Just teenagers | Chensung

Chapter 24

"Chenle?"

Everyone turned to look at the boy who just arrived. 

"Hey Channie. Long time no see. How have you been?" Chenle addressed Haechan with the nickname he was used to from years ago. 

"Good. What about you, Lele?" Haechan replied. 

"I'm fine," Chenle sighed before continuing. 

"Look, I'm sorry for holding a grudge for so long. I honestly don't remember when our small fight got prolonged into something so serious. I know it's partly my fault for being petty. Maybe it took getting a boyfriend for me to mature," 

"Wait! You have a boyfriend?" Haechan was caught off guard. 

"Well, yeah. Jisung and I are dating. Why are you so surprised?" Chenle replied, linking arms with said male. 

"It's not like I didn't know you were gay. It was quite obvious. I just never thought of you getting into a relationship because you were always so busy with school and all," 

"That's the exact excuse he used when I asked him out," Jisung chipped in receiving a squeeze on his arm. 

"Anyways, as I was saying, I wasn't really angry with you all this time. I guess I was just angry at my past self for being too hooked on our friendship because as you know, I'm not good with making friends," Chenle went on. 

"I'm not mad at you either. I never was. I just thought you wouldn't want to be my friend anymore. Especially after you met that guy from America. Park something," Haechan opened up as well. 

"You knew about him?" 

"Of course I did. I was your best friend. Even now, I'm not mad at you. I'm just mad that my boyfriend is a coward," Haechan turned to Mark who was feeling quite left out since the start of the conversation. 

"Me?" Mark asked, dumbfounded. 

"He really is, isn't he? Mark is a good guy. He really cares about you and he likes you a lot. I've caught him staring at someone's picture for hours and now I'm assuming it's yours. Even if I told him to stop seeing you, he wouldn't just give up so easily," Haechan blushed at Chenle's words. 

He turned to Mark and asked, "Is it true?"

"The fact that I was staring at your picture for hours or that I wouldn't give up on you? Cause they're both true. I'm sorry for what I said yesterday. You are important to me. Just as important as my family," Mark was getting emotional especially because he felt like he just met the love of his life. 

"I'm sorry too. I never ask you to choose between your family or me ever again. I know how important they're to you hence, they're important to me too," Haechan replied. 

"I love you," 

"I love you too," the couple were looking at each other with tears threatening to pour. 

"Okay, now kiss!" Yeji, who just arrived, exclaimed when she heard the couple exchange 'I love you's. 

"No! We're not gonna kiss in front of you kids," Mark refused while Haechan was already leaning in so Mark had to put his palm against his boyfriend's lips.  

"We're the same age as Haechan," Ryujin argued but Mark refused at all costs. 

"Hold on, what was your name again?" Haechan asked, pointing towards Jisung. 

"Uhhh... Jisung. Park Jisung," 

"Park Jisung? As in the guy from the States. Chenle you didn't tell me you met your soulmate," Haechan now turned to his ex best friend. 

"What are you talking about? That was Andy Park. This is Jisung," Chenle was confused. 

"Actually, Chenle, we should talk," Jisung tried to pull Chenle away from the group as he was planning to tell Chenle himself. 

"Haechan doesn't know what he was talking about," 

"Actually, he was right. My English name is Andy. I met Haechan when I was here years ago. He asked me about my Korean name," Jisung explained. 

"Wait. I don't get it. Does this mean you're the guy I met when I was 8? And you knew about this? Why didn't you tell me?" Chenle bombarded him with question. 

"I wanted to tell you earlier but I was afraid that you wouldn't like me the same," Jisung replied with his hands on his head as he was about to cry. 

Chenle softened at the sight. "Hey, look at me. This only means that I like you even more now. I didn't want to admit this but I had a crush on Andy Park when I was 8. Now that I knew he grew up to be a fine man, how could I not like him?" 

"Really?" Jisung brought his hands down and looked at Chenle with doe eyes to which Chenle nodded. 

"You what this means?" Chenle asked. 

"What?" 

"We're soulmates," Jisung cupped his boyfriend's face and smiled as wide as he can. 

"You are my soulmate and I am yours. Nobody can  change that," he said before leaning in for a kiss. 

|❣| 

The couple returned to the group to see Mark and Haechan making out while Jeno, Jaemin, Ryujin and Yeji were leaving them to get ice cream. 

"Hey, what happened to not kissing in front of kids?" Jisung asked. 

"He just couldn't resist me. What about you guys? You okay now?" 

"Yup. Couldn't be better," Chenle replied looking at Jisung with heart eyes while their arms linked. 

"We have to be sweeter than them. Got it?" Haechan whispered to Mark while the latter giggled at his lover's silly competitiveness. 

Meanwhile, Yeji and Ryujin were awkward around each other due to the incident earlier and Jeno caught on. 

"Hey, something's off. How come you guys aren't annoying everyone else like you always do?" Jeno asked referring to the other couple. 

"It's nothin-" Ryujin tried to cover it up but Yeji turned to her and grabbed her hand. 

"Ryujin, my mom asked if you wanted to have dinner with us tomorrow night," Yeji spoke directly to her partner. 

"Really? She did? So we're not break up? Gosh, why didn't you say that earlier?" Ryujin got excited. 

"Well, I don't know what she's going to say but it seems like she will warm to the idea of us. She didn't say much earlier but she did say that she wanted to get to know you so I'll take that as a good sign," 

"I'm so glad we don't have to walk on eggshells anymore," Ryujin lifted Yeji off the ground and spun her around. 

"We might need more details to share this excited," Jaemin reminded the couple that they were there. 

|❣| 

The group of five together with Jeno, Mark and Haechan decided to get dinner together that night. They caught up on each other's lives. 

Jisung's POV 

Having a larger group of friends like this one is better. I'm so lucky for having found these amazing people. People who can help me deal with my family family drama. People who can help me overcome my insecurities. People who make me feel welcomed and at home. I have to cherish them for as long as I can. 

Although they all have been through a lot in terms of self discovery, friendships, family and relationships, they managed to grow from it. Their story doesn't end here. There will always be more challenges in the future but at least now they have each other. 

THE END 

Sorry if the ending seems rushed but I kinda forgot about this story. Hope you guys enjoyed it and look forward to my future stories as well. Thank you guys so much for reading 💚