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Seokmin walked into the hospital. He had used the past few days to calm himself down and try to get rid of his feelings for Joshua, whatever feelings he had anyways, because he knew Joshua would never feel the same.

He wasn't worth it anyways. He had too many issues to be Joshua's anything. He was broken and he didn't want to burden Joshua with his trauma.

"Seokmin?" Joshua called, squinting his eyes to get a better view. "It's you!" He exclaimed after confirming that the man who had just pulled open his curtains was indeed Seokmin.

Joshua got out of his bed, wrapping his hands around Seokmin. Seokmin stood, frozen in place as he felt and heard his heartbeat get faster and his cheeks flush.

Joshua's eyes opened as he realized what he was doing. Fuck. He was supposed to keep it business friendly. He slowly, awkwardly removed his hands from Seokmin, retreating to his bed.

"Umm..." Seokmin mumbled as Joshua cleared his throat. "How are you feeling? Are you doing okay?" He asked, his fingers fiddling away.

Joshua avoided eye contact, nodding as he scratched the back of his head. "Yeah. I am. Have a few pains all over but they're going away gradually."

Seokmin nodded, walking over to the stool beside the bed and sitting on it. "That's good. I'm glad you're okay."

Joshua smiled for a second before forcefully making it vanish from his face but not quick enough for Seokmin not to notice.

"Heard I almost died." Joshua said in a joking manner but Seokmin's mind flashed back to that day. That basement where he saw Joshua half dead on the floor, bleeding out violently.

"Seokmin?" Joshua called, waving his hand in front of Seokmin's face. Seokmin blinked, returning to the present as he looked at Joshua.

He chuckled dryly, "Yeah, you almost did."

It wasn't a joke to him. It could never be but he didn't want to ruin the moment or sadden the vibe. He didn't want to explain how his heard dropped when he saw Joshua on the floor, unconscious, he didn't want to explain how much he cried while bringing him to the hospital, how he lost hope which each passing moment.

How he had to give up and go home for Joshua's sake. He could never explain that because that would mean confessing his feelings.

"Are you okay?" Joshua asked, his tone cased in worry. His eyes remained on Seokmin and his eyebrows upturned, replacing his playfully expression with a more sincere one.

Seokmin looked at Joshua for a second before looking away, unable to handle the intense eye contact. "Yeah, I'm fine... thanks for asking."

He began to fiddle with his fingers but Joshua's hand landing on his made his body tense up and freeze. His eyes lifted up to Joshua's face and captured his features, his gentle, delicate features which softened under the light.

Joshua didn't even know the strong hold he had on Seokmin. He didn't know how Seokmin's stomach became eroded by butterflies whenever their bodies came in contact, he didn't know how hard it was for Seokmin to bury his feelings because he knew it would never work out.

Joshua's eyes roamed Seokmin's face, taking in the harsh, defined features of the man in front of him and yet he still looked angelic doing nothing.

Joshua gulped, swallowing his spit before he said, "Thank you for saving me."

Seokmin shook his head, refusing to take the honour as he retracted his hand. "It was Jihoon, not me... without him, who knows what Park Wonbin could have done."

Seokmin breathed out, remembering the scene like it had just happened, finding himself reliving it over and over in his head. "You were the one who rushed me to the hospital and you were the one who insisted in talking to me... if you didn't, I would be dead."

Seokmin's eyes came in contact with Joshua's, blinking as he pursed his lips and looked off into the distance, the weight of Seokmin's praise hitting him hard and getting heavier by the second.

"I heard you left... after you brought me to the hospital." Joshua's tone was solemn and Seokmin felt a bundle of guilt pile up on him.

"Why?" Joshua questioned, his words covered in a mix of curiosity, innocence and confusion.

Seokmin sighed as he rolled around on the stool, stopping once he faced Joshua again. "I just... I thought you wouldn't want me here."

Seokmin's reply made Joshua's eyebrows rise and the look in his eyes soften completely. He knew exactly why Seokmin thought that but he didn't know what to say or what to do to salvage the situation.

"I..." Joshua mumbled, his eye contact with Seokmin beginning to falter. "I do want you here, Seokmin. I... I need you here."

Seokmin felt his body warm up and fall into a puddle, his heart surged with joy as Joshua's words rang through his ear.

He wanted him to be here. He needed him.

It didn't matter if Joshua didn't want a romantic relationship with Seokmin, at least he wasn't avoiding him, not that he could here anyways.

Joshua's breathing got heavier as the genuine words escaped his mouth in a moment of vulnerability. He had wanted to stay away, avoid Seokmin as much as he can, kill the feelings but it wasn't possible.

Not when he'd woken up calling Seokmin's name, not when he'd waited impatiently for days for Seokmin to come around.

He still wanted to keep romance out of their relationship but he couldn't ignore Seokmin. Not when he looked so cute, not when he looked breathtaking even while doing nothing.

Not when-

Joshua's thoughts stopped. His heart did as well and his body iced. A strange feeling coating him as he felt hands around him... Seokmin's hands around him.

Suddenly, he felt so warm, he felt loved, he felt cared for. Recently, he hadn't really felt anything. Not for a while.

Seokmin's hug was more than comforting, it was safe, it was secure, it was real, it was trustworthy. In Seokmin's grip, Joshua was free.

Joshua's hands gradually wrapped around Seokmin, sliding down to his waist. The hug lasted for a few seconds as the two stayed in the solace of each other's hands, each other's bodies.

"Thank you." Seokmin whispered just before he let go and the two remained close, with a tiny, tempting gap between them. Joshua's eyes subconsciously fell to Seokmin's lips and Seokmin's eyes did the same.

"For?" Joshua asked, licking his lips, wetting them instantly.

Seokmin smiled a bit, moving his eyes away from Joshua's lips.

"For everything."

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"Have you packed everything?" Mingyu asked, standing by the trunk of the car as Hyein came out of her house with a few boxes.

She nodded, rolling the boxes down to the car and then carrying them into the trunk with the help of Mingyu.

As they placed the last box and closed the trunk, Mingyu noticed Hyein's hands shaking. His eyes moved up to her face, which he managed to catch a glimpse of before she moved forward, to the car door.

She was anxiously biting the inside of her lower lip. "Hyein." Mingyu called and Hyein turned to him, walking over.

"Are you okay? You know you can tell me if you aren't." He pushed a stray strand of her hair behind her ears and the simple gesture almost made her burst into tears but instead, her gaze fell to the floor.

She moved closer to Mingyu, resting her head just a bit below his chest. "I'm scared." She admitted, her voice shakey and unstable.

Wonwoo raised his head up, seeing Mingyu and Hyein from the mirror above. Was she okay? He didn't know how to deal with his own emotions talk less of others but he wanted to help.

After all, maybe one day, Hyein would be his daughter too.

Wonwoo got out of the car, closing the door silently to not disturb their bonding moment. He walked over to them and waited as Mingyu patted Hyein's hair while she cried.

"You're going to be fine. Wonwoo and I, we've been searching for days for a perfect place for you, a perfect foster care system, and we found a really good place." He tried to calm her down and diffuse her worries when he noticed Wonwoo and passed him a smile.

Wonwoo walked closer, patting Hyein on the back. "You know how meticulous and thorough I am, I wouldn't ever let you enter an orphanage not good enough for you."

"You know that we care about you a lot and we know that you're a strong girl, you're strong physically, emotionally and mentally, we know you're going to be okay, okay?"

Mingyu smiled as he watched Wonwoo console Hyein, once again falling in love with the man before him.

Hyein let go of Mingyu, turning around to Wonwoo. "And the adoption process has already begun, so you don't have to worry." He added and Hyein gave a sad smile before rushing to Wonwoo and giving him a big hug.

Wonwoo's hands raised immediately, his whole selt taken aback by Hyein's sudden affection towards him but he didn't take time to soften and hug her back, rubbing her back up and down in a calming manner.

Mingyu smiled even brighter before joining in on the hug and as he did so, he realized. This was the family he wanted.

After a few long seconds, they got into the car and started the drive. In about 25 minutes, they reached the orphanage which looked very presentable and put together, compared to the many others the couple had witnessed in the past few days.

Wonwoo unlocked the car doors and they all unbuckled their seatbelts, getting down from the car. They walked over the trunk which Wonwoo popped open and began to remove Hyein's boxes.

Once they were through, they walked in with her, each carrying two out of her four boxes and entered into the orphanage.

The process was quite speedy and she was given her room to stay in which was occupied by three other girls. She kept her bags with the help of the couple and finally, after talking to the owner of the orphanage, Hyein was ready to stay and Mingyu and Wonwoo were to leave.

"I'm going to miss you two." Hyein said, her voice watery and her eyes slightly red. Mingyu shook his head, although he was also tearing up. "Miss us? We're going to visit you everyday sweetheart."

Hyein's eyes widened. "Really?!"

Wonwoo nodded, raising his glasses to wipe his eyes, although he 'wasn't crying'.

"Yeah, except we're really busy then we'll call and make sure you know but we'll try our best to visit you everyday." He explained and Hyein hugged them again, her actions saying much more than she ever could.

She was so grateful and she would be forever grateful to them. The people that gave her a home. "Thank you." She said slowly, savouring each letter as she let them out of her mouth, attempting to show all her gratitude.

Mingyu and Wonwoo looked at each other before looking down at Hyein. "No, thank you, Thank you for surviving and thank you for trusting us."

As they wrapped up their goodbyes and Hyein went back into the orphanage, Mingyu and Wonwoo turned to leave.

Mingyu's fingers slipped through Wonwoo's holding his hand tightly. "I saw you crying." Mingyu whispered as if it was a big secret.

Wonwoo faced him with disbelief written on his face. "I wasn't crying." He shrugged before facing the stairs again. Mingyu smiled cheekily.

"You're pretty when you cry, you're pretty when you do anything." Mingyu kissed his cheek swiftly before pretending like he did nothing.

Wonwoo sighed, shaking his head, even though the smile on his face gave away his true emotions. "We're in public Mingyu, not on a date."

Mingyu's eyes widened at the mention of a date. He stopped walking which made Wonwoo stop walking too.

"What?" Wonwoo asked, noticing his expression.

"You promised me a date, remember? In the hospital!" Mingyu recalled, excitement coating his body as though he was a child.

Wonwoo nodded, his eyes falling to Mingyu's stomach. "Yeah... when you're fully healed."

Mingyu raised his shirt, subtly showing off his abs and his almost fully healed wound. Wonwoo looked away as a bright shade of pink crept unto his cheeks.

"I'm almost healed!" Mingyu exclaimed before looking at Wonwoo who was now blushing. "Are you blu-"

"Sure! We can go on a date tomorrow, after we visit Hyein." Wonwoo interjected and Mingyu's grin widened as he pulled Wonwoo in for a hug.

The words leaving his mouth so seamlessly once again while Wonwoo stood in shock, happiness and guilt.

"I love you, Jeon Wonwoo."

a/n - it's a lot of other couples rn but don't worry, from the next chapter, the focus returns to jeongcheol !

Ⓒ︎OHWAYOHWAYOH
𝕾𝖙𝖆𝖗𝖙𝖊𝖉 - 11/11/2024
𝕰𝖓𝖉𝖊𝖉 - N/A

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