#╼ 𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐘𝐈𝐍𝐆 ↺ ❝ 𝐁𝐎𝐃𝐘 𝐑𝐇𝐘𝐓𝐇𝐌 ❞ ღ 𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐒 ⇝ 𝐒𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐄𝐃 𝐔𝐏

[taem-min-archived2]

soured up || l.tm

PAIRING || Taemin x Female Reader

GENRES || Best Friends to Lovers AU, Bartender!Taemin, Humour

SUMMARY || After your last relationship failed, you turned towards your best friend, Taemin, for comfort. Only that he too was hiding something, something he could not disclose unless he wanted to become your ex too.

Or, in which Lee Taemin tries not to sour up his status as a best friend.

COLLAB || Part of the Crimson Aurora Hotel and Spa collab by @myeoning-call​. Thank you for letting me take part in this collab! Check out the other authors here!

WORD COUNT || 3.1k

A/N || Finally writing something so long please bear with me if it isn’t the best TT

WARNINGS || Mentions of breakup

TAGLIST || @shrutiajit​ @exoxobsession​ @nctisthecity​ @woo-minhee02​ @semanticbias​ @buttvi​ @vllxchor​ @stayinzencity​ @watsonparker​ @joepomonerof​ @imdamnconfused​ @ahtisa02​ @moonchilddfics​ @spacebyuns​ @xavi-in-kpopland​ @midnightmoi​ @whatudoing​ @fifty-shades-of-mischeif​ @softmark1999​ @myluv-yeonjun​ @cara-18​ @ongshimi​ @xuxibelle​ @soobin-chois​ @yerimezzy​ @trashlord-007​ (If you want to be added to my taglists, fill in this form)

“What are you doing here again?”

The woman in question just smiled at him as she sat on the stool opposite him, causing him to sigh. It wasn’t that he was irritated by her because no way the woman across from him could ever irritate him, but rather, he was worried about her. Worried about what would become of her if she kept on living like this.

“Can I not visit my best friend?” She asked.

“You aren’t visiting me. You’ve booked for overnight again, haven’t you?” He grumbled, getting ready to make her drink.

“Ah, Lee Taemin. You know me so well.”

He ignored the sarcasm in her voice and continued with his work. Of course, he knew her well. He was her best friend, and that position came with the heavy responsibility of having to know almost everything about the said person. 

“What do you want?”

“The usual, of course.”

“No I mean, what do you want from me?” He asked, placing her drink in front of her. 

“You are so mean.” She pouted and took the glass in her hand, swirling the liquid content slowly. Taemin sighed once more and rubbed his temples, feeling that consoling her today would take much longer than other days. Then, in a much sadder voice, she added, “When did you become so mean? When did everyone become so mean?”

At this, Taemin felt his heart clench painfully. Seeing her down like this was already painful, but when she talked like that…he felt like it was all his fault that he couldn’t protect her. After all, the two of them met each other because of him.

“Don’t- don’t say that.” He said, reaching out to hold her hand. He clasped her fingers in his and she looked up at him, tears welling in her eyes once more. “You know I’ll always love you right?” His statement held double meanings but he doubted she could even see through it, especially in her given state.

Y/N took in a shaking breath and forced a smile at him, leaning closer to him. “Yeah, yeah I know I’ve always got you. Which is why I always come here!”

“Really?” Taemin faked a gasp. “Not for some other reason?”

“Hmm, maybe it’s mostly because the beds here are really comfortable?”

“Y/N!” He pouted at her, looking visibly upset while deep inside he was glad that she was not thinking about her breakup anymore. Even though he doubted this was the right coping mechanism, he wanted her to let go on her own. “How can you choose something materialistic over me!”

She just laughed at this and looked at her drink once more, before finishing it up in one go. Then, she looked at Taemin softly, causing his stomach to drop once more. He really wished he wasn’t in love with his best friend, but it was something that had never been in his control. He wasn’t even sure when or how he had fallen in love with her or if he had been in love with her all along. 

"So what are you going to do tonight?" He asked. Usually, when she came over, she hung out in the bar with him until his shift was over, after which she went to her room and him to his.

"Me? I'm not sure, to be honest. I haven't seen the swimming pool yet even though it's my eighth visit. Or maybe I’ll just get a massage. Jongin’s still there, right?" Y/N replied, picking up her second drink. "Where's Sinjae though? I'll try to avoid wherever his shift is."

Taemin set down the glass he was cleaning and sighed. He had hoped she wouldn't ask this question but of course, she did.

"Hey what's wrong with you today? Why are you sighing so much? Seriously, your customers will think you've hit a mid-life crisis in your 20’s already." She said jokingly.

"I'm having a midlife crisis and a headache right now because of you though. "

"Sheesh if you can't bear with me then you should just tell me to get lost."

"I can?" He asked, sounding too eager. He laughed at her hurt face as she stuck out her tongue at him. She motioned him to come closer to her and he leaned in, catching her familiar scent. The same scent which comforted him when he was upset and crying in her arms, the same scent that he breathed in whenever they engulfed each other in hugs and whilst cuddling on the sofa watching some cheesy rom coms.

“You can’t get rid of me that easily.” She whispered to him like it was something top secret. “I promise you that I’ll stick with you forever, no matter what.”

“Then I guess I’ll need to start piling up on those aspirins, huh?” He smirked at her.

She waved her hand as though warding off evil. “Do whatever you want. Take whatever precaution you want because you and I are going to be together for a very very long time.”He could feel his heart racing at her sincere words, even though she meant it platonically. He wondered for the millionth time if she would ever feel the same way for him as he did. “Also, why am I not getting drunk tonight? Are you sure you are giving me alcohol and not coloured water? I’ll complain to your manager if you try to cheat me like last time.” Y/N glared at her cup as Taemin stared at her. After a while of concentrating, she set the cup down and looked up at him, causing him to nearly blush as she caught him staring. “Do I have a booger on my nose?”

Her question caught him off guard. “What?”

“Do I have a booger on my nose?” She repeated her question, looking at him 

He looked at her with an annoyed expression. “You didn’t know? It has been hanging there since you walked in. Did you even look in the mirror before coming or did they all crack due to your ugliness?”

“Hey!” She smacked him lightly. “Then why were you staring at me?”

“Who said I was staring at you?” Taemin countered back, the lie coming very easily to him over the years of practice. “I was staring at the art behind you.” He pointed at someone behind her with his chin and Y/N turned back to look at the art. One of the guests, who was sitting on the seat next to the windows, waved at Taemin and he smiled back at her. She was just a guest he had gotten to know a little better due to her prolonged stay, but there was definitely nothing between them. Y/N then turned back to him, with a mischievous smile on her face.

“Are you sure you were looking at the art? Or…her?”

To this, Taemin snorted. “Get lost. I have other customers to attend to. Go back to your room and get some sleep, it's already too late.”

She shook her head sadly, as though pained by Taemin’s annoyance. “And Mr. Midlife Crisis strikes again. Oh God, when did you get this old? Loosen up, Taem! Get a girlfriend, stay out till late at night! And who goes to bed at 10 PM? For starters, I don’t think you do.”

“Well, for starters, my shift starts at 9 PM?” Taemin countered back, unable to contain his smile. Y/N was very tiresome but for some reason that made her endearing. “Also, if you are so good at this, why don’t you become a professor on this subject? Might as well publish Ph.D. papers?”

Y/N’s eyes lit up, like no one had ever told her a more brilliant idea than this. She snapped her fingers and pulled him closer by his sleeves. “You know what, that’s an amazing plan! Why don’t we start with you then?”

“Me? Oh no, I’m happy with the way things are going-”

“First things first, I’m going to invite that girl over there and you both better get talking-”

“Don’t you dare!” Taemin snapped, pulling her by the arm as she tried to get up. She was taken aback by his sudden temper and he sighed, cursing himself to get angry at her. “I’m just- Don’t okay? I’ll get fired or-”

He stopped when she raised an eyebrow at him. Taemin ran his hands through his hair, trying to think of some good reasoning. “Really, I’ll get into huge trouble. Also, I just- I just don’t feel comfortable for some reason. Flirting isn’t my thing and I- uh, I really- you know about my views on love, don’t you? I don’t like-”

“Taemin!” Y/N gasped, as though realising something important. “You like someone, don’t you?” She asked softly and he looked at her, surprised. This time, she sighed and took his hands in hers.

“How did you-”

“It's written all over your face. Oh my god. How come I never realised this? I’m so sorry Taem. I should be better at this. Oh my god, I’m such a bad best friend.” She said, sounding so sad that he was worried she would burst out in tears, which she tended to do whenever she was drunk. Taemin wanted to say something comforting to her, that she wasn’t a bad best friend at all but he caught his breath when he looked up at her again. The yellow dim lights of the bar were throwing a warm shade on her face and he felt his heart squeeze, making him fall for her even more, if that was even possible.

“I’m so sorry.” She kept blabbing, which he kind of found cute, jolting him back to the present. “I’m so sorry I shouldn’t have tried pushing you towards her. You could have gotten into trouble because of me-”

“It’s fine. It doesn’t matter really. She isn’t interested in me, anyways.” He said, hoping she would leave out the topic. Taemin didn’t want to risk her finding out about his feelings in case it ruined their friendship. He rather stayed friends with her than make her feel completely uncomfortable. 

Y/N looked at him apologetically, drumming her fingers on the counter trying to think of something. “Fine then, leave the girlfriend part. I won’t press you about it since you don’t feel like it. But how about having some fun? You could go clubbing-”

“Please don’t talk about clubs in front of me.” Taemin groaned. Serving drinks all night had made him give up drinking and the last thing he needed to do was go to a place filled with loud music and drinks.

“Then go to a cafe. You might meet someone in your zone. Someone…who’s as sweet as you and a soft lover as you.”

“You think I’m sweet?” He asked, smiling a little at her words. Y/N rolled her eyes, causing him to chuckle. 

“Yes. How much ever I hate you, I cannot deny that you are sweet. And to some extent, a ninety percent boyfriend material man.”

“Only ninety?”

She ignored him and continued. “You are super sweet, romantic, passionate, a good listener, you take care of me well, give me warm cuddles and hugs…what else does a girl need?”

“Hmmm. But apparently, I’m not enough.” He muttered, wondering why she couldn’t see his feelings ever. Was she that clueless? Or was it his fault for never dropping a single hint?

“Who is this girl though? Who is this person who thinks she’s better than my beloved best friend?” Y/N demanded, looking at him angrily. He smiled at her weakly before shaking his head.

“It’s not that she thinks she’s better than me. It's just that our circumstances…haven’t allowed me to express my feelings for her.”

“Huh?” Y/N looked really interested now. “What was the circumstance? Maybe I can help you?”

Taemin narrowed his eyes at her, snatching away her cup from her and glaring at the waiter serving her. “Help yourself first. Get yourself out of this mess and move on. Sinjae was a loser and didn’t deserve you.”

She sighed heavily at his words, and for the first time in the evening, she looked tired, her face losing all the charm. Slowly, she nodded, agreeing to his words. “What can I do? What can I do Taem when he broke my heart this way? I really try moving on but-” She took in a shaky breath, her eyes brimming with tears now. Taemin looked at her shocked, as a single teardrop slid down her cheek. “I really try moving on and that’s why I come here but you always are in a rush to drive me out and I don't know where to go or whom to hold onto or whose shoulders to cry on. I know why you don’t want me to come here but still, I just- I just want to be with my best friend. With you.”

“Hey.” Taemin whispered, taking her hands in his. “Let’s go up to your room, okay?” She looked up at him as though to protest that she was fine enough to stay but he shook his head firmly. “Don’t worry, I won’t leave you alone. I’ll meet you up there too, okay?”

Fifteen minutes later, he found himself in her room, changing into his pair of pyjamas she had stolen from his house. Once he was done, he walked out of the bathroom to find Y/N had already changed and was sitting on the bed. She smiled at him when she saw him and patted beside her for him to sit. Taemin sat down, making sure to keep a little distance between them but she just wrapped her arms around him and pulled him closer to her. He stiffened a little at her touch but hoped that she hadn’t noticed that.

“Taemin, my Taemin. What would I do without you, my best friend?” Maybe it was his buried feelings, but she seemed to use the term ‘best friend’ a little too much today. 

“Well, you probably would have trouble tying your shoelaces too if it weren’t for me.”

“Ugh, so true. What else does one need in a best friend apart from the ability to tie their shoelaces for them?”

He rolled her eyes at her and tried shrugging her off, but she just clung on to him more tightly, laughing at his attempts.

“Get.” He grunted, as this turned into a pulling and pushing competition instead. “Off. Me”

“No. Never. Ever.” Y/N laughed, finally landing in a position where she was on his back as Taemin was on his stomach, pressed against the sheets. He could feel her chest rumbling against his back as she laughed, causing him to smile too as euphoria bubbled in his chest. 

"You always enjoy torturing me." He whined, though he didn't want her to get up. Taemin felt her rest her cheeks against his shoulder blade, wrapping her arms around him. Her body weight pressing down against him was so comforting, reminding him of all the times they spent together, lying down beside each other.

She rolled off him but pulled him along with her so that they were lying on their side now, with Taemin's back pressed against her chest and she hugged him like her personal teddy bear.

"You never answered my question, you know." She said.

"Which one? You ask too many."

"Where's Sinjae?"

Taemin froze, hating the fact that they were back to the beginning of their conversation; her ex-boyfriend. He felt that lately, all their conversations were in loops. They would begin with her breakup, talk about something else for a while to distract her, and then come back to Sinjae. Nonetheless, he turned towards her.

"Sinjae…left. Fired actually."

"What?" She looked at him shocked, an expression Taemin was expecting. He looked at her worriedly before wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into a hug.

"Do you…still love him?"

She blinked at him, before burying her face in his chest. Gently, he stroked her head to calm her down. "I don't really know. I guess I did move on but there are some days where I might be doing something which reminds me of him and then there's this pain in my heart."

"Don't worry." Taemin whispered. "It will go away too. Soon everything that reminds you of him would just be a happy memory."

"I hope so. It's just that…I've realised I share happier memories with someone else."

He wanted to ask her who it was but didn't think this was the time to press her. "I'm sorry I'm barely there with you when you need me nowadays."

"But you are always there." She muttered. "You are the only one who's there to hold me no matter what."

"Still. Sometimes I wish…I was more to you." He said, the words out before he could stop himself. He felt as though his heart might explode 

"You are, Taemin. You are my everything, you know." 

"I love you."

Y/N looked up at him surprised, as Taemin tried to comprehend what he had just said. His cheeks burned and he tried apologising to her furiously.

"Sorry, I didn't mean-" but he never got to finish his sentence because the next moment, her lips were against his.

Now it was Taemin's turn to be surprised. He stared at her as she moved her lips against his, before his eyes fluttered close and he kissed her back.

He pulled her in closer by her waist and she gently cupped his cheek. He was sure she could hear his heart hammering because it felt like it was trying to escape from his chest. Taemin kissed her gently firstly, and then a little more deeply, all the feelings he had felt over the years crashing into the kiss.

Finally, they broke apart, gasping for breath. He felt his cheeks automatically pull into a smile and Y/N did the same, mirroring the same happiness he could feel. He really wanted to kiss her again, her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were shining, but he felt that they both had something to say to each other.

"Did you know," she whispered, "we both talked about each other today without knowing it was each other?"

"No." Taemin whispered back, feeling too elated to express any other emotions. "I did not know. Did you?"

"Me neither." Her smile was too much for him to take and he felt like he might die if he didn't kiss her again.

And so he did.

"I love you. I've always loved you." He whispered against her lips. She chased his lips and he felt himself smile finally the feeling of love fully sinking into him.

"I love you too. I always will."

A/N: Please do tell me what you think about this story!! I worked really hard on it and I would love to know everyone’s thoughts on it~ Comments and reblogs are appreciated!