ATEEZ 9th Member AU

Apologies

Mingi apologizes to Nari

"Nar, you think we could do something today before going to the company?" The girl looked up from her notebook, a little annoyed he had interrupted her creative process. But she couldn't stay annoyed for long as she saw how nervous he was asking her this. His head was down and he was fiddling with his hands, bounding back and forth from foot to foot.

He was biting his bottom lip. Nari sighed. She really hated how everyone seemed to be afraid of her now. She wasn't some fragile doll and she wasn't going to get mad at them. She was past everything; she wished they were too. "Of course, Mingi. Lemme just change and grab my bag, yeah?" She said, closing her notebook and pushing her glasses up on her nose with her pointer finger. He offered a bright, relieved smile and nodded. "I'll bring snacks! But don't tell Seonghwa hyung. We're not supposed to eat before practice."

Nari snorted, patting his shoulder. "Grab all the snacks you can. I'm feeling a little unruly today." She winked and Mingi chuckled, running off towards the kitchen. She smiled to herself, loving how absolutely easy it was to get Mingi in on her shenanigans. She had her head down, bumping a shoulder with someone. "Oh! I'm sorr—San." She breathed out and he offered her a weak smile. They had been talking and acting normal in front of the rest of the members, but Nari couldn't help how her heart hurt when she saw him.

He didn't smile as much anymore and was more reserved, but he wasn't completely depressed. He had been working on himself, from what Wooyoung had told her. He was trying and as much as she wanted things to go back to normal, to go back to being with him, she knew it wouldn't happen as fast as she liked. "Making Mingi take all the snacks?" He said with a smirk and she nodded, smiling brightly. "Of course. He takes the snacks and I pick the date." She winked, walking away, smile falling as soon as he couldn't see her anymore.

She cleared her thoughts, looking forward to her and Mingi's one on one time, no matter how short it would be. She grabbed her bag, changing into a pair of leggings and one of Seonghwa's sweaters before skipping back down the hallway where Mingi was patiently waiting. "C'mon! We don't have much time." He said, grabbing her wrist and dragging her out the door. "Mingi! We can just go to the little park across from the company. Then we don't have to rush."

He looked at her and smiled. "You're so smart." She giggled, standing on her tiptoes to pat the top of his head. "You are too when you're brain isn't running 80 miles a minute." He shrugged in response and the two quickly hopped on the bus and made their way to the little park, Nari securing a bench and digging into the different snacks Mingi had brought. "So, what brought on this impromptu hang out?" She asked with a mouthful of chips.

He shrugged again but she saw him tense. He rubbed the palms of his hands on his shorts and bit his bottom lip again. She swallowed, turning slightly to face him and bumping his shoulder with hers. "What's wrong, bub?" She asked quietly and he sighed, shaking his head. "Nothing's wrong, really. There's just—I'm not good at this kind of stuff. But I want to tell you." She nodded, lightly patting his arm as a form of encouragement.

"Calm your brain for a minute, Ming. We've got time." He took in a deep breath and then opened his mouth to speak. Nari waited patiently. It really wasn't like Mingi to act this way or be this nervous so, she knew that it was something really important and serious to him. Thankfully, she was a pretty patient person lately. "Whenever you're ready." He nodded once before clenching his fists and finally speaking.

"I want too—no, need to—apologize." She raised an eyebrow, a little confused. "Did you eat my cake I hid in the back of the fridge?!" She yelled and he looked at her with wide eyes before running his fingers through his hair. "That's besides the point right now, Nari." She clicked her tongue, crossing her arms and pouting. "I meant I want to apologize for how I've treated you." She looked at him again, confused. "Mingi, I'm not sure I'm understanding." She frowned.

"I—we—well, I can only speak for me. But when you first joined, you know we were all a little apprehensive. I mean, we weren't downright mean—I hope we weren't—but you know. And then I know it's hard being the only girl in an all boy group, but we probably haven't made it any easier. I also want to apologize if I ever hurt you or made you feel like I was picking sides or something."

She felt tears welling up in her eyes. She truly hadn't even thought about any of that nor did she believe that half of what he was saying was true. She didn't feel that way at all towards any of them. But she figured that the events of the past month must have gotten him lost in his head. As much as he likes to play dumb, she knew Mingi was extremely intelligent. There were always ideas running in his head and she so desperately wished these weren't the ones going through it now.

"I really do see you as my sister, as family. And you've always been supportive for me, always. And I just feel like I haven't been as supportive as I should have been. I haven't been a really good friend. So, I want to apologize. And I hope you can forgive me. I'm sorry. And I'll try harder to be a better friend and brother." He finished, his knuckles turning white from how hard he was clenching his fists.

She gently placed her hands over his, squeezing them gently. "Thank you, Mingi. For saying that. I don't think you have anything to apologize for, but thank you. I forgive you. And really, thank you." The tears fell down her cheeks and he quickly moved to wipe them. "I didn't want you to cry! That defeats the purpose!" She chuckled, burying her face into his chest. He rubbed her back soothingly. "They're happy tears, don't worry."

He hummed and after a few minutes she sat up, taking in a deep breath and standing up. She held her hand out for him to grab and helped pull him up. "We should be getting in for practice." She smiled and he agreed, throwing an arm around her shoulders and walking them towards the building. "Hey, oppa?" She said and he hummed in response.

"I already think you're the best brother there is."