ꜱᴀꜰᴇ

•15

The lights of my front porch were lit, as were the living room lights. My body shuddered at the thought of my father being awake and meeting Mingyu.
I carefully walked up to the front porch with his hand in mine, everyone else slowly following up behind us at their own pace except for Chan and Seokmin. They claimed that both of their parents would be livid if they skipped school and spent the night at someone's house.
Mingyu and I had kept to ourselves, mostly. But the others didn't seem to mind because they had done the same thing. When Joshua had come back from his talk with Seungcheol and Jeonghan, he had a small smile on his face and the tips of his ears were deafeningly red. I didn't ask what happened, though, because I wanted to leave him to think over everything.
As of now, my hand landed on the doorknob, turning it and immediately letting go of Mingyu. If my dad was inside, I didn't want him to know, right off the bat, that I was with Mingyu.
Walking into the living room, my father's eyes poked up from the newspaper he was reading. He gave a slight smile until he saw the number of people walking into his house. He stood up, taking his glasses off of his face, and walked up to all of us.
Mingyu was standing next to me, Joshua and his clique were standing behind us, and the other three were just now walking in.
My father cocked his head to the side just as I felt Mingyu's shoulder brush against mine. His eyes scanned all of the boys, specifically Seungkwan, who was leaning into Hansol's touch.
"Hi," my father breathed out.
It was insanely tense, making me want to strangle the air in general.
I stepped forward, standing at my dad's side. Pointing to each one, I told him, "This is Mingyu, Joshua, Seungcheol, Jeonghan, Soonyoung, Seungkwan, and Hansol."
They all mumbled a greeting, and the man nodded slowly. I took in a tight breath and looked to my small groups of friends.
"You can go upstairs," I mumbled to them. "You can sit on the bed, on the floor, window sill, I don't know, it doesn't matter to me. Just make yourselves comfortable." I grabbed the sleeve of Mingyu's t-shirt before he could go with the rest of the boys to my room, reluctantly needing to introduce him to my father.
The mentioned man looked at me with a raised eyebrow. "That's quite a lot of people."
Nodding, I sat down at the kitchen table as he did. "I have a lot of friends, I guess."
"Are they all...?"
"Yes."
The man sighed and pressed his lips together. "Alright," he breathed, "have fun."
Mingyu started to walk away, and so did my dad, but I grabbed Mingyu's wrist.
"Dad, actually-"
My dad turned around swiftly, making me jump a little. I lowered my hand to Mingyu's, noticing how tense he was. To be honest, I didn't know if it was from nervousness or anger towards my father. Probably both.
"This is Mingyu," I told him, motioning. "My boyfriend."
The man's face turned in a kind of distorted way, maybe trying to process how the hell I could ever get a boyfriend. He stepped forward, studying Mingyu's appearance from top to bottom. Mingyu's hand tensed up even more in mine, making me run small circles on the back of his hand.
"You're his boyfriend, huh?" my father questioned.
Despite all the held-back anger, Mingyu nodded. "Yes, sir."
My father crossed his arms and look Mingyu up and down again.
"Okay," he said. He offered his hand to shake, which Mingyu accepted. "Don't hurt my son."
I could sense it in Mingyu's touch that he wanted to say something about hurting since that's all my father did, but he just smiled cheekily and nodded. "I promise."
He looked back and forth between us once more, then sighed and turned away. I couldn't tell if he was disappointed in my sexuality or if he just wanted Mingyu out of the house because we were dating. Actually, I couldn't read him at all.
Before I could say anything, Mingyu squeezed my hand and started pulling me upstairs toward my room. I furrowed my eyebrows, but allowed him nonetheless. When we reached my room, I closed the door behind me and ignored everything that had happened as we sat down on my bed next to Joshua. Mingyu leaned back against the wall, with me in his lap, as other people were placed around the room in different spots.
It was kind of quiet, maybe because we're guys, and not girls, because they always have something to talk about.
Jeonghan stood up from his place on the floor and interrupted the silence. "We should get to know each other better," he said, temporarily meeting eyes with Joshua. "I'd like to know more about all of you."
"You know everything about me," Seungcheol threw in.
I scoffed. "I don't know much about you, but I can already tell you're pretty stuck up."
Joshua giggled, and so did I, but Mingyu wrapped his arms around my waist as I leaned back against his chest. I couldn't tell if he was telling me to stop or just being protective.
Seungcheol's face turned up in a grimace. "I don't know much about you, but you seem to be desperate."
"How come?" I spat. Mingyu tapped my thigh, shifting a bit.
"Didn't you just move here?" Seungcheol noticed. "And you're already with Mingyu?"
The boy that was mentioned stiffened up under me, "Watch it-"
"Hey."
Everyone's heads snapped up, landing on the small boy with bright red hair. Soonyong stood up from his place on the floor and rolled his eyes. He slapped Seungcheol in the back of his head as he would to anyone else, then walked over to the bed and sat down.
"We aren't here to argue," he said. "Seungcheol, calm the fuck down, this is why you have a bad respiration along with the rest of them. Wonwoo, you shouldn't have gone at him like that. And Mingyu, stay out of it."
Seungcheol scoffed and looked down at the carpeted floor, where Jeonghan had been sitting. I sighed and played with Mingyu's fingers.
"You made me sound like one of the encouragers in a musical," Soonyoung groaned, leaning his head on Joshua's shoulder. "I like Jeonghan's idea because I don't know shit about any of you except for Shua and Seungkwan. Can you please be mature?"
I nodded, but Seungcheol refused to respond.
Jeonghan pursed his lips and sat back down, lacing his hand with Seungcheol's. "Well, I'm Jeonghan," he said, "and I take chorus, it's my favorite class. I'm signed with a record deal that I'm supposed to go into when we all graduate."
"Me, too," a voice said from across the room. It was Seungkwan, head in Hansol's lap. "I got signed with one last year after getting caught on camera singing in the gym. It got posted on YouTube, and someone contacted my mom."
Jeonghan's eyes lit up. "That was you in that video?"
Seungkwan nodded. "Seokmin is signed with the same one that I am, he has to go every Saturday and do vocal lessons."
"That's so cool," Joshua's voice rang out. "I took chorus last year, and I sing in the church choir." He shrugged, then sighed a bit. "Or used to. I'm assuming my parents aren't gonna make me go anymore."
Back across the room, Hansol cleared his throat. "I'm Hansol," he mumbled, "and I'm... a football player?"
Seungkwan gasped, his head shooting up and almost hitting Hansol's chin. "I wanted to be a cheerleader!" he complained. "But I-"
"He got rejected," Soonyoung giggled.
"I did not!" The boy furrowed his eyebrows, making everyone smile a little. "I mean... I did, but it was because I messed up on the very last move. And it was a minor mess up, it's so unfair. I was supposed to do a cartwheel, but I did a roundoff. And fell."
Joshua scoffed. "I've heard that story more than enough."
Seungkwan whined and leaned his head back into Hansol's lap, like they had been dating for years. His cheeks were slightly flushed, and Hansol had a small smile on his face, but they looked completely comfortable.
"Well," Seungcheol started, "since Seungkwan has already explained himself without it being his turn, I guess I'll go." He took a small breath, contemplating on what to tell us. "I'm Seungcheol, and I love my boyfriend Jeonghan."
A faint blush appeared on Jeonghan's cheeks, but he rolled his eyes nonetheless.
"You're really that bitch," Mingyu scoffed. I tried to contain my laughter, my hand going over my mouth. "You're so whipped, and the only thing you think about is your boyfriend."
I furrowed my eyebrows, turning to face Mingyu. Our eyes met, and he cocked his head to the side.
"Yes?"
"Am I not the only thing you think about?" I asked him.
The look on his face softened, his hands finding mine. "Of course, you are, but you know what I meant," he said.
"What did you mean?"
He shook his head. "Seungcheol is constantly on about Jeonghan, no time for anyone else, he has an obsession," he whispered to me as the other continued to talk. "I think about you most of the time. But I have time for other things, too, like school, my mom, my physical education training."
"Okay,", something else taking over my mind. "Do you think he'll make Joshua an outcast if they make anything official?"
Mingyu raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
"If they make a little triangle," I told him, "do you think he'll ignore Joshua even though he's a part of it?"
His face faltered for a minute, like he really didn't know how to answer. "Maybe," he said after a while. "Probably for a few weeks, but I'm sure he'll warm up to him. Joshua seems like a nice and caring boy, Seungcheol doesn't stand a chance at trying not to get whipped for both him and Jeonghan."
I nodded. "I don't wanna see Joshua hurt, he's too kind for that."
"He won't get hurt," Mingyu reassured, a slight smile on his face. "If he does, I'll kill Seungcheol, okay?"
Smiling, I turned back around to see Soonyoung running a hand through his hair.
"My name is Soonyoung, and I'm bored. I wanna play truth or dare now."
A look of sadness spread across Jeonghan's face. "I was having fun."
Soonyoung sighed. "Okay, I feel bad because you're nice," he complained, "so you can go first."
"Okay," Jeonghan mumbled, sitting up on his knees. "Joshua."
The mentioned boy looked up from his fiddling hands, momentarily glancing at Soonyoung. He met eyes with Jeonghan, a blush spreading across his face. "Yes?"
"Truth or dare?"
"D- Dare?"
"I dare you to kiss me."
The whole room went silent, even some people's breathing. I covered my mouth with my hand, leaning back against Mingyu to look at Joshua and marvel in the moment. Joshua's face had already begun turning red, gradually advancing as he sat there and looked at Jeonghan's thin lips.
"W- What?"
"You heard me," Jeonghan mumbled. "I said, 'Kiss me.'"
Seungcheol's face almost matched Joshua's, either feeling jealousy or anger. He seemed to be let down that Jeonghan had chosen Joshua over him.
As everyone continued to silently stare at the two boys, Joshua slowly got off of the bed and sat on his knees in front of Jeonghan. Jeonghan's eyes seemed to be laced with want and wait, like he had wanted to kiss Joshua since he began high school.
Joshua let out a shaky breath before slowly leaning towards Jeonghan to capture his lips, everyone watching. You could visibly watch Joshua's ears turn red as Jeonghan kissed him back, Jeonghan almost matching his shade.
After a few laced kisses, Joshua pulled away, and, in the silence, whispered, "T- That was my first."
My jaw dropped, Joshua making me wonder how someone so pretty had not been kissed yet. He played with the sleeves of his white sweater, until Jeonghan reached out to touch his hand and freeze his movements. Jeonghan's hair seemed to be newly dyed a red auburn color, one that suited him and shined in the fairy lights, making Joshua blush at the beauty.
"Was it good for your first?" Jeonghan asked gently, his fingers going to lace with Joshua's.
The boy nodded, allowing Jeonghan's fingers to take his, and you could tell Seungcheol loved it and hated it at the same time.
My emotions had already gone everywhere, eyes sparkling as I watched the scene in front of me. In all honesty, I wanted to clap. Soonyoung and Seungkwan were the same, Mingyu just having a small smile on his face at my reaction.
"Okay...," Seungcheol mumbled, "your turn, Joshua."
The boy blushed and moved from his spot on the floor back to the bed, making me want to hit Seungcheol. Jeonghan looked sad that he had let go of Joshua's hand.
"Soonyoung-"
"Dare."
Joshua furrowed his eyebrows, he was being a lot more vulnerable than I had ever seen him. Normally, he's loud like Seungkwan.
"Um." The boy silently fiddled his hands, looking at the bed. "Go downstairs and start a random conversation with Wonwoo's dad."
My eyes widened, and Soonyoung looked at me. I laughed nervously, shifting in Mingyu's lap.
"My dad's really strict," I told them, causing Mingyu to scoff under his breath. "Be careful."
Soonyoung nodded and got up from the bed, leaving the room for us to all just sit in silence. He closed the door behind him, and, if I'm being honest, I was scared for him.
After what felt like years, considering the suffocating situation, Soonyoung came back into the room, even locking the door.
I chuckled, watching him sit on the bed. "How did it go?"
"Awful," he said, leaning against the wall. "Your dad is quiet and awkward."
Joshua smiled. "What did you two talk about?"
"We talked about Mingyu."
I looked behind me to find Mingyu with a scared expression that he was trying to cover up with a sarcastic one. He raised an eyebrow, his hand going for mine.
"What about me?"
"Well," Soonyoung started, "I'm not a very awkward person, so I straight up told him that I had to talk to him as a dare. He said that we might as well find a topic since we had to talk. So, he brings up 'Wonwoo's boyfriend,' asking me if I knew anything about you."
Mingyu scoffed. "And?"
"I told him you're a fuck boy."
The boy's eyes went wide, almost looking like he was ready to hit Soonyoung by now. I rubbed my thumb over the back of his hand, feeling him tense up.
"Why the fuck would you do that?" he asked, his voice rising.
Soonyoung shrugged. "He wanted the truth."
"That isn't the fucking truth-"
"Calm down," Soonyoung beamed, a slight smile on his face. "I'm kidding."
Mingyu's expression hardened, and I felt like he was only keeping his composure because he was in my house.
"What did you actually tell him?" I asked, Mingyu's hand squeezing at mine again.
"I told him that Mingyu should be trusted," he said. "That he's a nice guy. He might mess up every now and then like everyone else, but he's the type of person that deserves a second chance."
I smiled, nodding. "Thank you."
Soonyoung nodded back, turning to the other boys. Mingyu tapped at my leg, making me turn to him.
"Yes?"
He sighed, whispering, "I'm so close to killing your little gummy bear of a friend."
"Don't kill him," I mumbled back, smiling. "That's just his sense of humor."
"Why am I being forced to be his friend?"
I shrugged. "Because he's my friend. So he's yours, too, now."
Mingyu rolled his eyes, knowing I was gonna win no matter what he said. When we both looked back at the others, Soonyoung was almost yelling at Seungcheol.
"I'm not doing that," the taller was saying.
Soonyong scoffed. "I dared you, now take the dare."
The boy shook his head, and that's when I noticed Joshua's cheeks blushing severely as they had been before.
"I told you I'm not doing it!"
"I fucking dared you to kiss Joshua, now kiss him!" That made my jaw drop. "I'm trying to make you get used to him."
Seungcheol sighed, obviously feeling the same emotion toward Soonyoung that Mingyu felt.
"You all are gonna have to realize that I don't lose," Soonyoung argued.
The other stood up, walking over to the bed where Joshua sat with his head hanging. He brought his forefinger and his thumb to Joshua's chin, making their eyes meet. Before Joshua could really say anything, Seungcheol pressed their lips together for the rest to watch.
If possible, you could watch the younger's face redden even more as he kissed back. Seungcheol added a few tongue slips into the kiss, then left Joshua to comprehend what had happened. He sat back down in his place, everyone kind of in shock except for Soonyoung, who had a smirk rising up.
"There you go," Seungcheol spat. His cheeks were a light pink, his breathing a bit heavy. You could tell that the kiss had affected him in some way, like he wanted it to happen again.
Jeonghan smiled. "I like what we have going on here."
"I- I think we should end it for tonight," I mumbled, my adrenaline going enough for both Joshua and myself. I was happy for him, he deserved the attention he was getting. "You can all find somewhere to sleep in here, or I'm sure my dad will go up to his room if I talk to him. I'll... I'll go get you all some blankets."
I stood up from my spot on Mingyu's lap, losing his warmth. But, it didn't matter to me because I knew he'd be the one to sleep in my bed with me while the others slept somewhere else.

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this chapter was literally jihancheol.
hey, author, this is a meanie book.