༄ "DAD? Could I talk to you for a second?"

She stood in front of the man after dinner, interrupting his daily read of the paper. But he showed he didn't mind by looking up, immediately closing the paper.

"Yeah, of course, Cheeni. What's up?"

"Well." She took a breath. Looked around. Jeff was watching TV on the couch and her mother was typing on her laptop at the kitchen table. "Could we talk alone, please? Just the two of us?"

"Sure." He got up. "Your room?"

Sam nodded and walked upstairs with her father, nerves tickling her. No way he was going to refuse... but still. Her father was an honest man and he wouldn't want to lie to his wife about helping Minho, yet Sam knew that if she found out, she wouldn't want them to interfere with Minho.

"Alright. So." She sat down next to her father, on her bed, and fidgeted with her hands. "Remember when you said us kids shouldn't have to handle everything alone? And that you would love to help?"

"Still would," he confirmed.

She nodded. "Yesterday... no— after Christmas, I found something out about Minho. The same Mom and I fought about when we came back from the holidays. Minho didn't want anyone else to know. I've helped him through the weeks and it went well, until—" She swallowed, taking another breath. "Yesterday, he relapsed. And we agreed that maybe it would be better to get some help, because I don't think I can help him on my own."

Sahil was silent for a few seconds. Slowly, he nodded, and rubbed his chin. "Alright. Of course I'll help him. And I'm glad you reached out."

Sam pulled her knees up to her chest. "I'll tell him. Do you have time tomorrow? Minho could sleep here again. He's often alone in the weekends."

"Of course," he assured.

"Oh, and also..." She paused. Lowered her voice. "I don't think it's a good idea to tell Mom about this. I know it's untrustworthy toward her, but last time Minho tried to talk to her, she called him an attention seeker."

Her father exhaled. "Okay. We won't tell her. But if she happens to ask, I will say what's going on, Sam."

"Okay." She leaned against his chest, thoughtful. "Dad...?"

"Hm?" He looked down at his daughter, eyebrows raising.

"After the fire," she started, now speaking quieter, "in the car, with Mom... she— well, she told me it was my fault. That I should've stopped the people with the sparkles because if I did, it would've never happened." A short pause in which she took a shaky breath. "She didn't seem to care if I was hurt, but she did care about Jeff."

Sahil was silent, again. He tightened his grip on Sam, frowning as he bit his lip. Then finally, "I'll speak to her about it. And if it doesn't stop, the way she treats you, I will set some boundaries."

"Thanks, Dad," she muttered, and hugged him even firmer.

❤︎︎

When Sam woke up, it was to two voices. Her father's and Minho's.

She couldn't understand what they were saying, but she heard them talking softly as she looked at the clock.

Eleven AM. She'd slept in because last night, she'd spent a lot to time texting with Minho about absolutely nothing useful, after she asked him to come over. Today.

And he was already speaking to her father. That didn't make her upset at all. She didn't mind that they hadn't waited for her to at least great Minho. No, she was happy he voluntarily started the deep conversation.

She got up with a groan. Even with her cheerful mood, getting up was always and would always be a hard job. Fast, the girl put some clothes on, the went downstairs for breakfast.

No one was there. Jeff had spent the night at Alby's and her mother had her usual work weekend, which didn't bother Sam at all.

She ate something in silence, checking her phone. All it did was let her know the book she ordered had arrived, and that immediately covered up the fact she didn't have any other notifications.

Indeed. Her new book lay at the door. She unpacked it, trained the spine, and dived into it after she buried herself in a blanket, on the couch.

Thirty five pages in, and the door opened, revealing two humans she loved a serious lot.

At that, she frowned. Did she love Minho?

She stared as him as he walked in, readjusting the sleeves of his—

Hm, a compression shirt. That sight was the last thing she had to see to know she indeed loved him, honestly.

But first, she watched his face, which would always be better than anything else on his body. He smiled lightly at her, eyes bright. His hair was styled as always, but with a little less gel. Also as always, his skin seemed so soft she just wanted to touch every part of it, and his jawline could cut through whatever.

Then, the black Nike compression shirt showed his muscles off better than anything. Smaller waist, then buff arms and a chest he might've been forcing forward. Either way, it looked hot.

She hugged him after that whole inspection, smiling harder than she had in days. "Good to see you."

He chuckled. Patted her on her head. "Someone missed me."

"How could I not?" She smiled.

"Indeed," he confirmed. "How could you not?"

Sam hadn't even finished laughing when he pressed his lips to hers. Soft and hard at once. From surprise, her heart made a jump. Then, she cupped his face.

"Ahum—"

Ah, come on. Now it had just been a peck kids gave their moms!

Slightly annoyed, Sam turned to her father, but she smiled. Again, she was super grateful for what he did, or was still doing. "How'd the talk go?"

Her father motioned at Minho, signing he was the one to answer.

"Good, actually." The Asian ran a hand through his hair. "I'm starting to wonder if Sahil was a therapist in the past, or at least in his previous life!"

Sam snickered. Sahil smiled at Minho. "You're welcome, Kid. I'm glad I could help. And you're always welcome. Doesn't even have to be to talk about problems."

"I'll keep it in mind." He nodded. "Thank you."

Sam gently tugged at his arm. She just couldn't help herself, but was also hoping she didn't overwhelm him with the amount of times she told him she was proud.

But she couldn't wait any longer because this time, she had made him something again.

"Come on!" She grabbed his hand. "I'm a genius!"

He hummed, following her upstairs after giving Sahil a hasty 'bye'. "Why, exactly?"

She stopped. "Are you saying I'm not a genius? Rude."

He scoffed at her tone. "Sammy, you're the smartest genius I know, and I know a guy who's named after Thomas Edison!" He mocked.

She chuckled under her breath, then sat him down on her bed. "It's actually very small and stupid, but it's the thought."

Sam handed him the paper tulips, and the gummy bears with a note:
Life is unBEARable without you.

His smiled got brighter than she expected, because it honestly was a stupid gift, and he kissed her again.

Sliding his hands over his waist, his eyes squinted and the dimples appeared. "I love it."

She wasn't sure if she was supposed to melt because his smile was so awesome or get butterflies because the waist touch drove her crazy.

"So... am I allowed to know what you two talked about?"

"I told him what was going on," he said immediately, so fast it surprised Sam how open he was about this. "He suggested some things I can do if I feel like I'm losing it. Like, use a rubber band."

She stared at him. "...and what exactly is that rubber band for?"

He groaned, throwing his head back. "To put it on my wrist, pull it back, and then slap it against my skin." A pause. "And he recommended chewing gum. Said he stole that from the internet. Oh! And also getting my attention on something else."

"Hm." Sam tilted her head. "I'd say reading, but you don't enjoy that."

"I do enjoy a girl who likes reading." He crooked a smile. "That's a lot of distraction."

She frowned at him as he leaned against the wall, his legs both resting on her bed. "Staring at me is gonna distract you?"

"Well, also. But kissing you is also gonna distract me."

Her cheeks flushed so fast that she averted her eyes. Her mind wandered back to New Year's Eve, and then the moment in her mother's office.

With her stomach full of tingles, she watched his eyebrows raise, certainly challenging her. "This was supposed to be a serious conversation."

"This is a serious conversation." He nearly threw his hands in the air. "Except, if you insist, it soon will be a serious conversation between our lips."

She ignored the flips in her stomach by crossing her arms over it. "Talking about kissing is too cheesy."

"Then why don't we quit talking and start?"

Even though she moved closer, she pulled a face. "You did not just ask to make out."

"Lesson one of being a book boyfriend... consent is key." His eyes darkened, and Sam wasn't sure what to think about that.

She didn't have to, because before she knew it, he'd lifted her onto his lap and she yelped by the sudden action.

"So, Sammy." He lay his hands on her thighs, and she almost couldn't breathe anymore. "Hm... I'm not sure what to say now. I'll have to work on that."

Leaning forward, Sam connected their lips, sick of this cheesy foreplay.
In the first seconds, they stayed still. Once Minho moved his lips against hers, she slid her hand from his chest to his hair, and he held the side of her neck, rubbing her skin with his thumb.

Her heart was springing out of her chest. She felt his energy change, and her own body get filled with feelings she hadn't felt before. Not just one butterfly... dozens, all exploding inside her body as the soft kiss turned... less soft.

Minho hummed, straightening his back when she pressed their bodies even closer together. She felt his hips squirm under her, and she smiled against his lips.

"I'm not doing the dirty talk," he said sternly before kissing along Sam's jaw. He did the job awfully slow as his hands ran over her body faster, from thighs to neck.

She gasped once he twisted them around, and he could reach her jaw better. Her eyes closed automatically. Her bottom lip disappeared between her teeth for a second, then she apart them, knowing she must've looked ridiculous.

By the way, Thomas was totally right. This was amazing.

Every single touch caused electric sparks and more butterflies. His lips lingering around her jaw and behind her ear caused undeniable pleasure, and she fought back a whimper at the ticklish feeling.

A while later, they took some deep breaths, exhausted by just kissing and rolling around a bit.

Sam made a slick movement that caused them to end on their sides, face-to-face. Yes, kissing was... all synonyms to good, but she got enough of it now, and smiled at Minho.

"Are you alright?" He smiled softly. "And was that okay?"

"I'm alright. And it was very okay," she spoke the truth. "Are you alright?"

"Right now, I am." Minho chuckled. "But."

Her eyebrows raised. "There's a but?"

"There's two butts here."

"Bad joke."

He smiled. "But," he said again, "next time we do this, it would be nice to hear some more words."

She lifted her eyebrows.

"I can't look inside your mind and see what you're comfortable with," he explained. "The squirming could mean you like it or you want to get away. The half finished sentences could be because you're flustered, but also because you're trying to say you want to stop."

"Minho, it's just kissing." She exhaled, but couldn't help a smile. "And—"

"I refuse to make you uncomfortable. And I'm smart enough to realize you're pretty scared when it comes to this crap."

She groaned in embarrassment. "I can survive some kisses. This is almost worse than the birds and bees talk."

He laughed again, taking her in his arms. "But just so you know, talk to me."

Sam sighed against his chest. "As long as so much is going on, I can't... I don't know, cope with everything."

"That's totally fine." And a whole speech followed.

The rest of the afternoon, they spent attempting to bake and then watching TV. Unfortunately, Minho wouldn't stay for the night because Jeff and Alby invited him too, and Sam forced him to go.

After dinner, she got to the hallway, well on her way to her bed so she could continue reading. She almost didn't notice all the roses and a note that said:

❥ For all the help so far
(I kind of suffocated when I sniffed them so make sure you don't do that)
- Love, Minho

❤︎︎

A/n:
I hate this so much, to be honest, lol
(Not trying to ask for compliments. I for real do hate it)

Haven't been doing 'the best' lately so I apologize literally all of these chapters suck

I'm suddenly not able to come up with the funnier, spontaneous convos like in my other books, so I'm wishing I get over that soon !!

- Vera