I already told you that I am thinking about continuing my grimm fairytale series again 🤍
the only members missing now are seonghwa, jongho and wooyoung… and i already know which fairytale each of them will get. i’m not gonna tell you who is who yet because i want it to stay a surprise for a little longer 😭 one of them is getting one of my absolute favorite grimm stories ever and i’m way too excited about it.
the remaining stories are:
🦢 the six swans — a story about a sister trying to save her brothers after they get cursed into swans. it’s very quiet and emotional and full of sacrifice, loyalty and love that survives even years of suffering.
👑 the goose girl — a princess gets betrayed by her maid on the journey to her future kingdom and is forced to live as a goose girl while someone else steals her identity. it’s such a beautiful story about loneliness, hidden royalty and finally reclaiming your own voice again.
🌲 hansel and gretel — two siblings abandoned in the woods finding the witch’s candy house. this one feels darker and colder than the others, but also very clever and strangely comforting in a grimms fairytale kind of way.
i genuinely can’t wait to write these stories and see if you guys can guess which member belongs to which fairytale 🥹
After another soul-draining day at her corporate HR job, Y/N stumbles into a small underground bar to escape the exhaustion swallowing her whole. There she meets Yunho, a magnetic guitarist from a famous rock band and spends one unforgettable night wandering through the city with a stranger who makes her feel alive again.
What begins as a reckless decision slowly turns into something neither of them expected: a place to breathe.
Pairing: Jeong Yunho × Reader (Y/N)
Tropes: Rockstar AU, Strangers to Lovers, Opposites Attract, Late Night City Romance, Found Family, Emotional Healing, Soft Slow Burn, Falling in Love Before Realizing It
Featuring: Ateez as Yunhos Band Mates or Friends, Y/ns Childhood friend
A/n: Biggest Thanks to @threepointstogryffindor for requesting this idea
Main Masterlist | Yunhos Masterlist
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5
This is Part 5
Being loved by Yunho felt strangely gentle.
That was the first thing Y/N realized over the following months.
Not loud.
Not dramatic in the ways movies always tried portraying love.
Instead it arrived quietly in hundreds of small moments until one day she woke up realizing her life felt lighter than before.
It happened slowly.
Yunho texting her good morning every day without fail even during schedules.
Pictures of random things that reminded him of her.
Coffee cups with badly drawn hearts in the foam.
Claw machines holding shark-cat plushies.
Rainy streets at night.
At first Y/N still overthought everything.
Every single thing.
Especially being seen beside him publicly.
The first few times fans recognized him while they were together, she nearly had panic attacks internally.
Yunho always noticed immediately.
Every time.
Without fail.
The first incident happened during a late-night convenience store run.
One girl recognized Yunho instantly near the drink section and immediately started crying.
Y/N’s first instinct had been stepping away automatically.
Creating distance.
Making herself smaller again.
But Yunho reached for her hand immediately beneath the shelves where nobody else could see and squeezed softly once.
Stay.
The silent message settled warm inside her chest instantly.
Afterward, once the fan left smiling with a signed receipt and shaking hands, Yunho simply nudged her shoulder lightly.
“You okay?”
Y/N nodded weakly.
“You looked like you were preparing to flee the country.”
“That’s because she looked at me too.”
“And?”
“She’s your fan.”
Yunho looked genuinely confused.
“She can still look at you.”
The answer came so naturally that Y/N stared at him for a second.
And slowly, over time, moments like that started changing something inside her.
Because Yunho never acted embarrassed by her.
Never hid her away emotionally even when they stayed private publicly.
Never made her feel like she needed to earn her place beside him.
If anything, he constantly pulled her closer.
Sometimes literally.
Like during one dinner with the members when Wooyoung dramatically complained that Y/N clearly loved Jongho more because she laughed too hard at one of his jokes.
Yunho immediately wrapped both arms around her waist from behind possessively while glaring at Jongho across the table.
“She’s obsessed with me actually.”
“Debatable,” Y/N answered immediately.
Yunho gasped like she physically wounded him.
“You kiss me goodnight every evening.”
“That proves nothing.”
“It proves everything.”
San nearly fell out of his chair laughing.
Moments like that became normal somehow.
The boys folded her naturally into their lives with alarming speed.
Hongjoong started sending her music recommendations at two in the morning because apparently they shared the exact same taste in sad indie songs.
Mingi became obsessed with showing her random memes during dinners until both of them got yelled at by Seonghwa for laughing too loudly.
Yeosang remained terrifyingly observant and somehow always knew whenever Y/N felt overwhelmed before she even admitted it herself.
And Wooyoung…
Wooyoung treated her like emotional support and public entertainment simultaneously.
“Y/N,” he announced dramatically one evening while leaning across the bar counter, “you need to know something important.”
“That sentence already worries me.”
“He cried after your first real date.”
Across the room Yunho nearly choked on his drink.
“JUNG WOOYOUNG.”
“It’s true!”
Y/N stared at Yunho immediately.
“You cried?”
“It was one tear.”
“Liar,” San shouted.
“It was raining emotionally,” Wooyoung added.
Yunho buried his face in his hands while everyone laughed around him.
And somewhere in the middle of that noise and warmth and teasing, Y/N realized she genuinely loved being there.
Loved them.
Loved how easily they accepted her.
Even Yuna ended up pulled into the chaos eventually.
That night had started with Y/N nearly having a nervous breakdown beforehand.
Because introducing her best friend to Yunho’s world still felt surreal somehow.
Especially considering Yuna spent the first ten minutes whisper-screaming directly into a couch cushion after meeting Hongjoong.
“I can’t believe your boyfriend is real,” she hissed dramatically toward Y/N while Seonghwa mixed drinks nearby.
"He is just Yunho, Yuna.”
From across the room Yunho immediately looked offended.
“So I am just Yunho now, Baby?”
The entire group burst into laughter while Y/N hid her face behind her drink.
Yuna loved them instantly.
Especially after Mingi and San somehow convinced her into joining an aggressively competitive Mario Kart tournament that devolved into complete chaos within twenty minutes.
Now, hours later, everyone else had finally gone home.
The apartment rested in soft comfortable silence.
Rain tapped lightly against the windows again because apparently the universe refused giving Yunho and Y/N non-romantic weather conditions.
Y/N sat curled sideways against the couch wearing one of Yunho’s oversized shirts.
Nothing else underneath except underwear.
The fabric swallowed her whole and still smelled faintly like his laundry detergent.
Across from her, Yunho lounged comfortably against the opposite end of the couch wearing only gray sweatpants while absentmindedly strumming his guitar.
The domesticity of it all still stunned her sometimes.
Jeong Yunho from Ateez sitting shirtless in his apartment making up stupid songs about Wooyoung spilling wine on himself earlier.
“His face looked like betrayal,” Yunho sang dramatically.
Y/N laughed so hard she nearly spilled her drink.
“You’re terrible.”
“It’s art.”
“It’s slander.”
“Important distinction.”
Yunho grinned brightly before continuing the ridiculous song.
The melody sounded suspiciously beautiful considering the lyrics involved Wooyoung crying over expensive alcohol.
Y/N watched him fondly from across the couch.
God.
He really was beautiful.
Not just physically.
Though obviously yes, physically too.
Especially like this.
Relaxed.
Messy-haired.
Comfortable in his own space.
But more than that…
Yunho carried warmth everywhere he went.
Into rooms.
Into people.
Into her life.
And slowly, over these last months, Y/N realized he had changed things inside her too.
Not magically.
She still overthought.
Still occasionally panicked before public outings together.
Still struggled believing she deserved this sometimes.
But now whenever insecurity crawled too loudly into her chest, Yunho met it immediately with reassurance so natural it became impossible not to slowly believe him.
Especially because he never sounded frustrated by her fears.
Only patient.
Like loving her properly mattered enough to keep repeating the truth until she finally accepted it.
Y/N smiled softly watching him continue singing nonsense lyrics dramatically.
“You know,” she teased lightly, “I’m starting to think you only write stupid songs.”
Yunho gasped theatrically.
“You wound me.”
“It’s true.”
“I’m literally an artist.”
“You just rhymed emotional damage with fermented cabbage.”
“That’s talent.”
Y/N laughed again.
Warmth glowed softly through her chest.
Lately life felt almost unrecognizable compared to before.
Especially after quitting her old job.
That alone still felt surreal.
Yunho practically celebrated harder than she did when she finally left.
“You escaped corporate hell,” he announced while physically spinning her around his kitchen afterward.
The new company suited her better immediately.
Smaller.
Healthier.
Focused on employee growth instead of slowly crushing souls beneath impossible workloads.
For the first time in years, work no longer made her dread waking up every morning.
And maybe part of that courage came from Yunho too.
Because he looked at her like she deserved more.
Until eventually she started believing it herself.
Yunho suddenly stopped strumming the guitar while narrowing his eyes toward her.
“What are you thinking about?”
Y/N blinked slightly.
“Hm?”
“You got quiet.”
“I was just…” She smiled softly. “Happy.”
The expression on Yunho’s face melted instantly afterward.
God.
That look alone could ruin her emotionally.
Before she could recover properly, Yunho leaned the guitar against the couch beside him and shifted closer instead.
Close enough that his knee pressed against hers.
“You know what’s dangerous?” he asked quietly.
“What?”
“You smiling at me like that.”
Heat rose faintly into her cheeks.
“You’re dramatic.”
“You love it.”
Unfortunately true.
Y/N reached out lazily to poke his shoulder.
“You know,” she teased, “for someone who writes so many songs, I still can’t believe you actually didn't wrote love songs about me.”
Yunho went suspiciously quiet.
Y/N blinked.
“…Wait.”
His mouth curved slowly upward.
“Oh my god.”
“What?”
“You actually did.”
Yunho laughed softly under his breath before leaning closer.
“Back then?” His voice lowered slightly. “I only wrote songs about you.”
Y/N’s breath caught embarrassingly fast.
“Yunho.”
“It’s true.”
He leaned forward then and kissed the tip of her nose softly.
The affectionate gesture made warmth bloom immediately through her chest.
“You ruined my emotional stability,” he informed her seriously.
“That sounds dramatic.”
“You made me stare sadly at rain.”
“That’s your own fault.”
“Maybe.”
Yunho picked up the guitar again afterward.
Only this time his expression softened slightly differently.
Less playful now.
Y/N noticed immediately.
“What?”
“Nothing.” He adjusted the guitar against himself comfortably. “I just wanna show you something.”
Her stomach fluttered softly.
The apartment settled quieter around them while Yunho looked down toward the strings.
Then slowly, gently, he started playing.
The melody hit her immediately.
Beautiful.
Soft.
The kind of song that physically wrapped around your chest while listening.
Y/N stayed completely still.
And then Yunho started singing.
Not loudly.
Not performing.
Just… honest.
The lyrics painted pieces of her life so carefully that it stole the breath directly from her lungs.
Corporate girls looking exhausted on late-night trains.
Moonlight reflecting across lake water.
Shark-cat plushies tucked against nervous chests.
Girls who apologized too much for existing.
Girls who slowly learned how to laugh freely again.
Y/N stared at him completely mesmerized.
Because somehow Yunho always saw her more clearly than she saw herself.
And hearing herself reflected back through his music felt overwhelming in the most beautiful way.
His voice softened during the chorus.
Warm enough that tears almost instantly burned behind her eyes.
Not sad tears.
Just too much feeling at once.
When the final chord faded quietly into the apartment, silence settled softly afterward.
Y/N realized only then that she had been smiling the entire time.
Warm.
Completely helpless.
Yunho looked suddenly nervous once the song ended.
Which honestly felt insane considering he performed in front of thousands regularly.
“What?” he asked quietly.
Y/N shook her head softly.
“That was…” She laughed weakly. “Really beautiful.”
Relief flashed visibly across his face immediately.
Then warmth.
Then something even softer.
And suddenly Y/N knew.
Not suspected.
Knew.
She loved him.
Completely.
The realization settled gently instead of dramatically.
Like something that had already been true for a while finally catching up to her consciously.
Because how could she not?
She loved the way he made space for her fears instead of mocking them.
Loved how carefully he listened whenever she talked about work frustrations.
Loved how deeply he cared for people.
Loved that he still looked at her like she was extraordinary even when she felt painfully ordinary.
Yunho tilted his head slightly noticing her quiet expression again.
“What’s happening in your head right now?”
Y/N smiled softly before answering.
Then leaned forward instead.
And kissed him.
Full of everything she still struggled putting into words.
Yunho melted immediately into the kiss with a quiet surprised sound.
His hand slid instinctively against her waist while she shifted closer across the couch.
Warm mouth.
Gentle touch.
Home.
When they finally pulled apart slightly, Yunho stared at her strangely afterward.
Very strangely.
Too serious suddenly.
Y/N blinked.
“What?”
He kept looking at her.
Almost overwhelmed.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” she asked softly.
Yunho exhaled slowly through his nose.
Then set the guitar carefully aside before turning fully toward her.
And suddenly Y/N’s heartbeat started climbing nervously.
Because his expression looked devastatingly sincere.
“I love you.”
The words came quietly.
Still powerful enough that her breath caught instantly.
Yunho swallowed softly before continuing anyway.
“I think I’ve loved you for longer than I realized.”
Emotion tightened painfully in her chest immediately.
“You walked into a random bar exhausted and sad and somehow changed my entire life.” His eyes stayed locked carefully onto hers. “And every single day since then, I keep finding new reasons to love you more.”
Y/N’s vision blurred slightly already.
“You make me feel calm,” he admitted softly. “Which is insane because normally my life is chaos all the time.”
A watery laugh escaped her.
Yunho smiled faintly before brushing his fingers carefully along her cheek.
“I love how deeply you care about people.” His thumb traced lightly beneath her eye. “I love how hard you try even when you’re scared.”
The tenderness in his voice nearly destroyed her completely.
“And honestly?” He laughed quietly under his breath. “I love that you still act shocked every time I tell you you’re beautiful.”
Heat mixed painfully with emotion in her chest.
Yunho leaned slightly closer.
“You made me happier these last months than I’ve been in years.” His forehead rested gently against hers. “And I don’t wanna imagine my life without you in it anymore.”
Tears slipped fully down Y/N’s cheeks now.
Not sad.
Just overwhelmed by how deeply loved he made her feel.
“I love you,” Yunho whispered again.
The words settled warm and permanent somewhere deep inside her.
And for the first time in her life, Y/N believed completely that someone could know her fully and still choose her anyway.
Yunho still got nervous before concerts.
Not because of the stage itself.
That part had become instinct years ago.
The lights.
The crowds.
The deafening screams vibrating through entire arenas.
All of it settled naturally into his body now like muscle memory.
But tonight felt different.
Because tonight Y/N would be there officially as his.
Well.
Mostly officially.
The internet already figured things out weeks ago anyway.
Paparazzi pictures spread faster than wildfire the first time someone photographed Yunho waiting outside Y/N’s new office building holding iced coffees and flowers like an idiot.
The photos themselves were harmless.
Y/N laughing while hiding her face behind his shoulder.
Yunho holding her hand while guiding her toward the car.
But fans immediately noticed how soft he looked around her.
And then more sightings happened.
Late-night dinners.
Y/N wearing his hoodie.
Mingi accidentally posting her reflection in a group picture before deleting it twenty minutes later while panicking.
Now the internet practically treated Yunho’s mysterious girlfriend like national news.
Most reactions honestly surprised Y/N.
Way more positive than she expected.
Some fans even called them cute which nearly made her cry from relief the first time she read it.
Still, tonight would feel different.
Because tonight Yunho planned on stopping the hiding completely.
The backstage room buzzed loudly around him while staff rushed everywhere adjusting last-minute details before the concert.
San warmed up loudly in one corner while Hongjoong argued with someone about lighting cues.
Mingi sat upside down on a couch eating snacks he absolutely should not eat before performing.
Normal chaos.
Yunho barely heard most of it though.
Because Y/N sat beside him on the makeup chair quietly fixing the sleeve of his stage jacket while looking impossibly beautiful.
Her outfit tonight nearly ruined him emotionally earlier.
Simple black skirt.
Soft fitted top.
Silver jewelry catching stage lights every time she moved.
And the necklace around her throat?
His necklace.
The one he casually gave her three months ago that she now wore constantly.
Yunho watched her carefully adjust his sleeve before gently catching her wrist.
Y/N looked up immediately.
“What?”
He smiled softly.
“You’re pretty.”
Heat instantly climbed into her cheeks even after six months together.
Still.
Every time.
Yunho genuinely thought he might spend his entire life addicted to that reaction.
“You say that every day.”
“Because it’s true every day.”
Wooyoung gagged dramatically from across the room.
“Oh my god.”
Neither looked at him.
Y/N tried hiding her smile though.
Yunho tugged lightly on her hand until she stepped closer between his knees.
Immediately comfortable there now.
Like she belonged.
Because honestly?
She did.
Yunho rested both hands against her waist while looking up at her quietly.
“You nervous?” he asked softly.
Y/N exhaled lightly through her nose.
“A little.”
That made sense.
Tonight marked the first time she would stand visibly in the VIP section during one of their bigger concerts.
No hiding backstage.
No sneaking exits.
No pretending she was “just a friend.”
Yunho brushed his thumbs slowly against her waist.
“You know,” he murmured, “you can still tell me if this is too much.”
Y/N immediately shook her head.
“No.”
“You sure?”
She nodded softer this time.
“I think…” She smiled faintly. “I’m done hiding from being happy.”
God.
He loved her.
So much it physically hurt sometimes.
Yunho leaned forward instinctively and kissed her softly.
Warm.
Gentle.
Y/N melted immediately into it before laughing quietly against his mouth.
“What?”
“You’ll ruin my lipstick.”
“Worth it.”
“Selfish.”
“Very.”
The backstage door suddenly slammed open.
“Five minutes!”
Yunho sighed dramatically against Y/N’s shoulder.
“Duty calls.”
Y/N laughed softly before smoothing her hands against the front of his jacket carefully.
The gesture felt so domestic now.
So natural.
Six months ago she barely believed someone like him could genuinely want her.
Now she stood backstage before sold-out concerts adjusting his clothes while wearing his necklace.
Life felt insane sometimes.
Yunho caught her hand again before she could step away fully.
His expression softened.
“I love you.”
The words still affected her every single time.
Yunho watched emotion flicker instantly across her face before she smiled softly back.
“I love you too.”
He kissed the back of her hand gently.
Then quieter:
“I’ll look for you in the crowd.”
Y/N’s breath caught slightly.
The promise settled warm inside her chest immediately.
Then chaos exploded again.
Staff moving.
Music blasting louder.
Members gathering toward the stage entrance while the crowd outside screamed loud enough to shake walls.
Wooyoung pointed dramatically toward Y/N while walking backward.
“If he cries during the love song, I’m blaming you.”
“He’s the emotional one,” Y/N defended immediately.
“I heard that!” Yunho shouted.
“You were supposed to!”
Yuna appeared beside Y/N seconds later looking equally overwhelmed already.
“I still can’t believe this is your life now.”
“Neither can I.”
Then suddenly stage lights darkened.
The crowd roared deafeningly outside.
And instantly Yunho transformed.
Not fake.
Never fake.
Just… bigger somehow.
The performer version of him rising naturally to the surface.
Still Yunho.
Still her Yunho.
But glowing now.
Before heading fully toward the stage entrance, he turned one last time toward her.
And smiled.
Not the polished celebrity smile fans usually saw.
The real one.
Soft around the edges.
Full of affection.
Just for her.
Then the stage exploded into light.
The screams hit immediately.
Deafening.
Massive.
Y/N physically felt the vibration through her chest while Ateez ran onto the stage.
Yuna grabbed her arm instantly.
“Oh my god.”
Even after months together, moments like this still stunned Y/N.
Thousands of people screaming Yunho’s name.
Lights flooding the entire arena.
Music crashing through speakers loud enough to shake the floor.
And there he was.
Confident.
Beautiful.
Completely alive on stage.
The first few songs passed in overwhelming energy.
San jumped across the stage like he physically contained infinite stamina while Hongjoong flirted shamelessly with cameras.
Mingi somehow made entire sections of fans scream just by smirking.
And Yunho…
Yunho kept looking toward her.
Tiny moments only she probably noticed.
Little smiles during choreography.
Quick glances during talking segments.
Once during a slower song, their eyes met fully across the arena and Yunho’s entire expression softened for half a second before he looked away again.
Yuna physically shook beside her.
“He’s literally heart-eyes staring at you.”
“He is not.”
“Y/N.”
Wooyoung leaned dramatically across the VIP railing beside them.
“He absolutely is.”
Seonghwa sighed fondly nearby.
“He’s been impossible for six months.”
“True,” Jongho added immediately.
Yeosang just nodded.
Y/N tried hiding her smile unsuccessfully.
Because honestly?
Knowing Yunho searched for her in crowds full of thousands made her chest feel embarrassingly full.
The concert moved beautifully afterward.
Fast songs.
Talking segments.
Fans screaming lyrics loud enough to drown out the members themselves sometimes.
At one point Yunho ended up drenched in sweat and laughing breathlessly during a ment while fans screamed marriage proposals at him from every direction.
Y/N laughed helplessly watching him grin.
God.
She loved him.
So much.
Eventually the concert reached ist midpoint break.
The members disappeared backstage briefly while the crowd buzzed excitedly.
Yuna collapsed dramatically against the railing.
“I understand now.”
“What?”
“How people accidentally fall in love with stars.”
Y/N snorted softly.
“You say that while Wooyoung is literally three feet away.”
The dynamic between Wooyoung and Yuna had shifted over the past few months. Wooyoung flirted with her, Yuna ignored him mostly.
“I’m emotionally committed to survival.”
Wooyoung looked offended immediately.
“I’m incredibly lovable.”
“Debatable,” Yeosang answered flatly.
Before Wooyoung could start fake crying again, stage lights suddenly dimmed once more.
The crowd screamed immediately.
Ateez returned to the stage calmer this time.
Less explosive energy now.
More intimate.
Hongjoong stepped toward the mic first smiling softly.
“We’ve got something special next.”
The crowd roared louder instantly.
Y/N noticed Yunho already looking toward the VIP section again.
Specifically toward her.
Her heartbeat immediately sped up.
Hongjoong continued speaking while grinning knowingly toward Yunho.
“One of our newest songs actually came from a pretty emotional period.”
Mingi snorted loudly beside him.
The crowd laughed.
Yunho already looked mildly betrayed.
San grabbed his shoulder dramatically.
“He suffered for art.”
“Please stop talking,” Yunho muttered into the mic.
Fans screamed louder.
Then Yunho stepped forward slowly.
And immediately the entire arena quieted slightly.
Y/N’s breath caught seeing him look directly at her.
Not hiding it anymore.
Not pretending.
Yunho smiled softly.
“There’s someone important I wanna thank before this song.”
The crowd absolutely lost their minds immediately.
Y/N physically froze.
Beside her, Yuna grabbed Wooyoung violently.
“Oh my GOD.”
Wooyoung screamed silently into Seonghwa’s shoulder.
Meanwhile Yunho kept looking only at Y/N.
“I wouldn’t have been able to write this song without a really special woman beside me,” he said quietly.
The arena exploded.
Actually exploded.
Fans screaming.
People crying already.
Phones instantly everywhere.
And through all that noise, Yunho still only looked at her.
Y/N felt tears sting immediately behind her eyes.
Because suddenly she remembered him singing this song softly in the studio while heartbroken.
Back when he thought she might disappear from his life completely.
Now here he stood in front of thousands openly dedicating it to her.
The music started slowly afterward.
Soft guitar first.
Then piano.
Y/N recognized the melody instantly.
The song.
Their song.
Yunho’s eyes never left her once as he started singing.
And somehow it sounded even more emotional live.
The lyrics hurt differently now.
Because Y/N knew the story behind every line.
The silence after she ghosted him.
The nights staring sadly at rain.
The fear of losing someone before love even properly began.
But now the song carried something warmer too.
Hope.
Relief.
Devotion.
The final chorus changed slightly from the original version Y/N heard months ago.
Back then it sounded desperate.
Tonight it sounded certain.
Like finding home.
Yunho sang with his whole heart.
Completely open.
And every single time his eyes found hers across the arena, Y/N felt herself falling deeper all over again.
By the bridge, she already cried openly.
Yuna cried beside her too honestly.
Even Jongho looked suspiciously emotional.
“Disgusting,” Wooyoung whispered while wiping his eyes dramatically.
Seonghwa patted his shoulder.
“You’re crying.”
“No I’m not.”
“You absolutely are.”
Meanwhile Y/N could barely breathe properly anymore.
Because Yunho looked at her like she was the only person in the entire arena.
And maybe in that moment she was.
The final note faded softly into screaming crowds afterward.
The arena erupted immediately.
Fans shouting.
Cheering.
Some crying openly.
Yunho smiled breathlessly toward her before finally looking away again.
But even from this distance, Y/N could see the emotion still shining in his eyes too.
The rest of the concert blurred afterward.
Y/N stayed overwhelmed through all of it.
Because something about watching Yunho publicly love her without hesitation healed parts of herself she didn’t even realize still hurt.
By the time the show finally ended, adrenaline still buzzed violently through her chest.
Backstage became chaos instantly afterward.
Staff everywhere.
Members sweaty and loud and exhausted.
Y/N barely processed any of it because the second Yunho appeared through the hallway doors still glowing from performance adrenaline, she moved automatically.
Straight toward him.
Yunho barely had time to react before Y/N practically launched herself into his arms.
He laughed breathlessly while catching her immediately.
“Baby—”
Y/N kissed him before he could finish.
Hard.
Full of emotion and adrenaline and overwhelming love.
Someone behind them screamed dramatically.
Probably Wooyoung.
Neither cared.
Yunho kissed her back instantly while lifting her slightly off the ground.
When they finally pulled apart, both breathing unevenly, Y/N grabbed his face between her hands.
“I love you,” she blurted immediately.
Emotion flashed violently across Yunho’s face.
Strong enough that his entire expression softened.
Then he smiled.
That real smile again.
The one only she really knew properly.
And god.
Y/N thought she could survive anything as long as he kept looking at her like that.
Yunho brushed sweaty hair carefully away from her face before kissing her forehead softly.
“I love you more than anything, baby.”
The sincerity in his voice nearly made her cry all over again.
Behind them came loud gagging noises.
“Actually unbearable,” Wooyoung announced dramatically.
San pointed accusingly toward the couple.
“You two are disgustingly in love.”
“Physically nauseating,” Jongho agreed.
Yuna looked deeply emotional instead.
“This is literally my favorite romance movie.”
Hongjoong passed by holding water bottles while shaking his head fondly.
“Yunho wrote like twelve songs over this woman.”
“THIRTEEN,” Mingi corrected immediately.
Y/N looked at Yunho in shock.
“Thirteen?”
Yunho looked suddenly embarrassed.
“Traitor,” he muttered toward Mingi.
Wooyoung gasped dramatically.
“Wait until she hears the unreleased ones.”
“There are unreleased ones?”
Yunho buried his face briefly against Y/N’s shoulder while everyone laughed around them.
And standing there backstage surrounded by chaos and teasing and people who loved them both, Y/N realized something quietly wonderful.
Months ago she genuinely believed someone like Yunho could never truly choose someone like her.
Now he sang love songs about her in sold-out arenas without hesitation.
And somehow, despite everything fame complicated, loving Yunho still felt surprisingly simple in the ways that mattered most.
Epilogue
Mina decided heartbreak was deeply embarrassing.
Not even the poetic kind either.
No dramatic rain.
No cinematic breakup speech.
Just one stupid message at eleven thirty-seven in the evening from a boy she spent almost eight months loving.
I think you’re amazing but i met someone else
That was it.
Eight months reduced to one glowing notification on her phone screen.
Mina groaned dramatically and buried her face deeper into her pillow.
Outside her bedroom window, rain tapped softly against the glass.
Of course.
Apparently heartbreak legally required rain.
She reached blindly toward her phone again despite already reading the message at least thirty times.
Still there.
Still horrible.
The worst part?
She genuinely thought Jaemin liked her too.
The lingering hand touches.
The long conversations after class.
The way he smiled softer around her.
Apparently none of it meant anything.
Or maybe it did for a little while before somebody prettier appeared.
That thought made something ache sharply in her chest again.
Mina rolled onto her back dramatically staring up at the glow-in-the-dark stars still stuck to her ceiling from childhood.
Pathetic.
At sixteen years old she already sounded like someone’s divorced aunt.
Her room stayed dim except for fairy lights hanging loosely near her desk.
Usually she liked rainy evenings.
Tonight everything just felt heavy.
She needed distraction.
Immediately.
Mina grabbed her laptop from beside the bed and opened it with another dramatic sigh.
Music.
She needed loud emotional music.
Preferably something devastating enough to validate her suffering.
Scrolling mindlessly through recommendations, one title suddenly caught her eye.
ATEEZ – “Moon After Rain”
Interesting title.
The thumbnail looked old.
Really old.
Like vintage-performance-video old.
Mina clicked it anyway.
Soft guitar flooded her room immediately.
Then a voice.
Warm.
Deep.
Familiar.
Beautiful in a way that physically made her pause.
Mina blinked slowly at the screen.
Okay.
Wow.
The song built gently at first before expanding into something heartbreakingly emotional.
Lyrics about waiting for someone.
Loving someone through fear.
Finding home in another person after feeling lost for too long.
Mina stared quietly at the screen while rain tapped softly outside.
The lead singer’s voice especially caught her attention.
There was something oddly familiar about it.
Comforting somehow.
By the second chorus her chest hurt for completely different reasons now.
Not just heartbreak.
Something softer too.
Hope maybe.
The song didn’t sound tragic despite the sadness woven through it.
It sounded devoted.
Like love surviving anyway.
Mina hugged her blanket tighter around herself while replaying part of the chorus again.
God.
People used to make music like this?
No wonder older generations acted emotionally unstable about bands.
A knock sounded lightly against her bedroom door.
Before Mina answered, the door already opened slightly.
Her mother stepped inside carrying folded laundry against her hip.
Her mum Lia always moved softly through rooms.
Even at forty-two she still looked warm in a way Mina struggled describing properly.
Comfortable maybe.
Like sunlight through curtains.
“You’re awake late,” her mum said gently.
“Emotionally suffering.”
“Ah.” Her mum nodded immediately. “Teenage heartbreak.”
“Don’t say it like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like you expected this.”
“I did.”
Mina looked betrayed.
Her mum laughed quietly before setting the laundry basket onto the chair near the desk.
Then suddenly she paused.
The music still played softly through Mina’s laptop speakers.
Her mum blinked once.
Then slowly,“…Why are you listening to that oldie?”
Mina frowned slightly while sitting up straighter against the bed.
“You know this song?”
Lia looked immediately amused.
“Mina.”
“What?”
“That song is ancient.”
“It’s beautiful.”
“That too.”
Mina glanced back toward the screen thoughtfully.
“The man singing kinda reminds me of grandpa actually.”
Silence.
Then her mum burst into laughter.
Full laughter.
The kind that made her physically lean against the doorway for support.
Mina stared in confusion.
“What?”
Lia covered her mouth still laughing softly.
“Oh sweetheart.”
“What?”
“That IS your grandpa.”
Mina blinked once.
Then again.
“…What?”
Her mother smiled helplessly now while walking toward the bed.
“No one ever showed you old concert videos?”
“You told me grandpa used to be in a band!”
“A very famous band.”
“I thought you meant like…” Mina gestured vaguely. “Local famous.”
This time her mother laughed harder.
“Oh baby no.”
Completely stunned, Mina looked back toward the laptop screen immediately.
The singer smiled during the live performance clip.
And suddenly…
Oh my god.
Now that she noticed it, the resemblance felt painfully obvious.
The same eyes.
The same smile.
Even the way he tilted his head while singing.
Mina physically grabbed her laptop closer.
“No way.”
Her mum sat down beside her on the bed smiling softly at the screen.
“Your grandpa was kind of a big deal.”
“KIND OF?”
“Okay.” Lia laughed. “A very big deal.”
Mina stared at the performance footage in absolute disbelief.
“You’re telling me grandpa was basically an idol?”
“Rockstar technically.”
“Oh my god.”
The realization completely rearranged her understanding of her grandparents instantly.
Because Grandpa Yunho had always just been…
Grandpa.
Warm smiles.
Movie nights.
Sneaking her candy before dinner while Grandma pretended not noticing.
The man who gardened obsessively and cried during emotional dog movies.
Not this.
Not someone performing in front of screaming stadiums while looking devastatingly cool.
Mina looked horrified suddenly.
“Wait.”
Her mum raised an eyebrow.
“Did grandma know?”
Lia snorted softly.
“She absolutely knew.”
“No, but like…” Mina gestured wildly toward the screen. “THIS version?”
Warmness softened across her mums face immediately.
“Oh, your grandma knew every version of him.”
Something about the way she said that made Mina quiet slightly.
The song continued softly in the background.
Then slowly Mina looked toward her mother again.
“Did they really love each other like that?”
Her mothers expression changed immediately.
Gentler somehow.
Like memory softened her from the inside.
“Oh,” she said quietly. “Very much.”
Mina hugged her blanket tighter unconsciously.
Because honestly?
Grandma and Grandpa always seemed unreal together.
Even as old people.
Especially as old people maybe.
Grandpa still kissed Grandma’s forehead constantly.
Still looked at her like she hung the moon itself.
And Grandma always softened around him instantly no matter how grumpy she acted beforehand.
Mina used to joke they were disgusting.
Now suddenly she wanted that kind of love more than anything.
Lia smiled faintly at the screen again.
“That song actually has a story.”
Mina immediately looked interested.
“What story?”
Her mum tucked one leg beneath herself on the bed before speaking.
“Your grandpa wrote it when he thought your grandma didn’t want him anymore.”
Mina blinked.
“What?”
“Oh, they were a disaster in the beginning.”
That startled a laugh out of her immediately.
“Seriously?”
“Absolutely.” her mum smiled fondly. “Grandma almost ran away because she thought she wasn’t good enough for him.”
Mina frowned immediately.
“But grandma was gorgeous.”
“She still thought that.”
The words settled softly between them.
Her mum looked toward the rain outside briefly before continuing.
“She met him before knowing he was famous.”
Mina immediately leaned closer.
“Wait actually?”
And then slowly, softly, her mother told her the story.
About an exhausted office worker wandering into a random bar after work.
About a musician sneaking out onto a patio for fresh air.
About one stupid impulsive night wandering through the city together pretending adulthood didn’t exist.
Arcades.
Lake water under moonlight.
Street food at three in the morning.
Mina listened completely captivated.
Because somehow it sounded less like real life and more like one of the romance movies Grandma secretly loved watching late at night.
“And then?” Mina whispered quietly.
Her mother smiled softly.
“Then your grandma got scared.”
“Because of the fame?”
“Partly.” she nodded slightly. “But mostly because she loved him already.”
The room quieted softly afterward except for the song still playing faintly nearby.
Mina looked back toward the screen again.
Young Grandpa Yunho singing like his entire heart existed inside the song.
After another soul-draining day at her corporate HR job, Y/N stumbles into a small underground bar to escape the exhaustion swallowing her whole. There she meets Yunho, a magnetic guitarist from a famous rock band and spends one unforgettable night wandering through the city with a stranger who makes her feel alive again.
What begins as a reckless decision slowly turns into something neither of them expected: a place to breathe.
Pairing: Jeong Yunho × Reader (Y/N)
Tropes: Rockstar AU, Strangers to Lovers, Opposites Attract, Late Night City Romance, Found Family, Emotional Healing, Soft Slow Burn, Falling in Love Before Realizing It
Featuring: Ateez as Yunhos Band Mates or Friends, Y/ns Childhood friend
Main Masterlist | Yunhos Masterlist
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5
This is Part 4
For a few seconds after Y/N disappeared behind the apartment door, Yunho genuinely could not move.
Rain tapped softly against the hood of the car beside him while cold night air settled damp against his skin.
The building entrance stayed closed.
And somehow that silence felt louder than anything else.
Yunho stared at the glass door like maybe she would suddenly come back out again.
Maybe she would realize she overreacted. Maybe she would laugh awkwardly and tell him she was just overwhelmed. Maybe he should go after her.
The thought hit instantly.
Go upstairs. Knock on her door.
Tell her again that none of it mattered to him.
That he liked her exactly as she was. That he had not felt this connected to someone in years.
His body even shifted slightly toward the entrance before he stopped himself.
Because another thought followed immediately after.
Would that actually help?
Or would it just overwhelm her more?
Y/N already looked terrified standing there crying in front of him.
Not scared of him. Scared of everything surrounding him.
And Yunho understood that better than she probably realized.
People always talked about fame like it only brought good things.
Opportunities. Money. Attention.
They rarely talked about what it did to relationships.
How every interaction eventually became distorted somehow.
People projected versions onto him constantly. Some saw fantasy. Others saw status. Some only saw headlines and crowds and numbers.
Y/N had met him before any of that.
She met him sweaty behind a bar with a missing lighter and stupid jokes.
And tonight she finally saw the gap between that Yunho and the version the world recognized.
No wonder she got overwhelmed.
Still…
The image of tears in her eyes while saying I don’t know if I can manage something like this again made something ache sharply in his chest.
Again.
That word stayed with him.
Because whatever happened before him clearly hurt her deeply enough that now she expected disappointment before anything even began.
Yunho leaned heavily back against the car with a quiet curse. “Fuck.”
He dragged both hands through his damp hair before finally climbing back inside the car.
The engine stayed off.
Yunho rested his forehead briefly against the steering wheel and closed his eyes.
Everything replayed instantly anyway.
Y/N laughing earlier that afternoon with powdered sugar on her mouth. The way she relaxed when he kissed her hand outside the amusement park. Her coworkers staring at her like she did not belong beside him.
And worst of all, the way she looked at him near the end.
Like she already believed losing him would hurt too much.
Yunho exhaled slowly through his nose.
He should text her.
No.
Call her maybe.
No.
Give her space.
God.
He hated this.
Eventually he started the car again mostly because sitting outside her apartment spiraling for another hour would become deeply pathetic.
The drive back to Moonlight Room blurred together.
Rain grew heavier halfway there, streaking against the windshield while city lights reflected gold and red across wet streets.
Usually driving calmed him. Tonight his thoughts kept circling the same questions endlessly.
Should he have stopped her harder?
Should he have let her walk away so easily?
Was she already regretting everything?
The thought physically hurt.
By the time Yunho parked behind the bar, exhaustion sat heavy in his bones.
The familiar neon sign glowed dimly against the rain outside.
Tonight the bar was closed to the public. Just their people inside.
Sometimes after long schedules they gathered there anyway. Played music. Drank. Helped Wooyoung and Seonghwa clean or test new drinks.
Usually those nights relaxed Yunho.
Tonight he already wanted to leave again before even walking in.
The second he stepped inside, warmth and noise hit him immediately.
Music played softly through speakers while laughter echoed somewhere near the booths. Seonghwa polished glasses behind the counter while Wooyoung argued loudly with San over something involving tequila and “creative freedom.”
Mingi spotted Yunho first. “Oh!” He pointed dramatically. “The lover boy returns.”
Several heads immediately turned.
Yunho already knew where this was going.
Wooyoung gasped loudly. “How was the date with the woman of your dreams?”
San nearly fell sideways across the booth grinning. “Did you kiss?”
“Wait no,” Wooyoung interrupted. “Did you cry?”
“Why would he cry?” Yeosang asked flatly.
“Because he’s emotionally invested.”
“That’s fair.”
Usually Yunho would have laughed. Usually he would have shoved Wooyoung dramatically and complained while secretly enjoying the teasing.
Tonight he just forced a weak smile instead. “It was fine.”
Silence flickered briefly.
Because everyone immediately noticed the problem.
Hongjoong looked up first from his drink. “What happened?”
“Nothing.”
“You look miserable,” Jongho pointed out bluntly.
“I’m tired.”
“No.” San narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “Something happened.”
Yunho shrugged out of his damp jacket and headed toward the counter instead. “Seriously, it’s fine.”
Nobody believed him.
Wooyoung appeared beside him almost instantly. “That was the saddest ‘it’s fine’ I’ve ever heard.”
Yunho rubbed tiredly at his face. “I just don’t really want to talk right now.”
“Oh no,” Mingi muttered dramatically from behind him. “It’s bad bad.”
Seonghwa quietly slid a drink toward Yunho across the counter. “You wanna sit?”
Yunho nodded once gratefully.
The others followed immediately of course. Like emotional vultures.
San practically climbed across the booth. “Did she reject you?”
“No.”
“Did you reject her?”
“No.”
“Did you accidentally tell her you loved her?”
“What? No!”
“Then what happened?”
Questions kept coming from every direction. Too fast. Too loud.
And normally Yunho would have handled it fine.
But Y/N crying kept replaying behind his eyes every few seconds.
The sound of her voice shaking. The way she looked genuinely scared.
And suddenly everyone pushing at him felt unbearable.
“Can you all just leave it alone for a second?” he snapped suddenly.
Silence crashed instantly across the booth. Yunho immediately regretted the sharpness in his voice.
Wooyoung blinked. San leaned back slightly. Even Mingi looked surprised.
Yunho exhaled harshly through his nose before rubbing a hand over his face again.
“I’m sorry,” he muttered quietly. “I just…” He shook his head. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
Nobody spoke for a second afterward.
Then Hongjoong nodded once. “Okay.”
The conversation shifted awkwardly after that.
Nobody pushed again.
Still, Yunho barely heard most of it.
His thoughts stayed somewhere else entirely.
Hours passed slowly afterward.
Eventually San and Wooyoung started arguing over music again loudly enough to shake the entire room. Yeosang disappeared onto the patio with Seonghwa for cigarettes. Hongjoong answered work calls in the corner looking exhausted already.
Yunho slipped away quietly toward the small stage area near the back of the bar.
The room there stayed dimly lit except for scattered overhead lights reflecting softly across instruments.
His guitar already rested near one of the stools. Without thinking too much, Yunho picked it up. The familiar weight settled comfortably against him immediately.
Playing usually helped organize his thoughts. Or at least drown them out.
Tonight music came easier than words. Soft chords filled the empty bar while rain tapped quietly against windows outside.
Yunho stared down at the notebook resting open beside him. Lyrics already covered half the page.
Most unfinished. Most obviously about Y/N.
About girls who looked sad while laughing. About lakes under moonlight. About wanting someone enough to become terrified of losing them immediately.
Pathetic honestly.
Still, he kept writing anyway.
At some point footsteps approached quietly behind him.
Yunho didn’t look up immediately.
Only when Mingi settled beside him on the stage steps without speaking. For a while Mingi just listened quietly while Yunho played absentmindedly.
“You wanna tell me what happened?”
His voice sounded different now.
Not teasing. Not pushing.
Just… caring.
Yunho stared down at the guitar strings for a second longer before sighing softly. “She got scared.”
Mingi stayed quiet beside him.
So Yunho continued slowly. “She said she doesn’t know if she can handle…” He gestured vaguely around himself. “All of this.”
“The fame stuff?”
“Yeah.”
Rain continued softly outside while Yunho explained everything.
The coworkers. The comments. Y/N trying to pull her hand away. The way she looked smaller afterward no matter how hard he tried making her laugh again.
And finally the car ride.
Her crying. The way she kept talking like she wasn’t enough for him.
By the time he finished, his chest felt hollow again.
Mingi sat quietly processing it all.
Then eventually he leaned back against the stage step with a slow sigh. “Damn.”
“Yeah.”
For a second neither spoke.
Then Mingi rubbed lightly at his jaw thoughtfully. “I get why you’re upset,” he admitted carefully. “But honestly?” He glanced sideways toward Yunho. “I kinda get her too.”
Yunho looked over immediately.
Mingi lifted both hands slightly. “Not saying she’s right. Just…” He shrugged. “Think about it from her perspective.”
Yunho looked away again toward the guitar.
“She met you as just Yunho.”
The sentence landed quietly between them.
Not Jeong Yunho from Ateez.
Not the celebrity version everyone recognized instantly. Just him.
Mingi continued softly. “She didn’t know who you were at first. That’s probably why she relaxed around you so fast.”
Yunho remembered the first night instantly. Y/N laughing at his missing lighter. Calling him dramatic.
Looking at him without hesitation or expectation. No fame involved.
Just them.
“And then suddenly,” Mingi continued, “she sees the other side of it.”
The attention. People talking over her to get to him.
Yunho’s chest tightened again.
Mingi leaned forward resting his forearms against his knees. “You told us yourself she’s already insecure.” He glanced toward Yunho carefully. “And honestly? She sounds like someone whose trust you actually gotta earn.”
The sentence made Yunho blink slightly.
Because it felt painfully accurate.
Y/N did not open easily. Even the first night together, she kept overthinking every conversation at first.
And yet somehow she still followed him into the city anyway. Still trusted him enough to spend the night with him. Still let herself become vulnerable.
Mingi snorted softly beside him. “It still surprises me she even went with you that first night honestly.”
“That’s rude.”
“You know what I mean.”
Yunho did.
Because objectively?
Y/N should have been more cautious.
Instead she trusted him almost instinctively before even knowing who he was. And maybe that made tonight hurt worse too.
Because now she suddenly saw all the reasons not to.
Mingi nudged Yunho lightly with his shoulder. “I don’t think she pushed you away because she doesn’t like you.”
Yunho stared quietly at the notebook beside him. “She literally said she likes me.”
“There you go.”
“She still left.”
“Because she’s scared.”
Silence settled softly around them afterward.
Then Mingi smiled slightly. “You know,” he admitted, “I’m actually rooting for you.”
Yunho looked over.
Mingi shrugged. “You haven’t looked this genuinely happy in forever.”
The words hit unexpectedly hard.
Because they were true. Even Hongjoong mentioned it earlier that week.
Yunho laughed easier after meeting Y/N.
Smiled more. Seemed lighter somehow.
And all of it happened because one exhausted office worker walked into a random bar after work looking like she needed saving from adulthood.
Mingi looked toward the guitar resting against Yunho’s lap.
“So don’t give up yet.”
Yunho exhaled quietly. “You really think there’s still a chance?”
“I think,” Mingi said slowly, “that if something feels special this quickly, it’s probably worth fighting for.”
The sentence settled deep in Yunho’s chest.
Outside, rain continued falling softly over the city.
And for the first time since Y/N closed the door in front of him earlier that night, Yunho felt something besides helplessness.
Hope maybe.
Fragile. But there.
One week. Seven entire days.
Yunho knew because he counted every single one.
At first he tried being reasonable about it.
Y/N needed space. That was fair.
The night outside her apartment had been emotional for both of them. She cried. He pushed. Everything became messy and overwhelming.
So Yunho gave her time.
One day.
Then two.
Then four.
Now an entire week had passed.
No texts. No calls. Nothing.
And slowly, against his will, the thought started sinking in deeper every day.
Maybe she really was done with him. Maybe the silence itself was the answer.
Yunho sighed heavily from the couch in the recording studio before checking his phone again.
Still nothing.
No notifications except group chats and management reminders.
The screen reflected faintly against his tired face before he dropped the phone dramatically onto his chest again.
Across the studio, San’s voice blasted through the speakers mid-recording while Hongjoong adjusted controls behind the mixing desk.
Mingi glanced over from his chair immediately. “There he goes again.”
“I heard that,” Yunho muttered without moving.
“You were sighing like a divorced father.”
“That’s because he’s heartbroken,” San announced through the studio microphone before laughing at his own joke.
“Focus on recording,” Hongjoong shouted back immediately.
“I contain multitudes.”
The studio lights felt too bright today.
Or maybe Yunho just barely slept again.
Most nights this week ended the same way. Lying awake in bed staring at old messages from Y/N.
The messages physically ruined him now.
Because afterward came silence. Total silence.
Yunho dragged a hand over his face tiredly before checking his phone again despite knowing better.
Still nothing.
Mingi watched him for another second before speaking carefully. “She still hasn’t texted?”
Yunho shook his head once against the couch cushion. “Nope.”
“Maybe she’s busy,” San offered weakly through the microphone.
“San,” Hongjoong said flatly, “nobody is too busy for one text during an entire week.”
“Let me be optimistic.”
Yunho laughed softly despite himself. Weak.
But real enough that the others visibly relaxed slightly.
Because honestly?
This week had been rough. Not dramatic movie rough. Just quietly miserable.
Everything kept reminding him of her.
Coffee shops. Train stations. Rain at night.
Even the stupid claw machine plushie sitting on the shelf beside his desk at home because apparently Y/N forgot it in his car after the amusement park.
Yunho stared at the studio ceiling blankly. “She’s ghosting me, isn’t she?”
Three immediate reactions hit him at once.
“No.”
“Probably not.”
“You’re spiraling.”
Yunho groaned quietly. “I’m serious.”
Mingi leaned back in his chair thoughtfully. “She doesn’t seem like the ghosting type.”
“She literally vanished.”
“She told you she was scared,” Hongjoong pointed out calmly without looking away from the mixing desk. “That’s different.”
Yunho knew that. Logically.
Emotionally, however, his brain kept producing worst-case scenarios every two hours.
Maybe she regretted ever meeting him. Maybe she met someone normal instead.
The last thought made something ugly twist immediately in his chest. Pathetic.
Yunho sat up slowly from the couch before grabbing his phone again. “I should text her.”
“Then do it,” San answered immediately.
“But what if that’s overstepping?”
Three heads turned toward him.
Yunho rubbed awkwardly at the back of his neck. “She asked for space.”
“She never actually said that,” Mingi pointed out.
“She kinda implied it.”
Hongjoong finally looked up from the console then. “Yunho.”
“Hm?”
“You’ve spent seven days staring at your phone like a Victorian widow.”
“That feels dramatic.”
“It’s accurate.”
San nodded immediately. “You sigh every thirty minutes.”
“Yesterday you stared at rain for like twenty minutes straight,” Mingi added helpfully.
“That was unrelated.”
“It absolutely wasn’t.”
Unfortunately true.
Yunho dropped back against the couch again with another sigh. “I just don’t wanna make things worse.”
The room quieted slightly after that.
Because underneath all the jokes, the others knew him well enough to understand what this actually meant.
Yunho rarely got attached this fast anymore. Rarely let people affect him this deeply. And now one week of silence already had him looking permanently exhausted.
Mingi leaned forward slightly. “You know what I honestly think?”
Yunho looked over tiredly.
“I think she’s probably overthinking herself into another dimension.”
The sentence startled a laugh out of him.
Mostly because it sounded painfully accurate. Y/N absolutely seemed like the type to spiral herself into emotional isolation.
That part hurt more. Because maybe she genuinely believed walking away would make his life easier.
Meanwhile Yunho had spent the entire week writing songs about her.
Actual loser behavior.
San suddenly leaned back dramatically inside the recording booth. “You know what this studio session needs?”
“No,” Hongjoong answered immediately.
“A love song.”
Silence.
Then Mingi burst into laughter. “Oh my god.”
Yunho already knew where this was going. “No.”
“Yes,” San insisted brightly. “The people yearn for emotional devastation.”
“The people need you to finish your recording first,” Hongjoong replied.
But Mingi already looked deeply entertained now.
“Oh, Yunho has like twenty of those.”
Traitor.
San gasped dramatically through the microphone. “You wrote songs about her?”
“I write songs about everything.”
“Not like this,” Mingi corrected smugly.
Hongjoong slowly turned toward Yunho now too.
Interest immediately visible. “Wait.”
Yunho groaned quietly. “No.”
“Play one.”
“Absolutely not.”
“You’re literally an artist,” San shouted. “Suffer publicly.”
“I hate all of you.”
“Play the song.”
Yunho crossed his arms stubbornly against his chest. “No.”
Unfortunately that only encouraged them.
Mingi physically got up from his chair. “Oh, now we definitely need to hear it.”
“You’re being annoying on purpose.”
“Yes.”
Hongjoong leaned back against the console thoughtfully. “Honestly? We do need something emotional for the setlist.”
Yunho stared at him in betrayal. “You too?”
“You write best when you’re miserable.”
“That’s offensive.”
“That’s accurate,” three voices answered immediately.
Yunho buried his face in his hands briefly.
Because the worst part?
They were probably right.
This entire week had poured directly into music whether he wanted it to or not.
At some point around three in the morning two days earlier, he wrote an entire chorus about wanting someone so badly that silence itself started hurting physically.
Embarrassing.
Deeply embarrassing.
Still…
Slowly, reluctantly, Yunho reached toward the notebook resting beside the couch.
Immediate chaos erupted.
“Oh my god.”
“He’s doing it.”
“Wait, I’m emotionally preparing.”
“Shut up,” Yunho muttered.
The teasing quieted almost instantly once he actually picked up the guitar resting nearby though.
Because now they knew he was serious.
The studio settled into softer silence while Yunho adjusted the instrument against himself.
For a second he hesitated. Then his fingers moved automatically across the strings.
The melody came quietly at first.
Soft. Melancholy.
The room changed almost immediately.
Even San stopped moving around inside the recording booth.
Yunho looked down at the guitar while singing softly.
Not performing. Just… feeling it.
Lyrics spilled out rougher than usual.
About neon lights reflected in lake water. About girls who apologized for existing too loudly in the wrong spaces. About wanting to chase someone even while knowing they’d run first. And somewhere halfway through the second verse, Yunho accidentally forgot everyone else sat in the room.
Because suddenly all he could see was Y/N again.
Laughing at the arcade. Crying outside her apartment. Looking at him like she wanted him too much already.
His chest tightened painfully mid-chorus anyway.
Still, he kept singing.
The final line faded softly into silence afterward.
No one spoke immediately.
Yunho stared down at the guitar awkwardly.
Then finally:
“…Holy shit,” San whispered.
Yunho looked up. All three of them stared at him.
Hongjoong leaned slowly back against the mixing desk like he needed a second to process.
Mingi blinked once. “Okay,” he said carefully. “That was insane.”
Yunho rubbed awkwardly at the back of his neck immediately. “It’s unfinished.”
Yunho groaned dramatically and dropped backward against the couch again. “I regret sharing anything with you people.”
Mingi laughed loudly. “No actually, that chorus physically hurt me.”
“That bridge was disgusting,” San added. “Like emotionally.”
Hongjoong already grabbed a notebook. “We’re keeping it.”
Yunho stared at the ceiling again while the others immediately started discussing arrangements around him.
Somewhere underneath the embarrassment, warmth flickered softly in his chest too.
Because despite everything else, singing about Y/N made her feel close again somehow. Even if she still refused to answer him.
Hours later, after finally finishing the studio session, Yunho returned home exhausted.
The apartment greeted him with familiar silence.
Usually he appreciated quiet after schedules.
Tonight it just felt empty.
He dropped his keys onto the kitchen counter before immediately pulling out his phone again.
Still nothing.
Yunho groaned softly and collapsed onto the couch.
Okay.
Enough.
He needed to text her.
Obviously.
The others were right.
Seven days without contact already bordered on ridiculous.
Still…
What the hell was he supposed to say?
Hey, are you still emotionally spiraling?
Miss me?
Sorry you think you’re not enough for me even though you absolutely are?
Yunho opened their chat anyway. The blinking cursor mocked him instantly.
He typed. Deleted.
Typed again. Deleted again.
Eventually the message box only contained:
hey
Pathetic.
Yunho dropped the phone onto his face dramatically.
“This is impossible.”
The apartment remained deeply unhelpful. After another ten minutes of suffering, he sat up again determined.
Okay.
Simple honesty.
That usually worked best with Y/N anyway.
He typed again slowly.
I know you probably need time but I miss talking to you
Yunho stared at the sentence.
Then deleted it immediately.
Too intense.
Or maybe not intense enough.
God.
He hated texting.
Another attempt.
Are you okay?
Delete.
Thinking about you.
Delete.
Eventually he threw the phone onto the couch hard enough that it bounced slightly.
“Nope.”
He stood abruptly and paced toward the kitchen instead.
Water. He needed water.
Or alcohol.
Or emotional stability.
Unfortunately the apartment seemed fresh out of all three.
Yunho leaned heavily against the kitchen counter staring toward the rain outside his windows.
Because of course it was raining again. Everything about Y/N somehow involved rain now.
Rain outside the bar. Rain after the amusement park. Rain outside her apartment while she cried.
His chest tightened immediately at the memory.
Maybe texting really wasn’t enough. Maybe this entire situation became too fragile for carefully worded messages.
Y/N overthought texts already. He knew that much about her.
If he sent the wrong thing, she would probably reread it fifty times and convince herself he secretly meant something else entirely.
Yunho sighed heavily before grabbing his phone again.
Still no message from her.
And suddenly the idea settled into place quietly but firmly.
He needed to see her.
Not text. Not call.
Actually see her.
The realization hit so clearly that his body moved before he could overthink it again.
Yunho grabbed his keys from the counter immediately.
Then froze halfway toward the door.
Was this insane? Possibly.
Would Y/N think he completely lost his mind?
Also possible.
Still…
The thought of spending another week waiting silently while she convinced herself they should stay apart felt worse.
Much worse.
Yunho shoved his phone and wallet into his jacket pockets before heading for the door again.
Rain waited outside. Cold night air rushed against him immediately as he locked the apartment behind himself.
His heart beat strangely hard while heading toward the parking garage.
Not nervous exactly. Determined maybe.
Because somewhere between a random bar conversation and a lake at four in the morning, Y/N had become important enough that silence no longer felt acceptable. And Yunho wasn’t ready to lose something that felt this special without fighting for it first.
By the time Yunho parked outside Y/N’s apartment building, rain had softened into a light drizzle.
The city looked blurred beneath wet streetlights.
Quiet. Almost sleepy.
His hands stayed resting against the steering wheel while the engine hummed softly underneath him.
And suddenly all the confidence from twenty minutes ago disappeared completely.
What the hell was he actually doing?
Yunho leaned back slowly into the driver’s seat while staring toward Y/N’s building entrance.
Most windows were dark now except for a few scattered lights higher up.
Maybe she was asleep already. Maybe she didn’t want to see him at all. Maybe showing up unannounced after a week of silence would only overwhelm her more.
The thought made him exhale heavily through his nose.
“Great,” he muttered quietly to himself. “Now I’m the creepy guy outside her apartment.”
Rain tapped softly against the windshield.
Yunho stayed where he was.
Just thinking. Or overthinking maybe.
Because honestly, part of him still felt scared too.
Not of rejection exactly. More of hearing Y/N say out loud that this really was over before it ever properly started.
His phone rested in the cupholder beside him.
Still empty. No messages.
Yunho rubbed tiredly at his face before glancing back toward the building again.
One week. One entire week without her voice.
Without her terrible nervous laughs or the way she overexplained things when anxious.
God. He missed her.
The radio played quietly in the background, mostly ignored until the station host suddenly started talking louder.
“And next up,” the host announced brightly, “one of the biggest tracks dominating charts this month…”
Yunho already knew what was coming before the instrumental even started. “Oh, come on.”
Their song flooded through the speakers immediately.
His own voice filled the car seconds later alongside San’s.
Usually hearing their music unexpectedly felt surreal in a fun way. Tonight it made his stomach twist instead. Because suddenly he saw everything through Y/N’s eyes again.
Not Yunho sitting nervously in a car debating whether to ring her doorbell.
Jeong Yunho.
The celebrity. The performer people screamed for. The version of him impossible to separate from the rest now.
Y/N’s words echoed painfully clear in his head.
Your career is part of you too. Your fans matter. They’d be disappointed.
Yunho stared down at his hands silently while the song continued playing around him.
Maybe she was right.
Not about being boring. Never that.
But about how complicated this could become.
He had lived inside fame long enough to understand the ugly parts too.
The scrutiny. The judgment. The way strangers suddenly believed they owned pieces of your personal life.
Y/N already looked overwhelmed after one interaction with coworkers.
What would happen if things became public someday?
Would she hate it? Would it crush her slowly?
The thought alone made guilt flicker uneasily in his chest.
Maybe loving him really would become exhausting eventually.
Outside, rain streaked softly down the windshield while the chorus played quietly through the car speakers.
Yunho listened to his own voice for another few seconds before suddenly laughing softly under his breath.
Because this was ridiculous. All of it.
He was sitting here convincing himself to walk away from someone he cared about because the world might become difficult.
Meanwhile Y/N already spent her entire life carrying things alone.
Work. Expectations. Insecurities people clearly fed into constantly.
And instead of standing beside her through it, he almost turned the car around because he got scared too.
“No,” Yunho muttered quietly.
The word settled something firmly inside his chest.
Because yes, he was famous. Yes, his life was messy and public and complicated. But he was also still just a man sitting in a car at midnight missing a girl.
A girl who laughed like she forgot how beautiful she sounded doing it. A girl who cried because she genuinely thought she wasn’t enough for him.
And Yunho absolutely refused to let her believe that without fighting harder first.
The realization hit cleanly. Enough that suddenly his nerves quieted slightly too.
He turned off the radio.
The sudden silence felt sharp.
Then Yunho grabbed his keys and stepped out into the rain before he could overthink himself out of it again.
Cold air hit instantly. The drizzle dampened his hoodie while he crossed toward the apartment entrance.
Each step made his heartbeat louder.
Yunho shoved his hands into his pockets while entering the building.
Warm air greeted him inside along with faint fluorescent lighting. The elevator ride felt unbearably slow.
His reflection stared back at him from the metal doors.
Tired eyes. Messy dark hair. Nervous energy practically radiating from him.
“You’ve performed in stadiums,” he muttered under his breath. “Get it together.”
Unfortunately his heart ignored that advice entirely.
By the time he reached Y/N’s floor, his pulse already hammered painfully hard against his ribs.
The hallway looked quiet.
Yunho stopped outside her apartment door for a long second.
Okay.
Last chance to leave. Last chance to pretend he never came here.
His brain immediately supplied worst-case scenarios again.
Maybe she’d be angry. Maybe she’d cry again. Maybe she’d ask him to leave.
Still…
Yunho lifted his hand anyway.
Then rang the bell.
Silence followed immediately afterward.
Heavy enough that Yunho suddenly became hyperaware of every sound in the hallway.
His own breathing. The distant elevator hum somewhere below. Rain against windows far away.
For one horrible second he genuinely thought she might not answer.
Then footsteps.
Yunho straightened instinctively.
The lock clicked. And suddenly the door opened.
Y/N stood there staring at him in complete shock.
Soft oversized sweater. Bare face. Hair slightly messy like she had been lying down before answering.
Beautiful. Painfully beautiful.
For a second neither of them spoke.
Y/N blinked slowly. “…Yunho?”
His chest tightened immediately hearing her say his name again after a week of silence.
And standing there in front of her, watching surprise and nervousness flicker across her face all at once, Yunho realized one thing with absolute certainty.
He was not leaving until he fixed this.
Y/N had been miserable for an entire week.
Not dramatic movie miserable. Just quietly, constantly miserable.
The kind that settled heavy beneath her ribs no matter what she did.
Work became worse because now every quiet moment left too much room for thinking. She caught herself staring at her phone during lunch breaks hoping for messages she simultaneously felt too guilty to answer.
At night it became unbearable.
Because every single thing reminded her of Yunho somehow.
Rain against windows. Coffee shops. Late-night train rides.
Even the stupid oversized hoodie he left at her apartment after the amusement park sat folded carefully over the back of her chair because she could not bring herself to wash away the smell of him yet.
Pathetic honestly.
Yuna thought so too.
Not in a cruel way.
More in the deeply exasperated best-friend way. “You’re spiraling again.”
Y/N groaned softly from where she laid half-dead across the couch.
The apartment smelled faintly like takeout and vanilla candles while quiet music played from the radio nearby.
Outside, rain tapped softly against windows again.
Of course it was raining. Everything involving Yunho apparently required dramatic weather now.
Yuna sat cross-legged on the floor eating fries directly from the container while watching Y/N carefully.
“You haven’t stopped sighing for like twenty minutes.”
“I’m suffering.”
“You’re self-inflicting suffering.”
“That’s even worse.”
Yuna snorted softly.
Y/N pulled the blanket higher over her face dramatically. The last week replayed endlessly in her head no matter how hard she tried distracting herself.
Especially the look on Yunho’s face when she walked away from him.
God.
That alone made guilt twist violently in her chest.
Because the truth was painfully simple.
She missed him. A lot.
More than she should after such a short time.
Y/N stared blankly toward the ceiling. “I feel stupid.”
Yuna looked up immediately.
“There she is.”
“What?”
“The emotional honesty.”
Y/N sighed heavily again before finally sitting up slightly on the couch. “I handled everything horribly.”
“You were overwhelmed.”
“I still handled it horribly.”
Yuna stayed quiet while Y/N rubbed tiredly at her face.
“Who cries in front of someone because they’re too famous?” she muttered weakly. “That’s genuinely embarrassing.”
“It’s not embarrassing.”
“It absolutely is.”
“No.” Yuna pointed a fry dramatically toward her. “It’s anxiety.”
Y/N laughed softly under her breath. Unfortunately true.
Still, shame sat ugly inside her chest anyway.
Because now that the panic settled slightly after a week, everything seemed clearer in retrospect.
Yunho never once made her feel lesser. Not once.
If anything, he spent the entire time trying to pull her closer while she kept pushing herself away first.
Y/N swallowed lightly. “I really like him.”
The confession came quietly. Still heavy enough that Yuna’s expression softened immediately.
“I know.”
“No, like…” Y/N looked down toward her hands. “I really, really like him.”
That part scared her too.
Because nothing about this felt casual anymore.
Yuna leaned back against the couch thoughtfully. “Then why are you acting like he’s impossible to love?”
Y/N blinked. “What?”
“You keep talking about him like he’s some unreachable thing.”
“Well…”
“He’s famous,” Yuna interrupted immediately. “Not a god.”
Easy for her to say.
Y/N groaned quietly again. “You didn’t see how people reacted.”
“I don’t need to.” Yuna shrugged slightly. “People are weird about celebrities.”
“It’s more than that.”
Yuna looked at her carefully for a second.
Then sighed softly. “You know you’ve always done this, right?”
Y/N frowned slightly. “Done what?”
“This.” Yuna gestured vaguely toward her entire miserable existence currently wrapped in blankets. “Thinking you’re not enough whenever someone seems better than you in some way.”
The words hit harder than expected. Y/N looked away immediately.
“Which is complete nonsense by the way,” Yuna continued firmly.
“It’s not nonsense.”
“It absolutely is.”
Y/N laughed weakly under her breath. “Easy for you to say.”
“No, listen to me.” Yuna shifted closer slightly. “You did this in university too.”
Y/N already knew where this was going. “Oh my god.”
“The teaching assistant asked you out once and you spent three weeks convinced he pitied you.”
“He wore loafers.”
“That means nothing.”
“He looked emotionally stable.”
Yuna stared at her flatly. “You hear yourself, right?”
Y/N buried part of her face back into the blanket.
Unfortunately Yuna kept going.
“And your ex?”
Immediately Y/N tensed slightly.
Yuna noticed but continued more gently. “You spent that entire relationship trying to become smaller so he wouldn’t leave.”
Silence settled heavily after that.
Because unfortunately…That was true too.
Y/N stared quietly toward the rain outside the windows.
Her ex always seemed shinier somehow.
More social. More ambitious. More certain.
Eventually Y/N started feeling like something dull beside him.
And by the end she apologized constantly just for needing reassurance at all.
Maybe that was why Yunho terrified her so much now.
Because the feelings already ran deeper than she expected.
And losing something this good later would absolutely destroy her.
Yuna nudged her sock-covered foot lightly. “You know what I think?”
Y/N hummed quietly.
“I think you met someone who actually sees you properly for once.” Yuna smiled faintly. “And that scares the hell out of you.”
Y/N looked down again without answering. Because maybe that was true too.
The radio played softly in the background while silence settled more comfortably afterward.
Then suddenly the station host spoke louder between songs.
“And next up,” the host announced brightly, “one of the biggest tracks dominating charts this month…”
Y/N immediately froze.
Yuna noticed instantly. “Oh?”
Then the music started.
Yunho’s voice filled the apartment seconds later.
Warm. Smooth.
Familiar enough now that Y/N’s chest physically tightened hearing it unexpectedly.
Yuna looked deeply entertained immediately. “There’s your man.”
“He’s not my man.”
“You cried over him.”
“That’s unrelated.”
“It’s absolutely related.”
Y/N tried glaring but failed miserably once Yunho’s verse started.
God. His voice really was unfairly beautiful.
And somehow hearing it through apartment speakers instead of headphones made the reality of who he was hit all over again.
Not just Yunho. Ateez’s Yunho.
The man millions listened to.
Yuna leaned dramatically back against the couch. “Okay no, I get it.”
Y/N frowned slightly. “What?”
“If someone sang to me sounding like that?” Yuna placed a hand dramatically over her chest. “I’d listen to them all day long too.”
Heat immediately rose into Y/N’s face. “You’re ridiculous.”
“I’m right.”
The song continued softly through the apartment.
And despite all the anxiety still sitting inside her chest, warmth slipped through too.
Because under everything else…
She missed him.
His laugh. The way he flicked her forehead whenever she spiraled too hard. The softness in his voice whenever he said her name.
Y/N stared blankly at the rain outside again while Yunho’s voice continued through the speakers.
Then suddenly:
Ding dong.
Both women looked toward the apartment door immediately.
Yuna blinked.
“Oh thank god. Food’s here.”
Right.
They ordered takeout earlier.
Y/N sighed softly before finally untangling herself from the couch blanket.
“I’ll get it.”
“Tell them I love them.”
“You would say that to every delivery driver.”
“Food is important.”
Y/N laughed quietly while heading toward the apartment entrance.
The radio still played softly behind her.
Yunho’s voice followed faintly through the hallway while she unlocked the door.
For some reason her stomach twisted suddenly.
Maybe because she spent the last hour thinking about him nonstop. Maybe because hearing his voice still lingering in the apartment made missing him feel sharper again.
Y/N pulled the door open distractedly.
Then froze completely.
Yunho stood there.
Dark hoodie damp from rain. Hair messy and slightly wet. Breathing faintly uneven like he came upstairs too quickly.
Y/N genuinely forgot how to function for a second.
Shock slammed through her entire body so hard she just stared. “…Yunho?”
He looked almost equally startled seeing her immediately.
Like maybe he expected more time before the confrontation actually happened.
For one painfully awkward second neither moved.
Then suddenly Yunho started talking.
Fast. Very fast.
“Okay hi,” he blurted immediately. “I know showing up here is probably insane and maybe slightly creepy but I couldn’t figure out what to text you and then I kept overthinking everything and honestly I just really needed to see you.”
Y/N blinked rapidly. Rainwater still dripped lightly from his hoodie sleeves onto the hallway floor.
Meanwhile Yunho continued rambling before she could respond.
“And I know you’re scared,” he said quickly. “I get that. I do. But I need you to understand something because I don’t think I explained it properly before.”
His chest rose unevenly beneath the hoodie like he had rehearsed this in his head the entire drive here.
Y/N stayed completely frozen in the doorway listening. Yunho ran a hand anxiously through his damp hair.
“I don’t care about any of that stuff,” he continued softly now. “The fame. The attention. What random people think.” His eyes locked onto hers intensely. “I care about you.”
The words hit her so hard she physically forgot how to breathe for a second.
Inside the apartment, Yuna suddenly made a very loud choking sound from the living room.
Neither noticed. Or maybe both ignored it.
Because Yunho kept looking directly at Y/N like the rest of the world disappeared entirely.
“I care about being with you,” he admitted quietly. “Talking to you. Making you laugh.” His mouth twitched slightly. “Watching you pretend you’re not competitive before losing games dramatically.”
Heat rushed painfully into Y/N’s face immediately.
“And I know this probably sounds insane because we haven’t known each other that long,” Yunho continued, voice rougher now, “but I genuinely feel like something about this is important.”
Y/N’s chest hurt.
Because he sounded so sincere. So open.
And somehow that made everything inside her unravel more.
Yunho swallowed once before speaking again. “I want to know you more.”
The hallway suddenly felt too small around them.
“I want more mornings with you,” he admitted softly. “More nights wandering around the city. More stupid conversations about office birthday parties and claw machines and lakes.”
Not from fear this time. From how deeply he meant every word.
Yunho stepped one tiny bit closer. Rain dampened the edges of his hair while he looked at her almost helplessly now.
“And honestly?” His voice lowered slightly. “I think I’m starting to fall in love with you.”
Silence crashed instantly through Y/N’s entire body.
The confession settled somewhere deep and terrifying inside her chest.
Because the worst part? Some part of her already felt the same.
Behind her, sudden loud movement exploded from the living room.
“Okay!” Yuna shouted dramatically while appearing around the corner holding both their takeout drinks. “I’m gonna leave you two alone before I witness something emotionally devastating.”
Y/N nearly died instantly. “Yuna!”
Yuna winked shamelessly toward her.
Then directly at Yunho too. “Don’t waste this,” she informed him seriously before grabbing her coat from the chair nearby.
Y/N stared at her in betrayal. “You’re abandoning me.”
“You’re welcome.”
Then before Y/N could physically stop her, Yuna slipped past them both through the doorway.
While leaving, she leaned briefly toward Y/N’s ear. “He literally came in the rain to confess. If you fumble this, I’ll haunt you.”
Then she disappeared down the hallway.
Silence returned immediately afterward.
Y/N slowly looked back toward Yunho.
Yunho looked equally mortified now that his emotional speech apparently had an audience.
“I forgot other people exist sometimes,” he muttered weakly.
A laugh escaped Y/N unexpectedly.
The sound visibly relaxed him slightly.
For a second they just stood there staring at each other awkwardly in the apartment doorway.
Rain continued softly outside.
The radio still played faintly somewhere behind them.
And suddenly Yunho looked nervous. Actually nervous.
The realization alone melted something inside Y/N completely.
Because this beautiful impossible person really stood outside her apartment looking terrified she might reject him again.
Y/N swallowed softly before stepping slightly aside from the doorway.
“You…” She laughed weakly again trying to steady herself. “You can come inside.”
Relief flashed visibly across Yunho’s face so quickly it almost hurt to witness.
Then quietly, carefully, he stepped into her apartment.
And somehow that single moment already felt like the beginning of something important.
The second the apartment door closed behind Yunho, Y/N suddenly became painfully aware of everything around her.
The blanket still thrown messily across the couch. The half-finished tea on the coffee table.
The stack of work folders near the kitchen counter she forgot to put away.
The tiny apartment itself.
Too small. Too cramped. Too ordinary.
Y/N’s chest tightened immediately.
Because suddenly she imagined what his world probably looked like instead.
Luxury apartments. Designer furniture. Huge windows overlooking the city.
Places that looked polished and expensive and worthy of someone like him.
Meanwhile her apartment looked lived in.
Warm maybe. But undeniably small.
Y/N rubbed awkwardly at her hands while Yunho quietly slipped off his damp shoes near the entrance.
“You can just…” She gestured vaguely toward nowhere. “Sit wherever.”
Excellent. Very normal sentence.
Yunho looked up toward her immediately, still slightly damp from the rain, dark hair falling messily over his forehead.
And somehow that only made her more nervous.
“Oh my god,” she blurted suddenly. “Do you want tea?”
Yunho blinked once. “What?”
“Or coffee. Or water.” She immediately started moving toward the kitchen. “I have ramen too if you’re hungry and there’s leftover takeout but it’s probably cold now and—”
“Y/N.”
She stopped immediately.
Yunho crossed the small apartment space in two quiet steps before gently catching her hand.
Warm fingers wrapped softly around hers.
Then his thumb caressed slowly across her knuckles once.
The tiny gesture nearly unraveled her instantly.
Y/N looked down at their hands instead of his face because suddenly breathing felt difficult again.
“I only want to talk to you,” Yunho said quietly.
The softness in his voice made her chest ache.
Y/N swallowed lightly.
“You don’t need to panic.”
“I’m not panicking.”
“You offered me ramen like you’re being held hostage.”
Heat immediately rushed into her cheeks.
Yunho smiled faintly.
There it was again. That soft expression that always made him seem more like just Yunho than the celebrity version everyone else saw.
His thumb brushed across her hand again gently.
“You’re overthinking right now,” he said quietly.
Y/N looked away instantly. “No, I’m not.”
“Yes, you are.”
Caught. Again.
Yunho tilted his head slightly trying to meet her eyes. “You’re thinking about how your apartment looks to me.”
Silence.
Because unfortunately that was exactly what she had been thinking.
Y/N laughed weakly under her breath. “You’re really annoying.”
“And I’m right.”
Unfortunately true.
Yunho stepped slightly closer then. “Y/N.”
The way he said her name so gently made her finally look up.
And immediately regret it.
Because he was looking at her so warmly that tears almost embarrassingly threatened again.
“I don’t care how big your apartment is.”
His voice stayed calm. Certain.
“And honestly?” His mouth curved softly upward. “It feels like you.”
The sentence hit somewhere deep inside her chest.
Yunho squeezed her hand lightly before guiding her toward the couch.
“Come sit.”
For once, Y/N let herself be led without arguing.
They settled beside each other on the couch quietly.
Close enough that their knees brushed lightly.
The apartment suddenly felt too small in a completely different way now.
Not embarrassing.,Intimate.
Rain continued softly outside while the radio still played faintly from the kitchen.
Y/N stared down at her hands folded nervously in her lap while Yunho looked at her for a second longer before speaking.
“This week sucked.”
The honesty startled a soft laugh out of her immediately.
Yunho smiled slightly at the sound.
“I’m serious,” he continued. “I kept checking my phone like an idiot every five minutes.”
Guilt twisted sharply inside her chest.,“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize yet.” He leaned back slightly into the couch. “I wanna explain properly first.”
Y/N nodded quietly.
Yunho rubbed his palms lightly against his jeans before continuing.
“I haven’t felt a connection this strong with someone in a really long time.”
His voice softened slightly afterward. “Honestly maybe ever.”
Y/N’s breath caught immediately.
Yunho looked down briefly before laughing softly under his breath.
“You make me nervous enough that I wrote like six love songs this week.”
“What?”
He groaned quietly. “Don’t focus on that part.”
Heat rushed into her face instantly.
Yunho smiled weakly before continuing more seriously.,“When I’m with you, things feel…” He searched briefly for words. “Easy.”
The word settled softly between them.
“Not because everything is perfect,” he clarified quickly. “You overthink. I overtalk. We’re both kinda disasters emotionally.” That made her laugh quietly again. “But being around you feels real.”
Y/N looked down quickly before he noticed how much those words affected her.
Too late probably.
Yunho shifted slightly closer on the couch.
“I need you to understand something though.”
She looked up again slowly.
“The person you met behind that bar?” His eyes stayed locked gently onto hers. “That’s me.”
Emotion tightened painfully in her throat immediately.
“Not some fake version,” he continued softly. “Not a character.”
Y/N listened silently while rain tapped softly against the windows around them.
“I know the famous part looks overwhelming,” Yunho admitted. “And sometimes honestly it is.” He smiled faintly without humor. “But it doesn’t change who I actually am.”
The conviction in his voice made something inside her slowly loosen.
“I’m still the same guy who lost his mind over a shark-cat plushie,” he continued gently. “The same guy who lied about freezing lake water.”
“You absolutely did lie.”
“I stand by it.”
Y/N laughed softly despite herself.
Yunho’s expression warmed immediately at the sound.
“There she is.”
Heat rose lightly into her cheeks again.
Yunho reached for her hand once more, intertwining their fingers carefully this time.
“And if your biggest fear is things becoming public someday…” He shrugged slightly. “I’ve had relationships before.”
Y/N blinked slightly. “You have?”
“Y/N.” He laughed quietly. “I’m twenty-seven.”
Right.
That made sense.
Still, hearing it out loud weirdly made him feel more human again.
“Some were public,” he continued calmly. “Some weren’t.” His thumb brushed slowly against her hand. “And honestly? Fans usually just want us to be happy.”
Y/N looked doubtful immediately.
Yunho noticed. “I’m serious.”
“But what about the crazy people online?”
“Oh, those exist.” He sighed dramatically. “Unfortunately.”
That startled another laugh from her.
“But there are ways to keep things private too,” he continued more gently. “Ways to protect what matters.”
What matters. The wording alone made her chest ache.
Yunho looked at her quietly afterward.
Openly.
Like he genuinely wanted her to understand every single word. “I like you,” he said softly.
“I want to keep seeing you.” His fingers tightened slightly around hers. “If you want that too.”
Silence settled softly around them afterward.
Y/N stared down at their joined hands in her lap.
And somehow that terrified her almost more than before.
Because Yunho kept giving her opportunities to run.
And she kept wanting to stay instead.
Y/N swallowed lightly.
Then quietly: “Do you really want someone like me?”
The second the words left her mouth, Yunho’s expression changed.
Not annoyed. Sad.
Like hearing her talk about herself that way physically hurt him.
Slowly, carefully, he lifted one hand toward her face.
Warm fingers brushing softly along her cheek before tilting her head upward gently.
Y/N’s breath caught immediately.
“Someone like you?” he repeated quietly.
She looked away instinctively.
Yunho guided her face back gently again.
“No,” he murmured. “Look at me.”
Y/N forced herself to.
And immediately melted slightly seeing the softness in his expression.
“When I look at you,” Yunho said quietly, “I see someone who cares deeply about people even when they don’t deserve it.”
Emotion tightened painfully in her chest.
“I see someone funny.” His mouth curved softly upward. “Someone who makes every room feel warmer once she relaxes enough to stop apologizing for existing.”
Tears already threatened again.
Yunho brushed his thumb gently beneath one eye before they could fall.
“I see someone strong enough to keep going even while exhausted all the time.”
The tenderness in his voice nearly destroyed her.
“And honestly?” He smiled faintly. “I think you’re beautiful.”
Y/N’s breath shook softly.
“Especially when you laugh,” he added quietly. “Or when you get competitive over games even though you suck at them.”
That made her laugh through the tears immediately.
“There she is,” Yunho whispered again.
His forehead rested lightly against hers afterward.
After another soul-draining day at her corporate HR job, Y/N stumbles into a small underground bar to escape the exhaustion swallowing her whole. There she meets Yunho, a magnetic guitarist from a famous rock band and spends one unforgettable night wandering through the city with a stranger who makes her feel alive again.
What begins as a reckless decision slowly turns into something neither of them expected: a place to breathe.
Pairing: Jeong Yunho × Reader (Y/N)
Tropes: Rockstar AU, Strangers to Lovers, Opposites Attract, Late Night City Romance, Found Family, Emotional Healing, Soft Slow Burn, Falling in Love Before Realizing It
Featuring: Ateez as Yunhos Band Mates or Friends, Y/ns Childhood friend
Main Masterlist | Yunhos Masterlist
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5
This is Part 3
The first three days after meeting Y/N, Yunho convinced himself he was being normal about it. Which, according to Hongjoong, was already a lie.
“She’s all you talk about,” Hongjoong had said flatly on the fourth day while adjusting sound levels in the studio.
“That’s not true.”
“You literally mentioned her six times during lunch.”
“I did not.”
“You compared a song lyric to the way she laughed.”
Mingi nearly fell off the couch laughing at that. Unfortunately, Hongjoong had been right.
Yunho thought about her constantly.
At first it happened in small moments.
Passing a claw machine in a mall and immediately remembering her hugging the stupid shark-cat plushie against her chest. Hearing someone laugh too loudly in a café and instinctively turning because for half a second he thought it sounded like her. Looking at the lake photos on his phone at two in the morning because apparently at some point during the night she had grabbed his phone and taken approximately thirty blurry pictures of him after swimming.
Most of them were horrible. One of them, however, captured him laughing while water.
The worst part was that Yunho genuinely could not remember the last time someone had looked at him that carefully.
Usually people saw pieces of him.
The performer. The idol. The famous version.
Y/N had somehow looked directly through all of it within a single night.
And now she was gone.
The first week, he still expected her to return to the bar eventually.
Maybe after work again. Maybe on a weekend.
Every night he casually found excuses to stop by Moonlight Room even when he was exhausted from schedules.
Wooyoung noticed immediately. “Oh my god,” he had whispered dramatically the first night Yunho walked in and immediately scanned the crowd. “You’re waiting for your wife.”
“She’s not my wife.”
“Emotionally she is.”
“She kissed him once,” Yeosang added from his usual stool.
“Twice,” Yunho corrected automatically before freezing.
Silence.
Then Wooyoung screamed loud enough that Seonghwa nearly dropped a glass.
The second week became worse. Because Y/N still did not come back. At first Yunho told himself she was busy. Corporate jobs were exhausting. He knew that much already.
Then slowly another possibility started creeping in.
Maybe she simply did not want to see him again. The thought annoyed him more than it should have.
Not because his ego was hurt.
Well. Maybe slightly.
But mostly because the night had felt important to him in a way he could not fully explain.
And now he kept wondering if he had imagined that entirely. Maybe for Y/N it had simply been one reckless impulsive evening before returning to normal life.
Meanwhile he still thought about the way she looked at the lake. Pathetic honestly.
“You’re staring into space again.”
Yunho blinked slowly. The recording studio returned around him.
Mingi lounged sideways across the couch scrolling through his phone while San sat cross-legged on the floor eating chips loud enough to become physically aggressive. Hongjoong stood near the mixing desk with his arms crossed already looking deeply unimpressed.
“You haven’t listened to a single thing I said for five minutes,” Hongjoong added.
Yunho rubbed tiredly at his face. “Sorry.”
San gasped dramatically. “He admitted it.”
“That means it’s serious,” Mingi added solemnly.
Yunho flipped both of them off weakly.
Outside the studio windows, rain tapped softly against the glass. The room smelled faintly like coffee, takeout food, and expensive equipment overheating after too many hours.
They had been working almost nonstop recently.
Usually Yunho could lose himself inside work completely.
Lately his brain kept drifting elsewhere. Specifically toward one exhausted HR employee who somehow wrecked his emotional stability in less than twenty-four hours.
Hongjoong sighed before sitting down beside the mixing desk. “You’re thinking about her again.”
Yunho leaned back in his chair slowly. “Maybe.”
“Maybe?” San repeated dramatically. “You look like a divorced father every time someone mentions coffee now.”
“That’s oddly specific.”
“You also bought a shark-cat plushie keychain yesterday.”
Yunho immediately looked defensive. “That was unrelated.”
“It absolutely was not.”
Unfortunately true.
Yunho groaned quietly while dropping his head back against the chair. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”
“You like someone,” Hongjoong answered immediately. “That’s normal.”
“No, but…” Yunho rubbed a hand over his face again. “I literally knew her for one night.”
“And?”
“And now I can’t stop thinking about her.”
Silence settled briefly.
Then San shrugged. “That sounds like a crush.”
Yunho looked deeply offended. “I’m twenty-seven.”
“Adults get crushes too.”
“That’s humiliating.”
Mingi snorted loudly. “You kissed a girl in a lake at four in the morning and now stare sadly out windows. You’re basically in an indie movie.”
“Shut up.”
Hongjoong studied Yunho quietly for a second. “You don’t want to give up on finding her.”
Yunho hesitated. Then sighed. “No.”
The answer came easier than expected.
Because honestly?
He really didn’t.
He had met thousands of people throughout his career.
Fans. Celebrities. Models. Actors.
People constantly introduced through schedules or parties or industry events.
None of them stayed in his head like this. None of them made him feel lighter just remembering them.
Y/N did.
“I just can’t get her out of my head,” he admitted quietly.
The teasing around the room softened a little after that.
Mingi looked almost weirdly sympathetic. “Damn,” he muttered. “He’s actually gone.”
“Tragic,” San agreed.
Hongjoong leaned back in his chair thoughtfully. “You’ll run into her eventually.”
“Maybe.”
“You literally met by accident the first time.”
“Yeah,” Yunho muttered. “And then I forgot her number like an idiot.”
“That part remains deeply embarrassing,” San informed him.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
The next day, Yunho escaped the dorms mostly because his thoughts had become unbearable.
The others were right. He looked pathetic.
Every song lyric somehow reminded him of Y/N. Every late-night café looked like somewhere she would sit half asleep answering work emails. Even his own hoodie still faintly smelled like her perfume if he thought too hard about it.
The city buzzed softly around him while he walked.
Overcast skies covered most of the sunlight today. The air smelled faintly like rain from earlier showers.
Eventually Yunho ended up in a small café tucked between two office buildings.
Mostly filled with exhausted workers clutching coffees while staring at laptops.
Exactly the kind of place Y/N would probably complain about. The thought made him smile faintly.
He settled into a corner table near the window with an iced coffee and his notebook.
Writing lyrics usually helped clear his head. Today he spent more time staring blankly at the page than actually writing.
Fragments filled the notebook anyway.
About lakes at night. About people who looked sad even while smiling. About accidentally feeling alive again for a few hours.
Embarrassingly obvious inspiration honestly.
Yunho rubbed tiredly at his eyes before taking another sip of coffee.
Then he heard her voice.
His entire body reacted before his brain did. Yunho looked up instantly.
And there she was.
Y/N stood near the café entrance balancing a cardboard tray holding six coffees while holding her phone awkwardly against her ear.
She looked stressed. Hair slightly messy like she rushed out too quickly this morning. Office clothes again. Dark circles beneath her eyes sharper now than before.
Still beautiful. Painfully beautiful actually.
Yunho stared openly for a second because his brain genuinely stopped functioning.
No way. No actual way.
Y/N sighed tiredly into her phone while adjusting the coffees carefully.
“No, I already printed them,” she said quickly. “I know the meeting starts in twenty minutes.” A pause. “Yes, I’m literally on my way back now.”
Yunho nearly laughed from disbelief. After two weeks of mentally suffering over this girl, she randomly appeared inside the café he chose on impulse.
The universe was insane.
Before he could fully process anything, Y/N already turned toward the exit still speaking into her phone.
Panic hit immediately.
No. Absolutely not.
She was not disappearing again.
Yunho shoved money onto the table before standing so quickly his chair scraped loudly against the floor.
Several people glanced over. He barely noticed.
“Keep the change,” he muttered quickly toward the cashier before hurrying after her.
Outside, the street buzzed with lunchtime crowds rushing between office buildings.
Y/N moved quickly ahead of him balancing the coffees carefully while still half distracted by her phone conversation.
Yunho caught up within seconds. “Y/N!”
She startled violently. Her entire body jerked around in surprise. The cardboard holder slipped instantly from her hands.
“Oh shit.”
Coffee cups crashed dramatically against the sidewalk. Lids popped loose. Iced coffee splashed everywhere across the pavement and partially onto Yunho’s shoes.
For one horrible second Y/N simply stared downward in shock. Then frustration exploded across her face immediately.
“Oh my god, are you serious?” she snapped while spinning toward him. “I have to bring those back for a meeting and now they’re all ruined because you just suddenly yelled my name like a serial killer!”
Yunho froze.
Then Y/N fully looked at him. Everything stopped. The irritation vanished from her face so quickly it became almost funny.
Shock replaced it instantly instead. “…Yunho?”
He suddenly became very aware of how little sleep he got. Probably because Y/N stared at him like she was trying to determine whether he was hallucinating.
Yunho rubbed awkwardly at the back of his neck. “Hi.”
Silence.
People walked around the spilled coffee mess while Y/N continued staring at him.
Then she blinked rapidly. “What are you doing here?”
“I could ask you the same thing.”
“I work here.”
Right. Corporate district. Of course.
Yunho looked down at the destroyed coffees again before grimacing. “Sorry.”
“You scared the absolute hell out of me.”
“Yeah, that’s my fault.”
“You think?”
Despite the words, amusement had already started slipping back into her expression. Which honestly relieved him more than it should have.
“I’ll buy new ones,” he offered immediately.
Y/N looked down at the mess dramatically. “I mean… you kind of have to now.”
“That’s fair.”
He bent down automatically to help gather the fallen cups while Y/N crouched beside him. For one brief second their hands brushed reaching for the same cup.
Both paused. The moment lasted barely longer than a heartbeat. Still, Yunho’s chest tightened unexpectedly anyway.
Because seeing her again felt strangely unreal after spending two weeks convincing himself he imagined everything.
Y/N straightened first. “You look tired,” she observed quietly.
Yunho laughed softly. “You look stressed.”
“That’s because my boss scheduled an emergency meeting thirty minutes before it starts.”
“Sounds horrible.”
“It is horrible.”
Yunho found himself smiling automatically.
Y/N noticed immediately. “What?”
“Nothing.”
“That smile means something.”
“Maybe I’m just happy to see you.”
The words slipped out naturally.
Heat flashed briefly across Y/N’s face before she looked away toward the café. “Come on,” she muttered quietly. “I need replacement coffees before everyone at work kills me.”
Yunho followed beside her immediately. Neither spoke for the first few seconds after reentering the café.
Mostly because both kept stealing awkward glances toward each other. The air between them felt strangely charged now. Different from the easy flow at the lake.
Yunho ordered the coffees while Y/N checked messages on her phone with visible stress building between her eyebrows.
“You still look miserable checking work emails,” he observed softly.
Y/N sighed dramatically. “You still look annoyingly awake for someone who clearly got no sleep.”
“I’m naturally resilient.”
“You have eye bags.”
“That’s rude.”
“It’s true.”
He grinned slightly.
God. He missed this.
The easy back-and-forth. The way talking to her felt effortless even after weeks apart.
The cashier handed over the replacement drinks a few minutes later.
Y/N immediately grabbed the tray carefully.
Then paused when Yunho spoke again.
“Wait.”
She looked up. And suddenly all the frustration from the last two weeks returned hard enough that he blurted the question before overthinking it.
“Why didn’t you come back to the bar?” The question left Yunho’s mouth before he could soften it.
Or make it sound less honest.
“Why didn’t you come back to the bar?”
The moment the words settled between them, Y/N slowed slightly beside him.
Outside the café windows, people continued hurrying through the sidewalks carrying laptops and lunch bags and coffees. Cars rolled past through damp streets while conversations blurred together beneath the noise of the city.
But suddenly Yunho only really heard her answer.
Y/N looked down briefly at the coffee tray in her hands before exhaling softly through her nose.
At first she looked surprised by the question itself. Like she genuinely had not expected him to ask.
Then something quieter crossed her face afterward.
“I thought about it,” she admitted.
Yunho’s chest tightened immediately. “You did?”
“Yeah.”
Her voice stayed softer now than before.
Y/N adjusted the coffee holder slightly against her hip while continuing to walk beside him down the sidewalk.
“I actually almost came back a few times.”
“Then why didn’t you?”
She laughed quietly under her breath. “I don’t know.” She glanced briefly toward him before looking away again. “I started overthinking it.”
That sounded painfully like her.
Yunho remembered the way she paused before sentences sometimes. The way she clearly thought too much about everything.
Still, hearing it now made frustration twist unexpectedly inside him.
Not at her. At the fact that both of them apparently spent two weeks being idiots separately.
Y/N continued speaking before he could answer. “And work has been…” She sighed tiredly. “Honestly horrible lately.”
Yunho looked at her properly then.
Now that the shock of seeing her again had faded slightly, exhaustion became easier to notice.
The dark circles beneath her eyes looked worse than before. Her shoulders held tension even while walking. And she kept checking her phone every few seconds like she physically could not stop herself.
“It’s eating me alive a little,” she admitted quietly.
The honesty in her voice hit him hard.
Because he believed her immediately.
Yunho remembered the girl standing near the back wall of the bar looking like she carried exhaustion inside her bones.
That look had not disappeared. If anything, it seemed sharper now.
“And…” Y/N hesitated briefly. “I guess a small part of me thought maybe you wouldn’t actually want to see me again.”
Yunho stopped walking entirely.
Pure disbelief hit him so hard he actually laughed.
Y/N blinked at him immediately. “What?”
“You thought I didn’t want to see you again?”
She looked slightly defensive now. “Well, we met once.”
“We spent an entire night together.”
“That still counts as once.”
“You kissed me in a lake.”
Heat immediately flashed across her face. “That sounds ridiculous when you say it out loud.”
“Because it was ridiculous.”
Y/N tried to hide a smile behind the coffee cup tray.
Yunho stared at her for another second before shaking his head slowly. “No, seriously.” He laughed softly again, still disbelieving. “I literally came to the bar every evening hoping you’d show up.”
This time Y/N actually stopped walking.
People moved around them on the sidewalk while she simply stared at him.
“What?”
Yunho shoved one hand awkwardly into his pocket. “I kept thinking maybe you’d come back after work again.”
Her expression shifted slowly from confusion into visible shock.
“You’re joking.”
“I’m not.”
“You came every evening?”
“Pretty much.”
“Oh my god.”
“And I hated myself for forgetting to ask for your contact information.”
The confession came out more frustrated than intended.
Because honestly? The memory still physically annoyed him.
Y/N stared at him like she genuinely did not know how to process that information.
Which, fair.
Yunho rubbed awkwardly at the back of his neck before laughing quietly again. “The guys made fun of me for like three days straight.”
“The guys?”
“Hongjoong, San, Mingi.” He sighed dramatically. “Wooyoung almost cried laughing.”
That finally made Y/N smile properly again.
The sight hit him embarrassingly hard.
God. He really missed her.
“You actually wanted to see me again,” she said quietly.
The sentence sounded almost uncertain. Like she still could not fully believe it.
Yunho looked at her for a long second. Then stepped slightly closer before he could overthink himself out of it.
The street suddenly felt too loud around them. Too crowded.
Still, the second he moved closer, Y/N’s attention focused entirely on him anyway.
Yunho carefully reached toward her free hand resting beside the coffee tray.
Not fully holding it. Just brushing his fingers lightly against her pinky.
Y/N’s breath caught softly enough that he noticed immediately.
“I’ve been thinking about you for two weeks,” Yunho admitted quietly.
Y/N stared at him without speaking.
And for the first time in a while, Yunho actually felt nervous.
Which was insane.
He performed in front of stadiums full of people without shaking. Yet standing here asking one exhausted office worker if she liked him back somehow felt more terrifying than any stage.
Yunho let his fingers brush slightly more deliberately against hers.
“Would you like to meet me again?” he asked softly.
Y/N looked completely stunned for one heartbeat longer.
Then something in her expression softened so suddenly it almost hurt to witness.
Like relief. Like disbelief melting slowly into something warmer.
And when she smiled afterward, small and shy and real, Yunho genuinely thought he might already be completely screwed.
Y/N had cleaned the kitchen counter three times already. At this point the apartment practically sparkled.
Still, her hands kept moving restlessly anyway. She wiped down the sink again while trying very hard not to think about the fact that she had a date next weekend.
With Yunho.
Just remembering yesterday made heat creep slowly into her face.
The way he looked genuinely offended when she admitted thinking he did not want to see her again. The disbelief in his laugh. His fingers brushing lightly against hers on the sidewalk while asking if she wanted to meet him again.
Y/N groaned softly and pressed the dish towel against her face dramatically.
She was twenty-six years old.
Why was she reacting like a teenager?
The apartment door opened behind her. “You’re cleaning again.”
Y/N nearly jumped.
Yuna stood in the doorway holding grocery bags while staring suspiciously toward the kitchen.Long dark hair tied up messily. Oversized sweater slipping off one shoulder slightly. Her best friend had exactly the kind of expression that meant she already sensed something was wrong.
Or right. Dangerously right maybe.
“I always clean,” Y/N answered too quickly.
Yuna narrowed her eyes immediately. “You deep-cleaned your spice rack once because a man smiled at you in a bookstore.”
“That happened one time.”
“You reorganized your bathroom after your college crush liked your Instagram story.”
“That was years ago.”
Yuna slowly placed the grocery bags onto the counter without breaking eye contact. “Oh my god.”
Y/N groaned quietly. “Don’t do that face.”
“There’s a man.”
“There is not a man.”
“There is absolutely a man.”
Y/N looked away immediately which only made things worse.
Yuna gasped loudly enough to physically hurt. “There IS a man!”
“Can you lower your voice?”
“No.” Yuna pointed dramatically toward her. “You’ve been weird all week.”
“I’ve been stressed.”
“You’ve been smiling at your phone.”
Y/N froze.
Yuna’s jaw dropped. “Oh my god.”
“Stop saying oh my god.”
“You’re texting him?”
Y/N covered her face with both hands while Yuna started laughing victoriously.
“This is unbelievable. You haven’t liked someone in forever.”
“I don’t even know if I like him.”
“That’s a lie.”
Unfortunately, it was.
Yuna leaned both elbows onto the kitchen counter grinning like an actual menace. “Tell me everything immediately.”
Y/N sighed dramatically before finally abandoning the dish towel. “He’s the guy I told you about.”
Yuna blinked once. “The bar guy, who is in a band?”
“Yeah.”
“The one you accidentally spent the entire night with?”
“I didn’t accidentally spend the night with him.”
“You literally swam in a lake at four in the morning.”
“That part was slightly accidental.”
Yuna stared at her in disbelief. “You met him again?”
Y/N nodded slowly.
A smile threatened immediately.
Yuna noticed of course. “Oh, you’re down horrendous.”
“I hate that phrase.”
“You’re smiling like you’re in a romance movie.”
“That feels dramatic.”
“You cleaned the kitchen four times.”
Fair.
Y/N leaned against the counter with a quiet sigh. “I ran into him yesterday.”
“At the bar?”
“No.” She laughed softly. “Outside a café near work.”
Yuna looked deeply invested already. “And?”
“He scared me so badly that I dropped six coffees.”
“Oh no.”
“He bought new ones.”
“That’s kinda cute.”
Y/N bit lightly at the inside of her cheek trying not to smile again. Which absolutely did not work.
Yuna pointed accusingly immediately. “There it is.”
“What?”
“That look.”
“What look?”
“The one where you clearly like him.”
Y/N looked down toward the counter for a second before speaking quieter. “We made plans for next weekend.”
Yuna gasped dramatically. “A real date?”
“I guess?”
“Oh my god.”
“Please stop reacting like this.”
“No, this is huge.” Yuna looked genuinely excited now. “You haven’t been excited about someone in forever.”
That was true too.
Y/N tried not to think about why. Dating lately always felt exhausting before it even began. Apps full of awkward conversations and forced charm. Men who liked the idea of her more than actually knowing her. Coworkers trying to flirt during lunch breaks in ways that made her physically want to disappear.
Nothing ever felt easy.
Yunho somehow did.
Yuna noticed the shift in her expression immediately. “What?”
Y/N hesitated. Then sighed softly. “I’m scared it won’t feel the same.”
Yuna’s face softened slightly. “The same as what?”
“That first night.”
The words came out quieter than intended. Because honestly, she still could not fully explain what that night had felt like.
Y/N rubbed lightly at her arm. “What if it was only magical because it was spontaneous?” she admitted. “Like… one weird perfect night that only worked because we were strangers.”
Yuna listened quietly while she continued.
“And now he’ll realize I’m actually boring.”
The second the words left her mouth, Yuna looked personally offended. “Excuse you?”
“I’m serious.”
“No, you’re anxious.”
Y/N laughed weakly under her breath. “Maybe both.”
Yuna walked around the counter before leaning beside her. “You literally spent one night wandering around the city with him until sunrise,” she said carefully. “Then he spent two weeks trying to find you again.”
Y/N looked down immediately.
Just remembering him admitting that still made her chest feel strange.
“He came to the bar every evening,” she muttered softly.
“Exactly.”
Yuna nudged her shoulder lightly. “A man with that many options does not do that for someone he thinks is boring.”
The sentence settled somewhere deep inside her chest.
Because objectively?
Yuna was right.
Still, insecurity crawled in anyway.
“What if the second date feels awkward?” Y/N asked quietly. “Or we run out of things to say.”
“Then you survive one awkward date like every other adult.”
“That’s not comforting.”
“It’s realistic.”
Y/N sighed dramatically while Yuna smiled slightly.
“You won’t know unless you try.”
Silence settled briefly afterward.
Then Yuna narrowed her eyes suddenly. “Wait.”
Y/N blinked. “What?”
“You never told me his name.”
Immediately heat climbed back into Y/N’s face.
Which apparently answered enough already because Yuna stared harder.
“Oh no.”
“It’s not a big deal.”
“Oh no.”
“Please stop saying oh no.”
“What’s his name?”
Y/N looked away.
Yuna grabbed her arm dramatically.
“What is his name?”
“…Jeong Yunho.”
Silence.
Then: “No.”
Y/N frowned slightly. “What do you mean no?”
Yuna stared at her.
Like genuinely stared.
Then slowly: “Jeong Yunho?”
“…Yes?”
Yuna physically grabbed the counter for support. “No.”
“What is happening?”
“The Yunho?”
“I don’t know what that means.”
Yuna looked seconds away from cardiac arrest. “You mean Yunho from Ateez?”
Y/N blinked once. “…Yes?”
Yuna made a sound somewhere between a scream and a wheeze. “Oh my god.”
“There you go again.”
“You met Yunho from Ateez in a random bar and DIDN’T KNOW WHO HE WAS?”
Y/N winced slightly. “When you say it like that it sounds worse.”
“Because it IS worse.”
Before Y/N could respond, Yuna already grabbed her phone aggressively.
“No. Absolutely not. Sit down immediately.”
“What are you doing?”
“Educating you because apparently you’ve been living under a rock.”
Y/N laughed helplessly while Yuna opened YouTube with frightening speed.
Within seconds performance videos flooded the screen.
Then interviews.
Concert clips.
Music videos.
Y/N slowly sat down at the kitchen counter while Yuna shoved the phone toward her dramatically.
“That,” Yuna announced, “is the man you made out with in a lake.”
Y/N stared at the screen. And genuinely forgot how to breathe for a second.
Because somehow seeing Yunho online felt completely different from hearing about fame casually.
On screen he looked… Massive.
Not physically. Larger than life somehow.
Crowds screamed loud enough to shake entire stadiums while he performed beneath flashing lights. Millions of views sat beneath videos casually. Fans cried meeting him. Edits of him flooded social media with hundreds of thousands of likes.
Y/N blinked slowly. “Oh.”
Yuna looked deeply vindicated. “OH?”
“He really is famous.”
“YOU THINK?”
Y/N stared at another performance clip.
Yunho stood on stage completely soaked from rain effects while thousands of people screamed his name.
The confidence in his movements looked almost unreal compared to the sleepy man who sat in cafés writing lyrics and fought claw machines for plushies.
And yet…
Y/N smiled slightly watching him laugh during one stage clip after Mingi shoved him unexpectedly.
There he was again. The same warmth she recognized immediately.
“What’s wrong with you?” Yuna demanded suddenly.
“What?”
“You’re not freaking out enough.”
“I think I’m still processing.”
“That man has millions of fans.”
“I know that now.”
“And you met him without recognizing him.”
Y/N groaned softly and dropped her forehead briefly against the counter.
“This feels deeply embarrassing in retrospect.”
“No,” Yuna corrected immediately. “This is iconic.”
Y/N laughed helplessly.
Then her phone buzzed beside her.
Both immediately looked down.
A message from Yunho.
Yuna grabbed her arm violently. “Oh my god open it.”
“You’re acting insane.”
“OPEN IT.”
Trying very hard to ignore Yuna’s dramatic breathing beside her, Y/N unlocked the phone.
Yunho: still thinking about how u dropped six coffees because i scared you
A second message appeared immediately after.
Yunho: also i can’t wait to see you again next weekend
Something warm twisted instantly through her chest.
Yuna watched her expression closely before grinning. “There she is.”
“What?”
“That look again.”
Y/N stared down at the messages a second longer.
Her stomach fluttered annoyingly.
Because suddenly next weekend felt very real.
Not just a memory anymore.
Not just one magical impulsive night disconnected from reality.
A real date.
With a real person she genuinely liked.
Who also happened to be ridiculously famous apparently.
And honestly? That terrified her slightly.
But underneath the anxiety was excitement too. Bright enough that she could feel it humming beneath her skin.
Y/N smiled slowly at her phone before typing back. And for the first time in a long while, the future felt a little exciting instead of exhausting.
Y/N changed outfits four times before leaving her apartment.
Not because the clothes looked bad. Because suddenly every single thing she owned felt wrong.
Too formal. Too casual. Too boring. Too much.
She stared at herself in the mirror for what felt like the hundredth time while fixing the hem of her shirt nervously.
Still, anxiety buzzed annoyingly beneath her skin anyway.
Yuna had been deeply unhelpful before she left.,“You look cute.”
“That sounds suspiciously vague.”
“You look like the female lead in a coming-of-age movie.”
“Thank you?”
“It means Yunho will probably fall more in love with you.”
“Can you stop saying things like that?”
“Absolutely not.”
Now, standing outside the amusement park entrance thirty minutes later, Y/N regretted telling Yuna anything at all.
The amusement park buzzed loudly around her. Children dragged parents toward rides while groups of teenagers crowded near the entrance taking pictures. Bright music echoed faintly through the speakers overhead. The smell of caramel popcorn and fried sweets drifted through the air every few seconds whenever the wind shifted.
Y/N checked her phone again.
Three minutes early.
Still, nervousness kept crawling through her stomach anyway.
She adjusted her shirt again. Then her hair. Then immediately told herself to stop acting insane.
It was just Yunho.
Which honestly became a ridiculous sentence after the last few days.
Because now she knew exactly who he was. Or at least how the world saw him.
Millions of streams. Sold-out arenas. Entire compilations online dedicated to his smile.
Meanwhile Y/N still nearly had a panic attack ordering coffee wrong sometimes. Objectively absurd pairing.
“You know staring at your reflection in windows won’t magically change your outfit.”
Y/N startled so violently she almost screamed. A laugh immediately burst out behind her. Far too pleased with himself.
Y/N spun around sharply.
Yunho stood there grinning beneath a black baseball cap and oversized hoodie, hands shoved into his pockets while laughing openly at her expression.
“Oh my god,” she breathed out. “You actual asshole.”
“That reaction was incredible.”
“You scared me!”
“You jumped like a cartoon character.”
“I hate you.”
“No you don’t.”
Unfortunately, hearing that sentence again after two weeks apart made warmth spread immediately through her chest. Annoying.
Yunho noticed the way she tried not to smile. Which obviously only encouraged him more.
“You should’ve seen your face.”
“You appeared out of nowhere!”
“I literally walked up normally.”
“Like a serial killer.”
“That feels dramatic.”
Y/N finally laughed softly despite herself.
And weirdly enough, the second the laughter escaped, some of the nervousness dissolved too.
Because there he was.
Still the same. Still teasing her immediately. Still looking at her like he was genuinely happy she showed up.
Yunho studied her for another second before his grin softened slightly. “You look cute.”
Heat instantly climbed into her face. “You’re biased.”
“Probably.”
He stepped slightly closer then narrowed his eyes suddenly. “What are you thinking about?”
Y/N blinked. “What?”
“You’re doing the thing again.”
“What thing?”
“The overthinking thing.”
Before she could answer, Yunho lightly flicked the middle of her forehead.
Y/N gasped dramatically. “Excuse you?”
“Stop thinking so hard.”
“You assaulted me.”
“You survived.”
She rubbed her forehead while glaring weakly at him. “You’re annoying.”
“And you’re nervous.”
Immediately caught. Y/N looked away toward the park entrance. “Maybe a little.”
Yunho’s expression softened further then.
“You don’t need to be nervous.” His voice lowered slightly. “It’s just me.”
The words settled warmly somewhere inside her chest.
Before she could respond, Yunho reached for her hand casually. His fingers wrapped loosely around hers before lifting her hand slightly toward his mouth.
Then he pressed a quick kiss against her knuckles.
Y/N’s brain completely stopped functioning. Heat exploded across her entire face instantly.
Yunho looked entirely too pleased afterward. “There she is,” he murmured.
“What?”
“The blushing.”
“You do this on purpose.”
“Absolutely.”
She groaned quietly while he laughed softly and finally let go of her hand. Unfortunately her pulse remained completely ruined afterward.
“Come on,” Yunho said brightly. “I’m emotionally prepared to destroy you at carnival games again.”
“You’re deeply overconfident.”
“You lost five games in a row last time.”
“That was different.”
“How?”
“You distracted me.”
“That sounds like a skill issue.”
Y/N rolled her eyes while following him toward the entrance.
The amusement park felt unreal once they stepped fully inside. Bright lights blinked everywhere despite the afternoon sun still hanging high overhead. Rollercoasters twisted above them while screams echoed through the air every few seconds.
Y/N had not been to an amusement park in years.
Maybe since university. Maybe earlier. Adult life somehow removed places like this quietly.
Days became work and exhaustion and responsibilities until suddenly joy started feeling childish. Now standing here beside Yunho while sugary air drifted around them, she felt weirdly lighter already.
Yunho noticed her looking around. “You haven’t been to one in forever, have you?”
“How do you always know?”
“You get this look.”
“What look?”
“Like you forgot places can be fun.”
The sentence hit harder than expected.
Y/N smiled faintly instead of answering.
Yunho looked at her carefully for one brief second afterward. Then suddenly pointed dramatically toward the largest rollercoaster in sight.
“First ride.”
Y/N followed his gaze immediately. The rollercoaster looked violent. Absolutely violent.
“Oh no.”
“Oh yes.”
“That thing kills people.”
“It absolutely doesn’t.”
“I can physically see death from here.”
Yunho laughed brightly before grabbing her wrist and dragging her toward the line anyway.
The next twenty minutes became chaos. Mostly because Yunho apparently loved rollercoasters with frightening sincerity. Meanwhile Y/N spent most of the waiting line alternating between panic and regret.
“You’re enjoying this too much,” she accused while staring up at the massive tracks overhead.
“I love rollercoasters.”
“That explains a lot actually.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You seem like someone who enjoys dangerous situations.”
“You followed me into freezing lake water.”
“That was emotional manipulation.”
“Sure.”
The ride itself nearly destroyed her. The second the coaster dropped, Y/N screamed loud enough that Yunho doubled over laughing beside her despite screaming himself moments later. By the end, her hair looked insane and her legs physically shook stepping off.
Yunho looked radiant. “That was amazing.”
“I saw god.”
“You screamed the entire time.”
“So did you!”
“Mine was masculine.”
She laughed helplessly. “No it absolutely was not.”
“Yes it was.”
“You sounded terrified.”
“I was expressing joy aggressively.”
Unfortunately his happiness became contagious.
Soon they moved from ride to ride with growing energy.
At some point Y/N stopped worrying about looking composed entirely.
She screamed during rollercoasters. Laughed too loudly. Nearly fell trying bumper cars because Yunho intentionally kept crashing into her.
“You’re targeting me!”
“You’re weak prey.”
“That’s psychotic.”
He only grinned brighter.
Between rides they wandered through crowded walkways sharing snacks and talking endlessly about random things.
Yunho somehow convinced her to try ridiculous rainbow cotton candy larger than her face.
“This is pure sugar,” she complained while still taking another bite.
“You say that like it’s bad.”
“I can feel my organs dissolving.”
“Worth it.”
Later they shared churros while sitting on a bench near the ferris wheel. Then caramel apples. Then something involving fried Oreos that physically should not exist.
“I’m going to die,” Y/N informed him seriously.
“From happiness maybe.”
“That sounded suspiciously romantic.”
“It was.”
Heat climbed lightly back into her cheeks.
Yunho smiled around another bite of churro looking deeply satisfied by that reaction.
Talking with him still felt strangely easy too. Like slipping naturally into rhythm again. They talked about childhood memories while waiting in ride lines. At one point Yunho admitted he once accidentally slept through an interview because San unplugged six alarms as revenge for something.
“At least it was an accident,” Y/N said.
“It wasn’t.”
She stared at him. “He admitted that later.”
“That’s evil.”
“He’s evil.”
Yunho looked genuinely fond despite the complaint.
Y/N noticed that about him constantly. How warmly he spoke about the people he loved. It made something ache softly inside her chest.
The afternoon blurred beautifully afterward. Sunlight slowly shifted warmer across the park while crowds thickened around them.
At one point Yunho won her another plushie after becoming irrationally competitive at a shooting game.
“You’re concerningly intense.”
“I have a reputation to maintain.”
He carried the plushie triumphantly afterward.
Watching him laugh while holding a stupid stuffed animal somehow made him feel more real than all the videos Yuna forced her to watch earlier that week.
And honestly?
That realization comforted her.
Because yes, he was famous. But he was also just Yunho.
The guy who flicked her forehead when she overthought. The guy who kissed her hand casually like it was natural. The guy who still looked ridiculously proud winning carnival games.
By evening, lights across the amusement park glowed brighter against the darkening sky.
Everything looked softer now beneath gold and neon colors.
Y/N felt almost drunk on happiness.
Which made what happened next hurt even more.
They had just stepped away from another ride, still laughing because Yunho insisted he absolutely could win another game in “one final attempt,” when Y/N heard a familiar voice nearby.
“…Y/N?”
Her entire body froze instantly.
No. Absolutely not.
She turned slowly.
Three coworkers stood near one of the food stalls several feet away.
Her manager. And two women from her department.
All staring directly at her. Specifically at her holding hands with Yunho.
Y/N felt her stomach physically drop. “Oh my god,” she whispered.
Recognition spread across their faces in horrifying real time.
First confusion. Then shock. Then complete disbelief.
Because Y/N knew exactly why she was always working. Because half the department constantly dumped unfinished tasks onto her desk. Because she was the junior employee expected to stay late without complaining. Because every “quick favor” eventually became her responsibility somehow. Because her manager praised her reliability while giving her workloads meant for three people.
And now they stood here laughing about it like her exhaustion was some funny personality trait.
Something hot and ugly twisted slowly in her chest.
Yunho had gone very still beside her. The polite smile faded slightly around the edges.
Not visibly enough for strangers maybe. But Y/N noticed immediately.
One coworker nudged another dramatically. “This is seriously insane though.” She looked at Y/N almost curiously now. “I never imagined you dating someone famous.”
Y/N laughed weakly. “We’re not…” Still not heard.
Her manager finally spoke again after staring at Yunho for nearly thirty seconds straight.
“You know,” she said thoughtfully, “Y/N never talks about her personal life.”
That was because none of you ever asked, Y/N thought bitterly.
Or because every conversation at work somehow became about deadlines and presentations and fixing everyone else’s mistakes.
But of course she did not say that out loud.
The woman beside her laughed again. “We honestly thought she just went home and answered emails all night.”
Y/N nearly laughed herself at the irony. Because sometimes she actually did.
And suddenly she hated this entire interaction. Hated standing here feeling twelve years old again while everyone looked at Yunho with fascination and her with confusion.
Like she somehow did not fit beside him. Like they were trying to solve a puzzle.
Beside her, Yunho looked calm and effortlessly attractive even in casual clothes.
Of course he did.
One coworker stepped closer toward him again holding out her phone. “Could we maybe take one more picture?”
Y/N instinctively started stepping back slightly.
The entire situation suddenly felt too loud. Too suffocating.
But before she could fully move away, Yunho’s hand tightened around hers again.
Y/N looked toward him immediately. And for the first time since the coworkers approached, Yunho finally spoke again properly.
Only this time his voice sounded different. “She’s actually really interesting.”
The sentence cut cleanly through the conversation. Everyone paused.
Y/N blinked.
Yunho looked toward her coworkers calmly. “And she’s funny,” he continued easily. “Smarter than me too probably.”
Heat rushed into Y/N’s face immediately.
One coworker laughed awkwardly. “Oh no, we didn’t mean anything bad.”
Yunho smiled slightly. “Sure.”
But something in his expression remained steady afterward.
Protective almost. Then he looked down toward Y/N briefly.
And the smile he gave her looked completely different from the polite celebrity one moments earlier.
The sight alone nearly unraveled the knot tightening painfully inside her chest.
Because somehow, in the middle of all this embarrassment and frustration, Yunho still looked at her exactly the same way he had before her coworkers arrived.
Not like she was boring. Not like she was invisible. Not like someone swallowed by office work and exhaustion.
Just Y/N.
The rest of the date never fully recovered after that.
Not because Yunho stopped trying. If anything, he tried harder afterward.
He kept holding her hand while they walked through the amusement park. Bought her hot chocolate when evening air turned colder. Kept making stupid comments during rides just to hear her laugh again.
And Y/N did laugh. Sometimes genuinely.
But something had shifted inside her after seeing her coworkers.
Or maybe something had simply cracked open again.
Because now every thought in her head suddenly sounded louder.
What is he actually doing with someone so boring as Y/N?
The sentence repeated painfully every few minutes.
And the worst part?
A tiny ugly part of her already believed it.
The amusement park lights blurred softly around her while Yunho talked beside her about some story involving Mingi accidentally setting a microwave on fire during trainee years.
Normally she would have laughed harder.
Now she only smiled weakly while nodding.
Yunho noticed eventually.
Of course he did. “What?”
Y/N blinked quickly. “Hm?”
“You disappeared again.”
She forced another small smile. “I’m listening.”
“You’re pretending to listen.”
Caught. Y/N looked away toward the crowd moving past them.
“I’m just tired.”
Not entirely a lie.
Yunho studied her carefully for another moment.
Then gently squeezed her hand once. The warmth of it almost made her chest hurt.
By the time they left the amusement park completely, night had settled fully over the city.
The streets looked wet beneath glowing streetlights while traffic moved steadily past them.
Y/N wrapped her jacket tighter around herself automatically.
“You cold?” Yunho asked immediately.
“A little.”
Without hesitation, he pulled his hoodie over his head and handed it toward her.
Y/N stared at it. “You’ll freeze.”
“I’m warm.”
“That’s a lie.”
“Let me be romantic.”
Despite everything twisting inside her head, a soft laugh escaped her anyway.
Yunho smiled slightly at the sound. “Better.”
Heat rose faintly into her face while she slipped into the oversized hoodie.
It still smelled like him.
Yunho looked deeply satisfied once the sleeves swallowed her hands completely.
“You look cute.”
There he went again. Saying things so naturally that they bypassed all her defenses entirely.
Y/N looked down quickly.
And unfortunately her coworkers’ voices immediately returned again.
What is he doing with someone like Y/N?
Her stomach tightened.
“I can drive you home,” Yunho offered gently while they reached the parking area nearby.
Y/N hesitated briefly. Part of her wanted to say no.
Not because she didn’t want more time with him. Because she was scared of it.
Scared of how easy falling for him felt already.
Still, eventually she nodded quietly. “Okay.”
The car ride started comfortably enough.
Soft music played quietly through the speakers while Seoul passed outside in blurred lights and reflections.
Usually Y/N loved nighttime drives.
Tonight her thoughts felt too loud to enjoy anything properly.
She kept replaying everything from earlier.
Her coworkers talking over her. The way they immediately ignored her for Yunho. The way they looked genuinely confused seeing them together.
Like she did not belong in his world.
And maybe she didn’t.
Beside her, Yunho kept trying to pull her back into conversation. “You’re still thinking about the rollercoaster, aren’t you?”
“Hm?”
“The giant one. You looked spiritually traumatized.”
Y/N smiled faintly. “A little.”
“That scream was impressive.”
“You screamed too.”
“My scream was masculine.”
“There is absolutely nothing masculine about yout scream.”
He laughed softly at that.
Normally she would have laughed too.
This time she just looked back out the window again afterward.
The city lights blurred against the glass.
Yunho glanced toward her briefly. “You sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah.”
Another lie.
Silence settled heavier after that.
And Y/N hated herself for it.
Because today had been wonderful. Objectively wonderful.
She had laughed more in one afternoon with Yunho than she had during entire months at work.
Yet somehow one interaction managed to poison everything afterward.
Maybe because deep down, her coworkers simply confirmed fears she already carried.
By the time Yunho parked outside her apartment building, guilt sat thick in her chest too.
Because she knew he noticed.
Of course he noticed.
The engine turned off softly.
Neither moved immediately.
Y/N stared down at her hands in her lap instead.
Then suddenly: Flick.
She gasped quietly and looked up.
Yunho leaned back in his seat after flicking her forehead lightly again.
Y/N rubbed at her forehead automatically.
“You really need to stop doing that.”
“You really need to stop disappearing into your own head.”
His voice stayed soft.
Y/N looked away immediately.
Outside, rain had started again lightly against the windshield.
Streetlights reflected gold through the droplets.
For a moment neither spoke.
Then Yunho turned slightly more toward her. “What are you thinking about so hard?” he asked quietly.
The gentleness in his voice almost undid her immediately.
Y/N swallowed lightly. “Nothing.”
“Liar.”
She laughed weakly under her breath.
Unfortunately true.
Yunho waited patiently.
And somehow that patience made speaking harder.
Because he genuinely cared about the answer.
Y/N rubbed her hands together nervously. “It’s stupid.”
“Probably not.”
“No, it is.”
“Y/N.”
The way he said her name softly nearly made her chest ache.
Y/N stared down toward her knees instead.
“I just…” She exhaled shakily. “I keep thinking about earlier.”
“With your coworkers?”
She nodded slowly.
Yunho’s expression shifted slightly.
Y/N struggled awkwardly for words. “I know they were being weird and rude and everything,” she muttered quickly. “But also…” She stopped, frustrated immediately. “I don’t know how to explain this properly.”
“You don’t have to explain perfectly.”
Easy for him to say.
Y/N laughed softly again, though nothing about it sounded happy. “I think seeing you through their eyes suddenly made everything feel very real.”
Yunho stayed quiet beside her.
“You’re…” She gestured vaguely toward him helplessly. “You.”
“That explained nothing.”
“You know what I mean.”
He watched her carefully.
Y/N stumbled through the words anyway. “You’re famous and talented and confident and people literally scream when they see you.” Her throat tightened slightly. “And I’m just…”
“And you enjoyed today too,” he continued softly. “I know you did.”
She did. God, she did.
That was the problem.
Because somewhere between rollercoasters and stupid carnival games and him kissing her hand casually, she had started wanting this too much already.
Yunho leaned closer slowly afterward.
Close enough that she felt his breath lightly against her skin.
Then he kissed her.
Y/N melted almost instantly into it. Her hand rose instinctively against his chest while she kissed him back softly.
And for one perfect moment everything quieted again.
No coworkers. No overthinking. No fear.
Just Yunho.
But then…
What is he doing with someone so boring as Y/N?
The words slammed violently back into her head.
Followed by another thought even worse.
His fans would hate someone like you.
Y/N pulled away suddenly.
Yunho blinked in surprise immediately. “What happened?”
Her chest hurt. Y/N looked away quickly before tears could embarrassingly rise into her eyes. “I like you too,” she admitted quietly.
The confession made Yunho’s entire expression soften immediately.
But before he could speak, she continued shakily. “Which is exactly why I’m scared.”
Confusion flickered across his face. “Scared of what?”
Y/N laughed weakly under her breath. “All of this.”
She gestured helplessly between them. “You’re you.” Her throat tightened painfully. “And I’m just…”
“Don’t.”
“No, but it’s true.”
“It’s not.”
“You’re famous, Yunho.”
“There it is again.” Frustration slipped softly into his voice now. “You keep talking like I’m not just a person.”
“You’re not just a person to everyone else.”
Y/N rubbed quickly beneath her eyes before tears could actually fall.
“Your career matters,” she whispered. “Your fans matter.”
“You matter too.”
The immediate answer nearly broke her. Yunho reached for her hand again but this time she pulled slightly away first. Pain flashed visibly across his face.
And god, she hated herself immediately for causing it.
“You shouldn’t do that,” he said quietly.
“What?”
“Push me away because other people are idiots.”
“It’s not just them.”
“Yes it is.”
Y/N shook her head quickly. “No, it’s reality.”
“Y/N.”
“You can say it’s just you all you want,” she continued shakily, “but your career is part of you too. Your fans are part of your life.”
“So?”
“So they’d be disappointed.”
Yunho stared at her in disbelief. “Why would they be disappointed?”
“Because…” Her voice cracked slightly. “Because I’m just me.”
The silence afterward felt horrible.
Yunho looked genuinely heartbroken now.
And somehow that made tears finally spill over anyway.
“Don’t cry,” he whispered immediately.
That only made things worse.
Y/N shook her head quickly before fumbling for the car door. “I should go.”
“Y/N, wait.”
She stepped out too fast into the cold night air.
Rain misted lightly around them while streetlights reflected against wet pavement.
Behind her, Yunho immediately got out too. “Please don’t do this.”
The desperation in his voice physically hurt.
Y/N turned toward him with tears already sliding down her cheeks now.
“I don’t know if I can manage something like this again,” she admitted shakily.
The sentence confused him immediately. “What does that mean?”
Y/N wrapped her arms around herself tightly.
“It means…” She swallowed hard. “I spent years feeling like I wasn’t enough for people.”
The confession slipped out before she could stop it.
Yunho’s expression shifted instantly.
“And now suddenly I’m standing beside someone the whole world loves.” Her laugh came out broken. “Do you understand how terrifying that feels?”
Rain dampened Yunho’s hair slightly while he stared at her helplessly.
“I’m not asking the whole world to love you.”
“But they’ll still judge me.”
“I don’t care.”
“But I do.”
Yunho stepped closer desperately. “You’re already running away before anything even happened.”
Y/N closed her eyes briefly. Because maybe he was right. Maybe she was sabotaging this already. But fear sat too deep now. Fear of becoming another thing people judged him for.
Fear of eventually embarrassing him. Fear of wanting him too much only to realize she never belonged in his world to begin with.
Y/N stepped backward toward her apartment entrance slowly.
Yunho looked devastated watching her move away. “Please,” he said quietly. “Don’t decide this for me.”
God. That almost made her stop.
Instead she shook her head weakly through tears. “I’m sorry.”
Then before she could lose courage completely, Y/N slipped inside the building entrance and closed the door between them.
The last thing she saw was Yunho still standing there in the rain looking at her like she had just shattered something important.
the next Yunho Parts will be posted soon! I forgot that I will be at the Dokomi in Germany for four days (A big Anime convention). I will try to post the next Part on Sunday.
After the Yunho fic I will continue with the Grimms Fairytale series.
After another soul-draining day at her corporate HR job, Y/N stumbles into a small underground bar to escape the exhaustion swallowing her whole. There she meets Yunho, a magnetic guitarist from a famous rock band and spends one unforgettable night wandering through the city with a stranger who makes her feel alive again.
What begins as a reckless decision slowly turns into something neither of them expected: a place to breathe.
Pairing: Jeong Yunho × Reader (Y/N)
Tropes: Rockstar AU, Strangers to Lovers, Opposites Attract, Late Night City Romance, Found Family, Emotional Healing, Soft Slow Burn, Falling in Love Before Realizing It
Featuring: Ateez as Yunhos Band Mates or Friends, Y/ns Childhood friend
Main Masterlist | Yunhos Masterlist
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5
This is Part 2
Sneaking out of the bar turned out to be far more complicated than Y/N expected. Mostly because Wooyoung apparently noticed everything.
The second Yunho opened the patio door and motioned for her to follow quietly, Y/N immediately saw Seonghwa behind the counter wiping glasses while Wooyoung leaned beside him mid-conversation.
Or at least pretending to have a conversation. Because the moment Wooyoung spotted them slipping through the hallway, his eyes narrowed suspiciously.
Then widened dramatically. “Oh my god,” he mouthed.
Yunho reacted instantly. He pointed at Wooyoung threateningly before pressing a finger to his lips.
Wooyoung looked personally delighted by this development. Seonghwa glanced up too, following Wooyoung’s stare toward them. Unlike Wooyoung, his reaction was smaller. Just a slight lift of his eyebrows before amusement flickered briefly across his face.
Y/N felt absurdly like a teenager sneaking out past curfew.
“This feels illegal,” she whispered.
“It kinda does,” Yunho admitted quietly.
They slipped past the crowded dance floor carefully, staying close to the wall while people remained distracted by music and drinks and conversations.
Near the exit, Yunho grabbed two black baseball caps hanging from hooks beside the door.
He shoved one toward her.
Y/N blinked. “Why do you have emergency hats?”
“I don’t know. They just appear around me.”
“That’s concerning.”
“Wear it.”
She pulled the cap onto her head while Yunho tugged the second low over his own face.
The action changed him strangely fast.
He was still far too recognizable up close. But combined with the dim lighting and the crowd, he suddenly blended in easier. Before she could think harder about it, Yunho grabbed her wrist lightly.
“Move quickly before Wooyoung starts screaming.”
“What?”
Too late.
From somewhere behind them came a dramatically muffled voice.
“USE PROTECTIOOOON.”
Y/N nearly choked.
Several people turned immediately.
Yunho looked genuinely horrified. “Jung Wooyoung,” he shouted back in disbelief.
Seonghwa’s laughter echoed behind them while Yunho dragged Y/N through the exit before anyone else could react.
The cold night air hit instantly.
The door slammed shut behind them. For two seconds both stood there silently.
Then Y/N burst into laughter so hard she doubled over slightly.
“Oh my god.”
Yunho covered his face with one hand.
“I’m never speaking to him again.”
“He’s insane.”
“He gets worse after midnight.”
“That’s terrifying.”
“I know.”
She laughed again while they started walking down the sidewalk.
The city felt entirely different now.
Earlier it had seemed distant through train windows and office exhaustion. Now everything looked brighter somehow. Neon signs reflected against wet pavement. Cars rushed through intersections. Groups of strangers spilled out from restaurants and bars laughing loudly into the night.
Y/N shoved her hands deeper into the pockets of Yunho’s oversized jacket.
“You know,” she said eventually, “if I get murdered tonight, this entire situation would sound deeply suspicious to police.”
Yunho looked offended. “Excuse you.”
“You’re literally a stranger I met in a bar.”
“A charming stranger.”
“Debatable.”
“I’m wounded.”
“You’ll survive.”
He grinned slightly beneath the brim of his cap. “Probably.”
For a while they just walked.
No destination yet. No real plan.
Just moving through the city beneath streetlights while conversations drifted naturally between silence and random topics.
It surprised Y/N how easy talking to him remained.
Usually she became self-conscious around strangers eventually. Conversations started replaying in her head while they happened. She worried about sounding awkward or oversharing or saying the wrong thing.
But with Yunho, things kept slipping out naturally before she could filter them.
Which was both freeing and slightly terrifying.
At one point he told her about accidentally setting off a fire alarm in a hotel room trying to make instant ramen.
At another she admitted she once cried during a group presentation in university because her PowerPoint deleted itself ten minutes beforehand.
“You cried publicly?” Yunho asked in delight.
“I was stressed.”
“That’s incredible.”
“You’re mean.”
“I’m impressed actually.”
She rolled her eyes while they waited at a crosswalk.
The pedestrian light reflected red against damp streets.
Yunho glanced sideways at her then. “You think before every sentence.”
Y/N blinked slightly. “What?”
“You pause.” He demonstrated vaguely with one hand. “‘Should I say this? Is this weird? Am I oversharing?’”
She stared at him. “That’s horrifyingly specific.”
“Like I said, I notice things.”
“You really do.”
The crosswalk light changed. They started moving again with the crowd. Y/N tried not to think about how accurately he had read her.
Unfortunately, she had always been like that.
Even as a kid.
Every thought examined before speaking. Every reaction softened carefully.
University had helped for a while. She remembered becoming louder there somehow. More impulsive. More certain of herself.
Then adulthood happened. Corporate life happened.
Now she felt like every version of herself had been filed down into something more manageable.
Yunho nudged her shoulder lightly when she went quiet. “You’re doing it again.”
“What?”
“Thinking too much.”
“Sorry.”
“Don’t apologize.” He looked ahead casually. “You can talk freely with me.”
The words settled softly somewhere beneath her ribs.
Yet strangely difficult to believe immediately.
Y/N looked down briefly at the sidewalk while they walked.
“I used to be less…” She searched for the word. “Careful.”
“What changed?”
She laughed quietly under her breath. “Everything?”
“That sounds depressing.”
“It is.”
“But?”
Y/N hesitated.
There it was again. That instinctive pause before speaking.
Only this time she noticed it herself too.
Yunho waited patiently beside her without interrupting.
And somehow that patience made honesty easier. “When I started university,” she said slowly, “I genuinely thought I’d change things.”
He glanced toward her quietly. “In HR?”
She nodded. “I know it sounds stupid.”
“It doesn’t.”
“It kinda does.”
Her breath fogged faintly in the cold air. “I had this whole picture in my head.” A small smile tugged briefly at her mouth. “Helping people get better opportunities. Creating healthier workplaces. Making sure employees actually felt valued.”
“That sounds nice actually.”
“Yeah.” She laughed softly. “Turns out corporations love pretending they care about people while actively destroying them.”
Yunho snorted quietly.
“That tracks.”
“I used to argue with professors about ethical work environments.” She shook her head slightly at the memory. “Like genuinely passionate arguments too. I thought if enough people cared, things could improve.”
“And now?”
Y/N looked ahead at the city lights. “Now I spend entire days making PowerPoint presentations about employee satisfaction while half my department looks dead inside.”
The words came out lighter than the feeling behind them.
Because the truth hurt more than she wanted to admit.
It wasn’t just disappointment. It was grief almost.
Grief for the version of herself that once believed work could feel meaningful. That once believed adulthood would feel bigger than this.
“I think the worst part,” she admitted quietly, “is that I kept telling myself things would improve eventually.”
Yunho listened silently beside her.
“No job is perfect,” she continued. “So I thought maybe I just needed more experience. Or a promotion. Or better coworkers.” She swallowed lightly. “But lately I keep waking up already tired.”
That confession felt more vulnerable than she expected. Embarrassingly vulnerable actually.
The immediate certainty in his voice made something tighten unexpectedly in her chest.
Not because he pitied her. Because he understood.
Yunho shoved his hands deeper into his pockets while they walked another few steps.
“I get what you mean though.”
She glanced toward him. “You do?”
“Yeah.”
That surprised her more than it should have. Because objectively she knew nothing about his life. Only that he played in a band and apparently had fans intense enough to nearly combust upon seeing him.
Still, he looked so effortless. Like he belonged completely inside his own life.
Yunho noticed her expression immediately. “You thought I was about to give some inspirational speech, didn’t you?”
“A little.”
“That sounds exhausting.”
She smiled faintly. “So what do you mean then?”
For a moment he stayed quiet.
Then he exhaled softly through his nose.
“I love music,” he said simply. “I love performing. I love the band.” A small smile appeared briefly. “And honestly, I love the guys. They’re basically family at this point.”
The affection in his voice returned again while talking about them.
Y/N found herself smiling slightly at it. “But?” she asked gently.
Yunho glanced upward toward the dark skyline above them.
“Sometimes it gets too loud.”
The answer came quietly.
“What does that mean?”
He shrugged one shoulder slightly. “People constantly wanting things from you. Expectations. Pressure.” His mouth curved faintly without humor. “Feeling like one mistake suddenly matters to millions of strangers.”
Y/N slowed slightly without realizing it. Millions?
“You weren’t kidding about being famous.”
Yunho laughed softly. “I told you already.”
“No, you told me your band had fans. That’s different.”
“It’s kinda the same thing.”
“It absolutely is not.”
He grinned slightly at her reaction.
“How famous are we talking exactly?”
“Depends.”
“On?”
“How embarrassing you want this conversation to become.”
“That sounds threatening.”
“A little.”
They stopped briefly near a convenience store glowing brightly against the dark street.
A group of teenagers spilled out laughing loudly with bags full of snacks.
Yunho waited until they passed before answering.
“Our band’s Ateez.”
Y/N repeated the name slowly in her head again.
Still nothing.
Which honestly felt increasingly ridiculous at this point.
“I really don’t know you guys.”
“You’ve made that painfully clear.”
“Sorry.”
He laughed quietly. “It’s fine.”
“No, but seriously.” She looked at him carefully. “How famous?”
Yunho scratched lightly at the back of his neck.
“We have around…” He named a number casually.
Y/N stopped walking entirely. “What?”
He repeated it.
Her jaw nearly dropped. “That’s monthly streams?”
“Uh. Yeah.”
“That’s insane.”
Yunho immediately looked amused by her reaction.
“No wonder those girls nearly fainted.”
“They weren’t that bad.”
“One of them looked seconds away from cardiac arrest.”
“She survived.”
“I’m actually concerned now.” Y/N stared at him again. “Wait. Like world tours famous?”
“Kinda.”
“You’ve been on world tours?”
“Yeah.”
“And award shows?”
“Some.”
“And people recognize you internationally?”
Yunho’s grin widened slowly while she continued spiraling.
“Oh my god.”
“You’re taking this surprisingly hard.”
“Because you don’t seem famous!”
That made him laugh properly. Bright and warm beneath the city lights.
Then he glanced toward her sideways beneath the brim of his cap.
“I actually like that you said that.”
“What?”
“That I don’t seem famous.”
Something softer slipped briefly into his expression again.
“Most people act weird after they recognize me.”
Y/N looked at him thoughtfully. “You seem normal.”
“That’s because I am normal.”
“You literally perform for millions of people.”
“And?”
“And that’s objectively not normal.”
“Fair.”
They continued walking after that, slower now.
The city had thinned slightly as it grew later. Fewer cars. Quieter sidewalks. Storefronts closing one by one beneath glowing signs.
Y/N kept stealing occasional glances at him now.
Not because he suddenly seemed different after learning the truth. Oddly enough, he didn’t.
If anything, the idea of him being globally famous clashed strangely with how casually he walked beside her talking about instant ramen and dumb college stories.
Maybe that was why she believed him when he said the pressure became overwhelming sometimes.
Because underneath everything else, he still just felt human.
They turned another corner.
Then Y/N stopped abruptly. Bright neon lights glowed ahead beneath a massive sign.
ARCADE PLANET.
Rows of flashing machines were visible through the windows. Music spilled faintly onto the sidewalk every time the entrance doors opened.
Yunho followed her gaze immediately. “Oh my god.”
“What?”
“You’ve never been to an arcade, have you?”
She blinked. “How did you know that?”
“Your face.”
“What about my face?”
“You look curious but deeply intimidated.”
“I am not intimidated.”
“You absolutely are.”
Y/N looked back toward the building.
Truthfully, she had always wanted to go to one growing up.
But arcades had seemed like things other people did.
Cooler people. People with groups of friends and easy confidence and enough money to waste on games. Not awkward teenagers who spent most lunch breaks studying in libraries.
“No.” He pointed dramatically toward the glowing entrance. “We’re fixing this immediately.”
Y/N laughed softly. “You sound way too excited.”
“I love arcades.”
“That somehow makes perfect sense.”
“Come on.”
Before she could protest further, Yunho grabbed her wrist lightly and started pulling her toward the entrance.
Warm neon light spilled across the sidewalk ahead of them. And for the first time in longer than she could remember, Y/N followed something impulsive without stopping herself first.
The arcade was loud in the best possible way.
Not overwhelming like the office.
Lights flashed from every direction in bright blues, pinks, reds, and golds. Old game music blended with electronic sound effects and bursts of laughter from crowded machines. Somewhere near the back, someone yelled loudly in triumph while another person groaned in defeat.
Warm air smelled faintly like sugar, popcorn, and cheap plastic.
Y/N stopped just inside the entrance, staring around properly.“This place is insane.”
Yunho looked deeply pleased by her reaction.
“You really never came to one before?”
“Not unless you count mobile games.”
“That’s actually sad.”
“You’ve said that about three different things tonight.”
“Because your childhood sounds deprived.”
“My childhood was fine.”
“Wrong.” He pointed toward a basketball machine nearby. “You’ve simply never experienced greatness.”
Y/N laughed softly while he dragged her further inside.
It felt strange being here in office clothes. Around them, most people wore hoodies or oversized jackets or casual date-night outfits. Meanwhile she still looked like she had escaped a late-night business meeting.
Yet somehow she no longer cared as much. Maybe because Yunho looked equally ridiculous with his baseball cap pulled low while trying very hard not to get recognized. Or maybe because the entire night already felt disconnected from reality anyway.
Yunho exchanged bills for coins while Y/N wandered beside him looking around curiously.
“You’re way too excited,” she observed.
“I’m competitive.”
“That sounds dangerous.”
“It is.”
He handed her a handful of coins. “Prepare to lose.”
“Excuse you?”
“You’ll understand soon.”
Unfortunately, he was right.
The first game was basketball.
Y/N lost horribly. Not even close.
Yunho somehow made nearly every shot while she struggled to aim properly fast enough before the timer ended.
“This machine hates me,” she complained while the screen displayed her humiliating score.
“No,” Yunho said smugly. “You’re just weak.”
“I want you to know I genuinely dislike you right now.”
“That’s okay.” He grinned brightly. “I’m still winning.”
The second game involved racing motorcycles. Yunho won again.
The third was air hockey. Yunho won again.
The fourth was a rhythm game she did not even fully understand. Yunho somehow still won again.
By the fifth loss, Y/N had officially reached her limit.
“This is rigged,” she declared while crossing her arms.
Yunho looked delighted. “You’re pouting.”
“I am not.”
“You absolutely are.”
“I just think you’re suspiciously good at everything.”
“That sounds like jealousy.”
“That sounds like narcissism.”
He laughed loudly enough that a few nearby people glanced over briefly.
Y/N noticed him subtly lowering his cap afterward.
Even while relaxed, some part of him remained aware of being recognized. Still, the awareness disappeared quickly again once he looked back at her.
“You know,” he said thoughtfully, “you’re taking these losses surprisingly personally.”
“Because I thought I’d at least win once.”
“You nearly beat me at air hockey.”
“I lost by twelve points.”
“That’s basically victory.”
She rolled her eyes. “You’re impossible.”
“And yet you continue spending time with me.”
“Unfortunately.”
Yunho grinned again before suddenly looking around the arcade thoughtfully.
“What?”
“You need a consolation prize.”
“I don’t need a consolation prize.”
“You do. Your spirit looks crushed.”
“My spirit is fine.”
“Debatable.”
Before she could argue further, he grabbed her wrist lightly again and started guiding her through rows of flashing machines.
The claw machine section glowed brightest in the entire arcade.
Dozens lined the walls packed with plushies, figures, candy, and random prizes. Neon lights reflected across the glass while electronic music chimed softly from different machines.
Y/N slowed almost immediately. “Oh my god.”
“What?”
She stepped toward one machine instinctively.
Inside sat rows of plushies dressed in tiny shark hoodies.
Mofusand cats.
One in particular rested near the front pressed against the glass. Grey and fluffy with a tiny blue shark hood slightly crooked over ist head.
Cute enough to physically hurt.
Yunho noticed her expression instantly. “There it is.”
“What?”
“The face again.”
She glanced toward him. “What face?”
“The one where you see something you like but immediately decide you shouldn’t ask for it.”
Y/N frowned slightly. “That’s oddly specific.”
He looked through the machine thoughtfully.
“You want that one?”
“No.”
The answer came too quickly.
Yunho raised an eyebrow immediately. “You literally stopped walking for it.”
“It’s just cute.”
“So you do want it.”
Y/N crossed her arms lightly. “It’s probably impossible to win anyway.”
“That sounds like a challenge.”
“Yunho.”
“Wait here.”
Before she could stop him, he disappeared toward the coin machine nearby.
Y/N stared after him in disbelief.
Two minutes later he returned carrying enough coins to financially ruin someone.
“Oh my god.”
“What?”
“That’s way too many.”
“You underestimate my determination.”
“You’re being dramatic.”
“Correct.”
He crouched slightly in front of the claw machine while feeding coins into it.
Y/N watched with growing amusement. “You know,” she said, “if you lose all your money trying to get a shark cat plushie, that’s entirely on you.”
“I’m literally a professional.”
“At claw machines?”
“At winning.”
“That’s unfortunately confident.”
The first try failed immediately.
The claw barely grabbed the plushie before dropping it again.
Yunho narrowed his eyes at the machine. “Okay.”
“It’s okay,” Y/N laughed softly. “You don’t have to get it.”
“No.” He cracked his knuckles dramatically. “Now it’s personal.”
The second try failed too. Then the third. By the fifth attempt, Y/N had to physically cover her mouth to stop laughing too loudly.
“This is painful to watch.”
“The machine is cheating.”
“Sure.”
“It is.”
“You’re losing to a stuffed cat.”
“Temporary setback.”
People passing nearby had started glancing over occasionally.
Mostly because Yunho looked absurdly intense about this.
At one point he leaned closer to the glass like he was trying to psychologically intimidate the machine itself.
Y/N laughed so hard she nearly doubled over. “You’re insane.”
“I’m focused.”
“That plushie does not fear you.”
“It should.”
The seventh try almost worked.
The plushie lifted halfway before slipping loose again at the last second.
Yunho stared in betrayal.
Y/N burst into laughter again. “Oh no. That one hurt your feelings.”
“I was emotionally invested.”
“You’re fighting for your life against a toy.”
“I can still win.”
By the tenth try, Y/N finally touched his arm lightly. “Seriously, it’s okay.”
Yunho glanced toward her.
“You already spent enough coins.”
“I’m committed now.”
“You don’t need to buy me things.”
Something softer crossed his expression briefly then. “It’s not about buying something.”
Before she could answer, he turned back toward the machine with renewed determination.
The claw lowered again.
Grabbed the plushie. Lifted.
For one horrible second it looked ready to fall again.
Then finally dropped cleanly into the prize slot.
Yunho shot upward immediately.
“Oh my god.”
“You did not just celebrate like you won the Olympics.”
“I absolutely did.”
Y/N laughed helplessly while he grabbed the plushie triumphantly from the slot below.
The tiny shark cat looked ridiculously soft beneath the arcade lights.
Yunho turned toward her with the biggest grin she had seen from him all night.
“Victory.”
“You’re unbelievable.”
“I know.”
He stepped closer before gently placing the plushie into her arms.
The soft fur brushed against her fingers immediately.
Embarrassingly enough, it genuinely made her happy.
“You didn’t have to do that,” she said quietly.
“I know.”
His eyes flicked briefly between her and the plushie before he smiled slightly.
“It resembles you.”
Y/N blinked. “What?”
“You’re both cute.”
Heat rushed into her face so fast it physically hurt.
Yunho looked entirely too pleased by her reaction.
“You did that on purpose.”
“Maybe.”
“You’re horrible.”
“You’re blushing.”
“I hate you.”
“No you don’t.”
Unfortunately true.
Y/N looked down quickly at the plushie to avoid his grin.
The stupid thing was adorable.
And somehow that made the moment worse.
Because no one had flirted with her this openly in a long time.
Not without ulterior motives or awkward dating apps or forced office charm.
Yunho simply seemed to enjoy making her flustered. Which was deeply unfair considering how attractive he already was.
“You’re smiling at it,” he observed smugly.
“I’m not.”
“You literally are.”
She hugged the plushie slightly closer out of spite. “Mind your business.”
“That’s my child now too.”
“That sentence made me uncomfortable.”
He laughed brightly again.
The sound followed them as they wandered through the arcade afterward.
Y/N still lost most games. Though at some point Yunho started letting her win occasionally so obviously that she became offended again.
“You missed that on purpose.”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“You literally stared at the target and shot the opposite direction.”
“Maybe I panicked.”
“You’re terrible at lying.”
By the time they finally stepped back outside, cold air hit her flushed face sharply enough to wake her up again.
The city looked quieter now.
Not asleep. Just slower.
Y/N checked her phone briefly out of habit before immediately regretting it.
2:11 a.m.
“How is it already that late?”
Yunho glanced over. “You sound disappointed.”
“No, just confused.”
“Time moves weird at night.”
She smiled faintly at that.
The plushie remained tucked beneath her arm while they walked.
Yunho noticed. “You’re really attached already.”
“She’s been through a lot.”
“She?”
“Obviously.”
He shoved his hands into his pockets while they wandered down another street.
Then abruptly stopped walking.
Y/N nearly bumped into him. “What?”
Yunho looked completely serious. “I’m starving.”
“That serious huh?”
“I could eat an entire person.”
“That’s concerning.”
“Come on.”
Before she could ask further, he grabbed her wrist again and started pulling her toward the subway entrance nearby.
“Where are we going?”
“Food.”
“That explains nothing.”
“It’s more fun this way.”
The train ride felt oddly peaceful.
Most passengers at this hour looked exhausted or half asleep. A couple sat together silently sharing earbuds near the opposite door. Someone in business clothes snored lightly against the window.
Y/N rested her chin briefly against the plushie while Yunho sat beside her scrolling through something on his phone.
At one point he suddenly tilted the screen toward her. A picture of Wooyoung asleep face-first on a table.
Y/N laughed immediately. “He looks dead.”
“He drank too much at Hongjoong’s birthday last year.”
“You just keep pictures like that?”
“I have worse.” He grinned proudly.
The train eventually carried them closer toward the river.
By the time they emerged outside again, colder wind swept across the streets carrying the smell of water and food stalls nearby.
The Han River stretched dark beneath glowing city lights.
Street vendors lined sections of the walkway despite the late hour. Steam curled upward from grills and soup pots while small groups of people crowded around plastic tables eating and drinking beneath overhead lights.
Like one of those memories people romanticized years later.
Yunho guided her toward one vendor already greeting him warmly.
“You come here often?” she asked.
“Sometimes after schedules.”
The owner handed them menus immediately.
Y/N barely finished reading before Yunho ordered enough food for four people.
“That’s too much.”
“You’ll thank me later.”
Unfortunately, he was right again.
The bulgogi arrived first sizzling hot and smelling incredible. Then kimchi stew rich enough to warm her entire body instantly.
A few drinks followed afterward. Then a few more.
At some point Y/N stopped feeling the cold entirely.
The world softened pleasantly around the edges instead.
Not drunk exactly. Just warm. Relaxed.
Yunho sat across from her with flushed cheeks and messy hair escaping beneath his cap while stealing pieces of meat from her plate dramatically.
“You ordered enough to feed a village.”
“And yet you’re still eating it.”
“Fair.”
She laughed quietly before taking another sip of her drink.
The river shimmered beyond them beneath city lights.
People nearby talked loudly between bursts of laughter.
Everything felt distant in the nicest way.
Yunho rested his chin against his hand while watching her.
“What?”
“You look happier.”
The words slipped softly into the night air.
Y/N looked down briefly at her food. Maybe she did.
For once her chest did not feel tight. For once she was not thinking about emails or deadlines or tomorrow morning.
Just this moment.
This strange beautiful impulsive night.
“When I was little,” she said suddenly, “my dad used to take me to this lake outside the city.”
Yunho looked at her quietly.
“We’d go really early in the morning before it got crowded.” A small smile tugged at her mouth. “I used to think it was the biggest lake in the world.”
“What changed?”
“I grew up.”She laughed softly.“It was beautiful though.” She stirred her spoon slowly through the stew. “There was this tiny dock where we used to sit for hours. My dad would fish and I’d draw things in this little notebook.”
The memory rose vividly enough to ache slightly.
Cold morning air. Birds over the water. Her father laughing while she complained about tangled fishing lines.
Yunho watched her carefully. “You miss it.”
“Yeah.”
“Then why haven’t you gone back?”
Y/N hesitated briefly. Because there was no good answer.
“Life, I guess.”
Work. Exhaustion. Growing older.
Somewhere along the way she kept thinking there would be time later. And suddenly years had passed.
Yunho leaned back slightly in his chair.
“That’s a terrible reason.”
“I know.”
Silence settled comfortably for a second.
Then Yunho’s eyes brightened slightly. “Perfect.”
Y/N frowned. “That tone again.”
“We’re going.”
“To the lake?”
“Obviously.”
She stared at him. “Right now?”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s almost three in the morning.”
“Exactly.”
“That explained nothing.”
Yunho was already standing. “Come on.”
Y/N laughed helplessly while he paid for the food despite her protests.
The cold air hit them again once they stepped away from the vendor.
Yunho walked beside her while she hugged the plushie beneath one arm and tried not to laugh at how absurd her life had become in the last few hours.
At midnight she had been answering work emails mentally on a train. Now she was tipsy beside a famous musician heading toward a childhood lake at three in the morning carrying a shark cat plushie.
Objectively insane. And yet she had not felt this alive in years.
The train ride toward the lake was quieter this time. Mostly empty.
Y/N sat beside the window while city lights blurred past outside.
Yunho leaned comfortably back in his seat across from her, watching her more than his phone now.
“You know,” he said eventually, “I’m having fun today.”
The honesty in his voice made her look up immediately.
“You say that like you expected not to.”
“No.” He smiled slightly. “I just didn’t realize how much I needed a normal night.”
Y/N looked at him thoughtfully. Normal.
That word sounded strange coming from someone with millions of listeners.
Still, she understood what he meant.
No schedules. No expectations. No pretending.
Just wandering through the city talking about random things until morning arrived.
Yunho checked his phone briefly then blinked. “Oh wow.”
“What?”
“It’s already three.”
Y/N stared too.
3:07 a.m.
“How does that even happen?”
“See?” He looked unfairly pleased. “Good nights move fast.”
And for once, Y/N found herself hoping this one would slow down instead.
By the time they reached the lake, the sky had started shifting toward that strange hour between night and morning.
Not sunrise yet. But close enough that the darkness no longer felt endless.
The station nearby was almost empty when they stepped off the train. Their footsteps echoed softly along the quiet platform while cold air drifted through the open space.
Y/N walked slightly ahead now, leading the way from memory alone.
It had been years. Still, her body remembered the route instinctively.
The narrow road curving past sleeping houses. The old convenience store near the crossing. The small path disappearing between rows of trees further ahead.
Yunho followed beside her quietly, hands shoved into the pockets of his jacket while she carried the plushie tucked beneath one arm.
The city noise faded more with every step.
Soon there was only wind moving through branches overhead and the distant sound of water somewhere ahead.
Y/N slowed automatically once the lake finally came into view through the trees.
And even after all these years, her chest tightened at the sight of it.
Moonlight stretched silver across the water. The lake lay perfectly still beneath the night sky, surrounded by dark trees and empty docks weathered softly with age. The world reflected across the surface almost clearly enough to look unreal.
Beautiful in that quiet aching way only places from childhood could be.
The sound escaped him softly enough that Y/N looked over immediately.
He was staring openly at the lake. Actually stunned.
“It’s…” He blinked once slowly. “Holy shit.”
Y/N smiled before she could stop herself.
Something warm spread through her chest at his expression. “Told you.”
“No, you absolutely undersold this place.”
Moonlight brushed softly across his face while he looked around. For once he seemed genuinely speechless.
Which honestly felt like an achievement.
Y/N watched him instead of the lake for a second.
The slight wonder in his expression. The looseness in his shoulders. The way he looked younger somehow away from flashing lights and crowded streets.
“You really used to come here as a kid?” he asked quietly.
“Every summer.”
“That’s insane.” He looked back toward the water again. “I think I’d become a poet if I grew up around this.”
She laughed softly.
“It’s true.”
They walked further down toward the dock slowly.
Old wooden boards creaked beneath their steps while the water moved gently below.
Y/N remembered being small enough that her father used to hold her hand crossing this exact dock because she was terrified of falling in.
Now it looked smaller than she remembered. But somehow more beautiful too.
At the end of the dock, they sat beside each other with their feet dangling above the dark water.
Cold air brushed against her damp hair from earlier while silence settled comfortably between them again.
Y/N pulled her knees slightly closer to her chest.
For a while neither spoke.
They simply sat there beneath the moonlight listening to water shift softly against wood below them.
Then Yunho leaned back on his hands. “I get why you missed this place.”
She glanced toward him. “Yeah?”
“It feels…” He searched briefly for words. “Far away from everything.”
Y/N looked back toward the lake. “That’s why my dad liked it.”
“You were close with him?”
The question softened her immediately. “Very.”
A small smile touched her mouth. “He used to wake me up ridiculously early during summer break and I’d pretend to complain the entire drive here.”
“But you secretly liked it.”
“I loved it.”
The memory rose vividly enough to ache slightly. The smell of coffee in the car. Her father humming quietly to old songs on the radio. Drawing badly in her notebook while sunlight reflected across the lake.
Yunho listened quietly beside her.
“You know,” she admitted after a moment, “I think this is one of the last places where I remember feeling completely happy as a kid.”
He turned slightly toward her then.
Moonlight caught faintly against his eyes.
“That’s a heavy sentence.”
Y/N laughed softly under her breath. “Sorry.”
“Don’t apologize.” His voice stayed gentle. “I just mean…” He looked out toward the water again. “You sound like someone who misses her old self a little.”
The words hit harder than she expected.
Because that was exactly it.
Missing herself. The version that painted and laughed easier and believed life would become something bigger.
Y/N swallowed lightly before speaking again. “You always say things like that?”
“What?”
“Things that accidentally emotionally devastate people.”
Yunho grinned slightly. “Only on special occasions.”
She rolled her eyes softly.
Then glanced toward him again.
Unfortunately that turned out to be a mistake.
Because now she noticed properly how unfairly attractive he looked sitting there beneath the moonlight.
The dark hair falling messily over his forehead. The oversized hoodie slightly slipping at the collarbone. The silver rings glinting faintly whenever he moved his hands. And worst of all, the softness in his expression while looking at the lake.
Y/N looked away quickly. Too late.
“I caught that.”
Her stomach immediately dropped. “What?”
Yunho looked entirely too amused. “You keep staring at me.”
“No, I don’t.”
“You absolutely do.”
Heat climbed straight into her face.
The worst part was that denying it sounded ridiculous because she absolutely had been staring.
Twice. Maybe more.
Yunho shifted slightly closer along the dock. “You think I’m handsome.”
“I literally never said that.”
“You didn’t have to.”
“Oh my god.”
He laughed quietly at her obvious embarrassment. Moonlight reflected across the water behind him while he watched her with growing amusement.
“You’re blushing again.”
“You’re insufferable.”
“And yet here you are.”
Y/N groaned softly and covered part of her face with one hand. “This is deeply humiliating.”
“For you maybe.”
“You enjoy this way too much.”
“A little.” His grin widened.
And annoyingly enough, that only made him look prettier.
Y/N immediately looked away again toward the lake.
Unfortunately Yunho noticed that too. “Oh, she’s shy now.”
“I’m leaving.”
“No you’re not.”
“You’re making fun of me.”
“You were staring at me like I’m in a romance movie.”
“I was not.”
“You kinda were.”
Y/N wanted to argue.
Instead she made the mistake of looking back at him again.
Yunho was already watching her.
Close now. Much closer than before.
The teasing in his expression softened slightly around the edges.
Something quieter slipping underneath it.
Y/N’s breath caught unexpectedly. Because suddenly she became very aware of everything.
The cold night air. The sound of water below them.
How close his knee rested beside hers on the dock. How pretty he looked beneath moonlight.
Yunho tilted his head slightly while studying her face.
Then slowly, gently, he reached toward her.
Y/N froze immediately.
His fingers brushed softly against her jaw before guiding her face slightly closer toward his.
Warm skin. Careful touch.
Her heart slammed hard enough that she felt it everywhere.
Yunho leaned in.
Closer. Close enough now that she could feel his breath slightly against her skin.
Y/N’s stomach flipped violently.
Oh my god. He was going to kiss her.
The realization hit all at once. And stupidly enough, some reckless part of her wanted him to.
His eyes flicked briefly toward her mouth.
Then suddenly a smirk appeared. “What do you think about swimming?”
Y/N blinked. “What?”
Before she could process further, Yunho pulled back completely and stood from the dock.
She stared at him in disbelief. “You cannot be serious.”
“I’m completely serious.”
“At four in the morning?”
“Best time for it.”
“That’s psychopath behavior.”
Yunho only laughed while tugging his hoodie over his head casually.
Y/N’s brain stopped functioning for approximately three seconds.
Because underneath the hoodie was broad shoulders and damp dark hair and very unfair muscle definition beneath moonlight.
This man was genuinely dangerous to her sanity.
“You’re staring again,” he said smugly.
“I hate you.”
“No you don’t.”
He kicked off his shoes next before turning toward the water.
“Yunho, that lake is freezing.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I absolutely know that.”
“Wrong.”
And before she could continue arguing, he jumped.
Water splashed loudly beneath the moonlit dock.
Y/N rushed slightly closer immediately.
“You’re insane!”
Yunho resurfaced seconds later pushing wet hair back from his forehead while laughing.
“The water’s actually warm!”
“You’re lying.”
“I swear!”
He drifted backward slightly in the shallow water below the dock.
Moonlight reflected across the wet skin of his shoulders while he looked up at her grinning like an idiot.
“Come in!”
“Absolutely not.”
“You already came all this way.”
“I also value survival.”
“It’s nice!”
“You’re literally shivering.”
“I’m not.”
He absolutely was.
Y/N laughed softly while hugging the plushie closer against herself.
Then paused.
Because despite herself… It looked fun.
Stupid. Reckless. Childish.
But fun.
Yunho noticed the hesitation instantly. “There it is.”
“What?”
“You’re considering it.”
“No, I’m considering how quickly hypothermia kills people.”
“Coward.”
Her jaw dropped immediately. “Excuse you?”
“You heard me.”
“You’re literally manipulating me.”
“It’s working though.”
Y/N narrowed her eyes down at him.
Then sighed dramatically. “This is your fault.”
“Correct.”
She carefully placed the plushie safely on the dock beside her first.
Then stood slowly.
Yunho watched very openly while she tugged off her shoes.
Then her sweater.
Then paused.
Self-consciousness hit all at once.
The cold air suddenly felt sharper against her bare skin.
Yunho noticed the hesitation immediately.
But unlike earlier, he didn’t tease her this time.
He just watched quietly from the water.
Patient.
Y/N swallowed lightly before finally pulling off the rest of her clothes down to her underwear and tank top.
The moonlight suddenly felt far too bright.
Especially with Yunho staring at her like that.
His expression had changed completely now.
Gone was the teasing grin.
Now he simply looked…Distracted.
Y/N crossed her arms instinctively. “What?”
Yunho blinked once like he had been caught. “Nothing.”
“That sounded suspicious.”
“You’re pretty.”
The words came out so casually that her brain nearly short-circuited.
Before she could respond, embarrassment took over completely and she jumped into the lake immediately.
Instant regret.
The freezing water hit her hard enough to rip a gasp from her throat.
“Oh my god!”
Yunho burst into laughter instantly.
“You liar!”
“It’s not that bad!”
“It’s freezing!”
Y/N splashed water violently toward him while shivering.
“You actual asshole!”
Yunho laughed harder while shielding himself badly from the water she threw at him.
Moonlight reflected across the lake around them while his laughter echoed through the quiet night.
Y/N could not remember the last time she had acted like this.
Then suddenly Yunho moved closer through the shallow water.
Much closer.
The laughter between them softened slightly.
Y/N’s breath caught again as his hands settled carefully against her hips beneath the water.
Warm skin despite the cold lake.
He looked down at her for a second.
Wet hair falling over his forehead. Eyes softer now beneath moonlight.
“You look pretty like this,” he said quietly.
Y/N’s pulse stumbled immediately. “What?”
“Soaking wet. Smiling.” His thumbs brushed lightly against her hips. “Actually enjoying yourself.”
The words settled somewhere deep inside her chest.
Because he looked at her like he genuinely meant it.
No teasing now. Just honesty.
Water moved softly around them while the world suddenly became very still.
Yunho leaned down slowly afterward.
This time without stopping.
His lips met hers gently at first.
Y/N’s entire body went still from shock before melting almost instantly into the kiss.
He kissed her carefully. Like he was trying to savor it.
One hand sliding slightly higher against her waist while the other remained steady at her hip.
The lake disappeared around her completely.
There was only him.
His mouth warm against hers despite the freezing water. His breath catching slightly when she kissed him back harder.
Her fingers instinctively gripping lightly against his shoulders.
When he finally pulled away, both of them stayed close enough that she could still feel his breath against her lips.
Yunho smiled slightly then. Soft. Almost disbelieving.
“I wanted to do that the entire evening.”
Sunlight and birds chirping was the first thing Yunho noticed.
Soft morning light slipping through thin hotel curtains in pale gold streaks across the bed.
For a few quiet seconds he stayed still beneath the blankets, eyes half closed while his brain slowly caught up with consciousness.
His body felt heavy in that pleasant way exhaustion sometimes did after a genuinely good night.
Then memory returned all at once.
The lake.
Cold water.
Y/N laughing while splashing him after realizing he lied about the temperature.
The way she kissed him back.
Skin on skin when they found a hotel room.
A slow smile spread across his face before he even opened his eyes fully.
Holy shit. Last night had actually happened.
Not a schedule. Not another crowded afterparty with people trying to impress him. Not cameras or interviews or management breathing down his neck.
Just wandering through the city with a girl who looked at him like he was normal.
Yunho rubbed tiredly at his face before finally turning slightly toward the other side of the bed.
Empty.
The smile faltered a little. The sheets beside him had already gone cold.
For a second he simply stared at the empty space beside him while sleep still clung foggy around his thoughts.
Then he pushed himself up slowly.
The small twenty-four-hour hotel room looked exactly like he remembered. Clothes abandoned carelessly across the floor. His hoodie hanging from the chair near the window. Y/N’s empty drink cup sitting forgotten on the bedside table.
But no Y/N.
He glanced toward the bathroom automatically. Empty too.
Yunho leaned back against the headboard with a quiet sigh. “Right,” he muttered to himself.
Of course she left. It was morning.
Well, technically almost afternoon judging by the sunlight.
And unlike him, Y/N actually had a normal job to go to.
The thought made him smile faintly again despite the disappointment curling annoyingly in his chest.
He could practically imagine her panic after waking up late. Cursing at the time.
Trying to fix her hair while half asleep.
Probably apologizing to no one while rushing out the door.
Cute.
He stared at the empty bed beside him a second longer than necessary.
Something about waking up alone after last night felt weirdly disappointing. Not because he expected anything dramatic.
Just because somewhere between convenience store drinks, claw machine battles, and kissing in freezing lake water, he had gotten attached to her presence beside him.
Dangerously fast honestly.
Yunho dropped back against the pillows with a groan before grabbing his phone from the nightstand.
His notifications looked horrifying as usual.
Messages from management. Missed calls from San. Approximately forty-seven unread texts from group chats.
One message from Wooyoung simply reading: did u die or get married
Yunho snorted softly.
Then immediately opened his messages again searching for Y/N’s contact.
Nothing.
His smile vanished instantly. A horrible realization settled slowly into place.
They never exchanged numbers.
Yunho stared blankly at his phone.
Then sat upright properly. “No way.”
He checked again anyway.
Instagram. Messages. Contacts.
Nothing.
Because apparently sometime between making out in a lake and ending up tangled together in a cheap hotel room at sunrise, both of them had completely forgotten basic human logic.
“Oh my god.”
Yunho dragged both hands down his face aggressively.
“How did I actually manage that?”
The memory became painfully clear now.
After the lake they had wandered half asleep through quiet streets until the cold became unbearable. Then they found the hotel mostly because neither wanted the night to end yet. But one led to another and they did more things than talking.
After thez talked more there too.
About random things. Favorite movies. Childhood fears. The weirdest foods they ever ate.
At one point Y/N fell asleep halfway through explaining why office birthday celebrations felt emotionally dystopian.
And Yunho remembered lying there beside her thinking that he genuinely could listen to her speak forever.
Yet somehow he never asked for her number.
Actual idiot behavior.
He groaned loudly into his hands. “Unbelievable.”
For a brief insane second he considered running back to the lake.
Or the train station. Or her office.
Except he had absolutely no idea where she worked beyond “corporate misery.”
Yunho collapsed backward dramatically onto the mattress again.
He knew thousands of people. Performed in sold-out arenas. Had managers, assistants, security teams.
And somehow he lost the one girl who genuinely made him feel normal because he forgot to ask for her phone number.
Pathetic.
Eventually he forced himself out of bed.
The hotel mirror revealed exactly what he expected.
Messy hair sticking up in every direction. Faint bruised shadows beneath his eyes. Lips slightly swollen from kissing.
He stared at himself for a second before laughing quietly under his breath.
He looked happier than he had in months.
That realization hit unexpectedly hard.
Usually after nights out he woke up drained. Social battery dead. Already dreading schedules and cameras and expectations waiting outside.
Today felt different.
Lighter somehow.
Even with the frustration twisting in his chest now.
Yunho showered quickly before pulling on yesterday’s clothes again. His hoodie still smelled faintly like lake water and Y/N’s perfume.
That absolutely did not help his mood.
By the time he left the hotel, the city had fully woken.
Cars crowded intersections. People hurried through sidewalks carrying coffees and briefcases. The normal rhythm of daytime life had returned.
Yunho shoved his hands deeper into his pockets while walking back toward the bar.
Sleep deprivation finally started catching up slightly now.
Still, his brain refused to shut up.
Everywhere he looked reminded him of last night.
Convenience stores. Train stations. Streetlights reflecting against wet pavement.
He kept thinking about Y/N laughing. About the way she looked sitting at the lake staring at the water like she had rediscovered something she thought she lost. About how naturally she fit beside him.
Dangerous thoughts honestly.
Because Yunho did not do attachment easily anymore.
Not real attachment.
Too many people approached him already wanting something.
Fame complicated everything. Even casual conversations often carried expectations underneath them once people recognized him.
But Y/N…
Y/N looked at him like he was just a guy dragging her into arcades at three in the morning.
And maybe that was exactly why he could not stop thinking about her.
The familiar neon sign of the bar appeared eventually down the street.
Moonlight Room looked quieter during daytime. Less alive somehow. Still, music already drifted faintly from inside when Yunho pushed open the door.
The second he entered, six heads turned toward him immediately.
“Oh my god,” Wooyoung shouted loud enough to echo through the mostly empty bar. “The whore returns.”
Yunho flipped him off instantly.
Seonghwa laughed from behind the counter while polishing glasses.
“You look terrible,” Hongjoong observed from one of the booths.
“That’s because he got no sleep,” San announced proudly.
“Jealousy is ugly on you,” Yunho muttered while walking further inside.
Mingi leaned dramatically across the booth table. “So?” he demanded immediately. “What happened?”
Yunho dropped into the empty seat beside Jongho with a tired groan. “Nothing.”
Seven voices yelled at once. “Liar.”
“Bullshit.”
“You literally disappeared.”
“You kissed her didn’t you?”
Yunho nearly choked.
Yeosang looked entirely too pleased with himself.
“Oh my god,” Yunho muttered. “How do you know that?”
“You never did something like that with any women you dated.”
“That could mean anything.”
“It really couldn’t,” Jongho said flatly.
The entire booth burst into laughter.
Yunho rubbed his face tiredly while Wooyoung dramatically slid into the seat across from him.
“So.” Wooyoung grinned. “Corporate girl.”
Yunho felt himself smiling automatically before he could stop it.
Unfortunately everyone noticed immediately. The reaction around the table became instant chaos.
“Oh he’s gone,” San declared.
“Look at his face,” Mingi wheezed.
“That’s disgusting actually,” Hongjoong added.
Yunho shoved him lightly.
“Shut up.”
“No wait,” Wooyoung interrupted dramatically. “You actually like her.”
Yunho opened his mouth automatically to deny it.
Then paused.
Because honestly? Yeah. He did.
Way more than he probably should after one night.
The realization sat strangely easy in his chest though.
So instead of denying it, he leaned back against the booth and shrugged slightly.
“I had fun.”
The teasing quieted a little at that.
Yunho looked down briefly at the table while smiling to himself.
“She’s funny,” he admitted. “And smart.” His grin widened slightly at the memory. “She gets embarrassed really easily when you flirt with her.”
“Oh my god,” Wooyoung whispered dramatically. “He’s giggling internally.”
“I am not.”
“You absolutely are.”
“She sounds nice,” Seonghwa said more gently from beside the counter.
“She is.”
Yunho meant it immediately. Not just nice.
Real. The kind of real he rarely encountered lately.
Hongjoong studied him carefully from across the booth.
“So what’s the issue then?”
Yunho frowned slightly. “What?”
“You clearly like her.” Hongjoong gestured vaguely. “So call her again.”
The entire table nodded like this was painfully obvious.
Yunho stared at them silently. Then looked away.
Immediately suspicious silence fell.
Wooyoung narrowed his eyes. “What did you do?”
“Nothing.”
“Yunho.”
He rubbed awkwardly at the back of his neck. “We maybe forgot something.”
San blinked once. “What.”
Yunho groaned quietly already knowing what was coming.
“We forgot to exchange contact information.”
Silence. Absolute silence.
Then the entire booth exploded.
Mingi physically fell sideways laughing.
Wooyoung slammed both hands against the table in disbelief. “You absolute idiot!”
Hongjoong looked genuinely horrified. “No way.”
“She left and you didn’t even get her number?”
“I forgot!”
“How do you forget that?” San yelled.
“I don’t know!”
Yeosang leaned back calmly shaking his head. “This might actually be the dumbest thing you’ve ever done.”
“That’s saying a lot,” Jongho added.
Seonghwa looked moments away from crying laughing behind the counter.
Yunho buried his face in his hands while chaos continued around him.
“You spent the entire night flirting with her,” Wooyoung shouted. “You literally vanished together like a romance movie.”
“And then forgot the most important part,” Mingi wheezed.
Hongjoong pointed accusingly. “This is why you’d never survive without us.”
“I’m aware.”
“No actually,” San interrupted. “This is genuinely tragic.”
Yunho groaned louder. Because the worst part?
They were right. Completely right.
And judging by the way his chest already felt strangely empty without her around, he really needed to find Y/N again somehow.
After another soul-draining day at her corporate HR job, Y/N stumbles into a small underground bar to escape the exhaustion swallowing her whole. There she meets Yunho, a magnetic guitarist from a famous rock band and spends one unforgettable night wandering through the city with a stranger who makes her feel alive again.
What begins as a reckless decision slowly turns into something neither of them expected: a place to breathe.
Pairing: Jeong Yunho × Reader (Y/N)
Tropes: Rockstar AU, Strangers to Lovers, Opposites Attract, Late Night City Romance, Found Family, Emotional Healing, Soft Slow Burn, Falling in Love Before Realizing It
Featuring: Ateez as Yunhos Band Mates or Friends, Y/ns Childhood friend
Main Masterlist | Yunhos Masterlist
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5
This is Part 1
The train lurched hard enough to make Y/N’s shoulder bump against the cold window beside her.
No one looked up.
Not the man in the wrinkled suit across from her, staring blankly at a football livestream on his phone. Not the woman beside him furiously typing on a laptop balanced on her knees. Not the teenager with headphones large enough to swallow half his face.
Everyone looked tired in a way that felt permanent. The kind that settled into bones.
Y/N let her head rest back against the glass for a moment and closed her eyes.
The day clung to her. The office air conditioning that never worked properly. The synthetic smell of printer ink. The endless meetings about “workflow optimization.” Her manager smiling too brightly while assigning work that should have belonged to three different departments.
She could still hear the echo of keyboards. Still feel the ache in her neck from hunching over spreadsheets for nine hours straight.
Her phone buzzed in her coat pocket.
Another email. At 8:47 p.m.
She stared at the notification without opening it.
Something in her chest tightened.
At university, she had imagined HR differently. She remembered sitting in crowded lecture halls with coffee-stained notebooks, genuinely believing she would help people. She thought she would create healthier work environments. Better opportunities. Real support systems.
Instead she spent most days pretending corporate language meant anything at all.
“We value employee wellbeing.”
Except no one left before seven.
“We foster communication.”
Except managers ignored complaints until someone quit.
“We prioritize work-life balance.”
Except her supervisor proudly answered emails during dinner.
Every conversation felt rehearsed. Every smile felt strategic.
And slowly, without noticing when it started, Y/N had begun rehearsing too.
The train screeched into another station. More people entered.
A gust of cold evening air brushed against her face before the doors closed again.
Her reflection stared back faintly from the darkened window.
Blazer slightly wrinkled. Hair no longer neat after an entire day. Exhaustion sitting beneath her eyes.
Twenty-six years old and already feeling worn down.
That scared her more than anything.
Not the stress itself. How normal it had become.
She opened her phone again, thumb hovering over the email notification before locking the screen instead.
No. Not tonight.
Outside, the city moved in streaks of blurred light. Storefronts glowed gold against wet pavement from earlier rain. Groups of friends laughed outside restaurants. Couples walked shoulder to shoulder beneath umbrellas.
Everyone seemed to exist somewhere beyond fluorescent lights and meeting rooms.
Y/N wondered vaguely when she had stopped existing there too.
By the time she stepped off the train, the night air had sharpened.
She pulled her coat tighter around herself and started walking.
Her apartment was only fifteen minutes away from the station. Usually she kept headphones in during the walk home, trying to create enough noise to drown out her own thoughts, but tonight she had forgotten them at work.
So there was nothing except the city.
Traffic humming in the distance. Snippets of conversation as strangers passed by. Music drifting faintly from somewhere ahead.
At first she barely noticed it.
Then another gust of wind carried the sound more clearly.
Live music.
Not polished radio music. Something rougher.
Y/N slowed slightly.
The closer she got, the louder it became. Electric guitar vibrating through the street. A deep bassline pulsing beneath it. Drums sharp enough to rattle somewhere in her chest.
People crowded outside a narrow brick building further down the block. Cigarette smoke curled into the cold air. Neon light flickered above the entrance in faded blue letters.
Moonlight Room.
She had passed this street dozens of times before. She had never noticed the bar. Or maybe she had simply stopped noticing things.
A burst of laughter came from the entrance as two girls stumbled out together, still singing loudly to whatever song had just ended inside.
Y/N kept walking. At least she tried to.
Three steps later she stopped.
The music started again. This time slower.
The guitar carried a kind of ache that made something inside her pull tight unexpectedly.
Before she could overthink it, she turned around.
The bouncer barely glanced at her before letting her in.
Warmth hit her immediately. Heavy warmth layered with alcohol, perfume, sweat, and the overwhelming closeness of too many people pressed together beneath dim lights.
The bar was packed.
Conversations blended together beneath the music. Glasses clinked somewhere to her left. Colored stage lights swept lazily across the room.
And then she saw them.
The band.
The drummer was impossible to miss first. Dark hair sticking to his forehead as he played with frightening intensity, like he might actually destroy the drum set before the night ended.
Beside him stood a tall blond bassist moving with reckless energy, grinning at the crowd as though he fed off their reactions.
At the center of it all stood the guitarist and singer.
His black shirt clung damply to his skin beneath the stage lights, sleeves rolled messily to his elbows. A guitar hung low against his frame while he leaned into the microphone, voice rough and warm all at once.
The crowd loved him.
No.
That wasn’t enough. They watched him like gravity itself bent toward him.
But strangely, it was not arrogance that caught her attention.
It was joy. Real joy.
He smiled mid-song when the bassist nearly missed a note. Laughed breathlessly when the drummer sped up too much during a transition. Looked entirely alive in a way Y/N had not felt in months.
Maybe years.
For a while she simply stood near the back wall watching.
Not because she understood anything about music technically.
Because she could not look away.
The songs were loud and messy and emotional. Some people sang along loudly enough to drown out parts of the chorus. Others danced without caring how ridiculous they looked.
No one here seemed self-conscious. No one seemed curated.
Y/N suddenly became painfully aware of how stiff she felt standing there in office clothes while everyone else existed so freely around her.
Then the guitarist looked up. Just for a second.
His eyes swept over the room casually before landing on her near the back.
Y/N expected him to look away immediately.
Instead he held her gaze for half a heartbeat longer than necessary.
Then the bassist slammed into him dramatically during a chorus and the moment disappeared.
Still, heat climbed unexpectedly into her face.
Ridiculous.
He probably looked at hundreds of people during performances.
The set lasted another forty minutes.
Y/N stayed for all of it.
By the end, the crowd erupted loudly enough to shake the floor beneath her shoes.
The drummer threw his sticks into the audience. Someone screamed. The blond bassist bowed exaggeratedly while the guitarist laughed into the microphone.
“Get home safe, yeah?”
His voice sounded lower while speaking. Softer.
The lights brightened slightly once they disappeared backstage.
People immediately crowded toward the bar.
Y/N considered leaving. She should leave.
It was late. She had work tomorrow. Her inbox was probably already getting worse by the minute.
Instead she found herself sitting on an empty stool near the far end of the counter.
A bartender approached almost instantly.
Pretty. Dangerously pretty.
Sharp eyes. Dark hair pushed back carelessly. Sleeves rolled to reveal tattooed forearms.
“Well,” he said while wiping down the counter in front of her. “You look deeply unhappy.”
Y/N blinked.
Then laughed despite herself.
The bartender grinned immediately like he had won something. “There it is,” he said. “You can smile.”
“I am smiling.”
“Barely.”
“That still counts.”
“Depends. You looked like you were about to file taxes when you walked in.”
A startled laugh escaped her before she could stop it.
The bartender pointed at her triumphantly.
“See? I’m hilarious.”
“You’re very confident.”
“I have to be. I’m pretty.”
Y/N stared at him. He stared back completely serious for exactly two seconds before bursting into laughter himself. Something about the ease of it made her shoulders loosen slightly.
“What can I get you?” he asked.
“Honestly? Something strong.”
“Oof. Rough day?”
“Rough year.”
He winced sympathetically before reaching for a bottle.
“Corporate job?”
“Is it that obvious?”
“You have the posture of someone who answers emails during lunch breaks.”
“That’s terrifying.”
“It should be.”
He slid a drink toward her before leaning casually against the counter.
“I’m Wooyoung, by the way.”
“Y/N.”
“Well, Y/N, congratulations on surviving adulthood long enough to make it here tonight.”
She took a sip. The drink burned pleasantly down her throat.
“Not sure I’d call it surviving.”
“See, that’s the problem right there.”
Before she could answer, another bartender appeared beside Wooyoung carrying a tray of empty glasses.
Unlike Wooyoung’s immediate energy, this one moved calmly through the chaos around him.
Elegant almost.
He glanced toward Y/N briefly.
“This the sad office worker you adopted?”
“Yep.” She said.
“I didn’t adopt her. She came voluntarily.”
The second bartender gave Y/N a small smile. “Seonghwa.”
“Y/N.”
“Don’t encourage him too much,” Seonghwa said while nodding toward Wooyoung. “His ego is already unbearable.”
“It’s not ego if it’s objectively true.”
“See what I mean?”
Y/N laughed quietly into her drink.
The conversation flowed easier than expected after that.
Mostly because Wooyoung refused to let silence exist longer than three seconds.
He asked about her job with dramatic horror.
“You studied HR willingly?”
“At the time it sounded meaningful.”
“And now?”
Y/N stared into her drink for a moment. “It feels like pretending all day.”
That quieted him unexpectedly.
“I thought I’d help people. Make work better for them somehow.” She gave a small humorless laugh. “Now I spend most of my time scheduling meetings everyone hates.”
Seonghwa hummed softly while drying glasses.
“That happens more than people admit.”
“What does?”
“Realizing adulthood isn’t what you imagined.”
Something about how simply he said it loosened another knot in her chest.
Wooyoung pointed at her suddenly.
“See, this is why you needed to come here tonight.”
“To a random bar?”
“To a bar with excellent bartenders.”
“Ah yes. Important distinction.”
“Very important.”
Two men approached the counter then.
One tall and broad-shouldered with blond hair.
The other quieter, sharp-eyed, carrying himself with an unreadable calm.
“Wooyoung,” the blond one announced dramatically, “San says you’re flirting with customers again.”
“I flirt professionally.”
“You flirt with everyone.”
“That’s called networking.”
The quieter one snorted softly beside him.
Wooyoung pointed toward them.
“Y/N, meet Yeosang and Jongho. Two of our resident alcoholics.”
“We’re literally friends with the bar owners,” Yeosang said flatly.
“Exactly.”
Jongho slid onto the stool beside her while Yeosang leaned against the counter.
“You work corporate?” Jongho asked.
“Unfortunately.”
“My condolences.”
“Thank you.”
Yeosang studied her for a second.
“You looked sad watching the performance.”
The bluntness caught her off guard. “I wasn’t sad.”
“You were.”
Wooyoung gasped dramatically.
“Oh my god. Emotional profiling.”
“I’m observant.”
“You’re nosy.”
“Same thing.”
Y/N smiled faintly. “I think…” She hesitated. “I think they just looked happy.”
For the first time since sitting down, the others became quieter.
“The band?” Seonghwa asked gently.
She nodded.
“They looked like they actually loved what they were doing.”
Wooyoung’s teasing softened slightly around the edges.
“Most people don’t.”
“I know.”
That was the problem.
She knew.
And lately she could feel herself becoming one of them.
Someone enduring life instead of living it.
The realization terrified her more every day.
Music started again faintly somewhere backstage. Probably another playlist between sets.
Yeosang tilted his head slightly while watching her.
“When’s the last time you did something you actually enjoyed?”
Y/N opened her mouth.
Nothing came out.
Because she genuinely did not know.
The silence answered for her.
Wooyoung looked personally offended on her behalf.
“Oh, absolutely not.”
“What?”
“We’re fixing this.”
“You can’t fix my life in one evening.”
“Watch me.”
Seonghwa rolled his eyes fondly.
“She’s known you twenty minutes.”
“Long enough to understand my genius.”
Jongho took a sip from the drink Wooyoung shoved toward him.
“You do seem like you need a break,” he admitted.
Y/N laughed quietly.
“I can’t exactly quit my job and disappear into the mountains.”
“Why not?” Wooyoung asked immediately.
“Because I need money?”
“Annoying system.”
“Very.”
The conversation continued longer than she intended.
Strangely, no one asked invasive questions. They teased her constantly, but lightly. Easily. Like they had known her longer than an hour.
At some point Wooyoung convinced her to try a ridiculous neon-colored cocktail.
At another point Yeosang deadpanned something so unexpectedly funny she nearly choked laughing.
And slowly, almost without realizing it, the exhaustion pressing against her ribs all evening became lighter.
Not gone. Just quieter.
Eventually the air inside the packed bar became overwhelming.
Heat clung to her skin beneath her coat. Voices blurred together too loudly.
“I need air,” she muttered while slipping off the stool.
Wooyoung pointed vaguely toward a hallway.
“Back exit’s easier than fighting through the crowd.”
Y/N nodded gratefully before making her way through the hallway.
The music faded slightly with every step.
She pushed open the metal door expecting another street.
The cold air hit Y/N almost hard enough to make her dizzy.
For a second she simply stood there with one hand still resting against the metal door behind her, breathing deeply as if she had surfaced from underwater.
The noise from inside became muffled once the door closed.
Distant enough to finally think again.
The patio stretched wider than she expected. A narrow rooftop space cluttered with old tables, half-burned candles trapped in glass holders, and strings of warm lights hanging overhead. The city spread beyond the railing in shimmering gold and white, wet streets reflecting headlights below.
Someone had left an old speaker in the corner playing music quietly enough to blend with the wind.
Y/N stepped closer to the railing.
Her feet already hurt from her heels.
The night had settled colder while she had been inside. Goosebumps rose along her arms beneath her coat, though the sharp air felt good against her flushed skin.
For the first time all evening, things felt quiet.
No forced smiling.
No conversations about productivity metrics.
No pretending she cared whether onboarding presentations matched company branding guidelines.
Just the city breathing around her.
She closed her eyes briefly.
Then the patio door opened again.
Y/N glanced back instinctively.
The guitarist from earlier stepped outside, letting the heavy door swing shut behind him.
Up close he looked taller somehow.
The stage lights had hidden details she noticed now. Slightly messy dark hair damp from sweat. Silver rings catching faintly beneath the patio lights. A black long sleeve pushed carelessly to his elbows.
He stopped when he noticed her already there.
For half a second both looked mildly surprised.
Then he pointed vaguely toward the far end of the patio.
“Oh. Sorry. Thought this place was empty.”
“You can still stay.”
“Generous of you.”
His voice sounded lower without the microphone.
Less sharp.
He moved toward the railing a few feet away from her, pulling a cigarette pack from his pocket before pausing.
“You mind?”
Y/N shook her head.
“Go ahead.”
He slipped a cigarette between his lips and searched his pockets briefly before muttering something under his breath.
“You lost your lighter?” she guessed.
His head lifted immediately.
“How did you know?”
“You checked the same pocket three times.”
“That’s embarrassing.”
A small laugh escaped her.
He looked at her for a second then smiled faintly too, like her laughing had surprised him slightly.
After another failed pocket search, he sighed dramatically.
“I think San stole it again.”
“Who’s San?”
“The drummer.”
“Oh.”
He finally gave up on the cigarette, tucking it back into the pack.
For a moment neither spoke.
The silence felt unexpectedly easy.
Not tense.
Not forced.
Just two strangers standing beneath string lights listening to distant traffic.
Then his eyes flicked briefly toward her outfit.
“You came from work?”
She looked down automatically at herself.
Right.
The blazer.
The slacks.
The painfully obvious office clothes.
“Is it that obvious?”
“A little.”
“That bad?”
“Nah.” He leaned against the railing casually. “You just look like you’ve had a really long day.”
Something about the way he said it lacked the fake sympathy she usually heard from coworkers.
It sounded observational instead.
Like he was simply stating a fact.
“I have,” she admitted.
“What do you do?”
“HR.”
His entire face shifted immediately. “Oh.”
Y/N laughed. “That reaction again.”
“No offense, but that sounds terrifying.”
“It kind of is.”
“I knew it.”
“You knew nothing.”
“I know enough.” He gestured vaguely toward her. “You have the exhausted eyes of someone who says things like ‘per my last email.’”
She stared at him.
Then burst out laughing hard enough that she had to lean against the railing slightly.
“That’s actually horrible.”
“I’m right though.”
“You are unfortunately very right.”
His grin widened slightly at that.
Interesting smile.
Not polished. Crooked at the edges.
Inside the bar, muffled cheering erupted briefly before fading again.
Y/N glanced toward the sound. “You guys are good, by the way.”
He blinked once like the compliment caught him off guard.
“Thanks.”
“The crowd seemed insane for you.”
“They were loud tonight.”
“That blond guy especially seemed to enjoy it.”
“Mingi enjoys everything.” He paused. “Usually too much.”
She smiled slightly. “He nearly tackled you during one song.”
“He does that a lot.”
“How do you still know what you’re playing?”
“I don’t half the time.”
That made her laugh again.
It startled her slightly how easy that kept happening tonight.
Usually conversations with strangers exhausted her.
This one didn’t.
Wind swept across the rooftop again, stronger this time.
She crossed her arms instinctively.
The guitarist noticed immediately.
“You cold?”
“I’m fine.”
“You said that way too fast.”
“I’m serious.”
“You’re literally shivering.”
“I’m trying to defend my dignity.”
“That battle’s already lost.”
Y/N narrowed her eyes slightly.
“You’re annoyingly observant.”
“I get bored easily. Makes me notice things.”
He shrugged off the oversized jacket hanging over the railing beside him before holding it toward her.
“Here.”
“Oh, no, it’s okay.”
“You’re freezing.”
“I’m not freezing.”
“You look one gust of wind away from hypothermia.”
“That feels dramatic.”
“So does dying.”
She laughed quietly before finally taking the jacket.
It was warm from his body heat.
Far too warm.
The sleeves nearly swallowed her hands completely once she slipped it on.
The guitarist stared for a second before snorting softly.
“What?”
“You disappeared.”
“I hate you a little.”
“That’s fair.”
She folded the sleeves back awkwardly while he leaned both elbows against the railing beside her.
“You always end up in random bars after work?”
“First time actually.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“What changed tonight?”
The question settled unexpectedly softly between them.
Y/N looked out over the city lights below.
Cars moved through intersections like streams of white and red.
Somewhere nearby people laughed loudly in the street.
She thought about answering honestly.
About how exhausted she had felt on the train. How empty the last few months had become. How she sometimes came home too tired to even turn on the television before falling asleep.
Instead she settled on: “I heard the music outside.”
“That’s it?”
“Pretty much.”
“You make surprisingly impulsive decisions for someone dressed like an accountant.”
“I’m not an accountant.”
“Close enough.”
“That’s deeply offensive.”
He grinned slightly.
“There’s the corporate judgment.”
“You started it.”
“True.”
Another brief silence settled.
Comfortable again.
Y/N found herself studying him more openly now that he was not hidden beneath stage lights.
He looked younger up close somehow.
Not younger in age exactly.
Less untouchable. On stage he had seemed larger than the room itself. Here he just looked like a guy standing outside after work trying to get fresh air.
Strange.
“You looked different out there,” she admitted before thinking too hard about it.
He turned slightly toward her. “Different how?”
“Louder.”
“That’s usually how concerts work.”
She rolled her eyes immediately. “You know what I mean.”
A laugh escaped him. “Okay, fair.”
She searched briefly for the right words.
“You looked…” She hesitated. “Like you weren’t thinking about yourself.”
For some reason that made him go quiet.
“That’s probably the point,” he admitted eventually.
“The point?”
“Playing music.”
He tapped absentmindedly against the railing with his rings.
“You stop thinking for a while.”
Y/N looked at him more carefully then.
Not because of the words themselves.
Because of how quickly he answered.
Like he had thought about that before.
“You don’t seem nervous on stage,” she said.
“Oh, I am.”
“You hide it well.”
“I nearly threw up before one performance in Osaka once.”
She blinked.
“Osaka?”
Realization flashed briefly across his face.
Too quick to fully catch.
“Uh,” he said smoothly, “we travel around a lot.”
Something about the way he answered sounded suspiciously rehearsed.
Not necessarily dishonest.
Just careful.
Y/N noticed it immediately.
And apparently he noticed her noticing because he looked away first.
Interesting.
Before she could think further about it, the patio door opened again and two girls stumbled outside laughing loudly.
The second they spotted him, both froze.
Actually froze.
“Oh my god,” one whispered harshly to the other.
The guitarist visibly tensed beside her.
The girls immediately started whispering frantically to each other while staring.
Y/N looked between them, confused.
Then one of the girls suddenly straightened.
“Can we maybe get a picture really quick?”
There it was again.
That careful look on his face.
Like someone slipping into a role automatically.
But he still smiled politely.
“Sure.”
The girls hurried over immediately.
Y/N stepped aside awkwardly while one of them shoved a phone into her hands.
“Could you take it?”
“Oh. Yeah.”
She took the phone while the girls crowded beside him excitedly.
The entire interaction lasted maybe thirty seconds.
Still, something changed in him during it.
His shoulders straightened slightly. His smile became more polished. More practiced.
The girls thanked him approximately fourteen times before disappearing back inside squealing.
Y/N handed his phone back slowly.
“You’re famous.”
He looked mildly alarmed.
“I wouldn’t go that far.”
“Those girls looked like they saw god.”
“That’s concerning for them honestly.”
She laughed softly.
“You really weren’t going to mention it?”
“It never comes up naturally.”
“You’re literally in a band.”
“True.”
“So what’s your name then?”
He hesitated exactly long enough for her to notice.
“Yunho.”
The name fit him strangely well.
“And your band?”
Another hesitation.
Then: “Ateez.”
Y/N searched her memory immediately.
Nothing.
Which apparently showed on her face because Yunho stared at her.
“You still don’t know us?”
“Should I feel bad?”
“A little, yeah.”
“I’m sorry to disappoint you.”
“That actually hurts my ego.”
“You’ll recover.”
“I don’t know. This may stay with me forever.”
She laughed again.
God.
She could not remember the last time she had laughed this much in a single evening.
Yunho studied her quietly for a moment afterward.
“You really had a bad day, huh?”
The softness in his voice caught her off guard slightly.
“Was it that obvious inside?”
“Kinda.”
“Great.”
“You looked like you were thinking about work even while listening to music.”
Unfortunately accurate.
Y/N rubbed lightly at her forehead.
“My boss emailed me thirty minutes ago.”
“At night?”
“At 8:47.”
“That should actually be illegal.”
“I agree.”
“You answered?”
“No.”
He looked genuinely pleased.
“Good.”
“I’ll regret it tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow-Y/N can deal with it.”
“That sounds irresponsible.”
“That sounds healthy.”
She shook her head slightly, smiling despite herself.
“You say that like you have your life together.”
“I absolutely don’t.”
The answer came so quickly that she blinked.
Yunho leaned back against the railing more fully.
“I forgot my lighter, lost my in-ear monitors before the show, almost tripped over a cable during the second song, and I haven’t eaten anything except fries since noon.”
“That’s concerning.”
“See? Disaster.”
“You seem functional though.”
“That’s because I’m tall. People assume tall people know what they’re doing.”
She laughed so suddenly she snorted slightly by accident.
Horror immediately flashed across her face.
Yunho stared one second.
Then burst into laughter too.
“Oh my god,” she muttered, covering her face instantly.
“That was adorable.”
“No, it absolutely was not.”
“It kinda was.”
“I’m leaving.”
“You can’t. I need to hear that laugh again.”
“I hate this conversation.”
“No you don’t.”
Unfortunately, she didn’t.
The realization hit strangely hard.
Because this felt easy.
Dangerously easy.
Like talking before thinking. Like forgetting herself for a while.
Most conversations lately felt calculated.
Professional.
Measured carefully before speaking.
This didn’t.
And maybe that was why it scared her slightly too.
The wind shifted again.
Somewhere below, a motorcycle roared through the street.
Yunho looked over the city skyline quietly for a second before speaking again.
“What would you rather be doing?”
Y/N frowned slightly.
“What?”
“If you weren’t working.”
“That’s a dangerous question.”
“Why?”
“Because then I have to think about it.”
“That’s usually how questions work.”
She smiled faintly despite herself.
Then looked back toward the city.
“I used to paint.”
The answer surprised even her slightly.
She had not said that out loud in months.
“Used to?”
“Back in university mostly.”
“What kind of stuff?”
“People. Streets. Random things.” She shrugged lightly. “Nothing special.”
“You stopped because of work?”
“I stopped because I got tired.”
The honesty slipped out before she could smooth it over.
Yunho didn’t immediately respond.
He just watched her carefully for a second.
“That happens fast, doesn’t it?”
Something about the quiet understanding in his voice made her chest tighten unexpectedly.
“Yes,” she admitted softly.
It did.
That was the terrifying part.
No dramatic breakdown.
No life-changing event.
Just waking up one day and realizing you had slowly stopped being yourself somewhere along the way.
The patio door suddenly slammed open again.
“Yunho!”
Wooyoung’s voice echoed dramatically across the rooftop.
He stepped outside holding two drinks before immediately stopping.
His eyes moved between them once.
Then his entire expression transformed into pure chaos.
“Oh my god,” he whispered.
Yunho closed his eyes briefly.
“Please don’t.”
“You made friends with the sad corporate girl!”
“She has a name.”
“That’s even worse.”
Wooyoung shoved one drink toward Yunho before pointing accusingly between them.
“How long have you been out here?”
“Like twenty minutes,” Y/N answered.
Wooyoung gasped dramatically.
“Twenty minutes? Alone? On a rooftop?” He looked at Yunho. “You’re down horrendous already.”
“I’m literally just standing here.”
“And emotionally yearning apparently.”
“There has been no yearning.”
“Debatable.”
Y/N laughed helplessly while Yunho looked moments away from throwing Wooyoung off the building.
Wooyoung grinned proudly.
“Oh, she laughs easier now.”
Yunho glanced toward her instinctively then looked away just slightly too quickly.
Wooyoung immediately noticed.
Unfortunately.
“Oh my god,” he whispered again, sounding delighted. “This is insane.”
Wooyoung looked between them once more with the expression of someone witnessing the greatest event of his lifetime.
Then he pointed two fingers at his own eyes dramatically before aiming them toward Yunho.
“I’m watching you.”
“I hate you,” Yunho muttered immediately.
“That’s not what your eyes say.”
“My eyes are begging you to leave.”
Wooyoung ignored him completely and looked at Y/N instead.
“If he starts acting mysterious and handsome, don’t fall for it. It’s all carefully manufactured.”
“I’m standing right here.”
“He practices facial expressions in reflective surfaces.”
“That happened once.”
“Liar.”
Y/N laughed helplessly while Wooyoung took another dramatic step backward toward the patio door.
Then he paused again, clearly unable to resist one final comment.
“Try not to flirt too much while I’m gone,” he said casually.
Yunho nearly choked on his drink.
“We are not flirting.”
“Sure.”
“We literally just met.”
“That’s usually how flirting starts.”
“Wooyoung.”
The warning in Yunho’s voice only seemed to delight him more.
The grin he sent them before disappearing back inside was downright evil.
The patio door shut behind him.
Silence returned for exactly two seconds.
Then Yunho groaned quietly and dropped his forehead briefly against his folded arms on the railing.
“I’m so sorry.”
Y/N laughed again.
“No, that was entertaining.”
“For you maybe.”
“He seems fun.”
“He’s unbearable.”
The fondness underneath the complaint was obvious enough that it made her smile.
Yunho straightened slightly, rubbing a hand over his face before glancing toward the closed patio door.
“I’ve known him forever,” he admitted. “Him and Seonghwa are probably my oldest friends.”
“The bartender?”
“Yeah.”
“He seemed normal.”
“That’s because he hides it better.”
Y/N smiled faintly.
“I liked them.”
“Dangerous sentence.”
“I’m serious.” She adjusted the sleeves of Yunho’s jacket slightly. “They were nice to me.”
His expression softened a little at that.
“You met Yeosang and Jongho too, right?”
“The blond one and the quiet one?”
“That description could apply to all my friends somehow, but yes.”
She laughed softly.
“They noticed I looked miserable immediately.”
“Most people don’t hide it well when they’re exhausted.”
“That’s comforting.”
“It’s true.”
Y/N leaned back lightly against the railing.
“They made me laugh though.” Her mouth curved slightly at the memory. “Wooyoung especially. I think he decided within five minutes that fixing my life was his personal responsibility.”
“That sounds exactly like him.”
“And Yeosang somehow psychoanalyzed me after one conversation.”
“Also sounds accurate.”
“And Jongho kept looking at me like he felt sorry for me.”
Yunho laughed quietly through his nose.
“Yeah, that’s definitely Jongho.”
For a moment she just watched him.
The way he smiled around his friends’ names felt different.
Softer.
People usually talked about friendships casually, but his voice carried genuine affection beneath the teasing. Like those connections mattered deeply to him.
Maybe that was why the atmosphere around them all felt so easy.
Nothing seemed forced.
Not even with strangers.
Yunho shifted slightly then, folding his arms along the railing again before resting his chin on top of them.
From where she stood, he had to tilt his head upward slightly to look at her.
The posture looked strangely boyish compared to how he carried himself on stage earlier.
Less performer.
More just… him.
The thought caught her off guard.
Especially because she barely knew him.
Wind stirred through the rooftop again, brushing loose strands of hair across her face. Somewhere below, music drifted faintly from another building down the street.
Yunho watched her quietly for a second.
Then a slow grin appeared.
“That look means trouble,” she said immediately.
“Probably.”
“I knew it.”
“What’s the dumbest thing you’ve ever done?”
Y/N blinked.
“That’s a dangerous question.”
“You hesitated too fast. You definitely have an answer.”
She looked out over the city thoughtfully.
“In university my roommate and I climbed onto the roof of our dorm at three in the morning because we wanted to watch a meteor shower.”
“That sounds normal.”
“We got locked out.”
His eyebrows lifted.
“Oh no.”
“We had to call campus security.”
“Okay, that’s pretty bad.”
“The security guard lectured us for twenty minutes while my roommate cried laughing.”
Yunho snorted quietly.
“Worth it?”
“…Honestly, yeah.”
“There it is.”
“What?”
“That face.”
She frowned slightly.
“What face?”
“The one you make when you talk about something you actually enjoyed.”
The words landed strangely softly between them.
Y/N looked away almost immediately.
Because he was right.
And because it unsettled her slightly that he noticed.
Yunho did not push the silence afterward.
He simply rested there against the railing watching the city lights below before speaking again.
“Would you be down for a stupid idea?”
She looked back at him cautiously.
“That depends how stupid we’re talking.”
“Pretty stupid.”
“Concerning.”
“I think you’ll survive.”
“That’s what people say before crimes happen.”
His grin widened slightly.
“Maybe.”
Y/N narrowed her eyes at him.
“You still haven’t told me the idea.”
“I’m building suspense.”
“You’re being annoying.”
“That too.”
She shook her head, smiling despite herself.
“Fine. What’s your stupid idea?”
Yunho straightened slightly from the railing then hesitated.
Actually hesitated.
Which surprised her enough that she paid closer attention immediately.
“We spend the night together.”
The words hit her like a record scratch.
Y/N blinked at him.
Once.
Twice.
“I’m sorry?”
Something in his face changed instantly.
Like he realized how that sounded approximately three seconds too late.
“No,” he said quickly. “Wait. Not like that.”
Heat flashed into his expression so suddenly she nearly laughed.
“You mean not in a one night stand way?”
“Yes.”
“Oh.”
“I worded that horribly.”
“You really did.”
He groaned quietly, rubbing a hand over his face again.
“I swear I’m usually better at speaking than this.”
“Debatable.”
“That’s fair.”
Y/N crossed her arms loosely against the railing, trying not to smile too much at his obvious embarrassment.
“I don’t do one night stands,” she clarified anyway.
Yunho nodded immediately.
“No, I got that. That’s not what I meant.”
“Good.”
“God, this is going terribly.”
She laughed softly.
“Then explain properly.”
He exhaled once before trying again.
“I meant…” He searched briefly for words. “Have you ever had one of those nights where you just do things because you can?”
“That sounds vague enough to become dangerous.”
“Exactly.”
She stared at him suspiciously.
“That explained nothing.”
Yunho leaned his elbows against the railing again.
“Okay. Better explanation.” He glanced toward her. “What’s something you’ve always wanted to do but never actually did?”
Y/N frowned slightly.
“That’s random.”
“Answer the question.”
“I don’t know.”
“You absolutely know.”
She looked away thoughtfully.
The problem was that too many answers surfaced immediately.
Places she wanted to visit.
Things she used to love.
Tiny impulses she constantly ignored because they were impractical or childish or irresponsible.
Eventually she shrugged slightly.
“I’ve always wanted to stay awake until sunrise somewhere high up in the city.”
Yunho smiled immediately like that was exactly the kind of answer he expected.
“See? That.”
“What about it?”
“We do all the things like that tonight.”
She blinked at him again.
“All the things?”
“The dumb stuff. The impulsive stuff. The things you always think about and never actually do because real life gets in the way.”
Y/N stared for a second.
Partly because the idea sounded ridiculous.
Partly because some traitorous part of her immediately loved it.
Yunho continued before she could answer.
“We could wander around the city. Find weird places. Eat terrible food at three in the morning.” His expression shifted slightly softer. “Just one night where neither of us has to think too hard.”
The city lights reflected faintly in his eyes while he spoke.
And suddenly the entire idea felt strangely cinematic.
Dangerously tempting.
Y/N laughed quietly under her breath.
“You say this like spontaneous nighttime adventures are normal.”
“They should be.”
“For who?”
“For people in their twenties who are already acting forty.”
That hit far too accurately.
She looked away immediately toward the skyline again.
Below them, headlights streaked through wet streets. Music drifted faintly upward from somewhere distant. The entire city felt alive in a way her office never did.
One night.
One stupid impulsive night.
A horrible idea.
A really horrible idea.
Her phone buzzed suddenly in her coat pocket.
Both of them glanced downward instinctively.
Y/N already knew what it was before checking.
Another work email.
Her stomach tightened immediately.
Yunho watched her expression carefully.
“You don’t have to answer that.”
“I know.”
But her thumb still hovered over the screen anyway.
Conditioning.
That was the terrifying thing.
She had become trained to respond instantly. Like her entire nervous system revolved around availability.
Yunho noticed.
“You’re thinking about opening it.”
“I probably should.”
“It’s midnight.”
“It could be important.”
He looked genuinely unconvinced.
“If it’s important at midnight, your company has issues.”
“That’s unfortunately true.”
“Then ignore it.”
Easy for him to say.
Y/N stared at the glowing notification a second longer before locking the phone again.
Immediately anxiety flickered beneath her ribs.
Tomorrow was going to suck.
She already knew it.
But underneath the anxiety was something else too.
Relief.
Tiny.
Sharp.
Unexpected.
Yunho noticed her expression change slightly.
“There you go.”
“What?”
“You looked happier for like two seconds.”
“That’s because I’m making irresponsible decisions.”
“Exactly.”
She shook her head softly.
“This is such a bad idea.”
“Probably.”
“I have work tomorrow.”
“So do I.”
“You’re literally a musician.”
“And?”
“You can’t compare that to office work.”
“Why not?”
“Because your life seems fun.”
Yunho laughed quietly at that.
“You think musicians don’t work?”
“No, I just mean…”
She hesitated.
He watched her patiently.
“You looked free earlier,” she admitted.
The same thought she had earlier inside the bar.
Only this time she said it more quietly.
More honestly.
Something flickered across his face briefly.
Not sadness exactly.
Something more complicated.
“Looks can lie,” he said eventually.
Y/N studied him carefully then.
There it was again.
That tiny shift in him whenever conversations edged too close to something real.
Not avoidance exactly.
More like instinctive caution.
Which made sense.
He was famous apparently. Or at least famous enough that strangers recognized him instantly.
People probably projected things onto him constantly.
Maybe she was doing the same.
Still.
He had looked happy on stage.
Truly happy.
And maybe she envied that more than she wanted to admit.
Yunho tilted his head slightly while watching her think.
“You’re overthinking.”
“I always overthink.”
“That sounds exhausting.”
“It is.”
“So stop.”
“That’s not how anxiety works.”
“Right.” He paused. “Then overthink this instead.”
“That sounds threatening.”
“It’s not.” A grin tugged at his mouth again. “Imagine tomorrow morning.”
She frowned slightly.
“What about it?”
“You wake up, go to work, answer emails, survive meetings, come home exhausted.” His gaze stayed on hers. “Or you disappear into the city tonight with a stranger and make memories you’ll probably still think about when you’re eighty.”
Her heart gave one hard, unexpected thud.
Mostly because he said it so casually.
Like the possibility genuinely existed.
Y/N looked away first.
“That was unfairly persuasive.”
“I know.”
“You do this often?”
“What? Convince exhausted women to commit minor acts of chaos?”
“Yes.”
“First time actually.”
She snorted softly.
“Sure.”
“I’m serious.”
And weirdly enough, he sounded serious.
The wind picked up again, colder this time.
Yunho’s jacket still hung heavily around her shoulders, warm from earlier. The sleeves covered half her hands.
She should leave.
Any reasonable person would leave.
Go home.
Sleep.
Wake up responsibly.
But the thought suddenly felt unbearably dull.
Not because her life itself was dull.
Because somewhere along the way she had stopped allowing herself anything unexpected.
Everything lately felt scheduled.
Measured.
Efficient.
Even joy had become something she postponed for later.
Later when work calmed down.
Later when she had more energy.
Later when life became easier.
Except later never arrived.
Yunho watched her quietly while she thought.
He did not pressure her.
Did not interrupt.
Just waited.
And somehow that made the decision harder.
Y/N exhaled slowly.
“This could end terribly.”
“Most good stories do.”
“That’s not comforting.”
“It’s true though.”
She laughed softly again, shaking her head.
“You really are just saying things tonight.”
“Am I winning?”
“Unfortunately maybe a little.”
A victorious grin spread across his face immediately.
“Oh, that’s huge for me.”
“Don’t get too excited.”
“Too late.”
She looked at him for another long moment.
At the messy hair still damp from performing.
At the silver rings catching beneath patio lights.
At the strange openness in his expression despite them being complete strangers.
Then finally:
“What exactly would this night involve?”
Yunho straightened instantly.
Like she had already agreed.
“That depends.”
“On what?”
“What you’ve always wanted to do.”
She groaned quietly.
“That’s dangerously broad.”
“Good.”
“No crimes.”
“Debatable.”
“Yunho.”
“Fine. No felonies.”
“That’s somehow not reassuring.”
He laughed brightly then.
The sound echoed warmly across the rooftop.
And before she could overthink herself back into responsibility, Y/N sighed dramatically and held out her hand.
“Fine.”
His eyebrows lifted slightly.
“Fine?”
“One stupid night.”
The grin that spread across his face then felt unfairly satisfying to witness.
“Seriously?”
“Don’t make me regret this already.”
“You absolutely will.”
“That’s comforting.”
Yunho looked down at her extended hand like he had not expected the gesture.
Then he slipped his own into hers.
Warm fingers.
Calloused slightly against her palm.
“Deal,” he said.
His grip tightened once lightly before letting go.
Something about the handshake felt strangely important.
Ridiculous.
But important anyway.
Like standing at the edge of something before jumping.
Yunho stepped back from the railing afterward, energy visibly shifting around him now.
i am getting so many sweet new york recommendations from you guys 🥹🤍 i’ve already tried a few of them and honestly loved them so much. hoping i can check out even more next week when i finally have two days off from work 🫶
also it’s still super weird every time i’m in a new country and realize everything is open on a sunday 😭 i keep forgetting that’s actually normal in a lot of countries
also little yunho fic update!! i’m almost done with it 👀 if everything goes according to plan i’ll hopefully upload it completely on friday or saturday. i’m really excited for this one and can’t wait for you all to read it 😭
hey 🤍 lately work’s been kinda crazy so i barely have any time to check in here or catch up on stuff, but i just wanted to say thank you for mentioning silent readers in one of your comments. i’m one of them, and just bc i’m not super active in comments or sharing everything doesn’t mean i don’t appreciate someone’s work.
also i think you’re actually the only person on here whose work i’ve ever commented on or messaged before, cuz i just felt this really strong urge to do it 😅
hey 🤍
i think people sometimes underestimate how much silent readers matter to writers. not everyone has the time or energy to constantly comment or be active online, especially when work and real life get exhausting, so i never want anyone to feel “less appreciated” because they’re quiet readers. knowing there are people out there reading, feeling something, coming back to stories… that already means so much to me 🫶
and the fact that you said i’m the only writer you’ve ever messaged on here??? 😭 that’s genuinely such a huge compliment to me, i don’t even know what to say. especially because i know how hard it can be to actually send a message sometimes. 🥺🤍
also please take care of yourself with work, okay? i hope things calm down for you soon and that you still get little moments to rest. and enjoy things you love in between all the chaos 🫂
HellOOOOOOOOOO!!!! I've been away from Tumblr for a bit BUT I read the Jongho arranged marriage story and AAAAAAAAGH I'M SO EXCITED!!!!! The single parent story with San sounds amazing too, I'll read it soon!!!! But I was just wondering... How do you manage to do all that? You work full time, ypu have a relationship and a bunch of pets like.. Do you sleep sometimes? 😅 Please teach us your ways to be more productive
AND have a nice day/night 💕
HELLOOOOO 😭💞
this message made me smile so much omg. i’m so happy you liked the jongho arranged marriage fic AAAAAA i’ve been so obsessed with writing it 😭 and the fact that you’re excited for the san single parent story too makes me so soft ☹️💕
but also… the productivity question is actually so funny because i promise you my life is just me running around with zero thoughts in my head most of the time 😭 i genuinely don’t think i’m productive in an organized way at all. i just become insanely obsessed with something and then suddenly it’s 2am and i’ve written 4k words instead of sleeping.
i think the only reason i manage everything is because writing doesn’t really feel like a chore to me. even after work or stressful days it’s kind of the thing that helps me recharge emotionally? like my brain never really stops making scenes and dialogue unfortunately 😭
BUT i also think people online sometimes only see the productive moments. they don’t see me ignoring dishes for 3 hours because jongho said something in my head and i needed to write it down immediately 💀
and yes i do sleep!!! sometimes!!!! not always at healthy hours but we survive 😔✊💕
thank you so much for this sweet message. i hope YOU have a really lovely day/night too and please take care of yourself 💞
i wanted to write to you although not having read your recent stories. i can only imagine how beautiful they must be to experience for all the people reading.
i just wanted to reach out and ask you for advice on how to get back into reading regularly because I've been so disconnected from reading altogether since the last 2-3 months and it's not even related to any disturbance in my life that's making me sad or anything, if anything my life's been very happening and fun lately but im getting distracted a lot, whether it's in studies or reading for leisure...
love you always🩷🩷
hiii 🥺🩷
first of all this message is genuinely so sweet. even though you haven’t read my recent stories yet, the fact that you still thought of me and wanted to reach out means a lot to me ☹️💕
and honestly? i think what you’re experiencing is way more normal than people realize. sometimes life just becomes very loud and fast and our attention gets pulled into a hundred little directions at once. i don’t think it means you stopped loving reading at all 🩷
i think the biggest thing is to stop forcing yourself to “perform” reading the way you used to. don’t pressure yourself into finishing books quickly or reading for hours. start really tiny again. like reading one chapter before sleeping, rereading an old comfort story, or even just reading while listening to music with your phone away for a little while.
what helped me personally during phases like that was reconnecting reading with comfort instead of productivity. because once our brains start seeing hobbies as another task on a checklist, it becomes harder to focus on them 😭
love you always too and i hope you slowly find your way back to stories again at your own pace 💕
I don't have any ideas for requests right now. I dropped by to say something real quick.
When I came across your blog, I was eating all of your fics up! Idk which one was the one that cemented my decision to follow you on here, but ik for a fact that your fics are what keep me going. I reread my favorite fics and always anticipate the newer ones.
I haven't had the chance to properly say anything simply because I either forget or I am busy. But I just wanna say that your fics are hella top tier all in all! Keep up the fantastic work and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
In a world full of bullshit that AI spits out, there is authencity created by humans. Your fics are authentic and beautifully written 💞
oh this is so sweet ☹️💞
i honestly never really know what to say to messages like this because they make me so emotional. knowing that my stories became something you look forward to or reread sometimes feels a little unreal to me 🥺
and what you said about authenticity genuinely touched me a lot. i think i always worry a little while posting, wondering if people still connect with long emotional writing and stories. so hearing this from you means more than i can properly explain.
the fact that you took time out of your day just to send me something this kind is so precious to me. thank you for reading my little stories and loving them the way you do 😭💞 i’m really really grateful you found my blog and stayed here with me.
I’m back to send you love and praise for how great of a writer you are.
I just finished your Jongho series ‘Silent Vows’, and what can I say besides I’ll forever cherish this fic now as one of my favorites. I am biased because Jongho is my ULT, but the way you wrote him was just perfect!
I enjoyed how you portrayed his walls falling down, as soon as having someone so unique gives him pushback. The cheess scenes too!! They felt as if they were not only playing the game but, reflected their relationship really well and the progress they had made!!!
I also REALLY REALLY loved the epilogue it left me so warm and fuzzy that it had me smiling all day. It was just adorable seeing how everything worked out in the end. The garden gift at the end was just fantastic. 💕💕💕
Now I’m excited what you’re cooking up for the Yunho rockstar fic!!!
STOPPPP this message made me so happy 😭💕
first of all thank you so much for reading Silent Vows and loving it this much. hearing someone talk about the little details i put so much thought into genuinely means everything to me ☹️🫶
and the fact that you mentioned the chess scenes specifically!!! because those scenes were actually so important to me while writing their relationship 😭 i really wanted the games to mirror the way they slowly learned each other without fully realizing it at first. like every match becoming softer, more familiar, more intimate in a way neither of them were ready to admit yet 🥺
also writing jongho’s walls coming down was probably my favorite part of the entire fic. i loved the idea of someone so feared and emotionally controlled completely losing his balance because one girl challenged him, teased him, cared for him and saw through him anyway 😭
AND THE EPILOGUE ☹️💕 all of it made me ridiculously happy to write 😭
and now i’m sitting here kicking my feet over the fact that people are excited for the yunho rockstar fic too HELP. i fear that man is about to ruin all of us emotionally 🧎♀️💕
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