Work Text:
Maybe moving in with seven supernatural beings wasn’t the wisest choice for a human, but the rent is great, his room is big and so far, no one has tried to eat him yet. All things considered, his first months at the new place have been chaotic, but surprisingly uncomplicated.
To be honest, Minho didn’t even believe it at first when his grandmother of all people immediately found him a perfect place to stay for his new job transfer back here in his hometown Gimpo.
“They’re mythical creatures, but a heart just as feeling as a human’s can be. If not more!” his grandmother had told him. Minho just shrugged it off as her spewing fun old-people-poetry. “Treat them well and they shall treat you in kind.”
Of course, the supernatural stick sounded like a dramatic joke if anything.
As Minho has gotten to learn: the supernatural side of the world is a well-kept secret out in the open, leading a more or less balanced harmony with human society. The supernatural is everywhere and blends in well, only seen if you know what to look for. If you dare, you might notice that your neighbour could be a warlock, your vet a werewolf or your favourite idol a siren. There is a completely supernatural underground society co-existing right here with all of us. Together it’s one though.
It’s interesting, isn’t it?
Despite the initial shock that his grandmother had, in fact, spoken quite literally, Minho isn’t really put off so far and just goes with the flow of things. It’s loud at times, sometimes messy, and half a mystery (what, with all that supernatural stuff going on) but the entire building holds a warm and welcoming atmosphere to Minho. He wants to stay.
So here he is, months later: a house with eight bedrooms on the second floor, while kitchen, living room and two bathrooms are on the first floor. The ground floor has a bakery, owned by one of the mythical beings. Minho’s own bedroom, where he spends most of his time unless he’s out or at work, is huge and has a well-placed nice window. Like he mentioned, even the rent is pretty good.
(Maybe the rent is so cheap because of the… occasional supernatural troubles.
Still, apparently their little group accepted a new 8th roommate for the first time in forever. Something about their extra senses tingling for one. After countless suitors, they ended up only accepting the one human who stumbled into their lives thanks to the grandmother who has become a loyal customer for their bakery.
How peculiar.)
Finding each mythical being’s magic – if that’s what it can be called – happened in gentle baby steps. Whether it be casually seeing them use their abilities or see them transform fully or parts of their body… Minho is a pretty easy-going guy and handled each discovery of the spoken truth pretty calmly if you ask him.
Plus, all seven of his roommates still don’t believe him whenever he says he thought the supernatural stick was a poetic joke/prank by his grandma and them, so that tells you something. Something about how clueless humans would be terrified and Minho obviously has never been anything but cool.
(In other words: people have called him weird ever since he was a baby.)
Since none of it ever seemed to be much of an issue to him personally, his reactions were mostly very calm, some mild curiosity and polite awe.
Except for the one time he had seen Changbin – a Goblin of the Dokkaebi kind – send an evil spirit to hell right in the middle of the living room. Minho had just stood there with wide eyes but on the inside he had to take a minute to process what the hell that was.
You can imagine that’s a shocking way to find out the supernatural poetry from your grandma isn’t poetry but the truth. Well… Minho mostly sticks to minding his own business anyway.
The thing is, Minho’s seven roommates have pretty human features and blend in well, with the occasional slip-ups of letting some supernatural traits show either by accident or to relax. At home they do as they please anyway.
It’s obvious the seven of them see each other as family, intimate and comfortable with each other; Minho thinks it’s heart-warming, though he feels a little left out at times and always obviously awkward – in general as a person but also since he’s the strange newbie and the only human.
Even without the supernatural parts, Minho's roommates are all rather unique.
The Dokkaebi Seo Changbin may look intimidating at first sight but is actually a big softie who only gets dangerous when it’s about protecting his little makeshift family or his job of punishing evil and rewarding the good. He tends to send evil spirits back to hell or reward the good deed of the living through various means. Sometimes he gives Minho candy which Minho secretly preens at – ever since his discoveries and a visit to the old library down the street to find out what it means (making sure he isn't getting cursed or something).
Lee Felix Yongbok is – despite his name alluding to a dragon – a fairy. A goodwill fae, to be specific. Felix is pure sunshine personified and the happy owner of the bakery on the ground floor of their house. Though he’s a gentle soul, his protective streak is rather strong and he’s suspicious of strangers (as proven with Minho’s first days in the apartment). But nowadays he seems to enjoy Minho’s presence; Felix loves skinship maybe a little too much.
Funnily enough there is an actual dragon in their midst – Han Jisung the Imugi. Or in other words: a dragon of luck, though of the lesser kind since he was born with no horns. (Don’t let him hear you call him ‘lesser dragon’, he will try to fight you. And maybe lose, but it’s a sad sight, alright? Let him be.) As Minho has gotten to know, Jisung is feisty, loud and confident in all he does. Though somehow still very stereotypically introverted. As a walking contradiction, Jisung works hard at being a good dragon of luck, helplessly hoping his horns will some day finally show up and grant him full powers and purpose. Added to this, Jisung is a helpful waiter in Felix’s bakery.
Next on the list of Minho’s supernatural roommates are the two nine-tailed foxes. Not having all tails just yet, Hwang Hyunjin and Yang Jeongin are both of Gumiho descend – while rather naïve, they are very mischievous creatures who show both their dislike and their affection by varying amounts of pranks and prodding. While Jeongin is the type to enjoy being bothered more than bothering others, Hyunjin tends to enjoy provoking especially Minho until Minho retaliates in various degrees. The two foxes tend to be opposites in most things, leaving no room for clichés. Apparently, it’s of Gumiho nature to show affection by playfulness. Somehow Minho falls into both of the foxes’ preferences, great at bothering and great at being bothered – just what has become of him? Sigh.
Last but not least: the werewolves.
Kim Seungmin is the first of the roommates that Minho has actually befriended since Seungmin volunteered to show him the neighbourhood when he first moved in. Seungmin is very organised, structured and tends to be quiet, but still has the personality of a very polite puppy most of the time. Just like a puppy he likes to play with balls, well, baseball and is a curious soul, studying forensic science in university. His singing voice is amazing, Minho has to admit. He’s a part-time waiter in the bakery too. Honestly Minho used to find him sweet, but nowadays he enjoys teasing Minho too much. It seems he has a thing for flustering Minho and ugh, friends to enemies! There you have it!
Ah, and Bang Christopher Chan. Minho would like to say Chan is the alpha of this pack, but every time Minho mentions anything having to do with the cliché alphas, betas or omegas, Chan cringes so much it makes Minho feel bad, even though Chan never says anything to stop him. But yeah, Chan is the leader of this troupe of seven – now eight, if Minho counts himself, uh, if he even counts – and Chan has been very welcoming. Their first meeting after Minho had accepted becoming a tenant, Chan had told Minho, “I really wanted you to join us because I think you belong with us.” And as cheesy as that was and as cold as Minho acted about it, Minho’s heart had gotten weak at the warm smile and even warmer little words.
A heart of gold, strong protective instincts and a logical brain that probably has a mild case of insomnia, seemingly permanently awake… that’s Bang Chan. Minho sees him around the two-story apartment or downstairs in the bakery a lot – Chan is always working on things, organising things, making things, taking care of things and people… and yet he’s always there – in the morning when Minho leaves for work, in the evening when Minho comes back home, and at night when Minho comes out of his room for late night snacks or a glass of water.
There is always a welcoming smile on Chan’s face, greeting Minho.
It’s only been barely five months since Minho has started living here, getting to know each of his seven mythical roommates and learning more about the human world as much as the supernatural world (which, really, they are one and the same anyway).
It’s nice and surprisingly uncomplicated for someone easy-going like Lee Minho.
Tonight he comes home quite late.
To be fair, his workload at the office today was huge. Someone accidently messed up the data tags of important project files which resulted in misplaced data and broken code. Their superior assigned Minho to solve the problem since he’s apparently the only one capable in that damn office. Transferring from Seoul back to Gimpo per invitation seems to have given him a reputation, even though he only took the new job opportunity to be back in his hometown closer to his family.
Well, he had to get it done in two days maximum and therefore decided that it’d be best to finish everything in one day, so his free day tomorrow wouldn’t be disrupted so terribly. Though it’s not the first time something like this happens, it’s the first at his new place. Plus, last night he stayed up late watching movies with Hyunjin and Jisung. It’s just really bad timing.
Now it’s night and he’s tired. All he wants is to collapse into bed. Good thing the weekend starts tomorrow.
Silence and darkness greet him as he enters the apartment.
Turning on the first-floor hall light, he takes off his shoes and puts them neatly into the shoe rack and then he makes his way through the apartment to the kitchen, quiet on socked feet.
Before going to his room, he’ll just get a bottle of water and a quick dinner, maybe the others left something from dinner for him. As long as it’s not something weird like that one talking green broth Felix cooked last time then he might just eat anything.
Unfortunately the refrigerator offers Minho nothing of value so he gives himself the options of either cooking up some quick ramen or making sandwiches. Well, he’s too tired to actually do much. A quick sandwich and then go to sleep. That’s best.
Putting all the ingredients out (whole grain bread baked by dear Felix, tomatoes, cucumber, cream cheese and a sausage), he gets to work.
Go big or go home, he wants a solid sandwich at least.
“Hey, you’re home late.” Chan’s voice right behind him almost startles Minho enough to lose grip on his knife as he’s slicing a tomato. Chan just chuckles when Minho gives him a half-hearted glare over his shoulder. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you, Minho.”
“I have a knife and I am not afraid to use it,” Minho remarks threateningly, finishing the tomato and now cutting some pieces of cucumber to go on his sandwich as well.
“I know,” There is an amused smile on Chan’s face and he comes to stand beside Minho, leaning sideways against the counter as he watches Minho make his sandwich.
To be fair, a human with a kitchen knife is probably a very laughable thing to a werewolf and not threatening at all but whatever, it’s not like Minho is serious.
Chan’s voice is a little softer when he looks Minho over, settling on his eyes. “Are you alright? We were worried since you’ve never been out this late and didn’t answer our calls.”
“Mm, I’m alright. I’m just really tired from work,” Minho can’t hold back his yawn as soon as the words are out. “There was a mishap and I had to take care of it per overtime. Sorry I missed your call. Didn’t even look at my phone yet.”
“Hmm, I told the kids it might’ve been something like that,” Chan puts a comforting hand on his shoulder and squeezes. “Want me to start a bath for you?”
Minho is already swaying on his feet with how tired he is, eyes barely holding themselves open as he finally puts his sandwich together. That’s why he doesn’t question the way Chan’s hand lingers on his shoulder, probably stabilising him. The touch feels nice.
Minho takes a bite out of his sandwich and then turns to Chan. He shakes his head for a ‘no’. Minho doesn’t like baths that much anyway. “I’d fall asleep in it. I’ll just eat this and throw myself into my bed.”
Light laughter. Just how much do the heavens favour Chan, giving him an angelic laugh like that?
“You know if you fall asleep in the bathtub, I can just carry you back to your bed.” Minho’s body apparently has the energy to send a blush up his cheeks for the imagery Chan’s words give him. Thankfully Chan’s worry is big enough not to point it out. “But I get it, I can see you need sleep more than anything. Rest well, yeah?”
Wait a minute. Minho frowns at the hypocrisy here. “Hey, hyung. You’re awake too. You’re always awake at such late hours. Why? When do you sleep?” If Minho was in his right mind, he probably wouldn’t have said something so… technically rude. They’re not even that close.
Chan seems to be taken aback by Minho’s direct words. “Uh,” he says, hand on his nape and looking down. “I just… I feel restless. I can’t fall asleep so easily. I don’t know. But with the full moon near, I always feel tenser than usual anyway. I wanted to wait until you’re back home too, just making sure everyone’s safe.”
“You’re always working so hard and caring about everyone. You need rest the most, you know.” At Minho’s pouty but simple scolding, Chan just hangs his head even more. If his wolf ears were out, they’d probably be downturned in sadness. It’s Minho’s first time seeing Chan like this. “You’re supposed to take care of yourself too, Chan hyung.”
Sleepy Minho doesn’t like how ashamed Chan looks, so he does what anyone would do (probably). He takes another sausage out of the package on the kitchen counter and sticks it in Chan’s mouth.
Chan blinks at him with wide eyes, sausage in his mouth held in place by Minho’s hand. It looks funny but Minho feels too serious about this to laugh.
“Eat,” Minho orders, though his voice is quiet and his eyes narrowed mostly in a desperate fight not to fall closed rather than a glare. “Then sleep too. Okay?” At Chan’s timid nod, Minho smiles. “And thank you for waiting for me.”
This time Chan hangs his head with a smile and a light blush, taking the sausage out of Minho’s hand and taking a bite – if Minho was more awake he would probably tease Chan for it or be embarrassed by his own behaviour.
But alas, he stuffs the rest of his sandwich in his mouth and then cleans up the kitchen counter.
Chan hovers right near him, close by, just watching him with that terribly soft smile he so often has on his face when he thinks no one’s watching him. For once, he looks relaxed. Droopy eyes softening like he wants to fall asleep right here with Minho.
And Minho’s eyes find him too. Maybe he’s smiling at Chan too. He’s too sleepy to know for sure, you know.
The short nightly moment is filled with warmth.
Minho is roused awake by a commotion in the apartment, noises muffled through his bedroom door but still bothersome to a light sleeper like him. He groans, pulling his blanket over his head and hiding from both the noise and the sun coming through his window’s curtains.
“Chan hyung! There’s a demonic soul in the living room again!”
Even from downstairs, Hyunjin’s annoyed voice rings through the apartment. There’s muffled arguing to be heard, sounding vaguely like Changbin and Jisung.
With another groan, Minho drags himself out of the blankets. As the second oldest – at least as far as he’s aware – he should check out what’s going on, right? Changbin is already downstairs too, but then again, the demonic soul is probably here because of Changbin again.
When Minho, in all his sleepy morning glory, waddles into the living room, there is a dark shapeless form with glowy red eyes floating in the middle of the living room. It looks as if it’s waiting for Changbin and Jisung to stop arguing.
“Oh, Minho hyung.” Ah, there Hyunjin is, still annoyed by the situation. Right beside the doorway into the living room, a safe distance away from the demonic presence. “Don’t go too close to that thing or it’ll possess your human body.”
That’s so helpful. “Ha,” Minho lets out a pained laugh, eyes going back to the demonic soul. Oh for fuck’s sake, it’s staring straight at him. Hell no. Minho feels his mouth twitch into a grimace.
A warm hand lightly touches the small of his back and another touches his shoulder, it sends a shiver up his spine and then there is Chan walking past him, towards the three in the middle of the living room.
As it turns out it was a prank-gone-wrong by Jisung who only wanted to call up frog souls to scare Hyunjin and Seungmin (wherever he is, most likely with Felix). There you have the lesser dragon thing, can’t bring much luck without horns so little things like this can easily turn into bad luck, hence the demonic soul in the middle of their living room (still staring at Minho, ugh).
Chan is strict, but kind and patient. It must be hard being a leader to a group of supernatural beings – that’s what Minho thinks as he watches Chan scolding Changbin and Jisung for their careless behaviour and ordering them to send the demonic soul back to hell immediately.
Hyunjin nudges him away for the last part, taking Minho to the kitchen where the two decide to prepare breakfast for everyone while the commotion in the living room slowly dies down (literally).
After a breakfast with all eight of them, Minho goes back to his own bedroom.
Maybe he’ll lay down for a while longer since it’s still rather early. What else is the weekend for if not for a good rest after such a heavy week? Especially yesterday, damn. Plus, he tends to be a chaotic sleeper, he feels like he needs the extra hours of sleep.
But still, crawling into the sheets and bundling himself up again, he can admit how nice it was to eat breakfast with someone and always come home to someone waiting for him. His old apartment in Seoul didn’t have that warmth for him. Despite the late hour and missed calls, someone cared enough to wait for him and there is always a seat for him at the kitchen table.
Chan is always there, ready to welcome Minho home and Minho thinks he’d like to do that too, someday maybe. Just to return the favour somehow. They’re not that close yet, don’t have many opportunities to get closer but Minho thinks he can consider Chan a friend for that already.
Not to forget, no matter how many demonic entities make it into their apartment, the other seven do just fine at keeping their home (and by that, also Minho) safe.
Minho closes his eyes with a smile.
Knock knock.
Really? With a sigh, Minho shifts to lay on his back and opens his eyes to stare at the ceiling. His tone is flat and tired, “Come in.”
The door opens to reveal Chan. Oh?
“Hey,” he awkwardly stands in the doorway. He looks tired, just like he had at breakfast but Minho didn’t have a chance to ask then since Chan had disappeared soon after he finished eating. “Sorry for bothering you again, I just wanted to talk to you for a minute if that’s alright with you.”
Shooting up on his bed into a sitting position, Minho’s eyes widen at the unexpected but of course, welcome visitor. “Hyung!” He catches himself, clears his throat and then, much calmer, tries again, “Hyung. It’s fine. What is it?” Minho even pats the empty space on the bed beside him for Chan to sit.
Chan nods, closing the door behind him and moving to take a seat on Minho’s bed. He’s careful and awkward but as soon as their eyes meet again, Chan seems to gather himself. “I’m sorry about this morning. This is the second time you had to be so close to a demonic soul and I know how dangerous it can be for humans, so I made sure to look into sturdier barriers. Hyunjin and Jeongin will put them to use tonight and make sure to completely block out any hostile energy, even if summoned. After that it shouldn’t ha–”
“Channie hyung,” Minho interrupts and smiles a little, casually putting a hand on Chan’s shoulder like Chan did to him last night. “Relax, I don’t mind. I didn’t even see the exorcism this time but even if I did, it’s not that bad. Thanks for the extra barriers though.”
Just like that, the tension in Chan’s body seems to slowly drain out of him. “Of course. Are you sure?”
Minho grins at him. “Yeah, I have a demon of a co-worker so I think I will be fine seeing demonic souls glare at me here and there.” Chan’s eyes go round at that. Ah, that was a joke though. His co-worker is just a dick and very human as far as he’s aware.
Minho lets his hand drop off Chan’s shoulder to nudge Chan’s hand with his pointer finger instead, eyes following the motion. It’s not like this guy would allow anyone to get hurt in this house. “You’re here to protect me anyway, right?” Me? Minho, are you in your right mind?! He sputters as he realises what he said and looks up in panic, “I- I mean us, you protect us–”
“Yeah, I’ll protect you.” Chan’s eyes are soft on him and his smile is warm. He sounds so sincere that it shuts Minho up; he can’t even look Chan in the eye as he feels the colour rush to his face and ears. Chan’s words are filled with quiet affection. “Count on me, yeah?”
Chan welcomes him and Chan will protect him…
This man is so damn cheesy! Minho’s heart is a wreck. Worst part? Chan probably means every word he says, that’s just how golden his heart is.
Minho should thank him. “Chan hyung, I-I’m thankf… oh? Chan hyung?” How funny, Chan almost seems to be on the way to completely doze off, shaking himself awake at the call of his name. His eyes focus on Minho, eyelids obviously wanting to close again. Minho chuckles at how cutely confused he looks. This is good for Minho, no need for shy thanks now then. Maybe he can cook something for Chan later instead. “Hyung, you should go rest.”
“Right…” Chan smiles at him, eyes closing by how bright his smile is despite how tired he looks. “You too, yeah?”
They both need it. Minho nods and playfully pushes at Chan to leave for his own bed. “Go sleep!”
Chan laughs but he’s obedient for sure.
Maybe they’ll meet in a dream.
Something shifted between them.
Between Chan and Minho.
Minho isn’t sure what but it’s suspicious. Maybe all the supernatural stuff is finally getting to him after all.
Despite his now six months of living here, Minho has to admit he’s never made much of an effort to get closer to his roommates. He doesn’t go out of his way to spend time with them but he doesn’t avoid them either, so it’s a bit of a natural limbo. He’s informed himself about their roots without overstepping and as mentioned, tends to appear rather calm in face of supernatural events.
Sometimes the eight of them have dinner or breakfast together, but Minho doesn’t meddle much further with the others except for a movie night here and there or when they meet per chance, be it in the apartment, downstairs in the bakery or elsewhere. It’s a friendly distance and they seem to have grown to like him, that’s enough for Minho.
But something must have shifted.
Minho finds himself seeking his roommates out more often, coming to sit in the living room or the kitchen instead of his own bedroom or spending his time outside. Someone is always on and about to make his search for company successful.
Most often Chan.
Once Chan explained he likes sitting in their common areas downstairs because he likes seeing the others go about their day and know what’s going on around the apartment – you know, basically like a family guard dog. Not that Minho is complaining, makes it easier to find Chan without making a fuss.
Fine. Maybe Minho is seeking specifically Chan out more often. Shut up. Don’t tell him.
A sigh.
“Minho, did I do something to upset you?” Chan suddenly asks from his seat on the couch, looking over the laptop on his lap. “You keep looking over your shoulder and you keep sighing at me.”
Minho has been sitting here for the past hour, criss-cross on the carpet in front of the TV (it’s not even on), his back turned to Chan and leaned against the couch.
Look, he’s not upset; he’s been thinking about how to start a conversation and his neutral face looks like the world is his enemy, so his thinking face is worse sometimes. That’s just how it is, he can’t help that part.
Chan has been busy working on his laptop anyway, so Minho felt content to just sit here in silence with him, checking over his shoulder on Chan.
What do you want him to say? Minho holds his chin high and doesn’t look back. “I just feel like sitting here. And you just happen to be here.”
Chan huffs out a laugh like he knows more. “Do you want me to leave then?” He’s definitely teasing Minho. The audacity…
“No, you’re allowed to be here. You live here too after all, it’s fine.” Minho stays strong, closing his eyes resolutely. He won’t be defeated by a werewolf smelling his bluffing. Minho would rather sit outside in the rain than openly admit he wants company. God, he can barely admit it to himself. Give him a break.
There’s another chuckle and then some shuffling.
Minho opens his eyes. Laptop in hand, Chan plops down beside him on the floor. Their shoulders and knees lightly touch, pressing together. There’s a grin on Chan’s face, giving Minho a knowing look before he focuses back on the work on his laptop.
Minho feels warmth spread on his face and inside his ribcage too, as he looks at Chan. It seems Chan has heard his unspoken plea, wordlessly agreeing to come closer. Minho blinks in thought before he carefully and lightly presses his side closer to Chan’s, watching him go through paperwork for the bakery.
With another careful breath, he slowly lets his head drop on Chan’s shoulder, watching Chan’s fingers work over the keyboard. Where the need to be closer comes from, Minho doesn’t know. He isn’t sure what he’s doing right now. Just does what he wants to do in the moment. It feels nice.
When he checks on Chan to see if it’s okay to be this close, Chan has a small smile on his face.
Minho nuzzles closer, smiling to himself.
The following weeks Minho notices more changes.
For one, it’s that Chan has more energy nowadays. Even though his permanent welcoming but busy presence in the house has not changed, the bags under his eyes seem to have lightened up and his movements are more solid. He even looks to be in a good mood.
For the second, Minho himself feels… happier and lighter. Perhaps touch-starvation was at play, lifted by whatever seems to have become a habit to them – with how often Minho seeks out Chan’s presence in his very own way, it usually ends with Chan looking right through him and giving him what he never asks for: affectionate company.
(Or maybe he just wants Chan.)
The air is different.
“Jisung, you’re putting something weird into the air. Stop it.” Seungmin pulls a face, dropping the washcloth in his hands with a sigh. It lands on the wet tile of the bathroom floor.
Jisung only whines in response. “Dude, I can’t help it! I get sensitive whenever it’s scale cleaning time! And Minho hyung touched my neck, you know how–”
“It’s fine already. Sorry, I won’t massage your neck then,” Minho interrupts with an amused eye roll. “Just let us do our job with helping you clean, Jisungie.”
“You can touch me there, it’s nice actually. But it makes me release–”
Seungmin groans loudly, slapping the washcloth on his tail and rubbing, making Jisung try to contain a whimper. “Stop talking already. Your scent gets more excited the more you talk so shut it. Minho hyung and I are going to reek of your scent, you pervert.”
At the moment Minho and Seungmin are helping Jisung clean and polish the scales on his tail in one of their bathrooms. Cleaning the Imugi’s tail scales is an activity replacing that of worship to energise the dragon two times a year; since Jisung has neither horns, a temple nor worshippers in modern times like these.
Massaging a dragon’s tail and neck scales seems to excite them, if Jisung’s pink cheeks and release of some sort of special scent are of any indicator – that was not in any of the books Minho had read in the library. The scales are pretty though, black in colour with a rainbow shine coating them, best visible when the light hits them right. What a nice opportunity to marvel at the rare sight.
Today he could go home way earlier from work due to his overtime from before. Once he came home, Jisung asked for his help, so how could Minho say no? It’s interesting to see Jisung half transformed in swimming trunks, tail sticking out through a hole in them. Patches of shiny scales over his shoulders, neck, cheeks and other random body parts.
And the Imugi is obviously preening at the attention. That’s adorable. It’s just like last week when Jeongin fully transformed into a small white fox with three tails, sneaking into Minho’s room where he made himself comfortable on Minho’s lap to nap while Minho was reading a book.
“Other dragons won’t touch you thanks to me,” Jisung grins proudly, swaying his tail a little from side to side. “You’re mine now!”
Seungmin just shakes his head and lightly slaps Jisung’s tail with the washcloth again, “Not just dragons. You’ll piss off my boyfriend. I’m already pissed off I smell like this.”
Jisung pouts. “Felix knows about my scale cleaning time though… don’t be a meanie.”
“Seungminnie~, don't be a meanie~…” Minho muses, most of his focus on cleaning carefully when Seungmin just shakes his head fondly at them.
All Minho can smell in the foggy thick air of the bathroom is the special strawberry dragon shampoo and a light hint of honey. Maybe the honey scent is from Jisung. It’s not even bad so he guesses it’s some territorial instinct to complain about.
Chan comes back from the mythical city council meeting around lunch time.
As one of the leading werewolves of this city district, he’d been invited to voice his opinions alongside other district leaders of the city. He’s never been in a more unnecessary meeting than this one. Some leaders had to bring along newly turned vampires and werewolves for briefing and of course, a fight broke out where Chan had to step in to stop the chaos. He’s got a bruise or two and tension in his body, but at least it’s over now.
It is what it is and as usual, the council loved Felix’s brownies which Chan brought along.
With the exhaustion weighing heavy on his shoulders, all he wants to do is find Minho and cuddle up to him. But he’ll go for a shower first in their smaller bathroom, letting his sore muscles relax under the hot water. Who knows how many scents he must’ve picked up during his eventful day?
With the calm of home washing over him through the hot water, Chan realises that he feels the need for Minho’s company bubble up in him more and more every day. Though he wants more of Minho, he’s already happy Minho send him off this morning, a bright smile on both of their faces.
Now after a stressful day, he’s wishing that Minho would appear and tell him what a good job he did.
But any other day is the same too. Whenever Minho is gone, Chan is already missing him.
Unfortunately, he knows Minho is still at work around this time. There is no fresh scent of his in the air.
Right from the moment they had first met, Chan noticed how much he liked Minho’s scent. Soothing and comforting, a very distinct mixture of lavender, the fresh ocean breeze and something very Lee Minho. His core scent alone already indicated a pure soul.
Despite Minho’s cold and calm demeanour, Chan keeps noticing how gentle his personality actually is; it’s hard not to, when Minho keeps taking care of Chan’s makeshift family and even shows care for Chan. He’s been welcoming to Minho from the start, having a good gut feeling, but it was especially sweet to see his usually careful pack members warm up to Minho so quickly.
(And Minho’s eyes always sparkle so dearly.)
Minho, who puts a blanket over Jeongin when he falls asleep in the living room or lets him sleep on him when in little fox form – a very vulnerable state and therefore a huge sign of trust. Minho, who knows how to perfectly play along with Hyunjin’s mischievous shenanigans and also know how to comfort him when he needs someone to hold his hand after stressful human encounters – Hyunjin doesn’t like humans very much but Minho has become an exception.
Minho knows perfectly how to handle Jisung’s dynamic personality and whims, seemingly unconsciously emitting a comforting presence to Jisung, even on bad days; anxiety leaving his body the moment Minho is near, calming him in a matter of moments. Even Changbin who’s usually hostile to strangers, quickly found himself enamoured with Minho and shows this by giving him candy once in a while – a very Goblin kind of way to show affection, next to the relentless mutual teasing.
And Felix who used to dislike his name, now goes lax in Minho's arms whenever they cuddle and Minho affectionately calls him Yongbokkie instead of Felix. Being soft and playful together or cooking together and trying new recipes, Minho listens to all of Felix’s words with an open mind and Felix loves sharing all his thoughts with him.
Of course, Seungmin, who is a werewolf just like Chan, shared the same gut feeling as him – after all it’s Seungmin who, as a waiter in their bakery downstairs, first talked to Minho’s grandmother who’s one of their very loyal customers.
At the time the feeling of needing an eighth member in their pack rose, something like a sixth sense calling out to all seven of them.
Minho’s grandmother had told Seungmin about Minho who needed a new place to stay as he was coming back to Gimpo, and something in Seungmin said that this is the eighth puzzle piece they’ve been missing all this time. Seungmin invited Minho, showed him around the house and the neighbourhood and enthusiastically told the others about Minho shortly before introducing them. Ah, Seungmin takes care of Minho well and vice-versa, but they tease each other like cat and dog (how ironic – Minho seems to behave like a cat sometimes).
After his shower, Chan goes for the kitchen.
“Channie hyung,” Felix greets him at the kitchen table, but his smile falls off his face in worried surprise. “Damn, did someone try to fight you?” Seems like he himself is on a lunch break from his bakery work, snacking and watching youtube videos, if the paused ASMR-Video and the abandoned headphones by his smartphone say anything.
Chan pours himself a glass of water, rolling his shoulder before taking a sip. “No, it’s just some newly-turns,” he sighs. “I wish vampires and werewolves would happen like literally any other species and only that way, but no, we can also bite someone and then get an extreme case of monster puberty going to take care of.” For emphasis on this bothersome fact, he sighs again then drinks his glass of water empty.
There’s an empathic pout on Felix’s lips, “Getting frisky is a way more fun way to do it… but even that can be troublesome.” He perks up with a grin. “I’m satisfied with our eight right now! It’s perfect, no need to disrupt that.”
Well, that’s nice to hear. Chan smiles. “Sure. I like it this way too.”
“Let’s get you some faster healing though,” Felix stands up from his seat at the kitchen table and claps his hands, producing powdery sparkles in the air around them as he stops in front of Chan, who just shrugs and lets it happen. Felix blows some of the glittery power on his bruised face. “Common side effects include drowsiness and a fuzzy mind, so go take a rest, bro!”
“Will do, doctor!” Chan plays along with a grin, saluting. He leaves the empty glass in the kitchen sink – lest Seungmin or Minho scold him later – and then makes his way upstairs.
Now what he does next, he isn’t quite proud of but it’s the only way to quickly and nicely wind down to actually rest, to actually sleep. The first time he did it, it was a drowsy accident where he went into the wrong room but every time after that… shamefully on purpose.
Although knowing Minho isn’t at home anyway, Chan knocks twice to be safe and then pushes the door open. Though it’s not Minho himself, Minho’s bedroom carries enough of his scent for Chan to already feel a little better.
Just a quick nap. Only 30 minutes. Maybe an hour.
Minho won’t be home until the evening anyway and Chan just wants to feel at peace for a bit – Minho’s scent (or is it Minho himself?) has always had that effect on him and Chan only realised recently just how much that applies. When Minho isn’t here, his room plays substitute where the bed has the strongest lingering traces of Minho left.
(Whatever these feelings mean, Chan can think about it some other time.)
Mixed with the extra dose of healing fairy dust, he already feels the comfort of a good sleep creeping up on him and the stress slowly leave his body. Chan curls up on the bed.
Soothing and comforting, a very distinct mixture of lavender, the fresh ocean breeze and something very Lee Minho.
In a matter of one and a half hours, the Imugi’s tail scales’ cleaning session is over.
Jisung happily thanks them and goes to take a nap in his bedroom and Seungmin leaves for the bakery to help Felix and take his shift as a waiter.
At first Minho wanted to see if he could find Chan for another indirect cuddle session but his hopes are shot down when all he finds are Changbin, Hyunjin and Jeongin wrestling for the TV-remote in the living room. He shall leave them to it.
This morning Chan had left the house to go to some supernatural city council meeting (it had a fancy name Minho doesn’t remember and probably can’t even pronounce), but shouldn’t he be back by now? Hm, maybe Minho will have to go to work tomorrow without his usual Chan-fix… Hey! Minho, you are an independent man. You saw him this morning and even bid him goodbye. Don’t be clingy. Get it together!
He makes his way upstairs to his own bedroom (pausing only for a mini second at Chan’s bedroom door, ignore it!).
But when he opens the door he pauses, mouth dropping slightly open. With a confused frown, he steps back into the hall, making sure this is his room (as if the furniture and all that isn’t enough of an indicator) and then, even more confused, he steps back inside his room and closes the door behind him.
Chan. Chan with a fluffy tail and… and dog ears. No, wolf ears. Sleeping. Sleeping on Minho’s bed, curled up on the blanket. Not even under the blanket, gosh, just on top of the bedsheets. Does he want to catch a cold? Minho should tuck him in and–
No, wait! Minho, why is Chan even sleeping on your bed?
(The… the dog- uh, wolf ears and the tail… they look cute. Chan is cute.)
Minho shakes his head wildly to rid himself of his useless thoughts. Carefully and slowly, he steps closer to the bed to take a closer look.
There’s a fading bruise on Chan’s cheekbone – did something happen? – but other than that he looks to be in a peaceful dreamland. All curled up, tail tucked against his body. Minho has never seen Chan’s full werewolf form, only seen this partly transformed form once or twice for a short moment; not for a lack of curiosity. Chan’s werewolf fur seems to be made of curly shades of brown. A curly haired werewolf, that’s so cute! Minho wants to cuddle up and start petting–
Hm. Stay on topic.
Might be best not to wake Chan. Honestly Minho is glad Chan is asleep at all, everyone and their grandmother – yes, even Minho’s grandmother – knows Chan needs the rest.
So… what’s Minho supposed to do? Just… wait for Chan to wake up?
Minho decides to just sit down on the bed, well, it’s his own bed so he can do that, right? He wanted to spend time with Chan anyway, so this is fine. Maybe werewolves have some sort of extra sense for that, for when someone likes them and wants to be with them.
Minho jolts at his thoughts. For when someone likes them? He really just thought that, huh.
Oh.
Oh no.
Minho, you poor lost fucking soul.
As if heaven didn’t play enough of a joke on Minho – like, developing feelings for a werewolf? Is… Is he a furry now? – all of a sudden, Minho’s phone starts ringing in his pocket.
Come and watch me now 언제라도 난
I'ma make it look, make it look, look so easy.
Come and watch me now 어디서든 다
당황할 거야 할 거야 it's so easy.
Oh, dear random idol group he has totally never heard of, nothing is easy. Not a damn thing.
There, Chan stirs. His eyes blink open slowly, visibly trying hard to decide whether waking up is worth it but then it’s too late. In the next second he jolts upwards, wide eyes on Minho and then he’s scooting away in panic until– Thud!
Chan lands on the floor of the other side of the bed with a pained whine.
Minho cringes but doesn’t move further. “Are you okay?” He’s kind of still having an existentional love crisis in his head, but he picks up his phone. “Hello?” It’s his grandmother. At this point she might be some supernatural creature herself for bringing him into these types of situations. “Ah… Yeah, grandma. Un… Yeah. No, I haven’t. … Yeah, I’m with Chan hyung right now.”
Two alert wolf ears peek out from his bedside before they lower themselves backwards in shame as Chan’s sad expression comes to view, watching Minho talk on the phone. It’s like he’s already apologising with his gaze alone, literally on his knees.
Minho forces himself not to coo at the cute sight by shutting his eyes and turning his head away to listen to his grandmother properly. “No, I- I guess I can ask him… Yeah… Yeah… Okay… Alright, thanks for calling, grandma. Love you, see you. … Yeah, bye.”
The call ends. Just about a dinner at his grandparents’ place where he’s supposed to invite his roommates. Is their apartment even big enough for this messy group? Not that it matters right now. How does Minho’s grandmother always manage to put him into these types of situations?
Minho blinks at his smartphone screen for solid three seconds before putting it on the bedside table next to him.
And then he slowly turns to face Chan.
With his chin propped on the mattress, fluffy wolf ears still low and flat against his hair, Chan looks up at him with the utmost apologetic puppy eyes and wow, is that another quiet wolfy whimper coming from him?
He averts his eyes once but Minho just keeps staring at him – no way in hell will Minho start this conversation; Chan is better at talking than him anyway – and then lifts his chin off the mattress to properly look at Minho, still sad though. “Can I come sit on the bed?”
Not what Minho expected to hear but, “Sure.”
Chan keeps his eyes on Minho as he slowly crawls back on the bed, probably watching out for any reactions but Minho keeps his face carefully blank. Finally, his resting bitch face comes in handy. It’s not like he knows what to say or do anyway. Who the hell would be prepared in this kind of situation?
“I’m sorry,” Chan starts, avoiding his eyes again. Pauses. Sighs. “I’m really sorry. I have no excuse for my behaviour.”
Honestly Minho isn’t even mad. He’s genuinely glad Chan got some rest and doesn’t mind his friend sleeping on his bed as much as he probably should, but alas… he did just realise he has a crush on this werewolf so… Minho doesn’t feel like he can say much except. “It’s fine, I–…” He stops, seeing the sudden change of expression on Chan.
Chan frowns, sniffing the air and then coming closer to Minho. “Minho, this is weird.” Minho’s eyes widen at how close Chan comes to sniff Minho, his neck! “You don’t smell like… like you. No wonder I didn’t notice your arrival.” His nose tickles gently along Minho’s sensitive neck. “This close your scent comes through but… Your natural scent is overridden by…” he trails off there, sounding a little upset for some reason. Holy shit, Minho is going to heaven right here.
Not by werewolf kill, no, Chan wouldn’t hurt a fly. Probably. Minho’s heart is just going to burst out of his chest at their sudden proximity.
As Chan keeps searching his body for scents, so close, though so gentle, and barely touching except for his nose lightly grazing Minho’s skin here and there, Minho keeps lowering himself backwards. He’s kind of torn between liking it and feeling very overwhelmed. It tickles like sparks. Heat crawling all over his skin and colour rushing all over his body, Minho can barely think clearly.
And then he’s completely losing strength in his arms and falling on his back. Minho’s heart is in his throat and he thinks his own human whimper sounds way more pathetic than any dog’s could.
Having naturally followed Minho’s body, Chan is hovering above him with his face coming back to his neck in search of scents. Is that where scent is most prominent? If Minho remembers biology class properly then… oh yeah, no, uh, the upper body and neck is probably the most appropriate choice to look for a scent.
Minho takes a deep breath. He needs a break or else he will genuinely combust on the spot. “H-hey, Cha–” A warm, wet and slow lick along the side of his neck. Chan’s tongue. “–Nnnnh!”
At Minho’s high-pitched (very embarrassing) moan, Minho slams a hand over his mouth but Chan pauses already. Or finally?
Chan lifts his head to meet Minho’s eyes. His gaze seems more awake now, out of his trance of looking for a scent. He seems to finally realise just what he did but then… he keeps staring into Minho’s eyes, as if trying to see more than what’s on the surface. (As if that is not telling enough, please.)
Minho only gulps, his hands curling into fists on his chest as he stares back… he wants to say ‘confidently’ but that’d be a lie – his whole body is flaming with… with anticipation. Oh wow, Minho, priorities.
“I’m sorry,” Chan says, again, in the most awkward but somehow polite manner possible. “Do you want me to leave?”
That’s an immediate ‘no’ from Minho, blinking so much and shaking his head as if it’ll help him clear his head. “No. But. Uh. W-What, uhm, what was that? Are you alright? Is this a werewolf thing?”
Finding Minho too cute, Chan chuckles and leans back to sit on his haunches.
A moment ago he was sad and guilty, so what is he so amused about now? You dumb werewolf! Offended and still flushed, Minho stares at the ceiling while Chan talks. “I’m sorry, I think 'Lix’s fairy dust loosened my inhibitions a little. Your scent is so… Let me just come clean, yeah? I missed it.” Chan sighs and goes through his hair with a wobbly smile. There you go, don’t be so confident when Minho is still a mess! “I missed you, Minho. Today was so stressful and I just wanted to take a quick nap… but it’s hard to relax on my own, you know, so I come here sometimes.”
“Huh?” Minho sits up in a flash, staring dumbly at Chan’s pretty face. “What do you mean?”
Pink finds Chan’s cheeks; it makes Minho feel a little smug and better about his own shyness. Chan bites his bottom lip, brows furrowing in worry of how Minho will react but he’s honest nonetheless. “Minho, your scent is so… it has a very calming and soothing effect on me. On everyone here probably, but I’ve felt a pull towards you from the get-go. One that becomes more and more intense with each minute we spent together. Feeling your presence near puts me at ease.” Chan takes a deep breath before he rambles on. “One day, I was so stressed and my head was so full of things, I accidently went into your room instead of mine and your scent pulled me in and kept me here. Well, I stayed here. I fell asleep on your bed.”
“This isn’t the first time?” Minho whispers. Why is he whispering? He doesn’t know, he just doesn’t want to break Chan’s show of vulnerability right now.
“No… it’s been a few weeks, sorry… the first time was an accident, but every time after was me seeking you out, not finding you and then sleeping on your bed instead. You always tell me to rest and take a break, but I can only do it well when…” Chan lowers his head to hide his face behind his hands. His wolf ears show his feelings, twitching slightly as he continues quietly, voice slightly muffled, “I feel the most safe and relaxed when you’re here with me.”
As pure as it sounds, it’s obviously weird to be so enamoured with your friend’s/roomate’s scent but then again, Minho – as unbelievably cheesy as it sounds too – has felt the same way about Chan for a while now. Minus the intense smelling thing, since, you know, Minho is not a werewolf. Just a puny human who fell in love with one.
Damn it.
Maybe today is just a day of realisations for both of them. “Channie hyung…” Minho takes Chan’s hands into his own, gentle as not to spook him and see his face. It’s those puppy eyes again, meeting his own.
Minho grins mischievously. “If I feel the same way about you, does that make me your omega?”
In an instant Chan’s face contorts into deep disgust and he shakes his head resolutely, apparently still not at the point of telling Minho off for the whole alpha-omega bullshit he keeps pulling on Chan. Those pack dynamics aren’t a real thing, that much Minho can guess from Chan’s expression.
Still funny, but Chan’s expression is hard. “No, absolutely not. Don’t even call me the other word, I can’t do this today. Nope.”
Minho pouts to tease him further but Chan suddenly perks up again – his fluffy ears alert, it’s so cute – intertwining their fingers gently. His tail starts wagging behind him, it almost makes Minho laugh. “Wait, Minho. You feel the same way? Can you smell me?”
Oh dear. “Uhm, not as good as you probably can but you do smell nice and I like relaxing with you…” Minho says, as casually as he can with his face and body on fire. He thinks his fingers might be trembling in Chan's gentle hold so he squeezes them a little to ground himself. “What do I smell like to you?”
“Soothing and comforting, a very distinct mixture of lavender, the fresh ocean breeze and something very… Lee Minho.” Chan’s smile is soft and warm, vulnerable as he comes closer to Minho. “What is my scent like to you?”
Chan’s scent...
A hint of sugar. Caramel perhaps. The scent of just basking in each other’s presence, if there is one for that. Light and careful touches. They haven’t had a winter together yet but Minho imagines Chan smells the exact way of the moment from the change of the cold winter air at a doorstep into a cosy home.
Ah, there is a shorter way to describe it. And it is not only a scent.
“You… You are like coming home.” Minho confesses as he looks at Chan, voice trembling and soft but confident all the same. “I miss you when you’re not with me and I always look forward to telling you about my day, hearing about yours, talking about anything or just sitting in silence with you. As long as you’re with me, I feel lighter. I… I feel like I’m home.”
“Home…” Chan repeats, as if having to taste the word on his own tongue. There is that soft secret smile again, but it’s right here openly shared with Minho. “May I welcome you in with a kiss?”
Minho laughs at the cheesiness but his heart flutters anyway, even more so when Chan’s giggles join his laughter. Minho is the one who nods and practically pounces onto Chan, making him fall on his back on the mattress and catch Minho around the waist with a surprised grunt.
With a smug smile, Minho lays on top of him, thighs on either side of Chan’s hips, a hand on Chan’s chest to feel his rapid heartbeat and the other as support to lean over the werewolf. It feels like it’s only now that he’s gotten the keys to his home.
“Kiss me, wolfie.”
Patient and amused, Chan looks at him like he feels the same if not more.
Taking all of his courage and excitement, Minho leans down and presses their lips together at the same time as Chan leans up to meet him.
It’s just a press of lips. Then another. And another.
And then it turns into more, turns into deeper, turns into, “Come closer, Minho.”
They’re already so close, so together. Minho’s tongue explores Chan’s mouth before Chan even has a chance to want anything else.
A wet glide of lips and tongues, letting his hands freely explore Chan under him while Chan holds him close by the waist, thumbs rubbing over the skin where Minho’s oversized cardigan and t-shirt underneath rode up.
Chan’s voice has turned raspy when they part for air. Both their eyes hazy, but Minho can’t keep the eye contact or he’ll whine for more so he travels butterfly kisses down Chan’s neck as payback for Chan’s search before.
“Let me bring your scent back, Minho.”
Minho chuckles at the demand, remembering the Imugi’s scent is probably still clinging to his body just like Seungmin had complained about. Is this jealousy? How funny. He vaguely remembers reading about werewolves scenting their loved ones and gives it a try. “Chan hyung… do you want me to be yours? Do you want your scent all over mine?”
In a flash, Minho is under Chan whose smile for once is dark, brown eyes shining gold for a moment. Minho is mesmerised, breathless. He curls his hands into the hem of Chan’s shirt, limbs feeling weak. Lets Chan's warm hand cup his face so gently, it makes him shake just like his heart does.
“I just want you, Minho. I’m in love with you. Is that okay?”
“Yeah.” Minho feels so full of affection, watery and vulnerable but he can admit it. “I’m in love with you too.”
(Napping together can be romantic.)
Maybe moving in with seven supernatural beings wasn’t the wisest choice for a human, but it’s certainly the best choice Minho has ever made.