Haechan takes in Marks cute face, slightly messy hair, and sage green t-shirt with a sunflower on it. It amazes him how adorable his boyfriend looks right now. "You look so cute right now, what the hell."
Mark laughs. "What am I doing?"
"Existing. But also, you look really tiny right now and I wanna put you in my pocket." Haechan wraps his arms around Mark. "I'll just do this instead."
"Wait, how do I look tiny right now? You've never said this before."
"It's your t-shirt."
"What?"
"Your t-shirt makes you look tiny. And the flower on the front makes you look even cuter. I'm gonna give you kisses."
Mark doesn't bother responding (not that he'd have time to before Haechan attacks his face with kisses, making him giggle. The two stay in their position, having a quiet conversation, cuddling, and exchanging kisses until they hear the front door slam.
"We're home!" Jaemin calls.
"We brought dessert!"
At once, Mark and Haechan are on their feet and rush to see what dessert there is.
Haechan looks at the box of cookies and doesn't hesitate to open it. "This is why you're called Cookie."
"It's not just me who reacts like this, candy monster."
Minjae chuckles at the two and grabs a cookie while Reese and Affinity grab two each.
"Okay!" Jeno says, holding up the box. "The cookies aren't going anywhere but they will if you eat them all now."
"We can just eat the other dessert then", Affinity says.
"Dinner first", Jaemin reminds the girl.
"What are we having?"
"Do any of you oppose mac and cheese? No, actually, will any of you eat it?" The three nod. Jaemin opens the freezer and takes out a bag of frozen vegetables. "Will you eat these?"
"If you can make sure they don't taste it, they'll eat any vegetable", Minjae says. "I'm fine."
"Older kids don't really have a choice", Reese says. "We have to be good examples. I mean some stuff we can get away without eating but we always get looks if we loudly deny food around the younger kids."
"Are you gonna make us eat food no matter what?" Affinity asks.
"Do you mean like even if you don't like it or you're not hungry?" Mark questions and the girl nods.
"What the hell?" Jeno says. "No. That's just pointless."
"But sometimes I won't be hungry and then I'll want something at night."
"Okay?"
Reese sighs, pulling the girl into his arms. "She's used to the rules a foster family had for her. They were mean."
"Affinity, come here", Jeno says, gesturing for her to sit down. Once seated, Jeno squats down in front of her. "We are so sorry you had a foster family that was mean. You don't deserve that. It might be difficult but please try to forget everything they told you. We have different rules. We are never going to force any of you to eat food you don't like. We, also, are not going to make you eat when you're not hungry. We want you to eat when you are ready to eat. It's okay if it's not at the same time as everyone else. Also, you're a kid. You're allowed to talk and disagree. We're not going to try to silence you. Obviously, speak at appropriate volumes but you're allowed to say whatever you want. Remember, appropriate language."
Affinity falls into Jenos arms, hugging him tight. Reese joins next and then the rest until they're all in a group hug.
"Thank you", Affinity mumbles into Jenos shoulder.
Jeno pulls back and looks into the girls eyes and then Reeses and Minjaes. "You shouldn't ever thank anyone for treating you right. It's what they're supposed to do. Especially us, as people who look after you three. It's the bare minimum to treat you well."
"I wanna say thank you anyways", Reese mumbles.
"Same", Minjae says. "But I say thank you for everything."
"Do you say sorry a lot too?" Jaemin asks, looking at the girl who nods. "I'm like that too sometimes but I was way worse before."
"Really?"
"Yeah, but people are also assholes", Haechan says.
"Here, how about Jaemin starts dinner and we can go over any your guys' concerns?"
"Okay."
Mark places a kiss on Jaemins forehead before going into the living room, inspiring Jeno and Haechan to do the same which makes the male blush.
"I love you."
"I love you too!" Mark shouts from the living room, causing the three males to laugh.
➳
"Ana!"
Ana looks up to see a grinning Alyssa. "Oh, hey, Alyssa."
Alyssa sits down across from her. "I am so glad I found you. I get really bored and don't have company half the time but now that I have you, I will nicely bother you."
"You're not bothering me."
"Even better. Oh, you work at a restaurant, right?"
"Yeah."
"How do you get there?"
"Before I used to take the bus and walk but ever since Doyoung took me in me in, he's barely let me do anything without his help. Which is kinda nice and really funny but he literally feels like a helicopter parent. I also think it's funny I finally know what that means."
"Finally?" Alyssa questions and then her eyes widen. "Oh."
Ana chuckles. "It's fine, don't worry about it. I don't really care."
"You sure?"
"I've been on my own for a while. You get used to it." Alyssa frowns. Like Haechan did.
"Are you okay?" Ana asks at the girls expression.
"I'm okay but my brother-Haechan-wasn't. He's been through so much shit because of my mom, and me and Kade weren't very sympathetic at first either."
"I don't know but from my observation, he doesn't care. Personally, I've never seen someone so happy to see their sibling."
"I feel even worse now", Alyssa says with a laugh.
"Well, does Haechan seem upset at you?"
"He should be."
"Don't think like that. Just think that now you can make up for whatever you did. He probably already forgave you but if you feel bad, just make sure you're nice to him from now on."
"You're right. Thanks."
"You're welcome. I hope that was helpful."
"It was. Back to what I was gonna ask, do you want a ride to work? I don't mind taking you and I love company."
"You sure?"
"Don't make me drag you into my car."
"Is that question commonly asked in your...family friend group thing? I'm calling you guys family, it's close enough."
"Who else said that to you?"
"Doyoung."
"Is he really that pushy?"
"Yep. And if it's no problem, then sure. I'll pay you gas."
"You don't have to."
"Alyssa, I am going to give you gas money."
Alyssa laughs. "Alright then. Should I tell Doyoung that?"
"I can do it."
"Wait, I wanna tell him a specific way."
Doyoung
Alyssa
I am stealing your "daughter"
Doyoung
Excuse me?
Alyssa
You're excused
Doyoung
🙄
That's not what I meant
Alyssa
Then why'd you ask to be excused?
Doyoung, Taeyong, Yuta, Al...
Taeyong
Who's making Doyoungs blood
pressure go up?
Ana looks up at Alyssa. "Is that you?"
"I'm just talking."
"Doyoung doesn't see it that way", Ana says, reading the texts in the groupchat.
"Dammit", Alyssa says. "Haechan told me to be nice to him. Next time, I need to annoy Taeyong."
"Why him?"
"I have my reasons."
"Damn, don't tell me then", Ana jokes. "It's fine though. It's none of my business."
"Someone will probably tell you. I just feel like I shouldn't."
"That's fine. It's really none of my business anyways. But I won't stop anyone from telling me."
➳
"Wait, where will you be?" Minjae asks Jaemin.
"Oh, Renjun wanted me to do something", Jaemin says, a blush creeping up his face.
"What's that something?" Jeno asks.
"You'll see afterwards."
"Is it a photoshoot again?" Haechan asks.
"Something like that."
"You did a photoshoot with Renjun?" Minjae asks.
"Can we see the pictures?" Reese asks.
"Please!"
Clothing anxiety hits Jaemin all over again as he'd completely forgotten that there's more people in his life he'd have to tell. It's not that he doesn't want to, he's just afraid of how people will see him. Taking deep breaths, Jaemin searches for the pictures on his phone. He takes the deepest breath right before he hands Minjae the phone and watches the younger two squish the girl to look over her shoulders.
Affinity gasps and to Jaemins relief, smiles. "You look so pretty!"
"Your makeup looks so nice", Reese comments.
"You have really good style", Minjae tells him.
"You don't think it's weird?"
"I know some people do but I don't. You look amazing and clothes are clothes."
"Come here so I can hug you."
As the three hug, Haechan takes out his phone and snaps a picture.
"Did we mention that we take pictures a lot?"
➳
"Oh, hi, Yuta", Haechan greets the male.
Yuta smiles. "Hi, Haechan, how are you?"
"I'm pretty good. You?"
"Same."
"You two...", Haechan looks from one to the other, "wanted to talk...about Taeyong."
Yuta nods and leads the brunet over to the couch. "We don't have to start the conversation right away."
"Coffee?" Doyoung asks from the kitchen.
Yuta looks at Haechan who nods and answers, "Yes from both of us."
"We can talk about Taeyong whenever, I'm prepared for it but I just wanna ask, is he okay?"
"Yes and no", Doyoung says. "That's why we wanna talk about him."
➳
"Will you three be okay?" Jeno asks.
Nina smiles. "Yes, Jeno, we will be fine. I promise we won't make a mess, burn down the house, and do anything we're not supposed to."
"I trust you." Jeno looks at his own kids. "No hiding from Nina."
"Hey, it was all Affinity!"
Affinity glares at the older boy. "I want to smack you."
Reese shrugs. "Okay." He then looks at Nina and Jeno. "She won't actually do it."
"Oh, yeah", Nina says. "We were taught that when we're facing any kind of negative emotion, to put those feelings into words before acting on them. Talking it out gives some of us more control so like, if we say we wanna smack someone, we probably won't do it."
"They also said something about the other persons reactions and how sometimes you can see the consequence before you carry out the action. But it only works if you believe what the person is saying."
"That sounds...good? Anyways, as long as no one is harmed in any way, shape, or form, you all should be good. I gotta go. Nina, Princess will probably be back first. Maybe. One of us will bring food but in the meantime, eat anything that doesn't have a sticky note on it. Reese and Affinity have their own snacks. The extra house key is in the top drawer by the fridge, along with money to spend as you please. If you need anything, of course, you can call us. Depending on how quickly you need an answer, texting in the groupchat might be better."
"I feel like you think of me and Affinity as tiny."
"No, they just think you're too immature to watch me on your own", Affinity teases.
"Reese, Nina is here to help you out. Also, so you can relax. You always look out for Affinity, which all of us appreciate you doing but you can share the "workload". Okay?"
The boy nods.
Jeno gives the three quick hugs before finally leaving the house.
"So what do you guys wanna do?" Nina asks.
"How much money did Jeno give you?"
Nina chuckles and goes to check the drawer where Jeno told her the money and house key is. She quickly counts it. "Fifty-one."
"Instead of just fifty?"
"Oh, it's probably because fifty-one is divisible by three and fifty isn't, so if we were to split it up, we could each have seventeen."
"Are you happy that we're finally even?" Reese asks the youngest.
"It doesn't matter", Affinity says, resting her head on Reeses shoulder. "You always share with me so we're always even."
"It would be a crime not to take a picture of this. Can I?"
Reese chuckles. "Sure. We already know about the picture rule."
"Okay, good."
➳
"He's hurting that much?" Haechan mumbles, trying to manage his emotions.
"No one is expecting anything of you."
Haechan looks up at Doyoung and nods. "I know. I just...", the brunet sighs, "I'm still so hurt and angry at him but I don't like that he feels the way I do. And the fact that it's him...I never want anyone to feel anything I've ever felt but that feeling gets so much stronger when I know them...when I love them, or loved them. And I didn't know he'd regret losing me so much. He left so easily."
"He hates himself for that. He said it's the stupidest thing he ever did."
"What the hell does he even regret it for? He doesn't know me now. Like I don't know him."
"Well", Doyoung starts gently, "he's still around you and sees you from time to time. He sees what he's missing."
"And what am I missing?"
"What?"
"I only know Taeyong as one person. An asshole. What is everyone else seeing that I've never seen? 'Cause the last time Taeyong was nice to me, it turned out to be a fucking lie."
Yuta and Doyoung share a look. "We'll tell you, and we don't expect your opinion to change."
"It probably won't but I wanna know."
Yuta nods. "Okay."
➳
"Renjun?" Alyssa calls to the front of the studio. Getting no answer, she walks into the back and finds Lena looking through her bag. That would be fine if not for the lack of clothing she has on. "OH FUCK! I'm sorry!" Alyssa turns around and hides in the wall.
She hears Lena laugh. "It's fine. I take it Renjun didn't tell you about this."
"He did not", Alyssa says, annoyance seeping into her voice. "If he did, I wouldn't have just walked in. I'm sorry, again."
"Alyssa, really, it's fine. You can even look at me. One, I don't care. Renjun was literally taking pictures of me and two, we're both girls. It's not weird."
"Right." Alyssa slowly turns around and looks at Lena, face instantly heating, causing Lena to laugh.
"You look cute when you blush."
Oh God
Alyssas blush deepens. "Thank you. You look...good. Not like that! Just like, in general. Fuck."
"Are you usually this nervous?"
When a pretty, half-naked girl is in front of me, yes
"Only sometimes."
"Lena, is someone here?" Renjun calls.
"It's just Alyssa!"
Alyssa hears a male cuss that's definitely not Renjun. "Is someone else here?"
"Just Jaemin."
"Oh." The realization hits the girl. "Is he taking pictures too?"
"Yep."
"Not anymore", Jaemin says with a nervous laugh, completely swallowed up in a fluffy, pink robe that matches the color of his face.
Alyssa looks at Renjun and glares. "You didn't tell me you were busy!"
"I forgot!"
"Well", Lena says slowly. "If we exchange numbers, I could remind you." At the attention on her, she lets out an awkward laugh. "It's my job to know anyways."
"That works", Renjun says. "I'm sure Alyssa won't mind."
If looks could kill, Renjun would be dead. When she looks at Lena, she smiles. "That's completely fine with me. I'm sure I'd ask for it anyways."
Lena gives her a look but doesn't comment on it as she does something on her phone and then hands it to Alyssa, who then gets the hint to give Lena her phone.
"Are you gonna play matchmaker?" Jaemin asks Renjun quietly.
The ravenette shrugs. "They may not even need me to."
"Okay, I'm gonna go", Jaemin says after a minute. "It was nice to see you, Alyssa, and it was nice to meet you, Lena."
"Oh, can do you me a favor?"
"Hm?"
"Tell Haechan that good big brothers bring their sisters donuts when they're in school. And that Ana will be with me from now on so I'll share."
"Ana?"
"Oh, I should bring her here. She's almost my age and she's been unofficially adopted by their friends, specifically this guy, Doyoung. She's really nice. I finally have company. Well, more permanent company."
"Oh, that's nice. So, are you just obsessed with donuts?"
"Well, yes, but also, Haechan works at a donut shop."
"I can go get some", Jaemin volunteers.
"You'll be my favorite of Haechans boyfriends if you do."
"I'd get them anyways. I'll be back. Oh, does anyone want coffee?"
"Me!"
Alyssa🥀, Nina, Kaley, And...
Haeun
My friend told me to tell you that if
any of you plan on adopting or
fostering, pick the girl named Alya
Affinity
Tell her I say hi
Reese says hi too
Reese
Yeah sure
Kaley
That wasn't very convincing bud
Affinity
He does not like that nickname and it's
hilarious
Nina🌷
It really is, no offense Reese
Haeun
Haeun is letting me text on her phone
Hi Affinity
Hi bud🤣
Reese
No one adopt or foster her
Haeun
Rude
Zoe
ARCHER
Archer
WHAT?
Hold up
Okay got it
Sure
Haeun
????
Zoe
I'll adopt you
Haeun
Wait fr?
Zoe
Yep
I've always wanted to adopt and this
kinda seems like a sign
And I'm assuming you want one of us
to do it so you'll see Haeun often
Haeun
Yes...
Ignore anything I said above, I'm
really nice and get along with
others really well. I'm also known
to be helpful. I can't cook but I can
learn and I'm a joy to be around. I
have witnesses
Reese
Pay attention to everything she said
above. You need to know the real
her
Haeun
See, look at me and Reese bonding
Reese
You call this bonding?
Haeun
He's so funny
Archer
I already love you
Zoe
I am 100% adopting you
Haeun
Alya was just like "oh thank God"
and threw herself onto my bed
That took a good amount of her energy
Reese
Of course it did
Haeun
"You just wait until I see you again"
Reese
Threatening innocent people? How
dare you
Affinity, Reese, Jeno, Jaemin...
Reese
Just wanted to remind you that as
my family, you all have an obligation
to protect me
Minjae
Did you do something?
Reese
Why ever would you think that?
Minjae
Oh, Nina just told me
Mark
She told us too
Wait is Alya the girl you two were
hiding from when we met you?
Affinity
Yep
Reese pretends like he's not scared of
her but he actually is
I don't blame him though
Minjae
No wonder you two think she's scary
Reese
Is that an insult?
Minjae
I'm just saying
Don't worry, they'll be fine
"Are you okay?" Minjae asks Mark, who's staring at his phone.
"Uh, yeah, I'm fine. Can I ask you a question though?" The girl nods. "How long would you say it takes for someone to adjust to adjust to their adopted family?"
"You're talking about Reese calling us his family, aren't you?"
"Am I that obvious?"
Minjae shrugs. "Maybe. That's just what I feel like it is. To answer your question, it depends. There are kids who remember their parents and wouldn't dare think of anyone else besides their parents and siblings as their family. There are others that just accept it. Reese has been at the orphanage since he was ten and for all the time I've known of him, there's only been two people he seems to consider as his family, Affinity and his other best friend, Ellie. I've heard some kids talking and basically, since Reese and Affinity have become friends, they've been inseparable so it's hard to just adopt or foster one of them. To my knowledge, you and your boyfriends are the only parents, like excluding Miss Marsha and Miss Dana, that he's had and when he found out he was getting adopted, he asked if he was getting a home. I think he's one of the ones who just wants a family and doesn't really care."
Mark nods. "And what type of person are you?"
"This might sound weird but I didn't really think too much about getting adopted. I'm used to being fostered and being in the orphanage. I really do appreciate that you all adopted me. I'm so thankful, it just wasn't expected. It's gonna take me a while but eventually, I will start to think of you all as my family if that's okay."
Mark wraps the girl in a hug. "That's more than okay."
"What did we miss?" Ana asks.
"We brought snacks", Sungchan says. "We found Oreos."
"Yes!" Minjae smiles at Sungchan, looking adorable. "Thank you!"
➳
"Does she normally fall asleep during movies?" Nina whispers, referring to the girl sleeping on Reeses shoulder.
"It's because her hair is getting stroked and she's being kind of held. Also, you can talk normally, she's a heavy sleeper."
"You sure I won't disturb her?"
"I'm sure. She only wakes up if she's being tickled, looses warmth-meaning I cannot move, or you tell her there's food."
"Understandable. Especially the food one."
Reese nods. "Can you tell me about the friend group? There's so many people."
Nina laughs. "Yeah, there is. You might've picked it up already but our parents are best friends, specifically Chenle when Mark and Jeno and Jisung with Jaemin and Haechan. It was actually Chenle and Jisungs idea to get your parents together. They set them up on a blind date and whole rollercoaster later, they're in love and have three kids."
"That is not how I imagined them getting together. But I also didn't really think of much. How long have you been with your parents?"
"Not that long, actually. I didn't know I'd get adopted but I'm really happy I did. Lele and Jisung are wonderful parents and your parents are wonderful too."
"They seem nice. I like them. Especially for Affinity." Reese looks at the sleeping girl. "She deserves the best and I wanna make sure she has it."
"It's sweet how much you care for her. How did you two become friends?"
Reese chuckles. "I literally ran into her. Actually, the day I got to the orphanage. My birth parents are toxic and it was so obvious that the neighbor called child protective services on them. My dad was yelling at the neighbor and at me and I was so scared that when I got out of the car, I ran into the orphanage and straight into her. Kids started talking to me because I was new but it was always Affinity who came to me first and over time, she just became my best friend. And a sister and my favorite person. She's everything."
"I'm sorry about your parents. No one deserves toxic ones. I know how damaging they are."
A moment of understanding passes between them before Reese speaks up again. "Tell me about you. And then we can get back to the friends."
"Oh, sorry", Nina says through a laugh. "I can tell you about the friends first if you want."
"It's fine. Right now, I wanna get to know you."
➳
"Hi?" Winwin rolls his eyes and pushes his way into the apartment. "Come in then."
"Where you gonna make me stand in the doorway?"
"No, but you could've waited for me to let you in."
"Why are you pretending to care?"
Shotaro rolls his eyes and gestures to the couch. "Sit."
"I'm not a dog."
"You don't want me to respond to that."
"I don't." The two sit down, unintentionally ending up next to each other. Winwin looks around the messy apartment and at the large bowl of popcorn in his friends lap. "You look like Xiaojun."
"Awesome, he's hot."
"Why exactly are you doing what he does? Or what he did before he got back together with Kun?"
"Because I can."
"So is that what you do while you avoid us?"
Shotaro turns away and places a popcorn into his mouth. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
"You do. What's going on?" Theories rush through Winwins head until he decides to ask, "Are you and Sungchan dating?"
Shotaro chokes and ends up in a coughing fit. He grabs the coke in front of him and downs half of it before turning to Winwin wide eyes. "What? Where the hell did you get that idea from?"
"Your reaction didn't help you but it's because you've been avoiding everyone besides Sungchan and Hendery and Sungchan is becoming distant with me and Renjun and we're like the most affectionate with him."
"Well, we're not. Also, I literally wouldn't give a fuck if we were dating."
"Okay, then what's going on? You first."
"What?"
"Why are you avoiding us? I know you're not mad 'cause you haven't said anything to hint you're upset and nothing happened so we're all confused."
The male sighs. "I don't want talk about it. It just felt better for me to distance myself because of my stupid feelings. No, they're not romantic. I barely have that emotion."
"I take it you're not gonna tell me what kinda feelings they are."
"You are correct. Now, let me ask you something."
"Hm?"
"Sungchan?"
Winwin gives Shotaro a weird look at his suggestive expression. "What about him?"
"Oh, maybe it's nothing."
"Taro."
"That doesn't work on me."
"It works when Xiaojun says it."
Winwin smirks at the males glare, causing him to roll his eyes. "Fine. You seemed really concerned when asking."
"I don't get it."
Shotaro sighs. "What would you do if I said yes? Me and Sungie are dating."
"Ask why neither of you said anything and congratulate you. Why? What do you think I'd do?"
"Doesn't matter. I'm reaching anyways."
"You're really strange, you know that?"
Shotaro looks over at Winwin. "You're supposed to love me anyways."
"I do."
The male chuckles. "Okay."
Winwin narrows his eyes. "What does that mean?"
"Nothing. Just ignore it."
"Do you think I don't love you?"
"I didn't say that. I literally said 'okay'."
"Yeah, but it was the kind of 'okay' you say when you don't believe it at all. Why do you think I don't love you?"
"I don't think that, okay?"
"So it's something else."
"I thought I said I didn't wanna talk about it."
"Taro, please. I know you're the most comfortable with Hendery and that you've been hanging around Mark but I'm still one of your best friends who cares about you. Talk to me."
"I can't say it to you!"
Winwin blinks. "What?"
Shotaro groans. "You won't understand me. It would probably be very difficult for you to. It's not to insult you, I just straight up telling you that it's the hardest to explain to you."
"Try."
"Winwin, no."
The ravenette sighs. "Fine. Tell whoever you need to but please tell someone. You keep so much to yourself." For the first time in a long time, Winwin sees his friend look vulnerable. He brings the male into his arms. When Shotaro snuggles against him, he kisses his forehead. "I love you. And you'll always have me, okay?"
"Okay. I love you too."
➳
"This looks fun", Johnny comments, looking around the climbing park.
Jaehyun grins. "I'm glad you think so."
Johnny playfully rolls his eyes, doing his best to ignore the tiny part of him telling he shouldn't get too comfortable.
"So how'd you think of this?" Johnny asks instead. "Doesn't seem very romantic."
"You don't know what else I have up my sleeve. For example, our next activity might be skinny-dipping in a lake."
"Your next activity might be skinny-dipping in a lake. I would leave."
"Makes sense. It's not that bad though."
"What?"
"Oh, look at that, it's time for us to climb."
Johnny blinks, mouth agape. It's only when he realizes he's lagging behind that he snaps out of it and begins to climb. He gets a glance of Jaehyun and sees him grinning, which makes him roll his eyes.
"Wait a minute!"
T
T
I know Doyoung and Yuta talked to you
and I know what they said about me. I
don't think it did much to how you
feel about me, which I understand but
if you're comfortable with it, can we
please meet up and talk?
Haechan
Where?
"Hi", Taeyong greets nervously.
"Hi."
"How are you?"
Haechan crosses his arms over his chest and lets out a sigh. "I'm good. You?"
Taeyong starts to nod and then stops. "I'm remorseful and I'm sad to be honest. I'm also angry. With myself."
"About what happened?" The male nods. Not knowing what to say, Haechan moves on. "Any reason why you want to talk?"
"To apologize again and just to explain how much I regret my actions. You're probably not gonna believe but I miss you and when you're planning a wedding, you think about your loved ones, and those are more than just the people you plan on marrying."
Haechan raises an eyebrow. "Am I a loved one now?"
Tears prick at the corner of Taeyongs eyes, the brunets hostility reminding him of his difficult this might be. "I know I showed you the exact opposite and that you think I did it so easily and that I stopped caring and moved on but you're the best friend I've ever had and I love you-" He's cut off by Haechan scoffing.
"You don't treat someone you love the way you treated me."
Taeyong nods. "I know. Like I said, I showed the opposite but I loved you and I've never replaced you. Those guys I ditched you for...I've never considered them my best friends. There's only one person I think of when I think of that term." The male shakes his head. "I don't mean to make it sound like this. Telling you what's going on in my mind probably won't make me sound any less different but I want you to know what I think of you."
"Go ahead."
"I hate myself. I'm sure you've heard this already but I just you to know how much I hate the me that pushed you away. You were the most important person in my life and I should've done more to show you that. I hate that I hurt you and that I played with your feelings and that I became someone you didn't wanna be around. I hate that I wanted to seem cool and that I let it get in the way of our friendship. And that argument...I don't know why I even argued with you. You were right. I was in completely in the wrong and out of line. I became so jealous when I realized you became friends with Jisung and then Jaemin. They have what I'm missing. I didn't even realize how much I'd missed you until I had to spend all the important things without you and I always worried, especially when I remembered exactly how much I'd betrayed you. I wasn't sure if the promise I made you make to me mattered but I really hoped Jisung made you promise the same thing.
"I miss your affection and I miss spending time with you and laughing with you and just having you in my life. And I'm well aware of how much I don't deserve you and if irritates me so much 'cause if I didn't fuck up, we wouldn't be here right now and I wouldn't be worrying about finding a best man 'cause it would be you. I still want it to be you. And I'm selfish 'cause I want you to share the special things in my life with me for me. I hate that you'd come to our wedding, not just to be nice but because you're friends with Doyoung and he'd want you there. It's like a punishment, being around you, getting constantly reminded of what I missed out on 'cause of what I did. I'm just so goddamn sorry and I want you to know that I know what I lost and really wish I could take it back but I want you to be happy. You are, right?"
Haechan nods. "I am. And by the way, Jisung did make me promise the same thing. And Jaemin. It's their promises I keep in my head but I still remember yours. When I think about it, I get angry and hurt. Especially because I cared enough to listen."
Taeyongs eyes widen. "What?"
"Everytime I was at my worst, I'd remind myself that I made a promise and even though I was so upset with you, I kept the promise because you were important to me and I loved you." Haechan looks away. "It's so irritating having a part of me that wants my friend back. If I did let you back in, that's all you get to be, a friend. I'm so scared of getting hurt again and blaming myself for not being good enough to love. I'm also so annoyed that this is so hard and that I feel like I'm being split in two from how I feel. I can't tell if I'm being pathetic or reasonable."
"I understand. I get it if I've permanently lost a place in your life. And you're not pathetic at all. And you're more than good enough. Don't let idiots like me make you think otherwise."
God, you're an idiot, Haechan thinks right before he says, "Fine."
"W-what?"
"I don't trust you and since I'm expecting the worst, you really shouldn't be able to disappoint me. We can try becoming friends again and if you mess up, I'm not even going to think twice before blocking you and staying the hell away from you. I'm better than I was before but losing someone important to me and the only person who actually made me feel like I was cared for did shit to my mental health. Which I'm not blaming you for, I'd have poor mental health anyways but I didn't need that."
"Thank you. I know it's an empty promise but I'm really not going to mess up again. I'm also scared of your sister."
"You're scared of Alyssa?"
Taeyong searches for something on his phone and shows Haechan a screenshot of Alyssa going off on Taeyong from her old phone number and a threat from her current number. "She made me screenshot those and send them to her to make sure I'd remind myself not to be an asshole again."
"I didn't know she did that."
"She's very protective of you. She loves you a lot."
"I love her too."
➳
"We should have a race", Jaehyun suggests.
"You're still being competitive?"
"Only because of what I can win."
"Which is?"
"A smile from you."
Johnny forces a smile. "There."
"Okay, a genuine smile might be harder. I have a better idea. If I beat you to the top, you have to laugh at everything I say."
"You want me to laugh at every word that comes out of your mouth?" Johnny questions and Jaehyun nods. "Is every word out of you mouth a joke?"
Jaehyun rolls his eyes. "You spend too much time with Ten." Then he mumbles, "It makes me jealous."
"What?"
"If I beat you to the top of five of these things, you have to let me take you on another date. If I lose, I will do whatever you want."
"Sure." Johnny grabs onto the wall in front of them and looks at Jaehyun. "I hope you're prepared to do whatever I want."
"I already am", Jaehyun mutters to himself before glancing over at Jaehyun.
I will do anything to make you happy
My Soulmate💙🫂
My Soulmate💙🫂
Heyyyy gorgeous girl<3
I wanna tell you something
Nina
Hiiii sunshine<3
What is it?
My Soulmate💙🫂
I just remembered that I was supposed
to solve for x but I'm glad I found u
instead❤️❤️
Nina
😂I love that
I'm glad I found you too❤️❤️
My Soulmate💙🫂
It's annoying when I can't hug you
Nina
Same here
Maybe my dads will let us have a
sleepover soon
My Soulmate💙🫂
I think you may actually get away with
anything if you refer to them as your
dads and use your puppy eyes
Nina
The thought did cross my mind
My Soulmate💙🫂
Of course it did😂
Let me know when they say yes cause
I'm confident they will
I just remembered that breakfast
Chenle made us. That was so good
Nina
You took my strawberries😂
And stole my chocolate chips when I
wasn't looking 😠 Meanie
My Soulmate💙🫂
That's really not working as well as you
want it to
In my defense, you didn't stop me from
eating the strawberries. I took one,
made eye contact with you, and then
took another
And for the chocolate chips, I
apologized and told your parents to
give you more chocolate
Nina
Wait that's why I got a chocolate bar?
I thought they gave me that just
because
My Soulmate💙🫂
Oh, they would've
But I texted them and said they might
wanna get you more chocolate
I also almost had a mental breakdown
after sending said text but that's not
important
Nina
Sunflower🥺 you didn't have to do
that
My Soulmate💙🫂
I wanted to
You deserve it anyways
You deserve all the chocolate you
want
Nina
Stop doing this to me when I can't
cuddle you
You deserve all the chocolate you
want to
My Soulmate💙🫂
ASK ABOUT THE SLEEPOVER
I plan on getting all your affection
soon
Nina
Alright. I will be right back
That MarkHyuck scene is inspired by the Insta live Mark did the day Golden Hour came out. He just looked small and cute to me
I don't remember the order of things and I'm in a lazy mood so I'm just gonna mention what I remember
The Alyssa and Lena scene was funny to write. I love Alyssa panicking(tbh I'd probably be like that too)
I had a conversation idea for Nina and Reese but my low storage brain put it in the archives so now I don't know so we have that
The only thing I can remember now is the Taeyong and Haechan progress
Oh JohnJae, almost forgot about them. Johnny is open to dates but it's still not open to Jaehyun and Jaehyun just doesn't give a fuck😂
I also just remembered Zoe saying she'll adopt Alya. I meant to mention Alya being adopted by her like 3 chapters ago💀 Anyways, she's here now. We love her
Last thing, Lace and Nina are adorable
Idk what else happened if anything else happened but these are the most important to me. Right now anyways. I started writing this before 8am and I'll have you know I am not a morning person. I probably look dead right now
Also there's like so much unnecessary information in this chapter, like I was just writing things. The chapter overall is a 7/10
I love you!
Not proofread (absolutely not)❤️
P.S. It is now 11am and I am slightly less dead but not enough to proofread 😂