𝐒𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐭│𝐒𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐚𝐮 ✓

74

Odera

Frankly, Jeonghan didn't know how to feel. Minghao had only gotten to taking the four boys to the club as Jeonghan tried to process the information, the double life he lead for years was uncovered and he couldn't even attempt to explain himself or say he was sorry.

"Jeonghan you've got to understand they don't hold it against you they-"

"Of course they don't Minghao, they're all fucking saints and you know it but it doesn't mean it was fair of me to do it."

"They just wanted closure, I didn't know how much you'd worked to keep them away from it but really it was for the best." Minghao tried to reason.

Jeonghan couldn't be mad at him, he hadn't done anything wrong but it didn't make him feel any better about it. "Han you just went to a club a few times, there's nothing really that crazy about it,"

"I know I just-" He huffed, "Joshua was always so kind to me, he was probably so hurt by that since we shared everything together."

"I'd be pretty crushed too if the person I was going to ask to be my boyfriend wasn't exactly how I thought he was either, you can't blame him." Minghao tried to explain it logically, forgetting one key detail.

"Wait what? The person who what? That doesn't make any sense, he wouldn't-" Jeonghan was just confused by that comment, Joshua was nothing more than a very close friend.

"Look, after they found out, Joshua had closure and was able to go through the stages of grief but it was uncomfortable how everyone acted like you died. I didn't ever get to fully open up to him but we had our moments, at first he despised me. I think he encapsulated all the bad thoughts into me, I was new after all. Seokmin helped him a lot and I'm sure you know that boy is absolutely crazy for Shua so I'm sure they'll work out, from what I gathered Shua is far too logical for his own good and puts people in boxes that are hard to break out of hence why he can only see Seokmin as a friend and you as a potential lover, logically it makes sense."

Jeonghan nodded while still trying to process everything, "You're right, he's a bit of an idiot huh? He'll realise soon enough though, those boxes aren't made of steel." He was meant to be the strong one, he knew Minghao had been through a lot and he shouldn't be putting so much pressure on him or putting him in a situation where he should be the one looking after someone but it was unavoidable.

Jun was still there, uncomfortably listening to the whole thing and feeling rather out of place. He couldn't relate to anything being said but felt it would've been weird to just leave and he wanted to make sure Minghao was okay once it was over.

"Do you know anything about my brother?" Jeonghan dared to ask, unsure if he wanted to know the answer.

"Sanha was sad for a long time but he bounced back, that kid was so cheery and looked up to me so much; all the boys there made sure he never found out about the bakery's nighttime activities." Minghao took a short pause to collect his thoughts, managing to stutter out, "I-I was pretty worried when I saw J-Jinjin well, you know but I'm sure Sanha is fine, he did nothing wrong." Minghao struggled to mention his old friend, going back into that mindset was too hard for him and although he hadn't gotten the chance to tell Jeonghan the bits in between he figured those were stories for another day.

"I'm glad, I miss him more than anything but the last place I'd want to see him is here. Thank you Hao, I really appreciate you telling me all this," Jeonghan smiled, his lips glazed eyes laced with sincerity as he tried to uphold his composure.

"I assume Kwan and Vern are good too, it'd take a lot to get them to so much as get a little irritated at each other," Jeonghan presumed making Minghao chuckle nervously, "Yeah I'll tell you more but it's getting pretty late so go rest hyung."

Jeonghan smiled at the title, he'd never used it before so it reassured him they were both okay with each other.

With that Jeonghan left the room, letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding in when he was away from the door.

"You should probably get some sleep too Hao," He heard Jun say with care then a muffled noise of tired acceptance from Minghao. Even with his thoughts running awry, he did manage to appreciate the fact Minghao was finally getting the support he needed and Jun was finally finding some sort of purpose.

Despite the fleeting thought, the majority of him was just filled with shame. If it wasn't for his bad habits his life would be totally different and although he had worked so hard to move past it and improve, hearing about his old friends - remembering they weren't just a memory but living breathing human beings who were somewhere miles away living their lives was all a bit too much.

Feeling like slipping into old habits, he stopped himself by instead slipping into a bedroom but it didn't belong to him. Without a word he crawled under the large, puffy duvet that felt much more comfortable than his own. A girly squeal emitted from the half asleep boy next to him as he felt the sudden extra weight press down on his mattress.

He forced his eyes shut for a second until he heard small rustling of the blankets and then a small mop of blonde hair pop up beside him. "Cheollie I've got a lot on my mind, can I stay here tonight?" Jeonghan asked, already knowing the answer would be yes as he'd already wrapped himself up warmly.

"Sure, do you want to talk about it?" Seungcheol replied, deep sleepy voice falling from his lips. The time Jeonghan and Minghao had been talking had given the eldest plenty of time to fall asleep but he didn't mind being woken, especially by Jeonghan.

The younger shook his head, "Just hug me please." He said into Seungcheol's chest. He quickly complied, stroking Jeonghan's hair lightly until they both fell into a deep sleep.