always ↬ leading me on || l.dh • h.rj • z.cl

·five·

After assessing his injuries, Jeno's mother managed to find his own and they talked for a while as she explained the situation.

Donghyuck remembers his mother's expression at the time, she looked like her whole world came crashing down, like she was blaming herself for the ordeal.

She had thanked the other woman quickly and took him to the hospital to get the burns treated. He had gauze wrapped all the way around his middle and some around his left forearm.

It was a second-degree burn, they had said. It would heal, but there may have been some scarring left behind that would fade eventually. It was true, Donghyuck's skin in those areas became discolored and leathery, but as a year passed it started to go away and by the time he could officially declare Jeno and Jaemin his two best friends — the marks were completely gone. Not even a single trace of their existence left behind.

He remembered the way his mother held on to him for dear life when they got home, the amount of times she apologised for it. For ever taking him out, she said she thought it would make him happy, but it only hurt him in the end.

Hyuck was grateful that she did though.

He wouldn't have had the pleasure of meeting dumb and dumber if she hadn't.

‣‣

Their mothers exchanged numbers, with a promise to keep in touch and updated with Donghyuck's condition. Although, it took a week for his mother to talk to Jeno's and even then, the latter had rung first.

She had told his mother about how Jeno and Jaemin were worried about him; they wanted to see him again properly.

And so, after a lot of discussion with her son, she'd somehow convinced him to meet them. He'd insisted that she'd come along as well, just in case and with that they were both getting ready to go to the nearby park to see the boys.

The brunet had missed a week off of school to recover and honestly, he hadn't ever been happier in his life. For once, he didn't have to hear the constant ridicule of other people and for once he could be at peace with himself. Even if it was for a short while, he wasn't doubting himself as much as he usually does. For a while, life seemed a lot kinder than it truly was. So he wasn't as nervous as he typically would have been in a situation like this.

He skipped gleefully beside his mother, dull ache still ruling his body, yet he managed. The park gates where in sight now and he slowed a tiny bit, gripping his mother's hands tightly as they walked in.

He spotted a tuft of pink hair near the swings and smiled slightly, following his mother towards the three people.

Jeno and Jaemin sat on the grassy ground and Jeno's mother sat on one of the swings, watching them as they talked to each other. His mother took the vacant seat next to her and they started a conversation as soon as they saw each other.

Donghyuck however, stopped slightly farther away from them, getting anxious now that he was so close. Then, Jaemin had looked off to the side and spotted him, jumping up quickly and making his way over, followed by Jeno.

The two had dragged him over to their spot, bombarding him with questions as soon as they sat him down.

"How are you feeling right now?"

"Did you go to the hospital?'

"What did they say?"

"Does it hurt?

"Your stomach wasn't destroyed, w-was it?"

"Oh my god, does that mean you can't eat??? I'm so sorry, it's all Jaemin's fault, I'll beat him for you, hOW CAN YOU LIVE WITHOUT PRECIOUS FOOD? I-" Jeno's mini-rant was cut off by Jaemin stuffing a doughnut into his mouth, which caused him to shut up as he munched away silently on the sugary treat.

"Shut up, it was your fault too, if you'd just held my drink it wouldn't have happened."

The light haired boy tried to reply through his mouthful of food, but was stopped before he could even start by Jaemin's intense death glare.

They kept their gazes locked for a while, Jeno's innocent, wide eyes staring into Jaemin's annoyed and tired ones before the former swiftly looked away, gulping loudly.

Hyuck let out a small laugh, making the two look at him. He was surprised with himself as well, he never really laughed anymore. After he'd started school, he forgot how to because all he did was cry instead. But, there was just something about these two that made him feel at home, they didn't look like they judged him. They treated him normally.

They reminded him of the feeling of fitting in that he almost forgot.

"You guys are funny."

And so they spent the next two hours in each others company, laughing and smiling together. Donghyuck swore that he almost never knew what loneliness was when he was with them.

‣‣

That one outing led to many others and soon Donghyuck started to become closer to the duo.

He learnt that Jeno was an albino and Jaemin had marie antwilight syndrome (or something like that, it was too difficult to remember), but essentially it meant that all his hair slowly started to turn white. He said he never liked the way it looked on him so Jeno's mother took him to get it dyed.

Full Sun Café soon became their go-to meeting place and they'd spend hours there with each other. As time passed, their mothers had stopped coming with them as well, trusting that they could stay safe together.

Jaemin, Jeno and Donghyuck each had nicknames for each other. Nana was Jaemin's even before they'd met the brunet and Donghyuck had thought up Nono for Jeno.

They both called him Hyuck, but they also had another one for him. Haechan. It was Korean for Full Sun; they decided to call him that because it reminded them of how they first met and because Donghyuck, in their opinion, had a true sunshine smile and bright personality.

-To Be Continued-