[Chapter 9 - Part 2]

The Wen’s and the Xu’s grocery store was about a 10 minute drive away from the cafe, not too far from Jeonghan’s house since his mother was able to walk to the grocery store and back when they needed food. The drive thankfully gave Jeonghan time to calm down from his previous outburst, but it also gave him time to think about Joshua.

Seungkwan had not been fazed at all when Jeonghan had released his feelings. In fact, Jeonghan had forgotten that Seungkwan had a friend who never told him he spoke Korean, simply because it never came up. And they had known each other for two years. Jeonghan had only known Joshua for four months.

Also, Joshua had decided to tell Jeonghan that night he came over. Jeonghan had realized a few days ago that Joshua had been acting weird during their lunch date because he was probably gathering up the courage to admit everything to Jeonghan. Can he really hold this over Joshua’s head for as long as he has been? Should he give the other the chance to explain? The part of Jeonghan that was hurt never wanted to forgive the other, but the rational part of Jeonghan knew that he should give the other a chance to explain.

Jeonghan hated to admit it, but he had already fallen in love with Joshua, and he missed the ease with which he could hang out with the other. He missed the way Joshua would look at him like he was the only one in the room. His missed Joshua’s lithe voice, his adorable laugh, and the blush that would always coat his cheeks whenever Jeonghan flirted with him. Most of all, Jeonghan missed how comfortable he felt around Joshua. Although they were always speaking in English, something about their relationship made Jeonghan feel like he could always be himself.

That was why it came as such a shock that Joshua did actually speak Korean. It meant that Joshua hid a part of himself from Jeonghan, and it made the older doubt that Joshua felt as comfortable in their relationship as Jeonghan did. Maybe Joshua’s feelings for Jeonghan did not match Jeonghan’s feelings for Joshua. Honestly, it scared him to know that he could hurt even more than he did now if Joshua told him that the other did not love him.

Jeonghan pulled over as the grocery store came into view, finding a parking spot just outside the store on the street. He tried his best to shake away his thoughts and put on a light smile as he walked inside and saw Minghao waving at him from the back. When he got there, the younger gave his hair a quizzical look before nodding in approval. He pulled Jeonghan in for a hug and then brought over a crate of miscellaneous food. Junhui walked in through the back door with his and Minghao’s mother, having just helped them take out the trash. When he saw Jeonghan, he smiled and walked over to them.

“Thanks again for helping us get rid of this excess food. And nice hair, by the way,” Junhui said as he grabbed an apple from the crate.

“Thanks. And I’m always up for free food. There’s also no more need to thank me after all these years, y’know.” Jeonghan replied as he grabbed himself a bag of seaweed chips.

“I know, but my mother would have my head if I didn’t say thank you.”

“Then you make sure to tell Mrs. Wen thank you from me. It is her food that I’m eating.”

The three of them grabbed stools and crates to sit on and eat. Jeonghan and Junhui made light conversation while Minghao was content to just listen. When the conversation died down and the three of them were done eating, Junhui gave Minghao a meaningful look.

“You are distracted today, Jeonghan-hyung,” Minghao spoke quietly.

“Sorry, Hao,” Jeonghan said, giving the other a sad smile, “I’m just dealing with a lot of things. I’ll be fine, so please don’t worry about me.”

Minghao nodded in understanding. A minute passed and he did not say anything, instead silently finished the strawberries he was holding. When he finally spoke again, it was a little louder but still filled with concern and affection.

“Do you remember when we first met?”

“Of course I do.”

“You were very nice. You tried to talk to me, but I was very nervous and scared.”

Jeonghan softened as Minghao talked to him. He always did whenever the younger made the effort to talk in Korean. Jeonghan had come to consider Minghao as his little brother and would do anything for him. He knew Junhui and Minghao felt the same way toward him, and it warmed his heart to think of how amazing his friends were.

“But you understood me, though, so I thought I’d just keep talking and give you more time to warm up to me. You were too cute, I couldn’t resist taking care of you.”

“I think the first time you ever said a full sentence in Korean to Jeonghan-hyung, he almost cried,” Jun added.

“I didn’t almost cry...I did cry.”

The three friends shared a laugh over the memory.

“That time, I was too scared to talk to you in a language that you understood,” Minghao continued. “You were very bright, cheery, and confident. I did not think I was worthy.”

“Hao...you never told me this before,” Jeonghan said, feeling incredibly moved and looking at Minghao warmly. Junhui’s phone beeped in the background, and he took it out his pocket to respond to a text.

“That is because I think this is the time you need to hear it.”

As Jeonghan contemplated Minghao’s words, he felt his heart constrict when he realized they were regarding his situation with Joshua. Although he had never gotten mad at Minghao before, his frustration began to bubble up. Why were all his friends lecturing him about fixing his relationship with Joshua? His own mind was doing that enough.

“What happened with Joshua is different,” Jeonghan said angrily through clenched teeth.

“But is it really?” Junhui countered with a knowing look. Minghao nodded, neither of them affected by Jeonghan’s anger.

Just as the oldest was about to reply, a scream of Jeonghan’s name from the front of the store startled the latter. Jeonghan turned around and was suddenly lept on by an excited Chan who knocked the wind out of him with the force of his hug.

“Hyung, where did your hair go? Anyway, I’m so glad I found you because Shua-hyung was supposed to pick Vernon and I up but we can’t get in contact with him at all and we don’t know how to go home and it’s laaaaate!” Chan said quickly, pouting cutely as he held onto the older.

Too surprised to say much else, Jeonghan just pat Chan on the back, brotherly instincts coming out and making him say, “It’s okay, I can take you home.”

“Really??”

Chan squeezed Jeonghan even harder and gave him a megawatt smile, which just made Jeonghan melt even more for the young boy. While Jeonghan was still trying to process everything that was happening, Junhui introduced himself and Minghao to Vernon and Chan, Vernon having followed Chan into the grocery store. For some reason, the introductions seemed rehearsed.

“How do you know Jeonghan-hyung?” Junhui asked calmly.

“Through Joshua. He’s our best friend,” Vernon replied.

Junhui looked between the two newcomers before giving Jeonghan a meaningful look because of their connection to Joshua. Jeonghan blushed and quickly looked away from Junhui’s seemingly all-knowing gaze. He said goodbye to his friends since he needed to take Chan and Vernon home, but not before Minghao shyly offered the two youngest each a bag of chips from the crate. While Vernon just said his thanks, Chan gave Minghao a big hug that embarrassed the other. After that, they walked out of the store to Jeonghan’s car.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Vernon was immersed in texting someone from the backseat. Chan had insisted he sit upfront next to his new favorite hyung and was currently happily singing along to the song on the radio.

“So you said J-...Joshua was supposed to pick you up?” Jeonghan asked to the two of them after a while.

“Yeah, but he’s been feeling pretty down for the past few days, so he probably forgot,” Chan responded.

Jeonghan just nodded and kept driving, hands nervously re-wrapping themselves around the steering wheel.

“You don’t seem too happy yourself, Jeonghan-hyung,” Chan began tentatively.

“I’m sorry, Chan. I know he’s your guys’ best friend, but...”

Quietly, Chan said, “I know.”

“He’s not the brightest when it comes to relationships,” Vernon added, finally putting his phone away.

“Yeah, he gets really self-conscious and afraid.”