lilalines

I write.. sometimes.

[lilalines]

— 𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐄 |

a yang jungwon fanfiction .ᐟ

your new favourite comfort angsty - friends to lovers story!

────୨ৎ────

pairing — yang jungwon x female idol

status — ongoing ִֶָ. ..𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ🪽་༘࿐

synopsis — For years, Yang Jungwon and Min Miyoung have built their lives side by side, sharing stages, memories, and a friendship that quietly became the center of everything. But when Jungwon learns that Mimi is preparing to leave Korea and return to England, the world he thought was certain begins to fall apart. What begins as panic slowly unravels something far more dangerous - feelings he has spent years trying to ignore. Because losing her might mean losing the person who has always been his home.

content warnings — mostly fluff. feel - good, slow-burn romance type of story. toxic family dynamics, generational trauma, slight implications of EDs and Depression.

────୨ৎ────

CHAPTERS

⋆.˚01 ⋮ ⌗ ┆home is where the heart is

⋆.˚02 ⋮ ⌗ ┆a cheerful guy

⋆.˚03 ⋮ ⌗ ┆back in seoul

⋆.˚04 ⋮ ⌗ ┆ the new barista

⋆.˚05 ⋮ ⌗ ┆ dormitories

⋆.˚06 ⋮ ⌗ ┆everyone for themselves

⋆.˚07 ⋮ ⌗ ┆ music or law?

⋆.˚08 ⋮ ⌗ ┆dinner party

⋆.˚09 ⋮ ⌗ ┆strawberry frappé

⋆.˚10 ⋮ ⌗ ┆oatmilk

⋆.˚11 ⋮ ⌗ ┆leader’s promise

⋆.˚12 ⋮ ⌗ ┆love is…

⋆.˚13 ⋮ ⌗ ┆date?

⋆.˚14 ⋮ ⌗ ┆secrets are best kept hidden

⋆.˚15 ⋮ ⌗ ┆valentine's day

⋆.˚16 ⋮ ⌗ ┆hotel room

⋆.˚17 ⋮ ⌗ ┆welcome home

⋆.˚18 ⋮ ⌗ ┆family first

⋆.˚19 ⋮ ⌗ ┆for the plot

⋆.˚20⋮ ⌗ ┆confusion

⋆.˚21 ⋮ ⌗ ┆big mystery

⋆.˚22⋮ ⌗ ┆first date

⋆.˚23 ⋮ ⌗ ┆epic stories

⋆.˚24 ⋮ ⌗ ┆evaluations

⋆.˚25 ⋮ ⌗ ┆interview questions

⋆.˚26 ⋮ ⌗ ┆ like cats and dogs

⋆.˚27 ⋮ ⌗ ┆moments like this

⋆.˚28 ⋮ ⌗ ┆late night walks

⋆.˚29 ⋮ ⌗ ┆ the second date

⋆.˚30 ⋮ ⌗ ┆ chocolate chip cookies

⋆.˚31 ⋮ ⌗ ┆ that's life

⋆.˚32 ⋮ ⌗ ┆have you ever been in love?

⋆.˚33 ⋮ ⌗ ┆ first kisses are

⋆.˚34 ⋮ ⌗ ┆ summer nights

⋆.˚35 ⋮ ⌗ ┆ fatal conditions

⋆.˚36 ⋮ ⌗ ┆ run for your dreams

Last update: June 12th 2026

next chapter coming soon…

ADDITIONAL THINGS

I’d be very grateful to hear your thoughts on this story! Leave anything you’d like to say/ask/request here!

meet the characters!

TWEETS #1

TWEETS #2

Mimi core (soon)

Jungwon core (soon)

FOREVERMORE playlist

Headcanons (soon)

SEQUEL 👀

Nonetheless (not that soon, but in progress)

Daydream (even further away, but also in progress)

[lilalines]

⋆.˚35 ⋮ ⌗ ┆ fatal conditions | FOREVERMORE

your new favourite comfort angsty - friends to lovers story

────୨ৎ────

pairing — yang jungwon x female idol

status — ongoing ִֶָ. ..𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ🪽་༘࿐

synopsis — For years, Yang Jungwon and Min Miyoung have built their lives side by side, sharing stages, memories, and a friendship that quietly became the center of everything. But when Jungwon learns that Mimi is preparing to leave Korea and return to England, the world he thought was certain begins to fall apart. What begins as panic slowly unravels something far more dangerous - feelings he has spent years trying to ignore. Because losing her might mean losing the person who has always been his home.

content warnings — mostly fluff. feel - good, slow-burn romance type of story. toxic family dynamics, generational trauma, slight implications of EDs and Depression.

forevermore playlist 1221

now playing: family line, Conan Gray

▶︎ •၊၊||၊|။||||။‌‌‌‌‌၊|• 2:57

September 2024

Autumn had that very melancholic vibe to it. Essentially, it stood for the world changing, the nature dying, losing its colour. Mimi, in a very practical way, just enjoyed the heat dying down. The breezes that carried the leaves of the trees, they were so refreshing to her, but the sun was also still out but not burning into her skin whenever she took a walk outside. And lately she did that a lot after the long and exhausting practices.

Epicenter’s world tour was nearing and a difference between theirs and their brother-group’s, it wasn’t split up into short segments, it was actually going to take almost 8 weeks. Still, the 7 girls were incredibly excited and grateful to their label and, of course, their fans for allowing them to pull off such a huge thing, especially Mimi, who had been working extra hard at the studio lately. It was almost like she was living there at this point. While Semi was going through the post-breakup stage with her now-ex boyfriend Wonbin, and Soomin was focusing on her still-boyfriend San, the blonde haired Idol was back to being married to her work. And she was happy about it, too.

Today seemed to begin as a day like no other already. And Mimi couldn’t have possibly known what it would turn into. CEO Bang rarely ever spoke to the members directly, so hearing their manager say that he had asked to schedule a meeting with Mimi made her very, very anxious. She had been stressed and anxious enough over the past few days already. It didn’t help that, when she was told about the meeting, Semi and Yue had looked at her with pure terror in their eyes. They all knew it had to be serious.

On her way to the office, she passed the café and noticed that Juyeon was working. Without overthinking it at first, Mimi tried to get his attention by looking over for a second too long, but he didn’t see her. Or maybe he did and chose not to, even though he had ended things on a “positive” note, as he had said himself. Mimi knew that Juyeon was working one of his last shifts now, because he had gotten that scholarship he’d applied for. And even when things had been well, they had continued to talk, it was still a bit weird for Mimi. But she had other things to worry about right now. Bigger things. Soon she had passed the café and stepped into the elevator. The ride felt like nothing, as if it lasted only a few seconds, and before she knew it she found herself standing in front of CEO Bang’s office. Mimi knocked on the door, her heart racing. Her hands had become so sweaty that she grabbed the fabric of her shirt to dry them off. She felt disgusting.

Before entering, she even checked for sweat marks and anything else that might look improper. She truly couldn’t think of a reason why he had called her in personally instead of speaking to a manager. It had to be something serious. Something bad. “Miyoungah!” He greeted her with a bright smile. Mimi bowed as low and as quickly as she could. “Good day, CEO-nim!” she said politely, her posture very stiff. The comforting way he looked at her made her calm down a little, but she was still on edge. “Sit, please!” he offered. She obeyed, sitting down in the chair across from him. He immediately noticed the strained expression on her face.

“Don’t worry! I won’t torture you with small talk. I’m guessing you’re wondering why I called you in.” Mimi smiled awkwardly, feeling caught. He was right. The smile on his face faded slightly and he suddenly seemed more restrained. As if he were carrying bad news.

“Miyoungah… your mother called me yesterday.” That sentence alone was enough to make her heart drop to her toes. Her stomach sank with it. She stared at him in anticipation, waiting to hear the worst possible news. And it turned out even worse. “She wants to end the contract we set when you joined us. Right after the tour.”

For a moment, it seemed like CEO Bang’s Office froze, like time had stopped and the girl had stopped breathing for a second. In Mimi’s head, everything collapsed. Her whole career, everything she had built, her family, her life—everything flashed before her eyes at once, and she hadn’t even heard him out completely yet. She entered a strange blur where she repeated his words over and over again. Her mother was ending the contract. Her contract. And she hadn’t even talked to Mimi about that decision. She should have warned her, she could’ve at least hinted something when they had called a few days ago.

“She can just do that?” Mimi asked, though she already knew the answer. She remembered perfectly under what conditions she had been able to join the company back then. CEO Bang nodded apologetically. “Well, we handed the contract to you when you were a minor, when your parents still had full custody and authority. They were the ones who signed it. Their names are in the contract, so they can decide to end it.” The man waited a moment for Mimi to say something, but she didn’t. She couldn’t. “It’s okay, Mimi!” CEO Bang leaned forward in his large white chair and gently placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

Mimi couldn’t say anything back at that point. The news had hit her like a truck. No—like an airplane. Like a comet. All she knew in that moment was that she wasn’t ready to lose her life like this. She wasn’t ready to lose music. She didn’t even notice that she had begun shaking her head slowly. “I have good news,” he continued, though she could barely hear him anymore. None of this made sense to her. She knew her mother. Even after all these years, she had never warmed up to the path Mimi had chosen. But Mimi had never thought she could be this ignorant about what her daughter wanted. Mimi had told her so many times how much she loved this. How happy she was. This was just another act proving that her mother truly didn’t care.

“I know this is a shock to you, Mimi, and I’m truly sorry this is happening. But maybe this will cheer you up.” He leaned back slightly. “We would like to offer you a new contract. You’re an adult now and we would truly hate to lose you. You’re a part of this company’s family. A very, very important part.” He gestured toward a document on his desk. “We have already prepared the contract. Take it home, look over it with your managers and members, and we’ll make a new appointment.” He spoke with his usual enthusiasm. Mimi wished she could return that enthusiasm. Of course she felt relieved—honoured even—that she wouldn’t have to lose her dream. But the shock was still too strong. She felt guilty for giving such a disappointing reaction, but she couldn’t force anything more than a polite smile and another bow. CEO Bang noticed it right away, so he chuckled a little awkwardly and added: “We talked to the managers too. A hiatus wouldn’t be an issue either, as a last resort.” That was relieving, the girl thought. “Thank you, CEO-nim. Truly, from the bottom of my heart, thank you,” she whispered. The words were half stuck in her throat as she stood up and carefully placed the written contract into her bag.

A wave of heat suddenly rushed through her body. Then cold. Then heat again. She felt dizzy and nauseous. As if her clothes were tightening around her body, a second skin she didn’t want. She had to get out of there and indeed, a few minutes later, Mimi was already walking home all the way from the studio, taking the longest route possible. She had hoped the fresh air would clear her mind, the way it usually did. But it didn’t. The air wasn’t fresh at all. There was no breeze anymore. It was hot, humid, suffocating, like all the beauty of autumn had vanished and the summer she despised so much was trying to break back in with full forces. She noticed people passing by, yet suddenly it felt as if she had lost the ability to see faces. The world was still blurry. And it wasn’t only because of the tears that kept forming in her eyes. She didn’t even know exactly why she felt so devastated. Maybe it was the realization that her mother didn’t care at all. Or maybe it was the fear of the future. Because Mimi knew that if she signed that contract, her mother would be angry, truly angry. She might never speak to her again. There had to be a compromise. A solution.

Staying outside only made things worse. Her room was the better choice, and luckily nobody saw her slipping into it after she returned to the dorm. Immediately, she began pacing up and down the room. She adjusted pictures and decorations for no reason at all while trying to gather all the questions swirling in her head. Mimi knew she had to talk to her mother. She needed to know what had driven her to make such a decision. Her phone was already in her hand. In theory it should have been easy to call. But the reality felt very different. For a moment there was an urge to go to Hyemin’s room. Or Soomin’s. Or even downstairs to Jungwon. Or to run to Halmoni. She had so many people she could turn to when something was wrong. But she always ended up deciding against it.

← read previous chapter | go to next chapter →

Before you continue, please take a second to read this:

This story means a lot to me and it’s been a bit disappointing never getting any feedback, any comments or anything after 30+ chapters.

I’m simply so curious: are people even reading this stuff? Is anyone invested in the story and the characters? What do you think about them?

And how many people are even reading it? Could you take a second to give me a feedback?🥺

Please vote!

I’m reading it!

Same :)

Voting ended onJul 4

[lilalines]

⋆.˚34 ⋮ ⌗ ┆ summer nights | FOREVERMORE

your new favourite comfort angsty - friends to lovers story

────୨ৎ────

pairing — yang jungwon x female idol

status — ongoing ִֶָ. ..𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ🪽་༘࿐

synopsis — For years, Yang Jungwon and Min Miyoung have built their lives side by side, sharing stages, memories, and a friendship that quietly became the center of everything. But when Jungwon learns that Mimi is preparing to leave Korea and return to England, the world he thought was certain begins to fall apart. What begins as panic slowly unravels something far more dangerous - feelings he has spent years trying to ignore. Because losing her might mean losing the person who has always been his home.

content warnings — mostly fluff. feel - good, slow-burn romance type of story. toxic family dynamics, generational trauma, slight implications of EDs and Depression.

forevermore playlist 1221

now playing: I know it won't work, Gracie Abrams

▶︎ •၊၊||၊|။||||။‌‌‌‌‌၊|• 2:21

June 2024

More than during spring, Mimi actually loved the Hanok streets during late summer nights like this. Because the blazing heat was too much during the day, the way it cooled down during the night was truly comforting and that was certainly what she needed right now. Her heart was so heavy, it felt like she was dragging it behind her.

Of course, during that state, she had found her way to this place again. She didn't want to go back to the dorms and have everyone ask her where she had been and if she had been with Juyeon and how things were going between her and Juyeon. She wasn't angry at the barista, she had no right to be angry to begin with. She was angry at herself, angry at the world, angry at her heart for not beating faster earlier, no matter how childish it was.

If any of her grandma's neighbours, or even Mrs. Yang herself were to see her right now, they would notice right away how out of it the young idol still was. Still, she took her sweet time wandering around the neighbourhood. Luckily, Mrs. Yang's house was one of the last ones in the street, right by the large lantern with the wooden bench right underneath it. The fresh air truly seemed to help clear her mind for a bit. She wasn't sure what she was feeling right now, she couldn't grasp her emotions and Mimi hated moments like this. Eventually, Mimi did reach Mrs. Yang's house and she was quick to type in the code number to its gate through which she entered quickly. It was too late anyway for someone to stroll around in this area. Especially when that someone's thoughts were loud enough to disturb the quietness of the night around here.

"Jungwon?" Mimi asked, a frown on her face when she saw the boy lying on the large flat table in the middle of Mrs. Yang's terrace. He was the first thing she noticed, of course, because he was right in front of her. Jungwon was staring at the sky and now he was looking at her with just as much surprise as her.

"Mimi Noona?"

His voice sounded a bit tired, Mimi noticed that right away. He'd had some days off, so she wondered why he was tired. Had he stayed up all night and played some games? She then remembered how she hadn't seen him all day actually and she found herself wondering where he had been. It was good that Jungwon was here now, though.

"What are you doing here?" she asked as she sat down next to him while he stretched out his shoulders like a little cat; a habit of his.

"Jay Hyung and I were eating lunch here earlier," he answered truthfully. "And I wanted to spend a night here before going back to the dorms tomorrow. What about you? Didn't you have a shooting today?"

Mimi nodded before she dropped her bag next to her on the ground and laid down as well. That position was very familiar to the two best friends. How often had they laid on this very table? It was one of those traditional ones. Hard, but very flat and close to the ground and just large enough to fit the two of them lying next to one another. And that's exactly what they did now.

Soon, they were lying side by side and both looking at the sky. Jungwon wasn't sure if it was telepathy or pure luck, but somehow he could feel there was something heavy on his noona's chest, again. And he knew something must've happened between her and the barista he had just kind of gotten used to. Mimi tried not to show it at first, unsure about whether she wanted to talk about this in the first place, but within a few seconds, she changed her mind. If not now then when? Right under the stars, at her most cherished home.

"It's... over," she mumbled a lot drier than expected.

That was what surprised Jungwon even more than the words themselves.

"What?" he asked without sitting up.

All he did was simply turn his head towards Mimi and look at her to check if she was okay. The girl could only smile a little helplessly while she never averted her eyes from the sky and the stars. It was like they comforted her, just their presence alone was enough and knowing that they were always there. Mimi had always been obsessed with the thought that stars continued to shine during the day, even when no one could see them.

"Did something bad happen?" Jungwon's face had changed. He wasn't just worried now, he seemed on edge because the thought of something bad happening to his best friend was something he couldn't handle, so Mimi immediately reassured him by shaking her head.

"No. He is truly an amazing person, truly, truly amazing, Jungwonah. A lot more mature and understanding than I am, to be honest," Mimi mumbled.

Jungwon looked up into the sky now too, arms behind his head, resting comfortably as he tried to make sense of what the older girl was saying. Mimi didn't know it herself, how she was going to tell him about all of it. She didn't even know if she wanted to relive that again. It was one of the very common moments in which the British girl wished he could just read her thoughts. Some people were convinced that he could and sometimes, even Mimi thought he could, but not when it came to this very new topic.

"It's a pity that we can't choose who we fall in love with, isn't it?"

"You're in love with him?"

The younger boy's words pierced through Mimi once again. Jungwon couldn't have known, but he had truly managed to hit the sensitive spot and even when parts of her still wished she could simply say yes, she knew that she couldn't lie.

"No," she answered simply and Jungwon understood right away, understood why she seemed so frustrated and angry at herself. He knew her well enough to know she was blaming herself for different things, things he probably couldn't even think of. Jungwon went quiet again then. He wanted to comfort her, but he didn't know how or if it was even possible.

"And I am trying to understand how. Like, everything was truly going well. We went on dates and they were fun. And I felt safe around him and comfortable, so I just — should I have opened myself up more?"

It was rare that the best friends talked this intensely about raw emotions and concerns and overthinking. Mimi was someone who dealt with things on her own and Jungwon was the same. Like two sides of the same paper. And it wasn't that the boy felt uncomfortable because of such talks, it was more that he felt a little helpless because he didn't know what to do. Mimi was someone he looked up to for guidance, especially when it came to emotions. She was like a cliff that couldn't be shaken and now she was shaken.

"If it's forced, then it's not better than staying closed off," he suddenly said, not knowing where that had come from, but in her mind, Mimi agreed. He was right, because she knew that it simply hadn't come to her, to share things with Juyeon and that had nothing to do with him as a person. At least, from what she could tell from her conversation with him earlier, he hadn't seen it that way either. The two went a little quiet after that. There were some birds chirping somewhere in the distance, but other than that, the Hanok streets were uncannily quiet. But it was a good silence, a silence that also settled in the girl's mind. She took a deep breath, her eyes closing again.

"Are you sad?" Jungwon whispered after a while, his eyes still scanning the stars until they fixated on a plane passing over their heads. He followed its path until his head was tilted to the side again, where he looked at Mimi now, who frowned again before she nodded. He wouldn't ask why she was sad. There was more than one reason. He simply moved a bit closer until their shoulders touched in a comforting way, then he took a deep breath as well.

It stayed quiet and comforting like this for quite a while. Neither of them noticed how much time was passing, but they both slowly started growing more tired until suddenly, the girl began to laugh quietly and it caught the boy's attention. Jungwon looked over his shoulder to Mimi, who was laying there with her eyes closed and laughing over something he couldn't understand.

"What?" he immediately asked with a grin sneaking onto his face.

"The last time we laid here like this was when we had that fight years ago, do you remember?"

She had no idea how her mind had suddenly taken her to that moment, but she remembered it very clearly and Jungwon did too, which was why he suddenly started laughing as well.

"Because I stole your phone and broke it. You were so angry with me, Noona."

"You cried because I was so angry!" Mimi reminded him laughing.

"I didn't cry, you're lying now," Jungwon protested but Mimi simply shook her head and he knew there was no point in arguing with her, so he simply laughed it off until the two of them quieted down again.

"I just thought about how crazy it is, going from petty fights to heartbreak conversations."

Jungwon nodded and sighed once as he watched Mimi and saw the way her head was still spinning a bit again.Because in her mind, it had gotten clear as day, even when she didn't quite feel like her heart was shattered to pieces, she felt it aching. She knew that that was really it. That was how her very first love ended, right in that beautiful summer night. Right on that table, on her grandma's terrace.

← read previous chapter | go to next chapter →

[lilalines]

⋆.˚33 ⋮ ⌗ ┆ first kisses are | FOREVERMORE

your new favourite comfort angsty - friends to lovers story

────୨ৎ────

pairing — yang jungwon x female idol status — ongoing ִֶָ. ..𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ🪽་༘࿐

synopsis — For years, Yang Jungwon and Min Miyoung have built their lives side by side, sharing stages, memories, and a friendship that quietly became the center of everything. But when Jungwon learns that Mimi is preparing to leave Korea and return to England, the world he thought was certain begins to fall apart. What begins as panic slowly unravels something far more dangerous - feelings he has spent years trying to ignore. Because losing her might mean losing the person who has always been his home.

content warnings — mostly fluff. feel - good, slow-burn romance type of story. toxic family dynamics, generational trauma, slight implications of EDs and Depression.

forevermore playlist 1221

now playing: a drop in the ocean, Ron Pope

▶︎ •၊၊||၊|။||||။‌‌‌‌‌၊|• 0:01

June 2024

"I am so sorry I had to postpone the date again," Mimi almost sounded begging. She was truly, truly sorry. And embarrassed too, but all Juyeon did was chuckle softly against his phone that he held pressed to his ear.

He was sitting comfortably on his small couch. And even when he was laughing, Mimi could sense the slight shift in tone in his voice. As if there was something else he wanted to say.

"I had no idea the shooting would take this long. I swear I thought we would be done by afternoon. I will make it up to you."

It was almost embarrassing how often she had heard herself say that very sentence and by now, Juyeon must have stopped believing in it.

"Please don't stress, Mimiyah. We can just try and see how things will be after your preparations."

Now it was definite for the idol, the young barista was upset. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she anxiously looked over at the clock and the other members still doing their solo shoots. She knew and he did too, that preparations and tours and promotions never ended, not really. That was why Mimi didn't argue nor add anything to explain or defend herself.

"Mimi, it's not your fault. If he doesn't understand that, screw him."

As always, there was nothing that got past Hyemin. She was also waiting for her turn and she had patiently waited for Mimi to finish her short call and join her back inside the studio.

"It's not as simple as that. I keep letting him down and breaking my own promises," it almost seemed like it bothered her more than him at this point, but that was simply how Mimi was built as a person. The rest of the shooting went well, despite the stuff that was circling around in the young girl's mind. Because that was also something about Mimi; she knew how to lock back in when she had to and nothing could really get between her and work.

As soon as she had removed her makeup and gotten into her old clothes though, she was back to thinking about Juyeon and how he must've been feeling by now. Even when they had never really talked "feelings", she could tell that he had grown fond of her over time, just like she had grown fond of him.

"Are you not coming home with us?" Bambi asked curiously after Mimi had politely declined letting her drive home with her.

"I want to make a short stop," she explained. She had had this planned ever since her and the kind barista had hung up earlier and even when she still wasn't sure if it was a good idea at all or not, it was her very own way of doing some damage control.

"Is that the special date we have been talking about?"

Semi had appeared out of nowhere and was laughing teasingly now and Mimi was laughing too and shaking her head.

"Don't wait for me, okay?"

And then the three girl group members parted and got into two separate cars: Mimi into her own and Semi and Bambi into one of the vans that were taking both them and some of the Enhypen members home; a convenience that came with having the two groups live in the same building complex. The blonde-haired idol immediately drove to her date's place where she should have been 3 hours ago, but not before making a short stop at a florist close by. Again, she wasn't sure if that was a good move or weird, or if Juyeon even liked flowers, but she figured that arriving at his apartment empty-handed would've been one step too far.

The weather outside was so beautiful that day, as if it was mocking her in some twisted way. The sun was slowly starting to set and there was even a soft breeze going through the trees. She was carrying a small bouquet of red roses, just four or five, nothing special, but it reminded her of their first date and she hoped it was enough for him to forgive her. She just couldn't stand the thought of letting him down like that, again and again and again. Mimi didn't remember when it had been the last time that her heart had raced this badly when she was standing in front of an entrance door, her finger hovering above his nametag. It had probably been when she had been here the first time, right?

Juyeon was sitting on his sofa again and reading in his book, a novel about a traveler in rural China, when the ringing sound of his bell startled him. The calm boy slowly put his book down and took off his glasses. He was wearing very comfortable clothes, sweatpants and a simple shirt. He had just showered and his hair was still damp. Definitely not a state in which Mimi had seen him before. He couldn't have known that it was really her who was standing in front of his door now. How could he? He thought she was either still shooting or had just gotten home. So saying he was surprised when he recognised the girl holding the roses in her hands in front of him would be an understatement. Mimi was smiling at him awkwardly, eyes big but tired and Juyeon immediately blushed, because he became painfully aware of his appearance right away, especially because once again, she looked absolutely stunning to him. He couldn't be mad at her, even if he tried, even after all the thoughts that had rushed through his mind ever since the call and maybe even long before that.

"For me?" he asked calmly when he noticed how difficult it was for Mimi to speak up right now.

He looked oddly composed to her, as if all the upset feelings from earlier had faded. His smile was sincere, his voice somehow comforting. Mimi started to envy him for that. He seemed even more in control over his emotions than she was. The girl nodded and handed the flowers over, as Juyeon made some space for her to step in.

Mimi's eyes calmly wandered through his apartment once again, just like they had done the very first time. She noticed the book by the sofa and his glasses placed on top of it and it made her smile for no particular reason. As politely as ever, Juyeon handed her a glass of water before he gestured towards the sofa again where they both sat down next to one another. Despite his good mood, Mimi could sense that there was something in the air, something big that was coming towards her. Juyeon was genuinely happy about her visit. Surprised and happy and he displayed it in his words, his tone, his posture even and it calmed Mimi down a little, so that she could at least sit comfortably on his couch.

"I came by because I wanted to apologise and I wanted you to see how truly sorry I am," she said sincerely, but like always, Juyeon just calmly shook his head. He had gone through all of that about a million times, evaluated his own feelings over and over again and he had come to a conclusion.

"There's something I've been wanting to say", he began calmly, his eyes wandering over the concerned expression on the idol's face. He watched the way her forehead was frowning and her lips seemed to part for a second, as if she wanted to say something but stopped herself. He had seen this before, many times actually. Juyeon took another deep breath before he finally continued.

"I think it would be better if we could go back to meeting like friends again," he cooed gently with the softest smile on his face and his words immediately settled heavily on the idol's chest. She could have seen this coming, she had seen this coming.

"Please don't misunderstand me, Mimi. I'm not angry about today. You're truly wonderful and flawless and I really, really like you, but I can't shake this feeling that you're not really into this, not fully, anyway. And I'm not blaming you at all, because nobody can control what they're feeling and what not." Mimi wanted to argue. She wanted to tell him and convince him that she was truly trying her very best, that this was a priority to her, that she was giving this, whatever it was, her all, but somehow the words died right in her throat.

Juyeon saw the expression on her face. This shock mixed with guilt and confusion and he would lie if he said he wasn't sad about all of this. Then he gently reached his hand out to take hers. He didn't want her to think she had messed something up, but he also simply couldn't ignore this gut feeling of his anymore. This feeling of never truly coming through to her. There was idol Mimi, and that version of her was certainly different from the one he had gotten to know, so he knew that at least she could open herself up to him to a certain degree, but he knew beneath the beautiful person that was sitting right in front of him now and slowly shaking her head in disapproval, there was a whole different one, with an ocean filled with hidden emotions and thoughts. And frankly speaking, the line of people that would get access to those eventually was certainly not starting with him.

That was another harsh reality the kind barista had always known deep down. The busy schedules, the postponed dates, he could take all of this somehow. But this feeling, the feeling of missing out on something, of being left in the dark, that was something he couldn't take. And he hoped that Mimi understood the difference between that so she wouldn't blame herself too much. The young man didn't know the girl enough to know that no matter what he was saying, she would still find a way to blame herself at least a little bit.

"I am sorry," was all Mimi could say after a while. "It's not—"

"No, I am sorry that I wasn't doing enough lately. I could have done more and I am sorry for making you feel less important to me. I really like you too, please believe me."

This was exactly what Juyeon hadn't wanted and hearing her say it made his gaze soften apologetically. It's not that he wanted to get rid of her for no reason, no it was the opposite. Oh, how much he wanted her to want this as much as she probably thought right now. How much he wanted her to truly like him like that.

For a moment, they both went quiet again. Mimi, because she was anxiously waiting for him to say something and Juyeon because he was thinking of a way to prove his words to her without making it seem like he was just saying the wrong things. He knew that Mimi had to see it for herself. It warmed his heart to realise how clueless she was, how inexperienced, yet so determined to do everything right. He was truly touched and smiling, he calmly stroked the back of her hand with his thumb and when he looked up again, he noticed how close their faces were. He had noticed it many times before and he had always wished for her to see the innocent desire, the idea inside of his head, but she never had, except for now. Mimi really felt it now. That wish to kiss him, because then things would make sense again. It would all be easier from there, so after checking the distance between the two of them again and seeing that Juyeon wasn't backing away, the shy girl leaned forward just a bit, to put her lips onto his.

The kiss she shared with Juyeon was soft, short, but soft. His lips felt warm against hers. She could feel his breath against her skin, but she had her eyes closed shut so she couldn't see if he was still looking at her. She couldn't see his reaction but she figured that was for the best too.

Yes, the kiss was soft. It was good, it was beautiful, a beautiful slow kiss. No fireworks. No time freeze. No racing heart. It shattered the young woman even more than it shattered him.

At first, she didn't want to let go. She wanted to wait, just a little longer. Maybe it took some time because she was still standing beside herself, but Juyeon knew. That's why he was the one who gently pulled back, without ever letting go of her hand. As if he wanted to give Mimi something to hold onto. Mimi even kept her eyes closed for a second longer, too ashamed, too afraid to look at him again, but when Juyeon chuckled gently, that was when she finally looked at him again. And she watched him speechlessly while he just shrugged his shoulders in a calm way. She didn't really understand what it meant at first, but what she did know was that there was no denying anymore. Not from her, and certainly not from him. It wouldn't be fair towards him, now that it was written all over her face for Juyeon to see.

The candle on the barista's living room table, that Mimi hadn't even noticed, was burning down slowly, the flame dying in its own wax. There were just the weak rays of sunlight still shining into the cozy apartment and the two young adults were right in the middle of it, looking into each other's eyes. Ironically, Juyeon felt like this was the very first time he had caught a glimpse of Mimi's mind, even when she hadn't said something ever since their lips had parted and she didn't need to say anything. For all it was worth, he felt like he understood her a little better now and that was good enough for him and the peace he had made.

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[lilalines]

⋆.˚32 ⋮ ⌗ ┆have you ever been in love? | FOREVERMORE

your new favourite comfort angsty - friends to lovers story

────୨ৎ────

pairing — yang jungwon x female idol status — ongoing ִֶָ. ..𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ🪽་༘࿐

synopsis — For years, Yang Jungwon and Min Miyoung have built their lives side by side, sharing stages, memories, and a friendship that quietly became the center of everything. But when Jungwon learns that Mimi is preparing to leave Korea and return to England, the world he thought was certain begins to fall apart. What begins as panic slowly unravels something far more dangerous - feelings he has spent years trying to ignore. Because losing her might mean losing the person who has always been his home.

content warnings — mostly fluff. feel - good, slow-burn romance type of story. toxic family dynamics, generational trauma, slight implications of EDs and Depression.

forevermore playlist 1221

now playing: you are in love, Taylor Swift

▶︎ •၊၊||၊|။||||။‌‌‌‌‌၊|• 0:52

June 2024

"What do you mean you've never kissed? Like, what do you mean?"

Semi was visibly confused. She even had to take another sip of her drink to make up for it.

"You've been dating for over 2 months, haven't you?"

Mimi nodded.

"But to be fair, we barely see each other and it's just been— there was never really a good moment."

The introverted romantic-newbie hadn't really thought about the whole physical contact thing a lot. How could she? Her head was already filled with many other things. To her, it would've simply been weird to kiss the barista out of nowhere during the 10-minute breaks they would see each other in. And he hadn't seemed too keen on it either, from what she could tell. It was already late at night and the two girls were the only ones left from the little dinner party. That wasn't unusual, both Mimi and Semi were night owls and it had been a while since they had talked like this without others being present. Since the boys had just gotten back, they had all left quite early anyway.

"I respect you for that, Unnie. But I could never," the American shook her head laughing and leaned back on the couch again while putting her feet onto the sofa table in front of them and Mimi simply copied her. Semi had been meeting a fellow idol for quite some time now and she'd always been very open about any progress they had been making.

"What about you and Wonbin then?" the older girl asked curiously and Semi sighed right away.

"I like him, but I don't know—"

Mimi's ears perked up now and she turned around to face her best friend, to show that she was ready for whatever Semi was going to share. No matter how explicit it was going to get and with Semi, that could easily be VERY explicit. But not this time, though. The brunette sighed first.

"It's just very physical, Unnie, not gonna lie. It was nice at first, right? Like the idea that he couldn't get his hands off me or whatever, but we don't really talk a lot, I fear." Semi snickered before she continued. "Too busy for that."

Now Mimi laughed too. It was funny for her to see how different they truly were. There wasn't a connection that could be more opposing. Her with her slow, very old-fashioned dates and then there was Semi. If she was being honest, she kind of admired her younger sister for her ability to just let go and go with her feelings. And her experiences, of course.

"And you don't like it?" she then asked innocently and Semi sighed once again.

"It's not that I don't like it. I'm just genuinely asking myself if I really got those kinds of feelings for him. Like, I'm not sure if I'm truly in love."

The blonde-haired girl nodded. Well, that was something they had in common, even though she was certain that she had noticed some indicators about herself that clearly pointed in a good direction when it came to Juyeon and her.

"Have you ever been in love?"

As far as she could remember, Semi had had boyfriends in the past. But somehow, they were always very short-lived. And she knew there was a difference between dating and crushing and being actually in love, that's why she was asking. The slightly younger girl really thought for a moment about what to say, which was rare. Semi usually always spoke her thoughts right when she thought them. That was another aspect of hers that Mimi secretly admired.

"Yes, once, I think. Maybe twice," then she giggled. "But I do remember it vividly. That's also why I know — or at least why I'm thinking — that this isn't really it, you know?"

Mimi nodded calmly.

"Was it— what was his— ahh! Junmin? You really liked him," she remembered.

"He was the 'maybe second', but no. I don't think I talked a lot about him, but it was actually my first boyfriend, back when I was 15."

"The one that you tried the long-distance relationship with three years ago?" Semi nodded and took another big sip from her beer. She didn't even like that beer that much.

"Yeah, somehow I kept going back to him."

For a moment, Mimi found herself wondering if that was truly what love was about: going back to one another; everlasting. That alone was somehow a scary thought, but Mimi didn't want to let that get in her way of using this opportunity to get to know more about Semi's very first, very real love.

"And how did you know you were truly in love? What was different from how things are between you and Wonbin?"

"You really want to know? This will get very corny," Semi warned her older sister with a teasing smile on her face. There was nothing she wouldn't share with Mimi anyway, but she had still wanted to give her the opportunity to back out of this conversation. When Mimi didn't do that, she finally started for real.

"For me, it was like lightning striking my body whenever he was near and looking at me. And I found my mind wandering to him no matter what I was doing. The smallest things— I'm not joking, Unnie, the smallest things reminded me of him. I was insufferable to anyone who had to endure me during that time. Because, because I was always thinking about him, I was also always talking about him too, there was simply no topic that was more interesting to me than this guy, I swear to God."

Both young women took a second to laugh over the way Semi was telling this story in such a scolding way.

"I just wanted to be near him all the time, you know? I missed him even when we were in the same room. And when we were, I would always find myself gravitating closer to him. At school, I would just sit down next to him without noticing it and I swear to God, I was kind of psychic too, like, I could feel when he was looking at me. Gosh, I really liked this dude, Unnie. Liking him, loving him happened so much faster than I could notice."

The way Semi spoke could almost made the impression that she was just realising all of this right now, but Mimi knew better. To her, it was more like Semi was just remembering all of this again, as if she had stored those memories away with such loving care, she hadn't pulled them out in a while. And of course, she almost felt bad for making her do it now. Those guilty feelings were short lived, though, because Semi was soon laughing again and continued.

"I really thought it was this Bella - Edward, Jack and Rose kind of epic love."

"Please tell me you wouldn't have died for him", Mimi joked, but she wasn't really. She knew love had those dangerous sides to it, but luckily, she could already see her younger sister roll her eyes in an amused way.

"Maybe not that but, there was just this constant feeling in my chest, like there was nothing I wanted more than him. And there was nothing I wouldn't have done for him."

That's when Semi's smile finally started crumbling a little. And it caused Mimi's to do the same. This was the part of the story that she knew about and reason enough why she couldn't romanticise Semi's first boyfriend anymore, no matter how romantic it all sounded right now. And that, it truly did.

The way Semi was speaking with so much passion, with her eyes gleaming with a sense of nostalgia and fondness mixed with just a hint of regret. The way the younger one had described the feeling of being in love was exactly how Mimi had predicted it beforehand: all-consuming, exhilarating and INTENSE. And it was beautiful to listen to, but she also knew that love didn't necessarily have to be all intense and explosive. It was okay that her own story wasn't exactly like this, because everyone was different. She frowned a little without noticing.

"And once he touched me — not the way you think!"

"I wasn't thinking anything," the blonde defended herself grinning and even put her hands in the air in a performative way, causing Semi to laugh even more.

"No, but seriously. When he kissed me gently, it felt like the whole world stopped. I still remember it. And it's not like that with Wonbin and that's okay, you know? I'm over Kyle, but yeah, it's a good reference, I guess."

With that, Semi's story came to an end and for a few minutes, the two just sat there and let it sink in, especially Mimi. Love was something so difficult, way too difficult to understand. It wasn't like anything one could study fully to the point they could successfully evaluate it with accuracy. Maybe that was why Mimi had stayed away from it for so long. She liked the idea of thinking about Juyeon in that way. Maybe that was why she texted him very late that night, when both she and Semi had already gone to bed, and asked him for yet another date that she was determined to make memorable and special.

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[lilalines]

⋆.˚31 ⋮ ⌗ ┆ that's life | FOREVERMORE

your new favourite comfort angsty - friends to lovers story

────୨ৎ────

pairing — yang jungwon x female idol status — ongoing ִֶָ. ..𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ🪽་༘࿐

synopsis — For years, Yang Jungwon and Min Miyoung have built their lives side by side, sharing stages, memories, and a friendship that quietly became the center of everything. But when Jungwon learns that Mimi is preparing to leave Korea and return to England, the world he thought was certain begins to fall apart. What begins as panic slowly unravels something far more dangerous - feelings he has spent years trying to ignore. Because losing her might mean losing the person who has always been his home.

content warnings — mostly fluff. feel - good, slow-burn romance type of story. toxic family dynamics, generational trauma, slight implications of EDs and Depression.

forevermore playlist 1221

now playing: right where you left me, Taylor Swift

▶︎ •၊၊||၊|။||||။‌‌‌‌‌၊|• 00:39

June 2024

"Woah, it's so warm out," Sunoo let out a groan when he sat down in the van as well, as the last one to do so.

"It's summer," Jake laughed.

"We missed a lot, huh?" he then added and the car started moving right away. Even though it was already nearing evening, the sun was still out and so were the many fans and photographers surrounding the airport even after the boygroup had already left.

Even though the Australian had referred to the weather, the others were thinking about totally different things too. They had only been away for about three weeks again, but a lot could happen during three weeks. People could get married within three weeks, hypothetically.

"Do you think Mimi and the barista guy are official now?" Heeseung asked, which was odd, because Heeseung was never really that nosy. Not because he didn't care enough, but because he believed in leaving people to decide whatever and whenever they wanted to share things with him. Jungwon shook his head while he was holding his phone in his hand. He had already forgotten why he had opened it.

"Last update I got was that it had gotten hard to find time to meet up. He's been studying for some classes he wants to attend at university and the girls are already recording for the comeback in November because of the tour," the boy explained to the entire van that was now attentively listening. Jungwon was right. Over the three weeks in which Enhypen had been gone to continue their tour, time truly hadn't been on Mimi's and Juyeon's side. It was almost as though destiny wasn't on their side, if someone even believed in that. Mimi didn't know if she believed in that, she wasn't certain.

But it had gotten a little frustrating. Because of the recordings, she'd been at the company day and night and Juyeon had actually taken some time off to prepare for his scholarship application. Mimi had offered to pay for him, of course she had, but Juyeon wanted to do this on his own. He would've never asked such a thing of her and he wanted to be independent too, especially because he'd been feeling the energy shifting between the two of them lately.

Every now and then they'd been on calls, but Mimi was a busy woman after all and now that his schedule wasn't as flexible anymore either, even those had become a very rare and difficult thing for the two of them. And even when they had somehow managed to get each other on the phone, things had usually not turned out the way they had wanted. Like the time Mimi had promised to call him after her studio session, but that had stretched on so long that he had already been asleep by then.

And when she had managed to shift her schedules around so she would at least get to catch a lunch break with him, he had taken that time to study for his tests, which she totally understood. That was simply the way things were and it wasn't really anyone's fault. Again, time wasn't in their favour, but it was also easier for the girl to view it that way because it made sense. To Mimi, everything that made sense, at least from a logical perspective, was somehow justified.

And again, she wasn't in a rush, that's what she kept telling herself. She hadn't set a countdown for herself for when exactly she would have to experience her first real relationship. The young idol was also really thankful for the fact that the barista never pressured her into anything and allowed things to blossom as slowly as they were. She was starting to feel more secure around him.

Mimi enjoyed their time like this and once again, since she'd always been good at that, she learned to cherish the small moments instead of chasing after the big ones because that's just how she was. So whenever Juyeon would sneak into the studio to bring her her favourite coffee, still the vanilla latte with oat milk that he had totally perfected, she couldn't help but feel that unfamiliar warmth spread through her chest. She held onto that feeling, because she knew that it must mean something. And Juyeon really cherished the few times he had been allowed to sit beside her, studying while she was quietly mixing some demo tapes late in the evening when most of the others had already left.

They were mostly quiet around each other and it wasn't because they didn't know what to say, but more because there wasn't really much to say besides the occasional updates on their lives. That was another thing Mimi cherished about him. The fact that he didn't force her to explain herself or open up, because she enjoyed him getting to know her without all the drama in her life, all the hardships and difficult parent situations.

"I wish we could just pause time. For just a bit," Mimi mumbled as she sat at the cafe's counter, waiting for Juyeon. It was another one of those nights where their schedules didn't perfectly overlap, but at least she got to talk to him as he was closing the cafe.

Juyeon chuckled.

"Aren't you free tonight? I thought we could grab dinner on the way home." He didn't remember if they had talked about this, but he did remember Mimi telling him about getting off earlier from work today. But now she was shaking her head again with that apologetic expression on her face that he knew all too well.

"No, our friends are back and it's kind of a tradition to spend the first evening playing games and ordering food," she explained.

"Weren't they only gone for a few weeks?" There was nothing accusatory in the way Juyeon was speaking. Mimi even wondered if he was even capable of that, but still, his question had come out faster than expected, faster than usual. So for a second, she stopped herself and studied the barista's face, searching for any sign of upset feelings, but there were none.

"Yes, but it's kind of set and— I'm sorry. I will make it up to you."

Mimi was determined to do that, she always was. But the amount of times she was going to have to make up for something were piling up like old files at an office. And Juyeon was understanding, as always. He would've never let himself get into all of this if he hadn't thought about the difficulties of Mimi's extraordinary lifestyle. So all he did now was smile again and nod and wish her a fun time while there was this feeling settling in the girl's chest again. She couldn't really describe nor grasp it, but it was tightening, like a grip around her arm. Was it her heart aching for the barista? It probably was. Because she wanted to spend time with him, because she missed him when they were busy. Mimi watched him with tender eyes, asking herself if she should cancel on her friends. She had never done that before. And she had missed them too, but wasn't that too selfish?

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[lilalines]

⋆.˚30 ⋮ ⌗ ┆ chocolate chip cookies | FOREVERMORE

your new favourite comfort angsty - friends to lovers story

────୨ৎ────

pairing — yang jungwon x female idol status — ongoing ִֶָ. ..𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ🪽་༘࿐

synopsis — For years, Yang Jungwon and Min Miyoung have built their lives side by side, sharing stages, memories, and a friendship that quietly became the center of everything. But when Jungwon learns that Mimi is preparing to leave Korea and return to England, the world he thought was certain begins to fall apart. What begins as panic slowly unravels something far more dangerous - feelings he has spent years trying to ignore. Because losing her might mean losing the person who has always been his home.

content warnings — mostly fluff. feel - good, slow-burn romance type of story. toxic family dynamics, generational trauma, slight implications of EDs and Depression.

forevermore playlist 1221

now playing: team, LORDE

▶︎ •၊၊||၊|။||||။‌‌‌‌‌၊|• 03:03

May 2024

"Be careful, Mimiyah. They're still hot!" Juyeon was absolutely adorable with the way he was still slightly blowing on the cookie, even when the girl was already half-biting it. Mimi was chuckling at the sight before she took a very tiny, very gentle bite. The cookie was still hot, yes, but it was delicately soft and the chocolate was still melting. Everything about it was simply perfect and Juyeon could see it right away.

"Are they good?" he asked, grinning before he also took a bite, while Mimi nodded enthusiastically. "They're so good," she smiled back at him. A short moment of comforting silence rose between the two young adults. A silence in which they simply looked at each other with warmth in their eyes. The sweet scent of the cookies was filling the barista's apartment and Mimi looked so beautiful in its warm light. Juyeon simply had to take a second to just look at her. For the past hour, they had been talking nonstop. About Mimi's schedules and Juyeon's future plans. He was going to enroll into university soon, if they accepted him, that was. And Mimi was sure they would. Juyeon was smart, friendly, dedicated and she believed in him, even when she hadn't known him for long.

Even when the atmosphere between them was light again and trusting and warm, the man couldn't help but think back to the way Mimi had looked when she'd briefly spoken about her mother. And he was still both a little curious and concerned for her. Mimi was strong, there was no doubt. Probably stronger than him, stronger than anyone he knew. The way she carried most things on her back in silence. He could only imagine what idol life looked like. The schedules, the endless hours spent in practice rooms, the diets, the fans and the people that hated them too. He had a phone too and sometimes he saw people on the internet criticising Epicenter for everything and anything, especially this sweet and kind and talented girl he was seeing. He wondered if she was ever bothered by them. And to add family issues on top of all that? Juyeon asked himself if he could handle that. And he concluded that he couldn't.

For the rest of the evening, the two kept talking about such topics. And he was happy to learn even more about the pretty girl. He learned that Mimi wasn't someone who cared a lot about what other people said, at least people she didn't know. He also learned that her entire group didn't care a lot about the rumours spread about them. Mimi had quite the logical approach to that: "They're going to create rumours anyway. Whether I fear them or not, so I won't." He admired that about her as well. The more Juyeon listened to her, the more he understood how much music meant to her, how much she needed this job in an emotional way. And he also understood that because she loved music so much, there was no other way for her but to simply endure all its downsides.

Like, for example, the fact that she wouldn't be able to stay for that long again. She had schedules the next morning, more comeback promotions and shootings. Since Mimi struggled with her sleep anyway, she usually tried to make sure to at least attempt to sleep early. Which she usually failed at. But this time, because she was already getting tired and she was still thinking about the call she was going to have to endure soon, she truly did leave earlier.

"Take some home, Mimiyah," Juyeon offered gently and placed a box filled with the homemade cookies into her hands. "The others are going to go crazy," Mimi then admitted before she was suddenly pulled into a hug before she could react. And it wasn't that she minded, but it had caught her so off guard that she froze for a second too long before she could return the hug properly. "Thank you for making time for me, Mimiyah. Despite your hectic schedules," the barista whispered in a soft tone, which was enough to make the girl smile from ear to ear. "Back at you, Juyeon Oppa. Thank you for inviting me over," she said just as softly before they parted and before she eventually left.

Luckily, the ride home was short. Once again, Mimi realised a little too late how tired she truly was, but it almost knocked her out as soon as she had stepped foot into her dorm. To her surprise, the kitchen and living room were both empty. The others must've gone to bed too because of the early schedules, which was a great excuse for the blonde-haired girl to not call her mother that night. She could text her that she was preparing for something and she would call her tomorrow. It made her feel bad, of course it did, this was Mimi after all. But she was also drained of all energy and truly tired.

So tired, she could only walk into her bathroom, even before entering her bedroom. She was just going to wash up quickly, brush her teeth and disappear into her bed just like the others had done as well. And that's basically what she did. She put her long hair up into a very messy bun, but she didn't care about that at all, removed her makeup properly and carefully brushed her teeth. While Mimi was standing there, one hand holding her toothbrush, the other resting on her hip, she couldn't help but think about that message again.

The timing couldn't have been more off. She despised the fact that Juyeon had probably noticed it right away: how much her mood had changed for a split second. She sighed. What would her mother even say about Juyeon? She didn't like anyone that Mimi spent her free time with, she had never even liked Jungwon even though he had been with her all along, through all stages of her career and offered his home to her to begin with. Mimi shook her head as she was looking at herself in the mirror. Then she bent over and spat out her toothpaste before rinsing her mouth and placing everything she had taken out to get unready back where it belonged.

With quiet steps, well, as quietly as possible, she tiptoed her way over to her room that was luckily close and entered it, only to let all her efforts to stay quiet almost be in vain when she nearly screamed in shock. Jungwon was still sitting on her bed, his phone in his hand, scrolling through some apps.

"Did you even move ever since I left?" Mimi asked as she raised an eyebrow and put down her bag on the chair in front of her desk. That's when her best friend looked up, unimpressed.

"Did you go to your date like THAT?" he asked as he pointed his phone at her hair that was still half falling out of her bun. Mimi checked herself in the mirror once, then looked back at him. "Are you saying I look ugly?" she then asked him in a teasing way before she sat down on her bed and watched the way Jungwon bit his tongue and raised his eyebrows, stopping himself from teasing her back. "No..." he mumbled hesitantly, but he quickly fell into laughter that Mimi joined right away.

"Move over!" she directed him while almost pushing him away the way Semi had done earlier.

"Why are you always here anyway? You have your own room."

"Have you seen my room? It's the ugliest, most cramped room of the entire dorm and my mattress is harder than the floor. I could just sleep on the floor and my back would hurt less in the morning." Jungwon was actually being sincere and Mimi knew it, even when she hadn't tried it. "Besides, I wanted to know how the date went."

The two best friends were now comfortably sitting next to one another. Jungwon had his arms crossed behind his head and Mimi had hers crossed in front of her chest. And they were both just looking at the wall in front of them.

"It was good," she began.

"The date was good. I brought cookies, so take some when you leave, yeah?" Jungwon nodded.

He would never say no to chocolate chip cookies, they were his favourites and Mimi's too.

"But?" he then asked without looking at her again and Mimi chuckled.

She hadn't even said anything. Was she that easy to read? Of course he had seen right through her.

"My mum texted me."

— "She wants you back in England?"

"Yup, during the date," the blonde-haired girl nodded and pressed her lips together.

"Did you tell him about all that?"

"Oh hell no. The whole backstory? Would've been way too much. Besides, what's there to talk about?" Jungwon couldn't argue with that.

There was nothing he could add either, he was annoyed with this entire topic, with this woman, if he was being honest. Over the many years, he had seen the endless amounts of times Mimi had tried to reason with her mother. The attempts to get her to truly care about her and her interests. He let out a deep sigh. She didn't deserve this, nobody did, to be fair, but Mimi didn't deserve this, that's all he knew.

"You've tried to meet her halfway so many times," he reminded her and Mimi nodded. He didn't have to tell her that, she knew it. And she knew that other people would care less about the meaningless threats her mother would send her occasionally, but she wasn't like that. She wasn't freed from the desire to fix things between her and herself.

"She's just going to have to live with it," she suddenly said, because she saw the way Jungwon was battling with himself about how to help and what to say.

"It's not like she can grab me by the hair and pull me all the way to England," she then joked and it actually did make them both laugh. Especially because she was still wearing that atrocious messy bun.

"Anyway," she then sat up again after the two had calmed down and that's when Jungwon looked over at her.

"How are you doing, by the way?"

The night ended up filled with endless chatter and laughter and more updates on what had been going on and what was going to happen, even when Mimi was really tired. Maybe it was because of that that she was extra chatty. Still, somehow the two best friends found themselves passed out asleep next to one another by 2 in the morning. And by 4, they were half-sleeping, fighting over blankets and space.

"Go to your own room, Yang Jungwon!", Mimi grunted with her eyes closed in attempt to shove him over but he wasn't moving.

"You don't even need the blanket", Jungwon mumbled with a sore voice as he pulled it closer to himself, ignoring what Mimi had said.

He even shoved her to the side a little to properly grab the rest of the blanket to cover himself in. Jungwon was entirely insufferable, but he had that charm to him that made it kind of impossible to admit that.

And this went on an on, like always.

"You snore too loud, I can't even sleep!"

"You should give me some grace given how gassy you are in the morning, Noona."

Mimi gasped and slammed a pillow in her younger friend's face with so much strength, it woke him up now, but of course, he was grinning already.

"If you won't let me sleep here, I will tell Juyeon about it. Your gassy-ness!"

"You wouldn't dare!"

It was good to see that some things always stayed the same.

← read previous chapter | go to next chapter →

[lilalines]

⋆.˚29 ⋮ ⌗ ┆ the second date | FOREVERMORE

your new favourite comfort angsty - friends to lovers story

────୨ৎ────

pairing — yang jungwon x female idol status — ongoing ִֶָ. ..𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ🪽་༘࿐

synopsis — For years, Yang Jungwon and Min Miyoung have built their lives side by side, sharing stages, memories, and a friendship that quietly became the center of everything. But when Jungwon learns that Mimi is preparing to leave Korea and return to England, the world he thought was certain begins to fall apart. What begins as panic slowly unravels something far more dangerous - feelings he has spent years trying to ignore. Because losing her might mean losing the person who has always been his home.

content warnings — mostly fluff. feel - good, slow-burn romance type of story. toxic family dynamics, generational trauma, slight implications of EDs and Depression.

forevermore playlist 1221

now playing: homewrecker, sombr

▶︎ •၊၊||၊|။||||။‌‌‌‌‌၊|• 01:43

May 2024

"A date at his place? I am not sure about it," Soomin admitted and both Jungwon and Jay nodded along very convincingly. Jungwon was spread out across Mimi's bed, stretching her bunny plushie in every direction possible until Jay snatched it out of his hands just to stretch it himself.

"You guys know this feels very Disney Channel coded, the way you're all having this totally not improvised speech right now," Mimi commented with a grin from where she was sitting at her desk, mindlessly scribbling into her notebook.

Her friends were just way too adorable right now. The way they were all cramped inside her room that had basically turned into some sort of community centre. The way everyone was always walking in and out of it whenever they pleased. Mimi used it mostly to sleep anyway, so she truly didn't mind.

"He is not going to kill me. Not when everyone knows where I was last seen. He would be a damn bad murderer to pull that off. He would get caught immediately," she argued afterwards, but it didn't seem to lift the atmosphere quite as much as she had hoped for.

"Don't make jokes about this, Unnie." Semi had joined Jungwon on Mimi's bed by now and pushed him aside to make space for herself in such a rough way that it made the younger boy pout at her immediately.

"Well, logically, she isn't wrong."

Sunghoon had somehow appeared as well, seemingly out of thin air, and was now sitting on the windowsill with his arms crossed, mentally high-fiving Mimi who nodded in his direction in a very obvious see? finally someone gets me kind of way.

"Besides, none of y'all made such a fuss when Soomin Unnie went to Sannie Sunbaenim's place for the first time, hm?"

Mimi knew the others viewed her differently. And while she appreciated it, she also didn't really like it because she knew that in some aspects, it all came down to the fact that she "didn't have any parents", that she was somehow the odd one out. The person that constantly needed to be looked after like the youngest sibling of a family. And she wasn't that. She simply didn't want to be seen that way. Still, she couldn't help but feel her gaze soften as she looked at her friends through the mirror of her vanity. Her eyes wandered from face to face while they were all busy doing something else, not really noticing the way Mimi was quietly watching them.

"What are you doing at his place anyway?" Jay asked while examining the guitars resting against one of the walls.

"He's going to show me how to bake the famous chocolate chip cookies," Mimi answered with a satisfied smile on her face as she finally got up from her chair. She was wearing a comfortable yet still pretty outfit: denim shorts and a blouse-like long sleeved shirt in a beautiful light blue colour — her favourite colour. Once again, she was going to be the first person leaving her own room, which made her chuckle quietly to herself.

"Just keep your location on!" Soomin yelled after her and Mimi only hummed in response, but at least it was an agreeing one.

On her way through the hallway toward the entrance, the girl kept checking the time on her phone to make sure she was still punctual and once she noticed that she was, she took her time carefully slipping into her shoes.

"Noona!"

Mimi had barely noticed that Jungwon had followed her.

"Yes?" she responded absentmindedly, though still curious about what he was going to say.

"If you need help, text a cat emoji."

The older girl immediately burst into laughter and nodded and that alone made the younger boy laugh as well.

"Understood, I got it," she nodded again, still smiling with her eyes squeezed shut before adding softly: "See you later, Jungwonah."

Then the blonde girl reached out and gently squeezed her best friend's arm through the thick fabric of his comfy sweater in a comforting way, just to reassure him that she was truly going to be fine. And deep down, he already knew she was. Mimi turned around and opened the entrance door immediately, but then she suddenly stopped and turned back around again without even thinking, only to pull her best friend into a gentle hug that visibly surprised him. Still, of course, he hugged her back and even laughed a little at the sudden affection.

"Oh?"

"Thank you for looking after me, Jungwonah," Mimi said with a smile before finally letting go and watching Jungwon nod in an amused way before she eventually left. She was happy he was here now and part of all of this. It wasn't like before anymore. It wasn't something he still didn't know about because he happened to be overseas.

Mimi arrived at Juyeon's apartment only a few minutes later. As it turned out, the barista didn't even live that far away from her own dorm, so if she had had a bit more time, she probably could've walked there. But this time — this first time — she had taken her car and was now parking it near the road. Juyeon had shared his location with her to make it easier for her to find the place. He would've picked her up too, but since they didn't want to risk being seen together by anyone, he had simply waited for her at the apartment instead.

The young man lived in a small but tidy space. Two rooms, excluding the bathroom and a tiny storage room. His kitchen was directly connected to the living room, so that counted as one room and the second was his bedroom. It wasn't anything overly special and definitely not comparable to the idols' dorms, but it still felt cozy. The furniture was mostly IKEA, modern and in brighter tones. There were also a few plants scattered around the apartment which Mimi absolutely adored the second she stepped inside. Like with everything that differed from her own lifestyle, she was completely fascinated by his world again. She first took a slow stroll through the living room. There was a small sofa right next to a bookshelf she immediately admired. She could've guessed right away that Juyeon liked reading. It suited him perfectly. There were English books too, she noticed almost instantly and it impressed her. Then there were framed pictures resting between the books that mostly showed him with his friends and it made her smile and think of her own. He seemed bright and loved and somehow that comforted her deeply.

"I really like your kitchen!" Mimi commented honestly, her eyes wandering around his apartment once again when she reached the kitchen where he had been waiting for her to finish her little tour.

Juyeon chuckled softly.

"You must be hungry. I'll start on the dough right away."

He spoke calmly, like always. He was so calm that it calmed Mimi too, every single time.

The girl smiled and nodded as she suddenly felt her stomach rumble. Her hand instinctively reached into her bag to pull out the flour she had bought on the way, only for her movements to freeze when Juyeon placed a package of flour directly in front of her before she could even take hers out.

Oh.

She blinked.

"Is everything okay?" he asked when he noticed the shift in her expression.

For a brief moment she thought about how much she disliked how easily he could read her face already and yet, at the same time, it also made her smile.

It felt good to be known like this somehow.

"Yes, you just seem very prepared," she answered.

Mimi didn't even know why she was surprised, but she quickly brushed the thought aside while watching him pull all kinds of ingredients from the cupboards underneath the counter.

Just when Mimi was about to roll up her sleeves and finally get to work, the sound of her phone notification disturbed the peaceful atmosphere again. Juyeon was already used to that by now and he truly didn't mind. He knew Mimi was someone responsible when it came to her phone and the people who needed her, so he nodded gently when she hesitated to look at it at first.

"It might be something important again," he reminded her softly while weighing the flour.

Mimi sighed apologetically and only glanced at her phone once, but that alone was enough to completely shift her posture, expression and mood.

Mum:

It's been weeks, Mimi. Do you not care about me at all? You promised to visit after COACHELLA and I've had enough. Come home.

Mimi knew that if she didn't call today— actually, she didn't know what would happen if she didn't. She had never tested it because she had always been too afraid to. She didn't want to stress her mother out even further because she assumed she must be going through something at the moment. And she knew she was a bad daughter. That she should be more present in her mother's life. But work, friends and now this whole dating thing were already all she could currently handle and frankly speaking, spending time with her mother had never really been comforting to begin with. Mimi knew that once she stepped foot into Cambridge again, her mother would never willingly let her leave. She would probably chain herself to the airplane if she had to.

"Is everything okay?" Juyeon asked carefully after noticing the look on her face. It wasn't exactly the terror or guilt that she was feeling internally reflected on her expression, but she suddenly looked completely distant. As if she was floating above her own body. And within the blink of an eye, she was back inside it again.

"Yes, everything's fine. I was just lost in thought," Mimi explained with such an authentic smile on her face that it was difficult to argue against it.

Still, Juyeon wasn't fully convinced.

"Are you sure? The look on your face just now—"

"It's just some family issues," Mimi interrupted gently. She truly wasn't in the mood to open the entire estranged parents chapter of her life in front of him. It was simply too much to explain and all she really wanted right now was to bake delicious cookies and spend a fun evening with this great guy.

"Your brother?" Juyeon asked and Mimi shook her head.

Her brother, yeah. Jungwon will probably give her an earful later for still trying to please her mother, Mimi thought to herself with a quiet snicker escaping her lips.

"No, he's fine. It's nothing really. My mother, she just is— it's truly nothing. Let's talk about it another day. I'm starving. What do we need next?"

Juyeon wasn't slow and he certainly wasn't gullible either. He noticed immediately that she was deliberately changing the topic because she didn't want to talk about the actual problem, but the way she acted right now also told him clearly that he shouldn't push further. So instead he simply watched her calmly as she washed her hands and stepped beside him.

If he couldn't comfort her regarding whatever issue she was dealing with, then at the very least he could distract her and help her have a fun evening instead, he thought. So he placed the smile back onto his face just like she had and gently nudged her shoulder with his own, making the younger girl giggle quietly.

"I already weighed out the flour. Now we can add the sugar."

Mimi nodded and immediately grabbed it.

For another brief moment, the barista's eyes lingered on the idol beside him without him fully noticing. It was subtle, but he could tell she was somehow still floating somewhere far away despite standing right there next to him. Maybe even steadier than before. He assumed there must be a lot she dealt with completely on her own. And he couldn't help but wonder — even though parts of him already knew the answer — whether Mimi already had someone she opened up to about all those things. That was good, he thought. At least she wouldn't have to go through everything alone. But he would've listened too. If she ever decided to give him that chance.

← read previous chapter | go to next chapter →

[lilalines]

⋆.˚28 ⋮ ⌗ ┆late night walks | FOREVERMORE

your new favourite comfort angsty - friends to lovers story

────୨ৎ────

pairing — yang jungwon x female idol

status — ongoing ִֶָ. ..𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ🪽་༘࿐

synopsis — For years, Yang Jungwon and Min Miyoung have built their lives side by side, sharing stages, memories, and a friendship that quietly became the center of everything. But when Jungwon learns that Mimi is preparing to leave Korea and return to England, the world he thought was certain begins to fall apart. What begins as panic slowly unravels something far more dangerous - feelings he has spent years trying to ignore. Because losing her might mean losing the person who has always been his home.

content warnings — mostly fluff. feel - good, slow-burn romance type of story. toxic family dynamics, generational trauma, slight implications of EDs and Depression.

forevermore playlist 1221

now playing: someone to you, BANNERS

▶︎ •၊၊||၊|။||||။‌‌‌‌‌၊|• 00:39

May 2024

"So why did you want to go on a walk, Noona?"

It had gotten quite chilly outside already. It was still May after all, so Mimi was tightly wrapping herself in her coat.

"Because you love late night walks," she commented with a chuckle and Jungwon returned it as he started kicking a pebble in front of him along the way.

"And because we are still not that fine, are we?"

Then his smile grew a little out of amusement over the fact that nothing really went past Mimi. It was like it was impossible to fool her and for her, it was exactly the same way with him. The result of seven years of friendship.

"Spit it out, little brother. What's on your mind?"

Jungwon didn't really know why he had been so quiet today or about this topic in general. He had thought long and hard about that exact question without ever reaching an answer he was satisfied with. It was just weird. Everything about it was weird. He would probably never admit it openly, but he also didn't really like changes, especially when they were happening so close to him. Dating was something so big in someone's life and given how close the two groups were, it somehow affected all of them. Some more than others, yes, but for Mimi, it would definitely hit him hard. What if this Juyeon person wouldn't want him to spend time with her anymore? What if he wouldn't like her visiting his Halmoni? What if he would visit his Halmoni with her?

"How many times are you going to make me apologise for not telling you sooner? Oh?" Mimi's voice wasn't soft now like usual, but teasing, even pouting in a way as if she was being petty. But they both knew she wasn't really.

"Oh?" she repeated because Jungwon still hadn't replied with anything other than a soft chuckle that quickly grew into heartfelt laughter when Mimi wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down to her height in a suffocating way. Like she was putting him into a proper headlock.

"Ahh!" Jungwon groaned laughing, the sound dying in his throat and now both of them were laughing.

"Gonna make me apologise forever, huh?" Mimi teased him once again before finally letting him go and ruffling her fingers through his soft hair which he immediately fixed again.

Even though she had just been messing with him, Jungwon felt the weight lift off his shoulders immediately and Mimi felt the same way. It took a while for their laughter to die down because whenever their eyes met again, at least one of them burst into another fit of laughter. It was truly silly. But eventually, it did quiet down between them again and that was when Jungwon finally spoke.

"I know it was stupid of me to act out the way I did. Like a child. I didn't mean for everything to implode like that."

"Don't worry about it. It was important, so it's valid that you reacted the way you reacted. I think I struggled to understand you at first," Mimi admitted. By now they had almost reached the dorms again where they had taken off almost half an hour ago.

"And now you do?" Jungwon asked again as he shoved his hands into the pockets of his pants.

"I think I do," Mimi nodded and then she didn't really know what else there was left to say or if there was even more to be said. The topic had already been talked through and the things that had happened had already happened, so neither of them really felt the need to continue discussing it. Instead, they just wanted to move on in a better way.

"We might be going on a second date," Mimi then added and Jungwon immediately raised his eyebrows. "And for the record, you are the first person I have told about this."

He rolled his eyes now and chuckled once again since he had, of course, immediately caught onto the teasing tone in his best friend's voice.

"Might be?" he asked and Mimi shrugged her shoulders lightly. "You know how hard it is to find a free day," the blonde haired girl mumbled before she could think and remember: how could he know? Jungwon was truly single since birth too. Just like her. Or like she had been.

"I see," he replied grinning now because he had noticed the shift in her face after that realisation immediately.

They both knew they wouldn't be talking much deeper about the topic anymore that night. He wouldn't ask her what exactly she liked about Juyeon or how he treated her, mainly because Jungwon knew Mimi could take care of those things more than well enough on her own. She didn't need someone constantly checking whether she was taking proper care of herself. But it still felt good that he at least knew where she currently stood.

"Let's make a cheesy promise". Mimi mumbled while they both stood next to one another in the elevator.

"Yeah?"

"No matter what, boyfriends, girlfriends, fights, nothing is going to change between us, yeah?"

She knew that even more than for herself, Jungwon needed that reassurance, even when he wouldn't admit it. In fact, he was making a face now that clearly stated: that IS way too cheese, Noona, but Mimi didn't care. Things were always changing, especially now that she was opening this new chapter of her life, so it would be good for him to know that he could never lose his place.

Jungwon seemed to sense that too.

"Yeah, I promise.", he said calmly smiling now.

With that feeling, the two idols went to bed that night. Jungwon only realised how tired he was once he was already lying in bed and it didn't take long for him to fall asleep right after taking a shower.

The night ended far too quickly for him once again, but since he was used to functioning on very little sleep, he was back to his energetic self almost immediately after waking up as one of the first members of his group, like always.

The young idol didn't even have to check his schedule for the day because he still remembered that there was only a meeting planned for the entire group to discuss the past concerts and the continuation of the tour. As usual, he skipped breakfast and rather spent the time waiting for the others on his phone. He liked staying updated on how things were going in the fandom and he also checked up on some colleagues from time to time. There was a reason why Jungwon was known for being so kind throughout the industry. After he had done his mandatory check through social media, it was already time for the boys to leave the dorms and make their way to the company building, the place they visited more often than their own homes.

Jungwon couldn't help but let his eyes wander toward the café he so rarely visited. It couldn't have been a coincidence that the barista he had never really paid much attention to before happened to be standing there today as well. He wasn't hard to recognise considering he was the only male employee at the café and he recognised the idol immediately too. He smiled timidly and even bowed his head slightly and Jungwon did the same while suddenly feeling a strange nervousness rush through him.

"What was that?" Sunghoon, who had been walking beside him, immediately commented dryly, making Jungwon feel very caught off guard all of a sudden.

"I just greeted him," Enhypen's leader explained.

"Isn't that the guy Mimi is seeing?"

Of course the entire new situation hadn't gone unnoticed by the surprisingly attentive older member that Sunghoon was. Mimi meeting a guy, the weird tension that had resulted between the friends and now this. It was both funny and frustrating to him. It felt as though there were a lot of suppressed and unspoken things lingering in the air lately, but he wouldn't even dream of commenting on them directly.

"I was going to get a coffee anyway, wanna come?" he then asked and Jungwon nodded without giving it a second thought. Soon enough, him, Sunoo and Sunghoon walked over to the counter where the friendly barista was already waiting anxiously.

"Sunghoon-nim, Sunoo-nim, Jungwon-nim," he greeted them with another polite bow first before continuing. "It's nice to see you again."

All three boys could tell he was nervous and Sunoo immediately felt a little bad, so he smiled at him in what he hoped was a comforting way.

"It's nice to see you too," he replied quickly to stop any awkward silence from spreading.

Jungwon, who had been feeling regretful about the fact that he had never really paid attention to the barista before, was now carefully observing him while he talked to his hyungs and took their orders with precision. In a very specific way, he kind of suited his Mimi Noona. He was tall, soft spoken, calm and polite. And above all else, he seemed to take his work very seriously, just like her. Still, he was a stranger. And a man. Even Jungwon knew women had to be careful no matter how polite someone seemed on the outside. He had seen enough terrible examples of that through Semi.

"And what can I get you today, Jungwon-nim?"

Jungwon hadn't even realised how much he had zoned out until Juyeon looked at him directly, waiting for his order at last. The younger boy blinked at him now, his cat-like eyes widening slightly. He only realised then that he hadn't even thought about what to order. In fact, he hadn't really wanted anything in the first place. He didn't like coffee and he wasn't hungry anyway, but not ordering something now would feel weird.

"I'll take a cookie, please. A chocolate chip one."

Jungwon hadn't eaten one since Mimi had brought them an entire box a few months ago and he remembered them very well.

"Woah, the ones Mimi Noona buys," Sunoo immediately agreed as he added one to his own order as well.

And there she suddenly was again, right in the middle of the conversation without actually being there. The boys could all see the smile growing on the barista's face. This was good, wasn't it? He seemed completely whipped by the mere mention of their mutual friend. She deserved someone like that. Someone who saw the great person she truly was. The kind of person who remembered that she always ordered chocolate chip cookies for everyone. He was attentive too, Jungwon noticed. The way he prepared their drinks and snacks so carefully with calm and skilled hands.

"Have a good day, Juyeon-ssi," Sunoo spoke warmly and although Jungwon had wanted to say the same thing too, now he didn't want to repeat it, so instead he simply bowed slightly and smiled in an almost shy way.

This was awkward, yes. But it also felt good finally seeing the man who had entered their lives so quietly without him even noticing at first.

← read previous chapter | go to next chapter →

[lilalines]

⋆.˚27 ⋮ ⌗ ┆moments like this | FOREVERMORE

your new favourite comfort angsty - friends to lovers story

────୨ৎ────

pairing — yang jungwon x female idol status — ongoing ִֶָ. ..𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ🪽་༘࿐

synopsis — For years, Yang Jungwon and Min Miyoung have built their lives side by side, sharing stages, memories, and a friendship that quietly became the center of everything. But when Jungwon learns that Mimi is preparing to leave Korea and return to England, the world he thought was certain begins to fall apart. What begins as panic slowly unravels something far more dangerous - feelings he has spent years trying to ignore. Because losing her might mean losing the person who has always been his home.

content warnings — mostly fluff. feel - good, slow-burn romance type of story. toxic family dynamics, generational trauma, slight implications of EDs and Depression.

forevermore playlist 1221

now playing: moments, One Direction

▶︎ •၊၊||၊|။||||။‌‌‌‌‌၊|• 02:59

May 2024

"Enhypen is coming back today, have you heard?"

Juyeon was cleaning the plates and cups, completely lost in his own thoughts, but now he suddenly looked up at Seolla.

"Already?" he asked as he dried off his hands.

"Yes, they're back for, like, a few weeks and then they're going to continue their tour. But—" the slightly older girl checked the watch on her wrist before continuing, "yeah, I guess they're already back."

Juyeon nodded. He immediately thought about Mimi. She must've been thrilled to see her friends again, now that he had begun to understand the bond between them.

It had already been a few days since their first date and frankly speaking, he had hoped to see her more after that, but since Mimi was still an idol, it had been difficult with all their current schedules going on. And Mimi wasn't someone who simply enjoyed a lot of free time after shoots. No, she would usually spend the few extra hours cramped inside a small studio.

Just like she was doing at that very moment as well. As always, the blonde haired idol was deeply sucked into her own world filled with samples and demos and scrapped lyrics spread across her little notebook. And she wouldn't have had it any other way either.

The headset she was wearing was pressed against her ears so tightly that she didn't hear the alarm going off on her phone at first, but then she saw it in the corner of her eye, popping up on her screen:

Rina Unnie birthday dinner + Enha return

The smile on her face grew immediately and she placed her headset onto its little stand next to the computer. It was already getting late and if she hadn't set that alarm earlier, she would've probably forgotten about it.

On her way out of the studios, Mimi picked up Hyemin from one of the dance practice rooms where she'd been filming some challenges and trying to create choreographies. Dancing was kind of Hyemin's equivalent to Mimi's producing and although the blonde girl respected her best friend's passion deeply, she could never understand it in the same way. She had quite the love-hate relationship with dancing in general.

"Create anything cool today?" Hyemin asked as she swung her bag over her shoulder and walked alongside Mimi through the large hallways of the company. She had taken a quick shower there as well and was currently still drying her long hair with a towel.

"Hmm, nothing important enough to mention. What about you?" Mimi asked and all Hyemin did was shrug her shoulders in a silent "same here" kind of expression. Then both girls let out a quiet chuckle at the same time. They had always had that kind of connection where there wasn't a huge need for big words. A glance or a sound was usually enough and they enjoyed each other's quietness.

When they passed the café, Mimi, as always, took the extra second to glance over at the counter, but since the café had already closed, Juyeon was nowhere to be seen. She sighed a little in disappointment and of course, her best friend noticed immediately.

"You're getting really obvious about this," Hyemin commented with an amused smirk on her face and Mimi only rolled her eyes, but immediately stopped when she recognised the barista standing close to the building's exit. Juyeon was sitting on one of the benches in the waiting area and when he saw the two girls approaching him, he immediately stood up with the polite smile on his face he was known for. Mimi couldn't help but smile brightly as well and that alone was enough to amuse Hyemin to the point where she had to hold back a teasing laugh.

"Ah, Oppa. Were you waiting this whole time?" Mimi asked, her eyebrows furrowed as she looked at him worriedly. It was truly torture for someone as anti-romantic as Hyemin, who had never seen her best friend like that before.

"Oh, Mimiyah. I got off work just now too and I wanted to see you once before leaving. Nice to see you, Hyemin-ssi."

He bowed once as he was scanned by the judging eyes of Epicenter's main rapper. Hyemin wasn't someone who was easily impressed by a charming smile and polished words. By now, it was painfully obvious that something was growing between her best friend and this barista guy she barely knew and she, like everyone else in their friend group, was still getting used to it. She nodded back once and hummed quietly.

"Nice to meet you."

Then she looked back at Mimi.

"I'm sorry, but we have somewhere to go. Again."

The blonde girl apologised not only with her words but with the entire look on her face, but Juyeon quickly shook his head again. It wasn't the first time he had heard those words from her and he understood completely.

"Maybe we can see each other towards the end of the week," he suggested in a non-pressuring way. Well, at least he hoped it came across that way.

"Yeah, I'll text you later. Have a nice evening, Oppa."

And just like that, Mimi and Hyemin were already on their way again.

"That was quick," the dark haired rapper mumbled as she fastened her seatbelt once they had both entered Mimi's car.

"What do you mean?" Mimi asked and started the engine immediately. They were heading to the restaurant right away.

"I don't know. Like... a really short catch-up."

"But that's just how we usually are. That's pretty much all our schedules allow."

Mimi wasn't unhappy about the current situation. After all, whatever was happening between her and Juyeon had literally just begun and she was in no rush to change anything about it right now.

"I guess that makes sense. He seems nice," Hyemin nodded while still patting her hair dry with the towel she had brought along while Mimi focused carefully on driving through the city. Spring was at its peak now. The days were growing longer again. A few weeks ago, it would've already been dark outside at this hour, but now the sun was still hanging low in the sky, slowly setting. The weather had also become significantly warmer again. Mimi was wearing only a thin striped pullover and some loose denim pants while Hyemin was already in a short-sleeved shirt. Then again, Mimi had always gotten cold easily.

"He is very nice. And understanding too. I mean, I kind of asked him out on a second date the morning after our first one, but we still couldn't agree on a specific day because of my schedules and he's been really patient with all of it," Mimi explained, but the other girl still didn't seem overly impressed.

"Well, it's not your fault either way, so wouldn't that just be the bare minimum?"

"He could still be bothered by it and it wouldn't even be his fault, so I'm grateful as it is."

Hyemin couldn't really argue with that, nor could she think of anything else to add. Mimi and her had always kind of been the single friends of their group. Men had never played a significant role in either of their lives before and now that they suddenly did, it felt unfamiliar. And Hyemin didn't do well with unfamiliar things. Still, Mimi seemed happy and that alone was enough.

When they arrived at the restaurant, which was located more on the outskirts of Seoul, Mimi immediately recognised two company vans parked outside, which could only mean that the others had already arrived. And then she saw the door of one of them slide open.

"Ah, it's the boys," Hyemin pointed out as Sunoo stepped out of the car first, followed by Sunghoon and in the blink of an eye, all seven boys were scanning the location from different directions while Mimi parked her car beside them.

"The others are already inside."

"What a way to greet us, Minah," Jay laughed teasingly while watching the girl roll her eyes.

"You were gone for a week, not a year. Were you expecting flowers?" Hyemin asked in such a serious tone that anyone who didn't know her would've naturally assumed she was furious with the fellow member of the infamous "02z".

But since the others did know her, they simply laughed and Mimi did too. She spotted her best friend, her brother, still standing there grinning from ear to ear with his hands tucked into his back pockets and when he saw her, his smile only widened.

And it still felt a little—

There was no real way for Mimi to describe it, but the argument they had over the phone still lingered faintly in the back of her mind.

She smiled back at him, but somehow she couldn't entirely shake the feeling.

Different from Hyemin, Mimi naturally exchanged hugs with the members of the boy group and when she finally reached Jungwon, the two best friends hugged in what felt like an especially tight embrace. And somehow she immediately knew that she had nothing to worry about. Nothing was ever going to change. Not a fight, not awkward phone calls and not even a potential boyfriend or girlfriend.

"Did you have fun in the States?" Mimi asked Jungwon as she walked beside him into the restaurant.

The younger boy nodded excitedly.

"It was so cool. I wish we could've had more stops," he admitted before asking:

"What about you? Any updates from home?"

"Nope, nothing much happened really. Besides Rina's birthday of course and the comeback," Mimi answered and then they had already reached the table where the other members of Epicenter were sitting and waiting for them and from then on, the attention shifted entirely to the birthday girl, as it should have.

The girls and boys spent another one of those endless, comforting evenings together that day. One of those many nights they would surely never forget. They each loved their respective groups exactly the way they were, they truly did. They weren't one huge co-ed group, no. Enhypen was Enhypen and Epicenter was Epicenter.

And of course, apart from Jungwon and Mimi, there were things the girls only shared with the girls and things the boys only shared with the boys. But still, this very feeling of belonging and support and togetherness couldn't have been replicated if it hadn't been this exact constellation of people and they all knew that. That was why they cherished moments like this so deeply.

Because in moments like these, it didn't matter that they were "boys" and "girls", or idols, or not blood related, or anything else. They were a family and that alone was enough.

← read previous chapter | go to next chapter →

[lilalines]

⋆.˚26 ⋮ ⌗ ┆ like cats and dogs | FOREVERMORE

your new favourite comfort angsty - friends to lovers story

────୨ৎ────

pairing — yang jungwon x female idol

status — ongoing ִֶָ. ..𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ🪽་༘࿐

synopsis — For years, Yang Jungwon and Min Miyoung have built their lives side by side, sharing stages, memories, and a friendship that quietly became the center of everything. But when Jungwon learns that Mimi is preparing to leave Korea and return to England, the world he thought was certain begins to fall apart. What begins as panic slowly unravels something far more dangerous - feelings he has spent years trying to ignore. Because losing her might mean losing the person who has always been his home.

content warnings — mostly fluff. feel - good, slow-burn romance type of story. toxic family dynamics, generational trauma, slight implications of EDs and Depression.

forevermore playlist 1221

now playing: 505, Arctic Monkeys

▶︎ •၊၊||၊|။||||။‌‌‌‌‌၊|• 02:12

April 2024

"How was the concert?" Mimi sat down on her studio chair, her phone pressed to her cheek and ear. It wasn't that she was trying to avoid the inevitable topic, but she was genuinely more interested in how Sunoo had been holding up despite his condition. And of course, how Jungwon was feeling himself.

"It was good, Noona."

Good, Mimi thought. He doesn't sound as upset as his messages did.

"Sunoo Hyung took some meds and he's still passed out and resting."

Mimi nodded before realising that Jungwon couldn't actually see her. And somehow, he still got it.

A silence grew between them. One could think that after all these years, the two best friends must've become experts at arguing with each other, but the reality couldn't have been more different. The truth was, Mimi and Jungwon rarely argued because they rarely disagreed on something. It was rare, but then again, so was their entire friendship. There were things they both felt sorry for, things both of them couldn't fully understand yet. There was just a lot between them right now, a lot more than just the ocean physically separating them.

"Listen, Jungwonah," Mimi began first because she truly felt guilty about leaving him out of all of this. And on the other hand, she also felt a bit weird about the fact that this had become such a huge issue now.

Still, she was never someone who wouldn't apologise when she felt the need to.

"I'm sorry for not telling you about Juyeon Oppa."

"Oppa?" Jungwon repeated.

"Yeah, I'm sorry I didn't tell you about him. It's not that I wanted to keep it from you, there simply wasn't time."

Mimi sighed and let her hand run through her hair once as she waited for Jungwon to speak.

"This is just really new to me, Noona," he finally admitted.

He was sitting backstage again in some empty dressing room, fidgeting with his clothes.

He didn't have much time left before their break ended.

"Like, we always shared stuff. And then I'm overhearing — mind you, OVERHEARING — a conversation that you're going out with someone you barely know."

The way Jungwon was describing it now made a lot of sense to Mimi. Well, it had already made sense to her before, which was exactly why she had been feeling so sorry. She wondered how she would've reacted if she had been in his shoes and it wasn't that Jungwon seemed angry. He seemed confused and she understood that confusion. She truly did.

"I know. It was just really bad timing, Jungwonah."

"But you did tell the girls. It never bothered you that I was a guy when you told me stuff, so why now?"

From his tone, Mimi could tell that Jungwon was starting to get a bit riled up. Not in an aggressive way, but his confusion was growing and with that, his frustration. Jungwon had always been like that whenever things didn't make sense to him. And in a way, Mimi was starting to get frustrated as well because the way he was putting things wasn't how she had intended them at all.

"You're getting this wrong, Jungwonah. I didn't want to keep this from you," she argued but her best friend immediately talked back.

"But you had opportunities to tell me and you didn't."

When the blonde girl looked at herself through the computer screen in front of her, she could see that she was beginning to frown.

"No, I didn't, it wasn't that this thing — it was spontaneous—"

But then she stopped herself because that wasn't entirely true and she didn't want to lie to Jungwon. Ever.

"The timing was just off."

"I'm telling you, there were opportunities. I've only been gone for a few days. You started liking him only a few days ago?"

Mimi wasn't just frowning anymore. She wasn't just feeling conflicted or frustrated, no. She was genuinely getting annoyed with her younger "brother". More annoyed than she had been in a very long time.

And Jungwon was feeling the same way.

Oh, she hadn't heard that tone from him in years. Maybe ever before. He was snappy, truly snappy now and it was childish, but she was feeling the same way.

"Are you listening to what I'm saying, Yang Jungwon? I am sorry you heard about it through others. It wasn't my intention!"

Mimi's voice wasn't getting louder or anything, but sharper, just like Jungwon's and now he was really starting to feel it. It didn't help that people had started knocking on his dressing room door, reminding him that the short window of their break was coming to an end.

"It doesn't make sense to me."

Although Jungwon sounded calmer, they both knew it was the opposite.

"I have to go now anyway. Let's talk later or something."

"Jungwon," Mimi mumbled, but Jungwon had already hung up because the others had entered the dressing room without a second warning.

The repeated beeping sound from her phone signalling that he had ended the call only annoyed her even more to the point where a subtle grunt left her lips in frustration, but there was only so much she could really do. She had explained the situation to him, she had apologised and he was still repeating the same things over and over again even when she had been crystal clear.

"So how was it—"

"Lim Semi, for god's sake!"

Mimi yelled out of shock. Truly, it felt like her heart had stopped for a moment when her best friend had suddenly opened the door to her studio without warning.

"Oh, sorry." The brunette laughed, but she quickly stopped when she saw the angered expression on her older sister's face.

"Seriously, would it hurt you to knock? Like... knock before you burst into a room? Just once?" Mimi asked, sarcasm dragging through her words. She wasn't as angry anymore. Well, at least she was trying to disguise it with that sad attempt at humour.

"Who spat in your tea, Unnie?" Semi mumbled as she rolled her eyes and sat down on the free chair next to her.

Mimi let out a quiet chuckle and finally rested her phone on the desk in front of her. She hadn't even noticed she'd been holding onto it the entire time.

And still, she stayed quiet as if she was thinking about what to say, though she wasn't really. She wasn't thinking about anything in particular.

"You know, getting angry once or twice a century doesn't make you less perfect."

Now both girls chuckled. Semi teased her about her "flawlessness" as often as she could, but Mimi knew better. She wasn't perfect, she was far from it.

If she had been, she wouldn't have fought with her best friend. She wouldn't have kept it from him, she wouldn't have been so stubborn just now and she would've understood him a little better.

"I fought with Jungwon," she finally admitted after letting out a very deep sigh.

"I figured that already. Is it still about the date?" Semi asked and Mimi simply nodded.

Then she continued.

"We kept spiralling over the same arguments. I can understand that he's upset over not knowing—"

"Ugh! Unnie!" Semi cut through her words with a frustrated groan and pushed her hair back with a flip.

"It's like I said, he doesn't have the right to know every single detail about your life. He'll just have to get over himself, seriously."

In many ways, Mimi agreed with Semi. At least she wanted to agree with her. She wanted the same lightness and even carelessness, but she couldn't stop replaying the conversation in her head over and over again.

"He's kind of right. I could have told him," she admitted quietly, but Semi shook her head again.

"But you didn't have to, Unnie. That's the whole point. Whatever you share or don't share is entirely up to you and your own decision. Jungwon might still see you as the teenage older sister that lived in his grandma's house, so that's why all of this feels weird to him, but you grew up. You're hot! It's about time you threw yourself out there."

Semi had always had her own way with words and pep talks. A way that was both funny and strangely persistent and Mimi wasn't someone who couldn't be influenced.

"Besides, he knows now. So why keep talking about it? Hey, you're usually the logical one, not me."

"Yeah, you're right. He does know now. And it's not like I'm getting married or anything and he's only finding out two days before the wedding."

Mimi was still mumbling half-convinced, but at least she wasn't upset or angry anymore and that suited her a lot better.

"That's the spirit!" Semi praised and got up, as it was about time to head back to practice again, so Mimi followed her, but then she suddenly stopped in her tracks.

"You know what? You go ahead, I'll be there in a bit. I'll just get a coffee first."

The blonde girl was smirking in a very unfamiliar, very new way and it filled the American girl with joy and excitement, so she nodded immediately.

"I see, Unnie. Take your time and make it worth it."

Then she winked and even wiggled her eyebrows to the point where Mimi felt really embarrassed, but still amused. She even laughed as she walked through the hallways towards the café.

This was good, the blonde haired idol thought to herself. This was a good thing and as she spotted Juyeon standing at his usual counter, it filled her with even more excitement. Semi was right, she thought as she got closer and closer. Jungwon would just have to get over it. He was still a part of her life, a part of everything and now that there were no secrets between them anymore, she felt even more thrilled about opening this new chapter in her life.

Juyeon saw her too now, a sparkle appearing in his eyes and he immediately started smiling brightly and Mimi smiled back right away when suddenly, the ringtone of her phone made her stop in her tracks. She looked faster than she could think.

'Jungwonie' is calling...

"One second!" she mouthed to the barista before she picked up, the anger towards her best friend already gone.

"Yes?" she answered.

"I'm sorry, Noona." Jungwon's voice was so much calmer now and she immediately felt the last bit of concern and tension fall off her shoulders. Her smile changed. It was still there, it was just... softer.

"I am sorry too," she admitted as she looked down at her shoes.

← read previous chapter | go to next chapter →

[lilalines]

⋆.˚25 ⋮ ⌗ ┆interview questions | FOREVERMORE

your new favourite comfort angsty - friends to lovers story

────୨ৎ────

pairing — yang jungwon x female idol

status — ongoing ִֶָ. ..𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ🪽་༘࿐

synopsis — For years, Yang Jungwon and Min Miyoung have built their lives side by side, sharing stages, memories, and a friendship that quietly became the center of everything. But when Jungwon learns that Mimi is preparing to leave Korea and return to England, the world he thought was certain begins to fall apart. What begins as panic slowly unravels something far more dangerous - feelings he has spent years trying to ignore. Because losing her might mean losing the person who has always been his home.

content warnings — mostly fluff. feel - good, slow-burn romance type of story. toxic family dynamics, generational trauma, slight implications of EDs and Depression.

forevermore playlist 1221

now playing: look after you, The Fray

▶︎ •၊၊||၊|။||||။‌‌‌‌‌၊|• 01:23

April 2024

Mimi:

Hi! I couldn't get through to you. You are probably asleep, right? Let's call tomorrow, Jungwonah.

She felt a little bad because she had made him wait like this, but then she remembered that it would've been impolite towards Juyeon to use her phone once again while being with him. Jungwon would understand — she would've understood too, at least if the roles were reversed and it had been Jungwon going on a date. After hitting send, Mimi put her phone back into her back pocket and hurried home a bit faster, as it was truly getting cold. The only thing she was still holding in her hand was the rose Juyeon had given her.

When she made her way into the apartment building, she finally noticed how tired she was. It was as if all the adrenaline had left her body at once and she even had to lean against the elevator's wall. But she was happy, she truly was. The date had turned out even better than she had expected. After all, Mimi was a person who was more prone to expecting the worst rather than blindly hoping for the best. On the way up, she turned around once to check herself in the mirror, only to see that she even looked visibly tired. Still, she laughed a little at herself. She couldn't believe she had really spent that much time with Juyeon. She didn't regret it though, of course.

The ride ended shortly after and when she stepped out, it was almost 11 p.m. When she stood in front of her dorm, she could already see the lights still turned on through the slit underneath the door, so she mentally prepared herself to be bombarded with millions of questions. If she was being honest, no matter how much she had enjoyed the date, her social battery had completely run out. Maybe that was why she wasn't too upset that Jungwon had already been asleep when she had tried to call him.

Mimi was once again proven correct when she entered her home as quietly as possible. Semi, Bambi and Soomin were still sitting in the living room and seemed to be watching something on the TV, but their attention quickly shifted the moment they heard the door open and close. Bambi was the first to jump up.

"Unnie!" she chanted out and then audibly gasped when she discovered the single flower in her older sister's hand.

The first thing Mimi did was put it into the smallest vase she could find before she ultimately joined her friends in the living room again. If it had been up to her, she would've just gone to bed right away, but she didn't want to leave them hanging either. The three friends were looking at Mimi with the most anticipating expressions she had ever seen, eyes big and round, mouths slightly agape, like three little puppies.

"Stop acting nonchalant!"

Semi was the first to break the silence, of course, and all Mimi did was chuckle and take even more time to sit down calmly.

"I'm not being nonchalant, I'm just tired, Semi."

At this point, it almost seemed like the American girl was more invested in Mimi's love life than her own and it was usually her who had the most exciting date stories to tell. That was probably why she was so bothered by her older sister's silence.

"But he was nice to you, right?" Bambi's eyes seemed to grow almost twice in size as she looked at Mimi with the same impatience as Semi.

"Yes, yes, he was nice. It was a good date!"

"Now isn't that just the driest date review ever?"

Now all four girls filled the room with light laughter, but still, they wouldn't let Mimi off the hook that easily. And although she wasn't too keen on going over all the details, she found herself blushing at the thought of them.

She shared how different Juyeon's world was from their own and how remarkable he was because of that, to say the least, and how much she liked the way he smiled with his eyes whenever he listened to her. Soomin knew that expression on someone's face. She had noticed it in herself too when she had started liking someone. And the barista she had personally met herself and the person Mimi was describing seemed like a great guy for her younger sister.

Given the fact that they had more comeback preparations to work on the next day, the girls didn't end up staying in the living room for that long and soon, they were all in bed, resting for the hectic schedules that awaited them.

The next morning, it was Semi who was getting a drink at the company's café, just Semi alone, and she was very pleased to see that Juyeon was the one standing at the counter and looking around somewhat cautiously, as if he was waiting for someone. Semi knew exactly who it was he was looking for and it made her smile grow even wider and filled her with so much excitement that she practically skipped her way up to him.

"Good morning, Juyeon-ssi," she greeted him with her usual friendliness that usually left people a bit startled at first and it was the same with the young barista. Still, he smiled back politely.

"Good morning, Miss Semi. Pleasant to see you," he said in an acting, almost teasing manner and it amused them both equally.

Truly a good choice, Mimi Unnie, Semi thought as she let her eyes wander up and down the slightly older man in front of her.

"So, I heard you took someone very dear to me on a date yesterday. I know this is a very father- or brother-like thing, but since she has neither here right now — you know, with Enhypen on tour, the duty falls to me." Semi put her elbows down on the counter and leaned forward with an unusually serious expression on her small, pretty face. Juyeon leaned forward too after wiping the inside of his hands on his pants out of nervousness, then he looked at her attentively, waiting.

"What are your intentions with my older sister, Juyeon-ssi?" she then asked, eyes piercing through the barista with absolutely no mercy and Juyeon felt as though he was standing in front of a whole court of law instead of just the American idol. Semi kept him hanging onto that thread for a few seconds before she couldn't help herself and burst into laughter. That was just how she was. She loved teasing people, she loved catching people off guard and she loved reactions and right now, Juyeon was giving her all of those.

"I am only joking," she explained and that was finally when he started grinning again as well. Indeed, Semi could even see how he let out a deep breath of relief. And somehow, it only proved to Semi that she didn't have to worry.

"But!" she suddenly shouted, which caused Juyeon to shriek and his smile to disappear immediately. "If you hurt her, I will hurt you." And she wasn't really joking about that and neither was he.

"I cannot predict the future, but Mimi is a really amazing woman and I consider myself grateful to be in her presence," he said with undeniable sincerity and Semi was successfully satisfied. And just when she was about to order her drink, Juyeon suddenly spoke up again.

"There is one thing I was curious about though, if it's okay to ask. It's just about... when you mentioned her brother."

Semi nodded and let out a little humming sound to show him that he could continue.

"She told me yesterday that you guys are very close with Enhypen. Or more specifically, that she is really close with Jungwon-nim."

She nodded again.

"They are not— I mean... they have never? There was never something between them, right?" Juyeon asked hesitantly. He even awkwardly chuckled and scratched the back of his head for a second.

It wasn't really his place to ask such questions because after all, it was him whom she had gone out with. And it wasn't that he was jealous, he was simply curious. Still, he watched Semi's expression change almost dramatically. At first, her eyes widened, then the corners of her lips did too and when she covered her mouth with her hand, that was when she started laughing.

"Jungwonie? And Mimi Unnie?!" she laughed so hard that her stomach started hurting quickly and her eyes squeezed shut and although Juyeon couldn't understand her amusement at first, he found himself laughing as well at how obviously ridiculous his question must have sounded.

"Jungwonie and Mimi Unnie..." Semi repeated again and now she was shaking her head too and when she opened her eyes and saw the confused but amused expression on the barista's face, she quickly apologised.

"Sorry, I'm not making fun of you, I swear. It's just... the thought is so bizarre, it's— well. They are close, yes. So I guess I can see why someone would question their friendship. Even I had to get used to it at first," she admitted after she had finally calmed down from laughing so much. Juyeon simply smiled at her now and nodded. All of his questions had been answered and although he had promised himself he wasn't jealous, he did feel a bit more relieved now. And with that feeling spreading through his chest, he finally cheerfully took her very complicated order. Like always.

← read previous chapter | go to next chapter →

[lilalines]

⋆.˚24 ⋮ ⌗ ┆ evaluations | FOREVERMORE

your new favourite comfort angsty - friends to lovers story

────୨ৎ────

pairing — yang jungwon x female idol

status — ongoing ִֶָ. ..𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ🪽་༘࿐

synopsis — For years, Yang Jungwon and Min Miyoung have built their lives side by side, sharing stages, memories, and a friendship that quietly became the center of everything. But when Jungwon learns that Mimi is preparing to leave Korea and return to England, the world he thought was certain begins to fall apart. What begins as panic slowly unravels something far more dangerous - feelings he has spent years trying to ignore. Because losing her might mean losing the person who has always been his home.

content warnings — mostly fluff. feel - good, slow-burn romance type of story. toxic family dynamics, generational trauma, slight implications of EDs and Depression.

forevermore playlist 1221

now playing: cold water, Major Lazer

▶︎ •၊၊||၊|။||||။‌‌‌‌‌၊|• 00:06

July 2019

"Miyoungie!" Mimi looked up immediately. She had been staring at her shoes the whole time her teammates had been commented on. She knew she could've done better, she knew she had messed up and she was ready to face it.

Mr. Seong, their dance coach, was holding his notebook in front of him as he sighed and tilted his head lightly. His forehead was in a frown as he seemed to be deep in thought for another moment. He took his sweet time and it only made Mimi more worried.

"For someone with your initial growth, you're actually starting to move backwards. Skill-wise. This was really disappointing for you. You're moving like a child. Are you a child?" His words came out even harsher than Mimi had expected and they cut deep through her already wounded self-esteem. She nodded, accepting the harsh truth, no matter how much it hurt. Even when it hurt quite a lot.

Even the other trainees were gasping behind her. Jungwon was, for sure. Mimi had built a reputation as someone who was learning fast, improving fast and always working hard, but Mr. Seong hadn't been entirely wrong because she felt it too and she couldn't even explain why or what had made her slack lately. If it was her not continuing to show growth or other trainees simply moving past her. Or was it the fact that she still felt a bit like an outsider at the new company? Well, she had befriended some of the older trainees, Louna and Soomin, and of course, there was always Jungwon, but still. For someone like Mimi, who disliked change, it always took some time to get used to new environments. The rest of the day passed the young girl without her really noticing. Her mind was everywhere all at once, recalling all the moments that had shaped her into who she was right now. All the opportunities she'd had.

The company switch — had it been a good idea after all? What if she'd blown her chance?

Even during dinner she was completely out of it and while Jungwon knew why, his grandmother could only assume. She didn't comment on it though, she knew that Mimi was different from her grandson in that sense. She needed space, not confrontation, and that's what she gave her. Jungwon respected his Noona's space a little less, though.

"I'm going to get kicked," Mimi groaned, laying flat on the floor of Halmoni's little terrace while he stood over her, laughing a little at the position he'd found her in. It was warm out, a summer night. It was late too and Mimi had sneaked her way out after they had long said goodnight. The night was actually quite beautiful like this. The street lanterns were illuminating the quiet neighbourhood. It smelled of food, flowers and summer.

"You won't, Noona!" he giggled, making her glare at him unforgivingly, but she let him join her.

The two best friends were now lying next to one another, staring at the sky. It was unexpectedly clear tonight, there were even some stars shining down on them. Mimi liked looking at them. It reminded her of England, not that she missed it that much, but still. Looking at the sky and all its endlessness made her feel small, but not in a bad way. It always made her realise how, no matter how terribly serious her own problems seemed to her in the moment, they were nothing compared to the endless number of galaxies above her. And suddenly they felt a little less serious. Jungwon didn't understand the appeal of blankly staring into the night sky as much, but he didn't comment on it. He just lay there and waited.

"He said I move like a child," Mimi mumbled, a bit calmer now.

"I can't get this stupid choreo right, no matter how hard I try. They will eliminate me before I even finish learning the song."

Jungwon sighed. She didn't even have to repeat their coach's words, he had been there and heard them too. And he truly couldn't figure out what was wrong with his Noona lately. Jungwon didn't know her like that — all insecure and almost clumsy with her movements.

"How are you getting along at the new company?"

Now he turned his face to look at her and she did the same.

"I've made some friends. I like it, it seems promising," Jungwon answered.

"Yeah, you're thriving, Jungwonah. I'm glad." Mimi nodded, an encouraging smile on her face that he mirrored right away.

"You could be too, Noona," Jungwon said sincerely, but Mimi only shook her head in frustration.

"I'm telling you: these choreos — how do you even learn these so fast?"

Jungwon shrugged, the wide grin still on his face. To him, learning choreographies was pure fun and he couldn't really understand why Mimi hated it so much. In his eyes, she wasn't even that bad. He watched her get up then and attempt the dance again, right in front of him and his mischievous grin never faded.

"Noona, it's not like this! You need to make this bigger."

He jumped up right away to stand beside her.

"Your arms, make them biiiiiiiggggg like this!" he chanted. He was way too happy about this, Mimi thought as she tried to copy her younger friend. She failed miserably though. It was like her arms and legs had developed a mind of their own, moving against her own will. And on top of that, she felt so uncomfortable she let her limbs loosen up completely to the point where she truly looked like she had never danced before.

"I can't! I can't! Or I'll dislocate my elbow."

Jungwon laughed out loud now, holding his stomach, his eyes squeezed shut.

"Can I?" he asked while still laughing shamelessly at her.

He had stepped behind Mimi now, hands hovering in the air, about to grab her arms and Mimi nodded, rolling her eyes. He then guided her arms steadily, yet gently, showing her how to twist them correctly.

"Like this, Noona. It makes you look less like a jelly person," he commented proudly.

"You watch what you say, Yang Jungwon!" Now it was Mimi who laughed as she gently pushed her elbow back, right into his stomach.

"Ugh!" A groaning sound left the 15-year-old's mouth but he still laughed.

They kept practising over and over again, laughter filling the whole neighbourhood to the point where Mrs. Yang suddenly stuck her head out of her bedroom window. Neither Mimi nor Jungwon noticed it at first.

"You must've lost your minds. Off to bed, you two, at once!" she whispered, but her tone said everything. Sharp and non-negotiable. Mimi and Jungwon turned to one another immediately, eyes widened in pure terror because they knew Mrs. Yang would have no mercy on them. Then they giggled, because the situation was equally as terrifying as it was funny — ridiculous even.

← read previous chapter | go to next chapter →

[lilalines]

⋆.˚23 ⋮ ⌗ ┆epic stories | FOREVERMORE

your new favourite comfort angsty - friends to lovers story

────୨ৎ────

pairing — yang jungwon x female idol

status — ongoing ִֶָ. ..𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ🪽་༘࿐

synopsis — For years, Yang Jungwon and Min Miyoung have built their lives side by side, sharing stages, memories, and a friendship that quietly became the center of everything. But when Jungwon learns that Mimi is preparing to leave Korea and return to England, the world he thought was certain begins to fall apart. What begins as panic slowly unravels something far more dangerous - feelings he has spent years trying to ignore. Because losing her might mean losing the person who has always been his home.

content warnings — mostly fluff. feel - good, slow-burn romance type of story. toxic family dynamics, generational trauma, slight implications of EDs and Depression.

forevermore playlist 1221

now playing: we'll be the stars, Sabrina Carpenter

▶︎ •၊၊||၊|။||||။‌‌‌‌‌၊|• 1:11

April 2024

"Why are you still up? We have a packed day tomorrow," Jay grunted before he put his sleeping mask back over his eyes to avoid the brightness of Jungwon's screen blinding him in the middle of the dark room.

"Just," Jungwon mumbled and closed his phone, even though his friend, whom he shared his hotel room with, was already half asleep again. Jay had that special ability to fall asleep wherever and whenever he wanted to.

Jungwon didn't have that ability and now, in his mind, he was walking through the many different situations in which his best friend could have told him about this date. It was more that he was wondering if he hadn't given her an opportunity to do so now, when earlier it had been more about him fearing she was keeping things from him on purpose. Mimi wasn't like that, he had concluded and still, now that he was checking his phone again, he felt the tightness in his chest. He just hoped she was safe and having fun. He kind of wished he had paid more attention to the barista she was meeting with. He looked trustworthy, didn't he? If Jungwon was being honest, he barely remembered his face.

Meanwhile, Mimi was truly starting to relax fully. The conversation with Juyeon flowed naturally, as there was so much she wanted to know about him and vice versa. And for someone as introverted and closed off as Mimi, this was surely something new and exciting. They were both taking bites from the delicious food they had ordered, but more than that, they were focused on the other one.

"Would you like to stay a barista forever? And open a café one day?" Mimi asked curiously after taking a sip from her wine and Juyeon chuckled immediately and shook his head with an almost apologetic expression on his face.

"Don't misunderstand, I really, really like this job. But I'm mainly doing it to save some money for when I want to go to university later. I want to become a teacher," he explained, smiling softly before taking yet another sip from his soup. Mimi could picture him well as a teacher from what she'd gotten to know about him so far. He seemed so gentle, she could totally see him being good with kids.

"That's really cool, Oppa," she admitted cheerfully, causing Juyeon to chuckle once again. The young man noticed anyway that he was smiling and laughing a lot when she was around and it wasn't because Mimi was naturally comedic or funny in a performative way, but because she had this really charming spirit to her that just made people smile. That was what he had noticed about her at first.

"Have you always wanted to become an idol?" he then asked. That was what their entire conversation was like; asking each other questions. And it was truly like Semi had said: dates were indeed for getting to know one another and so far, Mimi liked what she learned about the friendly barista and he could only agree. She nodded upon his question, just to frown a little as she thought about it further before she finally replied.

"Not necessarily an idol, but I've always wanted to work in the music field, I'd say. I grew up in England and being an idol isn't really a thing there. Not like it is here, anyway."

Juyeon didn't want to admit that he had already known that about her, the fact that she'd lived in England for most of her life. It was probably one of the more convenient aspects of his date being an idol, even when it had felt a little embarrassing to google her beforehand.

"I'm glad you came here," he admitted then, making her blush shyly. She wasn't used to someone flirting so obviously with her and she would be lying if she said it didn't still feel a bit unfamiliar, but that was only natural, she reassured herself.

"Me too," she added in a soft tone.

"And your parents are here as well?" She could've seen this coming. Actually, she had already seen this coming. Family, parents, those were topics that just came up when getting to know someone. Explaining her family was something so difficult, she felt a little uncomfortable at first, but then she remembered that she was the one who decided how much she wanted to share in the first place.

"My parents stayed in England. I lived with Jungwon and his grandmother when I was a trainee, that's how we got so close and, well, we always stayed this way."

The smile that Mimi was wearing when she said those words was totally infectious, that's how bright and joyful she looked. It was what had always helped her when it came to talking about family and family issues: shifting her focus to the family she had. Leading her mind to picture the hanok in front of her and the elderly lady that had practically raised her instead of the mother that she should call more often.

Juyeon nodded understandingly.

"That sounds very sweet. What an epic story," he commented innocently and Mimi laughed. Epic, indeed. Unusual, yes, but also epic. The girl raised her glass then.

"To epic stories, such as this one." And then they toasted and continued eating and chatting lightly, without even noticing the time passing them by and other people leaving.

Mimi realised more and more that she hadn't met someone like Juyeon in a long, long while, if not ever. And it was a bit embarrassing for her to admit, but she also realised that night that she hadn't spoken so casually to someone in a long while either. Like, getting to know them and exchanging things about each other. She was far too young to be experiencing these things so rarely, she concluded.

"There was something I was wondering about, Mimiyah," Juyeon asked after a while and after both had downed one or two glasses of wine. Mimi usually didn't really drink a lot, but the alcohol certainly made her feel a little more relaxed right now. She nodded attentively and sat up a little straighter, to show how she was ready for whatever question he had to ask.

"I know the group you're in is generally very close to Enhypen, right? Aren't there any dating rumours?"

Now, the blonde-haired idol laughed. She wasn't laughing at him in a degrading way, but she was simply amused.

"Of course there are," she began and chuckled yet again. "We stopped caring about them really early on. We're all just really good friends, more like a family, to be honest. That's why I always say 'my brother' when speaking about Jungwonie. We figured that no matter what we do, there will always be people who question our friendship and make groundless rumours, so we all said that we should just enjoy our lives."

Now it was the barista whose smile grew wider. He admired Mimi, he always had, but now it wasn't because she was an idol or because, for an idol, she was incredibly humble and easy-going, but because she seemed... fearless. As if she truly didn't care about what others thought about her, well, at least the people that didn't count.

And with that, he had figured out something about the young woman that even some of her friends hadn't, which made him that much more attractive to her. Because if there was something Mimi truly liked, it was when people knew her and saw her. They stayed at the restaurant almost until it closed and when they finally stepped out, they did stay in the parking lot for quite some time.

"I had a great time thanks to you, Juyeon Oppa," Mimi admitted. It was important to her to let him know, as she didn't want him to overthink later about how she had liked the date. Communication was very important to her.

"I had a great time too, thank you, Mimi." The man spoke a little calmer than the idol, who was looking around a little cautiously, but this part of the street was very closed off and shut down, not really accessible to the general public. After all, many celebrities came here to date.

"And thank you for treating me. The next dinner is on me though!" He then chuckled a little awkwardly and scratched the back of his head out of shyness and nervousness, especially because Mimi had caught onto his wink right away.

And just a few hours earlier, she would have left it uncommented, but hours had passed indeed. Maybe it was just the little bit of alcohol in her system or it was the fact that she simply felt closer to the barista now, but this time, she didn't leave it uncommented.

"Does that mean there's a second..." Still, she stopped herself from continuing now. Too afraid to let the word glide over her lips. Her eyes grew a little now, pupils sparkling under the street lantern next to them. Juyeon looked down at her with the same soft smile on his face that he'd been wearing all night. His hand moved towards her face now and gently tucked one of her strands behind her ear. He didn't really touch her, but his hand remained at the spot for a second too long. And Mimi froze, her hand grabbing her phone a little tighter for some sort of emotional support.

Did he want to kiss her? Dates sometimes ended with kisses, she knew that. But she also knew, no matter how much she was starting to grow comfortable with Juyeon, she was not ready for a kiss. The thought irritated her so much, she held her breath and only released it when the barista moved back a little again just seconds later.

"Second date," he suddenly added, voice low and comforting, yet confident. She liked the confidence. It was something that she was currently lacking.

"I'd really like that, Mimiyah."

"Me too." The little hints of bravery within the girl were totally gone with the wind now and she was back to being her slightly awkward and shy self, but Juyeon didn't take it personally nor judge it. Instead, he gave her the space she needed. Once again, he noticed the girl starting to shake and that's why he finally moved.

"We should get you home, Mimiyah. Would you let me drop you off at your home?" he asked politely but Mimi shook her head gratefully but rejecting.

"I only live a short walk away and I wanted to call Jungwonie before he goes to bed, which he probably already has, but still. But you get going, Oppa! Drive safely."

As before, Juyeon accepted the younger's decision and reached into his coat pocket to grab the keys to his car.

They kept smiling at one another when the barista slowly moved towards his car. It was a small, grey one. Contrasting with the man's height, it was cute. Mimi watched the way he squeezed into it and she couldn't help but giggle a little before she started waving to him again. Juyeon waved back right away up until he drove off and Mimi watched him and waved after him until he turned the next corner and disappeared out of her sight. Then she finally took a deep breath as the adrenaline in her body slowly quieted down.

She was still excited though. She kept replaying the things and words of tonight, all the sweet compliments she'd gotten, all the times they had agreed on whatever opinion the other had. Or exchanged yet another movie or show they both liked. She was basically boiling, but not with jealousy or anger or disapproval. It was more something exciting, something good, some excitement inside her body.

She started walking with that bright smile on her face that never seemed to wear off. In fact, her cheeks started hurting and she couldn't help but laugh at herself. While she was walking, she grabbed her phone almost right away to dial the all-familiar number.

← read previous chapter | go to next chapter →

[lilalines]

⋆.˚22 ⋮ ⌗ ┆first date | FOREVERMORE

your new favourite comfort angsty - friends to lovers story

────୨ৎ────

pairing — yang jungwon x female idol status — ongoing ִֶָ. ..𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ🪽་༘࿐

synopsis — For years, Yang Jungwon and Min Miyoung have built their lives side by side, sharing stages, memories, and a friendship that quietly became the center of everything. But when Jungwon learns that Mimi is preparing to leave Korea and return to England, the world he thought was certain begins to fall apart. What begins as panic slowly unravels something far more dangerous - feelings he has spent years trying to ignore. Because losing her might mean losing the person who has always been his home.

content warnings — mostly fluff. feel - good, slow-burn romance type of story. toxic family dynamics, generational trauma, slight implications of EDs and Depression.

forevermore playlist 1221

now playing: nervous, Shawn Mendes

▶︎ •၊၊||၊|။||||။‌‌‌‌‌၊|• 0:52

April 2024

Jungwonie:

Just finished the show, sorry I left like that. Maybe we can call later.

Mimi didn't even notice the cold anymore as she was standing outside the restaurant, that's how focused she was on her phone, reading the message over and over again.

She pouted a bit, her forehead in a frown.

That message wasn't really reassuring and it only told her more that her best friend was truly upset.

She had never wanted this to be blown out of proportion like that.

Jungwon was thinking too deeply into this, Mimi thought, and now she was overthinking it too as she stared at her screen until it slowly turned off.

And still, she kept looking at it until she heard steps approaching her. And luckily, she looked up, otherwise this would've turned out really embarrassing for her.

She didn't recognise Juyeon at first and that's when she realised she had never seen him without his work clothes before: the white shirt and the brown apron with his nametag on it.

He was wearing a long, black coat now that somehow made him look even taller. Mimi had never really cared much about his appearance, other than thinking he was truly handsome in a gentle way. He looked like someone one would trust right away. With his big, brown eyes and his kind smile. He had a dimple on his cheek that she had noticed right away and she was seeing it now too.

Juyeon usually wore his hair slightly sleeked back and he did so now as well. He looked neat, clean, yet put together. He had probably not needed the help from all of his friends like she had, Mimi thought in that moment and started blushing a bit at the thought of that.

He was smiling at her brightly and he carried a single red rose in his hand, that was the second thing she noticed and it made her blush even more.

"I am so sorry I made you wait," Juyeon greeted her with a quick smile on his face, the kind someone wore when they were embarrassed or sorry about something, but to Mimi, there was nothing he should've been sorry for. She had been 10 minutes early and he was 5 minutes early, so truly, if anything, it was her who had to apologise for being too punctual.

"Please, don't apologise," she immediately said. "You're not even late at all."

Before the young man replied, he carefully handed her the little flower, which she took with a grateful smile on her face.

And, silly enough, like everyone always did when they received flowers, she raised it to her nose to inhale its scent. Mimi had never really been a fan of roses, she found them boring, usually. But not this time. This rose looked prettier than any rose she had ever seen and smelled better than any rose she had ever smelled.

"Your hands are cold," Juyeon commented. Mimi had barely noticed his hand brushing against hers when she had taken the rose, but now that she remembered, she felt how the spot on her hand that he had touched was slightly warmer than the rest. He was right, though. She was freezing and she only noticed it now. Before, she had been too focused on her phone and her best friend.

"Let's head inside, if that's okay. So you can warm up."

Mimi nodded and forced herself to speak so her introverted nature wouldn't come across as too obvious. "Yes, that's a good idea."

The restaurant was unusually empty that day. It was never that full for them, as it was only open for "people like her" anyway, but today was exceptionally empty. There were some people sitting at the far back but out of respect, the young idol always avoided taking a closer look at who it was. That was kind of an etiquette between celebrities like herself: having each other's backs when it came to things like this. Dating, to be more specific.

That was when it got to her head once again that she was one of them. She wasn't there like usual, right now she wasn't idol Mimi who visited the restaurant with her close friends. Right now, she was Mimi who went on a date, a real, proper date.

Excitement rose to her cheeks once again but since she was walking in front, luckily Juyeon couldn't see it.

The barista was quite nervous as well and he also didn't feel himself in the position to look around. He was already entering a world he questioned whether he could have a place in. It had already taken him some time to get used to serving coffees and cakes to people he would usually only see on big screens all around the city.

Of course, he had never told any of his friends about his date. He would never do that to Mimi. He knew that she was risking a lot by doing this and that it was genuinely very dangerous for her and he admired her courage even more because of it.

Juyeon watched her as she spoke to the restaurant's owner and followed them as they walked over to another table at the far back, sitting in the corner in front of a bricked stone wall. There were fairy lights hanging from it and it all genuinely had a very Italian, old-city, romantic vibe.

He himself had never been to Italy, but he imagined it to be like that.

When they arrived at the table, he immediately went around to pull the chair out for her before sitting down himself.

Mimi looked beautiful there, with the soft lights sparkling in her eyes and shining on her flawless, glowy skin. Idols were on a different level, Juyeon thought to himself, and he was hoping she wouldn't mind that he wasn't on that level. He couldn't have known that Mimi truly didn't care about such things, apart from the fact that she genuinely found him beautiful the way he was.

"They serve really good food here. Pick whatever you want, please, it's my treat," Mimi offered with a gentle smile on her face and Juyeon wanted to protest, but at the same time, he did not want to be disrespectful towards her offer of treating him to a meal that had initiated this date in the first place.

And Mimi really liked the fact that he did not seem like the type of guy who couldn't accept a gift from a woman.

A silence grew between the two young adults as they went through their menus and the gentle jazz music playing in the background of the restaurant was the only thing breaking it. And even though the silence was a comfortable one, Mimi still felt the need to break it. There was some awkwardness between them that weighed heavy on her, but it was only natural given the fact that the two of them were complete strangers — coworkers at best.

For a second, she questioned if this had been a good idea after all, until she grew tired of that thought. Actually, she got tired of thinking in general — overthinking.

She had decided what to eat long ago, even before opening the menu, because she always ordered the same thing anyway. And now she was looking at Juyeon over the edge of her menu, studying the way he was studying his. He seemed like a thoughtful person himself and she would give anything for an insight into his mind at that very moment.

"Can I tell you something?" she suddenly spoke before she could stop herself, making the barista look up right away. His attentive eyes looked at her so deeply now, she felt taken aback for a second. Still, when she weighed backing down now against pulling through, she assumed that backing down with some stupid excuse would be worse, so she continued instead.

"I have never done anything like this before." A nervous giggle escaped her lips and Juyeon was smiling a bit brighter now too, tilting his head slightly.

"You mean going out with a person you haven't known for long?" he asked respectfully and Mimi shook her head.

"Going out with any person," she answered.

Now it was Juyeon who was visibly taken aback. It showed in the way his eyes widened and how he adjusted his posture just slightly by straightening his back.

If he said he felt honoured, that would only be the cherry on top. He felt touched, in the most emotional way. And confused too, wondering about all the possible reasons behind the fact that Mimi had never dated.

From his coworkers at HYBE, he had learned that many idols dated. A lot dated non-celebrities too. But idols who never dated? Those existed? It didn't make sense to him. Not when Mimi was so pretty and kind.

Where was the catch?

The next thing he felt was pressure. He hadn't wanted to mess this up in the first place, but now he felt like he had to make this night extra memorable.

"I am just telling you to explain why I'm so awkward. I truly want to be less awkward," the blonde girl admitted and somehow it made them both laugh again, gently and more comfortably.

"Then let's be comfortable with one another. So, please, let's talk casually, Mimiyah," Juyeon spoke softly, like he always did. Mimi had noticed that right from the beginning: he spoke like he carried his heart on his sleeve, which made him even more attractive to her.

"Alright, Oppa," she answered with an almost teasing confidence.

They laughed again.

"So," Juyeon began after putting his menu down as well. He was truly feeling more comfortable now and it reflected onto Mimi too.

"Is your brother okay, by the way? I remember he called you urgently earlier."

Mimi had been so caught up in her nervousness, she had completely forgotten about her kind of-issues with Jungwon. And now that Juyeon brought him up again, concern immediately showed on her face, if only for a brief second. Then she made sure to mask it again.

"Oh, yes. He was nervous because of his show, yes. About what you asked earlier, he is an idol, yes. Yang Jungwon of Enhypen," she explained, now smiling again. She would deal with this later. Jungwon would understand.

"Ah, I didn't know you're siblings!"

“Oh, well. We are not related, only best friends, but that's close enough." Mimi was always filled with joy when she talked about her friends, because whenever she did, her mind flooded with all the memories she had with them.

Juyeon smiled too as he watched her eyes light up like that. It must be nice to have someone so close to you working the same job. He was eager to know more about her, more about the way her life worked and how she balanced everything so seemingly well. He would have to wait a bit though, since in that moment, the restaurant's owner, a very kind-looking elderly man, came up to them to finally take their order.

← read previous chapter | go to next chapter →

[lilalines]

⋆.˚21 ⋮ ⌗ ┆big mystery | FOREVERMORE

your new favourite comfort angsty - friends to lovers story

────୨ৎ────

pairing — yang jungwon x female idol

status — ongoing ִֶָ. ..𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ🪽་༘࿐

synopsis — For years, Yang Jungwon and Min Miyoung have built their lives side by side, sharing stages, memories, and a friendship that quietly became the center of everything. But when Jungwon learns that Mimi is preparing to leave Korea and return to England, the world he thought was certain begins to fall apart. What begins as panic slowly unravels something far more dangerous - feelings he has spent years trying to ignore. Because losing her might mean losing the person who has always been his home.

content warnings — mostly fluff. feel - good, slow-burn romance type of story. toxic family dynamics, generational trauma, slight implications of EDs and Depression.

forevermore playlist 1221

now playing: homesick, Madison Beer

▶︎ •၊၊||၊|။||||။‌‌‌‌‌၊|• 0:15

June 2017

"I think I might visit home! If I make my debut, I won't be able to go often, will I?" Hitomi said. The Japanese girl, one of the most experienced trainees Mimi knew, was sitting in a circle with her, Jungwon and a few of their friends. They were stretching and getting ready for practice.

The young British girl was improving by the day. While singing had always been her passion, dancing was something entirely new to her and she had to admit, sometimes she really noticed how much faster the other trainees were learning new steps. Still, she wasn't falling behind and she was content with that. And more importantly, over the past few months, Mimi had finally befriended a few people, mostly thanks to the younger boy she had met through that awful situation. After that, they had never really stopped talking. Studio mornings that used to feel tense and slow for her had now turned into laughter and chatter, and it was mostly him who was speaking. And even though she was still getting used to the others, slowly, Mimi was grateful she had him. He had grown to become a true friend to her and she even visited the kind grandmother he was living with every now and then.

"Are you going home for the holiday, Mimi?" Akane asked and Mimi immediately felt a little startled. She never really spoke to anyone about such private matters, not even to Jungwon. It wasn't that she didn't trust anyone, it was more that she was a bit embarrassed about it. Embarrassed about the regular messages she was still getting, asking her to come home again. It had been a little over half a year now since she had moved to Seoul and not a day had passed where her mother hadn't asked her about the trainee program. How things were going—and sadly enough, she wasn't asking out of genuine interest but because she was hoping Mimi would start voicing regrets she'd left.

"Possibly, yes." Mimi usually wasn't the type to lie, but she figured opening that topic in front of everyone right now was a bit too much. And it wasn't that the others didn't care at all, but they didn't care enough to notice her white lie. Instead, they moved on to the next person, Minjae, who was sitting beside her. Jungwon's eyes followed, but they lingered a second longer on Mimi before moving on as well.

The last day before the long-awaited two-week holiday ended sooner than expected. By the afternoon, everyone was busy sorting things out in their lockers or already saying their goodbyes. "Are you going to visit your parents and sister?" Mimi asked as she stuffed her shoes into her locker. Jungwon was waiting for her with his bag over his shoulder and while she was sorting her things, he was quietly observing her. His eyes kept shifting between her and himself. She was taller than him and he was painfully aware of that. It bothered him. He wanted to be taller. He was already shorter than his older sister—at least he wanted to be taller than his new friend.

"Jungwonah," Mimi said as she closed her locker, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Yes! I'll go, yes. Are you really visiting home? Isn't it a far trip? Where was it again? Somewhere in the U.S.?"

"England," she corrected him, putting her bag over her shoulder as they started walking toward the entrance. They were among the last trainees still there. Most of their friends had already left.

"It's far, yes. But like Hitomi unnie said, we don't know how many opportunities like this will come again. For us foreigners, anyway. It's different for you," she explained and Jungwon nodded. He had never really thought about how lucky he was to have his family close by. Most of his friends were Korean as well and had their families within a few hours.

"Well, safe travels then, Noona. I'll see you in two weeks," he said when they reached the point where they had to part ways.

"Yeah, enjoy your holidays, Jungwonah." She waved before turning around to leave.

Two days passed quickly after that and Jungwon was enjoying his time at home with his parents and sister. Since his parents had worked most of his childhood, he had been used to spending most of his time with his grandmother and even now it felt strange to picture her alone in the hanok. He wondered how his friends were doing. If they were also eating too much and playing games all day. And he wondered what England was like. He had never been anywhere that far away or that different, but he was only thirteen after all. He was sure that even if his idol dream didn't work out, he would eventually see more places. Maybe even England one day.

Jungwon noticed he had left his earphones in his locker only after those two days, so when he really needed them, he decided to quickly take the bus back to the city to get them. Summer had already taken over, way too fast for his taste. Jungwon preferred winter. People were hiding from the sun inside stores and once he got off the bus, he was hit by the brightness as well. Luckily, it stopped right in front of the SM building, which he entered using his student ID. As expected, the trainee corridor was almost empty, a complete contrast to what he was used to—usually filled with noise, laughter and hurried footsteps.

It felt almost eerie, like something out of an old movie. And what didn't help was the sudden sound of music coming from one of the studios when there shouldn't have been any. None of the idols would practice in those smaller trainee rooms—so who could it be? But Jungwon wasn't known for patience or self-control. He was curious. And now that curiosity got the best of him. He walked up to the door of the small studio. It wasn't see-through, but there was a narrow slit where he could peek inside—and that's exactly what he did.

"Noona?" Jungwon's sudden entrance startled Mimi so much she hit the back of her head against the mirror behind her and groaned in pain.

"Sorry!" he laughed, stepping closer and looking down at her. "I thought you were going to England? What happened?" he asked, sitting down next to her, crossing his legs and glancing over at her. He knew Mimi was hardworking, but he hadn't realised she was this much of a workaholic. What he didn't know was that she wasn't practicing because she wanted to improve—but because she had nothing else to do. Everyone else had left.

She sighed and shook her head, looking back at him. With Jungwon, things felt different than with the others. Maybe because of how they had met. As strange as it was, Mimi felt less embarrassed around him. After all, he had seen her at her most vulnerable. Compared to that, this didn't feel as heavy. And Jungwon, no matter how talkative he was, was someone who listened well. And right now, he was ready to listen.

"I never intended on going home," she admitted quietly.

It caught Jungwon off guard. He had always been a very honest person, never hiding things from the people in his life. And he realised they had never really talked about her home before. She hadn't lied about it—she had just never told him.

"My parents aren't really happy about me being here. It's not that I ran away! It's just that... I think if I visit, they won't let me leave again," she said with a light chuckle, half joking—but not really. And Jungwon understood that.

"Can they do that?" he asked, now looking ahead just like she was. They sat there quietly for a moment.

"Technically yes, but they signed the contract here, so... anyway, that's why I stayed. I didn't want to lie to you. I just never thought it was important to share," Mimi explained.

Jungwon frowned slightly. "It is important, Noona. You know everything about my grandmother too," he said, making her laugh. He was right. But unlike him, Mimi was used to dealing with things on her own, even at fifteen. Independence had always been important—that's what her parents had taught her.

Still, she was grateful. She hadn't expected Jungwon to show up, but she was glad he had. It felt good to finally say it out loud. To not keep her family hidden like some distant, unspoken thing. Because if she was honest—with herself and with Jungwon—she did miss them. No matter how controlling her mother could be or how absent her father was, she missed them.

← read previous chapter | go to next chapter →

[lilalines]

⋆.˚20 ⋮ ⌗ ┆confusion | FOREVERMORE

your new favourite comfort angsty - friends to lovers story

────୨ৎ────

pairing — yang jungwon x female idol

status — ongoing ִֶָ. ..𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ🪽་༘࿐

synopsis — For years, Yang Jungwon and Min Miyoung have built their lives side by side, sharing stages, memories, and a friendship that quietly became the center of everything. But when Jungwon learns that Mimi is preparing to leave Korea and return to England, the world he thought was certain begins to fall apart. What begins as panic slowly unravels something far more dangerous - feelings he has spent years trying to ignore. Because losing her might mean losing the person who has always been his home.

content warnings — mostly fluff. feel - good, slow-burn romance type of story. toxic family dynamics, generational trauma, slight implications of EDs and Depression.

forevermore playlist 1221

now playing: invisible string, Taylor Swift

▶︎ •၊၊||၊|။||||။‌‌‌‌‌၊|• 1:40

April 2025

It wasn't the fact that Mimi didn't want Jungwon to know about this. It was the fact that she had never wanted him to find out about such an important event in her life through someone else—not Jungwon. He was family, closer than family. They had always shared everything and Mimi knew how much it meant to Jungwon that they never had secrets from one another. He would always tell everyone about that. "No, we don't have any secrets. That's true friendship." Even in interviews, he would mention it. She felt like she'd betrayed him—or more: she felt like he felt like she had betrayed him, which somehow made it worse.

"To be honest, I love this dress, but it screams: this is a serious business date." Semi was going through every piece of clothing Mimi had in her closet while the girl she was talking about was only staring at her phone with the same frown on her face she had worn ever since she had gotten the first message earlier. She kept rereading the chat with her best friend over and over again.

Jungwonie:

you're going on a date???

Jungwonie:

Bambi told Riki and he told Sunoo hyung and Sunoo hyung told Jay hyung and Jay hyung told me.

Jungwonie:

a chain of 4 people.

Mimi:

I wanted to tell you when you're back

Jungwonie:

but the others knew and I was the only one who didn't know. Who's the guy anyway?

Mimi:

that's not true. It's not that everyone knew.

Mimi:

he's the barista from our company

Jungwonie:

you've only known him for like a month

Mimi:

he's a nice person. We're meeting at the restaurant

Jungwonie:

is it because I'm not one of the girls?

Mimi:

what?

Jungwonie:

that you kept this from me. Is it because I'm a guy?

Mimi:

not at all Jungwonah!

He had stopped replying after that. Mimi kept refreshing her phone, but he had truly just stopped replying, probably because of the show. That had been the last thing she had wanted. And she completely understood why he was probably feeling kind of betrayed now. It wasn't that she didn't trust him, nor that she didn't want him to know. When she thought about it more and more, she actually didn't understand why she had wanted to wait and still, she tried explaining it to herself. At first, there was the fact that she simply thought Jungwon wouldn't care about it. They never talked about topics like this—well, they did talk about serious things, but never about dating. Why would they? It had never really been present in their lives before.

And Jungwon wasn't entirely wrong. It wasn't that because he was a guy she trusted him less. It was just that Mimi would have found it a little weird to talk to him about boys—it would make him uncomfortable, that's what she had always thought. But she was wrong, she realised. Jungwon was a person who overshared a lot anyway, especially with her, so she should've just mentioned it. Maybe even texted it, because why had she wanted to wait until he was back in the first place? It wasn't that big of a deal. She wasn't announcing a pregnancy. It was just a small, silly date. Why had it even become such a big deal to herself?

"Hello? Are you even listening, Unnie? The date is in 2 hours!" Mimi hadn't been listening, but now her focus was back on Semi, who looked at her and sighed.

"What's wrong?" she asked as she put down another dress and sat down next to her.

"Bambi spread the news to the guys and now, of course, Jungwon is upset because he's been left out," Mimi immediately explained. It truly didn't help how all of this made sense to her too. If it were the other way around, she'd be confused as well. Maybe even upset, but first and foremost, she'd be surprised. Over the years, they had shared and lived through stories far more embarrassing and dramatic than this one. Jungwon knew about her family, he'd seen her at her worst. Mimi couldn't even count the number of times they had sat on the rooftop terrace of their building—or even back then, in Halmoni's garden late at night—and talked about everything weighing on their hearts. Whenever either of them was struggling, there wasn't a second where they didn't reach out to the other. He was her best, best friend after all.

Mimi knew it wasn't about the fact that she was doing this at all—it was about the fact that he had been one of the last people to know, and it made no sense. Not sharing this with him had been stupid.

"Mimi, you don't owe him like that, you know? I know the two of you share everything, but you're allowed to process things on your own. You don't need his permission, even when he's like your brother." Semi was speaking calmly now, which was rare.

Mimi shook her head. "It's not about permission. You know how Jungwon is. He's serious about all of us, about the group we are and the bond we share. He doesn't openly admit it, but he hates nothing more than feeling left out when it comes to his friends. And it's not like this is something I had a good reason to keep from him. He's probably confused because of that," she explained and Semi couldn't argue with that. She herself had been surprised when she realised Jungwon hadn't known about it before she had.

Semi was a possessive person herself, especially over Mimi. Mimi had been her very first friend when she'd joined the trainee system and always the older sister she had cherished, similar to how Jungwon saw Jay or Sunoo—or honestly any of the Enhypen members. And she took pride in knowing that she was one of the first people Mimi would eventually turn to, if she ever turned to someone at all. But Semi also knew that even she couldn't compete with Jungwon. He had about three more years of knowing her, and he had given her a home when she had needed one, all alone in Seoul at fifteen.

"He just fears things are changing. That you're going to be one of those girls who abandon their friends once they start dating. You just gotta reassure him that he's got nothing to worry about, because family always comes first. Or does it not?" Semi was smiling more optimistically now and got up from the bed again to go through Mimi's clothes once more.

Mimi herself was feeling a bit better now. "Of course," she replied. That wasn't even a thought that had crossed her mind. She would never let a boyfriend change anything between her and her friends. And even though the kind barista was still far from becoming something like that to her, she thought in that moment: if he couldn't accept the boys in her life, the friendships that had been there long before him, then she wouldn't hesitate. She would always pick her friends first. Because they'd do the same for her.

The reassurance Semi provided helped enough for now and, given the fact that time was running out, Mimi finally put down her phone and followed her friend to her closet to pick out an outfit. She didn't want to go too casual, but also not too dressed up. Semi's fashion sense was immaculate, but quite different from Mimi's. After trying many things, the two eventually settled on a brownish sweater and a darker skirt. It made her look cozy yet slightly dressed up—very spring-like, and they were both happy with it. Somewhere between getting dressed and doing her makeup, Mimi's room filled with more people. Hyemin came first, then Yue followed, and both of them immediately occupied Mimi's bed. Everyone loved lying in Mimi's bed—it was always cozy, filled with cushions and smelling of cotton and vanilla. Like Mimi.

"She looks beautiful!" Yue commented as she looked into the mirror the same way Mimi did. Her long blonde hair, surprisingly silky despite being bleached over and over again, fell over her shoulders in gentle curls. Her skin was glowing; Semi truly had her ways with makeup and everything looked neat and perfectly put together.

"She looks like a doll," Hyemin added so dryly that nobody could tell whether it was a compliment or not. Semi laughed first when she saw the concerned look on Mimi's face.

"To me, she looks absolutely ready—and about to be late," she added, turning her phone screen toward Mimi and Hyemin behind her.

6:43pm.

Mimi jumped up immediately and grabbed her purse. She wasn't someone who ran late and if she left now, she would still somehow make it. The restaurant wasn't that far, but still—she liked to be early, just to have a few minutes to calm herself and gather her thoughts.

"Keep your location on, Mimiyah!" Soomin called from the living room when she saw the girls rushing through the hallway. Epicenter's leader was on the phone with her own boyfriend as she waited, smiling at Mimi like the proud mother she had never had.

"You look pretty," she added, making Mimi pause for a second, turn around and smile warmly.

"Thank you, Unnie," she replied, calmer now.

"And send a text every 30 minutes," Hyemin said and everyone looked at her at once. Some surprised, some amused. Mimi did both and Hyemin immediately caught on, sighing before correcting herself:

"Every hour."

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