Querencia

114

Eunjae idly slouched against the wall, scrolling through his phone. Nearby, the familiar voices of Jun, Minghao, and Hoshi were nitpicking over what seemed to be every dress-suit and formal wear that the store held. This was the third store, and Eunjae, and his wallet were growing very tired. While Jun complained about everything, he had bought three different ensembles so far, having taken multiple trips back to the borrowed car in order to avoid carrying them around. 

Hoshi narrowly beat him, having gotten four different ensembles, each of which he would no doubt change his mind on and return. That boy was quite literally on-and-off about just about everything. 

Minghao however, was a different story. Saying he was picky would be a cruel understatement. The mall, according to him, had it out for him and his unique style. They were being prejudice, he explained. He clearly didn't know what that actually meant, but he knew it sounded serious and that's what really mattered. 

After scouring the entire mall for formal wear, Minghao had seemingly given up, and Eunjae was ready for a much deserved cuddle session to make up for being dragged around for no good reason, evidently, due to Minghao's inability to enjoy any of the clothes at the "normie" stores. 

Instead, as they walked out to the parking lot, a car honked at them, and Minghao turned with excited eyes. "Wonwoo is gonna take me to some real, elite clothing botniq." His hands skillfully slipped into Eunjae's back pocket, and his wallet was gone before Eunjae could say a word.

Eunjae assumed that Minghao had meant boutique, but he said nothing, staring in surprise as Minghao pressed a kiss to his cheek and hopped into the car. Eunjae couldn't be sure, but he thought he saw Wonwoo wave from the backseat before they zipped off. 

Turning to Jun and Hoshi, Eunjae shrugged, "guess he's going then. What are we doing, then?" 

Hoshi shrugged, "Woozi and daddy are getting sushi. We can join them?" 

Eunjae sputtered at the use of the word daddy, turning to Jun with desperate eyes. Jun had no mercy, shrugging. "You know exactly who we mean. Case closed point proved." 

Rolling his eyes, Eunjae led the way back to the car that he had borrowed from his parents. Most kids at school had brought their parents shopping with them, so that they didn't have to pay - despite their allowances coming from their parents anyway. But Eunjae was not up for another awkward encounter with his parents now that they knew about Minghao. 

Eunjae's money usually came from working multiple part-time jobs at various restaurants and convenience stores, but since he had taken his last break with Minghao, his funds were lacking. With great shame, he had accepted some money for prom wear, although he likely would wear a simple black suit, mostly wanting the money to help pay for Minghao. The kid had expensive taste, he had learned very fast, but he was still committed to at least paying most of it. After all, Minghao wasn't as rich as most students at the school. Then again, neither was Eunjae. But he had enough, he thought, to at least rent something nice.

Eunjae quickly regretted going to eat with Woozi and Seungcheol, as the mixture of Jun and Woozi was too much for the simple boy to handle. They teased relentlessly, bringing up his past actions and gushing about how Minghao had completely brought him out of his "pathetic, pitiful shell". Adding onto that the pictures of potential outfits - and some joking in between ones - that Minghao sent him left Eunjae with red cheeks the whole meal. 

God he was in love.