Minghao x reader | When the Cherry Blossoms Fade - IOI requested by anonymous Minghao was waiting at the outdoor cafe for Y/n. He was ecstatic to see her, but also felt he was burdening himself, and most especially her. He knew he had a lot of practice to catch up on, but he really wanted to see her. Exams were also coming up for Y/n, so he hoped that this would be a nice break from studies. He saw Y/n in the distance and waved when she looked up. With a soft smile, she hurried over and gave Minghao a big hug. They took their seats at a nearby table and looked at the menu, chatting with each other. The food came, and that was when Y/n talked of her studies. She voiced her concerns over subjects that she had trouble with and said that she was trying all that she could, but felt it wasn't enough. She told him how frustrated she was. Minghao sent her a look of empathy, but he could only offer words of encouragement. That just seemed to darken her mood. She looked at him. “I came to take a break from studies, and most importantly, to see you. It lightened my mood, it really did. But I feel like I’m burdening you. You have practice right now, am I correct? You should've gone to practice instead of spending your time with me. To be honest, it’s a pain for me also. I should be focusing on my studies even more so because exams are in a few days. I don't even have most of the subjects down. This isn't working out how we really wanted.” Minghao opened his mouth to say something, but she continued on. “You're tired, I'm tired,” she sighed, “Listen. I think it's best we just… took a break from each other. Just how we've been doing the past month. We're both busy and we can't help it.” Y/n gave a saddened smile. She left her pay on the table and walked out. As she walked away, the cherry blossoms fell along with their relationship. Spring ended and then came summer. The couple hadn't spoken since that day in spring. They didn't admit it when Pretty U promotions first started, but they were falling apart. So when Y/n gave that little speech in spring, they basically just cut off connection. Their friends, however, tried to get them talking again once Y/n’s examination period had finished. The two avoided talking about the other as much as they could. Whenever it came to others who didn't know about the current situation, they'd simply say, “They're doing great. I'll tell them you said ____.” Y/n was out grocery shopping when she was stopped by a few Seventeen members; Soonyoung, Seungkwan, and Seokmin. They accompanied her as she shopped and even helped carry some of the bags to her apartment. The trio cracked many jokes, causing Y/n to laugh. Seokmin invited her to go hang out back at the dorm. He said that everyone missed her and wished she'd come again. Y/n would've declined, but she saw their pleading looks. Oh, the looks on their faces were those of relief and happiness. The group of four arrived at the dorm and suddenly all the members were at the door. Or well, most of them. Y/n gave a smile to them and hugged each of them. She didn't know why, but she was disappointed. Was it because Minghao wasn't there? No, it couldn't be. They had practically broken up two months ago. Minghao walked out of one of the rooms and saw her. He seemed to acknowledged her, but just kept going in the same direction, towards the kitchen. The whole time she was there, they'd ignore each other. The members noticed this and tried to get them to talk again, but to no avail, it failed each time. Sure, they'd exchange a few words when the members got them to talk to each other, but that was all. Honestly, Minghao was glad Y/n was doing great since the last time they'd spoken. But he didn't know what to do when he saw her again. He wanted to hug her again, and tell her that he missed her so much. But he wasn't sure if she even wanted to talk to him. But, oh how he didn't know how much she wanted to do the same. It was clear to the members of Seventeen that they wanted to talk again. So, when Seungkwan saw Minghao walk into his room, he brought Y/n to the room, claiming he had something amazing to show her. She wasn't aware of what was happening until the door shut behind her. There in front of her stood Xu Minghao. The one she used to love. Or so, that's what she thought. “Y/n? What are you doing in here?” he questioned. “You know, just got the guys to put me in here and trap us. The usual,” she replied, unconsciously tapping her foot in nervousness. He chuckled softly. “You were never good at heavy atmospheres. I know you feel a little uncomfortable with it weighing down on us so much. “I'm very much fine, okay? There's nothing bot-” Minghao shook his head and cut her off with a hug. There was comforting kind of silence that followed. “I missed you. So, so much,” Minghao started. “I missed you, too.” Pause. “I'm sorry.” Minghao pulled back so he could look at her face. “What for?” “For not making an effort. We were already going to shi-, I mean, we were already falling apart. I wanted us to stay together through it, but I guess my frustrations got the best of me. I was so driven to do good on the exams, that I shut you out. Actually, so much that I shut out everyone.” “It's okay. I could've stopped you that day too. But I didn't. I could've relieved your stress and let you loosen up. That day I was even thinking something stupid like, ‘Why am I doing this? We haven't spoken the past few weeks.’ I was so tired until I saw you. But then as we talked, I felt that I was just on autopilot.” “I guess you could say that we both at fault,” Y/n laughed. Just like that, the two were back to their old selves four months ago. They caught up with each other and talked until it was late. Minghao told Y/n to stay over, which she did. The members were so glad that Minghao and Y/n made up. They even spared them the rest of the night of teasing. With Y/n in his arms, Minghao would have the most peaceful sleep he's had in months. “Also my brother says hi and to square up. I may or may not have told him we ‘broke up.’ He clearly doesn't know what taking a break means.” “Y/N” -Admin R
