aespa's 5th member (aespa X Male reader)

Part 24

Y/N POV

There are perks to being the Maknae. You get away with murder (metaphorically), you get the last piece of chicken (sometimes), and you have four beautiful older sisters who dote on you constantly.

Then, there are the downsides.

"Y/N-ah! The car is too cold! Turn up the heat!" Winter whined from the backseat, kicking the back of my driver's seat rhythmically.

"Y/N-ie, pass me the bluetooth. I need to play my playlist, not this sad emo rap you listen to," Giselle commanded, reaching forward from the middle row.

"Maknae! Did you remember to grab my extra padding? If I freeze, I'm suing you!" Ningning shouted from the very back.

I gripped the steering wheel of the black carnival van, letting out a long, dramatic sigh. "I am literally the driver right now. Can we please respect the driver? If I crash, we all perish."

"He's got a point," Karina said softly from the passenger seat—the coveted 'shotgun' position she had ruthlessly fought Ningning for in a game of Rock-Paper-Scissors just three minutes ago.

She reached over, her hand resting gently on my thigh, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "Don't worry, Jagi. You're doing great. Ignore the grandmas in the back."

"Did she just call us grandmas?" Winter gasped. "Minjeong is shocked. Minjeong is appalled."

"I heard that!" Ningning added. "Just because you're sitting next to our baby doesn't mean you can insult us!"

"Our baby," I muttered under my breath, merging onto the highway that cut through the glowing skyline of Seoul. "I'm literally twenty-one. I pay taxes."

"You're twenty-one, which means you are a fetus," Giselle deadpanned. "Now, bluetooth. Hand it over."

I surrendered to Giselle, and within seconds, Doja Cat was blasting through the speakers. The chaotic energy of aespa was in full swing. Despite the hiatus, despite the rumors, despite the fact that I was technically supposed to be invisible right now, this felt... right.

This was home.

The drive to the dorms was usually a thirty-minute affair, but with late-night Seoul traffic, it was crawling.

"I'm hungry," Winter announced for the fifth time since we left KBS.

"You ate a corn dog, Tteokbokki, and stole half my iced americano," I reminded her, checking the rearview mirror. She was pouting, her cheeks puffed out like a hamster.

"That was a snack. I need a meal. Y/N~, stop at the convenience store."

"Noona, I can't just stop. What if someone sees you guys? You're in full stage makeup. You look like glowing fairies compared to the average human at 11 PM," I argued.

"Awww, he called us glowing fairies," Ningning cooed. "Okay, you're forgiven for the car temperature. But seriously, stop. I want ramen."

"Please?" Karina looked at me with those big, puppy-dog eyes that she knew I couldn't resist. She even did the little blink thing. "I'll feed you?"

I groaned, defeated. "Fine. But you guys stay in the car. I'll go in. I'm the one on hiatus, nobody expects me to be buying five cups of spicy ramen and banana milk at midnight."

"Yay! Best Maknae ever!" Winter cheered, clapping her hands.

I pulled into a secluded convenience store near the Han River. Pulling my black cap down until it practically covered my eyes and adjusting my mask, I turned to the girls.

"List. Now."

"Shin Ramyun, extra spicy," Winter said.

"Jin Ramen, mild. And chocolate milk," Ningning requested.