Hoseok was conflicted when he went home that evening.

After showing Chris to the drive-in theatre, he then dropped her off at the hotel and being back in the car alone, he'd felt a strange emptiness overcome him.

On top of that, he was still trying to come to terms with the fact that Chris was already spoken for.

Or perhaps was it that he kept replaying her conversation in his head? And that he wanted so badly to tell her she didn't deserve any of that?

He wanted to tell her that no one should have to put up with someone who made them feel that way.

But he didn't know the full story. He couldn't just interfere in someone else's life when he didn't know the whole story.

"Good evening sweetheart," the voice instantly caused a smile to blossom across Hoseok's face as he turned toward it.

"Hey mom."

"You alright son? You don't normally close the shop up all day," she passed a plate across the table when he sat down.

"Oh yeah, I just wanted a break today. I hope you don't mind. I thought that since you kept harping on about how I need to rest up, it might do me some good."

"Of course, I just wanted to make sure you're okay," she got up out of the seat, leaning over to place a kiss to his forehead, "I'm going to head out for a bit and pick dad up. He was at the publishing company all day but said he feels a little too faint to drive."

"Is he okay?" Hoseok scrunched his eyebrows, walking his mother to the door, "Do you want me to go pick him up?"

"No, sweetheart, just have your dinner and head off to sleep, we'll be okay."

He didn't seem entirely convinced but shrugged anyway. "I'm gonna close the shop tomorrow as well, mom," he informed her, "I met a friend who's new to the town, and I'm showing her around."

"Oh thank goodness you told me," his mother gushed, "Kari was telling me she saw you in the Square this morning, but when I asked who with, she said she didn't know."

Hoseok rolled his eyes as she batted her eyelashes at him, "Kari said she's really pretty though," after a small pause, "Who is she?"

"The friend, mom," Hoseok deadpanned, "The friend who's new to- she's just a friend."

"You're going to close the shop for two days because of this 'just a friend?'"

"Mom!" he whined playfully, "Don't you have to pick dad up or something? I'm going to eat now, I'm hungry."

She chuckled after him, opening the front door, "Okay son, I'll see you tomorrow if I'm not back before you get to sleep, alright?"

"How long are you going to be?" he furrowed his eyebrows, "Why wouldn't you be here before I sleep?"

"Just in case," leaning forward, she went to kiss his forehead, and he couldn't stop himself from closing his eyes at the touch. "We love you, okay?"

"Mom?" he couldn't help but stare at her, confused, as she left.

We? Why would she say we love you?

Shaking his head as the door closed, he turned back to the kitchen bench.

Memories of the day filling him once again.

Memories of her.

That evening he planned how he was going to spend the next day—visiting a few more small stores and lunch at the diner again.

Looking down at his plate, he started to pick at his food.

Thrown back to earlier that day, he remembered when he had opened his eyes after getting drenched by the first water balloon she had thrown at him. The way her lips parted instantly, lifting to her ears and pushing her cheekbones up so high he was sure she wouldn't have been able to see. The strong laugh that left her then was enough to warm him up from his toes, forgetting that he was soaking wet.

With a sigh, he stuffed his first spoonful of rice into his mouth.

Was it wrong of him to be so worried? He barely knew her.

He didn't know what she had been talking about over the phone earlier. He didn't know anything, so why did he feel so concerned?

--

He hadn't seen his mother nor his father before he left that morning. He assumed they'd gotten home late the night before and left early.

Without much time to think, Hoseok scoffed down his breakfast before heading for the door.

He'd spent the entire evening trying to separate his thoughts from Chris. A mix of anger and confusion directed at himself for feeling the way he did.

But all that vanished that morning when he headed to pick her up. All that was replaced with excitement.

Throwing his jacket on, Hoseok jumped into the sedan and fastened his seat belt.

He agreed to pick her up from outside her hotel, and just as he was pulling up, he was surprised yet again by her attire.

A loose white blouse tucked into pale blue skinny jeans paired with brown wedges. And even that looked like designer on her.

Parking on the side of the road, he watched her stroll up to the door as she waved to him. The smile he wore couldn't be any less genuine. He knew he probably looked like an idiot, but he didn't know how else to act around her.

"Good morning!" she chimed as she sat in next to him, "How was your evening?"

The sun chose that exact moment to stream through the trees above, bouncing off her cheeks.

A new hue of gold. He never knew the one colour could have so many shades. And now his heart imprinted them all in itself. He was never going to forget.

Heaving a deep breath, he tried to think of an answer to her question.

"It was good, had the house to myself," he was driving again, "What about you?"

"It was normal," the voice trailed to the side, and Hosoek saw it was because she'd rolled the window down and was watching the trees pass by, "What's a night at the hotel without at least a dozen complaints?"

"That's so sad," he said, "You can't even rest."

"It's okay, though. I do love my job."

With that, he nodded and pursed his lips shut, eyes trained to the road.

"So," she turned to look at him, "Where are we going first?"

Hoseok then showed her around to a few small boutiques and dessert shops, and he couldn't have been more content when she seemed to like them.

Squealing about how they were 'a perfect match' for her hotel's image.

After collecting business card after business card, they arrived at Jimin's diner.

"Lunch here again?" she asked as they stood in front of it, amused.

"Honestly, this is the only good food the town has to offer."

"I wouldn't try refute that," she grinned as he opened the door for her, "You are the town's best tour guide after all."

"Exactly," Hoseok smiled to match her, taking a seat in the booth they were in the day before, "Today I recommend getting the double cheese, it's my favourite."

"You had the Hawaiian burger yesterday," she pointed out, "Don't think I forgot."

"Okay, it's my second favourite. If you don't like it, we can swap burgers, hmm?"

Nodding, she put the menu down, "Sounds good."

"Can never get enough of me, hyung," Jimin's voice approached them, and the pair turned to give him a small smile. "And you're here together," his eyes danced to his hyung, "again."

Hoseok tried to give him a look as if to say 'don't you dare' before Chris opened her mouth to speak.

"He really seems to love you."

"The food," he interrupted, nonchalantly, "I love the food he serves."

Jimin laughed, patting Hoseok on the head, "I love you too, hyung."

"Anyway," rolling his eyes, he looked to Chris, "Do you want any sides with your burger?"

After a quick scan of the menu, she shook her head.

"Okay, I'll get some fries with mine, Jimin."

When Jimin had left with their menus, Chris leaned her chin into her palm with her elbow resting on the table. The way her eyes watched Hoseok's features was enough to make his heart race.

Why was she looking at him like that?

"I think I'm starting to like it here," she finally spoke, making him breathe out in relief.

"Yeah?" he met her eyes, "How so?"

"I miss the city so much," she dropped her hands and leaned back in her seat, "But it's so nice to be somewhere like this for a change. It's strange," she dropped her eyes to the table, "I feel less... small."

"Small?" he grinned, and she heard it in his voice.

They hadn't even noticed when Jimin popped by to place their ordered on the table.

"Small," she nodded, smiling too and looking up again, "I feel like people actually care here, people actually want to be your friend."

"You didn't have friends in the city?" he laughed, "I'm sure you did."

"It was different. I don't know, seeing the way you interact with your friends here, I realised maybe I didn't actually have any."

And with one look at Hoseok's expression then, she realised she'd said too much.

Why was it so easy for her to let people in? She regretted oversharing every time she did it. She told herself she'd guard her heart and not let anyone break through.

But she did, time and time again.

"I'm sure you did, Chris, you're such a pleasure to be around."

Chris raised an eyebrow, smiling at him gratefully, sadly.

She'd wanted to continue, Well, you see, I think you're wrong. Not a single one of my 'friends' have checked up on me since I moved here.

But she didn't.

"So you grew up with Jimin? How did you two meet?"

He didn't want to change the subject. He wanted to make sure she was okay. But he didn't want to push her.

"His family and mine kinda forced us to be friends."

She giggled, "Forced?"

"I'm pretty sure I hated him as a seven-year-old, but now, he's alright."

"Tell me more," once she was done with her burger, she'd obliviously started to pick off fries from Hoseok's tray.

He didn't mind.

"I'll tell you about the whole lot, then," he started, slowly inching his plate closer to her so she could reach for the chips, "First, you've met Jimin. His mother and mine were best friends in high school. Actually, I'm sure they used to say they had another friend in their group, but I don't know who.

"Anyway, Jimin and I were forced to play together as kids, and we did not like that. But one day we discovered we had a shared love for dancing, and ever since then, our dynamic changed. We danced together, and at school, we hung out together often despite being in different grades. He's truly like a blood brother to me."

Hoseok noticed how her lips twitched, and he thought of changing the topic.

"But, man, did I hate school. Jimin was like class president every single year; he was such a kiss-up. And I had this other friend—his name's Namjoon—who loved school too. I always ended up spending more time in the dance studio than the classroom, and neither one of my friends cared," he faked a pout, "It got lonely."

Chris's cheekbones rose, eyes turning into crescents.

Finally.

"Hey, that's one thing we have in common," she said, "I hated school too."

Taking another chip, she tilted her head at the table, "You seemed like a misfit, though."

"Okay, okay," he held his arms up, "I was an amazing student."

Like that, their conversation dissolved into laughter.

And they both realised that they had each made a new friend.

--

"You never said you were taking me to the park too," Chris said as Hoseok parked his car on the grass.

"I didn't think I would, but what's a better way to end the summer day than eating ice cream watching a bunch of five-year-olds playing tag?"

She shook her head with a smile. They both unbuckled their seatbelts, Hoseok bouncing out and running around to the other side.

Opening her door for her, he waited for her to step out, "Little Hoseokie used to dominate these grounds."

She slipped her heels off, leaving them in the car and stepped into the grass barefoot, which surprised him.

"Oh, he did?"

A beam broke out on his face as she dug her toes into the ground. He could tell she was trying to hide how much she liked the feeling.

Leaning down, he slipped off his vans and placed them into his car, on the floor of the passenger seat next to her shoes.

"He did," nodding, he shut his door, "He was the king, and everyone else were his peasants. Little King Hoseokie was quite the magnificent ruler."

"I bet," they started to walk on the outskirts of the lawn toward the ice cream truck.

"What's your favourite ice cream flavour?"

"Chocolate," she stated like it was obvious, "Always chocolate."

"So one chocolate for you, and," he looked up at the menu, "Can I have mint chocolate, please?"

Chris gasped, "No."

"Huh?"

"You did not just order mint chocolate."

Rolling his eyes, he turned to her, "We are not arguing about this, mint chocolate is superior, and that's that."

"I don't think I can be friends with you anymore," she crossed her arms over her chest, "Nope."

She hadn't heard a reply from him then, and she slowly peered around to find that he was biting back a smile.

"What?"

"Friends. You said we're friends."

"Aren't we? I would have thought after all-"

"Yeah," he cut her off, "We are."

The worker finally leaned over the truck and handed them both their ice creams, and they thanked him. Hoseok's smile wouldn't leave his face as he watched her eyes grow when she tasted it.

She looked so happy.

She began to walk along with the greenery again; he jumped to her side. A silence followed them as they watched the families laughing around them, dogs running from their owners, school children huddled in circles telling secrets and threading daisies in each other's hair.

"I used to do that," she chuckled, gazing at the girls, "I made the prettiest flower crowns."

"No way," he gaped at her, "I always wanted to do that but never knew how to."

"Should I teach you?" she asked, as they reached a spot on the grass under a tree, "It's not too hard."

"Yes!" he exclaimed a little too enthusiastically and handed her his ice cream.

She furrowed her eyebrows, questioning his actions, but it became more evident as he pulled his jacket off and lay it down behind her as he sat.

Reaching for his ice cream, he patted the seat he'd made for her to sit down. "Teach me."

"I can't just sit on-"

"It's okay," he continued to pat the inside of his jacket, "I can wash it."

"I-"

He groaned, "Come on, I want to learn."

She finally sat down and began to teach him how to make the daisy necklaces of her middle school days.

And he failed miserably, for twenty minutes later she ended up with a simple crown while his had fallen apart five times.

His frown caused his bottom lip to stick out as he looked at her chain, "Why couldn't I make one? I did it just like you taught me."

Laughing, she placed hers on her head, facing him. "How does it look?"

He gulped.

Lovely. Stunning. Gorgeous.

God, she was beautiful.

Hoseok was losing his mind.

"Great," he coughed, looking back to the ground, "But I don't have one."

He thought she'd laugh, shake her head and turn away.

But instead, she picked one more daisy from the ground, stretched out her arm and hung it over his ear.

The mere touch of her skin against his sent his mind into chaos.

He really was going mad.

"That's better," she sent him a smile before twisting back to the vast park again, eyes landing on a nearby group of boys passing around a soccer ball.

Snapping back into reality, he inched away from her.

He needed to be careful.

She has a boyfriend.

"This is nice," she extended her legs in front of her and leaned back on her palms, "Thank you for bringing me here, I think I'll come more often."

"It's alright," he told her, "I love to come here, too."

They continued to watch the children as they played with each other, girls teasing others as they pushed them toward the boys. Giggling and running away.

"Hey, Chris," he broke the silence between them, putting his hand down when he finished his ice cream.

"Yeah?"

"I, uhm," he didn't want to overstep. He knew it wasn't his place.

But he knew he'd continue to beat himself up about it if he didn't at least try to help in any way he could.

"You said we were friends, right?"

"Mhm."

"Well I heard you talking on the phone yesterday," he began, his fingers starting to fiddle with themselves, "And you sounded really upset."

"Oh."

"I'm not saying you have to tell me anything!" he quickly added on, "I just want you to know that if you ever want to talk about it, I'm here. I think of you as a friend, too, and you seemed really distressed. Do you—uhm—do you want to talk about it?"

Pursing her lips together, she shook her head, "Thank you, though, Hoseok."

"That's okay," he winked at her, "I'm always here, okay?"

"Hoseok?" a voice spoke from his left, and he turned to see a friend running over.

"Kari!" he got up immediately, "Kari, hi, how are you?"

"I'm great, wow, I never thought I'd end up seeing you here," she wiggled her eyebrows at Chris as she stood up next to Hoseok, "Hi!"

"Hello," Chris smiled politely, "I'm Chris, Hoseok's friend."

"I'm Kari! I work down at the hospital with his mother."

"Ah, nice to meet you!"

Chris mentally facepalmed. Of course, his mother was a doctor.

"Oh!" Kari turned and reached into her handbag, "Actually, it's great that I found you here, Can you give this to your father? He left this at the hospital today."

"The hospital?" he asked, scrunching his eyebrows as he looked down at the identity card in her hand.

"Yeah, I guess he forgot to take it with him when he left this morning."

"Wait, wait, he was at the hospital? Why was he at the hospital?"

Kari shut her mouth, blinking up at him.

"Oh, he was just visiting your mother," she told him, "Because she was in quite early this morning."

He wasn't convinced as he took the card from her, "Are you sure?"

"Yeah," she waved it off, "I should get going, though, I'm meant to be cooking tonight."

"Okay, Kari, it was nice seeing you!"

"Nice meeting you, Chris," they said their farewells and the pair were left alone again. Hoseok slipped his hands into his pockets as Chris watched him.

"Are you alright, Hoseok?"

"Huh?"

Sending him a smile, she leaned down and picked up his jacket from the ground, "Let's get going. I can tell you want to go home and talk to your parents now."

Exhaling, "Is it that obvious?"

"Come on."

She directed their path back to his car, crossing her arms over her chest as she passed him his jacket.

"It's okay," he took it and draped it over her shoulders, "You're cold, use it."

"I couldn't-"

"Really, it's fine."

--

The ride back to the hotel was quiet, but neither seemed to mind.

Hoseok's mind was buzzing with questions. Why was his father at the hospital? Why didn't either one of them come home last night? Why did his mother leave so early in the morning? Why didn't they tell him anything?

And Chris let him think.

They finally arrived at the hotel, and she waved a quick goodbye, knowing he'd probably want to get home as soon as possible.

It hadn't been a minute since the amber wisps of his hair had zoomed past for her to realise she still had on his warm jacket.

"Hey son!" his mother's gentle voice filled him as he stepped inside his house, and the smile grew instinctively.

"Hey mom," his steps were taken with caution, however. He didn't really know how to approach this.

They never had secrets.

"Where's dad?"

"Here," a low voice popped out from behind the kitchen door as he walked toward his son, sitting at the dining table. "How was your day?"

"Mom, dad, I need to ask you something."

"Hmm? Are you okay, Hoseok?"

"I'm fine, I just-" he sighed, "Why were you at the hospital this morning, dad? Why did neither one of you come home last night?"

"Hoseok-"

"I'm just a little lost, is all. You said you were picking dad up from the publishers and then you were out all night. And then Kari said you left this at the hospital this morning," he handed him his identification card, "So, can you please tell me what's happening."

His parents exchanged glances.

And this only caused his heart rate to increase.

"Okay," his mother sat down, motioning to the other seat around the table, "I think you should sit down."

He didn't hesitate, although he felt tears start to prick at the back of his eyes.

Even though he didn't know what they were about to say.

"This isn't going to be easy to say, and I'm sorry it took us so long to tell you. We didn't know how."

Hoseok's mother looked to her husband, who reached out for his hand.

It was cold.

"Son, I'm sick."

He furrowed his eyebrows, "Like, a cold? Why would you need to go to the hospital for a cold?"

"Son, I have cancer."

hello! 

how have you guys been! sorry for the late update but exams are over now so hopefully i can get back to a proper schedule! 

how did you like that chapter?

also eek a little cameo uwu (iykyk)

i love you guys so much!! thank you for reading!