𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗱 𝗖𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗮𝘆 // Jihan

forty-six

"Thank you for coming, Cheol! We look forward to having you and your family visit again next time. Joshua, please accompany Cheol home, I don't want him to be at risk of being kidnapped."

"But Mom, how will I get back then? I can't go!"

"You have a car! You can take him in your car!" Seungcheol smiled and promptly got into the car without hesitation.

Joshua was genuinely worried about Jeonghan. How could he leave him alone in his room? What if his parents discovered him there?

He needed to expedite this. Joshua got into the car and drove faster than before.

"What are you doing, Josh? Why are you driving so fast? Are you angry with me?" Seungcheol asked, a bit concerned.

"Everything's alright! I'm just driving faster because I left my window open in my room! It's going to be freezing in there... How will I sleep?" He sighed.

"If you want, you can stay at my place! You have plenty of clothes there, and your parents always agree to it!"

"I want to spend time with my parents today! I haven't been spending much time with them lately."

"Oh, I understand." the older boy said. Something was off. Joshua had never declined this offer before. What was happening today?

The boys arrived, and Seungcheol got out of the car, waving to Joshua.

"See you next time, Josh~~" He smiled and waved again.

"Okay...bye." Joshua turned the car around and drove back to his house. He quickly called Jeonghan with his phone. Since when did he have his number?

"Hello?" Jeonghan whispered.

"It's me, Jeonghan. I had to leave to drive Cheol back home. Please hide, as my parents might find you! If they do, what should we say?" Joshua sounded panicked.

"Okay...how did you get my number?" Jeonghan asked.

"I'll explain once I arrive." Joshua said, hanging up.

After a few minutes, he finally arrived. He entered the house and saw that all the lights were off.

"My parents are probably asleep." he thought.

He went upstairs quietly. Sounds were coming from his room. What the heck? What was Jeonghan doing?

Joshua went to his room and shouted.

"Jeonghan, what the heck did I tell you? I said stay quiet! What are you doing now?" His jaw dropped.

Jeonghan was sitting on the bed, with two people beside him. He was in the center.

"Joshua, do you have anything to say?" Dad asked, giving the boy a stern look.

"Dad- how did you even find him?!" Joshua panicked.

"I heard voices coming from this room. I was confused because you weren't home, so I decided to check. Jeonghan was here trying to find a hiding spot. Now explain why he's in our house."

"Listen, it's not what you think. Jeonghan lost his keys and had nowhere to sleep. I thought you wouldn't like this, so I tried to hide it." Joshua explained, looking down.

"Since when are you two friends again?" Dad asked once again, appearing quite angry.

"We're not! I just helped him! He's still a stranger to me."

"Stop lying, we're friends!" Jeonghan said.

Now what? Who was telling the truth? Nobody. Why did he even say that then?

"See? Why are you lying to me? Listen, I don't want you to hang out with this boy anymore! I'll never forgive him for what he did! I don't want you to suffer again."

"Can we please talk about this tomorrow? I'm very tired because I had a busy day." Joshua requested.

"Let's leave them alone. We can discuss this tomorrow." Mom suggested as she got up.

"Who said I would leave both of them alone? Jeonghan can't stay in this house!" Dad declared, directing his gaze at Joshua.

"Don't tell me you're kicking him out onto the street! Let him stay here just this once! It's not a big deal!"

"He'll call his brother and have him come here to pick him up."

"My brother is already staying at someone else's place... Please, just let me stay here! I promise this is the last time!" Jeonghan pleaded.

"Fine." Dad agreed, and then he left the room without saying goodnight to anyone.

"Sorry for his behavior... He's always been like this..." Mom said, hugging Jeonghan.

"It's okay, ma'am! I understand him! You should go and rest, Mrs. Hong!" He smiled.

"Okay...goodnight, Josh! Goodnight, Jeonghan!" She said, closing the door.

Once she did, Joshua pushed Jeonghan on the bed and went on the top of him.

"What did I tell you?" Joshua asked, his breath heavy.

"What are you doing? Leave me alone! It wasn't my fault!" Jeonghan protested, covering his face.

"Take your hands off! I want to see you!"

"Fine."

"It's your fault! You should've been quiet!" Joshua said, leaning in to kiss Jeonghan's lips.

"I am too young to do that! Stop it!" He panicked.

"You're too young to kiss? We've already done this a few times! You always kissed me with tongue...and now you're telling me you're too young?" A smirk played on his lips.

"No, I didn't mean that. You're driving me crazy! Please, just leave me alone!" Jeonghan blushed even harder.

"Am I? That's good to know. Luck is on your side today." He got out of bed and turned off the lights.

"Good night." Jeonghan said, pulling the entire blanket over himself.

"You're telling me you forgot we're in a relationship? Come here!" Joshua leaned closer and embraced the older boy. "Can we cuddle?"

"Why are you so focused on physical touch?"

"Just answer my question."

"Fine. Let's cuddle."

After a few moments, the boys fell asleep. The thing is... What if Dad sees them like this in the morning?

There will be such a mess. Clueless.

***