Mid Summer

thirty eight,

"Dong Sicheng!"

"Oh my God," Jaemin giggles, burying his head in Jeno's shoulder, trying to stifle his laughter. It doesn't work.

"Sicheng!"

"He's asking for it now," Mark says, rolling his eyes as he eagerly watches the scene unfold in front of him. Next to him, Donghyuck doesn't say anything, but he watches with his mouth agape and eyes anticipating what happens next.

"Fuck off Kim Dongyoung!"

Jeno chokes on his noodle broth, having to use his fist to hit his chest in order to regain his breathing pattern. He's so glad that no one else is in the restaurant.

"Watch your goddamn mouth Sicheng, don't be a fucking prude!"

"Don't try to be like Taeyong!" Is what Sicheng retaliates with, earning a giggle from Donghyuck.

From is peripheral, Jaemin can see Kun's left eye twitch, and he thinks it's funny how he has to keep himself collected and together. It's not like they haven't seen Kun snap before.

"Stop gossiping about me, I'm right here!" Taeyong's voice comes from some corner of the noodle shop, followed by the deep sound of Jaehyun's voice chuckling.

Mark can see Sicheng begin to open his mouth and say something, but then the sound of jingling bells from above the main door sounds, and everyone's attention is on the new person who enters.

"I brought tequila bitches!"

Sicheng woots, and Dongyoung rubs at his temples. It's amusing to Jaemin, who thinks Dongyoung is definitely aging too fast for his age. But then again, Dongyoung always looked like eight years were cut off his lifespan when Ten was involved. Or more specifically, when Ten and tequila was involved. Perks of having Ten as your boyfriend.

"You brought tequila and there are minors here!" Taeyong chastises, and all Ten does is roll his eyes, dropping the bag of beer bottles and tequila at the front counter.

"There're no minors," Jaemin comments.

"Chenle and Jisung are here," Jeno replies.

"What?" Jaemin gasps, the sole mention of his friends bringing his mood up. "Where?"

"Who are Chenle and Jisung?" Mark asks, and right. Donghyuck and Mark don't know many people from Seoul.

"They're Nana's best friends." Jeno answers. "They're both a year under us. We went to the same high school."

Donghyuck hums in understanding, trying to ignore how Taeyong and Ten were arguing.

"And what about Sicheng? Where did he come from? And Kun?" Mark questions, and Jeno gets a headache from just thinking about how to explain it. Thankfully, Jaemin takes on the responsibility of explaining.

"Kun is Chenle's cousin. Renjun, who was Chenle's exchange partner four years ago, is Sicheng's cousin. Chenle, Renjun, Sicheng, and Kun are kind of all their own circle, but Kun and Ten were friends for years and since Ten is dating Dongyoung, they're now friends with everyone. And Sicheng is dating Yuta, he's not here yet, but Yuta is friends with Taeyong and Dongyoung, so there's that relation. And if you're gonna ask about Jungwoo and Yukhei, Jungwoo is Jaehyun's younger brother. Am I forgetting anyone Nono?"

Jeno groans, closing his eyes and helplessly shrugging his shoulders.

"I don't know, I don't care," is his answer, and Jaemin finds it in himself to chuckle before continuing to speak.

"Youngho and Taeil are brought into the mix because, apparently, Taeyong met Taeil when he went on a vacation to Jeju a few years ago."

"Taeyong hyung is so popular," Mark notes, turning his head to the main entry door when the bells chime again. This time Jungwoo and Yukhei come in. "A people person."

"Hm," Jeno hums. "Agreed."

From the corner of his eye, Donghyuck can see Jaehyun and Youngho talking, and his stomach suddenly tenses at the sight. He automatically shuffles a bit closer to the person he was sitting beside, Mark, and wraps his hands around his arm.

"Mark hyung," Donghyuck starts. "What're Jaehyun hyung and Youngho hyung talking about?"

Mark looks in their direction once the words leave Donghyuck's mouth, and he'd be lying if he said he wasn't concerned. It he recalls correctly, Youngho still has Jung Jaehyun tattooed somewhere on his body. 

But he doesn't get to analyse the situation too much, because Taeyong makes his way to the four of them, placing himself in the middle.

"Don't stare," he says good heartedly, a smile on his face. Except it doesn't reach his eyes, and Jaemin is the first one to piece that together.

"What's wrong?" He asks, which immediately alerts Jeno, and now Taeyong has four pairs of eyes on him. He looks nervous, and he bites his bottom lip before sighing and just saying it.

"When Jaehyun got his tattoo he got the name 'Seo Youngho'," Taeyong starts, looking up at the ceiling. "And when I met Taeil, I already had my tattoo. I knew he was dating Youngho too, so it made things kind of awkward."

Donghyuck can piece together where this is going, but he doesn't butt into the conversation out of respect.

"Naturally, I was insanely terrified. But Jaehyun was honest with me and he said he didn't care. But he's never met Youngho... Not until... Not until today."

The way Taeyong looks over at Jaehyun and Youngho when he says that, with eyes filled with curiosity and longing and love, Jaemin can't help but tie the strings to his situation with Jeno, Mark and Donghyuck. They were two very different circumstances, but he felt the same way Taeyong is feeling right now. So he tries to give the best advice he can.

"It doesn't matter, you know," he starts, bringing his hand up to hold the elder's thinner, bonier one. "As long as Jaehyun loves you, you two are fine."

And Jaemin knew they were going to be fine. Because Jaehyun loves Taeyong a bit too much.

——

When Jeno looks at it one way; it's really fun. It's really fun being in one place with all seventeen of his, now, friends. To be honest, he wasn't even acquainted with half of them when he stepped foot into the restaurant, but now he could say he knew everyone like the back of his hand.

But on the other hand; they should limit hanging out all together to a... Once in a lunar eclipse kind of thing. It was just... A bit too hectic, and if they were anywhere besides the noodle shop Dongyoung and Ten, apparently, owned, then it would just be a complete disaster.

The information which he's pieced together today is that (get ready): Jaehyun and Taeyong were dating, obviously, Yuta and Sicheng were whipped for each other, Ten was going to die at the hands of Dongyoung in the future, Youngho and Taeil are the parents, Yukhei is the cause of Kun's aging and stress, Renjun and Chenle get along a little too well for it to not be concerning, Jungwoo literally can't explain soccer to Jisung (oh and Jisung was still pinning over Chenle), and that Mark and Donghyuck were people persons.

Oh, and that Dongyoung had a soft spot for him, but that's something else.

__________

take an ot18 chapter cause i love ot18 :(