โฃ เณ cw: explicit sexual content ยท graphic sex ยท orgasm denial ยท dirty talk ยท aftercare ยท possessiveness ยท emotional vulnerability ยท toxic ex / abusive relationship (past) ยท physical assault ยท violence ยท blood ยท protective behavior ยท minor alcohol mention ยท language
notes: in which your regular bartender minho lets you stay at his apartment when your toxic ex-situationship gets physical โ and things spiral from there.
The bar doesnโt have a sign. Just a brass door with no handle and a button that glows red when you press it. Inside, itโs all velvet and shadowsโlow jazz crooning from invisible speakers, smoke curling from too-expensive cigars. The kind of place that smells like secrets and old money.
You donโt belong here. But you come anyway.
Mostly for him.
Minhoโs behind the bar like always. Shirt black, sleeves rolled just once, collar stiff against the sharp line of his neck. He doesnโt look up when you walk in, doesnโt smile. He never does.
You donโt need him to.
It starts like most nights doโlow lighting, soft jazz, the smell of expensive bourbon and even more expensive cologne drifting through the speakeasyโs velvet-lined walls. The kind of place that pretends not to notice you unless it wants to.
He always notices you.
Minhoโs already at the bar, polishing glassware with deliberate, almost surgical focus. No smile. No greeting. He doesnโt do small talkโjust glances at you when you slip onto the stool you always take, his gaze lingering for a moment too long on the bare skin above your knee before it flicks away like you imagined it.
He slides a drink toward you without asking.
Tonight itโs something amber and sharpโneat, no garnish. Not the floral bullshit you usually order to irritate him but don't actually enjoy.
โYouโre learning,โ you murmur, fingers curling around the glass.
โYouโre predictable,โ he says, but thereโs a flicker of something in his eyes. Amusement. Approval, maybe. Itโs hard to tell with him.
You take a slow sip, letting the burn settle in your chest before you speak again.
โGonna make fun of me tonight, or just stare at my legs?โ
He doesnโt miss a beat.
โWhy canโt I do both?โ
You raise an eyebrow. Heโs in a mood.
Good.
You lean in a little, voice dipping low. โIf I didnโt know better, Iโd think you liked me.โ
Minho finally looks at you head-on, the edge of a smile ghosting across his mouth.
โIf I liked you,โ he says, smooth as glass, โyouโd know.โ
The heat that curls low in your stomach has nothing to do with the liquor.
You shouldnโt be surprised. Youโve been playing this game for weeksโweeks of drawn-out glances and sharp tongues, of letting your knee graze his thigh beneath the bar, of asking him questions you already know he wonโt answer just to hear the dry curl of his voice when he tells you no.
But tonight, the rules feel different. The air feels heavier. Charged.
You blame it on the day you had. On the message you didnโt answer. On the fact that your body still remembers the way your so-called lover grabbed your wrist last night when you dared to pull away first. The apology this morning was short. Cold. Like a favor he did you.
Youโre tired of favors. Of men who act like your body is borrowed space.
So maybe thatโs why youโre here again. Why your dress is a little shorter than usual. Why your smile is a little sharper. Why you stare at Minho like you want him to cut you open and see whatโs underneath.
โI think you like me,โ you say, swirling the amber in your glass, eyes fixed on his fingers as he reaches for a bottle behind him.
He uncaps it without a word. Pours slowโlike heโs buying time or maybe making you wait on purpose. The line of his jaw is clean and sharp in the barโs dim light, a profile carved in something colder than marble.
Youโve never seen him fluster. Not once. Thatโs part of why you keep coming back. That composure, that razor-thin controlโyou want to see it slip. Just once. Just enough to know what he looks like when something matters.
But Minho doesnโt rattle. Doesnโt rise to the bait. He sets the bottle down, replaces the cap with the same care you imagine he uses with everything elseโhis knives, his words, his hands.
โI think you like being watched,โ he says finally, without looking at you. โThatโs not the same thing.โ
Your lips curl. โIs that what you do? Watch me?โ
He glances up, and the full weight of his gaze hits you square in the chestโdark, steady, measuring.
โOnly when you want me to.โ
You swallow. Hard.
Thereโs nothing coy about it now. No masks, no playful deflection. Just static in the air and the slow realization that this isnโt banter anymore.
Itโs foreplay.
Your thighs press together instinctively beneath the bar. The liquor burns differently nowโhotter, deeper.
Minho sees itโhow your legs shift, how your breath stuttersโbut he doesnโt gloat. He doesnโt need to. The power slips over him like a second skin, smooth and effortless, like he was born to unravel people slowly and never touch them at all.
You try to hold your ground, try to find something clever to say, but the words stick to your tongue. They donโt come.
He leans forwardโjust slightly, just enough that you catch a whisper of his cologne, clean and sharp like crushed pepper and steel. The kind of scent that makes you ache without knowing why.
โYou always drink faster when youโre upset,โ he murmurs. โDidnโt think heโd blow you off again.โ
Your stomach flips.
You didnโt tell him that.
Not out loud.
But youโve mentioned him in passing beforeโyour almost-boyfriend, your never-quite-yours. The man who texts when heโs bored and shows up when heโs drunk, who fucks you like a secret and then disappears for days. Youโve never named him. You never had to.
Minhoโs too observant for that.
You look away, embarrassed, a little raw.
โI donโt want to talk about him.โ
Minho hums like he understands. Not kindlyโaccurately. Like a blade understanding the softest part of skin.
โDidnโt think you would.โ
His voice is soft. Low enough that it doesnโt carry over the jazz humming through the room, but not so low that it misses the mark. It slides under your skin, settles there. Warm. Heavy.
You press the rim of your glass to your lips, but donโt drink. Youโre stalling. He knows it.
โIs this where you offer comfort?โ you ask, tilting your head toward him, trying to claw some of the power back with your voice. โTell me I deserve better?โ
Minho chucklesโquiet, sharp-edged. โYou know you deserve better.โ
He lets it hang there for a beat too long, until you can feel the unspoken part of it clawing up your spine.
You deserve better, and I could give it to you. But I wonโt.
Not yet.
His fingers flex against the barโs edge. Itโs the first crack in his control tonight, the only betrayal of the restraint wound tight through every part of him. You donโt think he even notices itโbut you do.
Because thatโs what this has always been, hasnโt it? A standoff. A war of glances and gestures. Who can make the other want without asking.
You swirl the last inch of liquor in your glass, watching the amber catch the low light, pretending like youโre not memorizing the shape of his hand against the bar.
Minho isnโt looking at you anymore. Not directly. His eyes are focused somewhere beyond youโon a bottle that doesnโt need touching, a thought that doesnโt need voicing. But his body betrays him in small, precise ways. That flex of his hand. The stillness of his shoulders. The slow, measured breaths like heโs giving himself rules to follow.
Donโt reach for her. Donโt say her name. Donโt touch unless she begs.
You can feel itโhow close he is to undoing himself. How heโs fighting it like it would cost him something if he gave in.
And that makes you reckless.
โWhy havenโt you?โ you murmur, too quiet for anyone else to hear. โIf youโve thought about itโwhich you have. Why havenโt you done anything?โ
You lick your lipsโsubtle, involuntaryโand his eyes drop to your mouth like it was the only thing in the room worth watching. Just for a second. Just long enough to make your pulse thrum in your throat.
โYouโre not going to offer comfort,โ you say, quieter now, more to yourself than him. โThatโs not your game.โ
Minho doesnโt deny it.
โI donโt comfort girls who let men treat them like that,โ he murmurs, voice like slow smoke. โI fuck it out of them.โ
Your breath catches.
You canโt help it.
It punches the air straight from your lungsโjust for a second. Just long enough for your lashes to flutter and your grip on the glass to falter and your entire body to go still.
You shouldโve known thatโs where heโd take it. You shouldโve seen it coming. But hearing itโfeeling itโlow and steady like that, like an invocation and not a threat?
Itโs something else entirely.
Your thighs clench beneath the bar. Instinctive. Useless. You feel suddenly too warm in your skin, in your dress, in this damn chair. Like the roomโs shrunk down to just the two of you and the weight of those words lingering in the air between them.
He said it like a fact. Like a promise. No smirk. No tilt of his head. No performance.
Just Minhoโstaring at you with that terrifying, surgical precision thatโs never been louder than it is now.
He knows what he just did.
Knows youโre squirming. Knows youโre soaking. Knows exactly where your mindโs goneโand he hasnโt even touched you.
Your tongue darts out again, a nervous reflex.
And thatโs when he leans in.
Not by muchโjust enough that his mouth is close enough to graze the rim of your glass if you tilted it.
โIโd start with your mouth,โ he says, barely louder than the jazz, like heโs confessing something obscene to a priest. โBecause I know youโd still try to be smart with it. Even while youโre choking.โ
Your stomach drops.
Your fingers curl tight around the edge of the counter to ground yourself, but itโs no use. His voice is a velvet hand at your throat, gentle enough to tease, firm enough to hold
Minho doesnโt linger.
He doesnโt let the silence stretch into tension, doesnโt wait for your reply, doesnโt press a single inch further into the ache heโs just created.
He simply pulls away.
Smooth, unbothered, like he didnโt just fillet you open with nothing but words. Like your insides arenโt still ringing with the ghost of him. He reaches for a towel, wipes a nonexistent smudge from the rim of a coupe glass, and thenโcasually, almost boredโslides the folded slip of paper toward you across the polished marble.
Your bill.
Back to business.
Itโs maddening. Unbearably normal. Like he didnโt just spit filth into your ear that made your spine arch in the seat. Like he didnโt just speak to you like he already owned your body and was only waiting for the right time to claim it.
Your hand moves on autopilot.
Fingers dip into your purse, fishing out your card, swiping it through the reader like this is any other night, like youโre not unraveling at the seams. Like youโre not trembling just slightly beneath the surface of your skin, still burning with every word he spoke to you moments ago.
The reader beeps.
Declined.
You blink.
Try again. Slower this time. Like it might make a difference.
Declined.
The air shifts.
You donโt look up. Canโt. You stare at the reader, thumb hovering over the chipped edge of your card like pressing harder might fix it. Like it wasnโt inevitable. Like you havenโt been running on fumes and stubbornness and overdraft protection for longer than you want to admit.
You exhale through your nose. Force a quiet laugh. โSorry,โ you mutter, trying for nonchalant. โGuess itโs been a week.โ
Minho doesnโt move.
You finally glance upโand heโs already looking at you.
Not annoyed. Not smug. Just still. Measured.
Then he takes the bill back without a word.
Folds it in half.
Tucks it beneath the register.
โItโs okay,โ he says, and his voice is different nowโsofter, low and careful like a hand on the back of your neck. โIโve got it.โ
You hesitate. โNo, really. I can come back tomorrowโโ
โI said itโs okay.โ
The quiet in his tone settles over you like a coat. Warm, heavy. Weighted with something you donโt quite recognize yet.
You search his face for a catch. A smirk. A condition. But there isnโt one.
And thatโthatโs what undoes you more than anything else.
Because itโs not a trade. Not a tease. Not a power play.
Itโs just kindness.
Uncomplicated. Unexpected.
From him of all people.
You swallow hard. Nodding feels dangerous, so you donโt.
You just sit there, small and grateful and aching in a way you didnโt expect.
โIโll pay you back,โ you say quietly. โNext time.โ
Minho doesnโt respond right away. Just tilts his head, eyes never leaving yours.
โYouโre not a charity case,โ he says finally. โI know youโll settle.โ
You nod again. This time it lands.
He straightens. Pulls your empty glass away, sets it behind him.
โYou staying a while?โ he asks. Not teasing. Not performative. Justโฆ offering.
And you want to say yes.
But your throat is tight and your wrist still hurts beneath your sleeve and your body feels like too much tonightโtoo raw, too full, too loud.
So you say, โThink Iโll head out,โ and your voice sounds gentler than it should. Like youโre asking permission.
Minho nods. Doesnโt question it. Doesnโt try to stop you. Just wipes the bar in front of your empty seat like heโs already preparing for the next ghost to sit down.
You stand slowly. Adjust your bag over your shoulder, glance toward the hallway that leads to the exit.
He doesnโt say anything at first. But you feel him watching youโnot your ass, not your dress, but the way you cradle your arm. The way your hand hovers over your wrist like youโre guarding something.
And thenโ
โDid he grab you?โ
Your spine stiffens.
Like someone cracked ice down your back.
You donโt turn around right away. You just stand there, shoulders drawn tight, fingers white-knuckled around the strap of your bag.
โExcuse me?โ you ask, voice sharper than you mean it to be.
Minho doesnโt flinch.
He doesnโt repeat himself, either. Just waits.
You finally turn, chin lifted in that familiar tiltโthe one you wear like armor, the one youโve perfected for moments like this. When someone sees too much. When someone dares to ask.
โI donโt need you psychoanalyzing my love life,โ you say flatly. โItโs none of your business.โ
Minho says nothing.
Which somehow makes it worse. And for some reason, you canโt stop talking.
You huff a laugh, bitter and breathless. โJesus. You let one card decline and suddenly you think youโre my therapist?โ
Still nothing.
Just that same steady gaze. Not pitying. Not cold. Just... seeing.
And maybe thatโs why it stings. Because heโs not wrong.
You fold your arms, fingers pressing hard over the bruise like you can erase it by force. โHe didnโt mean to,โ you finally mutter.
Minhoโs voice is quiet. Even.
โBut he did.โ
You look away.
Itโs not a fight. Heโs not raising his voice. Heโs not accusing you of anything. But something about the way he says itโflat, factual, calmโmakes you feel like youโve been caught doing something shameful.
You shake your head. โItโs not that simple.โ
His expression doesnโt change. โIt never is.โ
You exhale hard through your nose. Every part of you wants to run. You donโt like feeling cornered like thisโespecially not by someone like him. Someone who doesnโt play pretend
Someone who sees everything and speaks only when it counts.
โIโm not some broken girl who needs saving,โ you snap.
โI know.โ
And againโitโs not cruel. Not dismissive. Just a truth, spoken plainly.
That disarms you more than anything else.
He knows.
He knows youโre angry and proud and stubborn. He knows you want control, even when it costs you peace. He knows youโre clawing your way through something you donโt want to name yet. He knowsโand still, he said nothing until you were already walking away.
You sigh. The kind of sigh that tastes like surrender.
โIโm fine,โ you say. Softer now. โOkay? Iโm fine.โ
Minho doesnโt agree. Doesnโt argue. Just nods like heโs filing it away for later.
And then, gently:
โText me when youโre home.โ
You look at him.
Really look at him.
The dark sweep of his lashes. The slow tension in his jaw. The barest flex of his fingers against the rag heโs holdingโlike heโs grounding himself on the bar instead of reaching for you.
โI donโt have your number,โ you say, quiet again.
He doesnโt even blink.
Just reaches for a napkin. Writes it down in clean, deliberate strokes. Slides it to you without flourish, like itโs nothing.
You take it with fingers that donโt feel like yours.
The napkin is soft, a little damp in one corner, the ink bleeding just slightly where his pen dragged too slow over cheap paper. His handwriting is neat. Precise. The kind youโd expect from him. Not a flourish in sight.
You stare at the numbers for a beat too long.
Like if you memorize them now, maybe you wonโt have to admit how much you care that he gave them to you.
โIโm not going to cry in the cab,โ you mutter. Not to him. Just to yourself. A warning. A promise. A lie.
Minhoโs mouth twitchesโtoo fast to call it a smile. โGood. They charge extra for that.โ
You roll your eyes, but the sound that escapes you is almost a laugh.
Almost.
You fold the napkin once. Then again. Tuck it into your purse like itโs fragile, like itโs worth something, like it matters. You donโt say thank you. Canโt. The words would taste too much like gratitude and not enough like the armor youโre trying to put back on.
He doesnโt press. Just nods onceโfinal, quietโand goes back to polishing the same glass heโs been holding all night. Like none of this ever happened.
You walk away before you can change your mind.
Before you do something stupid, like apologize for flinching. Like ask him to say it again, that he knows youโre not broken. Like ask if heโs ever been hurt in a way that still echoes years later.
The hallway is dim. The velvet curtains at the door part with a whisper. The street outside is colder than you remembered.
You step into it anyway.
That night, lying on your side with the city leaking through the blinds in long gray stripes, you stare at your phone screen for too long.
Youโve opened a new message three times. Deleted it each time.
Minhoโs number sits untouched in your contacts now. Just a string of digits and a name that feels like something you shouldnโt be allowed to keep.
Eventually, you type:
[you]: home.
Three dots appear almost instantly.
Then nothing.
Then:
[bartender]: good. sleep.
You stare at it for longer than you should.
Just those two words. No punctuation. No fluff. Just simple, clean concern dressed up like a command.
You can almost hear his voice in itโlow, even, with that deliberate edge that makes everything sound like a dare.
You think about typing something back. A joke. A thank you. Something to make it lighter.
But itโs too late for pretending now. And maybeโjust maybeโyou like that he didnโt say take care or sweet dreams or anything that would let you brush this off as ordinary.
Because itโs not.
You set the phone on your nightstand.
And for the first time in weeks, you fall asleep before the sun rises.
The bass is too loud.
It rattles your ribs, crawls down your spine, settles behind your eyes like a headache waiting to happen. Bodies press in on all sidesโsweaty, glittered, half-drunk strangers shouting lyrics they only know the chorus to. The lights strobe fast enough to make you nauseous.
You wish you were having fun.
You should be having fun. Itโs Mayaโs birthday. Everyone showed up. Friends, coworkers, mutuals you forgot you still followed. You wore the good dress, the one that makes you feel like the sexiest version of yourself. You downed two shots at the bar and danced until your skin burned.
And for a whileโit worked.
Until he showed up.
You feel him before you see him. Isnโt that always the way?
That weight in the room. The static against your skin. The sharp twist in your stomach that feels too close to guilt to be anything else.
You turn. And there he is.
Leaning against the bar like he owns it, drink in hand, shirt unbuttoned just enough to make a show of it. He doesnโt look at you at first. He never does. Always lets you spot him first. Lets you feel him before he lets you see him.
Your heart drops anyway.
Itโs been three weeks since you told him not to text you again.
Not after the last timeโnot after his fingers curled too tight around your wrist and left a bloom of purple that took a week to fade. Not after he said your name like a curse when you tried to walk away. You were never his. That was the whole point. And yetโฆ it never seemed to matter.
You turn back toward your friends. Pretend you donโt see him.
It works for ten minutes.
Then a hand slides around your waist.
โYou look good tonight.โ
You freeze.
His breath is warm against your ear. Familiar. Suffocating.
You force a smile, even as your whole body goes still. โDonโt.โ
โDonโt what?โ he murmurs, voice syrup-smooth. โSay hi to my favorite girl?โ
Your throat tightens. โIโm not your anything.โ
โCouldโve fooled me.โ His fingers flex at your waist. Not hard. Not yet. Just enough to make you feel like youโve already lost something.
You shove his hand off. Step back.
โI said donโt.โ
He laughsโsoft and cruel. โYouโve got some nerve, walking around like that. That dress. That mouth.โ
Youโre not sure what breaks firstโthe fear or the fury.
But your hand moves before your mind can catch up, pushing at his chest, not hard enough to knock him back but enoughโenough to draw a line, enough to say stop, stop, STOP.
He stumbles back half a step, but the grin doesnโt falter. If anything, it widens.
โOh, sheโs got teeth tonight.โ
You hate that he says it like heโs proud. Like he likes it when you push backโbecause it means he gets to push harder.
โDonโt touch me,โ you spit, louder this time. Louder than you meant it to be. Louder than the beat crashing around you.
A few heads turn. Not many. Not enough.
He laughs, cruel and close and reeking of entitlement. โCalm down, drama queen. We used to have fun, remember?โ
You take a step back.
He follows.
His hand shoots out again, this time not for your waistโbut for your face. Fingers clamp around your jaw, sudden and firm, yanking you forward so fast your breath lodges in your throat.
You gasp.
Pain sparks where his thumb digs in. Your hands shoot up instinctively, trying to pry him off, nails raking across his skin in desperation.
โI said donโt fucking touch me!โ Your voice breaksโsharp, raw, realโand for a second, just one, the crowd parts around the two of you like the air shifted.
He leans in closer. His mouth is at your ear. โYou think youโre better than me now?โ he snarls, voice low and mean. โIs that it? That little bartender got you feeling brave?โ
The blood drains from your face.
Because you never mentioned Minho. Not to him. Not to anyone who would repeat it.
It hits you like a punch to the chest. Not just the shock of his voice, low and poisonous in your earโbut what he said.
That little bartender.
Minho.
He knows.
You donโt know how. Donโt know who told him or what he heard or why it matters to him at allโbut the fact that he said it means heโs been watching. Listening. Picking up pieces you didnโt even know you were leaving behind.
Your stomach lurches.
โI saidโโ you shove him with everything you have, panic fusing with rage โโget off me!โ
This time, he stumbles. Actually stumbles.
His grip slips from your jaw, and you recoil like youโve been burned, taking three steps back so fast you nearly trip. Your chest is heaving. Your eyes sting. The club feels too loud, too tight, the lights flashing like warning signs behind your eyelids.
But he recovers fast.
Too fast.
And now heโs pissed.
โYou fucking slut,โ he spits, voice ugly and thick with venom. โYou think someone like him is gonna want you for anything more than your mouth? You think heโs any different?โ
You donโt stay to hear the rest.
You turn.
You run.
You donโt care that your friends will wonder where you went, that your drink is still half-full on the table, that your heels werenโt meant for this kind of escape.
You just run.
Out through the club doors, down the street, across the crosswalk without waiting for the signal. You walk like if you stop, heโll catch up. Like the weight of his voice will sink into your skin and stay there. Like youโll never feel clean again if you donโt keep moving.
Youโre breathing too fast. Hands shaking. Vision blurry. Heart thudding like itโs trying to break out of your chest.
You swallow around the knot rising in your throat, the panic curling its claws up your spine, pressing down hard on your ribs like punishment.
And before you even know where youโre going, your feet are taking you there.
You donโt remember making the turn. Donโt remember crossing the street. You just blinkโand suddenly the neon glow of the bar bleeds into your vision, cool and low and familiar in the haze of your panic. The bar. His bar.
And heโs there.
Outside, leaning against the brick wall near the back entrance, one arm crossed over his chest, the other holding a lit cigarette between two fingers. The glow of the cherry lights his face in pulsesโhis cheekbone, his mouth, the sharp line of his jaw. His sleeves are rolled up, and thereโs a smear of something on his forearm.ย
He hasnโt seen you yet.
Not until your steps falter and the click of your heels dies out beneath the sound of his exhale.
Thenโhe lifts his head.
And his whole body goes still.
You must look like a disaster. Eyes wide. Breath shallow. Shoulders drawn up like a cornered animal. Your lipstick smeared, hair falling out of place, the strap of your dress slipping.
But he doesnโt comment. Doesnโt move.
Just watches you.
The silence stretches for a moment too long. Then, quietlyโ
โDid something happen?โ
Your throat tightens at the sound of his voice.
Low. Measured. But not indifferent.
Thereโs something else beneath it. A thread of tension wound so tight it barely makes it to the surface. The kind of control that only comes from practice. From restraint.
He doesnโt take a step toward you.
Doesnโt reach out.
Minho can read a room better than anyone youโve ever met, and right now, youโre a room filled with alarmsโflashing, screaming, crumbling.
He sees it.
โIโฆโ Your voice falters. โNo.โ
You mean yes. You mean everything.
But the syllables wonโt fit in your mouth.
He nods once. Slow. Like he hears what you didnโt say.
The cigarette between his fingers burns to the filter before he drops it to the pavement and crushes it beneath the heel of his boot.
You donโt realize youโve been swaying on your feet until your hand shoots out to brace against the wall.
Minhoโs eyes flick to the motion, then back to your face. He still doesnโt move.
Instead, his voice softensโsomehow quieter than before, like heโs afraid even sound might be too much for you right now.
โIโm just down the block.โ
You blink at him, still catching your breath.
โMy place,โ he adds, nodding toward the street, toward the night that still hums like static around you. โNothing weird. Justโฆ quieter. Warmer. No one else there.โ
You hesitate.
Not because you donโt trust himโyou do, in ways you probably shouldnโtโbut because your whole body still feels wrong. Like your nerves are too close to the surface, like any wrong move might set them off again.
Minho sees it.
He doesnโt rush to reassure you. Doesnโt over-explain or fumble for comfort.
Just lifts a shoulder in a light shrug and says, dryly, โI have cats.โ
Of all the things he couldโve said. โCats,โ you repeat, the word catching oddly on your tongue like it doesnโt belong in a night like this. Like itโs too soft, too domestic, too absurdly normal for the way your heart is still hammering inside your ribs.
Minho nods. โThree of them.โ
You raise an eyebrowโwary, trembling, but still capable of curiosity. โThree?โ
โSoonie. Doongie. Dori,โ he says. โThey're spoiled. Judgmental. Loud as hell.โ His tone doesnโt change. Still calm. Still flat. But thereโs something careful behind it. Like heโs offering you a rope. Something to hold onto. Something that doesnโt smell like sweat and fear and everything you just ran from.
You nod. Just once. And somehow, thatโs enough.
His apartment is small. Not cramped, not coldโjust lived-in. Clean in that intentional way, like someone takes pride in it but doesn't obsess. The floors are wood, soft under your bare feet when you kick off your heels by the door. The kitchen glows faintly from the under-cabinet lights he left on, casting long amber streaks across the floor.
And the catsโฆ the cats are waiting.
One sits perched on the back of the couch like he owns the placeโwhich, judging by the scratch marks in the armrest, he might. Another peeks out from under the coffee table. The third appears from the hallway, tail high, meowing like youโve personally offended him by existing.
You blink again.
โTheyโre boys,โ Minho explains as he hangs his keys. โBut they act like little old ladies. Doriโs the mouthy one.โ
The meowing continues. A chorus now. Youโre too stunned to respond at first. But thenโDoongie, maybe?โpads up to you with those wide, judgmental eyes and headbutts your calf like itโs his god-given right.
Something inside you breaks. Not in the sharp, painful way. Not like at the club. No. This is different. This is soft. Shaky. This is the moment your body decides itโs safe enough to start crumbling. You crouch downโslow, carefulโand let your fingers curl into his fur.
You donโt even realize youโre crying until you feel it drip from your chin. Until your breath stutters. Until you fold over completely, arms wrapped around a cat who didnโt ask for this, face pressed into the warm softness of something alive and gentle.
Minho doesnโt say anything. He doesn't touch you. You feel him move quietly behind youโsetting a glass of water on the coffee table, flicking off the main lights until only the soft kitchen glow remains. And thenโฆ he just sits. A few feet away. Cross-legged on the floor, still in his black button-up and rolled sleeves, watching you like youโre made of glass and still trying to figure out if the cracks were already there.
You stay curled there on the floor for a whileโknees tucked beneath you, fingers knotted in soft fur, cheek pressed to Doongieโs side like it might anchor you to something solid.
The apartment is quiet, save for the occasional swish of a tail or soft thump of paws. You can feel the warmth of Minhoโs presence without looking at him. He doesnโt crowd you. Doesnโt try to fix it. Just staysโclose enough that you donโt feel alone, far enough that you donโt feel trapped.
Eventually, your breath starts to come steadier. The shaking dulls. And when you finally lift your head, cheeks sticky with dried tears and eyes too tired to hold anything else, heโs still thereโarms resting loosely over his knees, gaze steady. You wipe at your face with the back of your hand, half-laughing, half-apologizing.
โSorry,โ you murmur, voice rough. โI didnโt mean toโfall apart all over your cat.โ
Minho shrugs. โHe probably liked it.โ
You snort, exhausted. โHeโs purring.โ
โDoongieโs kind of a slut for attention.โ
You laughโa real one this time, hoarse and softโand drag your fingers through Doongieโs fur once more before sitting up straighter, wiping your cheeks with the sleeve of your dress.
Minho stands slowly, careful not to startle the moment, and disappears into the hallway without a word. A minute later, heโs back, holding a folded bundle in his armsโwhat looks like a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie so worn itโs probably been through a hundred washes. He sets them gently on the arm of the couch beside you.
โShowerโs through there,โ he says, nodding toward the narrow hallway. โFirst door on the right. Towels are on the rack. The water takes a second to heat up.โ
You blink up at him, the offer settling slowly over you like warmth. He doesn't say you look like a mess. Doesnโt tell you to clean yourself up. Just offers you comfort in the quietest way he knows how. You nod.
The bathroom is small, clean, and filled with that same soft golden light that seems to follow him everywhere. You peel yourself out of your dress, step under the spray, and let the steam unwind you. Itโs the first time all night you feel like youโre breathing in something clean. Like maybe thereโs still space in your skin for something that isnโt fear.
You stay until the water starts to run cold. When you finally step out, dressed in his clothes, skin still damp and flushed from the heat, your heart thuds with a strange, fragile kind of relief.
And then you see it.
The couch. The cushions have been cleared, a blanket folded neatly at the foot, pillow fluffed, a glass of water on the side table. One of the cats is curled up like a sentry near the armrest, blinking at you lazily as if to say itโs fine now.
You stare for a second. Because itโs not just that he made up the couch. Itโs that he didnโt assume. Didnโt point you toward his bed. Didnโt insist. Didnโt press. He just knew.
You sit down slowly, tucking the blanket over your legs, body sinking into the cushions like they were waiting for you.
Minho reappears from the hallway, already dressed downโblack joggers, a loose hoodie hanging off one shoulder, hair damp like he rinsed off too. He gestures toward the light. โYou good if I kill this?โ
You nod. He flips the switch. The room dims. He doesnโt say goodnight. Doesnโt do the awkward lingering thing. He just turns, quiet as always, and heads for his bedroom.
And for a moment, you let him go.
For a moment, you think itโs fine. But the second the door clicks shut, something tightens in your chest. Your breath catches. Your pulse jumps. That same fear from earlier curls back in under your skinโnot loud, not sharp. Just a whisper now. A what if. What if he comes back. What if he finds out where you went. What if this silence isn't safety at all, but the space before another breaking point.
You sit up. โMinho?โ
A beat. His door opens again. The light from his room spills into the hall. Heโs already halfway back into the living room when he says, โYeah?โ
Your throat works around the words. They feel small. Silly. Needful. But you say them anyway. โCan you stay?โ
He pauses. Looks at you. And you can tellโhe knows. Knows exactly what you mean. Knows itโs not about him. Not about company. Not about flirting or closeness or warmth. Itโs about safety. Itโs about knowing the world canโt get to you if heโs there. He doesnโt ask questions. Doesnโt make a sound. Just disappears for a second, then comes back with two blankets folded under one arm and a spare pillow under the other. He drops them on the floor beside the couch, shrugs out of his hoodie, and settles down without a word.
The hoodie slips off his shoulders in one smooth motion, revealing the thin black tank top underneathโclinging just enough to map the sharp cut of his collarbones, the slope of his shoulders.
You donโt mean to stare.
But the fabric hangs loose at the chest, dipping just low enough to expose the curve of ink over his left pectoralโblack lines disappearing into shadow, something abstract and intricate. Just a glimpse. Just enough to wonder what the rest of it looks like when he breathes.
Minho doesnโt notice. Or maybe he does. Maybe heโs just too tiredโor too graciousโto call you on it.
He lies on his back beside the couch, one arm tucked under his head, the other draped loosely over his stomach. Doongie circles once on the rug, then collapses beside him like a guard, chin resting on his forearm.
You turn onto your side. The room is still. Not quietโstill. Like the air itself is holding its breath. You donโt sleep. You canโt. Not with the phantom heat of a hand still lingering on your face. Not with the aftershocks of fear still curling around your ribs. Not with the weight of this unfamiliar kindness just a few feet away, warm and steady and unearned.
So you watch him. And eventually, he turns his head. Eyes open. Heavy-lidded but focused. A slow drag up your face. Your cheekbone. The faint shadow blooming just below your temple. His jaw ticks, subtle but sharp, and he doesnโt look away. You donโt flinch.
โDidnโt know you had a tattoo,โ you whisper.
He blinks. Like the words take a second to land. โMm.โ
His gaze flicks down brieflyโto where the fabric clings to his chest, then back to your face. Thereโs no smirk, no warning, just a shift in the air, like gravity tilting. โWanna see it?โ
The question isnโt loaded. Itโs not teasing. It just is. You nod. Minho sits up slowly, one hand tugging at the hem of his tank top. The fabric slides up and over his head in one clean motion, soft and soundless. He tosses it to the side and leans back on his elbows, the muscles in his arms flexing, loose and languid.
The tattoo stretches across the left side of his chestโblack ink, fine lines, bold shapes. It isnโt a compass. Itโs a storm. A swirl of wind and waves, jagged mountains etched in silhouette. At its center, the faint outline of a wingโfractured and rising, like something caught between ruin and flight. The ink moves with him, flexes when he breathes, like itโs alive beneath his skin.
You stare.
Not because itโs beautifulโthough it isโbut because it feels right on him. Like he was born with it. Like whatever storm he came from left its mark on the inside first, and this was just its echo.
Your hand moves before you can stop it.
Slowly, like reaching for fire. Like asking for permission with the space between your fingers. When you donโt meet resistance, you touch him.
Just a single point at firstโyour fingertip landing lightly on the edge of the wing, where ink meets skin just beneath his collarbone. His breath hitches, subtle but real, a flicker of tension in his chest. You feel it before you hear it. Then you trace. Softly. Reverently. Down the curve of the wing, across the stormline where jagged wind spirals out into broken waves.
Your touch drags slow, deliberate, following the black lines like youโre learning a language. One that only his body speaks. Minho doesnโt move. He just watches you. The way your lashes lower, the way your lips part slightly like youโre holding your breath for him. The silence between you is thick but not heavyโdense with something neither of you are ready to name.
When your finger glides over the highest peakโinked mountain just above his heartโhis head tilts back slightly, like the contact pulls something from him. His throat bobs with the swallow he doesnโt bother to hide. You pause. Right over his heart now. The skin is warm. Steady. And for a second, the storm beneath your own ribs goes quietโlike his rhythm tames yours without trying. He exhales.
His eyes flutter shut for a beat, then open againโslow, measured. He looks at you like youโve unraveled something in him, like your touch left ink on him instead. But when his gaze drops lower, it changes. Softens. Darkens. And then his hand moves. Carefully. Cautiously. Like heโs seen too many things break when touched too fast.
He lifts it to your face, the backs of his fingers ghosting along your jawโlight enough to be mistaken for air. He doesnโt go straight for the bruise. He lingers near it, watching you, waiting for the slightest sign of retreat.
You donโt give it.
So he shiftsโjust slightlyโuntil his knuckles brush the edge of the swelling beneath your eye. You flinch. Not because of the pain. Not because it hurts. Because of how gentle it is. Like heโs afraid to hurt you, like he doesnโt know how to hold something unless heโs sure it wonโt shatter. Like he wants to carve your bruises from your skin and wear them instead. His fingers hover there. Still. Tense. A breath away from trembling.
โFuckerโs lucky I wasnโt there,โ he murmurs.
You inhaleโslow, shallow. The air catches in your throat like itโs thick with something unspoken, something too big to name. Minhoโs hand starts to pull back. And maybe thatโs why you speak. Maybe thatโs why you reach for something else, anything else, before the room folds in too tightly.
โSo,โ you say, voice barely above a whisper, โthat tattoo.โ
Minho pauses. Just for a moment. His eyes flick back to yours, and he knows what youโre doing. Of course he does. The deflection is transparent, but he lets it happen anywayโlets you steer them away from the heaviness still clinging to your skin like ash.
โWhat about it?โ he murmurs, settling back on his elbow, the other hand now resting on his chest near the ink you traced. You mirror him slightly, folding into the edge of the couch, letting your cheek rest against the pillow, eyes fixed on the storm etched into his skin.
โThe wing,โ you say after a beat. โIn the center. Whatโs it mean?โ
Heโs quiet for a second.
Then: โFreedom.โ
You blink. โItโs broken.โ
His mouth quirksโbarely a smile, not quite bitter. โYeah. It usually is.โ
You donโt know what to say to that. So you say nothing. Just let your gaze trace the peaks and spirals, the places where black lines blur like smoke, the edges of him carved in ink instead of bruises. His body tells a story too. You just havenโt read all the pages yet.
Minho shifts again, slowly lying back down on the floor, the side of his arm brushing the base of the couch now. You're above him on the couch, laying on your side so you can look at him.
โYou can ask,โ he says softly.
โAbout the tattoo?โ
โAbout anything.โ
You humโsoft, skeptical. The kind of sound that curls into the quiet and lingers, not quite a no, not quite a yes. Youโre tired now. The real kind. The kind that settles into your limbs like gravity, like wet sand. Your eyes flutter half-shut, your voice feather-light.
โThat sounds dangerous.โ
Minho lets out a low exhale, something between a laugh and a sigh.
"Maybe.โ
Your gaze slips to his againโhis eyes open, trained on the ceiling like the answers might be there if he stares hard enough. One hand still rests loosely over his chest, the other pressed against your cheek.
You reach for it. Not with purpose. Not even with need. Just because itโs there. Because it feels like the thing to do.
Your fingertips graze his, gentle, thoughtless. And then his hand shiftsโjust slightlyโso his pinky catches yours. Hooks. Holds.
Itโs not a kiss. Itโs not a confession.
But it feels like both.
You donโt speak for a while. Donโt need to.
The silence feels clean now. Like rain after smoke. Like you could fall asleep inside it without drowning.
Minho doesnโt move. Doesnโt breathe too loud. Just lets you anchor thereโyour hand half-curled over his, your lashes brushing your cheek as your eyes slip closed.
But then, soft and slurred, half-dreaming:
โYou have a nice voice.โ
You feel his hand twitch. Just a little.
โYeah?โ he says, and itโs quieter than anything else heโs said tonightโrough around the edges like he doesnโt quite know what to do with the compliment.
You nod against the pillow. โMhm.โ
Thereโs a beat.
โYouโve heard me say some pretty fucked-up things.โ
A ghost of a smile tugs at your lips. โHave I?โ
He huffs a breathโnot quite a laugh, not quite a sigh. Just a sound with history behind it. With edge. With weight.
โDonโt play innocent,โ he murmurs. โYou remember.โ
You do.
Of course you do.
Words like silk and smoke, coiled tight with implication. The things he said across the bar, into your drink, into your skin without ever laying a hand on you.
You remember all of them.
But youโre tired. Softened. And the edges of those memories feel dulled nowโfaded by warmth and flannel and the rhythm of his breathing a few feet from your chest.
So you hum again, lashes still pressed to your cheeks. โThey didnโt sound fucked-up at the time.โ
Minhoโs quiet for a while after that. The kind of quiet that hums.
You can feel it in the space between your bodiesโhow the air thickens again, but not with tension. With memory. With the weight of everything you havenโt said and the things you probably never will.
โThatโs the problem,โ he says eventually, voice low enough that you almost miss it.ย
Your eyes open again. Just barely. The room is still steeped in shadow, but your vision finds him easyโhalf-lit, half-lost in the floor beside the couch. One arm tucked beneath his head, the other still tethered to yours.
You study the line of his jaw, the way it tenses and relaxes like heโs caught between restraint and regret. Heโs not looking at you anymore. Just staring at the ceiling again, like maybe itโll answer for him this time.
โYou say that like youโre proud of it,โ you murmur.
He doesnโt smile. Doesnโt smirk. Just exhales, rough and dry.
โNo,โ he says. โI say it like I donโt know how to stop.โ
That hurts in a way you didnโt expect. Not because of what he saidโbut because of the way he said it. Like a flaw in the foundation. Like a truth carved into him long before you ever stepped foot inside that bar.
You shift a little, turning more fully toward him, cheek pressed deeper into the pillow. Your fingers are still slotted with his. His skin is warm. Callused at the tips.
โYou donโt have to stop,โ you say quietly. โJust donโt lie about what you mean.โ
That gets him.
His gaze flicks to yoursโfast, sharp. Like he wasnโt expecting that. Like no oneโs ever said it to him quite like that before.
โI never lied,โ he says.
You blink at him. Slow. Sleepy. โNo. But you hide.โ
Minho doesnโt answer. Just watches you. Face unreadable. Chest rising slow beneath the ink on his skin.
And then, almost too soft to hear:
โI donโt want to scare you.โ
That makes you pause. The silence stretches thin and long between you.
โYou donโt.โ
Minho swallows. His thumb brushes, barely, against your knuckle.
โNot yet.โ
You shake your head. Your voice is nearly gone nowโnothing but a breath. โI think Iโm harder to scare than you think.โ
His mouth twitches. Not quite a smile. Not quite not.
โYeah,โ he murmurs, โIโm starting to believe that.โ
The air settles again. Like the truth came in and made itself comfortable.
You close your eyes, finally letting your body sink into the couch. Letting the warmth of himโhis hand, his presence, his voiceโpress into all the places that still feel fragile.
โDonโt stop talking,โ you whisper.
He blinks. โWhat?โ
โYour voice,โ you murmur, already half gone. โItโs nice. It helps.โ
And when you drift off like thatโquiet, safe, held by nothing more than the sound of himโMinho stays awake long after. Eyes on the ceiling.
Still talking.
Just in case you can still hear him.
You wake to the scent of coffee and something faintly savoryโgarlic maybe, or eggs. The couch beneath you is warm where your body curled into it, blanket tangled around your legs. A cat is pressed to your ribs like a living paperweight, tail flicking once when you stir.
For a moment, you forget where you are. Forget what happened. Forget him.
Then the ache hits. Dull and deep, low in your chest and blooming outward. You shift to sit up, and it all comes back.
The club. The hands. The words.
The running.
And thenโMinho.
His apartment is quiet now, but not empty. Thereโs music playing low from somewhere down the hall. You follow the sound on slow feet, dragging the blanket with you like armor.
You find him in the kitchen, barefoot in gray sweatpants and a loose black t-shirt, sleeves pushed up. Heโs at the stove, spatula in one hand, coffee mug in the other. Thereโs a pan of eggs on the burner. A second mug waiting beside the sink.
He doesnโt turn when you enter. Just glances over his shoulder and says, โMorninโ.โ
His voice is rough with sleep. Deeper. It hits somewhere low in your spine.
You hover at the doorway, feeling small in his clothesโhis hoodie draped over your frame, sleeves too long, the hem brushing your thighs.
โYou didnโt have toโโ
โMaking breakfast,โ he says, cutting you off with casual finality. โYou still eat, right?โ
You blink. โIโฆ yeah.โ
โGood.โ He turns back to the pan. โThen sit.โ
You do. Quietly. At the counter, fingers curling around the warm ceramic of the mug he left for you. It smells like cinnamon.
He plates the eggs. Adds toast. Pushes the dish toward you and leans back against the counter with his own. He eats without looking at you at first, fork moving in clean, efficient motions.
When he does speak again, his voice is softer.
โYou donโt have to go back.โ
Your fork stalls halfway to your mouth.
โWhat?โ
Minho lifts his gaze. Steady. Calm.
โIโm serious. If you donโt feel safe thereโฆโ He trails off, jaw tensing. โStay here.โ
You open your mouth, but nothing comes out.
He doesnโt let the silence stretch far.
โIโve got room,โ he adds. โCats already like you. You donโt snore.โ
That last part earns the smallest smile from you. โYou donโt know that.โ
โI was up half the night,โ he says, mouth twitching. โIโd know.โ
You look down at your plate, pretending to rearrange the toast like thatโll somehow buy you time to think. But the wordsโstay hereโtheyโve already lodged themselves under your ribs. Warm. Unexpected. Real.
And terrifying.
โI donโt want to be a burden,โ you say finally. Quiet. Like if you speak too loud, youโll ruin the softness of it all.
Minho sets his fork down.
The sound is soft, deliberate. When you glance up, heโs watching you again. Really watchingโlike he does when heโs about to say something thatโll cut deeper than you expect.
โYouโre not.โ
Just that. Nothing flowery. Nothing performative. Just the fact of it, laid bare on the table between you like it shouldnโt be questioned.
You want to believe him.
You almost do.
But then your fingers twitch near your coffee, and the pain in your face pulses a little sharperโpulling you back into the fragile ache of your own body. You shift to look away, to hide the swelling thatโs bloomed across your cheekbone and down to your jaw.
But Minho doesnโt let you.
He moves around the counter slowly, like heโs trying not to spook you. His hand is warm when it finds your chin againโfingertips brushing along your jawline, coaxing your face toward his. Gentle. Grounded.
โLet me see.โ
You donโt pull away.
You donโt want to.
His thumb ghosts beneath your cheekbone, skimming over the darkened bloom thatโs bloomed overnight. His brow furrowsโnot in pity, not even in anger. Just... stillness. A silence that hums with the kind of fury heโs learned how to wear like armor.
His voice is low when it comes.
โI hate that he touched you.โ
You blink. Something thick swells in your throat, too full to swallow down.
โI hate that I didnโt find you first.โ
That hits you harder than it should.
You try to speakโbut your voice sticks somewhere behind your teeth. So you just nod, your cheek pressing into his palm like your body can answer for you.
Minho doesnโt let goโnot yet. His fingers trail down to the edge of your neck, where the fabric of his hoodie pools at your collarbone. Youโre not sure if he realizes how close heโs gotten. How the warmth of him wraps around you now, even without touching anything else.
โI want you to stay,โ he says again, steady now. โNot because I feel bad. Not because you need help. I want you here.โ
Your next breath comes too fast. Too shallow.
His thumb moves againโjust a gentle stroke along your jaw.
โSay something,โ he murmurs.
You breathe in once, shaky and thin. โOkay.โ
The corners of his mouth pullโslow, subtle. Not quite a smile. Something quieter. Relief, maybe.
He lets your face go with that same careโlike heโs afraid itโll leave a mark if heโs not gentle enough. Then he steps back, returns to his plate, and picks up his fork again like he didnโt just hand you the softest kind of shelter.
You take another bite of your eggs.
They taste better than they should.
You donโt move in all at once.
Thereโs no official decision, no suitcase moment. Just the slow accumulation of thingsโyour toothbrush beside his, a sock that somehow never made its way back into your bag, a t-shirt folded neatly at the foot of the bed that you donโt remember taking off. A rhythm forms. One that begins with his voice in the morningโlow, rough, coffee-lacedโand ends with the soft click of the front door when he comes home from the bar past midnight, thinking youโre asleep.
You never are.
The apartment starts to feel different. Lived-in. Yours, even if you never say it out loud. Your shoes by the door. Your laughter echoing off the tile. Your perfume clinging to his sheets like memory.
Minho doesnโt comment. Not once. He just starts making a second cup of coffee without asking. Starts keeping almond milk in the fridge. Throws your laundry in with his like itโs never been separate.
And youโyou watch him fall into it as easy as breath.
He moves through the apartment like smoke. Silent, confident, present in ways youโve never been used to. Thereโs no performance with him, no empty gestures. If he folds your towel, itโs because it needed folding. If he brings home your favorite tea, itโs because he remembered. And if he looks at you too long in the mirror while you brush your teeth, itโs because he wants to, not because he expects anything in return.
One night, he comes home late. The bar ran over, and the cats had started pacing like they could feel the quiet shift without him. Youโre curled on the couch in one of his hoodies, a half-finished movie playing on low, just waiting for the lock to turn. When it does, and he steps insideโshoulders drawn, eyes tired, the scent of smoke and whiskey clinging to himโyou donโt say anything at first.
Just watch him.
He slips off his boots. Shrugs off his jacket. Walks into the kitchen and pours a glass of water like heโs not sure how to be here yet.
Then he grabs the pack from the counter.
You sit up.
โMinho.โ
He pauses. Doesnโt look at you.
You rise slowly, tugging the sleeves of the hoodie over your hands, padding barefoot to meet him.
โYou said you were trying to quit.โ
โI am.โ
โYouโre also lighting a cigarette at midnight.โ
He exhales through his nose. Tired. โRough night.โ
You stop just short of the threshold between the hallway and the kitchen, bare toes curling against the tile, the silence stretching taut between you.
โWant to talk about it?โ you ask softly.
โNo,โ he says.
Not harsh. Not clipped. Just final.
Minho pulls the cigarette from the pack with that same familiar motionโtwo fingers, flick of the wrist. The sound of the lighter clicks once, twice, before the flame catches. He doesn't look at you as he inhales, jaw tight, lashes low. The cherry glows in the dim.
You wrap your arms around yourself.
He leans against the counter, exhales slow, smoke curling up toward the ceiling. It swirls around the line of his jaw, catches the faint sheen of sweat at his temples, clings to him like itโs part of his skin.
You hate how good he looks like this. Angry. Quiet. Unreachable.
But you hate more that you canโt reach him.
โWas it something at the bar?โ
His lips twitch. He doesnโt answer.
You step closer, voice gentler now. โYou donโt have to carry it alone, you know.โ
โIโm not,โ he says. Still not looking at you. โIโm carrying it just fine.โ
You frown.
โMinhoโโ
โI said Iโm fine,โ he snaps.
And this time, it is clipped. Sharp. The kind of sharp that cuts more than it means to. He finally looks at you thenโeyes rimmed with something hot and unreadable, mouth hard.
The silence that follows is cold.
You shift your weight, wounded but trying not to show it. โOkay.โ
Minhoโs jaw ticks. Like he wants to take it back, but doesnโt know how. Like everything in him is fraying at the edges, and you just happened to be the softest thing close enough to get caught in it.
He curses under his breath. Stubs the cigarette out halfway through, presses the filter down into the tray until it smears.
Then, quieter: โItโs not you.โ
โI know.โ
He runs a hand down his face, palm dragging hard across his mouth like heโs trying to erase himself. Then he sighs and looks at youโreally looks at you. The hoodie swallowed around your frame. The bare legs. The worry softening your brow.
His voice breaks a little on the next part.
โHad a guy come into the bar tonight. One of those typesโsmiles too wide, looks through women instead of at them. He kept cornering this girl, leaning over the counter, asking me why I gave a shit when I told him to back off.โ
You say nothing. Just listen.
Minho swallows. โHe called me a cockblock. Said I mustโve been jealous.โ His gaze drops, eyes narrowing. โSaid I looked like the kind of guy who watches.โ
You donโt interrupt.
โHe grabbed her arm when she tried to leave. Wouldnโt let go."
The words hang there. Not just what heโs sayingโbut why heโs saying it. You feel it bloom in your chest. Cold. Familiar.
You walk the last few feet.
He doesnโt stop you this time.
Your hand finds his wristโwarm, tense, still trembling slightly. You run your thumb over the bone there, grounding him.
โYouโre not that kind of man.โ
โI know,โ he says. โBut I wanted to be.โ
That makes you pause.
He looks up. His voice is low. Bitter.
โI wanted to slam him into the bar. Make him bleed. Make him feel small. And the worst part?โ A breathless laugh. โI wouldโve enjoyed it.โ
โI know,โ you whisper. โBut you didnโt.โ
โYeah, well. Doesnโt mean I didnโt want to.โ
You squeeze his hand.
Itโs quiet for a while. The kitchen lit only by the soft amber under the cabinets, casting warm shadows along the tile. The cats have settled somewhere in the living room. Even the city feels hushed.
He rubs his thumb over your palm absently.
Then, suddenly: โHe looked at her the same wayโโ
He stops himself. His jaw locks.
You swallow.
He doesnโt need to finish the sentence. You know.
And he knows you know.
So you step closer. Gently. Carefully. Press your forehead to his shoulder, breathing him inโsmoke and soap and something like home. You pluck the cigarette from his lips and he lets you, watches as you toss it into the sink.
โCome to bed,โ you murmur.
He doesn't move.
You tug on his hand again. โPlease.โ
Minho glances at youโeyes a little too tired, a little too darkโbut he lets you guide him.
He doesnโt say much once you're in the bedroom. Just peels his shirt off and tosses it into the corner. You catch a glimpse of the tattoo on his chest againโthe wing in the center of the storm, fractured, fighting to stay airborne.
You turn away to climb into bed, give him space.
But when you settle under the blanket, heโs already there. Already behind you. Warm and solid, arm slipping around your waist without hesitation. His chest to your back, his breath against your neck.
Heโs quiet for a long time. And then:
โI hate that I couldnโt stop it. What happened to you.โ
You close your eyes.
His fingers tighten slightly against your side. Not rough. Just firm. Just real.
โI think about it more than I should,โ he murmurs. โWhat Iโd do if I saw him again.โ
You shift, just enough to feel him breathe differentlyโlike your movement catches him off guard, like he wasnโt expecting you to respond. But you donโt turn around, not yet. You just let your voice slip into the quiet, soft and slow.
โWhat would you do?โ
Thereโs a beat of silence.
Then another.
His breath ghosts across your shoulder. โDonโt ask me that.โ
โWhy not?โ
โBecause Iโd scare you.โ
His voice is quiet, but not gentle. Measured. Sharp at the edges like heโs spent all night filing it down.
You blink slowly into the dark, heart thudding, air thick between your bodies. You feel him behind youโwarm, solid, tense. A wall at your back. A shield. A fuse.
โTell me anyway,โ you whisper.
He doesnโt move.
Doesnโt exhale.
And just when you think he might pretend he didnโt hear you, Minho speaks.
โIโd wait,โ he says, voice low, words heavy like molasses. โWouldnโt say anything. Wouldnโt warn him. Just watch. Let him come close. Let him think he could try again.โ
Your breath catches.
His fingers curl slightly where they rest on your waist, grounding himself in the shape of you.
โThen Iโd take his hand,โ Minho murmurs, โthe one he used on you, and Iโd break every fucking finger. One by one. Slow. Make sure he remembered why.โ
A chill snakes down your spine.
Not fear.
Just something colder. Older. Like someone had finally said the thing you werenโt allowed to say out loud. That it wasnโt okay. That it would never be okay.
โAnd when he screamed,โ Minho continues, voice almost tender now, โI wouldnโt stop. Iโd make sure he understood what it feels like to lose control. To be small. Helpless. The way he made you feel.โ
You turn in his arms.
Slowly. Deliberately.
Face to face now.
His jaw is clenched. Eyes storm-dark. He looks dangerous like this. Not because heโs violent. But because heโs loyal. Because he means every word and thereโs no drama in his voiceโjust truth. Cold and clean.
You reach for him without thinking.
Your hand moves to his face, fingers threading into the hair at his temple, thumb brushing the curve of his cheekbone like youโre trying to soothe something in himโor maybe in yourself. And Minhoโฆ he doesnโt flinch. He doesnโt soften either. He just lets you hold him, lets your touch settle over the anger still thrumming in his bones like a warning bell that hasnโt stopped ringing.
โYou wouldnโt scare me,โ you whisper.
His brow twitches, just slightly. โYou should be scared of a man who wants to hurt for you.โ
โNo.โ You shake your head. โIโve been scared before. Youโre not that kind of man.โ
His mouth parts. His breath hits your lips. The weight in his eyes shiftsโsomething cracks beneath it. Not entirely. Just a fracture. A weakness. A truth.
โYou donโt know what Iโd do,โ he murmurs.
You lean in, close enough that your breath brushes his skin when you speak.
โI donโt need to,โ you whisper. โI know what youโve already done.โ
His brow furrows, but you go onโsoft and steady, the words falling between you like theyโve been waiting for a place to land.
โYou made space. You listened. You held me when I couldnโt hold myself. You let me have silence without asking for anything in return.โ Your fingers press more firmly against his jaw, thumb brushing just below his lower lip. โThatโs enough. Thatโs more than anyone else ever did.โ
Minhoโs eyes darkenโnot with lustโbut with something thicker. Something closer to reverence. Like the weight of your trust is heavier than all the violence he ever imagined inflicting in your name.
His hand rises slowly, palm cupping your cheek with a gentleness that borders on fragile. His thumb swipes beneath your eye like heโs checking for something he missed.
โI donโt deserve that,โ he says, voice raw.
โMaybe not,โ you murmur, pressing your forehead to his. โBut you have it.โ
And thatโs what breaks him.
Not dramatically. Not all at once.
Just enough to make him move.
Minho kisses you like heโs falling. Like heโs been holding himself upright for so long, he doesnโt remember what it feels like to give in. His mouth finds yours, and thereโs no hesitation in itโonly heat, only hunger. His tongue slides against yours with a quiet groan that vibrates in your chest.
You gasp softly when he pushes you back, his body pressing you into the mattress, weight balanced on his forearms so he doesnโt crush you. One hand slips under your shirt, fingers skimming up your ribs, pausing just beneath the curve of your breast.
He pulls back barely an inch, eyes flicking over your face like a question.
His breathing is uneven, but his touch isn't. His hand rests thereโstill beneath your shirt, just barely cradling your breast like he's not sure he deserves to hold anything so soft. So willing. His thumb strokes gently, slowly, and his eyes search yours like he's waiting for a line to cross. Or worseโwaiting for you to pull away.
You donโt.
Instead, you reach for the hem of your shirt, dragging it up with trembling fingers. You donโt break eye contact. Donโt speak.
You just offer.
And Minho accepts.
He helps, silent, peeling it over your head with quiet reverence. He looks at you like youโre made of something rare and unrepeatable. And when his gaze drags over your chest, down the soft swell of your ribs to your stomach, he breathes your name like a confession.
His voice is wrecked when he says itโyour name, cracked and reverent like heโs saying it for the first time. Like itโs a word he isnโt worthy of.
โFuck, look at you.โ His hands drag down your sides, slow and sure, palms wide and heavy like heโs trying to ground himself. He shifts over you, mouth lowering to your breast, and he moans as soon as his lips close around your nippleโno restraint, no performance. Just need. He sucks hard. Just once. Like he canโt help himself. Then he pulls back, panting, and shakes his head like heโs already losing it. โIโm not gonna last if you keep looking at me like that.โ
You smileโlazy, wrecked, already warm all overโand tilt your head just enough for your lashes to sweep up, gaze locked on his. You reach for him, fingers trailing down his arm until your palm flattens against his chest, right over the fractured wing. โIโm not looking at you like anything,โ you whisper.
Minhoโs breath stuttersโone of those shallow, fractured exhales that says he doesnโt believe you for a second. Not when your palm is flat against his chest, thumb grazing the tip of that wing inked over his heart. Not when your eyes look like thatโhalf-lidded, dark, shining with something heโs not sure he deserves.
โYeah,โ he mutters, voice rough. โKeep lying to me.โ
But he doesnโt pull away. He watches you. Watches the way your hand trails lower, slow and certain, down the cut of his abdomen. Fingertips ghosting over the faint dip of muscle, over the waistband of his pants, teasing the edge like youโre not sure yetโlike he has any say in it anymore.
Minho goes still. Not because he doesnโt want it. God, he does. Heโs so hard it hurts, cock straining against the fabric, already leaking for you. But thereโs something in his faceโtightness around the mouth, tension in his jaw. A flicker of control barely clinging to the edge. And you see it. You see all of it. So you press your lips to his collarboneโsoft, reverentโand whisper, โLet me.โ
Minho shudders. And then he nods. You sink down the bed a little, propping yourself on one elbow, other hand already slipping beneath his waistband. He lifts his hips to help, pants shoved just low enough to free him. His cock springs up, flushed and thick, tip slick with precome, veins standing in sharp relief.
โJesus,โ you murmur, fingers curling around the base. โYouโre so hardโฆโ
โBecause of you,โ he rasps. โYou lying, teasing little thingโโ
You give him a slow stroke, and he chokes.
You give him another stroke, tighter this time, and the sound he makes punches straight through youโlow and ragged, a shattered groan caught in the back of his throat. His hips twitch, almost against his will, and you can feel the restraint vibrating through his body, every muscle tight like heโs on the verge of snapping.
โYouโre shaking,โ you whisper, almost teasing. โWhat happened to all that control?โ
Minho laughsโjust barely. Just a breath.
โKeep talking like that,โ he mutters, โand Iโll ruin you before you even get the chance to try.โ
But the way his eyes flutter shut when you twist your wrist on the upstroke says otherwise. โHahโfuckโโ Heโs panting now, head tipped back, one arm holding himself up beside your head for support while the other fists the sheets like he needs somethingโanythingโto hold onto.
You lean up, breath brushing the underside of his jaw, your voice soft and honey-sweet in his ear.
โYou gonna beg for it?โ
He freezes. His eyes snap open, and thereโs something electric in the silence between you. His cock throbs in your hand, twitching like the idea alone nearly undid him. He turns his head slightly, lips brushing yours.
โDo you want me to?โ he whispers.
You smile, smug and slow. โWouldnโt hate it.โ
He groansโdeep, guttural, wreckedโand it makes your cunt clench. He looks like he could devour you whole, like he might if you ask nicely. Or if you donโt.
โIโd get on my fucking knees if you told me to,โ he mutters, mouth moving along your jaw, your cheek, your throat. His hand finds your hip and grips, firm enough to bruise. โIโd crawl. Iโd beg. Iโd say pleaseโis that what you want?โ
You donโt answer. You just stroke him againโslow, tight, deliberateโand feel the way he shudders against you, how his whole body flinches like your hand alone is enough to wreck him.
โMmโ baby, slow downโfuckโโ He buries his face in your neck, teeth grazing skin.
โIโll give it to you,โ he murmurs. โAnything. You want me desperate? Pathetic? Done. Just say it.โ
You hum, soft and pleased, lips brushing his temple. โI think I like you pathetic.โ
Minho groansโโFuck, youโre evil,โโbut he doesnโt pull away. If anything, he sinks into it. Into you. Every stroke of your hand wrings another sound from his throat, each more desperate than the last.
You swipe your thumb over the slit, smear precum down the shaft, and his entire body jolts.
โShitโdonโtโf-fuckโโ
โYou gonna make a mess in my hand, baby?โ you ask sweetly, tightening just a little. โGonna come like this? Without even being inside me?โ
He growls. โNo.โ
You blink up at him, lips parting in mock surprise. โNo?โ
Minho pulls back just enough to look at you, eyes absolutely wrecked. Hair messy, jaw clenched, throat flushed with effort. Heโs trying so fucking hard not to lose it.
โIโm not coming until Iโm inside you,โ he says, voice low, dark, edged with pure hunger. โUntil Iโm fucking deep in that pretty cunt, feeling you squeeze me while I lose it. You think I can come just from your hand?โ
He leans in, nose to yours, breath harsh. โIโd beg for the chance to do it right.โ
You blink once. Then twice. Then you let go of his cock. Minho groans like it physically hurts.
โThen beg.โ He stares at you. One long, heavy moment. Then he kneels back on his haunches, hands splayed on your thighs, and dips his head.
โPlease.โ
Just one wordโbut fuck, the way he says it. Voice hoarse, raw, like itโs scraped from the bottom of his chest. His lips graze the inside of your knee as he speaks again.
โPlease, let me in. Let me fuck you slow. Let me feel you stretch around me.โ
You exhale shakily.
He presses another kiss higher. โLet me make you come on my cock. Let me ruin you so good you forget anyone else ever touched you.โ
Your thighs tremble. He reaches for your underwear, eyes flicking to yours for permission, and when you nodโbarely, breathlessโhe tugs them down with reverence, slow enough to make you whimper.
Minho drags your underwear down your legs like itโs the last ribbon off a present, like beneath it is something heโs been waiting his whole life to unwrap. When the fabric slips past your ankles, he tosses it somewhere behind him without a glance. His gaze never leaves you. Youโre already soaked.
He sees itโfeels it when he runs two fingers through your folds, slow and deliberate, spreading you open with a breathless โfuck me.โ His knuckles tremble.
He sees everything. Every flutter of your lashes, every twitch of your thighs, every slick sound his fingers make as they glide through you, slow and reverent. His knuckles tremble, but his touch doesnโt falterโnot even a little. If anything, the way his hand moves only deepens, turns hungrier.
โFuck me,โ he breathes again. He parts you with two fingers, spreads your folds and watches your cunt clench on nothing, dripping for him, aching.
โLook at you,โ he mutters, like he canโt help it. โSo wet I can see my reflection. What the fuck did I do to deserve this?โ
Youโre panting now, back arching just slightly off the sheets, eyes half-lidded but fixed on him, on the way he looks at you like youโre something sacred and ruined all at once.
โTouch me,โ you whisper. โPlease.โ
Minho sinks two fingers into you in one smooth strokeโslow, thick, curling just right until your breath hits the back of your throat. He groans, low and guttural, watching your cunt stretch around his fingers like itโs something holy.
โSo fucking tight,โ he grits out, voice wrecked. โHow the fuck am I gonna fit my cock in you if youโre already this tight around my fingers?โ
The question is low, more to himself than to you, but it rips through you like heat, like lightning. Your walls flutter helplessly around his fingers at the thought, and Minho groansโlong, drawn out, wrecked.
โOh, you like that,โ he breathes. โYou want me to stretch you open, donโt you?โ
Your answer is a breathy whimper, more sound than wordโyour hips canting up, your fingers curling in the sheets. Minho watches you, chest rising and falling like heโs the one being touched, like you are the thing unraveling him.
โFuck,โ he hisses, and then heโs lining up. His cock drags through your folds, thick and flushed, already smeared with your slick. He grinds onceโslow, deliberateโletting the head catch against your clit before slipping lower. When he presses in, the stretch burns, even as your cunt welcomes him, soaking and clenching and shaking just from the promise of it.
โJesusโngh, fuckโyouโre tight,โ he growls, jaw clenched, forehead tipped against yours. โGonna ruin me.โ
He gives you an inch. Then another. Then thrusts the rest of the way in with a groan that sounds like itโs been caged in his throat for weeks.
You cry outโsharp, startled, stretched to the brim in one sudden, devastating motion.
โMinhoโโ
โShh,โ he pants, not stopping. His hips roll into yours, hard and deep, dragging his cock through your walls like heโs trying to etch himself into them. โYou can take it. I know you can. Look at youโfuckโmade for this.โ
The first few thrusts are brutal. Snapping, deliberate, filthy. Your thighs tremble. Your back arches. He pins your hips down like heโs afraid youโll slip away if he doesnโt keep you there. Every time he sinks back in, your breath knocks out of your lungs, and his name falls from your lips like a prayerโwrecked, endless, real.
โJust like that,โ he grits, cock dragging against your walls, soaked in you. โLet me fuck it into youโlet me make you feel me.โ
But thenโ Then he slows. Not because he has to. Because he wants to. Because he wants to feel all of it. His hand slides under your thigh, hikes your leg higher around his waist, and he sinks into you againโslower this time. Deeper. His hips roll instead of snap, the rhythm shifting into something that feels closer to worship than fucking.
He fucks into you slow, deepโeach thrust wringing a breathy moan from your throat, each drag of his cock carving his name deeper into the heat of you. The sweat on his skin glistens under the low light, hair clinging to his forehead, jaw tight with effort and restraint. Youโre clinging to him nowโarms looped around his shoulders, nails dragging across his back, body arching to meet every roll of his hips. And then he says itโlow, ragged, right in your ear.
โFeel good?โ
You gasp, nod, whisper-plead a breathless โYes.โ
He humsโa soft, dark thing, almost smug. He thrusts a little harder, just once, like a reward, like a test. โYeah?โ he pants. โHow good? Tell me."
You tryโbut your voice catches. Itโs just air at first, punched out of you by the deliberate grind of his hips, by the thick, aching stretch of him moving so slowly inside you you could scream. You manage a broken, breathy sound: โSoโfuckโso goodโฆโ
And Minho groans. Long, low, full of grit. He kisses your jaw, your cheek, your lipsโmessy, hot, open-mouthed. His breath fans against your skin as he mutters, โThat all youโve got for me, baby?โ
You dig your nails inโfuck him, he knows what heโs doing. He knows exactly how good he feels, the way his cock strokes that spot just right, again and again, with filthy precision. The way his hand curls around your thigh to keep you spread for him, to keep you right there
You whimper his nameโsoft, ruinedโlike itโs the only word you remember, and he groans, sharp and deep, lips dragging along the sweat-slick curve of your throat.
โGod, you feelโโ he pants, voice splintered, barely holding. โYou feel so fucking good, baby. Youโre so tight, so warm, youโfuck, you ruin me.โ
Another thrustโslow, deep, devastatingโand your head falls back against the pillow, mouth open in a silent cry. Minho watches your face twist, watches your chest heave, and it breaks something in him.
โIโshitโI think Iโm in love with you.โ
It slips out like a sin. Like he didnโt mean to say it out loud. Like he couldnโt hold it in one second longer.
Your whole body goes still beneath himโjust for a moment. Like your brainโs catching up. Like his words are a second kind of penetration, sharp and unexpected. He freezes, too. Breath held. Eyes wide. The moment burns.
And then you whisper, broken and trembling: โSay it again.โ
Minho doesnโt hesitate this time. โI love you.โ
He moans it into your mouth, like it hurts to say, like it hurts more not to. His hand slides up your side, tender now, reverent.
โI fucking love you,โ he says again, forehead pressed to yours, hips still rolling deep, slow, full of everything he never knew how to say before now.
โYou hear me? Youโre not just someone I fuck, youโreโgod, youโre everything.โ
Your lips partโwords rising up like breath, like instinctโbut you donโt get the chance.
Minho kisses you before you can speak.
Not soft. Not tentative. Itโs all tongue and teeth, heat and hunger, the kind of kiss that steals thought and gives only feeling in return. His mouth crashes into yours like heโs been starving for itโlike heโs still starving, even now, with his cock buried deep inside you and your body curled so sweetly beneath his.
You gasp into him, and he drinks it downโtongue licking into your mouth, filthy and tender and real.
And then itโs all friction.
The slow roll of his hips turns urgent, dragging moans from your throat he swallows between kisses. He fucks into you like he means it nowโlike every thrust is a promise carved into your bones. You cling to him, helpless against the way your body arches, the way your cunt tightens around him, soaked and pulsing, every nerve on fire.
โM-MinโhahโMinhoโโ
He pulls back just long enough to look at youโjust long enough to let you see how wrecked he is, how far gone, how in it he is with you.
โYouโre mine,โ he pants, voice rough and wrecked, thrusts hitting deeper now, harder, his hand gripping your thigh to keep you open for him. โYou hear me? Say it.โ
You nod, broken. โYoursโfuck, Iโm yoursโโ
And thatโs all he needed.
He groansโloud, gutturalโand buries himself deeper, cock twitching as he fucks you through it. His thrusts lose rhythm, chasing his high, and youโre barely hanging on, every drag of him inside you rubbing all the right places, the sweet heat spiraling again in your belly.
Youโre both so close. So close.
And when you come againโtight and soaked and shaking all around himโhe feels it. Feels you flutter and pull and milk him until he canโt hold back anymore.
He buries his face in your neck, gasping your name as he spills inside you, hips stuttering, voice wrecked.
โI love youโfuckโI love you, I love youโโ
Itโs not gentle when he comes.
Itโs everything.
And when the tremors subside, when your nails loosen from his back and your breaths sync again, he still doesnโt let you speak.
Not yet.
He just kisses you.
And kisses you.
And kisses you.
You learn something about Minho that night. That as nonchalant and unshakable as he seemsโcool and composed, cigarette smoke and sharp tonguesโwhen he gets going, he doesnโt stop. Not until youโre crying his name again. Not until your thighs tremble and your voice is wrecked and your bodyโs too boneless to beg for more, even though your eyes still plead with him.
You lose track of how many times.
The night runs long and slow and moltenโfucking turns to touching, touching turns to laughing, and every kiss feels like a secret passed between mouths.
Now, the room is quiet again. Still.
Youโre sprawled across the sheets, skin bare, limbs warm and heavy with exhaustion. The duvetโs been kicked down to your ankles, your body slick with the soft sheen of sweat, your chest rising in steady, sated waves.
Minho is goneโbut only for a second.
You hear the quiet thud of the fridge door, the sound of a glass under the tap. When he returns, heโs shirtless, sweatpants hanging low on his hips, and heโs holding out a glass of water like itโs some sacred offering.
โDrink,โ he murmurs, voice rough with sleep and sex. You sit up just enough to take it, careful not to meet his eyes at firstโand then you see them.
The marks. Dark smudges blooming across the sharp cut of his hips. Nail trails raked down the meat of his shoulders. A bite on his collarbone, faint and already bruising. All yours. And suddenly you feelโฆ Shy.
You didnโt beforeโwhen his mouth was on you, when his hands were everywhere, when your back arched and you begged him not to stop. But now, in the soft quiet, with morning somewhere close on the horizon, it hits you. So you reach for the blanket, dragging it up your chest like modesty matters, like you didnโt spend the whole night unraveling beneath him.
Minho sees. Of course he sees.
And he smiles.
That slow, crooked thing. The one that doesnโt show teeth but somehow says everything.
โOh?โ he murmurs, placing the water on the nightstand before crawling back into bed. โNow youโre shy?โ
You donโt answer. Just burrow into the pillow, cheeks hot. He slips beneath the duvet anywayโdoesnโt give you a choice. Just tugs it down again with a smug little hum, eyes flicking across your face like heโs trying to memorize the exact shade of your embarrassment.
โI like the marks,โ he says softly, pressing a kiss to your bare shoulder. โWish youโd left more.โ
You blink at him. He just keeps goingโslow, lazy kisses trailed down your arm, his body curling around yours like he canโt bear the distance. One arm loops under your waist. The other hooks over your thigh. And then heโs half on top of you, all weight and warmth and him. Clingy.
He tucks his face into your neck like itโs the only place he knows how to breathe. His nose nuzzles behind your ear, lips brushing the shell of it when he speaks againโlow, slurred, thick with sleep and smugness.
โGonna have to start wearing long sleeves to work.โ
You choke on a breath, eyes fluttering open. โBecause of me?โ
โMm.โ He kisses your jaw. โUnless I want to get fired.โ
You raise an eyebrow. "You work at a bar, not an office."
โYeah,โ Minho hums, lazy and amused. โBut people tip more when Iโm unmarked.โ
The words slip out casual, offhandโlike a throwaway comment he doesnโt mean anything by.
But your smile falters anyway.
Just a flicker. Just enough for him to see it.
You shift beneath him, eyes drifting away, teeth catching your lower lip before you can stop the twist of something sour in your gut. You donโt say anythingโnot right awayโbut your silence says enough.
Minho stills.
Then lifts his head, just barely, so he can see your face.
โHey.โ
You blink up at him, startled by the sudden seriousness in his voice.
โDoes it bother you?โ he asks, tone low. Honest. โBecause Iโll quit.โ
Your heart stutters.
โWhat?โ
โI mean it.โ His hand slides up to cup your jaw, thumb brushing the corner of your mouth. โIf you donโt like itโme working there, people flirting, whateverโIโll quit. I donโt give a fuck about the tips.โ
You open your mouth, but he cuts you off before you can answer.
โI only took that job to kill time. To pay rent. But youโโ His brow furrows. โYouโre not something Iโm willing to risk for a few extra bills thrown in a jar.โ
You swallow hard.
He watches you.
Your eyes search his faceโhis furrowed brow, the firm set of his mouth, the dark smudge of sleep still softening the corners of his eyesโand thereโs no doubt. No teasing in his voice, no smirk on his lips. Just Minho. Serious. Steady. Unflinching in his honesty.
โIโd rather be yours than anyoneโs favorite bartender,โ he says, quieter this time.
Your throat tightens.
And for a second, you canโt speak. You can only stare, caught between the weight of his words and the way his fingers stay curled so gently around your jawโlike you might vanish if he lets go.
You whisper, โI donโt want you to quit.โ
He waits.
You blink slowly, pulling in a breath thick with the scent of him, the warmth of his body still heavy across yours. โI just didnโt like the idea of someone else looking at you like I look at you.โ
Minhoโs expression shiftsโbarely, but you feel it. Something in his chest loosens. His eyes soften, flicking between yours.
โNo one else gets to,โ he says simply. โNot anymore.โ
You exhale, shaky with something that feels suspiciously close to relief. โYeah?โ
โYeah.โ He leans down, brushes his lips against yoursโso soft, so sure. โThey can look all they want. But I go home with your marks on me. I come home to you.โ
Your pulse trips. Your hand fists the sheets at your side, but he feels it. Feels the way the tension bleeds out of you when he says it like that. Like a promise.
And then he flops on top of you.
Dead weight. Limbs loose. Hair flopping messily across his forehead as he buries his face in your chest with a dramatic sigh.
You laugh, startled. โMinho!โ
โMmm,โ he grunts, nuzzling between your breasts. โToo early for serious talks. Thought we were in our post-sex cuddling era.โ
You squirm under the sudden weight, still giggling, breath hitching when his cheek brushes the swell of your breast. โWe canโt be in our post-sex cuddling era if you suffocate me in it.โ
He hums again. Doesnโt move.
Just slings an arm over your ribs like a human paperweight, sighs through his nose like heโs never been more at peace. โShhh,โ he murmurs, voice thick with sleep. โYou love it.โ
You do.
You really, really do.
You let your fingers find his hair, carding gently through the tangled strands at his nape. He melts into it, chest rising and falling slow against your stomach. The silence between you stretchesโsoft, golden, alive with the echo of everything that came before. Of everything that now lingers.
Minho doesnโt say anything else for a while. He just breathes you in. Lets you trace lazy shapes along his spine. Lets his lips ghost across your skin every now and then, aimless, unthinking. Like he needs the taste of you to fall asleep.
Eventually, you murmur, โYouโre not really gonna wear long sleeves, are you?โ
He snorts into your chest. โHell no.โ
โGood,โ you whisper.
He hums again, content. Almost purring.
Then, after a beat: โMight even go shirtless.โ
You raise an eyebrow. โOh yeah?โ
โMmhmm.โ His voice is muffled against your skin, low and lazy. โLet โem see everything. Let โem know Iโm taken. Ruined. Whipped.โ
You huff a laugh, warm and breathless, chest shifting beneath him. โYouโre not whipped,โ you tease, even though your heart trips a little at the word. The way he says it like a badge of honor, like something he wants people to know.
Minho doesnโt move. Doesnโt even lift his head.
โBabe,โ he murmurs, lips brushing your skin with every syllable, โI let you suck a bruise into my neck while my dick was still inside you. I think the juryโs in.โ
Your face heats instantly. โOh my godโโ
He grins, smug and sleepy and so clearly unrepentant. โShouldโve taken a picture. Hung it behind the bar.โ
โYouโre not serious.โ
โIโm so serious.โ He nuzzles into your sternum, exhales a satisfied sigh. โCaption it: Do not touch. Fed and fucked.โ
You groan, dragging a hand over your face. โYouโre insane.โ
He chuckles. โIโm in love.โ
The words land softer than they should, but firmer than you'd expect. Not casualโcomfortable. Like truth in its final form. And you feel it, all the way down: the weight of his affection, the certainty of it, so tangled up in the ridiculous things he says that it feels like breathing.
You wrap your arms around him, pulling him closer even though thereโs nowhere left for him to go. โYouโre still insane,โ you whisper, lips pressed to his hairline.
โAnd youโre stuck with me.โ
The truth of it rings out between youโnot heavy, not sharp. Just there. Simple. Whole. You are. He is.
His fingers drum a slow beat against your ribs. He studies you for a second longer, then tucks himself back in, face hidden against your skin, every inch of him wrapped around you like a shield.
โGo to sleep,โ he murmurs, already halfway there. โWe can fall in love more tomorrow.โ
You close your eyes.
And you do.
Itโs been a few weeks.
A few golden, quiet, full-bodied weeksโwhere everything that once felt fragile now feels real. Whole. Yours.
Minho had asked you properlyโbooked out the bar for the night, turned the lights low, played your favorite song on vinyl, and gave you a private bartender show complete with one too many shirtless shaker tricks and your name carved into a lemon twist.
He cooked, too. And kissed you between courses. And pulled you into his lap to askโnot casually, not like it was assumedโif youโd be his girlfriend.
You said yes.
Of course you did.
And now you live together. Officially. Your clothes are in his drawers. His toothbrush sits next to yours. He makes you coffee and you fold his laundry and somewhere in the haze of shared spaces and soft kisses, you forgot what it felt like to flinch.
And then it happens fast.
One moment, youโre walking up the blockโhands tucked into your sleeves, heart light from the texts Minho sent not even ten minutes ago.
[Minho] : hurry up[Minho] : wear that thing i like [Minho] : might be drunk by the time you get here if i keep taste-testing the menu
The barโs glowing ahead, amber light spilling out of the windows like warmth. Youโre already rehearsing the way youโll slip onto a barstool, lean over the counter just far enough for him to grab your waist and kiss you across the spill matโ
You werenโt expecting him.
The ex.
Slurring your name like a threat. Blocking the sidewalk like a curse you thought youโd buried for good.
And for a second, it startles you. Not because youโre afraidโno, not anymore. But because how dare he.
How dare he still think he has access. How dare he act like the time you spent clawing your way out of the wreckage didnโt matter. Like the scars he left didnโt teach you how to fight.
You meet his stare.
Voice steady. โGet out of my way.โ
โOh, now youโve got a mouth?โ he slurs, taking a step forward. โWhat, dick that good it grew you a backbone?โ
You don't flinch.
Not when he leans in, not when he sways close enough for you to smell the sour reek of alcohol clinging to his breath like bile. Not even when his voice drops lower, curling around your name like it still belongs to him.
It doesn't.
"You heard me," you say again, firmer this time. "Move."
But he doesn't. He laughs insteadโugly, mean, mouth curled in that old, familiar smirk that used to make your stomach sink.
Now it just makes you angry.
โYou always thought you were better than me,โ he sneers, stepping closer, invading your space like he owns it. โActing like you're some fucking saint now, just โcause you got a new dick to suckโโ
You move to sidestep him, but his hand shoots outโgrabbing your wrist, hard.
Too hard.
You stumble back with a gasp, shoulder slamming into the brick wall of the alley beside the bar. Pain sparks up your arm, sharp and hot where his fingers dig into your skin.
"Letโgo of meโ"
He doesn't.
His grip tightens.
โDonโt fucking walk away from meโโ
And then it happens in a blink.
A blur of dark hair, a sharp crack of movement, and suddenly your ex is off you, shoved back so fast and so hard he nearly falls into the curb. The momentum knocks him sideways, but he catches himself, stumbling back with a curse.
Minho steps between you.
Calm.
Controlled.
Lethal.
Minhoโs voice is low. Measured.
โYou have until the count of three.โ
Your ex scoffs, bloodshot eyes narrowing. โThe fuck are you gonnaโโ
โThree.โ
No warning. No buildup.
Just violence.
Minhoโs fist slams into his jaw with a sickening crack, the force of it snapping his head sideways. He stumblesโoff-balance, stunnedโbut Minho doesnโt let up. Another punch, straight to the ribs, and you hear the breath leave his lungs in a strangled wheeze.
Your ex hits the ground hard.
But Minhoโs not done.
He drops to one knee beside himโprecise, deliberateโand grabs his hand.
The hand he used on you.
You freeze, breath caught in your throat.
Because you remember.
โThen Iโd take his hand, the one he used on you, and Iโd break every fucking finger. One by one. Slow. Make sure he remembered why.โ
And nowโ
Now you watch it unfold in real time.
Minho takes that wrist in both hands, pins it to the pavement, and presses downโhardโuntil your ex screams.
โNoโno, fuckโstopโ!โ
Minhoโs grip doesnโt waver.
He curls his fingers around one of your exโs.
โFirst one,โ he muttersโalmost gently. Like heโs naming something, not destroying it.
Then he bends.
The crack is sharp, grotesque. It splits the air like a firework misfiredโbrief and brutal and final.
Your ex howls, voice cracking as he thrashes beneath Minhoโs knee, but it doesnโt matter. Minho doesnโt move. Doesnโt flinch.
Just shifts to the next finger.
โSecond.โ
Another break. Another scream.
You donโt look away.
You shouldโmaybe. A part of you knows that. But the rest of you, the part that remembersโremembers shaking hands, bruised ribs, the way your ex used to whisper apologies into your hair while you cried onto the bathroom tileโthat part of you watches.
And breathes.
Minho leans closer.
Not loud. Not unhinged. Just cold.
โThird.โ
Crack.
Your ex is crying now. Tears, snot, spitโheโs babbling nonsense, slurring pleads that dissolve into whimpers.
โStopโpleaseโI didnโtโfuck, I didnโt meanโโ
Minho grabs the fourth finger. โYou meant it every time.โ
โFourth,โ he says, and the word falls like a guillotine.
He pulls.
The snap is quieter this timeโdeeper, more internal. A tendon giving way. A joint yanked cruelly from its socket. Your ex lets out a broken sound, not quite a scream anymore. Not loud. Just raw. Hollow. The kind of sound a man makes when he realizes no oneโs coming to save him.
Minho still hasnโt raised his voice.
Hasnโt needed to.
Because this isnโt rage. It isnโt revenge.
Itโs justice.
Delivered slow. Delivered steady. Delivered by the man who saw every crack in you and loved you anywayโespecially because you survived them.
Minho shifts again.
โFifth.โ
โNo,โ your ex gasps, eyes rolling, lips slick with blood from where he mustโve bitten through them. โNoโno more, Iโplease, please, Iโโ
But Minhoโs hand is already there, curling around that last finger like a closing grave.
And this time, he doesnโt say anything.
He just looks at himโright in the eyes. Like he wants this to be the last thing your ex ever remembers when he reaches for something in the dark.
Then he snaps it clean.
The sound is sickening.
The scream is hoarse. Shredded. Barely human.
โTouch her again,โ Minho murmurs, bending the wrist back until the guy writhes, โand Iโll break your fucking spine next.โ
And finallyโfinallyโMinho lets go.
He rises slowly, like heโs not rushing to leave the wreckage behind, like he wants your ex to feel every second of what it means to be beneath him. A shadow cast by justice. A reminder that some hands donโt healโthey answer.
He turns to you.
And all of itโthe sharpness, the stillness, the steel in his spineโit bleeds away when his eyes meet yours.
He sees the shock there, the tremble hiding in your shoulders.
And he moves to youโnot with fire this time, but with the same careful quiet he always gives you after storms. Hands gentle. Expression softer now, but no less certain.
โYou okay?โ he murmurs, brushing a thumb over your cheek.
You nodโbut itโs shallow. Fragile.
So he cups your face in both hands, grounding you.
โLook at me,โ he says. โYouโre safe. Youโre safe now.โ
And you know it's true.
Because he is here.
Behind you, the sirens wail.












