MY BOO┊hhj [ ✓ ]

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<--->

chan grabbed the cooked meat off of the grill and placed it on the plate beside him. he continuously did it over again as he focused on getting it done for the others to eat. as he was concentrating too much, he didn't realize hyunjin was sitting quietly on the bench near them.

"do you think i can do it?" hyunjin wondered out loud to himself, but purposely made sure chan could hear him. he wanted chan to hear him so he could help him out. hyunjin had concerns that needed to be said, and the more he kept it bottled inside of him, he was frustrated and torn apart.

"what?" chan asked, startled. he turned around to find hyunjin looking out into the distance, dazed. "what do you mean do you think you can do it? what are you talking about?"

hyunjin sighed. "just stuff. say, chan, if you like a girl after moving on from your ex, would you take the bait and confess to that girl?"

chan stayed silent as he narrowed his eyes at hyunjin. he had no idea where the younger one was getting the concept from, but he assumed that hyunjin was talking about himself. then it clicked to him after a few seconds of silence and deep thinking. hyunjin must be talking about maci and some other girl.

"who's the girl you like?" chan questioned, smirking a little.

hyunjin saw his smirk and grew flustered. "w-what? no! i was just wondering. i don't know if i like her or not... it's just complicated." then he covered his face with his hands, groaning out loud. "why am i always liking people so much? i can't risk it..."

chan's smirk slid off his face. he saw how distressed hyunjin was and his concern for the boy grew stronger as he slowly backed away from the grill. walking over to hyunjin, chan pats his shoulders lightly with the tips of his fingers.

"i know your relationship with maci wasn't the best," chan started off, softly gazing at the boy. "and it wasn't the best experience, but take that as something you can learn from. yes, maci broke your heart, but you can understand the feeling of being heartbroken. you see, hyunjin, you don't have to be afraid to love again. i think what you were looking for in your relationship with maci is love. but besides love, there should also be trust, honesty, and happiness. right?"

hyunjin nodded slightly at chan's words, slowly taking them in. he knew it was good to come to chan with advice. chan would always help hyunjin out, and that's what made hyunjin look up to chan as a big brother.

"thank you," hyunjin smiled. "chan. that helped me clear my mind for a bit."

chan grinned, reaching out to ruffle hyunjin's soft hair. "anything, bro. just come to me whenever you need something. i always feel happy whenever i get to help you or any of the others."

but that didn't help how broken hyunjin felt after. he told himself to be strong, and all he needed was a strength. a strength that would help him heal faster and quicker, almost like a medicine. his brown eyes fluttered shut as he slowly took in a breath.

"hey! the meat could burn!" chan and hyunjin both whipped their heads in the direction the worried and shocked voice came from. areum stood in front of the grill with wide eyes as she desperately tried to put out the small fire that was strengthening itself.

hyunjin gasped loudly, scrambling to his feet as he rushed over to grab areum's arm. chan followed right after him, hopping over to grab the empty tinfoil pan, creating wind to put the fire out. hyunjin pulled her back harshly, glaring at her as his heart raced in shock. "what are you doing near the fire? it could burn you!"

hyunjin's voice was rough but laced with worry as well. areum never once saw this side of him, and she peered up at him with confused eyes. hyunjin was too busy holding her in his embrace and worrying about how she could've burned her skin that he didn't realize how close they were with each other. sure, they would hug and cuddle, but this was different.

areum blinked and slowly pushed herself away from him in awe. "i-i'm fine. gosh, hyunjin, that scared me." she wasn't sure what was going on with her heart, but the same feeling from before came back to her.

"areum, was there a time when you caught feelings for hyunjin?" changbin questioned, catching her off guard for a second.

areum frowned a little. why would she think about that? why were changbin's words bouncing in her head?

areum gave him a long cold hard stare, and finally, she gave in when he smiled widely at her. "okay, maybe there was a time..."

"why are you out here anyway?" chan asked areum, cutting her off her thoughts. areum turned to chan and a small smile appeared on her face.

she answered, "minho wanted me to check up on you guys. do you think there's enough to eat now?"

chan flipped a slice of meat over, revealing how well it was cooked. her eyes lit up in delight as she clapped her hands quickly. "yeah, i think they're ready in a while."

"woah! chan, you looked cool!" areum exclaimed, showing a thumbs up toward the older as he looked down, embarrassed. chan let out a small laugh, finding it amusing how areum continued to watch him grill the meat.

hyunjin, who was calming down from earlier, frowned. "what about me?"

areum whipped her head over to him. "what about you? you're standing here doing nothing!"

hyunjin's eyes widened, feeling offended by what she said. "what do you mean i did nothing? look!" he walked over to the grill and attempted to flip over the meat, in which he successfully managed to do. areum's eyes sparkled in amusement as she was only teasing him, but hyunjin took it too literally.

she crossed her arms over her chest and smiled a little, but she masked it up hastily when hyunjin looked over at her with an unclear expression. "well... you did do something, but chan's still cooler." areum stuck her tongue out playfully at him before leaving to go inside.

chan was silent, observing the two. he did find it hilarious when hyunjin was annoyed, but he knew he felt a different feeling.

hyunjin slumped in his spot as his shoulders lowered in a disappointed manner. "why am i trying so hard to impress her?"

"because you like her," chan chirped up happily. he cut up the long meat into small pieces with a pair of scissors, not looking at the other one who stood frozen at his side.

hyunjin sighed. "maybe i do, but do you think she thinks you looked cool?"

chan chuckled at the younger one's question, finding him cute. "there's no need to be jealous, hyunjin."

<--->

"let's eat!" jeongin happily exclaimed. he clapped his hands together as he screeched when a plate of rice was placed in front of him. areum, who was sitting at his right side, laughed out in amusement. she leaned over and pinched his cheek as she cooed at how adorable he was, unaware of the glare that was thrown over to both of them.

jeongin blushed red in embarrassment, pushing areum's hand away. ever since they talked in his room, areum had been closer to him. she treated him like a little kid, in which jeongin wasn't happy about, but he was glad that he was receiving attention.

"why don't you just eat?" hyunjin scoffed, picking up the pieces of meat he and chan cut earlier with his chopsticks. he placed it on areum's plate, silently complimenting himself inside for doing what he did.

areum glanced up from her plate. she looked into his eyes and pointed her chopsticks accusingly at him. "why don't you just focus on yourself? i am no kid. don't treat me like one." in response to her behavior, hyunjin laughed quietly and backed away.

"but just eat," hyunjin urged her more.

author's note
it feels good to be back! how is everyone doing? i hope you enjoyed this update.
and thank you so much for 10k reads!