꒰🍒꒱ i hope you like this one !! I'm going to try my best and post more frequently now, so do forgive me for this as if had taken a while! if you're still sticking with me, I love you a lot and I promise it'll be better and the plot will go deeper heheh >:))

꒰🍒꒱ also I realized some people don't like the addition of hueningkai's love life but I assure you that all things happening in this fic has a reason and everything happening will be an aid to the plot so please bare with me!! i wont forget taegyu as they are the mains hehe

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

Life goes on.

Bright rays of sunshine overrides his sour mood over the weekend to the point that the encounter had placed itself at the back of his head in the darkest corner that he doesn't check often. either by accident or on purpose, it didn't matter.

Thankful for the pile of schoolwork and his sister's nagging for him to come with to the mall to accompany her going shopping for a new dress, he manages to waste his two days drowning in self-pity and forge a perfect life with himself, where his biggest worries were about a history test the upcoming week and whether his mother would remember to check the mail before the curious neighbour down the street does for her.

Though, it doesn't help that he had the message still in his phone from a specific dance teacher and it would be the first thing he'd see whenever he opens his chat to text his friends.

He hadn't had the chance to tell Hueningkai about it when the latter had completely bombarded his phone to the brink of explosion the night he had crashed at the fact that he had completely (accidentally) ignored Soobin's text for dinner just for Taehyun's offer of hanging out (which wasn't even his idea in the first place, come on). the latter had cried at how he lost a chance to spend time with him and Taehyun had to reassure him that Soobin hyung most likely didn't mind, and he could always just ask him like a normal person if he wanted to grab lunch or have dinner over again.

And Taehyun assumes his reassurance must've worked as the following Sunday, Kai had been silent and the boy assumed he was at the said food grab with the dimpled boy.

Pretending like he wasn't anxious every time was getting easier until he actually realised that he wasn't doing a very good job at it. he never found himself as someone with a nervous tic, but his sister called him out for annoyingly tapping his pen on the table repeatedly and his mother scolds him for leaving his papers around and Taehyun notices the papers he had left had their corners torn, so he thinks he's getting there slowly.

The day before school, instead of thinking of a devised plan to talk to the older male for his compromise, he finds himself cursing the education system.

He never thought of himself as a worrywart, in fact, he was usually quite calm. The constant bugging from the events prior had just been gnawing at his skin these days (he tries to convince himself, or something like that). he had never realized that his life revolved so much around school until he put the thought into consideration. fuck the government for having them attend something short of a gathering of hormonal teens and force them to absorb information.

"I don't know what's going through your head, but I hope you're cozy in there," Hueningkai had said once they were near the vicinity of the school, snapping him out of his stupor. it was a school day already? his flashbacks must have been long, "you seem like you're snuggling in front of a campfire in your head. lost."

"That's a very bad analogy," Taehyun replies, waking up to his current reality and looking down at their matched paced footsteps. the asphalt was a little wet today. it was getting rainier and rainier to the point he wonders if they have to wear their spring uniform instead of summer ones due to how cold it was when the wind picks up the slightest.

(Soobin had said over skype call the other day how it was the end of the world already and the Gods were ready to flood them and start a new ecosystem, while Yeonjun had laughed at him and told him that they were being stupid because mermaids couldn't rule the world even if they tried to by comparing how bad of a mermaid Princess Ariel was for giving up her voice for a man, and Hueningkai had cried about soggy plushies)

"Goodluck with whatever it is you're pondering so much, Hyun," Kai says. sincerely, this time. no trace of teasing in his voice and Taehyun feels himself ease a little. a small thank you at the tip of his tongue when he hears the boy speak again, "I know how hard it is to come to school with a bad reputation. I mean, the Kang Taehyun in deten-"

"One more word,"

"Sorry," he smiles sheepishly, knowing how the ace student was getting pissed at any mention of that. it was entirely amusing how such a small detail that merely left a stain on his image that he could just wipe irritates him so much as if he was a saint in school (maybe he was, but not really).

"Oh, I won't be coming home with you today, hyung," Kai says when they see the gates upfront. students starting to come by with jackets and raincoats and colorful umbrellas, "Soobin hyung is inviting me over,"

"Again?" Taehyun asks, looking at the boy. Kai looked giddy, in lieu of being used to it like Taehyun had assumed he probably would be now, "he really is fond of you, isn't he?"

"he just wants to show me his plants, that's all!"

"Kai, you dont even like plants."

Kai shakes his head in defense, "Now I've never said that, Hyun! Don't twist my words and go around telling Soobin hyung that," he says, "You didn't tell Soobin hyung that... haven't you?"

Taehyun shrugs, "Even if I had, he's still inviting you over isn't he? just dont do anything bad. remember what happened in third grade when you had a crush on that girl and went over for her birthday?"

Hueningkai's eyes widened as he dramatically shivered, rubbing at his shoulders, "please don't remind me, Hyun. heterosexual Huening was a cringe,"

"Well that's one thing I agree with wholeheartedly," he replies before going silent again.

"so," Kai says, trying to fill the silence, "what were ya thinking about there? you didn't really tell me what happened after. did your negotiation-slash-blackmailing work?"

Taehyun couldn't help but chuckle at that. that was truly one way to put his plan in a sentence, "It was less blackmailing and more negotiating," he says, "actually, I think it was more bribing that negotiating and blackmailing,"

"You bribed Mr. Min?!" Kai's eyes widened as he began to slowly clap, "didn't think you'd have it in you! that's like super illegal!"

"I didn't actually bribe him, gosh," Taehyun hisses, causing Kai to laugh, "he just wants me to do a few things for him when he's out for something next week, that's all,"

"what's he out for?" Kai asked, and Taehyun replied with a shrug. sensing that he doesn't want to talk about it more, the younger gives him an encouraging pat on the back, "well, don't worry! If there's anyone who can do a bunch of whatever old music teacher errands would be just for the sake of removing something you assume is bad from your permanent record, it's you!"

"is that a compliment?" Taehyun asks unsure, and Kai laughs. he laughs like he always does whenever his answer wasn't a yes.

Kai has always been the loudest one in their small friend group of four despite him having been the one who self-proclaimed it. when they were out spending time together, he would be the one to come up with suggestions. walking ahead of everyone else just so he could be the one to choose where they would be eating or screaming in arcades whenever he finds himself winning another plushie; or when a picked up plushie from the claw machine drops.

But now, as he wrings his hands in front of the door to Soobin's house, he finds his words stuck in his throat.

He was completely fine with being alone with any of his friends. there were times when they all didn't spend time with each other. Yeonjun and Soobin were in a grade above them, there were days where they sometimes spent weeks not talking to each other due to busy schedules and a tendency to be at the top of their grades.

The only problem was that this was Soobin, and Soobin was special.

Shutting his phone after a text from Taehyun who had told him how Beomgyu was absent for the nth time again and told him to not ask about it and just have fun, he debates whether he should ring the doorbell again despite knowing how he would overthink it afterward by claiming he was being annoying and impatient.

In the silence of the night, he hears the sound of the knob twisting and the door sliding open to reveal Soobin in a set of white pajamas with a pattern of small planets on them and headphones around his neck, wearing an apologetic look on his face.

"Hueningie! I'm so sorry, I didn't hear you!" he apologizes profusely, hands reaching out to pull him inside, and the younger chuckles. It had really reminded him of the time he had just met him back then when he had come crashing down with the glass apparatuses.

"It's alright, hyung!" he chirps, brushing it off, "What were you doing?"

"Just cleaning, you know, while listening to music," Soobin replies, pointing to his headphones that looped around his neck where music was playing, "very loudly, apparently."

"I do that too sometimes, you know me," Kai grins in hopes that the older wouldn't feel too guilty, and Soobin chuckles, reaching out to ruffle his head.

"Did you wait long?"

Kai shakes his head, taking his shoes off as his eyes fixate on a portrait hanging on the wall by his window. a picture of him and his family on a vacation, it looked like. with palm trees and sand and a vast ocean as a background and the boy wearing a Hawaiian shirt, hair in a bucket hat behind his sister.

"Cute," he finds himself mumbling instead of saying inside his head. he hears Soobin chuckle behind, so he assumes he wasn't mumbling at all.

"That was when we were in Hawaii, it's been years since we went on a proper vacation as a family," Soobin states, standing beside him. he feels like they were in a museum and Soobin was explaining the history of an important painting, "mom and dad are busier these days and the others are moving out. maybe I should do that too,"

"I'm from Hawaii," Kai finds himself blurting out, "we could visit together one day."

Soobin hums in agreement, "that sounds great! I can meet your parents and tell them how much of a brat you are,"

"Hyuuuung! In that case, maybe we shouldn't..."

"I'm kidding! You better take me one day," Soobin nudges his shoulder, laughing, "Come on, follow me," he calls out, walking past him into what he assumes was his bedroom, and Huening Kai follows as he had instructed to.

Kai had never been in the older's room before, but surprisingly, it wasn't that surprising to him. gray walls and a neat game setup was the only thing that stood out of the plain room that held nothing but books strewn across his bed and hoodies laying on almost every corner of the room. a bean bag that looks like he had been sitting on lays beside his television where game controllers were piled on top of a stack of games next to an empty bowl, and there was a lot of green from the precious plants he had been keeping for a while now.

He highly doubts that 'cleaning' Soobin had claimed he was doing when he isn't answering the doorbell now, but he doesn't voice it out loud.

"Welcome to my living space, make yourself at home!" Soobin says as he quickly makes his way towards a particular place by the window, "Ah- here, come here!" Soobin grins, turning to Kai. he looked as if he had been rehearsing what to say, his eyes giving off how much the plants meant to him, "this was the particular plant I was talking about, isn't it pretty?"

Kai takes a look at it. it was exactly what he had expected it to be, a small palm-sized cactus that looked too small to be real, in a white ceramic pot that Soobin holds delicately.

"Really," he says, looking around the succulent green plant as he lets his fingers brush on the thorns. surprisingly, they don't cut into his skin, "it's adorable, hyung, I didn't expect you to take care of something so daunting,"

"Daunting?" Soobin laughs and stands up from where he had been crouching on the floor, "it's not at all like that, Hyuka! I mean, it's just a plant. actually, in deserts, cactuses..."

Kai drowns out the explanation from his friend to heed at how his eyes sparkle. he had heard somewhere once that talking about something one admires always brought a (metaphorically) glow that only others could feel radiate off of them, and there were a lot of instances where he had a first hand saw this proven true.

for instances like when he listens to Taehyun tediously talk about nonfiction books as if they had plots instead of stating facts he had gotten of them, claiming they were the only things he could do in his room during Christmas to avoid the arguments of his parents downstairs, or when he talks about the comical things his cat had been up to, or when Yeonjun talks about the new dance choreography that he had fallen in love with and was in the process of learning off youtube.

Or when Yeonjun talks about Soobin.

He shakes his head to remove the thoughts. This was a night he would be spending with just the two of them, there was no need to bring another person in his thoughts. live in the moment, he tells himself. although now his mind starts to wonder if he was trying to convince himself more than advice.

"Ning?" Soobin calls out gently, waving his hands in front of his face to catch his attention, "Hey, you aren't listening to a thing I said, did you?"

"Huh? oh, of course, I did, hyung!"

"Really? then what did I say?" Soobin challenges, and when Kai doesn't reply, he sighs, "Don't worry, it's not important anyway,"

"Whatever you say is always important, hyung," he pouts, not wanting to make think that his interests were insignificant to him. thankfully, the sparkles in his eyes had remained even as he had turned to face him.

Although Kai finds it awfully corny two seconds after he says it, he sees Soobin smile warmly at the statement and it eventually melts into a soft laugh. Kai feels his cheeks heat up, breaking into laughter along with him.

In the comfort of the cold, messy room that was littered with everything Soobin, Kai finds himself sharing laughter with the boy he had his eyes on for so long. and although there was nothing he was afraid or doubtful of, nothing had felt more reassuring.

The comfortable silence that followed after was very quickly replaced with the female voice that he assumed was Soobin's sister from the hallway.

"Soobinie, can you get the door?" he hears, and Soobin looks up curiously, finally hearing the continuous ringing from the doorbell. it was already late, he was sure that both his parents and his brother were asleep upstairs. who could that be at this time?

he gets up and makes his way over to the door with reluctance, and Hueningkai stands behind him holding his phone in what seemed to be a threatening manner, (you know, in case it was the mafia who wanted to take him for some reason. hey, anything was possible), though when Soobin swung open the door, he was met with the least of his expectations.

The familiar bright hair was unmistakably Yeonjun. the boy leans against the doorframe with a smirk and two bags of McDonald's in his hands, as if he had been planning to stop by since the beginning, though a quick glance towards Soobin, it was clear that he hadn't expected it either.

"Soobinie! sur-" Yeonjun pauses when his eyes fall on Huening Kai, who was standing in a silly pose, "Oh? Hueningie? what are you doing here?"

"Hyung invited me over..." Kai answered, trying to muster up a smile to hide his slight feeling of disappointment. why was Yeonjun so suddenly here? he doesn't even live close to his place. he tries his best to not overthink, (the more the merrier, isn't that it? he tells himself). though it was getting harder with Soobin's welcoming smile and a heart that would never reject him, and Yeonjun's- in Huening Kai's view- intentional desire to invade.

He wasn't supposed to feel this way. Yeonjun was his best friend. his hyung. he was also, Kai hopes, the place that the older boy would stop by holding two bags of takeaway if he were by the neighbourhood. so why was the sight of him smiling up at Soobin with adoration as if he lived here with him made his breathing hitch?

"Are you drunk, hyung? why are you here?" he finally voices out, wanting anything more than the silence.

"Just got back from a party and decided to stop by," Yeonjun replies, holding up the two bags of food and shaking them, "I didn't know you were here, Hueningie. if i did, i would've gotten you one!" he turns over towards him, adding, "here, hope you like fries. catch!" and throwing his meal- not a good idea- towards him. Kai catches it with a shocked yelp.

"Are you sure you're not drunk, hyung?" Soobin was the one who was asking now, though his tone was lighter and he didn't sound like he was bothered by the arrival of the boy. Kai sets the bag aside on the table and mumbles, "you should've just gone home.."

"You don't want me here? Should I just take my leave then?" Yeonjun pouts after hearing the youngest's grumbles, though, he was taking off his shoes, contrary to his words, "alright then, I'm leaving!"

"Stop pouting, you can stay, hyung," Soobin laughs, and Yeonjun cheers silently.

It was not a big deal.

Huening Kai had dealt with similar situations before. knowing how close the two olders were, he knew it was bound for him to be a third wheel. there were times where they would laugh at jokes that only the two of them would get, talk about events that had happened in subjects they shared together. they were always like one another's continuation before the previous ended. there were numerous times, he couldn't count them on all his fingers.

But he always had Taehyun to sit through with him during those times.

The younger's subtle playful scoffing whenever Yeonjun shamelessly flirts with Soobin, his unfiltered comments on how they should stop being so affectionate and make them feel single in public, how if Yeonjun doesn't stop, Soobin might just explode right then and there. his brevity of calling them out had always brought confidence in himself to continue, claiming he was just making fun of them.

Maybe there was more than just making fun, now that he thinks about it.

Kai hadn't told Taehyun about the slight crush he had felt towards the boy, but even without telling, he has a feeling that he already does know. Taehyun always knew, especially when it came to him. they cared for each other like that, silently.

Kai finds himself following Yeonjun's movements from where he had taken off his jacket and hung it on the rack by the door towards the couch in the living room, plopping himself right in the center and sinking into the cushions with a sigh. something that he looked like he had mastered doing.

"Kai! Come over here, what are you doing standing around there? listen, I may look like it, but I swear I'm not drunk," Yeonjun giggles over the sounds of Soobin taking out the food from the plastic bag in the kitchen, "Was I interrupting something, hm? What were you doing before I came over?"

"Soobin hyung was just showing me his plants," Kai answers, giving his best cheery expression as he walks closer to sit on the couch by his right, "oh, and we were planning to watch a movie!"

"Plants?" Yeonjun tilts his head, looking at the younger as if he had just told him that he had taken up an interest he had loathed before, "so suddenly? I didn't know you were into those things, Hueningie! I should get you one as well, then!"

"Huh?"

"Oh, did Soobin show you the plant I got him? little cactus, smaller than my palm, actually!" he says, eyes sparkling with adoration talking about the succulent he had seemingly bought for Soobin.

Oh

When Kai remains silent, Yeonjun slumps, seemingly taking it as Soobin didn't show him, "Ah, forget it, it probably died," he muttered, playing with a loose string in the couch, "i mean, his plants need a lot of water, I wouldn't be surprised he overwatered the little prick-" Yeonjun paused to give way for his pun, but Kai doesn't laugh, "-'till it died, you know?"

"Ah, it's alright, hyung, he didn't get to show me everything," Kai reassures, attempting to cheer his hyung back up, "And Soobin hyung isn't that careless, I'm sure it's fine."

Soobin comes back with a plate of snacks, placing them on the table in front, "I had actually planned on watching a movie with Hueningie. do you wanna join, hyung?"

"Is it okay if I do?" Yeonjun grins, as if he wasn't already having his legs up on the coffee table in front of the TV where they would be having said movie.

"Of course it's alright," Soobin chuckles. inviting. he was always so.

Yeonjun moves aside and ruffles his hair once Soobin is settled by his left, and Kai smiles despite the unknowing aching feeling in his chest.

"We should all hang out tomorrow, what do you think?" Yeonjun speaks up when the movie title appears on the screen, and Huening Kai hums. showing him that he was listening.

"I have to finish some assignments," Soobin says, and Yeonjun merely laughs.

"We can finish them afterward together, Binnie. Taehyun looks so exhausted these days, so let's take a day off tomorrow and just enjoy together! Come on, Hueningie, what do you say?"

"Sure,"

"See? He agrees!"

"You're supposed to be on my side, Hyuka," Soobin reaches across, stopping midway from picking up a fry to pinch his cheeks, "Alright then, but only because you're both so against me,"

"You don't have to come, Binnie," the neon haired boy teases, turning away from the movie to look at him. from the corner of his vision, Kai sees Yeonjun wrapping his arms around the older's shoulder.

"Too late! I'm clearing my schedule for the two of you,"

Yeonjun laughs and Soobin reciprocates. Hueningkai finds himself drifting to sleep.