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Being the parent line of Seventeen, Joshua and Jeonghan have seen and experienced it all.
1.
“Stop playing with the toothpaste!” Joshua scolded the younger boys who were chasing after Seungcheol like a pack of wild animals. “Chan!”
Said boy stopped in his tracks and slowly turned his head, trying to prolong the scolding he knew he’d receive from his hyung.
“What is happening here?” Joshua demanded with his hands on his hips, his lips pulled into a thin line.
“Seungcheol’s holding the only tube of toothpaste we have hostage!” Chan whined and gestured over to where the elder was in fighting stance─something he learned in Taekwondo─with the aforementioned toothpaste in hand and a mint-colored toothbrush as his weapon.
“What…” Joshua swore he just aged five more years upon seeing the scene unfold.
“For Narnia!” Chan left the room and charged after Seungcheol who was cornered by Seokmin and Soonyoung while the other boys cheered them on.
“One day, I swear I’m gonna lose my sanity.”
“You’ve already lost it, Joshuji,” Jeonghan teased and pat his head in a sympathetic gesture.
Joshua rolled his eyes and looked expectantly over at his boyfriend. “They won’t listen to me. It’s your turn.”
Jeonghan dramatically cleared his throat. “Kids! The van’s leaving in one minute, so either book it or we’ll leave you here!”
The noise in the dorms instantly disappeared for a couple seconds, and all the other members whipped their heads towards the satisfied Jeonghan. Chaos grew once more as the younger members─and Seungcheol─raced around to finish preparing for the music show they would be attending.
“How?” Joshua was impressed─Jeonghan never failed to amaze him.
“Magic,” Jeonghan grinned at his younger boyfriend.
“Why would you tell them we’d leave them behind?”
“Whatever works, right?” Jeonghan shrugged and Joshua smacked him on the shoulder, a small smile playing on his lips.
In exactly one minute, all thirteen members were crowded into the van with no sight of their chauffeur.
Joshua and Jeonghan tried to conceal their laughter at the other members’ confusion.
“Where’s Mr. Lee?” Hansol questioned and the younger boys all turned to the parent line.
Seungkwan’s eyes widened when he realized the truth. “You lied, Hannie-hyung!”
The youngsters began to complain to the older member for deceiving them, to which Jeonghan only snickered in glee, completely ignoring their outbursts.
“Yah, calm down. He only said that so we wouldn’t be late.” Joshua defended his lover, shooting glares at whoever accused Jeonghan of his actions.
However, the other members were unfazed by Joshua’s glare and continued to shout over each other their complaints up until their chauffeur emerged into the van with a look of apprehension.
2.
The Qmentary with Brian.
“So let’s move on to the lyrics of the song Mansae,” Brian said.
The members turned their focus towards the host in anticipation. Jihoon could feel himself brimming with excitement. Having been a main composer of the song, this was his time to give insight into its meaning.
“In a dream every day, every day.” Brian then moaned the second part, “Ah ha, right?”
Joshua was unimpressed. He did not sign up for his children’s innocence to be tainted on a variety show. The older man wished he could have shielded their ears from the vulgar sound, but the younger members seemed to be entertained the host, rather than irritated. Of course youthful─and immature─people enjoy dirty jokes.
He could hear Jeonghan’s surprised gasp, followed by a short giggle. Joshua felt his heart begin to palpitate and quickly had to suppress the urge to kiss the older. After all, the public cannot have knowledge or speculation─outside of normal KPop ships─of their legitimate relationship.
Other than Chan, whose face lit up in shock at the host’s actions, and Hansol, who─bless his heart─was still trying to comprehend the joke, the rest of the younger members laughed away in happiness.
Joshua side-eyed Jeonghan, and when he found the coast was clear, he leaned in to press his lips close to the latter’s ear.
“You make me go ‘ah ha’ in my dreams,” Joshua whispered seductively, searching the man’s face for any sign of reaction to his innuendo.
“We’ll continue this at home,” Jeonghan answered quickly, a blush spreading across his cheeks as his pupils dilated.
Joshua always loved to get the older hot and bothered in subtle ways, especially under the watchful eye of their fans, and today was not an exception.
The rest of the interview with Brian went swimmingly in Jeonghan’s opinion, aside from the knowledge of his slightly growing arousal─something Joshua quickly took note of.
Jeonghan began to formulate a plan to punish the younger for his brazen actions for when they arrive back at the dorms. Denying Joshua of anything Jeonghan had to offer seemed to always bring the charming gentleman to his knees.
Jeonghan smirked down at his lap and when he raised his head, any trace of his sensual thoughts had left, replaced with his angelic persona.
3.
Why Seungkwan thought waking up Lee Jihoon─the most irritable in the mornings─with ‘Queen’ by Son Dam Bi would be a smart idea, no one would ever know.
“Oh ladies~!” Seungkwan yelled in a sing-song voice. “This is your story!”
He began the climb onto Jihoon’s blanketed body and continued with his obnoxious alarm to the older boy.
From another room, Jeonghan heard the beginning of Seungkwan’s good morning call to his beloved hyung and quickly left to grab Joshua.
When Joshua arrived on scene, he immediately sent a prayer up for Jihoon to exercise his patience as well as for Seungkwan’s well-being after the ordeal.
“Now wake up, wake up, wake up, wake wake up!” Seungkwan was just a bundle of joy─but it was too early for this. “Everyone, wake up! Spring is here~”
“Kwannie~” Joshua began in a sweet voice. “Please stop. You know how Jihoon is with his sleeping schedule.”
However, the younger boy disregarded Joshua’s voice in favor of continuing the song.
Jeonghan looked on with amusement. Normally Seungkwan listened to Joshua’s requests but today he was too busy in his own world. Oh well.
Jihoon shifted from underneath the covers when he felt a heavy body on top of him, constantly jabbing various parts of his body.
“Seungkwan, get off or so help me,” Jihoon grumbled.
“Wake up, wake up, wake─”
Jihoon snatched the phone blaring the song out of Seungkwan’s hand, turned the entire phone off, then threw the phone over his shoulder in an unknown direction so he could peacefully sleep once more.
Jeonghan was quick to catch the device before it smacked Seungkwan in the face. The younger looked up in shock. “Thanks, Hannie-hyung.”
“Next time maybe you should listen to Joshua, Seungkwan,” Jeonghan said with raised eyebrows.
“Sorry, Josh,” Seungkwan bowed his head in apology and sulked off. The older had never been keen on formalities with his dongsaengs.
Joshua caught the younger by his shoulders and gave a warm smile that made Seungkwan brighten back up again.
“Jihoon-ah,” Joshua called to the younger pretending to sleep underneath the covers.
Jihoon rolled over hesitantly. “Yes?”
“It’s time to wake up,” Jeonghan answered for him with a smile. “Breakfast is being served already. Apologize to Seungkwan while you’re at it.”
Sometimes Jihoon cursed the two being in a relationship. The two were a perfect duo─perfect boyfriends, perfect advisors to their dongsaengs, and sadly for the other members, perfect parents.
4.
For the part switch version of ‘Akkinda,’ the members traveled to Busan Gwangalli Beach. Filming the choreographed video was interesting since everyone thrived on pushing each other into the ground to steal their parts.
But the fun truly began once the filming ended, if you could call Mingyu and Wonwoo carrying the blissfully ignorant Chan off to his doom ‘fun.’
As the three boys neared the water, Jeonghan had an idea of what the older boys were plotting for their maknae.
“Yah! Put him down, guys,” Joshua cautioned. Apparently he knew as well.
“We’re only having fun, Josh,” Mingyu called out behind his shoulder, a mischievous smile planted on his and Wonwoo’s faces.
Jeonghan sighed and watched with mirth in his eyes while Joshua rubbed his temples in faux agony.
Mingyu and Wonwoo put Chan down after a few seconds. Then all ten of the boys began the chase.
Seungcheol was eventually the victor, carrying a squirming Chan in his arms.
Chan screamed in protest, a look of fear on his face, when Seungcheol kept walking closer to the waves. His sock-clad feet were flapping in the air as if he could will them to become wings.
The younger members were surrounding the two, spurring Seungcheol and his antics on.
“Cheol!” Jeonghan playfully scolded but it was too late.
The eldest instantly dumped Chan into the cold waters underneath him with a proud smile as the others erupted into laughter and a lot of joyful clapping.
Joshua and Jeonghan exchanged glances which translated to ‘If you can’t beat them, join them.’
Soon enough, Joshua pushed Jeonghan without warning into the ground and took off in the sand in the opposite direction, with Jeonghan close on his heels.
When Jeonghan was only a couple feet behind his boyfriend, he tackled Joshua and the two went down with a soft thud.
Joshua rolled Jeonghan over to switch their position, holding himself over the latter on his forearms.
“You’re so beautiful, Hannie,” Joshua stared deeply into Jeonghan’s eyes.
The older man gazed fondly up at Joshua and placed his hands that were covered in a layer of sand lovingly onto his cheeks.
Joshua’s eyes kept flicking from Jeonghan’s dark brown eyes to his soft, pale pink lips.
“Kiss me, Josh.” Jeonghan’s eyes pleaded with Joshua’s and for a minute, the two forgot the other members were on the beach as well.
Joshua lowered himself over his boyfriend’s body and was met with soft and supple faded pink lips.
No matter how many times the two engaged in the act, Jeonghan always felt like it was their first time all over again. Whenever Joshua and Jeonghan shared a passionate kiss, Jeonghan was brought back to that one special day in the green room years ago─not under surveillance, of course.
-
The young boys were singing “You and I, Fluttering” by Acoustic Collabo ft. Acourve, lost in their own little worlds.
Joshua was racking his brain for ideas to confess to Jeonghan, his best friend since the beginning of 17TV and his crush for a couple months now.
Meanwhile Jeonghan was preoccupied with worries for his future with Seventeen. He was afraid of them not being able to debut, after all they were still on hiatus. The boy also feared being dropped from the group. He would be leaving behind the strong brotherhood of Seventeen─not to mention his long-time crush and newly best friend, Joshua Hong.
Suddenly an idea popped up in Joshua’s head and his fingers moved over to the laptop, furiously typing the name of a song that would convey his feelings for him: “Just The Way You Are” by Bruno Mars. He hit ‘play’ and the music video began to roll.
Jeonghan intently watched the screen, interesting in the foreign language, and tried his best to follow along with the lyrics.
Only one problem. Jeonghan barely knows english.
“Joshua?” Jeonghan turned to glance at the nervous boy beside him.
“Yes, Jeonghan?” Joshua’s leg was shaking from the jitters.
“I can’t understand this,” Jeonghan shyly admitted and bit his lip.
How did Joshua forget his best friend wasn’t fluent in the language? Joshua internally scolded himself and forced his eyes up from the floor.
“Could you translate this for me?” When Jeonghan gazed at him with his adorable and big eyes, Joshua found he couldn’t say ‘no’ to the other’s request.
“S-Sure,” came Joshua’s stuttered response. Well here goes nothing…
Joshua restarted the entire song and continued to pause-translate-play the music video. Jeonghan was captivated by his best friend’s voice. There were voice cracks here and there, and some notes were slightly off, but the amount of emotion Joshua put in his singing was commendable─his voice was Jeonghan’s favorite.
By the time Joshua finished the last couple lyrics of the song, the atmosphere had shifted and both boys felt it.
When Joshua turned his head to the right, all he saw was an angel in the form of a shy, introverted, seventeen-year-old Korean boy with the softest face Joshua’s ever seen.
When Jeonghan turned his head to the left, all he saw was the object of his affection: a friendly ray of sunshine with the kindest eyes and a boyish-American charm.
Without warning, Joshua planted a quick─kind of sloppy─kiss on Jeonghan’s lips before he could chicken out. The older’s lips faintly tasted like the pizza they shared a while ago, but Joshua wasn’t complaining.
Jeonghan was taken aback. The kiss was too fast for him to respond back and he slowly touched his lips, shock displayed on his features.
“Did you just… kiss me?” Jeonghan’s wide eyes found Joshua’s shy ones.
Joshua regretted everything. The younger boy sullenly grabbed his guitar and stood up to leave the green room in embarrassment.
“No!” Jeonghan grabbed Joshua’s wrist before the boy could open the door and exit. “Why are you leaving?” The older frowned, afraid Joshua wanted to forget everything that just happened.
“Because you obviously don’t like me back,” Joshua replied. “And I got my hopes up for nothing. I mean, why would you like me anyway? I’m nothing important. I can’t spit rhymes like Seungcheol-hyung. My voice can barely carry a tune, unlike Jihoon. My dancing isn’t very well, whereas Soonyoung’s body easily flows to any beat. I─”
“You’re being too harsh on yourself, Shua,” Jeonghan shook his head.
“I’m only being truthful,” Joshua sighed. “You still haven’t denied disliking the kiss, which means you─”
Jeonghan tugged Joshua closer by his wrist─Joshua might have tripped over a chair─and reconnected their lips in another kiss. Yes, the boys’ noses might have been squished against each other’s, and yes, both pairs of eyes were open and staring awkwardly at each other─but ultimately it’s the thought that counts.
“I like you too, Joshua.” Jeonghan smiled brightly at the other boy and Joshua felt like he just won a stuffed animal from the infamously rigged claw crane arcade game.
5.
After filming for the “One Fine Day - Eat Broadcast,” Joshua and Jeonghan joined the other members for a quick vlive.
“Joshua, sing ‘Sunday Morning’,” Mingyu requested.
Excitement and anticipation bubbled up in Jeonghan─Joshua’s singing has matured over time, causing the younger’s voice to flow like honey into Jeonghan’s ears.
“Sunday morning, rain is falling~” Joshua sung in a euphonious tone.
“You’ve been doing that for years,” Minghao─nickname Thughao─cut in, teasing Joshua.
Jeonghan could see that Minghao’s words had gotten underneath Joshua’s skin though and felt bad when the others laughed. The younger Chinese boy meant no harm, but it had triggered Joshua’s insecurity regarding his feelings of importance to the group’s dynamic.
“You asked me to do that, so what’s wrong?” Joshua raised his voice and played off the minor hurt with a smile. Minghao enveloped his hyung in a small hug of reassurance that he was only joking, then left his side in favor of being near Junhui, the eldest Chinese member.
Jeonghan noted how the younger members often enjoyed giving Joshua a hard time─either because the man was extremely patient or quick to forgive. Although Jeonghan admired his boyfriend’s easy-going personality, sometimes the older wished Joshua would voice out his actual opinions whenever they struck a nerve in him.
“AaaAAAaaaaa~” Jeonghan whipped out his phone and demonstrated how to play the “Eighth Note” game. He could feel Joshua’s intense stare on the nape of his neck as he continued to essentially moan into the phone’s speaker.
The conversation quickly changed to Soonyoung explaining to the Carats about the time he heard strange noises coming from Jeonghan’s shared bedroom at night, which piqued Joshua’s interest.
“In the hotel, I kept on hearing him in the other room, like this,” Soonyoung then proceeded to imitate said noises─definitely moans of pleasure. “And I thought he must’ve had a bad nightmare.”
Joshua looked up at his innocent child, Soonyoung, and smiled in an all-knowing manner. When the younger glanced over at Jeonghan, the latter man wore a cheeky smile and mouthed ‘I was thinking about you’ with a suggestive wink.
Joshua cleared his throat and averted his eyes elsewhere. If he were to have looked at his boyfriend any longer, the man knew he would have pounced without a second thought─inappropriate to the viewers as well as his beloved children, and Seungcheol.
~
Present time.
There was chaos in the living room of the dorm─Seokmin and Seungkwan were having a sing-off; Hansol, Soonyoung, and Chan were arguing over something; Minghao was protesting Junhui’s excessive skinship. Jihoon had entered into the studio a while ago and Wonwoo avidly read novels whenever they were given a break, which meant Mingyu was the one chewing loudly on kettle cooked chips.
Joshua sat on his bed, inspecting the gold engagement band encased in the open velvet ring box.
Suddenly Joshua heard the bedroom door being opened─without notice─and he quickly hid the box into one of the drawers in the nightstand, under random items.
He looked up, and to his relief, it was Seungcheol that had walked in.
“Hey, Josh.” Seungcheol plopped himself down on the bed next to said man, curiosity in his eyes.
“I thought you were Han,” Joshua chuckled. “Actually, where is he?”
“Jeonghan left a few minutes ago to buy some last minute, but very much needed, groceries.”
“Needed, as in various meats and sweets?”
Seungcheol laughed. “The younger members were begging him and he finally caved.”
Typical Jeonghan. Joshua smiled at the thought of Jeonghan caring for the ten kids.
“What were you holding earlier?”
Joshua contemplated telling the elder of his plan. Then again, it’s not like he could trust any other member with it─especially not Jeonghan since he was unknowingly involved.
“Jeonghan’s engagement band.” A fond smile slowly spread over Joshua’s lips. “I’m thinking about proposing, Cheol.”
“Damn,” Seungcheol let out a low whistle when Joshua opened the ring box. “Jeonghan will definitely like that.”
“The ring or me proposing to him?”
“Probably both.”
“Probably?” Joshua felt his nerves begin to increase. He needed a solid answer from his close friend in order to feel confident enough to carry out the plan.
“Joshua, chill. You two have been dating for… how many years now?”
“Two years and eight months, go on.”
“Wow. Okay.” Seungcheol could tell Joshua meant business. “Obviously Jeonghan is in love with you as much as you are in him. I think you should propose.”
“How do idols propose under the radar though?” Joshua has really thought this through.
“I’ll alert our manager of the details so he can keep the proposal a private matter.”
Joshua contemplated telling their manager. He knew Jeonghan and him were together in a committed relationship, but Joshua couldn’t guarantee the man would take the news of his proposal well.
“Are you sure that’s safe?”
“Positive. As long as you two continue to remain active afterwards and hide the engagement band.”
“If you say so,” Joshua sounded slightly apprehensive, but he knew Seungcheol wouldn’t lie about something this big.
“When were you going to propose?” Seungcheol inquired.
“That’s the thing. I never have the time to pop the question. We’re either preparing for a music or variety show, or another vlive. Whenever we aren’t busy─which is rare─the younger members are around, which isn’t the best place to propose since─and I love them all─they’re such a rowdy bunch. I don’t know what to do, Cheol.”
“Hm… I have an idea.” Seungcheol’s eyes lit up in thought. Joshua turned to his elder with a quirked brow. “But first, what were you planning to do?”
Joshua searched the nightstand, and after a couple seconds procured his written list of ideas:
10 Ways to Get Him to Say “Yes”
“You’re really serious about this, Josh.” Seungcheol was impressed by his dongsaeng.
“Of course I am,” Joshua suppressed the urge to roll his eyes for stating the obvious.
Seungcheol scanned over the list and took a pen, beginning to cross out ideas.
“Number one is slightly distasteful since the lighting sucks.”
“Noted.”
“Number two is not intimate enough.”
“Okay.”
“Number three is extremely risky. Hiding the proposal from the members is easy, not so much the staff.”
“Shoot, you’re right.”
“I just don’t like number six.”
“Seriously, Cheol?”
“Sorry,” Seungcheol gave a cheeky smile, not sorry in the slightest. “Number seven is a little tacky.”
“What do you mean?”
“A slideshow. You’re using Google Slides to propose.”
Joshua sighed. “Anything else?”
“Number nine is highly disastrous. The kids would ruin it.”
“I don’t even know why I wrote that. I was probably desperate.”
“Obviously. Number ten is a no-no. Jeonghan with scissors?”
“What’s wrong with that?”
“He’d probably pop the balloon to use its helium and completely ignore the note.”
“… true.”
Both men scanned over the mostly crossed-out list.
1. Lure him into the green room from predebut era and propose there.
2. Write a letter and attach the velvet ring box.
3. Propose backstage at a concert in one of the dressing rooms.
4. Have a picnic at a secluded park and serenade him with a proposal song.
5. Cook Jeonghan his favorite meal and propose over dinner.
6. Record the proposal on a camera, give Jeonghan the camera, then pop the question after he watches the video.
7. Make a slideshow of pictures from predebut era to now of me and Jeonghan with the question at the end of the slide.
8. Record a song and give Jeonghan an aesthetically pleasing box with the flashdrive and the ring box inside.
9. Actually involve the eleven other members + manager and have them hold up letters: WILL YOU MARRY ME?
10. Inflate a balloon with a paper that has the question, give Jeonghan scissors, and walk away.
“That leaves four, five, and eight,” Seungcheol said. “Hopefully that helped a bit.”
“It did. Thanks,” Joshua smiled at the older man in relief. He finally knew what to do. “So what was your idea to keep the kids away when I propose?”
Seungcheol gave a mysterious grin. “Don’t worry, I’ll find a way.”
Joshua hated when the elder was like this, but he knew Seungcheol would have his back. “I’m counting on you, Seungcheol.”
“I won’t let you down. I promise.”
~
Jeonghan arrived back at the dorm carrying miscellaneous groceries─the aforementioned meats and sweets─with a grin on his face.
“The food’s here, you ungrateful children. Eat up!”
Jeonghan placed the groceries into their respective areas around the kitchen and quickly left before any of the younger members could infiltrate the room.
He spotted Joshua and Seungcheol lounging on the sofa, the former on his phone and the latter intently watching the television.
“Joshuji!” Jeonghan brightened up and joined the older members, plopping himself down next to Joshua.
The younger man smiled upon hearing his boyfriend’s voice and raised his head. “Hey Hannie.” He pecked the said man on his cheek. “Can I talk to you alone for a minute?”
“Yeah, sure.” Jeonghan took Joshua’s hand and led them to his shared bedroom with Seokmin, closing the door behind him. “What’s up?”
“There’s this secluded park I know of nearby, and I’d like to take you there the next time we’re on break. Would you like to go?”
Joshua patiently waited for Jeonghan’s response. “Oh,” Jeonghan’s eyes lit up. “Of course! I think next Thursday is free? And we could take the other members as well. I know the boys like being outside, compared to being cooped up─”
“Actually, I was thinking we could go together… alone?” Joshua gave a sheepish grin. “I’ll even take care of the food.”
“Ooh, my big and strong boyfriend’s gonna cook for me,” Jeonghan teased, patting Joshua’s toned chest. “Yes, I would love to go picnicking with you.”
There went Joshua’s palpitating heart again.
The two shared a soft, loving kiss before Joshua opened the door to see Junhui and Chan lingering suspiciously in the hallway.
“What are you guys doing?” Joshua’s eyes narrowed while Jeonghan looked amused.
“Nothing, hyung!” Junhui smiled. With that, the curious members rushed out of the hallway, murmuring something unintelligible to the elders.
Joshua had a bad feeling.
~
Thursday.
Joshua had ultimately decided to bring his beloved Jeonghan to Samcheong Park.
“Close your eyes, Hannie,” Joshua whispered sweetly into Jeonghan’s ear, standing behind the other to guide him to their destination by his hips.
The American boy stopped Jeonghan in the middle of the patio. “Don’t peak yet.”
“I won’t~” Jeonghan chuckled at the younger’s cuteness.
Joshua had hid his guitar in the area surrounding this specific patio the day before, and was thankful to find it in the exact same spot today.
After they arrived, the two boyfriends sat comfortably on the bench in an area far away from watchful eyes. True to his word, Joshua had packed a variety of Jeonghan’s favorite homemade snacks as well as a clear bottle of bokbunja wine.
“This is so fancy, Joshuji,” Jeonghan took in the tranquil scenery with fond eyes. “You’re such a romantic.”
Joshua blushed under the compliment and took out two thin wine glasses to pour the alcohol into. Once the younger man had arranged the food─along with plates and utensils─out onto a blanket on the ground, he excused himself and swiftly retreated to grab his trusty guitar.
Jeonghan was too preoccupied with the cream puffs to notice Joshua walking back. The velvet ring box rested heavily in his back pocket and Joshua gave himself a quick pep talk.
“Jeonghan,” Joshua called, gaining the man’s attention. Joshua was standing underneath the gazebo wearing his guitar and a nervous─yet adoring─expression.
Jeonghan moved from his position on the ground, sitting on the bench, and focused all his attention on the adorable younger boy.
“I’ve been wanting to ask you this for a long time now, but other plans kept getting in the way,” Joshua started. “I love you, Jeonghan. I’ve loved you for two years and eight months.”
Jeonghan giggled at that, mildly surprised Joshua was able to remember the exact amount of time they had been in a relationship. Joshua was so in love with the older, especially his little ‘Ha-ha-ha’ laugh─one of his all-time weaknesses.
Joshua gazed over at his Jeonghan and began to strum the starting melodies of a romantic song.
Back in the dorm a week ago, after Seungcheol left him to his own thoughts, Joshua had pulled out his phone to browse songs that would convey his heart’s desires to Jeonghan: He was going to serenade the older with his own acoustic cover of “Would U” by Red Velvet.
“When you keep looking at me, baby baby~” Joshua looked straight into Jeonghan’s eyes with tenderness.
Joshua’s soft voice carried through the air and the lyrics truly touched Jeonghan. The latter’s eyes were brimming with tears of happiness, of joy, of complete and utter love for the younger.
“I pray that it will happen today,” Joshua finished strumming the last chords on his guitar.
“That was beautiful, Joshua,” Jeonghan sighed in content.
Apparently Joshua wasn’t done just yet.
“Yoon Jeonghan.” Joshua began to walk closer and closer to said man, subtly pulling out the little velvet ring box. Jeonghan looked up in anticipation, his heart rapidly fluttering in his chest. “You have always been there for me, right from the start. With one small look, you instantly stole my heart. Your presence in my life repeatedly fills me with glee.”
Joshua then got down on one knee and slowly opened the velvet box, revealing the gold engagement ring which had the date they first met engraved on the inside.
“All I’m trying to ask is, will you marry me?”
Jeonghan felt elated and went breathless at the sight of the─highly expensive, where did he get the money for this?─beautiful ring. “Yes,” he mumbled then raised his head to gape at him. “Yes! Yes! I love you so much, Joshua Hong.”
Jeonghan immediately wrapped his arms around Joshua’s neck, pulling the younger into his chest in happiness. “My answer will always be ‘yes’,” he whispered lovingly into Joshua’s ear, who was so overwhelmed by everything that just happened in the span of five minutes. Jeonghan said yes.
Joshua Hong felt as if he had just won the lottery─no, scratch that. Why would he ever need to win the lottery if he had already won Jeonghan’s heart? The latter was the greatest gift of all in Joshua’s life.
~
When the now newly engaged couple arrived back at the dorms, the lights were all off and everything was silent─something the parent line only experiences at night, if they’re lucky.
“Seungcheol?” Jeonghan called out. Joshua took Jeonghan’s hand to safely guide him through the darkness of the living room. “Wonwoo? Hansol?”
Suddenly the lights flickered on and in front of the two startled men, their ten dongsaengs─and Seungcheol─appeared, all dressed in a gold party hat.
Seokmin, Seungkwan, and Soonyoung had party blowers and were obnoxiously hitting the other members with them.
Hansol and Wonwoo had a bottle of party bubbles each, which explained the constant stream of bubbles in the air.
Junhui, Minghao, and Jihoon had kazoos─bad idea in itself─and were blowing on them excessively solely to annoy their friends.
Mingyu was carrying Chan bridal style, and the youngest member released the string to the champagne bottle confetti popper upon seeing the newly fiancés enter the room.
When Joshua searched the room for Seungcheol, the older man was found next to a “Happy Birthday” banner, wearing a sheepish grin.
“Congratulations, hyungs!” The young members cheered.
Joshua was rendered speechless. He walked over to Seungcheol with a confusion written on his face. “I thought you were going to help me keep this from them?”
“Not at all,” Seungcheol answered in a playful lilt. “This was the plan all along. Surprise!”
“Why ‘happy birthday’ though?” Joshua thought out loud.
“To celebrate the birth of your’s and Jeonghan’s major step in the relationship…?” Seungcheol offered and the other members nodded their heads to confirm his words.
Jeonghan cleared his throat, which gained everyone’s attention, to ask the most important question. “But where’s the cake?”
The living room erupted in happiness and Jeonghan stared deeply into Joshua’s eyes before he connected their lips in a passionate kiss─completely shameless in front of the youngers. Joshua found he couldn’t care about their watchful eyes or their playful groans in agony. All that mattered was Jeonghan’s lips on his.
~
One year later: Their Wedding Day.
“Are you ready?” Seungcheol asked while making last minute adjustments to his close friend’s long and luscious hair.
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Jeonghan smiled back.
As Jeonghan walked down the rose petal-covered aisle, arm-in-arm with Seungcheol, as “You and Me” by Solji softly played through the speakers situated at the back of the room.
Joshua watched as his husband-to-be walked gracefully towards him with the most ecstatic smile the younger has ever seen on Jeonghan’s face. Joshua himself had to force back the tears of happiness─though some still slipped down his face.
Jeonghan joined Joshua at the altar where the rest of the members─and their manager─stood, smiling fondly at the couple.
As the two partook in reciting their sacred vows, the older of the two came to a realization.
This is exactly where Yoon Jeonghan was meant to be, in eternal matrimony with the man he was hopelessly in love with.
Meanwhile, the younger of the two could feel himself choking up at the sight of his angelic husband.
Loving Jeonghan was truly the best thing Joshua Hong has ever done in his life.