❦ ♪

CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE : realisation

"she's so pretty."

❦ ♪

— no one's pov.

future dropouts
9 members

— gyuvin removed hao.

gyuvin:
All of you have to pay for my next
meals if hao kisses her first

hanbin:
so you're not only betting when they're
going to kiss but who 😭😭😭

ricky:
LMFAOOO GYUVIN YOU CAN'T JUST
DO THAT????

gyuvin:
Yes i can

yujin:
i agree my guess is mother Mei

taerae:
me tew

taerae:
hao can't make moves for the life of him

hanbin:
apparently he can

jiwoong:
Bro is jealous

jiwoong:
you haven't even hung out with her
properly ever since like A long time ago

hanbin:
well i kissed her already

matthew:
What

matthew:
did i miss chapter??

gunwook:
i think we missed a little too many..

gunwook:
Wdym you already kissed her

gyuvin:
wait i thought everyone knew

ricky:
i did xx

yujin:
I DIDN'T??? SO THE ❤️🔺 WAS
REAL OH MY GOSH

taerae:
YOU KISSED????

hanbin:
i only told them we 'almost kissed'

hanbin:
but umm we kissed like three times
actually including the one at the club

taerae:
WHY ARE YOU BEING SECRETIVE
HANBIN WE'RE YOUR FRIENDS

yujin:
three times.

yujin:
Lawd are you that down bad

hanbin:
i was

hanbin:
not as much anymore bc she has hao

matthew:
yet you're still a jealous guy Okayy

hanbin:
well yeah it's weird that he confessed to
me then goes around with her after

hanbin:
like is she desperate or smt💀

gyuvin:
who the fuck possessed you hanbin this
is Not you you're supposed to be like a
supportive friend

ricky:
This is not you!!!💔💔💔

hanbin:
idk it's been pissing me off

gyuvin:
YOU'VE BEEN PISSING ME OFF

gyuvin:
I mean i never experienced watching the
person i like go for my bestfriend but like

gyuvin:
Don't ruin them plz hao seems way happier
recently

gyuvin:
i know you're heartbroken but don't be one
of those people and ruin another friendship
over a girl plz

gunwook:
fr (zhangmei kiss plz)

yujin:
why are we forgetting the fact that hanmei
kissed already ???????

hanbin:
cause it doesn't matter

hanbin:
and i don't wanna ruin them but i just
feel weird bc it was obvious i liked her

ricky:
well Ummmm

ricky:
Zhangmei kiss soon

hanbin:
💀💀💀

taerae:
hanbin i get that it hurt you but like did
she even like you??

hanbin:
she did until i kissed her

matthew:
Oh!

jiwoong:
nahh bro messed things up

matthew:
are you okay now?

hanbin:
don't pity me though it's fine lmao

yujin:
wait Ijbol sorry that's kinda sad

yujin:
was the kiss bad or did she just not
like it for her to lose feelings

hanbin:
no she just felt bad for me then went to
hao straight after

ricky:
i mean if you're wondering why i find
that kind of funny is bc like

ricky:
didn't you ask her to Kiss as friends
when she said she didn't wanna ruin
your friendship IJBOLLLL

jiwoong:
??? hanbin stand up

hanbin:
😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

taerae:
HANBIN 😭 WHY WOULD...

gunwook:
kiss as friends is new

hanbin:
leave me alone

jiwoong:
hanbin we knew you were down bad
but this is...

jiwoong:
we're not gonna let go of this one

gyuvin:
Trew..

taerae:
anyways Zhangmei kiss when

gyuvin:
pay for me if hao does it today

ricky:
Pay for me if mei does it this week

taerae:
we're so invested in zhangmei omg

yujin:
I was manifesting actually

gunwook:
bro is kum junhyeon

gunwook:
did you manifest mei or hao

yujin:
mei OBVIOUSLY

❦ ♪

— mei pov.
- 3rd person.

she nervously gulps before risking something she was wishing to do since the day she had met him. hao's arms found their way from the edge of the counter to snaking around her smaller figure, their proximity causing his breath to hitch before mei finally leans forward.

unexpectedly for the both of them, the girl came to a halt in her actions – she sighs before moving back, letting go of his face and suddenly pulling him into a tight hug.

hao's eyebrows furrow a little since he was kind of expecting a kiss. not that he would admit he wanted to, but he thought she would try kiss him by now. his free hand moving to the back of her head now that mei's face was buried into hao's chest. "mei?" hao says quietly, "are you okay?"

she nods, tightening her arms around his waist. "sorry." she sighs. "i shouldn't have done that."

hao decides to act dumb to see if she was actually going to kiss him or not. "done what?" he asks a little too innocently.

she exhales, "the whole thing with your parents finding out."

he chuckles, slightly pulling away to look down at her properly. he quickly moves hair out of her face as they maintained eye contact. "is that the only thing you're sorry for?"

mei nods, internally wishing he didn't catch onto what she almost did. "yep. that's it." she lies with a small smile.

he hums before kissing her forehead. "mei you know you don't have to apologise. i was just telling you, i'm not all that worried." he lied, since he obviously was all that worried.

mei couldn't even think properly from the fact he just kissed her forehead. "did you just–"

"do you want to go upstairs?" he cuts her off, not even wanting to mention the thing he just did to without even thinking properly. "it's cold."

"yeah..." she laughs. "but do you realise what this fucking looks like?" she refers to how he had trapped her literally a minute ago.

"nope." he snickers awkwardly. "that was nothing."

she rolls her eyes. "your actions show that you reallyyy want me."

"i didn't even mean it like that." he lies once again, letting go of her slowly. he even knows himself that there was some sort of intention there but he definitely used it at the wrong moment. "so, are we going to your room or?"

she turns around and begins to walk away. "okay! hurry up because i'm actually cold." she giggles as hao laughs and walks behind her.

hao couldn't lie and say he was a bit disappointed that she backed away when he was anticipating a move. but nonetheless, he was glad she didn't so he wouldn't have to face the embarrassment of the possibility of her actually not liking him.

once he finally reaches the girl's bedroom, he was immediately met with the warmth from the multiple candles the girl had left lit.

mei closes the door behind him. "come here." she says, patting the right side of her bed as she jumps onto the left side.

hao gulps before following where she was patting. "um, sorry for saying that you were ruining me by the way." he randomly apologises. "that was random. i was just overthinking."

"nah, it's whatever." she shrugs. "i do get told i'm below the standard top student." she sighs before laying down.

"and sorry for like, trapping you a bit there i don't know why i did that." he nervously smiles at her.

mei giggles. "what do you mean i lowkey enjoyed it before i randomly got emotional."

he laughs back, happy that she at least liked it??? "i didn't want you to be emotional, it was so random too."

she hums. "i literally never feel bad. oh wait do your parents know you're here?"

"no." he snorts before also laying down on the girl's bed. "it's weird how i'm lying to them when i never used to, and they keep texting me in korean too."

"why?" mei chuckles before looking at him. "are they practicing for something?"

he shrugs. "don't know." he then sighs as he looks up at her ceiling. "you're not skipping tomorrow are you? we have our volunteering."

she shakes her head. "no, but headmaster kim did tell me we were taking care of children again."

hao hums. "aw, last time was fun until you decided to leave me."

mei laughs out loud. "i promise i won't impulsively buy kids millions worth of jewellery again." she says before looking down at the boy's hand.

he follows her eyes and watches as she takes his hand into hers. "you're actually wearing our ring?" she asks with a smile.

he coughs. "yeah, i forgot to take it off."

she giggles again before suddenly hugging the boy. "that's so cute of you!" she keeps his hand in hers as she fidgets with the ring.

"shut up." he scoffs playfully before finally letting mei get comfy on his chest again. "are you really this obsessed with me?"

she nods. "you also smell good."

"no shit." he rolls his eyes. "don't tell ricky but i used his random ass expensive perfume." he laughs.

mei hums. "i'll buy you one of the same, it's nice."

"do you really need to keep saying you'll buy me something? first it was the violin then–" he complains quietly.

mei squeezes his hand to shut him up. "let me do what i want."

he rolls his eyes again. "absolutely not, what are you going to do if i don't?"

"you know what i'll do." she giggles into his chest before letting go of his hand to pull him back closer to her.

"what are you going to threaten to kiss me again?" he chuckles. the boy now felt way more comfortable with mei in his arms to the point he found himself closing his eyes.

she hums. "it's the only thing i can do." she admits. "wait i have something to ask you actually, i forgot."

"what's up?" he asks softly, stroking the back of her hair again.

"sooo, you do know that my birthday is the day after yours right?" she asks, internally hoping he did know this.

"yeah i remember someone mentioning it the day we met." he chuckles. "why? are you having a party?"

"yeah, are you doing anything for your birthday?" she asks him quietly, silently wishing he isn't so her 'joint birthday plan' could work.

"no." replies the other. "i rarely celebrate, last year i spent it in the studio by myself studying." he laughs bitterly. "but i did hang out with the group too, but it was a week before."

mei frowns. "you literally look like the person who would throw parties or whatever even if you're a study nerd."

"no, i was like that in my first year of uni. i changed once my parents got stricter though." he shrugs. "why are you asking?"

"well.. i have a really silly idea." she says. "how about we have a joint party? to celebrate the both of us?"

hao's eyes open in confusion. "a party for us two?" he asks, in which mei hums in reply. "i mean, that would be fun but i don't know as many people as you do."

"it's a walk in party, is that okay with you?" she asks. "i know you're like an introvert or something but i think it would be fun for all of my friendgroups to collide, and it celebrates you too!"

hao stops to think. he wouldn't mind a party, but how would his parents react? he wasn't a big drinker nor a party person (despite his past of being a very fun person to be around).

"my parents would have to know though." he sighs. "and you now know what they're like."

"well they knew about you going to the fashion event with me and ricky, so it's the same thing except.. a party?"

"you said that's the same thing but one was a formal event while the other is a fucking uni party." he scoffs. "but i mean i'm down actually, seems fun."

"really?" she says in excitement. "you would have a joint party with me?" she lets go of the hug to look up at him with bright eyes.

he nods with a chuckle. "why not?"

"oh my god i actually lo– thanks." she says, her little confession slipping up. everything recently has shown that she had a fat crush on him already, but how come she's too scared to actually tell him?

"yeah, no worries." he smiles. "but walk in parties are a bit scary, no?"

she shakes her head. "i've hosted one before, i have too many guards and workers for that. and i know most of the people who are going are from this area anyway." she explains.

"are you sure? uni parties are actually very dangerous recently." he says with a but of worry in his voice.

"i trust people, i'm sure nothing will happen." she reassures him, though it wasn't really all that convincing. "so, are you going to drink?"

"am i fuck."  he scoffs. "you know i'm not much of a drinker anymore."

"hm, why?" she asks. "i've actually never met a uni student who doesn't drink – or maybe you're just the top student am i right?"

"yeah." he replies. "i used to a little but then parents and studies are huge obstacles in my uni life."

"aw." she pats his back. "be happy you have me, i'm helping you have a life." she smiles up at him.

he gives her a small smile back. "i guess."

mei chuckles before tightening her arms around him and closes her eyes. "i'm going to sleep."

"but i have to go soon." he says softly, however he does hug her back just to not make her sad.

she groans. "no you don't." she declares. "stay here, please." hao replies with a sigh and doesn't say anything, but he lets her fall asleep in his arms.

❦ ♪

time skip — the next day.

after yesterday, it was known that hao had accidentally slept over at mei's house last night. and now that they finally have to do their volunteering again, it was easier for the two students to be driven to a nursery together.

mei still cringes at herself for almost kissing him out of nowhere, and hao still cringes at himself for accidentally making a small move.

headmaster kim smiles as he watches the two walk into the room. hao looked nervous to see him and gives him an awkward bow, "hi."

he waves at the two. "sorry for cancelling the one this tuesday, i had a meeting and couldn't organise anything for you."

"no worries." mei says before looking around at the plethora of children running around the room that they were in. she looks up in worry. "are we taking care of all of them?"

the headmaster shakes his head with a laugh. "you get to pick one each to play with, the other children have more visitors later anyway."

the two nod before glancing at the many small bodies running around. "so do we just choose?" mei asks.

"have some time with them and once you pick one, you have to stay with them for the next two hours." he explains, smiling at a little boy who was looking up at the man.

mei nods and walks right away from hao. children was always something that mei struggled with but ever since the first time they babysat, she loves them so much.

she hears a loud 'mirae!' and her head moves to the direction of the person shouting it. she frowns when the child wasn't even looking at her and then notices a small girl running across the room.

"mirae there's people here look!" the same child says, mei then clocks that the little girl had the same name as herself and smiles brightly when the two little girls turn to her.

"your name is mirae??" she asks in excitement, her eyes lighting up as the little girl runs up to mei.

she nods. "shin mirae." she grins with her arms cutely resting on her hips proudly. "why?"

mei melts as she immediately takes the girl into her arms. "hao i love this one." she squeals. "her name is mirae too!"

hao chuckles, "coincidence is that this child is called hanbin." he points at the younger boy. "i think you guys have very common names."

"hanbin is a very common name." shrugs mei. "but like it's been so long since i've met someone with the same name as me!"

"mei is literally one of the most common names ever." hao laughs, kneeling down to the little hanbin's height. "i think his name is seo hanbin."

"literally both of my names are common." she scoffs before putting mirae back down and smiling. "so which kid are you choosing?"

hao points at a child tapping at his leg. "hanbin."

"wow that's cute." she chuckles before giving the younger a wave. "anyways, mirae what do you want to do?" she looks down at the girl.

"i want to learn how to play violin." she shrugs. "do you know how to play?"

mei excitedly claps her hands and hugs the small girl. "oh my god you're my daughter. i love violin." she turns to hao. "i'm claiming this one."

"wow first you claim me as your boyfriend now you're claiming a child?" he chuckles in amusement.

she chuckles back before turning to mirae again. "so do you own a violin?" she asks.

"me and hanbin learn from our teacher." she says, pointing at the other child who nods.

"i think we chose the perfect kids." mei chuckles before standing up to get the headmaster's attention from playing with the kids. "we chose ours."

he gives them a thumbs up. "have fun then, you can do whatever." he smiles.

the group of four sit in a quieter corner, there was two small violins in the children's hands and mei couldn't help but melt at how cute they were.

"they're so fucking adorable." she whispers to hao who nods. "can you show us what you've been learning?" she asks.

the children shake their heads. "it's a surprise. we want to learn." hanbin says as he positions his violin correctly. "can you help us?"

hao nods. "i'll take hanbin over here." he tells the girl, holding the younger boy and helping him move a little away from the two girls.

mei smiles down at mirae. "what song do you want to learn?" she asks softly, patting the girl's head.

she shrugs. "an easy song. i forgot my book at home." she says, playing with the bow.

mei hums, trying to think back to when she was younger and also learning the violin. "have you learned twinkle twinkle little star?" she asks.

that was the first song younger mei had learned ever, and she thought it would be cute if she taught mini her how to play.

mirae shakes her head. "i started, but i forgot."

mei smiles and quickly searched up the sheets on her phone. "we'll learn it together then." she pushes herself back to be right behind the girl.

the older girl couldn't help but almost cry at how cute the small violin was. "you know, i owned a pink one of these when i was your age." she points at the small instrument.

mirae gasps. "really? i want a pink one." she pouts.

"i'll buy you one," she says out of instinct. "well, if your mother wants you to have one."

the little girl giggles, "i'll ask her later." she says. "can i learn now?" she asks before positioning herself and the instrument.

mei nods before placing the sheet down in front of them and humming the tune before making a (very good) attempt on helping the little girl.

nearby, hao and hanbin were already getting started with their song, which was just another nursery rhyme.

surprisingly, the child managed to get on with it really quickly which made hao proud. besides the fact his name was literally hanbin, he enjoyed how easy it was to teach him.

checking up on the others, hao stops to glance over at mei to see what she was doing. he smiles a little watching mei sat behind the girl and guiding her slowly. 

hao catches himself staring at mei the whole time that she was teaching, and then got too carried away to the point he couldn't even feel the child annoyingly tapping his shoulder anymore.

he watches how she smiles and helps the little girl with a gentle voice, sweet uplifting words and soft gestures whenever she did something.

but from this, hao had now realised something that he hoped wasn't entirely true; he had realised (a little too late) that he had fallen for mei. (FUCKING FINALLY!!!!)

❦ ♪

zhangmei #1 supporters
3 members

um
fuck

renjun:
what did you do.

renjun:
if you made mei sad i will find you

ricky:
WHAT ARE YOU 'fuck' ING AT??

okay don't freak out but
i think i l*ke mei

ricky:
NOOOO WAYYY THATS CRAZY
😱😱😱😱😱🫢🫢🫢🫢

renjun:
NAHHH WOULD'VE NEVER EXPECTED
THAT ONE !!!!

SHUT UP???
this is bad
why do i like her

renjun:
why not.  she's perfect for you

renjun:
aww did the three dates in a week
make you realise x

maybe
but i think

ricky:
i think you started liking her like
agesssss ago

yeah that's what i think so too

renjun:
WHATAGAHDN

renjun:
DJKSKDNS OMG???

cause i notice how often i flirt without
realising.. umm

renjun:
man said without realising

ricky:
everyone saw it you silly boy

ricky:
you've liked her for a long time it's obvious

renjun:
she fell first he fell harder🤭🤭

????
I am not going to say anything.

renjun:
this is so funny because mei literally
always tells me how recently you're
acting way cuter and nicer

Oh

ricky:
BRO GOT EXPOSED

guys it's bad
i think i do l*ke her a lot and i didn't
even realise until now omg

ricky:
i'm surprised you haven't kissed

renjun:
legit doesn't she like kiss your cheek
all of the time or something

did she tell you we almost kissed yesterday
when i was at her house

renjun:
?????????? KYS??????

renjun:
SHE DIDNT OMFG.

yeah we were going to kiss but then she
backed out for some reason

renjun:
THIS WHORE

ricky:
would u of kissed her back

maybe idk i think at that moment i
might've but 😭😭😭

ricky:
so mad we could've got a zhangmei
kiss fuck my life

renjun:
can we get reasoning on why you
actually like her so i can help you

well she's been flirting with me from the
start i guess it just worked one day!

ricky:
you are a fucking liar. tell the truth now.

renjun:
ain't no one believing that

... do i need to i'm gonna cringe

ricky:
everyone is cringey when they talk about
someone they like

renjun:
truth i can confirm not only from
experience but from listening to mei

does she actually like me

ricky:
no we're just setting you up for no
reason you silly goose x

renjun:
no she likes hanbin!!!🙀🙀🙀

renjun:
you fucking idiot why would you even
ask us that the answer is literally infront
of you all of the bloody time

ricky:
LMFAOOO

renjun:
GIVE US YOUR REASONS PLS

like idk but i prefer being around her
more than other people and maybe it's
bc of us being paired and always being
with each other and i think just grew
less annoyed of her

renjun:
Ok is that it..... boring hoe

renjun:
rate her out of 10

0

ricky:
i know you're a bit blind but you forgot
the 1 there pal

LMFAOO no

ricky:
bff yes

renjun:
do you think she's pretty

do i have to answer this

ricky:
answer or i'll bait you out

oh
yeah she's alright

renjun:
Excuse me.

renjun:
you better count your days wdym alright

renjun:
did you not tell a fucking child that she
was pretty LMFAOOO

Oh
guys please i can't be honest i'm gonna
cringe at myself too much like this is so
embarrassing for me

ricky:
so you think she's pretty

.... the opposite of no?

ricky:
God

ricky:
atp she should go hang out with hanbin
if you're too pussy to say anything

no she's so pretty !!!!!!
hao has unsent a message!

renjun:
LMFAOOO I SAW THAT

ricky:
say it again without the unsending we
won't hurt you LMFAOOO

no

ricky:
me omw to tell mei you have feelings
for her

she's so pretty. 

renjun:
OH HE ACTUALLY  DID IT

i wanna kill myself ew
to clarify that is not the only reason why i
l*ke her ...

renjun:
Yeah you won't tell us the rest

i don't want to
i'll tell her myself

ricky:
OH???🤭🤭🤭🤭🤭

ricky:
HAO CONFESSION WHEN

never
i am too pussy for that

renjun:
i would make fun of you but that is so
fucking Me LMFAOOO

ricky:
TREWW (i don't like anyone)

renjun:
anyways mei's probably going to confess
at one point soon so idk why you wanna
pussy out bestfriend x

i hate both of you
i just don't Want to

renjun:
do you have commitment issues

NO I AM JUST SCARED OF REJECTION

ricky:
you say that but you confessed twice

And got ignored twice
what if she ignores me

ricky:
why are you chatting so much bullshit..

ricky:
why would she even do that when all of
her delusions come from you

renjun:
literally you can't be doubting mei herself
when she flirted with you on text the first
day you met

Ok. I am done.
let's change the topic i hate you

renjun:
i'm mei's bestfriend so if you hate me
she hates you sorry 🙀🙀🙀

renjun we are besties

ricky:
Are you actually this down bad??

maybe

ricky:
AYO??

renjun:
OKAY THE PROGRESSSSSS

❦ ♪

— renjun pov.

hanbin

renjun

helloo
what's up?

can i ask you something
and i don't want to rant so suddenly
but i feel like you can help me

ofc go on it's fine

am i classed as a joke or something

no?? why

cause why is everyone suddenly ignoring
the fact that i liked her and now all they
want to talk about is zhanghao and her

is everyone your friendgroup?

yes
i mean i don't care if they get together
but they're not taking my own feelings
into consideration at all

oh fuck that's awful
what were they saying?

well i told them about how i kissed
mei that one time then i just get ignored
and it's all "zhangmei kiss when"

.. are you serious ?

yeah lmfao
does mei hate me

idk why you're asking me this instead
of mei herself but no she doesn't i can
assure you she would never hate you

oh okay good but idk
i hope she's happy but i feel really
shitty knowing that i got ignored
after everything i've done for her

hanbin i hope you know that it isn't
your fault completely but mei just felt
awfully guilty about how she used you

the thing is i don't care about that i was
crushing on her from insta since college
aswell.. it's been a long time

oh shit really? i didn't realise it's been
so long but i'm sorry she just doesn't
have feelings for you anymore

yeah but i really don't care i just want her

...hanbin idk how to tell you this

i know what you're going to say
that i should move on and let them two
be happy together or whatever

yeah it's the better option imo
mei did genuinely have feelings for you
but it seemed like hao gave her the type
of attention she needed

???? i gave her all of my attention to
the point people thought my whole life
revolved around her

i know but she's unpredictable when it
comes to things like that and she rarely
catches feelings up until now

i can't believe i messed up so badly

yeah..
but all you can really do is support her and
hao without getting meddled into them

i know i want to do that but idk
how i'm going to get over her

maybe try talking to some new people??
remember that your friendship with both
hao and mei are important

eh maybe i could do thatbut i can't get
over her so quickly idk... and i know
this already but it's just idk man

i have a really shitty idea but it could work
mei has a bday party soon right

right

you can find someone there
but don't pull a feb 28

LMFAOOO EW NO
but ehhhh i might do but idk yet

i know it's stupid but everyone has to
start somewhere unless you want to
start things with someone online

absolutely not LMFAO
maybe, i mean i fall pretty easily
so i might try find someone

it's a walk in party so like

okay i'll try but i'm not sure yet

good luck!! i'm sorry your group are
ignoring you like that btw but maybe
just stop talking about her overall

alr i'll try
thank you so much i really needed to
talk about how i felt

no worriesss
now i have to go jeno wants me

😭😭have fun

❦ ♪

Ummmm hi IJBOL

sorry for crushing your dreams.

but umm not hao finally realising his silly feelings like x