“Your father hasn’t woke up yet?”

Mina heard Minseok from the couch across from her. She was sitting on the ground between the couch and the large knee length table in front of her, working on sticking figures to Minseok’s hotel module while he was sitting on the couch behind her, working on his thesis on his laptop. It had been silent for the past few minutes as they both worked on their parts despite it being Minseok’s graduation project.

He had called her to come to his apartment as soon as she finished her work at the cafe. She had to refuse two invitations from Baekhyun and Jongdae to either take her the hospital to visit her father or go together to grab a bite. It wasn’t because she didn’t want to go with them, but she concluded Minseok’s project was a little bit more important than her visit to the hospital when her father hadn’t woken up yet. She had to face a bunch of sad, pathetic emoji’s from the two to convince her to come there. They weren’t afraid of Minseok at all so threatening them with him wasn’t going to work. She had to promise them two dates each so they’d relent. 

She wondered when they’d stop acting like babies. Suho wasn’t acting like them and he hadn’t been trying to nose himself through her days. He merely answered her with ‘be careful,’ when she told him she’d be at Minseok’s house this time of the day and didn’t insist she go out with him instead. She wasn’t saying their jealousy was annoying, but that was exactly what she was saying. 

She crawled a little further from the table with a stick in her hand, looking at Minseok and feigning nonchalant. “Nope. He hasn’t.”

Minseok could easily read through her mask. 

“How long has it been?” He asked her softly, pulling his eyes off of his dimly lit laptop to stare at her, his eyes gentle and caressing. Even his tone was flowery sweet. “Three days?”

“Yeah,” She sighed, dropping all pretense to be strong because she knew Minseok could easily see her faking her emotion. She put the stick she was holding on the table in front of her, next to the hotel, and stretched. “The doctor seems positive he’d wake up. He said his body is completely okay aside from the bruises on his face, it’s only his mind that’s preventing him from waking up.”

At that, Minseok shut his laptop entirely and placed it on the desk beside the couch he was sitting on. He asked her about her father thinking she had good news, considering she hadn’t looked or felt sad or anxious the past few days she kept visiting him, but now he discovered that things weren’t exactly working as he hoped they would. Her sad, mopey tone of voice didn’t settle his now growing emotions of guilt that he hadn’t gone, not even for once, with her before. 

“His mind? Is he afraid to wake up?” Minseok asked, furrowing his eyebrows in a somewhat nervous manner, worried to hear the answer to that. 

Mina sat up from where she was half-lying and went to sit herself on the couch beside him. His eyes zeroed on to her responsively. “In a case of abuse, yeah, the doctor said he’s against waking up just to be abused again,” Mina wrung her hands together as she spoke, and it seemed like she wasn’t aware of what she was doing, that nervous gesture Minseok had rarely ever seen her do, and always in regards of her father’s case. He had a sudden itch to crawl closer and evolve her hands in his, intertwining their fingers together. “It’s a method his mind is using to prevent another session of -kicking... I’m really worried about him.”

“I know,” He murmured soothingly. “He’ll be fine. I believe he’s stronger than we think.”

“What if he’s not, Minseok?” Her eyes turned incredibly sad as they stared at him, curling from the corners in an overwhelmed crease and causing a small puncture wound in his solid heart. Her sound became so terrified, scared of the possibility something wrong would happen... he couldn’t ever go against such tender intensity in her body, her eyes and her voice. He wasn’t usually a meekish person but he always turned into actual mush when it came to her and her drastic feelings. Mina continued, oblivious to the torture she was causing his heart.

“What if he’s not strong enough to wake up? The doctor said it’s normal for abuse patients to sleep for more than three days in fear of being abused again, even if the body is healthy,” She took a deep, steadying breath, closing her eyes for a moment. “What if he’s had enough? Or what if his mind is against his stubborn decisions to return to that ugly woman? What if it’s his body’s only way to protect him?”

Minseok looked at her beady eyes and, in spite of looking slightly closed off and cautious, still shined with worry and discomfort, helplessness too, about the whole matter. If Minseok was in her position, he’d not know what the heck to do either. He wasn’t exactly close to his father the same way she was with hers (or hoped to be), but he was sure he’d be out of his mind if his father went through the same . How long has she been going through this with her father? Before she met them, and that was... so long ago. How did she manage to put up with the dwelling emotions this obstacle of hers always infested in her soul? She had been going through the same misery over and over again, with no idea how it may stop.. how did she do it?

“Hey,” he called, crossing his legs together and patting his lap for her. “Come here for a bit.”

She stayed put for a second, just staring at him like he lost his head. He raised one of his eyebrows up and give her the same judging look she was giving him, patting his lap once again for emphasis. This Minseok act of defiance made her strangely feel calm, some of her emotions dwindling away. She sat on her knees on the couch, albeit a little nervously, and crawled towards him. She didn’t get to settle perfectly on his lap before he already had a strong, secure arm around her hips, pulling her down on him sideways, her legs on his thigh and flowing down beside him. She circled her arms around his neck to gain balance, her eyes falling on his cat ones and flashing with more emotions than before, these emotions resembling light and comfort instead of the dark ones she was previously entrapped in. Minseok caught the joy he was easily able to shoot down her body without yet doing anything and found a small smile shape his lips. He gave that smile to her. 

“I can’t tell you for sure if he’s ever going to be alright or not,” Minseok started, voice low and tender, wrapping her in a blanket of safety and protectiveness. “But I know you, and I’m certain of you. You’re strong, and you’re here breathing in full health. You have to believe in him, you have to believe in him strong and hard, because he’s going to need this. And when he wakes up, he’d want to have you by his side even when he doesn’t say so, even when he wakes up angry or scared. He’s going to need you to be strong for the both of you, okay, baby?” He raised one of his fingers and gently popped her nose.

She smiled. 

There’s actually a lot of sentimental adjectives that Mina knew and could use to describe Kim Minseok, but rarely did she ever use gentle. He was gruff, boyish, and a little too strict. He valued respect a lot and he had dozens of synonyms for that word in his vocabulary bank. He was one of the least boys to share casual smiles with her like Kyungsoo and Kai, sometimes even never when he was angry or frustrated with her, something that happened more than she’d like to admit. Minseok was a lot of things, moreover, and she thought she already memorized his actions and his intuitions, his reasons of doing things. But she found herself getting the shocks of her life regarding him these few weeks that have passed.

Maybe because he told her he loved her; maybe that changed things in him, or her, that she began to notice new things in him that she should have noticed about him long ago. Or maybe he truly was unlocking parts in him he only began to show. However, he was always wise, and rarely ever acted rashly or idiotically. What he told her just now wasn’t that surprising to hear, as she heard damn much from some of her boys, but it was shocking to hear it from Minseok. She stared at him in awe, and as she suddenly realized, she stared at him with love, too.

She realized she loved Kim Minseok. 

Not as in a parental way like she used to or a brotherly love, no, it was a different kind of love, and she hoped it was the same one he had for her. Her heart started to beat loudly in her chest at the realization, something that she should have felt and known a long time ago. Her cheeks became a little rosy and Minseok gave her a questioning look, wondering what that look of hers meant, or why her fluffy round cheeks were coloring, or why her eyes were growing wide, or why her lips grew dry. She raised herself a little in his arms and embraced him, hiding her face in his shoulder so that he wouldn’t catch her burning face, feeling slightly horrified and overwhelmed by the sudden explosion of emotions that attacked her for him.

She was thankful he couldn’t hear her heartbeats like the rest.

“Okay.” She murmured softly in his ears, squeezing him in her arms.

Minseok was a little taken aback with her sudden hug, knowing for sure that Mina wasn’t exactly a hugging person and only gave hugs when she felt like they were necessary or when she grew emotional. He concluded she was feeling emotional right now too, although unaware of why because he hadn’t really said anything remarkable, but found himself squeezing her back in response, keeping mum. When she felt his arms holding her tightly around him, she pulled away. 

She scooped down and gave him a quick peck on the mouth before he could even register what was happening or hug her again. He stared blankly at her, not swallowing the sudden kiss so quickly. Then, he blinked. Seeing these flashes of emotions on his face like a slideshow made her smile again, her smile wide but soft, a gleam of gentleness showing in that gesture of hers. Minseok’s blinking increased, and he guided his warm hands to her hips, squeezing her there in response. 

“Thank you for being here,” she voiced, then, as an afterthought of being funny to break the serious mood, she joked, tapping her fingers on his shoulders. “Or, thank my gorgeous self for being so brilliantly smart for helping you in this project and being in here with you. Here’s a kiss.”

He opened his mouth to retaliate by saying something smart-ish no doubt, but she pulled her face lower to his yet again and gave him another kiss, this one softer, lingering a little on his tender flesh, feeling the smooth skin of his lips and tasting his striking taste, like the sweetest fruit, yet also like the taste of danger. He grew stiff in her arms, and she felt his hands on her hips freeze. However, she paused in her ministrations and pulled away, causing him to sigh out loud, eyeing her with a strange set of blank eyes. 

“What are you doing?” He asked her, voice husky and low. She curled her arms tighter around him, bringing her face closer to his so she could breathe in his... essence, his warm breath falling on her face like a tender whip of waterfalls. 

“I don’t know.” She shrugged, and it might have looked careless and indecisive, but Minseok could clearly read her bare eyes. She was nervous, honest, and truthfully didn’t know what the heck she was doing. However, he found it hard to swallow his response back. 

“No, seriously, what are you doing?”

“Seriously, I don’t know,” She shrugged, eyes wide with innocence and unawareness. There was a small spark in her, a part of her, that knew what she was doing, knew the reason of why she felt so needy to kiss him, so passionate about pressing their lips together. However, a bigger part of her didn’t know. She told him the truth, moving in his lap. “I feel like I want to kiss you. Is that...” she searched for a word. “...bad?”

“I don’t know.” He sighed, giving her the same answer, and ticked his head backward on the couch, closing his eyes. Seeing his expression, she joked. 

“Wow, there’s a lot of I-don’t-knows here.”

He opened his eyes and gave her a serious look. “Is this you returning all those kisses I gave you?”

“Maaaybe.” She gave him a fake-clueless face, shrugging, and Minseok could feel her growing mischievousness without having to really look at her. He found himself narrowing his eyes playfully at her, his fingers playing another pattern on her hips. 

“Oh really, so you wouldn’t mind if I gave you more of them?”

“Maaaaybe.” She drawled again, grinning, and she intertwined her fingers behind his head innocently. 

“You’re such a sneaky little girl, aren’t you?” He smirked, nearing his face to hers only so he could nuzzle her soft nose, earning a chuckle from the non-too-gentle girl. He was surprised she let him and didn’t pull away; she rather hated when someone nuzzled her nose. 

“You know it,” She gave him a pompous look, arrogance in her brilliant eyes. “This is why you fell for me.”

“This confidence of yours needs to go down a little—“

“Shut up already.” 

She leaned over and smacked another kiss to shush him up, or maybe because she just wanted to feel the texture of his lips on hers. He looked oddly appealing down below her, but she figured her messy feelings were strengthening her attraction to him as if now, making him look much more handsome in her eyes than how he looked before. The bond did the same to the boys, and she found them to be ten times hotter than they already are, and that says a lot considering they were already the sizzling type of hot. Wow, was she so screwed.

It felt a whole lot nicer to know that her feelings for Minseok were not forced by any bond, and that they were hundred percent genuine. 

He gave her a playful look when she pulled away, secretly wishing for a more... determined kiss and a lengthy one, but also knowing it was a lot to ask from her when they were still at this stage. 

“You know what, I think I like it a whole lot better when it’s you who is kissing me first.” He teased, wrapping the hands he was tapping her with around her whole body and then bringing her closer to him, their noses meeting again. She merely giggled, her hands going over his face to cup his cold cheeks, her pads feeling full and buzzing at the feel of his tender skin on hers. 

“I don’t know,” she murmured cheekily. “I guess I like it when I’m control too.”

“Oh, no baby,” He fake growled. “It’s not like that at all. There’s only one dominate little in here and it’s not you.”

“Reaaally..”

He took her by the waist, flopped her on the couch and hovered over her in a mere second. She released a yelp and unconsciously looked at him with wide, anticipating eyes, her heartbeats thudding super loudly in her chest, her lips quickly drying up like the ert person she was. She stared up at him as he adjusted himself on top of her on the couch carefully so he didn’t end up toppling over her, and she began to think he’d do something to her. She watched, eyes pondering but half lidded, as he came closer to her and drew their faces close, a smirk lighting up his juicy lips. He  leaned his lips down to hers and then bit his teeth on her lower one, pulling it and dragging it up with a smirk. He released her while still having that damned smirk on, and he whispered. 

“You should see the look on your face right now, sweetheart.” And then he tickled her, before she could response. She released a loud shriek, instantly curling around herself and trying to force his strong hands off of her sides.

She failed, of course. 

“I told you it’s not like that!” Was heard from him amongst her uproarious, uncontrollable laughter, his fingers quickly poking her all over her body and eliciting that delicious sound of hers which caused him to shiver, a smile on his face.

Sure, kissing her and getting down on her was fun, too, but hearing her laugh... man, hearing her laugh amidst her worries was better. 

-

Mina collected her things with a single-minded determination, glad to have changed her work clothes early before Sehun was here a few minutes ago, hurrying through her stuff and then quickly stuffing what she needed from her locker. She heard a pair of steps getting closer to her, and before she realized it, Seulgi was already standing next to her.

“You’re leaving now?” Seulgi asked her, noticing her hurried gesture and her quick footwork. Mina merely nodded, zipping up her rucksack. 

“Yup,” She hummed without looking at her. “It’s already past my time here. I’ll be going to the hospital.”

“Will that pack member of yours be the one to take you there?” Mina could hear the smirk on her voice without having to look at her, and when she really turned to look at her, she caught it, wide and big, completely un-Seulgi like. She should really hang out with Wendy and Joy less. She was starting to act like them.

Seulgi meant Sehun, who had arrived at her cafe ten minutes ago, angry and bristling like a little , to tell her he was going to be her chauffeur for the night and take her to the hospital because he needed the car afterwards. She could have easily driven herself but a driver was nice too, especially when it tortured Sehun as well. He was now waiting for her outside as she finished collecting her stuff.

“Stop making these weird names,” Mina rolled her eyes, as if he’s totally not a part of a pack. “He’s not a part of a wolf pack, and yes, he’ll take me.” Yeah right, her head screamed at her. 

“I do what I want,” Seulgi taunted. “You have tons of best friends, you guys are a perfect wolf pack.”

“Oh! Or a soccer team!” Yeri hollered from somewhere at the back, definitely hearing their gossip. Mina forced down the feeling to roll her eyes again. 

“You guys are insane,” She said, smacking her locker shut and finally giving Seulgi attention. “Go back, I’ll be leaving now.”

“Good luck on handling all those little pups!” She heard a yell followed by footsteps, and seconds later Joy popped her head through the opening of the locker room, grinning so hard Mina thought would tear. “I heard they bite the most when they’re triggered.” 

Mina raised her eyebrow in question.

“Because that friend of yours surely looks dissatisfied with us.”

Wendy, who seemed to always be where Joy is, answered for her, her voice echoing around, but her face never showing itself. She guessed she was eavesdropping on their gossip as well. Mina had this urge to go check what Sehun was doing, and if he were waiting patiently — and obediently — or not. 

“Trust me, it’s because he’s a brat,” Mina said. “It has nothing to do with you guys.”

“Are you sure though?” Joy said, eyes wide. “I’m afraid actual laser beams would come out of his eyes and burn all of ours asses.”

“That might actually be true. He’s Sehun after all.” She told them, shrugging. She waved at them all as a last goodbye and then walked out of the back rooms, going to the counter and seeing Sehun sulking at one of the tables. She got out from behind the counter and walked out to him, grinning subconsciously at seeing him so miserable. 

“I hope you’re done,” He greeted her the moment she stepped in front of him, eyes blank, but hard. He had his head lying on his palm lazily, but she was sure he was radiating irritation. “I’ve been waiting here for like a hundred years.”

“Wow,” She opened her eyes wide in mock. “What an inviting greeting, nice seeing you too.”

“I hate you so much, Mina,” He gave her his usual mantra, “So, so much.”

He stood up as if to leave, his long legs easily taking him to the door with her loosely following behind him, chuckling in amusement at his anger.

“Why are you so upset?” She had a wide smile as she asked that. 

“I had to cancel this party I was going to with the guys,” She didn’t think he was going to explain to her, but wow, she was surprised he did. “My crush was going to be there, too, which is an event I have planned for over three days, and now I can’t go because Minseok Hyung forced me to go here instead.” Sehun was scowling, but Mina could see him actually swallowing on a pout. Seeing him like this and hearing his pathetic excuse — because wasn’t his crush just an admiration of sorts? Did her title change whenever he wanted? — made her relent a little, and she paused in her walk with a pout. 

“Aw, Sehunie, my boy. I’m sorry I ruined your date with your crush. Shall I buy you a bubble tea?”

He paused with her and turned to face her. His whole face brightened at the prospect of free bubble tea and he didn’t even try to block it or it away. He took a few steps closer to her and removed his large hands from the entrance doors at once. 

“Really?” He cleared his throat, hearing his tone going a little too excited. “I mean, I won’t say no to that.”

“Okay,” She nodded, already taking her wallet out of her rucksack. “What here. I’ll go get it—“

“No, no, you go wait in the car,” He s