Chapter 6

It’s called a “man”-icure for a reason, right?
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[ Chapter 6 ]

 

The explosion on the screen caused Joshua and Vernon to both utter words of awe, eyes searching to see if the character had actually perished as the villain said he would.

 

“Do you think he’s...” Joshua started.

 

“Nah man, we’re only on the third episode, they can’t kill off one of the main characters yet,” Vernon replied before grabbing another slice of the pizza in front of them.

 

“But you remember that drama that everyone was obsessed with a few years ago? Where the main character died in the second episode?”

 

“That was a weird Korean drama, Jisoo-hyung, not a Japanese anime.”

 

“I’m just saying...”

 

Joshua and Vernon were spending their night binge-watching an anime they both had wanted to see, greasy frozen pizza and overly-caffeinated pop making up dinner. Because watching anime is definitely what up-and-coming adults do in their spare time. It was their way of enjoying the summer while it lasted.

 

As Joshua queued the next episode, Vernon leaned back on the couch with his slice of pizza and leveled Joshua with a curious look.

 

“So how was your date last week?” he asked.

 

“Oh, it was good,” Joshua responded automatically, not fully considering the question asked. When the older finally realized, though, he snapped his head toward Vernon and stuttered, “w-w-what?!”

 

Vernon’s eyes seemed to glint in mirth at having caught Joshua off-guard.

 

“I totally saw you with some long-haired chick at the fireworks. Is that the one that was doing your nails? The one you have the hots for?”

 

Still unable to respond, Joshua continued to stare at Vernon with his mouth agape in shock.

 

“She got any friends you can hook me up with? Ya can’t leave a bro hangin’, Josh.”

 

“N-No, it’s...it’s not like...”

 

Vernon could see that Joshua was getting tense fairly quickly and backtracked from his teasing. The older had been abnormally secretive lately, which was not like him.

 

“C’mon, you always tell me everything, don’t you? Why are you keeping this a secret?”

 

“It...it’s complicated.”

 

“What’s so complicated about it? You looked like you were having fun at the fireworks, so I don’t see what the problem is.”

 

Joshua looked away from Vernon at his lap, suddenly feeling very small and guilty. If only his relationship with Jeonghan had not started on a lie, then there would be no problem. It was because of himself that he could not talk about Jeonghan with his friends, let alone have the other meet them like he wanted to.

 

Interrupting his thoughts, Vernon began to ramble excitedly, “Wait, is she like way older than you? Damn, you playa! I never would have expected that from you! I can’t believe you managed to get with an older woman and didn’t tell me–”

 

However, his excitement ceased upon seeing Joshua’s serious face. Giving the other time, he just leaned back and kept silent, eyes on Joshua.

 

“I’m not...I’m not being very truthful with...with him.”

 

Although Vernon really wanted to comment on this man’s luscious women-like locks, he thought it best if he saved that for another time.

 

“How so?”

 

Joshua did not respond directly to Vernon’s inquiry, deciding to avoid specifics if he was set on not leaving his friend too out of the loop.

 

“I like him a lot,” Joshua started quietly, “but once he finds out the truth, won’t he...won’t he hate me?”

 

Vernon could hear the slight vulnerability in Joshua’s voice and decided to take his time in answering.

 

“Well, if he likes you it won’t matter, right?”

 

“No,” the older replied, shaking his head slightly, “it will matter. I know I should tell him the truth, but is it too late already?”            

 

“And you’re not yet comfortable telling me what the lie is?”

 

Joshua smiled sheepishly, hesitantly.                                         

 

“I’d rather not. Not yet.”

 

“That’s cool, bro. Whenever you’re ready, I’ll be here for you. But I would think it best to tell him sooner than later. Don’t let the lie go so far that you can’t go back. You never know when it’s all gonna blow up in your face.”

 

The older’s eyes widened as Vernon’s last sentence sunk in, hundreds of situations running through his mind of how Jeonghan could find out about him in the worst possible ways. Vernon’s hand patting his shoulder, however, brought him out of those thoughts.

 

“If you like each other, it shouldn’t matter too much, okay? It’s not like you’re hiding that you murdered someone. He’d be dumb to let someone as awesome as you go.”

 

Gesturing to the computer and their incredibly healthy dinner, Vernon continued, “Now come on, we’ve still got like ten episodes to binge watch before the second season starts in a couple days.”

 

Joshua offered Vernon a soft smile and finished queueing the next episode for them to watch. Telling Vernon just the little that he could did help to calm his fears and reminded him why he always shared his troubles with Vernon. Whereas Joshua’s thoughts ran a mile a minute, Vernon always remained calm during any challenge, and Joshua really appreciated him for that.                 

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

 

Wonwoo had just opened up his book to read, business finally slowing down, when the sound of the front door opening alerted him to a customer entering the salon. When he saw that it was just Joshua, though, he only slightly begrudgingly put his book down and asked the other how he could help him.

 

“Is Jeonghan here today?”

 

“Oh, he’s not here on Thursdays. Only Mingyu is.”

 

A sneeze was suddenly heard from the back of the salon, and while Joshua jumped a little in surprise, Wonwoo just rolled his eyes and continued.

 

“Jeonghan’s got summer classes in the morning, but then he takes a night class for English three days a week.”

 

“He takes classes for English?” Joshua questioned, face becoming slightly apprehensive.

 

“Did he not tell you? That boy, I swear...”

 

Wonwoo quickly looked around him as if to make sure that Jeonghan was not at work today before he explained.

 

“Anyways, I’m probably not supposed to tell you, but he was so nervous about speaking to you that he’s been taking additional English classes for almost two months now.”

 

“Two months?!”

 

Joshua was not prepared for the weight of the guilt that suddenly settled on his shoulders upon hearing that news. Jeonghan was putting precious time and money into speaking English, probably

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waee09 #1
Chapter 10: Soooooo sweeeeeeet
waee09 #2
Chapter 4: Kimbap kidding.. HAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHA
waee09 #3
Chapter 2: Full. Of. . HAHAAHHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH i could hear itttttttttt
chizlava
#4
Chapter 10: I just read this story in one sitting and I love this! And I support the million Jicheol one shots! :)
SeventeenCarrot #5
Chapter 10: thank u for writing
BLoved_97 #6
Chapter 10: woaaahhhh love this so so much TT <3333
Jewelandelf
#7
Chapter 6: I love seeing you compare jihoon and seungcheol with dogs in this chapter because OH MY GOD HOW COULD U BE SO ACCURATE BRUH ??? and I can saw those happen to them btw ???
Pikachulover_95 #8
Chapter 10: Thank you for this super cute Jihan story!!!!! ♡
Lunacea
#9
Chapter 10: It's (mostly) finished! It's been a ride y'all. What Jihan fanfics am I supposed to be hyped for now :(

Just kidding... I loved this fic so much! Perfect amount of conflict with copious amounts of fluff... just how I like it! Its been just wonderful reading this story!
Lifeisworthit #10
Chapter 10: OH MY GOD THIS WAS AMAZING THSI WAS LITERALLY EVERYTHING I COULD HAVE ASKED FOR I LOVE IT SO MUCH THANK YOU FOR JUST FINISHING THIS FIC AND NOT LEAVING IT, TO BE QUITE HONEST ITS ONE OF MY FAVORITE SEVENTEEN FICS, EVEN MORE SO NOW THAT ITS DONE