Prompt: #73 for anon – “They’re going to love you, don’t worry!”
Anonymous said:
Would it be okay to ask for the prompt; #73 - “They’re going to love you, don’t worry!” for Onew of SHINee?
Pairing: Lee Jinki x reader
Genre: fluff
Warnings: none
Word count: 539
You could tell he was anxious by the way he kept readjusting his tie, the knot eventually coming undone, much like his resolve had. Silently going over to his side, you reached to fix the accessory. “Jinki, relax.”
“I’m completely!” he blurted out and then sighed. “Relaxed, I mean. Completely.”
Shooting him an unconvinced smile, you tidied up the knot you made and smoothed the tie against his shirt. Jinki nodded weakly at you and then dropped his head to your shoulder. “What if I do that in front of them?! I don’t want to mix my words up like that! God, if I’m clumsy-”
“They’re going to love you, don’t worry!” you encouraged, patting his back. “Besides, they can’t judge you on being clumsy, look at how we met.”
You heard the little breath he expelled and knew he was smiling at the memory. “You really did fall right at my feet, didn’t you?”
“Had you been just a step closer, I would have fallen onto you instead,” you grumbled and Jinki laughed, lifting his head up to smile at you.
It was that warm gesture, as he had held out his hand to help you up, that had you not only swooning immediately but stumbling into him once more when you were back up on your feet.
You had never seen a smile as radiant as his.
“Do that,” you breathed giddily and Jinki frowned. “Smile, just like that.”
“Why?”
“I mean at my parents!” you explained, still grinning yourself. “My mother will fall in love with you right away.”
“Ah, really?” Jinki’s lips curled up further. “Will your father too?”
Slapping his shoulder playfully as he laughed, you shook your head. “Actually don’t! Maybe they’ll fall in love with you so much that I’ll pale in comparison.”
“Y/N, the whole point in me meeting your parents tonight is to hopefully impress them enough as your boyfriend. It’s important I get this right. You only get one first impression.”
“What was yours of me?” you wondered and Jinki jutted his jaw out as he feigned needing to think about it. You laughed. “Hey!”
“Do you want the honest version or the playful one?” he offered and you cocked your head to the side. “Playful it is!”
“Jinki, come on.”
“Fine,” he said, his humour easing from his eyes. It was replaced by adoration and you gripped onto his belt, just in case your legs weakened from the way he was staring at you. “I felt as if fate had dropped you in front of me. When you looked up at me, time stopped. I didn’t know whether you could hear how loud my heart was thumping but my first thought was wow, she’s it for me.”
“I love you,” you breathed, slipping your arms around him and snuggling into his chest. “You have nothing to worry about. Just one look in my direction and my parents will know how I feel.”
“Which is?”
You smiled up at him. “Incredibly excited for a very long life at your side.”
“Oh, you think so?” Jinki murmured and you nodded, sizing up his lips. You kissed one another briefly before Jinki nodded determinedly. “Well then, what are we waiting for?”
Thank god I saw this! Can I request a fluffy dad! au with Onew? I really miss him and honestly he has like the biggest dad vibe ever 😂 thank youuuu 💕
YES, of course, you can request this, @jjong-dae77!!!! I am always, always down to write a dad au!!
Genre: Dad!AU/Fluff
Pairing: Onew x You
Warnings: None
Words: 1,843
“Mommy!”
You heard the very excited, high-pitched voice of your four-year-old daughter right before you heard the pitter-patter of her running feet heading into your bedroom.
Luckily, Onew scrambled out of bed and managed to catch her before she could launch herself onto your mattress.
“Hey,” he chuckled as she let out an ‘ooph’ when he gently grabbed her and scooped her up into his arms. “Morning, princess. Mommy’s not feeling too well, so we’ve got to let her rest, okay, sweetie?”
You couldn’t help but smile softly at the sound of your husband’s voice. Even though you felt absolutely awful -- you were pretty sure you had the flu -- and even though he had been a father for over four years now, just imagining Onew with your daughter made your heart glow with warmth.
“Oh,” you heard your daughter whisper. “...What’s wrong?”
“She’s just sick,” Onew assured her. You heard his footsteps padding away, obviously carrying your daughter out into the hallway to take her downstairs. “She’ll be okay in a couple of days.”
“Ohhhhh. So, she has to sleep and she’ll feel better?”
“Yes, my darling. She has to sleep, and then she’ll feel better.”
“Okay,” your daughter sighed as they began to go down the stairs. “Daddy, I’m hungry.”
If you hadn’t been almost asleep, feeling so terrible and disgusting, you would have said Onew’s next words out loud. Because you knew exactly what they were going to be.
“Hi, Hungry. I’m Onew,” your husband replied seriously.
“Daddy!” your daughter groaned. “No, I’m really hungry!”
“Hi, Really Hungry. I’m Really Onew.”
Your daughter knew better. She shouldn’t have groaned at him. That only fueled him, and she was both old and smart enough to have figured that out!
Their exchange continued on until they got downstairs, their voices and words fading the farther away they got from your bedroom.
There was no doubt about the fact that you loved your husband and daughter with your whole heart. With every fiber of your being.
But when you were sick, feeling as lousy as you were right now, you couldn’t help but let out a weak sigh of relief once you were alone. You had absolutely no energy right now, and you felt like you could sleep for about six years.
Also, you didn’t want to get either of them sick. That, of course, was the most important reason why you were relieved they had left.
Of course.
Obviously!
It didn’t take long for you to fall back asleep, and you slept pretty soundly until Onew woke you up several hours later.
“Y/N,” he said softly, rubbing your back and shoulder gently to try and rouse you from your slumber.
A confused and weary hum left your lips, and you opened one eye just enough to make out his form sitting on the edge of the bed.
“I brought some soup for you,” he told you. And before you could respond with an expression of disgust (because literally, nothing sounded appetizing right now) he pressed on. “You’ve got to eat something, don’t fight me on it.”
So you simply let out a sigh and began to sit up as best as you could.
“Thank you,” you croaked as he placed a tray over your lap.
“I made some tea and brought you some water, too,” he explained, taking the napkin and tucking it into the collar of your shirt. “You need to make sure you don’t get dehydrated.”
You nodded before sliding the spoon from the tray and moving to begin eating your soup.
“How’s --” you started.
“She’s fine,” Onew interrupted with a soft smile. “She’s downstairs watching a movie. I’ll probably take her to the park later if that’s okay with you.”
You nodded again, slurping some of the broth from your spoon. “I’ll just be sleeping. Don’t worry about me.”
“Yeah, right,” he replied with a quiet chuckle.
As you continued to eat your soup and drink your tea, Onew sat there, smoothing your hair back from your forehead and checking to make sure you didn’t have a fever. Even though you still felt physically sick, his attentions were enough to soothe you -- as they always were.
One of the many reasons you had married Onew was that he was always somehow able to calm you down. He had both a calming energy and a ridiculously happy energy about him, and whenever you were freaking out about one thing or another, all he had to do was smile at you. Or hug you. Or frame your face and tell you everything would be okay.
And, magically... they would be.
If only he could kiss your forehead and zap the flu right out of your body.
“What else do you need, my love?” he asked when you set your spoon down in your empty bowl a few minutes later.
“I need... a clear nose and a throat that doesn’t hurt and a hot bath with Epsom salts.”
“Well, I can do the bath part,” he grinned. “The other two, I will try my best, but I can’t make any promises.”
You shot your husband a pathetic smile, wishing you could lean in and kiss him with gratitude. But you certainly didn’t want to pass on whatever this was to him; he was far better at taking care of you than you were at taking care of him. You loved him and did your best, of course, but he always seemed to know what you needed before you knew what you needed -- especially when you were sick.
“All right,” he sighed, taking the tray from your lap and placing it on the floor. He stood and reached behind you to fluff your pillows before murmuring, “Go ahead back to sleep, Pumpkin.”
You slid down underneath the covers, settling in on your newly-fluffed pillow and trying to suppress a cough.
“We’ll go ahead on to the park, but call me if you need anything, okay?”
You nodded -- though just barely -- and let your eyes flutter closed as you felt Onew tucking the covers around your body.
You didn’t fall asleep quite as quickly as you had earlier, and you were still awake when you heard your husband and daughter leave through the front door to go to the park.
You managed to sit up just enough to look out the window, a tiny smile tugging at your lips when you saw them walking hand-in-hand down the street. The local park was less than half a mile away, so the three of you frequently walked there to play or have a picnic or just enjoy the weather and scenery.
The two of them had barely left your driveway before you saw your daughter tilt her head up and say something to Onew. A second later, he bent down and scooped her up.
Of course.
From the way he treated you, you knew beforehand he would most likely be a bit of an indulgent father... and you had been completely and utterly correct.
Honestly, you were a little surprised your daughter had even learned to walk properly because her father had insisted on carrying her almost everywhere starting from the time she could crawl.
And, apparently, he would continue to carry her until he physically couldn’t anymore.
You waited until they had turned the corner in your neighborhood before settling back down and drifting off back to sleep. Thoughts of your daughter playing happily on the park playground eased your mind even though you yearned to be there with her.
The second you felt better, you would take her back there and push her on the swings.
The next day, you felt a tiny bit better, but you still had no energy to even get out of bed.
Onew continued to care for both you and your daughter, bringing you soup and medicine and taking her to the park or the grocery store.
There had been a couple of times when Onew had gone out of town in the last four years, and you had taken care of your daughter all by yourself.
It had been kind of exhausting, so you couldn’t even imagine how tiring it was to not only take care of her but take care of you, as well.
And the most frustrating thing was that you couldn’t even properly thank him! You couldn’t hug him or cuddle him or kiss him or anything!
All of that would have to wait until you weren’t sneezing and coughing every fifteen seconds.
But, as it is with most illnesses, you continued to feel just a tiny bit better every single day. Onew eventually had to go to work, dropping your daughter off at her preschool on the way and picking her up as he came home, though you simply took all that alone time to rest up and gain your strength back.
Finally, when Onew arrived home from work with your daughter in tow nearing the end of the week, you had successfully gotten out of bed and began preparing dinner. Something other than soup.
“Hey!” Onew greeted with delight when he saw you standing in the kitchen.
“Mommy!” your daughter cried, running up to you and throwing her arms around your knees. “Are you all better?”
“I think so,” you chuckled as you ruffled her hair.
Onew set his briefcase down in one of the kitchen chairs, his smile bright as he made his way over to you. “You didn’t have to make dinner,” he said before he leaned in and placed a kiss on your cheek.
“I feel almost like a normal person, so I wanted to do something normal,” you explained with a small shrug.
Onew simply kissed your cheek again before reaching down and tapping the top of your daughter’s head. “Go wash your hands, Cupcake. Then you can go and watch some TV before dinner.”
Your daughter obeyed like the perfect angel she was, shuffling into the bathroom nearby.
Onew then wrapped his arms around your middle, leaning over and resting his chin on your shoulder. “You sure you’re feeling up to it?”
“Yes,” you promised, tilting your head to rest it against his. “Besides. You’ve done enough by yourself.”
“Oh, come on, it wasn’t bad. You know I’ll always take care of you when you need me to,” he murmured.
A smile pulled at your lips as you stirred the vegetables in the pan on the stove. “Yeah, I know,” you answered quietly. Because you did know it.
But the thing was... you didn’t even need a reminder. You didn’t need to be sick in bed to remember how amazing of a husband Onew was. He made sure to remind you every single day by just being himself.
So, yeah, one of the reasons you had married him was because he had a gift for making you feel better in many ways.
But the real reason you had married him was because... he was Onew.
-
prompt: i am sorry i accidentally transfigured your goblet into a gigantic, venomous spider, at least madam pomfrey was able to bring down the swelling, and look, i brought you some chocolate frogs (a prompt from this post)
words: 2156
category: hogwarts!au, fluff
a/n: i miss onew a whole lot!!!!! i'm super sorry i changed the plot but you said i could and also i couldn't find inspo for the one you gave me. i hope this one is good enough to make up for it.
the sweetest baby
-
Sometimes, Jinki ran out of luck. His friends called it the "Jinki Effect" or rather called him "Jinki the Jinx" with the following definition: even if he did everything right, it would still end up wrong. Although it was a source of the boy's laughter, Jinki found it rather inconvenient in most situations.
For instance, in transfiguration class. Jinki never could seem to do exactly as his professor said. Professor McGonagall hated it, considering Jinki was so smart at his written tests. His practical tests, however, were a different story. He never seemed to be able to transfigure things the way he was instructed to. Need Jinki to turn a matchstick into a needle? He'll turn it into a pencil. Need him to turn a sandwich into a lunchbox? He'll turn it into a book.
Today in particular seemed to fall out of his favor, since Professor McGonagall had decided to put them into pairs. Normally it would've been fine; Jinki could've grabbed his fellow Hufflepuff, Jonghyun, and it would be less embarrassing when he accidentally turned a loaf of bread into a pillow. But no, that would be too easy, Jinki assumed. Instead he was paired with you, a random Ravenclaw who seemed far too excited about this project for Jinki's taste.
Normally, he would be excited about learning new things. However, constantly messing things up since first year had made him a bit numb to that ecstatic feeling. He studied you for awhile as you listened intently to Professor McGonagall's instructions, gripping a golden goblet in your nimble fingers and shooting a smile at him. He started only for a moment at the way your eyes flickered with something of eagerness and childlike mirth.
Jinki snapped out of it quickly in fear of being caught and scrambled for his own goblet to turn into a ... rat, was it? Yes, that had to be it, Jinki concluded as his fellow students began to wave their wands at their partner's goblets and turn them into small rodents.
You faced him, offering a curious curl in your lips as you asked, "Aren't you going to go first?"
Jinki could already feel beads of sweat sprouting against his hairline. He stuttered for a moment and got his wand out, clearing his throat before pointing it at the goblet. He spoke the words he vaguely remembered, although his mind was cluttered with images of you and whether or not you would think him stupid for not being able to perfect the spell. He muttered the spell and flicked his wand at the goblet.
Nothing happened.
"Huh, that's strange," you muttered. You reached for the goblet, only centimeters away before it transformed with a loud pop that echoed across the classroom. Suddenly the goblet was a spider, large and hairy like a monster with far, far too many legs. The creature darted forward, ignoring your shouts of protest, and latched onto your wrist.
"Mr. Lee!" McGonagall barked. With a flick of her wand, she instantly transformed the spider back to it's cup form before turning to the shaken Hufflepuff once again. "What is going on here?"
Jinki shrugged, his mouth hung open. He stared at you, holding your wrist with your face twisted in pain. "I-I'm sorry — I didn't mean to — "
"You never mean to, do you?" Another Ravenclaw, presumedly your friend, snapped, causing Jinki to jump slightly. "C'mon, Y/n, let's go see Madam Pomfrey."
Jinki watched you go, wondering how on earth he was ever going to make up for this one.
"Stay behind class today, Mr. Lee," McGonagall said, "I have a few things to discuss with you."
Jinki waited until the last student cleared out before making his way to McGonagall's desk, although every bone in his body told him to stay away. This was the moment where he would be kicked out of Hogwarts forever. He knew this day would come, however not now. He only had the rest of his seventh year left; he could graduate and then his professors would never have to worry about him again.
McGonagall had never looked as intimidating as she did just then, her narrow, cat-like eyes peering down at him from behind her half-moon glasses. "You're a very bright student, Lee. It never fails to amaze me how you manage to get perfect marks on all your written tests. However, I must remind you that you will take your N.E.W.Ts at the end of this year. Many of which are not written tests, but practical. If you can't get high marks in those tests, you could fail and repeat seventh year all over again.
"I say this because I believe you have enough potential to complete the practical exams: get a tutor. If that doesn't work, get a new wand. Because right now you're likely to be sitting right at your desk this same time next year, while your classmates have all moved up and out. Think about it. Good day, Mr. Lee."
"Thanks, Professor," Jinki managed to say despite his worry-clouded mind. How was he ever going to find someone who would want to tutor a seventh year?
Tossing his newfound worries behind him, he quickly made his way to the hospital wing after a quick trip to his dormitory.
Upon entering, he found you sitting on a hospital bed, your wrist freshly bandaged and your fingers slightly purple and swollen. "I'm so sorry," he blurted, running to your side. "I'm horrible at spells and I really don't know how this one happened but I promise it wasn't on purpose — Look! I brought chocolate frogs!"
You laughed as Jinki nervously dropped the candies onto your lap. "You didn't have to do that, Jinki. I know you didn't mean to. Besides, I get today off of lessons, so I have to thank you."
Jinki couldn't help but feel flustered when you winked at him, your playful aura surprising him in all the best ways. He watched you open all the chocolate frogs and check the cards. When you found one you didn't have yet, you patted the blankets in a gesture for Jinki to sit. "I wanted too," he assured you. "It's my fault you're in here, after all."
"You can't help that you suck at magic," you said, and Jinki's gaze snapped to yours quickly, wondering if you were joking or not. When he saw the twinkle in your eye, he simply shook his head at your attempt to joke with him.
"That isn't funny," he muttered. He changed the subject quickly after that, in the hopes of learning more about you, "So your name is Y/n?"
"Yep," you said, "Captain of the dueling club, and top in all my classes. I could help you, you know."
Jinki bit his lip. He hated to admit that he needed the help, but at the same time he desperately needed it. "It's practical exams," he said, "If I have to use a wand, I'm going to fail my N.E.W.Ts."
"That's not good," you said, your words coated in sympathy. "Tell you what, meet me in the empty classroom in the fourth floor corridor after class tomorrow and I'll teach you a few things, okay?"
Jinki nodded, keeping a mental note to cancel tea with Jonghyun. "Okay. Thanks, Y/n and I'm really sorry again for everything. I hope your wrist feels better."
-
You took a deep breath as you stood before the door of the classroom you told Jinki to meet you in. This was it. One step in and you would be alone with your crush again. You had been watching Jinki from afar since your fifth year, and it was sheer coincidence alone that the two of you had been paired up for a lesson. Even if that lesson ended with you getting bitten by a venomous spider, you couldn't help but think it was an act of fate. The more you thought about it, the more stupid you felt, which would be the reason you never thought too much about your feelings for the cute Hufflepuff. Because when you did, you felt like a lovesick idiot. You wondered how long you could stay out here before Jinki would think you had left him.
With no time like the present, you braced your palms against the wooden surface of the door. A third hand appeared in the equation, pressing against the small of your back and eliciting a shout of surprise from you, whose nerves were already shot.
Jinki apologized profusely for scaring you, his hand still on your back but now rubbing comforting circles into your skin. "I was just going to tell you to let me open the door — you know, because of your wrist and all."
"Oh," you eyed your nearly healed wrist, still bandaged. "Thank you. I think I can open a door, though."
Jinki ignored you and pushed he door open. "We can't take any chances."
"Aw, do you care about me?" you cooed, looking up just in time to see Jinki's flustered face.
"No," he shot back, "it'd just be a shame for my tutor to get hurt before she taught me anything."
You laughed at his comeback, happy that he was playing along with you. "Okay, I'm going to bring out the practice dummies. I need you to be prepared to cast whatever spell I shout at you."
"Like a speed drill?" Jinki, who could already feel sweat dripping down his back, asked.
"Exactly," you said, pulling a train of practice dummies out in front of him. "It'll be a good drill to get you warmed up for the lesson. Diffindo!"
Jinki caught on immediately and cast whichever spell you dictated to him. Still, although he seemed to be doing everything right, he couldn't get the complete spell out.
"Your form is excellent and your diction is even better than mine," you told him, confused, "Do you remember what Ollivander said the day you got that wand?"
Jinki stared at the stick of wood in his hand for a moment, recalling the memory to you. "He said it was tricky and had its own way of doing things. He said I must feel what the wand feels."
Usually you took Ollivander's words as a load of bull, but this was really all you could think of that might be his problem. "Okay. So feel your wand as you cast. Ready? Incendio!"
Jinki obeyed your instructions, but still nothing more than a sliver of fire sprouted from the tip of his wand. He groaned at the small wisp of smoke, almost as if it had done him harm. "I really am the worst at spells."
"Not necessarily," you said, studying the way his face twisted. "What were you thinking about when you casted that spell?"
"I was thinking of how much I wanted to be able to cast a spell."
"That's your problem," you said, walking over to the Hufflepuff boy. "Not only do you need to feel the magic through your wand, but you should also think of the spell and and what end result you want when you cast a spell. For instance, cast Incendio again and imagine the dummy disintegrating into flames."
Jinki nodded and held up his wand. He took a deep breath and then— "Incendio!"
The dummy burst into flames, the red fire curling up towards the ceiling. You hastily put it out with a water spell before attacking Jinki in a hug. "You did it! See, I knew you could! I'm so proud of you!"
Jinki laughed and held on to you, burying his face in your shoulder, "Did that really just happen? That was so easy! Y/n, I'm going to pass my N.E.W.Ts!"
"I know!" you said, his excitement contagious. "We should go tell McGonagall!"
"No," Jinki grinned, "let's surprise her during the next transfiguration class, when I successfully don't turn anything into a venomous spider."
You giggled, "I can't believe it only took you one lesson to gain control."
Jinki's face fell then, and he looked down at his wand. "Well, I mean, they don't have to be over. Who knows? I mean, this could all be beginners luck and I could turn a rope into a snake tomorrow. Maybe we should keep having these tutoring sessions."
Your cheeks felt abnormally hot, and you almost wondered if Jinki had secretly casted Incendio towards you, because that's what your skin felt like. "Okay. Tomorrow then, at this same time."
"Great!" Jinki said, gathering his stuff to leave. He stopped right in front of you and you held out your hand awkwardly, not knowing what else to do. He ignored your hand and leaned down, pressing a quick kiss to your cheek before he straightened back up. "Well I'll see you later, Y/n."
"Right!" you said, wishing he would leave before your face got too red. "Later!"
»the end«
I would write a thousand letters
Just to talk to you
I would climb a hundred mountains
Just to be with you
I would make it snow in summer
If it meant you'd stay
Turn back time when we're together
Make it Christmas day
You were the reason Onew went to the library so often.
Well, you and the fact he really did love to read. But there was a library closer to his apartment, and you were the reason he didn’t go to that one. Ever.
Because you were probably the most attractive human being he’d ever laid eyes on. Your hair was perfect. Your skin was perfect. Your arms and legs and fingers and lips and chin and shoulders and neck and just everything about you physically was perfect.
But not only that, your personality was perfect, too. You were kind and gentle and smart and sweet and you were a librarian, for goodness sake. Onew loved books, and you were a librarian. If there was someone in the world more made for him, he didn’t know who it was.
So... why could he never talk to you? Sure, he’d asked you where to find certain books here and there, but he’d never had a real conversation with you. You were always too busy working, I guess. Or maybe Onew was just too shy. Probably a combination of the two, but neither really made that much sense because... Onew was kind of in love with you.
As in love as a person could be without ever actually talking to that person.
But, still. He felt like he would do just about anything to be with you or even talk to you.
He simply never did.
It was the most frustrating thing in the world, but today - two weeks before Christmas - Onew decided he’d had enough.
Look at the stars
Twinkling bright in the dark
Like the snow in the cold winter sun
Here by the fire the sound of your
Voice warms my heart
But it don't feel like Christmas without
You in my arms
He’d thought about it for days, and the best plan he could come up with was to wait outside of the library after it closed. Maybe it was just a tad on the creepy side, but he didn’t want to bother you while you were working. And since your library was on the other side of town, he had no idea where you lived, at which grocery store you shopped, or any other place you frequented where he could bump into you.
Only the library.
So here he was. Sitting on a bench outside of the brick building, his head tilted back to admire the twinkling stars in the sky.
He’d been daydreaming for a while now, trying to play out the upcoming situation in his head. He was fully prepared to be rejected, of course, but just the thought of being in your presence, hearing your voice was enough to spark a flame in his heart.
And, for just a second, he did allow himself to wonder what would happen if you said ‘yes.’
He allowed himself to imagine spending Christmas with you - not this Christmas, really, but a Christmas in the future. His arms wrapped around you as you lay on the couch, a fire crackling in the fireplace, the tree lights glowing softly...
The sound of the door opening interrupted his thoughts, and he jumped a little, startled by the sudden noise.
And the sudden thought of talking to you.
Oh, god.
He couldn’t do it.
The second he saw your face, he instantly realized this method was not just a tad creepy, it was way too creepy! I mean, waiting for you outside of the library?! In the dark?! What had he been thinking?!
He quickly stood from the bench and darted to the side of the building, pressing his back against the brick and holding his breath until he heard the sound of your engine turning over.
All over town people running around
They got stars in their eyes
Hurrying home to be close to the one
That they love
Lights on the tree, shining shadows on me
As I wait by the fire
Presents and dreams, but for me...
You'd be enough
Yes, he did regret chickening out. But he also didn’t because waiting for someone outside of their workplace was a surefire way to scare them - or at least make them cautious about your intentions.
It had been one week since then, and now there was only one week until Christmas. All of Onew’s neighbors were running around town, getting some last-minute shopping done.
And he was still just going to the library every day.
Because no matter how hard he thought about it, the only thing he wanted for Christmas... was you.
So why couldn’t he just pluck up the courage and ask you out? He’d already decided once he was going to do it, so why not again?
He was currently just sitting on his floor, leaning against his coffee table as he stared at his Christmas tree. He kept asking himself ‘why not?’ until... I mean, really. Why not?
There was one week until Christmas.
One week to come up with a non-creepy, foolproof plan to confess to you.
Count the days, count the day
I've been so lonely
Come home, baby
It ain't Christmas
Till you're here with me
Count the days
Count the days, till this wait is through
Come home, babe
Christmas just ain't the same
Without you
5 Days ‘Til Christmas!
The sign in the grocery store was laughing at him. Five days left until the biggest holiday of the year, and he was wildly underprepared. He still had presents to buy for friends and family, and he’d come up with absolutely no non-creepy, foolproof plan after two straight days of thinking.
He was either going to have to wait until Christmas was over... or just give up entirely.
Because, let’s be honest, if nothing had happened with you yet, was it meant to be? Probably not.
“Five days,” Onew murmured as he reached into the heated display for the rotisserie chicken.
Just as he was about to grab one of the containers, another hand stuck out and collided with his.
“Oh, I’m sorry!” a voice said.
...Onew froze. Because he knew that voice.
Your voice.
“--Oh!”
He slowly looked up, his heart pausing momentarily when he saw you were looking right back at him. And smiling.
“Hi,” you said in the friendliest, sweetest tone Onew had ever heard come from someone’s mouth. (Could you be any more perfect?) “I know you.”
Onew could only chuckle nervously, feeling his cheeks warm at your statement.
“You come to the library all the time, right?” you asked with a slight tilt of your head.
“Y--yes,” he affirmed.
You pursed your lips at him, squinting one eye as you obviously thought about something. “Your name is... Onew? Right?”
Oh, my god. You knew his name.
“I remember it from your library card,” you explained quickly with an embarrassed chuckle.
“I’m Y/N,” you greeted as you stuck out your hand toward him.
“Yes,” he said softly, shaking your hand. “Yes, I know.”
A shy smile tugged at your lips, and you pulled your hand back to tuck some hair behind your ear. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to steal your chicken.”
“Oh, no, it’s okay,” Onew laughed, shaking his head and gesturing toward the container in a clear sign he wanted you to have it. “It’s all yours.”
“Well, you obviously have good taste,” you pointed out as you reached for the chicken. “Books and chicken. What more do you need in life?”
Someone to share them with, perhaps?
“Are you coming to the library tomorrow?” you asked before Onew could respond to your first question.
“Hmm? Oh... yes, I’m sure I will.”
Your shy smile widened, and Onew swore he saw a little twinkle in your eye.
“Great,” you beamed. “Maybe... come see me? There’s a book I think you’d like.”
Okay, what was going on? You were asking him to find you at the library? After smiling at him and tucking your hair behind your ear and apologizing about stealing his chicken and...
Were you... flirting with him?
Oh, god.
“Sure,” he replied a bit breathlessly.
“I’ll see you then,” you said as you took a few slow steps away from the chicken display.
“Yeah, see you.” Onew lifted one hand up in a slightly awkward wave. He still couldn’t believe this was happening.
And before you turned away and left, you smiled at him one more time. “Merry Christmas,” you grinned.
“M--merry Christmas,” Onew replied, though he was surprised he could speak because he was fairly positive you were flirting with him.
When you were far enough away, Onew let out a very heavy sigh. A relieved sigh.
Well.
So much for his plan. Not that he’d come up with one, anyway, but still.
Obviously, he had no idea if anything was even going to come of this. He could find you at the library tomorrow, and you could show him this book you thought he would like, and that could be it.
But at least now there was a possibility. A real one.
A possibility that next Christmas would be completely different. And just that possibility was enough.
There were five days left until this Christmas, but... he was already counting the days until next Christmas.
A/N: It’s been SEVEN WHOLE YEARS since I last wrote for the love of my life, Lee Jinki! I cannot believe I haven’t written him in so long! As usual, I have been writing stories for my biases on their birthdays and this one is probably one of my favourites I’ve done. I hope you enjoy this fiction, and Happy Birthday Jinki, I hope you’re settling into your military life well enough <3333
Word count: 1286
He couldn’t understand why you were acting so out of character this year.
It was December and Jinki knew very well what this month meant to you. It was your favourite time of the year because you loved Christmas. When you had found out he was born in December you had grinned from ear to ear at him.
“Of course you were, that makes you even more special to me,” you had told him and he had smiled back at you so much that he felt the ache of his face.
What Jinki wasn’t prepared for was how much you were a Christmas fanatic. Once Halloween was over you were writing lists of how to decorate your apartment for the festive season, and before December even arrived your home looked like you had visited the North Pole and brought half of it back with you.
Although Jinki was used to Christmas, he always felt the season to be bittersweet. His parents had made him feel special each year, but there was never a time in his life where his birthday outshined the celebrations around him. Even at home, his party themes would always include the Christmas decorations and he could tell his presents he received at times were due to everyone having tight finances around this time of year.
He tried not to be petty but when he was forgotten on his birthday and given the dreaded combined Christmas and birthday present on Christmas Day, he had slowly started to dislike the fairy lights and the Christmas songs.
As an adult, Jinki chose not to decorate his home at Christmas. This had surprised you greatly the first year you had seen his home free from tinsel and baubles, especially since he had never said anything to you about his different tastes at this time of the year.
“Do you need help with decorating?” you had asked at the time and he shook his head, smiling around at probably the only place in Seoul that didn’t have a single touch of Christmas embedded within it.
“Nope, I like it this way.”
From that day onwards you did your crazy over the top Christmas and he continued his own life void from the festivities. When your friendship developed into love, Jinki had considered what Christmas would look like with you now at his side as his partner. Especially since you had recently moved in, he was preparing to come home one day and find the entire apartment decked out in Santa’s finest. But as the first day of December came and went, the apartment was still undecorated.
It made him wonder where all your usual enthusiasm had gone to.
The first five days of December were done with before he finally asked you about it, pulling you aside before you left for work. “Are you okay?”
“Of course, I have you to look at and that makes everything okay,” you told him with a smile, Jinki chuckling at your genuine optimism.
“The apartment looks pretty clean,” he pointed out matter-of-factly and you nodded again. “I think it’s missing something though.”
“What?” you asked, blinking up at him.
He was confused, were you the same Y/N who last year had an inflatable Santa at your front door that greeted him before you could? He frowned at you as he rubbed your upper arms gently. “Where’s the decorations?”
“Oh! I’m really busy with work, I’ll get to them,” you told him, stretching up to kiss his cheek as you called out in farewell and left for the day.
Work hadn’t stopped you before, but he figured you wouldn’t lie to him about this and shrugged, making plans to help you over the weekend to set them up then.
The weekend arrived and you suddenly had to go home and help your Mum with something and in the lead up to his birthday Jinki barely saw you. He had fallen in love with your vibrant enjoyable nature so easily that when you shut off like this from him, he wondered what he had done to make you forget that you were once friends before lovers and he knew you far too well because of this.
He was starting to dread this month even more than usual. It was odd to think he was upset because his usually Christmas free environment was still festive free.
Jinki’s birthday arrived and he went to work early, letting you know he’d be home later that evening. You had mentioned you had the day off which surprised him, but he wondered if you had planned working extra hard last week so you could have his birthday off with him.
It made him disappointed he had a full schedule for the day.
He was tired when he returned home but you had promised him a cooked dinner, a good soak in the bath and whatever else he wanted to do afterwards, and Jinki managed to find some energy to anticipate walking through the door of your shared home.
What he wasn’t ready for was the overwhelming decorations.
As he walked into his home slowly, he gazed around himself at how different the apartment looked only ten hours apart. He found you waiting for him in the middle of the living room, a wide smile upon your face.
“Happy birthday!” you cried as he moved towards you, his eyes soaking everything in.
“What’s this?” he asked slowly, still taking in all of the balloons and streamers. “Why does our house look like party central? Are we expecting people to join us tonight?”
“Well, I remember you telling me about your Christmas experiences last year when you chided me for putting up a Christmas tree in my bathroom,” you started and he nodded softly, pulling on a string of one of the balloons floating along the ceiling. “I didn’t realise the pain of being born in the month of Christmas could make someone so unhappy. And you said you never once got a birthday as a child free from Christmas decorations, so I decided to make your wish come true. I uh, might have gone a little overboard with decorating for tonight though.”
He chuckled at your small admission. Taking you in his arms, he hugged you tightly, feeling his emotions rise at your efforts. He pulled back to gaze at you, shaking his head softly. “You held off from decorating for Christmas for me?”
You nodded happily. “Of course, your birthday comes before Christmas day so it makes sense.”
“It must have pained you to refrain from draping tinsel everywhere.”
“Well,” you said softly, biting at your lip and nodding again. “It’s been the hardest Christmas season but it’s been worth it to see your face. Besides, it’s not Christmas yet and I can just clean this all up tomorrow and pull out the tree then!”
He laughed heartily, kissing you before laughing some more. “Of course, and I’ll help you too.”
“Really?!” you exclaimed, your eyes growing wide. “You’ll actually decorate for Christmas with me?!”
“You did so well to hold out all this time,” he told you, mussing your hair affectionately as you beamed at him.
“Maybe we can start our own tradition? No Christmas until after your birthday. Then it’s Christmas-town from that day out. Deal?”
Jinki grinned at you, kissing you again and nodded. “I think that’s the best way for us to celebrate December together.”
“Me too. Now come on, forget about Christmas, today is all about you! Let’s eat!”
He had never realised just how lucky he had gotten having you in his life until that evening, and Jinki knew that he would start to love Christmas again all thanks to you.
are u taking requests still? im in the mood for emo jinki tbh 🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤 - razzle dazzle
• i miss jinki so much today • sad!emo!jinki tho,,,, idk if i can write this• jinki who has a terrible home life and tries to drown everything out w music• his grades at school are pretty decent but he has no friends• bc he doesn’t want them• yes he does• sometimes talks to jonghyun in math class but it’s usually only if he needs to borrow a pencil or smth• hangs out at the back of the school to avoid going home• it’s his parents,, they fight so much that he’d rather stay away from the house• because every day it feels less like a home and more like a war zone• you, lol, are a troublemaker in school• a loner who smokes behind the dumpster • occasionally you’ll graffiti stuff on said dumpsters but it’s all in good fun• you never actually do anything bad • except your grades suck big time• and so your history teacher is like dude,,, get some help,,, pls• he recommends this student jinki nd you’re like ,, the emo kid?• you know you’re exaggerating like he just wears dark hoodies and has earbuds in all day but,,, he’s definitely on the goth side of the spectrum • still you have to get your grades up so you go over to jinki like hey come to my house after school we’ve got work to do• jinki is like ????? but agrees bc it’ll keep him out of his house• and when he arrives at your house he’s rlly confused,,, bc you joke around w your dad while your mom is complaining about the dishes• and jinki knows how this scenario goes so he’s just waiting for your dad to say something snarky towards your mom but ?? he doesn’t ??? in fact he does the exact opposite and begins to help your mom w the dishes• jinki is #shooketh• but seriously he’s v confused bc fighting is all he’s ever known when it comes to relationships and here your parents are,, like actually loving each other • jinki is pretty silent for the majority of the tutoring,, only mumbling questions that he knows you know the answer to• “okay what’s up?” you ask, never one to beat around the bush• jinki licks his lips and pulls his hood down, and his dark brown hair looks a bit messy, but boyish and cute “do your parents fight?”• you seem alarmed bc like where did that come from lol but “i mean, yeah, sometimes. but it’s not often, and they’ve learned that talking things out is a lot better than fighting anyway”• “oh”• jinki fiddles w his hoodie sleeves bc he really doesn’t know what to say• he’s just a seventeen year old boy who wants his parents to love each other again• you seem to understand, even though he hasn’t said a word, and you close the history book with a loud thud• “let’s take a break. my dad makes a mean milkshake and you’ve got to try them”• and jinki thinks it’s going to be torture spending time w a family that’s happier than his, just making him jealous• instead,,,, it’s nice,,,, and comfortable,,, and jinki feels warmth spread through his limbs when you smile at him from time to time• even when his curfew hits, and he has to go, you’re telling him to come back, and that maybe the two of you can go paint the dumpster together• jinki agrees, even tho your mother is chiding you both• he’s halfway down the porch steps when you run outside and hug him from behind• “if it ever… gets too much…. you’re always welcome here.”• he can’t answer or look at you, or you’ll see that he’s started crying• happy tears ofc• when he gets home his earbuds are back in, drowning out the world around him, but he goes to sleep feeling a bit lighter,, a bit happier• you’ve offered him a solace, and the thought makes him a lot less lonely• a lot less helpless• needless to say, jinki spends almost every day after school with you and your family• and every day he falls in love w you just a bit more :)• the end
