SECRET LOVE/// SULAY

thirty-six.

(alternative ending for the readers who must have a happy ending (its actually just me being a softie and wanting to write a happy ending so that whatever is left of my soul doesn't die every time i look at this story but shh)💜)
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the next couple of weeks were probably the hardest days junmyeon ever had to go through. it seemed that every little thing made him cry.

when his mother told him she loved him?

sobs.

when sehun passed him a pencil in class one day?

sobs.

when coach wang allowed him to skip a game of dodgeball?

well, junmyeon had to go to the bathroom to sob, because there was no way in hell he was gonna cry in front of yixing.

still, not secretively seeing yixing proved to be a very good thing for his working situation- he was able to sleep at somewhat normal hours, since he now had a bunch of newfound free time to spend with his computers. he and sehun were just a tiny bit behind schedule since the homework load only got heavier as they went deeper into the school year, and junmyeon would've been content to spend his night working if sehun and luhan hadn't been so against it.

"oh come on, myeon, you gotta come to the championship game," luhan whined, "you gotta come cheer me on."

"but yixing's gonna be there," junmyeon said. he had been avoiding the elder- he'd hang out in the basement every friday night under the false pretense of working, when in reality he was just crying through some kdramas.

"just ignore him," sehun said, "come on, myeon, you know you'll have to see him sometime. besides, i can't leave you here alone, and i think luhan will refuse to play if i'm not there."

"why would i even bother going if my boyfriend won't be there to watch me tackle some guys?" luhan said. junmyeon sighed.

"you have to go, lu. they won't have enough players if you don't and will have to forfeit the game, and then the college scouts won't offer yixing a scholarship," junmyeon said without thinking, "ah, there i go again."

"exactly. they'll have to forfeit, and you couldn't allow that to happen, could you?" luhan asked, "i'll pack a bag for you. we seriously gotta get going, we're behind schedule as it is."

"alright, alright," junmyeon nodded, "i'll go. you win."

"yay!" luhan said happily, pulling a duffel bag out of nowhere, "cause i already packed for you. let's go."

"okay," junmyeon nodded, "let me change, though, cause i'm a mess right now."

"here," sehun said, throwing him some clothes.

"where the heck are you guys getting these things from?" junmyeon asked, beginning to change into the outfit sehun had tossed him. it was a school spirit cropped sweatshirt, along with some black skinny jeans.

"they had run out of normal ones, so i got you a cropped one," sehun explained, "sorry."

"it's fine," junmyeon shrugged, putting on his contacts, maroon vans, and then combing a brush through his hair quickly.

"you look better than ever. let's go," luhan said excitedly, already running up the basement stairs. sehun pulled junmyeon up them, the elder hardly having any time to grab his cell phone and headphones.

"bye mom!" junmyeon shouted as he was forcefully led out the door.

"bye, sweet children of mine! good luck, lu!"

"thanks!" luhan shouted back before they all left the house. they quickly got junmyeon into the backseat, luhan sitting in the passenger seat as sehun drove.

"i'm excited," luhan grinned, "myeon, play some chill music."

"i gotchu," junmyeon nodded, now feeling a bit more himself as he connected his phone to the bluetooth with ease.

"7UP IN MY RED CUP-" the three of them screeching out lyrics, junmyeon laughing at their voices. luhan and sehun shared a look.

it had been forever since junmyeon had laughed.

well, more like a few weeks, but both luhan and sehun were drama queens so it felt a lot longer in their eyes.

"we've got junk food it that bag over there," sehun told junmyeon, pointing to a bag besides him. he opened it, pulling out a bag of doritos. he opened it, and the three of them shared it happily. they rolled down the windows so the rental car wouldn't reek of chips. they jammed to music happily, junmyeon scrolling through songs upon songs to find ones that fit their mood.

the trip to busan was exactly what junmyeon needed to lift himself up out of his slump. it was fun, it was light, and not a single thing could bring him down from the joy the road trip had given to him.