Flowers for you [SeungJin]

Chapter 31

A/N: 1K reads! Thank you so much dear readers. I also realised that yesterday was a month since the start because I have written a chapter per day. This chapter is quite short but I didn't want to force it to be longer. It's quite organic and cohesive and I'm quite proud of how it turned out. There are things I had been post-poning for about 4 chapters now because they just don't fit in the moment. I have you like the SeungJin reunion. Comments appreciated like always, even if just emoji!

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Hyunjin took the few days that the others were still away to reflect, think about all the harmful things in his life and how he behaves and essentially lick his wounds. He pinpointed his basic needs in life: love and care, friendships and belonging, respect and having a voice that was heard.

He will slowly work on them for himself and a small part of him still said for Seungmin too. So that he's proud of him but also so that he is proud of himself. He was shy but whenever something will happen that went against his needs, he was going to speak out.

The Kims saw a change in him. He was quieter than usual and kept to himself as he was often deep in thought. He danced, helped out and everything he had been doing before but his mind wasn't focused. He texted Seungmin but sporadically and they never had another call. He wasn't worried however; he knew that the other was giving him me-time.

He didn't even think about sex in those days. He realised that his libido was great, and he was proud to not be ashamed of it but he sometimes used it as a distraction and since it was one of the things that Seungmin could give him that was close to what he wanted, he sometimes abused it. He wanted connection but not necessarily in a sexual way or at least, not only.

He was therefore looking forward to that friend-date. Perhaps Seungmin also wanted them to connect at a more basic level. He was of course thrilled when he got the news that the others were coming back!

His moodiness receded like tide. He had had enough time to think and now he just wanted to see Seungmin again. Of course he still needed to think things through further but for now, he felt he had made enough progress in figuring out his life: past, present and future hopes.

Seungmin told him he didn't even need to tell his family he'll be back that day because they already knew from his behaviour. Hyunjin didn't even feel embarrassed. The other should know how much he cared for his presence.

The Kims really were great. They gave him his space, didn't pry or try to ambush him but made sure to check-in he was okay. Even when he was pensive, he tried to show his appreciation by cooking them nice meals and keeping their household clean. He taught Miya some easy, non-heat necessary recipes and taught her how to dust really well (she tended to only do the visible parts) so she could help her parents and he helped with her homework too (he was learning himself. What did kids learn these days?). The elder Kim taught him even more recipes and recommended him books which warmed his heart.

That day, they looked at him and asked him when he was going to leave to visit Seungmin.

"Or is perhaps our dear son gracing us with his presence? Since you've been here we saw him much more so thank you"

No 'if you're seeing each other today' in sight. He hadn't told them he planned to meet the other...but he did make it obvious he guessed. His phone was hot from touch because he was always grabbing and holding it to see if there were any new updates. He'll get distracted in conversations and start randomly smiling. And he dressed nicer then he normally did on a normal day.

He even enlisted Miya's help to braid his hair. It was a bit difficult to braid his own hair in small braids at the back of his head. Granted...her coordination skills were not the best and the elder Kims snickered once they saw him. He pouted but they did eventually help him once they had stopped laughing. It was a team effort.