unconditionally • yunhwa [COMPLETED]

N

"11am the usual morning warmup, start on the stretch using the bench to lean..." The parody of the song that Yunho had written himself echoed through his mind. Maybe it wasn't the catchiest, but it was somehow effective in motivating him. Instantly after his warmup had been completed, the group of students steadily filed in, leaving their water bottles and towels on the floor at the back corners of the room, where it was unlikely they would trip. After checking that everyone was present, and absentees were accounted for, though thankfully there weren't any today, Yunho clapped his hands twice, gaining everyone's attention while signalling that class was about to start.

Two hours later, he bid each one of the students goodbye, before switching off the lights and climbing up the stairs leading out the studio. At the top of the stairs, coincidentally, he caught sight of the same familiar figure from yesterday. "Hey, Chan hyung!" Lifting his arm to wave at his fellow teacher, he faltered instantly when both heads turned to him. "Wait, what?" The hyung he knew as Dino but called Chan burst into laughter, a high-pitched laugh that sounded like a quacking duck, which appeared to be contagious as the one he had been talking to started laughing with him. Soon after, the laughter died down as they noticed the bewildered expression etched on Yunho's face. "Oh, you see," crowed Dino, while wiping tears of joy from his eyes, "You call me Chan hyung, but he," he mentioned while gesturing to the other teacher, "Is the actual 'Chan hyung'. He wasn't around that day you came cause he was visiting family in Australia, but now he's back. Hyung, this is the new guy I was telling you about, Yunho. Yun, this is our one and only Chan hyung." He emphasized on the last two words, as if to say 'told you I'm not the Chan hyung here'.

"Ah, it's nice to meet you, Yunho. My name's Bang Chan, but you can call me Chan like Dino here said." The information giver nodded matter-of-factly. Not exactly sure how to respond, Yunho decided it would be safest to show respect. "Good afternoon, Chan hyung," he replied while bowing. "It's nice to make your acquaintance." "Oi, I said it's alright to drop the honorifics. Y'all sound so formal to the point that it makes me feel old."

"Alright, Chan hyung," the two younger jested concurrently, sending them into a fit of laughter once again, but this time, Yunho wasn't afraid to join in. "Hey, by the way, we're heading out for lunch in a bit to celebrate Chan hyung's return. You wanna join us? You're done for the day too, aren't you?"

"Yeah, I'm free. Count me in. Let me just return the attendance book to admin first." Yunho scurried off down the corridor to the office and dropped off the heavy folder. He didn't hear it, but as soon as he left, Chan murmured under his breath to Dino. "You were right, he doesn't look broken, but he definitely feels broken."

It wasn't long before the trio were out of their workplace and into the ruckus filled, bustling streets of the outside world, with the two Chans leading the way to their frequent joint, a small corner café about 3 blocks away. Upon their entrance, they were greeted by the aroma of ground coffee beans, woody fragrances, and the delectable smell of freshly baked loaves of bread.

"Welcome to Casta Café!" The guy behind the counter pronounced eagerly. "Hey, Dino hyung. Chan hyung! You're back! How's the family doing?"

"Oh, they're great! How have you been, Hyunjin?"

"I'm good, business is good, everything's good. What can I get for you today? The usual?"

"Yeah, that sounds good. It's been so long since I've been back. Did y'all change something? It feels a little different somehow."

"We did repaint the ceiling and shifted a couple of tables. Not a significant renovation. But still, good eye." He turned to the second customer. "Same as last week for you, Dino hyung? Ooh, by the way, who's your friend?" He nodded at Yunho, who had suddenly taken a profound interest in the floor.