june, 2026

all 16 adults laughed around the table as they reminisced in old stories from their past. almost two months had passed since that day in the park, and the members had been wanting to meet up again.

the guys often got together over weekends, but they wanted to do something with everyone. that led to doyoung and mirim deciding to throw a dinner party. thankfully everyone was able to show up.

after eating, the adults sat at the table with their drinks while the kids played elsewhere. everyone was so happy... and a little drunk.

•

five years had passed since johnny last spoke to jina. he'd made her promise not to wait for him, and she didn't. since their break-up, she's been on plenty of dates-but none of them were him. it just so happened that they were both single that one, fateful day. the day that changed everything for them.

jina had been late for work and unable to get a cab. refusing to get in trouble with her boss, she decided to run there... in a suit and heels. she had turned a corner much quicker than anticipated and bumped right into someone, causing them to stumble and spill their coffee all over her. luckily, it was iced coffee. jina had grabbed the man to prevent him from falling, and the two ended up much closer than anticipated.

once stable, they quickly separated and avoided each other's eyes.

"i-i'm so sorry! your suit... let me pay for it."

jina's brows furrowed, her eyes still on her stained, lightly grey outfit. that voice... it can't be... she looked up and her jaw dropped.

"j-johnny? johnny suh?"

said boy didn't need a second to think before her name left his lips. "im jina. it's been a while," jina's open mouth formed a wide smile, and johnny grinned back.

after the sudden reunion, jina didn't mind missing work at all.

the pair spent the rest of the say together-johnny buying her a new suit and jina buying him a new coffee. they admitted to each other that they hadn't been happy since the break-up, which led to the exchanging of contact information.

the couple married a year later, and all 23 members of nct showed up. while dancing and looking into each other eyes, they realized that they were now truly happy.

•

jaehyun was afraid of commitment after what had happened with nara. he didn't like getting too close to people out of fear of being rejected later. but when he met cha miyeon, he knew she was different.

they met when nct was still active, and she was nothing but kind to him. she supported jaehyun and never pressured him or got impatient. she accepted him for who he was.

one stressful night, after a long, helpful call, miyeon showed up at jaehyun's dorm to comfort him further. though she didn't say it, he knew that she'd chosen him over herself. she'd chosen to be with him.

the two started dating that night and both were extremely happy, regardless of the dating ban.

if felt good to have someone like miyeon by his side. jaehyun didn't know he could feel love like that. he treasured every second spent with her, and he knew early on that he wanted to be with her forever.

the two were cuddling comfortably on the couch when jaehyun suddenly paused their show and pulled his girlfriend into a sitting position. miyeon raised a confused brow as her boyfriend took her hands in his.

"i know whenever we talk about things like this, you always tell me that you prefer simple things," he paused, and miyeon's lips parted as ideas swam through her brain. jaehyun shifted off the couch and into a kneeling position on the floor, his hands still holding the misty-eyed girls.

"cha miyeon, you make me feel like the luckiest man alive. it sounds cheesy, but it's true." his thoughts faded as he captured the ethereal glow of miyeon's features.

"will you marry me?"

nodding quickly, miyeon pulled her fiancé into a hug, and he didn't hesitate to hug her back.

•

after yanmei stopped talking to him, winwin was only filled with sadness. he often talked to his mother over the phone, which only made him feel worse.

he soon grew extremely homesick. it took a lot of convincing, but when the members noticed sicheng missing his family, they were able to get him a ticket for china when nct finished promoted their new album. winwin was very thankful and overjoyed.

he had been back home for a few days when he heard his mother calling him from outside. "sicheng, can you please help the new neighbors?"

he'd been reluctant to get out of bed, but he also knew better than to disobey his mother. pulling his clothes on and trudging outside, his mom made sure to wiggle her eyebrows as he passed her, which only made the boy confused.

and then it was clear. the new neighbor pulled a box from the moving truck and placed it on the other, swiping some of her fallen, dark hair behind her ear. she straightened and glanced across the street, her eyes widening when they met sicheng's. she hurriedly turned away, trying her best to hide her blushing cheeks.

winwin helped her with the rest of her boxes, and she introduced herself as wen sulei.

when sicheng was helping her move, she'd recognized him as winwin from nct, but chose to keep it to herself. she didn't want to make him uncomfortable, especially not on his break.

when it was time to return to korean, sicheng and sulei made sure to stay in contact-this time successfully. they texted every day and talked every night. at first, they agreed not to date until the ban was lifted, but once winwin joined wayv, the pair confirmed their relationship to each other and to his members.

they were glad sicheng was finally happy.

•

after keeping his distance for many weeks, taeyong decided to ignore is crush on seongwoo and stay gaming friends.

their friendship grew, and taeyong even got to meet his friend's girlfriend-which was just as awkward as it sounded. the two boys stayed in contact and continued playing until early morning together, but the younger boy's crush soon faded.

especially when seongwoo informed him of the new employee.

jeon byungchul was his name, and if seongwoo was an angel, this boy was a demon.

his aura was strong and full of lust, which was majorly directed towards the panicked boy. every time byungchul looked at taeyong, the younger boy went bright red.

when seongwoo saw the obvious sexual tension between his friends, he decided to take the role of taeyong's wingman. he invited byungchul to join whenever the boys went somewhere or played online games, and he quickly noticed how competitive the two were.

taeyong constantly snapped at the older boy, who would only giggle or call him cute and pat the younger's head or pinch his cheek in a sense of teasing affection. taeyong would swat the boy's hands away, but his flustered face always showed his true feelings.

the three boys were hanging out one night when seongwoo noticed byungchul and taeyong actually talking to each other. he made up an excuse to run away and leave the wide-eyed boys alone.

thanks to taeyong being a lightweight, the two were finally able to comfortably-drunkenly-confess their true feelings for each other, and they'd been together ever since.

•

with the dating ban gone, the members who had been in secret relationships were able to do things like talk to their partner during breaks and put cute little emojis by their contact names.

seeing everyone together made jungwoo feel jealous. they'd been involved with people secretly, and yet when jungwoo was only friends with a woman, she was moved.

he could tell some staff members pitied seeing him alone, but he did his best to ignore them.

he didn't want their pity. he just wanted his noona back.

of course, they'd stayed in contact like promised, but it wasn't the same. she wasn't there every morning to make the boy smile, and he missed the sound of her laugh.

jungwoo had been practicing his dance moves in the studio when he heard his name being called. turning the music down, he spun around to see his manager smiling at him. the boy smiled back, but it didn't reach his eyes.

"i have something to show you," his manager said, and the boy raised a brow as he followed the older man out of the studio. they walked towards the hair and make-up station, with filled jungwoo with nostalgia.

the sound of someone dropping something rang throughout the hallway, and both men froze in their spots. a light voice let out a quiet curse, and jungwoo's eyes widened. he glanced at his manager, lips parted in shock as the man smiled and nodded in confirmation.

without a second of hesitation, a wide smile spread across the boy's face and he ran into the room. his sudden presence caused the girl to spin in surprise.

"noona," the boy breathed, and chaeyeon jumped into his open arms, both giggling like children as they spun happily.

•

taeil closed his eyes and took a breath.

after the release of nct 2020, all 23 members were given the rest of the year off to do as they pleased. the eldest member had decided to stay in korea rather than travel far; going on walks around han river and watching the sunrise.

that's what he had been doing when someone screamed behind him, followed by the sound of a very frantic bell. turning just in time, taeil's eyes widened and he jumped to avoid being run over. the girl riding the bike swerved with so much force that the vehicle tipped.

she hit the ground with a small oof, and taeil quickly rushed over to see if she was okay.

the woman had nodded before sitting up and wincing. taeil gently knelt to her side and glanced at her bleeding elbow. he scratched his head and pouted as he thought.

"i'm so sorry, i should have been paying more attention." her voice grabbed his attention, and taeil's eyes widened. "oh, please don't apologize. here, let me help you."

the girl had already applied hand sanitizer to the wound to clean it, and taeil handed her a band-aid.

after helping her to her feet, he introduced himself, and she bowed politely. "yang heiran. it's a pleasure to meet you, moon taeil."

she'd offered to buy him a meal as an extra apology for almost running him over, and the boy accepted. they spent most of the meal laughing and getting to know each other.

"hey, you're moon taeil, and i'm yang heiran. moon and taeyang; sun and moon!" the boy couldn't help but laugh at the childish sparkle in her eyes as she spoke.

the two stayed in contact after dinner and even started officially dating when the ban was lifted.

with heiran, taeil found real love.

•

donghyuck never fully forgave sm after what they did to soohyun.

mark never fully forgave himself for what happened to haru.

both boys never fully felt as complete as they had with their respected partner, and they decided to confide in each other.

a few months after haru's passing, mark found himself at a little restaurant with many bottles of soju and beer. he hadn't expected anyone else to be there, let alone one of his members. so when haechan walked in with the same sullen expression, mark made room at his small table for the younger boy to join him.

within ten minutes, both heartbroken boys were drunk.

the elder took another shot and slammed the empty glass onto the table. "you know, i don't get how the hyung's can be so happy with their secret relationships. i mean, doyoung hyung and mirim noona are getting married, and the love of my life is six feet underground."

haechan scoffed and threw his own empty shot on the table, "at least you know where she is. i have no clue if mine is dead or alive. i have no way to contact her, and the knowledge that she is probably out there somewhere is painful."

the boys went silent for a second before clinking their beer cans together.

"fuck relationships. they all end anyway, right?"

"right. fuck dating and falling in love and heartbreak. fuck it all."

mark leaned forward, both arms on the table. "let's make a pact right now. no more dating. no more relationships; none of that. just you and me. best buds against the world. we'll show them..." his voice softened as he stared far away.

"we'll show the world what happens when it takes away the ones we love."

•

yuta wasn't expecting the sudden tap on his shoulder as he walked with nagomi towards the ice cream place. pausing to glance over his shoulder, his eyes widened when they fell on the smiling woman with brown hair. she seemed out of breath, but she still smiled brightly.

"ah, are you the two who gave my daughter the teddy bear?" yuta raised a confused brow, momentarily forgetting about the bear. luckily, his son remembered.

"yep! we sure did! does she like it?"

the woman smiled gently down at nagomi and nodded. "she loves it. i just came to thank you both in case haena didn't. she tends to forget to thank people." the woman sighed, and yuta nodded respectfully.

"you're very welcome. nagomi was happy to share it with your daughter."

the woman smiled again, her stomach filling with butterflies the longer she talked to yuta. "nagomi. that's a very handsome name."

the boy blushed in cute embarrassment and hide his face in yuta's leg. the action left both adults chuckling.

"well," the woman said once their laughter died down, "i should probably head back now. i'll make sure haena takes good care of the bear."

she turned to leave, but before she could take a step, yuta called out from behind her. "hey! maybe you and haena would like to grab ice cream with nagomi and i? the shop is right around the corner."

the woman's lips turned upwards shyly. "i'm sure she'd love that. i'll be right back." she took another step before pausing to look over her shoulder.

"oh, and my name is yeona. i forgot to introduce myself."

the four sat happily in the ice cream shop-haena and nagomi eating and playing around while yuta and yeona shamelessly flirted back and forth. they exchanged numbers and agreed to meet for a proper date in the future.

•

doyoung and mirim's relationship was a mystery. they dated in secret for seven years before deciding to finally tie the knot in 2021. they were happy. doyoung had been right about his girlfriend getting upset over the loss of their miko bear, but she got over it rather quickly.

the bear was long forgotten.

two years after marriage, the couple had kim solmi. despite having a child, doyoung still had to work. because of that, mirim was often left home alone with the baby. it had worked well at first, but as time went by, the pair grew apart.

after a very long, mature conversation one night, the couple decided it'd be best for themselves and their daughter if they split up.

it was heartbreaking, really, and extremely surprising for the members. they were thankful that the decision was mutual because they'd all grown up with both doyoung and mirim and would have refused to pick sides. custody wise, the process was smooth; solmi would switch between houses every other week.

at first, things were awkward between the ex-couple, but with time, they learned how to be themselves again. doyoung and mirim remained close friends, but neither was able to fully move on. neither doyoung nor mirim dated again since the divorce.

because of this, many of the younger members placed bets on whether they'd get back together or not.

mirim found it hilarious and would tease them by saying things like, "you never know" or "the future is unpredictable". she would often laugh with doyoung over their funny and curious expressions. the two stayed close, knowing that it was best for their daughter.

and they were happy.

•

drunken laughter flowed around the table, cheeks red as the alcohol settled in the adult's stomachs. they had forgotten the feeling of being together, and that made mirim sigh. she placed her almost empty glass of wine on the table and cross her arms over her chest.

"god, i've missed this so much. remember when we used to sneak into the dorm and eat instant ramen at three in the morning?"

the members laughed as memories filled their brains. "and that time when you had to pretend to be a staff member cause a fan spotted you leaving the building."

mirim giggled, remembering the day perfectly. doyoung unconsciously placed a hand on her thigh under the table and released a sigh.

"we should do this more often; maybe make a monthly or even weekly thing."

"like a cup of coffee," johnny raised a fist and mark and jaehyun followed. "foreign swaggers, unite!"

the adults all laughed, miyeon and jina silently pulling their men's hands down. thankfully, the hand on mirim's leg went unnoticed to the drunk others.

suddenly, the playful screams of children filled the room as the kids ran in with various toys. solmi climbed up on her dad's lap and curled herself into a ball. doyoung smiled sweetly and patted her back. she moved her arm to get more comfortable, and the infamous blue-grey bear made its appearance.

with the arrival of the well-known plushie, the members chocked on their drinks and pointed at the bear.

"wh-why-how?" yuta stuttered, and all eyes fell on him.

"you know what that is?" jaehyun asked with wide eyes, and yuta raised his brows in confused shock.

"you know what that is?"

chatter broke out between the 10 members as their partners calmly sipped their drinks.

"wait, wait, wait. let me get this straight. all of you have seen this bear before?"

"seen? all of us have had it."

"i'm confused. i thought it was a present?"

"how did this even start?"

"well, let's see..." doyoung said, furrowing his brows before snapping his fingers and facing his hyung. "i gave it to johnny, what, ten years ago?"

"i thought you said you lost it?" the boy's face paled, and the maknae's stifled their laughter behind their hands as doyoung flicked his eyes away from his ex's glares.

"anyways, i gave it to jaehyun."

"and i gave it to sicheng," said boy pointed to taeyong, who looked at jungwoo.

"i gave it to jungwoo before he debuted with 127." jungwoo patted his eldest hyung's hair, who was seated right next to him. "of course, i had to give it to taeil hyung."

taeil swatted his hand away playfully and nodded towards haechan. "i gave it to hyuck." donghyuck pointed his thumb at mark, who pointed his thumb at yuta, who looked around the table. "then i gave it to gomi, who gave it to yeona's daughter. she must have given it to solmi."

all eighteen people leaned back in their chairs with a collective sigh.

"wow, that's... wow."

johnny sat up with a raised brow after a moment of silence passed, "why miko? i've always been curious." all eyes fell expectingly on mirim, who shrugged.

"well, at the time, doyoung and i really liked watching anime together. when we built the bear, it was kinda like our kid. miko means beautiful child-"

"and annoying."

"-so i thought it fit... i think. i don't know! it was ten years ago."

"ten years... are we really that old?" mirim shook her head and took a sip of her wine.

taeil's eyes landed on the bear. "i swear, that thing is cursed or something."

"cursed."

jina placed her glass on the table and faced taeyong. "speaking of ten, how is he?"

taeyong smiled and unfolded his arms to reach for his drink. "great. his dance studio is a hit, as expected." he held his glass to his lips, a smirk on his face as his next words left his mouth. "recently got a new boyfriend. an old friend of mine."

mirim, jina, and byungchul all sat up excitedly. "new boyfriend?"

"remember park seongwoo?"

"tell us everything you know!"

the rest of the night was spent in the living room. thinking back at the night, the adults were still perplexed on how they managed to fit eighteen grown adults and four kids in that room. they played cards and board games and finished the night with a movie.

taeil lovingly squeezed his wife's hand.

doyoung smiled at mirim from across the couch.

yeona pecked a sleeping yuta's cheek.

mark and donghyuck muffled their laughter at an inside joke.

byungchul placed an arm around taeyong and pulled him closer.

chaeyeon pulled jungwoo's sleeping head onto her shoulder.

johnny fed his son snacks while jina slept.

miyeon played with jaehyun's fingers.

sulei blushed as sicheng whispered "i love you" in her ear.

by the time the credits rolled, everyone was asleep.

meanwhile, miko rested peacefully beneath solmi's arm as she slept soundly on her father's chest, watching over everyone with its cracked eye.

end.

• • •

thank you for reading!

i had so much fun writing this book and enjoyed experimenting with new themes. i know epilogues are usually shorter than the chapters, but i couldn't stop myself from adding little flashbacks for each member.

again, thank you and i hope you all have a good day.

3588 words

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