Chapter 9 - Part 1

It’s called a “man”-icure for a reason, right?
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[Chapter 9 - Part 1]

 

Although Joshua tried to remain strong over the next few days, even his parents could tell that something was not right. Vernon and Chan were constantly over at his house, trying to distract him with anime and pizza. Joshua had not told them exactly what had happened, but when they visited him the day after and saw his red eyes, that was answer enough. The older would constantly be on his phone, looking through photos he had taken with Jeonghan or scrolling through their text history. Upon seeing that, Vernon got used to taking away Joshua’s phone whenever he was keeping the other company.

 

When Joshua was not masochistically looking at pictures of Jeonghan, he was messaging the boy he had fallen for, pleading for another change to explain. When he was not doing that, he was leaving the other countless voicemails. However, Jeonghan never responded.

 

Several days after the incident, Joshua could no longer handle Jeonghan’s silence, nor could he deal with the oppressive weight of his guilt. He wanted so badly to explain everything to Jeonghan, so in desperation he sought the other out at Seventeen Salon.

 

Joshua specifically chose a day when he knew Jeonghan would be working, and he arrived a half hour before Jeonghan would usually take his lunch break. However, when he entered Seventeen Salon, he did not see the other. There was a possibility that Jeonghan was in the bathroom, or that he took his lunch break early, as Joshua tried to reassure himself. Instead, he came face to face with Wonwoo’s murderous gaze immediately upon entering.

 

He almost lost his nerve at the hostility in Wonwoo’s eyes, but his love for Jeonghan outweighed his fear. He still nervously approached the front desk, hands kept clenched at his side to try and stop them from shaking.

 

“H-Hi Wonwoo, is...uh, is Jeonghan working today?”

 

If Wonwoo’s gaze could have become any more hostile, it did at the mention of Jeonghan’s name.

 

“No, he asked Mingyu to take over his shift today. I wonder why,” he replied bitingly, obviously knowing the answer.

 

Joshua once again resisted the instinct to bolt right back out the front door of the salon.

 

“Why are you here?” Wonwoo asked.

 

“I just...I-I haven’t been able to get in contact with him since...since that night. I was going to explain everything, but...yeah. I just want to talk to him.”

 

Wonwoo stood up and leaned over the front desk, looking even more intimidating to Joshua before he talked to the other in Korean.

 

“Whether you have a valid excuse or not, have you even tried to think about how Jeonghan-hyung feels?”

 

Joshua looked away guilty before he replied.

 

“I know that I lied to him. He has every right to be mad.”

 

“How about the fact that he put so much extra effort into talking to you, flirting with you, and expressing himself in a language he feels less than confident in? While this whole time, you’ve been hiding who truly are and pretending to be someone that you’re not. He was giving 110% every time he saw you, but what about you? You didn’t even care enough about him to be yourself!

 

Wonwoo’s words felt like knives driving straight through his heart. The other was right. He was never truly himself around Jeonghan. While the longhaired male was giving everything he had into making their relationship work, Joshua never gave more than he needed to. All he was, was a coward.

 

As Joshua stewed in his self-deprecation, Mingyu popped up behind Wonwoo after sending his customer to sit under the dryers.

 

“So...why exactly did you lie?” Mingyu asked curiously.

 

Joshua looked away sheepishly and responded, “Well, actually...wh-when I first met Jeonghan here, I was kind of blown away by how beautiful he was that I forgot how to speak. He assumed that it was because I couldn’t speak Korean, and I just went with it. I didn’t really want to explain that I was a blubbering mess because he took my breath away.”

 

When Joshua looked back at the two boys in front of him, Wonwoo was staring at him with a deadpan expression, and Mingyu’s eyes were wide, jaw dropped in disbelief. He watched as Mingyu slowly lifted his arm and heavily patted Wonwoo on the back.

 

“Well, Jeonghan really knows how to choose them,” he said incredulously.

 

“Are you being serious right now?” Wonwoo asked angrily, sighing in frustration after Joshua nodded embarrassingly. “Oh my god, you idiots are made for each other. I hate you both.”

 

“Like, I know I should be mad at you for hurting Jeonghan,” Mingyu added, “but you’re just too innocent. I–...I don’t know what to feel right now.”

 

Wonwoo turned to the tall boy and talked directly toward the other, although the conversation was still loud enough as if he wanted Joshua to hear.

 

“Seriously, how has he survived this long with his cringe-worthy personality?”

 

“I’m surprised we’re only realizing it now.”

 

“Wait, I remember looking at Jeonghan-hyung’s phone one day and seeing a text sent by Joshua that said, ‘I ate ramen today and the noodles reminded me of your hair, smiley face.’”

 

“Oh god, why?”

 

“And Jeonghan-hyung giggled like a schoolgirl when he read it.”

 

Somehow, Wonwoo and Mingyu sighed in unison before looking back at Joshua.

 

“We have to help fix this,” Wonwoo stated as Mingyu nodded in agreement.

 

“B-But Jeonghan doesn’t want anything to do with me,” Joshua finally added after finding his voice.

 

“Maybe so, but I know he’ll listen to his friends.”

 

A spark of hope flared in Joshua’s chest at Wonwoo’s words.

 

“Tonight he has English class with–”

 

Mingyu had someone how already took his phone out and was in the middle of texting as he completed Wonwoo’s sentence by saying, “–Jihoon and Seungcheol.”

 

“If they could convince Jeonghan-hyung to come to a cafe after class, then–”

 

“–we could have them run into Soonyoung and Seokmin–”

 

“–and then Seungkwan could–”

 

“Yeah, and then Junhui and Minghao at their grocery store–”

 

“–and then Joshua’s friends–”

 

“–could lead him back to Joshua.”

 

The two boys smiled at one another, proud of the scheme they had created. They both high-fived each other, and Mingyu cast Joshua a wide smile.

 

Joshua, however, was confused beyond belief.

 

“...What?”

 

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

 

As much as Jeonghan wanted to continue moping around his house, Jihoon and Seungcheol just would not leave him alone. Wonwoo had taken the hint when Jeonghan called off of work. Minghao and Junhui sent one text each in concern, yet when Jeonghan never responded, they left him alone. Seungkwan gave up his efforts after leaving several overly dramatic voicemails. When Jeonghan was ready, he would talk to his friends. Right now, though, he needed to deal with his feelings alone.

 

Jihoon and Seungcheol could not take the hint. They pestered Jeonghan over and over about going to English class and hanging out with them. How English class would not be the same without the other there. How Jihoon could not deal with Seungcheol’s childishness all by himself. How Seungcheol could not deal with Jihoon’s sarcasm and all-around intimidating demeanor all by himself. How they were not sure if all three of them would be able to see each other every week when college started up again. How Jeonghan would be cruel if he deprived them of their last remaining moments of friendship.

 

Maybe if Jeonghan was not such a bleeding heart, he would be able to turn down his two friends. Instead, he found himself gathering the textbooks that he threw on the passenger seat and walking into the classroom building.

 

His friends had surprisingly arrived early, huddled together over Jeonghan’s desk like they were secretly plotting something. When Jeonghan snuck up behind them and said “Excuse me,” they both jumped out of their skin with Seungcheol additionally letting out a very girly scream.

 

“Jeonghan! Y-You...wait, what happened to you?” Seungcheol stuttered out.

 

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Comments

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waee09 #1
Chapter 10: Soooooo sweeeeeeet
waee09 #2
Chapter 4: Kimbap kidding.. HAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHA
waee09 #3
Chapter 2: Full. Of. . HAHAAHHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH i could hear itttttttttt
chizlava
#4
Chapter 10: I just read this story in one sitting and I love this! And I support the million Jicheol one shots! :)
SeventeenCarrot #5
Chapter 10: thank u for writing
BLoved_97 #6
Chapter 10: woaaahhhh love this so so much TT <3333
Jewelandelf
#7
Chapter 6: I love seeing you compare jihoon and seungcheol with dogs in this chapter because OH MY GOD HOW COULD U BE SO ACCURATE BRUH ??? and I can saw those happen to them btw ???
Pikachulover_95 #8
Chapter 10: Thank you for this super cute Jihan story!!!!! ♡
Lunacea
#9
Chapter 10: It's (mostly) finished! It's been a ride y'all. What Jihan fanfics am I supposed to be hyped for now :(

Just kidding... I loved this fic so much! Perfect amount of conflict with copious amounts of fluff... just how I like it! Its been just wonderful reading this story!
Lifeisworthit #10
Chapter 10: OH MY GOD THIS WAS AMAZING THSI WAS LITERALLY EVERYTHING I COULD HAVE ASKED FOR I LOVE IT SO MUCH THANK YOU FOR JUST FINISHING THIS FIC AND NOT LEAVING IT, TO BE QUITE HONEST ITS ONE OF MY FAVORITE SEVENTEEN FICS, EVEN MORE SO NOW THAT ITS DONE