There wasn’t a knife sharp enough to cut through the thick atmosphere spreading its miasma between the participants.

Around the round table, each sat in their respective seats and scrutinized one another from left to right and back to the front.

Before Minho helped Yunho set all the delicious side dishes and serve the rice, he pulled Taemin’s hair backwards and carefully gave the honey head a low ponytail. Yunho found it rather cute the way Minho handled his rebellious friend who couldn’t stop mockingly glancing around and hiding the wicked smiles contouring his features. He was a prankster, a boy that yearned for trouble wherever he’d go and, for some reason, it bugged Yunho at the back of his neck (or maybe it was the the cold air coming from the kitchen window).

The Taemin he knew was a sweet and caring child that enjoyed life more than anybody else and even if he sometimes got reckless and had ideas too spontaneous to be considered safe, Taemin’s energy transferred from time to time to Jongin and it made Yunho proud to witness their growing friendship.

So the fact that Jongin could murder Taemin in a second if he dared blink through their staring contest made the elder uneasy. Taemin returned each glare, accompanied by a smirk begging to be released from its muscle twitching at the end of his mouth.

Yunho tried to laugh and somehow convinced Minho in the little game of ‘let’s-try-to-make-love-not-war-please-stop’ as the younger fellow joined the half forced half ‘are-you-okay?’ insane laughter both into the other three. It worked when Taemin and Jongin lowered their gazes and focused on food rather than their equally beautiful features.

Chanyeol had been lost somewhere in their play and could only stare and crack a smile or two before blasting in full mental chuckles and surprising Jongin, enough for his body to spasm him up the chair and make Taemin burst in snickers.

“What’s so funny?” Jongin tried to play it cool and fixed his position back at his place, picked the chopsticks and continued to enjoy his dinner after an exhausting work day.

“You,” Taemin muttered with his mouth full of rice before he innocently beamed at a half-choking Jongin.

Chanyeol patted his back and helped him drink some water before Yunho cleared his throat and leaned forward to Minho and Taemin, half judging the honey head for his misdemeanor and half pleased they finally made verbal conversation.

“MINHO,” the elder almost screamed on top of his lungs and startled the man whose eyes widened and mouth shut tight “you said you're a photographer?”

“Yes,” one tensed smile before he stuffed his mouth with plain rice later, Minho weighted his words and straightened his back, facing each one by one.  “It’s not a hobby,” he assured them with Taemin’s snort nearby not once ruining his charismatic allure. “Actually, I’ve met Taemin because of it, he’s a wonderful model.”

Patting the honey head’s shoulder, Jongin choked the second time that evening on his food and earned Chanyeol an invisible tail powerfully wiggling to be of aid to the boy. One more glass down his throat and a burning desire to ask exactly what kind of photos he was speaking about, Chanyeol cut him short when he elbowed the table and raised both his eyebrows in sincere fascination.

“Fashion photographer or...?”

True, the one named Taemin who Chanyeol had confused for a girl (he still wasn’t sure of his gender, but judging from the low tonality of his voice, Adam’s apple and the fact that he lacked any visible perky chest from behind his clothes - not like smaller s weren’t cute, he kind of enjoyed them from time to time, jiggling sweetly in anime , but that was a thought for another dinner night - he long concluded Taemin was truly a guy as Jongin told him or some kind of different-ish girl he had never met before) looked like out of a fashion magazine with his expensive outfit perfectly fit on his body, gorgeous blonde hair, which was a mop of a mess in the ponytail, and the piercings he caught when Taemin brushed a few locks behind his right ear.

He couldn’t help notice the rosary bead bracelet Taemin had trapped on his wrist, eerily similar to the one Jongin sported even under the shower (Chanyeol caught his friend once then and he vowed never to do it again too soon because he almost passed out from a bleeding nose and the fever that followed suit – it turned out to be something else, but Chanyeol put all the blame on the glory that is Jongin’s perfectly sculpted Adonis body who later came worryingly by his bed side to take his temperature and slept over night by his side until he’d get better and it made Chanyeol’s heard flutter so hard, he thought he’d die for real because of a heart failure).

“Oh, portraits, photojournalism, still life, yes, fashion from time to time...,” Minho shrugged and tried to place all of his ideas in order “actually, I do not believe I have a certain fixed photography concept since I enjoy travelling the world and bring it closer through my lenses, while other times I have a desire to take lazy shots of the apartment.”

The whole time Minho explained his passion and motioned with his hands the way he grabbed the camera and the way he tilted ever so slightly in order to have the perfect image, Taemin and Jongin returned to their unspoken eye battle, each slowly pushing the food aside and devouring each other instead.

Chanyeol felt uneasy. He could feel Jongin’s aura grow in size and switch from white to pitch black every time Taemin’s simper threatened to expose how much of a bastard he could become in the face of peril. As much as the giant tried to focus his attention on Minho and continuously nod as a way to show he was incredibly interested in his domain, beads of sweat under the armpits, on the forehead and somewhere under the stomach made it impossible,

“But these days I’m living with Taemin until I find a studio to crash in and continue my work,” Minho sipped from the soup “though one of my lenses broke and I need a new one before I can go back to street shots, I’m too comfortable with that size to try another kit.”

And all Jongin could think among the cluster of information was ‘you bastard’. The honey head returned the thought through a frown and kept his head low in his food.

“Hyung’s cooking is the best!” he cheerfully said out of the blue, earning another choking Jongin.

Chanyeol believed it was becoming a habit his best friend should not have. More pats on the back, the third glass of water and Taemin’s proud sneer ended up in multiple curses in two languages inside Chanyeol’s head.

“Well, not really.”

Who exactly that kid thinks he is? It was obvious from the way he backed on the chair and raised his chin high up that there wasn’t an ounce of modesty in his personality and he kind of wondered how come someone interested in photography, which took certain finesse, could hang around the demonic spawn. Although he could see the charm Taemin carried with his full lips, enigmatic eyes and shining smiles which made even Chanyeol reconsider for a second their status quo with Taemin. He wouldn’t mind painting him and capture every single flicker of lighting over his flawless skin and perfect proportions and heart shaped face and ---

“I’m into the visual arts too!” Chanyeol had to divert somehow his fanboying self and control his urges, for he was about to either beat the crap out of Taemin (impressing or shocking Jongin, both were acceptable as it drew Jongin’s attention back on him) or place him on a golden tray of goodies and beg him to become his model as well and freeze in time while he dipped his brush in vibrant colors of paint and sketch his perfection on a blank paper ready to be possessed by Taemin’s beauty.

“Ah yes, Chanyeol is a painter!”

“Really? What do you paint?”

That was a silly question. It was Jongin’s time to roll his eyes for he knew darn well what Chanyeol painted – him, him and him, 24/7, every single time he got something that could leave a mark on anything available to use as a canvas.

“Stuff,” Chanyeol laughed and Minho joined along.

“What stuff?” Taemin blurted while holding the rice bowl wrongly and it made Yunho flinch for a second. Minho slapped Taemin’s leg under the table and forced the honey head not to improperly touch anything else.

Their dinner barely started and it was burning hot.

“Stuff, they aren’t good anyway.”

“I’m sure you have some amazing portraits, right?”

Chanyeol tried to guess how Minho knew, but got lost in the way Jongin picked the spoon to take another sip of the soup. The liquid glittered over Jongin’s lips as he them clean while Chanyeol gulped to moisten his dry throat.

Taemin snorted again.

“Get a room,” he mumbled and earned another slap aimed straight over his thigh. It resonated through the entire room which fell silent and all eyes were glued on the dynamic duo.

“Hahahaha, he’s kidding, right?!” Minho pulled Taemin at his chest and ruffled the honey head until his ponytail became a bird’s nest from the way hair pushed upwards lifted locks after locks in a complete mess.

“I’m not,” he shoved Minho to the side as Taemin abruptly got up from the table and sent his apologizes in Yunho’s direction “I guess we’ll be going, sorry for being rude, but it’s impossible not to with your brother around.”

“Wait---” Yunho got up as well and tried to catch the boy before he’d disappear in the hallway, only for Jongin to do the same and place his hands over Taemin’s shoulder. The blonde turned around and gloweringly faced the boy.

“Okay, what I had done today was wrong and I’m sorry, but I still think you owe me an apology from last time.”

“I owe you nothing,” Taemin snarled and pushed Jongin away from him.

“I’m sorry,” Minho bowed to Yunho and rushed to their side, parting the two hormonal driven young adults. Chanyeol came not long after, ready to take every hit for Jongin and even sacrifice his life if he had to – anything to ensure Jongin’s safety.

“Yes you do!”

“I don’t!”

“Stubborn !”

Taemin clutched at Jongin’s hair, only for Jongin to do the same and start a weird ritual of soft-wannabe-badass nicknames followed by various attempts of punching or kicking each other.

“Bully!”

“Two-faced no good !”

“Dark skinned er!”

“What did you call me?!”

“Dark skin!”

“YOU ING---”

“Ya, ya, cut it!” Minho had to put his body between the two and receive Taemin’s knuckles and Jongin’s side foot “Goddamnit, that hurts!”

“Jongin, please,” Chanyeol whined besides his friend with mini-Chanyeol cheerleaders waving their pompons and clapping inside his head.

“ALL OF YOU STOP IT RIGHT NOW.”

There are many dangerous and terrifying things or events in the world. Nothing could compare with Yunho’s stern gaze that brought silence back and made both the honey head and the black-haired boy squirm under his threatening tone. Both knew what Yunho was capable of and both were afraid to bring that side of Jongin’s older brother to the surface. “I am disappointed, what’s with both of you?! You used to be the best friends in the world, what could have driven both of you into acting like maniacs?!”

Head hanging low and mustering a few excuses, Jongin shyly extended his hand to Taemin’s and brushed his fingers against the honey head’s before they entwined them in comfort, away from Yunho’s view.

Chanyeol saw their little gesture and his heart sank deeper in his stomach, rotten by the acid in there.

Jongin never wanted to hold hands with him.

;;;

Before they knew it, everyone had made it to the table again. 

After Taemin and Jongin calmed down and they both said sorry, the tense atmosphere from before dispersed. However, no matter how much the tension had faded, the awkwardness of the whole situation stayed with them. 

Jongin and Taemin didn't speak much, unless asked something directly. They didn't look at each othe either, focusing on other things or just plainly eating the food in front of them. 

Chanyeol was in his own thoughts and, more often than not spaced out, not even realizing he was spoken to. Only when he came back from wherever he was, did he apologize and answered whatever he was asked. 

Jongin, although never one to actually notice much other people's emotions, could see that something was bothering Chanyeol as the other guy would never really space out like that unless he was thinking hard. Jongin would only see that look in his friend's eyes when the other was studying or something was going wrong. 

Obviously, Chanyeol wasn't studying right at that moment, so Jongin was pretty sure there was something in Chanyeol's mind that made the taller guy confused in a not so very good way. 

Either way, Jongin wouldn't be able to talk with him properply while the dinner was still going on so he decided to wait until everyone went home and talk with Chanyeol since the other was staying over anyway. 

On the other hand, Minho and Yunho were both looking at each and every one of the people seated. Honestly, they were probably the only two there that noticed, or more like acknowledged, the awkward situation they were in and tried to salvage what was left of the dinner but taking into account Jongin's and Taemin's stubborn nature and Chanyeol spacing out almost every other second, it was almost impossible. 

In the end, and after many failed attempts in bringing a more livelier atmosphere, they decided to just give up and talked to each other about everything and nothing. 

They ended up telling each other their problems and feeling very much look two old men reminiscing about their youth. In Yunho's case, it was almost real, being the elder and all but for Minho, it felt like ages suddenly fell down his shoulder and he would rather not have that feeling as it was uncomfortable as hell. 

It didn't take long to finish of what was left of the 'supposed' dinner. Everything kind of fell together in place. All the occupants ate quietly, chatter could be heard now and then, mostly Yunho and Minho talking about one thing or another to pass time. Jongin and Taemin kept to their things, never once looking directly at each other. 

It wasn't like they would be foolish enough to start another fight since they knew Yunho wouldn't be as kind as he had been the first time and neither felt like doing it anyway. Jongin wasn't sure what to feel of this whole ordeal. For once, he had always been very convinced that he hated Taemin, what with him leaving Jongin aside when they were younger but after the 'holding hand' incident, well, he wasn't so sure of how to feel anymore. 

He never really held hands with anyone else since he felt as if that person would let go of it and never come back. It was a small fear he always had ever since and it was hard to feel comfortable holding someone else's hand but doing so with Taemin just felt so right. He was rather confused with himself. 

On the other hand, there was Taemin who felt like he could go and jump off a bridge. If he was honest with himself, when he had returned he had wanted to see Jongin, talk with him, go back to how they used to be in the past; good friends. 

But it seemed like his desire fell off a cliff when Jongin acted so cold towards him. He didn't quite understand why the other would be so hostile with him as Taemin couldn't really pinpoint what it was that he had done the other hated so much. Before, when Jongin had told him there was something he had to apologize for, Taemin had revised his memory and couldn't remember ever doing something bad that would require an apology. 

Maybe it had been a misunderstanding from Jongin's side or maybe Taemin just hadn't really realized he had done something to make the other mad. 

Either way, no matter how much he thought about it he couldn't find a definite answer nor anything that could make him clear out the confusion that plagued his heart. 

Finally, we have one more guest who had his heart tantalized by rather ugly thoughts. That guest was none other than Chanyeol. The poor guy didn't know what to think anymore.

For starters, Chanyeol wasn't sure whether Jongin's hate was that, hate, but rather something else even the other hadn't noticed and Chanyeol was so afraid to know the answer to that. 

It wasn't like he didn't know Jongin didn't really see him as a potential lover. Chanyeol was more than assured that for Jongin what they had could only be labeled as friendship but he wasn't just about to give up without a fight. 

He would definitely not confess though. That was something he had made up his mind about a long time ago. Chanyeol would make sure to be there for Jongin, help him with whatever he needed and just love him unconditionally, but he would never, ever, ever tell the other his real feelings. 

There had been various times when Jongin, out of gratitude or just because he felt like it, told Chanyeol these three words; 'I love you', three words that always broke Chanyeol's heart but he always smiled at Jongin and told him 'me too' but what Jongin would never know is that Chanyeol meant every little word. 

With things as they were, it seemed like Chanyeol would have more hard work that usual but he was going to overcome everything; that was what he promised himself. No matter what, he would be with Jongin as a friend, family or whatever the other wanted. 

Far from the concerned thoughts that swirled inside those three minds, were other concerned two that had slightly different thoughts. 

For instance, we have Yunho feeling responsible of the situation they were in; not like it really was his fault but he couldn't help but feel the distance that Jongin and Taemin kept on having between each other and it only seemed to get wider and wider. 

The only thing he could think about was of ways to make the two get friendly with each other again. But it was quite difficult because if any of them got wind that they were to be together somewhere, either one or the other (or both, which is the most probable situation) would throw a fit to be known for years. 

The only solution Yunho could think about was to make them go as a group, Chanyeol and Minho thrown in on the fun as well, to make things smoother. Yunho was convinced Minho was quite capable of calming Taemin down and the same could be said for Chanyeol and Jongin so he was sure the idea could work, some way or another. 

He could always ask Minho and Chanyeol to cooperate and make things easier for the other two and he was sure both of them would help him out so the only thing left was for him to plan everything out. 

While Yunho's face became creepier and creepier, what with his smile widening slightly each time he thought of something else that could be useful to him, Minho was rather taken about with the whole situation he was in. From his seat, he started to look at the people around the table, starting with Taemin who looked deep into thought about something Minho would rather not know, since in most cases the other would make him take part in whatever Taemin was having to deal with. 

Next to Taemin was Yunho, who Minho really really really din't want to know what he was planning. He looked like someone who jumped straight from some horror movie, smiling widely from ear to ear, teeth visible and as sparkly as the protagonist from some shoujo manga and eyes hinting that he was up to something. Overall, he looked like he had found a treasure and he couldn't wait to tell everyone about it and Minho felt like he would really want to pass on hearing what the treasure was about. 

He then looked from Jongin to Chanyeol.

Jongin, as far as Minho was concerned, was someone he was sure Taemin cared about deeply. In the years they have known each other, Minho has heard about Jongin plenty of time, though Taemin never really said his name but Minho was sure it was him by the descriptions. 

He just really didn't understand this sudden hatred between the two and wasn't sure he would like to be in between them as it would only make his life harder than it already was and he rather enjoyed his easy and calm life. 

Lately, there was Chanyeol who Minho found rather cute and funny. 

He had nice reactions and he was someone who seemed like could make you feel better in no time. If Minho had to be completely honest, he was rather interested in the kid, more so when the other said he was in the visual arts too. 

And so, while everyone was deep into thought, Taemin sat up from his chair and brought everyone's attention, including Jongin's. "Since both Minho and I have finished eating, I think we should start going home."

Minho, who was a bit confused with Taemin's sudden announcement, was about to tell the other that, in fact, he wasn't finished yet was shut up as Taemin's foot landed right on his and quite hard at that. 

Minho started coughing after the sudden hit and Taemin, being the 'sweety' he was, brought him a glass of water and patted his back while smiling innocently, or more like a you act according to me or you will die smile. 

Having his options clear, Minho smiled too after he stopped coughing and smiled back at Taemin, just as innocently, and they both bowed to Yunho while making their way to the door. 

When they were in front of it, it was Yunho that started to talk since it seemed like no one really would. "It was a pleasure to have both of you with us despite... well, you know." 

Both Minho and Taemin chuckled lightly at that and Taemin smiled kinda sadly. "Sorry for being, well, quite a prick. It wasn't really my intention."

Yunho brushed him off with a hand. "It's okay, you weren't the only prick so it doesn't matter. Oh, and I hope you come again and, this time, let's have a nicer dinner."

Taemin nodded and then he and Minho both bid goodye to Yunho. 

Jongin was quite some feet away from the door and just made a small head movement when Minho and Taemin looked at him. 

Chanyeol had to be excused since he seemed to have a slight stomach ache and was resting on the sofa but he had already said his goodbyes before Taemin and Minho made their way to the door so he felt alright with himself. 

When Yunho shut the door, Jongin turned around suddenly and skipped towards the sofa where Chanyeol was. He sat next to the other and looked at his face. "Are you feeling better?" Chanyeol nodded and smiled at Jongin. "I'm alright. That thing Yunho hyung gave me was really good since I don't really feel as bad as before."

Jongin nodded and rested his head on Chanyeol's shoulder. "I'm glad it wasn't anything worse then." 

"Me too."

They stayed like that some more before Yunho appeared from the kitchen. "Jongin, mind giving me a hand here."

Jongin was about so say no since he wanted to stay with Chanyeol but the later told him to go and that he would wait for Jongin in his room. The other nodded and went towards the kitchen while Chanyeol made his way to Jongin's room. 

He had been there more than enough to know where everything was with his eyes closed, and right now, as he was sluggishly walking towards Jongin's bed before falling face first into the pillow, he noticed something he had never paid much attention before on one of Jongin's bookshelf. 

He lied there, facing it and looking at the piece of paper that stuck out but that he failed to pay attention to before and with much effort he sat up from the bed and made his way to the shelf.  

He took the piece of paper from there and read what was on the back, before looking at the other side only to see a picture of Jongin and Taemin when they were kids, holding hands and smiling cutely at the camera. 

He looked at it some more before reading once again the ugly handwritting Chanyeol could know from miles away who it was that had written it. 

He sighed before putting the picture where it was once again and getting once again on the bed. He had a long way to go to gain Jongin's heart; that is, if he did accomplish that. 

Chanyeol could only pray and try to be positive though he felt like his position was robbed. 

;;;

Taeminnie,

my bestest friend!

I love you! 

- Jongin

heeey everyone! it's been such a long time since we have updated which is all my fault (shukaku's) since i've had my exams and i just couldn't find much inspiration to write OTL but here goes another update at least! 

again sorry for the wait and i hope you enjoy this!

we will try to update much sooner that this last time ><