please read before proceeding!

this fic has been going on for very long with very slow updates (i know, im sorry) and while i'm thankful for everybody who has stuck around and waited, i realized i wanted to give some sort of closure for this fic since i'm not sure when i can fully commit to it. no, i am not abandoning it. (i love this fic of mine and the characters in it so much) which means i will eventually haha finish updating this in full. however!

this chapter now stands as an alternate ending where the story comes to a close at the 16th chapter mark. that means, the story can now be read and enjoyed to a somewhat "complete" version of this, if you will. any chapter following this can be seen more like a sequel of sorts or a continuation you can read if you want more of junhao's dynamics to see how their relationship progresses. but as of now, it is an optional and merely bonus experience to the story.

if you wish to read the original chapter and continue with how the story was planned, it's still available after this one, along with the rest of the updates.

[GAME DAY, Part Two]

If internal panic could be personified, it would probably be named Xu Minghao.

There was a lot to be said about his ability to keep that panic in check, though. He mentally gave himself a pat on the back; his jaw didn’t drop upon seeing Junhui, so that was definitely something worth praising himself for. He already knew how the other boy looked—quite early on, too, thanks to Hansol—along with seeing Junhui once before, but the effect of seeing the other boy up close and personally was something else entirely.

Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said about his more involuntary reactions, like the very obvious blush present on his cheeks that Minghao desperately tried to will away. Thankfully, there was a comfortable silence between them instead as they scoured the sea of people for Minghao’s group of friends. He wasn’t sure if he was supposed to be glad they left the scene earlier or not, since they weren’t exactly subtle about their curiousity towards Junhui.

He soon heard the familiar, loud laughter that could only come from Chan.

Minghao walked over and tapped his friend’s shoulder as he joined them, mentally taking note of how Jeonghan wasn’t among them yet before speaking, “hey, I have someone to introduce to you guys.”

“Hey, Junhui, nice to finally meet you!” Soonyoung said loudly before the other could continue, waving at the blonde who was behind Minghao while the latter wanted to smack his friend for being an embarrassment. He was beginning to think this whole thing was a bad idea after all. Next to Soonyoung, Hansol immediately burst out laughing as he playfully smacked the older boy’s shoulder, followed quickly by Chan. The Chinese boy sighed at the sight.

It didn’t seem to bother Junhui though, who merely laughed along with them, “it’s good to have the chance to meet Minghao’s friends, too.”

“Well, they were my friends, but now I’m having second thoughts,” Minghao said dryly, but he was also filled with relief that Junhui was taking things well, as the latter easily asked for everybody else’s names and did the introductions himself. It wasn’t like Minghao was particularly worried that his friends and Junhui wouldn’t get along, but whatever worry he initially had was now replaced with the thought of them getting along a little too well. He already had a crazy bunch of friends, did he really need another headache?

“We’re heading out for milkshakes and pizza,” Hansol said once the laughter died down, with a grin directed towards Junhui. “You coming with us?”

Junhui nodded, “I’m gonna be a Pledis student for the day and celebrate with you guys.”

“Jeonghan said he’ll catch up with us,” Chan announced, phone out as his fingers danced across the screen, most likely live updating the missing member of their group with what was happening. There wasn’t much to say just yet; Minghao stood next to Junhui, but that was the most they’ve done, since the blonde was quickly swept up by Soonyoung’s questions and Hansol’s random comments. It didn’t seem like Minghao minded as much, though, since he had a rather pleased look on his face as he watched everything unfold.

His friends warmed up to Junhui pretty quickly and vice versa, too.

He couldn’t help but be a little bit happy, in the end.

The group made their way to the nearby retro diner, making small talk the whole way there. If anything, Minghao was admittedly hyperaware of having Junhui around. A part of him still couldn’t believe that something like this could come out of texting a complete stranger. Despite the way Junhui seemed to socialize with the rest, he never left Minghao’s side, not even while they were walking. He would respond to conversation and still keep his steps in line with the other boy.

Minghao was too caught up in his thoughts that he almost didn’t catch the way his phone vibrated in his pocket.

(6:01PM) Are you normally this quiet?

(6:01PM) Are you normally this talkative?

(6:03PM) You know the answer to that is yes.

(6:03PM) We’re right next to each other, why are you texting?

(6:03PM) It didn’t feel like a topic I could ask out loud.

(6:04PM) Besides, you’re replying.

The brunette rolled his eyes at that, pointedly glancing at Junhui, who was grinning cheekily at him. Thankfully, none of the others noticed the small exchange until they finally arrived at the diner. Minghao was glad since he was pretty sure they wouldn’t let him live it down if they caught him texting with Junhui when the other boy was right there. Then again, old habits die hard and all that. He still wasn’t sure how to approach actually talking to Junhui, if he had to be honest.

The small group crowded themselves into a booth; Minghao was almost pretty sure there was still space next to Chan and Soonyoung on the other side of the table, but Hansol had insisted on sitting over on their side instead. The result of that would be the way Junhui ended up pressed against him, elbows touching and knees brushing every so often under the table. Again, Minghao was noticing everything a little too much for his tastes.

“So, how am I doing?” Junhui asked him quietly, once the other boys were distracted by figuring out what to order.

“Surprisingly well,” the brunette replied, biting on the inside of his mouth to keep himself from grinning too widely.

It wasn’t like he didn’t want Junhui to see him smile and laugh; Minghao doubted he could keep up that facade for too long, especially now that they were right next to each other. It’s just that he also couldn’t help but tease the other boy too, who immediately pouted at his nonchalant reaction. Junhui was proving to be more surprising the more time they spend with each other—who knew such a handsome face could end up making such a cute expression?

The realization made Minghao flush slightly as he quickly looked away.

Junhui faked a heavy sigh, “as always, you have such little faith in me, Minghao.”

“Yeah, well,” the other boy said with a shrug, facing back only when he was sure the colour of his cheeks returned to normal. “They’re easy to impress, anyway.”

“And you?”

“Getting there,” Minghao teased, earning yet another pout from Junhui before the blonde burst out laughing; even the way he laughed seemed to match his overall bright atmosphere.

While they were waiting for the food to arrive, Jeonghan showed up, surprisingly alone. He still had a cheerful glow about him though, easily slipping into the booth next to Chan and taking in all the words of praise and congratulations that came from the other boys. It took him a few moments to realize the extra member in their booth, who definitely wasn’t a tiny brooding Jihoon. He met Junhui’s eyes and offered a bright smile.

“Jisoo did say you were going to be here, I completely forgot.”

“Speaking of, where is he?” Hansol asked before Junhui could do the same. “After his little stunt earlier, I didn’t think you two would ever part.”

“Oh, he had something to do,” Jeonghan said mischievously, glancing back and forth between Junhui and Minghao as he spoke. Before either of the two could question, the star basketball player quickly shifted the conversation topic to discuss earlier’s game once more. Minghao couldn’t help but feel like there was something off with the way he responded, knowing how Jeonghan had a tendency for mischief, but soon found himself going along with the conversation.

The food eventually arrived, with the conversation halting this time to actually eat.

Junhui was quick to place a few slices of pizza on Minghao’s plate before taking care of his own, the gesture not lost on Minghao and his friends; Soonyoung in particular wiggled his brows suggestively, making the brunette roll his eyes. By that point, he’s lost count of how many times his cheeks grew warmer and soon gave up keeping track completely. They talked in between bites of pizza and sips of their milkshake, topics bouncing from one to another.

“So, Junhui,” Chan eventually said, unable to resist. “We heard you and Minghao met via texting. How did he manage not to bore you to death?”

“It’s fun texting him though,” the blonde replied easily, glancing at Minghao, who was making it a point to focus on his slice of pizza more.

“Fun? He replies after hours—“

Jeonghan cut Chan off with a teasing grin, “have you ever considered he just doesn’t want to reply to you and your weird topics?”

While the two bickered, Junhui took the chance to turn fully towards Minghao, who still looked like his eyes could drown in his pizza slice.

“That makes me glad you actually reply to me right away,” he said cheekily, nudging Minghao with his elbow. “I knew I was special somehow.”

Minghao shrugged, “I wouldn’t text you every day if you weren’t, don’t you think?”

Feeling bold, he turned towards Junhui right after he spoke and was glad he did; whatever cheeky, teasing grin Junhui must have originally had on his face was qu