Kim Mingyu X You - Tumblr Posts - Page 2

Perfection Pt.4; Nightfall

Waking from a nap in Mingyu's arms leads to some awkwardness. You get that new phone he's been talking about. Oh! And he breaks into the morgue. Surely, this ends well, right?

Pairing: mortician!mingyu x corpse!fem!reader

Genre: Mortician!au, Horror!au || Fluff, Crack, Romance, Angst || Inspired by Frankenstein and other undead media

Warnings: Mentions of death and corpses (Nothing in-depth and nothing intended to disturb) || Mentions of suicide || Necro-romance, aka romantic attraction to a corpse. || {Please let me know if there are other warnings you would like me to add}

WC: 4.6k

Songs that inspired this fic

Series Masterlist

Rousing from your nap you let yourself follow the warm embrace that held you. Falling into the crook of the neck of the person beside you, holding them tightly, inhaling their scent, and finding the utmost comfort in it. Mingyu. The only memorable smell that has been able to invade your mind like a drug since you've been alive. Snuggling ever closer you smiled gently into his chest-

Wait. Hold on. In your waking daze, you hadn't even processed what was happening right now. Arms? Around you? Mingyu's scent? With apprehension, you raise your head and your fear is confirmed. Mingyu. Is. Holding. You.

Startled you push against his chest, attempting to create any type of distance as your face is getting as hot and red as a coil stovetop. But Mingyu's arms are trapping you in place.

The sudden movement stirs Gyu, his eyes lazily opening to meet yours. A grin meets his face before he's suddenly being shifted across the bed. In your surprise, you can't help but shove him with a strength you did not intend.

"Shi- I'm sorry- I-" You're suddenly rushing for an explanation. "It's okay- I mean I'm sor-" And he is too. "No, I didn't mean to fall asleep-" "I…Well, I did mean to give you a hug. I'm so sorry though, we talked abo-" The two of you are suddenly giggling at the string of confused statements that neither of you is sure makes sense. A nice silence washes over after the amusement but you're mind quickly turns, I should probably leave, the thought crosses your mind and you gather yourself and stand up.

"I didn't mind you sleeping in my bed, y/n." Mingyu looks up at you as he moves to sit on the edge with an expectant stare. He wants you to stay. Wants you to want him as badly as he wants you right now. And you do! But the talk from last night solidified something within you, you need time to stretch just a bit more to make this feel right, to make it feel deserved. Playing with your bottom lip between your teeth you decide to leave the room. Before you go Mingyu reaches out to you, his hand lightly gripping your wrist begging you to come back to him, but you resist, telling him that he should change out of his day clothes before dinner. He hits the bed as he falls backward, watching as you close the door. You both leave the situation unsatisfied.

The rest of the day goes by in still awkwardness. The idle talk that usually has both of you engrossed has suddenly become dull and tense. This is what you were talking about. This is the needed tensity that must come with getting to know one another, the hurdle of being uncomfortable with each other. It can't always be easy comfort and conversation, unfortunately.

It's killing Mingyu, it's killing him to the point of wanting to go back and erase what he said, erase what he did. The overstepping of a boundary is a serious thing and he's been beating himself up over it. It isn't like you said anything to spur this on and it's not like you look uncomfortable next to him, in fact, it looks rather normal other than the absence of jovial talk between you two. His jaw is tensing as he thinks about what to do, how to solve this pit of worry in his stomach. And it doesn't go unnoticed, his fingers are fidgeting with the spoon in his hand and he hasn't taken a bite in several minutes.

"Gyu?" The nickname snaps him back to life, "Hmm?" "You okay?" "Huh? Oh, yeah I'm okay, I'm good." He mulls it over a million times in his within a split second. "Y/n?" "Yeah?" "I'm really sorry." "For what?" "For…" his shoulders slump, "Crossing the boundaries we set last night. I shouldn't have hugged you. I'm really sorry. You said you wanted to slow down and that was the complete opposite."

The way he's staring at the ceiling like a child admitting something warms your heart. He was thinking about that this whole time? You didn't know what was causing the teeth-grinding unease between you two but it definitely wasn't because he hugged you to sleep. You hadn't even thought about that part, if anything, you falling asleep on his bed was what you thought this was about.

"Mingyu, it's okay. I forgive you." The biggest weight sloughs off of him as you say that. "I thought you were mad at me if anything…" "Mad at you? Why would I be mad at you?" "I went into your room when you weren't here and I ended up taking a nap on your bed…" You're flushed with embarrassment as you recall what you had done. "I-" he wants to tell you what he did before, that he doesn't mind you sleeping in his room, that he wants you to sleep there...with him. But the thought of crossing the line again tolls on his mind. "It's okay, I really didn't mind at all. Like I said the first night it's more comfortable than the guest bed" he gives an amused hum.

With the air feeling a lot lighter you both go about the night time routine that you've established over the past 2 nights. Before bed Mingyu knocks on your door to tell you goodnight and for some reason, the act just feels so innocent, pure, and adolescent. Blushes adorn both your faces afterward, like some lovesick teenagers, hearts beating like drums until night takes you.

The next day is rather uneventful. You wake to an empty house again, Mingyu leaves another note to remind you to eat, and you do what you can in the way of cleaning (Not that there's much you can clean in an already spotless home). The only off thing was the additional ask in Mingyu's note.

"I'm heading off, forgive me for not waking you to say goodbye. Like yesterday I made you some meals in the fridge, please eat them well! Also, if you wouldn't mind being ready by the time I come home, I want to get you that phone that I wrote about yesterday. Have a good day, y/n :)"

With a lack of things to do to keep you from boredom you decide to get ready hours ahead of time. Carefully picking out an outfit from the clothes you and Mingyu had picked out during your shopping trip. Makeup, in your case, was a must! At the very least to make you look less…gray and well dead.

You sat in front of your vanity trying to recollect how this process goes. The process is almost like meditation, trying to dig deep enough within yourself to remember how to make yourself look and feel good.

Sat in front of a bathroom mirror you stare at yourself. The dark circles under your eyes have further sunken since the last time you allowed yourself to look in the mirror. The tear stains are evident in the darkened corner of your eyes. You look sickly. A scornful look pains you as you look at yourself. You hate this. You hate you. How did it get to this point? This amount of self-loathing and isolation? Your body is a monster, not made to be loved by anyone but yourself. Who could even love you?

The memory strikes you like a dagger to the heart and mind. Tears trickle down your cheeks.

That was the day before you passed.

The day that you decided that you weren't long for this planet.

How things would change in a matter of a week and some change. Dying might've been the best thing to have happened to you. It allowed you a chance to live again, as ironic as that might sound. Kim Mingyu gave you the chance of a full life, a life with him.

Staring at your face in the mirror those terrible thoughts plague you again but this time you don't allow them to define life or death. You stare and you see the memory of Mingyu and you at the vanity, talking about taking things slow, the way his hand caressed your shoulder, his eyes all on you. No, you don't have to hate yourself in this life too.

Mingyu comes home and is immediately greeted by the sound of you in the kitchen. He celebrates quietly that the house isn't silent like yesterday.

You're washing the dishes from a rather late lunch; Getting ready took longer than you'd like to admit with the sudden memory that had come back. Standing by yourself humming along to an unknown song with Mingyu's apron hanging a bit longer than intended on your body, he stares in awe. How could you be so perfect? So unaware that you radiated such happiness? After taking in the scene he saunters into the kitchen.

"I'm home~" "Oh! I didn't hear the door. I should've come to greet you." You're scrounging around for a towel the moment you see Gyu. "It's fine, I came in quietly in case you were sleeping again" He smirks to himself as he grabs the roll of paper towels and hands it to you. "How could I sleep knowing that I had to be ready?" "I don't know, you slept pretty soundly yesterday. Maybe it's your hobby…" You scoff at him and lightly punch at his shoulder. "You ready to get that phone?"

You guys head to the phone company after quickly gathering your stuff. Getting in Mingyu's car you remember that the last time you were in here was when he was taking you from the morgue. The silent drive that was full of contemplation and nerves. Now the car is filled with music and ease, Mingyu's hand gently tapping along with the drums as he drives. "As my memory rest but never forgets what I lost~ Wake me up when September ends~" Gyu sings under his breath and a content smile grows on his face as he glances over and you're steadily bouncing along as well.

The process itself was rather swift. The man at the phone company had taken you through all the newest models of phones and the latest deals on phone plans. The only interruptions or questions made were when Mingyu perked up to ask about unlimited data and messaging, somewhere within that he had also mentioned that he only wanted the best for his "Wife". The statement caught you by surprise but it seemed like Gyu had no issue as he just continued to nod along with the man as he signed the papers and handed them to you to sign. In the end, you were able to get a very good plan and the latest Galaxy Z flip phone.

The entire ride home you thought about Gyu's words, his mention of you as his "wife". Had that been a mistake on his part? You choke on the lump in your throat as Gyu speaks.

"Do you like it?" "Hmm?" "Your phone, do you like it?" He looks at you as he stops at a red light, your confusion amusing him, "If you want we can always turn back and get something mor-" "Oh no this is completely fine, great in fact! Very cute!" "Thank goodness! I thought we were actually gonna have to go back for a second" he laughs. "I don't know if you mind but I took the liberty of putting my number in when you were signing papers." "Don't mind at all, makes it easier for me." He nods and turns up the music. "Just give me a call or text me whenever you need to…or want to. I'll always want to talk to you." He says nonchalantly, not taking his eyes off the road. "I will definitely do that. Don't mind if I spam you, right?" "Never. I'd enjoy each message even if you wrote things out letter by letter." You smile and give a curt nod as to signify you're actually taking that into suggestion.

You spend some time customizing your phone before you sleep. Occasionally letting your mind drift off and thinking about what Gyu had said earlier his "wife", you smile at the thought.

Hovering over Mingyu's number, the only number on the phone currently, you think about what you want your first message to be. You think about texting him about what he had said before but honestly, you've had enough awkwardness for a while. Before doing anything too hasty you decide to change his name, "Gyu", and realize that you don't have any pictures of him to add to his contact.

- Hey Gyu, it's y/n - Still up? - Yeah Fixing up my phone - Ah okay - You mind sending me a photo for your contact? - {Picture}

Your heart flutters at the sight of him in his bed, cuddled up with his sheets. You have to stop yourself from grinning too hard as you copy his pose. You go the extra mile of making him your lock screen, if he brings it up you resolve to tell him that you haven't any other pictures. You lay in bed staring at your phone for an eternity before sending Mingyu a quick "Goodnight, hope you sleep well and wake up rested for work tomorrow!", quickly shoving the phone away and trying your best not to dwell on whether or not he responds tonight.

Ding…Ding…Ding

The sound of notifications on your phone wakes you, squinting at the bright screen you see Mingyu's left you a few messages and attempted to call you once.

- Thank you, I did sleep well - How did you sleep? - Are you up? Incoming call… - I guess you aren't - Message me when you wake up, please - I made you pancakes for breakfast and some rice and steak for lunch - Please eat before snacking - I'll try and call you again during my lunch break

You can't help but smile at the attentiveness Gyu shows you. Still hanging onto your sleepy state you get up to go and get ready for the day, not before shooting Mingyu a good morning text though.

You turn on the TV as you sit with your pancakes in hand. The morning news goes through the usual, weather, accidents, etc. You don't pay it any mind until the end, shit. Is it Friday already? Suddenly your head is spinning.

Tonight is the night that you and Mingyu had planned on going to the morgue, FUCK, and you haven't even begun to rewrite your suicide note! The stress makes you pace around the room. DING

- Morning! - Glad you slept well - A bit busy atm - I'll call you during lunch, we should talk about tonight.

Of course, Mingyu remembered. Not that you didn't want him to but it bothers you how comfortable you've been, enough to let time slip and the days sneak up on you. You should've been at least a bit on edge about this but in truth you hadn't thought about it much since you and Gyu's talk. Your time since then has been filled with nothing short of romantic drama and complicated feelings, you didn't mind that in the moment but now you realize that there were MUCH more pressing matters that could've used your attention.

You have to drag yourself to get a pen and some pieces of paper slumping down as you begin to think about what you had written in your note. The memories are not at all pleasant. The crying as you slaved away at a piece of paper meant to be your last words to those you loved and cared about. You remember hiccupping as you wrote it, the tears at one point clouding your vision to the point of no longer being able to see the paper clearly. You're half sure that the messy blotches smeared the ink of the sentences meant for your family but as you recall all of this you find it hard to recapture those feelings. You don't feel that despair anymore, not since you've been reawakened. Not since meeting Mingyu. Not since his proposal. None of the despair followed.

Even still, the words come to you, albeit not exactly in the same way they were in your original note, but this is meant to be a somewhat edited version anyway.

As you finish with you're piece you start to have thoughts of your old life. You still can't will a majority of the memories of that lifetime to come back to you but a wave of sudden sadness hits as you think about who you were and who you knew back then.

The memories of your few friends and the family that you kept contact with feel more like a distant mirage, like a movie you saw years ago and remember parts of. Their faces are obscured by the veil of life and death. You wonder if any of them would show up for your viewing. For a moment you entertain the thought of going yourself, seeing those people dressed in black, and attempting to remember what was. But you shun the idea as quick as it comes; No one can know that you're alive. More than causing complications within yourself, it would cause utter chaos at Mingyu's doorstep and that is definitely not what you want to happen.

Lunch rolls around and you hear a ringtone that, in time, you will become all too familiar with. Mingyu's caller ID lights up your screen to Facetime him. You answer as you pull out your food from the microwave and set up your place at the coffee table, simulating how you and Gyu usually eat meals.

"Y/n! Good afternoon!" "Hey, Gyu! How has your day been?" "Busy. Our Tech, Chan, misplaced things in the prep room. Thank goodness I caught it before I started using the embalming machine-" Gyu continues to tell you about all the morbid details of his latest client and you're amazed that a topic like this comes to both of you naturally and without discomfort, I guess there is some common ground in death that both of you tread on.

Towards the end of Gyu's lunch break, you both breach the meat of what you were supposed to talk about. "So tonight…" "Yeah, I've actually already prepared my letter, thankfully I didn't use any fancy stationery so it was quite easy-" "Oh! You did that already?" "Yeah, there wasn't much else to think about or do" "I see… Sorry, I should've been there." "What? No-" "It must've been hard to relive writing that, y/n…" "I- It was. But trust me! Having you here might've made the process much more emotional." "Yeah, but at least I would've been there to wipe your tears…" He says it under his breath but the flush that creeps up tells him that you heard him loud and clear, "But thank you for doing it in advance. Gives us some more time to decide how to break in-" "Don't call it breaking in!" "That's what we called it last time!" he laughs as you do, "Okay- Not breaking in but still not exactly doing what we're supposed to, I don't know what you would call it." "We're just going to the morgue to fix some things… It's not bad is it, Gyu?" "Bad? How do you mean?" "I mean- I don't know- It feels like we're doing something illegal but it's my note? And it's my body? I don't know…" "Listen, y/n. I don't think there's any laws about a person changing their own will and testament. If anything I'm probably the one in heaps of trouble here. I tampered with a dead body, am technically breaking and entering, and under some circumstances, some could say I stole you-" "Stole me?!" "I'm just saying! The story from an outsider's perspective could sound more criminal than romantic." "People have no problem with Frankenstein-" "Right… You're like my own little monster and I'm Victor-" "Watch it…" "Sorry sorry" you both giggle at the mention. "You think our story is romantic?" "Well- It's supposed to be. The handsome mortician falls in love with one of his clients? Sounds straight out of a messed up romance novel." You give an amused hum in response.

"But getting back to what we were talking about-" "Right." "We'll go to the morgue around 9-ish?" "What if they ask why you're there that late?" "Hmm I don't know, I'll tell them it's a rush job for a client's family?" "Okay, then what are you telling them you're there for again?" "Remember? I'll tell them I need to pick up a client's possessions." "Right right- Is that how that works?" "Not at all, usually you guys come with a bag of your things or your family brings clothes and stuff to put you in." "Woahhh grouping me in with the corpses now?" "No- Wait- I didn't-" You laugh as he facepalms and shakes his head. "Okay okay, then while you're doing all of that, I'm just waiting?" "Yep! Keeping the car warm and running for a quick getaway-" "This is not some sort of heist, Gyu…" "It sounds like one a bit… But! As long as the guard doesn't know me and doesn't want to bother me with chit-chat then we should be smooth sailing~" You nod your head in response.

The call ends abruptly as someone knocks on Gyu's car window to tell him to get inside. He apologizes profusely over text-

- So srry!!! - New client - I'll see you whne I get home!

He begins to type "I love…" but stops himself and immediately erases it.

Don't be afraid to text me, please

You smile as the messages roll in, sending him a thumbs-up emoji in response you settle back into the quiet of the house.

When Mingyu gets home you're resting, mindlessly flicking through different channels.

You hear the door open and jump to your feet to meet him at the entrance. Your jaw almost dropped at the sight of him, you've gotten somewhat used to seeing this handsome man around you, but as he opened the door the sunlight crept through lighting him from the back you could almost believe he was some sort of angel.

"Something catch your eye?", he smiles as he catches you staring. "Hmm? No- Welcome home~", as he takes off his shoes you open your arms. It shouldn't be too out of place to hug him, right? His smile grows ever brighter as he enters your arms, a heavy sigh leaving him and he relaxes into you. He needed this. The stress of the day, the plans, the awkwardness, all of it relieved the moment you initiated something. He would say his mind is clouded by you but that just doesn't sum it up, it's more like you clear the entire sky in his mind, and he feels it as you hug him.

Night comes all too fast today and dinner is rushed as you both nervously banter till it's time to leave. You didn't have to be punctual but the clock did feel like some sort of time bomb as you counted down the minutes in the car. You can nearly hear your own heartbeat in your ears as you drive.

Mingyu turns on the radio to relieve some amount of tension, "It'll be fine.", you think he's talking to you but his heart is beating just as fast, the adrenaline reminding him of the night he woke you, save for the romantic parts. You rest your hand on his knee for some assurance as you enter the parking lot.

"Here's the note, Gyu. Be careful, please. Run back to the car if you have to." Your words are the only thing that lessens the anxiety rising in him. "Okay. Sit pretty for me? Don't freak out, the hard part is done for you. We'll get a late-night snack after this okay?" You nod, both of your eyes wide with a rush that only each other's words can seem to calm. Like a hawk, you watch as Mingyu goes up to the door.

The morgue is located on the first floor of the hospital. Thankfully Mingyu can avoid worming his way through the halls of the entire facility as there is a special exit door made to transport bodies as well as let through any personnel that works in this department. Gathering his courage with a few deep breaths he firmly knocks.

A young man meets his eyes as he opens the door. "May I help you?", relief comes over him as he doesn't recognize the boy, should make all of this much easier, he thinks.

"Yes, hi. I'm Kim Mingyu. The local mortician." He shows the kid his I.D. as proof. "I came by to pick up some things left behind from a current client of mine." "I'm sorry. I don't think I'm allow-" He begins to shut the door but Mingyu holds it open with his arm.

"I know Joshua. The- umm- coroner. I know the head coroner. He said I could come by and pick it up." The boy looks tentatively. "How do I know I can trust you?" "Haha like someone would want to steal corpses or something ha-" He stares back at Mingyu with an unamused and slightly frightened look, "Sorry, bad joke. You should be able to look at some of the papers-" He points past the boy to the file holder on the wall, "It should say transporting to the mortuary and under the care of Mortician Kim Mingyu, or something like that."

The boy turns around, stealing occasional glances back at Mingyu to make sure he doesn't get through, he gives him a compliant smile and nods in return. It takes the boy a minute as he goes through several files before returning. "Okay. Sorry about that." "All good, all good. May I?" "Oh yes! Come in."

You watch the back and forth, a part of you wishing you had told Gyu to call you on his phone while this went down, just in case. The guard opens the door further and after what feels like an eternity you see Gyu disappear into the morgue.

Now in the clear Mingyu goes about the morgue without worry. He's scanning rooms left and right for a box of patient belongings, maybe a shelf dedicated to it, just looking anywhere he thinks your note could possibly be.

He enters the fridge room, a room lined with huge refrigerators, carefully temperature kept to store bodies until they are transported to him or another funeral home. The thought crosses his mind that maybe they have a special containment fridge or something similar for things used to identify the cause of death. He begins to carefully read the taped labels of each fridge, quickly moving on if he doesn't find what he's looking for.

In his ministrations, he isn't able to hear as a set of footsteps walks through the halls nor does he hear the opening of the door.

"Mingyu?" Startled he straightens up and backs away from the fridge, "Wonwoo- What? What are you doing-" "I can ask you the same thing…" They both look at each other, Mingyu like a deer caught in headlights and Wonwoo with utter confusion befalling him. The expression on Mingyu's face proves that he's here with some sort of motive but before Wonwoo's able to ask any questions a screaming pierces through the air.

"HELP SOMEONE!! HELP!"

They both rush out to find the security guard kneeling on the ground in front of the door, holding it wide open, completely distraught as he cradles your unconscious body in his arms.

A/N: Hello, my loves! I had a hard time writing this one, usually scenes come to me rather easily but whewww not with this one. And this is barely edited ;-; Anyways, please comment and reblog if you liked this part! It really does encourage me to continue with this series. And my inbox is open if you have any private comments or just wanna chat! Have a good weekend babes!

TAGLIST (open): @jjin-kun @mydolle-dd

Perfection Pt.4; Nightfall

Waking from a nap in Mingyu's arms leads to some awkwardness. You get that new phone he's been talking about. Oh! And he breaks into the morgue. Surely, this ends well, right?

Pairing: mortician!mingyu x corpse!fem!reader

Genre: Mortician!au, Horror!au || Fluff, Crack, Romance, Angst || Inspired by Frankenstein and other undead media

Warnings: Mentions of death and corpses (Nothing in-depth and nothing intended to disturb) || Mentions of suicide || Necro-romance, aka romantic attraction to a corpse. || {Please let me know if there are other warnings you would like me to add}

WC: 4.6k

Songs that inspired this fic

Series Masterlist

Rousing from your nap you let yourself follow the warm embrace that held you. Falling into the crook of the neck of the person beside you, holding them tightly, inhaling their scent, and finding the utmost comfort in it. Mingyu. The only memorable smell that has been able to invade your mind like a drug since you've been alive. Snuggling ever closer you smiled gently into his chest-

Wait. Hold on. In your waking daze, you hadn't even processed what was happening right now. Arms? Around you? Mingyu's scent? With apprehension, you raise your head and your fear is confirmed. Mingyu. Is. Holding. You.

Startled you push against his chest, attempting to create any type of distance as your face is getting as hot and red as a coil stovetop. But Mingyu's arms are trapping you in place.

The sudden movement stirs Gyu, his eyes lazily opening to meet yours. A grin meets his face before he's suddenly being shifted across the bed. In your surprise, you can't help but shove him with a strength you did not intend.

"Shi- I'm sorry- I-" You're suddenly rushing for an explanation. "It's okay- I mean I'm sor-" And he is too. "No, I didn't mean to fall asleep-" "I…Well, I did mean to give you a hug. I'm so sorry though, we talked abo-" The two of you are suddenly giggling at the string of confused statements that neither of you is sure makes sense. A nice silence washes over after the amusement but you're mind quickly turns, I should probably leave, the thought crosses your mind and you gather yourself and stand up.

"I didn't mind you sleeping in my bed, y/n." Mingyu looks up at you as he moves to sit on the edge with an expectant stare. He wants you to stay. Wants you to want him as badly as he wants you right now. And you do! But the talk from last night solidified something within you, you need time to stretch just a bit more to make this feel right, to make it feel deserved. Playing with your bottom lip between your teeth you decide to leave the room. Before you go Mingyu reaches out to you, his hand lightly gripping your wrist begging you to come back to him, but you resist, telling him that he should change out of his day clothes before dinner. He hits the bed as he falls backward, watching as you close the door. You both leave the situation unsatisfied.

The rest of the day goes by in still awkwardness. The idle talk that usually has both of you engrossed has suddenly become dull and tense. This is what you were talking about. This is the needed tensity that must come with getting to know one another, the hurdle of being uncomfortable with each other. It can't always be easy comfort and conversation, unfortunately.

It's killing Mingyu, it's killing him to the point of wanting to go back and erase what he said, erase what he did. The overstepping of a boundary is a serious thing and he's been beating himself up over it. It isn't like you said anything to spur this on and it's not like you look uncomfortable next to him, in fact, it looks rather normal other than the absence of jovial talk between you two. His jaw is tensing as he thinks about what to do, how to solve this pit of worry in his stomach. And it doesn't go unnoticed, his fingers are fidgeting with the spoon in his hand and he hasn't taken a bite in several minutes.

"Gyu?" The nickname snaps him back to life, "Hmm?" "You okay?" "Huh? Oh, yeah I'm okay, I'm good." He mulls it over a million times in his within a split second. "Y/n?" "Yeah?" "I'm really sorry." "For what?" "For…" his shoulders slump, "Crossing the boundaries we set last night. I shouldn't have hugged you. I'm really sorry. You said you wanted to slow down and that was the complete opposite."

The way he's staring at the ceiling like a child admitting something warms your heart. He was thinking about that this whole time? You didn't know what was causing the teeth-grinding unease between you two but it definitely wasn't because he hugged you to sleep. You hadn't even thought about that part, if anything, you falling asleep on his bed was what you thought this was about.

"Mingyu, it's okay. I forgive you." The biggest weight sloughs off of him as you say that. "I thought you were mad at me if anything…" "Mad at you? Why would I be mad at you?" "I went into your room when you weren't here and I ended up taking a nap on your bed…" You're flushed with embarrassment as you recall what you had done. "I-" he wants to tell you what he did before, that he doesn't mind you sleeping in his room, that he wants you to sleep there...with him. But the thought of crossing the line again tolls on his mind. "It's okay, I really didn't mind at all. Like I said the first night it's more comfortable than the guest bed" he gives an amused hum.

With the air feeling a lot lighter you both go about the night time routine that you've established over the past 2 nights. Before bed Mingyu knocks on your door to tell you goodnight and for some reason, the act just feels so innocent, pure, and adolescent. Blushes adorn both your faces afterward, like some lovesick teenagers, hearts beating like drums until night takes you.

The next day is rather uneventful. You wake to an empty house again, Mingyu leaves another note to remind you to eat, and you do what you can in the way of cleaning (Not that there's much you can clean in an already spotless home). The only off thing was the additional ask in Mingyu's note.

"I'm heading off, forgive me for not waking you to say goodbye. Like yesterday I made you some meals in the fridge, please eat them well! Also, if you wouldn't mind being ready by the time I come home, I want to get you that phone that I wrote about yesterday. Have a good day, y/n :)"

With a lack of things to do to keep you from boredom you decide to get ready hours ahead of time. Carefully picking out an outfit from the clothes you and Mingyu had picked out during your shopping trip. Makeup, in your case, was a must! At the very least to make you look less…gray and well dead.

You sat in front of your vanity trying to recollect how this process goes. The process is almost like meditation, trying to dig deep enough within yourself to remember how to make yourself look and feel good.

Sat in front of a bathroom mirror you stare at yourself. The dark circles under your eyes have further sunken since the last time you allowed yourself to look in the mirror. The tear stains are evident in the darkened corner of your eyes. You look sickly. A scornful look pains you as you look at yourself. You hate this. You hate you. How did it get to this point? This amount of self-loathing and isolation? Your body is a monster, not made to be loved by anyone but yourself. Who could even love you?

The memory strikes you like a dagger to the heart and mind. Tears trickle down your cheeks.

That was the day before you passed.

The day that you decided that you weren't long for this planet.

How things would change in a matter of a week and some change. Dying might've been the best thing to have happened to you. It allowed you a chance to live again, as ironic as that might sound. Kim Mingyu gave you the chance of a full life, a life with him.

Staring at your face in the mirror those terrible thoughts plague you again but this time you don't allow them to define life or death. You stare and you see the memory of Mingyu and you at the vanity, talking about taking things slow, the way his hand caressed your shoulder, his eyes all on you. No, you don't have to hate yourself in this life too.

Mingyu comes home and is immediately greeted by the sound of you in the kitchen. He celebrates quietly that the house isn't silent like yesterday.

You're washing the dishes from a rather late lunch; Getting ready took longer than you'd like to admit with the sudden memory that had come back. Standing by yourself humming along to an unknown song with Mingyu's apron hanging a bit longer than intended on your body, he stares in awe. How could you be so perfect? So unaware that you radiated such happiness? After taking in the scene he saunters into the kitchen.

"I'm home~" "Oh! I didn't hear the door. I should've come to greet you." You're scrounging around for a towel the moment you see Gyu. "It's fine, I came in quietly in case you were sleeping again" He smirks to himself as he grabs the roll of paper towels and hands it to you. "How could I sleep knowing that I had to be ready?" "I don't know, you slept pretty soundly yesterday. Maybe it's your hobby…" You scoff at him and lightly punch at his shoulder. "You ready to get that phone?"

You guys head to the phone company after quickly gathering your stuff. Getting in Mingyu's car you remember that the last time you were in here was when he was taking you from the morgue. The silent drive that was full of contemplation and nerves. Now the car is filled with music and ease, Mingyu's hand gently tapping along with the drums as he drives. "As my memory rest but never forgets what I lost~ Wake me up when September ends~" Gyu sings under his breath and a content smile grows on his face as he glances over and you're steadily bouncing along as well.

The process itself was rather swift. The man at the phone company had taken you through all the newest models of phones and the latest deals on phone plans. The only interruptions or questions made were when Mingyu perked up to ask about unlimited data and messaging, somewhere within that he had also mentioned that he only wanted the best for his "Wife". The statement caught you by surprise but it seemed like Gyu had no issue as he just continued to nod along with the man as he signed the papers and handed them to you to sign. In the end, you were able to get a very good plan and the latest Galaxy Z flip phone.

The entire ride home you thought about Gyu's words, his mention of you as his "wife". Had that been a mistake on his part? You choke on the lump in your throat as Gyu speaks.

"Do you like it?" "Hmm?" "Your phone, do you like it?" He looks at you as he stops at a red light, your confusion amusing him, "If you want we can always turn back and get something mor-" "Oh no this is completely fine, great in fact! Very cute!" "Thank goodness! I thought we were actually gonna have to go back for a second" he laughs. "I don't know if you mind but I took the liberty of putting my number in when you were signing papers." "Don't mind at all, makes it easier for me." He nods and turns up the music. "Just give me a call or text me whenever you need to…or want to. I'll always want to talk to you." He says nonchalantly, not taking his eyes off the road. "I will definitely do that. Don't mind if I spam you, right?" "Never. I'd enjoy each message even if you wrote things out letter by letter." You smile and give a curt nod as to signify you're actually taking that into suggestion.

You spend some time customizing your phone before you sleep. Occasionally letting your mind drift off and thinking about what Gyu had said earlier his "wife", you smile at the thought.

Hovering over Mingyu's number, the only number on the phone currently, you think about what you want your first message to be. You think about texting him about what he had said before but honestly, you've had enough awkwardness for a while. Before doing anything too hasty you decide to change his name, "Gyu", and realize that you don't have any pictures of him to add to his contact.

- Hey Gyu, it's y/n - Still up? - Yeah Fixing up my phone - Ah okay - You mind sending me a photo for your contact? - {Picture}

Your heart flutters at the sight of him in his bed, cuddled up with his sheets. You have to stop yourself from grinning too hard as you copy his pose. You go the extra mile of making him your lock screen, if he brings it up you resolve to tell him that you haven't any other pictures. You lay in bed staring at your phone for an eternity before sending Mingyu a quick "Goodnight, hope you sleep well and wake up rested for work tomorrow!", quickly shoving the phone away and trying your best not to dwell on whether or not he responds tonight.

Ding…Ding…Ding

The sound of notifications on your phone wakes you, squinting at the bright screen you see Mingyu's left you a few messages and attempted to call you once.

- Thank you, I did sleep well - How did you sleep? - Are you up? Incoming call… - I guess you aren't - Message me when you wake up, please - I made you pancakes for breakfast and some rice and steak for lunch - Please eat before snacking - I'll try and call you again during my lunch break

You can't help but smile at the attentiveness Gyu shows you. Still hanging onto your sleepy state you get up to go and get ready for the day, not before shooting Mingyu a good morning text though.

You turn on the TV as you sit with your pancakes in hand. The morning news goes through the usual, weather, accidents, etc. You don't pay it any mind until the end, shit. Is it Friday already? Suddenly your head is spinning.

Tonight is the night that you and Mingyu had planned on going to the morgue, FUCK, and you haven't even begun to rewrite your suicide note! The stress makes you pace around the room. DING

- Morning! - Glad you slept well - A bit busy atm - I'll call you during lunch, we should talk about tonight.

Of course, Mingyu remembered. Not that you didn't want him to but it bothers you how comfortable you've been, enough to let time slip and the days sneak up on you. You should've been at least a bit on edge about this but in truth you hadn't thought about it much since you and Gyu's talk. Your time since then has been filled with nothing short of romantic drama and complicated feelings, you didn't mind that in the moment but now you realize that there were MUCH more pressing matters that could've used your attention.

You have to drag yourself to get a pen and some pieces of paper slumping down as you begin to think about what you had written in your note. The memories are not at all pleasant. The crying as you slaved away at a piece of paper meant to be your last words to those you loved and cared about. You remember hiccupping as you wrote it, the tears at one point clouding your vision to the point of no longer being able to see the paper clearly. You're half sure that the messy blotches smeared the ink of the sentences meant for your family but as you recall all of this you find it hard to recapture those feelings. You don't feel that despair anymore, not since you've been reawakened. Not since meeting Mingyu. Not since his proposal. None of the despair followed.

Even still, the words come to you, albeit not exactly in the same way they were in your original note, but this is meant to be a somewhat edited version anyway.

As you finish with you're piece you start to have thoughts of your old life. You still can't will a majority of the memories of that lifetime to come back to you but a wave of sudden sadness hits as you think about who you were and who you knew back then.

The memories of your few friends and the family that you kept contact with feel more like a distant mirage, like a movie you saw years ago and remember parts of. Their faces are obscured by the veil of life and death. You wonder if any of them would show up for your viewing. For a moment you entertain the thought of going yourself, seeing those people dressed in black, and attempting to remember what was. But you shun the idea as quick as it comes; No one can know that you're alive. More than causing complications within yourself, it would cause utter chaos at Mingyu's doorstep and that is definitely not what you want to happen.

Lunch rolls around and you hear a ringtone that, in time, you will become all too familiar with. Mingyu's caller ID lights up your screen to Facetime him. You answer as you pull out your food from the microwave and set up your place at the coffee table, simulating how you and Gyu usually eat meals.

"Y/n! Good afternoon!" "Hey, Gyu! How has your day been?" "Busy. Our Tech, Chan, misplaced things in the prep room. Thank goodness I caught it before I started using the embalming machine-" Gyu continues to tell you about all the morbid details of his latest client and you're amazed that a topic like this comes to both of you naturally and without discomfort, I guess there is some common ground in death that both of you tread on.

Towards the end of Gyu's lunch break, you both breach the meat of what you were supposed to talk about. "So tonight…" "Yeah, I've actually already prepared my letter, thankfully I didn't use any fancy stationery so it was quite easy-" "Oh! You did that already?" "Yeah, there wasn't much else to think about or do" "I see… Sorry, I should've been there." "What? No-" "It must've been hard to relive writing that, y/n…" "I- It was. But trust me! Having you here might've made the process much more emotional." "Yeah, but at least I would've been there to wipe your tears…" He says it under his breath but the flush that creeps up tells him that you heard him loud and clear, "But thank you for doing it in advance. Gives us some more time to decide how to break in-" "Don't call it breaking in!" "That's what we called it last time!" he laughs as you do, "Okay- Not breaking in but still not exactly doing what we're supposed to, I don't know what you would call it." "We're just going to the morgue to fix some things… It's not bad is it, Gyu?" "Bad? How do you mean?" "I mean- I don't know- It feels like we're doing something illegal but it's my note? And it's my body? I don't know…" "Listen, y/n. I don't think there's any laws about a person changing their own will and testament. If anything I'm probably the one in heaps of trouble here. I tampered with a dead body, am technically breaking and entering, and under some circumstances, some could say I stole you-" "Stole me?!" "I'm just saying! The story from an outsider's perspective could sound more criminal than romantic." "People have no problem with Frankenstein-" "Right… You're like my own little monster and I'm Victor-" "Watch it…" "Sorry sorry" you both giggle at the mention. "You think our story is romantic?" "Well- It's supposed to be. The handsome mortician falls in love with one of his clients? Sounds straight out of a messed up romance novel." You give an amused hum in response.

"But getting back to what we were talking about-" "Right." "We'll go to the morgue around 9-ish?" "What if they ask why you're there that late?" "Hmm I don't know, I'll tell them it's a rush job for a client's family?" "Okay, then what are you telling them you're there for again?" "Remember? I'll tell them I need to pick up a client's possessions." "Right right- Is that how that works?" "Not at all, usually you guys come with a bag of your things or your family brings clothes and stuff to put you in." "Woahhh grouping me in with the corpses now?" "No- Wait- I didn't-" You laugh as he facepalms and shakes his head. "Okay okay, then while you're doing all of that, I'm just waiting?" "Yep! Keeping the car warm and running for a quick getaway-" "This is not some sort of heist, Gyu…" "It sounds like one a bit… But! As long as the guard doesn't know me and doesn't want to bother me with chit-chat then we should be smooth sailing~" You nod your head in response.

The call ends abruptly as someone knocks on Gyu's car window to tell him to get inside. He apologizes profusely over text-

- So srry!!! - New client - I'll see you whne I get home!

He begins to type "I love…" but stops himself and immediately erases it.

Don't be afraid to text me, please

You smile as the messages roll in, sending him a thumbs-up emoji in response you settle back into the quiet of the house.

When Mingyu gets home you're resting, mindlessly flicking through different channels.

You hear the door open and jump to your feet to meet him at the entrance. Your jaw almost dropped at the sight of him, you've gotten somewhat used to seeing this handsome man around you, but as he opened the door the sunlight crept through lighting him from the back you could almost believe he was some sort of angel.

"Something catch your eye?", he smiles as he catches you staring. "Hmm? No- Welcome home~", as he takes off his shoes you open your arms. It shouldn't be too out of place to hug him, right? His smile grows ever brighter as he enters your arms, a heavy sigh leaving him and he relaxes into you. He needed this. The stress of the day, the plans, the awkwardness, all of it relieved the moment you initiated something. He would say his mind is clouded by you but that just doesn't sum it up, it's more like you clear the entire sky in his mind, and he feels it as you hug him.

Night comes all too fast today and dinner is rushed as you both nervously banter till it's time to leave. You didn't have to be punctual but the clock did feel like some sort of time bomb as you counted down the minutes in the car. You can nearly hear your own heartbeat in your ears as you drive.

Mingyu turns on the radio to relieve some amount of tension, "It'll be fine.", you think he's talking to you but his heart is beating just as fast, the adrenaline reminding him of the night he woke you, save for the romantic parts. You rest your hand on his knee for some assurance as you enter the parking lot.

"Here's the note, Gyu. Be careful, please. Run back to the car if you have to." Your words are the only thing that lessens the anxiety rising in him. "Okay. Sit pretty for me? Don't freak out, the hard part is done for you. We'll get a late-night snack after this okay?" You nod, both of your eyes wide with a rush that only each other's words can seem to calm. Like a hawk, you watch as Mingyu goes up to the door.

The morgue is located on the first floor of the hospital. Thankfully Mingyu can avoid worming his way through the halls of the entire facility as there is a special exit door made to transport bodies as well as let through any personnel that works in this department. Gathering his courage with a few deep breaths he firmly knocks.

A young man meets his eyes as he opens the door. "May I help you?", relief comes over him as he doesn't recognize the boy, should make all of this much easier, he thinks.

"Yes, hi. I'm Kim Mingyu. The local mortician." He shows the kid his I.D. as proof. "I came by to pick up some things left behind from a current client of mine." "I'm sorry. I don't think I'm allow-" He begins to shut the door but Mingyu holds it open with his arm.

"I know Joshua. The- umm- coroner. I know the head coroner. He said I could come by and pick it up." The boy looks tentatively. "How do I know I can trust you?" "Haha like someone would want to steal corpses or something ha-" He stares back at Mingyu with an unamused and slightly frightened look, "Sorry, bad joke. You should be able to look at some of the papers-" He points past the boy to the file holder on the wall, "It should say transporting to the mortuary and under the care of Mortician Kim Mingyu, or something like that."

The boy turns around, stealing occasional glances back at Mingyu to make sure he doesn't get through, he gives him a compliant smile and nods in return. It takes the boy a minute as he goes through several files before returning. "Okay. Sorry about that." "All good, all good. May I?" "Oh yes! Come in."

You watch the back and forth, a part of you wishing you had told Gyu to call you on his phone while this went down, just in case. The guard opens the door further and after what feels like an eternity you see Gyu disappear into the morgue.

Now in the clear Mingyu goes about the morgue without worry. He's scanning rooms left and right for a box of patient belongings, maybe a shelf dedicated to it, just looking anywhere he thinks your note could possibly be.

He enters the fridge room, a room lined with huge refrigerators, carefully temperature kept to store bodies until they are transported to him or another funeral home. The thought crosses his mind that maybe they have a special containment fridge or something similar for things used to identify the cause of death. He begins to carefully read the taped labels of each fridge, quickly moving on if he doesn't find what he's looking for.

In his ministrations, he isn't able to hear as a set of footsteps walks through the halls nor does he hear the opening of the door.

"Mingyu?" Startled he straightens up and backs away from the fridge, "Wonwoo- What? What are you doing-" "I can ask you the same thing…" They both look at each other, Mingyu like a deer caught in headlights and Wonwoo with utter confusion befalling him. The expression on Mingyu's face proves that he's here with some sort of motive but before Wonwoo's able to ask any questions a screaming pierces through the air.

"HELP SOMEONE!! HELP!"

They both rush out to find the security guard kneeling on the ground in front of the door, holding it wide open, completely distraught as he cradles your unconscious body in his arms.

A/N: Hello, my loves! I had a hard time writing this one, usually scenes come to me rather easily but whewww not with this one. And this is barely edited ;-; Anyways, please comment and reblog if you liked this part! It really does encourage me to continue with this series. And my inbox is open if you have any private comments or just wanna chat! Have a good weekend babes!

TAGLIST (open): @jjin-kun @mydolle-dd

Perfection Pt.5; Wake me before you go

Falling unconscious Mingyu rushes you to the Mortuary to try and bring you back. As you're out, a memory comes back.

Pairing: mortician!mingyu x corpse!fem!reader

Genre: Mortician!au, Horror!au || Fluff, Crack, Romance, Angst || Inspired by Frankenstein and other undead media

Warnings: Suicidal thoughts || Depression || Minor wounds ||Mentions of death and corpses (Nothing in-depth and nothing intended to disturb) || Mentions of suicide || Necro-romance, aka romantic attraction to a corpse. || {Please let me know if there are other warnings you would like me to add}

WC: 3k

Songs that inspired this fic

Series Masterlist

"We have to take her inside!" Wonwoo is yelling with urgency as the guard surrenders your body over to Mingyu's care.

Mingyu kneels down, cradling you in his arms as tears form. "We can't…" he says in a near whisper against your forehead not letting Wonwoo's words tear his attention from you.

"What do you mean we can't?! It's right there!-" Confusion rides over Wonwoo's face as he watches Mingyu begin to weep over you, droplets slipping off his face and onto yours. The young guard steps away from the situation in shock as Wonwoo gives him a slight nod and a wave of his hand signaling to find help quick.

"I said we can't Wonwoo!" Gyu whips his head around to face Wonwoo, he's gleaming red in frustration. He brings you in closer to him, resting his head against your chest so he can, hopefully, find a pulse; Please be beating. Please be beating. Please be beating. "Fucking, thank goodness." the biggest wave of relief washes over him as he hears the faintest of murmurs. "Wonwoo help me get her into my car."

"Are you crazy?! She needs medical attention-" Wonwoo raises his voice not understanding why Mingyu is being this way, the fact that Gyu isn't bringing you further into the hospital agitates him beyond belief.

"WE NEED TO GO TO THE MORTUARY! FUCKING HELP ME!" Mingyu, completely lost in his emotions now, screams at the other man till his throat hurts. Veins popping out as he's now gripping so hard onto your lifeless body that bruises were sure to appear. "Help me Wonwoo!"

He's never seen Mingyu like this. Sure there was the occasional squabble between him and Seungkwan from time to time but he had never seen Gyu so distraught and broken. "Forget it." As Wonwoo's trying to figure out how to handle what's going on Gyu gets up - suddenly remembering his strength - and begins to carry you back to the car, letting the door slam in Wonwoo's face as he leaves.

It's dark and he can barely see as the one flickering street lamp attempts to brighten the entirety of this back lot and the crying isn't helping. "Shit, fuck! I shouldn't have left you. This was so stupid. I'm so sorry, my love." He presses a gentle kiss to your temple and his knees nearly buckle as he feels how cold you've gotten. "We just got you warm, y/n. You were getting warm." The tears are overtaking him as he reaches the car, it dawns on him that he can't open the door while holding you and it only fuels his current rage as he kicks a dent into his bumper.

"Let me." Wonwoo reaches for the door handle, heaving as he ran over here. Mingyu is taken aback as his friend helps get you inside.

Gyu places you in the back seat as gently as he can, leaving a small kiss on your jaw before he backs away and faces Wonwoo. There's a seriousness as they stare at each other with furrowed brows. Wonwoo knows it isn't the time to ask questions when he sees Gyu nearly shaking, eyes wide in panic, and his breath unsteady as his shoulders rapidly move up and down. Gyu shakes his head and runs over to the driver's side, hands scraping down his body for the key.

"I'll drive." Gyu looks up as Wonwoo pushes him out of the way. "The key-" "They're in there, Mingyu." He points past the window to the ignition where the keys have been sitting since Mingyu had gone into the morgue. "Come on."

They get into the car and take off with speed, thankful that there were little cars on the road tonight. "The mortuary?" Wonwoo questions, Mingyu nods frantically as he reaches into the back to grab your hand and hold it in his, not daring to let you go right now. "You'll tell me about this later." Wonwoo says pointedly. Mingyu doesn't even process the words as he contorts himself in his seat to look at you, a faint beeping noise falls on deaf ears as the seat belt light comes on.

--Flashback--

You see Mingyu enter the building, letting out a huge sigh as nearly half of the job is done at this point. You recline back in your seat, legs shaking and jittery with nerves as you wait for Gyu to return. It's not even a minute before you bring yourself back up and rest your head on the window to try and calm yourself.

As you look out you see a group of people walking on the sidewalk, it's dark and you can barely see them but the face of a girl comes to you clear as day as she passes under a streetlamp. Suddenly your vision is starting to blur and you feel lightheaded. Your heart pounds in your chest like it's about to burst out and your head is spinning, you look down and see your fingers turn grey and cold.

As you start to panic you stumble with the door handle. You need air, you need help, you need Mingyu. Your fingers barely catch on the handle as they fall limp on you. Willing yourself to stand you struggle to put one foot in front of the other, pushing the car door closed with what little strength you could muster.

When you make it to the door of the building you feel yourself begin to dip between conscious and unconscious, knees buckling and head fighting to stay on your shoulders. With a lack of control of your limbs, you slam yourself into the door repeatedly. It hurts at first but your senses are beginning to numb, eventually you're unable to feel anything as you continue to slam your body against the door.

Finally, the guard opens the door, eyes wide as he sees you in a zombie-like position. "H-hel-p Mi-ng-gyu." are the last words you get out of your mouth before the world goes dark.

--Flashback--

You're back in your room, not the one you had made home with Mingyu in, no. You're in your old room. The one littered with trash and piles of dishes that hadn't been touched in months. The apartment. You sit on the edge of the only clear spot on your bed, the rest of the space being taken up by mountains of clothes and random items that were in rotation as you took to rotting daily in this space.

Whoever Mingyu is and whatever that life is is not apparent to you. You're stuck in a memory, one where you've settled into the routine of living like this. Destroying yourself by isolation and hurt, wanting a way out but not seeing one, the only viable choice nowadays being continuing on like this until someone comes to save you or death. Yeah, those were the only options that made sense.

Ding Your phone lights up with a text message, of course.

- You're scheduled for 3pm today.

It was never anyone important, just your boss reminding you that you had work. You scroll up to see if you've gotten any other notifications, although you never do. The only things you see are notifications from other apps telling you to return and waste away the time you have left on them. No surprises there.

You let out a sigh as you get up and head for the bathroom. Lifting your head as you enter you see your face in the mirror, deep bags under your eyes, and a gaunt look on your face - nothing new here either. You push away the junk around the sink before running some water to at least wash your face before your shift.

Exiting, you pick up your uniform which laid on top of one of the piles of clothes. You don't remember the last time you washed, you don't remember the last time you had done much of anything other than work, come home, lay in bed, and sleep.

It's been like this for months, at this point you wondered if things could change. If it's too late for you to get yourself together. It is too late, you'd need help for that - that's the conclusion you draw. But who would help you? Your family barely texts or calls anymore, the only people you could call "in-person friends" are your coworkers, and the few friends you do have barely contact you because they're too busy with their lives, their interesting lives. There was no one who you felt you could divulge all of your darkest thoughts and worries, no support.

Maybe…it would just be better…if you were gone. No more problems. No more worries. You wouldn't even be much of a burden to the people around you anymore. Your boss wouldn't have to text you for work every day. Your landlord wouldn't have to voice her concern over the state of your apartment. Yeah, no one would have to worry. It would be much better that way, wouldn't it?

You had pondered upon this idea many times before but this is the only time you felt you could stick to it. You could actually do it this time. It's not like anyone would come looking and once people did, well it would be too late to have stopped you.

You decided you were going to do it. You'd finally give up on this shitty excuse of a life.

As they arrive at the Mortuary Mingyu has already gone through a plan in his head, wanting to get you to the prep room as quickly as he can.

"The key for the building is the smallest one on the ring, open the door and keep it open as I bring her in." He instructs Wonwoo with an urgent tone. As soon as the car stops Mingyu is out and on his feet. "Run!" He says to Wonwoo - his friend's speed not enough for him in this moment. He goes to pick you up and once more rests his head against your chest, just to make sure. "Dammit, it's even slower now."

Getting through the door he again instructs Wonwoo as they navigate the halls of the Mortuary, eventually getting to the prep room. "Quick, grab the empty table." he sloppily points towards the metal table that he hadn't used since you had awakened, the one that he laid you on that night. He lays you down, the slightest chuckle willing itself out of him as this moment reminds him of when he had brought you back to life, a bittersweet memory right now.

Wonwoo watches in amazement and concern as Gyu begins to hastily arrange all the equipment. Questions only continue to build up in his mind observing his friend's ministrations. He occasionally tries to step in and help, only to be swatted away by Mingyu giving him an excuse about it being more efficient if he just does everything himself.

Gyu couldn't take any risks. Just by being here, Wonwoo was putting himself at risk, and much more than that he was putting you at risk. The night sky promised no rainstorms, which meant no lightning, he had to find another way to jumpstart you. He stepped away for a second before a lightbulb went off.

"Wonwoo." He looks intensely at the man. "I need you to go to the front of the building, find the fuse box, and turn off power for all rooms except for this one." Gyu waits for a step, for any sign of acknowledgment. "I need you to tell me that you've got this." "I got it, Mingyu. Easy." "Good." His breath settles in its pace - he uses the energy from the adrenaline to hone in on his objective. "After that, I need you to go outside to the storage room. It should be just around back. Take my keys and the same key you used before should open that door." Wonwoo nods as he takes in all the instructions. "Bring me the generator that's in there." "Okay. Is that it?" "That's it. I'll take care of everything else, now please go. And hurry."

Pushing his glasses back into place Wonwoo takes off. Gyu goes over to you, hovering as he hesitates to place the hooks in your body. He has to keep reminding himself that this is to bring you back, the thought of actually hurting you now that you're alive being far too painful for his fragile heart. He swipes a piece of hair off your face. "This is gonna work, y/n. It has to. It worked before and besides…I need you. Can't bear to live without you now. Just got you, can't give you back so easily. So just come back to me pretty girl, okay?"

Talking about how he can't be apart from you gives him the amount of confidence he needs to continue. Steadily he brings the sharp hooks to your skin, right over the punctures he had made before that have already begun to heal over. With the gentleness of a lamb he skewers them through; You slightly twitch and blood begins to drip down, Mingyu is nearly passing out at the sight. If you had made any noise of discomfort he swears he would find any other way to do this. But you don't and he calms himself realizing that you're at least still able to react to sensations slightly. He sees as the lights flicker off in the hallway - Wonwoo's gotten to the fuse box.

Mingyu waits for a while, allowing himself to come down from his adrenaline high and actually prepare himself for what's to come. He organizes the machinery and goes over the rough details of what should happen in his head. Once he's sure that everything is in place he goes back over to your unconscious form. He slides his hand over yours, comparing palms before clasping fingers and leaning down to leave a soft peck against the back of your hand.

Wonwoo comes in minutes later. "Found it." "Good good, bring it over." "What exactly are you trying to do?" Mingyu turns to him hesitating, "I'm going to jumpstart her heart…again." "What." "I'm going to fucking plug that generator into the wall and then hook it up to her to jumpstart her heart." Wonwoo thinks he's finally lost it, the emotions have overwhelmed Mingyu to the point of insanity and Wonwoo doesn't even think he has the power to do anything but watch as his friend spirals. "Wait, what do you mean again?" "It's a long story. I just need you to trust me." Mingyu grabs Wonwoo by the shoulders, shaking him and staring into his eyes like a hawk. "I need you to trust me. Do you trust me, Wonwoo?" He sounds crazed, like a true madman right now, but goddammit was he persuasive with his passion. Grabbing Mingyu's hands by the wrist Wonwoo twists himself out of the other man's grasp, "I trust you, Mingyu. I just don't unders-" "Good. I was gonna kick you out of here if you said you didn't. It would've done irreparable damage to our friendship too. Also, now isn't the time for questions. Help me figure this shit out."

They both begin to fiddle with the generator and the machinery. Neither of them were engineers, mechanics, or technicians of any kind so it took all the knowledge Gyu had of building these machines for them to finally figure something out that had even a sliver of a chance of working.

Standing back from the monstrosity of wires and parts they exchange a glance. Mingyu gives a nod and Wonwoo picks up the generator's plug. "Do it. Just do it." - the hesitation gets to Mingyu and he can't help but cover his mouth in anticipation as Wonwoo brings the plug to the outlet. With a final thud into the wall - it's in.

They both get even more nervous as nothing happens, silence befalling the room, and Mingyu's heart drops.

TCH TCH TCH In succession, the lightbulbs in the room burst! Sparks flying out in every direction. The men cover their heads as surges of electricity pulse between the machines, each of them flickering on for just a second before shutting down once again. With each machine, the energy got closer and closer to your body, although the parts weren't working in tandem they sure were moving all of that electricity towards the intended destination. Your body.

Mingyu is watching with wide eyes, practically biting at his fingernails, watching as everything goes off. As the machine closest to you blazes with light he's wide-eyed, time spreading so thin that he swears he can feel as each individual electron shifts to create energy.

Panic ensues as the surge reaches your body. You begin to write on the metal table, the pain eliciting haunting groans from your mouth. Gyu is immediately at your side, his hands hovering over you as he tries to fix whatever is happening, even though he doesn't know how. Wonwoo joins him rushing to the opposite side of the table, "What do we do, Mingyu?!" "I don't know!" They're both yelling incoherent sentences at each other, as you twist and turn. Your body contorts unnaturally as muscles you've never used before spasm. "Unplug it! Unplug it! Unplug it!" Mingyu repeats the words over and over again as Wonwoo rushes to follow his commands.

Just as Wonwoo grips the plug…

Your chest lifts as you suck air into your lungs, torso lifting to sit up. Short jagged breaths follow as your hands roam all over your body to try and ground yourself. "Hey hey hey, I'm here.", Mingyu reaches out to you. You grasp onto his being so tight that you think your nails might be drawing blood, but Gyu doesn't care. He's hugging you, rubbing a hand along your back to soothe you as you're still shaking and in pain - evident by the tears that have formed in your eyes and the way you're breathing hasn't steadied. "I'm here. Not going anywhere. I promise."

A/N: I'm really enjoying what I've written lately guys... BUT LOVELIES!! If you don't already know, this series is no longer going to be scheduled so if you want to keep up with it the best way to do so would be to join the taglist below, just send a comment or ask and I will happily add you to the list! Please Reblog and Comment (They act as power-ups for me)

Taglist (OPEN): @jjin-kun @mydolle-dd @sojuxxi

Perfection Pt.6; Rising Tides

Pairing: mortician!mingyu x corpse!fem!reader

Genre: Mortician!au, Horror!au || Fluff, Crack, Romance, Angst || Inspired by Frankenstein and other undead media

Warnings: Suicidal thoughts || Depression || Minor wounds || Mentions of death and corpses (Nothing in-depth and nothing intended to disturb) || Mentions of suicide || Necro-romance, aka romantic attraction to a corpse. || {Please let me know if there are other warnings you would like me to add}

WC: 4.1k

Songs that inspired this fic

Series Masterlist

The ride home was long and silent.

After you woke up and got your bearings Mingyu carried you to the car, he moved to drive on instinct but Wonwoo insisted that the two of you take the backseat while he drove. As confused as he was, Wonwoo could decipher Gyu's worried face from a mile away. So - at least for the moment, he was willing to put his curiosity aside for your comfort.

Gyu held your hand the entire way home, doting on every slight movement you made with a look of concern. You on the other hand were quick to drop your gaze whenever he held it. The embarrassment taking over all other emotions. Every so often you would catch Wonwoo's eyes in the rearview mirror, the look was cold.

Mingyu always wore his heart on his sleeve with you but Wonwoo was a different story - it was near impossible to tell what he was thinking by expressions alone. You wondered what he thought about the situation - you wondered what Gyu thought of the situation, your one secret was revealed within days, and danger was now at an all-time high in your mind.

While thinking about your worries, you hadn't noticed the way your hand squeezed Mingyu's so tight the entire drive, your fingers picking at his nails like a habit. He wanted to say something to soothe you - he wanted to press his lips to your fingers to ease any of your negative thoughts… But he understood if you needed time to settle after everything that had happened and he knew that he would probably be crossing a line, especially with Wonwoo practically inches away.

Wonwoo sat across from you and Gyu in the living room. The air palpable with the tension being held. The only thing cutting the thickness being the muffled sound of the TV behind Woo. It felt like some sort of trial had begun and you and Mingyu were the suspects of a horrendous crime… And technically you were. Thankfully, this isn't a courtroom though.

Sunlight was just beginning to peak through the blinds. Everyone's eyes revealed the lack of sleep and at the same time, everyone was on high alert - well at least you and Mingyu were. Wonwoo stared both of you down, his glasses dropping so you could see his intense gaze - it felt like you both were a bunch of prey that had been caught trying to escape the grasp of a dragon. Gyu attempted to lighten the mood with some giggling - no doubt out of nerves but nonetheless, it failed as Wonwoo remained as stoic as ever.

"So…" Woo started.

"Listen! I- I can explain!" Mingyu nearly jumped from his seat. "Just- Let's just talk about this me and you Wonwoo. Let her rest, please." It sounded like a plea - and how could Wonwoo say no to one of his longest friends?

"Right." For the first time, Wonwoo turned to face you, "I'm so sorry, y/n. You've been through a lot today. The sun's already up, you should go wash up and rest.", a gentle smile landed on his lips as he spoke to you, the harshness of his demeanor suddenly fading away.

"Wait- but-" everything happened so fast you barely had time to interject.

"It's okay. I think it's better for me to try and explain the situation…" Gyu gave your hand a reassuring tap as he motioned for you to head upstairs. You felt a bit helpless - they want to speak alone but the subject of their conversation is YOU, so you should be present, no? After an exchange of looks to both of the men that conveyed something along the lines of "You're talking about me and you have the audacity to leave me out of the conversation?!" with a huff you stomped your way upstairs. Oblivious to the lovesick look on Gyu's face at your frustration and the look of reluctant understanding as Wonwoo observed Gyu observing you.

You honestly couldn't tell if the water was steaming from how hot you had it or if the excess annoyance made your body so hot it could pass as a boiler. Either way, once you finished showering your anger had only slightly subsided.

As you dried your hair the sun was now settling its rays over every inch of the streets. You took a moment to recall what you'd experienced while you were out - the overwhelming darkness of depression, the lowest you've ever been. The heat of the blow dryer burning a hole into one spot on your head snapped you out of your daze, putting it down you couldn't help but wonder why the only things you can remember seem to be your darkest days.

Soon your anger faded into curiosity. Exiting your room you could hear murmurs as the boys continued their conversation. You know you wouldn't be able to sleep if you didn't hear at least a small bit of what the boys were talking about - that's right! Completely justifiable to listen in for just a second to ease you own worries, right?

Creeping ever so slowly down the stairs you made sure to keep close to the wall - the closer to the wall the less of a chance of creaking floorboards. Peaking through the living room entrance you could see just a sliver of Mingyu resting his elbows on the coffee table, despite the limited vision you could tell he looked relieved. You couldn't make out most of what they were saying unless you focused intently on just listening, so you pressed you ear as close as you could to the wall.

"Sorry, it's just hard for me to understand, Mingyu."

"I know. It's a lot."

"She's technically dead…"

"I know."

"What do you plan to do next time something like this happens?"

"Take her back to the mortuary and-"

"Mingyu. I know she's important to you but it's not like she can stay here forever."

"What are you talking about?"

"Listen." Wonwoo took a deep breath in before continuing, "I don't know how to put this exactly… but sometimes- most of the time, things die for a reason."

"Wonwoo, I know you're looking out for me but-"

"No no no, Mingyu. Listen to me, she doesn't belong to this world anymore."

"But she's here, isn't she!? She's here. She's upstairs right now! I know you think that this can all be cleaned up with base reason and logic but it can't, it's beyond life and death, it's a miracle. For now, all I can do is continue living in this ignorance, okay? I don't know what'll happen next time, I don't know. But I will continue to love her until whatever happens happens." Mingyu's rapidly speaking so Wonwoo can't get a word in, you can't help but clutch at your chest as your heart begins to sting.

"You've only known her a couple of days."

"I don't care."

"Mingyu-"

"I don't care!" He sounds breathless, "I know it's crazy. I know that. I'm not stupid. But let me have this, let me have her, even if it's just for a moment. It's so fucking crazy but- Right now I can't think straight. I can't think of a future without her. So I won't even encourage the thought until I have to face it head-on."

Wonwoo stayed silent for a long while. You took another peak into the living room and saw the two men just staring at each other. Wonwoo looked as calm as the ocean in his contemplation of Gyu's words. You couldn't see Gyu's face from this angle but as he began to catch his breath you could almost hear silent pleas being said with every exhale.

This was all too much. Of course, the danger of all of this was apparent to you but maybe the severity of that danger should've made you more on edge. Maybe you'd gotten too comfortable with Mingyu and with this entire situation. You felt your heartbeat rise, an anxious rhythm. You clutched your chest feeling a sudden panging, like a small needle being pierced through you - bearable but not painless. What would happen the next time you suddenly faint? What if all your memories came back? What were these past few days in the expanse of your entire lives? Maybe you shouldn't have come downstairs.

With all of this swirling inside you, you quietly made your way back to your room. You didn't know why but tears began to fall. Resting on the pillow you thought about your memories and about Mingyu; In this second chance at life, which mattered more?

Finally, Wonwoo stood up. Mingyu quickly scrambled to his feet to meet him. One glance is all he took towards Gyu, he nodded his head, "I still don't understand but you're obviously passionate. I can't force you to do anything at the end of the day but- Just be safe. For your sake and hers. I really hate seeing any of you guys (referring to their friend group) get all twisted up like this."

Mingyu walked Wonwoo out, the weight on his chest easing with every step and every word said after the conversation. A weight lifted but there was still an unease in his stomach - Wonwoo knew but he didn't understand. How could he understand something that came to Mingyu like instinct? How could he know about the ache in Mingyu's chest every time you aren't in his sight? The type of connection, the type of attraction, Mingyu holds for you is something like worship and he understands the unhealthiness of it all but it's not like he can help himself. He's become content with his imperfections and obsessions - as long as you're able to take him as he is then he's happy.

A sigh of relief comes from him once the door closes. He basks in the shadow that it casts - the coldness it provides amongst the heat of all the tension from before. He drags his heavy, tired legs upstairs and to your door. A few gentle knocks to see if you're still up. He presses his ear up against the door and waits for far too long a time before deciding the coast is clear and entering your room. Soft sunlight warms your face but he can still see tear stains as he sits at your bedside. "Pretty girl, why were you crying? Was it a nightmare?", he questions knowing he won't get an answer, bringing his hand to gently trace your cheek. He doesn't say it but just knowing that something caused you pain puts him on edge, he knows he shouldn't pry but how could he rest when you're hurting?

Exhaustion caught up to him as he left your room. Not bothering to wash up or even close his bedroom door, he flopped onto his bed unceremoniously and knocked out within the minutes following.

Sunday came and went. Honestly, the following week went by like a blur.

After all the hectic stuff had passed Mingyu seemed to give you your space. That coupled with you avoiding most interactions with him if you could help it made for, for the first time since you've been awake, an unwelcoming atmosphere in the house.

It's not that you didn't want to see Mingyu, if anything it was quite the opposite. But your heart never settled around him and your thoughts always ate at you like sharks. Is this right? What if I'm not good for him? What if I'm only holding him back or keeping him in harm's way? He doesn't deserve to be hurt.

So you resolved to walking on eggshells, at least for the time being. If he clung to you even more than he already has there's a higher chance that he'll be hurt in the future. That's not what you want for him. You want only good things to happen to Mingyu, he's already done so much for you! He's, quite literally, done nearly everything for you. At your beck and call if you asked him to be. But that's not right - that's not fair to Mingyu and that's not how he should be living. You had your time… It's time for him to have his.

Mingyu on the other hand hated this. He hated seeing you lock yourself away. But he understood that you needed space. He didn't know what had happened when you were passed out but obviously, it left some sort of toll on you. It took everything in him not to shower you with praise and love when you entered a room he was in, his all was put into making you feel comfortable. He was absolutely restless, sleep became an afterthought as you occupied his mind. He wondered if he should say something or do something to show you how much he cared but his pondering only made him seem more distant. Unknowingly he was building walls… just like he had feared he would. But this was for you, right? This was what needed to happen for you to be better, you needed time, at least that's what Gyu had thought.

The days were filled with text messages about leaving for work, food left in the fridge, and idle talk about less-than-trivial things - all of this initiated by Mingyu of course. When he would come home he'd simply wash and make dinner. At the table nothing more than a few sentences were exchanged with the excuse of focusing on whatever was on the TV, as if it really mattered to either of you. A quick glance at each other before saying goodnight or that you were gonna wash up first was all that you could manage before bed.

It felt like torture.

"Hey, y/n…" Mingyu sauntered up to you in the kitchen. It's the first time he's approached you directly in days. You'd been lucky that he'd had work all week so that you could easily avoid him but tomorrow was Saturday, you'd be a fool to think you could get away from him this easily on the weekend.

Mingyu was completely entranced by your visage the moment he stepped foot into the room. The way you leaned back against the counter, your hair still messy from waking up, and in house clothes - Oh god… You look so good right now. His throat began to dry up-

"Mingyu?"

Right, back to reality Kim Mingyu…

"The boys have been talking about getting together, I hope you don't mind but my house is the best for gatherings. You don't have to come down or anything but I just wanted to let you know…" His words came out before he could process them, the only thing on his mind is the way your fingers picked up the strawberries on your plate and brought them to your plush lips- Holy shit Mingyu! Get it together man!

"Okay, I don't mind."

"Huh? Oh!" Once again he's brought back down from the alien spaceship (of love) that he was on, "Alright, they'll come around tomorrow by the way, I'll let them know that they have the green light." He took out his phone and began typing. He licked his lips in concentration and suddenly your brain turned to mush. Have his arms always been that big? A blush adorned your face like a wildfire in the California summer, quick and red hot.

Good god if this is how you two act facing each other after a week of little contact… Maybe you truly are crazy for each other.

You had foolishly assumed that the Kim Mingyu only invited 4-6 friends like last time. So imagine your surprise when you hear the doorbell ring… and keep ringing every. 5. Minutes. For. An. Entire. Hour. Jeez does no one carpool?

You didn't know exactly how many people had come around but to your untrained ear you could guestimate anywhere between 10-20 people, all of whom seem to be men but you aren't completely sure. He did say "the boys" but what does that even mean? Rolling that pearl around in your mind suddenly a loud growling came from below, dang, I'm really hungry. You wondered if you should go down to get something to eat. It was around dinner time but was it worth the risk of running into one of them?

After the talk with Mingyu, you guys avoided each other around the house like the plague. Even dinner was had separately, which was a first for the both of you. At first, your distance all week was out of hesitation and fear but now the distance was purely made out of embarrassment and awkward blushing, like over the course of a minute conversation you both had gone back to square one. Oh, the effects of mutual crushes and pining… sigh.

The impact of the previous week and all the contemplation wasn't lost on either of you but the weight of living under the same roof and not so much as smiling at each other was making you both stir crazy. Like your hearts, minds, and souls begged to be nearer and nearer and the time apart only made them grow "fonder" or perhaps more ravenous…

You cursed yourself for not grabbing at least a snack from the kitchen earlier. You had all the time in the world but… God that Kim Mingyu! It was like he was standing guard in that section of the house all damn day! The two most traveled places in a home are the kitchen and the living room. And both of them were occupied by the one other person in the house, the man you couldn't face right now. You knew that he was just preparing for tonight but you couldn't help but feel a bit slighted by his actions. As if he were taunting you by staying there all day.

The way he'd smiled devilishly at breakfast and lunch but not so much as a word being said between you when you got your food and brought it back up to your room. It felt like he was saying, "Come join me y/n… Or are you too scared?", you shook the image from your head. Then there was the TV, the TV that you know is set at a constant 38 volume, the perfect volume to be heard from the kitchen but not so loud that it would reach upstairs. But suddenly you can hear the muffled sounds of what you swear are rom-coms playing from down there. And finally, the haunting sound of him singing along to cheesy songs about romance made your heart churn like it was your stomach. What was he hoping to gain?

The answer, well… your attention of course. While you spent your day brooding in your room, thinking of all the ways Kim Mingyu was trying to tear you down, Mingyu was busy setting the mood. He made foods that you expressed a liking for since your time with him, plated them extra pretty, and even gave you the sweetest smile while handing it to you. So why in the world was he met with your face full of disgust?! He mulled over it the whole time he marinated the meats for the party, while he filled the coolers with ice, even while he prepared the side dishes from Seungkwan's mom. He couldn't believe it, every time you looked at him like that he could've sworn he felt his little cartoon heart break just a teensy bit. He put on romantic movies to quell his emotions… but that only made him even sadder. All these happy couples in love hmph while my girl isn't even my girl yet and ON TOP OF THAT SHE'S MAD AT ME! If anyone saw him in this state they'd have thought someone took away his PlayStation or something. Oh, and the singing… Of course, the only rational thing to do in a situation of complete and utter heartbreak at the hands of your unrequited crush is to belt out lovelorn songs like your life depends on it! How could he do anything else?

And he continued with that up until the doorbell rang. Then everything went silent for a time, you listened diligently to get a lay of the land. There was some movement, then chattering, and then the noise and voices just continued to multiply until you were certain an entire class was invited into your home now. It didn't help that you had a nice view of the backyard from your room and opening the window invited the smell of BBQ into your space. Your mouth salivated at the thought of stuffing yourself full of whatever they were having down there. You could also hear them, the conversation was as lively as you'd expect and all of them seemed like such good friends. At some points, you even heard mention of yourself but Mingyu would shut down any attempts to pry into you - it's funny, although you couldn't see his face, his tone definitely conveyed something a kin to a guard dog protecting its owner. The thought made you smile as you propped your elbows on the windowsill.

That's it! You've finally had enough! You can smell the food, you can hear cans popping open, and the worst part, you can hear everyone's mmm's and ahh's at Mingyu's cooking! It's as if he's a five-star chef getting compliments at his restaurant. Of course, you know Mingyu can cook and he can do that damn well, but did they have to say all this while you're sitting up here on an empty stomach looming over them like a starved hound? No, you're fed up! And you're going to do something about it!

You hastily put on a random sweatshirt that Mingyu had bought for you on your shopping trip and tip-toed your way to the stairs. Most of the party was outside shooting the shit right now so you knew you were able to get away with being slightly less cautious.

Like before you kept close to the walls, no creaks of the floor to be heard beneath your feet. Getting to the kitchen entrance you pop your head out just enough to scan the area. "Haha don't worry Hyung! I'll get it!", you quickly retreat as someone walks in. It's a young man, with fluffy hair, and a boyish smile - ah! That voice! You've heard before in the background of some of Mingyu's calls, this must be Chan, the Crematory tech.

Your heart's pounding after almost getting caught. Minutes pass as you make sure that absolutely zero people are walking into the kitchen while you get something to eat. You make your way out of the safety of the shadow and into the warm ambient light. All of them are outside and you can't help but notice how comfortable Mingyu is. All that tension he's been holding erased completely by their presence.

You were a little envious of how many close friends he had at his age, but the thought of envy was quickly replaced with thanks, a part of you feeling as though you should thank these men for sticking by Gyu's side. You took your time daydreaming about Mingyu, so much time that you didn't notice as a shadow growing over your body from behind.

"Excuse me." You're shaken to your core by an unfamiliar voice, frozen in place out of fear.

Unmoving from your spot, firm but gentle hands rest on your shoulders and give you a nudge to the side. You move willingly but aren't able to turn and face what feels like impending doom. Doom however walks ahead of you and when you do eventually come face to face with doom it's actually a lot nicer than you'd expected.

Doom doesn't look like a devil tricking you into the arms of Kim Mingyu. No, not at all! Doom looks like a very nice man, shorter than Mingyu but built like a brick house (lovingly), with a smile that could kill and dimples to boot! His hair covered his eyes a bit but the kindness shone through. He gave a gentle pat to your shoulders as he let go. "Ha ha, sorry. I'm Seungcheol, one of Mingyu's friends. You must be y/n!", he felt warm, a similar aura to Mingyu but more distant, less comfortable.

You grew a shy smile as you met his eyes, his unending charm shining through and making you blush.

"Woah y/n! Nice of you to join the party!", you hear the condescending tone of Boo Seungkwan's voice as you become aware of all of the eyes on the two of you right now. Every single body turned in confusion and curiosity at your presence.

All of this terrified you to your core but perhaps the scariest thing was the seething heat of rage you felt emanating off of Mingyu's gaze. Boring holes into your body with his eyes alone. Oh no oh no oh no oh no. He's jealous.

A/N: I'm back~ And with more perfection! This was actually the cutest little thing to write. And guess what? I actually took my time to write this! A whole 3 days for 4k words. (Usually, I rush lol) But let me know what y'all think... I would love to hear some opinions people!!! Seriously though, I missed y'all~ Did you miss me?

Please Reblog and Comment (They act as power-ups for me)

Taglist (OPEN): @jjin-kun @mydolle-dd @sojuxxi @zimzalaminho @hollxe1

Perfection Pt.6; Rising Tides

Pairing: mortician!mingyu x corpse!fem!reader

Genre: Mortician!au, Horror!au || Fluff, Crack, Romance, Angst || Inspired by Frankenstein and other undead media

Warnings: Suicidal thoughts || Depression || Minor wounds || Mentions of death and corpses (Nothing in-depth and nothing intended to disturb) || Mentions of suicide || Necro-romance, aka romantic attraction to a corpse. || {Please let me know if there are other warnings you would like me to add}

WC: 4.1k

Songs that inspired this fic

Series Masterlist

The ride home was long and silent.

After you woke up and got your bearings Mingyu carried you to the car, he moved to drive on instinct but Wonwoo insisted that the two of you take the backseat while he drove. As confused as he was, Wonwoo could decipher Gyu's worried face from a mile away. So - at least for the moment, he was willing to put his curiosity aside for your comfort.

Gyu held your hand the entire way home, doting on every slight movement you made with a look of concern. You on the other hand were quick to drop your gaze whenever he held it. The embarrassment taking over all other emotions. Every so often you would catch Wonwoo's eyes in the rearview mirror, the look was cold.

Mingyu always wore his heart on his sleeve with you but Wonwoo was a different story - it was near impossible to tell what he was thinking by expressions alone. You wondered what he thought about the situation - you wondered what Gyu thought of the situation, your one secret was revealed within days, and danger was now at an all-time high in your mind.

While thinking about your worries, you hadn't noticed the way your hand squeezed Mingyu's so tight the entire drive, your fingers picking at his nails like a habit. He wanted to say something to soothe you - he wanted to press his lips to your fingers to ease any of your negative thoughts… But he understood if you needed time to settle after everything that had happened and he knew that he would probably be crossing a line, especially with Wonwoo practically inches away.

Wonwoo sat across from you and Gyu in the living room. The air palpable with the tension being held. The only thing cutting the thickness being the muffled sound of the TV behind Woo. It felt like some sort of trial had begun and you and Mingyu were the suspects of a horrendous crime… And technically you were. Thankfully, this isn't a courtroom though.

Sunlight was just beginning to peak through the blinds. Everyone's eyes revealed the lack of sleep and at the same time, everyone was on high alert - well at least you and Mingyu were. Wonwoo stared both of you down, his glasses dropping so you could see his intense gaze - it felt like you both were a bunch of prey that had been caught trying to escape the grasp of a dragon. Gyu attempted to lighten the mood with some giggling - no doubt out of nerves but nonetheless, it failed as Wonwoo remained as stoic as ever.

"So…" Woo started.

"Listen! I- I can explain!" Mingyu nearly jumped from his seat. "Just- Let's just talk about this me and you Wonwoo. Let her rest, please." It sounded like a plea - and how could Wonwoo say no to one of his longest friends?

"Right." For the first time, Wonwoo turned to face you, "I'm so sorry, y/n. You've been through a lot today. The sun's already up, you should go wash up and rest.", a gentle smile landed on his lips as he spoke to you, the harshness of his demeanor suddenly fading away.

"Wait- but-" everything happened so fast you barely had time to interject.

"It's okay. I think it's better for me to try and explain the situation…" Gyu gave your hand a reassuring tap as he motioned for you to head upstairs. You felt a bit helpless - they want to speak alone but the subject of their conversation is YOU, so you should be present, no? After an exchange of looks to both of the men that conveyed something along the lines of "You're talking about me and you have the audacity to leave me out of the conversation?!" with a huff you stomped your way upstairs. Oblivious to the lovesick look on Gyu's face at your frustration and the look of reluctant understanding as Wonwoo observed Gyu observing you.

You honestly couldn't tell if the water was steaming from how hot you had it or if the excess annoyance made your body so hot it could pass as a boiler. Either way, once you finished showering your anger had only slightly subsided.

As you dried your hair the sun was now settling its rays over every inch of the streets. You took a moment to recall what you'd experienced while you were out - the overwhelming darkness of depression, the lowest you've ever been. The heat of the blow dryer burning a hole into one spot on your head snapped you out of your daze, putting it down you couldn't help but wonder why the only things you can remember seem to be your darkest days.

Soon your anger faded into curiosity. Exiting your room you could hear murmurs as the boys continued their conversation. You know you wouldn't be able to sleep if you didn't hear at least a small bit of what the boys were talking about - that's right! Completely justifiable to listen in for just a second to ease you own worries, right?

Creeping ever so slowly down the stairs you made sure to keep close to the wall - the closer to the wall the less of a chance of creaking floorboards. Peaking through the living room entrance you could see just a sliver of Mingyu resting his elbows on the coffee table, despite the limited vision you could tell he looked relieved. You couldn't make out most of what they were saying unless you focused intently on just listening, so you pressed you ear as close as you could to the wall.

"Sorry, it's just hard for me to understand, Mingyu."

"I know. It's a lot."

"She's technically dead…"

"I know."

"What do you plan to do next time something like this happens?"

"Take her back to the mortuary and-"

"Mingyu. I know she's important to you but it's not like she can stay here forever."

"What are you talking about?"

"Listen." Wonwoo took a deep breath in before continuing, "I don't know how to put this exactly… but sometimes- most of the time, things die for a reason."

"Wonwoo, I know you're looking out for me but-"

"No no no, Mingyu. Listen to me, she doesn't belong to this world anymore."

"But she's here, isn't she!? She's here. She's upstairs right now! I know you think that this can all be cleaned up with base reason and logic but it can't, it's beyond life and death, it's a miracle. For now, all I can do is continue living in this ignorance, okay? I don't know what'll happen next time, I don't know. But I will continue to love her until whatever happens happens." Mingyu's rapidly speaking so Wonwoo can't get a word in, you can't help but clutch at your chest as your heart begins to sting.

"You've only known her a couple of days."

"I don't care."

"Mingyu-"

"I don't care!" He sounds breathless, "I know it's crazy. I know that. I'm not stupid. But let me have this, let me have her, even if it's just for a moment. It's so fucking crazy but- Right now I can't think straight. I can't think of a future without her. So I won't even encourage the thought until I have to face it head-on."

Wonwoo stayed silent for a long while. You took another peak into the living room and saw the two men just staring at each other. Wonwoo looked as calm as the ocean in his contemplation of Gyu's words. You couldn't see Gyu's face from this angle but as he began to catch his breath you could almost hear silent pleas being said with every exhale.

This was all too much. Of course, the danger of all of this was apparent to you but maybe the severity of that danger should've made you more on edge. Maybe you'd gotten too comfortable with Mingyu and with this entire situation. You felt your heartbeat rise, an anxious rhythm. You clutched your chest feeling a sudden panging, like a small needle being pierced through you - bearable but not painless. What would happen the next time you suddenly faint? What if all your memories came back? What were these past few days in the expanse of your entire lives? Maybe you shouldn't have come downstairs.

With all of this swirling inside you, you quietly made your way back to your room. You didn't know why but tears began to fall. Resting on the pillow you thought about your memories and about Mingyu; In this second chance at life, which mattered more?

Finally, Wonwoo stood up. Mingyu quickly scrambled to his feet to meet him. One glance is all he took towards Gyu, he nodded his head, "I still don't understand but you're obviously passionate. I can't force you to do anything at the end of the day but- Just be safe. For your sake and hers. I really hate seeing any of you guys (referring to their friend group) get all twisted up like this."

Mingyu walked Wonwoo out, the weight on his chest easing with every step and every word said after the conversation. A weight lifted but there was still an unease in his stomach - Wonwoo knew but he didn't understand. How could he understand something that came to Mingyu like instinct? How could he know about the ache in Mingyu's chest every time you aren't in his sight? The type of connection, the type of attraction, Mingyu holds for you is something like worship and he understands the unhealthiness of it all but it's not like he can help himself. He's become content with his imperfections and obsessions - as long as you're able to take him as he is then he's happy.

A sigh of relief comes from him once the door closes. He basks in the shadow that it casts - the coldness it provides amongst the heat of all the tension from before. He drags his heavy, tired legs upstairs and to your door. A few gentle knocks to see if you're still up. He presses his ear up against the door and waits for far too long a time before deciding the coast is clear and entering your room. Soft sunlight warms your face but he can still see tear stains as he sits at your bedside. "Pretty girl, why were you crying? Was it a nightmare?", he questions knowing he won't get an answer, bringing his hand to gently trace your cheek. He doesn't say it but just knowing that something caused you pain puts him on edge, he knows he shouldn't pry but how could he rest when you're hurting?

Exhaustion caught up to him as he left your room. Not bothering to wash up or even close his bedroom door, he flopped onto his bed unceremoniously and knocked out within the minutes following.

Sunday came and went. Honestly, the following week went by like a blur.

After all the hectic stuff had passed Mingyu seemed to give you your space. That coupled with you avoiding most interactions with him if you could help it made for, for the first time since you've been awake, an unwelcoming atmosphere in the house.

It's not that you didn't want to see Mingyu, if anything it was quite the opposite. But your heart never settled around him and your thoughts always ate at you like sharks. Is this right? What if I'm not good for him? What if I'm only holding him back or keeping him in harm's way? He doesn't deserve to be hurt.

So you resolved to walking on eggshells, at least for the time being. If he clung to you even more than he already has there's a higher chance that he'll be hurt in the future. That's not what you want for him. You want only good things to happen to Mingyu, he's already done so much for you! He's, quite literally, done nearly everything for you. At your beck and call if you asked him to be. But that's not right - that's not fair to Mingyu and that's not how he should be living. You had your time… It's time for him to have his.

Mingyu on the other hand hated this. He hated seeing you lock yourself away. But he understood that you needed space. He didn't know what had happened when you were passed out but obviously, it left some sort of toll on you. It took everything in him not to shower you with praise and love when you entered a room he was in, his all was put into making you feel comfortable. He was absolutely restless, sleep became an afterthought as you occupied his mind. He wondered if he should say something or do something to show you how much he cared but his pondering only made him seem more distant. Unknowingly he was building walls… just like he had feared he would. But this was for you, right? This was what needed to happen for you to be better, you needed time, at least that's what Gyu had thought.

The days were filled with text messages about leaving for work, food left in the fridge, and idle talk about less-than-trivial things - all of this initiated by Mingyu of course. When he would come home he'd simply wash and make dinner. At the table nothing more than a few sentences were exchanged with the excuse of focusing on whatever was on the TV, as if it really mattered to either of you. A quick glance at each other before saying goodnight or that you were gonna wash up first was all that you could manage before bed.

It felt like torture.

"Hey, y/n…" Mingyu sauntered up to you in the kitchen. It's the first time he's approached you directly in days. You'd been lucky that he'd had work all week so that you could easily avoid him but tomorrow was Saturday, you'd be a fool to think you could get away from him this easily on the weekend.

Mingyu was completely entranced by your visage the moment he stepped foot into the room. The way you leaned back against the counter, your hair still messy from waking up, and in house clothes - Oh god… You look so good right now. His throat began to dry up-

"Mingyu?"

Right, back to reality Kim Mingyu…

"The boys have been talking about getting together, I hope you don't mind but my house is the best for gatherings. You don't have to come down or anything but I just wanted to let you know…" His words came out before he could process them, the only thing on his mind is the way your fingers picked up the strawberries on your plate and brought them to your plush lips- Holy shit Mingyu! Get it together man!

"Okay, I don't mind."

"Huh? Oh!" Once again he's brought back down from the alien spaceship (of love) that he was on, "Alright, they'll come around tomorrow by the way, I'll let them know that they have the green light." He took out his phone and began typing. He licked his lips in concentration and suddenly your brain turned to mush. Have his arms always been that big? A blush adorned your face like a wildfire in the California summer, quick and red hot.

Good god if this is how you two act facing each other after a week of little contact… Maybe you truly are crazy for each other.

You had foolishly assumed that the Kim Mingyu only invited 4-6 friends like last time. So imagine your surprise when you hear the doorbell ring… and keep ringing every. 5. Minutes. For. An. Entire. Hour. Jeez does no one carpool?

You didn't know exactly how many people had come around but to your untrained ear you could guestimate anywhere between 10-20 people, all of whom seem to be men but you aren't completely sure. He did say "the boys" but what does that even mean? Rolling that pearl around in your mind suddenly a loud growling came from below, dang, I'm really hungry. You wondered if you should go down to get something to eat. It was around dinner time but was it worth the risk of running into one of them?

After the talk with Mingyu, you guys avoided each other around the house like the plague. Even dinner was had separately, which was a first for the both of you. At first, your distance all week was out of hesitation and fear but now the distance was purely made out of embarrassment and awkward blushing, like over the course of a minute conversation you both had gone back to square one. Oh, the effects of mutual crushes and pining… sigh.

The impact of the previous week and all the contemplation wasn't lost on either of you but the weight of living under the same roof and not so much as smiling at each other was making you both stir crazy. Like your hearts, minds, and souls begged to be nearer and nearer and the time apart only made them grow "fonder" or perhaps more ravenous…

You cursed yourself for not grabbing at least a snack from the kitchen earlier. You had all the time in the world but… God that Kim Mingyu! It was like he was standing guard in that section of the house all damn day! The two most traveled places in a home are the kitchen and the living room. And both of them were occupied by the one other person in the house, the man you couldn't face right now. You knew that he was just preparing for tonight but you couldn't help but feel a bit slighted by his actions. As if he were taunting you by staying there all day.

The way he'd smiled devilishly at breakfast and lunch but not so much as a word being said between you when you got your food and brought it back up to your room. It felt like he was saying, "Come join me y/n… Or are you too scared?", you shook the image from your head. Then there was the TV, the TV that you know is set at a constant 38 volume, the perfect volume to be heard from the kitchen but not so loud that it would reach upstairs. But suddenly you can hear the muffled sounds of what you swear are rom-coms playing from down there. And finally, the haunting sound of him singing along to cheesy songs about romance made your heart churn like it was your stomach. What was he hoping to gain?

The answer, well… your attention of course. While you spent your day brooding in your room, thinking of all the ways Kim Mingyu was trying to tear you down, Mingyu was busy setting the mood. He made foods that you expressed a liking for since your time with him, plated them extra pretty, and even gave you the sweetest smile while handing it to you. So why in the world was he met with your face full of disgust?! He mulled over it the whole time he marinated the meats for the party, while he filled the coolers with ice, even while he prepared the side dishes from Seungkwan's mom. He couldn't believe it, every time you looked at him like that he could've sworn he felt his little cartoon heart break just a teensy bit. He put on romantic movies to quell his emotions… but that only made him even sadder. All these happy couples in love hmph while my girl isn't even my girl yet and ON TOP OF THAT SHE'S MAD AT ME! If anyone saw him in this state they'd have thought someone took away his PlayStation or something. Oh, and the singing… Of course, the only rational thing to do in a situation of complete and utter heartbreak at the hands of your unrequited crush is to belt out lovelorn songs like your life depends on it! How could he do anything else?

And he continued with that up until the doorbell rang. Then everything went silent for a time, you listened diligently to get a lay of the land. There was some movement, then chattering, and then the noise and voices just continued to multiply until you were certain an entire class was invited into your home now. It didn't help that you had a nice view of the backyard from your room and opening the window invited the smell of BBQ into your space. Your mouth salivated at the thought of stuffing yourself full of whatever they were having down there. You could also hear them, the conversation was as lively as you'd expect and all of them seemed like such good friends. At some points, you even heard mention of yourself but Mingyu would shut down any attempts to pry into you - it's funny, although you couldn't see his face, his tone definitely conveyed something a kin to a guard dog protecting its owner. The thought made you smile as you propped your elbows on the windowsill.

That's it! You've finally had enough! You can smell the food, you can hear cans popping open, and the worst part, you can hear everyone's mmm's and ahh's at Mingyu's cooking! It's as if he's a five-star chef getting compliments at his restaurant. Of course, you know Mingyu can cook and he can do that damn well, but did they have to say all this while you're sitting up here on an empty stomach looming over them like a starved hound? No, you're fed up! And you're going to do something about it!

You hastily put on a random sweatshirt that Mingyu had bought for you on your shopping trip and tip-toed your way to the stairs. Most of the party was outside shooting the shit right now so you knew you were able to get away with being slightly less cautious.

Like before you kept close to the walls, no creaks of the floor to be heard beneath your feet. Getting to the kitchen entrance you pop your head out just enough to scan the area. "Haha don't worry Hyung! I'll get it!", you quickly retreat as someone walks in. It's a young man, with fluffy hair, and a boyish smile - ah! That voice! You've heard before in the background of some of Mingyu's calls, this must be Chan, the Crematory tech.

Your heart's pounding after almost getting caught. Minutes pass as you make sure that absolutely zero people are walking into the kitchen while you get something to eat. You make your way out of the safety of the shadow and into the warm ambient light. All of them are outside and you can't help but notice how comfortable Mingyu is. All that tension he's been holding erased completely by their presence.

You were a little envious of how many close friends he had at his age, but the thought of envy was quickly replaced with thanks, a part of you feeling as though you should thank these men for sticking by Gyu's side. You took your time daydreaming about Mingyu, so much time that you didn't notice as a shadow growing over your body from behind.

"Excuse me." You're shaken to your core by an unfamiliar voice, frozen in place out of fear.

Unmoving from your spot, firm but gentle hands rest on your shoulders and give you a nudge to the side. You move willingly but aren't able to turn and face what feels like impending doom. Doom however walks ahead of you and when you do eventually come face to face with doom it's actually a lot nicer than you'd expected.

Doom doesn't look like a devil tricking you into the arms of Kim Mingyu. No, not at all! Doom looks like a very nice man, shorter than Mingyu but built like a brick house (lovingly), with a smile that could kill and dimples to boot! His hair covered his eyes a bit but the kindness shone through. He gave a gentle pat to your shoulders as he let go. "Ha ha, sorry. I'm Seungcheol, one of Mingyu's friends. You must be y/n!", he felt warm, a similar aura to Mingyu but more distant, less comfortable.

You grew a shy smile as you met his eyes, his unending charm shining through and making you blush.

"Woah y/n! Nice of you to join the party!", you hear the condescending tone of Boo Seungkwan's voice as you become aware of all of the eyes on the two of you right now. Every single body turned in confusion and curiosity at your presence.

All of this terrified you to your core but perhaps the scariest thing was the seething heat of rage you felt emanating off of Mingyu's gaze. Boring holes into your body with his eyes alone. Oh no oh no oh no oh no. He's jealous.

A/N: I'm back~ And with more perfection! This was actually the cutest little thing to write. And guess what? I actually took my time to write this! A whole 3 days for 4k words. (Usually, I rush lol) But let me know what y'all think... I would love to hear some opinions people!!! Seriously though, I missed y'all~ Did you miss me?

Please Reblog and Comment (They act as power-ups for me)

Taglist (OPEN): @jjin-kun @mydolle-dd @sojuxxi @zimzalaminho @hollxe1

Homecoming - Kim Mingyu

Synopsis: The expectations vs. reality of bringing your significant other to your hometown

Pairing: Kim Mingyu x fem. reader

Warnings: mentions of death (of family member), comforting fluff because Mingyu is THE golden retriever boyfriend.

Word Count: 1.2k

Your eyes looked out of the plane window, your smile growing as you recognized some of the landmarks of your hometown as you flew overhead. It is rare nowadays that you get a chance to come home. Most of the time, it is your parents coming to visit you.

Mingyu liked seeing this side of you. He liked seeing you relaxed rather than stressing over deadlines or trying to meet social obligations. While Mingyu loved seeing you get dressed up for date nights, he loved seeing you dressed in sweats with your hair pulled back.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have begun our descent. Please make sure tray tables and your seats are upright, and that your seatbelts are fastened. We will be arriving in about 20 minutes."

Gently, Mingyu leaned over to kiss your cheek. You jumped slightly, getting lost in your own thoughts.

You turned your head from the window to look at your boyfriend. Your cheeks were a light red color, a bit embarrassed for jumping. All Mingyu did was offer a light smile that made your stomach erupt into butterflies, forgetting all about your slight embarrassment.

What you adored about Mingyu was that he was never the type to make you embarrassed. He was kind and considerate, easily qualifying as the world's best boyfriend.

"Are you okay, angel?" He whispered.

You squeezed his hand gently, smiling lightly back. You were okay with Mingyu by your side.

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The air around you felt still. There was light movement around the house, but you felt like you were in your own universe. Your parents graciously offered to let you and Mingyu stay in their home for your short visit.

While Mingyu was getting ready in your childhood bedroom, you were in your bathroom. Your makeup bag had spilled its containments on the yellow tile counter. Your curling iron was cooling down on the other side, unplugged before you would tuck it away back in the cabinet underneath the sink. Part of you knew you had to get ready, but the other part of you couldn't bring yourself to finish.

Not when you knew what was waiting for you.

Sensing movement behind you, you looked up. Mingyu was slowly approaching you, that loving smile of his that made you weak in the knees flashed in your direction. it didn't have the same effect today. No, after seeing that smile, you just wanted to curl back into bed. He knew this was going to be a tough few days for you, and he was more than ready to be there for whatever you needed.

"You look gorgeous, doll," he whispered. The room was so silent that it felt like he was up close to you even though he just stepped into the bathroom. "Do you need help?"

You hadn't even realized your dress was half-zipped. You were just going through the motions at this point. Once he was close enough to you, he rested one hand on your hip. His thumb caressed against your clothed side, pulling a gentle smile on your lips. He always knew the little ways to make you feel better. Even if it was just for a second.

"Please?"

Mingyu didn't need to be asked twice. Keeping his hand on your hip, his free hand gently grasped onto the black zipper. His thumb and index finger moved the zipper along the back of the dress until it reached the top. He went slowly, not wanting you to feel rushed but also making sure no hair of yours was at risk of getting caught.

Once you were completely zipped up, he kissed your cheek lingeringly. "Absolutely gorgeous today, darlin'," he whispered into your skin. His arms wrapped around you fully, allowing you to lean back into him. Slowly, you released a shaky breath you didn't know you were holding.

"You know, you don't have to put on a brave face today, angel. It's okay to be sad. That's why I'm here. I'm your shoulder to lean on, a safe space for you to cry. I've even got two mini packet of tissues ready to go for you."

Your hands ran up and down his arms slowly, not wanting to leave the room to encounter what was waiting for you on the other side. You weren't sure how you got blessed to have Mingyu you, but you weren't taking any second spent with him for granted.

This was not how you envisioned bringing your long-term boyfriend home for the first time would go. You weren't expecting to introduce him to everyone at your paternal grandmother's funeral. You wanted him to come with you this summer when you were going to be at your happiest with the warm air and summer festivities. Not in the bitterness of winter at a funeral.

Yet, you were glad he was here. He kept you together when you felt like falling apart, even when you weren't aware of how you were about to fall over the edge. He was always there to catch you.

"I know," you responded, a voice at a soft whisper. "I just don't know how to feel. I mean, none of this feels real. It wasn't supposed to go this way."

Mingyu slowly nodded. His head gently rested against yours after pressing a soft kiss into the crown of your head. "It's okay to feel however you feel. Grief is a tricky thing, but you're not alone. If you need a laugh, I can do that. I can also be there to wipe away your tears. If you want to go scream, we can drive around and blast music. But you are not alone."

You were truly the luckiest person alive. Looking at your reflection, you just took a moment to admire the man in front of you. At a moment's notice, he cleared his entire schedule so he could accompany him to the other side of the world. You tried insisting he stayed in Seoul, but it was a topic not up for negotiation. He knew you needed him.

"Thank you."

Slowly, you turned your head so you could tilt it up to look at him. He opened his mouth to speak but you just shook your head. You leaned in to press your lips fully against his.

It was a brief kiss, but one you hoped conveyed everything you felt and believed in. Mingyu reminded you of your self-worth, but also how important you needed to take care of you. And he would happily take care of you if you let him. And it was vice versa. Whenever Mingyu was in trouble, you hoped he knew that he could always turn towards you.

He was the one to break the kiss before resting it against your forehead. Your eyes fluttered at the feeling as if you just enjoyed the feeling of his body heat against you, internalizing the love you unconditionally showed you.

"If you want to stay here all day, we can. Wherever you go, I follow, sweet girl," he promised.

You knew deep down the next few hours, days, and even weeks were going to be hard. Part of you was afraid to experience the rollercoaster that is grief. Yet, you were comforted in the fact that Mingyu would always offer his hand to hold so you were never truly alone.

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hi hi just a quick lil blurb I've been working on. After losing my father's mother last week, I am still trying to navigate how to grieve and what that looks like. I'm taking it day by day, but always find comfort in Seventeen

Hope you are taking car of yourselves, especially if you are going through a tough time. 🩷

In The Woods Somewhere - Kim Mingyu

Synopsis: Going into the woods was not your idea of a vacation. However, Mingyu was determined to change your mind.

Pairing: Kim Mingyu x fem. reader

WARNING: MINORS DNI

Genre: established relationship, soft smut

Contains: nudity, grinding, begging, exhibitionism (even if you can call it that), unprotected sex (wrap it up, my friends!), pet names (use of daddy), creampie

Word Count: 3.5k

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"Do I need to make a right or left turn?" Mingyu muttered.

His eyes glanced back and forth between the road in front of him and the GPS. You couldn't help but giggle at how adorable looked, even if he looked like a mad man behind the wheel. His eyebrows were scrunched together, his tongue slightly poking out from his lips.

"Honey, would you leave that to me?" "Yes, passenger princess," he said teasingly.

Yet, he still reached over to pull your hand gently to his lips where he placed a lingering kiss on the back of your hand. Even when he was in a playful mood, he never wanted you to doubt it came from a place of endearment.

You squeezed his hand affectionately as your eyes analyzed the GPS mounted on the dashboard.

"Okay, you're going to make a left then follow the dirt road to the cabin." "Aye, aye captain!"

You couldn't help but giggle at his antics. One of the things you adored about Mingyu was his goofy personality. It made life fun, even when you felt like the world around you was crashing down.

That is why Mingyu instantly recommended a getaway, just for the two of you. He, of course, felt his own stressors at work. With deadlines and projects popping up, the time you have as a couple was very limited. If anything, the most you see each other is when you are going to bed. But even then, there is a chance one of you might be asleep before the other gets home.

Some of Mingyu's fondest childhood memories came from the outdoors. His father created fond memories of going out fishing, which Mingyu aspired to do with his future children. He also loved the moments his friends decided to rent out a cabin and spend a week together. That experience brought all of them closer.

And that was something he wanted to experience with you.

While you loved the effort Mingyu put into the relationship and looked out for your well-being, you were hesitant. Not because this was technically your first trip as a couple. You were excited for that part!

Unlike Mingyu, you never understood the allure of the woods. You were always drawn to city life where things were fast-paced. Being outdoors slowed down reality in ways you weren't sure how to cope with. You also weren't the biggest fans of all the bugs.

Mingyu was still determined to make this the best trip possible.

The two of you had been driving from the city nearly all afternoon. The sun has completely dipped behind the mountain but still painted the sky in dark hues of blue and purple. You could somewhat make out the landscape around you, but it made you more eager to be in the arms of your loving boyfriend as soon as possible.

"I think this is it!" Mingyu proudly announced.

You looked ahead to see the cabin Mingyu rented out for the next several days. It was made out of cherry-colored wood with the railing of the porch painted green. There was a set of stairs that led down to the dock which connected to the river. Mingyu would definitely be intrigued to go down in the morning.

"It looks so cozy. What a great pick, baby."

He smiled wider at your satisfaction. Everything Mingyu did was to satisfy you. You were his everything.

"Come on, we better get inside before it's completely dark. Who knows what lurks out there."

Your eyes widened before you began to scramble out of his car. Mingyu couldn't help but chuckle, but he also felt a bit guilty. This trip was about making memories with you. He didn't want to do anything to risk you not enjoying your time.

Once out of the car, the two of you headed towards the trunk of his vehicle. You were about to retrieve your purple duffle bag, but Mingyu beat you two it before you could even reach forward.

There was rustling beside you which caused you to jump. Mingyu smirked a bit when you moved closer to him. Any sign that you trusted him and needed him boosted his ego. He made sure to put the strap of his own duffle bag over his head so it hung at his side. His left hand held the strap of yours, so his free hand was free for you.

Instead, you wrapped both of your arms around his arm. He leaned down to plant a lingering kiss on your forehead before escorting you inside the cabin.

Luckily, the owner of the cabin texted Mingyu all the directions on how to enter. And by some miracle, he didn't break the smart keypad.

Your shoes found their temporary home by the front of the door. Slowly, you detached yourself from Mingyu to explore the cabin. The front of the cabin was like its own sunroom with a view of the river. You knew you'd appreciate it a bit more in the morning when you can see it clearly with your cup of coffee.

Mingyu had already migrated to setting your belongings in the bedroom. You began to follow, but also at a more leisurely pace. Your eyes bounced around the living room. There was a flat-screen TV mounted on the wall with a couch and two recliners. Eve though you knew you and Mingyu would be cuddling either way and not need as many seating options.

The kitchen was an open floor concept with a generous amount of counter space and a kitchen island. You two had stopped for food on the way to the cabin, so you weren't particularly hungry. A trip to the grocery store was in order which excited.

One of your favorite things to do with Mingyu was to cook. Or mainly to watch him cook. It was one of the qualities of Mingyu you adored. You loved watching his tall stature over the stove. He was really in his element whenever he was in the kitchen. You couldn't help but also stare at the way his arms would flex when doing the simplest of techniques.

You were about to join your boyfriend in the bedroom when a pair of hands stopped you in your tracks. If it was in any other scenario, you might've jumped. However, you could always recognize the loving touch of your beloved.

"How did you know I was about to come find you?"

Your head tilted back so you could look up at Mingyu. He smiled wide when he was able to look into your eyes. Often, Mingyu compared your eyes to two lost gems. He had never seen a color quite like yours which made him want to stare into your eyes all day.

"Lucky guess, pretty girl," he chuckled. His lips pressed against your temple which caused you to flutter your eyes shut at the feeling. It was such a simple, sweet gesture but one that nevertheless got your heart racing. You leaned back into Mingyu's chest where he took the opportunity to wrap his arms fully around you.

"You know, there is one thing I forgot to mention." "Uh oh," you began. "Don't tell me you forgot something or broke something already. We haven't even been here for 5 minutes!"

He wanted to look at you as if he had been hurt. However, he knew his track record of causing chaos whenever he simply looked at something. And there is no way he could be mad at his girl knowing him so well.

"Surprisingly not yet. But there is a hot tub here, wanna go break that in?"

Kim Mingyu is the only person who could convince you to get in a bikini at the beginning of spring. When it was still chilly and where layering your clothing was recommended.

Loving Mingyu was something you thought only existed in films. It was refreshing to be embraced by someone who loves you unconditionally. Even on the busiest days, he came home to be the man you needed. You two balanced each other by both being silly and being there to support one another during the trials of life.

It made you want to leap into his arms while also being there to hold him when he needed you. He was your everything.

And, staring at the man before you, you knew you made the right decision in saying yes to his offer. You had slipped into the bathroom to get out of your clothes. Mingyu went out to set up the hot tub, so it was all warm and ready to welcome you.

He had already slipped into the hot tub. His clothes had become a pile on one of the chairs. His arms rested along the back of the hot tub. Underneath the moon, he glistened. The honey tone of his skin made you salivate, wanting to shower him with your attention and affectionate.

He was all yours.

"What are you waiting for, pretty girl?" He teased you. "Seem a little distracted tonight. Let me come help you."

You bit your lip, unable to stifle the giggle caused by his antics. You were standing on the desk with a white fluffy towel wrapped around your clothes. You had another towel for Mingyu, going to rest it by his clothes for later. You took a step closer so you were by the edge where the deck met the hot tub.

Mingyu had pushed himself off of the edge of the hot tub so he could make his way over to you. The water stopped by his waist, not giving away but also leaving little to the imagination as the water was still a bit clear. He smirked with confidence, knowing you were eyeing him.

His hand extended out to you, so he could help you in the hot tub.

Slowly, you untucked your towel and let it drop onto the wooden deck. You shivered from the chilly air hitting your exposed skin, but also from Mingyu's gaze on you. Your nipples hardened and goosebumps rose on your skin. Mingyu's eyes marveled at you. Underneath the moon, you glowed. He was starstruck. This was always how he looked at you, like it was the first time he got the privilege of seeing you naked. You just kept getting more beautiful every single time. He noticed the pink flush on your cheeks which made his heart race. How could someone be so sexy yet so adorable at the same time.

He helped ease you into the warm water, not wanting you to accidentally slip. He would catch you regardless. You sighed gently as the warm water hit your skin and instantly relaxed your muscles. You were having a hard time remembering when you felt this at peace. There was no impending deadlines, no late night cals with the office. You were just here in the moment with the man you loved the most.

"I love seeing you like this." "Naked?" You laughed. "I mean, yes, I love being the man that you feel comfortable around to be this vulnerable. But I love seeing you content."

Smiling up at Mingyu, you wrapped your arms around his torso. He pulled you fully in his arms as he reclaimed his position in the hot tub. It was like he was sitting on his royal throne with you, his queen, accompanying him.

Once straddled his lap, so your arms could fully wrap around his neck. Your fingers drove through the hair at the back of his head, causing Mingyu's eyes to flutter shut. His hands squeezed your hips appreciatively. His biggest weakness was feeling your touch all over his body. It could be as simple as holding his hand in public to intimate moments like this. Any time he felt you presence, he was reassured this was all real and not some cruel dream.

His thumbs circled your hips, causing you to melt into him. The slight shift in your body caused you to rub against his cock. His breathing hitched gently as he looked down at you, biting you lip. You didn't think much of it until you felt his cock pressing up against your boner, making your crave him even a completely different way.

"Really?" You teased. "Can you blame me?" He rolled his eyes.

You could feel his hands leaving your hips towards your ass. You smiled at the feeling, loving whenever his hands ran all over your body. His hands fully cupped your ass, giving it a light squeeze.

"I am simply just a man with everyone's dream girl. Who is also naked. It's really human nature, baby." "Seems like we should do something about that. Wouldn't want you to perish in agony."

He chuckled lightly before his lips began to fall all over his face. His lips first pressed against your forehead lingeringly. With his hands on your ass, he gently rocked your back and forth against him. You could feel the side of his cock brushing against your pussy lips, occasionally the tip of his cock hitting your clit. That would send jolts of pleasure and excitement running through your part.

Even though the actions were starting to become more sexual, his kisses remained innocent. His lips moved from your forehead to the side of your nose, then your cheeks. He couldn't fight off the smile that curled on his lips whenever he felt your cheeks rise from your own smile. His lips then moved to peck yours before trailing down your neck. That was when your own fingers gripped his hair, causing him to let a moan slip.

He pressed gently kisses against your neck until he felt your breathing hitch. Jackpot. That was when he began his full attack on your neck. He sucked a lovely bruise into the side of your neck. His teeth grazing against the spot which made your back arch and chest further press into his. God, he loved the feeling of your body against his.

It's been far too long since the two of you have been intimate like this.

He wanted to take his time with you, to cherish you. He wanted to make up for the weeks of late nights, missed moments shared together, and simple kisses before bed or work. Mingyu wouldn't necessarily say he was needy, but there was no doubt he needed you.

"Baby," you whispered out.

It was as if you were afraid if you spoke too loud, the moment would be lost. It was really just the two of you that seemed to exist.

There were other cabins around, but the best part you learning about being in the woods was the space between you and everyone else. You and Mingyu had the opportunity to just get lost together, with one another.

He let out a light hum before grudgingly moving away from your neck. He took a moment to marvel at his work. There certainly would be a hickey there come the morning. And the best part is that you wouldn't try to cover it. Mingyu was always proud whenever he got to show off his adoration to you, whether it be through something physical like a hickey or doing something to make you feel special.

"Yes, my love?" "Just fuck me already."

Mingyu's eyes widened in surprise. You had never been so direct with him in the moment. He knew he sometimes gets too carried away in the foreplay, edging you for what felt like hours. To him, he would edge you for however long as possible if it meant getting you wet and ready for him. He was always afraid of harming you.

"Baby, are you sure? I won't tease this time, I promise. I don't want to hurt you."

Your sweet Mingyu. You smiled at him reassuringly before both of your hands reached forward to take a hold of your face. With him looking into your eyes, you saw all the love he has for you. Your thumbs caressed his cheeks affectionately, maintaining eye contact so he knew you were serious before getting too lost in the moment.

"I am positive that I want you to fuck me into oblivion right here, right now in this hot tub. We've gone weeks without sex," you pouted. "I just want to feel so close to my boyfriend. Is that too much to ask?"

Fuck, he was down bad for you.

"Not at all, darling, but are you sure you're wet enough?" "Mingyu, you are the most attractive guy I've ever seen and I'm lucky to call you mine. I'm always wet around you." "Okay, needy baby."

Without needing much other persuasion, he moved your body so your pussy hovered over his cock. With your assistance though, you aligned his cock with your pussy. You both let out a groan at the relieving feeling of being so close to one another. His hands momentarily left your ass to hold onto your hips. He squeezed them once before helping you ease down onto him.

The water helped ease the stretch of Mingyu. It was a delicious stretch, but nevertheless, one you haven't experienced in a while. Mingyu's cock filled you up in the best way, with a slight curve of his cock fully pressing against your g-spot when he was all the way inside.

"You okay, darling?" "Perfect, Gyu."

He smiled in satisfaction before pressing a kiss to your temple. His sweet girl. All his.

His hips moved downwards before he began to settle into a deep, slow pace. He groaned at the feeling of your wet pussy. It was amazing to him that he had no hard time distinguishing the warm water from your own juices. He just knew you that well. Your walls hugged him, welcoming back home.

Your head tilted back slightly which gave Mingyu access to planting more hickies along your neck. His hips began to snap harder as he wanted to die you everything you've craved the past three weeks. He let his tongue run along the old hickey before settling on the new ones.

Moans were falling out of your lips subconsciously. You just couldn't control yourself nor did you want to. You wanted Mingyu, and quite frankly anyone, to hear how good he makes you feel. Your one hand remained on the back of his head, fingernails grazing along his scalp. Your other hand moved to rest on his bicep. You got wetter at the feeling of his arms flexing.

"Yeah, baby? You feel that good that you turn into my little girl?" "Yes, daddy," you whimpered. "Missed you, missed your cock." "God, I've missed you so fucking much."

His hips picked up the pace, going faster and harder. The tip of his cock kissed your cervix which had you already seeing stars.

He pulled back from your neck to watch you. He loved the way your fingers clung onto him. Your cheeks were almost permanently flushed with your eyelashes resting against your cheeks from your eyes fluttered shut. You never looked more beautiful than in his moment.

"Only one for me," he grunted out. "Only one I want and need."

Your heart was swelling from the sweet nothings he spoke to you. Even in the most sexual moments, Mingyu never wanted you to forget his love for you.

His own fingernails were beginning to dig into your skin, as your body trembled. You were lost in a trance from his thrusts were all you could do was moan out his name and other incoherent words. You were so fucked out, so far gone. All thanks to Mingyu.

He let out a sharp breath when he felt your pussy squeeze his cock. Your walls began to pulsate around him which caused him to throb more.

"Is my sweet girl close? Hmm? Do you need to cum?" "Please," you gasped out as one particular thrust felt like he slammed into your cervix.

I guess you were going to be the first thing Mingyu breaks on this trip. Not that you were complaining.

"Cum for me. Cum like the good girl I know you are."

Not needing to be told twice, you felt like you were exploding with euphoria. You came fast and hard, almost embarrassingly. It's just been so long without getting to be this vulnerable, this intimate with your boyfriend. One of you was just bound to break first. Your back arched and toes curled, body pressing all the way into Mingyu's to the point you two could just become one.

He let out a loud groan as he came along with you. Hot spurts of his cum filled your walls, throbbing to make sure every last drop filled you. You sighed in content at the feeling before your hold on him went limp and you buried your face into his neck. The two of you didn't dare move as you too much enjoyed the closeness of him at the moment. And Mingyu liked the idea of you not wasting a singular drop.

His fingers moved from your hips to run up and down your back comfortingly. Aftercare was so important to Mingyu, maybe even more important than sex itself.

"See? The woods aren't so bad, are they?"

hi wrote a smutty piece about fucking Mingyu in a hot tub pls read it 👉🏻👈🏻🥹

In The Woods Somewhere - Kim Mingyu

Synopsis: Going into the woods was not your idea of a vacation. However, Mingyu was determined to change your mind.

Pairing: Kim Mingyu x fem. reader

WARNING: MINORS DNI

Genre: established relationship, soft smut

Contains: nudity, grinding, begging, exhibitionism (even if you can call it that), unprotected sex (wrap it up, my friends!), pet names (use of daddy), creampie

Word Count: 3.5k

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"Do I need to make a right or left turn?" Mingyu muttered.

His eyes glanced back and forth between the road in front of him and the GPS. You couldn't help but giggle at how adorable looked, even if he looked like a mad man behind the wheel. His eyebrows were scrunched together, his tongue slightly poking out from his lips.

"Honey, would you leave that to me?" "Yes, passenger princess," he said teasingly.

Yet, he still reached over to pull your hand gently to his lips where he placed a lingering kiss on the back of your hand. Even when he was in a playful mood, he never wanted you to doubt it came from a place of endearment.

You squeezed his hand affectionately as your eyes analyzed the GPS mounted on the dashboard.

"Okay, you're going to make a left then follow the dirt road to the cabin." "Aye, aye captain!"

You couldn't help but giggle at his antics. One of the things you adored about Mingyu was his goofy personality. It made life fun, even when you felt like the world around you was crashing down.

That is why Mingyu instantly recommended a getaway, just for the two of you. He, of course, felt his own stressors at work. With deadlines and projects popping up, the time you have as a couple was very limited. If anything, the most you see each other is when you are going to bed. But even then, there is a chance one of you might be asleep before the other gets home.

Some of Mingyu's fondest childhood memories came from the outdoors. His father created fond memories of going out fishing, which Mingyu aspired to do with his future children. He also loved the moments his friends decided to rent out a cabin and spend a week together. That experience brought all of them closer.

And that was something he wanted to experience with you.

While you loved the effort Mingyu put into the relationship and looked out for your well-being, you were hesitant. Not because this was technically your first trip as a couple. You were excited for that part!

Unlike Mingyu, you never understood the allure of the woods. You were always drawn to city life where things were fast-paced. Being outdoors slowed down reality in ways you weren't sure how to cope with. You also weren't the biggest fans of all the bugs.

Mingyu was still determined to make this the best trip possible.

The two of you had been driving from the city nearly all afternoon. The sun has completely dipped behind the mountain but still painted the sky in dark hues of blue and purple. You could somewhat make out the landscape around you, but it made you more eager to be in the arms of your loving boyfriend as soon as possible.

"I think this is it!" Mingyu proudly announced.

You looked ahead to see the cabin Mingyu rented out for the next several days. It was made out of cherry-colored wood with the railing of the porch painted green. There was a set of stairs that led down to the dock which connected to the river. Mingyu would definitely be intrigued to go down in the morning.

"It looks so cozy. What a great pick, baby."

He smiled wider at your satisfaction. Everything Mingyu did was to satisfy you. You were his everything.

"Come on, we better get inside before it's completely dark. Who knows what lurks out there."

Your eyes widened before you began to scramble out of his car. Mingyu couldn't help but chuckle, but he also felt a bit guilty. This trip was about making memories with you. He didn't want to do anything to risk you not enjoying your time.

Once out of the car, the two of you headed towards the trunk of his vehicle. You were about to retrieve your purple duffle bag, but Mingyu beat you two it before you could even reach forward.

There was rustling beside you which caused you to jump. Mingyu smirked a bit when you moved closer to him. Any sign that you trusted him and needed him boosted his ego. He made sure to put the strap of his own duffle bag over his head so it hung at his side. His left hand held the strap of yours, so his free hand was free for you.

Instead, you wrapped both of your arms around his arm. He leaned down to plant a lingering kiss on your forehead before escorting you inside the cabin.

Luckily, the owner of the cabin texted Mingyu all the directions on how to enter. And by some miracle, he didn't break the smart keypad.

Your shoes found their temporary home by the front of the door. Slowly, you detached yourself from Mingyu to explore the cabin. The front of the cabin was like its own sunroom with a view of the river. You knew you'd appreciate it a bit more in the morning when you can see it clearly with your cup of coffee.

Mingyu had already migrated to setting your belongings in the bedroom. You began to follow, but also at a more leisurely pace. Your eyes bounced around the living room. There was a flat-screen TV mounted on the wall with a couch and two recliners. Eve though you knew you and Mingyu would be cuddling either way and not need as many seating options.

The kitchen was an open floor concept with a generous amount of counter space and a kitchen island. You two had stopped for food on the way to the cabin, so you weren't particularly hungry. A trip to the grocery store was in order which excited.

One of your favorite things to do with Mingyu was to cook. Or mainly to watch him cook. It was one of the qualities of Mingyu you adored. You loved watching his tall stature over the stove. He was really in his element whenever he was in the kitchen. You couldn't help but also stare at the way his arms would flex when doing the simplest of techniques.

You were about to join your boyfriend in the bedroom when a pair of hands stopped you in your tracks. If it was in any other scenario, you might've jumped. However, you could always recognize the loving touch of your beloved.

"How did you know I was about to come find you?"

Your head tilted back so you could look up at Mingyu. He smiled wide when he was able to look into your eyes. Often, Mingyu compared your eyes to two lost gems. He had never seen a color quite like yours which made him want to stare into your eyes all day.

"Lucky guess, pretty girl," he chuckled. His lips pressed against your temple which caused you to flutter your eyes shut at the feeling. It was such a simple, sweet gesture but one that nevertheless got your heart racing. You leaned back into Mingyu's chest where he took the opportunity to wrap his arms fully around you.

"You know, there is one thing I forgot to mention." "Uh oh," you began. "Don't tell me you forgot something or broke something already. We haven't even been here for 5 minutes!"

He wanted to look at you as if he had been hurt. However, he knew his track record of causing chaos whenever he simply looked at something. And there is no way he could be mad at his girl knowing him so well.

"Surprisingly not yet. But there is a hot tub here, wanna go break that in?"

Kim Mingyu is the only person who could convince you to get in a bikini at the beginning of spring. When it was still chilly and where layering your clothing was recommended.

Loving Mingyu was something you thought only existed in films. It was refreshing to be embraced by someone who loves you unconditionally. Even on the busiest days, he came home to be the man you needed. You two balanced each other by both being silly and being there to support one another during the trials of life.

It made you want to leap into his arms while also being there to hold him when he needed you. He was your everything.

And, staring at the man before you, you knew you made the right decision in saying yes to his offer. You had slipped into the bathroom to get out of your clothes. Mingyu went out to set up the hot tub, so it was all warm and ready to welcome you.

He had already slipped into the hot tub. His clothes had become a pile on one of the chairs. His arms rested along the back of the hot tub. Underneath the moon, he glistened. The honey tone of his skin made you salivate, wanting to shower him with your attention and affectionate.

He was all yours.

"What are you waiting for, pretty girl?" He teased you. "Seem a little distracted tonight. Let me come help you."

You bit your lip, unable to stifle the giggle caused by his antics. You were standing on the desk with a white fluffy towel wrapped around your clothes. You had another towel for Mingyu, going to rest it by his clothes for later. You took a step closer so you were by the edge where the deck met the hot tub.

Mingyu had pushed himself off of the edge of the hot tub so he could make his way over to you. The water stopped by his waist, not giving away but also leaving little to the imagination as the water was still a bit clear. He smirked with confidence, knowing you were eyeing him.

His hand extended out to you, so he could help you in the hot tub.

Slowly, you untucked your towel and let it drop onto the wooden deck. You shivered from the chilly air hitting your exposed skin, but also from Mingyu's gaze on you. Your nipples hardened and goosebumps rose on your skin. Mingyu's eyes marveled at you. Underneath the moon, you glowed. He was starstruck. This was always how he looked at you, like it was the first time he got the privilege of seeing you naked. You just kept getting more beautiful every single time. He noticed the pink flush on your cheeks which made his heart race. How could someone be so sexy yet so adorable at the same time.

He helped ease you into the warm water, not wanting you to accidentally slip. He would catch you regardless. You sighed gently as the warm water hit your skin and instantly relaxed your muscles. You were having a hard time remembering when you felt this at peace. There was no impending deadlines, no late night cals with the office. You were just here in the moment with the man you loved the most.

"I love seeing you like this." "Naked?" You laughed. "I mean, yes, I love being the man that you feel comfortable around to be this vulnerable. But I love seeing you content."

Smiling up at Mingyu, you wrapped your arms around his torso. He pulled you fully in his arms as he reclaimed his position in the hot tub. It was like he was sitting on his royal throne with you, his queen, accompanying him.

Once straddled his lap, so your arms could fully wrap around his neck. Your fingers drove through the hair at the back of his head, causing Mingyu's eyes to flutter shut. His hands squeezed your hips appreciatively. His biggest weakness was feeling your touch all over his body. It could be as simple as holding his hand in public to intimate moments like this. Any time he felt you presence, he was reassured this was all real and not some cruel dream.

His thumbs circled your hips, causing you to melt into him. The slight shift in your body caused you to rub against his cock. His breathing hitched gently as he looked down at you, biting you lip. You didn't think much of it until you felt his cock pressing up against your boner, making your crave him even a completely different way.

"Really?" You teased. "Can you blame me?" He rolled his eyes.

You could feel his hands leaving your hips towards your ass. You smiled at the feeling, loving whenever his hands ran all over your body. His hands fully cupped your ass, giving it a light squeeze.

"I am simply just a man with everyone's dream girl. Who is also naked. It's really human nature, baby." "Seems like we should do something about that. Wouldn't want you to perish in agony."

He chuckled lightly before his lips began to fall all over his face. His lips first pressed against your forehead lingeringly. With his hands on your ass, he gently rocked your back and forth against him. You could feel the side of his cock brushing against your pussy lips, occasionally the tip of his cock hitting your clit. That would send jolts of pleasure and excitement running through your part.

Even though the actions were starting to become more sexual, his kisses remained innocent. His lips moved from your forehead to the side of your nose, then your cheeks. He couldn't fight off the smile that curled on his lips whenever he felt your cheeks rise from your own smile. His lips then moved to peck yours before trailing down your neck. That was when your own fingers gripped his hair, causing him to let a moan slip.

He pressed gently kisses against your neck until he felt your breathing hitch. Jackpot. That was when he began his full attack on your neck. He sucked a lovely bruise into the side of your neck. His teeth grazing against the spot which made your back arch and chest further press into his. God, he loved the feeling of your body against his.

It's been far too long since the two of you have been intimate like this.

He wanted to take his time with you, to cherish you. He wanted to make up for the weeks of late nights, missed moments shared together, and simple kisses before bed or work. Mingyu wouldn't necessarily say he was needy, but there was no doubt he needed you.

"Baby," you whispered out.

It was as if you were afraid if you spoke too loud, the moment would be lost. It was really just the two of you that seemed to exist.

There were other cabins around, but the best part you learning about being in the woods was the space between you and everyone else. You and Mingyu had the opportunity to just get lost together, with one another.

He let out a light hum before grudgingly moving away from your neck. He took a moment to marvel at his work. There certainly would be a hickey there come the morning. And the best part is that you wouldn't try to cover it. Mingyu was always proud whenever he got to show off his adoration to you, whether it be through something physical like a hickey or doing something to make you feel special.

"Yes, my love?" "Just fuck me already."

Mingyu's eyes widened in surprise. You had never been so direct with him in the moment. He knew he sometimes gets too carried away in the foreplay, edging you for what felt like hours. To him, he would edge you for however long as possible if it meant getting you wet and ready for him. He was always afraid of harming you.

"Baby, are you sure? I won't tease this time, I promise. I don't want to hurt you."

Your sweet Mingyu. You smiled at him reassuringly before both of your hands reached forward to take a hold of your face. With him looking into your eyes, you saw all the love he has for you. Your thumbs caressed his cheeks affectionately, maintaining eye contact so he knew you were serious before getting too lost in the moment.

"I am positive that I want you to fuck me into oblivion right here, right now in this hot tub. We've gone weeks without sex," you pouted. "I just want to feel so close to my boyfriend. Is that too much to ask?"

Fuck, he was down bad for you.

"Not at all, darling, but are you sure you're wet enough?" "Mingyu, you are the most attractive guy I've ever seen and I'm lucky to call you mine. I'm always wet around you." "Okay, needy baby."

Without needing much other persuasion, he moved your body so your pussy hovered over his cock. With your assistance though, you aligned his cock with your pussy. You both let out a groan at the relieving feeling of being so close to one another. His hands momentarily left your ass to hold onto your hips. He squeezed them once before helping you ease down onto him.

The water helped ease the stretch of Mingyu. It was a delicious stretch, but nevertheless, one you haven't experienced in a while. Mingyu's cock filled you up in the best way, with a slight curve of his cock fully pressing against your g-spot when he was all the way inside.

"You okay, darling?" "Perfect, Gyu."

He smiled in satisfaction before pressing a kiss to your temple. His sweet girl. All his.

His hips moved downwards before he began to settle into a deep, slow pace. He groaned at the feeling of your wet pussy. It was amazing to him that he had no hard time distinguishing the warm water from your own juices. He just knew you that well. Your walls hugged him, welcoming back home.

Your head tilted back slightly which gave Mingyu access to planting more hickies along your neck. His hips began to snap harder as he wanted to die you everything you've craved the past three weeks. He let his tongue run along the old hickey before settling on the new ones.

Moans were falling out of your lips subconsciously. You just couldn't control yourself nor did you want to. You wanted Mingyu, and quite frankly anyone, to hear how good he makes you feel. Your one hand remained on the back of his head, fingernails grazing along his scalp. Your other hand moved to rest on his bicep. You got wetter at the feeling of his arms flexing.

"Yeah, baby? You feel that good that you turn into my little girl?" "Yes, daddy," you whimpered. "Missed you, missed your cock." "God, I've missed you so fucking much."

His hips picked up the pace, going faster and harder. The tip of his cock kissed your cervix which had you already seeing stars.

He pulled back from your neck to watch you. He loved the way your fingers clung onto him. Your cheeks were almost permanently flushed with your eyelashes resting against your cheeks from your eyes fluttered shut. You never looked more beautiful than in his moment.

"Only one for me," he grunted out. "Only one I want and need."

Your heart was swelling from the sweet nothings he spoke to you. Even in the most sexual moments, Mingyu never wanted you to forget his love for you.

His own fingernails were beginning to dig into your skin, as your body trembled. You were lost in a trance from his thrusts were all you could do was moan out his name and other incoherent words. You were so fucked out, so far gone. All thanks to Mingyu.

He let out a sharp breath when he felt your pussy squeeze his cock. Your walls began to pulsate around him which caused him to throb more.

"Is my sweet girl close? Hmm? Do you need to cum?" "Please," you gasped out as one particular thrust felt like he slammed into your cervix.

I guess you were going to be the first thing Mingyu breaks on this trip. Not that you were complaining.

"Cum for me. Cum like the good girl I know you are."

Not needing to be told twice, you felt like you were exploding with euphoria. You came fast and hard, almost embarrassingly. It's just been so long without getting to be this vulnerable, this intimate with your boyfriend. One of you was just bound to break first. Your back arched and toes curled, body pressing all the way into Mingyu's to the point you two could just become one.

He let out a loud groan as he came along with you. Hot spurts of his cum filled your walls, throbbing to make sure every last drop filled you. You sighed in content at the feeling before your hold on him went limp and you buried your face into his neck. The two of you didn't dare move as you too much enjoyed the closeness of him at the moment. And Mingyu liked the idea of you not wasting a singular drop.

His fingers moved from your hips to run up and down your back comfortingly. Aftercare was so important to Mingyu, maybe even more important than sex itself.

"See? The woods aren't so bad, are they?"

The Hope in the Fault Lines | Part 4

The final part....THIS HAS BEEN SO FUN. It's been a labor of love for sure, so I hope you read it and love it and reblog it and all the good things. I don’t have enough requests to have a tag list or anything so I’m relying on faith and prayers to get this in front of the ppl who liked the previous parts, so PLEASE REBLOG THIS 🥺 I’ll love you forever fr. Here are links to part 1, part 2, and part 3 if you haven't read them already! Warnings: references to child abuse (mentions of a father giving a daughter a black eye and references to a belt being used), reference to a past child custody battle, sexism, forced contact by abusive parents, drinking, grief, ptsd, some angst but just for a little, vanilla sex, oral (f receiving), I tried to leave a lot to the imagination because this was my first time writing any kind of smut, but still minors don't read or interact with it, police investigation. lmk if there's anything else! Word count: 13k (I AM SORRY I GOT CARRIED AWAY.)

Eleven months later 

Time was funny.

Together, you, Sara, and Mingyu had watched the summer fade into a hazy autumn, where the leaves faded into gold and red and orange and then fell, leaving bare branches clawing at the sky with skinny fingers. The winter had been a long one — Christmas was nearly unbearable without Jeri and Jisung to keep you company. But spring prevailed, as it always did, and now you watched as the latest of the April blossoms popped through the surface of the earth. 

It’s been almost a whole year since the accident. At the outset, your grief had been like a massive wall. It was hard to see around it, and pushing against it was useless. Now, the grief was still there, but had transformed into something more akin to a stray dog that followed you around. It was always present, but you could still move with it, and it wasn’t always unwelcome. The pain of loss had been tempered by the stretch of time, the therapy sessions faithfully attended every Tuesday morning, and the love that had grown between you and Sara. 

At a year and a half, she toddled around clumsily still, but could run and jump and talk. She was extremely independent and energetic, and sometimes when she was displeased the look on her face was so reminiscent of Jeri that it made you pause. However, where before that would’ve made you cry, today it fills you with comfort. You also, surprisingly, saw yourself in her — she was adventurous and tenacious, and didn’t like to be told she couldn’t do something. But she was also sweet, cooing over even the beetles in the grass or the spiders in the corner. The force of your love for her was both surprising and strong, because when she’d first come into your life, you had felt uncertain you’d ever get the hang of being a parent. Now, you could hardly imagine life without her. She made each day full of an infinite meaning — everything you did now was for her.

And then, there was Mingyu. The relationship between you was sweet and easy and didn’t demand anything more from you than you could handle. You had learned early on how kind Mingyu was and how easy it was to talk to him, but you had come to know him even better over the time since your illness, and you had become endeared by his pouty expression when you teased him, the clumsiness you suspected was a result of becoming very big very fast and still not knowing his own strength, and the comforting timbre of his voice, as well as so much more. Mingyu made you feel like you never had to do anything by yourself, with a talent for drawing the vulnerability out of you when you were keeping yourself from being helped. And even though he was positive and upbeat most of the time, he never expected that from you. His grace in handling your down days was enough to convince you that in any other circumstance, this man would have been your perfect match, inside and out.

But the circumstances are what they are, and so you can’t let yourself give in to what you want. It has been a long time since Mingyu has held you — since the nightmare, in fact. Which, you remind yourself forcefully, is a good thing. It was professional of you to keep that physical distance. Because, Heaven help you, you were struggling to keep any emotional distance between you. 

When Mingyu had come back to work after he’d stayed the night at your place that one fateful night, a pattern had begun. When you’d come home, Mingyu asked you about your day. You’d give him the low-down: “Emily dropped the pencil sharpener and thought I’d fire her…am I that scary?”, “we got a story with Brie Larsen,” “one of our writers is getting married in a few weeks and invited me”, and so on. Then you’d ask for his updates: “Sara ate a solid banana today,” “Bora and Morrie came over for a play date”, “I lost Sara for fifteen minutes today and found her in the massive drum of flour”. This usually kicked off an hours-long conversation full of teasing, laughter, and the occasional philosophical discussion that only ended when one of you mentioned Mingyu should go home and get some rest. The past eleven months of this behavior had only made you more and more drawn to Mingyu; it was how you learned he learned to cook from helping his mother in the kitchen, and that he also had a little sister whom he loved dearly, and about the friends from college he still saw frequently, all of whom he seemed to only have positive feelings for. You had started to wonder if there was a person he didn’t like. And all of this added up to you being absolutely smitten with him.

But you also keenly felt the guilt of having a crush on your nanny. After all, it felt like such a midlife-crisis move to pull. You tried to comfort yourself in the truth that Mingyu was usually the instigator whenever the both of you rocketed over those carefully drawn lines in the proverbial sand, but you knew it was also partially your responsibility, because you never talked to him about maintaining a more professional distance. The fact was, you didn’t want any more distance at all between you and Mingyu, but you understood how complicated it might be if someone who essentially made sure he could pay his bills confessed romantic feelings for him. Not that you’d ever take advantage of him, but it also felt unfair to put him in a situation where he had to trust you on that.

So you stayed as you were — for eleven months that had proven to put you through every emotion on the spectrum. You laughed at Mingyu, you competed against Mingyu, you wondered about Mingyu, you worried about Mingyu. 

But most of all, you yearned for Mingyu.

You try not to let it show as you watch Sara play with her dolls in the living room, supplemented by the dollhouse Mingyu spent a whole day building for her. “Tomorrow’s the big day!” he says. “Are you excited?”

“I am,” you hedge, half-listening as Sara clumsily tucks a doll into its bed and says goodnight. “A little nervous, too.”

“Why are you nervous?” he asks. “You’ve practiced a lot. I almost have your speech memorized by now.”

You laugh. “It’s normal to be nervous, even when you’re prepared.”

He watches you carefully, noting how after a few moments of silence your eyes slip out of focus, miles away. After eleven months, Mingyu has learned that when you get like this, you are reliving a vivid memory inside your mind. The more this happens, the worse your dreams are later. So, after catching Sara before she whacks her head on the coffee table, he puts his hand on your knee so your mind connects to your body again. “Where were you this time?” he asks, releasing a squirming Sara to the floor, his gaze between you and her.

“My sister pep talking me before my valedictorian speech,” you say in a tiny voice.

“I didn’t know you were valedictorian!” Mingyu exclaims. “You were a huge nerd, weren’t you?”

“I still am,” you say, pretending to be scandalized. “Why do you think my magazine won an award for publishing? It certainly wasn’t because academic validation isn’t important to me.”

He laughs. “Your magazine won an award for publishing because it’s awesome. But I appreciate that you’re still trying to achieve academically even though you’re almost three years post-MBA.”

“I know when I’m being made fun of,” you sniff. “And I won’t have this from you, Mr. ‘I Flunked Out of Chemistry But They Still Let Me Play Basketball’ Kim Mingyu.”

Mingyu shoots you a reluctant grin. “I never should’ve told you that, first of all,” he says. “Secondly, despite all that, I think you would’ve liked me in high school.”

“I probably would’ve,” you admit. “You, however, would never have even looked at me in high school,” you say. “I had glasses, braces, the whole nine yards.”

He stretches, laughing. “I was into nerds, actually. Still am, in fact.” He smiles to himself, on cue with your heart turning all the way over in your chest.

You’re in dangerous territory, so you steer away. “Have you been practicing your ponytails?” you say seriously.

“Who do you think I am? Of course I have.”

“And you’re still not gonna show me what her hair looks like until the day of?”

“Of course not. It’s bad luck.”

You scoff. “I’m almost positive nobody thinks that.”

“I’m pretty sure I think that,” he counters.

“And I don’t even get to see her dress?” you ask.

“Not unless I get to see yours.”

You grin — this had been a constant “argument” since you’d come home with the dress bag, and you had denied his request to look at it. “What if I hate her dress?”

Mingyu shakes his head. “It’s impossible. She’s the cutest little girl in the world. So even if the dress sucks, she’s gonna look darling in it.”

“You make a good point,” you admit. “The dress doesn’t suck though, right?”

“You have so little faith in my taste,” Mingyu says, frowning. Then he lights up again and abruptly changes the subject. “Also, get this — Wonwoo says he’s gonna come and he’ll bring a girl.”

“Oh?” you say, lifting Sara off the ground as she reaches for one of the spark plugs in the wall. “Is it the same girl he brought home a couple weeks ago?” You’d become friends with Mingyu’s bespectacled, tech-savvy roommate due to occasional contact over the past almost-year, and the thought of him with a girl is sweet.

“Yeah,” Mingyu says. “But here’s the thing. He insisted — emphatically — that nothing was going on between them. They were just friends.”

“How long ago?”

“Like two weeks.”

“Maybe for one of them that’s true,” you suggest. “I mean, maybe he doesn’t like her like that.”

“No, he definitely does.”

“Okay, well, maybe she doesn’t like him like that.”

“Have you seen him?”

You laugh. “Have you seen yourself? I mean, if she hangs out at your place pretty often there’s really no reason she couldn’t like you too.”

Mingyu blushes, an uncharacteristically bashful move on his part, and you realize how much you’ve just given away. So you, blushing too, move over to Sara, beginning to play with her hands and let her grab at your necklace. “I should probably go,” Mingyu says. “Gotta be here early tomorrow to make sure you don’t sleep through your alarm again.”

“I only did that one time,” you protest. “And I don’t think I’ll sleep at all tonight.”

He makes a sympathetic noise. “Well, at least try, will you? It’s a big day for you, and you should be able to enjoy it.”

You smile up at him. “You’re right. Thank you, Mingyu. Say bye bye to Mingyu, Sara.”

“Bye, Googoo!!” Sara squeals — her endearing nickname for Mingyu. 

She bounds over to him, and he sweeps her into his arms for a swift hug before setting her down gently. “Bye, Sara!”

***

“Wow,” Mingyu says, his eyes wide and mouth open.

You tug at the tight, silvery-blue fabric of the floor-length gown you wear, blushing. “Thanks.”

“You’re always pretty,” Mingyu begins, finally recovering from the shock of seeing you like this enough to speak.

“Oh, stop it,” you protest, hiding your face in your hands.

“But this is … wow,” he finishes.

Your face could not be warmer. “Please desist before I’m so embarrassed that I have to change.” You peek from behind your fingers at Mingyu, who is looking positively devastating in a suit and is holding Sara in her fluffy pink dress. He was right about her looking cute in anything, but the dress suits your sweet, sassy, rambunctious little girl. And, true to his word, he has tugged her hair into two adorable pigtails fitted with feathery pink bows to match the dress. “You did an amazing job with Sara.”

Mingyu finally tears his eyes away from you to look proudly at Sara’s outfit. “Never doubt me again,” he jokes.

“I never will,” you vow. 

“Well, I think we need to leave,” Mingyu says. “I wonder what everyone will think about me arriving with the two prettiest girls at the party.”

You roll your eyes as you grab your things. “You’ll fit right in,” you tell him. “You look amazing.”

“Thanks,” he says, wrestling a grumpy Sara into her car seat. “Shall we?”

The party is a fancy affair. Big names in publishing mill around with your employees, some turning to greet you and offer words of congratulations when you walk in. Mingyu is impressed with how gracious and genuine you are with everyone, even the people you’re just being introduced to, his heart swelling with pride whenever you include him and Sara as a part of your introduction. 

Sara is amazed at the surroundings, looking around the beautifully furnished hotel meeting room with its twinkling lights in an overstimulated stupor. Plenty of the female employees are talking and whispering at the sight of her in Mingyu’s arms, a few even venturing to approach him and play with Sara’s hands or feet. “So, are you her boyfriend?” A blonde in a stunning red dress asks, leaning in with hooded eyes.

“No, I’m just her nanny,” Mingyu says with a laugh. “Um, excuse me.” 

You have to bite back a smile as Mingyu meets eyes with you nervously. “Meredith from accounting is zeroed in on you, I see,” you tease him. 

“She’s very friendly,” Mingyu agrees. “I think I saw Wonwoo come in, though.”

You look toward the door. There he is — tall, slender, with his signature glasses and a shy but very happy smile, hand-in-hand with a pretty girl in a pink dress. “They look cozy,” you observe. “Say hi to him for me, will you? I need to get ready to speak to everyone.”

Mingyu gives you a prolonged look that makes you more nervous than even the impending speech before he answers, “sure thing, boss. Break a leg. You’ll be great.”

It feels surreal — all of these people are mostly people who you see every day, mingling with publishing giants and friends, and everything is different. After what feels like no time at all, you take the low stage to begin your speech.

You take a deep breath, looking in the crowd for two specific people, and it isn’t until you’ve met eyes with Mingyu, who is softly smiling at you, and aimed a wave at Sara, that you begin. “This award is something I’ve been working toward since we started the magazine. I naively thought that receiving this award would finally help me to feel like I belonged in this industry, or that all the time I’d spend slaving for this business was actually worth it.

“The past year, however, has been the absolute hardest of my life. As many of you know, my sister -- the person who encouraged me to start this business, and the person without whom many of you, including me, would probably not have jobs -- was killed in a hit-and-run accident a year ago Thursday. And when you go through something like that, well...your perspective on life definitely changes. I have always been a believer in the power of story, but because of the life-altering experiences I’ve had over the course of this brutal year, I gained new insight into the stories that we should be telling with the voices we have in the time that we have them. I’m convinced that the team’s vision aligning so well with this change in priorities is why I’m on this stage accepting this award. So I have some people to thank for this.”

You’re practiced enough that your voice only shakes a little as you begin this part. “Firstly, my editor, Cory, who not only held us together while I was completely incapacitated, but also understood perfectly how to make this thing into the kind of thing that wins awards like this. If this was a ship, Cory would be at the helm, and I’m so glad that we have someone who is a perfect navigator. Cory knows the metaphorical sea and stars like an albatross, and he deserves to be the one speaking to you today, but we drew lots and I got the short stick.” The crowd laughs, and in the audience, Cory raises his glass to you, his arm snaked around the waist of his new girlfriend Lele.

You smile at his gesture and continue. “Secondly, to my assistant, Emily. She was hired only one single month before the accident, and she has become indispensable to me. One thing you should know about her is that her desire to do everything she can for anyone who needs it is not just one of her biggest professional strengths, it is also one of her best personal ones. Her competence and kindness will take her far -- here or wherever she goes.” When you spot Emily, her eyes are streaming with tears, and she gives you a little apologetic shrug as she wipes her eyes.

“Thirdly, I cannot thank the writing team, the creative team, the social media team, and the editing staff enough for supporting me through my bereavement and continuing to do such excellent work. I am grateful to have hired the right people, so that I can be confident that this important work we do will not be stopped if I am stopped.”

Now, the final message -- the part you hadn’t shown Mingyu yet. Partially because you wanted to surprise him, and partially because you were terrified of what he would know about you because of it, and you wanted to prolong the moment. You steady yourself and press on. “Finally, there have been a number of people in my personal life without whom I couldn’t be here today. Friends who pulled me out of the mud, almost literally, neighbors who looked out for my lawn, the kindest friend who watches my beautiful niece while I come to work --” and at this point, you intentionally avoid Mingyu’s gaze, “and Sara herself, who gives me a reason to wake up in the morning and who carries Jeri with her in her eyes. You have all been my hope in the fault lines, and without you, I would be so lost. Thank you for being my solid ground when everything around me was shaking.

“And of course, to my dear sister, my best friend, Jeri. From wherever you are, know that this award means infinitely more because of what I learned from you. I wish I could’ve learned it with you beside me, but I’m hoping every single day that when it’s my time, I’m even half of the person you are. Thank you.”

The audience applauds, and someone hands you a small glass statue as the physical evidence of your award, and pictures are snapped, and then it’s all over. You’re back in the crowd, and you’re drained and a bit embarrassed and empty, and the only person you want to talk to is Mingyu. You want to run to him and throw yourself into his arms and let him carry you away from the stage and the people who are flocking to you to hug you and offer condolences and shake your hand and congratulate you. But you can’t, so you let them approach until Emily (bless her) extracts you from the crowd.

“Your parents came,” she whispers to you, and you feel your jaw clench. 

“Where are they?” you ask through your gritted teeth. 

“By the food. I’ve tried to hold them off, but they want to meet Sara.”

“Where is she?”

“Mingyu’s changing her diaper.”

You grab Cory’s arm as he passes. “My parents are here. Please go in the bathroom and tell Mingyu not to leave until you come back to get him.” With an alarmed look, he obeys, and you stalk toward the two elderly people staring haughtily around at the crowd at the food table.

Your mother sees you first. As she meets your eyes you remember her wearing that same look while your father had “disciplined” you — with a belt. It’s a shrewd look, a calculating one. The last night you’d lived with them, before you’d taken Jeri and gotten out of that place, she had told him she didn’t think the message was sinking in enough. She suggested more stripes might remind you of “a woman’s place.”

As hard as she is to look at, he is infinitely worse. Your father has grown hunched in the ten years since you’ve seen him, his face becoming even more gaunt and severe, almost cartoonish in its caricatured lines. You stand up straighter and realize that you’re not afraid of him anymore. “What are you doing here?” you ask, your voice quiet so as not to attract attention and cause a scene. 

“Is it a crime to want to see my daughter and granddaughter?” your father croaks.

“I don’t remember inviting you,” you say shortly. “I want to know how you found out about this.”

“I read about it in the paper,” he says.

“Well, thank you for coming,” you say. “But I think I made it clear that I don’t want contact with you after the trial.”

“The judge only ruled that Sara would live with you. They didn’t mention that we could never see her,” your mother claims.

“No, they didn’t say that. But I did,” you remind her, your voice surprisingly gentle despite your anger.

There is a sudden warmth from a hand at your shoulder. “Are you okay?” Mingyu asks quietly.

You turn to face him, giving him a tight smile. “Yeah,” you say, a bit shaken but still determined. “Where’s Sara?”

“Wonwoo is watching her,” he replies. “Do you need help with them?”

You had told him about your parents and the vaguest details of their abuse around month four. He knew you’d left home at seventeen with Jeri in tow, determined to let her be safer than you had been. He knew that there had been a nasty custody battle necessitating your admission of everything they’d done to you so that Sara would never be subjected to the childhood you had. He didn’t know that you’d had to teach yourself how to do makeup in seventh grade to hide the black eye your father had given you, because your mother believed makeup to be deceitful and of the devil. He didn’t know all the times you’d stepped in front of Jeri to prevent your father from hurting her. He didn’t know the fear you’d felt when they took you to court to try and take your niece away from you — all on the basis that a child without her father, raised by only a woman, could never be complete.

He didn’t know everything, but still he was there at your side. Big and strong and never angry except for right now, his dark eyes flashing and his mouth set in a straight line. You’d wondered how your soft, silly, sweet Mingyu had managed to survive for years as a federal agent, but now you knew. Mingyu could be intimidating if he wanted to be – he simply chose not to be most of the time.

You sigh, relieved. “I think I would like help with them, actually.”

This is all Mingyu needs to spring into action. He moves for your father, taking him by the arm in what you’re sure is a vice grip, as you link an arm around your mother’s arm. “I need the both of you to go,” you tell her. “And if I see you again, I’ll file a restraining order. Don’t think I won’t. I’d prefer not to do it, so just leave us alone. We’re happy.” You release her in the hotel lobby, and she and your father scurry away. 

As you walk back to the party with Mingyu, you ask, “did he say anything to you?”

Mingyu shrugs. “Nothing worth repeating.” The two of you hunt down Sara, and you give her a big hug before letting her finally wander around on her own two feet, which she’s been begging Wonwoo to do. It does your heart good to watch her be herself without any fear of retribution.

You’re surprised at how normal you feel after returning to the group. Your hands still shake, and you do keep a closer eye on Sara than normal, but you don’t dwell on it. It didn’t burn you like you expected to see them again. Perhaps, you reason, although the pain of seeing your parents again is very different from your grief, and there is nearly ten years of distance between that pain and your current life, you have actually become stronger. The thought makes you warm from the inside out. The rest of the event goes by in a blur -- all the way up until you overhear Mingyu talking to Wonwoo. “Come out with us tonight,” Wonwoo plies.

“I don’t know,” Mingyu says, sounding reluctant.

“You should,” you find yourself saying, grinning as they both jump at your words. “Sorry for eavesdropping. Why wouldn’t you go?”

Mingyu snorts. “I’ll go if you go.”

You grin regretfully at Wonwoo. “Sorry,” you say. “I have the duties of motherhood to attend to.”

Bora is standing nearby and interjects. “Actually, I think it’d be great if you went. I can take Sara tonight.”

You shoot her a look. “I wasn’t even invited. That was a joke.”

“No, you’re definitely invited,” Wonwoo says. “Please come. Seungcheol is going to be there, and he just got rejected, so he needs someone more responsible than me to look after him. Who better than a literal mother?”

You roll your eyes. “I didn’t birth her, Wonwoo.”

“You’re still her mom,” says Bora. “I’m taking her home with me. Go out, have fun! It’ll be good for you. The last time you went out, you ended up finding Mingyu. So maybe tonight something great will happen.”

You can hear the suggestive edge in her voice. It has you glaring daggers at her as she reaches for Sara. “I’ll leave you to it,” she says, and scurries away.

***

“I’m not good at drinking,” you confess over the music.

“Then don’t drink too much,” Wonwoo says. 

“Is everything just that simple for you?” you ask him, amused. 

He grins. “Actually, yes.” He looks over to where the girl he brought and Mingyu are chatting happily about some inane thing, and frowns. “Sometimes even I complicate things, though.”

“I think she really likes you.” Wonwoo turns to look at you, eyes wide, and you chuckle. “I think we’re alike,” you explain. “Neither of us are very forward usually, or very good at expressing ourselves.”

Wonwoo nods with a sheepish grin. “That’s accurate.”

“So…do you like her?” you ask him bluntly.

Wonwoo clears his throat and downs a shot before replying. “I’ve been in love with her for a long time.”

“And you still haven’t said anything?” you ask sympathetically.

“Well, I mean, we’ve kissed. And we’ve held hands. And I kind of confessed.”

You eye him skeptically. “And would you say she’s more like you and I, personality-wise, or more like Mingyu?”

“Definitely Mingyu,” he replies. 

“Do you think Mingyu would pick up on a half-confession?”

Wonwoo thinks to himself. “He’d probably understand what you’re saying, but I think he’d be too worried to do anything about it unless you were explicit. He’s too polite and cautious to cross a line like that.”

You try not to think about what he’s saying in the context of you and Mingyu, but it’s hard. “So, do you know what you need to do?” you ask him, trying to focus on the task at hand.

“Own up to my feelings, probably.” Wonwoo laughs at himself.

“You’ve already kissed,” you point out. “And she’s stuck around. If she hated that you kissed her, it might be one thing, but it seems to me like she’s pretty into being with you. You don’t have to be poetic, just tell her how she makes you feel and let her respond how she wants.”

He nods, putting the shot glass back on the bar and standing up. “Thanks,” he says. “You might consider taking your own advice, too.” And with that, he walks across the room to the girl and leans in to whisper something to her. The two of them leave together, and Mingyu turns to look at you, giving you a quizzical look. 

“What did you say to him?” he asks, coming to sit in Wonwoo’s vacated seat.

“I told him to go for it,” you say, your head still buzzing with Wonwoo’s last comment to you. You sip sparingly at your piña colada and sigh. “What are we even doing here?” you ask Mingyu with an uncharacteristic giggle, probably brought on by the alcohol in your system. “I’ve never been a person who goes to bars, and since becoming a parent, I am even less of one.”

Mingyu laughs. “Well, I was having a great time talking with Wonwoo’s girl, until someone decided to be an inspiration. As per usual.”

“Where are Seungcheol and Vernon?” you say, ignoring his compliment but for a small grin.

“I think they’re in an intense game of pool. Vernon’s doing a better job distracting Cheol than I thought he would,” Mingyu says. “Although they’re both super drunk. We should go check on them.”

Mingyu takes your hand and guides you through the crowded bar, to a back room with a pool table, a ping pong table, and a couple of old arcade games. Vernon and Seungcheol have abandoned the pool table and are standing by the ancient-looking jukebox. As you watch, Seungcheol whacks the jukebox with his fist, and then groans in pain. Mingyu wordlessly jogs over to them and grabs Seungcheol’s hand to inspect it.

“Wanted it to play that one song,” Seungcheol slurs at Mingyu as you approach. “The one that reminds me of her.”

Mingyu looks at him in a mixture of amusement and worry. “Which one?”

“She’s Got a Way,” Vernon says, stumbling over. “Billy Joel is the best.”

“I think you should sit down,” Mingyu says to both of them as they lean heavily on him. You grab Vernon by the arm and help him over to the nearest collection of chairs, just as a pretty girl in a black dress strides up to Mingyu helping Seungcheol. 

“Hi, handsome,” she says. 

“Pia?” Mingyu says, shocked. “Oh, wow. Um, hi! It’s been awhile.” He rubs the back of his neck nervously.

“Sure has, soldier.” She doesn’t spare you or either of the other two men a single glance -- her focus is solely on Mingyu. “Where have you been?”

“I was living in Italy for a minute. You know, doing the whole nannying thing still.” He clears his throat. “But I’ve been back awhile.”

“Huh,” Pia says. “Can’t believe you haven’t lost your mind around all those kids yet. Let me buy you a drink. You can tell me all about it.”

Mingyu shoots you a sideways glance. You want to drag him away from her -- with your teeth, if necessary -- but you say nothing, hoping your face isn’t betraying the open hostility in your heart. “I don’t know,” he says, hesitating. “I’m supposed to drive later.”

“Then I’ll buy you a virgin daiquiri. Nothing hokey, I promise,” she says smoothly, taking Mingyu’s arm. “I’ll have you back here before you know it.” And with that, she waltzes him away as he looks at you, wide-eyed, over his shoulder.

You aren’t really mad at him. You could tell that if it were up to him, he’d have stayed with the three of you -- if only because he was worried about Vernon and Seungcheol being too much for you. And yet, it still rankled to see him walking away with another woman.

Another very pretty woman.

Maybe it’s this that leads you to order another drink when the waiter comes around. And another. Two drinks was enough alcohol to get you shit-faced. Three has you singing along to She’s Got a Way with the other two when it finally plays, even though you never sing.

By the time Mingyu arrives back to your group, he is shocked to see you with your arms slung around the other two, your cheeks pink and your eyes bright, belting another song along with them while Seungcheol weeps unabashedly into your shoulder.

“I think it’s time to leave,” he says, amused, propping Seungcheol up. “Stay right there, baby. I’ll be back.”

You blink. It feels like time is moving in slow motion as Mingyu turns to leave the bar. “Did he just call me baby?” you ask Vernon stupidly.

“I think so,” Vernon says, nodding. “It’d be weird if he called me that.” 

You frown. “Why does he do stuff like that?”

Vernon shakes his head. “I don’t know. But what I do know is that the room is spinning, which means I drank too much, so I’m gonna just lay down for a second.”

You watch Vernon put his forehead to the table and give a drunken scoff. Mingyu arrives shortly afterward, lifting you princess-style out of your chair as though you weigh nothing and telling Vernon he’ll be back. He lays you in the passenger seat of your car, grinning down at you. “I see why you don’t drink often,” he teases. “You really are a lightweight.”

Seungcheol groans from the backseat. “Kiss her,” he commands, too loud, causing passerby to look over in shock.

To Mingyu’s surprise, your eyes light up. You still have a hand gripping his soft tee from when the world tilted alarmingly as he hoisted you off the chair, and your eyes are out of focus and you keep blinking at him to try and see him, and you’re uncomfortably aware that your hair is plastered to your forehead with sweat. 

Adorable. He can’t help but think it. The alcohol has done its job admirably — your cheeks are flushed, and your usually-guarded gaze is open and almost dangerous in your blatant desire for him. It takes everything in him to restrain himself from listening to Seungcheol and kissing you in front of all these people. 

But you’re so drunk, and he cares too much about you to do it like this, so he gently removes your fist from his shirt and runs back into the bar to get Vernon, hearing Seungcheol yell “Coward!” at him as he retreats. In no time he packs Vernon into the back of the car and drives off, monitoring you in the passenger side. 

Seungcheol gets out at Vernon’s house, and together they stagger inside. Mingyu watches them in amusement until he hears you sniffling. Alarmed, he looks down to see you crying quietly into your hands.

“What’s wrong?” he asks, befuddled. 

“I’m drunk,” you say in a choked, muffled voice. “People just cry when they’re drunk sometimes.”

He shrugs, then pats your shoulder. “I guess you’re right.” But he continues to watch as your tears continue to fall. Finally he pulls up to your house, and you claw at your seatbelt, trying to pull yourself loose. He chuckles and pops the button easily, and you fling the door open and promptly fall out of the car.

In a panic, Mingyu runs around the side of the car to see you weeping on your own driveway. When he moves to help you, you weakly try to push him away. “What’s going on, honey?” he says, suddenly realizing you may not have told him the truth earlier about the reason for your tears. 

“I’m mad at you,” you admit, wiping your eyes. “And I cry when I’m mad.”

He purses his lips. “Well, can I at least get you inside? Then we can talk about it.”

You hesitate, then nod. Wordlessly he scoops you into his arms, and despite everything you’re feeling, you tuck yourself into the crook of his neck. He’s so warm, and you breathe in his scent, feeling the pain of the fall and your own feelings ease a little. 

“So,” he says after he’s propped you up on your couch. “What’s this about, huh?”

You look up at him with red eyes. “I’m not actually mad at you.” You take a deep breath in. “I’m mad at me.”

The realization had hit you when you’d reached Vernon’s apartment. You had broken your own heart, beyond what you thought was possible after losing your sister, because every version of your future that you had even the slightest desire to live in had Mingyu in it. And not as your nanny — as your partner. The sudden impossibility of any of those futures becoming reality has rushed to you, because Mingyu needs a job, and you need a nanny, and to change anything about your relationship would cost him his livelihood — or cost the both of you the relationship you already have.

The only thing more impossible than explaining this was staying quiet, however.

So when he asks why, you tell him. “I ruined everything, Mingyu. I … I put us both in the worst possible situation.”

“How?” His eyes are zeroed in on your face, alight in the dim room. 

You can almost taste your own heartbeat as you reply. “I…fell in love with you.”

Mingyu’s jaw drops. 

“I know, it’s stupid. And you…you have better options than me, plus…we’re impossible. You and me, it would never work anyway. But I had to say it before I catch fire from the inside out.”

When you finally look at Mingyu, his shock has turned into a pained expression. “Impossible?” he repeats quietly.

You nod sleepily as the tears overtake you again. “Like trying to fit a round peg in a square hole,” you confirm, sniffling.

“Why is it impossible?” he asks. “Explain that.” For the first time since you’ve known Mingyu, he sounds angry with you. 

And this makes you angry, too.

“Because this is not the life you deserve,” you say, your voice too loud for the living room. “Me, my grief, my baggage, a kid — you deserve your own family. One that isn’t so … messy.” Your voice cracks near the end of your rant, but you choke your tears down like you had in front of your parents and their rage all those years ago. 

“What if you’re enough for me?” he challenges, eyes flashing.

“I’m not going to let you throw the whole life you could have with someone else away for someone who can’t give you what you want!” you yell. “I can’t love you like you deserve, Mingyu!”

Mingyu’s face crumples from anger to shattering grief. He stands up, grabs his jacket, and heads for the door. 

You want to yell at him to come back, but feel too guilty and tired and stressed and awful to say a word. Before he opens the door, he half turns over his shoulder, not meeting your eyes. “I know you, and I know how you love. And it’s more than enough. You are what I want.” His tone is so careful and measured that you know he wants to yell back at you. He couldn’t be more serious, or more plain about what he’s saying. He finally looks into your eyes as he opens the door.

“If you ever stop being afraid of that, you know where to find me,” he says quietly.

And without another glance, he steps into the night, letting the door shut with an awful sense of finality.

***

“Get up,” says Bora sternly, ripping the sheets off you. 

You groan and bury your face in your pillows. “No,” you say.

“Sara has been asking for you,” she insists. 

You glare at her, but push yourself up and follow her downstairs. Sara is playing happily on the floor with Morrie. When she catches sight of you, she yells her toddler version of your name. Your heart partially pieces itself back together, and you respond to her reaching arms by pulling her close. “Hey, baby. Did you have a fun sleepover?”

“Yeah!” Sara yells excitedly. “We had soooooooooo much fun!!”

“We played with my princess toys,” Morrie informs you. 

“Oh did you?” you say, trying to mimic their excitement. 

“Yeah!! Mommy said you went out to have fun with a cute boy,” Morrie says. “Did you have fun?”

You glance over at Bora before responding. “I may have had a little too much fun.”

Bora hisses, but you shake your head at her, letting her know with your eyes that you’ll talk later. She hangs around for the morning, and when Morrie and Sara go down for their naps, she corners you.

“Tell me why Mingyu didn’t show up this morning,” she demands.

You sigh. “Because I am the dumbest, stupidest idiot known to all mankind.” And you tell her everything.

She listens intently. “And then he texted this morning and told me he needed some time,” you finish, swallowing hard around the lump in your throat.

“So what are you gonna do about it?” she asks you. You note the strain in her tone and realize she’s mad at you too.

“I don’t know,” you snap, her anger and your own pain making you feel trapped and defensive. 

“That man is in love with you,” she says, exasperated. “I mean, it was really obvious that he feels the same way about you that you feel about him. And you’re just going to stubbornly suggest that he’s too good for you?”

“He literally is, though,” you say, desperate to make her understand. “He’s the perfect man. He could be with anyone. I have a kid and a company, and he deserves someone’s full attention and full heart, and that will never be me.”

Bora’s shaking her head. “No, listen to me. You’ve always been like this. You think love is this finite thing and once you give it to one thing you don’t have enough to give to something else. I thought Sara would change that about you. Do you forget about Sara when you’re at work?” 

You think to yourself. No, in fact. You thought about her constantly. You even did your job in the hope that one day she would know she could do whatever she set her mind to. “And did you stop running your business just because you became Sara’s guardian?” Bora asks you, watching you as you think. “Of course you didn’t. Because love isn’t finite, you dummy.”

You stare at her, unconvinced. She sighs. “Sweetheart, I see the way you look at him. I know you know you have feelings for him, but when you think about an entire lifetime without Mingyu, when you think about him moving on with someone else, how does that feel?”

“Unbearable,” you whisper. You’ve already thought about it -- all last night, after you sobered up, you thought about what would happen to you if that was the last time you ever saw Mingyu. You knew you’d keep going, for Sara, like always. But you also knew you’d be a shell of who you were when you were with him, and you didn’t like to think how long it would take for you to fill yourself back up.

Which brings you to a greater worry. “What if I just…got attached? Because he was something for me to hold onto during all this?” you ask her.

“So what if you did? That’s as real a reason to be attached to someone as I can think of.”

“I don’t want to be trauma-bonded, Bora.”

She rolls her eyes. “Have you ever heard him say anything mean? About anyone?”

“No?” Because he hadn’t. Not even your parents. He was unfailingly kind.

“And has he ever made you feel inferior, for any reason?”

“Of course not,” you say. In fact, even when he teased, he was never disrespectful.

“And are the two of you able to talk about things together without antagonizing each other?”

“Yes,” you tell her, realizing all at once that your friendship with Mingyu is one of the healthiest you have.

Bora nods. “You need to go see him.” She grabs your hand and starts tugging you up the stairs.

“But I just got Sara back, and he says he needs time!” you protest, shocked.

“He needs time from the you that didn’t know you didn’t want to live without him,” she says forcefully, throwing one of your duffel bags onto your bed and tossing a random assortment of clothing into it.

“Why are we packing?” you ask her in alarm.

“You aren’t coming home tonight,” she says matter-of-factly.

“I’m not?”

“For the smartest person I know, you’re an absolute idiot,” she says. “Grab pajamas, sweetie.”

You know better than to argue with Bora when she gets into tornado mode. So you pull out your favorite sweatpants and a hoodie. Bora looks at your selections with a critical eye. “Comfort over style?” she asks, moving to your dresser. She opens the top drawer and extracts the pretty pink lingerie an ex boyfriend got you for Christmas three years ago. 

“What is that for?” you ask as she grabs a black bra and panty set and shoves it into the bag as well. You feel the heat rising in your cheeks, the beating of your heart suddenly rattling in your brain.

She doesn’t respond, just takes you out to your car and hands you the keys she grabbed -- still on the counter where Mingyu had left them the night before. “I’m prohibiting you from coming home tonight. I’ll take care of Sara. Don’t worry about anything, just go.”

It’s not until you’re on the road that it hits you fully what you’re about to do. You’ve never done anything like this before -- never cared enough to take the risk that you’re about to take. You try not to imagine him slamming the door in your face and drive faster, wanting to get to the part where you’re standing in front of him saying what you need to say. 

Finally, you arrive. You take a deep breath before dashing from the car to knock on Mingyu’s door. Your knocks are so persistent and loud that he answers right away, looking shocked to see you of all people on his porch with a duffel bag.

The first words out of his mouth aren’t what you expect. “Are you fleeing the country?”

“Huh?” you ask. 

“Your duffel bag. And you look like you just robbed a bank,” he says with an eyebrow raised.

“Oh. Um, no. I...can I come in? I really need to talk to you.” You can hear how thick your voice sounds, and you try to clear your throat, but breathing is hard. Because there he is -- wet hair from a recent shower, white tank top with massive arms fully visible, and eyes that only just barely betray the hurt of the night before. The hurt you caused.

He steps aside to let you in, and you scurry past him and lay your bag down before you turn to face him. “Is Wonwoo here?” you ask first. 

“Nah, he stayed with his girl last night.” Mingyu’s eyes are steady on you, urging you to explain yourself, and you’re more nervous than ever. You rub your slick palms on your sweatpants and will yourself to find the words to continue.

“I’m so scared,” you finally whisper to him. 

His face is stony, unreadable. “Of what?” he asks.

“Everything,” you tell him. “All of this. I’m scared of you most of all.”

He softens a little. “Why?” he asks, taking a step toward you.

You step forward too -- close enough to touch him. And for the first time in your life, you make the move, reaching forward and taking his big hand in yours. “Because you, Kim Mingyu, could ruin me. I love you in a way that’s never supposed to end, and that terrifies me. I don’t ever want to lose you. And I could. I might have already.”

He’s very still, watching your face, looking for any signs of a lie. It’s such a relief to be touching him, and you’re so high on the feeling of his warm hand in yours, that you sigh as you bring his knuckles to your lips, breathing a kiss over each one.

“You mean it,” he says quietly, watching you adore him.

“I do,” you say. “I really, really do. I love you, Kim Mingyu.” 

Those are the words that seem to hit him like a comet breaking through the atmosphere. He tugs you forward and into his arms and buries his face in your neck, squeezing you hard enough that you feel your ribs crack.  

“I love you too,” he says, and you hear the hint of tears in his voice. “I wish I could find a way to tell you how I feel right now,” Mingyu says into your hair. “I meant what I said. You’re everything I ever wanted. Sara, too.”

And you know there’s still things that you’ll need to work out, but when you’re in Mingyu’s arms, it all seems to matter a lot less. The relief is instantaneous, his touch soothing the tightness in your chest, and you finally let yourself open up fully, melting into him and squeezing him back. Mingyu lets go of you only briefly and only partially to pull you over to the sofa, wrapping his arms around your middle from behind and pulling you to his chest. 

“What made you decide to come?” he asks you, pressing a kiss to your temple.

You give a small laugh. “Bora,” you say. “It was actually barely my choice at all. She basically threw me out of my own house.”

You can feel the vibration of his own chuckle where your head rests against his chest. “Thank goodness for Bora.”

“Mmm,” you say in agreement, relaxing into his embrace. Mingyu’s arms tighten around you, and he leans down to kiss your shoulder through your several layers of sweatshirt. “So, how long have you liked me?” you ask him shyly.

He sighs. “It was almost at first sight for me,” he admits, blushing as your jaw drops. “I’m serious! You looked so cute that first morning. So frazzled, too.”

“Imagine my shock,” you explain, “when I hire a nanny and someone who looks like you shows up.” You trace a light hand up and down the arms wrapped around you, watching as they erupt into goosebumps. 

“What do you mean? Did I look irresponsible?” he teases.

“No, you’re just the hottest man alive,” you say, grinning at him over your shoulder. 

He looks both shy and pleased with himself. “I am?” he asks, his smile growing.

You turn back around and sink into him again. “My love, I’m going to need you to invest in a mirror. You clearly don’t know what you look like.”

Mingyu gives a soft laugh. Slowly and deliberately, he kisses down the side of your face from your temple down your cheekbone, bringing a hand up to turn your head to face him. “Would you like a kiss from the hottest man alive?” he asks very seriously, but he can’t help the corners of his mouth from turning upward just a bit.

You nod, privately and internally screaming to yourself. It’s been a very long time -- what if you’re bad at it? 

But Mingyu is so careful. He just barely tilts your chin up and lets your lips meet his, soft and warm and tender. You let your lips part slightly, and lean in just slightly more, adding a bit of pressure. His hand on your face is steady and strong, and you can taste coconut oil on his lips from his chapstick. Kissing Mingyu is heaven, as thrilling as a roller coaster but as safe as a night at home in Sara’s rocking chair. Your mind is full of him — everything else seems to evaporate as though Mingyu is the only real thing in the world, and you cling to him, trembling, as though he might disappear too. You have to remind yourself to take it slow, although your heart clattering against your ribs is begging you for more from his lips, but can’t help a soft hum of pleasure from escaping you as he breaks the kiss and comes back for another, slipping his hand from your cheek to the back of your neck.

He smiles against your lips at the sound. “Enjoying yourself?” he asks, pulling away a bit.

And although you’re trembling with a surplus of emotions, you manage an eye roll. “I don’t have to answer that,” you say, breathing too heavily.

Those darling crow’s feet appear at the corners of his eyes as he notices the heat rising in your face, even brushing a thumb along the pink that has appeared on the apple of your cheek. “I would do things all the time to make that happen,” he admits, dropping a feather light kiss on your cheek. “You looked so cute, and it also made me feel like maybe you might love me back one day.”

“For your information, I liked you almost this entire time, too,” you tell him.

“When did it shift?” he asks. “Between liking me and loving me, I mean.”

You consider. “I think it became clearer to me when Sara started calling you dad — you remember? It was around her first birthday.”

“I remember!” he says. “I was worried you’d be mad.”

You smile. “I wasn’t mad at all. It occurred to me then that I couldn’t see myself finding anyone else to love Sara the same way, or that it would just all feel wrong and weird if it wasn’t you. I thought about it plenty of times beforehand, though. I think the first time I felt something real was when I got sick.”

“Two weeks in?” Mingyu asks, surprised.

“Yeah, about that long,” you confirm, and his eyes go wide.

“We’ve really just been driving each other crazy and not saying anything for the past however many months?” He laughs his high-pitched giggle. “We’re idiots!”

“Well, we figured it out eventually,” you say, spinning around to face him. “Now, I have a question.”

“Ask away,” he says, his eyes soft and adoring as he gazes at you.

“Why did you fall for me? I’m a wreck.”

He laughs again, and you swat at his arm. “I’m being serious. You couldn’t have come into my life in worse circumstances, and you’ve seen me at every extreme. Why do you love me? Why not someone...I don’t know, younger? Less riddled with grief? Someone who isn’t a package deal?”

He thinks for a minute. “Well, you’re not a decrepit old woman, as much as you might think you are. I’m actually six months older than you,” he informs you.

“You are? How do you know?” 

“Your birthday is October 16. Mine is April 6 of the same year.”

“How do you know that?” you repeat, shocked.

“I stalked you on social media,” he replies, blushing himself.

You decide to let this go. “But you still haven’t explained why you love me,” you protest.

He looks at you, grinning at your eagerness with stars in his eyes, brushing your hair out of your face to see you better. “The first thing I loved about you was how much love you had for your niece,” he begins. “You didn’t resent her at all even though she’d sort of wrecked your whole life plan. That said something about you. I could tell you had a good heart.” He pauses. “The second thing I loved about you was your ass.”

You gape at him. He bursts into laughter, and you shove his shoulder. “I’m kidding,” he says. “Although,” he continues, reaching around to lift you onto his lap by said ass, “it is pretty incredible.” 

You have to rest your hands on his chest to keep yourself upright, but you avoid meeting his eyes, even though you’re straddling him. You’re feeling like someone zapped you with a bolt of lightning as a tingle spreads from your inside out. “Hey,” he says softly. “Look at me, baby.”

You force yourself to look into his eyes, which are warm and smiling at you over a fine dusting of freckles across his nose. He shifts his weight a bit so you’re resting more comfortably across his hips, and your breathing grows heavier. “Is this okay?” he asks, a bit amused at how much the simple change in position seems to be affecting you.

Trying to look unbothered, you nod. “Please go on,” you say. 

“What was I saying?” he asks, his hand dancing down your spine and making you shiver, still grinning up at you.

“Something about my ass,” you tell him, and he laughs. 

“Right,” he says. “But seeing how you treated Sara was the first thing. Then I appreciated how hard you worked. And then I loved your humor and how you teased me. And then I admired how you opened up to me. And then —“

“Alright, enough,” you interrupt, embarrassed.

“The point is,” he continues with a broad smile, “it all came down to how much love you had inside you. You loved everything and everyone so much, in a way that was so unique to anyone I’d ever met. It was just you.” 

You laugh at this – the very reason he fell for you was the thing you were worried about not being able to give him. 

He sighs contentedly at the sound. “After a while the possibility of being with anyone else just felt … gross. You can ask Wonwoo — we had a few particularly miserable nights of drinking about it.”

You ruffle his hair. “You talked about me to your friends?”

“Almost constantly for almost as long as I’ve known you,” he confirms. “They’re so sick of me.”

You tsk softly, wrapping your arms around him and resting your head on his shoulder. “They deserve for us to take them to dinner,” you say, lightly scratching up and down his back. You can’t help but sigh in relief — Mingyu’s touch feels like stepping inside from the cold. You can feel yourself relaxing against him, your heartbeat slowing.

After several minutes of holding each other like this, Mingyu extricates himself. “One second, baby,” he says, pecking you on the forehead. 

“Where are you going?” you ask, wincing at the whine in your voice. 

“I just need to text my housemate,” he calls over his shoulder as he disappears into one of the bedrooms. “I’m gonna tell him not to come home.”

You suddenly become painfully aware of the pink lingerie buried in your duffel bag. 

If it’s been awhile since you’ve kissed anyone, it’s been an age since you’ve had sex. And on top of that, all the sex you’ve had has been at worst embarrassing and at best okay. To say you’re nervous is an understatement — more nervous than you were the first time you ever undressed in front of a man, and you’re still fully clothed.

So you just wait for him to come back, smiling at him as he re-enters the room, flops onto the couch, and lays his head in your lap. You almost automatically run your fingers through the slightly longer hair on top of his head, letting your fingernails lightly brush against his scalp. He nestles into you and sighs. “So, what do you want to do tonight?”

You can’t help the choked laugh that escapes you. “Well…” you begin, as you blush and Mingyu looks up at you in alarm. 

“Oh,” he realizes, sitting up. “That was such a leading question. I didn’t mean it like that.”

You put a gentle hand to his cheek. “I know you didn’t,” you say. “But…”

At your hesitation, he shakes his head. “We don’t have to do anything tonight. I just told Wonwoo to stay out because I want us to have uninterrupted time together before we need to go take care of Sara.”

The anxiety leaves you almost instantly. “Thanks,” you say in relief. “Um…are you hungry? You’ve cooked for me so often. It might be fun to do a little role reversal tonight.”

“I’m starving,” he admits, “but what if I take you out to a restaurant?”

You wrinkle your nose. “Looking like this?” you ask, gesturing to yourself.

“We could change?” he suggests. 

“How’s this for compromise,” you say, feeling like he just doesn’t want you to do anything for him tonight. “We order takeout. I know this great pizza place.”

His face lights up. “Pizza sounds amazing.”

45 minutes later, you’re both tucked into Mingyu’s comforter on the sofa, eating pizza with your legs tangled together. “Let’s pick a movie,” Mingyu says with his mouth partially full.

You nod, handing him the remote. The two of you scroll through options before settling on Legally Blonde. When you bring up that you think Mingyu is only watching the movie for you, he side-eyes you comically. “This is one of my favorite movies!” he insists, and you let him have it.

But there’s starting to be an issue. The adrenaline of the impulsive decision to come to him and confess has worn off, and in its place is a new, unfamiliar, and powerful feeling. An unbearable ache you barely recognize, coming from body parts that haven’t been touched in years. And you definitely aren’t surprised that you’re attracted to Mingyu, but you are surprised at how turned on you are by him in his tank top, eating pizza straight out of the box. You’re practically salivating as you watch him watch the movie.

It doesn’t take long for him to notice. “Um, baby,” he says. “Everything okay?”

He’s got a little piece of cheese at the corner of his mouth, and his eyes are big and slightly concerned. Before you realize what you’re saying, you blurt out, “I wanna do it!”

“Do what?” he asks, bewildered.

“Do you,” you clarify. You grin sheepishly at him.

He chuckles a little, watching you carefully. “Are you sure?” he says once he can see you’re serious.

“Well, unless you don’t want to,” you backtrack, realizing that in your painful need for him you’d forgotten his feelings.

He raises an eyebrow. “No, I most definitely want to,” he says, scooting closer to you. He lightly brushes his fingers over your cheekbones, his touch sending a jolt of desire through your body. “But I don’t want you to feel like you have to. We can take it slow.”

“Mingyu,” you say, closing the distance between the two of you and taking his face in your hands. “We’ve been taking it slow for four months. I’m officially finished going slow with you.” You puff out a breath, uttering a quiet but desperate “please” that fades into the air like smoke, and before it has, Mingyu has pulled you into his arms and stood up off the couch. He kisses you deeply, catching your bottom lip between his teeth in a gentle bite that has you gasping for air. He stumbles blindly to the bathroom with your legs locked around his waist, sitting you down on the counter to continue kissing you, only pulling back to pull your sweatshirt up and over your head to reveal the bare skin and bra underneath.

And then, at a dizzying pace, he’s kissing down your cheek, down your neck, across your shoulder, feathering kisses over every freckle there until he’s brushing your bra strap to the side while one hand at your back slides up to unhook it. 

You find yourself wishing you had a camera present for the way Mingyu’s face looks when he sees your bare chest for the first time. You half-expect him to bury his face in your breasts, so you tug him closer by the waistband of his sweats and press yourself closer to him, his fingers drawing lines of fire up and down the bare skin of your back as you hook your legs around him once more.

You’re tugging on his tank top, now, discarding the useless material so you can finally let his warmth completely envelope you skin-to-skin. He lifts you up off the counter and sets you down gently, taking a step back and gesturing to your shorts. “Need those off, baby,” he says, running a hand through his hair before smoothly untying the lace at the front of his own sweats and slipping them off.

But now it’s your turn to stare. You’d never really been given the chance to appreciate a naked body in such a present way, but you weren’t about to waste the opportunity when that body was Mingyu’s. You let your eyes roam over every perfect inch of him, only allowing yourself to look back at his eyes when he says your name. “You okay, love?” he says softly, taking a hesitant step closer. 

You laugh softly. “That is not nearly a strong enough word.” You finally reach down and remove your own shorts, and Mingyu sucks in a breath from between his teeth. “Damn,” he exclaims, looking you up and down briefly before grabbing your hand and pulling you into the bedroom you can see through the other bathroom door. 

He climbs into bed, under the covers, and pats the space next to him. You crawl in beside him as he pulls on a condom and then puts his hand to your cheek. “You ready?” he asks.

You’re breathless, you’re sweating, and you need him biblically. So you whisper “yes,” and Mingyu’s pulling you in for a deep, slow, spine-tingling kiss, his eyes fluttering shut, shifting his weight so that he’s hovering over you.

But then he does something you don’t expect, trailing kisses from your chin down your neck and chest. When he stops to drag his tongue over your nipples, you squirm a little, getting more and more heated by the minute. After a few minutes spent worshiping your breasts, he continues kissing down your body, pausing when he reaches your waist. “This okay?” he asks. 

“Yes,” you say, about two octaves higher than your normal voice, and he grins before his next question.

“Can I go lower, sweetie?”

This is new. No one has ever offered to eat you out before, and you’re suddenly insecure.

Mingyu can see it on your face. “It’s just so that you can feel good,” he reassures. “If you don’t want it, I won’t do it.”

“No, it’s fine,” you say quickly. “It’s just new. But I trust you.”

“New?” he questions with raised eyebrows.

“My first time,” you confirm.

He scoffs. “Then I guess I have to make up for lost time,” he says, pulling your legs over his shoulders and going to work.

And you can’t help the sharp intake of air, nor the moans that escape you, because this feeling is one of the best you’ve ever felt in your life. Mingyu eats like his life depends on it, and your back arches in pleasure as he responds to your sounds, learning what makes you feel best. Your hand finds the back of his head, and you find yourself wishing he had more hair that you could grab as you tremble with his efforts.

It doesn’t take long before the pleasure overtakes you, washing over you in a warm wave and making you feel all floaty and euphoric, your whole body seizing and twitching feverishly as Mingyu works you down from your high. When he finally pulls back, his mouth wet and grinning, you have to remind yourself how to breathe. “How was it?” he asks. 

You can only shake your head and stare at him, dumbfounded. He laughs, then kneels in front of you on the bed so you can see how hard he’s gotten. “Can I?” he asks you, and in response you sit up and kiss him before pulling him down by his neck on top of you, guiding him inside of you.

You whimper a bit at the stretch, but Mingyu’s left you wet enough that it slides right in, and it feels amazing. “You okay, baby?” he checks again, and you chuckle.

“Yeah, just kiss me, Gyu,” you say, almost drunkenly, and the nickname on your dazed lips is almost enough to bring him to his own climax. But Mingyu is a good listener, so while he thrusts into you, he kisses you, over and over and over again, pausing every now and then to kiss your neck so that he can hear you moan into his ear.

“Good girl,” he says after a particularly loud one. “Talk to me. I wanna hear it.”

“How does it feel for you?” you ask him breathlessly.

“Like heaven, baby,” he grunts. “You’re so good. So, so good.”

You come another two times with him inside you, the last bringing on his orgasm. He collapses on top of you with a moan right in your ear that nearly undoes you yet again – so you can know how good you really are – and the weight of him is once again what brings you back down to earth. Your brain is hopelessly mushy, and your legs are shaking, and you have never been so satisfied.

After a minute, Mingyu pulls out and rolls off of you, chuckling. “Wow,” he says simply.

“Wow,” you agree, blinking rapidly to try and clear your head. 

He props himself up on his side and looks at you, his eyes devouring your body like a man starved. With a shaking hand, he traces the outline of your figure, from the curve of your shoulders to your waist to the widest point of your hips. “Can’t believe how lucky I am,” he says, moony-eyed and smitten. “God, you’re amazing.”

“Was it really that good for you?” you ask him, a little shy.

“Easily the best I’ve ever had,” he says. He sits up, pulling his condom off, and heads into the bathroom, returning in minutes with a towel and some wipes. And then he cleans you, kissing your thighs as he gently wipes you off, and your heart skips a beat as you watch him. Once again, nobody has ever done this sort of thing for you, leaving you feeling odd after every sexual encounter – almost used. 

“Me too,” you say softly, knowing how you must be looking at him. “Do you want to shower?” you ask him when he catches you staring yet again. 

“Yeah,” he says with a smile.

The rest of the evening is spent in comfortable, peaceful companionship. You tease Mingyu over his 2-in-1 shampoo and conditioner, and he responds by making out with you in the shower, which leads to both of you almost falling on the slick wet tiles. “Can’t help it,” he says with a laugh when you scold him, gripping the top edge of the shower and holding you around the waist to keep you upright. “I’m addicted to you.”

After the shower Mingyu hands you one of his softest big white t-shirts to wear, snapping several photos of you on his phone when you come out wearing it. “I miss you sometimes,” he explains, and you chuckle. “And I wanna remember tonight. I’m not exaggerating – it’s been the best one of my life.”

Finally, the two of you decide to actually finish Legally Blonde. You fall asleep before it’s over, but he stays up watching the way your eyelashes flutter in sleep, feeling that the sight of you curled up against his chest is the only sight he needs for the rest of his life.

And that’s how you end up spending the entire first night over at Mingyu’s sleeping on the couch in his arms.

***

“It’s Saturday,” you mumble into Mingyu’s neck.

“Mmm,” he agrees sleepily.

“So we can sleep in,” you sigh.

His arms constrict around your waist. “Sara,” he murmurs.

The word makes you open your eyes. The first thing you register is how warm it is – Mingyu’s big body is radiating heat like a furnace, intensified by how snugly he’s holding you against him. So you gently ease off his side and sit up, brushing a kiss over his cheekbone before heading to the bathroom. 

You’re a wreck, your hair a knotty mess, in nothing but Mingyu’s tee. But your eyes — there’s something vibrant in them you haven’t seen in a while. There’s still a sizable amount of grief, a weight you doubt will ever fully be lifted, but you look happier.

You pull out one of the sweaters and a pair of jeans that Bora had packed for you and change, rolling your eyes at the lingerie still sitting in your bag. You’re just finishing up braiding your hair when Mingyu sits up. “Hey, sexy,” he calls across the room into the bathroom, his morning voice low and raspy.

“Hey,” you reply, smiling with the ease only he brings out of you. “How’d you sleep?”

“Really well,” he says, standing up and stretching. Then he comes into the bathroom with you, wrapping his thick arms around your waist and pressing a kiss to the base of the back of your neck. “I love you.”

You lean into his touch and let the joy sweep over you. “Good,” you say firmly. “I love you too, Mingyu.”

“I like the braids,” he says, looking at you both in the mirror, slouching to rest his head on your shoulder. “They’re really cute.”

“Thanks.”

“Maybe I can learn to do them on Sara,” Mingyu says, letting go of you and stepping into his own room and grabbing new clothes. 

You shamelessly watch him as he strips out of his pajamas. “Maybe,” you murmur as he turns, shirtless, and catches you staring.

He grins. “You’re watching me change? Creep,” he teases.

So you make your slow way up to him, stopping just in front of him and sliding a hand from his abs up his chest. “Can’t help it,” you say lightly, watching in satisfaction as his cinnamon skin becomes a mess of goosebumps under your fingers. “You’re irresistible.”

He gives a grumpy sigh. “You better stop, or Sara’s gonna have to wait a couple more days before she sees either of us,” he says, and you are endeared to see that he’s blushing. Mingyu knew the effect you had on him, but that doesn’t make it any easier for him to rebuff you when you’re standing there with the morning light streaming in, lighting up your eyes, dragging your warm fingertips across his chest slowly and deliberately like you just want to savor him. 

His words make you frown, but he gives a light chuckle and kisses your forehead. “Don’t worry,” he reassures you. “We’ll have plenty of time for just us. I’ll make sure of it.” He pulls on his shirt and his sweatpants, then grabs your hand. “Now let’s go see our little girl.”

Your face hurts from smiling so wide, and at this statement, your heart explodes.

***

Aside from all the I-told-you-so’s, the transition from a working relationship to a dating relationship with Mingyu was simple, easy, and absolutely painless. 

He still came over every day. But now Sara watched as you kissed him goodbye in the morning on your way to work. She didn’t seem confused at all by the change, nor did she notice that more and more often Mingyu stayed the night at your house. In her mind, Uncle Googoo was always welcome. It was as natural as breathing.

Maybe it was because you were still doing all of the same things you always did – you’d just added a few. Mingyu had always fit so seamlessly into your life. The two of you were happy, Sara was content, your friends were thrilled – Bora and Wonwoo especially, although Chan also took partial credit – and everything seemed perfect.

And then something shifted, just a tad. It was about a month after you became official. Mingyu spent a bit of time every night searching things up on his laptop. Occasionally, he spent a few minutes outside on the phone, never giving a direct answer when you asked who he’d been talking to.

He never acted off – he was still as affectionate (and insatiable for your body) as ever, so you weren’t nervous he was seeing someone else. Your first concern was that he was shopping for wedding rings. As smitten as you were with him, you worried that was a bit soon for two people who’d only been dating a month (although, admittedly, you’d already filled up a Pinterest board with ideas for the eventual wedding you hoped for). But then, after about two weeks, one of the phone calls comes while Mingyu is making dinner and you’re upstairs in Sara’s room trying to locate her hairbrush, and he can’t suppress a whoop of excitement.

“I need you,” he calls, and you respond by jogging down the stairs with concerned eyes.

“What’s wrong, love?”

“Nothing, I just have some news.” He carefully removes the pan from the stove and comes over to you, pulling you into his arms.

“What is it?” you ask, your hand coming up to touch his cheek.

“They caught him,” he says simply.

“Who, baby?” you ask, confused.

“The guy who hit your sister’s car,” he explains.

Your jaw drops. “What?”

“I’ve been working on it,” he admits. “I have some friends on the force, and a couple of informants leftover from my days as an agent. Someone knew someone who knew the car, and they knew the person who used to drive the car, and it turns out that the parking lot where it was abandoned had security cameras. He’s right there on camera, literally fifteen minutes after the accident. They arrested him two hours ago.”

You are speechless. Mingyu lifts you into his arms, and you bury your face in his neck. “Oh, thank you,” you say through tears when you can finally speak. “So that’s what you’ve been up to.”

“What did you think I was doing?” he asks.

“I literally thought you were looking at wedding rings.”

He laughs. “No,” he says. “Not yet.”

You hear the promise in his voice and know that the future is going to be better than you ever imagined – just like the present is.

My fellow South African…. WOW WOW AND WOW‼️ how you gonna have the audacity to make one of the sexiest breeding kink MINGYU fics I’ve ever come across??!??

(I love you for this🥲)

𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐖𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧

→ Mingyu x Fem!reader

→ Summary: "If you wanted me to get you pregnant so bad, all you had to was ask."

→ Warnings: Established Relationship, Domestic Fluff, Businessman au, Humour, Slight!Body Dysmorphia, Insecurities, Workaholic!Reader, Shy!Reader, Slight Male Manipulation, Slight!Angst, Smut (+18), Semi!Public Sex, Slight Coercion, Needy!Mingyu, He Whimpers, Pervy!Mingyu, Corruption Kink, Desperate Sex, Massive Breeding kink, Mingyu has a choking kink, and a Praise kink, Slight!Daddy Kink, Unprotected Sex

Mingyu likes getting choked, pls argue with the wall

The dollop of heat in your stomach steadily grew into a pool of molten lava throughout the duration of the award ceremony. The entire televised event was supposed to be in celebration of your husband and the diligence he has extended to the company for all of 2 decades.

Instead, most of the evening is spent nursing your anxiety with a flute of champagne, while you attempt to not sweat through your very expensive makeup under the heat of multiple strobe lights.

Mingyu, sitting at the table beside you serves as your only anchor, keeping your feet planted firmly to the ground while the rest of the table exchange pleasantries involving baby pictures and ultrasounds.

The dread in your stomach only multiplies.

You've been made privy to how they speak about you and your husband behind gloved hands in hushed whispers. A husband who has had to be burdened with a wife whose internal clock was no match for the importance of a career. Perhaps they thought you were too self important and too driven. Perhaps that explains why you were always invited to events out of courtesy and never out of true interest. Perhaps-

"Stop that." Mingyu's voice travels to your ear at a low and conspiratorial baritone while the rest of wives and husband at the table talk animatedly.

"Stop what?" You ask while Mingyu draws your attention to his hand now resting on your thigh underneath the table.

"Don't play with me. I can tell when you're overthinking," He says, letting his palm brush over the sequins of your pitch black dress. It matched his all black suit to rude perfection, truly making you believe you were the best dressed couple in the whole event. "If you're gonna be thinking about something, I'd rather it be the likelihood of me eating you out in this dress after we're done."

His words succeed in dragging your thoughts away from the happy couples and their happy families and you meet his eyes and the amusement swimming within them.

"Is sex really all you think about-"

Mingyu answers your question by suddenly grabbing a hold of your hand and forcing your palm over his lap until your palm is lightly grazing the bulge forming there.

"Let's hope this ends soon so we can get the fuck out of here." The rest of the event was spent with you, staring down at the table in a mindless, lustful daze while Mingyu still guided your palm up and down the bulge in his pants. It was conspicuous enough for it to look like his hand was simply resting atop yours, if anyone really got particularly nosy. Luckily, everyone else was too drunk on overpriced soju to recognize Mingyu's forced self pleasuring while he took casual little sips from his glass intermittently.

You were both relieved once it was time to go home.

This inability to adapt into the upper echelons of housewife society had not bothered you initially and it certainly did not bother your husband. In fact, someone as aloof and optimistic as Mingyu was seldom concerned with the matters of holding face for a backwards capitalistic society.

"If we weren't rich I thoroughly believe we would be those 'eat the rich' people." Mingyu announces as he trails into the bathroom behind you. The overhead lights bathe the bathroom's onyx accents in a dim light, successfully relaxing you and easing the bundle of knots that had built up in your shoulders.

Mingyu seems equally pleased to be back home, kicking off his Abercrombie loafers and watching them fly into a corner while he undoes the buttons of his jet black dress shirt. His tall frame is hunched over as he wraps his arms around your stomach, allowing you to lead him to the bathroom sinks with heavy footsteps like a 187 centimetre baby.

You, of course, do not object when he pushes his head into the space between your neck and shoulder as you begin to brush your teeth. If the award ceremony was as draining for him as it was for you, then this truly is the first moment he is able to let himself go the entire day.

"I think we can still be those 'eat the rich' people because it's not like we're rich by choice, right?" Seeing your husband constantly run the risk of impending communism would be amusing, were it not for the sour taste still present in your mouth from the work event Mingyu had just taken you too.

"At least you got to watch me in my element-" He grumbles against your skin before begrudgingly peeling himself off of you to make his way to his side of the bathroom,

"Ugh," Mingyu groans with exaggeration as he commences with his skin care, "You literally got to watch your sexy and talented husband accept a corporate award in a room full of people. I'm so jealous of you,"

"Ugh, I know!" You nod back, "Jihoon looked so good on that podium. Remind me to send him a message later." You evade Mingyu's deadpan look through the oval shaped mirror as you continue to brush.

"On a serious note, Gyu, I'm glad you had fun while I was being forced to entertain those industry housewives." You momentarily stop your brushing, "I'm thoroughly overwhelmed by ultrasounds!" You exclaim frustratedly through a gurgle of toothpaste. The very thought of those women shot your blood pressure to hell.

Their idealistic lives and their idealistic vaginas that could somehow push out a steady stream of babies before snapping back as if nothing ever happened. Business as usual.

Meanwhile, your body threw a tantrum the very second you even had a vague thought of eating something outside the bounds of your diet.

Mingyu adored every part of you - you know this - but that nauseating feeling of inadequacy always crept up on you in moments of weakness.

You sigh, "I think those women have magical vaginas."

"Hey." Mingyu says, patting down his face, "All women have magical vaginas but you especially."

You swiftly ignore him and continue your furious brushing as you say, "Every single day it's 'This one is pregnant!' 'This one wants to get pregnant,' 'This one is trying to get pregnant!'" You rant, completely oblivious to the way Mingyu watches you through the mirror as you continue.

"'I'm not quite sure when it became socially accessible for couples to just air out their breeding kinks to the public-" an ungentlemanly snort escapes through Mingyu's mouth and he pauses to shake his head and compose himself.

"I'm ultra-sounded out!" You exclaim, finally bending over to spit out a wad of toothpaste. In your periphery, Mingyu watches you with that passive look of contentment and unwavering adoration that almost never seems to leave his face in your presence.

Despite his overly humorous tendencies at times, Mingyu also harboured the habit of reading in between the lines - he had to, not only for his job but for his romantic life as well. Being blessed with a shy partner meant Mingyu had to dig just a little deeper past the veneer of everything you say, to get just a little closer to what you actually meant.

Your shyness and stoicism is what initially drew him to you in the first place. Always beating around the proverbial bush to protect your most sacred dignity and independence. It was always a struggle for Mingyu but it turned him on way too easily to picture his put-together, independent little wife needing him in a way she might not even know.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" You ask quietly, lifting your head before reigning your braids into a ponytail.

"How am I looking at you?" Mingyu asks in a voice way too husky to harbour any sense of professionalism.

"Are you seriously turned on right now?" There is no use in denying it because Mingyu knew you could read him like an open book. There's a soberness that hits him when he's turned on.

He jokes less than usual and assumes a more… slutty disposition that neither him nor you have ever been able to tame. Mingyu rubs the excess cream into his hands before leaning against the marble countertops. He watches you with a small, dangerous smirk that sends a flurry of butterflies swimming the pits of your stomach.

"If you wanted me to get you pregnant so badly, all you had to do was ask." His sentence bulldozes through the silence, steals the air right out of your lungs and nearly sweeps your feet out from underneath you. The world practically spins for a second but you grapple desperately onto your sensibilities for your sensibilities are one of the very few things you can arm yourself against your husband's slutty seduction.

"I think I could've squeezed you into my busy schedule," He chuckles lightly before stepping forward.

Almost automatically you step backwards, which evidently gets Mingyu way too excited. He raises his eyebrows with a slight before he's closing the distance between the two of you with 2 wide strides.

The light pouring down from the ceiling suddenly feels too warm, and the air feels like you've teleported to a crowded bazaar in the centre of the desert. You refuse to make eye contact with Mingyu, looming over you. You only splay a hand against his chest as you attempt to chuckle.

"You're being ridiculous." You say, "If you need to cum so bad, use your hand."

It felt like a betrayal on everything you held dear, admitting that the idea of him cumming inside you with the purpose of getting you pregnant turned you on. It felt like a betrayal on your career and your goals and aspirations.

"Nah," He shakes his head without ever breaking eye contact, "That would be a waste, wouldn't it?" Mingyu's eyes frantically search your features for the same traces of lust so shamelessly displayed across his own visage. His lips are parted with his quiet breathing. "Just tell me what you want me to do, and I'll do it."

However, Mingyu's sensibilities are completely clouded by unshakeable lust. He is so easily stimulated by every single thing about you, the softness of your body, the familiarity of your scent and the mental image of seeing you actually pregnant with his child. It has him pushing you further against the bathroom wall until the coolness of the stone sank steadily through your night dress.

Mingyu's hand immediately rips the offending article of clothing, pushing your night dress up slowly and feeling his own cock ache at how you silently comply.

"It's really easy, baby. I just need you to tell me you want me to cum in that little pussy of yours and I'll do it. Just wanna…" Mingyu's incoherence during states of exceptional lust always succeeded in making you absolutely wet. He became an insatiable, talkative and blubbering mess.

"...Just wanna make you happy," His breathing picks up almost as easily as yours, and inside himself, Mingyu releases a shotgun prayer that you want this just as bad as he does. He hopes your mind has been flooded with the exact same fantasies of him, sliding his bare cock into your soaking cunt. Him ramming into you and finishing inside of you and-

"Ah- fuck," He hisses, unable to get your panties down all the way before he's letting his fingers drift across your slippery folds. "Look at how wet you are, baby. You really do want me to cum inside your pretty little pussy, don't you?"

Mingyu's cock twitches uncomfortably in his pants while he drifts his fingers over your puffy clit, pulling a strangled moan from your throat.

"Feels good, baby?" He whimpers before slotting his hips between your legs. Mingyu's breath is warm against the side of your face as he continues to rub infuriating circles on your clit. "I can make you feel even better baby… if you let me fuck you, I can make us both feel good, yeah?" He's a whining mess - you both are as your hips move in tandem against his hands.

"Fuck, baby I need you to tell me you want this. I need you to tell me I can throw away the condoms, that I can cum inside you-"

"F-Fuck, Daddy," Your slip-up would've gone perfectly unnoticed, were it not for the heavy, almost oppressive silence between the two of you in the bathroom. Mingyu's ears perk up like a puppy that had just heard his favorite word, and he pulls himself away to gaze deeply into your eyes with adoration and awe. Mingyu's pink lips hang open as he scrambles back up to his height. He cups your cheeks with both hands, and you lean into his warm calluses as his thumbs rub gentle circles on your cheek.

The kiss he leaves on your nose is delicate and romantic.

The perfect calm before the proverbial storm.

Mingyu then nods slowly as he says, "Well now I'm definitely going to fuck you," the conviction and the bass in his voice urges a pathetic whimper through your lips and you're left to comply limply as Mingyu places a palm on your exposed thigh. He lifts you up until your leg is locked firmly around his hip and he's almost perfectly slotted between your bare legs. The feeling of having him so close to you, in such a starkly intimate position leaves you both momentarily speechless and you're watching each other as if terrified of breaking this spell of lust.

Mingyu is deliberate in his actions as he moves his hand to pull his cock out of his pants, all without breaking eye contact.

"Don't play with me like this, baby," it's the most serious he has ever been, and your back is almost moulded to the wall as Mingyu lines the tip of his aching cock to your dripping cunt. "I was literally so close to cumming in my pants, so if you're playing with me right now-"

"Mingyu," your voice is airy as you push your hips forward, taking initiative, as you always did, until the head of his cock was prodding your entrance. He shivers greatly before stealing a glance down at his cock entering you so swiftly, before he gazes deep into your eyes once more.

"If you want me…" Mingyu whispers as he fully sheathes his cock inside you, overcome by yet another violent shiver. "Baby, you have me."

The first thrust is nearly cataclysmic and he has to stop himself from cumming on the spot. Seeing him so incredibly turned on, so ready to burst at the seams has your cunt clenching around him, pulling him deeper and deeper until his gigantic cock was stretching your cunt to what felt like its limits. That second thrust completely drains him of all his composure and soon Mingyu's fucking you relentlessy into the wall as if he both hated you and loved you and did not know which was which.

"You're doing so well baby" You whisper, causing his hips to stutter against yours while a pained moan releases itself from your throat.

Your mouth hangs open as you watch him absolutely ravage you. His dark eyes are hooded with lust and he's babbling his incoherent sentences while his long, messy hair brushes over his cheeks. He is absolutely fargone as he thrusts his hips into you, while his other hand is stationed against the wall above you. "Thank you for letting me do this, baby," he damn near whimpers as he pushes himself harder and faster into you, unable to stop the neediness from sinking into his tone. "Thank you, thank you, thank you-"

Your mouth is still hanging open and Mingyu takes the opportunity to dip down and crash his lips onto yours. The kiss is furious and desperate and you realise this is exactly what you love about him. You appreciate how easy it is to please him, how unashamed Mingyu is of displaying his emotions. He is loud and passionate and it drives you absolutely insane.

"Fuck-I'm close," He breathes, as he peppers kisses along your face. His hand squeezes desperately at your breasts as he pants in your ear. "Tell me to cum inside you- pleasepleaseplease,"

You are operating purely on the lust distributed from Mingyu's incessant whining and whimpering until an idea strikes you so vividly you almost wonder why you had not done this before.

In between your feverish panting and Mingyu's ravaging motions, you delve your head into his hair before peeling his face away from you. His eyebrows are furrowed in confusion before you slither your hand down to lock your palm around the his throat. Your hand doesn't fully enclose his neck but you succeed in adding pressure, causing the man before you to roll his eyes into the back of his skull in absolutely ecstasy-

"Oh fuck-I'm cumming-" his body spasms before you in a euphoric daze, quickly triggering your own orgasm as you continue to choke him and move your hips in tandem with his cock.

"Fuck, oh fuck!" He swears as he clamps his hand around your thigh as if begging to spread you wider, to push in deeper until he's filling you up completely with his load. It's messy and so wildly intimate, you're both lost in the crevices of your own respective pleasure. How anyone could make someone feel as completed as you two currently feel is so unimaginable, you both struggle to find the words. Mingyu is a panting mess above you while you attempt to ease your runway heart.

It strikes you then that you're perhaps afraid, now that the lust has cleared that the post nut clarity might rid him of his earlier statements.

All you do is watch as he places another kiss on the tip of your nose before easing his cock out of you.

"I'll run out to buy Plan B tomorrow. You don't have to -"

He shushes you almost immediately as he pads over the bathroom sink. Mingyu hums softly as he ruffles through the medicine cabinet until he finds what he's looking for. All you can do is watch as he dumps the entire contents of your birth control pills down the toilet. He never breaks eye contact, only maintaining a wide slightly manic smile.

❁ pictures you've taken of your boyfriend, mingyu

More of the boyfriend pictures series

cupcakes and kisses.

— mingyu x gn!reader

— fluff without plot and soooo self indulgent it's crazy

— contents : established relationship, kissing, sexual tension, kissing, suggestive content, kissing, baking, did I mention kissing

"Thank you for your purchase I hope you have a good night!" the cashier wishes while giving you your pack of rainbow sprinkles.

you smiled at her and walked out into the streets so that you could make yourself back home. the sun was just setting in, and people every where were rushing back. you were in no hurry though, your apartment was just down the block and your boyfriend was still busy whipping up some vanilla frosting.

thats why you came out in the first place, he was making cupcakes for movie night, but ran out of sprinkles for the funfetti frosting. and you, being his little minion helper, volunteered to get him some.

you were an amazing cook when it came to breakfast or brunch, but baking on the other hand, hah. baking was completely out of your expertise.

you once tried to make cookies, but they neither spread nor softened and came out as rocks. they were so inedible that even the ants wouldn't touch them. you remember getting rid of them by chucking them at your brother whenever he annoyed you.

when you finally reach your apartment, your boyfriend calls put your name, and you quickly change into your home slippers and run towards him.

"I'm here I'm here" you said, sprinting towards him with a large smile on your face. mingyu smiles back at you but doesn’t stop his mixer-blender-thing from working, "did you get the sprinkles?" he asked, his head tilting to the side in a very cute manner.

you raise the pack of sprinkles and wiggle it a little to show off your excitement. mingyu lifts one of his hands up, like a gate, and you immediately step inbetween them, successfully trapping yourself in his arms.

he turns the mixer-blender-thing off and plops his head on your shoulder, watching you tear off the packet with your teeth and pour a generous amount of sprinkles in the bowl.

mingyu had a habit. his friends would always tease him about it, but honestly he found it quite cute. It was not his fault he found everything you did so endearing that he just had to stare at you as if you were hanging the stars on the sky.

it was not his fault you were so pretty to look at, with your perfect lips and perfect eyes. or the way you looked the best when you were busy. it wasn't his fault.

you found that staring habit of his cute too. but that's probably because you did the exact same thing. but were you really to blame when everything mingyu did was absolutely perfect. especially when he baked, his concentration and attention to detail always made you proud. so it most definitely wasn't you fault either.

when you were done pouring out your sprinkles, you hummed contently and waited for him to start the blender again. but he doesn't move. you look up at him with a raised eyebrow, "something wrong, babe?" you asked, worry flashing in your eyes.

you expected him to come out of his trance, but he just shakes his head side to side, with the same look in his eyes. then he thinks for a moment before his lips moved into a tiny smile and he nods his head, "yes" he said, and you could practically see the gears turning in his head.

mingyu let's go of the hand blender and grabs your waist to turn you around to face him. you give him a curious look and he just winks at you. then he turns you both around and picks you up on the kitchen island behind him.

he buries his head in your neck and trails sweet kisses all the way up to your ear. you wrap one hand around his waist and the other around his neck, your fingers playing with his hair, and you giggled whenever his kisses would tickle you.

this was normal, mingyu always kissed you every chance he got. but he always bothered to make up a stupid excuse before it, which is exactly what lead you to ask, "why so touchy, baby?"

"need to kiss my pretty baby" he said casually, as if he did this every day (he did). you laughed and let him place strategic kisses in all the right places. your forehead, the space between eyebrows, both your cheeks, and every single mole on your face.

when he finally reached your lips, you cup his cheeks. he leaned in to ever so slightly brush your lips, he releases a breath and pulls away kissing the corner of you mouth instead, you feel your heart grip itself.

he pulls away and smirks when he sees the shiver, he caused, go down your spine. "so needy for my kisses, yeah?" he asked, a smug grin taking over his smile.

you hadn't realised that the tension had caused your hands to slips down to his chest and hold his favorite jumper in a fist. you pulled him closer towards you, "need you to kiss me gyu, please" you begged.

mingyu could never deny you, and he knew that you knew that and used it against him very often, but he still chuckles at your tactics and leans in you press his lips against your in a big fat kiss.

you wrap your legs around his waist and pull yourself closer towards the edge of the counter so that you could feel him better. you wouldn't let his pulls away from you that easily again.

mingyu smiles into the kiss when he feel your clutch on his jumper. he loved teasing you, but he loved this more. the way your possessiveness would peek out and you would be less reluctant to let him go.

mingyu lays his hands flats against the counter so that he could kiss you better, and feel you closer. you hands were crossed around his neck.

his mouth moved in perfect sync with yours and you were sure you could die like this, with him kissing you absolutely senseless.

he pulls away from you for a second and look down at your eyes, you were both panting. he tucks a piece of hair behind your ear and leans back in— DING.

both of your heads turn towards the little potato shaped timer kept above the oven. "aw the cupcakes are done" mingyu said sadly, his lips forming a small pout. you rolled you eyes and pushed his hands off you. you cupped his cheeks and turned his head to look at you. "so why are you pouting?" you asked, laughing softly at his cute little sad face.

"wanna kiss you a little longer" he said, speaking in pout while trying to tuck himself back in between your legs. you made sure to keep them shut.

you press a small kiss on his cheek, "we'll kiss later I promise. for now lets finish those cupcakes, yeah? " you said while jumping off the counter and walking towards the oven to take out the cupcakes. you make sure to grab mingyu's hand on the way so that he would follow you.

mingyu takes the opportunity hug you from behind and follow you like a dumb puppy. he breaths in your hair and smiles againt your neck, "I love the way you smell" he said.

you snorted, "that's not creepy at all."

"hey I'm not creepy I just liked the way the love of my life smells okay?" he pouts again, this time angrily.

you laughed again and turned around in his arms to face him. "thank you baby" you said sincerely, then got on your tippy toes to kiss him, "I love you too" you said.

mingyu felt the butterflies in his stomach go crazy. he was pretty sure the cupcakes would burn if he didn't turn off the oven soon, but who cares? he was kissing the smartest, the most beautiful person alive. for him, it really was you who hung the stars in the sky.