[230422] Media Photos For ATEEZ At LOVESOME 2023

[230422] Media Photos for ATEEZ at LOVESOME 2023

boyfriend yeosang texts

i love kang yeosang <3

p. ateez tag: @italiekim @realjonko @aestheticsluut @rielleluvs @youngestdelacour @alanniys @dogsongy @mingiholic @sankatchu @stopeatread @miriamxsworld @ka-ni-ma @sstarrysshit @nvmbheart @lazypostfandomer @side-effectss

Texting boyfriend!Ateez "I feel like you could have been nicer to me today"

Warnings : food mention

A/N : Thank you so much for the request 🫶 I hope you enjoyed it 🥰 I promise I have more Ateez stuff coming soon!!!

Summary: Yeosang swore it wouldn’t be hard to take care of his son, Yujun, and Wooyoung’s son, Hunter… the task proves to be more difficult than he originally thought. Pairing: none (Yeosang x fem!reader at the end) Tropes: parent au Genre: fluff, slice of life Rating: G Warnings: children getting lost, tears Word Count: 1,179 Note: @songmingisthighs this is all your fault again

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this night together - chapter six (j.yh + s.mg)

chapter six: growing pains

chapter summary: finally it's time to move past things, it's just a question of how.

warnings: references to a/b/o dynamics such as heat and knotting and designations, not much else though...

notes: thank you all so much for your patience while i worked on this one! next chapter might take a little time too because work has been insane, but i'm doing my best to keep consistent for you all. i've also really enjoyed all the fun asks i'm getting! it helps keep me writing, so feel free to message me anytime! x

pairings: alpha!yunho x alpha!mingi x omega!reader

genre: smut, a/b/o/omegaverse, angst, fluff, romance, polyamory

word count: 5.8K

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Your body aches from overuse, exhaustion pouring through you, but you need to finish, you have to. The muscles in your thighs are burning, your legs quivering as you try to steady yourself. With a slow exhale you try to center yourself, blinking away the sweat in your eyes. 

San smiles down at you, “That’s good,” 

“I can’t,” You shake your head. 

“You can,” He nods, “I know, you can,”

His hand brushes along your forearm and he gives you the smallest squeeze. 

“San,” You exhale his name in a tired breath. 

“One more set,” He encourages. 

One more set might kill you. You drop your hands from the handles by your shoulders, sinking back against the padded back of the leg press machine and give him one more shake of your head. 

“Do you want to be the best?” San asks this time, a smirk on his face, “Or are you good with being just okay?” 

“Fuck,” You mutter under your breath. 

“Come on,” He taps your thigh as he shifts positions to stand directly at your side and spot you, “set it up,” 

You shift back into position, holding the handles and adjusting your body into proper form. You brace yourself against the plate under your feet and unlock the safety at your side. The weight drops a little more heavily onto your shoulders, but you quickly shift into another headspace and with your teeth tight and your eyes focused on something distant at the other end of the gym you drop into a squat, pushing back up as smoothly as you can to your original position. 

“Nice,” He comments, sliding his hand under the pad that sticks out past your shoulder, hovering his hand here, “Give me two more,” 

You get your breath back, and go for one more. 

“Good,” San says matter of factly. 

Last one. You make it quick, ignoring the burn up your legs and exhaling hard when you make it back to the resting position. 

You’re about to take your hands off the handle and lock the machine back in place but San taps the pad and shakes his head, “You got one more, I didn’t even touch this,” 

“San,” Your chest is heaving. 

“I didn’t touch it,” He tells you, “it’s not failure, come on, one more,” 

You go again. 

“Yep, one more,” He smiles, “let’s go,” 

All you can do is press your eyes tight and sink low into the squat again. You know he won’t let you off the machine until you do. This time, you pause at the bottom, taking a deep breath before you start pushing up again. 

“There you go,” San hypes you up, his hand still hovering under the pad, “don’t quit”

You let out a tight, pained noise at the top, letting your head fall back as the relief floods your legs. 

“One more,” 

There’s no way this isn’t the last one, you can feel it in every ounce of your body, but if failure is what he wants, that’s what he’ll get. You drop down again, but this time you're shaking on the push upwards, and San catches it immediately. He moves his hand up to the pad and shifts so he can catch the extra weight, supporting you as you make it back to the top and lock the safety in place. 

“I got you,” He says, making sure the machine is locked before he moves out from under the pad to back at your side. 

You’re still catching your breath, but with the extra weight no longer on you, you’re able to collapse out and rest against the press plate, “Damn,” 

San pulls the towel off his shoulder and grabs the antibacterial spray from the shelving behind your machine, “You said you wanted to work harder,” 

“Yeah,” You sigh, catching your breath, “I didn’t know you were going to turn into a drill sergeant,” 

“Hey,” He laughs, “I’m very nice, I’m just not going to let you quit.” 

“Mhm,” You reach for your water, gulping it down. 

“You could have quit,” He finishes wiping down the machine and smiles, “but you didn’t. Be proud of yourself,” 

“I am,” You wipe your mouth with the back of your hand and take another breath, “practice is going to be hard,” 

“Oh, yeah,” He tosses you another towel, “your legs are going to feel like jelly for a few days,” 

“Great,” You laugh. 

“It’s fine,” He brushes off your tone, “it’ll get easier, and if you’d use the foam roller like I told you,” 

“Oh my god, okay,” You groan, “whatever you say, Coach Choi.” 

His eyebrow quirks and he crosses his arms, “I like that,” 

“Of course you do,” 

“Wooyoungie!” He calls out across the gym, and you swivel your head to watch Wooyoung pull off one headphone, “If I asked nicely, would you call me Coach Choi?” 

Wooyoung grimaces, “Absolutely not,” 

You fall apart into laughter at his expression, but before you can add anything else another voice enters the mix. 

“Hey, San,” Minseok says from a few feet away as he sets up on a bench, “you have time for a spot?” 

A few more members of the crew trickle in behind Minseok, preparing for their own gym days and they disperse to pick out their machines and start their routines. Minseok doesn’t spare a second glance at you even though you’re hip to hip next to San, but it’s unsurprising, he’s never really taken the time to get to know you. 

“Sure,” San nods and then turns back to you, “you’re just cooling down now, right?” 

“Yeah,” You shake your head, “there’s literally no way I can do anything else,” 

“Cool,” He smiles and heads towards Minseok, “you did so good, okay?” 

“Okay, okay,” You roll your eyes and head for the treadmills, stepping up onto the one next to Wooyoung. 

“Hey,” He says, a little breathless as he starts to slow his pace, having just finished the most intensive part of his run. 

“Hey,” You amp up the incline and get your own machine started to have a cooldown walk. 

“Are you regretting asking San for more training yet?” Wooyoung asks with a smirk. 

“Mm,” You groan, “a little,” 

“He loves it though,” He says and nods towards where San is now preparing to spot Minseok, “I think in another life he was an actual personal trainer,” 

“I don’t know how he does it,” You admit. 

Wooyoung smiles and takes a generous swig of his water as he slows to a walking pace that matches yours. “Has Yujin talked to you yet today?” He asks suddenly. 

You swivel your head to look at him, “No?” 

He smiles wide, “No reason,” 

You lower your voice, “Tell me,” 

“Nope,” He shakes his head, “she wants to be the one to tell you,” 

“Is it bad?” Your stomach sinks, no idea what in the world she would have to tell you. 

You’re suddenly full of sick, nervous knots. For the past few weeks everything has been tense and uncomfortable, Yunho and Mingi still keeping their distance and you always feel a half step behind no matter how close you’ve started to get with San, Wooyoung, and Seonghwa. 

Wooyoung laughs at your expression, “Why would I look so happy if it’s bad news,” he says, “y/n, relax,” 

“Okay, okay,” You breathe, “so it’s good?”

“Definitely,” 

“I’m more confused now,” You confess. 

“Don’t stress,” He repeats the same sentiment, “just go find her when you’re done with your workout,” 

You chew the inside of your lip and flex your hands on the handles of the treadmill, “Okay,” 

You walk silently side by side for another minute, just letting the ambient sounds of the gym pass over you, when Wooyoung hums quietly to himself. 

“What?” You glance over at him and his tight expression. 

His eyes dart right to you, and his voice drops so low you almost miss his words, “You started your new suppressants, right?” 

“Mhm,” You nod, glancing around you to see if anyone’s in earshot. 

“Hmm,” He shrugs, “weird,” 

“You can’t just… what’s weird?” 

“Minseok’s still eyeing you up,” He says, and you physically fight the urge to look over to where he and San are working out. 

“He’s not,” You insist, “I swear to God, you think everyone wants to sleep with everyone,” 

Wooyoung rolls his eyes hard, “Maybe he just likes you,” 

You take the moment to subtly look his way, but despite what Wooyoung said, he’s not staring at you. He’s not even facing you, only San catches your eye and shoots you a friendly smile. 

“Okay, see,” You nod towards them, “you’re definitely making this up,” 

“I swear,” His voice spikes a little and you shake your head to keep him quiet, so he drops his voice low again, “I’m just saying.” 

“Well, say something else,” You roll your eyes, “because that’s ridiculous.” 

Wooyoung grumbles something under his breath, drinking more water and stretching out his arms and you let it lie. It’s taken weeks for things to balance back out to normal with your body. When nineteen days finally come and go, and with your insurance active and suppressants back in hand, you finally feel like you can relax. 

For the three weeks between your heat and your first dose you did everything to dampen your omega scent using natural methods, hoping that some residual alpha pheromones would linger for just long enough to keep any extra attention off, but there’s nothing like the security of a strong suppressant. The difference is palpable, off them you can always feel the lingering stares of alphas, the way they always try to find little ways to get closer to you, the way they look. You’ve always hated it. 

Wooyoung has been sticking to you like glue, and he’s the first person to make a face at an unwelcome advance, throwing an arm around your shoulders and pushing you right back into San and Seonghwa’s proximity. He knows what this feeling is like, the nervous glances over your shoulder and unwillingness to walk alone, and he never, ever lets you feel it for very long. Despite his insistence though, Minseok hasn’t been one of those alphas at all. He’s stayed consistently in his lane of ignoring you with the exception of a polite smile here and there. You’ve been far more aware of other alphas in the crew noticing you, and you’ve been doing your best to keep your distance. 

“Maybe you should ask him out,” Wooyoung presses the button to turn off his machine and his steps slow. 

You turn yours off too, ready to be done, “Woo!” You hiss under your breath. 

“Maybe it would help,” Wooyoung shrugs, “you know, getting over them,” 

“I don’t need to get over anyone,” You press, “you’re making things up again,” 

“Fine,” He sighs, “I’m the crazy one,” 

You curse softly under your breath as he hops off his machine. 

“Hey,” He says, his voice once again at a normal volume and you turn towards him, “don’t forget to talk to Yujin,” 

“Got it,” You move to wipe down your machine. 

“Drinks later?” Wooyoung asks, giving you a smile as if he didn’t just try to dismantle your entire love life during a casual workout chat. 

“Maybe,” 

“Good,” 

He’s gone in a flash, full of energy even after the workout and you’re left alone on the still treadmill, glancing over once more at San and Minseok, both of whom seem engrossed in their workouts. It’s not that he isn’t cute, you’ve definitely had a passing thought or two about his hair and the way he looks when he’s dancing, but you don’t know him. You don’t even really want to know him, at least not like that. 

You shake off those thoughts and move to fill your water bottle up at the fountain in the back and let yourself cool off a bit. Whatever Yujin wants to talk to you about, it’s work related and you’d rather focus there than on anything else. You toss your towel over your shoulder and push open the door as you start to tap out a text message to Wooyoung, confirming drinks for later. A text that he surely already knows is coming. 

You collide hard into a firm, warm chest and stumble back, “Sorry!”

Familiar hands catch your elbows, “No, no, I’m sorry,” 

You take a natural step to the side and Yunho’s hands pull back quickly, another apology on his lips but he clears his throat and glances to the side into the gym. 

This awkwardness has to end, it has to. 

You take a little leap of faith, “Have you seen Yujin today?” 

His eyes meet yours and he softens a little, work a safe topic, “Yeah, she’s in the far studio room,” 

“Cool,” You give him a quick smile and dip your head a little, “sorry, again,” 

He shakes his head, “It’s fine,” 

“Okay,” You take a few steps back down the hall, “well, I’ll see you at practice later,” 

“Yeah,” His voice is soft, but he recovers with ease, “yeah, see you,” 

You want to ask him how he is, but he gives you one more small, polite smile before disappearing behind the gym door that swings shut with a heavy metallic sound. It’s not much, but it’s something. 

You find Yujin stretching in the far practice room just like Yunho said. Dahan, another one of the female choreographers is by her side, looking through something on her phone as they talk casually. You’ve always liked them, both of them a large reason why you wanted to come work here, and though they’ve been kind to you, you still feel like you’re working on proving yourself to them. 

“Hey,” You get their attention, “Wooyoung said you were looking for me?” 

“He’s got the biggest mouth,” Yujin sighs as she knots her long blonde hair up in a twist. 

“Oh,”

“I was just going to talk to Jaemin before talking to you,” She explains, pushing herself up from the floor, “so don’t get too excited,” 

“Um,” You glance between them, “okay?” 

Dahan gets to her feet as well, adjusting the waistband of her sweatpants, “It’s good news,” 

Yujin nods, “You can’t tell anyone outside the family,” she starts off and you nod, “but we’re debuting a girl group next fall.” 

“Really?” Your eyes widen. 

“Mhm,” She nods, “they have their trainees put together, and they have two song guides ready,” 

“That’s exciting,” 

“We got the first guide this week,” Yujin explains, “and we’re getting started with choreography soon, your name came up.” 

“My name?” You trail off. 

“You’re quick,” Dahan jumps in, “and you make strong suggestions. We’d like to include you in some of those conversations.” 

“Choreography conversations,” 

“Yeah,” Yujin smiles, “Seonghwa and Yunho are running point on the choreo along with us, but we wanted to pull you and San into the initial conversations.” 

“That’s amazing,” You manage. 

“I still have to talk to Jaemin,” Yujin points out, “but it shouldn’t be a problem.” 

“I really appreciate it,” You’re fighting the urge to grin like an idiot. 

“Just keep it to yourself for the moment,” She follows up, “and next week when things get going, I’ll pull you in.” 

“Thanks, Yujin,” Your body is swelling with nervous fluttering knots, torn between elated and terrified. A little piece of you had wondered what sharing your heat with Yunho and Mingi would do to your time here, if they would start to look past you entirely for opportunities, but you know now that was just your fear. 

Back in the hall you can’t stop smiling. You feel dizzy, chest bubbling with excitement. 

You want to tell someone so badly it hurts. Not someone, Mingi. You want to tell Mingi. After all the time he’s spent with you, working with you late at night and building your confidence and your skills, he’s the only one you want to call. 

You picture the way he’d grin, wide and a little knowing. He’d play it off like you were being dramatic, but when he hugged you close you know he’d murmur something in your ear. You miss his voice. You thought by now these feelings would have faded away into nothing, but you sometimes still catch yourself sinking into this unfamiliar longing. 

Your phone buzzes in the tight pocket of your leggings and you answer the call smoothly after the first ring, your worries fading the minute you hear his voice. 

“Quick,” Seonghwa hums, “are you just sitting around waiting for my call?”

“Funny,” You smile, leaning back against the wall. 

“You know that I am,” He says, and you can practically see the charming curve of his mouth. 

“Mm,” You huff a small laugh, “did you need something?” 

“That depends,” He says and you can hear the sounds of the streets in the background, “are you at the studio yet?” 

“Yeah, I just finished training with Sannie,” You tell him, “if it’s anything that involves walking up and down stairs, I’m out.” 

He laughs sharply, “No, no, I’m stopping at that coffee place you like,” 

You had mentioned it to him one time two weeks ago, and his attention to detail makes you smile. 

“Can I get you something?” You hear the sound change on his side of the phone and he must be walking into the shop now. 

“Iced americano?”

“Got it,” He replies smoothly, “I’ll see you in a bit,” 

“Thanks, Hwa,” 

“Mhm,” He murmurs, and then the line cuts. 

Growing closer to them these past few weeks has been everything. In the aftermath of what feels like the worst decision, you’ve managed to find three friends who genuinely seem kind and caring, and not at all interested in constantly flirting or trying to get into your pants. You feel like you’re finally slotting into place here, being brought into the fold of a longstanding group dynamic and despite the way you’re still catching up on inside jokes and references, you’re starting to make some of your own with them. 

The tension that’s been lingering between you, Yunho, and Mingi has been smoothly shielded by the three of them, and where you once spent most of your time outside of practice alone, now you’re constantly in the fray. Coffee in the mornings, lunches out, drinks after work, weekend plans, a whirlwind of sudden fast friendship. All the slow steps of getting to know someone were thrown directly out the window when Wooyoung finally got his hands on you and threw open all those emotional doors, and it’s easy to trust them when it’s like this. 

At the studio, you clean up quickly for the team meeting before practice, grabbing a protein bar from your bag for a boost of energy and filling up your water bottle. The day is starting to feel a little lighter, the interaction with Yunho earlier making everything a little less intense, but your steps falter again in the hall, the sight of Mingi at the far end of it by the back office. 

He looks good today, an oversized black t-shirt and dark wash jeans, heavy work boots and a silver chain around his neck. His hair strikes you a little darker, and you don’t know if it’s the lighting or if he dyed it but it suits him and for a brief moment you catch yourself staring. 

He glances at you briefly, catching your eyes for a second before he turns his face away and steps into the office, shutting the door behind him. 

Yunho and I are not going to leave you.

The memory sinks into your stomach, and for the briefest moment you want to follow him, push open the office door and make him look you in the eyes again. Tell him your news, make him your friend again, take a page out of Wooyoung’s book and just force him to get over this sickening space between you all. Your chest aches. 

You're proud of yourself, you couldn’t have done this without him, you want to tell him, you want him to know, need him to know. You take a few steps forwards, ready and bracing yourself and so unsure of what you’re going to say, but you know you need to say something, anything. 

“Hey,” Seonghwa catches your attention, stepping in through the doorway to your right and interrupting your line of sight down the hall. Suddenly the urge to run to Mingi and tell him your good news fades, all you can see now is Seonghwa’s wide smile and kind eyes. He pushes your iced americano into your idle hands and nudges your arm, “what’s got you beaming?” 

“What?” You refocus completely on him. 

“You,” He nods, “you’re smiling like crazy, what’s up?” 

“You probably already know,” You lower your voice a bit, stepping closer to him. 

“Yeah?” He shifts a little, leaning his shoulder on the adjacent wall and looking down at you, taking a long sip of his own coffee, “Tell me anyways,” 

“The new group,” You explain, still keeping your voice a little lower, “I just talked to Yujin,” 

“Ah,” He grins, “it’s good isn’t it,” 

At his knowing expression things click into place and your mouth drops, “Hwa, did you do this? Did you put my name up?” 

He hesitates for just a moment and then shakes his head, “I wish I had, but Yunho got there first.” 

“He did?” 

Seonghwa nods, leaning down a bit more and lowering his voice further, “He talked to Jaemin about it last week,” 

“But I thought,” Your voice trails off, remembering what Yujin said in the practice studio only twenty minutes ago. 

“He told me he wanted you on the project,” Seonghwa shrugs, “maybe things are thawing out,” 

“Finally,” You breathe. 

“Congratulations though,” Seonghwa smiles, “it’s a big step here,” 

Your face hurts from smiling but you grin again and nod. 

“Hey, listen,” He gives your arm a friendly squeeze as he turns the direction of the conversation, “Are you free tomorrow night?” 

“I think so,” 

“You want to come to dinner with me?” He asks. 

“Dinner?” You nod, “Sure, what are you,” 

A body brushes past you both in the hall and you take a step back from Seonghwa, realizing how close in his proximity you were a moment ago and you clear your throat softly, glancing to the side. Mingi’s already four strides past you both down the hall and pushing open the practice room door and your stomach drops. 

“Oh,” You breathe. 

Seonghwa waits, but when you turn back towards him he doesn’t even acknowledge the bristling moment of tension with Mingil, “So, dinner?” 

“Yeah,” You recover, remembering yourself, “yeah, sure,” 

“I want you to meet a friend of mine,” He says. 

“This better not be a set up,” You grimace. 

“Not at all,” He shakes his head with a laugh, “I just thought maybe you’d like to meet one of the producers for the group,” 

“Hwa,” Your eyes widen. 

“It’s nothing crazy,” He assures you, “I’ve mentioned my friend, Hongjoong, haven’t I?” 

“Yes, yeah, the Edenary producer,” 

“We get dinner once a month when our schedules line up,” He explains, “come meet him.” 

“Definitely, Seonghwa, this is great,”  

“Good,” He fishes his phone out of his back pocket, “I’ll text him to update the reservation,” 

You watch as he quickly taps out his message and then tucks his phone away again, smiling. He sighs and pushes off the wall and then taps the bottom of your americano with his finger before moving past you, “Drink your coffee, I’ll see you at practice,” 

“Yeah,” You smile, but he’s already gone. 

But practice is a unique kind of terrible today. Yunho seems tired, frustrated at something but it’s buried so deeply under the surface it’s almost impossible to see, but at least he’s maintaining the recent status quo of ignoring you. Mingi on the other hand is something altogether different. He’s given you three encouraging nods since the start and complimented you once, and you wish that you had a hidden camera pointed at Wooyoung for the way his eyes go wide at Mingi’s sudden attention on you. 

It’s not much, no more time than he spends on anyone else, but compared to the drought it feels intense. It makes your stomach churn with uneasiness. 

Seonghwa catches you once again after practice, trying to confirm dinner for tomorrow, but Wooyoung hangs off your shoulder and whines that you’ll be late for drinks, and he tugs you along until you relent. 

San can’t come tonight, but he gives you a knowing smile about the upcoming choreography project, and by the time you make it through talking with each of them and get out the door cleaned up, you forget all about the feeling of Mingi’s eyes on you. 

It isn’t until tomorrow becomes today and your coat is buttoned, ready to be done with the studio for the day and make it to your dinner reservations that you feel the sensation of his eyes again. 

You know the sound of his steps intimately, having been listening for them around every corner the past few weeks, and something in your chest tightens when Mingi shuffles closer to you. He leans back against the far wall of the practice room with you, the closest you’ve physically been to each other in weeks. 

“Hey,” He says, voice low. 

“Hey,” You glance at him, but his eyes are downcast. Your chest aches again, but you push the feeling away. 

A beat passes between you, but finally he nods and pulls his eyes up to meet yours, “I miss you,” 

“Oh,” Your stomach flutters. 

“I hate this whole thing,” He says, finally breaking this stiff tension that exists between you, “we said it wouldn’t be weird, and we’re making it weird.” 

“Yeah,” 

“I miss working with you,” He sighs. 

“Me too,” You want to touch him, to rest your hand on his arm and soothe him, but you know you shouldn’t. 

“Can we just let it go?” Mingi shifts to face you fully, “start over?” 

“I think we should try,” You manage, “I just want to have my friends back,” 

“Then let’s forget the whole thing,” He brightens now that he knows you miss him too, “we’re being stupid, it was just heat. Being friends, working together, that’s what’s important,” 

“Please,” You sigh, feeling like your shoulders can finally fall after so much time walking on eggshells, “everything’s been so weird between us and all I want is to go back to normal,” 

“Thank God,” He grins, “stay right here,” 

“What?” He’s gone before you can really get the words out, jogging out of the room and leaving you alone to stare at yourself in the mirrored wall. 

“Yunho!” Mingi’s voice is disconnected in the hall, and your stomach drops, “Get over here!”

You push off the wall immediately, moving fast and skidding into the hallway, “Mingi, it’s fine, don’t,” 

“Relax,” He glances back at you and then shouts again, “Yunho!”

“Jesus, I’m coming,” Yunho’s not looking when he comes out of the back office and moves into the hall. He’s looking at something on his phone and he makes it halfway down the hall before he looks up and realizes you’re standing a few feet behind Mingi, “Oh, y/n,” 

“Uh, hey,” You smile, and you can see the sudden confusion in his eyes at your change in tone. 

“Can you help us with something?” Mingi interrupts the moment and gets the attention back on him. 

“What’s up?” Yunho tucks his phone into the pocket of his sweats. 

“We’re working on the new song,” Mingi lies, “can you talk us through it?” 

You weren’t working on the new song, you weren’t even thinking about the new song, but Mingi knows how his best friend is and he knows the way talking about it will just scare him off. To get back to normal, you just have to be back to normal, and dance is what you all know. The rest will surely come.

“Well,” Yunho looks between you, “we haven’t really gotten into it yet,” 

“So, let’s get into it,” Mingi claps his hand on Yunho’s arm, bouncing a little on the balls of his feet, “come on,” 

“y/n,” Yunho looks past him, “you’re staying late tonight?” 

You aren’t supposed to. You’re supposed to meet Seonghwa and Hongjoong for dinner, but this is almost definitely the deciding moment on if you can repair your friendship with these men and put aside all the swirling feelings about them, so you make a choice. 

“Yep,” You nod. 

“You’re wearing your coat?” Yunho points out. 

“Ah,” You shake your head, “I was running to the mart for something to eat real quick,” 

A smooth lie and Mingi smiles. 

“I have some stuff in the back office,” Yunho gestures as if you don’t already know where it is, “you know you can always help yourself to anything there,” 

“Thanks, Yunho,” You haven’t said his name like that in what feels like months. You missed it on your tongue. 

He smiles brightly, and just like that, the tense knot is gone. 

“Let me hook up my phone, I’ll meet you in the studio?” Yunho asks you both. 

“Yep,” Mingi nods, “I’ll grab us waters,” 

Yunho moves through you both into the room behind you and you shrug off your coat and hang it back on the hook in the hall. Alone again, Mingi smiles at you. 

“You’re kind of devious,” You whisper to him as you make your way up the hall with him. 

“Maybe,” He shrugs, “all I know is, I missed you.” 

“Mingi,” You stop short, reaching for him this time and closing your hand around his wrist to stop him too. 

He waits for your words expectantly. 

“I should have said something to you sooner,” You sigh, “and I’m sorry about that. I missed you both too,” 

He turns his hand, taking your wrist and tugging you forward until he can close his arms around you in a hug, “Me too, but it doesn’t matter now, okay? Let’s just be friends again,” 

It takes everything in your body not to take a deep inhale of his rich chocolate scent, and you tighten your first together behind his back to keep your mind of it while his settle arms around you for the first time in weeks. Friends, you assert to yourself quietly, just friends. You need to get a grip.

“Normal,” You agree after a moment, nodding into him. 

His arms tighten for just a moment, and then he pulls back, letting his hands drop away and stepping back to give you space, “I’m not ruining your night, am I?” 

“No!” You’re quick to assure, desperate to not upset the delicately remade balance. 

“You don’t have plans tonight?” He asks, eyes flicking over you. 

You shake your head, “I wasn’t doing anything special,” you lie. 

“Good,” He smiles, “that’s good.”

He turns and opens the door to the back office and you follow him in. He fishes out a few water bottles from the large refrigerator in the corner and tucks them under his arm, grabbing a towel too from the folded stack nearby. You search blindly for something to eat so you don’t feel caught out in your little white lie and select a protein bar at random, something easy, though you’re so nervous to be with them again like this you don’t even know if you can keep it down. 

Your phone feels heavy in your pocket when it buzzes. 

With a quick glance at the clock you note the time. You’re supposed to be meeting Seonghwa and Hongjoong in about ninety minutes, you were going to go home and shower and become a presentable person and then make it across town. Maybe, just maybe, you can have this and make it there too. 

“You coming?” Mingi interrupts your thoughts and jerks his head towards the hall. 

“Uh, yes,” You follow, “let me just drop my stuff back off, I’ll be right there, okay?” 

“Mhm,” He nods, “I’ll see you in there.” 

Alone again you make short work of dropping your bags and tying your hair back up. You pull out your phone and send two texts at lightning speed. 

To Seonghwa you do your best to keep it vague - I’m so sorry to do this but I’m getting caught up with something, I’ll be a little late to dinner, but start without me ok? Tell Hongjoong I’m sorry too, but I’ll hurry. 

To Wooyoung you keep it honest - SOS. Staying late at the studio with Mingi and Yunho… they want to move past everything. Call me in an hour with an excuse, anything, I just need a reason to step away. PLEASE. 

You don’t wait to see either answer. You tuck your phone back into the elastic pocket of your leggings and take a steadying breath, looking over yourself quickly in the small mirror on the back of the office door. You just have to trust that Wooyoung will come through for you, and he hasn’t failed you yet. 

“y/n,” Yunho’s voice echoes from down the hall, “can you grab the CD on my desk?” 

You turn towards his desk and find a stack of them, but the one on top in a clear jewel case hastily labeled seems right, “The top one?” 

“Yeah,” He calls, “and hurry please, Mingi’s already driving me insane,” 

You push open the office door, freshly burned CD in hand and smile wide when you see him hanging out the doorway of the studio, “Is that right?” 

He looks like he’s holding his breath, but when you meet his eyes he exhales heavily and smiles right back, “You know it,” 

Your phone buzzes in your pocket, but you ignore it, focused entirely on the man in front of you and the way that he’s finally looking at you in earnest for the first time in weeks. You’re sure there will be a moment eventually to clear the air, but right now you’re just grateful to see the look on his face, the way his cheeks get rounder when he grins. 

Mingi shouts something from inside the studio and Yunho laughs sharply, his head falling back in delight and your chest tightens up at the sound. 

You crack a joke right back, tension released like the threads of a too-tight knot finally coming free. 

You cross over the threshold of the studio ready to let it all fall away, Mingi smiling again ahead of you and Yunho at your back.

이젠 내게 기대 편히 쉬어도 돼 // Now you can lean on me and rest in peace 소중한 널 내 품속에 꼭 안을게 // I will hold you dear in my arms