Reaction to having an s/o with a lower than average IQ
(Just wanted to put a quick disclaimer that this isn't meant to be offensive in any way. It was inspired by a reddit thread that I saw about people who's IQ is lower than average, and how it affects their everyday life)
Renjun
I feel like Renjun is a person who would really appreciate you for who you are. You told him from the beginning that you weren't as smart as other people, but he told you not to put yourself down. He was always reassuring you that you could do things, because struggling in school over the years lowered your confidence to a point where a little extra motivation was helpful.
He would sometimes tease you, but could also tell when you weren't in the mood, and when you genuinely didn't understand something he was always right there to help.
Jeno
In the beginning stages of your relationship, Jeno thought you didn't like him. He didn't understand why you would continuously agree to go out with him, when half the time you didn't laugh at his jokes or really react much to what he said.
One day while walking you home from dinner, he decided to ask about it.
"Hey, Y/n"
You looked to your right to show you were paying attention.
"If you don't want to go out anymore, all you have to do is tell me"
Your eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"What makes you think that?"
"I don't know, I just feel like you don't think I'm interesting. You never laugh at my jokes, and half the time I can't tell if you're paying attention when we're talking"
"Sorry, I'm just really bad at picking up social cues. It's been like that since I was a kid"
Jeno nodded in understanding.
"Oh, my bad, I didn't know"
"Yeah, I have kind of a low IQ, and it's hard to understand people sometimes. I still don't fully get sarcasm, and sometimes it takes me a while to understand jokes"
Now it all made sense to him.
"But if I didn't laugh, it could also just be because you're not funny"
You spoke, and he smacked your shoulder lightly as the two of you burst into laughter, even though you were being completely serious.
Haechan
Haechan is a person who would tease you regardless, but he never meant to actually hurt your feelings. He didn't pay much attention to the minuscule details about you when you first got together, because he was just so happy to have a girlfriend. The more time you started spending together, the more things he noticed:
How when he showed you something on his phone, you would read really slowly,
How sometimes when he showed you a meme or told a joke, you didn't laugh, or it took you so long to get the joke that he had to explain it to you,
How you never reacted to his sarcasm,
The way you would sometimes ask for help with something academically related even if it wasn't difficult (to others)
Your minimal forgetfulness,
And just other things he hadn't been paying attention to before. As I said, he would probably tease you about these things. You'd never opened up to him about the circumstances, or how it affected you, so he didn't know any better.
One day, you were at the nct dream dorm because they bought a projector and they were going to watch movies on it. You were sitting on the couch pointing the remote at the tv, but it wasn't turning on. You looked at it confused before trying again.
"It's upside down, stupid"
Was all he said, and you burst into tears, which immediately shocked everyone. People had been calling you stupid all your life, but you weren't, you just took longer to understand things.
Haechan would immediately run over and pull you into his arms, cooing and telling you he's sorry and he didn't mean to upset you. You ended up having to explain to everyone why that hurt your feelings so much, and of course now your boyfriend felt terrible for all the times he teased you and laughed when you didn't understand something. From then on, he was more aware, and would often prevent others from making comments about you if he heard them.
Jaemin
Jaemin is very protective of you. He sees you as a fragile doll that could break at any moment, and he doesn't want that at all. When he asked you out, you said no, but he wasn't just going to take no for an answer, so he asked you why.
You were embarrassed, but you explained to him that you didn't think you were smart enough to be in a relationship because of your low IQ and how long it took you to figure things out.
He immediately reassured you that he would never let that play a factor in your relationship, and he didn't judge you at all. You agreed to go out with him after all, and he was so kind and protective over you. He never let anyone say anything remotely bad about you, shielding you from hateful comments and scolding others who had no right to hurt his princess. He cared a lot for you, and he was determined to always be there for you.
Chenle
He never even noticed until you told him. Chenle had a habit of nervous babbling, which often happened around you. For you, it worked out well because you didn't have to struggle to carry a conversation. He was happy to find someone who enjoyed that he talked so much, and he often came to you because you were a great listener. Your relationship progressed quickly, and also because you didn't see him often, there was less time for him to notice these things.
One day, the two of you went to an escape room with some other friends, and you were really confused as to how they were getting the clues so quickly. To you there was no way out, but everyone else was doing fine. As you were walking through the next door, Chenle grabbed your hand and leaned down to whisper in your ear.
"Are you good? You haven't been saying much"
You nodded quickly.
"Sorry, I just don't understand"
He giggled and whispered back a "me neither" , but you had just seen him solve a puzzle a few minutes ago.
"No, Lele I mean I REALLY don't get it, like I have no idea what's going on"
The emphasis confused him, so you told him about your lower IQ right in the middle of an escape room. He never noticed, you always seems pretty smart to him.
"Oh, okay"
Was his literal reaction, and then he dragged you along with him, insisting that if he teaches you how to solve a puzzle and you do it, he'll kiss you.
Jisung
Your situation was different. You were a foreigner who moved to Korea, so on top of having trouble in school, you were learning an entirely new language.
Jisung has always known about your "issue" as some liked to call it. You went to school together, and since middle school, he had seen teachers as well as students doubting your intelligence and belittling your confidence. That's why he made it his mission to befriend you, and it wasn't until high school that he realized how in love with you he actually was.
When Jisung became your boyfriend, it was a few years after he had debuted in Nct. You two were growing up, and that's why it meant a lot to him that after four years together, you were finally graduating high school. He was super proud of you because of how much harder you had to work than everyone else to get to where you were today. In fact, besides his hyungs, he considered you the most hardworking person he knew.
Speaking of which, Jisung wanted you to meet his hyungs, but he knew how nervous you got around new people. Mainly because you didn't want to be judged, but he assured you he would make sure nothing happened. They all came to your graduation ceremony, and afterwards your family and the members went to a restaurant. You sat next to Jisung as they took pictures of you two in your graduation outfits, and when the menus came it took you a really long time to decide what you wanted to eat.
Part of it was because you were having trouble reading it since you were already anxious, and being as though Korean wasn't your first language, your brain was deciding to short circuit and forget everything.
"Are you okay?"
Jisung asked, taking your hand and running his thumb over your knuckles. You responded in your native language by instinct, and that's how he knew you weren't.
"Do you wanna get some air?"
He asked in Korean, and you nodded gratefully. Even though you were stressing, he knew you preferred he didn't treat you any differently, which is why he spoke to you in Korean. As he excused himself from the table and led you outside, his hyungs nearby were listening and watching how soft and kind their maknae was to his girlfriend. Everyone knew how much he loved you, and it was obvious by the way he treated you that he loved ALL parts of your personality.
Don't know if y'all saw, but a whole bunch of kpop and k solo artists donated and spoke out to black lives matter. BTS donates 1 million dollars to the BLM movement, and that made me so happy to be an army and a kpop fan of color in general . We'll get through this everyone ✊🏽