Make Me STAY

Do It

"Let me finish these up and put them in the oven, and then I'm all yours."

Minho froze. His body felt warm as he replayed those last three words in his mind. Rose didn't mean it how he wanted her to, but it didn't lessen the effect of hearing her say those words. It filled him with want. His new desire was for her to say those words again and mean them in a permanent way rather than for a brief moment. For those words were true in reverse. He was all hers, regardless of how she felt about him. This was what he planned to tell her this morning.

Rose looked up from her mixing bowl and smiled. Minho's heart skipped a beat.

"Come and sit. I'll only be a minute or two."

As if it were an order, his body followed her words automatically. He sat on a stool by the counter, his feet tapping unconsciously. Minho watched as Rose poured the mixture into a muffin tin. He must have leaned forward in interest because she looked over at him.

"Breakfast muffins. Today's snack."

Rose made them homemade snacks a couple of times a week, in addition to meals. She took their health very seriously. 

Once all the mixture was gone, she placed the tin in the oven and tidied up a little before finally her attention was on him. Rose sat on the stool next to him and looked at Minho expectantly. The speech Minho had been preparing for the past three days disappeared from his mind, and everything he wanted to say got caught in his throat. He was sure he looked like a deer in headlights to Rose. He wanted her to look at him with love or desire, not pity.

Minho was a coward.

"How are you?"

"I'm good. It's been busy, but I don't need to tell you that."

He tried to smile, but he was too nervous. His mind was a mess of thoughts - what he wanted to say and what they were actually talking about.

"True. I think the performances have gone well so far."

"You work so hard, how could they not go well. But, you know, you can still come to me if you have any problems?"

Minho lowered his head. She was talking about his outfit malfunctions that could have been avoided if he let her help him.

"I know. I'm sorry, Noona."

"You don't need to apologise -"

"No, I do. I'm sorry for being distant. I've just got a lot on my mind."

"I understand."

The dancer looked up at her, brows furrowed. Could she really understand what was going on in his mind?

"How did you feel when you first met Chan-Hyung? When you knew he was your soulmate."

Rose's eyes widened and her eyebrows raised for a moment before her expression turned thoughtful.

"Happy? Surprised? The first time I saw him and realised he was my soulmate... was from a distance. I couldn't approach him or talk to him, and he didn't notice our connection. After that, I was unsure what to do, but hopeful that the opportunity for us to meet would come eventually. And of course, excited for that day. But, well, you were there. Things don't always turn out how you expect."

"Wasn't it years between you knowing and that first... meeting?"

Rose chuckled faintly.

"Yes! Two! It's very difficult to get close to you, Idols. Do you know how many people claim to be your soulmates in an attempt to get close to you?"

"I never thought about that. It must have been hard when you really were one of our soulmates. You were very patient to wait so long."

"Sometimes you have to believe that things happen for a reason. There's no need to rush things."