a/n: this was originally a collab but i completed the ending bc the writer i collabed with had closed her acc so yeah, this had me thinking for a lil bit. ALSO THE GIF 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 im getting bias wrecked big time, i cannot imagine being yunhonotes 😭 (21 Aug 2021)
a/n: as i write this, it is 28th sept 2023 😭 had this in my drafts for a while, did not proofread at all so will just post this up for now x
It was finally the most awaited week of the whole year, Christmas week. It was a family tradition for everyone to start preparing for Christmas when December came by but this year round, you were away from your family and you were spending it with Yunho and his friends. Considering that everyone was busy with their own schedules and you finally got a break till New Years, you began your preparation a little later than usual.
But as usual, Christmas went by in a blink of an eye. Right after you had taken down the Christmas tree all by yourself, you let out a loud sigh, feeling a little sad. It certainly felt a little different since it was something you’d do together with your family members but it didn’t feel as lonely since you were with your loving boyfriend.
You grabbed your phone off the couch and took a picture of the now dismantled tree, sending it to Yunho who was at practice with the boys. Not even a second passed, he had seen your message and immediately called you.
“Oh, hello?”
“Y/N, how can you take down the tree without me helping you out? It must have been hard, especially with the upper part of the tree.” He scolded you, making you chuckle.
“Yunho, it’s fine. I was gonna do it by today anyway and I was free after you left so I just got it done. You would be home later anyway. I used a chair in case you were wondering.” You replied back, earning a sigh from him. You didn’t need to be next to him to see his pout and know that he was upset for not helping you out.
You waited for a bit as you sat down, grabbing your gifts you got for Yunho along with the gift wrapper. You set your call on speaker mode and put your phone down. You could only hear some of the boys whispering to each other but it wasn’t too audible since the background music was blocking their voices out.
“Okay, okay. I’m sorry I didn’t wait till you came home but tomorrow’s New Years eve! You know I don’t like keeping the tree up for longer than 3 days. Anyway, I’m going to the supermarket soon to get some stuff for our dinner tomorrow.” You told him, still not getting a response back. “Should I get champagne too?”
You and Yunho spent a homely Christmas together as everyone was with their family except for the two of you. It was not much but work has definitely made your lives much more busier, causing you two to not get presents for each other in time that you were doing it pretty late. Not that it mattered to you at this age but you felt bad for not carrying out a simple task.
You started wrapping your presents, occasionally glancing at your phone to see if he was about to end the call since he wasn’t answering you back. There was some light bickering among the boys but you couldn’t hear what they were talking about. “Jeong Yunho, If you wanted to help me out so badly, do me a favour and ask the boys what they would want for gifts or I’m wrapping vegetables for all 8 of you.”
Your threat seemed to slightly work as you heard Mingi chime at the other side of the call, “Ya, I don’t want vegetables this year. You better ask her for her size or I’m asking her myself!”
Size? Your size for what? You were about to voice out but Yunho cut you to it. “Well, that sounds fine. Go ahead, baby.”
“So you want me to get vegetables for them?” You questioned, earning a yell from Jongho.
“Y/N! Don’t listen to hyung! Get us what you feel like getting us except vegetables… what? Oh, no mint chocolate for Hongjoong hyung and Seonghwa hyung. We love you!” He yelled, making you laugh. These boys were enough to make you feel like you were at home.
“Not sure why I’m on speaker mode but okay.” You answered back, hearing someone getting a hard smack. You were about to end the call but stopped when Yunho called out. “Baby, wait! One more thing.”
“Yeah?”
“Your hand is almost the same as San’s right?” The question almost came out as a whisper, Yunho knowing you would get agitated at that question since your hands were the size of a child compared to his delicate giant ones.
“You know the answer already. Why are you even asking this? Are you getting me a bracelet from Pandora or what?” You asked him, sealing the gift wrapper with a ribbon on top for Yunho’s gift, which was a Rolex watch and matching rings that you’ve been eyeing for a while now.
A silence was heard initially, then a voice followed along. “Yeah, would rose gold do?”
Your cheeks flushed, “Ah, um, yeah. See you later then. Tell the boys to be early tomorrow. Oh, I’ll get 3 bottles of champagne then, okay?”
“Okay, sure thing. Yes, 3 is fine. I love you.” Yunho replied, sending a kiss through the call.
“Love you too.” You responded and ended the call.
One gift wrapped and there was more to go. You sighed, pushing them away for awhile and opened your laptop to surf the internet, making a list on what to buy for the boys, wanting it to be meaningful as well. Even if Christmas wasn’t as joyful as you wanted it to be, New Years was going to be the most memorable holiday you had in a while and you couldn’t wait for it to arrive.
Seonghwa accidentally comparing you to his abusive ex for being too clingy
Genre:angst to fluff, comfort, gn!reader
Request: cold bf seongwa x clingy gf reader! […] one day he got irritated so he lashed out comparing his ex to her and the reader cries and distances herself […] angst to fluff pls thank you <3 (you can find the whole prompt here)
Word count: 6 840 (holy shit, how??)
Warnings:verbal fights, mentions of emotionally manipulative exes, crying (both sides)
A/N: Okay, I admit, I had to alter the prompt a little bit. I don’t really see Seonghwa as someone who would lash out at his partner, so I had to give him some stronger reason for it which then turned it into mainly you consoling him, lol. I also made the reader and Seonghwa’s ex gender-neutral to be more inclusive. Hope that’s alright and that you enjoy! <3
A/N 2: Also, I wrote a similar two-part reaction for Ateez before about the two of you arguing, so if you want to check that out as well, you can find it here.
genres: fluff, absolute fluff, a little crack, a little angst, some suggestive jokes thrown around, just wholesomeness and yuyu
synopsis: you and yunho have been best friends since forever and neighbours for a while, and you find it harder with each passing day to hide your feelings for him.
manager-nim: @eightmakesonebraincell (this took way too long to finish considering the deep yunho brainrot we've been in)
special thanks to @hwaightme your guy.exe triggered this hehe
being best friends with jeong yunho was not as simple as it sounded
especially when he was your neighbour
like, right next door. the very next apartment
so you couldn’t avoid him even if you wanted to
honestly, you brought this upon yourself, if you think about it
ever since you were kids, you had been inseparable
from going to the same school and bonding over a similar sense of humour
from pranking the rest of your friends together to making fun of each other
to knowing each other’s deepest secrets
except for the one that really mattered- that you had the biggest, fattest crush on your best friend
honestly, you do not recall when exactly it happened
if you think back, you can’t pinpoint it to one moment
it is a number of moments, the years you spent together, the memories you shared that you are now a grown up and still hopelessly in love with him
though you would not admit it
never. ever. over your dead body.
you just have one fear that has stuck with you and it is that you do not want to ruin things between the two of you
he has known you since forever. he knows you inside out.
he’s too precious to lose over something as stupid as your feelings
because if he does not feel the same, you will never be whole again
but if by some small chance he does and you mess things up later? you would never recover
this is why you think having feelings for your best friend is so messed up
and this is the reason you always dismiss his flirty actions as jokes between two best friends who are super comfortable with each other
like when he casually enters your unlocked apartment and asks for a pinch of salt and spots you in the ugliest fit you’re wearing
he will go “wow you look beautiful”
and you will make a face, knowing he is joking, and ignore the butterflies in your stomach
and you respond with “you don’t look too bad yourself” when he himself looks like he nests a squirrel in his hair
his casual touches and occasionally flirty gazes do not bother you anymore
you’re made of steel now
so when he hugs you out of nowhere or swings you around just to hear you squeal, you know it’s just what friends do
or when he finds you too adorable and kisses your temple, you let it pass. you don’t read too much into it
though occasionally, you like to blur the lines too. he might know at this point
like what friend runs to their other friend only to jump in their arms and bury their face in the crook of the other’s neck?
what sort of friend casually zones out while staring at the other and wonders what they did to deserve them?
you
perhaps, this was a teenage crush that would have quelled with time- but that was if you had parted ways for college
no
by some evil play of the fates, you two ended up in the same city, quite close to each other
and as soon as you two had enough savings, you both decided to be neighbours
you just didn’t have it in you to be apart from each other
and funny thing was, no one batted an eye. it was so natural
though they did question why you weren’t housemates
you and yunho would always share a grin and respond with ‘to protect the last shred of privacy’
which was an inside joke now
so when you both started living together- because that’s exactly what it was
from going grocery shopping together
to knowing each other’s door locks
dropping in stuff for the other without their permission
privacy? ha. what privacy?
sure, you almost once walked in on him showering
and he almost walked in on you changing your clothes (your fault you didn’t shut the door, right?)
but that wasn’t a big deal at all
you would slide notes under each other’s doors- cute reminders to take an umbrella or a good morning/good night
or an ugly doodle or a ‘u stink’
you did not collect all those notes in a jar. you did not
he once bought 10 rubber duckies and hid them around your apartment and you would find them in the most odd places
like inside a pot you rarely use
one was even in your underwear drawer
whenever you’d find one, you would take it with you whenever you went to yunho’s and hide it somewhere there
and so the eternal game of hide and seek began
you have never talked about it out loud by the way
the more memorable things were just making yourself at home at the other’s place when one of you did not feel like being alone
which was most of the time, if you were very honest with yourself
you would watch tv together while you had dinner and have a heated discussion about whatever you were watching
or you would play games with him
or he would help you pick out your fit for the night
or you would style his hair
or you two would stay up all night talking about stuff
about anything and everything
emptying out your hearts
yet still you would always have more to talk about
it was never a boring moment with yunho
and you could go on about why you loved him forever
every day, you woke up glad that he was so close to you and still with you
he was the only person who did not judge you
you could say something nasty and he would still try to understand your perspective
which just made him 100000x more precious
but he would call you out when you did or said something wrong/bad but in a very gentle manner
which you appreciated so much
and the best thing was, he always stayed. he was always there
his arms were your eternal safe space
and he knew
it was like he knew the look in your eyes, whenever you needed a hug
and he would spread his arms and you would walk to him and wrap your arms around his waist while he embraced you
and tell you that it would be okay, no matter what was going on
he would always offer to hear you out or simply be there, physically
he was just… so easy to be with
he was your personal ray of sunshine, your little fluffy cloud, yours
he was yours- oh, how you wished he could be yours in all the ways
because whenever he talked about someone he noticed with you
or just looked at someone different and then find you staring at him
he’s respond with “i just like their outfit” or “i think their hair is nice”
and you would wonder if it’s really just that
you two do have an unspoken promise to tell each other whenever you start dating someone or fall in love
but that’s mostly because you both know your dynamic would have to change a bit
because you two wouldn’t be each other’s priority anymore- not like you are now anyway
and it hurts to just think about it
you asked him, “what would really change?”
and he responded with, “i would appreciate it if you do not connect your bluetooth to my speakers when i have someone over and play some unholy audio”
which turned into an argument because he has literally done the same to you and you had a friend over
you had to explain yourself and explain yunho and tell the traumatised friend that this was just him pulling a prank on you
but you responded with “you know what i will also appreciate if the person does not find a potato instead of a soap in the sink”
you two are always out for each other and after all these years… you two never know each other’s next move
but you both know your dynamics would change in more ways than that
you wouldn’t be able to stroll in his apartment so casually and make breakfast for the two of you because you ran out of ingredients
neither would he be able to come and take a shower in your apartment because “i ran out of hot water” or “i want to smell like strawberries today”
you wouldn’t be able to go and sleep on his couch or bed because you felt lonely
neither would he be able to do the same
and you both would have to tone down the physical affection because you two have heard enough about people mistaking you for a couple
honestly, sometimes you wonder if those people gaslit you into seeing him as something more
but… it was yunho. how could you not?
especially when he cared for you like no one else?
and maybe, maybe, just maybe
he thought of you like that sometimes too
it was probably wishful thinking but oh, how you wished he did anyway
because you couldn’t take it sometimes
you couldn’t take how he would zone out while listening to you talk and look absolutely adorable
you couldn’t take how when you’d hold hands while walking he’d caress them absently
and you couldn’t take how he’d play with your hands when you’d tell him about your day or some gossip
you couldn’t take it when he’d sneak up on you and wrap his arms around you in a back hug and make you feel so small and safe
or when he’d rest his head on yours as you hugged
you couldn’t take it when his gaze would linger on you a fraction of a second longer when you were too close
or when he would always search your eyes before he would plant a chaste kiss on your cheek or forehead
you really, really couldn’t take it anymore
perhaps you needed therapy now
you couldn’t afford slipping in front of yunho tho
or anyone of your mutual friends for that matter
because you knew if someone found out they would somehow let yunho know
and you weren’t ready for his answer
what if he distanced himself from you if he ever found out? you couldn’t have that
perhaps you should have physically distanced yourself from him
perhaps being neighbours made it worse
tho, could you call it worse when it was literally a blessing to have him so close to you?
you’re starting to question it tho
bc one night when you were out drinking late with your friends
you came back to your apartment complex, feeling so low
and when you were about to cross yunho’s door to get to your own, you paused
you paused and stood outside his door for the longest time
and then you sank down and rested your back against his door
wishing he wouldn’t find you
you just needed to cry a little and lighten the weight on your heart
except, another evil play of fates and yunho somehow just knew to look for you
he almost opened his door but heard the faint sound of your cries
at first he thought it was a lost kitten or something but then he opened his door a fraction and found your figure on the floor
and his heart broke
“y/n? can you please move a little so i can open the door?”
you froze
until he called your name again and you wished you could dig the ground and bury yourself under it
but you moved and not a few seconds later, he was next to you and rubbing your back
“what’s wrong?”
“nothing,” you replied
except there was a lot
you just couldn’t tell him
just like the various times he found you crying alone and no matter how much he insisted, you wouldn’t tell him
he wondered who hurt you sometimes
he wondered who it was so he could punch that person or do anything, something, to make it all right
because he hated it so much when you cried
it made his chest feel tight and he’d always get confused about what he was feeling
a number of things is what it was- anger, longing, pain, confusion
but this time? he wasn’t going to let you go
because just how long had you been crying like this? why didn’t you just come inside? why didn’t you find him?
he asked you that
you couldn’t reply yet again
so he decided to bring you inside
he made you drink some water
he wiped your face with the sleeves of his black shirt
and you finally looked at him
oh goodness. he was wearing those black rimmed glasses again
the ones that made him look so, so good.
but he looked angry
“you’re going to tell me who made you cry. or else we’ll be sitting here just like this all night while i wait for your answer”
you bit your lips, looking away and cursing yourself internally
you should have cried in the shower or something
“can i rest? my head is spinning- i might have drank too much-”
“no.”
you locked eyes with him and he didn’t look away
“do you have any idea how much it hurts me to see you like this? and how much it hurts me that you stayed outside? why didn’t you come to me?”
you looked away again, wiping the fresh stream of tears
it was getting harder now, to not give in. to not answer his questions and put an end to this once and for all
especially with yunho so close to you and caressing your bare knees that you put between the two of you
“tell me”
“i can’t”
“why not?”
“because…” you sighed deeply. you looked at him
if you weren’t drunk, every cell in your brain would have screamed at you to shut up
but because you were, it was now your heart tugging that did it for you
“don’t look at me like that, yunho.”
yunho only cocked his head, refusing to look at you any other way
you snaked your hands up your knees to meet his hands, locking your fingers
“you can’t distract me this time-”
yunho’s words got caught in his mouth when you started to lean forward and he drew back reflexively, looking at you questioningly
but you weren’t going to stop
he wanted answers? he would have them
so you continued to lean forward until you were on your knees and almost in his lap
you looked down at him, meeting his very confused eyes
“do you ever think about why i don’t come to you at these times? do you really not know the answer?”
you watched his ears flush
he knew
he must know
he must have a hint, at least, of what you felt for him
“is it really me?” he whispered
you didn’t answer this time
you couldn’t
you simply dropped down with a sigh and pulled your hands from his
he was so confused- he had no way to navigate through this without your help
but you were drunk right now
he decided you should at least be sober when you talk
and perhaps, you decided that too
so you resorted to climbing in his lap and holding him in a hug
he didn’t waste any time wrapping his arms around you
and planting a kiss on your head
just like he had done a thousand times now
“i’m sorry for making you worried,” you mumbled, burying your face in his sweatshirt, hearing his heartbeat
“i’m sorry for sounding angry- i didn’t mean to.”
“i know,” you assured him. “can i sleep here?”
“of course-”
“right here?”
yunho wished you would say such things with a warning because his heart dropped dangerously and he couldn’t help but let out a flustered laugh
“am i that comfortable?”
“you’re literally my human pillow”
and just like that, you were both back to normal
but yunho made sure not to let you forget about this
in the morning when you woke up before him and noticed him sleeping in a painful position to accommodate you on the couch
you watched him for the longest time
and snuck out to go back to your apartment and really panic this time
because boi, did you mess up this time
and it was the weekend. yunho would be up and asking questions in no time
you had nowhere to hide
perhaps, you should stop hiding now
the doorbell rang and for a moment you wondered if it was someone else
but when you opened the door to yunho with a bowl of soup in his hands, you knew he rang the doorbell for a reason
he would be asking you questions today
so you let him in, wondering how he would initiate the conversation
“i bet you have the worst headache now,” he goes, grinning like everything is normal
you didn’t realise he was being normal so you would lower your defences while you ate and chatted like normal
until he finally asked, “are we going to talk about what happened last night?”
“what happened last night?” you ask back
it was perhaps the wrong thing to say
because you see yunho’s gaze darken
you immediately sigh to let him know that yes, you know exactly what he is talking about
you did not like to see him angry so you decided to face what was next
but… anxiety started to creep in your chest as you looked at him, waiting for him to say something
“can you please tell me why you were crying last night? why did you not come and find me?”
you sigh deeply again, pursing your lips as you look at him
because you could feel it
this was it
it would never be the same again
you spend a few minutes staring at him, opening your mouth to say something but stopping, and then looking away and recalling exactly where you fucked up
and he’s so patient. he keeps waiting
he’s not even fiddling with anything right now. he’s just… there and watching you and waiting
you finally lock eyes with him and say, “have you ever wanted something so bad that in order to gain it, you risk losing it completely?”
yunho thinks it’s really cryptic, what you just asked him
because… yes, he’s wanted something that bad too
he didn’t realise it until the first summer he did not spend with you a few years ago
and he felt so lost until he saw you and everything started to make sense
and everything has made sense since
he’s wanted to make you smile every moment you spend with him
he’s wanted to embrace you eternally every moment you find home in his arms
he’s wanted to make you laugh because of all the sounds in this world, your laugh was his favourite
even tho it sounded like windshield wipers
he’s wanted you so, so bad
but how could he ever admit it
suddenly, he understand you
and he finds himself nodding slowly, his heart beating with an urgency indicating the arrival of a change
it could make or break you both
so he says, “yes… yes i know exactly how that feels”
you both watch each other for a few moments, afraid to take the next step
but yunho won’t give in now- he doesn’t want to see you cry like that ever again
“is that why you were upset? you’ve been mulling over something like this?”
you’re hesitant but you nod
so he leans forward as if to hold your hands from across the table but he stops himself
and asks, “why have you been so afraid to tell me this?”
it’s silent. very silent
only the sounds of your breath in the room
and the sound of your heart in your ears
with a gulp, you manage to say, “because… because i’m afraid of being selfish and losing you in the process.”
for a few seconds, yunho is frowning in confusion as he tries to make sense of what you said
and you see exactly when realisation hits him
when his features relax and his gaze clears and his mouth parts as he look at you
you don’t look away. you’re waiting for him to say something, to respond, to hurt you with what he’ll say next, anything
but he looks away and lets out a flustered laugh and you can’t help but let out your own nervous laugh as well
you watch his ears flush and his lips curl downwards as he stifles a smile
and you finally cry out, “say something, you idiot.”
yunho puts a hand over his mouth as he stares at you
and suddenly, you feel hot all over. the embarrassment is catching up to you
“are you telling me, y/n, that you like me? that you… actually want me?”
you blush furiously and you’re almost sweating now but you manage to nod
and yunho is laughing in disbelief again and you’ve had enough
you get up, muttering about getting a drink but yunho is quick to catch your wrist and pull you towards him
and you’re suddenly too close
he’s searching your eyes
“you want me?”
you give him a pleading look and he understands
he brings an almost trembling hand to your face, tucking your hair behind your ear first
“i need you to say it, y/n. because i-”
“yes,” you nod, “yes, i want you. is it too much to ask for? have i ruined things?”
yunho shakes his head and lets go of your wrist only to cup your face and you try to decipher the look in his eyes
it is not the first time he has looked at you this way but this time it’s a bit different
“do you have any idea how much i’ve wanted you since forever?”
you think you’re hearing things
because there is no way
there is absolutely no way
that jeong yunho- your best friend- wants you
“you’re not joking, are you?” is your response and yunho laughs a bit before he leans in, watching your breath get caught in your throat when he gazes at you
and then his gaze is stuck on your lips and he’s waiting
and now your hands are moving out of their own accord, snaking up to his chest to fist his black sweatshirt
his nose brushing against yours undoes something in you
“yunho, please,” you manage to whisper
and then he finally pecks your lips
it’s cautious, it’s soft, and it’s nothing like you imagined it to be because you’re feeling a number of things
he scans your face briefly before he pecks your lips again, this time longer
and then he does it again and you’re finally moving your hands and tilting your face up so he can properly kiss you
and there’s no need for words anymore
the unspoken actions are enough
you open your mouth and he dives right in, kissing you eagerly
your knees were already weak so you struggle to stay upright but he’s quick to catch you
his arms are holding you to him and you’re the one cupping his face now as you kiss
it is years of longing and love poured into this kiss and none of you want to stop
but you eventually break apart for breath and then you realise exactly what position you both are in
and suddenly, you’re both laughing, too shy to look at each other and you hide your face in his chest
he’s caressing your back while you recover and when you look up, he’s got the most loving look in his eyes
“what took you so long to do that, y/n?”
“i could ask the same,” you respond. “i could cry right now.”
yunho laughs, planting a kiss on your forehead. “well. how do you feel?”
you hug him, taking deep breaths
“i think we should really talk,” you laugh
he steers you to the couch but he makes you sit in his lap so he can caress your face or play with your hair while you talk
and you can’t because he’s looking at you with the softest gaze ever
so you just ask him since when he started liking you- does he like you?
he tells you about how he, too, has been afraid to ruin things
and talks about how he thought you liked someone else
you ask him if he never got the hint
but you both know how wary you two have been, especially lately
never reading too much into things
perhaps one of you should have
“i’m sorry i made you suffer like that,” yunho finally says to let the weight off his shoulders. “i never realised you were hurting because of me.”
you tell him it’s not his fault and that if he did not like you back you would have been hurt, yes, but you would have dealt with it
except you are so lucky that he feels the same way about you
you can’t believe it, actually
you trace the curves of yunho’s face
it’s like you’re looking at each other for the first time now
“i’m yours,” he whispers when you finally look him in the eyes. “i’ve always been yours.”
you can’t help the tears now
they are tears of relief and sheer happiness
and yunho understands because he’s pretty sure he will cry soon too
he lets you pepper kisses on his face
and holds you when you hug him again
“good thing it’s the weekend, right? we can stay like this all day long.”
and you do
you have nothing you’d rather do
you stay in each other’s arms, talk about everything and anything, caress each other’s hands (mostly you bc you love his hands), makeout in between
and it’s so natural
nothing has changed- it’s just like before but better
you’re still joking around and teasing each other like before
he still passes a ‘ur ugly <3’ or a ‘what a mess’ note under your door
and you still respond with an explicit drawing
the suggestive jokes have levelled up tho
he always catches you off-guard with them and you either blush furiously or send something flying at him
a few things have changed tho
like when he finds you in the kitchen and gives you a back hug
this time he’s quick to sneak in a kiss and maybe nibble at your neck
sometimes it turns into a heated makeout session
other times you ask him to stop so you can focus on cooking but he keeps distracting you until you’re running after him with a wooden ladle
and you two can’t stay away from each other now- you couldn’t anyway but this time it’s different
this time when you crawl in his bed at night time, he is quick to spoon you
and now he does not hesitate to find you in your apartment too, at night
earlier he used to keep a distance for the sake of you both- you realise how now
now he doesn’t sleep in the corner of the bed with the excuse that he likes it
he has to hold you while sleeping
and he has to mutter dirty little things to rile you up too
when your friends find out, they’re not surprised at all
they’re disappointed it took you two this long
they call you both dumb and dumber and perhaps, they’re right
but perhaps… this was the right time
there is a time for everything, you realise
and it took you and yunho years of being together to realise that yes
you are meant for each other and no one else :’)
he’s your best friend, your other half, and your soulmate
a/n: second half of the matz req for anon!! i'm not sure that this one is very good but i hope it's enjoyable anyway <3
“Come on, let me see.”
“No.”
“Seonghwa,” you whined. “Please, I didn’t mean to knee you in the face I swear.”
“I don’t want to!” he protested, hands held firmly over the bottom half of his face so that his words were muffled against his palms. His eyes met yours, embarrassment written all over what you could see of his face. You sighed softly where you were sitting in front of him on the living room floor, hands landing on his thighs so you could push his legs apart. When a noise of surprise made its way out of Seonghwa’s throat, you sighed, although the sound was nothing other than fond.
“Just trying to get closer so I can see if you’re okay,” you explained. He seemed to consider this for a moment before shifting his legs further apart, allowing you to come closer. A light blush spread across the tops of his cheeks and up to his ears once you moved closer, one of your legs settling over his. “Now please move your hands.”
Seonghwa’s eyes widened as though he’d forgotten that to let you see he’d actually have to uncover his face. He shook his head and pressed his hands against his face even firmer than he’d been doing before. You whined louder than before.
“Are you mad at me?” you asked, in response to which he shook his head again. You pouted, reaching forward to trace a fingertip along his knuckles. You and Seonghwa had never had too many problems hanging out on the sofa together, even when you’d occasionally had a scrap over a phone charger or a bar of chocolate. Before today, however, you’d never managed to fall off the sofa while engaging in said lighthearted fights, and you’d definitely never managed to knee him right in the face just how he’d never managed to elbow you right in the chest. First time for everything you supposed.
“Does your, uh-”
His voice trailed off until he paused, eyes flitting back and forth between your face and the spot he’d elbowed.
“Does your chest hurt?” he asked through his hands. You raised a hand to press against the spot he’d elbowed and shrugged.
“Not really,” you replied. He seemed placated by this information, although his hands didn’t move an inch. “Are you going to keep your hands there until I leave?”
“Probably,” Seonghwa replied, entirely too sure of himself. You groaned, bouncing slightly in your spot. It was slightly reminiscent of a child throwing a tantrum but it had no effect on Seonghwa other than a giggle he let out through his hands. You huffed and sat still in your spot between his legs, wondering if he really was going to sit there with his hands over his face for the rest of the afternoon. Just when Seonghwa seemed relieved that you weren’t asking him to move his hands anymore, your eyes lit up with an idea.
“If you let me see, I’ll buy you ice cream for the next month,” you offered, hoping that it wouldn’t end up being too expensive. Seonghwa seemed interested, considering this offer for a few moments before nodding.
“Don’t freak out,” he warned. You tensed. Well that didn’t sound very promising. You gave him a curt nod all the same and watched as he removed his hands to reveal-
“I made your nose bleed?” you yelled, horrified at the sight of red liquid staining Seonghwa’s palm and top lip. The man in front of you snuffled and looked down at his wet hand, grimacing at the sight. “Seonghwa you should’ve told me! Did I break it? Shit, I’m so sorry.”
“It’s fine,” he mumbled. He held his hands out away from him as though he could somehow escape his own blood when it was still oozing from his nose, the sight enough to make you grimace. “Oh this is way grosser than I thought it would be.”
“Oh my God,” you mumbled, unsure of how amused you were allowed to be right now. “I’m gonna go get some tissues.”
Seonghwa only gave a hum of assent, sitting impatiently with his hand held out away from him while you rushed off to the bathroom, returning to the living room with a roll of toilet paper and a pack of wet wipes in hand. You plopped down in front of Seonghwa again, smiling when he immediately held out his hands for you to clean. You wiped off his palm gently, making sure to get rid of the flakes of blood that had already dried on his skin. As soon as you were done with his palm Seonghwa pushed his head forward, tilting it so that you’d be able to reach his lip and nose easier.
“Slow down,” you said with a snort, gently taking hold of his jaw while you cleaned up his top lip and nose. There didn’t seem to be much more blood coming out of his nose but you rolled up a couple of squares of toilet paper into a little roll anyway, pressing it carefully into the nostril that was still bleeding while you dabbed at the wet blood around the other one. “There you go.”
“Thanks,” he replied, scrunching up his features as he got used to the feeling of the toilet paper in his nose. He shuffled around in his spot, leaning back against the sofa with a smile on his lips. You weren’t sure that could mean anything good. “Do I get some kind of compensation now?”
“I already told you I’m sorry and that I’d get you ice cream,” you told him, huffing softly. Seonghwa shook his head, shutting his eyes and looking away from you. A groan escaped your lips and you moved in closer to Seonghwa, hugging him tightly in the hopes that that was what he wanted. His arms wrapped around you and hugged you back, allowing you to relax against him now that he’d gotten the compensation he wanted.
“Anything else?” he asked, letting his arms rest at your sides until you pulled back to look at him, barely able to disguise a glare. Your expression made him falter before he laughed at it, poking your sides in amusement.
“Don’t laugh at me,” you said, poking his sides back with a little more force than necessary. He yelled as you did so, grabbing your hands and lacing his fingers with yours. You smiled at the gesture and let your hands fall down to rest in his lap. “What do you want then? Money? A car? True love?”
“You’re not a genie,” he told you, as though this was very serious information that you’d had no way of knowing up until now. You nodded as though this was exactly the case. Seonghwa smiled. “Can I kiss you?”
Your eyes widened.
“Oh,” you replied. You tried not to think about what an awkward reaction that was, and tried not to focus on the nervous expression that had taken over Seonghwa’s features. It wasn’t as though the two of you hadn’t kissed before, but it was usually for the sake of dares or drinking games, not to atone for kneeing him in the face. Seonghwa’s brows furrowed the way they usually did when he laughed, and he gave your hands a squeeze.
“You can say no, it doesn’t have to be weird,” he murmured, ever the gentleman. A small bead of blood began to pool in the nostril that you hadn’t plugged up with toilet paper, and you couldn’t help the wave of worry that washed over you.
“Wait,” you interrupted the half-awkward, half-sweet moment, grabbing the roll of toilet paper and tearing off a few squares to clean his nose again. You considered his question as you did so, debating whether the fluttering of your heart in your chest was more or less important than the concern of what such a nonchalant kiss meant for your friendship. By the time you were done cleaning his nose, you were nowhere closer to a conclusion, only managing to giggle at the sight of his blushing face and the toilet paper in his nose.
“Why are you laughing at me?” he groaned even though he was unable to hide the grin on his own lips. Your heart gave another flutter, and you quickly decided that you could probably worry about your friendship later when you were buying him the ice cream you now owed him.
“You can kiss me,” you said, watching as Seonghwa’s stifled grin grew into a grin bright enough to rival the sun.
The kiss was terrible, what with the toilet paper in Seonghwa’s nose and the smiles on both your lips and the sudden appearance of more blood rolling down Seonghwa’s top lip before you could pull away, but at the very least it’d be memorable.
pairings. bf!atz x gn!reader ! genre. fluff ! tw. mentions of food ! note. the reader is implied to be smaller than yunho ! a/n. being hj's muse is a blessing from god. also, my dear ppl who are reading, know that you're worthy and deserving of love. don't be too hard on yourself and take some rest, even if it isn't earned. It's fine and don't forget to give yourself some love too!
HONGJOONG. YOUR SKIN “IMPERFECTIONS.” Hongjoong has an eye for the details. He loves them. The same applies to you. You’re his muse, after all. Hates seeing you, complaining about any acne or stretch marks you have because he believes they deserve love since they are a part of you. Got any scars? He wants to know the story behind them. Any birthmarks? He’ll caress it and gush about how beautiful it is. He unconsciously traces your stretch marks. He won’t admit it, but he likes pressing kisses on your skin and just feeling the texture of your skin. It’s as if he’s trying to memorise every part of you like it's his own.
SEONGHWA. YOUR LIPS. His favourite place to kiss you is your lips. While you’re talking, he unintentionally gazes at them and wets his own. And he did it intentionally after you told him that it makes you shy. Ask him for a lip balm, and you’ll get a kiss instead. He never misses a chance to kiss you. He likes talking to you when your lips are brushing against each other while lying, facing each other on the bed. Usually, at night, when you both are talking about your days. He’ll sneak a kiss or two. He gets offended when you stop and glare at him, “What? Kissing you is my full time job. Don’t get mad at me for doing my job.”
YUNHO. YOUR HANDS. Don’t get me started on this. He LOVES holding your hand, playing with it, and comparing sizes. Would laugh and coo at how small it is, compared to his. Always tracing shapes and kissing your palms and fingertips (I'm soft, don’t talk to me). His wallpaper is probably a pic of you both holding hands. A sucker for holding hands while dancing. He never stops holding your hand, No matter what. Even if it means that he would have to do things with only one hand. Expects you to do the same thing, “Baby, I have to pee, let me go,” “Let’s pee together :D” “Yunho!”
YEOSANG. YOUR EYES. While Yeosang isn’t inherently good at making eye contact or holding them, he does it because your eyes hold the universe for him. The way your eyes shine when you talk about something you’re passionate about is enough for this man to be happy for the rest of his life. Yeosang doesn’t question you or the relationship ever because the love in your eyes, whenever you look at him, is enough for him to never doubt. He kisses your eyes every night before going to sleep. If he’s sad, all that he has to do to become happy again is to look into your eyes, even for a split second.
SAN. YOUR TUMMY. He doesn’t know why he loves your tummy so much, but he does. His favourite cuddling position is when he literally has buried his face in your tummy and wrapped his arms around your waist tightly. He blows raspberries on them (i’ll cry). Kisses them a lot. And, I mean, a LOT. if you say it tickles, he’ll stop and start tickling. “You deny my love, and this is what you get.” Rubs your tummy the way you would to a cat. And he likes seeing you bloated. He’ll softly lay his head and listen to your heartbeat. If you ever get insecure about them, he’ll reassure you and praise you like there is no tomorrow. “You *kiss* are *kiss* the *kiss* most *kiss* beautiful *kiss* person *kiss* in *kiss* this *kiss* world *kiss*.”
MINGI. YOUR SMILE. Your smile lights up his whole life. Well, that’s what he claims. Mingi doesn’t need hugs for oxytocin release. Your smile is enough. That’s why he’ll do anything and everything to make you smile. Even if the jokes he says aren’t funny, his wide grin is enough to make you smile. Takes lessons from Yuyu on "how to be funny." He failed the test but, hey, who cares? For you, he is the only one who can make you smile like a 1000 watts bulb. Let’s not talk about how he starts giggling whenever you smile into his kisses. In conclusion, Song Mingi is in love with you.
WOOYOUNG. YOUR CHEEKS. *sigh* this boy. His serotonin boost is your cheeks. His day is not done if he doesn’t squeeze and smother them with kisses and bites. Yes, bites. His favourite way of waking you up is by lovingly biting your cheeks. He does the stupidest things ever, just so he could see your cheeks go on mochi-mode while smiling and laughing like crazy. Feeds you all the time so you can gain weight. And that means more cheek days. Also, he won’t stop feeding until your mouth is full and you resemble a hamster. “Awwwwwwwww, you look so cute! I want to squeeze your cheeks so bad.” cue kissing noises.
JONGHO. YOUR HAIR. Runs his hand through them a lot. He focuses his full attention on doing it because he is aware of his strength. It’s flattering how careful he is at such a small task. But not to him. Anything that involves you isn’t small to him. Would slowly brush your hair with your head on his lap as he sings until you fall asleep. Learns how to do certain hairstyles that he thinks would look good on you and tries them on you. He does have his favourite, though, A tiny ponytail on the top of your head. You look so cute in that hairstyle, and Jongho can’t help but kiss your forehead and wrap you in a tight hug.
summary: y/n misses the good old days of high school when she could just hang out with her best friends and not have a care in the world. now she feels too much and is not good at handling her emotions.
pairing: choi beomgyu x f!reader, might get some other pairings along the way but we’ll see
tags: smau (+ many written chapters), college!au, angst, fluff i guess, kind of a slow burn?? scratch that it’s one hell of a slow burn for sure, best friends to ex-friends to friends again to lovers, youtuber!beomgyu, i don’t know how to tag shit
status: ongoing
updates: twice a week (mondays & fridays, BRT), and if i occasionally happen to feel like posting an extra update, i’ll do it on sunday
warnings: everyone’s ages have been adjusted!!; swearing; family issues; shitty/abusive parents; mentions of domestic violence (nothing explicitly described tho); anxiety + depression + insecurity; y/n being a bit of a toxic / obsessive “friend” at first and there’s also some one-sided female competition bc of that and we hate it; LONG ASS written chapters i’m sorry; will add more as we go
++ this fic might include some suggestive parts in the future, but when/if it happens, i’ll put a warning so you can skip it if you want. it won’t include any explicit nsfw content, though, so don’t worry about that.
𓂋˚˖ PAIRING. ex-husband! yunho x wedding fashion designer! fem! reader
𓂋˚˖ GENRE. exes to lovers, parent au, designer au, fluff
𓂋˚˖ WARNINGS. quick mention of unplanned pregnancy, slightly aged-up! ateez, some dialogue taken from the movie this is inspired from, not edited ☠️, i’m not too familiar w the exes getting back tgt thing so this might be unrealistic idk, lmk if i missed anything !
𓂋˚˖ WORD COUNT. 3.3k
𓂋˚˖ SYNOPSIS. your daughter had just returned from summer camp, and surprises were suddenly popping up left and right. the last thing you expected was seeing your ex-husband enter your own studio with another woman.
𓂋˚˖ A/N. i loved writing this one bc it’s based on a movie i’ve watched countless times and know even the dialogue by heart. pls don’t worry about spoilers because the plot is slightly different! if anything, only minor details are the same, but none that could spoil the original movie :] (if you’re not sure what the movie inspo is about, here’s the imdb!)
𓂋˚˖ EVENT. for @kflixnet’s childhood memories event! this fic is based on the 1998 remake of The Parent Trap <3
if you have time, please watch the japanese drama 恋せぬふたり (koisenu futari; the two people who can’t fall in love) which focuses on two aroace characters
Sakuko finds it difficult to live in a society which operates under the assumption that people will fall in love with each other. She meets supermarket employee Takahashi when she goes to support a "fall-in-love" campaign by her junior at work. She is startled when she hears him say that there are people who don't fall in love. As Sakuko's mother keeps hurrying her to get married, she decides to move out and rent an apartment with her friend but her friend backs out at the last minute after reconciling with her ex-boyfriend. Just when Sakuko is about to give up, she ends up living with Takahashi under one roof because of their similar values towards romance.
a/n: c-r-i-n-g-e + it was in my drafts so why not embarrass myself for free
it has been two weeks since you moved into your new rented house in an unknown suburb. you were neighbours with an eldery family who had no children and a family that had two sons. you came out of your house after cleaning the last bits of trash you had from moving in and walked around the neighbourhood to get some fresh air.
the neighbourhood was extremely pretty as well, you could see the crimson sky from your porch up until the basketball court as well. you felt pretty sad that evening as you had moved to a place that was located pretty far away from your family's place but you had no choice since it was your last year at medical school and you didn't want to burden your family by taking trips back home so often.
as you were walking down the streets, back to your house, you heard the faint sound of tires coming near you. at first, you thought it was some kids cycling around the neighbourhood but to your surprise, a young boy passed by you and immediately crashed into a tree, losing control over his skateboard.
you gasped out loudly, running towards his direction and looking around to see if anyone was there to your aid. the boy was on the ground, whining and held his leg out of pain, blood oozing out of his freshly cut wound. using your medical knowledge, you slapped the boy's face lightly to make sure he didn't pass out from the blood loss. he seemed to not care that you were helping him so you slapped him hard to get him to shut up, in which you succeeded.
maybe, it wasn't much medical knowledge.
"oh my god, im sorry, are you okay?" you asked, your voice coated with concern.
he glared at you, a hand on his cheek while another was still holding his leg. that answered your dumb question, of course, he wasn't okay. you even slapped him. you held his leg and observed carefully to see what could you do to stop the bleeding. it was probably a light injury considering the fact that his wound wasn't a deep cut but the bleeding didn't seem to stop, so you looked at him.
"can you take off your shirt?"
"what the fuck are you on?" he asked, raising his voice at you. he started to blabber some words that you didn't bother hearing while you ripped a part of your dress off, revealing a part of the skin at your thighs.
"first, you slap me and then you ask me to take off my shirt? are you- argh!" he growled in pain, grabbing your arm out of nowhere, his nails digging into your skin which was bound to leave a mark later on.
you wrapped the torn fabric around his calf and tied it tightly, making him yell in pain. you had no choice but to do so, in order to stop the bleeding.
"please calm down, i know it hurts but you can trust me, i'm a first-year resident," you told him, in a calm manner. his face was flushed, beads of sweat collected on his forehead while he was in pain. you placed an arm under his leg and helped him to get up, making him lean his body on the tree.
you got up and picked up his skateboard that was behind the tree, placing it next to him. then, you sat down next to him, thinking of ways to get him to the hospital.
"do you have a phone?" you asked him, hoping he did cause you left yours at home. this was a good reminder for you to never leave your phone at home again in case of an accident like this happens.
he scoffed and looked at you, "you didn't bring yours too huh? sucks to be us."
his answers were not helpful to you nor did it help you be calm, you felt anger building up in you as he spoke like that. "well, we need to take you to the hospital. my car's nearby but i need to know where your house is first so that we can inform your parents."
"i don't want to go to the hospital, it's not a big injury, to begin with," he muttered, looking away.
"could you not be stubborn for a second and listen to me? what's with the attitude? i'm trying to help you over here, you don't have to be an asshole to me for your own mistake of crashing into the tree." you scoffed at him, your anger getting the best of you.
his eyes were fixed on you this time, his facial expression screamed confusion as you lashed out at him. he certainly did not expect you to burst out in anger, so he kept quiet. after a while, his hand reached out to your leg, pulling down the skirt of your dress, trying to cover up the torn part.
"if you wanted to tear off your dress, you should have done it at your sleeve, you're kind of flashing everyone this way. you should be mindful of what you do next time, don't go around tearing fabric off your clothes to help people." he said, in a low voice, making you feel flustered, pushing his hand away gently. he apologised at his sudden action and looked at you, "i'm wooyoung, what's your name?"
you raised an eyebrow at him, proceeding to answer his question. "y/n."
"don't gotta sound all down, princess. i'm sorry for yelling at you just now, the pain was too much," he said, making you flinch at the pet name.
"i didn't tell you my name for you to call me princess."
"the name y/n reminds me of a princess, so why not?"
you let out a huge sigh, turning around to see the sky change into a dark blue almost instantly. time flew by so quickly that you didn't even realise that it was about to be nighttime. you got up from the ground and looked at him with crossed arms.
"what? you expect me to carry you?"
he shook his head and chuckled, trying to get up but failed. you unconsciously lent him your hand and helped him get up. he threw an arm around your neck while you had yours around his waist for support.
"where are we going now?" he asked as both of you started walking down the street.
"to your house, can you tell me which one when we walk by?" you asked him back.
"oh, i live right next to you so you wouldn't have trouble finding your way there," he said, limping as he walked.
you were taken aback with his reply, "what?"
"chill out, princess. i was home when you gave my mum your homemade brownies as a housewarming gift. it was delicious, by the way. you have a bad habit of not closing your curtains too, my brother almost saw you naked." he exaggerated at the last sentence, making you scoff.
"funny." you said, trying to walk a little faster. you were curious about him so you decided to ask him some questions. "so, wooyoung, what were you doing earlier just now?"
"i was gonna play basketball with my friends but we ended up finishing the game early so i took one of their skateboards and decided to try it out. clearly i have no experience with it so i crashed."
"how wise."
"coming from a medical student that slapped a boy in pain."
you rolled your eyes, ignoring every comment he made as you argued with him. you could see your house appearing and you walked faster so that you can go home and get changed.
"that's my room," he said, pointing to the window where you could see a bts poster stuck on the wall. you wanted to laugh but you kept quiet. with his arm around your neck, you were pressed onto his skin and you could smell his strong cologne smell mixed with his sweat. it disgusted you but he had a good scent on himself.
you nodded and walked him to his house, your hand reached to ring his doorbell. before you could click on it, he slapped your hand away and opened the door, revealing a beautiful interior.
"come in, y/n." he addressed you by your name. you walked in with his limping by your side into the silent house that was decorated with decorations that were fancy.
"are your parents not home?" you asked in a small voice as you dropped him on the couch. he shook his head and pointed to the kitchen, "the first aid kit is there if you want it."
you nodded and rushed inside the kitchen, your mouth gaping at the beauty of the kitchen interior and took out the first aid kit. you walked back to wooyoung and sat on the floor, putting his leg on the coffee table for a higher angle, for you to do the dressing.
"you know something?"
"i don't."
he laughed at your answer, "i've been wanting to hang out with you ever since you moved in but i realised you were either always studying at home or you were not at home. it's fate that we got to meet like this officially."
you gave no reaction to his confession although deep down in your heart, you were sure that blood was not pumping out of your heart to your body parts. your face was flushed, however, which wooyoung noticed and he smiled.
you untied the fabric and unwrapped it, revealing a fresh wound which was pink, showing that the bleeding had stopped for now. he winced at your touch, making you apologise to him. you started to clean up his wound with some water before you started dabbing alcohol on your wound. the moment the cotton bud came in contact with his wound, he let out a loud groan, trying to contain his pain yet it was hard to.
you felt bad.
you managed to look at his face which made you stop dabbing the alcohol. he clenched his jaw, eyes trapped shut while he looked up at the ceiling. his black hair was sticking to his forehead with the help of his sweat. his defined jawline was visible, appearing as sharp as a knife. his hands were grabbing the throw pillow on the couch tightly as he was controlling the pain. this boy was not even in the range of handsome, he was beyond that.
"are you done?" he managed to let out a few words, making you snap back into reality. you looked down onto his leg and finished cleaning the wound and applied some antibacterial cream and placed a bandage on his wound. you did some final touches and you got up.
"yeah.”
he opened his eyes, let out a big sigh of relief and tried to get up. you were standing there for support but he managed to stand by himself and he looked at you, "thank you princess."
you rolled your eyes at him, "it's y/n."
he chuckled, "alright, princess y/n, thank you."
you nodded, not wanting to say anything else anymore and proceeded to walk towards the door. just as you were about to open the door, you felt a hand grab your arm. wooyoung spun you around and you stopped breathing for a second as his face was inches away from yours. you could feel his warm breath as you looked into his eyes.
out of habit, you questioned him. "what is it?"
"i couldn't get to thank you properly, how about i take you out for dinner this weekend?" he asked, in a small voice, eyes locked with yours.
you didn't know what to say. you knew it meant nothing and it was merely just a thank you but knowing yourself, you didn't want to get yourself trapped in a spider web so you stayed silent.
he hummed, assuming to understand why you didn't answer. he looked around before looking back at you again, "i don't have a girlfriend."
you scoffed, "what does that have to do with this?"
"do you have a boyfriend?"
"does it matter?"
"yes cause i want to take you out for dinner."
"well, i don't but-"
"then, be my girlfriend."
your head shot up, looking at him dead in the eyes. he had a serious face before he burst out in laughter, "i'm just kidding!"
you were still hesitant since you were just out of a relationship a few months ago and it felt wrong for you to go out with someone this early. but then again, it wasn't like he was going to make you fall in love with him. it was just a thank-you dinner.
"oh actually, if you're that hesitant, then just come over to my house someday, i'll cook dinner." he said, making you feel a little more relieved since people would be around.
"yeah, sure. you cook?"
"yes," he laughed, "chef jung wooyoung. anyway, let me know when are you gonna come over, okay?"
you nodded and walked out of his door, his hand letting go of your arm at last. you ran back home, quickly closing your door before you ran to your room and searched for your phone. for some reason, you couldn't find your phone. you could see lights flickering in the corner of your eye, you turned around to see wooyoung playing with his light switch to get your attention. he sat at the window panel, with his phone in his hands, eyes fixed on you. he motioned to his phone then pointed towards you.
"my number?" you mouthed. he seemed to pick it up quickly and nodded. you started laughing, you were amazed by this boy. you started showing your fingers to him, telling him what was your number as he typed it out on his phone. he then showed a thumbs up to you, typing away on his phone.
you heard the sound of a bell coming from your bed.
"ah, i must have thrown it there," you said to yourself and took your phone that was hidden under your pillow. you had two unread texts from an unknown number which you assumed was wooyoung's.
you opened your phone, the messaging app popped up, revealing two texts that made you blush.
'you have a pretty smile ;)'
'what do you want to have for dinner, princess?'
you looked back at him and laughed, seeing that he was smiling back at you. you swiftly typed back a quick response before you waved at him and drew your curtains close.
it did feel different this time around but you weren't afraid to try again, who knows if it could go well this time? you smiled to yourself and continued on with your night routine before you slept.
cw - college-ish!au, fluff, sickfic, seonghwa has a fever
word count: 1.5k
Seeing Seonghwa at your front door at ungodly hours of the night was not a regular occurence. Hongjoong, sure. Even San and Wooyoung had a habit of turning up at your place at fuck o'clock in the morning for whatever reason, because they knew you lived alone and always had a free sofa and hot water to shower with. Not to mention it was convenient, because you lived just a few minutes walk from campus. Despite this, Seonghwa was never one to come to your house in the middle of the night. He could get to his dorm room unharmed even if he was drunk or sleep deprived, thank you very much. He was self-sufficient that way. So opening the door to your cramped apartment at 3 a.m. to be greeted by his face twisted into an uncomfortable grimace was enough to make an icy block of worry form in your stomach.
"Hwa?" you asked, your voice gruff from having just woken up. "What's wrong?"
"I don't feel well," he whispered, voice barely audible.
He winced after speaking, lips pressing into a thin line. You realised then that he was struggling to stand upright and although you were still half asleep, you rushed forward to pull him inside, one hand on his waist and one reaching past him as you pulled your door shut. You heard Seonghwa let out a soft sigh before he leaned into you. You realised then that even through the layers of his and your clothing you could feel his skin burning up.
"You're burning up," you stated simply, earning a whine from Seonghwa, who lifted himself away from you after you spoke. He tried to smile but his expression showed his discomfort all the same.
"I was at the library and I tried getting home but I don't- I don't feel well," he said. You couldn't help but pout at seeing him so vulnerable. It was an unusual sight. "And I thought maybe since Joong stays here sometimes I could stay over? If it's okay with you."
"Of course it's okay!" you reassured him, pressing a hand between his shoulder blades and guiding him to your sofa, where he collapsed with a groan and with very little grace. You rested the back of your hand on his forehead, his whole body shuddering at the feeling of your room temperature skin on his own overheated skin. With a long sigh you removed your hand and examined Seonghwa's state. His features pulled into an expression of discomfort with a little furrow between his brows, his shaking hands hugging his sides and sweat that was starting to make his hair stick to his forehead. Worry and fondness tugged at your heart as you leaned down to push his hair out of his face. "Seonghwa?"
"Mh?" he grunted, his teary eyes meeting yours.
"I'm gonna get you some medication and something comfortable to wear, okay? I think Hongjoong left some clothes here a while ago so I'll bring you those," you told him. Despite how pained he looked he nodded once you were done speaking, leaning into the corner of the sofa with a sharp exhale. You nodded to yourself when he closed his eyes, leaving him to rest while you collected everything you'd promised him.
A thermometer, a pack of over-the-counter fever medication, a hoodie and sweatpants and a glass of water later, you were kneeling on the sofa in front of a disgruntled and sweaty Seonghwa who didn't even have the strength to protest when you took hold of his face and asked him to open his mouth. You pressed the thermometer beneath his tongue and smiled at the small sound that left him when he closed his mouth around it. Your apartment was silent while you waited for the thermometer to beep, Seonghwa's cheek uncomfortably warm against your palm as you held his face in place. It was an intimacy you had never shared with any of your other friends before, taking the thermometer out of his mouth and reassuring him that his fever wasn't all that bad, and the knowledge made a small smile play on your lips.
"Do you need help changing?" you asked from where you stood in front of him, running your fingers through his hair while he took the medication with the water you'd given him. He shook his head and leaned into your touch, his eyes falling shut as he set the empty glass down in his lap. When he made no move to set aside the glass you laughed softly, letting go of his head to set the glass aside yourself and unfold the hoodie you had brought him. "Here, sit up for me."
"You don't have to help me," Seonghwa protested, opening his eyes and pouting at you in a way he usually only did when he was trying to make you laugh. You smiled and reached for his hand.
"It's okay," you said, giving his hand a squeeze. "Let me take care of you."
Seonghwa was silent, his ears turning pink, but after a moment he squeezed your hand back and sat up properly.
"There we go," you hummed, letting go of his hand to set the hoodie down in his lap. He shuddered when you helped him take off his shirt, the air of your apartment far too cold for his body to handle. He raised his arms silently when you picked up the hoodie, allowing you to slip it onto him without much difficulty. Changing his pants, however, was another story, as he sat with his hands pressed to his thighs with a rigid frown on his face. "Seonghwa, you can't sleep in these jeans."
"It's embarrassing," he murmured, eyes fixed on your shoulder instead of your face. The longer you sat with your hands on his knees the redder his cheeks turned, making him look like a sweaty strawberry wearing a slightly too small hoodie.
"I've seen you at the pool before," you pointed out, earning a look from Seonghwa.
"That's not the same," he huffed, brows drawing together as he shifted his gaze down to his lap. Seeing how stubborn he was and how ill he still looked you sighed and set the sweatpants aside, your soft spot for him far too soft to keep insisting with him.
"Okay, let's just get you to sleep," you said, smiling when he let out a happy hum. "Are you feeling any better?"
"No, not yet," he mumbled, wrapping his arms around himself and squeezing slightly. "I'm so cold."
"I'll get you an extra blanket and in the morning you can take a warm shower, okay?" you offered. Seonghwa nodded in response, offering you a small smile. You stood up again and held out your hand. "Come on, let's get you in bed."
Seonghwa complied quietly after that, sniffling occasionally in discomfort even as you tucked him into your bed, settling a blanket over his shoulders as he curled up tightly. His eyes were shut but he still didn't look peaceful, shivering with every movement he made. Your heart ached in your chest and you stroked his hair out of his face once more before you turned to your bedroom door.
"Call me if you need anything," you told him, your hand already on the door handle when Seonghwa let out a low whine.
"Please stay," he called out, his voice unsteady. You glanced back at your bed in surprise and heard him more than saw him move around, your bedsheets rustling in the quiet of the room. There was a little more silence before he spoke again. "You don't have to, I just- I thought I might feel better if you're here."
"Oh," you whispered, unable to stop yourself. You smiled as you shut your bedroom door and stepped back towards the bed. It was a wide, fond smile that turned into a grin once you were lying down in front of Seonghwa, holding out your hand for him to hold. He took it without hesitation, lacing his fingers with yours so that his clammy palm was pressed against your own dry palm. "I've got you. You'll feel better soon, okay?"
In front of you Seonghwa sniffled but nodded.
"Okay," he answered, his voice watery. You pouted and shuffled a little closer to him, kissing his knuckles before you could think too much of it.
"Get some rest," you told him, smiling when he gave your hand a gentle squeeze.
"Thank you for taking care of me," he whispered, giving your knuckles a feverish kiss of his own before he hugged your hand to his chest. You could feel his heart pounding and realised absentmindedly that this intimacy was even greater than when you'd just been taking his temperature. The thought didn't last long though, your mind quickly floating back into the sleepy state it had been in when Seonghwa first arrived.
"Always," you assured him.
By the end of the next day Seonghwa was feeling fine again and the experience only brought about two changes. The first was that he now knew his body was definitely not made for studying past three in the morning. The second was that he quickly became a regular presence in your apartment three or so nights a week, which was a pleasant and domestic change that you happily welcomed. If Hongjoong and San and Wooyoung were slightly jealous that their rest stop had been taken over by Seonghwa then - well, you'd leave that for them to figure out.
9: "you deserved better than you got, someone's got to say it sometime because it's true."
jung wooyoung x gender neutral!reader
cw - angst(?), post-break up, food/cooking
word count: 2.2k
a/n: thank you for requesting!! i didn't use the phrase from the prompt word for word but i hope you'll enjoy this anyway!! i hope you're having a great day!! <3
Two carrots.
One tomato.
Half an onion.
Half a leek.
Three potatoes.
Two chicken breasts.
Three servings of noodles.
Wooyoung’s only made the recipe once before and yet he remembers it like the back of his hand. It’s almost funny, considering he can barely remember the phone numbers of people he calls every other day, but it’s only almost funny. He feels like he’s watching somebody else go about their tasks as he peels the carrots and cuts them into slices. Hands that aren’t his scoop them into the currently empty pot where they’ll wait patiently for the other vegetables and boiling water for the next twenty minutes or so. The bright orange against the silver of the pot makes Wooyoung long for a place he isn’t sure he’ll ever be again.
He peels the potatoes, carefully cutting out any spots where dirt has dug itself beneath the skin before he cuts them up as well and dumps them into the pot, followed by the tomatoes which he cuts into small cubes. They sit idly beside the carrots and some childish part of Wooyoung feels glad that the carrots won’t be so lonely anymore. The leek is easy to peel and chop up and Wooyoung is left only with the onion, which he’ll fry separately once it’s been diced into small pieces.
He pours water over the carrots, potatoes, tomatoes and leeks and sets the stove to the second highest heat before turning his attention to the onion. It’s not a huge amount of onion but Wooyoung is worried about it making him cry all the same. He sucks on his bottom lip as he raises the knife with steady hands, willing himself not to cry. The last time he made this recipe he had been crying before he even got to the onion. Tears had rolled down his cheeks all the while as he had prepared the carrots and the potatoes and the leek, and by the time he got around to dicing the onion his vision was so blurred that it was inevitable that he would slice his finger open along with the onion.
He’d sworn louder than was reasonable and for that moment he’d been loud enough that he couldn’t hear the shower running, couldn’t hear you in his bathroom hiding from the events that had taken place just minutes ago. He had pretended at that moment that the only thing wrong in his life was his sliced open finger and the stinging scent of onion lingering in his nostrils.
But this time he doesn’t have to pretend that things are okay - he’s learned to be more honest with himself than that - so he pauses each time tears well up in his eyes, tilts his head backwards and breathes deeply until his vision is clear again. He manages to dice the onion without hurting himself, listening to the shower running as he does so.
He puts the onion in the frying pan sitting on the back burner and moves his attention to the chicken. This part is a little gross but he gets through it anyway, cutting the chicken into cubes and setting it aside to wash his hands. When he turns off the tap and goes to dry his hands, he notices that the shower isn’t running anymore. He takes a deep breath and focuses his attention on cooking again.
He finds that he’s almost out of olive oil and is thankful that he hasn’t run out. Last time he cooked this dish there’d been nothing more than a drop left in the bottle and he’d resorted to mixing the olive oil with sunflower oil. He isn’t sure that something like that would make as much of a difference as he had been scared of at the time. At the time, picking up the bottle of sunflower oil had felt like it was the same as admitting defeat. It was the same as admitting that you really were moving out of the apartment that he’d known to be yours for as long as he could remember - the same as admitting that he’d let you slip through his fingers without even noticing until you told him that you couldn’t stay anymore. Wooyoung inhales a shaky breath and reaches past the bottle of sunflower oil to pick up the stock cubes and chilli flakes and pepper grinder. He won’t have to admit defeat today.
He sets everything down on the counter aside from the olive oil, which he opens so that he can pour some of it into the frying pan. He adds a stock cube and turns on the heat, pushing the stock cube around the oil and onions until it comes apart in the oil. He uses a knife to add the chicken to the pan before he sets the chopping board in the sink. The water has started to boil in the pot and he checks the time on his phone and reminds himself to keep an eye on the pot.
He knows that from now on the recipe will move quicker than he expects, no matter how prepared he is. Even with everything set out beside him, it’ll feel like a scramble to grab everything and put it in the pan on time. It’ll be just like the end of your relationship with him, now that he thinks about it.
He had everything right in front of him - your apartment a ten minute walk from his, your bright smile to greet him every time the two of you met, extensive knowledge on the things you loved and opportunity after opportunity to remind you that he was glad he had you in his life. But it was at the end that he began scrambling for things, only to realise that it was too late. He was grabbing at missed anniversaries and constant cancellations and absent acknowledgements of everything you did for him, trying to throw them all in the pan at once in an attempt to convince himself that he could still make it work.
Things will be different now.
He uses a fork to push the chicken around the pan before adding the pepper and chilli flakes over it, pushing it around a little more and repeating the process to make sure he gets the pepper and chilli flakes all over it. He checks the time and sets the spices down in favour of unwrapping two stock cubes, adding them to the pot of boiling water. He still has to add olive oil and lemon juice, but he’ll leave those to the end. Last time he’d added them all at once and the taste hadn’t been exactly what it was supposed to be. Not that either of you had been able to tell, struggling to swallow the soup around the heavy words that had been said by both of you. In all honesty Wooyoung doesn’t remember much of what he said. He remembers what you said, though.
“You don’t even text me. Have you checked our chats? You haven’t thought to text me first for months now, Wooyoung.”
It hurt to hear that. It hurt more than it would have hurt if you had just insulted him. It hurt more than it would have done if you had thrown the food in his face and stormed off without so much as another word. But you hadn’t done that, because you’d always been good to him. You had told him you were moving out of your apartment to another part of the city and you had told him about all of the things he’d done - or, more accurately, about all of the things he hadn’t done - for the better part of a year now.
Wooyoung hadn’t known what to do. So he’d invited you to stay for dinner. You’d showered and he’d cooked and the two of you had eaten together. It all felt very grim. The term ‘the last supper’ had rang in Wooyoung’s mind a few times while he watched you chew on chicken and noodles with your eyes glossed over as though you weren’t really sitting at his dining table at all but stuck somewhere else.
This time won’t be like that. He’ll add the lemon juice at the end and the soup will taste right and your eyes will be clear and bright. Things will be different now, because Wooyoung is doing things right this time. He’s going to add the right ingredients at the right time. He won’t leave it until it’s too late.
He pushes the chicken around the pan once more, making sure all of the pieces flip over so that it gets cooked evenly. He’s so focused on making sure that he gets it all right that he doesn’t hear you come into the kitchen until you’re beside him, peering into the frying pan and pot of soup. He startles but he doesn’t cry out or swear. He has to earn privileges like that if he ever wants things to go back to how they used to be, so he bites his tongue and stays quiet.
“Hey,” you say, offering him a cautious smile. He smiles back, no doubt mirroring your own hesitant expression.
“Hey,” he replies. A silence settles between you both after that and not long after you move away from Wooyoung’s side and begin to gather things to set the table for both of you. Wooyoung adds the noodles to the soup and mixes it cautiously, watching as they soften and come apart in the liquid. “Thank you for coming over.”
There’s no answer for a little while and Wooyoung worries that maybe he’s overstepped, but then your voice fills his kitchen and the feeling that blooms in his chest is so warm that he worries he might melt on the spot.
“Thank you for inviting me,” you say. Your voice is soft. It’s careful, and beneath all of that care there’s also hurt. Wooyoung wonders if even after all these months the pain is still just as raw as it was on day one. He knows that it hasn’t gotten much better for him. “I couldn’t miss Jung Wooyoung’s famous cooking after all.”
Wooyoung smiles at the sound of the joke and turns off the heat for the chicken. He stares at the pan. Something is missing. He racks his brain to figure out what it is, narrowing his eyes at the pan when nothing comes to mind. He bites the inside of his cheek. No, it can’t be like this. He’s supposed to get everything right this time. He shouldn’t be reaching for things last minute. That’s not how things are supposed to go this time.
“Hey.”
Wooyoung turns his head to find you reaching into one of his cupboards. Your hand emerges and you hold out a jar to him, a small smile on your lips.
“Hoisin sauce,” you say simply. Wooyoung’s mouth drops open slightly in surprise but he doesn’t let that get in the way of the cooking. He takes the jar and opens it quickly, pouring a good amount of the sauce into the pan before he turns on the heat again.
“Thank you,” he says, embarrassed and grateful at the same time. You just nod and stand beside him as he turns off the heat for the soup, pushing the chicken around the sauce in the pan. Really the chicken is already done but Wooyoung wants to say something. He can’t tell exactly what it is so he lets it simmer in his chest while he works the words out in his head.
“I think it’s done,” you tell him. He nods, giving the chicken one last push before he turns off the heat. There’s nothing to do after that and Wooyoung can’t help but feel shocked that he managed to finish the recipe without anything going wrong. It’s true that he needed your help for one part of it but he supposes he’s always relied on you a little. He was just too selfish to notice it before.
“Hey, I uh-” he starts, hating the way the words get choked up in his throat. You’re watching him and your eyes are the pressure of an audience of thousands. He swallows dryly and pushes through. “You deserved better than what I gave you. I know other people have probably told you before but I wanted to tell you myself. You deserved way better.”
You don’t say anything and Wooyoung feels his stomach churn, worrying that he might have ruined this dinner with his raw words. He inhales deeply, feeling his hands shake as he moves to pick up the lemon juice and add it to the pot of soup, followed closely by olive oil. It’s only when he’s finished serving soup into two bowls that you finally speak up.
“I know,” you say. It’s a short statement and although it’s not particularly comforting a wave of relief washes over Wooyoung at the sound of you saying anything at all. “Maybe things can be better this time. Way better.”
Wooyoung nods.
“Yeah,” is all he replies, scared that saying anything more will jinx it.
In the end the soup tastes perfect, as does the chicken. Wooyoung isn’t sure how much of it has to do with the way he cooked it and how much of it is to do with your presence in his apartment after months of absence, but he’s not sure that it matters much either.
