Genre: Romance, Idol AU, Drama, Comedy, Angst, Soulmate AU (Began in chapter 5), Slow burn (ended)
Chapter Warning(s): Teenager Jimin and MC. Angst if you squint. Fluff. Bed? Bed. Cuddles? Cuddles. Mentions of a car accident (the MC). EDITED! (woah)
Legend: English / Korean
POV: 3rd Person
Wordcount: 4.4k
A/N: HELLO WORLD! lol (flashback to Bon Voyage, anyone? hahaha) I’ve returned with the Part One finale of The Companion trilogy! Please do read the Author’s Note at the end to know more about the future plans of this series.
<nine | masterlist | Part two: The Dreamstate Memories >
Y/n woke up with the sun peering through the blinds and the feeling of fingertips lightly running through her scalp and hair. Groggily tilting her head up, the fingertips stopped with its motion and she was met with the slightly swollen eyes of Jimin. His milk chocolate brown eyes staring at her. Was she still in the Dreamstate? She wondered as she abruptly sat on the bed. The room was small telling her that she was very much awake and not in the Dreamstate.
"Good morning," Jimin croaked. He sits up too and stretches his arms, joints popping loudly as he did. As he cracked his neck to relieve himself, Y/n stared at his features. It wasn't that she wanted to, but it was as if her mind was telling her that it was familiar. Like she's seen it countless times even though it was the first time she's ever witnessed the sight.
Jimin stared back at her after rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He mirrored her, staring at all his features once more as he did while she was sleeping.
"You look like you had a good sleep," he remarked with a soft smile
"I guess you can say that," she says as she snapped out of her reverie "I'm hungry"
"Yoongi hyung or Jin hyung are probably already in the main house," he says, pulling out his phone from under the pillow to check the time. "It's almost noon," he informs her and she nods.
"Let me change, then let's go to the main house," Jimin nods back at her as she slowly rises from the bed to walk out of the door heading to the washroom.
Jimin falls back on the bed, arms wide open with a wide grin on his face.
'Almost,' he thinks to himself, 'Almost there, Jimin. Just a little more,'
As Jimin laid on the bed, he listened to the sound of Y/n grabbing her things as she headed to the bathroom to shower. Sitting up, he took the collar of his shirt from his back not knowing that Y/N came back to the room, already done washing up. She stood in the doorway staring at Jimin's shirtless figure, eyes landing on his collar bone down to his chest and the 'NEVERMIND' tattoo on his side, down the soft skin of his stomach and before she could go any further, Jimin felt her presence as he reached for one of his clean shirts that was folded on a nearby chair.
"Come on," Jimin stood in front of her with his palm facing up for her to take. Y/n stared at his hand, her mouth agape in shock, whereas Jimin did it on purpose. Trying to test if she was going to break the rules he laid out, but Y/n slid her hand in his without another word and they walked to the main house together for lunch.
~~~~~^^^~~~~~
Y/n watched from the front porch of the main house as the seven men played foot volleyball in the rain. Part of her was worried for all seven of them, mainly Jimin. She didn't want him to catch a cold especially with the virus and the pandemic happening. As the game ended, the three youngest members stayed behind throwing the ball to the basketball hoop with one hand.
"This can't be good," She muttered to herself as she watched them take turns. To her surprise, Jimin was the first to score and was slowly headed off. Taehyung scored not long after and just as they were walking away Jungkook got to shoot the ball in the hoop, but judging by the sound of JImin's laughter and Taehyung's deep voice yelling at Jungkook from the pool area she knew that they were telling him to do it again because their backs were turned. Jimin was sitting on the pool deck when he turned towards his best friend and said "She remembers me when she wakes up,"
"What makes you say that?" Taehyung asks
"She has that look in her face, asif she wants to ask me so many questions but she gets this realization that she's awake and not in the Dreamstate. Looks like the myth is true,"
"What are you gonna do then?" Taehyung asks "We're going to be busy with preparing the Permission to dance promotion and the concerts, if we get the chance. You won't have a lot of time. Not to mention the enlistment,"
"I'll have to be flexible with the time I have left," he sighs "Tell the others what I've told you so they wouldn't think we're being weird. I'll tell her after the tour ends. I can't make her wait for too long, she'll wonder why I'm stalling and eventually, she'll run out of patience and questions. And when she does, I'm gonna be lost for words,"
"It's your choice, man," Taehyung puts a hand on his friend's shoulder to comfort him "just remember; be slow, but not too slow nor too fast. Pacing is the key. Also, we all think it's about time you call her parents in case shit hits the fan,"
"I'll think about it," he nods just in time to witness Jungkook really shoot the ball into the hoop.
As they make their way back to their rooms to wash up, Jimin finds Y/n on the sofa reading a book.
"Hyung said they're preparing dinner and that we should head there in a bit,"
Y/n looks up from the book to see him drenched, more drenched than his state an hour ago she was watching. The way he looked reminded her of something she swore she's seen somewhere before, but instead of overthinking she nods her head and tries her best to take her eyes away from Jimin's body, which was losing more and more clothing as he reached the bathroom.
'Good God, have mercy on me' she muttered a tiny prayer, hoping Jimin didn't hear her.
~~~~^^^~~~~
''How do you plan on telling her that you're soulmates?'' Hoseok asks Jimin as they watch the beef carousel.
''I'm still thinking about it,'' he says as they flip the beef ''I plan on telling her after the LA tour, but specifically... I'm not sure. Should I be preparing dinner at home or should we just go out and eat. Either way, if she rejects me it's almost as if she doesn't want anything to do with me anymore,''
''Did Taehyung tell you about our suggestion?'' Hobi asked
''To call her parents?'' Jimin sighed as he looked at the glass wall separating them, she was in the gameroom with Taehyung so it was safe to talk about her ''Yeah, I will on our last night at the house where I scared you. I might ask Namjoon hyung for help,''
Hobi nods, wishing he was fluent in English so he could help out his little brother.
''How do you think she's going to react to it?'' Jimin asks after a beat.
''Aren't you the only one who knows the answer to that, Jimin-ah?'' Hobi chuckles ''You've spent more time with her than you did with us,''
''But she lost her memories, hyung,'' he reasoned. ''How am I supposed to tell someone what's changed because of an accident?!'
''What have you been doing for the last few months then huh?'' Hoseok asks as he takes the cooked meat off of the grill and onto a plate he was holding.
''You've had her by your side for the past few months and you didn't even try to get to know her; is she different now compared to the one you grew up with in the Dreamstate? You're trying to tell me you've been wasting time?''
''I haven't been wasting time,' he sighs. 'It's just hard to understand her. Her mood swings are crazy. This vacation is the only time that I've seen her true personality,''
''That's probably because you've been closer to each other or maybe because you finally made your presence known in the Dreamstate,''
''Maybe,''Jimin shrugged taking out another grilled beef
''Try to think of another way of telling her you're soulmates,'' Hobi suggested. ''Not dinner, definitely not breakfast. That's gonna be a recipe for disaster to ruin her day the very second she opens her eyes. And don't just do sweet things to her in the Dreamstate, do them in reality too. It's your most powerful weapon.''
''What is?'' Jimin asked in confusion
Hobi turned to him with a cute expression and pinched Jimin's cheek ''You're cuteness and your appeal. ARMYs didn't call it the Jimin Effect for nothing.''
''Hey!'' Jimin exclaimed as Hobi went back in the dining room and kitchen of the main house giggling as he carried the second plate.
During dinner, Y/n looked at the man that sat in front of her and his chopsticks retreating to his bowl to feed himself. Jimin put two slices of beef tenderloin from his bowl to hers after he saw that she already had all of her beef. He took four slices for himself but he couldn't stand to see the love of his life control herself around the seven of them, especially around food, that was the last thing he wanted to witness.
Y/n felt shy knowing very well that they all witnessed Jimin's actions, in return Y/n put the tiny Gat Kimchi she had rolled into a small circle and put it on Jimin's spoon just as he was about to take a bite. Jimin mirrored her reaction from earlier; wide eyes, mouth agape and spoon hanging halfway between the bowl and his mouth.
"Thanks,"he says
"Mhmm," she nods "Thanks too," Jimin smiles at his bowl during the little interaction. He wasn't able to help himself. Y/n has done it a million times before in the Dreamstate, it was something that made him warm all over. His soulmate's love and care, but she doesn't know that she's done it before. She just wanted to return the kindness he gave her. The other members watched the exchange in their peripheral vision, but didn't make a comment about it and instead continued eating.
Right before bedtime, Jimin spotted Taehyung, Jin and Hobi playing with fireworks and felt left out.
"Come on," Hobi says, not giving up on the younger man "Let's go!"
"Hold on, lemme go get Y/n"
"Isn't she afraid of fireworks?" Hobi asks
"As far as I know she isn't," he turns back to Hobi before running to their room. Once he reached her, he found Y/n sitting on the edge of the bed brushing her damp hair wearing a pair of shorts and his oversized t-shirt.
"I ran out of clothes," she states "I hope you don't mind,"
"It's fine," Jimin's voice cracked, clearing his throat as he holds out his hand to her.
"You're doing that a lot often lately," she points out after staring at his hand then back at his face.
"What?" He questions
"The hand thing, as if you're asking me to take your hand and dance with you"
"It's a habit, I guess," he chuckles nervously "Let's go,"
The night before they went back to Seoul:
Before Y/n was asked by all the members to stay away from the kitchen, Jimin took it as an opportunity to ask her to walk around the property, with their security hovering nearby of course.
“Are you enjoying your stay so far?” Jimin asks as he directs the flashlight on the path they were walking on. Y/n noticed that it was headed towards the back of the estate closer to where the woods were.
“I am, I’ve never been to an area surrounded by nature before,” she says with a smile. Y/n’s Hangul was getting better the more time she spent with the members and the staff. Especially their translators who helped a lot during their free time. Jimin on the other hand was trying his very best to fight the burnout from studying especially since he and Taehyung just finished taking their Master’s.
“Where are we headed?” Y/n quizzed, testing Jimin. He smiled then pointed his flashlight at the house near the trees.
“There” he says before switching to satoori “I saw it yesterday and got curious,”
“So you decided to take me instead of Jungkook?”
“The kid’s too busy with his pup. So are the other members,”
“Why do I feel like you’re about to start a ritual in an abandoned house and use me as your sacrifice?” Jimin stared at her, completely lost with what she said. He chuckled “What?”
“You!” she said, pouting “You’re gonna kill me there.” Jimin was in stitches as she explained her imagination to him.
“Why are you suddenly getting that idea?” he started once he finally got the chance to catch his breath “Why in the world would I kill you?” Y/n just stared at him and waited until he realized she was scared.
“Are you scared?” he finally asks with a soft smile on his lips
“Dude, there could be ghosts there!”
“Aish,” he stopped himself from cursing “Ghosts don’t exist, jagiya. And even if they did, I’m right here! I’ll save you!
Come on,” he lightly pulled on her arm to her if she’d budge, but she was frozen in place. Scratching the back of his head he threads his fingers into hers and holds her hand as tight as he could without hurting her “I promise I won’t let go of you, and I promise that I’m not going to leave you or scare you, that’s what did to Hobi hyung,” Y/n stared at him in disbelief.
“Why would you do that to him?” she asks “You know know he gets scared and startled easily,”
“It’s been a while since I pulled a prank on one of them, Hobi hyung was just the perfect target,” he smiles, tugging her hand gently towards him as he slowly makes steps towards the house, “Come on, I won’t bite,”
“But it’s too dark,” she complained “Can’t we do this in the morning?”
“We can’t because it might rain again tomorrow,” he wraps his other hand around the one that was already holding her hand, with the lanyard of the flashlight around his wrist making the flashlight illuminate the ground by their feet. “I promise I’ll protect you, you don’t have to be afraid. We both have flashlights, the security team is with us and they have flashlights too. You’re safe here with me,” he whispers as his free hand holds the side of her face, thumb and index finger lightly pinching and playfully tugging on her earlobe. She doesn’t remember if Jimin has ever made a promise to her since her move to Seoul, but one thing was for sure, she trusted him wholeheartedly and with that she slowly nodded her head and let Jimin lead the way as they walked up the hill behind the estate.
Walking through the door of the abandoned house, Jimin touches the wall beside the door flipping on a switch that lit up the living room area of the house.
“It’s not renovated,” Y/n pointed out to which Jimin nodded “Why is there electricity?”
“I asked the director and producers about it,” he says as they look around the outdated house that seemed to be still stuck in the early 2000s “They said that it didn’t sound like a good idea to put us in houses that were too far away from each other like how it was for In the Soop Season 1. So they left this house behind after they calculated that with the number of staff joining the three houses and the rooms behind the main house were enough.
As for the electricity,” he sighs “Hybe paid for the electricity of all houses in the land, including this one. But we left it off for Hyung,” Y/n shook her head, chuckling as she pitied poor Hoseok. No wonder he looked traumatized that morning.
“So, why did you take me here?”
“Because I wanted to share this moment with you before we go back home,” he says with sincerity. Y/n looked up to find Jimin staring at her. His eyes held so much emotion but the only emotions that she could read were honesty and hope
“Why though?”
“Why not?” he countered. “I could pick anyone, but I chose you and you chose me. You trust me,” his voice trailed off as he said the end of his sentence hoping she didn’t hear it, but with the short distance between them, she heard every single word.
“I do,” she agreed “I don’t know why, but I do and it has nothing to do with the fact that you’re Park Jimin of BTS or because I like you,”
“So you do like me,” he tried fighting off a smile by biting his lip
“What?” Her eyes widen in confusion, shock and denial all at the same time.
“You just said you like me,” Jimin couldn’t help himself at this point, one would call him cocky, but he couldn’t contain his pure joy.
“No, I didn’t,” she scoffed, denying her outburst.
“Yes, you did,”
“I did not!”
Jimin abruptly pulled on the hoody she was wearing, pulling her body closer to him resulting in Y/n effectively shutting up. “Yes, you did,” Jimin took the opportunity (and completely lost all sense of self control) to kiss both her cheeks and the tip of her nose as gently as he could with every word he said. Y/n was frozen in her place, not expecting to receive such action from Jimin who not only was her boss, but also the man she was a companion to.
“Am I dreaming?” she asked in a whisper. Jimin knew why she asked that, and it made his heart twitch knowing that she thought it was a dream because Jimin from the Dreamstate is the only one who would have the courage to make such moves. But that didn’t make him move away from her “No, you’re not,” he whispered back before letting her go.
“I should head back,” she says, closing her eyes as if she was attempting to wake herself up to make sure she really wasn’t dreaming. Y/n and Jimin reluctantly let go of each other’s hands. He offered to walk her back, but she declined the offer. In return, he asked one of the men who were keeping an eye on them to walk her back as he had a plan in mind and it wasn’t connected to Hobi’s prank.
“Mom? Dad?” Jimin says on the phone “Good evening, or is it morning there?” he smiles as they open their camera for the video call.
“Hi, Jimin,” her parents greeted him in return. “Long time no talk,” Jimin nods, smiling kindly at the couple.
“She’s okay,” he reassures them “But, I have a question for the two of you,” he says hesitantly, unsure of where it was going to take him.
“Oh, what’s that?” the father asks as Namjoon takes a seat beside him on the bottom of the staircase. Her parents weren't surprised to see staff or Namjoon with Jimin whenever he called them. Jimin has tried to learn English with so much effort for the past two years but only ever felt confident in speaking the vernacular whenever he was with his closest friends and family. Y/n's family counted as family and they didn't judge him but applauded him for his effort.
“Can I…” he started over “Can I tell her? About us?” Namjoon nodded as he put a hand on Jimin's shoulder as if to comfort her and let him know he was doing well which helped a lot with his nerves.
“In real life or in the Dreamstate?” the father questions “You do realize that we haven’t told her anything because we were waiting for you to tell her,”
Jimin stared at Y/n parents though his phone screen as he felt a rush of relief rush through his veins. His vision blurred as tears surfaced; tears he’s been stopping for so long.
“Jimin,” Y/n father started “You promised us that you’ll take full responsibility for our daughter and keep her happy. We thought the reason you hired her was because you were finally going to tell her everything, but she hasn’t told us anything yet.”
“We’re just waiting for you, Jimin,” Y/n mother smiles as Jimin wiped away his tears “Her memories are your memories too, and you know her better than we do. You’re the only one who can remind her what happened in her past. It’s up to you if you want her to remember you or not,”
~~~~~^^^^~~~~~
That evening in the Dreamstate:
“Why is there a tent here?” Y/n asks pointing at the tent in their backyard that could easily fit four Namjoons. Inside there were pillows, blankets and a foam mattress waiting for them.
“It’s called camping for a reason, princess,” Jimin grinned as he hopped in
“Ew,” she cringed “Don’t call me that,”
“You’re being one,” he remarked with a cocky grin. After the video call he had with her parents before he pulled his well planned out prank for Hoseok. He arrived at their shared room with her already knocked out cold hugging his pillow. Showering as quick as he possibly could he lies down next to her, not before pulling away his pillow from her tight grip, and wrapping his arms around her to meet her at the Dreamstate more willing than he had been the past few nights.
"I'M NOT!" She exclaimed
"Yes, you are! Now get in here!" He grabs her hand and roughly pulls her into the tent. Y/n braced herself for the painful fall but she was met with a memory foam mattress that broke her fall and she was welcomed by Jimin who decided to use her as a tree as he turned into a koala bear.
"Jimin, this was not what I said when I agreed to camp" she gasped out through his tight grip
"Too late, I'm sleepy," he says groggily
"You promised to tell me more about my past," she pointed out
"I did, but I'm tired. Let's just cuddle. We could talk some other day, I'm not going anywhere."
"How sure are you about that?"
"Yeobo, I'm just a part of you just as you're a part of me" he rolls his eyes before pecking her lips "Now go to sleep. There's a lot of sleep-catching-up to do."
"But,"
"No buts," he cuts her off, placing another kiss this time near the corner of her lips. Y/n froze in place and Jimin felt her freeze and knew from there that he had a better control of the situation but his actions were effective in making her shut up so he intends to use it in the future "Let's take a nap before I start"
“You’re stalling,” Jimin opens his eyes wide then sits up abruptly.
“You’re right I am, but only because we both know your roommate is a bother,”
“He’s asleep,” y/n tells him
“And who told you that?” She stares at him in confusion as Jimin stares at her “You’re hoping to see him here aren’t you?”
Y/n kept her mouth shut as she rose from the bed to sit facing him “You are…”
“Is that a bad thing to ask for?”
“No,” he holds her hand in his, running his thumb across the back of her hand. “I think you have to find yourself first and know about your past more before walking down that road again.”
“My mom told me that the other day,” Y/n confesses “I guess I’m just impatient to know if I do have a soulmate,”
“What makes you think you have one?”
“Why do you think this Dreamstate exists?” she asks him looking around the room, “This place would’ve never existed in my head if I didn’t have a soulmate.”
“You did your research,” he pointed out looking at the lightbulbs one by one.
“How could I not?” she smiles “Nearly three years of being alone here, I wonder if there was a reason this little island existed. And if I do have a soulmate, where is he? Why isn’t he showing up? I wonder if I did something wrong that it drove him away,”
“You didn’t do anything wrong,” Jimin sighs “You know soon,”
“So tell me,” she insists, tightening her grip on his hands, “please”
“Would you rather I show you your memories?” he asks
“I think that’s a better idea,” she smiled
“Then close your eyes,” she did.
Jimin leaned forward wrapping his arms around her, Y/n did the same. As Y/n takes a deep breath, she gets a hint of the scent on his white sweater “That’s strange,” she noted “I can smell you, I think,”
“It’s probably the flowers outside the tent” he smiled as he rested his cheek on top of her head “Close your eyes and take a deep breath for me,”
Doing as he says. She closes her eyes and Jimin presses his lips on the side of her head and what Y/n sees behind her closed eyelids made her cry the moment she woke up, startling Jimin who looked up at her with a sleepy daze asking her if she was okay and when she kept shaking her head, he called for Namjoon immediately.
Jimin wondered if it was right to show her one of the best memories he’s ever had, which was the first night they met. He guessed it was heartbreaking for her to see him injured days after he was discharged from the hospital after needing a few stitches when he cut his eyelid. The next memory should be a happy one he decided, he had to try not to make her cry too much.
It was the first memory and it reminded him a lot of how he felt when they met for the first time when they were kids where his dad said he cried when he woke up looking for a little girl he dreamt of. Jimin felt like she most probably woke up the same way, and it broke his heart to know that his soulmate had gone through pain, sadness and loneliness because of him. He could only hope as he held sobbing body as he and Namjoon tried to calm her down that he could lessen the pain and finally fix their relationship to be together.
Because all Jimin wanted more than anything in this world was for his soulmate to be with him without the barrier of a secret keeping them apart; he wanted his soulmate back, the one who knew every part of him before the night of the car crash.
<nine | masterlist | Part two: The Dreamstate Memories >
< main masterlist >
A/N: Finally! Aftersooooo looonggggg. We’ve reached the ending of Part one of The Companion trilogy. This was not originally planned to be a trilogy but after much thought, it just had to be one.
The next part of the trilogy will be song based per chapter kinda like Girl of My Dreams is, but it will feature songs not just by Bangtan, but other artists as well.
For now, I’m planning to take a break from this Trilogy, don’t worry though, I’ll return for part two as soon as I’m done with GOMD.
In the meantime, please give my Yoongi fic, Girl of My Dreams, a lot of support!!! I have a lot of projects lined up for y’all, all I need is time and a personal computer to invest on lol.
Please don't forget to like this post, reblog (but don't repost anywhere else!), follow me if you wanna read more of my future WIPs. And please feel free to leave any feedback in the comments or feed my inbox; anonymous or not, please feed the inbox lol.
As always, thank you for supporting The Companion. I’ll see you in Part two!
— synopsis: ten years after being crowned prom queen and thinking you'd left your small town in your rearview, you tuck your tail between your legs and come right back home...only to find out that the boy that took you to prom has been waiting patiently for your return.
– genre: brother's best friend au ; minimal angst, fluff, smut.
— pairing: best friend's brother!lee seokmin x reader.
– word count: 9.4k
— rating: 18+. minors do not interact.
– warnings: mentions of fuckass WISCONSIN. mentions of virginity loss (almost too many), swearing. mingyu is yn's brother and annoying as shit. kissing, etc. smut warnings: unprotected sex (if it's lee seokmin anything's possible.) brief body worship (f.rec, including the feet), unspoken high heel kink (?), brief cock worship, oral/brief fingering (f.rec), overstim, praise kink, hair pulling (m.rec), multiple orgasms (2 / f. rec) ; creampie. that's about it!
— what to listen to: ten years - the black lillies ; million days - sabai, hoang, claire ridgely ; when you're gone - avril lavigne ; star - loona.
– author's note: [special thanks to @/saradika here on tumblr for these lovely snowflake dividers!] welcome back to haologram! this is a special segment i’ve created to give a quick thank you to all of my friends this holiday season, and this one is for (all my ladies) my cuties g, @miniseokminnies. bennie, being your friend this year has been one of the most rewarding experiences i've ever had. i have never felt so loved so quickly and in the way i'd always hoped. thank you for always sending me pictures of cool lamps and always letting me know that you love and miss me. i hope to see you soon and give this LDR a better chance than just 'maybe', my baby. happy haolidays, bennie! i love you!
"I'M JUST SAYING, THERE'S NOTHIN' DRY ABOUT THE WAY I HUMP, Y/N."
You roll your eyes, leaning over the cart as your best friend pushes it. Soonyoung insisted he come grocery shopping with you — something about you not being back home in years (ten, to be exact) and how much the supermarket has changed. Spoiler: it hasn't changed at all aside from them finally getting a better selection of snacks, gallon boxes of Goldfish included (and tucked neatly into the corner of your cart.)
"I really, really wish I cared, Hosh." You give him a feigned apologetic look, and he juts his lip in a pout as he fishes through the bag of grapes. He plucks one out, shoving it into his cheek as you swat his hand, "stop that! I'll have to get another bag if you keep eating them!"
"You said we'd go to lunch and we've been here for an hour and a half," he whines, popping another grape into his mouth as you scowl.
"I just moved in, Soonyoung. I have nothing at my apartment and don't forget, you begged me to tag along. I told you I'd swing by your place after I was done!" You scold, only for him to stick his tongue out at you as you toss a sack of apples into the cart, nibbling on your lip as you peruse the produce. Your list was crumpled and long forgotten in Soonyoung's jacket pocket, and the blond groaned loudly as you tentatively picked up a pineapple and brought it to your face, "quit that before I send you to go sit in my car."
"At least the car has AUX."
"Kwon Soonyoung, I mean it."
"Alright, alright…" he trails off, sighing as he looks around the supermarket. You place the pineapple into the cart, the scent sweet and lingering as you cross your arms before Soonyoung's gasp grabs your attention.
"What? What? Is it an old teacher? Are they pregnant?" You look up, your eyes darting around the produce section before Soonyoung's hand grabs your jaw gently and tilts it towards the pile of 'organic plums' — your eyes landing on a white shirt stretched exhaustingly across the broad expanse of shoulders far too familiar. Your jaw tenses at the sleeves that leave nothing for the imagination, straining against toned biceps as your eyes travel further, a slim waist cinched by a black belt and holding up a nice pair of light blue denim jeans. A wallet is tucked into the back pocket and you follow the movement of the arm tying up a plastic produce bag full of said plums — decorated in a singular silver ring on the pinky and a thick watch on the wrist.
"Lee Seokmin, in the flesh!" He calls, and you feel your face hot as said Lee Seokmin turns around, a bright smile spreading on his face as he spots Soonyoung as his hand drops from your face. He makes his way over, the basket in his hand flexing the tendons in his forearm as he gives Soonyoung a one-armed hug, "good to see you, buddy. Did you get a chance to catch up with Seungkwan? We're planning that dinner next month with the guys, it'd be really great to get everyone together…"
He trails off as he sees you standing next to him, a softness glazing over his eyes as he extends his hand to you, "My apologies, I didn't see you. You look…familiar."
You hadn't changed much from high school. Maybe grew a couple of spontaneous inches, learned how to properly do your makeup, stopped acting like you didn't care about other's perception of you and actually put an effort into being more social. He tilts his head as Soonyoung shoves your shoulder, your hands twitching at the hem of your denim miniskirt you'd foolishly worn in the biting Wisconsin wind.
"Sorry," you mumble, taking his hand and giving it a quick shake. "We went to prom together."
"Oh my God, so it's true! I heard that you'd moved back home but I wasn't sure if Yoon Jeonghan of all people was worth getting my news from," he rolls his eyes, before the smile on his lips grows slightly warmer. "It's good to see you, Y/N. You look…nice."
"You hesitated." Soonyoung huffs, shoving his friend's shoulder. "Coward."
"Soonyoung," you elbow him, pressing your lips into a firm line as you nod at Seokmin. "It's fine. You look great, I'm glad to see this town did someone well."
Soonyoung pouts at the insinuation that he's not that someone, making you snicker inwardly as Seokmin eyes you carefully. Like he's studying you, like something is different and he can't figure out what.
"Are you settling in okay? Is Soonyoung being helpful?" He asks, leaning against the apple display, hooking his thumb on his belt loop. You tongue your cheek as you look up at Soonyoung, who acts like the Virgin Mary herself is calling his name as he clears his throat, "oh, look. They have…uh…rotisserie chicken. I'll get you one! You guys catch up!"
He scurries off, and you just shake your head as you move stuff around in the cart.
"I'm settling in fine. I only came back to spend time with my parents, Gyu moved out to go to grad school, but I'm sure you knew that." You shrug, "Soonyoung is Soonyoung. He helped me unload the boxes from the moving truck but I'm taking the weekend and next week to unpack. Just me and a glass of whiskey on the rocks…or two, or three."
You smile as he nods, "do you need help? I'm free all weekend."
"Oh, I'm alright." You respond quickly, almost too quickly. "I've uh…become quite the collector of things. Things I don't exactly need everyone to know I like."
"Vintage Playboy magazines, huh?"
"Shut up!"
He laughs softly, his eyes forming crescents as he glances down at the cart, "have you met up with anyone from here?"
The question stings slightly, but you force yourself to brush it off as you shake your head. "No one to meet up with besides Soonyoung, you know. Wasn't always that good at keeping bad company around, you know me."
He does.
He does know you.
The thing about Lee Seokmin is that he knew everything there was to know except where you went the moment you peeled out of this stupid town — small and not at all living up to the Pleasant Hill name. Wisconsin was still Wisconsin, and you still loved the cheese curds from Culver's but the fact of the matter was that Lee Seokmin was likely the only memory you allowed yourself to revisit when you thought about this stupid place.
Sweet, understanding Seokmin that graduated the same year Mingyu did. Sweet, understanding Seokmin that was so cute and absolutely your (and all your friends') hallway crush from grades six through eleven, before you got a boyfriend halfway through your junior year. He still waved at you in the halls, and you still smiled back — but eventually, the boyfriend grew tall enough to block your line of vision and the idea of Seokmin melted from your mind.
You met Seokmin when you were nine years old. He'd been your brother's friend for ages but only when you were in fourth grade was Seokmin officially allowed to come over to your house to spend the night with Mingyu. Your brother would lock his bedroom door as his friends huddled over baseball cards and delicious sandwiches made by your father with the crusts cut off. Eventually, your friend Minghao made it into your brother's get-togethers — effectively rendering you hypoethetically friendless until one of the boys slipped out of Mingyu's room for snacks or water, or even to suck up to your father for an extra serving of dinner before bolting back into the room.
Before Seokmin came around, you had Jihoon, Soonyoung and Minghao — they usually huddled up with you at the dinner table and asked about your friends and your schoolwork. They'd ruffle your hair, they'd pinch your cheeks and steal home fries off your breakfast plate; so they were like three more version of Mingyu you never asked for, but loved nonetheless. You'd swat at them, shove them away before they inevitably got picked up and left you to get thrown around by Mingyu on the trampoline in your backyard as he debriefed all the girls that they liked that were in your grade.
Then, Seokmin moved in next door.
His family bought the beautiful brick two-story with a wrap-around porch that once housed the town doctor before he up and took off out West, chasing a wild wet dream (read: his mistress.)
He was suddenly over at your house every single day, glued at Mingyu's hip — tossing a pigskin around, tinkering around under the hood of your mother's 1969 Cadillac Deville…bothering your father for a sandwich with the crusts cut off because Mingyu was a big baby. He'd split it with your brother on the porch and ask about your day as you stomped up the steps after dance practice. You'd never delve too deep into details, simply shaking your head or giving him a thumbs up before ducking inside and burying your head in the books.
Mingyu and his friends graduated, going all over the country for college — but Seokmin stayed. He went to state school to stay close to his parents, but not so close that he didn't get that same taste of freedom that your brother and Minghao were enjoying at Rutgers in New Jersey. You were a senior in high school, trying to make the best of all the changes — only for it to be the worst year an 18-year-old girl could have.
You got (and crashed) your first car, which was Mingyu's before it was yours so it had that gross 'I give my friends rides home from football practice' smell permeated in the seats. You failed your first semester of Calculus and had to go to tutoring and Saturday school for six weeks to even attempt to earn a C. You injured your foot during practice and got benched for the rest of the year, so there was nothing to look forward to (not that they would've kept you on the team anyway, since you failed Calculus.)
To top it all off — your best friend and your boyfriend were in cahoots. Six years of friendship (and her gross crush on Mingyu) and almost a year and a half of dating were wasted, and both presented their end three weeks before prom — which was two days before graduation.
You'd stared at your dress for a good while the night before it was all supposed to happen. It'd been hung up on your closet door, the one thing you looked forward to after such a shit year that wasn't graduation — and it was sullied. The sparkly butter yellow tulle made your stomach hurt, the sweetheart neckline littered with glittering rhinestones making your eyes prickle with tears. You stared at the French pedicure you'd gotten at your local nail salon that would've peeked out the bottom of your dress — your shoes six-inch tall heels and the straps were decorated with flowers.
You were a nominee for Prom Queen. You had your hair and makeup inspiration saved to a Pinterest board you'd been curating since you found out prom was a thing that would happen in your life. Your ex-boyfriend's matching tie and corsage sat on your dresser, abandoned. You didn't have a date, and now an extra ticket to a gathering you weren't sure you wanted to attend.
Until Mingyu knocked on your door.
He'd come home from college for the summer a week earlier, making the drive back to Wisconsin right after his last final. He dropped Minghao off at his house, and skirted right into the driveway of your house, welcomed lovingly by his parents and confused when his little sister was holed up in her room, staring at the plastic glow-in-the-dark stars stuck to her ceiling.
"I'd go with you if I could, pipsqueak." He said softly, sitting on the edge of your bed as you let hot tears pool in your eyes. "But I know you'd think that's mega lame."
"It is mega lame. Gyu." Your voice had been so thick you could hardly understand yourself, but he squeezed your ankle through the blanket before sighing. "Mingyu, why has this year been so shit? Was your senior year this shitty?"
"Well." He adjusted slightly, "I got dumped because I chose Rutgers over staying here, and I had to take Minghao to prom. We still had a good time…maybe you can take Soonyoung. He's in town again, I know he swung by earlier to see how you were holdin' up."
"I look like such a loser taking a friend to my fucking prom. It was supposed to be me and my boyfriend." You huffed, angrily wiping at your eyes. "I don't even have a cute guy that I could pretend is into me."
The silence that blanketed over you both was deafening, before you met each other's eyes in that way siblings do when something is so good but it's crazy. It's so good, and it'd work so well — but it's absolutely insane.
Mingyu grabbed the tie and corsage while you practically tumbled down the stairs in your pajamas, running out the front door and across the lawn barefoot as the sprinklers started going off. You banged on the front door of the Lee house, hearing rustling before the door swung open and your fist was caught by one Lee Seokmin.
"Go to prom with me."
Naturally — as a favor to an old friend's little sister, Seokmin agreed. He blindly agreed as Mingyu instructed him to be your arm candy all night long, to show you off, let you be the star of the show. Pretend that an older boyfriend in college was far more interesting than some cheap party thrown together by the school in a fancy hotel — essentially, make you something worth envying.
It worked.
It worked like a dream — he stayed by your side the entire night, speaking softly to other dates, getting along with your dance team members, even greeting his old teachers with a bright smile that made them forget he was there with a student and wasn't one himself. They asked if he was your boyfriend, and you interrupted with a loud yes — his cheeks tinging pink as he held you close and kissed your temple. It was sweet, it was cute, and it was triumph coursing through your veins as you were crowned Prom Queen and left right after.
You sat in your mother's '69 Cadillac Deville with him, parked at a Dairy Queen on the outskirts of town with a sweet vanilla milkshake in your hand. He's thrown his suit jacket in the backseat, the top button of his shirt undone and his tie haphazardly pulled off. He rolled his sleeves up, leaning his head back against the seat when you snorted.
"You know what's funny?"
"What's funny, sweets?"
He toyed with the straw of his own milkshake, his silver watch glinting in the low light.
"You can't tell Mingyu I said this."
"I wouldn't tell Mingyu anything that's happened tonight if he paid me."
"I was supposed to lose my virginity tonight," you roll your eyes, kicking your heels off and crossing your legs at the knee. You stare up at the sky, "I was going to go to a motel with him, my ex. Get it over with so that I wouldn't go to college a virgin. Stupid, isn't it?"
"If that's the only reason you were going to do it, then yeah. A little bit." He nodded, plucking the cherry out of his cup and pulling the syrupy fruit off the stem with his teeth. "But I'm not any better, so I can't judge because I'm speaking from experience."
"You're not a virgin? I thought you were."
"Haven't been since last summer. Why are you even thinking about it? I'm nineteen. I do…things."
"Sure, man. Was it good? Is that TMI?"
"No," he snorted, shaking his head as he sighed, sucking his teeth. "It was just…there. The opportunity, I mean. I wasn't dating the girl either. It was a mistake and I regret it but life goes on. It should be with someone you trust and actually like, it adds to it. I guess. What do I know?"
"Lots of stuff."
"Name two things."
"You know my favorite color and you know how to drive. I trust you with my life, I think."
He laughed then, shaking his head as he played with his straw, "yeah, well. I'm sorry your senior year turned out this way. If it's any better, mine was pretty shit, too."
"Nah. I'd say it ended pretty well. I'm eighteen, I have a license, I graduate on Sunday and then I'm gone. I'm off to California and I never have to see this shitstain town again." You shook your head, sucking your teeth as you twisted in your seat. His eyes were wide, "you hate it here that much?"
"I have no good memories."
"That might be a stretch, but I understand."
"Thank you." You shrugged, tracing the stitching in the leather. The thread was a custom cobalt blue, to match the exterior of the car and paired with creamy beige seats. "Hey, Seok?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you remember how you used to say hi to me everyday before you graduated last year? In the halls?"
He smiled, and you swore you saw a hint of a blush creep up the shells of his ears as he nodded, "yeah, of course I remember."
"Why'd you do it?"
"Because…I don't know. It was a habit, and I liked seeing you…I don't know. It's courteous."
"When you say I don't know…you mean you do, but you don't want to tell me. Right?"
"Right." He agreed, and you leaned slightly closer, holding your pinky out to him. He glances at it, and you scoot closer to him on the bench seat so your thigh is brushing his as you push your hand into his space.
"Pinky promise I won't tell Mingyu."
"Mingyu doesn't scare me anyway."
He rolled his eyes, but linked his finger with yours. You waited for him to let go, but he interlaced his fingers with yours and held them on this thigh.
"For starters, everything I said is also true."
"I figured, yes."
"I think…I had a little bit of a crush on you. Nothing insane, of course. Just…a little one. Hallway crush, I think I heard Mingyu call it once."
You shifted then, your hand subconsciously squeezing his as you cleared your throat.
"And you never said anything?"
"You're my best friend's little sister. Even I saw the cliché there. It's not that…I wouldn't have made a move, I just didn't think it was a wise choice in the long run."
You nodded, "yeah…that makes sense."
Neither of you moved away or unfurled your fingers, but Seokmin sighed, "I'm sorry."
"No, don't be. You're very right, Mingyu would've knocked our heads together."
"…Our?"
"You think I waved back because it was courteous? Get with the program, Lee." You snorted, shaking your head as you stared up at the sky. The stars twinkled, almost mockingly as you sighed, "though, it's much worse with it's best friend who likes the little sister. It's kind of expected for the little sister to like the best friend, you know? Clichés and all that…always blamin' it on the girls. Like it's my fault Mingyu has cute friends."
"Plural?"
"Singular, sorry."
"Would you have let me kiss you?" He asked suddenly, and you lolled your head to the side, scanning his face with your eyes before shrugging. "Y/N."
"Depends. Are you kissing me because you want to or because it gives you the rush of kissing your best friend's sister?"
"Mostly the first."
"Cynical."
"I'm honest."
You laughed then, squeezing his hand before sitting up properly. You tucked your legs under you, the fabric of your dress hanging off the edge of the seat as you kneeled next to him, your knees pressing into his thigh as you pressed a kiss to his cheek.
"Thanks for taking me to prom. You didn't have to."
"I don't do these things for free, you know. Pay up, sixty bucks."
The smile on his lips said he was joking, but you feigned shock anyway and softly smacked his shoulder. He laughed, pulling his hand out of yours to wrap his arms around you. You let him pull you into his embrace, your arms wrapping around his shoulders as you buried your face into his neck. He patted your back, humming softly before he spoke.
"Thanks for thinking I was the right choice to leave a lasting impression. College boyfriends don't do this sort of thing, at least none of the ones I know."
"Well, you're my college boyfriend for the night." You shrugged, pulling back slightly. Your eyes met his, your faces centimeters apart. He shamelessly glanced at your lips, shifting slightly, "I'm sorry I missed your birthday. I know Mingyu came home, I was slammed."
"Are you going to keep talking about my brother or are you going to kiss me?"
You try not to remember the kiss, or the soft scent of vanilla floating off both your mouths.
Quite often, you shove it out of your mind and force yourself to think about what could've been if he'd said no. If your mother had called just a moment earlier, before your lips met his. If your brother had texted him just three minutes before his hand cupped your face gently and pulled you closer, milkshakes forgotten as his tongue slipped into your mouth.
You never retell the story with the kiss included. You always just say your brother's best friend took you to prom and took you to milkshakes after. That he drove you through the outskirts of town in your mother's '69 Cadillac and made you feel like a princess.
Every single person lets you know that they think that 'brother's best friend' had a crush on you.
So to stand in this grocery store and know that Lee Seokmin has kissed you, has had a crush on you, has seen you cry — it feels vulnerable.
"Let's have dinner soon, if you're not busy. I'd love to catch up." He spoke softly, and Soonyoung was still acting stupid around the selection of rotisserie chicken, acting as if lemon herb and garlic rosemary were such hard choices. You gave Seokmin a small smile, holding up a finger as you called across the store, "pick a damn bird and get over here!"
Soonyoung pouted, grabbing one of each as you turned back to Seokmin. He was still looking at you with that same twinkle in his eyes, like he still wondered if you thought about him. If you thought about that night, if you thought about the sweet vanilla on his tongue as he kissed you for what felt like decades in the bench seat of your mother's car. If you thought about the way he pulled you into his lap, the way you pulled his hand up the expanse of your thigh that peeked out through the slit of your dress.
If you thought about the way he stopped kissing you before it could end the way most prom nights end — losing your virginity to him in a car. If you thought about how embarrassed he looked that he let himself get carried away, kissing down the slope of your neck and how he apologized because you were Mingyu's sister, because he was a year older than you and had more life lived, because, because, because.
Never in those reasons did he say because he didn't want to.
"We should, if you'd like. Uh, I'd offer my apartment but…" You rubbed your neck sheepishly, and he only shook his head, pulling his phone out of his pocket and opening a new contact. He handed it to you, your fingers trembling as you typed in your number, "was Mingyu very annoying while I was gone?"
"He actually told me earlier that I'm not allowed call him annoying." Seokmin scoffs, "because I'm, in his words, ten times as annoying but I don't think that's all that true."
"It's not."
"Of course you say that, he's your brother."
"Birds of a feather flock together, Seokmin. If you're annoying, so is he." You deadpan, typing your name into the contact file. "But, you're less annoying because I have no obligation to tolerate you. If you piss me off, I can just walk away. Can't do that with Mingyu, I'll just have to see him again. Family and all."
You roll your eyes, handing his phone back. He nods, "valid."
"I see you've gotten acquainted once more," Soonyoung tries to ease into the conversation, but frowns as you and Seokmin both point your eyes at him. "Yah, you'd think I asked about that stupid prom night kiss."
"Anyway." You speak quickly, your cheeks hot as Seokmin's ears tinge pink under the fluorescent lights of the supermarket, "uh, Friday? Does Friday work for you?"
"Friday's great!" He blurts, "we can just do it at yours. I don't think you should be unpacking all those boxes by yourself."
"She doesn't even have a mattress, Seokmin. A mattress!" Soonyoung exclaims, and you nibble on your lip in embarrassment as Seokmin shoves his shoulder lightly, "you should be helping her!"
Soonyoung scoffs, wrapping his hands around the cart handle and pushing it forward, "I don't have to take this shit from you guys. I'm the glue that holds this family together, damnit."
He stalks away, head held high as Seokmin shakes his head.
"He's dramatic."
"Oh, tell me about it. He's been whining about how hungry he is when I told him this would take time."
You sigh, your face still hot as you take a tiny step back, "well, it was nice seeing you, Seokmin. Uh, Friday, yeah? I'll send you my address."
"Sure, sure." He nods, clearing his throat. Things feel awkward in the air between you, "sorry about Soonyoung."
"It shouldn't be awkward. It was years ago," you try, but still cover your face with your hands. "God, I'm sorry."
"No! It's okay, it was just…not something I was expecting today." His laugh is still warm, but there's something else in it. Maybe embarrassment, maybe frustration.
Maybe guilt.
You extend your hand, "well, it's fine. Friends, right?"
He glances at it, taking it gently. He runs his thumb over your knuckles, "friends. Now, run along. I can see his blond head in the bakery from here, he's gonna make you buy him a cake."
"It's the least I could do," you snort, squeezing his hand carefully. "Bye, Seok."
"Bye, sweetheart. Be safe."
YOUR APARTMENT IS STILL A MESS WHEN SEOKMIN ARRIVES.
You are still a mess when Seokmin arrives, a pout on your lip as you open your front door and see him nicely dressed in a soft sweater and a crisply pressed pair of chinos under his brown peacoat — and the little black hoops looped through his ears that you hadn't seen in ages.
He only laughs, gently pinching your cheek between his knuckles and stepping inside to a mess of broken down boxes and old tape rolled into a ball, chucked over your coffee table. You've got an old, paint-stained t-shirt that used to belong to Mingyu over your pajama shorts, and you insist that you'll be ready soon — which he only smiles at your half done hair and full face of make-up (sans lipstick.)
"Take your time," he shrugs, "seems like you had quite the week getting this place fixed up. Nice work."
"Don't praise me, it won't bode well." You huff, scurrying back to your bathroom to make sure the curling wand didn't burn a hole into your sink.
The week had been insane — you paid Soonyoung in cheesecake on Monday and Tuesday to help you unpack your kitchen and your bathroom, and then told him not to bother you until Sunday because you were going to do the rest on your own. You managed to get most of it done, including getting a mattress delivered and your bedframe set up by Wednesday…
But the lingering boxes, trash and the like were all cause of your frequent back-and-forth texting with one Lee Seokmin.
You caught up on minute things — him leaving UW-Madison his sophomore year and meeting Mingyu and Minghao at Rutgers. Him getting a masters degree, you getting a masters degree. You living in California for six years and four in Oregon, and the unspoken knowledge that the other four were purely for a boyfriend.
One that you wound up breaking up with (and one that fueled the fire of you moving back home) after catching him in your bed with his ex-girlfriend. From high school. Who was also engaged to his best friend!
There was a joke in the conversation from Seokmin, asking how college was as a virgin. You fired back that it was much better than having a crush on your brother's best friend, to which he replied with a frowning emoji and insisted he was better to crush on than some snotty-nosed frat boy who drank like a fish.
You both silently acknowledged that the Mingyu wedge was still present, and neither of you would be making the move to overlook it…even if you silently hoped he would.
You also swapped social media accounts in the process — his was full of adventures. Trips to Seoul and Osaka with your brother and other friends of his, trips to the mountains and skiing out east. Gardens in New Jersey and his graduation from Rutgers (and the impressive Cornell, despite not being nearly as snooty as half the other people you'd met in California that had come from the Ivy League.)
Yours had been curated carefully — luncheons, aesthetically taken shots of you by your old roommates who had all moved home back east. There was summer vacation carousels, photos of you with Aperol Spritz' in your hand and lounging on boats in bikinis you begged your brother not to tell your mother about (who only asked why you weren't showing more skin when you called her that following Christmas.)
Seokmin only liked the latest carousel on your profile. Your goodbyes to the beautiful wilderness that surrounded you in Oregon, and a promise to return someday — a photo of your packed up apartment, a cat lounging in the mid-morning sun atop your U-Haul, a thickly packed bagel with one for the road written across the top corner in an Instagram font you used almost too heavily during your days as a sorority girl hoping to reach prospective sisters.
And a selfie of you and Minghao, who had flown out from Boston to help you make the drive back home. Your heads were touching, his long hair ruffled against yours as you both winked at the camera, holding up to-go cups of hot tea and coffee — which you never liked, even if it was winter.
You ignored the shirtless photos on his profile.
"Have you decided where you want to go? So I can dress for the occasion." You called from your bathroom, having turned the curling wand off and opening the door to relieve some of the warmth you felt all over your face. You slipped out, seeing Seokmin staring at your wall of trinkets. Little clown figurines made by an Oregon artist that were grouped with Nyota and Skullpanda figurines you'd gotten in blind boxes, a couple of framed photos of you and Mingyu as kids, a snowglobe with a picture of you and your mother in it when Mingyu and your father got stuck in New Jersey during your senior year of high school.
"Uh, there's a nice place in Madison, if you don't mind the drive. Plus the potential traffic, it is a Friday." He nods, "just wear a dress? Maybe a long one?"
"Gotcha, yep."
You rooted around and found a long dress you'd worn back in California once for a Christmas dinner with your boyfriend during grad school. It had off-the-shoulder long sleeves, and a skirt that stopped at the ground with the right pair of shoes (read: your favorite pair of black heels.) You scurried around, grabbing your shoes and nibbling your lip at the slit that ran high up your thigh in the dark red fabric in the mirror of your vanity.
It felt a little…derivative.
You put your jewelry on, swiping on a creamy layer of lipstick before grabbing your purse and switching things around to your clutch. Your winter coat was in the hall closet, and you held your heels in one hand as you exited your bedroom hurriedly. Seokmin glanced over his shoulder from the pinned tour posters on your wall, turning around fully as you fixed your hair in the mirror that hung on your wall.
"Is this okay?" You ask, not bothering to look at him as you wiped the corners of your lips.
"Yeah, perfect. You look great…and we're running late." He teased, making you groan as you look at him in the mirror, "you told me to take my time!"
"I didn't think that meant forty minutes, sweetheart. Hop to, or we'll miss our reservation." He taps his watch, "where do you keep your coat?"
"Hall closet," you sit at a chair in your dining room, bending at the waist to pull on your shoes as he ducks past. He returns with your coat and a red mark on his forehead, a pout on his lip as you look up from your shoes, "what happened?"
"Your box of photo albums fell on me. How did you not hear that?" He whines, and you coo as you let him help you slip your coat on. Your fingers gently rub at the spot, "you'll be okay."
"Yeah, easy for you to say." He huffs, and you roll your eyes, pressing a kiss to your fingers before patting them against his forehead.
"Yeah, it is. Now, move along."
The drive to Madison was slow, but the restaurant he chose had been well worth it. You were sat at a rounded booth in the back, the lights dim and the environment cozy with soft jazz playing overhead. The waiter was sweet, but a bit too flirty for your taste — and clearly for Seokmin's as well, because he pulled you closer to him by your waist, his fingers lingering on your hip long enough for the waiter to see as he brought your drinks from the bar.
Dinner was relatively fun. Soft conversations, bringing up old memories, catching up on things. Seokmin asked about your psychology degree, you asked about his sudden move to Rutgers.
"Home isn't as fun without having a neighbor girl to bother." He stated, shrugging his shoulders as you gave him a deadpan look. He swiped a scallop off your plate then, making you scowl because you were not going to take a bite of his steak. "Plus, it was quiet. Madison is nice but Jersey was new and exciting. I roomed with Mingyu, Minghao and our friend Wonwoo, and it was fun until I would come back to one of their rooms with a sock on the door."
"Ew, I don't want to know about their adventures. I got enough with Hao complaining about his boyfriend wanting them to move to New York. Something, something, is the sex not filthy enough that he wants to move to Manhattan?" You scrunched your nose, making him laugh as you crossed your legs at the knee. Your dress splayed open, your thigh exposed to the warm air of the restaurant and the soft fabric of Seokmin's pants.
He didn't bother looking down, only tapping your knee before pulling the fabric over it.
"They're going to end up moving. Junhui has a hold on Minghao that you wouldn't believe. You would love him." He nods, "I helped Junhui plan the proposal."
Your eyes widened at that, and Seokmin swore you into secrecy before spilling the beans of your childhood friend potentially getting engaged before the end of the year.
Dinner came and went, dessert was sweet on your tongues despite the dark chocolate and Seokmin pouting when you had the last bite. You kept talking — your families, how shitty the holidays are as you get older and lose the childlike wonder of Santa Claus and gifts under the tree, girlfriends, boyfriends…
Your jaw tight as he mentioned his, his tight when you mentioned yours and a frown gracing his lips when you mentioned the Oregon boyfriend in particular.
"Well, he sucks." Seokmin clicked his tongue as he held the door open, the receipt blowing in the wind between his fingers. He'd fought you to pay the bill, shoving his card in the waiter's hand as he pinned you to your seat with a hand on your thigh.
A move that neither of you spoke about but both knew it could've created something neither of you were too sure you'd dislike. Not that either of you knew the other felt the same about the latter, but it wasn't your business to know.
Not yet, anyway.
The drive back is comfortable. You took AUX as he drove, complimented the recently refurbished bench seat of his truck. He smiles, says he also helped your mother get her '69 Cadillac get a beautiful new layer of that cobalt blue paint she loves. He prompts you to sit closer, and you end up resting your head on his shoulder with his hand low on your hip as you drive back into Pleasant Hill.
He's warm. He smells floral, like iris and neroli with a hint of cedarwood. He's drumming his fingers against you, running his hand slightly up and down your hip as you watch the sky become clearer the further you get into your small town.
He feels like home.
"Did you miss me while I was gone?" You ask suddenly as he rolls to a stop at a red light just half a block before your apartment complex. He raises a brow, looking down at you with an amused expression.
"You think I didn't?"
"I wouldn't be asking."
"Of course I missed you, Y/N." He shakes his head, subconsciouly squeezing your hip. "I left Pleasant Hill because I missed you. I came back because I missed you."
"Or because my brother asked you to."
"Your brother is the closest thing I get to you, so you have to give me some credit. Hallway crushes don't disappear as easily as I thought, especially not after you kiss her on prom night."
Your cheeks burn as the light turns green, your hand on his knee tracing circles as he presses on the gas.
"It's been ten years since then, Seokmin."
"No, it's been nineteen. I've liked you since I was ten years old."
Your eyes widen as he pulls into your apartment complex, expertly slipping into a shaded parking space. He turns the car off as you look up at him, "you should head inside. It's late and you'll need your rest to finish unpacking."
"Mingyu's coming in the morning to help me." You murmur, and he nods simply, "he always was a nice guy. He's making long distance work with Tzuyu."
"Seokmin."
"Yes?"
"Are you going to keep talking about my brother or are you going to kiss me?" The words slip from your mouth as easily as they did ten years ago, but he doesn't bother responding before he presses his lips to yours. Soft, smooth but hungry as he pulls you on top of him, his hand wrapping around your neck and holding you firmly in place. Your hands pulled at his sweater, shoving it up as his tongue slipped into your mouth. He let go of your neck, shoving your coat off your shoulders as you sucked on the tip of his tongue, your fingertips toying with the buckle of his belt before he pulled back.
"We can't."
"We can."
"Mingyu—"
"You came up for a nightcap and helped me unpack. Too drunk to drive home and spent the night on my couch." You unbuckle his belt as he groans, his hands eagerly pulling at the slit of your dress to expose your thighs. His fingers are warm as they slide up the plush flesh, squeezing shamelessly as you pull his belt through the loops and toss it to the side, "not embarrassed about your little collections anymore?"
"What I do with my Maxim subscription is between me and the comfort of my bedroom."
"Better read than Playboy, eh?"
"With the same beautiful women. Are you going to Prom Night me or what, Seokmin?"
"We're using that as an adjective now? Prom Night-ing?" He huffs, your lips parting with a soft gasp as lithe fingers squeeze the swell of your ass over the lace of your underwear. "I wasn't going to take your virginity in a car."
"Well, someone else has that shit now, and we did it on a fraternity beanbag."
"I don't want to hear about that. The guys you've been with didn't deserve you in the first place."
"Then prove you deserve me more than they did." You whisper against his lips, "and it'll be like it never happened. Just you, just me. Yours, and mine."
He sits for a moment, his eyes boring into yours as he slides his hands over your hips carefully. He kneads the soft skin between his fingers, nibbling on his lip as his thumb toys with the hem of your panties before plucking at it.
"What if you regret it?"
"Seokmin, we've had a thing for one another for the last nineteen years. We're as cliché as they come. Probably down to the ring and the house and the kids, if you want them."
He blinks, nodding slowly as he clicks his tongue.
"You think Mingyu knows?"
"Are we going to keep talking about my brother?"
He presses his lips to yours, a mumble of no slipping out as he pulls you higher on his lap. Your fingers undo his pants easily, the sound of the zipper catching his attention as your hand dips beneath the fabric of his boxers to palm at his cock. His fingers immediately slip between your legs, pulling the embarrassingly damp fabric of your panties to the side to circle your clit with his thumb. Your thighs tighten around his hand, your gasp swallowed by his lips before you pull away, letting him kiss down the expanse of your neck and littering the soft skin with nips of his teeth.
His fingers slip lower as your thumb swipes over the leaking head of his cock, shaky breaths falling from your lips as he circles your entrance with his fingertips before pushing in slowly. He sighs against your chest at the wet sound of your cunt swallowing his fingers, a whimpered groan falling from your lips into his shoulder.
"Seokmin, we s-should—"
"We should go upstairs."
It's a tumble to get out of the car, his pants hastily buttoned and your fingers shaking as you try to unlock the door. He pushes it open from behind you, shoving it closed with his foot once you both step inside and pinning you against it. He pulls your coat off as he kisses you desperately, throwing the coat over a bunch of boxes labeled bedroom before his hands wrap around your thighs and lift you up. You wrap your legs around him instinctively, the kiss turning to teeth and tongue as he carries you in the direction of your bedroom.
"I could worship you for the rest of my life and it still wouldn't be enough to deserve you." He mumbles against your lips as he nudges the bedroom door open, your cheeks heating as he sets you on the edge of your bed gently. He pushes you back against it, kissing you carefully — a total switch up that makes your head spin as he cups your face with one hand, his knee slotting between your thighs as you move to lean back on your elbows. "I would've waited ten more years if it meant you'd come back to me."
"Seokmin," you pout against his mouth, only for him to kiss you chastely before his hands move to gather the fabric of your dress at your hips. You sit up, letting him pull the dress over you and toss it across the room before his hands slid down your sides. His eyes don't make you feel self conscious as they trail over you, his fingers hooking with the waistband of your panties and easily pulling them down your thighs. He shamelessly tucks them into his pocket, smiling inwardly as he kisses your parted lips.
"You're a pervert."
"You're beautiful."
"Well don't be nice to me, it ruins the purpose."
"It's banter, gorgeous." He trails his lips down your jaw, making your skin prickle as his hands spread your thighs. He traces a path down your chest, murmuring soft praises as he kisses each of your nipples before kissing down your soft belly, his hands massaging the muscle of your thighs as he spread them further. He drags his lips across your hips, peering up at you through his lashes as he litters kisses on the inside of your thighs, kneeling at the edge of your bed.
"Seokmin."
"Patience."
"I waited ten years, isn't that enough?"
He raises a brow, sinking his teeth into your skin and making you flinch, before quickly running his tongue over the mark.
"I waited ten years, too, you know." He says pointedly, his lips ghosting over your clit before he presses an open mouthed kiss to it. Your thighs twitch around his head as he pulls you closer to his face, "I spent the entire week fucking my hand, thinking about you in that little skirt at the grocery store."
He doesn't let you reply, opting to slip his tongue between your folds in long, languid strokes — gathering your arousal in his mouth before swirling the tip of his tongue around your clit. Your spine arches off the bed as he sucks the bundle of nerves into his mouth, your hand carding through his hair and giving it a harsh tug as soft pants fall from your lips. His fingers slide down your thigh, prodding at your entrance gently before sinking in carefully, your thighs closing around his head as he works you over with his tongue. Your mewled moans of his name fill the air, your hips rutting against his face earning nothing but hums and curls of his fingers as he finds that spongy spot that makes your legs tremble around his head. Your heels dig into his shoulders as the wet sound of your cunt around his fingers hits your ears, your cheeks burning hot as the coil in your belly snaps with a whimper from your lips.
You can feel him smile against your skin, the smug bastard.
"Did so well for me, honey." He whispers against your thigh, his fingers slipping out of you slowly and circling your clit. Your skin prickles as you jerk away from him, closing your legs around his hand as he catches your ankle before it hits him, using it as leverage to pull you flush against the tent in his pants. "You can give me another, can't you? Just one more, baby."
He keeps his eyes on you as he kisses up your calf, his fingers still tracing circles on your clit as you squirm. He kisses the side of your foot, his teeth tugging at the strap of your heel around your ankle to grab your attention.
"One more."
"On your cock."
"Whatever you want, baby."
He slips his hand out from between your thighs to shuck his sweater off, tossing it somewhere in the room before reaching into his back pocket and pulling his wallet out — procuring a gold foil packet between his fingers. You sit up, rolling your eyes as you pluck it from his hand, flicking it across the room before pulling him closer to you and kissing the bulge in his pants. Your fingers unbutton them swiftly, mouthing at his cock over his boxers.
His hand drops his wallet as your fingers curl around the waistband, his own raking through your hair as your spit soaks through the fabric before you pull them down his thighs. Your hands circle the muscle, digging your nails into the side as you lick the tip of leaking precum. He bites down on his lip as take him deeper in your mouth, peering up at him through your lashes as the tip hits the back of your throat. You sink slightly further, your nose brushing his lower stomach as he groans, gathering your hair in his hand asyour hand slides up his thigh, cupping his balls as you slowly bob your head up and down his length. You pull off briefly with a soft gasp, lips swollen as you kiss his shaft before he pulls you away gently.
"Later," he whispers, bending to press a kiss to your spitslick lips. "Lie back, baby."
"Seok—"
"Later, I promise."
You pout but do as you're told, leaning back on your elbows as he kicks off his pants, toeing off his shoes before you reach to undo your heels — only for him to grab your ankle and pull your leg away from you, "leave them on."
"Freak."
He doesn't reply, only smiling inwardly as he spreads your thighs for him, your cunt still glistening with his spit and your cum. He wraps his hand around himself, sliding the thick head of his cock through your slick folds with a soft moan. You rut your hips up, begging for any kind of friction when he pins you to the mattress, "be patient."
"Fuck me."
"I am."
"You're taking your sweet ti—" Your sentence is cut off by his cock sinking inside you slowly, a smirk playing on his lips as your eyes flutter shut. He holds your thighs apart, his eyes trained on the way your cunt sucks in him, his lips parted as he buries himself to the hilt inside you. Your breathing is shallow as he presses his chin to his chest, the low light of your bedroom light showing off all the soft contours of his body as your fingres itch to touch him.
He leans forward, brushing a kiss to your lips as your hands slide up his arms, digging your nails into his shoulders as he gives a tentative roll of his hips. A punctuated fuck falls from your lips, making him trail wet, open mouthed kisses down the curve of your throat. His hand snakes between you, thumb finding your clit and pressing against it hard as he rocks into you with a barely controlled pace that settles the idea in your brain that he wants you just as bad as you want him.
"Feel so good, baby," he whines into your neck, his hips meeting yours with hard thrusts that make your breath hitch in your throat. "Such a good girl, yeah? Say you're mine."
"'M yours," your voice is hardly steady as you can taste the embarrasingly close end on the back of your tongue, your limbs fuzzy as you drag your nails down his back. He shivers, your walls clamping around him as he drags his lips down your neck, holding your knees tight to your chest as he swirls his tongue over one of your nipples. You thrust your chest up, your back bent in half as his cock drags deliciously in your spasming walls as you stave off your orgasm. "Want to you cum inside me, p-please."
"Please, huh? My baby's so polite…" he kisses back up your chest, dragging his tongue up the slope of your neck before his teeth tug at your earlobe. "You're mine, right? My girl. Mine."
You nod with a soft whine, your orgasm ripping through you and making your body feel hot as he spills inside you. Your fingernails are digging into his biceps, tears pricking at your eyes as he fucks you through it, your thighs shake around his waist, his hands quickly sliding over them and squeezing the soft flesh. Your skin is slick with sweat as he kisses down your chest, "you did so good for me, baby. So good."
You drape an arm over your eyes, embarrassment coating your cheeks in warmth as he carefully undoes the strap of your heels without pulling out. You feel his fingers gently circle the reddened dip of the straps, massaging the spot as you clench around him. He jerks in response, making you gasp as you close your legs as much as you can with him holding your ankles. He's still hard inside you, his hands pulling your ankles together over one shoulder and giving a slow roll of his hips; your hand darting out to push his hip away.
"S-Seokmin—"
"Just one more. You can do it, I know you can."
Your hand on his hip slides off, "slow. I mean it."
"Whatever my girl wants."
"You."
"You have me, baby."
"And you're mine, too?" You peer up at him, eyes glossy with unshed tears as he nods, stopping his movements to press a kiss to the tip of your nose. You scrunch it, pursing your lips for a kiss. He obliges, speaking against your lips.
"I'm yours, Y/N."
IT'S VERY OBVIOUS THAT NEITHER OF YOU REALLY STUCK TO THE STORY THAT SEOKMIN GOT DRUNK AND COULDN'T DRIVE HOME.
You're twenty-eight years old, sitting on your couch with your twenty-nine year old (newly pronounced) boyfriend as your brother (unfortunately, also his best friend) screams like a husky wanting out of the house. He goes on and on about the integrity of a promise — apparently, Mingyu did know that Seokmin had the hots for you way back when, and made him swear he would never make a move on you. It doesn't help that you and Seokmin both spill the beans at the same time about how the two of you almost slept together the night of your prom — making Mingyu rub his face in embarrassment as he paces in front of you both.
"Fine, fine! Whatever!" He exclaims, throwing his arms up in defeat. "You win! Just don't ruin my sister's life and I won't fucking kill you."
You chew on your lip, shifting in your brother's old, paint-stained t-shirt as he huffs, crossing his arms on his chest.
"So you're not mad at me, right, Gyu?" You murmur, and Seokmin immediately scoots closer to you, tucking you into his chest as your older brother sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Well, it's not like I didn't expect this." He mutters, "neither of you are very good at keeping your feelings a secret."
"Then why are you over here yelling like a banshee?" You ask, and he sighs again, crouching next to your coffee table.
"Because you're my sister. It's my job to embarrass you and also yell at any of my friends that think they have a chance with you." He says pointedly, before looking at Seokmin. "I mean it. She was gone for ten years, and if I lose her again I'm killing you. The grave will be a ditch in Appalachia and no one will ever find your fucking body."
Mingyu didn't stay to help unpack, instead handing the task over to Seokmin with the label of it being 'to prove he was worthy of being with you.' He left with a kiss to the side of your head and a sniff at Seokmin, stalking out of your apartment and slamming the door so hard the walls shook.
"…He wouldn't actually, would he?"
"No, I'm pretty sure he would. It's the could that I'm skeptical about, Mingyu can't even go hunting."
Seokmin snorted, laying back on the couch and pulling you on top of him with a soft brush of his lips to your cheek.
"Well, he doesn't have to worry about it. After all, I could spend the rest of my life worshipping you and it still wouldn't be enough."
Pairing : Idol!Lee Seokmin (Dokyeom) x Reader Genres : SMAU, Established Relationship, Fluff, Comedy Warnings : Downbad Reader
ᯓ★ Synopsis : You were just minding your business until Dokyeom dropped a set of Maldives photos that ruined your grocery run and your will to live. Now you’re one emoji away from flying to the Maldives for scientific research purposes.
