biology sucks, kind of

⋆ 𝘅𝗶𝘅 ⋆ currently at the cusp of youth

[yourdawn]

THE DISTANCE BETWEEN US

Mingyu becomes your boyfriend and quickly realizes 3 things about himself: 1. He’s clingy. 2. Patience brings him nowhere. 3. He is not built for a long distance relationship.

wc: 2.2k

genre: fluff, suggestive, non-idol au, friends to lovers

content: mingyu x f!reader, (newly) established relationship, lots of kissing, making out, biting/hickeys, mentions of alcohol and food, terms of endearment (baby, babe, pretty girl, loverboy), some teasing/banter, they're kinda obsessed w each other, honeymoon phase but for ppl who aren't married yet, their friends are dramatic(?)

Patience has always been one of Mingyu’s best qualities.

It shows when his friends tease him endlessly about his habit of stumbling over his words, and his only reaction is to roll his eyes at them. It shows when his sister makes him get up at 5AM to queue for a special edition bag, and he only grumbles out a total of three complaints. It shows when his boss gives him a too short of a notice about a weeklong business trip, and all he can do is pack his luggage like it’s a race.

That’s why he desperately wishes it would show now, as he sneaks a glance at you from across the dinner table while Seungcheol holds him by the shoulder—barraging him with things he missed due to said business trip.

Mingyu clinks his glass of soju against Seungcheol’s and downs it before his eyes finds you again.

You, dressed in a top with delicate straps tied into even more delicate bows. You, with your hair in that effortless updo that he always liked. You, sipping your drink with your glossy lips in a soft rosy shade that drives him crazy.

Contrary to Seungcheol’s eager ramblings, the only thing Mingyu missed during his trip was you.

You and Mingyu—along with your other friends Seungcheol, Wonwoo, Seungkwan, and Jihyo—have known each other since your college days. However, things began to change a few months ago when you developed an interest in running—suddenly influenced by numerous tiktok videos. Mingyu had been excited when you first mentioned it in the group chat and deemed himself your new “running partner” since the two of you lived closest to each other.

Since then, your time together slowly extended into the day—turning from a simple morning exercise to getting brunch together afterwards to spending the night at each other’s apartment because “We’re gonna go on a run tomorrow morning anyways. Might as well sleep over to save time.”

On one of those sleepover nights, Mingyu decided he's had enough. Something had shifted since you started spending more time together—charged moments where gazes lingered longer than necessary and quiet nights that encouraged you to share a bigger piece of yourselves with each other.

Although you've been part of the same friend group for years, it was still uncommon for just the two of you to meet frequently like this. Despite everyone’s busy schedules, the group chat managed to stay active and always made time to meet up.

It was normal for Mingyu to see you once a week or so—sometimes in a dirty T-shirt and mismatched socks for movie night at Wonwoo's, sometimes in coordinating outfits with Jihyo for dinner. And sometimes, he’d even play wingman to help you get a cute bartender’s number.

It was, however, not normal to squeeze onto your small couch just so he could wake up to you in the mornings. It wasn’t normal for him to run backwards so he could see the glow in your smile as the early sunlight shined on you. And it definitely wasn’t normal for Mingyu’s heart to race whenever he caught his mind drifting to you at random times in the day.

So when he shows up to your place without his usual bag of running gear and dressed in loose sweats, you give him a questioning look. “Running in sweatpants is definitely new for you.”

“No, it's not that,” he inhales deeply, lingering by the door, “I wanted to tell you something.”

You freeze in your spot, nodding at him to continue.

"I really like you. I want to be more than a friend. I know this will change a lot of things for us but it was driving me crazy not being able to tell you how I feel," he says softly, inching closer to you. His eyes are rounded and full of affection as he takes your hands in his, "I love being with you and spending time with you. You feel it too, right?"

Your eyes well up with tears as your brain catches up with everything you just heard. If you were being honest, your newfound crush on Mingyu had been your biggest worry recently. Mingyu has always been a good friend, but being in close proximity to him and taken care of by him did stir all the butterflies in your stomach. You had spent countless nights staring at your ceiling, trying to make sense of your feelings, and gathering the courage to tell him.

You roll your lips between your teeth, attempting to hide your smile, "Was it because I kept staring at your chest and ass when we run?"

He throws his head back and lets out a hearty laugh, "Well, I can't lie and say I wasn't doing the same thing."

Your smile spreads wider across your face, "Okay, let's call it even then."

Mingyu tugs your body towards his and wraps you in a firm hug. You lean into him, taking the warmth of his body in as he pats your hair tenderly.

"So are we still going on our run tomorrow or what?," you mumble against his chest.

“You wouldn’t happen to have some of my running clothes lying around, would ya?”

———

As it turns out, you did have an extra set of his clothes by your dresser. He did spend the night. You did go on that run together. And like always, Mingyu did buy you brunch afterwards.

But before he could even celebrate his first 24 hours as your boyfriend, an email from his boss showed up—an emergency request for his presence at a conference being held across the country. He had left your apartment begrudgingly as you kissed him goodbye and promised to wait for his call when he landed.

It has been exactly one week since then.

As soon as he landed back home, he had rushed to the restaurant where you were currently having dinner with the rest of your friends. Much to his disappointment, you had been caught in conversation with Seungkwan and Jihyo when he arrived, allowing Seungcheol to drag Mingyu into the seat between him and Wonwoo.

And that was an hour ago.

So if you ask Mingyu, he’d like to think he’s been patient enough. Patiently waiting to see you again, to have a moment with you, to make up the long seven days without you.

The sudden surge of emotions makes him restless. He slumps lower into his chair and shakes his legs, feeling miffed at the entire situation. There's no way Seungcheol has that much to update him on, right? And why have Seungkwan and Jihyo been hogging your attention all night? The last time he checked, you're his girlfriend, not theirs.

“Kim Mingyu. Lighten up a little," Seungkwan chides, yanking him from his cloud of thoughts.

He scowls at Seungkwan then sighs, “I’m going to the restroom.”

Mingyu sends you a weak smile and mouths a discreet “meet me there” before he pulls away from Seungcheol and heads to the restroom, patting cold water onto his face and neck.

When he steps out, he sees you waiting for him in the corner of the small corridor that leads back out to the dining area, tucking your lip gloss and compact mirror back into your bag.

A smile blooms on your face when you notice him.

“Hi.”

Mingyu manages to rasp out a soft hey back before he presses his full weight into you, face buried in your hair and hands snaked around your waist.

You're surrounded by his body heat and the faint woody notes of cologne. You’ve been giddy all day thinking about seeing him again and the feeling of being in his hold after so long makes your stomach flip.

Mingyu finally pulls away to look at you. “Missed me?”

Your stomach does a second flip. He looks devastating. His hair is tousled against his forehead, eyes bright and glassy, small mole dotting his nose perfectly, and lips pulled into a slight pout.

Your hands tighten against his lower back as you interlock your fingers together and whisper against his lips, “So much.”

Mingyu instantly leans forward to close the distance, slotting his lips against yours. His kiss is filled with so much fervor, as if he couldn’t waste any more time not kissing you.

It takes you a second to react; you’ve only kissed Mingyu a handful of times between the night you confessed to each other and him leaving for his work trip—all of which have been short and sweet.

But this kiss is heavy and passionate, his lips moving over yours with intense focus. You’ve never seen him this worked up before but it’s a new side of him that makes your skin tingle with anticipation.

Once you get out of your initial shock, you kiss him back with equal force, hands moving to roam across the broad stretch of his back muscles. You nibble playfully at his bottom lip before giving it a particular harsh suck. He sighs into your mouth as you soothe your tongue over the seam of his lips.

Mingyu reluctantly pulls away first, “I missed you so bad. So so bad.”

You can feel his rough hands absentmindedly toy with the hem of your top, fingertips pressing into your skin.

Your chest heaves against his as you beam up at him, “I can tell.”

Mingyu swears your eyes twinkled when you smiled at him and he has to take a few deep breaths to steady himself. His eyes lazily trace the shape of your lips before coming back to hold your gaze.

“This lip gloss shade is killing me,” he says, tongue darting out to lightly lick at your lips.

Mingyu can only stare as you reach up to thumb away your smudged lipgloss by the corner of his lips and chin. His vision is a little hazy but he manages to focus on your lips. The rosy tint has lost most of its shine and color by now, replaced by a soft kiss-swollen hue (Mingyu has half a mind to boast about him being the cause of it) but it’s still pulling him in with the exact same force it did when he first arrived.

“Baby, please,” he swallows hard, but his voice comes out in a dry whisper, “Last one, I promise.”

He ducks his head to capture your lips in another heated kiss. His hands alternate between your waist and ass, only pausing to knead the plump flesh of your hips once in a while.

You pull away from him, trying to catch your breath. “How was your flight back?”

“You’re asking all the wrong questions.”

He leans in, attempting another kiss but you dodge his lips as your hand comes up to cover them.

Your smirk is playful as you say, “I thought you said that was the last one.”

"I take it back," he muffles into your hand before licking it, causing you to yelp and clutch his shirt.

He cups your face firmly and tilts your head towards him, “You’re so beautiful.” Then a wet kiss on your jaw.

"My pretty girl.” A gentle bite onto the side of your neck.

He trails light kisses down your throat and makes his way to the dip by your collarbone. You can’t help but let out soft moans at the sensation as Mingyu continues to suck slowly at the spot.

His lips travel to the curve of your shoulder, where his fingers start to fiddle with the thin ends of your tie straps.

He pulls at it teasingly before letting out a choked laugh, “How functional is this?”

“It’s cute,” you whine in defense.

You lightly pinch his sides to get his attention before you pull him into a kiss of your own, swiping your tongue against his. Your hands move in between your bodies, one pressed against his chest while the other cups his neck. This time, it’s your turn to suck and lick at it as he groans. You pick a spot right in the middle, just below his adam’s apple and continue to nip lightly.

“Baby,” he warns with low moan.

You hum a distracted response, pressing quick pecks all over his cheeks with a final kiss placed on top of his heart through his shirt.

He slumps against you, pressing his forehead against your shoulder. You can hear his breathing slowly move from a pant to a steady rhythm.

You gently card your fingers through his hair and press your nose into his temple. “You okay?”

His sigh turns into a dry laugh, “Babe. Whatever happens, let’s never do long distance. Look at what one week apart does to us.”

“That’s just because you’re clingy. I was fine.”

He shifts to narrow his eyes up at you, “I must've kissed you so good, your memories ended up getting jumbled.”

Your cheeks redden, as you giggle and lightly shove him away. “Whatever you say, loverboy. We should head back now.”

He grins as he follows you back to your table, in a much lighter mood than before. Wonwoo eyes him carefully as he settles back into his seat and nods at Seungcheol to take a look. Mingyu manages to stuff a piece of pork belly into his mouth before Seungcheol knocks his chopsticks out of his hands and grabs his collar to inspect his neck.

“Bro.”

Before Mingyu can even respond, the entire table's attention is drawn by Seungkwan who has his hands around your neck, as he shrieks, "What is that?!"

a/n: happy mingyu day week! :) let's pretend this was posted on time...

[themilquetoasts]

* brief sexual content towards the end, implied use of aphrodisiac. minors are not allowed to interact with this post.

thinking of wizard!jeonghan who owns an antique, mystifyingly magical menagerie notorious for its wicked contraptions and objects.

well, wicked is too much of a stretch, far too far-fetched. you'd admit, as a mage with a bounty on your head, the extensive catalogue of objects bewilders you to no end. lined in shelves, a jarring variety of dried, pickled carcasses and gnarly limbs submerged in liquid placed in tightly sealed jars glows with a grotesque hue of green. then, roosts dotting the lofty ceiling where birds with garish feathers and airborne animals alike rest. on the sun-bleached, bricked wall adjacent to the cluttered counter, crystal blades are mounted with metal inscribed with something you'd assume are textbook spells. maneuvering farther into the trove of jewelry; a pair of earrings hewn from shrapnel, spectacles from emerald and smoky quartz, a sapphire ring, an amber tiara depicting a basilisk. jeonghan would go on about how these belittled "good-for-nothing" artifacts wield magic that transcends technology.

amidst the seven-year long string of onslaughts imposed by the apocryphal legitimacy of the current successor to the ill-fated kingdom, jeonghan's spellbound menagerie stands far from the cordons' leer, offering an unusual sense of refuge. strangely enough, in a world where magic is regarded as bane to manmade technology, the menagerie remains snuggled in the kingdom's border in all its unassuming glory. had it not been for the building's juxtaposing (in the most relieving way imaginable) barren exterior, it would've been eradicated.

there is something so profoundly unhinged about jeonghan's love for contraptions in pursuit of a society where magic and technology coexist. for example, he used an opalized marine cephalopod that he somehow dug out after an ill attempt at extracting a kraken's blood as the carapace of his own set of cartridges. this opalized cephalopod is worth twenty-three gold coins for one! he'd flaunt his excavation.

what's so special about this invention of his? you'd ask. he answered as he twiddles and inspects his creation, saying that this would be advantageous for his own escapades. you jab at his remark, the lilt in your voice drifting dangerously close to concern. you knew he had been practicing to wield a gun. you then shift your gaze to the cartridge held between his bony fingers, admiring the pearly sheen it emits under the cantaloupe sun.

knowing jeonghan, you feel a pinch of rue when those words toppled down his lips.

those around him knows—knew he was a wizardry whiz. infliction spells, combat magic, space manipulation; he was a wicked young man and a wicked wizard at that.

as formidably regarded he is, only a few knew of his cowardice and penchant for vanity. brushing his overwrought trait aside, had it not been for the self-imposed parasitic curse that has been gradually draining him and his magic, he wouldn't be stupefied into the menagerie's drudgery.

on one particular day, he nudged you to try his first bottle of potion. with your senses heightened, you charily ask what ingredients he stirred in. rose-petal-speckled water, molten rose quartz, a pinch of fairy dust, and a wisp of his own hair. knowing your prowess in potion-making, he also jots down the exact measurements to assure that he's not trying to poison you even though he can do exactly that at any given moment. then in your periphery, you catch a plume of rose-colored smoke from the bottom of his cauldron.

yeah, this might be your last supper.

after glugging it down in one sharp breath, you notice that it tastes like peach-flavored liqueur. then the fragrant scent of roses prickle your tongue. with those gentle eyes glinting with something far more amusing than just expectation, jeonghan coaxes an answer from you.

you taste the remnants of fairydust with a smack of your lips.

"it's sweet, a little peachy, rosy" you said promptly, swilling the now empty bottle.

the wizard whose shoulder is pressed against yours begins fiddling with his fingers. the emerald ring he wears on his index finger glistens with each facet twisting and turning along the silver band.

"do you feel anything? any increase in body temperature? do you feel faint?"

naturally, you panic a little.

you don't feel an itch, a change. "uh, am i supposed to... feel something?"

jeonghan sucks on his bottom lip with his teeth, dragging a hand along the curls on his nape. "technically, it is supposed to take effect within a minute after the subject drinks it."

you wince at his words, which implicitly but clearly states that the potion didn't work.

with a dejected sigh, he takes the empty bottle from your clutch.

you find yourself a little grateful that the potion didn't react, knowing that whatever honeyed hypothesis he writes down with his quill, it's sure bound to be a hell of an "experiment".

by nightfall, you're still certain that the potion flunked.

by daylight, you're adorned with crimson, purplish imprints in ungodly crevices of your body, a pounding pulse in your head, a parched throat, and the raven-haired wizard between your thighs, licking the fluttering flesh until your treacly nectar coats his kiss-swollen lips.

[themilquetoasts]

"WHAT DO YOU WANT FOR DINNER?"

Lips pursed, lying down on your stomach, you crane your gaze from the blue-lit screen towards the man peeling himself out of his clammy shirt. You make a valiant effort to tamp down the blooming sensation of heat pulling you under the honey-skinned temptation of a boyfriend.

Mingyu drags a hum, tossing the used towel to the trenches of the laundry basket. His eyes comb through your figure, the satin and velvet of your pyjamas, moonlight flitting from one wisp of hair to another, remnants of glitter and tinted lips.

You notice his ogling and roll your eyes. "God, yes, I look unruly in the hottest way imaginable, and I'm in your bed and I'm your girlfriend of five years already. Thanks for noticing"

Mingyu pulls himself together, thankfully still sober enough to get his mind out of the gutter.

"Yeah, uh, take-out or we cook?"

You swivel your head back to the delivery app chiming on your phone, pretend to consider your decision, then eye the blinking clock with '11:23' glinting red.

"We were out the whole day, and it's eleven"

"So you're saying…?"

"I'm saying take-out is preferred," You pause. "the only option, in fact."

The bed creaks as he settles into it, crawling to his haven of warmth. Cold hands slither beneath the silk waistband of your shorts, eliciting a flit of squeaks and curses. Mingyu lugs himself up to ease on top you.

"Kim Mingyu, you are heavy" you groan.

Mingyu scours the line of options from nearby restaurants; rice cakes, fried chicken, stew, dumplings.

You hear him grumble as his lips purchases itself onto the expanse of skin beneath your ear, subtly suckling with his canines. You forestall whatever sin he's about to commit by tugging the tufts of his hair with your idle hand.

He grunts in repudiation, to which you feel a bubble of satisfaction threatening to burst.

"I can just cook f'you," Finally, he lifts his head, only to spare a precursory glance at the screen before burying his head back into your shoulder. "I cook just fine."

You snort, offhanded. "Right, but your girlfriend wants take-out right now."

"Well, my girlfriend should know that her lovely, charming, handsome boyfriend is a culinary savant and can cook her anything she wants"

You wait for a few seconds until he offers another tolerable response.

"Get the pizza."

You giggle and pinch his cheek until the skin flushes pink, cooing at his meek answer. "That's what I thought"

You punch a finger into the selected, nearest pizzeria and resume your scrolling across an array of pizza selections, some smeared in tomato, some battered with an ungodly amount of cheese, another dozen dotted with peppery meat.

"Get the pepperoni."

You press his share of choice.

"Or the mushroom, that one's good too… last time we got the pesto, though…"

You watch your boyfriend dwindle to a pool of his own grovelling.

"We'll get pepperoni"

"…Yeah, pepperoni. Classic's the best" He sighs in relief, seemingly grateful that you ripped him out from his twaddle of thoughts.

You run a last check on your order placement. You press the order button. The app redirects to the payment page.

"My card's on my wallet" He supplies.

You grin cheekily and rise from the bed, prying his body off you. Then you press a chaste kiss just shy of his lips. Sliding towards the side of the bed, you slide the drawer open and produce a wallet—his—to zip it open and pull out his card.

Mingyu holds his gaze on you not too far from where you slid off.

It's painfully noticeable.

Your skin prickles, admittedly.

"…While I pay... put a damn shirt on, then you can kiss me"

Mingyu lifts an eyebrow.

"Oh, you think I want to kiss you?"

You stall your answer. "Well, I'd assume you'd want to… judging from how you've been behaving"

He breathes a chuckle and glides towards where you're perched, letting his arms fall back to your waist.

"Mingyu."

"Yes, my love?"

"Put a shirt on."

He scowls.

"Why? You're gonna take it off anyway."

God, you wonder why you agreed on being his girlfriend.

Well, not that you're complaining.

You gingerly place his card back into his wallet and place your phone by the bedside table, though before you could turn to face him, his lips meet you halfway. Your hands hover at the nonexistent distance between you, hemming him in with your arms around his neck as his lips press gentle kisses against yours.

"I love you" he murmurs in-between kisses. You giggle shyly at the affection as he lays you down to the cushion of his pillow. "I love you, so, so, much"

He pecks your nose, earning a scrunch.

"Say it back."

A bulb in your brain tells you that you should taunt your boyfriend a little bit more.

"Yeah" you reply, noncommittally.

Much to your surprise, his lips pucker into a dangerously convincing pout.

"Oh, so you don't love me anymore? Just say it. I don't love you anymore, I don't love my boyfriend like how I used to for the past five years..."

He drags the term boyfriend pointedly with an annoyingly pinched tenor. Your face curls, sours in mock annoyance as he goes on with his histrionic rendition of a damsel in distress.

You knit his lips shut with a kiss. Then you pull back to see his bowled-over reaction.

"I love you, my dramatic, overly stubborn, painfully handsome boyfriend of five years. I love you more than anyone in this whole entire teeming-with-seven-billion-people world"

A dopey smile pleats his face as he leans forward to chase your lips to capture you into another round of kisses. So much for making a thirty year old cower.

Your phone chirps, alerting both of you that the pizza is on its way to your doorstep.

Both of you couldn't care less.

Not when he's kissing you so lovingly, making dogged attempts to tug at the buttons of your pyjamas. Not when you breathe out his name with that honeyed voice of yours, and definitely not when he slides his knee into the gorge of your thighs.

"Baby?"

You tilt your head to meet his eyes.

"Can you tell them that they can just leave the pizza at the doorstep?"

You reach for your phone.