Chapter Text
Two days had passed since your date with Jisung, but your heart still fluttered when you thought about it.
He’s been very affectionate lately, always sitting next to you (much to Minho’s dismay), squeezing your hand whenever you passed by and stealing soft glances every now and then.
You hadn’t expected one date to change so much. But now, everytime Jisung smiled at you something in your chest tightened.
You were in the kitchen looking at the bare fridge, dreading another grocery trip with all the boys. When a pair of arms wrapped around your waist and pulled you back into a solid chest.
“Hi, noona.” Jisung’s chin rested on your shoulder.
“Hey, Ji.” Smiling, you rested your head against his as you stared at the almost empty fridge.
“Ew.” The both of you jumped in surprise and turned around to find Hyunjin standing by the table.
“Go away ferret.” Jisung whined.
“What? I’m allowed to be here. You’re then one cuddling and hugging noona in the kitchen. You know the shit that will start if the wrong person walks in here.” Hyunjin crossed his arms over his chest as his eyes sharpened at Jisung.
Jisung stared at him wide eyed and lost for words. “What do you mean, Jinnie?” Hyunjin’s gaze instantly softened as he looked at you.
“Nothing sweet girl. Don’t worry about it.” You were caught of guard by the nickname. It hit deep. The boys tease about how ‘pretty’ you are but Hyunjin -lover boy Hyunjin- calling you sweet girl made you all warm and tingly inside.
However, you didn’t have a chance to respond as Felix, Seungmin and Minho walked in.
“What are you guys talking about?” Seungmin asked as he sat at the table.
“Nothing.” Jisung stepped away from you and sat at the table.
You noticed that 3 boys were missing and you weren’t surprised. You haven’t really seen Chan, Changbin and Jeongin since the big blow up between the boys and Minho. You weren’t going to beg them to hang out with you, you had 5 other boys that practically followed you around wherever you went.
You walked over to the pantry, noticing the dry ingredients and snacks also needed a top up.
Minho made his way from the doorway to the fridge, groaning when he opened it. “We need more food, jagi.”
The rest of the boys stiffened and stared at Minho. You, however, were too busying making a mental list to pick up on the mood shift.
“Jagiya, I’m talking to you.” Minhos voice was now right behind you. You jumped and turned to face him.
“You’re so jumpy.” He laughed down at you.
You stepped back, flustered by how close he was. Last time you saw Minho this up close was when he kissed you.
“Jagi.” His voice lowered as his long cat tail wrapped around your waist, pulling you closer.
“Ja- when.. uh jagiya?” Minho smirked as you struggled to get your sentence out. You weren’t used to being on the receiving end of that nickname.
“Leave her alone, Minho.” Seungmin called out from the table. Minho ignored Seungmin, clearly he didn’t care all eyes were on the two of you.
He leaned down to whisper in your ear which is when you saw all the boys staring over his shoulder. “You’re so cute when you’re flustered.” He teased before pulling away and walking back over to the fridge.
“I’ll go with you to the store, I could get out of the house.” He shut the fridge after figuring out what he wanted.
“I wanna come too, noona.” Jisung smiled sweetly at you, trying to hide how upset he was with Minho’s actions.
“Su-“ Minho cut you off with a sharp ‘no’ towards Jisung.
“You can leave her side for an hour, Jisung. You make it so no one else can have alone time with her.” Minho crossed his arms over his chest.
“You’re one to talk, hyung. You’re always with Noona. Every night you come trotting out of her room. What are the two of you even doing behind a locked door every night.” Seungmin said accusingly.
“Talking. I’m actually interested in the stuff she had to say and I don’t just hang around her when it’s convenient for me.” Minho snapped back. You really did not want another household fight and have to walk on eggshells.
“Guys. Don’t. Not everything needs to be a fight. We all know Y/n doesn’t like it when we fight.” Felix was the one to speak up, shocking you. You smiled at him which he returned shyly.
“Thank you, Lixie.” You walked out of the kitchen, missing the way Felix deflated.
You didn’t call him Jagi. Why didn’t you call him Jagi? He’s losing you. He’s losing the one person who means the most to him.
Felix could feel the tears threatening to fall. He rushed out, shoving past Jisung on his way to the stairs.
The bus ride to the store was quiet. Not a bad quiet in any way, you were used to being around Minho in silence. He grabbed your hand at the beginning of the ride and held it in his lap the whole time.
Once you got to the store you expected him to go off and get his own stuff like the first grocery trip, but this time he stayed by your side.
“Grab the eggs, jagi,” Minho called, leaning lazily against the cart handle.
You rolled your eyes, smiling. “Stop calling me that, people will stare.”
“They already are,” he teased. “Can’t blame them, though. You’re so pretty.”
You gave him a light shove, trying to hide the way your cheeks warmed. “You’re lucky you’re helping me carry all this, otherwise you’d be walking home.”
He chuckled, tossing some frozen waffles into the cart. “You say that, but we both know you’d miss me before we even hit the bus stop.”
You didn’t respond, but the small grin that tugged at your lips said enough.
There was something about being around Minho lately — he was still sarcastic and sharp, but now his edges felt softer, steadier. You could feel the quiet care under his teasing. The way he reached out to take heavier items from your arms without asking, the way his gaze lingered just long enough to make your heart skip a beat.
“Don’t forget these.” He said holding up a pack of blackberries.
You shook your head, “no one likes those.” There was a soft pout on your lips as you looked into the cart at the strawberries, blueberries and the many other fruits and veggies the boys liked.
“Yeah but these are your favourites.” Minho placed them into the cart before walking off. He had no idea how much that little moment meant to you.
You felt seen.
When you got back, you could hear laughter coming from the kitchen— certain laughs you hadn’t heard in almost 4 days.
Chan, Changbin, and Jeongin were there.
They haven’t said anything to you since the big blow up. Everytime you saw them in the hall they would look past you as if you weren’t there. They’d all gone distant, the cold shoulder cutting sharper than any argument.
But now, there they were. Talking, laughing softly, like nothing had happened.
Changbin noticed you first. His expression faltered for a moment before he smiled — hesitant, but hopeful. “Hey,” he said, stepping forward. “We heard you went grocery shopping and thought we’d help unpack everything.” He looked Minho up and down, clearly not knowing he went with you.
You nodded once, expression unreadable, and brushed past him to set the grocery bags on the counter. “Cool”
That one word hit harder than any scolding could’ve.
Chan’s brows furrowed. “That’s it? Just ‘cool’? We haven’t talked in days.”
You let out a quiet laugh — not cruel, just tired. “And that’s somehow my fault?”
The silence that followed was sharp.
Jeongin shifted uncomfortably. “Noona, that’s not fair—”
You weren’t going to respond, if they wanted to ignore you, you’d do it back.
Minho, however, thought differently. “What’s not fair, Jeongin? That you three decided to freeze Y/n out for something I did? That you made her feel like she wasn’t part of this family anymore?”
He was angry. Not some big blow up angry but the kind of anger that hurt you chest. “She shouldn’t have to fix things when I’m the one who broke them.”
The room fell silent. The grocery bags sat on the ground by your feet. You grabbed Minho’s hand as you looked up at him.
“It’s okay, love. Calm down.” You said softly, just for him to hear.
After a long moment, Chan sighed, running a hand through his hair. “He’s right,” he said softly. “We messed up. We were mad at the wrong person, you didn’t deserve that.”
“You’re right, I didn’t.” You gave Minhos hand a squeeze before letting go. “I just want you to stop acting like I’m a stranger, I’ve done more than enough to prove myself.”
Changbin nodded, shame and quilt written on his face. “We missed you, you know.”
You rolled your eyes, but your tone softened. “Yeah, well, you’ve got a funny way of showing it.”
You glanced over at Jeongin who looked like he was about to cry. His frown was so deep you were afraid his face would get stuck like that.
“Come here, baby.” You held your arms up for Jeongin who rushed over to you. He wrapped you in a bone crushing hug, whispering how sorry he was in your ear.
“You two,” Minho pointed to the two other boys. “Put these away.” He had to leave before he said something stupid.
He was annoyed. They didn’t deserve your forgiveness. Minho made his way up to your room, and got comfortable on your bed in his cat form.
The house had settled into an easy quiet again that night. You stood in the kitchen, filling your water bottle for the night when Felix walked in.
He stopped at the doorway, his usual grin softer this time. “Didn’t know Minho would actually go out with you.”
Turning around, you leaned against the counter, smiling faintly. “I think he just needed to get some fresh air. And food. Both equally important.”
Felix chuckled, stepping closer. “Yeah, you and Minho looked like a little domestic couple coming in with all those bags.”
You raised a brow. “Jealous?”
His grin faltered just slightly — not enough to be obvious, but enough for you to notice. “Maybe a little,” he admitted quietly, eyes flicking up to meet yours.
Your breath hitched. “Lixie…”
“There it is again. Why did you stop calling me Jagi? That was my nickname first.” You were taken aback by this. You didn’t mean to stop calling him that.
“I have multiple nicknames for all the boys. I didn’t mean anything by it, you’re still my jagiya.” You stepped closer to him, wanting to comfort him. You hated seeing him upset and lately that’s all you’ve seen.
He gave a half-shrug, the playful edge gone from his voice. “Maybe I’m just looking into it too much. I just- I like being around you, I like when you call me pet names, I like when you smile at me, I like everything about you… maybe more than I should.”
There it was — simple, honest, and unmistakable.
You felt your heart twist in your chest. Before you could say anything, he smiled again — softer this time. “Don’t worry. I’m not trying to make things complicated. I just wanted- no, I needed you to know.”
He stepped back, as if being so close to you was too much for him to handle. “You got a good heart, you know that? No wonder everyone’s losing their minds over you.”
You were at a loss for words. You wanted to say something, anything. You wanted to tell him how much he meant to you. How much you look forward to seeing his face every day. How you like being a reason he smiled. But you couldn’t get the words out.
You tried, but there were two people in your mind, holding you back.
Jisung.
Minho.
“Mm,” he hummed, backing toward the doorway with a soft smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Goodnight, Y/n”
And then he was gone.
When you went to bed that night, you couldn’t stop thinking about it; the way Felix’s voice had dropped when he said he liked being around you, the way Minho’s hand had brushed yours at the store, the way Chan’s eyes had softened when he apologized.
Every moment replayed in fragments -a look, a touch, a tone of voice- each one tangled with the others until you couldn’t tell where one feeling ended and another began.
You’d told yourself you wanted peace, that you just wanted things to go back to normal. But somewhere between Minho’s teasing smirk and Felix’s trembling smile, “normal” had stopped existing. Now everything felt charged -every glance, every word, every heartbeat in that house.
Lying there in the dark, you realized it wasn’t calm, not really. It was only pretending to be, like the air right before a storm.
Balanced on the edge of something bigger.
Something that thrilled you as much as it terrified you.
Because deep down, you already knew: once it broke, nothing between you and them would ever be the same.