CHAPTER 4 - the perfect pair
˚˖𓍢ִ໋🦢˚ punk rock!martin x fem!reader ˚˖𓍢ִ໋🦢˚
˙ . ꒷ 🍰 . 𖦹˙— now playing ‘the perfect pair’ - beabadoobee
synopsis: in a world where martin lives loud, reckless, and unapologetically punk, you exist in soft colours, sweet scents, and quiet comfort. you shouldn’t fit into his life—and he definitely shouldn’t fit into yours—but somehow, your worlds collide in a way neither of you can ignore. between late nights, messy emotions, and stolen moments, martin finds himself drawn to the one person who sees past the chaos, and you discover that even the roughest hearts can learn to be gentle.
By the time Martin got back to the flat, the sky had already started to dim.
The kind of early evening where the light hadn’t disappeared completely, but everything had softened into something quieter, more muted. The streets were busier now than they had been earlier, people heading home, voices overlapping, the low hum of the day settling into something familiar and routine.
None of it really registered.
Because his mind was still somewhere else.
Still back on that street.
Still replaying conversations that, realistically, shouldn’t have mattered as much as they apparently did.
He unlocked the front door, pushing it open with his shoulder as he stepped inside, the familiar noise of the flat hitting him immediately. Music was playing from somewhere deeper inside, slightly too loud, layered with voices talking over each other and the unmistakable sound of someone laughing at something that probably wasn’t that funny to begin with.
Everything about it was normal.
And yet, he felt slightly out of place in it.
The voice came from the living room before he’d even properly stepped inside.
Martin shut the door behind him.
“Not particularly,” came the immediate reply.
He walked into the living room to find them exactly where he expected them to be.
James was sprawled across one end of the sofa like he owned it, Juhoon was sitting on the armrest instead of an actual seat for no apparent reason, Keonho was half-turned towards the television that no one was really watching, and Seonghyeon was on the floor, leaning back against the sofa with his phone in his hand.
All of them looked up as soon as Martin entered.
Martin didn’t even hesitate.
Martin shrugged, dropping his jacket onto the back of a chair before sitting down.
“I didn’t realise I was being interrogated.”
“You are now,” James said, leaning forward slightly, suddenly far more interested than he had been a second ago. “You disappeared for, what, four hours?”
“Maybe?” Keonho repeated. “You don’t know?”
“I wasn’t keeping track.”
“It is,” Seonghyeon said without looking up from his phone. “You always keep track.”
He always had some idea of how long he’d been out, where he’d been, what he’d done.
Today had felt… different.
Like time had moved without him really noticing.
He leaned back into the sofa.
James narrowed his eyes slightly.
Martin exhaled slowly, running a hand through his hair.
“It’s really not that deep.”
“Then tell us where you were,” Juhoon said.
He didn’t like that he had to think about it.
“And what did you do in town?”
James let out a short laugh.
“You expect us to believe you spent four hours just walking around?”
“No,” Keonho cut in immediately. “No, we don’t.”
Martin tilted his head slightly.
“Sounds like a you problem.”
“It sounds like you’re lying.”
“You’re definitely leaving something out.”
Martin didn’t respond straight away.
He had ended up in the record shop.
That part, at least, was simple.
It was everything after that which complicated things.
The way it hadn’t felt forced.
The way it had stretched from a few minutes into something that had taken up the rest of his afternoon without him even noticing.
The way he’d followed her out of the shop without really questioning it.
The way he hadn’t wanted to leave.
“I went to the record shop.”
That was enough to get a reaction.
“Oh, here we go,” James said, leaning back again. “This is where it starts making sense.”
“What does that mean?” Martin asked.
“It means you disappeared into a record shop and forgot the outside world existed.”
“That’s not what happened.”
“That’s exactly what happened.”
This time, all four of them noticed.
Juhoon leaned forward slightly.
“You did,” Seonghyeon said, finally looking up from his phone. “Twice.”
“It is,” Keonho said. “You don’t ‘lose track of time’ for no reason.”
“I can lose track of time.”
“You don’t even know what ‘like that’ means.”
“It means you met someone.”
Four pairs of eyes locked onto him immediately.
“You did,” Juhoon said, pointing at him like he’d just proven something.
“You literally stopped mid-sentence.”
“That doesn’t mean anything.”
Martin rubbed his face briefly, already regretting saying anything at all.
“Then what was it like?” James asked.
Because he didn’t actually have an answer.
“It was just a conversation,” he said finally.
There was a collective pause.
“Just a conversation?” Keonho repeated.
“We didn’t talk the whole time.”
“It means you were just… there. Together.”
Martin opened his mouth to argue, then stopped, because that was exactly what had happened.
And somehow, hearing it said out loud made it sound like something far more deliberate than it had felt in the moment.
“She was annoying,” he said instead.
“Oh, you liked her,” Juhoon said immediately.
“And you spent hours with her,” James added. “Right. Makes sense.”
Martin rolled his eyes, though the corner of his mouth twitched.
“Sure,” Keonho said. “So what’s her name?”
The question landed a little too easily.
Like it should’ve had an obvious answer.
There was a brief, almost imperceptible shift in his expression.
“Oh my—” he sat up straighter, staring at him. “You don’t know her name.”
Because there wasn’t anything to follow that with.
James let out a sharp laugh.
“You’re joking,” Keonho added, already grinning.
Seonghyeon lowered his phone completely now, fully invested.
“You spent your entire afternoon with her and you don’t know her name?”
Martin exhaled through his nose, leaning back again.
“It didn’t come up?” Juhoon repeated, incredulous. “How does that not come up?”
“We were talking about other things.”
“And not once did you think to ask her name?”
Martin ran a hand through his hair again.
“When?” James asked. “After she disappeared into the crowd?”
“That’s not what happened.”
“That is exactly what happened.”
Martin didn’t argue this time.
The image of her walking away—so easily, like it hadn’t mattered—flashed through his mind again.
“Did you at least get her number?” Keonho asked.
That one hit differently.
There was a second of silence.
“Oh, this is bad,” Juhoon said, laughing.
“You didn’t get her number either?” James added.
Martin looked away slightly.
“You didn’t think?” Keonho cut in. “You didn’t think to get her name or her number?”
“And then spent four hours together!”
Martin laughed under his breath despite himself, shaking his head.
Sitting here, saying it out loud—
It sounded like he’d completely fumbled something he hadn’t even realised he was supposed to be holding onto.
“You’re actually unbelievable,” Juhoon said, still laughing. “You met a girl, followed her around town, talked to her for hours, and walked away with absolutely nothing.”
“I walked in the same direction.”
Because there was no good way to defend that.
James leaned back, shaking his head.
“It is,” Seonghyeon said calmly. “Statistically speaking, your chances of running into her again are low.”
“I’m not trying to help.”
The laughter settled slightly, though the amusement hadn’t disappeared.
Martin leaned back into the sofa, staring up at the ceiling again.
Her voice echoed faintly in his mind.
The way she’d said things so easily.
The way she’d looked at him like she wasn’t even slightly intimidated by him.
The way she’d walked away without looking back.
He wouldn’t make the same mistake twice.
He didn’t say that out loud.
Because he already knew exactly what their reaction would be.
Instead, he shook his head, a small, almost disbelieving smile pulling at the corner of his mouth.
That only made them laugh again.