Author's note: rewrote this four time and still don't like it, but it's going up anyway. Catching up with YB, more fluff next chapter~

Daesung covers his lips with a hand, trying to keep the giggles in.

“So what you’re telling me,” Youngbae sits across from him, smiling with far too much amusement, brow so high it’s near his hairline. “Is that Seunghyun remembered you from school and bumped into you on purpose because he didn’t know how to introduce himself properly, that you two danced around each other long enough to make Jiyong impatient and try to push you together with the help of Seungri who somewhere along the way ended up developing feelings for him, too.”

Honestly when he puts it like that it sounds utterly ridiculous. Like something out of a soap opera or tv drama, like the ones his parents watch during the afternoon on weekends, and Daesung clasps the other hand over his mouth to keep himself from just laughing out loud and calling even more attention to them. Rosa Lee’s is a lot more crowded than the last time they were there because it’s colder and later and people take refuge inside warm buildings now. It provides them with a bit of cover but there’s still a couple of odd looks thrown their way.

Youngbae sips at his drink, a lot more composed than him, forearms on the table and brow still high. There are only so many things that can be conveyed through letters so Daesung had taken advantage of the fact they somehow both got off early to meet and catch up on what’s been happening. To say the older Hufflepuff is amused by all of it is a bit of a understatement – after, of course, making sure everyone is either feeling okay or going to be soon. It just wouldn’t be Youngbae otherwise.

“Wait, Seungri helped him?” that part is news to him. As good as their friend is at asking other people questions and getting information, he somehow manages to keep most of his own to himself. Daesung always had a sneaky suspicion Seungri is just pretty good at directing conversations when he wants to be and isn’t too busy playfully whining about something. Sometimes he’s surprised at how the guy ended up in Gryffindor but then memories of his most outrageous acts resurface and he sort of has to agree with the Hat’s decision. Youngbae shrugs with a smile. “That’s what he told me.”

Something warm spreads across his chest at those words, making the younger man smile into his own cup. It makes him happy, that his friends are seemingly getting along pretty well. They’re all important to him, of course, but the other Hufflepuff is his oldest friend and not exactly in the same circles as the others seem to frequent so hearing that they’re writing each other regularly is good news. His brain pipes up amidst his cheerfully thoughts, making him blink slowly and stare at the other end of the table. “What, he told you? You knew?”

“Daesung,” the answer’s tone is calm, patient, fond. Almost exactly like his mum’s when she’s about to squeeze his hand and explain something that’s probably going to make him feel embarrassed. In this case it doesn’t really take a genius to figure it out. “I think everyone knew before you two did,” Daesung blushes and looks down at the table but laughs a little, nodding. They had probably been incredibly obvious to everyone else, hadn’t they? He feels more impish than embarrassed however, too happy and in too much of a good mood to consider that thought too deeply.

“You were all conspiring against us!”

“… maybe a little.”

Youngbae actually manages to look a little guilty at that but it passes quickly once the apprentice reaches over and squeezes his arm, still laughing. There’s an underlying giddiness to his every gesture that he can’t quite shake off and the way the healer-in-training smiles at him with his eyes is proof that he can clearly see that but the teasing hasn’t been all that bad. Better than the insistent, nonstop questions from Seungri, anyway. That man has far too much energy for anyone else to keep up with. Although that’ll probably become Jiyong’s problem soon.

The thought makes something between a snigger and a giggle escape him but Daesung shakes his head at his friend and changes topics. St. Mungo’s has apparently been quite hectic this time of the year – it’s always worse around holidays – with several weird, yuletide-themed cases popping up, like this one man who managed to transfigure his hair into pine needles somehow. Youngbae’s own master has been muttering more and more lately about irresponsible use of magic and how the second man should have been left with a glowing red nose until it faded on its own to teach him a lesson.

Despite that, it seems his week off is coming up and the older man isn’t entirely sure what he’ll be doing during it. It depends a lot on his parents and whether they’ll be in the country or touring one of the wizarding world’s famous vacation spots – his father has no magic whatsoever so they end up going to magical places more often than not – or just staying home this time. Daesung is quick to offer his own apartment as a place for his friend to crash at like usual, getting a warm smile as thanks.

“So have you introduced Seunghyun to your parents yet?”

The unexpected question makes him choke on his drink. It takes a few minutes for him to stop coughing, a hand at his pack patting him a couple of times to help as Youngbae smiles apologetically at the people looking at them in concern or irritation. Daesung looks up as soon as he can into his friend’s far-too-innocent face but he doesn’t get to swat at arm closest to him before the words click and he just groans, burying his face in both hands instead.

Merlin, his parents. He loves them dearly but it’s in these moments that he wishes they weren’t so odd sometimes. Seunghyun is going to have to meet them eventually and he hopes they don’t weird him out too much – actually he should just make sure the pureblood knows not all muggles behave like that. Although he’d be lying if he said he isn’t at least a little curious at how his reaction to the muggle world will be. Daesung at least has experience in guiding a pureblood through London so that’s something.

“It’s not going to be that bad. Your parents are wonderful people,” Youngbae’s still patting him on the back reassuring with a sympathetic expression on his face, trying not to laugh at the side glance the younger man is throwing his way and ignoring the mutterings about congratulation banners and hunting chocolate frogs like actual prey.  It’s mostly just playing around, his parents are perfectly capable of toning it down a little when the situation calls for it… he hopes.

“You know the Harpies are playing Puddlemere at the end of Januray.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, first match of next year.”

“Huh,” there’s a thought. Daesung lets the casual conversations drifting from the other tables wash over him, thinking it over. His favourite team versus Youngbae’s, that’s hard to pass up and the tickets shouldn’t be on sale yet so there was time. There’s the issue of money, of course, since he’s been buying far too many robes lately and may have to get more soon. He could always ask his parents, they were pretty comfortable in their lifestyle… it just that he doesn’t like doing that.

“Do you think we can get everyone together to come watch?”

“Everyone? You mean the five of us?”

“Yeah. We’ll probably run into people we know there but I was thinking that could be a celebration for us.”

Daesung furrows a brow and considers the proposal. There’s no way of knowing how busy the others may be, between Seungri’s job, Seunghyun’s responsibilities and Jiyong’s work on his project, but they should ask anyway. And they haven’t ever hanged out before, all of them, have they? It may be a fun thing for all of them to do together. Plus, Quidditch is a wizarding sport – the biggest and most important of them – with VIP boxes and everything so no one would bat an eyelash at seeing purebloods attending a match.

 “Maybe. We should ask anyway, right?”

“Right. You ask Seunghyun. I’ll ask the other two.”

His face reddens just a little as he pushes gently at Youngbae’s arm playfully. He doesn’t want to get his hopes up too much but the more he thinks about it the more it sounds like a pretty good idea, although that may just be his love of Quidditch talking. Despite listening to matches on the WWN religiously, he hasn’t been to a live one in almost a year and sort of misses the excitement and of it all. His pair of omnioculars has been sitting on a shelf since them, bar the occasional time he uses them whenever D-Lite feels like flying in loops and being a show off.

“Maybe you can even meet someone, Youngbae. You’re the only one left!” The older man laughs and shakes his head, raising both his hands in a ‘slow down there’ gesture. More people venture inside the store the latter it gets, yearning for the pleasant temperature and a hot drink, and the more of them sit down around their table the less both of them feel bad about being a little louder than usual. They may not have alcohol but this is a celebration of sorts, too. Youngbae is genuinely happy for him and Seunghyun.

“Honestly, Daesung, I feel like the four of you already give me all the emotional drama I need.”

“We’re not a TV drama!”

“… are you sure?”