I present to you... a very long chapter (it's 5,000 words (longest chapter I've ever written before o-o) but usually I type 1,000-2,000 words and yes I do know that epilogues aren't suppose to be the longest thing out of the entire story but it ended that way since I didn't necessarily know how to space out a 5 chaptered story ;w;).

Without further ado, I'd like to take this moment to say thank you everyone who followed this train-wreck of a story where I-screwed-a-lot-of-things-over-with-making-parallels-to-the-irl-PWF-team-but-it-worked-out-anyhow-so-I-guess-it's-fine(?) but I did enjoy typing this story because it did challenge me with trying to keep an overall serious tone along with making my chapters more informative with more content in a small amount of chapters.

Seriously, thank you all of my lovely readers, hopefully the story ends satisfyingly (is... is that a word? I'm just gonna cross my fingers and hope that that's a real word) (again yes I know I could've just said 'enjoy the last chapter' but that's no fun :P), and may we see each other again! (*・ω・)ﾉ

He didn't know how exactly he ended up in the school hallway, walking behind Minki. Sewoon was extremely close to say something before he saw how Minki turned, his stare changing to a glare as he turns back and walks quickly.

"Minki-ssi, please wait!"

Sewoon chased after the blond when the latter began to pick up his pace in walking. He tried his best not to stumble over his own feet while trying to match his pace, falling only slightly behind. He didn't want to dare trying to grab his wrist with the sight of that stoic face.

"Minki-ssi, please!"

He barely caught sight of how Minki bit the bottom of his lip before picking up his pace yet again. At this point, Sewoon had to jog in order to match his pace. In an act of urgency, his mouth moved without thinking.

"Dongho-ssi wants to apologize!"

The blond finally stopped in his tracks at those words, allowing Sewoon to relax a bit from the chase. Maybe it was overly dramatic or maybe it was just his mind itself paralleling his current situation to some sort of cheesy K-Drama, but Minki turned around and gave that cold stare that he was so infamous for. Minki takes a step forward, jabbing a slim finger at Sewoon's chest as he practically hisses, "I don't want to hear that from you out of all the people possible."

He admits that he was slightly afraid- maybe an expectation he picked up on because of all of the bad rumors he's heard about Minki for so long- but he was more-so taken a back. Sewoon thought that maybe they were acquaintances by now but with what Dongho had informed him he doubts that they were ever considered acquaintances in the first place.

Well, at most he was sure that Minki didn't see him as one.

"Would it be better if you heard from Daehwi-yah? Because he didn't necessarily try to socialize with us?" Sewoon quietly asked. He saw how Minki faltered slightly, a slight flinch to his expression as it broke from shock, before gritting his teeth as tears threatened to spill.

 "Don't bother trying to convince me. We're..." the blond took a deep breath, "This group is only together to work on a final project. Nothing more, nothing less. Everything will... return to normal once the project is over. Now don't try to talk to me again about whatever it is about Dongho."

With that, Minki turned and ran off, leaving Sewoon speechless.

"Should've figured. So he's still pretty sensitive to these kinds of things."

Some how, this scene was familiar: sitting on a bench, a can of coffee in his hand, sitting next to someone he's barely familiar with. As he traces the edge of the can, he ponders as to if this is how he copes with things. Sewoon looks over to Dongho from the corner of his eyes, asking, "Why don't you come back to school?"

"My first class is with Minki. Technically I can go but Minki would ditch from the sight of me and Minhyun and Jonghyun would blame me. I don't really have much of a choice unless I try to come at a time I think Minki wouldn't come or I just try to grab missing work from school," Dongho laughs weakly. A sigh escapes his mouth, "Sorry for getting you and Daehwi included with this whole mess."

"I-It's fine! I think... we would've ended up knowing some how since we would have to look for you to finish the project..." Sewoon mumbled, noticing that the can has gone warm. He thought back to how Minki treated him so differently in comparison to before the cafe incident, thinking that they got closer before remembering how Dongho mentioned that they use to be in a similar situation. Hesitantly, he asked, "Without the project... do you think you would've gotten close to Minki either way?"

The iljin looks over with a contemplating gaze before asking back, "The idea that maybe the project forced us to get along with each other and it wasn't out of our free will?"

Sewoon gives a careful nod to that.

"... Who knows. Maybe we would've ran into each other at one point or maybe we'd be avoiding each other because of how people deemed us as." Dongho shrugs before that nonchalant posture of his became soft, almost nostalgic in a sense. He softly continues, "All I know is that no matter how different we were, we were able to make it work out and formed a strong bond. We took comfort in each other's presence and we still worry over each other- or at least, I still worry over Minki even though Minhyun and Jonghyun still follow him around like guards of some sort... I miss him."

The last part was a whisper, nostalgia turning to vulnerability. Sewoon couldn't help but to frown slightly at that because yet again the pieces of information didn't connect properly. From what it seems to be, Minki was the one pushing Dongho- or more specifically everyone- away but it was Dongho who pushed Minki away first and broke the last bit of trust that he had.

What exactly did Dongho do to push Minki from shy and insecure to someone cold and unreachable?

"Maybe I should just stop. I appreciate you trying to help me but this obviously isn't going to work anymore. I'll finish my side of the project and you and Daehwi won't have to deal with this mess." Dongho stands up from the bench, making Sewoon panic. The latter stutters, "I-It's fine really! I think that- I mean- yes that was originally the purpose of trying to talk to you guys but- I..." his voice goes quiet as he wasn't quite sure if he was allowed to say this, "I believe that it would be nice... if we actually became friends by the end of this..."

He worries that he pushed the line, not daring to look up to Dongho in fear that he'll be met with the same look that Minki gave him this morning. To his confusion, he hears the bench creak and turns to see Dongho with a small smile.

"That's a nice new thinking style to how this thing will work," the small smile turned into a grin, stunning Sewoon as he didn't think that he said anything noble to be rewarded with such a grin. Dongho continues speaking, "During our junior high years, Minki was way more feminine back-"

"Wait a minute you're telling me the entire story now?!" Sewoon had to interrupt out of panic before closing his mouth at having such an outburst again. He continues quietly, trying to control his anxious heart, "I-Isn't this some super private stuff? That was why you left Daehwi's house after Minki left, right?"

"Well if you're going to help me then you need the entire story, don't you?" Dongho raised an eyebrow, an almost teasing expression that made Sewoon close his mouth again.

Dongho continues with a small clearing of the throat, "Minki wasn't really your average teenage boy. He had shoulder-lengthed blond hair, he painted his nails, and he always had something cute and usually pink as an item. He was easily the target for bullying and since Minhyun and Jonghyun were his childhood friends- well they were obviously protective.

"When I first saw him, my immediate first thought was to ignore him. It's blatantly obvious that that was hypocritical of younger me. I was pretty petty back then since people always and still do judge me on first look and were immediately scared of me so being shunned like that made me shun Minki. That was until the project. I'd like to think that he understood how it was like to be misjudged so he used the project as an excuse to try to befriend me along with Aron and Jason. It's funny how you basically copied how he approached and got close to me- well, excluding that Minki and I always got into a lot of childish fights.

"You'd think that I'd be immune to stupid rumors hurting people by the time we were all close friends but the rumors got so much worse along with the bullying for Minki. Since Aron left, we were all more stressed about that since there were less people that Minki could count on. What set off everything and led to this was when a rumor got popularized with the same reoccuring theme," a scoff, "'Dongho forced Minki into this', 'Minki's actually giving his body out', you get the point after hearing such things: 'there's no way the school's princess and iljin can get along with each other without a catch to it'.

"I snapped at Minki at one point. Told him that he was a nuisance and that we don't need to keep pretending to be friends after the project ended. The insecurities of no one approaching us and instead leaving us made us both snap in a way. Looking back at it, I'm not sure if I yelled at him like that because I was afraid that he would try to leave me first or because I deluded myself into believing that Minki would be better protected this way," Dongho sighs, his gaze directing towards his lap.

Sewoon was a bit speechless at that, not expecting the story to progress like that. Slowly, he asks, "Then what made you suddenly want to fix your guys' relationship after breaking it like that?"

The iljin- no, the misunderstood student looks over to him and gives a slight smile, "I think it started with you trying to get everyone at least a little bit closer. The struggle to reach others was nostalgic, the fight with Minki even though it was messy was nostalgic, Daehwi's mom was nostalgic... I miss being by Minki's side and I regret what I did in the past too. You don't just shove away the first person who tried to genuinely reach for you, right?"

He was speechless for too long to even dare to respond as Dongho suddenly got up with his school bag. The latter stretches, saying, "Well, I'll try to come to school tomorrow but for now, the sun is almost completely down so we should head home already. See you later." he gives a small wave and smile before turning and walking away even without a response. It was then that Sewoon noticed something.

Black yarn that was roughly tied tightly with a single pink bead.

15 days left.

Sewoon anxiously waited, trying to distract his impatient brain with music but inevitably failing to do so. He glances over to the gate and saw Minki and was close to trying to catch his attention before he saw a crowd of boys following after him, talking excitedly towards one another. It was easy to tell that they were his fanboys and he decided to wait for lunch, considering how history class in front of everyone would lead to too many attentions wandering over to them.

After a quick talk with Daehwi- who seemed a bit more nervous than usual- about what happened, lunch quickly came rolling by. Turns out he forgot to calculate Minhyun and Jonghyun being a part of Minki's life. Sewoon and Daehwi were practically stuck watching from afar about how Minhyun fussed over Minki's slightly red eyes and how Jonghyun kept asking if he wanted to take the day off, both obviously making the blond annoyed from repeating the same thing.

Some how, he was rather tired when school ended without any way to talk to Minki.

Maybe it's because I've been trying to reach him and there was little to no progression... Sewoon lets out a small sigh as he walked down the empty hallway, packing up late since he still needed to copy down notes.

"Hey." He looks up to see Dongho at the end of the hallway, his bag casually slung over his shoulder. Even though the bag was barely seen with his rather wide shoulders, he still noticed the pink bead where it took a bit of tilting his head to see.

"Couldn't reach Minki?" he asked. Sewoon shakes his head 'no' albeit slowly, feeling slightly ashamed for not being able to reach the blond. Dongho gives a reassuring smile (and if anyone else had seen that they would've freaked out or try to eavesdrop on them), "It's fine. I'll treat you to some desserts at Pledis Cafe if you want."

"W-Wait a minute!"

Before Sewoon could take a step, he turns at the sound of Daehwi's voice and noticed the youngest looking a bit breathless, obviously forcing Minki to follow him as he still struggled to drag said protesting blond by the wrist. When they were at maybe an arms-length away from Dongho, Daehwi lets go of Minki who immediately rubs his slightly red wrist while mumbling a few curses under his breath.

"Daehwi, I seriously don't have time for this. Minhyun and Jonghyun are waiting for me at Pledis Cafe and if I don't get there then they'll freak out and think I'm dead," Minki said, oblivious to Dongho's presence. He wasn't so oblivious when Dongho spoke up with an amused tone, "So you can't remember Sewoon and call him Ponyo but you can remember Daehwi?"

The blond flushes, turning to Dongho and hissing, "Shut up." but the order went over deaf ears as Dongho tilts his body a bit and tells Daehwi and Sewoon, "Don't worry, it means he has a soft spot for you guys." He only 'shuts up' when Minki takes a step forward and slaps him on the arm.

"Anyways why was I dragged here?" Minki huffs indignantly, crossing his arms.

Luckily Sewoon didn't have to nudge Dongho to remind him as to what he should do, the latter taking a deep breath. He makes sure to keep eye contact with Minki, saying steadily yet truthfully, "I wanted to tell you that I want to tie up the loose ends of the problem I left open... in that, I'm sorry. I know that just saying sorry won't solve what had happened, but I'm really sorry..." That was where Dongho wavered, hesitance noticeable as his gaze lowers to the ground, his voice shakily saying, "And it's fine if... if you still don't fully forgive me and I can't be your friend anymore... just forgive me enough until this project ends..."

There was a moment of tense silence what with Dongho looking ashamed and Sewoon and Daehwi stuck fidgeting nervously as they waited for something to be said. It was only until the silence was cut off by Minki's sigh.

"I forgive you."

Sewoon and Dongho met gazes, both expressing confusion before they turn to look at Minki, who glares, "Why are you guys looking at me like that?" before the glare weakens to a slight pout. "Jeez... I heard everything you told Ponyo at the park yesterday."

"Ah," they turn to Daehwi, who gives a sheepish smile, "To explain, before I went to the park to meet you guys to try to solve Dongho-ssi's and Minki-hyung's problem, I ran into Minki-hyung and we kinda talked along the way about random stuff since he was heading to the park too. When we heard you guys I stopped Minki-hyung from interrupting and yelling at Dongho-ssi for being there since we were stuck in a similar situation at my house. Sorry that we eavesdropped on you guys..."

Someone who was normal would've taken offense or gotten angry at the idea of being spied on, but considering how basically no one was exactly 'normal' in the group, Dongho's face lit up with a smile, shouting happily, "No don't be sorry! You helped us so much by just doing that!" He runs over to Daehwi and tackles him into a hug after practically shoving his bag into Sewoon's arms. Dongho seemed to have forgotten that he was strong for a teenage boy and had wide shoulders and basically rammed his shoulder blade into his neck, making the youngest choke loudly.

"Yah ya dumb tiger you're choking him!" Minki yelled, shoving Dongho to the side but inevitably making his shoulder hit Daehwi in the jaw. Dongho and Minki ended up bickering as Daehwi rubbed his jaw with a slight pout.

Some how, the scene felt... warm.

In the first time in a while, Sewoon laughed.

14 days left.

"Holy crap, I didn't think this would actually happen," so Gwanghyun greeted him the next morning with a gaping expression along with Jaehwan.

Sewoon awkwardly smiles in return, trying to find a comfortable position with Minki practically using him as a back rest as he was typing up their presentation on his laptop. Daehwi seemed to be the only one who paid attention as he looked up and greeted the two whereas Dongho was focused on reading one of the many books they checked out from the library yesterday after realizing 'oh fluff we only have 14 days left to work on our presentation and one of us doesn't even know what the hell is going on with the project'.

"Well it worked and here we are now." Sewoon was aware that he was gaining strange and confused stares from basically everyone passing by but Minki sent a glare to them, silencing them and making them rush off.

"Is there something wrong with this?" Minki turned to Gwanghyun and Jaehwan, his gaze challenging them to say something. Sewoon figured that Jaehwan would've retorted with something but when Dongho finally looked up his two friends let out a squeak of a 'nope!' before running off.

"We really need to fix that," Minki glances over to Dongho, the latter responding with a confused and innocent, "Fix what?" and making Minki sigh.

"I'll clear things up with those two later," Sewoon gives a small smile as Daehwi giggles.

"By the way, I've been meaning to ask this Minki, but the conversation at the park with me and Sewoon probably didn't contribute to the final thought of forgiving me. What was what made you forgive me so easily?" Dongho asked, making everyone turn to the blond curiously too (or in Sewoon's case, turn as much as he could without getting yelled at).

Minki blinks, his eyes wide with surprise at the sudden question, before pointing at Dongho's bag, a small smile as he says, "Well I was close to not forgiving you because although it was sincere I couldn't forgive you for how you hurt me even when we agreed to not listen to those rumors... but you wouldn't have kept that bracelet if you were truly trying to hurt me and apologizing just for a dumb project..."

"Now that I think about it, where did you get those bracelets?" Daehwi asked curiously.

"Oh, when it was the six of us at our closest, Minki made all of us friendship bracelets. That was during the time he was still small, shy, and cute though compared to his sassy self now-" Minki threw his pencil bag straight into Dongho's face, leading to the two bickering childishly again.

They laughed.

13 days left.

"Hey Daehwi-yah, you know Baejin?"

It was like any normal scene you would see in one of those slice-of-life stuff but if Sewoon were to be honest, he never thought that he'd be sitting next to the popular kid, who was eating a parfait, diagnolly across from the cool and chic kid, who was sipping on some americano, and across from the school rebel, who was trying to get the presentation to work on Minki's laptop, in Pledis Cafe. But hey, look at where they're at now.

"'Baejin'? Oh, you mean Bae Jinyoung? Um- sort of. He's considered as one of the popular kids too but isn't he the kid who always stares down at the floor?" Daehwi asked innocently after taking another scoop of some vanilla ice cream to eat.

"Yeah that kid, and he stares at the floor 'cause his self-esteem is kinda trash to put it bluntly," Minki said and Sewoon was glad that the blond added the the last part or else that would've been very rude, even if he knew that he can get quite emotional. The blond continue talking, "He's part of my fanclub and I've talked with him a bit recently about school and stuff. He said he wants to meet you and be your friend."

Daehwi lights up immediately at that, "R-Really?" before he seems to retract his question as he fidgets nervously, "B-But why does he want to..."

"He said he sees you by yourself a lot when you're not with Ponyo and he thinks that maybe you guys can be friends since you guys don't really belong to a particular friend group. Either that or I misheard him and he actually said that he wants to eat bread," Minki shrugs, "I've dealt with listening to shy mumbling before so I'm pretty sure I heard him right."

The youngest looks over to Sewoon, asking quietly, "Do you think I'll be fine...?" Sewoon smiles reassuringly towards the younger, saying, "I think you'll be fine. He doesn't seem like the type to easily leave you for someone else."

"And if he does I can always give him one of my infamous glares."

"I don't care who you are but don't you dare try to scare off one of my kids."

"Then what does this group count as if we get hurt?"

"... You guys are my friends. But seriously no one's allowed to harm a single hair on both my kids and my friends."

Sewon confirmed that Minki could be a protective mother hen if he wanted to be.

10 days left.

Daehwi squeaks, "There he is!" making Sewoon look up to see the ever so famous Jinyoung- or Baejin- run into a tree since he was looking at his feet, rub his head, jolting and checking if anyone saw, and his face flushing a bright red of embarrassment when his gaze met Sewoon's and Daehwi's gazes. The poor embarrassed boy then proceeded to run, basically shoving the school doors open.

"You think he's really interested in being my friend?" Daehwi asked nervously.

"Well I think so," Sewoon said, tuning his guitar to strum a song or two while they wait for Minki and Dongho to get to school.

"W-What if..." Daehwi mumbled. He fidgeted with the hem of his uniform, playing with a loose string on it as to distract himself.

Even though his focus wasn't on Sewoon, he still barely saw how his eyebrows were scrunched up worriedly. Insecurity was shown through his body position too with how he was slouching and thus slightly curled up.

Assuringly, he tells the younger, "If you're still nervous that he'll end up like one of those kids that hung out with you before leaving then you can always wait a bit more. Considering how he reacted then, I think it's safe to assume that you can approach him normally." He puts a bit more thought into what he would say next, knowing that he can't just end off like that.

"But if he does end up being like that- well- you can always consult with me about what happened. I'm still willing to be your friend even then," he offers a smile that naturally comes with that promise.

The younger takes a deep breath to calm his nerves before giving Sewoon a smile back. "Thanks, hyung. Some times I feel like a burden to you when you say that though..." he laughs awkwardly.

"You shouldn't feel like a burden. I actually think that it would be weird to not be able to speak to you normally like this one day."

"Yeah... that's a thought that I don't like either," he finally laughs freely, making Sewoon feel relieved in return.

Sewoon confirmed that Daehwi would always be welcomed back to his side.

5 days left.

Sewoon and Daehwi just kind of stare awkwardly from the side-lines as Minhyun and Jonghyun were basically barking obviously not the nicest stuff at Dongho. Even though they couldn't hear any coherent words from this distance, they can read the situation pretty well seeing how Dongho just stood there with a confused smile and Minki was pinching his nose while shaking his head.

"Maybe we shouldn't have been so oblivious about hanging out with both Minki-hyung and Dongho-hyung," Daehwi said, Sewoon nodding to that statement as Minki finally decided to walk between the two before screaming at them, scaring the crap out of anyone in that specific area from the sudden raise in voice.

It seemed like the problem solved some how when after school Minki decided to spend time with his over-protective (or understandably protective?) friends as to catch them up since he had been spending more time with them. It was still only Sewoon and Dongho at Pledis Cafe since Daehwi did end up becoming friends with Jinyoung and they decided to head to an arcade to spend more time together.

"Sorry you had to see that during lunch," Dongho said before muttering something about 'stupid block-up ads' as he still had Minki's laptop to enter his bit of the presentation.

"It's fine. At least you got to see them again?" Sewoon was just trying his best to stay optimistic.

"I guess, but not the best time to meet up, you know," Dongho mumbled, finally finishing his part before closing the laptop and carefully putting it in his school bag.

"But you can see them without feeling burdened now, right?"

"... Yeah, that's true," Dongho relaxes with a smile that Sewoon and Daehwi have become more than acquainted with now. "Thanks, by the way."

He looks at the other with confusion, "Thanks for what?"

"Thanks for trying to deal with us to get this presentation done before genuinely trying to deal with us. You and Daehwi-yah really saved the broken tie between me and Minki but if you hadn't gotten close to Daehwi-yah first, then all of us wouldn't be where we are right now. Really, thank you."

Sewoon confirmed that Dongho was very comfortable to be around with.

But what brought this up?

1 day left.

When they stood in front of the classroom that was still busy with chatter as they wait, they all gave each other a nervous glance.

Dongho rubbed his arm awkwardly, Minki lets out a sigh, Daehwi rocked back and forth on his feet, and Sewoon could only really hope for some sort of reassurance but even he was having trouble as to whether he should click to start their presentation.

"Hey guys."

They look over to Minki who smiles one of his rare smiles, "Stop being nervous. Worst that could happen is Dongho actually never understanding our project in the first place." to which it earns a 'Hey! I spent a majority of my days focusing on just this to make sure all of my resources were correct!' from Dongho.

It was only until Daehwi giggles that the four finally relaxed.

"Seriously, relax. Learn how to build some self-confidence," Minki said, Dongho murmuring something about how Minki lacked any confidence for a couple of years and gets a smack on the arm as a response.

"Okay, I'm starting," Sewoon smiles.

And he clicks to start and end.

0 days left.

He looks at the red and underlined '100' at the corner of his paper, but for some reason a tired sigh left his mouth.

Cross that out. That sigh wasn't for some reason. Sewoon thought as he folds the paper neatly before putting it into his pocket. He continued to wander about the hallways, hoping to run into at least Gwanghyun or Jaehwan since lunch consisted of various locations for them. During this walk, he thought back to how they were all nervous that day and said day was where he thought that they were nervous because they were afraid to fail.

No.

They were afraid as to what will happen to them after the project has been presented.

He wonders if the result spoke for itself where he built confidence in their relationships when days left for the presentation became days left... until they're maybe no longer by each other. Sewoon thinks that the world was just a bit too cruel, but maybe that was what he gets for trying to get along with them only for some red ink on a flimsy sheet of paper.

It felt like the world was mocking him as he had no courage to approach any of them in the past few days; Daehwi was always talking animatedly with Jinyoung on the way to first class, Minki was constantly surrounded by his childhood friends and fanboys again, and Dongho was no where to be found again.

Again, Sewoon honestly never thought that they would end up this close.

Even when he was with Gwanghyun or Jaehwan, they would always point out that he looked a bit glum even with his guitar or that he was acting a bit more like a bingu than usual or that he seemed to be causing problems for himself. Of course, they tried to cheer him up but it worked for a fairly short amount of time.

Again, this was a bit too cruel of the world.

Sewoon suddenly runs into someone, watching a school bag drop onto the floor and his life literally flashes before his eyes as he's suddenly held up into the air by a collar and staring at the same face that bullied Yongjin that one time. It takes him five seconds for him to realize:

Crap.

Like.

Holy crap.

"Hah?! You think you're a real tough guy don't ya? Thinking that you can bump into me like that huh?! I think someone deserves a beating here!" and Sewoon low-key complained about the guy's breath and spit while he spoke but now wasn't the time for that. When he saw a fist being raised, he squeezed his eyes shut, knowing that this will definitely hurt.

"YAH BACK  OFF FROM PONYO!"

He opened his eyes just in time to see a familiar blond's elbow smack directly into the bully's face. The bully loosened his grip, making Sewoon fall before he was caught from behind by someone who had a bit of trouble trying to catch him since he was slightly smaller.

"You better get running."

Everything felt like deja vu when he saw how the lackies picked up the bully and ran off after turn pale at the sight of a familiar intimidating figure. He was still a bit stunned even when he was properly brought back to his feet.

"Hyung are you okay?"

It takes maybe three seconds for Sewoon to completely check his surroundings. He saw Dongho still glaring in the direction that the bullies went, Minki muttering curses as he took out a pocket tissue to clean his shoe of the nose blood, and Daehwi worriedly looking at Sewoon.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine..." he manages to stutter, feeling a bit dumb for his thought processes about 'the world being cruel' back then.

"Yeah that's dumb even for you Ponyo." and Sewoon was close to asking 'how did you know before he met Minki's unimpressed gaze, "You said that out loud, bingu." The blond seemed to always know how to make anyone close their mouth shut whether through sass or by force.

"I hope you realized that I've been stuck trying to make up time to Minhyun and Jonghyun for spending most of my time with you. I'm free now if you're wondering," Minki lets out a small sigh, murmuring about how their bracelets were starting to break too and how he needed to figure out a way to remake their bracelets.

Wha...?

"Jinyoung will be gone over the entire break for vacation so we were trying to make up for it before break would start. I-I'm free too," Daehwi smiles, fidgeting with his fingers as it seems to have now become his habit.

"I actually thought that break started already before Minki texted me about why I wasn't at school today. Oh, I don't have anything planned later today either," Dongho sheepishly smiles as he rubs the back of his neck. The blond then immediately hisses at Dongho, "Aisht seriously how can you be so dumb!" He ends up pouting, murmuring, "I won't forgive you entirely unless you stay by my side again..." making Dongho comment 'wow that was actually cute' before getting a punch to the arm.

Even with everything turning out to be like this, Sewoon was still dazed until Daehwi speaks up, ignoring that Minki and Dongho were bickering childishly yet again. He looks over to the youngest to see that he was shyly smiling.

"Um- since I think it's confirmed that we'll hang out after school today... Can I still learn how to play the guitar from you?"

Sewoon couldn't help but freeze, looking back to see that Dongho now having Minki in a headlock and ruffling his hair, the former laughing as the latter threatened to bite his arm again while trying to conceal a smile. He looks back to Daehwi, who was still offering his best smile as he fidgets in place.

It felt like a weight has been lifted off of his shoulders as his chest felt light and warm. He thinks back to the memories that varied from peaceful, to calming, to emotional, to passion, to frigid and to warmth. He smiles.

"Of course."