i loved the 8turn petname headcannon! could we get a reverse one with what petnames you call the boys or their reactions to you calling them by a petname?
hihi anon, thank you for this request!! sending love ♡
☆⠀⠀8TURN — you calling them by a petname for the first time !
bf ! hyung line + jangshinz + gyu (separately) x gn ! reader ★ fluff. established relationship ★ reaction
warnings: nothing i noticed. let me know if i missed anything!
... (🌏) — ji's computer ... slightly nervous to post since i've been gone for almost a year,,
if you enjoy, please consider reblogging
⁰⁰¹ : JAEYUN.
he'd be rather casual about it. he calls you petnames somewhat regularly, so you suddenly referring to him with one wouldn't be too much of a shocker, but that definitely does not mean his heart doesn't skip a beat every time.
most common — jae.
occasionally — babe. yun. my love.
⁰⁰² : MYUNGHO.
tries to play it cool (but fails in secret). will act all nonchalant about it up until the moment you turn around after he answers your question. will smile so wide and briefly put his face in his hands for a moment to try and recollect himself. will NEVER reveal to you how much it affects him.
most common — ji.
occasionally — baby. myung. silly.
⁰⁰³ : MINHO.
aaa he loves it!!! from the moment you call for him, he's hugging you so so tightly. has the brightest smile on his face as he listens intently to every word you say, watching your lips as you speak. you'd end up being the one getting flustered instead of him; his constant admiring making you feel like you're floating.
most common — love.
occasionally — min. minnie. woochie (for jokes)
⁰⁰⁴ : YOONSUNG.
very expressive,,, you can see the shock on his face!! overall gets really happy and smiley once you call for him. has this specific look in his eyes when listening to you - he can't get over the fact that you!!! called for him!!! with such a cute name!!! one that's only for him!!!
most common — pretty.
occasionally — sungie. baby.
⁰⁰⁵ : HAEMIN.
oh my gosh, he doesn't know how to react. freezes. gets nervous. face gets warm and uses his hands to hide himself. he can't meet your eyes because he was so caught off guard and his stomach is doing flips. hearing you call for him again only makes him realize that he never answered you the first time.
most common — haem.
occasionally — lovely. min.
⁰⁰⁶ : KYUNGMIN.
gets an odd feeling that he can quite describe or put a name to. all he knows is it feels ... right! he smiles to himself when you call out for him to help you, a blooming warmth fills his chest when he stands, a sense of relief and love washing over him as he makes his way over to you.
most common — minmin.
occasionally — baby. minnie.
⁰⁰⁷ : YUNGYU.
his eyes would widen a bit, a very poor attempt at hiding his smile would give away that he really enjoyed hearing it. he'd likely never verbally admit such to you or his members, but he hopes he at least appeared nonchalant enough for them to not tease him about it later (kyungmin is NOT letting him live this down).
Notes: This took me a little bit longer but here it is jsjs. Ty ty for the idea, Emmi! 🩵 (Pls tell me if you’re uncomfortable with me calling you that and/or if you prefer that I call you moot instead. ☺️)
Everyone thought that your boyfriend, who was not only good looking but talented too, was an extrovert when in reality Myungho was a pretty shy guy until you knew him well enough. He was a menace with his loved ones, and obviously that included you.
He was such a fan of teasing you and flirting with you since you got red over the smallest things. He had a way with words, you had to give him that.
You had been together for quite some time now and for the entirety of your relationship you were never able to fluster him (not that you had really tried, specially since he tends to make you nervous and a stuttering mess.)
But today, you were determined to make him blush. Just to give him a taste of his own medicine.
Some days you would bring him lunch to his company since you knew that when he had dance practice he would forget to eat, or ate until late at night.
So, you made him a cute lunch that consisted of some of his favorite foods and walked out of your apartment. You took a quick detour to the convenience store that was on your route and bought him his favorite drink. Thankfully, it was all pretty close to MNH so you continued walking there and got to the building in no time.
You reached his practice room and peaked through the glass door, seeing the blonde dancing to a new choreography, most likely of their new comeback.
You opened the door and Myungho stopped the music, turning to face you with a big smile.
“Hi, pretty.”
“Hey, my love.” He went to hug you, but avoided it by extending your arm and placing your hand on his chest.
“Nuh uh, you’re all sweaty.”
He pouted. “Aaaaand?”
“I don’t want your sweat.” You giggled.
“You’re depriving me of your love, that’s not fair.” He dramatically said while falling to the ground, laying on his back.
“You’re such a dork.” You sat on the floor next to him.
“But, I’m your dork.” He smirked and sat down.
“Yes, my pretty dork.” You kissed his nose, making him frozen and flustered.
He didn’t expect that.
“What’s up, pretty boy?” You smiled innocently.
He certainly didn’t expect THAT.
He felt like he was malfunctioning. Is that what you felt every time he flirted with you?
You giggled, seeing that he couldn’t even speak.
“You’re so adorable!” You kissed every inch of his face.
Myungho kept getting redder and redder, it was such a funny sight.
“Cat got your tongue?” You questioned teasingly. He just glared at you, with a tender look on his blushed face, which totally made you laugh. “Now you know how I feel.”
“Oh, so you want me to stop?” Myungho asked playfully when he was finally able to speak without stuttering.
Scenarios of what I think Christmas season will be like with the Seventeen members :)
A/n - this is my first time writing fluff, I don't do fluff, like ever. Guess I'm in a mood this holiday season. Mild suggestive if you squint hehe. It's not proof read, specially since I'm a day late with this lol, will fix the tenses and mistakes later, sorry!
Seungcheol - Christmas Homebody
Seungcheol absolutely loves Christmas. He would be so excited the days leading up to it. He loves accompanying you to shop for decorations (of course he makes sure to pay for every last thing). He loves noticing even the small things you look and smile at so he can buy and gift them to you (the man truly spoils you). He loves watching you decorate the Christmas tree and loves it even more when you ask him to help put the ornaments up where you can't reach.
But the colder it gets, he turns into a homebody, preferring to stay in rather than going out, like he promised he would this year. As compensation, he obediently sits and binge watches your favourite rom coms (that he too obviously loves and secretly cries through). What he loves most is when the two of you cuddle under the sheets by the fire place, in a way that allows him to place soft kisses behind you ear time and again. This was all he ever wanted.
Jeonghan- Christmas Adventurer
Jeonghan hates the winter cause the cold is truly not his best ally but when it comes to an adventure, he's always down. Jeonghan loves making precious memories so taking you to the skii cabin that he used to go to as a child is just another way for him to make a great memory even better. (Plus, he'd also get to show off his mad skills on the slopes). That being said, the man still hates the cold so do expect the mornings to start with a lot of never ending whining of wanting to stay in bed, wrapped up with you.
Once you manage to drag him out though, drowning him in thick layers of clothes, he's unstoppable and a totally different man - excited, mischievous, hurling snowballs at you, tackling you into a snow fight filled with kisses and giggles. In the evening, when the whole family gathers in the lounge for a lego building competition, he's his most serious self, and you watch him, smiling to yourself over a hot cup of chocolate.
Joshua- Christmas Dinner Host
Shua is truly a people's person. He's always celebrated Christmas quite traditionally given his childhood in the US. For him, its all about family and company so he's definitely down to host a Christmas dinner in his house. There's Secret Santa, drunk friends loudly singing carols and everyone is just having a good time. He doesn't like watching you spend so many long and tiring hours in the kitchen cooking up a feast so his dinners are always a potluck.
Oh and of course, there's always a dress code - Joshua needs a little madness in his life so costumes is where he lets himself get crazy. Last year, everyone had to dress up in their ugliest Christmas sweater and this year too he's surely up to not good, you just don't know what yet. What you do know, is that nearing midnight, once he kicks everyone out, he'll come back and throw himself onto you in the bed, kissing you softly before the two of you fall asleep, tired but happy.
Jun - Christmas Dancer
Christmas isn't really a huge deal for Jun. He's just happy to get a few days off to celebrate some festivities and spend some time with you. Come Christmas he's taking you out to your favourite restaurant which he reserved weeks ago. After that, he takes you for a surprise - a night of salsa dancing downtown. The two of you dance for hours, laughing and spinning away. He loves watching you move in the dress you've been dying to wear, stealing little kisses whenever he can. He can also see all those other men glance at you more than often but he doesn't care - He knows you only have eyes for him.
At the end of the night, when your feet cannot take the heels anymore, he offers to give you his shoes which you promptly reject, it would be too cold for him. So instead, he decides to carry you till the train station on his back, your arms tightly wrapped around him, only regretting his decision when you start playfully whispering graphic and inappropriate things in his ear.
Hoshi - Unconventional Christmas
Hoshi doesn't follow trends, he sets them. For him it's all about standing out, making new traditions, thinking out of the box. That's why there's an upside down Christmas tree and Christmas gloves instead of stockings in your house. Though there are some (cringey) traditions he strictly follows like wearing matching pajamas while video calling both your families. Of course he was disappointed when you rejected his tiger pajama idea yet again but he was still happy to wear the red and green ones you bought.
He also likes to sit you on the kitchen counter and cook something you like, definitely with your instructions and guidance. When you clean up for the night, surprisingly, he's not giving you company. Instead, you discover, he's busy building a blanket fort in the middle of your living room, filling it with pillows, fairy lights and a mini projector. You're not really sure what movie you watched that night. Not with the two of you busy with hands roaming around each other amidst the sheets.
Wonwoo - Christmas is all about You
For Wonwoo, any holiday is a good opportunity for him to engage in some of his more favourite activities like gaming for hours on the end. But he knows how much you love Christmas so this holiday is entirely yours, he'll do whatever you want. This year you dress him up to match your outfit and take him to the Christmas market, roaming from stall to stall, dragging him excitedly. Not only does he sweetly follow you, carrying all the excessive shopping you've done, he also makes it a point to capture every reaction of yours on that camera of his.
His favourite photo is probably the one of you looking up at the night sky in awe at the first snow of the year - you look so damn beautiful, he can just keep watching you for hours on the end. When he notices you slightly shivering, he wraps you in his jacket, pulling you close. The soft kiss you give him on his nose gives him all the warmth he needs.
Woozi - Christmas at work
Christmas for Woozi doesn't necessarily mean a holiday. Of course the company gave him the week off but he has deadlines to meet. On Christmas day though, he mentally prepares himself to leave earlier than usual but you know, like always, he'll get too immersed in his work and forget the time. You decide to bring Christmas to him instead so when he wakes in his studio on Christmas morning, you're already there, decorating the place, earning his fond smile.
The two of you spend hours there, you watching him work and him making you listen to some of his tracks in progress. He loves the way your eyes shine when you listen to his songs, that's why you find yourself being pulled into his lap, lips trapped in a deep kiss. When he pulls away, much to your surprise, he asks to head back home. He was serious when he decided to wrap up his work earlier than usual - He wants nothing more than to be with you, in the peace of your home, alone.
Seokmin - Handmade Christmas
Seokmin loves the little Christmas traditions you follow - buying a new ornament for the tree every year, making your very own Christmas wreath and baking that delicious log cake you always make without fail. This year he wants to switch things up a bit so he's been going to classes for a while now, learning pottery and clay modelling secretly. He gifted you the most beautiful handmade coffee mug for Christmas (knowing your habit of having a cup first thing in the morning) but he has more in mind - he wants the two of you to sit together and make this year's new ornament for the tree.
He guides you, teaching you patiently but also laughing at your little mishaps and failings. The lesson ends with a new angel figurine hanging on the tree and the two of you smothered with clay and paint on the floor under it, laughing against each others lips. It makes him all the more happier when you slide him a scarf that you made, after weeks of secret knitting classes.
Mingyu - Christmas Cooking
Of course Mingyu is the most excited about the food and booze when it comes to Christmas. He's been working on his own batch of cherry wine for weeks now and wow does it taste amazing. He's also got some mulled wine that he started making, but that's for after dinner. Speaking of dinner, he loves switching up the menu every year and on this year's list are mostly desserts, which means hours of baking together. He absolutely loves the little icing and decorations you've done on the gingerbread cookies - that crazy creative side of yours always amuses him.
Obviously he's also made a huge Christmas playlist and is blasting them on the speakers through the day. He's also randomly pulling you into the living room for a dance, making sure the two of you somehow, end up under the mistletoe so he can sneak in a few mandatory kisses. It's only when you're both slightly tipsy and settling into the couch for the night that he considers it to be a successful day.
Myungho - Artsy Christmas
Well, if there's a new exhibition in town, of course Myungho was going to take a look. Except, the last day was exactly at the time his year end break started, which meant he only just missed the chance to see it. When he messaged the organisers that he was sad to have missed their show and would love to catch them next year, they immediately responded saying they were willing to open the exhibition one more night, just for him. And you too of course.
That's how on Christmas evening, the two of you found yourself having a little museum date, with the whole space all to yourself. For a while he walked around excitedly talking about the history and artists of various pieces but the night eventually ended with some horribly inaccurate but hilarious impressions of paintings. Safe to say, the both you have new wallpapers on your phone now - a picture of him kissing you in front of the painting of a lady who looks mortified.
Seungkwan - Christmas with Family
You were pleasantly surprised when Seungkwan surprised you with 2 plane tickets to go back and see you family this holiday. He was familiar with your family through phone calls and video chats but he still hadn't met them in person and you weren't sure if Christmas was the right time for that considering your whole extended family would be home. You hoped for the best as the two of you got home, but honestly, there could be nothing better than this.
He fit into your family perfectly - everyone loved him, they were always laughing when he was around, even the family dog seemed to always want to sit by him. Your favourite moment though was watching him sitting in the middle of your many nieces and nephews, reading them a whole bunch of Christmas tales. When he looked up and smiled at you, you sent all the kids off for dinner, pulling him for a deep kiss before softly suggesting the two of you go off to start a family of your own.
Vernon - Christmas Overseas
Vernon didn't think Christmas would turn out like this - Flying into Paris on the Christmas morning, attending the brand event in the afternoon and the after party at night - it was not a part of his plan at all. The only good thing that came out if it was that you agreed to join him. He was glad the two of you had a chance to fly in a private plane early in the morning. And that you were cozily sitting next to him along the run way. And that you looked so absolutely stunning in that black gown his team put you in for the after party.
That's why after he made an appearance and posed for a few pictures, he softly held your hand and lead you out, escaping silently from the paps. Then he called for a horse carriage fit for royalty, claiming you look like no less than one and sat, his arm wrapped around you safely. As you drove into the night, snow falling prettily, he left soft kisses on your neck, sighing that he was so happy you're here with him.
Dino - (Un)planned Christmas
Dino had been dying to get out of the country for days now. He knew you too were sick and tired of the cold and were in desperate need of a retreat. That's why for the year end holidays, he planned a trip to Greece, knowing it was on your bucketlist for years now. He made sure to plan the perfect vacation, the right blend of touristy things and relaxing activities.
On Christmas day though, he didn’t forget to give you his gift - a lovely blue dress for a special dinner. He also rented out that convertible you're always talking about (in the exact same colour as the dress he got you) and drove you into the sunset, blasting the mixtape that you gifted him. It was absolutely perfect, just the two of you in your own world until it began pouring rain, forcing him to quickly pull up into a nearby shelter. But when Dino watched you getting wet, enjoying the rain on your own as he tried to fix the hood of the convertible, he gave up and joined you, laughing as he ducked away from your water attack and pulled you into a long kiss.
synopsis — your current boyfriend was near perfect, but he could never set your heart ablaze the way myungho did.
pairing — ji myungho x gn!reader
genre — bittersweet
warnings — toxic relationship, yelling/arguing, kissing and making up, reader has unfaithful/toxic thoughts (for myungho), reader is the biggest problem here, cursing, mentions of food/eating, lowkey suggestive(?), reader is called beautiful once, petnames (babe)
word count — 2.7k
notes — this fic is inspired by the way i loved you by taylor swift ! so like idk how the word count got that high its 1.2k more than my target word count for the eras series bye
taglist — @stardustwaters
THE ERAS SERIES
it was 12:36 a.m. when your phone’s screen lit up, creating a bubble of illumination in your unlit bedroom. on the blinding light of the screen was a text notification from your boyfriend, growing an ounce of curiosity inside you. you quickly opened it, and your lips curved up at the sight of his message.
sweet dreams babe, i hope you enjoyed tonight as much as i did :)
he’d taken you on a date earlier, surprising you with flowers and a fancy rooftop-dining restaurant; each delicious bite was topped off by the view of the stars. you thought the expensive foods and relaxing scenery was perfect, but it wasn’t the most memorable part of your night.
when he picked you up, he opened the door of his car for you, uttering a simple ‘you look beautiful tonight.’ if you had to explain how you felt, you’d say you felt perfectly fine; a feeling that you weren’t used to.
a content sigh left your lips as you typed up your responses, returning his sentiments.
sweet dreams
i promise i enjoyed it even more than u <3
you watched as the three bubbles came and went as he typed, disappearing one last time as his last messages went through.
impossible
dream of me :)
your expression copied the one in his message, a cozy warmth resting in your chest. you were still for long moments, your eyes lingering on the screen in front of you.
your night had already been something far beyond a dream, and it was thanks to your far beyond perfect boyfriend. he was everything you’d ever needed; you knew you were extremely lucky to have him.
he was sensible, patient, humble, and just so incredible. he never failed to tell you anything and everything you needed to hear, and it was like you could never ask for anything better. you never even had to bat an eye at all of your single friends being jealous; you knew that he was a wish born from a shooting star.
even your parents couldn’t escape his charm. they both found him entirely endearing, so he was accepted into your family in no time. he was close to your mother, talked business with your father, and he was the center of household conversations long after he’d leave your home.
each time he—very reluctantly—left, he’d always text or call exactly when he said he would; he never made you wait. once he stepped foot inside his own home, your phone would buzz. he always checked up on you, even if he saw you just ten minutes prior.
despite wanting to know about all of your thoughts and feelings, he knew how to respect your space. he’d never intrude when you didn’t want him to, and he’d obey everything you’d ask of him when it came to your personal bubble. with him, you felt comfortable.
pressing your lips together, you turned your phone off, gently setting it on top of the sheets beside you. you lazily reached up-and-over to your nightstand, turning your lamp on. when you flopped back down, you took in a deep breath, releasing it in a heavy sigh.
you knew that, as wonderful as your boyfriend was, he couldn’t offer you everything. you never expected him to, but you couldn’t help what barged into your mind uninvited. you longed for the only thing you couldn’t have; the only thing that was practically impossible for him to give you.
you wanted to feel everything; you wanted more than the delicacy and security. you wanted to feel the burn in your chest when you cried, you wanted to feel the rush of adrenaline when you’d get angry, and you wanted to feel the sheer intensity of your love when you’d kiss him, but that was everything you couldn’t get.
he was far too gentle with you and your relationship with him; you felt like your bond would break at the slightest bend. you knew that all he wanted was to give you everything he knew you deserved, but at this point in your relationship, one tug would feel like an irreversible tear. you felt terrible, but you were already doomed before you even knew it.
everything your boyfriend didn’t satisfy, myungho did. myungho pushed every button and pulled every lever you had; he triggered your internal fire alarms and sounded every siren. he lit the match and set off your fireworks, and your bright colors always reflected in his eyes. he spoiled you with emotion, and you wanted it back.
you didn’t care if your friends were wary of him or if your parents were unsure, you knew that he was just right. you could feel your heart beating when you were with him, and you knew that he could feel it too. you were sure that the whole world could feel it when your heart felt like it’d nearly jump out of your chest, but now, it was like the whole world had gone still.
myungho sparked something inside of you; your boyfriend kept you steady. myungho gave you something alive, while your boyfriend gave you something stable. as much as you needed your boyfriend’s grounding, you wanted myungho’s passion.
you sunk down into your mattress, staring up at your ceiling. you knew that people never really knew what they had until it slipped away, but you were too late to realize it. it wasn’t until now, far after myungho walked away, that you knew he was your wish born from a shooting star. even after every quarrel, he was still your light; your fire.
myungho stormed out of your front door, the strong downpour drenching him in mere seconds. he started down to his car, frustratingly fumbling to properly handle his keys. you followed right behind him, stomping towards him harder than the thousands of droplets of rainfall did.
“myungho!” you didn’t miss a single beat, getting a hold on his wrist before he strayed too far. he didn’t fight your grip, stopping to sharply turn to face you.
“you’re seriously unbelievable! let me go,” myungho exclaimed, using his energy for rolling his eyes instead of ripping his wrist out of your hand. you made sure to roll your eyes back at him, your eyebrows furrowing harder.
“you’re such an asshole!” you yelled, face hot even in the cold rain. your whole body felt like it was on fire, rushing through you like a shot of adrenaline.
myungho stared at you, his eyebrows raising and his head tilting. he faced you completely, his body slumping into itself. you couldn’t see him clearly through the distortion of the rain, but you were able to sense overbearing smugness radiating off of him from a mile away.
“but you love me,” myungho taunted, his voice losing its sharp edge. he stepped closer to you, and your hold on his wrist loosened. “so what does that make you?”
you rolled your head back, closing your eyes in faux annoyance. you opened them again when your head fell back forward, bringing your eyes back up to myungho. he was staring at you with the same—justifiably—overconfident expression as before.
“an even bigger asshole,” you humored, dropping myungho’s wrist completely. you could see a smile growing on his lips, and before you knew it, you were hysterically laughing with him in the pouring rain.
you practically fell into him while your whole body quaked with laughter, and he held you in his own shaking body. you could feel the mutual feeling of stupidity hanging in the air, and it fueled your everlasting uncontrollable yelps of joy.
it felt like an eternity before you found yourself calming down; your arms had found themselves a comfy spot wrapped around myungho’s body in a lazy hug, your forehead found its place rested on his shoulder, and your body risked a cramp to be slightly hunched forward into him.
“god, i love you,” myungho spoke, breaking the verbal silence. it was loud and clear in your ear; you almost shivered. “i don’t know what to do with myself anymore.”
you lifted your head off of myungho’s shoulder, leaning your forehead against his instead. your noses touched, and you could feel your breaths mix with his. “i have an idea of what you could do.”
myungho read your mind before you could speak it, crashing his lips onto yours in something that could only be described as pure passion. your hands tangled into his hair while his slid down along your back, your lips and his moving together in a tempo that you silently fought over. you smiled on his lips, and you could feel it when he smiled back.
you stood there with him in the rain like the two stupid-in-love idiots you were, giggling and speaking words of love onto each other’s lips. you didn’t know if the rain stopped before you did, but either way, you knew that everything was completely worth it.
you sighed as you reminisced. you missed it; the screaming, the fighting, and the kissing in the rain. you missed the late nights where you’d nearly rip your hair out thinking about myungho, smiling and giggling at his pictures minutes later. you missed him being so in love that he acted insane, and you missed being just as ridiculously in love as he was.
you imagined yourself being in the same position you were months ago, cradled tight in his arms with your sheets sprawled across your bodies. you fantasized about how he’d nearly kiss the lips off of your face, leaving you panting and wanting more when you’d already had beyond enough. you dreamt about being back in myungho’s life, desperate to be weaved into his future again.
every breaking-down and coming-undone was worth every second you spent with myungho. you’d willingly cry rivers and blow circuits because of him; you knew that he would always find a way to make it up to you. every sudden high and low of your relationship was what made it so addicting; that ‘roller coaster’ kind of rush was what you craved.
you never knew you could feel as much as you did with myungho until your boyfriend took his place. you had your biggest, brightest grins and your most shattering, heartbreaking moments with myungho; you could only do as much as hope that your boyfriend couldn’t see the smiles that you were faking, or that you almost couldn’t feel anything at all.
it wasn’t your boyfriend’s fault that you were selfish. it wasn’t his fault that he wasn’t as crazy, frustrating, intoxicating, and complicated as myungho, and it wasn’t his fault that that was what you wanted. it was your fault for being hung up on someone who was long gone; someone who you couldn’t have back.
you lost myungho as a result of your own mistake. you thought that he’d finally pulled your last straw, that you were ready to give in to the chants from your friends about how myungho ‘wasn’t something you wanted’. you let him get away, thinking it was a worth-while decision, but you wanted nothing more than to take it all back.
back in an all-too-familiar setting, you were under the violent drops of rain with myungho, planted in the soaking wet grass of your yard. you’d been there for god knows how long, both of you—very stubbornly—deciding to argue back and forth until the other would give up.
“i should’ve listened to all of my friends when it came to you,” you spat, yelling it for the whole world to hear. you crossed your arms tighter over your chest, feeling like you’d squeeze your own torso off.
through the rain, you could see how myungho’s expression twisted into something dead disgusted. it mutually hurt both of you beyond words to hear the things your friends would say, so you never sided with them before, even in your worst moments. it’d always been you and him against your friends, but now, it was you and your friends against him.
“it looks like you’re wanting to start listening right about now,” myungho scoffed, tilting his head in a familiar attempt of mockery. “never knew you’d stoop so low.”
“yeah, as if you haven’t gone below hell,” you retorted, driven by your blinding anger. “you’re the fucking worst.”
myungho mimicked a hiss, shaking his hand back and forth as if he’d gotten burned. “you don’t fool me at all, you know.”
he began to reach out for you, and you jerked yourself back, barely catching a glimpse of the flinch in his hand. he dropped his arm to his side, and a loud roar of thunder filled your ears. the sharp crack of lightning in the distance stole your eyes for a second, quickly being brought back to myungho when he found his voice again.
“fine! if that’s how you wanna be, i won’t stop you,” myungho spoke under his breath, his voice smaller but sharper. his hands balled up into fists, and his chest noticeably took longer to rise and fall. “have fun talking shit.”
his sudden change in demeanor startled you, but you tried to keep your reactions internal. your inner turmoil barely began to stir up as another blare of thunder snapped you back into the moment, your fury resurfacing.
“i will,” you near mumbled, tapping your foot impatiently. myungho stood there for longer than you liked, draining the last bit of patience in you. “so, fuck off, and don’t fucking come back!”
“wouldn’t dream of it!” myungho threw up a middle finger, turning to trudge off to his car with his keys free from his pocket. you didn’t go after him when he walked away, standing your ground until the very end.
once he drove out of your view, he was gone from your life. he didn’t text, call, or visit at all after he left, and you didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of being reached out to first, so you played the petty game of silence with him. you played until you forgot that you were, “moving on” to your current boyfriend.
you would be lying if you said you’ve “moved on” at all. you’re stuck missing everything you had, wishing you hadn’t sent him off without another thought. you let something that got the best of you take away something that was the best for you, and there weren’t any words in your vocabulary that could describe how purely idiotic you felt.
then, you wouldn’t give anything for myungho to come back. instead, you’d give anything for him to stay away. you wanted nothing to do with him when he drove away for the last time, slamming every door in your way until you threw yourself onto your bed. you basked in your hatred for as long as you could handle it, letting your stubbornness drive you.
now, you’d give everything in your possession for a second chance. he was the brightest flame in your life, and nothing felt right without him there to keep your mind running and your heart thumping. the constant tug-of-war between you was your sense of completion; your idea of perfection was in the way you loved him.
it was 2:15 a.m. when your phone’s screen lit up after you raised it off of your sheets, simultaneously lighting a fire inside of you. you rushed yourself to find myungho’s buried contact, forcing yourself to overcome the sudden, blinding light. your eyes scanned the names that flew by as you scrolled, immediately widening once they caught the one that belonged to myungho.
your change in speed was drastic, almost stopping completely as you pressed on his and your conversation. you softened your eyes and gave a gentle smile to the screen as you opened up the keyboard, using a couple tries to type something up before you sent it without a second thought.
hey
thirty seconds felt more like thirty minutes as you stared at the screen. you waited for life on the other line, finding yourself perking up once you saw a sign. memories of myungho flashed and faded in your head like the three small typing bubbles did in your phone, both quickly being replaced by myungho’s response.
about time
“fuck you, myungho,” you cursed his name, rolling your eyes with an all-telling smile on your lips.
A/N: Hey babes, sorry I haven’t been posting much— I’ve been sick with the flu recently and haven’t got any motivation to get up, let alone finish a fanfiction. Minghao being one of my huge comforts I decided to make this bcuz I’ve been feeling like shit. Please reblog and give me your thoughts, thank you, Lee’s out!
GENRE: Fluff
★ PLOT: You wake up to yourself sniffling, confused you feel your head growing hotter by the second—where as Minghao is by your side through all of it to ease your pain and gift a few laughs.
You woke from a weird dream, sniffling. No—you didn’t feel like you were crying, you just felt hot in general.
While in the midst of sitting up, you felt a force dragging you back down softly. Groaning, you looked to your side to see a brown-haired Minghao at your side with a cold and wet towel.
“Don’t move, I could tell your sick. Just lay flat, let me take care of you.” He spoke.
His voice sounded like your favorite flavored candy, it was practically impossible to refuse as your body subconsciously falls back again—eyes moving to Hao’s slender hands and how they folded that towel so quickly.
He moved the hair out of your face laying the cold towel on your forehead—you flinched from the sudden temperature change, Hao soothing you with small taps on your arm.
“So cold ‘Hao, too cold..” You sobbed.
“I know, I know. This is to make you feel better though—It hurts me too to see you like this but just stay still. For me.”
Giving him a weak nod, you felt for his hands, holding them. If he’d been truly honest, he’d admit that you looked so cute and vulnerable. Minghao loved when you were sick because he liked to tend to your needs.
“I’ve got some medicine here too,” He took a small cup of your least favorite medicine off of your bed-side table.
You kicked your feet softly, whining like a baby, you absolutely hated the taste of that particular medicine. He clicked his tongue in disapproval.
“I have water over there too, I’ll have you drink it so it won’t be as bad. Now how does that sound?”
You reluctantly nodded—mumbling unnecessary complaints to yourself along the way. He took two fingers and tapping them onto your lips, and you opened your mouth fully.
He took the small solo cup as you watched through lidded eyes and poured the liquid into his mouth—crouching down to your face level he pressed an open-mouthed kiss to your mouth letting the medicine seep into your system.
Wiping his mouth he shrugged, “The medicine really isn’t that bad, your just pretty picky babe.”
You looked at him with daggers in your eyes. Pointing at the water, he took the cup in his hand watching you closing your eyes waiting for him to kiss you.
“Awe, my baby looks so pretty waiting to get kissed.” Hao mused.
You immediately opened your eyes and pulled the sheets to cover your face, burning up once again—but for the wrong reasons.
Calming down, you felt hands pulling down the covers revealing your red face. Your boyfriend pulled a few tissues out of a box, wiping your nose clean of any more mucus—not caring for his own health.
Finally keeping his promise, he took some water in his mouth transferring it to yours with another kiss, this time, he decided to keep the kiss going. It just felt so soft and delicate; it was almost like you were falling in love with him for the first time again.
Finally pushing him away for air, you scoffed, “Seriously, what if you get sick too from all this kissing and teasing huh? You’re gonna be the death of me Hao.”
“Just let me be and let us stay silent for a while, yeah?”
“I think that’d be fine just don’t—hey! Stop it you’re gonna get sick too dummy!” You whined while Minghao got in the sheets next to you cuddling you for warmth.
“Stop thinking about me, you know you’d like this too.”
can’t stop thinking about being at an event with myungho and just non stop bouncing over to him and asking for kisses. every time you go over to him, he lets out a puff of air and smiles all cute and gummy like he does before giving you a light peck and pulling back to see your pout. before you can ask for more you get called back to your place, and are relegated to simply staring longingly until you can get away again.
SUMMARY: car rides with the boys lead to an unexpected (but not unwelcomed) surprise
❧
“Guys, be quiet.”
The snickering falls down to a whisper, several of the boys sending minghao one last knowing look.
Minghao ignores the others in the car, instead opting to glance out the window. I mean, there wasn’t much else he could do in a cramped car with 3 other guys, and ah, right-
you asleep on his shoulder.
He swears one minute you were chatting happily with him and seungcheol, and the next minute you were dozing off, head softly falling onto Hao’s shoulder.
Once the others in the car noticed, the giggles and teasing started.
“Hao’s whipped.”
“He would never let anyone else do that.”
“Chan accidentally did that once and then minghao got up so that he would fall down...”
He sighed, eye twitching in annoyance. “Are you guys done?”
They went on for a couple of minutes, finally settling down when seungcheol told them off.
When everyone else seems occupied, minghao secretly sneaks a peek at you.
You’re sleeping peacefully in what must be a comfortable spot for you resting on his shoulder, soft breaths puffing out and eyebrows furrowed.
He softly smiles, wondering what you’re thinking about in your sleep that would cause you to make that face.
But then the sound of a picture being taken catches him by surprise, head whipping around to find the perpetrator.
Hoshi meets his stare with wide eyes and a phone positioned in his hands at the two of you like a hamster caught doing something it wasn’t supposed to.
Dokyeom giggles from the front, bringing a hand to his mouth to stifle his laughs and prevent any further sounds that would disturb your sleep.
“You couldn’t have been any more discreet about it...”
Hoshi bites his lip, apologizing sheepishly. “Sorry. Couldn’t help myself.”
Unfortunately, the sound awakens you, making your eyes force themselves open and your head lift from its spot on his shoulder.
Groggily, you look at your surroundings, finding 3/4 of the other boys cautiously staring at you.
You unconsciously wipe your mouth in case of drool, and minghao has to hold back a grin at that.
“What’s going on?”
Hoshi grins, nudging minghao from the other side of you. “Why don’t you ask hao?”
You frown, looking at him before your brain truly wakes up, and it hits you.
“....did I fall asleep the whole ride on your shoulder?”
He shrugs, “it wasn’t that uncomfortable.”
Hoshi cuts in, “Yeah, and you’re the only one who gets that privilege because he lik-“
Minghao pinches him hard, effectively shutting him up with a pained yelp.
“Oh,” you glance down and then back up at him. “Thanks, Hao. I had a good sleep because of you.”
Suddenly, but still hesitantly, his hand inches over to wrap around yours, squeezing it gently. Your breath hitches as you look at him, taken aback but gladly accepting his warmth.
You both bashfully glance away in opposite directions, you looking out the window and minghao focusing quite intensely on the ground in front of him.
Seungcheol smiles at the sight of you two from the driver’s mirror.
Ah, the blooming of love.
❧
Afterward, minghao has to admit the photo hoshi took of you two was pretty cute. (and the perfect photo to save as his wallpaper.)
Thank you so much to @naviercallisto for the request (will try to edit this later bc it’s not letting me actually tag you which is weird)! I changed the prompt ever so slightly but the overall idea is the same! I really hope you like it, I’m not sure how well I did... But I am so in love with this idea and all the inspiration you gave me!!!!
Remember gifs are never mine and the link to the OP will always be available, go give them some love if you like their work!!!!
Warnings: Mentions eating, reader is female (I try to keep it gn unless requested otherwise), some mentions of sexism (Let me know if I missed any!!!)
Word Count: 4.7k
You were honestly dreading the portrait. You had never enjoyed having your picture taken in any way or form, so the idea of having an image of yourself immortalized with paint on canvas made your stomach churn.
It was apparently a tradition at the firm you had just started at. Each of their lawyers had a portrait commissioned to hang up in a row down one of the hallways. You had remembered seeing them when you first went in for your initial interview, but you hadn’t realized that they were such an important aspect of the office, or that you would be required to get one done for yourself.
It wasn’t enough to be a deal breaker, you enjoyed working at the firm and had gotten along with your coworkers better than you had at past offices. But the portrait still felt like a problem to you. And according to your boss, no number of arguments, even from a great lawyer like yourself, could get you out of it.
To make matters worse, the artist who had been commissioned to do all of the past portraits had moved across the country and was unable to do yours. This meant you and your secretary had to select a new artist to paint your portrait. And while you had never met the artist who did the portraits of your colleagues, and therefore had no attachment to them whatsoever; the idea of not having the same person do yours added another level of anxiety to the situation.
When you arrived for work in the morning, the line of portraits haunted you as you made your way to your office.
“Ms. [L/N]!” your secretary calls out to grab your attention before you walk into your own personal work space.
“Yes?” you ask, making your way over to her desk.
“I have a list of artists who are available and can be commissioned to do a portrait,” she handed you a stack of laminated papers filled with pages of contact info and reference photos.
“Thank you, Jisoo,” you smiled. “I’ll let you know when I pick one!”
You sighed heavily as you shoulder open the door to your office. At least thumbing through these papers would be an excuse to start actual work a little later. You hang your bag and coat on the rack by the door. You push a pile of papers out of the way to go through the stack Jisoo had handed you.
You tried not to notice that the majority of the artists painted portraits in a style similar to baroque, all of their female subjects made to look dainty and always entirely captured in pastels. That must have been a tip Jisoo had received from your boss. While all of your male colleagues had caused you no trouble, the big boss had made several comments about you being a “female lawyer.” Getting a portrait in this style would not only demean you but also make yours stick out like a sore thumb in that long line of serious, warm-toned ones. You had no doubt that your boss had been breathing down your poor secretary’s shoulder as she searched through artists for your portrait.
You silently thanked Jisoo when you noticed she had managed to sneak more of a variety of artists at the bottom of the stack. You pulled out the few that seemed to be able to create a portrait that would resemble those of your colleagues.
One of the artist profiles catches your eye. For a moment you couldn’t understand why Jisoo had included him. It seemed as if most of his works were abstract, just random splashes of color and shape. They were beautiful, you thought, but none of them exactly worked in place of a portrait.
Then you turned the page to see that Jisoo had included a portrait he had painted.
It was beautiful.
You looked at the description. It was just a casual portrait he had done of his friends. But it was so… breathtaking. You felt as though you could see the subject’s entire life and personality contained within the picture.
You thumbed back to the artist’s information page, wanting to learn more.
Xu Myungho.
“Whenever I paint portraits, I prefer to really know and understand my subjects first. I have a process of getting to know someone and understand what they want from their portrait. If I am not painting in a way that honors that person and represents them accurately, then why am I painting their portrait at all?”
You had to admit that this part of his profile was appealing. If he had a whole process, then that meant you could delay the existence of your portrait for a bit longer.
Also, there was a small, selfish part of you that said: If I’m going to have a portrait of myself, I want it to look as nice as this one.
You walked back out of your office and handed the profile back to Jisoo, “Let’s contact this one.”
“Xu Myungho?” she confirmed, looking up at you after glancing at the paper.
“Yes, that one,” you affirmed. “Let me know if and when you get a response.”
*****
He had a kind face.
That was your immediate thought upon meeting him. His features were soft and his smile was gentle.
He had requested to meet you in a coffee shop. It was small and very quiet. There were beautiful slanted sky lights, exposing the whole place to the glow of the early morning sun.
He didn’t look how you thought he would based off his art. You knew better than to believe that artists would dress sluggishly or that you could guess how someone would present themselves based off of what kind of art they made. But you were still surprised to see him so well dressed and well kept. He obviously cared for his presentation. You would think he was living a corporate lifestyle.
He carried a camera with him.
“Oh, I’m into photography too. And well… you never know when you’ll find something that inspires you,” he explained when you asked about it.
You liked the way he spoke. His answers were simple and yet held so much meaning. But he wasn’t pretentious about it. He was just himself.
His personality was as kind as his face. He was very sensitive to your hesitations and didn’t judge your predicament.
“If you’re nervous about it, we’ll take this slow. We can run through a number of options on how to style it. You said you didn’t want yours to stick out too much, correct? Would you mind if I came to the office to take some reference photos of the other portraits?” Myungho suggested.
“Not at all! I work regular office hours for the rest of the week, so you can stop by anytime!” you offer.
“Perfect!” he said taking a note in his planner. “Also, I assume you read my piece on portrait commissions? I hope you don’t mind if I ask to meet you often as I work on this…” Myungho searches your expression for a reaction.
“Oh! I don’t mind at all!” you assure. “To be honest, I just moved here. It would be nice to have an excuse to get out and explore a little!” Myungho nods and smiles as he listens, his hand absentmindedly taking notes as you speak.
The first meeting is brief. Myungho merely wants to know what the project is for and set up a schedule for your next meeting. Although you hadn’t been with him for very long, you left the meeting feeling at ease. You could already tell that working with Myungho would not cause you the amount of anxiety you had anticipated.
*****
“Is that the sexist one?” Myungho whispered to you, pointing at the picture of your boss and nudging you.
You laughed in response, feeling validated by Myungho’s notice of your boss’s behavior. His nose had sort of scrunched up earlier when you showed him the other artists your boss had told your secretary to suggest to you. “Not that I don’t respect these artists or think they’re talented, but…” he thumbed through the pages and pages of pink and blue pastel, “It’s obvious that he’s treating you differently since you’re a female lawyer.”
You hadn’t even had to complain to Myungho about it, he had picked up your boss’s subtle sexism himself. But work had to be done so instead of ranting, he simply ‘tsked’ and set down the photos so you could show him the portraits of your colleagues.
He took out his camera to click a few photos of the other portraits, “So as far as feeling…” he starts off before pulling back to check a setting on his camera. He pulls the device back up to his eye and talks slowly as he continues taking references, “Did you want to look more serious… or approachable?” His words are chosen carefully so as not to offend you in any way. You take a moment to once more appreciate how far Myungho goes to make sure you feel comfortable with him.
“I guess more approachable…” you trail off, “But…”
“Still respectable?” he guesses looking away from the camera for a moment to make eye contact with you as he awaits your answer.
“Exactly,” you confirm nodding your head.
Myungho stays silent for a moment, clicking through his camera to make sure he got all of the reference photos he wanted. Then he stares up at the actual paintings for a long while. You realize he’s inspecting their backgrounds. “Would you like for the setting to be here in the office? It seems as if theirs are placed somewhere like this,” he points out.
“Oh, I guess that would be a good idea. Whatever you can do to make mine as similar as possible. Would you like to take a look around the rest of the office?” you offer.
“Sure,” he gestures you to lead and follows after. “Do you think anyone here would know the exact measurements of the other canvases? I can probably guess the correct size, but I’d rather be absolutely sure before buying one for your portrait.”
“I’ll ask the head secretary later on and forward you whatever information she sends me!” you assure.
“Perfect,” he thanks. Myungho lets you lead him around, stopping you every once in awhile to take plenty of photos of different parts of the office. “I honestly think there are lots of places here that would provide a decent, simple, warm-toned background as the other portraits have,” Myungho comments. You simply nod in agreement. “How far am I allowed to go?” he asks suddenly.
“I’m sorry?” you ask, flustered by not understanding what he means.
“Oh, I mean like… I don’t want to interrupt your work,” he explains. “I’d like to see your daily process or even sit in on one of your trials? I’m supposed to be representing you as the professional you are. But I won’t do any of that if it makes you uncomfortable.”
“I think that should be fine… I just don’t know how entertaining it will be for you…” you say uneasily, not wanting him to get bored by your job. I mean, he was an artist. If you were being honest, most of your career was paperwork. You weren’t sure how much fun shadowing a lawyer would be to an artist.
“It’s fine,” he chuckled, taking a picture of a window at the end of one of the office hallways. “You’re my subject, so it’ll be fascinating to me.”
He assures you with a kind smile as you try to ignore the way your heart skips at his words.
*****
Myungho does end up accompanying you to one of your trials as well as shadowing you at work for a day. He only does each one once, though.
“See? I told you it’d be boring,” you tease him about it at your next meeting with each other, feeling a lot more friendly around him by this point.
“It’s not that. I just wanted to get a feel for how you are when you’re working. I got more than enough material from those two times,” Myungho holds up his journal as evidence. He was right, you could tell that many more pages had been used since the first time you had seen it. You guessed there must have been something he saw interesting in your work life. “Let’s go for a walk!” he suddenly suggests, getting up from his seat where the two of you had been drinking boba outside of a café.
“For what reason?” you ask but follow his lead.
He shrugs, “I want to ask you a few questions, but I believe sometimes we think better when we’re moving rather than when we’re sitting still.” Myungho sets off. There was a park near this area, you were sure he was leading you there.
It was spring. The trees and flowers were blooming. Petals were falling.
“Why did you become a lawyer, then?” Myungho asks, pulling his camera out and beginning to inspect its current settings.
“I guess for the same reasons anyone becomes a lawyer. A sense of justice? Wanting to help people?” you shrug. In your heart you knew that wasn’t actually true of all lawyers and that there was corruption in your profession as there was in any other. But you had always tried to do your best to bring true justice.
“It was nice to see you sticking up for the little guy in the courtroom,” Myungho comments, starting to take pictures at this point.
You shrug, watching his process of photography as you speak, “It was just the case I was given. I’ll probably keep getting smaller cases like that until I’m no longer considered the newbie of the office.”
“Did you always want to be a lawyer?” Myungho signals for the two of you to walk a bit further, obviously taking interest in a tree a bit further down the walkway.
“I don’t think so…” you think for a moment. “I went through a bunch of dreams as a kid and in high school as lots of people do. Then one day my friend mentioned she could picture me as a lawyer and it all sort of just… clicked?”
“That makes sense,” Myungho pauses to get an angle on the tree before bringing his camera up once more. “Sometimes all it takes is someone saying it straightforward, out loud.” After snapping a few pictures of the tree, he lets his camera fall to hang from the strap around his neck. He takes his journal out and scribbles some more notes.
“I know you’re the one that’s supposed to be asking the questions, but I’m curious… What do your notes look like? Are they all just about how boring and predictable I am?” you joke.
Myungho shakes his head as he smiles. “How many times I’ve called you boring in my journal is a secret,” he teases.
You laugh, once again noticing the ever-rising level of comfort and understanding between the two of you as you mess with each other, “But seriously, I’m not allowed to know what you’re writing about me? What about after my portrait is done?”
Myungho simply shakes his head at you. A firm no. That’s your answer. “Besides,” he says, pulling his camera back up after pocketing the journal, “we don’t have time for that. I still have plenty of incredibly important questions to ask you.”
“Like what?” your curiosity is genuine.
“What’s your favorite color?” Myungho asks with the smuggest grin, only barely managing to avoid your arm as you swat at him.
*****
Myungho actually starts your portrait the following week. He was only working on the background, but since he started, your meetings had gone down considerably.
“I’ll probably ask to meet you a lot more once I begin on painting your actual person, but I feel like I’ve already been bothering you too much, so I’ll let you have a break from me for now,” he had explained, smiling as gently as you always did.
You felt pathetic from how much you missed him. You told yourself it was because you had just moved, you hadn’t made enough friends yet.
But at the same time…
A friendship with Myungho had felt easier than any other you’d had. It was like… you two were pieces of a puzzle that fit together perfectly. You always understood how he spoke and what he meant. He never judged any of your hesitations despite being so outgoing himself. Conversation flowed naturally between the two of you and you never felt afraid to tell him anything.
Maybe it was just your desperation for friendship, but…
*****
You smiled at the pictures Myungho sent you as he worked on your portrait. It was still just the background but you could tell he had chosen your personal office as the setting. It was incredibly detailed and accurate. He only sent you small portions as a preview but you could see that the lighting was a soft blue coming from the window. The tones he had included would compliment the portraits of your colleagues well.
“When I finally start on you, how the portrait looks will have to remain a secret to the end.”
You roll your eyes at the text; you should’ve known he’d pull something like this.
*****
“Shouldn’t you have enough reference photos to paint me?” you ask Myungho as he sits quietly in the corner of your office. The canvas was turned so you couldn’t see the front of it at all. And Myungho had efficiently threatened you out of trying to take a look.
“I do,” he agreed, nodding his head, “but sometimes you get to a feature on a person that’s difficult to pin down and it’s best to have the real thing for reference.” He winks at you as he finishes speaking. It’s a daring move on his part, but you receive it well, returning a bright smile.
“Are you going to show anyone else before it’s done, or is everyone besides you forbidden from seeing it before your masterpiece is completed?” you ask, fanning through some papers.
“I will reveal it to only you once it’s done. After that you will get to decide if you like it, or if I owe you a whole new painting from scratch,” Myungho’s eyes never leave the canvas.
“I highly doubt that will happen,” your mind drifts to the small previews of the painting you had seen. You also thought of the original portrait that had convinced you to contact him in the first place. There was no way you’d dislike what he made. You were sure of it. “Are you really planning on staying for my whole work day?”
“The longer I stay, the more of this painting gets done,” Myungho explains simply.
“I tend to work a little late…” you test, seeing how he’ll react.
“That’s fine. I guess you’ll just have to treat me to dinner to make up for my overtime,” Myungho beams into his work.
“Fine, but I pick where we eat.”
“Deal.”
*****
Myungho asked you plenty more questions at dinner, but this time, his journal did not appear once. The two of you simply speak back and forth, finding out more and more about each other. You laugh and laugh. And hours pass. And you two don’t notice.
Myungho allows you to ask him all sorts of questions about his life and his art, finally opening up the doors to you that you had already opened for him.
“I really missed you,” you blurt out suddenly, halfway through dinner. Myungho looks genuinely surprised since the first time you met him. You immediately feel heat move up your face and out to your ears. “I just mean… you know, when we weren’t seeing each other as often. I missed actually having a friend around here and-”
Myungho grabs your hand, fingers fully lacing with yours. That gentle smile is present as he looks into your eyes, “I missed you, too.”
*****
You grow somewhat anxious as your portrait is nearing completion. Myungho had admitted he valued you as a friend too, but what if that was just to please a client? What if as soon as the portrait was done, he disappeared completely from your life?
You watched carefully every day as Myungho worked, seeing him paint smaller and smaller areas with more specific and detailed strokes.
You were also anxious to see the finished piece. You found yourself staring down at the reference portrait Jisoo had given you that Myungho had painted. It was so breathtaking every time. You wondered, though, if there was enough to you in order to create a portrait like that.
*****
“Yeah, I’ll have to leave right after I’m done with your portrait,” Myungho explained, dropping a paintbrush into a jar of water.
“Do you do that often? Leave town for work?” you ask, trying to mask how much your heart hurts from the idea that Myungho will just up and leave as soon as he’s done painting your portrait. It was stupid to feel like that anyways, he had no obligation to stay in town just because you wanted him to.
“Sometimes, it honestly just depends on the clientele I’m getting,” Myungho’s tone feels different than usual. Was he possibly nervous to tell you he’d be gone?
“How long will you be away?” you had tried faking your apathy by staring at your computer screen. The truth was, you hadn’t been able to read a single word on it.
“Just a couple of weeks, it’s going to be a really simple piece,” he assures.
You only nod.
*****
“Sorry I couldn’t be here to reveal it to you myself.”
That was all the note had said. You had found it on your desk that morning after Jisoo had informed you that your portrait had already been hung in the hall.
You didn’t want to see it… but you also really did.
You found Jisoo already standing in the hall, staring up at it. Her expression only added to your anxiety. What was that? Disgust? Interest? Approval?
You act as cavalier as possible when you stroll up next to her. You’re trying to think of a casual conversation starter but you fall quiet as the painting finally graces your sight.
It’s a simple picture, you sitting at your desk, looking out at the spectator, obviously midway through working on something. As you had already noticed from the preview photos, the lighting is soft and blue. It illuminates you from the window behind your person. The colors and tone go along perfectly with the other portraits. The detail is impeccable. And your expression… Myungho had landed right on the line of approachable and respectable. But the real kicker was…
“Your eyes,” Jisoo speaks your thoughts out loud. “I don’t know how he did that… I don’t want to sound dramatic but it’s like… I don’t know… There’s a universe in them… He must see something really… beautiful…” Jisoo trails off realizing she’s absentmindedly speaking her own thoughts. She straightens herself out and glances at you, “Sorry if I misspoke.”
You shake her head, knowing she must be experiencing what you felt when you saw a portrait by Myungho for the first time, “It’s alright, Jisoo.”
“The guys are going to be so jealous of your portrait,” Jisoo laughs. You give her a genuine smile for a moment, unable to pull your eyes away from the painting for much longer.
*****
Myungho had requested a follow-up meeting to confirm that you were satisfied with his work. The two of you met at a food truck in a park.
“Sorry I asked you to meet so late, but I wanted to see you as soon as I got back,” Myungho says as he hands the vendor money for both of your food. You can tell he had been travelling. It was the first time you had seen him in casual clothing and with his usual slicked back hair in an un-styled look.
He seemed so… cute like this.
Myungho had ended up having to stay for three weeks on his trip. Since he was busy with the client, he didn’t contact you often. You tried not to be clingy about it, but couldn’t help sending a couple texts asking how he was doing. Every time his response was just that he was doing well and he was sorry he wasn’t there.
You still weren’t exactly sure where you stood with him. He had already been paid for his work by your firm. But the follow up could still just be pleasing a customer in order to maintain a good reputation.
It felt sort of embarrassing to be so desperate to see him without even knowing if he truly cared for you.
Myungho leads the two of you along the park path. You try to stop yourself from staring shamelessly at this more natural looking Myungho in the yellow park lights. He looks ironically cozy in the loose denim jacket he’s donning.
“So, I’m afraid to ask since you haven’t brought it up, but… The painting?” Myungho searches your face for a tell on what you’ll say to him.
“I love it a lot,” you say quietly, almost too embarrassed to expose all of your true feelings on the subject.
“Is that it?” Myungho actually giggles, pushing his face closer to yours.
“I can’t really explain it. I just know that I love it,” you offer. Myungho nods and accepts this answer. The two of you slowly step along in silence. It’s comfortable, being in his presence. You’re terrified of what it will feel like if this ends.
You let yourself look back up at Myungho again only to see he looks quite nervous himself. You’re about to ask what’s wrong when you see him sneak a glance down to your hand. Your gaze follows his only to see his hand slowly inching closer to yours. Warmth blossoms in your chest and you can’t stop the smile that pushes across your face.
You help him by closing the gap, fully grasping his hand with yours.
Myungho has the cutest smile on his face as he stares down at your joint hands, beginning to rub his thumb against your skin.
“You know… I don’t actually meet with clients this often,” Myungho admits quickly before clearing his throat. “I don’t know if that’s selfish of me to want to get to know you more and spend more time with you.”
You stop walking and tug on Myungho’s hand to get him to do the same, “Well, I supposed I did guilt you a bit with all that talk of not having anyone else I know here.”
Myungho shakes his head, “I wanted to spend time with you, I really did. I like you a lot.” You smile up at him. Myungho reaches up with his other hand to take firm hold of the side of your face. You feel his thumb brush gently across your cheek. The feeling of his skin against yours leaves your mind fuzzy with excitement. “[Y/N]?” Myungho’s eyes ceaselessly searching into yours. “Can I?”
You nod immediately, not even fully caring what he’s asking for.
Myungho steps closer and leans in to press his lips softly against yours. It’s only for a moment before he pulls back. His hand leaves your face to grab the back of your head, holding it still as he changes the angle of his head so his lips can meet your forehead this time.
“Can we plan a real date?” he asks, keeping his face close to yours.
You nod enthusiastically, giving him a big smile before pressing a kiss of your own against his nose. “I have a question, though…”
“What is it?” Myungho’s hand strokes carefully through your hair.
“Is your girlfriend allowed to read your journal?” you give him your best puppy-dog eyes.
“I’m breaking up with you,” Myungho teases, shaking his head and reaching up to pinch your nose.
“Not even a peak?” you tease back, running after him as he starts off the path again.
The sound of your and Myungho’s laughter fills the air as you two chase each other around the park, attacking each other with sweet kisses when you manage to catch the other.
