Skz oneshotes (Requests Open)

🐰🥟🐿️🐶 Between the Lines

Main Characters: Seungmin, Minho, Jisung, Hyunjin
Side Characters: Felix, Changbin, Jeongin
Topic: Mental illness, cute, Hurt

Title: "Between the Lines"

Seungmin stared out of the window, the faint glow of the city lights reflecting off the glass. The rest of the apartment was quiet, with only the soft hum of the heater breaking the silence. He clutched his phone in his hand, scrolling absentmindedly through messages he had yet to respond to. He knew the guys had been worried. He could sense it in their words, the careful phrasing, the concern they tried so hard to hide behind emojis and casual jokes. It had been days since he'd last shown up for rehearsals, and even longer since he'd felt like himself.

The front door creaked open, and Seungmin's heart raced. He quickly wiped his eyes, taking a deep breath as footsteps approached. Minho’s voice broke through the silence.

"Hey, you okay?" Minho asked softly, poking his head around the corner of the living room.

Seungmin glanced over, forcing a small smile. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just tired."

Minho wasn’t fooled. He walked in and sat next to him, the cushions sinking under his weight. "You haven’t been to practice in a while," he said gently. "Hyunjin and Jisung have been asking about you. We all have."

Seungmin felt a knot tighten in his chest. He hated this — hated making them worry. But no matter how hard he tried to push through it, the fog in his mind never seemed to lift. "I just needed a break," he muttered, trying to keep his voice steady. "You know how it is. It's just... a lot sometimes."

Minho nodded, though he remained quiet for a moment, as if searching for the right words. "We all feel it, Seungmin. But you're allowed to talk to us. You don't have to do this alone."

Seungmin's fingers tightened around his phone. He knew Minho was right, but opening up about how he was really feeling seemed impossible. There was an unspoken pressure among them — not just as idols, but as friends. They were supposed to be the strong ones, always smiling, always ready to take on the next challenge. But lately, Seungmin felt like he was crumbling.

"Do you ever wonder if you're just... not enough?" Seungmin asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

Minho blinked, clearly taken aback by the question. "What do you mean?"

Seungmin bit his lip, the words he’d been holding back for weeks finally slipping out. "Like, no matter how hard you try, it's never good enough? You're just pretending, going through the motions, but everyone else is moving forward while you're stuck?"

Minho’s face softened. He didn't immediately answer, which made Seungmin nervous, but he didn't regret saying it either. He needed to hear something—anything that might make this feeling go away.

"You’re not alone in feeling that way," Minho finally said, his voice filled with empathy. "We all have days where it feels like that, maybe even weeks. But it doesn’t mean you’re not good enough. It just means you’re human."

Seungmin’s throat tightened. He wanted to believe Minho, but the darkness in his mind kept pulling him deeper. He felt so far removed from the others lately, like he was watching them live their lives through a screen while he was stuck behind the scenes.

The door opened again, and this time Jisung and Hyunjin came in, their energy much quieter than usual. Normally, Jisung would be bursting through the door, cracking jokes, while Hyunjin would follow with his usual playful banter. But tonight, they seemed to understand that the atmosphere was different.

"Hey, we brought snacks," Jisung said softly, holding up a bag of chips as a peace offering.

Hyunjin settled on the other side of Seungmin, resting his chin on Seungmin's shoulder. "We missed you at practice," he said, his voice barely a whisper. "It’s not the same without your nagging."

A chuckle escaped Seungmin’s lips despite himself. "I don’t nag that much."

"You do," Jisung countered, sitting cross-legged on the floor. "But we love it."

The apartment was silent for a moment, but it was a comfortable silence. The three of them were simply there, without pushing Seungmin to talk more. They didn’t need to. Sometimes words weren’t necessary when it came to understanding each other.

After a few minutes, Seungmin finally spoke again, his voice quieter than before. "I’m sorry," he mumbled, looking down at his hands. "I didn’t mean to shut you guys out."

Hyunjin’s arm wrapped around him gently. "You don’t have to apologize. We just want to be here for you. No pressure, okay?"

Seungmin nodded, the warmth of Hyunjin’s hug easing some of the tension in his chest. He wasn’t used to being this vulnerable, but something about the way his friends were there—just quietly supporting him—made it a little easier to breathe.

"How about we watch something?" Jisung suggested, pulling out his phone and scrolling through Netflix. "Something light, no thinking required."

Minho smirked. "Is that all you ever watch, Jisung?"

Jisung grinned, throwing a pillow at him. "Hey, sometimes we need a break from deep, meaningful content, okay?"

They all laughed, the tension in the room finally beginning to lift. For the first time in days, Seungmin felt a flicker of peace.

---

Over the next few days, the other members filtered in and out of the apartment, each one checking on Seungmin in their own way. Felix, with his quiet and calm presence, sat with him one afternoon, baking cookies in the small kitchen while Seungmin watched from the couch. Changbin stopped by later that evening, bringing along some homemade food, playfully teasing Seungmin until he cracked a genuine smile. Jeongin, ever the youngest but with an old soul, came by late one night just to sit in silence with Seungmin, offering his company without any expectations.

Through their small acts of kindness, Seungmin began to feel a little lighter. The fog didn’t disappear overnight, but it started to lift, little by little.

One evening, as the group sat together in the living room, the TV playing some random show none of them were really paying attention to, Seungmin spoke up.

"Thank you," he said, his voice soft but steady.

They all looked at him, curious.

"For sticking around. For being here, even when I wasn’t... really here."

Jisung smiled, his eyes crinkling in that way that always made Seungmin feel a little warmer. "We’re a team, Seungmin. That means being there for each other when it counts."

Minho nodded in agreement. "No one’s ever really alone in this. Not when we’ve got each other."

Hyunjin stretched his arms over his head, then leaned into Seungmin. "Besides, we wouldn’t let you go even if you tried."

Seungmin smiled softly. It was far from perfect, and he still had a long way to go, but sitting there with his friends, the ones who understood the weight of it all, he knew he wasn’t alone.

And maybe, just maybe, that was enough for now.