*this is unedited bc i felt bad for making you wait so long. i'm super sorry but life has been hell then last month. love y'all 💜💜
The group of boys arrived at the cafe and grabbed the biggest table they could. Hyunjin and Seungmin went and ordered drinks for everyone as they waited for Chan. Before 10 minutes had passed, the bells on the door chimed indicating people walking in. The boys at the table looked up and saw Chan walking towards them with one of his friends.
"Hey guys, sorry we're late." Chan took the seat next to Jeongin and Woojin sat beside Seungmin.
"No worries! But um, don't you have another friend too?" Hyunjin took a sip of his coffee as he spoke.
Chan blew out a breath and looked down. "Minho. Yeah. I hate to say it, but after the meeting with Byeol's dad, he started acting strange. He got super close with Yeonjun and started saying some shady stuff. I don't trust him anymore. At least, not with something as important as Byeol's safety." He then lifted his head and looked around the table.
The seven other boys nodded then settled into an awkward silence.
"So," Jeongin finally spoke up. "What exactly are we going to do? I mean, we can't just go to the police. They won't do anything without evidence, and I don't think we have any of that. Not to mention, they'd just see us as a bunch of kids- well, maybe not you two." He pointed to Chan and Woojin.
"True. But maybe we could catch him giving orders to harm Byeol again? Or even congratulating whoever on another beating?" Felix spoke up and looked around the table.
"But we won't let another beating happen, will we?" Jeongin glared at Felix for a few seconds. "Now. Her dad doesn't suspect you guys of being against him does he?" He looked up at the two oldest boys.
"I don't think so. He seems to really trust Chan actually, made him the person in charge here." Woojin said.
"Yeah, or if he doesn't trust me, he's hiding it very well. I'm basically running his office out here. I know all of the company secrets and shit too. Bottom line, I'm pretty sure he trusts me. He talked about Byeol to me with Yeonjun after everyone else left. He's definitely going to try something again." Chan leaned forward on his elbows as he spoke.
"That bastard! Isn't it enough he practically disowned her? Now he has to go and physically beat her? Fuck this, if I get the chance I'm beating the shit out of him." Jisung was clearly pissed off and the tone of his voice caused a few of the boys to jump back.
"Ji, why are you so pissed off about this? I mean I get it, we're all upset, but you seem to be more affected than us. What's up?" Hyunjin spoke softly, trying not to upset his friend.
Jisung closed his eyes and took in a deep breath trying to calm himself down. "Okay, so you know that Minki and I have been dating for two years? Well during that time, I got close with Byeol too. She became like my sister. I always felt the need to protect her. But throughout those two years, I was able to see how shitty her dad was. He would take her mom on vacations but leave Byeol at home because there wasn't enough space or some other shitty excuse. She'd end up staying with Minki, so when I'd come over, they would talk about it, and a lot of times I'd have to leave because Byeol would break down and Minki needed to console her. Did you know Byeol hasn't seen her dad in 4 years. He's never talked with her directly, always either through her mom, or an assistant or something. She's never done anything wrong to him, and yet he treats her like she's less than dirt. My anger towards him has been building ever since I found out about him basically. And now he has the balls to come and mess with her life even though she's done absolutely nothing to him. So yeah, I'm gonna be a little more than pissed at him."
The table was silent as they took in everything Jisung had said. This was new information to all of them, and they didn't know how to process it.
"Okay, so now we have to make sure that this monster goes away. There is no way I'm going to let him continue to treat Byeol this way. I'll do anything. Just tell me what you guys need," Chan had a determined look on his face as he broke the silence.
"Um. I guess for now... Just try and catch him saying something about Byeol and see if you can record it somehow. From that we should be able to do something with the police since we'll have evidence." Hyunjin spoke as he finished his coffee.
"And for us, we'll need to be to be extra careful about Byeol. Someone should be with her at all times, and as much as we can at school. Until this goes away, her safety is all of our concern." Jisung looked around at everyone as he spoke.
"Agreed. Now, I don't think there's much else we can do right now, so let's split? We can't really be seen together often or people might get suspicious." Changbin grabbed Felix's hand as he stood up.
"He's right. Let's go? I kind of made plans for tonight." Seungmin scratched the back of his neck and didn't make eye contact with anyone. When he finally did look up, his cheeks turned red as he made eye contact with a smirking Jeongin. "W-what?"
"Do these plans involve a diner waitress named Jinhye by chance?" Jeongin spoke with a sickly sweet voice and a hint of teasing.
"Maybe. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go pick her up from work." Seungmin checked his phone then walked out of the cafe.
"Alright, we'll see you guys later!" Felix and Changbin waved as they walked out hand-in-hand.
"We should probably go to. We didn't tell Minho where we went." Woojin stood up and looked at Chan. "We should stop by the store on the way home and grab some stuff so he doesn't get suspicious."
"Good idea." Chan then stood up and put an arm around Woojin's shoulder. "Keep me updated? And we'll let you know if we get anything."
Hyunjin nodded his head and waved to the two older boys as they left. "So, you guys ready to go back to Byeol's place?"
"Yeah, let me just order her a drink first. What was it... Oh!" Jeongin went to the counter enthusiastically and ordered a drink. When he sat back down to wait on it, Jisung and Hyunjin smiled at him. "Whaaat?"
"You really care for her don't you." Hyunjin's smile grew bigger as he looked at the younger boy.
"Ooh, is somebody in love?" Jisung now teased his younger friend causing him to blush.
Before Jeongin could respond, his name was called and he thankfully got up to get the coffee he had ordered. When it was safely acquired, he made his way to the door where Hyunjin and Jisung were waiting for him.
"So what drink did you get her?" Hyunjin asked as he got in the driver's seat of his car.
"Lavender vanilla latte? I'm pretty sure that's what she always gets." Jeongin climbed in the backseat while Jisung sat next to Hyunjin and the three boys soon arrived at Byeol's apartment.
As they walked in the apartment - Jeongin had a key *wink wonk😉😉* - the three boys smiled when they saw the girl's all cuddled together and asleep. Hyunjin went in first and gently shook Jae until she woke up. She smiled when she felt him gently kissing her face, then got out of the group cuddle wit Byeol and Minki.
"Hey! How'd it go?" Hyunjin wrapped her in a hug as she spoke.
"Not bad, Chan and his friend Woojin are going to help. But we really need to watch out for Byeol, Chan said that her dad is planning something else." Jisung spoke as he went to wake up Minki.
"Poor baby, I hate that this is happening to her!" Jae pouted and laid her head on Hyunjin's chest.
"I know baby, but we're doing what we can." Hyunjin stroked the back of Jae's head soothingly before breaking the hug and grabbing her hand. "Come on, it's super late."
The couple said goodbye then left.
"Jisung? What time is it?" Minki yaned and stretched as she sat up on the couch.
"It's 11 Minki. We should get you home, I don't want your parents thinking something happened." Jisung helped Minki off the couch and acted as a walking aid for his half-asleep girlfriend. "I'll see you later, Jeongin."
The younger waved and smiled as he watched Jisung give up and just carry Minki to his car. Jeongin closed and locked the door then set Byeol's coffee in the fridge, realizing it was indeed pretty late, and she'd probably enjoy it more in the morning. He then walked over to her sleeping figure on the couch and sat beside her.
"Byeol? Baby come on, let's go sleep in your bed instead." He showered her face with soft kisses until she started to move and finally woke up.
"What- what time is it? Where'd everyone go?" Byeol looked around the room and finally at Jeongin.
He smiled at how adorable she looked then placed a kiss on her nose before speaking. "Baby it's past 11 PM. Everyone went home. Now come on, let's get you to bed. Can you walk any?"
Jeongin stood up and held his hands out to Byeol who reluctantly grabbed them. She slowly pulled herself up and Jeongin wrapped her in a hug.
"How are you feeling?"
"It still hurts, but the medicine is really helping."
Jeongin nodded then placed a kiss on her head before leading her to the bedroom where they both got ready for bed. After laying in bed for about 20 minutes, Jeongin couldn't fall asleep.
He looked down at Byeol and Jisung's words echoed in his mind.
Am I falling in love? He thought. His thought overtook his mind and he fell asleep easily after coming to a decision.