daddy's babysitter | yuwin

special chapter

Scene 0
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3:19pm, the cafe
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Rin walked hand in hand with his boyfriend of three years, Haru, face solemn and eyes red. His boyfriend did the best he could to comfort him as they walked down the busy Seoul streets to the assigned meeting place, but the judgemental stares made Haru shrink back in fear. If it weren't for Rin's current depressive mood, he probably would have snatched his hand away.

The two turned the corner, the quaint cafe greeting them. It was located in a rough area, and Rin knew Sicheng would kill them if he found out how bad the neighborhood was. Rin had been very cautious about where he traveled and who he associated himself with ever since he found out about Sicheng's life on his 16th birthday. His mom had sat him down on his bed, handed him Coon, and told him the story of his life, and how Rin changed it.

It was a mini sob fest, to say the least.

"Rin," Haru called out to him. The boy responded with a dull hum, "c'mon, you can do it."

Rin shook his head, voice wavering and tears once again filling his eyes, "I don't think I can," he barely managed to whisper. He could see his friends sitting inside through the window, all laughing and talking. But he knew that each and every one of them was fighting back tears, despite their smiles. Jisung had his arm protectively placed around Chenle's waist, with the naturally loud boy bouncing around in the rickety cafe chair.

Jeno and Jaemin had their hands intertwined under the table, sharing sweet smiles and gentle kisses. Rin was used to the PDA that he had to endure, so he paid no mind to the couples. What captured his attention the most was Donghyuck, his cast propped on the chair next to him where Mark had usually sat. Mark and Donghyuck had been attached at the hip ever since they were little, and although Rin didn't know what soulmates were then, he definitely believed that they were meant with each other.

But now Donghyuck sat alone, his other half missing. Rin glanced to his right and saw Haru in all his glory, and he had never been more grateful to have the boy by his side.

"I love you," he declared, out loud and in public for the first time in three years. Haru turned a furious shade of red, glancing around uneasily before replying.

"I love you, too."

Rin took a deep breath in, letting the relaxing feeling overcome his body and calm his nerves before opening the door. The bell jingled above their heads, announcing their arrival. Donghyuck, who had no one to talk to other than Renjun, glanced up first, tears welling in his eyes the minute he made eye contact with Rin. The two had always been extremely close, almost like best friend soulmates, and Rin was physically in pain watching Donghyuck cry helplessly in front of him. Donghyuck wanted to stand up, to run to his friend, but he couldn't with the heavy cast around his leg and the sick feeling in his gut.

"Donghyuck," Rin sighed, lips quivering and hands shaking. Donghyuck nodded and Rin ran to him, engulfing him in a tight hug. Tears wet Rin's hoodie and spilled from his own eyes like a rainy day, sporadic and heavy. The other boys could only watch in silence letting their own tears fall.

It reminded Rin of when they were younger, how they would all bawl their eyes out when they scraped their knee, or when their favorite toy was thrown away because it was broken. In a strange and depressing way, the situation was very similar. Except the scrape was a car accident and the broken toy was none other than Mark Lee, boyfriend, and best friend.

"It's been a while," Jisung commented when the tears finally subsided to a small trickle. Jaemin let out a laugh that sounded scarily like a sob, which it probably was.

"I'm so sorry," Donghyuck whispered, wiping the tears from his chubby cheeks. The group stared at him with confusion, not knowing why the crying boy felt the need to apologize. Haru was sitting next to Donghyuck, rubbing soothing circles on his back. Rin admired Haru for his compassion and everyone could see from the way his eyes turned to literal hearts around the boy. Haru was never close to Rin's friends, but he didn't even second guess comforting them.

"For what?" Jaemin asked incredulously.

"I killed him," Donghyuck sobbed, burying his head in Haru's shoulder.

"Are you kidding me?" Jaemin yelled, slamming his hands down on the table, which Jeno didn't appreciate because his own hand was crushed. "Do not think for one second, Donghyuck that this was your fault. It was the other drivers."

"But I was distracting him and if I hadn't, maybe he would have seen-" he stuttered out.

"No! We lost him, okay? We lost him because some people don't know how to fucking drive!" Jaemin screamed, fat, thick tears falling down his face and onto the table. The cafe was mainly empty, but the few people still there were staring at them with concern. All of a sudden, the boy collapsed, falling to the floor in a flurry of tears and cursing. Jeno dropped with him, cradling Jaemin in his arms and carding his fingers through his hair.

"God, we're a mess," Chenle sighed, burying his head in his hands. "I haven't seen you guys since even before it happened. What has it been, two, three months? I grew up with you guys. We had our first kisses, first dances, first boyfriend's and toys and heartbreaks but now we can barely look at each other. What happened to us?" Chenle asked, glancing around the circle, waiting for an answer that no one had.

"Mark loved us, no he still loves us, so much, Donghyuck more but it's mostly equal. His heart would break if he saw us. We used to sit around Rin's kitchen table and color for hours while Sicheng made mac 'n' cheese. Yuta used to take us outside and literally destroy us in a soccer game and then give us a pep talk about how winning isn't everything. We used to hug each other without fear of what people would say because that's what we were taught to do. We're supposed to grow together when something bad happens, so why did we drift apart?"

"We won't, not anymore," Rin said, holding out his pinky, "and we have to pinky promise on that." The boys nodded, each hooking a finger around Rin's. Rin looked at his friends, not just looking, but really understanding them, and he realized he wouldn't wish for anything else. The place where Mark sat and where his own hand would fit into the mess was empty and cold, but he knew they could get through it.

They were believers, optimists, they were the Dreamies, and nothing could change that.