$ t w e n t y f i v e $
Hani spent all of her time in her bedroom--wasting away in her bed. She refused to eat, she refused to sleep, and she refused to see anyone that wasn't her cousin Hyuna. And it had only gotten worse after she was forced to move to China. In the coven, she was the only one she could trust. She didn't know if the other boys were trust worthy, but she assumed they were only loyal to Yifan--their past relationship of siblings was probably long forgotten, stuffed into some drawer in the back of their minds.
Hyuna tried to encourage her cousin to eat. The two had been only children in their families and grew up around each other. Hani was more like a sister to her than a cousin.
Her phone vibrated in her coat pocket and she reached for it to check her notifications. It was a text from Minseok, telling her that he was back from work with Yifan. Hyuna got back on her feet, she had been sitting in bed with Hani, and heaved a sigh. "I have to go, Min is here to pick me up." Gesturing to the bowl of soup on the night stand, she instructed with a hint of amusement, trying to lighten the mood, "Eat your soup, Hani. I worked hard to make it for you."
There was the slightest hint of a smile forming on Hani's lips. Her eyes glanced to the side at the bowl. It was ramen that her cousin made for her, and Hani remembered Hyuna being a terrible cook. Almost as bad as the pack's maknae Sehun.
Minseok was the one in the relationship who cooked. In exchange, Hyuna got all the other chores done around their house.
Pulling the covers aside, Hani opened her arms and outstretched them, inviting her cousin in for a hug. "Thank you, Hyuna. Of all the bad things that have happened lately, the one good thing that came of this was that I got to see you after so long." Hani said, with a smile that was barely there, but it was genuine. Hyuna awed at her cousin's words and hurried into her arms for a bone crushing hug like the ones she was used to giving.
Within a couple of more minutes, she had pulled away from her cousin and headed out the door.
Hyuna was in the passenger seat of her husband's expensive car when she felt the bitter cold of winter bite at her hands. Shivering, she stuffed them into her pockets for protection, and was surprised to find there was something there.
Accompanying her cellphone was a folded sheet of paper, a note from her cousin that Hyuna realized had been slipped into her pocket when they hugged goodbye. It was a common habit of the pack and the coven's members, and Minseok had showed her how to do it as well. Hani had been taught by her husband Junmyeon. When hugging someone, they were encouraged to quickly and stealthily rummage through their pockets without getting caught. Baekhyun and Tao had even grown into a habit of jokingly stealing their brothers' wallets--only returning them once the others realized they were missing.
Hani had used the same method, but to leave a note in her pocket without her noticing.
She got it out to observe, but didn't unfold it. Minseok was too busy driving, but he saw her from the corner of his eye and snuck a quick glance at her, following with a question. "Babe," He began curiously. "What's that?"
Hyuna froze in her seat and stuffed the paper back in her pocket. Shooting out the first lie she could think of, she blurted out. "My grocery list, Minnie." She forced a smile onto her face, trying to pass it off as casual.
No matter what the note contained, it was obvious that Hani didn't want anyone else but Hyuna to see. Otherwise, she wouldn't have snuck it into her pocket the way that she did.
Her husband didn't believe her. "You're nervous over a grocery list?"
But Hyuna was determined to continue with her fib. "Yeah...I got my period at duizhang's house, and Hani didn't have any pads. So I have to go buy some, and I was scared you'd get mad if I stained the car seats."
His eyes widened in terror. "Why didn't you tell me sooner? I would have taken you to the market right away." Instead of taking a right turn towards their house, they took a left into the city, on way towards the grocery store. "Its not about the car seats. I just don't want you going around feeling uncomfortable."
"Sorry Min." She smiled at him, pleased with the way he had reacted, even if she was lying about it. "I promise I'll tell you right away next time."
They arrived at the grocery store within minutes and Hyuna got her moment alone in the car. She had asked her husband to go into the store and get her a box of pads, and if she calculated correctly, she only had a few minutes before he would return.
She got the note out once again, and unfolded it fast, not wanting to waste any time. Her dark eyes immediately scanned over the note to read what her cousin had written.
Hyuna,
You're my cousin and I trust you.
I'm worried about Jun because he didn't want this for us. He was first willing to die in order to stop me, but I couldn't let that happen.
I worry that he might not be sleeping, or eating properly.
I miss him so much, but I can't contact him. And I couldn't ask this of you in person. I fear that I'm being watched, and I don't want him to find out about this. He would try to take it out on Jun.
Call him.
Ask him how he's doing, and then get back to me.
Love and gratitude,
Hani.
Hyuna sat back in her seat and heaved a sigh. On the one hand, her cousin trusted her enough to ask this of her. On the other, duizhang had asked her to tell him everything Hani said. She appreciated the coven. They were a family to her and she knew that they wouldn't be rivals otherwise. Hyuna was convinced Minseok and the others didn't hate Jun and the pack. It was just the way things happened.
It didn't take her long to decide to help Hani. All she wanted was to make sure Jun was okay, after all.
She was startled out of her thoughts by the door locks in the car opening. Soon the driver's side door opened and Minseok hurried inside with a large bag full of boxes and a face reddened with embarrassment.
Hyuna felt her heart melt at the gesture. "Thank you, Minnie." Her husband shoved the grocery bag into her hands. She peeked inside to see several boxes of pads. All of them were different shapes, sizes, and colors. She looked up at him with an amused expression. "Did you buy out the whole store?" She asked him after a moment.
He explained to her, still embarrassed. "I don't know about pads, babe. So I bought every available size and brand."
Hyuna reached over and pinched his cheek. "So cute, baozi. I love you."
Minseok stuck the key in the ignition and started the car, practically racing out of the parking lot.
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so i want to give sehun, tao, and chanyeol women. the others i have already planned for. but i ran out of occupations to give them. anybody have some ideas they could give me? i'd be so grateful.
wait. in the span that i asked that question, i thought of another side plot for this story. i might give it to tao since i need the male lead in this side plot to be the bad guy sort of. but i still need two more occupations to fit the side plots i havent thought of yet. thank you all.
anyway, i hope you're all enjoying the story.
and i hope you all have a wonderful day.
-clary xx
