Reveal | haobin

Forty-Five

"Yes!" Zhang Hao smiles and pulls Hanbin in for a hug. Hanbin can't help but smile and hugs him back tightly. He was so nervous on his way here and wasn't sure what Zhang Hao's answer would be. They had just confessed to each other last night so he wasn't sure if it was too soon to ask him.

"You have no idea how happy this makes me." Hanbin pulls away from the hug and smiles at him. "So you're going to help your mom out in the restaurant, right?"

"Yeah... and I'm most likely going to get in trouble. Like I told you, I completely forgot to let her know I was staying over at Ricky's. I know I'm old enough, but she still worries a lot about me."

"Yeah, moms are like that." Hanbin nods. "Since I don't live with my mom, I have to at least text her everyday so she knows I'm doing well."

"But didn't you say you had another schedule today? What are you doing here? You're going to be late."

"I kind of lied about that. I had one in the morning, but I don't have anything to do now for the rest of the day. I kind of just wanted to surprise you so I told you I was busy."

"Then do you want to hang out later? Right now I have to help my mom for a few hours, but we could hang out after. It might get a little boring for you, so maybe we could meet up later?"

"Regardless of what we do, being with you would never be boring to me." Hanbin takes Zhang Hao's hand. "I'll come with you."

"Someone might see us." Zhang Hao lets go of Hanbin's hand.

"So? Can't friends just hold hands too?" Hanbin asks him. "Now come on... I want to say hi to my future mother in law."

"Wait!" Hao stops him. "I don't think we should tell her yet."

"Why not? Does she not know that you're-"

"No, she does know I like boys... it's not that." Zhang Hao tells him. "It's just... it might not be the right time. She'll probably be mad at me right now for not calling her."

"Oh, okay. We can tell her whenever you want. I respect your decision... now come on." Hanbin takes his hand again and opens the restaurant door.

"Zhang Hao! Where were you?!" His mother yells at him as soon as he gets to the kitchen. He quickly lets go of Hanbin's hand.

"I had a sleepover at Ricky's house with Hanbin and some other friends. You remember Hanbin, right?" He asks her as Hanbin walks into the kitchen and bows at her.

"Hello, ma'am. Nice to see you again."

"Oh Hanbin, hi." Her expression goes from angry to normal. "You hadn't come in a while. I heard you and my Hao have been inseparable lately."

"What? Who told you?" Zhang Hao asks her, confused. He hasn't talked that much to his mom about Hanbin.

"Oh... Matthew came over the other day with Ricky and they told me about it."

"Oh... right." Zhang Hao nods. "They both just left, actually."

"And they didn't say hi? They know they can always come here for free food."

"Oh, we had just eaten back at Ricky's house. I'm sure they weren't hungry." Zhang Hao tells her.

"Ricky's always hungry."

"They'll come back another time, mom. Ricky had to go to work and I'm sure Matthew had others plans."

"Well, okay... Hanbin, would you like to eat anything? Hao's friends always get really good deals. Free food even."

"Oh no, ma'am. That's okay. I actually came here to help."

"To help?"

"Yeah, my mom owns a cafe and Hao helped me out a lot when I was working there, so I want to help him here." Hanbin tells her. "Is that okay?"

The real reason is because he wants to spend time with Hao, but he should probably keep that to himself for now. He's now realizing he's not that close to Hao's mom. Even Matthew is closer to her than him.

"Of course! That's so nice of you, Hanbin. I'm glad my Hao has some really good friends."

"Ma'am, why don't you go rest? I'm sure Hao and I can handle it."

"What? Are you sure? But I also have to cook. I don't think that'd be a good idea."

"Don't worry. If Hao knows the recipes, I can help him. I can see your restaurant is opened everyday and for a long time. You should get some rest."

"Okay, but I'll be upstairs so just let me know if you need any help." She walks out of the kitchen.

"You do know the recipes, right?" Hanbin asks Zhang Hao.

"No... I don't really pay attention to that."

"What? So then what are we-"

"I'm just kidding." Zhang Hao laughs. "Of course I would know. I help my mom out almost everyday."

"Oh, okay." Hanbin sighs in relief. "So what should I do? Do you want me to cook or should I be the waiter?"

"I think it's better if I cook since I already know the recipes." Zhang Hao reaches for an apron. "By the way, it was really nice of you to tell my mom to take a break. I can see she works really hard, but she never listens to me when I tell her to."

"Yeah, my mom doesn't listen to me about that either. Moms are really hard working. They deserve a break at least every once in a while."

"I just heard some customers come in. Can you go take their orders please?"

"Oh, there's no need to be so polite. I'll do whatever you ask me to do." Hanbin tells him, making Zhang Hao blush. "I'll go take their orders, but I'll miss you." He pouts.

"I'll miss you too." Zhang Hao frowns.

"I'll be right back." Hanbin walks out of the kitchen.

Zhang Hao watches him walk away and can't help but smile. And he realizes that what Ricky said was right. It seems like they really will be that cheesy couple.

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I hope you liked this chapter 💙
I have posted the intro of a new
Haobin story that I'll be writing soon.
Make sure to add it to your library.
It's called 'Not Alone' 🫶