haechan
haechan solo album coming
next month 😎

haechan
mentally preparing for when
i sweep the charts 😇😇✋

taeyong
yeah ok

taeyong
nik are you having girls day?

niko
yes

taeyong
will you

taeyong
pls be sure to get me cake☺️🙏

niko
it is the only thing on our to do list

taeyong
UGH this is why i love y'all💗

haechan
um

haechan
feeling like a third wheel here

haechan
haechan solo guys!!!!! ☝️☀️

taeyong
we heard

haechan
😐

niko
i made a remind to preorder
as soon as it's announced

haechan
well i mean it's a start.. 😒

taeyong
we are SOOOOO proud of you
haechan!!!!! you've worked so
hard!!!!!! this album is going to
be liquid gold!!!!!!!👍👍👍👍

haechan
omg thanksies!!

niko
seriously this album is going to be great

niko
everything you two release is great

haechan
🥹 truth

taeyong
oh nik, has yuta signed
the ruby contract yet?

niko
not yet!!

taeyong
hmm. suspicious reply

niko
seems like every time i bring it
up he dodged the subject!! 😆

haechan
uh oh she's losing it

niko
please talk to him

taeyong
you got it

niko dropped her phone into her lap with a quiet sigh and leaned back into the massage chair. she'd never had a spa day before meeting ami and eunbin, who had a very strict regimen of going to get pedicures at least once a month. recently, they'd been missing a few due to eunbin's pregnancy, ami's wedding planning, and niko's schedule, but they were making an effort to get back on track.

"what's up?" eunbin asked when she noticed niko's troubled expression. the latter rolled her head to the side to properly face the older. "work. and men."

ami sat up to look at niko, who was on the other side of eunbin. "work first, then boys. i'm guessing they go hand in hand?"

niko nodded. "they do."

"spill."

scoffing slightly at the enthusiasm, niko told them about her most recent interview with mr. seokjun. as expected, there was a lot of backlash, as well as a lot of support. most of all, came the speculations.

eunbin grimaced. "has mark reached out?"

"no. i don't expect him to. if he does something, it'll probably be through interviews where i can't do anything to defend myself."

ami shot a quick look at eunbin before meeting niko's slightly distracted gaze. "i won't lie, i've come across a few tweets about that myself. most of it is fans suspecting foul play between the two of you."

niko scoffed. "well."

"... i did see one tweet about mark." ami continued. she was playing with her fingers as she spoke. "that he's been talking about how close you two are now. 'buddy buddy', or something like that."

"what?" niko asked after a moment of pause. she could almost feel the color draining from her face.

"it's ridiculous. obviously he's trying to get attention since you're a literal global icon and he's been jobless since vybe's unofficial disbandment."

"sure..."

"what about men?" eunbin asked, changing the topic. "how are things with you and yuta?"

niko sighed deeply and dropped her head against the chairs headrest. "i don't know. when we're together, just the two of us, it's great. but the second i ask him about work or the contract with ruby entertainment, he shuts me out. i can't keep avoiding this. you know how important my job is to me."

"why is he avoiding it?" ami asked, brows furrowed as she thought out loud. "is there something in the contract he doesn't like?"

"i don't know. he won't talk to me." the noirette shook her head. "it worries me because what if he doesn't want to work with me? i wouldn't be upset, but i don't want him to pass up an opportunity like this for me. we'd be on different floors, anyway."

"you should talk to him." ami suggested.

"i've tried. he won't talk to me."

"make him talk to you."

"ami—"

"not in, like, a mean way. just... i don't know, ignore him or something. give him a soft ultimatum."

niko raised a brow. "soft ultimatum?"

"no sex until he talks?"

"ami!"

—

dinner went well up until the end. yuta had cooked for the both of them and even lit a candle for the table. the conversation was natural and light... until niko brought up the contract.

she watched yuta's face fall instantly as he pulled his hand from hers. "i don't want to talk about this now. later."

she didn't mean to lose her cool, but niko was getting sick of the word 'later'. "you always say that, and then we never talk about it later! i want to talk about this now."

yuta looked at her before grabbing his empty plate and bringing it to the kitchen. "why is this such a big deal to you?"

"why isn't this a big deal to you? this is your career, yuta! everything you worked for."

she could tell that he was getting frustrated, but instead of yelling back, yuta began washing his dishes. for some reason, that only made niko more irritated.

she bit her tongue and stood, turning to face him with her back pressed against the edge of the dining table. all she did was stand and stare until yuta eventually turned the water off and rested both hands against the sink.

"what happens to vybe when i sign?"

niko blinked. "huh?"

"vybe." yuta repeated, pushing himself into a proper standing position as he turned his body towards his girlfriend. "the band that i made. what happens to it when i sign? am i supposed to just kiss the past seven, eight years goodbye?"

honestly, niko wasn't sure what to say. she thought for a few seconds before stammering out a reply. "i thought you wanted to say goodbye to vybe..."

she didn't understand. the group's last album came out a year ago, haechan and taeyong were already signed to ruby entertainment, yuta had a contract ready to join them, and jeno was working as a model for another company. the only person left was mark, and niko couldn't give less of a shit about what happened to him.

yuta moved until he was standing in front of niko, then took her in his arm and hugged her. she didn't wait long to hug him back, resting her face defeatedly against his chest.

"i'm sorry for yelling," niko said, her words slightly muffled. "i just... i don't understand. i thought you wanted this as much as i do, so when you hesitate, it made me think..." you want to leave me, is what she was going to say, but her silence seemed to be enough.

yuta tightened the hug and placed a gentle kiss against the girl's head. "it's a lot harder to give this up than i originally thought. it doesn't have anything to do with you, i promise."

if niko was in his situation, she liked to think that she'd be like him and hesitate, but she wouldn't. if she knew the others were alright, she'd do what was best for her. it's what made them different, but the way yuta processed situations always intrigued niko. it's what made them so good together, she thought.

when she felt yuta sigh, niko lifted her head to meet his eyes. his lips were twisted to the side in thought. "sometimes, when i look at the contact," he began, "i see that little group of misfits i started in my garage. i know we've made our mistakes, but i do love them. i love what we've accomplished together. it's hard to give that up."

niko nodded and pressed a kiss to his jaw. "i know, sweetheart, but they're okay. hell, haechan is going to be more successful than the both of us, at this rate."she smiled when he laughed, her arms still wrapped around his middle.

"i hate arguing. it's hard for me not to walk away when one starts, and i'm sorry for pushing this on you. if you don't want to sign the contract, i won't ask about it again." niko finished, her brows slightly knit as she met his eyes.

yuta brought one of his hands between them to softly cup niko's chin and ran his thumb over her bottom lip. "i'll sign it. i just need to say goodbye, first."

and when he kissed her, niko knew that he was telling the truth.

•
yunik kissessssssss <33