ATEEZ 9th Member AU

Reminiscing

Nari hangs out with Mingi

"Hey, you," Mingi smiled widely as he walked into the dorm. "Mingi!" Nari leapt up from her seat on the couch and into his arms. He caught her easily with a chuckle. "Missed you to, bug," he teased. She dropped back down on to her own feet and smiled up at him.

"Taking a break has been good for you," she teased with a wink, pinching his bicep. "The gym is paying off too." He laughed at her and sat down. "I see that my absence hasn't changed you skipping out on practices."

Nari rolled her eyes, sitting back down on her cushion. "I missed you. I think pretending to be sick one day is fine." Mingi smiled largely at her pout. "Just this once. And I missed you to. But I'm literally here every day. It's not like I'm gone."

She waved her hands. "Semantics or whatever. I just wanted to spend time with you." His warm smile lit up his face and Nari knew she had won the argument. "What have you been up to?" She asked and he only shrugged.

"Nar, I'm literally here. Every. Day. You know what I've been up to." She rolled her eyes and lightly hit his arm. "Humor me." Snorting he sighed.

"Going to the gym, seeing my doctor. Spending time with my family. I think—I think that I'll be okay to come back soon." His voice was quieter towards the end. Her eyes lit up and she practically jumped on him again. "Really?! How soon?! When?! Why hasn't Hongjoong said anything?!"

"Calm down, crazy," he said, gently pushing her away. "I'm not sure when. But soon. I've been feeling a lot better. Handling the anxiety better. And Hongjoong probably hasn't said anything because I haven't said anything to the company about it yet. I want to be sure. But soon. Just a little longer, okay?"

She frowned but nodded her head. "Okay. Take all the time you need. You know we'll always be here waiting." He patted her hand and nodded. "I know. That means a lot. More than you know." They were silent for a few moments before Nari leaned her head back and chuckled. Mingi cocked an eyebrow.

"Have you gotten crazier since I went on hiatus?" He teased and she rolled her eyes playfully. "No. Maybe. Who cares about that. I was just thinking."

"Care to share?"

"Remember when I first joined the group?" She asked and he hummed. "Duh. I think we all remember that day. Changed our lives." She turned her head towards him, lips pursed. "Good or bad?" With a grin he looked back at her. "Probably both. But mostly good."

"Yah!" She sat up and he laughed, shaking his head. "I'm kidding. Of course, it was for the good. Why would it be bad?" She shrugged her shoulders and laid her head back down. "What did you think when you first saw me? Or heard about me?" Mingi was silent, trying to remember that far back.

"Honestly? I was a little intimidated and skeptical." She turned towards him again, eyes wide with curiosity. She had never really asked any of the boys what the first thoughts they had when she was basically forced upon them as a new member.

"We had heard about you. You had been training even longer than Hongjoong if we count the other company you were at. We knew you had some badass rap skills. We just always thought you'd go solo or move to a different company. A bigger one that could debut you. But I guess KQ didn't want to lose their golden goose."

Nari snorted and shook her head. "I'm no golden goose, shut up." Mingi only shrugged.

"I was skeptical because I wasn't sure how it was going to work. Obviously other groups had done it and it had been successful. But honestly, I was more worried about the hate. The hate that would pour in just because you were a girl. The stigma and rumors that would and probably will follow you for forever. I didn't want that for you. It's hard enough getting hate being in the same-gender group."

Nari's face softened as she listened to him. She had no idea that Mingi had been more worried about the hate she would get rather than the hate they would get. He hadn't even known her personally at that time and he was still worried.

"But then you joined and honestly, it was nice. You brought such a different dynamic to our group and a good one. You may not see it, but you're the glue that keeps us together. Seriously."

Nari shook her head. "I doubt that. We fought a lot back then. And then I tried to . . .leave. And then the whole me and San thing. I feel like I just caused more problems." She pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. Mingi patted her knee and shook his head.

"Nari, everyone fights. We're human. We're all different. We're going to fight, dating or night. It just happens. We would fight even if you weren't in the group and you'd be fighting with someone else. It's normal. And the you and San thing was literally nothing but everyone blowing it out of proportion instead of just letting you two deal with it on your own."

She didn't say anything and Mingi sighed, grabbing her cheeks and turning her towards him. "I'm serious. Without you, who knows where we'd be? You pull Hongjoong out of the studio and make sure he sleeps and eats. You help Seonghwa clean and talk him down when he's panicking."

"You stay up all night for days on end just to sit with Jongho when he's endlessly practicing. You help coach him through it and keep him company. You let him know he's not alone. You keep San, Wooyoung and Yeosang from absolutely killing each other. If they're tired of him clinging, you step in to let him cling to you."

"You even went with him to cooking classes just so you would be able to help him cook meals for us sometimes. So he wouldn't have to do it all alone. You secretly buy Yeosang the newest drone versions when they come out knowing that he won't or is to busy to notice. You think they're stupid yet you used to stay outside with him for hours and just watch him fly the damn things around when we were less busy."

Nari tried to pull her face away but Mingi clicked his tongue. "Let me finish." She narrowed her eyes but sighed. She wasn't good at receiving compliments and the things he was saying, didn't seem like things that were a big deal.

"You came with me to talk to the company about taking a break. We were fighting with each other and you still came and sat with me and held my hand the whole time. Told me that it was perfectly fine and that you were proud of me for putting myself first. You call me every day just to check in and tell me how much you miss me and what you all have been up to."

"You play video games with Yunho. You even went to his filming sight a few times to bring him food and coffee and just sit there and give him support. Because you knew how nervous he was to be acting for the first time and have a big role. And yes, the others were there too, but you praised him endlessly. Encourage him and told him how great he was doing. He told me."

Nari looked away and didn't say anything. Her cheeks were burning a little. "You really are our glue, Nari. And we've treated you like crap a lot. Just like we all treat each other like crap a lot. But we made you feel alone. We made you feel like we didn't have your back. Like we didn't support you."

Nari felt her eyes stinging with tears but she didn't want to cry. This was supposed to be a happy day. "And we will spend the rest of our lives making that up to you," Mingi grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze, smiling warmly at her.

She tossed herself into his chest and he wrapped his arms around her, squeezing. "Even if you're not the company's golden goose, you are ours. We wouldn't be the same without you. And I know that I will spend every day I can making sure you know that." Nari buried her face deeper into his chest.

"I love you," she mumbled and he smiled, kissing the crown of her head.

"I love you to, bug."