Soft rays of light shone through the curtains of the living room, a warm red glowing off the walls. It all seemed calm, and peaceful. The perfect atmosphere after a long night of fun and mischief.
Though to Taeyong, he was still slightly irritated by the unwelcomed sun inviting itself into his home. He wanted to catch another hour or two of sleep, but as soon as he reached for the covers, his plans were cut short when he heard sounds of whispering and rustling beside him.
"They actually look cute together."
"I think they've been sleeping like this the whole night."
The voices whispered close to him. Confused, Taeyong squinted his eyes open, getting a fuzzy image of Mark and Haechan now awake with their phones out.
"What the—"
He rubbed his eyes, getting a better look at the overly chipper boys. The two snickered, looking down at Mark's phone before conversing with each other again.
"Lets send this to Jungwoo, he'd love this."
Taeyong knitted his eyebrows together, having no idea what Jungwoo could possibly love at this time of day. He turned his head over, looking to see what they were going on about.
And his eyes met with Doyoung and Yeona, sleeping close to one another. Cuddling, in simpler terms. Yeona had her head buried into his chest while Doyoung had wrapped a secure arm around her.
They oddly looked comfortable in each others presence, like two puzzle pieces together. It almost seemed like they were in that position for the whole night, like the two boys mentioned before. And maybe this scene stung his heart a bit, and he didn't know why.
"Guys cut it out," Taeyong's voice came out raspy, still not used to the morning as of yet, "Stop taking pictures."
"Why, its cute?" Mark shrugged, taking one more snap of the two in deep slumber, "And I'm sure the others would love to see this."
Taeyong pried off his blanket and moved to a kneeling position like the others. He awkwardly watched his close friends snuggle close together, enjoying the warmth of the other. Taeyong then rolled his eyes, having enough of this, and grabbed his plushie, smacking the two koalas in the head, "Wake up losers."
They stirred a bit in their sleep, Yeona being the first one to gain conscience back. Though it didn't last, only for her to snuggle back into Doyoung's chest, "Fuck off."
This caused Mark and Haechan to snicker while Taeyong's eyes widened. If only she knew what she was really doing, she'd regret saying that to him. He smacked her head a few more times, making her groan, "What the fuck do you want–"
When Yeona's eyes slowly opened and her brain started working again, she realized she couldn't move. But why? Her eyes shifted in front to see an unfamiliar body against her. Her eyes lingered up a bit more to see a face she did not expect.
"Oh shit–!" Yeona pushed Doyoung away, scooting back just as the boy woke up fully. His eyes shot open and looked at his friends, terrified, not understanding what all the commotion was about. It wasn't until he and Yeona locked eyes, their cheeks burning hot.
"You both looked very comfy together," Mark wiggled his eyebrows at the two, shooting them a stupid grin.
"I-I swear I didn't know. I thought I had my life size bear with me." She turned to Taeyong, expecting him to understand her since she mentioned it to him before, proving she wasn't lying. But he didn't say anything and just stared at her, unsure how to respond.
"You looking a little red there Doyoung," Haechan sniggered, "Its not even that warm in here."
The two couldn't look at each other after that, making the now awkward atmosphere no longer comfortable for the girl. Yeona cleared her throat, "Uh, uh I'm gonna freshen up first."
With that she zipped up the stairs in a flash, leaving the two mischievous and two tiresome boys behind.
"Huh, why does it look like you're smiling in this picture?" Mark tilted his head, zooming in on the photo on his phone to get a better view. Haechan leaned in, humming in response as if to agree with the boy.
"W-Watermelons," Doyoung blurted out, the first thing coming to his head, "I was dreaming about watermelons."
"You weren't asleep, were you?" Haechan raised a brow, his lips tugging up into an devilish smirk. He didn't believe his friend's lie for a second. And seeing how Doyoung couldn't face him made his assumptions clear.
"I'll uh, make everyone some coffee..." Doyoung stammered as he pushed off his blankets, attempting to step over them as they tangle up in his feet.
"Don't worry I'll send it to you!" He called out as Doyung left for the kitchen in a rush, unaware of a glaring Taeyong watching his every step.
⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅
"I don't get it, why won't it turn on?" Chenle whined, flicking the on and off switch on the mixer. He'd been fidgeting with the machine for a good five minutes but hadn't complained about it until now.
"Let me take a look," Renjun shuffled his way over to the struggling boy, passing by the others who were preparing breakfast for the morning. Renjun tried the switch again, before shifting his eyes to the kitchen counter.
"You do realize you have to plug it in to get it working, right?" He sighed, picking up the wire that laid behind the mixer, handing it to the boy.
"Oh oops, hehe right. Thanks Rennie!" Chenle grinned at his friend, plugging it in and turning it on the second lowest speed.
Everybody was busy in the kitchen making breakfast at Jeno and Yeona's place. A few of the boys were mixing up ingredients for pancakes and waffles while the others took orders from Yeona; orders to sit still. Jeno was also busy on the stove while Taeyong stood by, monitoring the heat and making sure he was doing fine.
"Ha, the waffle batter isn't going to beat fast enough with that mixer," Jisung scoffed, pushing his bangs out of his eyes with his forearm, "You should be using a hand mixer like me, that'll get the job done faster."
He then turned it on, using one hand to hold the bowl while using the other to drive the mixer around.
Mark nodded his head, approaching the younger, "Exactly, but maybe you should turn it up a bit."
"No wait hyung this is fine–"
Mark grabbed the mixer out of Jisung's hand, about to move his thumb over the switch to turn it up one. Yeona watched the boys from a distance, worry etched across her face, "Uh be careful with that one, it's a bit sensitive–"
Ignoring her words, Mark carelessly flicked it one higher. But maybe he should have listened, his mind full of regret the moment his finger slipped and the switch moved three up instead. The whisk tripled in speed, causing the batter to fly out of the bowl and onto their clothes.
Jisung frantically shut it off, looking down on himself before lifting up his glaring eyes to meet Mark's. They stood their silently, staring at each other blankly as if their soul got sucked out of them. With batter all over their clothes and hair, the two, deep down inside, wished they had never met– if it meant this situation would have never happened.
"Well, at least I still have my batter in my bowl." Chenle joked, shrieking with laughter as he was the first one to break the silence in the room.
Doyoung tsked at the two, stepping over the sticky mess on the floor as he approached them, "Lets get you guys cleaned up."
"They can borrow my clothes if they need to!" Jeno called out to the three as they hurriedly made their way upstairs.
Yeona sighed and watched Chenle and Renjun clean up the mess off the floor, while Haechan leaned comfortably against the kitchen counter, enjoying the scene. She shouldn't have expected him to help, but she was slightly hopeful he would put aside his usual attitude and be a bit more kind during this mini vacation.
Yeona was soon brought out of her thoughts when she felt a tap on her shoulder, turning around to come face to face with Taeyong, "Yes?"
"Where's uh, the restroom?" He asked, his eyes focusing on anything but her. She didn't know why but she felt almost skeptical of his actions, it was a simple question but he seemed more edgy about it than needed. Maybe it was because the two hadn't talked much since the awkward encounter this morning. She did try at times, though he kept it minimal. Something was clearly on his mind, bothering him enough to not want to jump into any conversation.
She raised a brow, but decided not to push him for answers, "Take a right down the hall, it'll be the second door on your left."
He nodded quickly, mumbling a 'thanks' before walking casually out the kitchen, though with his arms firmly by his sides, he wasn't doing a very good job at it.
"Yeona! We finished cleaning up!" Chenle hollered from across the room, throwing away the paper towels. "But I did most of the work!" Renjun nudged his shoulder, grumbling that he was about to take all the credit even though he did just as much of the work.
"Thanks guys! Why don't you three set up the table in the other room while Jeno and I finish with the pancakes?" Yeona suggested to them. It was an easy task, there shouldn't be a problem with leaving them alone for a while without her supervision.
"Don't worry, I'll make sure these two don't go breaking your fine china," Haechan said as he shoved past the two boys and over to Yeona.
She opened up the top cabinet and pulled out a few plates before turning to him, "Bold of you to assume I'd leave you guys with the expensive plates."
Haechan's smug look had slightly disappear from her words. She carefully handed the plates to him before patting his shoulder, "But you are responsible if something breaks."
Giving a little push, Yeona shooed Haechan out of the kitchen while the two youngsters grabbed utensils and other essentials before skipping out.
She then moved back to her original spot by the cutting board as Jeno was by the stove, already starting with the pancakes.
There was a bit of comfortable silence between them until the boy spoke up, "Question."
"Answer." This was a special thing between the two siblings that his friends found weird. This was something they would do whenever one sibling had a question that the other might not be ready for. So it gave them time to prepare themselves for whatever was about to be asked.
But no amount of preparation would have Yeona ready for this question.
"Do you like that Taeyong guy?"
Yeona's eyes widened, fumbling with the sharp knife that came close to her fingers. Flashbacks of last night's–almost– kiss came back into view, making her cheeks heat up, "W-What? Are you insane? Of course not?"
Jeno turned away from the stove for a second to stare at his sister. She let out a wavering chuckle, shaking her head in disbelief as if he had said the most ridiculous thing ever, and to her it was.
He bit his bottom lip, eyes flickering to her hands as she fiddled with the strawberries, "Oh, but I think he likes you?"
Like butter, the fruits easily slipped out of her grasp and onto the floor. She hated that her brother's questions were making her act like this. It just made it seem like she was nervous, or even lying about her answers since she was acting so antsy from them.
Jeno took a step forward to help, but halted when she held out a hand for him to stop. She knelt down, picking up the strawberries off the ground, "He doesn't, he has a girlfriend."
"Oh," He nodded his head solemnly, turning back to the stove, "Well at least it'll be easier to choose out of the two."
"Two?" She questioned, moving over to the sink to wash the fruits again. Her heart pumped recklessly as she was being questioned like it was a police investigation or an episode of CSI.
Jeno flipped over the pancake to the other side, letting it sizzle under the heat, "Doyoung, he seems to like you too."
The mention of the other's name caused her to drop the red fruits into to the sink. She grimaced at the sight, no one would eat those now.
Images of the cuddle session this morning sent shivers through her body. Why was he talking about things that trigger her to remember things she wanted to forget? Couldn't he just mind his own business, her life would be more peaceful then, and less fruits would be wasted.
Yeona shut off the faucet and threw the strawberries away before walking over to her brother. She leaned against the counter and crossed her arms, "Okay Je, what's it with you questioning if those guys like me? You'd usually be pissed if a boy was even around me, and now you're suddenly some modern day cupid trying to set me up with my friends? I don't buy it, so spill."
Why was he suddenly pushing her to date one of these boys when just yesterday there was smoke coming out of his ears just from them being around her. This was not like her brother at all, and she was starting to get suspicious.
"It's nothing..." He said, not daring to look over at his sister. He instead focused on flipping perfect cakes, hoping she wouldn't notice the beads of sweat dripping from his forehead. And even if she did, he hoped she'd believe it was from the heat and not because he was hiding something.
But she saw through him, she was his sister of course. It all clicked in her mind, piecing everything together for her to finally understand. And when she did, the corners of her mouth tugged upwards, "You like someone, don't you?"
Jeno almost lost his grip on the spatula, "W-What? No! Of course not!" He drawled, awkwardly laughing the same way she did earlier. The sight of him being a literal clone of her brought a smile to her face.
She let out a laugh, "Yah don't lie, I saw you talking to that girl after the game yesterday. You like her, right?"
He paused for a second, contemplating whether to come clean or continue lying to her. But, he couldn't. She knew more than he thought she would. And maybe it wouldn't hurt to finally let it all out.
He sighed heavily before speaking, "Maybe, I don't know yet. I cant figure out my feelings when I'm around her. All I know is that I get butterflies when she smiles at me, so maybe that means something. Or I have the stomach flu, haven't gone to the nurse yet to find out."
Yeona smiled adoringly at him. This was the first time he was opening up about topics like this, something they both tend to keep to themselves and she has honestly been waiting for this moment for a very long time.
She placed a hand on his shoulder, "Well if you ever need my advice, don't hesitate to ask."
He looked at her, searching for possible sarcasm hidden behind her eyes. Though, she only looked at him with sincerity. He was expecting her to ban him from ever talking to the girl again– only as a joke of course. But seeing her being supportive of him was almost, heart warming, as much as he hated to admit it. Yes, he didn't like the cheesiness.
"Thanks, and I guess I won't tell the rents that you slept over at a boy's house." Yeona told her parents that she slept at one of her old high school friend's house for the night. Though, they had a hard time believing she still had friends from high school.
She shook Jeno's hand that was stuck out for her, "Okay, deal." Just at that moment, Taeyong walked into the kitchen, looking almost a little flustered as he avoided their presence in the room.
Yeona put a hand on her hip, "Where were you? That was a pretty long washroom break. Did you get lost or something?"
He shook his head almost too quickly, "N-No I just, I was on the phone with someone."
She dropped her hand, turning her head away from him, "Oh... right..." She didn't press him any further, assuming the other person on the line was Eunmi.
Taeyong moved over to grab a few eggs, getting a clean bowl and cracking them in, "Yawna, pass me the sugar."
Yeona nodded, pushing herself off the counter ledge and walked over to the pantry. She grabbed the sugar and slid it over to him across the counter, "Here you go Tea."
"Thanks." He mumbled in reply without giving her a glance.
"Y-Yawna?" Jeno whispered to her once she came back to his side. Maybe he should be more worried about these guys. Sure they were Mark and Haechan's friends but they were nothing like them. These so called 'nicknames' seemed to have more meaning than he thought.
"Don't start with me Je," She muttered, shoving his shoulder. He really couldn't understand the whole purpose of 'nicknames', and actually had the audacity to call them 'petnames'? These were nothing near petnames, and they all knew that.
Yeona ignored the look Jeno was sending her and took the plate of ready made pancakes and set them on the island counter, "Anyways, where's Jaemin? Breakfast is almost ready and he's still yet to show up. Hear anything from him yet?"
She had been worried about the guy the moment she arrived back home. All the boys had showed up but him, and it didn't sit right with her all morning. They hadn't gotten a text from him either and was starting to worry that he wouldn't come over at all. If not today, she probably wouldn't get to see him until Christmas break, and that was way too far into the future.
"I don't know sis," Jeno sighed out, giving a light shrug, "Maybe he's not coming."
Suddenly, the sound of heavy footsteps rushing towards the kitchen was heard. The three all turn their attention over to see Renjun and Chenle running into the room, heaving their breaths.
"He's here!" Renjun screeched, his voice cracking from his dry throat. Yeona's brows jumped from the news, her once sulking face slowing changing to a grin. "Seriously?"
Chenle bobbed his head rapidly, "Yes! I locked him in the washroom so he can't leave! Haechan is holding the door so he can't open it, now you can go talk to him!"
Yeona thanked the two boys, messing up their hair playfully before she sprinted off. She told the guys earlier that there was a slight chance Jaemin was upset with her, but wasn't sure why. So they came up with a plan that if he did show up, they would trap him so he couldn't escape, giving her the opportunity to talk to him unlike last night.
She rushed down the hall towards the washroom, looking afar to see Haechan using all his strength to keep the door closed. But once he saw her, he sighed in relief, having to not bother with Jaemin's protests to release him.
The two high-fived, Haechan slipping his hand off the knob and letting Yeona take over before he disappeared down the corridor.
She took a deep breath as he continued to bang the door, yelling out to the boys to open up. And to his request, she did. And the first thing she was met with was his fist almost inches away from her face.
Jaemin's eyes widened from seeing her behind the door, quickly retracting his hand away, "O-Oh shit, I-I mean shoot. Uh sorry, I didn't know the door was going to open..."
She shook her head, "It's okay, don't worry about it."
The two grew silent soon after, not willing to move from their spots. Jaemin couldn't look at her, his heart racing as he didn't expect her to be the first person he sees. It's her house, stupid, he thought to himself. Of course he would run into her eventually, but he didn't expect to meet her like this.
Yeona swallowed quietly before breaking the silence between them, "Hi, Jaemin."
"Hi..." He replied quietly, his eyes down as he studied her bathroom tile floor. It was a beautiful, white marble, almost as beautiful as her eyes–
"I'm just going to cut to the chase," Yeona spoke up, making his heart beat quicken from the topic she was about to mention. This was why he didn't want to show up today, feeling slightly embarrassed for leaving her like that yesterday.
"Are you mad at me? You said that you wanted to talk to me last night but then you left without saying anything about it."
His heart almost broke, he could hear the pain in her voice, seeing she was genuinely concerned for him. Maybe she did care for him, and maybe he was being to harsh to her, "I'm not mad at you, I couldn't never hate someone as sweet as you. I'm sorry if that's what you thought. And about that... it was nothing, really."
She didn't believe him for a second, seeing how he still couldn't look her in the eye for more than a few seconds. She reached down to grab his hand, intertwining it with hers, "Jaemin, I told you before that I'll always be your Nana and you'll always be mine. If something is bothering you, tell me."
And there went his heart, and stomach, and mind. Went into a complete frenzy just from the second she held his hand. How could she have so much of an effect on him just from a simple action like that?
Her words were only another thing to get his mind racing. They had been friends for so long that Jaemin would always go to her whenever he was feeling down, or whenever he wanted to escape from the boys for a while. She was always there to comfort him and to keep him company. She was always there for him.
And seeing that she still was willing to be there even till now made him realize that pushing whatever was on his mind away wasn't going to solve anything. It would make her more upset, and would do more harm than good. And pushing her away definitely wouldn't help shake off the silly crush he's had on her for years.
So he took in a deep breath, pressuring himself to say what was on his mind.
"You aren't dating that guy, are you?" He blurted out and quickly shut his eyes, afraid to see her reaction.
It wasn't exactly what he wanted to say, but it was a start. A slow and steady pace was what he wanted to go at.
Yeona's raised her eyebrows at that, seeing him slightly nervous for her response. Her lips tugged up into a small smile, giving his hand a little squeeze for him to open his eyes. "Who?"
Jaemin blinked at her, "Renjun's cousin, that Lucifer guy."
Yeona stifled a laugh, covering her mouth as she tried hard to not laugh out loud. But she couldn't help but let out a small giggle seeing how Jaemin just stared at her with a blank face.
When she finally composed herself, she smiled at him, shaking her head, "Of course not, Jaemin. He's just a friend. And before this gets any more awkward, I'm not dating anyone."
Somersaults, every part of his body ecstatic from hearing the last four words. After all these years, she was still single? But how? It was almost too hard to believe. She's been surrounded by these older, mature and better looking men for years, and yet? Was it also too hard to believe that he might have a chance with her?
Who knows, maybe luck is finally on his side for once.
His face brightened up, grinning almost too widely, "Really!? Oh my gosh that great— no wait I meant, uh, that's cool, I guess."
Yeona laughed at his adorable gestures, finding it cute that he tried to play it off. She ruffled his hair, making him look down sheepishly, "So now that that's over, what did you want to tell me?"
"Oh right... well actually it's not a 'tell' but more of a 'show'. I'll be right back!" Jaemin slipped by her and ran down the hall, disappearing into one of the rooms. She couldn't help but smile, closing the washroom door before stepping out into the hall and waiting patiently for his return.
Jaemin shuffled back down the hall, hands behind his back, before standing in front of her, "So I don't know if you remember or not, but during the summer you told me you really like charm bracelets. So I got you this!"
He brought his hands out from behind and held out a small, white box with a violet bow on top. She was surprised, seeing Jaemin present her with a small gift. It was a sweet gesture that warmed her heart.
She slowly opened the box to see a beautiful rose-gold charm bracelet. She noticed a few small charms already hung around, varying between small hearts and stars. But there was one charm that caught her eye almost instantly.
"Nana." She read, her finger graced the small charm, engraved in a small circle pendant that hung in the middle of the cuff.
"Do you like it?" He asked, staring at her as she could only focus on her gift, "I have the same one in silver, same Nana charm too." He held up his wrist, the charms jingled as he dangled the bracelet in the air, "I got it custom made for us. Now we can match and wear this all the time."
Her eyes widened at that. She couldn't believe he got these custom made just for them. She could only imagine the price of this, and the poor boy was only still in high school. Beautiful gifts like this don't always come cheap. "B-But how could you afford this?"
He shrugged, reaching for the back of his neck, "I've been saving for a few months now. Just took a few part times here and there. But honestly, it was pretty worth it."
She took the bracelet out of the box and slipped it on her wrist. It was the perfect fit, almost too good to be true.
Jaemin watched her happily, his heart filled with joy seeing her so mesmerized by the jewelry he got just for her. Months of hard work had finally paid off.
But a question popped in his mind, making his stomach dip from the thought. He bit his lip, before asking, "You'll wear this, right Nana?"
"Of course! How could I not?" She beamed, grinning at the sweet gift. This was more than a simple piece of jewelry. It represented their everlasting friendship. She was sure to treat it with care and would definitely wear every single day.
"Ah this is so cute! Thank you so much Jaemin! Love you!" Yeona pulled Jaemin into a soft embrace, her arms wrapping around the boy.
His heart? Exploded.
Confetti was everywhere.
He couldn't believe it. She was hugging him. For more than 3 seconds. It felt like a dream, a dream he didn't want to wake up from. He couldn't help but freeze the moment she hugged him. Mouth gaped open, he forced himself to return her hug before it was over.
"I-I love you too!" He breathed out, the words that he had been holding back for so long, finally let out. Those three words, it was something he'd been longing to say. And knowing it finally happened, he knew he was able to say it all the time.
Yeona smiled, releasing the boy from the tight hug before grabbing his hand, pulling him towards the dining room where their ginormous breakfast awaits.
Without a doubt, this was the best day of Jaemin's life, and he wished it would last forever.
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//unedited// is anyone even reading this fic still? sorry for not updating in two weeks. its the christmas holidays (and it's almost over cries.) i hope you guys are having a wonderful holiday so far! ♡