Chapter Text
Jisung shifted nervously on the couch, watching the door agitatedly. Chenle was just a few minutes from walking over the threshold, and Jisung’s stomach churned with a sickening combination of nervousness and guilt.
The rest of the dreamies were scattered around the room, each engaging in their own nervous fidgeting. Renjun’s foot tapped incessantly against the floor. Jaemin twisted the edge of his shirt between his fingers. Jeno kept running his hands through his hair. Plastered across each face was a similar despondent, stressed expression. The room felt suspended in limbo, as if awaiting a dreaded future that would never arrive.
Except it did. The quiet sounds of shifting and hushed conversation were drowned out by the opening of the door. And each dream member’s head snapped to face the people walking in.
Chenle was flanked by Mark and Haechan, one of Haechan’s arms slung around his shoulder. Jisung’s lips tightened in a frown as he took in his best friend’s cut lips and swollen ankle.
“It’s okay guys, it wasn’t your fault,” Chenle started immediately, eyes fixed on Jaemin.
Jisung glanced back to see his loving hyung’s face crumpled with guilt so intense that Jisung reached out to place a hand on the man’s shoulder.
“Really!” Chenle insisted, shaking off Haechan’s arm to go kneel in front of Jaemin, “You didn’t do this to me, hyung.” He looked up at the other dreamies, “None of you did. The person who did this to me was the asshole who tried to take me. This isn’t your fault.”
Jisung stared at his friend in shock. He had been prepared for rage, for fear, for bitterness. He hadn’t been prepared for this.
“It isn’t,” Chenle pushed more insistently, “Seriously-”
Jisung threw his arms around his best friend, kneeling on the ground beside the smaller boy. He rested his forehead on Chenle’s shoulder, closing his eyes against cotton fabric. His words were caught in his throat, unable to escape. But he felt a hand come up to pat his head, and he knew that Chenle understood, just like always. His apology was accepted.
--
A few hours later found them all sitting together in the kitchen, curled over their respective bowls of galbi. Haechan and Mark had taken off for practice, leaving only the ones who had been in the dorm the night before.
Chenle pressed his palms against the sides of the bowl, feeling the warmth seep into his skin as he savored the smell of the food in front of him. The room was oddly quiet. Chenle looked up to see four despondent faces, heads turned down toward their bowls as they ate their meals quietly.
He sighed, blinking in surprise as the four faces turned toward him in concern. Chenle waved off their worry exasperatedly, blowing a tuft of hair out of his eyes. His acceptance of their apologies obviously hadn’t sunk in, and he narrowed his eyes at them as they turned nervously back to their bowls.
“I forgave you guys already,” he sniped irritatedly, unable to help himself, “So could you stop tiptoeing around me like that?”
He had their attention, that was for sure. But what came out of Jaemin’s mouth was the opposite of what he expected to hear.
“We know you forgive us. But that doesn’t mean we’ll feel better right away.”
Chenle blinked.
“But I forgave you? So that means it’s all good?”
Jaemin shook his head.
“No, that means you don’t feel upset with us. But it doesn’t mean we can’t feel upset about the situation ourselves.” Jaemin leaned forward, bracing his forearms on the countertop. “You almost got kidnapped, and while we can’t blame the situation on ourselves, we can feel bad about the distress and danger we inadvertently caused. That will fade at a different pace for each of us, but our emotions will run their course.”
Chenle tilted his head, letting out a deep breath as he considered the reply.
“That makes sense, I guess. Thanks, hyung. I never thought of it that way.”
Jaemin flipped a little grin at him.
“Of course. Now eat up, or your food will get cold.”
--
Chenle sat on his bed, phone in his hand as it rang. After a few seconds, the call went through.
“Chenle! How are you?”
Felix’s deep timbre filled the room through the scratchy phone speaker as his face appeared on the screen.
“I’m good, Lixie-hyung. Thanks for helping me.”
A relieved smile broke across Felix’s face.
“Of course, I mean what else was I supposed to do? Leave you there?”
Chenle shrugged, cheeks reddening.
“I mean- I don’t know! It’s just a nice thing to say!”
Felix laughed before sobering again.
“How did your group members take it?”
Chenle shrugged, “Jaemin said that they would need some time to come to terms with their own guilt even after I accepted their apologies. They’re despondent, and it’s weird, but I respect their need to think.”
Felix nodded thoughtfully, “It makes sense, I mean. I hope everything returns to normal again soon though, it sucks when group dynamics are off.”
Chenle groaned, flopping back on his bed dramatically, “Practice is going to be HELL.”
Felix’s laughter chimed through the phone, bringing a smile to Chenle’s face as he stared up at the ceiling. He’d wait for the others to get their bearings. But for now, he’d just have to talk to a freckled sunshine demon. There were worse things in the world.