something about chan gives the impression that he’d really like doing the whole Dressing Up And Going Out extravaganza for valentine’s day. white tablecloths, gold champagne, decorative red rose centerpiece; chan’s gaze on you, thick with adoration, illuminated by the candlelight; a small, special gift handed to you shyly. he giggles at the cheesiness of it all but you look incredible and he’s never been more in love.
minho
home date
you best believe minho has a whole menu planned for you. multiple courses. drinks. sides. desserts. you spend the early evening as the sous chef, handing him spices and wooden spoons while pressing quick kisses to his cheek (he smiles every time). it’s sickeningly domestic. the dinner tastes fantastic of course, but not better than how the blush on minho’s face looks when you pay him the nth compliment of the night. you end the date on the couch, holding each other close and playing stupid games to decide who cleans up (you clean up together anyway).
changbin
chill dinner date
changbin adores taking his loved ones out to restaurants. he’d love to pick a old favorite spot or somewhere new and spend the evening sharing dishes with you and talking about anything and everything in your lives. and by the end of the night, when you’re both full of pasta or sushi or samgyeopsal, you’ll walk home together and changbin, ever so the gentleman, will drape his jacket over your shoulders. he lies in bed later, smiling at all the photos he took of you.
hyunjin
museum date
typical of our sweet hyunjin to want to take you to a museum. the winter rain is drumming on the windows but you’re protected by the quiet serenity of the museum. hyunjin leads you from room to room, holding your hand, and stops in front of every piece depicting two lovers, whispering, “that looks like us,” with a smile. and you listen, happily, when he begins to give you an art history 101 lesson because his eyes light up so beautifully. and when you finally leave, you duck into a small ramen shop and warm up while hyunjin flips through the new art book you bought him at the gift shop.
jisung
café date
what’s sweeter than a cold, winter morning spent inside a café sipping warm drinks with jisung? doing all of that one valentine’s day! jisung insists on trying their holiday specials (just a normal latte but with heart sprinkles or iced tea dyed pink and red) as you claim a small table in the corner, nothing in the world to care about expect for the loved one in front of you. it’s cozy, it’s familiar, it’s jisung’s favorite morning of the whole month.
felix
picnic date
felix is ever so endearing when he packs a bag with lunch and drinks and desserts and finds a perfect spot at the park—just under the light scatter of shade from a nearby tree. he lays his head in your lap while you play with his hair and the sun peeks through the leaves, golden spots across his cheeks. he brings flowers and chocolates, of course, along with a heart-shaped card that’s filled with his handwritten notes on all the things he loves about you (he writes small and squeezes words in every space, but he still runs out of surface area). a perfect afternoon spent, in his professional opinion.
seungmin
movie date
honestly, it doesn’t matter which movie you watch because you barely end up even watching it. instead, cuddled up under one blanket on the couch and sharing each other’s favorite snacks, you and seungmin can’t stop talking long enough to actually pay attention. you’re trading stupid jokes and bits of stories from your weeks. you tell him about how you saw your friends earlier, he tells you about the annoyingly difficult new choreography he has to learn, you tell him about the puppy stuffie you saw in a store that reminded you of him, he tells you about his mom calling him to wish you a happy early birthday and so on and on and on. you fall asleep to the soft hum of the movie and seungmin fiddling with your fingers mindlessly.
jeongin
beach date
unbeknownst to you, jeongin has been planning this for weeks. he carefully selected the perfect beach—secluded, with a breathtaking view of the sea and the shore—and packed a bag with blankets and your convenience store drink of choice. you spend the whole afternoon with your feet in the sand and jeongin’s arm around you, looking out at the horizon and babbling about anything. and then the sun sets, staining the clouds colors of pink and orange, and finally, the constellations return to black sky. under the safety of the night, you and jeongin spill everything—dreams, hopes, silly wishes, sillier fears—and wonder how two people can be so perfect for one another.
synopsis. after 12 years, you reunite with your childhood best friend, chan, who comes back home from his idol life in korea.
pairing. childhoodfriend!chan x gn!reader
format. imagine
word count. 1.5k
a/n. this could also be seen as platonic…i believe. there’s nothing explicitly romantic, just two very close old friends yearning for each other. kind of bittersweet, too.
“do you remember when we’d go here after school?"
it’s maybe a few minutes before sunset and you’re walking around your old childhood neighborhood with someone you never thought would see again this soon: chan, your old childhood friend. the streets are painted a strange tone of nostalgia; it’s like you’re walking through hazy memories, dream-like and familiar. sometimes, you’ll spot a house or a street corner that sends you back to your 13-year-old self so strongly, you feel as if you’ve shifted to the past. but then, you look to your left and you see chan, who has so obviously grown up, and you remember all the time that has passed.
he’s grown taller, of course, with broader shoulders and bigger arms. he’s lost most of his baby fat in his face—his jawline is much more apparent, as are all of the sharp angles in his features. you can almost barely recognize him. almost, because you don’t think you could ever forget the little things in chan’s appearance that make him who he is. he smiles and there’s something about it that makes you ache—there’s your old best friend again, happy and smiley.
synopsis. after 12 years, you reunite with your childhood best friend, chan, who comes back home from his idol life in korea.
pairing. childhoodfriend!chan x gn!reader
format. imagine
word count. 1.5k
a/n. this could also be seen as platonic...i believe. there’s nothing explicitly romantic, just two very close old friends yearning for each other. kind of bittersweet, too.
"do you remember when we'd go here after school?"
it’s maybe a few minutes before sunset and you’re walking around your old childhood neighborhood with someone you never thought would see again this soon: chan, your old childhood friend. the streets are painted a strange tone of nostalgia; it’s like you’re walking through hazy memories, dream-like and familiar. sometimes, you’ll spot a house or a street corner that sends you back to your 13-year-old self so strongly, you feel as if you’ve shifted to the past. but then, you look to your left and you see chan, who has so obviously grown up, and you remember all the time that has passed.
he’s grown taller, of course, with broader shoulders and bigger arms. he’s lost most of his baby fat in his face—his jawline is much more apparent, as are all of the sharp angles in his features. you can almost barely recognize him. almost, because you don’t think you could ever forget the little things in chan’s appearance that make him who he is. he smiles and there's something about it that makes you ache—there’s your old best friend again, happy and smiley.
.
.
chan’s pointing to a convenience store up ahead when he asks his question. the storefront hasn't changed a bit——still displaying its ice cream cooler next to the front entrance, its 3-for-1 cough drop deal, and its blue and yellow ATM. you could find your way through the aisles in your sleep, despite the 12 years that have passed since the last time you and chan slipped in, exhausted after a long school day, and left with candy and soft drinks. sometimes, you'd spend the afternoon at the nearby park, the sun on your face and the grass under your thighs as you complained about your teachers and took turns trying to catch m&m's in your mouths. other times, you'd head straight to chan's house and play games in his living room, even staying for dinner.
"of course, i remember," you tell him. “it hasn’t been that long.”
maybe 12 years isn’t that long. maybe it is. it feels long, that you know for sure.
in those past 12 years, you've watched chan move to seoul and follow his dream of becoming an idol, growing more talented and more mature with each comeback photo and video that pops up on your social media. in between your busy days, you could only catch glimpses of his rapidly-evolving career and his sudden rise to stardom. with each stray kids photo you saw, the chan you knew so intimately appeared to turn more and more into a stranger. the boy from your childhood grew into a man and you weren't even there to see it.
but he returns to australia after all these years and he smiles at you and suddenly, he's the same 13-year-old who swore, pinky interlocked with yours, that he'd never stop being your best friend. he was chris again.
and you tried. of course, you tried to keep in touch. he cried in your arms before he left for the airport and promised to call you every day. but being a trainee was busy and being an idol was busier and you had to grow up and move to college and find your own future too, so, after a while, his daily calls became weekly, then monthly, then a rarity. you learned more about his life through stray kids youtube videos than you did through his own words. and you were so happy for him, of course. but you missed him so fucking much.
“do you remember all of our sleepovers?” you ask, praying he does.
please remember us. please remember me. please tell me i still have a place in your life.
he doesn’t even take a moment to think: “yes, yes i do.” he’s grinning now. “we’d basically live out of each other’s houses for a week, just: school, your house, games, dinner, sleep, wake up, school, my house, listen to music, dinner, sleep. god, that was fun.”
“remember hannah would always say—”
“that you were basically her other sibling?” chan finishes with a laugh. “yeah, i think she saw you and me together more than she saw just me alone sometimes.”
you laugh with him. “she said she couldn’t imagine anything pulling us apart.”
the both of you fall into a sudden silence that’s tinted with an awkwardness that would’ve never existed when you were both 13 and inseparable. it’s a silence of grief, mourning the past determination to stay best friends forever and never leave each other’s sides. during those sleepovers, you’d brainstorm the rest of your lives together—how you’d live in the same dorm in college, then get an apartment together, adopt a dog, and grow up side-by-side.
was it foolish that you believed in it? was it always just wishful thinking? over those years spent apart, you’d ponder what could’ve been—what your life would look like if chan never moved. it was always bittersweet and you found yourself longing too much so you decided to stop. there’s no point in thinking about what could’ve been—it isn’t, so just focus on what is. and ‘what is’ is a life where chan lives across the ocean and you’re creating your own separate worlds. the too-harsh reality.
"god, you have no idea how much i missed this," chan admits with a sigh, looking up to the sky that was slowly turning shades of pink and orange.
you offer a chuckle. “yeah, it’s nice to be home, i guess.”
"no, no," he begins. "well, yes—i missed my family like crazy, like you wouldn’t believe—but i’m talking about this." he gestures to the both of you. "us. i missed us."
"oh.” somehow, you weren’t expecting that. “well, someone moved away," you say with feigned accusation.
he lets out a laugh. "i did, didn't i?” he thinks for a moment. “i don't regret it. i love my boys, i love our fans, i love what we're doing. i just…i miss you,” he says, plain and simple. “and i wish there was some way that i could've had it all. you're the one thing that's missing from my life.”
during the times you pondered what could’ve been, you always came to the conclusion that you were the only one thinking about it, that chan had forgotten you. it hurt a bit, but you thought it was the best way to see it if you wanted to move on from the past.
but this—you're the one thing that's missing from my life. fuck. you didn’t even realize how much you had been aching to hear that chan still thinks about you. fuck, how can you move on?
"i wish you could've had it all, too. i miss you. so fucking much.”
he sighs. "and there's no way for you to somehow have the urge to relocate to seoul?"
you laugh. "i want to, believe me when i say that. but..."
he nods. "but."
"i have a life, too, you know. a job. friends. i can't just leave."
"i know, i know. i just—"
"me too." you offer a sad smile. "me too."
the sky turns pinker as the sun sets. the neighborhood grows dimmer.
“so what now?” chan asks.
“what do you mean?”
“i miss you, you miss me, what are we supposed to do now?”
“is there anything we can do?” from the way his expression falls, you can tell he was hoping for a more optimistic answer. “we’ve spent so long cultivating these lives exclusive of each other, is there any way to weave one another into them?”
“you could move to seoul…”
“i can’t.”
“i could move back—”
“you won’t.”
“i could—”
“no, you couldn’t. and you won’t. i know you won’t and you know i won’t let you.”
“i know.” he sighs. “i know.”
“i think this is all we can have.”
“this?”
“this—you and me, coincidentally back home at the same time for a few days, reminiscing for a bit, then parting ways again.”
he nods, reluctantly agreeing because it’s true, as unfortunate as it is. “for now,” he adds optimistically. “maybe, one day, we can figure it out.”
“maybe,” you say, not thinking you’d believe it. but as you say it, maybe foolishly, you find a little hope.
“i’ll take it. i’ll take what i can have. i’ll have this, for now.”
he offers a smile and who are you to not give him one back?
i want to keep everything gender-neutral unless a topic really requires a specific gender (i will always tag gender at the beginning of the work)
similarly, i don’t like specifying features because i want to keep everything as inclusive as possible
i try to post writings as regularly as often but i do have a life (despite being a kpop tumblr user) so if i go some time without any new works, i’m probably busy!
no racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, or any other exclusionary/discriminatory behavior will be tolerated
rules for requesting:
sfw requests only
no dark themes or triggering themes or themes dealing with trauma or anything else along those lines
if i don’t want to write a request for whatever reason, please respect that!
don’t be afraid to request, i’m very friendly :) and am generally willing to write a variety of prompts
synopsis. you really shouldn’t be crushing on one of your members. but when it comes to lee minho, how can you ever help yourself?
from your spot on the shiny dance practice floor, you can see the slight pinch in minho’s expression. it’s the smallest hint of a furrow in his eyebrows, the squint of his eyes—an expression of determined focus. you’ve observed him long enough to recognize it: he’s studying himself in his mind, going over the parts in the choreography that looked awkward and making mental notes to fix his positioning. these are the moments when minho’s dance background seems apparent. when the rest of your members collapse on the couch or the floor, their faces red and their breathing erratic, minho is still glued to perfecting himself.
it’s admirable. you watch him in fascination, like it’s an honor to train with an idol like him, despite having trained with him since stray kids’s pre-debut days. but you can’t help but admire him.
and see, you’ve gotten good at pretending you see minho the same way you see the rest of your members, that the love you have for him is just that same undeniable love you have for them that draws a line at the platonic.
because, of course, you’re best friends. all of the sleepless nights you spent sharing your deep anxieties and confessions on the floor of your dorm, all the afternoon lunches where you doubled over in laughter at the stupidest jokes, all the too-early mornings backstage at m countdown taking photos of each other falling asleep in the makeup chairs—they all count for something, no doubt about that. this is minho, your dear friend who you’d take a bullet for and who would do the same for you (and later find any way to bring up the fact he took a bullet for you and that you were indebted to him).
but this is also minho, with his bright, gleaming eyes and teasing smile and whole-hearted laughter. minho, who stops to pet every cat he comes across and never lets a mealtime pass without asking you if you ate and pokes fun at all his members but would never let them get hurt.
minho, who will look at you one day in his perfectly-styled hair and just-tight-enough outfit on stage or put his hand on your back to guide you through a crowd or wear a stupid determined expression on his face during dance practice and suddenly make your chest clench in a way that just a “best friend” couldn’t.
but you’ve gotten good at ignoring that nagging affection because you have to. you can’t afford to be catching feeling for your members, there exists simply far too many ways for it to go wrong. in fact, being rejected would be the best case scenario because it would avoid the endless trials of attempting to secretly date in a profession where secrets are a rare luxury. but there’s no point in even thinking about dating because it can’t happen. you know this. chan knows this when, one night, you two got a bit tipsy and you let your attraction to minho slip and chan immediately advised you to get it under control. you know. you know, you know, you know.
but you watch him from your spot on the floor as he runs a hand through his hair and pushes it back, licks his lips, and subtly stretches his neck and, fuck, it’s hard to keep it under control.
you’ll get over it, you swear you will. no, you promise you will. but is it too much to ask to just have this for a little longer? can’t you just watch him for a little longer?
but then he rises from his seat, claps his hands together, and instructs another run-through. as your members groan a bit and start to get up from the couch and the floor, minho catches your gaze and gives you a small, encouraging smile that’s equally friendly and endlessly affectionate.
chan:
folding the laundry as he admires you while you scream to lady gaga on a friday night, cleaning your spectacles/ sun glasses for you, feeding you with his own chopsticks, making sure you're on the opposite side of the traffic while crossing the street, taking strands of hair out of your mouth when you're asleep, making sure he always has time for you, rocking you in his arms while you cry, sharing the tiniest of umbrellas even if you BOTH get wet in the process, silently wiping sauce off your face while you ramble on about the latest gossip at work/uni, sends flowers to your place on random days, saying he loves you more than he loves the ocean.
lee know:
wearing even the most cringe frilly pink aprons you'll get him which stay stuff like 'kiss the cook' or 'mr. good lookin is cookin', learning how to make all your comfort foods, buying you stuffed toys resembling your childhood pets, always making you taste test the food he's cooking, "do you want it to be spicier? it'll help with the cold.", oiling and massaging your hair on sunday mornings, talking to you like he does with his cats whenever you're sick, screeching to songs in the car, buying stupid matching sunglasses, sharpening your pencils for you, leaving sooni, doongi and dori at his parents' claiming you spend more time with them than him, cracking your fingers when he's bored.
changbin:
washing your dishes no matter how much you insist you can do it, keeping in touch with your family once you introduce them to him, giving you piggy back rides, letting you make stupidly cute hairstyles with his hair, sleeping with your stuffed toys when you're not at home, always packing your favourite toothpaste because he knows how much you despise the hotel ones, letting you win at arm wrestling, racing with you to the nearby convenience store.
hyunjin:
learning your drink orders for different moods and seasons, slipping little encouraging notes with the cutest doodles into your bag, jacket pockets, underwear pile, EVERYWHERE, clicking lots of candid polaroids of you, always keeping a lipbalm in his pocket for you, making a list of places you want to visit and taking you on surprise trips, rubbing your noses together, drawing on your arms while you watch a movie, listening to you rant about your passions all. night. long.
jisung:
always wanting you to share new music you like with him, buying you guys matching fluffy house slippers with the most bizarre stuff like cheese puffs or flamingos on them, decorating your shared space with childhood photos of you, singing karaoke with you until 4 am, watching panda and hamster videos together, singing you awake every morning, playing careless whisper as a way of asking you to dance with him, binging studio ghibli movies with you on days off, afternoon naps, watching fireflies together, weird nicknames like 'cake batter eater' or 'hairbrush stealer', rewatching childhood cartoons, doubling over in laughter one second and having the most serious conversations the next, "would you still love me if i was a worm?"
felix:
reporting accounts which abuse skzoo >:(, always stocking up on your favourite snacks, letting you tease him over his small hands, giving you the best massages after long days, whispering and quiet laughing in silent spaces, biting your shoulder whenever you expose him in front of the boys, showing off his latest dance moves while dusting the house, giggling and rolling around in fresh sheets you just finished putting on, being your personal heater during the winters, miserably gardening together, smiling in between kisses.
seungmin:
learning small phrases in your mother tongue and making sure his pronunciation is on spot, wearing animal onesies together, waking you up with your favourite cup of coffee every morning, giving you head scratches when you can't sleep, cuddling together on a rocking chair, fighting over who pays for the bill, going to fancy stores and trying out clothes only to leave without buying anything, always finding you first whenever there's a blackout, going to the local adoption center and cooing at puppies together, tracing your features while you sleep, a quick forehead kiss before he rushes to work, replacing photocards you have of other members with his own.
jeongin:
"mentioned you in their story", staying on call with you when you're taking a cab at night, wearing normal shoes when he goes out with you, eating caramel popcorn at 2 am, getting on a subway and going to the nearby town because you heard it's raining there and needed a reason to dance together, laying his head on your lap while reading manga, wearing fuzzy socks, trying out stupid tiktok couple trends, pretending to be a toxic couple while grocery shopping,
synopsis. you really shouldn’t be crushing on one of your members. but when it comes to lee minho, how can you ever help yourself?
from your spot on the shiny dance practice floor, you can see the slight pinch in minho’s expression. it’s the smallest hint of a furrow in his eyebrows, the squint of his eyes—an expression of determined focus. you’ve observed him long enough to recognize it: he’s studying himself in his mind, going over the parts in the choreography that looked awkward and making mental notes to fix his positioning. these are the moments when minho’s dance background seems apparent. when the rest of your members collapse on the couch or the floor, their faces red and their breathing erratic, minho is still glued to perfecting himself.
it’s admirable. you watch him in fascination, like it’s an honor to train with an idol like him, despite having trained with him since stray kids’s pre-debut days. but you can’t help but admire him.
and see, you’ve gotten good at pretending you see minho the same way you see the rest of your members, that the love you have for him is just that same undeniable love you have for them that draws a line at the platonic.
because, of course, you’re best friends. all of the sleepless nights you spent sharing your deep anxieties and confessions on the floor of your dorm, all the afternoon lunches where you doubled over in laughter at the stupidest jokes, all the too-early mornings backstage at m countdown taking photos of each other falling asleep in the makeup chairs—they all count for something, no doubt about that. this is minho, your dear friend who you’d take a bullet for and who would do the same for you (and later find any way to bring up the fact he took a bullet for you and that you were indebted to him).
but this is also minho, with his bright, gleaming eyes and teasing smile and whole-hearted laughter. minho, who stops to pet every cat he comes across and never lets a mealtime pass without asking you if you ate and pokes fun at all his members but would never let them get hurt.
minho, who will look at you one day in his perfectly-styled hair and just-tight-enough outfit on stage or put his hand on your back to guide you through a crowd or wear a stupid determined expression on his face during dance practice and suddenly make your chest clench in a way that just a “best friend” couldn’t.
but you’ve gotten good at ignoring that nagging affection because you have to. you can’t afford to be catching feeling for your members, there exists simply far too many ways for it to go wrong. in fact, being rejected would be the best case scenario because it would avoid the endless trials of attempting to secretly date in a profession where secrets are a rare luxury. but there’s no point in even thinking about dating because it can’t happen. you know this. chan knows this when, one night, you two got a bit tipsy and you let your attraction to minho slip and chan immediately advised you to get it under control. you know. you know, you know, you know.
but you watch him from your spot on the floor as he runs a hand through his hair and pushes it back, licks his lips, and subtly stretches his neck and, fuck, it’s hard to keep it under control.
you’ll get over it, you swear you will. no, you promise you will. but is it too much to ask to just have this for a little longer? can’t you just watch him for a little longer?
but then he rises from his seat, claps his hands together, and instructs another run-through. as your members groan a bit and start to get up from the couch and the floor, minho catches your gaze and gives you a small, encouraging smile that’s equally friendly and endlessly affectionate.
synopsis. you really shouldn’t be crushing on one of your members. but when it comes to lee minho, how can you ever help yourself?
from your spot on the shiny dance practice floor, you can see the slight pinch in minho’s expression. it’s the smallest hint of a furrow in his eyebrows, the squint of his eyes—an expression of determined focus. you’ve observed him long enough to recognize it: he’s studying himself in his mind, going over the parts in the choreography that looked awkward and making mental notes to fix his positioning. these are the moments when minho’s dance background seems apparent. when the rest of your members collapse on the couch or the floor, their faces red and their breathing erratic, minho is still glued to perfecting himself.
it’s admirable. you watch him in fascination, like it’s an honor to train with an idol like him, despite having trained with him since stray kids’s pre-debut days. but you can’t help but admire him.
and see, you’ve gotten good at pretending you see minho the same way you see the rest of your members, that the love you have for him is just that same undeniable love you have for them that draws a line at the platonic.
because, of course, you’re best friends. all of the sleepless nights you spent sharing your deep anxieties and confessions on the floor of your dorm, all the afternoon lunches where you doubled over in laughter at the stupidest jokes, all the too-early mornings backstage at m countdown taking photos of each other falling asleep in the makeup chairs—they all count for something, no doubt about that. this is minho, your dear friend who you’d take a bullet for and who would do the same for you (and later find any way to bring up the fact he took a bullet for you and that you were indebted to him).
but this is also minho, with his bright, gleaming eyes and teasing smile and whole-hearted laughter. minho, who stops to pet every cat he comes across and never lets a mealtime pass without asking you if you ate and pokes fun at all his members but would never let them get hurt.
minho, who will look at you one day in his perfectly-styled hair and just-tight-enough outfit on stage or put his hand on your back to guide you through a crowd or wear a stupid determined expression on his face during dance practice and suddenly make your chest clench in a way that just a “best friend” couldn’t.
but you’ve gotten good at ignoring that nagging affection because you have to. you can’t afford to be catching feeling for your members, there exists simply far too many ways for it to go wrong. in fact, being rejected would be the best case scenario because it would avoid the endless trials of attempting to secretly date in a profession where secrets are a rare luxury. but there’s no point in even thinking about dating because it can’t happen. you know this. chan knows this when, one night, you two got a bit tipsy and you let your attraction to minho slip and chan immediately advised you to get it under control. you know. you know, you know, you know.
but you watch him from your spot on the floor as he runs a hand through his hair and pushes it back, licks his lips, and subtly stretches his neck and, fuck, it’s hard to keep it under control.
you’ll get over it, you swear you will. no, you promise you will. but is it too much to ask to just have this for a little longer? can’t you just watch him for a little longer?
but then he rises from his seat, claps his hands together, and instructs another run-through. as your members groan a bit and start to get up from the couch and the floor, minho catches your gaze and gives you a small, encouraging smile that’s equally friendly and endlessly affectionate.
a/n: how could i ever even describe how fond i am of minho ?? he is so silly and weird and i'd protect him at all costs <333 as my job has been less than desirable for a long time, these coworkers hcs bring me soooo much comfort, and i hope they provide the same kind of serotonin for you !! pics not mine~
content: fluff, nonidol!au | wc: 0.9k | warnings: none! | pairing: coworker!minho x gn!reader | requests: open
almost everyone in the office is scared of him
you two never crossed paths because you work in different departments, so the only things you knew about him were what coworkers told you
the first time you saw him was when you went into a quiet place in the office to watch some videos and take a mental break from work
he was hiding in that very place because he had been reprimanded by his supervisor for a project (his partner on it was the one who dropped the ball but just so happened to be “sick” that day) and minho needed to collect himself before going back to his desk
that’s how you caught the scariest guy in the office looking at pictures of his beloved cats
when he noticed you, he tried to play it cool and act annoyed, but you saw the tips of his ears turn red as he realized you saw him being super soft for his precious cats
reading the room, you asked “rough day?” and the genuine concern in your voice completely melted minho’s scary facade away
he scoffed, rolled his eyes, and answered “yeah. gotta love being someone else’s fall guy”
that sparked a conversation that included him showing off his cats to you, and you showing him the silly little videos you were watching to boost your mood
slowly but surely, minho would seek you out whenever he wanted a friendly conversation
you were the only person in the office he didn’t try to intimidate, and everyone else was in complete awe of this
especially when they saw you two doing word/logic puzzles at work during your breaks
he even bought one of those massive puzzle books so you two could use it
whenever your lunches didn’t line up, you’d leave each other teasing and/or encouraging notes in the margins of the pages
that book became a conversational record between you two
he’d never admit it, but, sometimes, when minho was feeling sentimental, he’d look through old pages and laugh at how your notes got more and more ridiculous as you two got more and more comfortable with each other :,-)
you become the minho translator because you just know him so well uwu
like if you two are sitting together during a coffee break and a coworker asks about weekend plans, minho would give a vague answer about interdimensional travel
before your coworker’s brain goes into overdrive trying to decode the statement, you’d explain, “he’s going to the animated film festival this weekend”
your coworker nods and silently leaves after getting their coffee, completely unaware of the snort minho let out at your translation
minho, despite befriending you, does not let go of his scary persona
in fact, because he’s so fond of you, he’ll use it to protect you
if someone bad mouths your quality of work or makes a snide remark about you in general, minho responds in a way that gives them nightmares for weeks
he never tells you that he does that, but you do catch him smirking whenever one of the perpetrators is nicer to you in the office >:-)
he’s super supportive of you at work too !!
he’s your number one advocate when it comes to asking for a raise, applying for a promotion, etc.
minho thinks you deserve the best, and he’ll fight tooth and nail himself to get that for you, even though he knows you are more than capable of achieving greatness yourself
he thinks so highly of your skills and talent, and he wants to make sure you recognize your own potential <3
if he’s feeling insecure or down because of work or poor interactions with coworkers, he’ll turn to you for support, even if he doesn’t directly admit that something’s bothering him
he could make a joke like “ah, how’re you going to solve this crossword if i get fired?”
obviously, you’d know exactly what he means by that and say “if you’re getting fired, i’m quitting because firing such a smart and competent employee is a major red flag”
he’d tease, “wow, you’re really dedicated to crossword puzzles”
you’d nod, and he’d smile softly because he knew that you were always going to be his rock at work, and he’s eternally grateful for that
minho is so selective with the people he lets close to him, and, since you passed the test, he wants you two to be close outside of the office too
it takes him a while to work up the courage to invite you to hangout after work
but, when he’s throwing a casual dinner party with his friends, he knows it’s the perfect time to see each other without being bound by work schedules
you of course accept his invitation, but you also admit you’re a little nervous to meet all his friends
minho reassures you by telling you that he, a perfect and extremely cool person, has curated an impeccable group of people, so you have nothing to be worried about
and he’s totally right because all of his friends are not only super funny and kind, but they also love you !!!
and, more importantly, soonie, doongie, and dori love you <3333
every single one of his friends exposes minho for talking about you constantly lmao
minho gives them death glares but they refuse to miss out on the opportunity to tease him <3
especially chan because he thinks it’s so cute that minho is trying to act cool to impress you <3
by the end of the night, minho’s smiling ear to ear because you mesh so well with his friend group :,,,,-)
you two reference funny moments from the dinner party the next time you meet at work, and you’re both just bubbling with happiness because you can’t believe how lucky you are to have met each other by chance in a quiet corner of the office on a random afternoon <333
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