this december ~ enhypen niki / nishimura riki

8

"knock knock open up" yeji said on the other side of the door

"go away you smell"

"i'm telling our mom you won't let me in i'll just wait in the car then" she said, laughing before you opened the door

"im so sleepy i can't wait to nap on the plane"

"and in the car"

"and in the airport"

"and in the car in chicago"

"and at your cousins house" the two of you laughed at your perfect plan

you were both excited to be leaving soon. you were ready to be away from everything for a while. both of you really wanted this to be a break from all of the shit that's been dragging you down recently. both of you really wanted this to be a good time to look back on.

the first half of the car ride was long and awkward as seowon wouldn't stop blowing up yejis phone to argue. she was getting frustrated but trying not to show it in front of your mom and it was obvious. after a while of back and forth arguing, she gave up and put her phone in do not disturb. seowon didn't like that very much but she couldn't be bothered to care anymore.

after that mess was handled, you had a short car nap then had some fun joking around with yeji while texting niki and passing the phone back and forth saying random half-asleep responses out of turn. that half was fun. you got to talk to niki and you and yeji were just being as you usually were. you continued texting him when you had the chance while in the airport without yejis input this time. he responded a bit faster now and to be quite honest it made you a little bit nervous in a good way.

eventually though, it got late and niki went to sleep. your flight didn't start boarding until midnight. you finally got on the plane later than you had hoped. the three seats were only slightly separated with one being the aisle seat next to the other 2 on the other side. your mom sat in the aisle across from you and yeji.

the plane ride was ridiculously long and you ended up sleeping through about half of it and listening to music, having a snack or talking to yeji for the other half. the sweet relief when it was announced that you finally landed was like a breath of fresh air.

that feeling in your stomach when you saw your family waiting for you guys was like that warm, fuzzy feeling that only happens once in a while when you're feeling very strong positive emotions. you were happy to see them. they were the family you were closest to but had moved away from seoul years ago. that's why chicago was your favorite place to visit. they felt like home, so in turn, chicago felt like home.

it was now very late so after some emotional hellos and catching up you had some real food and properly introduced the rest of your family that had waited at home to yeji. they loved her. it was an instant click just like your mom. it was such a relief to finally feel safe and happy after what had been happening back in seoul. after showering and cleaning up, you and yeji headed down to the room you were sharing and that night, for the first time since what had felt like forever, you slept like a baby. no disruption, no anxieties, just sleep— rest.

waking up late the next morning, the two of you rushed to get ready and have a nice breakfast reminiscent of the dinner the night before.

this is nice. this is really nice. i needed this.

checking your phone for surprisingly the first time that day you were greeted by multiple notifications from none other than niki.

niki🕺🏻
y/nnn
are you awake
the time difference is so weird

i added chicago time to my clock
app you're so behind

it's almost 3am there now
you're definitely asleep

i'll let you sleep sorry for
the spam
goodnight y/nie
text me when you wake up

oh... i definitely should've checked my phone earlier.

y/niee🧸
SORRY
i just got on my phone
oh it's almost 4am for you
ig you're not gonna see this
sorry :(
goodnight riki

a bit disappointed, you went about your day. it was actually really nice and really calm. it wasn't until about 8pm that niki texted you back. he was excited to finally be awake at the same time and you talked for a few hours until you had to go shower then talked for some more hours after you got out.

you told yeji he was just a friend now and there were barely any feelings left at all. you weren't sure how much of that was true or a lie but it was evident to her that most of it was you lying to yourself rather than to her.

"i'm serious i really am just glad he's my friend. that's all he is." she looked at you for a few seconds with a questioning look on her face

"sure. all it is." she believed the words coming out of her mouth as much as you believed the ones coming out of yours.

she got a call from seowon while you were talking and answered only to say goodnight. to your surprise, for the 4 hours he was awake seowon had decided to not pick any full fights. he mostly kept it to small comments about how annoying it was or about how he didn't like you but it was certainly better than the fights that were happening on your way there.

everything felt fine. everything felt okay. you didn't feel the constant pressure build up in your chest that made it seem like your heart was about to explode out of your body and kill you anymore. in these moments, you had truly felt so much happier than you had in so long. another sleep-filled night ahead, you turned off the lights and got in bed after yeji and just let yourself breathe, closed your eyes and drifted off to sleep.

————————————————————————

waking up at 8am to the sound of your best friend leaving the room sniffling was not what you expected

you heard the door close and quietly followed after. she was in the living room sitting on the couch with her knees up to her chest, holding her phone while tears fell down her cheeks.

"what happened ?"

she looked up at you with the tears still fresh on her face and all she had to say was one word— or rather name, for you to understand.

"seowon"

note: IM BACK. hi everyone im so so sorry for making you wait so long for this chapter i had a lottttt going on when i last updated and i didn't realize people would actually notice when i was gone for so long but i guess some of you did😭 im gonna try harder to be more active in posting this ff now but i hope you enjoy what we've got so far ! thank you for reading and more chapters soon !