THE THIRD WHEEL ⋆‧°𓏲ּ
synopsis : y/n’s been the third wheel on countless dates. she’s celebrated everyone else’s love stories, and quietly accepted that romance just isn’t in the cards for her. But when another coffee run introduces her to someone new, what was supposed to be just another outing slowly becomes the first time someone sees her as more than the extra person.
genre: rom-com, fluff, slow burn, friends to lovers, smau
pairing: seonghyeon x !female!reader
warnings: none notes: ss + written (w.c: 541)
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Coffee with Iroha and Keonho wasn't anything new. At this point, it had become one of those routines that happened so often Y/N could probably write the entire day from memory. If someone asked her how it would go before they even left the house, she'd probably get every detail right.
Keonho would insist he wasn't hungry, only to somehow end up leaving with a pastry anyway after claiming he was "just holding it." Iroha would steal sips from both Y/N's drink and Keonho's without asking. Keonho would complain dramatically for all of thirty seconds while secretly finding it funny. Iroha would laugh, Y/N would roll her eyes, and, as always, she'd end up being the designated photographer.
She took pictures of everything.
Their drinks before anyone touched them. The pastries they'd all end up picking at. Blurry candids of Iroha laughing so hard she had to lean against Keonho. Random photos of them bickering over something completely insignificant before forgetting about it two minutes later.
Her gallery was practically filled with them.
Hundreds of photos of Iroha and Keonho, laughing, teasing each other, stealing bites of food, smiling without realizing she was pointing a camera at them. Anyone scrolling through her camera roll would probably think she was documenting someone else's relationship.
Not that she minded.
Well... most of the time.
It was predictable. Comfortably predictable.
The kind of routine you never realized you'd grown attached to until you imagined it disappearing.
The only thing making today any different... was Keonho's friend.
Seonghyeon.
Y/N knew the name, and that was about it.
Every now and then Keonho would mention him in passing, usually something random like, "I was with Seonghyeon yesterday," or, "Seonghyeon sent me the funniest video." Nothing that ever led to a real conversation. Just enough for Y/N to know he existed.
She'd never met him. Never seen a picture of him. If he walked past her on campus, she wouldn't have recognized him.
It wasn't like she was going to say no. Besides, it was just one more person grabbing coffee.
So that was that.
Just... Keonho's friend was coming.
Knowing Keonho, that could mean absolutely anything.
The café door chimed as Y/N stepped inside. Iroha spotted her immediately, waving so enthusiastically she nearly knocked over her iced latte.
“Over here!” iroha called out to her. Y/N laughed as she walked over, “One day you’re actually gonna spill that.” iroha shook her head, “I have excellent hand-eye coordination.”
“You almost proved yourself wrong.” By the time she reached the table, Keonho finally looked up from his phone. “…oh you’re here.” Keonho sighed dramatically, putting his phone down. Y/N scoffed, “don’t sound too excited”
“I was enjoying the lack of y/n-ness.” he said making a face at y/n. Y/n laughed at him dramatically “boy you say that knowing you ask iroha if i’m coming every time yall go out”
“bros lying on my name, i’d actually rather shit in my hands and clap” he laughs, y/n scrunches up her face at the thought. “keonho one day i’m gonna actually beat your ass” She pulled out the empty chair with an exaggerated sigh. “you’re so annoying” he tells her pouting like a little kid. “you know you love me” she says finally sitting down.
Only then did she notice someone sitting beside him. “Oh.”
Keonho glanced between the two of them like he’d just remembered.
“Right.” He nodded toward the guy beside him. “This is Seonghyeon.” The guy looked up from his drink, offering a small smile.
“Hey.”
“Hey.”
That was it. No dramatic music. No instant sparks. Just another person at the table.
Ten minutes in, everything was going exactly as predicted. “Can I try your drink?” Iroha asked, to no one in particular. “No.” Y/n answered without missing a beat. Iroha rolled her eyes laughing, “You don’t even know who I was asking.”
“It was my drink.” y/n answered without hesitation.
“…Yeah.”
Y/N snorted into her straw while Iroha pouted dramatically across the table. Even Seonghyeon laughed at that, not loudly, just a quiet laugh under his breath. Still, it was enough for Y/N to notice. When their drinks were called, Y/N stood without thinking. She grabbed the tray and started passing everything out from memory.
“That’s yours,” she said, sliding a drink toward Iroha. “And yours.” Keonho took his without looking up from his phone. “The oat milk one…” Y/N paused. There was one cup left. “Oh.”
She looked over at Seonghyeon. “…Is this yours?” He blinked before nodding. “…Yeah.”
She handed it to him with a small, embarrassed smile. “Sorry.” He shook his head at her with a small smile, “No, you’re good.” He glanced at the rest of the table before looking back at her. “You remembered everybody else’s.” Y/N shrugged. “I always do.”
For a second, he just looked at her. Then he smiled to himself and took a sip of his drink without another word.
A little later, Iroha looked around the table. “Can someone take a picture?” Like clockwork, everyone’s eyes landed on Y/N. She laughed. “Oh, right.” She reached for Iroha’s phone, but before her fingers could touch it…
“I got it.” The voice came from beside her. Y/N looked over. Seonghyeon was already standing. “I’ll take it.” The table went quiet for exactly one second before Keonho tossed him the phone. “cool.”
No one thought twice about it.
Y/N did.
TAGLIST: @eoduuung @i8cortis @faithinlina @mimismachineheart @wowbyselene @jhoon5 @eomrae @swagfcwn @kkyunho @moniiontop
