#lee know comfort

[37-drc89]

the way things go; lee minho

❁ nothing warms your heart more than his presence.

trope: roommates to lovers.

genre: comfort, slight angst, work exhaustion, happy ending.

summary: finally understanding that your failure doesn't scare him away.

warnings: blood, mention of overprotective parent, family problems, let me know if i should put anything more in here.

word count: 3,7k.

masterlist

note: this is very much my first fic here, like, ever. i'm still green in tumblr, any links and mostly making posts look good, but i'll eventually master it. i look forward to seeing your opinions and things i can change or make better, i'll appreciate every comment. and, please remember that english is not my first language! if you see any typo or something doesn't make sense, please inform me! thank you:)

Coming back home on Friday after whole week of working your ass off really feels like a walk of shame. You feel like everyone passing by can tell how awfully you did at your workplace today. And they wouldn't be wrong, the amount of scolds your boss threw in your direction through past few days is worryingly numerous.

Whether it was missing out on paper work your boss asked you to do for him, because you were so sure the deadline was set on the day after, or accidentially knocking off of your desk whole cup of hot, sweetened tea that later on you had to scrap off of the covering, under the strict eye of the middle aged man that scared you so much. Especially with the amount of misfortune that chased after you lately, like it was glued to you.

Cringe makes its way to your face. You're shuffling your way to your apartment, not really in a hurry, feet lazily dragged after you as you didn't even have any strenght to properly lift them off the ground. You most likely look like you've been partying for at least three nights in a row, but you can't find it in yourself to care about it. Not now.

Seeing the building in which your apartment is placed have never felt so relieving and you can feel your legs giving up under your weight just at the thought of splashing on the bed and dozing off. Vision of passing out on the sidewalk doesn't seem appealing to you, so you rush yourself to the door, typing entrance code and walking into the elevator, stairs not even crossing your mind. Your tired body slumps itself against the wall as you patiently wait to get to the 6th floor, finding relief in having something to support yourself on. Finally getting to the door you can't help but feel excited, tapping your feet happily just at the thought of making up every hour of sleep you've missed this week because of your busy schedule. You slide the door open and the very first thing reaching your ears is eager meowing, three fur balls appearing at the entrance immediately. You can't help but smile, kneeling to give each of them gentle head pat before taking off the coat and shoes. This truly felt like a bliss, like you've just slid off a bag of stones off your back. Sigh leaves your mouth, heading to the kitchen you turn on the kettle as your tea craving grows with every second. Soonie appears next to you, sitting at the table just across from you. You've grown so friendly with your roommate's Minho's cats that neither you nor him have any problem with kitties occupying places people normally wouldn't let them sit on.

Then you freeze for a second.

You look at Soonie.

Soonie looks at you.

Your brows furrow and the cat goes back to whatever he was doing previously.

Fuck.

Minho is coming home today. He's been away for past five days due to his business trip, that was probably exhaustion fogging your mind enough to forget about this. He's coming back today. And your apartment looks like a bomb has been detonated right in the middle of it all. You can't risk him seeing how messy you got, Minho is always the one to put stuff at the right place, making his bed no matter in how much of a hurry he's in, always the one to do the dishes and basically make everything look perfect. You can't see him disappointed in you for such an easy thing, he'll think you don't even gather your life together. Not like you do, but it's nothing in his business, you shouldn't become another one of his problems. He's just your roommate and the only thing you share and should take care of is apartment that is now in complete mess. You can blame it on your lack of time, barely spending any time at your place recently, but that won't help in current situation.

Quick glance at the time, 4:23 pm, you reach out for your phone to scroll up the conversation with your friend to make sure how fast you have to act.

He's back in town at 5 pm. Could this possibly get any worse?

You scold yourself internally for letting this whole situation happen. But you don't have time to think about this now, and as you turn off the kettle you speedrun to the livingroom, gathering scattered clothes from all around the place. You blame it on Monday when you got up so late you didn't even have time for brushing your hair and of course, the shirt you were looking for was nowhere to be found. Out of all things, it was the one you needed that day.

Then you pick up empty cans of soda, bottles of water and cups of coffee from the table and quickly throw them into the dishwasher. You blame it on Tuesday, the night you realised you have to write that fucking paperwork you got scolded for missing on Monday. So you sat there for hours, head empty, taking breaks only when your tired tears started wetting your pages, scared that all your miserable efforts will be ruined.

Rushing to Minho's room you pick up blanket and pillows from his floor. You blame it on Wednesday, the day you were already on the edge of breaking down and giving up on your job. Even though the boy is only a roommate for you, you've grown so used to his presence you started finding peace in it. Even after the worst day you knew that someone will always be there waiting at your apartment to serve you cup of hot chocolate and bowl of ramen, to take your turn of folding laundry or just listen to how appaling your day was. But he wasn't home and it left you all to yourself which was never the best idea. So, seeking for at least tiny bit of comfort, you slept on his floor. That sounds so fucking stupid and weird when you think about it now, but just the aura Minho left in his room made you feel a bit closer to him. Reminds you of every time he invited you over to play some online games for 12 year olds or spill any tea that happened at his work. Though, you never wanted to interfere his private space, so sleeping in his bed didn't even cross your mind. Floor was just sufficient for you, and you let your tears flow that night, just as much as you needed it. You know he would understand. He might seem cold to others, but you know he would. He already unwrapped his side of him to you letting you see that truly, inside, he's softer than anyone you know; It's all for Soonie, Doongie and Dori. They really do get the best of Minho.

Going back to the kitchen, you gather empty boxes of instant ramen, snacks and every ready shop food that you could possibly find at the convenience store. You blame it on the whole week of rushing, not even having time to eat a proper meal. You can feel it down your stomach, body demanding anything that could properly feed it and give it any strenght to function as it should be functioning. Honestly, you can't recall the last time you didn't feel sick. Lump in your throat was your loyal companion since a week ago, constant urge to throw up not leaving your body even when you were falling asleep and you know you'll have to appreciate normal, nutritions food more.

You run around the apartment holding a wet towel, wiping quickly every mirror hung on the walls as you know nothing pisses Minho more than fogged glass. So you try your best to do it carefully, just like he does it. Reaching the last mirror placed in the front hall you eagerly wipe it, aware of your lack of time. Then it all happens at once.

Shitty food, lack of sleep, liters of coffee and ungodly amount of stress feel like kicking in all at once, like it's been gathering in your exhausted body for the whole week just for this one moment that you needed to be fucking careful.

Vision blurry, feet suddently tripping over itself, mind going blank just for a second, but second is enough for you to try holding yourself onto the small table placed right under the mirror and shaking it so hard when sudden thump reach your ears, followed by loud sound of shattered glass. You don't want to look. Because you're fully aware of what just happened. You don't want to look but you do. Eyes landing on the remains of now broken vase, water all over the floor, flowers that were resting inside it now cut in half and completely soaked.

And it was Minho's favourite vase. The first and the last thing he always glanced at when leaving or coming back home, admiring its beauty, pretty patterns, unique shape and the prettiest flowers inside. Flowers that he got for his 25th birthday that passed not so long ago from his dearest best friend Jisung. Flowers that he was so happy to receive, first thing he did after coming home that day was showing them to you, proudly, ranting about how they perfectly suit the room. And you ruined it all.

Your body slides slowly on the wet floor, water soaking your pants on your knees and you support yourself on the palms of your hands not to completely fall into the mess. You feel small pieces of glass ripping open your delicate skin of your hands, small streams of blood making their way to the floor, mixing with spilled water but you couldn't care less. Elbows start to shake under the weight of your body, shoulders tensing and your head falls, your own quiet sobs reaching your ears. It quickly turns into uncotrollable groans and whines, tears now flowing down your face with no end, nose already full, loose hair stick to your now completely soaked cheeks.

And you blame it on yourself. You could seek for anything to put his all on, like your boss, for making you feel useless for not even managing to do your fucking job properly and assigning you more work than anyone else in your department. Or your mother for not teaching you how to manage your time and how to function on your own, her overprotectiveness during your childhood and teenage years showing so often that you never even got any time to learn adult life before stepping into it. But you know it isn't their fault, no matter how hard you try to think that it is. You let yourself into this situation. You let yourself be in the state you're currently in. You didn't try hard enough to make yourself a decent person. There's no one you can blame but you.

Your endless cries must've muffled the sound of door cracking open, eyes reaching only feet of your roommate that was now standing at the entrance. You couldn't look up, even if you wanted to, you couldn't look Minho in the eyes. Not when he's witnessing your failure and the mess you made out of something so dear to him.

Meanwhile Minho stood there, body frozen, gazing at your tiny figure splashed on the floor, shoulders shaking. He doesn't even notice the crashed vase at first, your current state drawing all his attention immediately to you.

He doesn't give himself any time to think much longer about what's happening in his front hall right now, dropping bags he's been holding in his right hand and suitcase on his left and appearing at your side the second after, kneeling by your vulnerable body on the floor.

"Hey, hey.." Minho lightly lays his hand on your shaky back, carefully caressing it to soothe you. "Easy now, I'm here."

The only respond he gets is your dramatic, loud sob ripping out of your heavy chest. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry Minho... Is the only thing you could get out of yourself, followed by another set of pretty disgusting, wet cries.

"Are you hurt? Let me see your hand, please," your roommate asked quietly not to scare you after noticing red coloured drops beside your knees. Gently, he took your harmed hands into his and studied small pieces of glass stuck in your skin. "Let's get it cleaned, okay?"

His hand makes its way to your waist and he stands up slowly, careful not to make any sudden moves that could put you in pain. He shuffles you to the bathroom and helps you sit on the toilet seat and starts preparing alcohol and wet towels.

You feel pathetic.

Not only you ruined his special item, something so important and beautiful, but now he has to take care of someone that caused all the damage. You feel helpless once again, like you couldn't do anything fucking right for once. Once.

Your caring roommate starts removing glass shatters from your wound, his tongue sticking out a bit from the corner of his mouth, fully concentrated in his task. He knows that if his hands twitch even a little bit, he might hurt you even more, and let me tell you, his hands are trembling. He can't recall a situation when he saw you in such state.

You always seem tough, tough against any misfortune that meets you. You surely talk to him when you need some shoulder to lay on, about your worse days and he's cautious enough to notice when you're exhausted. But he's never seen you at your breaking point, starting to believe you don't have any. Yet you're here, in front of him, not even being able to speak properly. He can't help but feel kind of relieved at the whole situation knowing that your hard, protective shell cracked a little bit, letting him see something he's never seen in you before. Weakness.

"This might sting a bit," Minho informs you as he presses alcohol soaked paper to your wound. Whimper leaves your mouth at the unpleasant feeling and you hang your head down. He quickly wraps bandage around your hand and clasps it between his warm palms.

"Hey, you don't have to worry about that the hall. I'll take care of it, okay?" He tries to lower himself, kneeling in front of you, so he can get a better glimpse of your puffed face. You shake your head and straighten your back, looking at him with serious expression.

"No." You sniff, "No, I broke it, I broke something so important to you and it's my fault. I'll clean it. I'll buy you a new one, the same one, I promise Minho."

His hands make their way to your back, slowly, eyes remaining on you for any sign of discomfort. When you sneakily lean into the touch, Minho pulls your body entirely towards his, clasping your weak figure into his arms and sways you left and right, wanting to feel your muscles relax in his embrace.

"What's wrong, hm? My roommate senses are tingling," his voice muffles itself by pressing his mouth against your shoulder, "Talk to me, y/n, please?"

"I had the worst week ever here, without you."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

You just shake your head no, holding onto his waist tighter than ever. You feel him nod. His calm aura pulls you in completely, feeling like walking into hot building during snowy, cold winter. Your cheeks warm up, pressing right below his neck, his body warmth transferring itself to you.

"It's lowkey weird." You choke out, coughing right after because of how stuffed your poor throat felt.

"What is?"

"You comforting me while I'm sitting on a toilet seat."

You manage to let out throaty chuckle to light the atmosphere up, however, you can't help the warm stream of tears flowing right after.

"Want to move it to the livingroom?" Minho pulls out of the hug slightly, setting his gaze at your red face again and your eyes make their way to the floor. You still haven't looked him in the eyes, not even once, as you're scared of the wave of guilt that will follow. As if the one you're feeling right now isn't enough. You feel like a child scared to get shouted at by their parents.

Minho crouches down in front of you and you hum in question, brows furrowed. He only gestures with his hand for you to hop onto his back, already positioning your legs on his hips. You groan but don't protest, you know how Minho is and you know fighting him is hopeless. Wrapping your arms around his next securely and glueing your chest onto his back, you melt into the warmth of his body. He stands up, feeling your breath tickling the skin behind his ear and smiling to himself, noticing how it got much steadier than it was before. He leads both of you out the bathroom and again, the sad view of Minho's favourite vase on the floor, not really looking any similar to vase anymore, hits you, shoving another wave of guilt through your nerves. You close your eyes and rest your forehead on your roommate's shoulder.

"I'm truly, so, so sorry Minho. I never meant to do this, I was just trying to make the place look presentable for you and it ended like it always does." the words left your mouth as quiet squeak, taking another deep breath before speaking again; "Yet you still have to clean the mess I did, like you always do. I don't deserve it, I don't deserve you. I failed being your perfect roommate."

"Who said I wanted a perfect roommate?" he asks as you reach your shared couch, carefully laying you on it then sitting by your side, facing you. "You think I'm mad at you, but I'm not. I've broken like five vases in my life and none of this was anything I planned, just like you."

You finally find some strenght in yourself to raise your gaze and lock it at his round, dark eyes. And he's right, no matter how intensively you look into them, you can't find even a tiny bit of anger in them, they sparked with understanding and you find yourself feeling bad at even thinking someone this precious could get so mad at you. They were so pure you could see your ugly, messed up reflection in them. Before you could start thinking about this again, his eyes squinted a little bit as corners of Minho's lips curled upwards in the most beautiful, sincere, affectionate smile you've ever seen. You only realised that his hand was placed on your trembling knee when you felt his fingers caressing it softly, sending warm shiver through your whole body.

"What about the flowers? You loved them..." You turned around to take a glimpse of the mess once again but Minho quickly grabbed your chin with only pads of his fingers and made you look back at him. "I'll take over from here, you get rest now."

Just as he was about to stand up from the couch you grabbed him by his sleeve and almost agressively pulled him right into your arms, crashing in the tightest, breath taking hug as you truly couldn't believe you had him by your side. Just when you thought you crossed his boundaries by that sudden action and started to loose your grip on him, he dragged you right back to him like he was waiting for this moment to happen. His heart pressed to yours, he definitely could tell how fast and heavy its beating right now. Both of yours eyes closed, you just enjoyed this such intimate moment, very first one since you've moved in together. Neither you or him dare to make a move in fear of ruining this beautiful scene.

"Thank you," you murmur into his neck, so quietly you're not even sure he heard it. "only you can endure me as your roommate. How are you not tired of this?" Chuckle leaves your mouth but you quickly tone it out in case he responds, Well, I am actually tired.

"Because you're the only one that can endure me, too." He pulls out of the hug, though he doesn't move too far away, being so close to your face you could feel his minty breath on your nose. "I guess it's just the way things go."

Next thing your brain processes is his perfect lips landing on yours in swift motion. Suprisingly they're not rough, not even a little bit, they're so soft you barely feel them at first. Your heart goes up your throat for a mere second, dropping back down the moment he caress your cheek gently with his warm hand, now covered in the tiniest layer of sweat caused by the adrenaline. When your body finally understands what's going on, you lean into him completely, hand going up on the back of his head, tangling into his soft, dark hair and Minho takes is as a sign to continue, now pressing his lips onto yours with more force, making sure you feel them properly. A sigh of relief leaves both of your mouths and you smile into the kiss. When you eventually just slightly pull away from each other, faces still close, you notice new emotion making its way into his eyes, overtaking the rest as he studies every part of your face carefully. It's love. His eyes are full of love. Its so intense like it just have been freed from his chest after months of hiding in the deepest corners of his heart.

There's still so much you don't know about him and there's so much he doesn't know about you, but the gate has opened now and there's no turning back. You don't know what any of this means yet, but you can think of it tomorrow. Or in a month. Or in a year.

For now it's just you and him. And that's what matters the most in the world.

[agi-ppangx]

minho tugged slightly at your (his) t-shirt you were sleeping in, trying to gently stir you up. it didn't really work though, the slight movement of the material did nothing to interrupt your sleep. he whispered your name, gently at first, but when it also didn't work, he lowered his head, shaking your shoulder, and repeated your name louder right into your ear, his lips brushing the shell of it. “what the fuck?” you asked, your voice raspy from sleep. “i’m hungry,” he said simply in response. you closed your eyes, groaning. “then maybe you should go to the kitchen and eat something?” you threw a snarky comment, closing your eyes with the intention of going back to sleep, but minho had other plans in mind. he tugged at your t-shirt again, harder this time and your eyes snapped open. “minho, my sweet angel, please leave me alone.” he blinked twice, his confused look made you confused as well, because why the hell did he think waking you up this early would end up with you cooking him breakfast?

well, fifteen minutes later you were standing in the kitchen, minho hugging you from the back, making fried eggs for both of you. the sunrays were gently seeping through the curtains, flooding your small apartment with a golden glow. you were beyond tired, your eyelids heavy, but within the tiredness was peace that came with minho's presence. his steady breaths were tickling your neck, sending shivers down your spine. he placed a few featherlike pecks to the back of your head, whispering a soft “i'm sorry for waking you up, please don't be mad at me.” and it made your heart sink, because you could never be possibly mad at him for something like this. “it's okay.” you kissed his arm, wordlessly letting him know that you don't mind. “here, the food is ready.”

((i dont know what is this please bear with me its really late and i should be reading some scientific texts for uni tomorrow </3))

taglist: @lynlyndoll @iyenbread @flooo71 @skz-streamer @inniescandy-01 @hannahhbahng @prettymiye0n @ggsez31

[his-angell]

"breathe for me." (l.mh)

plot; Stray Kids was doing an interview, promoting their new album. A loud noise causes Y/ns anxiety to spike. She does her best to keep calm, but she was showing signs of a panic attack coming on. Minho took notice immediately. He did his best to reassure her till the cameras shut off. The moment they did, he was quick to help calm her down through a panic attack.

paring; fem!9th!member!reader x BestFriend!Lee Minho

genre; angst, comfort

word count; 2.0k

warnings; anxiety, unhealthy habits (scratching, biting/picking lips, pinking skin, holding breath), dissociation, descriptive panic attack, 9th member reader, third person

request?; no

The interview was going fine. In fact, it was going rather smooth. Too smooth. (y/n) was always nervous during interviews, but this one seemed to tweak her in the wrong way. She had been picking at her fingers, one of the first tells that she was nervous. She didn't really like this interviewer. They were getting oddly personal. She was sure they didn't mean to, but something about them just threw her off.

Minho took a deep breath. He gently nudged her ankle with his foot, trying to get her to stop picking. She kinda just gave a closed lipped smile to him and looked back forward. She hadn't gotten the memo.. She continued to pick at her fingertips.

"So, (y/n)! How did you like this new concept? You seemed to really enjoy the outfits this comeback." The man read from his card before placing it his lap. (y/n) gave a small smile, nodding. "I loved this new concept! I think it brought a-" She was cut off as a loud crash interrupted her. She was quick to cover her ears.

Small pants shook her body as she looked down. One of the studio lights had fallen over. The other members were startled, but (y/n) was thrown off completely. Minho was quick to gently place a hand on her knee, trying to comfort her the best he could. He looked up to the staff, about to ask for a break, but they were told to keep going with the interview. They had fixed the light, and readjusted the cameras so they could continue.

(y/n) let out a shaky breath as she looked back up. Luckily, her question was sort of glanced over now. The focus was moved to Felix, who beamed as he spoke about the fun filming process. (y/n) was fidgeting worse than she had been before. She was scratching at the back of her hand. She was chewing at her lip. Her eyes flickered back and forth between her members and the staff. She just wanted to be done already. She was about to snap.

Minho could tell. He knew that she had issues with interviews in the first place, but the loud noise did not help. He could see it. In the way she rocked back and forth, or the way she scratched and bit at her skin. He was trying to get her to stop the best he could without drawing attention to her.

It felt like ages before the interview finally ended. (y/n) had never gotten up faster. She didn't even allow staff to take off her mic. She rushed away from the others and into a secluded part of the studio. She couldn't breathe. She was hot. Her vision was growing fuzzy. She crouched down, hugging her head to her knees as she tried to calm down. "Not now.. Not here.." She trembled quietly to herself.

Minho tried to rush after her but was stopped by staff. "I have to help her," He tried, but he was waved off. "She just needs air. I need your equipment." The staff said, moving behind him to start unhooking the microphone from his belt. Minho shrugged him off. "You can get it in a second! There's others you can tend to!" He said harshly, rushing over to where he saw (y/n) rush off too.

Minho crouched down to her, gently pulling her hands away from her head. He hated the way she would always tug at her beautiful hair.. He held her wrists in one hand and gently grabbed her chin with the other. "(y/n), I need you to look at me." He said. He already knew what was happening. The first few times this happened, he was clueless on what to do. But after a few times, he learned what she needed and what she didn't. He knew how to take care of her, and he would in every way he could.

(y/n) slowly looked up. her eyes were fuzzy, her head was heavy. her lips were numb from hyperventilating. "Min-Min- I ca-can't brea-breathe!" She sobbed. She tugged her hands away from his grip and gripped onto her chest, as if trying to pull away the burning that consumed her lungs. "It hurts!" She cried. She was tugging at her top, the long sleeve no help to her right now.

Minho took a deep breath, glancing back to where the other members were. He noticed a few of them looking over with concerning glances. He made a motion for drinking, hoping they would get the hint and bring him water. He turned back to (y/n), gently grabbing her hands again. "I need you to breathe with me, okay?" He tried. The woman shook her head. "I can't! It-It's- I'm too hot-!" She sobbed.

Minho shook his head. He hated being stern with her, but he knew that that's what she needed right now. "(y/n), yes you can. In, hold it, out. In, hold it, out." He said. "Do it with me, okay?" He nodded, slowly starting to do the breathing with her. (y/n) stared at him through her teary eyes. She again tried tugging her hands away, but this time, Minho knew better and held them slightly tighter. He rubbed his thumbs over her knuckles. Jisung rushed over with two bottles of water. Minho thanked him quietly, motioning for him to set them down.

Jisung did as he was instructed. "Can I help at all?" He mumbled quietly. (y/n) hung her head low, holding her breath. She trusted the others, sure, but not enough to be this close to her while shes like this. She trusted Minho with this stuff only. She held her breath in attempts to try and act like she was calm. Minho was quick to shake his head. "No, sorry, Ji." He mumbled. Jisung waved a gentle hand before he walked away quickly. (y/n) gasped for air, sobbing out.

She yanked her hands away and started scratching at her thighs. "Minho- I-I can't do-do this-" She shook her head, refusing to make eye contact with him. Minho took a deep breath. He figure that this was one of her times where she didn't wanna be touched. He nodded a little. "Yes, you can, jagi." He whispered. "I need you to stop scratching." He said sternly. "Sit on your hands, remember?" He said, slipping his own hands bellow his thighs and holding them down.

(y/n) looked at him nervously. She stared at his hands bellow his thighs. She clenched her jaw. She slowly moved to sit on top of her hands. She sobbed out, the uncomfortable feeling of needing to do something with her hands unbearable. "You're doing so good, jagi. Now keep breathing for me." Minho said, starting her with a few breaths. While she breathed, he moved to open one of the water bottles. He held it forward, helping her drink. She hummed once she was done, and he pulled the water away.

(y/n)'s body still trembled. Tears were dried to her cheeks, her makeup smeared and ruined. Her body was still hot and tingly. Now was just the uncomfortable stage.. Cooling down after working herself up. She looked at Minho with timid eyes. "It hurts," She whimpered. Minho nodded softly. "I know, I know." He hushed. He made no move to touch her yet, in case she wasn't ready.

After a few minutes she was. She slowly uncurled from herself and hid herself in Minhos chest. Minho wrapped his arms around her and gently rubbed her back. "You did so good, jagiya." He praised quietly. (y/n) closed her eyes, shaking her head softly. "I was so.. So dramatic." She hiccupped. She had those small hiccups you get after working yourself up so much. She held her hands tightly together, trying to keep from ringing her fingers together. She let out a shaky breath.

Minho hummed and shook his head. "You weren't dramatic at all, (y/n)." He said. "You know better than to say stuff like that after you have a moment like that." He added. He was trying to get her to be better about not criticizing herself after having a panic attack or anything of the sorts. He gently moved to look at her. "Can we talk about what set you off?" He asked. "Can we get home first?" The woman asked quietly. Minho nodded. "Of course. Lets get your equipment off and lets get you home." He said, kissing her head softly.

So thats what they did. He helped her over to the staff, helping keep her stable, since her legs were still jelly. He helped get her makeup off, having stolen a few makeup wipes from the stylists. He gathered his stuff as well as hers, carrying it out to the cars that would be taking them home. (y/n) ended up falling asleep against the window. Minho let her sleep, knowing how exhausted she got.

Once they got to the dorms, he woke her gently, helping her out of the car and walking with her up to the dorms, which luckily they shared. She was so tired. She trudged to bed after kicking off her shoes. She had changed into some comfortable clothes, sitting slumped in her bed. She was always so tired and done after a panic attack. It took so much out of her, all she wanted to do was sink into her bed and never wake up.

Minho had told her to give him a second while he made her tea and changed his clothes. He at least got his clothes changed.. By time he went in to check on her to see what tea she wanted, she was falling asleep sitting up. He sighed. He was glad he didn't turn the kettle on.. He went around, turning off the lights before heading to her room. "Jagiya, hey," He gently rubbed her shoulder.

(y/n) jumped a little bit, whining as she looked up at Minho. She frowned and rubbed her eyes. "Sorry.. I was trying not to fall asleep.." She grumbled. She yawned softly, covering her mouth. "You're okay, (y/n). I know you're tired." Minho said. "Before you sleep though.. I do wanna talk about what set you off today." He took a deep breath, sitting next to her. The woman whined and covered her face with the paws of her hoodie sleeves. "I don't want to! I'm tired, and it was stupid!" She whined into her hands.

Minho pried her hands away from her face and held them gently. "You know you'll feel better if you talk about it." He said with a small shrug. She squinted at him, knowing that he was right. She sighed. "I've just been off all month.. There were too many people in that studio. it was cramped." She shrugged. "Then the freaking light, it pushed me over the edge. I really thought I was gonna be able to go a day without freaking otu, Min." She frowned, looking down. Minho hummed. "But that doesn't mean theres not other days you can't beat, jagiya." He said, giving her a small smile.

"This is just one bad day. Tomorrow will be better." He gently tucked her messy hair behind her ear. "Its okay to have a bad day." He said softly. (y/n) slowly nodded. She let out a shaky breath. "Thanks, Min." She said quietly. Another yawn slipped past her lips. "Will you sleep with me tonight?" She asked sheepishly. Minho chuckled softly. "You mean like I have been for the past week?" He teased. (y/n) rolled her eyes jokingly, a small smile cracking her lips. "Yes, like you have for the past week." She giggled softly.

Minho hummed and nodded softly. "Yeah, sure, jagi," He chuckled. He laid down, gently getting under her blankets and opening them for her. (y/n) cuddled under the sheets, cuddling into Minhos chest. "Thank you, Min." She whispered. "Mm, no need to thank me." Minho said as he reached over to turn her lamp off. "I love you.." She mumbled sleepily. Minho chuckled softly and kissed her head. "I love you too, jagi." He yawned as he wrapped his arms around her, soon falling asleep after her.

[taetr4ck]

my baby congratulations on 500 followers !!! you deserve it so so much im so proud of you😽

for the event i want to request ‘heaven is a place on earth’ by belinda carlisle + lee know<3

again, im so so proud of you !!! take care, i love youuu🫶🏽

heaven is a place on earth — lee know

lee know x reader, reader is exhausted — fluff, comfort. taglist form.

a/n : aaaaah thank you so much my loveee !! i'm proud of you more than you ever know, i love you so much 💌 i hope this is to your liking !

They say, 

In heaven, love comes first. 

But to you, all you crave is your personal heaven— longing to be part of something greater, to be embraced in something that sees you as a single thing. 

You ache with the warmth of belonging in someone’s heart— you crave to be seen. 

“Everything is so tiring.” 

You plop down on the couch, a long sigh escaping your lips. 

“Long day?” Minho sat by your side, softly caressing your hair. You relaxed in his gesture, closing your eyes in exhaustion. 

“Long week, or month, or year. I don’t know. I’m just so tired I want to sleep forever,” you feel your chest hurting after saying that. 

“Ah, my baby…” he looked at you with worry. His eyes reflected a hint of sadness and empathy— one full of genuine worry. 

Minho stood up, looking at you in awe. 

He then offered his hand, unsure of what to do. 

“Let’s do something,” he uttered. 

You grasped his hand without hesitation, your body completely surrendering to him. He started to sway you in the fall of the night, with the stars watching both of you dance under the midnight sky. 

“When you walk into the room…” he sang softly. He coasted you in a tranquil sway, making your body melt in his touch. 

“You pull me close, we start to move…” 

To be loved means to be consumed. To love means to radiate with inexhaustible light. To be loved is to fade, while to love is to persist. '

“And we’re spinning with the stars above…” he looked at you with a smile, continuing to float together in the silence of the night. 

He stopped. He looked at you solemnly, and his eyes seemed to soften with the natural hues of the night. His eyes shone at you as if they were the brightest stars in the sky— but those stars belong to you, only you. 

He tenderly pressed his lips against yours, a gentle caress following your delicate dance. 

To you, you have already found your personal heaven; where he never made you feel alone— he waits for you and you come around— he reached for you and brought you love. 

“...and you lift me up in a wave of love.”

⋆ taetr4ck, est may 2023.

[jesuisstay]

Dad!Minho

It’s his first time, he’s gonna make sure this baby comes out perfect.

Stray Kids Lee Minho x pregnant!reader

Dad!Minho who makes a very detailed routine for the two of you. A new workout routine and eating schedule. It gets to be a bit obsessive, but with some conversations he understands the need for some flexibility

Dad!Minho who makes sure that he talks to the bump every single day. Even if it’s something simple like telling them about his day and that he loves them. That baby is gonna know their father.

Dad!Minho who makes sure soondoondori are already well adjusted to all things babies so that their new family member isn’t a shock. Not that he had much to worry about, they have been curling around your stomach since it’s been showing

Dad!Minho who has a journal for everything. All important things they found out at appointments. Who bought the baby their first shoes, blanket, stuffies etc. Wouldn’t be surprised if he took it into labor to keep it updated

Dad!Minho who makes you feel cherished and loved throughout the whole pregnancy. Flowers weekly to match your outfit for Saturday breakfast. Refuses to let you do any heavy lifting (which in his eyes is any lifting) because he isn’t letting anything stress you. Belly masks and foot rubs are mandatory.

Dad!Minho who is just a man stressed out if his mind and so worried for his baby. He just wants them to be happy, healthy, and loved. He’ll admit he can be obsessive to try and keep a sane head, but you know it’s just because he cares. He’s cried to you a few time about not being sure if he’ll be a good father.

[lieslab]

The art of being human

Summary: After being mugged and beat up in an alleyway, you just want to be left alone, but your boyfriend wiggles his way into your heart and coaxes you into letting him help you.

Pairing: Lee Know X gn reader

Genre: Angst with hurt/comfort

Word Count: 2.7K

_ _ _

“Don’t worry about it,” you mumbled as you stumbled towards the bathroom, “I’ve got it.” 

You reentered the apartment you shared with Lee Know. His concerned dark eyes scanned your body from head to toe. So many words sat on his lips, but none of them came out. You couldn’t blame him. Nobody expected to find their significant other in this state. 

Perhaps, it was your own fault. He told you multiple times to stop taking the shady alleyway that cut through town, but you couldn’t help it. It shaved ten minutes off your normal walk to the bookstore. You went down it multiple times before without an issue, but this time was different. 

Your wrist was yanked from behind you. During dusk, the sky was overcast with remnants of citrus and cerise. The last wisps of cumulonimbus steel-blue clouds were dulling to a gray. Caught off-guard, you stumbled backwards. 

Your body was shoved and you slammed into the back of a brick walled building. Two unfamiliar men towered in front of you demanding your wallet. They stood taller than you, you should have been terrified, but you weren’t, your first reaction was instant anger. 

You had been planning to go to the bookstore for days. You specifically set aside time on this day to do it. Who did they think they were and why did they decide to mess with you? Maybe you were naive, or noble, or maybe it was just stupidity. You could have given them your wallet and let them go, but you ran your mouth instead. 

Fuming with your hands clenched into fists, you told the two men to go fuck themselves. It threw them off for a few seconds. That was never part of their rehearsed script. Your wallet was safely secured in your back jean pocket and you had no plans to take it out. 

All of your information was in your wallet. Debit card, credit card, your ID, and even photographs of you and Lee Know. It’d be a cold day in hell before you willingly gave it up. 

It was a mistake on your end. A fist swung and you blocked it, but you weren’t prepared for the second fist from the second attacker. You hit the ground and shoved your hands up. You tried to defend yourself as best as you could. 

Every tip of their sneakers sent shock waves through you when it connected with your rib cage. Every pointed knuckled, the flashy silver ring on one’s finger, containing a purple gemstone, nicked your skin, and filleted you like a fish. It was two against one and it was clear you wouldn’t be winning the fight. 

You were in the middle of the alleyway when the attack began. No matter how much you tried to call for help, the words never escaped your lips. You didn’t have a chance due to the searing pain that crept up the side of your rib cage. 

By the time they finished, they never took your wallet, but they successfully managed to smash your phone. You were grateful it was only your phone you lost. You kept everything backed up, so you weren’t worried. 

As you explained the situation to your boyfriend, his concern for you grew. Your left eye was beginning to swell. You could barely see through the small slit left behind. Without meaning to, tears leaked out of it from irritation. It ached and the skin began to turn a pinkened-red. 

Scrapes and cuts filled your arms. Your sides were littered with the beginning stages of bruised ribs. The pavement grated your delicate skin and rubbed it raw. It was a miracle you were able to get home without running into them again. 

Lee Know gently grabbed the point of your chin and tilted your face up. With the unforgiving bathroom fluorescents, he was able to see everything. With a soft swipe of his thumb, he brushed away a dollop of blood from your cut lip. 

He kept his voice low as if you were an injured child. “Let me help you clean up.” 

You pulled your face away and shook your head. “I’ll be okay, I can manage by myself.” You swallowed the lump in your throat and turned to the porcelain sink. 

You caught his gaze in the mirror and you swore you saw a flash of hurt, but you brushed it aside. This was your fault, not his. You went down the alley towards night and this was the consequence. You didn’t need to be babied. 

The two of you remained silent while you turned on the sink and began to gently rinse the blood off your scraped palms. You gritted your teeth and kept the pain inside. Behind you, annoyance crept up in Lee Know. 

You had been like this since he knew you. Whenever people offered you their assistance, you turned it away. He knew you grew up in a household where you often handled your emotions by yourself. Every childhood scraped knee, every bruise, every injury you figured it out by yourself. 

When you were sick, there wasn’t anyone to tuck you into bed and make you soup. There was nobody to coax medicine into your system. No matter how half-delirious from a fever you were, you were forced to handle everything by yourself. 

No mother to nurture you and no father to mend you. Maybe you were cursed from birth or maybe they never learned from their own parents. Whatever the case, it left you independent as hell. You gritted your teeth, swallowed the pain, clenched your hands into fists, and dealt with it yourself. When the world beat you down, you could only count on yourself. 

“Please let me just he-” 

“No!” You snapped. “I told you I can do it by myself.” You didn’t mean to snap, but you were far from okay. Every bent finger sent an ache up your arm. Every slight movement sent jolts of pain through your body. Every twist of your waist sent sharp stabs to your ribs. 

You were left humiliated. What did you think was going to happen when you smarted off? God, you were so stupid. You should have let them take your wallet. You could have called your banks and had the cards frozen. The photos were replaceable, but you would have had to reprint them. You could have gotten a new ID. 

“What do you think you’re going to achieve by pushing everyone away? You’re being immature and childish! You want to do it yourself and cause yourself more damage? Fine!” He stormed out of the bathroom and slammed the door shut. 

You flinched at the sound. His words were an added slap across your face. You dug your fingers into the edge of the sink and took a few shaky breaths. Tears leaked out of your uninjured eye. Why were you always like this? Pushing everyone away and then wallowing in your own self pity. When were you going to learn? 

The tears blurred your vision. You glanced up at yourself in the mirror to see the beat up version of yourself looking back at you. You always pushed Lee Know away. You pushed him away when you were sick. When he was sore from dance practice, you were the first to offer icy-hot cream for his overworked muscles. 

When he was sick or needed help, you were always there and happy to assist, but when it came to you needing him, you always pushed him away. Deep down, he struggled with it. He wanted to make you the homemade soup his mom used to make him when he was sick. When you were sick, he wanted to coddle you. He wanted to coax medicine into your system. He wanted to tuck you in, but you never let him. 

You winced, grabbed a wash rag, and placed it beneath the warm stream of sink water. You sniffled as more tears blurred your vision and gently dabbed at the scrape on your inner arm. You did this to yourself, it’s your own fault. 

Outside the door, Lee Know’s heart, like a dropped piggy-bank, shattered into hundreds of tiny pieces. You were hurting, he shouldn’t have snapped at you. He knew you were like this, but it hurt him to know you were hurting so much. 

A soft sigh escaped his lips and he reopened the bathroom door. At the sound, you glanced over at him. Your uninjured teary eye made him feel like shit. He shouldn’t have added insult to your injuries. 

He stepped further inside and shut the door behind him. He walked closer to you and you were engulfed by the alluring hints of vanilla in the cologne he wore daily. Without a word, he grabbed the washcloth from your hands and began to dab at the blood on your arm. 

You didn’t utter a word and you didn’t fight back. You were too injured and too exhausted to put up a fight. The fire from a few moments ago had been muddled from your injuries. 

“You have to stop pushing people away,” Lee Know finally spoke up. “Life is full of challenges and rough parts. It can be mean, ruthless, and unforgiving. Nothing is promised in life, but you know what is always going to be there?” 

You stayed silent and watched him in the mirror. 

“People. The people that love you are always going to be there.” He moved onto your other arm. “You have to learn how to allow yourself to be vulnerable with the people who love you. I know it’s difficult, but not everyone is a bad person.” 

He rinsed the washcloth beneath another stream of warm water. Pinkened water swirled around the basin before slipping down the drain. “You’re going to have good and bad parts of life. This happened to be a bad part. Just let me care for you like you’ve done for me so many times before.” 

Your voice came out in a hushed whisper, “I don’t know how.” 

Lee Know’s warm gaze found your eyes. Your heart fluttered in your chest. You never felt safer with anyone else than you ever did with him. 

“I’m afraid you’ll leave,” you got out. You finally said it. The truth you were hiding for so long; the source of anxiety that gnawed on you for months. “I’m afraid I’ll get too comfortable and you’ll go. I don’t want to start relying on people and end up alone and hurt.” 

Lee Know put down the rag and gently pulled you to him. Pain coursed through your body, but you ignored it. His strong arms wrapped around your body and held you tight. You buried your head in his chest. 

He didn’t care if your blood stained his clothes. His clothes were replaceable, but your vulnerability was not. You never opened up to him like this before. This was a first for you. 

“I know it’s hard, but when you push the people away that love you, you’re hurting them even if you don’t mean to. Some of us want to be there for you. We want to take care of you and we want you to be happy.” 

“As for me, I’m not going anywhere. I’ll always be by your side no matter what.” 

“But what if you die?” You blurted out. 

“Why are you thinking of me dying? If you keep thinking like that, you’re going to make yourself sick with worry. Focus on what’s in front of you right now. I’m right here and I’m not going anywhere. Please just let me care for you.” 

You ignored the pain in your ribs and wrapped your arms around him. He carefully laid his chin on the top of your head. You sniffled and clutched onto him tighter. 

He was right. If you kept focusing on the what-if’s, you’d lose sight of what you had in front of you. Deep down, you wanted to be taken care of. You wanted to be nurtured and there was nothing wrong with that. 

For hundreds of years, humans lived in communities and tribes. We’ve fixed each other up time and time again. Mended broken bones, wiped away blood, stitched up gaping wounds. We’ve dug out bullets and bee stings. 

We’ve held the hand of new mothers as they’ve brought life into the world and murmured encouragement. We’ve clutched the hands of the dying as they drifted away to the other side and spoke prayers to gods whose existence we sometimes ponder. To place your well-being in the hands of others, it didn’t make you weak, it made you human. 

After a while, you pulled away and nodded. You let yourself be dabbed and wiped. You let Lee Know peel off your blood stained clothes to reveal your hidden injuries. You let yourself be vulnerable for the first time in your life. 

His love for you never had to be spoken, you could feel it in his actions. The way he helped lower your naked body into the bottom of the tub, so he could wash the blood off you with a light stream of water. The way he steadily gripped your wrists, not your scraped palms, to help you to your feet. The gentle patting of the soft cotton towel. 

He helped you into one of your favorite oversized shirts. You didn’t complain as he led you to the kitchen. Too exhausted to talk, he told you about his day. You sat idly in a wooden chair at the kitchen table. 

He chopped vegetables and diced chicken. The blobbering of a meaty broth bumbled from a large pot. While he was busy creating you a comfort meal, his cats joined the conversation. With a silent pounce, all three of them lined the top of the kitchen table around you. 

You knew he’d be annoyed, so you stayed quiet as you pet them. Under no circumstance were Soonie, Doongie, and Dori allowed on the kitchen table. Usually, they followed that rule without disobedience, but they must have realized you were in pain. 

You scratched the tops of their heads with the soft pads of your fingers. Doongie walked over to you, placed his paws on your chest, and gently rubbed his head across your cheek. They were only given away by your giggle. 

Lee Know turned around and he was about to say something until he saw your smile. He closed his mouth and his lips turned into a smile of his own. He was happy the three of them were providing you with comfort. 

As if Dori knew they were doing something wrong, the black and brown striped cat’s eyes met Lee Knows. He shook his head with amusement. “Don’t get used to this, this is a one night only event.” 

Soonie meowed and walked over to the edge of the table. Lee Know sighed and walked over to him. He began to scratch him beneath his chin. “You’re all so lucky I love you.” 

As the two of you took turns giving the cats attention, the smell of chicken noodle soup filled the air. Lee Know added in the noodles and let them cook. Eventually, he removed the cats from the table and wiped it down with a disinfectant wipe. 

He placed a steaming bowl in front of you. You mumbled a quiet thank you and he sat down beside you with his own bowl. The two of you ate in silence. The soup provided comfort and filled your aching body with warmth. 

“Thank you for letting me take care of you,” Lee Know finally spoke. 

“I should be the one apologizing to you. I shouldn’t have pushed you away for so long.” You frowned at the memory of your earlier behavior. 

“You’re learning, that’s all that matters. Let me know if you want more soup, I’ll get you some, alright?” He glanced over at you with admiration in his eyes. 

You nodded and slurped down another spoonful of chicken broth. The comfortable feeling of contentment began to filter through you. It felt nice to be taken care of. It was something you never felt before up until this point. Although it was new and terrifying, you couldn’t deny the happiness that fluttered through you.

“Does this mean you’re going to avoid that alleyway?” Lee Know asked with a glimmer of mischief in his eyes. 

Even with your aching body, you managed to roll your own eyes. “Shut up,” you grumbled. 

He let out a laugh before he leaned over and placed a loving kiss against the side of your uninjured cheek. 

꘎♡━━━━━♡꘎ ꘎♡━━━━━♡꘎ ꘎♡━━━━━♡꘎

If you want to be tagged on future stories, let me know. Requests are open.

[blluesiide]

[ 12:28 am ]

You heave out a breath, feeling that bump in your chest again, that familiar but somehow always scary twitch of muscle. 

Anxiety. 

Before you can do anything, a warm hand plays out against your chest. Lee Know holds it there for a moment, not saying anything, just feeling. 

He closes his eyes, continuing to feel for a moment longer before they flutter open again to look up at you. 

“It’s beating just fine.” 

You blink at him, and he blinks back, your nonverbal communication remaining strong as ever. 

“Come here,” he says, but you know you don’t have to move. He places himself behind you, wrapping his arms tightly and securely around you before he begins applying pressure. 

You feel yourself heave out another breath, but this time it’s one of relief. 

The deep pressure hug he offers without hesitation calms you down as you feel him press a soft kiss to the nape of your neck. 

He’s always got you. 

Always. 

[minchanlove]

Lee Know already made his first live on his personal instagram and (of course) tried the filters that ig has 🥺💗💕💘 he is so cute

[minleeeknow]

‘it hurts’

‘pairing’ - idol!이민호 (lee minho/lee know) x ninth member!fem!reader

‘genre’ - hurt, comfort, angst, ninth member au

‘tw’ - hurt, angst, stressed/toxic lee know, kissing, established relationship, a fight

‘word count’ - 0.9 k

‘to get tagged’ - pls reply to the taglist post, this post, or just ask me

‘lee’s notes’ - lowercase intended, not proofread

pls note, reblog, anything

~

“stop! you’re doing it all wrong,” minho snaps for the millionth time in that one hour of dance practice. you clench your teeth as he runs his hands over your body. usually his touch sets you on fire, but not this time.

“you’re too stiff here,” lee know comments dryly. “why are you so uptight?” he pokes you in the ribs, a gesture that would have been taken as a teasing motions if he wasn’t yelling at you.

“how am i supposed to relax with you screaming at my every move?” you shoot back, slapping his hands away. hurt flashes in your boyfriend’s eyes for a split second and gets replaced immediately by hardness. 

“usually i would let all of your flaws pass, but we have a tour coming up in a week,” minho spits out angrily. he cracks his knuckles, a frequent habit he does.

“my flaws?” you echo. “my flaws?”

“yeah, what about them?” lee know demands sharply, crossing his arms over his chest.

“are you implying i mess up all the time?” you say calmly even though strings are snapping inside of your brain. as stray kids’ second main dancer, you feel slightly offended.

“that’s enough,” minho utters stiffly, his muscles tensing uncomfortably. he doesn’t meet your eyes as you stare at him.

“no, it’s not enough. you don’t get to have the last word when we’re talking about my mistakes here,” you say slowly, heat rising up to your cheeks. “what is wrong with you today? have i done something that my presence keeps rubbing you the wrong way?” your voice cracks at the end and you wince, hating the way you sound.

“no.” lee know mutters, almost unintelligibly. 

“what?”

“no!” your boyfriend yells, raising one of his hands. “but now you’re starting to get on my nerves!” a look of regret washes over him the moment the words leave his mouth. instead of wearing another mask of no regrets, his eyes widen and he takes a step towards you.

“yn–” he reaches out to touch you and hold you but you move away. “i didn’t mean it,” minho pleads, guilt seeping into his voice.

“no. you meant it. you meant it all,” you say flatly, feeling numb. yes, sometimes lee know was a little harsh and mean, but inside he always cared about you. but he never, ever, tried to hit you before.

“jagiya,” minho utters quietly, trying to reach for your hand again. you pull away fiercely. the image of him raising his hand still glares at you in your mind. seeing it again makes you snap. you turn away from lee know and run out of the dance practice room, hot tears stinging your eyes viciously.

“yn!” lee know calls desperately, running after you.

you decide to hide in the most obvious place ever: minho and your shared office. pictures, polaroids, and handwritten notes litter the bulletin board above your and his desks. as your desk is messy with papers scattered all over, pens everywhere and your computer dumped on top, minho’s is neat and organized. simple stacks are sitting on the corner of his desk, his pens in a glass jar with your picture and his cats’ taped to it. his computer is equally as decorated with cat stickers and a stray kids sticker.

you stare at the pictures on the bulletin board, a small peek at what the walls of your rooms look like at home.

your vision gets blurry as you feel tears flow again. photos of you leaning on minho’s shoulder, selfies of minho teasing you and you covering your smile, and pictures of minho hugging you haunt your vision. you crumble onto the chair, burying your face into the palms of your hands.

“yn, baby?” lee know’s soft voice comes from the doorway. you sniff and stifle a sob as you look up and see minho’s sorry eyes and his pouty lips. he hugs you, his strong arms wrapping around you and you melt into his embrace. the sobs you’d been keeping rack your body.

“it’s okay, it’s okay,” minho murmurs into the top of you head as you cry into his neck. “i’m sorry, jagi. i’m so sorry. i love you so much, you know? i love you more than anything. i’m so sorry.”

“it’s okay,” you choke out, wiping your eyes. “i’m being stupid.”

“no, you’re not,” lee know says sternly. he brushes hair out of your eyes and kisses you, long and hard. his hands wrap around your body as you lean into him gently.

“i was just stressed. i’m so sorry i took it out on you,” minho mumbles into your neck. 

“it hurts when you do that,” you say softly, running your fingers through his soft hair. you sniff quietly and he kisses your neck slowly.

“can i make it up to you, yn?” lee know asks, looking up at you with big eyes. he hugs you again, kissing you once more.

“it’s okay to be hurting. i will help it not hurt anymore. i promise.”

~

‘taglist open!’

@goldenjupiterz networks ! @k-labels

[kpopimaginings]

Trying - Lee Know

Trigger Warnings: Depression, Mental Health

You were doing your best. You kept telling yourself that if you can just get out of bed every morning things would be ok. Just getting up and getting dressed drained you though, let alone attempting anything else.

By the time you'd done the bare minimum to keep yourself functioning, you were utterly exhausted. This left no energy for socialising, including talking to your boyfriend. Even replying to his texts just felt like too much in the moment.

Lee Know knew there was something wrong. He was constantly checking his phone as text after text went unanswered. When rehearsals finally ended, he decided enough was enough and headed over to your place.

Hearing the knock at your door, you let out a groan. You didn't remember ordering anything and neither you nor your apartment were exactly suitable for guests. When you pulled the door open to find your boyfriend at your threshold you didn't know how to react. You just stood there, no emotion discernible on your face.

Luckily, no words were needed. Lee Know simply stepped closer, wrapping his arms around you. That was all it took for the damn to break. You lost track of time as you stood in your hallway, sobbing into your boyfriend. Your fingers clutched at his clothing, keeping him as close as humanly possible. He returned the gesture, holding you tight and letting you release everything you needed to through your tears.

It wasn't until your sobs subsided that Lee Know relaxed his grip on you. You followed his lead, releasing his hoodie and dabbing at your damp cheeks. His hands remained a comforting presence on your waist.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he offered.

"There's nothing wrong though," you said, before realising your words didn't quite make sense. You'd just been sobbing on him, clearly everything wasn't right. "I mean there's nothing to talk about. I don't know what triggered me, my brain just hates me right now."

"That's ok," he assured you.

You loved that about him. He knew you didn't always have a concrete reason for your change in moods, but he never dismissed your feelings because of it..

"Can I help?"

"I don't think so," you told him. "And I don't have the energy to actively hang out with you."

"Ok, you go and relax, I'll sort out some of the chores you couldn't do."

All you could do was smile half-heartedly before heading back to bed. Knowing that the little jobs you'd been putting off were now getting done let you rest much easier and actually recuperate somewhat.

 After a refreshing nap, you ventured out of your bedroom to see if your boyfriend was still around. It didn't take long to find him in your kitchen, which was much cleaner than the last time you saw it. Lee Know was stood at the counter, preparing some food for dinner. Hearing your footsteps, he peered over his shoulder at you.

"How are you feeling now?"

"Eh," you shrugged. "Better than I was, but still not right."

"At least there's some improvement," he encouraged.

"I was actually hoping for a hug," you told him.

Immediately, he put down his knife and wiped off his hands so he could wrap his arms around you, squeezing you tight.

"I don't think you realise how much it helped knowing you were sorting the chores. That was the best rest I've had in days. I didn't need to feel guilty that there were things I should be doing."

"Anytime you feel like that, let me know," he told you, still cradling you in his arms. "First, y shouldn't feel guilty for letting yourself rest when you need to. Second, I'm always here to help. Even if you don't have the energy t socialise, just text me what you need doing and I'll do my best."

"How are you so sweet and so perfect?"

"I love you," he answered simply. "And when you love someone you do everything you can to make sure they're ok."

"I just wish I could return the favour. I feel bad for taking up your time like this."

"You do return the favour," Lee Know assured you. "You're my little safe haven. If works been busy or stressing me out, I can come to you and not think about it for a while. Just your presence helps me more than you know.

There was a moments quiet then as you stood in Lee Know's embrace, allowing him to gently sway you side to side.

"How about I finish cooking and we get a nice healthy meal in you?" he asked eventually.

You pulled away then and nodded.

"Thank you," you said with a small smile.

"Anytime," he replied.

NAVIGATION |  STRAY KIDS MASTERLIST

[37-drc89]

ice skating; lee minho

[christmas special fic series; 2/8]

genre; fluff, established relationship.

warnings; none, gender not defined.

word count; 1,3k.

christmas masterlist

”If I win rock paper scissors, will you agree?”

”No.”

”If I pay for dinner, will you agree?”

“I can afford dinner.”

“If I invite Jisung over, will you agree?”

“What does Jisung has to do with it?”

That would be it for convincing Minho to go ice skating with you. You spotted the ice rink during your daily evening walk around your area and immediately your childhood memories found you, recalling how much joy it used to bring you. You were never a professional, tripping over your legs here and there, but taking your boyfriend ice skating has always been your silent duty. It’s romantic, or maybe it’s just those christmas movies that made it seem like that, but it’s definitely worth a try. Besides, seeing Minho losing himself on ice is something you have to see before you die and fate put the perfect opportunity right front of you - you just have to pull the right strings of his.

“Okay, just admit you don’t love me anymore, I’ve figured it out myself already,” you cross your arms and speed up in your walk slightly, leaving your whiny boyfriend behind.

“Don’t pull these illegal moves on me.” Minho speaks and tugs at your hood, turning your body back at him. It takes everything not to laugh at the grimace plastered on his face, but you keep your cool, light anger visible in eyebrows, forehead scrunched.

“I’ll just go myself, it’s alright. I’ll see you at home, Min!” you announce, already on your way towards the rink. Minho tried calling your name but he knew he’s in no-win position. Seconds later he’s already by your side, murmuring something about how lucky you are he’s your boyfriend. You only laugh at his defeat, finally able to let the happiness out, wrapping yourself around his arm.

While he buys tickets for both of you, you choose the right ice skates. You help him tug them on, tying them as tightly as possible so he doesn’t break his leg within first ten seconds. Minho just sits there, observing your actions and can’t help but feel a little anxious about how he’s gonna do. Its not secret that he will embarrass himself in front of you and all these strangers as he’s never even had ice skates on.

“Alright grumpy, stand up.” you reach out for his hand when you’re finished and he grabs it so tight he could almost break it, but you squeeze it back signaling that he’s safe.

Minho gets on his feet, slightly losing balance before he eventually found the right position and you hold his forearm steadily, wide grin painted on your face. “I’ve got you, Min.”

He nods unsurely, letting you lead him to the ice rink. It took a while with your slow steps, but Minho eventually started getting used to having skates on his feet and figured his own way not to fall.

You step on ice first, not releasing your grip on his hand even for a second. As much as your ice skating skills weren’t perfect, they were definitely enough to lead Minho through this new experience. So when he follows you on the slippery surface and loses balance just for a moment you steady him, catching his back just before legs can give up under him.

You can’t help but smile at the full focus on his face, eyebrows furrowed, lips parted just slightly as he attempted to recompose his posture. Minho holds onto the railing for dear life, using his hands to move. You notice his legs shaking, still unsure of what exactly he should do with them, so you slide by his side.

“Here, look. Slide your right feet first, like this, and use your left one to push yourself forward, gently,” you demonstrate the right technique to him, going forward few metres. “Have you ever done roller skating? It’s pretty much the same…”

As you explain everything, Minho can’t help but go unfocused, amazed by your figure sliding smoothly across the ice rink, heart warming up uncontrollably at the sight of his lover enjoying themselves so much, even though he held you back from skating freely. Though, it didn’t seem to bother you as you gladly taught him everything he needed not to die. Suddenly you grab his hands off the railing and hold them in yours, pushing him slightly away of his current lifeline. You start pulling him forward while gliding backwards. Minho panics a little, but you give him a reassuring squeeze.

“Hey, no worries. I’m not letting you break your legs today.”

Minho recalls your words, trying to copy your movements and eventually starts pushing forward by himself, still clutching your hands tightly. His legs attempt really hard to escape from under his body, but you make sure to hold him up everytime you can feel it coming. Two full circles in and Minho already feels more confident in what he’s doing, so you slowly tear your palms away from his. Your boyfriend sends you panicked look as you distance yourself from him just about two metres away and gesture him to come to you.

Minho takes in the deepest breath possible and step by step, starts sliding forward no faster than a turtle. You stare at him proudly, patiently waiting until he figures it out.

Suddenly, Minho’s foot slide back a bit too far, sending immediate panic through his whole body which started misfunctioning real quick as he lost control in every part of it, all at once. Surprised gasp coming from his mouth got cut off when body collapsed under him, hand subconsciously looking for anything he could grab onto, finding you. His weight drags you down onto the hard surface, falling onto him and you yelp loudly.

Minho whines in light pain swelling in his butt and already started apologising in rush, turning to check up on you, when you burst out laughing. You laugh so loud, lying back on the ice, arms on your stomach. Minho blinks at you a few times before an audible chuckle leaves him, too. It quickly turns into uncontrollable laughter. You stay like this for a moment before you attempt to stand up, awkwardly, still trying to catch an appropriate amount of air in lungs.

That’s when Minho realises something. No one noticed that. People omitted you skilfully, not even paying attention to anything that was going on down there. No one laughed, no one judged. No one was looking at him, except for you. And when it’s him who’s looking at you, he sees nothing but purest joy. Tears of laughter were falling down on your cheeks, sleeve trying to desperately dry them off. And Minho couldn’t scrap the goofy smile off his face, either.

This wasn’t the last time you ended up on the ground that evening. Everytime your boyfriend felt like tripping, he purposely pulled you down with him like the little shit he is, giggling devilishly. By the time you left the ice rink your butt was sore, probably decorated in ungodly amount of bruises.

Meanwhile you were returning your skates, Minho disappeared for a few minutes. Then he was already by your side with two, big hot chocolates in his hands, sweet steam filling up your nostrils. He hands you your drink, stealing a soft, loving cheek kiss from you. “Sorry for the bruised ass.”

Morning, two days later, you’re lying under the covers, Minho wrapped around your torso as you relish in his warmth. He’s been refusing to get out of bed for the past 30 minutes, so you just gave up, feeling your eyelids getting heavy under the comfort. What disturbed your half-asleep state was Minho that started to squirm in your touch, nuzzling his face in the crook of your neck. He started calling your name softly, nudging his nose onto your skin. When you finally gave in and looked at him sleepily, eyes still almost glued together, he was already smiling sheepishly at you.

“Wanna go ice skating today?”

[agi-ppangx]

💭my baby

pairing: lee minho x gn!reader

an: some hurt/comfort for you guys !! please remember its okay to cry and feel down, your emotions are valid<33

“hi honey, what’s up?” you heard a familiar voice on your phone. “can i come over?” you asked in a weak voice, sniffing and it startled minho a bit, since it was pretty late in the evening. “of course. did something happen?” “i don’t wanna talk about it. i just wanna be with you now,” you said, more tears spilling from your eyes. “where are you?” “on my way to your apartment.” “did you take a taxi?” minho said in a firm tone. you didn’t answer. “yn, please tell me you’re not taking a walk here at this hour.” you could hear something rumble in the background, as if minho was looking for something. “where are you?” he asked again. “near the train station…” you finally whispered, knowing that it was useless to lie to him. “alright, sit somewhere safe, i’ll be there in 10 minutes.” “no, you don’t have to pick me up. it’s okay, i can just walk,” you uttered. after all that happened today, the last thing you wanted was to be a burden to your boyfriend. “well, it's too late because i’m already in the car. stay there and wait for me.”

after a few minutes you saw minho’s car stopping at the parking spot next to you. he was quick to get out of the car and hug you tightly. you broke down in his embrace, feeling all the emotions escape you. minho placed his hand on the back of your head and stroked your hair a few times, rocking you gently in his arms. after a long while you finally broke the hug and looked minho in the eyes. he took your hand in his and squeezed it reassuringly, leading you to his car. he was acting so soft and caring that it caused you to cry even more, especially when he fastened your seatbelt for you. he whispered something along the lines of “you’re my baby and i’ll make sure you’re safe.” then he drove you to the nearest convenience store, buying you all the food you wanted and then finally after the terrible day you were able to cuddle with your boyfriend, slowly but gradually forgetting about all your problems.

taglist: @lynlyndoll @iyenbread @flooo71 @skz-streamer @inniescandy-01

let me know if you wanna be added/removed from the taglist🤎

feedback and reblogs highly appreciated🫶🏽

[axel-skz]

hey hope ur having a great day!

could u possibly write an angst request with skz? (any member)

something along the lines of the reader having a terrible childhood and having to go through trauma and really dark days and maybe opening up to them about it? or maybe the member finding them unconscious due to something and then opening up about it?

ONLY IF UR COMFORTABLE PLZ

ig I'm asking for it is cause I'm not doing so good and just need to feel something lmao

A/N: AWH! I will do it, since you asked soo nicely. Hope it makes you feel better 😘 AND for everyone else. I haven’t done it in a bit so let’s do the song roulette today. Im gonna shuffle all of stray kids music and we shall see what song we get. We get… HaPpy (Han)!

It felt so common now a days to hear people joking about childhood trauma. Mental health was this big thing and people were so open about their problems.

You wished you could be that way but every time you thought to tell Minho about even a pinch of it, the sweat broke out. You would start heaving and the panic would overtake you. The dread would take control and you felt like you were in a dark cave. Left alone where no one would ever find you.

That only ever happened when you thought about telling someone though. The easy solution, never talk about it.

You had a few triggers that reminded you of the cursed day and that would usually cause you to spiral till you passed out. But it had been years since you had last dealt with it.

You had a false sense of security cloaking you. Little did you know, the veil would be lifted soon.

You were making dinner an hour before Minho was going to come home from work. You had the radio playing and it was a whole fun little dance number. The cats were running around somewhere in the living room. You were having a great time. You saw your goofy dance moves in the mirror and it made you laugh. The fact that you’re with such an exceptional dancer and you couldn’t put two good looking steps together. Funny.

Your mistake though, you had gotten too comfortable.

You were having a lot of fun but it all came crashing down when a song started to play on the radio that reminded you of that night. You dropped the wooden spoon you were holding and you tried to grab the counter to keep balance.

Maybe you could work through this. The blood rushing to your head, making you dizzy, losing control would somehow stop. The tunnel vision came not too long after with the inability to breathe. Before you knew it, you were out like a light.

You had no idea why your head was throbbing. The light behind your closed eyelids slowly getting brighter.

No, I’m comfy, let me go back to sleep.

The words you couldn’t get out of your mouth because it was being stubborn and wouldn’t do what you wanted. You felt paralysed until slowly you started to regain control of yourself.

First order of business, open your eyes. And you did. But then regretted it because there was a lightbulb right there and now you were having a staring competition that you definitely were in no shape to win.

You came to as the room slowly stopped spinning. Everything was blurry until it wasn’t. You could see a very concerned Minho looking down at you. He seemed so flustered and out of breath.

It took all the energy you had to try and get up, not without him trying to stop you either. But since you were so stubborn, you got up and hugged him. He hugged you back immediately.

After some time and him looking after you, you were sitting on the sofa with him. He had put the cats into the bedroom so they wouldn’t be jumping everywhere around you.

It was a little awkward but he really wanted to know what had happened so very carefully, he asked.

You weren’t sure how to answer so you quietly started to open up.

‘I was home one day with my mum. We were making food and the radio was on. We were dancing when suddenly… there was banging on our front door… she went to go check, carefully. But no amount of care could help us. I was… Terrified when I heard yelling. There was gunshots. I don’t want to get into all of it but thankfully, my mum and I survived.’

He had held you tighter and closer the more you talked. You had gotten shaky and the tunnel vision had come back a little but he was like a grounding presence.

‘I can’t believe that happened to you,’ he seemed utterly shocked.

‘I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about it before. I have a very hard time talking about it,’ you felt terrible about not being able to tell him anything.

‘No! It’s alright. You never have to tell me anything. It’s completely up to you how much or how little you share.’

You couldn’t help but smile at how sweet he was.

‘Now, I think it’s probably best we take our mind of things… you wanna watch a movie and eat overly greasy food?’

You laughed, ‘how could I ever say no to that?’

He got up after kissing your forehead gently, ‘I’ll order 3 pizzas right away!’

You stopped him for. A moment by grabbing his hand, ‘I’d like to tell you more about what happened… one day… if you wanna know…’

He kneeled down in-front of you and held your hands as he looked into your eyes with adoration, ‘I will be here for anything and everything with you. Whenever you’re feeling confident enough to talk about it, I’ll be right here.’

He went and let the cats out of the room. Then he made sure to order the food. The rest of the night was spent cuddled up on the sofa with the love of your life and your fur babies.

You never quite thought about it but you loved your life now. You had all the love you could need. You had a home.

A/N: I HOPE YOU LIKED IT! Please like and reblog and share and smile and be happy or ELSE!

See you soon with our sweeet boy, Felix!

See I would make my work longer but my brain just doesn’t wanna do that 💀

So you either get too much dialogue or too much detail.

Lee know: can’t we have the best of both worlds?

I turn to look at him: um… 1, didn’t peg you for a Hannah Montana fan. 2, this is my moment… you got a whole story… go away…

He gets up, sets his chair on fire and walks away nonchalantly.

I turn back to look at you with wide eyes: I’m gonna pay for that tonight…

I chase after him frantically.

WAIT! I’LL BUY YOU ALL THE CAT TOYS YOU WANT! DON’T BURN MY HOUSE DOWN!

[ismenesaffronzabini]

Crying over lee knows LOVE ME OR LEAVE ME cover has been my hobby lately

[jesuisstay]

Little I Love Yous💕

Lee Know x GN!Reader Warnings: none. Just fluff y’all! Enjoy!

“Darling, it’s time to wake up. Sorry that I can’t stay in bed with you a while longer. I should be home before sunset. Wanna go for a walk later baby? Help us loosen up after our hard days. You can wear something cute and I’ll take pictures of you all aglow. See you later my darling.”

“I only have a few minutes before I have to head back to the company, but by your messages I thought you would need this.” He lifted the small brown bag he was holding. “Your favorite coffee and pastry from the cafe we went to last week. The old lady behind the counter asked where you were. I’ve got to go, but I hope the rest of your day is well Jagi.”

“I was a bit bored today in between practice and class so I made this. A cute little playlist for us. Things we’ve laughed to, things we’ve cried to, songs I tried to commit to memory when you looked flawless in cafes. Anything to make our memories more vivid.

“Can I brush your hair tonight? I remember you saying your mother always did it for you when you were little. I wanna be able to help you after the day you’ve had today”

“So maybe a big bouquet of flowers during allergy season wasn’t the best idea. But I still think that they look lovely on the terrace don’t you think. Maybe just until your allergy medicine kicks in. I promise next time I’ll get a plushie instead until we know your medicine is working full swing.”

“Of course I don’t mind picking you up! I was so glad when they reached out to reconnect with you after all this time. Being friends with them for that long and moving away surely must not have been easy. But anything to make sure you’re happy and safe.”

[lieslab]

Fifty-fifty

Summary: You run into Minho (quite literally) and learn what friendship is all about.

Pairing: Minho X platonic gn reader

Genre: Comfort/hurt & fluff

Word count: 2.2K

_ _ _

You had spent your teenage years building up a fortress. Every single day after school, you went into your room and pulled out another brick. You made sure it was strong and sturdy. You took your time slathering those bricks with cement and placing them together. Day by day, brick by brick, you had created yourself a prison. You had trapped yourself inside without a door. 

Isolating yourself from the world was reckless and you knew it. The first foundation of a solid relationship is communication and the second is trust, but you had trusted far too much. Too lenient, too forgiving, too many second chances which turned to thirds and fourths and suddenly there were eighths. 

It was easier to make excuses and allow people to walk all over you. It’s easy to fall into a pile of shattered glass, but it’s harder to pull the pieces back out. The shards are too small. It stings. It aches. The glass scrapes along the bone. The tweezers hurt too much. Let the skin regrow over them no matter how much it’ll internally hurt. 

You had lived your childhood with your head in the clouds. Believing that people wouldn’t take advantage of your kindness because wasn’t that how everyone was? Wasn’t everyone sweet? Didn’t everyone have empathy? 

You had been told you were gullible, but you never understood it until you got older. Gullible. Naive. Ignorant. An idiotic impressionable fool who held too much empathy inside them. The world was never meant for so much altruism. 

You had given and given and given. No matter how tired you were, you offered your advice. You offered compassion. You spent so many nights staying up late reassuring your friends that their problems would be okay. Everything would be fine. 

With your parents dumping their problems onto you, it only added to the weight on your shoulders. Parents. Friends. School. While searching for the answers for everyone else, you never had time for yourself. You pushed your own problems off to the side. 

You couldn’t bring them up now. No way. Not when everyone else was already dealing with other issues. What kind of asshole adds to other people’s problems? You couldn’t do that to them. You wouldn’t. 

That’s how it went until you crumbled. Your glass shoulders had shattered. Your legs collapsed. Exhaustion hung over you like a storm cloud. You can give and give and give, but it will eventually catch up to you. The human body was only made for so much. 

Something inside of you had broken along the way. You created your walls and that was your home. You pushed people away. You stopped coming out of your room. As much as you had once loved people, it was so much easier to be alone. 

It felt better to drown in your problems by yourself. At least, you weren’t hurting anyone this way. You could suffer alone and nobody else would be hurt besides yourself. It didn’t feel right going to people and taking up so much space. Being vulnerable with people was something you could never seem to grasp. 

You turned inward on yourself. Even after you finished school, you spent your days pacing around in that brick wall that you built. Studying every brick and trying to figure out how to get out. How could you face the world when you had been closed off for so long? 

You had met Minho by accident. He had quite literally bumped into you and knocked you to the ground while in a rush to get to the JYP building. He had apologized non-stop and offered to disinfect and bandage your scraped palms. 

You were about to turn down his offer until you had a change of heart. It had been years since you had distanced yourself from past friendships and let them die. You had never known how to befriend someone, but now was your chance. 

You followed him into the JYP building and let him lead you to an office. He pulled out his phone to send a text to Chan announcing that he’d be late to a recording session and that’s when you had seen his lockscreen with his cats. 

The moment you brought it up, his whole face lit up. The conversation shifted to the three cats. His warm brown eyes twinkled with delight. He spoke softly while he disinfected and bandaged your hands. Once he was finished, he led you back towards the entrance. 

He apologized for having to leave so soon, but he had to go to work. He gave you his number and insisted that if you texted him, the two of you could make plans and he’d buy you a coffee to make up for it. 

It took you a few days to finally work up the courage to text him. When you agreed on a time and a date, you showed up at the coffee shop the day of. You had arrived twenty minutes early, but he was already sitting at an empty table waiting. 

He grinned upon seeing you and made a joke about how desperate you must have been to see him again for showing up so early. You had rolled your eyes and told him to get over his pride. 

You had been away from people for so long that you had forgotten how to have proper conversations. You often used sarcasm and said things that some people considered to be rude. You were worried that you had offended him, but he had only laughed at your remark. 

As the two of you went up to the counter to order drinks, your playful banter had only continued. Your conversations didn’t feel forced. Your cold remarks had been returned with Minho’s own version. You weren’t uncomfortable, you were thrilled. 

You didn’t know his story and you didn’t know his past, but he was so much like you that it hurt. The two of you started hanging out more and more. Your sarcasm and playful comments were continuously met with his own, but you could easily have serious conversations when you needed to. 

At one point, you had been having an awful day. You woke up late for work and someone backed into your car while you were on the way there. When you finally arrived, it was announced that your favorite co-worker was transferring jobs to another company building. 

The company internet, which all of you needed, had gone out for a few hours. Your boss yelled at you for something that wasn’t your fault. The list kept growing and growing and then you met up for coffee with Minho. 

When he joked that you looked like a raccoon with your eye bags, tears filled your eyes. He was right, you hadn’t been sleeping well lately. Your depression had spiked back up because of the cold weather and you felt so miserable. No matter how much sleep you got, it never seemed to be enough. 

He was expecting to receive a snide remark, but when he saw tears in your eyes, his face fell. He apologized instantly, but you shook your head. Blinking rapidly, you forced the tears back. You apologized for ruining the atmosphere and his heart broke. 

“Why are you apologizing?” 

“Because this is supposed to be a stress-free time period. I’m not supposed to be crying and ruining it.” You wiped a stray tear away with the side of your finger. 

“You’re not ruining anything by crying. Why are you crying anyway? What’s wrong? We should talk about it.” 

You frantically shook your head and insisted that it was nothing. You hadn’t been sleeping very well, but you refused to tell him anymore. The conversation went to his cats and then he began talking about his day at work. 

You pushed your problems down. Your thumb ran across the lid of your coffee cup as you listened. You nodded and commented here and there. He had even gotten you to laugh. 

He finished by taking a sip of coffee and then gestured towards you. “Okay, now it’s your turn. What did you do today? How did your day go?” 

You shrugged, “I went to work. It was just like every other day. I went to work and came home.” 

“What did you have for breakfast?” 

“Nothing.” 

“Why?” 

“I didn’t have time because I was running late.” 

“Oh, so you were late to work? Why? Did your boss get mad?” 

You continued to vaguely answer his questions, but you hadn’t realized that he was slowly figuring out why you had cried at his comment. You did have a shitty day and his innocent comment had been the final nail in the coffin. 

“You know, when two people are in a friendship, the relationship is fifty-fifty. I tell you my problems, you tell me yours. We give each other advice. We make each other laugh, but we’re also there when one of us is struggling.” 

Your gaze shifted down to your coffee cup, “I know.” 

“So why do you find it hard to open up to me? I want to hear about your days. I like hearing about the things you do. No matter how boring, I like to know about it.” 

You shrugged, “I don’t like bothering people.” 

“Do you like hearing about what I do?” 

“Of course.” 

“Then why is it different when you do it?” 

You shrugged again not wanting to dive into the topic deeper and began playing with your fingers. It was a topic that you didn’t want to talk about. Sensing this, Minho pulled out his phone to cheer you up. 

“Let me show you this new photo of my cats that I took this past weekend.” 

You brightened up and quickly picked your head up to coo over his cats. You had always been a fan of animals, but cats had always been your favorite. Growing up, you often had them as pets. 

Eventually, the two of you left the coffee place and headed home. You continued to regularly meet up for coffee. Every time you talked, it slowly became easier and easier to open up. You had finally met someone who understood. 

You didn’t have to be vulnerable in front of people, but having just one person to open up and relate to made it far easier to deal with life. Over time, your relationship became fully fifty-fifty. You talked about things and he talked about things. The two of you bickered like an old married couple. 

Eventually, he finally let you meet his band, they didn’t understand how the two of you did it. Minho would complain about something and you’d tease him for it. He’d threaten to fight you and you’d dare him to do it. 

The first time you met them, you had gotten into a pillow fight that left the two of you giggling and breathless while everyone else was bewildered. Minho quickly turned the pillow to Changbin to break the ice. He ripped it away and started beating Minho back. 

Minho stole your pillow and continued to fight Changbin. Wanting to join in on the fun, Chan grabbed his pillow from his room and thwacked Minho on the back of the head. The death glare that Minho gave him caused you to laugh. 

That’s when his attention had turned to you. Chan vowed to save you and soon everyone had pillows. Hyunjin shrieked with his hands up in the air as Felix chased him around the couch. I.N was on the floor with his hands over his head as Seungmin beat his head relentlessly. 

Han had ended up on the back of Changbin’s shoulders. Changbin had his arms tightened around Han’s legs and Han raised two pillows above his head. The two of them were after Chan. Han threw one right after another which caused Chan to slip and stumble into Seungmin. 

“Get yourself a cane, old man.” 

The words directed at Chan had caused enough of a distraction that I.N could get up. He slammed his pillow into the front of Seungmin’s face which caused him to yelp in shock. Felix screamed after Hyunjin had finally turned around to face him and began chasing him back. 

Minho’s eyes darted around wildly until they locked on you. He flew over towards you and started beating on you. Tired and breathless, you fell onto the ground laughing while he beat your torso.

After a while, he dropped himself to the ground, laid his pillow on your stomach and laid down. “Alright, that’s enough of that, I’m tired.” 

“Me too!” Hyunjin sighed and plopped down onto Minho’s thigh. 

He shot Hyunjin a glare, but dropped it when Felix curled up on his other leg. Soon they were all gathered around you. Everyone struggled to catch their breaths as sweat dripped down their faces. 

You let your eyes close at the quiet conversations around you. A friendship is fifty-fifty. Sure, it can be terrifying opening up and being vulnerable. It’s hard to break out of the walls you’ve placed around yourself, but having a friend is important. 

Who knows. Maybe you might find someone who is just like you. Maybe taking a chance is the bravest thing you can do for yourself. You never know what adventures you might experience when you step out of your room and begin to break down your walls.