#seventeen imagines

하지만 내 다른 부분은 사람들을 여기 두고 갈 수 없어. But the other part of me can’t leave the people here.

Description: A meeting to con Rowan Moore, a powerful and corrupt city leader, accomplished by Gang Leader Jeonghan and his crew. Which includes you and your crush (per se), Vernon. [Italicized parts are flashbacks of sorts]
{Uh, honestly, not really sure how to describe this one. Only thing I can say is that it’s inspired by the complexity of “Six of Crows” and the aesthetic of Monsta X’s music video for “Gambler” hence the title.}
Warnings: Swearing, mentions of a bombing, some suggestive comments (both negative and proper suggestive)
Genre: idk what do genre this as… pure fiction (?), GangMember!Vernon x Fem!Reader
Word Count: 5.7k

SeventeenMasterlist|Masterlists

You step up to the dealer’s stool on one side of the poker table in a secluded corner of second floor of Jeonghan’s casino, Obsidian. Picking up a brand new deck of cards, you break the seal and let the cards fall out into your hands. Your skin ignites as the smooth cards slide against your hands and the edges of each make themselves known to you.

“I’m not playing if she’s dealing the cards.” Rowan Moore glowers at you and your jaw clenches against the slew of words you want to spit at him. But you know better than to risk blowing the whole plan so you set down the deck of cards and wait for further instructions from Jeonghan.

You look to your left and hold Moore’s gaze even as it goes from cold to ice cold. It is the gaze of one of the most corrupt men in the city. It’s the gaze that got him where he is. If it were anyone else standing where you are, they would’ve felt a winter storm rush up their spine. But you are used to this type of malice. It’s kind of a usual occurrence.

The others at the table, Jihoon, Soonyoung, Seungcheol, and Jeonghan, keep their expressions unreadable and their gazes on Moore. Except for Vernon who sits in between Soonyoung and Seungcheol. You could feel his eyes watching you but you don’t turn towards him.

“We are having a business meeting.” Jeonghan says, unwavering as Moore moves his gaze to him, “Business meetings in my casino are conducted at the tables and that means I decide who deals. And tonight, she deals.” He finishes with a nod towards you as a signal for you to pick up the cards.

As you pick up the deck again, Moore stays quiet but lets out a frustrated puff of air.

“Get me a glass of the good stuff, would you, darling?” Moore leans back in his chair and asks one of the other waitresses with a voice dripping with demeaning acid that makes your stomach twist.

You look over at Vernon, finally, and he gives his eyebrow a small quirk. Silently asking if everything is okay. A small head tilt and offering him the deck to split is enough of an answer for him.

“What are we playing with only $10 chips?” Moore questions Jeonghan, leaning forward to rest his forearms behind his wall of poker chips and staring at Jeonghan who sits on the opposite end of the table from him. Effectively to your immediate right.

Straightening out the deck, you know the answer before Jeonghan answers Moore’s question. All of this is part of the plan Jeonghan devised the minute he received word that Moore wanted to meet with him about a ‘common enemy.’

“Here’s the plan.” Jeonghan spreads out a floor plan of Obsidian on the table in front of Seungcheol, Soonyoung, Jihoon, Vernon, Seungkwan, Dino, and you. “Moore owes me a large sum of money that he has no intention of paying back. We’ll play him, listen to whatever he has to say, and steal his money as he walks out of Obsidian.”

Seungkwan lifts a finger, “Isn’t that the whole point of a gambling game?”

Jeonghan doesn’t answer the younger one, only gives a sizable smirk.

“Right, right, there’s more to this…” Seungkwan grumbles under his breath, “Be nice if you would clue us in on the masterplan.”

You throw Seungkwan a disapproving look but Jeonghan just ignores the comment completely.

“What are we playing?” Soonyoung questions, intrigued from the second the word 'money’ came out of Jeonghan’s mouth.

“Hold 'Em.” Jeonghan states, watching the others expressions for any negative changes.

“Where are we playing?” Jihoon probes further into the plan that Jeonghan has locked away in his mind.

Jeonghan shifts and points to one of the poker rooms in the back of the casino. “Allure.”

“Who plays and who guards?” Vernon speaks up from next to you.

“Seungcheol, Soonyoung, Jihoon, you and I will play.” Jeonghan lists off the characters, “Dino and Seungkwan will guard. Plus the regulars on the perimeters.”

“And me?” You ask, crossing your arms over your chest, confused as to why he didn’t mention you yet you are part of the meeting.

When Jeonghan answers, an excited shiver runs through your body but you don’t miss how Vernon’s body freezes at his words.

“You deal.”

“Hold 'Em.” Jeonghan answers Moore and you slide the dealer button to Seungcheol.

“Isn’t that a little too simple for our minds?” Moore chuckles but it’s not a true laugh.

“For you and I, yes.” Jeonghan offers a smile, “But these other players aren’t as complex as we are.” He raises his eyebrows to see if Moore will challenge his choice and throws two of his poker chips in front of his pile.

You reach out and sweep the chips towards you as Moore tosses four at you for the big blind. The chips scatter across the table and out of the corner of your eye, you catch Vernon’s fist clenching tightly. But having to ignore the specific jab at you, you sweep up the chips before dealing each player two cards.

The first round finishes quickly with Soonyoung (somehow) winning the pot. Now that the game has been established as 'fair,’ it’s time to move to the next step: conning Moore.

“You want her to rig the game?” Dino questions with confusion, “Can she even do that?”

You and Vernon cover up your scoffs with throat clearing and coughing.

Jeonghan smiles a little too wickedly, “Little secret for you newer boys. (y/n) can count cards like nobody’s business and her sleight of hand is invisible even to me. It’s the reason she’s banned from playing in any of my casinos or clubs.”

“It’s also the reason I got hooked into his crew.” You offered some extra information.

“You didn’t have to stay after the first.” Jeonghan quickly reminds you before giving you instructions to follow as the table’s dealer, “Let the first game play out like any other dealer would let it. Following the first game, you will let us win a few, then Moore. Push and pull him. Entice him, (y/n).” He meets your gaze with eyes weighed down by the importance of his words, “Keep him at the table. Keep his focus on his luck.”

“For what?” You ask, confused with what Jeonghan had planned.

But instead of hearing an answer from Jeonghan, Dino speaks up.

“A chance to sneak a hand into his suit pocket.”

The second game starts and you watch the decided signs of each member on your side to tell you what cards they have. A system you each created together to make sure Moore wouldn’t catch on. It was tested through the first game too and Moore still hasn’t caught on, even though his eyes seem to wander around the table restlessly. After counting and switching the cards as you please, the second round has Seungcheol leaning forward to sweep up the pile of chips to his spot.

You eye Moore as you hand him his cards for the third round. This round you give to him.

The next game is also given to Moore.

“Now that we have a few games under our belt.” Jeonghan speaks up as he rearranges his chip stacks to stand at the same height. “Let’s discuss what you wanted to discuss.”

Moore sighs, arranging his newly gained chips onto his stacks. His cockiness is starting to show. You catch the glint in his eye that shows he’s confident he’s figured out how to bluff out the other players.

'Early celebrator.’ You think to yourself as you give Soonyoung the dealer button.

“Victor Huffman.” Moore says the name with so much disgust it makes you wonder if he has swallowed acid.

At the mention of another powerful man, and another enemy, Jeonghan lets the corner of his cards snap onto the table and his eyes snap up to meet Moore’s in the same second.

“What about him?” Jeonghan nearly growls out the question while Vernon and Seungcheol throw out the small and big blinds, respectively. You know that he and Huffman have a particularly nasty history but you don’t know the details. No one does. It’s one of the many things Jeonghan keeps under lock and key, in a bunker, 200 feet below his skin.

Your eyes flicker to Vernon and his eyes widen just the slightest, silently calling Moore a maniac for even speaking that name in Jeonghan’s casino and presence. To cover up the smile threatening to appear, you lower your head slightly and deal three cards into the community hold in the center of the table.

“I want you to damage him.” Moore says casually, ignoring the thick tension that he boiled up. “Take out a chunk of his men, give his finances a gut punch. Just something that will keep him quiet for a few months.”

“And what would I receive in return?” Jeonghan asks, peeking at his cards again and though he is leaning back in his chair, you can tell his body is rigid against the emotions raging inside of him.

“I will pay you.” Moore answers, “A sum a little more than the worth of the job.”

“I fold.” Jihoon breathes out and slides his cards towards you.

Wordlessly, you sweep up the cards and add them to the discard pile, intently listening to the conversation around you.

“I’ll raise 6.” Soonyoung says with a confident pout and slides out 6 chips in a stack. That is Soonyoung, always playing the high risks.

“Call.” Vernon places his bet after a look at his cards.

Seungcheol, without taking his eyes off of Moore, simply slides his 6 chips into the center.

“You will excuse me if I don’t trust your estimation of what this job’ll cost me.” Jeonghan comments and places his bet forward.

Moore lets out an empty chuckle that bounces around in your head. “You’re smart not to.” He states and slides his bet forward. “But I anticipated your doubt. And as much as I hate to admit it, I need Huffman down more than I need my money.” He says while you discard a card before flipping a fourth into the community hold. “A contract for 800 million dollars.”

The room goes silent. Jihoon eyes Moore up and down trying to distinguish if he’s lying. Jeonghan is also trying to figure that out but he holds Moore’s gaze, searching for the answer in his eyes. Soonyoung stares at his chips with wide eyes, Seungcheol looks between Jeonghan and Moore, and Vernon just simply slides his cards to you.

You give Vernon a confused look and he just shakes his head. He’s folding.

“800 million.” Jeonghan repeats the amount and breaks the silence. “For that amount, you want us to do more than something. You want somethings.” He emphasizes the plural.

Moore smirks.

“Sir, your bet?” You refrain from using Soonyoung’s name to keep your relationship with the men at the table unknown.

“You have a lovely voice.” Moore comments, taking a tangent and a moment to look you up and down. “I wouldn’t mind you calling me that someday.” He sneers and your body tenses at what he’s implying. Again, not new stuff but your body still reacts to it.

“Watch how you talk to my staff.” Jeonghan spits out and throws his bet onto the table after Seungcheol.

Vernon has a look of murder in his eyes as he glares down Moore. You know he cares for you and though at times, some say it’s more than normal, you know you care for him on the same level. But neither of you have had the guts to say or do anything about it.

Moore inhales and continues like his comment didn’t happen. “I need you to take out half of his corn hold and a third of his cotton hold.” He reveals to Jeonghan as you continue with the game. Dealing and taking cards.

“What’s the time frame?” Jeonghan wonders, tapping his finger on his cards methodically.

“I need it done in a month.” Moore says and Vernon jumps to his feet.

“Are you insane?” He asks, increduously.

Vernon and Jeonghan meet gazes for a second but it’s only in confirmation that Jeonghan’s plan is progressing.

“How are we going to get close enough?” Seungkwan asks. “Like great. Dino found out where he hides this master key but what good is it if we don’t know how to get close to him. He only lets women and booze get close to that hairy chest of his.”

“No.” Vernon says in a low voice.

“No?” Jeonghan repeats his word with slight amusement in his tone.

“You are not letting (y/n) anywhere near Moore.” Vernon explains and a sad smile reaches your lips.

You don’t want to be the one to seduce Moore but you know if Jeonghan asked, you would be preparing for the role in a heartbeat.

Jeonghan rolls his eyes, “(y/n)’s not seducing him. She’s dealing. And no woman’s seducing him.” He comments, “One of you is going to get close.” He eyes the males around the table.

“How?” Seungcheol asks.

“We’ll instigate his rage.” Jeonghan says, “He’s got a sensitive temper when it comes to two things and two things only: terms of his deals and his gambling games. After the first few games, one of you will challenge him on everything he says, get him annoyed, pissed, irritated. That will fuel his agitation to losing hand after hand to the same person.” He gives a look between you and Vernon. “And that person, I’ve decided, will be Vernon.”

Vernon’s first outburst is a sign to you to give Vernon the winning hand for the majority of the games. Or force Moore to fold on the rounds that Vernon doesn’t win to keep the winning 'random.’

“You’re going to let your man talk to me like that?” Moore lazily blinks towards Jeonghan, trying to damp down the igniting ember.

Jeonghan makes a show of shoving a hand in his pocket for emphasis on his words, “He’s my demolition guy so if you want me to take this job, like I know you need us to, you will let him say whatever he pleases.” Then he looks at Vernon, “But for now, I want to see how this game plays out. I’ll raise 20.” He states and slides a large stack of chips into the center. Vernon silently sits back down but not without channeling all the anger within himself to send Moore a glare that could cut through diamond.

“Call.” Moore smirks, his love for gambling pushing forward.

For the rest of the game, Jeonghan stays mostly quiet as he ponders the details of what Moore is asking, only speaking to call out his bets.

Seungcheol wins the fifth round with a four of a kind.

The next game is won by Vernon and he also wins the next round. Along with Vernon’s occasional snide comments, you can tell Moore is getting frustrated at his terrible luck. It’s not a secret that Moore gets cocky when he plays because he claims he can read people and their ticks so he knows how to outplay any bluff. But tonight, his tricks won’t work.

As you deal the 8th round, Jeonghan leans forward and rests his forearms on the edge of the table.

“A month?” He clarifies with Moore.

“A month.” Moore nods as he takes his cards into his hands.

Jeonghan then turns to Vernon, “Is it possible?”

“If you want a spectacle, yes.” Vernon answers, his voice retaining an edge. “If you want it done quietly, no.”

Moore sighs, glancing at his cards and purses his lips, “I don’t care how it’s done. I just need it done and done within a month.”

“What happens after a month?” Soonyoung asks the question that’s been the elephant in the room since Moore first mentioned the timeline.

“Wouldn’t you like to know.” Moore smirks and throws in his bet.

“I’ll do it.” Jeonghan says and Moore’s smirk grows wider. “Send over the contract in the morning.”

“Glad to do business with you, J.” Moore says and Jeonghan’s eye gives the smallest of twitches at the nickname. So small that only you are able to catch it.

Turning back to the game at play, Moore’s voice is more cheerful to hide his frustration at losing his money as he says, “Now that business is settled, shall we play a few more rounds for fun?”

Jeonghan gives a very fake, yet very believable, smile, “We’ve got nowhere else to be.”

Jihoon wins that game and you watch carefully as Moore takes a deep breath to calm himself against the blow of another loss.

For the 9th game, you let Moore think he’s winning the pot without a doubt, but the real winner ends up being Jeonghan.

By now, Moore’s stack of chips are the lowest at the table and he doesn’t have many games left in him.

“You might as well give up now, Moore.” Vernon says, voice brute with amusement and pride as he rearranges his stacks of chips just for dramatic effect.

Through gritted teeth, Moore answers, “You never know how the tides can change.”

“Or they’ll swallow you whole.” Vernon banters back nonchalantly with a touch of boredom. Another effort to push Moore’s buttons. Dismiss him in front of others, especially other powerful people. In this case, Jeonghan.

Moore swallows hard and his hand curls into a tight fist. He’s going to explode soon and you know it. Everyone at the table knows it. You see Jihoon, Soonyoung, and Seungcheol all shift slightly in their seats in preparation of the moment Moore explodes.

“What are we doing when he eventually explodes?” Soonyoung asks.

“Create enough confusion for Vernon to slide his hand in, grab and replace the key, and back out.” Jeonghan says.

“That’s (y/n)’s area of expertise.” Seungkwan counters but you and Jeonghan answer him at the same time.

“I’m dealing.”

“She’s dealing.”

And for once, you are kind of happy to not be in the center of one of Jeonghan’s masterplans.

As everyone peeks at their cards, Vernon takes a couple glances at Moore’s tight expression before commenting, “Luck still out of your grasp, Moore?” He chuckles in amusement, eyes actually lighting up at the cards that you deliberately gave to him.

“Be careful of the words you speak, kid.” Moore spits and glowers at Vernon who ignores the gaze and just shrugs.

“What lie will you tell the wife this time when you come home without a large sum of money?” Vernon questions, tilting his head to the side and watching his chips as he tosses them onto the table. “Will you come clean about the gambling? Or will you lie and say it was spent on the pleasure houses down the street? Which will only break poor Verna’s heart even more.”

“You dickwad.” Moore grunts, slams his cards onto the table, and rises to his feet. “Keep my wife’s name out of your disgusting, immature mouth.” He quickly stalks over to Vernon and Vernon is quick to his feet to meet the large body of Rowan Moore.

But he’s not angry enough to require Jihoon, Soonyoung, and Seungcheol to step in and create the needed chaos. You look to Jeonghan with concern that the plan won’t work. But this is Jeonghan’s plan, he has back up plans upon back up plans upon back up plans.

Jeonghan closes his eyes and gives you a tiny nod, accompanied with a tinier smile just before Vernon gives the final blow needed.

“Why are you telling me this?” Vernon asks with curiosity, sitting in Jeonghan’s office alone.

“We need Moore angry enough to make Seungcheol, Soonyoung, and Jihoon’s intervention realistic.” Jeonghan explains leaning back in his chair.

“So I’ll use the information to pull that anger out of him.” Vernon concludes.

Jeonghan gives him a smile and a snapped finger gun. “Precisely.”

“What do you think Verna will do with the divorce papers when she finds out you broke your promise to her?” Vernon asks, staring hard at Moore’s face. “What will you do when she leaves you?”

In a split second, Moore slaps Vernon across the face and you inhale sharply as Vernon’s head snaps to the right. Seungcheol and Soonyoung push back Moore while Jihoon positions himself in front of Vernon in order to keep Vernon back.

A menacing chuckle comes from Vernon’s mouth as he rubs the cheek that was hit. “You hit like a girl. I’m guessing much like your daughter.”

You flinch at the unexpected mention of Moore’s daughter. Jeonghan tries to keep women and children out of his conversations but women, more often than not, are men’s trigger point. It’s rare, though, that he’d allow the mentioning of children.

In a second, Vernon pushes past Jihoon as Moore 'easily’ pushes past Soonyoung and Seungcheol (more like they let him pass by with feigned weakness but also believable enough strength). His eyes blinded by rage, he doesn’t stop to consider what he’s doing. Vernon and Moore tousle with each other, hands flying everywhere. Soonyoung, Jihoon, and Seungcheol’s hands join in, trying to 'restrain’ the two arguers.

Anybody would’ve have missed the moment Vernon slipped his hand into Moore’s blazer pocket then slipped back out and into his own pocket. But you were the one who taught Vernon the sleight of hand he would need and you are watching so you see the move with crystal clear clarity.

Once the real key is placed in Vernon’s pocket, you move onto your role: diffusing and ending the game play.

“Gentlemen!” You yell with the authority of cancelling out any money won or lost. The five men stop their frenzied hand fight and look to you. Jeonghan just lazily looks up from his crossed arms. “If you would untangle yourselves and collect your chips. My table is now closed since you decided to make such a scene.” You scold them with a scowl of disgust that’s mainly directed at Moore.

Moore immediately untangles himself from the others and faces you. “I apologize. If you will, just a few more games.” He bargains. “I will pay you the extra.”

You shake your head and step down from the stool, “I’ve already closed.” You tell him then add, “And if you’re thinking of looking for another dealer, the casino’s dealers have already been sent home. Tonight’s a special holiday for us, you see.”

“What kind of bullshit is that?” Soonyoung scrunches his face up in confusion, “We don’t have holidays.”

“Moore doesn’t know that.” You answer for Jeonghan before turning to the man himself, “What holiday are we observing?” You ask.

Jeonghan meets your eyes with a soft gaze, “The anniversary of Obsidian’s bombing.”

He doesn’t finish the sentence but your mind does.

“My first job with Jeonghan and the only one he failed.”

The reason you stayed with Jeonghan even though he shredded your debt to him in the aftermath of the bombing.

“What kind of boss sends his income home on a money making night?” Moore laughs as if the whole day is a joke to him. His laugh only makes you want to drive a knife into his chest.

“The kind that knows the damage your partner caused to my innocent patrons.” Jeonghan rises to his feet and stares down Moore hard.

Moore swallows under Jeonghan’s gaze. If Moore’s gaze was ice cold earlier, Jeonghan’s, right now, is burning so cold that you’re pretty sure he’s giving dry ice a run for its money.

“Is it already that night of the year?” Moore asks you through a tight voice.

You look down at your watch, “In 20 minutes, it will be the exact minute.” You inform him and Moore’s demeanor falls a little.

He reaches up to pat the left side of his chest and you hold your breath incase he finds anything amiss. But with a satisfied sigh, he feels the decoy and lowers his hands back to his sides.

“Another day, I will return to win back my money.” He vows to Jeonghan before he looks at Vernon. “And keep my wife’s name out of your god forsaken mouth.”  

“With pleasure.” Vernon responds with disgust, his cheek still red from the slap he received.

Moore scoops up his tray of chips and leaves the room. His guards undoubtedly joining him the second he steps outside the room.

Seungkwan and Dino enter the room as the waitress and waiter assigned to the room leave and for a moment there is a moment of anticipating silence. Then Vernon slowly slides the key out of his pocket and hands it to Jeonghan.

Soonyoung shouts in happiness and hugs Jihoon who tries his best to escape the tight embrace. “We got the key!” He says cheerfully and Seungkwan and Dino high five each other.

Jeonghan just looks down at the key in his hand and smiles. The electronic key that will give him access to every single one of Moore’s financial accounts.

“Tomorrow we’ll move the money around and you each will have your share.” Jeonghan announces to the room and pockets the key.

“What about the job for Moore?” Jihoon asks, successfully escaping Soonyoung’s arms.

Jeonghan’s lips quirk upward, “Oh, we’ll do it. But we won’t be doing it out of obligation to a contract. I’d also like to see Huffman on his knees for a change.” He says in a voice that resembles a snake, cunning and scary.

This reminder of how ruthless and scary Jeonghan can be is the only thing that sends a shiver up your spine.

Jeonghan walks towards the door with Seungcheol behind him. As Seungcheol opens the door for him, he pauses and turns back.

“Not a word of any of this.” He says and the threat is unspoken. It doesn’t need to be spoken. It’s understood on a bone chilling level what will happen if anyone talks about the jobs you do.

You all nod your heads gravely and Jeonghan exits the room, Seungcheol following him out the door.

Tugging at your stiff tie, you step away from the table and head towards the door. “I’ll see you weirdos later.” You tell the others and go in search for a few cans of beer and the solitude of the roof.

You raid the kitchen and pluck three beers from one of the many fridges before finding your way to the rooftop. Pushing open the heavy door, you welcome the dark of the night and the glow from the city around you. As you turn towards your normal spot, you’re surprised to see a silhouette of a man against the city lights.

Recognizing the person, you inch forward, confused, “Vernon?” You call out his name and he turns toward you.

“Hey.” Vernon answers you. In the dim light and shadow displayed on his face, you can see his cheek is still red but not as angry of a red as before.

“How’s your cheek?” You ask, grimacing at the memory of having to watch the assault and setting the beers on the ledge.

He lightly touches his cheek, “It’ll be sore and red for a while but I think the reward will be worth it.” He comments.

“Here.” You hand him one of the still cold beers. He stares at the beer in confusion and you roll your eyes before pressing the substitute ice pack to his cheek. “It’ll help it.”

“Right.” He breathes out and brings his hand up to replace yours in holding the beer in place.

Below you, the city is bustling with sane people leaving the clubs and casinos, taking their loses in stride. Each building shines with the lights of a many tiny spotlights, casting out the moonlight before it can even get close to the ground.

“Three beer night?” Vernon questions you, eyeing the two beers left on the ledge.

“You try standing the whole night with a stick stiff suit and a tie noosed around your neck.” You sass at him.

“You didn’t seem uncomfortable.” Vernon chuckles, as you open a beer and take a large chug of it.

You grimace as the alcohol slithers down your throat, “I’m good at faking it.” You tell him. “You did good, sleighting Moore.” You compliment his handiwork. “If you keep learning, you could get pretty good.”

Vernon lowers his beer can from his cheek in thought, “Nah, I think I’ll leave that to you. I didn’t like how I couldn’t see what I was doing.” He holds out his hand and flexes it before opening his can, “I can see the pieces being connected when I work up a demolition explosive. Sleight of hand takes that away.” Then he shivers, “Oh, no thank you.”

You laugh and Vernon looks over at you, loving the way your laugh makes yours eyes squint and your cheeks bunch up.

“Alright, you stick with demolition.” You tell him. “Besides, if you took over my role, I may have to leave and find a new boss to sleight for.” You joke but Vernon’s face falls at the mention of you leaving.

“When you get your share, will you leave?” He asks, facing back towards the street. He doesn’t want you to leave but he’s also heard you speak of the possibility over the last few days.

You sigh, both hands clasping the beer can, “I don’t know yet.” You say, facing the city lights like he is. “Part of me thinks it’s time to leave, that I’ve paid my debt. But the other part of me can’t leave the people here.”

Vernon chuckles softly, “Everyone would miss you.” He pauses for a second before continuing, “I would miss you.”

“I wouldn’t leave right away.” You say and lean you head against his shoulder, “I still have to stay for the Huffman job. But it might be my last.”

“Is there anything that would make you stay?” Vernon wonders, afraid to move and have your touch leave his skin.

You study the sky for a second before answering, “I don’t know.”

“Is there anything I could do that would make you stay?” He reiterates his previous question. In his voice, he tries to make you understand how much he doesn’t want you to leave. That he’d do almost anything for you to stay.

“I don’t know if anyone could do anything that would make me stay.” You tell him and sit up to take another sip.

“Jeonghan could.” Vernon grumbled under his breath.

Your ears perk up and you’re not sure you head him correctly, “What?”

“Uh, n-nothing.” He stutters and avoids meeting your eyes.

You gasp as you realize you had heard him correctly, “You’re jealous!” You accuse and point a finger at him.

“I am not.“ Vernon defends himself, stepping back.

"Yes, you are!” Your fluttering heart makes giggles bubble into your throat.

“Seriously, I’m not.” He repeats, holding up his hands but you read the jealousy on his face like the front page of the morning news paper.

“Demolition Vernon is jealous?” You say, unable to keep the giggles at bay. “Jealous of Jeonghan?”

At the name, Vernon steps forward and covers your mouth with his free hand.

“Don’t say his name and that word together.” He says lowly, “Do you want me to die?” He questions you with a quirked eyebrow.

You look between his eyes and reach up to lower his hand from your mouth, which comes away easily.

“He wouldn’t kill you. Maybe disfigure you in some way, but not kill.” You say, softly, realizing how serious this situation actually is, “As much as he hates to admit it, he needs every single one of us for any and all jobs he pulls. And he’s not about to waste time looking for and training another just because of a word.”

“Why did you stay with Jeonghan?” Vernon asks, not moving away, his face inches from yours.

You swallow and keep your gaze on his eyes, though you’re tempted to peek at his lips. “Jeonghan and I both blame ourselves for the bombing that happened here. We both missed things that we shouldn’t have missed. And because of our mistakes, people died.” You explain, flashes of the terror replaying in your mind. “Jeonghan shredded my debt that night but I couldn’t leave until I corrected the wrong I made.”

“Have you corrected it yet?” He asks in a near whisper and a hand loops around your waist.

“I don’t know yet.” You answer through the pounding of your heart.

He is this close to you. This close to being yours.

“When will you know?” He questions, inching closer, eyes still locked onto yours.

You blink, “Someday.” You are barely able to speak the word.

The corner of Vernon’s mouth twitches, “So that means you’d stay until that day.”

Unable to speak because of his closeness, you just nod once.

“Then that means I can give you a reason to stay once that day comes.” He states and before you can answer, his lips crash onto yours.

You both drop your beer cans, ignoring as they collide with the ground and spill around your feet. Kissing him back with the emotions that are finally being set free, you wrap your arms around his neck and pull him closer. He does the same with his arms around you waist.

When you pull away, you’re still pressed against each other and out of breath. But the sparkle in his eyes is all you can focus on.

The bright excitement that you’ve only seen when he finishes a complex explosive. A bubble of pride swells your heart that you’re the only person who’s able to pull that brightness out of him.

“Just one reason?” You question his earlier statement and tilting your head to the side.

Vernon lets out an amused puff of air, “I can give you several reasons to stay, if you want.” He says before kissing you again.

“These better be some very good reasons if I’m to give up a lifetime of lazy days and millions of dollars.” You tell him and play with his tie.

He presses you closer to his chest and lets his lips graze yours, “Oh, they will be very, very good reasons, (y/n). Don’t you doubt that.”

당신을 사랑할 만큼 용감했으면 좋겠어요. I wish I was brave enough to love you.

Description: The aftermath of a budding relationship that you ended because the life that would’ve followed made your heart cower in fear.
Song Inspiration: Brave Enough - Lindsey Stirling ft. Christina Perri
Warnings: Swearing (?)
Genre: ANGST, Idol!DoKyeom x GenNeut!Reader
Word Count: 2k

SeventeenMasterlist|Masterlists

The excited screams and chatter filled your ears as you slowly made your way through the concert hall. Females with banners and fans with the names and faces of the idol group you had become so close to and then ripped yourself away from. All because you couldn’t muster up the strength to take that one particular (metaphorical) step forward. Because you couldn’t give him the answer the both you wanted to hear so badly.

Stumbling forward as a couple of girls bumped into you, you caught a bit of their excited chatter.

“Ah! I’m so excited!” One said while gripping a fan with Dino’s face on it.

“I can’t wait to finally hear Dokyeom’s vocals LIVE!” The other squealed, “I’ve been waiting YEARS for this!”

The mention of his name made your heart pinch and you started to wonder why you were even here at their concert. But you had to remind yourself that you needed to do this for yourself, so you pushed further into the venue.

As you made your way to your seat in the middle of the large concert stadium, a nervous buzz filled your body. The same buzz had overtaken you when you were standing in front of him for the last time. Your seat was a few rows above the bottom of the section and in front of the section you saw that the stage extended out and you began praying that no one would notice you.

The stadium was filled with excited chatter and you could somewhat make out the instrumentals of their songs playing through the speakers. The screens rotated through selfies of the members from their most recent album and when Dokyeom’s appeared, you looked away as though he’d actually been looking at you.

Girls walked past you to get to their seats, they walked down the stairs, they took their seats all while having the largest smiles on their faces.

Their smiles remind you of the days when you and him would laugh until your cheeks ached. You remembered the time when he promised you that as long as you were next to him, he’d make sure to that you’d always be smiling. Smiling softly to yourself as he played around with the other Seventeen members, loving his energy and playfulness. Remembering how even a terribly blurry candid photo of him could bring a smile to your face in most inappropriate settings - like the lecture on appropriate workplace behavior you were forced to sit through.

It was honestly his smile that pulled you deeper and deeper into him. The brightness, the happiness that he gave you was everything you desired. But his ability to talk to you, talk with you, about every and anything was what hooked you in. The late night conversations that dug deep into your soul while laying on the couch with the static from the TV serving as the soundtrack. The way he comforted you, supported you, and encouraged you to do everything you wanted to. Even when said thing scared you shitless. He was still there.

And the opposite was so very true, too. You were always where he needed you to be. You wanted, you craved, to see him succeed, to seem him accomplish goals. Waiting outside the practice room for him to finish. Opening up your arms when he hadn’t even said a word but you knew he wouldn’t be able to hold himself together for much longer. Giving him little nudges of encouragement when his own courage failed to make itself known. The giggles that passed between the two of you as sat together watching your favorite episodes of Going Seventeen.

Everyday you fell harder and harder, and so did he. You knew he was your person, the one that fit next to you like a seamless stitch. You knew it. And yet, you couldn’t do it.

The lights dimmed and the screens went black. Screams erupted from all sides of you and Caratbongs sprouted like stars in the night. Your heart hammered as their intro VCR pierced through the screams of fans. You followed the actions of others around you and stood to your feet, willing yourself to enjoy the show.

The screams somehow pitched even higher when the first song started and the members started popping up one by one.  Each member getting their ten second solo shot on the screens and when Dokyeom’s face appeared on the screen, your jaw clenched with unintentional worry. Because even through his stage makeup and his expression, you could still see the sadness that lingered behind his eyes. You could see the sleepless nights swimming just behind the eyeshadow that colors his eyelids. You could see the many late night conversations he had with Jeonghan cowering under his concealer. You could see it all in the ten seconds he was on the screen. And then he was gone.

No one would have thought that Lee Dokyeom would have been a man to have the strength to knock down your walls. But he did it. And he did it all in the sweetest of ways. In ways that you didn’t even know he was breaking them down until the walls were nothing but clouds of dust.

He held onto you while you showed him everything you harbored away from the world. The sides that were scarred, bruised, and tattered by experiences that you ran into throughout your life. As the dust swirled around you, Dokyeom was wrapped around you, sturdier than any wall you had ever built.

But then, with the force of a tornado, you pulled yourself away. Ripped yourself from the comfort of him and left him hugging nothing but a ‘what if?’

What if you were it for him? What if he never felt like this again? What if the hardships you would’ve faced would have only made you stronger and your connection shine brighter? What if you truly were never coming back?

What if you had been brave enough to start a relationship with him?

For weeks, if not months, you had tried to convince yourself that you could be brave, that you could overcome anything with Dokyeom at your side. But in the end, you were still so afraid.

Afraid of the obstacles that came with dating such a big superstar. Afraid of the dark nights that would haunt you for years. Afraid of the secrecy that you would have to keep. Afraid of the possibility that you would slip up and cause tremendous damage, not only to Dokyeom but to the other members who had become some of your closest friends. Afraid that your desire for a normal dating life would make him take irregular risks that would get him into big trouble. Afraid of the nights that you would have to spend alone while he would be busy with schedules or tours. Afraid that you would realize too late that this life - his life- wasn’t meant for you. Afraid of how much you would hurt him.

The concert continued on and while everyone in the stadium bought Dokyeom’s mask of excitement and energy, you could easily see that this wasn’t easy on him. He was hurting and you were the cause of it. You knew how you could fix it but you just couldn’t do it. That night you hated yourself for not being brave enough, for making him force a smile even though he wanted to cry an ocean of tears.

The songs played through one by one, and every so often, you’d catch one of the members give Dokyeom a reassuring pat on the back or a tight hand squeeze. Then you realized that while some of the others would go off on their own to greet the fans in the stands, Dokyeom was never alone. One of the members was always by his side. Almost like a crutch.

You swore you could hear your heart shatter into a million pieces knowing you were the reason the usually happy, sturdy, bright, ball of sunshine now needed support just to make sure he wouldn’t fall to his knees. The pieces of your heart scraped down your inside and made your every inch of your skin feel like you were getting pinched everywhere.

As the slower songs of the setlist began, they settled around the outer stage walkways. You held your breath as you saw Dokyeom walking towards your section. But he stopped in front of the section next to you instead. Jun was the member who stopped closer to your section and you forced yourself to focus on him instead of the man who’s heart you broke.

Beginnings of “Without You” (“모자를 눌러 쓰고”) echoed from the speakers and you could feel tears prick at your eyes. They stood in their positions for most of the song, but just before the last chorus, they began to move and Dokyeom walked towards your section.

You cursed under your breath, trying to convince yourself that he wouldn’t notice you. But who were you kidding? Dokyeom would’ve noticed you even if you were in the very back of the concert venue. He would’ve noticed you if you had put on a crappy disguise. Because he always noticed you.

The moment his eyes locked onto yours, both of you felt a sudden wave a calm. Like for a moment, everything was okay. It was alright. Nothing was broken, nothing was shattered. Like the possibility of you together still existed.

You watched him bring his microphone to his lips and your ears tuned into the lyrics as they flowed out of his lips like water you’d been searching the desert for. His eyes shined with a layer of tears but his voice never hitched, something he trained himself to do. But you could hear him straining against the emotions that were begging to be released.

As he sang like he was singing only to you, you felt every word as if they were a piece of sandpaper being forced down your throat.

’어리저리부딪혀아파도 Bumping and hurting’

’관심도없는넌 But you don’t even care’

But you did care. You did. It broke your heart to see him covered with so many pieces of tape just trying to hold everything together. It hurt to know he was hurting as much as you were. You hated yourself that you couldn’t be brave for him and follow him to the next stage of what could have been.

The ending of the song rang out through the vast space but Dokyeom’s eyes remained locked onto yours. His eyes holding so many emotions and thoughts but one stuck out.

The one that was nearly pleading with you to come back to him. To stand in front of him so he could wrap his arms around you. To be the one who wouldn’t have to make him change.

Dokyeom knew that the song had ended and that he needed to gather with the rest of the members in the center of the stage but he didn’t want to. He wanted to stay and talk to you and make things work. But he had a concert to get through and an appearance to keep up.

You watched Dokyeom turn away to gather with the rest of the members as a lone tear fell down your cheek. Realizing this was all you could take, you whispered a small goodbye before running up the stairs and out of the venue. Hating yourself more with every step you took away from him.

“I wish I was brave enough to love you.” You had said to the back you hoped you’d never have to leave behind.

Dokyeom nearly made it to the center stage before his desire glance back at you overtook his self control. He glanced back but you were gone. Searching the seats in your section, he began to wonder if you had really been there at all, or if all the sleepless nights were finally getting to him.

“Come back. Don’t make me change.” He prayed silently before Mingyu wrapped an arm around his shoulder and walked with him the rest of the way to the others.

널 잃으면 내 자신이 싫어질 것 같으니까. Because I think I would hate myself if I lost you.

Description: Jeonghan comes to you to be consoled and while cleaning his wounds, his guard drops and he confesses the feelings he’s been harboring for a while. 
Warnings: Swearing, blood and cuts
Genre: Angst, Fluff, MafiaBoss!Jeonghan x Fem!Reader
Word Count: 2.9k

SeventeenMasterlist|Masterlists

The club’s music echoes through the walls of the private room but it’s become so familiar that I can easily ignore it. I sip from the champagne flute and let the small amount of bubbles tumble down my throat before smiling and placing a hand on the shoulder of the man who sits very close to me.

“So, you were telling me about your work?” I ask, putting in extra effort to seem extremely interested.

The man, Henry, sighs and man spreads a little wider. “Ugh, I don’t particular like the line of work or my boss but the pay is too good. I can live so comfortably with it.”

“Comfortable indeed.” I smile sweetly, lean in closer, and rest my legs over one of his. My skin tight dress twists and I know I’m going to have to fix it when I stand up.

His hand rests on top of my thigh and my sense heighten in case he gets any ideas.

“We just finished an awfully big project and I think my hands gained two pounds of muscle from all the typing I had to do.” Henry comments while flexing his other hand out in front of us.

I gasp lightly in faked astonishment. “I think you may be right. So muscle-y hands and a nice pay check are your rewards for working through a shitty job.” I say and lean my head down on the hand that’s on his shoulder.

His shoulders shake with a chuckle, “Now if I could find a nice girl to settle down with, that would make it perfect.” He says with a sigh but there’s an underlying question that I know is coming if I don’t respond properly.

“You’ll find her. But I don’t think you’re going to find her here.” I say, the music still pounding against the walls, “You know the rules.”

“Yeah, yeah. This place and all its rules.” Henry rolls his eyes, “No touching above or below certain points. I can’t order drinks for you. I can’t leave the premises with you. I can’t blah, blah, blah.”

I glower at him slightly but he ignores me.

“Rules are meant to be broken, or is your boss really that stuck up?” He continues and I can feel the anger bubble up in my chest.

“If you didn’t like the rules, you didn’t have to agree to them.” I remind him, “And you should be careful with what you say. You know who runs this club.”

Before he can say anything back, the door to the room flies opens and my body untangles itself from Henry in a second. A floppy brown haired man walks in, the music from the club following him and invading the previously quiet room. It’s Jeonghan, the owner of the club and the leader of the group that runs this part of town.

Jeonghan stumbles towards the other side of the U-shaped couch and plops himself down, hands buried in his hair and his gaze trained on the floor. His body heaves up and down with the heavy breaths he taking.

“Get out.” He growls at us but my focus is on his knuckles which are beat up and red with stains of blood.

My heart picks up at the thought that he’d be hurt and then it worries as to how he got hurt.

“Come on.” Henry grabs my arm and lifts me to my feet while my eyes are still on Jeonghan.

He leads me towards the door with his grip tightening on my arm. I hiss as his grip makes my nerves explode with red flags.

“Not her. Just you.” Jeonghan says with a steely voice but he hasn’t even moved a muscle.

“Hey, I paid for the hour.” Henry spits back at Jeonghan, “I will be getting my hour.”

“Get. Out.” Jeonghan threatens through gritted teeth. I can feel his anger radiating off of him.

I pull my arm out of Henry’s grasp and place a light hand on his chest. “Just go.” I tell him, trying not to show my annoyance towards him, “Go see May, and I’m sure Wonwoo,” I glance at the man in the doorway, “Will explain the situation and help you get a refund.”

Henry opens his mouth to protest but I cut him off before Jeonghan explodes.

“Just go now and come back next week. Go now before you’re unable to return next week.” I sharpen my voice to make the urgency clear as day.

Thankfully, Henry gets the message.

“Okay. I’m gone.” He says before walking out of the room.

Wonwoo closes the door and the room falls into silence besides the dull drumming of the music. Turning to look at Jeonghan, he still hasn’t moved but his breaths aren’t as heavy as they were.

Wordlessly, I make my way over to the cupboard where we keep everything our girls might need for a private session, including a first aid kit. Which is exactly what I’m going for. Pulling the kit out, I pull out a couple of water bottles before walking back to the couch. I place the water bottles and the first aid kit on the table before gently sitting down next to Jeonghan.

He doesn’t even flinch as I lean in to inspect the cuts on his knuckles.

“You okay?” I ask when I’m confident none of his cuts need stitches.

Jeonghan doesn’t respond with words but just nods his head once.

“Will you let me clean your hands?” I ask softly, my heart aching that whatever happened is the reason he’s not acting like his normal self.

Again he doesn’t speak or move but just nods his head.

I walk back over the cupboard and grab a small towel before returning to the couch. Pulling an empty glass over to me, I open a water bottle and fill the glass. I wet the towel in the glass and turn my body to face Jeonghan. Watching closely for any reaction, I gingerly pull one of his hands out of his hair and towards me. He lets me do so without any resistance so I start wiping away the blood with the towel.

“He’s relentless.” Jeonghan mumbles and lowers his head further.

“Who is?” I ask though I have a gut feeling I know exactly who he’s talking about.

“Grayson.” He says and his voice is straining to keep himself calm.

My heart drops upon hearing the name of the man who is determined to take me. I try to ignore the fear prickling my skin by focusing on cleaning Jeonghan’s hand.

I drag the towel over a particularly red spot and Jeonghan hisses.

“Sorry.” I apologize and blow some air over the area to cool it down.

I work the towel down his fingers and wipe the trails of red off his smooth skin.

“He keeps showing up,” He says and lets out an angry breath, “And I swear the next time I’m going to blow hi- Ah!” He yelps as I run the towel over another open cut. “Careful.” He scolds me and looks me in the eyes.

I inhale sharply at the state of his face more than the fact that he jumped. His bottom lip is busted, a nasty looking bruise is forming on his cheek, and he has a cut above his eyebrow that has blood smeared around the skin. Instinctively, I grab his chin and turn his head to inspect his injuries.

“What happened?” I ask with more concern laced into my voice than I had intended.

He pulls his head out of my grasp and looks away from me. “Hopefully a good threat.”

I let my hand fall back to his hand but my eyes never leave his face, “Just tell me he looks worse.” I plead with concern.

Jeonghan smirks, “You think I would let a nobody like him beat me like this without leaving him faring worse? I’m pretty sure he’ll be nursing his wounds for weeks.”

I frown slightly hearing the amount of damage he caused but at the same time, a weight lifts off my shoulders in relief that the other guy is worse off. I finish cleaning his one hand before reaching into the first aid kit for some gauze.

“You don’t have to put that on.” Jeonghan says, glancing back at my actions as I place some antibiotic ointment on the open cuts.

“I do and I will.” I tell him before wrapping his knuckles with the gauze. “Otherwise you’ll get infected and that’s not good.”

Jeonghan huffs in annoyance but doesn’t say anything else. After his one hand is wrapped, I move to his other hand. I make quick work of cleaning this hand but the silence sitting around us makes the time seem to drag out for hours. By the time I’m done wrapping the second hand, neither of us has notice that I’ve scooted closer to him.

Dipping the towel into the water glass, I wring out the pink tinted water before forcing Jeonghan’s face to look at me. Starting with the cut on his eyebrow, I clean off the skin farthest from the cut and make my way closer. His eyes watch my face intently and it takes everything in me not to meet his gaze. With every second that he stares at me, my heart picks up speed until it’s pounding against my chest like the bass of the music against the walls.

Carefully, I wipe away the blood in his eyebrow before hesitating to wipe at the cut.

“This might sting.” I say in a tiny voice, blinking my eyes down to meet his piercing gaze.

He wraps an arm around my waist and closes his eyes in response. The weight of his arm on my waist is heavy and won’t be easily ignored. With a steadying breath, I wipe at the cut to clean it out. Just as the towel makes contact with the

open wound, he sucks in a breath and his hand grips my hip.

“Sorry.” I whisper as I continue to gingerly wipe at the cut. “Okay.” I tell him while setting the towel down and picking up the ointment.

Jeonghan opens his eyes as I place some ointment onto his cut to help it heal but his hand stays around my waist.

“You know,” I say, switching to the towel again, “You’re pretty bloody for someone who’s nickname is ‘clean hands.’” I bring the towel up to his lip and carefully wipe it.

A smile tugs at his lips but the stretching of the skin makes him stop immediately and groan in pain. The cut starts to bleed slightly again and I dab the towel against it to keep the blood from trickling down his chin.

“Careful.” I remind him softly. “Do you need any pain killers or anything?” I ask him, pressing the towel to his lip again and glancing up at his eyes.

He watches me with soft eyes for a heartbeat before shaking his head. “No, I can handle it.”

I frown at his answer, but decide to leave it alone. Pulling the towel away, I’m glad to see that his lip has stopped bleeding so, I put some ointment over it. Capping the ointment tube, I try to scoot away but Jeonghan’s grip around my waist tightens.

I glance down at his arm before back up at his face with a questioning look.

“Just humor me a bit.” He says calmly but I think I catch a bit of embarrassment in his voice. He reaches for one of the filled champagne glasses but I quickly grab it out of his hand.

Jeonghan gives me a 'what the fuck’ look but I just grab the other glass. “Drink mine. I’m pretty sure I saw him slip something into his and I don’t want you to find out what it was.” I explain, placing my glass into his frozen hand and setting Henry’s glass onto the table.

“He’s never coming back here.” Jeonghan shakes his head and brings the glass to his lips, taking a sip out of it. “His first time and he goes and breaks the rules.”

“Rookie mistake.” I comment and lean in closer to him.

Relaxing against his shoulder, I think back to the reason he’s all cut up like this.

“You know Grayson’s probably going to keep coming back.” I sigh with downcast eyes.

“I know.” Jeonghan says and rubs his thumb against my side. Even though there’s the fabric of my dress in between, my skin still tingles with his touch. “But I’m setting up a plan to make sure you’re safe.”

“What plan?” I question, looking up at him and ignoring the last part of the sentence.

His jaw clenches and he takes another sip to calm himself, “You’re not going to be out on the floor anymore.” He explains, resting the champagne glass on his thigh, “I’ve been looking for someone to manage the girls and I want you to do it. And until that creep leaves, you will go home escorted or you will stay here if you need to.”

My heart skips a beat at his suggestion. Stay here? The same place he stays? The upper levels that we’re hardly ever allowed into?

Before my brain can stop itself, I ask, “Why?”

Jeonghan pauses and I can feel all the air in the room vaporize like boiling water on a negative 40 degree (Fahrenheit but it’s the same in Celsius) day. I start to majorly regret asking the question but when he looks down at me and the softness of his eyes wipes away any regret.

“Because I think I would hate myself if I lost you.” He says softly. So softly, in fact, that it’s a stark contrast to the sharp edges of his features and his usual voice.

“I would never go willingly.” I say, internally cringing when my voice hitches slightly.

“I know that, but I don’t want it to come to that.” Jeonghan murmurs.

I smile softly and hear the care in his words, but I still can’t help myself from asking, “But why me?”

He lets out an airy chuckle, “You’re really going to make me say it?”

“How will I know if you don’t?” I answer his question with a question and a slight smirk.

“Because as much as I hate to say it or admit it, you’ve become my weakness.” He explains and I inhale in surprise, “The first day you came here, knowing who I was and what my reputation was, and yet, you wouldn’t leave until I agreed to take you in. You care the other girls and keep the guests in line better than any of my men ever could. You keep this place running like a proper establishment. Not to mention you’re absolutely beautiful.” He finishes and a blush creeps onto my cheeks.

“If I had it my way, you wouldn’t even be working at the club but I figured you’d fight me on that.” Jeonghan adds with a twinkle in his eye.

I giggle, “You were right about that. I’m not leaving the other girls alone.” I take a breath before asking, “But if I wasn’t working here, where would I be and what would I be doing?”

He looks away bashfully, “Hopefully, you’d be at my side and you’d be doing whatever you wanted.”

“You’re beating around the bush, Jeonghan.” I lean away from him to look at him properly.

“God, you’re so infuriating sometimes, you know that?” Jeonghan says and leans his head back.

“I like things blunt and to the point. And you are certainly not giving me that right now.” I bluntly tell him, not caring how it may have sounded if anyone else was around.

He lifts his head back up, sets the champagne flute down before bringing his hand to cup my cheek, “Another reason I’m absolutely, most definitely falling for you.”

My heart flutters like the wings of a million humming birds and I feel like I can hardly breathe, in a good way.

Jeonghan stares into my eyes, searching for any reaction while leaning in extremely slowly. “You can stop me.” He reminds me, “There are rules.”

“And if I want to break the rules?” I question him, not breaking my gaze.

By now, he’s so close I swear I can feel his lips ghosting against mine, “Then I’ll add it to the list of things that make me fall for you.” He whispers before crashing his lips onto mine.

His lips are soft as they move against mine as easily as waves across the sea. The arm around my waist pulls me closer to him and I wrap my arms around his neck, kissing him harder.

Pulling away sooner than I would have liked, he rests his forehead against mine, the tip of his nose barely touching mine.

“What are you going to do about Grayson?” I quietly ask and he growls in disgust.

“I’ll make sure he chooses to stay away or I’ll make the choice for him.” Jeonghan says through gritted teeth and I move my hands to his shoulders in hopes to calm him a little.

“And I think I’ll stay by your side.” I tell him to get his mind off of Grayson.

“That’s all I ask for.” Jeonghan smiles before pressing his lips against mine again.

낮잠은 어땠어? How was your nap?

Description: What is hoped to be a quiet train ride down to your grandparents’ is interrupted by a loud business trip with an intriguing conversation with a business man who’s apart of the group that’s creating chaos in the train car.
Warnings: Swearing
Genre: Fluff, Non-idol!Minghao x Fem!Reader ft. Non-idol!Seventeen
Word Count: 3k

SeventeenMasterlist|Masterlists

My duffle bag bounced against my hip as I did a weird jog shuffle down the train platform in search of the train car where my seat was. Almost missing my train was what I got for spending a few extra minutes in the shower. My aunt would’ve killed me if I missed this train because I was bringing the most important stuff for my grandparents’ anniversary.

“Finally.” I exhaled as I finally found my assigned train car: number 8.

Pulling myself into the train car, I focused on calming my rapidly beating heart. I opened the door separating the seats from the space between train cars and my ears were immediately bombarded with lively chatter.

I looked up to find a large cluster of seats were taken up by a group of males. They were the ones creating the chatter. And it didn’t help that they were all clustered around the middle of the train.

Internally, I groaned because I honestly hoped to get some more sleep on this train ride before I had to deal with my very loud, very obnoxious family. But that plan jumped out the window. But then, my heart dropped even further.

My seat was somehow in the smack dab middle of their cluster.

I cursed my need for a little extra leg room and a window seat as I trudged down the aisle with my duffle bag gripped in my hands. The conversations didn’t quiet down as I approached, nor did they stop when I reached the middle of the train car where the backwards facing seats met the forward facing cars with a table in the center.

Sitting across from my seat were two males, one with blonde hair and the other with black hair. Both had rounder faces but they were in no way pudgy. In the seat right next to mine was another black haired male but he had a slimmer face and honestly, a slimmer physique in general. He had sharp facial features, a pair of round glasses sat on his nose and his entire focus was on the notebook supported by one hand while the other flew across the page with a pencil in its grasp.

The two from across noticed me stop and stared for a couple seconds as I struggled to get my ridiculously heavy duffle bag up into the overhead storage.

“Here. Let me help you with that.” A light voice offered from behind me and a pair of hands helped me push the duffle into place.

“Thank you.” I turned around to properly thank him and I was met with an almost angelic face that matched the voice almost perfectly. He had red hair and angled features but he somehow made it all work well together.

They were all seriously good looking and I was suddenly very thankful I spent those few extra minutes in the shower.

“No problem.” The red head smiled and my involuntarily fluttered, “Do you have the seat next to Minghao?” He asked, nodding towards the male who was still engrossed in his little notebook.

“I guess.” I told him with a small smile and then I heard the faint ringing throughout the platform telling everyone we were about to depart.

As the train car doors closed shut, one of the males across from my seat must’ve kicked the male sitting next to me because his eyes shot up with a glare that would’ve made even the toughest guys back down. But after a quick nod in my direction, the one in the seat next to mine directed his attention to me and I swore I saw his eyes widen ever so slightly. As quickly as he shot his head up, he scrambled out of his seat to let me into my seat.

“Thank you.” I said quietly as slid into my seat just as the train began to move.

“No problem.” The male next to me said and slid back into his seat. I could feel his gaze on me for a few more seconds before he reburied his head into his notebook.

I pulled out my book and headphones from my backpack before setting it down next to my legs. The conversations around me began to pick up again and I decided I could try to ignore them with some music.

But… just as the train left the station behind…

“So where are you headed?” The blonde male directly across from me asked just as I plugged in my headphones.

I blinked, for some reason unsure why he would be talking to me. “Uh, I’m headed down to Jinju.” I answer him slowly.

“Oh, no way.” The blonde smiled widely, “We are too.”

“Oh, that’s cool.” I commented, unsure of how to actually respond.

“Yeah, we have a few important business things to do there.” He explained though I didn’t exactly ask for one. The slight awkwardness that creeped into the atmosphere almost made me want to laugh.

“Important.” The black haired male next to the blonde repeated with air quotes and a large eye roll.

“Ignore him.” The blonde informed me while pushing the black haired one in the shoulder. “I’m Seungkwan, by the way.”

“(y/n).” I introduced me since it was the only thing I could do.

“Soonyoung.” The black haired one raised a hand, all traces of his annoyance from earlier completely gone.

“Hi.” I smiled, playing with an earbud wondering if they were going to talk to me the entire trip.

“So, are you just visiting Jinju?” Seungkwan continued his round of questions.

“Yeah,” I answered, realizing that they were indeed probably going to talk to me the entire way there, “My grandparents live there and I’m visiting them.”

“Oh, that’s so sweet.” Seungkwan cooed.

“I wish I was visiting my grandparents.” Soonyoung grumbled, his annoyance returning.

“Soonyoung, I swear to god, if I hear another grievance from you, I’m going to make you participate in the panel next week.” Another black haired male from across the aisle narrowed his eyes at Soonyoung.

“Oh god, not the financial panel.” Soonyoung’s face dropped so fast that I barely had time to hold back a laugh.

Seungkwan caught me and leaned in closer, “Don’t worry, we all think he’s nuts.”

“Not as nuts as Jun.” A voice piped up from behind me. The male looked by far the youngest and he was pointing diagonally across the aisle at a bucket hat wearing male with sharp catlike features.

As the others started to banter about who was more nuts, I glanced over at the notebook of my glasses wearing seat mate. On the page was a crude drawing of a character of some sorts and I couldn’t help but be captivated by it. It wasn’t anything super fantastical or extraordinary but every part held a story and I wanted to decipher all the parts. The way the body was positioned gave the impression of a welcoming and comforting personality but the face had the emotions of hidden stresses and thoughts.

The owner of the notebook cleared his throat slightly and I was caught red handed.

“Sorry.” I apologized and felt a blush creep into my cheeks.

“It’s okay.” He accepted my apology but the embarrassment was still drowning me.

“It’s a really interesting drawing.” I complimented him and then mentally face palmed at the genericness of it.

The male glanced down at the drawing and then back up at me, “You think?” He asked.

I nodded, “Yeah, that’s why I was staring. I was trying to figure out the pieces of the story it holds.” I explained, trying not to look away from his intense curious gaze.

“Huh.” He commented, slightly impressed for some reason, “These idiots never looked at one of my drawings for more than ten seconds.” He gestured to the still bantering males around us.

I chuckled, “Well, they can’t be complete idiots considering you’re all attending business meetings together.” I told him and he tilted his head to the side, considering my point.

“Fair.” He said and then paused, thinking, before adding, “Then they’re idiots of the art world.”

“That sounds a little better.” I said with another laugh bubbling in my chest, “So, do you draw often?”

He shrugged, “Kind of. I do it whenever I feel like I need to let off steam or if I’m bored.”

“Which one was it today?” I asked then wondered if that was borderline too personal.

“Boredom.” He answered, nonchalantly, and added a few more pencil strokes to the shadows of his character.

“Train rides not your favorite?” I guessed with a questioning eyebrow.

“Not really.” He responded, “I’m more of a car ride kind of guy. But the train was the fastest option for us, so here we are.”

“You like driving through Seoul?” I questioned with slight shock because Seoul was a city where every hour was rush hour and every car was trying to make it to their destination in record time.

He chuckled in disgust, “Oh god no. I hate driving in the city. Makes me want to pull out all of my hair.” He joked and a smile grew on my face. “But give me a long drive through the country, an AUX cord, and a few snacks and I’m all set to go for hours.”

“You would go alone?” I asked.

He leaned in close so the others wouldn’t hear him but my heart skipped a few beats. “These guys are idiots of the art world, remember?” He reminded me with a small playful smile.

“Right. I guess music counts as an art form.” I stated, hoping he couldn’t see my nervousness. He straightened back up and a tiny part of me was extremely disappointed.

“Exactly.” He agreed, “Though Mingyu’s not a bad companion, if I want one.” He pointed across the aisle and a row back at a green haired giant.

My eyes widened at his hair color and I had to ask, “Why is his hair green?”

“He lost a bet.” He informed me, a smile touched his face with the memory and he looked even cuter when he smiled.

“Poor dude.” I exhaled glancing back at the green haired male as he laughed at something the guy next to him said.

“Eh, he actually suggested the punishment himself so…” The male next to me trailed off with a shrug.

“So, what’s your name?” I asked suddenly, realizing I knew a few of the others’ names but not once did I get to ask him his.

“Minghao.” He stuck out a hand and I grabbed with a surprised smile.

“(y/n).” I reciprocated the greeting and pray he can’t feel my racing pulse through my skin.

“"And you’re visiting family in Jinju.” Minghao repeated what I told Seungkwan earlier and my lips pucker in surprise. He chuckled and pulled his hand away. “My ears still pay attention even if my eyes aren’t.”

“I can’t do that.” I said, resting my hands in my lap, “Multitasking like that is not my forte.”

“Gotta focus on one or the other?” He asked and I nodded my head.

“If my eyes are focused on like my book,” I rested my hand on the cover, “Or something, my ears tune out everything so I don’t miss a single word.”

“Is that what the headphones are for?” Minghao asked nodding towards my phone with the still plugged in headphones.

“Yeah, kind of.” I answered and twirled the wire around my finger, “It’s easier to tune out familiar sounds than new ones.”

“Any particular sounds?” He inquired and set down his closed notebook on the table.

“Music, particularly.” I told him and tried to ignore the giddy thoughts that screamed that he enjoyed talking to me. I also peeked at his hands and noticed he wasn’t wearing any rings. Which could’ve have been a big indicator that he wasn’t in a relationship with anyone considering every couple seemed to have couple rings here.

He gave me a wide smile and the action softened his facial features so much. “Any particular artists?” He reiterated his question using the same word we had been repeating.

“Jason Miraz is one of my favorites.” I informed him.

“Oh, I love Jason Miraz.” He said with bright eyes, “His style is just so cool and he makes great songs.”

“His style is really, really cool.” I agreed. “Have you heard his new album?”

“Did that come out already?” Minghao asked with widened eyes.

I nodded, “This morning.”

“Oh dang, I didn’t even know it was coming out this soon.” He said and scratched the back of his neck.

I reached for my headphones and handed one to him, “You want to listen with me? I haven’t made it through the whole thing yet either. Just the first couple.”

Minghao cautiously grabbed the earbud out of my hand, “You’re sure?” He questioned me.

“About sharing headphones?” I answered with another question, “It’s fine.” I gave him a reassuring smile and it seemed to relax him a bit.

I popped my earbud in my ear and then scrolled through my phone to find the playlist. Adjusting the volume so it wouldn’t blow out our eardrums, I started the album from the top.

“How’s the volume?” I glanced over at Minghao after settling the volume at a level I thought was comfortable.

“Good, good.” He responded, still a little stiff.

Turning my head towards the window, I let the calm melodies and voice of Jason Miraz accompany the green country scenery that quickly passed by. Pretty soon, my eye lids began to grow heavy and my morning rush started to catch up with me. Before I knew it, I was nodding off with my head leaned back against the weird velvety seat. Jason Miraz’s soft voice carried me further into sleep land.

Just before the haze of exhaustion turned into a dark abyss, I felt a hand lower my head until it met the hard curve of a shoulder.

I woke up to someone calling my name and it wasn’t Jason Miraz’s voice. Blinking my eyes open, I was still on the train and the country side was still passing by very quickly. My head was still pressed against a shoulder and then it hit me just who’s shoulder I was leaning on. [Though you know Soonyoung was not going to let Minghao live down how sweet the action was.]

“We’re like 5 minutes from Jinju station.” Minghao’s voice informed me and I sat up, trying not to be too sudden about it.

Running a hand through my hair, I checked my phone and the time coincides with the information given to me.

“I can’t believe I slept through the entire ride.” I chuckled at myself, still in shock.

“I’m surprised you slept through Seokmin and Soonyoung’s screaming.” Minghao laughed lightly and handed me the other half of my headphones.

I gathered the wire and picked up my backpack to shove them and my book back into it.

“Ugh, we didn’t even get to talk about the album.” I pouted, annoyed at myself for sleeping.

He giggled and it added itself to list of things I found cute.

“How about this?” He suggested, “We exchange numbers and we can discuss the album once you actually listened to it.”

I puckered my lips in thought because dude just called me out for falling asleep in the middle of tiny listening party for a new album. But, the little jab did nothing against the desire to keep in touch with him. So, I unlocked my phone and handed it over with the contacts app opened.

“Deal.” I agreed to his suggestion and he took my phone before quickly typing in his information.

“How was your nap?” Seungkwan asked, resting his arms on the table and leaning forward.

“It was unexpected and long.” I answered him, zipping up my backpack.

“But was it at least good?” He questioned further and Minghao handed back my phone.

“I’d say it was pretty good.” I told him and he smiled, content with my answer.

The train pulled into the station, which was the last on its route, and we all shuffled out of our seats. I reached up to the overhead storage for my still ridiculously heavy duffle bag but Minghao grabbed it before I could even touch it. Pulling it down, he held it out for me to take.

“Thank you.” I thanked him with a smile that I hoped would cover up the toll that the bag’s weight took on my body, specifically my arms.

“No problem.” He nodded with a small smile.

The other guys let me walk off the train first and I didn’t get a chance to look back or wait for them because my aunt was waiting on the platform for me.

“(y/n)!” She yelled and ran towards me. “Glad you made it! Oh! We have so many dishes to prepare. Come on, your mom’s busy chopping up vegetables and claims she needs her sous chef ASAP.” My aunt took the bag from me and wrapped an arm around my shoulders before leading me away.

I tried to look back for one last glance at the male who let me sleep on his shoulder but my aunt demanded all of my attention.

“Did you remember to bring all the stuff we asked?” She questioned me.

“Yes, auntie.” I replied, “I even remembered the Christmas ornament, though it took me forever to find.”

“Oh, you’re amazing!” She squeezed my shoulder and we walked out of the station and towards her car.

As we made our way down the stairs, my phone rang with a text.

I pulled it out and a laugh bubbled inside my chest as I read the message from Minghao.

“I don’t think Jason Miraz can save you from that conversation.”