Chapter Text
“Fuck,” Chan curses as a series of knocks pounds against his office door.
He told the guys he was going to work after ‘family’ dinner (which is more like Chan trying to stop his seven boyfriends from either stabbing each other with the chopsticks or defiling the kitchen table where they eat for fucks sake) just to tidy up the last track him, Jisung and Changbin were working on.
Time must have slipped away from him and now one of them have come to retrieve him and depending on who is knocking on the door, depends on how this will go.
If it’s Changbin or Jisung then they’ve either come to join him, see what progress he’s made or tell him that they can help him finish off tomorrow.
If it’s Felix, he’ll pout until Chan relents (it’ll take 10 seconds tops) and then Chan will be dragged to Felix’s bed where Hyunjin will more than likely be waiting and Chan will end up in an entanglement of limbs.
It’ll be similar if it’s Jeongin or Seungmin, except they’ll scold him first and say how Chan always looks after the rest of his boyfriends but doesn’t listen to his own advice and Chan will sigh and apologise and then Seungmin will refuse Chan’s affection as will Jeongin for all of five minutes before they allow their loveable boyfriend to pounce on them.
If it’s Minho, then Chan will be edged into another dimension until he’s so desperate to cum he might actually collapse. (In the best way.)
“Come in!” Chan yells once he realises he hasn’t answered, and that’s when Jisung’s head pops through the door along with the rest of him, the door shutting behind him with a gentle click.
“I’m just finishing up now- Hannie?” Chan stops his practiced words to stare at his boyfriend.
His round cheeks are puffed out and his bottom lip is quivering, eyes wet with unshed tears. “Baby?” Chan reaches for Han and Han goes, sobbing right into Chan’s arms.
“I fucked up,” Jisung clings to Chan like a koala to a tree. “I fucked up so bad Channie-“
It was pretty normal for Jisung to get in his own head, to get anxious, to pick apart things until all that was left was thoughts and feelings that could eat away at him and dull his sparkle until one of the guys (or all of them) made him realise he could shine again.
But this was different.
This was really different.
“Tell me when you’re ready,” Chan offers sweetly. Ignoring the pit that’s dropped to his stomach and the way his voice strains. “Let’s figure it out together, whatever it is. Okay?”
__________
“Hannie?” It’s Minho that speaks first, his hand a grounding weight on Jisung’s slim thigh because of course it’s Minho, his soulmate.
The eight of them, together….
They work, they meld.
They don’t have ‘favourites’ or ‘prefer’ one boyfriend to the next but there’s definitely things that each person reaches out to a specific partner for.
Jisung always goes to Minho for comfort.
Jisung always goes to Minho for reassurance.
Always.
And yet this time? Han went to Chan.
Minho tries not to dwell on it, just runs his thumb in a circle on his boyfriend’s thigh as his legs bounce up and down. Everyone is gathered on the settee’s after dinner for whatever ‘news’ Jisung has that he’s about to share with the rest of them.
And Chan knows.
Chan knows and Minho doesn’t and that’s- it’s fine. It’s really fine it’s just-
“I don’t know what to say-“ Jisung whispers.
“You can tell us anything Sungie.” Felix offers his biggest smile, the one that melts his boyfriend’s hearts and everyone else’s who steps into Felix’s vicinity.
“I-“ Jisung looks around the room quickly at his lovers before his eyes land on Chan’s, who gives Jisung an encouraging nod. “I’ve met someone.”
Minho’s hand involuntarily tightens on Jisung’s thigh but he relaxes it as he realises.
They’ve spoke about this, of course they have.
They’ve spoke about Whether they would ever add another person into their mix.
The eight of them together are already the ultimate chaos, but Changbin once had a super soft moment and said “eight is fate” and nobody had ever thought otherwise since.
The fact Jisung is telling everybody about this… well this person must be special to Jisung, and that immediately makes them special to the other seven.
Their polyamory works as a team, if they find someone, that person has to be willing to be with the REST of them too.
It’s all or nothing.
Plain and simple.
They share each other and love each other and have respect for each other but they would never go against that, it’s their number one thing above all else in this relationship.
“You have?” Hyunjin asks.
“What’s he like?” Seungmin wonders.
“This is a big deal, especially if you’re telling us.” Changbin notes.
“They-“ Fuck Jisung’s bottom lip is wobbling and Minho’s shoulders have never felt so tense. “They’re a ‘she’ guys…”
The silence is suffocating.
“It’s a woman- the person I’ve met, it’s not a guy it’s- it’s a woman and-“
“Really?” Jeongin asks shocked.
“Oh,” Felix says more surprised than anything.
“What’s she like?” Hyunjin needs to know.
Jisung shakes his head, forcing his eyes to shut but there’s tears steam rolling over his round cheeks. “I haven’t told her about you guys- I’ve tried- I want too- I’m just- I didn’t know how you would react and I don’t know how she’s going to react and-“
And Minho’s heard enough. “Are you out of your fucking mind?” He stands up, facing his seven boyfriends.
“Minho-“ Chan warns.
“This is ridiculous! So you’ve lied to her the whole time AND kept this from us? What does she think we are to you, huh? Have you even once mentioned us?!”
“Roommates-“ Jisung’s shame fills him entirely. “I’m so sorry I-“
And Jisung is sobbing and Minho wants to reach out and hold him but he’s so fucking angry at him that he can’t.
Felix does, swaddles Jisung into his lap and rocks him as he cries harder.
“Minho,” Chan says again. “You know another person in our relationship only gets brought up when someone is serious-“
“So serious that he hasn’t even told her about us! I was told that there were others on the first date!” Minho throws back, but he aims this at Jisung.
“Minho, are you getting worked up because you’re upset about there being another person in our relationship or because she’s female?” Changbin genuinely questions.
“Oh fuck you!” Minho hurls the swear at Changbin. “How dare you-“
There’s no secret that the eight of them don’t really care for gender, some more than others but during past conversations over the previous years there’s been mention of a potential female popping up now and again but nothing like this, nothing anyone has directly claimed for like Jisung so clearly has, not by an actual person, it was more a general topic.
And Minho, Minho likes women, he’s attracted to women, he really is.
He’s just never… been with a woman.
So Changbin’s dig hits him like a knife, straight to the stomach to slash him to pieces.
“Let’s go-“ Seungmin stands up, grabbing Minho and starting to pull him out of the room, “Let’s take a walk or something, you need to cool down-“
“No!” Minho’s still yelling. “No I…Jisung.”
“Minho-“
“Han Jisung,” Minho hisses and Jisung finally pulls himself from Felix to look up at him.
“If I asked you to choose-“
“You. All of you. Always.” Jisung doesn’t even hesitate.
Minho clenches his jaw.
The answer doesn’t make him feel any better like he wanted it too.
Jisung clearly likes this woman.
Minho’s insecurities about not ever being with a woman shouldn’t stop this, and yet he wants it too.
“I’ll tell her I- I want to tell her about you all. I want her- I want her to be ours. All of ours-“
“You must really like her,” Hyunjin was always the hopeless romantic.
Jisung nods. “I do, and I think you guys will too-“
“Well I’m sure she can’t wait to meet your roommates.” The last word is spat, bitterly out of Minho’s mouth before he’s heading for the front door and slamming it behind him.
Fuck.
Seungmin goes to step out after him, but a hand pulls him back with a gentle tug. “Let him go for a bit?” Changbin asks, knowing full well he wouldn’t stop Seungmin if he was hell bent on going after Minho.
Seungmin nods. Sometimes it was better for Minho to be alone and think things through.
“It’s my fault, I went too far with my comment.”
Changbin sighs. “I’ll apologise when he’s cooled off.”
“He hates me-“
“Han, don’t talk nonsense.” Jeongin exasperates. “We all know that isn’t true.”
“I’m sorry I haven’t told her yet- I’m sorry I didn’t tell you guys until now I-“
“It’s okay,”
Felix soothes his hands over Jisung’s wet cheeks. “I understand, yeah?” And Felix does. It took him a while himself to work up the courage to mention Seungmin to the others when he fell hard for the quirky devil with a mouth full of hidden compliments conspired as insults, floppy hair and a killer smile.
Felix looks over at Seungmin but he’s already looking back with a soft smile.
“You need to tell her though Sung, yeah?” Chan reminds Jisung.
“Yeah,” Jisung swallows. “Yes.”
“Now can you tell us her name at least?” Hyunjin’s question manages to pull a smile out of Jisung and he wipes his cheeks that have the remainder of tears on before answering. “Y/N. Her name is Y/N.”
…..
The cafe doesn’t open until seven.
So why the fuck is there an insistent knocking on the door a solid forty five minutes before opening?
Is the giant “CLOSED” sign not enough of a hint for whoever the fuck was going to break their damn knuckles on the door if they carried on?
People are clearly getting way too addicted to caffeine.
“I’m sorry but we aren’t open yet-Jisung?” Your eyes widen at the guy stood on the other side of the door. “What’re you doing here? Are you okay? What the-“
Jisung lunges forward and hugs you, tight. “I’m sorry, I know, sorry-“
“Jisung,” you pull back and look at him carefully. “What is it?”
“I-“ Jisung swallows. “Are you free after you get off work later?”
You look at him incredulously. “The sun hasn’t even risen yet and you came all the way here to see if I was free later? You have my number you know? You sent me a very cute selfie the other night-“
“Please just tell me you’re free. You get off at three on a Wednesday right? Can you- can I pick you up after work?”
“Yeah I’m free. Where are we going?”
You and Jisung have been seeing each other for a couple months now. Nothing ‘too’ serious but you actually really wanted it to be.
He was a total sweetheart, and the funniest man you’d ever met. (You won’t tell your best friend WooYoung you said that though)
“My place?”
And you try not to let yourself burn at the implications. “Your place?”
Jisung nods. “Is that okay? I’ll order us a late lunch? We could watch an anime?” I’m going to tell you about my seven boyfriends and hope you don’t run away.
He doesn’t say that last bit, though. It goes unsaid, wraps around his brain again and again and again.
“Late lunch and anime? What about cuddles?”
Jisung laughs, that beautiful dopey laugh that makes your heart thrum. “I suppose I can do cuddles…”
“You suppose?”
“Mmm, only if you save me a slice of cheesecake.”
“Don’t I always?” You ask back.
And you did. Ever since the first time Jisung picked you up from work to go on a date, you’ve brought him a sweet treat from the cafe to enjoy afterwards, but after figuring out just how much Jisung loved cheesecake, you have stuck with that being the treat every-time.
“You’re right. Cuddles too then.”
“Did you really come all the way over here to ask me over to your house at ass o clock in the morning? Have you even slept?”
“And that’s my cue! Three o’clock! I’ll be right here waiting for my cheesecake.”
“And me, I hope.”
“And you,”
“I’m convinced you’re only dating me for the cheesecake-“
“It’s hell of a perk!” Jisung places a kiss right at the top of your forehead and leaves the cafe.
Your heart soars.
……
“Fuck,” Jisung pants into your mouth and you swallow it up, along with the moan that follows after as you grind into his lap.
This was meant to be cuddles, anime, late lunch and confessing that Jisung has seven boyfriends that are in HIS bedroom right now waiting for him to hurry the fuck up and speak, but the second you got into Jisung’s apartment and kicked off your shoes, wearing one of Jisung’s oversized hoodies (that is actually Changbin’s) because you got cold on the walk here made Jisung almost feral, he had pinned you against the door and kissed the literal breath out of you.
And now you were straddling his lap, grinding down right into his erection which is painfully hard as you pant into each others mouths, nipping at each others lips and breathing so hard your lungs may collapse, especially when your kisses move down towards Jisung’s jaw and neck. His weak spots.
“Y/N fuck, fuck wait shit-“ Jisung feels like he’s going to cum in his fucking jeans. His hands fly up to your hips and your lips are bitten red, spit shining and swollen and Jisung audibly swallows. “I need to talk to you first. I don’t just- I didn’t just bring you here for this.”
“Late lunch and anime isn’t a euphemism?” You tease but you’re only joking. Pressing a quick peck to Jisung’s lips.
You’ve never actually gone further than kissing, and they’ve always been chaste, not short per say but definitely not this, not tongue and desperation. “What is it?”
The same question you had asked Jisung this morning, and he has the exact same look in his eyes.
You’ve deciphered it.
It’s panic.
“Jisung?” You climb out of his lap and sit yourself next to him instead, his hands tremble as they find yours, clutching you tight.
A silent beg.
Please don’t leave.
“I need to tell you something-“
“Okay?”
“You know my-“ fuck how was Jisung supposed to do this? “You know how I told you I have seven roommates?”
“Yeah? I don’t know how you keep this place so clean with eight guys living here honestly. I’m impressed.”
And god you look so innocent, so worried for Jisung, so completely and utterly oblivious.
“They aren’t my roommates. They are my boyfriends.”
“Sorry?”
“My boyfriends. I’m in a polyamorous relationship with seven other men, and I want… we want… you.”
“….what?”
“We want to date you. Exclusively. The eight of us. We want-“
“I don’t understand?”
“I know. Believe me I know but if you just listen-“
You pry your hands out of Jisung’s grasp and stand up shakily on your legs. “You have boyfriends? Seven of them? Plural?”
“Yes-“
“And you want…”
“You to join us.”
“Join you?! What am I a fucking sexual fantasy? I’m just the female to your orgy or something right? This is what this is? You all just want to use me and-“
“No! No no I swear to you-“
“I thought you liked me.”
“I do! So much! It’s the only reason I didn’t tell you straight away, it’s the only reason I-“
“Lied to me?! This is- this can’t be happening-“ is it possible to laugh and cry at the same time? Because that’s what you’re doing. “Fuck I’m an idiot.”
“No, no no baby please just listen we- me and the guys we-“
And then there’s the sound of a door creaking open from somewhere down the hallway.
Jisung freezes.
They said they wouldn’t come out.
“Oh my God-“ you’re quickly rushing to get your shoes on your feet. “This isn’t happening this isn’t happening.” And your mind is reeling with panic and fear and the worst possible thoughts of what scenario this could end in.
“Y/N please!”
You’re out the door before you can see or hear or do anything else.
Fight or flight mode is utterly activated and you’ve grown wings because you’re fucking zooming.
Red-bull should sponsor you.
….
“Y/N! Y/N wait please-“
“Don’t touch me!” You feel an arm grip and turn you back around but it’s gone the second you yell out. Making you stumble back.
You look up at the man, you have no choice, he’s right in front of you.
“Listen, I know Jisung just told you something you probably was not prepared to hear-“
“That’s one way of putting it.”
“But it isn’t like you said, it isn’t just a sexual thing, it isn’t just a fantasy, it isn’t-“
“I don’t believe you.”
“I understand that-“
“We’ve been dating for months! He never ONCE brought up the fact that he had seven fucking other people that he was in a relationship with! He’s lied to me the entire time! And you really expect me to believe that you all want to date me?”
“Would you have given him a chance? If he had told you from the start?”
“Oh so you’d rather the route he took and get me to fall for him so that he can manipulate me and lie into agreeing to be with you all?!”
“No! No that’s not- you’ve fallen for him?”
“Fuck that’s not- that isn’t what this is about!”
“I just don’t want you to think we want you as an object. It’s not like that. It won’t be like that.”
You scoff. “Unbelievable-“
“I go by Chan, actually.”
You glare at the man as he attempts a small smile. “I’m sorry we all met this way, it- I can see why you felt ambushed.”
Ambushed is putting it lightly.
“Can you just- can I ask something of you?”
The audacity of this man.
Of these men.
“Will you think about it?”
“About dating eight guys at the same time?”
“About being a part of something sincere.”
You clench your jaw and frantically wipe at your face, at the stray tears cooling on your cheeks.
“Please just think about it yeah?”
He leaves you with that.
Your mind reeling.
In utter overdrive and despair and the consent repeat of ‘what the fuck just happened’ along with the confession that fell from your lips, that you had fallen for Han Jisung and that he had shattered any and all trust you thought you had.
…..
“Y/N?”
And you let it all out.
Colliding into your best friend’s arms and letting him hold you as you do.
“I’ll open the wine.” San, WooYoung’s boyfriend announces once he see’s the state you’re in.
“Don’t bother pouring it in a glass, just bring the bottle!” WooYoung calls out to San before holding you even closer.
________________
“Y/N! Can you go wait on table ten please?” Yunho asks as you come back from your lunch break to the cafe being full.
“You should have told me to come back!” You rush to get to work. “I would have taken my break later-“
“You’re entitled to a break. They don’t pay us enough to work too hard.” Yunho smiles at you kindly and you genuinely find yourself smiling back before heading to the table, until you realise what he just said.
“You pay me Yunho!” You laugh. He literally owned the place.
“Took you long enough to catch on!” He teases.
And he paid you more than enough, including tips.
It was one of those cutesy cafes, customers could either order at the til or sit at a table ready to be waited on, it was actually an easy enough job, though it did keep you busy.
It was worth it, it was comforting and satisfying and you couldn’t imagine working anywhere else, which is so strange because you only took the job when WooYoung introduced to to Yunho because you were in serious need of an income, and here you remain three years later.
“Hi! I’m Y/N and I’ll be your server today. What can I get you?”
“Can I get an iced americano please?” The guy on the right asks, long dark hair and the plumpest lips you’ve ever seen in your life.
You want to know where he had them done because they look so real and you’re honestly jealous.
“I’ll have the same please.” The guy on the left smiles, dimples perfectly denting either side of his face and his eyes sharp around the edges but softening as he looks at you.
“Of course.” You scribble it all down. “Anything else?”
“A chance.” The guy on the right asks.
“I’m sorry?” You ask unaware.
“Or should we say a second chance?” The guy on the left asks.
“I’m not following,”
They both smile at you a little more sheepish now. “We… we’re with Jisung.”
You feel your body stiffen. “You- you’re both-“
“One of the other guys? Yeah. I’m Jeongin.”
“Hyunjin.”
“I ummm- I’ll be back with your iced americano’s. To go, because you need- you need to go-“
….
“We tried Sung we really did…” Hyunjin sighs.
“So what, you just took the coffee to go?” Changbin wonders.
“What would you have done?” Jeongin fires back. “Made her even more uncomfortable by staying?”
“No,” Changbin is quick to say in hopes to calm down Jeongin, who’s clearly worked up by the whole thing. “I was just curious, that’s all.”
“Sorry,” Jeongin grumbles. “I just-“
“She’s beautiful.” Hyunjin tells Jisung with a sad smile.
“I know,” Jisung says back with a sniffle.
“Do you think she’ll come around?” Jeongin asks, not even knowing himself why he’s so bothered about the whole situation, he’s had what? Not even half a real conversation with you and his skin is itching with the need for more.
“No,” Jisung says pessimistically.
“You don’t know that.” Chan offers calmly.
Minho snorts from across the room.
“Minho,” Chan looks at him pointedly.
“She clearly doesn’t want anything to do with us. Just move on already. You’re all acting heartbroken, the only one who should feel something is Jisung and he shouldn’t be this upset by her honestly, she clearly isn’t as affected.”
Jisung flee’s the room.
Guilt eats Minho alive and yet he remains where he’s stood.
“You can go back to being an insecure asshole all you want, but you should know better than anyone how hard it can be to accept polyamory and still want someone. You didn’t have a problem when it was Seungmin joining, or Hyunjin or me. Don’t be insensitive Minho, the whole tsundre act isn’t cute when it’s just mean.”
And with that, Jeongin stands and leaves the room. Leaving everyone’s jaws hanging on the fucking floor.
Minho’s included.
______________
“Good morning! What can I get you?”
Bit of a loaded question. Minho isn’t sure.
“Iced americano please.” He grits out the politeness but he’s sure his face is souring at how pretty you are.
Annoying.
Never judge a book by its cover but he just wanted to… see you.
See what the fuss was about, see what’s got HIS Jisung so worked up and heartbroken and see what’s made HIS Jeongin go all protective mode and see why he gave Minho such a… reality check.
“Here!” You pass it over to him and Minho blinks, getting his vision to refocus as he takes the americano from your hands.
The coldness of the plastic cup a contrast against the warm brush of your fingertips against his.
Startling him, really.
He drops the cup.
Because of course he does.
It splatters all over the counter between you both.
Cold liquid spilling down the counter and dripping onto the floor between Minho and you kind of reminds Minho of Jisung.
The way he’s trying to spill himself to you both, but neither of you are giving him the chance.
That hits Minho harder than the splashed coffee hit the counter.
“Shit-“
“Why don’t you take a seat and I’ll bring you a new coffee once I’ve cleaned up?” You offer the man. He’s clearly having a bad day, you can see it written all over his face.
“I can help?”
“It’s my job?” You laugh, uncertain of why he even offered, you didn’t get offerings like that ever in this line of work, even if it’s customers spilling things or dropping things or whatever.
You’re always expected to just clean it up without so much as an apology.
It is your job.
But you still deserve respect.
So why does it feel weird to be offered that?
“Take a seat, it won’t take me long.”
Minho watches as your eyes look at him with so much sincerity, and his legs work on autopilot, carrying him over to a table while all he can do is watch you clean up his mess, his fingertips still tingling.
…..
“Here,” you not only replace the coffee but you slide a chocolate chip muffin over to the guy.
Minho blinks. “I didn’t order this.”
“I know. You look like you could use a pick me up.”
“What if I didn’t like chocolate chip muffins?”
Minho watches as your nose crinkles up in the sheer declaration of such a thought. “What psycopath doesn’t like chocolate chip muffins?!”
Minho can’t help but let a shy smile slip across his face as he eyes the muffin.
It looks delicious.
“It’s on the house, incase that wasn’t clear.” You sit opposite him in the booth he’s chosen. “Mind if I join?”
“You’re already sat.” Minho deadpans.
You shrug and Minho watches as you roll your neck around your shoulders, clearly tense.
“Rough day?” Minho offers.
He’s never one for fucking small talk. He despises it. He just isn’t interested in people that aren’t HIS people.
And yet here he is.
Asking you of ALL people how you are.
“Something like that. You?”
“Something like that.”
The silence isn’t uncomfortable. It doesn’t make Minho think he’s trapped inside a locked room with no escape, it’s not suffocating, it’s not making him uneasy.
Why isn’t it making him uneasy?!
“Want to talk about?” Minho finally asks you, peeling the casing from the muffin and taking a bite.
He almost groans outloud.
He has his own little baker boyfriend, Felix back home so this almost feels like betrayal, which is hilariously ironic because Minho came here to finally ‘meet’ you because that’s exactly how he felt towards you.
“Do you really want to know?”
Yes. Minho shrugs. “If you need to talk about it.”
You take a breath and close your eyes, opening them again just to find the customer watching you, almost in anticipation. “I went through a breakup last week.”
“Oh?”
“The guy I was dating… it just… it didn’t work out.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” It sounds fake coming from Minho’s mouth. “How long were you together?”
“Five months?” You’re not sure why you sound so uncertain about it. “It felt- it felt like forever? But also not long enough? It’s- it was weird.”
“Was he?”
“What?”
“Was he weird?”
“No, actually. He was pretty normal. Clumsy, charming, incredibly funny. Talented…”
You sound wistful, Minho notes and he feels the next bite of
muffin choking him as it makes it way down his throat.
“I really-“ you shake your head. “Gah, I feel like such an idiot.”
“Why?”
“I just- God I really fell for him. I really… I really thought that we were…”
Fuck. “Fuck.” And it’s the most sincerity Minho’s put into this conversation with you as of yet. “I really didn’t want to like you.” And yet he does.
HE does.
You look at the man completely taken off guard. “I beg your pardon?”
“You uhh- I’m-“
“Oh my God!” You jump up from the booth. “Are you fucking kidding me!? You’re one of them, aren’t you?!”
“I’m sorry- I didn’t… I don’t…”
“What IS it with you guys?! Can you just, can you just all fuck off? Stop coming here! This is my place of work! I just- I don’t need you all rubbing my ‘loss’ in my face or trying to- whatever the fuck it is you came here to do!”
“Prove a point.” Minho says back. “I came here to prove a point.”
“Which is?!”
“That you’re not special.” Minho blurts.
But he was wrong.
He was wrong and his mouth aches to say that but yet it can’t.
It won’t.
It refuses.
Stubborn fucking brain.
Smooth Minho. Real fucking smooth.
“Shit, I didn’t mean- I can’t-“
“I think you should leave.” Yunho is a fucking lifesaver.
“If you could let me explain-“
“Get out of my cafe.” Yunho says again.
Yunho was a ray of sunshine, sweet and kind and incredibly thoughtful. It almost makes you feel ill at the contrast of him being so harsh.
Minho goes, but not before his eyes meet yours. Pleading, vulnerable in a way that Minho normally isn’t.
You look away right as Minho catches the tear streaming your cheek.
He really fucked up.
…..
“I really fucked up.”
His seven boyfriends stare at Minho from where he’s just ran into the living room, not even kicking off his shoes or hanging up his coat or anything.
“I really fucked up.” He repeats.
“Is this your way of apologising?” Jeongin asks outloud. “Because-“
“No! No I mean, yes I need to apologise but no that’s not- I went to the cafe. I- I spoke to Y/N.”
Jisung’s eyes snap up to Minho’s. Wide and worried. “What happened?”
“I-“ fuck. “I really didn’t want to like her. But I did, you were right she’s- she really likes you Sung. Like, really fucking likes you, it was wrong for me to say any different.”
“So how did you fuck up?” Chan steps in. “What did you actually do?”
“Well I-“
Everyone jumps. Loud knocks barrage from the front door.
“HAN JISUNG!”
Jisung knows that voice.
Choi San.
One of your closest friends.
He’s had double dates with you and his boyfriend WooYoung plenty of times.
He can’t imagine he’ll be having anymore.
“Shit.” Jisung scrambles, heading for the front door before opening it. “San-“
Jisung yelps. San grabs Jisung by the collar and slams him against the nearest wall. “What the FUCK is your problem huh?!”
“San! San get off him!” Jisung registers WooYoung’s voice and then he’s finally able to breathe when Chan and Changbin are quick to jump in.
Changbin checking over Jisung while Chan watches San with a scary glint in his eye.
“Get out of my house.”
“No.” San says back, crossing his arms over his chest.
“I’ll call the police-“
“Call them. I’ll tell them about how you’ve all been harassing and stalking my friend at her place of work.”
“San come on you’ve made your point-“ WooYoung tries. “I’m sure they’ll leave Y/N alone now-“
“She really fucking liked you.” San aims this at Jisung. Looking past the man in-front of him to see Han squirm. “Me and Woo did too.”
Jisung swallows hard at that.
He actually really respected WooYoung and San.
They were pretty much the only ‘family’ you had even if it wasn’t by blood.
Jisung didn’t take it lightly that he had hung out with them, had double dates with them, were invited to their apartment for drinks or a games day…
“I really like her too San, you know I do I-“
“San?! Woo?! What the fuck are you guys doing here!?” You pant out as you get to the house. Having come straight from work when you had a text from San saying that he was going to ‘knock some sense into them guys and maybe a restraining order too.’ After you had cried to WooYoing down the phone when Yunho gave you a much needed break to explain what had gone down previously in the day.
“Y/N.” Jisung’s voice trembles as he says your name, as he sees you. You look tired, and sad, and… heartbroken.
“They can’t just keep doing this to you Y/N!” San shouts and you flinch.
Jisung vaguely remembers a comment or two about you being raised by wolves and he itches to reach out and hold you, tell you he’s sorry, tell you he loves you, beg on his knees for forgiveness.
Whatever it takes.
Jisung would do it.
He would.
“We’re sorry,” the man you remember as Hyunjin steps forward now. “We truly didn’t mean to cause you harm Y/N.”
“What about when you told her she wasn’t special?!” Wooyoung’s patience is thinning at this rate.
Jisung feels like a bucket of ice has been poured over his head. “What?”
“Nobody said-“
“I did.” Minho interrupts Chan. “I said it.”
“God, when you said you fucked up you really did huh?” You hear someone whisper that, and you look over to see a taller guy you don’t recognise with thick framed glasses and nearly cut hair, a smaller guy beside him, platinum blonde and watching everything unfold with worried eyes, they lock with your own and you have to look away.
San launches for Minho but you never could deal with violence, willing to do anything to stop it.
So you jump in between and grunt as the fist meant to collide with Minho’s face connects with your own cheek instead.
Making you fall to the ground.
Hard.
“Y/N!”
“Baby!” Jisung snaps out of it and instantly comes to your side. “Y/N…”
You wish his touch didn’t comfort you still. Didn’t make you want to lean into it, be held and never let go.
Instead a sob ripples from your throat, and not from the pain of your now throbbing cheek.
Wooyoung rips you from Jisung’s grasp and pulls you into his arms.
San stays stood behind him, trembling at what just happened, Minho fearing no different.
That punch was meant for him.
“Let me see,”
Wooyoung lifts your chin but blood just pools down the side of your face. San’s ring must have cut across your cheekbone.
“I’m a doctor.” The one with dark hair you don’t know blurts. “I can help.”
“There’s no way-“
Wooyoung shoots San a warning look and San instantly shuts the fuck up.
“Can I?” The guy steps forward. “If you don’t want to think of me as uhh, one of these guys for now, you can call me Doctor Kim? But my names Seungmin.”
He doesn’t touch you, but he does inspect the cut on your cheek. “You’re lucky your cheekbone isn’t broken.”
“Yeah? I feel really lucky right about now.” You murmur sarcastically.
Seungmin’s lips quirk up at your sense of humour. “Can I take you into another room? Stitch up that cut? Disinfect the area?”
“I can come with you.” Wooyoung takes your hand and squeezes it.
You shake your head and blanch when a wave of nausea hits you, your head spinning.
You stumble a little but you land into Seungmin who respectfully holds you by the shoulders. “May be a concussion too, you hit the ground pretty hard, come on.”
“Stay with San,” you close your eyes to try and help the dizziness but WooYoung knows you’re talking to him.
“Lix, Get an ice pack for the guys knuckles. They’re bruising at an alarming rate.” Seungmin tells… the blonde, maybe? While he steers you out of the room.
“Y/N I’m sorry!” San shouts frantically, but you don’t have the energy in your voice to shout back right now.
…..
You hiss and try to pull away as a liquid makes your cheek burn. “Fuck!”
“Sorry,” Seungmin says calmly. “I’ll be as gentle as I can.”
You keep your eyes closed and feel his warm breath on your face as he leans in to help clean you up. “The area should be numb now while I stitch, but you might feel a slight pinch at first, okay?”
“Okay.” Because what else could you say?
A few small knocks echo in the room you and Seungmin were both in. It looked like an office, a wheelie chair and big desk with monitors and computer screens adorning it, and then you and Seungmin were sat on a leather settee that he had sterilised previous to starting to help you.
“It’s just me,”
“It’s Felix. Can he come in?” Seungmin asks you.
He actually asks you.
“I guess?” Its not like anything has stopped them from barging into your life so far has it.
It turns out that Felix is the blonde.
His head pops through the door and your eyes meet his. He sends you a wide smile but you’re unable to reciprocate it right now. He closes the door behind himself and pads over to you both. “Hi.”
“Hi,” you greet back as best you can.
“That guy San, he’s got the ice pack on, his knuckles aren’t split, but they are really swollen.”
“Probably broken then.” Seungmin confirms and you stiffen as you watch him pull the thread through the needle ready to stitch you.
“You can hold my hand? If you want?” Felix suggests.
And whether it was really appropriate or not right now you realise your own nails have been digging into the palms of your hands a little too much, visibly wincing when you remove them from yourself.
Felix lightly takes your hands, rubbing soothing circles into your knuckles with his thumb.
“Thank-you.”
“I don’t think you have anything to thank us for.” Seungmin says back.
You swallow hard and try to keep your breaths steady as you feel the uncomfortable point of the needle in your skin, making you squeeze Felix’s hands on instinct.
“You’re doing great.” He encourages but you sadly laugh at such words, a tear rolling down your face that Seungmin has to catch before it goes into the wound.
“I’m falling apart.”
“Hence why I’m stitching you back together.” And you know that this Seungmin guy is smarter than that, you all know damn well you’re not talking about the cut on your face.
…..
“Y/N!” Jisung stands the second he sees you come out of Chan’s office with Seungmin and Felix. Walking towards you to get a better look at you. “Are you-“
“Give her some space Sungie, yeah?” Felix asks Jisung and you really try not to look away in shame and jealousy and all sort of fucking emotions you can’t control as Felix caresses Jisung’s face to keep him a couple steps back from you, and your eyes roam, from face to face until they land stuck on the guy that came into your cafe today.
The guy who spilled coffee and you gave a free muffin to.
The guy you told about the dagger that was put through your back and into your heart only for him to just twist them in deeper.
“Y/N!” You’re pulled into a familiar embrace before you get chance to contemplate anything further.
You hug San back just as tight.
“You got hell of a hook San.” You tell him as you pull back and wipe the tears on your sensitive friend’s face. “Maybe you should take up boxing.”
Wooyoung snorts, bumping his boyfriend out of the way to throw an arm over your shoulder and pull you into him. “You okay?”
You’re not exactly sure how to answer that. “Can we go?” You ask instead.
“Wait!” Jisung shouts. “Wait please! Y/N please-“
“Jisung-“ it pains you to say his name.
“Can we just- can I just- I just-“
“Do you think you’d be willing to talk to us?” You remember him, Chan. The one who chased after you the last time you fled this house. “Or Jisung, at least? Do you think…”
“I don’t know.” And you honestly don’t. “But I really need you to all stop coming to my place of work.”
“That’s understandable. We’re really sorry we- we just wanted…”
“Me?” And you feel stupid for asking.
“You.” Chan answers confidently, he doesn’t falter or waver. Looks you straight in the eyes as he tells you. “Yes.”
“Maybe you could join us for dinner one night?” And it’s Felix that says this, the guy that just held your hands through the stitching of your face, encouraging you that it was ‘just a little bit longer’ and letting you squeeze the life out of him like you were in bloody labour or something.
“There’s no way-“ WooYoung smacks a hand over San’s mouth to once again shut him up.
It’s not that you didn’t appreciate San’s protectiveness, because you did. So much. But WooYoung knew that this was a decision only YOU could make.
“Just to talk! We’ll cook your favourite meal! Well, Minho will but-“
“My favourite meal will be impossible to cook.” You can’t help but tell him.
“Beef wellington.” Jisung says before you get chance too.
And he doesn’t need to ask if he’s right, because he knows damn well he is.
“Does Friday work?” Felix presses on but with no pressure, with softness and a hint of hope in his eyes.
“Can I think about it?”
“We normally eat around eight! So if you turn up we’ll have a beef wellington ready and waiting for you.”
…..
“You don’t actually expect me to cook a beef wellington right?” Minho asks once you’ve left, along with your friends.
“We absolutely do.” Felix says, his sunshine smile perched right on his lips.
“She won’t come.”
“Because you said she isn’t special?” Seungmin raises an eyebrow at Minho.
“I didn’t mean-“ Minho sighs almost defeated already. “I didn’t mean to say it like that. And I didn’t mean to cause all of that…”
“She took a punch for you.” Chan reminds Minho, and Minho is well fucking aware. It’s all he’s been able to think about. “The least you can do is make a beef wellington.”
“And apologise.” Changbin chimes in.
“That goes unsaid, and that’s all goes for ALL of us.” Chan explains to his boyfriends. “Apart from maybe Changbin, Lix and Seungmin.”
“And what am I supposed to do until Friday? How am I supposed to- I mean-“ Jisung stammers. “She just keeps getting more and more hurt and it’s all my fault and now- what if she really doesn’t turn up? What if I really have lost her?”
“We haven’t, yet.” Felix tries to assure him. “She would have flat out said no to Friday if that was the case.”
And that’s pretty accurate. “She doesn’t take me for the type to go along with something she doesn’t want to do.” Hyunjin also adds.
“Didn’t you say that you made her watch all five twilights?” Seungmin asks Jisung. “If she did that for you then I’m sure her feelings are more than surface level.”
“You did that for me too.” Jisung tells Seungmin.
“Because I love you, idiot.”
Jisung smiles and Seungmin rolls his eyes but deposits a kiss to the top of Jisung’s forehead.
“Let’s all just go about our week and hope Y/N decides to come Friday, and if she does we won’t bombarded her yeah? We’ll apologise, and maybe we could ask for a second chance, a fresh start from all of us? Unless one of you are against the idea of dating her…”
There’s no objections.
Not even from Minho.
“Then that settles it.”
Chan declares. “Friday is beef wellington night!”
_____________
“You’re not actually going-“ San shoots up from the settee the moment you step out of your bedroom, a little more dressed up than usual but only makeup and hair wise, you stuck to your regular light wash jeans and simple t shirt for the meal, but if you added some extra shine to your cheeks and spent time curling your hair that the burns on your fingers are cursing you for well that’s… it’s pretty stupid actually.
Why did you even bother?
“Are you insane?!” San continues.
“I must be. I’m about to go to dinner at my ex’s house with his seven boyfriends.”
“Y/N.” There’s a crease in the middle of San’s brow.
“Let her go,” WooYoung pulls on San’s arm. “She has us on speed dial incase she needs you to all Rambo on them again.”
San flickers to where your eye and cheek is heavily caked in concealer. “Y/N…”
“If you’re about to apologise again-“
San pouts. Wooyoung laughs, you put a brave smile on your face.
“I need closure.” Is what you tell your friends.
“I don’t think you’ll get it,” and WooYoung has never been anything is not completely honest. “They’re hot though. Like all eight of them. Smoking.”
San just pouts harder.
“I’m not going there for that!” You gawk.
“You know that’s what they want though right?
I think they were being serious.”
“And I think it’s a ploy for a fucking orgy!” you shout back. “I’m going there to set boundaries.”
“…great logic babe,” Wooyoung deadpans. “Going to their house to set boundaries.”
“Isn’t that what San did?” You gesture.
If San pouts any harder his bottom lip will be on the floor.
“And he was an idiot,” Wooyoung continues on. “But it’s getting you dinner with them. I guess? You can’t tell me you’re at least the tiniest bit interested? You still have feelings for Jisung after all and-“
“I shouldn’t go,” you suddenly fumble.
“No! I mean-“ this isn’t where WooYoung was going with this. “You should do what YOU want to do. You wanted to go. You’re ready to go.”
“I’m being an idiot though right? Like San said?”
San and WooYoung exchange a cautious glance.
“Do you WANT us to talk you out of it?” WooYoung wonders. “Because I won’t.”
“Woo-“
He comes over and wraps you In a giant hug. “I think you’re scared, and I think you’re hurt, and I think- I think you’ll find yourself regretting not going and hearing them out,”
“And giving them a piece of your mind!” San adds for emphasis.
“And that,” WooYoung agrees. “But it’s your choice. You know that, right?”
“But I do… I do still love- have feelings for Jisung. And Seungmin and Felix were both really kind to me and- and that Minho guy-“ you shake your head. You couldn’t figure him out at all, and yet you wanted to. Even after what he’d said to you. “I think I really am insane.”
Wooyoung waits approximately three seconds after you’ve left to turn to his boyfriend. “What are the odds she actually agrees to date all eight of them by the end of the night?”
San sighs heavily. “I hate to admit it, but I think they might have decent odds.”
“Me too, but they better be on their knees begging her for it.”
“I can be on my knees-“ San teases, already falling to his to prove a point.
“Y/N is going to kill us if we fuck in her bed.”
San looks around your apartment. “Who says we need a bed?”
____________
“Sung?” Chan pops his head around Jisung’s bedroom door. “You’re not ready?”
“What’s the point in getting ready?” Jisung asks back. “It’s not like she’s going to turn up.”
Chan sighs, “Ji-“
“Forget it Chan. I don’t know what I was thinking. She could hardly look at me the other day, she was in pain! She was HIT.”
“That’s not your-“
“It’s my fault.”
Jisung sneers. “Don’t tell me it isn’t.”
“Okay,” Chan yields. “But Minho still has spent hours fretting over this beef wellington, so It would be appreciated for you to make the same effort back, yeah?”
And then the doorbell rings.
Chan gives a small smile. “I’d get dressed if I was you Sungie.”
….
“You actually came!” Are Felix’s first words to you as he opens the door, widest smile on his face and eyes barely open from how they crinkle as he smiles.
“I’m just as shocked as you,” you giggle nervously as Felix steps aside, allowing you in for you to take off your shoes.
“I can take your jacket?” Felix offers.
“Oh, thank-you.”
“It’s mine,” Hyunjin speaks up. “The jacket. It’s one I lent Jisung a while back, I wondered where it went.”
“Oh.. I didn’t realise, I’m sorry, I’ll leave it here and-“
“No, no take it home with you when you leave. It looks good on you. Better than it does on me-“
“I find that hard to believe.” You murmur and then realise what you just said.
Your eyes comically widen and you watch as a joyful smile tugs at Hyunjin’s lips along with a rose rising up his cheeks.
“Come in, come in!” Felix guides you through to the house and into the living room.
“I’d show you a round, but Minho would actually kill me if I set foot in the kitchen right now.”
“He’s been working on that beef wellington since sunrise.” Hyunjin joins in.
“He’s actually making it himself?”
“It’s your favourite, right?”
“…Right.” But why go through the effort? You can buy frozen ones that’ll be good enough, not restaurant quality but enough to satisfy the craving. There was no need to go through all the effort.
“Hello…” You watch as a man enters, and you vaguely recall him being the one to help WooYoung get San off of Jisung. “We haven’t been officially introduced. I’m Changbin.”
He bows. BOWS.
You find yourself bowing back, a little awkwardly but still. “Nice to meet you,”
“Is it?” He asks, a small playful smile on his lips.
And before you can even retort to that, there’s a hand under your chin, and you’re being made to look up, right into rich eyes, examining you thoroughly. “You shouldn’t have put makeup over your stitches, they’re still healing and they could get infected.”
Seungmin.
“Oh,” you whisper, a little timid. “Sorry.”
“You look pretty enough without the makeup.” He says and he sounds so final about it.
You’re not sure he’s ever seen you fully without make-up, but then again you hardly ever wear it to work and when you do it’s just a simple stroke of shadow on your eyelids, mascara and a plain gloss on your lips.
Not foundation and concealer like you have on now.
The blush rises to your cheeks even through the heavy layer of makeup on your skin and your chin starts to burn under the touch of his long fingertips, and he eventually lets you go. Saunters off to wherever the heck he’s going, leaving you with a burning touch and words on the tip of your tongue that you can’t get out.
“Seungmin has that affect on people,” Felix tells you, breaking you out of your trance. “He’s very.. blunt?”
“Blunt.” You repeat the word.
“Him and Minho, they’re actually really similar.”
“Seungmin and… Minho? The guy that just called me pretty versus the guy who said I’m not special?”
Everyone in the room wince’s slightly but you don’t feel bad about that, it’s true.
You can’t comprehend the comparison given the situation you’ve had with the pair of them so far.
“Well-“ Hyunjin tries but he’s interrupted.
“I’m glad you could make it.”
You remember him too. “Jeongin, right?”
His smile is cute but with a quirk. He looks cunning almost. “You remembered! See Changbin! It’s not hard to remember my name!”
“Innie-yah!” Changbin complains. “I called you Yongbok one time!”
“Four.” Jeongin deadpans back. “Four times.”
“Yongbok?”
“My Korean name.” Felix explains. “But only Changbin, Hyunjin and Minho call me Yongbok really, so feel free to call me whatever you prefer.”
“Food’s almost ready,” Chan pops into the room. “I’m glad you came, Y/N.”
“I think she’s regretting it already.” Seungmin shifts back into the room.
“Not quite yet, but give it an hour.” You try to joke.
Everyone around you laughs, clearly startled by your attempt at joking with them so early on.
You’re not even sure if you were joking though.
“Come on, let’s go sit at the table and get you a drink at least. Wine? Soju? Beer?”
“Can I just have a glass of water please?” You follow everyone out to a dining table long and stretched out, solid oak with velvet chairs.
Felix pulls yours out for you and you’re shocked by the gesture but thank him and take a seat, Hyunjin comes with a glass of water not even five seconds later, and everyone else begins to sit.
“Watch this,” Jeongin whispers to you. “MINHO! Do you want any help?”
“If you want your throat to hit my knife then sure!” Minho shouts right back.
Everyone giggles around you, you’re the exception.
“Let one of us help Minho!”
“Do you want to be air fried Hyunjin?! How long did I say!?”
“180 degrees for 20 minutes….”
“See you can listen!” Minho barks from where he’s shouting in the kitchen.
“Where’s Jisung?” You finally wonder. There’s six of them at the table, and Minho is clearly alone in the kitchen, so that leaves…
“He’s getting ready,”
Chan offers with a tight smile.
“He wasn’t expecting me to show up, was he?”
Everyone goes silent.
“Can you blame him?” Changbin wonders.
“Can you blame me?” You ask right back.
You got them there with that one.
“No,” Chan says honestly. “We can’t. But we really are glad you’re here.”
“YAH! Can one of you at least set the table?! If I have to slave and cook this stupid ass wellington then-“
Minho freezes as he walks into the dining room, his lips parting in shock and surprise at seeing you sat there.
He has an apron that says “kiss the cook” on, a gag gift that Felix bought him last years his hair is messy and he hasn’t had chance to wash up yet.
His gaze lingers on where your stitches are, covered by makeup but still there nonetheless.
Still a reminder of what you did for him.
What you SHOULDN’T have done.
He turns around and walks right back into the kitchen.
“Minho!” Chan laughs as he follows. “Don’t be embarrassed!”
“He doesn’t mean it,” Seungmin tells you. “He’s been trying to make the dinner perfect for you all day, he thrives off doing it. He doesn’t consider it slaving, he’s just…”
“Complicated?” Felix tries.
“A Scorpio.” Hyunjin adds.
“Okay?” But it’s hard to truly understand.
You didn’t ask them to do this.
To invite you here, to cook for you and now you’re feeling guilty for it, that Minho’s spent hours cooking it for you, and jisung’s probably been a ball of anxiety about the whole will you or won’t you in terms of turning up.
“I’ll go get Sungie.” Felix stands up and leaves, but not before flashing you yet another smile that you really try your best to reciprocate as you fidget in your seat.
Chan comes back with plates and cutlery and chopsticks and you stand on instinct, helping him lay the table.
“You don’t have to-“
But you just continue anyways, you think of you sit still any longer you’re going to go insane. “Two pairs of hands are better than one.” You conclude as you both finish way faster.
“See this?!” Chan waves his hands towards the others and then towards you. “This is politeness.”
“We don’t need to be polite, you already love us.” Jeongin teases and then regrets it immediately when Chan reaches out to pinch his cheek. “Of course I love you my sweet Innie.”
“Who else would Chan bottom for?” Hyunjin asks, and everyone laughs.
You can’t help but let a gasp fall from your lips. You’re not cringing, but you can’t place exactly how you feel about such comments? Not with men who apparently want you… it’s just, it might take some getting used too.
Hold on.
Rewind.
Why are you even considering getting ‘used’ to this!
This was a dinner to clear the air and give them a piece of your mind!
All you’ve done so far is been called pretty by Seungmin and clearly stressed Minho out further.
“Y/N.” Jisung’s at your side next, you didn’t even realise he’d come into the room. “Hey, you okay?”
You nod your head but words won’t come out.
“It’s a lot huh?” Jisung knows you so well for such a ‘short’ amount of time, but he does. He knows you. Knows your tells.
“Sorry,”
“I already told you, you have nothing to apologise for.” That’s Seungmin talking, he said something similar when he was patching you up.
You gasp again when you feel warm fingertips reach out to hold your hands. Jisung always did run on the warm side, like a human radiator.
“We can step outside if you want? Get some fresh air?”
“No-“ you say almost like an instinct. You’re not sure you can handle being alone with him right now, but you’re not entirely sure the other option of staying here surrounded by him and the others is any better. “Sorry, no. No I’m fine.”
“You’re a terrible liar.” Your eyes meet Minho’s, and he places the wellington down on the table. Minho takes a seat, doesn’t mention how he just causally dropped that sentence out of his mouth for you and the others to hear.
“Eat,” he continues on instead. “Before it goes cold.”
And then you catch a whiff of it, and your mouth instantly salivates.
Jisung sits next to you on your right, Seungmin on your left, Minho right fucking opposite you.
“You made this?” You ask in complete awe as Felix puts a piece onto your plate for you, eventhough you’re perfectly capable of doing it yourself.
Minho simply nods, but his eyes don’t leave yours, not even when you look away to cut into the beef with your knife and fork, watching as the flaky pastry wraps around your lips as you take a bite.
He wanted it to be perfect.
He needed it to be perfect.
“Minho,” you swallow around the bite and look up, Minho startled, caught out for looking at you still but he doesn’t back down, just tilts his head a little to the left, anxious, his leg bounces under the table and Chan casually puts a hand on his knee for support, a gesture of love and trying to help him, knowing how much Minho has been anticipating this without making a big deal over it. “What the fuck?”
Minho blinks rapidly. Once. Two. Three. Four. five time and then… “Huh?”
“It’s- what the fuck? This is like- are you a chef? You’ve got to a chef.”
Minho’s jaw drops. “You like it?”
“Is that an actual question?” You fight back a groan but it still manages to escape your lips. “This is… this is the best thing I’ve ever eaten.”
“Now you’re just being dramatic…” Minho mumbles, finally looking down in shyness as the tips of his ears paint red.
“I’m serious.” And you were.
“Oh. Well… thanks.” Minho manages to say.
He needs to say so much more though.
Everyone seems to visibly relax after that, yourself included.
The dinner goes as smooth as it can do, and you actually pout as you go to eat another piece of wellington just to find your plate empty.
“Here,” Jeongin nudges over some of his own onto your plate.
“No! No don’t be silly I-“
And then Jeongin jabs the food into his fork and holds it up to you. “Eat it.”
And you do, you swallow around the fork and the tension shifts.
Jeongin was dominating, even as the youngest person in their poly relationship, he liked to be rough in bed most of the time, and whenever one of his boyfriends were stressed or there was an argument or any sort of tension, he would be the one to fuck it out of them, or let them fuck it out of him. Either way.
The way he ‘commanded’ you to eat made the hair on the back of your neck stand up, and it’s no surprise considering how gorgeous he is, hell all of them are for that matter.
But you didn’t come here for this, you remind yourself, and so you flinch back once you have taken the wellington, and the fork slips between Jeongin’s fingers and clatters to the floor. “Sorry, I’m sorry-“
“Y/N,” Jisung says your name softly, too softly.
It’s too familiar, it’s too much.
“I didn’t mean… I was only trying to…” Jeongin fumbles, confused.
“No,” you gather yourself. “No, I’m sorry Jeongin I-“
“I’m banning the S word.” Seungmin says.
“Seungmin?” Felix teases. “Guess we’ll have to call you ‘puppy’ full time.”
Seungmin smacks Felix upside the head and Felix reaches over to bite Seungmin on his shoulder, through his shirt and it’s just absolute chaos.
“Come with me.” Minho stands, and he’s looking right at you.
Everyone goes silent.
“Me?”
“You.” Minho says with no hesitation. “We need-“ Minho corrects himself. “I need to talk to you, and these guys are giving me a headache.”
You’re really going to have to learn to read between the lines with Minho.
“Minho-“ Chan sighs.
“What?” Minho says back, but he’s not even looking at his oldest boyfriend, he’s still looking at you. “I need to apologise.”
This was a big deal to everyone surrounding Minho, that he’s said that he needs to apologise out in the open like this, in-front of you no less.
To you, actually.
Directly.
“Okay,” and you find yourself agreeing before you’re able to do anything else. “Okay yeah.”
So you follow Minho, down the corridor and down a long stretch of doors.
“You comfortable talking in here? It’s Chan’s office.”
It’s the same room you got stitched up in.
“Will Chan be okay with it?”
“He’s done a lot worse than talking in here, he’ll be fine.” And then Minho pushes the door open, and you follow behind once more until the soft click of the door shutting echoes between you both.
“Are you okay?”
“I don’t think that’s a very good question to ask me right now?” You answer honestly. “I mean, it’s nice that you’re asking I guess, but I just… don’t know?”
“It’s a lot.”
It’s a lot.
“We’re a lot.”
They were a lot. “Yeah.”
Minho sighs. “I’m sorry.”You go to open your might to say something, but Minho carries on. “For invading your place of work, and for saying you aren’t special. I didn’t mean it.”
“So why say it?”
“I told you, I went there to prove you aren’t special, but I was wrong. I really didn’t want to like you but-“
“But?”
“Then you gave me a stupid muffin for free.”
This startles a laugh out of you, completely unexpected. “Ah, so it was the muffin then, not me?”
“You’re the one who gave me the muffin…”
And you laugh again.
This is ridiculous. “This is ridiculous.”
“It works though, me and the guys. We work. In some… crazy chaotic way. I wouldn’t change it for the world-“
“Ah, I see.”
He doesn’t want to change it.
He doesn’t want you in the mix.
“You might be the exception though.” Minho takes a step towards you and it takes everything in you not to flinch back. His hand lifts, and you wince as he runs a thumb over your stitches, even the featherlight touch of the pad of his thumb has your throat drying. “You shouldn’t have stepped in.”
“The wellington made up for it.”
Minho smiles, a real smile. His lip curls to the top right and his two front teeth poke out slightly, his ears haven’t retuned back to their natural colour yet.
“Do you think you’re going to consider it?”
“It?”
“Us.”
You bite on your lower lip as his fingers trace over the stitches again before he eventually steps back.
“I… I haven’t decided yet.”
“But you’ll consider it now, at least?”
“If… if we start.. if I-“
“Cute,” Minho mumbles but you catch it.
You clear your throat and try again. “Will I get the same threats as the others?”
“I might have to fry you longer. You don’t take me as someone as easy to burn as Hyunjin.”
You have no idea what that means but you shake your head, feeling your lips curl up. “This really is ridiculous.”
“You’ll come to love ridiculous.”
“Will I?”
Minho hopes so.
He actually really hopes so.
…..
“Let me walk you home,”
You turn to Jisung, who’s handing you back Hyunjin’s coat at Hyunjin’s insistence that you put it back on.
“I- I wasn’t going to go home just yet actually,” you admit. “I was going to just go for a walk?”
“Oh?” Jisung frowns a little confused.
“Why aren’t you going home?” Felix asks, curious.
“Wooyoung and San are at my place, and they’ve probably defiled my dining table, kitchen counter and bathroom sink by now.”
“I remember the time we caught them behind that tree at the park-“ Jisung can’t help but bring up the memory.
“That was the most insufferable picnic ever!” You laugh, reliving the moment too.
“Hey! I was there!”
“Exactly!” You tease, natural in a way you and Jisung have been since the day you met.
It shouldn’t be natural anymore.
He lied to you.
Betrayed your trust.
Does it count as cheating too? You’re not even sure at this point.
“I just have a lot to think over, you know? I’m going to be bombarded the minute I step through my front door-“
“Your friends do give off that vibe.” Seungmin says in a way you think only Seungmin could pull off.
You wonder how he is with all his patients, he was definitely kind to you the other day, to the point and not overbearing, but still tender.
You imagine him being goofy to children, he has that kind of aura, comforting in a way that a lot of doctors actually aren’t.
“They… they’re essentially all the family I have now, along with my boss Yunho too! And some of my other colleagues.”
You don’t name them specifically, but Yeosang the baker and Jongho one of the other baristas were also very good friends of yours.
“They’re good people,” Jisung tells his boyfriends.
“One of them wanted to kill you the other day,” Changbin reminds him.
“San shouldn’t have gotten physical, I’m sorry.” You say. “But I’m not going to apologise for him trying to protect me, though he never should have come into your home.”
“And we shouldn’t have tried to get you to listen to us while you were working.”
“Can we at least come back to the cafe now? The americano is actually really good!”
“We have a coffee machine!” Seungmin tells Hyunjin.
“Yeah but Y/N doesn’t make it then.” Jeongin grins.
Cheeky.
“Fine,” you agree. “Only because I’ve met you all now… I have… I have met you all, right?”
Everyone laughs at you, but they’re not laughing AT you, they’re laughing at just how, adorable you are?
“I’ll try and make sure they don’t bombard you if they come in, at least?” Chan offers. “That’s probably the best I can do. And yes, this is all of us.”
“How are you going to do that Channie hmm?” Felix sparkles. “Will you spank us if we’re bad?”
Minho tugs lightly on the back of Felix’s blonde hair and Felix doesn’t mean to moan but it slips out a little.
“I uh, I’m going to go-“ You find yourself needing to get out of the house immediately.
It was happening again.
“No! Y/N wait, I know what you’re thinking!”
Felix panics. “The same thing that happened with Innie earlier right? And- and what you originally said when Sungie brought you here for the first time and we were hiding-“
You cringe, thinking about what they heard that day, the heavy make out session and the way you keened as you grinded yourself into Jisung’s lap.
“You aren’t- you aren’t just a sexual thing to us, even if you would be the only female in the relationship! This is just what we’re like, I’m sorry-“
“Isn’t that word banned?” You ask quietly. “Don’t apologise for being who you are.”
They all send you such grateful looks, you’re not sure how to process it. “I’m not uncomfortable about you being eight guys, I think me mentioning Wooyoung and San going at it back in my own house right about now should tell you that.”
They all nod and give small agreements as you talk.
“But it IS a lot, and I- I very obviously still feel a lot for…” you look directly at him. “For you, Jisung.”
Jisung tears up, you have to look somewhere else.
You can’t bare it.
“I’m not agreeing, but I’m not… I’m not disagreeing? I just, it might take a while?”
“Isn’t that the point of dating?” Hyunjin asks and you guess he has a point.
“But if you’re not there yet…” Chan tries to help you out.
“I… I just don’t understand how this is real, you know?”
“We know, and we get it. A few of us have been in your shoes.”
“Yeah?” You’re not stupid, you don’t imagine all eight of them met and decided then and there they’d all be one big happy couple, but it’s still nice to hear it.
“Yeah. I want you to know that Jisung not telling you about us wasn’t taken lightly, and I imagine you’re still hurting over it, we kind of are too, but the fact that Jisung even brought it up? Considered dating someone else? That’s a really big thing with us. We all collectively date the same person or we don’t date them at all, so it’s-“
“So it’s all or nothing.” You catch on. “I understand that.”
“And we’re a lot.” Changbin reminds you, the exact same words Minho said earlier.
“I kind of like it, the chaos.”
Everyone relaxes, shoulders dropping and smiles forming.
“What if it doesn’t work out?”
“What if it does?” Jisung asks back, desperate. “What if it does baby?”
That nickname. His big doe eyes. Stupid chubby cheeks, god you want to bite them. Gummy smile. Hopeful gleam.
You’re doomed.
“So what happens next? Normally? When you add a new person into the mix?”
Jisung’s smile breaks out even wider, and he is itching to hold you, pull you into his arms, smell the cinnamon from the bakery that always lingers on your clothes even if you haven’t worked that day, mixed with your vanilla body spray and coconut shampoo.
“You’re actually considering…”
‘Because I love you’ you want to tell him, but you don’t.
‘Because I don’t actually want to lose you’ you want to tell him, but you don’t.
‘Because I’ve seen a snippet of you all, and I think I might want to be a part of that too’ you want to say, but you don’t. You keep that specifically locked away and buried deep.
“If you’re really going to give this a shot, we’d ask you not to date anyone else, not while you’re with us.” Changbin explains.
“You mean-“
“Ironic, yes. But not like what Jisung did to you with us and us with you.”
Jisung tries not to whimper, he already feels bad enough. He really does. The smile is gone from his face, replaced with insecurity and the pain he’s caused everyone.
Felix immediately hugs him from behind, swaying him side to side, knowing exactly how he’s feeling.
“Okay, anything else?” You ask. Getting lost in watching Felix rock Han back and forth together, coaxing a soft smile out of your love.
There’s no jealousy, you realise as you watch the action.
Surely you should feel jealous, especially when Felix presses a kiss to the nape of Jisung’s neck.
And yet… you don’t.
You did a mere few days ago! Seeing something similar… but now? Nothing?!
“Maybe? I mean it would be us all collectively dating, but we sometimes go out in smaller groups or one on one on little dates too? Could we do that with you? To get to know you first?”
“Oh! And get your number!” Felix says happily. “Are you on TikTok?”
Felix’s boyfriend’s all groan in unison and it makes you laugh. “I have TikTok.”
“Ugh I love you already!”
And you knew Felix is teasing, but it still makes crimson dote your cheeks. “Jisung has my number, he can give it you guys? And we can try and plan something around everyone’s schedules, I guess?”
“And when I come in for americano?!” Hyunjin pesters.
“That too.”
……
“We did it everywhere but your bed!” Wooyoung says the second you step through your own front door.
“I’m so proud.” You say flat.
San laughs, pulling you onto a hug.
“Oh my God!” You can recognise that smell anywhere. “You did not do it in my shower!”
“I wish we did, I didn’t have the energy to go another round!” Wooyoung pouts. “We only washed up in there.”
“You guys have your own apartment!” You exasperate but San has left you to grab a pack of your own popcorn stash to throw in the microwave and Wooyoung is expectantly waiting with his arms out for your embrace.
“Tell us how it went!”
“It went.” You say back, mentally tired and drained but underneath that was a warmth in your belly that wasn’t from Wooyoung’s cuddle.
“And…” Wooyoung soldiers on. “Are you now fucking eight insanely hot men?”
San coughs pointedly.
“Don’t even try, you liked the sunshine one don’t even act like you didn’t!” Wooyoung berates his own lover. “I have eyes, I used them! You used them, Y/N used them! They’re hot.”
“They’re hot,” you agree. “I am not fucking them.”
“Yet,” San adds on. “Not fucking then yet.”
“Well when you DO, I want all the details! Which one of them do you think has the biggest cock?”
“Leave-“ you jump up from WooYoung. “Both of you out.”
“Y/N!” WooYoung whines, just sinking further into your settee.
“I’m going to bed,”
“How ridiculous, you have eight boyfriends and you’re sleeping alone?! The audacity! The gumption!”
“San if you don’t get your boyfriend out of here you won’t have a boyfriend for much longer!”
San laughs and lifts his lover off your settee as he complains about betrayal and friendship.
You wait until San has got WooYoung out of the door before you say “I am going to try dating them! Exclusively!”
And then before WooYoung can even get a word in, you slam your front door, lock and bolt it.
Holy shit.
You’re dating eight men.
What the fuck?