mingi sighed as he got out of the car. seonghwa had sent him out to run some errands, and as a reward, had given him extra money to buy whatever he wanted to.
the boy was sixteen. he was turning seventeen that august. yunho was already seventeen and yeosang was going to turn seventeen in a few months.
it was crazy to him that they were all getting so old.
he always thought about how little they used to be. he still remembered when yeosang went missing, and being friends with baekhyun. he remembered that group of boys adopting him into their group back when they moved schools, and how yeosang dragged him out of school at the end of that day. he even remembered some of his runaway attempts.
mingi was proud of himself and his family.
they'd been through a lot of stuff, and they'd gotten through it. mingi survived a young and severe case of depression and was happy now.
he used to be self-deprecating, regretful, angry, and he wanted things to change. now, he was openly pansexual, he was doing well in school, he was still friends with a few of the boys from that earlier mentioned group, and was overall just happy.
anyways, back to the situation at hand.
the boy walked down the street towards a grocery store, shoving a list seonghwa had given him into his pocket as it almost blew away in the wind.
before he could get to the store, a worried girl suddenly approached him.
"hey, you're here! let's go, i've been waiting for you." she said loudly and a bit nervously, then dragging him into a neighboring bookstore before he could get a word out.
she pulled him behind one of the aisles, peeking out towards the window before finally explaining.
"wha-" "i am so sorry sir, i really needed to do that. you see, i've been out of the house today for.. reasons.. and i've noticed this older man has been following me everywhere and i felt really scared and vulnerable all alone so i needed to do something to make it look like i was with someone... again, i'm really sorry, you can just leave if you're in a r-"
"i'm not in a rush, i'll stay here with you. can you tell me what he looks like or point him out? let's try to avoid him, and if things escalate i can call for some help." mingi said with no hesitation.
"r-really? thank you so much, oh my god—i swear i'll repay you, thank you, really... uh, he's tall, definitely over six foot, he's got a light grey coat with black pants on and a white mask, and he has brown hair with a black beanie.."
"okay. let's wait in here for a bit, then we'll check the window in case he's waiting outside. tell me if you see him come in."
"alright.. again, thank you so so much... i really appreciate this.." "it's no problem." mingi smiled.
"you're home late, what took you so long?" hongjoong asked and raised his eyebrow.
"i'm sorry, i actually had a little rescue mission to do. a girl was being followed by a man and needed someone to be with her to make it seem like she wasn't alone. i would've texted you but i was focused on helping her." mingi explained.
"what? really?" seonghwa said and stood up.
"yeah, she seemed really scared so i knew i should stay and help her. i still got your groceries." the boy said as he walked to the kitchen and placed the multiple bags in his hands onto the counter.
"aww, thank you hon, i'm so proud to have such a mature and brave son like you." hongjoong said and hugged mingi, who was already taller than him.
"thanks dad." mingi giggled.
"wait, really? so you're like, kind of together? like together but going slow?" yunho exclaimed.
jongho nodded and smiled shyly.
"i never thought i'd ever actually be in a relationship. i mean, like you said, it's just kind of, we're going slow, but.. we're definitely giving it a try. it's really weird, i like it." he said and giggled.
"i'm so happy for you! i'm seventeen and still haven't dated anyone so you're already way ahead of me." yunho laughed.
"you'll find someone, don't worry." jongho replied.
"yeah, maybe.." "who even are you attracted to? like, i've never seen or heard from you about liking people, or anything like that.. are you into girls, guys..." jongho asked with a lot of curiosity.
"oh.. i don't even know.. i've never thought about who i'm attracted to. i guess it doesn't really matter to me." yunho responded with a shrug.
jongho nodded and turned, about to say something before he was interrupted by the door opening.
san peeked his head through the slightly opened door, smiling and saying "is this a bad time? can i come in and hang out?" "no, it's fine, come in. we were just talking about how jongho is in a relationship with someone now." yunho teased.
"what? you're dating someone?" "kind of, kind of! it's eunsoo, we're not rushing into anything, but yes, we're technically dating."
san squealed and ran up to hug his brother. "oh my god, you're in your first relationship! my little baby brother is growing up so fast!" he said, pretending to cry, which made the three laugh.
the boys continued to joke around and chat for a while after that. it felt so good for them to forget about their worry, and to just laugh together.
seonghwa eventually passed by their room and heard them spending time together.
he felt so relieved to know that they were getting along so well. the boys had their differences, but they were still extremely close. their bond was unbreakable. it was especially comforting for seonghwa to hear jongho laughing so much and enjoying himself so much, considering what he'd been through the past few years of his life.
it was refreshing. seonghwa was happy, and proud.
ahh i finally got another chapter out!! im doing online school now bc of the virus so im home a lot more, its still weird for me and im still adjusting to it lmao. i hope youre all staying safe and healthy at home!! pls wash your hands and practice social distancing 🥺🥺
anyways, thank you SO SO SOOOOO much for 150k+ reads!!!! this book is getting a bit close to being my most popular story, and i cant believe that. i never felt confident in my writing so to see yall being so supportive and loving my writing makes me so happy :,) <3
ily all!! stay safe!! thank you!!! <3333
