After Donghyuck had not quite so elegantly ugly snot-cried all over Renjun again, he'd excused himself to freshen up in the customer bathroom. When he returned, his thoughtful friend had ordered coffee and more ice cream. Neither of them mentioned that eating dessert at 10:30 am was a strange choice, and they tucked in with enthusiasm. A comfortable hush reigned at the table for a good few minutes, allowing Renjun to think and Donghyuck to attempt to drown himself in sugar.
"So, I think there are two possibilities here," Renjun finally announced, as he watched the other boy scrape at the base of the sundae glass with his spoon. A grunt of acknowledgement told him that Donghyuck was listening, so he continued. "First, this was an accident, a random act of fate that chose you out of everyone in the universe." The other boy frowned, abandoning his spoon with a clatter as he stared up at Renjun.
"I think that's highly unlikely." Renjun was almost certain of the truth in his words. Random chance wasn't logical, and something told him that Hyuck needed him to be the logical one in this situation. He had a level of detachment from this that made his thought processes more objective, and he was doing his best to play the part that his best friend needed him to play. "The statistical probability of everything you've told me happening at random is so close to zero that I think we can discard the idea entirely."
"You sure?" Donghyuck examined his face, looking for signs of a lie.
Renjun fought to keep his expression relaxed and appropriately blank. Inside, his thoughts were churning at a million miles a minute, as all the possibilities and probabilities fought for space. He was convinced that they could figure this out, but a not-so-small part of him didn't really want to, if he was honest. He liked this Hyuck, and he didn't want him to disappear again. Renjun had been alone, lost for so long. He wasn't alone anymore and he wanted things to stay that way, but he knew that wasn't fair on the boy currently watching him like he held the secrets to the universe. This wasn't Hyuck's home and, although it would hurt Renjun, he had to do what he could to help him. There was really no other choice, as his friend.
"Yeah." Renjun shot Donghyuck a reassuring smile, heart leaping as the younger boy's face lit up in response. "Absolutely."
"So what's the second option?" Donghyuck asked curiously.
"Ah. So that's a bit more complicated." Renjun quickly leaned down to retrieve his messenger bag from the floor, pulling out a small notebook and pushing it towards Hyuck across the table. "I have a few ideas, but I need your help."
Flipping open the ring-bound book to the first empty page, he dug around in the bottom of the large bag until he found a pen, passing that over as well. Tapping the pen against the lined sheet absently, Donghyuck waited for instructions obediently. Renjun hoped that one of his ideas sparked something in Hyuck, or in the mysterious forces of the universe. They were playing with things that he couldn't even begin to comprehend. This had to work.
"While I run through some ideas, I need you to make a list for me." Renjun watched as Donghyuck popped the lid and promptly stuck the blunt end of the pen in his mouth. He stifled a snort of mild disgust and then pointed at the top line on the page. "You mentioned your members, right? Since they--I mean, we--seem to be the common factor here, I think that we need to focus on them to figure out the rest."
"You want me to make a list?" Donghyuck asked, not sounding entirely convinced, but he had already started listing names in large, blocky characters. Renjun couldn't read well upside down, but he could make out his own name in the third position, below a name that Hyuck had written out carefully in both Korean and English.
"Perfect," Renjun mused, running a hand through his hair. He kept one eye on the growing list of names, as he pulled another sheet of folded paper from the back pocket of his jeans. Smoothing it out, he ran his index finger over the first bullet point listed on it, before launching into the monologue he'd worked on late into the night.
"I did some research online last night," he began, ignoring the fact that Donghyuck had just flipped the page and started a second page of names. "There wasn't anything exactly like this, not that I expected there to be, but there are some movies that are kind of similar."
"Oh?"
"Well, take Groundhog Day, the American movie, for example. The guy in that got stuck in a time loop until he figured out how to fix things and go back to normal. You're not in a time loop per se, but you are stuck." Donghyuck glanced up at him, pausing to take a sip of his drink before responding.
"I've never seen that one," he admitted, shrugging. "What does he do to get unstuck?"
"I--I haven't seen it either," Renjun admitted sheepishly. A raised eyebrow from the other boy had him hurrying on. "I don't think the specifics are important though, Hyuck. I think the point is that there are a few movies and books that are similar." He flipped the slightly crumpled sheet of paper in his hands and held it up so Hyuck could read it. "As I see it, there are three common threads running through all of them, more or less. We just need to figure out which one is relevant to you, and to that list, and then go from there."
"Simple as that, huh?" Donghyuck didn't look entirely convinced, but he wasn't outright shooting Renjun down. That was a start.
"I--" Suddenly this didn't seem like the genius plan that it had appeared at 1 am that morning. "I'm sorry, Hyuck. I'm just trying to help." His enthusiasm started to dwindle, but then Donghyuck's face was right next to his and he couldn't look away.
"No, this is perfect, Injun-ah." Renjun's lips curled into a smile at the casual use of the unfamiliar-yet-fitting nickname. Donghyuck smiled angelically up at him then, and he was reminded of why this boy had almost always been the very centre of his universe, even when he turned out to be from somewhere else entirely. "Without you, I'd have nothing. Tell me more!"
Over the next ten minutes, Renjun outlined his crude bullet points for Hyuck, who nodded along and gave him his undivided attention. Renjun's list included three possible catalysts, each of which Donghyuck agreed could be entirely plausible.
"Righting past wrongs makes total sense," Donghyuck explained, tapping the first bullet point with the end of the pen that had been in his mouth more times than Renjun cared to think about. "I told you about what I said to Johnny-hyung that night and how I was acting, in the weeks leading up to it. I can see now that was all on me and, if I could go back and do it again, I would. In a heartbeat"
"And this one?" Renjun pointed at point three, complete with a few choice spelling errors that Hyuck had kindly laughed at him for.
"Personal growth is really vague," Donghyuck mused, studying Renjun's neat penmanship solemnly, "but I think it could also make a lot of sense. I haven't been acting as an idol should lately. I was acting like a child, and everyone was noticing. Johnny-hyung was just the one brave enough to call me out on it."
"I'm sure you weren't--" Donghyuck waved away the sympathetic excuse with a flick of his wrist.
"You don't understand, Renjun-ah. I've had a lot of time to think about things this week. For a while, I was so wrapped up in how unfair this all was that I didn't think about why. I can see now that things got that bad because I forgot what I was doing, and why I was doing it. I was letting people down, and I was selfish. That's unacceptable."
That was the most words Renjun thought he had heard come out of Donghyuck's mouth in one go in a very long time, and it was so much like the Donghyuck of his childhood that he couldn't help but grin. "Well, if that's not some serious personal growth, Hyuck, I don't know what is." Donghyuck tried to glare at him, but that faded to a smirk of his own and the younger boy shrugged. Neither of them could argue with that reasoning.
"The last one," Renjun's finger drew a lazy circle in the air above the middle sentence, "is a bit of a shot in the dark. It's a big one in movies, obviously, but it's probably not relevant here."
Donghyuck flushed pink, glancing down at the two pieces of paper he had torn out of Renjun's notebook. Side by side, there were twenty names listed. Renjun had yet to ask to see this list, but he wasn't an idiot. He knew that look. He just wished he was wrong about which name it was that Donghyuck was zeroing in on.
"You love him, huh?" he asked softly. Donghyuck's head shot up, eyes wide and panicked. He glanced around for a moment before he seemed to remember where he was and who he was with. His shoulders slumped and he folded his arms on the table, just below the pages of names. His chin came to rest in the valley formed by his forearms and he stared up at Renjun balefully.
"That obvious?"
"Call it brotherly intuition," Renjun offered conspiratorially. He had noted the way Donghyuck tended to refer to his fellow members--Renjun included--as brothers, rather than as colleagues or friends, whenever he forgot himself. The older boy couldn't help but like the sense of belonging that it stirred up in him, and he hoped that Donghyuck wouldn't mind him adopting the word. "That and you mention Mark's name about twice as much as anyone else's."
"I guess." They both glanced down at Donghyuck's list. The pair of names one row down from the top seemed to grow under their watchful eye, and Renjun didn't miss the way Donghyuck sighed as he stared. "Unrequited love," Donghyuck eyed the middle bullet point again before looking back down at Mark's name, "is a great theory, except for the fact that Mark doesn't seem to exist in this universe."
"You don't know that for sure," Renjun began, but Donghyuck shook his head.
"I do." His finger traced the English letters once before he blinked quickly and pushed the two pages over to Renjun. "I'd know if he was here. I'm sure of it."
Renjun didn't reply, sensing that nothing he could say would make things easier. Instead, he took the opportunity to pick up the pages, glancing down at the list with a keen eye. Holding his hand out for the pen, he quickly added a few markings to the side of several names. He paused, then crossed something out and added in a correction. Donghyuck watched him curiously as he worked, then placed the list back on the table again.
"One second." He pulled out his phone, navigating to his social media quickly, followed by his school email account. A few minutes later, he made a few more corrections and markings, then passed the list back to Donghyuck. "Take a look."
--
Donghyuck did as he was asked, looking over the changes that Renjun had made to his list of member's names. A few were obvious; he'd drawn a smiley face next to his own name and next to Jaemin's. He'd ticked several names too: Liu Yang Yang, Lee Jeno, Wong Yukhei, Zhong Chenle. He'd put a question mark next to two names, Hendery and XiaoJun, and no less than twelve exclamation marks next to one last name--one that also came complete with an unexpected correction.
"What are these for?" he asked, pointing at the question marks. "They're both from outside Korea, so they shouldn't be too hard to spot. I think Hendery speaks English too," he offered, trying to remember what Ten had told him about them back before WayV's debut. He'd been largely too busy--or, more truthfully, too lazy to get to know them better as trainees. He wished now that he'd had more time for them.
"I think I know who you mean by XiaoJun," Renjun explained. "He's the president of the drama society, so you'll actually have quite a lot to do with him this year as VP." Turning the paper, Hyuck checked the name again. Renjun had added a small arrow up from the centre of the word and squashed in another character, meaning that it now read Xiao De Jun. That name sounded vaguely familiar to Donghyuck, so he nodded.
"I'm not certain, but it's too close to be a coincidence." Donghyuck frowned. "I can't believe I never asked his real name before their debut." Renjun patted him on the hand reassuringly, so he focused on the next question mark. "What about Hendery? I--I don't know his full name either." Instantly, he felt even more guilty. He should be ashamed of himself.
"There's a guy in the international society that sounds like how you described him. I don't go very often, since I don't need to brush up on my Korean language skills like some of the others do, but I think his friends call him Hendery." Renjun nodded at his phone then. "I looked him up, and his screen name on SNS is in Mandarin, but I think it's the right person. I'll point him out on Monday, and we can confirm then, okay?"
"Sounds good," Donghyuck agreed, before turning his attention back to the last name with a marking next to it. "What does that say?" He could read the part of the name that he'd written, but Renjun's correction was a little smudged. He squinted down at it. Renjun had ridiculously small handwriting.
"Ah." Renjun's cheeks flushed slightly, and he rubbed a hand over his face. "That would be Lee Jaehyun." As Donghyuck's eyebrows tried to make a break for the moon, Renjun actually giggled. "Better known as my first crush, back when we were eight years old and I used to sleep over at yours every weekend.
"Jaehyunie-hyung?" Donghyuck was confused. He was going to ignore that deeply unsettling confession from Renjun for the moment, but that still didn't expect why Jaehyun would be at his house on the weekends.
"Yeah. Your brother."
For a long moment, Donghyuck said nothing. Staring into the depths of his coffee cup, his brain worked overtime to process that little bombshell. Sure, the two of them were close. They always had been, even if Jaehyun had always preferred Mark's stoicism and Jeno's odd humour over Donghyuck's...well, annoyance. It was a surprise, for sure, but Hyuck found that it didn't feel strange or uncomfortable. In fact, given the way the two of them bickered over most things like actual siblings, it was a natural fit.
"Oh, okay," was what Donghyuck eventually managed to say. Renjun's cheek twitched but he didn't say anything, letting him process. "So where is he?" Hyuck asked, after a moment of silence.
"College," Renjun told him, "just out of town. He graduated from our school a few years ago, and he could have gone out of state, but he stayed local for some reason." Renjun seemed to consider his words carefully, then continued. "You know, I think he comes home every few weeks to see your mom. You should ask her when he'll be home next."
Agreeing that that was a good next move as far as Jaehyun was concerned, Donghyuck turned their attention back to the rest of the list. "So what's our next move, master strategist?" he asked and Renjun laughed. "You must have had a reason for me making the list."
Sobering quickly, the no-nonsense look was back in Renjun's eyes and he fixed Donghyuck a piercing look. "As I see it, everything comes back to the people on this list. The reason you're here might be one of my suggestions, or it might not, but I'd bet you any money on earth that we're going to need them on board before we get to the bottom of it."
"All of them?" Donghyuck's gaze slid slowly over the eleven names on the list that Renjun hadn't marked--ten, he realised, as he grabbed the pen and put a tick next to Park Jisung. "Jaemin mentioned that there was a new freshman dancer at school called Jisung," he explained. "You and I both know that has to be him." Renjun just gave him a blank look. "Well, I guess you don't, actually, but trust me. It's him."
"Perfect," Renjun said, accepting his judgement. "And yes. All of them. I just have a gut feeling..."
"I don't see how it's possible, without..." Donghyuck broke off, pressing his lips together firmly. "No. You know what, Injunie. You're right. One person at a time. We don't need to worry about the other names yet." He pointed at the ones with ticks next to them. "So, which ones should we focus on first?" He thought for a moment. "What about Jeno?"
Renjun choked on his drink, turning a delicate shade of purple as thick, brown liquid escaped through his nose.
"Uh, no," he said, far too quickly, swaddling his face in napkins as he continued to cough up coffee. "Jeno is..." He coughed again. "Let's start small. This one, Zhong Chenle, just joined the international society. I spoke to him, and he mentioned he's also planning to join the drama society." He looked up at Donghyuck, scrunching the damp napkins into fists, eyes begging the younger boy not to fight him on this. "Or this Park Jisung. I know Jaemin will help you if he's in the dance society. Or..."
"Relax, Renjun-ah." Donghyuck squeezed Renjun's hand gently. "I understand." He didn't, not really. He could see the truth, written unmistakably across his friend's face, but that didn't make the truth any easier to fathom. He wondered whether the Renjun from his reality felt the same way, wondered how he'd never seen this before. Sure, Lee Jeno, was one of the kindest, gentlest souls on the planet, but this was Huang Renjun. He didn't--he couldn't... could he?
"How long?" Donghyuck asked. Renjun flushed, holding up three fingers. "Wow. That long, huh?"
"Yeah. I like to think I hide it pretty well, considering he doesn't even know I exist," Renjun admitted. Donghyuck couldn't help but agree. Of course, things might have been different here, but he suspected he was just that inobservant. Still, this was a big thing to miss. "Hey, Hyuck?"
"Yeah?"
"In your reality, was I..." He took a deep breath as if steadying himself. "Was there ever anything between me and...?" He didn't need to finish the sentence.
"I--" Donghyuck didn't know what to say. He didn't want to hurt Renjun, and it was true that he was realising he didn't know nearly as much about his friend as he'd thought, but he'd have known if they were--wouldn't he? "I don't think so, Injunie. I'm sorry."
"Oh. That's fine." Renjun swiftly changed the topic after that, and the notebook, pen and sheets of paper disappeared back into Renjun's bag, but Donghyuck couldn't help but notice that a large part of the wind had been taken out of Renjun's sails. He readily agreed to Renjun's reiterated request that they leave Lee Jeno for later, as they started to think of ways of befriending the other members at the school, but Donghyuck wasn't about to let it go that easily. In this reality, at least as far as he was able, he hoped he might be able to give Renjun the chance at a happily ever after that he deserved.
--
It was well past lunchtime by the time the two boys finally left the cafe, thanking the waitress profusely for all the coffee they'd consumed and apologising for the mess they'd made. As they stepped out into the street, heading for the side street where Donghyuck thought he remembered parking his car, he felt infinitely lighter than he had when he'd arrived. Arm in arm with one of his best friends, and with a solid plan of action under their belts, he felt hopeful and optimistic. Everything would be okay.
"Don't worry, Hyuck-ah," Renjun said, pulling him gently across the road by the arm. "We're getting the gang back together, whether they like it or not." There was a hint of humour in his tone, but the weight of the mammoth task ahead was not lost on either of them. Donghyuck was once again grateful to have someone like Renjun on his side.
"I'm going to get them back," he muttered, leaning into Renjun's shoulder as they walked side by side. "My family."
"Our family," Renjun told him, meeting his eye. His gaze was unwavering.
"Our family," Donghyuck agreed.