Elevator Meetings (Lee Seokmin x Reader)

Chapter Three (Reader)

READER POV

The past few weeks have been a bit more hectic than it usually was. A coworker had to take a family leave for her pregnancy, and you had to help out in filling in for some of her classes. What's more, the research team you were working with had to redo sets of measurements because of some malfunctioning equipment. Everything just seemed to happen all at once. It didn't help that you were starting to get irritated at every little inconvenience that comes your way. May it be a jar that refuses to open, a pen that ran out of ink while you were writing, or your earphones that just won't untangle. You know that getting frustrated wouldn't help anything, but you didn't know what to do with all the pent up emotions that were accumulating.

On some days, you had to sleep over at the laboratory to continue working the moment you woke up. On certain days, you went into lectures without a single minute of sleep, leading to messy notes and even messier presentations.

You thought that it would all get better after a few days, that this is just another hell week that happens every once in a while. But as several weeks pass by, you start to realize that may not end until the end of the semester.

One of the few things that have helped you get through the grind was Seokmin's occasional messages. As he performs even more shows for his recent musical, he has become busier and has had less time to rest, but he always checks in every couple of days. It starts as a simple text message that ends up becoming a 30-minute call about whatever both your days were about. It feels a bit silly to hold on so much to the small messages that you two share, but it makes you happy to hear how he has been.

But suddenly, all the texts stop.

For a whole week, you send out texts, and you don't get a single reply. You start to get worried, but you push the feeling of dread out of your head. You wouldn't want him to think that you were trying too hard, seeing as the both of you are friends that have just known each other for a month or two.

You take a deep breath in and stand up as the bus stops at the commercial area near your neighborhood. You walk along the sidewalk, window shopping at various stores that you pass by on your way home. Tonight was going to be your first free night for the first time in a few weeks, and you wanted to meet him, somehow. You take out your phone, pondering if you should text him or not. If he really is busy, you wouldn't want to disturb him by sending another text.

You hear your name being called from a distance and you turn around to see the familiar faces of Mingyu and Minghao. The taller of the two gives you a big wave, while the other gives you a nod.

"Hey, how have you been? It's been a while since I last saw you." Mingyu says as the pair approaches you. "And you look... tired."

You give him a forced smile. "Well, work hasn't been the best place to be in the past few months." You look around, trying to see for any sign of Seokmin among his friends. "What are you guys up to?"

"We're on our way to the grocery store to pick up some supplies," He says as he pulls out his phone. "We need to get like food for thirteen people, fourteen if you want to come along."

"Come along for what?"

"A celebratory dinner for Seokmin at home. Tonight is his last show for his musical. He said he'd rather have a fun meal at home so that he can snooze off right away after he eats."

Your heart skips hearing about Seokmin. Without a moment's delay, you accept the request to join them.

▫▫▫▫▫▫▫▫▫▫▫▫▫▫▫▫▫▫▫

You and Minghao follow behind Mingyu as he grabs items from the shelf, occasionally glancing at the list on his phone. For most of the time, Minghao is quiet, save for the few moments when Mingyu would ask for his opinion on which brand of ingredient he should buy.