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“First and foremost, I would like to thank you all for your attendance to this New Year’s party-slash-college-reunion. It means a lot that each one of you set some time aside from your busy schedules to be here today, and I--”
“You should just go straight to the part in your toast where you say that this reunion was actually just a ploy to see Vernon.”
“Yeah, no need to fluff it up.”
“Your sincerity is making me uncomfortable.”
“I second what Minghao said.”
“This is the nicest you’ve been since we met, and I don’t know how I feel about it.”
“I puked a little.”
“I miss the old Seungkwan.”
Seungkwan rolled his eyes at all the snarky side comments that his friends made as he tried to give a toast, but he knew that their words had no actual spite to them so it wasn’t long until he joined them in their laughter.
“Well, the old Seungkwan’s here to say fuck you all, but thank you for coming nonetheless,” Seungkwan said, raising his glass of wine on one hand and raising his middle finger with the other. “Cheers!”
“Cheers!”
Sounds of glass clanging at different times and volumes filled the air as everyone gave toasts to as much people as they could. Seungkwan, feeling as if it were his obligation as a host, made sure to give a personal toast to each and every person standing in the room. As he walked from one person to the other, he couldn’t shake off the nostalgia that came with seeing how far everyone’s come since the first time they became friends. Fragments of his friends’ personalities that had stuck to Seungkwan were reflected in the careers they had pursued and the lives that they were currently living, and he was genuinely happy to see that his friends were doing well after all these years.
After setting aside his now empty glass of wine, Soonyoung took out his video camera and went around the apartment to interview his friends. Admittedly a sentimental person, Soonyoung tried to hold onto as much memories as he could of the people who he loved and cared about dearly, and his college best friends were not an exception. And it wasn’t like Soonyoung kept these memories to himself; he made sure to share to his friends any photos or videos he compiled because each person had contributed immensely to the moments he now fondly looks back on.
Two prominent questions of the evening were regarding what the highlight of one’s year was and what their New Year’s resolution was, and Soonyoung knew his friends enough to know that he’d be getting less heartfelt and more hilarious responses. That’s why he wasn’t surprised when he found himself laughing so hard he practically forgot how to breathe and began wheezing for air in many occasions throughout the night.
“So Jeonghan, when will you tell your four year-old son about the time you blacked out at Seungcheol’s, a.k.a his dad’s, frat party and woke up in Junhui’s bathtub the next day?”
“Honestly, knowing how blunt Jeonghan is, he’s probably already told Chan,” Seokmin said. He was being filmed alongside Jeonghan and had an arm thrown over the latter’s shoulder. Soonyoung cackled behind the camera.
“Yeah, knowing me, I’ve probably already told it to him in the form of a bedtime story,” Jeonghan said. He then laughed and pushed away Soonyoung’s camera lens as he added, “Just kidding. What kind of parent do you think I am?”
From where he was sitting on the armrest of the living room sofa, Joshua accidentally zoned out of the conversation that he was previously engaging in with Wonwoo, Junhui, and Mingyu. His attention had drifted elsewhere as he quietly began to watch Seokmin talk animatedly with Jeonghan and Soonyoung.
Joshua noted how the dynamic between Seokmin and Soonyoung was very much back to their normal state of being two peas in a pod, and he wondered how long they’ve been like that. He wondered if Seokmin still harbored the one-sided feelings that led him to call Joshua a number of times during their college career and break down into heartbroken sobs each time Soonyoung got into a new relationship, or if Seokmin no longer felt that way about his best friend.
Joshua knew that he could never quite be the best friend that Soonyoung was to Seokmin, but he felt like there was something special in his and Sekomin’s own friendship. Joshua thought that the extent of how close Seokmin and he were was easily overlooked by their other friends because they weren’t attached to the hip when they hung out in a big group, and a lot of their conversations and interactions took place when they were alone together, which was more often than people thought.
And maybe Joshua still had some lingering feelings of his own for Seokmin, who he always believed radiated sunshine due to his bright personality and made opening-up about life’s ups and downs much easier because he never stopped showing that he cared.
And when Joshua accidentally made eye contact with Seokmin, he felt the familiar feeling of his heart fluttering at the sight of Seokmin directing one of his softest smiles at no one else but him.
“Hey, I’m going to get more food,” Mingyu said, giving Wonwoo’s hand a light squeeze before letting go of it and standing up from the sofa. Wonwoo immediately missed the warmth of his boyfriend’s hand but knew that would be a bit too corny to say out loud, especially around Junhui, who would never let him live it down. “Do you guys want anything?”
Wonwoo and Junhui shook their heads.
“Joshua?”
Upon hearing his name get called, Joshua snapped out of his trance of looking elsewhere and turned to Mingyu with a puzzled look. “I’m sorry, what did you say?”
Mingyu chuckled and repeated, “I’m getting more food. Do you want anything?”
“Oh,” Joshua said, standing up from the armrest. “I’ll just go with you!”
Wonwoo watched Mingyu and Joshua’s backs as they walked away to the kitchen and brought his attention back to Junhui once the two were out of sight.
“So how’s everyone and their dogs’ favorite couple?” Junhui asked. Two of them adjusted their bodies a bit so that they were facing each other on the sofa. Wonwoo laughed at the phrasing of Junhui’s question.
“We’ll be eleven years strong by midnight,” He replied before jokingly adding, “unfortunately.”
“No surprise there,” Junhui chuckled. “You two have been head-over-heels in love with each other right from the get-go.”
“We really have,” Wonwoo agreed with a fond smile.
Wonwoo had been together with Mingyu since his second year and Mingyu’s first year of college, or when they were 19 and 18 respectively. They met through Jeonghan, who rightfully thought that they’d be good friends, and spent many months just getting to know each other without rushing into anything. But once the holidays came around, the traditions of kissing under the mistletoe and sharing a New Year’s kiss made it a bit hard for Wonwoo to not think about how Mingyu’s lips felt against his.
Wonwoo managed to breeze through Christmas without making a fool out of himself, but once New Year’s came in mixed with some alcohol in his system, Wonwoo may have confessed that he wanted to “not kiss, but make out” with Mingyu at the same exact second that Mingyu asked him to be his boyfriend.
While Wonwoo had initially been embarrassed about the awkward timing of his confession, he couldn’t find himself to stay too embarrassed for too long because everything did fall into place that New Year’s; Wonwoo was able to make out with Mingyu, and Mingyu got a boyfriend. It was a win-win night, and the two of them were now able to look back and laugh at the memory.
When Mingyu and Joshua came back to the living room, Junhui decided to get some fresh air and see what was going on in the apartment complex’s communal patio. He was pleased to see Seungcheol, Vernon, and Jihoon sitting on the chairs that circled around the bonfire, and he returned the greetings that everyone warmly gave to him when his presence was made known.
At least everyone but one person greeted him, and that person was the little boy sitting on Seungcheol’s lap, now shyly hiding his face against his father’s sweater.
“Say hi to your Uncle Junhui, Channie,” Seungcheol said, patting his son’s back to get his attention. When Chan turned his head a bit and gave Junhui a timid wave, Junhui was surprised that he didn’t melt into a pile of goo over the adorable sight right then and there. “Uncle Junhui dances, Chan… Didn’t you say that you wanted to be a dancer when you grow up?”
Chan slowly nodded, and Junhui noticed how Chan’s eyes were starting to brighten up at the newfound information.
“Do you want to learn some dance moves?” Junhui kindly asked, bending down to be at eye level with Chan. The latter looked up at Seungcheol, as if he were silently asking for permission, before Seungcheol nodded and gently helped the four-year old get down from his lap.
“Follow after me, okay?” Junhui said to Chan once the child was standing next to him, and Chan nodded. Junhui proceeded to go over a few simple steps, which were nothing too spectacular for him but a new and exciting routine for Chan, judging by the smile that grew on his face with every new move he copied.
To Junhui, Chan’s reaction to the impromptu dance lesson was reminiscent of when Junhui himself realized his passion for dance and the performing arts as a young child, and he would feel nothing short of honored if many years down the line Chan fondly remembered this very moment.
When Junhui moved away from China for college and eventually for his career in the performing arts, he didn’t think that he’d be able to build friendships so solid that he didn’t hesitate to call his newfound friends his home away from home. And with Seungcheol and Jeonghan’s son starting the second generation of the group of friends Junhui called his family, Junhui felt his heart warm up knowing that his and his friends’ future kids will be able to share in the same kind of genuine friendship that Junhui experienced all these years.
Seungcheol watched with an ever-present smile as Junhui and Chan danced with each other. However, Soonyoung suddenly appeared out of nowhere with his video camera and began to attack him with a plethora of questions as if he were on one of those fast-paced street-style interviews. Soonyoung even had a microphone made out of one spoon and a lot of foil, and he raised it close to Seungcheol’s mouth.
“Quick! What’s the highlight of your year? What’s your New Year’s resolution? Will you ever tell your son that you went streaking at the beach after losing a bet with me? What’s the meaning of life?”
Seungcheol’s eyes widened at all the questions being thrown at him, and he heard Vernon and Jihoon laugh from the sidelines.
“Okay first,” Seungcheol started, lowering the makeshift microphone a bit because it was a little too close to his mouth. “Breathe.”
Soonyoung laughed and jokingly did an exaggeration of what Seungcheol told him to do, taking in a very deep breath and exhaling with just as much energy. The guys laughed at Soonyoung’s action before the latter said, “I did it. Now answer the questions.”
Seungcheol chuckled and briefly contemplated the three questions before answering, “The highlight: not getting kicked in the crotch when Chan learned how to swing. The resolution: to stop playing with Jeonghan’s hair so that my chances of getting murdered in my sleep decrease. Will I ever: One day, but not today. The meaning of life: insert deep answer here.”
“So nice, so inspirational,” Soonyoung said, wiping away his fake tears before turning over to Vernon and Jihoon and saying, “Next!”
“I was already victimized by you earlier,” Vernon immediately replied, getting up from his seat with his hands up in surrender and quickly walking away. Soonyoung, unfazed, then turned his attention to Jihoon, and Seungcheol couldn’t help but laugh at the contrast between Soonyoung’s huge (and slightly evil) grin and Jihoon’s dreadful expression.
As Soonyoung and Jihoon got engaged in their usual banter, Seungcheol brought his attention back to Chan and Junhui and thought about how lucky he was to have his son in his life. Chan had been a part of Seungcheol and Jeonghan’s lives for a little over a year and a half, but Seungcheol felt like they’ve been together for much longer. Adoption was a long and tedious process, but every second of the process was worth it in the end.
And with the new year coming up, Seungcheol was more than excited to see what was in store for his little family of three.
When Vernon arrived back inside the apartment, he went straight to where all the food was at in the kitchen. Spotting Seungkwan talking to Minghao by the utensils side of the food table, Vernon snuck up behind the preoccupied Seungkwan and threw an arm over his shoulder, which successfully startled Seungkwan and caused him to yelp in surprise. Minghao, who saw Vernon approaching but didn’t say anything, laughed.
“Shit, Vernon,” Seungkwan said, raising a hand to his chest as if to calm his shock-induced heart rate. “I could’ve dropped dead right now because of you.”
Vernon chuckled, moving his arm away from Seungkwan’s shoulders as he began to get his own utensils. Minghao and he exchanged greetings before Vernon responded to Seungkwan’s comment. “And you’d still be madly in love with me.”
“Oh, yeah, you’re right,” Seungkwan replied, as if he was silly for forgetting. He then gave Vernon’s cheek a nice pinch as if he were pinching the cheeks of a little baby. “How could I ever deny my undying love for you, my morning sun, my midnight moon, my dawn and dusk?”
Vernon broke into a fit of laughter at Seungkwan’s words, which only made Seungkwan do the same just a couple of seconds later. Vernon’s not entirely sure when it began, but Seungkwan and he have always been regarded by their friends as the couple that never was even though everyone knew their feelings for each other have never gone beyond best friendship.
Vernon and Seungkwan tried to defend themselves against the comments, too conscious about being mistaken as a real couple by onlookers, but when they found the running joke to be inescapable for as long as they stayed friends with the same people, they learned to take the joke and play along with it. Hence, the exaggerated words of love and admiration was a common occurrence and taken with a grain of salt.
“That was the grossest thing I’ve ever heard,” Vernon said with his nose scrunched up after he got the last of his laughter out of his system.
“That was the grossest thing I’ve ever said,” Seungkwan replied, faking a gag.
Minghao talked to Vernon and Seungkwan for a couple of minutes as they all served themselves to more food, but he excused himself after filling up his plate and searched for a vacant seat in the wide living room. Jeonghan, who noticed Minghao scanning the area, waved his hand to get his attention. Minghao’s expression brightened up when he saw the free chair next to Jeonghan.
“My lovely little Minghao, how have you been?” Jeonghan asked with a soft smile. “It’s been a minute.”
“I’ve been great,” Minghao replied, and he really did mean it. “I did a lot of travelling and exploring this year. How about you?”
“I’ve been terrific,” Jeonghan said. “I have sleep deprivation because of my son and my husband, but other than that life’s been amazing.”
“I understand the sleep deprivation coming from of your son, but from Seungcheol?” Minghao jokingly asked, raising an eyebrow in faux judgement. “That’s a bit TMI, don’t you think?”
Jeonghan’s jaw slacked in shock at the implication of Minghao’s question before he shoved the younger’s arm. Minghao laughed at the reaction and shielded himself from Jeonghan with his free hand while his other hand held onto his plate.
“The Minghao I first met would never say such bold things,” Jeonghan said.
“But the Jeonghan I know would say such bold things,” Minghao easily responded before thinking about it more and adding, “In fact, pretty much everyone at this gathering would.”
Jeonghan chuckled and joking tsked, saying, “I guess we weren’t able to save you from becoming as snarky and ruthless as us.”
Minghao laughed. “Yeah, you guys weren’t.”
When Minghao transferred to the same university as everyone during his second year of college, he was a little too shy and a little too self-conscious. Much of his free time would be spent inside the on-campus apartment he was assigned to live in with Mingyu and two other guys, but even there he didn’t speak much because he tended to stay in his room.
A month or so into the school year, however, Mingyu invited Minghao to hangout with him and his friends, and Minghao continues to be glad that he didn’t reject the offer as he originally planned to because that was the day that he met some of the silliest but definitely the most genuine people in his life by far.
The people present at the party today were the ones who helped Minghao break out of his shell, explore the world outside his comfort zone, and have fun doing it. They were the ones who helped Minghao care a little less about what people think and to crack jokes when the opportunity presented itself. They were the ones who helped Minghao become the brave and willing person his second year of college self could only dream of becoming.
They were the ones who Minghao had the utmost gratitude for, yet even that level of gratitude was an understatement.
Jeonghan had just finished telling Minghao a peculiar story that took place at work earlier that week when Seungkwan’s projected voice filled the apartment and steered him away from his train of thought. The two of them looked the direction that Seungkwan was coming from.
“Everyone, it’s T-40 minutes until midnight,” Seungkwan announced as he walked into the living room with Soonyoung and Vernon trailing behind him. “Remember that we’ll be heading to the rooftop to watch the fireworks!”
“But before that, a.k.a right now, we’ll be taking group photos,” Soonyoung added. “I already let the guys at the patio know, so they’ll be here soon.”
Jeonghan was fairly amused by what seemed like the perfect timing as the front door opened and Jihoon, Junhui, Seungcheol, and Chan walked inside. Jeonghan’s heart all but melted when Chan spotted him from a distance and excitedly ran his direction.
“Hi, baby,” Jeonghan greeted, picking Chan off the floor and carrying him as he stood up from his chair. He planted a kiss on his son’s forehead, to which Chan smiled brightly at. “I missed you!”
Chan giggled before exclaiming, “Uncle Junhui taught me a new dance!”
“Really?” Jeonghan asked brightly, and Chan nodded. “Will you show it to me later?”
That’s when Chan started to get shy again, if the blossoming blush on his cheeks were any indication, much to Jeonghan’s amusement. He then pinched his son’s cheek before joining Seungcheol from where he was waiting in line with a few others to take photos. Seungcheol flashed a soft smile, which Jeonghan easily returned because Seungcheol’s smile was his favorite, after all.
One by one everyone got their photos taken, whether it was individually (“For the good-quality Facebook profile picture,” Seokmin reasoned as he posed way too dramatically by the white Christmas tree that was still up in the living room), with someone else, or with a few others, before all the guests came together for a whole group shot.
If Jeonghan was to be completely honest, everyone here at this very moment were the ones he trusted with his life, even more so than his family. And it wasn’t like he had anything against his family, really; it was just that he’s gone through so many growing experiences with the people he was with right now, from crazy college parties to stu(dying) together until the peak of dawn to providing a shoulder to cry on when life got too overwhelming.
Moreover, the people he was with right now have been a part of the amazing love story he shared with Seungcheol since the beginning, and Jeonghan truly hoped that he could continue to see his best friends work towards their dreams and ambitions and that he could be there to witness them get married and create families of their own, if they chose to go down that path.
“That was a great pose you did earlier,” Joshua lightheartedly said to Seokmin as everyone started to make their way out of the apartment and up to the rooftop. Seokmin laughed, giving a shrug as if it were nothing.
“What can I say? I’m a born model,” He joked with a smile, turning his head to look at Joshua.
When Joshua returned the smile, Seokmin tried to not turn his gaze away from the other because he wasn’t entirely sure he could handle all the butterflies flooding in his stomach as a response to the silent gesture. It’s been awhile since he’d been in the same place as Joshua, and the time they spent apart only made Seokmin’s heart grow fonder for the other.
Joshua was a few steps behind Seokmin, and they were about to meet each other halfway to walk side-by-side until Mingyu zoomed past them on the stairs. Seokmin and Joshua then exchanged glances with each other, equally trying to process how quickly Mingyu passed by them, before laughing softly.
“I guess he’s excited for the fireworks,” Seokmin joked, and Joshua chuckled.
“Definitely the fireworks.”
They fell into a comfortable silence for a few minutes, but Seokmin noticed the way that Joshua’s fingers occasionally pull on and fumbled with the fabric of his jacket’s sleeve. The gesture, Seokmin had long concluded after several observations throughout the years, was something that Joshua did when he was deep in thought and debating whether or not to say something.
But before Seokmin say anything, Joshua softly asked, “How are you and Soonyoung?”
Had Joshua asked him the same question in college, Seokmin would have felt the all too familiar and painful tug in his heart that happened whenever Soonyoung was mentioned. Soonyoung, who was both his best friend and greatest heartbreak. But time had proven to be a significant medicine because these days Seokmin could talk about and talk to Soonyoung just as comfortably as he did before feelings got caught in the mix of things.
“We had the talk a while back,” Seokmin admitted. “I confessed to him, he was taken aback. You know, the typical one-sided stuff. He felt bad, and I felt bad that he felt bad. It was just bad. But we’ve been trying our best to get back into the groove of our friendship.”
“It seems like you two are in a good place right now,” Joshua replied, and Seokmin nodded. “I’m glad.”
As the air between them grew silent once more, Seokmin felt it was his turn to feel some nervousness bubbling up in his chest. Without any regard to how abrupt his question was going to be, Seokmin blurted out, “Are you free anytime soon?”
Joshua raised his eyebrows in surprise at the sudden question before his facial expression relaxed into a fond smile. “I can always make time for you, remember?”
Seokmin did remember. Joshua was always there for him through the highs and lows of his college career and was always so patient with him when he cried over the same spilled milk. Joshua was his rock, his shoulder to lean on, his phone call away. And Seokmin was hit with the realization that the idealized image he had of Soonyoung that accumulated over the years, the artificial image that he fell in love with, was actually personified and very much alive through Joshua.
Seokmin smiled back at Joshua before he asked, “How does dinner tomorrow sound?”
“Not dinner and a movie?” Joshua teasingly asked.
Seokmin chuckled, feeling a bit silly for how warm he felt his cheeks were getting. “We can do dinner and a movie.”
Joshua smiled. “Then dinner and a movie it is.”
“The stars are pretty bright tonight, don’t you think?”
Wonwoo tore his gaze away from the sky and turned his head to the side to look at Mingyu, who did the same and returned the other’s gaze. The two of them were leaning over the railing and had their arms propped on top of the cold surface. Everyone else was scattered around the rooftop, talking and laughing and finding the best spot to watch the fireworks while Mingyu and Wonwoo were left in their own little world.
Bumping Wonwoo’s shoulder with his own, Mingyu replied, “Yeah, but your smile is brighter.”
“That reply made me throw up a bit.”
Mingyu laughed at the reply he got from Wonwoo, more than satisfied with the look of faux disgust that painted itself on Wonwoo’s face through narrowed eyebrows and a scrunched nose. Mingyu then adjusted his position so that his back was now leaning against the railing, and he pulled Wonwoo over to him by the hand. When Wonwoo was close enough, Mingyu let go of the other’s hand and moved on to loosely wrap his arms around Wonwoo’s lower back before planting a gentle kiss on Wonwoo’s forehead.
“I love you.”
If there was anything that Mingyu learned from all the years that he’s dated Wonwoo, it was that the amount of times that he said those three words will always be short of how much love he possesses in his heart for the older boy.
Wonwoo lifted his own hand to run his fingers through Mingyu’s soft hair as a small smile slowly but surely began to form on his lips. Mingyu returned the soft smile that Wonwoo directed at him, and his heart slowly but surely began to race with each passing second the longer they stared into each other’s eyes. It was crazy, Mingyu thought, how Wonwoo still managed to make him feel like the same lovestruck 18 year-old college student he was when their relationship first began to take off into something serious.
“I love you, too,” Wonwoo softly said, his voice rich in sincerity. “One decade later and that feeling has never changed.”
When midnight arrives, their relationship would be entering its eleventh year, and Mingyu would still be trying to figure out how his love had been continuously reciprocated by such a beautiful human being after all these years. Over the past decade, they’ve shared thousands of moments feeling like they were standing on top of the world together and as if nothing could defy their bliss. However, a relationship that was completely void of any problems was an impossible feat. Mingyu and Wonwoo would be lying if they said they never fought until they were yelling back and forth at each other, never gave each other the silent treatment, and never cried themselves to sleep in their own apartments after tensions became too overwhelming for them to be in the same place.
But Mingyu could say with certainty that there’s never been a moment where they felt like their relationship was done for. Mingyu believed that what made his relationship with Wonwoo so solid for the past ten years was their willingness to talk out their problems after letting off their steam. They didn’t always see eye-to-eye, but they always made the effort to understand the world through each other’s lenses. Their love for each other was never questioned, and Mingyu was positive that the relationship he had with Wonwoo was a part of his life that he wanted to hold onto forever.
“There’s one minute left until midnight!” Jihoon’s voice called out. The excited chatters only increased at this point, but all the sounds everyone was making still sounded very distant from where Mingyu and Wonwoo were standing.
“One minute until eleven years,” Mingyu happily noted to Wonwoo, who smiled.
“So what’s the midnight game plan?” Wonwoo jokingly asked. “Do I tell you I want to make out with you or do you ask me to be your boyfriend?”
Mingyu laughed at Wonwoo’s reference to the night they became official. For the longest time, Mingyu easily picked that night as his favorite holiday memory. But now he wasn’t so sure if that would continue to be the case because….
“Can I add a third option?”
Wonwoo tilted his head in slight confusion and curiosity.
10…..
“What is it?”
….9….
Mingyu moved his back away from the railing and stood up straight. His heart was pounding louder than it had ever been, but he still made the virtually fruitless effort to try looking calm and collected as he stepped to the side. Wonwoo turned his body to the right so that they were face-to-face once again.
….8...7….
Mingyu put a hand inside his coat pocket before pulling out a small leather box. When Wonwoo caught sight of the box, he immediately froze as he pieced together what was going on.
“Mingyu…”
…6…
Mingyu felt his hands start to sweat as he got down on one knee. When he looked up at Wonwoo, he could already see the tears forming at the corner of the older’s eyes, and it only made him feel his own tears coming.
....5….
“Jeon Wonwoo,” Mingyu’s breath was a bit shaky and he was getting more nervous by the second, but there was no turning back now, “I am so deeply in love with you, and with each passing day I only grow more and more certain about wanting to spend the rest of my life with you.”
....4….3….
“Around this time all those years ago, I asked you to be my boyfriend. But now I want to ask you something else.”
...2…..
Mingyu opened the box in his hand, revealing a diamond ring that sparkled like there was no tomorrow.
….1….
“Jeon Wonwoo, will you marry me?”
“Happy New Year!”
The sound of fireworks went off as flashes of gold and silver and every color in between illuminated the dark blue sky in breathtaking ways. Cheers filled the air as everyone made their way to greet one another for the start of a new year of opportunities and memories waiting to be created.
Jihoon was not quite fond of showing too much affection with his friends. In any other day, he would’ve probably despised being tackled into hugs after hugs, but the holidays were always an exception. As much as Jihoon avoided any affectionate gestures, not even he could resist getting into the spirit of the holidays. Everyone around him was so happy and so cheerful as they celebrated a spectrum of things, and it was contagious.
“Happy New Year, Jihoonie!” Soonyoung exclaimed as he pulled said person into a bone-crushing hug. Jihoon groaned in annoyance because the hug was lasting way longer than necessary, but it was easy to tell that he didn’t actually mind because he wasn’t letting go from the hug either. The latter observation made Soonyoung laugh.
“This tight hug is going to cut off my blood circulation if you keep going at it,” Jihoon said.
“At least you’ll die knowing you were loved,” Soonyoung cheekily reasons, and Jihoon lightheartedly scoffs.
When they pulled away from the hug, Soonyoung looked like he was about to say something until something behind Jihoon caught his attention.
“He said yes….” Soonyoung eventually muttered in awe, as if he was processing the sight in front of him out loud. When Soonyoung repeated his words, he was much louder and more thrilled. “He said yes, Jihoon!”
Jihoon was confused about what Soonyoung was talking about until he turned around. From the opposite side of the rooftop, he saw Mingyu slip a ring on Wonwoo’s finger before standing up to embrace Wonwoo, who could barely return the hug because he was sobbing maniacally into his hands at this point.
“Holy shit, he said yes,” Jihoon muttered with the same amount of awe that Soonyoung had the first time he pointed it out. When he snapped out of his daze, Jihoon was suddenly filled with some newfound energy. “Let’s get everything ready!”
At this point, everyone had caught onto what was going on, which Jihoon thought was the most amusing thing ever. Everyone had the obvious desire to just run up to the newly engaged couple and congratulate them for this special moment, but they knew that all they could do at the moment was freak out to themselves as they started to set up the rooftop.
Jihoon helped Soonyoung set up his laptop as Seungkwan and Seokmin prepared the projector. Seungcheol, Vernon, and Junhui worked together to put up the projector screen while Jeonghan, Joshua, and Minghao began to unfold some chairs in front of the screen. When Jihoon looked towards Mingyu and Wonwoo’s direction once again, he saw that the two of them were now smiling and talking with each other, though Mingyu continued to wipe Wonwoo’s tears away before they could fall any further down his cheeks.
Mingyu pulled Wonwoo for another hug, which Wonwoo could actually return this time around, and when the former glanced at Jihoon’s direction, he gave a small nod, careful to not make Wonwoo notice.
“They’re coming,” Jihoon informed everyone else at the same that Mingyu and Wonwoo started making their way to them.
Wonwoo was chatting happily with Mingyu, but he was cut off mid-sentence when he noticed all the new items set up in the area. Everyone was looking at Wonwoo in anticipation, and when Wonwoo turned to look at Mingyu in confusion, the latter only smiled and gestured for him to sit down on the front-most chair.
When Wonwoo sat down, Mingyu occupied the chair next to him while everyone else filled up the seats behind them. Jihoon stayed at the back with Soonyoung so that they can control the laptop and projector. A few seconds later, the projector was turned on and a video appeared on the screen.
A montage of over a decade’s worth of memories compiled by Soonyoung and Mingyu began to play, and a song that Jihoon had composed specifically for this special evening played in the background. Although everyone but Wonwoo knew that a special video was going to be played after Mingyu’s proposal, no one else but Jihoon, Soonyoung, and Mingyu knew what was actually going to be in the video beyond the congratulatory messages that they filmed at different times over the past two weeks.
The first couple of minutes of the video was centered around Mingyu and Wonwoo’s relationship over the years, which started with separate clips of them denying their crushes on each other to Soonyoung (the ever-interrogating cameraman) and ended with a clip of them talking from the mini-vlog that Mingyu filmed on the day that Wonwoo and he moved into their first apartment together. When those clips ended, the congratulatory messages began to play.
“Tonight may be a special time for Wonwoo and me, but I really can’t talk about my relationship with Wonwoo without you all being a part of the narrative,” Mingyu said in the clip following the last video message, which piqued the interest of those who didn’t take part in making the video. “All of you watching this video right now are my best friends and, as cheesy as it is to say it, I wouldn’t be the person I am today if it weren’t for you all being the greatest support systems I could ever ask for. Thank you for many years of friendship, and cheers to many more.”
The natural assumption was that the special video was going to be focused around Mingyu and Wonwoo’s relationship over the years, which was already great content by itself, so when clips that were not only of them began to play, surprised reactions ensued.
There was a video of Junhui’s first dance team performance in college, which included Jeonghan and Wonwoo obnoxiously cheering at the top of their lungs for him from the sidelines; a video of Vernon falling asleep in class with a gaping mouth as Seokmin happily flashed a thumbs up to the camera from the seat next to him; a video of Minghao waking up to everyone surprising him on the night of his birthday and subsequently getting iced by Soonyoung then by Mingyu; a video of Seungcheol and Jihoon competing with each other to see who can hit the highest note, with Seungcheol humorously struggling to reach the notes that Jihoon hit effortlessly; and many more timeless clips in between.
Jihoon watched as his friends expressed a spectrum of emotions throughout the video, from laughing so hard at some clips that some of them began wheezing for air to cooing at adorable moments and excitedly talking over the video when they recalled some memories from a given event. Jihoon loved seeing his friends like this, loved seeing them unafraid to express themselves in front of each other.
For over a decade, Jihoon had found his friends to be the greatest inspirations in both the music he produced and the life that he lived. Jihoon was an independent kid growing up. He didn’t mind being alone and liked to do things by himself. But the people he was with right now taught him a lot about the value that came with friendships that went beyond the surface of small talk and light conversations. They taught him that opening his heart up even the slightest bit to people who are willing to listen can be the most liberating feeling ever, and they constantly reminded him that he is not obligated to always have it together.
Life’s a rollercoaster with many highs and many lows, and Jihoon learned that he can enjoy the ride with others just as much as he does by himself.