TERRIBLETHINGS.

iii.

♪ 𝘕𝘰𝘸, 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘦'𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘬

𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦'𝘥 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦'𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨

𝘛𝘰𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘥𝘶𝘮𝘣 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦

𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦 ♪

Teenage love is one of the most unforgettable moments in our lives. Most of the people we've encountered told us the same thing — maybe it was just puppy love. But Soonyoung and I were so sure that it was more than that. We knew that someday he would walk on the aisle while I wait at the other end of it. That wasn't wrong, now that I'm watching our own son playing with the neighbouring kids. Our adopted son, Lee Maple, to remind us everyday of our first encounter, the look of love that we've exchanged.

"How's life, Seokmin?" my neighbour, Xu Minghao, sat beside me. His husband, Wen Junhui, were playing in the distance with their daughter and my son.

Gone years ago, I wanted to answer. But I just smiled and answered everything is just fine. But I knew everything was far from being fine. Minghao knew that, too. Ever since Soonyoung and I came home from Canada eight years ago after we finished high school, Minghao had been my best friend along with Kim Mingyu who now lives in Anyang with his fiancé Jeon Wonwoo — my 97z buddies.

Soonyoung and Wonwoo were best friends, too, the reason why Mingyu and Wonwoo met, along with one of my neighbour Lee Jihoon, and Minghao's husband, Junhui. I'd like to think that they became best friends because they get along so well. But whenever I remember that time when Jihoon chased Soonyoung and Junhui with a guitar just because they ate his scone while Wonwoo remained on his seat, reading his book and was clearly unbothered, I just think that they became friends because they were all born in '96.

"I walked by your house and you left your door open again, dumbass," Minghao smacked my head. "But I saw his painting hanging on the wall. Perhaps, is it okay for me to assume that you're already okay now?"

I sighed. There's no point in hiding, is there?

"Maple saw it yesterday, asked if it was his dada," I fiddled with my fingers. "I had no choice, you know, I had to answer. I saw his face — that beautiful face — and bam, everything felt so fresh like it was just yesterday."

"I'm here," Minghao flashed an assuring smile.

I smiled back. Minghao had always been here, figuratively and literally. He and Mingyu witnessed how crazy Soonyoung and I were for each other, same goes for me as I've seen both of them fell crazily in love with Junhui and Wonwoo, respectively. We were all 16 — turning 17 — that time, college freshmen of our own courses but we all knew we already found the people we wanted to settle with.

"You were so in love, so happy," Minghao said, his hand making its way on my back. "I just don't know why you ended up like this."

Maple's laugh erupted in the air, making me smile. "I'm fine," I said. "As long as you're all here, I'm fine."

♪