𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙧 | jaeyong

. s i x .

under taeyong's list, one of the places he was going to visit was his parents'. it's bad enough that meeting his friends and stripping for a bachelor was put first before attending to his mom's embrace.

he decided to visit his parents the next day since he wasn't doing anything other than being drowned in wedding details and the couple's history. not that he has to guess jaehyun's because for sure, everything jungwoo was mentioning was already stamped inside taeyong's head.

he was in a dreadful tux fitting with his new profound friends. since he's the last to get fitted, his suit is going to be rushed as requested by the groom himself. for now, he was still getting his measurements and the ladies around him helped him while the friends sat on the couch in front of him.

"make his the same as my groom's men." jungwoo mentioned crossing his arms while the ladies did their work. this made taeyong's eyes widen.

"what? why do i need the same tux as your groom's men? i thought i'm only attending the ceremony, you said i'm not in the groom's men list." he said, or panicked.

"well, you are now." jungwoo smiled cutely.

hating him was so much harder now. taeyong doesn't even know why he has to hate on the present, he was totally clear before that he's moved on. of course, having sex with the ex made that quite unconvincing.

but jungwoo felt a whole other thing. normally, he doesn't take friends that easily but the moment he knew taeyong, he swore he felt some connection, like a deep friendship. he thought maybe taeyong is going to be one of his bestest friends and it's starting now.

suddenly, a phone call interrupted jungwoo and his observing. that ringtone was rather familiar because it is jungwoo's. "woo, it's your phone."

jungwoo took the phone from kun's hand and checked for the caller id. "i'll be back, taeyongie."

when he exited, he felt awkward with his new friends' stares. it's like he has an unbelievably poor posture. "wow, you look so tense. are you about to poop?" doyoung said with his head titled.

"it's been a few days now, taeyong. you gotta stop being so tense around us." winwin spoke.

"alright, you need to loosen up, after this we're getting ice cream and hang out all day." kun suggested with a wide smile and hands in the air.

"oh! we should have a movie marathon in the house!" winwin suggested as well. "you know what? let's just have a sleepover." ten added.

"right right! then we'll talk about boys all night!" winwin and doyoung said in unison earning a look from the three other boys. taeyong didn't really get a say in it because he was a slight bit awkward. but sleepover sounds fun for him.

suddenly, jungwoo came back with a rather miserable look on his face. 

"woo, what happened?"

everybody stopped. the look on his face was unusual. it wasn't like they always see, and then they realized something was incredibly wrong. "is it the food? did the caterers back out? is it the band?"

jungwoo stared at the floor and he practically didn't know what to say. but then he has to speak up.

"the wedding's canceled."

suddenly, it was all quiet. no one dared to speak. a lot of ideas were coming through their heads. they didn't know what the problem was.

did they break up? they thought.

they came closer to him and started rubbing on his shoulders as he was about to cry. "honey, what happened?"

"my poppy died." was the only thing he said. "uncle called, said we have to go home gunpo. i don't know how long. we're gonna have to postpone the wedding. or cancel until next year, i don't know." he rubbed his palms on his face and sighed heavy.

"oh no, honey." they came closer and gave him a very tight hug.

"i leave tomorrow." he says and sighs one more time before lifting his head up. "we're coming with you." doyoung says.

taeyong told the guys that he couldn't come because he was going to visit his family that same day. he decided to stay back for another week and just follow them the next.

taeyong didn't meet the boys when the night came. he stayed in his apartment eating fast food watching tv. he can't come to his new friends because they were busy arranging stuff for their leave the next day.

when taeyong left his apartment the next morning, he went straight to the grocery to pick up ingredients since he decided to cook for his family after so long. his new friends were probably on their way already to jungwoo's family's place so he didn't bother calling them. he just sent a quick good luck on the trip and didn't open his phone after.

as the usual taeyong would be, he is, again, stuck in the beer and wine section. for him, it's hard to pick the right wine for a family dinner because his parents are relatively picky when it comes to liquor unlike him.

then, he saw his father's favorite zinfandel which seemed to be the last bottle. he walked towards it, eyes never leaving the bottle. when he got his hands on it, another hand sat on top of his.

he didn't take a look at the man but looking at the hand, it was all too familiar. he can recognize the ring wrapped around his pointer, especially the tattoo of his name at the side of that same finger.

"taeyong?" the man was first to break the ice. how is he here? taeyong thought. "why are you here? i thought you were with the guys going to gunpo?" he asks as he faced the man.

they both let go of the bottle and shyly looked at the ground. jaehyun didn't look like your average successful man who works in real estate. at a day like this, doing his own grocery, he looks like a college nerd. he wore a fairly large knitted cardigan and glasses. nevertheless, he looked exceptionally charming.

"yeah, i didn't come with. i have a client, jungwoo probably told you, it's his aunt. i thought you were coming too?" jaehyun says.

"yeah no. i'm supposed to be visiting my family tonight. i'm staying with them for a few days." taeyong answered. "but i'll probably follow them by the end of the week." he adds.

"oh! i'm going by the end of the week too. i just have to stay here for the client. hopefully, they'll close the deal within the week. we can go together if you want?" jaehyun gave out that cute pout as if talking to taeyong was one of the most normal things to happen at this time of the year.

in taeyong's awkwardness comes jaehyun's enthusiasm. maybe he just needs to go along with his mood to lighten up their relationship from then on. "yeah sure. sure, we can go together. gunpo's not that far, anyway." taeyong trailed off. suddenly, they have forgotten about the bottle of wine jaehyun was ready to argue about. "uhh by the way, are you gonna take this bottle?"

"oh yeah. i was gonna have it for dad tonight." taeyong answers. jaehyun smiled softly and grabbed the bottle for him before putting it in his cart. "well, then it's yours. wouldn't want uncle to get mad at me for stealing the last zinfandel in the racks."

oh yeah. taeyong thought. dad and him used to drink it together whenever he was over.

"thanks, jaehyun." taeyong smiled before turning back to his cart. "i'll see you around?"

"yeah, i'll see you around." jaehyun smiled back as he watched taeyong push his cart towards the cashier.