tears about your sensory overload and how the noise from everyone had rubbed off you the wrong way and you didn’t want to breakdown in front of them

(i love seungmin, sorry not sorry~) would take note of this + is the perfect excuse for dates in the library or museum 

↳ jeongin + touch 

while jeongin had a habit of touching everything he sees, you were the opposite: opting to keep your hands to yourself, or in a pocket 

i think it would catch baby jeongin by surprise when you had touched his bed linen (the first time you slept over) and visibly recoiled, as if you had touched something burning 

“is there something wrong with my bedsheet...?” “it’s...the wrong feel...”

would be an absolute sweetheart and sleep on the floor with you if he couldn’t find a spare bedsheet (with the right texture)

in the dark, you told him about what your likes and dislikes when it came to textures and thank heavens jeongin was curious rather than put off and had agreed with you on some cloth feel 

has now become aware of what he buys (or even gets the brands you like) so he could hug/ hold you without making you anxious because of the feel 

@ppumeonae-bigvibe​ ‘s work ; likes and reblogs are appreciated

i actually didn't think this would blow up but thank you for all the support !!! this made me so happy <3

stray kidz + sensory overloaded! reader

find more content here: stray kids masterlist  ↬ tags: idol/non-idol! skz, sensory overload + gn! reader [not 100% accurate] ↬ word count: 1.2k words (in total)

a/n: i don’t experience the full spectrum, but i relate the most to being overstimulated by touch & light (e.g. when wearing wrong socks, sleeping with certain bed linen, having the lights too bright etc) ,, i am not very knowledgeable on the FULL extent of sensory overload so if you’re curious you can always search it up !

↳ chan + sound 

chan had always thought you were a little on the antisocial side at first: your headphones were always on you and you never really seemed to like being in groups of more than 2-3 people

until he found out: you weren’t actually playing any music in your headphones—it was there for a buffer—because it could get loud at times and you were really uncomfortable with that much noise bombarding your senses 

since then he’d be absolutely gentle around you ,, while he’s an ENFP by nature he’d make sure to tone it down around you

would ask you what you had done previously in similar situations so that he could do the same, if not better for you

has curated a music playlist just for you 

↳ minho + light

minho had always assumed you were clingy by nature ,, somehow grabbing onto him whilst he leads you around 

until one day when the sun was simply high up in the sky and you had begged him to cancel the date to the beach with tears in your eyes

was actually scared like ?? what did he do ?? + when you had finally revealed to him about your sensory overload it clicked: all the times you squinted in the sun and thus holding onto him because it was THAT hard to see, having many pairs of sunglasses (poor boy thought it was accessories) 

from then he’d make sure that he would hold you tight especially in bright areas + it’s a good way to have dates in the late evening  

has an extra pair of sunglasses/ plenty of hats for you (and he thinks you rock them too)

↳ changbin + touch/ feel

changbin occasionally teases you for having shirts of similar/ same texture and you joke along with him (or anyone else) 

when changbin had given you a new shirt and petulantly wanted you to wear it, you were torn between keeping your current top on, or finding an excuse because you hated anything else that wasn’t that specific texture

but you had went with wearing his gift—changbin then noticed how uncomfortable you were: constantly rubbing your upper arms, adjusting the shirt 

you finally had enough of the shirt and had bashfully told him that the gift was nice but you didn’t want it + cue you explaining to a confused changbin why

has gotten your favourite brands/ of similar texture to match you (and so he could see you wear HIS clothing)

↳ jisung + sound

jisung might notice you flinching at very sudden and loud noises but didn’t think too much about it

until there were some mini sparkler-fireworks being set off nearby the two of you that caused you to jump (quite literally) into his lap while you two were out on a date

like minho he was worried like: did it actually scare you this much but would cover your ears, whispering sweet nothings into your ear (okay if you had a smaller frame GOOD because his beautiful body would shield you from anything)

had to clarify if it was a phobia or something else and when you had explained he would do thorough research + learn to take in your social cues when you had wanted out in certain situations

had purchased a good quality headphone set just for you

↳ hyunjin + touch 

(i feel like) hyunjin has an inkling that you were not letting on, but won’t push: in a way he knows that you hadn’t like people touching you

but when he finally saw (someone had lightly brushed past you and you ticked, gripping onto him for dear life) for himself, he blurted out the question that has been weighing heavily on his mind  

you had tried your best to explained what it was to you: deep, firm pressure was okay, but brief touches that left residual sensations were a big no-no for you 

you had also thanked him for asking (now it’s hyunjin’s turn to blush) and for being understanding [but you see even if you two didn’t hold hands, hyunjin would appreciate you for who you were, pda or not]

had now made it a point to ask you for permission before giving you big bear hugs <3

↳ felix + light

i think straight-up from when felix visited your house, he’d have seen that it was dim, yet bright enough just so you can still see what’s around you 

just as he was about to switch on the light you had vehemently stopped him, felix would just go “isn’t it a little dark, that isn’t good for your eyes” 

in the end you’d compromise with a small glow lamp, which was effectively affecting you either ways as you revealed about how having too much light elicited a counter productive fight-flight-freeze reflex 

but what felix was caught unaware of was that for him you were willing just to leave a few more lamps on (for this bright sunshine i think i would try my best to tolerate until i can’t) 

he’d make it clear that if you were uncomfortable he could switch of the lamps too + made sure to observe you for cues if you were about to breakdown 

has littered your room with glow lamps/ dim fairy lights so that whenever he could hang out with you it would still be just as romantic/ cuddly (wtfosdkfsd i want a felix too)

↳ seungmin + sound (as a seungmin stan, i would love for him to hold me-)

seungmin (as your desk partner: let’s imagine that) was gentle by nature, so talking to him wasn’t half that bad; but on days classmates hovered round your table, seungmin would realize that you’d excuse yourself hurriedly, earbuds in your hands as you exit the classroom 

he had a (sadly wrong) hunch that you didn’t like crowds; then fast forward to your graduation, seungmin was by you when a huge hoard of classmates congratulated you for doing the highest in class (oh how i wish) that you started getting panicky, eyes darting everywhere while giving half-hearted replies 

you had dashed out mid-question and seungmin ran out after you, finding you hidden in the utility room far away from the graduating classes: he had no idea what to do other than to hold you and shield you from any curious by-lookers 

when he had asked what’s wrong, you had told him in tears about your sensory overload and how the noise from everyone had rubbed off you the wrong way and you didn’t want to breakdown in front of them

(i love seungmin, sorry not sorry~) would take note of this + is the perfect excuse for dates in the library or museum 

↳ jeongin + touch 

while jeongin had a habit of touching everything he sees, you were the opposite: opting to keep your hands to yourself, or in a pocket 

i think it would catch baby jeongin by surprise when you had touched his bed linen (the first time you slept over) and visibly recoiled, as if you had touched something burning 

“is there something wrong with my bedsheet…?” “it’s…the wrong feel…”

would be an absolute sweetheart and sleep on the floor with you if he couldn’t find a spare bedsheet (with the right texture)

in the dark, you told him about what your likes and dislikes when it came to textures and thank heavens jeongin was curious rather than put off and had agreed with you on some cloth feel 

has now become aware of what he buys (or even gets the brands you like) so he could hug/ hold you without making you anxious because of the feel 

“you texted me to come get you. so I’m here.”

↖ navigation: stray kids masterlist || main masterlist

pairing: bf! changbin x gn! reader

↬ tags: non-idol! au, mentions of alcohol/ being drunk, changbin is absolutely the tough love type of man, tough on the outside (his pecs) but a softie for you

summary: changbin’s worry gives way to affection whilst picking you up in your drunken state [this is a self indulgent fic]

word count: 336 words

the very first thing changbin did as soon as he made it to the bus stop was to do a double take at you. 

his heart was racing because one, you were absolutely adorable for thinking of him first and two, why did you look so good even whilst being tipsy till no end? 

“c-changbin? why are you here?” you pouted, eyes hazy. he gazed at your slumped form. 

“binnie?” you called out, a soft hiccup leaving you. 

changbin snapped out of his reverie, hands landing on your waist to hold you steady. 

“dummy. you texted me to come get you. so I’m here.” 

“uh…i did?” you (cutely) frowned, trying to recall. you swayed from left to right and changbin’s grip on you tightened. 

“yeah, you silly. you really did.” pulling you closer to him, his eyes swept across your entire body. 

other than the pinkish hue from the amount of drinks you had that night, you seemed unharmed. 

unharmed and unfocused, it seems. 

you burst out giggling, before shushing yourself, “okay…well!! i don’t remember texting you but i don’t care since you’re here. mmm, my lovely changbin.” 

“you’re wasted. let’s get you home.” 

changbin rolled his eyes, a smirk forming nevertheless at your brazen declaration. you held up your hands to assure him, eyes closed while doing so, “i’m not too drunk. my friends and i only had a few rounds.” 

“yeah, a few rounds is one too many rounds for my lightweight lover.” changbin made a “tsk” sound, instructing you, “i’ll piggy-back you home.” 

he knelt down right in front of you and without hesitation you clambered on, “hehe, my changbin! i love you!”

changbin felt his entire face warm from your confession despite the light breeze caressing his face. hefting you up slightly higher up on his back, he securely hooked his arms around the bottom of your thighs. you nuzzled your face into the juncture of his neck, sighing, “i love you.” 

“ah, what to do with you? you’re simply too cute.”

@ppumeonae-bigvibe ‘s work ; likes and reblogs are appreciated <3

“i love you” sounds like: with SKZ

↖ navigation: stray kids masterlist || main masterlist

pairing: bf! skz x gn! reader

↬ tags: non-idol! au, 

word count: 769 words

“i love you.” - bang chan

he would always mean it every single time and he says it with such sincerity, you’d definitely feel that “i love you” is the best compliment you could ever receive 

this simple 3 worded phrase makes you feel a myriad of emotions 

there may have been times where i’d feel he gets a little upset when you didn’t say it back to him; you now make sure that with every “i love you” from him is a return response of “i love you too” from you

“get home safe.” - lee know 

he finds it difficult to express “i love you” outrightly, yet still surprises you with the other ways he shows love (to me he feels more of a words of affirmation kinda guy) 

he made it crystal clear, that no matter what time you’re out till, he wants you to ping him, especially if he isn’t able to send you all the way to your doorstep

call it gentlemanly, but there’s something about him sending you off at your doorstep that just makes you yearn for him more 

“dummy.” - changbin 

absolutely tough love,, he doesnt mean it and this term is always used affectionately 

you’re excited because he got you your favorite drink? “you dummy (i love the way you smile)” // you purposely clamber onto his lap as he’s doing his work, asking shyly for kisses “dummy! (i love loving you”) 

other variations include “silly goose”, but that aside the moments where he really says “i love you” are those intimate moments that catches you unaware

“i love you as much as ___.” - han

i’d feel that he would make this declaration a competition, out of playful banter and love

pretty creative (and overall funny) with the words he uses such as “the number of atoms in the sky”, “the tiny little bacteria on my pinkie toe”, “as many insects as there is in the world”

definitely there are times where his words knows no bounds, such as “i love you with every breath i take”, “i love you with every single waking thought i have of you”, “i love you to the moon and back” that just makes you (and me) a sappy little mess 

“you make me smile.” - felix 

this beautiful beautiful man has a pretty pretty smile and i’d think this is an equivalent of “i love you” 

for all the instances (whether through text, over a call or together) that he just beams at you knowingly, yeah those are truly the times where he falls in love with you a little bit more

he cherishes you so much that he can’t help but grin at how lovely you are // can you imagine he’s over a call then he just pauses mid sentence to tell you how much he is smiling because he loves you ? GAHHH 

“i got this for you.” - hyunjin 

seems like the material gifting kinda guy, and his little gifts range from food to clothing to anything you set your eyes on 

he likes the way you light up when you receive a surprise from him,, because he knows you aren’t the type to actively ask for gifts he revels in the fact that you try to reject it but end up cherishing his gift 

most commonly he’d get food to cheer you up/ give you strength, sometimes it can be plushies just because they remind him of you 

“i was thinking of you.” - seungmin 

having been in his mind all day? hot

(maybe it’s just me but) when he texts you/ tells you, it’s heartwarming to know that someone is thinking of you and most definitely missing you at that point and to have said it (and he says it with such soulful eyes you’d think this little puppy has separation anxiety) 

most definitely thinks about you a lot, whether you’re eating well, if you’re warm, if you’re having a good day and more ! so wholesome 

“hugs and kisses~” - I.N 

this would most likely be over text that he types it out, as a means to end the conversation when in reality he just wants to talk to you forever and ever 

but say, if you were together with him, he’d wrap you in a tight hug and not let you go (don’t let him go too, because there’s only one of him in this world)

so hearing this signature ending from him also signifies that he’s gonna be gone for a while, but not for long because he wants to spend time with you

@ppumeonae-bigvibe​ ‘s work ; likes and reblogs are appreciated <3

We Are Liars

Pairing: rich college student! Changbin x college student reader

Warning: Flufffffff

Premise: He needed an out of his mothers attempts to set him up. Your summer schedule was empty. Maybe him asking you to be his fake girlfriend wasn't the worst idea. It did make a lot of sense. But then again it was too easy to say yes...

Word count: 4.7 K

Authors notes: Tada! I've been very overtired recently so please forgive the errors. I'll go back to fix them but for now I wanted you to have our lovely Changbin!

SKZ Masterlist

“Every time I go back home my mother incessantly tries to set me up with her friends daughters, even their nieces. No matter how many times I tell her that I want to find love on my own, she just still pushes. I was so tired of it, I just blurted out I have a girlfriend.”

He looked tired, honestly. Him asking you out to a late night coffee run, you weren’t expecting to meet up with him looking so exhausted. He was always busy and the others always told him he looked tired but this seemed different, but you guessed this made sense now.

You sip your coffe nodding along to his words, setting it down on the metal table, leaning back to give him your full attention. “Ok, well why me?”

“She knows of you in our friend circle, but she’s never met you or seen us together. I panicked and you were the first person I thought of. Being friends already I figured it’d be the easiest sell.” 

The antsy leg bounces unde the table weren’t lost on you. Agitation wouldn’t be the right word for the look hardened on his face. You could see it clear as day though, he wasn’t one to mask his feelings or insecurities. 

“Fair enough.” Because it did make sense to some extent. If it was one of the other girls that hung around occasionally, you wouldn’t bet money on their acting abilities. Or honestly their inability to not have a crush on him. Most of them, as annoying as they were, were just around clinging like flies to hot trash. Trying almost anything to get the boys to notice him, Changbin being the easiest sell as he was the richest friend in the group. Or at least he had the richest parents, you had pointed out once to the caddy bunch. They made some comment about being the only male in the family and blah blah blah. You had walked away without saying anything at that point, you didn’t see a point in listening anymore.

“She started asking me all these questions about how we met, so I just told her we met through Minho, which is the truth, but then she demanded for me to bring you home this summer. So now I’m sitting in a deep dark whole that I dug for myself that I’m really hoping you’d help me out of…I’ll even pay you for it…” His eyes squeeze shut, creating crows feet around them, hands coming up in a praying nature, bottom lip coming out in a pout. Putting on his best pitiful show.

He really didn’t need to beg so hard, but it was cute. “Ok. I’ll help.”

“You’ll come home with me?” He sounded almost shocked, did he really think you’d protest to helping a friend?

“Yea. No one should be forced into anything. I feel bad enough for you.” You laugh at him, keeping a light air around you. You did feel bad for him, relationships were hard already but add on a pressure cooker of a mother and who knows what someone would be willing to do to release it.

Knowing Changbin and being close to Changbin were two different things. You had hung out within groups but never alone, until tonight. However, you had never felt uncomfortable around him or unsettled. It seemed easy enough, and if you had to act with PDA, it definitely didn’t help that he was attractive. Not someone you’d usually find yourself drawn to, but maybe you’d get to see a new side to the rich, muscle man.

“Seriously?!” His eyes light up, as he reaches his hand across the table to yours. “Thank you, thank you, so much. I’ll definitely repay you for everything!”

“However.” You try to mask your smile behind a mask of seriousness. “We are going to have to set up boundaries, those of PDA.” 

You use your head to gesture to his large hands still enveloping your smaller one. Not that you had a real problem with it, it was warm in the cool night air.

He chuckles nervously, “Yea, we don’t want anyone feeling uncomfortable…”, pulling his hands back from you.

“That goes both ways.” You genuine smile returning. “How are you generally in relationships and around your friends and parents?”

Finding out the logistics before hand would be a better idea than going in blinde. Especially as your normal reaction to things is keeping space between you and other people. Be that mentally or physically. You don’t want to recoil suddenly if he went to hold you hand infront of his parents. That would put an end to your show rather quickly.

“Hm-” He stares off, slightly behind you in contemplation. “Well I would say I am slightly on the clingier side. I like to hold hands, cuddling or just be touching in general. I’m very open to letting everyone know I’m with someone, I tend to be possessive in that sense. Normally I’d use pet names too. But i’ve never brought someone home so I’m not really sure how I’d be. My guess would be probably the same.”

You mull over his words carefully, factoring in your ability to act with him. 

“Ok, Well I’m comfortable with the PDA level. I can accept clingy.” You coo at him. Who knew muscles had such a cute needy side. “Do you have a pet name you want to be called or can I wing it?”

“You can wing it. I don’t mind, I tend to use baby for my partners.”

“Baby it is.” You stand up, grabbing your coffee off the table. “Well shall we go create some evidence?” 

“Evidence?” He eyes you suspiciously. 

“Yep. Lets take some photos of us, plus I can use one as my lockscreen” 

“That’s a cute idea! I want one too.” He exclaims clambering to his feet to join you in your walk down the street. He catches up with you rather quickly, which doesnt surprise you at all. But his next words do catch you off guard. “Should we practice?” 

“Practice?”

His hand slides down your exposed wrist, fingers slotting between yours to intertwine your hands. Lifting your joined hands up for you to get a good view of them.

“Practice.” Something about that look he gives you makes you want to wipe that smirk off his face. If he thinks he can beat you in the cheekiness department, he is utterly wrong. 

“Then how about kissing? Do we ignore that or should we practice?” 

The innocence in your voice is lost behind the sounds of him chocking, followed by your hysterical laughing. Neither of you letting go of eachother, creating fake memories for the trip to come.

🌊☀️🌊☀️

“Nervous?”

“Yes and no.” You explain. “On one hand if it doesn’t go well, its not the end of the world because were not actually together. On the other, it’ll be a really awkward homecoming for you if this doesn’t work.”

“Fair points. Just be yourself, with a little bit of me.” 

You roll your eyes at him, turning to look out the window. The drive was 4 hours overall, which you had spent 3 hours just talking and getting to know eachother, flushing out details like; how long have you been official, were exactly you met, first dates, etc. Obvious questions anyone might ask. Somehow you started talking about your childhoods and siblings, turning to various ex’s. Leading you to mention that your last relationship failed because of toxicity, but he allowed you to ghost over it. Not wanting to dwell or talk about it. You may be having to fake being vulnerable, but there was no way you’d actually show it now.

8 minutes left of your journey in the comfort of his slightly sporty highly expensive car with your own personal chauffeur, 4 hours was a breeze. 

And just like you assumed, when he pulled up to the beach house his parents and sister were waiting out front for the two of you. Their eagerness to meet you was overwhelming but you held it together well. Open arms for hugging, warm welcomes and benign ushered inside to chat about the detaisl they were dying to know. 

How remarkably easy it was to walk around on a tour with his hand in yours, luggage moved to your shared room for the nights you’ll be staying. His mother making a fuss about you two needing to share a bed because no matter where she would set up Changbin she knew her son would sneak back to you. Remarks she made, making you turn an eye to his, although he dodged eye contact very well. 

Physical contact you both had made sure you were accustomed to, so even without thinking you would seek eachother out. Small kisses here and there, pecks on the cheek or forehead. His favourite place to keep his hand you found was on your lower back. So trip through the small town with his mother, also meant a large amount of teasing from her. His need to hold onto you continuously, she’d laugh at, pester him about being possessive and smitten with you. 

Which is exactly what you both had planned. So shockingly convincing you were, it became comfortable. Easy. His warmth was contagious. 

Not only his, but his whole family. From baking in the kitchen with his mother, to discussing with his dad about his favourite starwars movie in the franchise, to going out on lunch dates with his older sister talking about her drama filled work place and the guy she had a crush on in the office. 

Watching him interacting with his family on calm nights like this, started making you think of things that were no longer possible. What it would be like to have someone like him love you, have his family love you.

Thinking back to last summer, the idea of dating again seemed like eons away. Leaving one toxic relationship behind you didn’t want to let yourself become that comfortable again. Setting yourself away on a shelf, adorned with forgotten trinkets of other peoples pasts. 

Maybe that’s why you didn’t know how to act in a healthy relationship. Letting him set up his boundaries and agreeing with them meant he wouldn’t know that you were broken in a way. The unrelenting bluntness and over communication made some relationships weaker, but on another hand made many stronger. 

Minho knew everything you went through with your ex, his uncompromising support for you to make your own choices, but also his need to scold you when you were being careless flourished your mere ‘childhood friends’ title to best friends. Over the years, no matter what friends you each made he kept your secrets adn you kept his. 

But maybe it was time to share them with someone new. You’d never felt so welcome and at home with a partner before. It would be easy to get swept away by his parents and sister, swept out to sea from high tide, until when? You’d find yourself buried under the think sand, suffocating to feel this love again? 

In this moment, you wouldnt let yourself dwell on anything. 

A ping from a phone set down next to you grabs your attention. Changbins screen lights up with text notification. 

“My love,” You call out, catching his attention. “Your friend messaged you about tonight.” 

He doesnt hesitate in bounding over to you, settling down next to you, arm resting behind you on the back of the couch. He unlocks his phone, opening the text nodding at it before angling the phone for you to see. 

You read it over quickly, before his mother observes “Are you two planning to go out tonight?” 

“Just him” You smile at her, but continue explaining as she looks a little irritated with her son. “He’s going to have a drink with his old friends while I take advantage of the jacuzzi tub in his bathroom.”

“She’s been eyeing it for a while now.” He leans over to land a gentle kiss on your temple, a soft smile forms on your face. 

“Alright…” She says unsure, but drops it nevertheless. 

🌊☀️🌊☀️

They’d been out for a few hours now, going to their favourite club when they were younger. It was a little closer to town, so they had carpooled together. You had waved at them when they left, and he remembers thinking how at ease he would be if this relationship were real. 

Now he’s many drinks in, and a few of them are tipsier then others. Him being one of the drunker ones.

“So when are we gonna meet this girlfriend of yours Bin?” His friend remarks, raising his voice to be heard over the loud music playing. 

“How bout right now.” He shouts back, struggling to pull out his phone from his back pocket whilst still sitting on it. 

“Man it’s 3 in the morning, you think she’s gonna be awake?” His other friend leans closer to him, making sure he doesn’t fall off his chair as he fights his jeans.

“Mhm!” Finally managing to rescue his phone from its compounds he carefully calls your num ber. It only takes a few rings before it connects. He smirks to himself, he knew you’d be awake. 

“BABY!” Shouts gleefully into the phone.

An airy chuckle comes through the receiver. 

“Yes my love?” Your warm sound already making him feel sleepy.

“Would you be able to pick me up from the club? I don wanna take a taxi.” His words slightly slur, but he fights through the fog of the alcohol. A pout forms on his lips, one he forgets that you can’t see.

“Where are your keys?”

“On my gym bag” He sings, knowing he’s won. 

“Do you want me to come get you now?” 

“Yesssss pleassssssse” Now there’s no hiding his sleepiness. 

“Be there soon.”

“Yay!” Cheering he hangs up, turning to his friends.

“There you go! Now you’ll get to see how beautiful and amazing she is.” Turning serious. “Now none of you go falling for her, she’s taken”

He doesn’t wait for them to respond, instead he clambers to his feet to push his way through the crowd to make it outside. You were coming to get him, he wanted to be there. He was excited to see you again, even though it hadn’t been that long since he left you behind he had already begun to miss you the moment they drove away.

His friends follow him through the mass, making sure he doesn’t stumble too far to hurt himself. Or anyone else for that matter.

His body vibrates in impatience and delight when he sees his car pulling up.

“BABY! You’re here.” He shouts gleefully as he slings himself onto you in a too tight embrace as soon as you step up on the curb. He pulls back just to pout at you and look down at your clothes. “But why do you have to look so cute?”

You had dropped your book and slipped into the closest things you could find, that wasn’t your pjs, which at the time you had grabbed one of his shirt’s and a pair of your jean shorts. Your hair in a messy ponytail tail with your glasses still on your face, you couldn’t help but smile at his cuteness.

Ruffling his hair you coo at him “cmon you drunk, lets get you home.”

“Here, we can help.” Two of his friends attempt to pry him off of you and usher him into the car.

“I want bed and cuddles” he whines as you break contact. 

“You know what would get you bed and cuddles faster? If you weren’t so drunk” you laugh at his plight. 

“Hi y/n, I’m Wooyoung.” A hand comes out for you to shake. “Sorry for the lousy first meeting.”

“Honestly it’s ok, it’s still nice to meet you Wooyoung”

The gir standing behind himl snubs her nose at you but you pay her no mind as the other two guys come round the car also giving their introductions, to then point out the female and drop her name. You only nod at her.

You hear a scuffle behind you as changbin starts to re-emerge from his seat, trying to make another break for you. The males run round to stop him. 

Heels click next to you. Something grateing about the voice makes your skin feel icky. “He let’s you drive his car.” 

That was definitely a statement, not a question. But still you felt a tug to answer.

“Sometimes.” You smile watching the men fight, before turning to her “have a good night”

“Changbin! If you want bed and cuddles you need to get into the car.” You tell him sternly.

He gives you a goofy smile before giving a “goodnight guys” and disappearing into the car.

“Have a good night y/n, it was nice meeting you again.”

“You guys as well. Hopefully I’ll see you soon.” A smile once again before climbing into the drivers seat and heading towards the beach house.

🌊☀️🌊☀️

“Remind me not to drink that much again.” Changbin groans, rolling over holding his head in pain. 

“I don’t know, you were pretty cute.” You mock contemplation, tapping your chin with your finger in consideration. Sitting on the edge of your shared bed, you’re already dressed and ready for the day. You had graciously let him sleep in a little longer before waking him up.

“I was what?” He shoots you a look from his hiding spot. 

“You heard me. If I had known you were like that I would have drank with you guys more often.” The smirk on your face might as well be permanently plastered there. This was something you weren’t going to forget easily. 

“What did I do?”

You don’t answer, walking across the room to pick up his phone. You unlock it, clicking on the video that Wooyoung sent him before tossing it onto the bed next to him. He scrambles to reach it, sitting up to watch carefully. Forgetting about the pain he was just in.

“Did I actually demand bed and cuddles from you?” 

“The whole drive home.” You laugh evilly, heading out the door. “Now get dressed my love, your mother said brunch is ready.” 

You hear a muffled mumble from behind you, but you don’t bother to check on it. You head down for food.

Halfway through food, he gets a call. Quickly leaving to answer it, leaving you and his mother and sister to continue eating and chatting. It doesn’t take him long to return. Hand on your back, but talking to the group. 

“Dad wants me to go with him to the office today.” He sighs dejectively. He eyes you meekly, you’re unsure if he’s upset because of the hangover or he wanted to stay with you. You didn’t do much throughout the day anyways. You liked reading while listening to the waves, sometimes zoning out at the view even. 

“Oh ok, I’ll stay here and help with the set up for tonight.” You smile up at him. Purposefully setting the question aside for later when it would be just the two of you again. 

The at end summer party his family threw every year was tonight. They invited all their friends and their families to it. Changbin mentioned he hated it the most as that’s when his mother would stop her subtle hints at setting him up and blatantly attempt to arrange dates for him. This time thankfully he had you, so he could actually enjoy the night.

“Are you sure?” His puppy dog pout comes back, you can’t help but laugh, reaching up to kiss him ont he cheek in hopes of cheering up.

“I’d love to have her help.” His mother sings from the other side of the table. “We’ll be alright.”

“I can take her shopping later to pick out a dress for tonight!” His sister speaks up.

“Noona, you don’t have to.” He tries to derail.

“Of course I dont, but I want to spend some quality time with my sister-in-law!” She squeaks happily, putting on an overdramatic show just to annoy her brother. 

“Upgraded already?” Changbin chimes, giving you a pointed look. “Did you put my family under a spell or something? Why do they love you so much?” 

Both of you break into matching smiles. He gives you a quick peck on the lips, before turning to leave the room.

Your smile doesn’t recede when you watch his back as he leaves, turning back to food you find his sister and his mother beaming at you. 

Excited giggles and chatter from the other two about the party when they decide to stop staring at you.

🌊☀️🌊☀️

“Are you positive that this is necessary?” You call out from the dressing room. 

You had tried on countless dresses, creating your own fashion show when you’d unveil them to her. But each time them seeming not quite right to either of you. 

“You can’t wear my brothers shirts forever.” She calls back.

“Says you.” You mumble, still loud enough for her to hear. You can make out her faint laughter through the door. 

“Ok, last one then we’ll head home.” You dont react in time to her flinging the bottom of a dress over your door onto your head. You can’t stop yourself from outright laughing at her eagerness.

“Fine.” 

Hanging the dress up on the hook you can now take a moment to look at it. A periwinkle empire waist full length dress, full flowy skirt bottom, with a shimmer of silver over the thin strap. Huh, something about this one pulls you in. You don’t realize your staring at it for so long until you hear her ask.

“Is it on?” 

“Uh, one more minute.” 

You slide the soft over your skin, the complimenting colour to you skin tone giving you a slight glow. Somehow out of the million dress you’ve tried on this one seems to fit perfectly. The zipper glides up, creating a snug but comfortable fit. 

“Ready!” You call out.

Stepping out you don’t wait to look at her reaction. Spinning around to look at yourself in the mirror, your eyes widen.

“This one.” You sigh.

“This one.” She smiles at you in the reflection.

🌊☀️🌊☀️

“You look….” He scans the dress, to your hair and makeup. A light glow on your skin, his sister insisted on. Spending the evening getting ready with her allowed you to surprise him with the look for tonight. “...amazing,”

“Thank you. You’re looking very handsome in this look. I think I like it.” You tease, eyeing him up and down dramatically. And he did, the black slacks and white button up loosley buttoned was definitely a good look for him. Slightly snug in all the right places, biceps and thighs to be exact. Both equally impressive. 

“Oh we like it hm?” He teases back. Maye you should reevaluate your ‘type’.

“Mm, might need to request we go to parties like this more often.” You laugh at the idea.

“Then lets get this party over with and I’m all yours to stare at.” His chuckle comes out genuine as he grabs your hand and leads you down the stairs.

When entering the party area Wooyoung makes himself known to the two of you. Hurriedly you make your way over, joining the large group there. Introductions of more of their oldtime friends turns to introductions to uncles and aunts and other family friends and at one point you think your head is about to start spinning with how many people you’ve just met in such a short time. 

Even then, the smile on your face never wavers. Nor does his. 

Eventually you find yourself in a conversation with his dad on the couch with an uncle of his and a family friend. You weren’t a huge fan of heels so you ending up opting to sit down with his father as he continued talking to his friends.

But like the whole trip here, your time without him was short. Your phone vibrates in your hand.

You give him a cheeky smirk before leaning over to tell his father where you were going and excusing yourseslf. You meet eachother at the back door. Heels left behind on the porch, hands intertwined you begin walking down the beach towards the water.

“Couldn’t stay away huh?” You tease, the breeze off the water feeling like bliss through your hair. It was starting to get a little too warm in the crowded house. 

“You seemed to be having fun though, talking to other people…” You catch the accusation in his words.

“Jealous of your own dad?” You pry farther. 

“Yes. Jealous of anyone who gets to spend time with you.” Once again his infamous pout appears. This pout would be the death of you. 

The cutest muscle man you’d ever seen. One you’d been allowed to see close up and personal for what feels like forever but also only a moment in time. 

“Confession time” He stills your walk when you reach the waters edge.

“I think I’ve been forgetting that all of this is fake.” He holds up your hands to look at them, and how perfectly they fit together. Slowly he lets go, dropping them and takes a step away. 

You take a deep breath, before taking a few steps into the cool night water. Honesty and communication had always been your thing, the two of you. Easy reading others and their needs but also able to talk about what you wanted openly. Maybe that’s what made this work.

“You’re not the only one.” You admit, feeling the water rise and fall with the ebbing tide.

“What do we do?” He whispers, you turn to face him still on the beach. “I don’t know if I can go back….. I don’t want to go back.”

“Then, it sounds like we only have one option.” It all made sense, but then again nothing made sense. You didn’t have to think with Changbin, you just had to be. “We stop lying. Stop pretending. We stop faking.” 

He takes hesitant steps into the water. Standing in front of you. “From now on, its real? Every moment, every kiss, every word, every touch. All real?”

Letting his words sink you, you think about what he’s asking.

“It’s already been real for me.”

You see the realization dawn on him. Cups your face and kisses you. Kisses you for all the kisses that contained the lies you told together. 

“And I’ll be taking my payment in kisses please.” You manage between an onslaught of kisses and giggles. His arms wrapping around you keeping you close to him, the light in his eyes igniting into something more mischievous.

“I can think of another way for payment if you’ll accept it.” 

You pretend to mull it over before hungrily kissing him, your tongue slipping into his mouth. A moan esapes him when you push him further to then pull away. 

“From you? Payment accepted.” You give him a peck before pushing against his chest and running up the beach towards the house. Hell catch up quickly, you know that for a fact, but you also know he knows exactly where you’re headed. To his bedroom. The first night of you being together, no longer liars but two people loving eachother. 

In the warmth of the truth. 

SKZ Masterlist

Changbin Icons

Please like/reblog if you use/save 💖

Por favor,dale like/reblog si guardas o usas alguno 💖

Stray Kids “MIROH” M/V

remember when chan said skz can’t do a sexy concept yet since jeongin is still too young and there you have them now flashing their abs and chilling in crop tops smh literally all men do is lie

ice cream—

written by: 🥺

genre: fluff

warnings: swearing

summary: maybe being helpful does have it's benefits.

thank you again to @mrsunshine999 for requesting this, you always come up with the best prompts!!

+++

you would regard yourself as the helpful type, always willing to aid others who are in need. even if that means leaving the comfort of your bed late at night to buy ice cream for your sister.

what your helpfulness does not extend to, however, is willingly giving said ice cream (the last one in the store) to a stranger.

a handsome stranger, perhaps, but thats besides the point.

he smiles sheepishly. "uh, hi."

"hi," you deadpan, refusing to pull your hand away from the tub, despite how cold your fingers feel. already.

"nice pajamas."

you glance down at the clothes you picked out at random - cookie monster pajama pants and a bright orange hoodie. admittedly not the best combination but, hey, you're at the store, not a fashion show.

"thanks. give me the ice cream."

"sorry, but i have 7 hungry men at home and i lost a bet."

"i have a sick sister at home. she's... going to die."

he raises an eyebrow. "if you don't get her this ice cream?"

"yes." the word slips out of your mouth before you can stop it. the lie is incredibly obvious, but you still hope that he either falls for it or gives up. "it's her dying wish."

unfortunately, he is neither stupid nor cooperative. "strawberry ice cream. her dying wish... sure." his grip on the tub tightens, biceps flexing just slightly. you try not to focus on that detail. "look, i'm sorry about your sister, but there's another store, like, 10 minutes away."

you gesture to your body. "and you expect me to go out in the cold like this?"

"your fashion choice, dude, not mine."

groaning, you reluctantly pull your hand away. absolutely not because you're giving in, but because in such thin clothes, the cold of the freezer is harder to withstand.

"look, dude," you say mockingly, "can you just go to the other store instead? please just give me the ice cream, i'm sick of this."

seemingly considering your offer, he licks his lips and allows his hand to fall to his side. just as you think you've won, the corners of his lips lift into a smirk. "fine, i'll give you the icecream."

"oh, thank fu-"

he grabs your wrist as you reach back into the freezer, and you cut yourself off in shock. "on one condition."

"and that is...?"

the smirk remains, but his eyes fall to his feet. "if i give you this, will you let me buy you ice cream another day?"

your eyes widen. did he just... no. what the fuck?

cheeks burning, and the room feeling hotter than ever, you clear your throat. "are you... are you blackmailing me?"

"no!" he exclaims, releasing his grip on your wrist, which you had previously forgotten about. "i'm trying to hit on you."

"right now? like, when i'm standing in my pajamas and being stubborn about ice cream?"

he nods.

"that is an awful deal. for you."

he shrugs. "not if i get to take a cute stranger on a date."

"oh..." you consider your options. he may have been an inconvenience at first, but he is attractive, and it means double ice-cream for the price of one, so— "sure, i'll do it."

a blinding smile takes over his features. "i'm changbin."

"y/n."

"can i... can i have your number? you know, to contact you," changbin says.

"i thought you'd never ask."

you arrive home roughly 15 minutes later. when you hand your sister the ice cream and she doesn't even bother to thank you, you can't find it in yourself to care.

maybe being helpful does have its benefits. the benefits, in question, being ice cream. definitely not going on a date with a pretty boy, right?