Chapter Text
Seungcheol was well versed in being the designated sober friend.
He was well versed in having vomit on his shoes, in having a crying friend on his shoulder, of carrying someone to bed or to the waiting car.
He was a senior in high school with a rowdy group of 12 boys to look after, there was little that he didn’t know how to handle when it came to drunken adventures.
“Cheol please, just one.” Jeonghan pleaded, clinging to Seungcheol’s arm and looking at him with wide, innocent eyes.
Seungcheol smiled at the other, heart not swayed by his ministrations, “I’m sober tonight, Han, gotta look after the kids on your night off.”
“But it’s no fun if I can’t get drunk with you,” Jeonghan whined, looking at their entwined fingers and playing with some of Seungcheol’s rings, “We haven’t had a fun night together in such a long time.”
“I always have fun with you.” Seungcheol replied, mock offended.
“You know what I mean!” Jeonghan’s whine reached a new pitch and he swung Seungcheol’s arm a little in agitation. “Just one jello shot and I’ll leave you alone. Or better yet, we’ll share a jello shot, all intimate and close...”
Jeonghan trailed off, pushing lightly on Seungcheol’s chest in what Seungcheol assumed was supposed to be a teasing, flirty gesture. It only appeared amusing to the eldest.
Around them, the lights pulsed in a rainbow pattern and people milled around talking. Seungcheol could hear the cheers of king’s cup over the crowd, no doubt where the majority of their friends had ended up.
And the unfortunate part of the night was that Jeonghan was right . They hadn’t had a night out together since the start of the spring semester, nearly two months ago. They were both the most trusted and reliable sober friends, and most of the time neither of them felt comfortable letting the younger kids go out with them unless either Seungcheol or Jeonghan was the sober friend for the night.
Seungcheol had pulled the responsibility tonight. His house was empty the weekend anyways, so he volunteered it for anyone who couldn’t go home absolutely wasted, as most of them would be by the end of the night.
Across the room, Mingyu caught his eye and raised his cup in greeting. Mingyu had offered to be the other sober friend for the night, surprising nearly everyone. The boy had just recently gotten his driver’s license and was happy to be the other driver for the night so he could take care of Wonwoo, who had been wanting to have a night out for some time now.
Jeonghan tugged on Seungcheol’s arm incessantly. It was apparently his favorite spot for the night.
“Cheollie let’s go play with the others. I want to talk to Joshuji.” Jeonghan asked, already leading them out to the back porch, through the throngs of dancing teens, and past Mingyu, Wonwoo, and Jihoon who all greeted them with wide smiles.
Outside, Soonyoung was conducting King’s Cup, enacting some more ridiculous rules that they had made within their friend group when they got bored of the game. Most everyone else was out here either taking part or milling around by the jacuzzi and smoking. Jeonghan’s eyes lit up when he saw Jun with a blunt and beelined for the younger.
Joshua looked up from the game and cheered, “Cheol’s here!”
His proclamation was met with a round of cheers and an enthusiastic shout from Soonyoung, who rounded the table and took Seungcheol under his arm.
“Hyung you want to join, we’ll be winding down here soon and you can join next round.”
“Join this round,” Chan shouted from where he was sitting at the head of the table, “Take my spot hyung, I’ve been trying to get inside to dance for 15 minutes now and they’re not letting me.”
“You don’t leave this table until you’re properly drunk Lee Chan!” Soonyoung said, leaving Seungcheol’s side to go to their youngest and slap him a few times on the back, “The rules of the game.”
“That’s a bullshit rule but I agree,” Seungkwan chimed, before blanching and looking at Joshua in disbelief, “Oh my god I’m drunk. Did I just agree with him?”
Joshua nodded sagely at the younger.
“Oh god, oh god hyung what do I do?”
Joshua leaned away from where Seungkwan had begun clinging to him, “Calm down Kwannie, it’s not the end of the world.”
“Hyung,” Seungkwan lamented, “It is the end of the world hyung.”
“Can I leave?” Chan asked again.
“No!” Soonyoung gently whacked the younger on the head, “Quitters never prosper. I believe a wise Shua-hyung once said that.”
“I said spitters never prosper.” Joshua corrected.
“If anyone actually cares, the real quote is cheaters never prosper.” Seungcheol offered the obviously tipsy group of boys.
Joshua shrugged, “Don’t care. Spitters never prosper. Change my mind.”
Minghao spoke up for the first time, leaning across the table with a knowing smirk, “Oh I know exactly who would change your mind if only he would just-”
Joshua flicked a potato chip at the younger lazily, “I don’t change my beliefs for anyone, no matter how pretty they are.”
“‘Pretty… and Minnie he’s just so funny and caring, oh Minnie what should I do?’” Seokmin mocked in an overdramatic version of Joshua, “Minnie I just really like hi-”
Joshua threw a chip at Seokmin as well with an annoyed huff.
Chan stood from his chair, bracing his hands on the side of the table, “Can I please leave.”
Soonyoung shoved him back into his chair none too gently, “No. Now let’s continue. Coups-hyung no more interruptions.” He pointed an accusing finger at him.
Seungcheol held up his hands in surrender, “I’ve barely said ten words.”
“And yet they were enough to distract an entire table of boys.” Minghao quipped
Jeonghan had wandered over again, the smell of weed clinging to the sweater that he had borrowed from Jun.
“He just has that effect on people.” Jeonghan giggled slightly, taking up residence on Seungcheol’s arm once again, “Enticing, distracting.”
Jeonghan winked at Seungcheol, none too subtly. At the table, Joshua scoffed good naturedly.
“We get it Hannie, come sit with me I’ve been holding your drink for half an hour now.”
Jeonghan looked down at the drink he was holding and then at the one Joshua was holding up. He looked to Seungcheol, “When did I-
“I tried to stop you but you wouldn’t listen.”
Jeonghan nodded knowingly, “That sounds like me.”
“Well that’s because it was you.”
“Hannie!” Josh called again.
“Coming!” Jeonghan flounced over to the other and snatched the drink from his still raised arm, downing it quickly. His face screwed up in disgust and he quickly grabbed Joshua’s wine to rinse away the taste.
Seokmin whistled, “Jesus hyung, what was in that?”
“Gin and orange juice.” Jeonghan replied. He pulled an unused chair over beside Joshua and got comfortable leaning against the boy.
“Sippin on gin and juice~” Seungkwan sang under his breath, focused on stacking cheetos.
Seungcheol grimaced slightly, “Jeonghannie be careful about mixing alcohols.”
“Of course dearest!” Jeonghan called back, taking another long sip of Joshua’s wine, who just looked on in amusement.
Seungcheol rolled his eyes but moved to sit with his two best friends anyways, sitting on the arm of Jeonghan’s chair and watching the others play the game quietly.
“Who are the whores?” Jeonghan asked, his voice slightly louder than usual, no doubt due to the alcohol in his system.
Joshua leaned back and draped his arm over Jeonghan’s shoulders, “Don’t be stupid, we all know who the whores at this table are.”
Seungkwan raised his hand without looking up from his phone. Soonyoung also raised his hand shamelessly, winking at Chan when the younger scoffed.
Jeonghan sighed wistfully, “If I were playing I would volunteer to be a whore.”
“We know.” Minghao quipped at the same time Joshua said, “You don’t have to play to be a whore.”
Jeonghan laughed lightly, “You’re right. I can admit that easily.”
Seungcheol made a face and smacked at Joshua’s arm behind Jeonghan’s back. They all joked about Jeonghan and his affairs and for the most part Jeonghan never had a problem with it, he was even the one who started the jokes. None of them had a problem with Jeonghan and how he spent his time, the boy was proud of most of his hookups anyways and had no problem retelling all the details.
But Jeonghan had confessed to Seungcheol and Joshua over winter break that he wasn’t always comfortable with making light of his hookups. They had all gotten high together in Joshua’s apartment one night and amidst their light hearted talks and dazed ramblings, Jeonghan had confided in them in some of his scarier meetups, the drunken ones that hurt, the pushy ones, the ones that Jeonghan regret the second they were over.
He said joking about them was easier than getting real with the younger kids who looked up to him. And easier than admitting that he was wrong about the people he put trust into.
Joshua looked up at Seungcheol, clearly startled, before understanding dawned on him and he winced. He rubbed gently at Jeonghan’s neck in apology. The drunken boy didn’t notice and clearly didn’t care about the joking in this case.
At the table, Minghao slapped down a seven. All the boys erupted into loud “hallelujah”s as they raised their hands to the sky, a distracted Joshua being the last one to do so and needing to take a drink.
Jeonghan and Seungcheol watched on in companionable silence, occasionally breaking into conversation. As the game got down to the last few cards, Hansol and Jun wandered over, the end of a joint resting easily between the latter’s fingers. He raised it to his lips and took a long hit, smiling at Seungcheol as he pulled it back.
“Wanna hit Cheol? It’s from Ten, not laced or anything.”
“I’m good Junnie, gotta get these drunks home.” Seungcheol replied, actually sorry that he had to turn the younger down.
Jeonghan grabbed at the younger’s arm pointedly and Jun dipped gracefully, shotgunning with the elder. Seungcheol was comfortable enough to admit that the pair, lightly making out and exchanging the smoke, was attractive. Still, he felt something uncomfortable shift in his gut at the show.
At the end of last school year, Jeonghan and Junhui had been in some friends with benefits agreement, hooking up with each other to help Jun to get over his ex and to keep Jeonghan away from the sleazy boys that chased him. They had ended things halfway through the summer for reasons that they both seemed content with, but the rest of the boys were kept in the dark.
Across the table, Minghao caught sight of the show and quirked his eyebrow, moving his gaze to Seungcheol. Seungcheol tried for an easy smile but the younger merely gave him a knowing grin before returning his attention to the game, where Soonyoung was chugging his beer as Seungkwan shouted at him.
Jeonghan exhaled the smoke he kept in his lungs, playfully breathing some in Joshua’s face who grumbled and batted it away. He was used to Jeonghan’s antics by now.
Jun leaned close to Seungcheol, “He’s gonna be high off his ass in a few minutes.”
“I know,” Seungcheol grumbled, “Thanks for that, by the way.”
“Hey I was just giving hyung what he wanted. He said he wanted to let go for the night.” Jun defended himself. And really, Seungcheol didn’t blame him for any of it. Jeonghan wasn’t too hard to look after when high or drunk, nothing compared to Seokmin or Seungkwan. Plus, Jeonghan deserved a night to unwind, college acceptances were beginning to come out and they were taking a toll on the seniors. And Jun had always been careful with the older, watching out for him when they went out to party, just the two of them, giving him sweaters and jackets on cold days, giving him food when he forgot his own. He was not someone Seungcheol could ever get mad at, the younger was too caring for his own good.
“Take care of him, yeah? He gets clingy when he’s crossed.” Jun said, before moving to Minghao’s side and giving the younger the last of the weed.
Seungcheol looked down to where Jeonghan was basically on Joshua’s lap, who’s cheeks were tinging red as he began to move from tipsy to full on drunk.
“Look after him for a moment? I’m gonna find Mingyu,” Seungcheol leaned over and told Joshua, who gave him a quick thumbs up.
He got stopped twice as he moved inside. Jaehwan and Daniel wanted him to settle an argument about whether one of their teachers was a virgin or not, to which Seungcheol laughed and told them to ask Junhui instead, he seemed to know all of those things. Then, Nayeon and Kun pulled him into the dance floor for the end of a song before they got distracted by Winwin and Wonpil.
Finally, he found Mingyu laughing in the kitchen, still with Wonwoo and Jihoon. Changkyun was sat on the counter, Jacob leaning between his legs sipping on a drink. Eunbi and Wheein were sitting on the ground, leaning against the cabinets and flicking a sugar packet back and forth as they listened to Changkyun’s story.
“Mingyu.” Seungcheol called, jerking his head to get the younger to come over. Mingyu excused himself and meandered over. “When you wanna head out?”
Mingyu cocked his head and checked the time, which was already bordering one. Chances were, the party was going to get shut down soon anyways, especially with how loud they were.
“Oh. Oh wow.” Mingyu exclaimed, “Yeah I guess we should try to leave, how about another thirty minutes than we drag 'em out.”
Seungcheol nodded, “Sounds good, know who you’re in charge of?”
“Yes,” Mingyu drawled, “Soonyoung, Wonwoo, Minghao, and Seungkwan are in my car, taking them straight to your place.”
Seungcheol grinned and ruffled the younger, though admittedly much taller, boy’s hair. “Still wanna sleep over?”
“Yeah if it’s still okay with you.”
“Always. You know that.”
“Yeah yeah,” Mingyu waved him off, “Whatever you sap. Go back to look after the hoodlums out there, I got it covered in here.”
“Hoodlums,” Seungcheol chuckled, “You got the easy ones in here. Wanna trade?”
Mingyu started pushing him out of the kitchen and back to the living room-turned-dance floor, “No way, good luck hyung!”
Seungcheol lazily flipped him off and made his way back outside to the others, stopping to say hi to others along the way. Once outside, there was only around ten minutes until he would need to start rounding them up and making sure he had everything and they had all their correct shoes.
Seungcheol was kind of astounded by how many misplaced shoes they had had to deal with over the years.
“Cheol!” Joshua called.
King’s cup had finished and the cards were being picked up by a now clearly drunk Chan, the freshman rambling to a clearly high Hansol about some incident that had happened involving Soonyoung and a beach ball. Seungkwan was sitting on the edge of the table, having drawn a crowd around him as he recounted the infamous haunted house incident. Seokmin was seated next to him, helping fill details and give anecdotes when Seungkwan got ahead of himself.
Off to the side, the rest of their friends were seated on the pavement talking away with each other. Jeonghan was seated between Joshua’s legs, sitting up and talking animatedly with Soonyoung about their shared environmental science teacher.
“Oh I know they get high together in the janitor’s closet before school.” Jeonghan cried, throwing his hands up with so much force that he fell backwards into Joshua’s chest. Joshua grabbed his waist and steadied him, looking as though he had known that was going to happen.
“Bullshit.” Jun said.
“It’s true!” Jeonghan insisted.
“Bullshit!”
“ It’s true !” Jeonghan nearly yelled, a wide smile on his face not helping convince any of them that what he was saying was true. “What could I possibly gain from this!”
“Uh you tell us lies all the time when you have nothing to gain.” Minghao pointed out.
“I gain a good laugh knowing that I tricked you guys.”
“And you’re gaining a good laugh right now too.” Jun pointed out.
Jeonghan giggled and tried to hide his smile behind his hand, “That’s just because…” He waved vaguely around, “Y’know?”
Soonyoung scoffed and looked towards Joshua, “Hyung are you in on this? Do you two have some bet right now?”
A testament to how many times the pair had tricked the others over something like this.
Joshua put one hand up in surrender, “I have heard nothing about this before.”
Jun caught sight of Seungcheol hovering over their conversation and waved at him wildly
“Coups-hyung we’re over here!” The younger uselessly shouted towards him, clearly not grasping that Seungcheol was only a couple of feet away and had been clearly listening to their conversation, “Coups-hyung did you know that Mrs. Min and Jihoon get high together before school in the mornings?”
“Uh yeah?” Seungcheol said. Most seniors knew about the alumni’s scandalous morning meetings with Mrs. Min where they would smoke and eat doughnuts together. “I’ve known about it for months.”
Jeonghan jabbed his finger in Seungcheol’s direction with a triumphant smile, “See? See! I told you all.”
“Well how’d you find out?” Minghao asked, still skeptical about the whole thing.
Seungcheol knew that, as a good best friend, he should not tell the other’s that Jeonghan had told him. It would screw the younger over, whether it was a lie or not. If Jeonghan had been the one to tell him, then clearly it could be a lie.
But Seungcheol wasn’t in a hurry to lie to his dongsaengs so easily and would happily watch Jeonghan go down in flames over a stupid argument like this.
So, Seungcheol replied easily, “Jeonghan, of course.”
Jeonghan’s face fell, enough for Seungcheol to feel slightly bad for not helping him. Before Seungcheol could try to amend the situation, Mingyu was shouting out the door that they should get ready to leave, eliciting whines and grumbles from everyone. The others were standing up and stretching, grabbing jackets and collecting used cups and cans. Joshua pushed a wobbling Jeonghan in Seungcheol’s direction with a mumbled excuse of wanting to find some people to say goodbye to. Jeonghan easily transferred to Seungcheol’s side, latching on and dragging him inside to find Yuta and Johnny to say goodbye to. They met the others at the front door, where they were scrambling to get shoes on and any jackets they had hung up.
“Alright Chan those are your- no not those ones- no Chan you know- oh god just wait.” Seungcheol handed Jeonghan off to Soonyoung, who gratefully accepted his clingy hyung while Seungcheol went to help their youngest get his shoes on. “Put those back Hansol, they’re not yours! Okay Chan, left foot first, no left- left foot Chan . Jesus there’s only two options and you’ve gotten it wrong every time!”
“Your directions are confusing!” Chan protested, hands on Seungcheol’s shoulders as Seungcheol dipped down to guide his foot into his shoe.
“I said left, what is confusing about that?”
“The semantics!” Chan stressed, offering his other foot over for Seungcheol to help.
“Hyung, Jeonghannie-hyung is getting flirty!” Soonyoung called, giggling at Jeonghan’s attempts to flirt with him. Seungcheol glanced up to see Jeonghan leaning heavily on Soonyoung’s chest, peering up at the younger with a teasing grin, no doubt sprouting some outrageous pickup lines.
“Just- Hansol get back here your jacket is on inside out - just hand him over to Josh or Junnie if he’s making you uncomfortable.” Seungcheol called back, releasing Chan and grabbing Hansol by the back of his sweater and turning him around to put it on properly.
Soonyoung was now looking down at Jeonghan with wide, delighted eyes, “Nah don’t worry hyung, I’m kinda into this.”
“Soonie.” Seungcheol said warningly. “Okay you’re good to go, Sol - Soon I’m serious.”
Soonyoung had his hands around Jeonghan’s waist now, holding the older close as he whispered something in his ear that made the elder laugh loudly.
Soonyoung waved him off, “Yeah yeah, don’t touch Jeonghan, got it. Shua-hyung I have a present for you!”
Joshua, who had a drunk and sleepy Minghao under one arm and a drunk and dramatic Seungkwan under the other, was already shooing Soonyoung and Jeonghan away. “Uh uh, I’m drunk myself I can’t look after him too.”
Soonyoung shrugged and sent Seungcheol an apologetic smile, “Looks like I’m your only option hyunggie, I’ll be careful with him, promise.”
“Whatever, just keep your hands to yourself and make sure he does too, I don’t want you two doing something you’ll both regret in the morning.”
The very idea of Jeonghan and Soonyoung experimenting together made Seungcheol’s stomach tighten. They were an unlikely pair, but not unbelievable given how flirty Jeonghan was and how open and receptive Soonyoung was. Seungcheol made a note to watch out for them the rest of the night.
“Okay where’s… Mingyu!” Seungcheol called to the younger, who was herding Wonwoo and Jihoon out the door, Jun a step behind. The younger paused and looked at him expectantly. “You have your keys?”
Mingyu held them up with a grin.
Seungcheol nodded and began ushering the rest of the boys out the door, counting their heads as they went.
“Eleven, I’m twelve… Where’s…” Seungcheol took a quick glance at all the boys waiting on the steps, “Where’s Seokmin?”
He was met with clueless gazes and a few shrugs from those who actually processed what he said.
“Right.” Seungcheol turned back into the house and scanned the crowd of partygoers still milling around the dancefloor. There was Seokmin, waving his hands as he talked with Moonbin and Suyeon, right in the middle of the crowd of students. “Oh god, okay. Mingyu I gotta run back and get Minnie!”
“Hurry up it’s freezing!”
“Hyung I’m gonna be a popsicle soon!”
“Get me another drink?”
“Tell Seokminnie-hyung I say hi.”
Seungcheol ignored the chorus of drunken shouts and went back into the crowd, abducting Seokmin from his conversation and shouting an apology to the others for suddenly taking him.
“But hyung Moonbin was telling me about Jinwoo-”
“Minnie-”
“And how Jinwoo is like totally into their friend-”
“Minnie we have to go-”
“And he said it’s totally like you and -”
Seungcheol panicked and slapped a hand across Seokmin’s mouth with wide eyes. They had made it back to the front door, away from any curious ears, but the door was wide open and all their friends were milling about on the front lawn waiting for them.
“Minnie not here,” Seungcheol hissed, “I promise we can talk about this but just… not here… not with…”
Seungcheol waved vaguely towards their friends, who had caught sight of them and were yelling for them to hurry up.
Seokmin nodded in understanding, “Got it got it, sorry I just got excited. I had no idea that people outside of our group saw what we saw with you guys. I mean, you are pretty obvious so you’d have to be pretty oblivious to not see-”
“I get it Seokmin.”
“Right…Right, let’s go.”
Seungcheol’s home was modest and homely. His parents took pride in their friends and family, so photos were hung on every available wall space. They had lived there since before Seungcheol was born and the effect of their time there had taken its toll. The remnants of Seungcheol’s childhood could be seen on the stained carpets, the chipped tables and hastily repainted walls.
“I love this house,” Jeonghan sighed wistfully as he kicked off his shoes at the door. Of everyone, Jeonghan had spent by far the most time here. Seungcheol and Jeonghan had been friends since early elementary school and had had their fair share of days and nights spent at each other’s houses. Though, the majority of the time Jeonghan was the one harboring out at Seungcheol’s, and for good reason. His home had never been much of a home in the first place. It was intimidating and cold and Seungcheol was comfortable saying that he would much rather have Jeonghan over at his house than ever turn him away back to his own. Even now, Seungcheol could barely stomach the thought of Jeonghan returning to that house when the weekend was over. Someone so bright should not live somewhere so horrible.
Seungcheol patted Jeonghan’s back as he passed behind him, “I do too. Best one out there.”
Joshua hummed his agreement, helping a nearly asleep Minghao out of his shoes and jacket.
Joshua had moved to Korea in their last year of middle school to live with his aunt for a year. He fell in love with Korea and didn’t want to go back, so his parents enrolled him in an exchange program for the first year of high school as well. When that was over, Joshua pleaded to stay in Korea with his friends. It took the entire summer break and numerous trips back and forth between Los Angeles and Korea for his parents to finally agree to let him stay. A week before school started that year, Joshua and all their friends moved him into his late grandmother’s apartment. It had been left unoccupied and barely maintained for years, but Josh’s parents had, thankfully, been unwilling to give it up on the off chance they decided to move back.
Now, it was the meet up spot for their friend group, the safe haven for most of the boys.
By the time Seungcheol had locked all the doors and gotten some snacks and drinks for the others, they had already set up the living room to accommodate them. 8 people usually slept in the living room, with big couches and spare comforters. It was usually heavily contested over, as it was where the “activity” was, as Hansol put it. 3 people slept in Seungcheol’s room. Depending on who and what exactly they had been doing before going to bed, they usually all just squeezed into the bed and slept huddled close together. 2 were left in the guest bedroom, slightly smaller but the room that stayed the darkest in the morning so it was best for the ones who wanted to sleep in.
As Seunghceol entered the living room, drinks and snacks and some advils balanced on a tray, Jun passed by, heading down the hallway with Minghao on his back.
“We’re taking the guest room!” Jun called back to him.
“Okay, I’ll bring some water in for you two in a bit. Look after HaoHao, yeah? I haven’t seen him go this hard in awhile.”
Jun smiled and nodded, entering the room and kicking the door closed behind him.
In the living room, Jihoon and Mingyu were finishing off the last bed, closest to the large bay windows, where Wonwoo usually chose to sleep. Hansol was laying at the end of one of the couches, feet dangling over the arm as he played a game of Piano Tiles. Chan and Seungkwan were watching from where they were laying against the couch on the ground, singing the song a beat too quickly to try and mess Hansol up. Soonyoung and Seokmin were sat criss cross on the ground in a pile of blankets, leaning close as Soonyoung showed Seokmin something on his phone. Beside them, Jeonghan, Joshua, and Wonwoo were setting up New Girl on the TV, having a heated argument about which season to put on.
“Cheol, my man of good taste, which season of New Girl is the best?” Joshua asked, face entirely too serious for the conversation they were having.
“Season 5 kinda got my heart.” Seungcheol would normally never admit to that, but chances were his friends would not really remember it in the morning.
“A man of utter trash taste!” Shua cried, a hand going to cover his heart.
“Cheollie no! How could you!” Jeonghan whined, “That’s true betrayal right there. I now know what real heartbreak is.”
Wonwoo groaned and flopped back on to the ground, knocking his glasses askew, “Hyung seriously?”
“I didn’t know you guys would take this so seriously.”
“It’s New Girl! Of course we would take it seriously.”
Jeonghan nodded his head in disappointment, “I thought you knew us better than this.”
“Oh for fuck’s sake,” Seungcheol chuckled, grabbing the remote from Wonwoo and starting on whatever episode he had last had on, “There you go you drunkards, God why do I put up with you.”
Jeonghan and Joshua, predictably, trailed him to his room sometime later. Jihoon had passed out ten minutes into the first episode, head cushioned on Seungkwan’s thigh. Seungkwan and Chan were the next to succumb to sleep, Hansol draping a blanket over the pair - and Jihoon’s head by extent- when he saw their sleeping forms. Hansol fell asleep quickly after that, head lolling off the side of the couch which Mingyu fixed quickly. Wonwoo had dragged Mingyu to his favorite corner and the pair had drifted off together. When Seungcheol had got up to leave, Soonyoung and Seokmin were on the cusp of sleep, mumbling slurred goodnights as Seungcheol helped Jeonghan to his feet.
“You two wanna borrow something to sleep in?”
“Hoodie please.” Jeonghan replied. The boy was pulling back the covers on the bed as if it were his own. Honestly, with the amount of time he had spent in said bed, it basically was.
“Just a shirt works for me.” Joshua chimed as he stripped off his own sweater and jeans.
Seungcheol had known these replies were coming and tossed the requested clothing items as his friends said them. Jeonghan’s smacked him in the face as he turned too slowly and Joshua was able to snatch his from the air, his coordination coming back to him as the alcohol wore off. Chances were, Seungcheol wouldn’t be seeing his clothes for sometime, unless they were on his two best friends. The pair had a habit of stealing his clothes but Seungcheol didn’t mind, he never seemed to mind when it came to them.
“Who wants middle?” Joshua asked, sitting on the edge of the bed and pulling Jeonghan between his thighs.
“Cheollie should get it! Then we can cuddle him.” Jeonghan replied, voice quiet as he nuzzled his face into Joshua’s shoulder.
Seungcheol shrugged and turned away from his closet to plug his, already dead, phone in. “How could I possibly say no to that. You know the way to a man’s heart Hannie.”
“Through his hugs?” Josh asked incredulously.
“Through his penis .” Jeonghan corrected.
Joshua smacked the boy playfully.
Seungcheol shook his head knowingly, “Both. I think a healthy mixture of both, plus a nice ass.”
“Kwannie has a nice ass.” Jeonghan noted.
“The nicest.” Joshua confirmed.
Seungcheol moved to the bed and climbed to the middle, spreading his arms to welcome his best friends to cuddle. The pair basically threw themselves to him and got comfortable under each arm. “Will you two stop thirsting after our dongsaeng? He’s a freshman.”
“You can admire a person without wanting to fuck them Cheollie, god .”
“How conservative of you.”
Seungcheol sighed and let his head roll backwards and hit the bedframe with a soft thunk . “Why the hell do I put up with you two. I’m serious, why have I chosen to deal with this for so long.”
Jeonghan frowned mockingly, “Tragic for you.”
“For how much you’ve complained about us, you’ve never gone out and gotten better friends.” Joshua pointed out, tapping Seungcheol’s chest a couple times.
“It almost begs the question,” Jeonghan paused to yawn, “about whether you really hate it so much.”
They high fived over Seungcheol.
“Just, go to sleep you two.”
They fell into comfortable silence. Seungcheol wasn’t sure if they were still awake, or if one was but the other wasn’t, or if both were and they both thought he was asleep, but either way he was content as it was.
The three of them were used to this, this was familiar territory for them. They would go to the parties, 11th graders almost always tagging along, 10th graders coming a little less often, and the three freshmen only coming when they pleaded for weeks beforehand to be allowed along. They would distract themselves from the pressures of work, or family, or school, or life for a few meager hours. They would relax around their classmates, play stupid games with their friends, and almost always end up together in Seungcheol’s, and occaisonally Joshua’s, bed.
It was their routine since 10th grade, when Jeonghan’s then boyfriend began dragging them out to the upperclassmen parties, integrating the grades better.
Seungcheol had dated once in high school, a girl from a private school across town who he had met at a dance competition. They had dated for around three months before calling it off. They had treated each other more like friends than partners and after a while had agreed to just be friends. Joshua had had his fair shares of relationships, but he never invested much in them and ended them pretty quickly. He had confessed to Seungcheol that he mostly only dated people because he felt like he was supposed to, never because he had ever been really interested in the people.
Jeonghan was entirely different, and probably the most experienced of their entire friend group. He had tried dating in 9th and 10th grade, having a couple successful relationships before calling them off because “something just wasn’t there.” After a messy breakup at the end of 10th grade, Jeonghan had moved to exclusively hooking up with people, no relationships.
“Easier to protect your heart when you convince others you don’t have one, or whatever the fuck she said in that show.” Jeonghan had drunkenly spewed one night.
“What show?”
“That damn british one.”
“Cheol?” Joshua whispered into the dark a little later, startling Seungcheol from his thoughts. “You awake?”
“Yeah.” Seungcheol murmured back, “why?”
“Just bored. Hannie’s passed out.”
“Good, he can sleep off all that alcohol and weed.”
“He’s cute when he’s drunk. And high.”
“He’s cute.”
Joshua hummed in agreement, his hand slipping out of Seungcheol’s and moving to play idly with Jeonghan’s hair.
“What are you thinking about?” Joshua asked after a brief lapse of silence.
“Us. School. What comes next.”
Joshua groaned, “Why. Why would you want to think about that.”
Seungcheol shrugged as best he could with the two boys clinging to either side of him, “I just… It’s so close you know? Life is so close and I’m… not ready for it.”
He wasn’t ready to give them up. But it’s not like he could say that.
“I get it.” Joshua said, then quieter he murmured, “I get it and I wish I didn’t.”
They were quiet another few moments.
“Do you think we’ll stay friends?”
Seungcheol didn’t elaborate if he meant the entire group, or just the three of them, or even just the two of them. He was scared of what the answer would be.
“I don’t know. I like to think we will. But I just- our lives are taking us in different directions and I don’t wanna dream of something that will never be.” Joshua said.
Seungcheol shifted so he could see the younger better. “Dream? You dream about this?”
“Sometimes,” Joshua admitted, “Sometimes I let myself imagine what it would be like if we stayed close.”
Joshua was just as vague about who exactly he meant. Seungcheol didn’t ask.
“But life is scary. Unpredictable. So I don’t let myself hope.” Joshua finished firmally, eyes resolute on the ceiling.
“I wish I could be just a little more sure, a little more knowledgeable about what happens in life. Like I wish I could have a plan that would happen. I don’t like not knowing.” Seungcheol whispered, turning his eyes to the ceiling too.
“How boring,” Joenghan’s sleepy voice said, “I like uncertainty. I like not knowing. Everything is a possibility if you have no idea what’s coming.”
Joshua turned on his side so he could look directly at Jeonghan, “I think I’m a mix between you two. Like I know that there’s no way that I can plan for whatever life is gonna throw at me and that idea scares me and excites me.”
Jeonghan and Seungcheol both made noises of agreement.
“There. That’s how I feel!” Seungcheol said, “Shua, for someone who still forgets how to say ‘help me’ in Korean, you’re better at speaking it than I am.”
“I don’t forget, I just choose not to hear Boo when he says it.”
Seungcheol and Jeonghan burst into peals of laughter.
“Yeah yeah, laugh all you want,” Joshua grumbled, “You would be doing it too if he was always asking you for english pickup lines to use on Sollie.”
They fell into silence once again. Seungcheol let his head tip backwards again and returned his gaze to the ceiling. His fan was languidly spinning in circles, a small clicking noise emitting from it.
“What are we gonna do?” Jeonghan’s voice was soft, and slightly timid, as if he were scared to pierce the comfort that came with silence.
Joshua shifted to peer at Jeonghan, “With what?”
“Next year, our life, time.”
“If I knew, I would tell you.” Seungcheol answered.
“I think that time is just going to continue on, with or without us.”
Jeonghan hummed, “I don’t really wanna wake up in the morning.”
Seungcheol furrowed his eyebrows, “What’s wrong Hannie?”
“In the morning, I don’t get to lay here with you guys. I have to go out and face everything.”
Joshua laced his fingers with Jeonghan’s and laid them on Seungcheol’s stomach. “We can lay here as long as you want Han.”
“Then I choose a lifetime.”
“Why not just say forever?”
“Because,” Jeonghan paused and averted his gaze, “Because I don’t believe in forever.”
Light streamed through the blinds in distorted streams. Seungcheol rolled over with a groan, knocking his shoulder against Joshua’s head by accident. Josh whined and also rolled over, scooting closer to Seungcheol’s back and burying his head in his neck. On his otherside, Jeonghan was still comfortably sleeping, knees pulled up and face relaxed as he slept in Seungcheol’s arms.
Jeonghan had been right the night before. Seungcheol absolutely did not want to leave the bed.
By Jeonghan’s head, his phone was buzzing incessantly with text notifications, miraculously not waking the sleeping boy. Seungcheol groped around for a moment before grabbing the phone and checking the messages.
Two from Mingyu asking if they were awake and if they wanted breakfast, which had been three minutes ago. 5 from Soonyoung from the night before asking him for his opinion on a youtube video about a woman who raised ferrets for a living. And finally several missed texts and calls from Jeonghan’s parents.
They had a rocky relationship at best. Jeonghan was the youngest brother of three and had had a mostly normal childhood, as his brothers were always around to take care of him. They were much older, one was off and married in Busan and the other had kids in Incheon. His parents were rarely home, his mom was a creative director for an international company, so she was constantly on the go to meet with clients. His dad was home even less. He was a pilot on international flights and would be gone months at a time on work and training others.
“Hannie,” Seungcheol murmured, his voice deeper from sleep,” Han your parents are blowing up your phone.”
“Tell them to fuck off.” Jeonghan replied, scooting closer to Seungcheol.
“I’m not telling your parents to fuck off, no matter how much they deserve it.”
“Just ignore them then, my mom’s leaving tomorrow so it doesn’t matter anyways.”
Seungcheol obeyed and set the phone down, resuming his place between the two.
From behind him, Josh asked, “If she’s leaving tomorrow shouldn’t you reply?”
Jeonghan grumbled and flipped Joshua off, “If she needed me so badly she would stick around more often.”
“What if it’s an emergency?” He reasoned.
“If it was an emergency my brothers would be calling too. And they’re not.” Jeonghan took a steadying breath and propped himself on his elbows to look at the other two, “Please let it rest, we got in a fight on Thursday and I’m not trying to see her anytime soon.”
“Is that why you slept over on Thursday?” Josh asked, also getting onto his elbows.
“Yeah, you were in such a good mood because of the NYU admittance I didn’t want to ruin your mood with our petty fight.”
“Hannie,” Joshua leaned over to gently tap his best friend on the cheek, “Silly boy, always talk to me when you need to.”
“Uh me too,” Seungcheol chimed, “Just, ya know, for the record… talk to me if you need me.”
“I know I know, seriously guys don’t worry about it. It was a petty argument anyways.” Jeonghan soothed their worries with a quick wave of his hand. “Now that we’re up, I guess we need to make breakfast for the kids.”
“Mingyu texted you too,” Seungcheol said, “He’s making breakfast, we can stay here for another, like, fifteen minutes before absolutely needing to leave.”
“Thank god,” Josh flopped back, “I was not ready to face them, especially hungover.”
Jeonghan gave a thumbs up, “I am with you all the way, Shua.”
Seungcheol pulled them both closer, “I’ll get you two advil in a second, for now, just relax. We got time.”
Breakfast was spent lazily, everyone scattered around the kitchen and living room, talking and attempting to wake up. Saturdays were typically busy days for most of them, they had various clubs and sports and volunteering commitments, but this Saturday had been blissfully left open.
Jihoon was sitting at the kitchen counter on his phone when Seungcheol entered to clear his and Seokmin’s plates away.
“Did you see this?” Jihoon asked, turning his phone so Seungcheol could see the email.
It was an advertisement for a recording studio on the lower side of town. It was only $200 an hour.
Seungcheol grabbed the phone and brought it closer to his face, not quite believing the numbers, “Holy shit.”
He looked up to see Jihoon’s wide smile, “Well?”
“Shit Hoonie,” Seungcheol handed the phone back and ran his hand through his hair, “Fuck, that’s the cheapest by so much. Do you… Well is it… Could we do it?”
“Easily. Two hours is all we would need anyways.” Jihoon said.
“So?”
“So, I say we go and look at it, maybe later today or tomorrow. What do you think?”
“Yes! Hell yes!”
Seungcheol and Jihoon had worked together on music since Jihoon’s freshman year. They had been friends before, met through Soonyoung, but their shared torture of music theory had made them even closer. After a while, they began experimenting with soundboards together, and later moved on to making full songs, wrangling their friends in to sing for them.
They had dreamed of having a recording studio for so long, but all the studios in their area cost a fortune and barely made it worth it.
“How about tomorrow morning at 11?” Jihoon asked, pulling up the website on his phone.
“Perfect, sounds perfect.”
“And if we like it we can book it for sometime next week, maybe Thursday or Friday after school if they’re open.”
“God you have the sexiest mind.”
Jihoon gave him a perplexed look, “A what ?”
“I like the way you think Hoonie! A sexy brain for a sexy man.”
Jihoon shook his head in equal parts exasperation and amusement, “You’ve been spending too much time with Jeonghan-hyung.”
“You can never have too much time with me,” Jeonghan chimed as he came into the kitchen, hands full of dishes which he dumped into the sink. “Especially not Cheollie.”
Jihoon scoffed, “Oh trust me I know.”
Seungcheol hit him on the back of his head as Jeonghan smirked and took a much too smug sip of his coffee.
The day was spent pleasantly, if a little uneventful. They all lazed around Seungcheol’s house, putting on movies that no one could focus on, playing board games on the living room floor, engaging in a rather violent round of mafia that no doubt scarred Seungkwan.
Seungkwan, Hansol, and Chan all took the bus home together in the evening, their parents demanding them home. Soonyoung and Mingyu left together a bit after them, meeting up to get dinner with some friends they had. The rest of them had dinner together at Seungcheol’s, Joshua making them some traditional pasta dish that he had learned in Home Ec. Afterwards, Minghao and Seokmin left to watch a movie and Jihoon left for home. Wonwoo bid them goodnight a bit later, also returning home to do some weekend homework.
Around nine, Jun and Jeonghan began bustling around and gathering their things.
Joshua sat up from where he was reclining on one of the living room arm chairs, “Are you two leaving already?”
“Party.” Jun called back, “Seungcheollie-hyung do you still have that blue top that Soonie left here?”
“Lowest drawer on the left,” Seungcheol called back, “Let him know you’re taking it!”
Jun came into the living room with the top already on, giving them a quick spin, “I asked in the morning. How do I look?”
“Hot.”
“Good.”
Joshua and Seungcheol replied. Jun smiled and left once again, calling out, “Han, are you done with your makeup?”
Joshua turned to Seungcheol with wide eyes, “Did you know they were going out? Where are they going anyways? Do they have a ride or a place to stay?”
“Woah Shua, take a breath,” Seungcheol said, knowing the feeling of panicking for the pair all too well, “I had no idea they were going out but they’re responsible.”
Joshua looked unimpressed.
“Junnie always looks out for him, we need to trust them.”
Joshua nodded this time, albeit hesitantly. Seungcheol leaned around the couch and patted him on the shoulder. It wasn’t like there was anything they could do, Junhui and Jeonghan went to these parties nearly every weekend. Most of the time they were college parties, invited through old seniors or friends they’ve met through said parties. It was a stress reliever for them, and they knew how to handle themselves.
Still, Seungcheol couldn’t deny the queasy feeling he got everytime Jeonghan mentioned in passing that he would be going. Their local university wasn’t horrible, rather prestigious really, but it had a bad rep for sexual assault and cover ups. Seungcheol knew that the two were smart, they watched over each other diligently and rarely left the other’s side. But Seungcheol also knew that mistakes could happen.
Jeonghan strut into the room and gave them a twirl. His silk shirt was left open at the top, revealing smooth skin beneath. He had simple, but delicate makeup on that softened his features impossibly.
“Opinions?”
“If you weren’t leaving I would drag you back to Seungcheol’s room this second and give you the best nigh-”
Seungcheol cut Joshua off, “We get it Josh. We get it, trust me. Just- we all have that visual in our heads now so thank you for that.”
Jeonghan was bright red but smiling widely, “Time and place Joshuji, all yours.”
Josh snickered and nodded his approval, smile just as wide as Jeonghan’s. Jeonghan turned to Seungcheol.
“You look amazing Hannie. I think Josh covered it pretty well honestly. Like, really hot.”
Jeonghan’s smile turned smug and slightly teasing, “Oh really? You agree with Shua?”
“Hell yeah, I’d have to be blind not to.” Seungcheol said, his own cheeks heating up.
Joshua whistled, “Hot as hell Jeonghannie. Offer stands baby.”
Seungcheol’s stomach turned, but for a good reason this time. The idea of Josh and Jeonghan together in Seungcheol’s room did something to him. He had entertained the thought before but having them here, right in front of him, talking so freely about it made hope swell in his chest. And unfortunately somewhere else.
“Han-hyung we need to go!” Jun called, emerging with one of Seungcheol’s jean jackets in his hand, “Hyung can I-”
Seungcheol was already nodding, “Go for it.”
“Is Sungwoon-hyung here?” Jeonghan asked, grabbing Joshua’s jean jacket with a pointed look at the other who waved him off.
“Yeah he just texted.” Jun answered, taking his and Josh’s empty glasses to the kitchen while Jeonghan stuffed his stuff into his worn bag.
“And is Minhyuk gonna be there?”
“How would I know?” Jun bit back, reentering and positioning himself by the front door and whining, “Hyung!”
“Coming!” Jeonghan called, stuffing his backpack behind the seat that Josh was sitting in and ruffling the other’s head as he went, “Look after that, yeah? Junnie is Seulgi gonna be there?”
“I think so? Now hurry up.”
Jeonghan rushed past Seungcheol, backtracking quickly to give him a hug before running to the door and slipping on his shoes.
“Bye guys, have fun without me!” He said with a coy wink, following Junhui out the door before stopping and popping his head back in, “I’ll text you guys okay?”
“Have fun!”
“Be safe Hannie!”
Jeonghan gave them a thumbs up before slamming the door closed, his voice distantly shouting, “Woonie-hyung you ready for the time of your life!”
Joshua shook his head with a fond smile, “He’s something isn’t he.”
“He is,” Seungcheol replied, “And so are you.”
“Was I too forward?” Josh asked, nerves making his smile fade much too quickly for Seungcheol’s liking, “Do you think he thought I was being too pushy? Or like I only like him for his body or something like that?”
“What? No!” The thought of Joshua being too pushy was almost laughable. The boy was nothing if not courteous. “Josh seriously, did you see how he responded? He was just as into it, I promise.”
Joshua nodded, his eyes fixated somewhere else, “Good, good, I just… yeah.” He shook himself from his stupor and turned to Seungcheol with bright eyes. The eyes that made Seungcheol fall for him in the first place. “Movie? It’s my pick this time.”
“Does that rule apply if Jeonghan isn’t here?” Seungcheol asked, “Cause I don’t think it does.”
“Ridiculous, of course it does.” Josh got up and made his way onto the couch beside Seungcheol. Seungcheol smiled and wrapped an arm around the other’s, frankly huge, shoulders.
“What are we watching then? You know that means that next time Hannie gets to choose and he’s been dying to watch that weird ass movie.”
“Mulholland Drive?”
“Yeah that one!” Seungcheol shook his head, “Don’t get why he wants to watch it so bad.”
“C’mon Cheol, you should know this by now!” Joshua said, leaning back to look Seungcheol in the eye, “What is one of Hannie’s favorite TV shows.”
“Summer Heights High? Which I still don’t understand.”
“Because it’s fucking hilarious? But no, not that one, the other one.”
Seungcheol thought for a second. Jeonghan liked a lot of TV shows, or at least he always seemed fine with whatever shows the other kids put on. But there were only a few that he ever woke Seungcheol up at 4 in the morning to rant about.
“Twin Peaks!” Seungcheol almost yelled.
“Ding ding ding,” Joshua replied, somehow both teasing and proud, “And the director of Twin Peaks, one messed up dude named David Lynch, also directed Mulholland Drive.”
“Are you serious? That’s why he wants to watch it?”
Josh nodded and settled back on the couch, “That and I bribed him with lunch if he promised to choose it next time it was his turn.”
“You little-”
Seungcheol woke up sometime later to his phone buzzing on the coffee table. Josh was asleep on his shoulder, their second movie of the night, Finding Nemo, was still playing on the TV. Seungcheol groaned and stretched, moving Josh off his shoulder and onto the arm of the couch instead, draping the throw blanket on top of him.
His phone was still buzzing with an incoming call and he reached to answer, glancing briefly at the caller ID. His heart stuttered when he saw Jun’s name, suddenly feeling much more alert than before.
“Jun? What’s wrong? Are you okay? Do-”
“Hyung!” Jun’s voice came through Seungcheol’s phone loud and panicked, “Hyung I need your help you need to come get us! It’s an emergency!”
“Jun what happened?” Seungcheol asked, trying to keep his voice level as his heartbeat became rapid.
“Hyung I’m serious we need you here like, right now. Can you come get us?”
“Of course I can! But what’s wrong?”
“We need help! Bring Joshua-hyung too!” Jun sounded more panicked, nearly on the verge of tears. Seungcheol was unsure if he had ever heard the younger sound so distraught.
“Send the address.” Seungcheol said. He leaned over and shook Joshua awake, who grumbled and batted his hand away.
“I already sent it. Hyung it’s- please we need help.” And now Seungcheol was sure Jun was crying, his voice breaking at the end of his sentence. “He needs help.”
“Josh, I'm serious, get up.” Seungcheol’s voice sounded stern and mean even to his own ears.
Josh shot up, eyes still closed. “I’m up.”
“Hurry hyung. Oh god please hurry.”
The line cut.