"babyyy!"

jaemin turned around immediately, his cheeks brighter than ever.

had jeno just referred to him as 'baby' in front of nct's managers and the whole band?

"j-jeno...!" jaemin mumbled, trying to ignore the smirks that had appeared on the other's faces.

"what is it, beautiful?" the boy asked, embracing jaemin in a hug as the boys around stared at them.

"t-the others..." jaemin whispered. "and the managers!"

jeno lifted his head, looking at the other boys who were all smirking.

"is anyone bothered by the fact that jaemin is my boyfriend?!" he asked out loud, making jaemin gasp.

they all knew that homosexuality wasn't something very much appreciated in south korea.

and homosexuality between idols was an even bigger taboo.

"i am!" a voice exclaimed, making jaemin's blood run cold.

however, he calmed down when he saw an angry renjun walking towards them with his hair half brushed.

"jaemin is also my boyfriend, young boy. not only yours."

jeno chuckled, wrapping an arm around renjun's body to pull him into the hug.

"so... is anyone bothered by the fact that jaemin, renjun and i are a couple?" jeno asked again, making jaemin hit his chest.

"finally." donghyuck spoke. "never thought you would get together."

a few boys chuckled, indirectly telling the three boys that they hadn't any problem with their homosexuality.

"obviously, no one is against your love triangle, so please let renjun go back to his hair stylist. he looks like nothing." dream's manager said, his arms crossed on his chest.

renjun pouted, feeling hurt by the comment.

"stop pouting lovely, you look cute like that." jeno told, kissing renjun in front of everyone.

"renjun! let's go!"

the chinese male trotted away under his boyfriends' eyes as the rest of the boys concentrated on their previous activities.

tonight was a show night.

they would all perform together, singing, dancing and having fun in front of hundreds of fans.

it was their first show since jaemin's disease had been announced – at least the first he would participate in. the boy was a bit nervous, and that could be seen on his face.

"keep calm..." jeno mumbled, cupping jaemin's cheeks so that they looked into each other's eyes. "taeyong told you that if there was anything wrong while you were on stage you could stop. your fans know. they will understand."

jaemin nodded, his eyes never leaving jeno's.

he allowed himself to lean forward a light bit, making their lips brush.

"babe! it's your turn!"

the whole group turned heads towards the small male that had just entered the kind of waiting room nct was staying in.

jaemin and jeno has their brows furrowed as well.

"why are you looking at me like that?" ten raised a brow, not understanding what caused him to be the centre of attention.

"are you aware that you called someone 'babe'?" doyoung asked.

"of course, i am." ten shrugged.

"and- "

"sorry, you called me?"

the boys inside the room diverted their eyes towards another boy who seemed to recognize himself under babe's name.

"johnny?!" taeyong gasped, next to doyoung.

"where do i have to go?" the tall male asked ten.

"dressing room." the smaller replied with a smile.

"okay, i'll go. love you."

johnny bent down to kiss ten's lips before leaving the silent room.

needless to say, ten had all the attention on him.

"huh... can someone... explain?" taeil asked.

"johnny and i are a couple. and since you guys have no problems with the maknaes being together, i don't see why our relationship would be a problem." the thai male said, jumping on a couch.

"well, it isn't a problem, but how long has it been?" taeyong asked.

"around one year."

"ONE YEAR?!" doyoung exclaimed.

"what? we were scared of rejection. but now, we know it's alright." ten explained, winking at jeno and jaemin.

the newly boyfriends looked at each other with a smile.

surely, their declaration would make new couples reveal in the group...

💔

jaemin was on stage, dancing and singing his part in 'make a wish' with difficulty.

he was trying his best to stay conscious and not make his voice break while keeping a serious face on.

the end of the song was approaching, but jaemin was already exhausted.

his heart had been feeling a bit better thankfully, but it wasn't still fully healed.

plus, concerts were way harder for his poor little heart.

he gave everything he had for the performance, and he was nervous because of the public. si, this didn't help his condition.

jaemin was pushed out of the stage by lucas.

he hadn't even noticed the song has ended, and that it was time for their unit to leave the stage.

thankfully, lucas had helped him going backstage without stumbling too much.

as soon as jaemin was out of view for the public, he collapsed into strong arms.

"jaemin, breathe." jeno's voice said in his ear while he was being turned around.

renjun appeared in front of him, shaking an inhaler before placing it in jaemin's mouth.

"deep breaths, baby..." renjun told, activating the inhaler to make a rush of air enter jaemin's system.

he waited a few seconds before releasing a second puff, helping jaemin's heart to calm down.

"here." jeno said, kissing jaemin's nape.

jaemin smiled drunkenly, his heart still in a pretty bad state.

"thank... you..." he told. "i... love... both... of... you..."

renjun shut jaemin up with a peck on his lips.

"we love you too, jaemin. but don't talk now. make sure to catch your breath."

jaemin nodded, a big smile plastered on his face.

"i... love... you..." he repeated.

"we love you too, baby." jeno said. "with or without a breathless heart..."

💔 the end 💔

thank you so much to all of you for your love and support throughout the story! 

and thanks a lot to @JaneYuzon for the request! writing this book was really fun! hope you enjoyed it (:

love you all <3<3