shot clock || na jaemin (the court series #1)

quarter four: minute seven

"every so often, i regret being born," renjun says, yawning and running his hands over his arms. haechan doesn't respond, having fallen asleep against the shorter's back approximately fifteen minutes ago - when shaun had woken them up at the crack of dawn to open christmas presents. for such a mature and intelligent kid, shaun was impossibly excited about the prospect of presents, especially from so many people.

although sooyoung and shaun loved christmas, the parks usually spent christmas quietly and together, rather than inviting tons of family members and spending it with pomp like they would've preferred. not that they had much family in america anyway, but it was the thought that counted. for sooyoung, it was the people. for shaun, it was the presents.

"it's the literal ass crack of dawn, shaunnie," jisoo says, slumped against jeno. he yawns and stretches, laying his arm around her shoulder and pulling her close to his chest, pressing a kiss to her forehead. jisoo's nose wrinkles from his morning breath, but appreciates the gesture anyway. the dreamies had stayed up almost all night listening to what happened between jaemin and sooyoung, resulting in happy vibes but an extreme lack of sleep.

"you know, i should be getting on your case about swearing but it is too fucking early for this," james says, wrapping his blanket tighter around himself.

"you say that every single year, daddy," sooyoung says, rolling her eyes and handing him a mug of hot water. james couldn't start his day without a mug of hot water, says it's good for digestion or whatever. what he would need to digest at four in the morning, sooyoung had no clue, but at least it would wake him up.

"yeah. and it's true every single year. shaun, kiddo, i love you but why do you do this to us?" james whines, effectively being shut up when sooyoung forces him to drink some of the water. "much better, thank you, sweetheart."

she smiles smugly, instantly finding jaemin to find shelter underneath the huge fuzzy blanket he had draped over himself. 

"i get presents, daddy! what part of presents doesn't make you want to wake up as early as possible?" shaun says, dragging out the tray they had set all the presents on underneath the christmas tree. it made cleaning easier, sooyoung's mother had insisted, giggling as shaun had messily stapled his present for her together.

but sooyoung's mother wasn't here right now. she was...up there. with the rest of the angels. jaemin notices the sadness on sooyoung's face, wrapping the blanket around her even tighter.

"you miss her, huh?" it's not a question, more of a knowing prod at the truth that was obvious. the entire room grows still for a second, a moment of silence for those who were supposed to be here, but couldn't be.

"yeah, i miss her a lot. it's the first christmas without her," sooyoung says quietly. shaun's excited expression wavers at that, and even james can't keep the slight frown of his lips from descending downwards.

"wherever she is, i know she's proud of you, sweetie. all of you," jisoo says softly, removing herself from jeno's warmth to walk around the couch and give sooyoung a hug. 

"thanks, ji." it's soft, whispered into jisoo's tresses, but the meaning behind the words is subtle and profound. i don't miss her when you're here with me. 

in another timeline, perhaps, things would've worked out differently. sooyoung would've fallen in love with jisoo and maybe things would've been different. she looks back at jaemin, who's looking at her with so much tenderness, that she decides that maybe in a different timeline, but not this one. in this one, she had jaemin. and that was more than enough for her. 

"okay! can we open presents now!" haechan whines, easily flipping the switch on the sentiment. 'thank you' sooyoung mouths. the older boy just winks at her with a sweet smile of brotherly love (which means understanding and horribly evil) before turning to shaun, who's ready to pounce on the gifts.