۶ৎ ׂ 𓈒 KILLING ME SOFTLY — ZHAO YUFAN
۶ৎ ׂ 𓈒 Synopsis- The members start noticing little things about James whenever youre around, how he listens more carefully, how he always ends up next to you, how his usual loud, overly weird personality suddenly softens. To everyone else, its obvious he treats you differently. You just think hes being nice.
۶ৎ ׂ 𓈒 Pairings- OT5 Cortis x 6th member !fem reader.
A/N I actually wrote this because of a video i saw of how soft spoken James is when he speaks thai and its the cutest. Also im so sorry this is so ass i was falling asleep
“I’m telling you, kebab is the right choice here,” Martin said from where he was slouched back in his chair, one leg tucked underneath him as he lazily spun side to side. The studio lights were dimmer than usual now that it was close to midnight, empty energy drink cans and wrappers scattered across the desk beside the laptop.
The whole reason they were even still there this late was because Martin had somehow managed to delete an entire section of beats earlier, then close the project without saving any of it.
Which nobody had let him forget.
“You don’t get a say anymore,” Juhoon muttered from the floor, leaning against the couch with his phone balanced against his knee. “You literally caused this.”
Martin pointed at him immediately. “Okay, but mistakes happen.”
“To stupid people,” Keonho added without even looking up, scrolling through food apps on his phone. “And kebab isn’t even that good.”
Martin looked genuinely offended. “That’s actually insane to say out loud bro.”
“Sushi anyone?” Y/N suggested, sitting cross-legged on the couch as she retouched her lip combo.
Four heads turned toward her at once.
Martin stared for a second before pressing his hands together in front of his mouth dramatically. “Y/N… I’m gonna say this as nicely as possible, okay?” he sighed. “You had sushi earlier today. And yesterday. And literally the day before that.”
Y/N only shrugged and shook her head slightly. “I know what I like.”
“Yeah, and I know what I like,” Martin shot back instantly. “Kebab.”
“For the last time,” Seonghyun groaned from the desk chair, tipping his head back toward the ceiling in defeat, “we are not getting kebab.”
The argument over food dragged on way longer than it needed to. At some point it stopped being about dinner entirely and turned into everyone yelling over Martin and his weird obsession with kebab.
“I’m just saying, you’d all thank me after one bite.”
“Martin, I swear to God,” Y/N cut him off, sitting up straighter on the couch. “If you mention kebab one more time—”
“What? You gonna fight me over food now?”
Juhoon snorted from the floor while Keonho quietly moved farther away from the two of them before things got worse.
Before Martin could start again, the sound of footsteps echoed faintly through the hallway outside the studio. Familiar ones.
Almost instantly, Martin leaned back in his chair with a dramatic sigh. “Nevermind,” he muttered. “James is here. I already lost.”
Y/N frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
A second later the studio door swung open and James walked in, a plastic convenience store bag hanging from one hand, a few cans clinking together as he kicked the door shut behind him. His hoodie was slightly damp from the cold outside, hair messy from the wind, though he still somehow looked way too energetic for someone coming back from a late night store run.
The first person he looked at was you.
“Hi, Y/N,” he said automatically, voice softer than it had been in any of his voice notes earlier that day.
You barely even had time to respond before the room erupted.
“Hi Y/N,” Martin repeated in an exaggerated sweet voice.
“Hi Y/N,” Juhoon copied right after him, dramatically batting his eyelashes.
James stopped mid-step. “Oh my God.”
“What about us, bro?” Seonghyun asked, hand pressed against his chest like he was genuinely hurt. “No hello for us?”
James rolled his eyes, dropping the bag onto the desk with a loud crinkle. “Hello, guys.”
Meanwhile, Y/N just looked between them in confusion, completely missing the knowing looks they were all giving each other.
He hadn’t even been gone that long, which was why the greeting threw you off a little.
Still, you brushed it off almost immediately.
You were the only girl in the group. Maybe he was just naturally gentler with you because of that.
Before the members could continue making fun of him, you spoke first.
“James, help us sort this,” you said, leaning back against the couch cushions. “We’re trying to decide what food to order.”
James pulled one of the energy drinks from the plastic bag as he listened.
“I said sushi,” you continued.
“And she’s WRONG,” Martin cut in instantly from across the room. “Because kebab is clearly the better option.”
You fake gagged at the word, narrowing your eyes at him. “Nobody wants your oily pigeon meat wraps.”
Martin sat up straight in offence. “Okay first of all, disrespectful. Second of all, you literally eat sushi every single day bruh.”
While the two of you argued, James stayed unusually quiet, eyes flicking between you and Martin with the smallest smile tugging at the corner of his mouth like he was trying not to laugh.
You looked back at him again. “See? James gets it. Suggestions?”
For a second he just looked at you before answering, like he hadn’t fully processed the question.
Then he nodded once. “Sushi sounds good.”
The room went silent for a beat.
Not because of the answer itself, but because James usually argued over food longer than anyone.
This time, though, he barely even thought about it.
You looked around the room, waiting for someone to object, but surprisingly nobody said anything.
“Oh my God,” he groaned dramatically, dropping his head back against the chair. “You people are impossible.”
Keonho snorted quietly while Juhoon looked away, clearly trying not to laugh at something.
“Sushi it is then,” you said happily, standing up to grab your phone from the table.
As you searched through delivery apps, the others exchanged those weird knowing looks again.
James noticed too, rolling his eyes slightly in that goofy way as he cracked open his drink.
You, meanwhile, remained completely oblivious.
You found a decent sushi place after a bit of scrolling, holding your phone out so everyone could lean in and pick what they wanted.
The studio turned into a small chaos again immediately.
“Okay, I want salmon,” Juhoon said, tapping the screen before you even fully handed it over.
“Of course you do,” Keonho muttered, already scrolling down the menu like he was inspecting every ingredient.
Martin, somehow still not over his kebab agenda, leaned in with a loud sigh. “This is not a real meal, by the way.”
“It is,” you said, taking your phone back when everyone had finally decided. “It just doesn’t involve grease dripping onto your new rick owens.”
Martin gasped. “That was one time, youre dragging it.”
“Two times,” Seonghyun corrected without looking up.
You ignored them, already typing in the delivery address while perched on the edge of the couch. The total came out higher than expected, but you didn’t really react much, just confirming it and setting the phone down on the desk like it was nothing.
The others noticed, but didn’t comment.
Instead, the conversation slowly shifted back to Martin’s ruined beat.
Somehow, the whole group ended up standing around the laptop again.
Martin was in the chair, hands hovering over the keyboard like he was scared of it now. “Okay, okay, I think I remember where I was—”
“No you don’t,” Keonho said immediately.
“You literally deleted it.”
You stood slightly behind him, arms folded. “A moment that cost us like four hours of our lives.”
Martin pointed at the screen defensively. “We can rebuild it faster. Trust me.”
That was when James moved closer behind you.
Not in a way that was loud or obvious, just quietly drifting into your space like it was natural. He didn’t say anything at first, just stood slightly to your right, close enough that you could feel his presence there while he looked over Martin’s shoulder at the laptop too.
His hoodie sleeve brushed lightly against your arm when he adjusted his stance, but he didn’t move away.
“Try that one,” Juhoon said, pointing at the keyboard.
Martin squinted. “That one?”
You sighed, tilting your head back slightly. “Are you genuinely trying to make us stay here all night?”
Before anyone else could answer, you reached out and lightly smacked the back of Martin’s head.
It wasn’t hard, more playful than anything.
Martin immediately grabbed his head with one hand, turning around. “Bro?? Violence??”
“Which button then,” he added anyway, still rubbing the spot you hit.
Juhoon leaned forward. “That one. No, not that one—LEFT.”
“See?” Martin said instantly, pointing like he’d just saved the world.
“You got stupidity,” Seonghyun muttered.
Martin ignored them and leaned back to give Juhoon a quick dap. “What would I do without you, twin.”
“Fail,” Juhoon said simply, dapping him up anyway.
While they went back and forth again, James stayed where he was behind you.
He wasn’t really talking much, which was unusual for him. Just watching the screen with you, occasionally leaning in slightly when Martin did something questionable, like he was quietly following along. At one point, his shoulder nearly touched yours again when he shifted, and he paused there for a second longer than necessary before settling back.
Or you didn’t think much of it.
Then, after a few more minutes of chaotic guessing and frustrated clicking, your phone buzzed on the desk.
“Food’s here,” you said, straightening up slightly.
The room collectively reacted at once.
“Finally,” Martin groaned.
“I’m starving,” Keonho added, already moving.
James finally stepped back properly at that, hands slipping into his hoodie pocket as he looked toward the door with the rest of them.
“Go get it?” Seonghyun asked.
You grabbed your phone. “I’ll go.”
And as everyone started moving, James followed behind you without a word, like it was the most normal thing in the world.
James’s hand hovered behind your back as you left the studio, not quite touching you, but close enough that it felt automatic, like he didn’t even realise he was doing it.
The others did, of course they did.
You caught Martin and Keonho exchanging looks, Juhoon already smirking into his hand, but you ignored it like usual.
The door shut behind you and the studio noise faded into muffled chaos down the hall. A second later, it was loud again on the other side, James knew what they were talking about.
James let out a small laugh under his breath.
“They’re so weird,” you said, starting down the stairs.
“Yeah,” he nodded, falling into step beside you. “But you’re weirder.”
You looked up at him with a small smile and your head tilted slightly. “You're one to talk.”
He cocked his head to the side slightly and breathed through his bottom teeth, almost to disagree in a gentler way.
You both walked down in that slow, late-night way, tired feet, echoing steps, the kind of silence that wasn’t really silent because you were both still half talking.
“We could literally be asleep right now,” you muttered, hand sliding along the railing. “I hate him.”
He hummed. “Hate is a strong word.”
That made you glance at him. “Who's side are you on bruh?”
He just shrugged, like he didn’t care which side he was on as long as it wasn’t chaotic.
A few steps later, he spoke again, but his voice changed slightly, like it always did without him noticing.
“วันนี้มันยาวมากเลย” he said.
(“Today was really long.”)
You nodded without thinking. “Yeah. It felt like it would never end.”
He glanced at you, then back to the stairs.
“เหนื่อยไหม?” he asked softly.
“Yeah,” you said. “A bit.”
It wasn’t a big conversation. It didn’t need to be.
By the time you reached the last flight, the building was almost empty. Just footsteps and the faint buzz of lights above.
Then James spoke again, even quieter this time, more instinct than intention.
You immediately shook your head. “No, Ive got it.”
He didn’t argue straight away. Just looked at you for a second, then stepped slightly closer as you reached the doors.
“ไม่เป็นไร” he said gently.
“I said I’ve got it,” you insisted, pulling the door open.
The delivery driver was already waiting.
While you were still mid-protest, James had already stepped forward, calm as ever, and paid without making it a thing. No hesitation, no performance, just done.
You stared at him. “You don’t listen.”
He took the bag, glanced at you. “I do.”
You and James made your way back upstairs slowly, the plastic bag swinging lightly from your hand as the two of you continued talking quietly in Thai between steps.
“ครั้งหน้าเราไม่ช่วยมาร์ตินแล้วนะ”
(“Next time we’re not helping Martin.”)
James laughed softly behind you. “พูดแบบนี้ทุกครั้ง”
(“You say that every time.”)
“เพราะทุกครั้งก็จบเหมือนเดิมไง”
(“Because every time ends the same way.”)
He shook his head a little, still smiling to himself as you reached the studio floor.
By the time you got to the door, you paused for a second before opening it.
Inside, the members were still crowded around the laptop.
“Bro, I’m telling you,” Sean was saying, leaning back in his chair, “he’s clearly whipped as fuck.”
The room immediately went quiet the second you and James walked in.
Sean straightened up so fast it looked painful. “Nobody.”
You looked around the room suspiciously before glancing back at James beside you to see if he knew what they were talking about, but he barely reacted at all. He just slipped his hands into his hoodie pockets like he genuinely didn’t care.
You narrowed your eyes slightly.
Clearing your throat loudly, you lifted the food bag slightly. “You guys gonna come get your food or what?”
“Finally,” Martin groaned dramatically, practically pushing himself off the couch.
Keonho pointed lazily from where he sat. “Can you pass me mine?”
You stared at him in disbelief. “Bruh. Come get it yourself, lazy ass.”
“That sounds like a personal problem.”
“You’re literally closer than me.”
“I’m emotionally exhausted.”
“You clicked two buttons.”
You rolled your eyes, dropping the bag onto the empty table beside the couch before digging through it. “You people are like toddlers.”
James moved beside you quietly, helping take containers out of the bag without being asked.
You handed one to him automatically. “This is yours.”
The movement was so natural neither of you really thought about it.
Unfortunately, everyone else did.
Martin looked between the two of you with narrowed eyes before throwing his arms up dramatically. “Yo, why does James get special treatment?”
You didn’t even look at him. “Because he paid.”
“Sure,” Juhoon snorted from behind the laptop.
“No, seriously,” you said, finally looking up. “He literally wouldn’t let me pay.”
“That is NOT helping the allegations,” Sean muttered into his drink.
You frowned. “What allegations?”
The room got quieter again for about half a second.
“Oh my God,” he said, pointing between you and James. “They actually have no clue.”
“No clue about what?” you asked slowly.
“That you both have a crush on each other,” he replied immediately, looking way too pleased with himself.
You stared at him for a second before making a face. “Boy, we are not in elementary school.”
Martin gasped dramatically. “Eh! She didn’t deny it!”
You pointed at him with your chopsticks. “Shut up. You’re literally too old to be acting like this.”
“Notice how you didn’t deny James either,” Sean added from the couch.
“Because there’s nothing to deny,” you shot back.
“Ohhhh,” Keonho dragged out, grinning now too. “Defensive.”
You looked genuinely offended. “How is that defensive?!”
While the room started talking over itself again, you glanced toward James for backup only to pause slightly.
He still hadn’t said anything.
He was just sitting there quietly beside you, looking down at his food with the smallest smile tugging at the corner of his mouth like he found the whole thing entertaining.
“James,” you said immediately. “Tell them they’re being weird.”
That only made the others louder.
“Yeah, James,” Martin smirked. “Tell us.”
James looked up slowly, still calm compared to everyone else.
“I think you guys talk too much,” he said casually before taking another bite of food.
You stared at him suspiciously now. “You’re not helping either.”
James finally looked at you properly then, still with that annoyingly calm expression.
He laughed quietly under his breath at that.
For a second, just a second , you wondered if maybe Juhoon’s comment actually had some truth to it.
But the thought passed as quickly as it came.
Instead, you grabbed your drink and looked back toward the laptop. “Anyway,” you said, changing the subject before they could start again, “did you guys make any progress or are we still doomed?”
“It’s still pretty bad,” Martin said through a mouthful of food, chopsticks pointing vaguely toward the laptop screen. “We’re probably gonna be here another hour. Maybe more.”
You stared at him from across the room in disbelief. “Actually sick in the head.”
“It literally is your fault, by the way.”
Martin grinned instead of defending himself this time, clearly still entertained by the whole teasing situation from earlier. “You’re being very aggressive tonight.”
The room slowly settled after that.
The loud arguing died down into quieter conversation, the kind that naturally happened once everyone got more tired. Empty takeout containers started piling up on the side table, energy drinks replaced with bottles of water nobody was really drinking, and the studio lights suddenly felt warmer than before.
Eventually everyone drifted back toward helping with the beat again.
“You moved the wrong thing again,” Keonho sighed from behind Martin’s chair.
“I literally didn’t touch anything.”
Juhoon leaned over the keyboard. “Wait— no, undo that.”
“Can you all stop yelling at me at once?”
Seonghyun snorted from the floor. “No.”
From the couch, you watched them for a while, half listening as their voices blurred together into background noise. At some point your head tipped back against the cushions, eyes shutting for a second longer than intended.
The warmth of the room mixed with the constant low talking made it impossible not to get sleepy.
A few minutes later, the couch dipped beside you slightly.
You already knew who it was before opening your eyes.
James sat down quietly next to you, one arm resting across the back of the couch as he glanced over.
“เหนื่อยเหรอ?” he asked softly.
Whenever he spoke Thai, everything about him seemed to slow down. Softer volume, softer tone, almost instinctive, like he couldn’t help it. You remembered him telling you once his mom only really spoke to him in Thai when he was little, always quietly, always gently.
You cracked one eye open and nodded slightly. “Mhm.”
Across the room, Martin was still arguing with Juhoon over something.
James glanced toward them briefly before looking back at you.
“ไปนอนซะ ฉันอยู่นี่แล้ว,” he murmured.
(“Go to sleep. I’m here.”)
You huffed a tired laugh through your nose. “You say that like we’re five.”
He smiled slightly. “แล้วจะนอนไหมล่ะ?”
(“So are you gonna sleep or not?”)
A comfortable silence settled for a second.
Then you tilted your head toward him slightly. “Can you keep talking?”
James looked at you. “About what?”
“I dunno.” Your voice was quieter now too from how tired you were. “Just… speak Thai or something.”
The corner of his mouth twitched upward faintly.
“You just want free bedtime stories.”
You shrugged lazily against the couch. “Maybe.”
He shook his head a little but agreed anyway.
While the others continued working in the background, James started speaking quietly beside you, random things at first, switching naturally between Thai and Korean sometimes without even realising.
He talked about how his mom used to force him to help cook when he was younger.
How Martin somehow survived this long despite clearly lacking survival instincts.
How the vending machine downstairs never stocked the good drinks anymore.
None of it was important.
Low and warm beside you, soft enough that it blended into the studio hum without overpowering it.
At some point, you stopped replying altogether.
Your eyes got heavier. Your body sank further into the couch cushions.
James noticed before anyone else did.
“หลับแล้วเหรอ?” he whispered after a while.
A few seconds later, your head slowly tipped sideways until it landed against his shoulder.
The movement made him pause mid-sentence.
Across the room, Juhoon looked up first.
The entire group seemed to notice at once.
“OHHH my God,” Martin mouthed dramatically.
James immediately shot him a look.
Martin raised both hands innocently, trying not to laugh.
Meanwhile you shifted slightly in your sleep, face pressing more comfortably against James’s shoulder without even noticing.
James glanced down at you for a second.
Then, after the briefest hesitation, he carefully adjusted himself against the couch and wrapped an arm loosely around you so you wouldn’t slip sideways.
Sean looked genuinely stunned. “Nah.”
Juhoon covered his face with both hands. “He’s gone.”
James didn’t even look at them this time.
“Shut up,” he muttered quietly, though there was no real annoyance behind it.
And despite all the teasing, despite the others staring at him like they’d just proven a lifelong theory correct, he never moved you off his shoulder once.
A/N idec if this does bad i had sm fun writing this after my VERY long hiatus lmao
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