Proven Wrong

Proven Wrong

Group : ATEEZ

Pairing : Mingi x Reader

Genre : Highschool!AU. fluff

Word count : 10.2k

Warning : lovestruck Mingi boiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii I miss him so much ㅠㅠ

a/n : I honestly didn't meant for it to be so long I am sorry. But I just can't help it and I love Mingi so much wtfffffffffffffff I can't goodbye I'm gonna yeet myself

"There he goes again," Yunho said with a smirk on his face.

You look up from your lunch box with a raised eyebrow at him, "who goes what?" you asked after swallowing your food.

Yunho simply pointed behind you with his fork.

Slowly, you turn around only to meet eyes with the subject of Yunho's teasing for the past few months after he transferred in, Song Mingi.

The boy had a dreamy smile on his face, face resting on his palm as his elbows were rested on the lunch table beneath it, and he was looking straight at you. His fingers wiggled in a flirty waving motion at you and if it weren't for his obvious crush, you would've think that he's a little bit mental.

"Oh, come on, (Y/N), give the guy a chance! He's actually really nice!" Yunho said, poking your nose with the back of his fork, making you scrunch it absentmindedly.

Not wanting to respond much, you smiled politely at him before you snap your head back to Yunho who was giggling at the way Mingi is being so whipped for you and how you're kind of not that comfortable with the attention given from a guy such as Mingi because of his disposition as the popular guy, the trope you've had most and worst history with.

"No, see, here's the thing, Nono," you used the nickname you gave him when you're both still in elementary school, "He sees me only as a game, a challenge if you will, because unlike all the other girls in this school who swoon and threw themselves at him the second he stepped into this school, I didn't give him what he want so all he wanna do is bend me to his will and when I finally did, he's gonna throw me to the side"

At your words, Yunho took a peek at Mingi one more time, noticing how even when he's talking to his friends, Wooyoung and San, he was still sneaking glances at you.

He looked back at you, "Dunno' Kiwi," his nickname for you because sometimes you look sour but is actually sweet and soft on the inside, "he looks like a switch to me"

Your eyes widened at his words and you kick him in the shin, but he didn't feel pained whatsoever as he only laughed at you. "sorry, sorry, bad joke," he poked a sausage from his lunch box and fed it to you as an apology, "But I don't think he's like that... We have some classes together and he sits next to me," you nod at him as you chew slowly, "he's really nice, too nice even"

Not believing him, you scoffed. It's not that it's easy for you to judge people right off the bat, but with how Mingi conduct himself (and honestly, the amount of followers and admirers he has), it is just easier and safer to immediately categorize him to the blockheaded basketball jock trope. Not that all jocks are blockheads, your sweet sweet Yunho is also a basketball jock but he is FAR from a blockhead.

Knowing that the bell will ring soon, you and Yunho immediately pack up your finished lunch boxes and head out of the cafeteria. Your hand immediately finding solace in Yunho's big ones naturally, walking out swinging your hands together.

Unbeknownst to you, Mingi was looking at you both with a frown, pure jealousy that Yunho was able to do that and you were comfortable enough with him, not really knowing both of your histories.

When he first saw you, he was smitten by how you address yourself in the public eye and your kindness.

Regretfully to him, he didn't have any classes with you but the first day he came, he actually got into the wrong class and sat himself next to you, he realized this when the teacher didn't call his name during attendance. He was panicking because he realized that he wasn't where he was supposed to be and he couldn't just up and leave when the teacher is in the middle of talking.

"Hey, you okay?" you asked, tapping onto his desk with your fingers. He hesitated for a bit, not really wanting anyone to know how stupid he is. But he also wanna be in the right class.

So he leaned to you and whispered, "I-I think, I-I kinda think, that I'm in the wrong class" he said sheepishly. You furrowed your eyebrows at him, realizing that you kinda have never seen him in this class either, and that he looks unfamiliar, "What do you mean you're kinda in the wrong class? Either you are or you aren't" you giggled.

Damn that giggle sounds so pretty to him.

"S-see, I'm a transfer student, and I was supposed to go to Mrs. Kang's but I think I asked the admission office for Mr. Kang's instead" he explained, kind of rushing as he is still in a panicked state.

You honestly feel pity for the new kid, not at all thinking how stupid it could be for someone to get his classes mixed up. It happens, he's still just a human being.

Without saying anything else to him, you suddenly stood up and go to the front of the class and talked to the teacher. At first, he thought that you were gonna air his stupidity in front of the class, but not once did you spoke too loud or even glance at his position. It wasn't until the teacher nodded to you that you went towards him, "come on, I'll take you to your class" you smiled.

He honestly didn't know what to do first, hug and kiss you, thank you, or run out of the class out of embarrassment over his stupidity. So he opted to silently grab his bag and follow you out.

In the empty hallway, you manage to give him a small tour, asking for his timetable and pointing at the classes or the direction to the class. It was only a short walk because after only pointing where his 5th period is, you stopped in front of a door and knocked twice, making him halt his steps.

You opened the door and smiled at Mrs. Kang, "Hi Mrs. Kang, sorry to barge in on you but the new student's here, he was waiting in the admission's office, not knowing where to go" you looked back at him and winked, making Mingi nervous for some reason.

Mrs. Kang smiled widely and nodded, "Oh, yes! I was wondering where you could be..." she peeked at the attendance paper on her desk briefly, "Mr. Song Mingi?"

Mingi stepped into the classroom and immediately the girls started whispering and blatantly gawk at him. You rolled your eyes at them and immediately spoke up again, "seems like my work here's done, sorry to barge in again Mrs. Kang" "thank you for escorting Mr. Song here, Ms. (Y/L/N)"

Before Mingi could even take a last look at you, you had already closed the door and walk back to your class, leaving him slightly dejected.

After he was ushered to a seat next to a boy with half black-half blonde hair, he took his books out.

"Hey," the boy called, "it was lucky of you to get escorted here by (Y/N), she's hecking nice, I'm Wooyoung by the way" he said brightly. Mingi grinned hearing your name, "hi Wooyoung, I'm Mingi! (Y/N) you said?"

Then for the rest of the lesson, he ended up sneakily ask for intel on you from Wooyoung.

Mingi couldn't help but keep his eyes on you even as your figure disappeared, giggles following and he just know that your hand and Yunho's are still intertwined.

Seeing their friend in such state, Wooyoung and San snickered. The latter, who was seated next to him began poking his arm, breaking Mingi from his trance.

"What?" he asked the two boys.

Wooyoung rolled his eyes, "could you BE any more obvious?" "poor girl had two holes at the back of her head from your excessive intense staring" San added. Mingi furrowed his eyebrows at the two, "are you both really my friends? aren't you supposed to be hyping me up to talk to her or something?"

The two only look at each other briefly and shrugged before going back to eating, Wooyoung delved into his bought lunch and San on his smoothie.

"I don't get it, weren't she nice to you when you first got here?" San asked Mingi. Wooyoung beat Mingi and answered for him instead, "correction, she's always nice to everyone even jumbo dumbo here," he jabbed his fork to Mingi's direction, sending some rice flying, "HE just don't know how to talk to her like a normal human being, he thinks she walks on water, so of course he made himself look stupid in front of her"

Before Mingi could utter his defense, San had spoken up again, "ohh... is this about the bottle cap incident?" "IT WAS SO NOT ABOUT THE BOTTLE CAP INCI-" "probably, who knows? She went from nice to tolerating within .05 seconds, pretty sure his dumbassery has something to do with it"

At this point, the two were talking as if Mingi's not even there. So Mingi kicked both of their legs with his long ones, making them groan and glare at him, "I'm right here, I can hear everything you two said" he huffed.

Both Wooyoung and San only rolled their eyes before Wooyoung spoke up again, "seriously Gi, if you want a girl as sweet as (Y/N) to even remotely look at you, you gotta know how to slither your way in" "okay, but how? I tried everything I could think of to approach her and she still keep a significant distance between us, metaphorically and literally!" he whined.

San nudged Wooyoung with his foot when he thought of something, "could this be because of the Hongjoong hyung thing?" Wooyoung thought for a second before answering back, "I thought it was because of the Seonghwa hyung thing?" San rolled his eyes at his friend, "yeah but you can't have the Seonghwa hyung thing without the Hongjoong hyung thing hence, the Seonghwa hyung thing was implied with the Hongjoong hyung thing"

Again, when both forgot to include Mingi in the conversation, Mingi kicked them both, "okay, you gotta stop that lover boy, or else I won't help you at all" Wooyoung threatened, "help me with what? You both haven't helped me with anything!" feeling slightly unappreciated, San pouted "fine, just for that we won't tell you about the Hongjoong hyung thing" "or the Seonghwa hyung thing" "IT WAS IMPLIED!"

The rest of the day went by smoothly for you both.

That was until you got out of your last class of the day which is math with a big, red 45% written at the front of your last test result. It was horrendous.

You weren't the smartest student but you weren't the dumbest either. You procrastinate, yes, but who doesn't ? And you have Yunho to help motivate you.

But this particular mark seems so unfair considering that you tried but you just can't fully comprehend the formulas and your math teacher is one cocky ass, telling you that it's your fault that you couldn't understand but at the same time he is not willing to help you understand.

So with your teacher's character predicament and inability to teach students, your class was offered a remedial (which make sense considering more than half of the class failed). That should make you feel relieved because now this one grade won't affect your previous. But considering how you understand jack shit, you just wanna get things over with quickly.

With that, you walked towards the indoor basketball court, as per your Friday routine, to wait and watch Yunho during his practice. When you got there, Yunho had just changed to his basketball attire.

He noticed you and your frown so he jogged up to where you usually sit and crouch down in front of you, "why the long face?" he asked with a gentle smile as he rest his hands on your knees.

You didn't bother answering and just lift up the paper.

Yunho sighed, knowing how much you studied for that particular test, studying during your bi-weekly sleepovers and almost didn't sleep the day before the test in favour of studying.

"bad bad Mr. Kim?" "It's like he's trying to make everyone hate him with his shitty teaching job, bad hairdo, and wretched stench" you complained, making Yunho laugh slightly, "so what are you gonna do about it?" "what else other than to study for the upcoming stupid ass remedial?"

The coach passed by as you said that, raising an eyebrow at you making you cringe and smiled sheepishly at him, "sorry coach Park"

Due to that, Yunho snorted which earned him a smack on the arm as you pouted at him. "Aww, I'm sorry Kiwi, both for being stared at like that by coach Park and for your remedial"

He was about to say something when his teammate called him, telling him that it's time for practice.

Sighing, Yunho stood up and pat your head lightly, "we'll talk about this later, okay Kiwi?" you just shrug your shoulders and nod your head at him, not knowing what else to say and feeling very dejected.

When Yunho ran back to the team and you began taking out your pencil case and book to start reviewing your mistakes in the test, a pair of eyes trailed to you and watch as your frown deepened. Surprise, surprise, it's Mingi.

You were usually very upbeat and would cheer Yunho on during the practice. But within the first 30 minutes of practice, all you did was just scribble, scratch your head, look back and forth between your paper and your book, and mutter to yourself.

So when dribbling practice began, he decided to approach Yunho to ask about you.

"Hey man," he called, Yunho smiled at him and replied back, "hey!"

Mingi nodded his head to your direction, "what's up with (Y/N)? She looked stressed"

Being reminded of your predicament made Yunho scrunch his face, "yeah... She's has some problem with math... Her whole class is taught by this teacher who, I'm trying to say this as nice as I can, but can't teach for shit even if it's to safe his own life"

Mingi laughed at that, which made Yunho chuckled as well, "anyway, she failed the last test and she has to do the remedial next week but she can't quite understand what it is she needs to understand"

It was as if there was a huge sign waving in the air with the words 'THIS IS YOUR CHANCE, YOUR TIME TO SHINE' written on it.

"H-hey, not to sound braggy, but I'm actually pretty good with math," Mingi started, piquing Yunho's interest, "if she wants, I can totally teach her, tutor her for her remedial test" he shrugged, pretending to be nonchalant about it when in reality, his stomach was churning with anticipation.

Immediately, Yunho's eyes brightened and he nodded enthusiastically, "that's a great idea! I mean, yeah with how much you helped me in math, I didn't know why I didn't think of you in the first place" he scoffed at himself, making Mingi chuckle and visibly calmer around the tall boy.

"But are you okay about it though?" Mingi asked. Yunho raised an eyebrow at him, "okay about what?" "another guy tutoring your girlfriend? I know you're a really nice guy and you don't seem like the overprotective kind, but some people are just not that comfortable with another guy teaching their girlfriend one-on-one. Unless you'd be there to join?" he rambled.

Yunho smirked, eyes diverting slightly towards the gym's door where he saw a bunch of girls watching their practice, knowing for sure that at least more than a half of them came just to see Mingi.

His gaze diverted back to Mingi, "what? Because you're such a popular heartthrob?" he joked, tone sneering a little, making Mingi's eyes bulge out, "n-no! God no! I didn't mean it like that nor did I meant to sound cocky! It's just that I don't wanna make things weird between us because I honestly like you dude, a-a-and-"

Before he could continue, Yunho had laughed loudly at his face to the point that the ball that was previously in his hand rolled to the side, "oh God, I was just pulling your leg, man don't worry about it"

At the same time, the coach blew his whistle, indicating a break before they continue with some other drills.

While everyone's taking a break, Yunho nudged Mingi with his elbow and nodded his head to where you're seated, "come on, I'll tell her that you're willing to teach her math"

Mingi just nod and follow Yunho. So when Yunho stopped in his tracks, he did too. He turned his body slightly and put a hand on Mingi's shoulder, "and fyi," he smirked, "she's not my girlfriend" he said before continue walking.

It's not that Mingi is overly obsessed with the thought of you and Yunho possibly dating, but he wanted to make sure that you're a free agent before he even attempt to make his move (not that he hasn't but in a more official way so that he's 100% sure he's not stepping on anyone's toes). So when he heard the confirming information from Yunho, he wanted nothing more than to run around the court in happiness and just scream. And not just scream but SCREAM.

But he played it cool, nodding at Yunho and continue their walk towards you, whom within those 45 minutes had started to look like you're on the verge of a full-blown meltdown.

When you heard footsteps approaching, you just instantly knew that it was Yunho (since honestly no one else had bothered to approach you during practice), so you didn't even need to lift your head to confirm.

"Nono, I swear my head's gonna explode, I-I-I-I just can't- I don't think I'm able to-" then you look up only to see Mingi's smiling face behind Yunho, "oh, hi Mingi" you smiled politely at him, demeanor changed, and meltdown paused, "hey (Y/N)" Mingi chuckled.

"Kiwi, great news!" Yunho excitedly jumped, holding both of your hands in his with a huge grin on his face.

'Nono? Kiwi? Hand holdings? Are they 100% sure that they're not dating?' Mingi thought to himself.

"Mingi here wanted to help tutor you for your math remedial!" he said excitedly.

You widened your eyes and snap your head to Mingi, "what? Really?" Mingi blushed slightly at your gaze but nodded nevertheless, "yeah, Yunho said you might need the help and I'm kinda good at math so why not?" he smiled at you. His smile honestly looked cute to you.

A frown appeared on your face though, not something that Mingi would expect, "thank you Mingi, but I couldn't... I'm just gonna take your time and it's embarrassing enough that I got a 45%, I don't need to show anyone else how dumb I am at this" you said.

Mingi frowned at your words, "hey, you're not dumb, you just don't know what to do yet and that's completely okay, you're trying so hard and needing help is not a sign of weakness"

What he said was 100% true, and you do tend to over-complicate things for your own good just for the sake of pride.

You mull over his words for a bit, biting your bottom lip nervously as you calculate the pros and cons. Obviously the pros won over the cons because one of the pros is that you'd more likely to pass the remedial test with the help of someone smart, another pro is that he is Yunho-approved. But the con is that it's Song Mingi, the guy who has been blatantly trying to awkward-flirt you, which is weird considering his disposition as this popular jock whom everyone just liked so you had assumed that it was a façade and that he has... other intentions with you.

But then the promise of good grades drew you in. So you sighed in defeat and look at Mingi, "you sure it won't bother you? your schedule?" he immediately shook his head, "not at all, I promise"

Looking at Yunho, who was nodding his head, you groaned, "okay, but only because I'm desperate to get a good grade"

And that is how you ended up sitting next to Mingi at a café you frequented with Yunho on Monday, making the barista who knew you raised an eyebrow at you when you entered with Mingi.

"No, you're supposed to do this part first," Mingi said, leaning closer to you and absentmindedly draping an arm on the back of your chair as his other arm rest on the table, his body was so close to you but neither of you realized it.

"Wait, why?" you asked, eyebrows furrowing, "well, because the formula indicate so" he shrugged, leaning back slightly to look at you. You turn towards him and cross your arms, "yeah, I know that but why?"

Mingi pursed his lips for a second before nodding and leaned back to your book to point at what you were working, "okay, see here?" you nodded, "do you remember the basic rule of multiplication?" his question made you roll your eyes at him, "well duh" "okay, so it's basically the same thing, but the difference is that even though you can technically work on the other part first, it would be way easier for you to work on this part first"

Your eyes widened in realization, you began slightly jumping in your seat out of excitement, "oh! oh! oh! I think I get it!" your hand immediately went to work.

Seeing you so excited made Mingi smiled warmly at you. You looked so adorable being excited over something as miniscule as studying.

All of a sudden, you looked up at him, "is this correct?" you asked, biting your bottom lip slightly as you waited for him to check your work.

Mingi looked over it for a second before nodding, "yup, that's 100% correct" he grinned as he looked up to meet your gaze.

It was that moment you both realized how close you both had gotten. You could see how pretty his eyes are, the colors entranced you as you focused on the freckles on his iris.

Him on the other hand wanted nothing more than to cup your face or play with your hair. He couldn't comprehend how a human being could look so beautiful so much so that he feels like it was very much unfair especially for his well-being.

Neither of you realized that you both were slowly inching together, leaning forward...

and further forward...

So close...

You both were centimeters away from having your noses touch...

But the damn coffee grinder's whirs snap you both and instinctively you grab your now empty glass and excused yourself to get more coffee.

The both of your faces are beet red and hearts were beating so fast it threatened to drop out of your chests.

As you approached the counter, you could see, as you claimed, your most favorite barista smirking at you, "how was your date, miss? I should warn you that this is a fairly public place and family-friendly face"

Your eyes widened, "you turned on that damn coffee grinder on purpose, didn't you, Yeosang?" he raised both of his arms mockingly, "guilty"

You groaned at him, "what? Disappointed that you weren't able to kiss pretty boy over there? Didn't peg you as the type of person who'd dump Yunho for a shinier piece" he asked as he grab the glass from your hand and began making your favorite coffee, "what? No! I was just shocked at the sound! And please don't refer Mingi as a 'shinier piece' that's so objectifying"

"Aha! So he HAS a name!" he pointed at you accusingly, in which you only stare at him with an incredulous expression, "a. of course, and b. never said he doesn't" Yeosang thought over your words and nodded in agreement.

"You didn't deny leaving Yunho for him though," he sneered, "for the hundreth time, Yunho and I aren't together and Mingi is just my temporary math tutor until I can pass this stupid ass remedial test" you huffed.

Yeosang nodded knowingly, turning serious for a second, "okay, I believe you... Just remember, if he tries anything funny on you," you nodded and cut him off, "come to you, I get it" Yeosand raised an eyebrow at that, "no, I was gonna say tell Jongho, he's at the back and he'll crack pretty boy's head in a heartbeat"

His words made you laugh wholeheartedly.

Whilst your interaction with Yeosang was going on, Mingi was dealing with a confrontation of his own.

The second you walked away from the table, Mingi received a smack to the back of his head. He was about to throw down at whichever stranger who decided to do that to him. So it was a shocker (not really, everyone could see this coming from a thousand miles away) when he saw none other than his two friends standing behind him. Obviously the culprit to his smacking was Wooyoung.

"What the fuck was that!?" Wooyoung whisper-yelled at Mingi.

"What the fuck WAS that!? You smack the back of my head out of the blue! The heck did I do to you!?" he whisper-yelled back.

Wooyoung sighed and pinch the bridge of his nose dramatically, "you were supposed to KISS her! Not just oggle at her like a dumb puppy!" "Whoah whoah whoah, okay, first of all, puppies are not dumb, and you're going to hell for that," Mingi pointed out, making Wooyoung roll his eyes, "and second, if I did, she would've slapped me and I would've ruined my whole chance with her!" "assuming you had a chance at all" San muttered as he kept a lookout in case you realized that both him and Wooyoung were spying on you both.

Mingi jab his elbow at San's stomach, making the latter groan, "seriously though, just relax, I know what I'm doing" Mingi said.

His two friends looked at each other before sighing and nodding, "okay, okay, fine... We won't meddle but that doesn't mean we're gonna leave, they have great cookies here," San huffed before dragging Wooyoung back to their table.

Mingi shook his head at his two friends but smiled nevertheless. He felt lucky to have them as his first friends in school, he couldn't have asked for better ones to be honest.

Soon enough you returned to the table, no longer blushing and a glass of iced latte in one hand while the other holds a plate of blueberry muffin.

You put the muffin in front of Mingi before returning to try to work on the next equation.

At first Mingi only dumbly stared at the muffin in front of him, but your voice cut his thoughts off, "hey Mingi, I just wanna make sure, does this go to the top or-" "what's this?"

You look up at him and furrowed your eyebrows, "blueberry muffin? I thought it was obvious?" you giggled, "I always have that here, Yeosang swore by it once and I never looked back" "no, yeah, I get that this is a blueberry muffin, but why did you put it in front of me?"

You purse your lips and shrugged, "a sign of gratitude, a thank you for tutoring me" Mingi raised an eyebrow at you, but he couldn't help the big smile that grew on his face, "you don't have to do that," he pushed the plate towards you, "I volunteered to tutor you so you shouldn't even have to thank me," you rolled your eyes and push the plate back at him, "but I insist because even though you volunteered, I'm still taking your time"

"No you're not" he pushed the plate back.

"Yes I am" you pushed it back.

"No"

"Yes"

"No"

"Yes"

"N-"

"FOR THE LOVE OF GOD JUST SPLIT THE FUCKING MUFFIN RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE AND FEED EACH OTHER BEFORE I-"

Both you and Mingi snap your heads towards the direction of the voice only to see Wooyoung being smacked in the face by San before getting dragged out of the café.

Seeing that made you laughed loudly and Mingi smacking his forehead in embarassment.

"Okay, but Wooyoung has a point there," you nodded before grabbing the plate and splitting the muffin in half with a fork, "you get halfsies, I get halfsies, we go splitsies" you mumbled to yourself as you make sure you're cutting evenly.

Mingi was damn near exploding at how adorable you are. If he had low self-control he would've hugged you and coo at you and feed you the muffin himself but he knows he can't so he just did his best to suppress the biggest smile on his face.

It was surprising that you found studying with Mingi is actually a lot of fun and a lot of help because that boy can teach you the unteachable (math by Mr. Kim) in one sitting and that is beyond AMAZING.

So you both met up everyday for an hour and a half after school in the same café, in the exact same spot as the first time you both were there. You both altered between ordering for each other, depending on who came in first. But no matter what, you both had always shared the food. Even though you ordered a peach danish for Mingi and a chocolate brownie for yourself, he split his danish in half and put it on your plate. You of course did the same, simply out of politeness at first but the following days you did it instinctively.

It is safe to say that you both had gotten closer over the past 4 days, even having an inside joke (it's literally a joke about ( = 0 ) because you said it looked like a person being surprised and you both laughed about it like kindergarteners for a solid 10 minutes, unable to focus on anything else) to the point that whenever you pass him on the hallway or met eyes with him in the cafeteria, you both simply point at each other and make the face before giggling.

This didn't went unnoticed by Wooyoung, San, and Yunho. While you and Mingi were joking with each other from different tables, the three met eyes and gave each other knowing nods and looks.

So on the day of your test, you decided that you need to cram as much information as you can and getting as much practice as you can.

"(Y/N)- (Y/N), sweetie," Yunho called from across you, when you look up you saw him holding a spoon filled with food in front of your face, "you still need to eat"

You groaned, "Nono, I need to study!" "and you have been doing that for the past four days, you've done so well so we can't have your brain going blank from the lack of food, right?" he pouted, pushing the spoon even closer to your face.

You rolled your eyes but gave in, opening your mouth so he can feed you as you focus on the equation you're trying to work on.

"Shit, I forgot what to do after this," you panicked. Yunho peered at your work and frowned, "wish I could help you Kiwi, but I don't think I'd be much help" he said.

You look towards the table Mingi usually sat on with Wooyoung and San only to find it empty. Which is weird and disheartening, you had hoped you'd be able to ask Mingi for a last minute tutoring.

Out of nowhere, someone plop onto the spot next to you.

"Input the sum of the first part to get the x" Mingi said as he sat down and putting his tray of lunch on the table, catching your attention.

Following behind him are Wooyoung and San with what could only be a tray of chicken nugget mountain in the latter's hands.

Deciding to ignore his... minions (for the lack of better term), you scoot closer to Mingi on the bench, dragging your worksheet to him and began pointing things out, "wait, so then by diminishing the complete value of x, I'd be able to get the y?" you asked, looking up at him.

He smiled brightly at you, "yup, you got it!"

Whilst the two of you were preoccupied with math, Yunho sneakily slid your lunchbox towards you, making sure that the spoon poked you.

Absentmindedly, you began eating whilst listening to Mingi pointing out some of the flaws from your previous works and even offering a quicker alternative.

You abandoned your lunch when you began working on a new equation which was noticed by Mingi.

Safe to say the trio (WooSanHo) almost fell off their bench when all of a sudden Mingi began feeding you, even sharing some of his food which you replied with "try some of mine too, I tried a new recipe this morning". Of course he did what you told.

"T-they realized what they're doing, right?" San, who was seated in the middle, whispered after pulling both Yunho and Wooyoung close to him, acting like as if you and Mingi are two skittish, scared kitten that needed to be approached carefully.

"I'm not sure, but I can't take my eyes off, it's like finally seeing an alien" Wooyoung answered as he pop a piece of nugget in his mouth.

"Do you think they'd realize if we leave?" Yunho asked, right at that moment San lift his phone up to take a video of what is happening in front of them. "No, don't think so, pretty sure that the school could blow up and they'd still be wrapped up in their little lunch/study date, sharing their lunch which, hello? Mingi get to try but we aren't? I call discrimination" Wooyoung scoffed.

San poked at his best friend's cheek with a teasing smile, "I sense someone's a bit jelly".

Wooyoung frowned at his friend, "a bit ? A bit ??? Try a lot and not because of their disgusting couple behaviour but because everyone knows (Y/N) packs the best lunch and last time I tried it I had to had my face smashed by a basketball for her to take pity on me back in middle school" he grumbled.

Soon the three boys fall into their own conversation, leaving you and Mingi wrapped up in your own worlds (leaving the group of his fangirls seething a few tables behind but unable to do anything).

You and Mingi didn't even realize that the boys had really left you two alone.

"Nono, you'll walk me to class ri-" you looked up as the bell rang only to find the bench across you and Mingi to be vacant. You look left and right but couldn't find Yunho, Wooyoung, nor San anywhere near. Their tray of nugget mountain had also disappeared indicating that they've vacated the place.

"Those two asshats and Yunho really left us" Mingi muttered as he cleaned up his now empty tray. You also cleaned up your utensils and lunch box before standing up, trying to grab your book, worksheet, and pencil case.

Mingi, who had returned his tray and came back, took all your belongings easily in one hand, "come on, I'll walk you to class," he said, smiling softly at you.

His gesture was very sweet, it made your heart skipped a beat for a second.

But you shook your thought away, smiling back at him and standing up to walk to your class.

"What class do you have after this ?" Mingi asked, "Mrs. Kang for 2 periods and then Mr. Kim, you ?" "P.E. with coach Park so I can be as late as I wanna be" he joked, making you roll your eyes but chuckle nevertheless, "but it seems that we went 180° today" he added.

You raised an eyebrow at him, "what do you mean ?" "On my first day here you helped me by walking me to Mrs. Kang and covering up my stupidity, now I'm the one who helped you and is walking you to Mrs. Kang's" he grinned.

Your mouth gaped in realization and you smack your forehead, "oh my God, you're right! Funny how things turned out" he nodded at that, "more like amazing, if it weren't for human being's capability of being logical, I think I'd have 20 existential crisis every day for the rest of my life" "you know, you have great proficiency in being hyperbolic, ever think of being a poet ?" "Probably, we'll see as we go"

Soon you both reached your classroom on the 2nd floor. You would've get in right away but you felt hesitant.

Feeling and seeing your hesitance, Mingi grabbed one of your hand with his free one since his other hand was occupied with your stuff, he pulled you to the side so that you both aren't blocking the door, "hey, what's wrong?" Mingi asked, crouching down to be eye-level with you, "what if I forgot the things you taught me? What if I freeze mid-equation? What if I-"

Mingi cut you off by linking your hands together, fingers intertwining as his thumb rub on the back of your hand , "don't worry, you won't," he smiled softly at you, "you've been studying so hard, there's no way you'd forget. And besides," his smile turned into a teasing grin as he swing your hand, "I'm an amazing math tutor and I'm not allowing you to tarnish my reputation,"

His words made you roll your eyes at him but it honestly made you felt better and more confident.

"Okay, fine mr. Amazing tutor," you smirked. You unlink both of your hands, which oddly made you feel slightly disappointed and Mingi almost immediately want to pull you back but he held himself from doing so. As you see Mrs. Kang approaching, you grab your things from his other hand, "thank you for the pep talk though, it helps"

Before Mingi can answer you, you had teasingly turned your back and disappeared into the classroom.

True to what Mingi said, you didn't need to worry at all. Because when the question sheet was given to you, everything suddenly make sense and you were able to ace through at least 90% of the whole thing.

You even managed to finish the whole thing 15 minutes earlier than anyone else, making Mr. Kim very suspicious at you. He even asked who you cheated from and where you put your cheat sheet.

It would've been embarrassing to be asked such if you were anyone else, but you took it as a compliment, a sign of a job well done and effort paid.

Mr. Kim, still not believing that you'd done well, even scored your test on the spot as other students struggle to complete their tests.

So when the bell rang, you dashed out of of the classroom, holding your test that was marked 91.7% (you're sure the .7 was just Mr. Kim's way to spite you, unwilling to give you a 92%) proudly in your hand as you made your way to the indoor basketball court.

When you got to there, you scan your surroundings to see whether or not Mingi was there.

He soon emerged out of the locker room with Yunho on his side, talking and laughing amongst themselves, not realizing nor hearing that they were actually talking about you and how Yunho felt like you both could be a good thing for each other, making Mingi blush.

You let out a high-pitched squeal, drawing attention from some people before you ran full speed towards the two.

Thinking that it was for him, Yunho grinned widely and opened up his arms only for you to crash yourself to Mingi. It was only by the glory of God that he managed to held you and not fall backwards.

When your bodies collide, you could hear gasps coming from the entrance doorway, most likely from his fangirls but you couldn't care less.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" you squealed, tightening your grip on him as hard as you can.

Mingi chuckled and hugged you back, "I take it the remedial went well?" pulling back slightly, you held up your test for him to see instead of answering him. Now his grin widened to match yours, it was his turn to squeeze you tightly, eliciting another dramatic gasp from the same group of people, "congrats! Congrats! Congrats! Congrats!" he squealed.

"We're so celebrating this!" He said while pulling back, "after practice we'll go to our usual cafe and I'm treating you to that special brownies you said Yeosang had on the secret menu" you all but frown at him, "no, I'M gonna treat YOU for tutoring me, if it wasn't fo-" "no no no no no, you already played the 'thank-you-for-tutoring-me' card with that blueberry muffin-" "which we split" "same thing! bottom line is you already thanked me and I'm not taking any more of your thank yous" "b-but I-"

Suddenly, Yunho clapped his hands once behind you, successfully diverting both of your attentions to him who has a deep frown. "Um, hello?" he raised his arms in frustration, "hi?" Mingi answered, not sure what Yunho really meant.

Yunho scoffed at him and cross his arms, "I was the one who got you knuckleheads to tutor and get tutored, where's MY thank you gift?" he then turned to you, "and you," you gulped at that, "you went past me, ignoring my hug, and now making plans in front of me without asking me!?"

All you could do is smile awkwardly at him, "oops?"

He turned around and began muttering to himself, panicking you a bit as you followed behind him, trying to say sorry and even cling to him like a koala so that he'd eventually melt and forgive you.

Promising that you'd get all the snacks during your bi-weekly sleepovers tomorrow, Yunho gave in and smush you into a very big hug, telling you that he enjoyed getting the attention from you for once considering you spent the whole practice doting on him, buttering him up with your sly yet sweet ways.

The practice ends on the dot, no one, not even coach Park want to spend more time there when they could be spending the start of their weekend at home or out with their friends or loved ones.

As the boys went to take a short shower, you waited on your usual spot, busying yourself with your phone because Wooyoung, who was in your history class, begged for homework answer.

Suddenly someone blocked the light from in front of you.

You had half a mind to smack whoever it was, thinking the most obvious and cliche like being ganged up on by Mingi's fangirls and getting threatened for being close to him all of a sudden.

But when you look up you were met with Mingi's smiling face, clothes changed to a hoodie and his school pants. "Eunseok freaking used my spare pants as a ball and made me monkey in the middle between him and Jisol" he said sheepishly, rubbing at the back of his neck, seemingly embarrassed.

"You? Monkey in the middle?" you teased, grabbing your bag as you stood up, "shouldn't you be the one initiating monkey in the middle with some poor freshman?" he raised an eyebrow at you as you both began walking out, "really? Is that how you see me?" "not really, but kind of? Like don't get me wrong, I don't judge people right off the bat because let's face it, you were kind of a timid nerd when we first met despite being tall as heck," he rolled his eyes at that, "but you just really fit into the stereotypical trope of a hot, popular jock and it just seem like-"

"Wait," he cut you off, "you think I'm hot?" now he has a smirk stretched on his face widely.

"Well duhh, anyone with two pairs of eyes would agree that you are in fact hot" you nudge his arm with yours, grinning when you see a blush bloom on his face, "you're not easily embarrassed, are you?" he asked rethorically.

The walk to the cafe was short but it seemed longer since you both managed to walk really slowly, too immersed in your conversation about practically anything that came up.

When you both finally got there, Mingi was about to head to the counter and order but you stopped him and pushed him away, running to the counter first and immediately saying your usual drink orders, adding peach cobbler and espresso brownies. As you reach into your bag to grab your wallet, Mingi had already sneaked forward and give the cashier his debit card.

Looking up at him, you furrowed your eyebrows, "that wasn't supposed to happen" you pouted at him while crossing your arms. Mingi chuckled and pat your head lightly, "there, there, there's always next time" he said before walking off to your usual table, mentally punching himself for insinuating that you both would be meeting again even after this, because he honestly don't know whether or not there will be.

You run up a couple steps to catch up with him and took a seat next to him, "you think we'll keep doing this even when I no longer need tutoring?" you honestly felt kind of hopeful at his words, for some reason some part of you had grown comfortable with him and gotten so used to having him 'hang out' with you at the cafe on a daily basis. Maybe you're a little unwilling to let things go back to before he offered to lend a hand for you in math.

Mingi shrugged as he put his bag on the floor and sat down, "I don't see why not? Unless you're suddenly repulsed by me, wouldn't want to make you uncomfortable or anything". You smirked at that, "you actually did when you tried flirting with me every single chance you got before we got this close, you've actually managed to act like a normal human being with me these past week," you poked.

Hearing that from you immediately brought a blush to Mingi's face, "y-you meant to say that y-y-you realized that I was f-flirting with you?" he was a stuttering mess, clearly not expecting you to said what you had just said. "Obviously! I'm not dense, Mingi, I thought you would've known that by now," the smirk didn't melt from your face, "at first it was like just a feeling, something that I had to confirm with Yunho because let's face it, you're kinda nice to literally everyone, and it became even more obvious when you flicked that bottle cap and it hit my eye"

"Hey, that bottlecap thing was 100% an accident! I would never deliberately try to hurt you in any way!" he whined, making you laugh at him, "I know you didn't mean to Mingi-ya, I never accused you of doing it on purpose" you said as you stood up, hearing the cashier called Mingi's name to take your orders that was put on a tray by the pick up point, rushing quick enough so that Mingi wouldn't be able to get up and get there before you.

The both of you spent hours talking about literally anything you both could think of. The conversation was surprisingly flowing very well, Mingi thought that without any academic reason behind your hang outs, he'd be a blubbering mess, trying to impress you while simultaneously make a fool out of himself without having to try much. You were also surprised, with how you treat him before, you actually felt bad for judging him without knowing him first. Sure you were right about your presumption that on one side he's totally the poster boy of a jock, but personality-wise he's just a shy nerd which is hecking adorable to say the least.

"Really? That's what you thought about me?" he laughed, not believing what he had just heard, "I'm serious, I thought you were just an airhead! Like you know, that one jock who got in because of a sport scholarship and only having straight Cs to at least pass so that he could still be in the team? How was I supposed to know that despite your lack of tidy uniform and attention-grabbing tendencies, you're actually a really good student?" you defended.

"See, (Y/N), that's why people shouldn't judge each other based on their looks, and here I thought that you're really the nice girl that everyone like just because, Wooyoung said so himself, could it possibly be that he's wrong?" he's having fun poking fun at you at this point, "hey, that's not fair, mr.'I-might-be-in-the-wrong-class-on-my-first-day'!" you retorted back, sticking your tongue out at him.

"and besides," you continued while poking into the last piece of Mingi's peach cobbler that he had put on your plate, "who the heck listens to Wooyoung? That boy's wrong 78% of the time, if you listen to him, you're just setting yourself up for trouble," "really? And how would you know?" "Because I've known him since elementary school, you know he used to bully me and Yunho, right?"

At your revelation, his eyes widened. Never would he have guessed that Jung Wooyoung would ever bully people, "really? Wooyoung? The kid who's nice to everyone?" that made you rolled your eyes, "he wasn't always nice, he used to be this little asshole, Yunho was first transferred when we were in the 3rd grade and he looked like this scrawny little nerd with a constant blush to his face and shy demeanor," the thought of young Yunho made you smile to yourself, "Wooyoung see him as a prey though and began teasing him. We were all in the same class so one day during arts and crafts, Wooyoung took Yunho's drawings and fold it into a plane, which made Yunho cried because obviously, long story short, I tripped Wooyoung when he was running with the paper plane, took it, and return it to Yunho," by the end, you had a proud smile on your face.

Seeing how proud you look, Mingi chuckled, "Yunho must've been really glad that you're there for him," "oh yeah, totally, stuck by me ever since" Mingi nodded slowly at that, "at first I thought you and Yunho were dating because of how close you two are,"

You almost choked on your latte when you heard him say that, "excuse me, what?" you coughed. Mingi shook his head, grabbing a tissue and began helping dabbing the stray droplets by the side of your mouth, "come on, you both hold hands all the time, he walks you everywhere, you waited for him during basketball practice, heck San even said he saw you both cuddling during a school trip,"

At first you want to defend yourself, saying that it is just how your friendship works, that you're both touchy people and Yunho's just a sweet guy with a talent for cuddling. But then you saw his eyebrows furrow and lips pouting slightly as he talks.

"Song Mingi, are you perhaps... jealous?" a huge grin stretched across your face. You would've thought that he'd blush, deny it, and just make an excuse.

So it shocked you when he slung an arm on the back of your chair and leaned his face close, "so what if I am? You know I like you and seeing Yunho being able to do all that makes me feel like I want to throw a basketball to his face sometimes during practice,"

Now the tables have turned. You stared at him, eyes wide and blush blooming on your face. You could only stare at him, trying to form words, any words to reply to him.

But the way he looked at you, the way his arm feels natural being slung around you and how close he is with you, it would've been dead wrong to say that you don't feel anything. Because over the past 5 days of meeting together after school, you found yourself liking his personality more than before. How he gets serious when he's trying to help you, giving everything he got to make sure you understand what he's explaining, how considerate he is towards your bursts of frustration when you couldn't finish an equation on your own, and how lowkey gentlemanly he is, always making sure you're walking on the inside, opening doors, guiding you gently by having a hand hover on your back. You don't know why you judged him so quickly.

"You're really not like Hongjoong or Seonghwa," you unconsciously muttered.

Mingi blinked twice, tilting his head to the side due to confusion, "I- thanks?"

Realizing what you just said, you groaned to yourself, "sorry, didn't mean to say that out loud, but it's just..." you took a deep breath before continuing, "you're not like how I thought you would be... Hongjoong and Seonghwa were seniors, basketball jocks too, and they played with me around for so long, apparently placing bets with their group of friends on who I'd choose between them so when Yunho tried to get me out before I got in too deep with them, they got pissed because they lost the bet to their friends and they spread rumors that I slept with them behind their backs," the talk of said memory brought a bitter taste to your tongue, and you don't know why you're telling Mingi this, but you somehow felt like you owe him the explanation.

While you were talking, Mingi had subconsciously put his free hand on top of one of yours that was resting on the table, taking it in his own and gently rubbing the back of it with his thumb.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that," he smiled sadly at you, "did people believe them?" "oh yeah, especially their fangirls which ironically is the same people who are your fangirls now, they wouldn't even hear me out, they just shunned me for a whole year until Hongjoong and Seonghwa graduated, but it's okay I'm over it, I used it as a lesson to just not believe in pretty faces and to have a better judgment system,"

"Well what about my pretty face? Do you believe it?" Mingi joked, trying to lighten the mood as he began doing cute pouty faces and poses, making you giggle at him, "stop it you dork, people are watching," you yourself couldn't stop giggling at the sight of him, "well they can stare all they want, I'm don't even care since I was able to make you smile,"

Without realizing, you both stayed there until it was 9.30 pm and your mom called you, asking where you are. So you both immediately pack up and get ready to leave.

For some reason, once you're both stood in front of the cafe, neither of you were willing to move. You both just stood there facing each other, but looking at the ground, slightly dejected that the hangout (or more like date considering how touchy you both were) has to end.

"Uhm..." Mingi started, making you look up to him, "so which way is your house?" you pointed to the right side, "that way, you?" his face immediately brightens, "same way, we can walk together" he said as he took your bag from your shoulder and slinging one of the straps on one of his shoulder before he began walking.

"H-hey!" you called out, rushing to him, "you don't have to do this! I can take my own bag!" you whined while trying to grab your bag from him.

He didn't say anything, he just silently grab one of your hand and pulled you to walk next to him. Thank God for the night sky or else he would've been able to see your tomato red face.

You both walked in silence.

Not that it was awkward, but because it's nicer to just walk without having to say much, bask in the cold night air as both of you connect through your hands.

It's weird that it doesn't feel weird how close you both are getting and how comfortable you both are. Usually people would take more than a week to really get to the hand-holding part. But then again, one of you has been pining over the other for months and judging from how hard your heart is beating right now, it is safe to assume that you've began developing more than just platonic affection to the tall boy.

When your house started to come into view, you felt reluctant to walk quickly, frowning at the thought that the night had to end. Mingi seemed to feel your reluctance, so he slowed down his pace, stretching the 10 minutes walk from the cafe to 30 if he could.

"This is nice," he suddenly said, breaking the silence.

You look up at him and tilted your head slightly, "what is?" you asked, "spending time with you, walking you home, you're just a really great person to be with" again, he made you blush but this time with his words.

"Oh come on, I bet Wooyoung and San would've been more fun to hang with than me," you said, nudging him a little with your shoulder. "That's where you're wrong, more chaotic? yes, considering we were almost kicked out of the McDonalds nearby because Wooyoung tried to score what he called a whole pack of 10 pieces mcnuggets 'extra', but more fun? I don't think so, I'd rather spend time with you," he smiled sweetly.

You almost wanted to roll your eyes at him, but you decided against it, "I'm gonna have to ask you to tell me about the mcnuggets thing, then, sounds like a wild time," you giggled to yourself. "Sure I will, on our next hangout," he said, making you frown slightly. You had thought that he wanted to act all mysterious or playful, but then you realized that you had arrived at the gates to your house.

Looking at your house, you, who would most likely be in your bed any chance you get, seem so reluctant to get in.

But you tore your gaze and moved it to Mingi, staring at him with a look that would've melted him on the spot if it was possible, "hanging with you tonight, might've been the longest time I spent without texting or calling Yunho after school," at your words, Mingi groaned while throwing his head back, "we're having a moment, do you HAVE to mention Yunho when I'm still here?" His protest made you laugh, because what he said was true, "and stop calling our meeting today a hangout, call it what it actually is," he leaned close to your face, "a date,"

Never would you imagine him to say that, but there he goes proving you wrong again. "S-shut up, nerd, you've never asked me out so today was so not a date," you muttered, pretending to be normal despite the blush on your face and your racing heart, betraying your whole exterior demeanor.

Before he could say anything else, you slipped your hand out of his and ran through the gates. When you're mid-way to your doorstep, you stopped and looked back at him. He had a genuine smile on his face, and he was waving at you when he noticed you turning back, "go on, get inside! It's cold! I'll see you Monday at lunch!"

Hearing that gave you somewhat a feeling of relieve that you didn't know you needed right until he said it. But you smiled back at him and nodded, "you better be, or else I'll get a new math tutor, one who's not ashamed to be seen with his student outside of tutoring hours," you stuck your tongue at him. He clutched his left chest with his right hand, pretending to be hurt, "your assumptions hurt me, (Y/N),"

You giggled at that and walk back further.

You stopped when you had a hand to the doorknob, turning back once more to look at Mingi.

Before you could even comprehend what you were doing, you ran back to him, grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and kissed his cheek.

Mingi stood there, dumbfounded at what just happened, not really believing that you had just did that but also doubting whether or not that really did just happen.

When he looked at you, you only smiled at him, "I had a lot of fun on today's... date,"

And with that you quickly ran back and went inside, leaning against the door to calm yourself down.

Curious at what his reaction might be, you peek over the curtain by the side window, to see Mingi still frozen in the same spot, mouth agape, and eyes trained to the door.

It took an extra couple of seconds before he reacted. He held the spot where you kissed him with the biggest smile on his face, he jumped up and down in happiness and his mouth was opened widely to let out a soundless scream.

The sight was adorable. He's adorable.

When he finally left your house after 5 minutes of celebrating in silence, you finally pried yourself off the window to walk to your room.

Now you know for sure that he's not bad at all.

That you're glad he proved you wrong.

Part 4: Potato. Pohtahtoh.

Someone Like You

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Tumblr is based on a system of reblogs, not likes. Please reblog my work.

→ Synopsis: Wooyoung is content with where he is right now, especially considering that ATEEZ’s popularity is still growing. But when he runs into you (literally), he realises that he had been missing out on a significant part of his life.

Pairing: idol!Wooyoung x pro-gamer!reader (fem!reader)

Genre: smau, slice of life au, strangers to lovers au, meet cute, humor, fluff, slight angst

Taglist: @cookiechristie @skittlez-area512 @halesandy @kodzukein @kisaraginami @baguette-atiny @pepperony-7 @hijeongguk @bat-shark-repellant @dear-dreamie @atinytinaa @miriamxsworld @leeknowsnothing

When You Take Him Bra Shopping ~ Ateez Reaction

Seonghwa:

You couldn’t help but laugh as you watched a fan scurry away, leaving Seonghwa stunned as he stood beside you down the aisle.

“Your face,” you teased, admiring how flustered Seonghwa was by your side.

“That’s going to be trending in ten minutes, I bet,” Seonghwa sighed, his shoulders shrugging as he looked away in the distance.

“It was a chance that you took here.”

A sigh escaped from Seonghwa, frustrated more by the wide grin that was etched upon your face. “You can stop enjoying the fact that I’ve been caught bra shopping with you too, it’s your fault that I’m here.”

“I’m sorry, you’re face right now is just making it impossible for me not to enjoy this.”

“Damn,” he mumbled, “my reputation, ruined.”

Your eyes rolled as Seonghwa murmured, “stop being so dramatic, I bet your fans might even like finding this out.”

“Have you lost your mind?” Seonghwa groaned, nudging your side. “They’re going to know that I’m whipped after this.”

“Well, you shouldn’t lie to your fans.”

Hongjoong:

Questionable eyes looked to Hongjoong in response to the unfamiliar silence that was following you around the aisles of bras.

“Are you alright?” You eventually asked Hongjoong, noticing how nervous he was.

“Me? Yeah…I’m fine,” Hongjoong stuttered, running his hand along his left arm as he tried to distract from his anxiousness.

“You don’t want to be here, right?”

A shy smile crept onto Hongjoong’s face in response to just how well you knew him. “It’s not really a place that I’ve shopped before, it’s not as if I’m much use when you’re the one looking for a bra either, right?”

“You can be a great use to me, why don’t you point out a bra around here that you like?”

“Really?” He quizzed, “you want my help?”

You hummed in reply as you took a hold of Hongjoong’s hand, “in a way these bras are being bought for you too if you think.”

“I guess that’s true,” Hongjoong sniggered. “Well, if you’re asking, there was one that caught my eye on the last aisle.”

“Come and show me which one.”

Yunho:

The sound of a snigger from behind you made you jump, head snapping around to look at Yunho who smiled innocently to you.

“Seriously?” You shrugged, staring at him in disbelief as another snigger came.

“I can’t help it,” he tried his best to explain to you, “it’s just weird to find myself in this position, it’s almost like a dream.”

“A dream to be bra shopping?”

Yunho nodded as you looked cluelessly back across at him, continuing to shop. “I bet if you asked pretty much any guy they would tell you that being here is like some sort of dream of heaven for them Y/N.”

“Sometimes it really scares me to think of the things that you daydream about at times.”

“I’m not that bad,” Yunho laughed, “I think.”

Your head shook as he encouraged you to continue browsing, “I didn’t think bra shopping would give you such a kick.”

“I’m just messing with you,” Yunho suddenly told you, “but it is still a little bit exciting to be around all of these bras.”

“Just stop talking about bras Yunho.”

Keep reading

| in love and lore | seven |

pairing: ateez x fem reader

genre: fantasy/daemon/soulmate au

warnings: some cursing, overarching yandere behavior ( i think that's it )

summary: the daemon king and his seven black generals. names and faces of these eight had changed over the years as each new king was crowned, but their reputation as the most powerful daemons always remained the same. upon hearing the rumors one of the seven led the charge of the nearby battle, you should have stayed close to the encampment. you should have never wandered out on your own. but you did, and your life would never be the same again. good or bad, you would just have to wait to find out.

“There’s no need to be afraid, angel.” His words were a breath against the side of your neck. “You’ve done so much for us, let your king now return the favor.”

wordcount: 9.3k

| six | seven | eight |

a/n: okay, so i won't lie, this chapter was like super nerve racking for me to post. and i think it's because a lot of questions are answered in this one and the thought of them not being satisfying makes me anxious. and i think that's one reason why i struggled with this one, but in the end, i'm, happy with the way it turned out, so i hope you all are too. it certainly ended up longer than expected, nearly doubling in length. oops. as always though, i appreciate and adore all your feedback, love and support! :)

~

May I come in?

You were startled by the abruptness of the voice inside your head, the panic you had finally began to quell coming back in full force. The fact he was here and speaking to you not only serving as a swift reminder of what had happened earlier in the night but of everything that was still to come. Of the answers they had all but promised you at this point.

Can you give me a verbal response, angel? As much as I may wish I could at times, I can't exactly read your mind; only the thoughts you outwardly project. And even then, only those from a close distance.

You mulled over your answer, wondering just what it was you wanted. You had come back to camp willingly enough with Jongho when he had promised answers upon your return, but you kept seeing Hayoon's face as she was left to bleed out every time you closed your eyes, followed by the blood that had slowly dripped from Hongjoong's hand. And then way her father had looked you. The guilt he had thrown at you as he ordered you to help, pinning all the blame on you. As though you had been the one to slice her throat and not the daemon grinning gleefully before him.

And was he right? Was it really your fault? After all, you could have saved her. You could have prevented her death if you had just moved.

"Just... just give me a second," your voice was soft, a mumble against the skin of your legs, "...please."

You had been so angry earlier. Your emotions wild and out of control by what they had done. So much so, you had wanted answers then and there, determined to know your role in all this. But now that you were here, you didn't know what it was you wanted. Not anymore.

You didn't want to talk with Hongjoong anymore, not really. Not after the scene you had witnessed earlier. You were no stranger to death. You had seen more death in your twenty years than anyone your age should have ever seen, but this was different. This wasn't just another meaningless death in the war. This wasn't a battle kill. This wasn't a soldier killing another because it was kill or be killed. This was someone killing purely for the sake of the act. Hayoon might have overstepped her boundaries when she had began speaking so brazenly to Hongjoong, but had that truly warranted her death?

All her crimes had been against you. It had been you she had insulted and you that she had threatened to expose and kill. And though Jongho had claimed she had still broken their laws when she had threatened your life, was it still justified when she hadn't known?

She had died because of you. Forced to bleed out because of you. And you hadn't done a single thing to prevent it. Not one single thing.

Perhaps this was why her death clung to your skin, because despite it all, you knew her father was justified in his guilt. Hayoon's death was on your hands just as much as theirs and no matter how hard you had scrubbed at them, the blood wouldn't come off. Your hands had been forever stained.

You wanted answers. You needed answers. You needed to know why they kept slaughtering people in your name. You needed to know what they had done to you and what they planned on doing with you. But the uncertainty of it all terrified you. What if Hayoon had spoken the truth? What if the truth was everything you feared? That this was all just one big game to them and you were just another means to an end. That you were nothing more than a pawn used to get the humans and now that your use was gone, you and your siblings would be executed like all the other half-daemons.

Or what if it was something else? Something worse than death. Something that prolonged your use to them.

You let out another sigh, pulling your legs in closer as a shiver coursed through your body. All you asked and yearned for the past few days had been answers to the questions running through your mind, but now that they were just within reach, you were hesitant. Terrified of what those answers would be and terrified of what was to come once you had finally gotten them.

And if the unknown didn't scare you enough, the path to it did. It had been easy to be frustrated with Hongjoong before, but now that you had met him, you wondered how you had ever dared to utter any of these frustrations out loud. You had known who he was all along, even without any outward confirmation, but nothing could have prepared you for what the daemon king was truly like. Even if he hadn't killed Hayoon in front of you, the short exchange you had with him beforehand had been nerve racking enough. His aura was large enough to fill the entire room, the raw power and strength exuding from it had left you feeling so small and insignificant inside it. And now that man was requesting to meet with you and you alone.

Alone with the daemon king.

If you had told yourself where you would be two years ago, you would have laughed. To think someone of your status would be requested to meet with the king of daemons wasn't just ludicrous, it was near impossible to believe. You had heard the rumors of what this man was like your entire life. Of course you had wondered what he was like before and wondered how he would compare to his father before. You had wondered, just like everyone else had wondered about a man of myth and legend, but you had never expected to actually meet him face to face. You hadn't wanted to ever meet him.

But here you were. In the middle of the daemon's encampment with the daemon king asking to come speak with you. Even with the direction your life had recently taken the past few weeks, it still felt strange. It felt surreal, and left you half-believing that this really had all been some sort of hazy, fever dream. That at any moment now you would finally wake up.

You wished you would wake up. Wished that it was nothing more than a dream. That it was just a nightmare and any second you would wake up. That you would find yourself back in your shared bed with Soomin and laugh about it once you had calmed yourself down.

But this wasn't a dream and you wouldn't be waking up any time soon. This was real. And you had no choice but to accept the fate you had taken when you had stumbled upon your first injured daemon so long ago. The moment you had chosen to save him, you fate had been sealed. The Black Angel had been born and you had no choice but to accept the consequences of your actions.

Take your time, angel. I'll be waiting for you outside.

His response brought you back to reality and you briefly wondered how long you could make him wait before he grew too impatient with you. It was a futile thought, though. What good would prolonging this meeting do for you? You couldn't live like this anymore. The uncertainty of your life and what was to become of you was driving you crazy. You needed answers and this was the only way you would be getting them. If it ended up being the death of you, then so be it. At least you wouldn't have to keep living with the unknown hanging off the back of your neck.

Knowing what you needed to do and doing it were two completely different stories though, and you fought the urge to slink further into the water of the tub. You could mope all you wanted, fight all you wanted, but there was no changing what was to come. As terrifying as it all may be, you would just have to get it over with. Otherwise who knows what lengths they would go to next.

You still waited to leave the tub until the water grew too cold to stand any longer and were careful to keep your gaze away from your body as you got out and dressed. You didn't think he would dare to abuse his power in such a way, especially if he checked in with you before coming inside, but you didn't want to chance it and were grateful your eyes had been closed when he had first spoken to you. If he had been spying on you in the last few minutes, all he would have seen and heard was the back of your eyelids and the shaky exhales of your breath.

There was some relief in knowing he couldn't read your thoughts, though his vague explanation had confused you. What had he meant when he had said he was only able to read the thoughts you outwardly projected? How did you project a thought and had you been doing it unknowingly all this time? Was this they reason why he and the others had heard certain phrases you had said in your head? Was this what Wooyoung had meant when he had said they wouldn't willingly read them? That they had no choice in the matter when you kept projecting them all along?

The thought caused another sigh to fall from your lips, fully knowing this was just another unknown that was to be added to your growing list.

You took your time making yourself presentable, pulling on the spare set of clothes laid out for you and running Hyunwoo's comb through your damp hair. It was a stark contrast from the way you had looked when you first met him, but you felt more at ease with the plain, baggy clothes. This was the real you. A poor, simple half-daemon with just a few items to her name. Not the girl he had seen at the ball, dressed in an outfit worth far more than she was herself. That was a lifestyle you would never obtain. Not because you would never be able to afford it, but rather society would never come to accept it.

Once you were dressed and ready, you were unsure of what to do next, fighting the part of you that yearned to slip inside the bed next to you and pretend as though you had fallen asleep. Was he still listening to you? Did you just have to speak out loud once more and he would hear you? Or did he expect you to reach out to him in person? He had said he would wait for you outside the tent, so had that been a hint for you to go outside and meet with him there?

You knew you were overthinking the matter, but your anxiety over the impending conversation clouded your brain and made it near impossible to come to a decision. You could feel his presence on the other side of the fabric that separated you, the intensity of it adding to the nerves coursing through you. You didn't want to go out there. You didn't want to see him again, but what choice did you have? You needed answers and you wouldn't run now that they were finally being offered. No, you would brave the explanations they would give you, if only for your own sanity, and then you would decide whether running away was a valid plan or not.

Your hands shook as you approached the entrance, the fabric of the tent nearly slipping through your fingers when you pulled it to the side to peer outside. Just as you expected, Hongjoong sat at the table next to Jongho. He had changed into something more casual, hair loose and wet from his own bath, and though the crown was long gone, he still appeared every bit the king he had been at the ball.

The two had been conversing quietly with each other, but their conversation fell to a close when they heard your approach. Both sets of eyes were quick to lock onto your figure and despite the easy smile each sent your way, you had to fight the part of you that yearned to disappear back inside the tent.

"Why don't you retire for the rest of the night?" Hongjoong spoke to Jongho first, motioning with his head for him to leave the two of you alone for the time being. "I'll cover the rest of your watch."

"Of course," Jongho replied, bowing his head. He rose from his seat without question, making his way over to you and ushering a soft, "Goodnight, angel," before giving your shoulder a reassuring squeeze and one last timid smile.

"I didn't wake you, did I?"

His stance was relaxed as he stood up, and he appeared much calmer than he had been when you had first met him earlier. He had seemed so angry with Hayoon and the others then, angry enough to kill though none of it made any sense. And yet, he presented as nearly a different person this time around. Simply smiling at you as though your earlier interaction had never occurred.

You simply shook your head, finding it hard to find your voice in his presence once more. There was so much you wanted to ask, so much that you wanted to say, but you found it difficult to put your thoughts together well enough to form a coherent question with the way his golden eyes took you in at this moment.

"Why don't we head inside, then?" He motioned for you to step back inside, hand landing at the base of your back to guide you when it took a second to process what he had just said. "It will be warmer in there than it is out here."

You let him guide you back inside with little fight, acutely aware of the fact you were now completely alone with him. He directed you to the small table and chairs set up to the left, pulling out one of the chairs for you to sit before taking the other.

"I know a lot has happened to you in the past few weeks," he began once the two of you had seated and you had a hard time fighting back the scoff his words brought. A lot? That was an understatement. Your entire life had been turned inside out since you had first met Seonghwa so many weeks ago. "And I know you have several questions you wish to ask me," he continued, ignoring the negative reaction his words had pulled from you, "but before I answer those, I feel it best to ask you something first. How familiar are you with the way daemons' politics work?"

His question caught you off guard, brow furrowing as you tried to figure out what politics had to do with your current situation. "About as much as you would expect," you attempted to keep your voice even, briefly wondering if you should address him in any specific way. "There's you, the daemon king and the seven generals who carry out his orders. Beyond that, I'm not too sure. Your kind has never been very open with sharing your ways of life."

"That is the base of things, yes," he replied, and though you saw the way his brow twitched at the connotation your tone had held, he didn't push you on it. "The golden crown has been sacred to my bloodline for many generations now, passed down to the next male heir whenever the current ruler dies. And each time the next king is born, seven other daemons are also born amongst our ranks, each with a different daemon ability unique to the sacred Black Order. These daemons are what your humans refer to as the Seven, and are born with the sole purpose of serving the king as his personal guard."

You had a hard time not interrupting him as he spoke, feeling as though he had just repeated everything you had just said. You already knew all of this, and even the few minute details you hadn't, you hadn't cared to learn about. Not when this had nothing to do with you. Not when it did nothing to explain why you had been marked with his sigil or why they seemed to have such a hard time letting you go.

"Now, all daemons possess some of the old magic in their blood, a substance we often refer to as maetha, but only those of the royal bloodline or those born to serve in the Black Order possess a unique ability in addition to what every daemon is capable of."

"But that doesn't make any sense," you spoke up before you could stop yourself. You knew the majority of daemons didn't have a unique ability of their own as you and Hyunwoo were the only two half-daemons you knew who possessed one, but you had always assumed it was just because half-daemons didn't carry enough of magic in their blood to present one and it was only who your father was that allowed you and Hyunwoo to have one. "My blood's healing capabilities. Hyunwoo's affinity with metals. Why-"

"Because of who your father was." Hongjoong interrupted, and his answer took you by surprise. Not because he seemed to know exactly who your father was, the color of your blood had long been a testament to that, but rather that your assumptions on the matter had been right. "You and your siblings are obviously the children of Minsu, one of the generals from my father's guard and the one who served as an ambassador between us. The color of your blood is all but proof of it."

"I'm well aware of who my father was."

No one would ever speak the truth to you or your siblings, but you had always known exactly who he had been. How could you not when your blood was as black as the horns on each of the generals' heads? You had never come to terms with how exactly you felt about the matter, finding it easy to push it to the side when it was a subject kept under wraps. After all, you had never even known the man, as his death had come just mere weeks after you and Hyunwoo had been born.

But you knew the legends and the rumors. The humans might have never outright spoken about your tie to him, but you had heard the stories and rumors they whispered about. Of how he had gone crazy and killed one of the councilman's youngest daughters in a fit of rage. Of how they had no choice but to take revenge for what he had done, even if his death would trigger an entire war.

Everything you had heard about the man said how terrible he was. Of how ruthless he had been. The perfect picture of what one of the Seven were rumored to be like. He had killed your mother for god's sake and would have killed you and others if the humans hadn't have stopped him.

But you also knew the stories Soomin had told you. She had been ten when everything had gone down, and though her memories of these years became hazy in the aftermath, she still held snippets of memories from a life before. Their deaths had hit her the hardest, and yet she refused to speak of it, not wanting to burden you and Hyunwoo with the pain she now carried from it. But she had spoken snippets here and there, ever questioning the event in her mind. Your father couldn't have done it. Not when he had seemed to care for each of you. Not when he had seemed to care so much for your mother.

"Then you may be interested in knowing how uncommon that is because the Black Guard is prohibited from having children."

The statement caught you off guard, pulling you from the memories of your father. You hadn't know that. Hadn't known that on top of the taboo of your mixed blood, you were also an illegal child. Hadn't known you were someone who should have never been born. No wonder the daemon soldiers had given you so many strange looks when they saw your blood. It hadn't been because of your ability to heal with it or that you were a half-daemon, but rather just the color itself. They had known what it meant. They had known you were someone who should have never been born.

"So, you are going to kill me then." Your voice shook as you spoke, the realization of what his words meant bringing to life the worst of your fears. If they weren't going to have you killed for being a half-daemon, they would kill you for being a half-daemon with black blood. Both you and your siblings.

"No, we're not going to kill you." He was quick to rebuke your statement, shaking his head and softening his expression once he saw the fear that filled your eyes. "Your birth may be considered illegal by daemon rule, but you are so much more important than you realize, angel. Important enough to make me more than willing to make an exception to the rule. After all, killing you would be akin to killing-" He paused, the look he gave you in that moment impossible to read. "Ah, but I'm afraid I've begun to get ahead of myself. Do you know why the Black Guard are prohibited from having children?"

You shook your head, relieved at hearing your death was not in the foreseeable future - at least for now - but nervous at the implication he had made when he had been about to explain the reason why. Did that mean they did have a further use of you? A use that trumped the fact you should have never existed in the first place.

"My family did not always rule the daemons. Before we sailed to this land nearly a millennia ago, we were nothing more than just another faction in a world divided by madness. I was not alive at the time, but I'm told Dalnim was a very different place than the land inhabited by the humans here in the place we have come to call Haemosu. The magic was stronger there, where every living being contained maetha. Even the earth, herself, is said to hold traces of it. But as beautiful as it was, the power it blessed us with was also a curse. Civil unrest plagued the inhabitants, each one desperate for the power others held. Wars were constant, each family desperate for more.

"My family yearned for a new life away from the chaos of the old world, so they, along with any other daemons who were willing to go with, left and sailed north to start anew. And to prevent the destruction and chaos that had plagued them before, a spell was put into place, preventing anyone outside the golden bloodline and those born to protect it from being born with any abilities outside the basics maetha allows us all."

"So, that's why the Seven are prevented from having children? Because they can produce more people like Hyunwoo and I? And you're afraid of anyone else who might hold a little power in case they decide to overthrow you?"

"I will agree the morality of the spell is ambiguous at best," he replied, noticing the sarcasm in your tone. "But over the millennia it has been in place, the daemons have lived in relative peace. They've thrived in harmony amongst each other without fear of what's to come. Each of them more than willing to sacrifice a little power at the chance of a peaceful life."

"Hmph, I wonder what that's like." Your arms crossed, scowling at the hypocrisy of his words. All you had ever known was a war divided in war. You had grown up under the very same circumstance he had stated the daemons came here to escape and it was all because of them.

"May I remind you that it was your humans who started this war. Not us." Hongjoong's voice was lined with thin agitation, brow twitching once more at your words. "And it was your humans that were so insistent on continuing it after my father died."

"What are you talking about?"

"Forget I said anything. It doesn't matter. Not anymore." He shook his head with a sigh, and you were surprised to see the way his eyes had appeared sunken for just a moment. As though he was remembering something he had come to regret. "If we were to talk about the logistics of this war, we would be here all night. And I believe there are other topics that would interest you more, am I correct?"

Your lips twisted as you mulled over what he had just said, his reaction to it all the more compelling. He was right in his assumption you were more interested in your own fate at the moment, but his statements towards the war had caught your attention as a direct contradiction to what you had believed to happen thus far. The humans had said the daemons had no wish for peace after their king had died, but Hongjoong had hinted towards a different story. One where the humans were the ones denying peace. And the reaction it had pulled from him all but proving something more had went down than what either had told you.

"As I was saying earlier," he began, taking the time you had mulled over his previous question as an excuse to continue, "the spell written back then was not as flawless as first expected. While it did almost completely prevent any future abilities from appearing in daemons outside the royal family with the exception of the Seven, it failed to prevent abilities from appearing in the male born children of the Black Guard, a problem only discovered decades after the spell had been written. There was talk of rewriting the spell, but the power and time it would have taken ultimately made them decide against it, using the loophole as an excuse to keep the Guard's sole focus on protecting and serving their king."

"Wait, you said only the male born children, right? But what about me? Doesn't that mean I should be like my sister? That I shouldn't have an ability?"

His mention in the flaw had been quick, but you had caught on to it with ease, seeing it as just another flaw in your own existence. As though you hadn't already been told your life was one giant mistake, it seemed Hongjoong wasn't done yet and swiftly delivered another blow towards you. Was there anything about you that was normal? That was supposed to exist and be for a reason? Or were you really just one giant mistake? A flaw in the system.

"Not necessarily. The spell has waned over the centuries and a few daemons with unique abilities have popped up every hundred years or so, but-"

"So," you interrupted, too frustrated by what he had explained to you thus far to notice he hadn't even remotely began to answer any of the questions related to what you were doing here now, "you're telling me, that not only am I a half-daemon, but the half-daemon child of someone who wasn't even supposed to have children in the first place, and now I'm some anomaly in a spell? Is there anything else I should know about myself?"

"I understand the circumstances of your birth may seem a bit... odd, but that doesn't change the fact your life still holds a purpose. You're not a mistake, angel. You're not someone who just slipped through the cracks of an ancient spell. There are a few others who the spell allows to be born with an unique ability. You are one of those people. In fact, you are someone I've waited a very long time for."

His hand reached across the table in an attempt to calm your fidgeting ones, but his fingers only briefly brushed against the tops of your hands before you pulled them back. His face was soft, too soft, gazing at you with genuine sincerity. As though he truly believed what he was saying to you. And the moment you pulled back from him, he almost seemed hurt.

"You're not making any sense. There's nothing special about me." You pulled your hands close to your chest, eyeing him closely from across the table. Why was he being so nice to you? Why did he seem to care so much for you? "I'm just..." Just what? A mutt? A halfbreed? An abomination? All of the above? "You said it yourself. I should have never even been born."

"Perhaps your birth was forbidden on multiple accounts, but that doesn't change the fact you were still born. Or that the maetha that flows through each of our veins chose you. Out of the millions of daemons tied to it, it chose you. You are so much more than the mutt everyone has made you believe you are."

"Chosen? Chosen for what?"

You shook your head, not quite grasping what he was trying to say. Or why he had gone such a roundabout way to try and explain everything. All it had served to do was create more questions than answers and make you feel worse about yourself than you had before. it didn't tell you anything you had wanted to know. It didn't tell you why he or the others seemed to have such a keen interest in you or why Seonghwa had attacked you that night and branded you with the sigil of their king.

"The abilities of the golden bloodline are passed down from generation to generation, with each new heir inheriting the abilities of both his parents, securing a stronger heir with each new generation. When I was born, I gained all the abilities passed down through my father's bloodline and then the one my mother possessed."

"Well, I'm sure that's quite nice for you getting to be all powerful and all, but what does this have to do with me? What does any of this have to do with me?"

"Fucking hell." Hongjoong let out a string of curses at your sarcasm once more. They were nothing more than a breath, but you could still make out the first few as he leaned back in his chair and ran a hand through his hair, either exasperated by your statement or the fact you had still not gotten it. But if it was supposed to be obvious, it wasn't. At least not to you.

"The only daemons born with an ability is the next heir to the throne, the members of the Black Guard, and any other male heirs born to these eight men. However, you might recall I said I inherited the ability of both my parents, including my mother. And while it is true a few anomalies have been popping up, the mate of the daemon king will always be born with an ability."

"What are you saying?"

You could feel the blood draining from your face. The implication he made was clear, but it was so incredulous, you refused to believe what he was trying to imply. You had to have read into his wording wrong. He must have been hinting at something else. He had to have been hinting at something else.

"You're her, angel. The woman I've waited just over a century for. You're my mate."

You laughed.

You couldn't help it. It was just so ridiculous, the laughter had bubbled up before you could stop it, sure that this was all some big joke.

"What the hell are you talking about?" You choked out, but your laughter began to trickle away when you glanced back up at him and saw that damned sincerity in his eyes once more. He sure didn't look like he was joking. In fact, he almost looked offended you hadn't believed him. As though the fact you found it absolutely insane and proceeded to laugh in his face had hurt. Either that, or he was just one hell of an actor. "I don't know what you're going on about, but that was a joke, right? You're not actually serious?"

What did he even mean by mate, anyway? You knew daemon relationships worked differently than humans, rejecting the traditional marriage seen by humans, and referring to their significant other as their mate. But that didn't explain why he was calling you that now. You weren't his mate. You didn't even know him.

"Why would I joke about something like this?" He leaned forward, the intensity of his gaze making you squirm in your seat. You were sure he was joking. He had to have been joking, but the way he was looking at you made you begin to think otherwise.

"Other than the fact that it's absolutely crazy?" You couldn't stop the panic that began to bubble inside you. "Or the fact that I have no idea what you're even talking about? Mate? What the hell does that even mean?"

"Every daemon has a mate, someone designed and molded by the maetha to be a perfect fit to them. And in order to guide the two to each other, they're shown visions of each other-"

"Well, then that just proves you're lying." Your arms crossed. "I've never had a vision of you before. Or anyone else for that matter."

"A flaw on your human side, I'm afraid." He continued without skipping a beat and you began to wonder just what lengths he would go to convince you otherwise. How long he had been setting this up to come up with an answer for each question you threw his way. Of how much effort he put into a ploy that only served to see you hurt. "Half-daemons have mates just like daemons, but the way their human blood reacts with the maetha dilutes it, preventing the visions from ever occurring. At least, that's our best working theory at the present moment."

"Is there nothing about this that doesn't sound absolutely insane to you, or is it just me?" Your fingers dug into your arms, trying hard to control the panic his words stirred up inside you. It was insane. All of it was absolutely, fucking insane. "You're the king of daemons and I'm what? A mutt. Just a fucking mutt. And sure, I have an ability, but people slip through the cracks. You said so yourself. That doesn't mean I'm your mate. And to try and convince me otherwise is just cruel."

"I know how crazy this may seem for you, but I assure you it is all true. I'm not trying to convince you of something that isn't true. I've been seeing pieces of your life ever since you were born, after all." He reached across the table, grabbing your fidgeting hands in an attempt to calm your movements and prevent you from hurting yourself. "Every year on your birthday, I'm able to see, hear, and feel everything you do for just a moment. It's similar to how one of my own abilities work, but I don't get to choose when it happens or reach out to you in any way. I simply get to experience your life as you do for a few brief moments."

"I don't believe you." You shook your head, still incredulous to it all. It couldn't be true. It just couldn't.

"On your eighteenth birthday, you and your brother snuck out of the city to catch a glimpse of Sesang's comet. You laid out on a blanket in a nearby field, staring up at the sky and talking for hours. It was the middle of winter, so it was freezing, but you didn't care. You talked about running away, leaving the humans behind and starting a new life away from it all, but it was nothing more than a wishful fantasy. Where would you go with the war going on?

"And then your eighth birthday was the first year you had gotten a cake. Your sister had saved up enough money to buy the ingredients for one. She had even managed to get candles for you to blow out and make a wish. Your brother had stated his wish was to be able to have cake everyday for the rest of his life, but you had remained silent when asked about yours, stating it wouldn't come true if you said it and you really wanted it to come true. Ever since then, I've always wondered what your wish could have been and if it ever came true for you."

Your face grew hot as he spoke, fully aware everything he was saying was true. You had snuck out of the city with Hyunwoo on your eighteenth birthday, as the lights and walls of the city had blocked your view. Soomin had been frantic when the two of you had returned in the middle of the night, nearly frozen to death but giggling like fools. She had berated the two of you for what felt like an eternity for doing something so stupid.

And then your eighth birthday was the first time you had gotten cake. There had only been enough for one, but you hadn't minded sharing with Hyunwoo because the two of you were so close and shared everything anyways. You had felt so silly when you had made your wish and blown out the candles on your side, but even now, almost thirteen years later, you still held on to that wish and hoped it would continue to hold true. That you would always have your family by your side.

"I'm not saying I believe you," you found it impossible to look him in the face now, body growing hot as the realization he could actually be telling the truth sunk in, "but if you really are telling the truth, then why didn't you just take me that first night? If you knew it was me, why did you just have Seonghwa put this stupid mark on my chest and send me on my way?"

"Because I knew how badly you would have reacted. Look how hard this is on you now. How do you think you would have reacted if I had Seonghwa bring you back to our base that night and explained everything there?"

You had to admit he did make a valid point. If he really was speaking the truth and you were his - god, you couldn't even say it in your head - stealing you away then would have made you livid. But it didn't make up for the way they had still treated you instead. The way they had stolen you from your home and family still made you angry. The ploy might have not been as terrible in his mind as the first, but it was just as cruel to you. You had gone through so much in these past few weeks, unsure of what their true motives were and what was to become of you. It made you almost wish they would have just taken you that first night instead. The stress of it all had nearly eaten you alive. It had nearly torn you apart. And for what? For them to come out and say it had all been because you were supposed to be the mate of the daemon king and they wanted your ability to pass down to the next heir?

"There's something else I still need to explain to you," he continued after a few moments of silence and you did look up at him in that moment. The realization he had more to tell you made your heart skip a beat. What more did he have to say? Could it possibly get any worse than it already was?

"My mother's ability is a strange one, allowing bonds to be created between different individuals. By consuming one's blood, I can create a bond between myself and another that will tie us together. In a sense, it allows a part of myself to be imparted upon each person I mark, allowing me to share my strength with them and vice versa. Each of my generals hold such a mark, strengthening each of us through it. And when I realized it was you who was the Black Angel that night with Seonghwa, I marked you through him. The mark on your chest is a physical sign of the bond that now ties you to each of us and why you were most likely left with the feeling as though a part of you was missing. In some ways, it was, as pieces of yourself transferred to each of us as the bond took hold.

"I didn't want to mark you in such a way. Not without you having any prior knowledge on the matter, but I had little choice. I wasn't expecting you to be there that night. I wasn't expecting to see you until we breached Maehwa, but then you appeared. And though I always suspected it might be you who was the Black Angel, it was still a shock to see it was true. To know it had been you who had saved all those lives." He paused, hands tightening their grip on your own. "I knew how much danger you would be in if the humans ever found out what you had done, and I couldn't just have Seonghwa take you back no matter how much both of us wanted that, so I did the only thing I knew to secure your safety for the time being."

"You could have been wrong though. You could have marked the wrong person."

"No," he shook his head, the hint of a smile appearing as he took you in. "It was you. We both could feel it. The moment you walked into that room, we knew. Your voice, your mannerisms, your aura. It was all you, the woman we've waited so long for."

"We? What do you mean we?"

"When I marked the others, I never expected the bond between us to be as strong as it was. It brought us together in a way that no other king and his guard had been before. We were stronger, faster, more united than my father or his father before. A part of myself now lives within each of them, just as a part of them lives within me. And the tie that connects me to you, also now connects you to them. Because you are my mate, you are now also theirs."

Your eyes widened. "What do you mean?"

If you weren't so certain he hadn't been lying about the first part anymore, you would have never believed him now. You would have laughed at him again. But just as before, his face held no trace of a lie. It was just as sincere as before. Full of a longing that would have had you wanting to move in closer if you weren't so shocked by what he was telling you in that moment.

"Even before they were officially my guard, I had always been so close with them. We grew up together, trained together. They're the closest things to brothers I'll ever have, so when I was instated as the new king and they officially became my guard, the bond that snapped into place felt natural. It heightened everything we already knew and felt, bringing us closer together than we had been before. When each of them saw the next vision I had of you on your eighteenth birthday, we knew immediately what it had meant. That they were now tied to you just as I was and who was I to neglect them of that bond? The very one I had given to them?"

"But," you struggled to speak, fighting the rush of emotions that had sprung up, "but you said every daemon has a mate, so I couldn't be theirs too, could I? Not when they-"

"You'll remember I said previously that the members of the Black Guard are not allowed families of their own, because of this, they are the only daemons who do not have a mate when they're born. The ancient spell which gives them their ability and rank also prevents a mate from being bound to them."

It made sense. In it's own twisted way, it did. And it explained so many of the interactions you had with each of them. It explained the way Seonghwa had reacted that first night when he saw you, the way Jongho was always so bashful around you, and it even explained the conversation you had had with Yeosang before you had known he was a daemon. Of how he had said a partner was something he had never thought could be his and the implication that it could come true now because someone like you had told him it could.

You could feel your face growing hotter with each passing moment, suddenly seeing every little interaction with each of them in a new light. They had known. All along they had known exactly who you were. It was why they always seemed to fawn over your attention, squeezing their way in to catch a moment of your time. And it was why they all acted so aggressively whenever you were insulted and threatened, and explained the hungry glint in each of their eyes when they had observed you in that golden dress earlier that night.

Your eyes flickered over to where it still laid draped across one of the privacy screens, shivering as you saw the meaning behind it in a new light. You had been so sure they had put you in it for the exact reason Hayoon had said. As nothing more than a way to mock the humans, but that hadn't been it at all. Perhaps, a part of it might have been a way to get back at them for all they had done to you, but it had really been nothing more than a way for them to show the humans exactly who you were there with. All but claiming you as your own.

"Let me get this clear. You're telling me that I am not only supposedly your mate, but I am also now the mate of each of your seven generals? Like, all of them?" You drew your hands out from under his, his touch hot and heavy against yours. "And I'm what? Just supposed to accept all of this? I'm just supposed to be okay with all of this?"

"I know this is a lot to take in, y/n, but-" He attempted to calm you down, but you couldn't even look at him in that moment, feeling more vulnerable before him than you ever had before. Never in your life had you felt as bare and exposed as you did now.

"A lot? A lot is a fucking understatement." Your voice was rising, and you clambered to your feet, nearly knocking your chair over in your haste. "My whole life I've been told I'm nothing and that I'll amount to nothing, and now you're here telling me I'm supposed to be your mate. The fucking daemon king's mate. It's..."

It was what? Cruel? Degrading? To know that they only reason they had ever shown you an ounce of kindness was because you were supposed to be their mate? And what if you hadn't been? What would have happened then? Would you have had a knife to your throat instead? Because you served no other purpose towards them?

"You all keep going on and on about you had no choice in the matter. That you had no choice but to mark me with this stupid, fucking bond, and no choice but to kill Hayoon or that other lady. But you're wrong. You," somewhere inside you, you found the strength to look up at him once more, eyes narrowing as you met his gaze, "you have no idea what it's really like to not have a choice."

God, the temperature in the room seemed to have increased steadily in the past few minutes, leaving the air stifling and making it harder to breathe with each intake of air. It was starting to make you lightheaded, and you swayed on your feet. You needed to get out. You needed air.

"Angel-" His hand caught yours as you went to move away and the way he looked down at you nearly made your heart stop.

"I... I can't do this anymore." It was a struggle to speak as time went on, chest tightening with each passing moment. You couldn't stay here for much longer. Not with him. Not with any of them. You needed space to think, to breathe, to calm yourself down. You couldn't do that with him here. Not when he was the source of the panic currently consuming you. "I need space. I need to think."

You didn't wait to be given permission and pulled yourself from his grip. He let you slip away with little ease, making no attempt to try and stop you as you dashed to the entrance of the tent.

"y/n, please believe me when I say that none of this was meant to hurt you. The last thing any of us want to do is hurt you."

Would he be saying that to you if you hadn't been his mate? Would he have shown you, someone who's existence his kind had hated for centuries, would he have shown you kindness if you hadn't been his mate?

"You'll have to forgive me when I say I don't believe you," your voice was soft as you paused at the exit, hand tightening its grip on the fabric of the tent as you processed his words, "as it certainly hasn't felt that way on my end. My life has been nothing but confusion and misery since I met you."

You didn't have to look at him to know the impact your words had on him, cutting deep. And though you felt no regret in saying them, it still made you pause for a second longer, wondering if this was the right way to leave things. Wondering if you should explain just why his words had cut you the way they had.

But how could you? How could you stop and explain when you weren't even fully aware of the answer yourself? And what little you did understand only made you all the more anxious to openly admit out loud. Because what if you were right? And the way you had been treated was solely reliant on the bond between you. And that you would have been tossed aside like all the others long before if you hadn't.

No, you couldn't. You wouldn't. Not now. Not after everything he had done. Not after everything they had all done. You had suffered enough as it was. You didn't need to suffer any more by putting yourself out there more than you were already.

You forced yourself to move, throwing back the flap to the tent and forcing your legs to move beneath you before he had a chance to change his mind and force you to stay. You didn't know where you were going, nor did you really care. You just needed a place away from him> Away from all of them. A place where you could be alone and breathe. A place where you could process the overload of information he had dumped on you without him and the others breathing down your neck.

To your relief, the others weren't around when you exited. After everything you had just been told, you didn't want to face them. The mere thought of seeing them now that you finally understood what was going on only made your stomach churn. You didn't know how you would be able to face them after tonight, and wondered if it would have been better to continue living in ignorance. If the uncertainty of what was to come was better than this.

You took off through the camp, ignoring the daemons still milling around and doing your best to control your breathing. Your hands still shook and your chest was tight, but you felt as though it was a bit easier to breathe out here.

And though the idea of running did strike you in that moment, you had no real intention of following through with it. Could you even run away when Hongjoong had the power to bring you right back to him with little to no effort on his part? And even if he somehow couldn't? Where would you go? Nearly every city had either been destroyed or overtaken by the daemons, and Maehwa was out of the question after the events that had transpired earlier in the night. The humans would never let you stay with them. Not after you had inadvertently caused the death of one of the councilman's daughters.

No, you just needed to get far enough away to where you couldn't feel their presence any longer. You needed far enough away to where you could feel like you were by yourself. But the moment you made it to the edge of the tents, you were stopped in your tracks. Not by one of the daemon guards, but a force that you couldn't even see.

There was nothing in front of you, nothing visible that you could see, but you could feel it. An invisible barrier blocking your path and preventing you from escaping any further. You could feel it thrumming in front of you as you cautiously brushed up against it, solid beneath your fingertips.

You knew this was your doing, remembering all too well the way the humans' fists had bounced off something similar earlier in the night. Except this time it wasn't in place to keep the humans in, but you.

You laughed.

Nothing about this was remotely funny to you, but the realization you were trapped inn here with them was the tipping point of it all, seeing once again your choice being taken away from you. A pitiful reminder that you were little more than a prisoner here with them.

It didn't take long for the laughter to transform into tears, shoulders shaking at the sobs that began to rack your body, finally releasing the swell of emotions you had held up inside you for so long. Every fear, every frustration, every worry, came rushing out of you in that moment and you collapsed against the nearby tree, body curling in on itself once more as the weight of the situation came crashing down on you.

You had thought your fate had been sealed the moment you had become the Black Angel, but you were wrong. Your fate had been sealed the moment you had taken your first breath and destiny decided to tie you to that man and nothing you said or did would change it.

~

@layzfeelit @calirix @seonghwarizon @yunho0o0o0o @blglmgk01 @marievllr-abg @ddeonghwva @rosie-hao @malyxsoulpersonal @kirooz @violetpenguinkris @woosmaid @eggyomelet @wooya1224 @mulanateez @kimi-kiwi @eastleighsblog @baguette-atiny @yourleftsock @dear-dreamie @uriruwi @purplelady85 @camzpetite @peachesandcream-9 @beautysirens @peachy-yabbay @seonghwaholic @honeyedtalisman @nichobins @fl0r4f4wn @avantalem @seojonneh @is4b3ll3s @ahhhhhhhhhghh @slutforheeseung @hyunjiminssi @knucklesdeepmingi @mrcarrots @wxnderingthoughts @moni-cah @hazel42 @blaaiissee @anushka-k @peppermint-tea-life @all-black-darling @not-everything-is-so-primitive @naiify @sophxom @kuleo26 @doublebunv @halotopicecream @shakalakaboomboo @craxy-person @kawaiikels @tito-the-mermaid @wellwwhynot @nikinonikki @freyaniobe

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8 Makes 1 Team

No matter how different, without one of us there is no 8 makes 1 Team

Synopsis : In which 8 boys build a friendship despise of their differences with the help of a psychiatrist

Pairing : psychiatrist! Reader x Ateez (for now )

Themes : angst , mental struggles, fears , Disorders etc

Warnings : this chapter includes mentions of ,slight abuse , toxicity ,mentions of toxic friendship ,crying , aggressive staff , deep talk , boundary crossing , yunho being a little oblivious , please tell me if I forgot something , and I’m not romanticizing disorders in anyway and this is pure fiction meaning this doesn’t represent Ateez in any type of way

And I would like to apologize and just like to explain that after I post the chapters of you guys getting to meet the patients (Ateez ) there will be back stories as to why they are where they are and etc , besides I do my research before writing about these disorders and other things

Tag list : @veneziamadness , @hcyaa , @sadcoffeecritic , @aapplepii , @lavishloving , @dogsongy

Also if you want to be added to the tagging list for the next chapter comment so I can add you

Word count : 1,6k

MEETING YUNHO

𝗣𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝟬𝟱𝟳𝟲

𝙉𝙖𝙢𝙚: 𝙅𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙔𝙪𝙣𝙝𝙤

𝗕𝗶𝗿𝘁𝗵𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲: 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝟮𝟯,𝟭𝟵𝟵𝟵

𝗛𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 : 𝟭.𝟴𝟱 𝗺

𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 : 𝘽𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿

𝘋𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘴 : 𝘋𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘺𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 , 𝘙𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘭𝘺 , 𝘚𝘦𝘵 𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮

Giggles where heard as the teens sat on the couch of the quality time room

" What is your super favorite color of all times ? "

" Me and Duri like the color red "

The boy smiled and nudged his friend

" What do you think about marvel ? "

" Duri and I prefer Harry Potter actually "

The boy smiled again looking at the other kid across of them

" Mhm why do you always respond everything for him ? can't he talk ? "

" Because we are best friends an-"

" I don't think he's enjoying it at all "

" Well you don't know Duri more than I do "

" It seems like you don't know him as well as you think you do Yunho "

The boy snickered before continuing the puzzle

" I know everything about him , and we've been best friends for 2 years since we met here "

" Yunho stop it "

" No he's trying to question me on our friendship  ! "

He yelped in anger and threw the puzzle down

" Bro are you nuts ?! It took me an eternity to build this now it's ruined "

" I am not crazy , and you where questioning me on my friendship with my best friend "

" Yunho please stop this nonsense"

Duri whispered to his friend as embarrassment rose up his face

" Your weird if you are letting yourself get bossed around by this crazy ass "

" I-I am not letting myself get bossed by him it's just that he doesn't have anyone else "

" Well that's ok , I have you and that's enough "

The boy smiled softly and snuggled himself on his best friend who sighed

" Are you that oblivious? Dude he doesn't enjoy you leeching onto him all the time let him breathe "

The kid yelped getting frustrated at the scene

" Yunho please let go of me "

" But you like when we cuddle "

" Yunho please "

The boy let go of his friends arm as anger took over his face

" Are you choosing him over our friendship ? "

" That's not what he sai-"

A loud thud was hear and a scream

" Don't you interfere!"

" Look what you have done Yunho "

" Duri I-I "

" Enough ! You make me insane ! Why do you always scare away people that try to befriend me ?! "

The boy yelled at his friend who started shedding tears

" D-Duri I-I'm so-orry but- "

" I don't care about any buts , you can't get violent with people because their opinions don't sit right with you ! "

" But he was making me look bad ! "

" He's not making you look bad ! It's just what you are and you just don't want to realize it "

Duri helped the other boy up who sobbed over his painful throbbing arm 

" I-I'm not bad "

" Yes you are ! Not only that but your toxic and annoying! I don't even know how I held out two whole years with you ! , just being with you makes me want to jump from a bridge! "

Yunho gasped as he looked up to eye his best friend

" Gosh this felt good to say , it's just that you keep making me feel like I'm an object "

" What do you me-ean ? I thought you liked my cuddl-"

" That's the thing ! I don't , just like I hate the color red and Harry Potter! you keep  assuming things and making up fantasies about us "

" Your crazy and weird a-and-"

" Why are you acting like everyone else when you kno-"

" I've had enough of playing your friend , I felt bad for you but now you just get on my nerves "

Duri sighed and shook his head

" You don't know what boundaries are and how to accept a no , so please find someone else to boss around and that will cope up with you "

" N-No don't leave I’ll stop the cuddling ! "

He fell onto his knees with tears as he watched the boy walk out the door

" I-I have no one else "

The boy looked at the door with hope to see his friend walk back in and hug him and that everything was just a huge misunderstanding

" Go to your room , you know your not allowed to be alone here "

" M-My friend will come back "

" Than wait for him outside "

The guard sighed annoyed as he approached the kid

" I can't leave he won't know where I am so I need to stay here "

" Listen, your making my job harder than it already is so please leave befor- "

" I told you my friend Duri will be back ! "

" Well I don't give a damn about your friend Dumi or whatever his name is now go out ! "

The guard yelled back and tried holding the boy to drag him out but was suddenly bit

" Stop ! "

The boy yelled when he was yanked up and gripped by the shirt

" Now listen here you little freak ! i'm not gonna repeat myself anymore , it's either you go out while I'm being nice or you'l-"

" Or he'll what ? "

Y/n stormed towards the guard and freed his hands from the boys hair that immediately hid himself behind her

" Is this what they pay you for ?! "

" Miss I was telling him that- "

" It doesn't matter if you where telling him something this isn't a justification to use force on these kids ".

“ But he bit me ! ”

" I know it’s not right but you out of all people know that your not supposed to use violence against them "

She sighed and took the boy by his hand and walked back towards his room after the guard assigned to his door let them inside

" May I know why you bit him ? "

" H-He was being mean ! "

" And why was he being mean? "

" I was waiting for my friend Duri to be back a-and "

He suddenly looked up to her and sobbed loudly while hitting his bedsheets

" H-He doesn't want to be friends anymore "

" What happened between you both ? "

" This boy ruined our friendship it's all his fault ! Now he is Duri's best friend ! "

" Calm down first and than tell me everything "

He nodded and fiddled with his fingers

" Duri said that I-I'm toxic and that he doesn't want to be friends anymore because I don't let him breath but he's not dead he breathes just fine and I don't understand why he said that "

The boy hiccuped

" Did he tell you what you did that made him upset ? "

" He said tha-at I'm annoying and that I am always making him feel like he's an object "

Y/n sighed and extended her hands for him to hold

" What is your name ? "

" Y-Yunho "

" Yunho do you know what boundaries are ? "

He shook his head and wiped his nose

" Boundaries is something that points out or shows a limit or end "

" I don't really understand "

He sniffed and looked at her with curiosity

“For example ,what are some ways you could let me know you don't like it when i hug you without asking ?"

  She looked at him and waited patiently as he looked puzzled with his own thoughts

" I can say stop ? "

" Exactly, now what do you do if someone continues doing it ? how would you feel ? "

" I would feel sad that they don't stop or push them away and say it "

" See , what if I bought you a present and said you shouldn't open it until I'm back but you do it anyways how would I feel ? "

" Sad and angry at me "

He answered lowering his head down ashamed

" Hey don't lower you head , did you open a present without my permission? "

Yunho shook his head and looked up again

" So why did you lower your head than  if you didn't do anything wrong ? "

" I don't want to upset you "

" Yunho it's ok , did you realize how your friend must have felt because you didn't respect his boundaries ? " I think he was really upset because I didn't listen

" I think he was really upset because I didn't listen when he said stop to hugging or alone time "

" People are in charge of their own bodies, and it's not okay to touch them if they don't want you to, just like it's not okay for someone to touch you in a way you don't like ok ? "

He nodded

" Just like if I touch your hair or open something without your permission? "

" There you go I hope you learned something from this small talk we had

She smiled and held her hands up for a high five

" Do you promise me you'll try to respect other peoples boundaries ? "

He nodded clapping her hands with a smile

“ Who are you ? ”

“ I’m your new psychiatrist Y/n , I’m here to help you now ”

“ Do you want to play cars with me ? ”

“ I’m afraid our time will be over soon ”

He nodded and took out some plastic toy cars from his pockets

“ You can be the color yellow ”

He gave her the car

“ This is the car that my brother Gunho gave me before coming here , it’s beautiful right ? ”

“ It indeed is , well Yunho i need to be on my way now but I’ll see you tomorrow ”

“ Do you have to leave already? ”

He looked at her sadly before gripping her hands in order for her not to go

“Don’t worry I’ll pick you up tomorrow for breakfast , is there anything you want to eat ? ”

“ Are you really going to be there ? ”

“ Dont worry sweetheart I’ll be there I promise you that ”

She ruffled his hair softly

“ I want to try apple jam on my bread ”

His eyes lit up as he clapped loudly

“ Ok buddy I’ll try to find apple jam for you ”

She chuckled and waved goodbye before leaving

Getting to know patient number 0576

Blanket (Seonghwa x Reader) (SFW)

Summary: You give your blanket to your bias in Ateez

Word Count: 1,944

a/n: I had this cute idea and it could potentially be turned into a full fic, if you want it to be. I just had this cute little blurb to share to see if anyone would actually be interested! Thank you for reading!

A cold breeze blew through the streets, causing everyone around you to shiver, and you swore you could hear teeth chattering from your friend group. 

“Why did you bring that god forsaken blanket?” Your best friend looked at you in embarrassment. Her arms crossed in front of herself to help the cold that was seeping in. 

You had the blanket wrapped around you, shielding you from the chilly air. You clutched it closer to you and pouted. 

“I’m sorry, but it seems to me as though I’m nice and warm while you’re over there shivering.” Your friend stood there in her skimpy Deja Vu inspired outfit.

“Hey man. Tits out for San.” 

You snorted. “It’s not my fault you want San to look at your tits.”

“Okay but you’re in Hala Hala. You have pants and a jacket!”

You raised your eyebrow at her. “Your point being?”

“Give me your jacket.”

“No.”

She pouted at you. “Please? You have your cursed Seonghwa blanket already!”

You rolled your eyes as cheering came from the line in front of you. They had started the scanning of bags and metal detectors to finally let you into the venue. 

“Look. We’re about to be inside. Stop complaining. I’ll leave the blanket with Jisu since she has seats since it’s that embarrassing.”

“Oh.” Jisu turned to look at you. “Yeah. I don’t have seated tickets today. That’s tomorrow.” She gave you a small smile. 

“Looks like you’re stuck with me and it then Brynn.”

You turned around and moved in the line, Brynn sticking her tongue out at your back.

The beginning of the concert was hype, and you found yourself holding the blanket out while screaming for Seonghwa, hoping he would see it and you could make him smile. 

Towards the end of the show, when Ateez was about to do their last few songs, he finally saw you. He gestured to your hands and you held up the blanket to show the man on stage. He leaned down to get a better look. It was a photo of him, wearing glasses and peeking around a beige door, just his face and neck visible. He laughed, the smile making his eyes sparkle. You gestured towards him, holding out the blanket to him, telling him to take it. 

His eyes widened as he moved, his eyebrows going into his hairline as if to say “are you sure?” 

You nodded again and bunched it up, and then threw it at him. He caught it, and immediately wrapped it around his neck, acting like a superhero. He ran around the stage and catwalk, one arm outstretched like Superman. It was his favorite thing in the world now. The smile on his face was one of pure, genuine happiness, and his eyes were filled with excitement. 

The other members watched him in confusion at first during the interaction, and when they realized what had happened and what picture was on the blanket, they interrupted their ments to comment on it. Wooyoung was laughing so hard, San had to hold him up.

“Hyung” San said through his fits of giggles. “What is that?” 

The cameras panned over to Seonghwa, who held his mic up. “Atiny gave it to me!” He was so giddy. Almost like a child on Christmas morning. 

“I want one!” Wooyoung screamed from his spot on the floor, where San had dropped him. “Which Atiny?”

Seonghwa shook his head and wiggled his finger with a smirk towards Wooyoung. “Not telling. They’re my Atiny now.”

This caused a riot as Wooyoung stood up to rush at Seonghwa, but a staff member ran onto the stage to stop the chaos and get the concert back on track. You couldn’t hear it, but you could tell by the body movements that Seonghwa was getting scolded. You saw him pout and reach to his neck to untie the blanket. Before handing it to the staff member, he held it up, showing off the slightly terrifying photo of himself. The crowd cheered as the cameras panNed to it.

He held it proudly for a moment before handing it to the staff member and bowing as they ran off.

“Alright Atiny! Let’s get back to it!” Hongjoong said into his mic, distracting the crowd once again and he started the concert back up. 

You looked over at your friend. Her mouth was open in shock and you sent her a smirk. Knowing full well that only a few hours ago she was making fun of you for it. 

“Did that actually happen?” She yelled into your ear as Guerilla started to play and Hongjoong started his rap. 

You smiled at her, a slight blush on your cheeks. “Yeah” you smiled, giddy at what just happened. “Yeah I guess it did.”

The rest of the concert went by in a blur. You were pretty sure you blacked out during most of it. The thought of Seonghwa taking your blanket from you still on your mind as you made your way back to your hotel with your friends. 

A notification popped up on your phone as you entered the modest hotel lobby. Ateez had gone live in their hotel room, all eight of them crowded on a bed and tiny couch. Wooyoung sitting almost on Sans lap showed in the video preview as you sleepily walked to your room. 

Your friends followed you into the room, and one pulled out their laptop. “I saw Ateez was live. Do we wanna watch?”

A chorus of sleepy yeses sounded through the room as people started to get out of their clothes and makeup, listening to the chaos of eight men in the background. 

“Hey, Y/N” your friend with the laptop said. “Hwa still has your blanket.” They turned the screen towards you, and your sleepy eyes shot open and you rushed to get a closer look. 

There he was. The beautiful blonde man who took your blanket of him today, sitting with it securely wrapped around him.

“I figured that he or the staff would’ve throw it away.” Your eyes wide as Seonghwa faced the camera. You felt like he was looking into your soul. 

“To the Atiny who gave me this blanket, thank you. It will always be with me.” He smiled softly and stroked the soft fabric. A blush crept up your neck at his admission.

Wooyoung decided then to be a menace and he yanked the blanket away from Seonghwa and yelled something in Korean. Based on his tone, he was teasing his elder, and by the look Seonghwa had, he was annoyed. 

Seonghwa reached for the blanket and Wooyoung threw it to the other side of the room. San, never one to say no to teasing his hyungs, caught it and tied it around his neck. 

The live turned into chaos.

Seonghwa stood, directly in the middle between Wooyoung and San. He turned his head and leveled both men with a glare as he held his hand out, gesturing to give him back the blanket.

Seonghwa took a few step towards San, who then threw the blanket back to Wooyoung. Playing keep-away was their favorite things to do.

“Wooyoung. Give. Me. The. Blanket.” 

Wooyoung gave Seonghwa a cheeky smile and stuck out his tongue. “No.”

Seonghwa rolled his eyes and stood there, just staring at Wooyoung, annoyance in his eyes. “Please can I have my blanket back?”

“Aww hyung, you even asked nicely!” Wooyoung mocked him. “Fine.” He pouted, and held his arm out with the bundled up blanket. 

“Thank you,” Seonghwa said sarcastically, and started walking towards his younger. Once he got a few steps away, Wooyoung threw the blanket back to San, who hopped and caught it. Giggling the whole time. 

“I’m going to kill you,” Seonghwa playfully said, lunging towards Wooyoung. He tackled Woo onto the couch, San now pouting that he wasn’t being given attention. 

“Damn,” Brynn said, watching it all unfold. “He’s really serious about that blanket.” She sounded slightly envious.

“Looks like it,” you giggle. Inside you were giddy that your bias was so protective over something you gave him.

San had successfully evaded his elder and tied the blanket around his neck, like Seonghwa had done when you gave it to him. Seonghwa just watched him, looking slightly defeated. He ran his hand through his hair and looked at Hongjoong.

Words were exchanged and you saw Hongjoong stand up and try to stop Woosan from teasing Seonghwa any more. Voices who seemed like it belonged to the staff could be heard from behind the camera as well.

You saw a hand come out from behind the camera and point to Yeosang, who had curled up more on the couch to stay away from the chaos that is WooSanHwa.

Yeosang sighed and stood up next to Hongjoong. One went for San and the other went for Wooyoung, trying to get them to calm down. San and Wooyoung exchanged looks, and ran out of the room. Screaming could be heard from down the hall. A loud crash had you wincing.

Everything went quiet. Yunho and Mingi looked at each other, then the staff, and the live suddenly cut off. You and your friend looked at each other in disbelief, before erupting into giggles. 

“What did I just do?” You struggled to get out before being overcome with laughter once again.

“Cause Seonghwa to deal with the menace that is WooSan.” Jisu said, peeking over your shoulder at the screen.

“I guess you’re right,” you giggled again, and ran your makeup wipe over your face. “I wonder if he’ll remember me tomorrow. We do have soundcheck.”

“If he does, I’ll eat my San collection.”

You gasped, “Noooo Brynn, not your precious San collection!” 

“Yeah yeah yeah. Shut up. You look like a raccoon.” She shoved her pillow in your face and you just laughed. 

“Be prepared to eat your collection tomorrow. I hear photocards go well with milk.” 

She laughed again. “Go get ready for bed. We have a long day tomorrow.” 

“Yes, your highness.” You bowed to her, and she threw another pillow at you. You laughed again as you easily dodged it and went to lock yourself in the bathroom. 

Running your makeup wipe over your face, you started to daydream about Seonghwa and what will happen at soundcheck. If he’ll remember you. Maybe you can even find out what happened after the live ended. You hoped WooSan won’t know that it was you who gave Seonghwa the blanket. You know you’d get harassed with teasing looks and movements in your direction. 

You sighed and turned the faucet on, splashing water on your face to wash away your delusional thoughts for the night. Drying your face, you unlocked the door and walked into a pitch black room. Jisu and Brynn both already passed out, one of them snoring loudly.

You giggled and crawled into bed between the two girls. Your phone buzzing on the nightstand, showing a Universe notification. Seonghwa had messaged, and you waited a second for the translation. 

Seonghwa: the blanket is okay. 

You giggled, watching as more messages popped into chat. 

Seonghwa: thank you atiny for coming out tonight. 

Seonghwa: I love you. Let’s have a good show tomorrow.

Seonghwa: have a good night ❤️

Seonghwa: I’ll see you tomorrow

You giggled and sighed in happiness. Typing out a quick reply before turning your phone on sleep mode. You smiled, cuddling into the warmth of Brynn and closed your eyes. Your message still on your mind. You hope he saw it and knew it was you. 

I’ll see you tomorrow Hwa. Hopefully the blanket is safe.