I've not logged into this account for so long 😭😭 school got the absolute best of me but I'm nearly done my degree and I forgot about this account in the process of it oh my 😭😭😭 I don't even know if I remember how to use tumblr 😭😭😭
in light of moonbin's passing- it's okay if you distract yourself. it's okay if for awhile you just pretend like it didn't or isn't happening. you're not a bad person if you laugh at something else after hearing the news or smile or feel other feelings.
at the same time if you feel like you're wallowing in grief, that's okay too. it's a complicated process. it's hard to understand. all i know is that he'll be missed a lot.
A/N: as you've all guessed, here's Mingyu's Shiny Star! happy birthday, Gyu! this was fun to write and i'm pretty happy with how it turned out aha. hopefully yall would like this as much as i do, and pls do drop by and tell me what you think of this after you read
숨이 가득 차올라서 아무 말 하지 못했는데
I couldn’t say anything because I’m out of breath
너는 말 없이 웃으며 내 손 잡아줬죠
But you took my hands without saying anything but a smile
[✾✾✾]
This would sound annoying, but Mingyu is used to getting confessions. He enjoys the attention, enjoys knowing that people admire him even though he barely does anything. Yes, he’s handsome, has good grades, and is the star of the basketball team, but they all come effortlessly to Kim Mingyu.
He is God’s favorite, after all.
You genuinely think that whatever religion Mingyu believes in, every god that’s in charge of grace all helped to shape him.
But it’s not always a good thing. Because, fuck, it’s so stupid that your heart flutters when he grins at the audience after shooting a three-pointers. He’s not even looking at you, and he’s so cocky because he salutes to everyone as he runs through the court to hug his teammates. And yet butterflies would fly like crazy inside you and you want to hate it but you don’t.
Another reason why it’s stupid: you didn’t realize you’ve been staring at him–well, really, you’re staring at a random spot behind him because you’re zoning out, but it is him in your mind, so–until Mingyu tilts his head and asks if there’s something in his face because you’ve been staring at him for the past five minutes.
You blink at the question, as if brought back from a trance, and Mingyu chuckles and shakes his head before pouring water in the empty glass in front of you.
“You haven’t even drunk that much.” He grins as you thank him and take the water.
You’ve somehow been roped into the basketball team’s celebratory dinner, along with Chungha and Chaeyoung who are sitting on the other side of the table. Well, not somehow, you guess, because you’re friends with those two girls (who basically possess free passes to every social function in the university) and your childhood friend, Jeon Jungkook, is also in the team. Which means, you actually hang out a lot with the guys–and that includes Mingyu.
He’s barely even a friend despite your embarrassing crush, and you’re not that close even if you hang out a lot with the team.
“What’s bothering you?” Jungkook plops down beside you once Chungha goes to the restroom. He’s noticed you’ve been distracted from earlier, but you don’t seem to be in a bad mood or anything–simply too deep in your own thoughts.
You consider shaking your head and telling him nothing. What can you say anyway? ‘No biggies, I just have a crush on your captain here.’
“Just… something.” You leave it at that.
Jungkook isn’t the closest friend you have and you don’t always tell him everything, but he’s known you for way too long to know how to read your body language and your mood. Which is cool, but not really when you feel like hiding something.
That, together with his curiosity and his tendency to pry when he has nothing else to care about is not a combination you’re particularly fond of.
He narrows his eyes at you, and before he can say anything, you take a spoonful of cake and shove it inside his mouth with an innocent smile. Mingyu chuckles from across you both, and Jungkook glares at you even though he happily swallows the cake and frowns in delight after.
“I’m not letting this go.” He says under his breath before throwing an arm on top of your chair.
“Whatever you say.” You roll your eyes. “Don’t you have some girl to flirt with? Why are you here?”
“What, I can’t be with you? The oldest friend I have in my life?” He mocks a heartache, which you don’t even pretend to care about. Jungkook doesn’t usually sit beside you during this kinda gathering because someone always pulls him first, and you’re sure he wants something from you. He pouts at your deadpanned eyes. “My social battery is out. I want to go home.”
“I’m not your mom.”
“They won’t let me go if I ask.” He whines like a kid. “Tell them you want to go home so I can go with you? Please?”
Mingyu watches the interaction in amusement. He knows a lot of people envy you for being able to bring this side out of Jungkook, but anyone with a working brain cell can tell that there’s nothing sort of romantic between you two. Even from the very first time he saw you, he could already tell that you and Jungkook are nothing but friends.
But sometimes people just see what they want to see, though fortunately you don’t seem to care about stuff like that. Mingyu doesn’t know you well enough, but it’s clear that you’re your own person and you don’t really care about what people say about you.
He’s seen first hand you ignoring some girl saying shit in front of your face due to your close relationship with Jungkook, simply saying ‘you done? I have class in ten minutes’ after they rambled and leaving them dumbfounded after. (He thinks you’re so cool after witnessing that by accident.)
It’s not a secret that Jungkook is protective of you though. He always is when it comes to his friends. And Mingyu also knows that some of his friends have backed out from shooting their shots because they don’t want to go through Jungkook.
Cowards.
If he was interested in you, he wouldn’t care all that much about Jungkook.
Alas.
“I’ll take you to that dessert place in Cheongdam if we go home now.” He hears Jungkook whisper, though he doesn’t see why the guy is whispering when no one seems to be listening to his hushed conversation with you except for him, that is.
“You’re paying.” You add before you stand up and announce you’re tired so you’re taking Jungkook home with you. Some people try to convince you to stay for a little bit more, but you make up some reasons about having to wake up early tomorrow.
“Can’t believe you’d use your friend like that, man.” Mingyu jokes when you leave to say bye to Chaeyoung and Chungha.
Jungkook shrugs. “That’s what friends are for.”
You tell Jungkook you’re ready to leave, and he immediately stands up from his seat and slings an arm around your shoulder. You give Mingyu a smile and a wave before proceeding to do the same to everyone else.
He fails to notice your shy demeanor when your eyes meet his, but Jungkook doesn’t and he brings it up the moment you’re inside the comfort of his car.
“So. Mingyu, huh?”
At this point, you’re not even surprised. But you’re going to play stupid first because why make it easy for him to pry?
“What’s with him?”
“Don’t play dumb.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Since when have you been crushing on him?” He shoots straight to it, and plasters his face right in front of yours.
You swat his face away and tell him to start the car already.
“I’m not doing shit until you tell me.”
“I thought you said you’re out of social battery?”
“You know you don’t count.”
“Oh, how special I’m feeling right now.”
You and Jungkook go into a stare off, and it’s during times like this that you hate his big, circle eyes because they get on your nerves. You sigh and repeat what you said earlier, saying that you’ll tell him as he drives you back home.
“You know I’m not going to say anything about it, right?” Jungkook says just in case.
“I know. I simply didn’t tell you because it’s nothing but a crush.” You connect your phone to his car’s bluetooth, choosing a random playlist on your Spotify. “I don’t like him enough for it to be worth mentioning.”
Apparently, he doesn’t believe this.
“Since when?”
“Why does it matter?”
“Since when?”
You sigh, regretting giving in to him.
“Like… a few months ago? That time you had practice until 1 in the morning and you asked me to pick you up.”
Jungkook’s answer is immediate together with a click of his tongue. “That’s not a crush alright. That was almost a semester ago.”
“Almost. So it’s not a semester ago.” If he wants to play stubborn, so can you.
“If you don’t like him enough, you wouldn’t be avoiding his eyes and zone out the way you did.”
“So, I’m a little shy, is that wrong?”
He softens at your defensive tone, and he takes one of your hands to squeeze it in comfort before letting it go.
“You know that’s not what I mean. Sure, let’s say it’s nothing but a crush–”
“–because it is–”
“–Why are you not doing anything about it? It’s been at least five months and you see him quite regularly.”
“I told you. It’s just a crush.” You shrug, failing to see why Jungkook is making a big deal out of this. “I don’t see us getting together. He’s way out of my league.”
Jungkook is actually so shocked he steps on the brake with a sudden force. Thankfully, it’s 11PM on a Thursday night and the road is practically empty.
“What the fuck do you mean he’s out of your league?” He’s offended for your sake, you realize, and while it warms you a little to know that he cares about you to this extent, you still don’t see why Jungkook is so adamant about this whole thing. “He’d be lucky to have you.”
“Dunno. Just feel that way. But like I said, it’s nothing but a crush, Kook. It’ll pass.”
He’s not satisfied with this answer, but you do that thing where you cross your arms and look out the window of his car, a sign that you’re done with this conversation.
So Jungkook drops it even though he’s skeptical it’ll really pass just like that. It’s not often that you’re interested in someone, and he knows for a fact that you tend to fall long and deep.
You ask him when he’ll be free to take you to the dessert place he promised earlier.
[✾✾✾]
Jungkook forgets time when he’s playing basketball, and it seems like he’s also forgotten he’s promised to drive you home today.
The day has felt particularly long for you for no reason and you figure it’s probably just one of those days. Since you woke up this morning, going home is the only thing you’re looking forward to, and if that doesn’t say enough, the fact that you don’t even have it in you to be annoyed at your friend should suffice because you really just want to go home and end the day.
There’s no time nor energy to be annoyed.
He doesn’t reply to your text when you ask where he is, and when you text Minghao and he says he’s on court, you simply exhale a deep breath before making your way there.
Mingyu is about to exit the court when you come in, and you don't realize just how bad your mood is until you see him and you don’t feel the usual rush of excitement. You don’t even register that it’s him until he calls you.
“Are you… okay?” He asks when he notices you’ve just noticed it’s him greeting you.
“Ah… yeah. Just one of those days.” You shrug, your smile way too polite for his liking. He doesn’t think he’s seen you like this, but, then again, he’s only seen so much of you.
That fact suddenly bothers him somehow.
For some reason, Mingyu feels like talking more. “You’re here to see Jungkook?”
In any other scenario, you would’ve noticed the question is stupid. You really only come there for Jungkook. Sometimes you’d go because Chaeyoung or Chungha wants to watch them practice, but you never go there alone if not for your childhood friend. This is a fact that everyone in the team is aware of.
Alas, you’re tired and you just want to go home.
“Yeah. He’s driving me home.”
If Mingyu notices how small your voice is, you don’t notice any shift in him because you’re too out of it.
“I don’t think he’s going to finish anytime soon.” He frowns, turning to where Jungkook is. The guy hasn’t noticed you yet, your figure is probably partly hidden by Mingyu’s and he’s way too focused on the game to see you anyway.
Mingyu isn’t sure what makes him say what he says next, but he does anyway.
“Do you… want me to bring you home instead?”
You’re so surprised that you practically snap your neck to finally see him in the eyes. You’re probably looking at him weird, because Mingyu immediately says he’s simply offering because you look too tired to be waiting around for Jungkook.
“Oh… no, sorry. Just didn’t expect you to offer, that’s all.” You reassure him. “I wouldn’t want to burden you, anyway. But thanks for offering.”
“You sure?” He asks, once again telling you that the current game has just started and Jungkook’s going to take quite some time to finish. “I don’t mind, really.”
Tomorrow, when your mood has picked up and your weak-ass-Mingyu-centric heart has started to work again, you’d wonder about why Mingyu offered at all. You’d be thinking about it for days to come, making all sorts of scenarios in your head.
But that’s a problem for you tomorrow. Right now you just want to go home with Jungkook because you can’t be bothered to walk to the bus stop when he has a perfectly working car that you can let your guard down in.
Plus, he has promised to bring you home. Since you stepped into the university this morning, you’ve been imagining going into his car, staring into space, and arriving right in front of your door without much hurdles. That’s what you want right now.
It’s then that Jungkook finally catches your eyes. He takes one glance at you and drops the basketball, the guy in front of him curses until he sees you; seemingly understanding the reason with your presence.
“You okay?” He asks right away, and when you tell him you want to go home, he curses and apologizes for forgetting to pick you up at your building. He wouldn’t be this courteous had you been in your usual mood, probably would ask you to wait until the game ended, but Jungkook knows when not to push it and today is certainly that day. “I’ll just get my stuff, okay?”
He only notices Mingyu after he says this, and when he asks his friend what he’s doing with you, it’s you who tells him to move faster because you’re tired.
“I’ve never seen Jungkook let go of a basketball so fast.” He remarks after the guy leaves, making you chuckle a little.
“He knows when I’m tired.” You offer. “And I’m not tired often, so…” Before Mingyu can say anything, you add, “Anyway, thanks again for offering. I appreciate it.”
“Anytime.” He says, surprisingly genuine and a little bit hopeful with what he says after. “If Jungkook is ever unavailable, feel free to text me and I’ll take you home instead if I could.”
You wonder if Mingyu does this to everyone he knows.
Chaeyoung and Chungha squeals the next day when you tell them about it, already betting that Mingyu is into you because there’s no way he’s not interested if he offers (insists?) to take you home like that.
You tell them he’s probably just being nice and it means nothing.
Your head (and heart) disagrees and you continue to think about it for weeks to come.
[✾✾✾]
Unfortunately, Jungkook is correct when he said you like Mingyu a little too much for it to just be another crush.
You’re not even sure how it comes to be, but the feeling now bothers you because you’d frown when you see yet another poor soul confessing to Mingyu even if they’re rejected; because you’d look at Lisa and wonder what it’s like to be her who can freely hog Mingyu to herself because they’re that comfortable with each other; because you’d find yourself staring at him a little too long that Chaeyoung needs to remind you not to be too obvious; because you’d be too conscious around him that you’re not you anymore everytime you hang out with the team now.
You hate it.
You hate being conscious around your friend and you’re trying to find a way to let go of your feelings.
“Confess to him?” Chaeyoung offers. “Or I suppose talking to Jungkook would be better. He’d know what to say because he’s close with the guy. Or do you want me to ask Lisa? I talk to her from time to time.”
“Confess, huh.” You ponder, the idea has never crossed your mind before. Things might get awkward between you and Mingyu after, but you’ll live because it’s not like you’re super close or anything. There’s no real loss, if you want to be completely honest.
Perhaps confessing would be the closure you need: have him reject you and move on. Sometimes a cold slap of reality is what you need, anyway.
“You think I should tell Kook first? Just in case it gets awkward between them?”
“Wait, you’re really considering it?” Chungha sits straight, not expecting you to actually take the idea. “What if he rejects you?”
“That’s the goal. Get rejected and move on.”
The two girls share a look, unsure what to say.
“But… you’ll be heartbroken…”
“At least it means I’ll finally get my closure. That’s the first step of moving on.” You’re a little too cool about the whole thing for their liking, but you’ve always been this kind of person and they don’t see why they should stop you if you think that’s what you need.
“You sure?”
You’re not, but you don’t think you have any other choice and the feeling is starting to get very irritating. So you make your way to the basketball court to find Jungkook after class.
Of course, it’s the object of your affection who sees you first, and you give him a tightlipped smile before asking for your friend.
Apparently, he’s in the changing room, and after sending a junior to call for Jungkook, Mingyu starts a small talk to keep you company. “He’s taking you home again today?”
“Ah, no. Got something to talk about real quick.” You say with an awkward smile. Like you say, you hate being conscious like this, you’re sure Mingyu can feel your awkwardness, and you hate that you might’ve made him uncomfortable too without meaning to.
Poor thing doesn’t even know why you’re being awkward.
“Sup.” Jungkook calls for you the moment he steps into the court, and you wave at Mingyu before leaving him by himself to go to Jungkook.
He watches you take your friend by the arm to a corner where no one’s around, and then he sees Jungkook shake his head before you two start whispering to each other. He’s pretty sure Jungkook’s eyes linger at him for quite a few seconds before he looks at you again, his palm squeezes your arm once before he says something that Mingyu obviously can’t make out from where he’s at.
He’s not sure why he’s paying this much attention, but he is and he wonders if something has happened to you because Jungkook looks concerned, a frown evident on his face. He bites his lip a little, and Mingyu looks away when Jungkook glances at him once more.
Are you two talking about him?
There isn’t really anything to talk about though… right?
Something nags on the back of his head, but Mingyu can’t quite tell what it is and he’s not sure what to make out of it anyway.
Why… does he care again?
“You’re leaving?” Mingyu asks when he sees you make your way to him. At your nod and your small smile, Mingyu finds himself asking before he can even stop himself. “Are you okay?”
You seem surprised, but the corner of your lips lift a little higher when you assure him that you’re fine. You hesitate before you say your next words, but Mingyu patiently waits anyway.
“Are you… playing today?”
“Me? No, I’m done for the day. Why?”
“Can I talk to you for a bit?”
Mingyu blinks in confusion, not seeing where this could be going at all. Does this have to do with whatever you were talking about with Jungkook earlier?
“Sure.” He shrugs. And when he looks around, his eyes meet Jungkook’s whose expression isn’t all that readable. “Here?”
You end up somewhere outside the building, where it’s quiet and no one’s present. If Mingyu isn’t too caught up in concern, he would notice that this scenario is way too familiar; one that he’s gone through one too many times. After all, how many times have people told him they needed to tell him something and brought him somewhere quiet to confess?
But it doesn’t even occur to him. Perhaps he simply doesn’t think you’re into him and there’s obviously no way this talk would go down that road.
“Are you really okay?” Mingyu asks again, even more concerned this time. It’s then that he realizes that this is the first time when it’s just the two of you. You’ve never talked with him privately before, don’t really have any reason to.
“Yeah. Just need to tell you something.”
You feel like you’re going to burst if you delay it even one more second, so you just blurt it in one go to get it over with.
“I like you.”
Obviously, it’s not something that Mingyu can simply get over with.
“I’m sorry?”
He looks extremely confused, most likely caught off guard. But you’re happy to know that you’re feeling lighter now that you’ve let it out there. You find yourself not really caring about what Mingyu has to say, which is selfish on your part, but you’re really just glad that you feel better almost instantly after you say it out loud.
“I’m not expecting anything, don’t worry.” It’s the first time Mingyu has received a confession where the other party doesn’t seem shy and expectant and he’s not sure what to make of your relieved smile. “It’s a little selfish of me, but I just think it’d be better to confess and leave it there.”
You’re way too busy being glad to notice Mingyu is frozen in place, not expecting the relief to be that instant. You would’ve confessed earlier if you knew, but what matters is you finally did and you can only hope Mingyu won’t feel awkward with Jungkook. You can just not come to the game for a bit if it’s uncomfortable for anyone, but Jungkook is in the team and you’d hate to make it weird for them.
“Anyway, no need to be awkward with Jungkook, alright? I already told him everything.” What did you say to him, exactly? Mingyu wants to ask, but he’s too dumbfounded to even say anything. And it’s when you tell him that’s all you had to say before turning to leave that he snaps out of it and takes your arm in reflex.
“Sorry–wait. No.” He stumbles over his words. The way you’re looking at him in question is adorable, and Mingyu suddenly wonders if you’ve always been this cute. Has he simply not realized because you’re always with Jungkook?
Anyhow, this doesn’t feel like a confession at all despite your honesty about your feelings. Who confesses and leaves before hearing an answer?
You, apparently.
But, then again, what is he doing stopping you from leaving? It’s not like he reciprocates your feelings or anything. But it feels weird to be on the receiving end of a confession like this. Shouldn’t he thank you for not making him reject you?
“Wait. You… like me?”
“Is it weird?” You frown, almost offended. You look at his fingers on your wrist, and Mingyu squeezes it once before letting go.
“No! No, that’s not what I meant.” He waves in denial. “Just… uh… didn’t expect it, I guess.”
You laugh with a shake of your head, and this is truly the first confession Mingyu has ever received in which the other person isn’t nervous and isn’t asking for a chance. You’re not even showing any sign of being shy.
If anything, you look even more relaxed than before.
“Well, like I said I’m not expecting anything from you.” Mingyu wonders if you’ve ever smiled this big around him before. He’s pretty sure you haven’t, because he would remember a smile this beautiful otherwise. “So, no need to say anything back and, again, don’t be awkward with Jungkook, okay? If it’s uncomfortable for you, I can just not go to the games for a while.”
Are you seriously thinking about him being awkward with Jungkook when it’s you confessing to him right now?
“You don’t need to… uh… not go.” Mingyu stutters out of nowhere, and he curses himself for being awkward when you don’t even seem uncomfortable in the slightest bit. “We don’t need to be awkward, right?”
You shrug, your face void of any awkwardness. “If you say so. I’ll be on my way now. Thank you for not being weird about this, by the way.”
And as you leave him with a much better mood he found you in earlier, Mingyu wonders why he feels like he’s the one being rejected when it’s you confessing to him.
[✾✾✾]
You have expected Mingyu to be a little weird and awkward around you after the confession.
But you didn’t expect him to be around you.
It seems like, after the whole thing, he’s adamant to be close to you everytime he could. He’d sit beside you when you join team dinner, he’d accompany you when you’re waiting for Jungkook, and he’d even reply to your Instagram stories from time to time.
You don’t think too much about it, though it does annoy you a little because it’s making moving on harder. At least you’re no longer conscious around him and the others, which was the most annoying thing before and what drove you to confess in the first place.
Chaeyoung and Chungha (even Jungkook) ask you about it from time to time, but you’re consistent in your answer: that there’s nothing going on between you two and you simply confessed for the sake of confessing.
It’s been about a month since you confessed and Mingyu is immensely confused.
For someone who claims to like him, you’re not showing any sign that you’re into him at all. If anything, you seem uninterested; like he’s just a friend of a friend (which he kinda is). At some point, Mingyu even wonders if you’re simply messing with him.
He also wonders if that’s the reason why he starts paying attention to you instead. He becomes conscious of your presence, and he dares to say he’s enjoying it.
He finds himself smiling when you do, and he finds himself leaning to where you’re at every chance he gets.
And now, he finds himself thinking why you confessed the way you did. Why didn’t you ask for a chance? Mingyu is straightforward when it comes to turning down confessions, but he suddenly wonders if he’d try it out with you had you not simply gone on your way that day.
If there’s one thing Mingyu is bad at, it’s containing his curiosity. That, along with the fact that you seem pretty chill, pushes him to where he’s at right now: with you in the bubble tea place in front of university.
Jungkook and Minghao are whining for some, and when you volunteer to get it for them, it leads to a couple of other members of the team to ask the same too. Before Jungkook sighs and offers to go with you, Mingyu volunteers first because he wants to.
There. He admits it. He wants to spend some time with you.
As you two wait for your orders, you both sit at one of the tables and that’s when Mingyu decides to ask.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Hm?”
“When you… uh… confessed to me.” You don’t seem appalled to be talking about it, which encourages Mingyu to continue. “Why… Did you say you’re not expecting me to answer?”
“Uh, because I know you’re not into me? I know you’re going to reject me anyway.”
Mingyu frowns, his fingers that are drumming against the table stop at your words. “Why would you assume that?”
“Well, am I wrong?” You chuckle, and he doesn’t know what to make of your nonchalance. But he knows that it bothers him that you automatically think he’d reject you. Is that the kind of image you have of him? (It’s not entirely untrue, he is clear when it comes to rejection.) Or do you simply think he wouldn’t be into you?
“What if I say you are?” Mingyu decides to go for it. What he feels for you is not strong enough to be called ‘love’, maybe not even ‘like’ just yet, but he’s definitely into you and the thought of spending time with you has been clouding his thoughts over and over again like a heavy rain these days.
He can definitely see–no–feel himself falling for you deeper as time passes by. He just needs more time to get there, preferably with you.
“What are you saying?” You shake your head, trying to hide the fact that you’re flustered like your heart isn’t beating way too fast that it almost hurts. What is he saying, really?
“Go on a date with me.”
“No.”
Mingyu blinks, sure that he’s heard wrong. “No?”
But you’re clear when you repeat your answer.
“What do you mean no?” He asks, genuinely confused. “Didn’t you just say you liked me, like, a month ago?”
“I told you I simply confessed for the sake of it.” You remind him, though your calm tone relaxes him in ways he can’t really explain. Perhaps he’s just glad you’re not making a big deal out of it. “I’ve never had any thoughts of dating you.”
“Why?”
“You’re you.” You say like it’s obvious, but Mingyu is once again offended for you and he frowns before he asks.
“What does that even mean?”
“You’re Kim Mingyu, the basketball star with the perfect GPA.” You start to list all of his titles and his accomplishments in university, and it’s the first time that Mingyu doesn’t feel good at someone complimenting him. For once, he’s not all that proud of those things you’ve just listed down. “And I’m… me. People probably only know me as Jungkook’s close friend. Chaeyoung and Chungha’s plain friend. And I don’t mind being known as such, but it should explain why I don’t think I have any chance with you.”
Mingyu frowns, and he stares at you a little too hard that you can’t tell at all what he’s trying to express.
“I don’t like how you imply you’re not exceptional.”
“Because I am not.” You shrug, not getting why Mingyu sounds upset. “And it’s okay. Nothing bad about being ordinary. I like being ordinary. I can’t imagine getting all that attention you get everywhere you go.”
Mingyu kind of gets what you’re saying, but he still doesn’t like that you consider yourself ordinary. Nothing, not one single thing, that you’ve done to him has been ordinary. Not the way you confessed, not the way you act after you confessed, not the words you’re telling him right now.
And, now that he’s been paying more attention to you, nothing you do is sort of ordinary. You’re straightforward when you need to be, and you know exactly what you want and how to say them without sounding demanding. You’re not soft spoken and he means it in the best way possible, you’re good at reading the room and you know when to play dumb if that’s what the situation calls for. You know when to prioritize yourself and when you should prioritize your friends without being too selfless nor selfish.
If someone like you is what you consider ordinary, he doesn’t know what kind of person you’d consider special.
To Mingyu, you’re already as special as someone can possibly be.
How can you be ordinary if you confessed and then said ‘no’ when the said person asked you out on a date?
Wait. Did you think he was kidding?
“Anyway, I wasn’t kidding when I asked if you want to go on a date with me.”
“And I wasn’t kidding when I said no.” You chuckle a little, making Mingyu all the more confused.
“Why?”
“I told you. You’re Mingyu.” When he demands more explanation with the look in his eyes, you finally give in to honesty. “You’re too handsome. Too perfect, in fact. It’s burdensome to be with you. I don’t feel worthy enough.” You scrunch your face, and Mingyu needs to contain himself before he reaches out to squish your face.
Funnily enough, Mingyu doesn’t feel offended when you say this, just entirely dumbfounded that the things that are supposedly good are the reason why you don’t want to go on a date with him. Plus, what do you mean you’re not worthy enough?
“I’m nothing like that. No one is perfect”
You roll your eyes and wave a hand in dismissal. “Yeah, yeah. Whatever. You’re still too handsome. If you’re, like, only a little handsome, I would’ve said yes.”
Mingyu bursts into laughter, not getting what you’re saying at all and finding the whole thing funny at this point. But if there’s one thing you should’ve known about him, it’s that he’s stubborn and he’s competitive.
He’s not the basketball captain for no reason.
“You know you’re not making any sense?” He asks after his laughter dies down. But then something hits his mind and he gets serious. “Do you not like me anymore?”
“I still do.” You reassure, much too chill like the feeling doesn’t bother you. Should Mingyu be grateful? “But I told you you’re too handsome and a little burdensome to date. That’s why I confessed, did I not tell you? I just wanted you to reject me and move on from then.”
Mingyu blinks once. And then twice. Mouth a little ajar as his head tries to proceed your words
Not one single word from your mouth makes sense. Did you just say you confessed to him because you want to get rejected? Anyhow, now he knows you still like him and that leaves him one thing to do: convince you to go on a date with him.
“There’s no way I’m letting you move on.” He grins, now sure about his plan moving forward. You look at him confused, though he can tell that you’re a little flustered and he can’t help but think he wants to see more of that. “You’re going on a date with me, alright?”
You huff a chuckle, incredulous, and one corner of your lip lifts in genuine amusement. “I guess if you’re able to convince me somehow.”
“Deal.” Mingyu grins and you feel giddiness fill you inside out like never before as he stares at you with determination. “Remember that you allowed me to try. You don’t get to complain later on that I won’t stop following you every chance I get.”
A/N: so here goes the latest shiny star!! this is both "Mingyu's birthday is closeby" and "I got a sudden strike of inspiration" lol. i finished writing this in like,, 2, 3 days? anyhow, i hope you like this as much as i do. pls do tell me what you think of it <;3 again, i didn't think shiny star would get to this point when i wrote wonwoo's lol but i'm thankful a lot of you seems to like it hehe
genre: fluff! very slight angst via mentions of homesickness + jun & reader working a lot, but it’s very minor. [jun runs a restaurant. reader is coworkers w vocal unit.]
word count: 7.0k~
warnings: reader is a foreigner, but its left completely ambiguous where they’re from. depictions of illness (w jun caring for reader). many food mentions (the topic is just food as a love language). usage of terms of endearment (honey, baby, love), primarily by jun.
daisy’s notes:
food is my favorite love language between ppl.
han voice you eat you EAT!!!
The first time you met Wen Junhui was through a friend while you were feeling homesick.
Your coworkers knew a few things about you. The most glaring fact was that you were a foreigner (your Korean gave you away with ease every single time, although your coworker, Joshua, told you that you were improving well). And with that fact came the next one: you were always homesick when it came to major holidays. Both ones from your home country and in Korea, because it meant you sometimes got to witness firsthand the cozy joy of being with one’s family again. While you did make the occasional trip home, you mainly missed out on things. Sure, you sometimes celebrated on your own, but overall…
You missed home. No matter what dish you made, it couldn’t fully replace the feeling of community. The closest you’d ever come to it was when Joshua, missing the U.S. and his mom a little more than usual, came over and shared a meal with you. It wouldn’t be the same as sitting down with your family at their home, but it was a meal shared nonetheless.
when you can't sleep but shua is right next to you.
A/N: it's 11 in the evening here and i wrote this in, like, 20 minutes for all of u who were wishing for shua's shiny star, or you who have trouble sleeping. I hope this very small gift means something to any of you🩶 this is definitely not proofread bc im falling asleep now lol good night
You turn on your bed. Once. And then twice.
And then once again.
You bite your lip as you try to listen to Shua's soft breathing just in case he awakes because of your constant shifting.
He is already asleep the moment you return home, and you quietly wash up and join him on the bed because the day has been long and you honestly just want it to end already.
It would be better if you could be in Shua's arms right now, but at least he's next to you and you're just glad at least one of you is sleeping properly.
He seems like he needs it anyway; God knows he's even busier than you are.
When you're sure Shua is still deep in his sleep, you turn once again, this time to face him.
You don't think you'd ever get tired of watching his face, asleep or awake. He's so beautiful either way, but asleep, Shua looks so peaceful and whatever weight that would burden him when he's awake can't bother him in this state.
For that, you're more than grateful.
Shua is the more emotional and sensitive one between the two of you, and it's definitely not something that you complain about. But it means he seems to understand you more than you do him so sometimes you feel useless when you know he's not feeling his best.
He's been a little too busy these days, which worries you, but there's nothing you can really do about it. Hence, you're simply glad that at least he's sleeping properly.
Unlike you.
You're tired, your eyes are heavy, and you're sleepy, but your body refuses to succumb to sleep for some reason. You don't know what's stopping you from sleeping.
So you do what brings you comfort: watch your lover sleep. Your palm reaches out to his face, and when your thumb caresses the apple of his cheek, Shua leans to your touch even in his sleep.
You spend a few moment just like that. Time always seems like an illusion when you're with him, because you don't know how much time has passed until Shua slowly opens his eyes and immediately stares into your eyes.
"Why are you awake?" He asks, voice heavy with sleep.
You offer nothing but a hum, your fingers moving from his face into his hair.
"Can't sleep again?" Even half asleep, Shua can tell the smile you give him is defeated. So he reaches out to pull you into his chest instead, the position uncomfortable but not unwelcome. "Let's stay like this for a bit, hm?"
It's hard to hold him back in this position, so you decide to bask in his hold and the sound of his heartbeat instead. You think you feel his lips on top of your head, and Shua starts humming the familiar melody that always bring you comfort, his palm rubs your back in a slow pattern.
Up and down.
Up and down.
Up and... down.
He chuckles when he hears your soft snore, looking down at your sleeping figure before maneuvering you both into a more comfortable position.
A few minutes later, he falls back to sleep with his fingers buried in your hair and the soft pattern of your breath.
@imdamnconfused @oifelixcmerebrou @0x1temptation @littlejisung @jaefmin @hangyeomcult @deriroga @sunkissed-moon @softmark1999 @shrutiajit @cherry-riki @bluejaem i think i might have missed a few, but you all are very precious to me and i love you guys 🥹🥺🫶🏼
I'm 🥹🥹 thank you for making this day start with a smile🌸🌻
@ahundredtimesover @twogyuu @just-here-to-read-01 @sebongmochi @ethereal-engene @sunshinein17 @fr0g-filez @sleeplessdawn and everyone who sees this across your dash🌻🌻🌻🌻 have some flowers!!!!!
genre: fluff, crack/humor, there is only one bed, idiots in love
warnings: hoshi lowkey manhandles reader a lot ?? but still has little spoon energy ?? i'm bad at this
wc: 1324
“This- This is the best- night of my life.” Soonyoung giggled between hiccups.
“My thoughts exactly!” Seokmin smiled fondly at his friend, handing him a glass of water. “I believe he’s very happy that you joined us after all.” He added, looking at you.
You shook your head. “Or he’s just pretty wasted.”
“I- I am.” Soonyoung wrapped his right arm around your shoulders. The water didn’t calm his hiccup at all. “Both.”
“Drink some more, Soon, and try to hold your breath for a bit.” He did as you told him, taking one last sip and then holding in a big gasp of air, filling up his cheeks with it. You chuckled. “Now you do look like a hamst-” Surprisingly fast (given his state of inebriation) he covered your mouth with his hand before you could go on, holding you even tighter. His face started turning red as he tried really hard to hold his breath without loosening his grip on you. Then, Seokmin poked his face, so he exhaled like he was a deflating balloon.
“Ah… Better.”
“Let me go!”
“Retire what you just said.”
“You didn’t even let me finish!”
“Retire what you were thinking!”
“Stop yelling!” Seokmin took Sooyoung's arm away, setting you free. “Everyone else is sleeping by now.”
“We should go too, it’s late.” you whispered “And I’m exhausted.”
Soonyoung made a weird sound of disappointment, but let himself get dragged by Seokmin as he led you upstairs. You’re staying in a nice lodge that your friends rented a couple of months ago, in the countryside. Back then you weren’t so sure if you could go, since you usually have lots of work even during the summer, while most people are enjoying the holidays. Luckily enough, you managed to get yourself some extra days off, and that's what made it all work out.
Seokmin and the rest arrived at the shelter earlier in the morning. You surprised them at dinner, bringing some more food and beers. You could have tagged along the next morning, since the plan was to stay for a whole week, but you decided to go right after finishing your last shift. Although you were already slightly tired, you really missed spending time with them. You needed this. Everyone got so excited to see you, especially Soonyoung. That cheered you up enough to gain some energy back, so you stayed awake longer than you expected.
“You can take that room.” Seokmin pointed at the end of the hallway. “The one on the right.” He handed you Soonyoung’s arm as if he was a package that needed to be carried. He complained just a second ago, but he was also getting sleepy. You shook your head with a smile, gestured Seokmin a good night and pulled Soonyoung by his wrist.
You tried your best to be quiet while opening the door. The curtains were drawn back, so it wasn't really necessary to turn on the lights. The moonlight coming in through the window was enough. The room was small, but cozy. It had a big wooden closet, a tiny desk by its side with a matching old chair and… only one bed.
Sooyoung wasted no time and jumped right into it. He had to, because the bed was taller than usual… and also seemed really small to be shared. You looked around, thinking about what to do. Maybe there was a sleeping bag in the closet, or at least some blankets that you could bring back downstairs to sleep on the couch. You went ahead to check it out, but didn’t take a single proper step before Soonyoung took your hand and pulled you right next to the bed again with a tug. How could he be this strong when he was drunk and already half asleep?
“Jesus! Soonyoung! Do you want to rip my arm apart?”
“Come in.” he mumbled.
“I don’t fit in there.”
“Just come.”
“You’re taking all the space!”
Soonyoung stood up again with a grunt, this time lifting up the sheets to get inside the bed. He laid on his side, sticking close to the wall so this time there was actually some space left for you. “Here.” he whispered, slowly patting the mattress.
Too tired to keep complaining, you gave up and jumped in with him. Laying on your side as well, you still felt too close to the edge of the bed.
“If you move one inch you'll push me down.”
Slipping one arm around your torso, Soonyoung brought you closer, so you were practically on top of him. For a second you thought he was going to stop there, and you felt a breath get stuck on your throat. Then, he turned around with a sudden move to exchange positions, causing you to bump your elbow with the wall and making you whine in pain. Now you were awkwardly laying on your back, Soonyoung snuggled back so that he could rest his head on your chest, his arms still hugging your waist like you were some sort of human pillow.
“Your heart is beating really fast.”
“Because you just tried to kill me!”
“Sorry.”
“And you're crushing me.”
“I'm not.”
“Let me move my arms.”
It was a losing battle. No matter what you did or said, Sooyoung wouldn’t keep his hands to himself. He had to hold you one way or another. At some point you found yourself holding him back. Just to make sure he wouldn’t be the one rolling down to the floor in the middle of the night. Finally, the whole place was all quiet and peaceful. You focus on Soonyoung’s breath, his hair rubbing against your face. It tickled. You saw this coming. He’s so clingy when he drinks, but then again, he has never been so close to you before. Is he even aware? Would it be awkward in the morning when he wakes up? His fingers moved on your back, it almost felt like a soft caress, a reassuring touch. You got used to his embrace, eyelids turning heavy again.
None of you closed the curtains at night before going to sleep, so the sun woke you up as soon as it was rising. You and Soonyoung were completely entangled with each other. Your arms hurted a bit.
Someone peeked through the door, which you also forgot to close. It was Vernon. You didn’t know why, because it was obviously not a big deal at all, but you felt kind of shy in that position, barely awake with Soonyoung still holding you for dear life, unable to get up.
Vernon tilted his head. “Why didn’t you use the other bed?”
“What other bed?”
“The one below.”
You blinked. Vernon stepped in, moved away the sheets that were hanging off the bed. You noticed that there was a drawer, but it had no handle, rather a small gap along the wood, so that it could be grabbed and opened, and Vernon did so. Inside it had another mattress, wrapped in another set of sheets and blankets identical to the ones around your body.
It was a trundle bed.
You stared at the second mattress. Then at Vernon. Then at the mattress again. Before any of you could say anything else, Soonyoung started stretching, letting out a big high-pitched yawn and rolling to his side without noticing, so he falled down to the newly discovered bed and brought you and half of the blankets along with him. The two of you screamed from the shock as you dropped down, and while you were still completely startled, Soonyoung began to laugh hysterically.
“You are definitely trying to kill me!” you hissed.
Soonyoung didn’t stop laughing. He surrounded your neck with his arms and pulled you into another hug. Of course, you couldn't hold back your own laughter for too long.
If this is how it started, it was truly going to be a great week.
notes: i wanted to make a series with the classic there's only one bed trope and i had this and many other ideas (almost all svt members! damn) on my drafts for sooo long !! all of them are really messy and silly so i don't know if i'll keep them going but hey, at the very least, this is my first attempt! hope you enjoyed it 🩷
➝ fluff // slice of life // marriage!au // est relationship // a little angsty // hurt comfort..?
➝ warning: mentions of pregnancy (it's literally the plot jshdbf), mentions of sex (no smut scenes), soft Mingyu D:
➝ word count: 4.6~k
A/N: hi! it's been some time since i write this couple. ngl i miss them so much and it gets me a little giddy to see them still popping up in my notif haha. anyway! i'm posting this as a celebration for my 3k milestone, i really i wish i could've written more but i'm happy with how this turns out and i hope this suffice hehe thank you for the love you've been giving to my daisy and please enjoy!! do tell me what you think about it🩷
my daisy masterlist
[✾✾✾]
You have a set of problems.
You’re pregnant.
You don’t know how to tell Mingyu and Gyuri.
And, last but absolutely not least because it’s the one that you think is the biggest of them all:
3. Gyuri just told you she doesn’t want a sibling anymore.
Biting your lip to the point where it almost bleeds, all sorts of feelings run through you as you stare at the three pregnancy tests in front of you. All of them are positive, which didn’t come off as a much of a surprise, if you’re being completely honest.
You noticed the symptoms almost immediately weeks ago, but you didn’t want to jump into conclusions and a part of you wanted to brush them off as something else–everything else. Oh, you threw up? Perhaps you ate something wrong. Oh, you’re lightheaded? You definitely didn’t sleep enough the night before. Oh, your period is late? Happens sometimes when you’re a little too stressed.
You were just delaying taking the test. But, deep down, you knew.
How could you not when you and Mingyu haven’t been using any sort of protection for the past year? It’s not that you’re trying for a kid, but the both of you have decided that whatever happens, happens. You’ve seen a lot of people hoping to convince and unfortunately not get pregnant even after years have passed.
If you somehow get pregnant without even trying, you’ll just accept that it’s what you’re meant to do.
Plus, you don’t think the both of you would ever be ready for a kid if you plan to have one–nor the emotional baggage that would come if you decide to try only to find out you’re not pregnant just yet.
So, after a lot of thinking and Gyuri’s 7th birthday last year, the both of you agree to just forego protections since. If you end up getting pregnant, it’ll just be a pleasant surprise. You both would love to be pregnant, and you’d like to think you’re mentally (and financially) prepared enough from that point onwards.
Okay.
First thing first.
“Baby?” Mingyu knocks on the bathroom door, wondering if something’s wrong because you’re way too silent and it’s been a whole ten minutes since you’ve excused yourself to the bathroom. “You okay?”
You blink back the tears at his voice, still staring at the pregnancy tests in front of you. You’re happy, you really are, and you know Mingyu would be elated.
But Gyuri?
It was just last month that she declared she’s not up for the sister life.
“Ma, I don’t think I want siblings anymore.” She said out of nowhere when she was cuddling with you. Mingyu was outside the city for a business trip, so the two of you decided to have a girls’ night; complete with the disney movies, pizzas, ice cream, and everything else that definitely left Gyuri too high on sugar by the end of the night.
“Yeah?” You tried to indulge her, though something inside you dropped at the revelation. Gyuri had always been excited at the prospect of being a sister, and she played the older sister role very well with Junseo, Jennie’s son. What changed? “Why?”
“Junseo is enough.” She shrugged, playing with the material of your pajamas. “Also… I don’t want to lose you.”
You laughed at that, but quickly got concerned when Gyuri seemed to be fairly serious about what she had just said.
“You wouldn’t lose me, Flower.” You reminded her with a kiss and a tight hug. “What made you think so?”
“You’d need to take care of the baby all the time…” she trailed off, and you once again wondered what made Gyuri to be this much attuned to her own feelings when she’s only seven. “Dunno… I just want you and Papa for myself.”
“Oh, my little Lili.” You pulled away at her words, cupped her face and reminded her that you’d never abandon her, siblings or not. She didn’t look convinced, though you couldn’t blame her because you kind of understood where she’s coming from.
Gyuri had been an only child for all her life. It was probably a little lonely, but she received all the love she needed and wanted from every single person around her. When Junseo came around, she was just excited that she finally had a friend, some sort of distant relative, and she readily took the older sister role for him.
But you knew sometimes she found him annoying. They’re kids, could you blame them? But Gyuri was a little too mature for her own good, and she’d just run to you or Mingyu when Junseo annoyed her instead of fighting him like any other child her age would. She wouldn’t even cry out of frustration.
She’d frown, try to tell Junseo off, and if he still didn’t listen, she’d just leave and settle by her parents’ side.
It worried you, if you’re to be completely honest. You and Mingyu had never asked her to suppress her feelings, but Gyuri rarely threw a tantrum and the both of you had been worried that it would eat her inside out at some point.
“Just me, you, and Papa.” She closed the discussion, hugging you tighter and eventually falling asleep on your lap.
“Daisy?” Mingyu tries once again, and even calls your name when you still don't answer. You take a deep breath and straighten your posture. Okay, no use doing a grand announcement to Mingyu. He’d be happy either way and you’d rather tell him immediately. You both have more important things to think about than a surprise: Gyuri’s possible reaction to this.
“Coming,” you finally answer before opening the door.
Mingyu looks concerned, not wasting any second to ask if you’re okay. He’s a little startled when you grasp his hands, holding them tight before asking him not to freak.
“Daisy, you’re scaring me.”
You manage to give him a smile though, because despite the worries, you are happy to know you’re pregnant. There’s a life growing inside you–a baby that is both a mix of you and your husband.
As much as you worry about Gyuri, you’re still giddy at the fact that you’re finally pregnant–that your family is growing. And a part of you is relieved that Gyuri’s reaction is the only thing that seems to be of concern. Everything else is fine. If there’s any problem, they’re not big enough for you to think of them now.
Perhaps seeing Mingyu helps too. Because now you’re biting your lip to stop yourself from grinning too hard. You just knew his reaction would be priceless and you can’t wait to let him know about your current situation.
“Daisy, don’t play with me.” He frowns at the sudden change of your mood, but complies when you pull him into the bathroom.
He’s a little confused when you keep your silence, and he’s just about to ask again when he notices the sticks in front of the mirror. You feel him freeze for three whole seconds, and you finally grin when he turns to you, as if making sure that it’s what he thinks it is.
You nod even if he’s not saying anything, and it’s him who surprises you because Mingyu tears up and he almost whimpers if not for the fact that you jump to hug him. The whole situation is a little funny, but it’s not appropriate to laugh just yet so you let him have his moment. Years from now when your kids are old enough to understand, you'll definitely bring this up just so you can all tease him together.
He sniffles as he buries his head on your shoulder, which you’re sure is very uncomfortable due to his height. Mingyu doesn’t seem to care though, and he hugs you tighter like you’ll disappear if he doesn’t.
“Gyu?” You finally call him after a while, and he lets you pull away so he can look at you. He’s not crying, but his eyes are glossy and he’s still sniffling as if to hold back his tears.
You've seen this before. Twice, to be exact. The first time was when he finally proposed properly (whatever that meant) even though he already knew you'd say yes. The second time was on your wedding day, when you finally reached him at the end of the aisle with Gyuri holding your hand.
You smile softly as you search for his face, then you cup his face to pull him down for a gentle kiss. The feel of his breath against your face still makes you fuzzy inside, and when Mingyu presses his lips deeper into yours, a giggle escapes your lips until eventually he joins in, bringing you back in time and to some other universe where you go to the same highschool together, and you're a high-school couple still fresh in love.
“When should we go to the doctor?”
“We can go tomorrow?” You offer, reminding him his parents are in town. “Leave Lili with your mom? And then we can tell her too after.”
“Tomorrow it is.” He squeezes you once more with a happy grin, but only then realizes that you’re holding something back. “You okay?”
“Lili is in the living room with Wonwoo and the others, right?” He nods. “Let’s talk in our room, then.”
You haven’t been able to tell Mingyu about your talk with Gyuri that day and now seems like the perfect time to do so. He listens to you quietly, and you see the way his face falls as you tell him everything, the way it clicks to him why his daughter seems more reluctant to play with Junseo nowadays.
“I’m happy, Gyu. I really am. But Lili…”
“We’ll talk to her. Let’s think about it after the doctor appointment tomorrow, okay?”
You nod. It’s almost magic the way you relax at his words and his touch. And as you catch Mingyu looking at your stomach with a dazed smile, you let yourself be happy and push your worry to the back of your mind.
[✾✾✾]
Mingyu cries when the doctor does the ultrasound and confirms you’re pregnant.
[✾✾✾]
“What about names?”
You laugh at the big puppy that is your husband. Sometimes you wonder what would Seungkwan do if he ever catches Mingyu like this. For someone that is practically a big pile of mush when it comes to you, Mingyu is unexpectedly very good at keeping it low at work.
You thought he’d crack with Seungkwan eventually. But no. Even when you’re out for a friendly dinner after work, Mingyu would keep the PDA to a minimum. There’s some sort of pride battle going on between the two men that you’d never be able to figure out.
“I think we’d need to find out about the gender first before starting to pick names, Gyu."
“I mean… we can always just look for unisex names first…” He pouts a little, which urges you to kiss him. So you do exactly that, catching him by surprise though he’s definitely not complaining.
Mingyu hums into the kiss, his palm cupping your face and his thumb caressing the apple of your cheek.
“You’re very excited about this, aren’t you?” You pull away, just enough distance between your lips to talk.
“Mhm.” He drops another peck before entirely pulling away. He pauses before he continues, his palm never leaving your face as some sort of melancholy fills his eyes. “I didn’t… get to do this during… well, Gyuri’s pregnancy process.”
Your lips drop open to say something–anything. But nothing comes out, and you also know that anything you might’ve said regarding that part of his past wouldn’t help. So you decide to talk about what’s to come instead.
“Well, now we get to do this together for the first time.” You grasp the hand that’s on your face to give it a squeeze. “As long as we’re together, right?”
He tears up again, and you hold yourself back from teasing him and instead grin before you pull him into another kiss.
As long as you’re together.
[✾✾✾]
It’s almost a month later that you decide it’s time to let Gyuri know. You’ve told both of your families and your close circles, and while you initially thought you’d tell Gyuri once you start showing, after talking to your mom and Mingyu’s, they both agree that it’d be better to tell her sooner rather than later.
And here you are in her bedroom, sitting beside her as you break the news.
“But… I told you I don’t want a sibling.” She tears up. And as much as you’re ready for this reaction, it still breaks your heart to hear her say this again.
Mingyu drops to his knee to look into her eyes, his palms grabbing her small hands as he carefully chooses his next words.
“Can you tell me why?” Ha asks softly, and when Gyuri sniffles, her lips trembling as she stares back at him, he’s suddenly reminded of those years he had Gyuri all by himself. The time when he insisted that he could do it alone, that he didn’t need anyone’s help, and that Gyuri was his so he’d do everything on his own.
That he owed her that much.
It’s… been quite some time since he spent some time with her, huh? After you come into the picture, it never occurs to him that he might need to spend some alone time with Gyuri. The kid also seems happy with you around, and the last time he had gone out only with Gyuri had probably been… months ago when you went on a business trip.
“You told Mama already, yeah?” he tries one more time, and when she nods, he continues. “I want to hear from you, though. Can you tell me?”
“I don’t… want to share you and Mama.”
Mingyu nods, then tells her how you’d love her still, that none of you are leaving her behind, that you need her to be with you.
“We will need you more because of this, Lili.” You caress her head. “I will need you to help me. Not only because of your sister or brother. We need you. Mama and Papa always do.”
“But–but you’ll still need to take care of the baby a lot…”
“Flower, we will take care of you both. No favorites, we promise. Please don’t think we’ll stop taking care of you because of the baby, okay?”
Gyuri shakes her head, and this time she drops her gaze to avoid yours as her lips start to tremble again. You share a worried look with Mingyu. You know Gyuri doesn’t want a sibling, and this is actually a problem that a lot of families have, but you still don’t have a clear grasp of how much this actually bothers her.
The both of you watch as Gyuri turns and falls into Mingyu’s embrace then circles her arms around his neck. She’s not sobbing, which is good, but it’s concerning just how upset she seems to be.
“Lili?”
She shakes her head, seemingly done with the conversation.
Mingyu throws you a look, then signs you to leave for a bit because, at the end of the day, Gyuri is still more honest with him than she is with you. Perhaps he can coax her a bit more like this. Just like the old times.
He takes her in his arms and sits on her bed, simply holds her on his lap as he lets her have her moment.
“Flower, will you look at me?”
She’s reluctant, but she pulls away and Mingyu almost regrets asking her to because she looks crestfallen. Is the idea of having a sibling that upsetting?
“It’s been long since it’s just us two, huh?” He says instead, smiling a little. Does she even remember the time when it’s just the two of them? She was three before you came into their lives. “I always share you with Mama now.”
“Papa miss Lili?”
“All the time.” He answers without missing a beat. “But Mama also does, that’s why I don’t mind sharing you with Mama. Do you want me to be selfish and take you for myself instead?”
Gyuri frowns and shakes her head. “No. Lili wants to be with Mama too.”
“You like Mama a lot, huh?”
She nods but doesn’t elaborate.
“Do you think we will stop loving you if you share us with your sibling, Li?”
The words from her lips come out as a mumble. Mingyu doesn’t really get what she’s saying, but he’s satisfied that she’s open to talk now.
“You know, when you were a baby, I didn’t want to share you with Grandma and Grandpa.” He says, thumb rubbing against her cheek. “I was afraid they’d take you away from me.”
“Why would they steal me from you?” She giggles at the prospect of her grandparents taking her away from him.
“I was just afraid I was not a good Papa for you.” Gyuri seems to have a hard time understanding this, tilting her head adorably that earns her a soft kiss on the forehead. “But Grandma and Grandpa just wanted to help. They didn’t want to take you away from me.”
She blinks at him, trying to see where this is going.
“The baby… won’t take us away from you, Lili. I know you’re worried, but I promise we will always, always love you. It’s because of you Mama and Papa are together, you know?”
Her eyes dim at the mention of the baby once again, and he tries to be patient for her sake, caressing her hair as he tells her a thousand reasons why you, him, and the baby need her. That she’s not getting left behind in any way.
“That’s not it.” She starts, her voice small. But her next words are never ones he expected. “Lili… is not Mama’s baby.”
It takes Mingyu a few seconds to understand what she’s saying, and when he does, he’s cold with the realization that this scenario is also possible.
You were insecure about being a mother figure to Gyuri, afraid that you’re not enough for her. He has never imagined the same kind of insecurity would be present on Gyuri’s end.
She’s… insecure because she’s not your blood and this baby would be?
“Oh, Kim Gyuri…” He hugs her again, the puzzle finally clicking. “You’ll always be Mama’s baby. She loves you a lot. Remember when she took care of you when you were sick a long time ago? She wasn’t your Mama yet but she played with you and took care of you anyway.”
Gyuri probably doesn’t. But Mingyu does. How could he not when it’s probably the start of his relationship with you?
“Do you want to talk about this with Mama?” He tries softly. “I think she will be able to understand more if you do.”
“Mama won’t be mad?”
He smiles at her worries, shaking his head and assuring her you wouldn’t be mad at all. “She will be sad if you’re upset, though. Do you want Mama to be sad?”
“No…”
“Let’s go?”
She nods and asks him to carry her. When they arrive in the master bedroom, you look up from the bed, looking concerned still.
Gyuri doesn’t say anything, but leans to you and reaches out her arms so you’ll take her instead.
“Hi, baby.” You kiss her head. “How are you feeling?”
She shrugs, but she leans on your shoulder and lets you caress her hair. Mingyu sends you a look. Apparently, whatever talk they had hasn’t really resulted in anything, not that you expect her to change her mind just like that. Still, Mingyu mouths something about asking Gyuri, so you do.
“You wanna tell me something?” She hesitates, so you do it first. “Can I share something with Lili, then?”
At her nod, you take a deep breath before you start.
“I’m afraid Lili won't like me anymore because of the baby.”
“What? No… Lili always like Mama.” She frowns. “Lili just… Baby…”
Mingyu sits on the bed next to you, encouraging Gyuri to continue as he tells her it’s okay. You look at him in question, but he doesn’t give you any answer. Perhaps the talk did result in something, after all.
“Mama won’t be mad, I promise.” He adds, making you even more confused. “Do you want me to tell Mama instead?”
She nods, burying her face on your shoulder to hide.
You urge Mingyu to talk, hugging Gyuri closer to reassure her that you’re not going to be mad at all.
“She said she’s not… your baby. But the baby will be.”
Huh.
What?
You need a moment to take that, Gyuri–what?
“Lili, what makes you think you’re not my baby?” You ask sadly, wondering if it’s okay to pull her away from your embrace. “I choose to love you, baby. And I will need you to help me take care of me now, not only the baby. Having this baby means I will need you around me more often, you know?”
You and Mingyu spend about another thirty minutes reassuring Gyuri nonstop, thirty long minutes that is luckily not spent calming her tears down. You don’t even know if that’s what you’re supposed to do; should you be giving her space instead?
But that’s always the thing about parenting, isn’t it? Sometimes you make the wrong choice and Gyuri gets the end of it, and sometimes you think you’ve pushed her too much only for Gyuri to actually get the message and fix her mistakes.
“And, you know, I think baby told me that they’re already very excited to see you.” You try another approach. “When this baby is born, you would need to teach them how to play and to draw and to use the bubble bath. Mama and Papa are too old for that.”
This seems to get her attention, and she asks if she can ask them to play with her big barbie house that Junseo seems to hate with all his heart.
“Anything you want, Flower. This baby is going to be your sibling, you can ask each other to play everything if you want, would you do that?”
“Hmm… Is it a brother or a sister?”
You share a smile with Mingyu at last. She’s no longer declining the idea, at least.
“We don’t know yet. Do you have a preference?”
“As long as they’re not annoying like Junseo.”
That you can’t be sure of, but you laugh with her to ease her mind. For all its worth, you’re actually a little touched that Gyuri cares that much about being your flesh and blood. It’s going to be different, your love for her and your love for the baby growing inside you. But you don’t think it would have anything to do with one of them being your own blood.
No.
It’s true. You choose to love Gyuri. She’s not your biological child, and you practically fell in love with her from the first time you saw her by herself in SVT Inc.’s building. But it’s not as easy as people believe it to be to keep on loving her. You have to constantly think about the line you need to keep as someone who’s not her mom, but you definitely care for her and love her too much to be just another person in her life.
Gyuri also depends on you a lot, sometimes even foregoing her father just so she can bask in your comfort. And after the whole fighting episode that ended up with Mingyu proposing to you, she’s even more clingy after it’s clear that she’s allowed to call you her Mama.
“So there’s… a baby… inside you?” She asks after a while, looking at you with wonder.
You take her hand with a smile and place her palm on your stomach. Obviously, none of you can feel anything just yet, but you tell her you’ll be able to in a few months and you'd like it if she’ll be there for it.
“You will have a lot of big sister things to do.” You tell her seriously. Gyuri likes having responsibilities (it’s definitely the perfectionism and hard-working tendency from her father), and if there’s any way where you can make her feel that she’s needed, you’re ready to let Gyuri do whatever she chooses to do. “Decorate the baby’s room, buy new toys, hmm… What more do you think we need to do, Gyu?”
Mingyu grins as you ask him this, and he pretends to think also before throwing the question to his daughter instead.
“What else, Li?”
She takes her time to think, which melts your heart to the point of nonexistence because you didn’t expect her to take things this seriously. And when she finally knows what to say, you almost tear up because you didn’t expect her to say that at all.
“Buy Mama a lot of food?” She offers, a frown on her face. “Eunji says her mom eats a lot when pregnant, is that true?”
“Oh, my baby.” You hug her hard and melt against her body. Gyuri is going to turn eight this year, and whilst she’s almost too big for you to hold now, sometimes it feels like she’s just the small girl you met five years ago. Has it really been five years since you’ve met her and Mingyu? “That is true, alright. And I think some people eat sooooo much ice cream during their pregnancy, will you eat them with me?”
Gyuri giggles at your exaggeration, though of course she happily nods at the prospect of too much dessert.
“I will make a list!” She suddenly jumps in excitement, wiggling on your lap. “So many toys to buy. Can I sleep with the baby? When will the baby come? What do they like?”
You tear up at the change of attitude, so it’s Mingyu who answers even if he wants to tease you about it.
“In nine months. And they will like whatever you get them. But don’t buy too much just yet, okay?”
“That’s so long!” She gasps.
“Yeah, but that means we’ll be all prepared, right?” He grins at her, one arm going around you while his other hand ruffles Gyuri’s hair. “You need to practice to be a big sister, too! Will you be able to do it?”
Gyuri nods vigorously, promising that she will be the bestest sister ever. “And I will help you too, Ma. You will call Lili everytime you need help?”
At this point, you’re already crying as you nod. Gyuri panics a little, tries her best to wipe your tears when Mingyu assures her that you’re crying because you’re happy.
“Do you want to see a picture of the baby? You can’t see them clearly, though.”
Surprisingly, Gyuri shakes her head. But before you can worry yet again, she beams and says she wants everything to be a surprise. “But tell me when you find out if it’s a boy or a girl?”
“You can come with us to the doctor when we find out, Flower.”
She squeals in excitement, the previous stand on wanting to be a big sister seems to have returned. Gyuri starts to ramble about the amusement parks and all her favorite places that she wants to visit with the baby, and you finally share a relieved smile with Mingyu.
He leans forward to peck your lips, whispering that he’s excited for another beginning for your family. The smile on his face is the most beautiful you’ve ever seen. With his heart full, he hugs you both tighter into his chest and simply laughs when Gyuri whines, asking him to let go.
First of all, i wanna thank u soo much for reblogging feedbacks on every chapter of my daisy 🥹🥹 its been a busy week for me and seeing your notifications made my day better i swear 🥲 I'll get back to your feedbacks on my daisy!! But also thank you for enjoying this special and I'm glad you read it just in time!!!
Thank you for writing such a wonderful series!! I loved reading it and I'm so glad that the reblogs made you happy 😭💕💕 I was scared that the consecutive reblogs were alot all in order but I loved every chapter so much, you've written such a wonderful story! I love the relationship between all the characters!! I hope that your next week is easy on you and that you have time to relax and rest up😊 💕💕
➝ fluff // slice of life // marriage!au // est relationship // a little angsty // hurt comfort..?
➝ warning: mentions of pregnancy (it's literally the plot jshdbf), mentions of sex (no smut scenes), soft Mingyu D:
➝ word count: 4.6~k
A/N: hi! it's been some time since i write this couple. ngl i miss them so much and it gets me a little giddy to see them still popping up in my notif haha. anyway! i'm posting this as a celebration for my 3k milestone, i really i wish i could've written more but i'm happy with how this turns out and i hope this suffice hehe thank you for the love you've been giving to my daisy and please enjoy!! do tell me what you think about it🩷
my daisy masterlist
[✾✾✾]
You have a set of problems.
You’re pregnant.
You don’t know how to tell Mingyu and Gyuri.
And, last but absolutely not least because it’s the one that you think is the biggest of them all:
3. Gyuri just told you she doesn’t want a sibling anymore.
Biting your lip to the point where it almost bleeds, all sorts of feelings run through you as you stare at the three pregnancy tests in front of you. All of them are positive, which didn’t come off as a much of a surprise, if you’re being completely honest.
You noticed the symptoms almost immediately weeks ago, but you didn’t want to jump into conclusions and a part of you wanted to brush them off as something else–everything else. Oh, you threw up? Perhaps you ate something wrong. Oh, you’re lightheaded? You definitely didn’t sleep enough the night before. Oh, your period is late? Happens sometimes when you’re a little too stressed.
You were just delaying taking the test. But, deep down, you knew.
How could you not when you and Mingyu haven’t been using any sort of protection for the past year? It’s not that you’re trying for a kid, but the both of you have decided that whatever happens, happens. You’ve seen a lot of people hoping to convince and unfortunately not get pregnant even after years have passed.
If you somehow get pregnant without even trying, you’ll just accept that it’s what you’re meant to do.
Plus, you don’t think the both of you would ever be ready for a kid if you plan to have one–nor the emotional baggage that would come if you decide to try only to find out you’re not pregnant just yet.
So, after a lot of thinking and Gyuri’s 7th birthday last year, the both of you agree to just forego protections since. If you end up getting pregnant, it’ll just be a pleasant surprise. You both would love to be pregnant, and you’d like to think you’re mentally (and financially) prepared enough from that point onwards.
Okay.
First thing first.
“Baby?” Mingyu knocks on the bathroom door, wondering if something’s wrong because you’re way too silent and it’s been a whole ten minutes since you’ve excused yourself to the bathroom. “You okay?”
You blink back the tears at his voice, still staring at the pregnancy tests in front of you. You’re happy, you really are, and you know Mingyu would be elated.
But Gyuri?
It was just last month that she declared she’s not up for the sister life.
“Ma, I don’t think I want siblings anymore.” She said out of nowhere when she was cuddling with you. Mingyu was outside the city for a business trip, so the two of you decided to have a girls’ night; complete with the disney movies, pizzas, ice cream, and everything else that definitely left Gyuri too high on sugar by the end of the night.
“Yeah?” You tried to indulge her, though something inside you dropped at the revelation. Gyuri had always been excited at the prospect of being a sister, and she played the older sister role very well with Junseo, Jennie’s son. What changed? “Why?”
“Junseo is enough.” She shrugged, playing with the material of your pajamas. “Also… I don’t want to lose you.”
You laughed at that, but quickly got concerned when Gyuri seemed to be fairly serious about what she had just said.
“You wouldn’t lose me, Flower.” You reminded her with a kiss and a tight hug. “What made you think so?”
“You’d need to take care of the baby all the time…” she trailed off, and you once again wondered what made Gyuri to be this much attuned to her own feelings when she’s only seven. “Dunno… I just want you and Papa for myself.”
“Oh, my little Lili.” You pulled away at her words, cupped her face and reminded her that you’d never abandon her, siblings or not. She didn’t look convinced, though you couldn’t blame her because you kind of understood where she’s coming from.
Gyuri had been an only child for all her life. It was probably a little lonely, but she received all the love she needed and wanted from every single person around her. When Junseo came around, she was just excited that she finally had a friend, some sort of distant relative, and she readily took the older sister role for him.
But you knew sometimes she found him annoying. They’re kids, could you blame them? But Gyuri was a little too mature for her own good, and she’d just run to you or Mingyu when Junseo annoyed her instead of fighting him like any other child her age would. She wouldn’t even cry out of frustration.
She’d frown, try to tell Junseo off, and if he still didn’t listen, she’d just leave and settle by her parents’ side.
It worried you, if you’re to be completely honest. You and Mingyu had never asked her to suppress her feelings, but Gyuri rarely threw a tantrum and the both of you had been worried that it would eat her inside out at some point.
“Just me, you, and Papa.” She closed the discussion, hugging you tighter and eventually falling asleep on your lap.
“Daisy?” Mingyu tries once again, and even calls your name when you still don't answer. You take a deep breath and straighten your posture. Okay, no use doing a grand announcement to Mingyu. He’d be happy either way and you’d rather tell him immediately. You both have more important things to think about than a surprise: Gyuri’s possible reaction to this.
“Coming,” you finally answer before opening the door.
Mingyu looks concerned, not wasting any second to ask if you’re okay. He’s a little startled when you grasp his hands, holding them tight before asking him not to freak.
“Daisy, you’re scaring me.”
You manage to give him a smile though, because despite the worries, you are happy to know you’re pregnant. There’s a life growing inside you–a baby that is both a mix of you and your husband.
As much as you worry about Gyuri, you’re still giddy at the fact that you’re finally pregnant–that your family is growing. And a part of you is relieved that Gyuri’s reaction is the only thing that seems to be of concern. Everything else is fine. If there’s any problem, they’re not big enough for you to think of them now.
Perhaps seeing Mingyu helps too. Because now you’re biting your lip to stop yourself from grinning too hard. You just knew his reaction would be priceless and you can’t wait to let him know about your current situation.
“Daisy, don’t play with me.” He frowns at the sudden change of your mood, but complies when you pull him into the bathroom.
He’s a little confused when you keep your silence, and he’s just about to ask again when he notices the sticks in front of the mirror. You feel him freeze for three whole seconds, and you finally grin when he turns to you, as if making sure that it’s what he thinks it is.
You nod even if he’s not saying anything, and it’s him who surprises you because Mingyu tears up and he almost whimpers if not for the fact that you jump to hug him. The whole situation is a little funny, but it’s not appropriate to laugh just yet so you let him have his moment. Years from now when your kids are old enough to understand, you'll definitely bring this up just so you can all tease him together.
He sniffles as he buries his head on your shoulder, which you’re sure is very uncomfortable due to his height. Mingyu doesn’t seem to care though, and he hugs you tighter like you’ll disappear if he doesn’t.
“Gyu?” You finally call him after a while, and he lets you pull away so he can look at you. He’s not crying, but his eyes are glossy and he’s still sniffling as if to hold back his tears.
You've seen this before. Twice, to be exact. The first time was when he finally proposed properly (whatever that meant) even though he already knew you'd say yes. The second time was on your wedding day, when you finally reached him at the end of the aisle with Gyuri holding your hand.
You smile softly as you search for his face, then you cup his face to pull him down for a gentle kiss. The feel of his breath against your face still makes you fuzzy inside, and when Mingyu presses his lips deeper into yours, a giggle escapes your lips until eventually he joins in, bringing you back in time and to some other universe where you go to the same highschool together, and you're a high-school couple still fresh in love.
“When should we go to the doctor?”
“We can go tomorrow?” You offer, reminding him his parents are in town. “Leave Lili with your mom? And then we can tell her too after.”
“Tomorrow it is.” He squeezes you once more with a happy grin, but only then realizes that you’re holding something back. “You okay?”
“Lili is in the living room with Wonwoo and the others, right?” He nods. “Let’s talk in our room, then.”
You haven’t been able to tell Mingyu about your talk with Gyuri that day and now seems like the perfect time to do so. He listens to you quietly, and you see the way his face falls as you tell him everything, the way it clicks to him why his daughter seems more reluctant to play with Junseo nowadays.
“I’m happy, Gyu. I really am. But Lili…”
“We’ll talk to her. Let’s think about it after the doctor appointment tomorrow, okay?”
You nod. It’s almost magic the way you relax at his words and his touch. And as you catch Mingyu looking at your stomach with a dazed smile, you let yourself be happy and push your worry to the back of your mind.
[✾✾✾]
Mingyu cries when the doctor does the ultrasound and confirms you’re pregnant.
[✾✾✾]
“What about names?”
You laugh at the big puppy that is your husband. Sometimes you wonder what would Seungkwan do if he ever catches Mingyu like this. For someone that is practically a big pile of mush when it comes to you, Mingyu is unexpectedly very good at keeping it low at work.
You thought he’d crack with Seungkwan eventually. But no. Even when you’re out for a friendly dinner after work, Mingyu would keep the PDA to a minimum. There’s some sort of pride battle going on between the two men that you’d never be able to figure out.
“I think we’d need to find out about the gender first before starting to pick names, Gyu."
“I mean… we can always just look for unisex names first…” He pouts a little, which urges you to kiss him. So you do exactly that, catching him by surprise though he’s definitely not complaining.
Mingyu hums into the kiss, his palm cupping your face and his thumb caressing the apple of your cheek.
“You’re very excited about this, aren’t you?” You pull away, just enough distance between your lips to talk.
“Mhm.” He drops another peck before entirely pulling away. He pauses before he continues, his palm never leaving your face as some sort of melancholy fills his eyes. “I didn’t… get to do this during… well, Gyuri’s pregnancy process.”
Your lips drop open to say something–anything. But nothing comes out, and you also know that anything you might’ve said regarding that part of his past wouldn’t help. So you decide to talk about what’s to come instead.
“Well, now we get to do this together for the first time.” You grasp the hand that’s on your face to give it a squeeze. “As long as we’re together, right?”
He tears up again, and you hold yourself back from teasing him and instead grin before you pull him into another kiss.
As long as you’re together.
[✾✾✾]
It’s almost a month later that you decide it’s time to let Gyuri know. You’ve told both of your families and your close circles, and while you initially thought you’d tell Gyuri once you start showing, after talking to your mom and Mingyu’s, they both agree that it’d be better to tell her sooner rather than later.
And here you are in her bedroom, sitting beside her as you break the news.
“But… I told you I don’t want a sibling.” She tears up. And as much as you’re ready for this reaction, it still breaks your heart to hear her say this again.
Mingyu drops to his knee to look into her eyes, his palms grabbing her small hands as he carefully chooses his next words.
“Can you tell me why?” Ha asks softly, and when Gyuri sniffles, her lips trembling as she stares back at him, he’s suddenly reminded of those years he had Gyuri all by himself. The time when he insisted that he could do it alone, that he didn’t need anyone’s help, and that Gyuri was his so he’d do everything on his own.
That he owed her that much.
It’s… been quite some time since he spent some time with her, huh? After you come into the picture, it never occurs to him that he might need to spend some alone time with Gyuri. The kid also seems happy with you around, and the last time he had gone out only with Gyuri had probably been… months ago when you went on a business trip.
“You told Mama already, yeah?” he tries one more time, and when she nods, he continues. “I want to hear from you, though. Can you tell me?”
“I don’t… want to share you and Mama.”
Mingyu nods, then tells her how you’d love her still, that none of you are leaving her behind, that you need her to be with you.
“We will need you more because of this, Lili.” You caress her head. “I will need you to help me. Not only because of your sister or brother. We need you. Mama and Papa always do.”
“But–but you’ll still need to take care of the baby a lot…”
“Flower, we will take care of you both. No favorites, we promise. Please don’t think we’ll stop taking care of you because of the baby, okay?”
Gyuri shakes her head, and this time she drops her gaze to avoid yours as her lips start to tremble again. You share a worried look with Mingyu. You know Gyuri doesn’t want a sibling, and this is actually a problem that a lot of families have, but you still don’t have a clear grasp of how much this actually bothers her.
The both of you watch as Gyuri turns and falls into Mingyu’s embrace then circles her arms around his neck. She’s not sobbing, which is good, but it’s concerning just how upset she seems to be.
“Lili?”
She shakes her head, seemingly done with the conversation.
Mingyu throws you a look, then signs you to leave for a bit because, at the end of the day, Gyuri is still more honest with him than she is with you. Perhaps he can coax her a bit more like this. Just like the old times.
He takes her in his arms and sits on her bed, simply holds her on his lap as he lets her have her moment.
“Flower, will you look at me?”
She’s reluctant, but she pulls away and Mingyu almost regrets asking her to because she looks crestfallen. Is the idea of having a sibling that upsetting?
“It’s been long since it’s just us two, huh?” He says instead, smiling a little. Does she even remember the time when it’s just the two of them? She was three before you came into their lives. “I always share you with Mama now.”
“Papa miss Lili?”
“All the time.” He answers without missing a beat. “But Mama also does, that’s why I don’t mind sharing you with Mama. Do you want me to be selfish and take you for myself instead?”
Gyuri frowns and shakes her head. “No. Lili wants to be with Mama too.”
“You like Mama a lot, huh?”
She nods but doesn’t elaborate.
“Do you think we will stop loving you if you share us with your sibling, Li?”
The words from her lips come out as a mumble. Mingyu doesn’t really get what she’s saying, but he’s satisfied that she’s open to talk now.
“You know, when you were a baby, I didn’t want to share you with Grandma and Grandpa.” He says, thumb rubbing against her cheek. “I was afraid they’d take you away from me.”
“Why would they steal me from you?” She giggles at the prospect of her grandparents taking her away from him.
“I was just afraid I was not a good Papa for you.” Gyuri seems to have a hard time understanding this, tilting her head adorably that earns her a soft kiss on the forehead. “But Grandma and Grandpa just wanted to help. They didn’t want to take you away from me.”
She blinks at him, trying to see where this is going.
“The baby… won’t take us away from you, Lili. I know you’re worried, but I promise we will always, always love you. It’s because of you Mama and Papa are together, you know?”
Her eyes dim at the mention of the baby once again, and he tries to be patient for her sake, caressing her hair as he tells her a thousand reasons why you, him, and the baby need her. That she’s not getting left behind in any way.
“That’s not it.” She starts, her voice small. But her next words are never ones he expected. “Lili… is not Mama’s baby.”
It takes Mingyu a few seconds to understand what she’s saying, and when he does, he’s cold with the realization that this scenario is also possible.
You were insecure about being a mother figure to Gyuri, afraid that you’re not enough for her. He has never imagined the same kind of insecurity would be present on Gyuri’s end.
She’s… insecure because she’s not your blood and this baby would be?
“Oh, Kim Gyuri…” He hugs her again, the puzzle finally clicking. “You’ll always be Mama’s baby. She loves you a lot. Remember when she took care of you when you were sick a long time ago? She wasn’t your Mama yet but she played with you and took care of you anyway.”
Gyuri probably doesn’t. But Mingyu does. How could he not when it’s probably the start of his relationship with you?
“Do you want to talk about this with Mama?” He tries softly. “I think she will be able to understand more if you do.”
“Mama won’t be mad?”
He smiles at her worries, shaking his head and assuring her you wouldn’t be mad at all. “She will be sad if you’re upset, though. Do you want Mama to be sad?”
“No…”
“Let’s go?”
She nods and asks him to carry her. When they arrive in the master bedroom, you look up from the bed, looking concerned still.
Gyuri doesn’t say anything, but leans to you and reaches out her arms so you’ll take her instead.
“Hi, baby.” You kiss her head. “How are you feeling?”
She shrugs, but she leans on your shoulder and lets you caress her hair. Mingyu sends you a look. Apparently, whatever talk they had hasn’t really resulted in anything, not that you expect her to change her mind just like that. Still, Mingyu mouths something about asking Gyuri, so you do.
“You wanna tell me something?” She hesitates, so you do it first. “Can I share something with Lili, then?”
At her nod, you take a deep breath before you start.
“I’m afraid Lili won't like me anymore because of the baby.”
“What? No… Lili always like Mama.” She frowns. “Lili just… Baby…”
Mingyu sits on the bed next to you, encouraging Gyuri to continue as he tells her it’s okay. You look at him in question, but he doesn’t give you any answer. Perhaps the talk did result in something, after all.
“Mama won’t be mad, I promise.” He adds, making you even more confused. “Do you want me to tell Mama instead?”
She nods, burying her face on your shoulder to hide.
You urge Mingyu to talk, hugging Gyuri closer to reassure her that you’re not going to be mad at all.
“She said she’s not… your baby. But the baby will be.”
Huh.
What?
You need a moment to take that, Gyuri–what?
“Lili, what makes you think you’re not my baby?” You ask sadly, wondering if it’s okay to pull her away from your embrace. “I choose to love you, baby. And I will need you to help me take care of me now, not only the baby. Having this baby means I will need you around me more often, you know?”
You and Mingyu spend about another thirty minutes reassuring Gyuri nonstop, thirty long minutes that is luckily not spent calming her tears down. You don’t even know if that’s what you’re supposed to do; should you be giving her space instead?
But that’s always the thing about parenting, isn’t it? Sometimes you make the wrong choice and Gyuri gets the end of it, and sometimes you think you’ve pushed her too much only for Gyuri to actually get the message and fix her mistakes.
“And, you know, I think baby told me that they’re already very excited to see you.” You try another approach. “When this baby is born, you would need to teach them how to play and to draw and to use the bubble bath. Mama and Papa are too old for that.”
This seems to get her attention, and she asks if she can ask them to play with her big barbie house that Junseo seems to hate with all his heart.
“Anything you want, Flower. This baby is going to be your sibling, you can ask each other to play everything if you want, would you do that?”
“Hmm… Is it a brother or a sister?”
You share a smile with Mingyu at last. She’s no longer declining the idea, at least.
“We don’t know yet. Do you have a preference?”
“As long as they’re not annoying like Junseo.”
That you can’t be sure of, but you laugh with her to ease her mind. For all its worth, you’re actually a little touched that Gyuri cares that much about being your flesh and blood. It’s going to be different, your love for her and your love for the baby growing inside you. But you don’t think it would have anything to do with one of them being your own blood.
No.
It’s true. You choose to love Gyuri. She’s not your biological child, and you practically fell in love with her from the first time you saw her by herself in SVT Inc.’s building. But it’s not as easy as people believe it to be to keep on loving her. You have to constantly think about the line you need to keep as someone who’s not her mom, but you definitely care for her and love her too much to be just another person in her life.
Gyuri also depends on you a lot, sometimes even foregoing her father just so she can bask in your comfort. And after the whole fighting episode that ended up with Mingyu proposing to you, she’s even more clingy after it’s clear that she’s allowed to call you her Mama.
“So there’s… a baby… inside you?” She asks after a while, looking at you with wonder.
You take her hand with a smile and place her palm on your stomach. Obviously, none of you can feel anything just yet, but you tell her you’ll be able to in a few months and you'd like it if she’ll be there for it.
“You will have a lot of big sister things to do.” You tell her seriously. Gyuri likes having responsibilities (it’s definitely the perfectionism and hard-working tendency from her father), and if there’s any way where you can make her feel that she’s needed, you’re ready to let Gyuri do whatever she chooses to do. “Decorate the baby’s room, buy new toys, hmm… What more do you think we need to do, Gyu?”
Mingyu grins as you ask him this, and he pretends to think also before throwing the question to his daughter instead.
“What else, Li?”
She takes her time to think, which melts your heart to the point of nonexistence because you didn’t expect her to take things this seriously. And when she finally knows what to say, you almost tear up because you didn’t expect her to say that at all.
“Buy Mama a lot of food?” She offers, a frown on her face. “Eunji says her mom eats a lot when pregnant, is that true?”
“Oh, my baby.” You hug her hard and melt against her body. Gyuri is going to turn eight this year, and whilst she’s almost too big for you to hold now, sometimes it feels like she’s just the small girl you met five years ago. Has it really been five years since you’ve met her and Mingyu? “That is true, alright. And I think some people eat sooooo much ice cream during their pregnancy, will you eat them with me?”
Gyuri giggles at your exaggeration, though of course she happily nods at the prospect of too much dessert.
“I will make a list!” She suddenly jumps in excitement, wiggling on your lap. “So many toys to buy. Can I sleep with the baby? When will the baby come? What do they like?”
You tear up at the change of attitude, so it’s Mingyu who answers even if he wants to tease you about it.
“In nine months. And they will like whatever you get them. But don’t buy too much just yet, okay?”
“That’s so long!” She gasps.
“Yeah, but that means we’ll be all prepared, right?” He grins at her, one arm going around you while his other hand ruffles Gyuri’s hair. “You need to practice to be a big sister, too! Will you be able to do it?”
Gyuri nods vigorously, promising that she will be the bestest sister ever. “And I will help you too, Ma. You will call Lili everytime you need help?”
At this point, you’re already crying as you nod. Gyuri panics a little, tries her best to wipe your tears when Mingyu assures her that you’re crying because you’re happy.
“Do you want to see a picture of the baby? You can’t see them clearly, though.”
Surprisingly, Gyuri shakes her head. But before you can worry yet again, she beams and says she wants everything to be a surprise. “But tell me when you find out if it’s a boy or a girl?”
“You can come with us to the doctor when we find out, Flower.”
She squeals in excitement, the previous stand on wanting to be a big sister seems to have returned. Gyuri starts to ramble about the amusement parks and all her favorite places that she wants to visit with the baby, and you finally share a relieved smile with Mingyu.
He leans forward to peck your lips, whispering that he’s excited for another beginning for your family. The smile on his face is the most beautiful you’ve ever seen. With his heart full, he hugs you both tighter into his chest and simply laughs when Gyuri whines, asking him to let go.
➝ strangers to lovers // single dad!Mingyu // fluff // lighthearted // non idol!au // like pls dont expect any dramas here lol // tiny bit of angst ig
➝ series warning: mentions of sex, no smut but there’s implied sexual activities, insecurity (as always jshbdjhsfshbf am sorry), curses, food, let me know if theres more ^^
➝ word count: 4k
➝ song rec for this particular chapter: EXO - Lucky, Super Junior - No Other (wow, literally my first kpop song lol)
➝ A/N: here bc it's too long sjdhfbjsdhfb
when your cousin asks you to be her substitute at SVT Inc. as she takes her maternity leave, you’re pretty sure this wasn’t what you signed up for.
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If you didn’t have a clear view about the kind of power the Kims has before, you do now.
In the span of three days, they have managed to book a court date for the lawsuit against the poor media company. Mingyu stays true to his words, refusing to personally make an appearance to deny the whole thing and instead simply releases a company statement about how it’s a disgrace to be spreading hoaxes against anyone in SVT Inc. He makes sure to emphasize that it’s a violation against privacy, and he’ll also sue everyone making unfounded comments over his ‘friend’. The message is clear: if anyone dares to pull this kind of stunt against any personnel of SVT Inc. ever again, the company would not hesitate to take every necessary action.
Mingyu has half the mind to buy the media company altogether just so he can close it down himself, but you manage to convince him it would be too much because there are probably still good enough people within the company that doesn’t deserve to be jobless out of nowhere.
“They know better now, okay?” you remind him, softly holding on to his arm. “And you’ve made sure they delete every picture and files regarding that day, which means Lili is safe and that’s all that matters, right?”
“And you too,” he huffs, loosening the cuff of his sleeve. “They had the audacity to ask for a settlement, you know? But I told Seungkwan I want them sued no matter what.”
“You really should treat him one of these days,” you push his shoulder away when he sneakily tries to lean his head down to you. You’re both in his office now, the blinds are shut tight from prying eyes. Still, you’d rather be careful and you never let Mingyu touch even your hands during office hours. Sitting next to him on the sofa in his office is the most you’d give in to him. “He’s been swamped with the lawsuit thing that his workloads are piling up.”
“Already planning on it,” he grins at you, wiggling his eyebrows up and down. You scoff at his childlike tendency, something fond bubbling in your chest at how free he is in front of you. It doesn’t take long for Mingyu to get rid of his usual work persona when it’s just the both of you, he’d whine and he’d beg you to accompany him unwind whenever he could.
That’s about all, though. Even though he whines and complains that he has too many things to do, he does them all perfectly and never once misses a deadline. You guess Mingyu is just glad he can openly whine to you (he used to do it to Jennie too, you find out later on. But not to Seungkwan because he still wants some dignity to himself) and that helps from being too tense from work.
Like a ghost, Seungkwan knocks on his door and his head peeks in the moment Mingyu says he’s welcome to come in. “Oh, okay. I’m glad you two aren’t doing something inappropriate.”
“Boo Seungkwan!” you glare at him, face blazing from whatever the guy is implying. Next to you, Mingyu just laughs without denying whatever implication Seungkwan has in his mind.
He simply shrugs, and then sits down on the sofa across you when Mingyu tells him to do so. Mingyu cracks his neck to the side before he sits straight and links his fingers together, smiling at Seungkwan.
“Thank you so much for taking care of the media situation. I know you have enough work as it is but you took care of this flawlessly nevertheless.”
Seungkwan shrugs, telling him it’s no problem and he’s glad he could help not only as an employee but also as your friend and Mingyu’s.
The boss asks him if there’s anything he’d like to eat or any other form of present he’d like to have. Seungkwan jokingly asks if he needs to eat with you and Mingyu or if he can just use the chance to eat by himself, but when Mingyu seriously tells him he can just take his card and Seungkwan’s free to invite anyone with him, the younger guy immediately shakes his head and says he’d be happy to visit that steak restaurant from two months ago again.
“You know, when I told you to shoot your shot, I didn’t mean for you to end up in a ‘scandal’ with him and his kid,” Seungkwan says once you’re both out of Mingyu’s office.
“Can we not talk about this in the office?” you pout like a kid, though a part of you is just nervous that people would talk if they find out. Mingyu has made sure no one finds out it was you in the picture and, as far as the majority of people know, the girl and the kid in the rumour were simply his childhood friend and her little sister.
He has no idea how the media has somehow got the picture of Gyuri in your arms but not Gyuri getting out of his car.
“It’s fine,” Seungkwan teasingly waves your worry away with a cheeky grin. “Your boyfriend makes sure no one knows it’s you.”
“Seungkwan!” you scream under your breath, hitting his arm.
“Alright, alright. I’ve got reports to finish and presentation to prepare before today ends and I’d appreciate it if you don’t bruise my arm.” His words are playful, but you can tell for sure how tired Seungkwan is from tackling the lawsuit problem himself. Mingyu didn’t let you help him in this case, saying he doesn’t want to risk any of the media people recognizing you at that point.
“’Kay, I’ll help you do the reports,” you pretend to be reluctant when you say it, knowing that Seungkwan gets how grateful you are to him. “Give me the notes and I’ll help you finish them.”
The smile on Seungkwan’s face is too playful that it’s borderline annoying, but when he takes your hand and squeezes it once, he immediately turns sappy and tells you that he’s glad you’re fine and not bothered by the amount of harassment directed to you online.
“Hey, they don’t even know it’s me,” you give him a small smile. “They’re just making up stories, for all I know.”
“Still,” he frowns. “It must’ve been hard to see people calling you gold-digger for being caught on camera with Mingyu.”
“It’ll come sooner or later if I really want to be serious with him,” you shrug nonchalantly. It hurts, if you’re being completely honest. Even though you know they’re all just baseless assumptions and none of them are true, you know this would be the case once people find out someone as ordinary as you are dating the heir of SVT Inc. It almost feels like a teaser to you. “I’ll consider it practice.”
“What a world we live in, huh,” Seungkwan comments, knowing full well that you’re right.
“It’s fine,” you smile genuinely at him. “You’ll help me sue them again if it happens, right?”
Seungkwan grins before telling you he’d beat all of them up for you if that’s what you’re into.
Two weeks later, it’s Saturday and you’re eating lunch with Gyuri and Mingyu in his house. The guy has just gone back from a phone call, grumbling the moment he returns to his seat next to you at the dining table.
“Mom is asking about you again,” Mingyu says, making you choke on your drink. Gyuri pats your arm twice and tells you to drink slowly before she goes back to her apple. “Do you not want to see her?”
“Gyu, we’ve been dating for a month. One. You haven’t even met my friends!” you try to reason, hoping it’ll mask the nervousness in your voice.
“I have, actually.”
“Not as my boyfriend.”
“Well, then, why haven’t I?”
“They’d beat you up, Gyu.” Mingyu raises his eyebrow, but he doesn’t get the chance to answer because you’re already shaking your head at him. “It doesn’t matter that you’re taller than them, your Highness,” you roll your eyes playfully.
“I can take them,” he nods to himself. “I take boxing classes sometimes.”
“Gyu, Soonyoung has a black belt in Taekwondo, Seokmin is almost as buff as you are, and Jihoon is basically Hulk just waiting to pop out.”
Mingyu’s about to retort back when he suddenly frowns, crossing his arm in front of his chest. “Wait, why do they want to beat me up in the first place?”
“Stupid guy friends stuff,” you shrug nonchalantly. “They’ve always wanted to do it once I have a boyfriend. Unfortunately for them, I didn’t get into any serious relationship until now.”
“So we’re serious, huh?” he whispers as he playfully squeezes your thigh under the table, hidden from Gyuri’s eyes. You quickly slap his hand away, but Mingyu isn’t really affected by your glare and just continues to grin.
“Alright, alright,” he chuckles, holding up his arms in the air because your glare doesn’t seem to falter until he does so. “She’s just curious, okay? Gyuri always talks about you. We can take it slow, but I’m just telling you she’s interested in knowing you.”
You nod as you hold back a sigh, trying to focus back on your meal and failing to do so. You look back up at him again when his palm lands on your thigh once more. But this time, his touch is comforting as if he knows what you’re thinking about, promising you there’s no need for you to worry about the whole thing. You often wonder if you’re just that readable or if Mingyu is just that good at detecting your mood.
“No need to be afraid, Daisy,” he gently reassures you, long gone is his playful grin and instead a small, encouraging smile replaces it on his face. “I know that you can’t help being nervous, but trust me when I say you have nothing to be afraid of. She’s nothing like the evil mom in high society dramas.”
You chuckle at the comparison, thanking Mingyu once again for not being tired in reassuring you things are going to be fine. “I know, I know. I’ll meet your Mom if you agree to meet my friends.”
“Deal!” he replies quickly, much to his embarrassment. “I’d be happy to meet Jihoon and Soonyoung again.” Then, after a beat. “And Seokmin too, even though I practically know him first before you.”
You raise your eyebrow in challenge, a smirk blooming into your face at his reassured tone. “You do know Jisoo and Jennie are included?”
“Maybe we should wait a few months before you meet my mom.”
Mingyu would never get bored at the sound of your laughter.
“Daisy, okay?” Gyuri asks when she notices how much you’re fidgeting under her. She’s the only source of your calmness, her weight against your lap calming you down in ways you don’t understand possible.
“Yeah, just a little nervous,” you tangle your fingers in her hair, combing through them softly. “Are you excited to meet the baby?”
“Yes!” she turns to you. “Auntie says Lili now big sister.”
Your heart soothes at her excited smile, and you immediately exhale in relief when your eyes catch the sight of Mingyu still in his dress shirt, making his way to where you and Gyuri are sitting in the waiting area.
It’s somewhere around 3PM when Jaebum has called you in panic, telling you he’s just finished filling in administrations after rushing Jennie to the hospital because her water finally breaks. After hearing the news, Mingyu tells you you’re allowed to get off work early because, evidently, you’re too nervous to be at work since the phone call. He asks you to pick Gyuri up from her daycare on your way, as he knows Gyuri would want to be there and that he’d join you in the hospital after his meeting is done.
You immediately lean into his touch once he sits beside you, his arm goes around your waist the moment he’s close enough to do so. You’ve been doing this a lot these days in front of Gyuri, slowly letting her know that there’s something more between you and her father. So far, she doesn’t really comment on it, but she always insists on holding your hand everytime she catches Mingyu holding the other one.
“How long has she been in there?”
“Not long,” you try to fill him in. “Jennie’s still in her room when I arrived because they’re still waiting for another contraction. When it came, they didn’t wait long to bring her into labor.”
His hand softly rubs your back to remind you to relax before he drops a chaste kiss on top of your head, telling you Jennie and her baby are in good hands. The serene scene doesn’t last long though, as Soonyoung and Seokmin barrels through the waiting room minutes later, Jihoon walking behind them because he really doesn’t know why the two feel the need to run.
“Is she okay?!” Soonyoung asks immediately, and you’re sure he would’ve shaken the answer out of you if not for Gyuri on your lap. “Is the baby here already?!”
“Not yet,” you tell him to sit down on the seat in front of you. The waiting area is pretty empty for some reason, but you’re not going to complain because you’re sure your group of friends would need seats once everyone is present, and everyone will show up because that’s just the kind of people they are. “We might need to wait for an hour or more.”
You’re not finished explaining when Jisoo and Seungcheol come in, Jisoo just as panicked as Soonyoung was which makes you think maybe you’re not that nervous after all.
“The baby’s not here yet, she’s been there for half an hour, and we might need to wait longer,” Mingyu sums it up before Jisoo can even open her mouth.
Your best friend narrows her eyes at him, somewhat annoyed at the way he relays the information on. “Don’t you have meetings to attend, Mr. CEO?”
“Finished for the day,” he shrugs. Seungcheol greets him with a high five, one that Mingyu accepts with his free hand. This makes Jisoo’s eyes flicker to his arm disappearing behind you, his fingers softly grip your waist through the material of your clothes.
“Did you say we need to wait longer?” Jisoo throws the bait, crossing her arms before her chest. Mingyu nods, unaware. Your friend then shares a look with Jihoon, Soonyoung, and Seokmin, nodding to each other as if they have some kind of telepathic ability. “Then you won’t mind if we step out for a while?”
“Do you want to step out?” he asks you instead, unsure if you want to leave just in case Jennie comes out earlier than assumed. But you’re holding back a laugh for reasons that he doesn't seem to understand. “What?”
“I don’t think they want me to step out, Gyu,” you giggle, hugging Gyuri closer to your chest.
Mingyu blinks owlishly, still not getting it until the four of them stand up and signal him to follow them outside. Seungcheol laughs at this, holding up his fist in encouragement. “Good luck, dude. I’ll be here with [Y/N] and Lili.”
He sends you a helpless look, but you simply pat his cheek and scrunch your nose at him, reminding him that indulging them now would mean you meeting his mom sooner than later. This seems to be enough motivation for him, so Mingyu reluctantly stands up, telling Gyuri with a flair of drama that she has to behave well because ‘Papa might not be back for a while’.
“Uncle Cherry, Papa go somewhere?”
“Do you want to see Daisy for long?”
“Yes!” Gyuri enthusiastically answers. “Want see Daisy a lot.”
“Well, Papa is making sure that can happen,” he helpfully supplies. You laugh at his words, well aware that Mingyu is going to do more than that. Your friends can be a lot when they want to be and you’re pretty sure they aren’t going to let Mingyu have it easy just for the sake of it.
“Then Papa try his best,” she nods to herself, and you share another laugh with Seungcheol, despite the fact that you’re a little afraid that they’d scare Mingyu away somehow. Gyuri easily distracts you though, babbling about her day in the daycare and her word of the day.
Mingyu will be fine… right?
That night, you agree with your boyfriend when he suggests you stay in his place instead of back to yours. The day has been long and tomorrow you’re all going to visit Jennie and her baby again, anyway, so might as well just stay at Mingyu’s and go with him tomorrow because his place is closer to the hospital.
That proves to be the wrong choice.
Gyuri is sleeping in your arms when you arrive, but you tell Mingyu it’s fine and you can put Gyuri to her bed when he offers to take her from you. The girl has only fallen asleep for ten minutes top and she seems to be way too tired, you’re worried she’d wake up if she’s being moved around like that.
Naturally, Mingyu tries to open the door so you can step in first, but it opens before he can even reach for the doorknob. Jooyeon’s name is already at the tip of his tongue, but it’s his mom behind the door, a soft ‘Oh my’ out of her mouth when she sees Gyuri soundly asleep in your embrace. You’re so shocked that you’re frozen in place, but she quickly ushers you in because it’s getting late and Gyuri might catch a cold.
Mingyu tells her to wait by the living room as he escorts you to Gyuri’s room as if you’d get lost. You’re both whispering to each other the moment his mom is out of earshot, and you really want to bop Mingyu on the head because of his stupid grin if not for the little angel you’re holding.
“Well, it was you who told me meeting your friends means you’d meet my mom,” he teases you softly once you manage to untangle Gyuri from your body. You’d change her into her pajamas if you could, but the girl is way too sleepy that she immediately succumbs back to sleep the moment her back meets her bed.
You’re at a loss of words, but can’t really blame Mingyu because it’s not like he knows his mom is in Seoul to begin with. You take a deep breath before the last step of the stairs, and Mingyu pulls you for a sweet kiss to calm you down, telling you everything will be fine and he will make sure his mom won’t cross the line. You believe him, but it’s only natural that you’d want to impress your significant other’s family and you don’t know what to expect when her first impression of you is… thatscandal and, the first time she sees you for real, you’re holding her sleeping granddaughter at this hour—in her son’s place at that.
At your hesitation, Mingyu gently grabs your face and pulls you for another kiss. This time longer, because he needs you to stop thinking too far away and he knows you’re always a little disoriented when he kisses you out of nowhere.
“You’ll be fine,” he reassures you. “We’ll be fine.”
And, true to his words, his mom is mostly just curious about Mingyu’s new girlfriend—you. She talks to the both of you over light dinner. Her questions are all well-meaning, and when she asks you what do you parents do for a living, you can tell that she’s just curious in a way that I-want-to-know-more-about-the-girl-that-catches-my-son’s-heart and not I’m-ready-to-judge-you-whatever-your-answer-would-be.
After a while, she excuses herself for bedtime, taking the only available empty room that you’d usually use when you’re sleeping over. Surely, in a house this big his mom should’ve had her own room? But Mingyu says his parents rarely sleep in his house, preferring to stay in their own place in Seoul so the old room that was built for his parents has been turned into Gyuri’s play room a long time ago.
Well, there are two other empty guest rooms. But one of them has the biggest window in all of the rooms here, and the other has a big mirror facing the bed. Simply said, you’re too scared to sleep there by yourself. You half contemplate to just go home, but Mingyu sternly says no because it’s too late already and you can just sleep in his room if you’re afraid to take the other available rooms.
“Come here,” he pats the space beside him the moment you step out of the bathroom, already clad in a shirt and a pair of shorts of your own because you already have spares in his house. “Baby, it’s not like this is the first time we’re sharing a bed.”
“Yes, but usually we’re just taking naps and your mom is most definitely not here,” you mumble, but dutifully sits next to him and plops into his waiting arms.
“What makes it different?” he asks curiously, not really getting it. “But you know it’s still not the first time.”
You frown at him, still not getting it until he’s giving you a pointed look without even saying anything. Oh. “Um, right. I thought we agreed not to bring that up ever again?”
“Huh, did we?” he playfully indulges you. “I thought we had just never talked about it until this very second.”
“Okay, then now I’m telling you we agree not to bring it up ever again.” Mingyu barks out a laugh at this, squishing you further into his embrace which makes you squeal in return. “Mingyu! Stop! I can’t breathe!”
“Are you embarrassed?” he grins annoyingly to get a raise out of you, and the soft touch of his fingertips against your arms suddenly burns in the most pleasing way possible. It’s working very well, if you might say so yourself. “It was pretty good though, wasn’t it?”
“It was just okay at best,” you pretend to be nonchalant, scrunching your nose.
Mingyu gasps dramatically, shaking his head in disbelief at your outrageous lie. “I’m pretty sure the whole floor heard you scre—”
“Kim Mingyu!” you slap his chest again, trying to get out of his embrace even though his strong arms are trapping you in. “I’ll tell Jennie if you don’t let go.”
Mingyu doesn’t really let go, but he reluctantly loosens his arms at the threat. You don’t mind though, because who are you to deny yourself from sleeping in his arms? Also, you’re more tired than you thought you were, it turns out, because it only takes the both of you shifting into a more comfortable position and Mingyu’s fingers threading through your hair for you to fall asleep almost immediately.
“You’re not going to leave me once you’re awake this time though, right, Daisy?” he whispers against your ear, his laughter once again filling the room when you simply decide to jab your fingers where you know he’s ticklish instead of wasting your energy screaming at the guy.
“Am sorry, am sorry,” he finally says, catching your wrists once he’s too tired from laughing. There’s mock annoyance in your face, one that he only finds adorable, if anything. Mingyu pulls you closer to his chest after that, telling you to get some rest because tomorrow’s Saturday.
A comfortable silence falls between the two of you, and Mingyu could’ve sworn he can hear the content hum buzzing in his chest. He looks down at you, falling asleep as seconds go by with the most adorable frown Mingyu has ever seen on someone. How did he get so lucky, really?
“Thank you for giving me a chance, Daisy,” he whispers against your hair, his arms tightening in the subtlest way possible.
“Hm?” You sleepily look up at him, barely even conscious.
“Nothing,” he smiles before he plants a chaste kiss on your forehead. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
➝ strangers to lovers // single dad!Mingyu // fluff // lighthearted // non idol!au // like pls dont expect any dramas here lol // tiny bit of angst ig
➝ series warning: mentions of sex, no smut but there’s implied sexual activities, insecurity (as always jshbdjhsfshbf am sorry), curses, food, let me know if theres more ^^
➝ word count: 4.7k
➝ song rec for this particular chapter: KyoungSeo - Shiny Star (2020) ((yes, like that Wonwoo fic I posted lol))
➝ A/N: wow.. one more chapter and we're done already? how time flies 😭😭 i.. know a lot of you might be expecting something...big but, as i said, this fic wasn't made to be dramatic so i hope it wasn't disappointing to say the least hehe. enjoy and pls dont hesitate to drop by my ask!
when your cousin asks you to be her substitute at SVT Inc. as she takes her maternity leave, you’re pretty sure this wasn’t what you signed up for.
series masterlist
You’re awoken because of the constant banging on your door, and when you try to look at your phone to see the time, you don’t expect to see almost 30+ missed calls and 99+ texts from God knows who. You don't have the time to check just yet, as whoever’s on your door is insistent about being let in.
Your short-circuited brain isn’t even awake enough to consider that you should check through the intercom first. You just straight up open the door, about to scream at Soonyoung—because who else would be banging on your door on this fine Saturday morning?—only to find Mingyu on the other side of your door.
Blinking at the sight of him, you don’t even have the chance to ask what’s going on when Mingyu quickly pushes you in and closes the door behind him.
When you’re looking back at him, his hands are holding on to your arms with panic stricken on his face.
“Why haven’t you been answering my calls?!”
“I… have just woken up?” you answer in confusion. “Did something happen? How did you get here?”
He mutters something about the security guard recognizing him and helps buzz the elevator to your floor before brushing it away and turns back to you. “But you’re okay, right?”
“Of course I am. I told you I’ve just woken up,” you frown, only now registering his heavy breath and tense posture. You pull him with you, sitting him down on your sofa before you take the space next to him. “Gyu, are you okay? Do you want a drink?”
Mingyu shakes his head when you’re about to stand up, gently pulling your wrist so you’d sit back down. He takes a deep breath before he reaches for his phone, and then apologizes in advance which makes the whole thing even more confusing than it already is.
The silence enveloping the two of you is so heavy as you skim through the article, and Mingyu’s pretty certain he’d be able to hear a pin dropping in the room if this keeps up. He doesn’t know what to make of your reaction, there’s a visible frown on your face but you’re much calmer than he thought you would be—though he wasn’t sure what to expect, really. He’s seen not only the blatant comments against you, but also the amount of speculations about who you are and what you’re trying to accomplish by being with Mingyu. Mostly, he’s just really afraid this would drift you two apart and, most importantly, it would affect your relationship with Gyuri altogether.
“Where’s Lili?” is the first question you ask after you’re done looking at his phone, your worried eyes piercing through his. “Is she okay? Her face isn’t exposed, right?”
Mingyu wants to kiss you right there and then, very much in disbelief that you’re first and foremost concerned about his daughter when he knows you’ve read how the comments paint you as some kind of gold digger trying to get his money. Some of them are way too much when the article literally states nothing about you except for the speculation that you might be the mother of this child whose identity is still unknown—there isn’t even an initial. He's also seen ones that say you’re using Gyuri to charm Mingyu and plan to make your way up the social ladder, making all kinds of assumptions about you and the child in the comment section.
That’s also why he has rushed his way here, worried out of his mind because you didn’t answer or even check any of his messages. Almost as soon as he’s finished reading the page, he has quickly washed up and left Gyuri with his mom to make his way to your place. He didn’t tell her where he’s going, but he has a hunch that his mom knows because she’s always been a little too perceptive for her own good.
“She’s with my mom,” he explains, telling you he was with her when he found out about the article. “It was her who told me about it, too.”
Your face falls for reasons that Mingyu’s unsure of, but he quickly reassures that his mom didn’t say anything and has only asked why he didn’t tell her he was dating.
“She… thought we were dating?” you ask, suddenly nervous at the thought of his mom being aware of your existence.
“Yeah,” he gives you a tight smile, as if carefully treading on ice and too afraid that it would break. Before the topic lingers, he quickly addresses the issue at hand. “I’ve asked Seungkwan to contact our lawyer and security team to track this down. You don’t have to worry about your details getting leaked, okay? I told them to make sure your privacy is intact and we’re already planning to sue them over this rumour. Can’t believe they’d dare bring you and Gyuri into this.”
It is then that you truly realize how stressed Mingyu actually is. Not only is his whole body tense, the frown has barely left his face since the moment he’s stepped into your place. His fingers are also balled into fists, even his blunt fingers would probably leave marks on the inside of his palms if he keeps it up.
But you remember how much effort Mingyu has put in making sure Gyuri’s out of the public’s eyes. You remember the amount of time Mingyu has told you about how he rarely brings Gyuri out to the public, that she usually just goes with Jooyeon when she feels like it.
You also remember the way Jennie and Seungkwan didn’t tell you about the little angel at first, pretty sure you’d have nothing to do with her if you’re just going to work there for 6 short months. The way even Kim Jisoo, your own best friend, didn’t mention anything about Gyuri when she found out you work for Mingyu and even after she showed you a picture of Seungcheol, Mingyu, and Gyuri together. That’s how much the people around him help in making sure Gyuri isn’t exposed to the people who don’t matter.
On your last night in Japan, Mingyu finally told you about Gyuri’s biological mother. Someone he accidentally got pregnant out of carelessness. She was just someone he casually shared a bed with from time to time. When they found out she was pregnant, she wasn’t sure she wanted to keep the baby. Mingyu did. Eventually, she agreed wholeheartedly to carry the baby if Mingyu promised he’d take a good care of the child and he’d take care of all the necessities to support her pregnancy.
Mingyu readily accepted her conditions, even agreed with her when she herself said she doesn’t want anything to do with the child once she’s born. They had the agreement signed under the name of law to make sure both parties keep their words to each other. Mingyu simply asked for her to never disclose Gyuri’s identity and relation to anyone but her direct family at any given point unless it’s Gyuri who asked, and she agreed after making sure the compensation of carrying a baby within her for 9 long months is worthy. She even added a clause that made sure Mingyu will raise Gyuri until she’s 21 years old, telling him she doesn’t want this kid to be abandoned just because Mingyu decided to have the baby now.
At first, Mingyu wasn’t even sure why he had wanted to keep the baby. But as time passed by, he couldn’t have been more glad that he gets to have little Kim Gyuri in his life. She’s the best gift he could have ever asked for and he’ll do everything to make sure Gyuri is safe and sound.
Mingyu is borderline celebrity, it’s something that you’ve only noticed after you started working with him. On top of him being the sole heir of one of the richest families in South Korea, the fact that he’s handsome and very much single brings a lot of attention to him in the business world everytime he does something.
That said, you know how hard it must’ve been for him to hide the love of his life all this time. Exposing Gyuri to the public when she’s only three would mean she’d be getting that attention early on, and if there’s anything Mingyu would rather Gyuri not get, it’s that.
To be constantly under the spotlight is tiring, whether or not you’re into the attention. He’s lucky his family is on the low profile side, only indulging the media every now and then so the press knows not to bother them. It’s already a miracle itself that he’s able to hide Gyuri for three years straight, and even though they know better than to reveal her face (though they probably blur her face because the speculation was about Gyuri being your child instead of his), it’s still unsettling for him that there are people in the media who has an idea that Gyuri exists.
“Gyu, drink,” you tap his shoulder softly, handing him a glass of water. When did you even stand up to get it? Nevertheless, Mingyu thanks you and takes a sip out of it, only now realizing his throat has been dry since earlier. “Breathe, okay? It’s going to be fine.”
“I just…” he sighs in frustration as he throws his weight back against your sofa. “I can’t believe how absurd this whole thing is. I’m not even a celebrity, why would they do this?”
“You’re practically one, you know,” you smile a little, trying to disperse the heavy atmosphere. “It’s just that they don’t get a lot of stuff out of you because you’re either in the office, out with Wonwoo and the others, or at home with Lili.”
Mingyu shakes his head at your words, well aware that you’re right. He knows the media would eat anything up. Whether or not he thinks he’s a celebrity, if they consider him a bigshot then they’d take anything they can scrape out of him regardless of the truth. He can think of a few media companies that would do this, as he knows most of them have good relations with his family and would never release anything without confirming stuff with them. The more he thinks about it, the more his anger about the whole thing blows.
“Gyu,” your voice calls for him once more, your hand softly touches his forearm to get his attention. “Talk to me? Maybe it’ll help you calm down.”
“I just really don’t get why anyone would do this,” he repeats his words from earlier. “And even if it’s true, it’s really not their business. But now people are judging you when it’s not even confirmed?”
“Aww, you care about me that much?” you playfully nudge his shoulder in hope it’ll make him take the whole situation lighter.
Mingyu isn’t really in the mood for it, though, instead looks at you pointedly before he says, “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t.”
“I’m fine, Gyu,” you try to convince him, though you can’t deny the way your cheeks are getting warm because of his words. “My face is blurred and the people who matter know it’s not true, that’s enough for me. But it is concerning that they’re bringing Gyuri into this.”
“Mom says it might be a good idea to deny the story myself.” Mingyu sounds way too tired for your liking, the whole thing probably affecting him more than he’d like to admit. “But I’d rather not make an appearance myself and I truly think it’d be better to just sue them under the company’s name and be done with it. My appearance would just spark more stories.”
For a moment, silence envelopes the both of you and there’s pressure hanging in the air. You know you both have to talk about it, not exactly about the rumour but about how it comes to be. What’s happening between you and Mingyu feels both too fast and too slow. It’s only been barely three months since Mingyu has made his way into your life, and even though you’ve always believed two people with genuine feelings for each other could fall quick and deep and time can’t always guarantee its sincerity, you never thought it would happen to you.
You’ve seen Seokmin fall instantly in love in the span of a month and ended up being in a relationship with the person for a good three years until they ended it on a good note. You’ve also seen the way Jennie only took about six months dating Jaebum and they went straight to marriage not long after, their love still going strong until this very second and you’re a strong witness of that.
But you’ve also witnessed Jisoo and Seungcheol progress from being friends until their relationship turns romantic after years of knowing each other. You remember thinking if you’re going to be in a relationship, you’d rather have one like theirs. Wouldn’t it be better to be together with someone you’ve known for long? Already well aware about the good and the bad from the beginning? Having an idea about the way they think and what might turn into problems instead of fighting about all these along the way?
Three months sounds a bit too fast for your liking, but you know whatever you’re feeling for Mingyu is as real as it can be no matter how much you deny it if anyone asks. It’s the same with how, deep down, you know Mingyu is about in the same wavelength as you are. You’re both lingering, stalling time because you’re too afraid to take the first move and leap just in case you’d fall off the cliff of uncertainty instead of flying high up.
Once, you dare yourself to think about what if it works out? But then you remember it’s not just about you and Mingyu—there’s also Gyuri. Small little Gyuri between the two of you who would be too confused with the situation between you and her father. She knows you already, even likes you enough to regularly call you from time to time when she feels like it; but what would she think if you and Mingyu take the next step? What would happen if you fight and you break up? Then you’d have no choice but to step out of Gyuri’s life and that means she’d have to go through confusion beyond her comprehension.
You don’t know how long you two sit in silence, too deep in your thoughts even though you’re practically thinking about the same thing. But it’s the sound of your phone ringing that breaks the silence between the two of you, and you quickly take the call after you see it’s Jennie who’s calling.
“You alright? Why haven’t you checked my texts? I’ve been freaking out with Jisoo because of you!” she rumbles the moment you pick up, the concern in her voice clear as days.
“Sorry,” you apologize, and Jennie’s tone turns gentle when she hears how small your voice is, making sure once again if you’re okay. “I’m fine. They blurred my face so it should be okay. And Mingyu’s here, that’s why I haven’t been checking my phone.”
“Oh? He’s there? Put me on speaker.”
You blink at her request, confused eyes meeting Mingyu’s. You put your phone down and click the speaker button, telling her you’ve done what she asked you to do.
“Gyu, make sure my cousin’s safe, yeah? You know how crazy these media can be,” she says gently but strictly. “You’ve contacted the company’s lawyer and security team, right?”
“I will, Jen. Don’t worry,” he reassures her. “I’ve already asked Seungkwan to call them and I’ve told him to sue the company no matter what. Not only are they spreading rumors, they’re bringing Gyuri and [Y/N] into this.”
The three of you talk some more after that, because Jennie is a little too worried and you let her be because you know she’d be stressed if you just brush her worry away. The atmosphere is lighter once she hangs up, because if there’s one thing you both are familiar with, it’s Jennie’s tendency to worry over someone like a mom.
“She really loves you, doesn’t she?” he says after the phone call, looking at you with something that you can’t quite decipher.
“Yeah, she’s practically my sister,” you smile fondly, always thankful that you have her in your life. You send a quick message to Jisoo and Seungkwan to tell them you’re fine and that you’d text talk to them later, that they don’t need to worry about anything before you put yourself back down and lean back next to Mingyu. “She’s always the first person to make sure I’m okay once she finds out something might possibly have happened to me.”
“So she’s always been like that?” he turns his body to you, his posture finally relaxing a little.
“Yeah. She’s always been protective over me in particular. She’s always wanted a little sister so I guess that’s a part of the reason,” you explain, suddenly remembering a particular episode during high school. “Once, she tracked down my ex-boyfriend and confronted him for cheating on me, you know? The next time he saw me, he sounded genuinely sorry that it freaked me out.”
Mingyu grins in amusement, picturing Jennie going against some guy bigger than she is to the point where he’s probably traumatized for life. “Does that mean she filters your boyfriends?”
“Basically. But not in a bad way! And only because I asked her opinion on it. She… can read people very well and, more often than not, she’s right when she says she doesn’t like the possible candidate.”
“Does she still do that?” he asks curiously, something crossing through his mind when you nod in confirmation. It’s now or never, he decides. Might as well bring it up now that the topic has arisen. “Did she say anything about me, then?”
At first, it seems like you’re not too sure if he wants to take this seriously or not, which is why he figures you choose to take the safe road of taking it as a joke. “Are you a candidate, Gyu?”
“Am I not?” he asks with his deep voice, his eyes never leaving yours to make sure you know he’s being serious. He sees something within you shift after that, and he lets you take your time answering because there’s no need to rush if it’s not going to give him a genuine answer out of you.
“Do you want to be?” Your voice is small, almost hesitant, but Mingyu understands that it’s not going to be easy talking about this. The both of you have been treading between the line of romance and friendship intensely, never bothering to put a frame on it even though Mingyu himself is well aware that everything he does with you, he never does them with other people.
He’d be stupid to say he doesn’t feel anything for you. But it’s only been barely three months, and it’s been long since Mingyu finds himself being interested in someone that way. He understands your hesitation because he’s deep in it himself.
“You know if… we decide to… try this out, it’s not going to be casual?” he shoots straight to it, surprising you even though it’s not exactly a bad feeling. Maybe, deep down, you’ve always wanted reassurance about whatever’s between you and him.
“I know, Gyu,” you softly reply, a small yet genuine smile gracing your face. “I think we’re old enough not to casually date people just to see where it’d take us at this age. Between the two of us, I feel it’s more appropriate to ask you if you want to go down that path with me.”
“Because I have Gyuri?”
“Mainly, yeah,” you truthfully say, knowing that Mingyu wouldn’t take it the wrong way. “And because you’re literally SVT Inc.’s heir.”
Mingyu looks borderline offended at your words, but he sees where you’re coming from whether he likes it or not. “You know that doesn’t matter to me, right? I told you my mom didn’t even blink an eye over the allegations. She simply asked why I never told her I was dating someone. She’s always been like that.”
“It’s… still not going to be easy, Gyu,” you confess in advance. If you’re going to make it work, you figure it’s best that Mingyu knows the kind of baggage that you’d be holding over yourself. “I’m not… used to your lifestyle. There will be times when I’m insecure because of your… social standing and you might need to convince me over and over again until you’re tired of it.”
“Hey, we haven’t even started and you’re already thinking about me getting tired?” he chuckles to lighten your mood, his hand hesitantly reaching for yours. When you don’t move away and let him be, he securely envelopes your hand in his. “I appreciate that you’re already telling me about it, but I hope you’re not going to deny me a chance to be with you because of it, yeah?”
It’s baffling to think that the Kim Mingyu would be the one saying this. You feel like this should be reversed; that it should be you asking for a chance and looking at him with hopeful eyes instead of the other way around. But here he is, in your apartment that’s probably only as big as his living room, holding your hand as he gently asks if you’d give him a chance.
“The insecurities would go both ways, you know?” he adds as he shifts closer to you. You can see the mole on the tip of his nose clearly and it’s taking you everything not to just reach up and bop it with your finger. “I’d wonder if I can treat you right, because you, of all people, know how busy I can be with work. And then there’s Gyuri, she’s always been my only priority and I’d wonder if you’d feel like I don’t prioritize you enough over her. She’s my child and she’s the most important existence in my life. But, then again, as much as I love her and I’d be fine if I don’t end up finding a new partner, it’s not everyday that I find someone who genuinely cares for both me and Gyuri.”
“Gyu, any sane person would love Gyuri at first sight,” you frown at him.
“That’s the thing,” he says instead. “But what if it’s months later and they decide a kid is too much? Gyuri isn’t going to always be cute. She’s a child; she has needs and she has feelings. I’ve never bothered dating because I know it’ll be a waste of time if they end up not liking Gyuri or the other way around. But you’ve met Gyuri before you even knew she was mine, and she seems to be really taken to you for reasons that I can’t comprehend though I’m glad she is.”
“To me, this is a chance I might not encounter again if I don’t take it right now,” he continues, though his tone isn’t pressuring you at all. His voice is calm and collected, and you can feel the sincerity of it—he’s telling you the ball is in your court, that he’d be fine if you want to back out after this talk. “But if you don’t think you can take both me and Gyuri in the long run, I understand and I’m not going to push you. I won’t hold you against it.”
You stay silent at his words, looking down at your hand that he’s holding on his lap. When did you two move closer again? How come he’s now sitting down right in front of you, his knees touching yours? When did he get this close that you’re able to see all the stars in his eyes and the defeated smile in his face because you still haven’t said anything?
His hand gets tighter around yours and you can almost feel the desperation of it.
“Are you… sure Lili would be okay with this?” you decide to say, prompting Mingyu to release a relieved sigh because he knowsthis is you being hesitant despite wanting to say yes. Plus, he knows it’s a valid reason for you to hesitate over, and the warm feeling inside him couldn’t feel any more content when he thinks about how much you prioritize his daughter.
“You do know Gyuri asks about you everyday?”
“That doesn’t mean she’d understand about our arrangement, Gyu,” you say, trying to be stern even though you’re already in a losing battle the more you lose yourself in his eyes. There’s a sentimental look there that you can’t quite describe, but you know for sure that it’s the reason why a giddy smile is threatening to flash across your face.
“We’ll… take one step at a time, okay?” he settles as an answer. “We can be careful around her as we ease her into the idea of it. We don’t need to prioritize one over the others. We can just… try to go through both at once.”
You bite your lip as you contemplate over his words. You know he’s true and, if you’re being completely honest, there’s no better solution than the one Mingyu is offering. You can’t possibly ease Gyuri into it if you don’t take the chance first, and it’s stupid to try the relationship without easing the kid until she’s old enough to understand. It needsto be parallel.
“Okay then,” you tell him, your voice barely a whisper. Mingyu probably wouldn’t have heard it if he hadn’t been sitting so close.
“We’re doing this?” he asks once more to make sure, no longer bothering to hide his grin.
“Yes, you big baby,” you pretend to roll your eyes out of annoyance even though the smile on your face is betraying you in the best way possible. You squeal when Mingyu suddenly pulls you into his embrace, his arms a little too tight against your figure.
But you can’t really get mad when Mingyu’s soft laugh vibrates against his chest and the warmth of his lips meet your forehead. The both of you stay like that for a moment, basking in the warmth you’re sharing with each other in content. The only thing you can hear is his soft breath mixed with yours along with the steady beating of his heart against your ear.
When he finally loosens his hold, you pull away to meet his eyes. There’s a kind of love that you haven’t seen in a long time reflected there, one that tells you it still has room to grow and you’re excited to find out about. But you don’t really want to ponder about how long it has been since you have someone looking at you like you’re the only thing that matters because it’s not important now. It has passed and you don’t really care anymore.
What you care about is Mingyu’s low voice that gets your heart running once again when it has just finally settled into its usual rhythm, questioning you in a whispered breath if asking to kiss you would be too much. Furthermore, you only care about the way his lips perfectly mold with yours after you shake your head at his silly question, giving him your answer by leaning up first to meet his lips.
The kiss is short, not short enough to be called a peck but long enough to make your head dizzy and your cheeks flush once he pulls away. He’s sprouting a similar look though; his eyes are a little unfocused and you can feel his cheeks heating up against your palms.
Nevertheless, he drops another peck against your lips, and again, and again, and again until you burst into giggles despite his kisses because they tickle and you’re just too giddy about the whole thing.
Mingyu thinks it’s the most beautiful sound he has ever heard in his life.
➝ strangers to lovers // single dad!Mingyu // fluff // lighthearted // non idol!au // like pls dont expect any dramas here lol // tiny bit of angst ig
➝ series warning: mentions of sex, no smut but there’s implied sexual activities, insecurity (as always jshbdjhsfshbf am sorry), curses, food, let me know if theres more ^^
➝ word count: 2.4k
➝ A/N: I. AM. BUZZING. WITH. EXCITEMENTTTT. i love this album so much specially Rock With You and I Can't Runaway 😭😭 anywayyy, this chapter is a bit short but I promise the next one is gonna be longer heheh enjoy!! idk how you'll like this one tbh :/ but, as always, your thought would be welcome❤
when your cousin asks you to be her substitute at SVT Inc. as she takes her maternity leave, you’re pretty sure this wasn’t what you signed up for.
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“Daisy!!!” Gyuri squeals once she sees you, running out of her father’s embrace the moment Mingyu kneels down and lets her go.
“Hi Lili,” you grin and accept her hug, your arms trapping her in. You look up at her father standing in front of you, and you greet him with a shy smile before you stand up with Gyuri in your arms. “Hi Gyu.”
“Hi,” he’s adorably holding back a grin at the name, and instead settles for a tight smile and a squeeze on your arm. “Why are you outside?”
“I’ve just arrived actually,” you chuckle, telling him Jisoo and the others are waiting. You turn around and tell the waiter that you have a table under Kim Jisoo, so he nods in return before telling you to follow him inside. Gyuri can’t stay still in your arms, constantly moving around as if she’s trying to dance. “You’re super excited, aren’t you?”
Gyuri nods fervently, her small fingers playing with your hair as she tells you about how much she’s been looking forward to the lunch meeting. You grin at this, and Mingyu scolds her so she won’t move too much because she’s already heavy as it is.
“Lili not heavy!” she gasps in horror. “Papa heavy.”
You look at Mingyu in amusement as he pretends to clutch his heart and tells her how hurt he is. But Gyuri doesn’t seem to care, simply sticks out her tongue as she clutches herself closer to you.
“Oh, did you come together?” Jisoo asks when the waiter leaves the private room after guiding you and Mingyu, and then takes Gyuri from your arms as the girl giggles when Jisoo tickles her belly.
“No, I was just about to go in when they arrived,” you explain, thanking Mingyu for pulling out your seat before he settles on the seat beside you, Gyuri’s baby chair on his other side. Jisoo and Jennie share a knowing look at the interaction, but they don’t say anything about it just yet and Jisoo instead asks you about the trip to Japan as if she didn’t practically call you everyday then.
“You,” you narrow your eyes at Jennie. “…have a way of putting on schedules that I don’t feel tired until I get on top of the hotel bed.”
“I’m amazing, aren’t I?” Jennie grins, taking note of the way Mingyu’s arm is limply hanging down with his elbow resting on the edge of your seat. “I know I have to keep you moving so you won’t get exhausted in the middle.”
It’s Mingyu who replies, shaking his head as he remembers how tired you looked by the end of the trip. “You know her feet almost gave up because of the heels?”
“Don’t tell me you got through all that schedule with heels?” she turns to you with a scandalized look.
Again, it’s Mingyu who answers while you pout at her. “No, I told her to change into a plain pair of sneakers by day two.”
“Didn’t you only pack your heels and a streaking red Converse?” Jisoo frowns, remembering how you tell her you would not need three pairs of shoes even though she insists you should bring one more pair so you could ‘color code your fashion’.
You bite your lip and glance downwards when Mingyu helpfully supplies for you. “Yes. I told her to buy a pair of white shoes with my card but she wouldn’t budge, so I bought one myself and forced her to use it.”
Your face burns at the memory, the picture of Mingyu appearing in front of your hotel room with an Alexander McQueen paper bag still clear in your mind. You have initially refused, too flustered at the sudden, overpriced gift, but Mingyu insists you take the shoes and wear them instead of the heels during meetings, or he’ll just throw them away somewhere outside the hotel. Naturally, you have no choice but to comply and accept.
You still have no idea how he got your size right.
“Wait, is that why you asked me about my size?” Jisoo cuts, something clicking in her mind.
“Yeah. I remember you said you have the same size as her.” Mingyu is looking at your friend, but the grin on his face makes you jittery inside. Did he need to do that just to make sure you wear comfortable shoes? “You thought I was buying you shoes, huh?”
Their bickers fade out in the background when you catch Jennie’s knowing glance, her eyebrows shoot up as if to ask if you’re still in denial when Mingyu does all that for you without anyone asking him to. You don’t know how to react to her, so you simply shrug before you turn away from her prying eyes.
It’s been roughly two weeks since you’ve come back from the trip and, despite your ongoing denial about Mingyu’s interest towards you, you’re just downright lying if you say the relationship between the two of you hasn’t rapidly progressed since.
After that night in the festival, something shifts between you and Mingyu more than it did before. He gets bolder with his touch; brushing his fingers against yours every chance he has, eyes boring into yours like you’re always in interrogation, and even offers to take you home everytime he catches you working overtime (Seungkwan notices all of this, and the first thing he did was to ask if you took his advice and actually shoot your shot). There are also the sudden phone calls when you’re off work, ones that he blames Gyuri for even though you usually end up talking to him more than you do Gyuri.
You’re far from complaining, but you still don’t know what to do with the whole situation. And while you’re no longer in denial about your feelings for the guy, your brain still refuses to accept that Mingyu might even be remotely interested in you. There’s just… no way.
It doesn’t make sense.
You can’t explain why, but it just doesn’t.
“You’re spacing out again,” Mingyu mutters from beside you. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah, yeah,” you smile hesitantly. “Just… some stuff on my mind.”
“You’ve been doing that a lot, you know?” he frowns, worry painted clear on his face. “Are you overworked? Should I ask Seungkwan to take some of your workloads?”
You immediately wave your hands at that, telling him it’s not about work and your workload is fine as it is. Mingyu doesn’t seem like he buys it, but he knows he’s not in a place where he can push it, so he settles for an ‘are you really sure?’ and lets it go when you give him a nod with a small smile that doesn’t quite reach your eyes.
It isn’t long until your smile turns genuine though, and when he follows your line of sight, he finds Gyuri bursting into giggles on Seungcheol’s lap. He says something that Mingyu can’t hear, but her eyes turn big and she gasps lightly at whatever he’s whispering and then happily squeals when Seungcheol drops a big kiss on her cheek.
“Lili eats with Uncle Cherry!” she declares to the table. Mingyu just chuckles and nods, well aware that Seungcheol has always had ways with children and he’s easily Gyuri’s favorite uncle out of all his friends.
“Used to heartbreak, huh?” you jokingly say to Mingyu.
“As long as it’s not because of you,” he boldly says with a wink, his voice so low that it’s only you who heard him.
You look at him with mock disguise, gently punching his arm to cover up the fact that you’re flustered beyond measure. It doesn’t work though, because his grin doesn’t falter and you’re certain Mingyu knows you enough by now to be able to tell when you’re embarrassed.
“Anyway, where’s your husband?” you turn to Jennie instead, eyes dropping to her huge belly. You’re truly unsure if Jennie is in an okay condition to have a lunch meeting outside, she’s probably on that stage where she can be in labour just about anytime and you feel like you’re more nervous than she is about the whole thing.
“He wanted to join us, but Hansol suddenly called, said he needs help in the garage or something,” Jennie shrugs nonchalantly, taking a sip of the iced tea in front of her. “It’s okay, I see him enough already. He’ll join later if he can or he’ll just pick me up.”
“Auntie Nini, baby here?” Gyuri softly pokes her belly, having moved from Seungcheol’s lap to Jisoo’s.
“Yes. A little more and you can meet the baby,” she beams at the little girl who’s still so fascinated with the fact that there’s a baby inside her auntie.
Just then, the door opens and the waiter comes in with the food you’ve all ordered, prompting everyone to stop conversing and almost immediately starts digging in the moment the door closes back. True to her words, Gyuri is back on Seungcheol’s lap while the guy patiently feeds her before he takes a bite himself. Next to him, Jisoo is busy helping Jennie who sits beside her, putting food on her plate and helping her move her seat so she can eat comfortably.
And then there’s Mingyu who is doing the same; his chopsticks are busy placing food on your plate with food that he declares ‘to die for’ and ‘you haven’t lived if you haven’t tried’. If your friends notice this strangely intimate gesture, they don’t say anything about it.
The lunch goes pleasantly like always, and when the meal is done, Jennie decides she wants dessert which Gyuri delightfully agrees to. Mingyu tells her she’s only allowed to have dessert if she goes back to his lap after being with Seungcheol the whole time. Gyuri whines, but eventually says she wants to sit with you because ‘Lili can sit with Papa tomorrow’.
“I’m sad, Flower. I really am,” he dramatically says, earning a snicker from Jennie and Seungcheol while Gyuri simply giggles at her father’s forced pout. She waves her hand though, signaling him to get closer so she can kiss him on the cheek. Your breath hitches when he leans down to Gyuri on your lap, his hair faintly grazes your arm as he does so.
“Love you, Papa,” she whispers between giggles, the soft words warming your heart beyond control. And as if that’s not enough blow to your heart already, Mingyu whispers the words back to her with the happiest smile you’ve ever seen across his face.
“You guys are so mushy,” you scrunch your nose, feeling a little weird to be witnessing the interaction in such close proximity. It’s a good weird, though, one that makes your heart buzz in content and the butterflies in your stomach fly just enough to make your inside flutter without being too overwhelming.
You don’t know if it’s good that a part of you longs to continue witnessing this in the long run.
Mingyu always makes sure not to check his phone first thing in the morning when it's the weekend. Weekends are usually reserved for his family and, most importantly, Gyuri, and he knows himself enough to know that he’d be replying to emails and reading updates despite it being weekends if he checks his work phone because that’s just how dedicated he is to his job.
That said, Mingyu frowns when he wakes up to an empty bed, his daughter nowhere in sight. Did his mom take her? He gets up from the bed, stretching his arms up as he walks out of his old room in his parents’ house without even bothering to bring his phone with him.
It’s been sometimes since his parents come back to Seoul and, everytime they do, they’d have Mingyu stay over in their house along with his child. They’ve called him a few days ago, telling him they’re flying back to Seoul over the weekend and he should bring Gyuri with him to sleep over.
“Morning,” he sleepily groans as he makes his way to his mom’s garden, Gyuri comfortably sits on his mom’s lap as she nibbles on her bread. He drops a kiss on top of her head and then his mom’s, taking the empty seat beside them. “Did she wake up early?”
“It’s you who woke up late, son,” his mom scolds playfully. She's a little tense despite her smile, Mingyu notices, a telltale that she has something to say but isn’t sure how to bring up. So Mingyu kindly throws the bait and asks if something’s up.
His mom would usually spill right away once he asks, but she seems almost hesitant this time, taking her time to answer. An alarm quickly rings in his mind; Mingyu has never been this nervous in front of his mom since the time he had to tell his parents he got someone pregnant. He looks at his daughter for comfort, her presence has always been able to calm him down no matter what and he’s glad he insists on keeping her even if he has to do it alone.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were dating—uh, what was her name… Daisy?”
Mingyu violently coughs at the mention of you, wondering how on earth his mom came up with this question at 8 in a Saturday morning. Gyuri lights up at the name, but the two adults don’t really answer when she asks if you’re coming.
“You mean [Y/N]?” he makes sure, stalling time. “How did you know her?”
“Lili calls her Daisy,” she shrugs, her calm face scaring him more than it should. “Lili called you with my phone when you were in Japan, remember?”
“Oh, right. And… no,” he answers hesitantly, something that his mom catches but doesn't comment on just yet. “She’s Jennie’s temporary substitute. Gyuri just likes her a lot. Where did that even come from?”
His mom doesn’t answer immediately, simply hums before she fumbles with her phone and pushes it in front of his face. He recognizes the place immediately, as it was just last week that he was there with you and the others. There’s a picture of you, Gyuri, and him there, with Gyuri safely in your arms. Both of your faces are blurred in contrast to Mingyu's, his wide grin clearly caught on camera.
Is The Most Sought Out Bachelor in South Korea Actually Taken? SVT Inc. CEO Kim Mingyu Seen with His Hidden Family
➝ strangers to lovers // single dad!Mingyu // fluff // lighthearted // non idol!au // like pls dont expect any dramas here lol // tiny bit of angst ig
➝ series warning: mentions of sex, no smut but there’s implied sexual activities, insecurity (as always jshbdjhsfshbf am sorry), curses, food, let me know if theres more ^^
➝ word count: 3.5k
➝ A/N: aaahhh we're past the middle mark already?? How time flies... i truly hope you've been enjoying these so far 🧡 as always, your thoughts would always be appreciated 🌼
when your cousin asks you to be her substitute at SVT Inc. as she takes her maternity leave, you’re pretty sure this wasn’t what you signed up for.
series masterlist
“Have you been to Japan before?” Mingyu asks from beside you, making you turn from the window.
“Twice, I think?” you answer distractedly. ‘Never in a business class, though,’ you want to add, but you keep that bit to yourself. You feel like this is such a waste of money, because the flight to Japan doesn’t even last that long, and you know Mingyu would’ve bought first class if not for the fact that this particular trip doesn’t have one. But between Mingyu’s wealth and his selfishly long legs, it makes sense that the boss is used to this class.
You just didn’t expect you’d be sharing it with him.
“Who do you leave Gyuri with?” you ask at last, having been curious about it since earlier. It’s not like you think she’d come with you, this is a business trip, after all, but you can’t help but wonder who she’s staying with at times like this.
“My parents in Jeju,” he answers, an amused smile on his face. “She’s upset because, apparently, we’re going on a trip without her.”
You laugh as the picture of Gyuri with her frown and squishy arms crossed in front of her chest pops into your mind. “She knows I’m with you?”
“Yeah. Said I’m stealing Daisy from her,” he gives you his million-dollar grin, with canine out and all that. You feel your heartbeat halting for a second, and you look away from embarrassment because, God, you can’t afford falling harder for this man. Literally can’t.
This is a man with wealth going through his blood. Whether or not his family is accepting, it’s not going to be easy to fit into that life. It doesn’t matter that Mingyu rarely flaunts his money, even you notice neither Mingyu or Gyuri is dressed with luxury brands from head to toe. It’s always a subtle touch here and there that reminds you this guy is out of your reach; the different Rolexes hidden under his long sleeve that adore his wrist accordingly to his suit of the day, the new Audi he’s brought to the office because it’s the latest model and he thinks is very pretty, the overpriced lunch he’d have you and Seungkwan eat with him from time to time, the Cartier earrings you’ve seen Gyuri wear at times, and the list goes on.
They’d all remind you that Mingyu’s just… different.
And then there’s Gyuri. Jisoo’s words ring in your mind, reminding you that making commitment with Mingyu means you’d also be making commitment with Gyuri. You’ve always known that’s the case—aware of it since you’ve found out Mingyu has Gyuri in his life. Even if you somehow magically manage to date Kim Mingyu, it’s never going to be casual because Gyuri is already aware of your existence. From the get-go, you’d have take the risk of being with Mingyu and Gyuri. But what if you break up? How would Gyuri understand that?
“When are we meeting the representative from MT Enterprise?” he suddenly asks, his leg crossing over the other.
At his question, you immediately slip back to your work persona, leaving behind the giddy build up in your chest. “Two hours after we land, Sir. It’s going to be in the meeting room in the hotel we’re staying at.”
“So do we have two hours off or…?”
“Yes, Sir. Jennie arranged the flight as such so you’d have a brief rest before the meeting.”
Mingyu hums at that, not giving you any further explanation. So you turn again to take a look at the window, trying your best to simmer down the bubbling feeling inside your chest the longer you stare at Mingyu. You’ve been trying to convince yourself that whatever feeling you have for Mingyu isn’t appropriate, that you should try to tame it down before it spreads too far.
“Are you okay?” Mingyu asks out of nowhere. Of coursehe has to be considerate. At your confused eyes, he continues. “You’ve… been sighing a lot.”
“Just… stuff,” you answer vaguely, shrugging to yourself. “It’s probably nearing that time of the month. My mood is a mess.”
This answer seems to suffice, as Mingyu simply lets out an ‘ah, I see’ as an answer. But then he just has to add more and make butterflies fly in your stomach. “You know you can talk to me if anything’s bothering you, right? Jennie would vent to me too sometimes, I’d say I make a pretty good listener.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” you reply, though deep down you know you’d never confide Mingyu in—especially regarding your unprompted feeling towards the man himself.
You tell yourself to keep it together. Yet when Mingyu shifts closer and leans down a little so he can comfortably talk to you, you find yourself mirroring his stance: your arm brushing his on the small table between the two of you, your amused grin matches his as he talks about Gyuri and her adorable ways into people’s hearts.
There’s something warm in your chest that you can’t quite describe at the way Mingyu shakes his head with a fond smile when he tells you about a particular episode of Gyuri and Seungcheol together, but you know for sure Gyuri isn’t the only reason you’re grinning from ear to ear, cheeks hurting from smiling too hard.
Damned butterflies.
You’ve been staring at your phone for 5 minutes straight, as if not sure what the words glaring at you mean.
[12:11] SVT Kim Mingyu: meet me at the lobby at 12.30
What… could he possibly need from you that he wants to see you before the meeting starts? Shouldn’t he rest knowing there wouldn’t be much time for him to do so after this? There are countless scenarios running through your mind, one of them includes Mingyu taking you out on a date before the meeting starts later at 2PM. You quickly shake the thought away, your face getting warm from embarrassment.
How dare you imagine such a thing about your boss? You literally work for him. Just because he’s handsome, smart, considerate, very good with his kid, and—what the fuck. No. You’re not going down that road.
Mingyu probably has something important to discuss regarding the meeting or the whole business trip.
Yeah. That must be it.
That isn’t it and somehow you end up in a sushi restaurant that would probably cost half your salary for eating pieces of fish. It is a very beautiful place though, with a zen garden at the back of the traditional building; kois filling the stone pond and bonsai trees adorning the place.
This is just a set straight out of a romantic drama.
“I often come here when I have business meetings in Tokyo,” he tells you, giving back the menu to the waiter after you say you’ll just have whatever he’s having. You see him smile politely when the waiter comes back to ask about something that you can’t quite understand—they are speaking Japanese after all. What can’t Mingyu do, really?
Mingyu looks handsome as always, and today’s touch of the designer brand on his body is the Gucci sneakers he’s wearing and a semi-formal suit of the same brand on top of his plain shirt. You don’t believe you’ve ever met someone as handsome as Kim Mingyu. (Maybe his friend Jeon Wonwoo, but that’s another story.)
“It’s very beautiful,” you smile as your eyes wander around the place. The place has an accent of modernity despite its traditional theme, a very fitting design for such luxurious restaurant. “How did you find this place?”
“Oh, a close senior from university owns the place.” It’s things like this that would slap you in the face; that Mingyu lives in that world. You remember thinking the design and architecture alone of this place must’ve cost at least a couple hundred million won. You can only imagine how expensive it actually is. “I was just going to check it out at first, send my congratulations and all that, you know? But I was also craving sushi so I figured might as well try it out.”
You settle for an ‘oh’, not really knowing how to comment on that. Thankfully, the food comes not long after, saving you from falling deeper into the pit of your mind. Mingyu, ever the gentleman, places the food on your plate first, excitedly telling you about how they’re his favorite and he’s sure you’re going to love it if you share his taste.
“Wow,” the word comes automatically after you swallow the first bite, your wide eyes meeting his. “It is very good. Probably one of the best sushi I’ve ever tasted.”
Mingyu grins in victory, happy that you’re impressed to this extent. “See? What did I tell you!”
The meal continues peacefully after that, with you and Mingyu talking over lunch like it’s the most natural thing to do between the two of you. You find out quite a few things during this; how he usually comes in late during Monday and Wednesday because he promises to drop Gyuri off the daycare during those time, and how he had initially refused to leave Gyuri in the daycare because there’s Jooyeon to take care of her.
He was too worried about people finding out about her, but his parents managed to convince him that Gyuri needs to spend time with kids her age even only for a few hours. As far as the people in the daycare is concerned, Jooyeon is her guardian and her parents never appear though Gyuri doesn’t show any sign of being deprived of love. Mingyu would usually just stay in the car before he lets Jooyeon leave with Gyuri.
The teachers are a bit confused, because Jooyeon actually waits within the facility as she patiently watches Gyuri play with the other kids. Why is Gyuri even in the daycare if her guardian has the time to wait around for a few hours before eventually taking her home? But they figure it’s not their place to ask and, perhaps, it’s just her family’s way of making sure Gyuri has things to do and friends to play with.
You try to backtrack and remember if there’s ever been a time where it’s just the two of you having meals together; but except for the few times Mingyu insisted you to eat in his office because he ‘doesn’t want to eat alone’ and Seungkwan is already out for lunch before you can ask him to join you, you can’t really think of any other instances when it’s happened.
So how come this feels so very… normal? Almost like it’s a—No. This is not a date. Mingyu is just being generous and he would’ve done this to Seungkwan too had it been him in your place. You need to stop overanalyzing everything he does and, most importantly, you need to stop the butterflies in your stomach everytime Mingyu does literally anything. He’s just the kinda person who does this to anyone and this isn’t a gesture out of affection and—
“Are you feeling better?” his husky voice cuts through your thoughts, his concerned eyes looking for any kind of discomfort on your face. “I noticed you seemed a bit down so I thought bringing you here might help.”
Fuck Kim Mingyu.
“How’s Tokyo?” Jennie says from the other line, her puffy cheeks fulfilling your screen.
It’s somewhere at 6 in the evening and you’re done for the day. After the meeting with MT Enterprise, Mingyu has told you you’re free to do whatever you want for the night; whether you want to rest or to roam around, you have the night off. Of course he has to remind you he’s just a text away if you ever want a guide or a friend to accompany you wandering through the busy city.
You’ve just awkwardly smiled and thanked him, though deep down you know you’d never ask him for it because you need to rest your delusional mind regarding… whatever it is between you and Mingyu.
“Good. Today isn’t really busy, but tomorrow will be and you know that because you literally arranged this trip,” you answer with content sigh, burying yourself into the fluffy comforter of the hotel bed.
Gosh, you would’ve slept all day if you could. This is possibly the softest surface you’ve ever laid yourself on, which doesn’t surprise you because you’re literally staying in Triple W Hotel’s (whose owner is the Jeons, it turns out) Tokyo branch and it’s the exact material you found yourself waking up on two months ago in its Seoul counterpart. You shake the memory away once again, distracting yourself by telling Jennie about the beautiful sushi house you visited earlier.
“Oh? The one owned by Mr. Yoon?” she asks, remembering the few times she shared a meal with Mingyu there when he had meetings in Japan.
“I… have no idea,” you genuinely say. “Mingyu just said his senior owns the place.”
“Mingyu, huh.”
Uh oh. There it is.
You just knew Jennie has been suspicious. If there’s anyone who’d catch on unprompted, it is Kim Jennie. Ever since that random video call, you knew something is caught in her radar and it’s driving you insane that she’s never talked about it the few times you come visit her or talk on the phone.
“Umm… Mr. Kim?” you lamely say.
Jennie doesn’t even say anything, simply stares at you through the screen with her pointed look. When you play dumb and simply stare back at her, she sighs and finally tells you to spill.
“There’s… nothing to spill,” you shrug, not sure yourself why you’re reluctant to tell her. Maybe you’re just prolonging your denial, taking your sweet time until you eventually have to tell her, well, everything. “What do you want me to say?”
Jennie huffs before she takes the bait, simply mentioning Mingyu’s name without adding much to it.
“He’s… Fuck, Jen, I know I shouldn’t have these feelings for him, okay?” You blurt out first, already defensive even though Jennie has never implied anything that might seem like she’s against the whole thing. “I know it’s messed up. He’s my boss, and he has a child, and he’s everything that I’m not but—"
“Woah, woah, woah,” she stops your rambling, and you can see her trying to sit up, heaving a little because of her belly. “That is not where we’re going down. Breathe, okay?”
You nod and follow her suit, leaning back on the headrest of the bed as you inhale and exhale.
“First of all, Mingyu will be lucky to have you,” she says sternly, already catching a glimpse of your insecurity. “Second of all, how did this happen?”
You take a deep breath before telling Jennie everything, including the fact that you ended up sleeping with the guy before you started working under him. You tell her about the butterflies in your stomach everytime Mingyu smiles, the way your neck gets warm when he’s looking at you like you’re the only person that matters, the way your heart beats a little louder when Mingyu talks about how much Gyuri misses you and wishes to see you again.
When you’re done telling her practically everything, you’re almost close to tears because you’re freaking out over how much you actually like Mingyu.
How did it come to this? When did your feeling spiral this deep for Kim Mingyu? It’s been two months. You barely even saw him smile in the first one. Surely that’s not enough time to fall into someone as much as you’re feeling right now?
“No, it’s not too fast,” Jennie intervenes as if she knows what goes inside your head. “Yes, it might be overwhelming. But your feelings know no concept of time, okay? And you’re adults who know better than to rush into a relationship despite your feelings. Don’t feel bad about it, you hear me?”
You want to nod and agree with her, but you simply gulp hardly at the hard realization of how much you’re into this man. You don’t even realize you’ve been falling for him, as you’ve convinced yourself it was just a crush—because, duh, anyone with eyes has a crush on Kim Mingyu—that would go away as fast as it comes.
But no, he just has to be so charming and he just has to have the most adorable daughter you’ve ever laid your eyes on. You don’t even like kids that much, but Gyuri has made her way into your heart even quicker than Mingyu does. You can still vividly feel her falling asleep on you and the warmth in your chest when her little fingers grip the front of your shirt along with the faint scent of Mingyu’s cologne as he comes closer to take her from you.
“Hey, it’s fine,” Jennie calms you down, well aware of your tendency to fall down the never-ending pit that is your mind. “You don’t have to figure everything out now. There’s time, yeah? Go at your own pace. Remember, how real your feeling is doesn’t have anything to do with the time you know him. You are not overreacting and you’re going to stop overthinking about this whole thing.”
This time, you nod, though a bit hesitant. Jennie’s right, as she always is. There is time and you don’t need to figure everything out right now. Who knows if you’ll get to know him more and he has some questionable qualities that would turn you off?
“You don’t have to deny your feelings, alright?” she says gently, her tone reminding you of the time she’d comfort you over stupid exes during high school. “It’s been so long since you’re interested in someone, too. There’s no loss in… accepting it. You know I don’t like to meddle with this kind of things but… Mingyu’s a good guy. It’s not... going to be easy if you decide to go for it, but I don’t want you to think down of yourself because of this. If you have it in you, then I’d rather you accept it than try to find a way out. Who knows what can grow out of it?”
You stay silent at her words, trying your best to register what she’s telling you. You know she’s right; life has been too busy that you don’t have it in you to even be interested in a romantic relationship. Of course the moment you find yourself interested, it’s going to be someone you deem out of your league like Kim Mingyu.
“Also, I’ve known Mingyu for years now. I know what he’s like and it’s something that he lets you this much into his life in the span of months,” she tries to reassure you. To others, this might seem like she’s giving you hope, but you know Jennie never says anything without any solid ground. “You know him for two months and you already speak to Gyuri for how many times, now? Mingyu doesn’t even let people know about her, but here you are.”
Jennie continues her attempt to make you see things straight, even tells you about that time three years ago when she called you crying because her boss was missing. That was the day Gyuri was born, it turns out, and, even then, Mingyu had been reluctant to tell Jennie about it at first but he needed to trust her because he knew he’d need more than her help.
“That’s why I worked overtime almost everyday. I promised myself I’d help him as best as I could after I found out,” she softly explains. “He… he tried so hard to protect her from day one, to be there for this little baby even though he had no idea how to take care of her. I heard he even refused Jooyeon and his parents’ help at first, until he eventually gave in because the protective wall finally wore off. That’s how much he cares about Gyuri. And for him to let you into—not only his but also—her life to this extend, it says more than you thought it does.”
You want to believe Jennie, you really do, but it’s just… hard to accept that Mingyu might be interested in you that way. On another note, you know the bubbling feelings in your chest have been making you more happy than it does upset you. And as much as you want to keep denying the way you’re embarrassingly freefalling for this guy, you can’t deny the spark between you and him… and even Gyuri. You’ve never felt quite as warm being with someone, and while the time you’ve spent with Mingyu and Gyuri isn’t exactly enough to be able to tell if you’re really invested in them, the amount of giddy smile and happiness the two bring to you are beyond question.
“I love you,” your cousin calls you again. “Don’t be too hard on yourself. Consider what I say, alright?”
“Love you too, Jen,” you softly reply, thankful that she decides to confront you about your feelings. Who knows how long you’ll keep it all to yourself until you combust if not for her? “Thank you always. Say hi to Jaebum for me.”
You throw yourself back to the bed once she hangs up, rubbing your face as if it will help you think more clearly.
➝ strangers to lovers // single dad!Mingyu // fluff // lighthearted // non idol!au // like pls dont expect any dramas here lol // tiny bit of angst ig
➝ series warning: mentions of sex, no smut but there’s implied sexual activities, insecurity (as always jshbdjhsfshbf am sorry), curses, food, let me know if theres more ^^
➝ word count: 3.8k
➝ A/N: heh 4 more chapters and we're done already? how time flies by... anyway! as always, enjoy and don't hesitate to share your thoughts w me or ask about anything that might be confusing :D it means a lot to me, really<3
when your cousin asks you to be her substitute at SVT Inc. as she takes her maternity leave, you’re pretty sure this wasn’t what you signed up for.
series masterlist
Friday comes and you’re cracking your neck after the last meeting of the day ends. It’s only somewhere between 4 and 5PM, but you’ve somehow managed to keep the promise you made to yourself about freeing Mingyu’s schedule so he can have time for Gyuri even just a few hours more.
“You’re finished for the day, Sir,” you happily deliver the news to him after he lets you into his office. “Unless you want to go over the meeting or you have other agendas, you’re free to go home.”
Mingyu looks up in surprise, telling you to sit down in front of him. “How come?”
“I’m just good at my job like that,” you jokingly say. Evidently, the dynamics between the two of you have shifted since that day, you’ve gotten more comfortable around each other and you no longer avoid his gaze everytime it wanders to you. His cold exterior isn’t really for you to see anymore, and you’re already getting used to seeing his playful side more often than not when he’s surrounded by people he deems himself comfortable with like you and Seungkwan.
Sometimes you’re even borderline flirty, and you want to say that Mingyu’s the same; but you remind yourself once again that he is your boss and he has a kid. Plus, you have no way of knowing if Mingyu’s flirty with you or if that’s just how he naturally is when he jokes. You can’t help the bitter taste in your mouth everytime you remind yourself of it. “But really, you can get off work now if you want. No one’s going to say anything about the boss leaving the office one hour early for once. Everyone knows how often you stay late here.”
“Gyuri would be elated,” he laughs a little. “I’ll just go over this file and call it a day, then.”
“Say hi to Lili from me,” you grin before you stand up. “I’ll return to my desk and revise the agreement with JS Corp. Have a nice weekend, Sir.”
You miss the way Mingyu opens his mouth to say something, but the guy makes no effort to call you and let you make your way out of his office. His mind goes to the ridiculous amount of time Gyuri has been asking about you, but it’s weekend and he doubts you’d want to spend your time off with your boss and his kid no matter how much you like Gyuri.
Maybe some other day.
Just then, his phone rings and he glances at the screen. At the name of his friend, he immediately picks up the call and asks what’s up.
“When will you be off today?” Wonwoo asks from the other end.
“In a bit. Why?”
“The guys want to hang out,”he laughs as if it’s obvious. “Wanna see if you can make it.”
“Is it anywhere I can bring Gyuri?” he asks first, not bothering to ask who’d be coming. He’s sure Wonwoo wouldn’t extend an invitation to him this sudden if it’s not with their close circle. It has been quite some time since he sees them too, maybe letting Gyuri play with her uncles would lessen the mention of you in his household.
“We can just go to your place and order in if that’s the case,” Wonwoo suggests, saying the guys wouldn’t mind. “But there’s this family restaurant owned by one of my clients near my hotel. We can arrange a private room if you don’t want Gyuri to sit in the open.”
Mingyu stays silent for a while, contemplating his choices in his mind. Going to a family restaurant shouldn’t be too bad, and remembering the area of Wonwoo’s high-end hotel, it should be safe enough for Gyuri and her privacy. He winces at the thought of the hotel; the last time he was there, he’d woken up by himself and he swears he’d never drink past his limit ever again.
He bites his lip at the memory and at the joke fate is pulling between him and you. He’s never had a one night stand—at least not since Gyuri was born. He can’t do that when he has Gyuri waiting for him back home.
Mingyu can still remember that particular day vividly. It had been a while since he went out to have a drink and Seungcheol had mentioned he’s going to Exodus with Minghao if he wanted to join. He’d usually refuse, but, between failed deals and incompetent employees he almost yelled at that day, the week had been stressful. Plus, Gyuri was sleeping over her grandparents’ house so Mingyu had figured it should be okay.
He wasn’t supposed to get drunk off his head and ended up sleeping with you—or anyone, for that matter. But it’d been a while and he actually forgot he gets weirdly competitive over Seungcheol’s alcohol tolerance against his—which is how he ended up with more alcohol than he would’ve liked. Mingyu assumes you’re more or less in the exact same scenario as him by the way you left the moment you woke up and how you were always tense at the beginning everytime he’s nearby.
Maybe you’re afraid he’d bring it up, and then make a problem out of it or make it awkward between the two of you. But he doesn’t really have any reason to bring it up; what was he supposed to say, anyway? Ask why did you leave the moment you woke up? Ask if you enjoyed it as much as he did?
Mingyu sighs at the thought. It’s a one time thing and he’ll leave it at that.
“Where’s Seokmin?” you ask as you sit down next to Jihoon. You’ve never been here before, and you were supposed to go to the bar you usually go to when Soonyoung insists on trying this restaurant because his sister says it’s really good. He doesn’t really have any other friends to go to a restaurantwith except for your circle. His other friends are more fitting for a club—maybe a bar, but not restaurants, which is why he suddenly turns the steering wheel the other way when he remembers about this place.
“Dunno if he’s joining,” Soonyoung pouts. “He’s not picking up my call, too.”
“Should I try calling him?” you offer, phone already in your hand.
“And risk having my heart broken in case he picks up?” he dramatically answers. “No. I’ll just bother him some other day. It’s you, Miss New Secretary, that have been too busy to see us. You haven’t even told us where you work!”
You smile sheepishly at him, muttering an apology as you go through the menu. “I’ve been adapting, you know? And it’s been pretty good. I should be a bit freer after this, though.”
“I assume the new boss is good?” Jihoon joins in, leaning into his palm to look at you. “You haven’t been complaining to us at all.”
You automatically smile at the thought of Mingyu, but then you remember these guys know about the one-night stand venture and you remind yourself not to disclose the fact that your boss is that guy to your friends. They don’t need to know.
“Yeah. A bit too perfectionist, but it’s not surprising because he’s Jennie’s boss,” you laugh with them, and the conversation naturally goes to your cousin and her baby. Soonyoung, Jihoon, and Seokmin have always been affectionate towards you, which means their affection extends to the people close to you; sometimes you think Soonyoung and Seokmin are more excited about the baby than you are.
You’re about to ask if Jisoo is invited (because Jisoo is close with them through you, so she’s a part of the circle but not always) or if this is an exclusive gathering that Soonyoung has arranged just to bother you when a small voice squeals happily.
“Daisy!!!!” you turn in surprise at the voice, seeing Gyuri trying to get away from her dad’s arms as she tries to reach you. Your eyes find Mingyu and two guys behind him, looking at you curiously in a way that makes you a little too conscious. But your gaze refuses to leave Mingyu, already fit in his everyday clothes in contrast of his dress shirt and suit you’ve seen him in just a few hours ago. Instead, he’s wearing a simple navy bomber jacket with a black shirt hidden beneath it and a pair of black jeans covering his long legs. Have sneakers always looked that sophisticated?
Damn, doesn’t he look good in casual clothes. No one would’ve thought Gyuri is his child with the way he dresses and the friends with him; they’d probably assume she’s a sister or a niece. On another note, though, do handsome people only befriend handsome people?
“Miss you!!”
You haven’t got a chance to answer nor explain to your friends when another voice enters from the back of the small party. “Oh? What are you guys doing here?”
Soonyoung blinks at the sight of Seokmin, all sort of curses for not answering his call already on the tip of his tongue but Jihoon is quick to shut him up by jabbing his thigh with his elbow. He glares at his friend, but Jihoon has never been one to faze under Soonyoung’s glare.
“Hi Seokmin,” you decide to answer, addressing him with an awkward smile. “Soonyoung wants to try this place.”
And that’s how you end up joining their table in a private room with Jihoon and Soonyoung. Gyuri happily sits next to you in her baby chair and Mingyu on her other side. Jihoon is still next to you, but Soonyoung sits across him, and next to him is Seokmin, and then two guys called Minghao and Wonwoo. For reasons that you don’t know, there’s an empty seat reserved next to Mingyu.
Your answer comes fifteen minutes later when Seungcheol makes his way into the private room, blinking continuously at the two circles together in front of him as if he’s sure he sees wrong. He turns owlishly to you, and it’s Wonwoo who ushers him to sit and proceeds to tell him what happened.
“I would’ve brought Jisoo here if I knew,” he says, smiling cutely at Gyuri who greets him with a happy ‘Uncle Cherry!’.
The dinner goes smoothly after that, and even though Soonyoung’s a bit annoyed his plan to annoy you is basically cancelled, he’s happy to find new friends though he’s unsure if he’ll be able to mix well with these wealthy business men despite their close age.
“I didn’t know you hang out with Seungcheol outside?” you tell Seokmin in confusion. While Jisoo would often be included in your hangout because she’s practically a package deal with you, Seungcheol would sometimes join by Jisoo’s extension. Now that you think about it, Seungcheol would either stick with Jisoo or Seokmin when it comes to it.
“Did I never mention?” he grins sheepishly before he takes a bite of his salad. “Must’ve slipped my mind.”
It’s pretty plausible, if you’re being honest. You don’t really know about Seokmin and his ‘bigshot’ friends before this—he’s never even shown you pictures and none of you are ever curious; he’s only said he was a childhood friend with one of them and the friendship still lasts almost two decades later. You’d like to think the reason why you, Jihoon, Seokmin, and Soonyoung (even Jisoo) are able to be this close to each other is because none of you ever pries anything out of the other unless you deem it necessary for their sake.
A part of you wonders why he and Jisoo don’t seem to be close even though presumably they might have time to hang out together outside your circle, but you figure sometimes people simply hang out together without making a close bond with one another.
“Feels like I haven’t seen you in so long, man,” Seungcheol’s voice booms through the table, addressing Mingyu as he takes . “When was the last time I saw you? Exodus?”
You cough violently at the mention of the club, bringing attention to you as Gyuri’s little hand pats you on the arm. Jihoon looks at you in worry, telling you to drink slowly as his hand rubs your back. You mutter an apology to the table, excusing yourself to the restroom while you’re at it. Gyuri grabs your finger, asking to come with you. You don’t want to say no, but you dread having to look Mingyu in the eyes as the memory of that night stirs in you once again.
Daring to look at Mingyu for permission, the guy simply nods when you meet his eyes. You can’t read his expression, both because you quickly look away to take Gyuri in your arms and because his face isunreadable. It’s been sometime since you have to remind yourself once again that Mingyu doesn’t have any reason to bring it up and everything’s fine.
Gyuri happily sits on top of the marble sink as you splash some water to your face. She reaches out to play with the sink, trying to figure out how it works as the water turns on and off by itself.
“Okay, that’s enough playing, yeah?” you smile at her after your heart calms down. “Let’s go back?”
She readily jumps into your arms, finger already playing with your hair as you make your way back to the private room. Gyuri refuses to sit back on her baby chair, her grip on you gets tighter when you’re about to put her down, so you settle her on your lap which earns you a content babble from the little girl.
“I’m really sorry,” Mingyu says from beside you, having finally rid of the baby chair so he can move his chair right next to yours. Everyone’s practically done eating at this point, but no one seems to be in a hurry to leave as they converse with one another. “She’s always been touchy, but never this clingy with someone before.”
“Guess I’m special,” you manage to joke, though your heart is going wild at the way he’s caressing Gyuri’s head.
You don’t expect Mingyu to answer, but the guy nods in agreement, telling you that ‘yeah, you are,’ with a voice that’s only for you to hear. You tense a little at that, wondering if you heard wrong, but Mingyu’s already turning the other way around before you can ask about it.
Across you, Soonyoung and Seokmin are staring at you with something close to suspicion. You raise your eyebrow in question, but they just narrow their eyes as if you have any idea about what they’re questioning you about.
“What’s with your friends?” you ask Jihoon instead.
“You’ve been friends with them for years and you still question what’s with them?”
“You’ve got a point.”
“But, if you must know,” he leans closer to whisper. “They’re probably suspicious of your relationship with your boss.”
You let out a loud ‘What!’ before you even realize, making Gyuri jump a little in your arms. You mutter a quiet sorry, and Gyuri continues to draw patterns on your arm with her finger after mumbling ‘’ss okay’. Mingyu turns to ask if something’s up, and you reassure him that all is fine and you’re just overreacting. He doesn’t seem convinced, but he lets it go and returns to his conversation with Minghao about interior design.
“I mean,” Jihoon continues without missing a beat, subtly pointing at the kid on your lap. “Why did she call you Daisy and why did she say she misses you?”
Gyuri is blissfully unaware she’s being talked about, and she simply yawns before leaning her cheek on your chest, getting comfortable in your hold as she grips the material of your clothing.
You’re about to answer him when a phone is suddenly shoved in front of you, a very annoyed Jisoo on the screen and you can only assume it’s Seungcheol holding the phone from behind.
“Not fair!!!!” she pouts. “You’re ALL there without me?”
“Am here too,” Jihoon helpfully chirps from the side, only his eyes appearing on the screen. Soonyoung makes his appearance through voice only, telling Jisoo it sucks to be her.
“Wow,” she exclaims in disbelief, her face offended. “You told me only [Y/N] was there, Cheol!”
“Now, now,” you see him grin through the camera, his phone tilting down a little to show Gyuri on your lap. “Let’s not get angry with Lili present.”
Gyuri sleepily waves at the camera, melting whatever annoyance Jisoo has before. Jisoo promises to send her pudding one of these days, and the kid also makes her promise like Jennie did the other day. Mingyu chuckles at the banter, and then finally notices his kid falling asleep in your arms.
Jisoo sees you and Mingyu share a look then a smile before he takes Gyuri from your lap until Seungcheol moves the camera to himself again. He talks some more before eventually hangs up, telling her to have a good night and that he’ll text her once he’s arrived home.
She wonders if she was just imagining the fond look on your face when you’re looking at Mingyu.
Two weeks later, you find yourself getting ready for your business trip to Japan. More importantly, you find yourself falling more and more for Mingyu and Gyuri as time goes by and you’ve been reminding yourself to keep your feelings at bay—to not act upon it and you should take a step back from where you’re currently at. Your tendency to throw (hopefully) subtle flirty jokes at him and his nonchalant way of returning them needsto be stopped.
It’s getting increasingly scary: the way you and Mingyu have been getting more comfortable with each other. You try to trample down whatever hope that’s trying to bloom within you, but Mingyu would give you a playful wink or Gyuri would randomly make Jooyeon call you and there goes all your effort. The father and daughter pair aren’t hard to fall for and you don’t know how you are supposed to deal with this feeling.
Perhaps going on a business trip with Mingyu isn’t currently the best choice for your inner dilemma. Though it’s not like you have any other choices.
“What do you mean you’re going to Japan?” Jisoo demands from the sofa as you’re busy packing on the floor.
“I mean just that,” you roll your eyes. “Boss has a meeting there and the other secretary has already filed for the week off before this meeting was scheduled.”
“So it’s just you and Mingyu?” she frowns.
You turn to her in confusion, unsure why she’s annoyed. “Does your boss take other staffs that might not be needed for a meeting abroad?”
“So you’re there to be his secretary.”
“I am his secretary.”
Your friend stays silent at that, and you give her a pointed look that asks for explanation. When she still doesn’t say anything, you huff and sit next to her to probe further.
“Do you… like Mingyu?” she carefully starts.
“Of course I do,” you reply without hesitation, surprising her. But your next words make her shoulders drop unceremoniously. “He’s a pretty good boss. Even more when compared to my old ones.”
She scratches her arm, hoping you won’t get defensive. “I mean… romantically. Are you interested in him?”
“Where does this even come from?” when Jisoo doesn’t answer, you track back to any moment that might lead to this question until you remember the video call from that night. “Is it because Lili was on my lap?”
Your friend exhales a deep breath. You’re not sure why Jisoo is this anxious, but she grasps your hands and you recognize the look on her face, it’s one she gives you when she’s concerned about something to the point where the worry is eating her inside out.
“Are you?” she asks once more and you know you can’t lie to her face, can’t say no like you mean it, not when her voice is gentle and her eyes are full of worry. She knows you too well, you’d like to say. She knows how hard it is for you to be interested in someone, and she also knows you tend to fall hard once you do. Whatever concern that fills her is probably valid and you know you should be worried too.
“I don’t know, Soo,” you truthfully say. Perhaps you’re still in denial, refusing to acknowledge that you’ve been unknowingly staring at Mingyu with longing looks and the way your heart would run faster at the sight of his smile. But admitting it feels like a commitment itself and you’d rather not go down that road. “He… I’ve always been attracted to him, I’ll give you that. But I don’t know if I’m that invested yet. It’s probably just a crush. It’ll pass.”
Your voice is a little too small for her liking, you sound so defeated and it’s not something that sits well with Jisoo.
“I’m not… trying to get you to forget him,” she starts. The small smile on her face is there to remind you about her well-meaning concern. “I know how you don’t date just for the sake of it, and I know how hard it is for you to even be interested in someone. It’s been sometimes too, right? But… you know he has Gyuri and I hope you’re prepared for what you’re getting into. This is more than the usual commitment between two people.”
It goes pass your mind how Jisoo doesn’t say anything about Mingyu’s family, as the mention of Gyuri brings an automatic smile to your face. Jisoo doesn’t miss this, but doesn’t have it in her to bring it up right now because she knows you’ll get defensive.
It was just two days ago that Mingyu had called you out of nowhere, apologizing the moment you picked up the call because Gyuri had been wanting to talk to you and it's getting harder to convince her you’re busy. You spent a good ten minutes talking to Gyuri until she’s satisfied and eventually agreed to hang up the phone.
You found yourself biting your lip until it almost bled until it’s one in the morning, Mingyu’s low voice whispering ‘good night’ ringing in your mind.
“There’s no… commitment, Soo. You don’t have to worry. I’m sure Mingyu’s not into me that way.”
You know Jisoo is about to convince you otherwise, that you’re a very great person and Mingyu would be lucky to be with you, but you don’t want to hear it so you stand back up to end the conversation there and continue packing.
Mingyu’s way out of your reach and you might not even work here anymore after Jennie’s back.
➝ strangers to lovers // single dad!Mingyu // fluff // lighthearted // non idol!au // like pls dont expect any dramas here lol // tiny bit of angst ig
➝ series warning: mentions of sex, no smut but there's implied sexual activities, insecurity (as always jshbdjhsfshbf am sorry), curses, food, let me know if theres more ^^
➝ word count: 3.5k
➝ A/N: so their story finally begins hohoho just wanna say pls dont hesitate to share your thoughts with me on ask or anywhere!!! am always happy to hear what you think of whats happening or whats going to happen <3 enjoy!
when your cousin asks you to be her substitute at SVT Inc. as she takes her maternity leave, you're pretty sure this wasn't what you signed up for.
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When Monday comes, you honestly just want to bang your head against the wall. You’re not sure what’s gotten into you since that Friday night you had dinner with Jennie, Seungkwan, and Mingyu, but you’ve been acting like a brokenhearted high schooler over the weekend.
What is wrong with you, honestly? Did you really think you had a chance with Kim Mingyu just because you slept with him once? When the two of you were drunk off your mind?
Gyuri’s name rings again in your mind, as if reminding you that you shouldn’t forget about her existence and throw whatever feeling you have for Mingyu out of the window. You don’t even know if you have feelings for said guy, but you’d just be downright lying if you say you’re not attracted to him.
Your mind wanders to the fact that he had slept with you when this Gyuri person exists. You frown at the thought, maybe Mingyu isn’t as good as you expect him to be. Inside, you feel bad for having slept with someone’s who’s possibly in a relationship even though you literally had no idea (still don’t, to be honest).
You sigh as you enter the SVT Inc. building, smiling at the security guard on the main door. You’ve just sat down on your desk when you realize you probably can’t get through the morning without coffee and a little bit of sugar like this. Mingyu’s already in, you notice, even though it’s Monday and he’s usually not in the office yet at 8 in the morning on Monday.
You glance to Seungkwan, the guy looks much too sleepy for his own good and you’re pretty sure he’s in a worse condition than you are.
“I’m gonna go down again to get coffee,” you say, and Seungkwan immediately turns to you as if you’re a goddess that has just arrived in time for salvation. You tell him to text his order just in case you forgot, and the guy sends you a bunch of kneeling emojis afterwards because ‘what would I do without you, queen’.
You immediately walk to the café once you get out of the elevator, saying hi to the receptionist as you pass by. It isa blessing that your company has a café within the building, really. Walking out just to buy a coffee from a café a block away currently feels a lot more of a hassle than it actually is.
When you’re about to line up on the short queue, you notice a little kid in a bear hoodie standing near the pastry stand. You look around to see if the parents are nearby, but the ground floor of your building has always been rather empty except for the guards, people getting beverages, or people making their way straight to the elevator.
“Hello,” you say as softly as possible, praying that you wouldn’t come off threatening. “Are you lost?”
The kid turns to you cutely, and there’s just something so familiar about her that you can’t quite put together. She blinks up at you, as if taking her time to consider if you’re to be trusted.
“Want this,” she points at the sprinkled donut through the glass counter. You immediately melt at this and tell her to wait as you get her some, taking her by the hand to line with you.
“What’s your name?” you try to ask, maybe you can ask the receptionist to help you make an announcement or something. “Where’s your mom?”
“Lili,” she mumbles, little hand gripping yours. “Mom… Lili doesn’t know.”
Your heart drops at her words. She can’t possibly be… abandoned, right? Why would someone abandon a kid in a company building, though? You shake your head before your thoughts get crazier, telling Lili you’ll accompany her for a little while before you need to go back.
“Yay! Miss very kind,” she happily exclaims, swinging your hand back and forth sloppily. “Want donuts!”
“Does Lili want to drink?”
“Chocolate, please,” she says politely, looking at you with eyes full of innocence. Gosh, you just want to squish her cheeks if you could. But Lili (and her parents, wherever they’re at) probably wouldn’t appreciate it, so you settle for a suppressed squeal instead.
After the cashier tells you your drinks would be ready in a while, you sit down on one of the tables with Lili as the girl happily eats her donut. You rest your face in your palm as you watch the girl with content, how can she be this cute, really?
“How did Lili come here?” you ask, and she answers something that you can’t quite understand because she’s stuffing her small face with the sugary treat. You’re pretty sure you hear the word ‘car’ and ‘papa’ though. Does her dad work here?
“How come Lili is alone, then?”
You don’t get the chance to hear her answer as you see Mingyu hurriedly stepping out of the elevator from the corner of your vision, his face is stricken with panic and you’re about to approach him and ask if something happened when his long strides have already brought him to where you’re at. He sighs in relief once he’s in front of you, there’s a guilty-looking woman behind him and you wonder what on earth is going on until Mingyu turns to Lili.
“Kim Gyuri! I told you not to wander off without telling Jooyeon!”
Lili blinks up at him innocently, not caring that this man who’s towering over her (and you) is scolding her out of concern.
“Sorry, Papa. Lili want donuts,” she holds up the donut as if to convince him and then points at you. “Miss very kind! Miss get Lili donut!”
It is only then that Mingyu turns to you, only now realizing you’ve been there the whole time. Your gaze locks with his for what feels like eternity, mouth slightly ajar because it finally clicks to you why she looks familiar: she’s that kid in that picture Jisoo shows you of Seungcheol and Mingyu.
“Thank you,” Mingyu starts as he rubs his temple. “For taking care of Gyuri. She wanders off without saying sometimes, the security and receptionists probably didn’t recognize her because I rarely brought her to the office.”
You simply nod from the chair across him, unsure what to say. Li—Gyuri… is his daughter? You try to wrap your mind around the whole thing, and you guess her mom is out of the case because she did say she doesn’t know where her mom is. Is Mingyu divorced?
“I, uh, I have to finish the report from yesterday’s meeting, Sir,” you stand up, suddenly feeling extremely awkward in his office. Gyuri has left earlier, telling you she likes you and she wants to play again sometimes. Jooyeon, the family maid who mostly takes care of Gyuri now (apparently she has been working for the Kims since Mingyu himself was still in school), has thanked you too for being kind to the kid. “If you’ll excuse me.”
Mingyu seems like he has something more to say, but he nods anyway and tells you you’re free to go. You fail to notice the way his eyes follow your figure even through the glass until you’re settled down on your desk. He sees you exhale what he assumes to be a deep breath, and you repeat this a few times before you eventually turn to your computer.
He quickly looks away when your eyes find his, afraid that you’ll find out he’s been staring at you. At least you and Gyuri seem to like each other.
“So, is there any reason why none of you told me the boss literally has a whole kid?” you ask Seungkwan the moment you sit down together for lunch in a restaurant nearby, making a mental note to confront Jennie about this later when you visit her.
“We didn’t think it was important?” Seungkwan says unsurely, but immediately gives in once you give him an unimpressed look. “’Kay, we really didn’t think you would have anything to do with her, to be honest. Mingyu rarely brings little Gyuri to the office, plus your current contract is only for six months hence we thought you wouldn’t even meet her.”
In the back of your mind, you conclude: they’re hiding Gyuri from people they don’t deem necessary. In a world where Mingyu is considered a big shot, you think it’s normal if he doesn’t want her in the public’s eyes at such a young age. But your mind reminds you of the non-existence of her mother and you wonder if that’s another reason to hide her.
“You probably have questions, but it’s not really my place to tell you,” he says honestly. “And I don’t know a lot even though I’ve been working here for two years. I think you’ve figured out this much, but, yeah, Mingyu’s a single father, I don’t know what exactly happened to the mom, and that’s probably the most I can tell you.”
“It’s fine,” you sigh, though deep down you’re beating yourself up over the relief that washed over you when it clicked that ‘Gyuri’ is not… his partner. You’re pretty sure you’re worrying about the wrong thing there. “I’m not… really curious about those things. Just didn’t expect Mingyu to be a father already.”
“You can still shoot your shot, though.”
“Boo Seungkwan!”
“What! I’m not stupid enough not to notice you staring at him every now and then,” he wiggles his eyebrows annoyingly, earning a smack on the shoulder from you. “Jennie didn’t notice though, trust me. Your little crush is safe with me.”
“I don’t have a crush on Kim Mingyu!” you say defensively, scoffing incredulously at the (not so) baseless statement. “Plus, he has a kid and he’s probably not looking for a new relationship.”
You lower your voice before muttering under your breath. “He’d probably have one already if he is.”
But Seungkwan catches your words and sends you that teasing grin that almost makes you choke him right there and then. “You’re saying he’s hot, then.”
“I—how on earth did my words translate to that?!”
“Well, you’re basically implying he can have anyone if he wants,” he shrugs nonchalantly, thanking the waiter who’s just finished placing food on your table. “And that includes you.”
You shake your head at his words, digging into your lunch as Seungkwan continues to yap about Mingyu. No one can convince you that Boo Seungkwan isn’t insane.
The blind on Mingyu’s glass wall has been closed since a few hours ago, because Mingyu is honestly stressed and he’d rather no one—you—sees him like this. He’s pretty sure it’s past working hours now and he’s proven right when he glances at the clock in his monitor that says: 19:47. Everyone’s supposed to clock off by 5PM.
Mingyu stretches in his seat before he gets up and repeat. He can hear his bones cracking and he really just wants to go home then cuddle Gyuri for a goodnight sleep. But there’s an important BOD meeting coming up and he’s sure he won’t be able to sleep soundly—even with his little angel in his arms—if he doesn’t finish this particular report.
Maybe a coffee would do.
When he finally opens the door of his office, he didn’t expect he’d see you face down on your desk. He blinks at the sight, turning to find Seungkwan’s desk already empty and so are the other cubicles.
“Why are you still here?” he softly asks, jumping a little when you scream at his sudden presence.
“Why are YOU still here?” you ask back without thinking, a hand on your chest as if to calm down your heartbeat.
“I’m… finishing a report for the BOD meeting?” your boss answers hesitantly, not quite used to being in this kind of situation.
When what has just happened is finally registered in your mind, you immediately straighten your posture before you answer his question. “Oh, right. Yes, me too.”
Mingyu unexpectedly chuckles at your disoriented state, a soft smile on his face before he asks again. “Are you going to continue or are you going home already?”
You bite your lip as you glance at your monitor. If it’s up to you, you’d already be on your way home since three hours ago. But this particular report is bothering you and you’re feeling extra productive so you thought you might as well work overtime to finish this. You know this productivity wouldn’t come back to you anytime soon if you don’t make use of it right away.
“I’m so close to finishing this so maybe I’d stay for a little more,” you say at last, and Mingyu simply nods before answering.
“You want to get coffee?”
You blink owlishly at him, as if uncertain he’s talking to you even though there’s literally no one but you and him on this floor. But you eventually nod your head, taking your phone with you before you trail behind Mingyu to follow his step.
Your heart just has to act up to the point where you’re sure Mingyu can hear it drumming from where he’s at.
You and Mingyu walk side by side as you make your way back, holding a warm cup of coffee from the café nearby because the usual café in your building is closed already.
“How… is Li—Gyuri?” you try to make small talk to fill the silence, your heart warming more because of the smile that blooms in his face at the mention of his daughter than the beverage in your hand.
“You can call her Lili, it’s okay,” he reassures you. “That’s what my mom calls her and she’s always liked the name. Also, she’s fine, would probably be grumpy later because she hates it when I work overtime, but she’ll be okay after some ice cream.”
“Ah, bribery,” you jokingly exclaim as you take a sip of your coffee. “She seems like a very sweet child. Is she… not scared of strangers?”
“Not really, unfortunately,” he sighs, and you can’t help but notice the fond smile on his face doesn’t falter even though his eyebrows are slightly furrowed. Is Mingyu is ever not handsome? “Which is why I was really worried when Jooyeon said she’s lost sight of her even though she’s in the building. You never know what could happen nowadays.”
This is the most you’ve ever spoken to Mingyu, you realize. And this is probably prompted because Mingyu’s a little too stressed from work and he needs someone to talk to that can just… distract him even only for a short moment. So you continue to talk about Gyuri until you’ve made it back to the 5th floor, the security guard greets you both at the front, making a joke about how the boss should go home already so you can clock off, too.
Mingyu nods at you before he makes his way back to his office, though you see that he’s opened the blind for some reason. You send him a confused smile when he catches your eyes through the glass partitions, which he returns easily before he goes back to doing his report and so do you with a racing heart because of the random interaction.
An hour and a half later, when Mingyu drops you off in front of your place, because he’s about to go home when he notices you tidying up your desk and offers to take you home, you stiffly bow at him and his chauffeur in gratitude. There’s something tingling inside you that you’re trying to suppress and you’re pretty sure your lip would bleed if you bite it down any harder.
You don’t know if you’re imagining the shy smile on his face when he says he’ll see you tomorrow.
Admittedly, you’ve gotten more comfortable with Mingyu after that. The awkwardness between the two of you has lessened even though it’s still there, most likely due to the memory from all those nights ago.
It’s embarrassing to say that your breath would sometimes hitch when Mingyu is a little too close, even if it’s just for a second when he passes by. And it’s more than embarrassing to say that your heart would flutter when he’s being even remotely considerate.
Gosh, maybe you are way lonelier than you thought you were.
This is a man you barely know—with a kid, at that. Even if you somehow have a chance with him, you’re going to get into a much deeper commitment than you would a regular relationship. All that as if the fact that he’s literally a young (dashing) CEO from a rich family isn’t intimidating enough already.
You huff at the thought, swirling your spoond around your cereal as your mind takes you deeper about your—you hate to use Seungkwan’s word but—crush towards the guy. To make things worse, your mind would sometimes wander to that one night you spent with Mingyu. You don’t even remember a lot, just that the time was heavenly and you can even sometimes feel the ghost of his fingertips on your skin.
It’s been at least a month, you remind yourself to get a grip as your face gets warm once again. Right at the moment, your phone rings and you jump at ‘SVT Kim Mingyu’ on your screen. You exhale once before taking the call, what could Mingyu possibly need from you at 7 in the morning?
“Hello,” he greets you with a hushed voice, tone clear with guilt. “Sorry to call you so early in the morning. But, do I have important meetings today? I don’t think I can go to the office. Gyuri’s down with a high fever.”
Your heart tightens at the thought of his daughter, and you quickly tell him you’ll crosscheck his and your agenda to make sure. From the other side, Mingyu hums worriedly as you faintly hear Gyuri’s whine.
“There’s… actually one urgent meeting, Sir,” you explain, telling him that the rest of the meetings can be rearranged except for this one. “But I can ask them to change this into an online meeting if you can’t attend in person.”
“That would be ideal,” Mingyu sighs, his head throbbing a little from the thought of going to the office for one meeting when Gyuri is sick. The girl is rarely sick, to Mingyu’s luck, but when she does, it gets very concerning for everyone and especially him. “What time is it supposed to be?”
“At 1, Sir. I will immediately inform them about the change and arrange the meeting link,” you tell him as you busily type on your laptop. “Also, there’s an important document you need to sign today. Should I send it to your address, Sir?”
Mingyu’s silent for a while, as if contemplating something though you’re not sure what is there to contemplate about your question.
“This is… the meeting with JS Corp’s CEO, right?” at your ‘yes’, Mingyu huffs a little. “There’s actually a file I need for this meeting and it’s in my office. Would it be okay if you come here instead to deliver it and the document? You may go home once the meeting is over.”
You blink owlishly at his words, your heartbeat picks up like there’s no tomorrow even though this literally means nothing. Why would your heart flutter when your boss is making you do extra work?
“I will send Mr. Lee to get you so he can take you to the office and to my place, would that be okay?” Mingyu says again, guessing that you’re not answering because you’re thinking about transportations. Why would you be thinking about transportations when Kim Mingyu has just asked you to come to his place?!
You snap out of it, though, telling him that it’d be no problem and you should be fine taking the bus to work like usual and he could just send you his address. But he insists and says that he’s already told Mr. Lee to pick you up (which is a lie, because you definitely didn’t hear him talk to anyone), so you give in as you tell him you’d just quickly run things over with Seungkwan in the office and take whatever’s needed and then immediately get to his place.
“Gyuri says hi, by the way,” Mingyu says softly, and your heart melts at the picture your head conjures of Mingyu and his daughter side by side, his palm probably stroking her head in comfort. “See you?”
You have to hold back a squeal before you manage to answer and hang up the phone.
You flop down to the table for a few minutes to hide your face, trying to calm down your heart and mind from the call. There’s a smile stubbornly trying to bloom on your face, and your cheeks hurt from trying to hold it back even though no one would see—or even know—you grinning like an idiot just because of a phone call.
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