“I’m surprised Kun is letting you go after school today,” Ten said, picking his cuticles. 

 

Xiaojun shut his locker down, raising an eye at Ten. “What do you mean letting me go?” he asked him. “Is he supposed to be possessive or something?”

 

“Oh, Kun is very possessive, he’s just too cowardly to say anything.” Ten put away his nail file in his pocket, ignoring the confused looks Xiaojun was giving him. “You know what, I don’t know why I even asked that, of course Kun isn’t going to say anything-”

 

“Say what?!” Xiaojun asked him again. “What are you talking about?”

 

Ten put a hand on Xiaojun’s shoulder, giving him a fake smile. “Xiao,” he said. “What happened around this time last year?”

 

Xiaojun glared at him. Was Ten referencing the alien attacks last year? That’s the one and only memorable thing Xiaojun could think of that happened around the beginning of the year last year. 

 

Well, technically speaking, it was the big thing that happened. Though, to be fair, it was a crazy year for Xiaojun. He went to having a kind-of-quiet but kind-of-not relationship in China with his now-ex boyfriend, to his nudes getting posted and them breaking up, to Xiaojun’s father being a cheating bastard and Xiaojun and his mother being uprooted from China to South Korea, where he met all of his crazy classmates and Kun. The alien invasion really just was the tip of the iceberg. 

 

“I’m not sure how bad your ptsd is, Ten, but are you talking about that time we had aliens?” Xiaojun asked him sarcastically. 

 

Ten frowned at Xiaojun. “Do I look like Hendery? What the happened to you during that time, IDIOT?!”

 

Xiaojun rolled his eyes. Ten was always dramatic like that, he had realized over time. “Well, we were in school and aliens attacked, that’s also when Kun told me he had feelings for me-”

 

“I’m talking about you,” Ten interrupted him. “What happened to you?”

 

Xiaojun frowned. “Are you- are you talking about me getting injured?”

 

“YES, THANK YOU!” Ten exclaimed. “YES!!!”

 

Xiaojun looked at Ten up and down before shrugging, holding onto his backpack tightly. “What does that have to do with today?”

 

“Because, Xiaojun,” Ten said. “If it wasn’t obvious, that’s where you got hurt last time, and you and I both know Kun is a huge worrywart.” 

 

“But-”

 

“But nothing. You didn’t hear it from me. And don’t bring it up to him, please.” Ten took out his phone from his pocket, sighing. “Ah, Jesus. Johnny is causing a ruckus again-”

 

“Kun didn’t say anything about not wanting me to go,” Xiaojun said. “How do you know this?” 

 

Ten sent a text quickly to Johnny on his phone before turning it off again. “Because he is a scared bastard and is always telling me his new fear. Xiaojun, you already know this, it took two months of him ing you to finally realize he wasn’t doing anything wrong.”

 

Ah, Xiaojun does remember that quite well. Although they started off their relationship very slowly, they did end up sleeping with each other rather quickly, around the end of winter break. And from what Xiaojun understood, Kun had bothered Ten twenty-four seven about being scared of doing something wrong. 

 

“Oh, like you didn’t enjoy hearing about it,” Xiaojun said. He himself had often went to Ten to talk about it, his only other experience being with his ex-boyfriend. Who wasn’t even good at it, if Xiaojun was honest. No, not compared to Kun.

 

Ten had a field day hearing it from both sides. But it was a new thing for Xiaojun; he didn’t have friends back in China to talk comfortably about this stuff. If you had asked him back during his first day of school last year the friends he would be making and talking to about, his would have never believed you. 

 

“Of course I did enjoy it,” Ten said. “I love calling him an idiot-”

 

The bell signifying that they had five minutes before the school day official started rang, interrupting both of them. 

 

“I’m off to find Kun,” Xiaojun said, waving at Ten. “I’ll see you later."

 

“See you later, Xiao,” Ten said back. “Both in class and lunch and at the party.”
 

 

***

 

This class was sooooooo ing boring. 

 

Jisung, luckily, was in the back of the classroom, zoning out while his teacher continued going on and on about whatever math topic they were learning about. Was it a bad thing that Jisung didn’t even know what they were talking about?.... Eh. 

 

It was the first class of the day after homeroom, and for Jisung, that meant having Algebra in of the morning. So ing stupid. GOD he hated it here.

 

He couldn’t wait for the school day to end. Not only did that mean the weekend was up and about, but a lot of them were going to the forest after school and bringing FOOD! Jisung was always starving after school so he was thankful for the opportunity for his older classmates to bring stuff for them to share. 

 

Of course, Jisung wasn’t heartless himself, either. He stole all of the chips in the pantry that he could find that he didn’t like. Someone was bound to eat them. 

 

Unfortunately for him, the teacher kept yapping and droning on and on about some stupid concept they should have apparently learned last year but Jisung had no memory of ever learning.  

 

Man, this. Jisung pulled out his phone and hid it in his desk, opening instagram to send a meme to the group chat, one that he had made himself this summer - he had taken a photo of Haechan laying down on the floor with a serious look on his face, with the caption saying me since he and Mark wanted to be nasty all the time. 

 

To his surprise, Instagram was telling him that Chen Le was also active as well, who immediately saw the meme that Jisung had sent, courtesy of the app. 

 

Before Jisung could even type his originally comment of wanting to die because of this class, Chen Le was already sending him a dm, a crying emoji followed by the text I want school to end already. 

 

Me too, Jisung had replied back. All this teacher knows is how to talk. BORING. 

 

Chen Le was in his history class, if Jisung could remember correctly, proving himself right when Chen Le sent him the message SAME. I CAN’T STAND MR. SONG. 

 

Jisung grinned, typing back another message. BOOOOOOOOOOOO. 

 

Pretty soon, the two completely forgot that they were still in class time, engaging on Instagram. 

 

Kill me, Jisung, I want to die.

 

Don’t you got money to hire an assassin?

 

Ah, , you’re right. Tell my family I love them. And tell Jeno I don’t want cheetos at my funeral. 

 

Hey, what’s wrong with cheetos? RUDE!!

 

Nothing is wrong, he’ll just leave orange fingerprints everywhere, which will be harder to arrest my murderer for. 

 

You’re assuming you’re gonna get murdered?

 

DUH! I got enemies left and right, Jisung. Everybody hates moi. 

 

Jisung frowned at the last text Chen Le sent him. I don’t hate you, he replied back.

 

He could see Chen Le typing and deleting a message over and over. After one minute, though, it showed Chen Le being inactive on Instagram, leaving Jisung on read. 

 

Embarrassed, Jisung turned off his phone and shoved it into his desk, holding his head up as he forced himself to look at the board. Seemed like no more being on his phone today during class. 

 

He didn’t touch his phone for the rest of class, to which he would find a message by Chen Le who had responded five minutes after their conversation. I know, Jisungie. That’s why I trust you to be the only one to avenge me. <3
 

 

***

 

“Why did they have to do it now of all times?!” Hendery whined, smacking his head with the binder in his hands. 

 

He was in line in the cafeteria with Lucas, the  two excited for some hot pot the school was offering today. However, as everyone else in the ing cafeteria wanted hot pot like them, they were in the back of a very long line that must have had fifty people or so. They couldn’t even grab a tray yet.

 

“Are you talking about Yangyang?” Lucas said, thinking of the upcoming Yangyang drought that was no doubt going to ruin Hendery’s mood and anyone who interacted with him from a ten mile radius. “Isn’t that soon-”

 

“Don’t-” Hendery sneered. “Remind me-”

 

“Oh god, I’m not going to get hot pot aren’t I.” Kun appeared behind them, sighing when he noticed the long line. “I figured-”

 

“Great, Mr. I-get-laid-everyday is here-”

 

“WILL YOU TWO CUT THAT OUT?!” Kun yelled at Hendery, shooting a warning look to Kun as well. “God forbid I asked out Xiaojun when I was interested!” 

 

“I don’t want you rubbing it in our face.” Hendery stood shoulder-to-shoulder to Lucas, the two of them crossing their arms and sending Kun a matching glare. 

 

“I- I MENTIONED HOT POT YOU IDIOT!!” Kun shouted. 

 

Lucas, who had shifted his attention to someone behind Kun, groaned and threw his hands in the air. “Does he have to be everywhere?"

 

Kun turned around, trying to match Lucas’ line of vision. “What the hell are you looking at- oh.” 

 

Towards the center of the cafeteria, there stood Sungchan and Jungwoo with their lunch trays in their hands, with Jungwoo laughing at something Sungchan must have said. 

 

“Why does Jungwoo always seem like he’s having a good time with Sungchan-”

 

“HENDERY!” Kun harshly whispered to him, but it was no use. 

 

Lucas was watching the two students, his fists balling against his side so hard both hands were twitching, a cold ice glare on his face. 

 

After what seemed like forever to Lucas and ninety seconds to Hendery and Kun, Sungchan walked away from Jungwoo, waving as he made his way out of the cafeteria. Many students ate their lunch at some empty classrooms or in the library, so that’s probably where he was heading. 

 

“Well, at least they’re not sitting together?” Hendery suggested, a forced grin on his face as he glanced at a fuming Lucas. 

 

“Hendery, shut up,” Kun mumbled, pushing the two of them forward. The line had moved quite a bit, and yet they were still standing in their old spots. 

 

Lucas was fuming, pushing past Kun and Hendery, only to get pulled back by them, the two grabbing him with all his might. 

 

“If you beat up a newly-registered sophomore you will get suspended and then you will completely miss any chance of dating Jungwoo,” Kun said quickly, trying to calm Lucas as fast as possible. 

 

“Yeah, man, we’ll beat him up after school,” Hendery said. 

 

“I- what the hell is wrong with YOU!?” Kun yelled at him, letting go of Lucas as he now turned around in line, refusing to look at them. “Can you shut up?!”

 

“I’m going to take care of him,” Lucas mumbled, an unreadable expression on his face. 

 

“Lucas, that is not the way of you dating Jungwoo,” Kun said quietly. “That’s his friend-”

 

Hendery scoffed, rolling his eyes. “What do you know, Kun-”

 

“More than you considering I’m the guy getting ‘laid every day’ and- oh, how’s Yangyang doing?”

 

Hendery stepped forward, maintaining eye contact with Kun. “Watch it-”

 

“Do what you want with Yangyang,” Lucas interrupted them. “I’m asking Jungwoo tonight.”

 

***

 

Jungwoo set down his tray on the table, sighing as he threw his bag on the ground.

 

“The you sighing for so early in the year?” Mark said, yelping right afterwards when his hand got smacked. “OW!!”

 

“Mark, some of us hate school,” Donghyuck said right next to him, reaching over to grab Mark’s rice pudding. “Yay!”

 

“Ew, couples,” Johnny said, also reaching over for Mark’s juice.

 

Mark smacked Johnny’s wrist away, yanking his juice off of his tray and holding it close to his chest. “CAN YOU GUYS STOP STEALING MY FOOD?!”

 

Donghyuck gave a dramatic sad pout, slowly putting the rice pudding back on Mark’s tray. 

 

“Not you, babe-”

 

“YAY!!!!!!” Donghyuck grabbed the rice pudding back again; Mark got it everyday specifically for him, anyways, so he was just being dramatic. 

 

“What’s gotten you so dramatic?” Doyoung asked Jungwoo, cracking open his bottle of tea. 

 

“Nothing, I was just reminding Sungchan about after school,” Jungwoo explained. “It’s whatever.”

 

“Is Lucas going?” Taeil asked him, putting his packet of oreos on Doyoung’s tray that he brought specifically for the latter. He didn’t notice the way Doyoung’s cheeks turned red. 

 

Jungwoo sent Taeil a glare, picking up his fork to get ready to eat. 

 

Both Yuta and Si Cheng also came to the table to sit down, the two setting their trays down simultaneously. “Who are we talking about?” Yuta asked the group. 

 

“Nothing and where the are Jaehyun and Taeyong?” Johnny asked. 

 

“They’re in the library, I think,” Doyoung explained. “Some paper Taeyong is doing and Jaehyun being lovestruck after him.” 

 

“Ewww, that’s disgusting,” Donghyuck said, stealing a handful of fries off of Mark’s tray. 

 

“You’re room to talk,” Si Cheng muttered under his breath, popping off the lid of his yogurt. 

 

“All of you guys are ing disgusting,” Doyoung said. “This school should ban PDA.”

 

“If you weren’t single you wouldn’t be saying that~” Johnny sang jokingly.

 

Doyoung grabbed the apple off his tray and launched it at the latter, Johnny screaming woah! as he dodged it. 

 

“I can’t wait for after school,” Taeil said, dipping one of his fries in ketchup. “I heard Taeyong is bringing lasagna.”

 

“Ten made fettuccine, I’m so ing excited,” Johnny said. “I love his cooking, I’m trying to wife him-”

 

“I’m mad his parents made y’all cancel the wedding,” Yuta said, laughing when he saw Johnny make a sad face. “, that would have been more free food.”

 

“I can’t wait till I get married,” Donghyuck said. “I’m going to have five different cakes.”

 

“Mexican tres leches, cheesecake, confetti, red velvet with cream cheese filling and a chocolate ganache which will have the little wedding versions of ourselves,” Mark recited from memory.

 

“Well, , I’ll postponed my wedding with Ten to go to yours, holy !” Johnny said, giving Mark a high five. “Sounds like your wedding will be a blast.”

 

“Y’all should try to finesse the government into paying for it,” Yuta suggested. “They owe us.”

 

“Oh, always, always,” Doyoung said, opening the package of oreos Taeil had given him. “Never doing that again.”

 

***

 

Renjun paced around the rooftop, kicking the small rocks that always adorned the cement floor despite them always throwing them off the roof (making sure it hit no one, of course - they were crazy, but they weren’t s.

 

Where the were Jaemin and Jeno, anyways? Lunch had already started five minutes ago, and considering they had since the five minutes of passing period before that… they had to hurry. 

 

Oh no, what if they were caught? What if they got in trouble and had to take after school detention and their parents picked them up and they got grounded? Not the first time they didn’t something stupid, Renjun should know better by now, but… 

 

The weird little party they were throwing was taking place after school today, and Renjun was honestly just reading to eat some bomb ing food and head home to sleep for the rest of the weekend. 

 

He was ready to put last year behind him. They were juniors now, most of them at least. (Mark was a senior, and Chen Le and Jisung were sophomores.) But still. High school was halfway over for Renjun. 

 

It wasn’t until a couple of minutes later when he heard the door to the rooftop bust open, a panting and disheveled Jeno and Jaemin crouching down, catching their breath. 

 

And in Jeno’s hands, a box of pepperoni pizza and a smaller box with cheesy garlic bread. “We- we almost got caught-” he sputtered out, sitting down on the concrete as he set the boxes down. 

 

Renjun jogged up to them, grabbing Jeno’s arm and pulling him up. “You guys are stupid,” he said, flicking Jeno’s forehead with his free hand. “Idiot.”

 

“How dare you call us idiots, we got your cheesy bread,” Jaemin said, placing a hand over his chest acting surprised. Renjun had yelled at them this morning when they told him their plan for lunch. 

 

Jaemin grabbed the two boxes as the three of them made  their way towards the ledge, standing a good ten feet away as they sat in a line, setting it down in front of him. “Man, I’m ing starving,” he said, handing Renjun the cheesy bread while popping open the lid of the pizza. “I’ve been craving this all week-”

 

“God bless Chen Le’s black card,” Jeno agreed, reaching over to grab a slice. 

 

Renjun immediately shoved a piece of his cheesy bread into his mouth, chewing it slowly. Jeno and Jaemin went into a conversation/loud discussion that involved them complaining about how gross Mark and Donghyuck were from holding hands earlier, to Jisung and Chen Le being gross in the opposite direction and being too cowardly to admit their feelings to each other.

 

Jesus, did they learn nothing about last year? You could die any day now, or your crush could die as well. Stop wasting time and do what you love. That’s why Renjun had taken among himself to start collecting swords and displaying them in his room. 

 

Zoned out by their conversation, Renjun was so engrossed in his cheesy bread that he didn’t even notice a newcomer had joined them on the rooftop until Jaemin shushed them. 

 

Annoyed at Jaemin telling him to shut up, Renjun was about to lash at him when he heard someone let out a string of curses behind them. 

 

All three of them turned their heads around to see Yangyang, sitting approximately twenty feet from their right, staring at the ledge in front of him as he rubbed his head. 

 

“Since when do you eat up here?” Renjun spoke up, startling him. Yangyang usually ate with some Chinese club that they had at the school; Renjun didn’t want to join because their club was enough idiocy for him to handle, and Chen Le didn’t either because he’d rather spend his time with Jisung. 

 

Ew. Those two were grosser than he thought. 

 

“I don’t feel so good,” Yangyang said softly. This was far from his eccentric and outspoken behavior that they usually see. “I have a horrible gut feeling in my stomach.”

 

“Stomachache?” Jaemin said. “We have pizza if you want some, we stole Chen Le’s credit card-”

 

“Doesn’t he have the gift of prophecy?” Jeno whispered. “Maybe we shouldn’t go to the reunion-”

 

“ that, Taeyong brought lasagna, I’m going,” Renjun interrupted him. “Maybe this is about the dude who likes him-”

 

“DO WE HAVE TO BEAT UP SOMEONE?!” Jaemin yelled at Yangyang. “I CAN TAKE LUCAS IN A FIGHT-”

 

“The does Lucas have to do with anything?” Renjun harshly whispered to him. 

 

“Rumor on the street says he’s been conspiring with Hendery,” Jeno said quietly back, hoping Yangyang was too distraught in whatever his gut feeling was.

 

“Oh, did you hear that someone wants to beat Sungchan up?” Jaemin said. “He’s one of the new sophomores-”

 

Renjun sighed. “YANGYANG!” he yelled out. “COME ON! Have some cheesy bread!”

 

***

 

It wasn’t just in class that Sungchan saw him. 

 

They didn’t get to talk during class at all today; the teacher had this very long and dumb powerpoint that took up the entire class time, ing when they were getting their bags ready before the bell. So, once that damn bell rang, everyone rushed to stuff their backpacks and dart out of there, Sungchan and Shotaro included. 

 

But, that didn’t matter to Sungchan, because now he was here in the library, trying to rent a couple of manga volumes that the school had, when he saw Shotaro. 

 

The school bell had just rang, ending the school day. Sungchan was going to head home for a bit before coming back to the school, as he had made korean fried chicken for everyone. He was still a bit nervous about coming to the reunion with Jungwoo, as he didn’t really know anyone, so that was his way of hoping he got accepted. 

 

Before he headed home, though, he wanted to rent some manga for the weekend, as he didn’t have other plans and was planning on staying indoors, so when he saw Shotaro alone in the aisle, he felt his heart skip a beat. 

 

Shotaro didn’t notice him at first, slowly scanning the shelf in front of him, until he turned his head and saw Sungchan standing there. “OH, sorry!!” he said, stepping out of the way. “I’m so sorry I-’

 

“I- no, it’s- IT’S OKAY!” Sungchan exclaimed, flailing his arms around. “I’m not looking for anything, I swear, I’m- I’m just thinking of what- what to get for the weekend!” 

 

“Oh- OH, uh, I, uhm-” Shotaro gestured towards the bookcase in front of him, hoping Sungchan didn’t notice his flustered face. “There’s a lot of good ones here, your school has a good selection…” 

 

“To be fair, I’m new here,” Sungchan explained. “But it’s a lot more than my old school.”

 

“... you’re new, too?” Shotaro whispered. “Where are you from?”

 

Sungchan shrugged. He hadn’t been all that concerned with the move, if he was quite honest. Plus, he was at least thankful to have Jungwoo here with him. “Gwangju,” he said calmly. “But this school is alright. Shouldn’t be too bad. At least we don’t have to deal with aliens or whatnot.”

 

“Oh, Yuta told me about that incident,” Shotaro mumbled. “He got stabbed, it’s why my parents hesitated to have me enroll here, even though it’s right by our house.”

 

Aliens. What a weird concept. The world had almost downright exploded when the existence of aliens was proven to be real, yet Sungchan’s life didn’t really change that much. Nor could he bring himself to care. 

 

“We’ll be fine,” he said to Shotaro. “I doubt there will be a repeat. Plus they’re throwing a party, so I doubt they were affected that much.”

 

“Oh, right, right,” Shotaro trailed off. “Yuta was stabbed, but he’s excited to celebrate.”

 

Sungchan remembered the frantic phone call Jungwoo had made in the middle of the night, when they had been rescued and their phones were turned back on. He had talked about some of them getting stabbed or injured, including Lucas who was beat up pretty badly. Jungwoo himself had gotten glass and some other minor injuries. Sungchan hadn’t even checked the news at that point. 

 

“I think it’s crazy for a reunion, but to be fair, they did live beyond the odds,” Sungchan explained. “So I guess they can’t be too crazy.” 

 

Shotaro nodded. “I hope so, I’m just scared of meeting them, I guess…”

 

“Wait, you’re going too?” Sungchan asked. “I got invited, I’m bringing dakgangjeong.”

 

“I- that’s… Korean fried chicken, right?” Shotaro asked. 

 

“Yeah, it’s pretty good, I eat it often.” 

 

“Oh, wow!! I brought karaage, too… chicken is really good.”

 

“Hey, the more chicken to go around, the better.”

 

***

 

Jaehyun and Taeyong drove in silence, both paying attention to the road. 

 

Friday finally arrived, and school had ended. Taeyong had made a big batch of lasagna for everyone to try, so Jaehyun offered to take him to his house to pick it up. 

 

Jaehyun didn’t feel like changing so he was fine skipping his house, but Taeyong decided at the last minute to do so, so after Jaehyun drove his boyfriend to his house, he stayed in the living room while Taeyong put on some new clothes. 

 

Clothes that were making Jaehyun sweat. He was starting to regret what he wore to school today - a plain back shirt with a gray ped jacket, with his jeans and black Nikes. This was what he usually wore for school, anyways, but Taeyong…

 

Taeyong was wearing a plain v-neck white, long sleeve shirt, which he paired with a simple gold chain that was hanging on top of his collarbones. He wore it with black ripped jeans and his black converse, which showed off his long legs as always. 

 

Jaehyun had bought him a new cologne a while ago, which Taeyong was wearing today, he noticed. God, it smelled so good from afar. This was torture at this rate. 

 

He thought of the incident the other day, while they were laying on Taeyong’s bed. They have not spoken about it since. Was it a good thing? Or a bad thing?

 

wasn’t really a topic they had ever come across, and Jaehyun didn’t know what Taeyong thought about. They had to talk about it, soon. But that thought alone was enough to make Jaehyun’s stomach churn. 

 

Jaehyun still remembered how hard Taeyong had been. Was it just a reaction? Or did Taeyong also wanted to-

 

When they pulled up to a stoplight, Taeyong broke the silence. “Who do you think will be there?” he said, looking at Jaehyun. “I know some people were against it.”

 

Jaehyun stole a glance at Taeyong real quick before turning his attention back on the road, the light having just turned green. “Not sure,” he said finally. “I mean, who wouldn’t be surprised, that was not a fun experience to have gone through.”

 

Taeyong nodded, clutching the tray of lasagna in his arms tighter. He had made it earlier in the morning before going to school but left it in the oven, having turned it on while he changed so that it could warm up. “I wonder if I made enough.”

 

“That’s what you are worried about?”

 

“I- I mean, there was a lot of us, so honestly I’m not quite sure!” Taeyong exclaimed, pouting when Jaehyun started laughing at him. “It was three clubs after school, wasn’t it?” 

 

“To be fair, from what I’ve heard what goes on in those other two meetings, I’m perfectly happy with the way 127 goes,” Jaehyun said. “I’m thankful to have you as leader.” 

 

As he was busy driving, Jaehyun didn’t see it, but Taeyong looked down at the tray of lasagna as he smiled, his cheeks flushing with pink. 

 

“I- you don’t have to say that,” Taeyong mumbled.

 

“Hmm?” Jaehyun stole yet another glance, despite still driving. Last time, promise. “What makes you say that?”

 

Taeyong didn’t say anything at first, looking out the window. It was a nice day out; the sun had been shining all day, it was warm but not unbearable, with a slight breeze that could cool any sweat that formed on your body. 

 

However, no sweat could cool off Taeyong whenever he was next to Jaehyun. “Well…” he said slowly. “You’re just saying that because you have to.”

 

“... who said I have to?” Jaehyun asked. 

 

“Because you’re my boyfriend,” Taeyong concluded. “You don’t have to say that, you know-”

 

“Nonsense.” Jaehyun said, pulling into the school parking lot. There weren’t many other cars here; sports, clubs, detention and in-school suspensions had long-ago finished for the day, and no student wanted to stay after school on a Friday for fun,  so it must have been the other survivors. 

 

Once Jaehyun pulled into a parking space and parked the car, he turned off the ignition and put his hand on Taeyong’s seat, leaning closer into the latter’s face. “You’re my boyfriend for a reason.” 

 

Taeyong stared at him with wide-eyes, blinking slowly. “... what would that be?” 

 

Jaehyun grinned, giving Taeyong a quick peck of the lips before pulling away. 

 

“Don’t-” Taeyong let one of his hands go to grab Jaehyun’s collar, pulling him down for a longer kiss. 

 

Jaehyun responded immediately, gripping Taeyong’s hair with his right hand while his left one was holding his head in place, the two quickly engaging in another makeout session. 

 

Taeyong parted open his mouth, letting Jaehyun shove his tongue down his throat. Wasn’t their first time by any means, and yet Taeyong couldn’t bring himself to hold back the noise he made when Jaehyun did. 

 

After what seemed like… two minutes? Three? Taeyong had no idea - Jaehyun pulled away again, resting his forehead on Taeyong’s until they caught their breaths. 

 

Taeyong closed his eyes, concentrating on regulating his breathing, when Jaehyun spoke again. “Do… do you want to come over after the party?” 

 

“...... oh, yes, absolutely.”

 

***

 

“What is it that you wanted to tell me?” Wonwoo asked Jihoon. 

 

Mingyu was apparently making some elaborate meal for dinner and had told Wonwoo to invite their friends, so that’s what Wonwoo had done. 

 

Minghao and Junhui had been there for a while, having no school - even though the year just started, school was already cancelled for the next week, as there had been a bad case of pneumonia and chicken pox supposedly being spread, and so many teachers were out. A blessing to the two high schoolers currently playing Mingyu’s Xbox in the living room. 

 

Soonyoung was in the kitchen talking to Mingyu, so Wonwoo was setting the table, Jihoon holding a stack of dishes for him to help, the two engaging in their own conversation.

 

“Oh, it’s… it’s just about a new assignment as got at work the other day,” Jihoon said slowly, watching Wonwoo align each dish perfectly on the table mats. 6 plates, 6 place mats, 6 sets of cutlery, 6 glasses-

 

“Is it good?” Wonwoo grabbed the last plate from Jihoon, setting it down on the table gently while going to grab some rolled napkins. “You’re not in trouble, right?”

 

“Oh, have faith in me.” Jihoon held the rolled napkins in his hands, standing next to Wonwoo as his friend grabbed them one by one and placed them carefully in front of each plate. “We’re visiting Korea again-”

 

Wonwoo bumped into one of the glasses, the clinging sound bringing everyone’s attention to him and Jihoon. 

 

“You’re- you’re going there for work?” Wonwoo asked. “For how long?” 

 

“Wait, where’s Jihoon going?!” Minghao set down his controller on the coffee table and came rushing to the dining room, Junhui stumbling after him. “What’s going on?”

 

“I’m traveling for work to Korea again, it’s fine,” Jihoon explained. “Done it before, and we’re doing it again-”

 

“But- but last time you got attacked by ALIENS!!” Junhui exclaimed, his hands shaking. “What if something happens-”

 

“I think I’m a bigger threat to myself than any other alien-”

 

“Haha, MOOD!” Minghao yelled. “To be honest-”

 

“Okay, you two,” Wonwoo picked up the fallen glass and straightened it. “You shouldn’t be talking about yourself like that-”

 

“Is it safe over there?” Junhui asked, biting his thumbnail. 

 

“It’s South Korea, not North, Jun,” Minghao said, grabbing Junhui’s hand and pulling it from his mouth. For good mentioned, he interlaced their fingers and gripped it tight, hoping that would calm Junhui’s nerves. 

 

It did not. Junhui’s neck and face flared up red. 

 

“It won’t be that long,” Soonyoung said. He and Mingyu had stopped their own conversation to hear the others. “It’s like, five days. We’ll be back before you know it.”

 

“CAN I GO?!” Minghao exclaimed. “That sounds like FUN!!”

 

“WHAT?!” Junhui screamed. 

 

“You two are young, you can’t go!” Wonwoo said. “Just because school is cancelled doesn’t mean you should stop studying-”

 

“Why don’t you go, dear?” Mingyu asked. “You’re off from school too-”

 

“ME?!” Wonwoo whipped his head around to stare at his husband, standing innocently next to Soonyoung. “I CAN’T GO!!”

 

“I really do not care,” Jihoon said. “The more the merrier. I’m going to eat their corn dogs-”

 

“Me and Jihoon would be working but honestly it’s a really nice place,” Soonyoung reassured the group. “Just upset we didn’t get much time to explore last time we went-”

 

“Because there were ALIENS!” Junhui yelled. 

 

“You’re more likely to die in a car accident than anything else-”

 

Jihoon gave Minghao a warning glare. “You’re going to get him started-”

 

“You’ve always mentioned wanting to explore more of Korea,” Mingyu said quietly to Wonwoo. “And you have the time off, why don’t you go?”

 

“I- I can’t…” Wonwoo whispered. “I- they’re going to be working, I can’t be there by myself.”

 

Mingyu watched at Minghao and Junhui arguing, with Jihoon joining in and Soonyoung trying to calm all of them down. “I’ll get the time off before work-”

 

“No, Mingyu- don’t,”

 

“It’s okay, Woo.” Mingyu pressed a soft kiss on his husband’s forehead. “We should do one last travel, anyways, especially if we are thinking of adopting a kid. We’ll have to give them time to settle before we can start taking them anywhere, anyways.” 

 

Wonwoo glanced at the other four. Soonyoung was telling Minghao that he should talk to his parents first, while Junhui was trying to change Minghao’s mind, and Jihoon was telling Junhui to think about the food. 

 

“I- I guess we can think about it…” Wonwoo trailed off. “It’s not going to be like last year for Jihoon and Soonyoung, anyways.”