GOURMET

九

"People do crazy things when they're in love." Yongnam supplies as Bambam stares at Yugyeom, visibly confused by the story.

"Like storming a date just to propose?"

"Like storming a date and proposing. I mean hey," Yongnam shrugs. "Mark was willing to leave GOT7 wasn't he?"

"He what."

"Wait what."

"What do you mean?"

Yongnam stares them both in the eye through the rear-view mirror. "He never told you guys?"

"No," Bambam immediately looked at Yongnam. "No, what are you talking about?"

He frowned. "When everything happened, he thought you guys might lose everything you worked for." He shrugged. "Thought it would be better for him to leave. Stop shit from happening ya know."

"Why would he think that?"

"Probably because it's what happens in your line of work," Yongnam nodded along. "Listen he didn't in the end ya know. Ahyoung wouldn't let him. Said, that she wasn't a good enough reason for him to leave you guys."

"That's crazy—" Bambam moves to speak again, frowning, when he pauses to think for a moment. "I mean, Ahyoungies amazing but he wouldn't have had to choose–for us it wouldn't have mattered—"

Yongnam snorts. "But it's not exactly you guys who matter when it comes to stuff like this right?"

There's a silence that suddenly falls over the car and Bambam and Yugyeom share a look between each other as Yongnam's eyes stay firmly on the road.

"...I mean," Bambam begins, thinks they're not really talking about Ahyoung anymore, but then the older boy just scoffs cutting him off.

"To the members," Yongnam frowns, voice curt, and Bambam knows it's no longer about Ahyoung alone. "It may not matter. To friends, and family it's nothing. But when you're you, and you has people watching every movement, every social media post, every breath that you take or do. Constantly. It's not just you. Not just your friends and family, people who have become sisters—brothers," he swallows visibly. "It's an entirely new ballgame. Because confirming has repercussions and denying has repercussions and it's not just one person who will reap it, it's a slew of people who get fined for something that isn't necessarily a need-to-know fact." He sighs, breath coming out of his nose heavily. "Sorry I just, I just meant that's probably how Ahyoung felt and uh, I just, I didn't, uh. You know what, it's nothing. I'm stupid."

"N-no," Yugyeom blinked, wide eyes staring at Yongnam with the lights from outside of the car coloring his skin green. "No, I, uh, get it."

Bambam nods, eyebrows pulled upwards as he stares at the older boy. "...you know the rest of the group doesn't care right. They won't... they won't make her choose."

"This isn't about me, I don't care—"

"—hyung. They won't make her choose."

"...they could."

"Yongnam—"

"—that's enough Bambam." Yongnam frowned, eyes flicking to him momentarily. "Please."

"...okay hyung."

🥢

When Yongnam pulls up to the corner of a little shop that Jinyoung directed them too, Bambam and Yugyeom stare at it in wonder.

("he used to go there with his dad, after he died... he stopped, but if..." jinyoung had paused. "if he's really hurt, then he'll go there. and if he does, then i think this affects him more than he's letting on.")