a/n: based on that one fancall where minghao was too stunned to speak when op pulled out an actual living and breathing frog. im having a moment-
. . . .
The moment he spun around, the smile on his face fell flat. Scratching the back of his head, tufts of red sticking up at strange angles, he blinked at you a couple times.
"Why are you dressed like that?" Minghao asked flatly.
"Like what?" you replied innocently.
He spread his lanky arms out, away from his body to gesture at your green poncho, the shade similar to that of . . . vomit. "Like a frog."
"I heard you're scared of frogs."
You heard him sigh heavily, his shoulders rising and falling with the breath. Grimacing, he shook his head slowly, pressing his lips together. Without another word, he turned around, returning to the safety and comfort of his bedroom.
ミ★ synopsis: sometimes forgiveness doesn’t just mean forgiving another person, it’s forgiving yourself too. aka, in which the virtue of forgiveness helps you forgive yourself and open your heart again.
ミ★ genre: virtue of forgiveness!minghao, angst, some fluff
ミ★ warnings: minor character death, mentions of blood
ミ★ word count: 8,824
ミ★ pairings: minghao x female reader, joshua x female reader
ミ★ notes: hi guys ! it’s lila, aka, @viastro. you know how it be. uh, this might be one of my favorite oneshots i’ve written? as well as my upcoming oneshot for this collab that’s coming next week hehe. i’m just incredibly proud of this piece even though it is incredibly long. i hope you guys enjoy it, make sure to give minghao lots of love <3
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“Are you seriously going to walk out on me? Without an explanation?” Juyeon asks from behind you, and you clutch the door handle in your hand. You don’t dare turn around, because you know that if you do, you’d fall back into the toxic cycle.
“Yn, please?” You stare at the wooden door, wondering how the cycle first began. How Juyeon became someone you cared about too much, to the point that you’d die for him if necessary. It’s scary how fast you go to him when he needs you, how you’re the shoulder he cries on every time his newfound relationship didn’t work. What’s scarier is that he could never see how much it hurt you each time.
how could he not see that you loved him? You wonder to yourself. You feel his hand rest on your shoulder, causing your breath to hitch.
“Please stay, yn.” Juyeon mumbles, staring at the back of your head with tears filling his eyes. He clutches the back of your t-shirt in his hand as a means to make you stay, and it almost works.
almost.
“I can’t anymore. It hurts too much.” You state, biting the inside of your cheek once a tear falls from your left eye. “What hurts?” Juyeon asks quietly.
The two of you stand in silence for a moment. With him wondering what he did wrong, and you questioning whether you should simply just risk it all.
You decide on the latter.
“Loving you, but seeing you fall for everyone else.” You answer, before opening the door and stepping out of Juyeon’s apartment. You quickly run over to the elevator, pressing on the buttons before Juyeon can make it over to you.
“Yn! Wait!” You hear him call, and you thank the heavens that the doors open just in time. You push the button that closes the elevator doors, and you scream internally at how slow it takes for them to shut. You hear Juyeon’s running feet, and you watch through the sliver of the door, catching his heartbroken expression before they finally close.
You let out a breath, feeling a sense of pain when the elevator begins to go down. You wonder whether it was better to have talked out your feelings with him, if you should’ve stayed. What would’ve happened if you did?
no, juyeon doesn’t love you back.
Your thoughts get cut off when the elevator doors open, and you step out into the main lobby. You head over to the entrance, only to freeze when you hear the call of your name. Turning your head, you see Juyeon standing where the stairs are, and your eyes widen.
“Yn!” You run out the doors, sprinting over towards the crosswalk so that you can get farther away from him. The closer you are to the bus stop, the closer you are to getting away from Juyeon.
“Yn, please! Hear me out!” Juyeon yells from behind, begging for you to slow down and talk to him. You continue to run, not even thinking twice when you step onto the crosswalk. Juyeon’s eyes widen when he sees that it’s not your turn to cross the street, and he turns to see a truck not making any means of slowing down.
“YN!” Juyeon screams, running faster to get to you. You finally turn around at the desperate call of your name, a tone you’ve never heard from Juyeon before. Juyeon’s sprinting towards you, yelling words you can’t decipher. You see bright lights out of the corner of your eye, and you glance to your left to see a truck heading straight towards you.
“Juyeo-” You get cut off when you get pushed out of the way, landing hard on your side. You hear the loud screech of the tires and the slam of the car, and you stare at the ground with wide eyes. The crosswalk light turns green and the signal begins to repeat itself like a mantra. Telling you to walk, walk, walk, as the blood drains from your face when you turn your head to look at what happened.
The signal soon gets drowned out by the sound of your screams.
you never get to learn what Juyeon wanted to say to you, or why he wanted you to stay.
you still wonder what would’ve happened if you stayed.
three years later
“Yn, I need you to go to the coffee shop down the street and buy four iced americanos.” You glance up from your desk, shooting a glare at Joshua, who simply gives you a bright smile in return.
“Why would I do that?” You ask your peach haired coworker. At first glance he seems like an absolute angel, and could never do anything wrong. After working with him for a year though… you learned he’s the exact opposite. However, you have a lot of love for the guy. Even if he makes you do all his small jobs.
“Cause you love me.” Joshua says in a singsong voice, and you let out a sigh. You look back towards your computer, showing no means of getting up from your desk, and Joshua pouts. “Okay, I’ll treat you to pork belly at that new high-end restaurant when it opens next month if you do this for me.”
You smirk, turning off your PC and standing up from your desk at the mention of meat. Joshua lets out a sigh, knowing that paying you back in food always works. It’s a win/lose situation for the man. The pro, he doesn’t need to walk down the street to buy the coffee. The con, his wallet pays the price whenever he treats you to food for doing his job for him every time.
“Four iced americanos, correct?” You ask, and Joshua nods his head. You grin, reaching your hand out for him to give you the credit card. To which he carefully places into the palm your hand.
“I’ll be back in a few.” Joshua gives you a thumbs up, letting out a sigh as he watches you leave the office.
“Maybe I should just buy the coffee from now on.” He mumbles to himself, turning around and walking back over to his own office.
You step out of the hospital, walking down the sidewalk with your hands in your pocket. The weather is a bit breezy, with the slight winds tousling up your hair. You glance up when you reach the coffee shop, stepping inside as a warm burst of air hits you.
Letting out a breath, you walk up to the register and order the four americanos. The whole interaction takes less than a minute, and the preparation of the drinks is rather quick as well considering that there’s not many customers at this time. Within fifteen minutes you’re back outside, the wind hitting you as you walk back towards the hospital.
You’re close to the building when you hear the sound of tires screech, the sound of cars crashing following soon afterwards, and you fall to the ground immediately, the iced americanos spilling around you. You glance up towards the road, seeing a car crash right in the middle of the intersection. Those around you all begin to hurry over towards the site, pulling out their phones to call for emergency services, while you sit there, the memories flashing past your eyes.
You reach up and cover your ears when the sound of those talking worriedly fills your senses, reminding you of the horrid night. You close your eyes, hoping that it’ll calm you down, but all you can hear is the sound of the crosswalk signal telling you to walk, walk, walk.
You feel tears fall past your eyes when the sight of Juyeon floods your brain, and you rock back and forth as you try to calm down. Those passing by begin to look at you strangely, all except one. He walks over and kneels down in front of you. He reaches up and rests his hands over yours, startling you into looking up to see who is helping you cover your ears.
His hair is pitch black, parted down the middle but you can still tell that it’s rather long. His eyes bore into yours, and you get distracted from the noise for a short moment. He mouths the words, it’ll be okay, and for some reason, you feel that he spoke the truth.
The two of you stay like that for a moment, just staring into each other’s eyes until you feel your heartbeat slowly go back to normal. You close your eyes, lowering your head as you take deep breaths. Suddenly, the feeling of his hands over yours disappear, and you look up to see Joshua staring at you with concern written over his features.
“Yn, let’s go inside.” He tells you, but you can’t hear him. Joshua lets out a sad smile, mouthing that he’s going to pick you up and that you should just close your eyes. One arm goes under your knees, and the other around your back as he lifts you up from the sidewalk, quickly taking you into the hospital, away from the chaos of outside.
You slowly remove your hands from your ears when the two of you are farther away from the entrance of the hospital, and you wipe away the tears on your cheeks. He steps into the elevator, pressing the button for the sixth floor. You pat his shoulder, signaling that it’s okay for him to let you down, but he just shakes his head. Once the elevator doors open, he brings you over to your office where you counsel your patients.
“I shouldn’t have let you go alone, I’m sorry.” Joshua says sadly, as he sets you down onto the small couch in your office. You shake your head, giving him a small, reassuring smile.
“It’s not your fault Joshua. I’m sorry for the coffee.” You respond, and he scoffs, muttering how you guys will just order coffee for delivery from now on. Joshua sits down beside you on the couch, turning his head to glance at you, “Besides, that’s not what’s important, yn. What matters most is your mental health.”
Your breath hitches and you turn away, staring at the childish painting on your wall that was painted as a joke by Juyeon. It’s the two of you as dinosaurs, him holding out a pink flower in your direction. You were never able to tell what the type of flower was, and Juyeon refused to tell you. You ended up keeping the painting though, and you don’t plan on ever taking it down.
“Can I just be alone for now, Joshua? I’ll talk to you when I feel better.” Joshua lets out a breath, feeling slightly disappointed at the fact that you’re avoiding the topic once again. He hardly knows the story, no one really does. All he knows is that you’re terrified of car crashes, and the sound of the crosswalk signal is a trigger for you. However, he won’t force you to open up.
“Of course, yn. I promise to get you the best pork belly when that new place opens next month.” Joshua tells you, and you give him a soft grin, nodding your head. He gets up and steps out of your office after your response, and you immediately rest your head into your hands, feeling mentally exhausted.
The memory of the handsome stranger who helped you a few minutes prior lingers in your head, and you find yourself wondering who he is, and why he helped you.
You look through your notes on your last patient, pausing when you hear a knock on your door. Without looking up from your journal you say, “Come in!”
You hear the door open, and you glance up to see Joshua standing there with a small smile, holding a matcha latte in his hand. He steps over to your desk, placing it beside your journal, settling down in the seat across from you.
“This for me?” You ask with a smile, and Joshua rolls his eyes at you, knowing that you already know the answer. You mutter a quiet thank you, and he nods his head.
“How was your last patient?” Joshua asks, smiling at your reaction of you pursing your lips. You let out a sigh, taking the latte and taking a sip. You lean back into your seat, giving Joshua a tired look.
“He told me about his sex life in great detail when I asked how his day was, so that was rather interesting.” Joshua frowns, before breaking out into a laugh that sounds like music to your ears. You find yourself giggling as well, the common effect of Joshua’s contagious laugh.
“That sounds lovely.” Joshua jokes once the two of you finish laughing, and you stick your tongue out at him. You close your eyes for a moment, feeling tired from a long day, and Joshua lets out a small smile at the sight.
“You want me to drive you home?” Joshua asks after a moment of the two of you just basking in each other’s company, and you open an eye to glance at him. He chuckles at the sight, and you grin, shaking your head at him.
“It’s okay Joshua, I need to stay a bit later tonight anyways.” You answer, and Joshua nods his head slowly. He stands up from the chair, running a hand through his wavy peach colored hair. You find yourself staring a bit longer than usual, and Joshua takes notice of this. He smiles, “Want me to stay with you?”
Your breath hitches at the question, and you look down at your desk. Joshua bites the inside of his cheek, wondering if he asked the wrong thing based on your reaction. You let out a shaky breath, before glancing back up and shaking your head at him. “Nah, I know you’re tired too. I’ll see you tomorrow Joshua.”
He nods his head, reaching out and giving you a soft pat on the head. You smile at the gesture, and he puts his hands in his pockets once he’s done. “Don’t stay too late working. I’ll see you tomorrow, yn.”
“Night Joshua.” You call when he places his hand on your doorknob. His heart warms at your soft voice, and he opens the door, stepping out of your office. Once the door closes, you’re left alone once again. You let out a tired groan, leaning back into your seat and closing your eyes.
The incident from last week still recurs in your head. You’ve done a decent job at suppressing the memory of Juyeon over the past three years, but ever since last week you’ve been having nightmares again. The sound of the crosswalk signal plays in your head once you wake up, reminding you of what you dreamt moments before.
“When are you going to forgive-”
“WHAT THE FUCK!” You scream, standing up from your chair and staring directly at the black haired beauty standing in front of you. You notice that his black hair is a bit wavy this time, a bit curled around the back of his neck. His apparel is all black, and your breath hitches when you realize his black turtleneck is cropped, revealing his toned stomach.
“You’re the guy from last week.” You mutter, and he nods his head. He glances around your office, hands stuffed into his pockets as he awkwardly stands there.
“How did you get in without making a sound? The door was closed. Wait. How did you disappear last time-”
“If you sit down then I can explain everything.” He states, and you frown slightly. The man lets out a sigh when he sees how apprehensive you look, and he does a quick spin for you.
“I don’t have any weapons on me if you think I’m going to murder you.” The man tells you, and you purse your lips. He lets out a sigh, showing you his hands, and you take notice of his slender fingers.
“My hands are too pretty to try and choke someone to death as well.” He adds, and you finally sit down in your leather seat after a second of thinking. He sits down in the chair across from you, resting his chin on his hand as he tries to make you out.
“Are you going to explain?”
“In a second.”
You raise an eyebrow, and he gives you a small smile. He leans back into the seat and runs a hand through his hair.
“Well yn, this is going to sound ridiculous, but I’m not human.” He begins, and you frown at him.
“Yeah, and I’m a furry.” The pretty man pauses, glancing at you to see if you were serious.
You squint, “I was joking.”
He nods his head, muttering a quiet, thank god, before continuing. To which you glare, not appreciating the fact that he thought you were serious.
“Anyways… you know the seven deadly sins I’m assuming, correct?” You nod your head at the pretty man. “How about the seven virtues?” You nod your head again, and he lets out a relieved smile.
“Okay great. That makes this easier. Well, I’m the virtue of forgiveness, Xu Minghao.” You stare at him in silence, and he stares back at you. You close your eyes, resting your head in your hands, and he tilts his head at you.
“Are you… okay?” You look up at him, seeing how he may not really be human even though he looks like it. There’s no way a man can be this pretty and be human at the same time. We humans are not worthy of living alongside a man who is as ethereal as Xu Minghao.
“No.” You answer after a moment, and he purses his lips.
“How do I know you’re not lying?” You ask, and he shrugs.
“I could disappear for you or something.”
“Damn, deadass?”
“Yeah, I’ll do it right now if it’ll make you believe me.”
“Okay, bet.”
You watch as Minghao literally disappears from the seat for a moment, and you stare with a blank face when he appears back in the chair. He raises an eyebrow at how unimpressed you seem to be, opening his mouth to ask what you think, only for you to fall out of your seat.
“YN?!”
You blink your eyes open, only to shut them with a loud groan as you roll over in bed. You quietly thank God that it was just a weird dream as your hand roams around the sheets, only to pause when you realize you’re not in your bed at all. You sharply inhale when you recognize the leather surface you’re laying on, and you open your eyes when you realize you’re on the couch in your office. You turn your head to see Minghao sitting in the seat across from you. He tilts his head and gives you a soft smile, “Morning.”
“It’s morning?!”
“Nah, it’s only been about fifteen minutes. I ordered us chicken since you haven’t had dinner yet, and I assumed we’d be here for a while.” Minghao explains as he opens up the cardboard boxes holding the fried chicken. You find yourself unable to argue with the grumble of your stomach, so you sit up on the couch and reach out to grab the small paper plate Minghao set out for you. You place two pieces of chicken onto your plate and begin eating.
The two of you eat your food in silence, but it’s not uncomfortable. It’s more of you slowly taking in the fact that Minghao is not at all human, while Minghao wonders whether or not he regrets not ordering soda with the food.
As he takes another bite of chicken, he decides that he does regret it.
Once the two of you finish, you help clean up, placing the cleaned up chicken bones into the box that once held them. Minghao swipes the crumbs off the table and into the plastic bag. You hand him the box holding the bones, and he places it into the bag too. He ties it up, and leaves it by the door, telling you he’ll take it out later.
Once you settle back down onto the couch, the silence soon becomes awkward. With Minghao staring at you, and you looking at anything but him. He lets out a breath, leaning back into the seat, “Do you know why I’m here?”
You glance at him, shaking your head. He gives you a look that basically says, now i know you’re fucking lying. While you give him an expression that says, I’m absolutely lying.
“Why do you blame yourself for Juyeon’s death?” Minghao asks, reaching forward and grabbing the water bottle you offered him. You freeze at the mention of his name, and Minghao takes a sip of water, gauging your reaction.
“I don’t.” You mumble, looking down at the floor. Minghao shakes his head, “But you do.”
“I don’t wanna talk about him.” You say, reaching forward and drinking from your water bottle. Minghao purses his lips, resting his chin on the palm of his hand. “If you don’t talk about him now, then when will you?”
You don’t respond, instead standing up from your couch and walking over to your desk. Minghao spins the chair so that it faces your direction, continuing to stare directly at you as you begin packing up your stuff to head home.
“Yn-”
“Can you just leave me alone? Please?” You plead, and Minghao lets out a sigh after a moment. He stands up from your chair, brushing off some crumbs on his black jeans with his hands. He runs a hand through his black hair, watching as you zip up your bag.
“Sometimes forgiveness doesn’t just mean forgiving another person.” Minghao begins, and you glance up at him from your bag. “It’s forgiving yourself too.”
You bite the inside of your cheek, looking away from the man. He walks over to your door, picking up the trash bag holding the food the two of you ate. He turns back towards you, giving you a small smile.
“I’ll always be there when you need me yn, I’m sorry it took me so long to get to you in the first place.” Minghao says, before opening the door and stepping out. You fall into your seat, feeling tears fill your eyes from all the weight on your shoulders. You shake your head, resting it onto the cold surface of your desk as you close your eyes.
“Why would he use the door when he can teleport.” You mutter quietly as tears fall down onto the carpeted floor, all alone in your office once again.
“Yn, you wanna get lunch with me?” You glance up from your pc, seeing Joshua standing at your door frame with a smile on his face. You look at the time, seeing that your next patient won’t be coming in for about half an hour. Turning back towards Joshua, you see him waiting expectantly for you to come with him.
but you won’t.
“I’m sorry Joshua, I have to sort out of notes for my next patient.” You tell him, and you almost regret turning him down when you see his smile drop slightly. He gives you a nod, “That’s okay. Next time.”
You smile, but don’t agree that there will be a next time. Joshua closes the door behind him, and you turn back towards your computer, letting out a sad sigh.
“Why didn’t you go with him?” You’re not shocked at the fact that Minghao is in your office again, considering that this is the fifth time you’ve seen him today. He has made it his mission to randomly appear at your workplace whenever you’re alone for the past week. The two of you have built a relationship of sorts, and you’ve grown rather fond of Minghao, as he feels the same towards you. While he may have made his appearance present whenever you’re at work, he hasn’t made any means of showing up at your apartment yet.
You glance up at him, finding that he’s wearing an oversized maroon and cream colored cardigan, paired with a white turtleneck and cream colored pants to match. You wonder why he’s so stylish, but you hold back on asking the question as you remember what he just brought up.
“Cause I’m busy.” You mutter, reaching into your drawer to grab a granola bar to chew on. Minghao frowns, placing his hands on your desk and leaning close to your face. You look up into his eyes, and your breath hitches at the close proximity between the two of you.
“Is it that? Or is it because you’re afraid?” Minghao asks, and the quick flutter of your heart soon disappears due to the question. You frown at him, reaching up and pushing his face away with your pointer finger.
“No.”
“You need to be a bit more descriptive.”
“Fuck you.”
“Rude, I’m the virtue of forgiveness you know. I could report you.” You give the black haired beauty a bored look, and he purses his lips. He quietly curses to himself at the fact that you’re now seemingly unaffected by his otherworldly status.
You try to work again, but let out a sigh when you feel Minghao’s eyes still on you. You glance up at him, seeing that he’s giving you one of his looks that basically he means he’s seeing right through you. You lean back into your seat, taking a bite of the granola bar before beginning.
“I just. I’m scared.” You mutter quietly, swallowing the chewed up granola. Minghao nods his head, feeling a bit happy that you’re finally beginning to open up. “Why?”
You think back on Juyeon for a moment, remembering how beautiful your friendship was. You glance back down at your pc, letting out a sad smile at what could’ve been. You begin typing away on your computer again, promptly ending the conversation before it got anywhere. Minghao runs a hand through his hair, before reaching out and patting the top of your head softly.
“We’ll talk when you’re ready.” Minghao says, before disappearing from your office once again, leaving you alone.
“YN!” You hear Juyeon scream, and you turn around at the desperation in his voice. You watch him sprint towards you, and you see bright lights flash at you out of the corner of your eye. You glance to your left to see a truck heading straight towards you, and your heart practically stops.
“Juyeo-” You’re shoved out of the way, landing hard on your side. You hear the loud screech of the tires and the slam of the car, and you stare down at the road with wide eyes. The sound of the crosswalk signal goes off, telling you to walk, walk, walk. The blood drains from your face, and you turn your head to see Juyeon laying on the ground, motionless.
You quickly stand up and stumble over. Your heart practically stops when you make it to him, and you fail to notice the tears falling from your eyes. You fall to your knees, and with shaky hands you reach out and touch his wrist, seeing if there’s a pulse.
It’s incredibly faint, and you almost let out a breath of relief. You turn your head to see the driver standing in front of his truck in shock, and you hold back from screaming at him. Glancing around, you find people stopping around you, phones held close to their ears as they call emergency services.
“Yn…” You turn your head immediately, seeing Juyeon giving you a tired smile. Your heart drops at the amount of blood beginning to surround the two of you. You try to rip off some of the fabric from your shirt to try and soak up the blood from his wounds, but Juyeon tiredly rests his hand over yours.
“I’m sorry.” Juyeon mutters, and you shake your head, tears falling from your eyes as you give him a smile to try and reassure him that you’re okay.
“No, it’s my fault. I’m sorry, it’ll be okay.” You ramble, sobs slowly building up in your chest as you do. Juyeon tries to raise his hand up towards your face, but he grimaces in pain, and you shake your head at him. “The ambulance will be here soon.”
Juyeon doesn’t listen, instead attempting to reach up to cup your face again. His hand makes it to your cheek this time, and he slowly wipes away the tears with his thumb. He opens his mouth to say something, and your eyes widen in horror when his arm falls back to his side, eyes closing.
“Juyeon. Juyeon, please. No, no, no.” You try to feel his pulse, and your heart sinks when you don’t feel anything. You get pushed away by a fellow witness, and they begin to perform emergency CPR on Juyeon as you stare at his lifeless body in shock.
The sound of the crosswalk signal goes off behind you, telling you to walk, walk, walk. The tears fall from your eyes at a rapid pace, and the sob builds up in your chest as more people begin to surround you and Juyeon. You shake your head, trying to reach out and hold him, but get held back by another witness who tries to calm you down.
“Juyeon! JUYEON!” You scream, voice cracking as you continue to scream his name in agony.
“Yn!” You ignore the call of your name, screaming loudly as tears fall from your eyes and onto the road. Your throat is hoarse as you sob, continuing to try and reach Juyeon but being held back by the arms of one of the witnesses.
“JUYEON!”
“Yn!!”
“YN!” You gasp awake, sitting up in bed and locking eyes with a worried Minghao. He reaches out and cups your face, attempting to wipe away the tears falling from your eyes as you stare at him in fear. He watches as your lip quivers, taking notice of the tight grip you have on his shirt.
“Leave.” You mumble after a moment of silence, dropping your hands and looking away from him. Minghao raises an eyebrow.
“What?”
“Leave, Minghao.” You repeat, the tears falling silently past your eyes as you stare blankly at your bed. Minghao shakes his head, resting his hand on your wrist. He opens his mouth to tell you that he’s not going to leave, but you snap.
“I said leave! Go!” You shout, looking up into his eyes and hitting his chest with your hands. The saltiness of your tears is all you can taste as you yell. Minghao stares at you with a pained expression, just standing there and letting you punch him.
“Did you hear me? LEAVE! GO! GET OUT!” You scream, voice cracking as you cry out in pain.
“GO BEFORE YOU DIE TOO! LEAVE!” Minghao glances down at your hands now tightly clutching his shirt, and he lets out a shaky breath. You open your mouth to scream again, but get cut off when Minghao wraps his arms around you, pulling your head into his chest as you begin to sob. He rubs your back to try and calm you down as you wail into his shirt, and he bites his lip at how your sobs are filled with nothing but pain.
“I’ll stay. I’m not going anywhere.” Minghao mumbles, cradling your head softly in his hand as you cry loudly into his chest. He blinks when he realizes his vision is blurry, and he takes notice of the tears falling from his own eyes. Minghao’s crying. Something he’s never done for a human.
Minghao bites his lip as an attempt to stop from hiccupping or showing any indications that he’s crying, and he rests his cheek on the top of your head. Closing his eyes, he holds you close until your sobs slow down.
“I’m not going anywhere, yn.” Minghao whispers, and your eyelids flutter shut, the last of your tears falling past your eyes and landing over Minghao’s heart.
“It was my fault.” You state as you and Minghao stare up at your ceiling, laying on your bed side by side. It’s long after you finally calmed down, and you’re left with swollen eyes and the inability to breathe through your nostrils. Minghao almost left when you calmed down, but you pulled him into bed with you, and now here the two of you are. At three in the morning. Staring at your off-white ceiling.
Minghao turns his head to glance at you, seeing that you’re finally ready to open up. He rolls over onto his side, resting his head on his arm as you take in a deep breath. He chooses to be quiet now to let you express everything you’ve been suppressing for three years.
“Juyeon is- was. He was my best friend. We've known each other since we were kids.” You begin, letting out a small smile at the memory of a small Juyeon first introducing himself to a tiny you back in kindergarten. “We grew up together. We went to the same school all the way up to university.”
Minghao watches as a tear escapes your eye, and you quickly raise your hand up to wipe it away. Letting out a wet laugh, the pain strikes your chest again. “They always said I’d fall for him, and I never believed it. Until he told me he met someone for the first time, and I felt like my heart was ripped out of my chest.”
You suck in a shaky breath, and Minghao reaches his hand out towards yours, to which you gratefully intertwine your fingers with his. You bite the inside of your cheek before continuing. “After things didn’t work out with that person, I ran to his apartment as fast as I could. That’s how the cycle began. After every newfound relationship didn’t work, I’d run to him no matter what I was doing. But he could never see that it was hurting me in the process.”
Minghao squeezes your hand, and you close your eyes. You take in deep breaths to try and control your breathing so that you can be able to finish. Minghao watches with sad eyes, but he knows that you opening up about what happened is important in the steps on finally letting you forgive yourself.
“I loved him. He was everything I wanted my forever to be, but I wasn’t his. I knew that from the start, but I still had hope, you know? But it became too much for me. The day Juyeon died, I ran out of his apartment after telling him I couldn’t do it anymore.” More tears fall from your eyes, blurring the sight of your ceiling. Minghao props himself up in bed to get a good look at you. And you shake your head at him, motioning for him to lay back down, to which he slowly does.
“I was so fucking stupid, Minghao. I didn’t look at the road before going onto the crosswalk, so I couldn’t even see the truck coming my way.” Your voice cracks, and you let go of Minghao’s hand to cover your face with your hands. Minghao feels his own heart shatter at how much pain you’ve been harboring to yourself, wanting nothing more than to take it away from you. “Juyeon saved my life. If I would’ve just stayed then he wouldn’t have die-”
“Yn, it’s not your fault.” Minghao interrupts, and you shake your head as more tears spill from your eyes. “It was my fault.” Minghao rests his hand on your wrist, rubbing circles on the bone with his thumb as he shakes his head.
“Sometimes we can’t control our actions when we’re going through a lot emotionally, let alone think properly. You’re not the cause of Juyeon’s death, he saved you on his own accord. He knows you would’ve done the same for him.” Minghao explains softly, and your shoulders shake by how hard you’re crying. Minghao pulls you close to him again, nuzzling your head into his chest as he rubs your back.
“Juyeon wouldn’t want you to blame yourself either, yn. He would want you to live.” Minghao whispers, and you quietly sob into Minghao’s chest at his words. His hand trails up and cradles your head, resting his cheek on the top of it.
“I don’t know what to do anymore.” You say, and Minghao bites the inside of his cheek. He rubs your back, quietly muttering that it’ll be okay.
“We can’t change the past, but we can take charge of our future. You just have to forgive yourself for any change to happen.” Minghao responds in a soft voice, and you let out a shaky breath, closing your eyes.
“I miss him so much.” You mumble tiredly, the sobbing having taken a lot of energy out of you. His breath hitches when your arm wraps around his middle, having not expected you to hold him. He rubs your back slowly, trying to regulate his heartbeat so that you can’t hear it. Through the last tears falling from your eyes you add, “I don’t care if he didn’t love me back, I just wish he was here.”
“He’s always here.” Minghao mutters after a moment, fatigue taking over as you find it hard to keep your eyes open. However, you fight your exhaustion to hear Minghao’s words.
“So live for him.” Is the last thing you hear before you succumb to sleep. Minghao follows soon after, hand stilling on your back as the stars shine brightly in the sky.
You type away on your computer, quite a bit of weight lifted off your shoulders since the heart-to-heart you had with Minghao a week ago. Your heart is warm, and you feel a bit airy as you turn to glance out the window of your office, seeing the birds flying high in the blue sky.
While you may still be fearful of crosswalks and trucks in general, you’ve felt better since you let out all the pain you’ve been feeling. As well as remembering Minghao’s words to you, because deep down, you know that Juyeon wouldn’t want you blaming yourself. So you’ve taken the steps into looking into therapists, even though you’re one yourself. Minghao’s helping as well, knowing that this will be good for you in the long run.
There are still moments where you feel the weight back on your shoulders, and you want to hide from the world. However, it’s understandable. You can’t forget the trauma and internal self-conflict you’ve dealt with for years based on one heart-to-heart talk. It’s helped push you into taking the proper steps to fully heal though.
Hearing a knock on your door, you glance up to see Joshua poking his head in with a big smile on his face. You find yourself smiling back, as both his laughter and the sight of his smile are contagious to you.
“Hi Joshua.” You greet, and he steps into your office, two bobas in hand, causing you to clap your hands excitedly. He places it before you, sitting down in the seat in front of your desk. You smile, glancing up into his eyes. “You spoil me.”
“It was a two for one deal, couldn’t resist getting one for you. It was basically a sign from the heavens telling me to get you boba.” Joshua jokes, and you roll your eyes, shoving your straw through the plastic seal after shaking up the drink. You take a sip, letting out a content sigh at the sweet taste of milk tea.
“How was your last patient?” You ask, and Joshua grins. “He’s opening up a bit more each time, it makes me feel happy to know that he’s slowly trusting me.”
You nod your head with a smile, understanding the feeling. The two of you converse for a moment, occasionally taking a sip of boba mid-speech as the drink just seems to be too addictive. You glance down at your keyboard when Joshua clears his throat, causing you to look up at him.
“So you know how I said I’d treat you to pork belly once that new place opens?” You nod your head, taking another sip of boba and chewing on the tapioca pearls. Joshua lets out a shy smile, running a hand through his peach hair.
“Well, it opened, and I was wondering if you wanted to go next Friday?” You pause for a moment. Something in Joshua’s invitation seems different this time around, from the slight blush rising to his cheeks, as well as the nervous smile he has on right now. Your heart pounds against your chest when you realize, and you bite the inside of your cheek.
After a second you nod your head, and Joshua visibly relaxes. “Yes, I’d love to go with you.”
“Nice! I’ll text you the details, okay?” Joshua says as he stands up from his seat, and you glance at your watch, seeing that his next patient will be coming soon. You give him a thumbs up, and he lets out a breath, sending you another smile.
“It’s a date!” Joshua calls, and you nod your head, giggling when he shoots you finger guns before closing the door behind him. You let out a sigh, glancing down at your keyboard when you feel a presence right in front of your computer.
You look up to find Minghao leaning against your desk, a peaceful look on his face as he stares down at you. His hair is straight this time around, still parted down the middle. He’s wearing a burberry plaid shirt with ripped black jeans, showing off a bit of his thighs.
“Hi.”
“Hey.”
The two of you stare at each other in silence for a moment. Minghao takes in the slight glow to your aura, showing that you’re healing. While you stare into his eyes that hold so much depth to them, but you never know what he’s truly thinking.
“Going on a date, huh?” Minghao teases, and you glare at the virtue. He chuckles at the furrow to your brow, reaching over and smoothing it out with the pad of his thumb. Your heart leaps in your chest at the contact, but you stay unimpressed until he places his hand back on the table.
“It’s not a date.”
“You sure?”
“... no.”
Minghao giggles at your response, causing you to softly laugh as well. He rolls his eyes, standing up from your desk and raising his arms above his head. You lean back into your seat, taking a long sip of boba as you wait for him to speak.
“Well, I hope you have fun.” Minghao tells you, and you let out a small smile. Nodding your head, you give him a thumbs up. “I’ll make sure to tell you all the details after it happens. However, I have to pee so I’ll be right back.”
Minghao watches with a fond smile as you get up from your leather seat and scurry out of your office. It slowly drops from his face once the door closes, and he bites the inside of his cheek. He lets out a sad laugh, resting a hand over his heart, clutching the fabric of his shirt with a tight fist.
“I’m so happy, but why am I so sad too?” Minghao mutters to himself after a moment, only to quickly switch back to his happy persona once he hears your door open again. You give him a smile, walking to your desk and sitting back down in your seat.
“Wanna play among us?” You ask, and Minghao smirks. He sits down into the seat in front of your desk, wiggling his pretty fingers towards you. “I hope you know that I’ll win, sweetheart.”
You begin cursing at the man, and Minghao just laughs at your reaction. He lets you ramble, promptly ignoring the dull pain in his heart as he chooses to instead watch the way your eyes sparkle at him.
Minghao finds you beautiful when you’re happy.
and that’s all that matters.
“I’ll see you next week Doc.” You nod your head with a smile, glancing down at your notes, only to pause when you realize your door hasn’t shut yet. You look up to see Jacob staring at the dinosaur painting Juyeon created years ago.
“Is there something else you wanted to speak about, Jacob?” You ask, effectively startling the boy out of his thoughts. He turns and gives you a smile, shaking his head.
“It’s just that I noticed the flower. I don’t see it painted that much.” Jacob answers, and you raise an eyebrow. You walk over and stand beside your patient, staring at the familiar pink flower that Juyeon refused to tell you the name of. “Oh yeah? My best friend never told me the name of it for whatever reason. Guess he just wanted to be more knowledgeable than me.”
Jacob chuckles, turning to glance at you. You look back at him, and he gives you a knowing smile, causing you to raise an eyebrow. “What?”
He points at the flower dinosaur Juyeon is holding towards dinosaur you, “That’s an arbutus flower.”
You purse your lips at the unfamiliar name, turning and glancing back towards the painting. You tilt your head to the side, wondering where Juyeon learned of such a flower. Jacob giggles, resting his hand on the doorknob of your door to open it, before turning back to you.
“It means that you’re the only one he loves. It’s basically a promise that the love he has for you is not only warm, but will last a lifetime.” Jacob says, before stepping out of your office, the door closing behind him. You stare at the painting in pure shock, your heart already dropped into your stomach as you stare at the pink flower dinosaur Juyeon is holding out to you.
“He. He loved me?” You mutter to yourself, resting your hand over your heart as you stare at the painting. The tears fall from your eyes before you know it, and you slowly fall to your knees, laughing quietly at the ridiculous way Juyeon confessed his love for you.
Minghao appears beside you in an instant, and you immediately turn to him, resting your head in his chest as he wraps his arms around you. After a moment of the two of you staying like this as you silently cry, you mutter, “He loved me, Minghao.”
Minghao nods his head, running a hand through your hair he softly whispers, “I don’t see how anyone couldn’t fall in love with you, yn.”
You close your eyes, wrapping your arms around his middle as you quietly cry into his chest. Minghao rubs your back, letting out a soft smile when he recognizes this as being the last stage of closure you needed. He hopes in another life that you and Juyeon ended up together, but he’s grateful that he was given the opportunity to see you forgive yourself and open up to someone you liked again.
“I can’t believe he’d confess through painting us as dinosaurs.” You mutter, letting out a laugh and Minghao chuckles in response.
“I expect nothing less from him though.” You whisper, closing your eyes with a soft smile gracing your features. Minghao glances down at you, and he grins, “Has he done something like this before?”
“Are you kidding me? Of course he has.”
Minghao watches as you slowly light up, explaining the different things Juyeon has done, as well as the weird quirks he had. A stark contrast to the pain and sadness that would be etched across your features when anyone would so much as mention his name. Minghao lets out a soft smile, feeling his heart warm knowing that his mission is done.
“You ready for your date?” Minghao asks, and you let out a nervous breath at the thought of Joshua about to pop up in front of your apartment building any second now. Minghao’s waiting with you outside of your building as you wait for Joshua, considering the fact that you didn’t want to wait alone.
A small squabble ensued where Minghao was like what if he sees me doofus?! To which you replied, just disappear before he can tinkerbell!
“I think I’m gonna shit myself.”
“Well, don’t do that.” Minghao states, and you shoot him a glare. He rolls his eyes at you, reaching out and patting your head. “It was a joke.”
“I know what jokes are.” You bite back, and Minghao purses his lips at your reaction. He lets out a sigh, wrapping his arm over your shoulders. You glance up at him and see him staring down at you with a small smile on his face. Raising an eyebrow you ask, “What?”
Minghao just shakes his head, and you watch in a slight state of awe when you take notice of the fact that he holds the whole galaxy in his gaze as he stares down at you. “I’m proud of you.”
You purse your lips at his sweetness, feeling a blush rise to your cheeks as you push him away. Minghao lets out a giggle at your reaction, finding it rather endearing. He turns his head to see if he can spot the head of peach hair, and his eyes widen when he does.
“It’s time for me to disappear. Have fun on your date, okay?” You tilt your head to the side when Minghao shuffles from one foot to another as he debates on something. You open your mouth to ask what, only for Minghao to lean down and press a soft kiss to your forehead, before disappearing.
You raise a hand to your forehead, feeling warmth flood through you at the sweet action. You silently curse Minghao for being such a sweetheart, knowing that as the virtue of forgiveness, he should be rather nice.
“Yn!” You turn your head to see Joshua smiling at you, and you wave your hand at him, quickly walking over so that the two of you can meet in the middle. “Ready for pork belly? I heard their meat is really good quality.”
You smile, nodding your head excitedly. “Of course I am! What kind of whack ass question-”
“Are you trying to fight me? On our first date?” Joshua teases, and you roll your eyes, nudging him with your shoulder as you try to hide the blush rising to your cheeks. The two of you begin walking in the direction of the kbbq restaurant, playful banter between you both as you do.
At some point Joshua intertwines his fingers with yours, and the two of you can’t hide each other’s blushes from each other, but promptly choose to ignore them as you continue to converse. You feel your heartbeat a bit faster when you realize you have to cross the street, and Joshua pauses. He glances down at you, “We can go the other way?”
You stare at the crosswalk for a moment, before shaking your head at Joshua. You turn your head and look up at him with a bright smile, “No, I’ll be okay.”
Joshua mentions that if you change your mind the two of you can just go the other way a few more times until you make it to the edge of the sidewalk. You reassure him that it’s okay, even reaching out to press the button which signals that you want to cross the street. You squeeze Joshua’s hand, biting the inside of your cheek as you stare at the white lines on the crosswalk.
You watch as the crosswalk signal turns green, hearing it say, walk. Glancing back down at the white lines, you suck in a deep breath, before taking your first step. You hold Joshua’s hand tightly as the two of you cross the street, and he gives you reassuring words until you make it all the way across.
You look up at the peach-haired man with a happy smile, and he smiles back down at you, eyes full of endearment as he does so. You’re about to open up your mouth to make a joke, only to pause when you smell the lingering scent of grilled meat coming from your right. You and Joshua turn your heads to see the new kbbq place, and let out excited grins.
“To the grilling of meats!” You shout, and Joshua laughs at your antics.
All while Minghao watches from the other side of the street, a proud smile gracing his features at the happiness radiating off of you. He lets out a breath, before turning around and walking the other way, hands shoved into his pockets.
mission: help yn forgive herself and open her heart again [COMPLETED]
ミ★ synopsis: in which you only agreed to go to the fair if they didn’t force you to go on any scary rides, but jun knows minghao can change your mind. [day 29 of a tct summer collection]
ミ★ genre: summer fair!au, best friends to lovers, fluff, humor
ミ★ warnings: mentions of vomit
ミ★ word count: 3,117
ミ★ pairings: minghao x female reader
ミ★ notes: hi guys !! i hope you like this oneshot i wrote for the tct summer collection! make sure to check out all my friends works in the masterlist, everyone a part of tct is incredibly talented and all their content is epic !! so make sure to give them love too... or else. :D
A TCT SUMMER COLLECTION MASTERLIST
“I bet you can convince yn to go onto the ring of fire.” Jun whispers to Minghao as they wait for you and Mingyu to come back with the stack of fries you all ordered. Minghao scoffs, shaking his head when he remembers how adamant you were to not go on any of the rides that make you go upside down. It was one of the only reasons they were able to convince you to come with them to the fair.
“She only agreed to come if we didn’t force her to go on rides like that.” Jun chuckles, looking over to see you and Mingyu happy dancing as you wait for the food. “She’s literally in love with you, of course she’d agree if you asked her.”
Minghao sputters at Jun’s statement, beginning to choke over air, causing Jun’s eyes to widen. “Hao! Are you okay?!” Minghao finally manages to take a deep inhale after Jun begins to panic over his best friend dying, running around the table to look for your bag to grab the water bottle.
“I’m fine, I’m not dying. I just, what do you mean she’s in love with me?” Jun lets out a relieved sigh, patting Minghao’s back.
“Just pay close attention to how she acts with you versus us. Then you’ll see your one-sided love is more mutual than you think.”
“Fries time! Fries time!” You sing as you put the freshly fried potatoes onto the table, snapping the two out of their conversation. Mingyu places the second batch of fries on the table along with the napkins, sitting down beside you. “I hope these are as delicious as they say.”
The four of you each take a couple, and taste it right away. Your eyes bulge out, as do the other guys who glance at each other. You immediately look towards Minghao, and he catches your eyes at the same time. You let out a small noise of approval, giving him an excited thumbs up before pushing more towards him.
“Why are you pushing it towards me? You’re the one most excited for the fries.” Minghao says with a giggle, and you scoff at him.
“Just because I’m really excited doesn’t mean I shouldn’t share! I know you were excited for them too, so eat more mingming!”
Minghao looks down with a small blush due to the nickname, taking a couple fries and shoving them into his mouth to look busy. Jun nudges him, mouthing the word, “see!” Mingyu chuckles at the interaction, nodding his head in agreement while you sit there, oblivious. Your focus is on the delicious fries that were absolutely worth the hype !! Until you notice you’re the only one devouring them, so you pause, and look up at the three guys who are looking at you with amused expressions on their faces.
“Are you guys gonna eat the fries or what?”
“Pretty sure you’re going to finish them all before we can even finish chewing.”
“... bitch.”
“Did he lie?” You turn towards Minghao to see if he’s on your side. The betrayal sinks in the moment he avoids your gaze and takes a large sip from his water bottle.
“Damn. It really be your own.”
“I’ll wait for you guys here!” You say cheerfully, preparing to sit down on the bench once the boys get ready to line up for the ring of fire. “Oh no, you’re riding this with us.” Jun grabs your wrist, pulling you into the line.
Your eyes widen, yanking your wrist out of his grasp and stepping back out of the line. You look up at the ride, grimacing at the people going upside down in the loop multiple times. Turning back towards Jun, you glare. “Absolutely not.”
Mingyu nudges Minghao, and he gives him a look. Minghao lets out a breath, slowly reaching his hand out towards yours. “This is the only scary ride we’ll ask you to go on.” Your heart beats a bit faster at his outstretched hand, looking up into his eyes, he can tell you’re still not fully convinced.
“I’ll hold your hand the whole time.” Minghao offers with a soft grin, and you bite the inside of your cheek to stop the whipped smile from breaking out onto your face. You let out a sigh, intertwining your fingers with his and he places you next to him in line. Jun and Mingyu squeal silently beside each other, hitting each other's arms at the view of you and Minghao’s connected hands.
“How many in your group?” Your heart sinks to your stomach when Minghao answers that there’s four of you guys.
oh god why am i doing this
With your heart nervously beating against your chest, the employee scans your wristbands and leads you to the row of five. As soon as you get buckled in, Minghao finds your hand again and intertwines his fingers with yours. “Are you ready yn?”
You don’t respond, nervously bouncing your leg as you stare down at the hot metal. Mingyu and Jun let out a small giggle at the sight, telling you that it’ll be okay. Minghao squeezes your hand, and you turn to glance at him. He gives you a smile, and you try your best to muster a smile.
The ride jerks and your eyes widen, already opening your mouth to say I TAKE IT BACK as soon as it starts moving back and forth. “I’m absolutely going to shit myself.” Jun and Mingyu let out small squeals while Minghao keeps muttering that it’s going to be okay.
You find yourself believing that it’ll be okay after the first few swings, deciding that it’s not that bad.
until you begin going higher.
“I SWEAR TO GOD I’M GOING TO KILL YOU GUYS!!” You scream at the top of your lungs when you go upside down.
“Maybe we shouldn’t have convinced you to ride it.” Jun states as they stare at you laying on the grass, trying to get rid of the nauseousness. Minghao runs his fingers through your hair in an attempt to try to comfort you, which Mingyu finds quite adorable as he is taking pictures of it at this very moment.
“You think?” You mumble, opening your eyes to glare at Jun, only to let out a small groan from the brightness of the sun and shut them right away. It’s been about thirty minutes since the four of you got off the ring of fire, and you immediately threw up into a trash can. The three helped you over to an empty spot where you can lay down, and now you’re just laying here waiting for the nauseousness to go away.
“Sorry yn.”
“Sorry yn…”
“Ugh, it’s fine. It’s my fault for even agreeing in the first place.” Minghao’s finger lightly brushes against your cheek as he runs his fingers through your hair, and you take a sharp inhale. Jun snickers behind the back of his hand, finding the interaction precious.
“Do you think you’ll be alright to ride any of the safer rides today?” Mingyu asks, and you open your eyes slowly to adjust to the brightness. You sit up, Minghao helping you by placing his hand on your back. Letting out a sigh, you shake your head. “Probably not. I remember the last time I rode one of those rides. The rest of the night I was completely out.”
“Oh no, what should we do then?” You wave Jun away with your hand, giving him a reassuring smile. “It’s okay, I can just play the games here as I wait for you guys.”
“By yourself?”
“Ye-”
“No. I’ll stay with yn.” Minghao cuts off, and you turn to him with wide eyes. Mingyu nods his head in approval, sneaking a wink his way with your attention now diverted away from the two, to which Minghao scowls at him.
“Minghao, I don’t wanna ruin your fun. It’s okay! I’ll do just fine alone.” You reassure him, and he just shakes his head stubbornly. “I’ll be staying with you the rest of the time at the fair. I prefer the games over the rides anyways.”
now that’s a goddamn lie, Jun thinks to himself.
“Well, we’ll see you guys later. Text us if you feel better yn, and we’ll all go on one of the baby rides together or something.” You raise your hand to slap Mingyu’s arm for the comment and he giggles, patting your head and walking away with Jun.
“Wanna walk around and look at what games to play or do you wanna lay here for a little bit longer?” Minghao waits for your response, letting out a giggle when you shake your head and turn to look at him with a dazed expression on your face. “Huh? Did you say something?”
“You good yn?”
“Probably not.”
“That’s expected.”
“It truly is.”
The two of you sit in silence for a moment, you debating on whether or not you wanna vomit again and Minghao taking note of how pretty you look when the sun hits your skin. He bites the inside of his cheek, looking out at the crowd when he remembers what Jun said.
“She’s literally in love with you, of course she’d agree if you asked her.”
“Mingming?” He immediately turns back towards you, letting out a small smile when he sees the glow coming back to your features. “Yeah yn?”
“Let’s go play the games, I wanna win the giant pikachu we saw earlier.” Minghao smiles at you, lifting his hand up and patting the top of your head softly.
“Let’s do it.”
“I hate it here.” You mumble as you don’t end up winning one of the plushies for the third time. You get up off the seat, cursing capitalism for making it so hard to win any of these games.
stupid capitalism. I hate it so bad yet i always fall for it.
“Yn!” You turn back towards Minghao to see a big smile on his face, and you realize he won the game. He waves you over and you walk up to his side. “What is it?”
“Which one do you want?” Your eyes widen, and he makes a gesture for you to choose so that the employee can take it off the rack. You glance at the plushies, letting out a small sound of awe at the sight of the pikachu.
“Are you sure?” You ask again, and Minghao nods his head with a smile. Tentatively, you point towards the pokemon, and the employee takes it off the rack, handing it to you with a smile. You hug it excitedly, Minghao hovering his hand over your back to lead you away from the game stand.
“Thank you for giving it to me Mingming.” You turn your head and look up at him with a bright smile on your face, and Minghao’s eyes widen at the sight. He looks away, blush forming as he hopes for the night sky to hide it from view.
“You looked really disappointed the last three times you’ve lost so I wanted to do something nice for you.” Minghao mumbles, and you nudge him with your shoulder, giggling. You coo at his shyness, feeling your own heart warm at him giving you the prize.
“Let’s play that game!” You squeal, taking Minghao’s hand into your own and running over to the game with the bottles. He lets out a small giggle as you both head towards the stand, feeling the warm air blow past the two of you.
“You guys wanna play?” Minghao nods for you, and the employee scans your guys’ wristbands. Minghao regretfully lets go of your hand as he gets handed the rings to throw onto the bottles.
“If you get all three rings onto three bottles, you win one of the big plushies. If you get two, one of the medium sized ones. If you get one, then you get to choose from the small ones.” You nod your head, already eyeing the big plushies to choose from.
“You wanna play? Or should I?” You wave Minghao away with your hand, already feeling confident in your ability to get all three rings onto one bottle. He smiles, stepping back with his hands raised in the air.
“I got this.” You state. Letting out a breath, you throw the ring, only to miss completely.
Your throw is so poorly aimed, that it ends up hitting the wall behind the bottles. You stare at the bottles in silence, feeling embarrassment flood your body. Minghao snickers behind you, and you look down at the ground.
“Yeah… you really do got this.” The employee mutters, and you sigh in defeat. Turning around, you hand the last two rings for Minghao to throw for you.
Once Minghao manages to win the medium sized panda plushie for you, the two of you walk away from the stand. Holding the two plushies to your chest as if they were your own children, while Minghao walks happily with both hands in his pockets.
“Hey, yn.”
“Mm?”
“You want that appa plushie?” You look in the direction Minghao’s pointing in, and your mouth drops open at the sight of the giant flying bison you’ve always loved.
“YES!”
“Say less.” Minghao grasps your arm softly, pulling you towards the game stand.
“Hi, how can I win appa?” The employee grins at him, quickly explaining the rules to him.
“Since appa is one of the special prizes, you have to pop all ten balloons with the ten darts I give you.” Minghao nods his head in understanding.
“Are you sure you can do all of that Minghao?” He turns his head, giving you a smile, and you feel a blush take over your features at the blessed sight.
The colorful lights of the game stands mirrors over his face, putting emphasis on his pretty eyes as he looks at you. His black hair looks soft to the touch, reflecting a dark shade of the different colors being shown onto him.
ethereal. It’s the only word to describe him.
“I can do anything with you by my side, yn.” And with that, he throws the first dart.
“Waa! You got appa!” Jun exclaims, reaching out to touch the giant flying bison. The fair is now closing, and the four of you are reunited once again. You grin, telling him that Minghao was the one that actually won the plushie for you. Mingyu and Jun both turn to Minghao, giving him a knowing smirk.
“Oh really now?” Minghao glares at the two, mouthing that he’s going to choke them if they keep teasing him. Mingyu winks in his direction at the threat, and Jun chuckles.
Jun and Mingyu start walking faster, ending up far ahead, leaving you and Minghao alone. The two of you walk in a comfortable silence at first, taking in your surroundings as the fair unwinds. Minghao turns his head to look at you, smiling at the sight of you happily carrying appa as he holds your two other plushies in each hand.
He remembers what Jun told him earlier once again, and he lets out a small sigh.
“Do you love me yn?” You turn towards Minghao, giving him an incredulous look. “Of course I do.”
Minghao sighs again once he realizes that you thought he was asking whether you loved him or not in a friend type way. He looks up towards the stars to gain courage, before glancing back down at you.
“I meant as like, in an i want to date you and hold your hand non-platonically, type of way.” You let out a smile, nudging him with your shoulder.
“Been wondering when you’d notice.” Minghao’s eyes widen, ceasing his movement as he just stares at you in shock. You stop walking as well, turning so that you’re now facing him in front of the fair’s entrance. “What?”
“I’ve been making moves for like, a month, and you haven’t noticed. You’re lucky I don’t give up easily.” Minghao blinks, then blinks again.
“Deadass?”
“Deadass! I don’t just share my fries with anyone, ya know?” Minghao finally lets out a smile, reaching his hand up and fondly patting your head with the pikachu plushie. He later decides that that’s not enough, and pulls you into a hug, appa being between you two as he happily holds you.
“I never thought I was one to be oblivious, but jesus christ.” Minghao reflects, and you chuckle into his chest. You pull away slightly to look up into his eyes, and you take note of the happiness radiating from his gaze.
“Are you going to tell me you love me too? Or are you going to leave me hanging?” He grins down at you, rolling his eyes.
“I love you too.”
“In a friend way or a i want to date you and hold your hand non-platonically type of way?” Minghao chuckles at you quoting him, squeezing you slightly.
“In an I want to date you and hold your hand non-platonically type of way.” You smile contentedly as he releases his hold from around you. Reaching out your hand so that he can intertwine his fingers with yours. Minghao laughs shyly, covering his face with the two plushies for a moment.
“I can’t believe it’s happening.” He mumbles to himself, and you chuckle at the comment. He moves the pikachu plushie to his other arm, before finally intertwining his fingers with yours in a non-platonic way. A big smile immediately taking over his features once he does.
“Hey lovebirds! You guys are slow!” Mingyu yells, and the two of you look up to see him and Jun already waiting by the car. You chuckle at the camera flash from them, knowing that they've been taking pictures the whole time even though they tried to act uninterested.
You and Minghao start walking towards the car, connected hands swinging back and forth as you head over. You hold appa with your free arm, smile unable to leave your face as you walk. Minghao’s the same, sheepish smile continuing to make its way onto his features.
“But wait…” You turn towards Minghao, and he’s staring at you with an amused expression on his face. “You said you don’t give up easily, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Didn’t you give up right after you missed throwing the ring onto the bottle?”
“...I will ignore that comment for the sake of our newfound relationship.”
ミ★ synopsis: if you’re out in the first snowfall of the season with someone you like, true love will blossom between you.
ミ★ genre: best friends to lovers!au, pure fluff, some humor
ミ★ warnings: none!
ミ★ word count: 1,970
ミ★ pairings: minghao x female reader
ミ★ notes: hi guys! i remembered this saying earlier today and ended up writing this oneshot based off of it hehe. i love minghao and i just keep thinking of his cute giggles i </33 love him so much. my boy. anyways.. i hope you guys like this ! i think it’s one of my cutest oneshots thus far... also it’s 3:50 am i never sleep this is so
“Yeah so that’s the story of how I had to jump into a ditch to avoid getting run over by a firetruck.”
“... what the fuck?” You state after a moment of silence within the friend group, and Jun chuckles at the clear look of both confusion and concern written across your features. Soonyoung just shrugs his shoulders, leaning forward to grab his water bottle off the table. “That’s how it be sometimes.”
“No?!?” Minghao says from beside you, causing everyone to laugh at his outburst. You smile, patting your friend on the shoulder to try and get him to calm down, but he just begins to lecture Soonyoung as to how dangerous that was. You smile as the two start to argue, finding the rare occurrence of Minghao losing his marbles rather adorable.
You and Minghao became close in the beginning of your guys’ senior year of high school. Since you two were the only seniors taking AP Art, you quickly befriended each other through having similar interests. Becoming friends with him automatically meant that you were going to have 12 new friends as well, and that’s how you’re here now. Hanging out during winter break as the 14 of you don’t have deadlines or responsibilities to worry about.
“Hao, I think he gets it. No need to scold him anymore.” You tell Minghao with a smile, resting a hand on his shoulder. He turns, a frown still on his features, but he immediately softens when he realizes you’re right. He grins, nodding his head and letting out a yawn.
“And with that, I’ll be taking yn home.” Minghao announces, standing up from the sofa and stretching his arms over his head. You raise an eyebrow, and the guys snicker at your reaction. “We are?”
“Yeah, it’s almost 11. Auntie told me to get you home by that time, and it’s like… a fifteen minute drive. Let’s go.” Minghao explains, and you check your phone, pursing your lips when you see that it is, indeed, 10:45 at night.
“Damn, I’ll see you guys later!” You say, standing up from the couch and waving goodbye to all the boys.
“Bye yn!”
“Bye yn, love you!”
“Be safe!”
“What about me?” Minghao asks, having obviously taken offense to his friends not mentioning his name in their goodbyes. They all glance at each other, before turning back towards him.
“Y'all hear somethin?”
“I didn’t hear a damn thing.”
“Maybe it’s the wind?”
“Eh, we see you everyday.”
“We all play games together every night.”
“I just love yn more.” Seungkwan states in complete honesty, and Jihoon lets out a loud laugh as Minghao shoots him a glare. He wraps his arm around you, turning you around so the two of you can walk out, but not before he glances back and sticks his tongue out.
The two of you slip on your shoes after you guys wave bye once more, the boys including Minghao in their farewells this time. Minghao opens the front door for you, and you’re about to thank him when your eyes widen in amazement at the sight before you.
The grass and sidewalk is covered in a light layer of snow, with more snowflakes falling from the night sky. You turn to Minghao with a bright smile on your face, and he grabs your hand, pulling you into the snow so the two of you can play for a quick second. You laugh happily as you grab some of the piled up snow on Mingyu’s car, shaping it into a small snowball.
An evil smile forms on your face as you watch Minghao take pictures of the first snowfall of the year, and you take the opportunity to chuck your snowball right into his back. He lets out a yelp, turning to you with a look of betrayal on his face. You laugh loudly as he tilts his head in annoyance, and you run towards his car when he bends down to prepare a snowball of his own.
“Yn! Get back here!”
“I’m sorry!!”
“No you’re not!” Minghao yells with a laugh, chasing you around his car with his newly formed snowball. You squeal when he throws it at your arm, and you hear his loud giggles as he quickly gets into his car, signaling that was the last snowball to be thrown. You grin, wiping off the excess snow from your jacket before stepping into the passenger seat, feeling the warmth of the heater as you put on your seatbelt.
“Can’t believe you’d betray me like that. It really be your own.” Minghao mutters as he backs out of Jun’s driveway, and you giggle, reaching out and patting his head.
“What else am I supposed to do when I witness the first snowfall of the year with my bffie?”
“Not throw a snowball at me?!”
“Well, that’s rather tragic.” Minghao chuckles at your ridiculousness, handing you his phone to aux. You put on fairy by dvwn, humming quietly to the late night tune as you put his phone back on the stand. He turns to glance at you, seeing you smiling contently as you listen to the sweet song.
“Have you been out during the first snowfall of the season before?” Minghao asks, and you nod your head, letting out a pout.
“Once or twice, but I’ve only seen it alone though. This is the first time I’ve experienced it with anyone else.” You explain and he nods, turning back towards the road. He’s driving a bit slower due to the snow piling up on the roads, and you let out a small smile.
“I’m glad it was with you though.” You mutter, and Minghao feels his heart thump against his chest at your sweet words. He grins before responding,
“I’m glad it was with you too, yn.”
“Achoo!” You sneeze loudly, and Minghao mutters bless you, before continuing to snap pictures. You’re about to say thank you when you pause.
“ACHOO!” You sneeze again, and Minghao giggles before saying bless you for the second time.
“God, pollen is the fucking bane of my existence.” Minghao glances at you, letting out a chuckle as he notices the pout on your lips. He reaches out and pats your head, “It was your idea to take pictures at the lavender festival this year, yn.”
You roll your eyes, “I know, I just underestimated how bad my allergies are.”
“Did you take allergy meds?” You nod your head, muttering that they should kick in in about thirty minutes or so. You pull your mask up over your nose for the time being, taking out your phone to take pictures of Minghao.
You feel warmth rise to your cheeks at how gorgeous he looks in the lavender field, finding him to be the most beautiful person you’ve ever met. Not just in his appearance, but in his personality as well. You always told yourself you’d never fall for Minghao, and that he’s just your best friend.
but alas… here we are.
You plan to tell him how you feel today, in hopes that it’s mutual. You have a hunch that it is based on the increased number of lingering touches and hidden glances towards each other since December. Chan even yelled at you to confess already, saying that it’s the most obvious thing in the world.
which is what you will do today !! if your plan goes right !!!
You try to get Minghao to laugh for a few photos, but he stares at you with a straight face during each attempt. You let out a sigh, about to give up when you let out a loud sneeze through your mask. Minghao’s lips turn up into a smile, prompting a few giggles from him which you immediately snap pictures of.
“Why do you want me to laugh in the photos so bad?” Minghao asks after the two of you take a look at the photos you’ve taken so far, and you smile up at him.
“Because you look best when you’re happy.” He feels his heart thump against his chest at your blunt honesty, letting out a cough into his elbow to try and get the heat to stop rushing to his cheeks. You grin, taking off your mask and lifting up your phone.
“Selfie time~” You sing, raising your phone up to take photos of the two of you. You smile in the first few, moving your face closer to his. You’re able to hear your heartbeat in your ears by how fast it’s going, and you just pray that Minghao doesn’t hear it. You bite the inside of your cheek as you prepare for the next post you planned.
The tips of Minghao’s ears turn red as he psyches himself up to do what he’s been wanting to do for the past three months. He’s been waiting for the right opportunity, and this very moment seems like the best time to do it.
He pinches his thigh very hard, before turning to kiss your cheek.
While you let out a nervous grin, turning to press your lips to his cheek.
However, you both soon realize that what you’re kissing feels nothing like a cheek. The both of you open your eyes, and your arm slowly lowers to your side, effectively dropping your phone onto the field as you realize that you’re fucking kissing Xu Minghao.
oh my fucking god this isn’t her cheek, Minghao thinks to himself in a panic as he stares back into your wide eyes. He pulls away slowly, and you stare at him in shock as warmth immediately rises to your face. The two of you stand in silence for a moment, before Minghao lets out a loud gasp and raises his hand to his mouth. While you squeal and slap your hand over your lips, eyes bulging out as you stare at your best friend that you just fucking kissed.
“You like me?!”
“You LIKE ME?!?” The two of you ask at the same time, pointing at the other with shocked expressions on your faces. You let out another squeal, cupping your cheeks to try stop the warmth from flooding your features. Minghao lets out a shocked smile, running a hand through his hair in surprise as he stares at you.
“Yn, you like me?” Minghao asks, and you nod your head.
“Minghao, you like me?” You counter, and he nods his head as well. Slowly a smile escapes you, and you let out a laugh at how ridiculous your guys’ first confession was.
“You know, this is the weirdest way for us to have confessed.”
“But doesn’t it seem so on brand for us?” You bite your lip to try and hold back a smile, nodding your head at his statement. He grins, wrapping his arms around you and cradling your head. You immediately wrap your arms around his middle, smiling happily against his chest when you suddenly remember something. You pull away, bending down to grab your phone and turn it on.
You let out a laugh at the photo of you and Minghao staring at each other with wide eyes as your lips are touching. He raises an eyebrow, glancing at your screen and giggling loudly at the picture. He wraps his arm around you, and you both begin to tease the other for the expressions on your faces. All while the hot summer sun shines upon the two of you. Warm hearts, warm faces, and happy smiles as you both stand in the lavender field giggling with each other.
It’s been two seasons since the two of you witnessed the first snowfall together, and you can confirm that the saying is true.
you truly did fall in love with the person you saw the first snowfall of the year with.
