He's in the Rain

chapter twenty

"yeonjun hyung!" a yell was heard all throughout the house of yeonjun. he was pretty sure it was one of the three — or four — but based on the voice, it was huening kai.

yeonjun was inside his bathroom, taking a bath for today is a work day, specifically a monday. he can't waste time and just stood up from his bed to prepare himself before going to work. besides, he should look presentable, especially when today is a very precious and valuable day.

"happy birthday, 20th century guy!" beomgyu suddenly greeted right after yeonjun closed his bathroom door wearing nothing but a towel that is used as a covering for his lower body. yeonjun was startled at the younger's sudden appearance at his room, which made him almost slip but was prevented when he held the door knob tightly. 'this scumbag didn't even know how to patiently wait downstairs,' yeonjun said in his mind.

"thank you, jerk," yeonjun said and laughed a little. he seems to be starting the day as bright as he can. after all, it's his day. "but can you please just go down and wait for me to finish? you're suddenly just showing up here like this is a house that you own. jerk!"

"you're damn loud." another voice was suddenly heard and this time, he was surprised by yeonjun's lack of clothing. it was taehyun. "the fuck? wear some clothes!"

"i would've already dressed up if it wasn't for this twig," yeonjun said and pointed at that one man who was comfortably laying down on the bed of his friend like it was his own. beomgyu looked at both taehyun and yeonjun with no emotions on his face and then went back to laying down like he has no plans on getting out of that soft bed. "now get out, both of you, before i throw you out of the window."

but beomgyu acted like he didn't hear anything. he just stayed still. "one.." yeonjun started counting when beomgyu was still not moving. his face screamed annoyance. then, he looked at his wall clock. he still has an hour and a half left before his work time starts, but he doesn't care. he wants to be extra early today. "two.."

"one more number and i will say it right now," yeonjun whispered, enough only for beomgyu to hear but not taehyun. he emphasized the word 'it'. beomgyu's eyes widened, realizing what yeonjun meant with his words.

with that, beomgyu quickly stood up from the bed and immediately walked straight towards the door, pulling taehyun with him. before closing the door of yeonjun's room, beomgyu greeted again then closed it. "we'll wait for you downstairs. happy birthday, oldie!"

when beomgyu and taehyun left, yeonjun rolled his eyes and looked at himself on the mirror. "this face doesn't scream an oldie, even the slightest bit."

he dressed up after that, wearing their so-called 'uniform' which is just an outfit with the use of a cardigan with an earth tone or natural colors. he sometimes wears specs to match but today, he chose not to. he also wore his identification card, which is a requirement at work. he matched his outfit with a white flat bottomed sneakers and a beret. he just... looks so fine.

"happy birthday, hyung!" yeonjun received a greeting from the youngest of them all when huening kai saw him coming down from the stairs of his house. yeonjun saw the three — beomgyu, taehyun, and kai, sitting comfortably on the dining table, with plates and utensils lined alone the table to be eaten with. in that table, there were bowls of rice, stew, grilled short ribs, and radish strip kimchi along with the other dishes. this is generally a full korean breakfast, which is very unusual to see on a table at yeonjun's house.

"you... you cooked?" yeonjun unbelievably asked the three younger men.

taehyun smiled and said he mainly did the cooking, which he learned from searching through the internet and when he watches yeonjun do the cooking. beomgyu said he helped taehyun with cooking. he even boasted how those dishes turned out so good, that he might even consider starting a restaurant of his own. the youngest, huening kai, said he did the cleaning all by himself, and that he should be getting his salary by the end of the day. these three, seriously...

yeonjun sat down between kai and taehyun, while beomgyu was sitting beside taehyun. he started filling up his plate with the dishes that they prepared, while the three men were just watching him. yeonjun was weirded out. "you didn't spit on this, did you?"

taehyun sarcastically laughed, feeling betrayed. "i thought you would trust me on this one, hyung."

"kidding. thank you for these," yeonjun happily said. he pulled his plate near him and grabbed a bite from the short ribs. after doing so, he filled his mouth with the rice on his own bowl. beomgyu, taehyun, and kai were still looking straight at yeonjun, watching his reactions.

they are not ready to see yeonjun's disgusted face, or some kind of reaction which will give them a 'what the hell is this?' or a 'who could ever eat such food' look. but no. after tasting some of the dishes one by one, yeonjun's face became brighter and brighter. the three sighed in relief.

"from now on, you'll do the cooking. are we clear?" yeonjun asked beomgyu and taehyun. huening kai has been a part of the cleaning team for some time already.

"on second thought, these dishes don't even satisfy my taste buds," beomgyu said which made the table be filled with laughter. ah, this feels so nice. but now, they have soobin with them four. although he isn't here right now for breakfast, maybe he'll appear later, right?

for more than half an hour, they just sat at the dining table, filling their stomachs with those delicious food that was full of taehyun and beomgyu's efforts. they don't usually cook — no. actually, they have never cooked something like this before. just some simple grilling and frying, but not these kinds. they only thought of and actually cooked these dishes for the birthday boy, for their hyung.

later on, the four men were cleaning up already. huening kai was supposedly the only one who'll wash the dishes and do the cleaning in general but the rest offered to help. yeonjun will help in washing the dishes together with huening kai and the remaining two volunteered to fix the dining table itself, wiping and such.

"you're so old, hyung," huening kai uttered while he was washing the dishes with his yeonjun hyung.

"shut up. i haven't even reached my mid-twenties!" yeonjun defended, clearly showing that peevish attitude of his.

"i never thought i needed a hyung like you, though," huening kai suddenly said which made me yeonjun look at him. he's not the type to say this straightforwardly, but yeonjun feels great to hear something like this from the youngest.

"am i supposed to be touched?" yeonjun asked.

"no, i just want to express my gratitude. thank you for the years, hyung."

"not a problem. thank you for every moment."

"ew, cheesy," huening kai commented and laughed.

"happy birthday, hyung. more things await."