“He hasn’t replied to any of my texts either.” A calm Baekho replied to Minhyun who was visibly worried right now. It had been several hours since they last saw Ren and something didn’t feel right when he wasn’t responding to any of their texts, he had responded to the one Minhyun got a few hours before noon when he said he was going to take Won Woo out to lunch. “What about you, hyung?” He asked towards their friend Aron who gave a small shake of his head.

 

“Maybe he’s just really distracted.” JR spoke up next to Aron. “You said he went to visit his brother? They have a lot of catching up to do, right?”

 

“Right.” Minhyun agreed but he was still uneasy about it for some reason. Earlier when he dropped Ren off at Won Woo’s place, he had noted how tired Ren looked. He wanted to ask if he was okay, but didn’t get the chance since Ren left so quickly. It’s been bothering him all afternoon now.

 

“I’m sure he’s just having a lot of fun.” Baekho tried to say positively. “Try to relax, okay?”

 

“Okay.” Minhyun managed a small smile and got up to leave the dining room table. “Be right back. Need the bathroom.” They were all currently at Ren’s place since they thought he would have been back after having lunch with Won Woo. It was nearly 4pm by now.

 

“The bathroom isn’t that way.” Aron called out to Minhyun who was heading for the front door. “Unless you’re driving all the way home to take a dump?” He added and JR nudged him while Baekho got up to follow Minhyun who ignored them. “Should we tag along?” Aron asked and nudged JR back.

 

“We don’t have t-”

 

“Road trip!” Aron blurted out with a grin and pulled his irritated friend out of his seat and dragged him to the door. They managed to get to Baekho’s car in time before it left the parking a lot. “Don’t forget about us!”

 

Baekho chuckled and unlocked the back doors for them to hop in and then they were off to Won Woo’s shared apartment. The drive was a silent one since no one had much to say, Minhyun was too occupied with his worried thoughts, Baekho was busy driving, JR was thinking about what to eat for dinner later when he was free from this bunch and Aron, well… he was trying to stick his hand out of the window. He wasn’t dumb enough to stick his head out, but stupid enough to stick his hand out.

 

“Don’t do that.” Minhyun scolded like a parent. “It’s dangerous.”

 

“It’s fine!” Aron snickered until the window started to roll up and his fingers nearly got smashed. He about had a heart attack and looked up to the front and saw Minhyun had leaned over to roll up the back right window, Aron’s window. Baekho chuckled apologetically at him through the rearview mirror and Aron figured he deserved that. Being a child-adult was difficult sometimes.

 

Shortly after, they pulled up to their destination and immediately both Baekho and Minhyun could tell Soo Min’s car was gone from the lot. They weren’t sure if that necessarily meant Won Woo and Ren was using it since it was indeed Soo Min’s car. “Are you going to go up and check?” Baekho asked and Minhyun nodded while unbuckling his seatbelt. Just as he was about to get out of the car, they saw two figures walking out of the entrance and they instantly recognized them as Soo Min and Jihoon. “Maybe you can ask them?” Baekho pointed out but it seemed like Minhyun was already several steps ahead of him, literally.

 

Soo Min and Jihoon were a bit surprised to see Minhyun approaching them and stopped to greet him. “Hello, Miss GaGa.” He smiled brightly at her. “Mr. Woozi.” He also smiled at Jihoon who gave a small nod in greeting. “Did you two just come down from the apartment?”

 

“Yes.” Soo Min answered. “Where you looking for Ren?” Her expression was a mix of worry and guilt and he felt bad for her. He knew she was probably still regretting yesterday’s events.

 

“I am.” He nodded and noticed Jihoon’s expression was almost matching, he looked a little sad. “Is he still up there?” He gestured to the building behind them.

 

“No.” Jihoon answered this time. “He’s at the hospital with Won Woo. We were just about to head over there.”

 

“The… hospital?” Naturally Minhyun’s heart sunk and he panicked on the inside. He knew something felt off, something felt wrong. “Was there an accident or something?” He managed to ask in a calm voice.

 

“No.” Soo Min assured him. “He was dehydrated so Won Woo took him to the hospital to get treated. It’s just an IV drip to the arm. I don’t know how long they’ve been there, but he should be done soon, hopefully.” She managed a small smile in hopes it would lighten the mood. “The same thing happened to me before, and Won Woo took really good care of me, so don’t worry, Ren is in good hands.” Hearing those words really did help Minhyun worry less about it now, Jihoon as well.

 

“Thank you. I’m glad…” Minhyun was able to put on a more genuine smile. “You two said you were going to go visit? Did you need a lift? It’s almost rush hour, you probably won’t be able to hail a cab in time.” He said after checking the time on his phone.

 

“He’s right.” Soo Min pouted. “Why haven’t they invented teleportation yet?”

 

“Don’t pout too much, they probably wouldn’t be able to teleport your Choco Pies with you and they’ll get lost in space or something.” Jihoon muttered while they followed Minhyun to the Baekho’s car.

 

“Don’t say that!” Soo Min complained and Minhyun laughed at their cute antics. He even caught a glimpse of her hugging the box of Choco Pies dearly while Jihoon snickered and rolled his eyes. He thought their friendship was adorable.

 

When they made it to the car, Minhyun opened the back door for them and he gave a sheepish laugh when the two were surprised to see Aron and JR in the back seat. “Sorry, I forgot they tagged along.”

 

“It’s okay.” Soo Min said with a nervous laugh. “You think there’s enough room for us to fit?”

 

“Are you kidding? You’re both fun sized, of course you can fit!” Aron blurted out and gestured for them to hop in.

 

A few minutes later...

 

“I’m pretty sure this is illegal.” Soo Min was having deja vu. Right, she was in a situation like this before, with Mingyu and his friends! She still had to sit in someone’s lap and at least it was Jihoon’s and not Aron’s, because she knew somehow Jeonghan would find out about this. And JR was still a bit of a stranger to her. Even so, Jihoon wouldn’t allow it either way. He was making sure the other two’s arms never touched hers, his own arms were acting like a wall. It was pretty funny to look at and she held in a laugh.

 

“We’re almost to the hospital, just hang in there.” Baekho said and didn’t hide his laughter, he was clearly amused by the sight behind him, it was like a scene right out of an anime. Jihoon’s serious expression and aura was repelling both Aron and JR who subconsciously leaned more towards their windows to give more room for that invisible force field, that invisible barrier. Definitely an interesting road trip to the hospital for sure.

 

“You brought snacks?” Aron asked a moment later and eyed the box she was holding.

 

“Uh… do you want one?” She asked innocently and he nodded with a friendly smile. It put a smile on her face and she handed him one before turning and asking if JR wanted one as well. He nodded with a small smile and it made her smile even brighter when she looked to the front and asked Minhyun if he’d like one. Even Baekho who had Minhyun accept his for him. “Jiho-”

 

“No.” Jihoon blurted out and she pouted at his reply, he really ruined the mood! “You only have one left, right? Give it to Ren.” She understood why he said no now.

 

“Where did the rest go?!” She gasped and stared into the box to see one lonely Choco Pie at the bottom of the box. Jihoon literally face palmed and reached up to push her head forward in a teasing manner but she quickly leaned back and nearly squashed him into the backseat, it was almost like they were about to have a cat fight at this point. Jihoon started to struggle on keeping Soo Min from squashing him a second time while she laughed evilly.

 

“Careful!” Minhyun warned them in that parental tone just as Baekho had to slam on the brakes when someone cut in front of him. That caused Soo Min to throw her arms out on either side of herself to keep her balance on Jihoon’s lap and the lonely Choco Pie in the box slid out and escaped through Aron’s half opened window. She saw it flying out the window and gasped in horror before shouting a dramatic- “Noooooooooooooo!”

 

“That’s why you have to be careful!” Minhyun’s parental tone was stronger this time. “Aron! Why did you roll the window down again?!”

 

“I wanted to feel the wind through my hair.” He said with a hint of laughter but only got a scolding look in response. In a split second, he saw Soo Min turning around in her spot to look out the back window and her knee came dangerously close to something very sensitive down south since she needed something for her knee to rest on to hold her up, it just happened to be the open spot between his legs, he flinched and almost stopped breathing.

 

“Farewell, Ren’s Choco Pie.” She said in a soft and sad tone.

 

“It’s okay, we can give him mine.” Baekho assured her while watching her from the rearview mirror. “Please sit down properly, it’s dangerous for you to be looking out the back window like that.” He added and she nodded and moved to return to her spot. Aron once again held his breath and waited for her to get back to her spot without any wrong moves and he let out a sigh of relief when she was finally back on Jihoon’s lap. Though, poor Jihoon, he let out a small groan when she plopped down a little too hard and she let out a small “Whoops, sorry!”

 

...

 

“Thank god you're home.” Junhui blurted out when Jisoo came through the front door. He looked at Junhui in confusion when his roommate rushed over to him with a look of guilt and worry. “I messed up again!”

 

“What happened?” Jisoo asked and faced him completely, abandoning the task of putting his bag and coat away and taking his shoes off.

 

“Earlier, I had brunch with my friend Hyungwon. I was distracted by something that happened which I'll try to explain later because it's a whole different story, but when I got home, Minghao asked me to take him out to eat and I told him to just order something since I had been out already. I know!” He sighed when Jisoo gave him a scolding look for his mistake. “I went to use the bathroom and when I was done Minghao was gone. I thought he went back to his room but he wasn't there. I texted him but he never texted me back. I feel so bad now. I'm sure he left to go eat on his own but I'm worried if he got lost! It’s been almost four hours now!”

 

“Let's try not to think of the worse. He most likely did go out on his own for food. Do you have any idea what he might have wanted to eat?”

 

“No!”

 

“Okay, okay, don't panic!” Jisoo said quickly before pulling out his phone to compose a text to someone. “Let’s give it another hour before we do anything crazy.”

 

“Crazy like?” (Crazy love, crazy love, crazy love… sorry.)

 

….

FOCUS, author-nim!

 

“Getting the police involved to help find him.”

 

“No. We can't do that, it'd be so embarrassing if we can't find him ourselves first!” Junhui was about to have a meltdown over this. He truly didn't mean to upset Minghao like that. There was really no excuse he could use for this and he knew he was going to have to apologize big time.

 

“In an hour, if he's not back, we will go look for him, okay?” Jisoo suggested.

 

“Alright.” Junhui managed to calm himself just a bit and he noticed Jisoo typing away at his phone. “What are you doing?”

 

“Sending a text to everyone to keep an eye out for him.”

 

Jisoo: Hey, our roommate Minghao left the apartment on his own earlier. We're not sure if he really knows his way around the city that well yet, so if you could keep an eye out for him if you're out in the city as well, I'd appreciate it. Let Jun and I know if you spot him anywhere!

 

He sent this text to all their friends which included Seungcheol, Jeonghan, Won Woo, Jihoon, Soo Min and Chan. He did think about sending the same text to Mingyu and his friends but he felt like he shouldn't bother them with this, though if it came to it, he'd send it to them for extra help.

 

“Just relax, it’ll be okay.” Jisoo said positively to Junhui who looked more worried than he’s ever seen before. He understood though. He was pretty worried himself and felt a bit stressed even though he didn’t really have a part in this. But when he really thought about it, he did. He should have invited Minghao to tag along with him to the campus earlier. He could have shown him around a bit for when he starts his spring semester and of course, they would have ate lunch before coming home. He felt sorry for their younger roommate. He didn’t realize how much they’ve been neglecting him by leaving him home alone all the time. He knew they’d have to start inviting him out more or making more time to help him with his Korean and getting familiar with the city. They’re really going to make sure something like this doesn’t happen a second time.

 

A moment later, he was snapped out of his thoughts when his phone buzzed in his hand and he looked down to see it was a text from Jeonghan.

 

Jeonghan: Did he not take his phone with him when he left? 😱

You must be so worried! I’m sorry this is happening to you.

If you need any help, just let me know and I’ll be right there!!!

Jeonghan:

 

Seeing the sticker he sent had Jisoo chuckling. Jeonghan was so cute sometimes. Then he paused. There he goes thinking those thoughts. It’s harmless though. He reminded himself. It’s just a description of his actions. Junhui was pacing back and forth in front of the front door and Jisoo felt like he should let him be. He headed off to his room and took a seat on his bed before replying to Jeonghan’s text.

 

Jisoo: Thank you. We’ll give it another hour

before we head out and look for him. ^^

I’ll let you know if he comes home before then!

 

Jeonghan: I’ll be here!

Jeonghan:

 

Jisoo: I’m sorry, did I wake you

from your afternoon nap?

Jisoo:

 

Jeonghan: It’s good that I woke up! Don’t worry!

Otherwise I would have missed dinner!

 

Jisoo: I like how you didn’t even deny that

you were sleeping like most people would.

You really grew up, didn’t you?

Old Man Jeonghan and his

daily afternoon naps! 😂

 

Jeonghan: You know me so well~! 😄

Jeonghan:

Jeonghan: Naps are good for you!

 

Jisoo: They are. Glad you

 like them so much. Old man.

Jisoo:

 

Jeonghan: You’re one to talk,

you’re three months younger than me! 😠

You sleep early!

 

Jisoo: I get my 8 hours of sleep.

That’s why I don’t need naps.

Unlike you who’s up late every night!

What are you even doing that late?!

 

Jeonghan: Homework 😒

 

Jisoo: I had a feeling 😂

 

Jeonghan: Sometimes I text Soo Min, too.

She’s a bit of a night owl and needs someone

to talk to until she’s tired. I guess it’s the same

with me. It’s so lonely at night~! 😭

Jeonghan:

 

Jisoo: You’re not lonely any other time?

 

Jeonghan: When I’m not with her.💔

Jeonghan:

 

Jisoo: Must be difficult…

 

How did we even get on this topic? Jisoo scrolled back up a bit and sighed. Jeonghan brought it up. He always thought it was cute and sweet whenever Jeonghan talked about his relationship with his girlfriend to him, but not recently, not since he noticed those strange feelings. He really tried to think of explanations for that other than it being anything romantic. It’s been three years since the two started dating and he didn’t think much changed regarding time spent between his friends and his girlfriend. They never saw any less of him, it seemed to be pretty balanced.

 

So it couldn’t be that he felt jealous and neglected in their friendship. I’m just thinking about it too much. He felt like the more he thought about it, the more complicated it got. Maybe it was nothing and he made it into something from overthinking it so damn much.

 

Jeonghan: Not really, because I also have you~! 😍

 

Jisoo stared at that text for a moment before he snickered and shook his head. “Of course.” He muttered and typed a reply back before tossing it to the empty space beside him on his bed and he lied on his back to stare up at the ceiling. He let out a deep sigh and a moment later his phone buzzed with another reply from Jeonghan.

 

Jisoo: Haha

 

Jeonghan: If Minghao returns in time, why don’t we

eat dinner together? Soo Min said she’d be making

kimchi jjigae for dinner later and I’m sure she wouldn’t

mind feeding a few extra people!

 

Jisoo: Sounds good. Okay. ^^

 

Jisoo honestly felt like that plan wouldn’t really fall through anyway, so he agreed. Instead, he thought about what to order for dinner later since he was definitely not going to be in the mood to eat out.

 

...

 

“Are you going to eat dinner with us too?” LiNa muttered while she and Mei Yi were walking down the streets of Seoul window shopping with Minghao… who was still with them after their lunch.

 

“Are we going to eat more Chinese food?” He smiled and LiNa looked away and blushed a little, he looked too cute doing that! Mei Yi noticed and started to do an evil laugh until her friend elbowed her in the side and it caused her to stop and whimper instead.

 

“Minghao, it was really nice eating lunch with you earlier… it was also nice window shopping with you as well, but you really should go home and talk to your roommate, don’t you think?” Mei Yi said with a hint of worry in her tone. She really didn’t want him to feel like they didn’t want to eat dinner with him either, but he really had a situation to take care of after all and they didn’t want to keep him out too long and make the situation worse. If it were different, if he didn’t have a fight with his roommates, then they would be all for eating more Chinese food!

 

“I understand.” Minghao nodded and his expression looked like a kicked puppy. The girls felt so bad! “I’ll go eat Chinese food by myself. Thanks for letting my join you earlier, I really appreciated your kindness.” He gave a sweet smile and lifted his hand to give them a small wave. “I’ll see you two again someday, maybe? Bye.” Then he turned to leave and started to walk on his own.

 

“Let’s go.” LiNa nudged Mei Yi who was watching Minghao walking off with a dejected expression, she was so conflicted! “Mei Yi, c’mon, let’s go!” LiNa pulled on her friends arm to go in the opposite direction of him.

 

“No! I can’t do it!” Mei Yi blurted out and pulled on LiNa’s arm instead to follow her. She was going after Minghao who was about to turn the corner. “Minghao, wait!”

 

After turning around the corner, Minghao stopped and turned to lean his back against the wall so he could wait for the girls to catch up. He had a grin on his lips, he knew had some sort of charm that worked on them earlier, it was the only reason why he got to stay with them this long! I’ll really go home after this. He promised himself.

 

When the girls didn’t come around the corner, he was confused. They should have caught up by now right? He took a few steps to peek around the corner and his eyes widened when he saw the two getting ganged up on by a group of three shady looking guys. He could see Mei Yi trying to make a stance while protecting LiNa, but he knew they were scared. I have to do something. He thought quickly and started to sprint over to them.

 

“Just hand over your purse and no one gets hurt.” The leader of the trio said with a smirk on his lips and Mei Yi scoffed.

 

“There’s no way I’m handing over my purse, especially not when you’re threatening me, too! Really, you shouldn’t do this when there’s so many people around!”

 

“I don’t see anyone around, though?” The guy snickered until one of his men tapped on his shoulder and pointed to someone standing a few feet away. “Hey kid, nothing to see here, just keep walking.” He made a shooing motion at Minghao who only took a few more steps CLOSER.

 

“No, Minghao, run!” The girls called over to him and Minghao knew what he really had to do. There was no way he was going to let those guys hurt them or steal from them. Even if it was going to be three against one, he was sure he could pull this off somehow. He had to.

 

“Are you trying to interfere, kid?” The leader turned his attention towards Minghao now while one of the others made sure the girls wouldn’t escape. “What are you even going to do? Make a distraction so the girls can flee? That’s cute, but I don’t think so. You had your chance to walk away and you blew it. Guess we’ll have to deal with you now so you don’t go running off to get the police. Today is the day you wish you didn’t skip cram school.” He gestured for his other guy to join him on approaching Minghao.

 

“Today is the day you wish you didn’t cross paths with me.” Minghao said back with a serious expression and got ready to fight. The leader didn’t like that and charged at him to attack first. Minghao easily dodged that and also dodged the other guy who charged right after his leader. Mei Yi and LiNa were worried and did their best to help aid Minghao in his fight with the two guys, like shouting to your left and he’s right behind you.

 

The third guy threatened them to be quiet and that’s when he heard his leader yell out in pain when Minghao had flipped him over his shoulder and twisted his arm back, pinning him on the ground. The second guy had gotten an intense upper cut to the jaw shortly before and he was knocked out a few feet away. Minghao’s eye locked with the third guy and he slowly stood up while breathing heavily from all the physical attacks he just pulled in a short amount of time. His glare was piercing right through the third guy’s soul and he hesitated and backed up a few steps.

 

It really looked like a scene right out of an action film or anime. And as cliché as it sounds, Minghao saw the guy’s eyes shift to something behind him and he was able to catch the leader in his peripheral vision and made one final move to end the fight. He managed to pull off a perfect high kick to the leaders head and knocked him out without losing his balance or falling, though he did feel a split second of pain in his ankle, he probably didn’t shift his foot correctly while executing the move.

 

Seeing his leader fall to the ground like that and his fellow member already knocked out a few feet away sent a chill down the third guy’s spine. This kid was able to knock two grown men out within two minutes! He knew he was no match for the kid and instead, took off with his tail between his legs, letting LiNa and Mei Yi free.

 

“That was amazing!” Mei Yi blurted out and she rushed over to him along with LiNa. “I can’t believe it! I had no idea you knew self defense!”

 

“Are you okay?” LiNa asked when Minghao nearly lost his balance when trying to stand on his right ankle. “Did you get hurt?!”

 

“I’m fine.” Minghao assured them with a small smile. He was starting to feel the soreness from all those moves and just noticed his left wrist was starting to ache, the one he used for that uppercut earlier. It’s been a while since he fought anyone, he figured he was just going to be sore, that’s all. But it was clear the girls were very worried.

 

“You should go to the hospital!” They insisted. “We’ll take you there!”

 

“No, no! I’m fine! Really!” Minghao was nervous now, he wasn’t too fond about doctors and hospitals. “I’d just like to go home now!”

 

“But-”

 

“We should go before these guys wake up.” He pointed behind him and the girls agreed. They started to lead the way down the sidewalk and Minghao followed them but was slowed down from the pain in his ankle and Mei Yi noticed when she glance over her shoulder.

 

“You are hurt!” She exclaimed and went running back to him. “LiNa, call a cab!” She said to her before she ran. “Why did you lie to us?!” Mei Yi scolded once she got to him and offered to help him walk by making him wrap his arm around her shoulder on his right side to help him walk faster.

 

“Sorry…” he said in a guilty tone. “I just didn’t want you two to worry so much. I’ve burdened you enough for today as is.”

 

“Nonsense! We’ve burdened you now!” She pointed out. “We’re taking you to the hospital, okay? Don’t even try to protest either! Got it!”

 

“Yes, I understand!” He chuckled. “Thanks.”

 

Once they made it to the end of the sidewalk, they saw LiNa flagging them over to the cab she called. They helped Minghao into the backseat and told the driver to take them to the hospital. Along the way, Mei Yi mentioned about Minghao contacting his roommates so they could come help with getting him seen at the hospital, because they weren’t sure how well that would go if it was up to LiNa and Mei Yi whom he just met today. Minghao wasn’t really looking forward to telling Jisoo and Junhui about this, but he had no choice. It would be his first visit to the hospital and he really wasn’t sure about what to do, he needed their help.

 

He pulled out his phone and tried to compose a text to Jisoo and LiNa didn’t mean to look, but she noticed Minghao had never sent that text before like he said he did. She frowned but after everything that happened, she supposed she could understand why he didn’t, he just didn’t want them to worry. Well it didn’t work.

 

Texting was hard for him because of the pain in his left wrist and he sighed. He supposed he had to call now. He tapped on the call button and waited for Jisoo to pick up.

 

…

 

Jisoo woke up when he felt his phone buzzing on his bed next to him and he was confused. He had accidentally fallen asleep after texting Jeonghan earlier and frowned. He reached for his phone to check who was calling and when he saw Minghao’s name, he sat up quickly and answered the call.

 

“Minghao! I’m glad you called! I was so worried!” He blurted out the second the call was connected.

 

“I’m sorry, hyung.” He could hear how apologetic he was and he knew the younger was feeling bad. “I didn’t mean to worry you like that.”

 

“It’s okay. I understand that you were feeling neglected by us earlier when Junhui told you to just order something for lunch. We’re also sorry. Saying we’re busy with school and other things doesn’t justify us not making time for you. I promise it won’t happen again.”

 

“Thanks.”

 

“Did you manage to find a place to eat at?”

 

“Yes. I actually bumped into two girls when I was leaving and they invited me to eat lunch with them when I told them I was still new to the city. They’ve been really kind to me and so I stayed with them longer after lunch. We were going to eat dinner as well but something happened and well…”

 

“Is everything okay?” Jisoo felt uneasy judging by the nervous tone in Minghao’s voice.

 

“They’re taking me to the hospital.” Minghao said calmly. “Can you meet us there?”

 

Jisoo blanked out for a second when he heard that. Of course he was extremely worried now and wondered what in the world happened that required for his roommate a trip to the hospital?! “I’ll be right there!” Jisoo managed to say after Minghao asked if he was still on the line. They exchanged a few more words like how Minghao and the two unknown girls were halfway to the hospital at the moment and they’d be waiting for Jisoo at the front. Then the call ended.

 

The first thing he did after hanging up was text Jeonghan.

 

Jisoo: I need to go to the hospital, can

you tell Seungcheol? I need a ride ASAP!

 

Once he sent the text, he got up to get ready and grabbed the things he needed to bring with him to the hospital before he came out to the living room where Junhui was napping on the couch. He frowned since he knew he had to wake him and tell him what was going on. He gently nudged him awake and Junhui sat up quickly in panic. “Did he come back yet?!”

 

“No.” Jisoo answered. “He just called me though. He said he’s on his way to the hospital and I need to go meet him there.”

 

“The hospital?! Why!?” Junhui was clearly stressed now and grabbed his head, like he was going to pull his hair out. “This is all my fault! I’m sorry!”

 

“It’s okay!” Jisoo reached out and rested his hand on his shoulder. “You should come with me.”

 

“I doubt he wants to see me right now!” Junhui protested. “Just go, I’ll be here.”

 

“No, you’re coming with me, okay? What if I can’t explain something correctly to him, I need you to translate.” Jisoo protested back. Junhui looked up at him and snickered at those words. “I texted Jeonghan to ask Seungcheol for a ride, so get ready, they’re on their way.” He said after glancing at his phone. He saw Jeonghan texted back a few minutes ago that they were indeed leaving.

 

“Okay.” Junhui agreed and got up to stand by the door. “I’m ready.”

 

“What?” Jisoo almost laughed. “What about your phone?” Junhui pulled it out of his pocket. “Your wallet?” He also pulled that out of his pocket. “What about your jacket?”

 

“Oh, right.” He turned to the coat stand and put on his jacket. “Now I’m ready.”

 

“Good.” Jisoo chuckled and walked over to also put his jacket on. “Let’s go wait for them down in the lot.” He suggested and they were out of the apartment a moment later and headed for the parking lot. It was a few minutes before Seungcheol’s car pulled up and Jeonghan jumped out of the front seat to greet them.

 

“Are you okay?! Are you hurt?!” He exclaimed and held Jisoo by the shoulders and scanned his body for any injuries.

 

“I’m fine. It’s not me it’s-” before he could finish his sentence, Jeonghan did the same thing to Junhui who only laughed. “Minghao called and said to meet him at the hospital.” Jisoo finally explained.

 

“Is he hurt?!” Jeonghan looked even more panicked.

 

“I don’t know yet, that’s why we have to go meet him there.” Jisoo gestured to get back into the car. “Let’s go, please.”

 

“Right!” Jeonghan agreed and hurried over to open the back seat door for Jisoo. Junhui was already walking around and opening his own door and Jisoo paused. Focus. He thought to himself and thanked Jeonghan before getting in. Once everyone was in and buckled up, Seungcheol drove off with their destination set for the hospital.

 

…

 

When Soo Min and her group arrived to the hospital, she noticed a familiar face near the entrance and she stopped. “What is it?” She heard Jihoon ask.

 

“Isn’t that Jisoo and Jun’s roommate, Minghao?” She pointed and the familiar face noticed them. He seemed surprised to see her but managed a small wave.

 

“What’s wrong?” Baekho asked after coming back outside, Minhyun and the rest went ahead to check which room Ren was staying in.

 

“I see someone we know, I’m going to go see what’s up. We’ll meet you guys afterwards, okay?” She said to Baekho with a worried smile. He figured she wasn’t ready to meet Ren just yet, but he did believe she was telling the truth about seeing someone she knew since she started walking towards the guy accompanied by two other girls several feet away.

 

“She’s nervous.” Jihoon blurted out. “But I know she’s not going to bail last second, don’t worry.”

“Okay, I trust her.” Baekho said with a kind smile. “I’m sure she’d like to meet with him after everyone is done greeting him.”

 

“Exactly.” Jihoon nodded. “She doesn’t really want an audience when she talks to him.”

 

“Of course. I’ll make sure they can meet alone.”

 

“Thanks.”

 

“What about you? Do you want to come with us now?” He asked.

 

Jihoon thought about that. He supposed he could tell Soo Min that he would head up and greet Ren before her, but then again, he didn’t think he could leave her down here alone like this either. “I’ll stay and go with her in a bit.” He said calmly while watching Soo Min talk to Minghao and the two other girls.

 

“Alright, I understand. I’ll text her the room number when we get it.” Baekho said and Jihoon nodded before heading over to join Soo Min and the others. Baekho headed back inside to return to his small group. They asked where he had been and why Soo Min and Jihoon weren’t with him and he explained that she wasn’t ready just yet and they also noticed someone they knew was here so they went to greet them. Everyone understood, especially Minhyun. Once they got the room number Ren was currently staying in, they started to head up and Baekho left the text for Soo Min who was almost startled with her phone buzzed in her hand.

 

She the screen and saw the text from Baekho and looked to Jihoon. “Right, he said he’d text you the room number once they get it.” He explained.

 

“Are you visiting someone?” Mei Yi asked kindly. They had just introduced themselves to each other and discovered they had classes in the same building on campus. LiNa said she was an Art major and Mei Yi a Photographer major. Right away, Soo Min felt like they were clicking well with each other despite the situation at hand.

 

“Kind of.” Soo Min nodded. “But… what happened? Why are you two here with Minghao?” She didn’t want to get off topic so quickly like that.

 

“Oh right,” Mei Yi’s expression suddenly changed into one of guilt and worry and she glanced to LiNa for help.

 

“There was an altercation earlier. Three men were trying to steal our purses, but Minghao saved us.” She explained. “He fought them, two against one since the third one got scared when he knocked the other two out. But he got hurt in the process, so we brought him here. He told us he’s new from China, so we had him contact his roommates to come help him with checking into the hospital.”

 

“Ah, I see. So, Jisoo is on his way?” She asked to Minghao who quietly nodded. “That’s good. Thanks for staying with him.” She said to the two girls who assured her it was no problem.

 

“Don’t worry about me, noona, you can go and visit who you were going to visit now.” Minghao said with a small smile.

 

“I will! Once I know you’re okay!” She said with a weak smile of her own. That’s when Jisoo and the others walked up and she turned to greet them. She was surprised to see it was more than just Jisoo, but Junhui, Jeonghan and Seungcheol.

 

“What are you doing here?! Are you hurt?!” Jeonghan frowned and came over to check her for any injuries.

 

“I’m okay!” She chuckled and he hugged her tightly in relief. She could hear Mei Yi and LiNa squeal nearby and Jihoon scolded him for being so dramatic. Seungcheol laughed while Junhui cooed at the scene and… Soo Min noticed Jisoo looked kind of bothered. When he noticed her looking at him, he averted his eyes to Minghao and started to ask about his condition. That was weird. She thought after parting from Jeonghan.

 

The two girls introduced themselves to Jisoo and the other three before explaining what happened. Junhui was incredibly guilty and avoided looking at Minghao the most, the girls could easily tell Junhui was the roommate Minghao had a problem with, but they weren’t going to say anything about it right now because it really wasn’t any of their business to start with. They just hoped Minghao would deal with it like he said he would. Junhui looked so sorry and Minghao saw that. Once everything was explained, Jisoo exchanged contact information with the girls so he could let them know Minghao’s condition after this, because they wanted to make sure he was going to be okay.

 

They also exchanged contact information with Soo Min as well so they could meet up on campus another time to get to know each other more. It was clear they wanted to be friends and Jeonghan cooed at that and embarrassed his girlfriend. He was just happy she made girl friends and not more guy friends. The girls commented how cute that was before suggesting they take Minghao into the hospital to be seen. They were sure the pain was only getting worse just standing around like that. They took their leave after saying goodbye and now the focus was back on Minghao. Seungcheol helped Minghao walk into the hospital with Jisoo following close behind. Jeonghan and Jihoon followed as well and didn’t notice Soo Min and Junhui didn’t follow.

 

“You’re not going in?” Junhui asked when he also noticed she stayed behind.

 

“You either?” She said with a small chuckle. “Did something happen between you and Minghao? I noticed you barely looked at him since you got here.”

 

“Yeah, it was pretty obvious wasn’t it?” Junhui said with a sheepish smile. “He wanted to go eat lunch when I got home earlier, but I didn’t take him and so he went out on his own.”

 

“Why not?” She frowned.

 

“Well, I had already gone out and ate brunch with your cousin. I just got home and wasn’t ready to leave again so quickly. I was being a bit selfish.”

 

“I see.” She frowned. “Invite him out more, will you?”

 

“I know!” He pouted.

 

“Good.” She smiled before realizing what he had said a moment ago. “You said you ate brunch with my cousin earlier?”

 

“Yeah.” He nodded. “He told me that he talked to you last night and he answered your question you had.”

 

“He did.” She nodded and her mood faltered a bit. “I’m glad he answered me, finally. At least I know the truth now and it’s not haunting me anymore now that I know what happened.”

 

“That’s good. I’m glad, too. You were suffering so much and I really hated that.” He rested his hand on her shoulder. “I know it was none of my business, but I did try to get Hyungwon to talk. So I’m glad that he finally saw what I was seeing and talked to you.”

 

“Thanks.” She managed a small smile up at him, he could tell she was struggling to hold in those emotions.

 

“It’s okay. It must be difficult since this all got dumped on you so suddenly. So don’t give yourself such a hard time, okay?”

 

“Okay.” She nodded in agreement. “You either, alright?”

 

“Yes.” He chuckled and she gestured for a hug and he accepted it. The embrace lasted for about thirty seconds before they parted. “So, you didn’t really say why you were here? Are you not feeling well?” He asked and checked her forehead for a fever. She did feel warm and didn’t look so well now that he really looked at her.

 

“I kinda don’t feel well now that you mentioned it, but that’s not why I’m here.” She sighed and looked to the entrance. “Won Woo texted Jihoon that he was here with Ren. So we came to visit since they said Ren would be here a while.”

 

“Is he hurt?” Junhui frowned.

 

“No, Won Woo texted Jihoon and said Ren was dehydrated so he’s on an IV drip. Those take awhile, especially if you’re really dehydrated.”

 

“True. So, should we get you started on one too?” He said with a weak chuckle. “Seriously, let’s go inside and get you some water.”  He added and lead her by the hand to head inside. Immediately they bumped into Jeonghan and Junhui let go and held his hands up high in the air while claiming it wasn’t what it looked like.

 

“Relax.” Jeonghan snickered. “I know you weren’t doing anything suspicious, so don’t react like that!”

 

“He’s just being careful.” She pointed out.

 

“Speaking of being careful,” Junhui spoke up, “be sure she drinks a lot of water. She just told me her brother is here because he’s dehydrated. We don’t want them to start twinning in the hospital, right?” Soo Min paused when she heard him refer to Ren as her brother and it seemed like it was getting easier and easier to accept. She was getting used to the idea, or more like the reality.

 

“Really?” Jeonghan was so worried now. He could see she wasn’t looking well either compared to from before. He thought maybe it was just too much of an eventful day for her and it was taking a toll on her body. “Jisoo finished checking in Minghao, they’re in the waiting area.” He said to Junhui who nodded and gave a small thanks. He left to go join them and left the couple alone. “Are you okay? Do you want to check in too?”

 

“No!” She blurted out with a nervous laugh. “I just need to sit down and drink some water.”

 

“Okay, we’ll do that.” He gave her a sweet smile and took her by the hand to lead her to the waiting area where the others were. He had her sit next to Jihoon before he left to the vending machine to get her a bottle of water.

 

“Are we going to see Ren?” Jihoon asked quietly to Soo Min who sighed in response. “Do you mind if I go see him before you, then?”

 

“Actually, yeah. You should go see him first. I really don’t feel like having an audience when I meet with him.” She explained and he snickered. “What?”

 

“I knew you were going to say that.” He said before getting up from his seat. “Can you show me the room number Baekho texted you?”

 

“Sure.” She pulled out her phone and pulled up the text. She forward it to him and he thanked her before heading off. Jeonghan returned a second later and asked where Jihoon was heading off to. “To see Ren.” She answered and took a sip of the water. “Won Woo is actually here too, he was the one who brought Ren here. Jihoon and I caught a ride here with Ren’s friends and boyfriend, so they’re up there with him too. There’s too many people right now, so I’ll wait until they’re done and then I’ll go see him.”

 

“Okay, that sounds good. Just relax for now.” Jeonghan said and reached over to tuck a few loose strands of hair behind her left ear and caressed her cheek before retracting his hand. Soo Min smiled at him with a small blush from his gentle touch and he smiled back with a cute chuckle in response.

 

Seungcheol was watching the two with a smile from a seat over since Jihoon was sitting next to him before leaving a few moments ago, so the couple were separated from the group right now. That was okay and he let them be, but he couldn’t help notice Jisoo’s mood when he glanced over to check on Minghao a seat over to his right. “Something wrong?” He asked Jisoo.

 

“No.” He simply replied.

 

“Are you sure? You seemed bothered by something?”

 

“Yeah, it’s nothing.” Jisoo muttered and looked elsewhere like he was going to avoid talking about it.

 

“Okay.” Now that Seungcheol thought about it, Jisoo only started to act like this the moment they met up with Soo Min and Jihoon. More like since Jeonghan and Soo Min started to interact. Why? He was confused. Why would he be bothered by that? He really thought about it and eventually came up with an idea. The couple had fought recently and maybe Jisoo was still upset about it or something? He knew Jisoo cares for Jeonghan a lot, so maybe that fight also affected him in some way as well… But still.

 

He supposed right now wasn’t a time to ask Jisoo about it, so he kept quiet and planned to ask another time. For now, they all patiently waited for Minghao to be seen by a doctor. Junhui was sitting next to Minghao when they all took their seats, he really thought about sitting on the other side but at the same time, he didn’t want Minghao to feel even worse if he started to make it obvious.

 

“What hurts?” He decided to ask since he wasn’t present when they were checking him in.

 

“My right ankle and my left wrist.” Minghao answered quietly. “I was a bit reckless when fighting with those men.”

 

“It happens. Not like we fight bad guys every day.” Junhui sighed and Minghao surprised him with a chuckle. “What?”

 

“Nothing.” He shook his head with a smile. “I’m sorry for leaving the apartment like that. I didn’t think something like this would happen.”

 

“It’s okay. Next time I’ll be there to help you out and it will be a fair fight.” Junhui said with a wide smile.

 

“Right, that would be nice.” Minghao really did think it would be nice to have someone have your back while you’re in the midst of a fight. It would make things a lot easier as well.

 

A moment later, he was called by a nurse to get his vitals checked. When he got up, he looked back to Jisoo who was about to get up and go with him but he stopped and told Junhui to go with him.

 

“Right. Translations.” Junhui chuckled and got up to go with Minghao. If Minghao had to be honest, he was kind of glad Junhui came with him instead. Nothing against Jisoo at all! It’s just, he was finally getting along with Junhui and didn’t want it to end so quickly like that. This was an experience that was most likely going to bring them CLOSER.

---

Chapter forty-six~!

 

Hello~

Miss me?

*Minghao’s expression*

LOL

I was going to update last week, but then life happened like usual. It was a long and stressful week, but I made it out alive with good and bad news. Bad news first, my favorite therapist ended up leaving the place I go to so I was so sad about it OTL eugh why… but it’s okay. I will be fine aha. Good news is, my knee has gotten so much better and so at least she got to hear that news before leaving! It’s all thanks to her really so TT^TT huehuehue.

Then they were doing repairs in the bathroom all week last week and that was a nightmare. Ended up getting sick because of all the dust and fumes x.x still trying to recover from that lol

So here is Chapter 46. I guess after seeing the results from the poll, I’ve decided to just keep updating when I can, I’m just happy to know there are more readers here than I expected. Never wanted it to be about the numbers like I said, just needed to know where to spend my time writing is all because I’ve got other stories in the works and I want to post them! Especially this new GyuHao fic I started recently. It’s not an OTP fic but basically they’re the main characters along with my other two OCs. I want to post it soon aha but I’m not sure how soon I should post it? I’ve only got two chapters done and so… I probably should wait until I get it more developed but I’ve been working on that on and off between CLOSER and all my other fics so, yeah!

If you’re interested, then just keep an eye out for it! ^^ Mingyu has been messing with me lately OTL Someone stop him. I suppose the fic was inspired with how GyuHao got their own personal instagrams haha gotta love being inspired by literally EVERYTHING. >.> There’s gonna be Verkwan/Boonon, JiHan, JiCheol, SoonSeok, No Meanie unfortunately aha but it’s already looking like a fun fic to write~! Since I’ve chosen to write it a bit differently, more comedic and animated with a few angsty moments here and there lol I’m just bad at sticking to one theme apparently but it’s fine =.=

So yesssssssss~! Lemme know if you’re interested in me posting the foreward soon? Don’t worry about it though lol cuz it probably won’t happen unless I get more done first aha.

I figured to just leave the google form here for anyone who wanted to actually participate in the Q&A for CLOSER. There’s really not going to be like a deadline or anything, can just go with the flow, answer questions when they come in… just a forever kind of thing I guess aha, so don’t be shy~!

Q&A FORM FOR CLOSER

I tested it myself and it literally does not show who sends in the questions, it’s completely anonymous unless you say who you are, so please! I encourage everyone to send in a question to the characters, be it for the storyline or just for fun, it’s okay! Let’s have fun with it aha I don’t expect to get many questions, so don’t feel bad if you don’t send one in the end! ^^

Alright, time to post this!

Chapter 47 is… done I suppose, so I will try to finish Chapter 48 first before trying to post the next one in case my ideas change x.x I hope they don’t lol but yeah… the ending of CH 47 tho…

Jeonghan: Why am I’m nervous suddenly?

Jisoo: Why do I feel like it has to do with us since she’s using gifs of us… it’s about us, isn’t it?

So smart lol. KIDDING BUT >.> I guess… yeah they’re right.

Just gonna say idk what I’m doing with them anymore but I’ll do my best aha

UNTIL NEXT TIME!