from zero » hyungwonho

xxi

"Are you sure they want me there?" Hyungwon asked nervously, squeezing Hoseok's hand out of habit as the two strolled at a steady pace to the arcade where they would be meeting the others.

Hoseok had taken up on Changkyun's idea for a reunion, and had organised the whole thing himself. He decided the arcade was the most authentic place to meet up since the seven of them shared so many memories there during high school.

Of course Hyungwon wanted to come along, but he'd been so nervous about it beforehand and had asked Hoseok so many questions that the older boy felt sorry for his boyfriend.

("Did you ask them if I could come?"

"Why would I have to ask them if you could come? It's a reunion."

"Ok...do they know I'm coming? Are they ok with it?"

"Yes and yes. Don't worry about it, Hyungwon."

"...Do they hate me?"

"Babe, please shut up.")

"Hyungwon," Hoseok said his name with so much emphasis, Hyungwon could tell he was getting fed up.

"Ok, ok, I'm sorry," he apologised. "I'm just so nervous."

"Don't be nervous," Hoseok shook his head. "Changkyun recommended us all meeting up, and everybody else agreed to it. Trust me, if they had a problem with you being there, they would've spoken their minds at the time, and everyone seemed perfectly fine with the idea."

Hyungwon gulped and nodded, his tight grip on Hoseok's hand still not loosening.

"You know how nice they all are, you did know them for five years before," Hoseok commented and Hyungwon smiled.

"I really missed Jooheon, you know?" He mused, and Hoseok smirked up at him.

"Really?" He asked and Hyungwon nodded. "Funny, because Jooheon said he missed you when we were at the park a few days ago."

"He did?" Hyungwon asked in surprise as he looked down at Hoseok. "Huh. I guess the feeling's mutual."

Boisterous laughter could be heard as the two neared the arcade, and when Jooheon saw Hyungwon, he made no hesitation in running up to him and pouncing on him, nearly causing the older male to fall over.

"What the Hell, man, you've grown so tall!" Jooheon exclaimed once he let go of Hyungwon. "And your hair! Jesus Christ, Hyungwon!"

Hoseok laughed out loud as the others surrounded Hyungwon, each one of them commenting on how much Hyungwon's changed. Hyunwoo welcomed him warmly with a - rather painful sounding - slap to the back as Kihyun smiled at him.

Jooheon wouldn't shut up, even when they got into the arcade. If anyone had missed Hyungwon the most, it would've had to be Jooheon. Hoseok felt himself smile when he witnessed Jooheon pulling Hyungwon by his arm to one of those basketball machines. Hyungwon actually looked more relaxed as he began laughing and having fun with Jooheon.

"Hoseok," Minhyuk called out to him, and Hoseok turned around to see Minhyuk standing at one of the Crossy Road machines, already inserting money into the slot. "Hurry up and put a thousand won in the slot." (£1 in England is roughly around 1,000 won and most game machines in British arcades cost £1 so excuse my poor judgement.)

Hoseok rolled his eyes playfully and dug around in his pocket for a thousand won note before inserting it into the machine.

"It's a two player?" He asked as his character appeared on the screen.

"Well duh," Minhyuk replied, already becoming too focused on the game. "I'm gonna beat your ass on this game."

"We'll see," Hoseok smirked confidently as the game began.

Meanwhile, Hyunwoo, Kihyun and Changkyun found themselves at a claw machine that held multiple Pusheen and Kumamon plushies inside it.

"You do know these things are rigged, right?" Kihyun asked with his arms folded as he watched Hyunwoo try - and fail - to capture a plushie.

"I know," Hyunwoo replied, not looking at Kihyun. "But it's fun."

"Here let me have a go," Changkyun interjected, lightly pushing Hyunwoo out of the way to test his luck.

And luck he had as he managed to get a Kumamon plushie on his first try.

"Rigged, you say?" He raised an eyebrow cockily at Kihyun, who was still standing there with his arms crossed. "I think you're just bad at it."

"How the Hell are you so good at this?" Jooheon murmured, eyes trained on the hoop as he attempted to throw the basketballs in.

"I have long arms," Hyungwon answered simply as he continually scored hoops, whereas Jooheon was struggling to get just one.

"I envy you," Jooheon pouted, which was short lived as he finally scored one hoop and started celebrating like he'd just won the lottery.

Hyungwon chuckled at Jooheon's enthusiasm as the time on the machine ran out and dispensed over twenty tickets for Hyungwon compared to a measly one ticket for Jooheon.

"Don't worry, I think we're combining all of our tickets at the end so at least you contributed," Hyungwon tried to brighten the mood, but Jooheon looked like he'd be sad forever.

"I can't believe I just wasted two thousand won on that thing."

~*~

In the end, the seven of them won a grand total of five thousand, eight hundred and seventy four tickets which they traded in for a mega pack of water balloons, seven mini slinkies and a handful of sweets.

The day had been rather successful, and when Hoseok met up with Hyungwon again after the latter had been dragged around by Jooheon all day, he felt his heart swell at the smile Hyungwon was wearing.

"Had fun?" He asked, lacing his fingers between Hyungwon's and squeezing his warm hand.

"I did actually," Hyungwon answered happily, the two trailing behind the others a bit so that they could have some time to themselves after being apart for hours. "You weren't lying when you said Jooheon missed me."

Hoseok laughed at that. "When do I ever lie?"

"True," Hyungwon noted before Minhyuk turned around and rolled his eyes at the two.

"Hurry up, lovebirds, we're hungry!" He exclaimed and the two boys gave him a thumbs up in acknowledgement.

They weren't going to speed up. They were going to take their time.

After all, two hours without each other felt like two years in both Hoseok and Hyungwon's eyes.

~*~

snsjsnsjsnsj epilogue next then 'from zero' is over!

also tysm for 1k+ reads!