Ranunculus – radiant charm

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                Daehyun was resting on the couch, his knees were lifted so that he could place his book on the slant of his clamped thighs. He had finished his piano lessons for today so he stayed home while Jongup went to his college. Though he was bored to death, he really couldn’t go anywhere on his own when both Jongup and Yongguk had forbidden him to do that. Even if he wanted to ask Yongguk out, he had no idea if the man was free or not and he didn’t want to bother him during his working hours.

                Tracing his fingers over the small bumps, Daehyun read his braille book to kill the time. His eyes were closed as he laid his head on the armrest of the couch, his brows furrowing once in a while when he tried to picture those words in his mind. It was alright at first until he remembered the reason he stopped reading the same novel halfway through. It was tedious to the core.

                He sighed in frustration, slamming the book closed. Maybe he really should be getting a new book later. Right now, he might as well take a nap. But when he was already dozing off, his phone rang. Daehyun was wide awake in seconds and he sat up on the couch. Moving his book aside, he began patting around the small table in front of him, searching for his ringing phone. Once he found it, he straightaway pressed the answer button.

                “Hello?”

                “Hello, Daehyun,” Yongguk’s voice sounded from the other line.

                “Yongguk hyung!” Daehyun chirped. His mood made an 180 after hearing the low voice.

                “Yeah, it’s me. Are you teaching right now?”

                “No, I’ve finished all my lessons for today.”

                “Oh... So, what are you doing right now?”

                “Nothing much besides staying at home all alone. I’m so bored,” Daehyun shamelessly whined to the phone.

                “You didn’t go anywhere on your own, right?”

                “No, I didn’t...” Daehyun huffed when he could hear the smile in Yongguk’s tone. “Why are you calling anyway?”

                Yongguk just chuckled at Daehyun’s sulky tone. “Remember when I told you I work at a gym?” he prompted.

                “Yeah, why?”

                “I’m thinking of taking you there.”

                “Really?!” Daehyun squealed in excitement. “I want to go!”

                “What about your brother? Would he let you?”

                Daehyun fell into silence as he gave it a thought. If he told Jongup now, maybe Jongup would say yes or no. But if he went first and told Jongup later, he couldn’t say anything about it. Well, maybe he would get angry for a short while but that's it.

                “I’m sure he’d let me go,” he spoke up after a moment. “So let's go!”

 

 

                A while later, Yongguk arrived at Daehyun’s house to fetch him. The younger man was dressed in a hooded sweatshirt and jogger pants, and of course, his sunglasses. His folded cane was kept unused in his grip. Yongguk brought him to the car and settled him in his seat. He didn’t straightaway start the engine after he sat in his own seat but instead, he stared at Daehyun who didn’t stop grinning ever since they stepped out of the house.

                “Are you that excited to go to a gym?” Yongguk asked with a small laugh.

                Daehyun pouted, facing in Yongguk’s direction. “Because it’s been a long time…”

                Yongguk gazed through Daehyun’s glasses, wishing he could see his beautiful eyes. He hadn’t gotten another chance since the first time they met.

                “Do you usually wear sunglasses to the gym?” Yongguk was so desperate that he couldn’t hold himself from asking.

                Daehyun seemed to be caught off guard by that question as his smile gradually faded out but he answered nonetheless. “Yeah…”

                “You never take them off?” Yongguk queried out of curiosity.

                Daehyun didn’t answer right away. He brought his head down, hesitating a lot until he was finally sure he could talk about it. “I’ll take them off when I’m at the gym.”

                “Are your eyes sensitive to the sunlight?” Yongguk guessed with the most common reason he had ever heard of.

                “No...” Daehyun spoke faintly after staying tight-lipped for a minute.

                Yongguk wondered if he should keep talking when Daehyun was being reticent. This was not going well; the reason why he didn't speak much. “Then... You can take them off right now if you want,” he put forward, hoping that it was what Daehyun wanted to hear.

                “Actually…” Daehyun drew a deep breath. It was better to directly get over this matter. “I don’t wear these shades at home but I’m not used to go anywhere without them…”

                “I see...” Yongguk bit his lips, thinking for another way to say it. “But I think there’s no need for them.”

                “But why would I show my eyes if they’re blind?”

                Yongguk was taken aback by that. He didn’t know if Daehyun was irritated or not since he sounded normally calm. “But… You don’t have to hide them either…”

                Daehyun didn’t say anything in return and Yongguk thought he had said something he shouldn’t have. He didn’t mean to make Daehyun uncomfortable by talking about that matter. “I’m sorry I brought it out,” he apologized but Daehyun didn’t even lift his head.

                Surrounded by the awkward silence, Yongguk proceeded to start his car. He waited for a short while, in case Daehyun wanted to call the gym off. So when the younger just kept quiet in his seat, he began to drive the car. But then it crossed his mind that if Daehyun didn’t like to show his eyes, why did he seem so natural doing it during their first encounter?

                Yongguk cleared his throat before blurting it out. “I don’t know if you remember this but, I’ve seen your eyes the first time we met.”

                Daehyun stiffened in his seat. He didn’t realize that he wasn’t wearing any sunglasses that night. It surprised him how he forgot to hide his eyes from Yongguk who was still a stranger back then. But what surprised him more was that he didn’t feel insecure or anything about it that night.

                “I think your eyes are beautiful and I’m sure everyone else will have the same thought as mine,” Yongguk tried to convince the other.

                Daehyun nervously tightened his grip on his folded cane. “How can my eyes be beautiful when they’re blind? No one has ever said something like that to me except you.”

                “That could be because you’ve never showed them. I am lucky that I got to see your eyes that night and believe it or not, I really mean it when I say they’re beautiful.”

                Daehyun’s heart skipped a beat. Yongguk’s words were giving off a certain warmth that made him feel that his worries were totally unnecessary. If he looked back, Yongguk had already made him forget about his biggest insecurity the moment he appeared in his backyard. Maybe he didn’t realize he was not wearing his dark glasses that night because something about Yongguk triggered his interest, causing him to think of the said man only. Even now, Yongguk’s coaxing words were everything that was playing in his mind.

                Daehyun slightly turned his frowning face to the side. “Maybe you think you’re okay with my eyes but what about everyone else? I don’t want anyone to feel uncomfortable with my eyes, or get annoyed when I’m not looking into their eyes when we’re talking, or think that my eyes are weird when they keep moving around even though they can’t see any-.”

                “It’s okay,” Yongguk quickly cut in when he saw how antsy Daehyun turned out to be. “No one will be bothered by such a small thing. Maybe, you should stop thinking for others and start thinking for yourself. I don’t think you should be bothered about what other people got to say. I think you should do whatever you want to do.”

                Daehyun didn’t know what to say. Yongguk sounded so calming. He felt safe just by hearing that voice. His head lowered as he pondered about his decision.

                “Trust me,” Yongguk added after noticing that Daehyun was still hesitating.

                Slowly, Daehyun brought up his hand. It was slightly trembling as he grabbed his sunglasses and it seemed to stop working for a moment. He never got to know how his eyes look like. He had no idea how people look in each other’s eyes when they talk. He didn’t have the courage to show his unseeing eyes to the sighted people.

                Immersed in his own thoughts, Daehyun took a while to act, Yongguk began to worry. Maybe he had overstepped his boundaries; he and Daehyun could barely call themselves acquaintances. “You know what? Just forget what I said. It doesn’t really matter for me if you wear them or not but, it’s your choice so I have no right to tell you what to do. I’m sorry if-”

                Before he could end his rambling, Daehyun took his shades off.

                The younger man was still looking down, fiddling with the dark glasses. With his head still hung low, he fixed his hair as if he could use it as a replacement but his fringe was not long enough to cover his eyes.

                Yongguk, who was left speechless for quite a while, began to feel restless. “You shouldn’t take my words seriously. You shouldn’t do it if it’s hard for you.”

                “What’s wrong with you? One second you told me to do whatever I want and the next second you took back what you said,” Daehyun was more to complaining rather than getting angry. His fingers were still running down his fringe.“It’s too late for that. I’ve started doing what I really wanted to do.”

                Yongguk thought he heard wrong. It seemed unlikely that he had managed to convince Daehyun to throw away his insecurity so quickly. “Are you serious?”

                “Of course,” Daehyun said. “I’m not too fond of wearing them anyway.”

                Yongguk felt like something had been lifted from his chest. He felt unrestricted and he could breathe more easily once he succeeded in making Daehyun get rid of the unnecessary glasses. But there was a new feeling, a feeling that couldn’t be described with words. It was a feeling formed because Daehyun trusted him. That he made his mate trust him brought more meaning to him than getting to see those beautiful eyes again.

                Carefully, he got a hold of Daehyun’s hand, causing the younger man to stop fixing his hair. He reached for the chin next, after bringing their hands down. He gently lifted Daehyun’s face, making him to face him again.

                Daehyun followed Yongguk’s lead. His disabled eyes were glancing around as he didn’t know where he should really look at. It was another reason that he always kept those shades on. But when Yongguk stopped turning his head to a certain direction, he gave up on trying to locate where the man was actually at and just set his eyes to gaze forward.

                Yongguk just silently gazed at those mesmerizing eyes. They looked blank at first glimpse but the more he admired them, the more that he discovered. Those eyes were like a well of thoughts and emotions, the purest and the prettiest eyes of the most beautiful person he had ever met. He really was having the same feelings as that night when he first got to see them.

                “Yup, definitely the most beautiful eyes I’ve ever seen,” Yongguk claimed without a doubt.

                Daehyun’s face grew crimson. He just turned his face away as he didn’t know how to respond to that. Nobody had ever said something like that so frankly to him. His heart was beating oddly loud and fast but he was sure it was not because he had shown his eyes to Yongguk. It was something else which was still very vague for his heart and mind to figure it out.

 

 

                Since it was still early in the afternoon, there were not many people exercising in the gym. Some of the personal trainers were keeping an eye to their own trainees while some of them went out for a break. On the other hand, the four member of the clan were chit chatting in the staff room. Their conversation revolved around Yongguk’s mate that they were going to meet in a short while.

                ‘We’re here,’ Yongguk announced through their clan’s link which could be considered as some sort of telepathy between the weredragons.

                All of them perked up after receiving the message at the same time. They got up from the couches before opening the door to the staff room. Just then, Yongguk was walking towards them with another man by his side, a very gorgeous man.

                “I’m going to introduce you to my colleagues,” Yongguk told the shorter man.

                Daehyun visibly tensed, his hold on Yongguk’s arm tightening, but he didn’t stop walking. Yongguk noticed that and tried to soothe the younger. “Don’t worry. They’re all very nice.”

                The clan members, who were gathered at the door, promptly stepped back to give way to both of them. And they were actually quite nervous to be introduced to Yongguk’s human mate.

                “They’re all here,” Yongguk muttered to Daehyun and without expecting any reply, he called out to s. “Guys,” He looked at each of them meaningfully. “This is Jung Daehyun.”

                The four of them seemed to be at a loss for words. They just stood there, gawking at the beauty standing meters away in front of them.

                ‘He’s beautiful,’ Himchan shared his thought through the link.

                ‘Are you sure he’s human?’ Sungjoon eyed Yongguk.

                ‘I don’t think he’s just a human,’ Youngjae shook his head at Sungjoon.

                Minsu nodded. ‘A human can’t be this beautiful.’

                Yongguk grinned, amused at his cousins’ reactions. He then turned to Daehyun, only to see a confused frown etched on his face.

                “Oh, and Daehyun, these four people here who are also my cousins are known as Himchan, Minsu, Sungjoon and Youngjae.”

                Daehyun tried to loosen up. “Um... I’m Jung Daehyun. Nice to meet you,” He bowed his head slightly.

                “I’m Kim Himchan,” Himchan introduced himself more properly, holding his hand out to his front. But when it was ignored, he was astounded.

                “Ah, yes. It’s nice to meet you,” Daehyun repeated with a genuine smile. Himchan was even more perplexed. The rest of the members were also starting to give each other a puzzled look.

                ‘He can’t see,’ Yongguk linked his thought with them.

                ‘What?’ Himchan’s brows knitted together in confusion.

                ‘Your hand. He can’t see that,’ Yongguk elaborated.

                ‘What do you mean?’

                ‘He’s blind.’

                The four of them gaped at him, speechless at the mind blowing news.

 

 

 

 

                Using Daehyun as the reason, the cousins were taking a longer time to end their break. The human was currently wedged between them on the circular couch as they planned to dig more about him.

                Himchan and Minsu kept assuring Yongguk that they would get back to their respective jobs a little later. Sungjoon and Youngjae only nodded their heads when the brothers spoke on their behalf. It’s not that Yongguk was a strict boss who put work above everything but he could barely fit in the conversation. That’s why he ordered them to resume their work so that he could be alone with his mate.

                “You’re being pushy, manager,” Himchan complained.

                “Manager?” Daehyun questioned. “Yongguk hyung is the gym’s manager?”

                “Yeah,” Minsu answered. “He didn’t tell you that?”

                “No.” Daehyun pouted.

                Yongguk rolled his eyes when his cousins were making a fuss over such a small thing. “I told him I work here. Isn’t it the same?”

                “Well, Daehyun doesn’t think so,” Himchan gave Yongguk side eyes.

                Yongguk sighed. He couldn’t say anything when Daehyun was also playing along with his new friends.  But that’s good. Yongguk was glad Daehyun seemed to have fun and the members of the clan had clearly taken a liking to him. They kept sending him compliments for his mate through the link which made his wide smile reach his ears.

                ‘What a cute human,’ Youngjae squealed.

                ‘He’s so small,’ Minsu said as if he had never seen someone with a petite figure in that age before.

                Himchan scoffed at his younger brother. ‘What are you talking about? You’re only an inch taller than him.’

                ‘Aww, isn’t he just adorable?’ Sungjoon commented when Daehyun laughed at the joke he made.

                Their conversation continued and it was still revolved around Daehyun. He had told them about his deceased parents and why he had to move to this town. Then he opened up the story about his overprotective younger brother who always wanted to know every detail of the place he went to and the person he was with.

                “He must care so much about you,” Sungjoon tried not to take sides since he knew why would Jongup act like that.

                “I can’t imagine if Minsu was being protective of me,” Himchan voiced out his thought.

                “It should be you who should be protective of me since you’re older,” Minsu retorted.

                “I know, right?” Daehyun agreed, keeping in mind that Himchan and Misu were actually siblings. “Jongup always treats me like I’m crippled when I just can’t see.”

                Their dynamic conversation immediately fell apart. Awkward glances were exchanged between them as they didn’t know how to react to Daehyun’s last sentence. Upon the sudden silence, Yongguk realized that his clan members were being careful not to say anything that would hurt his mate because if they hurt his mate, they hurt him too.

                ‘Just act normal,’ Yongguk quickly sent his message through the link.

                Youngjae didn’t waste any more time to do that, afraid that Daehyun would be the awkward one if they kept silent for any longer. “I’m just glad I don’t have a brother,” he laughed while trying make it sound less fake.

                The rest of them also attempted the most genuine laugh they could make and when Daehyun joined them, they released an internal sigh of relief.

                Their conversation was charged up again. They began to talk about other topics and they seemed to get along pretty well. Himchan used the chance to send a link to Yongguk, telling him to have a talk at the back of the room.

                “You said that you’re not sure if Daehyun is your mate, right?” Himchan leaned against the wall with his hands in his pockets.

                “Because Daehyun doesn’t seem to have any clue about it.” Yongguk stood next to the latter, folding his arms across his chest.

                “I saw the way you’re looking at him.” Yongguk arched an eyebrow at him. “If you have the feeling that he is your mate, I think it may be true because a weredragons’ feeling for their mate is never wrong,” he explained.

                Yongguk couldn’t agree more with Himchan. Every shape shifter was known to find their mate by their scent and that was the exact way he had found Daehyun. His eyes averted to the blind man. He wondered in what way he had been looking at Daehyun that made Himchan know for sure that he was looking at his mate. He only thought that Daehyun shined the most compared to any other person around him. Perhaps, he was really falling in love with the human.

                “You do know that if Daehyun is really your mate, he’ll not only be a weredragon’s mate, but also an alpha’s mate,” Himchan reminded his cousin.

                Yongguk shrugged his shoulders, still fixing his gaze on Daehyun. “That wouldn’t make any difference to me.”

                “He’s imperfect,” Himchan said it frankly, knowing that Yongguk would have no problem with it. “You can’t deny it.”

                “Well, if he’s a weredragon, he would probably be an omega.” Yongguk tried to imply that Daehyun’s blindness could only be his weakness which equaled him to the other omegas in their clan.

                Himhan sighed. “That’s not what I mean. Even if he’s an omega, at least he would be a weredragon. But no, he’s only a human.”

                Yongguk finally turned to look at Himchan again. “I admit that he’s not perfect. But maybe that’s why he is my mate. I am not that perfect myself.” He said with a dim smile.

                Himchan’s stare lingered on Yongguk’s eyes for a moment before it moved to the other four who were still chatting loudly. “You could be.”

 

 

                Daehyun was alone with Yongguk again after the older man had threatened to deduct his cousins’ salary if they kept chatting instead of working. Now, Yongguk was helping him getting on a treadmill. It was the only thing he would do if he were to come to a gym. He really liked to run but, there was one time he had tried to build some muscles on his scrawny body, just to get laughed at by Jongup after that because his arms were the only things that got bigger. Jongup told him that muscles didn’t suit him. So, he gave up.

                Daehyun readied himself on the treadmill, both hands holding the rail at the sides, before signaling Yongguk to turn it on with the slowest speed. When he felt the running belt beneath his feet started to move, he began to step forward with matching pace.

                “I didn’t know you like to run. You only told me about gardening the other day,” Yongguk spoke up, referring to the day they had lunch together.

                “I didn’t think it’s anything big. It’s only a form of exercise,” Daehyun brushed it off. “I go for a run with Jongup sometimes, but I still prefer running on this thing. I need to keep holding onto Jongup when we’re running but here, I can run on my own.” He brought a hand to the console after that, wishing to increase the speed. Although it’s not his first time using a treadmill, it was not the same at every gym. “Could you show me how to increase the speed?”

                “Sure.” Yongguk took a hold of Daehyun’s hand and moved it a little over the middle part. “Just press this button. The one below is to lower it.” He tapped Daehyun’s pointer finger using his own after placing it on the said button. Daehyun tried pressing it once and he continued to walk, now with a slightly faster pace.

                “You don’t feel like you’re being held back, aren’t you?” Yongguk asked. “Based on his looks, I bet Jongup can go in a flash.”

                “Yeah,” Daehyun chuckled. “But sometimes, I want to do something without his help. I wish that I’d never have to wear shades every time I go out. I wish that I’d never have to use a walking stick to go anywhere. I wanted to do something without the aid from anyone or anything.” He sighed as he imagined how great it would be if all of his wishes came true. At least, he had succeeded in getting rid of his sunglasses today. He wasn’t used to it yet and if it weren’t for Yongguk’s encouragement, he wouldn’t have gotten this far. So he reminded himself to thank Yongguk one day after he was totally confident to go out without hiding his eyes again.

                “I wanted to know how it feels if you’re running without holding onto someone’s arm,” Daehyun proceeded when Yongguk didn’t say anything. “I did it once a few years back. I just let go of Jongup’s arm and sprinted forward. That very moment, I could truly know how exhilarating does it feel when the wind blew on my face…” A radiant smile lightened his face as he closed his eyes, basking in the memory of that unforgettable moment.

                “I totally understand what freedom means,” he said. “It feels like I’m flying.”

                Yongguk frowned. “…flying?”

                “Yup.” Daehyun opened his unseeing eyes again after that. “I started wishing for a pair of wings after that, more than I wished for a sight. Since I ended up crashing onto a tree and almost broke my nose after my short escape,” he laughed as he recalled the incident. “I thought that it would be great if I could fly. I can go as fast as I wanted, as far as I can get, without worrying about crashing into a tree.”

                Yongguk admired the way Daehyun’s entire face wrinkled into a broad smile. He wished that he could keep the smile for a little longer by telling him that he could go further and faster by flying rather than walking. He wouldn’t have to worry about crashing into a tree; he would experience the best meaning of freedom by flying in the sky, but Yongguk couldn’t tell him.

                “Not everything that has wings can fly,” Yongguk’s voice was almost a whisper that he didn’t expect Daehyun to catch what he just said.

                “What? You mean something like chickens?” Daehyun asked back, startling Yongguk in the process. “It’s because they always chicken out!” he added with a good laugh.

                Seeing how happy Daehyun was, Yongguk had to force himself to let out a laugh as loud as the other. “Yeah… Something like that…” He turned his head to look around the gym to find Himchan who was already staring at him from afar.

                ‘Daehyun said I’m a chicken,’ he said through the link while he was still laughing so hard.

                On the far end of the other side, Himchan placed his palm over his face as he shook his head in defeat.

 

 

                Since Daehyun didn’t tell Jongup that he was going to the gym, Yongguk decided to send him home earlier than he planned to. He was being extra cautious after the last encounter with Jongup. Even Daehyun was not being a worrywart like him. The younger man was reluctant to go home, just like a child who didn’t want to leave a playground. Yongguk’s clan members were not much of a help too. They said that the gym had never been so cheerful until Daehyun came.

                Yongguk realized there would be much more time wasted if he went along with their whining. So, he promised to bring Daehyun again next time. The said man was the most excited about it. His voice raised a pitch higher as he was saying goodbye to the other four. Yongguk almost couldn’t believe that Daehyun could be even louder than he already was.

                The rest of the car ride was filled with Daehyun chattering about how much fun he had today. But Yongguk was the happier one since he had made the right choice to introduce his mate to a part of his clan. It was a good sign for him to do the same thing to the rest of the clan.

                “Do you own that gym?” Daehyun wouldn’t stop talking even though the car had stopped in front of his house.

                “Yup,” Yongguk answered as he turned off the engine.

                “Really?! Did you open it on your own?”

                “No, my father gave it to me.” Yongguk got off the car after that and went around it to get the passenger, only to find Daehyun was already getting out of the car on his own.

                “That is so awesome!” Daehyun exclaimed one he heard Yongguk’s approaching footsteps.

                Yongguk laughed, taking Daehyun’s hand to put it on his arm. “What’s so awesome about it?”

                “If I were you, I would run on the treadmill every day!” Daehyun stepped aside to let Yongguk close the car door.

                “If you want, I can bring you to the gym every day,” Yongguk suggested casually as he began to lead Daehyun to the front door.

                “Really?!” Daehyun squealed happily, squeezing Yongguk’s arm in his hug. “That would be great! I can’t wait to meet them agai-”

                He couldn’t finish his sentence when he lost his balance. Daehyun could feel his body was being pulled down by gravity which made him mentally prepare to receive the painful crash. However, everything stopped midway when there was an arm circling his torso in a tight grasp.

                Daehyun brought his hand over the arm that had saved him from the fall, which was also pushing him back onto his feet after that. His heart was thumping faster and he was not sure if it was because he almost tripped, or because Yongguk was being so close with him.

                “I know you’re happy but, you still need to watch your feet,” Yongguk said without sounding angry at all.

                Daehyun was flustered. His cheeks were heating up with Yongguk’s kind act. “But you’ll catch me before I fall,” he tried to hide the embarrassment.

                Yongguk felt his heart swell again. Daehyun was turning his head in his direction with an innocent grin on his face. It he had gained more of Daehyun’s trust and he didn’t remember achieving something this big in his life.

                “Right?” Daehyun asked when Yongguk wasn’t giving him any response.

                “Of course,” Yongguk assured in a daze.

                Daehyun’s lips pouted, seemingly dissatisfied with the answer he got. “That’s not right. You should promise me.”

                Yongguk let out a small laugh before giving in to his precious mate. “I promise to catch you before you fall.”

 

 

 

 

                Jongup had been keeping his eyes on his older brother ever since he came back from college. Daehyun had welcomed him home with an overly cheerful mood and continued to enjoy the music that played on TV as he went to prepare dinner. Daehyun wasn’t acting like he normally did in his view, humming the lyrics to the songs and bobbing his head at the beat. That’s when he was sure something had happened without his knowing.

                “Do you want to tell me something, hyung?” he asked while they were having dinner at the small table.

                His brother’s question left Daehyun frozen in his seat. “Tell you what?” he played dumb even though he actually knew what Jongup meant.

                Jongup breathed out a long heavy sigh. “Come on, hyung. We’ve been living together since I was born. This is not the first time you’re hiding something from me.”

                Daehyun wore a fixed expression as he stuffed some food into his mouth and slowly chewed it. His mind was busy thinking if he should just admit it or keep acting like he didn’t know what Jongup was talking about. But based on his past experience, Jongup would do whatever it took to make him spill his secret, even as far as going through his things and mobile phone.

                “You know that I’ll find out sooner or later, right? So you better tell me when I’m still asking nicely.”

                Daehyun groaned in defeat. He was sure Jongup had the usual evil smile across the table. There was no other choice for him when he had been cornered like that. A not very nice Jongup could be very scary. “I went to a gym,” he finally admitted, although it wasn’t the whole story.

                “Alone? For what? What time? How did you go there? When did you come home?” Jongup pestered his brother for more information.

                “Yongguk hyung asked me if I wanted to go to the gym he’s working at and I agreed because I was bored and it’s been so long since I got to run. So he came to pick me up and drove me there,” Daehyun answered and explained more before Jongup could interrupt.

                “He introduced me to his cousins who are also working at the gym and it turned out that he’s the manager! All of them were so nice to me. Yongguk hyung even helped me on the treadmill when he had a lot of other work to do. It was so much fun! Yongguk hyung struggled to take me home because he’s afraid that you’d get mad. And because I wasn’t following his plan, he promised to bring me to the gym again!”

                Jongup was definitely vexed at first but, seeing how big Daehyun was smiling, how bright Daehyun’s wide eyes were twinkling, he had put out his anger. He knew his brother didn’t have much friends, not even before they moved here. That’s why at times like this, he had to think twice before lashing out to Daehyun because if Daehyun was happy, he would be even happier.

                “Can I go there too?”

                Daehyun gasped, his eyes grew wider than before. “Really?! Do you really want to go?” he asked in disbelief.

                “Can’t I?”

                “Of course you can! I’ll tell you whenever I go to Yongguk’s gym again. Then you can come to pick me up there after you finish your class,” Daehyun suggested eagerly.

                “Alright,” Jongup resumed to eat his long forgotten meal. “So, what’s the gym called?”

                At that question, Daehyun could only give a sheepish smile as the answer. “I don’t know…”

                Jongup rolled his eyes while shaking his head. It was typical for Daehyun to ignore something as essential as that. So, could somebody tell him, how could he ever be at ease with a brother like that?

 

 

Proofread by Sempiternalis

 

A/N:

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