Qiang hangs out with Seventeen
"Qiang! Over here!" Jun shouted, waving his hands animatedly in the air. Qiang smiled and made his way over to the private room that his friends had reserved. It had been quite a while since had last seen his friends in Seventeen and with him debuting, his schedule had been even crazier.
Thankfully, they were able to plan a lunch today and he was more than excited to see them. "Look at our little Qiang! All grown up and debuted," Minghao teased as he hugged him and Qiang shook his head with a smile. "Sit, sit!" DK said, pointing to the empty seat. "We already ordered, we were hungry." Qiang chuckled. Some things never changed.
"So, tell me," Mingyu said, batting his eyelashes, "how does it feel to finally debut?" Qiang thought for a moment before answering. "It's like a big relief," he answered honestly. "I finally did it and I'm excited and happy but also anxious. It comes with a whole new wave of stresses and sometimes I can't help but feel like I'm lacking."
Mingyu clapped him on the back. "You're definitely not lacking. You're super talented and we all watched your debut stage. You all did so well." Jun agreed with him. "You all looked like seasoned idols. You did really well. We're super proud." Qiang thanked them and they all ate with light conversation between them.
"So!" DK clapped his hands together, "we got you a present! For your debut and all." Qiang smiled. "You didn't have to do that." They all protested that it was the least they could do. Minghao handed over the small gift bag and Qiang opened it, feeling tears well up in his eyes.
It was ring. Silver and simple, not something that would draw your eye right away. "It's not much," Mingyu said, holding his hand up, "but we all got one. We know you have a group and your own family and such, but we didn't want you to forget about us on your rise to fame."
Qiang slipped the ring on his finger as the others showed theirs off. "I could never forget about you all. You all basically taught me everything I know. Music wise and not." They all smiled and Qiang admired his ring. "This is really nice and I truly appreciate it. I'll never take it off." Jun laughed.
"You sound like one of those obsessed fans when they touch our hands or something. I'm never washing this hand again," he said dramatically and Minghao rolled his eyes at him. The others laughed and the conversation continued on, Qiang glancing down at his ring every now and then.
His heart felt truly warm. He loved being The Boyz and he didn't regret it for a second, but sometimes he wondered what it would have been like to debut with people he had been friends with and trained with for years. They had been the ones that got him acclimated to a new country and being on his own at such a young age.
They taught him the language and the customs, helped him with his Korean and his dancing and rapping. Woozi and Hoshi helped with being able to compose lyrics and even taught him a little about producing and composing his own songs. They had been the first to make him feel welcomed and comfortable.
"How is it being the oldest?" Jun asked and Qiang shrugged. "It honestly doesn't feel like age really plays a difference. We treat each other equally. I just feel like I can't show them I'm struggling or stressed. I want to be someone they can look up to and come to when they're feeling down or anxious." Jun hummed and Minghao raised a brow.
"What about when you're feeling those things?" He only shrugged, not saying much. Realistically, he knew he could turn to any of the boys and talk to them when he needed help or when he was locked in his head. It was his own thoughts that made him feel like he always needed to portray the strong, docile member that they could rely on.
"Well, we can see somethings still haven't changed," Mingyu sighed.
"Trust them more, Donghyun-ah," DK said and Qiang sighed. "We don't know them but I guarantee they're not going to think any different of you. You're all human and you need to be able to rely on them as much as they rely on you." Qiang took DK's words to heart, truly thinking about them because he was right. They were a team and they needed to be on an equal playing field.
Once they wrapped up their lunch and Qiang said goodbye to everyone and headed back to his dorm. DK's words stuck with him and he made a silent promise to start relying on others more and letting them know when he wasn't okay. It was going to take time and practice, but he needed to do it because he knew they all trusted him and he needed to show he had the same trust in them as they did in him.
He looked back down at his ring and smiled before slipping his hands into his pockets. He would always have his friends in Seventeen, but now he had a new family that he cherished greatly.
