pov: johnny’s bored while waiting for you so he took these photos to let you know he’s by tokyo tower 🤭 even though that pose he did is meant for osaka 🙌🏻
[16:42] boyfriend!johnny was aware that his large physique intimated people. a tall stature he inherited from his parents and his time as an athlete contributed to this. back then, he had been the subject of such rumours that he was a part of a triad during his time in school.
for whatever reason there was, the majority believed it to be true. they’re following the stereotype, he’d say. despite being at the taller side of the height spectrum, it was obvious he would be mistakened to be aloof. in contrast though, he was still well appreciated and respected by everyone.
you were guilty of being a part of the majority for a shortwhile, but those rumours were proven to be false when you discovered something quite surprising. with other people, he was quite cold but friendly. but with you..
.. johnny was a tsundere, and a huge one on that note.
he was misunderstood by many when in reality, he was such a sweetheart and more of a gentleman than others would like to offer. he was just soft for you.
you’ve been his girlfriend and were in a relationship since then and entered your fifth month together. so johnny wanted to hang out at the arcade, saying that the trending reels of alphabet dates inspired him to do so.
good for you since you were looking for some excitement after finishing your graduation papers. it even became more interesting when you spotted your high school friends, majority of them being guys and introduced him to them.
your boyfriend was taken back by this, he didn’t know that you were very friendly with guys. of course he’d understand the nostalgic familiarity you felt.
“babe.” he playfully whined, placing his lips on your head, his hand around your waist. but he felt a little kick in his heart when you slowly entertained them.
“just for a bit, babe. it’s been 10 years.” you locked his hand to yours.
the small talk you had led to the punching machine, knowing that things would get rowdy in a bit. johnny felt a little protective and his hold on your hand tightened that it wasn’t unnoticable for you.
“johnny, was it?” jaebeom started, “fancy a game?” referring to the punching machine.
“yeah, sure.” he coldly accepted, making you raise an eyebrow in a skeptical way.
one by one your high school friends had their turn. johnny stood by the basketball ring machine, one hand on it and another on his hip, observing the guys.
if you remembered correctly, he scored a 961 with people from his 127 filming club. this time the highest score was 943, made by jaebeom. piece of cake, he thought.
folding his sleeve up to his shoulder, you couldn’t help but silently laugh at what your boyfriend was trying to prove.. that he was way stronger than any of them combined.
boom. his punch landed on the bag. the numbers crawled up quickly. johnny was sure he’d at least score 965. when the numbers showed a 949, jaebeom and his friends nodded in pride that your boyfriend was not someone they should mess with.
when you bid your farewells after a 10 minute meeting, you turn to johnny. “what was that all about?” you snickered, cupping his face seeing him all pouty.
he sniffed in a laugh and peeked glances around, making sure you two were alone. his arms wrapped around your waist, pulling you close to him. “whatever you mean?”
you poked his cheek dimples as he smiled and that’s when you figured him out. “you were jealous, weren’t you?”
he hid his face between your neck and shoulder, “mhm. you saw right through me. was i obvious?”
you carressed his hair, he was being a softie when it’s just the two of you. “johnny, babe, it was waayy too obvious.”
he pulled back, smiling at you endearingly. he ran his thumb along your lips before placing his on it. “of course, gotta show ‘em who the alpha is.”
you laughed too loud for your liking, covering your mouth and playfully hit his chest. “oh that’s what it is. i guess i should bark?”
johnny parroted your laugh before challenging you, “can you? bark for me?”
“make me.” you ruffled his hair, making his grip on you tighten.
[17:35] you were feeling under the weather today due to the monthly visits from a familiar friend. fiancé!johnny was no stranger to this and funnily got used to the repeated cycles in the three years of your relationship.
so he forcibly, yet sweetly dragged you out for a late afternoon walk for groceries since he saw your refridgerator was close to being empty.
grocery shopping with johnny has its perks and downsides especially when you both decide to have a date night in. this time around it was designated in your studio loft apartment, the reason being that his roommates were being too loud and he just wanted to leave the chaos for a while. “your home is a safe haven.” he’d say.
he reminded you that spicy, oily, sugary foods, and of the sort were a no-go—as if you didn’t know that already. but weather was cold and spicy food with some kind of protein was all you wanted for dinner tonight.
you both entered the supermarket and walked along the jar section to buy the ingredients paired for tonight’s raffled choice of disney movie: zootopia. johnny teased that it was the right timing for you both to go vegetarian for dinner to match the theme.
“ugh but i’m in the mood for spicy chicken.” you pouted, and it came to a halt when johnny gave his toothy smirk and raised his eyebrow at you. slightly hitting his arm, you knew of the implication, “not that kind of spicy! gosh.”
he just laughed softly and gave you a forehead kiss, saying he was kidding. “okay fine i’ll make an exception.” he pulled you closer to him as he pushed the grocery cart, “no spicy consumption, but we’re gonna go pescatarian. i was thinking greek hummus with corn chips, salmon salad, tofu stew, and some dark chocolate almond bark for dessert, deal?”
how glad were you to have him plan the menu for movie night. he may not look like it, but johnny’s great in the kitchen. and he always made sure that you were well taken care of during this time of the month. sometimes you’d joke that it was his act of service to not get on your bad side.
you tiptoed and returned the kiss to his left cheek, though closer to his jaw, “deal.”
johnny unexpectedly blushed. he stared at you and your lips for a bit as he ran his left hand on the very spot where you kissed him. he coughed to cover it up but it very obvious to you that he got so shy.
yes this is indeed a cafe to cafe interaction! i’m really glad you’re still here! i’ve been slowly making my way through your masterlist and reminiscing my love for johnny hehe. i’ve been well! although i no longer wrote for nct, they still hold a very special place in my heart ~
omg yay! 🤭 thank you for reading my works, hope they’re your cup of coffee 😉😂 gotta read some of your writings too
genre: cappucino, romance, angst, university!au, dad!au, drama, slice of life
pairing: collegestudent!johnny x fem!reader
bean count: 4.4k+
a/n: back with another update 😗🤎 note: this is only a work of fiction, it doesn’t reflect the artists’ personalities in any way.
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repetitive, humiliated, hurt. all the negative emotions you had back in june after your parents ghosted you that night all came back after five minutes of conversation. you thought you had it all under control, confident that you could face them without breaking down.
it backfired so bad.
the cafeteria doors opened as you stormed out, startling johnny and your friends. you ignored their calls for you, running away from your problems once again. johnny turned to them, pressing his lips. “sorry guys, movie time will have to wait. we can schedule it another time.”
taeyong and kun knew what their friend wanted to do, yet told him that it was best to leave you alone for a while. however the thought of how much you mean to him outweighed it. yeri and sana also knew some parts of your life and how you wouldn’t open up on something very serious to anyone, but to yoohyeon and recently to johnny.
they all knew of johnny’s situation with minji- how complicated it was getting but reminded him to not prolong it and talk to you about where your relationship was actually going to.
it’s funny how johnny was the eldest one among them and still asked for his friends’ views on his current indecisive self. when they gave a nod, he sprinted right behind you.
“i hope she’s okay.” mark said, and his eyes just fell to yeri, who was holding her tears. “hey, you good?”
yeri blinked her eyes, “y-yeah, i wish i could do something for her. i feel useless.” her back suddenly felt warm, the warmth from mark’s hand caught her off guard. “m-mark! not here.”
“what?” he chuckled and looked to the others, “i think we should let them know.”
yeri clicked her tongue, they’ve been dating since the confrontation they had with their bullies, “you and your wrong sense of time. ah my waterworks are suddenly gone. let’s go for dessert.” pushing him away, walking towards the campus entrance.
“aw but you’re so cute like this.” mark winked.
“shut up.”
johnny wasn’t sure how long you were running after to you turned to a corner, a dead end. his arm reaching for your hand, tugging you closer to him. “y/n! talk to me.”
“leave me alone, johnny.” you said, trying to break off his hold on you. “please.”
“not when you’re like this..” his voice had a little crack. he held your shoulder, turning you to face him gently. he fixed the hairstrands off of your view so you could see him clearly.
he noticed how you were heaving again because of your parents, a scene he dreaded to see so soon. he gripped the inhaler pump that was in his pocket, bringing it out. you took it from his hold, used it and you felt slightly better.
you cried, your arms already damp from your tears. never had you expected to be crying again. “i didn’t expect to have an outburst like that, i’m sorry.”
“don’t be.” he squeezed your shoulder, “you said what you to had to say. it’s hard to keep it in.”
“i’m tired of running, johnny..” you sniffed, “i feel so numb..”
“i know, you can feel numb at times like this, it’s hard to put up a front..” never had you heard someone encourage you to be vulnerable. “can i say something?” you nodded at his question, “don’t let it be; don’t allow it to be your norm.”
hearing him say that made your lips uncontrollably quiver.
“that’s the point, johnny. i’ve been jumping through numbness and feeling that i’m getting so tired of not knowing on how i should view them as.” wiping your eyes, looking at him that listened to your cries. “parents are meant to be my home. but the times where i have to face them, it’s like i have nothing to return to. how can they just let me go like that? i wanted them to call out for me..”
johnny hugged you, and his perfume weirdly calmed you down. he placed his hand on the back of your head, pulling your figure closer to him. “if i were the place you return to, then i’ll never let you go.”
he probably didn’t notice and unconsiously so, you felt like his lips touched the top of your forehead. you had a lot in your mind to be thinking something out of this. you just appreciated johnny for being here at your lowest moment.
“then.. can you hold me like this for a while?” you say, your arms wrapping his warm body tighter.
“mm, i will..” his thumb felt damp from the touch of your tears, wiping away any sadness evident from your face before enveloping you into his arms one again. “i’m here.”
he felt like home.
he felt like a fresh breeze of wind on a hot summer’s day. he felt like a warm cup of coffee on a cold winter’s night. he felt like drizzles of rain on dry land. he felt like a zap of lightning that awakened something your chest.
it was one that made your heart beat erratically, and you didn’t know how to deal with it.
———
johnny’s parents insisted you stay the night after having dinner at their place. you politely declined and said it’d be a hassle to even have an extra person.
knowing johnny’s mom, she was irresistable and very convincing that it was difficult not to reject. a trait johnny inherited and it was obviously working when he playfully did puppy eyes at you. “please? we’ll have movie night?”
chewing on the last bits of food, you wiped your mouth, then drinking your glass of coffee empty. “and you think that’ll work on me?” referring to his attempt of a cute convincing.
“ok if that didn’t work..,” he carried youngmin and placed him on his lap, “youngmin, on three. one, two, three.”
youngmin giggled at his dad when he pouted, his upper cheek dimples showing before the child looked at you as well, his lower lip coming out into a pout. “please stay.”
you snorted and struggled to swallow your drink, the water backfired and went straight to your nostrils. youngmin was funnier than johnny. the chair you sat on got pushed back that you coughed, though some of your drink got to your shirt and jeans.
“(auntie) spray nose.” youngmin laughed while pointing at you, making johnny and his parents laugh their asses off.
johnny patted your back, chuckling yet he felt bad for you. “you okay, y/n?” drinking his glass of soda.
youngmin leaned to johnny’s ear and cupped his hands in a whisper.
“daddy, auntie y/n is your babe.”
johnny’s eyes widened, coughing on his fizzling drink. “where did you learn that from, youngmin?” he whispered back in between coughs.
“auntie yewi, uncle mork.” he effortlessly said, and johnny’s eyes blinked in confusion, but he was so impressed to hear that this little toddler would probably be a heartthrob when he grows up.
“when did you hear them say.. ‘babe’?” he poked the small nose, clearing his throat.
“my birthday.”
johnny smiled in realisation, no wonder they stuck like glue recently. “uh huh.”
his attention changed from his son to you, who was wiping your eyes as it got teary. “i got an extra tshirt and basketball shorts that you can borrow. go get changed and we’ll watch a movie after.”
you hummed, also giggling at the funny situation earlier, “okay i give in.”
mrs. suh came out of the guest room; handing you a towel. “here, have a bath as well while you’re at it.” she turned to johnny when you walked towards the bathroom, “oh right john, we’re heading to your uncle’s place, we’ll be playing billards.”
“don’t tell me you both aren’t coming home again?” johnny asked in a shocking tone, though he knew very well his parents’ frequent night outs.
“yup, maybe.” his dad took his polo shirt that hung on his chair. “might have some beer pong too.”
johnny whined like a little kid, “man, you guys have it so easy. so unfair!” he then laughed, “i’m kidding, you guys have your fun. we’ll be having fun over here as well.”
you submerged yourself in the bath mrs. suh prepared before she left. the white tiled room slowly felt like a sauna, the windows and mirror fogging up as steam travelled around to empty spaces. this could open up your pores and the feeling was more than relaxing.
your eyes glanced at the sink, two cups filled with two toothbrushes each perked your attention. one cup had a larger toothbrush and one much smaller. it wasn’t hard to think it belonged to johnny and youngmin, a small smile creeping up your face.
it came across your mind, wondering how different johnny would be if he hadn’t had youngmin. would he still be the same johnny you knew? how was he like then? how his life was when it consisted just of.. him and minji? thinking too hard about it made you feel ridiculous for doing so.
you stood up and finished your bath, using the towel that was offered to you to pat yourself dry, and wearing the clothes johnny gave you. putting it on, it was then you realised: this was something couples.. would do.. slapping your cheeks lightly, you didn’t like how you thought things would mean something tonight. it just so happened you got your clothes dirty.
johnny’s ears twitched when he heard the bathroom door opening. the steam coming out and later your figure did. he swallowed his saliva in nervousness, why was he though? he shouldn’t be, but seeing you drying your hair with the towel and wearing his clothes that were obviously large on you made his ears heat up, shuffling on his seat on the sofa.
what is she being cute for?
“oh you got the area all prepared for movie night, nice.” you walked towards the living room that was filled with pillows and a few stuffed toys of youngmin’s on the sofa bed.
sitting down beside him, johnny stared at you making yourself comfortable, giving attention to youngmin who wanted to hug your arm. johnny didn’t mean to, but he again stared at how you wore his clothes and looked attractive in it. then his nostrils inhaled the familiar scent that made him hitch his breath.
she used my shampoo and shower gel.
johnny coughed to not make himself awkward. even if having realised his a gradual feelings towards you, he didn’t want to do anything to make you feel uncomfortable.
you looked at him, then you realised water droplets were dripping onto the sofa. “wait i’ll blow dry my hair, then we can watch movies.” fetching yourself to stand up, youngmin called your name and jumped on you like he wanted to do a piggyback. “ah youngmin!-“
you let out a shriek at the sudden weight and inconveniently lose your balance. it made you lean foward to johnny and he caught you on time- his hands on your waist and shoulder, which was good until you saw that your faces were inches away from each other’s. again.
the position was awkward, the gesture made it look like you were trying to make a move. you thought that johnny would be in discomfort that you were almost on top of him. that was the opposite when you noticed he didn’t break eye contact and held it longer than you expected.
johnny knew how you affected him since crossing paths at the dean’s camp. and that he meant it in a good way. though his friends meant the world to him as well, he was happy that you were also a part of it.
he didn’t know he was staring at you for a while until he felt his arm receive droplets from your wet hair. “t-the hair blower’s under the sink. we’ll wait for you to finish.”
“r-right, yeah.” you brought yourself up to your feet, “be back in a bit.” leaving and holding your cheeks together.
youngmin ran across the sofa towards johnny, “daddy kiss y/n?”
johnny actually smiled at that, and he was so glad he didn’t. you were too precious to him, besides, the feelings weren’t mutual. he stood up and walked towards the refrigerator, grabbing a bottle of his favourite red wine and two wine glasses.
“nice, i like red wine too.” he heard you say, walking to get one from him. “you good with your liquor tolerance? i know i am.”
he snickered at you, “i can hold my liquor, watch me.” he smirked at you, challenging a drink off.
“dad i want juice too.” youngmin reached his hands up. “me too please.”
the three of you sat and watched a kid friendly movie, youngmin choosing lion king as his favourite because he sang with most of it. obviously, he watched it a number of times.
“cheers?” he held his glass out to you, while you returned the gesture.
“i like how we’re casually having wine in the presence of a two year old, it’s fancy.” you twirled your glass, looking at youngmin watching the musical segment of ‘i just can’t wait to be king.’
“yeah but he’s so much fancier, he’s got a grape juice bottle from his favourite snack store. guess what? it’s limited edition.” johnny chuckled when youngmin raised his plastic glass cup as well.
“you’re kidding.” you feigned a gasp, “no wonder he’s all smug tonight.”
it took about two more movies until youngmin fell asleep on the large bean bag halfway through the incredibles. you and johnny were on your fourth or fifth glass of wine, seated on the carpet by the coffee table. still challenging each other on wine tolerance.
“think you handle one more bottle? ‘cause i know i can.” your face all hot but can still form a stable sentence, doing a bunny smile.
“nah you’re just a show off. i bet you can’t last this glass i’m pouring for you.” johnny’s eyes all droopy, cheeks red and words slightly slurring. “you can’t beat me.”
“wanna bet?” you shrieked, pointing at him, drinking the half filled glass in one go. johnny laughed stupidly at how you nearly choked and he followed suit to race you.
he caught up to finish his own glass, the two of you placing the glasses on the coffee table. “ha! told ya i’m a good drinker!”
“and i’m the show off??” you snorted, licking your lips, laughing at the irony. “they say if you’re a good drinker, you’re a better kisser~”
johnny did his signature monotonous laugh, his cheek dimples appearing just under his eyes. “are you inviting me, y/n? are you saying you’re good at making out??”
your sleepy eyes just blinked at him, you couldn’t make out what he said because your hearing was getting muffled. and you hated to admit that he was right, that you couldn’t last after the last drink.
johnny knew the both of you were already tipsy, just borderline sober and not close to being drunk. well, he couldn’t even think straight at the moment. he heard you mumble something but he himself couldn’t understand a single word you said.
he figured he needed to go closer to you, and he heard you mumble incoherent words. “can you say it clearly, y/n?”
“ha?” you bubbled your lips, looking at him. “speak louder, johnny.”
johnny leaned closer to hear you properly. he held your face with his hand, your lips puckering up at the pressure of his hold on your cheeks. “i said say it clearly-“ his eyes were at eye level with yours but he stared at your lips instead: all plumped and kissable-
“but i am saying clearly-” your sentence cut short when you fell forwards, all knocked out. and johnny’s tipsy self suddenly became sober in a second.
he was certain he wasn’t imagining it, he felt it. he felt your lips brushed onto his before you leaned on his chest, asleep. though he couldn’t move a muscle because youngmin’s beanbag was next to him and you were by his other side: a sandwich in between two precious beings. so he slowly closed the wine bottles and put the glasses under the drawer so it couldn’t break.
johnny thanked the heavens you weren’t the type to vomit when drunk as he adjusted his position, as well as making you comfortable on his chest/ shoulder. managing to stretch his legs and placed a pillow behind his head, leaning on the sofa as the sandman finally worked his magic to put him in dreamland.
keys jingled and the door slowly opened, johnny’s parents chuckled in amusement seeing the three figures in front of them, all cuddled up and sleeping soundly.
———
johnny’s been mindful than before. you knew he has been, and likewise, you were to him as well. he had always felt like warm fuzzy blanket. he was that comfortable to be with.
you could consider him as a best friend given with how close you both became. despite the fact you had a crush on him, you kept that space between you two as to not make things shift quickly.
the following days have been busy, your schedule’s been packed with projects, meetings with several professors, and other dean lister’s duties. final year had never been so stressful. you, johnny, taeyong, sana, and kun would be wrapping up your university life next spring.
meeting up with the rest was nearly impossible, and when you did, it was only during lunch or short tea breaks. one of you would leave earlier than the others for the next class.
you had accepted that things were changing rather quickly. though something at the back of your mind was knocking your head into the stress line. it was needle in a haystack at this point to find out why.
it was evident that everyone was busy. especially johnny, you thought. holding two different majors was challenging already. but you knew johnny and the way he did things. he was smart and handled his responsibilities really well that tripping over wasn’t even on his list.
maybe you expected so much from him? because all you could make out was that johnny felt distant, he rarely texts you good mornings, coffee later’s, or even all the best’s (if there were any quizzes and projects involved). you wanted to get to the bottom of it by asking him directly, and every single time you wanted to, the timing was just too off.
the only thing you could do was to just wait. you weren’t the type to put your nose into someone’s else business. you weren’t the type to feel entitled to anything- maybe except to your estranged relationship towards your parents.
speaking of them either way, they’ve been at the campus premises since your breakdown, according to the stuff you’ve been hearing from sana and yeri. you were in doubt until you actually saw your dad suddenly being a guest professor on economics. the other time your mom being a requested thesis evaluator or judge, if you will, at some of the pushed back seniors from the year prior.
you’ve made eye contact with them, and something in them felt different as well. you didn’t want to get ahead of yourself and think that all is becoming well. you also hoped that they weren’t doing all that just to get on your good side and then it was all actually just a front.
so you gave it sometime to think long and hard about. what if your cries were finally heard? what if their walls were finally broken down? what if you reached their heartstrings and tugged it down to soften their tough demeanours?
were all of your feelings and heavy words that day? you prayed that they were.
you then checked your calendar and journal for any outstanding tasks left undone. a smile you did only clarified that you finished everything on the list.
your phone lit up, seeing a text message from someone you never thought of receiving from. the partner you were matched with on loveclick.
[ dudekuma ] : “Hi @dandeliondreams! How’s it going?”
your eyes blinked at your phone, pulling a face at it as well. the heck is this username yoohyeon made for you? the app’s been iffy since you started using it. at least you didn’t have to download unnecessary updates anymore.
[ dudekuma ] : “i know we’ve been matched a few months back, but i was hoping we could talk properly now after the app’s not jammed.”
you carefully took your phone to unlock it, replying to this guy. it had been a few months since you last used it and you still found this weird.
[ you ] : “hi. actually.. i’m available. just finished studying.”
[ dudekuma ] : “studying? is the early childhood course that demanding?”
snickering a laugh, you thought this guy was very on point. he wasn’t wrong though.
[ you ] : “i guess you could say that. you’re a business major, @dudekuma? you’re really putting your major into use.”
[ dudekuma ] : “we’re getting to know each other, it’s normal hahah. listen, i could really use some advise right now.”
[ you ] : “sure, i hope i could help?”
[ dudekuma ] : “there’s this girl my friend really likes, but he’s not sure how to tell her because there’s someone in the way. he’s not really in good terms with that ‘someone’, so he’s kinda stuck with that.”
raising a brow, you questioned this person. what was he, a high schooler who never dated? but how could you say that when you yourself never dated as well? guess same feathers flock together. so you just went with what your guts felt.
[ you ] : “if your friend really likes her, then he shouldn’t care about that other someone and just tell her straight away. if he’s affected by that someone, then he’s not ready at all to face obstacles if he’s in a relationship. maybe there will be someone else better.”
it took a while for your phone to beep again.
[ dudekuma ] : “straight on. you’re good at this, experienced?”
[ you ] : “not really, it’s common sense tho.”
[ dudekuma ] : “ahaha, gotcha! well it’s nice talking to you for a bit. i gotta go for classes. if you’re ready to meet in person or for a date, just hmu here!”
[ you ] : “yeah, sure.”
exiting the application, your placed your phone on your chest and stared at the ceiling.
that was weird.
———
yeri stared at you texting away at your phone, like you’ve been using it more often than she was used to seeing. even if she was doing her facial routine with a face mask, she could see you smiling at your phone like an idiot through the bathroom mirror.
she hesitantly reached for her phone, shooting a text message to mark.
[🐢] : “babe? is johnny busy? 👀”
[🦁] : “babe, we’re dating and you’re asking for johnny hyung? my heart 💔”
[🐢] : “just.. answer the question, is johnny using his phone? 🤔”
[🦁] : “nope, he’s giving youngmin a bath. why? 👀”
[🐢] : “okay, ‘cause i think y/n’s using loveclick, like i see her on it all the time 🥲 did something happen between them?”
[🦁] : “not that i know of, i don’t stay here at their dorms, only if i need to babysit 🤗. maybe she’s just watching a movie or something.”
[🐢]: “ok, then. i hope she is though.”
[🦁]: “hey, we got nothing to worry about. for all i know, they’re in good terms. they’re just busy with their final year. we can’t assume anything.”
you giggled at your phone for rewatching friends, the show was such a stress reliever. you started season 1 just earlier this week and now you’re hooked to season 3. never gets old, you told yourself.
taking peek at yeri who officially decided to move in your and yoohyeon’s dorm, she was sure taking her time on her morning routine since the school’s on holiday for a few days due to staff development day. fall was closing in so they wanted to have time before midterms come along for the underclassmen.
a tab appeared on the top of your screen, a text message from johnny made you sit up, your stomach churning.
[ johnny ] : “hi y/n, i know we haven’t been meeting up much but i was hoping if you could babysit youngmin again this coming week? i’m kinda busy.”
[ you ] : “yeah sure, i could do that.”
[ you ] : “are you okay?
it took sometime for him to reply you.
[ johnny ] : “yeah, just a lot going on this school year🥲”
[ you ] : “okay. i hope you can get through it, besides, we’re graduating next year. a penny for thoughts? 👀”
[ johnny ] : “i’m good, thank you. i’ll drop youngmin off on wednesday morning, okay? 🙇🏻♂️”
[ you ] : “okay! i’ll see you both then 🤗”
johnny stared at his phone all blank. with all the things that was on his mind, he didn’t know why guilt was building in his chest. he didn’t deserve you at all. he was the type to convey his feelings through communication and he found that ideal to do in any relationship.
somehow, for the first time, he was left tongue-tied. he couldn’t find the right words to say. for the first time, he was stuck in a quicksand not knowing how to lift himself up. and he had never experienced something like this before.
“mr. suh? we’re about to do the ultrasound, the image will show on the monitor in a bit.” the ob-gyn’s voice entered his hearing, smiling as she held the transducer, placing it on minji’s stomach.
“baby’s all healthy.. and-” the ob-gyn continued to explain.
minji gave a small smile as she looked on the screen, looking foward to the baby’s image, listening to the heartbeat heard when it was spotted. she held johnny’s hand while at it, the action he hadn’t felt in a long time.
his eyes trailed to the person who initiated it. it made him clench his jaw, expressionless. he didn’t know what to feel, at least, at the moment.
a/n: not me crying in singleness while writing this 🥹this fluffy coffee was meant to be posted a day ago but i kept rewriting because i wasn’t satisfied and now it’s longer than i expected lmao 👀 anyway enjoy my very late valentine’s day gift for you my beans ☕️💚
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people have been talking about the popular trio in your year. they even got other students from different universities seeing them outside the gates after classes.
among the three of them were the handsome and musically talented lee taeyong, the smiling sunshine and varsity football player nakamoto yuta, and the ever sexy, volleyball loving sweetheart photographer johnny suh.
they were always the talk of the campus since freshmen year and their presence emitted a strong pull that you only knew how celebrities did. were they that attractive? yes. although the trio were indeed popular, most of them were gushing on the so-called “twins”: taeyong and yuta, with the latter being a transferee from osaka, japan.
the third one, however, didn’t have everyone’s eyes on him as much as taeyong and yuta. he was still talked about though, and they’d talk about johnny suh being the sexy one out of the three and only loved- and i quote: only talked about his bread-like abs during sport events.
it was a biased statement and agreed consensus that everyone had to which you beg to differ. there was so much more to him behind than his muscular physique, you guessed.
as the recent saying goes: “in every trio, there is…”and in this particular trio in your year, johnny suh, who hails from chicago, was the one to have got your attention the most. he was your type, so much that he was the only one you noticed behind the sparkles that shone around the other two.
johnny simply stood out. and quite literally. he was mysterious like a cat, but aggressive like a tiger in the court.
you weren’t one to be so smittened with just anyone. your heart has never been swayed this much as far as you could remember. because you- out of your friend group at least- was hard to please and very choosy.
mina at the moment asked how you managed to have a crush on johnny. and you smiled so stupidly recalling how he stood in front of you and used his hand to block a powerful spike that nearly hit your face.
you remembered the gush of wind that swept in front and his perfume that was oddly refreshing despite it being mixed with sweat. looking up, there was one feature of his you definitely liked. and you simply answered, “he.. saved me from a spike.”
and by the time you looked up at her while your fork spun around the pasta, never have you ever seen mina with an expression that was close to a meme.
“that’s it?” she put down her spoon. “you fell in love because of that?”
you rolled your eyes, “i’m not in love with him, it’s called a crush. they’re different.”
she giggled softly, “well it’s leaning towards that, y/n. i’m glad you finally opened up your heart this time.”
lisa laughed at that comment, “clearly at someone real and not a fictional character. johnny’s in my photography major. he’s usually alone but he got people staring at him more than the actual professor in every lecture.”
“and you’re telling me this because?” you chewed on your food but still maintaining eye contact with her.
“because despite being the “sexy one”, i heard he’s single and is planning to ask someone out in our year for valentine’s.” lisa shrugged and snorted at how you choked on your meal hearing that.
mina gave you a glass of water and lightly slapped lisa’s shoulder, “you good? i mean, y/n, this is your chance to ask him out too.” making you cough on your drink. your best friends turning to each other and giving each other a high-five.
“they’re probably just baseless rumours, girls.” you wiped your mouth, trying to ignore whatever they were saying.
though at the back of your mind, going on a date with johnny suh was a wishful thinking. you guys were friends to begin with, acquaintances rather, through lisa and taeyong’s relationship.
the faint cheers and giggles from your table had johnny’s group of friends looking. taeyong smiled at his girlfriend lisa, who was obviously aware with the fact she might’ve told you about how johnny’s current relationship status was.
yuta nudged the sides of taeyong’s waist, “you think johnny will ask any of lisa’s friends? we could go on a triple date this year.”
taeyong sipped from his juice box, his doe eyes never leaving her side profile. “you bet, johnny’s already decided on who to take for valentine’s.”
yuta crossed his arms, his black nail polish evident on his fingers. he grinned while he stared at a certain someone. “he better not take mina, i got dibs on her.”
“who says i’m taking mina?” the guys immediately turned around to see johnny behind them. johnny took a peek the girls they just conversed about. “i’ll be asking y/n out for valentine’s.”
the two snickered at him, “about time. but you say it as if it’s your first valentine date ever.”
“please, i was asked more than you two combined but i expected that they always want one thing. so i declined.” johnny pointed out blankly and the guys knew already.
“shoot, a one night stand after the date?” yuta licked his lips before breaking out in a laughter. “well someone’s choosy. you are built better than us so i get what the girls want.”
johnny just smirked at the ridiculous claim he has heard quite a number of times. for once, he just wanted to have a normal date. the previous dates he went on before weren’t what he wanted or even looking for.
taeyong put his bag on the bench while they all sat around the table. “so what made you decide on taking y/n this year?”
johnny’s reddening ears caught the guys beside him off guard. that alone already confessed so many things. “i like her.. like a lot. i think it was since the beginning of the semester.”
taeyong’s smile faded when he felt that johnny was serious. and he knew whenever his best friend johnny is that serious about something, he’d do anything to make his point clear.
yuta, on the other hand, was just enjoying what he sees and decided to tease the boy a little more though he was quite scary. “so that’s why you did that move? when you saved her from the spike a while back?”
johnny coughed on his lunch, he was busted. never had he experienced anyone putting him on the hot seat before because that was his job in the first place.
the boys decided to tease him further more the whole lunch by saying you were probably asked by other guys already because today was the 13th. johnny’s eyes widened realising he’s lost track of time.
you should still be available, right?
his eyes searched for you, hoping you were still around and definitely still have the 14th vacant for him. he felt his heart beating out of his chest and didn’t stop its speed when he spotted you laughing with lisa and mina.
he didn’t care what other people would think. he knew the effect he had on almost everyone by being the tall, sexy, young man he was referred to.
but they wouldn’t know the effect you had on him at all.
they wouldn’t know how much he liked you. til today.
so he stood up, putting his nervousness behind him and walked up to where you were. “y/n.” you looked up to the sweet voice that called your name, so mesmerised with the fact that your crush is literally in front of you.
whispers and chatters of students around the cafeteria made you nervous. you knew johnny though you thought you were dreaming, you couldn’t stop thinking about one thing: ‘why me?’
johnny’s hand reached into his pocket and took out four tickets. those you recognised as movie and amusement park tickets respectively. “i don’t normally do this so i’m just as nervous as you are..” he scratched the back of his head, ears as red as his cheeks. “y/f/n, will you be my valentine this year?”
mina and lisa squealed in a happy panic while shaking each other’s shoulders, with lisa taking a photo to commerate a historical moment. “this is it!”
your ears heated up and your eyes never left his face. johnny too, couldn’t keep his eyes off of you. you were beautiful in a way he couldn’t explain. sure, you weren’t exactly his type before but now he was certain you ticked all of his boxes.
blinking a bit, your mouth couldn’t stop quivering into a smile. you were so lucky today.
johnny didn’t like the suspension that he was almost breaking into a sweat. were you going to say yes-
“yes.”
he gasped, and he bit his lip. “y-yes?”
“mhm.”
johnny curled his fists and punched one into the air. “oh my g- yes!” hearing his friends behind him howling and cheering, he sighed a puff of relief. then he regained his composure and said rather confidently, “thank you. i’ll pick you up tomorrow at 10am?”
“the movie’s at 9, johnny.” you shook the tickets before standing up to go to your next lecture. “so i’ll see you earlier then.”
he watched your figure leave the cafeteria with your friends, giving him a small wave and a smile. and he was dazzled. his crush on you was getting somewhere.
other girls ran up to him and blocked his way with questionable faces and tried to hand in their letters and chocolate to him.
“johnny, why did you ask y/n? i’m better!”
“she’s a nobody!”
“you could’ve asked me instead!”
“so unfair!”
“ugh do i have to wait next year again?”
taeyong could see the discomfort in johnny’s face but still found it funny how he never broke eye contact at you.
“boy’s smittened.”
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lost in thought, you weren’t sure how long you were standing in front of your full length mirror so early in the morning. sighing, you should’ve listened to lisa last night to wake up early.
and now she’s nagging at you with a toothbrush in her mouth. “what did i tell you? we’re all dressed up but you.”
you rubbed your eyes to remove the sand that built up overnight. “yeah but my clothes got dirtied by mina and her coffee.”
mina gasped as she curled her hair, pointing her curler at you. “in my defense, who puts their outfit on the dining table?”
raising your hands, you admitted defeat. “me, okay? i woke up late. so save me a lecture.”
the girls laughed, they knew you were nervous as heck for your first ever valentine’s date. it was a first that johnny himself asked someone out in public even though he was a very private person. but they also knew how you and johnny suh were a good match. it was undeniable.
so lisa took something out from a paper bag and gave it to you, saying to save it for tonight.
taking a peek at the item, you screamed in disgust and threw it back to her. “lisa!”
“what?” she laughed, her pearly whites and smile was so contagious that it made mina laugh as well. “might as well get on with it!”
you slammed the table with your hands, “ha? i’m not that vulgar! i’m as innocent as an angel!”
mina snorted like a pig would do and disagreed with you. “says someone who was staring at his shirtless volleyball pictures on instagram last night.”
your cheeks heated up so much that it crawled straight to your ears. “i- i’ll go get ready.” walking away to your bedroom to look for something else to wear. good thing you had a back up outfit.
“yuta texted, said that they’d pick us up in thirty!” mina turned her screen off after reading the notification.
“shut up mina!” your voice behind the door made her shake her head in satisfaction.
“the pressure’s real now, isn’t it, y/n?”
“mina said they’re almost ready.” yuta put his phone in the pocket of his jacket. then seeing johnny checking himself out on the rearview mirror as he drove to your shared apartment with the girls. “dude, chill, you look great.”
johnny smirked before parking briefly. as he and the guys went out of the car, you three came into sight all dressed up. and he swore he actually took a step back when his eyes set on you.
you sported a light lilac puff sleeved dress that had a knot around your waist. the ruffled hem of the dress reach an inch & a half above your knees. and you paired the whole outfit with white sneakers and a light yellow headband.
johnny blushed, and he feigned an innocent cough to cover up his growing flustered reaction. this.. this was what he meant with how you had that effect on him. he was quick enough to change his expression before the rest of the group looked at him.
mina, yuta, lisa, and taeyong looked at the both of you and just realised how your outfits matched. johnny’s outfit was similar with yours; an oversized purple dress shirt, a white tank, cashew coloured pants, a pair of white sneakers, and ending the whole fit with a pale mustard yellow bag.
johnny freaking suh was dashing this morning.
“we didn’t plan this, did we?” johnny broke the silence, before walking towards you.
he brought his hand out, asking permission to hold yours. you pressed your lips together and did what he requested. strangely enough, his hand had a very nice warmth.
he pulled you closer to his side, putting his arm around your shoulders gently. you could hear your heart ringing in your ears. he was too close for comfort but for crying out loud, he wasn’t just any person, he was johnny suh; the guy you very much liked.
“we’ll be late for our breakfast movie date, see you guys later at night.” he signaled his friends and yours, shaking his car keys on his free hand.
while you both turned to a corner a few streets away from your building complex, johnny released his hold on you. stunned, you saw how tensed he was after acting all tough.
that amused you a lot. because behind that intimidating and manly exterior, was a soft and nervous guy on a date.
you wouldn’t say you were any different either, because you were just as tensed as he was. “you okay?”
johnny finally looked at you, “sorry, i’m not usually like this.”
then it hit you.
“is this your first valentine’s date?”
“a proper one, actually.” johnny sighed while looking at his watch, “crap we got ten minutes ‘til the movie starts.”
your eyes widened and didn’t think for a second,. “well we don’t want to be late now, do we?” looking at the town just a few blocks away. “i’ll race you.”
johnny was in shock and broke out into a cackle. “okay. but don’t blame me if you lose.”
“don’t underestimate me, suh.” you grinned, already sprinting away from him. gosh were you happy you chose to wear sneakers today.
the movie was a re-showing of spiderman: no way home. and you heard that johnny was a huge spiderman fan. luckily for him, you were into movies from marvel. except for the recent ones, we don’t talk about those.
after the morning date, johnny had everything planned out. the next agenda was to go for a stroll in the park to take photos and to your surprise, he really lived up to his reputation.
you’ve come to learn that johnny got this passion from his mom, who also took great photos of him when he was younger.
johnny looked at his camera’s viewfinder and spotted you smiling under the rising noontime sun. he hitched a breath, you were so beautiful, and he found himself falling in love even more.
“you hungry? it’s almost lunch time.” you asked him, breaking him out of a daze.
“yeah!” his voice came out all funny, “i booked seats at a restaurant just there.” he pointed at a crowded street. “you good with sushi?”
he was sure his heart melted when you jumped in excitement. “omg i love sushi! let’s go!”
as you walked to the crowded street, johnny felt stares at him that made him uncomfortable. you weren’t oblivious to this though, your sharp eyes caught how even random ladies your age would fuss over the model like young man beside you.
hearing whispers on how handsome he looked and how he was an ideal type for all, you knew he was tensed. so you didn’t think twice to hold his hand and pulled him, walking across the crowd.
it was like how you knew his mind was occupied, johnny felt at peace when he felt your hand on his. “i heard we could get a discount if we go in as a couple.. for today.” he heard you say and your eyes smiled at him. “you good with that?”
finally, a considerate question. someone who apparently spotted his vulnerable self and someone who actually cared for him. you were so different than the previous dates he’s had.
“yeah.” he smiled at you, staring at your tinted lips that called onto him. then he mentally slapped himself for thinking that so early.
lunch was actually quite enjoyable, johnny kept the conversation going and he was unexpectedly funny. putting in one-liners and cracking a couple of jokes filled your stomach with laughter more than the food itself.
he was attractive, loved and intimidated by many, and he was idolised by many sport enthusiasts. to see your crush take you out for valentine’s and witness how he really is in person was something you’d like to keep. and he was just a normal goofball.
a cute kind of goofball.
“if you stare at me for too long i might as well kiss you.” he teased you while he plopped a sushi in his mouth.
“with that salmon sashimi in your mouth? no thanks.” you teased back, catching johnny off guard and he coughed. you chuckled and gave him a glass of water. “sorry about that.”
“that was unexpected.” he cackled, “but that only told me that you’re willing to kiss me.”
you only shook your head, “maybe. maybe not.”
again johnny was taken aback by you, did you have feelings for him for you to say such a thing? today was a friendly date, but would things be different if you both actually have mutual feelings?
he didn’t want to get ahead of himself yet he hoped something good would happen today.
“bill please.” johnny gestured to the waiter, taking his wallet out. his peripheral vision caught you taking your pouch out as well. “it’s okay, y/n, my treat.”
“but-”
“i know about the half and half payment situation going on. but since it’s valentine’s day, let me treat you.” placing his card underneath the receipt book.
“okay, but it means you’re treating me the whole day though.”you closed your wallet, smiling regrettably at him.
johnny just smirked, “unless i score another date with you.”
your cheeks heated up again. smooth, johnny suh. “alright.”
“let’s go to the amusement park?” he stood up, letting you go first to exit the restaurant.
you nodded excitedly, today was going to be a long day for you.
for the whole afternoon, you and johnny rode quite a lot of rides there was in the amusement park. even stopping for a cotton candy and a churro snack break in some of them. and just like johnny, never had you ever experienced a date as fun as this.
two of the last things you both did were the game stalls and bump cars. he bluffed saying that he’d win you a teddy bear even though he really liked it. it was then you found out that he loved stuffed toys. it should’ve been a turn off but for you, it wasn’t. it was actually adorable.
you both ended up carrying two giant teddy bears after being competitive with each other.
johnny brought out his digital film camera and took shots to remember the whole event. he was enjoying himself and couldn’t wait to actually have more with you- if there was going to be more anyway.
he knew he was in love you for the longest of time he knew you. and he couldn’t help but think you did as well. he loved the way you still looked so pretty after you hair was in a mess during the bump cars, smiling and having fun with him.
getting off the bump cars while the sun painted a hue of pink and orange, you both walked towards the turnstile to exit. he checked his phone for a bit while when he noticed people looking at your behind.
until he spotted a bright red stain on your dress. you probably didn’t know you had your period today. locking his phone, he took off his dress shirt and wrapped it around your waist.
for the bystanders who witnessed this, it felt like slow motion that it was a scene worthy to be penned for a romantic movie.
you gasped a bit at the very close proximity with him. “johnny?”
“excuse me for this y/n.” he said softly by your ear. “you’re on your period, so i had to cover your back before more people see it.”
his low velvet voice gave you goosebumps and then realised how embarrassing it was to have him do that. when your eyes met with his, his apologetic smile made you fluster so much.
what you didn’t expect was the now sleeveless johnny- was just as flustered as you were. not sure how long you were staring at his beautiful brown eyes, also at his plumped lips. you decided to break the awkward silence.
“oh my gosh.” you covered the lower half of your face. “i need to go buy sanitary napkins.”
johnny coughed briefly before letting go of your waist. “.. right. i’ll wait for you when you’re done.” taking one of the bears while the other one sat on the bench.
making your way to the girls’ toilet after purchasing a pack of napkins, you slapped your cheeks in embarrassment. your period should’ve arrived after the date. now johnny had to walk around in his tank top for the rest of the evening without his dress shirt.
his dress shirt.. ah whatever. you told yourself.
johnny’s expression lit up when he saw you exiting the toilet, still feeling bad for you but eased up when you smiled. “well since i do have my period, i’m suddenly hungry.”
he snapped his fingers and laughed at your reaction on everything. “great, one last hurrah. i booked a reservation at a french restaurant. heard ladies shouldn’t consume anything oily.”
your mouth went agape as he skipped away with the two teddy bears. “but i was craving for burgers and fries!”
“well you’re having baguette and framboise tonight, young lady.” he called out and laughed once again. and that actually made you chuckle.
“you pronounced ‘framboise’ wrong!”
after you both finished your meal at the fancy french restaurant, you still felt bad about his dress shirt while he must’ve felt cold throughout dinner. it must’ve been stained by now. johnny was quick to pay attention, he licked his lips and rubbed his chin as you both walked back home.
so, the whole valentine’s day was productive; morning cinema and breakfast, a scroll in the park, lunch at a sushi restaurant, amusement park, and a french cuisine dinner. a total package. johnny really outdid himself on this one.
he wished today didn’t end so soon.
and so did you.
“i had fun today, johnny. thank you for being my first valentine ever.” you bit your lip while doing a repetitive tiptoe movement.
johnny ruffed your hair, “i’m glad you liked everything. i hope we can do more of this.”
your eyes lit up, he enjoyed your company. “definitely. but hope this-” you gestured to your ‘accident’, “- doesn’t happen again.”
“y/n, don’t worry about it.” he spoke out, letting you know it wasn’t any problem for him at all.
you scratched the back of your head, “thank you, and i’m so sorry, johnny. i promise to wash it and return it to you.”
he held your shoulder, “it’s okay. keep it. i’ve got an extra one.”
“maybe you just want me to remember about it.” you playfully rolled your eyes and johnny chuckled.
“or maybe i wanted to imprint you.” he stared at your face, then to your lips for a few seconds before laughing. “i’m kidding.”
he waited for an answer but you just blinked at him, looking at his lips that was the distraction the whole day. he took that as a cue that maybe you also wanted what he thought of too. but he didn’t want to act recklessly.
it was quiet for like ten seconds. and ten seconds felt like forever. you felt like your heart was going to explode and johnny felt a rush in him to just go for it.
he put down his bag and the stuffed toy, pulled you closer to him. his hand placed around your back and the free one by your jaw. your face was close to his and you both could feel the tension that was evident in the air.
and even though it was like that, you loved how johnny had the decency to ask your permission before anything.
“can i kiss you?” he asked softly, his eyes trailed to your lips once more before back to your eyes.
the way you were lost in his gaze, how your eyes moved its attention to his lips, and a small nod was already a signal for johnny to make his move.
the grip he had on you tightened a little and you both shared a kiss under the lamp post that was outside your apartment complex. you didn’t know long it was until you and johnny’s smart watches alerted, saying:
“detecting abnormal heart rate.”
stopping almost abruptly, you both caught your breaths after a mutual understanding of your unsaid feelings towards each other, you and johnny softly laughed.
“does this mean we’re official?” you asked nervously, holding his forearms. johnny pinched your cheek as he hugged you gently, swaying you both around and you sniffed in a quiet laughter in his chest.
“well y/n, we’ve already imprinted on each other so.. yes, we’re official. my valentine.”
genre: cappucino, romance, angst, university!au, dad!au, drama, slice of life
pairing: collegestudent!johnny x fem!reader
bean count: 5k+
warnings: confrontation, emotional breakdown
a/n: another friday coffee!🤎note: this is only a work of fiction, it doesn’t reflect the artists’ personalities in any way.
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the moment you set your life in place when you left home was the time where you felt free. the you could do whatever you wanted, made good friends to keep, and perhaps fall in love..?
since the day you and johnny had the dance in the rain that you thought only happened in movies, you noticed how cautious he was towards you. in a way that he was much more mindful on surroundings than you were.
one of those were crowded areas, he made sure to keep you close to him. another was eating at restaurants, he made you sit first before he did and paid for the food instead. and the final thing he did was to keep eye contact whenever you’d talk.
you could hold eye contact before.. but how come suddenly it felt awkward? even if you did look away, you could feel him following your gaze. it made you conscious, though it made your stomach churn into butterflies.
knowing him for almost five months, you knew he was a happy go lucky person. not only he took the role of being a father, he made sure that he still had time for his studies and gatherings. and you were so glad to be part of his circle of friends.
there were days when you felt that nights were so short because you were up ‘til like three to four in the morning with him, just chatting about a lot of things. you found out that johnny was such a great person to keep the conversations going.
if yoohyeon was your best friend, johnny was for sure a close second to being one. something about him just had you feeling secured around his presence. it just felt right.
yeri’s been at her family home for a few days, so the room was quiet. quiet to the point where your thoughts was filled with johnny. sitting up from your bed, you lightly slapped your cheeks to shake out of it. you were in your final year of university, so was johnny, and you’d hate to be distracted.
your eyes just trailed along the floor until your tote bag was in sight. then you suddenly remembered that paper slip one again, finally taking it out to see what it was.
your thigh felt vibrations from your phone, so you checked it to see who was calling. it was the detective in charge of your accident three years ago.
“hello?”
“good afternoon, miss y/fl/n. it’s detective park. i hope i’m calling you at a right time.” he said through the other line. “are you free to talk?”
you sat up straight and curled your fist in to a ball, picking your fingers together. it had been a while since, and you knew the case was a dead end, never reopened for further investigation. “yes, i’m available at the moment.”
detective park shuffled in his seat before answering you. “great, however i’d love to talk in person instead. it’s not a good sight for me to use mobile phone at work premises. hope you understand.”
“y-yeah! sure, um.” you thought for a bit, “can we meet at coffee shop at the newly opened mall? next saturday morning will be preferable, i got a free slot in the afternoon is that okay?”
he smiled, “that’ll be great, miss y/n. i’ll contact you then if there are any changes in the schedule. we’ve got a bit to discuss.”
“okay. i’ll wait for your call then, detective park. thank you.”
“thank you, miss y/n. have a good day.”
—
johnny changed youngmin’s diaper when taeyong leaned on the doorframe of his room. he wasn’t sure how many times he’d seen his older friend did this for and he was a pro by now. “johnny.”
he just hummed, but didn’t look at him. he just continued to clean youngmin’s bottom that was painted with watery stool.
taeyong saw how he sighed, given that he was so stressed about his son’s health lately. however it had been three weeks since the confrontation between him and minji, words needed to be addressed.
so he waited until he finished cleaning youngmin before having that ‘dad talk’ with him. going out to the small living room, taeyong locked his hands together, finding the right time to bring that topic out. “john-”
“if you want to talk about minji and i, there’s nothing to talk about.” he heard him say, and taeyong sighed, knowing he gave a variety of similar responses. he was obviously avoiding it again.
“nothing to talk about?” he tilted his head, “it’s been eating you out for quite sometime now and all you could say ‘there’s nothing to talk about’? you’re clearly affected by what she told you that night.”
johnny combed his hair back, not wanting to discuss it any further. but taeyong was right, he hadn’t been himself lately. he stared blankly at the floor, “she wanted to get back together, tae.”
taeyong stared at him, not believing what he was hearing. kun came out of the bedroom after pulling an all-nighter. “what’s the noise?” he walked to the kitchen and poured himself a glass of water. his peripheral vision saw how johnny was just doing the task of cleaning diapers. not talking to youngmin like he used to.
“it’s something else. is it, johnny?” kun read him with ease. he guy didn’t say anything, only putting back youngmin’s shorts.
jungwoo came in after his shift at the dvd store, bringing a bag of groceries as well. mark behind him tagged along because he wanted to see youngmin. “alright my dudes, movie night comes early at 4pm! i got popcorn, chips, and ice-” he looked at the room, all dead silence. his brows met, “what’s with the atmosphere?” then gasped, “did someone eat my last box of ice-cream?”
“jungwoo.” taeyong warned him, gesturing for him to sit.
“oh damn, it’s that serious, huh?” he placed the bags on the coffee table. “did i miss anything?”
the guys shook their heads. telling him that he actually arrived on time, then looked at johnny.
“minji’s pregnant.” johnny started.
his friends stared at him in shock, mouths agape. they looked at each other then back at him. taeyong sat forward, his forearm on his thighs. kun nearly spat water, but drooled it back to his glass disgustingly. mark sat back on the sofa with his hands behind his head.
jungwoo nearly dropped his new ice-cream box, “johnny hyung, this will be the second time you-”
“are you really the father?” taeyong asked sternly, though he was just worried. “what if it’s takuya’s? you know they’ve been seeing each other back then.”
“as if she could get pregnant by a lap dance.” kun tried to joke, mumbling a ‘sorry’ afterwards when he felt johnny giving him a slight glare.
mark looked at the older ones, putting his glasses back in place. “it’s a possibility if they have been seeing each other before johnny hyung’s birthday. but sorry to ask, when was the last time you both went out?”
johnny actually had to think about it, taking a few seconds to a minute, with youngmin climbing up to his chest and rested his cheeks on his dad’s shoulder. “february 9th, my birthday.”
“and how far along is she?” mark crossed his arms.
johnny curled his tongue. “she’s probably going on to six months, not sure.”
doing the math, that simple answer proved that something happened on johnny’s birthday. the boys looked at him, just staring into the unknown. they couldn’t figure out what to say. they felt like they already hit a dead end.
with the events that had happened in the past few months, they knew you and him had a connection. if minji really was carrying johnny’s baby, you were going to be put in the rough in their relationship, that is, if you harvested any feelings for johnny at all.
taeyong knew otherwise, he knew johnny the longest and he wouldn’t do something reckless if he and minji weren’t working out. if anything, he was the witness to this relationship since day one.
“youngmin will have a younger sibling.. damn.” johnny clicked his tongue in frustration. “she couldn’t even look after youngmin and now she’s adding another problem to the equation that i’ve been trying to solve for the past year and a half.”
“if we’re talking about probabilities here,” mark butted in, “y/n noona is another solution to all this. i mean, she’s been helping you with youngmin since the carnival date yeah?”
“and giving her more problems she wasn’t even meant to solve?” johnny slowly sat up, rubbing youngmin’s back. “she already has a lot on her plate and i feel bad to be giving her my responsibilities. and she’s physically isn’t strong enough.”
jungwoo scrunched his brows, “whatever you mean, hyung? she was a beast at the dean’s camp, all guys had their eyes on how she dominated the games.”
johnny just realised after blabbering out his thoughts. “i can’t say. it’s between me and her. sorry.”
kun poured himself another glass of water, dumping the one he previously spat in. “she had a trauma in the past, like an accident?”
johnny whipped his head at kun. as expected of the top one student in psychology. “if that’s what you concluded, i’m still not saying anything.”
kun smirked, “okay, but you had her telling you, did she? that ‘secret’ story? all it took for me was just five words and some analysis and your reaction.”
“well i just gave you a prior heads up, so you practically got all the pieces and summed it all. in short, you just got lucky.” johnny stood up, swaying side to side to put youngmin to sleep.
“or i’m just so smart.” kun raised his glass and gave a toast smugly. “i’m also very smart that to figure you’re in love with y/n, for a while now.”
the guys held in their laughs, he got johnny good. if anyone could read minds, it was definitely their very qian kun. and johnny was so chill to the point he didn’t mind to be a little humiliated by his friends.
johnny chuckled, “playing cupid now huh, kun? if i told you that i am, will that prove your hypothesis right in whatever you’re trying to put out?”
“yes and that’s no surprise at all. do you take me as an idiot?” kun shook his head playfully, making the other boys laugh. “but johnny hyung, just to be sure though, we can ask my girlfriend about all this. she’s in nursing.”
jungwoo stood up, going to the bathroom, “and i thought you were going to say that she’s pregnant too.” earning a hearty laugh from mark and an eye roll from kun.
—
walking up at seven in the morning, you stretched your arms and prepared yourself to for class. the campus was breezy and sunny and your hair felt the cool air run through your scalp that you closed your eyes.
you loved it, but hated how it dried your hair. stupid dandruff.
“isn’t she pretty?” you heard some freshmen say and you smiled at them, realising they have been staring at you. they giggled and skipped away in embarrassment.
you bit your lips from smiling and your eyes caught of a person you haven’t seen in days.. and made your heart skip a beat. “john-“
you stopped calling his name after seeing him talking with a professor. he must be very busy with his studies, you thought you should be focusing as well. turning around, a dash of air swept pass by you, almost running into someone.
“sorry!” you exclaimed, “i wasn’t paying attention.. oh choi seungcheol?”
he looked at you in surprise, “y/n!” he smiled, taking balance of the books in his hands. “didn’t get to see you in our minors. it’s been long.”
you hugged your books. this guy was handsome that he could be mistaken as a foreigner. “y-yeah, i guess you’re busy with your games? heard our university’s in the semi-finals.”
he hitched a breath, you were breathtaking up close and he thought you were meeting for the first time. “you bet we are. wanna come watch? it’s after our first semester exams.”
“i’ve got to check, there’s been a lot going on recently but i’ll let you know.” you smiled and continued to talk with him.
after countless of questions and topics, johnny finished his conversation with his professor. he didn’t mind the company but he really needed a breather. his tired eyes were getting droopier by time until he saw you just a few feet away.
he raised his arm to wave, attempting to call out to you. “y/n-“ his smiled faded when seungcheol came into sight as well. he observed how you and him talked to each other. smiley, friendly, natural.. and somehow looked good together. much to his indenial.
not wanting to have an advance overthought, he didn’t like it already. though in his mind, when he put the pieces together, it somehow made sense.
he asked himself how different would it be if you and him hadn’t crossed paths? how much happier would you be with choi seungcheol instead of him? the guy had a good background for all he knew. and would the current situation and burden he was carrying right now be okay for you to hear?
to be honest, he was so torn. just when he realised he was in love with you, he was told about the news that his ex was pregnant. though it wasn’t confirmed yet, his heart still broke. it broke his heart that the possibility of a new chance was taken away from him even before it started.
he never felt so down about something like this before. it filled his mind so much that he didn’t even pay any attention that it had been three weeks since he found out.
staring at you happily conversing with the guy you might take an interest in, he sighed and found his feet leaving the place you both were standing together at.
“y/n?” seungcheol’s voice slowly became clearer. “let’s go to class.”
you hummed in realisation, “hm?” looking back at where you swore you saw johnny stood prior before agreeing with seungcheol. “yeah, let’s go.”
—
saturday. never had you ever felt this much nervous just meeting someone. the last time you did was with johnny at the carnival date. you felt jittery at the time but this was different kind of nervous. it was the kind were you wanted to vomit.
you didn’t care how long it took for the police to catch the suspect. you didn’t care how the weather mirrored your mixed emotions then. you only cared about the person behind the wheels.
people closeby said it was intentional, others said it was accidental. either way, you were the one who got hurt, and that could’ve ended badly.
detective park entered the café, he was glad you actually showed up. not that he thought you wouldn’t. but given the result of the incident, it was something that traumatised you up until now. he had some leads, and he hoped you were ready to hear it.
“ms. y/fl/n?” he called out, “detective park, i’m glad we’re able to see each other.” he brought out his hand for a handshake, sitting afterwards.
“good afternoon detective park.” you returned the gesture, “i ordered cappuccino for you if you don’t mind.”
he smiled at you, “oh thank you. i was going to buy actually.”
you shook your head, “it’s on me today. you’ve been working hard on my case few years back. so what made it reopen for investigation?”
the man in front of you took some files from his backpack. showing you the basic documents from the incident. you looked at the photos laid out to you shakily.
a photo of a car leaving and a person laying on the ground- you. your eyebrows met and looked closely at the photo, not understanding what you were seeing. “i don’t.. understand?”
“it’s a photo we got from the cctv, clearer even.” he said, using a pencil to guide you through the photo. “there’s two cars recorded here, one to your left and another to your right...”
detective park explained the situation that they received new information for the next hour. it didn’t answer or solve the incident, it was a vague lead yet it was something to put hope in.
you had actually started to put it behind you as you wanted to move on. but you couldn’t move on from something if there wasn’t any proper closure, could you?
parting ways with the detective, you needed to get to class in the afternoon. so you made your way to the cafeteria to have catch some lunch with yeri and the boys. sana joined in to work on a project with taeyong, and she waved at you once you were by entrance.
you briefly skimmed through the friend circle, johnny wasn’t anywhere to be seen. he probably had to stay back at the library or class to focus on his studies.
and you recalled one time this side of johnny was not someone to be messed with. the way he gave you a death glare for asking him about a problem from a mandatory math class gave you a cold chill.
“looking for johnny?” yeri teased you, hooking her arm to yours as you both queued for food. “he’s studying at the moment, saying he wanted to beat kun during the first semester exams. he wanted to reclaim his posititon.”
“position in what? isn’t he already one of the top students or something?” you took the tray yeri gave you, scanning the options in front for lunch. and yum, they had such good ones today.
sana just scootered in between you both, “didn’t you know? he scored number one at the entrance exams, projects, and finals until kun beat him at the finals by 0.2 difference last year.”
you snorted, “what was the difference? mispelling and punctuation?” making the girls laugh, and you laughed at your own remark.
“actually it was, much to my disappointment.” johnny’s voice caused you and the girls to freeze on the spot, turning around to see him smiling beside you, grabbing a tray as well.
“johnny.” you softly spoke and your face was visible with embarrassment, “i- uh, sorry i was just trying to lighten the mood, you know stressed with the final year and all..”
johnny mocked your facial expression before smiling again, “and i just happened to be your subject of interest. why? were you looking for me?”
yeri and sana playfully pushed you and giggled at the right assumption johnny made. his eyes never leaving you, and once you faced him you bit your lip. “maybe, just this once because-”
“-because i’m usually around? is that what you’re trying to say?” you blinked at how he finished your sentence so easily and johnny ruffled your hair. “i leave the pretty flower vase on the table for one second and you’re starting to fall already.”
“..’falling for you’..” sana mumbled to you and you gasped in surprise.
“i haven’t broke yet!” you put out your tongue so childishly before marching away from them, your food tray all complete with the food you chose. your friends just giggled at how flustered you were.
the cafeteria became livelier by the time you sat down with the others. students chattering the next hour away while having their lunch. you sat at the table with people you became closer in the past few months. how you wished time would stop, this being one of your favourite things to do.
you took a glimpse at johnny, picking on the food he had with his fork, without eating.
he looked tired than usual, his underbags getting darker by time. you wondered if he was sleeping well lately, because his body language wasn’t as physically active as he used to be. you didn’t know how v long you were staring until you shifted your gaze quickly to the ceiling when he suddenly looked away from his food.
an announcement went over the PA speaker that classes were halted for the day due to the renovation happening at the east wing of the campus, making everyone, including yourself sigh in relief.
lunch was finished after a few minutes and jungwoo suggested to have a stroll at the nearby town, even adding a trip to the cinema to watch the latest film. everyone at the table agreed to it, it would lessen the stress of the seniors: johnny, taeyong, kun, sana, and yourself.
walking towards the exit, some students huddled in a small crowd just by the doors. whispering to themselves that a group of professors walking towards the cafeteria.
your eyes made contact with the two people who ghosted you at the restaurant back then- your parents. stopping in your tracks, your friends turned to look at you, “y/n? let’s go.”
johnny knew that expression you were having, same as the day when you both ran into your parents at the carnival. he quickly flicked his head to your approaching parents and stood in front of you.
the others followed johnny’s blank expression, looking at where he had his gaze at. it didn’t take long for them to know it was your parents and the other board members behind them.
you wanted to run away again. however, you weren’t the same y/n of the past. you weren’t different either, just evolved, matured.
your very serious father lifted his hand up to signal you to come closer, and your mother.. still nailing her usual stone cold aura. as you approach them, you noticed that like you, they too, have matured in age.
“took some time for us to have an appointment with you, y/n.” your dad started, his hands coming out of his pockets. “johnny suh really held his ground.” nodding at the boy next to you.
“he did, which i’m thankful for.” you gripped your hands together.
“we haven’t heard from you for three years.” he casually said as if nothing happened in the past, “so how are you?”
“i’m doing fine. you can see clearly.” you simply answered, yet feeling quite uneasy to be front of them, and in front of your friends.
“and your studies? are they still going well?” your mom finally spoke up, your dad soon nodding in agreement.
not this topic again, it was always the same old conversation when it came to you, nothing else. having researchers and professors as parents meant you needed to maintain the reputation. never had they thought of just treating you like a normal person, you only felt like a robot to them.
“my parents are board directors of education, i thought you have all the records.” you softly sputtered, fiddling your fingers behind you. you whispered to johnny, “please leave with the others, i’ll follow to the cinema later.”
johnny held your hand gently, “you sure? i’ll inform others to go on ahead. i’ll be outside, okay?” gesturing his friends to follow him.
by the time they exited the cafeteria, kun stood in front of johnny, “dude, this isn’t looking good based on their exchange just now.” he glanced around the hallways, “we’ll stay here as well. we all have to be here for y/n.”
taeyong nodded, later whispering to him, “yeah man, you’re not in the right state of mind as well.”
johnny sighed, his friends were on point, and they were right. you weren’t the only one going through crap at the moment. “okay, thanks guys. i owe you one.”
“we saw your records actually, you failed your first year majors and second year minors. and you suddenly made it into the dean’s list this year?” your mom showed you a copy of your academic records.
“you got it wrong, i passed all the subjects i took. i don’t know how you got that false information.”
“good.” your dad sternly said, “at least you know you did well.” he then took his bag and took out a photo, a photo you didn’t seem to recognise. “then what’s this?”
it was a photo of you at a club, all drunk and dancing with people your age, clearly taken by someone else.
“can you explain that?” your mom crossed her arms, you frowned trying to remember whatever that night was. “explain yourself.”
but nope, nothing came to mind. “i don’t owe you any explanation for it because i didn’t do that. if i did, it was a normal party people my age go to.”
“then think harder.” your mom’s voice gradually rose and hit the table next to her, making the utensils jump a little and you flinched at the tone you hated to hear. this was what you feared on happening.
“no.” you firmly reiterated.
your parents furrowed their brows, “excuse me, young lady. mind your tone.”
“oh i mind. in fairness, i’ve been minding everything my whole life.” you pointed out. “i was doing well all my own and now you’re somehow interested in my life?”
“y/n, watch your tongue. we didn’t raise you like this!” your dad noted, approaching closer to you.
you had enough, this was similar to the argument the night you had the accident three years ago. and you were thinking of patching up? it was impossible. you adjusted your shoulder bag, placing your books inside. “raised me? when? i was taught that expressing my feelings was talking back. if you think that i was doing such.. well this is me knocking on your doors so that i could be heard, for once.”
your dad slammed the table, “show some respect, y/n!”
“how dare you! mind your manners!” your mom pointed at you angrily, mirroring your dad.
ah. this was history repeating itself, scolding you for just speaking up your thoughts.
this was overwhelming. you had expected that the outcome of meeting them would be same but this time hurt so evidently that you felt tears prickling in your eyes. your mouth quivered at the result of the nagging and loud voices.
you hoped this meeting would be different, you hoped that after three years you parents would at least show any care. however it was nothing close to that.
“fine. you want explanation? i’ll say it honestly.” you raised your voice, it was something your parents were shocked to see.
“it’s so damn hard to be your daughter!” you bit the insides of your mouth, tears finally falling down. “you both never cared on what i did at all besides my acads but every single time i made a mistake, be it from the past or from that photo that i clearly don’t remember, you always felt the need to point it out.”
as you said that, the atmosphere changed in an instant. your dad’s eyes darkened while your mom didn’t feel like hearing anything you had to say.
“but when i point out yours, it’s rude? don’t you know every night you’d argue, throwing items around and yelling in the dead of night, i had to pick up the mess you made? i dreaded sleep because i’d hear your voices haunting my ears. you never tend to my needs, but i had to tend to yours by leaving your own food on the table? i was scared to do it because if i didn’t, you’d make a big fuss right after. you never came to any of my school activities and i felt like dirt to be the only one without my parents at my graduations! i had to do everything myself!”
your parents stared at you in surprise, “y/n,” your dad tried to calm you down but you went a full on blast.
“you-”oughing your stuffy throat, “-you weren’t even there the night i nearly died!” you cried. at this point you were heaving, your chest hurt and you were at your limit. “you didn’t even bother to look for me because i heard you were filing for a divorce? or have you already done that since you only cared about the money you’d get from each other?”
you failed to notice, but your parents stayed silent on hearing that.
“shoot.” johnny mumbled, and his friends looked worriedly at him, shocked at what they’re hearing. this was meant to be a secret but he knew you’d have to let it out at one time.
“even if you did know what had happened to me, at least show up and be for me for legalities’ sake! but who the hell has parents like that?! oh wait it’s me!” you hiccuped, “m-maybe that’s why grandma and grandpa limited your access to me because they knew how lacking you both were!” wiping your tears with your forearm, “y-you’re both so overbearing, maybe, that’s why i left..”
few students from outside the caferteria saw the scene as if a soap opera was being filmed in front of them. your mom glanced and felt ashamed to be displaying this as board directors.
“is that- the truth?” your mom stuttered, it was the first time you’d seen her so quiet.
“the truth? it’s so hard to tell you the damn truth! after everything you did; even at that dinner you ghosted me at, i wanted to tell you how i felt, but no, you shut me out so i just let it be. you two raised me to be silent!” you turned to your dad, who tried to speak up.
“y/n..”
“and you demand respect, dad? people like you both don’t deserve it when you didn’t even respect the fact that you had a daughter under your roof tolerating your negativity.” you wiped your tears, your face going numb. “i didn’t choose my parents, but you chose to have me, at least take some responsibility!” you cried harder, and the other staff didn’t know when to intervene because you were so broken.
you adjusted your bag once again as you made your way to the door that you decided to say something that was bothering you the longest of time. you turn around to your parents,
“even if you didn’t love each other, i wanted you to see me. i wanted you to love me..” you sniffed and felt your body going weak.
genre: cappucino, romance, angst, university!au, dad!au, drama, slice of life
pairing: collegestudent!johnny x fem!reader
bean count: 3.1k+
a/n: this has a crossover with @jae-canikeepyou ‘s series serenity in us 🤭 read that if you like, you’d love it 🤗 so now i’m back from hiatus! enjoy your coffee time 💚 note: this is only a work of fiction, it doesn’t reflect the artists’ personalities in any way.
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“how are you coping?” was one of the last messages johnny had sent you. after your breakdown and asthma attack, he didn’t send you any more, just short ones as he was planning his baby thesis together with kun on psychology. he also had to do his paediatric studies on saturdays.
besides, you guys were entering to your final year very soon.
you decided to give him space, you as well needed to catch up with your own (being at the library at the moment)- even though it was stressful enough to have your parents by the ends of your hair strands most of your life. it was habitual, you guessed.
it was also ironic because even though you dislike shoving your face in books and research papers, you found yourself kind of listening to their orders of studying hard.
but you soon realised you were doing this for yourself, not for them.
somehow you wished you never agreed to meet them that day. you just ended up disappointed and hurt like you always had.
your phone rang when you just quickly put it down, receiving mean glares and shushes from the people around the table. taking your stuff and shoving them in your bag, you ran out of the library and called back the person who conveniently decided to embarass you.
“you just love to distract me, do you, johnny?” placing your phone between your ear and shoulder, fixing the heel of your socks.
a soft chuckle heard from the other line, a voice you kinda want to hear. “because i know you will be. want to go for coffee? i finished my project so i can meet you at the atrium.”
“please, i got homework to finish.” you dramatically told him, turning to your left then walking down the stairs.
“hm, interesting.” he hummed, “if you got homework to finish then why did you change your path down the stairs?”
you halted as you almost set foot to the atrium’s entrance. looking up, he was there by the railings.
“i see i got a stalker.”
“the one and only.” johnny smiled and waved at you from the balcony before going down the stairs to meet you.
placing your phone in your pocket when he stood in front of you, you laughed, “dear me, do i need to call the police?”
he wrapped his arms around your shoulder, “please don’t. besides you owe me coffee, it’s been a week.”
you slapped his chest lightly. what’s with him and coffee? “dude that’s what you’ve been wanting to do? don’t you have cash?”
“i spent it on youngmin’s medicine. little dude can’t keep still, always running around until he caught fever. but he does get regular check-ups.” he sighed, “medicine should be free, especially for kids.”
as you walked to the coffee shop at the next street, you concluded that maybe it was why johnny took paediatrics, to monitor youngmin’s health.
johnny was on his final year of his double degree in psychology and paediatric studies, so his schedules were going to be busy. an idea came up to your mind. “say, why don’t i take him to the clinic for his checkup appointments? so you could focus on your studies.”
johnny’s slightly tired face lit up, “really? you can do that?” you nodded as you both entered the coffee shop, “that’s great, it’ll be a huge help.” looking at the drinks menu, he hummed. “you know what, drinks are on me today, i’m suddenly in a good mood.”
you giggled when he took out a five dollar bill on his hand, “so you can treat me coffee on days i take him for appointments, deal?”
“deal-“ johnny flicked his head to you, “-wait!”his hand got freed of cash when you took the bill and jogged to the counter. he stifled a laugh seeing you already pointing at your desired drink, smiling endearingly at you until you turned to him.
“johnny, come on here and choose yours!” gesturing for him to come closer, “they’ve got an offer of buy one get one free.”
little did you two know, you didn’t notice the presence of both rowoon and seungcheol seated at the very end of the coffee shop. rowoon thought that seungcheol’s little crush on you was too obvious. he wondered why after all this time, the guy never seemed to talk to you.
“for a jock like you, you’re someone who’s actually soft for the girl you like.” he munched on the scone he bought, seungcheol then shaking his thoughts off of his mind.
“so what do you want me to do?” the doe eyed asked, taking a sip from his latte.
rowoon smirked, checking a piece of a paper slip before giving it to seungcheol. “nothing actually. you can stay put for now, but hold onto this.”
“if this gets us into trouble, rowoon, you’ll know what you’ll get.” seungcheol warned him, taking the envelope from him as the boy stood up to leave.
“don’t worry, hyung. we got this.”
——
“no way! how come i just heard of this?” yoohyeon told you through the small screen, while you ate on ramyeon bought from the convenient store. she tutted her lips together, “hey y/n, is that all what you’ve been eating since i was gone for almost three weeks?”
“it’s my cheat day.” you slurped, wiping off excess soup from your cheek. “i’ve been studying my brain off, i need to de-stress somehow.”
yoohyeon whined playfully, “i want to de-stress too! the expectations here in paris is as high as the eiffel tower. but anyway, answer my question. so it’s still on the rocks with your parents?”
you hummed, not sure how to answer that just yet. “yeah definitely, can’t believe i’ve been stood up at the dinner.. well it’s not like it never happened to me.”
“well isn’t that great? there’s progress!” she sarcastically said because she knew how your relationship was with your parents. she then squinted her eyes. “then what about you and johnny? any progress in that?”
you coughed on a piece of noodle. “t-that, i don’t know. i heard he had an argument with his ex after youngmin’s party.”
“minji? after so long?” she questioned. “well, i hope she doesn’t give him a hard time. the guy’s moved on, given that his attention is so focused on you.”
you laughed a little, “who’s to say, it’s a little crush i have for him. there’s a fine line between falling in love and having a crush, you know? maybe it’s just admiration on my part. but him to me? i doubt it.” you felt a shuffle on the side as you placed the ramyeon on the table behind you, making yoohyeon tilt her head in question.
“did you get a puppy, y/n?”
“a cute one, actually.” shifting your phone for her to see clearly, youngmin snuggled next to you.
“oh, my, word.” she said dramatically, “you’re a certified mommy candidate for the little one. i’ve never seen him so close to anyone like that. johnny must love you to the point he trusted his son to you.”
“a: he doesn’t love me, and b: i offered to help him, alright? we’re not even gonna go there.” you shook your head, combing youngmin’s hair as he slept.
yoohyeon took a snap of that, sending it to johnny immediately. “oh isn’t it time for you to bring him to his appointment? it’s almost 1pm.”
“yes and you’ll be late for class.” you reminded her, “make me proud, yoohyeon. i helped you with your thesis, don’t put it waste.”
hearing you say that made her laugh so early in the morning. “it’s 6am here but roger that, momma!~” waving a goodbye before signing off.
you turned your phone off, putting your legs off of the sofa. then youngmin woke up and wiped his eyes, “mama i’m warm.”
you flicked your head to the boy, chuckling and patting his cheek. “it’s auntie y/n, youngmin.” he sat up and yawned, asking for a hug and you carried him, soon taking your leave to the clinic. “you’re going to get better.”
the little toddler was tired the whole time, and that worried you. wearing the carrier, you placed him facing you while he slept once more. the cooling patch on his forehead wasn’t doing any good to put his temperature down. he actually cried quite a bit on the way so you put a dummy on him, and thankfully he didn’t cause too much of a scene on the train.
stepping in the clinic, you suddenly saw your long time friend, jungkook. his eye smile never failed to be so contagious. “ah noona! you’re here again?”
“yeah, i need to be here for this little one. my friend’s son.” you ruffled his hair, and jungkook poked his cheek.
“he’s adorable! oh and guess what? i’m assisting the renowned dr. jung yunho tomorrow, i just finished meeting up with him.” his bunny smile showing.
you gave him a high-five, you were really proud of him. “nice on you sophomore, it’s gonna look good on your resume once you do your residency and fellowship.”
jungkook just scratched his head, blushing red. “it’s still a long ways to go, noona.” checking his watch, he gasped at the time. “and i don’t want to be late. catch up soon?”
you nodded and gave him a wave, “sure.”
the reception was close by and you confirmed youngmin’s booking. the nurse had to double check if you were the parent, and you clarified that you were substituting the child’s father, who couldn’t make it in the scheduled appointments and showed her the documents with johnny’s signature.
“i actually thought you were the mother. because mr. suh comes here alone often, other than the grandparents. so i got my hopes up when i recognised youngmin with a young lady. sorry about that.” she noted, giving you an apologetic smile.
“it’s not a problem, i haven’t met the mother as well so i guess we’re on the same page.” you smiled a bit, and took a pen from your bag, signing the check-in sheet.
“oh excuse me miss, you dropped something.” one intern next to the nurse pointed down while you muttered a thank you.
it was the extra coupon you had from all the coffee breaks you had with johnny. maybe i should use this later. so you placed it back again to use it again. slowly standing up, you removed youngmin from the carrier while the nurse took him in for a little check up before the actual appointment with dr. yunho.
“miss y/n!” you heard a little squeal, and it was one that you recognised so well. “long time no see!”
“hi liam!” you bent down to have a short chat. “are you here for a check up with the doctor?”
the kindergartener nodded quickly like he was so proud of it. “yes, i got a scratch on my face and on my leg because i fell.” you told him to be careful and he just pouted, saying that he would. he turned around to lady who called him, saying that they had to leave.
at the same time, you were called in by dr. yunho. you patted his hair and bid him goodbye. standing up, you were faced with a lady, who was around your age. must be liam’s mother.. you thought. but who were you to judge?
liam jumped as he left the hospital, whining that he was hungry. “can we go to mcdonald’s, auntie minji?”
she held his tiny hand, “of course, you did really well at the checkup.”
“then can you carry me there, please?” he pleaded, making puppy eyes to convince her, only for her to disagree.
“no can do, liam.” she poked his little nose and teased him. “you know auntie isn’t that strong like a superhero.”
after youngmin’s checkup, you were thankful that he didn’t need to be confined in the hospital. on the other hand, you were so dazzled by dr. yunho, how could someone be so handsome and smart at the same time? it was funny how he opened up so quickly, even mentioning that he had brothers who went to the same university as you- currently year one and year four. it didn’t feel like an appointment at all because of how he conversed.
youngmin seemed to have gotten used to being at the doctor’s, after the fact johnny told you that he used to cry a lot about it. and speaking of him, you got a call, just in time.
“hey y/n, i’m on my way there with bosco, we’ll drop him off at mom and dad’s first, then i owe you coffee again, is it the third time this month? anyway see you both in five minutes.”
you lit up, “sure, we’ll wait here.”
it took about five minutes for him to arrive. talk about consistency: another box ticked on your checklist. he came out of the car to help carry youngmin, while you got on after.
the nurses who saw this from the clinic had their hearts swooned in various places. johnny was young but the way he handled everything made him so mature.
“daddy material..” the intern’s eyes twinkled while she clasped her hands together.
“get back to work, rookie.” the nurse sighed.
“what? you were staring at him too, hypocrite.” she pouted.
as youngmin rested at his grandparents’ place, you and johnny made your way to the coffee shop. patters of rain drummed the windows and johnny sighed when he looked above. “i swear this is like the worse summer ever, it’s been raining for days.”
“can’t help it though. it was scorching hot as well. besides, fall is on the way, in a few weeks?” you stretched your neck and your back from side to side. the feeling of cracked bones was such a relief that johnny glimpsed at you back and forth and scrunched his face.
“sorry, you must’ve been tired from bringing youngmin to the clinic for three weeks.” he stopped the vehicle at the red light.
“it’s okay, it’s workout for me to carry him.” you snickered. as you said that, the rain gradually grew a bit stronger. so you looked up as well, and you didn’t like how it reminded you of the past.
it used to be about your parents, it still was, besides text messages you hadn’t heard any apologies from them at all. and that upsetted you.
another thing was the accident, you haven’t even came into terms with it. you still remembered the impact, the screeches from its tires, the way you flew, and the way you thought everything gone in a blink. it felt like it was yesterday.
johnny knew at one look that you were still processing everything that happened. it was something he wanted to help you overcome but he also knew it was a long journey and that it doesn’t just disappear overnight.
so an idea came up to him, he hoped you were up for it, and he hoped he was right. you felt the vehicle turn sharply to a corner. johnny turned the engine off, “y/n, let’s go out right now.”
your raised eyebrow made him want to laugh but he knew you would love this. “um, are you crazy? it’s raining cats and dogs outside, johnny.”
he just grinned at you. “i maybe am. but with a little bit of play in the cold of ‘cat and dog’ rain, you might just be crazy with me.” he got off the car and ran into the rain, hollering and spinning around.
your eyes widened, frantically turning your head around to check if people noticed him. reaching for the handle, you stared at the rain once more, hands shaking anxiously. should you go out once again?
“awooo!” johnny continued to shout and laugh. you stared at him deadpan, this was embarrassing.
you sighed, “johnny!” the secondhand embarassment you got from him was unbelievable. you ran towards him and stopped him from whatever he was doing. “what are you doing?”
“oh? the puppy chased me and stopped me.” he laughed and you just blinked your eyes in confusion. “cats.. dogs.. rain..? you and me? don’t you get it?”
“johnny, cats don’t howl.” you crossed your arms, finally getting what he meant. “let’s go, before we get sick.”
he didn’t say anything and pulled your arm, “i know you hate the rain but…” he trailed off, taking two pairs of airpods. putting one pair to your ears before he put another into his, he played one of coldplay’s biggest hits, and the song that calmed you down- a sky full of stars.
“let’s have some fun.”
the piano melody and the vocals filled the intro, johnny’s head started to follow the beat and sang. and naturally you followed, singing as well. the familiar music slowly building up. when it reached to the one minute and eighteenth mark, as if you and johnny shared the same braincells, started to jump in the rain.
he held your hand and twirled you around, then suddenly doing a crumping move on this medium-paced song, made you laugh. you’d say it out loud that johnny was a good dancer. it even showed when the next song- adventure of a lifetime, was next in queue.
that was where you confirmed he was groovy, pulling a little genre of modern swing. not that you knew how to do that certain dance pairing, but the music and johnny’s energy just made you dance with the flow.
his guided his hands to yours, leading you with his twists and turns. and in parts were the music were on a slight drop, he led you to follow him on certain easy steps.
you also had your share in adding steps and iconic movements, putting a little michael jackson moonwalk in it. johnny pointed at you in surprise, even in earphones, you could hear his laugh.
johnny and yourself probably looked like idiots dancing in the rain on the road towards the highway. but to the both of you, it was special, as you were dealing with heartbreaks in different aspects. music was definitely a de-stresser.
johnny looked at you with admiration. as you danced away in the rain, he felt like he was witnessing something beautiful. though the music was playing, he could hear his heart beating. and his eyes widened when the lyrics mirrored what he was feeling:
“now i feel my heart beating, i feel my heart underneath my skin, oh, you make me feel like i’m alive again.”
he smiled endearingly, he knew he was so attracted to you. he knew you had space in his heart, and he’d gladly give it to you.
you turned around, hair flicking slowly, then your eyes met.
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