❝ you know, for a rich guy, i'm surprised that he chose to develop something as simple as a manual carwash. ❞ jeno mumbles.

the boys have now geared themselves with the cleaning essentials such as mitts and soap, all provided by the kind man that has openly welcomed them to 'do whatever they want' in the area. some people might think that this is a trap, but to them, they chose to play along with it.

❝ yeah, ❞ jaemin nods, ❝ actually, i'm more surprised to know that though he owns all those kinds of luxury, he chooses to stay kind. ❞

jisung simpers. ❝ he's kind because he's rich. ❞

❝ well, i could see chenle relating to that, ❞ renjun replies jokingly.

chenle just shrugs, pretending to not know anything. goofing around with his new camera, he chose to take pictures instead of helping the crew wash the car, trying out different angles he has never done before.

❝ anyway, you were really great there, mark-hyung. ❞ jisung wholeheartedly compliments the latter. ❝ car washes and ahn sungki? where did you get all those from? ❞

❝ yeah, let's just say though i might look like i'm of a young age, my interests puts me back to where i belong: in a nursing home for the elderly. ❞ mark grins. ❝ and because i have an attention span of a goldfish, i haven't been able to catch up with current pop culture as well, so uh, i might not understand anything way past 2005, sorry. ❞

❝ and i suppose you guys all know who bombed the whole thing.. ❞ jaemin quickly offers them the chance to mock him for his mistake.

donghyuck steps forward. ❝ yeah, yeah. i was stupid. mentioning tvn in the late nineties, clearly a rookie move. ❞

❝ actually, i was about to say the both of us, but because you chose to take full responsibility, then why not? ❞

❝ it's okay, you guys did well. ❞ mark tries to encourage them. ❝ but do you know who else did better? jeno-yah, you were quite something out there. ❞

the boys cheer for jeno, giving him a pat on the back. jeno smiles, shyly receiving a striking amount of compliment he has never gotten before.

donghyuck lifts his head as he attempts to look as genuine as he is inside his head. ❝ thank you for the save, by the way. i really needed it after the tvn thing. ❞

jeno looks at the latter in surprise — shocked by the sudden friendly act done by him — but he clears his throat to restrain his emotions from taking over himself. ❝ uh, you're welcome. ❞

snap! chenle takes a picture of the both of them in disguise. 'first compliment from donghyuckie-hyung, and jeno-hyung takes it by surprise'. he smiles to himself. this is priceless, i better cherish it all my life.

jaemin glances at the both of them, feeling the exact same shock jeno is experiencing at the moment. not wanting to milk the precious interaction, he decides to stay quiet. donghyuck adjusts himself to his normal state, returning back with regular straight face.

❝ so.. what should we do now? ❞ jisung asks, simultaneously pouring a bucket of water to the car's ceiling without further notice.

❝ no, no, jisung-ah stop, ❞ renjun winces. ❝ you'll break the car before we even get started. ❞

so the boys start off by hosing the car, brushing it off with a mixture of water and soap, and later on scrubbing it off with a huge mitt. but then as expected, boys will be boys, they applied some steps overlapping with other steps, which also includes an unnecessary one that somehow appeared after a few rounds of mindless fun: make sure that everyone also gets washed up.

chenle teasingly sprays water to jeno's shirt. ❝ yah, what was that?! ❞ jeno looks around, searching for the culprit. ❝ was it you, jisung-ah?! ❞

jisung's eyes widen. ❝ wait no, i swear it isn't me! ❞

but jeno didn't really care. he pours water to the latter's body, leaving him soaking wet. ❝ yah, hyung, you're gonna regret this—❞

jeno ducks, and the jisung's hose immediately sprays the person behind him, and unfortunately for him, it's donghyuck.

donghyuck glares at him, annoyed.

jisung laughs uneasily, feeling the fear gripping his throat. ❝ uh, hyung—❞

❝ may i borrow that for a while? ❞

with his hand shaking, he lends donghyuck the water hose. and without warning, donghyuck immediately sprays it to chenle.

❝ yah, hyung! camera, camera, camera, camera, camera!! ❞

❝ did you really expect i didn't see you spraying this thing to jeno, hm?? ❞ water splashes through the younger boy's clothing. ❝ take that! ❞

❝ yah, you guys be holding a water fight?? ❞ jaemin gasps. ❝ without me?? ❞

well, it's quite self-explanatory as to what happens after on. with a lot less of washing and lot more excitement, the boys forget what they were supposed to do at the first place: completing the mission. the camera passes by to everyone like a bewildering relay, as they captured the moments, the memories, all the fun.

the owner of the carwash appears once in a while, serving them drinks and a couple of snacks for them to settle in.

❝ here are some food i bought from the convenience store, you guys must be hungry. ❞

❝ don't hesitate to ask for water if you want some! you must be tired after all the cleaning. ❞

❝ my wife made you all lunchboxes, she said that she's concerned about your health. ❞

mark shakes his head, declining the offer out of discomfort. ❝ ah, sir, you really didn't have to.. ❞

❝ of course i do! you are all my customers, ❞ he forces mark to take the package. ❝ and i must treat you with the upmost care. don't even think about skipping lunch, boys! ❞

renjun glances upon the man once in a while, to see his reactions whether or not he'll be mad if they continued joking around severely and keep delaying their job. but to his surprise, he discovered something unusual: the more they played around, the happier the man appeared to be.

so during the break, renjun decides to have a chat with him for a little while. with the whole group resting close to the car enjoying their lunch, renjun separates himself from them as he heads over the terrace to see what the man's been doing.

❝ hey, ❞ the man smiles at the sight of him. ❝ anything i could get you, young man? ❞

renjun shakes his head. ❝ uh, it's just too hot there. i'm here to take a break from the sun. ❞

❝ oh my, should i invite everyone in, then— ❞

❝ no, no! it's fine, ❞ renjun quickly stops him from doing them another favor they couldn't return. ❝ besides, i'll be here for a short while. i'll be back before you even know it. ❞

❝ mmm, if you say so. ❞ the man continues to gaze at the group of boys, admiring them from afar.

renjun clears his throat. ❝ i'm really sorry for the hassle. it's kinda like that when we're having too much fun— we can't keep in track of our surroundings. ❞

❝ don't apologize! i actually like you guys spending your time here. ❞ the man assures him. ❝ what's your name, son? ❞

renjun glances at him, hesitating for a moment. ❝ renjun. ❞

❝ renjun? ❞ he flinches. ❝ you're not from around here, are you? ❞

❝ um yeah, i'm actually chinese. ❞

❝ really? ❞ his eyes widen. ❝ so am i, son! ❞ the man shifts into speaking their native language, quickly opening up to him for their major similarity. ❝ where are you from? ❞

renjun quickly adjusts to the language. ❝ i was born in jilin. ❞

❝ ah, that explains your korean. you really sound like a native, i tell you that. ❞ just as renjun thought the man couldn't be anymore happier, he then flashes his most sincere smile, more than everything he had given before. his eyes are glimmering in fascination, his body movements now more relaxed. ❝ i came here with my wife more or less a decade ago, because our business just weren't working there with the political environment. so we moved here, and thankfully life offered us enough fortune to live comfortably. ❞

renjun nods. ❝ there are a lot of migrants from china searching for second chances in korea. ❞

❝ speaking about my wife, ❞ the man subtly points at one of the boys without them noticing. ❝ that boy, right there. ❞

renjun squints his eyes to see who he's referring to. ❝ chenle? ❞

he laughs. ❝ that also doesn't sound korean. ❞

❝ uh yeah, he's also chinese like me. he's from shanghai, ❞ renjun explains briefly. ❝ he's also here because of his parents, they own a huge corporation here in south korea. ❞

❝ really? what's it's called? ❞ he asks curiously. ❝ i might know them, the chinese community isn't that big here in seoul. ❞

❝ uh.. ❞ renjun stops from spilling another mistake. this is 1992, jun, please get a grip. ❝ actually, i forgot. ❞

❝ ah, that's unfortunate. ❞

❝ anyway, what about chenle? ❞

❝ nothing much, honestly. ❞ he purses his lips. ❝ he just reminds me a lot of my wife. his facial characteristics and all. ❞ he smiles to himself. ❝ his playful personality and constant jokes.. also reminds me of myself when i was your age. ❞

renjun gazes at his friend, slowly trying to find an explanation to all of this. this might not just be a very huge coincidence.. maybe there's a reason why chenle dreamt about this in the first place.

❝ also, the name chenle.. ❞ he lets out a small laugh. ❝ this might sound like a reach, but it's like an abbreviation of chenrui and lexiao. me and my wife's name. ❞

renjun stops to think about it for a while. a part of him wants to know more of this strange anomaly. ❝ do you have kids, if i may ask? ❞

he shakes his head in disappointment. ❝ unfortunately, me and my wife, we aren't blessed with any children, even until this old age. it's okay though, we already found happiness within each other. ❞ he sighs. ❝ sometimes i think about what'll happen if we do have kids. how will i treat them? what would i do? will i be happy?❞

renjun listens to him attentively, letting the latter express his feelings to him.

❝ today, i can finally experience the feeling. ❞ he says in advance.

❝ what do you mean? ❞

❝ seeing you boys, spending time with each other, living life like there's no end; it gave me happiness enough to support me for a lifetime. ❞ he grins. ❝ i may haven't experienced all those things with children i yet to have, but at least i could get a glance of it from you. ❞

renjun doesn't know how to reply to such statement. before he does, he's interrupted by a knock at the door.

❝ ah, that must be the delivery man. you should return back with your friends. ❞ the man pats him on the back as he heads towards the door.

renjun returns back to his friends, head empty. ❝ yah, what were you guys discussing earlier? looked like you were so into it. ❞ mark asks him in curiosity, followed by the other boys.

❝ it was.. nothing. ❞

❝ ice cream! ❞ the man heads towards them with a plastic filled with desserts. ❝ sorry that it came quite late, i forgot to buy them when i visited the convenience store, and as these rusty legs wouldn't last another round, i asked an employee to deliver it here. ❞ he scratches the back of his head. ❝ silly me, it took me quite a while because i couldn't type the text properly, there's so many buttons to push! ❞

chenle couldn't believe his eyes. he crouches down, pulling mark along with him by tugging at the hem of shirt. ❝ hyung, i can't do this anymore. ❞

❝ yah, what's wrong? ❞ mark tries to get him up so that it wouldn't look too obvious.

❝ screw the dream! why can't we just go by bus or something? does it have to be exact same?? ❞

immediately understanding the situation, donghyuck immediately takes over. ❝ yah chenle, don't even think about it. ❞

❝ he's just too kind and clueless, i feel bad for him! don't you guys feel the same, too? ❞ he turns to renjun. ❝ come on, you must feel the same too, right? ❞

the man looks indefinitely concerned. ❝ son, what exactly are you talking about—❞

❝ sweet and kind sir, please forgive us! ❞ chenle stands up all of the sudden, looking at the old man with enormous guilt. ❝ all we wanted was to steal your car! ❞

—

HAHAHAHA puzzle piece is a bop(ノ-ㅅ-)ノ
15 votes for next chapter ~