The Clockmaker's Son #1: Renounced (Lee Jooheon of Monsta X x Reader fanfic)

Part One: Where You At?

You checked your watch, frowning thoughtfully. It was already thirty minutes past noon. A whole half hour past your and his meeting time.

Lee Jooheon... Where the hell were you?

You glanced around the park you were standing in, wondering whether you should take a seat in one of the nearby benches.

Today at exactly 12:00pm you were meant to be meeting with your childhood friend Jooheon for a hangout at the park a short walk away from his entertainment company. He was still a trainee, and you were super proud of him for it, but sometimes when he practised he forgot about everything outside of that little dance room.

You sighed, readying yourself to go over to Spaceship Entertainment. Smoothing down your clothes, you left the park, making a beeline for the small company. Around four in the morning Jooheon had messaged you that he was going to be training up until the meeting time, attaching a cute mirror selfie to the text. The moment you read that message, you knew that he was going to be late.

'And still I rocked up to the park first instead of the entertainment company,' you sighed, laughing a little to yourself.

You reached Spaceship Entertainment's clear, double-doors just as Jooheon came rocketing out, looking frenzied and flustered and, well, in a rush. You suppressed a giggle as he pumped the brakes.

'Y/N!' He cried, looking guilty as heck. 'You're not at the park?'

'Ahaha, neither are you,' you teased back. 'I knew you'd forgotten the time, so here I am.'

'Oh shit... You waited at the park didn't you?'

'It's alright, seriously.'

'Shiiiit.'

Jooheon threw his arms up in exasperation, running a palm down his face before bowing at a sharp right-angle. He apologised intensely, making you giggle all the more. You really weren't all that bothered by him losing track of time. You knew where he'd been after all and you admired how hard he was working to achieve his dreams. Compared to that... You, a little accounting student, appeared faded.

'Come on then. If we hurry to the park now we'll be able to get some of Mr Sanghoon's tteokbokki without having to wait in line.'

Noon was lunch rush, so there was little chance that the two of you wouldn't need to line up but seeing Jooheon's eyes light up with the challenge was definitely worthwhile.

'Let's hurry up then! I want tteokbokki!'

The two of you rushed back the way you came, weaving through small crowds of people before passing under the arched entrance of the nearby park. In the central area stood Mr Sanghoon's tteokbokki stand, along with a few other food stands sprinkled throughout.

'Arghhh there's a line,' Jooheon grumbled, proceeding to stamp his foot in agitation.

'Hehe, maybe if you'd arrived on time we wouldn't have had to wait~'

'Urk... You're right...'

Appearing gloomy once again, you reached out and rubbed his back, not minding the sweat from the rush. Cheering up in an instant, Jooheon beamed at you and took your hand, beckoning over to the queue he now dragged you towards.

As the pair of you waited in line, you left your hand to hang in his. This was normal for the two of you. You were this close. I suppose it would've been strange if you were just friends, but since you were childhood friends it felt a lot more comfortable. You and Jooheon had been holding hands since you were little babes after all!

Your eyes left your intertwined fingers and trailed up his defined arm, up to his messy head of hair. Ahaha, it was wet. He'd probably taken a military shower when he found out he was late. He'd also sprayed on a god-awful amount of cologne. It was a nice scent, you'd bought it for him after all, but the amount he'd sprayed had made it over-powering. You made a note to tease him for it later.

'Jooheon! Y/N! Back so soon?' Mr Sanghoon joked once the two of you reached the front of the line. 'I saw you both only yesterday evening!'

'And we'll be back tonight too!' Jooheon promised with a serious expression.

'With a bottle of sake for you,' you added cheerfully.

'Ack I'm spoiled,' Mr Sanghoon went on, grinning brightly. 'The usual then?'

'Of course!' Jooheon cheered.

Soon enough, you were both sat on a park bench, sharing a cardboard platter of aromatic, steaming tteokbokki. Jooheon's stomach had rumbled all through the cooking process, and you and Mr Sanghoon had had a lot of fun at his expense.

'Careful, it's hot,' you told him, holding out a chopstick-full of garaetteok.

He opened his mouth, not even bothering to blow on it. Sighing, you brought the chopsticks back to your lips, noticing him pout as you blew on the garaetteok to cool it down.

'I'll be fine! Just feed me,' he complained.

'Your lips are gonna burn and then I'm gonna have to sit here and listen to you complain about it,' you said, exasperated but smiling as you hold the piece back out to him. 'I'm doing it for myself.'

'Yeah, yeah.'

Jooheon happily received the spicy-sweet white rice cake and chewed. He made sounds of pure euphoria and the cute, little dimples showed themselves right at the corner of his lips.

So cute... You thought to yourself, still smiling.

The pair of you peacefully continued your lunch, watching the passing scenery and making light conversation as the time ticked on. Jooheon eventually stood up, collecting the disposable platter and chopsticks and sticking it into one of the nearby trashcans.

'Haah, that was so good,' he sighed happily. 'I wonder if Mr Sanghoon will let us have more?'

'I don't think he'd be opposed to it, but it's better not to,' you replied with a nervous chuckle. 'I'm already full. We're gonna overdo it.'

'Let's go for a jog and work off these calories then!'

'Jooheon I'm not-'

'Hehe, no excuses Y/N come on!'

He got into a running stance and you immediately jumped up to block his way, frantically waving your arms out. He laughed and straightened up, relaxing his posture as you sighed a breath of relief.

'I was only teasing,' he lied with a shrug of his shoulders. 'But I really do feel like exercising... Maybe just a little...?' He suddenly snapped his fingers together. 'Oh! Y/N! How about you come to the practice room and watch me train?'

'E-Eh? Is that allowed?'

'Probably not but I can still make that happen.'

'Jooheon you're still a trainee you shouldn't-'

Before you knew it he was already snatching up your hand and flashing you a bright smile.

'I can't hear you~'

Mentally, you sighed, allowing yourself to get dragged away by him. Honestly, there was just no winning against Lee Jooheon.