ꜱʜᴏᴜᴛ ᴏᴜᴛ _ ᴇɴʜʏᴘᴇɴ 8ᴛʜ ᴍᴇᴍʙᴇʀ

= growing up =

It's no secret that Lily loves Ni-Ki a lot. She would literally go to the moon and back for Ni-Ki and it truly shows through her action. Although the maknae is bigger than she is, she would offer cuddles to him when he's having a tough day. She would make him his favorite food to cheer him up and buy him all the things he wants.

If that isn't love, I don't know what is.

——

Exhibit one

Seeing Ni-Ki now, Lily realised how much he had grown from the first time they met. His frame is bigger, he is now taller and buffer while Lily stayed the same. She used to baby Ni-Ki very often without him feeling ashamed of it but now, since he's grown, he feels like he doesn't like the attention as much as he used to. (Are you really sure, Ni-Ki?)

But even though he feels like that sometimes, he can't deny that he loves feeling pampered and taken care of by the older members, especially Lily. Back then when Ni-Ki was younger, he barely eat anything and that caused the members to worry a lot about his well being. Lily tried to get him to eat at least three meals a day and even goes out of her way to buy him the things he's craving for just to make sure he eats.

Now, she doesn't even have to worry about him not eating because the boy is eating very well now. Still, whenever they went out to eat, Lily would sit next to Ni-Ki and made sure he's filling his stomach. "Eat a lot, Ni-Ki ah." She beamed happily. Seeing the maknae eating with gusto is such a beautiful sight and she loves it. Then, Ni-Ki suddenly stops eating when he barely had three spoonful.

Lily's eyes widened in surprise but then Ni-Ki pointed at the pile of beef that had just been grilled by Jay. "Ah~ You want more beef, Ni-Ki?" He nodded his head enthusiastically, making Lily chuckled. If she could, she would kiss him on the face all over because of how cute he is being but that would make him lose his appetite so she had to stop herself. She got up and placed some beef into a bowl before handing it over to the maknae who's smiling from ear to ear.

Jay and Sunghoon who has been watching the two feels like they're watching two babies. One of the baby is taking care of another baby which is just so cute. Lily might not see it but apart from Ni-Ki, she's a baby herself too.

——

Exhibit two

The two maknaes of Enhypen are resting in the living room, watching some movies together while Lily is peeling a clementine as a snack. Ni-Ki is laying his head on her lap and he could smell the citrusy scent of the clementine, which made his mouth water. She took one slice of the clementine and popped it inside her mouth. One by one, the clementine disappeared. Ni-Ki didn't even get the chance to ask for some.

"Nuna." She looked down at him. "Hmm? You need something?"

"I want some clementine." Lily smiled. "Go and get the clementine box. I'll peel it for you." Excitedly, Ni-Ki got up to fetch the box of clementine and placed it on the sofa arm rest, next to Lily before popping back to his original position where he looked at Lily with sparkles in his eyes. Lily took one and started peeling it. "Here." She handed Ni-Ki the peeled clementine where the maknae thanked Lily happily.

That's when Sunoo came out from his room and saw the scene. He gasped dramatically. Lily whipped her head towards Sunoo and her eyes are wide open. "I'm not even invited to this little clementine party?" Ni-Ki sat up to glare at Sunoo for ruining the moment he had with Lily. He wanted to have Lily all to himself for the day so he was feeling extra grumpy when Sunoo came out.

"Here. I'll peel one for you," offered Lily which caused Ni-Ki to glare at her. Sunoo saw it and chuckled. "Nah, it's okay, sunshine. Just leave some for me. I'll have them later." He ruffled her hair and smiled. "Oh, and Ni-Ki? Lily loves me more." He stuck his tongue out at the jealous maknae before running back into his room. Ni-Ki's eyes visibly sadden as he scoots away from Lily. "Oh come on. You know that's not true. I love you the most, Riki."

Ni-Ki huffed and looked away from Lily. She sighed, "damn you, Kim Sunoo!"

——

Exhibit three

"Nuna." Lily stirs awake from her deep sleep as she feels the bed dips next to her. It's the big baby, Ni-Ki. "Why aren't you asleep yet, Riki? Are you okay? Do you need me to brew you some chamomile tea?" Ni-Ki shook his head. He already felt so bad about waking Lily up when she had a tiring day and he surely doesn't want to bother her even more.

So, he plopped next to her and hugged her waist. He scoots closer to her and rested his head on her chest, the sound of her stable heartbeat acting as a lullaby to him. There's no word needed to be exchanged between them because the moment Lily plays with his hair, he is slowly falling asleep. It's always a wonder how he managed to fall asleep in less than five minutes when he's with her but it took him hours to even close his eyes when he's alone.

She patted his back gently and soon enough, she could hear soft snores coming from Ni-Ki and the slow breathing of the maknae is a good indication that tells that Ni-Ki is fast asleep. Lily smiled to herself. It feels like it was just yesterday Lily met Ni-Ki and he was just a kid back then. Now, he's all grown up. His Korean had improved a lot. He's eating well. He had grown.

Just thinking about it makes her so emotional. "Still, you'll always be my baby. Sweet dreams, my sun."

##

ps: this chapter is inspired by a compilation of Ni-Ki growing up on YouTube and to be honest, even though I'm only a year older than him, I couldn't help but feel like I watch him grow. He's just so precious and I want to protect him 😭