✮ Synopsis: Y/n stumbles upon a camboy named Mingi late one night and becomes obsessed. Watching silently, never logging in, never speaking. But Mingi sees her anyway. He knows she’s there.
✮ A/N: Hi! I'm currently reuploading everything that got deleted, so if this seems familiar, that's why! I hope you all enjoy..(again)
Taglist *ೃ༄ @cherrygirlexi @linovvsss (If you would like to be added, send an ask!)
You never really meant to get addicted.
Your curiosity got the best of you one late night. A random link, a friend’s offhanded comment about a site that was “like OnlyFans but better.” You clicked. Browsed. Laughed. Got bored.
But then, you saw him.
His preview was cleaner than the others. Dim lighting, professional setup. A single tattooed hand adjusting a camera, then retreating. And then his face appeared.
Song Mingi.
Tan skin, nice lips, and wide shoulders. His expression unreadable, eyes low-lidded and smug like he already knew you were watching. You clicked “join stream” before thinking twice.
That was six weeks ago though. Now, you were viewer number 7451 and you hadn’t missed a single stream. Mingi didn’t know you. That was part of the thrill. You never tipped. Never commented. Never interacted.
You just watched.
And he was good. Too good. A natural performer, cocky in the way only someone who genuinely knew he was hot could be. The first time he moaned into the camera, chest heaving, lips parted, you’d cum so fast you’d barely remembered your own name.
He looked like sin on screen. Slow, teasing strokes, soft growls when he was edging himself, lazy tongue flicks when he licked his fingers before using them. He had no shame. No rush. No mercy.
You watched him in bed. On the couch. In the shower once. He’d worn a harness in one stream. A collar in another. Once, he’d come untouched just from grinding the sheets, fists clenched in the blankets, hips stuttering. You’d cried that night. Quietly. From how badly you wanted him.
But tonight… something felt different.
The stream started like always. Music low, lights dim, Mingi lounging shirtless in bed. Hair messy. Lips swollen like he’d been biting them. Your heart started pounding. You slipped under the blanket and adjusted your laptop on your thighs, biting your lip as he stared into the lens.
“Alright, chat,” he murmured, voice deep and calm. “I’ve been thinking about one of you.”
Your breath caught.
“I don’t know who you are,” he continued, reaching for a bottle of lube offscreen, “but you’re always here. I see the viewer count. It’s always one higher before I even log in. Every night.”
You froze.
“I can’t see your name, so I’ll just call you… 7451.” He smirked, slicking his fingers and lazily stroking his already half-hard cock. “If you’re watching right now… this one’s for you.”
Your mouth dropped open.
He knew.
Your hands trembled as you reached down between your legs. Your panties were soaked already, your thighs twitching from just the way his voice wrapped around the words. He was slow tonight. Teasing. Breathy moans and heavy eye contact as he leaned into the camera, voice dropping into that deep rasp that made you lose control.
“You like watching me, don’t you?” he whispered, his hand working slowly along his thick shaft. “Always hiding in the corner. Never saying a word. Just… watching.”
You whimpered, helpless. The way he looked directly into the camera felt too intimate, like he was in your room, speaking into your neck.
“You wanna know something, 7451?” Mingi exhaled, chest rising with a shaky breath. “I think about you when I fuck my hand.”
You gasped.
“I don’t even know your name, but I dream about you. Imagining you sitting there, legs spread, watching me ruin myself just for your attention. You don’t even tip. Don’t even talk. But I feel you.”
His voice darkened.
“You make me desperate.”
Your body jerked, fingers moving faster, thighs shaking.
“You gonna come for me tonight, baby?” he growled, voice slurring just a little as his pace increased. “Right there, in the dark, like a good girl?”
You whimpered his name.
“And when you do,” he panted, “I want you to say thank you. Even if I can’t hear it.”
Your orgasm hit so hard your vision blurred. You came with a broken cry, hand clamped over your mouth, shaking violently beneath the blanket. And on screen, Mingi groaned. Loud, rough, and needy cumming hard across his chest, eyes locked to the lens like he felt it.
When it was over, he leaned forward, chest rising and falling, and whispered:
“Good girl.”
The stream ended five seconds later.
You didn’t sleep that night.
Your body was still trembling hours after the stream ended, the image of Mingi panting into the camera for you was burned into your mind. It was like he’d crawled through the screen. Like he knew you. And that terrified you more than it thrilled you. Because now? You weren’t just watching.
You were seen.
The next stream didn’t help.
It was two days later. Your pulse skipped as you refreshed the page. His stream title was different this time. It wasn’t a generic “Live Now” or “Play With Me.”
It said: “7451. Come Back.”
You stared. Blinked. Clicked.
The second the screen loaded, Mingi looked up. Right into the camera. Into you.
“There you are,” he said softly. “I was hoping you didn’t get scared.”
Your stomach twisted.
He was sitting cross-legged on his bed, shirtless again, but softer this time. No teasing smile. Just steady eye contact and something deeper and warmer. Hungrier even.
“I can feel when you’re here,” he whispered, dragging his lip between his teeth. “I don’t know how, but I do.”
Your breath caught.
“Everyone in the chat wants attention. But not you. You just watch. You make me feel like I belong to you.”
His hand moved down again. Slower this time. Almost reverent.
“I honestly think I’d let you do anything to me.”
You didn’t touch yourself. Not yet. You just watched him stroke his cock with slow, aching pressure, hips twitching as he breathed through his nose, desperate to keep eye contact even while falling apart.
“Come back tomorrow night,” he panted. “I wanna try something new.”
The stream ended with his cum on his stomach and a half-smile on his lips.
You didn’t even hesitate.
The next night, the title read: “For Her Eyes Only.”
The chat was disabled.
Your whole body locked up.
He appeared again, hair slicked back this time, eyes heavy-lidded. He was wearing gray sweats, no shirt, no underwear and he was already hard. He didn’t say anything at first. Just stared.
And then said
“Take off your panties.”
You nearly stopped breathing.
“Yeah. You,” he murmured. “7451. You think I don’t know when you’re here? You make my fucking skin tingle.”
He fisted his cock roughly once, groaning as his head fell back.
“You don’t get to hide anymore. I don’t want your tips. I don’t want your name. I want your fucking attention.”
You were soaked in seconds. One hand pulling your panties to the side, the other trembling between your legs.
“You watching me touch myself makes me insane,” he growled, faster now. “I close my eyes and imagine you’re here. Knees pressed to your chest. Whimpering. Begging me to slow down. You’d let me break you, wouldn’t you?”
You moaned loudly. Too loud, covering your mouth instantly.
He smirked.
“Shh. Don’t want anyone to hear what you are for me.”
Your climax slammed into you with dizzying force. You couldn’t even breathe. Just clenched around nothing, twitching, thighs soaked and mouth open in silent shock. On screen, Mingi came at the same time. It was rougher this time. Louder, messier, like he was unraveling just as fast.
He leaned in close after, voice low and possessive.
“I need to see you.”
Click. The stream ended.
Two hours later, you got a notification: You’ve received a private message from: “fixon8_”
You stared at the screen. Heart in your throat.
The message said:
“I’m gonna find you.”
You didn’t respond to his message. But you didn’t stop watching, either. Three days passed. Three streams. All private. All for you. Each time, Mingi got a little darker. He didn’t ask anymore. He spoke like he already owned you.
“I know you’re still here, baby.”
“Your thighs shaking for me yet?”
“Next time you cum, leave your window open.”
And when you didn’t respond, not once, not even a tip, he sent one final message.
“Be home tomorrow night. I’ll knock twice.”
You didn’t tell him where you lived. You didn’t have to. When the knock came, soft and deliberate, just past midnight, your body reacted before your brain did. You opened the door slowly, heart slamming.
And there he was. Real. Broad. Bigger than you expected.
Mingi.
He didn’t speak. Just looked you up and down, eyes moving from your bare legs to the oversized shirt barely covering your thighs.
“You’re real,” he murmured. “Fuck.”
Your breath caught.
“You shouldn’t be here. How'd you even find me?”
He stepped inside anyway.
“I mean I told you I’d find you.”
The silence that followed was thick. Heated. He stared at you like he’d never seen a woman before.
“Take off the shirt.”
You hesitated.
“I said-” he stepped closer, lowering his voice “take it off.”
You obeyed.
The second it hit the floor, his hands were on you. Hot, rough palms sliding over your waist and hips, mouth dragging down your neck, licking, biting, claiming.
“You’ve been making me fucking crazy.”
He shoved you back against the wall, one hand sliding between your legs, fingers immediately coated.
“Of course you’re wet,” he growled. “You’re always wet for me, aren’t you?”
You whimpered, head tipping back.
“You thought you could just watch forever?” His breath was hot against your ear. “You made me cum so hard I blacked out. And you didn’t say a word.”
Two fingers pushed in with no warning. Deep, curling, pumping hard as his teeth grazed your jaw.
“You gonna stay quiet now, baby? Or you gonna let me hear you?”
You moaned loud, filthy, broken.
He smiled.
“There she is.”
He pulled you onto your knees.
“You owe me,” he said, stroking himself slowly as he leaned back on your couch. “Put that pretty mouth to work.”
You didn’t hesitate. You devoured him. Messy and loud. Tongue heavy and eager. He tangled a hand in your hair and hissed, hips jerking with every drag of your lips around his cock.
“Shit- yes. Just like that. You’re even better than I imagined.”
He didn’t last long. He really couldn’t. The second your fingers massaged the base and you moaned around him, he fell apart with a groan so guttural it vibrated in your chest.
“Fuck, baby—look at me. Look at me while I cum down your throat.”
You did. And you swallowed everything.
When it was over, he didn’t leave. He sat on the couch, chest heaving, hand still in your hair.
“I’m not going back to the camera.”
You blinked up at him, lips still swollen.
“What? Why?”
He smiled lazily. Possessively.
“Why would I stream,” he said, “when I’ve got the only viewer I care about right here?”
You didn’t get a chance to respond. Mingi was already crawling off the couch, already dragging you down with him. Your back pressed into the cushions, his weight heavy and warm above you.
“I waited long enough,” he muttered against your skin. “No more shows. No more cameras. No more pretending you don’t want this too.”
His hand gripped your throat, not tight, just enough to hold you there and his eyes locked on yours like he was trying to memorize the shape of your fear. Or lust. Or both.
“You belong to me now, don’t you?”
You nodded, dazed.
“Say it.”
Your voice cracked.
“I- I belong to you.”
His smile was dark. Like he’d won.
“Good girl.”
He fucked you rough deep. No teasing. No warm-up. You were already dripping wet from just the weight of him, from the way he looked at you like you were something he made.
“So fucking tight,” he growled, pushing in slow but heavy. “You’ve been playing with that pussy every night for me, huh? Getting yourself ready without even knowing it.”
You moaned like he owned your throat.
And maybe he did.
His pace built fast—rough, unrelenting, fucking you into the couch like he was making up for every stream you watched in silence. His hands never stopped moving, gripping your hips, your breasts, your face. Every part of you. All his.
“You’re gonna take everything I give you,” he panted. “I know that’s why you let me in. You want me to fill you up, don’t you?”
You whimpered, nails digging into his back.
“Want me to cum in you, baby? Make it stick? Fuck it in so deep your body doesn’t even have a choice?”
Your legs wrapped around his waist automatically. Instinctive. Desperate.
“You’re fucking mine.”
He grabbed your jaw and held it firm, still moving inside you, slow and deep strokes that made your walls flutter around him.
“Say it. Say you want my cum.”
You choked.
“I want it- I want you to fill me, Mingi, please”
His eyes burned.
“Beg for it.”
“Please cum in me. Please make me yours. I want it. I want all of it—”
He slammed back in with a groan, loud and broken, hips snapping hard until your moans turned to gasps. You could feel it—his cock twitching, the heat spilling inside as he pressed his full weight down and held you in place.
“That’s it,” he growled. “Take it. Take my fucking cum like you were made for it.”
Your head tipped back in ecstasy.
“I’m not done.”
You blinked up at him, breathless.
“You think I’m gonna let you walk around leaking my cum without making sure it takes?”
His hips rolled again, slow and filthy. You whimpered.
“I’m gonna fuck you full until your body begs me to stop.”
And he did.
Later, you lay tangled in his arms, your thighs still trembling. His lips pressed to your temple. His voice soft.
“I won’t let you go.”
You didn’t want him to, but this felt a little wrong.
“You’re not just some viewer anymore, baby. You’re mine.”
Mingi stayed the night.
He didn’t ask. Just fell asleep with one arm around your waist and the other slung possessively over your stomach like he was guarding you. And when you woke up the next morning, his face was still buried in your neck, breathing you in.
He didn’t leave for three days.
By the time he did, you had handprints on your thighs and bruises on your hips. Your body was sore, marked, and claimed in every way imaginable. And he wasn’t done.
“No streaming. No pictures. No fucking friends,” he said as he zipped up his bag before leaving. “I see anyone else touch you, I’ll lose it.”
You should’ve felt afraid.
Instead, you said:
“Okay.” with a small giggle.
He smiled like a predator. And he meant it.
He started small. Your phone buzzed with messages every hour.
Fixon8: Where are you? Fixon8: Who are you with? Fixon8: Why didn’t you answer in 7 minutes?
Then he showed up unannounced. Two nights in a row. One time with takeout. One time with handcuffs.
“Don’t make me ask to see you, baby. Just be here.”
And when you tried to tease him, mentioning an old hookup in from a couple of months ago, his entire mood shifted.
“You let someone else touch this pussy?”
You blinked.
“It was months ago, Mingi-”
“Did he fuck you raw?”
You swallowed.
He grabbed your face—tight. Not hard enough to hurt, but enough to stop you from lying.
“You gave my mouth to someone else?”
You whimpered, breath catching as he dragged you down to the floor.
“Guess I’ll just have to remind you what mine feels like.
That night, he didn’t fuck you. He devoured you. Tongue flat and filthy, hands locking your thighs down, holding you open like you belonged under him. Mouth on your clit until you sobbed, until you screamed his name, until your legs gave out and your throat was raw.
And he still didn’t stop.
“No one else gets to hear you like this,” he growled between your thighs. “No one else gets to see how messy you get just from my fucking mouth.”
You came again. And again. And again. By the time he finally slid into you, he didn’t even fuck you hard, just deep, controlled strokes, hands on either side of your face as he whispered:
“I want to cum inside you every day until your body forgets anyone else ever existed.”
You looked up at him through wet lashes and whispered
“You already ruined me.”
He groaned, head tipping forward until your foreheads touched.
“Then let me ruin you completely.”
Afterward, he opened your drawer and slipped one of your panties in his hoodie pocket.
“Mine.”
He pulled your phone from your charger and typed his name into your contact list, with a lock emoji, and nothing else.
“No one else calls you this late.”
And when he finally left, he kissed your cheek and said:
“I’m coming back tomorrow.
It was your fault. You left your laptop open, half-buried under the sheets after a lazy afternoon nap. Mingi had wandered in shirtless and grinning, talking about ordering food, until he saw the glowing screen.
His voice stopped mid-sentence.
You rolled over, hair stuck to your cheek, blinking in confusion.
“Mingi?”
He didn’t answer.
His eyes were locked on the screen. On your bookmarks bar.
Your stomach dropped.
Because there it was, clear as day: -Private Folder — ‘M<3’ -Favorites: Mingi moaning.mp4 -Replay: Tongue & Toy — 57min
You shot up, panicked.
“Wait-wait, don’t-”
But he’d already clicked.
The video opened. His video. From months ago. The one where he came untouched just from grinding against the sheets. The one where he whispered, “I feel like someone’s watching me harder than the rest.” You watched his expression shift in real-time. First confusion, then realization, then something darker.
Something primal.
He closed the laptop slowly. Turned to you.
“You saved them huh.”
You sat frozen.
“I- yeah, I…” you swallowed, trying to smile, “I didn’t think you’d care. That was before we even—”
“You fucking labeled them.”
He stepped closer. You didn’t move.
“You made folders. Organized clips. You watched me cum over and over while pretending you were just some quiet little viewer, but you're just a nasty little slut.”
His tone wasn’t angry. It was low. Careful. Controlled.
“How long?”
Your throat dried up.
“Mingi—”
“How long did you watch me like that?”
You breathed, barely.
“Since the first week. I saw you by accident, and I… I couldn’t stop.”
He stood above you now, staring down at your flushed, guilty face.
“So all that time, you were already mine.”
He sat on the edge of the bed, hands gripping your thighs, forcing them open so he could settle between.
“I used to wonder why I came so hard when I said your name on stream. Now I know.”
You moaned when he dragged your panties down, spreading your legs until your slick thighs trembled.
“You were already touching yourself to me. Like a good little pervert. My perfect fucking girl.”
He buried his face between your legs like he missed it. Tongue flat and messy, groaning like your taste was the cure to something inside him. He licked through you like he was starving, hands gripping your thighs so tight they’d bruise.
“That folder should’ve had a password,” he murmured against your pussy. “But I’m glad it didn’t.”
Your hips bucked. He sucked your clit until your back arched and your legs jerked.
“Say it,” he panted. “Say you were mine even before I touched you.”
You gasped, hands gripping his hair.
“I was yours. I was already yours. I wanted you so bad-”
You came hard against his mouth, crying his name out.
He didn’t stop. Not even when you shook. Not even when your eyes rolled back. When he finally pulled away, your legs were still twitching. He stood over you, cock hard and leaking against his stomach.
“You want the real thing now, baby?”
You nodded helplessly.
He slid into you with one smooth, hard thrust. Deep and full, like he wanted to wipe every fake memory clean and replace it with this. He fucked you like he was memorizing the way you felt. Slow at first. Then deeper. Hips grinding as he filled you again and again, praising you between every thrust.
“You were mine even when you didn’t say a word.”
“You made those clips for me, didn’t you? Touched yourself while you named my files.”
“No one’s ever gonna know you like I do.”
You moaned with every word, helpless beneath him.
And when he came, deep inside you, groaning into your neck, he didn’t pull out.
“Keep it in,” he whispered, kissing your jaw. “Don’t waste a drop.”
You were quiet for a moment, blinking up at the ceiling, full of his cum and full of… something bigger.
Then he reached for the laptop again.
You panicked.
“Wait—!”
But he just opened a blank folder, titled it: ‘Real Life: Mingi + 7451’
“Guess it’s time to start a new one.”
You felt your phone buzz next to you. It was a message from Mingi saying:
Mingi<3: “Set an alarm. 7:45 AM. No panties. Call me after you wake up.”
You stared at it.
A week ago, he’d been fucking you into the mattress while calling you his favorite little pervert. Now he was setting your schedule like he owned your time too.
Which, honestly… he kind of did. You followed every instruction.
No panties. A cropped hoodie and nothing else. Face flushed when your alarm went off and you sat up, already soaked. Already thinking about him.
Your phone rang at 7:46.
“Good girl,” he said. “Let me hear your voice."
By the end of the week, he was managing more than just your mornings.
“Wear that black dress today.
“No touching yourself after 10PM unless I say so.”
“Drink water. Three bottles. I’m serious.”
It kind of scared you at first, but you actually liked it. You liked the sound of his voice cracking through your speakers. You liked that he kept track of your cycle, your work schedule, your moods.
“You’re mine,” he said one night, whispering in your ear as you lay in bed. “So I get to make the rules.”
You broke a rule once. You touched yourself past midnight. Just one night. You were desperate and needy from his teasing, throbbing from his last message.
He found out. You didn’t even know how. But the next time you opened your door, Mingi was already inside, hood up, expression unreadable.
“What did I tell you about breaking rules?.”
You froze.
“Mingi—”
“Don’t speak.”
He grabbed your wrist, pulled you into the bedroom, and stripped you in seconds. Then he tied you down. No ropes. Just his shirt and his hoodie. His hand pressing firm into your belly.
He made you cum five times.
“You wanna cum without permission?” “You’ll cum when I say. Over and over. Until you cry for me.”
He used his mouth, his fingers, a toy you didn’t know he’d brought. He didn’t even let you catch your breath.
“No running, baby. This is what you wanted, right?”
By the end, you were shaking, twitching, tears streaming down your face as you begged him to stop. And he did, but not before licking his fingers and whispering:
“You taste so good.”
Later, wrapped in his arms, your body trembling with aftershocks, you heard the softest thing you’d ever hear him say.
“You don’t need to control anything anymore.”
You blinked up at him, sleepy and ruined.
“Why?”
He kissed your cheek.
“Because I’ve got you.”
He just showed up one afternoon with a duffel bag and threw it on your couch like it had always been his.
You blinked at him, wide-eyed.
“You’re moving in?”
Mingi smirked.
“You really thought I’d let you live alone after everything?”
He kissed you before you could respond. Slow, dirty, final. The kind of kiss that didn’t ask for space or permission. Just took.
The first night he stayed, it was quiet. No toys. No games. No control. Just his arms wrapped around your back as he pulled you onto his lap, your thighs bare, the stretch of him inside you slow and sweet as you cockwarmed in his lap.
“This-,” he whispered against your shoulder, “is all I’ve wanted.”
You shifted slightly, your walls clenched, and he hissed.
“Keep doing that and I’ll fuck a baby into you.”
You froze.
“You’d let me,” he said, trailing a hand down your spine. “You’d take it. You’d be perfect.”
You whimpered, burying your face in his neck.
“Do it, then. I’m yours.”
The shift was quiet, but final. Your fridge had his energy drinks. Your bathroom had his cologne. Your nights ended with his hands under your shirt, your body already open for him, your moans soft and easy like they belonged in the background of his new life.
The final stream on his channel uploaded two days after the move.
A black screen with one sentence:
“Logged out. I found her.”
No comments. No replies. The account vanished hours later.
That night, he fucked you like he was recording with his whole body.
No camera. Just memory.
Slow strokes, heavy breathing, his thumb rubbing soft circles over your clit while he whispered:
“I used to jerk off to the idea of your voice. Now I get to hear you beg for real.”
He came inside you multiple times before the sun came up.
Warnings: SMUT/Sexual Content MDNI, language, mentions of choking, creampie (wrap that thing up), squirting, fingering, oral (female and male receiving), and so on.
About: Sex with Mingi after a concert
SMUT UNDER THE CUT MDNI 18+
Masterlist
⊹₊⟡⋆ ⊹₊⟡⋆ ⊹₊⟡⋆ ⊹₊⟡⋆ ⊹₊⟡⋆ ⊹₊⟡⋆ ⊹₊⟡⋆ ⊹₊⟡⋆ ⊹₊⟡⋆ ⊹₊⟡
bf!Mingi who just looks so damn good up on stage every time he performs.
bf!Mingi who shows off extra when his gf is in the crowd watching him.
bf!Mingi who acts up more than usual because he knows that it'll make you lowkey jealous and you're hot when you're mad.
bf!Mingi who wears his tightest leather pants when performing because he knows exactly where your eyes will fall.
bf!Mingi who makes direct eye contact with you as he thrusts his hips, tongue out.
bf!Mingi who gets Atiny to bark the loudest they ever have while watching you with careful, predatory eyes.
bf!Mingi who growls in to the mic.
bf!Mingi who teaches the boys how to dance sexy on stage which obviously gets the crowd going.
bf!Mingi who looks so sweaty and sexy up on stage, his movements sharp and dangerous.
bf!Mingi who watches to make sure you leave the barrier safe and sound to head backstage to meet him.
bf!Mingi who after the show heads right to you and tugs you behind him straight to his dressing room.
bf!Mingi who locks the door and immediately presses you against it.
bf!Mingi who places two strong hands on your waist and leans his forehead against yours.
bf!Mingi who says the filthiest things in your ear as he kisses your neck and sucks or nips lightly at the sensitive skin there.
bf!Mingi who moans in your ear "God baby, you're such a tease. I watched you all night, I couldn't look away from how sexy my dirty baby looked at me."
bf!Mingi who makes you sqeal as he lifts you up with ease and carries you over to the couch.
bf!Mingi who makes quick work of your clothes and gets you naked for him in no time.
bf!Mingi who finds you completely soaked for him. "My jagiya is so wet for me. D'you like how I performed for you tonight hm? You like how I showed off just for you?"
bf!Mingi who bites his way down your body, his stage makeup sweating off his face as he eats you out messily and without any plan of action.
bf!Mingi who pumps his fingers in and out of you in just the perfect rythm to get you moaning his name so load that he has to shove his fingers in your mouth to muffle the noise.
bf!Mingi who makes sure to finish you at least twice before switching positions and having you open your pretty mouth for him.
bf!Mingi who grabs your jaw at the hinge and makes you open your mouth softly before shoving his thick cock in your mouth.
bf!Mingi who smiles as you choke around him. "That's my good girl, choke on my dick baby. You're doing such a good job for me yeah? I couldn't stop thinking about your mouth on stage. I almost got so hard when I saw you bouncing around earlier, your perfect fucking tits kill me Jagi."
bf!Mingi who pulls out of your mouth long enough for you to look up at him with tears running down your cheeks and spit down your chin as you beg for him. "Please fuck me Mingi. You looked so fucking hot up there tonght. I just need you inside me, I need to feel you."
bf!Mingi who obviously agrees immediately and flips you onto your stomach, pushing into you with ease as you drown out your cries of pleasure by biting your hand.
bf!Mingi who takes your hand and puts it behind your back because he doesn't care who hears your screams at this point.
bf!Mingi who send you over the edge one more time for good measure before pushing you against the couch cushions and attaches his lips to the sensitive part under your ear, whispering how good you are for him. "Such a good girl for me always baby, my god you feel so good. I'm gonna fill you up yeah? My pretty girl. Can I fill you up please Jagiya? I want to make my good little slut all mine."
bf!Mingi who hears your loud moans in response and releases inside of you, triggering your final orgasm as you squirt all over him.
bf!Mingi who breaths heavily against your temple and places soft kisses all over your face, pulling out slowly and wrapping you up in one of his jackets before cleaning you up swiftly and cuddling you back in his safe arms.
bf!Mingi who whispers how much he loves you. "You were amazing jagi. You were so perfect. My pretty baby makes me feel so good. I love you so, so much. Thank you for coming to the show tonight."
bf!Mingi who helps you get dressed and takes you back to his hotel room to order room service before you take a shower together for round two.
ot8 (individually) x fem!reader || headcanons || est. relationships
ateez masterlist
°‧ 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 ·｡ ˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ °‧ 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 ·｡
Kim Hongjoong
Angel, Babe, Lovey
"Babe could you pass me my headphones?" Hongjoong's voice drifted into your bedroom. You looked up from your book to the doorway, seeing him poke his head in with that dorky smile.
You nodded, reaching to the other side of the mattress to where he threw his headphones that morning. You stretched as you handed them to him, making a show at how far away he was.
He laughed, coming in further to the room and grabbing them.
"Thank you Angel," before he could pull away you grabbed his wrist, yanking his arm. He yelped, letting himself be pulled until he landed over you. Your laughter filled the air around you both as he huffed and pushed himself up.
"Oh Joongie if you wanted to cuddle you could've just said so," you teased, cupping his cheeks as he looked down at you. He sighed, lowering himself just enough to brush his nose with yours.
"Lovey, you don't know what you've started," he said in a low voice, your eyes widening as his hands grabbed your sides. Your laughter rang out louder this time as he tickled your sides.
You begged him to stop but he just shook his head.
"You started this, grabby hands."
Park Seonghwa
Honey, Sweetheart, Love
"I don't know," you sighed, looking around at yourself in the mirror. You smoothed down the fabric, making a face at the cut.
"What don't you know Love?" he asked, smiling at you as you twirled around again.
"Doesn't the seam look weird? Or is it the color?" you groaned, clicking your tongue and going for the zipper.
You flailed for a second, fighting to even find it behind you.
"You pull everything off Honey," he laughed, getting up from his spot to graze a hand over your back. You felt his hand stop on the small of your back and the other pinch the zipper.
You rolled your eyes at his smile.
"You're bias is showing. I need Park Seonghwa the model, not mushy boyfriend," you whined, hands dropping to let him unzip you.
"Bias or not, I'm being honest," he kissed your cheek, pulling down on the metal. "Try the blue one next," he smiled against you.
"I already put on the blue one," you smiled at him through the mirror. His smile turned cheeky.
"I know," he moved back to grab the dress off the hook. "But you should put it on again."
"You really don't even try to be sly anymore, do you?" you laughed. He winked at you.
"No, no I don't Sweetheart."
Jeong Yunho
Baby, Honey, Sweetpea
"Hi Honey," Yunho whispered, hand sliding over your back as he leaned down to kiss you. You smiled, looking up from the menu to receive it. "Sorry I'm late, practice ran a bit long."
You waved him off.
"It's ok, I haven't been waiting long," you watched as he shrugged off his coat, glancing over the open menu in front of him.
You couldn't tear your attention off him, seemingly mesmerized as he rolled up the sleeves of his sweater and picked up the book. He hummed as he read, only glancing up after he seemed to find something.
"What do you want to --" he stopped when he caught you staring, smiling at how you tried to play it off. "What's on your mind Baby?"
You smiled, Yunho seeing the way your cheeks flushed that shade of pink that he loved.
"You act so casual like you don't look like some k-drama lead," you shook your head.
He laughed.
"Well technically I am Sweetpea," he laughed harder at the glare you shot at him.
"Smartass," you made a face at him, smiling and going back to your menu.
"So you think I'm handsome?" he smiled teasingly, menu forgotten in his hand. He leaned over the table, candlelight defining his face even more.
"I think you're annoying," you rolled your eyes. "I take it back, you're more like the comedic relief than a lead," he put a hand to his chest, acting offended.
"You know I'm still a fan favorite."
Kang Yeosang
Angel, Honey, Darling
"Darling," Yeosang's voice was low and husk as his whispered in your ear. You let out a quiet hum, turning over on your side without opening your eyes.
He pushed you onto your back again, wrapping himself around you and tucking his face into your neck.
"Honey, we need to get up," he slowly kissed up your neck, pecking behind your ear before moving to your cheek.
You groaned, sliding the covers higher up on yourself.
"No~," you whined, arms wrapping around him as he slid on top of you. "You're warm," you sighed as his kisses slowed to a stop at the corner of your mouth.
"We have things to do today," you felt him smile as he lifted up just a bit.
"It's your vacation, we don't have anything to do," you groaned, eyes barely opening to look at him. His hair was a mess, a lazy smile on his face as he stared at you.
Sunlight streamed in through the window, bouncing off his skin with a halo like glow.
You could stay looking at him like this forever and it wouldn't be long enough. You raised a hand, running it through his hair a bit.
He leaned into the contact as you slid down to his cheek.
"Exactly, vacation means I finally have time to take you on that brunch date," he laughed, moving back down to your lips. You smiled against him, pulling him even closer as he gave you quick pecks.
"Come on Angel, let me take you out today."
Choi San
Baby, Honey, Sweet girl
"Come on Honey," San stepped into the bathroom, adjusting his sleeves. "We're gunna be late if we don't leave soo-"He dragged the word out, slowly turning it to a whistle. You looked at him through the mirror, seeing him slowly smile as his eyes ran over you.
"Pulled out all the stops tonight hm?" he dragged his eyes back to yours and you recognized the look in them.
"Don't even think about it, I've been in this bathroom for too long for you to mess it up," you warned, glaring at him through the mirror as you adjusted your dress.
His face fell into a pout.
"I didn't even say anything yet," he whined. You rolled your eyes with a laugh.
"Don't even try playing innocent I know that look," your eyes went back to your reflection, running a hand through your hair before smiling satisfied. "Now, were gunna be late remember?"
"Do you truly think so little of me Baby?" he put on that innocent face again, like he wasn't just looking at you like you were a slice of his favorite cake.
"Is that an honest question?" you shuffled past him, moving to the closet to find your shoes.
"Meanie," he huffed, motioning for you to sit on the bed as he grabbed your favorite heels. You smiled at him as he slid them on, fastening the strap around your ankles like it was muscle memory.
"You do that faster than I can," you commented, rolling your ankle around to try and slow him down. It didn't work, his hands sliding down to still the movement.
"Because Sweetgirl," he stood and took your hands, pulling you up and into his chest. You splayed a hand to it, the other staying in his as he leaned down a ghosted a kiss over your glossed lips. "I haven't let you put them on yourself in months."
"And why is that exactly," you asked, eyes fluttering as he put his forehead to yours.
"Hopefully you'll forget how eventually, so even when I mess up that pretty make up you can't leave me," he joked, laughing as you slapped his chest. You smiled and moved away, grabbing your purse and heading to the door.
"You're insufferable," you complained with no real annoyance behind it, your voice full of amusement. His eyes trailed down you again as you walked away.
"You know, we don't have to go to this award show," he debated.
"Come on Mr. Choi, don't even start."
Song Mingi
Babe, Cutey, Doll
"Why hello there Doll," he pulled you into him by the waist, kissing your cheek with a crooked smile. "And what is someone looking so good doing here hmm?"
Your brows raised at him, looking at him surprised.
"Well, she might be looking for her boyfriend, but it looks like all she found was some guy that looks like him but with worse lines," you gave him a cheeky smile.
He pouted.
"Oh, come on Babe, my lines are great," he huffed.
"No, she's right. They suck," Wooyoung threw over his shoulder as he walked out of the practice room.
"Yeah, that one was pretty bad," Hongjoong laughed, following him out.
"Honestly horrible," Yunho laughed, stopping to pat your shoulder. "Don't know how you put up with him," he whispered with a smile.
Mingi flicked his head, shooing him out the door with the rest of them.
"Was it really that bad?" Mingi looked back down to you. You put your hands to his chest, patting him with a smile.
"Just a little, it was nice though," you laughed, reaching up to ruffle his hair a bit.
"I knew it," he kissed your cheek again, this time moving down to your mouth. You laughed into it, arms wrapping around his neck. "I knew you would love it."
"Love is a strong word," you rolled your eyes.
"Keep that up and I'll make those pretty eyes roll for another reason Cutey."
Jung Wooyoung
Baby, Babe, Sunshine
There was one thing you were sure of.
There was nothing more attractive than a man walking in with a bouquet of flowers that you knew were meant for you.
Wooyoung pushed up his sunglasses, pushing his hair back with them as he looked around the cafe before spotting you. You saw his face brighten when he found you.
"Babe!" he smiled widely as he came up to the table, planting a heavy kiss on your forehead before sitting down across from you. "You'll never guess what San told me about his manager and a reporter," he set the flowers down, sliding them over to you.
You looked down at them with a smile, laughing a little as you picked them up to smell them. They were your favorites, wrapped in newspaper and a little string.
"What's the occasion?" you looked back up to him, ignoring his prompt for gossip. He looked at you confused.
"I just got of work and have a good gossip story?" you rolled your eyes, shaking the flowers a little.
"Not that dummy, these," you looked back down to the flowers to emphasize them. His brows raised as he nodded.
"Nothing, I just saw them on my way over here and knew you'd like them," he smiled as your cheeks flushed pink. "Plus, I hadn't got you any in a while," he shrugged.
"I do like them," you set them back down, smoothing the paper down a bit. "Thank you."
"Anytime Sunshine," his hand found yours over the table, thumb running gently over your skin at the sweet smile you gave him.
"So, San's manager and a reporter?" you asked, resting your chin in your palm. His face perked up.
"Oh my god Baby it's an insane story so--"
Choi Jongho
Sweetheart, Honey, Bunny
"Sweetheart~," Jongho practically sung the nickname through the apartment, followed by the sound of his steps sliding on the hardwood.
You could hear his happy hum as he found you in the kitchen, turning to see a bright smile on his face.
He came home ready to surprise you with that he got a few days off. Both of you had been on completely opposite schedules lately, so this total stroke of luck was the best news he had gotten in months.
But as he stepped into the kitchen you turned around, hair falling out its tie and his shirt covered in what he hoped was just flour, he forgot everything on his brain.
"Hi Bunny," his voice melted as he leaned into the door frame. You smiled, leaving your dough on the counter and coming up to him. You cupped his face, squishing them until his lips puckered for you to kiss.
You giggled as you backed away, leaving flour handprints against his cheeks.
"Sorry," you laughed, wiping at the flour only making it worse. That goofy smile stayed on his lips as he looked at you, head tilting into your hand.
"Cookies?" he tucked a stray piece of hair behind your ear. You nodded, turning back to where the cookie dough waited for you.
"I'm worried they'll be too sweet," you sighed, looking at the damn sugar jar you knocked over right into the dough earlier. "We really need to change this jar set up," you grumbled.
He laughed, wiping his cheeks as he came up behind you. His chin rested on your shoulder.
"Nothing you make can be too sweet Honey."
°‧ 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 ·｡ ˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ °‧ 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 ·｡
I was going to add some more cheesy ones, but secondhand embarrassment kicked in lol
Also why is San's so long compared to everyone elses? I don't know how that happened
➣ synopsis: song mingi. everyone knows his name — south korea’s golden boy rapper and producer is always in the headlines; award after award, sold out shows, new #1 albums. recently, it’s been: drinking, fights, drugs, girls. in order to help his image, his agency comes up with a last attempt to help him and it involves becoming your boyfriend, south korea’s sweetheart and the complete opposite of song freaking mingi.
➣ GENERAL WARNINGS FOR SERIES: Mingi is major big asshole for a while but he gets better I promise, negotiations of relationship related issues without recipients consent, vulgar language, violence, blood, arguments, heated situations (and not in a hot way), toxic environments, misogyny, toxic masculinity, Mingi is a HOT MESS, yes that’s a warning, mentions of past relationships and also Mingi having sexual relations with other people, bisexual!mingi, kind of explicit scenes with Mingi having sex with someone other than the reader, excessive drinking and recreational drug use, big dick Mingi bc yes he has a big dick, eventual rough sex, clit/pussy slapping, sex in public, biting, choking, unprotected sex (wrap it before you tap it kids), illusions to voyuerism, mg is very angry for a lot of this but I promise things get better, this looks like a dark fic but I promise there are tender moments, you just have to get through all of that ^^
➣ SPECIFIC warnings for chapter: bisexual mingi out in full force at the end, mingi being mean again :(, sorry not sorry for the slow burn, very brief mentions of suicidal ideation but barely
➣ part one. part three.
Hello, this is KQ and AURA Entertainment.
We would like to share a joint announcement regarding two of our artists, Y/N and MINGI. We, along with the artists permission are confirming that they are dating. At this time, both artists wish for privacy and respect as they navigate their relationship with one another. Any ill comments or rumors will be handled legally. Thank you for your understanding.
Thank you.
KQ Entertainment
AURA Entertainment
It’s been a week since the press release has been posted.
A week of your phone blowing up; a week of the girls giving you careful side glances; a week of dealing with this weird pity thing both Wooyoung and San are doing with you.
A week of no longer being true to yourself or to your Rebels.
Your eyes and head spun as your social media pages practically blow up. Netizens are genuinely having a field day with this announcement, calling you desperate for attention; calling you a whore; calling you a fake.
A fake.
You might be a lot of things, but you have always prided yourself as someone who was never fake. Your emotions unfortunately rule you and how you poise yourself as a person, an idol. A poker face is something you have never had — so the fact that you are in this position, with people calling you a fake, feels laughable beyond belief.
On the other hand, you have fans going absolutely wild for this pairing. Fans are making edits on TikTok, some are making analysis tweets and others are just expressing their love for the both of you.
It’s sweet, but you just wish that all of this wasn’t for only Mingi’s benefit. You’ve seen the headlines recently:
KOREAN RAPPER SONG MINGI FINALLY SETTLING DOWN?
RAPPER SONG MINGI AND ROYALS MEMBER L/N Y/N ARE AN UNLIKELY PAIRING, BUT TRUE LOVE FINDS A WAY!
You just want to bash your head in. If you could, you would deactivate everything, but you won’t.
The conference room is stifling as you sit at the table. You fingers are practically raw as you have done nothing for the past week but nervously chew on them, your cheek is unfortunately another victim of a nervous habit and once in a while, you can taste the metallic tang against your tongue that brings you back to reality.
For the next year, your dating life will be picked apart ruthlessly, people giving opinions on something they see and don’t even know.
Well, you guess that’s kind of the point of this whole thing.
Wooyoung has his eyebrows furrowed together, knee bouncing underneath the table in a way that makes your stomach queasy. After years of being an idol, you have realized the last few weeks, that things can still rattle you to your core.
You suppose you’re grateful that you’re not emotionless like some of the sunbaenim’s you know who have turned rock hard under all the criticism and spotlights shone on them.
San has been busy putting out fires left and right since the press release went up. Luckily, his team was ready for it, obviously, but the other day you remember saying goodnight to him as you left the company and saying good morning when you returned the following day for practice. San had not moved from his desk.
San has been issuing legal documents to people who have taken comments way too far, citing them, taking their posts down and doing damage control. It makes your head spin at everything he’s been able to do lately.
You reach up to rub the pads of your fingers against your forehead, trying to push the ache behind your skull away.
Hongjoong and Jongho make their way into the conference room, bowing and saying hello to everyone. You do the same, getting up to bow towards them.
Mingi strolls in, backwards cap on his head, black sunglasses on his face and a lollipop in his mouth.
He looks so good.
Shut up, Y/N.
He takes the seat across from you, sending you a smile and a wink. You roll your eyes, letting out a hard exhale and crossing your arms.
“Good morning everyone,” Wooyoung clears his throat.
“Good morning,” Hongjoong smiles tightly, his dangly earrings catching the light in a way that directs your attention to them.
Mingi slouches down in his seat, raising his arm to reach up and pull the lollipop out of his mouth. The bracelets he’s wearing on his wrists fall to his forearm with the movement and it makes you look back at him.
He and you have not interacted much this week. You’ve sent him a few texts, only garnering very dry, uninterested responses that leave you pulling at the roots of your hair.
“Let’s get into it — we will be covering the schedule regarding Mingi and Y/N for the upcoming few weeks.” Jongho says, wasting no time.
You lick your lips, them having dried out as a response to how nervous you’ve been for this meeting.
“Tomorrow, Y/N and the rest of ROYALS have their movie premiere for their world tour that will be airing on select big screens. Y/N and Mingi will attend that together, they will not take any questions since they haven’t been able to spend much time together to get their stories straight.” San begins, reading off of a list on his tablet that looks to be ten million miles long.
Right, you and Mingi have to come up with a story. That is something that the companies dropped on you when the press release went out. It almost made everything more annoying, knowing that you’ll have to spend additional unwanted time with Mingi to get your act straight.
“On Thursday, ROYALS is beginning their variety show called ROYALS Life in the Dreamhouse which will include Y/N as the first host and Mingi as the first guest.”
That sentence makes your stomach drop.
“I’m sorry, what? Since when is he going to be the first guest?” You look directly at Wooyoung, eyes pleading silently.
“When you all signed on, we did agree that the first episode would be all four of you as an intro episode, but things have changed since then.” Wooyoung says to you in a tone that he uses with you as a warning.
The warning is: do not start anything.
“So he’s just going to come in and hijack literally everything that we have planned?” You ask incredulously.
“He has a name,” Mingi says, startling you.
You send him a glare. “Yeah, it starts with douche and ends with bag.”
Mingi’s eyes darken as he narrows them at you. It makes something hot and fluttery bubble in the very bottom of your stomach. God, you’re so weak.
“Careful angel face,” he says lowly.
You resist the urge to gag at the name. His little pet names have bothered you beyond belief. They aren’t meant for him, they are meant for someone who actually likes you, for someone who is actually in a relationship with you.
Unfortunately, the way he says these names to you make your bones ache in a way you’re not used to. Song Mingi has genuinely messed up everything about you and your life. It’s been two fucking weeks.
“Moving on—” Jongho sends a look to both you and Mingi. Damn, if looks could kill. “On Saturday, you two need to post something on social media about an anniversary. At this point, you guys should be together for about a year.”
You’re joking.
“So we have to write sappy little ‘happy one year anniversary!’ on Instagram to sell it, huh?” You scoff. “Wouldn’t that be a dead giveaway since he’s been seen out fucking every model in Seoul?”
You get a kick to the shin under the table, sending a gasp out of your mouth, eyes wide in disbelief at Wooyoung.
He’s not even looking at you.
You shake your head, twisting the chair back and forth in attempt to distract yourself from the shit show unfolding in front of you.
Mingi hasn’t said anything for the whole meeting, two hours passing slowly as he milks the lollipop in his mouth. You’re even more irritated when he pulls the sucker out, looking you dead in the eyes as he twirls his tongue around it.
Asshole.
As the meeting comes to an end, everyone leaves and Mingi sends you a little salute.
“See you tomorrow, angel.”
You hope the movie premiere gets rained out tomorrow, maybe the theater will have a pipe burst and will have to be postponed. Yes, that would be the move.
San gets up, mumbling something that you don’t understand and leaves the room.
Wooyoung sighs and looks at you. For the first time in a while, you look at him, really look at him.
He has the beginnings of deep purple circles underneath his eyes, skin slightly pallor.
“Are you getting sick?” You ask quietly, concerned for your friend.
“Yeah,” Wooyoung laughs humorlessly, “sick of the bullshit you’re putting me through.” He leans forward, palms flush with the table. “I know this situation is less than ideal, but I cannot have you fight me on every fucking thing, Y/N.”
“It’s not fair!” You yelp weakly, your neck starting to get hot and your throat getting uncomfortably tight.
“No, it’s not, but you’re not making it easier, either. Please, for the love of all things good in this world, just fucking stop.” His voice cracks and you finally see the wear and tear you are putting on the man in front of you.
“I’m sorry.”
He smiles melancholy-like, gathering his things and getting up, leaving you in the conference room with you and your thoughts.
You shut your eyes, welcoming the burn that comes with that action, distracting you from everything going on right now.
“We can’t have been together for a year, it doesn’t make sense. He’s been seen with other women.” You try and say.
Wooyoung exhales harshly, “it’s easy to say something like Mingi was trying to wait until you were ready for your relationship to go public before he changed his behavior so abruptly.”
Well, that doesn’t make any fucking sense. You open your mouth to say something else but Wooyoung gives you a look and you shut it, words getting lost at the tip of your tongue.
Before you had debuted, a staff member at AURA had taken you, Jihyo, Harin, and Heejin up to a coastal town pretty far north. You helped this ahjussi and ahjumma fish off the dock, picked cabbage for their kimchi, walked around the markets eating various street foods, etc.
You remember very vividly how you and the girls had been brought out to the tiny pier they had in town and watched the sun set as fishing boats came in to the harbor. You were told to relish and be in this moment right now, to remember how peaceful this moment and this experience was when things get overwhelming at your time of debut.
It has been such a long time since you thought of that day, but right now, you needed that moment more than ever. You needed to inject the serene feeling you experienced that day, back into your veins to keep you going.
This arrangement isn’t forever. You are gonna get through this, even if it hurts like hell.
Harin’s gum chewing is driving you insane. Her vivid pink hair is slicked back in cute 1920’s-esque waves and her dress is a short, satin black, suit-like mini dress. She looks radiant, and her gum chewing is driving you insane. Pop, pop, pop, goes her bubbles.
Yeosang is running some kind of styling gel through your hair, scrunching sections of it. It’s hard for you to even focus on what kind of look he’s going for on you. Jihyo’s dress is a black corset situation, black lacey gloves adorning her hands as she pulls up her knee high boots. Heejin is wearing a pinstripe suit mini dress with a thick black bra popping out of the middle.
Everyone looks incredible and they’re so incredibly excited. You can see the emotions in their face, Jihyo and Heejin posing for selfies together since they’re both fully ready.
You’ve had nothing but nerves running through your veins, keeping you irritated and on your toes all day. Clearing your throat, you close your eyes, trying to focus on what matters.
This is huge for your group, having a documentary/concert movie shown on the big screen in select theaters, allowing your fans to get a glimpse of what your tour was like and what it was like behind the scenes, too.
And all you can think about is Song Mingi and his stupid, perfect, smug, handsome face.
Yeosang touches your shoulder, bringing you back to the chair you’re sitting in.
He smiles slightly, “you’re ready to get dressed now.”
You nod, looking at yourself in the mirror. You look stunning — Yeosang always makes sure of it, it’s just the last thing on your mind.
You can do this, Y/N, you’re strong and you’re going to get through this.
You’re shoved into this very shiny, very sparkly silver mini dress with a deep plunge neckline and some strappy black heels, finished off with some long black gloves. Honestly, you feel good, you feel sexy, even.
And then Song Mingi walks into the dressing room, ruining everything.
“What the hell are you wearing?”
Mingi looks up at you through the split strands of black hair over his eyes and a signature smile makes its way onto his face.
“Come on, doll, you don’t like?”
Your blood boils, skin heating up at the question.
“Where are your clothes?” You shriek, gesturing wildly.
Mingi is wearing a black denim jacket, black denim baggy jeans with chains wrapped around his waist, and no shirt. Yep, no shirt. A thick red band peeks out of the top of his jeans, accentuating the slight v-lines you can barely make out under his jacket.
Your eyes drink up his bare skin, toned stomach and chest on full display. This is going to make everything even more difficult for you.
Again, you’re not blind — Mingi is one of the most attractive men you’ve laid your eyes on. His attitude and actions most definitely bring that rating down slightly, though.
Mingi reaches up and grabs either side of his jacket, pulling it away from his torso so you can see even more of his naked, creamy skin.
A shriek comes from behind you and you turn, eyes wide as Harin is covering her eyes in surprise.
“No warning, Mingi! None! You’re just in here, naked!” You turn back around frantically, trying to shoo him out.
“I am not naked,” he boredly replies. “Angel face, come on, people came for a show. I just made sure they got one.”
“Oh, real classy, Mingi. South Korea’s golden boy everyone!”
“Sorry we’re not all glitz and glam, sweetheart.”
His tone is not sorry. Mingi is not sorry about any of this and honestly, he’s probably doing this to torture you. He probably requested to not wear a shirt, just to watch you squawk like a bird, speechless.
Jongho stands behind Mingi, eyes dark and looking actually classy in a tight fitting suit. There’s a slight red hue to his hair under the harsher lights and for the first time, you’re thinking about how handsome Choi Jongho is as well.
Mingi makes that keheum sound in the back of his throat, drawing your eyes back to him.
Mingi is being shameless, you realize. You watch his eyes fully drink in your appearance, dangerously flicking up and down, lingering on a specific part of your body that makes you feel like a piece of meat.
That’s all Song Mingi is: a carnivore, waiting to devour his next prey.
You will not fall victim and be his next meal, even though it would be incredibly easy. That feeling settles deep in your gut, heavy at the idea.
Wooyoung had left the room about twenty minutes ago, tending to a fire before the premiere started and San is nowhere to be found.
Jihyo, Heejin, and Harin all come up behind you, heat radiating off of their bodies.
“You must be Mingi,” Jihyo says, unreadable expression on her face.
“Guilty.”
“Hmm, charming.” Jihyo sarcastically lets out a smile, before turning around and walking towards the table that’s holding all kinds of snacks and drinks.
Mingi’s face softens slightly, a hint of confusion painting it.
“Oh good, Mingi, you’re here,” you hear San say.
He looks slightly frazzled, but somehow still incredibly put together. His tight expression is pinned on you and Mingi, “time for you guys to head out onto the carpet.”
“Wait, he’s going out like this?” You ask someone else, hoping for a different answer than the one you know you’re going to get.
San takes a deep breath and looks at Mingi. “He was told to keep it clean, it could be worse and Jongho-ssi knows the limits as well.”
You want to scream. You feel like an entitled brat and you have no idea where any of this is coming from. Why is he able to get under your skin so easily? What is it about him that irks you so badly? Why are you feeling like a child who cannot regulate their emotions?
Mingi holds his hand out, adorned in rings. “Shall we?”
You glare at him, turning to face your members. They all turn around fast as if they weren’t observing your interaction with him. Oh, they’re so going to talk to you later at home.
Well, this is it, then.
Declining his hand, you walk past him, down the hallway of the company. You heels clack against the cement flooring until it hits carpet, walking towards the door where your limo is waiting.
San is expectantly waiting by the car door, ushering you in. The second you and Mingi sit down in the limo, the door shuts and you’re on the road. San is next to you, busy typing on his phone and Jongho is next to Mingi, also busy on his own phone.
You adjust yourself in your seat, trying to pull your dress further down your thighs in an attempt to cover yourself up a little. Sure, you’re no stranger to revealing clothes, but when you’re in close quarters with Song Mingi who looks at women like a starved man, you’d rather be safe than sorry.
Mingi’s face is illuminated by his phone, paying little attention to you. The way he smiles slightly to the screen turns something ugly in you, though. Who is he talking to and why isn’t he focusing on the task at hand?
You let your eyes drift down the length of his body. It’s okay to admire, you tell yourself. It’s okay to admire — technically, it’s encouraged since he isn’t wearing a shirt.
The shadows play tricks on his skin, contouring even the smallest dip. His body is well taken care of, he’s muscular and cut and definitely somebody you’d want to be under.
Wait…what?
There is something seriously wrong with you.
His phone vibrates, him accepting the call and raising his phone to his ear.
“Hey dollface,” he responds and you practically fall out of your seat, face burning.
It’s not a surprise or it shouldn’t be, but it still shocks you to know that his nicknames he uses for you are also the ones he uses for the people he has in his bed almost every night.
It makes you feel slightly sick in a weird, twisted way, knowing you’re not special to him.
He’s not special to you, so why would you be special to him?
“Yeah, yeah, I’ll see you later tonight, I’ll pick you up.”
You hear a high pitched, whiny voice at the other end of the call and roll your eyes, looking out the window.
San’s knee lightly bumps yours, him offering a bit of comfort in an awkward moment. It’s times like this when you’re truly aware of how in tune your team is with you and your emotions, the same going for the other girls as well.
Lately, it’s something you’ve taken for granted due to you being highly preoccupied with the unfortunate predicament that you are in with Mingi. Here’s the thing — if Mingi had literally been anyone else and yes, you mean, anyone else, you don’t think this situation would bother you as much as it does.
However, because of the nature of who Mingi is — someone who does not care about his image, someone who doesn’t care about who he’s seen with, what he’s seen with, what he’s seen doing, etc. He really leaves nothing to the imagination and you find that incredibly distasteful and gross.
Yes, he’s hot, we’ve been over that. You can find many other guys who are hot though, you don’t need to stoop to his level.
Mingi ends the call and puts his phone away, whispering something to Jongho. You would think, with how close you are to each other in this limo, you would hear what he’s saying. Unfortunately, that is not the case and you’re left wondering idly about it.
Not that it’s any of your business but…you can’t help but be curious.
Curiosity killed the cat, Y/N.
“Which one of your whores was that?” You ask, not thinking before speaking.
The question surprises you at how abrasive you are, you don’t take to calling other women whores very often, it makes your skin crawl grossly. Deep down, you can’t help but wonder where this feeling akin to jealousy is coming from.
You’re not jealous. You don’t want to touch Mingi with a ten foot pole, but you’re becoming someone you don’t necessarily love in your own eyes when it comes to him.
“You know, I really don’t know why you’re such a fucking bitch about what I’m doing. Maybe, you should take a page out of my book and find someone who is willing to pull that stick up your ass out. Maybe getting laid would cause you to be less insufferable.”
“Hyung!” Jongho snaps sharply, but the damage is done.
Mingi’s words cause you to suck your teeth in order to hide your lips from quivering.
“You two need to behave,” San says lowly. “The red carpet is thirty minutes and then you’ll sit next to each other for the runtime of the movie. After that, feel free to act however you want behind closed doors. Closed doors being the keyword.”
Mingi stares at you, face stony as he practically tries to pry into your soul. You can feel the heat of his anger radiating off of him. You’re thinking the same could be said about you.
Suddenly, everything is too much for you. Your dress is too tight, your shoes pinch your toes, your earrings are heavy, you’re too hot in this limo.
Thankfully, the limo comes to a stop and you can barely make out the flashes from large cameras your way.
“Pretending starts now,” Jongho states, sitting up to open the car door and make his way out.
San follows behind and then Mingi goes, barely looking at you.
You try and exit the limo the best way you can, trying to not flash anyone on your way out and surprisingly, Mingi’s hands are in front of you, being offered for stability.
Pretend. You’re pretending.
You take his hands, his fingers swallowing yours as his rings gouge your skin like teeth, unforgiving.
The shouting begins and the flashes blind you as your feet find their stability on the red carpet.
“Mingi, Mingi, over here!”
“Y/N, what’s it like doing charity work?”
“Y/N! Mingi! Right here!”
His left hand leaves yours as he holds your hand with his right. This is weird. Everything is so weird. You’re supposed to be in love, though, you’re an actress, you can act.
You smile at him gently, him smiling tightly back at you.
San and Jongho guide you to your area on the carpet where you need to stand for pictures, and your ears are ringing at how many people are shouting at you.
Mingi guides you to his left side, arm curving around your waist, pulling you into his body.
Your breath hitches, hopefully going unknown to Mingi. He’s so close to you, his body is so warm, he smells like warm amber and smoky cedar and it’s intoxicating to you. Your arm has brushed against his bare skin and you can’t help but revel in how hot his skin is and how you can feel his muscles.
Mingi leans his head down, nose coming to bump the top of your ear, nuzzling gently. Fuck.
His mouth is next to your eardrum, breath hot and warming your own skin, goosebumps forming on your neck.
“Put your arm around my torso.” He whispers, voice low and husky.
You turn your head, noses bumping lightly and Mingi — thankfully, does not violently jerk back. He makes it look natural, smiling as he pulls away.
Your heart is pounding against your ribs, every thump threatening to crack the bones that keep your internal organs safe. What just happened?
Your mind goes blank, the only thing bouncing in your brain is the instruction to put your arm around Mingi’s torso.
You do so, your own skin meeting his, your fingers finding the dip of his waist and his finding yours. The pads of your fingers sting when they meet his skin.
It feels intimate, even though you’re standing here on the red carpet in front of hundreds of people, photos and videos being taken of your every move.
You move down the carpet, your name being yelled in your face and Mingi’s being yelled in his. Your arms become glued around Mingi’s body, but his own hands have been moving, roaming.
His fingers have danced around your waist, squeezing at your hips and it’s taking everything in you to continue to breathe.
It’s been so long since anyone of the opposite sex has touched you like this, been close to you like this and you feel like you’ve been thrown into a circus and been told to juggle.
You don’t know the first thing about juggling and you never will. You lost your virginity young, right as you got into your trainee period and to be frank — it wasn’t amazing. You two had no idea what you were doing, you didn’t prep long enough, it hurt when you guys started having sex, and you had no desire to relive that.
Maybe that’s where your strange emotions are coming from. Are you jealous that Mingi gets to go out and have sex whenever he wants? Maybe it’s because you’ve barely had any sex and know that if roles were reversed, you would be chastised for “handing it out to everyone.”
“Mingi! Mingi! Have you been cheating on Y/N?”
“Oppa! We love you!”
“Oppa, where’s your shirt?”
“Unnie, you’re stunning!”
“Y/N! How are you dealing with his violent outbursts?”
You sigh, but keep your smile and to play it up a little, tilt your head to the side to let it rest near Mingi’s shoulder.
Bright flashes get even faster and pretty soon, San and Jongho are guiding you guys inside the theater. Mingi gets a minute to rest while you are shooed back out onto the carpet to get group shots with your members and finally, you can breathe.
You can breathe while in the comfort of the girls that you have been with since the beginning. You’ve grown up together at this point and they know you like the back of their hand and vice versa.
Taking a moment, you look to your right, watching your members and something swells inside you at how far you’ve come. Regardless of what you’re having to deal with right now with Mingi, you are forever grateful they continue to walk by your side.
You’ve traveled the world with them, made incredible music and memories. You will always be grateful for your life with them.
When you’re all finished with the pictures, you sign a few autographs, ignoring any questions about Mingi and your relationship, just smiling and telling them “thank you for being here!”
When heading back into the theater, you find Mingi easily, talking with San and Jongho; Hongjoong has appeared from who knows where and Wooyoung is walking towards you and the girls.
“How’d it go? Everything good?” Wooyoung asks, seemingly out of breath as he comes towards you.
He seems to have been running around, making sure everything doesn’t fall apart at the slightest breeze. Wooyoung pauses, eyeing Mingi and what he’s wearing.
“Who allowed you to wear that? You know what — you look great, Mingi-yah.”
Your face drops as you were fully expecting Wooyoung to say something about how inappropriate his look is for an event like this.
The girls stand there, seemingly understanding your frustration and Harin comes up to you, wrapping her arms around your shoulders and leaning her head against you.
She smells sweet like cherries and you hug her back, squeezing your eyes shut. You can practically feel Mingi’s eyes burning into the side of your face, but you ignore it. You genuinely do not have the ability to draw attention to it.
Sitting next to him for the movie is actually the easiest part of the night. You are not supposed to be talking to one another (easy) and you don’t touch each other either, honestly if the whole relationship was like this, you might be okay with the arrangement.
The movie makes you emotional, seeing new clips of your Rebels that were taken at stops of your tour. They all talk about how much you and the girls mean to them, saying you’ve helped them through hard times, you feel real as opposed to some of these other idol groups, and that you feel like friends.
Your fans are amazing and after hearing so many of them talk about what it’s actually like being your fan, you can’t help but choke up, tears brimming the rim of your eyes.
You feel something against the back of your hand and when you look down, Mingi is handing you a tissue.
You briefly look at his face, his eyes focused on the movie, and look back down at the tissue, taking it.
Lightly, you dab at your eyes to not disturb the makeup that Yeosang worked so hard on.
The rest of the movie continues to make you emotional and actually allows you to take a different look at your life. It shows you truly how hard everyone on your team works for you and the girls, how hard you and the girls work for each other too.
As the movie comes to an end, you get up to leave with your team, trying to breathe normally when Mingi places his hand on your lower back, guiding you through the crowds.
This act is proving to be very gentlemanly and it makes you wonder what kind of lengths Mingi would go to for someone he is actually romantically interested in.
Of course, you’re only talking about the simple move of him guiding you through a crowd — but it shouldn’t be looked over.
People are weaving in and out of each other, flashes from cameras are blinding you, people constantly trying to get your attention as the body guards do their best to make sure you all get out of the crowds safely.
Mingi’s hold on you tightens as he places you in front of him, both hands firmly gripping your hips. The feeling of that makes your body ache with something you’ve never felt before.
The front of his body is pressed up tightly against your back, hands on your hips, presence towering over yours. If this were any different situation, it would have you swooning.
“Mingi! Mingi! Is Y/N just another pretty face to fuck, then forget?”
“Y/N plays innocent for the cameras, but we all know a whore in glam is still a whore!”
Mingi freezes.
His fingers dig painfully into your hips and you gasp in surprise at the pressure, turning to face Mingi.
His expression is one you would never want turned on you. It’s dark, menacing, and downright evil. His jaw is set incredibly tight and he breaks from your little bubble, pushing past the security and bystanders.
Your heart drops suddenly, watching the scene unfold in slow motion. Horror is probably written all over your face as you come to the sudden realization of what is about to happen.
Chaos interrupts as Mingi punches the reporter in the face. Over and over and over.
“You wanna fucking say that again? Don’t ever have my girls name in your mouth ever again!” Mingi is practically growling.
Your heart is pounding in your ears, so loud that everything else fades away and that’s all you can hear. Your eyes are so wide that they almost feel like they’re gonna burst out of your sockets.
The reporter lands a few punches to Mingi’s face too, and you’re standing there in complete shock as someone grabs you by the arm.
You’re being pulled away from the scene but you basically dig your heels in, yelling his name.
“Mingi, stop! Stop it!” You scream into your throat is raw, but the last thing you see before getting shoved into a company car is spit flying as Mingi yells at the reporter and goes in for another punch.
Jihyo has been knocking at your door gently for the last thirty minutes. Your phone is blowing up with mentions on various social media sites. Your stomach rolls at the idea of what kinds of things are being said online right now — there were countless phones and cameras in attendance tonight so there is no getting out of this.
San and Wooyoung are in your living room, doing damage control.
It’s only been an hour since the whole thing between Mingi and the reporter transpired, but it feels like it happened so long ago. You’ve been sitting with your dangerous thoughts since being placed in the backseat of a car and haven’t heard anything about Mingi.
You’re worried, of course you are. You have no idea what’s going on right now and your fingers have been chewed raw, the inside of your mouth coated with nothing but a metallic coating.
You threw up immediately upon arriving home, having some time to digest the whole situation. Jihyo sat idly by you and rubbed at your back, whispering things to you in an attempt to calm you down.
You’ve been angry — what Mingi did tonight was selfish. It was special moment for your group and he went and made it about himself because he couldn’t control his emotions. You’ve been upset, you’ve been worried, you’ve been sad.
You feel like you’ve gone through the whole spectrum of emotions in such a short amount of time, you’re incredibly exhausted.
Being an idol, you’re used to almost everything the public has to say about you. You are for the most part, very widely loved, but there will always be those people who have something different to say.
Why did Mingi react that way? Surely, he’s heard worse about himself, and he doesn’t even like the idea of you. So why…just, why?
At the end of the night, you’ve still heard nothing about Mingi.
San and Wooyoung just said to wait for further instruction in the morning, before taking their leave for the night.
Wooyoung had knocked on your door, said “don’t worry about anything, okay?” and disappeared with a soft kiss to your forehead.
After they left, you had gone down into the kitchen to get a glass of water, being met with hushed confessions from your bandmates.
“I just…I’m worried about her and this whole arrangement. I don’t think it’s good for her mentally.” Heejin whispers.
“There’s nothing we can do about it, Jin-ah, it’s not our decision. It’s the company’s.” Jihyo states.
“She’s been so sad and angry, recently,” you hear Harin say. “I don’t like what Mingi-ssi is doing to her.”
You suck in a deep breath and the girls pause, recognizing you.
“Unnie?”
You step out from behind the wall, into the kitchen and take in all of their appearances. They’ve switched from their premiere outfits into comfy pajamas, hair still done and makeup still on.
You look the same, having ripped your dress off the minute you got home because you felt like you were suffocating and beginning to panic.
“I’m so sorry,” your bottom lip wobbles.
“What?”
“Why are you sorry?”
You’re gathered into their arms, them holding you as you cry.
This whole thing tonight is now weighing heavily down on you, making you feel overwhelmed. Maybe you’re not strong enough to deal with this contract, you should talk to Wooyoung about how you could maybe use this incident as something to break off your “relationship.”
They return to their rooms later, all giving you encouraging squeezes and leaving you in the kitchen. The water that you gulp down feels sharp with how cold it is, bringing you slightly out of your funk.
The cute little chime that someone is at your front door is heard throughout the apartment. You exhale harshly as you make your way over to where the panel is that shows who is at the door.
You almost drop your glass when you see who it is, in the flesh. Is he allowed to be here? He didn’t even text you.
You press the buzzer to let him into the building anyway, waiting for the next five minutes as he makes his way up to your floor and to your door.
Taking a minute to answer the door when you hear the ring, you splay your palm along the door, trying to ground yourself.
When pulling it open, your heart stutters in your chest.
Mingi is looking down at his feet, fists tucked into his jacket pockets. He’s dressed differently, actually wearing a shirt, for one — with some sweatpants and sneakers.
His face is practically black and blue. His lip is busted, dried blood caked underneath his nostrils, left eye swelling and purple.
“I know I didn’t text,” his voice is gravelly. Keheum. “Can I come in?”
You bite your lip, nodding gently as you open the door wider and let him pass through the doorway.
“Uh,” Mingi begins, sniffing. “I’m sorry about tonight.”
It seems like those words pain him to say and that almost makes you angry again, you don’t think he’s sorry and you just want to pull at the roots of your hair and scream at him.
But you don’t.
You cross your arms and stay silent.
Looking at his face, it’s obvious that no one chose to clean his face up after the fight, probably choosing to let him marinate in the choices he made tonight.
You tilt your head toward the kitchen in an unspoken way of telling him “follow me.”
He does, silently and when you get into the kitchen, you point to the table, making him sit. Obediently, Mingi pulls a chair out from the table and sits, eyes watching your every move.
The cabinet next to your fridge has a first-aid kit and you reach for it, bringing it down and over to the table.
The bright red of the casing catches Mingi’s feline-like eyes and he looks up at you.
“I didn’t come here for you to nurse me.”
“Just,” you snap. “Shut up. You ruined an important night for my group. Let me do this.”
He wets his lips, making a displeased face, but doesn’t say anything else.
You turn and pull out a kitchen towel, turning the faucet on to get some warm water. Once the towel is absorbed with warm water, you wring it out and pass it to Mingi.
“Hold it under your nose, I want to loosen the blood there.” You say quietly.
He takes the towel from you, fingers brushing yours and puts it under his nose. Opening the first-aid kit, you pull out the alcohol, some Q-tips, and some cotton pads.
You saturate the pads with alcohol, the scent stinging your nose. Turning to face Mingi, you take a deep breath. Your fingers shake lightly as you tilt Mingi’s face up, the stubble on his chin pricking your skin.
You’re very close to him, legs brushing his knees and you go to clean his split lip. His lips are plush, a perfect shade of pink that most people’s lips turn when being bitten. The thought shocks you and makes you push the alcohol soaked cotton hard into his lip without meaning to.
He hisses the second the pad hits the abused, open wound, probably stinging badly, and he jerks back.
“Stay still,” you say, grabbing the back of his head and pulling him back.
Your fingers are at the nape of his neck, feeling the soft ends of his hair. Everything about this moment feels a bit too intimate.
You dab at his lip again and he does his best to not jerk away from you.
As you finish with his lip, you put some antibiotic ointment on it, then go to pull the kitchen towel away from his nose. Luckily, it softened the blood enough for you to be able to clean it with a few Q-tips.
His hot breath is hitting your knuckles, and suddenly, you feel too close. You two are too quiet, Mingi’s dark eyes watching you intently as you swab at the blood. Up close and personal, you focus in on the freckle directly underneath Mingi’s right eye. It’s actually quite endearing you think.
As you finish up, you look down and notice how swollen and bruised his own knuckles are. You back up, gathering all of the dirty swabs and such, throwing them in the trash before grabbing another kitchen towel and an ice pack.
You wrap the ice pack tightly, but thinly in the cloth and walk back over to the rapper sitting at your kitchen table. Handing it to him, a little quirk pops up in between his eyebrows, seemingly confused.
You just nod towards his hands and he follows the gesture, silently pressing the ice pack to his battered bones.
You have no idea what to say, what does one say? Here in your kitchen is playboy, problematic rapper Song Mingi who threw punches for you tonight over some random comments, and things are just supposed to be the same between you two?
You don’t like Mingi. You will never like Mingi, but it is possible that this moment has shifted things into unknown territory. How do you move past this?
“What happened tonight?” You ask quietly, not wanting to break the vulnerable atmosphere you two had just entered.
“Honestly?”
“No, I want you to lie to me.”
Mingi rolls his eyes at the tone of your voice. “He crossed a line. That’s it. Don’t read into it.”
You purse your lips, turning around to pull out your own chair and sit. Even when you’re both sitting on the same level, Mingi still towers over you, but instead of it being intimidating, you try to welcome it.
“A line that’s only okay for you to cross? You’ve said horrible things to me too, Mingi.”
He nods, laughing bitterly. The ice pack gets discarded on the table, a thunk echoing. His head bobs up and down as he leans forward, bracing his elbows on his knees. He starts fiddling with his rings, something you notice is maybe an anxiety thing for him.
“I didn’t want to deal with you getting under my skin and you started to. That doesn’t make what I said okay. I’ve said shit I didn’t mean just to hurt you.”
Mingi looks up and you hope he can’t see how torn internally you are.
This is not a side of Mingi you expected to see. You wanted to be angry, tell him that he’s an idiot and made everything about himself when it was supposed to be important for your group. But, you have a fault here too, and maybe you riled him up a bit more than you should’ve in the limo.
You should’ve shown restraint, shown that you are the bigger person.
“Look, he had no right to talk about you like that. It doesn’t matter that we don’t like each other, what he said…” he trails off. “It wasn’t just some headline, it was disgusting, and it was a false depiction of who you are.”
“So you thought throwing a punch would fix the whole situation?” You ask incredulously.
Mingi’s eyes sharpen, body stiffening. “I didn’t think—”
“Exactly!” You throw your hands up in the air, exasperated. “You didn’t think and that’s your problem.”
“I’ve taken hits for less.”
“Mingi, that’s not the point!” You start yelling, frustration building as you realize he’s not getting it.
Maybe you’re not getting it, either.
Mingi snorts, shaking his head and stands. “You know what? You’re right.”
The heat in his voice is gone, tone flat and you would almost prefer that he yell at you. It’s steady in a scary way.
“I don’t think. Clearly. But, I wasn’t going to stand there and let him say that shit about you. Not when you didn’t do anything to deserve it.” He shrugs, standing from the chair, making it so that you have to look up even further at him.
It almost feels demeaning, even if that’s not his intention. He sucks his teeth, trying to act nonchalant before he looks down at you, a menacing twinkle in his eyes.
“Don’t get it twisted though, I still don’t like you. I still don’t want anything to do with you.”
Those words cut through you like a hot knife through butter, scorching your insides.
“Copy, ditto,” you say, looking away to seem as if you don’t care. Because you don’t. You absolutely do not care about his words.
“Don’t make it more than what it is, got it?”
You raise your eyebrows and then nod, turning around to make sure that the girls aren’t lingering in the hall. When you turn back around, Mingi looks like he’s going for the door.
You don’t want to say what you think you should, but again, even if you don’t want to, you should. You think about Wooyoung and how you haven’t been the most easy person for him to be manager too.
“Mingi?” You call, eyes shutting tightly before you open them back up.
Mingi’s footsteps halt and you can hear him taking his shoes off again, before walking back into the kitchen.
“Do you want to come up with our story?” You ask, hearing how tired your tone is.
Mingi pauses for a minute, crossing his arms over his broad chest and looks at you, tongue coming out to wet his lips.
He sends you a smirk and you realize that you can read him better now, understanding that he’s saying yes.
You take a deep breath, stand up, and guide him to your living room. Let the planning begin.
Your laptop is getting hot on your lap, working hard.
You’ve typed word after word as you and Mingi have come up with your story, trying to memorize it and make it seem as hole-less as possible. The words blur together and you sigh loudly, slightly frustrated as your eyes burn.
You push your fingertips into your eye sockets, trying to relieve the burning pressure behind them. Mingi’s own eyes burn into the side of your face and you want to snap at him. He’s made himself right at home on your couch, all spread out and lounging for the last two hours you’ve been here.
“I can’t look at this anymore, I’m going to go insane,” you finally say, snapping your laptop shut and the whirring comes to a halt.
Mingi’s mouth is slightly open as he looks at you, eyebrows raised in amusement.
“Where did we meet, dollface?” Mingi asks and your skin crawls.
“Don’t call me that.”
“Where did we meet, angel?”
You narrow your eyes at him, trying to seem threatening. You don’t think it’s working.
“Backstage at the MMA’s last year. You had just won an award and I was preparing for a performance.”
That part was easy because it wasn’t a lie. That’s where the both of you met in person for the first time. Mingi had paid very little attention to you as you had placed your in-ears around your neck.
You had seen him backstage, looking attractive in the dim lighting, but your attraction fell short when he pulled out a dime bag, dipping his finger into it and then sticking his finger into his mouth.
His tongue had moved around inside his mouth, pushing against his cheeks to maximize the effect.
You had rolled your eyes in disgust and turned away as he boasted about being undefeated in the K-Hip Hop section the last four years in a row. His arrogance was not sexy to you.
“And then?” Mingi pushed.
“Not sure, you tell me,” you challenge, pushing your foot into the side of his thigh.
“I thought you looked beautiful as you got ready to go onstage and I walked up and asked for your number.”
“I was so shocked and pressed for time, you never got my number, so you stayed backstage until my performance was over and continued to bother me for it.”
“Finally, you caved with cherry-red cheeks and the rest is history.”
“Well,” you tilt your head, “not sure about the cherry-red cheeks and the rest is definitely not history according to the four pages of notes I’ve just written down.”
Mingi gives you a dull expression before looking around, grabbing the pink fuzzy throw pillow next to him and pelting you with it.
“Hey!” You screech, unamused.
“Why do you have to be so literal? We’re good.” His voice has grown even heavier and you wonder if he’s gotten tired.
You can imagine that after the day he’s had with a physical assault, he would be tired. The silence around you has begun to cushion the air and you’re settled into something comfortable. So comfortable, you almost feel like you could let your guard down and just fall asleep — the idea tempting you dangerously.
Never in a million years, did you think that one day, you would be comfortable enough to fall asleep around Song Mingi, but after today, you’ve lost the ability to give a fuck.
For a second, you do think you’ve dozed off, but Mingi has moved your foot in an attempt to get your attention. You hum in answer, head still thrown back against the couch and eyes closed.
“What’s your favorite color?”
The question catches you so off guard, you almost think you didn’t hear him correctly.
“What?”
“Your favorite color,” he shrugs nonchalantly, picking at some lint that is on his sweatpants.
“Why?”
You can feel him roll his eyes, even if you can’t see them.
“I’m your boyfriend.”
“You are—” your eyes fly open and you sit up abruptly. “You are not my boyfriend.”
“Do I really have to say fake boyfriend? You get it, right?”
“You’re still not my boyfriend.”
Mingi laughs, reaching up to run his bruised fingers through his black hair. “Trust me, I don’t want to be your boyfriend, jagiya.”
He looks at you, expecting an answer and you don’t want to give him one. You understand what he’s trying to do, but actually getting to know him makes everything very real. You would be getting into emotions and not just the flat, 2D version you two have been giving each other.
“Purple,” you say quietly, fixing your eyes on the hall where you see a light flick on underneath the door of Harin’s room.
“Cute,” Mingi says snarkily. “Mine’s blue.”
“Blue? Basic,” you scoff.
Mingi blinks, “it’s not basic. It’s not just any blue, it’s a deep, dark blue.”
“Yeah…basic. Don’t tell me your other favorite color is a cement gray.” You laugh.
Mingi doesn’t say anything, just pointedly looks away and you gawk goofily at him, chuckling.
“Oh my god, it so is!” You sit up, pulling your legs underneath you, getting more into the conversation.
“So what if it is? There’s nothing wrong with that color either!” Mingi argues with you, sticking his tongue out at you like a five-year-old.
“Nice, very mature.”
Mingi shakes his head, crossing his arms and tilting his head backwards until it rests along the back of the couch. “There’s nothing wrong with either of those colors. And I didn’t even say anything about your favorite color being purple. You wanna talk about basic favorite colors? Purple is as basic as it gets.”
“No, my favorite color is a lavender purple,” you correct him.
“Does that really change what I just said?”
“Okay, fine, we both have basic favorite colors. Whatever.”
“My colors are not basic, I will die on that hill,” Mingi points out.
“Great,” you exclaim. “Then go on, die.”
“Too late for that, sweetheart.”
The air shifts, curdling heavy and your blood runs cold. What? What does he mean by that? Is he joking or did he just slip up and let out something he probably had no intention of telling you? You swallow a million questions down, red flashing warnings popping up in your vision.
You can tell that Mingi didn’t mean to say anything because his whole body stiffens. Noticing that detail, you choose not to say anything about it. It’s none of your business anyway. His words hang heavily in the air though, sitting like smoke that you aren’t able to fan away.
His body language is telling you not to push. Don’t push. Too soon.
But for some reason, you want to know and then you quickly decide that you are too nosy. When you don’t say anything, the tension seems to bleed out of Mingi’s body slowly, so you take that as a good sign that it was the smart decision not to bring attention to it.
The silence stretches for a bit longer than it seems either one of you would like and your heart is starting to beat faster against your chest, pushing you to ease the mood.
“Well, mister dark and mysterious, let’s get back to the important stuff before you fall asleep on my couch.” You clap your hands together, trying to dissipate the stale vibes.
Mingi raises his head, blinking at you sluggishly, a sparkle of relief flickering across his face for a second before he masks it with a lazy smirk.
“Important stuff?” He echoes.
You pull the pillow that he threw at you into your lap, hugging it to the front of your body. You’re trying to distract yourself from the thought that this is the longest you’ve had a conversation with Mingi without arguing. It feels weird, not in a bad way, but definitely weird.
“Yeah, like my coffee order. Because the whole internet knows my coffee order so if you get that wrong, we’re screwed real bad.”
“Is it the same drink you ordered on our ‘first date’?” He uses air quotation marks around first date.
You nod, “do you even remember?”
Mingi clears his throat and thinks for a second. “I don’t remember exactly but it was probably some fucking complicated drink that the poor barista who’s sixteen shits their pants at. Sugar free-syrup, half decaf, hot but with ice, almond-milk—” He teases in a high-pitched voice that you’re assuming is supposed to be you.
You laugh at how ridiculous he’s being, but not because you think it’s funny. “Wrong.” You glare at him, “it was an iced vanilla latte, easy, you asshole. One might even say simple.”
“Simple? You? Give me a fucking break.”
You take the pillow that’s in your lap like a shield and bring it up, leaning forward to smack Mingi in the head with it. He laughs menacingly, the sound rough and low in his chest. He grabs the pillow from you with a force that almost makes you blush, then tosses it back into your lap.
“Okay, miss simple, what’s my order then?”
You think back to your date and a smirk comes over your own face as you reply. “Iced Americano.”
Mingi lets out a dramatic gasp, hand coming up to his chest. “That’s crazy that my own girlfriend doesn’t even know me.”
You frown because he is the one who is wrong and he’s just trying to mess with you.
“That’s literally what you got on our date!” You call him out.
He shrugs. “I like iced Americanos, but that’s not my go-to coffee order.”
You roll your eyes, lips twitching in annoyance because you don’t even know if you should trust him on this.
“Enlighten me then, our golden boy.”
“Caramel macchiato, hot, extra shot. Sometimes iced if I am feeling particularly dangerous.”
You laugh, genuinely this time because Song Mingi is the most ridiculously annoying person you have ever met.
“Dangerous?” You repeat. “You think ordering a drink iced makes you dangerous?”
“No,” he says seriously. “That’s not what makes me feel dangerous.”
That weird feeling comes back, settling amongst you and you think that’s enough for tonight. Your skin is starting to itch at the idea of spending any more time with Mingi because right now, you don’t hate it and it’s starting to make you confused.
Glancing at the clock, you are surprised to see how late it is and you stifle a yawn. Today has been very draining and honestly, the fight that happened between Mingi and the reporter feels like weeks ago.
“I better get going,” Mingi suddenly says, rocking forward and up off the couch.
You nod, licking your lips and get up to follow him to the door. As he puts his shoes on, your fingers twitch, a quiet voice whispering in the back of your mind.
You bite your lip, unsure of what you should do about the voice, but ultimately, you follow it. You walk forward, catching Mingi by surprise when you swing your arms up around him, hugging him.
He smells clean, fresh, like linens and vanilla.
His body is stiff underneath your hug and you try to not let it affect you in any way. He never hugs you back, which is okay, but something inside you comes together at this gesture.
“Thank you for defending me,” you whisper and let go of him immediately after.
Mingi has no emotion on his face that you can see, remaining stoic and stony. It leaves you feeling a little empty.
Keheum comes from the back of throat and he sniffs, reaching up to itch the side of face.
“See you later, angel,” he says softly and then the door closes with a schnick behind him.
Later, in bed, you finally muster up the courage to look at social media.
Comments range from what the FUCK is wrong with him??? to he was protecting his girlfriend y’all need to shut the fuck up.
You stumble across videos after videos on TikTok about the actual fight that occurred; your stomach turns and you rapidly try and skip over every single one. There’s one video that makes you stop though, pausing to watch it.
It’s a video of just before the fight happened, someone had slightly edited the clips, putting trendy music over it. It’s interesting for you to see it as an outsider, watching the way Mingi protects you through the crowd, guiding you through in a way that feels real.
You know that everything is fake, but from this angle, the way he’s holding you, that looks incredibly real. You suppose that’s the goal, but still, it’s kind of astonishing to you.
The comments are nothing but supportive in that video, saying how cute you two are, Mingi is so protective over you, etc., etc.
You sigh, your eyes drooping and you finally call it quits. You turn off your phone, turning over onto your left side and pull the covers up around your shoulders to hopefully get some much needed rest.
A week.
It’s been a week since everything has transpired and you haven’t heard anything from Mingi, which you guess is a good thing.
Wooyoung has checked in on you multiple times, saying that you and the girls are pretty much on a break after your world tour, allowing you to actually have down time, for now.
You know that you’re supposed to be on a break, but you’ve been writing songs. When inspiration hits, it doesn’t matter what you’re doing. The song you’re currently writing is different than other things you’ve put out. This song is entirely in English, speaking about the way you’ve almost been play with like a doll.
You don’t know if it’ll ever meet the light of day, but maybe one day, you could find an appropriate time to record and release it.
You’ve written three other songs today, one of them in collaboration with your other members, coming up with a song that fits your friendship well. The song is called “RIGHT HAND GIRL” and hopefully, that’s the one you can add to an upcoming album — maybe a recording session is in your near future for this album you haven’t written, but want to stick this song onto.
You’re chewing on the end of a pen, over the ear headphones on, volume up as the beat you just made for this specific song bounces through your ear drums. The plastic bends underneath the weight of your teeth and you replace a synth sound with another, dragging things around on your software.
Feeling a hand touch your left shoulder, you let out a yelp, heart pounding as you turn around.
Jihyo’s face is sheepish, holding up her hands in defense.
“Sorry! Sorry! You were really in the zone, I had no idea how to get your attention.”
You place a hand against your chest, trying to ease your rapid heartbeat.
“It’s fine,” you say, pulling off your headphones and turning your attention to your bandmate.
She has a certain look on her face, one she usually has when something has happened — something not positive.
“Is everything okay?” You ask, voice quiet.
She pulls her lips together in a tight expression and she reaches into her hoodie pocket to pull her phone out. Jihyo’s phone lights up when her screen turns on and she takes a deep breath before she hands her phone to you.
“Exclusive: Mingi’s Ex Speaks Out – ‘Our Love Wasn’t Real, and Neither Is This One.’”
Your eyes pop out of your head, reading the headline. Reading the first paragraph basically has the room spinning for you.
What the fuck? You want to scream.
“There were times when his temper scared me. He was never violent towards me, but he would slam doors and yell. The way his eyes would change was scary…it made me feel like I was walking on eggshells. People see this charming, hot, talented rapper on stage. I saw the late night version of him — the one who abuses substances, the mood swings, and cruel words….I don’t know Y/N personally, but I know how convincing he is. Mingi is such a magnetic person, the kind of man that makes you feel like you’re the only girl in the entire world. But, I often felt manipulated, like my feelings were just a game to him. When I saw all the headlines about his new girl and seeing it was our very own sweetheart, made me wonder if she’s another pawn in his game. Looking at the timing of this relationship, and with the saint of a person he’s now with, right after all these scandals…it makes you wonder if it’s love or just an attempt to salvage his career.”
“Oh my fucking GOD!” You cry. No way this is happening. But, of course this would fucking happen.
Nothing has been easy the second you walked into this contract and it’s honestly making you feel like you’re insane. Everything you’ve worked for, the reputation you’ve built while being truthful to yourself and to your fans, feels like it’s crumbling down around you.
This is your Pompeii, essentially.
The comments make you crazy.
+ 3,987 -1,901
honestly…this makes so much sense, the timing was way too convenient
+2,781 -456
imagine dating south korea’s sweetheart just to cover up your own scandals!!! gross and y/n deserves better
+ 1,876 - 657
y/n deserves better than to be used as a shield for his reputation ㅠㅠ
+ 5,002 – 523
exes always pop up when idols are thriving, i don’t think that’s a coincidence
+ 4,126 – 237
mingi doesn’t owe us any details about his personal life, leave him the fuck alone you guys are so gross
+ 235 - 87
she’s just better he moved on
+ 2,005 – 432
i bet y/n is in on this, more publicity for her upcoming movie
Nope, no, no, this is not happening. Mingi wants to fuck things up for you? He wants to use your image? Then he better fix what he’s ruining in real time.
You thrust Jihyo’s phone back into her hands, frantically searching around your room for your purse and car keys.
“Where are you going, Y/N?” Jihyo asks, voice trembling.
“I am going to shove my fist up Mingi’s ass and make him regret the day he was fucking born. Don’t wait up for me.”
You rush down the hall, shoving some slippers onto your feet and exiting the apartment in a frenzy.
Your phone is blowing up, message after message from Wooyoung, San, your group chat with the girls, mentions on social media.
royalty forever
rinrin: unnie don’t do anything rash please ㅠㅠ love you
heejinie: let us know if you need backup, we will gladly come to your aid
zyozyo: love you.
manager youngie: I am trying to fix things, don’t do anything. I am so serious Y/N, don’t test me on this.
Too late, you think.
You get into your car and start the engine, typing out a message to someone you didn’t think you would ever have to message.
you: give me mingi’s address
Choi Jongho(KQ PR): 88 Apgujeong-ro 79-gil, Gangnam District, Penthouse. Gate code is 9871.
Choi Jongho(KQ PR): Please don’t kill him, he’s very talented and makes us lots of money. I guess he’s a friend too, but please spare his life.
You ignore the message and plug the address into your navigation system, driving down the street to an unknown situation. The whole drive is silent there, giving you an inkling of how absolutely livid you are about this whole thing.
Pulling up to the building, you get out of your car, and head to the front entrance, putting in the code.
It buzzes open, the cool metal stinging the palm of your hand as you open the inner door. The lobby is minimalist, clean, rich. The elevator is large and almost sterile-like as you step in, clicking the penthouse button and inputting the same code as the front gate to get the elevator to move.
It takes a full three minutes to reach Mingi’s apartment and the second you exit the elevator, you go straight to the door.
The headline is burned into the back of your retinas as you furiously pound on the heavy door of the penthouse. You don’t know how long you sit there and hammer your fist against the wood, but your hand tingles as you assault it against the surface.
The door finally swings open and you have so many curse words at the tip of your tongue, readied in your arsenal. You shut your mouth though, the second you see that it’s not Mingi who answered the door.
It’s another man, probably around the same age as you and Mingi. He’s shirtless, black hair messy and ruffled as if he has just rolled out of bed or someone has been running their fingers tightly through his hair. Maybe both.
You’re frozen in place, almost feeling humiliated. Did Jongho send you the wrong address? There is only one penthouse, right? Nervously, your fingers twitch and your hands come up to grip the strap of your purse.
“Um—”
“Oh, you must be the girlfriend.” The man’s voice is low, gravelly, giving you a lazy smile.
Your blood runs cold. Who is this guy? “Excuse me?”
Before the guy in front of you can answer, you see Mingi’s presence appear behind the mystery man, pulling a hoodie on over his own shirtless chest. His expression shifts from confusion to anger the second he lays eyes on you.
Mingi comes up behind the man, nuzzling gently into the side of his neck, leaving a wet kiss at the curve of his shoulder.
You almost look away, feeling as if this is something you should not be watching/seeing.
“Why the fuck are you here?” Mingi asks, whispering something to the man before he continues. “I told you to text before you came over. That wasn’t a negotiation.”
“Why the fuck am I here? Why the fuck is he here?” You demand, your voice sharp and cutting through whatever residual sexual air is between the two of them. “Do you have any idea what’s blowing up right now and I find you here, screwing some guys’ brains out while you’re simultaneously screwing me over!”
“Careful angel,” Mingi warns.
“Don’t call me that! Let me in.” You argue, arms flailing.
Mingi steps aside, bringing the man with him to allow you in.
“You know what’s so rich, Mingi?” You scoff, laughing in a way that makes you sound mentally insane. “From where I’m standing, I am fucking tanking my career for a fake relationship while you’re busy proving the world right about you.”
The silence sticks in the air heavy after those words. Mingi narrows his eyes meanly, sucking his teeth as he crosses his arms over his chest. Tilting his head, he seems almost like he’s contemplating something. The man that’s here shifts uncomfortably and looks at Mingi.
“Yunho-yah, can you give us a minute please?” Mingi asks softly to the man — Yunho — and Yunho nods, disappearing up the stairs. “Why are you here?”
“Why am I here? Your ex is fucking trashing us in the press, trying to make us look like fake fools. Now, thousands of people are doubting our entire relationship, so I came here to make you deal with it, because you need to fix this and I find you messing everything up and with your little fuck buddy?”
You take in Mingi’s appearance; his own hair is ruffled too, skin slightly pale, nose red, eyes dark — they’re so much darker than normal, his pupils are blown completely wide to the edges and his gaze is unfocused.
Suddenly, Mingi lets out a humorless laugh and it brings a chill down your spine. You didn’t like that one bit.
“You really are the nation’s sweetheart. Always so perfect. Always trying to fix everyone else. Always so worried about what everyone else thinks.”
“I am not trying to fix everyone else! I am trying to fix you because your fucking company gave me a contract that I wasn’t allowed to say no to. I was dragged into your stupid fucking mess of a life and a career and you can’t even keep it together long enough to not make me look like an idiot!”
“I didn’t ask you to save me,” Mingi’s voice is sharp, so sharp it could cut through glass. It certainly feels like he’s slicing through your skin.
You are bleeding through the cuts that Mingi has made verbally on your skin, stinging you.
“You’re un-fucking-believable. You’re humiliating me. I am being seen as another possible pawn in your game, Song Mingi, and as someone who doesn’t know her boyfriend is screwing other people when everyone else knows it.”
“Nobody knows shit, you didn’t even know he was here—” Mingi starts, but then throws his hands up in exasperation. “What does it matter to you who I fuck when the cameras aren’t around? It’s not like you’re going to suck my dick for me, huh? You’re too busy polishing that perfect image of yours to get dirty. Wouldn't want your halo to get dented, right?"
Mingi has been holding a verbal sword this entire conversation, waving it around to show you that he can use it better than you can and with each strike, you’ve grown weaker and weaker. This last comment was the final blow, spearing you open, allowing your guts to slide out of your body, onto the floor beneath you.
Your eyes narrow as you hold back a few choked tears, noticing the glassiness in his eyes, mixed with his blown pupils and unfocused gaze. Suddenly, it clicks in your brain, the pieces coming together.
“You’re fucking high,” you whisper, those words chilling you to the bone. “Of course you’re high right now.”
His face twists a cruel smile onto his lips. “What? Are you gonna add that to your list of reasons you’re better than me?”
“No, Mingi,” you puff out. “I’m adding it to the list of reasons of why you’re going to pull me down into the crater I’m trying to get you out of.”
Those words seem to hit him in a jagged way, so he stays silent for a while. Between the both of you, you could probably hear a pin drop and your blood is whooshing loudly in your ears, making you flush hotly.
Mingi sucks his bottom lip in, stepping towards you. You swallow thickly as he comes into your space, engulfing you in musky coconut scent. You’re beginning to think that’s his signature scent and it genuinely feels intoxicating to you.
A look flashes across his face.
“You know what? If people are doubting us right now, then let’s give them something not to doubt.”
Before you can ask what the hell he meant, he steps even further into your space, clogging your lungs with his scent and in a split second, his mouth was on yours — rough, rushed, but long enough for you to feel how soft and plush his lips are.
The click of the camera on his phone is louder than the gasp you let out, your fingers fisting into the front of Mingi’s sweatshirt.
His tongue gently licks at the bottom of your lip and you grip even tighter, so in shock.
He tastes like vanilla and eucalyptus.
When he pulls away, you’re left dazed, your lips basically chasing his until you shake your head to clear your mind.
Mingi has his phone in his hand, fingers running across the screen before they stop and he looks up.
“There, posted, and now no one will question us. At least for a little while—”
You stumble backwards, lips wet with Mingi’s saliva as a large wave of nausea curls in the bottom of your stomach.
“Are you insane?”
“No, I’m a genius from where I’m standing. Isn’t this what you signed up for, dollface? Play my girlfriend and make it look real? Well, I’m making it real and you’re throwing a fit.”
What Mingi doesn’t seem to understand, especially when he’s high out of his mind, is that this isn’t a game. It might be to him — but for you, this is your career, your reputation, your image that your crafted to be the best parts of you.
For Mingi, right now, this was him high and reckless, using your mouth, your face, your status in order to save his own skin.
“This is going to end up in flames, Mingi, and it’s going to be your fault.” You point your finger accusingly at him before you turn around, leaving his apartment and getting into the elevator.
You pull at the roots of your hair, trying to stimulate something other than the mental torture you’re currently going through. You’re angry, you’re upset, you’re delirious, you’re frustrated; you’re thinking about how Mingi tastes and what it would be like to taste him again.
You’re thinking about how that vanilla and eucalyptus would feel all over your body, lips dragging across your skin.
Oh fuck, you are so screwed.
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hope you all enjoyed! pt 3 soon <3
also if you saw typos no you didn't lol I have gone crosseyed trying to edit this document
⤷ You almost lost your life not once but twice, yet the heavens had other plans for you. Blessed with another chance to live, you built yourself from the ground up and changed yourself for the better. Things were going great for you until an intruder showed up in your place—your first love, who had betrayed you.
pirate!mingi x princess!reader ft. pirate!ateez, pirate au, exes-to-lovers, rebirth, revenge, slow burn(?), heavy heavy angst, humor in some parts, fluff at the end
warning ━━ profanities, mentions of blood, use of weapons, near death experience, toxic family members, deaths, long flashbacks, timelapses, misunderstandings, may not be historically accurate, emotionally heavy (a big warning)
word count ━━ 31.2k (sorry not sorry)
playlist ━━ I don't wanna live forever - zayn, taylor swift | vigilante shit - taylor swift | catch fire - 5 seconds of summer | imgonnagetyouback - taylor swift | die with a smile - lady gaga, bruno mars
a/n ━━ First of all, I apologize for the very late update. A lot has happened the past year, so I had to put this on hold for a while. This is another story inspired by my dreams, and this might be my favorite work that I have written so far. I just love everything about this, and the length says it all.
𝗺𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁
"Jongho's team to the village; Wooyoung and Yeosang to the shore. Seonghwa's team, come with me to the headquarters. Position yourselves to your assigned areas; remember what we trained for." You announced to the intercom that resounded around the building.
You were working on a new machine with the technical team when the alarm suddenly rang and red lights flashed around the whole building, signaling the presence of intruders, so Jongho immediately pressed the big red button on his office table, calling for an emergency lockdown.
You and Seonghwa's team dispersed around the building exits to prevent the intruders from escaping the premises. You, Seonghwa, and his team moved to your designated areas and hid yourselves: some hiding around the corners while the others were behind crates, and you hid behind an unsuspecting wall after setting up a trap.
Just then, you heard slow footsteps nearby, and as soon as the person stepped on the rope, triggering the trap you had set up, which caused them to trip, you signaled towards Seonghwa across from you to start attacking the intruder.
"Drop your weapon!" Seonghwa commanded sternly as he pointed his gun towards the intruder, who immediately, in acquiescence, dropped their cutlass on the ground, resisting to fight back.
"I'm sorry, please don't kill me. Don't kill us; we're not here to fight or steal anything." The man begged as he knelt on the ground with his head down, body shaking in fear and coldness.
Wait, that voice...why does it sound so familiar?
You finally exited from your hiding spot to take a closer look at the man who had just spoken, striding towards them, and as they came into view, you let out an audible gasp in sheer disbelief when you recognized who it was.
"Yunho?!"
Yunho's eyes widened when he heard you call his name, and his body blanched at your presence; he couldn't believe his eyes in that moment. It felt like he was stuck in a hyperrealistic dream, or was he just seeing things? "y-y/n...? How a-are you alive?" How exactly were you standing in front of him? Of course, he would ask that kind of question.
You stopped him with a hand, shaking your head feeling aggravated. "Let's save that talk for later. Tell me how many of you are here?"
"There's f-four of us, but y/n—"
"Seonghwa, bring him to the interrogation room. I'll go find the others," you ordered. Half of Seonghwa's team followed behind you, while the other half assisted him with bringing Yunho to the said room.
You eagerly checked around the area for the other intruders, and to your luck, a tall man wearing a wide-brimmed hat on his head that covered his face almost entirely, walked into the room you were in unsuspectingly. You tried to run up to him.
However, the clicking of your boots alerted the man to quickly escape, so you followed after him with all your might. The man was impressively fast, but you still caught up to him within seconds. Kicking his knees from behind and tackling him down to the ground, the man grunted at the impact. "Don't move."
You swiftly pulled off the bandanna that covered his face, only for you to instantly regret your actions because the man lying defenselessly below you was the last person in the world you wanted to see. "Mingi...what the hell are you doing here?" Your eyes scanned him from head to toe; he wore a frock coat with a loose shirt on the inside, slightly damped black trousers, leather boots, a sash around his waist, and his hair disheveled. "How did you find this place?" You were exasperated, wounded, anything but glad. "Answer me before I kill you." You fumed with gritted teeth, ready to pull out your pistol.
Mingi stared at your almost unfamiliar appearance as if he had seen a ghost, as if you were someone he had never met in his life before. "y/n...it's y-you." He slowly lifted his hand up to touch your face, to feel your skin, to confirm that you weren't just a figment of his imagination, but you slapped his hand away with force. "I'm glad you're alive."
You huffed at the sound of his voice, rolling your eyes in the process, and the sight of his lips curling up made you almost slap them away from his face too. "After abandoning me in the middle of nowhere, you have the nerve to show up in front of my face?"
"I-I can explain—"
"You left me behind, Mingi. You betrayed me, tried to kill me, and I almost died because of you. I had to start from nothing and now that I've built my place and met my people, you're going to ruin everything for me again?" You moved your face closer to his, glowering at him. "Unfortunately for you, I'm not going to let you hurt me anymore."
Mingi could sense all the anger, sorrow, and pain you have bottled up inside as your eyes gazed into him with fire and your hands firmly wrapped around his neck to cut off his breathing, which he accepted without a fight. After all, he deserved to be killed by you right here and right now.
-
[ 14 years ago. ]
You were the only daughter of the king and queen of Fever Kingdom, and they said you had a gifted intelligence for a young child. You excelled in a lot of things that no other princess could compare to you in: you learned how to speak various languages, as well as use weapons with ease. You studied about the history of the kingdom, the list of pirates that must be avoided at all costs, including those who tried to step foot into the kingdom, and even about construction and technology, not knowing the fate that was awaiting you.
That was until the day came when a group of pirates trespassed and attacked the kingdom. Although the royal guards outnumbered the pirates, the ferocious sea dogs still managed to eliminate them, including your beloved parents, leaving you alone with your personal tutor inside the castle's library. It was a fearsome and traumatic experience for everyone, the vicious pirates who mercilessly took the lives of all your loved ones.
"Keep these books, Your Highness. Don't let anyone take these away from you; you're going to need them someday." Madame Lee spoke to you in a hushed voice, afraid that someone would hear her from where you hid, handing you your pink backpack filled with various books. She didn't want to scare you with what was happening, so she bombarded you with compliments to distract you, planting a deep kiss on your forehead one last time before exiting the room.
As soon as you heard her scream in fear, that was when you realized the reality you were currently in. You were now all alone in this cruel world with no one else to rely on. You were trained to fight, to stand up for yourself, but you weren't taught how to survive alone at this age. Tears started running down your cheeks as you sat on the floor in fear and hopelessness. Why was this happening? You were only a child trying to make sense of the world.
"Hey, kid. Come with us; no one else is here." A tall man, who had an eye patch covering his right eye, arms decorated in scars, and what seemed like a dagger in his hand, called for you by the doorway. His hand was covered in the blood of who you assumed was Madame Lee. You were reluctant to move, hugging your bag tightly for comfort, but the man hauled you towards him, and soon, you found yourself in a large ship that had a red and black jolly roger hanging above it.
"Who's this little thing?" A woman in her 40s wearing a tricorn on her head asked as she chewed on some candy in her mouth, "Gimme that." She harshly grabbed the bag from your hands, pulling out a book from inside. She tried to read a few words written on it, her head tilting from side to side with a grimace. "What is this? A bunch of lines and weird stuff." With that, she threw the bag back at you, and you swore, that was the most nerve-wracking moment you've ever felt.
You found out some time later that the pirates on the ship were functionally illiterate, although when it came to fighting and stealing goods, they were very exceptional at it. No wonder they were able to eliminate everyone in the castle despite being outnumbered; they weren't called the 'black pirates of the sea' for nothing.
Thankfully, they gave you a place to stay. It was small but enough for you to survive, and they also provided you food and water in exchange for you serving them as a cabin girl. If that was the only way you got to live, then you wouldn't question it.
It's been weeks since you started working wearily at the ship, mates pushing you around, telling you to do this and that, cleaning up spilled drinks, washing up dirty clothes, all just to be made fun of. You endured all of that for the sake of sparing your life until one sunny Tuesday morning, life started feeling a bit lighter. You met a pirate friend for the first time when you accidentally entered the captain's cabin and saw him sitting on the bed with an angry look on his face, whispering incoherent words fo himself.
"I'm so sorry, I didn't know someone was in here." You quickly apologized to him, but before you could leave, he stopped you.
"Wait, don't go." The boy jumped off the bed and ran up to where you stood. "You look nice; come play with me." Seeing him up close, you noticed his sharp facial features, a tiny mole on his cheek, thick soft lips, and height taller than you.
You stared at him warily, fidgeting with the broom you were holding. "Play with you?"
"Yeah, like I hide somewhere and you go look for me." He rubbed his nape in embarrassment. "Sorry, it gets really boring out here. I have no one to play with because people are always busy fighting, but maybe you're not like them. I've actually never seen you here before."
"Mingi!" You heard the captain's voice from outside the room, which made both of you flinch.
Mingi groaned, irritated, "Coming, mother." He shouted back before apologizing to you for the interruption, "I'll see you later...what's your name?"
"Uhm...y/n, I'm y/n."
"Great! See you later, y/n."
-
You met up with Mingi at the same place later that day to play the game he talked about earlier, and since then, the two of you began to bond and create an unexpected friendship that made you ease the pain you went through before all this. He would tell you jokes he thought were funny, although you couldn't understand then, but you would laugh anyway.
He would also share about his life growing up, which he insisted was boring, and he even introduced you to his other friends: Hongjoong, Yunho, and San, whom he had first met during a training session. They were surprisingly too nice to be pirates as they had treated you with kindness. In exchange for their amiability towards you, you taught them how to read and write with a promise that they keep it to themselves. Who would've thought that a princess would ever befriend pirates?
Together with Mingi, Hongjoong, Yunho, and San, you began to see life differently, or rather, you started to get used to the setup of living a completely different life with the pirates: from royalty to a nobody, but you were somebody to them. The captain of HalaHala would treat you to good food like you were someone valuable, or maybe it was all a facade; you weren't sure.
What you knew instead was that as long as you were with your newfound friends, you felt that there was still hope left for you. They became your source of happiness amidst the struggles you were facing. You found comfort from them, and you thought things were changing for the better.
"We're going to be best friends forever!"
For eight long years, you shared nothing but smiles and laughter with them. You revealed to them about you growing up in royalty and how the pirates, who killed all your loved ones, eventually adopted you. Mingi felt remorseful for what they did to your kingdom, especially that his mother was the captain of HalaHala. Truthfully speaking, he never really liked the idea of killing people in the first place. It was unfortunate that he was a son of a renowned pirate.
Hongjoong shared about his older brother being killed trying to protect him during a fight between pirates and how he was brought into the ship unknowingly, similar to what they did to you. Yunho was an orphan who got adopted by the ship's quartermaster, and San was the son of a crewmate. The five of you were just a group of young, innocent kids trying to make sense of the world you were forced to live in.
You and Mingi grew extremely close the more time you spent with each other. The two of you became inseparable, talking nonstop, and even sneaking out at night to watch the stars, almost like you couldn't live without each other. And one day, he finally professed his true feelings for you with a bunch of flowers he personally picked when the ship stopped by an island earlier.
In a hidden area of the ship, he cleared his throat, fidgeting with his shirt nervously. "I like you, y/n. I can feel my heart beat fast whenever I'm with you, and seeing you smile makes me feel better. Please, accept my heart." He even knelt on the ground with his head down to show you how sincere he was with it, and you couldn't help but titter.
"Get up, Mingi. Your pants are going to get dirty." You pulled him up to make him stand on his feet. "I like you too, silly boy. Thank you for liking me."
Mingi became your everything: the arms you run to for comfort, the hands that hold you when you feel scared or exhausted, the lips you kiss goodnight every time the sky gets dark, and the eyes that bring you to another world where all you could feel was happiness. That was who he was, and he meant so much to you. He was the person you loved so much, so...how did it end up like this?
"Mingi? No...NO!"
"I'm so sorry, y/n." Those were the last words you heard from him as you watched his figure disappear into the distance with the ship you were once a part of. No warnings, no excuses, just pure betrayal.
Eight years together down the drain.
The previous night, he was kissing you goodnight with so much passion but with a hint of fear. He kissed you with tears in his eyes all while whispering sweet nothings in your ears, and you had absolutely no idea that the man who gave you love when it was taken away from you was the same man who would, one day, take your life.
Mingi was a pirate after all; hell, he was the son of the captain of the notorious HalaHala. They were bound to kill you sooner or later, but why did it have to be him of all people? Why did he have to make you feel like you had everything and then take it all away like it meant nothing?
That was heartbreak and death in one.
You didn't even realize you lost consciousness until you were woken up by someone nudging you awake. You groaned as your eyes adjusted to the light that shone down on your face, seeing silhouettes of people surrounding you. However, you fainted again due to hunger, and panicked screams were heard. The second time you woke up, you were in a comfortable bed in a small house with a person sitting next to you on a chair. As soon as your eyes opened and you seemed to be breathing normally, a sigh was heard from beside you.
"Finally, you're awake. You're alive, princess."
Princess?
You turned to the side and saw a few familiar faces dressed in linen and wool clothing with the brightest smiles plastered on their faces, others stifling their sobs. "Where am I? What happened?" How did you even end up here?
"We found you unconscious by the shore, princess. Thank god, the heavens brought you to us. You were gone for eight years; we thought we had lost you too." The man cried, expressing how grateful he was that you were alive.
Studying his face closely, your mind suddenly brought you back to the kingdom. You recognized the men and women in front of you were some of the castle guards and maids. They had hidden from the pirates during the attack and successfully escaped after by using the ship that was being built during that time to find a new place to stay.
After countless days of being stuck in the middle of the vast ocean, they finally stumbled upon a secluded island where they had asked for help. The people who resided on the island were secretly hiding away from the pirates too, so they became alerted when they heard cries for help until they saw the suits and dresses of the guards and maids. It was their first time seeing actual people from a royal kingdom, which they had always believed were only myths.
"Who did this to you, Your Highness?" One of the maids asked, deeply concerned, observing your almost lifeless state.
With all the energy you had left, you managed to speak out a few words in response. "P-pirates..." Your voice was hoarse, still the men and women at once knew who you were referring to.
"Those damn pirates, we're going to get our revenge on them. You are our hope, Your Highness."
You were blessed that the tides brought you to this island: the island of hope, the island of new beginnings, and the island where you will have your last breath. This was another life given to you.
After you recovered, you took in the sight of how peaceful, bright, and different the place was. The houses were made of stones with flowers surrounding them, the food was fresh and delicious—a taste that hits too close to home—and their clothes were simple yet clean, radically different than your situation back at the ship.
What caught your eyes was how happy the people were: children running around chasing each other, mothers sharing meals with the workers, and husbands taking care of their wives. It felt like paradise, a rainbow after the storm. You loved seeing their smiles as it brought you a new sense of hope, another chance to live a better life, hoping that this was the last life you had to live, but your thoughts shifted to the brutal fights you'd witnessed before, and that scared you too much.
What if the pirates happen to find this island? How would the people protect themselves?
"Your Highness, aren't these your books from the kingdom?" One of the maids showed you your pink damp bag that you had kept to yourself for the past eight years; you were even surprised it was still with you after Mingi basically threw you out in the middle of the ocean. "These are all about construction and technology; do you read about them?"
"Yeah, I do..." Your mind instantly envisioned the island with improved housing and more buildings, where the people are guaranteed to live more securely in better living conditions with weapons and other technology that could help with their survival. That was it; that was the answer. That was exactly what you needed those books for; that's what Madame Lee meant when she said you were going to need them one day.
This was the day.
"We might need more hands and lots and lots of resources. Do you think we can do this?"
With the help and cooperation of the people and the connections the royal guards and maids had with other kingdoms, you were able to guide the people in constructing buildings and infrastructure, leading to the creation of a better and more advanced community. The question on how the guards were able to contact other kingdoms was too long of a story to tell, but they made it work. Because of your impressive knowledge on the outside world and fighting skills, the people had made you their new leader of the island and captain of the crew.
As months continued to pass and more advanced technology and weapons were developed, the number of people on the island also began to increase. Pirates and intruders were killed by you and your guards after endless trainings, whereas outcasts like Yeosang, who was abandoned by his crew because of his innocence and incompetence, while one of their best gunners, Wooyoung, followed him voluntarily; Jongho, who was kicked out because of his reoccurring injuries; and Seonghwa, who left his crew because his ideas weren't being acknowledged and possibly because of his red parrot friend too. They were taken in for interrogation before accepting them on the island and being trained to become officially part of your crew, the 'Blue Bird.'
A year of training led to Wooyoung becoming your first mate, definitely not because he whined about it, and the leader for trainings, although he's a scalawag sometimes; Jongho became the boatswain and head of the technical team; Seonghwa became the quartermaster and head of securities and was supposedly your first mate, while Yeosang became the deckhand, who leads in navigation. Some of the guards were part of the crew as well to help during battles.
That was how the island, which you now call as 'New World,' was established.
[ end. ]
"Captain?" Yeosang hurriedly entered the room upon hearing your voice. "We have captured the rest of the intruders and cleared the area." His eyes landed on Mingi, who remained defenseless on the ground. "And it seems you got the last guy. Should we finish this one off? " He whispered the last part to you, even though Mingi could still hear him.
You didn't want to believe it, but as you glanced back down at Mingi, you saw how his eyes were full of defeat and regret. Those weren't there the last time you saw him; why have them now?
"Seeing how much she hates me—no, despises me—for what I had done to her, it's best if you kill me right now. But please, spare my friends; they didn't mean anything wrong." Your hands, which you forgot were around his neck, loosened.
Yeosang's eyes traveled back and forth from Mingi to you in bewilderment. "Wait, you know each other?"
Before Mingi could say anything back to Yeosang, you scoffed bitterly and diverted your gaze away from him as you removed yourself from Mingi's body, getting back on your feet, and brushing off dirt from your trousers. "Bring him to the interrogation room with the rest. If he tries to escape, call me immediately. I'll end him myself."
"Aye-aye, captain." Yeosang suddenly stood at attention and made a salute sign your way, earning him a serious look from you. "Sorry."
"Why do I even put up with you?"
-
The interrogation room fell silent except for the sound of your leather-heeled boots clicking on the floor as you paced back and forth in front of the intruders with your hands resting on both sides of your hips, jaw clenching at the sight of the four familiar men: Mingi, San, Yunho, and Hongjoong, who once meant so much to you, now tied up in chairs while being guarded by two of your loyal guards. The room was bright, yet the atmosphere was heavy and dim. Being in the same room as them felt sickening, vivid memories from a decade ago replaying in your mind.
"I really want to know how the four of you traitors found your way onto this island and what your real intentions are because—god—I'm going to lose my fucking mind." You slammed your fist hard onto the table in the middle of the room, making every person in the room flinch. "Did your captain bring you here to assault us? Rob us?" Bending down to Mingi's eye-level, you pulled out a dagger from your pocket carry and bringing it close to his jaw, so close that one wrong move from him will scratch his pale skin. "Or did she maroon you too, like you did to me?" Mingi wanted to speak up and explain everything to you yet he couldn't move a single inch of his body. "Maybe San or Yunho can answer that for me, since I don't like to waste my time listening to liars." You stared deeply into Mingi's pained eyes.
Both San and Yunho looked up at you desperately, lips quivering and bodies slumped. It was the first time you'd seen Yunho cry this much, and it made you wonder what they went through before they had stepped into this place. You almost saw yourself in them, although that will never compare to the nightmare you had to experience twice.
"y/n, please." Yunho sobbed as his vision began to blur from the uncontrollable hot tears. "Please, don't kill us. We swear we didn't mean to trespass. We escaped from HalaHala, but we got lost in the sea. We don't even know how many days had passed until we saw this island, and we thought this was our only hope." He took a deep breath. "Earlier, we were only searching for food. We deeply apologize. We'll do anything you say, we promise. Just please, spare our lives this once."
His voice was shaky, his breathing unsteady, and because of the past you shared with them, you knew he was a bad liar, but now, you weren't quite sure if he was telling the truth, and you definitely weren't ready to relive some of those shared memories. They could be sabotaging you and ruin all the things you've built up in the past six years. These were the people who made your past worth living when you had no one, yet even the closest people to you were the ones who betrayed you first.
You closed your eyes shut, not wanting to show them any weakness of yours. You hated it; you loathed to hear those words coming from their mouths. How can they beg to you like this? Their crew had attacked your kingdom, pirates tormented you for years, and your closest friends had betrayed you, but not once have you begged on your knees to them, asking to spare your life. It's ridiculous, but you were not a monster. You weren't meant to hurt a soul.
"Fine, I'll spare you this once as long as you all promise not to do anything wrong to my people and my island. We have eyes everywhere, and one wrong move, you're gone. Got that?" They all nodded in understanding. "I value trust here in this island, but once it is broken, I don't give any more chances. I expect none of you to fail me...again." You then left through the door where Seonghwa was waiting. "Bring them new clothes, serve them hot food and get rooms for them to stay, that's an order."
Seonghwa nodded his head in compliance. "Will do right away, captain. I will report back to you once they have settled."
You pursed your lips, "Thank you, Hwa. I'll look forward to it. Good night."
"Good night, y/n. Get some rest."
-
[ 9 years ago ]
"I will become the best captain of the seas and have the best crew like no other." Hongjoong placed one leg on top of a crate, looking over the horizon as the wind blew his hair back.
You hear Mingi yawn from beside you, "Is he talking about being a captain again?"
You hummed in response, still amused by Hongjoong's dramatic monologue. You wondered what those other two were doing. You turned to check behind you, and see San and Yunho having an intense dance battle in the middle of the main deck with a mini music player resting on top of a crate near them, though you weren't quite familiar with the kind of dance they were doing.
"What kind of dance is that? It's so fast, I've never seen anything like that before."
"It's called 'feeling the music,' darling." San sent a playful wink your way, causing you to get flustered by the sudden action.
Yunho, on the other hand, proceeded to make his way towards you, and you felt Mingi's arm around you tighten slightly. "Why don't you come teach us what you know about dancing? San and I will teach you what we know, too. How's that sound?"
That's how you found yourself teaching the two men how to ballroom dance, not to mention the number of times San had accidentally stepped on your foot. Yunho tried doing it with Mingi while you partnered with San, even though Mingi clearly wanted to be paired up with you.
But it didn't matter because at the end of the day, it was him who you watched all the sunsets with. Your head rested on his shoulder while you took in the sight of the sun setting over the horizon. You loved the peace at that moment; it was the only time you could get your mind off of things. It was nice, especially when the others would suddenly appear from behind you and join.
[ end. ]
Where did it all go wrong?
Two weeks had passed since Mingi, Yunho, San, and Hongjoong found their way onto the island. You stepped outside to the village to conduct your weekly checkup on the villagers and their resources, if changes and training were to be made or not, but everything seemed to be completely fine. Probably too 'fine' for your liking because how did San and Yunho both end up laughing at Seonghwa because his parrot hit him in the face, and why is Wooyoung trying to push Hongjoong towards the said quartermaster? Why the hell is Hongjoong blushing?! You were probably just seeing things after a tiring week, you tried to convince yourself.
The day after, you went to monitor Yunho, San, Mingi, and Hongjoong's training session led by Wooyoung, assisted by Jongho and Yeosang, while Seonghwa stood by as an aid. You, alongside the four men, observed and scrutinized the other four to see if they were to be trusted and qualified to be trained for battles.
In turn, they were unexpectedly obedient and cooperative in everything they were asked to do. Thus, trainings were arranged for them. You expected to see a group of men fighting using their weapons, dampened in sweat, and with determination in their eyes. Instead, the scene in front of you was nothing like you've imagined at all.
Seonghwa was busy wrapping a bandage around Hongjoong's wound on his arm caused by an accident earlier that day, eyes focused on securing it. His body moved closer and closer to Hongjoong in order to see clearly and steadily handle his wound, but the latter seemed to be flustered by the close proximity.
Hongjoong's eyes scanned over the sight of Seonghwa in his elegant clothing, the way his corset hugged his waist perfectly, the way his hair was tied neatly into a short ponytail, his eyes sharp yet soft, his hands ever so gentle on him, and how pink and plump his lips were; Hongjoong had to look away before he would lose his mind.
"You're all good." Seonghwa backed away once he finished aiding the wounded man, grabbing his kit to return to his station when Hongjoong stopped him.
"Hey, uhm..." Hongjoong's eyes were everywhere but on Seonghwa. "Thank you for making me feel better—I mean, for this." He motioned to his arm, where the bandage was in an instant. "Yeah...haha, for this, of course." He mentally cursed at himself for stammering like an idiot in front of the esteemed quartermaster, but he only let out a soft chuckle at his flustered expression.
"Well, I'm glad to hear that." Seonghwa gave him a reassuring smile before he made his way back to his station by the entrance of the room, where you had been standing for a while, enough to witness the whole scenario. The moment Seonghwa noticed your presence, he quickly greeted you. "Good morning, captain. How was your sleep?"
"It was alright."
"That's great—"
"Although, something has been bothering me these days." You sighed.
Seonghwa's full attention was now on you. "What is bothering you, captain?"
You gave him one brief glance before turning over to look at someone who was busy writing in his little notepad, "Seonghwa, is there something going on between you and Hongjoong?"
Your question made his eyes widen, flabbergasted. He wasn't sure how to react to it. The truth was, he never really thought of Hongjoong in that way. Although he did find him quite cute and admirable at times like when he looked clumsy, he believed he shouldn't see him in any way other than as a normal civilian, especially not when he was one of the people who had betrayed you in the past.
Seonghwa would never betray your trust for temporary romantic desires; he promised to serve you with his life. "Me and Hongjoong?" Seonghwa turned to see where Hongjoong was at, and when the two coincidentally made eye contact, Seonghwa avoided his gaze in embarrassment. "Oh no, definitely not, captain. He and I strictly share a professional relationship."
You nodded, though not completely convinced. Afterwards, your eyes landed on another pair of men on the other side of the room. "How about those two over there? Do you think they have a professional relationship?"
Seonghwa followed the direction where your eyes focused and found both Wooyoung and San in a serious conversation. Wooyoung appeared to be scolding San, pointing towards different parts of his body, his mouth rambling continuously as San stood there in silence with his hands behind his back, taking in every word his trainer was telling him. Looks completely normal. Nothing to worry about, right?
San nodded once more at Wooyoung when the latter patted his shoulder stiffly, only for Wooyoung's fingers to ever-so-slightly caress San's cheek as their eyes remained glued on each other. San then brought his hand up to take hold of Wooyoung's, guiding it to rest it on his cheek, and the two exchanged looks of contentment, not to mention how San's ears instantly turned red afterwards.
Wooyoung usually had the tendency to be affectionate towards people he was close to and those he wanted to befriend, but you didn't expect him to reach this level of affection with San, a supposed enemy whom he just met two weeks prior.
Both you and Seonghwa were completely stunned by the interesting scene. Not believing what you had just witnessed a few seconds ago, you both slowly turned to face one another with the same expression. "I guess not, captain. I guess not."
It wasn't that you were opposed to the idea of them having that kind of relationship, since you were close enough with the two to know that they only befriend people who are genuine and share the same principles as them. Wooyoung was best at assessing and deducing people and even exceptional at manipulating them for good reasons, of course, whereas San was highly observant of those around him.
You could only hope that all this wouldn't change anything among the crew; you wouldn't let the same mistake of trusting these former HalaHala crewmates happen to your own crew as well. You were sure to keep a better eye on them.
-
Together with the Blue Bird crew, you had just successfully finished trading goods with the local merchants of Answer Island. Once every two weeks, you sail with the crew to other islands to trade various goods—enough for the villagers of New World.
While this was Yunho, San, Hongjoong, and Mingi's first trade as official members of the crew, you were being vigilant over their words and actions throughout the whole operation. They were considered new faces in your team; one wrong move can ruin the whole crew's reputation straight away. You weren't going to risk anything.
"Where did you get this?" You snatched the pouch bag from Hongjoong's hand, eyeing the shiny red jewels inside suspiciously. "I don't remember telling you to trade our goods for this." A displeased glower was shown on your face, clearly disgruntled at the situation. You had informed the crew beforehand about the list of items they must trade with the locals, including silver and gold coins, clothing, materials for building, and other things you needed for the island. You always made it certain that every trading would be done with integrity, verifying the crew's compliance; consequently, you weren't going to tolerate any ill-gotten trades from anyone. "Explain before I return this back to them."
Hongjoong was caught off guard at the sudden raise of your voice, immeditarly explaining himself to you before matters would escalate further. "Apologies, captain. One of the merchants is someone I'm acquainted with, a close friend of Bumjoong, my older brother, before he was killed. The man remembered who I was, and I tried to politely reject his offer of giving me those jewels, but he was persistent, and I couldn't say 'no.' I'm sorry for causing you any inconvenience."
A part of you was convinced by his explanation, while some parts were still skeptical about it. You still found it difficult to trust them, and your distrust was completely valid and undebatable. Hongjoong did grow up with pirates; thus, raiding for loot was a normal practice in his world. You, on the other hand, didn't. You weren't a pirate; that was as clear as day. Hence, you would never rob a single thing that wasn't yours. There were no exceptions in Blue Bird.
"I don't know if I should believe you. I really do not want to if you ask me." Hongjoong remained silent, making you pinch the bridge of your nose, left with no other option but to let him off the hook. To be fair, you haven't heard any complaints or reports from the merchants and the other crewmates, so maybe it was truly a misunderstanding on your end. "Fine, keep it as long as I do not hear a single complaint about the crew." You tossed the pouch bag back to Hongjoong, which he caught sloppily. "We're not merely here for fortune. We are here to trade and give back to the people. If you wish to satisfy your selfish desires, make sure to leave me and New World out of it, but remember, greed will get you killed."
Hongjoong nodded in understanding, taking mental notes from the conversation you had with him a moment ago. He found you formidable whenever you asserted authority and control over the crew, and he acknowledged it with no objection.
You walked past him heading towards Yeosang and Jongho, who stood by the main deck, preparing to sail back to the New World after a long day of trading in Answer Island. "Jongho, go over all the items inside the chests, and secure them down in the hold. Wooyoung, be on the lookout for tonight. We have to be extra cautious and alert this time; we shouldn't be too complacent." You motioned for Seonghwa and Yeosang, who is Blue Bird's notable navigator, to follow you to the Great Cabin, where the three of you will plan on your next journey in a few days.
You'll never know who will betray your trust.
-
"Woah, you're pretty strong." Yunho panted as he tried to escape from your arms that were currently wrapped around his neck with force. "I'm impressed."
You exerted a bit more force around his neck, almost choking the air out of him. "Not the time for compliments, Yunho. Stay focused."
Today, you were in charge of personally training the four new crewmates, which they totally didn't expect to happen. The training center, surrounded by equipment, weapons, and safety gear, was quickly filled with intense pressure as the four men witnessed you easily knock Yeosang, one of the strongest in Blue Bird, down in just seconds. If they think Yeosang and Jongho were unbeatable, they will be proven wrong by the end of this training session. It wasn't entirely in the muscles or strength you had, being strategic, calculative, and clever were a must.
Yunho continued to struggle against your tight hold until he was finally able to escape from you. He tried to throw you down on the safety mat, but you were faster in kicking his knees from behind, causing him to fall flat on his face with a grunt. You shook your head in dissatisfaction at his performance catching your breath as today's session with him has ended.
"And here I thought you had fast reflexes; I didn't see much of it today." You stayed in place looking down on Yunho, leaving him on the ground. "Get up. Go sit by the bench; I'll get back to you later." Yunho didn't waste any second to get back on his feet and sat down on the bench, where the others were waiting.
It was then San's turn to train with you. You already had certain moves planned beforehand to execute based on each of their specialties and strong points to see which techniques were best to use and where they may improve. As soon as he settled in front of you on the safety mat, you started tackling him, holding his arms down to limit his movements. However, San was also quick to respond to your sudden actions by squirming a bit before extending his arms to have leverage against your grip.
"Not bad, but not the best move either. Squirming can take a bit of your energy away, which allows the opponent to take advantage of those few seconds. Every second matters, take note of that."
You pulled away from his body to prepare yourself for another move, but before you could do so, San asked you a question. "Sorry to ask this in the middle of training, y/n, but this has been on my mind lately. I'm not, in any way, invalidating your feelings, but with how things had been going the past week, I really wanted to ask if you...trust us? I mean, we are now a part of your crew, but like, do you trust us in a deeper sense?" San had been meaning to ask you that question since he'd started noticing your stern treatment towards them.
Trust? How can he say that word so casually after what happened to you in the past? Does he think trusting people who had immensely hurt you before is easy? Trusting is a sacrifice, and sacrificing meant risking your life. You may have given them a second chance to live and rise back up, but that didn't mean things would go back to how they used to be.
"Show me excellent results, and I might reconsider."
With that, San and the other men were hellbent on gaining your trust back by showing how much they improved and how superbly they fought against the pirates, who had tried to invade the island. Those pirates were from the Outlaw crew, and they were known to be well-equipped and strategic when it came to battles, yet your crew, especially with San, Hongjoong, Yunho, and Mingi added to team, easily defeated them without a challenge.
You hate to admit it, but their performance was undeniably impressive. It was clear that they were motivated to achieve their goal, and that called for a feast to celebrate another successful and well-fought battle.
"Cheers to another Blue Bird victory!"
The feast was held outdoors in the village square, where everyone gathered together. The village square had a fountain in the center with benches on the side and even a gazebo nearby. Wooyoung led the celebration with a beer in hand and a foot on the table. Everyone joined in raising their own glasses up in the air and cheered enthusiastically, followed by the crew exchanging words of gratitude. This had been a tradition among the people since the crew's first victory a few years ago, even before Seonghwa and the others had arrived here.
The night went on with a crowd filled with laughter and tears of joy, especially San, who sobbed quietly on Yunho's shoulder. You silently watched on the side, admiring the scene in front of you, not really wanting to engage in any long conversations after a tiring day. You weren't one to stay long on nights like this, but you wanted to stay longer tonight for a change. San, Yunho, and Hongjoong had flooded you with words of gratitude for all the help and training you gave to them and how it was all worth it in the end. You didn't hesitate to return the gesture because now, you trusted them a bit more than before. They have proven their skills to you, and it resulted in another victory.
Seeing this, Mingi was eager to talk to you as well. He contemplated if tonight was the right time to explain himself to you personally and to make things right once and for all, so the moment he followed you back to your tower after the celebration, he was more than ready to confess to you the whole story from beginning to end, whether you'd believe him or not, and he was prepared for the consequences he'll get.
"y/n...please." Mingi tried to catch up to you from behind as you continued to make your way inside your tower, where you stayed. The tower was big enough for you with simple modern designs, and it wasn't too visible from the outside to keep your location hidden from intruders or outsiders, since your tower had important documents and fortune you needed to keep as safe as possible. You didn't even let him in, nor was he welcomed inside. Nonetheless, he found himself inside the place with one goal: to explain everything to you.
You tried your best to ignore his pleas, passing them from one ear to the other, and pretending that he wasn't there at all. Even so, he wouldn't give up that easily. He couldn't bear the idea of you hating him without knowing the truth behind his actions. He followed you upstairs to your living room, forgetting that he was basically trespassing in your tower; he only had his eyes set on you, after all.
You moved to the kitchen to get yourself a cup of tea, as you always do every night, without bothering to look at him. "What do you not understand about leaving me alone?" you asked. You could almost feel the desperation in his eyes as they watched you.
"Let's talk."
Unthinkingly, you slammed your hand on the counter out of vexation. He just doesn't get it, does he? "No, Mingi. Let's not talk, okay? First, you leave me behind to my death, then you trespass in my home, and now that I gave you a place to stay, you are being as stubborn as ever. Just because I did that doesn't mean we're good to fix things. Staying away from me is the least you can do, or would you rather have me throw you out instead?"
"No, it's not that. Please, let me explain everything to you. You deserve to know the truth."
You heaved a drained sigh, looking out the big window that overlooked the village, watching the villagers going by to end their night. "I don't even know if I should keep you on the team."
Mingi knew that; he'd expect you to tell him off even from the very start. "I know, y/n. I don't deserve any of this, but there is something I didn't tell you about my mother."
The mention of his mother bemused you. She took you in when she could've ended your life together with your parents, and if it wasn't for her, you wouldn't have survived this long and be where you are right now. You had no idea what secret he was keeping from you, but what he revealed next made your heart drop.
"She was trying to kill you, okay?"
What? It cannot be. You turned to look at him with widened eyes, staring in utter disbelief. "What do you mean she was trying to kill me? She wouldn't—"
"She was planning to kill you, so she made up rumors about you only wanting my fortune to drive me to kill you first, but you know I wouldn't. I didn't want to, and the only choice I had for you to stay alive was to leave you behind. That's why I did what I did back then. I'm really sorry for not telling you, y/n."
Mingi finally spilled the truth you needed to hear from him. He stood in there in pure guilt, seeing the way your lips quivered in denial and the way your eyes were fighting back the tears that were threatening to escape. He acknowledged that it may all be too much to believe and too overwhelming for you to take in, but he really needed to let you know as soon as possible. You just weren't prepared for it.
"Why..."
[ flashback ]
"What?!" Mingi exclaimed as his mother continued to wipe her weapons clean without a care. "y/n doesn't want my fortune; why would you say that?""
His mother apathetically shrugged. "I don't know about you, Mingi. Maybe you're too blinded by her beauty or whatever, but she's clearly only sticking close to you because she knows you're my son and you have a fortune under your name."
Mingi doesn't apprehend where all these rumors about you being a fortune hunter were coming from; nevertheless, he hated hearing about it. He had just shared a sweet intimate kiss with you an hour ago, and he was so sure that you didn't like him solely for his fortune. You had never mentioned that to him; what you usually shared with him was simply about your love for sunsets and reading. A girl with big dreams; that was the 'y/n' he knew so well.
"You must have forgotten, Mingi. That girl came from royalty, wealth, and big castles. It's in her nature to want fortune because that's how they live; they breathe money. I only kept her because I thought we'd get access to other kingdoms using her connections, but she's just a useless little girl with nothing but a pretty face."
"Do not speak about her in that way," Mingi argued, jaw clenching, clearly infuriated. "I'm not going to kill her, mother."
Amused by Mingi's courage, his mother sneered at him. "Really?" She walked up towards him in slow, intimidating steps and with a sinister look, grabbing his chin. "You know exactly what would happen when you don't do it. Would you rather want that?"
Mingi loathed everything about the situation. He abhorred having to choose between the people he loved, but he knew that lives were at stake; thus, he needed to make a decision he would regret. Either way, regret will still eat him up, and he'll never forgive himself for it. If it were a choice to just kill his own mother instead, he would, but he wasn't a selfish monster like her.
"Do it before the sun rises."
Those were his mother's last words to him before he finally executed his nightmare of a plan, which he believed was the best choice at the moment. He felt his heart sink and his head grew dizzy at the sight in front of him: the love of his life, an innocent young lady with tears running down her face and broken eyes staring into him with so much pain and betrayal.
He brought you out to the back of the ship late at dawn just before the sunrise came, and you knew where it was going. You didn't have words to say anything or ask him what was going on; still, you had already expected this day to come. A princess like you knew that loving a pirate was a sin, yet you decided to trust and love Mingi when you shouldn't. This was a consequence of your actions.
He tossed to you your almost worn-out bag where your books were kept before carrying you back to the main deck and casting you down as gently as he could into the water, making sure you were not to drown easily because he knew you weren't a swimmer at best, unlike him and his friends.
"Mingi? No...NO!" Your screams of terror sounded like someone had stabbed his heart multiple times, sounds that would haunt him forever.
"I'm so sorry, y/n." Those were the last words he told you before he regretfully walked away from the scene, afraid to see what he had just done. He didn't turn back. He wanted to see you one last time, but it hurt him too much to do it. "This is all just a dream; I'll live." But it wasn't. It was reality no matter how much he denies the truth.
[ end. ]
"That day, I wanted to kill myself, to kill my mother, to end it all. It took me and my brothers years to escape from my mother, so when she passed away, my stepsister immediately took over the ship, and we left before she could catch us. We genuinely didn't expect to end up in this place; we didn't even know this island existed." Mingi tried to step closer towards you, only for you to turn your body away from him, giving him a sign that he should keep his distance. "I'm really sorry if I had to hide this from you; I knew you cared about my mother. I made a stupid mistake, one that I know I absolutely will not make again."
The truth was unconscionably cruel after that painful revelation about his mother, who had taken you in and provided you with a second home. Even though she, your supposed 'killer,' was no longer in your life, the sorrow and anguish remained very much there in your heart. For years, you blamed Mingi for everything, when his mother was the one responsible for your near-death experience. It hurt all over again.
"I see."
A joyful feast with the crew ended in a painful revelation, which you cannot let go of easily.
Since that heated exchange with Mingi three nights ago, you couldn't sleep much at all. It's been days since you started avoiding him unless it's for necessary means, fearful that past memories would make their way back into your mind. You detested him for what he did, and you despised him even more for keeping it a secret from you. The crew had noticed your indifference towards Mingi, but you couldn't care less if they noticed. All you cared about was treating him like he was nonexistent.
In order to block out the thoughts and emotions, you took refuge in your tower. Meanwhile, Mingi was taking a leisurely stroll along the shore to get his mind off of things. He kicked small rocks away as he dragged his boots on the sand, appreciating the sensation of the wind against his face. He walked along the shore for a few minutes before finding a log to sit on and rest his legs.
He felt that he was gradually getting better at the time, but it was short-lived when he caught sight of a familiar silhouette in the distance. The closer it came into view, the clearer it became to Mingi. Alarmed, Mingi hurried back to the headquarters, entering straight into Jongho's office, where he was found playing with his guitar.
"Woah, man. Relax—"
"HalaHala is here, call 'emergency lockdown' now!"
The moment Jongho heard the name everyone feared the most, he automatically pressed the red button on his desk in less than a second. Sirens rang around the area and the residential zones, signaling a need for lockdown. Traps were activated, and all crewmates promptly moved to prepare for battle.
"Pirates are coming. The day we all feared has come...HalaHala has found us," Jongho announced to the intercom, voice stern with a hint of fear in it. "Ready yourselves as we've practiced; let's end this once and for all even if it costs our lives...this is all for you, captain." With that being said, Jongho ran out to prepare himself for the most awaited war of his life.
Your heart dropped to the bottom of your stomach when you heard Jongho's call over the intercom. Because of their own horrific experiences with HalaHala, everyone dreaded this day, but to you, it was like going through hell again. Like the day when your kingdom was totally destroyed, this day was life or death for you.
"Fuck! Why now of all times?" you cursed to yourself as you got dressed, grabbing all your needed weapons. You stride towards a hidden room in your tower, where your most valuable possessions, secrets, and important documents were kept safe. In it was a family picture that was found on one of the books you had brought from the kingdom: your mother and father sitting on the luxurious couch with a tiny you in the middle. "This fight is for you, mom and dad. If I die, I must die a hero, as I have worked hard to become," before exiting the tower through an emergency shortcut.
Everything you had went through, building this island and training your people to become who they are now—all these happened because of those heartless pirates. You weren't going to fail New World, Blue Bird, or yourself, especially not your parents and the kingdom. This battle was for each one of them, all to avenge the people you loved with your life.
Arriving at the headquarters, you headed to your usual spot with Seonghwa and his team. Your heart raced immensely from the thought of seeing HalaHala again more than a decade after being thrown out from their ship, past memories flashing back to haunt you.
"Don't be afraid, captain. We know this battle means everything to you, so we will fight with our lives to make sure we win this." Seonghwa pulled you in to reassure you. "You got this, y/n. You always do."
You weren't in your right mind the past week from Mingi's sudden revelation, and now, this. It was too much for you to process, but winning this battle meant bringing justice to your kingdom and peace to your soul. You must win this.
-
Mingi and the rest of Blue Bird hid quietly as the HalaHala pirates jumped off the ship to the shore, carrying weapons with them. One of the enemies had stepped on a dried leaf, triggering a trap. The rest of HalaHala pulled out their cutlasses and pistols, ready to shoot, but stopped when the captain of HalaHala got down from the ship, and signaled for the crew not to make a move yet.
Mina, the captain of HalaHala and Mingi's stepsister, scanned the surroundings intently for anything suspicious. There hadn't been any movement found, but with her keen sight, she narrowed her eyes towards a certain bush, where she noticed a gun pointing in her direction. Instead of feeling terrified, she only smirked amusingly. "This might be fun." She cracked her knuckles before grabbing her pistol from her pocket carry. "Start shooting!" With her signal, HalaHala started shooting towards the bushes where Mingi and the others were hiding behind.
They quickly ducked to dodge the bullets, and once it died down a bit, they started shooting them back with no hesitation. Wooyoung led his team out first, as he was Blue Bird's best gunner, and his flexible body was an advantage for him to avoid bullets coming his way. Mingi, who was the second-best gunner, followed suit with Yunho, San, and Hongjoong. You and Seonghwa's team followed behind to attack before the HalaHala crew reached further into the island where the villagers hid.
You pulled out your pistol and started shooting at them with everything you got like it was the last battle you were going to have because even when you had a tough and capable crew on your side, HalaHala was still one of the strongest crews in the pirate world. You had great momentum; you thought you were doing so well, but your mind was not one hundred percent in the battle since, as much as you hated thinking about it, you were killing people who you recognized well from your past.
Like a bolt from the blue, you felt a strong object hit you in the back of your head, making you almost lose your balance. You were rubbing your head to soothe the pain when a man tried to stab you with a cutlass from the side, so you quickly moved back to avoid the hit, but the sharp object still made contact with your skin. The pain from your head made you move a second too late, and now you were on the ground trying to cover the fresh cut on the side of your body to prevent more blood from coming out.
You couldn't move, you felt weak, and you thought you were going to die. This might be it; this might be your last battle. You watched as the man approached you with a cutlass just seconds away from ending your life, so you shut your eyes tight, ready to accept your fate, only for the man to fall to the ground beside you lifeless. To your surprise, you were met with a fuming Mingi who had his sword stabbed through the man's body.
Mingi had kept his eye on you from the side a few minutes ago, but the moment he found you in pain on the ground, he saw red, and in an instant, he ran up to you. He wasn't going to let you die, not like this, not during your most important battle. After killing the man, he stared into your dazed eyes. The look you gave him made him think that it was those same eyes from when you saw your parents getting killed by his mother—frightened. He hated seeing that look in your eyes, and he'd do everything to take away that feeling off your chest.
Conveniently, Mingi recognized one of Seonghwa's teammates nearby. "Hunter, bring y/n to the clinic and aid her. She's hurt," he ordered without leaving his sight on you. Mingi's gaze followed you as Hunter carried you away from the area, all while you watched as Mingi's figure slowly faded into the distance.
Mingi made heavy steps towards the HalaHala ship, sneaking inside through the entrance, and advanced to the forecastle deck, where he found his stepsister observing the battle that unfolded on the shore from a distance, her back facing him.
"Funny seeing you here, Mingi." Mina started, adjusting her sash that was wrapped around her waist. "Never expected you to still be alive after disappearing with your friends, and neither did I expect that princess to be here too. Thought you killed her already; I guess you decided to be a 'hero' of some sort."
Mingi took this chance to grab the gear and steer the ship away from the island. He intended to fight her alone without anyone to intervene, especially not you: a battle between two siblings who see each other as nothing but sworn enemies. In no time, HalaHala had finally been defeated by Blue Bird after putting all their blood, sweat, and tears into the fight. Few of the crewmates had sacrificed their lives for victory; some were injured, while the rest remained in good condition.
Once the island was cleared of the enemies, Seonghwa ordered his team to aid the injured men and to prepare a proper burial for those who didn't make it. Everyone cleared the area as they made their way back to the headquarters except for Wooyoung, who stayed back to watch HalaHala's ship sail away from the island. He knew the battle wasn't over yet. "I trust you, Mingi. Come back alive."
-
Mina laughed at the situation in ironic amusement, finally turning to face Mingi. It was just the two of them on the ship, yet it felt like Mingi was surrounded by a hundred men at once.
"If you want to kill her, you have to kill me first." Mingi glared at her intensely, but Mina remained unfazed, not intimidated one bit.
Instead, she leaned back offhandedly on the edge of the ship, which irked Mingi even further. "Oh, what's this? Am I in some kind of romance novel?" She shook her head, emitting a sardonic laugh at the ridiculous thought. "Don't make me laugh, Mingi. Love does not exist in this world; it's all made up in the head. People feel attracted, have kids, then kill each other with no regrets; that's the cycle of life." Mina grinned at his lack of reaction. "Face it, that's the reality. We are not in some sort of fairytale bullshit you think you are in; we live to kill and kill to live, which means..." She took out her sword, sunlight reflecting on the blade landing on Mingi. "Only one of us gets to live, and that's going to be me."
'Love does not exist in this world,' that's what Mina believed, but your island was different. It was full of love, and Mingi realized that 'love' does in fact exist in many forms and is expressed in many ways. In your world, it was present and alive. New World was established because you had so much love for the people that you took the initiative to build it. If you didn't have love, the New World now wouldn't even exist at all. Mingi was seethed in rage, whereas his stepsister stayed unbothered, smirking at him without a care in the world.
"Come on, fight me." She challenged him, and consequently, he took out his sword.
"It may not exist in your world, but it does in mine." With that, Mingi charged towards her, attacking with his sword, which she easily blocked. "You won't see tomorrow, Mina."
As the ship sailed farther and farther out into the ocean, Mingi and Mina indulged in a heated sword fight on the main deck. As powerful as Mingi was, Mina was just as mighty despite having a smaller frame than him. He had been on the verge of being struck by her sword several times, and she was no exception. They both went back and forth striking each other, growing frustrated as minutes went by.
Mingi dodged her swift attack. He pushed her knees forward from behind, causing her to stumble on the ground, so he took this chance to plunge the sword into her neck. However, she was quicker to dodge it and get back on her feet. This time, it was him who got cornered by Mina, giving her the upper hand. She brought her sword near his neck, and when he tried to dodge it again, his cheek was scratched a bit by the sharp blade, making him hiss at the pain.
Mingi sprinted towards the other end of the ship and briskly pulled out his gun from his pocket carry. He didn't want to use his gun, saving it as it only had one bullet left. Nevertheless, he pointed the weapon at her with an unsteady grip. "All this time, I thought mother was evil enough. I thought I could still rely on you as family, but you killed her with poison. You killed your own blood with no remorse. You're a monster, Mina. You don't deserve to live, and I too will have no remorse when I kill you. See you in hell!" He knew he wasn't going to make the shot with how his hands trembled as Mina approached him, and he had no choice but to try his best. It was his last chance; it was now or never.
Mingi was seconds away from pulling the trigger when a sudden wave hit the ship, causing her to stumble back and hit her head on a crate. While she struggled to get back up, he took the chance to shoot her with the last bullet he had. He glowered down at her as she gaped at him, her hand covering her chest where he had perfectly shot. With one last look, her body collapsed on the ground.
Mingi slumped down on the floor across from her, all worn out and in pain. He grunted when he felt his cheek sting from the hit earlier, his hands stained with a bit of blood. If it wasn't for that miraculous wave, he wouldn't have successfully shot her, and if it wasn't for him, you would've died. All he could do atwas stare at his stepsister's lifeless body and think about how you were doing back at the island.
"We did it, y/n. It's all over now."
Mingi was about to pass out when he heard a faint sound nearby. He stood up sluggishly and saw the Blue Bird ship come into view with Hongjoong, who sailed the ship, together with Wooyoung and Yunho. Hongjoong brought the ship closer to HalaHala's ship, where Mingi was currently on, and Wooyoung called for the latter to come to them.
"Get in here, big guy. We're taking you home."
Home. Mingi never really thought of New World as his home. He believed he didn't have the right to call it that because it was yours, and he didn't deserve to live in it. You only made him stay out of pity, perhaps; he wasn't quite sure. But maybe one day, he'll finally consider it to be one.
-
Wooyoung and Yunho rushed Mingi to the clinic to aid the wound on his cheek. Inside the building, he saw you lying down on a bed with a bandage around your head, body, and hands where you had been hit earlier during the fight. You were trying to ease the pain in your head and body alongside one of the nurses assisting you and telling you not to move around too much. Mingi stared at you concerned from his bed situated across the room.
He was about to make his way to you, but Seonghwa pulled him back and forced him to sit on the bed so he could help dress the wound on his face. While Seonghwa busied himself on Mingi's cheek, the latter's gaze never left you. He was hurt himself, yet he was more worried about your current state. As a pirate, he never really cared about people getting hurt, but he hated seeing you in pain.
"I'm going home," you informed the nurse, standing up from the bed and gathering your weapons from the nearby table ready to leave.
"Stay still, we're almost—H-hey! Where are you going?" Seonghwa called for Mingi, who got out of the bed to follow you. "Mingi!" The man disregarded Seonghwa's calls, intent on speaking with you. You could hear his footsteps following behind, but you didn't dare look back.
"y/n." You heard him call the first time.
"y/n." the second time.
"y/n." And the third, his voice gradually raising with each call of your name.
Upon arriving at the entrance of your tower, Mingi had reached for your arm to stop your movements. You retracted your arm from his grasp, proceeding to walk inside your tower. Footsteps continued to follow yours, but still you were adamant, and so was he.
"y/n, stop. You're hurt right now, seriously. You're going to make it worse if you keep moving—"
"Stop!" You had enough. "Stop jumping in whenever you think I need saving because I don't. I don't need anyone defending me, I don't need any of your help, and I don't need you." You enunciated every word to make it clear to him how you felt.
"You could've died!"
"I almost died once because of you!" You spun around to meet his eyes. Your voice pierced into his ears, but the silence that followed it was louder. Subsequently, the room fell uncomfortably silent. You could tell Mingi was drowning in guilt, and he could tell that you were still deeply wounded by what he did. Seeing no reaction from him, you decided to step back to get to your room and rest. However, a few steps in, you staggered from the sudden pain you felt on your head. You held the wall for support, slowly sliding your body down, and kneeling on the floor to ease the pain.
Mingi instinctively reached forward to help you, but you stopped him. "Move an inch closer and I will—" Your words were cut when your head started hurting again, groaning at the throbbing ache. "This is all your fault." You started with a hushed voice, "I shouldn't have befriended you, I shouldn't have trusted a dirty lying pirate, and I should have listened to everyone's warnings. All this wouldn't have happened if I had never met you."
War was finally over. HalaHala no longer existed, which was your ultimate goal since the very beginning of New World and Blue Bird. That was what you wanted, and it was made possible through Mingi's courage, service, and trust. Albeit, you weren't completely satisfied, as it wasn't you who killed their captain. Your emotions got the best of you because you weren't the hero in this battle; Mingi was, but you didn't want to believe it.
Mingi resisted the urge to come closer to you and hold onto you so badly; his arms were yearning to feel you. Still, he respected you and your space. Even when it felt unfair for him that you thought of it that way, knowing that it was him who killed the captain of HalaHala, his stepsister at that, and the pirates who killed your loved ones, the crew he once was a part of, and the enemies who were once his family. He never tried to invalidate the trauma he had caused you before, but did you ever think about how he also felt about it?
You got back up as best as you could. "You made me feel heaven only to drag me to hell." With a resentful huff, you continued, "How I wish to give twice as much of hell back to you. But, I'm not a monster...and neither am I a pirate. I am a princess, and I should never hurt a soul." You looked into his eyes one last time. "Do pirates like you even have souls?"
"y/n..."
In just the perfect timing, a few Blue Bird members busted into the main door, all with worried expressions on their faces. Their movements came to a halt when they took in the sight of Mingi standing stiffly near you, and sensed the heavy and tense atmosphere between you and him.
You turned back to look out the window. "Everyone, go home. Tomorrow's another day."
The crewmates, who stood by the door, nodded in acknowledgment, exiting the tower right away. Wooyoung pulled Mingi by the shoulders, whose gaze lingered on your back, and dragged him out of the door, not wanting him to cause any more scenes. The room fell silent, this time in a consolation, after the door closed shut, and you let out a deep breath you didn't know you were holding.
Just when you thought you were finally alone, you hear a deep but soft voice speak to you from behind. "My apologies for staying, captain, but Madame Rose requested for me to pass this medicine for you; I'll leave it by the kitchen table, so you wouldn't forget to take it." Seonghwa entered the kitchen to place the medicine down on the counter. "Proper burial for our lost brothers and sisters has been arranged for tomorrow, and the people have also offered prayers for your fast recovery."
You hummed in response, "I'm glad."
Seonghwa saw you still standing by the window, understanding the pain in your voice when you responded. He sensed that you were hurting not only physically but also emotionally, and that you were bothered about something serious even when you didn't need to be. He knew you too well to notice it in an instant. With careful steps, he came up to you from behind. "They're all gone now, y/n. Those monsters will no longer be a threat in your life, and I'm sure everyone you've lost up there is so proud of their little girl for her bravery." He spoke with a voice so soft like a feather, the voice of someone who had treated you so well, like his own sister.
"No...why would they? I fell weak, I wasn't strong enough, and I wasn't the one who killed them, so why would they be proud of me?"
Seonghwa pulled you in a comforting embrace, cautious not to hurt you. "You survived hell twice; I'm sure even hell itself fears you." His long, elegant fingers rubbed gentle strokes along your back. "You don't always have to be the strongest, you know. You trained us not only to protect the people from danger, but you also trained us so that we can catch you when you fall, but falling isn't a weakness. That's what makes you human; we all are."
He felt you tightening your arms around him, burying your face on his chest, and he let you do so. "I know you hate to show any sign of weakness to us, and you want to be as perfect and strong as possible. I understand that, but y/n..." He lifted your head up with his thumb and index finger, revealing to him your now tear-stained cheeks, which he softly wiped away with his fingers. "You don't have to be too hard on yourself this time; you don't need to be afraid of being imperfect. You have us now; we can protect you, and you can go back to being the little princess that you once were before. I'm sure that little girl misses you a lot." He felt his shirt dampen from your tears, but that was the least of his concerns right now. "Please don't hesitate to call me when you need someone to rely on; I will wholeheartedly serve you with my life just as you have served us with yours. You gave us a second chance in life too, y/n, so allow us to give life back to you. We owe you this much."
This may not be the utopia you tried to build from the ground up, the paradise you yearned for, nor the life you wanted to live, but all this—the island, the people, the crew, the new beginnings—was definitely your treasure.
"Thank you, Hwa. I needed to hear that."
A week had passed since the battle with HalaHala. Adjusting your sash and pocket carry, you prepared yourself to go about your day. Damages from the previous event were fixed, and everything seemed to be back to normal. You roamed around the village to check on the villagers and their current supplies of goods after not being able to check on them for a week due to your injuries. The villagers greeted you as you passed by them, and you informed them that you had already fully recovered, to which they rejoiced, "The princess is back!"
Out of the blue, you felt a pair of arms trap your body in a tight hug. "Captain! I missed you so much; I was so worried about you." It's been a week since Wooyoung last saw you, but to him, it felt like years. He was accustomed to seeing your face and being around you each day of the week. He grew anxious as he waited for you to be back, knowing that it was the first time you had been severely injured during a fight. He thanked the heavens that you were now here, all strong and healthy in front of him.
"Stop crying like a baby, Woo. I'm not going to die." You patted his back reassuringly.
"I was just scared, okay? I don't want to lose you; that should never happen."
His words made you smile for the first time that day, "Thank you for worrying; I really appreciate it."
The day ended like how it usually ends: monitoring the island, then having dinner with the crew before dispersing to your respective homes. You thought you'd go by your night peacefully without having to cross paths with Mingi even for a split second of your day. To your relief, you haven't seen him at all today, but he had seen you through the window of his sleeping quarters.
Walking up to your tower, you heard those same familiar footsteps behind you. You heard it multiple times that you could easily identify whose footsteps it belonged to without needing to check who the owner was. "Stop doing this, Mingi. Don't make this difficult for any of us because I don't have the energy to talk to you right now." You went straight to the kitchen to grab yourself a cup of tea.
You didn't expect Mingi to do anything tonight except to simply talk, but even that, you don't want to have with him. You heard no response from him whatsoever, and it wasn't that you were expecting him to say a word, but he was oddly silent right now. No words, just the sound of gentle breathing.
"Say something—"
You were cut off by the sudden feeling of arms wrapped around your waist from behind and a head resting on your shoulder, breath fanning your neck. "I'm so sorry, y/n." Finally, you let out a deep breath you didn't know you were holding after hearing his voice. You weren't sure if it was out of defeat or a breath of relief. "I know I've been stubborn with you all this time, but I just...I missed you so much, I miss this, I miss us, and the feeling of all of you. I feel like I'll die if I don't get to show you and tell you how I truly feel." You remained silent in his hold. "I think we're always going to end up finding our way back to each other."
"Don't say that." You tried to stop him, but he didn't listen. He was adamant about telling you the words he's been dying to let you know after all these years of suffering, even if it meant this was the last time.
"When the boys and I escaped from the ship, I then realized how terrible it felt to be lost in the sea and how difficult it must have been for you. You fought death alone; I didn't, and that's what kills me. It's so unfair, yet the tides brought me here of all places when it could've just taken me alive; it led me back to you instead. It must've meant something."
Under your breath, you answered lightly, scared that your voice might break. "That's what I'm so afraid of; I'm afraid it would mean something because I really don't want to relive the past. I'm trying to live a completely new life away from you."
"But I'm also terrified of losing you again." Mingi's hold tightened around your body, haunted by the thought that you'd slip away once more if he let you go. "As selfish as it sounds, I miss you so fucking much, y/n. You have no idea how much I wanted to jump off that ship and swim up to you and tell you how your existence made me feel so alive. Hell, I'd drown for you if I had to."
"But, you didn't."
"I didn't because fear was eating me up. I was so afraid that I'd lose not only you but also my brothers if I tried to save you. I had to make the toughest and most painful decision in my life; I just couldn't afford to lose them whom I've spent the entirety of my life with. I had to live for them, but I wanted to kill myself even more when I found out that my mother was the one who killed your parents back in your kingdom."
The mention of your parents made your stomach twist, "You lost everything and all the people you loved, you didn't deserve to experience any of that nightmare as a child. I could only pray every night for the gods to just take my life instead, and bring you to safety; that was all I ever wanted since then." You felt him shift behind you to press a kiss on your shoulder, and to his surprise, you allowed him making him smile appreciatively. "Whenever I look at you, I always tell the gods how much I don't deserve to even walk the ground that you walk and breathe the air that you breathe. I was ready to die for you and lose my life twice, thrice, multiple times as much as you had because I owe you that. I wanted you to kill me, watch me die in your arms, and take my whole life away like how I took a part of yours...but you didn't, and I always wondered why."
"Mingi..."
"Why did you let me go? Why did you give me a second chance in life, give me everything I needed when I didn't deserve any of it from you at all? Why are you so...forgiving? It worries me too much."
You tried to control the tears that were eager to escape from your eyes. "I'm not." You didn't mean to cry; you hated losing your composure, breaking down, and feeling weak, especially not in front of Mingi of all people.
He could only give a wistful smile at you. "You're not pushing me away; you're here listening to the man whom you said was a liar, a traitor, and the person who almost killed you. If I were to make my last wish, I would wish for you to grab your sword and pierce it through my body as you let all your anger, frustration, and pain out on me. I'd happily die in your arms and be grateful for it, and I'll say it over and over again until you do."
"Stop! Enough." You had enough of listening to his heart-wrenching and painfully honest words; your heart couldn't take it anymore. Rather than blaming you for your treatment towards him, he was throwing his hurtful words towards himself.
"I don't think I can ever move on from you, y/n. You're the only person for me, the only woman my heart beats for, and the one who made my life worthwhile, but...my sick world was never yours to live in, and your world was never meant to have me."
Tears ultimately ran down your cheeks as his touch slowly disappeared from your body, footsteps fading into the distance, and without another word, the door closed, leaving you crying your heart out in excruciating pain. You didn't know what to feel after everything he had confessed to you tonight; you just wanted to forget all this ever happened.
His existence in your life hurt so much.
-
Since that heart-rending night, you and Mingi have never spoken a word to each other, not even during meetings and battles—nothing. He had kept his distance as much as possible to respect your wishes of not wanting to speak with him again. Now that he had already told you everything he needed to say that night, there was nothing he'd be expecting back from you. He was only there to serve you from then on as part of the Blue Bird crew—nothing more, nothing less. Whatever feelings he had, it was only his to know and keep a secret.
Everything was going smoothly. Things felt completely normal until the crew started noticing the change in atmosphere between the two of you once again and how Mingi tries to avoid you every chance he can get, which was very unusual from the Mingi they knew of. He wasn't looking your way as often anymore, and he's too focused on work to bother socializing with his crewmates. Well, he needed time to heal from the pain too. That's when the crew realized that this was more serious than the last time. If keeping his distance would make you feel better, then he will do so without a fight.
You read the fifth chapter of the book you were currently indulged in as you ate your meal in silence, separate from the others, during one of the crew's feast celebrations. Later on, you got up to go for a stroll around the island at this hour simply because you didn't feel like joining in on the fun tonight.
Mingi, although he didn't mean to, stood up from his seat to follow you out of habit, but Jongho pulled him down before he could take a step further. "Stay here, I got this." With that, Jongho hurriedly ran to catch up with your figure disappearing into the island. "Do you need any company, captain? It's getting a bit late," Jongho asked as soon as he matched your pace.
Not leaving your eyes on the book, you shook your head in response. "No need, Jongho. I just need some time alone; I hope you understand."
"Of course, captain. I fully understand." Jongho nodded, to which you returned with a gratified smile.
"Thank you," you replied before Jongho made his way back to where the others gathered.
Minutes after your short stroll around the island, you found yourself back at your tower. No Mingi following you from behind, just you and the silence of the room. Nothing really changed since that night; everything seemed to be in place.
The villagers were happy, the island was peaceful, and Mingi hadn't bothered you anymore, yet somehow the bright pink carnations in your flower vase sitting on top of your kitchen counter, which had never lost their colors since Seonghwa had gifted them to you months ago, slowly began fading, or maybe you just lack sleep.
-
The next few weeks were different from what the crew had observed. Some days, Mingi worked extra hard with the villagers, spending more of his time with them, assisting the men in fixing broken furniture, and helping the women carry heavy loads of clothing.
He wanted to experience life in a village, as he lived most of his life on a pirate ship. The other days, he would teach young children some of the gun and sword tricks he learned when he was at their age with the reason that children should be prepared for battle as early as now. In the end, he befriended everyone on the island all by himself.
Today was no different. You were roaming around the island monitoring the villagers and the crew on their work, as well as the houses for any damages, and surveying for areas that needed improvements, repairs, and maintenance. So far, no major damages have been found except for some minor repairs needed for some houses in the village.
You had just finished monitoring the community kitchen of the village, so you sat down on a bench nearby to rest after a long day of work under the heat of the sun. A villager had offered you a cold drink, which you gladly accepted, and as you indulged yourself with the refreshing drink, your wandering eyes landed on the man working in the distance.
He was shirtless, putting his toned back, broad shoulders, huge biceps, and snatched waist out on display under the sunlight. Turning to the side, you watched as his sharp nose, neck, and forehead dripped in sweat, which he wiped away with his arm. His hair was slicked back with a few strands falling on his face, and his plump lips curled up once in a while in concentration, showcasing his pretty white teeth. You hate to admit it, but his build got better since the last time you saw him shirtless—that was years ago—but you kept it all to yourself.
Without warning, a body jumped from behind you, taking you completely by surprise and causing you to spit your drink out of your mouth. "Careful there, captain. Your eyes are going to fall out from how deep you're staring at him. We wouldn't want him to know that, would we?"
"I'm just—" You coughed out the drink that got stuck in your throat. "I'm just observing him."
A mischievous smirk grew on Wooyoung's face, his arms leaning on the backrest of the bench to support his body, and like the tease he is, he wasn't convinced by your words one bit. He could tell from the way your body stiffened and your eyes avoided Mingi that you got caught in the act. "You sure you aren't feeling any romantic feelings down there? Because that's not what your eyes are telling me." He caught your hands fiddling with the hem of your sash, and that confirmed his suspicions, but he wanted to hear it directly from you.
"No, Wooyoung. Don't mistake romantic feelings for being cautious; your eyes are seeing things." You thought you convinced him enough through your stern tone, but not until Mingi turned towards where you and Wooyoung were, smiling momentarily when he met your gaze before bringing his attention back to the man he was working with.
That made you freeze in your seat, dumbstruck, but the cherry-on-top was the pink hue that appeared on your cheeks, causing Wooyoung to emit an amused laugh, "Whatever you say, captain."
"Get back to work, or I'll replace you with Seonghwa as my first mate."
"Slow down, captain. You drank too much already."
"Leave me alone," you complained, pulling your arm away from Wooyoung's hold.
Wooyoung grew frustrated at your stubbornness. Ever since dinner had started an hour ago, he had been keeping an eye on you the moment you ordered a bucket of rum. You weren't much of a drinker, from what he knew, but you'd drink on special occasions. Tonight wasn't even a special occasion of some sort, so he truly wondered what was on your mind for you to be drinking on a normal night like this.
To be honest, it wasn't totally your intention to drink past your alcohol consumption limit tonight. However, with the heavy tension you've been feeling in the past few weeks, you couldn't help yourself. You lost track of how much you had drunk, and despite Wooyoung's efforts to stop you, you were already too far gone; one more bottle and you would black out.
"Seriously, y/n. This isn't funny; you're going to die if you drink more." Wooyoung tried one more time to stop you by pulling your shoulders back.
No matter how hard Wooyoung tried, you wouldn't give in that easily. "N-no, just...one more...please..." you slurred as you reached for the last bottle of rum on the table in front of you. The tips of your fingers were already touching the surface of the bottle, only for it to be pushed away by a hand with fingers wrapped in multiple rings.
"That's enough." A voice so deep, rough, and serious spoke from behind, his shadow towering over your body.
You removed yourself from Wooyoung to turn towards the person behind you. "Don't tell me what to do—" You let out a yelp as a pair of strong arms suddenly carried you up bridal style. "Hey! Put me down this instant; it's a command." Adjusting your eyes to the light that shone from the moon above, you were stunned to be met with Mingi's sharp eyes.
"I'm bringing her back to her tower, you guys continue with your drinks." Just like that, Mingi walked away from the dinner table until it was out of sight, leaving you no chance to protest with how firm his hold was on you while ensuring you were comfortable in his arms.
You were trying to keep your eyes open, but with how comfortable you felt resting on his chest, sleep had won you over. Mingi only took notice of this when your head leaned into him further, and in no time, you were already in your bedroom. As gently as he could, Mingi settled you down on your bed and covered you in your blanket so you wouldn't feel cold.
"I'm trying so hard to avoid you, but you worry me too much, y/n." He took in the sight of your sleeping form. You looked exhausted, like you had overworked yourself. What he didn't understand, though, was why you had put yourself in this situation. "I wonder what's on your mind?" Mingi softly caressed your hair, brushing a few strands of loose hair that fell on your face behind your ear. "I'm sorry if I caused this; I'll try harder not to be a burden to your life." He planted a kiss on your forehead and smiled at how peaceful you looked without the serious persona you usually put on in front of everyone.
With one last look, he got up to leave you in your peace when he felt your hand weakly reaching out to hold onto his wrist. Mingi turned to you once again, ready to help you with anything. Unexpectedly, you pulled him down, causing him to stumble towards your body, his free hand supporting himself up so he wouldn't crush you. "y/n..." Mingi gulped nervously at how close you were, faces inches away from each other. "What are you doing?"
Your eyes slowly fluttered open, though not quite fully, and your hands cupped his already pinkish cheeks. You weren't completely sober, but it was hard to deny how cute he looked all flustered and confused. "Why are you so cute?" you asked in a hushed whisper.
Mingi put his other hand on top of yours to pry his face away from you. "y/n, you're drunk." He was caught off guard when you pulled him closer again, his heart racing like it would burst out of his chest at any moment. "Please, y/n. Close your eyes and go back to sleep; I'll leave—"
Smooch. One second, you pecked his cheek. The next, you fell back to dreamland. To say that Mingi was surprised was an understatement; he could basically feel his soul leave his body. He stayed frozen in place, still registering what had happened just now, his eyes glued on you.
The woman who claimed to hate his existence, who would rather deal with Wooyoung's constant nagging than share a room with him, and whom his heart only loved just kissed him on the cheek. It felt too good to be true, too impossible to happen despite sharing an intimate kiss years ago. This was different. This was a kiss from the tough, clever, and highly respected captain, not the vulnerable, fragile, and fearful cabin girl back in HalaHala.
"You're driving me crazy."
-
You woke up to the delicious smell of food from outside the room. Sitting up on your bed, you groaned as the throbbing pain in your head worsened, "I hate this." You shouldn't have drunk too much last night, but you lost control of yourself to stop. For your convenience, a cup of ginger tea sat on your bedside table. You grabbed it only to feel it warm in your touch. "It's still new."
After a few minutes of drinking the tea and wandering off with your thoughts, you finally got up and headed to the dining area where the smell came from. A table filled with perfectly arranged dishes greeted you. No one was in the room, yet the food was hot and new. "Wait, that's..." You took a closer look at a certain dish that seemed a bit familiar to you. "This is my favorite dish."
It was fish with sweet and sour sauce added with some carrots on the side. This had always been your favorite way back in the kingdom, and you would request it almost every other day that the chefs decided to store plenty of fish only for you. You could hardly remember its taste with how long it had been since you last had it. With that being said, you took a bite to taste the dish, which you missed so much.
This tastes amazing! The dish didn't exactly have the same taste as what you always had when you were young, but you swore you'd tasted this certain recipe before. You were so curious about who prepared all those for you, seeing no sign of another person's presence there. Maybe Wooyoung came over to make this? He was one of the best chefs on the island besides the head chef, but he couldn't have known of your favorite dish since you never brought it up to him. You were thinking too much about it until you noticed the odd placement of the utensils on the table, and that's when it hit you.
"Mingi...he remembered."
Of course, it was him. Who else could it possibly be? That man used to cook for you back in HalaHala, especially that dish, which he strictly only cooks for you. Mingi was good at cooking various fish dishes, as he grew up near the sea, thus learning how to fish at an early age.
He used to hate cooking because his mother thought it wasn't 'manly' of him, so he would sneak inside the kitchen when everyone was gone and make that dish for you. He remembered being so awestruck by the shine in your eyes whenever you tasted his dish and said how delicious it was. That was enough to make his day complete.
-
Mingi had just arrived at the village on his way to his quarters when Wooyoung spotted him from the community kitchen. "Hey, Mingi! Where have you been—are you okay?" Wooyoung asked in concern, noticing the way Mingi kept massaging shoulders and back with a groan. Mingi only spared him a glance before continuing to make his way to his quarters to wash up and get ready for the day. He hoped Wooyoung wouldn't bother him for now, but that hope wasn't strong enough to stop him.
"What happened, man? You were gone the whole night and you look like you're in pain, did you get into fight?" Mingi remained quiet while Wooyoung looked around for any injuries and bruises, "You got no bruises, so probably not."
"Don't you have work to do, Wooyoung?" Mingi finally answered him, earning a shrug from the man.
"Yeah, I do, and...hold on." Wooyoung stood in front of Mingi to block his way. "Didn't you bring our captain back to her tower last night?"
"That, I did." Mingi raised an eyebrow when Wooyoung studied him from head to toe.
"Hmm, you're wearing the same clothes from last night, and you just got back here, plus you look like you have some back pain." Wooyoung's eyes then met Mingi's confused ones, his index finger tapping his chin. "Did you and her...you know...?"
"Know what?" Mingi was growing impatient with each second that passed.
"Oh, you know, be intimate and stuff." Wooyoung's question sounded so casual, but the look on his face showed how serious he was with it. "Did you?"
Mingi deadpanned, but the red hue that slowly colored his ears betrayed him. That kiss she gave me last night. He hoped his thoughts weren't obvious. Unfortunately, it was too late. Wooyoung had caught on to his red ears, his eyes widening in realization.
"No way...Mingi, you...you madman!" Wooyoung punched Mingi playfully on his chest.
"It wasn't like that!" Mingi retorted. "Nothing happened between us, okay? I stayed the night and slept on the couch to watch over her; that's why my body hurts." Mingi massaged his shoulders again. "And besides, she and I are not in that kind of relationship. She literally hates me, so don't think of such thoughts about her—or us, I mean."
Wooyoung squinted his eyes at him, slightly unconvinced, but decided to shrug it off anyway. "Whatever, I'll let you go only because you brought her home safely last night." Wooyoung stepped out from Mingi's way. "Go get ready; we need more hands in the kitchen."
-
Arriving at the village, you were ready to start the day with high spirits after devouring that delicious meal Mingi prepared for you. You definitely weren't thinking about him as you took a nice cold shower and how much he changed in a span of months; of course not. Today, you planned to just spend the day resting from work and getting a few books at the library to read—nothing much.
As you greeted the villagers on your way, an excited Wooyoung ran up to you. "Good morning, captain. Come try this tasty thing everyone's obsessing over." You couldn't even say a word and ask what he meant as Wooyoung pulled you towards the table outside the community kitchen where villagers had gathered.
"Good morning, princess! Come try this; it's so good." A series of greetings erupted around the table at your presence. What are they even eating?
"Here, captain. Try this, it's really sweet." Wooyoung passed you a piece of cookie to taste, waiting expectantly for you to take a bite and enjoy it just like everyone else.
After taking a bite out of the sweets, you swallowed it. However, the sweetness made you cough. "Oh, it's too sweet." You grimaced, giving the cookie back to him. You didn't really understand why he enjoyed it.
"Really? It tastes alright for me." Wooyoung finished your bitten cookie, dusting off the crumbs from his hands. "Don't worry, captain. I'll request a less sweet one for you."
"No need." Mingi appeared in front of you with a plate of cookies in hand, offering one to you. "Try this one."
It would be rude not to accept his offer, so you grabbed the cookie from him and took a bite and another and another until you were empty-handed. "Wow," you whispered under your breath. The cookie he gave you wasn't too sweet; it was perfect. It tasted like a romantic picnic near a riverbank with fresh air; that was how you imagined it.
You almost forgot that Mingi was still there waiting for your reaction until he asked, "How was it?"
"It tastes amazing," you replied.
"Really? What's the difference?" Wooyoung grabbed one from the plate to try, and he grimaced at the unfamiliar taste. "It's not even that sweet."
"She doesn't like food that is too sweet," Mingi answered calmly as if it was a common fact. The truth was, you haven't shared that fact with anyone else but him.
Wooyoung nodded in understanding. "Oh, that's why you made a separate batch earlier." He brushed off a few crumbs that were stuck to his fingers before heading back to the kitchen. "Well, I better get more before they run out."
It was just you and Mingi outside the kitchen, standing awkwardly in silence, and you didn't know what to do at the moment. He didn't move from his place, and you didn't leave either, so he thought that maybe you had something else to tell him.
"So...uhm, did you make these?" you asked after contemplating for a minute, and he nodded to confirm. "I see, thanks. It was good." You cleared your throat before looking him in the eyes. "Thanks for the meal earlier by the way; I enjoyed it." You proceeded to walk away and made your way to the library, not bothering to wait for his reply.
As much as you hated to admit it, he was a great cook in many ways. He was good with his hands, and what's worse is that he knew how to win your heart with food. He knew your favorites, your preferred sweetness level, and even your allergies. You were surprised that he even remembered all those little details about you.
Mingi watched as you walked away, holding the plate of cookies in his hands. He entered back inside the kitchen, where he found Wooyoung being dragged by Yunho away from the already annoyed chef, who was scolding him for taking more cookies than he should. Mingi settled back in his space, where the rest of the 'not-so-sweet' cookies were placed. He grabbed a small box from the cabinet, carefully placed all the cookies inside, and tied a twine into a ribbon to enclose the box. I hope this isn't too much.
-
Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. You cannot possibly feel soft around Mingi now, right? You didn't know what shifted in the air today nor what happened last night, but you still certainly noticed a change in how Mingi approaches you compared to when he wouldn't even bat an eye at you. No, I must be crazy to think that. Maybe Mingi was only doing it because you were the captain or the princess? Yeah, that was it. It was a gesture out of respect; it didn't mean more.
Shaking those thoughts away, you sped up towards the 'literature' section of the library. You were looking for a black hardbound book decorated with gold accents and texts, which was about the literature of Wonderland Kingdom, where your next destination with Blue Bird would be. You scanned around the shelf only to find that book placed neatly high up on the shelf. This was certainly not your day.
You were debating if you should go ask help from the librarian at the front desk, but she seemed to be preoccupied at the moment. That meant you were left alone at your own expense. How unfortunate. With all the strength and height you had, you tiptoed with your boots and reached up to the top shelf. You tried your best to reach the book you wanted, yet only the tip of your fingers could touch the edge of it.
"Goodness, why is it even up there?" One more time, you reached up for the book, but luck really wasn't on your side. You lost balance on your feet, and you closed your eyes, ready to brace the impact of your fall, but the fall never happened. A hand had caught you by your waist, steadying you back on your feet. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry." You looked up at your savior and was met with the same man you had just thought about minutes ago.
"Are you okay? Are you hurt?" Mingi asked worriedly.
You wanted to hide in embarrassment, but you knew you'd be more embarrassed if you did actually fall without his help. "No, no. I'm fine, really." You brushed your hair away from your face and forged a cough to clear the awkwardness. How did he even know I was here?
"You needed this?" In front of you was the black and gold book you were trying so hard to reach for in his hands, lending it to you.
You accepted the book from him and nodded slightly in gratitude, "Yeah, thanks again. You didn't have to do that, though."
He smiled at you softly, "Well, I wouldn't want the princess of New World to get hurt."
It was an uncommon sight to see the two of you in the library right now, with you shyly looking up at Mingi while holding the book to your chest and him smiling down at you. One of those "events that feels too impossible to believe but really happened" kinds of things. Wooyoung would likely believe he was hallucinating or still dreaming if he were present to witness it, except that this was real.
"I brought you these by the way, in case you get hungry. It's not much, but I hope it's good enough to satisfy your taste." Mingi handed you the box he packed earlier in the kitchen.
Your fingers slightly brushed against his as you accepted the box, making your heart race. "Thank you; I'll be sure to enjoy them."
Mingi bowed in respect, "I'll be on my way now, stay safe." Without another word, he exited the library with reddened cheeks, which you failed to notice.
-
Hours had passed since you stayed at the library, and your progress was, well...not much. You only had minimal progress in those hours; that's not good. You couldn't focus at all; you kept rereading the same line over and over again, yet nothing went into your head. Words blurred into scribbles, and letters started spelling into his name. You really must have gone insane. You decided to go back to your tower to get away from whatever that was.
"You look troubled; something on your mind?" Entering the living room, Seonghwa's voice greeted you as he sat comfortably on your couch with a book in hand. He stood up from his seat, approaching you to get the book from you, and leading you to sit on the couch with him.
"Why are you even here? I don't remember inviting you." You removed your coat off your shoulders, hanging it on the coat rack by the door.
Seonghwa stared at your face in silence, a smile growing from his lips as his eyes landed on the box you placed down on the coffee table. He was familiar with that box; only one man on this island packs food like that. To see you carry one of those boxes, he figured that you might have encountered Mingi earlier today. "I came here with a question actually." Seonghwa rested an elbow down on the armrest beside him. "But I don't know how you'll take it."
You raised an eyebrow at his words, wondering what his question would be. "What is it?"
He hummed as if he was thinking it through, his eyes not leaving yours. "I heard from Wooyoung that Mingi brought you here last night, correct?" You, having no clear memories of last night, nodded absentmindedly. "Do you even remember what you did last night?"
Why was he asking about last night? All you did was drink and pass out, and the next thing you knew, a meal was readily set for you. "Did something happen last night? Did I do something embarrassing? Tell me." His question brought out your curiosity. Based on your expression, you didn't seem to recall what you did to Mingi last night. The memory of the kiss you gave him on his cheek was out the door; you had forgotten about it.
Seonghwa thought it was best to go straight to the point. "After hearing a few stories from Wooyoung, which at first, I couldn't believe my ears, and seeing what happened in the kitchen this morning, it made me think." In a split second, his usually soft eyes turned serious, wanting an honest answer from you. "Do you have feelings for Mingi?"
There goes that name again. But, wait. Feelings? What? You turned to him incredulously like he was crazy. "What the hell, Seonghwa? What made you even think that?"
Seonghwa had already expected you to react that way to his question. Even so, he wasn't going to stop until he was satisfied with your answer. "As I said, Wooyoung—"
"I don't care what he says; he must have lost his mind." You rolled your eyes in vexation. You would NEVER admit your feelings to anyone, not even to Seonghwa, whom you are closest to, not that there were any feelings involved to begin with. You got up, ready to head to your room to avoid the conversation, but Seonghwa held your wrist to stop you from escaping.
"I asked a question." His voice was solemn as ever, and whenever he uses that tone, it means he isn't playing around. It was that tone he used when he nags at you whenever you overwork yourself or when you carelessly make decisions out of anger. "And I need an answer."
No words seem to come out from your mouth; hell, you didn't even know what to say and definitely didn't know how you truly felt. What exactly do you feel for Mingi? What did he make you feel other than pain, regret, and anger? There weren't any romantic feelings there; no, that would be absurd.
Clearly, you were in denial. You were stuck in the idea that despite missing the sweet memories you shared with him, pushing him away would heal your wounds. But that's far from the truth. You had overlooked the love Mingi slipped into the simplest of actions he'd done for you, watching over you whenever you say you didn't need help, treating the villagers with respect just as he respects you, and more.
"You cannot lie to me, y/n. I've seen the way you look at him these past few weeks, and I would know when you don't speak of the truth."
Damn it. You cannot put into words what your heart was feeling and what your mind wanted you to believe. Mingi's existence used to make sense to you, but you couldn't even figure out and explain what he meant to you now.
"Do you love him?"
Do I love him? "No..."
"No?" He knew you were lying, so he pushed you further. "Think about it, y/n. You could've killed him right off the bat when he and his friends had trespassed on the island months ago, yet you let him live despite the nightmare he put you through, and you tell me you don't feel anything for him?"
You looked away with a scoff; you did not want to agree to his words. You wanted to divert your thoughts somewhere else and avoid the conversation. Unfortunately, memories you shared with him were starting to get in your head, and Seonghwa's words made it worse. "I don't..."
"That man sacrificed his life for you, took the life of his own blood for you; if that isn't love, I don't know what is."
"That's enough, Seonghwa." You were growing frustrated. You were trying your best to hold back your emotions and not hurt your best friend with words that may hurt his feelings, but the latter was equally as frustrated as you were. "Even if he did that, it doesn't change the fact that he almost cost me my life once."
"I understand that, y/n. But, I want you to be honest with me."
"No! I don't love him; I don't have feelings for him."
"If you're not going to be honest with me, then at least be honest with yourself."
Your shoulders slumped in defeat. Why couldn't you be honest with him? Why weren't you honest with yourself? Your mind might be telling you that you do not feel anything for him, not a shred of affection for the man you once loved, but what your heart felt whenever he did something for you was something you couldn't deny. Regardless of what your mind tells you is real or not, those emotions were true.
"I don't, Hwa...I don't...know." You weren't sure whether to follow your heart, which had been completely honest about your feelings with the world and had molded you into a princess and a captain who served those in need, or your mind, which had led you to become the guarded woman you are today. "I want to know, too."
The room fell silent with only your quiet sobs being heard. Seonghwa pulled you towards his chest, wrapping you in comfort. "I'm sorry if I overwhelmed you, y/n. I just don't want to see you look troubled whenever he's around, especially since he's a Blue Bird crewmate now. I want to see the enthusiastic smile back on your face, and less of the scowl." He rubbed your back in gentle strokes. "You've always been honest with your feelings up until now, you know. I don't want you to lie to yourself just because you think it's the safest way; it's not. Sometimes, the truth is safer than you think."
Maybe Seonghwa was right; maybe lying to yourself wasn't the right answer. Lying about your feelings wasn't going to bring you anything but distress; you just have to learn to accept and acknowledge whatever your heart felt for him. Acceptance was all you needed.
You didn't say anything, but the way you relaxed in Seonghwa's embrace, he took that as a response that you had understood him. It's moments like this when you're truly grateful for his presence in your life; he knows the right words to say, the right time to speak, the right actions to do, and the right way to approach your fragile heart. You were glad you had him to run to when you felt vulnerable. Seonghwa was always ready to catch you when you fall.
Just then, a knock was heard from the door, and it opened to reveal the man you and Seonghwa had been talking about. Mingi stood by the door with an unreadable expression, seeing you and Seonghwa embracing each other so warmly, missing the tears that stained your puffed cheeks.
"Hi, uhm...really sorry for interrupting the moment. Wooyoung requested for me to inform the captain that we'll be training the kids early in the morning tomorrow until the afternoon, in case she'll ask for him." Mingi left the room just as quickly as he had entered, leaving no chance for either you or Seonghwa to react.
On the way back to his quarters, Mingi questioned everything—the kiss, the gentle look in your eyes when you looked up at him at the library, and the stolen glances you gave when you thought he wasn't looking. He questioned if it even meant anything at all. Maybe you weren't so harsh on him anymore, not because you had slowly forgiven him, but because you had already given your heart to Seonghwa. There was no battle left for him to fight for your heart, and he was to accept defeat even when it would kill him.
A week of preparation had passed, and after sailing through the ocean for three full hours, your crew had finally docked at your neighboring kingdom, 'Wonderland.' You came here to deliver some goods to the castle, as the king had invited you for dinner, and perhaps visit an old friend too. You wore a more casual outfit for the trip instead of your usual captain look, while the rest wore something similar, but they kept their weapons with them for safety. You didn't exactly need any of it because to you, Wonderland was a safe place; it was home.
The kingdom of Wonderland was one of the most powerful yet hospitable kingdoms you knew of. Your connection with them goes way back to your parents time, when they made an alliance to fight against the notorious pirates. Your parents would often bring you with them during their trips to Wonderland. There you met the only daughter of the king and queen of the said kingdom, who eventually became your friend too since you two were nearly of the same age, with you being two years older.
Now, here you were back at the familiar place. An hour ago, you and the crew had arrived at the island earlier than expected, so you allowed the others to explore the public market near the dock where your ship was at for the meantime. The sun was beginning to set, and vendors were lighting up their stalls; that signaled for you to start heading up to the king's castle. You assigned Seonghwa to gather the rest of Blue Bird with the help of his beloved parrot, and in no time, everyone was gathered.
The journey to the castle was only a 10-minute walk from the market; thus, traveling by transportation to reach the place was unnecessary. Seeing the castle again was like coming home from an errand, whereas it had been years since the rest of Blue Bird last saw a castle up close. You walked up the stairs like you belonged there, unaware of the crew's hesitant steps. Even then, they trusted your lead, so they weren't completely worried.
At the top of the stairs, two of the royal guards stood by the door in attention together with the person who had the brightest smile on her face. She ran up to you and embraced you in a tight hug. "y/n! My sweet, sweet sister. I missed you so much, you have no idea." She pulled back to study your face, which she hasn't seen in centuries, as she always tells herself. Her soft, flawless hands cupped both your cheeks. "You're alive..." she whispered under her breath like she was reassuring herself of your presence. "I'm so happy you're alive."
You managed to let out a response even with your cheeks mushed. "I missed you too, Aera." Upon finally hearing your voice, she looked at you warm-heartedly. She couldn't believe you were real.
Han Aera, princess of Wonderland kingdom, was your childhood friend. You first met her at 7 years old when you visited Wonderland for the first time. You were quite shy around new people, but your parents encouraged you to make friends with her. Thankfully, Aera came up to you first, and since then, you and her have become close like sisters. Her parents, the king and queen, were also like your second parents, who took care of you and showed you around their kingdom. So when they heard the news that the whole kingdom of Fever, including the king and queen, was attacked, they were devastated, and their hearts were shattered into pieces.
They lost not only their allies but also their brothers and sisters; they lost their family. Aera thought she had lost you too, so she locked herself inside her room and broke down until her parents told her that you survived the attack, but you were taken away by pirates. She was relieved, truly relieved, that you were still alive out there. Still, she was overanxious about your safety. How would you survive with the pirates? What will they do to you? She didn't want to think of the worst possible scenarios, only hoping that you'd come back in one piece, and here you were, in one complete piece indeed.
Tears began to fall from her eyes, "You changed, y/n." Aera took in the new look you had—a white button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up halfway covered in a brown vest, glen check patterned slacks paired with black ankle boots with a small brown satchel, and your hair tied into a single braid—a vintage look that is different from your usual princess dresses. "You look different, but you are still the same princess and sister to me."
You held her hand that was resting on your cheek and smiled, "Life changed me, but my love for you never stopped."
It was true that your love for her never changed in those years without her presence. Some of your memories may have been forgotten already, but Aera was someone dear to you. You spent your childhood and a part of your teenage years with her; sharing secrets and running around the castle garden were your favorite things to do. Forgetting her would be forgetting your family. Meeting her again someday was one of your biggest motivators for building your crew and island.
-
"That's my girl! She did all that by herself." Aera cheered proudly from her seat.
After your emotional reunion with Aera, she invited you and the crew inside the castle to have dinner with the king and queen, which was the main purpose of your visit there. Soon, you found yourselves sitting around the long wooden table decorated with a warm red and gold table lining. The king sat at the front of the table, the queen on one side, and Aera on the other. You sat beside the queen, followed by Seonghwa, Wooyoung, Yeosang, and Jongho, while Mingi sat beside Aera, followed by Yunho, Hongjoong, and San, respectively.
The moment you entered the dining room, both the king and queen immediately ran up to you and embraced you warmly, grateful for your return. They bombarded you with questions about where you've been, how you've been living, and who you were with. They were relieved to hear that you've been living well with your people and crew and have settled into a better life in New World.
The food was eventually served and was spent with you sharing about the story of your life's journey and how the events turned out, which elicited flabbergasted reactions from the audience. Even Seonghwa, Wooyoung, Yeosang, and Jongho were still amazed by your story no matter how many times they heard it. You did intentionally leave out the part where Mingi betrayed you by throwing you out of the ship, not wanting to cause any fracas tonight. The storytelling session died down after a few minutes, so you brought your focus back on the food.
Dinner passed in a blink of an eye, and now you were in a conversation with the queen, with the king listening attentively beside her. The conversation was going smoothly, and it felt like you were speaking to your own parents, but somehow your eyes kept getting distracted by something else. The sound of a deep voice near you was really noticeable, and you knew clearly who it belonged to. You tried to focus back on your own conversation with the queen, but his voice was really getting to you until you heard a feminine giggle from across.
It was great timing that the queen diverted her attention to her husband because you got to check what was currently happening at the table. Across from you were Mingi and Aera, lost in their own conversation, exchanging friendly looks and smiles. You weren't sure what it was you were feeling, and you couldn't explain it either (more like you wouldn't admit it), but the scene unfolding in front of you bothered you in some way. Maybe it was the loving stare Aera gave towards Mingi, or maybe it was the wide grin Mingi had as he replied to her comfortably, but you definitely didn't like the look of it.
Unbeknownst to you, the other men at the table had stopped their own conversation when San first noticed the change in your demeanor and then gestured for the others to check as well. Surely, you looked upset. It was like there was a dark cloud looming above your head, and with the way you fixed a penetrating look towards the two people across from you, there was definitely some tension going on. You tried to shake the thoughts away, hoping to focus on the event at hand, so you diverted your attention back at the king and queen. However, the moment you hear Mingi's laughter and see Aera playfully slapping his arm, you just have had enough.
"Sorry to interrupt, your Majesty, but it's getting a bit late. I want to ask for your permission for us to return back home if that's alright." You spoke to the king and queen.
"Won't you and your crew want to stay the night? We've got enough rooms for all of you," the queen offered, but you were set with your decision. It wasn't that you weren't grateful for the offer, but you didn't think you were in the right headspace to stay for the night. You might go insane.
"It's okay, your Majesty. Thank you for the offer, but I still have to check over my people back in New World. Don't worry, I'll be sure to visit here again and bring my people once everything is finished."
As much as they'd want you to stay the night and rest, the king and queen understood the weight of your duties and the situation you were in. You were governing an island and leading a crew by yourself after all, which absolutely wasn't easy work. "We understand you, my dear. I'm sure there will always be a next time for us to meet again," the queen replied softly, assuring you that it was okay for you and your crew to return back to your island.
You bowed to them politely. "Thank you, your Majesty. I am grateful for the warm welcome and the delicious food served. Until our next visit." With that, you stood up and cleared your throat to get everyone's attention, more particularly at two people. "I'm sorry to interrupt the fun, but it is time for us to return home to New World."
"But, y/n—" Aera tried to speak.
"Sorry, I have important matters to attend to."
You let the crew bid their goodbyes to the king, queen, and Aera. Afterwards, you instructed them to exit the castle first and wait for you outside while you bid your own goodbyes to the king and queen, giving both of them one more hug before heading towards the front door with Aera, who offered to walk you out.
"You know, that Mingi of yours is a funny man." Aera's words made you halt just a few steps away from the front door. "I had quite the laugh tonight." You turned to her with a questioning look, not knowing where she was going with this. "I wonder if he dated someone in royalty; his jokes were incredible and definitely not coming from a man's head."
Yes. Yes, he did date someone in royalty. Yes, he did get his jokes from a princess, and that princess was me. You wanted to tell her those words, but you didn't deem it necessary. However, the idea of her having any interest in Mingi didn't sit right with you. "He is a pirate, Aera. You are a princess, and royalty should not be involved in any romantic relationship with them. That's a disgrace to one's kingdom and bloodline, you know that."
"But he's one of your crewmates. It shouldn't be a problem, since you trust him."
She's really adamant about this. "I won't repeat myself, and I mean it." Your voice was now serious and dismissive, leaving no room for objections or complaints.
Aera, on the other hand, was amused by your reaction. She wasn't interested in Mingi like that, of course not; she was merely enjoying his jokes that only royalty understands. She even wondered how he knew of those, especially since he grew up as a pirate. That was all it was supposed to be until she noticed the intense look you gave her, though more towards the man.
She wasn't stupid; she knew you more than you think. You grew up with so much love and respect, so jealousy was never in your vocabulary. Tonight, however, was the first time she had seen that emotion in your eyes. She then got the idea that you and Mingi had possibly shared a romantic past together, and she can tell from your reaction that it most likely happened.
"I know, love. He just reminded me of Keeho," Yoon Keeho, Aera's first love.
"Pirates are dangerous; Keeho is dangerous." You knew he wasn't. He had looks that could kill, but that man was nothing but joy.
Keeho was born a pirate, who got disowned by his parents at a young age all because he enjoyed singing. They saw him as a liability rather than an asset; hence, he was abandoned on the island with nothing to his name, but the heavens brought him one royal staff from Wonderland kingdom who adopted him and treated him like her own son. She was a singer herself, so both of them were really blessed to have each other. Keeho grew up loved since then, and his talent in singing was appreciated as he was assigned to sing during big events at the castle. His beautiful voice was what caught Aera's attention and the reason why she fell in love at first sight. Long story short, they became lovers after a while, but you had no knowledge of that part.
"Aren't you working with pirates yourself?" Aera retorted, and her words gave you no chance to complain anymore. You looked away, feeling guilty at your hypocrisy. Aera gave your shoulder a pat when you didn't respond. "You worry too much. I'm not going to steal Mingi from you."
"What?" Your eyes widened.
Aera smiled to herself as she thought of him. "He seems to have so much respect for you; I wouldn't want to take that and get in the way." She looked you straight in the eyes, searching for any truth in your feelings for him. "You like him, too, don't you?"
That same question Seonghwa had asked you before came back to you once again. "I-I don't..." And that same answer came from you as well, not fully ready to accept the truth just yet.
Aera could only laugh at your reply, as she can see right through your lies. "No one's going to steal your man, love." You turned to her to check if she was messing with you, but all you saw was a genuine smile on her face, a pair of eyes that stared at you with pride, and a hand reaching for yours to hold. That was the look she always gave you whenever she felt proud of you for accomplishing something that made you happy.
"You deserve that kind of love and respect, y/n. You always told me that when you finally find the love of your life, you would fight for them until the end of time. I'm rooting for the both of you, and when you get married soon, the whole kingdom will gladly celebrate with you." Aera pulled you in for a hug, showing you how proud she was of how far you've reached in life. "Stay safe out there, princess. The kingdom is always on your side; we are sisters after all, and no one can change that."
"Thank you, Aera. I also wish for you to find the best love you deserve to have, but I'm sure Keeho is already treating you right." That made Aera laugh amidst the sobs she's fighting to hold back. "We will be on our way now; see you next time."
Aera walked you out of the castle, where your crew had been patiently waiting, and you gave her a curtsy, which she returned. You waved each other goodbye before finally walking down the stairs of the castle with you leading the way at the front and the rest following behind. The walk was quiet like it usually was, but tonight was a bit different, as it had some tension surrounding you, making the crewmates exchange confused glances.
As soon as everyone arrived and got on the ship, you immediately went back to work mode like you didn't just have an emotional farewell moment with your childhood friend minutes ago. "Hongjoong, prepare to sail. Yeosang and Jongho, raise the anchor, and—" You couldn't think properly; your mind was elsewhere, thus you weren't assigning the right tasks to each member. "Just do what you usually do." You shook your head, making your way towards the quarterdeck where Hongjoong was supposed to be.
The Blue Bird crew all sensed that you, their captain, were not in the best mood. They didn't understand the fast switch of your emotions, but the majority knew why it was that way. As your first mate, Wooyoung brought himself closer to you with hesitant steps, not wanting to fuel the fire. However, the moment he opened his mouth, you put up a hand to stop him. You weren't looking as your back faced him, so he left without a question. He knew better than to mess with you right now; not even the mighty Jongho could approach you, except for one brave soul.
Mingi recalled the way you glared at him earlier during dinner at the castle, giving him the idea that your mood had something to do with him, so he walked up to you bravely. The others tried to stop him, warning him of your potential wrath, but still that didn't stop him from approaching you. His words were faster than Yunho's hands trying to grab his wrist. "Hey, y/n. I'm sorry if I did something wrong—"
"Let's make this clear, Mingi." The crew froze when an unimpressed smirk appeared on your face, which quickly dropped into a serious look. "No one should ever engage in any romantic relationship with anyone outside of New World until all pirates have disappeared from this world, understood?"
Mingi understood the point you were making, and he completely agrees with it. What he didn't understand was why your words were somehow directed at him. Not even to Wooyoung, who was known as the biggest flirt on the island. "I do understand that, but what does it have to do with me?" He didn't mean it, but his tone sounded almost frustrated.
The crew's jaws dropped at Mingi's response, with Yeosang gasping at the side in disbelief. No one has dared talk back or fight against you; everyone always complied with your commands and requests, respected your decisions, and never questioned your visions, yet Mingi wasn't afraid of standing up for himself even if it meant having a heated conversation with you. To be fair, you and Mingi had been in some sort of serious tension the past few weeks, so that pent-up frustration might have intensified what he had been keeping to himself.
You really didn't have the energy to argue with him at this late hour. Therefore, with a serious look, you replied one last time. "You tell me." Without another word, you walked past him and the others to go inside your cabin to rest for the night, entrusting Hongjoong with the ship.
Mingi's gaze followed your direction, while his body remained unmoving. Wooyoung hissed at the scene that played in front of them, and the others grimaced beside him. Mingi didn't know what he did so wrong to piss you off, but the rest of Blue Bird definitely knew that it had everything to do with him. They felt bad for him, really. Especially Wooyoung and Seonghwa, who've been keeping an eye on the man. They hoped you'd clear the tension as soon as possible to prevent further issues arising among the crew just like this one.
Mingi felt defeated. No matter what he tried to do—look out for you, avoid you, or pretend that he didn't have feelings for you anymore—they never mattered because you will always hate him. That would never change, and you had made it clear as day. It was like his existence in your life was a burden in itself; that was how he felt by your actions and words towards him. He doesn't want to burden you any further, so this time, he'll keep his presence at a limit.
-
Since that night, Mingi became almost invisible. Not that he wasn't participating in gatherings with Blue Bird anymore, but he didn't want to show himself to you, and even when you were everywhere on the island, he was nowhere nearby. You do see him during expeditions, meetings, or dinner, though only for a short while. As soon as he does his part in the crew, he is gone, and you wouldn't notice a thing.
The first few days, you had overlooked the change in his routine, too busy to point it out. On the contrary, of course, the ever-so-observant Wooyoung caught on since it started, and then news spread to the rest of the crew. Initially, none of them wanted to make baseless opinions about him, but after witnessing a number of events, they couldn't deny the fact.
It first happened when you had gathered everyone for a short meeting regarding a change of taskings for your training sessions, and when the meeting was adjourned, Mingi was out of the room before Seonghwa could even gather his things. Mingi had never rushed out of a meeting before, as he was always one of the last people to leave. The crew never really questioned it much, thinking that he wasn't feeling good that day, plus he also complied with all your requests without any questions, performing well and reaching your expectations. But as soon as he accomplished those given tasks, he was nowhere to be seen the next minute.
It was during New World's Foundation Day dinner party when you finally took notice of Mingi's change in behavior. When the whole island celebrated, alcohol and loud singing were never not present. He usually partook in those things alongside Yunho, never missing a shot being offered to him, and staying back to help clean up the tables.
Tonight, that wasn't the case. You were seated beside Seonghwa at the end of the table, finishing up your own drink in hand, when you saw Wooyoung offering another glass towards Mingi, an arm draped around the man's shoulder.
"Have some more, Gi. You haven't drunk enough yet."
On a normal celebration, Mingi would've grabbed the glass from Wooyoung and downed the drink in one go. But to Wooyoung's surprise, Mingi stood up from the table, packing his things with a shake of his head in refusal. "Sorry, Wooyoung. I don't feel like drinking tonight, so I'll pass this one for now. I'll make it up to you next time." Just like that, Wooyoung watched Mingi's figure disappear again in the dark, and he didn't push him to stay any longer. He understood what his friend meant, and he was going to give him space. Wooyoung went up to Yunho instead to offer him the drink, and the party resumed.
"Mingi must not be feeling well tonight." Seonghwa, who had been quietly eating his noodles beside you, spoke up. His eyes were glued on the food, but his words were directed at you. "I'm sure you noticed that too, captain."
You did notice that, and you couldn't help but worry about him. Yes, you weren't on the best terms with him right now, but he was still a crew member at the end of the day.
"You must be worried for him."
You looked down on the table where your half-eaten sandwich rested, slowly getting cold, just like Mingi towards you. You were worried for him, of course. You always had worry in your heart, but was it only worry that filled it? Were you only worried for his health, or were you also curious about why he had grown cold around you? You knew it was because of something you've done or said to him, but it wasn't the same as when he had tried keeping his distance from you before. Now, he was keeping his distance from everyone, even the Blue Bird crew.
In the comfort of his sleeping quarters, Mingi lied on his bed, mindlessly staring up at the empty ceiling. He was aware of the other crewmates' concerns for him, especially Wooyoung and his closest friend, Yunho, yet there wasn't much he could do about his situation. He kept his frustration and unwanted thoughts to himself, not wanting to cause any more problems than he was already making.
Mingi's avoidance stemmed from your constant frustration towards him. He always caused you stress due to his desire to reconcile with you after years of separation, and your anger was a consequence he had to bravely face. Your anger was one thing he could accept, but the kiss you gave him once when you were drunk was another. He was dense enough to believe that you were slowly warming up to him. He had become a fool. When he mentioned to you that he wasn't going to be a burden anymore, he was going to stand by his words with whatever it takes.
But, if he were to be completely honest with himself, he'd admit that a part of that reason was because of the closeness you shared with Seonghwa. The two of you already knew each other way before Mingi found his way to the island. Thus, you were bound to have a special bond with him. Only this time, you and Seonghwa grew even closer than before. That day when he walked in on you and Seonghwa at your tower hugging each other, almost intimate from the eyes of a passerby, a romantic relationship between the two of you wouldn't be surprising news. And even tonight, instead of you staying away from the crowd alone, you were glued to Seonghwa.
A chance with you was now too far to reach, so it was best for things to stay this way. He would just have to bear with the pain in silence and cry himself to sleep with the thought of letting you go for good and for you to find the love you deserve without him in the picture. He loved you enough to let you go.
The following days were the same. Mingi either busied himself with trainings or strolled alone around the island to clear off his mind. As a gunner, he had been trying out new tactics with different guns, and once he'd mastered them, he would go teach the same to the younger trainees, who looked up to him because of his impressive skills. Consistent days of progressive trainings were spent together with Wooyoung, San, and Yeosang, whereas you worked with Jongho on developing a more advanced technology, including the production of new weapons to use during battles that may arise. But that battle may have arisen earlier than expected.
The sun had set, and you were heading back to the village square with Jongho after a long day at the headquarters. He rambled to you about what you had discussed earlier with him during the meeting, and you tried to register his words as best as you could, yet you couldn't shake off the uneasy feeling you were getting right now. You weren't sure if you were just hearing things, but you swore you and Jongho weren't alone.
"Integrating personal colors into our weapons would be good—"
Rustle. You hushed Jongho with a finger pressed to his lips, making him freeze in place. He caught on to your tensed shoulders as your eyes scanned around for intruders that could possibly be hiding behind the large trees and bushes surrounding the area. Jongho grew nervous and became equally alerted by your sudden actions, slowly pulling out his pistol from his pocket carry to ready himself for a sudden attack.
Rustle. There was that sound again. You had no idea what was making that sound as the wind was still, but you knew it was best to let the others know of the situation. Grabbing Jongho's hand, you began running towards the village square. "We have intruders..." You huffed out a nervous breath, "Very familiar intruders." Upon arriving at the village square, where the villagers and the crew gathered for dinner, your hurried steps had signaled the crew of your arrival, missing the panicked look on your face.
"Captain, you're here—"
"Tell everyone to go home and lock their doors, ready all your weapons, and scatter around the island." You walked up towards a nearby table to fix your clothes, tightening the laces of your boots and taking off your coat to remove a little weight from your body. "Jongho, alert the island of intruders, and go check why the sirens didn't detect them."
"Got it, captain." Jongho immediately ran back to the headquarters through a hidden shortcut to avoid being seen by the enemies.
The crew all watched with bewilderment and worry as you moved fast while maintaining a serious demeanor despite your hands shaking a lot.
"Captain, you're shaking."
"y/n, calm down."
"Take a deep breath."
You heard the crew speak, but this was not the moment for consoling remarks.
You turned to the crew with a look they had never seen from you before, a look that told them that this was not an easy battle, almost like you had fire in your eyes with how dark they turned. "They're here," you announced to them, voice shaking in between.
"Twilight."
Everyone gasped at the mention of that name so beautiful yet one of the strongest and most ruthless pirates ever known. The Twilight crew consisted of strong men and women specialized in fist fighting, archery, and swords. They were known to be cold, notorious, and evil amongst the existing pirate crews, who never lost a battle. They were once almost defeated by HalaHala, but the latter sailed away to escape. There were many things about Twilight that gave enough reasons for them to be feared. If they had attacked Fever kingdom instead of HalaHala in the past, there would be no doubt you'd be killed alongside your parents. You were scared of them; that's a fact. Even Blue Bird felt the same, but your fear wasn't for yourself.
"Yunho and Yeosang," you called out two of your strongest crewmates, "I entrust you to stay by Jongho's side on this one, please. I want him safe and alive by all means; I want each one of you alive."
It pained you to think about Jongho at this time, and everyone knew how much the youngest member meant to you. Jongho used to be a Twilight crewmate, hence the naturally strong build and knowledge in various weapons and fighting styles. He had been abandoned by them at a young age, so you took him in and cared for him like family. He was a pirate, yes, but he had so much potential that it was a loss to waste. You had saved his life, and that drove him to prove to you his willingness to serve. You deemed him the best fighter on the island; thus, you always entrusted him with the heavy work. Jongho was seen to be this reserved yet reliable man by the villagers, but he had always been the caring younger brother in your eyes.
You automatically sensed earlier that Twilight was around because of the weird scent coming from the rustling bushes. It was a distinct scent unique to their crew, which you had smelled once from Jongho the first time you met. You trusted Jongho like no other, since he was capable of accomplishing things on his own. But with the thought of him seeing them again after what happened many years ago, you were afraid that his intense hatred would get into his head and he would lose his composure. That's why you got Yunho and Yeosang to watch over his back.
Just then, you felt a swift blow of the wind on your face after an arrow passed dangerously close in front of you, landing on the wooden pole nearby. Your eyes widened in fright, heart racing so fast like the speed of the arrow. Your body grew cold; if you had moved even an inch or two, the arrow would have scratched your face badly. The crew began to pull out their weapons and started dispersing themselves around the island, attacking the pirates that had appeared.
"Shit," you cursed under your breath.
San ran up to you, checking for any injuries. "Are you alright, captain?"
You nodded slowly, still processing what had just occurred. "I'm fine; let's just start moving."
San, who had no time to waste, gently lifted you up and offered you a hug, replacing your dread with consolation and assurance that you had people you could rely on. "Take a deep breath for me, captain. We'll all protect you and Jongho; we'll win this." San took your hand and ran with you in the direction of your tower.
-
After alerting the island through the intercom about the presence of intruders, Jongho checked the surveillance cameras for any sign of intruders inside the building, which signaled a big green 'CLEAR' sign. The building was already locked before he got in, and he entered through a secret passage, so no one could follow him inside. He picked up his pistols from the table and quickly exited the building from the same passage.
The outside was oddly quiet, making him feel uneasy as he quickly made his way back to where the crew was, but the moment he saw an arrow fly past you from a distance, someone covered his mouth to suppress his call for help and dragged him back to where he had come from. Jongho was pushed to the ground with a loud thud, causing him to lose his balance. He was ready to shoot whoever laid their hands on him, only for his eyes to widen in horror at the sight of two familiar faces standing in front of him, faces he never thought he'd see again.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't our cute little Jongho. I'm surprised you're still alive. We thought we got rid of you ages ago, but you're still stubborn, aren't you?" Laughter erupted among the men, the two clearly not intimidated by Jongho's presence. "I wonder what captain Yang would do with you." The other person smirked at him menacingly.
Jongho got up to his feet, pulling out his pistol from his pocket carry to try and threaten them, but the two pulled out their own pistols, pointing them back towards him. In front of him stood Choi Daeyeol and Lim Jaehee, two of his senior pirates in Twilight, who taught him a few things about guns. They trained him how to aim at an enemy and shoot them where it hurts most, not knowing that he'd end up aiming his gun at his trainers, who were now his enemies.
"Put the pistols down, boys. You'll scare the poor guy to death; that wouldn't be fun." A hand was harshly pressed down on Jongho's shoulder as a deep, raspy voice was heard from behind his back. "What's more fun is to kill him with a sword sliding across his neck; that way he won't ever get to sing again. Maybe we can slide it deeper so he won't get to breathe at all. Or we can start from his legs; I'm sure he's familiar with that feeling."
"Nice one, captain," Daeyeol commented on the captain's sinister plans to torture Jongho.
Jongho heard captain Yang take his sword out, and the sword appeared in front of him, all shiny and brand new without a speck of dust. "You see this, Choi? No dirt in sight, but once I slide this across your throat, your blood will be the first thing that will stain this pretty thing."
Jongho was strong; he was aware of that. You would always remind him of his incredible strength and intelligence, and he believed it. The captain of Blue Bird, the princess of Fever kingdom, and his savior would never tell a lie. That's why he worked extra hard to live up to that title and not disappoint the people who cared for him when no one did. He was strong, yet he felt weak in the hands of his former captain. He felt his energy drain by the sword that was inches away from his neck, the dirty hand that held his shoulder, and the mocking laughter from the other two men.
At that moment, all he could think about was you: how grateful he was for your existence, the happiness he gets whenever you tell him jokes that make him laugh so hard until he couldn't breathe anymore, and how safe he feels whenever you're around. Seeing you every day would motivate him to work and treasure every second of his life, but if this was how his life would end, he couldn't even get to tell you his goodbyes nor see your face one last time.
This is it, he thought. Jongho had accepted defeat; there was no more fight left in him. Even if he tried to kill captain Yang now, he was still going to get attacked by Daeyeol and Jaehee. There was no escape. Well, there were two people who wouldn't accept that. As Jongho shut his eyes closed, a loud gunshot was heard, and captain Yang's grip on him loosened until his body dropped on the ground with a thud. Jongho opened his eyes to see both Daeyeol and Jaehee on the ground covered in blood.
Yeosang had shot the captain in the head, while Yunho stabbed the other two in their backs with his daggers. They almost looked invisible in the dark as they had their masks on, and they made absolutely no noise too, so the enemies didn't notice their presence. Yunho and Yeosang finally approached Jongho, who stared at them in surprise, and asked if he was hurt or not.
"Sorry we took a while; Yeosang here almost lost his pistol." Yunho hit Yeosang in the head jokingly, and the latter played along by pretending to be in pain.
However, Jongho didn't laugh with them. Instead, his mouth dropped into a frown, and Yunho panicked at his reaction only to calm down when Jongho suddenly broke down in sobs. "Thank you." That was all he could utter, but those two words were more than enough for Yunho and Yeosang. Task or not, Jongho had to stay alive, and they made sure of it.
-
When everyone had dispersed to different areas on the island—Yunho and Yeosang to the headquarters, Hongjoong and Wooyoung to the shore, and Seonghwa and his men near the villagers' homes—Mingi had followed behind you and San. He wasn't supposed to be there; he was supposed to stay with Seonghwa, but it's as if his feet had a mind of their own. He just had to look out for you in this battle. You seemed unsteady, nervous, and not in complete focus; he wasn't sure if you could handle fighting against those strong pirates in that condition.
Arriving at your tower, you and San panted, catching your breaths. You thought you had a few minutes to regain your composure and prepare your weapons. You really weren't in the best state tonight, but you were going to try your best nevertheless. In the quiet of the night, you could only hear your and San's breathing, so you didn't hear someone approaching you from behind until San slashed them with his sword. You didn't even have time to react when more pirates appeared and surrounded the three of you.
Twilight was known to sneak up on their enemies in complete silence, and fighting against them in the dark just increased their difficulty. The three of you worked together to take the pirates down, with Mingi shooting the archers from a distance, San slashing the more muscular pirates with his swords, and you shooting the sneaky ones with your pistol, the same one Jongho had. The fight was going well; your momentum was steady and with accurate aim. Despite being outnumbered by the enemies, the three of you remained strong and undefeated.
You were currently reloading your pistol, as you had unfortunately run out of bullets, and using your dagger wasn't the best option right now. Because your attention was elsewhere, you didn't hear the footsteps approaching you from behind, thinking that you were safe from where you hid, not until you got pushed hard to the side.
"MINGI!"
No, no, no. This cannot be; this isn't real. Mingi's body flopped to the ground, blood dripping down his face. You were angry, maddened, frustrated—no, your heart had nothing but rage and no remorse. You took out your dagger that was hidden inside your pocket carry and pushed it deep into the pirate's chest long enough until the man was deemed unconscious. There were little to no enemies left around the area with San finishing them up with a final hit, so you took the chance to approach Mingi, who didn't seem to move.
"Mingi! Song Mingi, get up. Get up, you fool. Hey, why aren't you responding to me? This isn't funny; you have to get up."
You held his head and carefully placed him down on your lap to examine his face. His eyes were closed shut, his breathing was shaky and slow, and blood was dripping down his cheek from the open wound under his right eye. His strong body now fell weak, and you felt him lose energy when his arms dropped down. Because of your carelessness, he had saved your life once again, only this time, it cost him his life.
"Captain, are you okay?" San rushed towards you, who he saw was kneeling on the ground, cupping Mingi's cheek with one hand with teardrops landing on his skin. "What happened?"
San's questions were left unheard as tears blurred your vision, and your hand was stained with Mingi's blood. Your hands shook in devastation, not wanting to accept reality. Mingi had always been this strong, intimidating pirate everyone deemed him to be, but now, he looked so fragile, helpless...broken. He must've been in so much pain because not only was he hit in the face, but he also had a deep cut near his chest, which explained the amount of blood that flowed out from his body.
"You always told me how much you wanted to die in my arms and I did want you gone after what you've put me through..." You couldn't control your sobs any longer, "But, that was all in the past. You have proved to me that you really regretted what you did, and that you had a reason for it. I've seen it all, Mingi. I see and hear you. You've saved my life countless times, sacrificing your life for me yet I never once told you how grateful I am until it's already too late. Please...wake up." You dropped your head to rest on top of his, "This is not how I wanted things to end between us, this isn't what I want. I have forgiven you and I-I'm ready to accept you again, so please...please...please...wake up for me, Mangi." That was the nickname you made for him when you two were still lovers, and you thought it was cute on him. "I've lost the people I loved before; I cannot bear to lose you too," you cried in hopes that he could hear you even when it didn't seem possible.
San silently watched you on the side in pity as to not interfere with the mournful and personal moment. He kept his distance from you, allowing you to think in peace and let out any suppressed emotions you had in your heart. You were the most vulnerable right now, and he respected that. Your feelings were valid and understood. Soon enough, the rest of Blue Bird arrived at the scene one by one. They came closer towards where San stood, only for San to halt them with a raise of his hand. The crew instantly understood the signal and proceeded to watch closely beside him.
"Captain..."
You slowly looked up to the owner of the voice, seeing Jongho standing over you in concern. A weak sigh of relief escaped your lips at the sight of him, thanking Yunho, Yeosang, and the heavens that he was still here. You wouldn't be able to bear the pain if the worst had happened to him; it would be like losing a family member again. As long as he was here, your heart would be at ease.
Jongho knelt down to your level, eyes glued on you. "We'll bring him to the clinic and get him treated immediately."
Seonghwa ordered his men to pull Mingi away from you, working together to support him up, and carefully carry his unconscious body to the aiding station with Seonghwa following behind. Jongho held your hands in his, supporting your back as he pulled you up to stand. You stumbled as your knees felt numb, but he was quick enough to catch you.
"You need to eat and rest, captain. I'll accompany you if that's alright with you."
You honestly didn't have the appetite to eat anything at the moment, only wanting to go see Mingi at the clinic and see if he was going to live, but you couldn't refuse Jongho's offer. If you do not eat something or drink anything at all, you'd probably pass out.
-
A sword was aimed towards Mingi, and he tried to avoid it. However, he accidentally tripped on a pistol that belonged to an already deceased pirate on the ground, causing the sword to slash his chest. He groaned in pain as blood began to run down his torso, but he couldn't lose focus; he couldn't waste a single second, not now. He shot the enemy in the head before they could swing their sword again.
It wasn't just a scratch; the cut was deep, so the pain became unbearable in a short time. Mingi was searching for an area to rest, but instead, he found an enemy approaching you from behind with a dagger as you were busy reloading your pistol, with San too preoccupied with attacking other enemies nearby. He'd seen this scene before when you got hurt and almost killed during your battle with HalaHala, and this time, he wasn't going to let anyone lay a finger on you no matter what it takes.
"No..." Mingi cried in a shaky voice, "y/n!"
With all the strength and energy he had left, and despite his head getting dizzier from the loss of blood, he ran up towards you like his life depended on it. Mingi had to push your body to the side and step in so you wouldn't get hit and he'd receive the hit instead. The last thing he felt was the sharp weapon scratching the skin dangerously close to his right eye before he stumbled down on the ground. He hissed in pain, trying hard to stay conscious, but before he knew it, his vision turned black.
-
"Where is he?" You stepped inside the clinic.
The head nurse led you to a room located at the end of the hallway, where you found the Blue Bird crewmates standing outside the said room. Yunho's head was down, failing to hide the tears he was trying so hard to hold back with Hongjoong and Sam comforting him; he wasn't ready to accept the truth of his best friend and brother's possible death.
After receiving the nurse's confirmation, you quietly entered the room in light steps. On the bed lay Mingi's still unconscious body, chest covered in thick bandages with a blanket over his lower body. You approached the bed, grabbing a stool from nearby so you could take a closer look at him. You took one of his calloused hand, enclosing it with your own as you stared at him heartbroken, keeping him company while he recovered.
You weren't sure how it happened or when it started, but things were different now. Mingi's existence in your life was an absolute rollercoaster of emotions. From becoming friends for the first time as teenagers despite belonging to completely different worlds to becoming lovers defying what the history books always say, eventually leading to a tragic heartbreak and betrayal. By that time, your world had already collided with his, all while building yourself from the ground up, so you couldn't fully go back to where you started. You worked sleepless nights in blood, sweat, and tears to start all over again, and that led to New World.
You had it, but fate had other plans for you. Fate brought Mingi back to you, telling you that your story wasn't over yet. It could've ended if you had killed him that night, which you didn't, and since then, his existence in your life has kept punching you in the face. No matter what you did to deny him, his actions towards you would always remind you that he was the man you once loved before.
Now that man was lying on the clinic bed unconscious and bruised from saving your life, reminding you again that he would do anything to protect you from danger. Your mind tried to convince you that you had nothing but hatred for him, no space for forgiveness and reconciliation, yet deep inside your heart, there was still that love, trust, and gratitude you always had for him. Your heart never lies; it's the same heart that broke into a million pieces when Mingi almost died saving you. Everything he had done was to save you: from getting mistreated and disrespected by HalaHala, from getting killed by his mother and his stepsister, and now, from getting killed by a Twilight pirate.
Mingi had always been your savior, but who was there to save him? You never believed you were ever a savior yourself to him, but little did you know that you, the only woman he ever loved and looked up to, had already saved him more times than you realize. You becoming his friend had saved him from living a life he didn't want to, and becoming his lover was the moment he felt like the world was finally on his side, even for a short while. And when he and his brothers got lost on the island, you saved him too by sparing his life even when you shouldn't. You were the reason he worked extra hard with the crew and the villagers; you made him find his purpose in life again after all of the challenges he faced.
If dying in your arms from saving you was the final form of love he could give to you, then he had lived a fulfilled life with no regrets. After all, the strongest evidence of love is sacrifice.
-
The sunlight crept through the window, indicating that morning had come. Mingi's eyes slowly opened, adjusting to the light after a long night of being unconscious. Well actually, he wasn't fully unconscious that whole time. Unbeknownst to you, he heard every single thing you told him, your cries, your heavy breathing, and your silent whispers. It pained him deeply hearing you cry so much, but there was nothing he could do. Mingi heard you loud and clear, yet his eyes remained shut; he couldn't open them due to the scar near his eye. Last night, he wanted to answer you back and tell you how he truly felt. He'll definitely tell you this time.
Mingi scanned the room he was in, and his eyes landed on your sleeping form curled up on the small couch beside the bed. He didn't expect to find you there; he thought you'd gone back home to your tower. Oh, how wrong he was. His lips curled into a soft smile as he admired how cute you looked in your sleep with your pinkish cheeks and arms hugging yourself. He continued to do that for the next couple of minutes until you woke up, groaning as you stretched your arms up to loosen your muscles from the uncomfortable position you slept in. Just then, it sank in on your mind that you were actually at the clinic and not in your tower, remembering why you were there in the first place.
"Mingi?" You quickly turned to him, only to find him already staring at you with a soft look. "Oh, you're finally awake. Do you feel okay now? Are you thirsty? Hungry? Do you need—"
"Thank you," Mingi cut you off.
"For what?" You were confused; you didn't think you did anything for him to be thankful for you.
"For everything, I heard what you said to me last night."
Huh? Sorry, did I hear it right? "You what?"
Mingi chuckled at your reaction. "I heard you, and my response to that is thank you. Thank you for giving me another chance to prove myself to you. Thank you for accepting me, forgiving me after what I've put you through, and for taking care of me when you really didn't have to. I wouldn't want you to sleep uncomfortably on the couch."
His words struck you, and you realized that your relationship with Mingi was turning to the better side. No more arguments, no more pretending, just an exchange of sincere emotions. There was no need to hide your feelings anymore and pretend that everything he does for you does not affect you in any way because what you had with Mingi now was something you wouldn't change for the world. Swiftly, you wrapped your arms around his body while trying not to hurt him. "I really don't care if my back hurts when you're the one in pain."
For the first time in what felt like forever, Mingi got a genuine hug from you at last after all those times when you wouldn't dare lay a finger on him. He returned the hug with the same warmth, wishing he could capture this feeling forever; he never wanted to let you go again.
"Thank you for waking up." Your voice was muffled as your head rested on his shoulder.
Mingi pushed you back slightly, and to your surprise, he pulled you back in for a kiss. God, how he missed this feeling; your lips were still as soft as ever on his. You were caught off guard by the sudden action but eventually kissed him back with the same intensity. The kiss was slow, sweet, and full of desire with a hint of desperation. Pulling back, Mingi brushed your hair that fell on your face and kept it behind your ear. "You're still the most beautiful woman I have ever set my eyes on, and that will never change. I hope this time, I can make you happy because I love seeing the smile I fell in love with." His hand cupped your cheek, and you instantly leaned onto it.
You were overjoyed right now; you were blessed to have Mingi back in your life, not as an enemy but as a partner for life. "I'm happy, Mingi. I'm really happy you're still here with me in this lifetime despite everything we've been through."
Love is patient, love can hurt, but true love forgives, and you were more than ready to start over again with him in this place where love was abundant, and there was nothing that could come in between you and him again.
You stayed by Mingi's side until he fully recovered from his wounds, even feeding him his food despite him insisting that he was capable of doing it himself, only for you to scold him, and he knew better than to disobey you, so he'd let you do whatever you wanted for him. In return, he'd insist on feeding you too. You would refuse at first, but he would guilt-trip you by saying that he wouldn't recover if you refused, so that's how you two ended up that way. As days passed, you and Mingi spent more time with each other. The others understood the situation, giving the both of you all the time you needed to reconcile.
You would walk along the shore hand in hand with Mingi, sharing stories about your life, reconnecting, and enjoying each other's company, not minding anything around you. The sun was beginning to set, so you and he sat down on the sand, staring off into the horizon as the wind blew on your faces. This brought you back to when you both used to watch the sunsets together back in HalaHala with Yunho, San, and Hongjoong teasing from behind. You used to rest your head on his shoulder, finding peace in his arms, and now, it was him resting on you, hands intertwined with yours.
Mingi told you about what happened the night before he, Yunho, San, and Hongjoong escaped from HalaHala. The four of them hugged each other in tears, thinking that it would be their last day together, unsure of what the future held. You felt saddened at the thought of them together, now understanding how hard it was to make that decision. You planted a kiss on his forehead to reassure him that he was okay now.
You also shared with him the life you had after you landed here on the island, how you met people from your old kingdom, built the island up to what it is now, and how you met Seonghwa, Wooyoung, Yeosang, and Jongho. Hearing your story, Mingi felt apologetic for what you went through, but more than that, he was extremely proud of how far you've come. You really had to work endlessly with no one to run to when you felt weak and tired until the four boys came into your life. Now, you could lean on them when things get hard, and the same goes for him.
"I'm so glad things turned out this way, and that we found each other again." Mingi's thumb caressed your hand in soft rubs. "I love you so much, y/n. My heart is all yours until my last breath; that's a promise I will keep forever."
-
During those times when you couldn't attend a meeting with the crew, you had entrusted Hongjoong to lead them for the meantime, as he was knowledgeable about many things, he was reliable and loyal, he was stern yet understanding, and he had a passion for work. He can do everything without needing your assistance, and those were enough reasons for you to trust him to do well with the task. You did see the difference in Hongjoong's leadership compared to yours, especially that he grew up around pirates while you grew up in a peaceful kingdom, and you wanted to keep this change. That led you to decide on making new changes on the island and with the crew.
You allowed them to have their own house near the headquarters for easier access, and they also have their own individual rooms, so they could live more comfortably. The house was big enough to fit all of them with a spacious living room and a room for working out. There were 8 rooms in total, but only 7 were to be occupied because Mingi was moving in to your tower. You wouldn't feel lonely after work anymore; you now have someone to come home to and rest in the comfort of their arms. Other than that, you planned to rebrand the crew and step down as the captain of Blue Bird. You thought of going back to your royal roots and serving the people as their princess. Although you'll focus more on the island, you would still participate in making plans with the crew, especially with trading and visits, as you will be joining them with it.
You had also decided to pass down the title of being captain to Hongjoong with Seonghwa as his first mate, Yunho as the sailing master, Yeosang as the navigator, San and Mingi as master gunners, Wooyoung as the cook, and Jongho still as the boatswain of the ship. Lastly, you contemplated a new name that would represent them better, one that gave them a unique identity, and after thinking deeply about it, you ultimately found the perfect one.
ATEEZ.
"I officially declare Kim Hongjoong as the new captain of ATEEZ, the new and improved crew of New World." The crowd erupted in cheers and applause at your announcement. You went up to Hongjoong, who stood in shock, not believing what he just heard from you. You gave him an assuring smile. "Why are you so surprised? This was your dream, wasn't it?"
Hongjoong's eyes widened in realization. "Y-you remembered?"
"Of course, I did. I remember everything. I even made you your very own armband. That way, people will know who the captain is." You showed to him the armband you personally designed and made with the help of one of the female villagers, wrapping it around his arm. Once it was secured, Hongjoong bowed to you in gratitude and ran off to revel his new role in the crew. He ran around the village square, dragging his poor first mate, Seonghwa, to join him, eliciting a series of teasing remarks from the others.
Yunho, Wooyoung, Yeosang, and Jongho had started noticing the shift in the two's relationship during trainings. Hongjoong and Seonghwa didn't expect each other to grow this close due to the huge contrast in their personalities. Seonghwa took interest in Hongjoong during their first training when he aided Hongjoong, admiring him for his abilities yet finding him cute for his slight clumsiness, not to mention how he denied it when you asked, and not knowing that Hongjoong was also attracted to him at first sight. When the two were left alone, Seonghwa would grab the chance to hang out with him, but Hongjoong enjoyed playing hard-to-get, so he would turn down his invite only to end up hanging out with him anyway. They're just a match made in heaven.
Another perfect match was Wooyoung and San, no surprise. Wooyoung was charming but can be a bit of a handful, and San was poised but soft-hearted despite growing up in a cruel place. It wasn't clear how it really started, but Wooyoung always struck up a conversation with San enough to bring the energy out of him, who mostly remained quiet around people he wasn't close with. The two grew affectionate with each other, and since then, they were always stuck in their own world, even planning to have matching tattoos.
Jongho still kept bothering Yeosang and competing with him in a playful battle to see who was stronger between the two of them, often trying to wrestle the man as an excuse to have his arms around him. You really didn't get it, but you respect it nonetheless. Moreover, Yunho found himself staying by the kitchen, indulging in a lot of delicious food, so much so that he ended up becoming the main chef's personal taste tester, and that man was ecstatic.
As for Mingi, he would help you work in your office at the headquarters, bringing you food when you're too busy to eat, checking up on you once in a while, and reporting to you what they had talked about during the meeting. He would stay back with you until you finished work, giving you a kiss and telling you how proud he was of you, heading home together afterwards. There, Mingi would cook dinner for the both of you, and you'd wrap your arms around his waist from behind. That was the usual routine, and each day would both start and end with him sleeping beside you on your shared bed.
Back to the celebration, you took in the sight of everyone enjoying their time together with drinks and shared laughter. You felt like a proud mom watching over her kids, who grew up to be successful in life and reach their dreams. All of a sudden, you felt a pair of arms wrap around you from behind, planting a peck on your cheek before resting his chin on your shoulder.
"What about me, princess? What do you remember about me?"
"You?" You turned to Mingi with a playful smirk, wanting to tease him for a bit. "I remember you throwing me off the ship—"
"Hey!" he whined. "Not that; do not remind me about that ever again."
You let out a giggle, finding his reaction cute and amusing. He continued to whine on your shoulder, so you ruffled his hair to make him stop. "Alright, I'll be serious now, you baby." Mingi turned to you with an offended look, which made you burst into laughter this time. "You wanted to have a stable and loving family, didn't you?" You looked up at him and stared into his soft sparkly eyes. "You have us, Mingi. We're your family, and we love you."
Mingi averted his gaze into the distance, where everyone gathered, and looking back to the memories he shared with them, he realized that he was finally in a good place now: no more abuse, no more suffering, an island filled with loving people, and most importantly, you were in it.
He couldn't believe this was his life now; it felt like he was on top of the world. He made you turn to him before pulling you in again in a tight hug, feeling something wet damping your shoulder. "I really don't deserve you, y/n. This is all too much for me to accept, but I'm really grateful for all of this." Mingi slowly caressed your hair. "Why was the world so cruel to you when you have a heart made of gold? My world was cruel to you, yet you still did all of this for me and my brothers."
You wiped the tears that stained his cheeks with your fingers. "The world was cruel to me, but things happen for a reason. I did all these out of love, Mingi. I never regret the things I do for love and out of love, and you're one of them." He smiled at your words, and you gave him a kiss on the lips. "You did what you did back then out of love too, right?"
"Yes, I did." Mingi nodded. "And I will never let you go again, princess. I waited years to be back in your life, and I will have my last breath with you. I am wholeheartedly yours, and I will devote my life to giving you the world you deserve and bringing heaven into your hands."
"You will always be a part of me, love. I was made to love you through heaven and hell."
warnings: baddie mingi, baddie fem!reader, mingi calls reader pinky/baby, playful bullying, suggestive, NSFW, implied sex (😱), minors do not interact!!
Y/N lives her life in carefully measured routines: long hours in the lab, part-time work, helping at her parents’ restaurant, and trying not to take up too much space in a world that already feels overwhelming.Mingi lives in noise: stages, crowds, attention, and a reputation that follows him wherever he goes. When their paths cross through coincidence, family, and a series of late nights that feel anything but accidental, something quiet begins to grow between them. Not rushed. Not loud. Just present.
Pairing: Song Mingi × Reader (Y/N)
Genre: Soft romance, slice of life, rom-com, slow burn
Y/N had learned early that life was easier when it followed a pattern.
Not an exciting one. Not a particularly inspiring one. Just something steady enough to hold onto when everything else felt like it might slip. Her days were built from repetition, from small habits stacked carefully on top of one another until they resembled something stable.
She woke up before her alarm most mornings.
It was not intentional. Her body simply did it, as if some internal clock had decided that rest beyond a certain point was unnecessary. She would lie there for a moment, eyes fixed on the ceiling, listening to the building breathe around her. Pipes humming softly. A door closing somewhere down the hall. Her mother moving around the kitchen below.
Eventually, she would give up on the idea of falling back asleep.
Her room was small but orderly. A desk pressed against the wall beneath the window, ist surface cluttered with papers she pretended were organized. Color-coded sticky notes lined the edge of her laptop. A corkboard above it held deadlines, reminders, half-formed to-do lists. One date was circled twice in red.
Master thesis submission.
The words still felt strange, even after months of living with them.
She swung her legs out of bed, pulled a sweater over her head, and tied her hair back in a loose ponytail. Her glasses waited on the desk where she had left them the night before. She slid them on and sat down, opening her laptop before she could talk herself out of it.
Chemistry greeted her like an old friend.
Equations. Diagrams. Carefully worded explanations that demanded precision. She liked that about it. There was no room for vagueness, no tolerance for assumptions. If something did not work, it was because something was wrong. Not because it felt like it. Not because someone misunderstood you.
Her fingers hovered over the keyboard.
She reread the same paragraph twice, then a third time, before realizing she had absorbed nothing. Her thoughts felt thick, like they were moving through syrup. A familiar pressure settled behind her eyes, not painful but persistent.
She exhaled slowly and leaned back in her chair.
This was the part she hated. The quiet moments where her brain refused to cooperate. Where doubt crept in uninvited. Where every unfinished sentence felt like a personal failure instead of a work in progress.
She counted her breaths, grounding herself the way she had learned to do over the years. In through the nose. Out through the mouth. Slow and deliberate.
When she finally closed her laptop, the sun had risen enough to cast pale light across the floor. She rubbed at her face, then stood, stretching until her back protested.
Enough for now.
Downstairs, the restaurant was already alive.
It sat on the corner of a quiet street, ist windows fogged slightly from the warmth inside. The smell of spices and oil and something faintly sweet wrapped around her the moment she stepped in. It was a smell that meant home, even on days when everything else felt overwhelming.
Her parents moved around the space with practiced ease. Her mother glanced up and smiled when she saw her.
“You don’t have to help this morning,” she said gently.
“I know,” Y/N replied. “I want to.”
That had always been true. Helping felt easier than resting. Being useful quieted her thoughts in a way nothing else quite managed.
She changed into her work clothes and slipped behind the counter, greeting regulars with small nods and soft smiles. She liked customers who did not expect conversation. People who ordered, ate, and left without asking questions about her life.
By late morning, she felt lighter.
Her part-time job took her away from the restaurant in the early afternoon. It was quiet work, mostly administrative and lab-related tasks, which suited her just fine. She liked being surrounded by equipment and data, by things that did not require small talk.
During her break, her phone buzzed.
Kyungsoo.
Kyungsoo:
How’s thesis life treating you
She smiled faintly and typed back.
Y/N:
Like something that refuses to reach equilibrium
Kyungsoo:
That sounds bad
Y/N:
It’s manageable
Kyungsoo:
Proud of you
She paused before replying.
Y/N:
Thanks
Kyungsoo was like that. Always checking in, even when he was busy. They were close in the quiet way. The kind of closeness that did not need constant reassurance. He teased her often, called her boring affectionately, complained that she worked too much. She told him he was dramatic and irresponsible.
They balanced each other.
She knew his job sounded impressive to most people. Working with K-pop idols. Traveling. Award shows and schedules and chaos. He talked about it sometimes, usually when something particularly ridiculous happened.
She listened. She smiled. It did not stir much interest in her beyond that.
It was his world, not hers.
By the time she returned to the restaurant in the evening, exhaustion had settled deep in her bones. The dinner rush came and went in waves. She moved between tables on autopilot, clearing plates, refilling glasses, offering polite smiles.
As the crowd thinned, her shoulders relaxed.
This was her favorite part of the day.
The lights dimmed slightly. Conversations softened. The last customers lingered, unhurried, as if they were in no rush to return to their own lives. Her parents disappeared into the back to handle paperwork, leaving her to manage the floor like they trusted her to do.
She did.
When the doors finally closed and the lock clicked into place, the restaurant fell into a comfortable silence.
She stood still for a moment, letting it sink in.
Alone.
She checked her phone again. Another message from Kyungsoo.
Kyungsoo:
Might be late tonight. Don’t wait up.
She sent back a simple thumbs-up and slipped the phone into her pocket.
Cleaning came naturally to her. She stacked chairs, wiped tables, moved methodically through the space. Her thoughts drifted, settling into that gentle, unfocused state she only reached when she was tired enough.
She filled the mop bucket and rolled it across the floor, humming softly under her breath. When the last surface was wiped and the floor gleamed faintly under the dim lights, she straightened and stretched.
Quiet pressed in around her.
She hesitated for a moment before walking over to the stereo.
Then she turned it on.
The music burst into the space, loud and unapologetic, bass vibrating through the floor. The sudden sound made her laugh softly, the tension in her chest loosening all at once.
She picked up a cloth, began wiping the counter again, letting the rhythm guide her movements.
A sway. A step. A spin she pretended was accidental.
She smiled to herself, alone in the empty restaurant, and let the music take over.
By the time they made it backstage, the noise of the crowd felt like it belonged to another world.
Mingi loosened his tie as he walked, shoulders still buzzing from the performance, from the weight of the trophy they had held together just minutes earlier. His ears rang faintly, not unpleasantly. Adrenaline always lingered longer than he expected, like his body refused to accept that it was over.
They had won.
Again.
Wooyoung was already loud, recounting moments from the stage with exaggerated gestures, his voice echoing off the walls. Yunho laughed too easily, the sound bubbling out of him like he had been holding it back all night. San bumped into someone and apologized three times in quick succession, still grinning like he had not quite landed back in reality.
Mingi hung back a step, hands shoved into the pockets of his coat, watching them with a small smile.
This was the part he liked best.
Not the cameras. Not the applause. This. The loose, unguarded moments after, when they were just themselves again. When the world stopped asking things from them.
Kyungsoo walked ahead of them, phone pressed to his ear, nodding as he listened. He looked tired, but satisfied, the kind of tired that came from a job well done. He had been with them long enough that he felt less like a manager and more like an older brother who happened to be in charge of keeping them alive and on schedule.
“Okay,” Kyungsoo said when he finally hung up, turning to face them. “Before any of you disappear, we need to talk about food.”
“Yes,” Yunho said immediately. “Thank you.”
“I haven’t eaten since this morning,” Wooyoung added dramatically. “I’m fading.”
“You had a protein bar,” Jongho said.
“That is not a meal.”
Mingi chuckled under his breath.
Hongjoong checked the time. “Everything decent is probably closed by now.”
Kyungsoo hummed, thoughtful. “Most places, yeah.”
“So we starve,” Wooyoung said. “Got it.”
“Relax,” Kyungsoo replied. “There might be one place still open.”
That got their attention.
Mingi raised an eyebrow. “Might?”
“My parents’ restaurant,” Kyungsoo said. “It’s not fancy. And they’re probably about to close. But it’s food.”
“Why have you never told us your parents own a restaurant,” San asked.
“Because you never asked,” Kyungsoo shot back. “And because every time I mention my family, you all get weird.”
“We do not,” Wooyoung protested.
“You absolutely do,” Kyungsoo said. “But if you want to go home instead—”
“No,” Mingi said before he could stop himself.
Kyungsoo looked at him.
Mingi shrugged, suddenly self-conscious. “I’m hungry.”
Yunho nodded vigorously. “Same.”
Kyungsoo smiled, small and fond. “Alright. But behave.”
Wooyoung grinned. “You know us.”
“That’s exactly why I’m saying this.”
The ride over was loud at first, then slowly mellowed as exhaustion set in. Someone put on music. Someone else leaned against the window. Mingi stared out at the passing city lights, reflection ghosting over his own face in the glass.
He had learned early on how people saw him.
Tall. Loud when he wanted to be. Charming when it suited him. He flirted easily, laughed easily, moved through people without much resistance. It was not something he had planned. It just happened. Somewhere along the way, a reputation in their idol bubble had formed.
Mingi doesn’t do serious.
Mingi doesn’t stay.
Mingi is fun, but doesn't do commitment.
He did not entirely disagree.
It was easier that way. Lighter. No expectations to manage. No promises to keep. He liked people. He liked attention. He liked the uncomplicated warmth of something that did not ask for permanence.
Wooyoung leaned over from the seat behind him. “You’re quiet.”
Mingi glanced back. “I’m always quiet.”
“That’s how we know something’s wrong.”
“I’m just tired.”
Wooyoung squinted at him. “You’re thinking.”
Mingi smiled faintly. “Don’t sound so surprised.”
Kyungsoo glanced at him through the rearview mirror. “Ignore him. He’s just mad no one flirted with him tonight.”
“That’s not true,” Wooyoung said. “Several people flirted with me.”
“Security does not count,” Jongho replied.
Mingi laughed, the sound easing something in his chest.
They pulled up in front of the restaurant a few minutes later. It was smaller than Mingi had expected. Warm light spilled through the windows, the kind that made the place look inviting even from the outside. The sign flickered faintly above the door.
Kyungsoo hesitated with his hand on the handle. “They might already be cleaning.”
“We can leave if it’s a problem,” Hongjoong said immediately.
Kyungsoo nodded. “Let’s just check.”
Mingi followed them inside, the bell above the door chiming softly as it closed behind them.
He did not know yet that this was the night his carefully uncomplicated world was about to get messy.
The first thing Mingi noticed was the noise.
Not voices. Not laughter. Music.
Loud music.
Very Loud Music.
The kind that did not belong in a restaurant that looked like it should already be closed for the night. Bass-heavy, unapologetic, vibrating through the floor the moment they stepped inside. It hit his chest before his brain caught up with it, a low thump that rattled just enough to be felt in his ribs.
Mingi slowed without realizing it. Listening to the Music with a smile. He had just uploaded a dance with this Song.
The restaurant itself was warm and dimly lit, chairs stacked on tables, the air thick with the scent of cleaning supplies layered over lingering food. It looked quiet. Empty.
Except for the girl in the middle of it.
She was dancing like the world had ended and she was the only one left.
Not carefully. Not timidly. Full-body, no-holds-barred dancing, like the music had crawled under her skin and taken over. One hand held a cleaning cloth that she waved dramatically, using it as a prop as she wiped down a table, spun away from it, then slid back again in time with the beat.
Her hair was pulled into a messy bun that was slowly giving up, loose strands clinging to her neck. She wore a simple work uniform, sleeves rolled up, a little too big for her, making her movements look even more exaggerated. Glasses sat on her nose, slipping every time she moved too hard.
And she moved hard.
Mingi watched, frozen just inside the doorway.
She threw her hips into the rhythm, then immediately undercut it with something ridiculous, shoulders bouncing in a way that made it impossible not to laugh. She leaned into a move that was undeniably sexy, rolling her body smoothly, confident in a way that felt almost accidental.
Then she ruined it on purpose.
A dramatic spin. An over-the-top hair flip that knocked her bun loose. A ridiculous little strut that ended in her nearly tripping over a chair leg before catching herself and laughing silently at her own clumsiness.
Wooyoung made a choking sound.
San clapped a hand over his mouth.
Even Jongho and Seonghwa hid a smile.
Mingi felt his lips twitch.
She was good. Not polished. Not trained. But she had rhythm, an instinctive understanding of timing that made even her worst moves land on beat. It was funny, genuinely funny, and at the same time oddly impressive.
She wasn’t performing for anyone.
That was the part that caught him.
She danced like she thought no one could see her.
The bass dropped harder, rattling the windows, and she leaned into it, mouthing the lyrics under her breath, expression focused and completely unguarded. She wiped down the counter with more enthusiasm than necessary, then spun away again, letting herself go loose in a way that felt deeply private.
Mingi forgot to breathe.
Not because she was beautiful.
Because she was so entirely herself.
She turned mid-move.
Everything stopped.
Her eyes widened behind her glasses, shock freezing her in place. One knee bent awkwardly, arm still lifted from the last move, cloth slipping from her fingers as it hit the floor.
The music kept playing.
Loud. Relentless. Cruel.
Mingi watched the realization hit her in stages.
People.
Strangers.
So many of them.
Her gaze landed on Kyungsoo.
His face collapsed into immediate regret.
“Oh no,” she whispered, the words barely audible over the music.
She lunged for the stereo, fingers fumbling as panic took over. It took her three tries to find the right button, hands shaking so badly she nearly missed it again.
The music cut off abruptly.
Silence slammed into the room, thick and suffocating.
Mingi could almost hear the blood rushing in his ears.
“I’m so sorry,” she blurted, bowing instinctively, like muscle memory had taken over where her brain had failed. “We’re closed. I mean we’re not closed but we are. I didn’t know anyone was coming and I thought I was alone and the doors were locked and I—”
She stopped, words tangling into nothing.
Her face was bright red.
Mingi noticed the way she folded in on herself, shoulders curling inward, hands clenching at the hem of her uniform like she wanted to make herself smaller. Like she wanted to disappear into the floor she had just cleaned.
Wooyoung broke first.
“That,” he said, awe dripping from his voice, “was incredible.”
She let out a small, strangled sound.
Kyungsoo dragged a hand down his face. “I said I might come by.”
“You did not say with them,” she hissed back, mortified, voice pitched low but frantic. “Why are there so many people. Why are you here right now. Why didn’t you text me again.”
“It was last minute,” Kyungsoo said. “We were nearby.”
She gestured wildly around the restaurant. “I was dancing.”
“We noticed.”
She groaned, face falling into her hands for half a second before she straightened again, clearly forcing herself to be functional. Her ears were bright red now too.
Mingi stayed quiet, watching the exchange with growing fascination.
This was not some awkward stranger interaction.
Kyungsoo turned back to them. “Guys, this is my sister.”
Eight heads snapped toward him.
“You have a sister,” San said, genuinely stunned.
“You never told us that,” Yunho added.
“That’s because it never came up,” Kyungsoo replied.
Mingi tilted his head slightly.
He could see it now. The resemblance was subtle, but it was there. The same eyes. The same way they both held tension in their shoulders. The same expression of deep, bone-level embarrassment when things went wrong.
She stared very intently at the floor.
“I’ll get appa” she said quickly, voice barely above a whisper. “He can serve you. I’m not… I can’t....”
Kyungsoo opened his mouth, probably to protest.
She did not give him the chance.
She turned and fled toward the stairs at the back of the restaurant, footsteps fast and uneven, like she was running from the moment itself.
Mingi watched her go.
Something warm and unexpected settled in his chest.
Not desire.
Curiosity.
Kyungsoo sighed the way someone did when they already knew they were about to lose control of a situation.
“Okay,” he said, turning to them, voice dropping into something gentler but firm. “Before any of you open your mouths again. That was my sister.”
As if they had not gathered that.
“She helps out here sometimes when she has time,” Kyungsoo continued, rubbing the back of his neck. “She’s the same age as Jongho. And she’s just as painfully awkward with strangers.”
Jongho blinked. “I am not awkward.”
Kyungsoo gave him a look. “You are selectively awkward. She’s… universally awkward.”
Mingi glanced toward the stairs she had disappeared up, then back at Kyungsoo.
“So,” Kyungsoo added, eyes sweeping over them, “be nice to her.”
Wooyoung opened his mouth.
Kyungsoo raised a finger. “I’m serious.”
Wooyoung closed it again, nodding solemnly. “We will be on our best behavior.”
“I don’t believe you,” Kyungsoo said flatly. “Sit down.”
They did.
Mingi slid into one of the chairs, still aware of the faint echo of bass humming somewhere in his chest. The restaurant felt different now. Smaller. Charged. Like the air had shifted after she left.
A door opened from the back.
Then another voice joined the room.
“Kyungi, you didn’t tell us you were bringing people,” a woman said, half amused, half scolding.
Their parents emerged together, her mother wiping her hands on her apron, her father already smiling politely. Between them, unmistakably reluctant, was her.
She had been dragged.
Mingi noticed it immediately. The way her shoulders were tense, the way she walked half a step behind them, like she was hoping she might still slip free. Her cheeks were still flushed, color spreading high over her cheekbones. Her ears stuck out slightly from where loose strands of hair had escaped her bun, and they were bright red.
Very red.
She refused to look directly at them.
Kyungsoo groaned softly. “You don’t have to make her help.”
Her mother ignored him entirely. “You can’t just disappear upstairs when guests arrive,” she said gently but firmly, steering her toward the counter. “Go wash your hands.”
“I already cleaned,” she muttered.
“And now you’ll help,” her father added, amused. “Just a little.”
She let out a small, defeated sigh and nodded.
Mingi watched her move behind the counter, movements smaller now, more careful. Being with her family changed something. The panic receded slightly, replaced by something more manageable. She still looked embarrassed, but she did not look like she might run again.
Her mother smiled at them. “Are you friends of Kyungsoo?”
Before anyone else could answer, Kyungsoo did.
“This is the idol group I work for.”
The words landed heavily.
Mingi saw her flinch.
It was subtle, but unmistakable. Her hands paused for half a second where they rested on the counter. Her shoulders stiffened. She swallowed.
Idols.
Dancers.
Famous people.
Who had just seen her cleaning performance to 50 Cent.
She glanced at them again, eyes wide behind her glasses, then immediately looked away.
Mingi felt something twist in his chest.
Something softer.
Endearment, maybe.
Her ears flushed darker.
Her father looked impressed. “Oh.”
Her mother blinked, surprised. “Really?”
Kyungsoo nodded. “Yes. That’s why we’re late.”
“Well,” her mother said, recovering quickly, “you’re welcome here. Sit comfortably.”
She nodded at her daughter. “Help them with drinks.”
She nodded obediently, reaching for glasses, still not looking directly at them. Up close, Mingi noticed more details.
Her face, now that he could really see it, was different from what he had registered before.
Big eyes. Wide and expressive, even when she tried to keep them downcast. Beauty marks scattered lightly across her cheeks and near her eyes, like someone had dotted constellations there. Soft features, but not fragile. The kind of face that felt honest.
Pretty.
The realization surprised him.
It was not loud or overwhelming. Just… there.
Seonghwa leaned forward slightly, resting his arms on the table, expression gentle. “Do you like idols?”
Her head snapped up in reflex, then immediately dipped again.
“Not really,” she said quietly. “I mean. I don’t keep up with it much.”
Seonghwa nodded, unoffended. “That’s fair.”
She hesitated, then added, “My everyday life is stressful enough.”
It was not said dramatically. Just a simple statement. A fact.
Mingi’s eyebrows lifted slightly.
She finished handing out drinks, murmured a soft “here you go,” and stepped back like she was done being perceived for the night.
“I’m going upstairs,” she said quickly, turning to her parents. “Good night.”
Her mother smiled fondly. “Good night.”
She paused by Kyungsoo, leaning in just enough to whisper something he did not catch. He nodded, expression softening, and reached out to ruffle her hair.
She swatted his hand away weakly and fled upstairs.
The sound of her footsteps faded.
Mingi watched the space she had left behind.
He turned to her parents. “She said her everyday life is stressful.”
Her father chuckled quietly. “That’s an understatement.”
Her mother sighed, not unkindly. “She’s doing her master’s in chemistry.”
That caught his attention.
“And because we don’t have the money for her to only study,” her father added, “she works part-time. And helps here whenever she can.”
Mingi leaned back in his chair slowly.
Chemistry. Work. Restaurant. Cleaning late at night. Dancing alone when she thought no one could see.
He pictured her again. The way she had moved freely, unguarded, before realizing the world had walked in on her.
Something about it stayed with him.
He had met a lot of people. Flirted with a lot of people. People who wanted to be seen. Who wanted to be impressive.
She had not wanted any of that.
And somehow, that made it impossible for him to stop thinking about her.
The van felt smaller on the way back.
Not physically. It was the same vehicle, the same cramped seats and fogged windows, but the energy inside it had shifted. The sharp edge of adrenaline from the award show was gone, replaced by the heavy, satisfied exhaustion that came after good food and a long day.
Mingi slumped back in his seat, legs stretched out as much as the space allowed, coat shrugged open. His stomach was full in the pleasant, almost sleepy way that only real food could manage. The kind that sat warm and steady instead of weighing him down.
Wooyoung sighed dramatically from the seat behind him. “I don’t care what anyone says. That was the best meal we’ve had in weeks.”
“I would like to personally thank Kyungsoo’s parents,” Yunho added. “And also apologize for how much I ate.”
“No apologies,” San said. “I went back for seconds.”
“And thirds,” Jongho muttered.
Kyungsoo, who was driving, shook his head but smiled despite himself. “My mom loves feeding people. You made her very happy.”
“She was adorable,” Wooyoung said. “The way she kept asking if we were full but still bringing out more food.”
“And your dad,” Seonghwa added thoughtfully. “Very handsome.”
Kyungsoo snorted. “Why are you all like this.”
“I see where you get your genes,” Wooyoung continued. “Strong family.”
Mingi listened quietly, staring out the window as the city lights blurred past. He could still picture the restaurant clearly. The warmth of it. The clatter of dishes. The way her shoulders had relaxed just a little once her parents were there, like she had anchored herself to something familiar.
“She’s nice,” Yunho said suddenly, casual. “Your sister.”
Kyungsoo hummed in agreement. “She is.”
Mingi spoke without thinking.
“She’s cute.”
The van jerked violently.
Everyone lurched forward as Kyungsoo slammed on the brakes, the tires screeching just enough to make Wooyoung yelp.
“What the hell,” Wooyoung said. “I almost died.”
Kyungsoo turned around in his seat slowly.
Too slowly.
Mingi straightened instinctively, suddenly very aware of the glare fixed on him.
“No,” Kyungsoo said flatly.
Mingi blinked. “No what.”
“No,” Kyungsoo repeated, pointing at him. “You.”
Wooyoung’s eyes widened with interest. “Oh, this is getting good.”
Kyungsoo’s gaze did not leave Mingi. “You are absolutely not allowed to say that.”
Mingi frowned. “Say what.”
“That my sister is cute,” Kyungsoo snapped. “Or think it. Or breathe in her general direction.”
Mingi lifted his hands slightly. “I didn’t mean anything by it.”
“I know exactly what you mean by things,” Kyungsoo shot back. “And you, of all people, are not allowed.”
“Wow,” San said softly. “That sounded personal.”
Kyungsoo leaned back in his seat, one hand gripping the steering wheel tightly. “My sister is innocent. She is pure. She minds her business, studies, works herself into the ground, and does not need whatever… whatever you have going on.”
Mingi stared at him, caught off guard.
“And you,” Kyungsoo continued, voice rising, “are the complete opposite of that. You flirt. You mess around. You leave. You do not commit. And you are not corrupting her.”
The word hit harder than Mingi expected.
The van was quiet for a beat.
Then Wooyoung burst out laughing.
“Oh my god,” he said. “He said it. He said the thing.”
Jongho crossed his arms. “To be fair,” he said calmly, “his reputation precedes him.”
Mingi turned in his seat. “Excuse me.”
Seonghwa raised an eyebrow. “Does it.”
“I do not corrupt people,” Mingi protested.
“You absolutely do,” Wooyoung said. “You just do it accidentally.”
“That’s worse,” San added.
Yunho leaned forward from the back. “Minki, you do have a pattern.”
Mingi scoffed. “I am charming.”
“You are emotionally unavailable,” Wooyoung corrected. “There’s a difference.”
Mingi hesitated, then said more seriously, “I wasn’t being weird.”
Kyungsoo studied him for a moment, expression sharp but not entirely unkind. “Good. Because she wouldn’t know what to do with weird even if it walked up and introduced itself.”
Mingi thought of her again. The way she had frozen. The way her ears had turned red. The way she had fled upstairs like the floor was on fire.
He swallowed.
“I noticed,” he said quietly, “that she didn’t even look at us.”
Kyungsoo exhaled slowly, some of the tension draining from his shoulders. “She hates being perceived.”
Wooyoung nodded thoughtfully. “Same, honestly.”
“She doesn’t like famous people,” Kyungsoo continued. “They make her nervous. She thinks they judge her.”
Mingi frowned. “Why.”
“Because she judges herself enough already,” Kyungsoo replied. “So don’t add to it.”
The van started moving again.
Mingi leaned back in his seat, staring at the ceiling this time. The teasing continued around him, Wooyoung making exaggerated kissing noises, San joking about protective older brothers, Jongho muttering something about boundaries.
But Mingi barely heard it.
He wasn’t thinking about flirting.
He wasn’t thinking about anything physical at all.
He was thinking about a girl dancing alone in an empty restaurant, singing 50 Cent under her breath, completely unguarded until the world barged in.
By the time Y/N stepped out of the seminar room, her legs felt like they might give out beneath her.
Not from exhaustion exactly. From the delayed aftermath of adrenaline finally letting go.
She stood in the hallway for a moment, hand still wrapped around the strap of her bag, blinking at the white walls like she needed to convince herself they were real. Her reflection stared back at her from the glass door. Hair neatly styled instead of hastily tied up. Light makeup, just enough to look awake. Clothes chosen carefully, intentionally.
Put together.
She barely recognized herself.
The oral report had gone well. Better than well, actually. She had answered questions without freezing, explained her methodology clearly, defended her results when challenged. Her professor had nodded, scribbled notes, even smiled at one point.
She exhaled slowly, shoulders dropping.
One hurdle down. So many more to go.
The ride home was quiet, her thoughts drifting between relief and the dull ache of everything she still needed to do. When she finally stepped inside the apartment, the familiar smell of home wrapped around her, grounding her more effectively than any breathing exercise ever had.
Her mother looked up from the kitchen. “You’re back already.”
Y/N nodded, slipping off her shoes. “It went okay.”
Her mother smiled, eyes warm and proud. “I knew it would.”
Y/N ducked her head, embarrassed by the praise, and headed toward her room.
She had just dropped her bag onto her bed when her mother called out again. “Actually, could you do me a favor.”
Of course.
She returned to the kitchen, where her mother was already packing food into containers. More than one. Enough for several people.
“Kyungsoo texted,” her mother said. “He and the boys are still at the studio. Could you bring this to them.”
Y/N froze.
“…Now?”
Her mother nodded, unfazed. “They probably haven’t eaten properly all day.”
That sounded accurate.
Y/N glanced down at herself. At the effort she had put into looking presentable for once. At the faint remnants of confidence she was afraid might dissolve if she stepped outside again.
“I just got home,” she said quietly.
Her mother softened immediately. “You don’t have to stay long. Just drop it off.”
Y/N hesitated, then sighed.
“Okay.”
The evening air was cool against her face as she rode her bike through the streets, food secured carefully in the basket. She pedaled steadily, trying not to overthink it. She was just delivering food. She had done it before. Plenty of times.
Just not to them.
She parked outside the building and pulled out her phone, staring at the screen for a moment before calling her brother.
He picked up on the second ring. “You’re outside, aren’t you.”
“…Yes.”
“I’ll come get you.”
The door opened a minute later, and Kyungsoo barely gave her time to react before pulling her into a hug.
“You did it,” he said into her hair, squeezing her briefly before ruffling it like she was still sixteen.
“Oppa,” she protested weakly, pushing at him. “I fixed it.”
He laughed. “You always say that.”
He took the food from her and gestured for her to come inside. She hesitated in the doorway.
“I should just go,” she said. “I still have—”
“You can’t,” he interrupted easily. “You can’t just sit in your room or the lab forever.”
She frowned. “I like my room.”
“And your lab,” he added. “I know.”
He steered her down the hallway anyway. “Five minutes. Eat something. Then you can leave.”
The door to the practice room was open.
Music was playing softly, nothing like the night at the restaurant. The guys were scattered around the space, some stretching, some sitting on the floor, all looking exhausted.
They all looked up at once.
Her stomach flipped.
“Oh,” Wooyoung said, lighting up immediately. “It’s you.”
She felt her shoulders draw in instinctively.
“Hi,” she said softly.
They greeted her like she belonged there. Smiles. Waves. Yunho immediately jumping up to help with the food. San thanking her far too enthusiastically.
Mingi smiled too.
It was small. Easy. Not overwhelming.
That helped.
They sat together on the floor, food spread out between them. Kyungsoo handed her a container before taking one himself.
“You’re dressed up,” he said casually.
She shrugged. “I had my report today.”
His eyes widened. “The oral one.”
She nodded.
“How did it go.”
“Okay.”
Kyungsoo grinned. “See. I told you.”
Then his expression shifted, mischievous. “Remember that time you had a presentation in high school.”
Her heart stopped.
“No,” she said immediately.
“You threw up on the teacher.”
“Oppa.”
“I didn’t even hear it from you,” he continued, delighted. “One of my friends was in your class. He called me and said, ‘Your sister just traumatized everyone.’”
She lunged at him.
“Stop,” she hissed, climbing halfway onto him, forgetting entirely that they were not alone. “Why would you tell that story.”
He laughed, trying to fend her off. “Because it’s funny.”
“I hate you.”
“You love me.”
“Oppa,” she whined, louder than she meant to, shoving his shoulder.
The room had gone quiet.
She froze.
Slowly, she became aware of the stares. The raised eyebrows. Wooyoung’s delighted grin.
“Oh,” Wooyoung said softly. “She can be loud.”
Her face burned.
Kyungsoo laughed harder. “This is her. This is the real her.”
She scrambled off him, mortified, smoothing her clothes. “I’m leaving.”
But she was smiling.
She really had planned to leave.
That was the intention, at least. Drop off the food, eat a little so her mother wouldn’t complain later, survive a few minutes of polite conversation, then retreat back into the quiet safety of her room where no one watched her too closely.
But somehow, she was still sitting on the practice room floor.
Her legs were folded beneath her, container balanced carefully in her lap. The familiar hum of exhaustion settled into her bones, but it felt different here. Less sharp. Softer, like the stress had been turned down just enough to be bearable.
The guys were easy in a way that surprised her.
They talked over each other, teased Kyungsoo, argued lightly about choreography she didn’t understand. No one stared at her too long. No one demanded attention. It made it easier to breathe.
Yunho glanced over at her while reaching for another piece of food. “So… you’re Kyungsoo’s little sister.”
She nodded. “Yes.”
“Does that mean you grew up around music,” San asked, genuinely curious.
She shook her head quickly. “Not really. He started later. I was already busy with school.”
“What did you want to do back then,” Jongho asked.
She hesitated, then answered quietly. “Science. Always.”
There was no judgment in their reactions. No boredom. Just interest.
“That makes sense,” Seonghwa said. “You seem like someone who likes structure.”
Her lips curved into a small smile before she could stop it.
Wooyoung leaned back on his hands, studying her openly. “You’re really calm.”
She blinked. “I’m… nervous.”
“That’s wild,” he said. “Because you’re hiding it very well.”
Kyungsoo scoffed. “She’s not. She just doesn’t talk.”
She shot him a look. “Oppa.”
The guys laughed.
Mingi had been quiet, sitting across from her, legs stretched out, container forgotten in his hands. She felt his gaze occasionally, but it wasn’t heavy. More like… observant. Like he was paying attention without trying to pull her into it.
“What do you do when you’re not studying or working,” Yunho asked. “You have to do something fun, right.”
She looked down at her food, fingers tightening slightly around the container.
“I don’t have a lot of time,” she admitted.
“But when you do,” Jongho prompted gently.
She thought about it for a moment, then answered honestly. “I like anime.”
That got their attention.
“Anime,” San repeated, eyes lighting up immediately. “Which ones.”
She shrugged, a little shy. “Mostly sports anime.”
Mingi sat up straighter.
“Like what,” San asked quickly.
“…Haikyuu.”
The reaction was immediate.
“What,” San said, louder than necessary.
Mingi leaned forward at the same time. “Wait. Really.”
She nodded, startled by the sudden intensity. “Yes.”
San scooted closer without thinking. “Who’s your favorite character.”
“And which team,” Mingi added. “Karasuno, Nekoma?”
Her eyes widened slightly.
“I like Nishinoya,” she said, voice still soft but more animated now. “And Bokuto. And I like Karasuno, but Nekoma is interesting too.”
San gasped. “Excellent taste.”
Mingi smiled, real this time. “That’s… actually perfect.”
They started talking at once.
“How far are you.”
“Did you cry.”
“What about the manga.”
“Have you seen the matches animated.”
She laughed.
It slipped out before she could stop it. Light and unguarded, the sound of it surprising even her. She covered her mouth instinctively, but it was too late.
The room went quiet.
She realized it slowly. The way everyone had stopped talking. The way San froze mid-gesture. The way Mingi’s smile softened instead of fading.
Her laugh faded into a nervous little sound.
“I’m sorry,” she said quickly. “I didn’t mean to—”
“No,” Yunho said gently. “Don’t apologize.”
Wooyoung tilted his head, eyes sharp. “You look different when you laugh.”
Her face heated instantly.
Kyungsoo snapped, “Hey.”
Wooyoung grinned, unapologetic. “I mean it in a good way.”
“I don’t care how you mean it,” Kyungsoo shot back. “Stop.”
She sank slightly into herself again, but she was still smiling, heart beating a little faster than before.
Mingi watched her, something warm and unfamiliar settling in his chest.
She wasn’t guarded right now.
She wasn’t shrinking.
She was just… there. Laughing. Talking about something she loved. Beauty marks standing out more when her cheeks lifted. Big eyes bright instead of careful.
Kyungsoo reached over and flicked Wooyoung’s forehead. “Hands and comments to yourself.”
Wooyoung laughed. “Relax. I’m just appreciating.”
“You can appreciate silently.”
She hid her smile behind her container.
For the first time in a long while, she did not feel like she needed to disappear.
And that, more than anything else, scared her just a little.
The dorm settled into its usual nighttime rhythm slowly aftwr they went back to kyungsoos parents restaurant.
Doors opened and closed, the hum of the shower echoed down the hallway, someone arguing softly about whose turn it was to do laundry. It was familiar enough that Mingi barely registered it. He dropped his bag by the couch and sat down, elbows resting on his knees, staring at the floor like it might offer answers if he looked long enough.
Kyungsoo wasn’t there.
That absence lingered more than Mingi expected. Usually, Kyungsoo’s presence meant structure. Curfews. Warnings. Someone telling them to eat properly and sleep more. Without him, the air felt looser. Less supervised. Like they were allowed to think thoughts they normally wouldn’t say out loud.
Wooyoung kicked his shoes off dramatically and collapsed onto the floor. “I’m still thinking about that food.”
Yunho laughed from the kitchen. “Your stomach is louder than your laugh.”
“Incorrect,” Wooyoung replied. “Both are powerful.”
San stretched near the mirror, rolling his shoulders. “Kyungsoo’s mom is terrifying in the best way.”
“She kept watching to see if we finished everything,” Jongho said. “I felt judged.”
“And his dad,” Seonghwa added casually, hanging up his jacket. “That man has a very calm authority.”
“Why are you all reviewing his parents like that,” Wooyoung asked.
Mingi listened, half-present. The conversation washed over him in pieces. His thoughts kept drifting backward instead of forward.
The practice room.
The food spread out on the floor.
Her sitting with her legs tucked beneath her, shoulders slightly hunched, trying not to take up space.
“When we first met her...She looked more relaxed once her parents were there,” Yunho said suddenly, like he’d been thinking the same thing.
Mingi looked up.
San nodded. “Yeah. Before that, she looked like she wanted to disappear.”
“She almost did,” Wooyoung added. “She ran upstairs like the stairs were on fire.”
Mingi exhaled slowly. “She hates being watched.”
The words slipped out before he thought about them.
All eyes turned toward him.
Wooyoung raised an eyebrow. “You sound very sure.”
Mingi shrugged, leaning back against the couch. “It was obvious.”
“How,” Jongho asked, calm as always.
“She moved differently,” Mingi said, searching for the right phrasing. “When she thought no one was there, she was… free. Then the second she realized we were watching, she folded in on herself.”
Seonghwa hummed quietly. “That’s observant.”
Mingi didn’t respond. He hadn’t meant to analyze it out loud.
“She’s interesting,” he said instead, more carefully this time.
The room went quiet, but not sharply. Not teasing yet. Just attentive.
Wooyoung grinned slowly. “Ah. There it is.”
Mingi shot him a look. “Don’t make it weird.”
“I’m not,” Wooyoung said. “I’m appreciating the character development.”
San tilted his head. “Kyungsoo did say very clearly that you were not allowed to corrupt her.”
Mingi winced. “I know.”
“That was… intense,” Yunho added.
“He wasn’t joking,” Jongho said. “At all.”
Mingi rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m not trying to prove him wrong.”
“That’s good,” Seonghwa said gently. “Because she didn’t look like someone who wants to be pulled into anything.”
Mingi nodded. “Exactly.”
He leaned forward again, forearms resting on his thighs. “She’s not in this world. And she doesn’t want to be. That’s clear.”
“She didn’t care who we were,” Yunho said. “At all.”
“She cared,” Mingi corrected quietly. “Just not in a good way.”
That earned him another look.
“She flinched,” he continued. “When Kyungsoo said who we were. Not excited. Just… uncomfortable.”
San frowned. “That’s rare.”
“It is,” Mingi agreed.
Jongho shifted beside him. “Which means she probably wouldn’t be impressed by you.”
Mingi turned his head slowly. “Why is that relevant.”
Wooyoung laughed. “He’s right. She didn’t even look at you twice.”
That shouldn’t have mattered.
It did.
Mingi leaned back, staring at the ceiling again. “I noticed.”
“And,” Jongho added calmly, “she doesn’t seem like the type who would find you attractive.”
The words landed gently, not cruelly. Still, something in Mingi’s chest tightened.
Not offense.
Recognition.
“She wouldn’t,” Mingi said after a moment.
The room waited.
“She wouldn’t like me,” he clarified. “Not the version people think they know.”
San studied him. “And which version is that.”
“The easy one,” Mingi replied. “The one that flirts and leaves.”
Wooyoung whistled softly. “Self-aware.”
Mingi ignored him. “She has too much going on. She’s tired. She’s focused. She doesn’t want distractions.”
“And you’d be one,” Jongho said matter-of-factly.
Mingi closed his eyes briefly.
“Yes,” he admitted.
That was the difference.
Usually, that realization didn’t bother him. Tonight, it lingered.
“So,” Wooyoung said, breaking the tension, “you’re not planning anything.”
“No,” Mingi said. “I’m not.”
“And you’re not trying to get her attention,” San added.
“No.”
“And you’re definitely not thinking about her right now,” Wooyoung pressed.
Mingi opened his eyes and looked at them.
“…I am,” he said honestly.
The room fell quiet again, but this time it felt softer.
Seonghwa smiled faintly. “That doesn’t mean you have to do anything.”
“I know,” Mingi said.
He thought of her laugh. The way it had slipped out when she wasn’t guarding herself. The way her eyes had lit up talking about something she loved.
The next few days passed in a way Mingi couldn’t quite explain.
Nothing happened. Not really. Practice went on as usual. Schedules stayed packed. The dorm stayed loud. He laughed at the right moments, teased Wooyoung back, listened when Hongjoong talked about arrangements. From the outside, everything looked the same.
Inside his head, though, it was… noisy.
He didn’t know when it had started exactly. Maybe on the van ride back. Maybe later, lying in bed with the lights off and the dorm finally quiet. But once the thought of her had slipped in, it refused to leave.
It didn’t come as longing or desire. Not like he was used to.
It came as fragments.
The way she had sat with her legs tucked in, trying not to take up space.
The way she answered questions softly but didn’t deflect them.
The way she lit up talking about something she loved and then immediately tried to shrink back again.
The laugh. God, the laugh.
It annoyed him.
Not her. Himself.
He didn’t know her. Not really. He had no reason to be thinking about her this much, no justification for the way his thoughts kept circling back like they were searching for something unfinished.
By the third night, he gave up on sleep entirely.
He pulled on a hoodie, slipped a cap low over his hair, and left the dorm without telling anyone. The city was quieter at night, especially in the neighborhoods that weren’t built for nightlife. Streetlights cast long shadows over empty sidewalks. The air was cool, sharp enough to clear his head a little.
He walked without a destination.
That usually helped.
Tonight, it didn’t.
His phone buzzed with notifications he ignored. He shoved his hands deeper into his pockets, breathing in slowly, trying to ground himself in the rhythm of his steps. He wanted anonymity. Solitude. Just a few minutes where he wasn’t someone people recognized.
“Wait… is that—”
His stomach dropped.
He heard it before he saw them. Voices behind him, too bright, too excited. The unmistakable pitch of recognition. He picked up his pace instinctively, turning down a side street, then another, hoping they’d lose interest.
They didn’t.
“Mingi, right?”
He cursed under his breath.
He turned a corner too fast and collided with someone solid.
Small.
The impact knocked the air out of him, and the other person stumbled backward. Instinct kicked in before thought. He reached out, hands finding fabric and then arms, steadying her before she could fall.
“I’m sorry,” he said automatically.
Then he looked down.
Big eyes stared back at him, wide with surprise. Familiar eyes.
For a split second, his brain refused to connect the dots.
Then it clicked.
Her.
Hair pulled back more neatly than he’d seen it before. No work uniform. A cardigan hanging off one shoulder. A bag slung across her body that looked heavy enough to pull her forward if she wasn’t careful. She smelled faintly of disinfectant and something clean, sterile.
Lab.
Her mouth opened slightly, like she was about to speak.
“Mingi,” one of the voices behind him said, closer now. “Oh my god.”
His heart slammed against his ribs.
He didn’t think. He just reacted.
“Please,” he said quietly, urgently, lowering his voice as he leaned closer to her. “I need to hide. Just for a second.”
Her eyes flicked past him, toward the street. He saw the moment she understood. The hesitation. The internal debate written plainly across her face.
She startled slightly, then nodded.
“Here,” she whispered, already moving.
She grabbed his wrist without looking at him and pulled him toward the building entrance behind her. Her movements were quick but unsure, like she wasn’t used to acting on impulse. She fumbled with her key card, hands shaking just a little, then yanked the door open and dragged him inside.
The door closed behind them with a soft click.
They stood in the dim stairwell, pressed closer than either of them seemed prepared for, listening.
Footsteps passed outside. Voices slowed, then drifted away, disappointed and confused.
Mingi let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.
He looked down at her.
She was still holding his wrist.
“Oh,” she said suddenly, realizing it too. She dropped it immediately, cheeks flushing. “Sorry. I just—”
“No,” he said quickly. “Thank you.”
They stood there awkwardly, the silence stretching. Fluorescent lights hummed above them. The space smelled faintly of concrete and cleaning solution.
She adjusted the strap of her bag, eyes darting everywhere but at him. “You’re… out late.”
“So are you,” he replied gently.
She nodded. “I just finished.”
“Lab,” he guessed.
She blinked, surprised. “Yes.”
He smiled, small and genuine. “I thought so.”
Her shoulders relaxed just a fraction.
Neither of them moved to leave.
Mingi’s head went quiet.
Just a little.
The silence stretched.
Not uncomfortable exactly. Just… unfamiliar.
Mingi leaned back against the stairwell wall, hands slipping into the pockets of his hoodie, eyes drifting down to her again. Up close, she looked even smaller than he’d thought. Tired, but put together. Soft hair framing her face, a few loose strands escaping whatever neat style she’d tried to keep through a long day. The fluorescent light caught the beauty marks on her skin, scattered like they’d been placed without a pattern, and for a second he forgot what he’d been about to say.
He cleared his throat.
“You always work this late,” he said, letting his voice drop just a little, casual, easy. “Or did I just get lucky twice.”
That usually did something.
A smile. A raised eyebrow. At least a flicker of awareness.
She just blinked.
“Oh,” she said. “Um. It depends. If an experiment runs long, I can’t just stop it.”
She shifted her bag higher on her shoulder, clearly treating it as a genuine question instead of what it was.
Mingi paused.
“…Right,” he said slowly.
He tried again.
“That sounds intense,” he added, tilting his head. “Must be hard to balance all that and still look this…pretty....awake.”
Her brows knitted together slightly as she considered that.
“I didn't need to help in the restaurant this morning ,” she said. “So I slept a bit more than usual.”
That was it.
No reaction. No embarrassment. No realization that he’d just complimented her.
Mingi bit the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling.
Interesting.
“Did the lab go well,” he asked, abandoning subtlety.
She nodded. “Yes. I think so.”
“I’m glad,” he said, meaning it more than he expected.
She gave him a small, polite smile. Then she glanced toward the stairwell door, fingers tightening around her bag strap.
“I should go,” she said. “It’s late.”
She stepped past him toward the exit like this was the natural conclusion to the interaction.
Mingi reacted on instinct.
“I can walk you.”
She stopped short and turned back, eyes wide. “Oh. That’s not necessary.”
“It’s dark,” he said easily. “And you look exhausted.”
“I’m fine,” she replied quickly. “I do this all the time.”
“I know,” he said. “That’s why I’m offering.”
She hesitated.
“I live close,” she added, like that solved it.
“And I’m already outside,” he countered. “Walking.”
She looked at him, really looked at him this time, like she was trying to figure out his angle. Her cheeks warmed faintly, color creeping up in a way that was almost imperceptible if you weren’t watching for it.
But he was watching.
“And,” he added gently, before she could refuse again, “you’re Kyungsoo’s sister.”
Her eyes widened a fraction.
“Oh.”
“And,” he continued, softer, “you’re a pretty woman walking alone at night.”
That did it.
Her blush deepened instantly, spreading from her cheeks all the way to the tips of her ears. She ducked her head, clearly flustered now.
“I—” she started, then stopped. “You don’t have to say it like that.”
Mingi smiled, warm and unguarded. “Like what.”
She shook her head. “Never mind.”
She hesitated for another second, then sighed, defeated. “Okay. But just part of the way.”
“I’ll take it,” he said quickly, pushing the door open for her.
Outside, the night had settled fully. Streetlights cast soft halos on the pavement, the city quieter than it had been earlier. They walked side by side, a careful distance between them, matching pace without meaning to.
Mingi realized something unsettling about five steps in.
He was talking.
A lot.
“So,” he said, hands gesturing slightly as he spoke, “what kind of experiments keep you this late.”
She answered. Quietly. Briefly. But she answered.
He asked another question.
She answered again.
Sometimes with just a sentence. Sometimes with a nod and a soft hum of agreement. Sometimes with a little more detail when he asked the right thing.
And every time she did, it felt like a small victory.
It caught him off guard.
He was used to being noticed without effort. Used to attention, reactions, flirtation that came back just as easily as he gave it. He was not used to having to work for someone’s responses. Not used to being the one filling the silence and hoping the other person would meet him halfway.
But she did. In her own way.
When he made a joke, her lips twitched before she caught herself. When he asked about her thesis, she grew more animated without realizing it. When she spoke about the lab, her voice steadied, confidence slipping through the cracks of her shyness.
He liked that.
A lot more than he was prepared for.
They reached a corner where she slowed, glancing down the street.
“I live that way,” she said softly.
He stopped with her, hands sliding back into his pockets. Smilibg faintly" I know.”
She looked up at him, hesitating again, like there was something she wasn’t sure how to say.
“Thank you,” she said finally. “For ....walking with me.”
He smiled, genuine and easy. “Anytime.”
She nodded, cheeks still faintly pink, then turned and walked away, shoulders relaxing as she put distance between them.
Mingi watched her go until she disappeared under the next streetlight.
When he finally turned back toward the dorm, he realized something that made him laugh under his breath.
He had flirted.
She hadn’t noticed at all.
And somehow, that made him want to see her again more than anything else had in a very long time.
The thing Mingi told himself was that he liked walking at night.
That part was true.
The city felt different after midnight. Softer. Less demanding. The air cooled just enough to clear his head, and the streets belonged to people who either had nowhere to be or too much on their minds to go home. He fit in better then. No cameras. No schedules. Just movement and breath and the quiet hum of the world continuing without him.
So when he found himself pulling on a hoodie and a cap again, slipping out of the dorm long after everyone else had gone to bed, he told himself it was for that reason.
He did not tell himself it was because of her.
At first, he didn’t even realize what he was doing.
He walked. Took the long way around. Passed the convenience store, the closed cafés, the familiar corners he’d memorized over the years. And then one night, without quite meaning to, he ended up a street away from the building where her lab was.
He stopped.
Stared at the lit windows.
And laughed quietly at himself.
This is ridiculous, he thought.
Then he went back the next night.
And the one after that.
He never waited directly outside. That would have crossed a line, even in his own head. He walked past. Circled the block. Leaned against a lamppost and checked his phone. Told himself he’d leave in five minutes.
Sometimes, nothing happened.
Sometimes the lights went out and she didn’t appear, and he went home with that familiar hum of disappointment he refused to name.
And sometimes, impossibly, he saw her.
She always looked tired when she came out. Hair pulled back, bag slung over her shoulder, steps slower than the rest of the city around her. And every single time, his heart did something stupid and traitorous in his chest.
He made sure to look surprised.
“Oh,” he’d say, like it hadn’t been the highlight of his night. “You’re still working late.”
She’d blink, startled, then relax when she recognized him. “I could say the same.”
“Coincidence,” he’d reply easily.
She never questioned it.
They walked together sometimes. Not far. Never long. Just enough to talk about nothing important. He talked more than she did, filling the space, throwing out small observations and half-jokes, asking questions he pretended were casual but absolutely weren’t.
And she answered.
Quietly. Carefully. But more than before.
She started looking at him when she spoke. Started smiling without immediately hiding it. Started teasing him back in the smallest ways, like correcting him when he exaggerated something or giving him a look when he pretended not to understand chemistry on purpose.
Each time, it hit him the same way.
Warm. Steady. Unsettling.
He didn’t understand it.
He was used to sparks. Fireworks. Things that burned fast and bright and disappeared just as quickly. This wasn’t that. This was slower. Quieter. Something that crept in and made a home without asking permission.
He also started showing up at the restaurant more.
That part was easier to justify.
The food was good. Kyungsoo’s parents liked him. The others didn’t complain. Sometimes they all went together, loud and hungry and filling the space with noise. Sometimes he went alone under the excuse of picking something up for practice.
She was always there in the evenings.
Not dancing anymore. Focused. Professional. But her eyes still lit up a little when she saw him, and that alone felt like a reward he hadn’t earned.
He never told the others about the late-night walks.
He never told them about the way his chest tightened when she laughed softly at something he said. Or the way he noticed she stood a little closer to him than before. Or how she seemed more confident lately, shoulders less hunched, voice steadier when she spoke to him.
He wondered about it sometimes, late at night, lying awake with his phone face-down on his chest.
What is this.
It didn’t feel like a crush. It didn’t feel like desire in the way he understood it. It felt… careful. Like wanting to protect something fragile.
One evening, Kyungsoo showed up at the dorm unannounced.
That alone made everyone pause.
He didn’t even take his shoes off before speaking. “The company’s having a Christmas party.”
Groans erupted immediately.
“I hate company parties,” Wooyoung said.
“There will be food,” Kyungsoo added.
Silence.
“Okay,” Wooyoung conceded.
Kyungsoo continued, glancing around the room. “They said family can come too. If that’s okay with you.”
Mingi’s heart skipped.
Kyungsoo scratched the back of his neck. “I told my parents. And my sister.”
Mingi kept his face neutral through sheer force of will.
“That’s fine,” Hongjoong said easily. “More the merrier.”
Kyungsoo nodded, relieved. “Good. Just… be normal.”
Wooyoung grinned. “Impossible.”
Kyungsoo left not long after.
The dorm returned to ist usual noise, but Mingi stayed quiet, thoughts already spiraling.
Christmas party.
Her in a different space. In his world. Surrounded by people who watched and judged and noticed.
The idea made something protective tighten in his chest.
And for the first time, the thought wasn’t exciting.
It was terrifying.
The apartment felt unusually quiet as Y/N stood in front of the mirror.
Not silent. Just… expectant.
She smoothed her hands down the fabric of her dress for the third time, even though there were no wrinkles left to fix. It was simple, nothing dramatic. Soft color. Knee-length. Something she had bought a long time ago for a presentation and then never worn again because it felt like too much for everyday life.
Tonight felt like an exception.
Her makeup was light, careful. A little concealer, mascara, a touch of color on her lips. Enough to look awake. Enough to look like she had made an effort. Her hair was down instead of tied back, falling naturally around her shoulders. She barely recognized herself, and that alone made her heart beat faster.
She tilted her head, studying her reflection.
You look fine, she told herself.
Normal. Presentable. Not pretending to be someone else.
And then, without warning, her thoughts drifted.
Mingi.
She frowned slightly, embarrassed even alone.
It had become too easy to think of him.
At first, he had intimidated her. Tall, broad-shouldered, loud in a way that filled rooms without effort. Someone who belonged very obviously to a world she had no interest in. Someone she had assumed would overwhelm her just by existing too close.
Instead, he had been… pleasant.
Quietly so. In his own way.
She thought about the late nights outside the lab. The way he always acted surprised to see her, like it hadn’t been the highlight of his evening. The way he talked too much, filling the silence so she didn’t have to. The way he listened, actually listened, when she answered.
She felt comfortable around him now.
That realization still startled her.
Comfort did not come easily to her. It never had. Most people exhausted her, even when they meant well. Around Mingi, she didn’t feel like she had to perform or explain herself. She could just… exist. Answer when she wanted. Stay quiet when she didn’t.
She swallowed, heat creeping into her cheeks.
And she thought he was attractive.
The thought landed heavily, making her grip the edge of the sink.
Attractive in a way that felt almost inconvenient.
He was tall, impossibly so, and she liked the way she had to tilt her head back to look at him. Liked the way his presence felt solid, grounding. Masculine without being aggressive. Loud when he wanted to be, gentle when he noticed she was shrinking.
And his lips.
She squeezed her eyes shut for a second, mortified.
She almost laughed at herself.
Since when did you notice things like that.
She didn’t. Usually. Attraction had never been something that came naturally to her. It had always felt distant, theoretical. Something other people talked about casually while she nodded along, unbothered.
So why now.
The answer came quietly, without drama.
Because he wasn’t a stranger anymore.
Over the last few weeks, something had shifted. Small conversations. Shared walks. Familiar smiles. Coincidences that felt less accidental with every repetition. He had become someone she knew, not just someone she reacted to.
And knowing him had made space for something else to grow.
The realization made her nervous.
It also made her strangely warm.
A knock sounded at the door.
“Are you ready,” Kyungsoo called.
She took one last look at herself, grabbed her coat, and opened the door.
Kyungsoo stopped short.
He stared at her for a second too long, then let out a low whistle. “Wow.”
Her face heated instantly. “Don’t.”
“I’m serious,” he said, stepping closer and tilting his head. “You look really pretty.”
She ducked her head. “It’s just a dress.”
“No,” he said. “It’s you not hiding behind oversized hoodies and glasses.”
She opened her mouth to protest, then closed it again.
Kyungsoo smiled, soft but unmistakably proud. Then his expression shifted, playful but protective. “I’m going to have to be extra careful tonight.”
She frowned. “Why.”
“Because,” he said lightly, grabbing his coat, “I just remembered who I work with.”
She rolled her eyes. “Oppa.”
“I’m serious,” he added, pointing at her. “If anyone even looks at you wrong—”
“Oppa.”
He laughed, pulling her into a quick side hug. “Relax. Just… stay close, okay.”
She nodded, heart thumping a little faster.
As they headed out the door, one thought lingered in her mind, impossible to ignore.
She was about to step into his world.
The venue was already glowing when they arrived.
Warm lights spilled out through tall windows, music humming beneath the low buzz of voices. People moved in clusters, dressed too nicely for it to feel casual but relaxed enough that it wasn’t stiff. It smelled faintly of perfume, pine, and something sweet she couldn’t quite place. Christmas, distilled into a room.
Y/N slowed instinctively as soon as they stepped inside.
There were too many people. Too much movement. Too many eyes.
Her mother linked her arm through hers immediately, grounding and familiar. “Look at this,” she said, delighted. “All of this because of you, Kyungsoo.”
Kyungsoo groaned. “It’s not because of me.”
Her father laughed, placing a hand on Kyungsoo’s shoulder. “Still. We made beautiful children, didn’t we.”
Y/N nearly tripped.
“Appa,” she hissed under her breath.
Her mother nodded seriously. “Very beautiful. Inside and out.”
“Please stop,” Y/N whispered, face already burning.
Kyungsoo glanced at her, smirking. “You walked into that one.”
They moved further inside, Kyungsoo greeting people easily, slipping back into his professional mode without losing that older-brother warmth she knew so well. He introduced her parents first, then her, hand resting lightly between her shoulder blades like a quiet reminder that she wasn’t alone.
“This is my sister,” he said. “And my parents.”
One of the men Kyungsoo greeted looked between them twice, then frowned dramatically.
“You have a sister,” he said, clearly offended. “And you never mentioned her.”
Kyungsoo sighed. “Here we go.”
The man turned fully toward Y/N, eyes lighting up. “That’s cruel, Kyungsoo. Do you know how unfair it is to keep information like this to yourself. And she is beautiful.”
Before she could react, he took her hand.
She froze.
He bowed slightly and pressed a light kiss to her knuckles.
“Enchanté,” he said with a grin.
Her brain short-circuited.
“Oh,” she squeaked, immediately hating the sound that came out of her mouth. Heat rushed up her neck, into her cheeks, her ears. She tried to pull her hand back and failed because she had forgotten how her fingers worked.
Her mother looked delighted.
Kyungsoo opened his mouth. “Okay, that’s enough—”
“Hey.”
The voice came from her right, close and familiar.
Mingi stepped into her line of sight like he had always been there.
He smiled easily, but there was something attentive in his eyes as they flicked from her flushed face to the man still holding her hand, then back to her again.
“Hi,” he said, gentle. “Your parents too.”
Her hand was suddenly free.
She hadn’t even noticed Mingi moving between them.
Her father’s face lit up immediately. “Ah, you.”
Mingi bowed slightly, polite and warm. “It’s good to see you again.”
Her mother nodded enthusiastically. “You boys look even better dressed up.”
Mingi laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. “Thank you. We dress up sometimes.”
He glanced at Y/N, just for a second.
“You look really nice,” he added, like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Her heart skipped, traitorous and loud.
“Thank you,” she said softly, still trying to recover.
Mingi turned back to her parents. “The others are over there. I think they’d be happy to see you again, if you want to say hi.”
Her parents exchanged a look.
“We would love to,” her mother said immediately.
Kyungsoo narrowed his eyes at Mingi, suspicious. Whispering. “I was handling this.”
Mingi smiled innocently. “Just helping.”
Kyungsoo snorted but didn’t argue.
As they moved away, Y/N glanced back once, still flustered, still overwhelmed. Mingi walked beside her, unhurried, matching her pace without comment.
The noise of the room faded just a little.
And for the first time since arriving, she felt like she could breathe.
He'd start slow, warm breath ghosting over your inner thighs first, dragging his tongue in lazy patterns up towards your center. When he finally gets there, he'd flatten his tongue in one broad, wet stroke from bottom to top, gathering your taste, groaning low in his chest like he's starving for it.
He'd figure out your clit fast, circcling it with the tip of his tongue, testing pressure, watching your hips buck when he hits the right spot. Then he'd settle into a rhythm. Firm and consistent strokes not too fast, building you steady. His hands would grip your thighs, holding you open and exposed while he works.
He seems like the type to be vocal about it too. Humming against you, groaning when you react, making it clear he's enjoying himself as much as you are. Keeps his eyes open, watching your face while his mouth works you over.
When you're wet enough, he'd slide two fingers in. Curling them upward, hitting that spot with precision while his mouth stays locked on your clit, sucking, flicking his tongue against you. You'd feel the vibration of his moans, the way he loses himself in it, grinding his own hips against the mattress because he needs it too.
He'd read your body perfectly. Speeding up when your breath hitches, slowing down when you get too close too fast, edging you until you're gripping his hair, thighs shaking around his head as you grind against his mouth. When he finally lets you cum, he'd keep his mouth pressed to you tight, lapping up your release. Tongue fluttering rapid and relentless, fingers pumping deep, riding out every spasm until you're boneless and twitching beneath him. You'll have to push him away.
Then he'd crawl up, lips swollen and shining, and make you taste yourself on his tongue.
