𝕄𝕒𝕜𝕖 𝕞𝕖 𝕗𝕖𝕖𝕝 𝔸𝕝𝕚𝕧𝕖 || 𝟚𝕞𝕚𝕟

36 | Everything has Changed

As soon as the lunch bell rang, the cafeteria filled with chatter and the clatter of trays.

Minho, Seungmin, Chan, and Changbin walked in from one side, while from the other, Hyunjin, Felix, Jisung, and Jeongin entered.

They all saw each other immediately, stopping in their tracks.

Silence.

No one made a move to sit anywhere, each group hesitating, awkwardly staring at the other. It was weird, after everything, after all the tension, standing across from each other like this, unsure of what to do.

Then, without a word, Chan and surprisingly Hyunjin, took the lead, grabbing two tables and pushing them together with a loud scrape against the floor.

It was an unspoken decision.

One by one, all of them took a seat.

For a few moments, no one spoke. The tension lingered, but it wasn't suffocating, it was just... there.

Chan, ever the peacemaker, finally broke the silence. "Soo... I'm sure we all must be more or less familiar with each other, right?"

Felix, nodding along, added, "Still, let's just introduce ourselves once, I guess."

They all took turns, going in order from the youngest to the oldest.

"Jeongin," Jeongin said with a small smile, shifting in his seat.

"Seungmin," Seungmin signed.

"Jisung," Jisung grinned.

"Hyunjin," Hyunjin said, glancing at Minho before looking down.

"Felix," Felix gave a small wave.

"Changbin," Changbin nodded.

"Minho," Minho muttered.

"And I'm Chan," Chan finished, looking around the table. "Now that that's done, I just want to say, I hope no one has any hard feelings. We're going to try our best to be nice to each other and be friends, right?"

A few hesitant nods. Some small smiles.

But Minho had something to say.

He was scared, but he had to. He didn't want any more misunderstandings. He had already asked Seungmin if he was okay with him telling everyone, and Seungmin had reassured him that he was.

So, taking a deep breath, Minho spoke up.

"I have something to say," he said, his voice steadier than he expected. "Just so that y'all know, and there are no misunderstandings in the future..." He hesitated, glancing at Seungmin beside him before looking up and meeting Hyunjin's eyes directly. "Me and Seungmin... we're together."

The table went silent again.

Hyunjin blinked at him. Then, slowly, a soft smile tugged at his lips. "Yeah," he said, leaning back in his chair. "I kinda guessed that already."

Minho let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding.

And just like that, the tension seemed to ease.

"Oh, even me and Innie are dating, by the way," Chan announced casually, grinning as he pulled Jeongin's cheek.

Jeongin's entire face scrunched up as he swatted Chan's hand away. "Hyung!" he whined.

Chan just chuckled, messing up Jeongin's hair while the younger glared.

"They already know that," Jeongin grumbled under his breath, crossing his arms.